ModestGeniusXL

It's a Celebration...

All of you that know anything at all about Dave Chappelle can finish off the rest of that title...

I entirely spaced off that I had come up on the year anniversary of having this site!  The actual date was February 11th.  It was a year ago that date that I came up with the brilliant idea to start manifesting all my thoughts, for better or for worse (and it was usually for worse) into a virtual scrapbook.

It's interesting to see how far it's come since the early days.  You really can't distinguish the difference now since I've changed it so much.  Nevertheless, for any and all who were there since day one, you know where I'm coming from.

To commemorate the advancements I've accomplished with this site, I found something that sums it up best.  I have no clue whatsoever as to how this site that I found calculates it, but here are the results of allegedly how valuable my blog is as of today:

My blog is worth $3,951.78.
How much is your blog worth?

Now if I could just find a way to get an immediate cash payout on that so I can pay off some bills...

Is There Such a Thing as a Quadtennial Celebration?

With this post, I have now logged a total of 400 entries into this online journal, or blog.  It's gotten to the point now where I don't even think I can outdo myself.  I'll do one entry and think it may be the best I've ever done then do another and second guess if I should re-do it.  However, over the course of this creation, there have been some entries I have been especially proud of.  Each category has that one entry that really stands out.  Instead of rehashing them, I'll just give you the one entry from each category that was my personal favorite.  For some of you, you may be reading these for the first time and if so, you're in for a treat...

Weblogs  -

The Centennial Celebration

Wadin' in the Water -

Making Some Holy Ghost Noise

Vacations -

Day Two:  The Blessing and the Curse

The Vices of Gaming -

Just When I Thought I Was Out, They Pulled Me Back In

The Soundtrack of My Life -

Diggin' in the Vaults

The In-Laws -

The Thorn in My Side

Shoot the Messenger If You Want...It Still Needs to Be Said -

Just Eliminate the Commercials...Truthfully

QPSN -

The Men, The Myth the Legend (a Trilogy) - Part 3

Pour Some Out for the Homies -

Forever Our Trey

Politics As Usual -

Dude..Let It Go...(an Open Letter to John Kerry)

On the Road Again -

Be Our Guest

Now You Know...And Knowing is Half the Battle -

Quick Juneteenth Amendment

Movie Reviews You Can Use -

College Daze Swiftly Past

Miscellaneous Ramblings -

When You Think About It...

Meet the Flemings -

No clear favorite hear.  I enjoy the entire category.  You'll have to just see for yourself.

It Doesn't Suck to Be Me Because... -

Things to Be Grateful For

In Today's News... -

Chuck Norris Does Not Sleep.  He Waits.

How I Became Me -

A Rose By Any Other Name

Friends...How Many of Us Have Them?

Iowa Gamin'

Eat, Drink and Be Merry -

The Great Pizza Debate

Crib Improvements -

The Road to Repairs

Capitol City Entertainment -

It's Not Your Life Anymore

  A View of Scenes Transmitted -

DVRs Top Shows (As Watched By Me)

Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc. -

The Black and Gold Ball 2006

Celebrating a Different Milestone

My 300th entry came and went with really no fanfare.  I won't go thru the trouble of telling you how long ago it was as I'll make it a point to just say something at 400.   

Instead, I've been counting something a little different that I have yet to see anyone commemorate.  Can anyone guess what it is?  Anyone?  Wait for it...

I just had my 1,000th comment posted!

So who was the lucky commenter?  That designation goes to my old friend Sue.  As I mentioned earlier, I probably have about 7 or so readers.  Sure, that was probably a little under-exaggeration.  But all in all, there's usually around just 7 people that regularly comment and she's one of them.

Thanks to everyone who takes the time to read this and even more thanks to those who take the time to put in their two cents too.  Here's looking forward to well over 1,000 more comments yet to come!

Super Photo Album

Several posts ago on my Super Homecoming entry, some guy was kind enough to comment that he had also went to the "Superman Returns" Iowa premiere and had several photos.  He included a link in the post. 

Normally, I wouldn't create a photo album unless I had taken at least some of the photos myself.  I made an exception in this case because at least I was there and they were some pretty good pics.

For those of you who didn't see the link the first time Danny Engesser posted them, here's your second chance.  Don't know who the cat is, but good lookin' out for the hook up.  Enjoy!

The Bicentenary Acknowledgement

Happy 200th post to me! 

I was a little off in my prediction when I said I would hit this milestone by the middle of summer.  It's the middle of the year when I hit it so I wasn't that far off.

Some people would think it's ridiculous that I've been running this gig for barely 5 months now and I've already hit 200 posts.  It's not that hard to do when you have multiple post days like I do.  Also, I said early on that I would also use this forum to post reviews so when a lot of the postings are consumed with that, it's not that hard to do.

I'm going to stay true to my word and not go into the old "200 things I like" or something like that format to commemorate this occasion. Sure, I probably could come up with 200 things if I tried hard enough but after about 50 or so, I'm sure folks' attention spans would wear thin.

I was going to try to change the design of my site for this occasion.  However, when I toyed around with some different looks, I never could find anything I liked as much as this one so I stuck with what works best.  I did switch up the main photo though and put my new favorite pic up.

What I decided to go with instead is addressing some common questions that are asked of me regarding this blog.  There are three that are recurring so I will address those:

Q:  Where do you come up with the topics that you write about?

A:  A few different places..

• I read USA Today and CNN.com every day.  Usually, I'll come across a news story that catches my attention and I have to address it.  Or it could be someone else giving me an idea saying "you should talk about this".  If it interests me, I will.
• Sometimes something will happen to me that sparks an idea that I have to speak on it and provide my regular outspoken viewpoint.
• As mentioned earlier, it's a common fact that I'm a HUGE movie buff.  I feel inclined to share my perception of movies that I've seen with everyone so all of you can see what you're getting into before you watch it. 
• And last but certainly not least, my family.  This goes for my fraternal fam also but, mostly my God-given family.  I've been blessed with being part of a family that supports and loves one another unconditionally and I'll always be thankful for that.

Q:  Where do you find the time to write these postings?

A:  It really doesn't take as long as you would think.  Everyone knows me knows that I talk rather fast.  The flipside of that is I think just as fast as I talk.  Since so many thoughts race thru my head so rapidly, I'm able to analyze a lot of information at once.  I can usually assemble that into coherent thoughts on virtual paper to help me form this release that is known as a blog.  Postings like this one do take a while since they're rather lengthy; on the other hand, my average post will usually only take me about 5 or 10 minutes to put down here.

Q:  Why didn't you take advantage of this writing ability and become a journalist and/or author?

A:  I'll be totally honest...journalists don't get paid JACK.  They put in long hours, around the clock with no day being off limits because if it's news, you have to drop what you're doing and go.  They do all that and make very little.  Sure, the ballers at the top of the food chain score big, but you have put in a lot of time to get to that spot.  I wasn't trying to do that.

Plus, being an author still isn't out of the question.  At some point in time, I will get one of my old pieces of work, revamp it and maybe try to get something published.  Who knows...I could convert some of these pieces into formidable essays and have my own version of "From the Browder Files" that I can call "From the Thoughts of Modest Genius".  Yeah...I like that...

At any rate, thank you to everyone who's stuck with me thru these 200 posts.  For anyone who joined the game late, I encourage you to go back and review to get up to speed.  There actually were some good pieces along the way that you may have missed.  I look forward to another 200 and much more beyond that.  Stay tuned and stay blessed...

The Centennial Celebration!!!

So what if I’m using the word wrong. It’s okay to do that as long as you recognize it’s incorrect and as long as I’m the one doing it. I have now claimed that as my 100^th post, this is therefore a centennial celebration so don’t hate.

To celebrate this auspicious occasion, I decided to compile a list of 100 things that I could actually do 100 times. Most of them are things I could probably do even more than that, but definitely at least 100 times. Yes, this is a bit self-indulgent but guess what? That’s right…this is my blog so I can do as I please. Don’t worry though, I won’t be doing the same thing with my 200^th posting…which, at this rate, I will probably hit by mid-Summer.

Things I could do 100 times (in no particular order):

1. Visit with my family

2. Receive kudos

3. Go on a date with D

4. Eat lobster

5. Watch "The Blues Brothers"

6. Listen to any Temptations song

7. Play basketball

8. Watch a Jordan game with Jordan in his prime

9. Play World of Warcraft

10. Visit Orlando

11. Go to an amusement park (a real one with an exciting rollercoaster)

12. Bad-mouth our government

14. E-mail

15. Go-kart racing

16. Talk to E

17. Recruit diverse candidates to work for Allied

18. Watch my children smile and/or laugh

19. Root for Iowa State in either basketball or football

20. Bash University of Iowa

21. Reminisce about the 80s

22. Reminisce about college days swiftly passed

23. Watch "Scrubs"

24. Gates BBQ

25. Expand my dvd collection

26. See Prince live in concert

27. Soak in our hot tub

28. Wish for another Super Bowl for the Chiefs in my lifetime

29. Fight the good fight

29. Watch a Greek stepshow (a good one...not one where folks are giving a half-hearted effort)

30. Go to church

31. Thank God

32. Great Plains Pizza

33. Listen to a Malcolm X speech

34. Read the Bible

35. Beat E (or anyone else for that matter) in some PS2 NBA Live

36. Make fun of people who think there are more than 2 people (and on any given week, less than that) on American Idol that have any real talent

37. Criticize Republicans

38. Criticize Democrats

39. Watch a Madea movie and/or stage play

40. Read a non-fiction book

41. Savor the flavor of a strawberries and cream CremeSaver

42. Stargaze

43. Discuss basketball...NCAA or NBA

44. Kiss my children

45. Sleep in

46. Critique a movie

47. Provide coaching to one of my claim reps

48. Surf the internet

49. Debate who is my favorite superhero...or why I even have a fascination with superheroes at my age

50. Transfer a new song, video or photo to my Zen

51. Play the PS2

52. Visit Kansas City

53. There is no theory of evolution. Just a list of the animals Chuck Norris allows to live (sorry…don’t know how that one slipped in?!)

54. Watch "The Fish That Saved Pittsburgh"

55. Discuss the intricacies of the Star Wars movies

56. Talk to myself/think out loud

57. Be my own worst critic

58. Bash Duke basketball...well now just Duke University in general thanks to their lacrosse team

59. Channel surf on my big screen tv

60. Debate the existence of extra-terrestrials

61. Correct someone for mis-using a word, or my new favorite thing, for improper use of air quotes

62. Enjoy the sound and smells of a soft rainfall at night

63. Sleep in the nude

64. Take a picture with a my digital camera (with me not being in the picture, of course)

65. Receive a well-deserved raise at work

66. Listen to New Edition's "NE Heartbreak" cd

67. Go to a beach when the weather is actually warm enough to enjoy it

68. Ride my bike (mountain bike, not a Harley or crotch rocket or anything motorized like that)

69. Drink a Peach Propel

70. Eat a banana cream pie blizzard from Dairy Queen

71. Watch "The Temptations"

72. Show off pictures/videos of my shorties

73. Laugh at myself

74. Laugh at others

75. Promote Black awareness

76. Watch the Dave Chappelle/Wayne Brady skit

77. Put in my two cents

78. Brag on my family

79. Be sarcastic

80. See the Allied/Nationwide commercials on tv

81. Bash the University of Nebraska

82. Ride the Orient Express at Worlds of Fun

83. Listen to the Tom Joyner Morning Show

84. Singalong to a cut I like while in the ride

85. Develop my direct reports so they get promoted

86. Take a vacation

87. Go commando

88. Enjoy a sunset

89. Ask nosy questions to which the answers are really none of my business

90. Gyros

91. Watch just about any movie about the mafia

92. Learn more Black history

93. Have some quality alone time

94. Watch/listen to some vintage Richard Pryor

95. Read Vibe and/or SLAM while disposing of the previous day's meals

96. Play with my shorties

97. Popeyes Chicken

98. Appreciate my parents

99. Watch the Loch Ness monster/three-fitty South Park episode

100. Oh yeah...blog

Guess Who's Back?!

Whattup, whattup tho!  Man, it feels good to be back!  This will probably go down in history as my shortest entry ever.  I just wanted to give a quick shout out to everyone before I proceeded with entering the SEVERAL pages of journal entries I handwrote during my vacation to later transpose to this blog.

I am SO tired right now and not feeling the best (that will be explained in later entries that you'll read about the vacation).  I'm going to get some much needed rest while I watch some more of the tourney.  Be on the lookout for a new photo album (although not as exciting as I hoped it would be) and pages and PAGES of new entries coming soon...

In the Beginning...

I can't believe I'm actually doing this, but yes, I have finally started my own official blog.  It was bound to happen sooner or later.  Everyone that knows me knows that I've always had writing in me so this was just a natural evolution.

I have to get two props to two people that help inadvertently inspire me to get this started.  After continually giving my boy E a hard time (and you can check out his blog at www.sheldonland.com) for the whole blog idea, I finally came to the realization that it wasn't that bad of an idea. He seems to have a knack for giving me ideas that I'm reluctant to embrace but eventually come around to accepting... 

The second person may seem like an unlikely source but she deserves shout outs too.  During my recent mini-reunion with the old gang from high school, I ran into my boy Mike's sister Sue.  Checked out her blog (www.spetterson.typepad.com) and was diggin' the format.  As a result, here I now am a typepad member and a proud parent of my own official blog.

This will probably be the first of many exciting blogs to come. I'm already anticipating what I can do for my 100th blog celebration.  It may seem a little too ambitious now, but anyone that knows me knows that I can be very dedicated (for a lack of better words) to new hobbies so hitting that goal won't be a problem at all.

I have SO many things I want to address in this blog that I can't wait to get to: the current challenges of my job, my children, my family, my gaming experiences (especially the upcoming NCAA 2006 tournament that I can't believe I'm actually nervous about), religion, television, movies, etc., etc....). I'm going to try to keep it to one post a day but I can already forsee that there are so many things to touch on that there may be some days where I probably can't help but get in two postings.  Actually, today may be one of those days because I had to get this post on to get things started and I'm sure after I get some shut eye (what a geek I am to be up this late doing this) and get refreshed, later on today, I will have my second posting already.

And with that, I'm officially connected to the blogging community.  I look forward to all the interesting experiences this will bring me and all of you (however many and/or few it may be) can look forward to bigger and better things to come in the upcoming rantings.