Harry Belafonte vs. Jay Z

In no uncertain terms, I am solidly on the side of Harry Belafonte regarding this situation between him and Jay Z (he dropped the hyphen).

The one thing I side with Jigga on is that entertainers shouldn't feel a responsibility to act as though they have a social conscience. No one should have to do anything they don't want to, no matter what position they find themselves in.

"But that's what the whole thing si about, so you really agree with Jay"...no, it's not: and no, I don't.

Compliments...Sigh

You know, we live in a sad world when complimenting is a crazy game. Even the most well-intentioned, least ulterior, and most good-natured comments are often met with incredulity or even scorn. As such, I’ve decided to write a bit about the struggle: mainly, the criteria I base my compliments on.

Some Thoughts on the Verdict

In what should be a surprise to no one, I have a few thoughts/statements to make regarding the verdict. Going to start with something...that I already said.

"B. Brown thinks they should just let Zimmerman walk out now and save Florida the cost and embarrassment bound to result from this 'trial'." - June 20, 2013 (Facebook status)

20Fine: Part VI (5-1)

This is it...

20Fine: Part V (10-6)

Now the real fun begins...

20Fine: Part IV (15-11)

Getting well into it now...

20Fine: Part III (20-16)

Continuing on...

20Fine: Part II (25-21)

Let's get right to business...

20Fine: Part I (Introduction)

After seeing People and Maxim’s terrible attempts at appreciating aesthetic talent, I decided to try a little exercise of my own. Now, there’s going to be a decent amount of introduction before I get to the actual rankings. I’ll try to keep it as short as possible. Actually, I’ll go with one-liners (or close).

Popularity, Crabs, and Condescension

Can we talk about something for a minute? Seriously, I need to get this off my chest.

Black people are forever saying that racism is an American institution. “It’s as American as apple pie and ‘red, white, & blue’ and all that”…sure it is. No argument there. However, we have our own problem that is equally damaging.

Thanks for Playing

Next summer Pat Riley faces one of the more difficult decisions of his tenure as team president. It will be almost impossible for him to keep the Big 3. If he wants to keep the Heat winning, he’s got to make an almost-impossible decision.

He’s got to let one of them go…

Being the Good Bad Guy...or Bad Good Guy

Alright, so I’ve got a situation.

I may have shared this, but one of my best friends is engaged. His fiancé has a friend…and by now y’all know where this is going.

Prospective Commencement Speakers

Commencement is on the horizon for many an undergraduate in the coming weeks (Mine was twelve years ago today), and one of the more interesting subjects that comes up around this time is the list of speakers. Some people have had the Obamas. Dick Cheney spoke at FSU once. Bill Clinton and Soledad O’Brien spoke at different FAMU ceremonies the same spring. I heard Dr. Humphries (in his final semester as president) and a state Supreme Court justice at two of my three graduations (didn’t go to the third). I heard Judge Hatchett at my cousin’s graduation…she was really good.

Anyway: if I were graduating in a couple weeks, who would I want to hear? No, I won’t count anyone I’ve heard already.

Rappers For 30

So, tickets for Yo Gotti (if you don’t know who he is, it’s not important – just know he’s a rapper) a few Saturdays ago were $30. Don’t even ask me if I went.

It made me think, though: what rappers (there’s a decent list of other musicians) would I pay $30 to see? Now, when I say “pay $30 to see”; I mean pay $30 without question under solely my own volition. Therefore, going with a group of friends wouldn’t count. I’m pretty sure it’s a small list: if it weren’t, I’d be writing about the living wage and the middle class or about sisters being nerds. Yes, those are coming down the pike.

So, who would get 30 of my hard-earned dollars?

NBA Playoff Predictions

Shoot, why not...

42 - Part II

I actually ended up talking about the movie a lot longer than I expected, so I decided to just make an additional entry regarding my thoughts that don't directly relate to the movie.

The main take-away from the movie - and from Robinson's life - is that quiet dignity always wins in the end: that keeping your head held high, turning the other cheek, and completing other actions that have been turned into catch phrases that canonize good will always produce positive results.

However, that's not all there is to it.

42 - Part I

Saw *42 this morning. I'm going to give a quick review here, so skip until the break if you plan on seeing it. It was a good movie, not great. The actors with the major roles were good (Nicole Beharie was an excellent casting choice), but minor characters had the best acting jobs. Guy who played Leo Durocher was great. Guy who played Ben Chapman was really good too. The script held things back from the film, though. I thought the movie was a bit soft, and most sportswriters whose reviews I read shared that sentiment.
 

NBA/WWE Comparisons

With WrestleMania in the rearview and “NBA Playoffs” at the ‘Next Exit’ sign, I thought it’d be fun to draw up some comparisons (dang: didn’t realize this one was this long…yes, I wrote the body before the intro and close). No, I'm not saying the NBA is scripted.

Quick Thoughts on The Greinke/Quentin Brawl

I usually don’t post on Fridays, but I’m making an exception today (by the way, I have a decent amount of stuff lined up for the next week or two). Someone needs to set the record straight about this Zack Greinke/Carlos Quentin business.

WrestleMania XXIX Predictions

After the baseball post fiasco – which, to be honest, I’m still quite bummed about – I finally decided to pick it back up and get on to WrestleMania.

This WrestleMania won’t be as much fun as last year’s for two reasons: 1) the card and buildup have both been terrible, and 2) I’m not going like I was last year and will be next year. However, it is the year’s biggest wrestling event so here I go.