JN 216 - Harlem Globetrotters

Three Facts:

- The Harlem Globetrotters on a 4 month tour around the United States before they head to an International Tour.

- Event Organizers estimate about6,000-6,500 in attendance. 

- The Harlem Globetrotters were unable to talk to the Commuter. 

Nut Graph: It was a packed house full of families and students at Gill Coliseum, as the Harlem Globetrotters took the court and gave another great show on April 26th. 

Sources: Will Post Soon

Perceptions Don't Make You - Michael Rivera

I wrote this poem because people need to understand something: acting like a gangsta isn't cool and you have no idea what it mean. I have seen an met people who lived and have lived like an OG, and they wish they could done it different. See, gangs where i come from are about keeping each other safe and have a sense of belonging. Brotherhood don't mean shit compared to that. So please read this all you people who think that bein' hood is how you dress:

Scars and Perceptions

By: Michael Rivera

Scars are hard memories of the past,

some will fade and some will last.

Perceptions can be manipulated,

like a trench coat of fabrications, deceivingly replicated.

I see you posing for your peeps every day,

and for a long time I ignored you, like I had nothing to say.

But here you are now in my face, fakin’ tough,

So hear my words now, cuz I’ve become livid and had enough.

From time to time, it seems to me,

that you, my friend, are trying to be.

Something that you’re not; really just imitatin’,

all you really need is a deep soul liberatin’.

you walk around with your group, actin’ thug;

Yo! It’s not just about the clothes nor the mean mug.

You walk a strut cuz you act so cool, so fly,

Because, today, you're not worryin’ if you gonna die.

See, it's because your reality is simple,

If you went to the hood they'd pop you like a pimple

so don't look from your green pastures thinking you got it hard

Cuz the concrete jungle cuts! with loose glass shards.

Watch ya colors… Watch ya street…

Pick ‘em wrong and bangas let you bleed to death after they beat,

You down… down… down… The light slips away as you hit the ground,

Where the intonations of ya tears and fears are murmured sounds.

So now ya body’s bruised and battered,

Ya $100 kick and Tee is tumultuously all tittered and tattered.

Your fantasy of bein' an OG is in pieces as they shatter,

When God asks you, "Child, was it worth it? Did the facade really matter?"

Cuz you never seen the click-click! pop-pop!

people terrified from the sound, of a 9.milmeter.Glock.

Folks lock they doors and hide under they beds

hoping that no one is hurt and praying soon it’ll end.

So just be good with what you got,

Cuz gangstaz are top dawg until they get caught..

Take heed to these rhymes and regard the wisdom,

Of why you shouldn't praise a life of masochism.

Perceptions are gilded overcoats of how you wanna to be seen;

Scars are given and received, some worth bragging and others emotionally obscene.

Perceptions don't make you, who you are,

It's living life that marks us with scars.

No One Wants to Talk About God... But I Do

God is everything to me, yet why can't I bring it up in conversation?

By: The Bizz

Its funny to me whenever I bring up God, or even just the idea of God, into a conversation. Generally, people start getting quiet and there are only a few debaters. Why is it such an uncomfortable subject? Why do people feel run away every time it is brought up?

I was having some drinks with a couple co-workers, when we decided to meet at an undisclosed location to inhale some marijuana fumes. We started a conversation with me merely mentioning the fact that God exists. One other co-worker, who definitely didn't believe in God's existence, piped up to challenge my thoughts. Meanwhile, two other associates did not say a word. They actually felt they had to leave. It pains me to see that even though I believe what I do, others can't accept that notion or that my co-worker firmly believe that there is no God. Trust me, I find no fault in debate. Yet, never talking about it seems unrealistic. I find that people who I befriend slowly separate after I bring up my beliefs. I agree, one should never hold others to a standard that they hold themselves to. I don't believe it is my job to judge you for your disbelief and also my belief. Everyone is accountable for themselves and their actions; nobody else's responsibility.

I grew up in a church and a Christian school. I've had the unique opportunity to study the Bible along side my curriculum. Honestly, I wanted to be there for the spiritual purposes, yet after time the taste flew from my mouth. I was tired of all the people who took the material seriously when people were watching. I had kids stand up and chant about the evils of drugs and alcohol and how that it was so bad, yet we'd all be smoking weed and drinking after school got out. I was tired of the perception of a Christian. We all can look good on the outside, yet be dirty on the inside. I left the school my senior year to public school which change my life dramatically. It was that school and church that made me feel comfortable and hid me away from a lot of life's challenges. Yet, I saw that they only saved me from having to deal with real life issues early rather than later. Personally, I had grown up in a tattered household and had seen most of what life will throw you. Yet when I left, my spiritual life grew deeper. No longer was I bound to people too perfect to talk to certain people because of the way they dress, talk, etc. I was free to friend those people who were real, like me. Not faking what they were, just being themselves. That is when I grew to find myself and what God has planned for me.

What am I trying to say? We all should respect people for what they believe. We all have a sense of ethics that keep societies working. Morality is the choice and based on beliefs. Hold true to your morality and ethics. Be kind to one another. Listen to those even if you disagree. Be critical, only to receive the same back. Never down play someone for what they believe. Instead of belittling someone, fight with your reason. If you come across someone who will not give you the respect, then they don't deserve to hear what you believe. Your beliefs are your own. No one owns them but you.

This is the Bizz serving you a nice hot plate of thoughts this chilly Wednesday, April 5th 2011. God Bless and I'll catch ya on the flipside.

I met a man; a very happy man. He was almost so happy, I despised him. I asked him why he had such a big smile on his face. He told me that he was free. Puzzled, I asked, "What do you mean?" He said, "Brotha, I am free from repeating my past and am consciously choosing to be happy." Still confused, I sat an pondered his statement. I took a good look at myself and realized that I have been a slave to my past.

You know, hindsight gives us lots of lessons on life; some good and bad. The key is if you aren't so self-absorbed, you can prevent a life full of regret. A lot of people walk around shouldering their anger, guilt, shame, etc. What good can come out of this? Nothing.

We all have pasts we're not proud of. We all have things that are best left in the past. The true make of a person is not the sin we commit, but the actions we take after them. See, you are responsible for the things you do, but you have to move past them. Your past has happened and it is done with. The future is what you need to look after.

It's funny how we can change so much in just one year. You look back to what you believe then and now and you can find major differences. I can say that in my experience, I've learned a lot and feel less naive about whats happening around me. I also feel that as time goes on, our innocence is lost little by little. The older we get, the more bitter we become. As time goes on, we need to let go of those negative things that haunt us.

Ask yourself this: Is it worth carrying all the junk of your past around? In order to get past what we've done, we need to change what we do. We need to rise up past what we're been labeled or stereotyped. What am I trying to say? Don't imprison yourself to your past. Move past it. The healing process of ourselves begins with letting go. Also, happiness is a choice. You can either be happy or be something else. No one has the power to make you be joyful or melancholy. You have the ultimate choice for you what you do.

This is the Bizz, serving you a hot plate of thoughts on this awesome June 9th, 2010. I'll catch y'all on the flipside.

Information Overload

Advancements in technology are moving faster than the memory capacity.

By: The Bizz

I was on Twitter the other day and wanted to post a tweet. I rarely do this due to the fact that I really don't like Twitter (other from receiving interesting information). So, being that it was that one blue moon where I actually had something that would potentially be of need to society, the server was overloaded. What the hell? What's up with this?

It is interesting to see which direction social networking will go. If Twitter is running into a problem this early in its creation, what will happen in the future to the site? These are drastic to what the site has been created to do. But just imagining all the people who rely on Twitter to pass information along as either for a job or communicating with others. You're whole server might or might not be working. We live in a world that is so obsessed with being connected at all times that information overload is blasphemy.

I remember when computers still used dial-up. Literally, I would click a link, go upstairs to the kitchen, make myself a sandwich, and return to my page being half-way loaded. This was typical for pretty much every average person. As time and technology pass, new and greatly improved products move so fast, your find what you want in seconds. To think, after I finish writing this blog, 5 seconds later it will be there for everyone to see.

That all being said, do you ever think there will come a time when there will no longer be available space to save data? If so, how would we live? How would computers function? Just because we couldn't handle the amount and size of files. Life itself would change for every person.

I think it's interesting to think if everything electronic failed, we would all be back in the stone ages. Sadly, a lot of people do not know how to survive without a microwave. In effect, our whole world would be turned to an interesting type of anarchy. A form to which would have to be governed by certain areas. The idea of a national government would struggle to survive amidst the chaos.

So what am I getting at? Well, this topic is rather hypothetical, but read between the lines: Enjoy the little things that make the world turn. Be happy that there is a light that tells you when to drive and when not to. Be thankful that we live in a society where living really isn't that difficult.

This is the Bizz, serving you a hot plate of thoughts this early Thursday, May 27th, 2010. Catch y'all on the flipside.

Family: Blessings of Wisdom

Families are hard to explain, but the greatest treasure we could have in our possession.

By. The Bizz

What is the one thing that you will always have on this world? Family. You can't get rid of them if you want to. You can choose to exclude them, but they can never not be related to you. Blood is blood, meaning that you can't go back an edit the DNA structure of a relative so they won't be related to you.

There are two key questions to family: What makes up a family and what purpose does family serve? I guess in the end, it's a matter of opinion. See, some families are closed off and some choose people not blood-related to be in their families. What makes up a family is people who help, push, discipline, and love you unconditionally. Most people have problems with their parents or close relatives. Even so, it is our God-breathed nature to care for them. It's almost unexplainable if you look at it with enough scrutiny. Even orphans have an idea of family. They have to grow up with people around them and they pick up information along the way to maturing. Some families are good and bad. Either way, we have an intense desire to be with a close-knitted group of people that love us.

A family is there to teach you how to function in life; giving you the basic set of knowledge to make you're own way. Without them, we would not know who to be who we are. Families are the key to good in the world. More often than not, someone who doesn't know you has no responsibility in your life. Matter of fact, no one has obligations toward you if you're not related. If it wasn't for family having your back in tough times, most people couldn't cope with the world around them. They provide security and nurturing, something the real world will not offer. Even when you mess up big enough, they continue to help you. Why? Because it is love that binds it together. Love translates differently to the variety of families out there. Regardless, there is no changing that.

Family also leaves us with wisdom. If it weren't for elders, our paths may turn out differently. With age comes wisdom and grey hairs. Without this wisdom, we could not hold true to values. Values are nothing without experience and support. The greatest gift a person could ever receive is great advice because it can save you from pitfalls. When you mess up, you don't want someone you love to make the same mistake. So what do you do? You try telling them why they shouldn't participate in specific functions. It's not JUST protecting them, because God knows how many times someone has ignored sound reason. It's about informing them of your experience and how it molded you. A person will choose to do what they want in the end game, but it never hurts to help where you can.

What am I trying to say? Take advantage of the fact that you have people around you who care what you say and try counseling them in a positive way. Whether you're an elder who can help your younger kin in learning tough decisions in life. If you are a adolescent trying to figure out the hustle & bustle called life, do more listening. No matter what, though, you're family is the blessing of wisdom that can only be translated down the line if you choose to engage it. It is the one group that will always hear you out.

This is the Bizz, serving up a hot plate of thoughts on this beautiful Tuesday, May 11, 2010. God bless you

If It Sucks, Advertise it...

You've all seen it. Every time you go to the store, it stalks you. You're kids grab at them, salivating at the mouth as you keep them away from it. Yes, you all know what I'm talking about: crappy products. I ponder often when I see these things still being sold that are obviously bad for you are some how still successful.

For example, McDonalds is bad for you. Why? Read the calorie sheet, yo. But mass people come and go and eat their nasty food because of two things: 1) advertising and 2) it tastes good. Here's the point: It doesn't matter how horrible your product is, if you can advertise it a certain way, you can influence the general populous.

Now, the general populous is a fickle, confusing bunch. Half of them voted for President George W. Bush twice and the other half picked a president who made our nation deficit increase by over $1 trillion. What is interesting to see is how our newest president approached social media and got his prize. It's so funny how Senator John McCain didn't pursue Facebook, Twitter, and other formats of social media. President Barack Obama is now kicking-back with a huge grin after the slaughter of Senator McCain. Now, compare the two individuals: McCain is a war vet and has been apart of the political machine for so long that he could probably be able to get bipartisan work done as president. Barack Obama, relatively new to politics, has no experience aka the Dark Horse. On paper, McCain looks like the better candidate. But Obama had the strategy to socially pull himself into office. Either way, to the victor go the spoils.

What am I trying to say here? Don't lie to yourself. Never let this monster we call advertisement get to your head. Don't just be another mindless slave to the communication industry's bullshit advertisements. A person needs to dig beyond the surface and start doing their own research and truths, not letting someone tell you what you believe. Why is it this way? In the end, the decision is always yours to make.

This is the Bizz serving you another hot plate of thoughts this April 27th, 2010. Catch y'all on the flipside.