IS IT TRUE? Can White Men Really Jump?

I’m am CERTAIN that in the midst of economic uncertainty, war, a health care crises, and a devastating earthquake that is rocking most of our worlds at the moment, you were sitting at home itching for the All American Basketball Alliance (AABA), a whites-only team where it is required that “only players that are natural-born United States citizens with both parents of Caucasian race are eligible to play in the league”.  Sorry Blacks and “Foreigners” but you will have to sit this one out (sorry , but I don’t have the energy to go deep into who and what determines what ”foreign” means).  Thanks to Don “Moose” Lewis “America the Beautiful” will be blessed with yet another stab in the racial dividing wound.  He has high hopes for the AABA to be the 1st team of 12  that will focus on playing “fundamental basketball” and hopes to kick off its inaugural season in June ’10 in a  12 city tournament.     

Lewis insists that:

There’s nothing hatred about what we’re doing,” he told the Augusta Chronicle. “I don’t hate anyone of color.”  In the same conversation he also pointed out that his league will not focus on “street ball” played by people of color and asked, “Would you want to go to the game and worry about a player flipping you off or attacking you in the stands or grabbing their crotch?”  

Maybe the NBA, a multi-billion dollar industry can take advice from Lewis on his “fundamental ” approach to the art of the game.  Warning – I supposed things like dunking, cross-overs, and dunk contests would be the first to go as they all have origins to “street ball”.  Can you imagine video games without players doing tricky stunts?  That’s part of the beauty of the game!   

Some speculate this is just a PR ploy.  Whether true or not, will somebody please help Lewis channel his energy into a worthy cause because he OBVIOUSELY has too much time on his hands?

Donate & Assist: Haiti 1-Stop Contact List

For those interesting in helping immediately there are 2 ways people can donate via their cell phones:

-Text “YELE” to “501501” and a donation of $5 will be made automatically to the Yele organization (Wyclef Jean’s of Haiti relief organization)

-Text “HAITI” to “90999″ and a donation of $10 will be given automatically to the Red Cross to help with relief efforts, charged to your cell phone bill.

Below is a collection of charitable organizations also accepting donations towards the relief effort in Haiti.

• Action Against Hunger, 877-777-1420
• Agape Flights, 941-584-8078
• American Red Cross, 800-733-2767
• American Jewish World Service, 212-792-2900
• Beyond Borders, 866-424-8403
• CARE, 800-521-2273
• CarmaFoundation
• Catholic Relief Services, 800-736-3467
• Childcare Worldwide, 800-553-2328
• Concern Worldwide, 212-557-8000
• Cross International, 800-391-8545
• Direct Relief International, 805-964-4767
• Doctors Without Borders, 888-392-0392
• Feed My Starving Children, 763-504-2919
• Food for the Poor, 800-427-9104
• Friends of WFP, 866-929-1694
• Haiti Children, 877-424-8454
• Haiti Foundation Against Poverty
• Haiti Marycare, 203-675-4770
• Haitian Health Foundation, 860-886-4357
• Hope for Haiti, 239-434-7183
• International Medical Corps, 800-481-4462
• International Rescue Committee, 877-733-8433
• International Relief Teams, 619-284-7979
• Lutheran World Relief, 800-597-5972
• Medical Teams International, 800-959-4325
• Meds and Food for Kids, 314-420-1634
• Mennonite Central Committee, 888-563-4676
• Mercy Corps, 888-256-1900
• Operation USA, 800-678-7255
• Oxfam, 800-776-9326
• Partners in Health, 617-432-5298
• Rural Haiti Project, 347-405-5552
• The Salvation Army, 800-725-2769
• Save the Children, 800-728-3843
• UN Central Emergency Response Fund
• UNICEF, 800-367-5437
• World Concern, 800-755-5022
• World Hope International, 888-466-4673
• World Relief, 800-535-5433
• World Vision, 888-511-6548
• Yele Haiti, 212-352-0552The FBI urges people who are looking for ways to help with earthquake relief to be wary of solicitations that could be from scam artists.

The FBI says anyone receipting an e-mail that appears to be a scam should forward it to this website: www.ic3.gov

“Oh No She Didn’t” Alert: ‘Frustrated’ Teacher Snips 7 Year-Old’s Braid

Recently, a Congress Elementary School (Milwaukee, WI) teacher became “frustrated” with seven year-old Lamya Cammon and cut off one of the students braids.  As a slap on the wrist the teacher was charged a $175 dollar fine and has had no disciplinary action yet taken against her.  While I may relate to the teacher wanting to do something like this to a child that insists on “working” your nerves to death, actually acting out and physically cutting a child’s hair is unfathomable.  This teacher should definitely be fired!

Offensive or Not?: NY Times ‘09 Holiday Gift Guide “Jingles” A Few Bells

‘Tis the season to be racist?   Apparently the ‘09 Holiday Gift Guide published by the New York Times didn’t exactly encourage the most “festive” feeling with many readers.  Offended critics have stated that specifically creating a gift guide for people of “color” a.) creates an assumption that people of color have different gift needs than people of “non-color” b.) groups all non-“coloreds” into one category  when it encompasses multiple ethnicities and/or c.) the list is simply divisive and exclusionary.  These opinions, in addition to others that find the list offensive, have caused a stir amongst holiday gift seekers. 

Perhaps I may get my “black card” pulled, but I don’t find anything offensive about the list.  I think it is great that the NY Times tried to be more inclusive and sought to display items that may have a stronger appeal to people of color.  I would have even liked to have seen it taken a step further and “enhanced” the shopping experience by categorizing the multiple ethnicities – further tapping into shopping needs for Asian, African-American, Latinos, etc. 

Perhaps I do not take offense because I come from a city where multiple people from every identified ethnicity exists.  I also appreciate visiting my local Farmer’s Market where each ethnic food group is divided into its own section, making it easy for me to identify specific herbs and spices according to what my palate desires – for instance making it easy for me to distinguish Jamaican curry from Indian curry (trust me, I need this type of guidance).

This list is no different than when a Latino person seeks out the Spanish literature section at Barnes & Nobles, or a Black person frequents the African-American hair care products section at CVS.  While a new laptop or gift card may be desired across the globe, it may just be a little more appealing to gift an Asian woman with a beautiful kimono or a Muslim woman with a lovely hijab.  In addition, it goes without saying that certain scents, tastes, colors, fashions and music have different affects on individuals of different races.  It just seems that there are much bigger fish to fry than hostility over a gift guide that at its’ essence was trying to be more inclusive.  Fa la la la lah! To your efforts NY Times!  

Gift items from the list include:  Carol’s Daughter: A Magical Beauty Collection (African American), Ash Kumar’s Bollywood Henna Kit (Indian) and “Wise Latina” T-Shirts (Latino)

For a the full NY Times ‘09 Holiday Gift Guide assortment visit:  http://www.nytimes.com/gift-guide/holiday-2009/categories.html

“Trophy” Husband: John Gosselin named 2009 “Most Provocative”

I would like to say that I’m SO over Jon Gosselin – but I was never into him to be over him.  However, HLN has named Gosselin “Most Provocative” due to his ability to “generate the most continuous shock and interest throughout 2009” and because his “very name sparked a visceral reaction in the general public”.  In essence, Gosselins’ bad antics and embarrassing rhetoric kept him afloat week after week in the media spotlight this year.

According to CNN.com: 

Jon Gosselin was the tabloid train-wreck gift who just kept on giving!” said “Showbiz Tonight” senior executive producer David Levine. “It was almost like he was begging for attention. Divorce Kate? Check. Date the 22-year old daughter of your wife’s plastic surgeon? Check. Consider doing another reality show with fellow train-wreck Michael Lohan? Check. It was almost like he was writing the script for the eventual TV movie about his life.

Personally, I think Spencer Pratt from The Hills is truly one of the most annoying duschebag’s (like EVER) that has managed to keep himself in the public spotlight.  Joe Jackson should also stand to receive accolades for his outstanding greed-driven “parenting skills” after son Michaels’ death.  However, I will say that Gosselin did outdo all his competitors when he decided to cancel “John and Kate Plus 8” for selfish reasons, thus taking money out of the mouths of his own EIGHT children.  I guess he is officially trash – or maybe “Korcasian” (Caucasian/Korean) trash as Tiger Woods would label him. 

HLN’s runners up to Gosselin included Michael Jackson, Sarah Palin, Chris Brown and disgraced beauty queen Carrie Prejean.  Sorry guys – there’s always next year!

Cablinasian: Tigers and Golf Clubs and Mistresses OH MY!

I will be the first to admit that I am not a fan of Tiger Woods.  It has always irked me that he didn’t identify as being black and instead took the low road by creating his own race “Cablinasian” as he identifies himself (Caucasian/Black/Indian/Asian).  Let’s be real, if every American had to specify the potency of each gene in their background most people would be writing essays to identify who they really are. Not to say one should not embrace all parts of whom they are, but it would be virtually impossible to equally identify as being 4 or more races.  There would have to come a point where you find a comfort zone and/or the comfort zone finds you, especially when you have an obvious predominant gene, such as Tiger and his “blackness.”

 Due to my lackluster feelings for Tiger, I paid no attention when first learning of his 1 car vehicle wreck on November 27^th.  However, now that this incident has exploded into a media frenzy involving multiple mistresses, swinging golf clubs, prenuptial renegotiations, speculated injuries and his vague-yet-revealing statement about “transgressions”, I, like the rest of the world am waiting to see when he will come forward and what he will say (and be checking for bruising which is what people really want to see). 

 Due to all of the media attention this story has received, it has been speculated that the media is dragging Tiger down because he is black, and married to a white woman (oh yeah, let me be specific – 3/8^th German, 11/17^th Italian, 1/9^th Irish, ok I’ll stop).  I don’t believe this story has any underlying racial issues.  It is only fascinating because he has had a squeaky clean image and now shit has hit the fan – HARD!  For those who believe that there is any racial motivation, perhaps put in a call to the National Association for the Advancement of “Cablinasian” People aka “the other NAACP”.

Oops! Tyson Did it Again

Mike Tyson just can’t get it right, poor thing. Every time you forget he exists, another negative story pops up with his name stamped on it. The latest and greatest was an incident he had with the paparazzi Monday Nov. 20th while stopped at LAX while traveling from Europe to Las Vegas. Freelance photographer Echeverria claims that Tyson assaulted him when he attempted to take a picture of Tyson. The photographer fell and was treated for a cut to his forehead. Tysons’ spokesperson claimed that Tyson was simply protecting his child and himself. Both men made a citizens arrest of each other and are both being investigated for misdemeanor battery. According to the Associated Press “Echeverria’s camera was booked as evidence and police also were checking if there was any surveillance video of the incident.” For some reason, I actually believe that Tyson may have been the victim here but I am eager to see the footage if its released.

TRAGEDY: Just a “Little” TIPSY in Boston

Sophia Hatrdegen aka “Drunk woman that fell off Boston train tracks” had a TAD bit too much to drink on Monday night while having drinks with co-workers. As she attempted to sneak a cigarette (or a “square” as we Bostonians call it) she threw the butt onto the train tracks to hide the evidence – as smoking in train stations is prohibited. Standing way too close to the edge of the tracks, she stumbled, reached for a wall to balance herself that was not there, and fell flat on her face in the tracks.

While I am no stranger to having a “tad bit too much” AND having to take the train home after a night out in Beantown, I have always had a “don’t step on the yellow line policy” (same goes for the NYC Metro). Hate to say it, but better her than me, however, I would never wish this upon ANYONE. This will definitely register as food for thought when asked if I want JUST one more.

Touched: The “PRECIOUS” Effect

It has been 3 days since I saw Precious and I am still DISTURBED to say the least. If you thought you were in a bad situation, seeing Precious will give you motivation not to “sweat the small stuff”. As an illiterate, obese victim of incest, rape, physical and verbal abuse, Clareese “Precious” Jones (Gabourey ‘Gabby’ Sidibe) motivates herself by striving toward education as a way out of her disturbing life. Mo’Nique, who plays Precious’ abusive, ignorant and jealous mother disturbed my spirit to fathom that there are actually people in the world that would (a) allow a man to rape their child – from the age of 3, and (b) then turn around and sexually abuse her own child– just to scratch the surface of her characters’ ignorance.

As nightmarish as this story is, I am SO elated that I went to see this movie for multiple reasons (I read the book 12 years ago). Sometimes, even though we think we are humbled individuals, I will be the first to admit that I was AMAZED to see how articulate Gabourey Sidibe speaks in real life interviews after reviewing her compelling performance as Precious. Precious looked EXACTLY as I imagined her, as I have seen many black women that resemble the characters description. I feel a responsibility to be honest. Even as a black women, whenever I see girls and women that resemble Precious (obese, very dark skinned, sloppy, short hair) I have even thought they appeared uneducated, without conversing with them. I had to “check” myself for my own ignorance at my amazement of Sibide’s articulation. I respect her very much for playing Precious. I can imagine the insult held deep within ones soul after being approached with the ole’, “ You’re perfect for the part of a 350 pound character who thinks of herself as black, ugly and worthless”.

In addition, after reviewing many of the movie reviews and comments, I have noticed that many people are making a race issue out of this movie. This is NOT A RACE ISSUE! This movie reflects an ABUSE ISSUE, and abuse does not discriminate. If you can walk away from this Lee Daniels film and not be affected on multiple levels (abuse, motivation, empathy, perspective, God-fearing – just to name some affects) I pity your thought process. I think there is something we can all learn from Precious and I am glad this story is being told.

Capitalism: Barack Obama’s Relatives take the Low Road

Today President Obama’s half-brother (baby’s nephew’s grandmas’ niece – ok, let me stop) has released his semi-autobiography “Nairobi to Shenzhen”.  Mark Ndesandjo (Mr. O’s half-bro) claims he released the book to raise awareness of domestic violence.  According to the Huffington Post Ndesandjo claims:

My father beat my mother and my father beat me, and you don’t do that,” said Ndesandjo, whose mother, Ruth Nidesand, was Barack Obama Sr.’s third wife. “It’s something which I think affected me for a long time, and it’s something that I’ve just recently come to terms with.

RIIIIIIIIIIIIGHT!  Where do random distant relatives get enough balls to come out of the woodwork and stamp Mr. O’s name on their book?  Or any other public figure for that matter?  I know times are rough across the globe but something about this just doesn’t sit well with me. 

 In addition, other relatives slated to capitalize are:

• half brother George Obama of Kenya is releasing a memoir January 2010
• half sister Maya Soetoro-Ng (daughter of Obama’s mother and her 2nd husband Lolo Soetoro)
• Craig Robinson, first lady Michelle Obama’s brother – Craig gets a pass since he was actually involved in the election and actually rode the ride with the 1^st family