A Curious Case

Hello all!

I just wanted to drop in really quick to share my thoughts with a movie that I saw last night and that movie was 'The Curious Case of Benjamin Button'.

Now if you have not seen this movie yet, then I will throw a synopsis of the movie your way and hopefully it will interest enough to want to go and see it.

Basically in life, we are born as babies and we grow old and after 70, 80, 90, or maybe even 100 years of living life, we pass on. Well in this movie, the cycle of life goes the opposite way for Benjamin Button. He is born a very old man and grows younger as everyone else around him grows older. At one point in time in his growing younger, the love of his life and he meet in the "middle", only they are going opposite ways in the age spectrum.

The movie was phenomenal from beginning to end. The plot was great, the acting was superb, the special effects were top-notched, and the humor was placed appropriately throughout the movie. It was the type of movie that will really make you look at life differently and it will help you to appreciate the basic and most important cycle of life in which we are a part of every waking day.

Go see the 'The Curious Case of Benjamin Button' because you will enjoy it.

Favorites of 2008

So this is officially my last post for 2008 and I know that I have not really been on the blogosphere much lately, but that will be changing very soon, so sit tight. In the meantime, I definitely wanted to go out with a list of just over 30 things that I deemed as favorites for 2008. Be sure to read them all because you could very well be on the list. I hope that you all have a safe and happy new year. Do not drink and drive and most importantly don't drink and try to fight because chances are, you will get yo' azz whooped sumthin serious!

Without anymore delay, here is my 'Favorites of 2008' list in no real order:

Favorite news/information sites: Drudge Report and ShawnDrewry.com

Favorite business site: Forbes.com

Favorite Bodybuilding sites: MuscularDevelopment.com and FlexOnline.com

Favorite retail sites: Amazon.com, Buy.com, and Tradetang.com

Favorite slang word: Bitchassness

Favorite prime time comedy: Gary Unmarried

Favorite celebrity news blog: MrsGrapevine.com

Favorite celebrity gossip blog: Quick's Catch Up

Favorite 'Keep It Real' blog (Female): True Urban Queen

Favorite 'Keep It Real' blog (Male): The Happy Go Lucky Bachelor

Favorite 'Made You Think' blog: Raw Dawg Buffalo

Favorite 'Reminds of my Mom' blog: Regina's Family Seasons

Favorite pro athlete blog: Jackie Edwards (5th Time's the Charm)

Favorite blogs by personal friends: The Revealed Oasis, ShawnDrewry.com, Cruisin' On Jewells Avenue, and G-Breezy's Director's Cut

Favorite local news anchor: Craig Melvin of NBC4

Favorite movie: The Incredible HULK

Favorite jazz song: Mystical by Chieli Minucci and Special EFX

Favorite book: iCon Steve Jobs: The Greatest Second Act in the History of Business

Favorite communication device: BlackBerry

Favorite Internet browser: Mozilla Firefox

Favorite site to see some funny and interesting vids: YouTube.com

Favorite sneaker (still): Nike Shox

Favorite retail store: Target

Favorite instant messenger service: Yahoo! Messenger

Favorite social network site: MySpace

Favorite magazines: Muscular Development, DUB, and Forbes

Favorite brand of apparel (athletic): Nike

Favorite brand of apparel (casual): Ecko

Favorite brand of apparel (dress): Stacy Adams

Favorite bookstore: Barnes & Nobles

Favorite restaurant: Legal Sea Foods

Favorite coffee place: Starbucks (regular coffee and none of the expensive garbage they peddle)

Favorite downloaded song: Shine On by George Duke

Favorite DC area airport: Ronald Reagan Washington National

That's it folks.....see you in 2009!

In Other Words: Bury The Hatchet!

Hello folks!

Sorry that I have been away for some time, but most of you know that I am still around on the blogosphere. This will most likely be my last post of 2008, but I am planning to resume more consistent posting the turn of 2009 and I will also be re-launching a newer version of 'Associated Mess'.

I wanted to get this post out because at the new year approaches rapidly, I feel that this is time that we should be mending broken relationships-within reason of course. Why go into the new year with some bull from the previous year-it's simply time to fix it and move on!

I recently did this with what used to be one of my strongest nemesis, but last week that gentleman and I made peace with one another privately over Yahoo! Instant Messenger; the beef has been cooked and we are back to trying to take over the Internet on an individual basis. I couldn't begin to tell you how we ended up enemies, but it was not a good thing. Despite knowing each other since the early-00's, for well over half a year in 2008, he and I traded nasty shots at each other via our blogs and websites; these were personal attacks that defamed each other's character-again not good at all. I guess both our egos and willingness to win at all cost was getting the better of us as mature business men. The crazy thing about it is that I am very much an admirer this guy; he taught me so many things as it concerns blogging and Internet Affiliate Marketing and he is one of the guys that you have to "watch" because grand success is within his grasp. He definitely has the tools of a great business man and like I said, with even my own level of accomplishments, I admire this guy-he is good at what he does and there's no denying that. We both apologized to each other and agreed to never repeat the actions again.

Will he and I become Internet allies in the future? Well who knows what the future holds. The both of us are extremely driven, focused, self-motivated, and smart individuals that have the same goal: success on many levels; I am sure we will end up meeting each other at the top and I am game for that. The point is, we are cool now and buried that hatchet.

If you have a similar situation, go ahead and dead that, because you don't need to take that into a new year.

Old School Friday: Jazz

If you haven't noticed by now, I love jazz music; it is actually my favorite music genre. Though my selection is hardly old school, I went with a tune that is finely delivered by a former NBA All-Star. I have been hip to this brotha's jazz since the mid-90's when he was only moonlighting as a bassist in his NBA off-season; he now obviously heads his own jazz band. Do enjoy!

Wayman Tisdale: Let's Do It Again

Feel free to stop by fellow the fellow Old School'rs, which include:
MRS. GRAPEVINE, QUICK, MS. MARVALUS, REGINA, LAKEISHA, VILLAGER, LISA C, FRESH & FAB, SHAE-SHAE, SHARON, MODERN MUSINGS, THE PUNKIN PATCH, HAGAR'S DAUGHTER, BELIEVER 1964, DARKCHILD, DALLAS SOUTH, VIVRANT THANG, MS. LADY DEBORAH, PJAZZYPAR, ALL TAYO

Old School Friday: Birth Year Songs

I have been away from 'OSF' for a minute and it feels good to make a return with this weeks theme. I was born in 1979 and you can check out my selected birth year song below.

Ray Parker & Raydio: You Can't Change That

Feel free to stop by fellow the fellow Old School'rs, which include:
MRS. GRAPEVINE, QUICK, MS. MARVALUS, REGINA, LAKEISHA, VILLAGER, LISA C, FRESH & FAB, SHAE-SHAE, SHARON, MODERN MUSINGS, THE PUNKIN PATCH, HAGAR'S DAUGHTER, BELIEVER 1964, DARKCHILD, DALLAS SOUTH, VIVRANT THANG, MS. LADY DEBORAH, PJAZZYPAR, ALL TAYO

Did You Know???

In space, astronauts without a radio link cannot hear each other, even if they are a few centimeters apart. There is no air to carry the sound. But they can see one another perfectly well. Have them lean forward so their helmets touch, and they can hear one another. Take away all the air in your room and you will be unable to hear an acquaintance complain about it, although you will for a moment have no difficulty seeing them flailing and gasping.

-Carl Sagan's "Billions and Billions", Page 37 p. 2

Is Your Doc Playin' You?

I read in a newspaper article about a survey that was taken which exposed U.S. doctor stating that about half of U.S. doctors regularly give patients placebo treatments-usually drugs or vitamins that won't really help the patients condition. The same survey points out that many of the doctors are not honest with their patients about what they are doing. But doctors and scientists aren't slick and they very well know of the "placebo effect". This is something that my great-uncle shared with me sometime ago and in case you don't know, the "placebo effect" is basically when patients given a fake or ineffective treatment often improve anyway, simply because they expected to get better-it's all in the mind the majority of the times.

Now tell me the medical and health care systems are nothing more than a form of corporate hustling!

Are You Out There Dating?

I am no expert on this, but I've got just a tad bit of advice for anyone out there gettin' their datin' game on. Now, because of the way our American society is structured, dating is about the only way to choose a good spouse, and that decision is probably the most important you will ever make; even more so than buying a new car and/or even a house. A mistake in choosing the wrong person can become a disaster that will ruin your life-and someone else's-forever. So get good at dating, and hang it up when the right person comes along.

Got something to say?

Too Much Obama???

There is no question that the fast-approaching election of 2008 is the most anticipated in history (at least in my history because I am 29-years old). And if you didn't know he was running for president, all you'd have to do is fire up the TV and/or listen to the radio and you'd be reminded in no time flat that Barack Obama is a shoe-in to be our next U.S. president. But is that a problem!? I mean...the fact that every commercial spot on the TV or radio are filled with Obama ads? It's almost as if this man has bought the ad rights to just about every major TV and radio network.

What happened to John McCain!? I never see that ol' geezer on TV anymore and he has really been quiet on the radio. All you hear is Barack! Barack! and d*mnit.....more Barack! I am by no means a hater, I think I am just tired because I can not escape this brotha to save my life; it's like he is stalking my eyes and ears. If he doesn't when this election based on principle, he'll win it for an exasperating amount of advertising.

I am proud of the brotha, but is he becoming too much!?

Overrated vs. Underrated?

I saw an interesting piece on MSN.com about the 10 most overrated products and while looking the through the list, I couldn't have agreed more with MSN's selections. Many things in life are overrated and I have compiled a list of several overrated and underrated things in life.

Overrated: iPod Touch
Underrated: MP3 Player

Overrated: T-Mobile Sidekick
Underrated: Virgin Mobile Wildcard

Overrated: Paid dating sites
Underrated: Social networks

Overrated: DVD Blu-Ray
Underrated: VHS

Overrated: R&B
Underrated: Neo Soul

Overrated: Hair weaves
Underrated: Natural hair

Overrated: Texting
Underrated: Talking on the phone

Overrated: Sex
Underrated: Intimacy

Overrated: Casual dating
Underrated: Marriage

I am sure I could go on and on, but I will allow you to take over from here. Let me know what you feel is overrated and what is underrated!