98... 99... 100!

My 100th post. Wow. When I first started this blog thing back in July, I never thought I'd post any more than four or five before eventually quiting. But, Jim and Jennie started following me and I thought to myself, "Self, you may actually be able to post a few more and get another follower or two."

42 followers later, I'm at post #100.

I started going back through my posts and of course, I had to start at the original rant that started it all! "A Blood Rush to the Brain". Rush Limbaugh said something that ticked me off enough to start a blog just to make a political point.

I enjoyed being able to say what I wanted and decided to continue blogging. Weeks later came post #25. "Why Am I Not Asleep?" It should have been titled "Why Didn't I Hit Delete?"

It was early in the morning and I was flat-out tired and borderline hallucinating. Although I was still awake, my body was clearly tired. I tried sleeping, but every time I drifted off, I would wind up in a nightmare within seconds. I don't know if that happens to any of you or not, but when my body is dog-tired, I have nightmares. I wonder if I'm the only person cursed like that?

You would think that blog would have been the one to get me to quit, but I kept going. After all, I was up to 20-something followers by then, so blogging became a drug. In the month of October, I cranked out 28 posts in 31 days on a range of topics from if white women care if white men date outside of the race to discussing the plight of guys crossing into "The Friend Zone" with women.

Post #75 was about the growing attention on the Brett Favre "Crank/Crocs" scandal. Brett reportedly sent a photo of his junk while wearing Crocs to a former Jets employee named Jenn Sterger. Although I think Jenn was in it for the publicity and money, I do believe Favre got off (wrong choice of words) with a slap on the wrist in a $50,000 fine. I wondered in the post if there was a bias against black athletes who get criticized for doing a lot less than what Favre did. It was appropriately called "Media Bias Against Black Athletes."

I've really enjoyed blogging, although I've sort have taken a break over the past few weeks. I do intend on working my way to #150 and hopefully generating more feedback. I always get comments from people who agree, but rarely from people who do not. I'm always looking for different opinions, so hopefully I can get more banter on the comment feeds.

To those who have supported the blog as a follower or a casual reader, I truly appreciate it. For those who take the time to comment on a post, you get a special "thank you".

I've had a range of serious topics to discuss as of late, but I'm going to return back to the lighter side of things for a while. To try to recapture the humor from posts like "Get Out of My Back Pocket!", "When Pampering Becomes Tampering", and "Don't Do It, Fellas!"

Again, thanks, all!

2010: Year in Review (Oct. - Dec.)

Here's my last look at some things that went down in 2010 that I thought were worth mentioning:


10/8 Brett Favre text messages revealed - Deadspin.com revealed alleged e-mails sent by Favre to an ex-Jets employee named Jenn Sterger back when Favre was a Jet. The messages included nude pictures of Favre's "crank and Crocs" and voice mail messages allegedly inviting Sterger to his hotel room. Favre was investigated by the league for the allegations. Two days ago, Favre was fined $50,000 for failing to comply with the investigation. A slap on the wrist for a long-time NFL player that the league didn't want to embarrass on his way to retirement. After all, he'll need his strength for what his wife, Deanna, is going to do to him in the off-season.

Worth mentioning: 10/6 Christine O'Donnell announces she's not a witch - Delaware GOP Senate candidate Christine O'Donnell released an ad claiming 'I am not a witch.' All because an old Bill Maher video had her saying that she dabbled in witchcraft over a decade ago. What is sadder: that a person has to release a six-figure ad stating she's not a witch or the fact that someone who may be a witch is running for Senate?

11/16 Alcohol energy drink Four Loko reformulated - First of all, "alcohol energy" is an oxymoron. Phusion Projects announced it was reformulating its alcoholic energy drink line called 'Four'. Prior to the announcement, the beverage included as much caffeine as a cup of coffee and 12% alcohol content, and could be bought in various flavors. The drink is believed to have made more than a dozen people sick at a party at Central Washington University. My two cents on this story: stick to Coke, Pepsi and the likes. Too many companies are experimenting with drinks and I'm nobody's guinea pig. All of these energy drinks and "jolt colas" aren't for me.

Worth mentioning: 11/2 Midterm elections - Republicans drop-kicked the Demos in the throat on the way to reclaiming the White House. Most called the sweeping change a statement against the Obama agenda, including health care and rising deficit. Nancy Pelosi lost her position as House speaker. That job will be filled in 2011 by House Minority Leader John Boehner who cries more than ex-NFL coach, Dick Vermeil.

12/31 Jailed Miss. sisters freed but must trade kidney - Big story in my home state and now nationwide. Two sisters, jailed for being masterminds to a crime, have been in jail for almost 20 years. Governor Haley Barbour, who is angling for a presidential run, is doing some damage control after a remark about the Civil Rights Era got him in hot water a while back. I'm not a fan of "Uncle Jesse" Barbour at all since I trust former lobbyists about as much as I trust escorting an elephant over a frozen pond. Haley doesn't seem to have the state's interest at heart at all which is why I'll be glad when he's out of office. Having said all of that, Barbour agreed to free these ladies, but under one condition: the healthier sister donates her kidney to her ailing sister. Seems like a strange condition of release, but I guess these sisters will take what they can get. People argue that these ladies did way too much time for masterminding a robbery back in the day. I don't have a lot of sympathy for guilty people, but I do believe that the punishment should fit the crime and this one just doesn't seem to do so unless I'm missing facts some where. Well, at least it's over for them now. Wait. What if the kidney isn't a match?

Worth mentioning: 12/30 Hearst, DirecTV reach TV deal - Get used to this. Broadcast companies and providers have been arguing more and more over money as of late resulting in the consumers getting the short end of the stick. It sucks that companies like Comcast, who own certain networks, will hold their competition like DirecTV hostage over the cost of airing Comcast-owned stations. These brawls have occurred plenty of times this year resulting in stations like Versus, G4, FOX, FX and others to "go dark" in the homes of millions while these companies argue over coin. The focus of this country has really changed. The customer used to always be right, but now you have to just accept what companies offer because we're powerless in society. Well, not really, we're just stupid.

Well, that's it. Sure, there were plenty of other stories that went on in 2010 and a lot of them were really important. But, I figured I'd pull a select few to review as we roll into 2011.

After starting my blog in July, I now have 44 followers of my blog, 46 Twitter followers (including comedian, Wanda Sykes), 75 FB fans and 113 members in my BlogFrog Community.

Thanks for the support, everyone! I'm glad that you take time to read the rants of a guy, with Deep South home training, who has an opinion on absolutely everything. Now, if you all can each just get five of your followers to join my team, this year can be even better!

So, if you'll excuse me, I have to go practice writing "2011" so that I don't go all the way into April still putting "2010" on everything. Happy New Year, people.

Check out Jan. - Mar.
Check out Apr. - Jun.
Check out Jul. - Sep.

How To Get Famous 101

A few decades ago, it took talent to get on TV. Not only did you have to have acting skills in the days of Sammy Davis, Jr., Elvis or Fred Astaire in order to get on TV, but you also had to know how to sing and dance, too. Everyone on TV was the "complete package" when it came to truly being famous. That meant years and years (for some) of doing stand-up comedy in night clubs, or singing in bars or going on the road and performing in plays.


In 2010, it is not about if you're talented or not. It's all about if you are memorable . I don't know who won last season's "American Idol", but I remember the "Pants on the Ground" guy, Larry Platt.

Society has set the stage for us to find our way onto someone's flat screen! Will you do something so mind-numbingly stupid that people will remember you and want to see more of you?

How to Get Famous 101 starts now!

Sex Tape/Scandal

Monica Lewinsky, Paris Hilton, Ray J, Kim Kardashian are a few names that immediately come to mind when I mention sex tapes and scandals. Each of them were either the furthest thing from my mind or completely unknown to me before their tape/scandals put them on the map.

I had absolutely no idea who Kim Kardashian was before her sex tape. Aside from the fame generated from the sex tape, I really don't know what her accomplishments are in life. For that matter, the co-star of her tape, Ray J, was an extremely small-time R&B singer before the release of the flick. I simply knew him as "Brandy's brother" prior to its release.



Now, he is going into his 3rd season of his reality show "For The Love of Ray J". A show where actresses, er, uh, I mean contestants try to win his affection through whoreish tactics, er, uh... Scratch that. I mean, by spending quality time with him.

Kim K. is going into her 5th season of "Keeping Up With The Kardashians" which is about a family of losers spending their dead dad's money. And while I'm on the topic of Kim, if I hear one more white guy comment on her butt, I'm going to blow a gasket!

Black women have had booty for centuries and they have gone unnoticed. Now I have to hear my white friends go on and on about Kim's butt?

I'm going to give it to you straight because I'm a Life Referee: I can go to my local historically black university and see 25 Kim Kardashian booties from the time I park my car until the time I walk to the first dormitory. If you don't believe me, then you better ask someone. It's not to hate on Kim's shape because it's the one thing I've seen evidence of that she does well. Well, maybe one of two things. So, it's not her at all, but it is about the guys I deal with regularly who act like Kim and J-Lo invented round butts. Fail!



If Kim were black, she would be another curvy shape and not some "wide hips revolution". It may sound harsh, but it's true. Not to turn off any of my readers, but my blogs are real and I call it like I see it. Sorry about the tirade. My blogs are simply my thoughts put on-screen. What comes up, comes out.

Back to sex tapes/scandals. Monica Lewinsky turned her romps with Bubba Clinton into a TV show and a book deal. Only in America can a person turn from a ho to a household name.

Paris Hilton was the first person who I ever heard referred to as a "socialite". Dictionary.com says that a socialite is "a socially prominent person". My translation of that is "a person who shows up at parties and tries to get on camera every chance they can". Speaking of cameras, how can someone take a million different photos and have the same expression in each one of them?



When she released "One Night in Paris", she became an internet Google search sensation virtually overnight. She helped paved the way for many shameless people who "leak" sex tapes to get, for lack of a better word, exposure. Although Pam Anderson was the first one I remember, it was Paris who did it during the Digital Age which skyrocketed her popularity. Sorry, Pam. I hope "Dancing With The Stars" worked out for you.

Next topic: YouTube

Media Bias Against Black Athletes

Ok, so this story about Brett Favre trying to get with a NY Jets employee and sending her photos of his junk was first brought to my attention two or three months ago. I told some co-workers of mine that the story would not carry a lot of steam when, or even if, the media decided to report it. There's too much of a media bias and it's driven me to blog about it. A majority of the media loves Favre and wouldn't speak badly of him unless they absolutely had no choice.

I'm not one to play the race card, but as a sports fan, if I sat down with pen and pad, I could probably easily write down 10 white athletes who have done something stupid and got a slap on the wrist (if anything) from the media to every five black athletes who have done something stupid and get 'skull drug' by the media.

Now, with this Favre-nude-in-Crocs-photo thing, I can't help but think of Tiger Woods. When Tiger had his car accident last year, there was immediate speculation that his ex, Elon, took a nine iron to his dome. The talking heads were spewing left and right that she assaulted him with a golf club for cheating.

Where's the media speculation on Favre? Why am I not seeing it lead SportsCenter every night like I did with Tiger? Tiger was even the big story on non-sports shows from Nancy Grace to Good Morning America. Why are the sports stations now deciding to "wait on the story to unfold" before commenting rather than speculating as usual? There are photos, voicemail messages and texts posted online as evidence in the harassment case, so isn't that enough for a story?



Another example: when a drunk Ben Roethlisberger allegedly sexually assaulted that college student in GA, ESPN did not even report on the story until days later. One of the reasons is that ESPN (affiliated with ABC) was featuring Ben in a reality show with Shaq. There was no reason to report he was potentially a rapist and ruin your ratings, right?

Yet, ESPN immediately fired Michael Irvin from his radio job after he was accused of rape (even though charges were dropped). Why not give your employee the benefit of the doubt? Sure, Irvin has a reputation of doing stupid things, but that was over a decade ago since he was considered a bad boy. ESPN later said they were not going to renew his contract anyway due to bad ratings. If that's the case, then why not let his contract expire like everyone else instead of firing him?

I remember back in the 90's watching a football game with Deion Sanders playing. I can't remember if it was Ian Eagle, Dan Dierdorf, or whoever, but the commentator criticized Deion for playing while hurt. "He's hurting his team by being selfish and not taking himself out of the game" is what I remembered hearing.

That very next week, the same guy was covering a Jets game. Wayne Chrebet, a white wide receiver, was playing hurt that day and not having his best game. I remember hearing something along the lines of, "Chrebet is such a gutsy competitor to tough it out despite his injury. A true iron man."

What!!!??? To this day, I remember how furious I was. Deion can't be "gutsy", too? Is it because of his flashy style? Because he chooses to dance in the endzone after scoring while Chrebet just hands the ball to the referee?

The black athlete rarely gets the benefit of the doubt. At one time, some of them did, but after O.J., Kobe and now Tiger, I doubt many ever will again.



The Q Score Company (not my company -- LOL!) did a survey on the most hated athletes: Michael Vick, Tiger Woods, Terrell Owens, Chad Ochocinco and Kobe Bryant were the Top 5. All black.

Vick, I can understand people hating him since he went to jail for dog fighting. Tiger, T.O., and Ocho have not been accused of any crimes to my knowledge. Kobe got accused of one, but was later cleared. The first white person on the list is Ben Roethlisberger who was #6.

So, excluding Vick, two adulterers and two show-offs are more hated than a man accused of rape twice in two years? Are the reality shows for T.O. and Ochocinco really that bad?

Don't answer that.

Is LeBron James the first sports guy to ever leave a team for greener pastures? Nope. It's been happening for two decades now. See Nick Saban, Ray Bourque, and almost any MLB pitcher.

So, how does a man leaving a single Midwest city make him the most hated man in America?

Two words: media portrayal. I believe the only reason is the Top 5 Hated is blacker than a Jackson State University homecoming is the way the media reports on black athletes. I can't think of any other reason. If you can, then please tell me.

Have any of your ever heard of Matt Jones? Exactly. Probably not unless you're an Arkansas Razorbacks or Jacksonville Jaguars fan. He's had felony drug arrests and I wouldn't recognize him if he walked into my house wearing his jersey. I guess I missed him on Nancy Grace.



When a black athlete does something stupid, it's not just sports news, it's national news. If you don't believe me, then Google "Tiger Woods cheats" and see how many non-sports sites come up on Page 1. Then Google "Ben Roethlisberger rape" and see how many you get.


*** UPDATE - Before I posted this today, I did see a segment on "The Today Show" about Favregate. So, although it comes two or three months after I initially heard the story, it does look like the ball is rolling on this scandal. I don't want/enjoy to see athletes fail because we all do stupid things. But, when it does happen, I want everyone scrutinized equally.