I was driving home Sunday night and I saw an accident. It was completely avoidable and you know how I know this? It was like I saw the whole thing in slow motion. You know one of those times where you're looking at say a horror movie and you're saying to yourself, "He's not gonna do that....oh my god, yes he is...aww this is gonna be bad...here it comes...HA!....DUMBa$$."
Now what kills me, is this is like the fifty-leventh time I've seen an accident actually happen here in Atlanta. I've addressed this before to some Atlanta residents, and they give me the lame excuse that since so many people are from out of town, Atlanta has managed to become the trash can for every garbage driver in America. In retort, I say I have yet to see an out of state license on a car that's been in an accident.
Now I don't know how easy it is to get a Georgia license (apparently all you have to have is a WANT to drive), as I am too a transplant, but there seems to be a serious lack of a skills standard. Let's set some rules here:
1. Any old person that requires those big ol' Kool Moe Dee glasses should NOT be able to drive. (This doesn't have to be explained)
2. Any person that drives an old skool chevy with a dent in it should have their license stripped on the spot. (Sorry to 75% of Atlanta black males under the age of 24, but homie, those cars are metal, meaning you would demolish every other car made after 1975, as they are plastic, and you drive like you know that fact)
3. All women between 16-24 should have to have those driver education brake pedals installed in the passenger side of their vehicles. (The numbers don't lie. One study reported that women in this age group are twice as likely to use their cell phone while driving as men. Studies show that using your cell phone while driving significantly decreases your driving ability. One and one equals...)
As this list could become quite expansive, I will choose to end it here. But if you still don't believe me about the Atlanta traffic, google "Atlanta worst drivers" and see how many hits you get....game.set.match.
Tuesday, October 23, 2007
The Cost of Good Health
Now I have just come back from the grocery store and I'm compelled to write about something that has been irritating me for a while. I'm sure I'm not the only person who feels the way I do.
I like to think of myself as someone who generally watches what they eat. I wouldn't call myself a dieter, just someone that generally prescribes to healthy eating patterns. As I walked through the store to reload on my basic diet, turkey burgers, tuna, eggs, and ramen noodles (yea I said it), I was once again struck by how much these items actually COST.
As I walked down the aisles to pick up my items, I noticed that my high protein bars were going at $6 for a box of 4 bars, while as I continued shopping, one couldn't help but notice the proliferation of "2 for $3" specials on cookies. Or when I looked for my honey bunches of oats cereal, which is $5 a box for the family size, while the frosted flakes were going for 2 for $6 in the family size. It occurred to me, why does, in one of the fattest countries in the world, does it cost so much to eat healthy? With the yearly parade of health initiatives by celebrities and politicians, why hasn't anyone come up with the genius idea of discounting healthy products?
Studies show that much of people eating selections, especially for families, are based on monetary reasons. Quite simply, it is cheaper to buy a 24 pack of doritos variety bags than to buy banana chips for your children to take to school. I think back to my own childhood, and ponder that maybe the reason we had so many snacks around wasn't just because we liked them, but we couldn't afford to eat anything different.
This also led me to think about the food options in lower class neighborhoods. Studies show that poorer and nonwhite neighborhoods also have fewer fruit and vegetable markets, bakeries, specialty stores, and natural food stores. Also, poor children have higher rates of obesity (around 20 percent of all poor children) than do nonpoor children (around 15 percent). To make these numbers more real, one study found that, while 58 percent of food stores on New York City 's Upper East Side stocked the low-fat, high-fiber foods health professionals recommend as part of a diet to control diabetes, only 18 percent of stores in East Harlem stocked these foods. Also, in the Detroit metropolitan area, for example, the poorest African American neighborhoods are an average of 1.1 miles further from the nearest supermarket than are impoverished white neighborhoods.
I don't know about you, but to me this is a PROBLEM. I'm just ranting...I'm done now.
I like to think of myself as someone who generally watches what they eat. I wouldn't call myself a dieter, just someone that generally prescribes to healthy eating patterns. As I walked through the store to reload on my basic diet, turkey burgers, tuna, eggs, and ramen noodles (yea I said it), I was once again struck by how much these items actually COST.
As I walked down the aisles to pick up my items, I noticed that my high protein bars were going at $6 for a box of 4 bars, while as I continued shopping, one couldn't help but notice the proliferation of "2 for $3" specials on cookies. Or when I looked for my honey bunches of oats cereal, which is $5 a box for the family size, while the frosted flakes were going for 2 for $6 in the family size. It occurred to me, why does, in one of the fattest countries in the world, does it cost so much to eat healthy? With the yearly parade of health initiatives by celebrities and politicians, why hasn't anyone come up with the genius idea of discounting healthy products?
Studies show that much of people eating selections, especially for families, are based on monetary reasons. Quite simply, it is cheaper to buy a 24 pack of doritos variety bags than to buy banana chips for your children to take to school. I think back to my own childhood, and ponder that maybe the reason we had so many snacks around wasn't just because we liked them, but we couldn't afford to eat anything different.
This also led me to think about the food options in lower class neighborhoods. Studies show that poorer and nonwhite neighborhoods also have fewer fruit and vegetable markets, bakeries, specialty stores, and natural food stores. Also, poor children have higher rates of obesity (around 20 percent of all poor children) than do nonpoor children (around 15 percent). To make these numbers more real, one study found that, while 58 percent of food stores on New York City 's Upper East Side stocked the low-fat, high-fiber foods health professionals recommend as part of a diet to control diabetes, only 18 percent of stores in East Harlem stocked these foods. Also, in the Detroit metropolitan area, for example, the poorest African American neighborhoods are an average of 1.1 miles further from the nearest supermarket than are impoverished white neighborhoods.
I don't know about you, but to me this is a PROBLEM. I'm just ranting...I'm done now.
Sunday, October 7, 2007
What to Wear What to Wear
So I call myself going to the mall to buy a new shirt the other day. Now what I really wanted was a Lacoste polo, preferably Carolina blue. I'm heading back into town from Lithonia so I tell myself I'll stop at South Dekalb Mall and pick up one. I head for the Macy's first. I look around the entire men's department. NO POLOS. Sean John? Check. Rocafella? Check. Enyce? Check. Now those brands I expected, but Izod? Check. After being dumbfounded at Macy's, my inner optimist says maybe they'll have it at another store. I proceed to enter into every single men's clothing store in the entire South Dekalb Mall. NO POLOS. After about the 3rd store, I decide to shift my focus to tshirts. As you can guess South Dekalb Mall is a full service mall for ATL trap ni#@as. From Miskeen to spray paint to personalized R.I.P shirts, South Dekalb can have any certified hood star dressed in the finest dope boy gear in any assortment of colors.
Now as I'm noticing that my mission is failing miserably, I ask myself, "Am I that out of style?" I'd like to think I have some sense of style. But I just couldn't figure out why anyone would want to wear a tshirt with sleeves that only go halfway down your bicep. I also couldn't understand what is the obsession with skulls and snakes. It seems like that's the logo for 20 different clothing lines. And call me crazy, but I like to match my shoes with my attire. Now because I like to do that, I will never be able to purchase half the shirts at the mall because they have 25 different colors on one shirt. I remember a time when men only saw in primary colors, but nowadays it seems "hood" to rock fuschia and neon yellow. And it's not like anyone makes fuschia and neon yellow shoes so how do you coordinate? Custom shoes for every shirt? Do what you do, but that seems kinda corny to me.
Anyways, I say all that to say, why isn't there a place where I can purchase clothes for every facet of me? Sometimes ya boy wants to wear Lacoste. Sometimes I want to wear a white tee. Sometimes I want to wear some Famous Stars and Straps. Why do I have to go to different places to dress the "Jeezy" and "Poitier" in me?
Isn't that part of the beauty of our people to take any attire and make it our own?
Now as I'm noticing that my mission is failing miserably, I ask myself, "Am I that out of style?" I'd like to think I have some sense of style. But I just couldn't figure out why anyone would want to wear a tshirt with sleeves that only go halfway down your bicep. I also couldn't understand what is the obsession with skulls and snakes. It seems like that's the logo for 20 different clothing lines. And call me crazy, but I like to match my shoes with my attire. Now because I like to do that, I will never be able to purchase half the shirts at the mall because they have 25 different colors on one shirt. I remember a time when men only saw in primary colors, but nowadays it seems "hood" to rock fuschia and neon yellow. And it's not like anyone makes fuschia and neon yellow shoes so how do you coordinate? Custom shoes for every shirt? Do what you do, but that seems kinda corny to me.
Anyways, I say all that to say, why isn't there a place where I can purchase clothes for every facet of me? Sometimes ya boy wants to wear Lacoste. Sometimes I want to wear a white tee. Sometimes I want to wear some Famous Stars and Straps. Why do I have to go to different places to dress the "Jeezy" and "Poitier" in me?
Isn't that part of the beauty of our people to take any attire and make it our own?
Sign of the Apocalypse
I saw a 12 year old rapper named Lil' D perform a song called "Skeet 'Em Down" at the Sweet Auburn Festival...
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