April 30, 2007
Advice Needed On Repaying School Loan Debt
Blacks have substantial more graduate school debt than any other race in education--and many other disciplines especially those without assistantships (Chronicle of Higher Education, April 6 edition). For example, blacks like Dr. Angela Lee (PhD, psychology) counsels full-time and works at Barnes and Noble on the weekends--she has $138,500 in debt, the total of all her graduate education. In general it's a myth that blacks get a financial break at all levels of education. At the graduate level being black gives you no financial advantage at most schools.
I have never received one penny of "minority scholarship" money for 13 years of graduate education in evangelical world. I did, however, have a non-Christian organization give me $4,000, over two years because I was a fan of federalism and liberty. That was cool!!
I'm about $70,000 in the hole (which isn't much compared to some vocations I know, so save the comments). Here's how: (1) I left the black church to enter into evangelical world. This is equivalent, to many in my traditional black church background, to a Jew becoming a Nazi. With no support from the home crowd I started my education literally with $500 cash and a couple of scholarships (no minority). (2) I should have pastored a church while I did the PhD stuff and included my tuition into the church budget like a lot of guys do. (3) I had to borrow the rest.
Well, it's time to pay it back so I'm going to have do some more extra-curricular jobs to climb out of the hole. It's going to be financed around $400/month for 30-years. I think I need to be more aggressive than that so here's what I'm thinking about doing beginning this summer:
(1) Wait tables/bust tables/dishwashing/etc. I don't think Christians can be bartenders can they?
(2) Go back to working grounds on golf-courses (landscaping is pretty flexible, it's fun, and it gets me outside!!)
(3) My speaking fees are going to be pretty high and I'll just have to tell organizations why--i.e., the money is going to repay the debt for the education. This also means I won't be speaking much.
(4) I could work part-time in retail again--Home Depot would be great, except that I don't know anything.
(5) Teach at a local community college, or some other school maybe?
(6) Call Bono to have him ask some country's government to pay it back for me or have the banks relieve the debt completely.
Any other ideas (serious ones, that is)? Maybe I could sell some on-line health care products (vitamins and what not)?
April 28, 2007
Wow
This S-Class 550 sedan is ok for a Mercedes. I think their engineers are finally getting a clue.
April 24, 2007
Cho Bullied By Rich Kids At His Church Youth Group
From Newsweek written by Evan Thomas:
"Cho was trapped in a generational warp, neither quite Korean like his parents nor American like his peers. His parents turned to the church for help with his emotional problems, but he was bullied in his Christian youth group, especially by rich kids. "Cho was a smart student who could understand the meaning of the Bible," recalled his boyhood pastor at Centreville (Va.) Korean Presbyterian Church, who asked not to be identified in an interview with NEWSWEEK to avoid further media inquiries.
But the pastor doubted that Cho believed the words. In his diatribe, Cho castigates Christians—and compares himself to Jesus Christ, martyred on the cross. Cho's progression from lonely boy to mass murderer is full of omens and portents and twists—a modern tragedy that might have been avoided, if only anyone had been able to see what he saw with those dead eyes."
Here's the full story.
This story gets worse and worse. . . This is complete speculation but I think his rant against rich kids had less to do with the VA Tech students and more to do with the rich kids he grew up with. Again, this is pure conjecture. We'll never know for sure.
Was Firing This Prof The Right Thing?
The AP reports: An adjunct professor was fired after leading a classroom discussion about the Virginia Tech shootings in which he pointed a marker at some students and said "pow."
The five-minute demonstration at Emmanuel College on Wednesday, two days after a student killed 32 people on the Virginia Tech campus, included a discussion of gun control, whether to respond to violence with violence, and the public's "celebration of victimhood," said the professor, Nicholas Winset.
During the demonstration, Winset pretended to shoot some students. Then one student pretended to shoot Winset to illustrate his point that the gunman might have been stopped had another student or faculty member been armed.
"A classroom is supposed to be a place for academic exploration," Winset, who taught financial accounting, told the Boston Herald. Here's the full story.
He said administrators had asked the faculty to engage students on the issue. But on Friday, he got a letter saying he was fired and ordering him to stay off campus.
In the video above Winset takes his case to youtube.com and defends his actions.
Should he have been fired over a classroom discussion?
Wow, that's A LOT of Cocaine: 20 tons seized
Story Highlights
• Coast Guard hauls in record drug bust: 20 tons of cocaine
• Drugs have estimated street value of $600 million
• Drugs were found on Panamanian cargo ship
ALAMEDA, California (Reuters) -- "The U.S. Coast Guard unloaded nearly 20 tons of cocaine with a retail street value of $600 million at a California port Monday following what they called the largest drug bust at sea.
The armed Coast Guard Cutter Sherman made the bust March 17 when it stopped the Panamanian cargo ship Gatun about 20 miles off a Panamanian island.
On Monday, dozens of Coast Guard officials under heavy armed protection hauled bales of tightly wrapped packs of cocaine onto a pier at the service's West Coast command center near Oakland, California.
"It was the largest bust in U.S. history. It's the largest interdiction on the ocean," Lt. Brock Eckel, one of the officers from the Sherman who discovered the illegal drugs, said in an interview. "It was very exciting, of course. Fifteen guys moved 20 tons of contraband in five hours, so it was very exhausting."
The find aboard the Gatun, which was heading from Panama to Mexico in the Pacific Ocean, came late at night following a tip from an intelligence source, officials said.
Coast Guard Petty Officer Keith Alholm estimated the U.S. street value of the record bust at $300 million wholesale, $600 million retail."
Hey, fellas, ahh, there are some folks really, really upset. Question: what's going to happen to the coke?
April 23, 2007
Behentrimonium Chloride and Amodimethicone
Peg-180, Behentrimonium Chloride and Amodimethicone are the 3rd, 4th, and 5th ingredients in my Garnier Fructis conditioner for damaged hair. Yeah, I got bored and decided to read the ingredients.
If I told you I was going to pour behentrimonium chloride on your head wouldn't you be a little concerned? Am I going to get cancer?
Check this out!!
Wheelock Ranting Again About Wallets
(Photograph by Rebecca Greenfield)
By Katherine Wheelock, of Details Magazine, is now complaining about guys with bulky wallets. She says, "nope." I say, "who cares."
Hey, do you guys remember the Seinfeld episode with George's wallet?
Anyway, here's Katherine:
"Clinging to tradition is your prerogative. Go ahead and refuse to trade in your “perfectly good” 2001 Lexus; shampoo with Pert Plus even though something in a better-looking bottle might make your hair look shinier; order the lone chicken dish on the menu at a sushi restaurant. But there’s a point at which a resistance to modernization stops being charming—especially when it leads you to do something that’s profoundly detrimental to your appearance, such as cramming a wallet in the back pocket of your pants."
Thoughts?
April 20, 2007
Preachers Wife Convicted
Highlights and story from CNN:
•Preacher's wife convicted of voluntary manslaughter in husband's death
• Mary Winkler will remain free on bond until May 18 sentencing
• Winkler and 9-year-old daughter described preacher's slaying for jury
• Winkler's attorney said she was abused emotionally and physically
By Susan Candiotti and Ann O'Neill
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SELMER, Tennessee (CNN) -- A Tennessee jury on Thursday found Mary Winkler guilty of voluntary manslaughter in the shotgun killing of her husband.
Winkler showed no emotion when the verdict was announced.
The judge ruled that she would remain free on bond until her sentencing, which is scheduled for May 18. (Watch Winkler's reaction to the verdict Video)
The manslaughter conviction could send Winkler to prison for between three and six years.
Winkler, a 33-year-old mother of three girls, was convicted in the March 22, 2006, slaying of her husband, Matthew, 31, a popular preacher at the Fourth Street Church of Christ in Selmer.
The 10 women and two men deliberated for about six hours, before reaching a verdict.
She could have been convicted of first-degree murder, which would have been punishable by 51 to 60 years in prison. Early in the case, prosecutors decided not to pursue the death penalty.
Assistant District Attorney Walter Freeland said Matthew Winkler was a good father and husband who did not deserve to die. According to testimony, 77 shotgun pellets were recovered from his body, which church elders discovered in the parsonage bedroom after he missed a weeknight service.
The rest of the story is here.
Fellas, what'd y'all think about this?
April 19, 2007
Chilling Manifesto
You can watch Cho's video manifesto here.
You can see Cho's writings here.
Fellas, lots of good questions. Should NBC have posted pictures like the one above? Should NBC have shown us the video? After watching the video what thoughts arose, etc.? Thoughts, in general?
April 17, 2007
Cho Seung-Hui
From CNN:
BLACKSBURG, Virginia (CNN) -- "A year and a half before before Cho Seung-Hui went on a deadly shooting spree on the campus of Virginia Tech, a professor was so concerned about his anger that she took him out of another teacher's creative writing class and taught him one-on-one.
The former chairwoman of Virginia Tech's English department, Lucinda Roy, said the anger Cho expressed was palpable if not explicit.
Cho, an English major, never wrote about guns or killing people,, she said. But his writing was disturbing enough that she went to police and other university officials to seek help. (Watch the professor tell how her student frightened her Video)
"The threats seemed to be underneath the surface," she said. "They were not explicit and that was the difficulty the police had."
"My argument was that he seemed so disturbed that we needed to do something about this."
Without a clear threat, nothing could be done, however, and Roy made the decision to instruct him away from other students.
"I just felt I was between a rock and a hard place," she said. "It seemed the only alternative was to send him back to the classroom, and I wouldn't do it."
While teaching Cho one-on-one, Roy said she "made it clear that that kind of writing was unacceptable and he needed to write in another voice."
She also said that she encouraged Cho to go to counseling, and believed that he may have "gotten tired of hearing it" and begun to tell her he had been going when, perhaps, he had not.
Cho was an intelligent student, Roy said, but he left students and professors alike unnerved in his presence."
Fellas, I'm at a loss right now. I'm going to wait to hear more before I chime in. What is making me upset, however, is all the second-guessing that's going on with the VA Tech Univ. police. I can't believe it.
April 16, 2007
VA Tech Massacre--1:45pm EST
Fox News just reported at least 32 people dead.
From ABC News
By DAVID SCHOETZ, NED POTTER, and the staff of ABC News
Apr. 16, 2007— At least 29 people are dead in what may be the biggest mass killing on a college campus in American history — and the death toll may rise.
Police at Virginia Tech, in Blaksburg, Va., said that the shootings happened at a dormitory and a classroom on opposite sides of the university campus.
Law enforcement sources tell ABC News the shooting may have been set off by an off-campus incident.
Virginia Tech Police Chief Wendell Flinchum said that one person was killed in the first shooting, which occurred just after 7 a.m. at West Ambler Johnston Hall, a large dormitory. Flinchum said that at least 20 more people were killed at Norris Hall, an academic building.
The gunman, whose identity has not been released, is among the dead. Flinchum wouldn't say whether the shooter had killed himself.
ABC News has confirmed that there were two separate bomb threats last week at Virginia Tech that targeted engineering buildings. The first was directed at Torgersen Hall, while the second was directed at multiple engineering buildings. Students and staff were evacuated, and the university had offered a $5,000 reward for information into the threats.
Fellas, thoughts!
The Black Community Has Abandoned Baseball
I saw lots of "42s" on players jerseys yesterday in honor of Jackie Robinson but if there's one thing that's broadly true it is this: baseball is basically dead in the black community.
NPR reports:
"Sixty years ago this month, the mental landscape of America changed when Jackie Robinson took the field as the first African-American player in Major League Baseball in the 20th Century. By the time he retired, after 10 years with the Brooklyn Dodgers, Jackie Robinson had endured threats and taunts to become a genuine hero. He was not only a Hall of Fame baseball player, but a name in history. His number 42, is now retired on every club in the major leagues, a tribute to a man who had to hang his first uniform on a hook.
Now, at the start of the 2007 baseball season, African Americans make up only 8.4 percent of Major League ballplayers. In 1975, they accounted for 27 percent.
Sharon Robinson, Jackie Robinson's only daughter, speaks with Scott Simon about the decline. She is working for Major League Baseball in an effort to bring black players and fans back to the game."
Listen to the NPR story here.
I don't ever hear guys talk about baseball at the barber shop. You're more likely to hear about Tiger Woods and boxers than baseball players. I'm not sure why. . .
Fellas, any ideas?
April 10, 2007
Anthony Bradley "The Token Negro and Filthy Pervert and a Stain on the Bedsheets of Life"---These Types of Words Seem To Only Come From One Set of Circles
Robert James posted this last week about his "Anthonybradley exposed" blog:
"This blog was started to expose Anthony Bradley, a filthy pervert and a stain on the bedsheets of life. My name really is Rick James -I chose the Godfather of Soul's picture simply to mock Bradley, and show what a side-show this whole Cool Calvinist hooplah is.
I was gonna post some things on his ties to Emerging-Church heretic Mark Driscoll -but you know what, I simply don't care to waste my time. I was gonna write some articles -but really, why bother. It's manifestly obvious to anyone with an IQ above that of a walrus that Bradley's an ignorant baboon. Any friends or supporters he may have are ignorant, worthless piles of excrement masquerading as human beings. To them, Bradley's the token Negro needed to make them feel like John Calvin's work in Geneva was worth anything. It's like saying Robert E. Lee's a great leader -say that to someone, and they'll reply, 'Yes -he stood up with the black man to receive the sacrament in Church'."
Read more of this Southern Reformed love of "the stain of the bedsheets of life" that is Anthony Bradley
Southern Baptists speak no ill of Craig Mitchell. Those associated with the Evangelical Free Church speak no ill of Bruce Fields. You will find no derogative language on the internet about these "token" black guys, no calls for their "excommunication."
As a matter of fact, over the years I've had non-Christians who hate the stuff I write and they never say stuff like this. Well, I'd love to say more but that would do nothing but produce "anonymous" phone calls.
Hey, I'm taking a week off from this blog to write for some other circles. See ya next week! Woot, woot!
--"The Token Negro and Filthy Stain On the Bedsheets of Life"
April 09, 2007
Anthony Bradley as a "Rectal Orific[e]" According To Some Lovers of the South
Words from a Southern Reformed Christian regarding my comments about the Duke Lacrosse teams members who were cleared on rape charges but still have sexual assault charges pending:
"Just look at how the media handled the story of that lying Negress who falsely accused three Duke lacrosse team members of rape. The whole thing was a total lie, and yet we've heard nary a peep from all the rectal orifices, such as Anthony Bradley, who had those young men tried, judged, and imprisoned before they were even charged."
Black Female College Students As "Nappy-Headed Hos"
On his MSNBC show Wednesday, Imus was talking to producer Bernard McGuirk about the NCAA women's championship game when he said of the Rutgers team, "That's some nappy-headed hos there, I'm going to tell you that."
Wow, black college student-athletes are "nappy-headed hos?" This is the kind of stuff that leads MANY of my family members to claim (esp. those born before 1970 and grew up in the South) that white people will always be racists and that they will never change. I should show them some of the Christian sites that prove them wrong like this one.
Wow, Imus? Hey, we all misspeak at times. I understand. Question: I wonder if Jesse Jackson or Al Sharpton will get involved?
April 06, 2007
Florida Basketball: Should I Stay or Should I Go Now?
The Florida juniors and lone senior Lee Humphrey are the only starting five to ever win back-to-back NCAA titles (Streeter Lecka/Getty Images).
Below is story adapted from Andy Katz at ESPN.com.
Florida coach Billy Donovan told ESPN.com that juniors and likely first-round draft picks Joakim Noah, Al Horford, Corey Brewer and Taurean Green will declare for the draft by the April 29 deadline and sign with agents, preventing them from returning for their senior season. Donovan also gave Kentucky the hand this week and decided to remain coaching a Florida.
A four-spot of scholarships became available at Florida on Thursday. And Billy Donovan's decision to remain the Gators' coach might mean unsigned power forward Patrick Patterson is not far behind. Blog Insider
A number of NBA sources consider Horford, Noah and Brewer potential top 10 picks, while Green is expected to go somewhere in the first round. All four decided against testing the draft process last year after winning a national title. All but Brewer are the sons of professional athletes.
If you guys saw the press conference you noticed the tears that flowed as these four guys leaving each other for the NBA.
Fellas, was this a good move?
April 05, 2007
An Invitation From Mayapple For The Fellas
Fellas, Mayapple posted this response to my previous post a couple of days ago. He's inviting you all to join the conversation. In the above video Mayapple explains why he believes in evolution and not the biblical creation account as a Christian. This is what Mayapple posted in the comments section:
"Hey guys, thanks for checking out my video...I hadn't realized somebody thought they were of some significance to post them on their blog. Small point of clarification, Brett is still making videos, he was just playing a little April Fool's joke of sorts. If you guys have time, be sure to check out more of my videos and leave your comments on those pages. You might not have a camera but don't let that stop you from joining the debate."Posted by: Mayapple at April 3, 2007 10:24 PM
The New Guerrilla (or perhaps stealth) Advertising Trend (Metropolis Magazine)
(Recent guerrilla and alternative marketing efforts: WFP’s Rheingold graffiti campaign.Courtesy MFD)
Fellas, Steven Heller writes an interesting piece about the lengths advertisers are willing to go get you to pay attention to them. Like the ad above for Rheingold Beer, many using graffiti. Good stuff. Here is it from Metropolis Magazine:
"A few years ago Kirshenbaum Bond + Partners stenciled New York sidewalks with the line: “From here it looks like you could use some new underwear,” for an intimate apparel company. I don’t remember the brand, but I do know it sold some panties. Last Christmas the “Cheer Pass” campaign for Starbucks, produced in collaboration with Wieden + Kennedy, involved affixing red paper cups precariously on dozens of cab roofs. If a Good Samaritan warned the taxi’s passenger about the errant cup before driving off, a free Starbucks gift card was awarded(see picture below).
(Wieden + Kennedy’s “Cheer Pass” campaign for Starbucks. Courtesy Free Car Media)
This is guerrilla (or perhaps stealth) advertising, a term the industry uses to label a breed of “edgy” urban campaign. Known also as “never been done before” (or NBDB) ads, this strategy was co-opted directly from DIY alternative culture and wild posters, and involves the semisubversive planting of messages in venues and on objects ordinarily free of advertising: banana peels, body tattoos, even urinal- disinfectant pucks.
Today’s newest tactic—which has produced another buzzword (“the most awful of the month,” says Brian Collins, director of Ogilvy’s Brand Innovation Group)—is viral advertising. Usually passed along through blogs and e-mails, it is, according to Collins, “anything that inspires and supports word-of-mouth stories about a brand.” He points to last year’s Dove “Evolution of Beauty” campaign as an overnight viral sensation when more than a million people watched a time-elapsed video of a model made gorgeous on YouTube. “It became such a phenomenon. The video got front-page news coverage and was on The View,” Collins says. “It broke without traditional media in less than a week.”
Alternative campaigns like these—as well as ambient ads, which involve legally and illegally commandeering novel public spaces—have been so successful that some agencies and marketing firms are devoted exclusively to colonizing urban sites and the Internet."
Read the rest of the article here.
Hey, anybody ever had Rheingold Beer? Thoughts on graffiti advertising?
April 03, 2007
A Rock Solid Core Is Key To Keeping The Gut At Bay And Keeping Your Lower Back Strong
Fellas, you can do 100 sit-ups a night and still have a huge gut if you don't watch your diet and strengthen your core.
Men's Health says, "developed core muscles help you react faster and stronger, and let your body distribute stress evenly and absorb shock effectively. Athletes who give these muscles proper attention will reap enhanced balance, body awareness, coordination, and flexibility.
The most effective exercises for developing power, such as deadlifts and squats, require a strong core to stabilize and protect the lower back. Conditioning the deep core muscles gives you the foundation needed to lift more weight with less risk of injury.
The more centered your spine is in relation to the rest of your body, the more erect you'll sit and stand. Strong lower-back and abdominal muscles help you run with proper technique, sustain a long commute, even sit at a desk all day. Clothes fit better, and you appear taller, and slimmer. Developing your core helps you perform daily tasks with less effort and fatigue. This means you'll have more energy to burn in the gym or on the field, and less time on the sidelines from early exhaustion or injury."
Men's Health has a great group of exercises to strengthen your core. Check it out here. As stated above, not having a weak core effects overall posture and back strength. Good stuff to think about!
Fifth-Graders Charged With Having Sex In Class--I Wonder Who They Learned This From?
• Four students allegedly have sex in classroom while fifth acts as lookout • Four children charged with obscenity, fifth with being an accessory • Teacher who was to supervise class went to assembly instead • Word of incident passes from students to teacher to sheriff's office
From CNN:
NEW ORLEANS, Louisiana (The AP Reports) -- Five fifth-grade students face criminal charges after authorities said four of them had sex in front of other students in an unsupervised classroom and kept a classmate posted as a lookout for teachers.
The students were arrested Tuesday at the Spearsville school in rural north Louisiana, authorities said. Two 11-year-old girls, a 12-year-old boy and a 13-year old boy were charged with obscenity, a felony. An 11-year-old boy, the alleged lookout, was charged with being an accessory.
"After 44 years of doing this work, nothing shocks me anymore," said Union Parish Sheriff Bob Buckley. "But this comes pretty close."
Authorities said the incident happened March 27 at the school, which houses students from kindergarten through 12th grade. A high school teacher normally watches the fifth-grade class at the time, but went to an assembly for older students and the class was inadvertently left unattended, Buckley said.
The class, which had around 10 other students, was alone for about 15 minutes, he said.
"When no teacher showed up, the four began to have sex in the classroom with the other elementary students in the classroom with them," he said.
(Copyright 2007 The Associated Press. All rights reserved)
Read the rest here.
FELLAS, what's up with all this?
April 02, 2007
Romans 1:18-32 Is America: The Mandingos In Florida
I read the most disturbing story in my life about the latest big craze in America's pagan culture: middle-aged, middle-class, white couples who hire a black guy to sleep with the wife, often as the husband looks on. This is story is in the April 2007 issue of Details Magazine. Here's the link. (The story is brutally honest so don't read it if you can't handle the kind of stuff you find in Leviticus 18 and 19; there is also bad language). These disgusting clubs are called "Mandingo."
The one surprising part, if you read the comments about the story, is that even non-Christians think this practice and these swingers' club are putrid. Here's why I'm posting this--the profiles of the white couples are often this: upper middle-class, conservative Republican-types with kids. The profile of the black men: often college-educated professionals. Sometimes the upper-middle class white couple will actually take the black guy on vacation with them. Sick. I this dispels the myth that debauchery is only found in lower economic classes.
The only thing worse that I've encountered is a pastor I know (of a VERY large church) who had a problem with one of the small groups swapping spouses for sex. The couples arranged that they would go to different services so that wouldn't have to see each other on Sunday.
Whew, lots of middle-class, conservative people are sick. What's up with these "family values" white middle-class, conservative Bush voters? Why do black men freely prostitute themselves like this? Why are white, middle-class lives so often full of debauchery, yet never addressed in their churches, books, or magazines? Is the U.S. the "lake of fire?" This country's sick.