sister sister

with all the talk about serena (possibly) dating common, venus being engaged to a white guy and the fact that neither of them are participating in the 2008 presidential election because they're jehovah's witnesses, it seems as though the general public had forgotten that venus and serena williams are the best two american women's tennis players in the world; frequenting sites like mediatakeout and bossip will do that to you.  

but tommorow at 2pm england time (thats 8 am for me here in central standard) the two will play for one of the biggest grand slam titles in the game of tennis; wimbeldon.  this is  going to be better than saturday morning cartoons!  all i need is a big bowl of crunchberries or goldengrams...waaaaait how about i mix the two cereals together...hmmm i will call them golden-crunch-gram-berries.  yes!

sorry, i digress

 the beauty of this match up is that the sisters seem to be back to rare form where they are dominating the scene. not since 2002 2003 when the sisters met in the finals of the wimbeldon twice and the u.s., french and australian open tournaments, have we have the privilege of watching the two go at it.  between the two they have 6 wimbeldon titles between them; venus have 4 and serena has 2  ill definitely be tuned in to see if venus can finally beat her younger sister, who she hasn't beaten in a final since 2001

i don't even care who wins, this is going to be the best tennis match of the season!  somewhere up in heaven, althea gibson is smiling

word of the day

sui generis (soo-eye-JEN-ur-us

adjective

being the only example of its kind; a class of its own; unique

song of the day

tell me if you still care - s.o.s. band

click here to download

what can i say, i love the s.o.s. band, and the song fits my mood.  sometimes its just that simple

what to the slave is the 4th of july?

in 1852, frederick douglass asked this question in what has been called his greatest speech.  here is an except:

"what, to the american slave, is your 4th of july?  i answer; a day that reveals to him, more than all other days in the year, the gross injustice and cruelty to which he is the constant victim.  to him, you celebration is a sham; your boasted liberty, an unholy license; your national greatness, swelling vanity; your sounds of rejoicing are empty and heartless; your denunciation of tyrants, brass fronted impudence; your shouts of liberty and equality, hollow mockery; your prayers and hymns, your sermons and thanksgivings, with all your religious parade and solemnity, are, to him, mere bombast, fraud, deception, impiety, and hypocrisy -- a thin veil to cover up crimes which would disgrace a nation of savages.  there is not a nation on earth guilty of practices more shocking and bloody than are the people of the united states, at this very hour"  to read the speech in its entirety click here

today i ask the same thing.  here in 2008 we are still slaves; most of us.  we are slaves to our appetites for consumptions, to the expectations of our friends and family, to our insecurities, slave to the propaganda created by media spin, slaves to labels or race, class, gender, sexuality, education, political affiliation and many others.  the difference in our enslavement though, and that of my ancestors is the acknowledgement of it.  

we truly believe that the united states of america is the greatest country in the world.  despite our failing education system, the depletion of social security, lack of health care, and poverty that seems unexplainable for a nation with our wealth; we can always point to countries in the third world and feel superior.  and today is the day to do it with grand opulence with flags raised and steaks on the barbeque without really considering what we are celebrating.  by participating, we are celebrating this nation's history of violent oppression and exploitation of all those not originally considered "american."  for this nation to live up to its promise, we must acknowledge the ways that we have and continue to gain our position on the world stage; by brute force with no regard for those who may become collateral damage, even when they are our own citizens.

now some of you reading might be asking me why i'm here in the united states if i have so many problems with the way things are done here.  don't worry, as soon as i finish school, learn dutch, and get a work visa, i'm off to the netherlands or maybe switzerland, or maybe london!  but back to the point, i am not unpatriotic but i do want for this nation to live up to its claim to be the greatest nation in the world, but taking better care of its citizens and doing more to help those in other nations that are less fortunate, often because of some actions we've taken.  

so for me, today is like any other friday, a day of work, trying to find a way to make things better in any small way that i can, because i'm sure that the agents of babylon aren't taking the day off, so neither will i

 

word of the day

abstruse (ab-stroos)

adjective

difficult to comprehend or understand

song of the day

move! - damian marley

click here to download

if you can understand the patois you'll definitely hear some quotables, and it gives a nod to his father's classic album title track exodus

where brooklyn at?

i was on the phone with my dad when he told me about the atrocity that occurred at kings country hospital in flatbush brooklyn in their emergency psych unit.  no words can describe the events the way this footage can:

this is one of the things that hurts my soul to the core.  the level if indifference of the other patients, the security guards, and the hospital staff is devastating.  not one person thought to call attention to the woman convulsing in front of them.  there is no excuse for what happened and it is just another example of how bad the conditions are in health care facilities where the most care is needed and also how low morale of the american people has become.  we need change