Life in the Chocolate City

Voyage To Jerryworld: Cowboys-Eagles Game

2010-01-16T11:03:00.003-05:00

Aiiiight, let me start this off by just saying that I’m long winded. Feel free to go straight to the slideshow & pics I took at the Cowboys-Eagles game and ignore the dialogue. You’ve been warned.

Voyage To Jerryworld: Pic Set

Voyage To Jerryworld: Slideshow

a few of my previous trips

Day in the Life of a True Celtics Fan - NBA Finals Edition

Day in the life of a die hard Celtics fan

Day in the life of a die hard Cowboys fan

Destination – Eagles vs Cowboys Wild Card playoff game
Location – Cowboys Stadium, Arlington, TX
Time – 8PM EST/7PM CST

Sunday Jan 3, 2010
• Cowboys smashed the Eagles 24-0 taking the NFC East title. This set up a re-match for the Wild Card game at Cowboys Stadium for Sat. Made a few calls to some partners to see who was interested in going to the game in Big D.

Mon Jan 4, 2010 – Tues Jan 5, 2010
• Checked flights from DC, but none were under $459. Hoped to catch an e-saver when they came out on Wed.

Wednesday Jan 6, 2010
• Checked flights in the morning, saw that US Airways had a RT for $211. Booked it. Went back to ticket sites StubHub & NFL TicketExchange and purchased the best single seat available in lower level. Informed the bojangling 'friends' that I was leaving them and going solo since they were shucking & jiving. Made other necessary reservations for rental car & prepaid parking at off stadium location and was ready to roll.

Saturday Jan 9, 2010
• 11:37am - Arrived at DCA airport, parked car at $12 lot and caught shuttle to terminal.
• 12:02pm - Breezed through security, although agents (clearly Redskins fans) harassed me during the entire process. When I got to the gate, it was a sea of blue & silver. At least 30 other Cowboys fans were there already. There were only 2 dudes there with Eagles gear on. They caught hell.
• 12:08pm - Pilot came through and said "Look at all these Dallas cockroaches" and gave five to the 2 Eagles fans.
• 12:44pm - Boarded plane en route to DFW. Sat next to a young girl who reminded me of Peppermint Patty. She paid me no mind while knitting, but she was coughing up a lung. I took cover quickly.
• 1:52pm - Flight attendants served up some cranberry apple juice. That was the perfect complement to some homemade oatmeal cookies I had brought with me.
• 4:20pm - Arrived safely at DFW. It was freezing!!!!! I swear the temps were colder than the weather I had just left in DC. Called wife letting her know I made it safely, stood outside for a sec and caught the Alamo shuttle to their location. Scooped up a nice looking Malibu and was on my way.
• 4:40pm - 5:26pm – Followed the directions via Google Maps on the Blackberry while listening to Jets-Bengals game on radio. Drove to First United Methodist Church where the parking reservation was for, showed them my prepaid $25 receiptd for parking & jumped on their shuttle to stadium.
• 5:41pm – Ahhhhhhhh…. The arrival at Jerryworld!!!!! From the outside, that joint was amazing. I had been past during the construction a year prior, but was amazed at the monstrosity before me now. The excitement was building.
• 5:45pm-7:50pm – Just soaked in the experience. Walked around the stadium, located my seat, gave high fives to random folks, talked trash to Philly fans and took a ton of pics with my DSLR camera. The big screen aka The Jerrytron was dope!!!!
• 7:53pm – Located my seat, said what’s up to folks in and around my row
• 7:58pm - Eagles enter. Chorus of loud booooooooooos…
• 8:00pm - Cowboys arrive. Yesssssir!!!!
• 8:03pm – Ted Nugent performed National Anthem with an electric guitar solo. The joint was tight.
• 8:06pm – Opening Kickoff. Talk about a fever pitch.
• 8:42pm – First strike, Tony Romo to John Phillips with a 1 yd TD pass, Cowboys 7-0
• 8:47pm – Didn't enjoy that TD for too long. Vick hits Maclin on a 76 yd pass. Jenkins fell down. The stadium got suddenly quiet. Eagles fan 3 rows in front starts running his mouth and taunting. Tied 7-7.
• 9:09pm – Cowboys strike back. Tashard Choice with a 1 yr TD run. Cowboys 14-7
• 9:20pm – Eagles fumble on 18. Suisham kicks 25 yd FG. Cowboys 17-7
• 9:30pm – Tony Romo to Miles Austin with a 6 yd TD pass. I holler "Where you at playa???" down to Eagles dude who was popping off at the mouth. He glances back with“Yeaah aiiight, you got it man”. Cowboys 24-7
• 9:48pm – Eagles fumble again. Suisham kicks 48 yd FG. Cowboys 27-7.
• 9:58pm– 10:13 – Halftime. Took more pics, celebrated on the concourse with random fans. Hollered, jumped around and acted like a fool.
• 10:28pm – Definitely the highlight of the night. Felix Jones with a 73 yd TD run. Once he got the ball, he was gone!!! Straight smoked the entire Eagles D. Mayhem broke out in the stands. Cowboys 34-7.
• 10:32pm – Trash talkin’ Eagles dude turned into a punk. Cat actually got up, grabbed his stuff and left from his seat amidst a loud chorus of cheers. No heart. Of course I hollered "Where you going... you leaving us so soon?" in my 'mommy cares' voice.
• 10:51pm – McNabb throws a meaningless 4 yd TD pass to Jackson. Cowboys 34-14
• 11:06pm – Desean Jackson drops back to receive a punt along the goal line. I holler out “Ayyyy Desean… who’s azz is stinging nowwwwwwwww chummmmp!!!”
• 11:34pm – Final: Cowboys 34 Eagles 14. First playoff victory since ’96. Celebration begins. The sounds of Lil’ Flip’s Game Over plays throughout the stadium. When is the last time you heard that joint? LOL….
• 11:37pm - Some random woman came up, stood patiently while I taunted some folks and then asked me if I had a girlfriend. A girlfriend? What is this HS? I flashed the wedding ring, she smiled and kept it movin'.
• 11:40pm-12:31am – Hung around stadium. Took more pics & joked on Eagles folks who were still around . Hollered, high fived, hugged & dapped up every single person I saw who was wearing Cowboys gear.

Sunday Jan 10, 2010
• 12:35am – 12:56am Got outside and couldn’t remember where shuttle was. Walked all the way around stadium. Temps were in low 20’s. Decided to catch cab back to church.
• 1:04am – Arrive back to rental car. Lady from church says “Ohhhh honey, the shuttle is at stadium waiting for you”. I explained to her that I lost my bearings of where I was and just took a cab. Talk about feeling like an idiot.
• 1:10am-2:30am – Drove around & bar hopped with fellow Cowboys fans. Somehow it wasn’t quite like DC. Remember the scene from 48 Hrs when Reggie Hammond (Eddie Murphy) walked into the redneck bar? That’s kinda how I felt.
• 2:38am – Drove to Denny’s for some eats. It was the first time I had eaten since the plane ride to Dallas. No joke, I can’t eat or drink when adrenaline is pumping at Cowboys games. I forget all about hunger or thirst in the energy of the moment. But I tore up that Grand Slam breakfast at 3am. I sat up in that spot for like 90 min with a terrible migraine.
• 4:33am – Had to gas the rental back up. It was deadly cold outside. Temp gauge in car showed 14 degrees. That was crazy for North Texas!!!!
• 4:40am – 5:33am Arrived back at Alamo & took a nap in the warm car.
• 5:38am – Took shuttle from Alamo to terminal. Did the security thing & went to gate for 7am flight back to DC.
• 5:44am – 6:32am– Sat and talked to a few Cowboys fans who had been on the exact same flight with me from DC. A lot of them were just as amped as I was.
• 6:39am – Boarded plane for flight back to the District.
• 7:02am-7:31am – Plane sat on runway, then had to return to have wings de-iced.
• 11:18am - Plane landed at DCA. Called the wife to advise her I was headed home, caught shuttle to the lot where my car was, paid the bill and hit the road.
• 12:21pm – 6 something pm– Arrived back home, watched Patriots-Ravens game and some of Cardinals-Packers game. Crashed!!!
• 2 something am – Woke-up realizing that the crash had taken place. LOL!!!!

The End.................................

Peace-N-Love

G. Mo

Blessed With An Angel

2009-10-08T20:48:00.006-04:00

"Every good and perfect gift is from above" - James 1:17

The arrival was at 10:20pm on October 7, 2009, She weighed in at a healthy 7lbs, 11oz and 19.5in.

She's got daddy's trademark dimples and inherited his crooked pinky fingers as well

To say that we're overjoyed would be an understatement. We just thank God for bringing her into our lives safe and sound. We look forward to the blessings and challenges of parenthood.

There are truly no words to describe the feeling of hearing your baby for the first time.

Lovely... Perfect... Amazing... Miraculous... Precious... Wonderful... Stunning... Angelic... Dream Come True... Captivating... Darling... Cherished... Delightful...Beautiful.... Gorgeous... Happy...

Blessed...

Truly Blessed...

Peace & Love...

G.Mo

Meet the '09-10 Boston Celtics

2009-09-30T00:32:00.012-04:00

We're talkin' less than a month before my squad opens up the 09-10 NBA season vs the Cleveland Cavaliers. After being on an extreme high of watching them take the 2008 NBA title, I had to suffer in disgust as Kobe and the Lakers hoisted the hardware this past summer. With a healthy Kevin Garnett back, I look forward to an exciting season where they're going deep into the playoffs. There's no one in the East that wants to see them. No one!!!!

2009 Boston Celtics Media Day Pics

Schedule

There's been a handful of changes to the roster since close of the '08-09 season.

Additions:
Rasheed Wallace - from Detroit
Marquis Daniels - from Indiana
Lester Hudson - 2nd round Draft Pick from Tennessee-Martin

Mr. Candace Parker... oooops I mean Shelden Williams - from Sacramento

Losses
Leon Powe - Signed with Cavaliers

I'm gonna miss Leon. Hardworking brotha who made my eyes light up at Game 2 of the 2008 NBA Finals. In just 15 minutes, he scored 21 points. I think there's a YouTube video of me screaming "Yeaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah Leon" in the stands when he dunked on Ronny Turiaf. This guy always came to play, just sad that he couldn't stay healthy. Best of luck to him... even in Cleveland.

Departures (sure as hell can't call them losses)
Mikki Moore - Signed with Warriors
Gabe Pruitt - Free Agent
Stephon Marbury - Free Agent.

Steph's career is most likely done after the summer meltdown. I wasn't thrilled with his signing in the first place. Peace homie. Word on the street is that he's on tour with Kirk Franklin and working on an endorsement deal to promote the dietary benefits of eating Vaseline.

Starters:
PG-Rajon Rondo
SG-Ray Allen
C-Kendrick Perkins
PF-Kevin Garnett
SF- Paul Pierce

Key Bench & Rotational Players:
F/C- Rasheed Wallace
PG/SG- Eddie House
PF- Glen Davis
SF- Marquis Daniels

Rest of Bench:
Tony Allen
JR Giddens
Brian Scalabrine
Bill Walker
Shelden Williams
Lester Hudson

Team Strengths
• Defense
• Veteran Leadership
• Clutch Performers
• Scoring in the paint

Team Weaknesses
• Backup Point Guard and Point Guard Play
• Overall Bench Play
• Team Age

Time for my squad to get back to ballin'. I didn't stutter when I said earlier that no team in the East wants to see them. Sure, it's going to be very competitive. But I have faith that they're going to get it done. The quest for Banner #18 begins...

Peace & Love...

G.Mo

"Without Bias"

2009-09-26T02:40:00.005-04:00

First of all, make sure you see this documentary film.
Second, check out this joint.
Thirdly, don't miss it!!!

Have I made myself clear?

The documentary film on the life and tragic death of Len Bias made by Kirk Fraser is outstanding. I had the opportunity to see a screening of it this past Friday night at the Lincoln Theatre. The film won the Grand Jury Prize for Best Documentary at the 13th Annual American Black Film Festival

It's scheduled to air on Nov. 3 at 8pm as part of ESPN's 30 for 30 documentary film series. It will continue to air on ESPN2 and ESPN Classic over the following month after at various times.

Now, if you're a regular on here, then you know how the death of Len Bias affected me. If you're not, feel free to check out an entry I penned entitled, Death of Len Bias: 20 Years Later on the anniversary of his death before continuing to read this one.

There's are a variety of reasons why I looked forward to this film. First off, Len Bias was an incredible athlete. Being truthful, using the word 'incredible' is a gross understatement to the talent that this man possessed. That's like saying that Michael Jackson was a decent entertainer. Since the untimely passing of Len Bias, I've read tons of articles, watched specials on athletes and substance abuse and talked to youth about the dangers of drug use at various mentoring programs. Quite often someone much younger will ask me to give more details about Len Bias and what occurred. I always pause for a second, almost like I did when the news of his death was first received. There's almost no way to explain the events that took his life. I mean, even 23 years later it still stings. Seeing Without Bias really answered some questions that I had. It gave me some clarity on things I had wondered for many years. I'm sure it will answer questions that folks have.

I'm not saying that there's earth shattering testimony given during the film. We hear from the James & Lonise Bias, former Georgetown coach John Thompson, former UMD coach Lefty Driesell, former UNC coach Dean Smith, a number of Bias' Terrapin teammates including Keith Gatlin, David Gregg & Jeff Baxter and various sports writers including Michael Wilbon, Kevin Blackistone, James Brown & Jackie MacMullan. Now a documentary would not be complete without having Marion Barry in the mix. He said a few words also.

However that biggest impact on the film was the appearance of Brian Tribble. After all these years, we finally to hear from him during the film. I'm not talking about a quick 10 second sound byte either. You get to hear the story in his own words regarding what occurred. You get to truly see how Len's death affected him. You can feel it. The segments where Tribble talked were very profound.

As an added bonus to the evening, director Kirk Fraser was available for Q&A after the screening. It was clear that many folks either didn't care about the Q&A session or just didn't know because as the credits rolled, people were piling out into the lobby. I'd guess that maybe 75% of the folks had left, but best believe I remained. Fraser answered a handful of questions from the audience. A good number of folks also stepped to the mic to commend and thank him for making the film. There was a brief point where one of the audience members asked if there were any of participants of the film in house. At that time it was announced that Brian Tribble was present and he was given a mic and stepped to the stage to sit next to Kirk Fraser. The brother at the mic in the aisle began to ask a variety of questions to Tribble all in one breath. To his credit, Tribble maintained his composure amidst a flurry of random thoughts that seemed to pop in the gentleman's head and said something to the effect of "That's a lot of questions, what's your primary point?", which garnered a laugh from the remaining crowd.

The man proceeded to ask Tribble what he had learned from the incident, but also asked him whether the drugs were supplied by him or Bias that night and how such pure cocaine found it's way into the dorm room that night. Without transcript of the Q&A, it's impossible for me to summarize that complete dialogue. However, Tribble acknowledged being 'hard headed' and making young mistakes in life as everyone does. He also said that folks should listen to those who love them. In response to the question about the cocaine, he basically said "Only two people know where it came from... me and Len. He's passed on, so I could easily say it was him. But he's not here to defend himself, so what's the purpose in discussing this aspect?". That's not a direct quote, but his response was similar to that. The way it is quoted might sound abrasive or snappy, but it was far from that. It was said more in a somber tone that I think everyone in the audience understood.

What does it matter 23 yrs later where the drugs came from? Why disparage the man's name now or ever? Regardless of where it came from, the circumstances won't change. It won't bring Len Bias back. At some point he made a conscious decision to use cocaine that night and it took his life. I gained respect for Brian Tribble. First, just his appearance in the film and secondly for walking up to that stage and answering questions. That definitely was not anticipated. I for one, laid a great amount of blame upon him in my conscience for Lenny's death. I don't feel that way any longer.

Getting back to Kirk Fraser, there was one answer that really stuck with me. When asked by one attendee whether he was connected to the Bias family or what was the reason he decided to make the film he answered "My connection is I'm one of the individuals that he saved... because of his story I didn't go down that path".

Props to Kirk Fraser on making the story come to life and told the way it needed to be told. Look out for Frosty (Len's nickname), the biographical motion picture sometime in 2011

But first, make sure you see the documentary film. Yeah I said it again.

Peace & Love...

G.Mo

Kanye interrupted me too

2009-09-15T16:16:00.000-04:00

Fortunately my IT team was on the case and quickly restored things back to normal order.

I'll be back with a new entry once I ensure that our security protocols have been upgraded to prevent these kind of disturbances from occurring again. Thank you for your patience in this matter.

Peace & Love...

G. Mo

What artists have you seen live?

2009-09-09T12:38:00.003-04:00

What started out as an innocent question on Facebook, led me to sit down and compile a list of all artists I’ve seen perform live. I figured I’d get to 50 easily, but never imagined that the overall number would be closer to 150. I know I’ve attended a lot of shows over the years, but maaaaaaaaaaaaaaan!!!!! Keep in mind that aside from being an audience member on my personal time for a number of concerts, I attended both the American Music Awards in ’92 and the Soul Train Awards in ’96 at the Shrine Auditorium in LA. I worked at WKYS for a few years and did a lot of remote set-ups and club hits during that time. I also toured and audio engineered for a number of artists and attended a ton of industry parties where artists performed live sets. So most of the time I was seated in an assigned location comfortably. But as far as other locations I've been backstage, on the side of the stage, behind the stage, at the mixing board, in the pit, in other standing room only locations, whatever.

Two things I want to point out. The first ever show I attended featured Today, Guy, MC Hammer and Sir Mix-A-Lot at Charlotte Coliseum in North Carolina. My pops worked for the Hornets at the time and while visiting him on winter school break I had tickets for pretty much everything going on at the arena from wrestling to basketball games to concerts. That evening was cool cuz I had free reign all over the coliseum. Show didn't really excite me, but as a teenager with wandering eyes, I was watching every sistah up in the place with their new hair styles and fresh gear. Need I say more? I think not. The other note is that there are at least 15 of the artists listed that I've seen perform more than 3 times, not including Go-Go music bands. But none more than Patti Labelle. At last count I've seen her perform 6 times. I think I first saw Patti in '91 or '92 and fell in love with her from that day.

Every time I think I’m done adding an entry to the list, I think of 2 or 3 more performers I've seen. I’m pretty sure I’m close to being done at this point. I started this 2 nights ago, so it’s taken me 48 hrs plus to come to the current number. Anyway... here it is.

1. 311
2. A Tribe Called Quest
3. Alicia Keys
4. Amel Larrieux
5. Anita Baker
6. Anthony Hamilton
7. Ashanti
8. Backyard Band
9. BBD
10. Beyonce
11. Big Pun
12. Biz Markie
13. Boyz II Men
14. Brandy
15. Busta Rhymes
16. Cam’ron
17. Carl Thomas
18. Celine Dion
19. Chill Rob G
20. Chuck Brown
21. Color Me Badd
22. Cypress Hill
23. D’Angelo
24. Da Brat
25. De La Soul
26. Del tha Funkee Homosapien
27. Destiny’s Child
28. Digital Underground
29. DMX
30. Dru Hill
31. Eric Roberson
32. Erykah Badu
33. Estelle
34. EU
35. Fabolous
36. Faith Evans
37. Fertile Ground
38. Foreign Exchange
39. Foxy Brown
40. Frankie Beverly & Maze
41. Gerald Albright
42. Gerald Levert
43. Ghostface
44. Ginuwine
45. Groove Theory
46. Guns N Roses
47. Guy
48. Heavy D & Boyz
49. Hoobastank
50. Huck-A-Bucks
51. Ja Rule
52. James Brown
53. Jay Electronica
54. Jay-Z
55. Jazmine Sullivan
56. Jean Grae
57. Jill Scott
58. Junkyard Band
59. K’Naan
60. Keith Murray
61. Keith Washington
62. Kid-N-Play
63. Kriss Kross
64. Lalah Hathaway
65. Lauryn Hill
66. Lil’ Benny & The Masters
67. Lil’ Kim
68. LL Cool J
69. Lost Boyz
70. Luther Vandross
71. Mad Lion
72. Mary J. Blige
73. Mase
74. Maxwell
75. MC Hammer
76. Method Man
77. Michael Jackson
78. Missy Elliott
79. Montell Jordan
80. Morris Day & Time
81. Mos Def
82. Musiq
83. N.E.R.D.
84. N.O.R.E
85. Nappy Roots
86. Nas
87. NE Groovers
88. New Edition
89. Notorious B.I.G.
90. Outkast
91. Patti Labelle
92. Peabo Bryson
93. Pharcyde
94. Pharoahe Monch
95. Prince
96. Public Enemy
97. Puff Daddy
98. Queen Latifah
99. Queen Pen
100. R. Kelly
101. Rachelle Ferrell
102. Raekwon
103. Raheem Devaughn
104. Rakim
105. Raphael Saadiq
106. Rare Essence
107. Redman
108. Regina Belle
109. Ronald Isley
110. Royce 5’9”
111. Run-DMC
112. Sir Mix A Lot
113. Stevie Wonder
114. Talib Kweli
115. Tamia
116. Tech9ne
117. Teena Marie
118. The Fugees
119. The Lox
120. The Roots
121. Timbaland & Magoo
122. TLC
123. Today
124. Toni! Tony! Tone!
125. Total
126. Whitney Houston
127. Whodini
128. Will Downing
129. Yolanda Adams
130. Ziggy Marley

I think that's it. I do reserve the right to add more as necessary. LOL!!!!

Peace & Love...

G. Mo

Well, it was worth a shot

2009-08-15T09:30:00.003-04:00

It's 6am in the morning. You roll over to the nightstand to shut off the alarm on your Blackberry. While doing so you check your email. There's a message with the title Samsung 52" LCD $9.99. You wipe the cold from your eyes cuz obviously you're still in some kinda haze. You look again. It still says Samsung 52" LCD $9.99. That's nine dollars & ninety nine cents for a LCD that's easily 2 G's. You set the Blackberry down, grab your laptop and access your email from there. In the email there a link to Best Buy where the TV is being sold. You click the link and this is what you see.

What do you do now??? I'll tell you what you do. You grab your credit card and you order that joint. That's what you do!!!!

Once you get to the shopping cart you realize that this is indeed the case. Pick a delivery date and put the order through. Why wouldn't you?

Once you get here the process has been completed. Within 3 minutes you receive an email confirming your order and the date of delivery. Now you have to sit back and wait.... and wait... and wait... and wait cuz you know that it's too good to be true. Then you think to yourself, why not share the deal with friends? So you log onto Facebook and post the link for all your folks. Get dressed and hit the office as usual. While at your PC in the office you decide to Google to see if anyone else has seen the deal. Bam!!! There's a ton of articles already on the Best Buy miscue. Welp, that pretty much seals up the fact that the order is going to be cancelled. It was just a matter of time. Around 3pm that afternoon, the email arrived.

Now, I'm no fool. I didn't honestly at any point in time think that Best Buy would honor this thing. Hell, they need to fire their web development team or whatever web master screwed that one up. I mean it wasn't even a decimal point off. The price of the Samsung LCD is $1,999.99, so someone was really asleep at the wheel.

I was one of thousands who ordered it and figured "What the heck, I'll give it a shot". I guess what shocked me was how long it took Best Buy to react to the mistake and to correct the issue. They're a major retail company and there's no excuse for why they couldn't have almost immediately discovered this and at least removed the item from the website completely and then taken time to address whatever technical bugs they had. All major retailer have some sort of Terms of Conditions that protect them from mistakes like this one. Anyone who really thought that they'd honor this is living in a dream world. Imagine what would happen to their profits. Think about the shareholders would be going ballistic about the snafu.

Right or wrong, mistake or not, they still left a really bad taste in the mouths of their customers. They received a ton of press coverage on this mistake. If anything it gave them a commercial that they didn't even have to pay for. Talk about a PR spin. You screw up on your website by offering a $2,000 LCD for ten bucks. You then revoke the deal from consumers because of an error and then you get on the news all day. I wonder if they planned this. Honestly though, Best Buy should do something for the folks who ordered the TV's. I'm not saying to give folks a TV for that ridiculous price. But they just outright canceled the orders via email and nothing else. How about giving your customers 10% off their next visit. Maybe a gift card of some denomination for the hassle. Anything to shine a brighter light on the image of a company that stood in the dark shadows that day. But hey, we see how they handle business. They're like every other company out here that doesn't really care whether they lose a customer or not. Business for them will be brisk especially since the departure of Circuit City from the competitive marketplace.

To be honest, I'm not really a Best Buy customer anyway. It's not bitterness speaking honestly. I truly don't get my electronics from them. Those who know me are aware that I purchase high dollar items and tend to look at Best Buy as the 7-Eleven of electronics stores. It's a Mom & Pop joint. They have a little bit of everything and the best of nothing. I'm a Myer-Emco kinda guy. A cat who'll order from companies direct or through reps I know personally. So all in all, there's no loss. I mean, Best Buy sells HDMI cables for a hundred bucks, why would the TV be $10??? LOL!!! Just imagine how much the warranty would've been on that? Nevermind, that would've been dumb. You could've just ordered 10 more TV's. With shipping that would've been about $800 for 8 52" Samsung TV's.

I got a $100 Best Buy gift card from a client around Christmas time. I didn't even use it until May. I walked around the store for like 90 minutes, no joke. I couldn't figure out what to get. Wanna know what I ended up getting? I'm glad you asked. I bought a very expensive toaster, ceramic stove cleaner, stainless steel wipes and the Stevie Wonder's Live at Last: A Wonder Summer's Night from London DVD. I groove to the Stevie Wonder joint. You gotta cop that. Guess Best Buy is good for something after all.... *shrugs*

Peace & Love...

G. Mo

Mary & Barry = Marion Barry

2009-08-11T10:41:00.004-04:00

I decided to watch The Nine Lives of Marion Barry last night on HBO. The documentary overall was pretty good. But as I sat on the couch, I reflected back to the time when I was around 8 growing up in the DC area. I know I couldn't have been the only kid that thought Marion Barry was really Mary & Barry. I always tried to understand why they always showed Barry, and rarely showed Mary. It confused the hell out of me. When the mention of Marion Barry was on the news, I always looked for 2 people. Then later realized that Marion was his first name and Mary was really his wife Effi Barry. Duh!!!

*smacks self upside the head*

Just my abstract thought of the day...

Peace & Love...

G. Mo

Who cares about chicken fingers???

2009-08-10T11:36:00.002-04:00

So I was asked about the Erykah Badu/Chuck Brown show at Merriweather Post Pavilion over the weekend. But I wasn't asked about the performance. A brotha was asked if the chicken tenders were any good. Were the chicken tenders any good!!!??? Are you serious??? Now, had it been a steak, slice of pie or fresh squeezed lemonade a critique could've been provided. But chicken fingers!!!!??? Who's a connoisseur of breaded chicken strips??? Does anyone walk around like "Those joints at Kings Dominion were slammin"??? I mean, I don't consider myself bourgeoise or nothin', but I sure as hell can't decipher between the good and the not so good chicken fillets. In actuality, I don't eat them that much to really care. Sure I've been to many sporting events, theme parks, movie theatres & food spots over the years and had them. But I never once in my mind said "Awwwww shucks, these right here are like that!!!".

Now, I'm not saying that anything is wrong if you're one of those folks who actually breakdown what's a good batch vs a bad batch. But it just seems weird to me. Lemme get a frozen bag from Costco or Murry's, throw those jokers in the oven and I'm straight. Get some good BBQ, honey mustard or sweet & sour sauce and I'm grubbing. Now that's something I can critique. A good sauce. I might even make my own from some Guinness, brown sugar, apricot preserves, Worcestershire sauce, ketchup & a few 'other' ingredients. But opinion on battered chicken feet? Nope....

If you've got a top 5 list of your favorite (or worst) breaded chicken spots, feel free to let a brotha know. I know somebody out there has a favorite chicken finger basket and fries spot. However, I'm on the outside looking in with this one.

Peace & Love..

G. Mo

Flashback: The Jukebox Network

2009-08-04T12:46:00.001-04:00

Awwwww maaaaaaaaaaan.. I remember sitting in front of the TV waiting for 2 Live Crew's "Move Something" video to come on. In fact, I used to roll to my man's house and request the video from there. My mom would've flipped when she got the bill if I had called from our house. His folks didn't care anyway. He stayed requesting videos off of there. I was listening to XM and some songs came on that made me flashback to some of my favorite vids... and or course the ones that were annoying as well. They showed a lot of videos that BET & MTV refused to play at that time Here's a few of them that I remember seeing a lot. I found a few on YouTube and uploaded some from my digital archives, but YouTube and their copyright mess is some nonsense. So I uploaded a few to Dailymotion. Guess we'll have to see if they remain up.

Probably the most requested video on The Jukebox Network back then...

This was my joint right here... I went out and bought the LP single on wax cuz of this video

These two videos right here used to get on my nerves!!!!!! The had to have played these joints at least once ere' 20 minutes back then...

LTrimm - Cars That Go Boom Music Video

Where the hell is MC Shy D these days??? LOL!!!!! This vid used to come on a lot too...

I guess if you really look at it, The Jukebox Network originated in Miami, so that explains the ton of vids from that area. Anyway... I may add videos as I remember them or if you comment with one that you used to vibe off of or hated, I'll add it.

Peace & Love...

G. Mo

The Champ Is Here!!!

2009-07-21T07:17:00.000-04:00

Fantasy Football season is here. Yahoo, ESPN, CBS, Fanball, Fleaflicker, whatever. Let's get it in. Free 'play for pride' leagues, money leagues, it doesn't matter. Capitol Punishment is back to crush jokers again this NFL season. If you've got a league and you're not scared, give me a holla. My email address is located to the right where it says Email Me!!!. Help add to my "The Champ Is Here" bobble head collection.

Peace & Love...

G.Mo

Summertime Crack

2009-07-15T22:57:00.008-04:00

If you're one of those folks who have been in hibernation since Jimmy Carter went back to his peanut farm in 1981, you may not be aware of what crack is. Before reading this entry, feel free to sign up for Netflix and add New Jack City, Deep Cover & Training Day to your queue. Erol's Video is no longer around and we have these cool digital discs called DVD's now. Check your local electronics store to get a DVD player.

Now for my people who know the deal, I will proceed. When you hear the word crack, a few things may come to mind. Let me give a few quick examples. Someone who need not have on something that reveals their partition split along the backside. Could be the plumber working in your house with the tool belt and loose jeans or maybe your neighbor mowing their lawn at 7am on Saturday morning in their cheap sweats. Quite possibly it might be a woman on your job with the muffin top squeezing into something that doesn't quite fit her. Makes the 'butt on your back' reference truly come to life... in a bad horrific way. If you're at the beach or nightclub you may see something that catch your eye in a good way. I'll move on from that though. Feel free to use your imagination. In lieu of portraying people, I'll allow this apple to serve as my exhibit in this case. LOL!!!

You might reflect back onto your days of drinking alcohol in the late 80's or early 90's and something called Cisco. That stuff was so potent that it was considered to be liquid crack. Many folks woke up kissing the porcelain with their heads buried in the commode after a night of Cisco indulgence. It's not like the stuff was any good, but the lure of it was the cost. You didn't have to spend more than $5 to get twisted... and sick.

You may hear the voice of Whitney Houston from an interview with Diane Sawyer in 2002 reminding you that "Crack is wack".

If you're a fan of Chappelle's Show, you'll recall a brotha by the name of Tyrone Biggums. That dude is a true crackhead. You may have bought a steaming hot TV or laptop off a cat like this around the way for like $50 or maybe a 6 pack of tube socks for 35 cents. Well, not you personally cuz we're all Christians and don't buy known stolen goods from drug addicts right? Anyway, this is a guy who said "Y'all act like crack is so bad". Here's a brief clip of him in action.

When I talk about summertime crack, I'm not talking about rock cocaine or drugs. I'm sure most of y'all get that point. I'm basically talking about things that your addicted to. But it's not a normal addiction. It's one where you become a fiend for whatever that particular 'crack' is. I'm talkin' bout that Pookie from New Jack City feenin'. Y'all know how bad my man Pookie was. I mean, just look at him. Crack was calling him by his full government name. In his own words "I tried to kick... but it be callin' me, man... I just got to go to it!"

The hot weather always brings forth something that we tend to crave with regularity. Generally for me it's a food or drink that I tend to gouge during the humid days. But it's not entirely limited to the consumption of calories alone. For you it might be a certain activity or event, maybe a TV series that's on between Memorial Day & Labor Day. Anyway, I've got a handful, but will limit my list to the 3 most prominent. These are things that I will not do without. I gotta have them!!!

1. Rainier Cherries - These things are so sweet, gotta love them. They're expensive, but I've been catching them on sale this summer at a number of grocery store. I eat these things every single day. I drive with a plastic baggie full of them sitting in the center console. Just follow the trail of stems and seeds in the road and you're destined to discover where I am. I also eat them at my desk in the office. That's one of my favorite snacks.

2. Simply Raspberry Lemonade - Liquid non-alcoholic crack!!!! I was already a fiend for the regular Simply Lemonade, but when this hit the shelves in the Spring, I was all over it. I stay on the 2/$4 specials at Giant or Safeway. I must have this in the house at all times. A brotha loves lemonade. The Santa Cruz Organic Mango Lemonade is slammin too!!!! If you're not up on these lemonades, my condolences.

3. Häagen-Dazs Sorbet - I started off one week just buying one peach and one strawberry. They were so good that I decided to get some more. Problem was that I couldn't decide which one or two or three to buy. So I just bought all the flavors that I wanted. It's nice to have a deep freezer. Now I can just stack the frozen desserts of choice. If you wanna get real jazzy, pour some ginger ale in a cup and toss 2 scoops of sorbet in it. That's some goodness right there playa!!!

The first step in therapy is admitting to the addiction. I've done that and definitely feel better about getting that off my chest. The mic is now yours. Feel free to talk about whatever your summertime crack is...

Peace & Love...

G. Mo

Only My Folks...

2009-07-13T07:23:00.012-04:00

I celebrated my 37th birthday this past Saturday. As with most birthdays and Christmas holidays, I tend to open cards and gifts later on in the afternoon or evening. I don't know why I do it, it's just a habit. I had a birthday card from the wife, a card from grandma in NY and a card from my Dad who lives in North Carolina. The cards that came from NY & NC via the mail had been sitting for a few days prior to my birthday. Well, I totally forgot to open my cards on Saturday as we weren't in the house too much until late evening. Sunday rolls around and we went to church as we do each Sunday. We arrived back home and I threw on some appropriate gear to check out a kickball game out Walker Mill Park. Came back home and decided to lounge for a minute. I still hadn't opened the birthday cards.

Ma and her husband come by the house later in the afternoon. I gave them a quick tour of the nursery area, offered them some Simply Raspberry Lemonade and we all sat down in the family room. As we're sitting down on the couch, Ma comes over and hands me a card. At this point my wife reminded me that I hadn't even opened the ones that had been sitting. So she brought all of them over to me. Since Ma had just given me hers and was sitting right there, I opened that one first. It read as follows...

Son, there are so many things I want for you – so many wishes in my heart as I watch you grow into your own life... I wish you a world of adventure and experience ~ and also the serenity that comes from listening to your inner voice as the world rushes around you...

I wish you the strength to face challenges with confidence – along with the wisdom to choose your battles carefully... I wish you the satisfaction of seeing your goals achieved and also the true contentment that is born of simple things ~ work well done, friends well-loved, moments caught and cherished.

And my greatest wish is that you will always remember how much you are loved – for you are a good and caring person... a man I am proud to have for a son.

Happy Birthday

I thought it was a pretty nice card. I placed the Panera Bread gift card and cash on the end table next to the couch and read it once again. Once I completed reading, I thanked Ma for the card and them jointly for the gifts enclosed. I then went to the next card in the stack which was from my wife. She gave me a cool card that had a pretty funny message. I'll leave it at that. :) Next in the stack was the card from Pops. I removed it from the envelope and began to read it...

Son, there are so many things I want for you – so many wishes in my heart as I watch you grow into your own life... I wish you a world of adventure and experience.......

"Haaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa... Awwwwww maaaaaaaaaan!!!" I hollered. All three of them looked over towards me to see why I was laughing hysterically and shaking my head. At this point I held up both birthday cards. The cards given to me from both Mom & Dad were exactly the same.

Now folks, you have to understand that Pop lives in Carolina and has been there since '84. My Mom has been in the MD-DC area my entire life. Aside from significant events that surround me, I'm pretty sure that they don't communicate directly. I immediately reflected back to my graduation from Howard when my folks have another one of those "Awwwwwwwww maaaaaaaaaaaaaan are you serious?" moments. Once I received my degree and stepped from the stage, I was greeted by my Dad. He had just flown in from National Airport, was fresh out of the taxi cab and still had his suitcase in hand. He was wearing a red golf shirt and black slacks.

(yes, I went through my graduation video last night & took the still images... lol)

As I maneuvered through the crowd, I saw Ma. She had on a black blouse, red jacket and black pants. When she saw what my Dad had on her jaw dropped. I busted out laughing.

Trust me on this. There's no way in the world that either one of them would've coordinated with the other in a fashion sense. We all still shake our heads til this day on that one.

The whole thing with the birthday cards, took me back to fun memories I had as a kid. Although my parents divorced when I was very young, I still recall moments where they did things similar. As an adult, I look in the mirror at times and remind myself how I am like them in various ways. I guess these funny situations only add to the mystique of the similarities that our parents have and things we acquire from them as life moves forward. It's great to have 'shake your head' moments that you can reflect and laugh about as you get older. Ma says she went through a handful of cards before she picked that one. When I called Dad and told him what happened, he couldn't believe it. He swears up and down that he spent forever in the CVS until he found the card that was perfect. What can I say? Being the common denominator means something I guess. If nothing else, I know that my parents both love me and are proud of my accomplishments. Trust that I love them and appreciate all their love and support over the years.

I know I can't be the only one who has funny stories of parents who did in a similar fashion... by accident. If you got any, feel free to share.

Peace & Love...

G. Mo

"Next time you write about Steve McNair, drop your stone"

2009-07-10T11:34:00.003-04:00

"...Next time you write about Steve McNair, drop your stone. Next time you text somebody, drop your stone. The next time you Twitter, drop your stone." - Bishop Joseph Walker III

I think at this point we're all aware of the circumstances surrounding the death for former NFL QB Steve McNair. I don't think I need to expand upon that any further. I decided to watch his memorial service on my laptop last night. While watching the it, the words from his pastor Bishop Joseph W Walker of Mount Zion Baptist Church of Nashville really hit home in so many ways. If you're familiar with the story in the New Testament of the Bible, religious leaders brought an adulterous woman to Jesus and suggested to him that she be stoned. The story can be found in the 8th chapter of John. Read the 7th verse of that chapter where Jesus responded to them "He that is without sin among you, let him cast the first stone". That aint nothing but the truth folks.

I kinda reflected for a moment on my life. None of us are perfect and we've all made mistakes. Sadly the ones made by Steve McNair ended with tragic consequences. God forbid any of us have our lives put on display and salacious activities we've promise to take to our graves are revealed.

I didn't know Steve. I had never met him, but he always seemed to be smiling when shown on TV. From the testimony of friends at the memorial service last night, he was a good brotha. He did a lot to help folks from contributing time and money to the Boys & Girls Club to assisting Hurricane Katrina victims. It is very apparent that he touched many lives in a positive way.

From what I saw on the football field, that brotha was a warrior. I still recall a Tennessee Oilers vs Baltimore Ravens game I went to in '98. McNair ran for a 40 yd touchdown in that game. He had many TD's runs like that exact one throughout his entire career. It was something to see live from the 20 yd line. Back in the days when I used to wear jerseys a lot, I copped a Titans #9. Best believe I rocked it. No one can deny the man's contributions to the game of football.

I figured I'd share the web stream I had saved from my computer from the memorial service and uploaded Pastor Walker's eulogy in its entirety. I had to break it up in 4 parts to adhere to YouTube standards of 10 min or less. Anyway, here it is. Listen to the words that were spoken.

The circumstances of what led to the death of Steve McNair aren't good... but God is still good!!!!

Read Proverbs 3:5,6 & then holla at me....

Peace & Love...

G. Mo

Michael Jackson Memorial Booklet

2009-07-08T13:35:00.000-04:00

Michael Jackson Memorial Booklet

For those who haven't had the opportunity to see the program from Michael Jackson's Memorial service, feel free to download it at the link above.

Peace & Love...

G. Mo

Let's keep the party going...

2009-07-05T20:48:00.003-04:00

For the last several months, I've contemplated a retirement from blogging. I actually pre-wrote and entry entitled 'Grand Finale', but never published it. Then again, how does one retire from blogging? I mean, it's not a job or something I've done for a long time for income. The thing is, I still have the passion to write. I remember writing in my first journal in the 3rd grade and have been writing ever since. However, the time and energy devoted to posting regularly doesn't allow me to really write online as much as I'd like to.

I started my first weblog on Thu Mar 11, 2004. It wasn't on Blogger or my own website. It was on a messageboard forum that had a thread for those who wished to blog. If you're one of those SOHH or EBL folks, you've seen a lot of growth in a brotha that has changed in so many ways over the years. I talked about a lot of crazy stuff back then. To be honest, my life was kinda unstable at that time in so many ways. I look back on those entries and reflect on how far I've come in just a shade of 5 years. Writing is therapeutic. I love it. As a kid it helped me deal with issues and drama in my life. In a way it helped me express my emotions.

When discussing my desire to stop writing online, I was met with more folks against it than I could believe. I mean, do folks really read stuff I write? I was kinda surprised. Then again, I recall some very personal entries that I shared with the world that touched people. The one that stands out the most is the reflections of my best friend I penned entitled Tribute To A True Friend where I discussed his suicide in '95 and the effect it had upon me. That might've been the most difficult one to share. That was a very traumatic event in my life and I never liked to talk about it a lot. However I received hundreds of emails afterwards. Some from folks who also lost close friends and family to suicide. Some emails from those who felt down on their own lives who contemplated suicide and somehow came across my entry which made them re-think taking their own lives. I'm still astonished at the random emails I get til this day where someone will just say "thanks" for sharing your pain about your friend and what you went through.

The other entry that was written is more of a funny one where I discuss having crooked pinky fingers entitled Crooked with the fact that I had no clue that there was even a medical term for it called Clinodactyly. I swear I've gotten at least an email a week from someone who probably happened to Google the phrases 'crooked fingers', 'crooked pinky' or 'curved pinkies' and came upon my site. It's cool to know there are so many other folks out here who share the same oddity that I do and it kind of makes us the 'crooked' family so to speak. I mean, I get emails from all over the world. Hell, there's even a Facebook group for folks with crooked fingers.

So through the encouragement from family, friends & random emails from folks who were touched in some way by words that were penned, I've decided to continue. I'll do my best to at least give an update a week, but no promises. A brotha is extremely busy these days. But since I've been absent for quite a while, I do have some exciting news to share and opinions to express about what's been going on in the world these days. I suppose I can't ride into the sunset without tipping my hat with a smile.

Peace & Love...

G. Mo

Dream Fulfilled

2009-06-02T21:24:00.001-04:00

Back in December we started on The Road to Peace and Tranquility. I'm happy to report that we've come to the end of that road. But that's not a bad thing. That only signifies that we've arrived at our destination. Life begins anew in more relaxing, less stressful surroundings. I could go into details of issues and annoyances with neighbors at the previous residence, but it's not important anymore. We're home now. It's so quiet, I can hear the birds chirping. I'm talking first thing in the morning when I wake-up, middle of the day and evening when the sun begins to set. It's so beautiful.

From the time contract papers were signed to begin the construction, best believe I checked up on the building progress every step of the way. I'm talking about making sure I stopped by at least once every two weeks during the initial stages of construction in Jan-Feb, pretty much every week in March and up to 3 times a week from April - May. If you ever decide to build, it's essential to make sure that things are done right, trust me. I spent a lot of time going over the property and structure when the project managers and workers were not around. However you choose to go about it is your business. That's just how I handled it.

I have at least a thousand pics from beginning to end, so everything is well documented. Of course I wouldn't dare post all those online, but there's about 30 or so that I'll share. It was kinda fun to really capture the moments. Here's some of the pics of the process from beginning to the closing.

Dec 2008

Feb 2009

March 2009

Being that I've worked in the audio-visual field for quite some time, I did some of the structured wiring myself. I don't advise this unless you know what you're doing. I just couldn't see myself spending $10,000 for Cat5, RG6 & speaker cables, so I snuck in and did a few hours of work for less than $500 in supplies and my own labor. It wasn't easy, trust that. But I did it solo and saved some cash no doubt.

April 2009

Speaking of blessings from up above, I made sure to mark up the house with my favorite Bible verse, Proverbs 3:5,6. Trust in the LORD with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths. My grandfather taught me that verse when I was in my early teens when I was dealing with some issues in my life. I never forgot that text from that time period. Trust that I believe every single word of it today.

One day when the walls were open, I went in with a red Sharpie and wrote on the wood frames in the house. Of course all the walls are up now, but I know exactly where all my hidden spaces are. Gotta have some blessings for the rooms when the kids are born ya know.

Understand that I'm trying to make sure that my children don't have to go through what I did. I've moved 22 times in my life. Yeah, I said twenty two. It's been hard. I don't remember staying at one place for more than 6 years. It made life difficult in trying to adapt to new surroundings only to be uprooted constantly. A good number of those moves occurred during my adolescent years, but I've also jumped around a lot as an adult in just the past 10 yrs alone. Moving takes a lot out of you. But in relocating so much, I learned very valuable lessons moving forward for the future.

I vowed to set a foundation in a place where my children can grow and not have worries about where they're going to be one minute to the next. A place where they can have a sense of community, have friends to play with and be set in one school during those elementary years. My happiness lies in knowing that I've struggled, but all that has produced something that I've dreamed of to create a family environment. It didn't come without hard work and won't be maintained without hard work. But I've never been one to take the easy way out of anything. Put that with other blessings that God has provided, along with a beautiful wife and that's enough for me to be happy.

June 2009

In all seriousness, this has been a journey for me and for my family. I only know a few of y'all personally, but in some ways we're a different kinda family... a dysfunctional one at that (just kidding). I hope y'all don't mind me sharing. Trust that it's not to be arrogant or boastful. I'm not rich by far, just blessed... which means more than money. I'm still the lil' kid that dreamed of one day having his own. It's not a 30,000 sq ft mansion or a joint that'll be on MTV Cribs. But after years of struggling and working, I feel a sense of pride to have my own home. God has really blessed us.

Peace & Love...

G. Mo

White House Easter Egg Roll

2009-04-27T07:25:00.001-04:00

I told y'all a few weeks back that I was taking my nieces to the White House for the Easter Egg Roll. Well... here's the recap.

I got up early, early and headed over to my sister's where the girls were ready to go. This pic of them sitting on the couch was taken at 6:10am. So yeah, they had to have been up with me at 5am.

Made the 45 minute drive to downtown DC. Found a parking garage and were on the White House grounds by 7:15am. It was cold out that joint. As you can see, we're bundled up like it was still mid winter.

Made it through Secret Service past the gates around 8:20am and went straight to the Easter Egg Roll line.

If I recall, some point in the day my oldest niece said "I want to be Vice-President!!!". Her look in this photo definitely says that. She looks so proud.

Took a quick pic with all of us. The girls, my sister and me.

Don't ask me who was performing. I just know that the girls had an enjoyable time dancing and jumping around for the next 20 minutes.

They ran to this character. I have no clue who this is. He wasn't around when I was watching morning cartoons... LOL.

Back to the stage where Fergie was performing.

Off to the craft area where they got to work some magic with their hands.

A pic in front of the official sign on the White House grounds.

Another character that I don't know. But trust that they ran to her also. Looks like a sistah...

Rollin' out after a morning of fun. President Barack Obama and family came out shortly after we departed. We still had a great time even though we didn't get to see them.

No sooner had we got back to the car and they.... well you can see... they crashed!!!!

Had to wake them up so they could fill them stomachs. A good uncle doesn't just give them granola bars, a banana and a juice box and then take them back home. It was still breakfast time, so we got full.

The souvenir egg from the White House that each of us got in our gift bags that day.

Hope you enjoyed the quick captions and pics.

Peace & Love...

G. Mo

Didn't I tell ya that DC stood for Dallas Cowboys???!!!

2009-04-15T05:50:00.007-04:00

Ole knucklehead Redskins fan got his jaw jacked yesterday and rightfully so. Now, I'm not an advocate of violence, but in this case the dude deserved to get his butt whooped.

Pedestrian Removes Cowboys Car Flag, Gets Clocked by Motorist - washingtonpost.com

Man Removes Car Flag, Gets Clocked by Motorist

By Martin Weil
Washington Post Staff Writer
Wednesday, April 15, 2009; B04

A man who grabbed a Dallas Cowboys flag from a car in downtown Washington was punched in the face yesterday, startling passersby in an area that is home to lawyers, lobbyists and expensive shops and restaurants.

It occurred about 6 p.m. in the 1700 block of L Street NW, at a site just west of Connecticut Avenue, where few expect fisticuffs. Commuters were hurrying toward the Farragut North Metro station, and the car was stopped in traffic, police and witnesses said.

"It's crazy," said D.C. police Lt. Eric Hayes of the 2nd District. "It doesn't make sense."

But, he said, someone snatched the flag from a car, apparently threw it down, and crossed the street. "By the time he got across, someone exited the car" and struck him in the face, Hayes said.

It might have been motivated by team loyalty, he said. Or the motorist might have been particular about who touched his car.

One witness said she saw a "big tall man walk up to this guy and hit him across the head." Then, she said, the tall man "got back in his car and drove off."

She said that the motorist "just hit the man and walked off" and that he picked up an object from the ground, which might have been the flag.

The man who was hit fell and struck his head on the sidewalk, she said. Ringed by the concerned and the curious, the man lay facedown on the pavement.

"He was out cold for a good five minutes or so," the witness said.

Police said a man was taken from the scene for treatment of a bruised forehead.

Wait a minute, Chris Tucker has something he'd like to say...

That's what I'm talkin' bout. Dude got slumped!!! This story made my day...

Peace & Love...

G. Mo

Monster HDMI cables vs el cheapo HDMI cables

2009-04-06T12:01:00.000-04:00

Listen folks. Most of y'all know that I've worked in AV and multimedia for years now. One thing I felt the need to address was this HDMI cable scam that has folks out here dropping crazy loot. A few of you have gotten caught up in this, so my reason for writing this is so that others don't get jipped.

Digital is digital is digital. As long as it works, it's going to work the same. Monster has always preyed upon consumer ignorance, otherwise they wouldn't survive. Many people are also suckered into buying expensive wires that perform no better than much cheaper alternatives. Let’s say you go to your local electronics store and pick-up a new HD TV set; the salesman desperately wants to sell you those Monster cables because they make a ton of money off them. Monster cables provide an excellent picture, but you can get an alternative which will cost you far less and will look just as good. For example, this 4 foot HDMI cable from Monster which Best Buy sells for $69.99 versus this 4 foot HDMI cable from Monoprice selling for $4.31 which looks just as good. I personally recommend Monoprice.com as a place to buy any types of cables and have been using their cabling almost exclusively for the past 3 years or so.

Do not buy overpriced cables!!!! Did you know it costs Monster just about the same amount of money that most of cables at Monoprice cost to make their product? The mark-up is pure profit. If you think it costs them anywhere near $150 to make an HDMI cable, then you're dreaming! It costs them maybe $5 each at most. They rake in more money then anyone else on their pure profit operation luring unsuspecting average folks into the cable scam every day. It is really sad that so many people fall for their hard pushed sales pitches and glitsy product displays. You are NOT, I repeat, NOT getting a better product buying the "Premium" digital cable. Monster cables do not ever give you a better picture, sound quality, or any other benefits than the cheapest $5 bargain bin HDMI cables. If you don’t get a perfect picture with an HDMI cable, then it is broken - nothing to do with the quality of the cable.

Hope this info was helpful....

Peace & Love...

G. Mo

We're Going To The White House!!!

2009-03-26T22:45:00.004-04:00

Kickin' it with Ronald McDonald at the White House Easter Egg Roll in '81. Pops got me all messed up with the brown cords and the tight maroon jacket.

Yep... that's right. Uncle G. Mo is taking the nieces to 1600 Pennsylvania Ave for the annual White House Easter Egg Roll. If you recall, that is the residence of President Barack Obama and family. I haven't told the girls yet, but best believe that they'll be excited when I inform them. Now most folks are aware that I've got hook-ups from here to Timbuktu, but when it came to copping these tickets, bruh man had to do work. I sat in my office logged onto the White House website for hours. Every 5 minutes or so I'd hit F5 on the 3 different browsers I had open. For the first 3 hrs of trying I got nothing but the "Thank you for your patience" message screen. Around 2:15pm, I had 6 tickets selected once and then got booted. About 10 minutes later I was able to get back on and it went through for the 6 tickets that time. Presto!!! I was in.

My hands started shaking like I had arthritis as I tried to type the pertinent info into the blanks. The excitement of actually getting through the system was what shocked me. I mean, I always believe that I'm going to get whatever I want. But sometimes I end up on the short end of the stick. This time, I got lucky. Seriously, I can't even say it was anything more than that. I didn't get a chance to take the girls to the Inauguration and I was kinda sad about that. So I really wanted to find a way to get them to the White House. This coup today, sealed the deal.

*picks up mic*

Test... 1...2.. See it kinda goes like this. I already knew I was gonna get em before I did. I spoke it into existence. I told myself "Self... we gone get these tickets for the girls to see President Obama at the White House". I said it this morning while eating my cereal. I said it in the car in traffic on 29. I said it when I sat down in the office. It was destiny. You gotta believe... Thank you

*drops mic*

Back in the early 80's when Ronald Reagan was President, my dad used to take me to the White House. I remember those days like they happened yesterday. I didn't care about Democrats and Republicans back then. I just had fun on the lawn with the rest of the kids, the cartoon characters and playing games. That is one experience that I want my own child to have one day as well. But for now, I've got 3 little girls who call me uncle who will be happy to go. Hopefully they'll get souvenirs like I did back in those days. I still have my wooden eggs from '81 & '82.

It's amazing to think I actually kept them that long. As much as I've talked to them about President Obama and the interest that they've shown in him being President, it will be historical for not just them... but me too. Hell, I might be just as excited as they'll be when I tell em. Best believe that I'll be taking plenty of pics of our day.

Peace & Love...

G. Mo

When the Yellow Rice aint yellow

2009-03-24T00:03:00.005-04:00

A brotha was preparing the after work meal at the crib and grabs a box of Zatarain's Yellow Rice as he does on the regular. The directions are quite simple that even a child in kindergarten can figure it out. But on this occasion, things were quite different. One think struck me instantly when the packet in the box was opened. The yellow rice wasn't yellow, it was white. Now, I'm hold "Hold up, what happened to the yellow rice?" They done pulled a switcheroo on me. So I went ahead and cooked as usual and it was aiiight... for white rice. But I bought the yellow for a reason. I wanted yellow. So best believe that I got on the phone with the Zatarain's Consumer Affairs dept and let them know the deal. The lady I spoke with was very polite and apologetic. She stated that they'd send me some free coupons as an olive branch for the inconvenience. 48 hrs later, I had my letter and the coupons. I try to tell folks that writing letters and contacting customer care departments about issues that occur are a necessity.

I have a file of letters I've written for the past 15 years with hard copies as well as on the computer. Ask Pentagon City Mall what happened when I saw a roach in their food court while dining one Saturday afternoon in '94. How about the letter I wrote to Subway corporate 2 yrs ago when I went to get a sandwich at 8:45 and the clowns who were hired to do their jobs til 9pm had closed the doors 15 minutes early and refused to open them as I stood outside patiently for 10 minutes. I contacted General Mills about 10 yrs ago when my Honey Nut Cheerios box had regular Cheerios inside. Let me not forget Comcast HQ in Philly 4 yrs ago when a tech just totally messed up my install. Now their execs send me Christmas cards each year. Want something done? Write a letter or voice your issues with the companies who have 'wronged' you. Screaming, fussing and cursing don't get you anywhere or the issues resolved in most cases. Patience and a calm attitude will get better responses when things happen. Just remember that.

Have you ever opened a product from the grocery store and what you had bought wasn't inside the box or package or it was missing the number that was supposed to be inside??? If so, did you write a letter or contact the customer care dept of the company? Just curious to the experiences of others...

Peace & Love...

G. Mo

"I Beat To My Own Beat"

2009-03-11T17:04:00.002-04:00

You can thank Mr. Terrell Owens for inspiring my latest creation. A web page, soon to be website with the domain name I Beat To My Own Beat Dot Com. Yeah, I had a little bit too much time on my hands last night and what!!!??? I thought about that stupid phrase for 3 days and the bright light came on when I was driving home that I might be able to register it. Did you think for a sec that I wasn't gonna scoop up the domain name off GoDaddy? I'mma full time hustler and on the grind regularly. Gotta find ways to make that cake. Maybe I'll put some effort into the site. Maybe I'll add some guest writers and columns and what not. Who knows. Buffalo Bills fans if you're out there, hit me up. Folks who got $$$ who want the domain, hit me up. I'm out.

Peace & Love...

G. Mo

15 Albums That Changed My Life

2009-02-19T00:06:00.003-05:00

My homie on Facebook hit me with this one, so I figured I'd go ahead and complete the task.

Think of 15 albums, CDs, LPs (if you're over 35) that had such a profound effect on you, that they changed your life or the way you looked at it. They sucked you in and took you over for days, weeks, months, years. These are the albums that you can use to identify time, places, people, emotions. Dig into your soul. Music that brought you to life when you heard it. "Best of" collections are excluded because that would be too easy.

Anyway, it's hard as hard to limit this list to 15. But here goes...

1. Original Motion Picture Soundtrack - Car Wash... Mom and I would sing this song and alternate the parts "Hey, get your car washed today"... "Fill up and you don't have to pay"... "Come on and give us a play"..."Do the wash, right away"... and then both sing "Car wash... talkin' bout the car wash" together.

2. Whitney Houston - Whitney Houston... I had a crazy crush crush on Whitney Houston and loved the song "Saving All My Love For You". Next thing ya know she was on Silver Spoons singing it to Dexter. I was mad as hell when they censored "making love the whole night through" and changed it to "holding each other the whole night through" - for the show. You Give Good Love was another song I played relentlessly.

3. Thriller - Michael Jackson... this was my bike riding music... I would get on my Huffy dirt bike and ride with my Walkman down Rhode Island Ave from Peace Cross in Bladensburg to New York Avenue and back... I'd occasionally stop riding and rewind P.Y.T and Wanna Be Startin' Somethin' to the beginning cuz I used to get amped off of those joints.

4. It Takes a Nation of Millions To Hold Us Back - Public Enemy... From Black Steel in the Hour of Chaos to Don't Believe The Hype to Night of the Living Baseheads, I ran around quoting and hollering like Flavor Flav.

5. New Edition - New Edition... I was stingy as hell with this tape... I never let anyone borrow it... I took this tape to camp with me in the Blue Ridge Mountains and listening to I knew every word to Mr. Telephone Man, Cool It Now, My Secret, Kinda Girls We Like and Lost In Love.

6. Destiny - Jackson 5... Just imagine me singing "Don't blame it on sunshine, Don't blame it on moonlight, Don't blame it on good times, Blame it on the boogie", while in my bedroom pretending to be Dr. J as I dunked my Nerf basketball over on the basket hanging over the door. My other favorite song on that album was Shake Your Body. I'd be hollering "Let's dance, Let's shout, Shake you body down to the ground" while emulating Tony Dorsett running into the end zone for the Cowboys.

7. That's the Way of the World - Earth, Wind & Fire... There were a lot of great songs on this album, but that's not why I remember it. I reflect on it cuz when Ma played this one song, it used to scare me. I thought it was a woman crying. Wanna know what that song was??? It was Reasons. I'm sorry, but you couldn't have told me back then that Philip Bailey wasn't a woman singing a sad song. I used to go back in my room and turn the TV up loud so I wouldn't have to hear that song. LOL.

8. Long Live The Kane - Big Daddy Kane... I had a Betamax in my bedroom and recorded the "Aint No Half Steppin" video off BET if I recall and played it nonstop... plus I bought the LP from Waxie Maxie's... in fact, that LP is still in my basement.

9. Take Two - The Brothers of Washington D.C.... I'm sure you're looking like "Who the (blank) are they???... this was an all men's gospel group that my father was a part of in the late 70's, early 80's. I spent many, many years going to Friday night rehearsals and subsequent concerts at various churches across the country. They had 3 albums before my dad left the group, but on this second album I recall being around a great deal during the preparation. On this one they sang Lift Every Voice And Sing, Let Us Break Bread Together, Swing Down Sweet Chariot, This Little Light Of Mine, The Lord's Prayer and a rack of other classics. It's out of print, but lucked up and found the LP in a used record store recently for $3.

10. Let's Do It Again Soundtrack - The Staple Singers... Loved the title song and played this album to death... you hear me!!!???

11. I've Got Love - Melba Moore... Just the recollection of mom singing songs from this album while cleaning the house on Sunday mornings, makes me smile.

12. Straight Outta Compton - NWA... I hated the police and this album didn't exactly make me fond of law enforcement... but best believe that I could've gotten on stage and performed every song word for word and not missed a beat

13. Family Reunion - The O’Jays... I remember running around the house as a kid singing "I Love Music"

14. Inseparable - Natalie Cole... My mom played this album and sang it so much that I thought Natalie Cole was a friend of hers. I know what the album jacket looks like from front to back cuz when I tried to use it as a dust pan, I almost got killed.

15. Original Musiquarium I - Stevie Wonder... So many classic songs on this album. This is technically a compilation album, but the songs I like the most were new tracks "Do I Do", "Ribbon in the Sky" and "That Girl". My cousin used to play this tape so much in her Camaro in '82 that I became addicted to Stevie's music. I know there are a ton of Stevie albums that trump this one, but this one is where I first really became a fan of his music.

Ok, so I finally finished. A great deal of inspiration comes from my parents who both sang a lot back then. They provided me my own record player and from there I just fell in love with a lot of tunes I still love today. That's all...

Peace & Love

G. Mo

Just when you thought...

2009-02-02T11:26:00.002-05:00

(I feel ya Larry... that hurt me too homie)

Football season is officially over with the Steelers victory of the Cardinals last night. Arizona gave us just enough hope in thinking they could pull off the miracle upset. But in the end, we all know the result. I'm aiiight with Mike Tomlin cuz he's a smooth brotha. But I still hate the Steelers!

That's all I got today..

Peace & Love..

G. Mo