Cynique

I was once a big Prince fan - by de-fault because my daughters were so into him when he first came out. But over the years, I kinda outgrew him. Yes, he has achieved legendary status, but I wouldn't go out of my way to see him anymore. The last time I say him about 10 years ago, I was more entertained by the reaction of his die-hard fans just yearning for him to play his old hits. They would, indeed, go crazy when he teased them with a few favorites slipped in between all the new crap he insisted on jamming down our throats. When he sang "Adore" that helped to make my night. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DVkw3p2xRgI

I guess we can assume, Troy, that you are not a sexual voyeur. "Ol school" Prince reminds his faithful fans of times gone by, - of first loves and lost loves, - of secret crushes and stolen intimacy, - of dreams of stardom and a return to reality, - of coming of age during a new era in pop music. Some folks revere such memories. Others can look back and laugh. So many stages of people's lives are defined by music, and so many cherish the days of their youth.

As you know, Troy, "fan" is a shortened form of "fanatic". Spectator sports are apparently something you resist investing your passion in. Me, I am very partisan and have little interest in rooting for anything but "home" teams. I also lean toward professional sports, with the exception of the U. of I. and the local high school from which I graduated. For some reason, I've never gotten into March Madness; too long and too involved. I also tend to be a fair weather fan, quick to jump on a winning bandwagon. The Bulls command my loyalty so much because their star point guard, Derek Rose, is a home-grown Chicago boy. And when faced with a choice between cabin fever and Chicago Bears fever, I choose the latter. Sports are a form of escapism like other types of entertainment. Superstars are usually charismatic and everybody loves a victor!

Put a sock in it, Chrishayden. Slang is not about being "proper". CHICAGO BULLS: 99 MIAMI HEAT: 96 CHICABO BEARS: 35 SEATTLE SEA HAWKS: 24

I feel your pain.

Sigh. So what happens next? The Bulls travel to Charlotte to play the BobCats and promptly lose to this sub-par team. Phooey! I don't guess this defeat had anything to do with MJ, who is part owner of the BobCats, being in the audience, cheering on his team. Who needs him? The only down side to being a Bulls fan is their too frequent proclivity for blowing games.

There are few activities I enjoy more than attending an NBA game! Since my son has a lttle clout, he got me, my daughter, and 2 grandsons free tickets to see the Bulls and the Detroit Pistons face off last night. Boy! 'Talk about excitement! The United Center was jam-packed with all of us roaring Bull fans, and there was never a dull moment starting with the spectacular introductions of the home team's starting line up, continuing on through the time-out shows featuring tumblers, and dancing girls, and 3-point shooting contests, and rolled up souvenir T-shirts being fired into the audience from toy cannons, video sweepstakes games flashed on the huge TV screens positioned throughout the building, making coupons available for patrons holding winning numbers. And what a thrill it was to see hanging from the rafters 6 NBA championship banners. What really capped off the night was being there to witness an awesome play which will undoubtedly become the definitive poster shot for Derek Rose, our star point guard who leaped waaaay above the rim, all up into Michael Jordan rare air to slam dunk a high ally-oop with one hand, bringing everybody to their feet, giving him a deafening ovation as the Bulls went on to pull out a come-back victory over the hapless Pistons. What a great way to escape the cares of the day! Oprah's greedy recipients of her favorite things have nothing on me! The Miami Heat will be in town this Saturday and I know the joint will be rockin that night. I'll be glued to the TV watching this game, hoping the Bulls can pull out a surprise win over the Heat the way they did against the Lakers and the Celtics earlier this season. It's gratifying to have something that can still inspire your enthusiasm. Go, Chicago Bulls! Go, Chicago Bears! And, outside, the snow continues to fall...

Why does an alternative to Obama have to be a "faceless Republican", carey? Why not a Democrat who acts like a Democrat instead of one in bed wih big business and war mongering generals. Those who voted for Obama have a right to criticize him for replacing the agenda that got him elected with one that Republicans have corrupted. And who are you to quell dissent? Since when have presidents been immune from criticism? You would do well to listen to the 10 o'clock news instead of tuning out anything that requires you to be something other than an obedient member of the herd, plodding along, staring at the ass of the critter in front of you.

The surfacing of all of this new admiration for Michael Vick is having the effect of a jinx. Obama's praising of Vick's skills and the Philadelphia Eagle's act of "redemption" resulted in him having a bad night as the Eagles lost. People ought stop making a morality play out of his life and just let the dude play football without all of the distractions.

I don't know that black folks are actually masochistic. They are just tenacious in their resolve to adhere to the mantra of Jesse Jackson which directs them to "keep hope alive". Empathy is at the root of their attachment to Obama. They just want his critics to give him a chance to prove himself. IMO.

Deep.

Oops, I neglected to include another time of day which will include all ones. See the additions I forgot because - I'VE DISCOVERED THE SECRET OF CORRECTING SOMETHING THAT HAS ALREADY BEEN POSTED!!

You don't have to have a passing interest in numerology as I do, to be intrigued by what the new year will allow us to observe. Four times next year something rare will occur either at 11:11 AM or 11:11 PM when for 1 minute the day, month, year and hour will be represented by a series of ones beginning with the first day of January during which time we will be able to notate: 11111111 or (1/1/11 @11:11 AM or PM.) On January eleventh virtually the same thing will occur thusly: 111111111 or (1/11/11 @ 11:11 AM or PM) Not done yet. This is what further distinguishes 2011 from other years where it's possible to match up the day, month, year and hour, because in 2011 these multiple configurations occur twice in 2 different months. So in Novemember we will have 111111 (11/1/11 @ both 11:11 AM & PM. And then on November eleventh, we will have 1111111111 (11/11/11 @ both 11:11 AM & 11:11 PM.} Cool, huh? OK, I forgot that 1:11 PM is also an example which will represent a series of ones. So 3 more ones can be added to each example I cited. Is there something significant about this? Is it an omen or a harbinger of things to come? Does it mean that America needs to go back to square one to once again become number one????? Or does it mean that we have one year left before 2012, the year soothsayers have predicted will seal our doom. Who Knoooooows????? Another slow day folks.

Your answer is off point - as usual. Everything I said about Michael Vick was predicated on his being a WINNER. Your second comment is equally ill-founded, considering that where I live the home team just won its division title. GO, BEARS!

I'll drink to that. Have a Merry Christmas, Ladies. I'm thinking about tackling "Cleopatra: A Life" by Stacy Schiff. This new biography is winning rave notices, being called the definitive book about one of history's most elusive and fascinating female icons.

OK, I will. I see victimization is your game. Anybody who doesn't suck up to you is villainized. Sheeze. Watta wimp.

Being fascinated with words and what they can convey and how thoughts can be things and images can be energized into reality, I have to admit that the "OWN" logo which stands for the Oprah Winfrey Network is soooooo clever and a brand name supreme loaded with potential. She said this name came to her out of the blue. This woman has instinctively aligned herself with a zone of success that has put her in sync with prosperity. I don't care how much she disclaims it, she is LUCKY because others of her caliber have not ascended the heights she has. The stars must have been well-positioned at her moment of birth, turning her into a natural-born phenomenon destined for greatness. On December 21st I braved the snow and cold to go outside at 2 o'clock in the morning to witness the rare winter solstice lunar eclipse, in hopes of magnetizing my aura with some good vibes. But I couldn't see nothin, the cloud cover was so thick. Oh well. Better luck next time. OHMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM.

I couldn't agree with you more, Troy. Blind loyalty is akin to being in denial. Tavis is a spokesman for the loyal opposition. Ideally, Obama should be regarded as an office holder, not a shepherd with a constituency of sheep

IMO, Michael Vick's goose was never cooked. In the NFL winning is the name of the game and profit is the first down. Any losing team looking to improve its record had to be salivating over the chance to snap Vick up and make itself look doubly good in the process by appearing to be forgiving and compassionate while adding a proven winner to their roster. Redemption, hell. Professional football is a sport that thrives on pit bulls abusing each other. Vick is a superstar. As long as he wasn't raping white girls, his comeback was just a matter of time. Franchise honchos have remarkably short memories. Sorry, R.D. Turner, if my comments don't reinforce your sob story, I was mostly responding to Chrishayden, an adversary who relishes taking me on. LOL

My, you have thin skin, Turner. You can't be an effective game player as sensitive as you are, seeing offense where none was intended. My remarks were not an attack on you or what you said. I simply cut through the fat in agreeing with you. You should be glad someone plowed through your post and bothered to respond. That said, I will add that you have failed your first test as a participant in this forum. You take yourself much too seriously and have no sense of humor. When praise wasn't heaped upon you, you resorted to pouting, falling back on the ol reliable accusation of "hatin". You don't give the impression that you can, in fact, take the heat. And come on. Do you really think a dude would choose a screen name like "Cynique". The suffix "nique" is decidedly feminine as in Monique and Dominique. Hone your analytical powers, babe, if you want to transcend mediocrity.

Puleeze. You may call it sparring, Chrishayden, but I call it duckin and dodgin, as you attempt to explain what you MEANT instead of what you said as you do what you always do: shoot off your big mouth, firing nothing but blanks that amount to a lot of empty irrelevant drivel. During the 1950s, were the poor share-croppin victims of Jim Crow, really happy-go-lucky coons stealing watermelons? Hell no. And up North, where Blacks had come to improve their lot in life, and where they bought their watermeleons from fruit stands, if the black populace wasn't active in the civil rights movement, they were giving it moral and financial support. This was the zeitgeist of that era. You and your religious, middleclass upbringing are who seems to be brainwashed by stereotypical images that prevailed in the decades before the 1950s. Not to worry. Nobody is crazy enough to expect a goof ball like you to be in the vanguard of rehabilitating the image of black men. And like I needed you to try and make a joke out of what I already insinuated when I said Tyler Perry needed the love of black men. I guess my inference was too subtle for your linnear mind to grasp, so you felt a need to try and take on the role of a wit. Not. Just another example of how oblivious and obtuse you are. yawwwwwn.

This is really fun. I already made 3 corrections on my first post. After all of my exclamations, I had the nerve to not proof read my rejoicing. Slow day, folks. Also a snow day here in Illinois. Go, Chicago Bears! Roll on, Chicago Bulls!

While agonizing over a fast reply I wanted to retrieve and correct, I wistfully scanned over it and clicked on the space where the omission occurred, highlighting it, and - voila! Suddenly at the bottom on the post, the "edit" option miraculously appeared. I was then able to make the revision and re-post the corrected text. Talk about serendipity! Hope this wasn't a fluke. I will now use this procedure to see if I can create a smiley face. Aha! it worked. Aren't you glad you don't have to endure my bitchin about this any more, Troy!!

Were you referring to me when you said the "brother" pointed out "competitive aspects of a free market society, etc."? It behooves you to get a fix on who you are having an exchange with. I'm not a brother, I'm a sister. Sometimes the sex of who you are playing games with can make a difference. No? As for your observations not being obvious, although you couched them in a lot of superfluous verbiage, they were basically just common sense rules. Everybody knows that if you don't get your shit together, you will be a bench-warmer.

Wellll, Turner, your postulation ventures into a mind-boggling realm, - a multi-verse of concentric circles wherein a person playing his game is being critiqued by other people functioning in the role their particular game dictates them to play. Which is to say that the referee and policeman who are monitoring your game are having their efficiency judged by people whose game calls for them to keep tabs on cops and umps, and so on and so on ad infinitum, conjuring up a situation comparable to how a word loses its meaning when it’s repeated over and over becoming nothing more than gibberish, while what it originally referred to dissipates into a maze of ramifications. Participating in a game is an exercise in competition and somebody has to lose. Most winners are mavericks, - risk takers who don't play by the rules. The randomness of good and bad luck is, of course, a factor and odds have to be beaten. In the arena of life, as participants in a rat race, we all play mind games. Prevailing in this contest is the true measure of superiority. There's nothing to disagree with in your commentary. Certain truths are obvious in the scheme of things.