(VIDEO) #Knockout Game Will Get Some Kid Hurt (or Worse)

First, I want you to watch the video...


Is this not one of the most ridiculous things ever? I don't get it. What in the world has happened to kids parents? How can you have a child capable of something like this unless you're not doing your job? I know all parents aren't slackers, but let's be honest: most of the kids in this video probably do not have proper parenting structure at home.

I love boxing and cage fighting, so I understand the fascination of seeing someone knocked out.  However, at least those people know that they're in a fight.  These people on the street do not.  The fact that these teens target women and children as well makes it even more disturbing to most people.

For those of you who jog or walk with earbuds in your ears, then I would advise you to make sure one of your ears is free to hear around you.  Society gets crazier and crazier each day and a walk to work or a jog in the neighborhood can lead to a concussion or worse.

As for the people perpetrating this act, don't think you're not putting yourself in harm's way as well.  There are more open-carry gun laws being passed and licenses to carry permits being issued.  One mistimed swing can result in you being shot.

Why Black Face Still Bothers Some

Julianne Hough as "Crazy Eyes."

Julianne Hough started a ripple in the social media waters when she appeared in "tanned face" at a Halloween party.  In her attempt to portray a character from "Orange is the New Black," she decided to go the "extra mile."  The character, "Crazy Eyes," is known for her eyes and her hair.  However, Julianne thought it was important (for reasons unknown) to also capture her skin color.

Big mistake.

You can't do things like that, even in 2013.  As long as there are people still on this planet who lived prior to Civil Rights being granted to black people, then there will not be a shortage of pissed off minorities.  Although I view her outfit as being stupid more than I do racist, my father (born in 1941) would be furious.  He grew up during a time when he wasn't even respected as an equal.

I think the idea to do this is stupid because she had to know people would flip out over this.  And if she didn't know, then that just shows her ignorance when it comes to the real world.  I'm guessing that she doesn't have that proverbial "black friend" who could have told her this would be a bad idea and a media nightmare.

Now, although her tanned look is mild at best, there is a reason why black face still bothers some.  It's still a sign of disrespect to a lot of people in this country.  When black people dress up for Halloween, how many of us have you ever seen put on "white face" to be Batman or Indiana Jones.  When is the last time you saw a black person use eye makeup to be Jackie Chan or Bruce Lee?  Odds are you probably haven't.

And it's not just a black / white thing either.  It's sometimes a black / black thing.  Most blacks also get upset when people who aren't white change their appearance to look white.  See Sammy Sosa and Michael Jackson.

We're a long way off from this not being a big deal.  With insensitive idiots like the below (portraying Trayvon Martin) still displaying foolishness, people who think this isn't a big deal can maybe understand where some of the rage originates.

Do you think that it's time to "get over" black face or is it still a problem in America?

Stupid People Have Stupid Children

Photo courtesy of the last presidential debate.

Okay, I need to step on my soap box for a bit.  Let me start off by saying that I'm not perfect.  However, one thing that I am is fair.  Unfortunately, that's a trait that has gone the way of the dinosaur.  As a blogger and talk radio show host, I read/hear a lot of opinions from people all over the world.  It's so sad to me that people think the way that they do.  I'm not just talking about a difference of opinions because that will happen.  I'm talking about how a lot people argue their opinions: with emotions.

You cannot debate something based on emotions.  Let me repeat: you cannot debate something based on emotions.  You can only debate something with logic.  Logic contains facts and facts are what win debates.

Emotions are important in everyday living, but they generally make a person unreasonable in debates.  They can cause you to repeat your argument, but only louder, to attempt to make a point.  They make you feel personally attacked in an argument that's not even about you.  They make you say stupid things like "just because" which is what people say when they don't have facts to support their argument.  You're just emotional.

But, let me get back to the fairness thing again.  What's bothering me is how people allow their emotions to do/say something that they absolutely know is wrong or unfair to another.  Here's an example: a man will father a child with someone he won't marry.  He and the woman get into an argument and because he doesn't like her, he won't support his child.

That's the epitome of stupid to me.  A man who denies his child because his feelings got hurt is a punk.  There's just no arguing that.  Regardless if that woman cheated on you with your best friend, the child still has to eat, be clothed and medicated regularly at a cost.  If a guy fails to see that because of the tears in his eyes over a woman, then he's a shell of a man.

Now, before you ladies stand up and clap, this foolishness applies to you, too.  In fact, despite the fact that women are said to mature quicker than men, that maturity is sometimes reduced by your emotions.  This is why we see the most popular reality shows with a predominantly female cast.  Because there isn't a shortage of women willing to turn a small disagreement into World War III.  Feeling the need to be right at the expense of others is the reason why so many of you are single and/or without friends.

It's a shame that our country is so volatile and that it thrives on divisiveness.  Black vs. white.  Young vs. old.  Democrats vs. Republicans.  Men vs. women.  All of this debating fueled with emotion instead of logic is why this country is filled with stupid people.  And stupid people have stupid children.  If you don't believe me, then follow a dumb kid home and see if someone just as dumb doesn't answer the door.

It is so frustrating to assume that each time I go into a debate, whether it's a serious topic or even something as trivial as sports, that I may be the only person with reasoning and facts behind my argument.  The other person may just have some emotional attachment to whatever it is they're supporting without any other debate ammunition.  I can definitely say that I truly understand why this country is deeper in a rut with each passing day, morally and financially.

We blame Obama, we blame teachers, we'll even blame the kid down the street and everyone else instead of ourselves.  We never blame ourselves.  After all, we can't be wrong because what we're saying "feels right."

Garbage.

(steps off soap box)

"Just because that's the way it should be!"

Meet Me at the Cheesecake Factory!

"Meet me at the Cheesecake Factory!"

People are stupid. I mean really stupid. The older that I get, the more that I believe it. I remember when I was a teen how wise I used to think 20-somethings and 30-somethings were.

Boy, was I wrong. Not all of them were wise. I was just too dumb at the time to realize that they weren't smart. The D+ student is king in the land of F students, right?

But, here are some things that I don't understand about people: Why is it so difficult to avoid something that other people have fallen for? Vince Young is arguably the great college football player in the last 25 years. He was drafted very high in the NFL by the Tennessee Titans and made over $25 million dollars. In roughly six years, he's now out of football and on the verge of being broke.

How is this possible in today's society? Athletes have gone broke time-and-time again, yet you can't figure out how not to spend approximately $11,000 per day? Of course, Vince, like many athletes, blames his "management" for his losses, but let's take a look at how some of his money was spent, shall we?

Allegedly, he spent $5,000 per week at the Cheesecake Factory. Now, I know that the CF has great food, but $5k per week? Surely that amount has to be an exaggeration, but even if it's close, then that's still sad.  TGI Friday's named a drink after him after he dropped $6k in one night at one of their locations.

Next, it was reported that he once bought 127 plane tickets because he wanted to fly alone. Lucky for the 10 people who happened to purchase their tickets before Vince bought up all of the seats.

He drinks $600 shots of a liquor called Louis XIII on top of a rumor that he and LenDale White, a former teammate, drank 75 shots of Patron in 30 minutes.  If that's true, then that's probably why neither one of them are playing now.

A stripper said he dropped $50k in one night and so on and so on.  You get the point by now.  Another athlete's bank account bites the dust.  For some reason, some athletes just can't seem to realize that "buying the bar," going to strip clubs, having multiple babies by multiple women, purchasing excessive jewelry, cars, homes, etc. will all lead to "Would you like to Super Size your order, ma'am?"

(VIDEO) Zero Tolerance = Zero Intellegence?

A 3-year old kid simulates a gun when using his hands to spell his name via sign language. His school has a huge problem with it. The Huffington Post article states: "Hunter Spanjer uses the standard S.E.E., Signing Exact English. He crosses his index and middle fingers and waves them slightly to signify his name. And, Grand Island Public Schools' policy forbids any "instrument" that "looks like a weapon," reported NCN."

Are we to the point with zero tolerance that a 3-year old gets punished for spelling his name using sign language? Now this kid has to change how he spells his name or risk being disciplined by this Nebraska school.

This zero tolerance stuff is ridiculous. There's always an exception to the rule. Always! First, it was kids being suspended for bringing a plastic fork weapon to eat lunch and now deaf kids need to either learn how to speak or change the spelling of their names?  In the words of Jack Nicholson's Joker character from Batman, "This town country needs an enema!"

Does "Zero Tolerence" equal "Zero Intelligence?"

Dazed & Confused

"I am the greatest!"

I'll give you this bit of info upfront: the moral of this story is to "always ask questions."  Sometimes, you can save yourself from a headache if you just ask "how" or "why?"  On to the story...

I used to think that my fighting skills were on-par with the best. That, of course, is despite the fact that I'd only been in one fight in my life at the time and that was in kindergarten. A kid and I had a dust-up over who would get the last swing on the playground. We were racing to the swing set and he pushed me down. I wasn't happy about him cheating and pushing me down.  So, in the end, I took a swing (at him) to get the swing.

But, that was 14 years prior to this incident. It was 1990 and I was an 18-year old freshman in his second semester. I'd started developing my "college personality" and had made plenty of friends. My school was located in the middle of nowhere, so we were frequently bored. We did whatever we could to entertain ourselves. This time, I wish I'd been studying instead of participating in relieving boredom on this night.

Someone on the 3rd floor had over-sized boxing gloves. Huge gloves filled with plenty of cushion, but still packed a punch like a well-swung pillow. A college guy's dream, right?  What started out as four of us swinging in the hallway for fun resulted in a crowd of 50+ people in front of the dormitory fighting for money.

I'm a huge boxing fan. I watched many matches with my father as a kid and in my mind, I had the technique needed to beat anyone. For a while, I was right. I disposed of my first seven opponents pretty easily. We would basically duke it out until someone gave up or got knocked down. For every dollar my dorm mates would bet, I'd get 50 cents of it if I won. So, I was making pretty good money with roughly 20-30 people betting on me each fight. 

I was some where around $70 when a suggestion was made that I fight James. James was a country, cornbread-fed, no-neck having football player from Clarksdale, MS. We nicknamed him "Donkey Kong" although I think James had more muscles than that barrel-tossing primate. Someone went to his room to get him while I pondered if I should consider an early retirement.

"Tim," I whispered to my roommate and holder of my money,"I don't think I want to fight James, man."

"Yeah, he is pretty big," he replied. "Maybe you should quit."

Since I had Tim's reassurance of me making the right decision, I got ready to take the gloves off until someone said, "$5 on this fight and the winner gets $3 per bet!"

$3 per person if I win? My greed choked out my common sense.  Don't judge!  Do you know how much that is for a college student? That thought quickly left my mind as James exited from the dorm into the parking lot where we were gathered. He was 5'6", 235 lbs. and was probably less than 12% body fat. He was a nice and jolly guy and always had jokes. "What's up, 'Chubb Rock?'" he started. "Someone told me that I can make $50 if I whip you."

"Chubb Rock" was a nickname I picked up in college. It came from a popular, chubby rapper at the time. James laughed as he slid on the boxing gloves. Tim collected the money from the gamblers. A group of ladies stopped by to see what the commotion was all about, so now there's the pressure of female presence making the stakes higher.

Someone said "ding, ding" to simulate a bell and James and I swung at each other like a low budget movie version of "Real Steel." The fight between us would later be described as "two guys throwing dynamite" as we scrapped like our lives depended on it.  I went toe-to-toe with a guy whose chest is so wide that he can't even reach across to scratch his other arm and I beat him. "You made $87!" Tim whispered emphatically.  Before I could respond, I heard a familiar deep voice say, "I'll fight him."

I turned around and saw our residential assistant. He was 6'5" and probably weighed about 240 lb. and his nickname was "Roughhouse." You would think that the origin of his nickname or his height would have concerned me, but I wasn't bothered by either. You see, Roughhouse was an ordained minister. And a minister can't fight. Right?  Besides, I'd just beaten "Donkey Kong."  I was 8-0.  I was invincible.

Roughhouse only agreed to fight if no money was placed on him as he slid on the gloves. Although he was much taller than me, I figured I'd wear out his stomach and once he dropped his guard, take out his head. I had it all planned out.

"Ding, ding." 

Roughhouse hit me so quickly that I wasn't sure if I'd been hit at all. Before I could make a decision on if I'd been hit, I felt two more blows that confirmed that I was definitely under attack. By the time I counted the fifth or sixth blow, I was dazed and confused. I stepped back to get my composure and by the time that I refocused, I didn't see him. I was facing directly towards Tim and he was laughing uncontrollably. "Where did he go?" I asked.

By this time, I'm noticing that I'm facing the crowd and that everyone is laughing. Roughhouse had hit me so hard and so many times, that I'd spun around and faced the other direction without even knowing it. I turned back around to face him, but he was taking his gloves off and laughing.

My undefeated streak was over. Not only did I lose, I didn't even get to throw a single punch. I never saw his punches coming.  I only saw them leaving my cheeks. I congratulated Roughhouse and asked him where he learned to fight like that. "Oh, I'm a blackbelt," he replied.  "You didn't know that's how I got my nickname?"

O_o

Social Networks and Idiots

"Stupid is as stupid does." Some times I wonder how some people can be so stupid. Or maybe it's too harsh for me to use the term "stupid." Maybe I should say "naive" instead. Nah, I'll go with "stupid." Any time you have tons of examples of things going wrong and you choose to ignore them, then you're "stupid."

There has to be some sort of cosmic connection to social networks and idiots. Seriously. They go hand-and-hand. I recently read a story about a gang leader in New York who got busted for tweeting about a murder that he had gotten away with years ago. Really, dude? Something as secretive as a murder and you tweet it to all of your followers? It just so happens that one of your followers was a member of NYPD trying to get evidence on your previous crimes. Sucks for you dude. Shouldn't have been so stupid.

I used to have a Twitter follower who would regularly tweets photos of herself with weed. She even has self-portraits of herself with a rolled up blunt in her mouth talking about how "lifted" she is. All in the same photo album with her two year old daughter. If she made anyone in her life mad, do you know how easy it would be to present evidence to Child Protective Services and possibly have her daughter taken away from her? Should I tell her of this possibility? Nope. It's not my place to do so. If she reads my blog, then maybe she'll learn, but if she doesn't...

Stop committing criminal acts on social networks. Stop committing sex acts on social networks (unless you're in "the sex business") because they could come back to haunt you as well. Social networks are forever, just like Keith Richards! Anything you put on the Web stays on the Web (even if you're in Vegas where secrets are said to remain). Every photo, status update or tweet you send has the potential to wind up in the hands of your friends, parents, teachers, employers, reporters or even the police. Think about that the next time you get ready to press "Send."



Do you think people don't know the dangers of social networks or do they just not care?

What Should The Punishment Be 2?

For those without Flash, you can open a new window and see the video here.

"Wanna get away?" Bad things happen to people who try to cut in line at gas stations. What? Did she think that she was the 1,000,000th customer or something and would get free gas? Where does this sense of entitlement originate? She could have blown something up and / or killed someone.

What should the punishment be for this idiot?

Is It Stupid If You Can Afford It?

"They cost how much!!!!????"

Lil' Wayne was spotted at last month's NBA All-Star Game with custom Beats by Dre headphones on his head. The headphones, which were made with 114 carats of diamond by Graff Diamonds, were worn courtside by the rapper with a value of over $1 million dollars. Yes, you read that right.

Now, why someone would wear headphones to an all-star game is beyond me, but maybe he likes listening to music in crowds. The average person would read this and say that "it's the dumbest thing they've ever seen." They would probably also say that "only an idiot would spend that much money on headphones."

However, Lil' Wayne is rumored to be worth roughly $85 million dollars, so will this $1 million hurt him? Only if he allows himself to fall into the same traps that an Allen Iverson (blew $200 million) or MC Hammer (lost $35 million) did when they threw away their bucks. Iverson played 15 seasons in the NBA and was rumored to never take luggage on road trips. His teammates have even said that he would buy a new wardrobe in every city and just leave everything he bought in the hotel room when they left. MC Hammer had a waterfall in his swimming pool on top of buying elaborate gifts for his dance team (Rolexes, cars, etc.)

Lil' Wayne has been reported to own close to $4 million in vehicles and another $6 million in jewelry. That's $10 million dollars out of $85 million. Does he own property? Does he have investments? Who knows? He's rumored to be pretty smart with his money when it comes to making dollars from producing other rappers. Only time will tell if he goes broke or not.



Is it stupid if you can afford it?

What Should The Punishment Be?

For those without Flash, you can open a new window and see the video here.

"Wanna get away?" Bad things happen to guys who try to run over their girlfriends. What gets into these guys? How can you get so caught up, so emotional, so outraged, that you're willing to take out innocent people and a store to run down a woman? Then to top it off, you steal another person's vehicle and wreck it in a head-on collision?

What should the punishment be for this idiot?

Our Economy is So Bad... (How bad is it?)

Our economy is so bad that this man held himself hostage for a ransom. Wait.  What?  You read that correctly. A man wanted money so badly that he staged his own kidnapping and demanded $1000 from his family.

Dorian Ford, a 19 year old from the Chicago area, wasn't very smart about trying to find a way to boost his income. His family received a call saying that he was kidnapped and would only be returned if $1000 was delivered. The cops eventually found the "victim" who claimed that he'd been hit over the head and taken hostage. Investigators quickly found out that Ford himself was the kidnapper who called his family and demanded the ransom.

He said that he simply "wanted to know if his mother cared for him" or not. Yeah, right! Ford was charged with a Class 4 felony of filing a false crime report.

"How much would you have asked for if it were you making the call?"

#Jordan Heads

First, watch the video...



From the NY Times: "In Charlotte, N.C., shoppers smashed glass doors to get to the sneakers. In suburban Atlanta, the police made four arrests when a crowd broke down a door to get into a store before it opened. In Richmond, Calif., a man fired a single gunshot in the air just after a mall opened. In Louisville, officers had to stop fights that popped up among a crowd of waiting shoppers. And in a suburb of Seattle, the police used pepper spray."

I'm not a Michael Jordan fan. I enjoyed watching him play, but I've seen way too many examples of him being a bad person off of the court. He appears selfish, greedy and arrogant. Despite not being relevant as an NBA player any more, he is still very much relevant in the shoe game. Jordan's over-priced kicks still cause people to lose their minds when a new edition is released. What makes this situation even worse? These shoes weren't even new. These were the same pair released in 1995 being re-released, if that's a word.

More than 1,000 people lined up for these $180 pair of shoes in certain cities across the country. I doubt you would see 1,000 crack heads in line for free crack in front of a crack house, yet these "Jordan Heads" chose to wait on a pair of shoes that basically everyone else in the city will also own. Nothing says "having my own identity" like wearing something everyone else has, huh? And I don't want to hear anyone compare this to the iPhone or iPad. At least those products are productive and can provide entertainment. Besides, most people buy those items for personal use, they don't buy them to flaunt.

Do you remember this kid idiot?



He hid in a garbage can when a store was closed so that he could have a good spot in line when it reopened. That's the type of behavior these shoes encourage when parents are non-existent. Now, I can't blame Nike or Jordan for these actions. They do market to the youth, but then again, what company doesn't? I blame the parents because they obviously dropped the ball some where with what's important. I'm not saying that people can't buy what they want, but if you need something materialistic so badly that you're willing to participate in a scene like the above videos, then I really do question your intelligence.

And to top it all off, what really makes me mad, as a black man, is that a majority of these idiots participating in this foolishness are black. We complain about inequality in the job market and how bad the economy is. Yet, we will borrow $20 just to have enough money to pay for a pair of sneakers that we're going to see on every 3rd person who walks by in the mall.

You know what? Maybe I should buy a pair... just so I can give these people a swift kick and bury this shoe straight up their... er, uh, Merry Christmas, all! :)




.

How to Waste Your Life 101

First, watch the video..



Here's the scoop: the fight allegedly happened when the two girls (one 14 and the other 18) walked into McDonald's with their boyfriends. One of the girls got upset that her man was flirting with the victim. I repeat: One of the girls got upset that her man was flirting with the victim. The two girls went WWE on the victim and beat her into a seizure while a McDonald's employee filmed it.

Now, watch Chrissy Lee Polis' summary of the event:



Now, these idiot girls not only face jail time for this assault, but they also face a hate crime because the lady was a transgender. So, with the hate crime, you're now looking at federal charges.

This is a classic example of How to Waste Your Life 101. Two ladies, who probably could have gone on to do something with their lives, are going to jail over a man. And make no mistake about it, this is all over a man. He flirted, now they're going to jail and deservedly so.

I'm not sure how the courts will handle the 14 year old, but the 18 year old may be in jail for a minute. I'm sure McDonald's will be sued for their role in it. They shouldn't have been obligated to intervene, but they could have at least called the police instead of filming it.

What do you think the sentence for these ladies should be? Do you think the employees are liable for not calling the police? Give me your take in the comments below.

Push The Button

What lights your fire? I don't mean romantically, but emotionally. What makes you upset? What pushes your button so repeatedly that you choose to vent via speaking out, blogging, or posting on FB/Twitter?

A hot button for The Mrs. is "Zero Tolerance Rules/Laws." She believes that everything has an exception. Everything. Saying kids aren't allowed to bring weapons to school and then expelling a child for bringing a plastic knife for his lunch is an example of zero tolerance gone bad. A man who speeds in his car to get his pregnant wife to the hospital and gets a speeding citation in doing so is another example of what irks her.

You get the drift by now, right?

So, what is the one topic that is able to push the button when it comes to me? There are countless things that push me to express myself, but I've sat here and tried to think of the one thing that gets to me every time. Racism? That's a hot button, but it probably is for everyone. Sexism? Doesn't affect me as a man much, so that may be for some women. Politicians? Yeah, they get me going, but I'm "sometimey" when it comes to them, too. After all, politicians aren't the blame, it's the people who follow them blindly who are the blame.

So, I guess for me, I hate anything that doesn't involve common sense (hence the blog title): People who believe everything they hear/read and report it as fact. People who will take a week off of work to picket outside of Comedy Central about "South Park" rather than just preventing their children from watching it. People who think "individuality" comes from wearing the same name brand shoes/jeans/shirts that everyone else in the neighborhood wears.

So, that's what does it for me. What pushes your button?

Ice, Ice, Baby

Ice, ice, baby. It's cold. Sure, you people up north are probably saying, "what does a guy from Mississippi know about the cold?"

Well, anything under 50 degrees is cold to a southerner. At least to this one, it is. My thing is: why do I feel like the only person in Jackson bothered by cold weather? My southern peers appear to be cool with it, no pun intended.

I'm at the grocery store this morning, because that's what people in the south do when there is a threat of ice/snow. We go to the grocery store and stock up on can goods and bottled water as if there's a pending nuclear fallout.



Anyway, while I'm there, I see a couple of young ladies who are shopping in pajamas. One of them was even wearing flip-flops. Now, keep in mind that it's 29 degrees here today with a "real feel" of 21. I'm thinking to myself, "there's no way they're warm in freakin' pajamas!"

They were obviously cold since they were constantly rubbing their hands over their arms trying to keep warm. They must have a reliable car because if they had to change a tire or walk some where, the police would find two idiotcicles on the side of the road.

Later, I'm at the gas station and filling up my car. Was I low on gas? No, but filling up your gas tank is something southerners do when there is a threat of freezing weather. It's as if we think all gas pumps will freeze and no one will be able to get gas or something. You northerners stop laughing.

So, I'm there getting gas and who gets out at the gas pump in front of me? Another girl wearing pajamas and Uggs.

You're kidding me, right? Is that why half of the people who come to work at your job are coughing and hacking all of the time? Because you don't take care of yourself and dress for the weather?

Pajamas aren't considered winter wear people.

Which One Is Afraid of Jail?

Think twice before doing something that will cost you the rest of your life. (Click photo to zoom)

Here's the story...