Category Archives: Random Thoughts

Random Babble

Random Silliness, Random Thoughts

The following list is in no particular order.  It’s just as random as this post.

  1. I would continue to work if I was to win the lottery’s jackpot.  Money is disposable and I can waste it up in no time.
  2. What Neapolitan ice cream flavor do you leave for last?  None for me.  I eat all three flavors every time, and they’re evenly scooped.
  3. If I could be invisible for one day, I would beat the hell out of as many specific people as I can, dating back to kindergarten.
  4. I don’t like odd numbers, however 5 is okay.
  5. Did you believe in Santa Claus as a child?  I didn’t.  My mother never played that game with my siblings and me.  We took pictures with jolly Old St. Nick every year, and we made all the crafts at school.  We were excited about it too.  But we knew he wasn’t real.  My mother never said if he was real or not.  It actually never even came up.  We didn’t care, we just wanted gifts under the Christmas tree.
  6. I’m going to see Cinderella at the movie theater while the kids are at school.  That’s my favorite childhood tale, next to Alice in Wonderland, and The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe.
  7. I would rather be dirt poor than to be a millionaire.
  8. Pronounce the word coupon.  I bet your pronunciation is different from mine.
  9. Would you rather be caught in a thunderstorm without an umbrella, or a snowstorm without boots?  I saw that question on a social media site.  My answer is NEITHER.  I don’t want frostbite and my feet amputated.  And there is no way in hell I would be caught in a thunderstorm without an umbrella.  I have hair of black texture.  Therefore the only time I allow my hair to get wet is when I’m at the shampoo bowl at the hair salon, every two weeks.
  10. If I could go back into time, I wouldn’t.  There are some events in my past that I do not want to revisit.
  11. I never stopped watching cartoons.
  12. Do you say hundred or hunerd?  What about refrigerator or refriderator?
  13. Is foots a real word?  What about fishes?
  14. Facebook IS NOT the news.  Get yourselves together people.  Watch your local news channel, then spend some time watching CNN.
  15. How many minutes and miles would you have to walk to burn off a medium big mac meal (fries, coke), a fun size Snickers candy bar, and two Hershey Kisses?  That question was a part of the wellness quiz at work.  Employees submitting the correct answer will have their names entered into a raffle for a gift card.  I have no idea what the answer is, but I know that I would have to walk MORE than the answer to that question because I eat FULL-SIZE Snickers and DOUBLE DIGIT Hershey’s Kisses, in addition to that big mac meal.
  16. Superpowers I wouldn’t mind having:  flight, shape shift, telepathy, teleportation, animal control,  healing factor, mind control, invisibility, superhuman speed, superhuman strength, x-ray vision, duplication, and sonic scream.
  17. If I had a magic wand, or found a genie in a bottle, I would wish for all of my debts to get paid.  I would not want the money, because I would NOT pay any creditors.
  18. Speaking of magic wand, my nephew was in grade school when Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone was released in movie theaters.  He told me he didn’t want to see the movie because Harry Potter looked as if he liked science, because he wore glasses.  So I told him that he didn’t like me then because I wore glasses, and had been wearing them since the fourth grade.  He didn’t really believe me because I didn’t wear my glasses often back then.  I also like science, but I didn’t dare tell him that.
  19. I counted the number of people I know that I can confide in on one hand.  That number is less than five.
  20. I still do not like Peter Parker.

I would type more but I’m about to eat more than a serving size of lemon Oreos and drink a glass of icy cold Coca-Cola.  Feel free to add your own random thoughts and babble.

Empire: Drama is not My Genre but I’m Watching

Random Thoughts, , , , ,

When I told my sister that I had watched the first four episodes of Empire, all she said was, “You did?  Somebody must have told you about it.”  She knows that drama is not on my preferred genre list.

And my sister was right, someone did tell me about Empire, the new family drama airing on Fox on Wednesdays at 9 p.m. EST.  A friend of mine suggested I watch it, stating it was on episode 3, and currently one of the best shows on television.

Not only was I behind on Constantine (I’m a comic book nerd) by a couple of episodes, I was skeptical about Empire because I don’t do drama.  So I decided to put Constantine on hold that night and give Empire, a musical family drama, a try.

Thanks to Comcast’s On Demand feature, I watched the first 3 episodes of Empire in one sitting, and set my DVR to record the series.  I was madly in love with thuggish Lucious Lyon by the end of the third episode.

Lucious is a hip-hop artist and the CEO of Empire Entertainment.  Diagnosed with a debilitating medical condition, he has to decide which of his three sons will take over the company.  And it is not an easy task.

With a large cast of black actors, some may think that Empire is comical or ghetto.  It’s neither.  If it was, then I would not have been easily hooked.  The show is very intense and fast paced.

The creative writing team deserves a round of applause for the show’s phenomenal scripting.  Empire has several strong themes, all happening simultaneously, and all emotion inflicting.

  • Family
  • Greed
  • Corruption
  • Homosexuality
  • Interracial Relationships
  • Vengeance
  • Loyalty
  • Deception

I am all caught up with the series, and there has not been an episode where I didn’t laugh, cry, or get angry.  I rarely use bad language, but some of the characters has actually made me say a bad word or two.  But that’s a good thing.  A good script plus good acting equals happy viewers. And just who are these people who keeps me coming back for more?

  • Lucious Lyon (Terrence Howard).  Handsome, former drug dealer, still a thug but on the down-low, hip-hop artist, CEO of Empire Entertainment
  • Cookie Lyon (Taraji P. Henson).  Beautiful ex-wife of Lucious, recently released from prison (her drug money started the music company), feisty, aggressive
  • Andre Lyon (Trai Byers).  Oldest child.  College graduate, brilliant mind, corrupt, treacherous, envious, mental disorder, will go the extreme to take over the company, the only non-musical talent in the Lyon family
  • Jamal Lyon (Jussie Smollett).  Middle child.  Talented singer and dancer, shy, gay and hated by his father for it, friendly and loving attitude, positive outlook on life
  • Hakeem Lyon (Bryshere Y. Gray) – Youngest child.  Talented rapper, focused more on fame than anything else
  • Anika (Grace Gealey).  Boo Boo Kitty (as called by Cookie), girlfriend of Lucious, big whig at the company, corrupt, backstabber
  • Rhonda Lyon (Kaitlin Doubleday).  Wife of Andre, just as no-good and two-faced as her husband
  • Vernon (Malik Yoba).  Friend of Lucious, big whig at the company, greedy, and crooked as can be
  • Porsha (Ta’Rhonda Jones).  Cookie’s assistant, hilarious, loyal

I rarely watch drama, but I watch Empire for two reasons.

  1. Lucious and Cookie Lyon.  It is the stellar performances of Howard and Henson, two amazing actors that keeps me craving for the next episode.  They are trying their hardest to keep the Lyon family together.  I am a black female, and I know damn well what it takes to run a black household, a strong male AND female.  Not only is Cookie the only character that’s not stone crazy, she is also a realist.  She sees things for what they are, and she has no problem telling it like it is.
  2. Watching Empire gives me one hour away from my own real-life family drama.

Now, here’s what I need you to do.  I need for you to stop Facebooking, tweeting, tumbling, and skyping  about that dress (I say it’s white-and-gold) and tune into the new Fox television series, Empire.

I Prefer Autism Over Normal Anytime

Parenting, Random Thoughts, Rants and Tantrums, ,

BEWARE:  I am in full rant mode right now, and my tongue is explosive.  No holds barred.  Anything goes.  Consider yourself warned.

Last week I worked as a substitute in an autistic classroom, at a school for special needs, of adult students ages 20-26.  Their speech levels ranged from nonverbal to hyperverbal.  Before I left the building for the day, I decided that I would prefer to associate myself with people in the special needs community, especially autism, over the so-called normal people anytime.

Special:  Unusual, unique, exceptional, better.  In other words, different from the usual. 

Normal:  Typical, standard, or what’s expected

So why would I prefer autism over normal?  Well, the entire time that I was inside the school, not just in the classroom, but as I walked through the building interacting with other staff and students:

  • I didn’t see or hear anyone poke fun at someone else
  • There was no gossiping
  • There were no cliques
  • I didn’t hear the ‘R’ word (retarded is not in my household’s vocabulary)
  • Everyone minded their own business
  • Intelligent conversations
  • Extremely smart
  • Problem solvers

So how does that compare to so-called normal people?  Come on now, do I really need to go there?  Since this is a ranting blog post, I’m definitely going there.

As I look back over my K-12 school years, college, and now the workplace, I can see why special needs is called just that, special.  Look at my bulleted list above.  Isn’t that amazing?

Now let’s take a look at my list of qualities of a normal person.

  • Gossip
  • Cliques
  • Ridicule
  • Belittle
  • Hatred
  • Envy
  • Prejudice
  • Discrimination
  • Greed
  • Arrogance
  • Corruption

This list is nowhere near finished, but I just got home from work and I’m tired.  Otherwise, I would type until my fingers get numb.

Can you see why I prefer to associate myself with autistic individuals?  There was a hyperverbal student with a superhero obsession.  For those of you who don’t know, I’m a lifelong comic book nerd, so I was excited to talk with him.  But what I didn’t know was that he was allowed to talk about superheroes at snack time only.  He knew it, but as one of the other teachers said, “They know the new people!”

The students made Valentine’s Day cards.  The handwriting of one of the students’ was perfect, as if she used a ruler and a stencil.  Everything on the inside and outside of that card was positioned perfectly.

I would go on with my bragging about the students at that school, but I don’t want to make us normal people jealous.

My 8 year-old son is a special needs child.  He has a rare condition called Tuberous Sclerosis Complex (TSC).  Those with the disease have a range of issues, including autism.

My son is also autistic.  At one point he lost his speech, but he regained it a few years later.  I met several students at that school, that reminded me of my son.  He is verbal, loud, make sounds, has behavior challenges, and other issues.  But, my son is intelligent.  His obsessions are trains, geography, and numbers (including dates and years).

My son also holds mature and highly intelligent conversations.  Last school year, I closely observed his interaction with one of his classmates at the bus stop every morning.  He eventually stopped talking to that child, because his responses weren’t good enough for my son.  He’s like that with adults too.  If you can’t hold a mature and intelligent conversation, then he will have nothing to do with you.

I kept to myself when I was in school.  I was on the honor roll, and I participated in sports and other activities.  I was quiet and shy.  I had specialty classes in math and science, and most of the students I associated with, when I did talk, were quiet in nature like myself.  No gossiping.  No poking fun at others.  No cliques.  No jealousy.  Intelligent conversations.  We minded our own business.

Hmmm, am I special?  I don’t know, but with the definitions I provided above, and all the smack I ranted about in this blog post, I would say that I am special.  And guess what?  I don’t care.

 

 

 

If Rip Van Winkle went to sleep 20 years ago, and woke up to today’s messes, he would close his eyes and go right back to sleep. – La Cracha

I will not be engaging on social media sites on New Year’s Day.  I do not want to read everyone’s New Year’s resolutions that will get broken, as soon as the words leave your mouths.

10 Topics to Discuss Besides Bill Cosby

Random Thoughts

News media blew up television and the internet a few days ago, over Bill Cosby’s sex scandal accusations from years ago.  Yes, years ago.  There are too many issues that are far more important right now.

I especially don’t feel like reading about something that Bill Cosby did before I was even born.  The earliest year I read about, or watched on television news, was 1969.  I mean, why bring it up all these years later?  Was there a scheme brewing all along?  To wait until his bank account was large enough for an enormous amount of hush money?

If the story would have broken years ago when I was a kid, I would have been like, “What?  For real?  Wow.”  So when I learned about the accusations of 77 year-old Bill Cosby, all I said was, “Oh.”  That’s because there are more important issues to be discussed at the moment.

Please do not call, text, email, Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr, or LinkedIn me anything about Bill Cosby right now.  Instead, talk to me about any of the following:

  1. Preventing an Ebola outbreak in the United States
  2. Ferguson, Missouri.  Discuss how we need to convince protesters to not destroy their own communities.  Take it to Darren Wilson’s neighborhood, the police officer who shot and killed Michael Brown, an unarmed black male teenager, but was not indicted by the grand jury.  NOTE:  Okay, so the last sentence may sound mean, but I’m an African-American, so I harbor harsh feelings at times about certain situations.  Seriously though, my feelings are the same just as they were with the Rodney King riots in Los Angeles back in the early 90’s.  I feel, as hard as it may be, that there should be PEACEFUL protests, not violent acts.
  3. International wars.  ISIS and other terrorist groups.
  4. How to convince NBC to not end season 1 of new TV show Constantine after only 13 episodes.
  5. How not to contract salmonella poisoning after eating that prime rib you like to cook for the holidays.  I have read so many rib roast recipes, and they all made me nauseous.  They want you to take the roast out of the refrigerator, and allow it to reach room temperature before cooking.  Then you cook it in the oven for a specified amount of time at a high temperature.  You turn the oven off and let it sit in the oven for a few hours because it’s still cooking.  That sounds like food borne illness to me.  I don’t let any meat that I cook get to room temp before cooking, and I don’t let it set in the oven cooking with it turned off.  I slow cook at 200 degrees.
  6. Bullying in schools
  7. How to increase voter turnout, especially at mid-term elections
  8. Getting tech crazed people to realize that we will never live in a paperless society.  Whenever the computer systems go down for routine maintenance, or whatever else reason(s) at my job, it’s back to paper.  And a large amount of people, if not most, will always prefer printed media. I prefer to hold a book and/or magazine in my hands, rather than to read it digitally.
  9. VA secret list scandal.  Why did it take so long for it to come to light?
  10. Bigfoot’s whereabouts.  Okay, so I threw Sasquatch in there.  It’s better than talking about Bill Cosby.

Feel free to add to the list by commenting below.