Personal Hygiene Help for the Fellas: Part II
April 24, 2007
Sometimes we lighten it up here at The SuperSpade. Today, we will delve into the wonderful world of hygiene help for the guys. In the first post on hygiene we touched on the importance of wet wipes, clipping hang nails, among other items. So as summer approaches and global warming makes this year the hottest ever, let’s get back to basics. This list is intended for everyone from the Scruff McGruffs to the metrosexuals. And as always, ladies please help us out if you have any suggestions. Read more
Don Imus & The End of Controversial Voices?
April 23, 2007
This is the last time I step on this dead horse, I promise.
Media owner/critic [and Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban asks interesting questions about the Imus fallout. Here's one:
Was Imus the last "media provocateur"? If most media are controlled by major corporations, who is going to be willing to put their job on the line and say something that might catch the fancy of tabloid news, and in turn upset the board of directors? Who is going to be willing to knowingly take an unpopular position and accept the accompanying risk?
This basically translates to asking if any network will have any gall to support people who say crazy and/or stupid things. Cuban mentions that he thinks Fox News would. He's right, and they have demonstrated that time and time again.
This is important to ponder when thinking about media and media reform. What level of controversy and/or offensiveness is acceptable or should be permitted? Should any?
Let's flip this and ask the same question: If [insert your "prominent" Black non-sports media personality here, but for the purposes of example I'll say] Tom Joyner said some horribly offensive things about white or Hispanic women, would you want him fired?
Let’s be careful with our double standards. We all know that they exist. The question is where/if they ever make sense.
One Love. One II.
Community colleges
April 23, 2007
The Weekly Dream: Out of This World
April 20, 2007
“Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.”
-John 14:27
“Find heaven in yourself and God”
-Ghetto Heaven, Common
A few days before the Virginia Tech tragedy, I was having a conversation with my neighbors about the local crime in the city. In my astonishment I asked, “Where do you have to go to get some peace? The moon?” To which my neighbor responded, “You better look at yourself, that is the only place you are going to find it.” For some reason, that stuck with me.
Let’s face it, the world is crazy. And if you did not know that before the Virginia Tech shootings, that incident right there should prove it to you. And something we often forget is that people are hurting and lonely. We may be hurting and lonely and do not even realize it. So I asked myself, “Where do people find peace?”
Recap of Barack Obama’s Rally at Georgia Tech
April 18, 2007
Clarence Wardell III, PR Chair for Young Georgia for Obama, recently attended and photographed Barack Obama’s Rally at Georgia Tech University this past Saturday.
(Credit: Clarence Wardell III, 2006)
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Being afraid of music
April 17, 2007
As someone who grew up in the church, I was raised on the belief that, “Spirits ride on the wings of music.” The basis of this logic is that a singer/musician has the potential to either edify or weaken your spirit and that no one is immune to these effects. The logic ends with the axiom that if we are not careful to what we listen to, we leave our spirits vulnerable to attack. (Not to mention that Lucifer was the angel responsible for worship and music)
Virginia Tech Shootings
April 16, 2007
If you haven’t heard yet, 32 people were shot dead at Virginia Tech’s campus in what is being described as the deadliest mass shooting in US history. As a person who works with college students and a recent graduate myself, this tragedy hits very close to home.
I know it’s hard to appreciate how fragile life is. As a result, tragedies like these often shock us into making sure our loved ones know they are loved. As I have stated before, the best reason is just because. This extends to calling, emailing, texting, making plans to go out, etc. with your loved ones.
I refuse to discuss the politics of the right to bear arms or the implications of the identity of the shooter or the victims. It doesn’t really matter. 33 people died today and there is a time for everything. Now is the time to mourn and reflect.
To all the family and friends of the victims, my heart goes out to you. I pray that the initial resentment and confusion will be replaced by peace, harmony and joy.
For all of my family and friends who read The SuperSpade, I love you. Each of you enrich my life and I will continue to try and do the same.
Stay up fam,
Brandon Q.
The 2008 Olympics actually helping Darfur Conflict?
April 16, 2007
It looks like it just might. According to this NY Times article,
nongovernmental organizations and other groups appear to have scored a surprising success in an effort to link the Olympics, which the Chinese government holds very dear, to the killings in Darfur, which, until recently, Beijing had not seemed too concerned about.
Nearly any angle that is used to make headway here is worth pursuing in my mind, so this one is no different.
Don Imus and Racial Perceptions
April 14, 2007
This whole Don Imus-Rutgers Women’s Basketball Team debacle can be summed up pretty easily by the words of Imus before he ruined his career and the actions of the team since the infamous comments were made.
Imus is quoted as saying “My goal is to goad people into saying something that ruins their life.” I believe that it was Morpheus in The Matrix who said, “Fate, it seems, is not without a sense of irony.”
TSA Makes Travelling Suck and Why we need Root Cause Analysis
April 14, 2007
I have just returned from a vacation trip to Italy, which was absolutely amazing. However, on my way back to Seattle from New York, I had a run-in with my friends from the Transportation Security Administration, and now I’m mad at a bunch of people. “President” George Bush. Secretary of Homeland Security Michael Chertoff. TSA Director Kip Hawley. LaGuardia Airport General Manager Warren Kroeppel. The TSA Supervisor who was working LaGuardia’s Security at 530 AM Eastern on Wednesday, 11 April 2007.
