PSA: Trying Something New

Recent struggles with blogger have prompted me to pursue this wordpress blog that I've had for years now and never used. I'll be posting from there from the time-being.

Please join me here: http://and1grad.wordpress.com

Sorry for the inconvenience

The Great Wall Dilemma

John Wall showing you how to do his dance

SOMEHOW, the Washington Wizards were able to win the 2010 NBA Draft and garner the 1st pick. This is excellent for an organization that had possibly the MOST Schleprock of seasons as I've seen in a while. Their best player gets himself arrested on gun charges. They trade away their next 3 or 4 best players for table scraps. And then, a player that nobody (aside from Wizards fans) knew anything about emerges as their best player, proceeds to tank on the team, and is even made to cry by Kevin Garnett. Talk about a team in need of a backrub from the league. Well, DC, now you've got it. The question is, what do you DO with it?

The Year of the...Dragoon?

I'm on a horse too

This present year and a half, or so, of being completely single has led me to take stock in some things. Actually, I should say its led me to reevaluate former opinions...especially those involving our "fairer sex." Some of which favorable, others either not or probably just a wash altogether.

Who belongs in "The King's Court?"

In my opinion every great player has had another great player with him that helped him win a championship. The quintessential examples include Michael Jordan and Scottie Pippen, Magic Johnson and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, and Shaquille O'Neal and Kobe Bryant. Those are the probably the best duos of all time in the NBA they certainly sit in the pantheon.

ART Club: Jessica Simpson

Jessica Simpson has done a FANTASTIC job cultivating the "dumb blonde" routine into a long lasting career. She was always that OTHER blonde singer, not quite Britney, not quite Christina. But whereas she might not beat them musically...looks-wise, she OBLITERATES them.



And that '03 Maxim cover...smh. CERTIFIED GAME CHANGER. Jessica Simpson...a salute to you, Miss...from the ART Club.

The LeBron-A-Thon

With the recent, unceremonious, removal of Lebron James from this year's playoffs, the speculation of his next move has reached a fevered pitch. Its to the point where its either going to completely overshadow the rest of the playoffs, or at least be on par with it. A lot of punditry has been given, and consumed, in regards to just what "The King" should do this off-season. From what I've been hearing, there seems to be 4 teams that are really in the running: Chicago, Cleveland, New Jersey, and New York. There has been a little bit of discussion about Miami but it doesn’t seem like most consider that a serious option.

Quotables

"The idea that you compulsively filter yourself makes your lack of flavor kind of a flavor."

"You wanna be sheep, keep flocking. You wanna be wolves, form a pack."

-- Community

Btw, if you dont know, Community fuckin rocks it. Period. Get into this show.

Cleveland Cavs playbook!!

Found via twitter...

I dont want to be somehow helping the C's...but this kind of info could be DISASTROUS if put into the wrong hands.

Quotables

These are quotes from a tweeter (@PoohTTang) that does all his tweets in Pootie Tang speak. Its hilarious!

On Kobe pics that came out about 2 weeks ago:

I told Kobe, "My daimie, when the daimies and dillies see you aaaaall dilllified up in them trannie, sama sayEEE chow." #NiceHat

During Lebron's Game 5 debacle vs Celtics:

How you MVP and can't dane them tangies...Game Five, too. SMH. Lebron, 12 tine-tanies till 'NA NEY NO'. #ShowSomeHeart

ART Club: Scarlett Johansson

Scarlett Johansson is what I like to consider a "game changer." Movies or whatever that you really werent interested in seeing, become just that much more watchable when you get to look at this bombshell. I had no idea she's gonna be in Iron Man 2 and it now becomes a movie I could go see.

She's also one that if you were previously not into blondes, you might reconsider that stance. SMH..mmmpphh. CERTIFIED game changer. Any opportunity to look at Scarlett Johansson is NOT a waste of money as far as I'm concerned.

Entered into the ART Club, for posterity...Scarlett Johansson. Yes lawd!

What Women Want -- Mr. Rorschach

Recently, I've found myself engaged in the timeless argument of what women want in a man. Or at least...what they SAY they want. I find these to often be 2, sometimes COMPLETELY, different things.

"Mr. Rorschach"

If you delve into the women's playbook of things they say they want in a man, THE go-to argument that women will give you is that their man of choice does NOT have to be handsome...at all. In fact, he doesnt have to look like much of anything. I've decided to name him, Mr. Rorschach. Mr. Rorschach, the whatever faced dude.

Quotables

"He uses statistics as a drunken man uses lamp-posts...for support rather than illumination." -- twitter source

Quotables

"Odom went after that last rebound like it was related to 2 better looking rebounds." -- twitter

What ever happened to "moderation?"

I like the irony of this

Have you noticed that you almost arent really allowed to be "moderate" anymore? Everything seems to be either "All In" or "GET OUT!" You cant just fall in between anymore. Why is that? When exactly did that change? Was it ever that way? Probably not but...thats where I live. Gray area. There's too many variables in life for EVERYTHING to be so black & white. Make no mistake, there are a good number of times when things just come down to the result and the qualifiers just dont matter.

Something I ranted on re: Immigration

I had to rant on a blog, earlier today, about the Arizona Immigration Law. I RARELY rant, let alone on other people's blogs, but this is one of those things that bothers me to my very core. A person commented that seemingly regular American citizen comment about how undocumented residents should just go ahead and become a citizen. That shit makes my brain explode. Here's my comment in response: 

Quotables: Four Brothers

"Out-of-town shooters. That's what I said. I remember hearing myself saying, "Out-of-town shooters." You know what? You don't pay a ho to fuck you. You pay her to leave. What you pay out-of-town shooters to do? You pay them to get the hell back out of town. That's why I asked for out-of-town shooters. What'd I get? In-town shooters. Someone decided to hire in-town shooters. You know what else I got for my money? In-town police. In-town trouble. Who's got to get in the ring with me on this?" -- Victor Sweet

In The Spotlight

 With the exception of the obligatory attention paid to holidays and civil rights issues and/or celebrations, minorities are largely ignored in the media. Especially with respect to social issues. Frankly, minorities have to work OT to get issues that only affect their non-white ethnicity to get any REAL publicity. This vast discrepancy encompasses all facets of society and is recognized by many but acknowledged by few. It is common knowledge.

What Women Want -- "Nice Guys"

Recently, I've found myself engaged in the timeless argument of what women want in a man. Or at least...what they SAY they want. I find these to often be 2, sometimes COMPLETELY, different things.

"Nice Guys."

Ahhh...the "nice guy." Most women will claim the nice guy until their dying breath. "All I want is a nice guy" blah blah blah. Ladies and gentlemen, this...is...GAH...BIJE. Pure and simple. Fact of the matter is, NICE is fool's gold. This, of course, is assuming you actually DO at some point plan to have sex with another person. If not, have at this "nice" shit. But if you do, DEFTLY avoid being described by the opposite sex as "nice." Nice is the adjective you use to describe the bland or boring. Whenever someone can be described in a more meaningful way, they arent described as "nice." This doesnt mean that they are not nice, it just means there's a better, more interesting, way of describing them.

So Long

Not to be short

or really long

But maybe short enough

to pass along

But long enough

to be a short film

Or a song

So sing along

These random thoughts

So long but small

With handles 

So I carry on

This trip of life 

They say is short

But hold on for the week

I'm strong

Or stand up for the weak

I'm strong

Though weak enough to string along

But strong enough to cut it short

Sometimes the short is really long

ART Club: Adriana Lima

*GASP*


*COUGH*

Have you... *Struggles to catch breath* Do you...do you know of THIS lady tho? GOODNESS!!

Adriana Lima...which I believe is Portuguese for "Yes. Lawd." You'll recognize her as one of Victoria's Secret's main models. She may also be branching out into acting. The sky's probably the limit when you look like this. This pic robs me of words sfra cebabaaa bbrrrrrblata tatatata tahhh.

*Fred Astaire voice* "Heaven...I'm in heaven...."

Quotables: Best Comic Ever

This is hilarious: http://www.dump.com/2009/07/21/best-comic-ever/

ART Club: Nicole Scherzinger

SMH...LAAAAWWWWDDDDDD...

Nicole Scherzinger is the leader of the Pussycat Dolls...which started as a burlesque show. Going from that tours kinda reminds me of Sister Act but whatever. This girl...smokin. Plain and simple. Wikipedia says she's on Dancing With The Stars. I never watch that so I have no idea.

All I know is...she's a definite, and WELCOME, new addition to the ART Club.




Oh and you CANT hate this...whoooooo *wipes brow*


"You know thats genuine leather right there..."

What Women Want -- Strong Men

Recently, I've found myself engaged in the timeless argument of what women want in a man. Or at least...what they SAY they want. I find these to often be two, sometimes COMPLETELY, different things.

"Strong Men."

One discussion I got in was about women saying they prefer a strong man. The man that will put em in check when they're being ridiculous. Um...sure. As someone who considers himself a decently qualified representative of the male gender, I can tell you that, to a man, we think women are being ridiculous A LOT of the time. If we attempted to check you every time, we would ALL be single. But lets attempt to break this down.

Flambé

Twitter provides for so much entertaining discourse that I rarely would single anything out but, THIS girl, KILLS me constantly and is definitely a recommended follow. If you got the heart for it. 

Random Thoughts

Why do people ask "where they do that at?"  Obviously, wherever you are, is apparently where they do that at.

Foresight is a helluva thing. Get with that. #TeamForesight

I dropped the phrase "I cant call it" today. Old slang >> New slang

   Ex:  New slang: "Those jeans are tight." ------> Skinny jeans. Coincidence? I bid thee nay.

Why is it almost impossible to find discounted tickets on coast to coast travel? Guess who doesnt need a discounted ticket? The guy going from Chicago to Pittsburgh. You know who does? The dope going from CA to NY. Bastids.

Twitter Fiend

I'm actually becoming concerned about the amount of time I spend on twitter. At what point is twitter use considered unhealthy? Feel like I need a little container with a recommended dosage or something. Arent all of those third party apps supposed to be regulating this addiction? Seems like even when I set it to only check for tweets every once in a while, I'm sitting there staring at the screen...waiting for it to turn like I'm at a traffic light. I'll even go back and read older tweets that I missed while I was otherwise preoccupied (note: living).

The Greatest MCs: Part 1

Within the last week, on twitter, I've read, and at times participated in, several hip hop debates regarding the "Top 5 MCs of all time." As someone who has tried to keep up with hip hop, to some degree, since the late 80s, I LOVE these debates. I NEVER get tired of hearing who people like and why. Sometimes, I even enjoy the impending battle over MCs that HAS to take place whenever such a list is even presented. I mean...you HAVE to defend your choices, right?

One of the myriad issues that arise when trying to come up with this list is that there is no real set criteria. Most of us are just going on who our favorite MCs were/are and, often, IMO, where they come from. Make no mistake, where the artist comes from has a direct effect on their rap style, BUT I believe certain rappers are given MORE credit than they deserve simply because they're from/in New York, the birthplace of the art. Personally, I give NO credit for that. You're from New York? Big deal. I'm about impact on the genre, lyrical content, subject matter, catalog, beats (including your ability to rhyme on that beat), individual style, and longevity. There may be a factor I'm missing but those are what come to mind. I should say that these are not equally weighted factors...but they do all matter.

Q & A: My "No Crossover" Recap

On Tuesday, ESPN continued their 30 for 30 series with an episode, called "No Crossover," which detailed the court trial Allen Iverson went through, as a minor, and its profound effect on on him and the impacted communities in Virginia. I'm not as big on AI as most folk so I had fully intended to skip this episode as it was simply advertised, by ESPN, as just an AI story on the trial. I would've missed out. There was so much more to this episode that I feel like ESPN did its audience a disservice by NOT giving us a better grasp on all that this episode entailed. The issues surrounding AI's case, and community, might have been common knowledge on the east coast, but I dont know anyone on the west, where I'm from *throws up W*, that knew ANY of what went on in that community. I honestly had never even HEARD of AI until he was at Georgetown.

The Oscar Race

I read an article, on Facebook, today that pissed me off so much that I HAD to do another blog this soon. It centers around the Academy Awards, using the recent wins/nominations of Mo'Nique and Gabby Sidibe as a backdrop to speak on the history of entertainment and how it impacts the African American community. Articles like this put me on edge from the beginning because I normally know exactly how they're going to read. This one is no exception. Even on twitter, as I watched the awards, I could see these arguments brewing and people preparing to launch in about what a movie like Precious is saying about our culture. A lot of it I'm able to shrug off due to the person being either ill-informed or just plain ignorant but after a while it really just tapdances on my very last nerve.

ART Club: Kendra Wilkinson

So the other day I was chatting with my good friend Paige and she asks me if I've heard of a young lady by the name of Kendra Wilkinson. I hadnt. Was told to google her and see what I thought. So I did. And here's what came to mind: .... ZOINKS!! ....

THIS girl is BAD. Apparently she was one of Hef's girlfriends and during that time was on a reality show called "The Girls Next Door."  She is now married to Hank Baskett, who I think plays for the Eagles.

If there were ever a reason to stay out on that field and bring home the cheddah, THAT dude has it. GOODNESS!!

The ART Club officially welcomes Kendra Wilkinson!

p.s. Feel free to send me any ART Club recommendations on the blog or on twitter (@and1grad)

Relationship ≠ Game

Been a while since I blogged anything. Been even longer since I blogged a serious topic. Lately, I've engaged in some interesting discussions regarding relationships and what people expect/will put up with when in one. I think relationships are also on my mind because there was one of those asinine "relationship rules" or whatever trending topics on Twitter. Those are always a good laugh because you can pretty much tell by the advice given who is single and going to REMAIN single for quite some time.

The "Early Bird" Special

Getting to work early is a scam. Thats right. I said it. Total flimflam. Why? Because no one does any REAL work until something like 9am anyway. This means you can come in early and literally fritter the time away until around 9am, when people start expecting things to at least be started. This is reason alone to get in early. You might ask why I say 9am. Well let me answer you thusly. Normally, staff and management shuffle in somewhere between 8 and 8:30am. I think we all know that if you're not getting to work until 9am, you're UNIVERSALLY late for a morning shift...even if you work in the mall.

You're probably asking yourself, dont you get tired sooner if you get to work early? The answer, not really. Even if you get in at 9am, arent you kinda ready to bounce by 3pm? Same as if you got in at 7am or 8am. Except you only have an hour left before you actually CAN leave. HELLO!! Leaving at 4pm is so foreign to me that I almost feel like I'm cheating. Like I'm getting away with something but at a minimal capacity. You know, like the cashier giving you an extra dollar back on accident. Or beating that certain light that ALWAYS seems to catch you on that one street. You know what street I'm talking about. We ALL have that one MUTHAEFFIN light...look...it aint much but hey...*kanyeshrug* 

Anyways, another reason I recommend you get to work early, is that the bosses notice that FAR more than they notice you staying late. How late do they know that you've stayed when they've left before you? But if you get in before them and leave after them, you're making an impression. This is good for when you're somewhat new on the job and looking to make your presence known. I did this somewhat often when I was "new booty" WAY back when. Might as well do it then bc when you become tenured and/or lead staff, or even management, its expected that you stay late sometimes. Get the credit while you can.

"The early bird gets the worm," kids. Might as well be you.

ART Club: Carmen Ortega

Its rare that I do this many ART Club posts in the span of a week but when I was CONFRONTED with this pic, I was unable to function for a minute and had Al Green's "Lets Get Married" playing in my head for a cool minute. THIS was who Reggie Bush was messing with when he wasnt messing with Kim Kardashian. That boy done lived a charmed life.

Ladies and gentlemen, Carmen Ortega. I wouldnt know a DAMN thing about football, much less play well, if I were switching back & forth bw this fly thang and Kim K. Lawwwwwwddddd have mercy.

*Bernie Mac voice* "The Lord is my shepherd, He KNOW what I want."

Carmen Ortega, welcome to the ART Club.

Super Bowl XLIV: World Champion New Orleans Saints

The Saints are World Champions. No, no, no. Let me..restart. *cracks neck*

THE SAINTS ARE WORLD CHAMPIONS!!!!
WHO DAT NATION STAND UP!!

What you wanna say? WHAT. DO. YOU. WANT. TO SAY!?!? Obviously, no one is gonna be able to tell me nothing all summer. I dont wanna hear it. EVERYBODY who wasnt already a Saints fan thought the Colts would win. Even today if you type Super Bowl 44 into google, you'll see more Colts stuff than you will Saints stuff. You'll hear more people talk about how this affects Peyton, than how it affects Payton. But guess what, World Champions. New Orleans. Who Dat. Oh, and lest I forget...

Drew Brees!! Super Bowl MVP!!

Remember THIS guy? The guy that all the "experts" CONSISTENTLY leave OUT of the talk of best QB in the league. Yeah. What you wanna say now? Look at his numbers since he became a Saint. There isnt a more important player to a team AND TO A CITY than Drew Brees. PERIOD!!

I'm just gonna start rambling soon so I'm gonna stop here before I start saying really bad things about other "experts" and/or Tony Dungy.

CONGRATULATIONS to the New Orleans Saints!
CONGRATULATIONS to the city of New Orleans!

WHO DAT!!!

ART Club: Christine Hendricks

I have not and may not ever see an episode of Mad Men, as I have no idea what the show is about or what channel it is on BUT if there were EVER a 'ginger' on my could get it list, its Christine Hendricks. HAAAVVVEE MERCY!! I can DEFINITELY understand how this women could be driving men mad.

Mrs. Hendricks, allow me to welcome YOU..to the ART Club.

ART Club: Toccara Jones

Toccara Jones. Yikes. Since I RARELY watch ANY reality show, I had never heard of this lady or her frame. I forget who it was that mentioned her name but I googlebing'd her and MY GOODNESS. Apparently she was on Tyra's Next Top Model show. How can a model with a "top" like this ever lose?

*deep breaths*

I'm just gonna stop before I break a sweat.

Toccara, an ENTHUSIASTIC welcome to the ART Club.

You can find me in the club...

Something one of my twitterbuddies (@ScorpioDiva81) said today got me thinking. She asked, "At what point does going to clubs get old???? Have u reached that point yet?" Excellent questions. Personally, I've never been a club guy. Always considered it a hot box with a buncha ninjas sweating all over the place while the others were either playing Mr. Bigshot at the bar or mean mugging from the sideline. I'll pass.

Besides, I grew up with a STEADY diet of Nigerian parties on the docket. My parents rarely missed one and believe me when I tell you this: Nigerian parties are like the club. If you know any, have partied with any, or are the neighbors of any, you know what I'm talking about. Some of ours were so ridiculous that we'd end up asking neighbors to use their driveways so people didnt just park in the middle of the street. Bad business. So because of this, I was pretty much done with club scene type madness after high school. Nawsuh. I wants no part of this.


When people talk about outgrowing the club, they usually include the rationale of being "the old man in the club." He's always the dude doing yesteryear's dance moves and trying to "show you young whippersnappers whats up." He looks decidedly out of place among 18 to 20-whatever year olds since he's pushing 40 or so. I'm not sure I've ever actually noticed too-old-for-the-club guy, but I rarely go and only when forced. I think he might be getting a bad rap.

I mean, come on fellas. Imagine if you were this dude. Dressed like you were going to the Playa Hater's Ball. Hangin around all those young, nubile, underdressed tenderonis. Seeing their being somewhat impressed by your ability to buy the expensive brand of whatever from the bar. Showing them how we used to Step In The Name of Love and calling Diddy "Puff Daddy." (I'm assuming he'll still be "Take That'ing") Using that old line "Why dont you and yo' friends, come hang out with me & MY friends...and maybe we can be friends?"...since those young cats wont know nothing 'bout that yet. I'm not sayin I'ma DO it...but I'm just saying I can see how this can be something of a win.

But if you see a guy dancin like Shabba Ranks and tellin some fly youngsta "Girl, you gon mess around and getcho next semester paid fuh...holla!!"...

Catching Up

So many topics to discuss that I think it would be impossible to recap and catch up in a single post. So I think I'll try!

First thing that comes to mind: I told a friend that I was thinking of commenting on the recent Mass. Senate race in which Republican Scott Brown defeated Democrat Martha Coakley for the MA seat. This is considered a STUNNING upset because MA is such a liberal state...having been represented by the late, great Ted Kennedy for so many years. I cant honestly say I followed this election closely until I realized that Brown was clearly going to win. How does a Rep win a state that would be almost inclined to vote Dem just in an effort of preserving Kennedy's dream? Easy...when the Dem runs a garbage campaign. It was pretty commonly discussed that Coakley didnt campaign anywhere near as hard as Brown. Brown was going around meeting people on the streets, developing a quality gimmick riding around in that truck, and effectively making Coakley seem out of touch. She apparently is if she felt so entitled that she thought running a lackluster campaign would be enough to usher her into the Senate simply because she's a Democrat. That isnt someone I would want representing my state in the Senate. For that reason alone, I'm not upset that Brown won. He SHOULD'VE won. I'm not familiar enough with his political stances to thoroughly argue for or against him...but I think its silly to start panicking about healthcare because of him. From what I've heard him say, the healthcare reform plan might have a negative effect on his state. Isnt a Senator SUPPOSED to act on behalf of his state? To be frank, I'm not sure forcing the healthcare debate to continue is a bad thing. I think people have become so caught up in pushing a bill through that we've almost decided that we dont care whether or not if its what we REALLY want.

Haiti. The Haiti earthquakes and resultant catastrophic effects have been amazing to watch. Not sure that I've ever seen this caliber of death and destruction caused by a single natural disaster. CNN released an official death toll today of something like over 100k dead.  They say that knowing its more simply because of the amount of people that couldnt be accounted for, due to issues like people being buried by family before it being recorded and so on. Just a TERRIBLE situation. I'm not sure there's been this massive an amount of deaths since World War II. Pray for the people of Haiti. And hope that not only is there an effective way to aid them in this time of need but that the funds/items being sent their way is actually being used in an effective way.

Gilbert Arenas. SMH. Why in the BLUE HELL do you bring guns to work? EVERYONE knows better than that. Originally, I was EXTREMELY annoyed that he was essentially suspended because of a stupid gesture he made in a pre-game dance...being that a ton of players do stupid things in general. But that said, I think Stern was/is intending to send the message that just because you're a good/great basketball player, you are NOT entitled to be in the league. The NBA does not NEED any particular player. The only one to become BIGGER than the league is Jordan himself. The rest, nope. Without the league, every other player would disappear into oblivion. I do agree with Barkley that Arenas didnt make a $90M dollar mistake...but maybe people who gain a lot by doing little, can LOSE a lot the same way. I think given what has happened to athletes like Arenas, Burress, Vick, etc, society may be finally issuing a referendum on what we allow these EXTREMELY fortunate people to get away with. Even if the penalty is extraordinarily harsh, these famous folks need to take their lives a little more seriously. Not only because they are so fortunate to be in their position but because they become role models while in it. Act accordingly.

Conan O'Brien. I've thought from the beginning that NBC was screwing with Conan when he started The Tonight Show gig. What kind of sense does it make to have the old host of The Tonight Show doing his own show before the actual Tonight Show? That was beyond bogus and among the more retarded things I'd seen on TV. Imagine if there was a Johnny Carson show that came on right before The Tonight Show with Jay Leno came on. His ratings would've been ZERO. Thats why I refuse to entertain the point of view that Conan brought this on himself with low ratings. The guy was essentially trying to develop a new audience...with a new show, in a different city. His ratings would've slipped a little WITHOUT Leno still around. Also, can you say for certain that Leno WAS NOT getting better guests than Conan also? No. How do you, as NBC, give better guests to Leno rather than The Tonight Show? (Example: Remember the Kanye/Taylor Swift incident? The very next day, what show is Kanye on? Leno.) So retarded. Then you want to move THE TONIGHT SHOW to 12:05 am? None of what NBC has done in these last 7 months regarding Conan has made any sense whatsoever. I'm GLAD he decided to leave. Conan is way too good at what he does to have been treated that way. Also, in regards to the ~$45M or so severance package Conan & his staff got to part ways with NBC, I think NBC got off light. I'm not sure that if taken to court, the Judge wouldnt have seen the issue in Conan's favor and awarded double that. And I say that as someone who IS familiar with the contract dispute that came up. Conan, onward to bigger & DEFINITELY better, my friend.

El Nino again? My people in So Cal have been getting BOMBARDED by monsoon type rain for the past week or so. In fact, most of CA has been affected by a ton of stormy weather. So Cal has been the hardest tho. Flooding. Evacuations. Potential mudslides. They are getting BLASTED out there. Stay safe folks.

Roman Polanski. Looks like you have to return to the U.S. to "face the music," my friend. An LA judge ruled yesterday that he must return to the U.S. to find out if he'll be sent to prison. What happens next should be interesting.

Ok..now I'm tired. Did I hit everything? What am I missing?

My Radio Resurrection

Haven't blogged in quite some time. Wasn't sure I would again. I'd kinda grown disenchanted with the whole thing really. SO MANY blogs do and say the same things...in the same way as each other. So many blogs are done by folks who portend to be writers but dont seem to take the craft seriously. It began to work my nerves because it made me understand why so many bloggers AREN'T taken seriously by writers and journalists whereas before I just thought they were "crying over spilled milk" or resisting change. I resist change too when that change is indicative of a dissolution of quality and a substantial lowering of a certain level of standard. I started to feel torn about participating in what could be considered an erosion of REAL writers and REAL journalists trying to pump out REAL stories based on ACTUAL facts. The proliferation of so many POORLY written blogs was beginning to make me hesitate in possibly being considered among them.

But then I had a moment of clarity. I said to myself, "Grad...you're thinking too much." I do that sometimes. As I've maintained to people who HAVE actually asked me, I am NOT a writer. I am not a blogger. I'm just some dope who loves words and enjoys to write...but takes it seriously enough that you wont see a lot of stupid mistakes in my writing. I'm better than that. Simply put, I blog to get things/topics off my mind. I would be lying if I said I wouldnt LOVE feedback on things that I wrote. Personally, that influences me to write more. I'm not intending on growing some kind of brand through a blog or making money through this somehow. Thats for others. If I ever DO develop a consistent audience, it will be because we enjoy the discussion, not because I recruited followers in an effort to reach some amount of "blog hits." The discussion is my favorite thing about some of the blogs you see in my blog reel. Comments extend and shape a discussion. The blog itself just provides a framework. A springboard. Simply put, blogs are a lot more fun when there's commenters. I think those of you that lurk on blogs should really consider commenting. Doesnt need to be on MY blog, but in general. Take that as you will. BTW, comment on my blog too though.

Anyway...we now return to your regularly scheduled program...