What Is A Man?
A man carries cash. A man looks out for those around him — woman, friend, stranger. A man can cook eggs. A man can always find something good to watch on television. A man makes things — a rock wall, a table, the tuition money. Or he rebuilds — engines, watches, fortunes. He passes along expertise, one man to the next. Know-how survives him. A man fantasizes that kung fu lives deep inside him somewhere. A man is good at his job. Not his work, not his avocation, not his hobby. Not his career. His job. It doesn’t matter what his job is, because if a man doesn’t like his job, he gets a new one.
A man can speak to dogs.
A man listens, and that’s how he argues. He crafts opinions. He can pound the table, take the floor. It’s not that he must. It’s that he can.
A man can look you up and down and figure some things out. Before you say a word, he makes you. From your suitcase, from your watch, from your posture. A man infers.
A man owns up. That’s why Mark McGwire is not a man. A man grasps his mistakes. He lays claim to who he is, and what he was, whether he likes them or not.
Some mistakes, though, he lets pass if no one notices. Like dropping the steak in the dirt.
A man can tell you he was wrong. That he did wrong. That he planned to. He can tell you when he is lost. He can apologize, even if sometimes it’s just to put an end to the bickering.
A man does not wither at the thought of dancing. But it is generally to be avoided.
Style — a man has that. No matter how eccentric that style is, it is uncontrived. It’s a set of rules.
A man loves the human body, the revelation of nakedness. He loves the sight of the pale bosom, the physics of the human skeleton, the alternating current of the flesh. He is thrilled by the wrist and the sight of a bare shoulder. He likes the crease of a bent knee.
Maybe he never has, and maybe he never will, but a man figures he can knock someone, somewhere, on his bottom.
A man doesn’t point out that he did the dishes.
A man knows how to ridicule.
A man gets the door. Without thinking.
He stops traffic when he must.
A man knows how to lose an afternoon. Playing Grand Theft Auto, driving aimlessly, shooting pool.
He knows how to lose a month, also.
A man welcomes the coming of age. It frees him. It allows him to assume the upper hand and teaches him when to step aside.
He understands the basic mechanics of the planet. Or he can close one eye, look up at the sun, and tell you what time of day it is. Or where north is. He can tell you where you might find something to eat or where the fish run. He understands electricity or the internal-combustion engine, the mechanics of flight or how to figure a pitcher’s ERA.
A man does not know everything. He doesn’t try. He likes what other men know.
A man knows his tools and how to use them — just the ones he needs. Knows which saw is for what, how to find the stud, when to use galvanized nails.
A miter saw, incidentally, is the kind that sits on a table, has a circular blade, and is used for cutting at precise angles. Very satisfying saw.
He does not rely on rationalizations or explanations. He doesn’t winnow, winnow, winnow until truths can be humbly categorized, or intellectualized, until behavior can be written off with an explanation. He doesn’t see himself lost in some great maw of humanity, some grand sweep. That’s the liberal thread; it’s why men won’t line up as liberals.
A man resists formulations, questions belief, embraces ambiguity without making a fetish out of it. A man revisits his beliefs. Continually. That’s why men won’t forever line up with conservatives, either.
A man is comfortable being alone. Loves being alone, actually. He sleeps.
Or he stands watch. He interrupts trouble. This is the state policeman. This is the poet. Men, both of them.
A man loves driving alone most of all.
A man watches. Sometimes he goes and sits at an auction knowing he won’t spend a dime, witnessing the temptation and the maneuvering of others. Sometimes he stands on the street corner watching stuff. This is not about quietude so much as collection. It is not about meditation so much as considering. A man refracts his vision and gains acuity. This serves him in every way. No one taught him this — to be quiet, to cipher, to watch. In this way, in these moments, the man is like a zoo animal: both captive and free. You cannot take your eyes off a man when he is like that. You shouldn’t. Who knows what he is thinking, who he is, or what he will do next.
Tom Chiarella, What Is a Man? (for Esquire)
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Tags: Esquire, man, men, Tom Chiarella, What Is A Man
In My Lifetime
I’m going back old school for those of you so-called Jay-Z fans. If you know anything about Jay-Z, then you know this song pre-dates his Reasonable Doubt album. I thought Jay was a member of Junior Mafia when I heard this. That’s obviously not the case.
The ‘In My Lifetime’ single was released under Jay’s affiliation with Payday records, a deal he eventually got out of to start his own label, Roc-A-Fella records, under which, the forever classic, Reasonable Doubt was released.
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Tags: Album, Classic, Hip-Hop, In My Lifetime, Jay-Z, Payday, Reasonable Doubt, Records, Roc-A-Fella
What Is Going On In The World?

A piece of wreckage from Air France Flight 447
It’s been quite a last week and a half. Actually, it’s been quite a last month. Air France flight #447 on its way from Rio de Janeiro to Paris crashed over the Atlantic without explanation. Michael Jackson, Farah Fawcett, and Billy Mays died. A Yemenia Airways flight crashed into the Indian Ocean, killing 153. The only bright side to that incident is that a young French girl survived it.
‘Air’ McNair

Tennessee Titans Quarterback, Steve McNair
Then, today while checking my Fb, I was greeted by the NFL Fb feed that Steve McNair was murdered. I replied to the news feed saying “WHATTTTTTT?!“ I then reposted the news article on my Fb to share with those who perhaps had not yet received the news.
I have been a Steve McNair fan since his college days at Alcorn State. His amazing passing ability translated at the NFL level, where he had a very successful career. I am really saddened by his loss; especially because it came at such a young age. He isn’t much older than me. Unbelievable to think that something like this could happen to a still relatively young man. I’m still in shock over the news.
What Is Going On In The World?

Farrah Fawcett
That’s all I can say. All of these lives lost in an instant. These incidents, as well as coming into contact with an artifact from US Airways flight #1549 a couple of days ago, are up close and personal reminders of how things need to be kept in perspective. Too often we obsess over, and get caught up in, nonsense. Many of us are too concerned with the superficial, the irrelevant, and just plain stupid. And there are those, yours truly included, included who are maybe too caught up in the woes of life. We spend more time down about what’s not happening, what’s wrong, and negative past experiences, rather than being up about what’s right and all there is to look forward to.
Act Now Before It’s Too Late

Billy Mays
Life is a limited time offer. Looking too far back prevents us from seeing far enough forward. How many opportunities will be deferred, or better yet, never realized because of it. Sadly, the promise of life is never fully appreciated until it is taken away. That appreciation never comes from us. It only comes from those who remember us.
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Tags: 447, A310, A330, Air France, Air McNair, Airbus, Aircraft, airplane, Airport, Alcorn State, Atlantic Ocean, Baltimore Ravens, Billy Mays, Black Quarterback, CDG, Charles De Gaulle, Crash, death, Facebook, Farrah Fawcett, flight, football, GIG, HBCU, Indian Ocean, Michael Jackson, NFL, Paris, Plane, Rio de Janeiro, Steve McNair, survivor, Tennessee Titans, tragedy, Yemenia Airways
US Airways Flight #1549

Recovery of US Airways 1549
I was given a very quick reminder this week as to how sobering life can be. A co-worker who works in IT Support for the company I work for was baffled by what to do with the contents of the package he just received. Numerous people came by his desk to take a look at this very unique item. Content to mind my own business, I didn’t bother to see what all the curiosity and amazement was all about. Then, one of his counterparts invited me over to his desk to take a look.
The item was a laptop that was badly damaged and corroded. I asked “Did someone pour acid on it?” He said “No, this is the laptop of an employee who was on US Airways flight #1549 when it crashed. It was just returned to us after the plane wreckage was retrieved.” I said “Wow, I can’t believe it!” He said “Yeah, we have to contact Dell to get a replacement laptop. We have a replacement program with them.” I said “I hope you don’t plan on sending that laptop back. You have to keep it. That thing needs to be placed in a museum or something. How often does plane wreckage actually end up back in the hands of the original owner.”
After that statement, I pulled out my iPhone and began snapping photos of it to share with the world. Once again, I don’t want my photos floating around the InterWeb. So, I have put them in a view only photo collage.

US Airways 1549 after landing in the Hudson
To me, an encounter like this is a reminder as to how unpredictable and random life can be. I had seen coverage of the crash in the news. I never once thought I’d be touching and photographing anything related to the crash. It made me think “I’m only two degrees of separation from that crash.” Seeing a piece of that wreckage made me think “What if that were me?”

Captain Chesley Sullenburger
The US Airways Pilot, Captain Chesley “Sully” Sullenburger has gotten his due recognition for his quick thinking and safely landing the plane. But, his heroics cannot fully be appreciated until one reviews the transcripts of what took place during the flight and how he responded. See the video below.
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Tags: 1549, A320, Airbus, Aircraft, airplane, Airport, Bird strike, Business travel, Captain, Charlotte, Chesley, City, Computer, Crash, Dell, Hero, Hudson River, LaGuardia, Landing, Laptop, New York, New York City, Notebook, NYC, PC, Pilot, Plane, Sullenburger, Sully, Takeoff, US Airways, US Airways 1549
D.O.A.

Lyor Cohen - Death of Autotune Video
I couldn’t let the release of the new Jay-Z single, Death of Autotune, go unrecognized by The Official. Just when I thought there was no more for Jay to do, and would remain retired, he comes back with this. I’m a ‘Day One’ Jay-Z fan. Not many of you can say that. After 14 years (since I first discovered him), Jay has proven himself time and again. Some would say he has nothing to prove. True. But, Hip-Hop is, and was, always about proving yourself. Jay-Z has proven that he’s simply the one of the best to ever do it, if not the best. I vote for the latter.
Few, if any rappers, can come out and challenge the entire Rap genre; by basically saying “all your sh.. is garbage, try innovating.” Yeah, he’s talking to Kanye and T-Pain too. And for those of you who think Li’l Wayne compares, or is in any way formidable, against Jay-Z, the same goes for him too.
Anyway, enough on that subject. The song is hot. It’s raw but maintains a deliberate refinement throughout. It’s also alternative, matter of fact, and symbolic of an individual who blazes his own trail. Jay-Z makes the game conform to him; not the other way around. Once again he has demonstrated that he is above the game. In the oh so cliche’ and overdone world of bling, luxury cars sitting on big rims, and hood war stories, Jay-Z has chosen to be chauffered in the classic E-Class Benz to an abandoned warehouse, location unknown.
Furthermore, he takes us to a hole-in-the-wall Italian restaurant to have some pasta and red wine. Before we even finish the meal, we’re in the storage room playing cards with Harvey Keitel, the chef, and one of Tony Soprano’s boys. Next thing we know we’re on some pier with a view of Manhattan at sunrise.
Jay-Z just sent a lot of rappers scrambling. Let’s see what now becomes fashionable in Hip-Hop as a result of D.O.A.
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Tags: D.O.A., Death of Autotune, Harvey Keitel, Hip-Hop, Jay-Z, Kanye West, Li'l Wayne, Lyor Cohen, Music, Rap, Roc-A-Fella, T-Pain
Best Of Me
What better time of year is there to break out this mixtape classic? Mya never really developed popular mainstream appeal. But, she, Jay-Z, and DJ Clue, utilizing the Biz Markie classic, ‘Make the Music With Your Mouth Biz’, as the platform, managed to turn this into a summertime classic.
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Tags: Best of Me, Biz Markie, Dj Clue, Hip-Hop, Jay-Z, Make The Music With Your Mouth Biz, Mixtape, Mya, New York, Remix, Summer, summertime
WIOOWW!
My ongoing exploration of Flickr has led me to this photo. A black Ferrari F430 Scuderia is enough to get anyone’s attention. The F430, in my opinion, is one of Ferrari’s most beautiful cars among its entire lineage of stallions.
The car is just one part of the story this photo tells. A wicked black Scuderia, scorching the highway as it speeds along, ready to devour anything in its path.
This photo is a personal reminder; my dream of doing exactly what’s been captured in this photo. Dream it, desire it, earn it, live it, and make no apologies for it. The license plate on this car is no better reflection of that reminder, WIOOWW!
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Tags: Europe, European, exotic, F430, Ferrari, Highway, Italian, Road, Scuderia, Sports Car










I don’t have many heroes. I never grew up admiring any particular person. I don’t even consider this nation’s first African-American President, Barack Obama, a hero. I think of him as a symbol of the many intelligent, ambitious and exceptional Black men who are overlooked, diminished, and go without the positive recognition we deserve.























