Tuesday, January 31, 2006

St. Louis Police Get Their Kicks In...

For those of you who haven't already heard or read about this, here's a story of yet another alleged police brutality situation involving a black male.

I only know what I have read and what the video shows. So here's what I think.

1) When you run from police, you get f&cked up if they catch you. Every young black male assumes this and they expect this. It's NOT to say that is right and should be accepted by any means, but that's just the way it is. So when you run from the cops AND ram a police car, you're gonna get beat down excessively. Why? Because when you run you piss police off! I remember when I was in high school and me and my boys got caught up and we had an opportunity to try and run from the police. The officer said "Don't run! Because when you run and I catch you, you're gonna pay for all that running I did!" Even before that experience, I knew that police will beat the crap out of you if they feel the need. So to ram a police car might get you shot (not just beat up)! This dude rammed a car. In a police officer's mind, this probably means that their life is being threatened. And even if it's not, they're so mad that you had the audacity to ram a police car that they're gonna take their frustrations out on you.

2) This may not be the popular opinion among Black folk, but I think that this wasn't all that excessive. I mean, it was some extra kicks and ankle stomps in there that were unnecessary. BUT, I can imagine the struggle that went on and I am pretty sure that this dude wasn't exactly saying "Okay fellas, just cuff me". He was resisting arrest. And as we always see. These supposedly well-trained cops really just turn into scared human beings like the rest of us and go into survival mode when they have to subdue someone who's not trying to get cuffed. Again, I am not saying that they needed to use as much force as they did b/c I would have to have been there to determine that. BUT, I have seen worse and I think that dude set himself up by running from them and on top of that ramming a police car. He didn't deserve it, but he should have expected it.

3) If you don't commit the crime, then you don't have to worry about getting your a$$ beat down. Don't run from the police. Don't ram a police car. Then maybe we won't even have to worry about determining whether you were beat to a pulp or beat just enough to cuff you and laugh at you in the squad car on the way to the station. CRIME DOES NOT PAY!

R.I.P. - Coretta Scott King



For those of you who have not heared already, Coretta Scott King (wife of Martin Luther King, Jr.) passed away today.

If you're like me when you think of her you think the phrase "Strong Black Woman"! And it's not even about being black, but moreso being a strong woman. R.I.P.

Monday, January 30, 2006

Decisions

"The man who insists on seeing with perfect clearness before he decides, never decides."

-Henri-Frédéric Amiel

Some decisions in life are extremely hard to make. It appears they can affect how the remainder of your life plays out. They cause mental confliction, confusion, frustration, hesitation, and procrastination. These are the toughest decisions any human being has to make. These are the decisions that we wish we could see into the future and tell what the outcome would be. The options are clear but the possible outcomes seem cloudy. In the end, the fear of not knowing will eventually be suppressed by the internal pressure to make a decision. Hopefully that decision leads to happiness.

The fear of making the wrong decision also crosses in your mind. But the fear of not making one at all leaves you with no choice but to decide. Is it the right one? You'll see in due time.

Saturday, January 28, 2006

REVIEW: Match Point



Went to see this last night with T. It was okay. Much better than having to see Brokeback Mountain I'm sure so I can't complain too much. The movie was okay (even with all the Brit-ish accents) up until about 20 minutes from the end where it seems that writer and director Woody Allen got writer's block.

The plot of this story is that an old tennis player (Chris) becomes a tennis instructor and ends up being an instructor for a rich British guy (Tom). Chris and Tom become friends and Tom introduces Chris to his sister (can't remember her name) and his sister is smitten by Chris. Chris is eventually introduced to Tom's girlfriend (Nola, played by Scarlett Johanson). Chris basically falls in love with her at first sight. So now Chris is in love with his good friends girlfriend while he's dating his good friend's sister. Eventually (even after sleeping with Nola) Chris marries Tom's sister. Throughout the marraige he has an affair with Nola (once she has broken up with Tom). Of course, at the end of the movie all things come to a head and Chris has to make a fatal decision. I can't give the rest of the story away though...

It's worth seeing for a matinee price if there's nothing else to see in the theatre. I can't say that I enjoyed this movie all that much. Yet, at the same time, I can't say that it was horrible either. If you just want to go out and see something and there's nothing else available, check this one out. Just remember that I warned you about the lack of good writing toward the end of the movie.

RATING: 3/5

Friday, January 27, 2006

VIDEO: American Idol...My pick so far

Okay, I'll admit it. I am kinda becoming a follower of this show. Normally I am a like a MTV teeny bopper following all the MTV reality shows (except that one with Travis Barker) and Big Brother, Flavor of Love, the Joe Schmoe Show, Beauty and the Geek...All that stuff people say "Why would anybody wanna watch that stuff?" to...That's my main source of entertainment. Aside from Sportscenter, of course.

So anyway, I watched Idol a few days ago and only one person stood out to me on this show and it was Katharine McPhee. Take a look for yourself:

Wednesday, January 25, 2006

VIDEO: American Idol...Second Episode I Kinda Watched

Last night's episode was entertaining (as the first few usually are). However, there was one moment in the show that pretty much made my jaw drop. Some dude comes on and sings "Let's Get It On" by Marvin Gaye and prior to singing, he makes it obvious he's got a "thing" for Ms. Abdul (she's ayight...why not, right?) So anyway, homeboy proceeds to sing "Let Get It On" pretty well and he's kinda got me thinking "Okay, I'd give this dude a 'Yes' for going to Hollywood." Then he gets so pumped that they're feeling it that he starts serenading Paula personally and keeps asking her to come up so they can dance while he sings.

First off, I didn't think paula would do it because of last year and all the Corey Clarke (I'm upset I remember this clown's name) stuff. But then I thought: "This guy's of age, go get you some Paula!" So eventually both Randy and Simon get Paula up there and homeboy slow-dances with her while he's singing. And once he's done the judges vote on him (with Paula standing there beside him like she's his girl or something).

So anyway, they all give homie a "Yes" and he's pumped. So pumped that he picks Paula up and carries her off to the door as he's leaving.

HERE'S THE RINGER:

As he's carrying Paula to the door, his WIFE is coming in the door to congratulate him. YES! WIFE! This dude was in there basically hitting on Paula "Str8 Up Now Tell Me" Abdul while his wife was outside. I thought it was some effed up shyt to do myself. But after watching how he acted even after his wife was there, I can tell that he's got some sort of Jedi-mind trick on her.

This whole thing caught me off guard because I KNOW that no matter how siced I was about the Idol, I'm not picking up ANY WOMAN and carrying her with her legs wrapped around me out to celebrate with my wife. As Whitney would say, HELL TO THE NAW! That's just not something I would do. His wife seemed cool about it. But I kinda thought he made her look silly...To me at least. Anyway, you know ya boy got video of the whole thing...See 4 yaself!!! Now YOU tell ME that this whole situation is kosher...

VIDEOS: East Coast -ish

Not that I'm showing favoritism here but I just found these online and I remember when this used to be my SH&T!

Various Artists -- John Blaze
("Even if I stuttered I would still sh-sh-shit on you!" - Pun)








Capone - N - Noreaga (CNN) -- Ya'll Don't Wanna
(When a dude mentions his paralyzed finger in a song, he really means what he's saying.)





Tuesday, January 24, 2006

Official Street Cards

I am not so sure about these cards:



http://www.officialstreetcards.com/

Seems like these are going to tread the line between humorous and offensive pretty closely. I like a good joke here and there, but oftentimes I find myself laughing while simultaneously saying "That's just wrong!" This might be one of those situations. Just like watching the Boondocks the other night and they had an episode where Martin Luther King, Jr. was still alive and gave a sermon/speech at a rally (that was actually promoted as a party) and used the word "nigger" incessantly. That kinda made me laugh but at the same time had me saying "Damn, that's kinda effed-up!"

Anyway, alot of times I think that products like Street Cards and other Malibu's Most Wanted type products are created by people outside the black community who have no true knowledge of what they're really depicting. But a lot of times these companies hire people from these neighborhoods who are used to give them ideas for these products. So while I may find some of these cards funny (I ain't gonna lie, I may), at the same time I will have this internal confliction as to whether or not I should be upset by it or humored by it.

Monday, January 23, 2006

One of my favorite songs/videos...

I recently got a mixtape called "The Best of Jay-Z" from my man BHill and it's got Jay'z verse from the song below (4 Da Fam) on it. It reminded me of how much this song siced me when it first came out.

"You gotta drop Amil cuz if you gonna cop suntin' you gotta cop for real!"

Damn Kobe!



81 points??? Did anybody else even score?

http://msn.foxsports.com/nba/story/5270892

As much as I dislike this dude's "punkish" personality, I have the utmost respect for what he does out there on the court. He is pretty amazing sometimes. Gotta respect his game!

Friday, January 20, 2006

I got the Internet going NUTz

This Camron and Jay-Z thing is running wild all over the internet. I am getting emails from individuals, hip hop forums, random groups of friends, and of course I have links to the song(s), etc. There are two songs but one most of us have already heard "I'm not a writer Imma biter" except Cam hosts this re-pasted, re-edited version.

This attack (not a beef because Jay hasn't even responded yet) has got everybody chiming in and giving their opinion from people on the street to people at work to people on the radio. It's all great entertainment. BUT...Will Jay-Z respond?

The overwhelming response I've gotten to that question from people is "Why should he? Who is Camron other than a wack rapper?" So I guess Jay shouldn't respond based on public opinion. It seems like no one really cares.

I've been told by a few that the song is more humorous than scathing and I would say I agree with that to a certain extent. But boy oh boy it's fun to listen to everybody talk about it and wonder what Jigga is gonna do. Of course, Jay-Z will murder Killa Cam lyrically. The only people who don't believe that are in Dip Set, from harlem, or love Camron to death. And that's cool. But Jay can and will embarass Camron on the rapping tip.

What I am interested in now is if this is gonna get played in the club since it's got such a buzz. I know my boys are going to Happy Hour tonight and I am gonna see if they hear that joint in the club. That would be completely HILARIOUS to me. But not a shock.

When and if Jigga does respond, I feel bad for not only Cam, but Jim Jones, Ma$e, and Juelz. I mean, it's tension between Jay and all of them so he may as well go ahead and put them all under the rug. BUT, if he disses Ma$e, does G-Unit respond? Hmmmmmnnnn??? That would re-ignite a lil beef with 50 (I'm about a dollah what da f&ck is 50 Cent); re-ignite the beef with Mobb Deep (Go play somewhere, I'm busy); and re-ignite that silent beef that Ma$e and Jay had that we never knew about (Look at your own videos, you'll always be #2).

I love hip-hop!

Thursday, January 19, 2006

CAMRON VS Jay-Z...It's official!!!!





Pretty soon this will be going around the internet like cocaine trays at the Bobby and Whitney's wedding reception because Cam goes HARD on Jay and it's actually a pretty tight diss record. DAMN!

Jigga, you my nigg...You gotta come back strong b/c Cam GOT YOU on this one. I mean, he gets on Beyonce, jay's style, his stealing of biggie's lyrics, and more...

http://www.hiphopgame.com/index2.php3?page=tracks

Song's called....You Got It (Jay-Z Diss)

MY POLL:


Jay-Z VS. CamRon...Who WINS?



CamRon
Jay-Z
There won't be a battle!
Who cares?


View Results


LeBron...WTF

Am I the only person who saw King James pass up a WIDE-OPEN 3-pointer to win the game last night in Denver and instead opt to pass the ball Slava Medvuluvic (whatever this guy's name was...who cares, he sucks)???

MAN that pissed me off. And then Carmelo goes and gets a one-on-one with Ira "Why Am I Even in the NBA" Newble's bum a$$ and Melo makes a "Joe Montana in the airport commercial jab-step" and dunks it! Man! Melo is NICE though so I ain't mad he took advantage of that opportunity.

But I guess what people say about Lebron is true at this point in his career. He doesn't have that killer instinct at the end of the game where he just takes over and pulls and MJ and takes damn near every shot for the last 3-minutes of a close game. Instead he'll pass to my grandmother in the first row of the stands and expect her to make the shot. Come on LeBron, you're my favorite player man...You're a superstar! Take the shot! Nobody will care if you miss it b/c they know the only other person on the team who can make a shot in that situation DOES NOT EXIST. And this is YOUR team. They live and die with you man! Be their leader. Don't be afraid to be selfish when it's in the best interest of your team.

Wednesday, January 18, 2006

American IDOL

I must admit that I took the time to watch American Idol last night. Part because I was interested in seeing who embarassed themselves this time (and I was not let down by the way) and part because I am thinking about following the full season this time around. The last time I followed an entire season of American Idol Tamara (I probably have the name wrong) was "supposed to had won that joint!" I think that was the first season. I was definitely in college back then.

Anyway, yesterday was filled with horrendous performances by people who somebody lied to and told them they could sing. At least for the majority of the show. If I had to say anyone stood out for me it was the two twins who serenaded Paula Abdul. Those boys were only 16 but they could sing. And I think they could have had a threesome with Paula if they wanted too (sorry Paula, sike!). There was another set of twins guys on there who were okay and also a set of twin females from Illinois who were cute but weren't all that when it came to singing (at least not to me).

I'm pretty sure they're gonna show another one tonight. Hopefully I'll catch it, but LeBron and Melo play at 9pm and that's pretty much gonna be the last thing I see tonight before I go to bed. But I would like to see Simon carry the hell out of some more people...LOL.

Sunday, January 15, 2006

Movie Review: Glory Road



Glory Road was a GREAT MOVIE! I highly recommend that everybody go see it. It's a great story and just a good movie all around. 5/5 STARS

Friday, January 13, 2006

Technology...It's YOUR friend!!!

Okay, I've recently been re-evaluating how much money I spend on some of my "bills". So I took a look at my Comcast, Verizon Wireless, and ACN (home phone) bills. Now take into consideration that I also use Comcast for my internet connection. I know I'm not the only person who is pissed that Comcast seems to have a monopoly over the middle-Atlantic cable market. I also know that I'm not the only person who is not interested in the dish (bad weather may mean no signal).

So I took at look at the following alternatives to save myself some money:

1. VoIP phone service...Voice over IP phone service basically allows you to use your internet connection as your phone line. Meaning, your voice travels over the internet to the other person's phone rather than the phone line. Pretty cool technology but I was a little apprehensive at first. But through one of my classes I learned more about it and became comfortable with going that route. So I am going to sign-up for Vonage. Now, Vonage offers a plan for unlimited calling (long distance included) with a TON of features for $24.99 per month. This beats my unlimited ACN plan by more than $40/month (after taxes, fees, and whatever else they're charging me for that makes absolutely no sense on my bill). So, that's -$40 per month.

2. Verizon online DSL. Comcast's internet service is pretty good I must say. I don't have any speed issues. And I do a little more than just surf the web while at home so I need a pretty speedy connection. However, Comcast's Internet service is expensive. I believe the base price is like $40/month. BUT, that doesn't include the fee for renting their cable modem which is like $5/month. And don't try to network a couple computers in your home over their connection without a router because the second IP address required will cost you another $5/month. So if you have two computers, one internet connection, and no router, you're paying $50/month. Might not seem like a lot in the big picture, but if you have comcast cable as well, your bill is easily in excess of $100 monthly. So, I took a look at Verizon's DSL service and found that I can get their DSL service for around $30/month for a year. The speed is supposed to be comparable so I shouldn't have any issues with slowness. That's -$20/month.

Unfortunately, I still haven't found a worthwhile and cost-effective replacement for Comcast cable. But I'm sure that pretty soon someone will emerge with a quality television service for cheaper than what Comcast charges. And I can't push my monthly plan for Verizon Wireless any lower b/c if I do I'm guaranteed to go over my minutes. So I'm stuck with that bill right where it is for the time being. And since I'm probably gonna cop a Treo 650 around June, I'm sure my monthly plan price is gonna increase because I'll need reliable Internet service for my phone.

So overall, I'll probably save about $60/month (which by the way, is $720 annually) by making those two moves. And that (if I use it the right way instead of doing all the stupid sh&t I normally do) could be used to make a lil bit more money.

So anyway, I say all this to say that investigating a little bit into the new (and cheap) technologies out there may save you a decent amount of money while still providing you with quality service. I thought I would share this with everyone since I kinda had a breakthrough when I realized all this stuff and did the numbers.

POLL: REDSKINS OR SEAHAWKS?




Who's going to win this weekend? The SKINS or the Seahawks???




Redskins
Seahawks



View Results


Thursday, January 12, 2006

VIDEO: Shawn Taylor SHOULD BE SUSPENDED!!!

The referee was definitely ON POINT with his call. Props to that dude...

Wednesday, January 11, 2006

Movie Review: Syriana



I saw Syriana last night with T. Not very impressed by the movie. I have to give it a 3 out of 5. I was pumped to see this film but there just wasn't enough action in the movie for me. I thought I would get to see something along the lines of Patriot Games but this was more along the lines of Traffic.

I may have been a little out of the movie-watching mood due to a nice argument in the car before we stepped into the movie theatre, but I don't think that it would have made much of a difference had that not taken place.

George Clooney let me down in this one. While I don't recommend that any of you guys see it. If any of you are aspiring politicians or members of the Young Republicans (shot out to Alex P. Keaton), you'll probably love it. Oil, Arabs, U.S. oil company execs, suicide bombers, corporate lawyers, etc...Right up the old beauracratic alley...SSSSTTTTTTTTTTTRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR-RIKE!

P.S. - The best part of the movie was George Clooney getting his finger nails ripped out one after another. Yeah, that really was the best part too!

Smooches

Tuesday, January 10, 2006

National DO NOT CALL List

In case you haven't already done so, you can register your number(s) online here:

https://www.donotcall.gov/

Sunday, January 8, 2006

QUESTION: What are your 5 favorite songs of all time?

What are your 5 favorite songs of all time?

Recently, I was posed this question by my boss. It made me to some real thinking and I don't think I could narrow down 5 favorite songs of ALL TIME. How about you?

After doing some thinking, I came up with a list. But these are probably not my favorite 5 of all time. Just what I thought of after about 10 minutes of thinking today:

Angel - Anita Baker (Songstress album)
Romantic - Goapele (Even Closer album)
Jay-Z - Give It To Me (Dynasty, Roc La Familia album)
KEM - Love Calls (Kemistry album)
AZ - I Just Wanna Be There (Aziatic album)

PHOTOS: W.G.'s Bday

This past weekend we went out to eat for WG's bday. The District Chophouse in DC...I recommend the Chophouse burger if you like burgers or the Sirloin if you like steaks...

Black Enterprise GUIDE TO INVESTING

I HIGHLY recommend this book. I bought it a few months ago and I am just now getting around to reading it. Thus far, it's been very interesting and educational. It's definitely worth the money. If you've got the money and the time to read it, please go out and buy it.

Friday, January 6, 2006

My favorite NFL Player: CLINTON PORTIS

Sorry LaDanian, you've been replaced (perhaps until the season's end). How can this guy not be your favorite???



1. He has his own website. Whether you think it's vain or not is up to you.

2. He's a great NFL running back. He rushed for 1500+ his first two years in the league and he rushed for 1000+ his third and another 1500+ this year for my SKINS.

3. His mom punches out fans In Philly for that matter, where an Eagles fan might get killed for not yelling loud enough for the Eagles.

4. He comes up with wonderful characters every week for his press conference that seems to boost the morale for the entire team, make me laugh my a$$ off, and entertain the hell out of bloggers and sports commentators alike. Those press conferences alone make me wish the Skins advance another week. Check out his latest...

Public Service Announcement: Google knows where you live

This is just a warning to everyone that if you google your home phone number, you might be surprised what you find. I googled mine and it came up with my name and current address.

Not sure if anyone really cares about this, but just know that it's possible.

Thursday, January 5, 2006

Dave Chappelle Soundbard

Quite possibly the most dangerous thing on the Internet:

http://www.comedycentral.com/shows/chappelles_show/extras/chap_soundboard.jhtml

Rose Bowl

Is it just me or is Vince Young a DAMN BEAST!




WOW! I was impressed. While I was rooting for USC because I love Reggie Bush (and now love Lendale White). But I kept telling a co-worker of mine yesterday I'd be willing to bet on the 'Horns. But me, not being a real betting man, didn't seek out a taker. Oh well, opportunity lost I guess.

But the last two bowl games of this season have been GREAT! First my Seminoles lose and then USC loses. But they were both great games and really enjoyable to watch. I am glad I got a chance to see them both.

Question(s):

1. Why do college players like Reggie Bush and Vince Young make even other "good" college players look like characters in a video game? I mean, it was pretty pathetic how Vince "I am running in slow motion" Young was making the USC defenders look. At least Reggie Bush looks like he's running fast as hell

2. Why did the announcer at the game's end call Matt Leinart "Vince"?

3. Do you think Mr. Bush will come back another year to end his career on a national championship team? I mean, it's basically a choice between southern cal; bangin' girls, gaining another 1000 yards, and living it up VS playing for the Texans or 49ers making millions. If he goes pro, I guess we'll see if money can buy happiness.

BLOGLINES.COM

WWW.BLOGLINES.COM is a GREAT GREAT thing people! You should check it out.

Synopsis: This a website that allows you to choose blogs that you like and "subscribe" to them. Basically a subscription means that when you log into your bloglines account, you'll be able to see if that person's blog has made any additional entries. If so, their "subscription" will have a link to the new entries. For people like me who read blogs daily, this helps you a lot because you can go to a single website that knows all the blogs/websites (I'll get to websites in a second) you like to read and aggregates all the content into one place. It's BEAUTIFUL!!!

Okay, so not only can you subscribe to blogs, but you can subscribe to websites as well. If you see a website that has "RSS feeds" or has this image ...You can subscribe to this website via bloglines.com and every time new content is posted to that website, you'll get notified in your bloglines account. Again, I can't speak enough on how much this helps you out when it comes to surfing your usual websites for content.

There are other things you can do in bloglines.com as well, but I use it primarily to organize the blogs/websites I read daily. It's not that hard to set up and if you visit a lot of blogs/websites on a regular basis, it may help you out a lot. Check it out when you have some time.

NOTE: Not all websites will have RSS feeds or XML content. You will not be able to subscribe to these sites via bloglines.

Change of Face

In case you haven't noticed, the look of my blog has changed. Just the look though, not the content (I know you people love the corny random crap I talk about). Anyway, there's a story behind this...

Most of you know I'm a web developer by day and a malnourished stripper-in-training by night (laugh, please! Cuz that's sooooo funny. It's a J/K people). So during my day I do normal work and I *sometimes* visit other people's blogs, check my yahoo mail and gmail. And OCCASSIONALLY, I post a new entry on my blog.

However, at my job we just had a new firewall put in at the job. However, there have been some issues with the firewall so it's really screwed up the Internet connection for people in the office. By the way, my next blog entry will be my resume since I'll probably get fired for this entry. Anyway, I was trying to update my blog a week or so ago at the job and when I saved the changes, because of the firewall glitches, only half of my blog got saved. So it erased all my album reviews, links to my friends blogs, and other random stuff that was on the right-hand sidebar (I'm crying RIGHT NOW).

So I had to pick a brand new template and start my blog design all over again (the crowd sighs for me...Yes, they sure do). So that's why the blog now looks much brighter with the white, grey, orange, and blue. Of course I am going to customize everything to my liking over the next couple of weeks so hopefully you guys will like it.

HOLLA BLACK!

Wednesday, January 4, 2006

First post of the New Year

No pictures...No resolutions...Just a request. Go out and cop the new GOAPELE CD (Change It All)!!!! NOW...Like right now! It's $7.99 on BestBuy.com and it's like $9 at Best Buy. And get the old one too, it's entitled Even Closer. I promise you that you won't waster your money or regret the purchase.

Here's an article if you need more info:

http://www.allhiphop.com/alternatives/index.asp?ID=248