ModestGeniusXL

O the Randomness

So now the internet is trying to kill off Hugh Heffner, huh?

Although to be fair, that rumor isn't too far off base.  Dude has to be getting pretty close to 100 by now.  And quite frankly looking like it too.

How much you want to bet it was started by his ex-fiancee who's probably still heated about how he did her on the cover?

While on the subject of death...RIP Betty Ford.  I would do a post on her like I normally do for celebrities but the only thing I really know about her besides being an ex-First Lady is that she helped found the Betty Ford Clinic

If I get one more dang Google Plus invite...

From what I can see so far with Google Plus I am not impressed

I really need to get at least one more high quality lens.  It just sucks that the couple that I'm looking at cost about as much as a new camera.  But well worth it

I must be doing something right as is though because I see nightclubs and other "photographers" are trying to emulate my style

The judges on "Sunday's Best" usually get the selections right, but I still don't understand their criteria.  It seems like the louder the person sings the better their chance of getting on the show

I want those apps from that Geico commercial.  Especially the guitar one

Call me simple, but I enjoy the little things like people responding to my birthday wish on The Book by thanking me personally rather than just "liking" my post

I hate when I have to sneeze, it builds up then goes away at the last minute

Okay "Friday Night Lights"...you now have only one episode left to bring back Smash for a cameo.  That little mention of him playing a game on television ain't gonna cut it

Can folks please stop with the planking madness?  Please??

Priceline.com is working my nerve with their siking me out with a low price only to find out that it's only the cost for the departure and the return trip isn't included

Nothing makes me feel older than talking to another grown adult about music then realizing the were born after "Thriller"

Good to see Kevin Hart is making a concert movie to hit theaters.  There hasn't been one of those since Martin Lawrence last did it years ago

Watched that new SyFy show called "Alphas" just because of the name alone.  It's actually pretty dang good.  Will probably be adding that one to the DVR list

Speaking of SyFy...tried to watch a "Twilight Zone" marathon on there the other day and discovered that show STILL freaks me out

Recently found out that it was an Iowa family that created the corn dog.  Pretty cool.  I wonder if it was done for the State Fair or during it?

Speaking of the State Fair, I wonder what the over/under is on if Janet Jackson will actually show for her performance

Note to 80/35:  How do you go from the Roots to what is essentially a live deejay for your headlining act?  The Val-Air Ballroom should not be able to best a festival of your magnitude

Actually...to call Girl Talk a "deejay" would be an insult to deejays everywhere.  There are no turntables involved with his act.  So he is essentially a live laptop user

Dear dancing teams on "America's Got Talent" (and every other dancing show):  Less is more.  Having 30+ dancers on stage went out with Hammer's live concerts in the 90s

Sometimes you gotta' take an 'L'

Remember not to be so heavenly bound that you're doing no earthly good

Daylight Savings Time

That time of year is upon us once again.  The time where we fall back.  Or is it fall forward?  I always get the two confused.  Whichever it is means we gained an extra hour of sleep this past weekend.  Who doesn't love that?  Until you realize the following day that it now means it gets darker much earlier.  It makes the days seem shorter which conversely makes it seem like you've been at work forever if you don't get off until 5pm like me.

All this time I never knew that Daylight Savings Time was something "invented" by Benjamin Franklin.  He theorized that this time of year he could get more done if he woke up earlier to maximize the use of natural light.  It would also conserve energy.  However, it didn't really catch on until the World War I era when Americans were trying to save everything including energy then the United States officially adopted it.

That theory was all fine and good for Ben's time period.  The majority of them were farmers so of course they wanted to have as much light as possible to get their crops tended to.  But we live in a day and age now where most of us are office drones.  We only see the outside from windows anyway.  So it doesn't matter to us if it's light or dark because we can't get anything done until we get off working inside anyway.

That's probably why there are some places in the U.S. that don't acknowledge it.  I know several spots in Indiana in particular are like that.  They probably figure what's the point if it all it does is make us more miserable about the fact that our work day appears to be longer.  I'm inclined to agree with them about acting like it doesn't exist altogether.

The worst part about DST (not to be confused with Delta Sigma Theta) is the Spring when we lose an hour.  I still remember in high school when they purposely scheduled the Prom on that Saturday.  We lost an hour of partying because of the whole Spring forward (or is it Spring back?) thing.  I know they figured that it meant one less hour we would have to avoid getting into some kind of trouble, but it still sucked nonetheless.  Losing an hour of your evening is never good no matter what the reason.

Every year I get obsessed with staying up until the time the DST is supposed to go into effect.  I don't even know if it's midnight or 2am.  Whichever it is I never seem to make it.  I just want to see what the clock does when it hits that magic hour.  Guess I'll have to wait until the Spring version comes around.  Yes, I know it doesn't seem to take much to entertain me.

Yes Virginia, There are UFOs

I was getting ready to do a long overdue Randomness post and was going to include this as one of the random rants.  Then the more I started thinking about it the more I realized that this was a topic I need to elaborate more on.  I had to give it a full post to properly address my viewpoint on it.

I had lunch with my good friend Bill and the subject of extra-terrestrials came up.  Don't ask me how because I really can't remember.  We discussed a myriad of topics in that short hour with many of them not connected with one another at all.  That's just how we roll.  But this subject came up and I made it clear what my stance is concerning other wordly lifeforms.

Simply put...I firmly believe that there is other intelligent life out there.  I have no idea what they look like or where they are, but I'm just using common sense to formulate that theory.  The reason being is that it would have to be extremely arrogant of us to think that as vast as the universe is that God only put intelligent life here on earth.  Even with as egotistical as I tend to be, I refuse to believe that. 

I have heard people argue that aliens can't exist because they're not mentioned in the Bible.  Well there are a couple of trains of thought I have regarding that.  The first is perhaps they are and we are just interpreting passages in the Bible differently.  We all have our different interpretations of the Bible anyway.  Whose to say that some of those weren't meant to indicate that people had encounters with other worldly lifeforms throughout the course of time?

However, I dont' doubt that there probably was not any mention of any alien lifeforms in the Bible.  That leads to the other train of thought which is my personal favorite:  That would be because God intended for the Bible to be for us for THIS planet.  It pertains to life here on earth and the history of it.  What need would we have for it to include the history of life elsewhere? 

Keep in mind that I am not speaking from any type of personal experience as it relates to any close encounters.  Well...there was this one time when I was about 10-years-old.  I was flying a kite in my front yard (around telephone wires and everything) when I swear I saw a bright light whizz by my kite as it was elevated to around 200 yards.  It just seemed to be moving too fast for any type of airplane and/or jet I had known.  But I was 10 so what did I know?

I'm also not much of a conspiracy theorist, but I do honestly believe that the government is aware of alien landings and keep them hidden from us.  I'm just not sure why they would though.  My best guess is so that they can do some reverse engineering and steal some alien technology to pass it off as their own.  You know our government is shady like that.

So yes, I do adamantly assert there is other intelligent life out there.  However, I seriously doubt they are making contact with some of these inbred hicks that always claim to have seen them.  I would like to think that if a lifeform is going to travel millions of miles to this place that they would have enough sense to seek out people more intelligent than that.  Or maybe they have had the misfortune of only running into those type of folks which is why they don't visit that often.

Help! I Lost My Wallet and Passport and I Can't Get Up!

How many of you received that same email scam about the lady stranded in London and needs money wired to her to help her get home?  It was just what I had always been waiting for when I got it Friday.  I always said I wanted to get one of those email scams sent to me just so I could mess with them then it finally happened.  However, it was purely by accident that I got involved.

When the email came thru it was with the sender being "Linda Carter".  That's my aunt.  The email address even had her middle initial correct.  Even though the scenario sounded a little fishy, it didn't sound entirely implausible for it to be Auntie.  She does travel abroad sometimes so maybe it did happen.  So I was a little skeptical but also a little curious.  More than that, I responded purely out of habit the moment I got it.  Mainly because I initially was more than 50% sure it really was Auntie. 

It was minutes later that I saw one of my friends from the blogosphere post the entire email on her site complete with the address.  She had been hit with the same email and others commenting on her post did as well.  And they were all from the same email address.  How coincidental was it that they happened to pick the exact name of my aunt?  No clue, but it was my chance to have a little fun with them.  I wanted to see just how far they would go with their lie.  Although I had watched enough Dateline episodes about this type of thing to know they would go to the extreme I still had to see for myself.

I responded to "Linda" that I was low on funds myself so I was in no position to help.  When she wrote back asking "How much can you send, dear?" I was 100% confirmed that it wasn't Auntie Linda.  She wouldn't talk like that.  And there was NO way she would try to press the issue of money after I had already made it clear I didn't have any.  If there was any doubts I had that it could have possibly been Auntie, that proved it otherwise.  So I stepped it up a bit.

I asked "Linda" how much she needed.  Here is what I got:

Hello dear, thanks for your sincere response, am glad you replied, Please no need for much explanation.Am in need of about $2000 to add up with what I have now, I sourced from others too, but that's the much they can go for now. I'm willing to double what ever you can assist me with right now as soon as I get home, you can send me the funds via Western Union Money Transfer, let me know when you send it. I've tried contacting my credit card company, but they want some verifications and time wasting as well. I can't stay here for that long anymore because the hotel bills keep raising. Please you have to understand.Use my information.

Really?  That's it?  Just $2,000 is all you need?  Well why didn't you just say so!  I told "Linda" that I was able to pool some resources of my own.  Afterall, I hated to see my favortie aunt stranded like that.  There was only one problem:  I was a little hesitant to send that much money without having Uncle Roddy sign for it also.  I asked "Linda" if Uncle Roddy could go with her to pick it up.  Her response:

No, because i can't even locate him here i am stranded here, i lost my bag and alot of my contacts, i am so stranded and need to get out fast, i have no dime on me you would not believe it, i feel so bad

Now it's important to point out to those that don't know any better that I don't have an Uncle Roddy.  I don't have a single relative named Roddy.  As a matter of fact, I don't even KNOW anybody named Roddy. The closest thing to it would be that I remember watching the WWF Rowdy Roddy Piper back in the day.  But of course "Linda" didn't know that so I pressed the issue.  I informed her that it was odd that she couldn't locate  him because he's terminally ill and can't go anywhere without her.  He's physically unable to.  So how come he wasn't with her?   

He is, just that he is in the hotel roam and i went to the embassy but the only way to get out of here is to get $2000, ok just send the money to your uncle's name by western union. is that ok

You can tell by the tone that he/she was getting tired of the questions.  They were going to find a way to work around the Uncle Roddy snafu and still get that money.  That's when I decided I had strung it out long enough.  Not to mention that they had taken up enough of my time.  I sent "Linda" the following retort:

Ok cool. There's just one problem....I don't have an Uncle Roddy. I don't even have a relative named Roddy. Thanks for the laugh though!  It's been quite entertaining. Good luck with getting someone else to fall for your scam!

Needless to say I never heard from "Linda" again after that last email.  I'm honestly surprised that they even allowed it to go on that long.  As soon as I brought up an "Uncle Roddy" that should have been a red flag for them that I was testing them and was even on to them.  They were too stupid to realize it though.  Either that or they were just too focused on the money.  Either way they picked the wrong one to mess with this time.  They're just lucky I didn't have more time on my hands.  I would have invented an entire fictional family for them to keep chasing that wild goose.

Microsoft Zune is the DEVIL!

I could have actually done this post a few weeks ago.  Or at least started the process then.  Instead, I wanted to allow some time for the whole process to flesh out before I tried to fly too much off the handle.  With each passing day I realized that things were not going to end well.  Even though it's still ongoing, it's far enough progressed that I can safely speak on how shady Microsoft Zune truly is.

It all started while I was on my flight to DC.  The plane had just taken off and I had my Zune going to keep me occupied.  After playing a few cuts, it inexplicably stopped workng mid-song while I was listening.  I didn't think much of it since it's happened before.  It would normally be because I forgot to charge it fully so it had run out of juice.  That wasn't the case this time.  There was a message on the screen that said "Contact Zune Support".  I had never seen that one before.  Even doing a hard reset didn't cause it to go away.

I knew I wouldn't have much use for my Zune player once I got to DC so I still wasn't that hung up on it.  I waited until I returned home to get on the phone with Zune Support.  I was hoping they would give me some fix to do over the phone that would have it up and running again.  Nope.  It would have to be sent in for repair.  And this is where it started to get interesting...

The customer support guy promptly informed me that my warranty had run out.  It apparently expired one week prior.  So basically, their product conveniently decided to malfunction a week after the warranty expired.  Their product which relies heavily on their software to even function because songs can only be loaded onto it using their application.  I can't remove OR put songs on it without connecting to their network.  A brotha was livid.  I raised holy hell until the guy talked to a supervisor and agreed to fix it free of charge.

He provided the address of where I needed to send the player.  I half-listened.  I didn't see the need to record the address since it would be on the box they were sending me.  Then it occurred to me that they had no intention of sending a box.  They were counting on me providing my own shipping means to get it to them.  That was not happening.  I told them they need to send me the box to ship it in as I shouldn't have to bear that expense.  He promptly agreed to that too.  He didn't need the supervisor for that one. 

So the box comes days later and I send in my Zune.  I'm expecting the turnaround time to be fairly short.  Whenever I had to send the laptop in, it seemed like a matter of days before I got a message my lappy was on its way back.  Not so much here.  I was tracking my order on their website.  It took them over a week before they even received my Zune.  That was already shady.  I seriously doubt UPS took that long to deliver it.  I'm guessing it was a delay on Zune's end of updating their site. 

I finally get an e-mail July 9th saying it's been repaired and is on its way back to me.  They even provided a UPS shipping number so I could track the progress with them.  One problem:  when I checked said number I received a message that no such tracking number existed.  Either they gave me an incorrect shipping number or they just flat out didn't ship it.  So I call customer service back today.  Guess which one it was?  Yep...it hadn't even been shipped yet.  It was still sitting in their processing center waiting for UPS to pick it up.  Even though the email clearly said it was on its way.  When I ask the guy how long before I get it, his reply was it should take approximately 10 - 15 days.  That was the final straw.

I very coolly explained to the Zune people that the entire process, once it's all said and done, would have taken 30 days.  That is entirely unacceptable.  Furthermore, I informed them if that is their policy for timeframes than it was VERY poor customer service.  Turnaround time for an mp3 player should NOT take twice as long as laptop repair.  An apology wasn't enough.  I demanded to be compensated by getting credit for a free month of Zune Pass.  It was only fair since I could not use my Zune for an entire month.  Of course he had to escalate the call since he didn't have the authority to do that.

Naturally, the supervisor wouldn't appease my request either.  Even after I explained to her that this whole ordeal has soured me thoroughly on the Zune product.  Even after telling her that I will NEVER recommend their product to anyone.  Even after telling her that if they don't compensate me with the free month that I would not be renewing my membership and they would lost a customer.  None of that mattered.  They were good with all that.  So let it be known that Microsoft Zune is evil.  If you are looking for an mp3 player do NOT go that route.  They will make sure they use NO vaseline.

I Went to T-Mobile and All I Got Was This Stupid Gel Cover

No matter what, I still enjoy my Blackberry Curve.  Probably even more so after I went and test drove the Blackberry Storm and the iPhone 3G.  As impressive as both of those new joints were, they just didn't offer all of the full capabilities that I have grown accustomed to and appreciate with the Curve.  However, I continue to grow steadily frustrated with the T-Mobile network.  So much so that I finally went down to one of their stores to try to get some assistance with some problems I had been having.

I had noticed that there had been something peculiar happening with my text messages.  Sometimes my phone would randomly reset and I would lose any saved messages as well as not be able to receive any.  When it first started happening, customer service tried to tell me it was because the phone was roaming when I was driving and it changed towers.  It sounded pretty janky but it made logical sense.  I bought it until it started happening even while the phone was just sitting at home not being used.

The guy in their store had no clue what was causing it either.  He tried doing some thing where the reload all the apps and reset the phone to see if that would make a difference.  I'm supposed to be monitoring it over the next 24 to 48 hours to see if it worked so the jury's still out on whether or not that fix truly helped.

The little cassette icon has also been staying on the screen which normally means I have voicemail waiting.  However, even when I clear out the voicemail, it remains there.  Hector (no clue if that was his real name...he just looked like a Hector to me) tried removing the battery and putting it back to see if that would solve it.  Yeah...because I hadn't thought of that idea before.  Of course that didn't work.  He had no answer for that one either.

Lastly, there is this nifty app called Vlingo I wanted to download to my Curve.  It allows you to compose text messages by speaking into the phone and it translates your voice into the text message.  Everytime I tried to download it, I kept getting the message "download failed".  Hector tried every trick he knew and also kept getting the Heisman.

At least I did get a gel cover out of the whole ordeal.  Now I know longer have to worry about my phone getting nicked and having a ratty look to it.  The black glove look also compliments the gold color of the Curve and you all know my affinity for the color black and old gold.  So I guess the hour I spent there wasn't a total wash.  Yeah...because getting a gel cover out of the whole deal was a good trade off.

The Blu Ray Experience

Ever since the PS3 has been in the house, I have been looking forward to finally getting a Blu Ray disc to test out the new technology.  It had to be just the right one though.  One that would have the special effects that would be properly accentuated by the high definition graphics.  The recent release of "Iron Man" seemed to be the perfect candidate.

Hopes were high that the Blu Ray disc would meet all the expectations I had kept reading about.  Apparently I had set them too high myself because it fell short it far too many areas.  So much so that I was disappointed enough to take out the Blu Ray disc and put in a regular dvd.  So where to start...

First and foremost, Blu Ray only offers one format for the screen which is widescreen.  I cannot stand watching a movie in that format on a  television.  It shrinks the picture and doesn't maximize the full use of your big screen television.  I don't care that it supposedly gives you an extra couple of inches on either side of the movie.  The picture itself is so skinny that it still makes the movie harder to watch.

The other problem was the picture was entirely too dark.  I know it couldn't have been my television because it had been just fine before and after I took the Blu Ray disc out.  Plus, it was fine when I put in a regular dvd also.  I shouldn't have to adjust the settings on the television just to watch one dvd no matter how much higher quality it was supposed to be.

Then there is the factor of the quality itself.  Was it really that much more clearer than a regular dvd?  I have to admit that I did not see a huge difference.  It may have something to do with the fact that the PS3 wasn't connected by HD cables to the television.  Or perhaps the fact that this big screen tv is now going on almost five years old so it's not of the same plasma technology that gets the most out of Blu Ray discs.

The biggest issue I had wasn't the Blu Ray disc's fault at all.  Because I had to play the Blud Ray disc thru the PS3, I wasn't able to have the full surround sound come thru my stereo.  That only works when the television is playing on Directv channels or a regular dvd is playing in the dvd player.  I probably could have figured out how to wire the PS3 to the receiver so it could get the sound too; however, by that time, I was so frustrated with the other downsides that I didn't want to invest the time in it.

I couldn't even get all the way thru the movie because I was so dissatisfied with the aforementioned items.  It's a good thing I had already seen it because I was tempted to try to take the movie back I was so upset.  One of these days when can I can afford a more modern television, maybe it will be worth it, but for now, not so much.

On This Day...

Normally, I wouldn't be one to memorialize a random date here.  It just so happens that the TJMS brought up something historic that occurred 41 years ago today that was rather significant.  It would have been a perfect candidate for my Thursday Throwback, but I already had something else in mind for this week.  Too bad it's not near as good as this nugget of which I was just reminded.

It was on October 1, 1966 that revolutionaries Huey P. Newton and Bobby Seale founded the Black Panther Party for Self-Defense in Oakland, California. The party's Black nationalist attraction forced a belligerent U.S. government to rethink the oppression they tried to subject our people to.

The group initially began on the foundation of a Ten-Point program.  This is so sad but I never knew what all of those 1o points were until today.  I'm guessing several of you didn't know either (or forgot) so I'll take it upon myself to enlighten you:

1. We want power to determine the destiny of our black and oppressed communities
2. We want full employment for our people
3. We want an end to the robbery by the capitalist of our Black Community
4. We want decent housing, fit for the shelter of human beings
5. We want decent education for our people that exposes the true nature of this decadent American society.  We want education that teaches us our true history and our role in the present-day society.
6. We want completely free health care for all black and oppressed people
7. We want an immediate end to police brutality and murder of black people, other people of color, all oppressed people inside the United States
8. We want an immediate end to all wars of aggression
9. We want freedom for all black and oppressed people now held in U. S. Federal, state, county, city and military prisons and jails. We want trials by a jury of peers for all persons charged with so-called crimes under the laws of this country.
10. We want land, bread, housing, education, clothing, justice, peace and people's community control of modern technology.

That wasn't too much to ask for, was it?  During a time when we didn't even have the right to vote, of course it was.  Not only was The Black Panther Party basically demand fulfillment of the "40 acres and a mule" promise, they were also willing to defend themselves and their communities while waiting for it.

The 60s was one of my favorite eras in American history because of how volatile it was and how it forged the conscience of our society.  I often think of what it would have been like for me had I lived back then.  Would I have been a member of the Black Panthers?  Most likely.  Unfortunately, because of my stubbornness, I probably would have also been one of their casualties when the federal government went to great lengths to destroy the organization.

There was a time and place for everything and The Black Panthers definitely served their purpose in that era.  I honestly know very little at all about the New Black Panther Party that has resurfaced within the last decade.  However, I do know that our mentality as a people has shifted dramatically. 

Remember the scene in "I'm Gonna' Git You Sucka" when Jack Spade tries to recruit Black Nationalists and realizes they found that working in corporate America was more important?  It was comedy but there was a lot of truth to that.  That came out during the 80s when money was the driving factor.  In the 21st century, not a whole lot has changed. 

Long story short, I admire the Black Panther Party for what they attempted to achieve and for the things they did accomplish.  Their formation was  very important piece of Black history that helped us to get to where we are today.  Moreover, it helps us to see what still needs to be done to get to where we need to go.

On the Hunt Again

The beloved Maxima has seen its final road trip.  It had a pretty good run though.  It's pushing 188,000 miles so it's not like it was going to last forever.  It still baffles me when I hear people talk about how they have vehicles that have lasted for 250K+ in miles.  Well those folks must not have ever had four children and had to drive all over here and creation.

We've been looking for a different vehicle to trade in the Maxima for about a week now.  At first, we were set on a Pontiac Vibe as we saw some that we thought would be in our price range.  Then we come to find out that old Maxie doesn't have the trade-in value we thought so that limited our options.

For some reason, D got set on Chrysler Sebrings.  They are pretty decent cars.  I'm not usually a Chrysler fan (or even an American model car fan for that matter) but Chrysler had regained my respect over the recent years with their new additions.  I still wouldn't mind getting a 300 and trickin' it out if I ever came into a little money.

Our selections have been narrowed down to a 2004 Sebring at Deery Motors, a 2004 Sebring at Tom's and now a 2000 Jimmy at Bett's.  The Jimmy came into the mix purely by happenstance.  We were looking for something else and came across that one.  Test drove it and everybody dug it right away.  All three vehicles appear to be in very good shape and have been maintained very well. 

My preference would be the Jimmy.  Given the climate that we live in, it makes more sense to have a vehicle like that.  Plus, it was black and had quite the menacing look to it so it would match with my personality perfectly. I forgot to take a photo of any of the cars so you'll have to just use this photo I grabbed off the net to get a general idea.

We'll have to see how everything pans out today as to what the decision will be.  One way or another, Maxie's getting put out to pasture and this her last week with us.  By the end of the week, the Quest will no longer be the new kid on the block. 

Black History Month in Review

Well it looks like our time in the spotlight has come to an end.  Yeah, right.  As Tom Joyner always likes to point out (and even McDonalds too, even though they don't back it up as much), Black History lasts 365 days a year.  For argument's sake, we'll just look back at the month that is nationally recognized as Black History Month.

I have to say it was an overall pretty good month.  The best Black History Month ever?  I don't know about that but only because I don't have a barometer to compare it to.  It's not like I measure each February to the previous one to see how they stack up.  However, look at what this February produced...

1.  The Soul Bowl

That's what many people had rightly dubbed this year's Super Bowl.  It wasn't good enough that we have the first Black head coach ever in the game...we had BOTH coaches being the first Black head coach ever.  One way or another history was going to be made with the championship and Tony Dungy was awarded the distinction of being the first Black head coach to win a Super Bowl championship

2.  Barack Obama

Of course it's not the first time that we've had a Black candidate for  the presidency.  Dare I say that it is the first time that we've had one this qualified though?  Sources as credible as CNN are already trying their best to belittle his campaign by saying Black voters are lukewarm on Obama.  Some even say he should just settle for being a VP candidate for now to get more experience and then go for the gold later.  They must not have heard that you can't keep a good brotha down so in the words of the immortal Ludacris..."MOVE!  GET OUT THE WAY!"

3.  The Oscars 

Did you know that the Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences includes only 110 African Americans out of its 5,830 members?  Yet in spite of that, this year's ceremony featured five of us as nominees in the acting categories.  Forest Whitaker becomes only the second brotha to win Best Actor and Jennifer Hudson walked away with Best Supporting Actress as a rookie.  And to think that Eddie was probably just one "Norbit" away from giving us three winners that night.

4.  Black Ice

I never thought ESPN of all things would be the one medium that would hip me to something I should have already known.  In their  book "Black Ice" George and Darril Fosty (kinda ironic that he's just an "r" away from being "Frosty) found proof that brothas in the late 19th century had formulated the Colored Hockey League that existed from 1895 to just past World War I.  This would have been nearly a decade before the birth of the National Hockey Association which would later evolve into the NHL.  Naturally, there's no mention of this league in the NHL Hall of Fame.  Nevertheless, it's funny that even the one sport we don't dominate owes much to our contributions.

A pretty good February indeed.