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Monday, September 29, 2008

I'm Still In Love (with Michael & Diana)

On a memory kick this morning. I laughed my butt off watching a clip of Chris Rock ripping on Michael Jackson, but then... I saw this:



No matter how much he's been through, you just cannot help but watch this man perform and think: "Damn, if I could move like that." (And I'm not 'shamed to admit that I am a back-up dancer in my fantasies whenever I see M.J. working it. Quit laughing. You know you have those fantasies!)

Chris jokes on the contest between Michael and Prince that "Prince won."

Nah. Don't think so. Prince is hot, but Michael was there first and always better.

And, oh... Miss Ross. She's still the boss. We've all called her "diva," but the thing is, she's Diana who taught the divas their game. They aspire, she did it. Quit hating.

Do your thing, Miss Ross:



Who looks this good & sounds this good except for Diana? Everybody else is as water to wine.


And, finally, this one makes me SOOOO happy. ('Course, I'm jealous! But I love you, Diana & Michael.)
I'm lucky I live in a time where I got to witness this kind of talent...

OMGosh!!!

Um, I don't even have a post of my own this morning. Just go over and check this one out at Head of State. I laughed so hard that my insides hurt...

Sunday, September 28, 2008

He's doing what he said he would!!!

I don't know why people act so surprised when Obama doesn't act the jerk. He said from the beginning (hell, he built his campaign around it) that he didn't want to do politics as usual!!! So people are surprised that he's keeping his promise????





And notice how they bring up race? Listen, the reason he doesn't have to address us African Americans as a separate issue is because I think he's focusing on the fact that we are ALL in a leaking boat because of "failed policies." Black, white, brown or red - we are all hurting. And Obama does address that.

Help me! I need this recipe, people...

I am hoping that somebody out there has a recipe for something that my mother called "hoecake." Mama was from Texas & she told me that her mother taught her the recipe. When I asked why it was called hoecake, Mama said she was told that slaves used to make up the dough and cook them on a hoe held near a fire. Oh. Okay.

This was a skillet-fried doughy thing that my mother would serve for breakfast with syrup, or for dinner with smothered potatoes and onions. Let me tell you something. This was my favorite thing to eat when I was a kid. Made me feel all warm and filled up.

I know that it was cheap to make because it was something we ate when money was thin (and we needed to be "filled up!"). I never got my mother's recipe for it & it's one of the few things that my sister did not learn to make.

So, if you have this recipe, PLEASE send it to me.

Peace
--Free

Update: Someone emailed me the recipe! (Thanks, Rae!) Yay. **singing** "I'ma have some hoecake, I'ma have some hoecake & you can't have none..." I'm playing. I'll share.

Thursday, September 25, 2008

Being Black Might Win Obama The Election

If Obama wins this election, it might be because he is Black. Think about it:

Hillary didn't take Obama seriously (until far too late - and maybe not now). If she had, she would have run a better campaign from the get-go.

McCain could not have been taking Obama seriously if he thought that picking Palin was going to do real damage.

If Obama was a white man, I'm sure that Hillary would have battled him differently. McCain would have too.

I believe that Clinton and McCain thought something like: "Oh, yeah, he's charismatic, but..." I don't believe that they have taken him seriously as someone who is as intelligent as, say Bill Clinton. Plantation mentality is coming out in a whole lot of people.

But you know what really bothers me about this? It is that in not taking Obama seriously, they were not taking the citizens of this country serious. They didn't give us enough credit for being able to recognize Obama's intelligence, leadership, compassion, and call for change. Americans of all races and lifestyles are at least paying attention to what is going on. We have not, in most cases, just herded up like sheep in behind the same old shepherds.

So, yeah, race is definitely a factor in this election. Race is always a factor in just about everything, but this time, race might be a factor in Obama's favor.

Peace
--Free

Wednesday, September 24, 2008

Why Not A Black Man?

As you can probably tell, this was sent to my email & I just copied and pasted it right over (with my no-formatting behind!) I wish I knew who was responsible so I could give credit...

Why Not A Black Man


Why is it that a Black Man can create a tiny piece called a filament (electric light - Lewis Latimer) that allows people to see in the dark?


But can't be seen fit to lead a country to the true light.

Why is it that a Black Man can create an instrument (clock - Benjamin Banneker) that all people use to tell time?



But people don't think it is time for him to run a country.

Why is it that a Black Man can design a place for the high authorities to meet in and a place for the president to live in (The Capital and the White House Phillip Reid (a slave) and P ierre L'Enfant)?



But not good enough to lead these meetings or live in himself.

Why is it that a Black Man was brilliant enough to do the first open heart surgery (Dr. Daniel Hale Williams) and show the world how to get and preserve plasma (Dr. Charles Drew)?



But not good enough to put a program in place where everyone can afford this surgery.

Why is it that a Black Man was creative enough to design an instrument (traffic light - Garrett Morgan) to bring multiple people (traffic) to a halt?



But not seen creative enough to design a plan to bring all this unnecessary and worthless fighting between countries.

Why is it that a Black Man could create the soles (shoes - Jan Matzeliger) that people walk on every day?



But not seen good enough to fill the shoes of a bad president.

Why is it that a Black Man was smart enough and brave enough to teach himself (Fredrick Douglas and Thomas Fuller - both slaves) and others how to read, write and/or calculate math?



But not seen smart enough and bold enough to calculate a platform to be President to a country that sure needs another first by us.

So you see my Brothers and Sisters what I am saying is let us not forgot our past, which led us to our present and can definitely be the backbone to our future. We were good enough, smart enough, creative enough, and bold enough then, so let us all give Obama the chance to show that we are still these things and more. We all are as s trong as our weakest link, so do not be that weak link that denies our people that chance to show we still can OVERCOME AND BE THE FIRST!


OUR NEXT PRESIDENT OF THESE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA !



LET US ALL CONTINUE PRAYING THAT THIS PRESIDENT WILL ADHERE TO AND BE LED BY GOD.




This needs to be an Obama ad

I'm stealing from Jill once again.

Saw this and had to just sit for a moment and let my soul be peaceful.

Call It Out, Chris! Call It Out, Campbell!

I'm so mad at the Clintons right now. They are showing their (ahem) true colors. So, thank you, Chris Rock, for calling them on that mess



Then, I see from Jill's spot over at Writes Like She Talks that Campbell was on the Palin game with a rant:

Monday, September 22, 2008

Monday, Monday

I spent a weekend with the satellite screwed up for the bedroom television. So, I did some reading and thinking - all t.v.-free. Read Michael Dyson's analysis of the music of Marvin Gaye in the book "Mercy, mercy me : the art, loves, and demons of Marvin Gaye." (Of course, then I had to jump online and have the Loussac Library hold some Marvin CDs for me. I just HAVE to listen again to the songs to get what Dyson got - cause I didn't get all that he apparently did.

Rounding off my weekend, I read some more Evanovich's Stephanie Plum novels. And because I have mental spasms at times, I got to thinking that Evanavich's Plum stories are a little bit on the... uh, demeaning side when it comes to character of Lula. First of all, Lula is a "former 'ho." Second of all, she is fat and sassy & usually has pink or yellow or orange hair. Probably I'm overthinking it. Probably Evanovich just thought Lula up with no hidden meanings. And anyway, the main character, Plum (a white chick), is kind of skanky at times. And anyway again, the writing is good and the books are entertaining. I just need to get over myself sometimes, or write my own damn books and even things out!

So that was the weekend. Now it's Monday (dialysis day) which means we had to get to the clinic by 6:30. Good thing Walmart opens at 6:00 cause I can always pop in and get some stuff done.

Ran into an old acquaintance in WalMart & it was like seeing a ghost. Had heard a long while back that this person had died (by drunk-falling out of a tipped back chair & cracking his skull). See how rumors get started? Came home to check the news and saw something that tells what others think about Palin:

Then this (more silliness on the local levels):
  • from mudflats.wordpress.com Well, if you’ve been like me this evening, you’ve had one eye glued to the “Obama Sign Cam”. Mudflatter ‘poverty kids’ teacher’ has had an Obama sign stolen from the front yard - twice. So, her son set up a live webcam of the sign in hopes of catching the thief in the act.
Since I'm in a sick-of-politics mood (still), the above was the extent of trolling the Net for more... I moved on to something good (as always) from my web buddy, John Baker:

  • At the Blue Metropolis International Literary Festival Eleanor Wachtel interviewed the American writer, Lydia Davis. Both of Davis’s parents were writers and her father taught at Columbia University. Wachtel asked her what it was like growing up in that environment:

    It made you very self-conscious. . . But we couldn’t really say anything after a while - I mean after a certain age; I imagine at three I didn’t mind - but at a certain age we couldn’t speak without being aware of how we were saying something, how it was being phrased, as well as what we were saying. So if we made a sort of clumsy repetition, one of them might very well point out, sort of lightly with a smile, but it was a very language saturated household . . .

    . . . my father would consider very carefully what I had said and that made me feel very insecure. I don’t know if this is a good example, but I remembered it just the other day. When he was in the nursing home - you know how you want to say the things that you don’t want to have forgotten to say . . . our family was not, as you can imagine, given to spontaneity - I said to him, “You’ve been a very good father,” I just wanted him to know that, and he said, “In what respect?”

Now my thoughts are all twisted up. I'm thinking about how we sometimes miss part of life by trying to be what others expect (and how sometimes that is a good thing, but somehow it's a bad thing). I'm thinking about how if we just felt free enough to say and do things the best way we know how (no matter what anyone else thinks), we could be so much more for ourselves and for others. I guess this is what makes the great artists, musicians, poets and writers and statesmen great. And I guess this is why there are probably hundreds of people out there with un-shared talents and gifts and thoughts. So many people probably hiding their light under a bushel (is that the term?).

So.

I decided that in addition to ignoring politics for a few days, I'm also going to give up the heavy thoughts. But just for a few days.

Friday, September 19, 2008

Tired of politics

No more posting about politics or politicians. At least until after the debate. I'm sick of it all.

In the meantime, what's everybody else doing? Are you happy or sad? Doing well or not? Feeling up or down? In love or hating on somebody?

I'm feeling nosy and lazy. Give me some gossip or something else to brighten up this day.

Peace

Tuesday, September 16, 2008

I Got Told

When everyone was chanting about it taking a village to raise a child, I just knew they were talking about my family. My family is a village. We have a big house, but there are eight of us here on a normal day & that can go up to twenty if anyone is sick, graduating, getting married/divorced or is pregnant. We have tribal councils about everything. The men in our family get nervous when the women group up for a chat. They think that we might be having a meeting about one of them (and, usually, they're right).

But I ramble.

Thing is, we're not a family so much as we are a brood of loved ones. On one of those normal days I mentioned, there are five adults and three kids. (One of the adults & one of the kids is not blood, but they are still family.)

Sorry. Still rambling.

Anyway, one of the kids is my nephew Devon. Devon is in the second grade & has the attention span of someone stuck in a boring church service. Everyone around here is always reminding Devon to focus. The other day, I had a serious talk with Devon to explain why it's important to stay focused. I told him that when he's not focused, he wastes time trying to finish homework or chores. Ten minutes later, when Devon was supposed to be doing his homework, he got distracted, lost his pencil and forgot if his worksheet was in his backpack or in another room...

"Devon! You have got to learn to focus," I told him (yet again). "We just had that talk, baby."

Devon rounded up all his stuff and finished his work.

Later that evening, I was fixing dinner and realized I didn't have onions and bell peppers for the spaghetti sauce. I figured I'd just run up to the store. Then I couldn't find my purse. Devon found my purse for me. (It was in the hall closet. I don't know why.) Then I couldn't find my shoes. Devon found my shoes. (They were in the garage instead of on the shoe rack in the house. I don't know why.) Then I couldn't find the car keys. Devon helped me look everywhere until he gave up and decided to get some juice. Devon found the keys. (They were in the refrigerator. I don't know why.)

Finally, I got to the store, got back and started back on making dinner. No garlic cloves. Devon was watching while I substituted garlic powder. People in our village expect cloves.

Everybody got in from work, we sat down to eat and I apologized for the sauce, saying I'd had a crappy day, lost my purse and shoes and keys, blah, blah, blah...

"Yeah," Devon told them. "She needs to learn to focus."

Monday, September 15, 2008

White Privilege and the 2008 Election

Heads up on a Buzzflash article I found on Digg:

Context is everything in politics and journalism, and author Tim Wise has the inside track on white (and male) privilege, a concept that most white voters don't comprehend but whose relationships and decisions are governed by this inescapable concept.


That was someone else's lead in to an article I caught earlier. Summarizes beautifully everything to do with the mess that is 2008 elections... Everything.

read more | digg story

And Sarah Came Marching Home Again...

Big thanks to Mudflats for keeping up on the town hall meeting in Anchorage (where Alaskans got to sound off about Guv Palin). I hear it wasn't pretty...

And Mudflat got us a scoop on how Alaska women feel about the guv. Still not pretty.

Talk radio here is all abuzz with how Palin dissed indigenous Alaskans (and don't forget about the disrespect shown for Juneteenth organizers). But no biggie. Apparently she can't do a whole lot right (pun intended) for anybody but her own ego.

Oh, boy, winter is a'coming...

Peace
--Free

P.S.: BTW, since Alaska is so in the news lately, I highly recommend the Mudflat site for all your political news an info from a real perspective.

Friday, September 12, 2008

field negro: Sarah's sit down.

Beautiful. I can't wait to see what has to say after Part II of the interview. Yeah. Palin's pretty pathetic, but she could very well end up in the Number Two spot...

field negro: Sarah's sit down.Field

My Other Bog (er, I mean, BLOG)

I love computers, the internet, my cell phone. Unfortunately, I am still such a goof when it comes to using them. I mean, I use my computer like it's a part of me and get around the internet just fine, and I have even learned to do things on my cell phone that would be amazing to a time-traveler from, say, 1998.

But (and you knew this was coming) I get caught up when it comes to the finer details of these techno-wonders.

For instance, I have learned to check my email on my phone, but I'm still troubled when trying to do things like adding a signature to text messages. *shrug*

The thing with this blogging hobby is that, apparently, I don't have a handle on all the settings features. I can't get my "feed" to work on both blogs, Technorati is apparently BLIND to one of the blogs... You get the picture.

Anyway, I found out from one of my readers that, even though they have been reading THIS blog of mine from almost the beginning, they had NO idea about my other blog.

Hmmph.

So here's the 411:

My OTHER blog is called BLinks (for Black Links - cute, huh?) and I originally intended for its focus to be on links to resources for Black folk. However... I realized that no matter your race, we ALL like info on resources about things like... Well, like just about anything. So BLinks ended up being my blog giving out links and info to resources about all kinds of stuff - writing, reading, shopping, glamorizing, loving, computing... EVERYthing.

Now, if like my one reader, you didn't know about BLinks, that was the link. If you have ideas for posts - ya know, if you want me to scavenge up some info about some-something or other, shoot me a line. (And, good grief, if you can help me out with getting my Blogger settings under control, don't hesitate.)

Peace
--Free

Money Is Loose

Well today is the day that a whole lotta Alaskans get their Permanent Fund Dividend checks. That's $3269 for each eligible resident of the state. (And, no, I'm no longer eligible since I moved away, came back and have not been back for the 2-year period... damnit.)

Anyway, I have friends who are couples or have kids. Think about it, if you have a spouse and just two kids, that's 4 checks totalling ** $13,076 coming into your house. (**Note: that's the $2069 PLUS a $1200 energy rebate for the first time. The checks go out to 610,768 residents)

Now, I could be the socio-political intellectual and discuss this from a different angle, but I'm just plain old Free. So I'm gonna talk about what it'll be like trying to get my broke ass into WalMart or Costco to do any shopping for the next month... Ain't gonna happen, people.

I've been around when the PFD checks were under 2 grand. Damn near got trampled trying to get to the dairy aisle at Carrs grocery store because of a group of old people buying up from the $5 movie rack. One year I saw a young couple and their three little snotty-nosed, nappy-headed kids pulling a cart through WalMart loaded up with enough televisions, Game Boys and potato chips (yes, Lays potato chips) for four families. All I could think was that Mama and Daddy should have been getting the kids some clothes and hair appointments instead. I can almost promise you that within two months, that same family was broker than they had ever been before the checks came.

It's kind of amusing to watch what people do with their PFD money. Some folks spend wise - investing in their home repairs or putting money away for emergencies, paying off debts, etc - but then you have those folks who can just feel the money burning a hole in their pockets.

Of course, businesses have been in high gear promoting their products for months with special "PFD Sales". Everybody with a business licence has found a way to lure the customers in. Everywhere you look, there are advertisements:" Double Your Fund!" "Double Div Days"...

One thing that always tickled me is how the same businesses that didn't exactly throw out the welcome mat for certain people (minorities, for example and especially Native Alaskans), suddenly get very open-minded during PFD time.

Ah, well. I'm safe this year. Since I'm still one of the broke folk, I did all my errands and stocking up on what I need BEFORE these damn checks came out. Now I don't have to risk my life trying to body-hop my way through any stores. I plan to spend my weekend at the one place that seems to empty out when the PFDs hit: the library.

Peace
--Free



Thursday, September 11, 2008

The Republican Rock Star is Ba-aaack!

The bitch is back and people are already talking. I thought what this one guy who observed the welcoming rally had to say was ...

"It's dangerous up here to do any truth telling -- we all want to have a future and she's going to control the state for the next four years whether she's vice president or governor or senator or turning the wheels from home in Wasilla. I mean she's a powerful woman," Jay Ramras, a Republican state representative from Fairbanks, said in an interview earlier this week."

...interesting, huh?

Then he added:
"That's how I regard her is the American Idol of politics, I've never seen anything quite like it," Ramras said. "It's improbable. It's the most improbable thing that I have ever seen in my life and probably ever will. But God bless her."
I should probably mention that the man speaking happens to own a lodge that was just across the road from where the rally was held. Sounds like he's no fool about who you have to kiss up to.

I guess the rally was huge. Hmmm... I remember when it wasn't a good thing (according to the McCain camp) to have "rock star" rallies. Oh, wait. That's only when it wasn't HIS game. Again - whatever.

And in other news, it seems the attorney Palin has dealing with the Trooper-gate mess is now hollering investigator bias. Yeah. Okay. Whatever. You know that's how people talk when things aren't going the way they want them to. No matter. All Palin has to do is stall everything for another 50 or so days & it won't much matter. Once you're crowned American Idol, it doesn't matter when the dirt starts leaking.

Wednesday, September 10, 2008

Blog List

***Yes, I originally posted this on BLinks, but good stuff bears repeating. Or copying and pasting. Or... Well, you know what I mean.***

The weblog awards just came out and I got to thinking how many good black blogs are out there that I NEVER hear about until I see the list.

Let me tell ya: there are a TON of blogs out there in Blackdom. The problem is, there are so many good ones that I keep adding to my blogroll. Then, of course, there's the matter of time to keep up on them all.

So, today: a HUGE list of blogs for y'all to check out. I may have to do this deal in stages so from now on, just check the tag "Blog Roll". (If I missed any good ones, let me know.)

In no particular order....

Whew! That's enough for this morning. I'll be back with more as I pull them up.

Tuesday, September 09, 2008

Better than therapy

You know, people, I may be on to something with this laughter-for-therapy thing. After yesterday's post, I was laughed so much I burned an easy 100 calories.

Today, tho, I'm going for safer humor. I'm a little nervous about making fun of the Lord's people (or at least they were singing His praises). It's not like I need any more negative complications in my life right now.

I found this video of a guy so happy to be getting married that he had to shout. (This may sound twisted, but I don't think that shouting at the wedding would get me all turned on for the honeymoon. I mean, whatever turns you on, but I wouldn't want to think about my man getting so excited in the bedroom that he might start speaking in tongues or something. I'm just saying.)





This one here made me feel a little bad. I didn't realize just how ignorant some people are. And there are people all over the world laughing at us... Lord have mercy...






Just hope no one is asking to be taken to our leader...



(But HE was "ready on Day One"...)





(You're partly right, Bush - you are a dick)

Oh-ma-goodness, I'm on a Bush kick. I had forgotten just how stupid this man is. Somebody should just slip these videos into a campaign ad for Obama (esp the part about Bush having been a governor...)

The first of this next one reminds me a little of Palin not understanding what it is that a VP does.



All I can say about this next one is, uh... "Woooooooowwww"




Okay, okay... I have toned enough stomach muscles with laughter. I'm stopping now. Right now.

But wait - there's just one more. (The reporter asking the question in this next one is not just being cool in his shades, but BLIND! I'm so embarrassed for Bush with this one):



Now I'm done.

Just For Giggles

I've been needing all the laughter I can get these days. A girlfriend & I spent some time remembering some things that have made us giggle like silly chillins. I call these my "Memory Lane Giggles" since they've all been around for a while.

My all time favorite is one that I'm sure we've ALL seen before (even tho I do believe that I am committing some kind of sin by laughing at this kid). He's SO sincere, bless him. Still, I dare you not to laugh...



Whooo! Wait, wait, wait... Let me catch my breath.

Okay.

Next up, this was only funny to me because of the hosts. One brother was trying hard to hold it together, but Armstrong (the other dude) gave it up right away. I've loved him ever since!




Okay, I do need to quit cuz I can't sing the Alphabet Song, but I bet you won't see me on t.v. or up in the choir stands doing solos either!

This next brother here, bless him, I could have dealt with this if he hadn't forgotten the words & then let it get so good to him that he yells parts of the song, trying to go all Jodeci on us.

My mother would say something positive like, "Well, at least he was up there, praising the Lord." (I'd get smacked for doing it, but I'd have to tell Mama that he was just up there making a racket!)



All right. That's gotta be enough for today. I'm pretty sure that my angels are watching me and plotting to teach me a lesson by having me fall and bust my behind all out in public. Just plain payback...

Keep smiling, people

P.S.: This felt good. I may have to change the direction of this blog...

Monday, September 08, 2008

Blogging & Family

I am SO shocked. My niece and most of my family have never been to my blog... Wow. Here I was, wondering why I didn't get more comments... (I even deleted the My Following feature because I wasn't getting any followers, & I wondered why. Well, NOW I know.)

Here's the hilarious thing: I've been having trouble with Technorati (Gabby, that's another site you might want to check out if you are going to start a blog), so I thought that was my whole problem. Not. I have a counter now and I can see that I am getting quite a bit of traffic, just not the kind of folks who like to comment.

For shame!

So. Now I am passing on the word to my fam 'n such. We'll see if those sorry buggers actually come around and check me out.

Peace
--Free

Hilarious!

Help! I've fallen down laughing at this mess & I can't get up...

I don't know if this is real. I don't care. It was my morning chuckle. (Thanks to Electronic Village for the heads up on this one.)

Whooooooo!!!

Sunday, September 07, 2008

Is It Just Me Or.....?

Didn't I hear McCain making noise about Barack Obama's "rock star" status (and implying a lack of experience)?

Wasn't the McCain camp always trying to say that the media was on Obama's side?

Didn't McCain boast that he would rather lose the election than be president? (In other words, he wouldn't do something he didn't believe in?)

Okay. Answer me this:

Isn't Palin looking a little bit rock star herself these days? And if she's so experienced, why is McCain keeping her in school away from interviews?

And isn't the media just loving it up with McCain/Palin since he picked her as VP?

And does McCain really only do what he believes in - or in what he believes works???

Seems like to me that McCain looked at the crowds paying attention to Obama and decided that if you can't beat someone, you steal their game.

Just some things that make ya go hmmmm...

And, while I'm on a rant - have you noticed Hillary seems awful quiet since Palin came on the scene? Wonder if she's of the mind that she'd rather see a woman ANYwhere in the White House before Obama??? I'll hold out on that judgment until I see if Hillary is going to step up for her party's candidate.

Peace
--Free

Friday, September 05, 2008

Boo AT&T, BOO!!!!

Okay. I'm a little bit heated.

I finally get some national cellular service that actually hits Alaska without price-gauging me like local companies will do... but I will be danged if I still can't get full respect JUST BECAUSE I LIVE IN ALASKA...

Okay, here's what AT&T advertises as the MediaNet service:

MEdia Net Unlimited $15.00 -

  • Unlimited high-quality video with CV,
  • unlimited mobile web, and
  • unlimited access to email, ringtones, games, music and more.

And that is straight from their website (which might have disclaimers) and also from the service rep who hooked me up (and sista gal didn't mention any "not in Alaska" mess when she was putting in my order...)

Here's what I get - because I LIVE IN ALASKA, damnit:

  • unlimited mobile web.....Check
  • unlimited access to email, ringtones*, games*, music* and more ....Check
*the access is free but the items are not (unless you got something like Zedge, which I do!)

Notice what I'm, missing??? That high-quality CV, right?

Because the rep had gotten me all excited about the CV, I was pretty sad when I couldn't get anything to load. I contacted AT&T and was told that because my area (Alaska) doesn't have the 3g network (whatever the heck that is), I don't get CV.

Cool.

What's not cool is that I also don't get a discount on the service.

Now, is it just me or doesn't it seem reasonable to you that if I'm paying $15/month for a 3-part service and I only get 2 parts ... a $5/mo discount should be allowed??? Is that just me???

I'm not done yet. I'm going to be contacting somebody at AT&T to find out why my $15 in Alaska doesn't get what $15 does in the Lower 48. Because here's the thing: I just KNOW that when they DO get that 3g or whatever up here, they're going to want to charge Alaskans MORE for the service. It always happens, never fails.

In the meantime, 2 things:

  1. I'm blabbing EVERYWHERE - on every survey panel, blog, website and phone call I get to - about this tricky little billing glitch for Alaskans, and
  2. BOOOOO to AT&T. That's not good customer service, people!

Thursday, September 04, 2008

Double Standards/Double Talk

Wow. They just make this too easy...

Go over and watch a fascinating spot on Daily Show/You Tube

Power of the Vote

Last I heard, there were 8 million in the Black community not yet registered to vote. I don't know how many of my White, Asian, Indian and other brothers and sisters there are who haven't registered yet. (I myself am an Independent.) We all, regardless of our race, need to stand up and speak up in the one most powerful way that we can.

Think about this: looks, money, access and other sometimes elusive factors might determine what you can or cannot achieve in certain arenas of society. The one thing that you have that is equal to everyone else is your vote. Bill Gates is richer than most, Naomi Cambell is more beautiful than most, Marilyn vos Savant is smarter than most. One thing you and I have in common with these people? 1 vote.

Please, people, get out there and get registered. Do your thing, express your power. As the young folk say, "Rock the Vote!"

Still not convinced? Here's some Black voter history that might inspire you. And even more relevant to women and young people.

Do we want to go back to a time when this was true?:

By the time of the Civil War, most white men were allowed to vote, whether or not they owned property, thanks to the efforts of those who championed the cause of frontiersmen and white immigrants (who had to wait 14 years for citizenship and the right to vote, in some cases). Literacy tests, poll taxes, and even religious tests were used in various places, and most white women, people of color, and Native Americans still could not vote. (from iwantmyvote.com)

Sisters, especially my Black sisters, think about Fannie Lou Hamer (about midway the page). You can go here to read more about her, or here, or here...

Peace
--Free

Facts vs Lies




I was just wondering if anyone had noticed the "discrepancies" in the speech. Well, someone did.

I also love that someone compared Obama's record to Palin's (since the Republican's like to do comparing of their own). And it's all summed up nicely over at Pam's House Blend...

I'm just saying.

(By the way, go HERE for some cool stuff!)

Wonderful Speech By Palin

Not.

Look, after all the country-hick, idiot portrayals of Palin, expectations were so low for her that as long as she didn't drool or forget her own name, she was okay. But was the speech great? No. I didn't hear anything to build up the citizens of this country. All I heard was the same Republican lines meant to tear down the Obama campaign.

Where was the hope for ALL citizens? Where was the offer to be willing to work across party lines?

So, YAWWWWWN.

I'm waiting for Palin to have to think a little faster on her feet - like poor Tucker Bounds did when asked to give some specifics about her experience in foreign policy....

Wednesday, September 03, 2008

Unwind

The last several days of the McCain/Palin mess has me tuckered out. So, today during my afternoon errands run, I shut off the talk radio and turned up the Earth, Wind & Fire.

Man.

Nothing like EWF to mellow you all the way out.

Seriously. When's the last time you heard horns like those on "In the Stone"? Or a slow jam like "Wait"? This is stuff you can crank up in the car and not die of shame when you pass a car filled with little kids. No talk about grinding or thongs or mysteriously named body parts. Just plain ol' good music and musicianship.

I haven't listened to much new music lately (except for that damn Hannah Whoever mess that my niece is obsessed with and those little Jonas people and whatever I happen to hear sonic-booming my car when I'm driving around town). I wonder if there are any artists out there actually using instruments the way EWF or Barry White did. Are any of them pouring their soul into their songs like Lenny Williams or Otis Redding or Teddy P. did? The last attempt at putting some old school soul and sweat into their craft was youngsters along the lines of Jodeci (who were good, but sometimes ruined it all by trying just a. little. too. hard).

So, anyway, I just had to toss out that little rant. Maybe some of your "growner" folk will be inspired to take a cue from Mr. Pendergrass and "turn out the lights and light a candle"...

Peace
--Free

She was vetted - sort of

I've said it before & I'll say it again: I don't know why the HELL anyone would want to run for such high public office especially when you read stuff like this about what goes into the vetting process. (And, by the way, until I look it up, can someone please tell me where the term "vetting" came from???)

So, McCain's people are saying the vetted Palin. Oooo-kay... so he still picked her? Gracious. What great judgment that shows.

Actually, I'm not so bothered by McCain picking Palin. I'm bothered more by Palin accepting. Here's why:

  1. As someone on a talk-radio show brought up, back when Clinton was touting the "it takes a village" message, Republicans were protesting with, "No, it takes a mother and father", etc. So, let me ask this: what village is going to help Palin (mother of five & running for VP) raise a special needs infant?
  2. Palin wants the Clinton voters. Why? Palin didn't like Clinton's message to the Clinton voters. She and Clinton have nothing in common except for the fact that they are women.
  3. Palin plays the gender card when it suits her. One minute, she's to be fawned over because she is a "woman" governer. The next minute, no one should bring up her responsibilities as a mother (because they wouldn't do the same to a man).
  4. Some of the things that endeared her to Alaskan voters (refusing to be away from her family a lot & even adjusting her schedule to allow for that) is not an option for a VP.
  5. She wants to compare herself to Clinton (who reminded us that she wasn't a cookie-baking, stay-at-home mommy) while still pandering to the cookie-baking, stay-at-home mommies. Pick one, girl. Define yourself by your actions, not your words.
  6. If a parent is going to voluntarily put themselves in the public spotlight, plan ahead. Find out what kinds of pics your kids have posted up online.
  7. If a candidate is going to brag about being open and honest, don't use your infant to shield the pregnant belly of your teenager because you weren't being open and honest...
Peace
--Free