Condiments

Man dese pickney nowadays, mine included like alot a ketchup.

I mean if I did feeling a ways I wud think that my cooking aint up to scratch and the chile need ketchup to mask the taste a my cooking but I realize it aint just my food he duz put ketchup on. And is not just he one but nuff a dese other lil children I see that duz be putting ketchup on everything their parents give them to eat.

positive never negative

Just a quick one I wanted to get out there.

I dont know if its a Toronto thing or just new age styles but I've noticed that kids are no longer allowed to be criticized. I kind of knew this before but its was reinforced when I got my son's report card yesterday. I mean I'm not saying he's a little devil or anything even close but reading the gobblydegook on his report page it would appear he had nothing to improve on and was if not perfect probably mere percentage points off.....which lemma tell ya he is so not!

Even last year in the parent teachers meetings I got the impression that the teachers werent allowed to say anything about your kid that was negative. Believe me I aint going to get upset with you if you tell me the chile duz talk tummuch in class or playing the tail every once in a while.

Complete opposite to where and when I grew up. If ya was behaving bad, they let you know and you got punished. We used negative reinforcement. Dont do that crap again or liks in ya tail or no tv or write lines and of course mothers were famous for the ever useful "dont let me got to tell your father" line which was the ultimate defense and almost sure to get even the most hardears child to rethink what he was doing.

But back to the teachers and the daycares and the like in Toronto. It would be nice if you clued us in on where our kids were failing so we could know (although most of us do have at least an inkling bout some of it) rather than the new age speak that just makes our kids sound like perfect angels.

Chocolate wonder

He's five now and thinks he knows everything. Yea right kid!

Two of his friends were over today, I was half asleep and caught the tail end of this conversation. Not sure where it started but I zoned back in sometime about one of them talking about curly hair. Clearly it had some racial implications even if they were oblivious. One friend said "and you're chocolate" to which my son replied "Chocolate! I'm not chocolate!" His voice charged with some sort of disdain.

The other chile says "Yes you are chocolate and I'm caramel! (latter we decided he was closer to butterscotch but that's another story)

My son always one for the final word goes "No I'm not chocolate, I'm Kit Kat!"

And I just started laughing.

gun play?

So some of you may know that I have a 4 year old at home. Dont worry I wont get all cute and cuddly (not that I know how to) regaling you with kid do the funniest things stories just yet. Not really in my character actually.

But sometime after Jdid Jr was born I signed up for this email update from this site which gives you info on certain milestones, expected behaviors at what ages etc. They send weekly updates and bad parent that I am, I maybe read like one in four since I not really sure what I can do or whether I'd really be pushing him to make all the milestones if he's not there already cause in my opinion children all develop at different rates. Still the emails are interesting sometimes especially when they do correspond to some new quirk that Jr has developed in his personality.

Anyways this week they sent me an email which I scanned about four year old behavior. The last paragraph read

"And now that your child is becoming ever more social, it's important to check in with the parents of his playdates to make sure that any guns they have at their home are locked up at all times. You may choose not to let him play at houses where weapons are stored, even if they are in a safe. And, of course, if your family has guns, you'll want to be equally sure that they're always locked away."

Boy all I could do was laugh. I know one of you will say is a sign of the times but I'm here waiting to see if next week's update says something like and its important to make sure that the parents of his playdates dont smoke crack. If they do freebase you might choose not to let him go over to their crack house.

lawd a mercy!

Schools in

A lovely back to school morning it was. Subway slower than usual with the prerequisite delays for the new school year etc etc.

Recently the news had a story about the desire to kill the kilt ie the plaid skirts that catholic school girls wear due to immodesty. They say the skirts getting too short. Well I really didn't pay much attention to either the skirts or the story but then on my bus ride to work this morning one young school girl got in wearing a ridiculously short skirt. I mean if the skirt had been any shorter we would be calling it a belt, if the skirt was any sorter it would be a kirt, if the skirt was any shorter well I got a few more metaphors but I going leave them off this blog for now so come up with your own.

And it didn't help that she seemed to want to show off her skirt or lack thereof either. She stood up massaging the bus pole (training for her future career I'm guessing) while numerous seats were available and she kept leaning over to talk to a friend who was sitting. I guess maybe there was some young boy who was titillated by all this but really for such a young girl, skirt was way too short. How parents duz let dese children leff home looking so though?

No wonder the school boards want to ban the kilt.

Must be mad

A 61-year-old man has been charged with child cruelty after allegedly slapping a toddler he did not know when she would not stop crying.
Police claim Roger Stephens slapped the two-year-old girl four times, leaving her face red, after warning her mother to keep her quiet in a Wal-Mart in Atlanta, Georgia.
'See, I told you I would shut her up,' he said to the mother after the attack, according to a police report.

Read the rest here.

Slap my chile!! My CHILE! Who!! Naa star cant happen.

Now looka I'm all for a village raising children and I know back in the days if a child did doing foolishness a neighbour might cut he tail and send he home to get he tail tarnish again by the parents but a complete stranger stepping to a child and hitting it in Walmart? Totally outrageous.

It says here after the incident they call security for him. Call security for who? Look if he did hit my child they wun be no calling of security it would be ambulance or undertaker they calling cause I woulda wash he way in some propa blows.

Imagine the poor chile crying, a lil two year old of all things, a toddler, and he a big hardback old man slap the chile 4 times. Wha he could only want two bullpisle lashes in he back? Whapax!

Look I see many children crying in public places for apparently no reason all the time. I admit that it can be annoying at times but hey its for the parents to deal with plus at most times there are totally legitimate reasons for the tears anyways especially if the child is that young and doesnt have the means to express itself verbally. All you can do is accept that.

I do see folks on the subway who get mighty upset when a child is crying though, like the chile interrupting their sleep or they dont feel the chile has as much right to be on the train as they do. Get over it people! Accept it, make the best of it, smile at the chile, move on.

But I feel this man coulda only have mental problems or be drunk or on drugs cause how he gine haul off and slap up somebody chile dat he aint kno so doah? Wha in this day an age that is a real risk. Suppose the mudda did haul out a gun or a knife and juck he through or pick up some a Walmart cutback specials and gi he a cutass. Wha dat wud be he own fault. Poppit!

kate - jon + 8

I did never even hear bout these Jon & Kate people til they interview them about Octo-mom a few months back and now they all over the news cause Jon and Kate divorcing or separating or something so.

But let me tell you something. I never watch the show but is how this get a reality show when the people cant even throw one setta liks in the children? You could imagine you or mi mudda raising 8 a we and nuh liks sharing? Wha dat would to quote the singer man be "far from reality'.

And apparently Kate finally lash one a few weeks back an the tabloids was all over she. One lil lash and dem vex. So so far from my reality cause I know if you and mi mudda had 8 children liks would share from mornin til night and not nuh lil liks too but good ol west indian pick up whatever implement nearest to ya an throw with unerring accuracy at the child who mekkin ya miserable type liks.

But anyways. I wanted to say a few things bout the show and remember I aint watch um but I just find it strange that you wud put your children all over the tv screen from so early. Is like dem pimp out the poor children.

The question though is wha gine happen to the children now. Is it better for them to be raised by a single parent or in an unhappy home? I'd go with the former.

And whichpart Jon gine find Chile support fa 8 pickney! lawd ave mercy boy!

naming Tribunal

Dear Mr President Elect soon to be Mr President Obama sir,

Now I know that you are a busy man getting ready for your inauguration where cold, cold Washington going be packed down with too many people peeping for a glimpse of you cause everybody and their momma heading down there like is Freaknik or something so. And I know you got a lot on your plate; the situation in Gaza, the economy, Bin Laden, trying to stop Hillary from overthrowing ya, getting that College Football ranking system sort out, hiding and checking the scores on your crackberry and other important issues of state and such but I would be remiss if I did not bring to your attention another important issue that has flown under the radar for too long.

It is in regards to parents naming their children all sorts of foolishness. It was bad enough with all these la and shas and de and apostrophes and commas that people was putting in the children names but it came to a head this week when Lisa Bonet gave her child some name like rain storm beating on my window sill or something so and these people name their child after Hitler. lawd havest mercy!

This thing has gone too far Mr President. Clear off the desk Gaza can wait this issue demands your full immediate attention. It is time for decisive action at the highest level. Mek this thing a priority nuh man! I request senate hearings and committee briefings. Ya cud even name a secretary of child naming. I wud put my name in the running but I dont think I would pass the intensive vetting process cause I got a few people wid foolish names in my extended family too.

Dat dont mean that I aint against foolish names though. For a long time now I have been lobbying and advocating for baby naming classes to be made available pre-birth along with all those other classes on post-natal care that parents have access to. In fact my friend Bajansistren suggest that enough is enough and we need to have a baby naming tribunal. I totally agree with that idea.

You could even do it in an American Idol format. Three or four judges (again I would volunteer for that Simon role but that grueling vetting process might upset my applecart) and the parents come out with the name and it get voted on. If it pass you get a ticket that you can give to the authorities when you putting the name on the birth certificate saying it pass and you can proceed, if it fail badly back to the drawing board for you, if it almost there gi dem a lil suggestion and mek them come back the next day.

So Mr President looka Bush sit down and let this thing go on too long. It aint getting no better if anything it reaching epidemic proportions. Plus you know now you are a celebrity you going soon be inundated with children name D'Barack and Shabama and LaBama and such. Time to nip that in the bud. Its time for your government to come in and get the ball rolling quickly to show that you wont tolerate this nonsense. Mek a move man, mek a move.

Oh and good luck with the inauguration feting.

Jdid

Slow Down

After it happened for the umpteenth time this morning I figured I'd write about it.

Recently I wrote about parents who smoke while pushing infant strollers and those who push their strollers out into traffic assuming that everyone around them will stop. Well I've got another type of parent to complain about today: the parents driving their kids to daycare.

There is a daycare in my neighbourhood and every morning when I walk out to the bus I have to be doubly careful while crossing any streets (even or especially at traffic signals) because of the folk coming into the neighbourhood to drop off their kids who blatantly disobey the traffic rules.

Now you would assume parents driving their precious cargo to daycare would be careful conscientious drivers right? Nope! Many of them are full on road hogs or Nascar racers only concerned with making their pit stop as short as possible. I feel like if it was possible for them to drive by and somehow shoot the chile out the back window into a hammock at the daycare some of them would.

They will make their right turns at the crosswalk just as you are about to step into the street disobeying the stop signs and the fact that they don't have the right of way there. And don't ask how I know is parents doing the daycare thing that are the culprits cause I know the two or three times I almost get lik down at the traffic lights this year the culprits had a car seat in the back and turned into the the daycare cul-de-sac afterwards. Its terrible! And then another issue is them parking all willy nilly again ignoring rules in an effort to hustle their offspring into the daycare again with no disregard for other road and sidewalk users. Like during winter when the snow is piled up all along the roadway and they park at the only stop in the mountain of snow where a pedestrian can actually safely cross the street without walking through snow up to his kneecaps and they block your path with their vehicle as they hustle about their business. What you think the rest of us have time to wait on you because your task is that much more important than ours? Obey the rules man! Chupse!

But is the ones who drive through stop signs that annoy me the most cause that's illegal. Just cause you see another car ain't coming don't mean you can ignore stop or replace it with slow down because you haven't seen us on the sidewalk about to step out.

I think of giving them a few choice words too but I trying to respect the poor infants in the back seat so all I can do is silently mutter but one a dese days boy , one of these days.......

cigarettes & strollers

I think I've mentioned this before but just in case.

I've always wondered about women (most of the time its mothers i see doing it) out for a walk with babies who are casually smoking while pushing the stroller. It just seems kind of bizarre for lack of a better word.

I mean I aint grudge you your smoke but really does the child have to be that close to your second hand smoke? It just seems counter intuitive to taking the baby out for some fresh air.

And another thing I noticed with strollers is how some parents push them out into traffic way ahead of themselves at traffic lights like stop I'm coming through with a baby. Ok that's all fine and dandy but umm suppose the stroller get hit by a car. I mean its not like the stroller doesn't have an infant in it. Shouldn't you be more careful with how you stick them out into traffic with your assumption that everyone will stop simply because its a stroller. What if they cant stop? aren't you putting that kid in more danger than it needs to be and shouldn't the watchword with a child be caution.

Generation Lost

Ever so often lately I'm forced to put on what appears to be my old fogie hat and grumble about the young people of this generation all the while shaking my fist and walking cane at those gosh darned whippersnappers and repeating the mantra things weren't like that in my day.

Today is again one such day.

The thing is, its not like I don't expect today's youth to be different from the ones of my age. And its not that I think the ones of my age were without fault, saints if you wish, or weren't given to a certain degree of lawlessness and causing general mayhem. Its just that some of the things today's youth engage in, well just leave me rather speechless.

Yes I know we usually only get the bad news and society's changed and kids are growing up faster these days and all that but still doesn't it seem like some and I hesitate to generalize here, doesn't it seem like some of today's kids are out of control in a way that we could have never imagined while growing up?

For example just this February in Toronto a 16 year old was arrested for attempting to rob a bank. Ok so when you're 16 I know you can get into a lot of mischief but robbing a bank at that age? Damn. At 16, I would never have even considered taking people's money at a bank. I was probably afraid to even go into a bank and legitimately fill out a withdrawal slip and take out my own money for fear that my parents would beat the hell out of me for withdrawing and wasting my own savings.

Whoa!

Then last week in Georgia there was the case of the group of 8-10 year olds who plotted to attack their teacher because the teacher had scolded them in class. They brought to school a knife, duct tape, a paper weight, to knock the teacher unconscious of course, and handcuffs. 8 year olds. 8 year olds are you kidding me? And although the so-called experts are now trying to play this off like even though these kids had the equipment they wouldn't have done anything if I'm that teacher I'm on my guard and I'm oh just a bit afraid of these kids right now.

Of course I'm thinking to myself at 8 to 10 I couldn't have dreamt of plotting against my teacher no matter how much I felt that my teacher was unfairing me. My teacher was this rather large lady with arms the size of picnic hams who had no fear of using and lots of practice at wielding the strap or a bamboo on our behind for the slightest infraction. Plot against my teacher? Nope. I might get vex and secretly rant about how unfair live was when big people was unfairing you but plot umm nope. Wouldn't think of it. Man if I even dreamt about plotting against my teacher I would have apologized just in case she was a mind reader and decided to be proactive in sharing out liks.

I try not to blame the media, and video games and music and movies and the whole ilk but its hard to not get caught up in that whole blaming game and I do sense that although they may not be the root cause they should share some of the blame too.

My man says its the parenting. The parents of our generation are slack. Kids have a bigger sense of entitlement. Parents don't want to or don't know how to say no to children or not give them every latest gadget, toy or clothing accessory for fear that they will be left behind in our consumer mad society.

The h'experts say dont discipline the children dem, it will stunt their creativity and their growth. Be all friend friend wid dem and laugh when they get out of hand or say things to older people that clearly out of order. Relax nuh man is just children being children. Nuh bother ya head wid de lil children chat and behavior they will still turn out right. Discipline is over-rated anyways. In fact if ya ease off dem they might be the next Einstein or Michaelangelo or one of those super creative uber-geniuses.

Well alrighty then. If the h'experts say so a so a it go.

But then I see another story like this one today. Bunch of teenage girls beat the living daylights out of another teenage girl just because they wanted to make a video to put on myspace and youtube? Lawd come fa ya world!

I mean fights amongst teenagers are nothing new. I mean as far back as you can think there have been fights amongst teenagers some which made sense a lot which really didn't in the grand scheme of things. I mean Cain was probably body slamming Abel back in the day and I can see Esau picking on Jacob as a yout and giving him two slap cross him head for being pops favorite.

As for my generation we fought over girls, guys, property, ignorant stuff, out of pride, respect, and sometimes just to gain a rep but fighting just to make a video for the Internet? I'm sorry but to me that takes things to a new low.

The 16 year old girl who was beaten suffered a concussion and eye injuries amongst other things. All in all though looking at the video I've seen more brutal beatings and I've seen fights of passion, some caused by lost anger and fights for just plain ol silly things (which sort of made sense to those involved at the time) but still something about planning to beat someone just to have an Internet video seems a bit disturbing and callous.

Plus its girls who for the most part are involved (two guys played lookout apparently) and maybe its naive and partially chauvinistic of me although I do know that teenage girls can be pretty cruel, but I really didn't think girls would do something as pointless as this.

All I can say and I probably echo many of former generations is man I just don't get today's younger generation.

I'm feeling old.

Follow up

(1) Ok so now we know what OBAY is all about.

Its actually an ad for the Ontario Colleges. Great promotion I think but as my bredren say not as cool as new Diamond Shreddies lol.

Oh and for anyone who is disappointed by this revelation that Obay isn't real don't despair Liks is definitely real.











Actually courtesy of my boy poeza we have added a new product to the Liks line. We call it "THE LOOK". It can take the place of Liks if you don't have the time for Liks or ya out in public and you dont want anyone to see you using Liks. The Look can be used as a stand alone product or as a precursor to Liks. Unlike Liks we dont offer a guarantee on the Look though.


(2) A 16 year old bank robber was arrested here yesterday. 16 years old?? blouse n skirt! As another friend of mine was saying this morning, when we were 16 the worse we were doing was stealing Pepsi bottles for a 25 cent refund at the school cafeteria not trying to take $150Gs from a bank while armed. Damn

(3) I found this rather ironic. The 21 year old son of the publisher of Today's Parent was sentenced to 4 1/2 years in jail for drug dealing and weapons possession. If ya not familiar with Today's Parent its a magazine for parents giving them suggestions and tips on raising their kids.

Of course give him two pounds of blow and a glock 19 isn't one of the suggestions they give and I don't think they've published a story on "the 10 ways to increase the efficiency of cooking your crack"and hopefully likely never will yet I just saw this story and had a "but wait you mean she giving people advice on how to raise dem children an she chile is a criminal getting lock up?" moment. Sorry it just doesn't help the credibility for me. Others I know disagree with me cause they say she is only the publisher but I say if ya telling people how to raise their children and yours turn out this way I would really got to question the advice ya duz give.

(4) Quick celebrity post from the you got to be a idiot file. I wasn't really following this whole Charlie Sheen, Denise Richards storyline but apparently they were in court again because she wants their two kids to be on a reality show and he says no way. I didn't really follow all of it but I thought well maybe Charlie was onto something. Then I was reading a brief article on the subway the other day and realize that Denise Richards' argument is that the children said they want to be in the reality show and she wants to do what they want. Court sided with her too and she won.

Is only then I realize that these clearly rational decision making children are ages 2 and 3. What kinda eediat ting dat? You going to let your 2 and 3 year old decide that they want to be in a reality show? What madness is that?

Lawless

So this morning I on the bus. The service improvements like they actually happening cause the bus was half full. Anyway a few stops down the road this lady and her child get on the bus. Now cant say for sure how old the child is. I'm thinking 4 is the max although he was barely bigger than my two year old which is what brought him to my attention.

Actually to be honest I wasn't paying attention when they got on. I was reading and then I see this lil' chile in a bright jacket head straight for the back of the bus, unaccompanied, and climb the two steps into the back of the bus and went and sit down in the seat right at the back, the tall one where even my legs duz dangle sometimes.

So this catch my interest so I look up waiting to see a parent come bounding up the steps after him.. I'm watching this child for a few minutes and realize no body aint come to sit down with the chile at all. So I searching the bus cause I figured oh maybe the parent get caught up at the front looking for bus tickets or change or something. Umm nope. Looked up and saw the mother sitting down well and comfortable in the front seat of the bus paying absolutely no attention to the chile.

So we have chile under 4 all the way at the back of the bus legs dangling sitting down. And I know he under 4 maybe even under 3 cause he was walking in that unsteady rocking sort of way that toddlers walk especially when they are in their winter boots. And ya have mother sitting down at the front of the bus not a care in the world.

Aright well it aint like this particular bus full of the lawless school children as is the usual this time of morning so it wasn't so bad but to me I'm like why would I let my toddler go sit down all the way at the back of the bus without me. I don't care how independent the chile is or supposed to be, I figured at any moment she would come and drag he tail back to the front of the bus, call him and tell him to come sit down with her or at least come down in the back and sit with the chile.

No whole bus trip chile sit down by himself in the back, mother in the front until the mother was ready to get off and she come an take him with her.

I aint know but to me that is juss lawlessness on her part. Is not like we in a car or something, you in the bus. Public transit! I aint saying the people on the bus worse than the people in cars but you dont know the people in the bus. They are strangers. Place could be full of all sort of kidnappers, chile molesters, criminals. You dont know so you should keep ya chile close at hand.

And it aint to say the mother looked like one of these silly young wild girls dat aint know nuttin. She was dressed decent an she look like she in her thirties so ya cant use the he young and don't know excuse.

Boy these Canadian people duz boggle my mind sometimes.

Halloween

Boy big people duz unfair little children. I remember as a child being always told things like "why you in such a rush to grow up for?" and "school days is the sweetest days ya know" or "the youth is wasted on the youth". Rubbish all rubbish, well maybe not that last one. It was all a concerted effort to brainwash you as a child into thinking it could get no better.

All rubbish!

Y a know why it is rubbish? Is rubbish cause when you are a child ya duz get unfair, taken advantage of. That thought came into my head today when the misses drape the chile in a bright orange pumpkin outfit to go off to daycare. Cuhdear! Poor chile ain't had no say in it cause he mudda think he look cute.

And then it all came flooding back to me. The hundreds of times that my parents unfaired me as a chile making me wear all sorts of so-called cute outfits which had me infinitely embarrassed and probably added to all the issues that I now have as an adult.

Two particular items of clothing stand out in my memory. The first is a pair of shoes. My brother over in the states sent me these shoes; brown suede with these translucent, almost see-through, honey brown plastic soles look like somebody stick a piece of amber onto the bottom of the shoe. What can I say it was the late 70s and maybe these things were in style somewhere or maybe he got them from 'pimps r us' or something but I really really disliked these shoes. My mom on the other hand thought they were just 'darling' and wanted me to wear them at every turn.

Now back then you know as a growing child ya didn't have no big set a shoes so for school I had a main set of typical black leather shoes that I would wear to the bone until it was time to get a new pair. If something happened to those shoes they would get sent to the shoemaker who would hammer a few nails in the heel or repair the sole. If you couldn't get the shoes fixed then the back up shoes were the same brown suede pair I mention originally cause school in Barbados was like a posh club up here in Toronto; no runners. Dare you wear that pair of Chucks or Kangaroos (raise your hand if you old enough to remember Kangaroos) to school. They would send you back home.

So sadly when my black leather shoes were in need of repair or replacement I would be forced to wear these pimp of the year shoes to school. Now to be honest looking back the shoes weren't that bad. In fact now I'm pretty sure they weren't that noticeable but back then when I was forced to wear them it felt as if someone was pointing a spotlight at my feet and everyone was looking and secretly snickering behind my back. These shoes had me so self conscious. Days when I wore them were the slowest days to ever pass by, it was as if time was on lunch break holding a two hour lime in front a Cave Shepperd and just wasn't feeling to work those days.

It would even affect my actions. I would go out of my way to try and disappear on those days. It was one of those get me out of here, Scottie one to beam up type day. I hated these shoes.

Man, the day that those things no longer fit my feet was one of the happiest days of my life.

Anyway I wont even mention the other piece of clothing that I hated. All I will say is this whole childhood is the best time of life thing should come with some fine-print about how parents duz tek advantage of ya and ya duz be living under a tyrannical regime.

Still what can ya do? I am a parent now so I guess I might as well get mine back and get in on the unfairing my children part. Hmmm I wonder where I can find a pair of pimp of the year shoes for this yout.

Crazy Kid

Happy Fathers Day

Overheard at Barbados on the Water yesterday.

"I would really like to know who he owner is doah. Chupse! Running up and down the place so. This is the third time he almost lik me down. He want sum good liks!"

Scary

I wake up grateful that I'm breathin first
Cause dudes'll kill you, they don't need a reason first!
These ***** still hit em
They know the hood is too poor to hire CSI, and Gil Grissom

Ol School Mouse - Joe Budden

Not been in the blogging mood lately to be honest. Life's happening and I'm not really in a blogging zone.

But yesterday a 15 year old was gunned down in the halls of his high school here in the T.Dot and folks keep asking me what my thoughts are. I usually wait until all the info is in to process whats going on but this time I'll just shoot (bad but not intentional pun) without all the details so here goes.

On the one hand I wouldn't say that I was shocked that this occurred because black youth have been getting killed in Toronto at what to me is a ridiculous rate in the last couple of years but on the other hand I really feel for the loved ones of this lost one.

Cranky is surprised that no one saw anything or has come forward yet. Me not so much. The don't snitch, see n blind hear n deaf attitude is prevalent in Toronto as much as it is anywhere else in North America if not more much to my chagrin. Or maybe its just an atmosphere of fear where you keep quiet because there is threat of retaliation. I really cant say as I don't move in those circles. Whatever it is its a shame however you look at it.

From my perspective the story is also quite scary. Yes its really scary that this happened in a schools hallways and all but its also scary for another reason.

I used to worry about becoming a statistic a lot when I was a bit younger now I'm more afraid for my son. Yea he's still a baby but dammit if I ain't already fearful for his future. I mean its bad enough in my opinion raising black kids especially sons in this society where they are undermined, looked on as thugs, and told they aren't good enough at every turn but now you got to deal with the possibility that at some point they could just get randomly killed because well just because. And don't give me the its a ghetto thing argument cause that's not true because there are black families from all socio-economic strata in this community dealing with these issues and fears.

My wife thinks I'm joking but I'm giving the issue of packing up and leaving this place some serious thoughts. Yea shit like this could happen anywhere you go but that don't mean you need to accept it, stay put and court danger.

Sometimes the public assumes that these kids and young men must be guilty of some crime somehow and that's why they got killed. I tend to think that many of them are innocents or kids who just got caught up in the wrong place at the wrong time or who were killed for some trivial argument that really shouldn't have gone past a raised voice.

They are now saying that he may have been killed over some firework prank he pulled the previous day. You have got to be kidding me.

Its messed up out there man.

Anyway when Jane Creba got killed there was crazy outrage and demands for change. Lets see what happens here. Rest in peace Jordan.

Ipod Generation

I came across this story on yahoo the last week. Its about some schools banning kid from having Ipods in class and in exams. Now to be honest I don't even see why this is a story. My generation wasn't allowed to sit in class listening to Walkmans why does this generation get the opportunity to use Ipods in class?

Its just like the cell phone debate I blogged about a few months back. Why is allowing kids to have Ipods in class even an issue? Make them leave them in their bags and if you see any trace of Ipods or headphones in class confiscate the items or send the kid to the principal. How difficult is that? After a few lose their mp3 players they would get the drift.

But the part of the yahoo story that got me was this section "Kelsey Nelson, a 17-year-old senior at the school, said she used to listen to music after completing her tests — something she can no longer do since the ban."

What? You can listen to music after completing tests? Since when schools had that option? Look schools are for learning not listening to music unless its music class. If you got a test and you finish early ya best be looking over your answers not pulling out no iPod to listen to music.

Boy is things like this that make me feel so much older than I already am. Listen to music in class after test! Unheard of in my generation. Look when we finished a test and had time left over we would look at the answers a second time or if you didn't feel like you would sit and daydream, use ya imagination that you were somewhere else or doddle on the page. What happened to doodling, drawing that sort of stuff? You could imagine back in the day me sitting in a test situation, finish the test and pull out a LL Cool J or some Milli Vanilli (what! they were cool until we realized they weren't)? Why the teacher would think that my head bad or I gone mad and I would be heading straight for the principals office.

Too much slackness in schools these days man. I always have to reiterate this statement just because the technology is there doesn't mean it has to be in the classroom or that kids have to stay connected 24-7 or cant be bored for a few minutes before the end of a test. Geez no wonder so much attention deficit disorder stuff affecting the children these days.

Who's your daddy?

What is this gal want gi me jacket!

Boy I not even sure how to deal with this article. I never see nuttin so yet!

Anyway for those who wont check the link apparently a couple, he's white, she's Hispanic who recently gave birth to a daughter is suing the fertility clinic they used because the baby's skin is too dark. Apparently it seems the clinic messed up on the insemination and used sperm from someone of another ethnicity and race. In other words it sound like somebody screw up and they end up with a black chile!

But I want to know why dem complaining? They ain't see black children is all the rage now? They ain't notice that Madonna and Angelina Jolie going all the way to far off places like Africa just to have the privilege of adopting black children? They shouldn't be complaining they should be celebrating! "Hallelujah, praise de lord, boy we hit the jackpot! We get a black chile and we didn't have to go all the way to Africa for her."

In all seriousness though I understand their complaint cause they went in thinking they were going to get a child that was biologically a combination of both partners but ended up with one that was not. That's got to be a bit disturbing especially for daddy.

But still what does this suit really prove and I really don't dig the statement that said "the Andrewses complain that they have been forced to raise a child who is "not even the same race, nationality, color ... as they are." How ya mean forced to raise the child? Why at least I would figure the mother couldn't be so stupid to be involved in this stupid talk cause she ain't carry the child in her stomach for 9 months? It ain't fully her child regardless of color? The child nationality, color and race ain't partially hers? She acting like them inject a alien life form in she or something. Chupse!

And then there was this gem from the parents "While we love Baby Jessica as our own, we are reminded of this terrible mistake each and every time we look at her; it is simply impossible to ignore,'' Wha cudear they nuff to give the chile an inferiority complex.

Look I know wunnah trying to get lil money from the clinic but use some nicer wording in the legal documents nuh man.

And how the hell do you explain this to the child when she's older? Yea ummm we were forced to take care of you. You were a little black unwanted child and we sued the clinic cause you actually were a mistake. We were aiming for a nice little blond or brunette and ended up with you a lil nappy headed negro child.

Yea is only me seeing years of therapy in that child's future?

Personally I feel the mother get it on with a brother and now pretending that the chile is the husband's. Wouldn't be the first or last time something so happen. But she could have told the man that the chile strike back to some old, old grand or great grand parent that was mixed with black or something instead a blaming the fertility clinic.

And as for the father he getting on like he is the first man that get a chile that ain't look like him? He never hear bout mommy's baby father's maybe. Wha my chile doan look me an I can't sue nuhbody. Chupse! :-)

Anyway all I can say is poor chile.

p:s new Cricket World Cup blog for those interested. Glorious Uncertainties. Check it out.