Wednesday, March 16, 2005

The Most Wonderful Time Of The Year

The ball is tipped
and there you are
you're running for your life
you're a shooting star
And all the years
no one knows
just how hard you worked
but now it shows...

Tomorrow is a holiday and my boss doesn't know it.

Tomorrow is so big, I will admit freely, that even Black History Month didn't have me even close to this excited. I haven't had this much collective umoja with people I don't even know since.. well... Last March?

I have no meetings scheduled tomorrow.

No memos or papers

No obligations.

And I'm almost done clearing out my inbox.

Basically, I am not sure of how much work I will be able to get done.

You should know by now that tomorrow is the start of March Madness. The end in nigh for the young ballers and that means endless plates of wings, multiple fascinating games, and upsets of the highest order.

Yes, it's time for March Madness and... ohhhh, and I am losing my ever loving mind.

But time is short
and the road is long
in the blinking of an eye
ah that moment's gone
And when it's done
win or lose
you always did your best
cuz inside you knew...

A couple of weeks ago I received an invitation to a "reception" marking the beginning of March Madness. Food and flat screen tvs with feeds from all the different games being played at the SAME time. I'm like Michael Jackson at an Elementary School... I can hardly contain myself.

March Madness is easily the best playoffs we have currently. Because of the tourny's ability to take small teams or individual players from anonymity to heros it easily surpasses all other sports in their attempts to garner attention. Because the tourny brings together different regions, cities, colleges and throws them together it fans from all over root for teams they never knew it surpasses all other sports in reinvigorated interest. Because of the many dependable buzzer beaters and last second heroics it surpasses all sports in cultivating excitement. From Christian Laettners crunch time heroics to Chris Webber's epic timeout to Gonzaga's annual upsets the memories from this year's Tourny will last for years.

And it is with that ferver of excitement I write this entry.

Feel the beat of your heart
feel the wind in your face
it's more than a contest

it's more than a race...

And when it's done
win or lose

you always did your best
cuz inside you knew...


Tomorrow marks the beginning of that "one shining moment". And Sweet Jesus, I seriously cannot wait.

Monday, March 07, 2005

The Dufrane Theory

Today, in front of the press, Martha Stewart triumphantly announced that she was back in the saddle. She's back to being CEO and HBIC. With a smile that portrayed the relief you can only get from being released from prison she was graceful and masterful. As she skated over the underlying theme of how she had just spent time in the big house she was able to shift the focus on the resurrection of her name and consequently her brand.

For this, quite a few of my female friends have applauded her. She has triumphed.

"She never belonged in there anyway," they'd comment.

"If she had a penis this would have never happened," they exclaimed.

Uh, bitch please.

Two things. Lets not get this twisted... she BROKE the law and (how should I put this...) she aint exactly a part of the typical "wrongly accused crowd". Now don't get me wrong, strong women often get the short end of the stick for being too strong... or even more apt... a bitch. She is a bitch only if that means she is a shrewd businesswoman. She is a bitch only if that means she goes in for the kill and demands her underlings to be as focused on her ideals as she. She is a bitch only if that means she goes after what she wants with the same intensity that has made Bill Gates and Donald Trump multimillionaires.

And while Donald, Bill, and another fav entrepreneur of mine: Magic Johnson get a bad wrap in some circles (real estate, geek and the black social conscience, respectively) as being relentless business pit bulls while a vast majority of this nation has gone against Queen Martha. Well... only if a vast majority means males.

Females, especially alpha females, especially white alpha females have rallied to defend Stewart as a saint. It's like she wasn't guilty of crime or even worth prosecuting. It's almost as if she didn't lie to the prosecutors and attempt to cover up a very public and obvious mistake. It's as if some male would have lied and not had to pay the fine or got jail time or gotten any probation. Not only is this not true... but the problem is Martha Stewart is the better for all of this!

You see.. first off, many of these same women have all forgotten about how they bemoaned the tragedy of OJ Simpson where they talked very badly about how justice didn't work, blah blah blah... and now all of a sudden they wanted a proven criminal to get off because she doesn't have the balls to be a man. See, not only did she commit a crime but then she lied about it which pissed off the US side of US v. Stewart and quite frankly you need to have your shit straight if you are going to get away with a federal crime. Ultimately, she fought (and then lied) to the law and shockingly... the law won.

But in the end, the greatness of my Dufrane Theory comes into play ... Martha gets out serving several months and paying probably one of the lowest white collar fines I have ever heard of and takes back the reins of her company. She becomes the new "Apprentice" mogul and she'll have effectively "crawled through 200 miles of (filth) and come clean out the other side". She went to the big house and came out looking like a star. Now, many of the Anti-Marthites will be satisfied with her time served. Others will be unable to get others to hate her because... well, she's on top despite going to jail and having to endure the life of a criminal.

I'll never pretend to dislike Martha. She's brilliant, tenacious, and she's a leader. She unfairly gets treated as a evil woman the same way Hillary Clinton and other strong women do.. especially if they don't bow down to men who would prefer they be self the centered asshole leaders. Still, should you do the crime... even rich, you might have to do the time. Lets never lose focus on that. Fame can be a double edge sword. If we fail to prosecute and sometimes make examples out of famous people (even if they're our heros) with criminal intent we lose the right to peruse the common man in the same vigor. When that right is lost, the power of law & order is severely diminished and eventually our society will crumble. And THAT would be the real crime.

Friday, March 04, 2005

Babymomma Drama

I haven't been able to update lately (not that anyone really cares) but I just wanted to briefly touch upon THIS:

I hear Brenda's got a baby

But, Brenda's barely got a brain
A damn shame
Tha girl can hardly spell her name
(That's not our problem, that's up ta Brenda's family)
Well let me show ya how it affects tha whole community...

Believe it or not there is a new song out dedicated to our beautiful Babymommas.

Using a sample of the sample Jay-Z used for his song December 4th (I believe), this new ode to mommas struggling and raising a child on their own.. is a moving testament to the strength of the single mother.

No, really it's not.

It's awful. Beyond it's unoriginality in thought or artistic nature, if we compare and contrast This new "Babymomma song" to "Brenda's Got A Baby" we see that it is awfully LIGHT in reality and more of a light praise song. Which would be fine... if our community wasn't as devastated as other impoverished communities with rampant wedlock kiddies. The song is like a light ditty about a serious problem. It's actually socially irresponsible. It's ignorant. It's just a bad song. I too would like to praise people who take care of their kids. All of them. And for single mothers... you guys are very strong considering many of you are reminded about some mistake every day. But more than not the baby mom song is not a whimsical ditty because the judgment that got people to baby mommas status was poor and more often than not (especially for the demographic that listens to the radio) the public has to take the pain of this mistake too.

Akin to those people who give shout outs to people in prison lets not glorify or even cheapen the position that single mothers have. While you may not get the sense of this watching Maury try to find the father of countles kids, being a single mother... not a baby momma... is a serious choice. Like the difference between being a Dad and being a biological father, you're a parent now and your drama comes second to the life of that child. Lets be honest, life aint easy but some choices are more serious than others and should be dealt in a manner reflecting such.