July 8, 2009

Which Is Worse?

stallworthSTAR691-michael-vick

So I just joined a new online community (new to me anyway) called Fan IQ. I have never really been a sports fan, but it seemed interesting when I got the invite. I’ve since invited some friends of mine to join and a few did. I guess it’ll be just another way to keep in touch. Anyway, moving on to the point of this post: A fellow Fan member, %100 InjuryRate, wrote an excellent article titled “Time To Ask A Serious Question. Who’s Worse: Vick Or Stallworth?”.

(http://www.faniq.com/blog/Donte-Stallworth-or-Michael-Vick-Who-Is-Worse-Blog-25736#comments)

After reading the article, I thought about the question and what I personally thought was the worst of the two. I’m went with Vick on this one. When the author asked the question “is intention the key here?”, it begged to be answered YES

No one is devaluing human life. It is precious and irreplaceable. The victim was important to someone. However, as I stated in the comment section, we cannot overlook the fact that Stallworth didnt intend to harm anyone, whereas Vick, victims’ species type aside, did.

I’d like for you readers to read the article and answer the question. Which crime is the lesser of two evils?

July 7, 2009

A Sample of My Writing

Okay, after pondering and pondering over it, I’ve decided to share some of my writing with you. I was never going to because Uno.) I never wanted the criticism/backlash  B.) I just never thought I was ready and 3.) It isn’t copyrighted and if it was good, I didn’t want mofos stealing my shit! LOL!  But after reading a monthly newsletter I get from this writing course, I decided to step out on faith. So anyway, here it goes. And don’t just read it, please tell me what you think. Give me your HONEST opinions in the comment section.

I gotta stay focused. Gotta do what I came here to do. This is my first time out so I’m nervous as fuck. But I’m ready; have been for awhile now. It just took me a minute to get my mind right so I could do this and make it home alive. Once I heard the news report, I got on the phone with my old pal Charlie, a retired Secret Agent, now a part time security guard. A waste of a good talent, I know. But his tracking skills are priceless. And he never questions my requests. Dewayne Gibson is his name. Charlie was able to tell me this man’s life story in 20 minutes. No father, drug addict mother and a regular visitor to medium security on Hall Street was just the start. But he turns around to makes the worst decision of his life when decided to beat and rape that girl in Swansea a month ago. Something inside me just clicked. Maybe because she looks too much like my younger sister. Maybe because I needed that adrenaline rush that I’ve been missing since Iraq. I don’t know what it is but when I took a look at his mug shot and that dirty smirk on his face, I knew it was only a matter of time before I introduced myself to him.

It’s a nice night for a delivery. I’m geared up and ready to go. There’s enough gas in my motorcycle to get me to Swansea without a problem. Charlie called me yesterday to tell me that Gibson was out on bond. Perfect timing. He won’t be expecting this. And she won’t either. But before I hit Swansea, I need to stop off in Washington Park to see Buck, my artillery man. Charlie gave me the location and told me I should expect trouble. I figured my first time wouldn’t be easy. I tell my dog Chet to guard my one bedroom apartment with his life and I head off into the night. I exit off of 64 into Washington Park where Buck had me loaded and ready. He tries to pry, mostly because he hasn’t heard from me in awhile. We served in the war together and have been tight ever since we were sent home early together back in ‘05; his was an injury and mine was a death. I haven’t seen him since my sister’s funeral and I’m sure he thinks that because they never found her killer, I must be on some vengeance shit. That may have some truth to it, but I don’t plan on killing anyone. For me, it’s about justice. My brand. I try and think of what I wanted for my sister. She was a tough cookie and she didn’t go without a fight. I’m sure if she had a chance, she wouldn’t want anyone to make that bastard pay for what he did but herself. So even though I could’ve, I didn’t go for him. It would’ve been too obvious anyway. I remember being “watched” for months after her death by the local police. With my military background, the cops made sure I didn’t go off on my own to try to find him. They were so busy monitoring me, no wonder they still haven’t caught the guy.

 I told Buck I would chat with him later, hopped on my bike and headed for the highway. I can’t begin to tell you how many smokes I had on my ride. The military had me prepared for alot of shit but not anything this personal. Gibson wasn’t an enemy, he was prey.

 

Okay, let me have it.

 

July 6, 2009

Real Talk…

 

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With the vast amount of opinions floating around the net, including some of my own insignificant ramblings, its refreshing to read something that you simply cannot disaffirm. I may not always agree with RDB, but you MUST read his new post titled “The United States of Entertainment“.  Rawdawg flawlessly executed the perfect post that describes exactly what I’ve been feeling since day 2 of the news coverage following Mr. Jackson’s death. Sure it was shocking and it allowed us to truly reflect on the contributions he made to American music and appreciate his pop icon status. We’ve shared our pain and we’ve said our goodbyes. We’ve tributed and tributed and then tributed some more. But the world is still turning. The media needs to let his family heal and get back to keeping us informed of the other depressing shit going on around the globe. 

Well said, RawDizzle.

July 6, 2009

Text Messaging 101: The Idiot, I Mean, Beginners Course

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In today’ society, particularly amongst the younger generation (although my 53-year-old mother is coming along quite nicely) it is common place to find people using a variety of ways to communicate. My favorite, hands down, is texting. Texting for me alleviates unnecessary conversation and gets straight to the point. I don’t have to turn down my music or push mute on my TV. Texting is one of my many GODSENDS!

But CLEARLY there are some people who have no idea how to properly use this feature (although the average 13-year-old can put them up on game). They piss me off even more than those who don’t use  texting at all. So I decided to dedicate this post to the text message-challenged. Let’s get started, shall we?

1. Pay close attention to the number (either on the top or bottom of your phone screen), followed by a “/”, then another number. Example: my phone says 160/ 1 of 6. This means that I have 160 characters to type for 1 of 6 pages. Anymore than that will break up the message in 2 or more separate messages. Please try to limit your message to just one page people! Nothing is worse than getting a broken-ass text that I have to try and piece together to get the point. If you have THAT much to say, pick up the damn phone and call! (not sure if this feature is found on all cell phones. Check with your handy dandy notebook, read user guide, to see how this feature works on yours.)

2. I guess I should define what a CHARACTER is: a letter, number symbol and yes, in some cases, an empty space.

3. When attempting to abbreviate your text, please keep in mind that you are communicating YOUR thoughts to someone else. Abbreviate so that they will understand what the hell you’re trying to say. For instance, lets take the text “Are you still coming to the party?”. When abbreviated, it should read: “R u stll cmng 2 the prty?”.  PLEASE don’t try to abbreviate simple three-letter words like ‘the’. Also, don’t listen to these anuses who sit around and create these “abbreviation lists” and expect people to actually memorize/use it  First of all, they’re not so much abbreviations as they are acronyms; there’s a slight difference between the two. Check out this list of bullshit codes we’re expected to know but don’t (other than the standard LOL): http://www.webopedia.com/quick_ref/textmessageabbreviations.asp. Once you’ve checked it out, realize how ridiculous the shit is and simply abbreviate from here on out. Please and thank you.

 4. Promptness is a courtesy; EXTEND IT. It doesn’t take long to send a response to someone after receiving a text. If you simply cannot respond because of work or meetings, a simple “txt u ltr” will suffice. Nothing irritates me more than when someone is ignoring (that’s really what it is) a text and then when you speak to them, they use the “I was busy” excuse. Hey, newsflash–THAT’S WHAT TEXTING IS FOR!It’s a quick method to converse when you don’t have time for a lengthy discussion. Allow no more than an hour (and that’s being REEAAALLLLYYYYY generous) to get back to someone via text.  And finally, class…

5. TEXT ARGUING. I’m guilty of it.  Yeah I know…shoot me. But this wouldn’t be a proper lesson if I didn’t include this rule. Understand that arguing, in any method, activates your adrenal glands and increases your heart rate. You become fixated on the argument and everything else is secondary. This can be quite dangerous, especially while you’re driving. If you find yourself in an all out text war while driving, as have I , PULL OVER. I’m sure you don’t want to be dead AND mad all at the same time. Also when text arguing, understand that once you type it in and press SEND, you cant take it back. Be careful not to say anything that will sever your relationships for good, even if you are that pissed off. Take time to review your text as if you were person to potentially receive it; unless it is your intention to never speak to  that person again, delete or save a draft (if possible) and reconsider if you’re giving off the wrong vibe. Trust me on this one.

 

Alrighty! Class dismissed.

June 30, 2009

Is that SEXY?

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Okay so PopWife had a post asking readers “What is Hot?“  (I think his blog is slept on in a major way, but that’s just my opinion). I responded that I had the same question about the adjective SEXY. For the life of me, I can’t figure out exactly what SEXY means and to whom or to what does it apply. He then commented saying he understood and asked the rhetorical question “Is it SEXY to pay your bills on time?” LOL!

So I pondered for a moment longer on this subject. I asked myself  “ Self, what is SEXY to you?”  Then I answered, “I don’t know Nik, seeing as though I hardly ever use the word, except maybe when describing a dope pair of stilettos”.

I know if  I were to ever call a man SEXY, it would be because he looks like he’s a good lay…after all the prefix of SEXY is SEX. So is it safe to assume that’s that is the standard definition of the word?

As I told Mr. CraigJC, I absolutely find it SEXY for a man to pay his bills on time.  I also find it SEXY for a man to fix shit around the house. I find it really SEXY to see a man reading a book that doesn’t have pictures. Am I trippin?!

What’s SEXY to you? How is it defined? Is it often inappropriately used?

Be sure to head over to PopWife to check out this and other posts.

 

 

(pic jacked from some fitness website. And no, that’s not necessarily what I consider SEXY. I actually prefer a Dough-Boy belly)