Care.

Powerful piece that I ran across today...

Happy Friday!

There was a Black man, a White man, a Native American man, and a Latino man. All four of them were on top of a cliff discussing the difficulties that their people had gone through. The Native American said, "My people have suffered the most, and in Honor of what they have endured, I will fling myself off this cliff in hopes that my blood will change things." So he yelled "THIS IS FOR MY PEOPLE," and jumped off the cliff. The Latino, not wanting to be outdone, quickly looked at the other two and followed yelling "THIS IS FOR MY PEOPLE" and jumped off the cliff as well. The Black man was touched by this and decided it was his turn, so he yelled "THIS IS FOR MY PEOPLE" and pushed the White man off the cliff. -Anonymous.

Well, I thought it was funny. In other news: TGIF!

I Love My City, but Damn This Man.

Scandal is the word that I'd have to use if someone asked me to describe Kwame Kilpatrick's time as Detroit's Mayor. I'm sure he came in with good intentions. But he's not too hip about how to handle his personal affairs under public scrutiny. The man is very naive in thinking that late night parties with strippers, alleged infidelity, and the misuse of city funds would be private matters. Ugh. So he does it once again. And got the front page of Freep.com. Way to go Kwame.

From the Free Press:

Mayor Kilpatrick, chief of staff lied under oath, text messages show.

Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick and his chief of staff lied about their relationship last summer at a police whistle-blower trial that has cost the cash-strapped city more than $9 million, according to records obtained by the Free Press. The false testimony potentially exposes them to felony perjury charges, legal experts say.



Full-version of the story here.

Is it too early to give out the dummy award of 2008?

I've Got Writer's Block.

Immediate opening for a muse. Position requires extreme creativity, inner and outward beauty, the ability to think outside of the box, and willingness to be used at my leisure.

Must always be available, as hours vary - from dusk until down, be it 15 minutes or 25 hours in a single day. Vacation time is nonexistent. Payoff is minimal, benefits are rare, and generally in the form of a poem dedicated to your likeness.

Taking applications now. Metaphorical resumes must appeal to all five senses.

Thank you...

Does this mean no Heavy Metal?

I usually grow tired of waiting to get shot by Hannibal at the Good Times and Broke & Boujee parties. I stuck it out last week. By far, he's the freshest photographer.

Give a Hoot or Die.

Bush in office. Ridiculously high gas prices. Crime. A depleting ozone. War. Famine and disease. The AIDS epidemic. Global poverty. Genocide.

There are plenty of reasons to be bitter. Our current social, political, and economical climate gives some of us a multi-layered, thick skin that can't be permeated by the tears of grieving mothers, the cries of neglected children, or the whimpers of abused animals. The biggest challenge is keeping your soft spot in tact - in spite of all the bullshit.

"The opposite of good is not evil, it's apathy," is a bumper sticker quote that I live by. Indifference is a simple state of existence. It's no feat to have the power to walk around without a care in the world. As fucked up as people are, and as horrid as the conditions have the potential to become, it takes people who are strong enough to give a hoot, to turn things around.

Apathy changes nothing, homie. Give a damn, you selfish bastards.

Yes, I worked at PETA.

Long story short: PETA hired me as an Urban Marketing Coordinator in April of 2006.

I was the ONLY one handling ALL of the marketing, promotion, activist communication, and grassroots outreach for the "urban market." I was doing everything from going to various events in NYC, Cali, ATL, and Detroit to do outreach to writing and coordinating everything on our urban site. So, when the program didn't skyrocket within the first 7 months, and the money got tighter, I was cut. Of course they made up a BS reason as to why I was let go (apparently, not feeling safe enough to take the subway from Bed-Stuy to Manhattan at night to go to a party where I was to meet one of our Universal contacts was grounds for termination). I was fired in November of 2006.

Anyway, within weeks of my leaving, the site I was in charge of was totally gone. Big surprise.

PETA is good at what they do, but obviously they aren't willing to put any time, energy, or money into winning sympathies of black folk, which was clear from the undue focus they put on the Mike Vick situation. Not to say that Vick shouldn't be fucked up for what he did . But seeing that PETA already has a bad rap in the black community, you would think they would know when to shut the fuck up.

I'm still a staunch supporter of animal rights. Vegan 'til I die. But PETA can suck a horsie d*ck. If you're interested in AR issues, going veg, the horrors of animal testing and what products to stray from, I'd suggest the following sites:

The National Anti-Vivisection Society
Site for popular go-veg book, "Vegan Freak"
Site for no-nonsense guide for vegan eating, "Skinny Bitch"
Vegan Action
The Humane Society of the United States
Black vegetarian resource site
Choose Veg (dot) com

and my personal fav...

"Hip Hop for Love. Go Veg for Life"

I've Got My Bucket.

After seeing "The Bucket List" to I've been inspired to create my own. Some bullets are generic, while others are personal goals that have built up over my quarter of a decade.

Here goes*:

1. Visit Ghana or Kenya, chalk it up with the natives, and kiss the ground.
2. Climb a mountain.
3. Inspire as many people as possible. Directly or indirectly.
4. Organize a family reunion.
5. Write a screenplay, at least five novels, and three collections of poetry.
6. Create something that embodies my personality as a whole, and bury it.
7. Raise a family.

*List is by no means all-inclusive of the things I want to accomplish before I die.