Week 247

1. Inaugural :: Address


2. Pledge :: of Allegience
   


3. String :: of Pearls


4. Trot :: Fox


5. Fitness :: Center


6. Cinder :: Block


7. Edge :: Line


8. 31 :: and loving it


9. Blue :: Moon
   


10. Leather :: Pants

Critics

I work in advertising. Presenting creative to the client can be an adventure. This cartoon pretty much sums up bad feedback...

National Black Out Day - Friday November 2, 2007

While I don't agree with everything said below, I do believe in getting the word out and letting people decide a course of action for themselves. Honestly, a one-day boycott is not going to have much of an impact. I believe a true boycott needs to last over a period of time (i.e. a week) for any impact to be felt. For businesses and the government to truly get an idea that the boycotters are serious. Look how long the bus boycott lasted before a change was made. This is one small step. Maybe it will build momentum to a bigger movement.
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Many people marched in Jena, LA last month in support of the 6 young men unjustly charged with attempted murder for a school yard fight. There are many situations all over the nation that scream of injustice and unfair treatment of people in this country. There is the woman in West Virginia who was raped and tortured for days with barely any national coverage. They called her the N-word but as of this writing, they still had not confirmed they are treating this as a hate crime. We all know the young groom in NYC who was murdered by the NYPD on the eve of his wedding. There is the teenage girl in Texas who was sentenced to jail time for an altercation with a school official. How about the teenage girl who was sprayed with mace for missing curfew? You can see her in the video restrained by a police officer twice her size. She was in handcuffs when she was sprayed. Maybe you heard of the California girl who had her arm broken by a school security official when she refused to pick up a piece of cake from the floor. It was filmed by a school mate and is all over You Tube. You may have heard of the young man in Georgia who was sentenced to 10 years in prison for having consensual sex with a young girl. He was 17, she was 15. There was also the young brother in Florida who died in the custody of the state when he was admitted to their boot camp. They said he had diabetes but they couldn't explain his battered body. All of these stories happened within the last year or two.

Those are just a few instances where people in this country have been treated unfairly, while 4 young men in Raleigh, NC sue the state for 10 million dollars each because they were "falsely" accused of rape. There are people who spend YEARS in prison and are exonerated that don't get nearly that much coin. By the way, who else is tired of the Princess Diana wrongful death inquiry? I mean, come on, it's very sad how she died but does her death need to be the top news story 10 years and 2 months after her death?

On Friday, November 2, 2007, Warren Ballentine, Reverend Al Sharpton and other civil rights leaders are calling for a national boycott. Black people alone spend 2 billion dollars a day in the United States and we are only approximately 12% of the population. 2 billion dollars a day, lining the pockets of companies that have shown no interest in our interests. We ARE living in the new civil rights movement. We cannot allow the march in Jena to be only an event. It MUST be a movement. In the 1950s, the bus boycott was only supposed to be for a few days or weeks. It ended up being over a year. The goal was for fair treatment and bus integration. Our parents and grandparents sacrificed and showed that with faith and strength, they could show corporate America the power of the community and demanded fair treatment. As we know, those buses were integrated. This is not about color. This is about class. The middle class and poor people in this country are not treated as the Declaration of Independence says we should be treated. It states that "all men are created equal". Clearly the governing class of the United States disagrees with their document.

Join us on on Friday, November 2, 2007 and don't spend ANY money. If you have to shop, do it the day before or the day after. If you need gas, get it the day before or the day after. We have to join together as a community. You may be thinking, it's only one day, what difference will it make? I had the same thought at first, but just think about it. If we all save our money that day, it WILL make a difference. That day may become a weekend. That weekend may become a week and that week a month. As we showed in the 1950s, we can make a difference if we do this together.

Serious Gaming Starts at 6

As if parents didn't have enough to worry about, now we need to worry about this? I wonder if the number increases if both parents are serious gamers. Not that I'm hard-core myself but I am addicted to Yahoo Games and I have a desktop full of 1-hr downloads. Chris on the other hand is a hard-core gamer both online and offline (Halo, anyone?) so that makes me wonder how our children will fare in the long-run.

Fight for Kisses

Shasta previously blogged about Fight for Kisses but I have to do a redux because Miles totally cock-blocked his father last night when Chris came in for a kiss. And when he did it, the first thing that came to mind was this website. Do not skip the trailer. Hilarious and now surprisingly true...

Week 246

1. Las Vegas :: What Happens There, Stays There


2. Linus :: Lucy
   


3. Struck :: Moon


4. Movie :: Mayhem


5. Anxious :: Can't Wait


6. Bandit :: Brown-Eyed


7. Picks :: Chooses


8. Lasso :: Lassie


9. Dinner :: And a Movie
   


10. Bargain :: Deal

Does Size Matter?

When presented with this question, women are so polite that it's funny. We always say:

• No, it doesn't matter.
• I love him no matter what the size.
• It's the motion in the ocean not the size of the boat.

What a crock! Of course size matters. Doesn't anyone remember the song "Short Dick Man"? Well no one wants one even if they won't say so out loud. If this video is any indication, that attitude has not/will not change...

glumbert - Does size matter?

Week 245

1. Illicit :: Thoughts


2. Go :: Do not pass
   


3. Jacket :: Down


4. Blow :: Me


5. Coach :: Pump Up


6. Effort :: Good


7. Leadership :: Bad


8. Snore :: Loudly


9. Fearless :: Crazy
   


10. Network :: Computer

Co-Workers

We all know at least one of these. We are probably one of them ourselves. If nothing else, the pictures are amusing...

VH1 Hip Hop Honors

Who watched the VH1 Hip Hop Honors last night? If you didn't see it then you missed something. I was busy being supermom (cooking dinner, combing hair, determining if it was indeed garbage night - it was) when I got home and forgot and missed the opening. I was pretty bummed about that since the show opened with the tribute to Missy Elliot. However for the most part the show was AWESOME! The honorees took me back to high school/college. I mean Missy Elliot, Snoop Dogg, WHODINI, New Jack Swing (Teddy Riley and Andre Harrell), A Tribe Called Quest and the movie Wild Style (Charlie Ahearn and Fab Five Freddy). What?!

Missy Elliot is a visionary. My daughter loves her. I love her. She always gets bumped on the car radio. Nuff Said!

Snoop Dogg came out when I was in high school. I thought he was so cute in Nuthin' but a G Thang with Dr. Dre. Had the curly hi-top fade, sparse facial hair, bedroom eyes. I.LOVED.Snoop. As in, I-could-have-ripped-off-his-clothes-and-humped-him love. Surprisingly, I was messing around with someone at the time that looked like Snoop. Unfortunately for him, he got no ass from me. Looking like doesn't equal. Funny how the memories come back and you remember where you where when...Oh and the performance was pretty good on the show too.

WHODINI not only has a classic look - they have classics. Friends, Freaks Come Out At Night, One Love...need I say more.

New Jack Swing honored Teddy Riley and Andre Harrell. Yes Teddy Riley who doesn't look like he has aged at all. The performance was poppin! Doug E. Fresh opened up and beatboxed his way into my core and made me jump off the couch with my fist in the air. That stroll down memory lane was much appreciated.

Finally - A Tribe Called Quest was honored. When Busta Rhymes burst out the back of the stage on Scenario I pretty much lost it. I had the chance to see them in concert when I was in college and didn't go. I had some other dumb shit to do - homework, study for an exam something. I have always regretted not going. Seeing them perform last night re-cemented that regret. Sigh!

Now of these, I'm least familiar with Wild Style. It's the 25th anniversary of the movie and that means I was only 8 when it came out. However in the spirit of all things really hip hop - not rap, hip hop - that will be next on the NetFlicks queue.

All in all, VH1 did a great job and Tracy Morgan as the host knows his hip hop. Thank God for Tivo so I can watch the good parts again and again.

See How Rich You Are

When you feel that you've got money issues, just use this website to see how you stack against others in the world: Global Rich List.

Week 244

1. Cluster :: F**k


2. Announcement :: Good News
   


3. Respect :: Queen of Soul


4. Incident :: Happening


5. Accordion :: Polka


6. Drunk :: Driving


7. If :: Not Now, When?


8. Dexter :: St. Jacques


9. Wedding :: Flowers
   


10. Gambling :: Debt

Truth in Advertising

One evening a husband, thinking he was being funny, said to his wife "Perhaps we should start washing your clothes in Slim Fast. Maybe it would take a few inches off of your butt!!"

His wife was not amused, and decided that she simply couldn't let such a comment go unrewarded.

The next morning the husband took a pair of underwear out of his drawer. "What the Hell is this??" he said to himself as a little "dust" cloud appeared when he shook them out.

"April," he hollered into the bathroom, "Why did you put talcum powder in my underwear?"
She replied with a snicker..."It's not talcum powder......It's 'Miracle Grow'."

The Centipede

This guy was lonely and so he decided... life would be more fun if he had a pet. So he went to the pet store and told the owner that he wanted to buy an unusual pet. After some discussion he finally bought a centipede, (100 leg bug), which came in a little white box to use for his house.

He took the box home, found a good location for the box, and decided he would start off by taking his new pet to the bar for a drink. So he asked the centipede in the box, 'Would you like to go to Frank's place with me and have a beer?'

But there was no answer from his new Pet. This bothered him a bit, but he waited a few minutes and then asked him again, How about going to the bar and having a drink with me?' But again there was no answer from his new friend and pet.

So he waited a few minutes more, thinking about the situation. He decided to ask him one more time. This time putting his face up against the centipede's house and shouting, 'Hey, in there! Would you like to go to Frank's place and have a drink with me?'

A little voice came out of the box: 'I heard you the first time! I'm putting my fucking shoes on!'

Saying Grace in a Restaurant

I always tell my children to say their grace before they eat so I thought this was a great story.
---------
Last week, I took my children to a restaurant. My six-year-old son asked if he could say grace.

As we bowed our heads he said, "God is good, God is great. Thank you for the food, and I would even thank you more if Mom gets us ice cream for dessert. And Liberty and justice for all! Amen!"

Along with the laughter from the other customers nearby, I heard a woman remark, "That's what's wrong with this country. Kids today don't even know how to pray. Asking God for ice cream! Why, I never!"

Hearing this, my son burst into tears and asked me, "Did I do it wrong? Is God mad at me?"

As I held him and assured him that he had done a terrific job, and God was certainly not mad at him, an elderly gentleman approached the table.

He winked at my son and said, "I happen to know that God thought that was a great prayer."

"Really?" my son asked.

"Cross my heart," the man replied.

Then, in a theatrical whisper, he added (indicating the woman whose remark had started this whole thing), "Too bad she never asks God for ice cream. A little ice cream is good for the soul sometimes." Naturally, I bought my kids ice cream at the end of the meal. My son stared at his for a moment, and then did something I will remember the rest of my life. He picked up his sundae and, without a word, walked over and placed it in front of the woman. With a big smile he told her, "Here, this is for you. Ice cream is good for the soul sometimes; and my soul is good already."

Missing Woman Found

This is a sad end to a story that you hoped would be different. Courtesy of the Chicago Tribune. My prayers go out to the family who always trusted in God and never gave up hope.
--
chicagotribune.com

Body identified as Nailah Franklin's

Chicago police confirm it is that of missing woman's

By Angela Rozas and Monique Garcia

Tribune staff reporters

6:50 PM CDT, September 28, 2007

Dental records today identified the badly decomposed body of a woman found early Thursday in south suburban Calumet City as that of Nailah Franklin, the 28-year-old pharmaceutical representative reported missing more than a week ago, Chicago police said.

A woman's body was discovered naked and partially buried in a densely wooded area behind a vacant store about 4:45 a.m. Thursday by two Calumet City police officers on routine patrol, said police and a law enforcement source.

An autopsy was performed today on the badly decomposed body. Police, who are now conducting a death investigation, said the cause of death is "inconclusive."

Franklin's family released a statement about 4 p.m. today read by Rev. Stacey Edwards-Dunn outside the family's Chicago home.

"This statement confirms that the body found yesterday in Calumet City is that of Nailah Franklin. It was confirmed by dental records earlier today. The family would like to express its deepest gratitude to Chicago, Calumet City and other police departments plus the FBI agents, who so diligently worked to find Nailah. We would also like to thank the news media for coverage of Nailah's search.

"And very importantly, they expressed their thanks to the community for their search efforts, prayers and heartfelt expressions," the statement said.

The body was discovered after police officers noticed something unusual in the parking lot of the building and decided to investigate, said Calumet City Police Chief Russell Larson.

Larson would not say what it was that piqued the officers' interest.

"They paid attention to a very minute detail that most people would have walked past," Larson said.

A law enforcement source said it was ear buds from a portable music device.

Police had been combing the Calumet City area where the body was found since Saturday morning, when Franklin's company vehicle, a Chevrolet Impala, was found in nearby Hammond.

"Personal items" of hers then were discovered near an abandoned building not far from where the body eventually was found. On Wednesday, police used FBI equipment to go back over the area but didn't find anything.

Franklin, who worked for Eli Lilly & Co. and lived near the University of Illinois at Chicago campus, was reported missing after she didn't show up for a work meeting Sept. 19. Text messages from her phone on Sept. 18 said she was going to dinner and would call her family and boss back, but they never heard from her.

Police said Franklin told them a week prior to being reported missing that a man she briefly dated had been threatening her life, and she filed a police report. Police have talked to the man, who a law enforcement source said came with an attorney. But they have not named him as a suspect in her disappearance.

"Please continue sending your thoughts and prayers during this sorrowful time," the family statement said. "As they move forward, the family asks that you respect this time of mourning as they plan the celebration of Nailah's life—their sister, their daughter, their aunt, and their friend. She will be greatly be missed by all."

arozas@tribune.com

mcgarcia@tribune.com

Copyright © 2007, Chicago Tribune

Week 243

1. Crook :: O' Shit


2. Career :: Woman
   


3. Freckles :: Red-Head


4. Scramble :: Quarterback Blitz


5. Mistake :: Erase


6. Telephone :: Hello


7. Thank you :: You're Welcome


8. Obstruction :: of Justice


9. 24/7 :: All day, every day
   


10. SciFi :: Horror