Grope Women, Win Prizes?

I love playing video games, but the gaming industry really needs to stop this mess. What on Earth makes anyone decide that advocating sexual harassment of your women employees for prizes is a good idea? EA, you fail. It really is time for the gaming industry and men gamers to cut all this sexist bullshit that so pervades all-things-gaming. You’re making me never want to play Left 4 Dead or most video games ever again.

Oh, and while I’m at it, y’all kinda have a problem with racist stereotypes, too.

[Props to Melissa for the links]

Rest in Peace, Walter Cronkite.

He was a great journalist. I’m not old enough to have fully appreciated his talent, but I am old enough to remember watching him on TV and knowing that he was the real deal.

“And that’s the way it is…”

We Love Showing Ign’ant Shit Television

I needed a laugh, and Elon James White brought the funny.

May you also laugh. Enjoy.

“Soulja Boy is a walking advertisement for white supremacy groups.”

At first, that cracked me up. Then, I thought about it for a minute and realized how true it is. I then cried.

Carry On, Michael Jackson

I heard at work. First, one of our barista’s boyfriend called to break the news. Then, I received a few phone calls from customers, random people, who must have thought that being holed up in a store meant we hadn’t heard the news. One customer asked us to broadcast the news over the load speakers. Think about that for a minute. For all of his troubles, Michael Jackson touched a lot of people’s lives in a profound way.

I grew up with Michael Jackson. My siblings and I used to argue, back in the day, over who was the baddest: Michael Jackson or Prince? Truth be told, we always ended up giving it up to Prince; but we always went back to Michael. Moms would get mad at us, scared we were gonna wear the carpet down from trying to do the Moonwalk in the living room, or blow the stereo speakers from cranking “Thriller” too loudly, or give her a headache from cranking “Beat It” too loudly.

And even before then, my parents had all of the Jackson 5 45s. I used to sit in my room when I first discovered the pleasure of music, with my little orange box record player and rock the hell out of “ABC,” “Rockin’ Robin,” “I Want You Back.”

Later in life, when I started DJing, I always made sure to have a Jackson 5 cut in the mix. It had become necessary, never cliche.

Let us not forget The Wiz. I grew up loving the Wizard of Oz, and seeing The Wiz in the theaters just blew my little mind. The story took on a whole new level of awesome once I saw it with brown folks playing all the roles.

This is how I’m going to remember Michael Jackson: The joy, the pleasure, the family. Yes, Michael had his demons. We all do. That his demons were obviously exacerbated by fame, pressure, race and gender in the face of enormous fame, and many more things that I (and you?) might not ever understand will surely be lost on a lot of folks (MSM, I’m looking at you). I’m not trying to say that he was beyond criticism. I am saying that right now, I want to honor Michael Jackson for all of the joy that he has brought me and mine. And for all that other stuff, well, I just don’t know. I didn’t know before he passed away and I’m not going to pretend like I know now.

I just hope that Michael Jackson is now resting in peace.

I Just Don’t Know

Anyone that reads here should be well aware of the recent spate of Hate Crimes and Demostic Terrorist acts that have recently occurred here in the United States (Dr. George Tiller, The shooting of soldiers in Little Rock, and most recently, the shooting at the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum). While it should come as no surprise that I am sickened by these acts, it may come as a surprise that I have been quiet about speaking out against these acts.

Here’s the deal: I’m speechless.

I know. It’s hard for anyone that has spent any time around these parts to imagine me, of all people, being speechless; but really, I am. I just don’t know what to say, or how to get a grip on any of this.

I’ve read all of the blog posts pointing out that Janet Napolitano and the FBI pointed all of this out to us a few months ago. And yes, the fringe right had a field day trying to make it seem like some sort of left-wing conspiracy. Still, I’m taken back by it all. This strikes me as something that is happening in the United States that is so beyond politics. I feel like we are going back to a place where politics don’t matter, but the supremacy of power rules all. I fear that we are going back to a place where discourse means nothing, but the ability to prove that you are overwhelmingly stronger than everyone else means everything. Yes, my fellow Liberals and Progressives, I feel that we are walking into a trap, one where we will lose.

I can’t articulate why, right now, but I’m going to keep working on it, because I feel it is necessary.

Old School Friday – Child Singers

Here we are and it’s Friday once again. Where does the time go? This weeks theme is Child Singers. So, let’s start this off with a little Miley Cyrus…just kidding. I love y’all too much for that. Here we have Frankie Lymon and the Teenagers performing “Why Do Fools Fall In Love.”

Aren’t those little boys cute as all get out? I’m feelin’ those sweaters with the “Ts”. Hahaha!

I can’t do this without some Lil’ Stevie. Here’s his first hit, also done at 13, “Fingertips.”

I can’t resist this one. New Edition’s first hit, “Candy Girl.”

Happy OSF Y’all! Thanks for playing, and as always, much love to all the other OSF participants.

Electronic Village | Fresh And Fab | Danielle | Kim | Ms Grapevine | Quick| Marcus Langford | Cassandra |iriegal | Mahogany | Hagar’s Daughter | Lisa C | Chocl8t | DP | Dallassouth | John | CC Groovy | Kreative Talk | Marvalus One | Regina | Clnmike | Vivrant Thing | AJ | Sharon | The Creole Pimp | Invisible Woman | Beleiver 1964 | Cooper | SJP | Bria | BklynQueen 86 | Hey Shae | From the Battlefield | Thembi | D Spot | Malcolm | Pop Art Diva | Pjazzypar | MsLadyDeborah | Tha Connoisseur

R.I.P. Bo Diddley

From the Associated Press:

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Bo Diddley, a founding father of rock ’n’ roll whose distinctive “shave and a haircut, two bits” rhythm and innovative guitar effects inspired legions of other musicians, died Monday after months of ill health. He was 79.

Diddley died of heart failure at his home in Archer, Fla., spokeswoman Susan Clary said. He had suffered a heart attack in August, three months after suffering a stroke while touring in Iowa. Doctors said the stroke affected his ability to speak, and he had returned to Florida to continue rehabilitation.

Bo Diddley was rock and roll. No doubt. Unprecedented. Unmatched. All of you indie rockers that fawn over Jon Spencer, take a listen to The Black Gladiator and you’ll know where Spencer learned everything he knows.

Witness genius: