The flag

a post from the Houston Chronicle website by poster "Rider" about the seeming rise in criminal hate activity:

" bullwhip wrote:
"Rebel flag...stands for pride of heriatage only. "
.
Not even that. It is a loser flag, and I say that as the great grandson of two CSA veterans. There is no heritage in the Civil War or the CSA to point to with pride, it's the story of hundreds of thousands of poor white people getting screwed by the rich elite power structure. Most of the men who fought that war had ZERO stake in its outcome, in secession, or in the preservation of slavery. Slavery was what kept southern white people poorer than the average northener. The war was "a rich man's war, and a poor man's fight." Two out of every three Civil War deaths were the result of disease, diseases made worse by poverty and malnutrition. Amputation rates were tremendous due to the mini ball rifle. Rich planters could get out of serving by paying for someone to go in their place. One son was exempt for every twenty slaves the family owned, due to breakdown of discipline on the plantations. Desertions (at pain of execution) by poor whites whose families were starving and eating clay and boiled vines was in the tens of thousands by the end of the war. The whole thing was a colossal screw job on poor white folks like my ancestors. I'm proud they served what they saw as their duty, but I am saddened they and thousands like them were so terribly exploited by a handful of rich whites who looked down on them if truth be known. How could this possibly be any kind of heritage to be proud of? There's a misunderstanding, all right. What you are talking about, the stars and bars, is the banner of The Great Bamboozlement. And I am not even talking about race, if you notice. This is purely from a white perspective and from the perspective of a Confederate family. Boy were we stupid."

Lil Wayne on PacMayne

LIL WAYNE ON PACMAN JONES

I don't think the Pacman Jones situation is sad at all. I do not think Pacman Jones should be in the NFL. If I was the commissioner, I'd kick him out. They keep giving him chances and he keeps messing up. You got guys like Hines Ward out there getting fined for making plays on the field on one hand, and then on the other hand you got guys in situations where people are getting shot. Come on. You have to be smart about the company you keep. I should know. But sometimes it's not just friends—it's family members who are into bad stuff who bring you down. And how can you get rid of family? You can't. That's why I think, in his situation, there is no way he's turning it around. I mean, come on. He's a grown man. They don't give these huge contracts to kids. His main job is to stay out of trouble and he can't do that, so I'd kick him out of the league.

From here

Bayard Rustin

Bayard Rustin - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Claudette Colvin

Claudette Colvin - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

3, 3, 3 Browsers in One!

Lunscape - 1 browser, 3 rendering engines - Download Squad

Mm. Tangy.

Notre Dame Band Gets Props

Wow.

studentathlete

ESPN - Timing is right for FSU's Rolle - ACC

Comfort Zone

For Tension Headaches,

I prescribe black + green tea with ginseng*, steeped for at least 10 mins.

Don't forget to STOP doing what caused the tension. If being prone is not an option, sit upright - no slouching/leaning allowed**. If at a computer, get away from turning the the head out of line from the body. Get forehead should orienting the same direction as the knees.

BREATHE. Deep breaths - none of that chest heaved, flex-necked, bug-eyed madness. Long, relaxed inhalations.

* I find Twinnings Earl Grey works for me, waiting for it to cool enough to gulp.

test at one's leisure.

SEMA 2008: Green trucks - AutoblogGreen

SEMA 2008: Green trucks - AutoblogGreen

My favorite of the bunch given the tag on the rear glass.

1000hp/25mpg

(gasp)

http://www.extremebiodiesel.com/

(insert proper literary term here)

(click)

BET Loves Real Negroes

"Are you that African-American female or male, early to late 20's to 70's who is funny, articulate, loveable and outspoken who speaks from both the heart and from the streets? Are you up on game in the world of music, television, movies, sports, news or whatever is current! Well, this is your chance...BET is looking for everyday people for a totally unique new show that is up on what's hot in our world and let's real people go off on what we want to talk about. Experience in voicing your opinion. We prefer for you to live in LA or it's surrounding area! If not, you must submit your audition to us asap!

You should email your audition and upload it on youtube or a link! Be unique with your audition. Please email your audition to: info4pam@gmail.com. Thank you!

NO DVD SUBMISSIONS WILL BE ACCEPTED!! ONLINE SUBMISSIONS ONLY!"

(ed: have fun with that)

B.H.O.

The Camaro

is finally starting to look like a Camaro to me.

Particularly this one. I think it's because it properly looks like a slot car.

(Weight)

I have the unique and wonderful predicament of having a fickle attention span as well as a generally one track mind.

I can't multi-task for sh*t.

I am currently in a show that runs Wednesday to Sunday. Given the above, while I'm in a show, I am completely useless with regard to anything other than completing my performance duties on the day of a show. This is the case despite the fact that it is a series of one acts, of which I am in the first and can leave the thee-ay-tah after my roughly 15 minute performance is over.

So, that leaves me with two days of the week that I have to overcome my regular, non-arteestically weighted laziness to get anything done. Thus it was that this past Tuesday became the day I dedicated to getting my absentee ballots completed for the November 4th elections.

Given that I was voting in my home state and have not kept with the goings on of my home state, I was roughly clueless regarding all the voting issues other than the presidential election. Now, if it were anybody else, I'd take the position that one shouldn't be voting on issues of which one does not have a working knowledge. Since I NEVER take my own advice, I had to vote on them anyway. There's also the suspicion I have that not voting on everything would make my presidential ballot void...(political superstition). This is one of the many occasions that I consult the wisdom of the great-and-powerful Maternal Unit. The maternal unit was at work that day, however. I had to turn to my other bosom confidant - the internet.

So, I bared down and, in between (insert random distractions here) and having to flake on a movie, I managed to make my decisions on the various issues. Before I sealed my ballots with the glue of certainty*, I called the Matron herself to see what she had to say about the Senate candidates, as I had no patience to look through voting records and there were two independent knuckleheads on the ballot I couldn't find anything about.

Or that I was just too damned tired to find anything on.

She ran through the people and I settled on easy answer (a).

I can't remember what it was, but she asked me about something...and it was one of those things I rant on ad nauseum (long list that list of things is). As I was yammering, out of nowhere she asks,

When are you going to take a break for a while, and come down here and get a job somewhere, and help me with (my nephew)?

It caught me off guard. As I was about to ask why - or just tried to figure out something to say, she dismissed the question. It was a dismissal, though, that was mired in the sincerity of the previous.

But she let me off the hook. I took the opportunity to go completely to another topic. I yammered. She vented a little about my neph. She said she'd be sending something via e-mail and we got off the phone.

It seems like it must have been a year ago that I said to her that I was thinking of coming back home for a while to do what she had asked about - get a job and help with the kid. I guess it is because I'd made up my mind to that I was going to stay in NYC that her question seemed to come so much out of the blue.

Still...

I miss her. I miss them. When I was in grad school, I was thinking that I was missing an important part of his life. Lately, I've been thinking about how much I'm missing of my parents. In the way she asked the question, I can't help but think that she's thinking the same thing.

In four years, my mother will be the age her mother was when she died.

It is a stupid, insane sacrifice that some of us make to be up here doing this.

And right when it seemed I'd made up my mind about it...

I haven't booked a commercial of any kind since before I left to go home during the summer.

Maybe it's just time to go home.

So, I'm tired, but I can't go to sleep. If I sit anywhere that's quiet for any length of time, this is what I think about. Maybe this is what all of us from far away think about all the time. Maybe it's just me.

And, so, that's where the 2-3 tons you see me wearing comes from.

(shrug)

Such is life.