The Kind-Hearted Smart Aleck

While I was at home battling a case of the stomach flu on Saturday night, I had no idea what I was about to get myself into when I decided to order the film The Hate U Give On-Demand. The film may be based on a novel, but given the increasingly strong relevance it has in our society and the seemingly personal nature of the picture, it felt more real than other such films, as real as a documentary. THUG (The Hate U Give) centers around a young black man being pulled over, pulling out a hairbrush from the backseat of his car and getting shot and killed by a white officer, with a friend of his in the passenger seat. The young woman is understandably shaken by the event. While she lives in a black neighborhood, she gets educated at a predominantly white school and tries to separate those two lives the best she can. Having to regularly split her identity into two, she soon starts losing herself. Members of the Black Lives Matter movement start protesting the incident, especially after a...

Enslaved (verb): "cause (someone) to lose their freedom of choice or action." Slavery may have technically ended in 1865, but I can guarantee you it still takes place today, especially when it comes to black men. Let's look at this. When slavery was abolished, African-Americans, whom had not attained proper education, were set off into the world. It was akin to a long-time prisoner being set free. Unless strong connections are in place post-imprisonment, it's incredibly common for the prisoner to delve back into his/her old habits and wind up back in a penitentiary. So while it had to have been an indescribable feeling for slaves when slavery was abolished, once they stepped away from the only place they've ever known, it had to also have been overwhelming and stress-inducing. Not only that, but the legal system has been biased against black men pretty much since slavery was abolished. Let's face it, it is possible for money to transcend crime. Slaves en...

Ever since it became apparent Donald Trump was going to be our next president, I've been going through a series of emotions: Sadness, anger, guilt, a fighter's mentality, a screw-it mindset, and back to sadness. I keep trying to find a silver-lining to Tuesday night's results, yet every time I do, I'm greeted with a heart-breaking story about how Trump's America could look tomorrow, let alone in 4 or 8 years. There's no other way to put it - when Donald Trump won on Tuesday night, America lost. We're now seen as a joke around the world (excluding Russia), and unfortunately, this joke is no laughing matter. Donald Trump is a showman first, a businessman second, and a politician last. Yes, that was a major charm to many of his supporters, but let's take off the blinders for a moment. Would we want a person with no construction experience to build our home? Would we want a man without any doctoral experience to be our surgeon? Would we want a woman withou...

It's hard for me to believe, but yesterday marked the 1-year anniversary of my friend Gary's passing. After being diagnosed with cancer, he was given 6 months to live, but battled it for over 7 years. It's been a rough year for me on the health front, but Gary continues to be an inspiration to me, as he's taught me, no matter how bleak things might seem today, so long as we're breathing, we can fight for a better tomorrow. Rest in peace, Gary. We miss you, bud.

When it comes to the gun debate, this country seems to be in a continuous cycle which shows no signs of being broken anytime soon. The cycle goes like this: 1) A tragic mass shooting occurs somewhere in the country 2) We briefly mourn 3) We attempt to find scapegoats 4) Progressives and Democrats fight for stronger gun laws 5) Conservatives and Republicans say, "Now's not the time to talk about such things." 6) The NRA and similar groups push for more guns and weaker gun laws 7) The issue gets pushed to the side after a week or two 8) Another mass shooting occurs I'm frankly getting sick and tired of this seemingly never-ending cycle. Within the past week or so, there was a mass shooting in Oregon, school shootings in Arizona and Texas, a shooting in a parking lot following the New England Patriots/Dallas Cowboys game on Sunday, not to mention cops accused of shooting people who were unarmed. At what point are we as a nation finally going to look in ...

Unless one has been in a coma while living under a rock the past few days, there's roughly a 99.9% chance he or she has heard about the protests and rioting in Baltimore, Maryland. Freddie Gray, an African-American male, died in prison a week after he was arrested of a non-violent crime, as approximately 80% of his spine had been severed. Speculation about his death coming at the hands of the area's police force, in conjunction with the seemingly countless other such cases across the country over the past several months, sparked a number of African-Americans to protest the matter. Unfortunately, while a majority of these protesters went about their business in a peaceful manner, some decided violence and property damage was the better option. Like with the protests in Ferguson, Missouri a few months ago, this situation has brought attention to the issues of police brutality, prejudice, poverty, and (in)equality, and has prompted a vast array of opinions along the way. While I...

Since it's getting close to the weekend, I feel like lightening things up a bit with a joke. :: clears throat :: So, did you hear the one about a former potential vice president and her family getting into a brawl at a birthday party with a bunch of competitive snowmobile racers? No? Well, you're in for a treat, because it's actually true. A couple of weekends ago, Sarah Palin and her family attended a birthday party in Anchorage, where more competitive snowmobile racers were present than in the rest of the country combined. Yes, this included her husband, Todd. Things appeared to be going well for a while, but that all changed when Sarah's son, Track, allegedly confronted his sister Willow's ex-boyfriend. You know what? I think I'd be better off telling this story in a setting where I feel it'd be most appropriate - The Jerry Springer Show . Audience: "Jerry! Jerry! Jerry! Jerry!" Jerry Springer: "Thank you, and welcome to the show. I...

Often times, we go about life not realizing what most people may honestly think of us or what kind of a positive impact we may have had on a person's life. Even if we perform a kind act for a person, unless he or she tells us, while we may very well be left feeling good about doing something for another, we'll never be 100% certain how that kind act impacted them. On a couple of occasions this past week, however, I actually received this very feedback from friends of mine which left me feeling pretty good. Every now and again, it's just nice to be noticed and appreciated. A few days ago, a friend of mine randomly wrote me and said, "No matter what life seems to throw at you, you always seem to battle through and have a smile on your face. It's inspiring." Just yesterday, another friend told me, "For all that you've dealt with and how you've dealt with it, I've honestly been inspired by you." I guess there are just times I don't ...

There's rumor that Major League Baseball is threatening Alex Rodriguez with a lifetime ban from the league unless he agrees not to fight a suspension which would be handed to him and several other players in the latest drug scandal. If he doesn't fight the suspension, he would likely be suspended through the 2014 season. "Lifetime ban" is quite the headline, but it's not nearly as big of a deal as most people are making it. Alex Rodriguez is 38 years old. He hasn't played at all this year. He played a little over half the season in 2011. A-Rod has missed 24 or more games in every season since 2007. He's missed 297 games in the past 6 seasons combined - an average of 49.5 per. This isn't a guy who appears like he'll be playing for much longer. If he's suspended through 2014, he'll be 39 going on 40 heading into the 2015 season. The reason he might fight that very suspension is he only planned on playing one more season, so a one-year suspe...

Unfortunately, as seems to so often be the case in my life, I've received another health scare. I was ill between late May of 2009 and the early portion of 2011 with symptoms that ranged from an overly drugged sensation in my head to weak and tingly arms and legs to extreme fatigue to a numb mouth and beyond. When the symptoms were at their most intense, which was most of 2009 and part of 2010, I was unable to drive, work out, get much work done, even walk some days. Well, yesterday morning, some of those symptoms made their presence felt again and while their initial intensity has subsided a bit, the sensations still haven't completely vanished from my system. Oddly enough, in conjunction with the subtle symptoms, I'm rather sore in multiple areas of the body, especially my ankles. The doctors never concluded on what happened to me during those 18+ months, so they decided the cause was a "strange virus." However, in feeling some of these same symptoms all over ag...

I hate to chuckle at violence of any kind, but couldn't help myself with the following story. Supposedly Oscar-nominated actor Edward Norton got annoyed with a member of the paparazzi (go figure, right?) and well, I'll let Shawn Lealos of The Examiner tell you: "According to the NYPD, the member of the paparazzi was attempting to shoot video of Norton on Tuesday with his camera phone when the actor aggressively pushed the man's hand away, smacking the phone away as well. The person then went to get medical treatment, complaining that his hand was in pain after the Norton attack." Yes, one of the two lead stars in the film Fight Club "attacked" a man by pushing his hand and phone away from him leading to the life-altering injury known as hand pain. Rumor has it this member of the paparazzi will star alongside Norton in the sequel to Fight Club , which is to be called, Push Club: Fight Club for Pus*ies . http://www.examiner.com/article/edward-norto...

Against All Odds Laying in a hospital bed, Fighting to stay alive, Friends and family preparing for the worst, Odds against me to survive, My eyes close, Images then appear, A multitude of memories, As I hear my mother in tears, Obstacles presented everyday, One hurdle after another, Tripping and falling to the ground, Scraped, bloodied, but refusing to lie down, From complications at birth, To epilepsy at 4, A man stealing my innocence, A grand mal and brain tumor, Surgery to fix the seizures, An unknown illness of two years, Deceived into a nightmare, Desensitized to fear, I open my eyes, A smile comes across my face, Strength re-instilled, From my mouth, laughter emanates, The odds have always been against me, From birth until now, I know I’ll get through this, Scraped, bloodied, and never lying down.

This poem can be found on pages 146-147 in "Seasons Come, People Grow: A Poetic Journey". Waiting quietly, In our dark hole, The light outside during the daytime, A guide for us to know where to go, When we walk out of the dark, We only put ourselves at risk, Obstacles and traps spread all about, Never knowing when one will strike us, We are allowed to live peacefully and freely in private, But can't do so publicly, The cats will meow and roar, They'll then lock us up and throw away the key, They lock us up, Surrounded by metal bars are we, For not following the norms, For not being another mindless member of society, Little mice stuck in our holes, Afraid of having a voice of our own, Little mice afraid of the cat, Fear and paranoia surround us as we give in to their wretched grasp, Followers come and go, Leaders are remembered, For what they believe they will stand, And not be another cowardly mice of man.

 (I wrote this a while back, but still find it kind of funny. If the writing appears to be a bit outdated, that is the reason why.) Ever heard of him? He's a German director (as well as doctor) who focuses his time, work, and energy on films based off of video games. He's directed three American films: House of the Dead, Alone in the Dark, and BloodRayne. The cinematic genre of video game take offs are not widely respected by critics and the films that Boll has himself directed are probably the least respected of the lot. Just recently, an article was written in Vancouver, British Columbia regarding Boll's success. Here's the final portion of the article: "Again the fans have shown that the critics of Uwe Boll are out of touch with what the general movie audience population wants. Dr. Boll has continually been roasted for the films he has directed and produced. His last two films, House of the Dead & Alone in the Dark, cost $20 million but they have gross...