Saturday Seven (7 Things I Hate About Winter)

1. Snow

2. Ice

3. Shoveling snow and ice

4. Being Cold

5. The fact that it gets dark earlier

6. Driving on snow and ice

7. Slipping and falling on snow and ice

(I could name more but that would just be complaining too much!)

Weekend Humor

A very prestigious cardiologist died, and was given a very elaborate funeral by the hospital he worked for most of his life.

A huge heart covered in flowers stood behind the casket during the service as all the doctors from the hospital sat in awe. Following the eulogy, the heart opened, and the casket was rolled inside. The heart then closed, sealing the doctor in the beautiful heart forever.

At that point, one of the mourners burst into laughter. When all eyes stared at him, he said, '' Oh... Oh, I'm so sorry. I'm sorry. I just can't help it... bwahahahahahaha. I, I, I was just thinking of my own funeral. See, hahahahahahahahaha... I'm a gynecologist. "

At which point the proctologist fainted.

Keith's Favorite Quotes

"Be peaceful, be courteous, obey the law, respect everyone; but if someone puts his hand on you, send him to the cemetery." - Malcolm X

My Radio Sho Was Good 2 Me!

I was driving home today and I was listening to the syndicated Michael Baisden show on WDAS-FM... my radio station of choice since 1974 and I'll get back to that in a minute. He was talking about his mentoring program and how he used his radio show as a bully pulpit to help get Barack Obama elected and to fight for justice for the Jena Six. What he said that got to me was how black radio doesn't seem to have that activist spirit anymore. It got to me because I remember how important radio used to be, not only to me but to my entire community.

In Philly, there was always WDAS, from the time I can remember. They had legendary jocks like "Butterball", who is still around, believe it or not; Georgie Woods, "The Man With The Goods"; Carl Helm; Jimmy Bishop, "The Lovvvvve Man!"; his now ex-wife, Louise Williams Bishop, who today is a State Representative and in ministry; and the man who I believe was the first rapper, "Doctor" Perry Johnson... "I said yum yum, gimmee some... Don't stop, don't stop, don't block the Doc!" Jocko Henderson was a little before my time, but I'm sure my cousins remember... "EEEE tiddly yock... ouuu I'm the Doc and I'm back on the scene wit' my record machine sayin' ouuu papa dooo, how y'all do? This is Jocko baby!" And, last but certainly not least, Harvey Holiday with the "oldies" on Sundays. Soul classics.

These were local guys, neighborhood guys... and guys who kept you up on what was happening in your community. When Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. or Malcolm X came to Philly, they stopped at WDAS to talk to Georgie Woods and they stopped at their rival station WHAT to talk to "The Mighty Burner". These were just jocks to the untrained eye or ear, but they were diplomats to the black community. They got people out to support the Civil Rights Movement in the south and they got people out a decade later to support Hardy Williams in his bid to be the city's first black mayor.

You felt like you knew these guys (and, you did) because it was nothing to see Georgie Woods at the Uptown in North Philly introducing The Temptations, Smokey Robinson and The Miracles, The Jackson Five, The Ojays, Billy Paul, Jerry Butler, The Intruders, Wilson Picket, The Delfonics, and all of those great soul acts of the past.

That was the WDAS of my childhood and by childhood I mean, the first 14 years of my life. By the time I was 16 years old, I discovered that WDAS had a "sister" station on my FM band. It was called "black rock" and it was way different than the station I just described. They played album cuts.

Donny Hathaway, Curtis Mayfield, Stevie Wonder, Marvin Gaye, and Isaac Hayes were creating some incredible experimental soul music back then. Cuts weren't the typical three minutes you would hear on a top-ten single. Cuts were from 8-10 minutes long and sometimes, even longer. For those of you who are in your mid-late 40's, remember how long Isaac Hayes' "I Stand Accused "actually was? I wondered if I could hold a girl's attention that long in a conversation without singing at some point.

This station played the long cuts. Not only that, they played albums by white artists that I might not have ever heard of otherwise. It was here that I heard the Rolling Stones "Sympathy For The Devil" (a song I long believed was about me). I first heard two Philly guys named Hall & Oates on this station, as well as Steely Dan and The Doobie Brothers. Music wasn't as segregated and formatted as it is now. Also, a black guy from Newark, NJ (which according to my grandfather, was one of the funkiest places on earth... though, I doubt he meant that the way I took it) named George Clinton birthed three groups... Funkadelic, Parliament, and Bootsy's Rubber Band that were producing music like nobody had ever heard at the time.

New bands like Earth, Wind & Fire, War, and Mandrill were just starting out and it was here that their first works were broken. I could go on and on... I sat up in my room from midnight until whenever, drifted off to sleep, and heard history and magic. It was incredible and I took it all for granted. I thought it would always be that way and never end. So, let's fast forward to today...

I still listen to WDAS FM, more out of loyalty and nostalgia than anything else. It in no way resembles the station I described to you above and it's no longer locally owned. It's now owned by communication conglomerate "Clear Channel", which owns about five other stations in the city. Seventy percent of it's programming is syndicated... you've got Donnie McClurkin from 5:00-6:00am; The Steve Harvey Morning Show 6:00-10:00am; then, you get a local jock, Patty Jackson, until 3:00pm; and then, it's the Michael Baisden Show from 3:00-7:00pm. From 7:00pm-midnight you have another local jock, Tony Brown, followed by another syndicated show, "I Heart Radio" from midnight-5:00am. They play classic R&B and Neo Soul, but my wife will tell you, the playlist doesn't deviate for close to five days until a slight change is made.

It's like that with all radio now. If you want to hear new artists, especially Neo Soul, R&B, and Hip-Hop, you have to go to satellite radio or the internet. And, that's a shame because my little cheap $40.00 radio used to break all of the new music I needed to hear for a long time, including hip-hop in the 1980's and 90's. In the words of Public Enemy's Chuck D, "Who stole the soul?"

I'd Rather Do Business With Them!

Two years ago, I got a nice shiny Visa Card in the mail. It's one of only two credit cards I own. Up until last November, I have paid my bill in it's entirety and on time. Sometime in December just past, I was late with my payment. By late I mean that they got my payment two days after the due date. Last month, I received a letter informing me that since I was "late" with my payment in December (first time, mind you) they were going to waive my intro interest rate of 0%-14% as "punishment", I suppose. I laughed, since I hardly use the card anyway and paid my bill in full most of the time, I didn't care.

Two weeks ago, I got another letter from the same credit card company informing me that they had "reconsidered" and they were "not" going to raise my rate afterall... instead, they were just going to charge me a late fee for my "indiscretion." I laughed until I cried. The only reason I bring this up is that I was reading in the paper today how new credit card laws are going to raise the eyebrows of quite a few people.

During the past nine months, credit card companies jacked up interest rates, created new fees, and cut credit lines. They also closed down millions of accounts. A law, hailed as the most sweeping piece of consumer legislation in decades, has helped make it more difficult for millions of Americans to get credit, and made that credit more expensive. It wasn't supposed to be this way. The law that President Barack Obama signed last May shields card users from sudden interest rate hikes, excessive fees, and other gimmicks that card companies have used to drive up profits.

Consumers will save at least $10 billion a year from curbs on interest rate increases alone, according to Pew Charitable Trust, which tracks credit card issues. But, there was a catch... card companies had nine months to prepare while certain rules were clarified by the Federal Reserve. They used that time to take actions that ended up hurting the same customers who were supposed to be helped. Don't think that this was just a coincidence either... it was calculated.

Consumer advocates say the law still offers important protections for the users of some 1.4 billion credit cards. "We expected some rate increases, we expected some annual fees," said Ed Mierzwinski of the U.S. Public Interest Research Group, an advocacy organization that lobbied for the law. To be sure, the law takes effect while credit card companies are still reeling from the recession.

In 2007, the top 12 card issuers earned a combined $19 billion from credit cards, according to The Nilson Report. A year later, amid the financial meltdown, profits for those companies fell more than 65% to $6.32 billion. The plunge was largely because defaults ballooned as unemployment soared.

Profit figures for 2009 aren't yet available but banks wrote off about $35 billion in credit card debt last year, as the unemployment rate topped 10%. Analysts predict the default rate will remain at least twice as high as normal through this year, and longer if unemployment stays high.

At the same time, the law is expected to cut into future profits. FICO Inc., the company best known for its credit scores, projects the average card will generate less than $100 a month in revenue within three years, down from $200 a month before the law. That helps explain why the industry reacted so aggressively to the legislation. Among the moves it made:

Annual fees, common until about 10 years ago, have made a comeback. During the final three months of last year, 43% of new offers for credit cards contained annual fees, versus 25% in the same period a year earlier, according to Mintel International, which tracks marketing data. Several banks also added these fees to existing accounts. One example: Many Citigroup customers will start paying a $60 annual fee on April 1.

Created new fees and raised old ones. These include a $1.00 processing fee for paper statements for cards issued by stores such as Victoria's Secret and Ann Taylor. Another example is a $19 inactivity fee Fifth Third Bank now charges customers who haven't used their card for six months. Other banks increased existing fees. JPMorgan Chase, for instance raised the cost of balance transfers from one card to another from 3% of the transfer to 5% of the transfer.

Raised interest rates. The average interest rate offered for a new card climbed to 13.6% percent last week compared to 10.7% during the same week a year ago — meaning cardholders had to pay almost 30% ore in interest, according to Bankrate.com. For millions of other accounts, variable interest rates that can rise with the market replaced fixed rates. The Fed is expected to start raising its benchmark interest rates later this year, which would likely trigger an increase on those cards.

Besides making credit more expensive, banks also made it harder to get and keep credit cards. One big reason: Since the financial meltdown, many credit card issuers have been trying to reduce risk. For example, the number of Visa, MasterCard and American Express cards in circulation dropped 15%. Rarely used cards were among the first cut off. Some cards linked to rewards programs for purchases like gasoline were likewise shut down. So, you were penalized if you didn't use your card enough. Clearly there was no way to win with these legal loan sharks.

Card companies also slashed credit limits for millions of accounts that remain open. About 40% of banks cut credit lines on existing accounts, according to the consultant TowerGroup, which estimated that such moves eliminated about $1 trillion in available credit. Much of that was unused.

Credit lines were frequently cut in regions most affected by the housing crisis and high unemployment, such as Florida and California, said Curt Beaudouin, a senior analyst at Moody's Investors Service. "They're not doing it willy-nilly, they're doing it systematically," he said.

Companies are also making fewer solicitations. Mailed offers for new cards increased in the final three months of 2009 for the first time in two years, but there were only about 575 million. That's about a third of the average number of quarterly offers from 2000 through 2008, according to Mintel.

Because the law makes credit cards less profitable, some subprime borrowers may not be able to get cards at all, at least for the next few years. There's no fixed definition, but subprime borrowers generally have a FICO score below 660. For a good portion of this group, options may be limited to alternatives like PayPal and other electronic payment services, prepaid cards, and payday lenders.

"Not everyone either deserves or should have an open-ended credit card," said Roger C. Hochschild, chief operating officer of Discover Financial Services. Joining those who won't easily get cards are college students and others under age 21. The law strictly limits card marketing on campuses, ending giveaways like t-shirts and pizza cards can only be granted to applicants who show they have the means to repay, or those who have a co-signer who can pay.

"Some of the more vulnerable parts of the population are a little bit more protected," said Georgetown University finance professor James Angel. But he predicts card companies will find ways around most of the new restrictions. And once the economy recovers, he expects the lending spigot to open again.

In the meantime, there is one group of consumers that banks will chase after — those who carry a balance from month to month for at least part of the year, and pay their bills on time. They're the most profitable and least risky group for banks (that group would be me but, I got news for 'em). Also a target customer: Anyone willing to do more business with the bank that issues their card... opening a checking or savings account or taking out a mortgage.

"What we want is a deeper relationship with our customers," (No, what he wants is to push his customers deeper into debt.) said Andy Rowe, an executive vice president with Bank of America's card business. Customers willing to stick with a single bank may even be able to get annual fees waived or get a better interest rate, he said. "That's where the competition will be."

Say what you will or may but I'd rather deal with Tony Soprano and Paulie Walnuts than these banks. At least, I already know I'm gettin' hosed when I deal with them!

A Little Matter Of Infidelity

If you follow me on Facebook, you know that I often crack jokes about my new barber. He's a talented barber and a multi -tasker. The guy wears a blue tooth, orders fish and chicken platters, argues with his girlfriend, and mediates a dispute between his mother and sister while cutting my hair. A few days ago while I was getting my hair cut, he even managed to sell a couple of DVDs. Normally, I would be a bit perturbed by this kind of behavior except for the fact that despite all of this, the man knows his business, cutting hair, and he always gives me an excellent hair cut and shave.

Like most barber shops in the black community, a certain bit of knowledge is dropped while you're either waiting to get your hair cut or getting it cut. Well, he dropped a bit of truth the other day while I was getting my hair cut that I just had to share with you...

Of course, you know that the topic of discussion this past Saturday morning was the infamous Tiger Woods press conference of the day before. People were saying everything from how sorry they felt for Tiger, from a man's perspective of having to walk in that house and face a wife after you've been accused of cheating with close to 16 women, to questioning why Tiger had to have a press conference in the first place... the general consensus being that Tiger doesn't owe anyone an apology except his wife.

One fellow brought up the fact (which I believe to be true) that this little dog and pony show was put on for the benefit of his corporate sponsers. With the exception of Nike, practically all of them have jumped ship on him. This apology was to get everyone back on "Team Tiger" again.



It was then that my multi-tasking barber hit us with a bombshell. He asked if any of us realized that a week after the Tiger Woods story broke, Shaquille O'Neal was accused of having an affair with another NBA player's fiance? He said that this story broke a few weeks after the Tiger mess and that Shaq has not lost one corporate sponser, is still doing those commercials with Ben Stein, and more than likely, will NOT be having a press conference of any kind. He said that he hasn't heard anyone saying... "Oh, poor Shawnie", the way everyone is saying..."Oh, poor Elin". Further he said... "Do you know why? Because Shawnie O'Neal is a black woman and Elin Woods is a blonde, blue-eyed white woman. We put a higher premium on a white woman than we do a black woman."

Of course, this could all just be construed as barber shop talk, but I can't help but think that what my barber said has a lot of merit to it. Cheating is cheating, as far as I'm concerned. You could argue that Shaq is just accused of one woman where Tiger has him beat by 15 more... but, if Elin's name was Elaine Jackson and all 16 of the women worked at McDonalds on or "Uncle Sam's" strip club, would there be such a furor?

I have to ask this because I always say that after a scandal, America will be outraged until the next scandal. Shaq's alledged indiscretions came about two weeks after the Tiger Woods scandal and yet, with the exception of black radio, nobody else is talking about it. Yet on Facebook, Twitter, and numerous blogs all everyone wants to talk about is Tiger Woods.

The media is just jamming Tiger Woods down our throats with such a viciousness and passion that it is incredible. Where is the outpouring of sympathy for Shawnie O'Neal? How come Ben Stein hasn't denounced Shaq's behavior? How come Shaq, who is just as big a sports icon as Tiger is not giving a mid-day press conference to apologize to his wife and to the fans who "he let down?" Is it because she's a black woman and no one cares? I have to ask that question because that's certainly what it looks like.

What makes what Tiger Woods did any worse than what Shaq is accused of having done? The answer is nothing. Most of the people who write the sports columns, pontificate, and moralize are guilty of the same petty jealousies and racism as the average guy on the street. It's not really about infidelity... they are men too and they understand the reasons why. No, it's about simple jealousy.

Shaquille O'neal cheated on his black wife and he gets a pass because he stayed amongst "his own" while Tiger Woods cheated on his blonde, blue-eyed wife. This is his real "crime" and that is why the media is so "outraged". How dare you, it screams! If this was just about infidelity, we would be off Tiger by now and Shaq would be sitting in a press conference crying, faking tears, and holding a huge ring he bought to show his wife how sorry he was for what he did and saying he will never ever do this again. Some of you (most of you), reading this didn't even know about Shaq did you? Because nobody's talking about him and he's probably glad. Tiger Woods is probably shaking his head going... "What? I don't believe it."

O.J. Simpson is sitting in his jail cell saying... "Unbelievable!"

Fear Of (Low) Flying (Planes)

I remember how I felt on September 11, 2001 when I heard that a plane flying too low had crashed into the first of the World Trade Center towers. At first, I thought that it was an inexperienced pilot flying too low. As the drama unfolded and yet another building was hit by a plane and then, the Pentagon, I realized that this was something more... an elaborate plot by terrorists.

Today, around lunch time, I saw a CNN report that said another plane had hit a building in Austin, TX and it was believed to be intentional. My mind began to race and once again, I thought it was terrorist action. Then, I found out that much like the Oklahoma bombing, this was some homegrown terrorism.

Apparently, a man who was upset with the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) set fire to his home and then, got into a small plane and crashed it Thursday into a multistory office building, authorities said. At least two people were injured and a third was unaccounted for when reported. The crash caused a fire and sent black smoke billowing from the seven-story Echelon Building.

Officials told The Associated Press that authorities were trying to determine if the pilot intentionally targeted nearby office space of the IRS. They spoke on condition of anonymity because the investigation was continuing. Another official said authorities were pursuing reports that the pilot had a long-running dispute with the IRS.

The man was identified as Andrew Joseph Stack, officials confirmed to NBC News. A senior law enforcement official told NBC's Pete Williams that the saga began Thursday morning, when police received a domestic disturbance call at Stack's house. When they responded, they discovered that the man had lit a fire in his house and fled. They said he went to the Georgetown Municipal Airport (about 30 miles north of the crash site), got into a small plane, and took off.

A short time later, the plane crashed into the office building. Federal officials said they did not know whether the man crashed the plane intentionally, though they said it was a "distinct possibility", the official told NBC.

As a precaution, the Colorado-based North American Aerospace Defense Command launched two F-16 aircraft from Houston's Ellington Field to patrol over the crash area. The Echelon Building is next to a major highway in North Austin, and the crash started fires on several floors of the building. Dozens of windows were blown out of the hulking black building and vehicles traveling on a nearby highway paused to look. Authorities were conducting a roll call to try to account for all the workers who were in the building.

Two people were taken to a hospital, Austin Assistant Fire Chief Harry Evans said. The nature and severity of their injuries weren't immediately clear and a third person was unaccounted for, Evans said. It was not immediately known if the victims were from the plane or the office building.

In a rambling statement posted on the website of his independent software company "Embedded Art", Stack apparently blamed the IRS for the loss of tens of thousands in savings and retirement money over the years. Hell! Does he think he's the only one who can complain about that?

In one instance, he says: “That little lesson in patriotism cost me $40,000+, 10 years of my life, and set my retirement plans back to 0. It made me realize for the first time that I live in a country with an ideology that is based on a total and complete lie. It also made me realize, not only how naive I had been, but also the incredible stupidity of the American public. They actually buy hook, line, and sinker, the crap about their "freedom" and they continue to do so with eyes closed in the face of overwhelming evidence and all that keeps happening in front of them.” (Wow, haven't I been saying that since I started this blog two years ago?)

He also wrote: "Why is it that a handful of thugs and plunderers can commit unthinkable atrocities (and in the case of the GM executives, for scores of years) and when it's time for their gravy train to crash under the weight of their gluttony and overwhelming stupidity, the force of the full federal government has no difficulty coming to their aid within days, if not hours?

“I saw it written once that the definition of insanity is repeating the same process over and over and expecting the outcome to suddenly be different. I am finally ready to stop this insanity. Well, Mr. Big Brother IRS man, let's try something different... take my pound of flesh and sleep well.”

Wow, if he wasn't so murderously wrong, I could feel for this guy because his frustration is the frustration of many. Somebody has got to stop the bleeding. Somebody has got to slow this "gravy train" down or else we are going to see more people like Stack. I'm not upholding him, but I'm saying I understand and share in his frustration up to a point.

Take this pound of flesh and do something America. Don't sleep well, do something to ease the mounting frustration of more and more people who feel betrayed and desperate. I warned in another post that this might be a sign of the times. I sure pray that it isn't.

Manny

I had a friend once who I'll call "Manny". We knew each other for all of maybe seven months and we worked at the same establishment. People pretty much thought he was a prick but he was my boy because we talked and both had pretty much the same (bad) attitude about life at the time.

You see, some people (people who don't and who never knew me) got the idea that I was a pretty nice guy... that I was almost like Jesus Christ. True, there are times when I can be very gregarious, very compassionate, very what you would call "nice". Then, yeah... then there are times when I can be a world class a-hole and that's the time when I can bring out the worst in everybody around me.

I always understood my dual nature, even if nobody else did. My mother always understood just who I was because she was my mother. When I was being praised by some neighbor as being "such a nice boy". She was proud for a minute and happy that I wasn't out causing the family any embarrassment... but at the same time, she would look at me side-eyed because she knew her little boy and she knew that her little boy was more than what some deceived neighbor thought they saw. She knew who I could be when I thought no one was looking. She was never fooled.

And, that's why I liked Manny... he was just like me and we understood each other quite well. We worked at this job... a job we both hated... cleaning office buildings and being blamed for everything that wound up missing or wasn't where it was placed the night before. We both had a deep hatred for our supervisor... A man who made it plain that he thought the two of us were a bit too "leisurely"

I used to tell Manny..."Yo man, one day I'm gonna work in an office like this and I'll be leaving my trash for someone to pick up after I get off at 5:00pm." He used to look at me when I said that with one of those "Yeah man, sure" looks. And, how ironic... today, I do work in an office building... one of the ones that I used to clean decades ago and part of my job is to assign work details to people like me and Manny. I'm a lot nicer than our supervisor was back then... at least, I think so.

Manny was a year younger than me. He didn't have the benefit of a college education like I'd had and because he had done a year as a guest of the state of Pennsylvania (state prison), he couldn't enlist in the military as I had already done at the time. At age 24, he felt as if this was as far as he could go in life and that might have been the reason for his bad attitude. Me, I didn't have a reason or justification. I just had a bad attitude at the time, but I knew I was moving on and that's why I could dream out loud.

I had another job, working at a Burger King in North Philly (far enough from my home so that no one who knew me would see me, though everyone who knew me, knew that I worked there). I was just trying to bank enough money so that when I eventually made my move, I'd have plenty of cash to keep me straight until my rich uncle (Sam) kicked in and started paying me.

Manny and our supervisor had one too many altercations. His lateness, attitude, very existence... you pick one... and Manny and the man nearly got into a fist fight. Of course, you know led to him being terminated. It was bad for me then because I had lost a brother, a comrade in arms. Some people just help you do your time in a bad place (jail, bad job, etc.) a little better. They help you pass the time. When Manny left, things got boring around the job. I had no one to talk to and I didn't really vibe with the other folks who worked there.

About two months before I was to leave Philly to report for basic training at Lackland Air Force base in San Antonio, TX, I ran into Manny. He was decked out and had a knot of cash in his hands. We sat in a restaraunt and he bought me a steak, baked potato, a salad, and a beer. He said, "Yo man, you sure you wanna go in the Air Force? I got a big money game goin' on and you could be in it with me partner." It didn't take much imagination to figure out that Manny was selling drugs and apparently was doing well at it. He told me he had three "corners" in North Philly and was getting ready to take one in West Philly.

"You sure got big in a short while." I said. "That's cause I know somebody, somebody important" he said. "Somebody that set me up nice. I could talk to him, and get him to set you up too man" he said. I declined his offer but looking at all of that cash he was throwing around and the nice clothes he was wearing at the time was tempting. Yet, the thought of living that life and always looking over my shoulders just wasn't appealing to me. It wasa good thing too. I couldn't have known that would be the last time I'd see my friend alive.

A few days before Christmas of that year, I was getting off of the 46 bus near 61st and Oxford Streets and I ran into a girl that we both knew. She called me over to where she and a bunch of her girlfriends were standing. "I guess you heard about your boy Manny?" she asked. "No. What about him?" I asked. "They found him slumped across the front seat of his car with two shots to the dome. I heard the Junior Black Mafia got him", she said. Everytime somebody got killed back then, the Junior Black Mafia got blamed. They did kill a lot of people, but not everybody. To this day, no one has ever been arrested for Manny's murder.

I was sick to my stomach, hearing that and I couldn't believe that he had been killed. We were supposed to hook-up before I left for active duty and hang out. I had already quit both of my jobs. She looked at me as if to say... "Why couldn't it have been you?" She didn't say that, but I never felt this particular girl cared too much for me anyway so, that's what I thought she was thinking. She, too, had gotten a glimpse of the "other" me.

I don't know why I thought about Manny today. I was sitting in an office... ironically enough, of one of the buildings I used to clean... drinking coffee, tapping the keyboard of a computer, and listening to the radio. A young skinny guy came by and emptied my trash can... a trash can he should have emptied the night before. I didn't say anything to him and I thought about what I said some 26 years ago..

"Manny, one day I'm gonna work in a building just like this... in an office... and somebody is going to empty my trash." And, he said..."Nigger, you crazy. Come on man and get back to work." Yeah, I am crazy. Manny, whereever you are, this one's for you!

The Infamous Hood Pass

You know, I have tried not to make this an entertainment/gossip blog and for the most part, I have succeeded. There are one thousand other blogs you can go to if that's your thing. The only reason I'm going to give my take on the whole John Mayer flap is because both my wife and daughter are big fans... they introduced me to his music and I would hate for them to think that he is a racist.

He did use the N-word in a Playboy article recently and he did say something about a certain apendage of his being a "white supremacist". I don't know if he was trying to be ironic, cute, or just where the hell he was going with that... but, all in all, the guy talked a little too much, too freely, and got set-up.

People who have not read the Playboy article in it's entirety have lost their minds, branded him a racist, and tossed out his CDs. All of this based on some mutterings on Facebook, Twitter, and certain blogs. I have said that Americans don't read and that their minds don't run past a soundbite. To my dismay, Americans of all races prove me right every time.

Even people like Holly Robinson Peete, who should know better, is going around saying that "John Mayer hurt every black woman's feelings with his remarks." Did He? I mean, it's not like Denzel Washington or Barack Obama made these remarks. Did that many black women have John Mayer posters in their bedrooms? I'm just asking. If anybody should be angry at John Mayer, it should be Jessica Simpson and Jennifer Aniston. He gave a little too much information about the intimacies of their relationship with him to the press.

He actually paid Holly Robinson Peete and Kerry Washington a compliment. He said he thought they were "super hot". He didn't say that he didn't want to date black women... he merely stated that as of yet, he hasn't dated any.

He was asked by the reporter, "Why is it that so many hip-hop artists, so many black singers like you?" A set-up question if I ever heard one. Would this same reporter ask a black artist why he has such crossover appeal? Maybe... but they certainly wouldn't say to Snoop Dogg or Will Smith, you have an official white boy pass or something of that nature, would they?

Why does John Mayer have to have a "hood pass" because a few rappers and singers who happen to be African American happen to like the guy? The question in and of itself was racist. But, I'm not letting Mayer completely off the hook. The way he answered it was so incredibly stupid, that he should have retracted it immediately after saying it, or asked the reporter not to print it, which (of course) he most certainly would have done anyway. Reporters interview people to get controversial statements because controversial statements, even when they are clearly idiotic, sell magazines.

These are excerpts from the Playboy interview. Judge for yourself if you think he's a racist...

MAYER: Someone asked me the other day, “What does it feel like now to have a hood pass?” And by the way, it’s sort of a contradiction in terms, because if you really had a hood pass, you could call it a nigger pass. Why are you pulling a punch and calling it a hood pass if you really have a hood pass? But I said, “I can’t really have a hood pass. I’ve never walked into a restaurant, sked for a table and been told, "We’re full."

PLAYBOY: It is true, a lot of rappers love you. You recorded with Common and Kanye West, played live with Jay-Z.

MAYER: What is being black? It’s making the most of your life, not taking a single moment for granted. Taking something that’s seen as a struggle and making it work for you, or you’ll die inside. Not to say that my struggle is like the collective struggle of Black America. But maybe my struggle is similar to one black dude’s.

PLAYBOY: Do black women throw themselves at you? (Would any white reporter ask Shemar Moore, "Do white women throw themselves at you? I'm betting, they don't want to know the answer to that one.)

MAYER: I don’t think I open myself to it. My dick is sort of like a white supremacist. I’ve got a Benetton heart and a fuckin’ David Duke cock. I’m going to start dating separately from my dick.(Meaning, he hasn't dated any Black women, but he is open to it.)

PLAYBOY: Let’s put some names out there. Let’s get specific.

MAYER: I always thought Holly Robinson Peete was gorgeous. Every white dude loved Hilary from The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air. And Kerry Washington. She’s super hot and she’s also white-girl crazy. Kerry Washington would break your heart like a white girl. Just all of a sudden she’d be like, “Yeah, I sucked his dick. Whatever.” And you’d be like, “What? We weren’t talking about that.” That’s what “Heartbreak Warfare” is all about, when a girl uses jealousy as a tactic.

I don't know what he was talking about there... just rambling. But, for sure, he wasn't insulting black women or black people. Yet, all over Facebook, Twitter, and Blogger there is almost universal condemnation for the guy by people who haven't read the entire article... people both black and white who took one fragment of a sentence, the equivalent of a sound bite, and ran wild with it.

Could he have expressed what he meant better? Sure he could have. Should he have used the word nigger? Screw all that politically correct n-word jazz. Hell to the no, he shouldn't have... and neither should my cousin when describing one of his best friends or the cats that live down the street from me, whether they are drunk or not. Do I beleive John Mayer is a racist? No, I do not... just the latest recipient of the "Foot In Mouth" award.

If I thought he was a racist, I would be the first to condemn him, just like I do all of those rotten politicos in the great state of South Carolina. But in this case, I think there was a rush to judgement on behalf of some people and poor judgement and choice of words on John Mayer's behalf.

Again, like I said... the real people who should be angered about that interview is Jennifer Anniston and Jessica Simpson. No woman likes a man who kisses and tells.

Happy Valentine's Day!

Links2Love.Com

In honor of this special day, here are some
timely quotes you may want to ponder.

Weekend Humor

Here's a rare item. Mark it on your calender folks. A second post in one day from the house of ideas. This one was too good to not post...

An older gentleman had an appointment to see the urologist, who shared offices with several other doctors. The waiting room was filled with patients. As he approached the receptionist's desk, he noticed that the receptionist was a large unfriendly woman who looked like a Sumo wrestler.

He gave her his name and in a very loud voice, the receptionist said... "YES, I HAVE YOUR NAME HERE; YOU WANT TO SEE THE DOCTOR ABOUT IMPOTENCE, RIGHT?"

All the patients in the waiting room snapped their heads around to look at the very embarrassed man. He recovered quickly, and in an equally loud voice replied... ''NO, I'VE COME TO INQUIRE ABOUT A SEX CHANGE OPERATION, BUT I DON'T WANT THE SAME DOCTOR THAT DID YOURS.''

The room erupted in applause!

The E-Games People Play

As I said yesterday, people play these online games with people because of their own special agendas. Some folks are bored, some folks need to know how popular they are, but the biggest driving forces here are fear and deception.

Jennifer Worick, author of "The Worst-Case Scenario Survival Handbook: Dating & Sex", says people do have different agendas when it comes to dating. "For me, the end goal is to be in a loving relationship with someone. But for others, the end goal might be that they’re passing time, preventing boredom, or just collecting men and women", she says.

Deception, people pretending to be something they’re not (whether it’s single or a certain gender), can be another reason relationships stay in the virtual realm, says Patricia Wallace, Psychologist and Senior Director of Information Technology at Johns Hopkins University Center for Talented Youth in Maryland.

Another big factor is fear. "There’s the fear of failure, the fear of rejection, the fear of making a fool of yourself," she says. "An online relationship is perceived as being low-risk as compared to meeting in person. When you pick up the phone or meet in person, you have a lot less control over your message and your impression as compared to a Facebook wall post or an IM where you can rewrite and think about what you want to say." (In other words, lie.)

She says, having more control means having the ability to create a better version of you which can then be marketed to a better version of someone else (more than likely a fake version). "A woman (or a man) might feel really smart and attractive when she’s (or he's) online because she (or he) comes up with a lot of witty things to say. She or he controls the pictures that she or he sends and she or he meets somebody who does the exact same thing," says Wallace, author of “The Psychology of the Internet." "They can have a magical interaction — a meeting of the minds, sort of — whereas meeting in person would just spoil it. He stutters; she burps." (You know, real human things.)

Yeah, reality kicks in... reality can be messy. It's not clinical, it's not clean. What all of these people miss out on is that life... real life, real love... is only interesting really good when it is in fact what it is... messy, unclean, unclinical, and totally out of control. This is what makes a relationship worthwhile and memorable. The technology, the hiding and the posturing be damned. In the end, the real will win out and it has to.

Don't get me wrong... I network on Facebook, probably more than I should, but if I were single, trying to meet someone, and forge a relationship, Facebook, Twitter, I-Chat, etc. would be the last place I would go to do so. Remember, you're talking to a guy who doesn't trust the personals in the newspapers!

Happy Valentine's Day everyone!