Wednesday, April 30, 2008
Wednesday's Woman: Ibis Del Mar
So accept my humblest apologies for skipping Soulful Sunday this past Sunday and accept this peace offering of Ibis and a few R&B songs from a couple of R&B mixes that I found to be particularly solid. So today is going to be a hybrid of Soulful Sunday and Wednesday's Woman. Like you really need another day, right? Seven is plenty.
Also in case you haven't noticed there is a chatbox on the right side of the screen. You might have to scroll down to see it but if you can bear the inconvenience of putting your finger through the motions to get there you might drop me a line, let me know you're breathing and ain't just lurking for the sense of lurking. I won't bite. I promise.
Tuesday, April 29, 2008
Tueday's Top Ten
This Week: Top Ten Gulliest Movie Soundtrack Themes:
1.)One Hour Photo Theme
2.)Godfather Theme
3.)Rocky Theme
4.)Casino Theme
5.)James Bond Theme
6.)Donnie Brasco Theme
7.)Forrest Gump Theme
8.)Road To Perdition Theme
9.)Donnie Darko Theme
10.)Halloween Theme
I already know I'mma get some hate for not including "Beverly Hills Cop" but hey that's my list. You don't like it, tell me about it.
Have I Been Living Under a Rock?
Teacher Caught Having Sex With 3rd Student This Year
HILLSBOROUGH COUNTY -- Middle school teacher Stephanie Ragusa appeared in court again today after being charged with having sex with a minor.Damn, is this that bad an offense? You wouldn't take down the monkey bars or the swingset that the kids play with on recess, why would you put this woman in jail? She's servicing the playground. She's teaching the kids and well, teaching the kids sexual education. [Clipse]She's a legend in two games like Pee Wee Kirkland[/Clipse]. I know it's a double standard and that if it were a male teacher with a little girls the community would be chasing him down the street with pitchforks and brooms like Frankenstein but that's to me it's two vastly different things. If these little boys weren't getting it from this teacher they'd be harassing their female peers for it. This way, at least they satisfy their normal male curiosity and don't take away the innocence of the little girls who really ought to save it for as long as possible. Sometimes double standards are useful. This is one of those times. I'd be moved to violence if something like this went on at my niece's school, but if my nephew was doing work and not getting burned, ehhhhhhhh I think I would live.
She is being held without bond and will appear before a judge again on Friday morning for a bail revocation hearing.
According to reports, Ragusa was caught in the act with a boy she is accused of having sex with before.
This is the third time she has been arrested this year on these charges.
Ragusa reportedly went to the teen victim's house to discuss the criminal case against her and the two ended up having sex, according to the arrest affidavit.
Detectives arrested the 29-year-old just before 1 p.m. Monday.
Ragusa was first arrested on March 13th, for having sex with a 14-year-old boy.
She was arrested for a second time on April 15th for having sex with another student.
Ragusa was a teacher at Davidson Middle School, in Tampa.
Ragusa was charged last month after an investigation revealed that she had sex with a 15-year-old student while she was a teacher at Davidson Middle School between October 2006 and May 2007.
Investigators say she had sex with the student five times.
Deputies say the incidents began when the student was 14-years-old and continued until after his 15th birthday.
Officials say the victim was never a student of Ragusa and had met her while on the school campus.
By the way for those curious at home to how the chick looked, the three pictures I included in the post are of this chick. Not bad for a first kill for the little kid. The fact that she's smiling is telling, lol. All in all though, she doesn't look bad at all. I mean I haven't seen the kid or anything but I'm guessing the dude looked like Harry Potter or Dennis the Menace or some other pimple faced ugly student. You ask me, and that's just if you're asking, I'd say the kid, whoever that lucky soul is, overachieved. She looks like something some of my boys would be on the prowl for in the bar at last call. I'm not mad at ya, little boy. You gamed up a woman twice as old as you, better looking than you, had her coming back for more in the face of real jail time, had the girl grinning in her mugshots and the whole nation knows about your sexual exploits and conquests. I salute you.
Monday, April 28, 2008
Waiter, There's A Homo In My Soup (NBA Edition)
Jay-Z - Deshawn Stevenson Diss (Blow The Whistle)
This is getting corny, Jay sticking up for his boyfriend.
Stop Me If You've Heard This One Before...
How many Rev. Jeremiah Wrights does it take to screw in a lightbulb?
If you're expecting the punchline of this joke, I can't give you it but if you change the joke to "How Many Jeremiah Wright's Does It Take To Screw In A Barack Obama" the answer is one. That's all it takes. Jeremiah Wright is proving this by his unwillingness to remove himself from the mainstream media's spotlight long enough for the election to be over and then come out with the interviews and defend himself and exercise his 1st Amendment Right. When I look back on Obama's Speech on Race last month, I specifically remember Obama defending Wright to a certain degree. He implied that Rev. Wright came from a different time and lived in different set of realities in his lifetime and to dismiss everything he's been through would be to not even attempt to understand why he said the things he was caught on tape saying. He didn't throw the man under the bus. Obama very bravely put principle before political convenience. Apparently this was not good enough for Jeremiah Wright.
There's no doubt Rev. Wright has been getting a ton of attention and his personal stock will never be greater or at a higher premium than it is now. I get that. All that said, his own personal hurt feelings aren't greater than the Black Church as an institution and he shouldn't be throwing rocks as a singular entity and then running behind 'the black church's skirt' as he as been. He doesn't represent the black church wholesale. There certainly is a faction of the black church that acts, talks and follows his suit but Jeremiah Wright can't say the entire infrastructure is being attacked because of his lone stances and quotes made as an individual speaking on behalf of himself . You wanna know how I can say he was speaking on behalf of himself? Because even if you play some of the clips from his sermon the Sunday after Sept. 11, if you watch the crowd and the people standing behind him as he goes into Jeremiah Wright Mode, not every stands up. Not everyone applauds. Not everybody is overcome with emotion in agreement. Some are but a lot aren't. Jeremiah Wright can't possibly speak for the black church if he can't speak completely for his OWN church. (See the video below for confirmation of the divided nature of his congregation)
The larger point is Barack Obama's candidacy for the United States of America is bigger than Jeremiah Wright. Obama's message of solidarity antiquates Jeremiah Wright. If Obama was any close friend, or person of reasonable acquaintance he should have the character to bite his tongue for the next couple months and then speak on his own behalf. The Reverend needs to play like his last name and publish a book; a LONG book; a book that should take him a few months to write. That would be the right thing to do if you feel you haven't been sufficiently defended or represented. Giving the media more bad soundbytes does little to help your cause or Obama's so why continue upon this trail? I'm beginning to think you're on the Clinton Payroll.
Point check, this campaign isn't about you. This isn't about God. This isn't about the black church. It's about the guy in those soundbytes from 2001 who said those things that created such an uproar. Find me a mirror and I'll introduce you two. Stop making what you said and your problems into other people or other faction's problems. You're in your late 60's. You really ought to know and show better.
Sunday, April 27, 2008
Soulful Sunday
2001 Cincinnati Bengals NFL Draft
- Rudi Johnson
- Chad Johnson
- T.J Houshmanzadeh
- Justin Smith
Oh Well.
This year they drafted:
1 | 9(9) | Keith Rivers | OLB | USC |
Rivers doesn't have as much potential as some of the other linebackers in this class, but he's clearly the most complete player in this year's outside linebacker class. Also, he is the kind of player a team wants in its locker room representing the organization. He doesn't have elite top-end speed and he isn't much of a playmaker, but Rivers reads his keys quickly, gets to the ball and doesn't miss open-field tackles. He's going to be better in zone coverage than in man coverage, but he isn't going to get caught out of position very often. | ||||
2 | 15(46) | Jerome Simpson | WR | COAST CAROLINA |
We are surprised that Simpson came off the board earlier than Limas Sweed, DeSean Jackson and Malcolm Kelly. Simpson isn't a great route runner and he played at a small school, so he faces a steeper learning curve. On the plus side, he has adequate size and the frame to get even bigger. He also has good speed, tracks the ball well and can make a spectacular catch. | ||||
3 | 14(77) | Pat Sims | DT | AUBURN |
The biggest knock on Sims is he tends to wear down too quickly. He has tendency to come out of his stance too high when he gets tired. He also has some problems locating the ball. However, he's quick for his size when he's fresh and he flashes the ability to shed blocks quickly. | ||||
3 | 34(97) | Andre Caldwell | WR | FLORIDA |
Caldwell had problems staying healthy and you would've liked to see him make more plays downfield considering his excellent speed. However, he's quick enough to get open underneath and catches the ball fairly well. He also runs hard after the catch. | ||||
4 | 13(112) | Anthony Collins | OT | KANSAS |
Collins has good size with the frame to get bigger. He is a developmental prospect who will have to learn to play on the right side. The Bengals add depth to the offensive line with this pick, as there are concerns about Willie Andrews and Levi Brown, who didn't play up to speed last year | ||||
5 | 10(145) | Jason Shirley | DT | FRESNO STATE |
This is a surprising pick because Shirley comes with serious character issues. In addition, he is raw and tends to ware down quickly. Although we see this as a reach, he does possess good size and is very quick when fresh. | ||||
6 | 11(177) | Corey Lynch | S | APPALACHIAN ST |
He isn't big enough to line up in the box and he doesn't have great man-to-man coverage skills. However, he is a sound tackler who fills hard in run support, makes the occasional big play on defense and will contribute on special teams. | ||||
6 | 41(207) | Matt Sherry | TE | VILLANOVA |
His size causes matchup problems for safeties. He can make plays downfield and has good hands, but he offers little as a blocker at this point. | ||||
7 | 37(244) | Angelo Craig | OLB | CINCINNATI |
He shows adequate upper-body strength, times snaps extremely well and gets a quick jump off the edge. He moves well laterally and takes sound pursuit angles to the ball. He plays with a mean streak and competes from snap to whistle. He is primarily used as a pass rusher and is going to struggle initially adjusting to the speed of the NFL level. | ||||
7 | 39(246) | Mario Urrutia | WR | LOUISVILLE |
He was injured as junior but still elected to come out early. He catches the ball very well and is a red zone threat. He has strong hands and surprisingly good feet for a big wideout. He has marginal top-end speed, though, and like most big receivers he struggles to separate from coverage. |
Anyway, Soulful Sunday has arrived with me away from my desktop. No desktop = no music.
Check back later this week for what I owe you today.
Classic
Take some time from your Sunday to share a laugh with your boy.
Friday, April 25, 2008
Justice Doesn't Live Here
This issue isn't that 2 of the 3 cops that shot Sean Bell to death were black themselves, the issue is the mindset that allows for the system to not provide equal punishment under the law for killing, maiming, hurting, harassing black people at the same rate of other ethnicities. I now pray the family gets a nice settlement out of the later civil suit against the officers for the manslaughter of a year and a half ago instead of justice of the litigious nature that flew out the courtroom this morning like a fart in the wind. What have the events of the last 24 hours taught us? Apparently shooting an unarmed man 50 times is more permissible than tax evasion under the law (Once again, Wesley you got a raw deal, man.)
I tell white friends that being black is like playing basketball and getting hacked while the referees sit and choke on their whistles and rarely see fouls being committed. Being black is playing in front of an audience that can only be categorized as an away crowd, the entire game unfolding before them, the refs, fouls and all, that rarely help point out to the officials what's really happening out there. Really it's quite frustrating. There's a fine line you have to walk in stating your case too, for fear of looking like Tim Duncan. Don't get me wrong, Tim is a great player and will inevitably go down as an all-time great and probably the best at his position, it's just that if you let him tell it via his facial expressions on the court he's never committed a foul and thus doesn't know what language you're speaking when one's called against him but when he's fouled not only does he know what a foul is and that it's happened to him, he wants to know why you don't seem to.
Blacks don't even bother half the time to point out every ticky tacky situation their put in on a daily basis that works to their chagrin. Some offenses, agitating as they maybe, blacks silently find tolerable in the larger sense in a trade to gain credibility when bringing up larger points of unfairness at later dates. This is the kind of thing that creates a different experience for blacks in America separate from the experience of white Americans and further divides.
So here we are a month removed from the greatest speech ever given on race relations in the United States by a politician, and were presented with an opportunity like today to really test and see if people were actually listening to what Sen. Obama was speaking to and I'll leave you with your own judgment on that.
A Couple Noteworthy Tidbits From Thursday
Apparently I'm the last person on the face of the planet that didn't know Wesley Snipes was in the midst of a federal investigation that culminated in a sentencing today. Apparently he received three years.
I'm real sorry to see this. Really I am. Three years for tax charges? Seems a bit excessive for a non-violent misdemeanor. People have been shot and maimed and the perpetrators have received way less time. Three years is a lot of time to give if you're a black man. That's about 4% of your life expectancy.
Well I'm rooting for you Wesley even if your movies suck and you haven't really been a part of a good one in a decade. Here's hoping your next role is more like Monroe Hutchens in Undisputed than Noxeema Jackson in To Wong Foo Thanks for Everything, Julie Newmar. Afterall, I'd hate to hear Passenger 57 became Passenger 69 in the pokey.
Thursday, April 24, 2008
Rapidshare Hates America & Wants Us To Lose The War On Terror
proves it for me. Why else would they make it that much more difficult to download something from their site. I'm trying to grab the last part to "Welcome Home Roscoe Jenkins" not trying to play "Where's Waldo" with cats, man. This is weak, rapidshare.
Terrell Owens Worries About His Pious Reputation
SOUTH BEACH, Fla. - Dallas Cowboys wide receiver Terrell Owens is suing gossip site TheDirty.com for posting a photo of him on a Bang Bros. porn set.
The picture of a grinning Owens was snapped when the player "apparently walked into an adult photo shoot taking place in Miami's South Beach," according to TMZ. The Dirty.com posted the photo April 22 with the caption: "What do you know, another football player who does not take his off season seriously?"
Owens' attorney Allan M. Lerner sent an angry cease-and-desist letter to TheDirty.com demanding that the "misleading and nonconsensual" photo be removed, claiming the football star was "unaware when the snapshot was taken that it would appear on the web or link him to the adult entertainment industry."
Lerner argues that the posting constitutes an attempt to "disrepute and smear" his client's reputation.
"We therefore demand that you immediately remove the photographs and the references from your website, state to your public that these photographs linking Mr. Owen to porn were not done with his consent," the letter concluded.
The picture remained on the site this morning.
Word, Son? I guess after calling Jeff Garcia a 'Fag' and poisoning the Philadelphia Eagles locker room a short time ago and almost evenly dividing the team between you and Donovan McNabb you're somehow worried about your image now?
Judging from that grin you got plastered on your mug, you certainly knew what was up. Even if you weren't there when the deal went down with company present in the photo, you definitely went there in your mind.
Here's a tip for free. Worry more about catching passes from Tony Romo instead of catching flashes from cameras in the future. You see cameras, duck from time to time. Friendly media has long since waived bye-bye to you so you've got to now live with the assumption that whenever people want a flick of your likeness it can't be good for you. Be practical.
Wednesday, April 23, 2008
Wedneday's Woman: (Remix)
Beautiful Scenery:
Brazil doesn't play. I told y'all.
Wednesday's Woman: Ildi Silva
Brazil is killing the world in terms of beautiful women. Like running laps around countries. Ugly is about to be the new beauty down there, it's getting so played out to be gorgeous there I bet. You won't even be hurting the game unless you got a ugly fat chick up under your arm in the next decade in South America. Anyway, I'm going to probably drop another installment later today since there wasn't much by way of photos of this lady and I look out so check back in a hour or so.
Tuesday, April 22, 2008
And "No We Can't" Wins Again...
Day 46 Of OchoCinco-Gate
Bengals coach Marvin Lewis -- who disputed the report of trade offers for Johnson -- says the disgruntled receiver should keep his word and sit out the season. "I've stated our case with Chad," Lewis said. "He has a contract through 2011. He's stated without an opportunity to go to a different team and a new contract, he wasn't going to play. I think he's a man of his word and says he's not going to play, so don't play."
I say, good for Marvin. Stand your ground and be firm. You let this guy walk all over you and everybody else who want new contracts will pop up from now to kingdom come and you'll have to bend over and take it every year from them. The players can't run the asylum. I'm proud of you Marv, for the first time in a long time. This is the gulliest I've seen you look since you've been here. Stay giving Chad the dookie face. You have the upper hand in this. He's signed through the next couple seasons so if he's going to play in the NFL he "gotsta go thru us" to get on the field. We're not going to release him, we're not going to take some watered down deal where we get less money on the dollar for him because teams know he's disgruntled and they see an opportunity in our misfortune. Either he plays for us and improves his stock and keeps his head down and doesn't become a malcontent and he can earn his freedom next offseason after his market value goes up or he can sit for the next three years. Anything short of that, fuck him.
Monday, April 21, 2008
Air Yeezy's....
My Vote's for Obama (if I could vote) ...by Michael Moore
(Source)
Friends,
I don't get to vote for President this primary season. I live in Michigan. The party leaders (both here and in D.C.) couldn't get their act together, and thus our votes will not be counted.
So, if you live in Pennsylvania, can you do me a favor? Will you please cast my vote -- and yours -- on Tuesday for Senator Barack Obama?
I haven't spoken publicly 'til now as to who I would vote for, primarily for two reasons: 1) Who cares?; and 2) I (and most people I know) don't give a rat's ass whose name is on the ballot in November, as long as there's a picture of JFK and FDR riding a donkey at the top of the ballot, and the word "Democratic" next to the candidate's name.
Seriously, I know so many people who don't care if the name under the Big "D" is Dancer, Prancer, Clinton or Blitzen. It can be Mickey Mouse, Donald Duck, Barry Obama or the Dalai Lama.
Well, that sounded good last year, but over the past two months, the actions and words of Hillary Clinton have gone from being merely disappointing to downright disgusting. I guess the debate last week was the final straw. I've watched Senator Clinton and her husband play this game of appealing to the worst side of white people, but last Wednesday, when she hurled the name "Farrakhan" out of nowhere, well that's when the silly season came to an early end for me. She said the "F" word to scare white people, pure and simple. Of course, Obama has no connection to Farrakhan. But, according to Senator Clinton, Obama's pastor does -- AND the "church bulletin" once included a Los Angeles Times op-ed from some guy with Hamas! No, not the church bulletin!
This sleazy attempt to smear Obama was brilliantly explained the following night by Stephen Colbert. He pointed out that if Obama is supported by Ted Kennedy, who is Catholic, and the Catholic Church is led by a Pope who was in the Hitler Youth, that can mean only one thing: OBAMA LOVES HITLER!
Yes, Senator Clinton, that's how you sounded. Like you were nuts. Like you were a bigot stoking the fires of stupidity. How sad that I would ever have to write those words about you. You have devoted your life to good causes and good deeds. And now to throw it all away for an office you can't win unless you smear the black man so much that the superdelegates cry "Uncle (Tom)" and give it all to you.
But that can't happen. You cast your die when you voted to start this bloody war. When you did that you were like Moses who lost it for a moment and, because of that, was prohibited from entering the Promised Land.
How sad for a country that wanted to see the first woman elected to the White House. That day will come -- but it won't be you. We'll have to wait for the current Democratic governor of Kansas to run in 2016 (you read it here first!).
There are those who say Obama isn't ready, or he's voted wrong on this or that. But that's looking at the trees and not the forest. What we are witnessing is not just a candidate but a profound, massive public movement for change. My endorsement is more for Obama The Movement than it is for Obama the candidate.
That is not to take anything away from this exceptional man. But what's going on is bigger than him at this point, and that's a good thing for the country. Because, when he wins in November, that Obama Movement is going to have to stay alert and active. Corporate America is not going to give up their hold on our government just because we say so. President Obama is going to need a nation of millions to stand behind him.
I know some of you will say, 'Mike, what have the Democrats done to deserve our vote?' That's a damn good question. In November of '06, the country loudly sent a message that we wanted the war to end. Yet the Democrats have done nothing. So why should we be so eager to line up happily behind them?
I'll tell you why. Because I can't stand one more friggin' minute of this administration and the permanent, irreversible damage it has done to our people and to this world. I'm almost at the point where I don't care if the Democrats don't have a backbone or a kneebone or a thought in their dizzy little heads. Just as long as their name ain't "Bush" and the word "Republican" is not beside theirs on the ballot, then that's good enough for me.
I, like the majority of Americans, have been pummeled senseless for 8 long years. That's why I will join millions of citizens and stagger into the voting booth come November, like a boxer in the 12th round, all bloodied and bruised with one eye swollen shut, looking for the only thing that matters -- that big "D" on the ballot.
Don't get me wrong. I lost my rose-colored glasses a long time ago.
It's foolish to see the Democrats as anything but a nicer version of a party that exists to do the bidding of the corporate elite in this country. Any endorsement of a Democrat must be done with this acknowledgement and a hope that one day we will have a party that'll represent the people first, and laws that allow that party an equal voice.
Finally, I want to say a word about the basic decency I have seen in Mr. Obama. Mrs. Clinton continues to throw the Rev. Wright up in his face as part of her mission to keep stoking the fears of White America. Every time she does this I shout at the TV, "Say it, Obama! Say that when she and her husband were having marital difficulties regarding Monica Lewinsky, who did she and Bill bring to the White House for 'spiritual counseling?' THE REVEREND JEREMIAH WRIGHT!"
But no, Obama won't throw that at her. It wouldn't be right. It wouldn't be decent. She's been through enough hurt. And so he remains silent and takes the mud she throws in his face.
That's why the crowds who come to see him are so large. That's why he'll take us down a more decent path. That's why I would vote for him if Michigan were allowed to have an election.
But the question I keep hearing is... 'can he win? Can he win in November?' In the distance we hear the siren of the death train called the Straight Talk Express. We know it's possible to hear the words "President McCain" on January 20th. We know there are still many Americans who will never vote for a black man. Hillary knows it, too. She's counting on it.
Pennsylvania, the state that gave birth to this great country, has a chance to set things right. It has not had a moment to shine like this since 1787 when our Constitution was written there. In that Constitution, they wrote that a black man or woman was only "three fifths" human. On Tuesday, the good people of Pennsylvania have a chance for redemption.
Yours,Michael Moore
Sunday, April 20, 2008
He's So Articulate...
For the record I rarely ever, if at all, jump to the conclusion that the white person who says this to or about a black person is bigoted. I just think people who say this as a compliment are just clueless. What type of protruding forehead blank-faced idiots do you associate yourself with that this person is especially articulate in comparison? Do you and your friends talk in charades and act out every thought you have like mimes because words escape you? Do you and these simpletons walk around with sticks and drag sandboxes everywhere you go so you can draw out everything you think?
That's the only objectionable thing I can see as far as that half-compliment. Nothing racial about it, just demeaning. It means you've surpassed some alarmingly low litmus test of intelligence.
Imagine it.
"Putting a sentence together. So easy, a caveman could do it". Word to Geico.
And yes I was called articulate today. :(
White Pastor (Friend of Jeremiah Wright) Sons O'Reilly & FOXNews
I know everybody doesn't have the time or capacity of interest to watch anything more than 4 minutes but watch this for 2 minutes if you can. Watch FOXNews try to shape the dialogue about Rev. Jeremiah Wright and watch how Rev. Michael Pfleger flip it right back on him.
FOXNews Lost.
Soulful Sunday
Another Sunday, Another Handful of Musical Goodies. Enjoy
Case f/ Joe - Faded Pictures
Jodeci - Freakin' You
Dru Hill f/ Case - Beauty (Remix)
Eric Roberson - Head To Toe
Oh yeah, I don't make it a point to go this route but I've been doing this for a little while here and I've been holding yall down so tell your friends about the spot, link me, bookmark me and hold me down too. I appreciate yall and I got some different kinds of changes around here in the next week or so so stick around. I plan on making it real interesting.