Growing Pains: Holidays

Still in the throes of the infancy of adulthood, I find myself still struggling to get some adult-type things figured out. Some things, like paying bills, I have down pat. Other things, like grocery shopping, are still a bit of a mystery. It’s not that I don’t do it; it’s just that I don’t have much of a strategy.

Do you shop for particular meals? Should you focus on foods that don’t spoil quickly? How does the veritable cornucopia in my cart turn into pasta/rice, chicken and some vegetable multiple times a week? I just haven’t nailed this yet. On a semi-related note, the more time I spend at home in a professional and domestic capacity, the more I respect the crap out of stay-at-home spouses. Yikes.

Shawty Snappin’: Drank for the Kids!

The homie Leigh Davenport put me onto this righteous expedition and I had to do the do with it. PLEASE take the time to read and pass this along!
As you may know, I am serving on the Host Committee of the NYC ACT-SO Opening Ceremony: Cocktails for a Cause fundraiser taking place on November 17, 2009 at Tillman’s NYC.

The NYC ACT-SO program has been one of the most accomplished in the nation with over 6,000 New York City high school participants since its inception. This year, the NYC ACT-SO Chapter expects to work with over 350 students in 15 separate workshops, beginning in January 2010.  Famous ACT-SO alumni include John Singleton, Jada Pinkett, Kanye West, Lauryn Hill, Roy Hargrove and Anthony Anderson.

Please help us raise our $15,000 fundraising goal by purchasing a ticket to The Opening Ceremony.  This event will bring over 200 professional and civic-minded people together to celebrate the ACT-SO program and launch the 2010 program year.  Tickets are $40.00 and include a complimentary drink, light hors d’oeuvres, amazing raffle opportunities and gift bags. The event will also feature spectacular performances and awe-inspiring presentations by NYC ACT-SO’s national medal winners.  Tickets are available at by visiting our event web page at http://theopeningceremony.eventbrite.com/.

If you cannot attend but still wish to make a donation to the program please visit the NYC ACT-SO blog at www.olympicsofthemind.org where you can make a donation by clicking the Donate button at the upper right side of the page; or you can go to directly to our paypal page by clicking the following link https://www.paypal.com/cgi-bin/webscr?cmd=_s-xclick&hosted_button_id=8913156

In these trying economic times our schools are facing many cutbacks particularly the omissions of enrichment programs that give students the opportunities to nurture their talents.  The ACT-SO program fills that void and gives students a chance to feel valued for their minds.  Please support this years Olympics of the Mind and join us November 17, 2009 at Tillman’s NYC.   We ask that purchases/donations be made in advance of the event so we may have an accurate headcount for the intimate affair.

ACT-SO is an acronym for Academic, Cultural, Technological – Scientific Olympics (Olympics of the Mind).  This academic and cultural enrichment program provides high school students an opportunity to compete in over 26 categories in the Sciences, Humanities, Performing and Visual arts. Founded by award winning journalist and NAACP activist Vernon Jarrett in 1977, ACT-SO has helped to destroy the cycle of low expectations and low achievement that plagues minority youth by providing a rigorous schedule of workshops and academic programs.

Queries: Abortion, Government and Choice

What do you mean I can't have babies?!

As we inch closer to health care reform, the reproductive rights of women are again a matter of debate (mostly among people who are not women.) The Pitts-Stupak Amendment, the brainchild of  Rep. Bart Stupak of Michigan (D) and Joe Pitts of Pennsylvania was passed along with the bill last night, an amendment that would not cover abortion as part of a public health care option.

Many, including my buddy Melissa Harris-Lacewell, were outraged last night, and considered this a Prop 8-type body blow on a night that should be one of victory. As a Pitts (-Wiley) who is pro-choice, I couldn’t agree more. While Pitts and Stupak can attempt to spin this amendment any way they wish, it is decidedly anti-choice and another example of men who can’t have babies telling women who can what to do.

Me, Bart Stupak and Joe Pitts are not BFF right now in any way.

Killing In The Name Of…

Getting a lot of interesting feedback regarding my Nidal Malik Hasan post, and wanted to take the time to respond to some recurring themes in the responses.  I’m gonna tackle them piecemeal so as to hopefully be more clear.

• In initially writing on Hasan, I opened up the discussion with examples of sociopathic mass murders from all different cultural and ethnic backgrounds and I think my use of sensational figures may have overshadowed some of the point I was making. I used these famous killers to highlight the fact that, in my opinion, their mental health/states was infinitely more important than their cultural background. It wasn’t to say that they were of no relevance; rather, it was to say that they were not of supreme importance. I used names that would grab the attention of readers from jump, but may have erred in the parallel due to the fact that the examples I used were sociopaths in a class by themselves, a group to which Hasan may not belong.

Nidal Hasan: A Reader Responds

Reader Sylvia has a few thoughts on my post regarding Nidal Malik Hasan

Um… the Quran does say that, about a hundred times, e.g.:

Qur’an (9:123) – “O you who believe! fight those of the unbelievers who are near to you and let them find in you hardness.”

And according to witnesses he was yelling the infamous “Allahu Akbar” before he opened fire. Yes, he’s crazy, but his crazy had help. It’s also relevant that he was Middle Eastern. According to colleagues and contacts, he didn’t want to enter that theatre as part of an army fighting against  those he felt to be his own people. He had been desperate to get out of the service for some time because of the Iraq and Afghanistan wars, which is hardly crazy. They backed him into a corner, and it looks like he chose the glory of jihad as his way out (and he is already being glorified by like-minded Muslims). Maybe the army needs to look at whether they should compel people to fight (however indirectly) people of their own ethnicity if they don’t want to. It may be asking too much, especially in a fraudulent war.
These things are always complex, and we shouldn’t dismiss any factors just to make ourselves more comfortable. They all need to be looked at. Just saying “he’s crazy” is too simplistic. There may be things we can do to prevent these things if we look at them carefully and honestly.

Lots of good points here.

Nidal Malik Hasan: The Madness Time

Jeffrey Dahmer: Sociopath. And White.

John Allen Muhammed: Sociopath. And Black.

Richard Ramirez: Sociopath. And Mexican.

Seung-hui Cho: Sociopath. And Korean.

Do we see the commonality here?

Upon first hearing about the tragedy at Fort Hood yesterday, my first thought was that intra-army conflict is terrible for morale in the face of two wars being waged abroad. When members of a volunteer army start shooting bases up, that is not a good. Sporadic reports of the aftermath flowed in until the mother lode came through: the suspected gunman’s name.

Nidal Malik Hasan (which was first reported at Malik Nadal Hasan)

My eyes rolled in such a way that I’m surprised they remained in my head. My only thought: Good fucking grief.

Cleveland, You Know You F&@ked Up, Right?

If you’re not familiar with the story of Anthony Sowell, allow me to give the abridged version: He’s a convicted rapist and police just found the bodies of eleven people–ten of whom are Black women–in his house, a house situated in a Cleveland neighborhood.

How does a convicted rapist and registered sex offender who did fifteen years get away with such a thing? In an attempt to combat my knee-jerk “the authorities clearly just don’t give a damn” I attempted to hand out a bit of fail to all parties involved, namely, the neighbors, the police and the media.

The media angle is explained easily enough. Black women that go missing are not a story. As I sit, I can’t think of one national news story that involved a Black woman who has vanished. Compound that with the likelihood that Sowell’s victims were poor and you have a non-story. Boom, #MediaFail.

Gay Marriage: Maybe I’m Crazy Pills…

As I consider the issue of gay marriage, I find myself mulling over the definition of “law.” I understand that doing such a thing is nearly a study in psychopathy considering the fact that laws are defined by dominant culture, customs, beliefs, hope, fear, etc. Still, I mull.

In the case of gay marriage, I puzzle over why this matter is up for a vote at all.

Legally, marriage is a contract with the State–a State which allegedly separates itself from church matters. While the existence of God can be argued forever, what can’t be argued is that, in America, you have to get a license to get hitched. Just like you need one to drive a car.

Now, in order to get a drivers’ license–a State contract–you need to pass certain tests–providing a birth certificate, social security card, knowing the laws of the road, an eye exam. If you screw up, you can get your license revoked.

All of these measure are taken in the interest of public safety, which is reasonable. Improper use of a car can kill people. If someone wanted the necessity of drivers’ license placed on a ballot, they’d be laughed out of town.

So what of marriage? Do two men or two women getting married pose a threat? Is there a fear that they’ll take their marriage careening into a flea market while not producing children?

Hope Takes a Dirt Nap: The Right Strikes Back!

It was just a few months ago when people were discussing the GOP as it were a bygone epoch.

Last night’s voting results proved otherwise.

Lots of questions and conjecture swirl around these races and others. What is certain about is that the GOP has played these times since the inauguration beautifully. Like ‘Michael at the baptism’ good.

They were gracious for a few months while people reveled in the moment, then when the sparkles had worn off a bit, they went to work protecting their agenda and interests in whatever way they saw fit. They played bare-knuckle politics and let their hatchetmen and women go to work.

Golf Balls, Philosophically Speaking

The homie Dayo put me on to this gem. It seemed Wednesday worthy.

When things in your life seem almost too much to handle, when 24 hours in a day are not enough, remember the mayonnaise jar… and the coffee…

A professor stood before his philosophy class and had some items in front of him.  When the class began, wordlessly, he picked up a very large and empty mayonnaise jar and proceeded to fill it with golf balls.  He then asked the students if the jar was full.  They agreed that it was.

So the professor then picked up a box of pebbles and poured them into the jar.  He shook the jar lightly.  The pebbles rolled into the open areas between the golf balls.  He then asked the students again if the jar was full.  They agreed it was.

The professor next picked up a box of sand and poured it into the jar.  Of course, the sand filled up everything else.  He asked once more if the jar was full.  The students responded with a unanimous “yes.”

The professor then produced two cups of coffee from under the table and poured the entire contents into the jar, effectively filling the empty space between the sand.  The students laughed.

“Now,” said the professor, as the laughter subsided, ” I want you to recognize that this jar represents your life.  The golf balls are the important things-your God, family, your children, your health, your friends, and your favorite passions-things that if everything else was lost and only they remained, your life would still be full.  The pebbles are the other things that matter like your job, your house, and your car.  The sand is everything else-the small stuff.”

“If you put the sand into the jar first,” he continued, “there is no room for the pebbles or the golf balls.  The same goes for life.  If you spend all your time and energy on the small stuff, you will never have room for the things that are important to you.  Pay attention to the things that are critical to your happiness.  Play with your children.  Take time to get medical checkups.  Take your partner out to dinner.  Play another 18.  There will always be time to clean the house and fix the disposal. Take care of the golf balls first, the things that really matter.  Set your priorities.  The rest is just sand.”

One of the students raised her hand and inquired what the coffee represented.

The professor smiled.  “I’m glad you asked.  It just goes to show you that no matter how full your life may seem, there’s always room for a couple of cups of coffee with a friend.”