For those of you who don't know...I am a FOOTBALL FAN for life.  So,  here is how I think this will play out:

I'm going out on this limb alone...but I think it's gonna be the Battle of the Birds....

Ravens vs. Cardinals (and I'm not just saying that because I'm BMORE thru and thru....)


Seriously, though....

The Dolphins aren't going to get past the Ravens. We gotta rookie QB that's doing a hell of a job, and his rookie mistakes are made up for by the defense. They got his back, the team is playin' cohesively, finally got Billick's racist ass out...I see a Cinderella season end.

Ravens v. Steelers: that's gonna be a fight to the death (as was both of the regular season games) but Big Ben has had a couple of lil' injuries this year...(and as much as I always support my baby daddy, Hines Ward),  Bmore ain't losing another game to them (they only lost by 3-4 pts. each time this season). I could mess up my whole bracket with this one.  And I'm always in favor of the black head coaches (LOVE Tony Dungy), but gotta go with the home team.

As much as I like the Chargers and with Darren Sproles on fire....I don't think they are gonna get past the Titans without LT at full health.  He ain't fucking with that groin injury..too close to his dick. He only gon' play a half  against Tennessee, like Saturday.

Now for the other side...

Personally, I'm sick of the Mannings, so I don't want the Giants to go.  I think Eli  won't match up with veteran Kurt.  And even though Dominik Hixon is there, He ain't Plaxico.  He hasn't grown his skills to the Burris level just yet. ( I like Hixon though). This would be an upset, but isn't that what the playoffs are all about?

The Vikings will take the Eagles because Donovan is fickle too...great game one day, horrible game the next.  And EVERY game Minnesota has played this season (except 1) Adrian Peterson was the top rusher.  Not too sure about the Vikes v. Panthers...that could go either way.  

Either way... Ravens v. Cardinals on Feb. 1st!!  

I am evolution
Today my life spins like the turntables at a hot ass rent party
Switchin beats as I switch seats
The ride I was on bored me to death
so I buried myself in the ignorance that kept my dead spirit alive
Reborn into freedom--
Lovin this ride like a nigga's dik u aint' been on in weeks
passion sweat
climaxin' every day
wit my new found ways
of livin'
I am evolution
and it looks good on me.

I can't take you ignoring me no more.
I know you can hear me.
I've been waitin' and waitin' and waitin'.
I could try to wait forever
but it won't happen.
Because I'm too hungry.
You haven't fed me in a while, chose to starve me
You've dropped crumbs @ my feet and I've scrambled to consume them.
They don't fill me.
You've wet my whistle a couple of times
It doesn't quench my thirst.
I'm malnourished--my bones protrude from my skin.

I'm afraid I'm going to die.

And I'm devastated about it

because

you will have killed me.

What Am I?

the cross section between what was and what is

the corner of the shit you knew, and the new shit you tryin' to understand

sometimes at a red light when everything stops moving

you get blind sided by a glimpse of your future

it's fucked up 'cause now that you know, you have no excuse as to why that shit don't happen

the innocent bystanders sometimes get caught

but even that is for a reason

I am extraordinarily overwhelmed this early Wednesday morning.  My body and mind are tired from the last few hours of emotional outpour...a response to what I call "my March on Washington".  Barack Obama is indeed our own version of MLK.  It is important that we know that and that we understand what that means.

The magnitude of what occured last night is well beyond him being a history maker for Black people.  61% of his voters were white.  As I sat and cried and listened attentively to him speak, holding my chest, there was a white middle-aged woman on tv in Chicago at Grant Park, doing the same thing...making the same face...feeling the same emotion. This, Black people, is beyond us. We have yearned for a black leader for so long.  The role we could not have fathomed, the timing we did not expect, and the need is ever so much; the Black person's accomplishment that we are so overwhelmingly proud of is simply a by-product of something greater.

Proudly, I am a social worker. I work extra hard to ensure that the most vulnerable of persons get what they need, that they are treated fairly, and that they have a voice.  I didn't choose this work; it chose me.  Who wants to work hard and get paid the least? It is who I was created to be, whether I like or not. I can't ignore it (I've tried), and I wouldn't be satisfied or at peace with myself if I didn't follow my intrinsic concern for other people.

I have to assume that, likewise, Barack Obama didn't choose to be the first Black President of the United States; it, too,chose him.  Martin didn't choose; neither did Malcolm (or at least I don't believe so).  There is no way a man in his sane mind would choose the angst, sleepless nights, pressure and weight of the roles these men have played and shall play.  It was simply meant to be.

For the FIRST time...a time I never thought I'd actually experience...I voted for the person I believed in. The person I actually wanted..not the lesser of two evils. I wanted him because it is genuinely apparent that he believes in people. He ran a GRASSROOTS campaign, a fundamental philosophy of the social work profession, and THE reason why he won--he's a real person...not a politician, not a lawyer, but an everyday person.

So what exactly is all this rambling about?   President-Elect Obama didn't win this election on his own, and he damn sure can't deliver on all his promises by himself.  He will need each of us to commit ourselves to making this experience what we want and need it to be.  That takes all of us asking ourselves, "What can I do?"   I don't recommend everyone become social workers, but there are little, everyday things, we each can do, that puts a drop in the bucket towards change.  Don't be the person  who says, "President Obama didn't do anything for me!" He ran a community campaign with community solutions...it'll take a community to get it all done.

The question of "What can you do?" is personal and private.  However, I invite anyone to share what they already do or want to do. What is your commitment?  It may help others make a commitment to "our" President, to their community and to themselves. 

I am so inspired by President Obama. I am moved to tears by what I never thought I'd see in my lifetime.  I am grateful and thankful to the Creator for allowing me to be a part of this experience, and I release positive energy to President Obama and his family for their safety and well-being. 

Thank you for being attentive to my thoughts.  Please feel free to share yours. Peace.

"I'm asking you to believe. Not just in my ability to bring about real change in Washington....I'm asking you to believe in yours."    --Barack Obama

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QRvVzaQ6i8A

Only Marvin can remix the National Anthem and white people clap to it....

First let me say--It is sad that DJ K-Swift, a popular Baltimore DJ, drowned at her home yesterday.  My condolences to her family, co-workers, and close friends.  I have seen all the emails, RIP wishes, and tributes that I can possible stand, however.  I'm not being insensitive, but I'm troubled by the outpour. Why is it that a DJ gets this great of an outpour, but we give cursory glances to the 13-, 14-, and such, year olds that die in the street everyday?  When I hear those news stories (which get a 1 minute spot on the news), my chest hurts.  She has had 3 stories a day on every channel for 2 days. When I heard about K-Swift, I said, "damn, that's sad." And life went on.  The truth of the matter is we live and, inevitably, we die.  And if you believe that things happen as they are supposed to, then it was her time to go.  She lived a fabulous 29 years, unlike many of the young black people that get shot in the street everyday.  I've dealt with the death of persons close to me, and while I miss them terribly, I accept that it was their time.  The key statement is "close". Most of the people that are devastated by this tragedy didn't know K-Swift personally.  All they knew of her was that she was the "Club Queen".  So is music the new cotton?  We have digested racism so much that we don't grieve our black babies, but we fall all out in the street for a radio personality?  We should really check our priorities.   Peace.

New Game

Heres how it goes:

Type your name in my blog comments.
Once you do that, this is what I'll do for you...

1. I'll respond with something random about you.
2. I'll tell you which song or movie you remind me of.
3. I'll pick a flavor of jello (pudding...that jiggly shit is nasty) to wrestle you in.
4. I'll say something that only makes sense to you and me.
(if possible. if not, I'll say something that only makes sense to me.)
5. I'll tell you my first memory of you.
6. I'll tell you what animal you remind me of.
7. I'll ask you something I've always wondered about you.
8. If you play, you MUST post this on your blog. You MUST.