Thursday, August 23, 2007

Toe-meh-toe, Toe-mah-toe



Every Suspect's Probably Negro is reporting that the 50 pitbulls seized at Michael Vick's home are going to be euthanized if no one claims them by August 25. Why are they being put down? Simple. They are deadly dogs who were raised to be killers and aren't deemed suitable for domestic living. And, its safe to say that they are as good as dead because no one in Virginia, or any of the other states Vick is accused of dogfighting in, is going to come and say "dude! that's my dog!"

This leads one to ask, if the government can come in and decide to kill some dogs because they are dangerous, why is Vick being crucified? Granted electrocuting, hanging and drowning dogs is kinda sick, but wasn't he pretty much doing the same thing? He was killing the dogs because they were underperforming, meaning that they weren't fairing well against other dogs. But the fact remains that they were still attack dogs, meaning that he can't just put them up for adoption or give them away to a family in the suburbs, because shid...while they might not be able to fight against dogs, they are still very much capable of biting the hell out of any child or adult that gets too close to them at the wrong time.


The city of Atlanta and its behavior towards Vick, especially the media got me thinking about some other tragedies associated with the sports teams here. Does anyone remember this guy:



Dany Heatley was a upcoming star for the Atlanta Thrashers hockey team. I'm not a big hockey watcher, but dude was the business, almost unstoppable on the ice. In 2003 he injured himself and killed his best friend and teammate Dan Snyder in a violent car crash. Now, I don't claim to have the best memory, but I could have swore that the wreck was caused because Heatley was driving fast--and drunk. At least that's what I remember in the initial news reports. But now years later, the stories say that he was driving fast, with alcohol in his system, but not enough to declare him inebriated. For punishment, Heatley got 3 years probation (2 years after the incident) and he was granted a trade from Atlanta to Ottawa to help him leave the tragic story behind him. Luckily for him, he didn't recieve as much backlash as Vick, who killed a dog, not a human. Heatley's only backlash was being removed from the cover of the EA Sports NHL '04 video game. However, you could still buy his jerseys and hockey cards.

While we're at it, does anyone remember this guy:


Former Atlanta Falcon Patrick Kerney must own a pretty big house. Earlier this year a houseguest, who is female, claimed that she was raped by two men she met at a club, inside Kerney's home. It happened in March, 3 months after the football season was over. Meaning that Kerney was home, upstairs, sleep, but didn't hear anything going on...so he says. The reason why some of you didn't hear about this is because if you weren't watching the news the night this story was talked about, well, you just didn't see it. I for one don't remember it being mentioned again. Really, who wants to report on women getting raped inside football player's homes while they are upstairs asleep? That's not news. And how convenient is it that just like Heatley, he doesn't play for Atlanta anymore, he's now with the Seatlle Seahawks.

This shit reminds me of that song they used to sing on Sesame Street:

One of these things is not like the others,
One of these things just doesn't belong,
Can you tell which thing is not like the others
By the time I finish my song?
Did you guess which thing was not like the others?
Did you guess which thing just doesn't belong?
If you guessed this one is not like the others,
Then you're absolutely...right!

Toe-meh-toe, Toe-mah-toe



Every Suspect's Probably Negro is reporting that the 50 pitbulls seized at Michael Vick's home are going to be euthanized if no one claims them by August 25. Why are they being put down? Simple. They are deadly dogs who were raised to be killers and aren't deemed suitable for domestic living. And, its safe to say that they are as good as dead because no one in Virginia, or any of the other states Vick is accused of dogfighting in, is going to come and say "dude! that's my dog!"

This leads one to ask, if the government can come in and decide to kill some dogs because they are dangerous, why is Vick being crucified? Granted electrocuting, hanging and drowning dogs is kinda sick, but wasn't he pretty much doing the same thing? He was killing the dogs because they were underperforming, meaning that they weren't fairing well against other dogs. But the fact remains that they were still attack dogs, meaning that he can't just put them up for adoption or give them away to a family in the suburbs, because shid...while they might not be able to fight against dogs, they are still very much capable of biting the hell out of any child or adult that gets too close to them at the wrong time.


The city of Atlanta and its behavior towards Vick, especially the media got me thinking about some other tragedies associated with the sports teams here. Does anyone remember this guy:



Dany Heatley was a upcoming star for the Atlanta Thrashers hockey team. I'm not a big hockey watcher, but dude was the business, almost unstoppable on the ice. In 2003 he injured himself and killed his best friend and teammate Dan Snyder in a violent car crash. Now, I don't claim to have the best memory, but I could have swore that the wreck was caused because Heatley was driving fast--and drunk. At least that's what I remember in the initial news reports. But now years later, the stories say that he was driving fast, with alcohol in his system, but not enough to declare him inebriated. For punishment, Heatley got 3 years probation (2 years after the incident) and he was granted a trade from Atlanta to Ottawa to help him leave the tragic story behind him. Luckily for him, he didn't recieve as much backlash as Vick, who killed a dog, not a human. Heatley's only backlash was being removed from the cover of the EA Sports NHL '04 video game. However, you could still buy his jerseys and hockey cards.

While we're at it, does anyone remember this guy:


Former Atlanta Falcon Patrick Kerney must own a pretty big house. Earlier this year a houseguest, who is female, claimed that she was raped by two men she met at a club, inside Kerney's home. It happened in March, 3 months after the football season was over. Meaning that Kerney was home, upstairs, sleep, but didn't hear anything going on...so he says. The reason why some of you didn't hear about this is because if you weren't watching the news the night this story was talked about, well, you just didn't see it. I for one don't remember it being mentioned again. Really, who wants to report on women getting raped inside football player's homes while they are upstairs asleep? That's not news. And how convenient is it that just like Heatley, he doesn't play for Atlanta anymore, he's now with the Seatlle Seahawks.

This shit reminds me of that song they used to sing on Sesame Street:

One of these things is not like the others,
One of these things just doesn't belong,
Can you tell which thing is not like the others
By the time I finish my song?
Did you guess which thing was not like the others?
Did you guess which thing just doesn't belong?
If you guessed this one is not like the others,
Then you're absolutely...right!

Thursday, August 16, 2007

From The Era Where Snitchin' Is The Shit...



Its, official. Snitching is as American as apple pie and drive-thru liquor stores.

Jason Giambi was my favorite player for a hot sec when he was playing for the A's. But I stopped rooting for him when sold out to the Evil Empire. I guess wearing the pinstripes gets you some sort of executive privilege because Giambi, who admitted to using steroids, will not be punished for doing so. No suspension, no banishment, no nothing. I'd also like to mention that besides a couple kids tearing his poster off the wall, he didn't experience alot ridicule either.

This is a foul ball by all means. MLB Commissioner Bud Selig said that he's not going to punish Giambi because his case was a "special circumstance, mainly because he's been doing charity work and helping steroid investigators. This is the same Bud Selig who when he witnessed Barry Bonds tie the all-time home run record, had to be prompted to stand up and acknowledge the feat. On top of that, he didn't even bother to clap, he just stood there with his hands in his pocket with a blank stare. I know Bud is 73 years old, and probably isn't completely aware of what his face does anymore, but damn, he could have at least smiled or something. Don't forget that he didn't bother to show up to the game where Barry actually broke the record.

Instead he sent out an ambiguous statement:

"Congratulations to Barry Bonds as he ties Major League Baseball's home run record. No matter what anybody thinks of the controversy surrounding this event, Mr. Bonds' achievement is noteworthy and remarkable."

I wonder if Barry would have come out and admitted to steroid use, would he be treated as a "special circumstance." Probably not, hell, Selig was ready to suspend Bonds based off a book by two meddlesome San Fransisco reporters who clearly had an agenda against Bonds.

Like I said, pinstripes must get you some sort of executive privilege. Anyone else who admits to cheating usually has to suffer consequences, charity or not.

From The Era Where Snitchin' Is The Shit...



Its, official. Snitching is as American as apple pie and drive-thru liquor stores.

Jason Giambi was my favorite player for a hot sec when he was playing for the A's. But I stopped rooting for him when sold out to the Evil Empire. I guess wearing the pinstripes gets you some sort of executive privilege because Giambi, who admitted to using steroids, will not be punished for doing so. No suspension, no banishment, no nothing. I'd also like to mention that besides a couple kids tearing his poster off the wall, he didn't experience alot ridicule either.

This is a foul ball by all means. MLB Commissioner Bud Selig said that he's not going to punish Giambi because his case was a "special circumstance, mainly because he's been doing charity work and helping steroid investigators. This is the same Bud Selig who when he witnessed Barry Bonds tie the all-time home run record, had to be prompted to stand up and acknowledge the feat. On top of that, he didn't even bother to clap, he just stood there with his hands in his pocket with a blank stare. I know Bud is 73 years old, and probably isn't completely aware of what his face does anymore, but damn, he could have at least smiled or something. Don't forget that he didn't bother to show up to the game where Barry actually broke the record.

Instead he sent out an ambiguous statement:

"Congratulations to Barry Bonds as he ties Major League Baseball's home run record. No matter what anybody thinks of the controversy surrounding this event, Mr. Bonds' achievement is noteworthy and remarkable."

I wonder if Barry would have come out and admitted to steroid use, would he be treated as a "special circumstance." Probably not, hell, Selig was ready to suspend Bonds based off a book by two meddlesome San Fransisco reporters who clearly had an agenda against Bonds.

Like I said, pinstripes must get you some sort of executive privilege. Anyone else who admits to cheating usually has to suffer consequences, charity or not.

Sign, Sealed, Delivered



Mr. Banner calmed down a bit and chose to write The Perminator an open letter. No fellatio invites here.

*spotted at EURWEB.COM

Wrote A Letter To The Government The Other Day!

Stop Attacking The Kids

To all the black ‘so called leaders’. Al, Oprah, Jesse, etc, etc, etc… I’m saddened by your current direction and current ‘pet projects’ you guys have taken under your wing at the expense of Young Black America. As an urban professional living in this crazy world, I dare ask, who are you leading? I listen to what you say, I hear you complain about the youth, and about the direction of our lives, the kids, and where Black America is going and yet I still ask – who are you guys leading? And most importantly, where are we going? Do we know the goal we are trying to reach before we get there? Have we identified our end before articulating our means to an end! Who are you REALLY reaching? Why do you feel the need to attack the young generation for the things we are doing? "WHO DID WE LEARN THESE THINGS FROM? We are trying to have fun in the midst of our traumatic circumstances. People are trying to make a living by any means necessary, people are voicing their experiences, people are speaking the truth about situations and honestly the truth hurts and sometimes it’s ugly. If music/hip hop/ rappers are wrong with the language they use, the images they portray in their videos – then come talk to us – I use the term ‘us’ as a collective because I’m defending what I have a passion for so this also involves me. Pull us to the side and say “hey kids, that’s not the way to go” and then we can say “change what we see daily so we cansing and rap about the roses and not about the bullets”. We will say, help give us better situations to create better verbal material”. Don’t just go running off to the media to air the dirty laundry of the family and not expect us to fight back in some kind of way. What you are doing is wrong and it’s pissing off a lot of people with less money and camera

time! Young Black America’s problem is not Hip Hop or the music, Young Black America’s problem is Old White America. In the young black community, there is a growing level of resentment toward the ‘so called leaders’ because you guys DON’T WANT TO REALLY FIX OUR PROBLEMS. You guys don’t really want to be on our side fighting for better school systems, more after school programs, more money for college funding! Where areyou leaders at when there’s a need to break down to freshman in college on how not to get caught up with credit cards by singing up for an MBNA card, with high interest rates that eventually screw up your credit and makes it that much harder for you to become a homeowner after you graduate college pending you can find a job in your field after you’ve spent all this money in student loans! Where are those seminars? Dubois had it right when he spoke of the Talented Tenth! Rally around us to help teach us about THIS life! It’s not our fault that the world is messed up and filled with debauchery. It’s not our fault that our communities are screwed! The problems in our community should not fall on our lap. And if you begin to hold us accountable for simply our words – then I will begin to hold you accountable for your actions; or lack there of. Right is right and wrong is wrong. You as our leaders should have taken a better approach to gaining the attention of those that you are dissatisfied with and had a conversation with them. You don’t scold your child in public without fair warning!

Al Sharpton: You run around towns and cities speaking words of wanting to better our community by cleaning up the airwaves. You hold rallies in front of radio stations saying turn off the music and clean the airwaves. You want to shut down local stations that are playing urban music when most of these local stations house and employ the same people in your community – the black community. When you visit any station in any city (big or small) playing urban/rap music, the staff is generally black. Now if those stations were to ever shut down – where do those employees go? Al, if you are for the people, where was your rally when the 3 college students were executed in New Jersey by black men. Where is the rally atfor those families and that neighborhood??? I don’t see you out there asking for justice yet that incident happened in a black community. If someone was to rap about “how f**** up black on black crime is and how even if you go to college you aren’t safe on the streets and nigga’s aint’ s---” – that kind of tone is offensive to you and you want to stop that! If that’s the truth, then why are you censoring it? No, you need to stop the crime before it happens so that there is no gangster song about a gangster situation.

Oprah: You recently you held a town hall meeting dedicating 2 days of talk to have an open forum about the “Nappy Headed Ho” comment from Imus. Everyone had their 2cents to say and yet the people that needed to REALLY be there were not at all on your panel of ‘experts’. The questions all were about “why use the word ho or b**** or nigga etc” yet the rappers in question ala Nelly, Snoop, Ludacris weren’t anywhere present on your panel. In my eyes you had all the wrong people on there representing and speaking on behalf of other people. Common is great but he’s not gangsta. If you had a problem with the true content of rap songs then where were those that do that kind of rap

100%? You want to talk about change, and about having us not call women in rap songs “bitches” and “hoes” but one thing I noted, you had all men on your panel of executives. Russell is wonderful but he’s not the Zenith when it comes to new school rappers or their new school mentality. Kevin Liles is great but what happened to Sylvia Rhone the head of the label that Nelly is signed to, or Kathy Hughes the head of Radio One or Deborah Lee the head of BET. If the problem really was about women and the “bitch, ho” term being used, where were those ladies to speak on their stance on this issue! They are the ones with the ultimate say pulling all the strings and yet they weren’t dully noted as absent from your panel! Oprah you are suppose to protect us, I can find more harm being done to the black community by the movies and sponsors you promote than any rap song.

Just like your son or daughter, niece or nephew… rappers are just kids growing into their own. They aren’t always right, but they aren’t always wrong either. If our path is misguided, then help us get back on the right road. I’m young, I’m black, and I’m a hard worker. I’m from the hood where mother’s leave their kids in the hands of strangers and never look back, I’ve been with killers, dope dealers, b******, church folk, grandparents, bad parenting from good parents, pushers, junkies, robbers, middleclass workers, but that’s the life I’vebeen around. Gunshots and church hymns usually go hand in hand in most neighborhoods. The grim reality for a lot of kids out there living alone is that life is harsh and cold; kids grow up faster than they want to because they are forced too! Kids are growing up in situations that are f***** up. So the songs we listen to mirror the things we see, the things we dream about and the fantasies we have! Don’t change the songs I listen to, change the circumstance from which it comes from---then the situation will be better!

Growing up in this world of hip hop it’s disheartening to see our ‘so called leaders’ leave us out to dry. Fine you don’t like what we say. Fine disagree with our choice of topics; however, the things we talk about aren’t new. We didn’t invent the term pimps, pushers, hoes, tricks, doobies, nigga’s and gangsta’s. Hip Hop didn’t create that. Those words were left here for us to use by you guys, your generation. This life we are continuing to live was handed to us by the people before us who didn’t do much to clean it up. There may never be a time that we agree on anything, but there is always room for change. As a family – we will agree to disagree but it’s the synergy in which we do it. If you are on one extreme tangent, and I’m on another, we will never meet eye to eye. At the same time, I will not allow you to bash, yell, condemn, and have a condescending tone on my source of refugee and happiness. As you leaders call out the hip hop community saying that we are wrong for what we do and how we do it, I am CALLING EACH OF YOU OUT saying you are wrong for what you are doing to us. How dare you guys not call Nelly, Snoop, Lil Wayne, David Banner, Jim Jones, Akon, Rick Ross, Fabulous, 50 cent, Young Buck, Bun B, Too Short and say lets talk this through. Do you even know who ANY of these people are??????? You are so disconnected from us that we don’t even look at you for guidance. If you really want to change something, start by changing your dialogue. Don’t talk at us, talk to us!

-DAVID BANNER

Sign, Sealed, Delivered



Mr. Banner calmed down a bit and chose to write The Perminator an open letter. No fellatio invites here.

*spotted at EURWEB.COM

Wrote A Letter To The Government The Other Day!

Stop Attacking The Kids

To all the black ‘so called leaders’. Al, Oprah, Jesse, etc, etc, etc… I’m saddened by your current direction and current ‘pet projects’ you guys have taken under your wing at the expense of Young Black America. As an urban professional living in this crazy world, I dare ask, who are you leading? I listen to what you say, I hear you complain about the youth, and about the direction of our lives, the kids, and where Black America is going and yet I still ask – who are you guys leading? And most importantly, where are we going? Do we know the goal we are trying to reach before we get there? Have we identified our end before articulating our means to an end! Who are you REALLY reaching? Why do you feel the need to attack the young generation for the things we are doing? "WHO DID WE LEARN THESE THINGS FROM? We are trying to have fun in the midst of our traumatic circumstances. People are trying to make a living by any means necessary, people are voicing their experiences, people are speaking the truth about situations and honestly the truth hurts and sometimes it’s ugly. If music/hip hop/ rappers are wrong with the language they use, the images they portray in their videos – then come talk to us – I use the term ‘us’ as a collective because I’m defending what I have a passion for so this also involves me. Pull us to the side and say “hey kids, that’s not the way to go” and then we can say “change what we see daily so we cansing and rap about the roses and not about the bullets”. We will say, help give us better situations to create better verbal material”. Don’t just go running off to the media to air the dirty laundry of the family and not expect us to fight back in some kind of way. What you are doing is wrong and it’s pissing off a lot of people with less money and camera

time! Young Black America’s problem is not Hip Hop or the music, Young Black America’s problem is Old White America. In the young black community, there is a growing level of resentment toward the ‘so called leaders’ because you guys DON’T WANT TO REALLY FIX OUR PROBLEMS. You guys don’t really want to be on our side fighting for better school systems, more after school programs, more money for college funding! Where areyou leaders at when there’s a need to break down to freshman in college on how not to get caught up with credit cards by singing up for an MBNA card, with high interest rates that eventually screw up your credit and makes it that much harder for you to become a homeowner after you graduate college pending you can find a job in your field after you’ve spent all this money in student loans! Where are those seminars? Dubois had it right when he spoke of the Talented Tenth! Rally around us to help teach us about THIS life! It’s not our fault that the world is messed up and filled with debauchery. It’s not our fault that our communities are screwed! The problems in our community should not fall on our lap. And if you begin to hold us accountable for simply our words – then I will begin to hold you accountable for your actions; or lack there of. Right is right and wrong is wrong. You as our leaders should have taken a better approach to gaining the attention of those that you are dissatisfied with and had a conversation with them. You don’t scold your child in public without fair warning!

Al Sharpton: You run around towns and cities speaking words of wanting to better our community by cleaning up the airwaves. You hold rallies in front of radio stations saying turn off the music and clean the airwaves. You want to shut down local stations that are playing urban music when most of these local stations house and employ the same people in your community – the black community. When you visit any station in any city (big or small) playing urban/rap music, the staff is generally black. Now if those stations were to ever shut down – where do those employees go? Al, if you are for the people, where was your rally when the 3 college students were executed in New Jersey by black men. Where is the rally atfor those families and that neighborhood??? I don’t see you out there asking for justice yet that incident happened in a black community. If someone was to rap about “how f**** up black on black crime is and how even if you go to college you aren’t safe on the streets and nigga’s aint’ s---” – that kind of tone is offensive to you and you want to stop that! If that’s the truth, then why are you censoring it? No, you need to stop the crime before it happens so that there is no gangster song about a gangster situation.

Oprah: You recently you held a town hall meeting dedicating 2 days of talk to have an open forum about the “Nappy Headed Ho” comment from Imus. Everyone had their 2cents to say and yet the people that needed to REALLY be there were not at all on your panel of ‘experts’. The questions all were about “why use the word ho or b**** or nigga etc” yet the rappers in question ala Nelly, Snoop, Ludacris weren’t anywhere present on your panel. In my eyes you had all the wrong people on there representing and speaking on behalf of other people. Common is great but he’s not gangsta. If you had a problem with the true content of rap songs then where were those that do that kind of rap

100%? You want to talk about change, and about having us not call women in rap songs “bitches” and “hoes” but one thing I noted, you had all men on your panel of executives. Russell is wonderful but he’s not the Zenith when it comes to new school rappers or their new school mentality. Kevin Liles is great but what happened to Sylvia Rhone the head of the label that Nelly is signed to, or Kathy Hughes the head of Radio One or Deborah Lee the head of BET. If the problem really was about women and the “bitch, ho” term being used, where were those ladies to speak on their stance on this issue! They are the ones with the ultimate say pulling all the strings and yet they weren’t dully noted as absent from your panel! Oprah you are suppose to protect us, I can find more harm being done to the black community by the movies and sponsors you promote than any rap song.

Just like your son or daughter, niece or nephew… rappers are just kids growing into their own. They aren’t always right, but they aren’t always wrong either. If our path is misguided, then help us get back on the right road. I’m young, I’m black, and I’m a hard worker. I’m from the hood where mother’s leave their kids in the hands of strangers and never look back, I’ve been with killers, dope dealers, b******, church folk, grandparents, bad parenting from good parents, pushers, junkies, robbers, middleclass workers, but that’s the life I’vebeen around. Gunshots and church hymns usually go hand in hand in most neighborhoods. The grim reality for a lot of kids out there living alone is that life is harsh and cold; kids grow up faster than they want to because they are forced too! Kids are growing up in situations that are f***** up. So the songs we listen to mirror the things we see, the things we dream about and the fantasies we have! Don’t change the songs I listen to, change the circumstance from which it comes from---then the situation will be better!

Growing up in this world of hip hop it’s disheartening to see our ‘so called leaders’ leave us out to dry. Fine you don’t like what we say. Fine disagree with our choice of topics; however, the things we talk about aren’t new. We didn’t invent the term pimps, pushers, hoes, tricks, doobies, nigga’s and gangsta’s. Hip Hop didn’t create that. Those words were left here for us to use by you guys, your generation. This life we are continuing to live was handed to us by the people before us who didn’t do much to clean it up. There may never be a time that we agree on anything, but there is always room for change. As a family – we will agree to disagree but it’s the synergy in which we do it. If you are on one extreme tangent, and I’m on another, we will never meet eye to eye. At the same time, I will not allow you to bash, yell, condemn, and have a condescending tone on my source of refugee and happiness. As you leaders call out the hip hop community saying that we are wrong for what we do and how we do it, I am CALLING EACH OF YOU OUT saying you are wrong for what you are doing to us. How dare you guys not call Nelly, Snoop, Lil Wayne, David Banner, Jim Jones, Akon, Rick Ross, Fabulous, 50 cent, Young Buck, Bun B, Too Short and say lets talk this through. Do you even know who ANY of these people are??????? You are so disconnected from us that we don’t even look at you for guidance. If you really want to change something, start by changing your dialogue. Don’t talk at us, talk to us!

-DAVID BANNER

Wednesday, August 15, 2007

There's No Place Like Home!


[*my creation, so if you've seen it on myspace, you know the source.]


I don't know if I'm sharing the gift of laughter or spreading the virus of ignorance with this post, but, I had to do something with this:


I don't who these guys are or what they call themselves, but they have a minor YouTube hit on their hands. "Bitch You Ride The MARTA Bus," as stupid as it is, is some straight up A-Town shit, as much as I hate to say it. Not one Atlanta rapper has made a song that shows Atlanta in all its public transportation splendor quite like this one. Yeah, T.I. had "In Da A," B.O.B. had "Atlanta, GA" and JD & Luda had "Welcome to Atlanta" (T.I.'s song pretty much sums up how real ATLiens felt about that track), but none of these guys shouted out the MARTA bus. Only times I remember a A-Town rapper giving props to the big white limo was when Backbone had one in his video for "5, Duce, 4, Tre". Or when Dre 3000 "was trying to find that hook-up".

It could be because people are embarassed of MARTA. As shown in the video above, its not the most flattering form of transportation. Unlike bigger cities like NYC, or even Chicago and DC, the train and/or bus is not the look. The way Atlanta is built, you either have to have a car or great determination to get to where you gotta go. There's nothing convineint about having to take an hour-plus ride to get somewhere that's 15 minutes away by car. While other major cities have intricate rail systems, Atlanta's is pretty simple. The shit just goes Up-Down-Left-Right.

What's sadder is that the system really sucks in the communities that need it most. They up the price every few years to accomodate rich folks who only use it to go party downtown or catch Falcons and Braves games. Poor people who depend on it to get to work still end up being late all the time and end-up getting fired.

But, this video, for what its worth brought back memories of catching the #8 to Open Campus High School my senior year. That shit was rowdy as hell. They used to shoot dice and smoke cigarettes in the back like it was their personal limo service.

The video also brought me back to a theory that me and a close friend kinda came up with a while back. We were talking about the possibility that people from the Southwest part of town were smarter than the people on the Eastside. Of course, I took slight offense to this, I thought that I was a living example that Eastsiders are intelligent. Me, my brother and a few friends at least. But then, I messed around and had to catch MARTA from Cascade to Decatur one time because of car trouble. It was an enlightening experience.

When I was on Cascade (not the rich side, but the other side) I had to listen to people talk loud as usual. But I didn't mind completely, because they wasn't just straight up talking that yang-yang. They was talking about government conspiracies to kill Farrakhan, Ralph Emerson's Invisible Man, how stupid President Bush is (but not in the typical "Bush sucks" type way and other random subjects that required thought.

Then I got to West End station which is closer to downtown and the conversation changed just a little bit, but not drastically. Now, the conversations were about where to get cell phones and Jordan's for the low-low, why selling drugs off Ashby is safer than fighting in Iraq and how "deez crackas are taking Atlanta back ova!" (proper term: gentrification).

After that I transferred at Five Points and started heading eastwards, and that's when things started changing. The closer and closer I got home, the more and more BS I heard. I heard women arguing over 75 cents like it was a life or death situation (maybe it was), then I heard dudes YELLING over the phone about how "they got that work, and its on me right now!" Then I just heard random spurts of ignance about everything from broke baby daddies sleeping with best friends to youngsters bragging about dropping out of school.

I ain't saying that that kind of stuff doesn't happen everywhere, it just seemed to be amplified on the way home. All of that got me thinking about how since Atlanta is the hot bed for rap music right now, that outsiders may be noticing.

I remember visiting family in Pittsburgh when I was in school. They all used to ask me "do you know Outkast, do you live next to Goodie Mob?" And I'd be like, no, I live in Decatur. And they'd ask:

"who ya'll got?"

"Ghetto Mafia."

"Who?"

"Kizzy Rock."

"What?"

"Playa Poncho."

"Huh?"

Don't get me wrong, I fux with GM, Kizzy and Poncho all day! GM helped put that G-shit on the map while Kizzy and Poncho was running the bass game. But, damn, you can't really compare them to 'Kast (East Point, SW Atlanta), can you?

For a minute, the only thing we had was Dre's mention of "catching the 86 Lithonia headed to Decatur." Big Duke from Boyz N Da Hood was on Suave House, but hardly anyone knew him. KB was making classics with Devin the Dude, but hardly anyone knew him either.

Then we had the Eastside Boys (the guys behind Lil' Jon). No comment.

Then, we had Baby D. He cool, but shit, he got showed up on his own song by a Westside cat.

Then we was crunk when Youngbloodz dropped. The shit was jammin', and they had the world doing the Eastside Stomp but can you put their stuff up against Goodie Mob (College Park/East Point).

Then, when we started coming out with what people would call "real MC's" like Da Backwudz and Young Noah, T.I. (Bankhead, Westside) caught fire. And eventhough it wasn't considered "real Hip Hop" that Snap music had the Westside on fire.

Right now, the Dec and the Eastside is riding the back of B.O.B., Gucci Mane and Montana Da Mac. B.O.B. is the shit, I've said that before. Gucci Mane knows how to make catchy songs, and Montana is actually decent (don't let that "Rock On" be the only chance you give him, he has good stuff). Oh yeah, Block is repping the Eastiside, running a succesful ship with his record label.

All of the vets from the South Side are getting up in age, the Westside still got T.I. and Killer Mike, but not much after. So I guess the DEC got next.

But still, don't let "Bitch You Ride The Marta Bus" serve as representation for us out here on the Eastside. I'm sure we are better than we may seem. Maybe that enlightening trip from Cascade to Candler was taken on the wrong day. Decatur is indeed, where its greater. We dress the freshest and we got the baddest females. And to the folks out there still on the Moving Africans Rapidly Through Atlanta system, don't be ashamed, either. Even Dre 3000 had to "roll the MARTA through the hood."

EASTSIDE HOE!

[*old photo i took of honorary Eastsider Bohagon at Five Points MARTA station, from my rolling out days. He's, uh, technically throwing up the wrong sign, but we still love him.]

There's No Place Like Home!


[*my creation, so if you've seen it on myspace, you know the source.]


I don't know if I'm sharing the gift of laughter or spreading the virus of ignorance with this post, but, I had to do something with this:


I don't who these guys are or what they call themselves, but they have a minor YouTube hit on their hands. "Bitch You Ride The MARTA Bus," as stupid as it is, is some straight up A-Town shit, as much as I hate to say it. Not one Atlanta rapper has made a song that shows Atlanta in all its public transportation splendor quite like this one. Yeah, T.I. had "In Da A," B.O.B. had "Atlanta, GA" and JD & Luda had "Welcome to Atlanta" (T.I.'s song pretty much sums up how real ATLiens felt about that track), but none of these guys shouted out the MARTA bus. Only times I remember a A-Town rapper giving props to the big white limo was when Backbone had one in his video for "5, Duce, 4, Tre". Or when Dre 3000 "was trying to find that hook-up".

It could be because people are embarassed of MARTA. As shown in the video above, its not the most flattering form of transportation. Unlike bigger cities like NYC, or even Chicago and DC, the train and/or bus is not the look. The way Atlanta is built, you either have to have a car or great determination to get to where you gotta go. There's nothing convineint about having to take an hour-plus ride to get somewhere that's 15 minutes away by car. While other major cities have intricate rail systems, Atlanta's is pretty simple. The shit just goes Up-Down-Left-Right.

What's sadder is that the system really sucks in the communities that need it most. They up the price every few years to accomodate rich folks who only use it to go party downtown or catch Falcons and Braves games. Poor people who depend on it to get to work still end up being late all the time and end-up getting fired.

But, this video, for what its worth brought back memories of catching the #8 to Open Campus High School my senior year. That shit was rowdy as hell. They used to shoot dice and smoke cigarettes in the back like it was their personal limo service.

The video also brought me back to a theory that me and a close friend kinda came up with a while back. We were talking about the possibility that people from the Southwest part of town were smarter than the people on the Eastside. Of course, I took slight offense to this, I thought that I was a living example that Eastsiders are intelligent. Me, my brother and a few friends at least. But then, I messed around and had to catch MARTA from Cascade to Decatur one time because of car trouble. It was an enlightening experience.

When I was on Cascade (not the rich side, but the other side) I had to listen to people talk loud as usual. But I didn't mind completely, because they wasn't just straight up talking that yang-yang. They was talking about government conspiracies to kill Farrakhan, Ralph Emerson's Invisible Man, how stupid President Bush is (but not in the typical "Bush sucks" type way and other random subjects that required thought.

Then I got to West End station which is closer to downtown and the conversation changed just a little bit, but not drastically. Now, the conversations were about where to get cell phones and Jordan's for the low-low, why selling drugs off Ashby is safer than fighting in Iraq and how "deez crackas are taking Atlanta back ova!" (proper term: gentrification).

After that I transferred at Five Points and started heading eastwards, and that's when things started changing. The closer and closer I got home, the more and more BS I heard. I heard women arguing over 75 cents like it was a life or death situation (maybe it was), then I heard dudes YELLING over the phone about how "they got that work, and its on me right now!" Then I just heard random spurts of ignance about everything from broke baby daddies sleeping with best friends to youngsters bragging about dropping out of school.

I ain't saying that that kind of stuff doesn't happen everywhere, it just seemed to be amplified on the way home. All of that got me thinking about how since Atlanta is the hot bed for rap music right now, that outsiders may be noticing.

I remember visiting family in Pittsburgh when I was in school. They all used to ask me "do you know Outkast, do you live next to Goodie Mob?" And I'd be like, no, I live in Decatur. And they'd ask:

"who ya'll got?"

"Ghetto Mafia."

"Who?"

"Kizzy Rock."

"What?"

"Playa Poncho."

"Huh?"

Don't get me wrong, I fux with GM, Kizzy and Poncho all day! GM helped put that G-shit on the map while Kizzy and Poncho was running the bass game. But, damn, you can't really compare them to 'Kast (East Point, SW Atlanta), can you?

For a minute, the only thing we had was Dre's mention of "catching the 86 Lithonia headed to Decatur." Big Duke from Boyz N Da Hood was on Suave House, but hardly anyone knew him. KB was making classics with Devin the Dude, but hardly anyone knew him either.

Then we had the Eastside Boys (the guys behind Lil' Jon). No comment.

Then, we had Baby D. He cool, but shit, he got showed up on his own song by a Westside cat.

Then we was crunk when Youngbloodz dropped. The shit was jammin', and they had the world doing the Eastside Stomp but can you put their stuff up against Goodie Mob (College Park/East Point).

Then, when we started coming out with what people would call "real MC's" like Da Backwudz and Young Noah, T.I. (Bankhead, Westside) caught fire. And eventhough it wasn't considered "real Hip Hop" that Snap music had the Westside on fire.

Right now, the Dec and the Eastside is riding the back of B.O.B., Gucci Mane and Montana Da Mac. B.O.B. is the shit, I've said that before. Gucci Mane knows how to make catchy songs, and Montana is actually decent (don't let that "Rock On" be the only chance you give him, he has good stuff). Oh yeah, Block is repping the Eastiside, running a succesful ship with his record label.

All of the vets from the South Side are getting up in age, the Westside still got T.I. and Killer Mike, but not much after. So I guess the DEC got next.

But still, don't let "Bitch You Ride The Marta Bus" serve as representation for us out here on the Eastside. I'm sure we are better than we may seem. Maybe that enlightening trip from Cascade to Candler was taken on the wrong day. Decatur is indeed, where its greater. We dress the freshest and we got the baddest females. And to the folks out there still on the Moving Africans Rapidly Through Atlanta system, don't be ashamed, either. Even Dre 3000 had to "roll the MARTA through the hood."

EASTSIDE HOE!

[*old photo i took of honorary Eastsider Bohagon at Five Points MARTA station, from my rolling out days. He's, uh, technically throwing up the wrong sign, but we still love him.]

The Perminator vs. David Banner



To hell with all of this 50 Cent vs. Kanye stuff. Do they not remember the last time two rappers tried to battle it out on September 11th? Jay-Z vs. Fabolous was childs play compared to Bush vs. Bin Laden. Everyone needs to chill out and remember what that day really means and how it effected us all. 50 Cent retiring from rap if Kanye outsells him will not have any effect on my life.

But, with that said. Ladies and gentlemen, there is one rap-related beef brewing that we all should have our eyes on. Its the classic case of Old School vs. New School. Parent vs. Child. Civil Rights Era vs. Hip Hop Generation. Perm vs. Ceasar. Yes ladies and gents...

Al Sharpton a.k.a The Perminator vs. Levell Crump a.k.a David Banner

In case you aren't caught up on things...

Sharpton has been leading a campaign against offensive language in rap music. He's going above the rapper's heads and getting at the major corporations that promote and profit from it. Sharpton is on a little win streak after getting I Must Use Slurs fired from his job.

When raptivist David Banner was asked what he thought about Sharpton's actions, he responded with the very words that Sharpton is hoping to abolish in the first place.

Yesterday, when a rep from Sharpton's camp was queried about Banner's quotes they, in true "pimp" fashion, got verbally creative.

Then, today a new David Banner song leaked on the internet. To give you an idea of what it sounds like, take 2Pac's "Hit 'Em Up" and replace the names "Biggie," "Puffy," and "Lil' Cease" with "Oprah," "Jesse Jackson," and "Al Sharpton." Listen for yourself HERE.

Undecided on who think is gonna win? Here is an abbreviated Tale of the Tape for you...LETS GET READY TO RUMBUUUUUUULE!

Rev. Al Sharpton a.k.a. The Perminator

Year of Birth: 1954
Birthplace: Brooklyn
Education: Dropped out of high school to hit the road with James Brown
Mentors: James Brown and Jesse Jackson
Clique/Affiliations: Founded National Youth Movement in 1971. Founded National Action Network in 1991
In the Line of Duty: Stabbed in the chest during a 1991 protest
Political History: Ran for Demomacratic nomination for U.S. President in 2004, lost to John Kerry.
Movie appearances: Cold Feet, Bamboozled, Mr. Deeds, and Malcolm X
Television appearances: New York Undercover, Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, Girlfriends, My Wife and Kids, and Boston Legal (and more.)
Current endeavor: Keepin It Real w/ Al Sharpton syndicated radio show

Levell Crump a.k.a. David Banner


Year of Birth: 1973
Birthplace: Jackson, Mississippi
Education: Graduated from Southern University
Mentors: Pimp C
Clique/Affiliations: Alpha Phi Alpha fraternity, formerly one-half of rap group Crooked Lettaz, CEO of B.I.G.F.A.C.E. (Believing In God For All Comes Eventually)Entertainment, founder of Heal the Hood foundation
In the Line of Duty: Almost went broke and suffered from high blood pressure while personally clothing, feeding and housing Hurricane Katrina victims.
Political History: Former SGA President at Southern University
Movie appearances: Black Snake Moan
Television appearances: Rap City, 106 & Park, DFX
Current endeavor: That Crooked 'Sipp cartoon on Adult Swim

Who are you putting your money on, the activist or the celebrity? Can you tell which is which?

The Perminator vs. David Banner



To hell with all of this 50 Cent vs. Kanye stuff. Do they not remember the last time two rappers tried to battle it out on September 11th? Jay-Z vs. Fabolous was childs play compared to Bush vs. Bin Laden. Everyone needs to chill out and remember what that day really means and how it effected us all. 50 Cent retiring from rap if Kanye outsells him will not have any effect on my life.

But, with that said. Ladies and gentlemen, there is one rap-related beef brewing that we all should have our eyes on. Its the classic case of Old School vs. New School. Parent vs. Child. Civil Rights Era vs. Hip Hop Generation. Perm vs. Ceasar. Yes ladies and gents...

Al Sharpton a.k.a The Perminator vs. Levell Crump a.k.a David Banner

In case you aren't caught up on things...

Sharpton has been leading a campaign against offensive language in rap music. He's going above the rapper's heads and getting at the major corporations that promote and profit from it. Sharpton is on a little win streak after getting I Must Use Slurs fired from his job.

When raptivist David Banner was asked what he thought about Sharpton's actions, he responded with the very words that Sharpton is hoping to abolish in the first place.

Yesterday, when a rep from Sharpton's camp was queried about Banner's quotes they, in true "pimp" fashion, got verbally creative.

Then, today a new David Banner song leaked on the internet. To give you an idea of what it sounds like, take 2Pac's "Hit 'Em Up" and replace the names "Biggie," "Puffy," and "Lil' Cease" with "Oprah," "Jesse Jackson," and "Al Sharpton." Listen for yourself HERE.

Undecided on who think is gonna win? Here is an abbreviated Tale of the Tape for you...LETS GET READY TO RUMBUUUUUUULE!

Rev. Al Sharpton a.k.a. The Perminator

Year of Birth: 1954
Birthplace: Brooklyn
Education: Dropped out of high school to hit the road with James Brown
Mentors: James Brown and Jesse Jackson
Clique/Affiliations: Founded National Youth Movement in 1971. Founded National Action Network in 1991
In the Line of Duty: Stabbed in the chest during a 1991 protest
Political History: Ran for Demomacratic nomination for U.S. President in 2004, lost to John Kerry.
Movie appearances: Cold Feet, Bamboozled, Mr. Deeds, and Malcolm X
Television appearances: New York Undercover, Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, Girlfriends, My Wife and Kids, and Boston Legal (and more.)
Current endeavor: Keepin It Real w/ Al Sharpton syndicated radio show

Levell Crump a.k.a. David Banner


Year of Birth: 1973
Birthplace: Jackson, Mississippi
Education: Graduated from Southern University
Mentors: Pimp C
Clique/Affiliations: Alpha Phi Alpha fraternity, formerly one-half of rap group Crooked Lettaz, CEO of B.I.G.F.A.C.E. (Believing In God For All Comes Eventually)Entertainment, founder of Heal the Hood foundation
In the Line of Duty: Almost went broke and suffered from high blood pressure while personally clothing, feeding and housing Hurricane Katrina victims.
Political History: Former SGA President at Southern University
Movie appearances: Black Snake Moan
Television appearances: Rap City, 106 & Park, DFX
Current endeavor: That Crooked 'Sipp cartoon on Adult Swim

Who are you putting your money on, the activist or the celebrity? Can you tell which is which?

Family and Parents Speak Out on Jena 6

Family and Parents Speak Out on Jena 6

Tuesday, August 14, 2007

He's Baaaaaaaaaaaack! (almost)



READ HERE

Even though nothing is really being said or finalized, I wasn't expecting Don I Must Use Slurs to be banned from radio forever. But if he gets his job back, so should Tank Johnson who lost his job on a B.S. drunk driving charge. Since we want to be so darn forgiving.


On a side note, I thought some of you might get a kick out of this.

He's Baaaaaaaaaaaack! (almost)



READ HERE

Even though nothing is really being said or finalized, I wasn't expecting Don I Must Use Slurs to be banned from radio forever. But if he gets his job back, so should Tank Johnson who lost his job on a B.S. drunk driving charge. Since we want to be so darn forgiving.


On a side note, I thought some of you might get a kick out of this.

What Kind Of Fuckery Is This?

While Barry Bonds was hitting homers, Michael Vick was getting snitched on, Lindsey Lohan was joyriding, Paris Hilton was doing jail time and your favorite rappers were beefing...

Six Black teenagers have been convicted on second-degree and attempted murder charges for beating up a White kid. Trust, they had good reason to. In case you haven't heard about this travesty that is now being referred to as the Jena 6, here is a video breaking it down piece-by-piece.



There hasn't been alot of press on this situation, and rightfully so. There are far more important things going on in the world other than Jim Crow racism going down in 2007. Sadly, the Jena 6 is probably just one of a few things like this going on under the radar that we may never know about.

If this outrages you, feel free to sign this petition. Or even better, write a letter to:

Jena 6 Defense Committee
P.O. Box 2798, Jena, LA 71342
jena6defense@gmail.com

Technically and unfortunately, this story is already old news. One of the six has already been sentenced to 25 years in prison for his role in the beating. But, its never too late to speak up and change something. The case of Shaquanda Cotton proved that. Hopefully we'll be able to say the same about Genarlow Wilson in the near future.

What Kind Of Fuckery Is This?

While Barry Bonds was hitting homers, Michael Vick was getting snitched on, Lindsey Lohan was joyriding, Paris Hilton was doing jail time and your favorite rappers were beefing...

Six Black teenagers have been convicted on second-degree and attempted murder charges for beating up a White kid. Trust, they had good reason to. In case you haven't heard about this travesty that is now being referred to as the Jena 6, here is a video breaking it down piece-by-piece.



There hasn't been alot of press on this situation, and rightfully so. There are far more important things going on in the world other than Jim Crow racism going down in 2007. Sadly, the Jena 6 is probably just one of a few things like this going on under the radar that we may never know about.

If this outrages you, feel free to sign this petition. Or even better, write a letter to:

Jena 6 Defense Committee
P.O. Box 2798, Jena, LA 71342
jena6defense@gmail.com

Technically and unfortunately, this story is already old news. One of the six has already been sentenced to 25 years in prison for his role in the beating. But, its never too late to speak up and change something. The case of Shaquanda Cotton proved that. Hopefully we'll be able to say the same about Genarlow Wilson in the near future.

Wednesday, August 8, 2007

GO! GO! GO!





What's in the water in Chicago? Better yet, whats in the wind? Their rappers' album covers keep getting weirder and weirder and weirder. Their hometown heroes can't go back home without getting robbed. Somebody let me know what's up.

GO! GO! GO!





What's in the water in Chicago? Better yet, whats in the wind? Their rappers' album covers keep getting weirder and weirder and weirder. Their hometown heroes can't go back home without getting robbed. Somebody let me know what's up.

Monday, August 6, 2007

Bite Down



They say its unfair to kick a man when he's down, but, they never said anything was wrong with biting him.

Falling in line behind Nike, NFL, Rawlings, Upper Deck and Peta in the Neuter Mike Vick campaign a Jacksonville, FL woman has created Mike Vick chew toys. The website www.vickdogchewtoy.com says that the toy "Bends. Bounces. Flies. Floats. And best of all, it lasts through the whole season and more!"

They start accepting orders tomorrow, so act fast! The Neuter Mike Vick bandwagon is getting crowded by the second!

UPDATE: Please Read This Story About Vice and Atlanta's Race Relations at ESPN.com. CLICK HERE

Bite Down



They say its unfair to kick a man when he's down, but, they never said anything was wrong with biting him.

Falling in line behind Nike, NFL, Rawlings, Upper Deck and Peta in the Neuter Mike Vick campaign a Jacksonville, FL woman has created Mike Vick chew toys. The website www.vickdogchewtoy.com says that the toy "Bends. Bounces. Flies. Floats. And best of all, it lasts through the whole season and more!"

They start accepting orders tomorrow, so act fast! The Neuter Mike Vick bandwagon is getting crowded by the second!

UPDATE: Please Read This Story About Vice and Atlanta's Race Relations at ESPN.com. CLICK HERE

Saturday, August 4, 2007

You Greedy Bastard!




I'm not ashamed to admit it. When I was younger, learned alot of useful (and not so useful) information watching game shows. I counted watching Jeopardy as doing my homework in 9th grade, I learned more from Alex Trebeck than my history teacher Ms. Leader. Watching Wheel of Fortune gave me a slight edge on word tests in the 2nd grade. Family Feud helped shape my opinions about the intelligence of people around me. Price Is Right kept me staying within my budget at the grocery store. Hollywood Squares taught me not to look at celebrities as role models, because most of them are dumb as fidduck!

Now that I'm grown, I see that game shows still teach me. No I take that back, game shows convince me...that people are greedy and retarded.

I was flipping channels earlier tonight and came across a new (well, new to me) game show called 1 vs. 100. The object of the show is confusing at first, but when you watch it for a minute, it becomes clear. Yet and still, I still don't quite know how to describe it to you. But, all you need to know is that you answer questions against 100 other people, and as they get answers wrong, they get eliminated and you earn money in the process. The goal is to earn $1 Million. At any point in the game, you can choose to stop and keep the money you have won so far. But, if you keep going, and you get answer wrong, whatever money you've earned goes to the people remaining from that 100 and they split it amongst themselves. If you're not sure about the answer, you can have the 100 answer it for you. The catch is that they ask you some crazy ass multiple choice, double-entendre type questions like:

If you wrote a Dear John letter to a John Deere, what would you be doing?
A.) Quitting your Computer
B.) Breaking Up With Your Tractor
C.) Cancelling Your Sneakers

[the answer is B]

So, I come across the show and see some dude, breathing hard, pondering, thinking. He looks to have earned $263,000. Instead of taking the money, he decides to go for more. If he gets the answer wrong, he loses all of the money to the remaining 15 people who walk home with $44k each. Once you decide to see the next question, there is no turning back. See what happens HERE.


Yes, that is a 100%, top of the line, no bones about it....DUMBASS! What's the difference between $263k and $1Million when you probably have $15 and a Chic-Fil-A coupon to your name? Not a got damn thing.

Seeing that made me realize that damn near ever game show/reality game show on television is centered around greed. There used to be a time when you'd actually be happy for a person when they won, or sad for a person when they lost, not anymore. Everybody is greedy as hell. I've seen people on Deal or No Deal lose upwards of $300k because "I came for it all, Howie!" What's worst is that they'll have their dumbass relatives on the sideline encouraging them to risk money, as if they got $300k sitting at the crib for them to borrow just in case. Out of all these new game shows, it seems like the only one that has sensible people on it is that show Are You Smarter Than a 5th Grader, hosted by Jeff Foxworthy. For the most part, the people on that show know when is when, and they usually walk out happy and richer.

Did all of this start with Who Wants To Be A Millionaire? The show where people could earn $450k, but have good ol' Regis dangle that $1Million in front of them like a carrot. The show where people would want money so bad that they'd risk what they already earned by calling people half-way across the country to get what they hope is the right answer? Yeah, probably so.

Damn shame, what happened to just being happy that you won something and knowing that you was walking out with more than what you came with?

You Greedy Bastard!




I'm not ashamed to admit it. When I was younger, learned alot of useful (and not so useful) information watching game shows. I counted watching Jeopardy as doing my homework in 9th grade, I learned more from Alex Trebeck than my history teacher Ms. Leader. Watching Wheel of Fortune gave me a slight edge on word tests in the 2nd grade. Family Feud helped shape my opinions about the intelligence of people around me. Price Is Right kept me staying within my budget at the grocery store. Hollywood Squares taught me not to look at celebrities as role models, because most of them are dumb as fidduck!

Now that I'm grown, I see that game shows still teach me. No I take that back, game shows convince me...that people are greedy and retarded.

I was flipping channels earlier tonight and came across a new (well, new to me) game show called 1 vs. 100. The object of the show is confusing at first, but when you watch it for a minute, it becomes clear. Yet and still, I still don't quite know how to describe it to you. But, all you need to know is that you answer questions against 100 other people, and as they get answers wrong, they get eliminated and you earn money in the process. The goal is to earn $1 Million. At any point in the game, you can choose to stop and keep the money you have won so far. But, if you keep going, and you get answer wrong, whatever money you've earned goes to the people remaining from that 100 and they split it amongst themselves. If you're not sure about the answer, you can have the 100 answer it for you. The catch is that they ask you some crazy ass multiple choice, double-entendre type questions like:

If you wrote a Dear John letter to a John Deere, what would you be doing?
A.) Quitting your Computer
B.) Breaking Up With Your Tractor
C.) Cancelling Your Sneakers

[the answer is B]

So, I come across the show and see some dude, breathing hard, pondering, thinking. He looks to have earned $263,000. Instead of taking the money, he decides to go for more. If he gets the answer wrong, he loses all of the money to the remaining 15 people who walk home with $44k each. Once you decide to see the next question, there is no turning back. See what happens HERE.


Yes, that is a 100%, top of the line, no bones about it....DUMBASS! What's the difference between $263k and $1Million when you probably have $15 and a Chic-Fil-A coupon to your name? Not a got damn thing.

Seeing that made me realize that damn near ever game show/reality game show on television is centered around greed. There used to be a time when you'd actually be happy for a person when they won, or sad for a person when they lost, not anymore. Everybody is greedy as hell. I've seen people on Deal or No Deal lose upwards of $300k because "I came for it all, Howie!" What's worst is that they'll have their dumbass relatives on the sideline encouraging them to risk money, as if they got $300k sitting at the crib for them to borrow just in case. Out of all these new game shows, it seems like the only one that has sensible people on it is that show Are You Smarter Than a 5th Grader, hosted by Jeff Foxworthy. For the most part, the people on that show know when is when, and they usually walk out happy and richer.

Did all of this start with Who Wants To Be A Millionaire? The show where people could earn $450k, but have good ol' Regis dangle that $1Million in front of them like a carrot. The show where people would want money so bad that they'd risk what they already earned by calling people half-way across the country to get what they hope is the right answer? Yeah, probably so.

Damn shame, what happened to just being happy that you won something and knowing that you was walking out with more than what you came with?

Friday, August 3, 2007

Never Trust A Big Butt and Smile




I don't know who said it better, KRS-ONE or Bell Biv Devoe, but evidently, Manuel Cordero listened to neither.

READ

Never Trust A Big Butt and Smile




I don't know who said it better, KRS-ONE or Bell Biv Devoe, but evidently, Manuel Cordero listened to neither.

READ

Trappin In the Trap




Anybody can sell drugs on the street or on college campuses, that's easy. If you really 'bout yo' paper, you'd go where the drugs are really hard to find and are in demand...its a quick lick!

READ

Trappin In the Trap




Anybody can sell drugs on the street or on college campuses, that's easy. If you really 'bout yo' paper, you'd go where the drugs are really hard to find and are in demand...its a quick lick!

READ