YOU speak for yourself

In the shadow of a few things that have been happening lately i think it i should say this to the masses, take a stranglehold on your life. If you have ambitions and visions see them through and make them a reality the best way you know how.

Frequently humans become jaded to the system. The system that says, you must do A then B and then C. There are so many different ways to get things accomplished and connect with the right people. In this era that we are currently in, the world has become increasingly smaller relative to the past, due to all of the technology that is tangible to us. A statement that i often refer to is, "if you do what you have always done, you will get the results you have always gotten". Think about that and let's take it a step further, if you do it the same way everyone else does it, you will get the same results everyone else has garnered and that puts you smack dab in the middle of mediocrity. Certainly if you take the road less traveled there are fewer sages to help you in your journey, we all understand that, but think if you take your time and map out your plan you can achieve stunning results. Give yourself some credit, and be certain that you know what you know. For instance, just because i have never written a book doesn't mean that i can't write, i know that i can write simple as that. If you don't believe believe in your abilities than certainly no one else will. Take yourself and what you want to accomplish seriously and others will too.

I encourage everyone to take a step in the direction they want to go. Don't swallow the whole dinner at once, you know what you can handle and do it at your own pace (well, within reason). Shout out to ME and T!

Here we Go Again, Lebron edition

Im going to take a moment and get into this Lebron Gisele Vogue cover. Initially i saw it on ESPN's First Take and thought nothing of it. About a week or so later i still think nothing of it.

People have been taking the position that it looks like King Kong holding the white actress (i don't know her name and don't care what it is). After hearing this, i was able to look at the cover and say, ok, i can see where they get that from. There are rumblings that black athletes are always portrayed in an aggressive manner on magazine covers and other photo ops, but to be honest I have never payed attention to that. I know the philosopher will say that it is in my subconscious, but to be honest i think that most athletes are portrayed in an aggressive manner. Some people look at Tom Brady in GQ and say, "well he isn't viewed in an aggressive manner, he looks like the model next door". Ok I dig that, but i have had GQ magazines where they have done spreads and young black football athletes were in the spread in the latest fashions and in subtle poses and positions. I think this boils down to one of those, why are there so many jeeps on the road after you just got a jeep issue. Its because now that is what you are looking for.

Sometimes i think black folk are looking for something to get revved up over. If Lebron saw the pics and said, "yeah that's me" or " i think thats accurate", then why should I have a problem with it. He is not complaining and saying that he feels improperly depicted or misrepresented. Maybe Lebron says to himself, i am a big aggressive guy and that's how i play.

I think that maybe black people need to take some pride in who they are, and no i am not saying that Lebron should take pride in himself because he looks like king kong. However i am saying that if he is an aggressive person then maybe he should embrace that and the same goes for any other person. Don't let people tell you who you should be or who you are. Honestly, some black folk are aggressive and that's just the way they are, its not right and its not wrong. Perhaps he wanted to represent his basketball side anyway, since that is all most of us know anyway. I am saying this because i do not think that all the black athletes are depicted this way, so therefore its ok for him to look like Lebron on the cover.

Also black folks always talk about how strong they have to be or are, or how much they have endured, and i agree they have. I could not imagine going through most of things that some of the generations before me battled. But get this, when we are viewed as strong or aggressive we want to change it up and say, no im passive and mild mannered. Or do we just want a different approach for the athletes, because i can remember quite a few other black people on magazine covers and they looked extremely civil and peaceful. Look at Pharrell on the cover of Esquire and actually look at Rip Hamilton on the cover of GQ (just remembered that one). My man Kanye has been on the cover of GQ.

I say that to say this ( i love that line), I think we should chill on this one. No harm, no foul. Lebron did the shoot and said, hey this is the me im cool with and don't have a problem portraying.

Small Tourney Talk

This is just an observation, in the NCAA Tournament there have been some teams that are celebrating a little too hard and it bothers me. The tournament is six games long if you get that far, so therefore I do not think it is appropriate to have a party at the middle of the court and fall all over each other after you win the first game. One thing i have done in my life is play sports, and i came expecting to win every game. Therefore when I did win, it wasn't a surprise. Me and my teammates slapped fives and hit each other on the butt (in a sports way though) as teammates do when you win a game that DOESN'T give you a championship. Speaking of the odd rules of society, where did that come from? All im saying is There is more work to do. Now that this matter is off my chest i can go play in the snow like always do towards the end of MARCH!

Maybe Im Crazy, but I doubt it!

Usually I do not touch this with a ten foot pole, but this one has been eating away at me for some time. I am not a celebrity watcher or lover or carerer abouter (don't get on my grammer 'cause I made that up) but what is up with the paparazzi.

I stumbled across a show called Pop Fiction, it comes on the E network, correct me if im wrong. All I know is that when I hit the channel there were about eight to ten guys snapping photos of Eva Longoria and Mario Lopez as they ate lunch outside. The photographers were about two feet away at the most! How inhumane is this? The only thing about this is that Eva and Mario were doing this on purpose to poke fun at the rumors of them stepping out together. So pretty much they were playing all those people who read the rumor magazines to the left, and i must say all those readers caught up in the celebrity world, "you deserve it".

Celebrities are treated as if they are not human. There is something seriously wrong with this society. I have asked people to inquire how the paparazzi is able to get away with intruding on everyone's daily strolls to the park and this is the answer that was conveyed to me, it has something to do with the first amendment and the freedom of press. Paparazzi is the only occupation I know that allows you to pester someone legally. Its amazing, of all the restraining orders there are in the world, none on the paparazzi I suppose.

Now what I really think is that it is a money issue (just like everything else). Do these gossip magazines generate that much money because if they do, I am in the wrong line of work. I am pretty certain some celebs have approached this issue, to no avail obviously. But where are the good lawyers when you need one, because if you can win this case you will be legendary, trust me. But the only reason I could imagine that their efforts would be thwarted is because the tabloids are big business (not quite as big as Haliburton, but you get the idea).

THE Tournament

Today is the day that starts the NCAA tournament. Would it be wrong if i left work early and went to watch the games. Not that i am at work, or not that i would do something like that. I just think this should be a holiday, as long as they keep giving Chris Colombo one. I don't know about you guys but i am pumped.

By the way I've never won any bracket challenges, although i've come close. I feel like the dog chasing his tail, it's almost like going to the casino and playing the slots. You keep playing because you HAVE to win eventually right. For the record, I don't throw in any money just my basketball pride. So everybody kick back and watch Michael Beasley and the Kansas State Wildcats get busy, oh and the rest of the teams too. Go Jayhawks and Bruins. But my team is Memphis. I know, its too many but i just like the sport. Happy Holidays North America!

P.S. Why doesn't anyone ever fill out women's brackets with me?

Whole Foods is now serving the Broke

I've just been informed that Whole Foods takes bridge cards or EBT or whatever you call them. This is huge, no i don't think you realize how huge this is. Ya'll better take advantage of this before they realized that they messed up, royaly. Whole Foods is expensive! Whole Foods carries organic food and generally a high quality product. They better not let this get out because everybody is going to get on the EBT program because i know i thought about it.

The government is paying for people to eat of the good china. These folks can potentially be eating better than most Americans. So this is how it goes, if you work too hard for a living you can't get the government to buy your food, so you can't afford to throw away an arm and a leg in Whole Foods. But if you don't make enough, then you get to live the good life (as far as food is concerned). I know everybody has to eat and i think its phenomenal that the government is not just supplying the bottom of the barrel. But im just a little jealous as you can tell. Im good though because i know somebody that has an EBT card and im about to give them a ring. Call me if you want the good stuff.

ESPN: Black Magic

For any basketball fan ESPN's Black Magic is very enlightening. The show aired last night, no commercials, courtesy of somebody. Black Magic detailed and highlighted the path of black coaches and basketball players rising in the early development of the game. Struggles of not being able to play, not being served in hotels, being black balled by owners, and being frozen out of a game by their own teammates. The coolest thing about this show was that it was black history but it aired in March, maybe black history month can be every month.

Brevity might be a problem here, so bear with me. There are so many guys that never got the chance to play professional ball because of their race and not their talent. The NCAA did not even allow black colleges to participate in THE tournament (this is tournament time, go LSU's cousin Memphis) and eventually when they did, the black teams had to play each other and then they would take the winner from that and allow that particular team to compete. Teams would have quotas where they could only have a certain number of black players. If a black player was too good, as in the case of Cleo Hill i believe, he was frozen out by his own teammates because they didn't want him scoring all the points. The players went to the owners and decided that Hill needed to play a lesser role because he was outshining the other folk, and when his coach tried to go to bat for him he was fired because he would not comply. Coach said he could not look at himself in the mirror if he did that to a guy that he cared for. I even learned that there was a black basketball team that put their foot on the throat of the NBA dream team that held the characters of Jerry West (who is the NBA logo) and Oscar Robertson. The players in the NBA were good players, but clearly there was some sort of collusion to keep good black players out. I think watching something like this should be essential to professional athletes. Also, seeing some of the former legends like a Bob Petit and hearing how he acted makes me not feel to positively about this guy. Im not insinuating that all pros are ungrateful but i do think that a program like this would help shape perspectives.

Follow me on this one, don't judge me. What if you were white and all your life you were told that you were better than somebody by everyone around you. If that is what you are fed as a child from birth doesn't that stick in your head. Now i do think everyone should have some sense and enlighten themselves and grow, therefore i most assuredly feel that the powers that existed were wrong for how they treated black people. However, i do think that if i was told the sky is green from the day i was born it might be harder to convince me otherwise. I think most black people only see it from a black perspective but i think taking some time to understand the mindset of other people helps you form your solution better. Like i said don't judge me,I love the plush red sofa.

Really this whole story ties in with black folks in general being appreciative and not taking things for granted like we occasionally do. They even showed the clips of my main man Martin Luther, non-violent, non-violent. It was cool to get some of the former baskeball players perspective on Martin and how they respected what he was doing but they felt they had to take a different approach, which resembled Malcolm's mentality. But hey, that's why i type these things to give all of us a healthy reminder. And here is a parting gift for you, just about all these people are still alive so that means this wasn't that long ago! And there are still reporters around from that time. So just for the record it ain't all good yet.

The story is wayyyyy more detail then i can supply in a blog entry. If you get a chance to check it out you should cause if you don't im coming to rip your cable out. Goodnight Canada (shout out to ESPN and Tony Kornheiser)

Land of the FREE, Home of the BRAVE

Welcome to the lovely land we call America. Where the leadership feels extremely free and brave. Eliot Spitzer's attraction to lechery is another straw to add to the camel's back. Here is the recent breakdown, the soon to be former governor of New York was and still could be for all i know involved in a prostitution ring. This was not just any escort/prostitution ring, a nice website was utilized along with a rating system for the women that you could select from. You could select meeting times, certain clients had what would be the equivelent of VIP priveliges. Its like going to the supermarket and picking over the grapes to find the best vine, or package in this case.

Here is a peculiar note to add; I was reading about the happenings and they detailed what happened along with going in deep about how some of these type of sites are set up. Basically shedding light on some of the inner workings. But i couldn't focus because i was bothered that they had links to all these escort/prostitution sites. There were five i believe, and i thought to myself, "ok maybe you guys are trying to show us the real deal, but do we need FIVE links"? That bothered me and maybe im on the spaceship, but i thought that was kind of unsettling.

Back to Spitzer,this is clearly an insult to the public intelligence. Stupid is getting thrown in here somewhere, either he thought the public was, or either he is. Its a little late to inform him now but, sir you were the governor of a state. Im going to let that sink in. Not only did he participate, he was a regular. How could you muster up that much gumption to engage in such activity over and over again. What is wrong with our leaders (although i do not live in New York). I understand that these people are human and everyone has their vice that they struggle with but what has gotten into the politicians lately?

Now Detroit just finished mulling over the actions of their mayor Kwame Kilpatrick. Don't defend him either because if nothing else its hogwash that he had Detroit pay his legal fees of about $10 million for his court cases surrounding this scandal. Just over about a half year ago we had Senator Larry Craig (Idaho) engaged in lewd public behavior at least that's what he was charged for. He had the audacity to clown in the public restroom in a Minneapolis airport. Before him was probably the creepiest of them all, Mark Foley who was instant messaging a minor some very inappropriate comments (im not repeating any of them on my blog, i don't want to corrupt my readership). Don't mind me im just going to throw this wood on the bonfire, that minor was a young man! What is he thinking?

If they run a background check on the guy trying to get a job at Target then we need to start getting cotton swabs from any potential politicians. We have to do a better job of picking officials. I understand that some of these things occur in office but i have a hard time believing these folks did a 180 and lost their mind when they got in office, these folks were already soiling the sheets when they got there. I think we have to avoid the campaigns and facades, we just need the facts. From now on if we cant find ten people you went to high school with to get opinions, then you can no longer be considered. How about we scrap the whole system and pick every office all over again and we can do it like a pick up basketball game.

America don't fail me now...

-Another Shoe Intermission-

Think of these sneaker updates as intermissions to let your mind relax. Here are some cool Easter sneaks for the ladies. I present the "Easter Gazelle Stan Smith Adidas", somebody might get these around easter... speaking of Easter, is it really March 23. Has Easter ever been in March?

Blog Service Announcement

What is it with people and macho internet talk? Why is it so common for people to attempt to disrespect people on message boards and forums across the internet? First, that has nothing to do with the topic; Two, why are you trying to put someone else down. Where is the love people? Is that what our interpersonal communication has evolved into?

This brings me to another point, a skill that people need to learn is to disagree respectfully or simply respect all opinions in general. When someone doesn't agree with you that does not mean that you have to be offended or disgusted, people have different viewpoints. If you can try to educate people to see your point but if they feel otherwise, oh well, everyone is entitled to their own opinion. If everbody was the same then the world would be a dull place to live. Just look at it like this, opposing viewpoints are the spice of life (that's the new quote for this week). In the words of my man Ron Burgundy, "stay classy San Diego".

Dear Readership,

(Most of you can disregard this portion)

The plush red sofa loves feedback, however in the wake of a comment recently left i think i need to get a message across. If it isn't quite evident yet this blog is aimed at all us intelligent folks with enlightening ideas. Cursing and name calling is not how us civil people operate.We are all intelligent individuals here, maybe we bring different perspectives and ideas but respect is a must. Lets Kiss not Fight. Its enough people in the world fighting already. Shout out to BUSH![sarcasm]

Swayze, Jobs, and Cancer

While everyone was focused on Patrick Swayze, I took a moment and reflected on the condition of Steve Jobs. Swayze has been diagnosed with a rare form of cancer, the pancreatic variety. According to a certain medical clinic (no free publicity off me!) that is one of the most serious forms of cancer. They say this because it usually goes undetected for so long. I wish Swayze the best, but that's not where we are going here.

Steve Jobs, the creator of the ipod for those who don't know, was also diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. I don't think the two were diagnosed with the same exact form of pancreatic cancer but nonetheless close enough. Jobs was diagnosed in 2003 and hid it from shareholders for approximately 9 months, only a small group of confidants were aware. Apple released an email to employees I believe a day after he received treatment. This question came up as a result, was he obligated to tell the shareholders and the company that he had this cancer. Let me note Steve was fully fuctional and operated well at work, no harbingers for anything bad to come.

From a shareholders perspective wouldn't you want to know if one of the eminent decision makers was having health problems that on the most extreme platform could kill them? Im sure that would affect some of their decision making. But what if he gets treatment and everything is fine and he is able to continue living as he was before? PRS (plush red sofa) note: Nobody is promised tomorrow and anyone can die any day literally.

What about Steve's perspective, did he have a right to conceal his personal health? Should it depend what information was made available to him? If he is told by doctors that he would be alright, then i guess he can hold his tongue right? What if they told him this is an extremely serious form of cancer? We all know how shady companies are, granted this is Steve Jobs the maker of the ipod, if they knew this information they might have devised sinister ways to replace him on the hush. Cynical thoughts do i harbor, hahahahaha (sinister laugh).

The plush red sofa heals all ailments, get healthy gentlemen.

The Candidates are everywhere....

This should be brief, I know this is of the utmost importance but...... are they covering the presidential race a bit heavy a bit early? And why is everything so definative? One minute Hillary is in over her heels and she should drop out and two days later she right in the thick of things looking for the lead. Stop it already!

We do need to know what is going on but not to the point where we have to throw out everything we just read or heard. And this is the most meticulous media coverage I have ever seen. There is coverage on everything from wardrobe selections to speech stealing. Maybe its just because of all the media outlets in this day and age.

For the life of me i can never understand why the candidates are always trying to discredit one another. It doesn't work, your focus should be on the people don't worry about the other guy. It's just like sports, you don't worry about what the other guy is trying to do, you just make sure you execute what you have drawn up and you'll win the game. That's all im saying cause' i know how ya'll get wit politics.

P.S. It's not taboo to talk about, people just don't know how to have respectful dialogue

What motivates you?

Have you ever thought about what motivates you? For everybody it is something different. I think that everyone has a substantial amount of drive inside of them, you just have to learn how to tap into it. Learning yourself is vital but not only that, keeping what drives you at the forefront of your thoughts is something we should all attempt to do as we navigate the challenges of life.

Here is my perspective and hopefully it sparks something inside of you. When i was younger i always thought shoes were cool. As I grew it blossomed into a love and a passion ( you, the reader probably knew that). Most of us know that we are working for a cause and that is what keeps us going. However i have found that when i focus on certain intricate parts of whatever the motivation is it drives me even more. I have found myself to be highly driven when i think about the possibility that i can get more shoes from doing task a,b, or c. This is such a phenomenon to me! I can work three days straight if I translate the earnings into the amount of sneakers it will produce. See, it's just a tweak of the mentality. It may seem relatively shallow to think of shoes but its just a motivating factor, i might not even buy a pair of shoes for quite some time, but just the thought that i could helps me.

I think that we all want to be comfortable, but i feel like i would be more comfortable if i could cop whatever shoe i wanted, that would be liberating for me. So my recommendation today is to take your motivation and narrow it down to something specific. Don't be shallow like me (you can if you want to though), but seriously see if it helps you. See if you can boost your productivity or drive by doing such.

This came about as i was pondering on my new slogan: Think like a thinker and not like a speaker. Don't bite that, because I made that up and I'll know you stole it!

HELP!

My blog has reached the point where i get special request. Whoever can get these in size 6 (boys) or a size 8 (womens) let me know.

A Refreshing Outing

Yesterday i dropped through a Burn Rubber event and it was very nice. The venue was not really large, nice size but the best detail was the people.

So as everyone knows I am a sneaker head. Matter of fact the event was for sneaker heads, the dress code was all sneakers, no hard bottoms! I came in and everyone was smiling and laughing, few drinks in hand, lots of colors and individual styles. Music was playing and everybody was dancing in unison. A couple of the shoe customizers were there as well as a local drawing artist. This is how cool the people were, me and another guy were trying to squeeze through the crowd simultaneously and he said "my bad, go ahead bro" and I replied "no, you're good, go through". We went back and forth about four times before i went through. Astonished, yes i was, the people were so polite as they partied, no hint of dissention at all. To me it felt like a family reunion (granted i haven't been to one in a while). A raffle was conducted, I received coupons and small takeaways and I felt so refreshed. Peripheral note: up and coming artist on Kanye's label GOOD Music was there to kick it with the crew as well, Big Sean.

Although redundant to say, a good time was had. To bad this didn't take place in Detroit, I could've said progress had been made, but no such thing. All I have to say is sneaker heads maked the best human beings!