With the Holiday season in full swing, a number of people during this type of year, are caught up in the Christmas Spirit. This occurs when people are filled with happiness and cheer not only within themselves but they would also share that warmth with other folks. However, not everyone is wrapped up in the Christmas Spirit because the holidays reminds them about the loss of a family member(s), friend(s), family members that can't come home for Christmas
( ex. they moved to another city, state or country; they are in the military, etc.) or in these tough economic times, a family member or two can't celebrate Christmas because they lost their job, lost their house, or just can't afford to buy gifts. It is a rough time time right now, but they are some ways in this season to boost those holiday spirits and forget about your troubles, at least temporarily:
How To Get Into The Christmas Spirit
1. Turn on the radio and listen to Christmas Songs
Granted, some radio stations have been playing Christmas Songs since the day after Thanksgiving, and you might be sick of hearing a certain song because you have heard it a million times already, but there is nothing like listening and singing your favorite Christmas tunes.
2. Volunteer
Giving back to the community by helping of those in need is a great feeling to have, especially during the holiday season. You can donate your time to the Red Cross, Salvation Army, homeless shelters, Toys for Tots, serve food at food banks, hospitals, wrap Christmas gifts for people, or participate in any activity in your area. It's too bad that for some people the only time that they volunteer is in this season, where they should continue their act of goodwill throughout the whole year.
3. Make Christmas Cookies/Treats
The scent of a fresh batch of cookies coming straight out the oven just make you want to take them off the cookie sheet immediately and eat it, no matter how hot those cookies are. You can get in the mood of making Christmas cookies (chocolate chip, sugar, butter, peanut butter) brownies, doughnuts, cakes, pies, etc. and design some of the treats in different shapes
(ex. Christmas trees, reindeer, Santa Claus, Christmas Toys, Christmas presents, etc.)
4. Go To Different Neighborhoods and Stores and Look at Christmas Decorations
When it comes to Christmas time , people will decorate for the holiday and sometimes it seems like when it comes to certain neighborhoods, folks will make it a competition thing by trying to out top each other with the best display. It's fun to check out to see how people can create and use their Christmas props to make a great display in their front yard.
If you go to the mall, every store has a Christmas display in their window, or in their store for everyone to look at. A favorite memory of mine is going to Downtown Akron and looking at the Christmas display in the windows of O'Neils (later Kaufmann's) Department Store during the late '70s-early'80s. Polsky's Department store, located across the street, had a great display as well.
5. Go to the Mall or Shopping Center
Once you go inside a mall or shopping center, during the holiday season, you must taken the whole scene: the people, the stores, the Christmas music playing on the loudspeakers, the restaurants, the whole atmosphere. Trying to find a parking spot in park lot is not good especially if someone steals the spot that you want to get (you'll probably would like to show them some "holiday spirit' after that) but once you start walking around inside, your mood and
attitude will change immediately. Now, the best and worst times to start shopping is Christmas Eve, that when people are literally fighting each other for gifts (now that is a sight to see!)
6. Having A Picture With Santa Claus
It doesn't matter how old you are, whether you are an infant or 90 years old, getting your picture taking with the man in the red suit will always bring a happy feeling for everyone involved. Another memory of mine was when my mom took my brother and I (when we were younger) to O'Neils to sit on Santa's lap and to tell him what we wanted for Christmas, and after we took a picture with Santa, we went to Hough Bakeries to buy Christmas cookies, doughnuts and other goodies. Man, I miss those days!
Whenever you do during this season, find a way to go and out spread that holiday spirit to family, friends and everyone that you meet in public!
Wednesday, December 16, 2009
Monday, November 16, 2009
How to Solve The Poverty Problem in the United States
Recently, Americans received some sobering news about the unemployment rate in this country. The rate is now 10.2%, the first time the number crack the 10% mark since 1983 and despite that the recession is finally over ( the rate shows no signs of slowing down. Apparently, the media didn't get the memo that the unemployment rate had already reached double digits well over a year ago for both African-Americans (currently at 15%) and Latinos (currently at 12%.) I wonder why is that the number is higher for both groups when in comparison to the national figures? Hmmm....now that is a topic that will be discussed at another time. What I am going about in this post is poverty, specifically, how to slow down or even lower the poverty rate in this country.
Poverty's Paradise
Poverty has been a part of this nation's history for centuries, whenever if the economy was really good, or when it is near depression-type numbers (like it is right now) and it is not going anywhere anytime soon. This post will illustrate my ideas on how to lower the poverty in the United States. By any means I am not United States Secretary of Treasury Timothy Geithner or former Chairman of the United States Federal Reserve Alan Greenspan, but I have some thoughts (radical, maybe, we'll see about that) on the subject.
The Ideas:
1. Equal Pay For Equal for all people
There is a bill that ensures equal pay for everyone regardless of the job, however it seems that the glass ceiling has been cracked, but it has not been broken for both women and minorities in the labor force in 2o09. Yes, there are cases that women and minorities make as much money as men, sometimes more, but that percentage is low and a man usually make the most money between the two groups majority of the time. In my opinion, if a woman, a minority and a man has the same job title at the same company,with similar skills and earn the same college degree(s), then everyone should receive equal pay for their work, and that person's race, gender or ethnicity should never became a factor on why they earn less than a man. If there a case where a company/corporation/organization actually base their salary scale on their employee's gender or skin color, then they will be held accountable for their actions and will face severe punishment (firing/suspension/fine.)
2. Give the CEO a ultimatum
It is always something that when you hear that the day a CEO retires, they receive their base salary (with a bonus attached to it )along with a retirement or severance package, which earns them millions of dollars. If you are an employee and you hear that the boss is getting paid like that, and you look at your paycheck, you have to be ticked off, to say the least. In my opinion, when a CEO retires, they must decide which paycheck that they want to keep between the base salary and the retirement package. Once they make that decision, the money that is left over, will be place back in the company/corporation so that they can hire new workers and create more jobs. The goal here is to bring in as many people into the work force as possible and make a lot of money at the same time.
3. Trust Fund
One of the many reasons why poverty has never gone away is because there is
a continuous cycle among families that one generation is just as poor as the previous one and the next generation is going to face the same financial struggle as the first group and so on and so on etc. There has to be a way to break the chains of poverty that has plagued so many families throughout the years. One way is to establish a trust fund for all children the moment they start kindergarten, where each child will receive the same base amount and that money will go to the fund in her or his name. Once they start first grade, they that where it is going to get interesting. Each child will receive money for every good grade they earn in the classroom, but they will not lose any money if they earn bad any grades at school. Basically, a student will not lose nor earn any money in their trust fund they receive bad grades, they just get rewarded for their high grades in class. The money accumulated in the trust fund will last until the student graduates from high school, and once graduation day comes, the student can use the funds for variety of things (ex. go on to college, start a business, buy a house, buy a car, etc.) as long as that person uses the money wisely and not blow it on stupid stuff. The cycle of poverty has to end sometime and needs to stop now.
Conclusion
Those ideas stated above are ways, in my opinion, to lower the poverty rate in the United States. Will a politician use my ideas to fight poverty, I can't answer that, but would be great to see if anyone would try out at least one of my ideas and see what happens.
Poverty's Paradise
Poverty has been a part of this nation's history for centuries, whenever if the economy was really good, or when it is near depression-type numbers (like it is right now) and it is not going anywhere anytime soon. This post will illustrate my ideas on how to lower the poverty in the United States. By any means I am not United States Secretary of Treasury Timothy Geithner or former Chairman of the United States Federal Reserve Alan Greenspan, but I have some thoughts (radical, maybe, we'll see about that) on the subject.
The Ideas:
1. Equal Pay For Equal for all people
There is a bill that ensures equal pay for everyone regardless of the job, however it seems that the glass ceiling has been cracked, but it has not been broken for both women and minorities in the labor force in 2o09. Yes, there are cases that women and minorities make as much money as men, sometimes more, but that percentage is low and a man usually make the most money between the two groups majority of the time. In my opinion, if a woman, a minority and a man has the same job title at the same company,with similar skills and earn the same college degree(s), then everyone should receive equal pay for their work, and that person's race, gender or ethnicity should never became a factor on why they earn less than a man. If there a case where a company/corporation/organization actually base their salary scale on their employee's gender or skin color, then they will be held accountable for their actions and will face severe punishment (firing/suspension/fine.)
2. Give the CEO a ultimatum
It is always something that when you hear that the day a CEO retires, they receive their base salary (with a bonus attached to it )along with a retirement or severance package, which earns them millions of dollars. If you are an employee and you hear that the boss is getting paid like that, and you look at your paycheck, you have to be ticked off, to say the least. In my opinion, when a CEO retires, they must decide which paycheck that they want to keep between the base salary and the retirement package. Once they make that decision, the money that is left over, will be place back in the company/corporation so that they can hire new workers and create more jobs. The goal here is to bring in as many people into the work force as possible and make a lot of money at the same time.
3. Trust Fund
One of the many reasons why poverty has never gone away is because there is
a continuous cycle among families that one generation is just as poor as the previous one and the next generation is going to face the same financial struggle as the first group and so on and so on etc. There has to be a way to break the chains of poverty that has plagued so many families throughout the years. One way is to establish a trust fund for all children the moment they start kindergarten, where each child will receive the same base amount and that money will go to the fund in her or his name. Once they start first grade, they that where it is going to get interesting. Each child will receive money for every good grade they earn in the classroom, but they will not lose any money if they earn bad any grades at school. Basically, a student will not lose nor earn any money in their trust fund they receive bad grades, they just get rewarded for their high grades in class. The money accumulated in the trust fund will last until the student graduates from high school, and once graduation day comes, the student can use the funds for variety of things (ex. go on to college, start a business, buy a house, buy a car, etc.) as long as that person uses the money wisely and not blow it on stupid stuff. The cycle of poverty has to end sometime and needs to stop now.
Conclusion
Those ideas stated above are ways, in my opinion, to lower the poverty rate in the United States. Will a politician use my ideas to fight poverty, I can't answer that, but would be great to see if anyone would try out at least one of my ideas and see what happens.
Wednesday, November 11, 2009
2009 World Series Recap
I want to say congrats to the New York Yankees for winning this year's World Series. Okay, so I was a bit off with my prediction of Philadelphia taking the series in 6 games, but at least I can say that it was a very entertaining series to watch. I glad to see Yankees manager Joe Giradi finally get his do because this time last year, everyone tried to run the man out of town since it was his first year on the job and the Yanks missed the playoffs for the first time since 1993. This time around, everyone is now giving praise to Giradi, General Manager Brian Cashman and the players for their play during the series, especially after losing the first game.
A dynasty in the making?
Will this became a dynasty like the last Yankees squad, where the team won the World Series in 1996, 1998, 1999 and 2000. No, because at least with that team, there were a mixture of rookies, second-year players and a collection of veterans. This year's team has more veterans than younger players and the threat of players leaving the team due to free agency is always a possiblity. Despite that, I see the Yankees competing for the playoffs every year with other teams in the American League such as Los Angeles, Boston, Tampa Bay, Detroit, Chicago, Texas, Minnesota, Toronto and Baltimore ( it would be great to see Baltimore competive once again, unfortunately, the last decade has not been good to the Orioles with a series of last place finishes.)
A dynasty in the making?
Will this became a dynasty like the last Yankees squad, where the team won the World Series in 1996, 1998, 1999 and 2000. No, because at least with that team, there were a mixture of rookies, second-year players and a collection of veterans. This year's team has more veterans than younger players and the threat of players leaving the team due to free agency is always a possiblity. Despite that, I see the Yankees competing for the playoffs every year with other teams in the American League such as Los Angeles, Boston, Tampa Bay, Detroit, Chicago, Texas, Minnesota, Toronto and Baltimore ( it would be great to see Baltimore competive once again, unfortunately, the last decade has not been good to the Orioles with a series of last place finishes.)
Thursday, October 29, 2009
2009 World Series
The 2009 World Series have just started on Wednesday with the defending champion Philadelphia Phillies facing off against the New York Yankees. A lot of the sports columnists, sports talk hosts, etc. said that when the baseball playoffs began that the Yankees and the Los Angeles will both end up in the World Series because Joe Torre would face the team where he won four World Series titles with during his tenure there. Oops, it did not end up that way because the Phils took the Dodgers out in 5 games ( and I like Joe and the Dodgers, too.)
Who is the overall favorite to win it all?
Despite the fact that the Phillies won the title last year, the oddsmakers picked the Yankees to defeat them in the series. New York, a club that have won 26 World Series titles, has a collection of all-stars and high priced but yet very effective free agents, were able to have the best overall record in the 2009 Major League Baseball. The Phillies, a franchise who won-loss record is definitely something not to write home about (especially within the first 100 year history of the club) has been a major playoff contender for the last few years. However, during the regular season, it seemed that the critics have been sleeping on the champs and taking about the other team in the National League. In the end, look who ended up in the World Series, that's right: Philadelphia. The starters for game 1 were CC Sabathia and Cliff Lee. Right now in Ohio, a lot of Cleveland Indians fans are pretty much upset about this matchup because both Sabathia and Lee were in the Indians pitching rotation as recently as July 2008, right before CC was traded to the Milwaukee Brewers( who ended up going to the playoffs on the strength of his pitching performances) and Lee (along with Ben Francisco) was traded to Philly last July (Lee became another important piece to the Phillies run to the playoffs.) The Indians had both starting pitchers and couldn't keep at least one of them for their own rotation and now they are in the World Series together.
My choice to take the title
If I was a betting man, I would choose the Philadelphia Philles to beat the New York Yakees in seven games. It is going the distance, by I see the Phillies taking the 2009 crown. Granted I like the Yankees ( and that says a lot because living in Ohio you are supposed to hate the Yankees) but Philadelphia has shown in this year's playoffs that when the chips are down, they can find a way to rally together as a team and win the important games down the stretch.
Who is the overall favorite to win it all?
Despite the fact that the Phillies won the title last year, the oddsmakers picked the Yankees to defeat them in the series. New York, a club that have won 26 World Series titles, has a collection of all-stars and high priced but yet very effective free agents, were able to have the best overall record in the 2009 Major League Baseball. The Phillies, a franchise who won-loss record is definitely something not to write home about (especially within the first 100 year history of the club) has been a major playoff contender for the last few years. However, during the regular season, it seemed that the critics have been sleeping on the champs and taking about the other team in the National League. In the end, look who ended up in the World Series, that's right: Philadelphia. The starters for game 1 were CC Sabathia and Cliff Lee. Right now in Ohio, a lot of Cleveland Indians fans are pretty much upset about this matchup because both Sabathia and Lee were in the Indians pitching rotation as recently as July 2008, right before CC was traded to the Milwaukee Brewers( who ended up going to the playoffs on the strength of his pitching performances) and Lee (along with Ben Francisco) was traded to Philly last July (Lee became another important piece to the Phillies run to the playoffs.) The Indians had both starting pitchers and couldn't keep at least one of them for their own rotation and now they are in the World Series together.
My choice to take the title
If I was a betting man, I would choose the Philadelphia Philles to beat the New York Yakees in seven games. It is going the distance, by I see the Phillies taking the 2009 crown. Granted I like the Yankees ( and that says a lot because living in Ohio you are supposed to hate the Yankees) but Philadelphia has shown in this year's playoffs that when the chips are down, they can find a way to rally together as a team and win the important games down the stretch.
Balloon Boy Bursts into Oblivion
I know that everyone has heard about the whole Balloon Boy saga along with finding out that the story was a hoax. I remember hearing about the story on the evening news and hearing about how people were being captivated by this story and how people were glued to their TV screen and seeing how this was going to end ( I had no idea that this was going on until seeing it later on that night in the news.) Later that night when the kid was "found" and was interviewed on Larry King, he said it "was all for the show." I said to myself "that didn't sound good", especially if this was for a rescue mission. By the next morning, while the family were doing a series of TV interviews for the morning news programs people were starting to get really skeptical about the family's account of what happened. By the early part of the next week, true came out that the story was staged and it a hoax so that the family could get a reality show out of the whole deal.
What is wrong with people today? In the I-wanna-be-a-star-right-now culture we are living now, folks are willing to do anything to become famous ( in some cases, it's all about being infamous than famous.) Instead of using the God-given talent they are presented with or at least learn a talent, and spend valuable time and energy on the craft so that they can become really good or even great at it, people are willing to do anything to become a star. This may sound crazy, but fame is a drug for many people because it is as addictive as cocaine, heroin or anything perscribed by a doctor. Also, like a true addict, people are willing to do anything for it, whether it is losing their self respect or embarrass themselves on camera(or behind the microphone by saying crazy); exploit family members so that they can ride on the coattails oftheir sibling's success or even willing to lose their own money in order to become famous (You don't have to chase money because if you work hard enough and never give up on your dream, the money will come along.)
Blame it on the ...
I blame the parents, specifically the dad, for creating this hoax so that he could get some face time on TV and hopefully segue this into a show on the air. The mother was a willing participant but from according to the TV news reports, she was, at times, subservient to her husband and did everything he told her to do.The media is also fault for even covering this story (it had to be a slow news day for them to talk about this incident.) What they need to do is to cover stories that doesn't get any attention at all instead of talking about foolish stories about balloon boy (the nickname is funny because the boy was never in the balloon in the first place) and the nonsense fluff that should not get any attention.
What is wrong with people today? In the I-wanna-be-a-star-right-now culture we are living now, folks are willing to do anything to become famous ( in some cases, it's all about being infamous than famous.) Instead of using the God-given talent they are presented with or at least learn a talent, and spend valuable time and energy on the craft so that they can become really good or even great at it, people are willing to do anything to become a star. This may sound crazy, but fame is a drug for many people because it is as addictive as cocaine, heroin or anything perscribed by a doctor. Also, like a true addict, people are willing to do anything for it, whether it is losing their self respect or embarrass themselves on camera(or behind the microphone by saying crazy); exploit family members so that they can ride on the coattails oftheir sibling's success or even willing to lose their own money in order to become famous (You don't have to chase money because if you work hard enough and never give up on your dream, the money will come along.)
Blame it on the ...
I blame the parents, specifically the dad, for creating this hoax so that he could get some face time on TV and hopefully segue this into a show on the air. The mother was a willing participant but from according to the TV news reports, she was, at times, subservient to her husband and did everything he told her to do.The media is also fault for even covering this story (it had to be a slow news day for them to talk about this incident.) What they need to do is to cover stories that doesn't get any attention at all instead of talking about foolish stories about balloon boy (the nickname is funny because the boy was never in the balloon in the first place) and the nonsense fluff that should not get any attention.
Thursday, October 8, 2009
Step It Up America- We Have A Major Problem On Our Hands
The senseless death of Derrion Albert, the 16-year old Chicago student who was caught up
and severely beaten by a group of teens during a fight in the city, makes you ask yourself what
is wrong with people nowadays- have they lost their mind? There are plenty of factors to blame for this tragedy and here they are:
The Students: If you watch the video either on the news or on YouTube (it is a very horrific video to watch) you noticed a bunch of students/teens watch the fight take place and no one did not bother to step in and stop the beating. Someone recorded the beating on a camera phone, but everybody else stood there and doing nothing while a fellow student was attacked and severely beaten until he was knocked unconscious. It wasn't until after someone kicked Albert in the head after he regained consciousness when a few people carried him out of harm's way and to a safe area, where he eventually passed away from his injuries.
The Police: You only wish that there was a regular police presence at every school zone in Chicago because they need it really bad. In the 2008-09 school year, 37 Chicago students were murdered, up from 27 deathsin the previous school year and so far in the 2009-10 school year, four have passed by because of violence. The school year just started a little over a month ago and four students have already died! That doesn't make any sense at all.
The Parents: For the most part, the majority of the parents out there really care about how well (or poorly) their child is doing in school. They will find ways to improve their kid's reading habits; try to solve their math problems; help out with their science projects; and perform volunteer activities at the school. However, there is a segment of parents out there who could care less about what their kid is doing at school.
If you have one parent or both parents spending more time running the streets than staying
at home teaching their child or children values, respecting other people and discipline them if they get out of line, then we wouldn't have so much problem with teens in this country (you are gonna have some problems with kids anyway because it's always been that way, but it wouldn't be as bad as it is now.) Parents need to get involved in their child (or children's) school activities. For example them should show their support at football and basketball games, but they must also need to attend Open House and get involved in any school-related activities such as Bake Sales, Parent Teacher Conferences, PTA Meetings, etc. The goal here is find out their child's progress (good or bad) at school, and find ways to make them a better student.
The School: If is a tough world out there for teachers. Even though you have some teachers have the "as long as they ctc (Cut The Check) I will show up and do some work" attitude, for the most part, teachers are doing the best that they can. Nowadays, teachers are more than just educators because they are also: counselors, disciplinarians, therapists, and in some cases another parent/guardian. If as student gets out of line, a teacher can't grab the kid and discipline them (the use of a paddle, etc.)like they used to years ago.(It seems that once capital punishment was taken out of school, the amount of violence has increased a great deal. You always had kids fight at school, but that was as far as it got.)
The Community: Right now, four teens are in jail without bail facing murder charges. However, the Chicago Police Department said that out of all the people who witnessed the beating, not one person has come forward and tell them what happened and who was involved in the crime. This whole "Stop Snitching" nonsense is just that: nonsense, and it has to stop now! These folks have to realize that if they have some information about a crime, that they contact the police department by remaining anonymous.They can either call, send an email, fax or text to the cops and no one is going to find out who gave up the info.
One of my favorite shows is "The First 48, a program that illustrates how detective can solve
a murder within the first 48 hours. In a number of episodes, there are some people who saw
the murder take place and once they are in the interrogation room at the police station, they refuse to talk to the detectives. Once the detectives tell them that if they withhold any information about a murder case, they would spend some time in jail, they start singing like
a canary by telling the detectives the suspect(s) name, their nickname, where they live at,
a detailed description on what the suspect(s) wore when the crime took place etc. The show
is living proof that the "Stop Stitchin" theory doesn't exist when you are staring at a possible jail sentence because it doesn't make any sense for you to go to jail for someone else's stupidity.
America needs to wake up and see that people, in this specific case, African-American teens, are dying in the streets because of gun violence. Everyone must get together, take a stand and put an end to it immediately because if we don't, it is going to get worse as the days, weeks, months and years go on.
and severely beaten by a group of teens during a fight in the city, makes you ask yourself what
is wrong with people nowadays- have they lost their mind? There are plenty of factors to blame for this tragedy and here they are:
The Students: If you watch the video either on the news or on YouTube (it is a very horrific video to watch) you noticed a bunch of students/teens watch the fight take place and no one did not bother to step in and stop the beating. Someone recorded the beating on a camera phone, but everybody else stood there and doing nothing while a fellow student was attacked and severely beaten until he was knocked unconscious. It wasn't until after someone kicked Albert in the head after he regained consciousness when a few people carried him out of harm's way and to a safe area, where he eventually passed away from his injuries.
The Police: You only wish that there was a regular police presence at every school zone in Chicago because they need it really bad. In the 2008-09 school year, 37 Chicago students were murdered, up from 27 deathsin the previous school year and so far in the 2009-10 school year, four have passed by because of violence. The school year just started a little over a month ago and four students have already died! That doesn't make any sense at all.
The Parents: For the most part, the majority of the parents out there really care about how well (or poorly) their child is doing in school. They will find ways to improve their kid's reading habits; try to solve their math problems; help out with their science projects; and perform volunteer activities at the school. However, there is a segment of parents out there who could care less about what their kid is doing at school.
If you have one parent or both parents spending more time running the streets than staying
at home teaching their child or children values, respecting other people and discipline them if they get out of line, then we wouldn't have so much problem with teens in this country (you are gonna have some problems with kids anyway because it's always been that way, but it wouldn't be as bad as it is now.) Parents need to get involved in their child (or children's) school activities. For example them should show their support at football and basketball games, but they must also need to attend Open House and get involved in any school-related activities such as Bake Sales, Parent Teacher Conferences, PTA Meetings, etc. The goal here is find out their child's progress (good or bad) at school, and find ways to make them a better student.
The School: If is a tough world out there for teachers. Even though you have some teachers have the "as long as they ctc (Cut The Check) I will show up and do some work" attitude, for the most part, teachers are doing the best that they can. Nowadays, teachers are more than just educators because they are also: counselors, disciplinarians, therapists, and in some cases another parent/guardian. If as student gets out of line, a teacher can't grab the kid and discipline them (the use of a paddle, etc.)like they used to years ago.(It seems that once capital punishment was taken out of school, the amount of violence has increased a great deal. You always had kids fight at school, but that was as far as it got.)
The Community: Right now, four teens are in jail without bail facing murder charges. However, the Chicago Police Department said that out of all the people who witnessed the beating, not one person has come forward and tell them what happened and who was involved in the crime. This whole "Stop Snitching" nonsense is just that: nonsense, and it has to stop now! These folks have to realize that if they have some information about a crime, that they contact the police department by remaining anonymous.They can either call, send an email, fax or text to the cops and no one is going to find out who gave up the info.
One of my favorite shows is "The First 48, a program that illustrates how detective can solve
a murder within the first 48 hours. In a number of episodes, there are some people who saw
the murder take place and once they are in the interrogation room at the police station, they refuse to talk to the detectives. Once the detectives tell them that if they withhold any information about a murder case, they would spend some time in jail, they start singing like
a canary by telling the detectives the suspect(s) name, their nickname, where they live at,
a detailed description on what the suspect(s) wore when the crime took place etc. The show
is living proof that the "Stop Stitchin" theory doesn't exist when you are staring at a possible jail sentence because it doesn't make any sense for you to go to jail for someone else's stupidity.
America needs to wake up and see that people, in this specific case, African-American teens, are dying in the streets because of gun violence. Everyone must get together, take a stand and put an end to it immediately because if we don't, it is going to get worse as the days, weeks, months and years go on.
Tuesday, September 15, 2009
Where are the Manners in Today's World
This past week, people have used rude behavior to the point where people are scratching their heads and saying what's wrong with them. Three incidents within a week and a half has illustrated the point where rudeness has taken over and having good manners and civility in public has gone out the window in today's world:
State Representative of South Carolina Joe Wilson
If you disagree with the President of The United States, that's fine because you are not going agree with everything that the president (regardless of their political affiliation) has to say. If you want to have your own press conference, whether it's for television, radio or just post it online and voice your opinion on a specific topic, that's okay too. But you should never shout or yell out anything during the president's speech to Congress.
Politicians (Democrats, Republicans, Independents) must give respect to the President, the House of Representative and the Senate , especially if the event is televised, and if they have a beef with what was said, talk to that person privately. Recently Wilson apologized to the president and the House rebuked him for his behavior
Serena Williams
Serena's ouburst last Saturday night at the U.S. Open Finals in Queens, New York received a lot of attention over the weekend. The reason was for what she said to the line judge. If you saw the video in the news or online, where you can watch the raw and uncut version of the exchange, you couldn't believe what you just seen. Of course, you cannot berate and cuss out the line judge if you disagree with them, but then again, the judge's decision, which caused the outburst in the first place, was something that is rarely called during a tennis match.
Granted, Serena should of kept her cool when it happened ( she have already apologized for her actions and was fined for the outburst) but what made her tirade different from those of tennis greats John McEnroe ( and I like John, too) and Jimmy Connors, who both made it a habit in their matches of verbally attacking the line judge if they disagreed with them?
Kanye West
Kanye's actions at the MTV Music Awards was inexcusable, indefensable and there is nothing you cannot say to justify about what happened on that stage Sunday Night. Even though the show went on as planned with the awards and performances (except for the unexpected on stage appearance by lil' mama during Jay-Z and Alicia Keys performace of Empire State of Mind) the show lost that positive and uplifting enegy, especially coming after Madonna's speech about Michael Jackson along his sister Janet coming on stage and performing a dance tribute to her brother. As one of my relatives used to say when things went from good to bad in a short period of time, the MTV Music Awards went "From sugar to (well, use your favorite cuss word to fill in
the blank) in no time."
It was a really bold to pull a stunt like that off, but to come on stage, take the microphone from Taylor Swift's hand while she was talking and made a speech like that for a category he wasn't even nominated for was horrible. I like Kanye's music ( and I still do after this incident) but his tirades, if things are not going his way ( he has a history of that, whether it is not winning an award, performing at an awards show, etc. ) is not good at all. If you are performer sitting at a award show and you disagree when an fellow artist wins an award, that fine but don't jump on stage and act a fool. Now I have to admit when the Ol' Dirty Bastard crashed the stage and made his speech at the 1998 Grammy Awards right before Shawn Colvin was about to speak, now that was entertainment, but the MTV Awards Show stunt, not so much. Recently, Kanye apologized anywhere and everywhere as possible (on his blog, The Jay Leno Show, and even called Swift after her appearance on The View.)
Bad Manners from everyday people
Bad manners are not limited to politicians, athletes, and entertainers because some people in general exhibit poor behavior while in public. How many times have you been at a fast food restaurant or a food court in a mall and noticed that people instead of taking their trash and throw it away, leave it on the table and expect someone else to clean it up; when people bump into you without saying excuse me; when people trying to give a speech in a meeting but at the same time, someone is interrupting you ( the town-hall meetings on health care is an example of that); when people get a phone on their cell phone and instead of getting up and walking away, they just sit there and talk away ( do I really care or hear about your personal business?); when people that you don't even know, come into your neighborhood with something to eat and/or drink and once they are done with it, they drop their trash on your lawn (I really hate that because I have to clean the mess they made); oe when people either play loud music and/or talking loud to other people at night, especially if you are trying to sleep (I don't mind having the music up or even talking a little loud but don't do that when folks are sleeping because it doesn't make any sense.)
You have to ask yourself, "Where are the manners, people!" You would think that someone in their life ( mom, dad, aunt, uncle, grandma, granddad, etc.) should have taught them manners along with how to act in public. But I guess that fell by the wayside because nowadays, people only care about themselves and have adopted the "who cares about them" mentality toward other people.
C'mon people, get it together!
State Representative of South Carolina Joe Wilson
If you disagree with the President of The United States, that's fine because you are not going agree with everything that the president (regardless of their political affiliation) has to say. If you want to have your own press conference, whether it's for television, radio or just post it online and voice your opinion on a specific topic, that's okay too. But you should never shout or yell out anything during the president's speech to Congress.
Politicians (Democrats, Republicans, Independents) must give respect to the President, the House of Representative and the Senate , especially if the event is televised, and if they have a beef with what was said, talk to that person privately. Recently Wilson apologized to the president and the House rebuked him for his behavior
Serena Williams
Serena's ouburst last Saturday night at the U.S. Open Finals in Queens, New York received a lot of attention over the weekend. The reason was for what she said to the line judge. If you saw the video in the news or online, where you can watch the raw and uncut version of the exchange, you couldn't believe what you just seen. Of course, you cannot berate and cuss out the line judge if you disagree with them, but then again, the judge's decision, which caused the outburst in the first place, was something that is rarely called during a tennis match.
Granted, Serena should of kept her cool when it happened ( she have already apologized for her actions and was fined for the outburst) but what made her tirade different from those of tennis greats John McEnroe ( and I like John, too) and Jimmy Connors, who both made it a habit in their matches of verbally attacking the line judge if they disagreed with them?
Kanye West
Kanye's actions at the MTV Music Awards was inexcusable, indefensable and there is nothing you cannot say to justify about what happened on that stage Sunday Night. Even though the show went on as planned with the awards and performances (except for the unexpected on stage appearance by lil' mama during Jay-Z and Alicia Keys performace of Empire State of Mind) the show lost that positive and uplifting enegy, especially coming after Madonna's speech about Michael Jackson along his sister Janet coming on stage and performing a dance tribute to her brother. As one of my relatives used to say when things went from good to bad in a short period of time, the MTV Music Awards went "From sugar to (well, use your favorite cuss word to fill in
the blank) in no time."
It was a really bold to pull a stunt like that off, but to come on stage, take the microphone from Taylor Swift's hand while she was talking and made a speech like that for a category he wasn't even nominated for was horrible. I like Kanye's music ( and I still do after this incident) but his tirades, if things are not going his way ( he has a history of that, whether it is not winning an award, performing at an awards show, etc. ) is not good at all. If you are performer sitting at a award show and you disagree when an fellow artist wins an award, that fine but don't jump on stage and act a fool. Now I have to admit when the Ol' Dirty Bastard crashed the stage and made his speech at the 1998 Grammy Awards right before Shawn Colvin was about to speak, now that was entertainment, but the MTV Awards Show stunt, not so much. Recently, Kanye apologized anywhere and everywhere as possible (on his blog, The Jay Leno Show, and even called Swift after her appearance on The View.)
Bad Manners from everyday people
Bad manners are not limited to politicians, athletes, and entertainers because some people in general exhibit poor behavior while in public. How many times have you been at a fast food restaurant or a food court in a mall and noticed that people instead of taking their trash and throw it away, leave it on the table and expect someone else to clean it up; when people bump into you without saying excuse me; when people trying to give a speech in a meeting but at the same time, someone is interrupting you ( the town-hall meetings on health care is an example of that); when people get a phone on their cell phone and instead of getting up and walking away, they just sit there and talk away ( do I really care or hear about your personal business?); when people that you don't even know, come into your neighborhood with something to eat and/or drink and once they are done with it, they drop their trash on your lawn (I really hate that because I have to clean the mess they made); oe when people either play loud music and/or talking loud to other people at night, especially if you are trying to sleep (I don't mind having the music up or even talking a little loud but don't do that when folks are sleeping because it doesn't make any sense.)
You have to ask yourself, "Where are the manners, people!" You would think that someone in their life ( mom, dad, aunt, uncle, grandma, granddad, etc.) should have taught them manners along with how to act in public. But I guess that fell by the wayside because nowadays, people only care about themselves and have adopted the "who cares about them" mentality toward other people.
C'mon people, get it together!
Friday, September 11, 2009
The Demise of Summer
Ah yes..summertime. A leisure time filled with cookouts; pool parties; vacation trips to different cities, states or countries; trips to amusement parks; riding your bike all around town; outdoor concerts; driving around with the windows or in some cases the top down, etc. is sadly coming
to an end. With Labor day come and gone, kids back in school, people back to work after coming back from their Summer break, and even though Autumn doesn't start until September 22, Summer as we know it, is pretty much over. The days of sitting on your porch after a long day of work and/or play will give way to cooler temperatures and the sun setting earlier and earlier as the days go on.
Autumn- Not a bad season compared to Spring and Summer
Right now in September, as a sports fan, I look forward to the start of the college football and
the National Football League seasons; to the Major League Baseball Playoffs and World Series
in October; and to the beginning of the National Basketball Associaion season and College Basketball in November. However, when it is November, and the weather is colder and the leaves are off the trees and in the streets, I know that winter time is just around the corner. Living in Ohio, we get our share (the good and the bad) of each of the four seasons.There are some people who like one season better than the other three seasons, while other folks say "
I like living here because of the four seasons." Yeah, I like the four seasons, too- THE SINGING GROUP. But serouosuly, I like Spring, really enjoy Summer and Autumn is not too bad after all, but Winter, forget about it.
Not a big fan of Wintertime
Don't get me wrong. I really like the whole Christmas atmosphere, whether it's christmas decorations ( either at the mall or on someone's house) Christmas cookies, Christmas shopping ( or the idea of fighting with people for gifts) Christmas songs, Christmas parties ( try to crash as many as you can, folks!) but the concept of having a white Christmas is overrated (yeah I said it!) Let's just say that I'm a not a fan of the Winter season at all. The idea of just thinking about
shoveling plies of snow from my sidewalk and driveway along with going outside in single digit temperaure is something I'm not looking forward to.
It's like this: at the beginning of December, people can't wait for the snow to start falling along with the cold temperatures. By the way, these are the same people who want a white Christmas but want the snow to start melting and the temperature to start rising the day after Christmas. But by February, all of that happiness about Winter becomes an afterthough because by then people become really tired of the season and wish Spring would get here as soon as possible. Yeah, Winter only last three months but is seems like it lasts longer than that while summer is here and gone before you know it.
A Final Note on Summer
So to folks out there, savior the final days of summer because it's going to be a good while
before it comes back again. To quote Sly Stone and the Family Stone's 1969 hit "Hot Fun In
The Summertime" when describing the arrival of Fall and the departure of Summer:
First of the fall and then she goes back
Bye bye bye bye there
Them summer days, those summer days
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