Collect Experiences. Not Things. :')

July 29, 2009

Is It Over?

It's hard to believe. But I don't think it is. There has to be another significant dip after 3rd quarter unemployment report. There's always a dip in October, right?

July 26, 2009

Cornell 'Union Time

Having hung out with Naren in Memphis last weekend, on Saturday I met up with Alfred. I've known Alfred since 1991, when he arrived from Kenya to start his M.S. at Cornell. He arrived with only a small knapsack on his back. He now owns a huge 4 bedroom house and 20 unit apartment building outside Philadelphia, and employed downtown in the bonds department of a regional bank. Alfred rounded out his education with a MBA from Wharton.

On Saturday night, with Alfred being from Kenya and all, most of are conversation revolved around B.O., and how B.O. freed the shackles from Alfred's mind. Being a Kenyan in America got to be tough, but having the President now on his side helps, I'm sure. It raises that glass ceiling. Supporting B.O., Alfred was in attendance at BO's inaugural before sunrise replete with Kenyan drums.

Overall, it was a fun evening. And if you haven't been to old town Philly recently, I'd highly recommend it. The place was kicking - very hip, very alternative.

July 24, 2009

Foods I Eat Frequently...

Since I don't have a job, I record daily what I eat on My Daily Plate. They provide a list of foods I eat regularly, based on FREQUENCY, not quantity. The most bizarre is the ketchup. I hate ketchup, but I do add a tbsp. to my "water vegetable" that I almost eat daily. Notice: merlot is listed below Tofu. Thank you very much.

1% Milk
Banana
Brocolli, Raw
Brown rice
Corn
Ketchup
Lettuce, Iceberg
Lite Caesar
Lite Soy Sauce
Onions
Premium Crackers Saltine Crackers Multigrain
Quaker Instant Oatmeal, Original
Raisins
Tofu
Wine, Merlot

July 21, 2009

Maine Marriage Equality

Church donates $100,000 to promote hate. What happen to the days, when the church assisted the poor, sick and elderly?

Rachel Maddow DESTROYS Pat Buchanan AGAIN!!

Possible reasons why, Pat Buchanan refuses to recognize Americans of African descent impact on America's development:
1) He knows of none.
2) Only 17% of all Americans were of African descent at the time of the Revolution, not a majority.
3) Fear of extinction of him and his kind.

July 20, 2009

This Week In Holy Crimes

It's impossible to make this stuff up...

In the last seven days....

National Civil Rights Museum



The motel balcony in the first top photo is where MLK Jr. was assassinated. Appropriately so, the motel was converted into the National Civil Rights Museum. The second photo was taken from where James Earl Ray stood and fired the fatal shot. After viewing the civil rights exhibit within the museum and reflection on it, it was hard to believe hight of the movement was only 40 years ago. I was only a kid and don't remember much of the movement.

Sun Studios





Sun Studio bills themselves as the "birth place" of Rock'n'Roll. But basically it's the place where white people stole Rock'n'Roll from black people. It's where Elvis arrived after graduating from High School in Mississippi to cut his first record.

Graceland



I really thought there'd be a lot more to "Graceland". Back in the day when Elvis owned it, it might have been sumthin', but today... it's a modest size house on 13 acres. Not much to it.

July 16, 2009

Antarctica Time lapse: A Year on Ice

With the recession being over, I've been mulling over the Antarctica trip again. But all the low budget ($9k) options are booked. There are only $13K and $18K options for Jan 2010 remaining. I'm only half enthused. But it will be my last (and seventh) continent and I'd get mounds of great photos. Decisions, decisions, decision.

July 15, 2009

Merrill Lynch "Declares the Recession Over"

At least, that's what they told their investors....

Most believe they are probably right, and the economy most has started to grow, of course, nobody will know for sure until next year sometime. It wasn't until December 2008, that NBER declared the current recession began in December 2007. Even though, Bush was saying in March 2008 the economy was NOT in a recession.

Currently, Goldman, Intel, J&J are all calling for better growth forecasts. The stock market reflected their forecasts, today. China’s economy grew by 7.9 percent in the second quarter.

Of course, unemployment will continue to rise and housing values fall, well into 2010, and possibly 2011.

Christian Haters are Hating Again

Once upon a time, every WHITE Christian preacher, behind the KKK, invoked the Bible to support and condone SLAVERY.

Exodus 21: 20-21

"And if a man smite his SERVANT, or his maid, with a ROD, and he DIE under his hand; he shall be surely PUNISHED. Notwithstanding, if he continue a day or two, he shall not be punished: for he is his MONEY."

Exodus 21: 26-27

"And if a MAN smite the EYE of his SERVANT, or the eye of his maid, that it PERISH; he shall let him GO FREE for his eye's sake. And if he smite out his manservant's tooth, or his maidservant's tooth; he shall let him go free for his tooth's sake."

Leviticus 25: 44-46

"Both thy BONDMEN, and thy BONDMAIDS, which thou shalt have, shall be of the heathen that are round about you; of them shall ye BUY bondmen and bondmaids. Moreover of the children of the strangers that do sojourn among you, of them shall ye BUY, and of their families that are with you, which they begat in your land: and they shall be your POSSESSION."


Once upon a time, the same preachers invoked the BIBLE to deny WOMEN equal status to MEN.

First Corinthians 14: 34-35

"Let your WOMEN keep silence in the churches: for it is not permitted unto them to SPEAK; but they are commanded to be under obedience as also saith the law. And if they will learn any thing, let them ask their husbands at home: for it is a SHAME for women to SPEAK in the CHURCH."

Ephesians 5: 22-24

"Wives, SUBMIT yourselves unto your own husbands, as unto the Lord. For the husband is the head of the wife, even as Christ is the head of the church: and he is the saviour of the body. Therefore as the church is subject unto Christ, so let the WIVES be to their own HUSBANDS in EVERY THING."

First Timothy 2: 11-14

"Let the WOMAN LEARN in SILENCE with all SUBJECTION. But I suffer not a woman to teach, nor to usurp authority over the man, but to be in silence. For Adam was first formed, then Eve. And Adam was NOT deceived, but the WOMAN being deceived was in the TRANSGRESSION."

The Bible can be read and misconstrued many ways. EVERY CIVIL RIGHTS MOVEMENT IN THE U.S. HAS BEEN FAUGHT AGAINST THE BIBLE!!!!!

CHRISTIANS have a long history of HATING. ---> They need to STOP, plain and simple.


There are many more verses in the Bible that condone slavery and oppress women. I've just listed of few. The Bible even provides the PRICE that slaves should be sold for ( Leviticus, Chapter 27, Verses 3-7) and of course, men are more valuable than women. It's the Bible!

More on Christianity and Slavery .

More on Christianity and Women .

Going to "Graceland"

Naren, a friend from Cornell, is visiting the States. We're meeting in Memphis for a weekend of southern cooking, blues music, and of course, Graceland. I visited in Nepal back in 2005 and in Malawi in 1995. Most recently, he's been living in Korsovo and will be heading to Bangladesh for his next USAID assignment, with his new wife and baby.

July 14, 2009

Obama's Teleprompter "Falls Apart"

The Cheney Thing is TOO Weird

It's either completely nothing (a Dem decoy) or something BIG.

If it was a "unsuccessful" CIA assassination program, why did they unsuccessfully implement it for EIGHT years? And why didn't Cheney cancel the program before he left office? I guess because he thought it was perfectly legal? Or maybe he just forgot? A program implemented for eight years without success could be easily be forgotten.

Then there's the question of who knew about it? Why wasn't Panetta, the incoming CIA director briefed about by the out going CIA director? Was it THAT top secret? Who was running the "program" up until last week then, when Penetta canceled it? Dick Cheney?

Clearly, someone in the current administration should have been informed. Which then begs the question, what other programs are being currently implemented by the CIA that the current administration and Congress don't know about?

Who knows, the program might turn out to be nothing. But then did Panetta run to Congress the day after he learned about it? If nothing else, it certainly gives credence to Pelosi's claim that the CIA didn't inform her of waterboarding.

Yet, it's all a little too weird. More Hollywood, than D.C. innit?

Marcy Wheeler: GOP Will Investigate Clinton's "Blow Job" But Not CIA

(Via Huffington Post) Hilarious headline. Crazy Americans! I'm just waiting for the tide to change.

How long will it take for the GOP to be back on top again? It will, but when? What will be the tipping point, back to the GOP. Clearly, the tipping point to the Dems was the Iraq War and financial crisis of 2008.

Right now Obama is loosing some approval points from impatient supports, because the economy hasn't immediately re-booted. But that was never expected, nor realistic, backward looking data will probably indicate the recession was over and the economy started expanding again in 3rd quarter 2009, but unemployment will continue to rise and housing values fall well into 2011.

If the economy is back on track in late 2011, and most likely it will, it means a clear win for Obama in 2012. No incumbent President has been voted out of office when the economy is expanding and creating jobs.

However, there are others, like Krugman , who believe the current stimulus package isn't enough and the economy will continue to languish into 2012. He's calling for a second stimulus package.

Unemployment was at 7.5 percent in January. It's currently at 9.5 percent.

July 13, 2009

National Crisis?

Via Joe.My.God This Week in Holy Crimes.

Week after week, men and women of the cloth continue to be arrested, charged and convicted on numerous crimes. It's almost like an epidemic. The most frequent crime seems to be sexual molestation, followed by stealing from the congregation's till. Why people still attend Church and support these criminals? I have no clue.

And the sad part about Christianity is that 90% of the people who attend Church have never read the bible. Are they stupid? Why attend Church to have an idiot minister explain the bible to you? Nine times out of ten, the ministers has no idea what he/she is talking about anyway.

Key to Financial Success

More WOMEN in the BOARDROOM
(Via Washington Post )
The sexy new discussion in policy circles around the world, thanks to the recession, is whether a significant shift of power from men to women is underway -- or whether it should be. Accounting giant Ernst & Young pulled out charts and graphs at a recent power lunch in Washington with female lawmakers to argue a provocative bottom line: Companies with more women in senior management roles make more money.

The numbers make a compelling case. The studies Ernst & Young rounded up show that women can make the difference between economic success and failure in the developing world, between good and bad decision-making in the industrialized world, and between profit and loss in the corporate world. Their conclusion: American companies would do well with MORE senior women.

And it's not only one study, but at least half a dozen, from a broad spectrum of organizations such as Columbia University, McKinsey & Co., Goldman Sachs and Pepperdine University, that document a clear relationship between women in senior management and corporate financial success.

July 09, 2009

"Especially being a black kid....."

I really, really don't believe racist-white America understands what a profound influence MJ had on people of color, both in the U.S. and around the world, especially black entertainers (like me, jk)!

Lie, Lie, Lie

What can we learn from our leaders? "Lie, Lie, Lie, and stand next to your wife and cry."

July 06, 2009

Christian Bigots Are Loosing

In 2008, only two states recognized Marriage Equality, now there are six: Massachusetts, Connecticut, New Hampshire, Vermont, Maine, and Iowa.

As more and more young people are turning their backs on religion. One survey showed "About two-thirds of people 65 and older said religion is very important to them, compared with just over half of those 30 to 49 and 44 percent of people 18 to 29."

The Right of Marriage Equality is the third major civil right movement fought against the religious right. First, it was slavery and second, equal rights for women. The bible clearly supports slavery and promulgates women taking a lesser roll in society behind men. Why support the bible? I have no idea. It's clearly racist, sexist, and homophobic.

Polls show that the ranks of atheists are growing fast. The American Religious Identification Survey, a major study released last month, found that those who claimed “no religion” were the only demographic group that grew in all 50 states in the last 18 years.

The biggest loser is the Catholic Church. One in three people who were raised Catholic has left the Catholic Church. Most cite the Church's antiquated teachings and the billions of dollars paid out to victims of priest/pedophiles, as the primary reasons for leaving. The Church is currently searching for new ways for Priests to molest children without having to pay out huge sums of money.

Fox News Rips Into Palin

"The Woman Is Inarticulate, Undereducated". This is Fox News Reporting!! "Flaky and Wacky" "Mental Illness".

What I always find interesting about Americans is their desire and aspire to be undereducated, and therefore desire to elect official that are undereducated, so they can relate.

But what I liked most about SP's resignation is when she said thatshe "can effect greater change by stepping down".

That's what I've always told all my bosses over the years; I could get more work done if I didn't have to come in to work! You go Sarah!!! That line of argument never worked for me, but I'm glad it's working for you!