Forever Working Class

Back when I worked for Time Warner, I actually thought I was going to be set for life. Big ass media company with huge assets was going to take care of little ol' me.

Once TW merged with AOL, that expectation dropped along with the stock price. Here's an interesting take on how many of us got fucked without Vaseline. Yeah, he's a bit of a sour grape. However, I think there's some insight to how many people got played with being advised to buy into an "insider's game." Aint it fierce that many folks bought into a game, that they weren't given all the rules to?

"No one seemed much bothered by the move of a vast portion of Americans' retirement funds into risky securities-based funds. The Fed supported the 401(k) boom, just as it later would the housing boom, by championing deregulation and keeping interest rates low. Who would choose to invest their retirement funds in safe but low-interest bonds or T-bills when they could make 10, 15, or 20 percent in the market? In 1983, according to a survey conducted by two securities-industry groups, just 15.9 percent of American households owned equities; by 2005, the figure was 56.9 percent. More than half of households that owned stocks had first gotten into them through a 401(k) or similar account." Click here for the full article.

It Turned Me On

I dig sharing content from some of my favorite bloggers. While I have links to a few on them on the left, I sometimes worry folks are not paying a visit. You really must click on over to these blogs. To prove my point here's a mad funny moment posted on Todd's site Postcards...

Love that it's Ms. Bea and Rock. They must of had a hoot rehearsing for this number.

Reactions to Taylor's Op Ed Piece

Well, people are reacting to Mark Taylor's Op Ed piece End the University as We Know It. Seems like a lot of folks, mostly in the higher-ed world, are not digging his proposals. Click here for an article by David Bell, which sums up many of the opposing views shared on the web.

Re-Think, Re-Invision, Re-Purpose Education

I'm a huge believer in developing innovative ways of teaching. I'm always thinking of ways to do things differently with my students. I want to appeal to all of their senses, and sensibilities. I was very intrigued by this article in the Times. Take a look and let me know what you think.

The author, shares this with his students: “Do not do what I do; rather, take whatever I have to offer and do with it what I could never imagine doing and then come back and tell me about it.”

I'm loving that on so many levels. Click here for the full article.

Thank You For Being A Friend

Bea Arthur passed away today. I always digged her. When she was Maude, and later when she became Dorothy. She was one of a kind. Now, she's meeting up with Estelle Getty, and going over old times.

My New Favorite Show

My new favorite show, DESIGNER PEOPLE, on a channel I often overlook. Click here for more. I love to know, why they do, what they do.

Rick Astleyed via Dialog Box

Aaron over at Relentless Egomania always finds the most darling things. Here's an example:

The Kids Are Gonna Be Alright?

I find it fascinating that the students at the university I attend, refer to each other as "kids." They say stuff before class like:

"I didn't like the presentation the kid that sits there did."
"Dude, after finals the kids in my dorm were burnt out."
"So, like that kid from the party finally called me and I was like, wassup."
"Oh my god, that kid is crazy."

You get the picture. What is fascinating is that this is the term used by people in their very early twenties! They giggle at me when I substitute "kids" for "man," "guy," "lady," or "woman." I guess it takes awhile to adjust to leaving the late teen years.

I find it cute. Took me awhile to feel comfortable with being called "Mister" or "Sir" by younger folks. I would look around me, trying to figure out who was being addressed. Perhaps, I'm afflicted with Peter Pan Syndrome. So be it!

Raining On The Parade

I'm happy for Susan Boyle. She stunned the world, and has her time in the spotlight. I happen to love the song she sang, and she did it justice. However, I have these sour predictions to make about her rise to fame and it's influence. I'm also aware of the fact she was a ratings ringer.

- The darling women will fall victim to media masters that will wring her out for all the dollars they can make off of her. She'll get a slice of the pie, but nothing near to what is fair.

- This women that has never been kissed, will have many an opportunistic Cassanovas knocking at her door. Miss Boyle, get that prenup. Moreover, Miss Boyle, if it seems to good to be true, maybe it is.

- Future contestants on these talent shows will take on a dowdy appearance, in order to recreate the Boyle effect. It's gonna get contrived. The build up to her pre-performance is the new template.

- People will still judge a book by its cover.

BTW she made me cry and feel good. I'm grateful for the experience of watching her perform. It reminded me this heart still loves to see people rise and take flight. Take care of yourself Miss Boyle.

KRS-One at SCSU

On April 27, KRS-One is going to be dropping some knowledge on the Southern Connecticut State University campus. He's going to speak on the evolution of hip-hop culture. Now, for those of you not in the know, KRS-One took rapping to a whole other level. He brought an awareness to the art form that focused on elevating the people. I am and have always been an admirer of what he does. Lyrically KRS was tight with his. Here's a taste:



To his credit when record companies starting exploiting that foul "gangsta rap," KRS-One took a pass on that bullshit. I plan on heading out to Southern and represent. Bushwick, Bushwick, always funky fresh!

By the way, back in the day at around the tender age of 13, I was giving this look (see below). However, I had blunt in one hand, forty in the other. I was on that B-Boy trip for three years. Then my homeboy Eric gave me a taste of his good and plenty, found my way to Christopher Street and never looked back. However, I will always have mad love for my early days as a hip-hopper. My inner b-boy still surfaces from time to time.

Let me go play some Erik B, MC Lyte, KRS, and Soulsonic Force. I need to throw down with my moves. I can still do the Rooftop, Smurf, or just bop to the beat.

The laces on my Adiddas always matched with my gear.

The Dissing Continues

Not a good week for the Palin family. First, Sarah's daughter's baby's daddy calls the Palins liars on national tv, than on Leno, John McCain treats Grandma Palin like a wet food stamp.

People Crack Me Up: 8

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I would so do Levi. However, I knew this dude had a Plan B cooking up in his head, when he started making the media rounds. Among the highlights of this clip are:

- His concern that his family was being labeled as "white trash."
- Gradma Palin treated him like a wet food stamp, after she lost the election.
- The reporter says to Levi's mother, "Your boy became a man."
- Levi's future aspirations. It comes towards the end of the clip. I cracked the fuck up when I heard it! Wait till you hear what Levi is open to.

Let Me Entertain Ya

This is for my readers that were down with the Nirvana trip. Click here for the madness.

Did You Know?

Okay, so awhile back Food Network fired Robert Irvine from the show Dinner: Impossible. It came out that Irvine had lied and/or exaggerated about his past work experiences. Food Network doesn't like that sorta thing. They feel that when they put "talent" on their network, that these folks should be trusted by the audience, and lying on your resume undermines that trust.

Now, I know this desire to maintain integrity on the network is important because when contestant Joshua Adam Garcia aka "JAG", removed himself from the Next Food Network Star competition, because he lied on his resume, the network execs quickly took his resignation. Moreover, they gave him the little speech about having talent on their network that can be trusted.

So the rules change. Robert Irvine is coming back for a new season of Dinner: Impossible. Food Network spokeswoman Carrie Welch said in a written statement.

"Our audience has continued to demonstrate its interest in and support for Robert," Welch said. "He has taken responsibility and made a conscious effort to clear the air, rebuild the relationship with Food Network and apologize for the earlier inaccuracies."

I guess good ratings that lead to higher advertising dollars trumps integrity and policy. I get really uneasy when I see rules get changed for some and not for others. I tend to think that it's unfair to have that sorta practice in place.

I wonder if Food Network is thinking about letting JAG have a second chance to do his thing. The man is talented and passionate about what he does. If Irvine can have a chance to redeem himself, to keep things fair, perhaps JAG should be allowed another go at it.

Me Likey Her

Rachel Maddow was interviewed by Mother Jones recently. Here is a bit of a taste:

"My central thesis is that we need more politics in the military. This idea of "the foreign policy consensus" gave Congress an excuse to be hands-off about deploying armed forces for reasons that never got debated and were often scandalous when they came to light. The number of Iraq veterans who ran for Congress this year? Holy shit. To have the Democratic Party become the party of the veterans? There's a realignment happening at the urging of members of the military who are sick of being used."

Click here for the full interview.

For Miss Kitty

In a recent post Miss Kitty used the term "mind your p's and q's." She was not sure what it meant, but in true Miss Kitty style has defined it for herself. Loves her! Anyway, here is a couple of definitions I tracked down.

In a nutshell, I would say it means: pay attention to what you are doing.

"What does "mind your p's and q's" mean?

I could be mistaken. I believe it comes from the fact that lower case p and lower case q are mirror images in many fonts. Compounding the problem (when fonts were collections of individual tiny letter stamps) is the fact that the physical letter stamp is a mirror image of the printed form. This must have led to a lot of confusion and constant typographical errors. 'Mind your p's and q's' would then have an obvious meaning.

It may, also, be associated with Irish coloquial vernacular. When regular patrons of an Irish Pub would draw or pour their own beer during an evening their count or number of drinks would be tabulated on a black board in the size ( i.e. pints and quarts) and number of the drinks they consumed during their visit. And as the night drew on the bar keep would remind each to mind their tab with "mind your pints and quarts" or "mind your P's & Q's". This would really mean that they should settle their bar tab before they left the establishment. "

Source: WikiAnswers