Racism is Still Here...

Racism exists. Racism is systemic. Racism is mind numbing. It dulls the senses. It makes you think that it is not there. Witnessing so much of it makes you desensitized to the every day reality of it. Even as much as I think about it and see it, I will always need someone to remind me of it.

It is a sad reality when you realize that you have to work harder and longer than other people. It is a sad reality when the hard work you can put into something can be rendered meaningless because you have no real power. To come out and admit that you in a Racist environment is not an easy thing to do.

Many companies, while they offer extensive EAP benefits, do not have support groups for victims of Racism. These are victims you know! These are the people that are passed up for promotions while watching someone else get appointed to that very same position. These are the people that refuse to talk about their experience because it is too painful; they spend decades at one place only to be betrayed by the "system".

I am angry. I know people like this and to be honest, I was one of these people. It hurts when someone can tell you that Racism is not as bad as it used to be. It hurts when someone can say that Racism is not a problem anymore. My answer to them is simply, wake up.

I have learned over the years that some people would rather employ a white person who is a complete idiot than a brown person who is a genius. Some may not believe it to be true, but I have seen and I even deal with it now. Someone asked me today, "what is worse a white idiot or a black one?" Shit, the black one is worse, of course. As a person of color you never want a brown idiot running around on the job. It makes us all look bad. But to white people a white idiot...is just an idiot. There is no remark like "Well you know how they are".

So, don't be fooled about the fact that we have a black president. Most white people may celebritize Obama like they have Lebron James. Larger than life...or rather, not really a ni**er like the rest of them. Don't be fooled about the choices that are made during these "hard economic times". Though I will say that the people of color have been in a recession since slavery ended. So while a lot people are out of jobs, they are just joining the rest of us...

Why I Joined Twitter...

I was reading a E. Payne's blog about Twittering. I have been going back and forth about weather or not I should indeed be "tweeting". I never realized how many people are actually talking about this thing. About a week or so ago I wrote about blog about my need to get more readership. In the end, I mentioned Twitter. Then I saw this, which was on E's Blog:


"Twouble with Twitter" sous-titré
Uploaded by LePostfr

After seeing this, I thought to myself. There is no way I am going to tweet. I am not a loser or anything like that. Then I realized that E is on Twitter and he is not a loser. So may be there is something to to this. I had to think about this further. What seemed to be the very next day after I saw this, I was watching the Today Show...



Wow...so needless to say I became very interested and saw the rest of the segment...



After watching this, I was still not entirely convinced. I am really not trying to follow any celebrities because, quite frankly, I don't give a shit about them. I just want to do me. Sure, I guess I can see which of my friends are on there but that is what I have Facebook for. Really, why would I want to use Twitter just to put up a status message?

That is when a Yahoo! buddy of mine, who also has a blog, told me that she promotes her blog through Twitter. She was able to explain to me how she networks her blog through Twitter, with updates and conversations that she has had with her followers.

Readership! That was my thought. So I jumped on it. If I can use this to my out then so be it! Come check me out: http://twitter.com/Latinegro

So, yes, I have "twatted..."

Legalize it?

Today I was watching an episode of HBO's Real Time with Bill Maher (guest starring Mos Def). As every show, this was a pretty good one. I could pick out some of the more important issues talked on this show, there was one thing tha stuck a chord with me.

Some time in the past week President Obama had a town hall meeting shown via the Internet. There was a question about the possibility of legalizing Marijuana as a remedy to help with the economy. Clearly, Obama said no and joked about how ridiculous this was. I am not surprised at all about that. But, my question is... is that question really out of the ordinary?

Let me preface this by saying that I am not a weed smoker, nor do I have the desire to smoke. However, I know a lot of people who do. It is one of those things where it seems like everyone is doing it. Not to say that this makes it right, but Marijuana does not have the effects that tobacco smoking has.

Lets say it is legalized. Lets look at the positives. The police do not have to do all that work to find pot dealers. They can put their energy into other crimes or drugs. Just imagine the manpower taking just to stop the weed trafficking in this country. Has that stopped anyone from smoking? Don't think that smoking weed is just something that Black & Latinos do, because White people smoke a lot more. In fact, I heard they get the better shit.

Think about how much money the economy would get if you can buy weed through distributers. How many jobs that would create? Do not think for a second that weed sales have dropped due to the economy. Marijuana is recession proof, just like alcohol. People want to either get drunk or get high, or sometimes both.

Legalizing Marijuana would cripple the economy of those nations smuggling this into our country. This is an import that the United States make no money on! Stop the smuggling and grow this in our country. Agriculture would go up the roof! Central and South America (yes, fucking Latinos)makes tons of cash just on weed.

What bothers me more than anything else when it come to politicians and the people who run this country is that there is this flakiness that suggests that they are all pure. We are all human! People in congress get just as horny and the next person, which is why so many of them get caught in scandals revolving sex. I am also very sure that they have kids who are hitting bongs on the campuses of Yale and Harvard (they are certainly doing it at Syracuse). Does that make people evil? Not at all.

Legalize the shit. How many black kids get arrested just trying to make paper? It helps with chemo-therapy and glaucoma. Legalize it so that the economy can get high...like the rest of America.

Money

March is almost over. I am so very surprised by this. It has been a pretty long month. Usually, these months fly right by, but since I have blogged everyday, it makes me actually stop and look around. Otherwise, I might just say how fast this year is going.

The economy is still bad. Which makes me wonder how long it will before we start thinking this is the norm. One of the things I use to say in my old blogs was that the ghetto is expanding. While I meant it in the way of the Hip Hop culture taking over, I feel that now with more and more rich people being broke, well the ghetto is starting to expand.

What will the rich white people do? The ones who gained all that wealth on the backs of others? The ones who never worked a hard day, what will they do? I know they wont be picking grapes. They will be cleaning rooms in hotels. So what are they going to do? Perhaps they will make tent in a middle of big state park and call it Tent City.

Money is the root of all evil and we know this. While, it is unfair to point out every person who has lost jobs and money, you have to consider that for most people who live paycheck to paycheck and have riding the poverty line, not much has changed. Their economy has always sucked and life goes on.

I have been fortunate to still have my job and I know that. I hated working for corporate America and I may just add to the archives the blogs I wrote on how bad it was. While money can be good and used for good things, in corporate America, if you are not about making money then you are not valuable.

We are all valuable! Each and everyone has value. We are a part of the consumer market. So we have value. But the problem is that only a certain percentage of us have the power to control who puts value on us.

Saying Goodbye To Shea...

I was talking to Brooke the other night about Baseball and she told me something that really made me think. She told me that although the new Citifeild was nice...she will miss Shea Stadium. I had to think about this for a moment. I will miss that place too.

Now, I have been there probably close to 20 times within my life time. But it will always be the first ball park I have ever been too. I remember going to the Mets games at Shea Stadium when I was a boy. Of course, back then everything to me was bigger and grander. So walking though Shea for the first time was just awesome to me.

I consider myself lucky to have been able to have gone to some games last year with the boys. In fact, I am glad I was able to take my nephew you in 2007. That was a great treat for me. I think I had more fun taking him than he did.

I have set in several sections and have seen many games. I would say that the best seats I had was when I was behind 3rd base last year, which was cool because we right next to David Wright, but that does not compare to when I was a kid. I sat behind 1st base and saw Keith Hernandez close up. There was nothing better than that.

What will I miss the most? Besides the apple popping up out of center field (which I think they are moving to Citifield)? I am not sure. I want to say the Sausage Sandwiches or perhaps the long ramps one would have to walk up from level to level. Actually...the Diamond club area was nice.

So many memories! But, I know that I will be going to a lot more games in Citifeild and I cannot wait!

Handball..I miss you!

On a hot summer day in New York City. The wall stands tall. In a park that is all fenced in. Concrete with yellow lines that connect to the wall. A blue rubber ball, the size of a baseball. The sound of it ricocheting of the wall and slap of a palm. The shuffling of feet on concrete. The sky so blue. I miss you handball.

On any given weekend, I would leave my house and walk down White Plains Road. I would get to Kips Bay Boys & Girls Club and make a right, which leads me to Stevenson Track. Normally you will see the New York Emperor's Stickball League playing on Stickball Blvd. While entertaining, my focus was on the handball courts.

Often I would meet my cousin to play in single or in doubles. I was never a fan of paddle ball. I liked handball and how physical it was. No Paddle, No Gloves, just palm on ball. The ball would sting the hand, but I would always have the urge to hit that thing harder. I had to be accurate because I hate losing. By the end of the day, I had a very swollen hand. So swollen, that I could not put my ring on for the rest of the day

I miss it. The competition. The social activity of meeting other players who may be better or even worse. Not sure when I will play next. I may have to set a day for some time in the very never future.

Why I Hate Le Moyne College...

I know hate is a strong word, but at times like these, I think it is very important. Although I work for Syracuse University, I live next to another college campus. Normally this area is really cool. It is quiet and I like my neighbors. It is a safe area and I feel completely comfortable in house. It is great feeling to have about 360 days a year.

There is, however, 4-5 days of the year that makes me want to burn down this campus. Let me start about 6 years ago. We moved into this house and everything was great during the winter and the following spring. This feeling changed when one day in April, we hear this late night commotion. There were the sounds of people screaming and car horns blaring. At first, I was thinking...oh my god, this is the "welcome wagon".

This commotion scared us out of our sleep. I look up at the Cable Box and the time is 3:30. I run down the stairs and open the door...and I see cars of students....passing by....screaming...having fun. Are you kidding me? My wife calls to the campus police and they tell her that they will look into it...(yeah right). The one thing I notice...I am the only neighbor out here in disbelief! Not one of my neighbors are even up! No one is outside protesting this outrage! I have to work in the morning!

Come to find out that Le Moyne has a day called Dolphy Day (their mascot is a Dolphin). This is, apparently, a traditional event where students party and there are games and all this other crap. While, I realize I sound like an old man, please realize how anyone would sound when they are on less than 4 hours of good sleep. Better yet, imagine the feeling of young white college kids driving around looking like they about to lynch someone.

So, according to some people I know, Dolpy day is one day. However, there are fake Dolphy Days in which the Seniors trick the lower classmen into driving around and making noise. I am not sure how much this makes sense, but I know it makes me want to burn down the Friary (this is a Jesuit School).

Anyway, so last night was day 2. The first day was sometime last week. So now I have to be on alert. Most of the time, I can sleep through this. However, a certain little dog cannot. Any loud noises set him off. So if he can't sleep...

Are All of us Really Saved?

Looking at the short story that I posted yesterday, I had to sit back and really think about the themes that are in this story. I will first point out that this story came to me one night last October. I was literally in the shower thinking about this. When I came out, I need to find some paper and a pencil and write this down. I wrote down everything I imaged for about 20 minutes straight. This final product then took several hours before I was somewhat satisfied with it.

It made me think about what exactly am I trying to say with this story. I went to Catholic school for 12 years, so I very much believe in all the religious archetypes. What I find interesting is how I chose the main character, Margret, to be bi-sexual. I say that because she is the one that witnesses this "angel of death". Of course, in being a Christian, we are taught that homosexuality is an aberration. This type of lifestyle goes against everything that is God and is course...a sin.

Being that we are all born with Original Sin, God sent his only son, Jesus to save us all. With him dying on the cross we would all be freed from sin. So, if indeed this is the case, wouldn't that mean that Jesus (who loves all of us) also died for the sins of Homosexuals as well? I am not sure the answer to this question. But, I do know that we are quick to judge people.

I do not think that I am done with this particular story, so I am not sure that I even know what the story means. I will just say is the Margret does believe in God. Perhaps she was to bear witness as a part of feeling guilty that perhaps she is the aberration in society and not the homeless man...

Short Story: Angel of Death

Today was a good day! I guest blogged on Brookey's Cafe Blog today. I think you should check that out! So, because I have done so much writing over the last 24 hours I figured I would share with you a short story I wrote in October 2008. Let me know what you think. Enjoy!

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Margret didn’t sleep much. Her dreams terrified her. Her dreams were too vivid and way too real for her to deal with. What really gets her the most is that she has never starred in her own dreams. She’s never had a dream that she could remember that had anything to with her or anyone in her life. Margret sought explanations and interpretations of her dreams in books and on the internet, but has had no luck in explaining why her dreams were happening. She didn’t tell many people of her dream problem. In fact she told many of her co-workers that she suffered from insomnia. Margret could never share with anyone that in her dreams she witnesses people die.

Every night she would fight sleep. Every night she would fail. Margret felt that every night she was witness to the angle of death. Tonight was no different. She lay in her bed watching her medium sized color television. Margret would try to watch different things to keep herself awake. She was not a sports fan so that never worked. Movies were ok, but she had a limited DVD collection and cable was a little bit too expensive for her liking. Porn, however, seem to work the best. It would keep up her interest. Tonight’s feature was a girl on girl.

Margret has always been bi-curious and loves to watch women have sex with each other. While watching this turned her on so much, the exhaustion of not getting enough rest was getting to her. She would purposely not sleep naked on a hot day like today so that she would be uncomfortable. Wearing pajamas and having a blanket on the bed should be enough for not to fall asleep very easily. However, she was finding herself being too turned on by the movie. It has been a while since she has slept with anyone. So there is no surprise that she would slowly move her had down her pelvis and lightly grazing her pubic hair. Margret lightly massaged herself which gave her gave her sensations she longed someone else to give her. This made her relax so much that she never realized the exact moment she fell asleep.

She looks up and finds herself in a dark alley. It is a very damp and dingy place. The smell of Rat shit is overwhelming. Margret covers her mouth as she begins to look around. She is still in the same pajamas she fell asleep in. She notices garbage on the ground as she slowly approaches a dumpster. She looks to her left and she sees an old homeless man asleep in a small piece of cardboard. Behind him is a shopping cart filled with various things that she cannot make out. Margret can tell that old man is shivering. She begins to kneel down to see if he is ok when a flash of red light shine behind her. She stands up quickly almost frozen in fear. She already knows what is about to happen. She recognized the soft hum and feels a slight breeze. She turns around slowly to a figure that has been all too familiar to her. Her reaction is always the same. Fear.

The bright red light and the source of the low hum is coming from a sword of blazing fire. She is transfixed on just the sight of the sword alone. Margret can also feel the heat that it generates. Holding the sword is a being with jet black skin. A tall male figure with a pristine physique is looking down at the ground and she cannot see his face because his long brownish hair is covering it. She begins to also look and the ivory wings attached to the back of this angel. The sight of the sword and the angelic nature of the wings almost make him look beautiful. Then he lifts up his head quickly and opens his pupil less eyes. Margret shutters in fear to look in to his face that is a cold as a glacier.

Margret’s first reaction, as always, is to run for cover. She finds shelter behind the dumpster as the angel floats towards the old man. The man becomes restless in his sleep and she can hear the hum of the angelic weapon become louder. The angel then begins to speak a language that is not recognizable. The old man is jumps out of his sleep to see this being in front of him. He just stares at the sword and tries to back way but is frozen by the sheer horror of what is in front of him. The old man does the sign of the cross and in one swift move is picked by his neck by the winged being.

The old man begs for his life has he grabs on the arm that raised him. The Angel just looks at him and again says something in a foreign language that almost sounds chant like. Then he draws his sword back and split the old man in too. Margret watches in horror as the old man’s lower portion of his body hits the floor. The old man let out a shriek but it fade quickly as the old man dies instantly with a look of pure horror an pain on his face. The sword of fire is so hot that there is very little blog coming from the 2 halves. The angel lets go of the man and his torso drops to the pavement.

The winged being turns to Margret and smirks. She wakes up in a cold sweat, almost wanting to scream. It is morning and the television is still on with the screen being the color blue. She begins to cry as she does every morning when she has this dream. It is always the same dream. The only things that ever change are the location and the person getting the sword. Margret looks over at the clock to see her alarm is set to go off in 10 minutes. She wipes her tears away and turns the morning news on. She gets out of her clothes and heads toward the bathroom for a shower. Just as she closes the door, the news anchor reads a report about a body that was found in a ally just down the street.

Bailout...

I need to get an HDTV! It has gotten to the point where too many people I know have one of these things, like my brother pictured above. We have talked about getting one but have always pulled back because of the prices. Now, with the economic downturn, I see these prices dropping rapidly. So, really it is just about what brand I want to pick.

Now, with all that being said. I still do not want to pull the trigger. I do not want to part with the money because I am always thinking about what if I may need this money later. The last thing I want to do is end up regretting making this type of purchase.

Buying stuff like this is not a show of success for me. If I want something I usually just get it, but this type of purchase just doesn't sit well sometimes. Don't get me wrong, I would love to play the wii on this thing. I would so much enjoy watching sports or movies on screen that is wide and crystal clear. Then, I think about what else I could use that money for.

Thinking about this sparks another thought, "Just what could I use my money for?" Well, besides the fact that I am going to Florida in July, I am not sure there is another purchase outside of bills and food that I absolutely need the money for. I do have hobbies, like comic books and music. Then there are clothes that I like to buy. So, I don't really know.

The other problem I have is the need for me to use my money for Christmas shopping. Sure, it is along way out, but it happens to me every year. I will be hurting for money by the time Christmas comes around and then I will be dying to get my tax check. I need to reverse this trend.

I need a bailout!

Too Good To Be True...

In this day and age mail has become useless. Physical mail that you can open and read; the same mail that take 3 days to get to your house and is delivered to your mailbox that we all end of shredding because it is pure junk. To me, it is pointless since we can do just about anything on our computers. I completely see why the cost of a stamp gets more expensive every year. The price of delivering mail is expensive considering that it is being used less and less.

So, now that I have made my point about how mail is useless, anyone can see why I don't really open anything that I get that is mailed. Most of the business I do is online. Like paying bills and loans, so no, I do not need a statement mailed to me. That leaves magazines I do not read, coupons, credit card applications, election crap, and contests. Most are left on the table to be shredded at a later date.

One day this past week, the wife decides she is going to open a letter from Kia East Syracuse. It was an ad campaign to get us to come in (clearly). But they also sent us a scratch off game for us to play. The way it worked was that if you scratch off 3 of the same things...you win that thing you scratch off. Really simple.

So she plays this game and she scratches off 3 cars. Now, I am doing my Wednesday night blog and she shows me this. I look at all the paperwork and it seemed legit to me. She is the skeptical one. I know that she has read this thing backwards and forward, so if she is coming to me then she is needs confirmation that what she is reading is valid. I will say that as much it looked good, there was something that did not make sense to me. It was just too good to be true.

She ends up making an appointment for Friday (yesterday). We decide to leave work early and go pay a visit to Kia East Syracuse. On the drive there, I reminder her that this may be a fluke and that although they are giving cars away in this economy, we need to be prepared for a sales pitch. So, out goal is to leave with a free car...or leave with nothing at all.

We go in and we have an appointment with Lisa. She sits us down and the first question is, "What are you currently driving?" I just rolled my eyes and started checking email on my phone because I knew we got pulled in. My wife explains to her that we are here because of the mailer and the scratch off game. The woman looks at the card and says..." I will be right back to see what you won." Right there, I knew where not getting any new car. If scratching off 3 cars did not warrant some time of..."Boss...we have a winner!", then we got roped in.

Lisa comes back tells us that we won a 3 day/night vacation (valued at about $400 if you do the math). My wife just looks at her with this look that I had not seen since the days we lived in the Bronx. "So you mean to tell me...that scratching off 3 cars means...no cars?" Lisa, who was probably not trained to deal with intimidating Latinas, carefully showed us the poster that said that 3 cars or 3 palm trees meant vacation and had we scratched off 3 money bags we could have chosen the car or the money. The best way too describe our faces was... "blink...blink"

Then, this woman had the balls to ask...(because we told her what we drive) "If I could lower you payments by 3 dollars a month and you can walk out of here with a brand new car would you be interested?"

BITCH PLEASE!

Needless to say we walked out. My wife was upset, but she got over it. It just goes to show that if something is too good to be true...then that is exactly what it is...

Driving While Black

One of the things that I have said during my Racism classes and various dialogue circles is that there is a reason why I try to be very careful when I drive around the city of Syracuse or any of its many neighboring towns. As person who is as brown as myself, I understand that I can be pulled over for any reason at all. It has been my experience that we tend to fit many different profiles and can be easily mistaken for anyone. Perhaps, I even look like the type of person who can look suspicious while I am driving.

It is not to say that racial profiling is just a problem within Central New York. I feel the same way driving everywhere I go. Truth be told, I have never been stopped when I am driving. So I can never been guilty of a DWB. However, I have been in a vehicle when a friend has been stopped. As, a matter of fact, I have several friends who have committed several DWBs.

To understand what it is like to be stopped here in CNY, you first need to understand that I live in a very lily white city when it come to the infrastructure and the law enforcement. I am generally surprised if I see a Black Police Officer. So, when someone like me gets pulled over, which is commonplace here, there is often a need for two police cars. Which, is a surprise to me. Growing up in NYC, when someone is pulled over, it is normally one car. Two cars generally mean that NYPD has been looking for you

So, getting back to being in the car when a friend commits the crime of driving while black, I am sure one can imagine how it may feel when you come home from picking up food and pulling into the driveway of the house you live...and seeing 2 police cars in the rear view mirror. While that happened more than 13 years ago, it still happened in Syracuse and still remember it vividly. Which has given me the reason to think twice before I go out and drive with my brown skin on.

I have been followed. I have been followed on campus by Public Safety. I didn't have on my official business attire on that day. But, I was in the car with a co-worker driving to one of our student centers. When my co-worker got out of the car (I was dropping him off), the officers must have recognized who he was and then proceed to move on with their day. So, when I tell people that racism still exists, I am not making this up.

Which brings me to the point of this who post today. My good friend Eddie that I went on that shopping trip with, committed his very first DWB last night. We went to Chili's last night and hung out for awhile. He lives in the village of Liverpool which is very upscale and white. So, on this way home he gets the CNY police treatment. He gets stopped...by 2 cars...and he gets 7 tickets. Don't adjust your screen saver...7 tickets! One for having his high beams on (it is mad dark..but ok), One for the SU parking decal hanging from the mirror, One for having his headphones on...(he as an iPhone), One for a small crack on his windshield, and I am not sure about the other 3 but I can guess (too black, too tall, and too southern).

Personally, I think that breaks a record of how many tickets you can get in one sitting. But, since I know the Liverpool Projects are really hopping on a Thursday Night, they have to make sure they keep the Negros in check.

Tap Tap Tap....is this thing on?

I guess I am not doing a good job in promoting my blog as I should be. While I am not necessarily writing for the world at large it does make me wonder who is out there. In terms of the blog world, I guess I would consider myself low maintenance. I don't update this site much outside of blogging every day. Not sure if that is a good thing or not, but I want to focus of this site to be strictly on my words.

I consider this site much like the hair cuts I get every 2-3 weeks. I make it short. I get a touch up. Trim the sides and make sure the edges are smooth. After all that, I am good for a few weeks. I can go about my business and not really care how people view me or what I am doing. Very much like this site.

However, I have come to realize that readership is everything. While my topics seem to vary from day to day, these are still my experience that I share with the world at large. I will still say Latinos are black. I will still talk about how I see the world. The fine line I see is that this blogging shit is not a popularity contest. I think people may view it that way and the art of writing in general gets lost.

I have done several things to promote this blog (although now that I think about it, I could do better) such as, word of mouth, commenting on other blogs, facbooking (status updates and network blog sites), myspace updates, etc. So, I am not sure I am satisfied with what I have. Not that I will change the content of even the way this site looks, but I feel I need to make a change in some way.

Now, I have said before that I do indeed write for me. I truly do not write for anyone else, however, writing needs to be read. Just like musician may write music for the love of music...someone has to listen to it. So, I think I need to do a better job in promoting. I haven't been receiving a lot of comments in general and it makes me think that I need to step it up a little.

So, with that being said. I think it might be time to join the world of Twitter.

Too Busy for Brackets?

I just realized something. Have I been that busy that I have not filled out a NCAA Bracket? That is just crazy. Just last week I was all up in March Madness and the Big East Tournament. Now, I look up and it is almost Thursday and as of the writing of this post, I have yet to fill out a Bracket!

I mean, work has been nuts lately. All the work that I have seemed to miss over the last week has caught up to me. While, I have been getting more sleep than usual, I am still really tired when I get home. Not to mention that my average time of arrival at home this week has been 9:00pm. So, to be honest, the brackets are just not on my mind. Which is crazy because I do love College Basketball.

What has really made this week crazy is that our office coordinator is not longer with us. I wont go into any detail on this, but much of her work has been passed to me. The good thing is that my work day seems to go by so much faster now! However, I cannot seem to catch up on the small things I have to catch up on...like checking my voicemail...

I have been trying to take my work home with me to sort of make up the time, but that does not work. Between being tired and trying to unwind, I can spend the first hour at home just doing nothing. Of course, I have to write everyday, because this is my release. However, I will not complain. I refuse to make this situation negative.

I have a job! With the way this economy has been, being busy because of work is the last thing that I will complain about. I am very fortunate of where I am and the students I work with. Having a job right now is the only thing that seems to matter these days. So, I will find a way to get the work done at the expense of my brackets...

PS... Now that I think about it, no one has really invited me to join any pools or websites...hmmm

Hip Hop is Dead...

I consider myself a fan of Hip Hop. I feel privileged to have grown up in this era that has seen this musical genre become a lifestyle. Since I have seen so many rappers and heard so many songs, I can be pretty critical of who I like. I can be picky with the Cd's I buy and the music I listen to. I don't believe every song is hot and I do not believe every rapper is a legend.

What happened to the day when Emcees could battle each other with pure lyrical skill? What happened to the days when KRS One and MC Shan used to drop songs and leave it all out on the airwaves for the benefit of the people? Well those days are gone. Hip Hop is supposed to be about ridiculous lyrics recorded over crazy beats.

Not these days. I came across an article about some beef between 50 Cent and Rick Ross. I am not sure what happen and I don't really care. What I do know is this, I was never really a fan of 50 Cent and Rick Ross had one song I know of, so I don't care about him either, but I really have no respect for 50 Cent when he can stoop as low as this: 50 Cent Releases Sex Tape To Humiliate Rap Rival.

I have nothing against porn or sex tapes. But, when 50 Cent is wearing a wing and narrating...that is just plain Baffoonery! Bad enough that this man loses a challenge to Kanye West (who I do like) over record sales, but now he thinks he is winning fans over releasing a sex tape of Rick Ross's baby mama? Not to mention that chick is wack! (yeah I did see it)

This is not a surprise to me that he can sink this low. Is it that he cannot dominate with his lyrics? When Jay-Z stepped to Nas, did Nas try to take out Beyonce? Not at all. Nas handled it with the Ether. That is what true fans of Hip Hop want to see. They want to feel like they are in the club listening to two emcees battle it over a beat. We don't see that anymore do we?

Now, I just have to wait every other year for a Common or Nas Album, or maybe something from Outkast or Kanye, or if I am lucky, The Roots will drop something soon. The golden days of Hip Hop are gone and I am not sure they are coming back...

"Hip Hop just died this morning and she's dead.....she's dead"

That Feeling...

I felt it today. I am not sure if what I felt is real. I have been longing for this for such a long time. I woke up this morning thinking about it so much. I anticipated its arrival. But, I am not sure it will stay here for long. I want to hope that this feeling will last forever, but I know it wont. But, I cannot think about that. I can only think about how beautiful this feels...The Sun!

That beautiful orb in the sky that has eluded me so much over the last few months. The one thing that brightens my day and makes everything feel so great! For way too long have these skies been gray, oh how I have longed for such a beautiful day.

Today was really great. Think it might have gone as high as 55. I barely needed my coat and I am just hoping that this is start of a great spring. Tomorrow is supposed to hit 60, so clearly I am excited. Of course, I know it will get cold again so what I am really hoping for is that the frost is over. You never know in Syracuse, it did snow at my graduation in 1996 (Mother's Day).

I am so ready to pull out the summer gear! I am tired of wearing sweaters. I am ready for the polo shirts. Trust me, I got a ton of them. This winter has been harsh. It just feels for some reason that this winter was colder and more snowier than any in recent memory.

I just have a good feeling that this summer is going to be good.

What a Week!

I am tired. It has been a long week, I still have not gotten nearly enough sleep and I have a very long day tomorrow. But, I can sit back and reflect on the past week and realize that I had great vacation! As many times as I have been back to NYC, this was the best time I have had in years.

I was worried about how much money I was going to spend and who I would be able to see. I just came down to see some Big East Tournament games and then chill for the rest of weekend. Well, as you can tell, the games were great, even though Syracuse lost in the end. Then I decide to go this party at a club called Katra located in Lower Manhattan. Which was good, but they packed us all in like sardines.

I had no intention on stay out late, even though I left the Bronx at midnight. I wanted to just say hi and get a little dance on and then be home in enough time to get some good sleep. Well, based on past experience, that did not happen. I ran into my good friend, Rahman (Pop) and ti was over. He let me know I was not going home anytime soon. We painted Lower Manhattan, well whatever color that he decided, and after going to a Birthday Bash at Sutra, and we ended up at a place called Son Loco.

That place was awesome! I had the chicken burrito and it was great. So, I got back at 6am...passed out at 6:30am. Then I wake up to Justin playing WWE Monday Night Raw that he has on the DVR, which was about 11:15am. My brother knocks on the door to wake me up at 11:30am because we need to do a Fantasy Baseball Draft.

Want to know my fantasy? More sleep.

My Nephew

I wanted to write something quick tonight. I am busy watching the Big East Championship with my brother. Hopefully SU will pull out more big win.

So yesterday and today I spend some time with my nephew and Godson, Justin. A very cute little boy that eats nothing healthy and plays video games all day long. So, I guess he is just a normal boy. He gets just about anything he wants. His grade warrant it, which is always good.

This boy is going to be 10 this year and I cannot believe how much times has past since I saw him the hospital. He will always be a reason why I come to NYC. I make sure that I see him as often as possible. Justin as finally gotten used to traveling to Syracuse every summer to visit. I laugh when he shows his amazement of all the trees and green grass.


But, boy, does Justin love video games. I think he can actually get me tired of playing video games. He does this thing where he cannot sit down while playing a game. He needs to keep moving as if he has way too much sugar in his body...which he probably does (e.g. he had waffles with ice cream when we went to eat at the Cross Bronx Diner). So when he plays games like wrestling or even madden he is kicking and running in place! Thank good that my brother puts him in sports like Football and Baseball because this little kid can run.

The only bad part of me visiting here is leaving. He gets sad when I leave. but, hey he will see me again in May.

6 Overtimes

I have not been to a Syracuse basketball game all year. I have been way too busy. I took this week off to recharge and get ready for the rest of the semester. So when the opportunity arose to go the The Big East tournament, I just hand to jump at it. I figured I would catch a few games and hopefully I would see something special.

We (my boy Chris and fellow alum David Walker) had already witnessed the Seton Hall game. So we were hoping for another win against UCONN. The one thing about Madison Square Garden that I like is that there is not a bad seat in the entire place. We sat in section 347 and it was just crawling with UCONN fans. Our tickets are good for only 2 games which was the Pitt vs W. Virginia game and the SU vs. UCONN game, so there were other fans there.

When Pitt lost, most of the those fans left. In the section we were in, there were quite a few people talking shit about how this would an easy win for the Huskies. So, let me just say that when I go the game such as this, I have my game face on. I don't pay attention to the haters from the other team. There were two West Virginia fans who sat in front of me. They stayed for the game because West Virginia gets the winner of this game. Let me just say that I drank no beer during this game and I am glad for it.

The game starts and I feel like I am back at the Carrier Dome. The chant of "Let's go Orange" (clap, clap,clapclapclap) is deafening. We jump out to a lead first and the Huskies fans in my section know I am here. I will point out, that I don't berate the other teams fans. But they know I bleed Orange! However, UCONN comes roaring back into this game and this is where I began really see how UCONN fans came out in full force. Orange chants are muffled by Huskies chants. At one point one of the Huskies fans behind me comments on how he cannot stand Eric Devendorf by shouting, "Go Home and Beat up your girlfriend." Before we knew it, the first half was over. UCONN is up by 3.

During halftime I knew we had a very good shot. The Huskies didn't look like they were into the game. Sure they were winning but they gave me the feeling that they were waiting for SU to make a run. The second half starts and at one point it seemed like SU was stuck at 40. I thought the Huskies were going to put us away but we came back and kept pushing. We saw a fight in the stand between some fans. It took about 10 security guards to stop it.

The last 2 minutes I never sat down. It was so close that I started biting my nails. I kept looking at this one big guy in our section who was a Huskies fan. He looked like he could be on steroids. He was a cheer leader for this section. He kept saying that the boys were going to pull it out. He looked like one of types that could go into a roid rage if they lose...more on him later. I look over to David and I say, "This game is so great, I can do overtime". Then there is this white kid who was sitting on the bottom of our section who kept looking up at me since the 3 of us were the only one cheering the Orange. He gets up and sits next to me and says, "I can't sit next to these UCONN people anymore."

The Orange have the last possession with like :01 left and the ball is inbounded to Eric Devondorf, I will tell you that everyone in the Garden thought that shot was good. I hugged everyone with Orange on and pointed at anyone who thought we would not win this game (except for steroid dude). But then there was this long wait. We see people on the court and we realizing they are reviewing the play. I get a text from a co-worker telling me it is no good. Then we see the ref call it off... The place explodes with UCONN UCONN UCONN.

The West Virginia fan...who was sitting in front of me just smiles. My buddy Chris is like.."You want this to go to like double overtime, don't you?" The guy replies..."I will be happy with 6 overtimes…."

The first 4 OTS were gut wrenching. UCONN took the lead from the start in every OT. They would jump out in front and the Orange would fight right back. It was like watching a prize fight. There were people who actually left! I am guessing that they could not hang. My voice is raw and my phone was dying. I was getting texts from friends and co-workers while updating my Facebook status. When the big men from the Huskies fouled out, the atmosphere changed. UCONN fans were pissed, they knew what we all knew, this was going to be the Johnny Flynn show.

The 5th OT flew by and the announcer says that we are now apart of the longest Big East Game ever! I never thought that I was going to see history in the making. But, we knew that the momentum was still on the Orange. In the 6th OT, we jump out in front and never look back. It is 1:30! We got to the Garden at 6:30. I was starving, sleep deprived, had no beer, and I even think an old woman gave me the finger. Oh...that steroid guy, he left with about 90 seconds left. He was pissed! Cursing how the Orange beat them AGAIN....127-117.

People are dancing in the aisles. When we finally leave the Garden and it is all Orange (and it is cold folks) and people are screaming "Go Cuse". It was insane. The whole night was insane. I am not going to tonight's game because tickets start at $95, and I am not sure I would want to even if I had it like that. After what I just witnessed, I think I saw the greatest SU Basketball game of all time.

My Issue...

I consider myself to be positive person. I do anything that I can to maintain a certain level of positive. But there are times when I can't do it. I think I have an issue with trying to make others happy or rather maybe I do not want to disappoint people. More that just people, but rather people who are important to me. Sometimes I think I do a good job, but then there are times when I feel I cannot win.

I am being very ambiguous and I know that. But, these moods are brief and it is important for me to capture these moods because I am the type of person that gets over things quickly. The point really is that I hate to let people that I care for down. On a larger scale, I don't care what people think about me in general. But to those that a close me like friends and family, then that is a different story.

I feel that there is some expectation of me to come through in any situation and you know, now that I think about it, I am successful most of the time. So, perhaps, this expectation come from within me, which makes disappointments hard to deal with at time. I will equate it to my competitive drive to always win in any game or sport I play. I absolutely hate to lose. I have always hated it. I feel that I need to win. So perhaps the disappointments are sorta like losing.

Well, as expected, I am already over my this. But, I know it will come up again for me. It always does.

Phone Blog

I think I am addicted to writing. It took me a few minutes to figure out how to write a new post on my phone. So u know there love there. I am currently on my may to New York City and all I can think about is how in the world am I going to do this? I will say that as a follow up to my last post, I did not get enough sleep.

It is great to have a few days to rest and think. This will the first time I will me going to the Big East tournament and I am quite excited about it. I should be able to get there in enough time to see the Syracuse game tonight. I plan to see some friends, but I am very excited to see me nephew, Justin. I am sure he will keep me up one of these nights trying to beat me at some game on the Wii.

This is really my last breather before the semester really gets busy. April is my killer month with so many shows and concerts that a day off will be hard to come by. Not that I am complaining. I love my job and all it entails. The students keep me very young.

As I look out the window, I begin to see the NYC skyline. Every time I see this it just makes me sad. I truly believe that the skyline has been ruined forever. I still remember that day when I was on Wall Street on 9/11. It was because of that day that I made the final decisions to leave. Funny thing is, I come myself coming back more often lately to visit. Who knows, maybe I may move back.

What is it about Sleep?

I love to sleep. I could sleep all day if it was up to me. So, why is that I don't allow myself to get enough of it? I always feel the need to stay up late. You do not have convince me for long to stay up. What makes it worse is that I act this way even when I have to be at work in the morning. There are times I have been up past 2 am. What the hell am I doing? This week I am on vacation and I find myself not getting enough sleep.

Well, it is like this. I love to sleep, but since I spent so much time and energy at work, when I get home the last thing I want to do is sleep. Although, I am a very big fan of napping. I can nap like a champ. Anywhere between 15 - 45 minutes and I am refreshed! It just cannot be too long because then I cannot sleep later. So, again when the times comes for me to sleep, I just don't want to. The reason is that the sooner I sleep, the sooner I have to get my ass up to work.

Now, I love my job and all the random events and phone calls/emails that I may get at any given time. But as most of us know, work is work. So everyday I pull my head up from the pillow and get ready for work. I count how many hours I had sleep. Normally is it about 6 hours. On a good night I will get 7 and 1/2. On the weekends, I catch up and 8-9 hours.

However, this week, I am not getting enough sleep at all. I am up playing the Wii, watching the World Baseball Classic, reading blogs, chatting, and ripping DVDs (more on that in a later blog). So, I go to bed late, but I do not want to waste most of the day sleeping so I get up earlier than I need to. Then, last night I am thinking...you know I should just go to sleep and wake up when I wake up. Here is how it went...

- 3:46am Head on pillow
- 8:09am Text Message from Co-worker saying I did not put an away message on my email (I know...wtf)
- 8:10am tossing
- 8:25am Dog (Rocky) is Snoring
- 8:50am I hear something banging outside...is my neighbor doing construction?
- 9:10am Rocky is tossing because of the damn noise outside
- 9:50am Rocky has this faint high pitched squeal when he wants to go out...
- 10:05am I turn on the laptop...doze off
- 10:15am Squealing again...he is looking at me now...
- 10:20am I finally take him out
- 10:25am I check on the noise...that is not construction, that is the neighbor's big ass dog pulling on the aluminum siding of his house
- 10:30am the IMs begin...

Well I have to pack today and get ready to head to NYC tomorrow. I am leaving in the morning so I really cannot mess around. Then I am thinking...well I can always sleep in the car. Hey, I ain't driving...

20 Questions for Men who are not like Me.

A few things that I don't do often that I am doing now. The first is I do not write blogs this early. Secondly, I tend to not write about being a man...which I guess I could try. Never thought about it. Thirdly, I try not to imitate another blogger. Although, flattery is indeed the biggest form of imitation...or was it the other way around. (see why I don't blog in the morning).

Anyway, a friend of mine past along this blog to me this morning called 20 Questions for Women who aren't us. So I decided that I might just give this a try and just throw out 20 questions for men who are not me.

1. Do you really think your dick is that big?

2. Is it that hard to iron your clothes in the morning? Better yet, just do a once over.

3. Do you realize a baseball cap does not go with everything you wear? I am sure when the designers of the new Yankee hats, that pop up every minute, did not have a suit and tie in mind when they put that hat together.

4. Must you tell me how many women you been with? I really do not care to know and please hold the details.

5. Are you in that much of a rush that when exit the bathroom without washing your hands? At least run water on them!

6. Why do you think you look cool with your pants hanging down past your ass? It really is stupid.

7. Do you really feel the need to look Gangsta on Facebook? I really wonder if real gangstas even have time for Facebook.

8. I understand that you are bigger than me, but why are trying to pull my arm off when you shake my hand? I have class ring on, so you do leave the SU crest on my middle finger, here let me show you...thanks.

9. I know we are in a locker room, but seriously, do you really see the need to have this conversation when your nuts are out? Get dressed.

10. Just so we are clear, why would you hit a woman? I mean, clearly your ex-girl texted you and you got caught out there. But did you really have to do all that?

11. Dude, do you really think I want here about how you shave every every hair on your body?

12. When are you going to realize that you do not wear white socks with a suit? That is just as bad as wearing the baseball cap.

13. Did you really just ask me why we do not celebrate White Heritage Month?

14. How can you be 40 years old and still listen to Jay Z?

15. Do you really think you are all that? Seriously, the world does not revolve around you.

16. So, because you have an SUV, does it mean that you have to ride my ass in a 20 mile zone? Then you get mad when you pass me as if the School we just passed isn't open...asshole.

17. You do realize the stripper you just tipped doesn't really like you?

18. Is the weed that good that you need to smoke it everyday?

19. Mailman, is it that hard to close the mailbox when it is raining? Then you wonder why people sick their dogs on you when the see the soggy mail you left...jerk.

20. You do know Stars Wars is not real right? Sure I love it too, but you do see me dressing up as a storm trooper on days that are not Halloween.

National Pride or Cultural Pride?

This weekend I have been doing nothing but watching The World Baseball Classic. I am so glad meaningful baseball is back. There are two teams I am pulling for, except for when they play each other. I am pulling for USA and Puerto Rico. I usually do this during the Olympics too. I would also pull for Ecuador, but they don't have a Baseball team.

All this makes me think about National Pride. There is no question that I am an American. I am all about cheering for America when I can, watching Michael Phelps this past summer proved that. However, I am not one who believes that USA is entitled to win everything. I feel that we need to prove ourselves as much as anyone else. It bothers me that some athletes can walk into a tournament like this and think it will be handed to them (like the 2006 USA team, and various USA Basketball Teams).

I find myself equally pulling for Puerto Rico. Because that is the land where my maternal grandparents are from. A beautiful island that made me feel as if I was home (until I attempt Spanish, then it is all down hill from there). I think that PR needs to have more recognition in sports and Baseball is their best shot. I remember when Team Puerto Rico thrashed the "Dream Team" in basketball in the Basketball World Championship a few years ago. I enjoyed that game very much and rooted for PR all the way.

In just about any sport, depending on the situation, I will root for the underdog. I was totally rooting for Arizona in the Superbowl and Tampa Bay in the World Series (although, I am biased, I hate the Phillies). To a certain extent, Puerto Rico is like an underdog in just about any international play, so in that way, it is very easy for me to root for them.

The interesting thing being a Latino American is how we can express our pride for being an American as well as being Latino (in my case Puerto Rico and Ecuador). I know many people who rooted for Michael Phelps just like I was; screaming at the TV like I had no sense, but yet they will root for the country of their ancestry.

Blog Everyday

I was going to take a night off from writing, but something told me to keep going. I am on vacation this week, so I will get to sit and not only reflect on the rest of the semester but about the rest of the year. When I created this blog a few months ago, I decided to do some archiving of all the posts from my previous blogs. While, I still have some old posts that I still need to add, it has not escaped my notice that I did not write anything as at all in 2008.

While I am not one harp on the past. I am using this fact to keep writing. In my past blogs, I would write periodically. I would write for a few days and then I would skip weeks on end. See, I do not want to do that anymore. I feel that if i start taking breaks then I will let this blog eventually slip, and I will not do that. This blog feels so different then all the past ones I have written. I have never enjoyed writing more. Maybe it is the community of bloggers that I continue to run into. I cannot say for sure.

This next week will be challenging. I will be traveling to New York City for a few days and I am not sure how I will be able to blog everyday. But, that is the thrill of the challenge. So, until then, I will continue to blog everyday...

I am not Racist, but...

Today I was watching NBC Nightly News with Brian Williams, sometimes I do this to keep myself in the loop with world, and I saw that they were doing a weekly expose called "We the People" which is about "the growing clout of Hispanic Americans." They ran this for a week and I missed most of it but I did catch the viewer email portion today as seen below:

Visit msnbc.com for Breaking News, World News, and News about the Economy

I want to focus on the first two viewer emails only. I will do NBC a favor and answer these ridiculous emails, which is really the same email considering the statements. First, I want to preface everything I say with this, when someone says something like "I have nothing against Mexicans.." and they follow it with a "but" or an "except", then were are dealing with Racist people. Plain and simple. Please do not say you don't have an issue with a group of people when you really do.

So with that said, I will start with Gerry. Well, Gerry, I think you do have a problem with Mexicans. You say that you do not have a problem with Mexicans in the US, so that leaves the rest of Mexico. English is not the official language of the United States, so technically none of us really need to speak it. Last time I checked, learning a language is an actually requirement in most high schools. So, my question is, if the French decided to move here, would you have an issue with your children learning French?

What ever happened to the Global community Gerry? Or are we going to perpetuate the reason why the rest of the world hates us when we start talking about how "we the people" do not need to learn any other languages? Welcome to the 21st century! Latinos/Hispanics (or plain ole Mexicans to you) are multiplying at a very fast rate and pretty soon there will be more of us than there are of you.

Let me address Linda from Florida. You believe that there is nothing wrong with Hispanics coming to this country so that means you must see something wrong with Hispanics who are already here. Lets talk about "our country", who just so happens to have a black president. Technically Linda, we are on stolen land from the Native Americans (Indians to you, which I am sure you see nothing wrong with them living on reservations either). So, before we talk about how people need to come to this country and need to speak English, just remember who is doing all the jobs that most Americans are too proud to do.

Lets not forget that most of America used to be Mexico. So technically, English is the foreign language in this country. English is a common language but it lacks the richness and culture than many other languages have. What makes this really interesting is that many words in English are "borrowed" (or taken) from other languages. Sounds like the American way to me.

Facebooking...

Social networking seems to be the way to go nowadays. There was a time when Facebook was supposed to be for college students and now it has blown up to point where parents are now hooked. There are so many sites to choose from if you want to network of just meet people. The choices almost seem endless (I am still trying to figure out what twitter is). It seems that when it comes down to it you either like Facebook or Myspace. I haven't met someone that likes booth, although they can have accounts on both.

I started on Myspace. I thought it was a hot site that allowed me to keep in touch with people I knew. I could send messages to alumni that I knew or just meet interesting people. The Happy Birthday and Merry Christmas graphics were always something to behold. I actually started a blog there as well. But, then something started turning me off to Myspace. I am not entirely sure if it was the random spam messages from web hookers or the numerous amount friend request from web mistresses...I dunno. Either way I became bored.

At the same time I was on Facebook and this was strictly to keep in touch with students, particulary the ones I advised or employed. This was a great way to do that. What makes me laugh is how all the educators and administrative heads of higher education felt that Facebook was this big threat. You could go to any of the Higher Education conferences and you would see several presentations and panel discussions on the dangers of Facebook. I even remember attending meetings on what we going to do about this site. I would at my co-workers like, "Are you serious?"

Then the creators of Facebook became really smart and decided to open up all the networks to include people who were not in college. This is where the flood gates have opened for me. I have been in touch with so many people that is just hard to fathom. There are people I have not seen in over 20 years that I talk to as if no time has passed. Then when I thought it could not get any better, my family starts to join! What makes that crazy for me is that it is the family that I don't see all that often. So, it has been such a joy for me.

Sometimes I do think to myself what did I do before Facbook? The answer to that is clearly not keeping in touch with people.

Video Games...

As I write today's post, I am watching Josie play with the Wii Fit. I find myself amazed about how far technology has advanced that allow us to stay fit as we play a video game. I would consider myself a Video Gamer to a lesser degree. I don't play video games as much as I used to because I am just so picky with what I buy. Not to mention that I barely have time to play as it is. But, when I did have time...

My first game system was the Atari 2600. I got it for Christmas and I was the happiest kid on the block. It came with this horrible game called Combat and these stiff ass joysticks that have contributed in the carpal tunnel I have now. I also got Pac-Man (which was nothing like the arcade and therefore WACK) and a bunch of other games. Over that span of my Atari craze I ended up getting Pitfall, Berserk, and E.T. (which I think ended up being the worse video game of all time). What I remember, was the connection the back of the TV. You had to turn you knob to channel 3 and connect this huge silver box that had hooks to the screws where the antennae was attached. The you would have to flick the switch on the silver box to go from video game to TV.

Several years later, after Atari died out, Nintendo came out with the NES: Nintendo Entertainment System. This fancy little console that, again I got for Christmas, was the top of line in terms of video gaming. It came with 2 games, which never happens now, and those were Duck Hunt and Gyromite. It also came with a gun and a little robot named R.O.B. Of course, Dunk Hunt you could play for hours, however you got really bored with it after awhile. The damn little robot was for Gyromite which was ok, but they only made one more other game for that thing. So, it just collected dust. NES was great though, until it got old and you had to blow into the game in order for it to work.
Super Nintendo came out when I was in High School and once again I got it for Christmas (see a pattern?). I think this came with a game called Pilot Wings. I am not sure about that but I remember playing that game a lot. Anyway, I began to realize in High School that this was my escape from the real world. I can play these games not think about how my parents got divorced or how I felt I was the only guy in school who was a virgin (not that video games help this). I sought refuge in 40-50 dollar games that I bought myself because I had a job at Pathmark. By the way that was the last video game system I got for Christmas. By the time I got to college Sega Genesis was out and I new a lot of people that had this. I wasn't into it at all, but I would play it at my buddy house on South Campus.

Nintendo 64 came out and this happened to be the first console I bought myself. I think this came with Super Mario 64, a game I never finished. There were several other games that I was interested in games like Mario Kart and Shadows of the Empire which took up a lot of my time. At this time I was already out of college working as a temp in Syracuse and recovering from a bad break up. Once again, I find myself taking solace in a video game system. It here that I learn that Nintendo cannot fill a void that someone may have.

The Nintendo Gamecube came out and I am in a different world. I am now dating to a video game junkie who tends to play more than I do. Which forced me to go to PlayStation 2 (which, actually I got for Christmas years before...my bad!). What I find interesting that I have gone through 3 PlayStation due to shitty parts and all my Nintendo game consoles still work (yes i still have them all). Which leads me back to the Wii.

I am still amazed how video games have been so much a part of my life. I particularly like the fact that I can still beat little kids in certain games. However, the highlight is that I can play online with my friends. The reason I play video games is still very much for the same reason. It is an escape. This time from work and all the other things that life tends to bring down on me.

Negritas!

I am dedicating this blog to the beautiful black Latinas that most of us never see. Clearly what I am saying is all relative because yes we can see them everyday but do we "see" them in dominate positions of beauty? Probably not. I know plenty of dark skinned Latinas that are gorgeous. Their skin darker than mine and their beauty reminiscent of the great queens of Egypt; and when I say queens of Egypt I am not talking about Elizabeth Taylor's "Cleopatra". I am talking about Nubian Queens from la Caribe.

I had to make a short trip to the store tonight to pick up a few things when I saw the current cover of Latina Magazine. This cover made me stop in my tracks. I know that Latina Magazine has had dark Latinas on their cover before (although not as many as blanquitas), but for some reason this just stood out to me. This started making me think about what we as Americans consider images of beauty to be. So in seeing this cover I was shocked and quite happy!

Her name is Sessilee Lopez. She is Dominican and Portuguese and is a rising star in the modeling world. She has a blog too! Now, this post is not about about her, but in January I talked about naming famous Afro Latinos that were not David Ortiz or Rosario Dawson. So I am adding her to this list.

However, as much as I want to commend Latina Magazine for this wonderful cover, I am by no means saying that they are politically correct. We all know Latinas are not shaped like your average American girl. But, you would never know that from looking at the pages of this illustrious magazine. My wife has written letters to the editor about what Latina Magazine should represent. While they have never gotten back to her, they did respond to many other letters that that were similar, which pretty much stated that Latina Magazine does not represent real Latina women.

Afro Latinas, Latinegras, Dark Latinas, Morenas, or Negritas are several different ways to call these women. I have several in my family. My cousins (who I miss very much), my mother, my aunts, my wife, and 2 sister in laws. I have grown up knowing what true beauty is.

P.S. I love all Latinas of all colors... :)