September 29, 2007
Protected: Open Up The Floodgates Of Evil And Immorality: Let’s Go To A Football Match
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September 27, 2007
"Sweet Jesus I Hate Bill O’Reilly"
Not me, personally, but it is a rather catchy title of one of my favorite humor pieces about the neo-cons. Oh, if only Bill-o had stopped there — at the date the book was published — instead of staying on the air and giving its authors volumes of fresh material to work with. Anyway, I digress. What I really wanted to point your attention to is BO’s latest little foible about eating out at the renowned Sylvia’s in Harlem (Note: I’ve linked the NYT article to this post and excerpted it here):
It was not your typical day at Sylvia’s restaurant, the famous soul food institution in Harlem. A CNN crew showed up around lunchtime yesterday, interviewed patrons and filmed some close-ups of a plate of food. Reporters cornered tourists with questions about their dining experience, and the restaurant’s regulars called, not to make an order, but to ask about the controversy. The food, atmosphere and clientele at Sylvia’s were a matter of nationwide attention yesterday because Bill O’Reilly, the Fox News Channel talk show host, recently described being surprised to find that the black-owned establishment was as pleasant as other restaurants.
“It was like going into an Italian restaurant in an all-white suburb in the sense of people were sitting there, and they were ordering and having fun,” Mr. O’Reilly said on his nationally syndicated radio show on Sept. 19. “And there wasn’t any kind of craziness at all.”
Indeed, yesterday afternoon, as Mr. O’Reilly accurately described, iced teas were ordered with civility, not hostility. Servers behind the counter were shoveling ice into glasses and dishing out macaroni and cheese, greens, chicken and some of the other specialties. Black and white customers described Mr. O’Reilly variously as living under a rock, or ignorant of black Americans, or, in the words of one diner, George Hymen, 68, “nutty in the head.”
“The idea that people would be in here acting out, cussing, is kind of archaic,” said Beverly Wilburn, 63, a clothing designer who lives nearby and sat at the counter munching on a sandwich and sipping coffee. “I would laugh if I didn’t think it was sad.”
Some diners said they did not want to judge Mr. O’Reilly too harshly. Samuel Johnson, 49, who went to Sylvia’s after reading about the controversy, said he had met Mr. O’Reilly in the aftermath of the 9/11 attacks. He was working as a chef at a Lower Manhattan restaurant where Mr. O’Reilly had worked as a volunteer, serving meals. “When I heard the derogatory comments I was like, ‘Wow,’” Mr. Johnson said. “Over all, I don’t think he’s a bad guy. He just made some bad comments.”
Mr. O’Reilly told The Associated Press yesterday that his comments had been taken out of context. “If you listened to the full hour, it was a criticism of racism on the part of white Americans who are ignorant of the fact that there is no difference between white and black anymore,” he said. “Circumstances may be different in their lives, but we’re all Americans. Anyone who would be offended by that conversation would have to be looking to be offended.”
Some of the comments came in an on-air discussion between Mr. O’Reilly and Juan Williams, a political analyst for Fox News Channel and author who is black. They talked about racial relations in a meandering discussion. About black culture, Mr. O’Reilly said: “I think black Americans are starting to think more and more for themselves. They’re getting away from the Sharptons and the Jacksons and the people trying to lead them into a race-based culture.”
He noted that he attended an Anita Baker concert, and seemed surprised to find the crowd was “50/50, black/white, and the blacks were well-dressed.” He said the band was excellent, “but they were dressed in tuxedos, and this is what white America doesn’t know, particularly people who don’t have a lot of interaction with black Americans. They think that the culture is dominated by Twista, Ludacris and Snoop Dogg.”
Kinda reminds me of another Mr. Bill — Oh Nooooooooooooo!
September 24, 2007
Protected: Who Am I? (A Letter To My Readers Who Have Commented On My Most Recent Posts)
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September 23, 2007
Why I love Dr. Rabab
She started a root canal yesterday without me even knowing it! That’s how good she is. Plus she kept me from having to resort to DIYD — Do It Yourself Dentistry.
September 17, 2007
Protected: What Kind Of Man Marries A Second (Third or Fourth) Wife?
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September 10, 2007
We’ve Got Trouble My Friends, Right Here In River City!
It all started with a tree.
One day, almost a year ago, at a high school in a small town nestled in the seat of La Salle Parish, La., three Black boys made a simple request. They wanted to sit under a tree and eat their lunch as numerous other students were currently doing. The school official overseeing the lunch crowd willingly obliged, stating the students could eat anywhere they chose.
This is the day that changed everything for the less than 3,000 residents of Jena, La., and especially for six Black boys.
The next day, three nooses hung where the three Black boys had previously stood. When the school superintendent failed to take appropriate action, dismissing it as an adolescent prank, racial unrest ensued.
For more information and to find out how you can help make a difference go to their website.
Hat tip to Muhammad for this important story.
September 9, 2007
Day 5: The New Regimen
Salaam Alaikum everyone. Thank you all SOOOO much for your responses, love and support. Wallahi, I never felt so much that the internet can really be a tool for good in our lives to the degree that I felt reading all the loving messages. I really didn’t know that I mattered that much but now that I do I will fight even harder to find my way back to myself. So in that vein, I want to respond to a few of the comments:
1. I am doing a lot of reading about the meds and am under the care of both a psychologist and a psychiatrist. I see them each about every 3 days at this point until the severity of my depression abates a little. I have struggled with depression most of my adult life and am a firm believer that each one of us has to find the right path to deal with it. Just like Van Gogh’s painting above, life presents you with many paths. You cannot see but so far down a path without following it. Otherwise it tends to simply disappear like the paths above with the stalks of wheat closing in. The most effective path for me is to combine low doses of medication, therapy and my faith. I appreciate the warnings and shared experiences and will keep my eyes open to keep assessing whether it is helping or hurting — in other words, whether I need to change my path.
2. Changing medication won’t change my marital situation, nor will it lull me into acquiescence or acceptance of the grave wrongs being committed in my marriage. In fact, both the therapist and psychiatrist are of the mind that treating the depression is a necessary step in preparing me to get out of the bad marriage and find happiness again. Don’t worry — I’m not laying around in a haze of Xanax thinking life is wonderful. LOL!
3. In all the tests I have taken over the past week, we have discovered that I have extremely low levels of the Thyroid hormone. This can certainly contribute (even cause) depression so it must be treated as well. I had some additional tests to see if I have an auto-imuune disease that has attacked my thyroid but in the meantime have started taking thyroxin to supplement what my body is producing. Ladies, apparently this is quite common among pre-menopausal women so when you are having your annual gyno check-up, please have them check your Thyroxin levels.
