Monthly Archives: July 2019

#3FaveBooksWhenIWasAKid

Yesterday was one of those days that I really miss my Twitter account.  My account has been locked down since February because I expressed that the boy from Covington High School deserved to be punched in the chest.  I was on the Twitter account of my workplace today and I saw #3FaveBooksWhenIWasAKid.  I wanted to add my favorites so bad but I couldn’t add that to my employer’s Twitter feed so I will write about mine on WordPress instead.

Three of my favorite books from my upper elementary and middle school days are The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne, Beat the Turtle Drum by Constance Green and Karen Kepplewhite is the World’s Greatest Kisser by Eve Bunting.

I remember ordering a copy of The Scarlet Letter from Scholastic book orders when I was in the fifth grade in 1985 or ’86.  The book was published in 1850 and takes place in the 1600’s.  It’s amazing how the world hasn’t changed in many ways since then.  The book is a story of a 1600’s, colonial Massachusetts single mom who is ostracized by her ultra conservative Puritan community.  Hester is sentenced to wearing the scarlet letter A for adultery on her chest for the rest of her life. Her baby daddy takes no responsibility for his participation in the conception of the Hester Prynne’s bastard child.  Baby daddy is the town preacher by the way.  I believe that was the big revelation at the end of the book.

I believe that I got a copy of Beat the Turtle Drum from my elementary school library.  It was the first book to ever make my cry.  The story centers around two sisters that are very different.  One sister thinks of herself as homely while her sister is beautiful and favored by their parents.  The beautiful sister dies in an accident.  The sisters were in their backyard tree house.  The beautiful sister leans forward out the doorway of the hous while on her knees in order to see her pet horse.  She falls forward to the ground.  The fall kills her.  The rest of the story is about how the family copes with the loss of the little girl.  This book set a precedent for me.  As a person that isn’t super emotional anything that makes me cry gets a good recommendation from me.

Karen Kepplewhite Is The World’s Best Kisser is another book I ordered from Scholastic book orders when I was in middle school.  I’m not sure that it was one of my favorites back then but I remember it fondly now.  It was a very sweet coming of age tale of young girls.  Today we would say they were exploring their sexuality but we didn’t think like that then.  The girls were just looking forward to and preparing for their first kiss.

All I remember about the book is that the main character Karen and her friend practiced for their first kiss.  They had plans to attend a boy girl party and wanted to be ready.  At the party a bunch of kids played a variation of Spin the Bottle called Seven Minutes in Heaven.  The young party goers sat on the floor in a circle and spun a pop bottle.  The spinner had to go in the closet and kiss the person who the bottle pointed to once it stopped.

The couple went in the closet and they kissed.  A lot of suspense built up to that moment.  They kissed with their clothes on and no genitals were involved at all.  In contrast to today’s YA literature which is very dark and sexualized, it is very sweet.  It’s almost like I grew up in Puritan times myself.  Ahh, the mid 1980s.

Those are #3FaveBooksWhenIWasAKid.  The Sweet Valley Twins also deserve an honorable mention.

sweet valley twins

Organic is Great Until it’s Too Organic

Every Wednesday morning during the summer there is a little farmers’ market that operates out of the parking lot that I park in at work.  It’s called the KCK Farmers’ Market.  The farmer’s market is in an inner city neighborhood that doesn’t have a grocery store nearby.  It’s great that residents of that community can get fresh vegetables without traveling far which may be a challenge for some.  And government food assistance coupons are accepted.

https://www.facebook.com/kckfarmersmarket/

I recently learned that the sellers are also a part of the community.  I was wondering how far they traveled to participate in the market.  Most of them are Muslim Somali women and a few very well mannered children, Southeast Asian and African American farmers that grow their crops locally.  I think that the market is a win – win for everyone involved so I like to support them.

I don’t buy organic food at super markets because it is more expensive and I have no way of knowing if it’s organic or not.  I’m also not sure if the difference is something worth the extra money.  Some years back I jumped on the organic food band wagon but quit after it started taking a toll on my bank account.  It was back to pesticide laced veggies for me.  The prices at the KCK Farmers market are comparable to non organic food at the super market.

Last week I bought some red potatoes and a bell pepper at the market.  The pepper was a great fresh snack.  I was completely satisfied.  I cut up the potatoes this morning to cook with chicken breasts and I was in for a bit of a surprise.  Half of my potatoes were a bit rotten in the center.  I was kind of freaked out.  I’m not actually sure my red potatoes were spoiled.  I don’t know what I was seeing exactly because I’ve lived my life in a bubble with genetically modified and chemically altered fruits and vegetables that have been sorted for super market showtime.

I wasn’t comfortable with the brownish gray soft spots in my potatoes so I threw half of them away.  The potatoes were probably edible but still.  I had enough potatoes which met my standards to prepare with my chicken and have a hearty side portion.  I was making too much for one meal anyway.  I was planning on having left overs.

So I said all of that to say that there are benefits and drawbacks to everything.  The chemicals may cause you cancer and an early death but while you’re alive you will have pretty fruit with a longer shelf life.  Organic food is pure and raw.  But I, like most people am not quite prepared for pure and raw.  It’s not what most of us are use to in these United States where absolutely everything is manufactured in one way or another.

There isn’t much of a point to this post.  I just thought that my experience with organic, locally grown red potatoes was an interesting learning experience.  I will continue to support the KCK Farmers’ Market.  I may even buy more red potatoes there because I absolutely love red potatoes.  The KCK Farmers’ Market is a great asset to Wyandotte County Kansas that benefits many people in the area.  If you’re ever in the area please support this enterprise.

http://www.kckfarmersmarket.com/contact-us.html

The Greatest Generation

The title Greatest Generation is typically reserved for those that came of age around WWII.  For Black Americans the Greatest Generation is those who came of age during the Black Civil Rights era.  People such as Sadie Roberts-Joseph who recently lost her life to a senseless murder in Baton Rouge, LA changed the world and they don’t get enough respect for their accomplishments.  This post is not a discussion of Ms. Roberts-Joseph’s murder.

Black Americans of the Civil Rights era made the blueprint for protests and activism.  The LGBT movement, feminists and supporters of undocumented immigrants use the Black Civil Rights movement as a tool in which to gain sympathy for their struggles as a basis of comparison.  The Black American Civil rights movement has been a source of global inspiration.

These people were real activists that sought change and got it.  They risked their freedom, bodily harm and death while fighting for their rights against the most powerful country in the world.  I have a great deal of respect for some Black Lives Matter organizers and protesters.  But overall, the younger generation limits activism to hash tags and they accomplish very little.  At times I find social media activism to be counter productive.

I enjoy social media but it is what it is and it’s not what it’s not.  It’s not meaningful activism because it only makes a difference if it’s something popular.  Most social media advocacy is a matter of jumping on the right on line bandwagon.

That’s why the movement to fight sexual harassment caught on but the one to fight sexual harassment in the fast food industry didn’t. There’s no glamour to the fast food industry so not many people are willing to advocate for them.  That’s why there was an on line campaign to bring R. Kelly to justice but there isn’t a mainstream campaign to protect Black children from sexual abuse within the Black community.  That’s why police brutality is not protested until there is a shocking video.  If there isn’t a celebrity or shock value involved social media activism doesn’t seem to catch on very well.

Sadie Roberts-Joseph was not an arm chair activist.  She created a legacy for her community.  Ms. Roberts-Joseph founded an African American museum in Baton Rouge.  She worked with law enforcement in an effort to combat gang violence and drug abuse.  She also organized a Juneteenth celebration and mentored young people.  Ms. Roberts-Joseph was a real treasure to her community.

https://www.cnn.com/2019/07/16/us/sadie-roberts-joseph-profile/index.html

Most young, so called activists do not have this same kind of spirit.  They just want to throw their identity in another person’s face to be validated.  There are a lot of issues facing this generation that don’t seem to get addressed.  I feel like most young people are more interested in the trials and tribulations of celebrities than they are issues that affect the middle, working class and the poor.

There are a lot of people that think of themselves as “pro Black” or activists but they complain on social media all day about trivial things such as swirling (inter racial dating), fake hair and twerking.  I think that all of those subjects are worth talking about but Black social media outlets beat these conversations like they are dead horses.  On line activists rarely discuss the other dozens upon dozens of matters that affect Black Americans.

It is rare to run across intelligent conversations on social media about nutrition, education, health care, finance, parenting, inner city violence, domestic violence or the high infant mortality rate in our community.  Most of the conversations focus on a bunch of bickering about other people’s personal choices.  They want to try and change another person’s ideology instead of getting up from behind their lap tops and mobilizing something that will positively affect lives where they live.

And all of that is actually fine with me.  Perhaps people are mostly satisfied with their lives and simply enjoy complaining on the internet.  Heck, I complain on social media too.  But here’s the kick in the pants.  A lot of the armchair activists are very critical of The Greatest Generation.  They are critical of their parenting style.  They are critical of their religious beliefs.  And they are even critical of the activism from which they have directly benefited.

These Monday morning activists question whether integration was a good idea.  They consider The Greatest Generation to be soft because they took a non violent approach to protesting.  But the younger generation doesn’t stand for much at all other than inclusion and diversity.  Neither issue is a priority to me as a Black American.  Some don’t seem to notice that all this inclusion and diversity is pushing them out of influential positions and opportunities.  But go off!

Youngsters don’t put themselves on the line.  They don’t risk anything.  Whether you agree with The Greatest Generation or not their accomplishments and spirit deserves respect.  A lot of Black people that are the beneficiaries of the Civil Rights movement don’t offer that.  It’s a shame and it’s very sad.  But once again Black people turn their backs on their own accomplishments, history and culture.  It seems to be so much more natural for Black Americans to tear themselves down than build themselves up for some reason.

I am a part of Generation X which is a bridge between the Greatest Generation and the people that I’m complaining about.  You may ask what Generation X stood for or accomplished.  Honestly, not that much.  We’re kind of vapid at times.  But at least we respect our elders.

Rest in peace to Miss Sadie.  Her end was tragic but the story of her life is inspiring.  Women like Ms. Roberts-Joseph have always been the cornerstone of Black families and communities and they are deserving of praise.  She makes me proud.

 

White People’s News: Christian McCaffrey and Olivia Culpo a Case Study

 

Today I will discuss some pertinent White people news.  No, this is not about Trump nor any of his flunkies in Congress.  No, this isn’t about unemployment in rural America.  This is about two of the best looking White people on the planet:  Christian McCaffrey and Olive Culpo.  I will be discussing and analyzing their budding relationship or perhaps showmance.  This piece is being fueled by irrational jealousy and a distrust of mainstream and social media.

First, let me tell you a bit about my relationship with Christian McCaffrey that exists in my mind.  He’s the star running back for Brown America’s Team, the Carolina Panthers.  He was my man Cam’s right hand last season.  The first time I ever saw him was in a Playoff during Christian’s rookie season against the Saints.

I turned to the game just as Christian was trucking it across the field on his way to the end zone for a Panther’s touchdown.  I was stunned.  I had never seen a White man move that way.  And I still haven’t forgotten it.  I refer to Christian as Barry Sanders Jr.  In an instant I was struck with an old lady crush.  I could easily have a child this man’s age.  Easily.

 

 

Christian McCaffrey seems to be a very nice person.  He helped save an old man’s life last year while he was hiking with his brothers.  He has no tattoos, he seems to love the Lord and he is a renaissance man.  He’s an amateur musician and has a classic taste in clothing.  His fashion sense has a hint of an edge at times.  I will credit that to spending a lot of time around Cam Newton.  His dad is a Superbowl Champ that played for the Denver Broncos.  Christian McCaffrey is a dream boat.

olivia and christian 4

Side note:  What’s going on with the Carolina Panthers?  They are fine as hell.  They don’t even look like a real football team.  It’s like they are a movie about a football team.  Cam is one of the most handsome men I’ve ever seen.  Luke Keuchly is a looker.  Christian is gorgeous and carries himself with sophistication at a young age.  Coach Rivera gives all kinds of mature, sexy Latin vibes.  It’s like they were cast by a Hollywood agent.

For the last month or so there have been rumors in the White gossip media outlets about Christian and Olivia dating.  It all started when they started following each other on IG and he liked one of her pictures.  Someone please explain to me whose job it is to monitor which celebrity unfollows who and likes what.  What a job.  After that gossip media news outlets said that “sources” say that the attractive pair was spending time together and enjoying each other’s company.

I have been through phases when I watched TMZ religiously and I pored over grocery store gossip magazines like US Weekly.  After a while I came to the conclusion that it is all baloney.  The celebrities themselves are the “sources” that vague articles cite in articles.  And I’m sure that they tip off TMZ crews on when they are going to dinner at a trendy LA eatery with a new, high profile companion.  TMZ stakes out in a very small area in LA.  So people that hang out in that area are trying to be seen.

I question a lot of these so called celebrity relationships because a lot of the speculation is based on one meeting or dinner date.  Imagine  having someone write about you every time you had a good time on a dance floor with someone or each time you went out to dinner or a movie with a new friend.  One flirtation or evening out does not make a relationship.

But I think the gossip media outlets and the celebrities take advantage of it all and give people something to talk about.  Showmances seem like an easy and mutually beneficial way to get your name out to the public.  I suspect that a lot of the Kardashian relationships and some of the marriages have been showmances.  I have watched reports on TMZ of some of the Kardashian so called romantic relationships.  I’ve seen these women supposedly caught by surprise by the paparazzi out on a date or making a red carpet appearance and they had ZERO chemistry with the man in their company.

It was like two strangers just happened to be walking side by side on a busy sidewalk.  Or they were out with an employee or business associate.  But they wanted us to buy that we were witnessing the beginning of a hot new romance.  I’m sorry but I kind of suspect the same thing might be going on with Christian and Olivia.

christian and olivia

These pictures prove that they’ve met but that’s about it.  Are these really the best image this photographer could have produced?  I don’t see any chemistry.  I would make a better paparazzi than this person.  That is if there was really anything to photograph.  And they’re not that famous.  I know them because I follow sports and pageants.  I don’t think that these two have the kind of clout to be recognized overseas and draw much attention.  It wouldn’t be that hard to surreptitiously stalk and photograph them.

olivia and christian 2

Who knows this could be a sweet new romance.  It could also be someone holding their drunk friend’s hand so they don’t get lost.  That’s sweet too.  We don’t really know what’s going on here and neither of them are saying anything.  They are Vaguebooking.

Olivia’s friend made an IG story about her time in Mexico with Olivia and Christian.  I’ve never heard of her nor her male companion.  So how exactly did TMZ and the other gossip peddlers find this so fast?  They were tipped off that’s how.

Once again we saw no chemistry or spark whatsoever.  You know how social media works.  Some people get a tiny bit of a boyfriend or girlfriend and then they make dozens of posts about their new soul mate and everything they do together.  This isn’t happening here at all.  Or they don’t post about their love life at all and suddenly announce that they are now married.  Neither is happening here so I think they are just looking for attention which surprises me from Christian.  He doesn’t seem thirst like that.  Her yes, him no.

It will be interesting to see how this all pans out.  Olivia seems like a nice enough lady.  And I loved her Miss Universe dress more than any other contest winner I can remember.

miss universe

But this woman is media trained and I believe that she is driven and calculating.  Evidently she posts a bunch of stuff about going to band camp when she was a kid and getting made fun of for her eyebrows.  Girl, bye!  Even if it’s true.

She’s dated many well known men in the past.  A man that plays for the Detroit Lions had a breakdown on IG over his break up with her a few months ago.  And in between his breakdown and the beginning the Christian rumors that she probably started it was said that she dated a famous DJ.  This girl is something else.

Anyway I wish them the best.  And by that I mean that I hope Christian will be OK regardless of how this pans out.  I won’t say that I hope this is real because it’s here nor there to me aside from them both being very nice looking people.  I just think the things people do for notoriety and attention are very interesting.

 

More Feminist Confusion

The feminists are at it again.  These people are harder to understand than calculus.  Music producer Jermaine Dupri made a comment that most female rappers today make songs about the stripper life.  Social media feminists got upset for some reason and somehow Jermaine Dupri has become a prudish hypocrite in their minds even though their response is a bit prudish.  I thought feminists were in favor of “sexual liberation” and expression.

I don’t listen to much new rap music anymore.  I’ve gotten too old.  So if I have heard of you that means that you have become pretty darn popular.  Cardi B is a hip hop pop star that has become difficult to escape.  And I’ve gotten introduced to Megan Thee Stallion and City Girls.  I don’t care for Cardi B. at all but I think that Megan Thee Stallion and City Girls are quite talented.

I’m a Bible thumper that believes that there is more power for women in modesty than there is in raw sexuality.  I also believe that these talented young women would be better served by not flaunting their sexuality.  The public will only tolerate that without mocking it while a woman is young but no one is young forever or even very long.  You have to have something to sell and talk about other than sex.  But I’m not the target market for the music industry and I’m in my middle forties.  The City Girls and Megan didn’t ask for my opinion.

I like these girls because I can understand what they are saying.  They aren’t mumble rappers that sound like they are coming out of a cold medicine induced haze.  They are charismatic, energetic, young, brash and beautiful.  They are urban or perhaps ratchet is the better word and make no apologies for it.  Their music is fun.  And yes, they are sexy and put forth a stripper like image.  When I ran across their videos on You Tube they made me smile.  I don’t know City Girls and Megan Thee Stallion’s backgrounds but Cardi B. was an actual stripper.

Hip hop has been filthy, blunt and telling tales of urban counter culture since the late 80s. That’s the draw and the charm.  Hip hop has sold millions and probably billions because it sells a fantasy to those of us that are students, housewives and work cubicle jobs.  They say and do things before an audience that most of us would never do even after a couple of shots of tequila.  Feminism has done it’s job.

The City Girls parents probably hadn’t even met yet when tawdry rap music gained popularity and began to dominate the charts. Megan The Stallion and Cardi B. never really had a chance and most young women are never really given a different option to present themselves as something other than slutty.  But hey, we’re talking about grown, career women and I respect their choices.

Explicit lyrics, filth and racial slurs ahead.

I thought that feminists were in favor of women expressing themselves sexually and on their own terms.  That’s what the City Girls and Megan Thee Stallion are doing.  It’s what Nicki Minaj did before them.  And it’s what Lil Kim and Foxy Brown did before her these girls’ parents even met.  The young feminist response to Jermaine Dupri’s response should have been “So what if they rap about stripping.  What’s wrong with stripping?”  That would have made more sense to double down on their feminist values.

More trash ahead.

Instead they name off a bunch of other current female rappers that have a more wholesome or emo image.  In order to say that all young female rappers aren’t stripper like.  If feminists are truly supportive of these modest rappers why aren’t they more popular?  Capitalism is it’s own form of Democracy and feminists get a vote.

Jermaine Dupri is absolutely right.  Most popular young female rappers are selling sex.  It’s the way of the world and you need to be a real rebel to make a different choice.  There may be a Lauryn Hill or Missy Elliot equivalent for today but she doesn’t seem to be selling much music.  Or at least she’s not selling enough downloads and getting enough buzz to become mainstream like Cardi B.

Jermaine Dupri isn’t young anymore.  He’s forty six years old and it sounds like he’s gained some wisdom along the way.  He understands that there is more power for women in modesty and using talent and intelligence.  I hold the same opinion but I guess I’m enough of a feminist to respect an adult woman’s life choice.  He’s just trying to let young women with aspirations in the music business that their longevity is not in blatant sex appeal.

After all, Lauryn Hill still sells out concerts even though her fans know she might show up two hours late.  And we’ve never seen much of her body or heard much about her sexual experiences.  She did it all with talent and hard work.  Punctuality, not so much.

But feminists are interested in arguing and becoming outraged no matter what.  That seems to be the goal.  They aren’t even standing behind their cause of sexual liberation and expression.  A man got them to rally around modest rappers today which is what he was supporting.  Women stay losing.

The Little Mermaid 2019

There’s been a lot of discussion about the young actress Halle Bailey playing the part of Ariel in the “The Little Mermaid”.  Most of the conversation has centered around race.  evidently some are upset that a Black woman is playing the character and others are upset that someone is upset.  I don’t have any strong opinions on the matter but I’ve enjoyed the jokes and memes on social media surrounding our new Little Mermaid.

It’s always nice to see Black actors getting opportunities but aside from that I don’t care about this.  I don’t take much interest in anything Disney related.  I had never heard of Halle before.  And I’m not one to take a lot of pride in a Black character being added to an all White cast of a TV show.  It actually bothers me that Hollywood remakes films and they think they are being edgy by making a male character female, a White character Black or by making everybody gay.  Ooooohhhhh.

While wasting time on You Tube the other day I ran across a few videos featuring Halle Bailey and her sister.  I was instantly charmed.  Halle Bailey is perfect.  All of these people that are debating and making think pieces on this matter have sold Halle short because I didn’t hear any of them describe her as perfect until I saw this.  Please watch.

https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/video/chloe-x-halle-perform-america-beautiful-at-super-bowl-watch-1182246

 

 

Halle is the one in the red jogging suit.  She is young, innocent, pure and sweet as pie.  She sings like a bird and has a face like a baby doll.  Disney could not have done better if they grew this girl in a lab and raised her themselves to star in their film.  She was born for this and she is going to kill it.  I think this will be legendary.

Her sister is lovely as well so Disney might as well put her in the film too since Ariel had a bunch of sisters.  Are there more Bailey sisters?  We need more!  Tell me about their dad.  Is he a singer?  Cast him.  He’s a good man and he deserves it.

ariel's family

Unfortunately race is a big issue in the world but I bet Disney casting agents didn’t even think of race when considering Halle for this role.  I’ll bet it was an afterthought;  like “oh yeah do we care that she’s Black and the cartoon isn’t?  Nah me neither.”

I have a hard time imaging that there are many more young women out there who can fit the bill as well as Halle.  I had no intention of seeing this movie but now that I’ve seen how talented this young star I’m actually interested.  My big question is how are they going to make a live action movie about sea people?  That should be the real conversation.