Posts filed under: ‘Michael Vick‘
First Family Europe bound…taxes and death… Wall Street…
Well, the Obamas are off to Europe. They have much on their 
Yes, they will be busy. And I have no doubt that thousands will calmour to see them. I know I would.
I remember once being down on 5th Avenue jumping from 1 bus onto another trying to make my connection to head downtown…unaware that I was in the vicinity of the Pope.
I had forgotten all about him being in town. As my mid-town bus headed towards 
my transfer and connection point nearing the United Nations building…I saw what looked like S.W.A.T. teams out on the streets at various points. They were dressed in black and carried large assault weapons…looking as though they were readied to start shooting at any moment.
At my destination point, large crowds had gathered lining the sidewalk…and that 
is when I heard that it was the Pope who was due to come by. And soon his motorcade of several black vans and SUV’s came down 42nd Street and turned left onto 5th Avenue…and the crowd stirred with all heads following the limousine van that we all just knew it had to be the one that the Pope was in. And he was…and he waved at me.
I recalled thinking what an unique experience that that had been. That the man known around the world as the Pope and reverenced by many had just gone by…and he rode right by me.
In New York it is not hard to cross the path of this one or that one…from those familiar faces of Hollywood types to the hottest record or CD artists…if you have your eyes open you will see them.
I ran into Flavor Flav that way one day. I was getting ready to make a left-hand turn when suddenly this little red car drove towards me on a one-way street. The guy stuck his head out of the roof of his car and put a finger indicating for me to ‘give him a minute.’ It was Flavor Flav and he was traveling in the wrong direction on a one-way street.
That’s New York…
He has never been good looking. But I hear that today…as an old man Flav is even more outrageous than he ever was before. Some say he has sold out. There is something about money. I am glad I have never loved it enough to make a fool out of me.
One day while cutting through Tower Records on my way to my job…I happened 
to come across an in-store promotion of TLC. They were so small…and I mean small. It was like running into a group of very young school girls. They were tiny…playful and full of energy. And they looked just like all their pictures.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090331/ap_on_go_pr_wh/obama_europe_trip
http://cosmos.bcst.yahoo.com/up/player/popup/?rn=3906861&cl=12747857&ch=4226716&src=news
So, I am sure that many will be out trying to see the #1 family from American, the President and his wife. I have no doubt that they will leave good impressions 
behind when they re-board Air Force One homeward bound.
I like the way they are handling things abroad for Obama’s arrival. The following 2 paragraphs come from the UK Telegraph…to read the full story just CLICK the LINK BELOW. I am all for protecting our President…and not leaving anything to chance. And they haven’t…our security people are really paying attention to every detail. This is good.
Mr Obama’s arrival at Stansted prompted an unprecedented security operation at the airport best know for its use by budget airlines including Ryanair. An 
enhanced security cordon including a series of roadblocks was thrown up around the runway and hundreds of police officers were deployed to ensure the event went without a hitch.
The president is accompanied by an entourage that includes personal doctors, chefs and several hundred secret service personnel. The Beast – the nickname given to the head of state’s armoured limousine – is also thought to have been flown over with him to ensure homestyle protection during his visit to Europe.
Having filed for bankruptcy shortly after entering prison…Michael Vick 
undoubtedly felt that the more he paid for his lawyers the higher the likelihood was that he wouldn’t have seen any jail time at all. So, he went for it…but unlike Ojay Simpson… it didn’t quite work out that way. He paid them all that money…and still had to go to jail…and then he had to file bankruptcy.
Now, since having been released from prison…where he had been sent for the past 9 months for cruelty to animals…Michael evidently had a vision that he would be able to pick up from right where he left off. And that everything would be as it was…well, read the LINK BELOW…and find out about Michael Vick’s dose of reality.
After a year of sinking…it seems that Wall Street might finally start to see the light of day. It’s early yet…and I do not play the market…gambling my money is not something I believe in. But for those of you who do…I am sure that this might be great news. A breath of fresh air, in fact, after a year of dive after dive…splashes upon splashes almost leaving the pool empty. If your money and hopes were in the stock market…then I guess you have a reason to smile.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090331/ap_on_bi_st_ma_re/wall_street
I do not know what it is about taxes…but the politicians seem to have a problem…a big problem with them. And they are the ones to draw up these things and impose them upon us.
I don’t know…I don’t have a lot of money and do not do a lot of spending. But if I had the salary of some of these politicians and had to do the amount of spending that they do…flying here and flying there…this event after that event…etc.. I think I would get smart and hire an accountant…and keep lots of bags around where I would be continuously throwing receipt after receipt into.
I don’t even have a lot money…but I am always depositing my receipts into a bag somewhere or shoe box somewhere. I do not have an accountant…but who knows?
You never know when Uncle Sam will come knocking…and I want to be able to hand over the shoe boxes and bags…and say-
“Here, you figure it out.”
And they are marked by year…my bags and boxes. So, I can pull out exactly what the IRS is looking for. You don’t get involved in the movie business without learning how to hold onto all your receipts. They are important…and not just for tax purposes. But you never know when you will have to dispute a bill or some payment…or return something.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090331/ap_on_go_ca_st_pe/sebelius_taxes
But after sitting in public office for a few years. It would seem that the first thing 
you would take care of would be your taxes. So, then why do politicians not make sure that their taxes are taken care of?
I hate them…but we are all forced to pay them…which may be the problem for some politicians. They feel that they are above paying them.
That old saying-
“Death and taxes…”
They haunt us straight down into the grave…just ask Redd Fox…or Sammy Davis...or James Brown….or anybody else who Uncle 
Sam has gone after…after they died.
I cannot begin to tell you just how beautiful the weather is today…all weekend really. It has been absolutely great. I cannot soak up enough of those rays.
Still busy building my web site. I am just so proud. When I look at the pages…all I can think of is how great God is. Had not He allowed me to take the classes and made a way for me to take them…I would have not been able.
Hope you had a great day too…and that the weather there was as equally as nice as ours.
God bless…
Thank you for reading this blog…and my others. Please be sure to continue to share this blog site with your family, co-workers and all your friends…
“pass it on…” www.bsmith101.wordpress.com ©2009
2 comments April 1, 2009
Prostitutes…the young and the heartless…. 15 minutes…
By now you may or may not know that I am highly repulsed by some of the things that teens today are doing. But this really turned my stomach…it is a story which came up over CNN.com regarding 2 Arizona teenaged girls who turned themselves into prostitutes then set about pimping other girls.
http://www.cnn.com/2009/CRIME/02/25/teen.pimp/index.html
http://www.cnn.com/2009/CRIME/02/25/teen.pimp/index.html#cnnSTCVideo
The grandmother is outraged…but there is only one problem. She doesn’t believe that her little darling is guilty of such a crime…and so therefore she is anxiously awaiting her day in court. Perhaps it is not the little darling but the grandmother who should be up before the judge. And dare I ask…what of the mother and father of this child…these 2 girls?
How is it that they would put themselves into such a situation?
How could 2 high schoolers get themselves into such as situation…where they were indulged in such a business as prostitution?
And had other school mates working the streets too?
Two 16 year old girls…involved in sex for hire?
Madams?
Though the article called them ‘pimps.’
What could be going on?
I am sick to my stomach today…I hate reading these kinds of stories.
Can you imagine…that that man operated a day care center?
How old were his victims?
Three?
Four…or maybe 2?
….my God.
I am truly sick to my stomach.
In a 29 city weekend sweep law enforcement officials arrested more than 500 people involved in a child and adult prostitution ring. They had some 48 juveniles, 464 adult prostitutes…and how many of them do you think had been children before becoming of age?
They arrested 55 co-called pimps…with many more out there somewhere. And some just like those young girls in Arizona anxious 
to take their place. I can think of nothing I feel is worst…than turning children into prostitutes…and ruining the lives of children. There are some things which I think we should not even waste tax-payers money on…such as taking certain people through the judical system. Just lock them up in jail and throw away the keys.
But the problem is…all the wrong people mostly end up in jail. The crooks and criminals somehow always seem to get less time or little to no prison time at all.
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,498287,00.html
http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2009/02/23/national/main4821772.shtml?source=RSSattr=U.S._4821772
http://www.cnn.com/2008/CRIME/06/27/child.prostitution/index.html
There is something about these kinds of stories that just turns my stomach. Perhaps it is because I am a supposed survivor. I don’t know. I just hate these type of stories. I hate to hear about children being abused…or used in such ways as these. Or children because they had been abused continue the cycle of abuse in their lives.
When I was trying to determine what I wanted to do with my life…you know…the kind of things you think about as a child.
“What do I want to be?”
I had read this book called “The Throw away Children.”
The stories in that book were terrible. I don’t believe any child is a 
throw away…or should be considered as such. But there are some children deemed by society as not having the same value as some others. And this is absolutely wrong.
So, as I thought about what it was I wanted to do I started discounting things. Like…becoming a doctor. I knew I would never be able to stand the sight of blood. So, that was out.
Then I thought of some other things…and I discounted them too. Can’t remember what they were…but I knew whatever they were I did not want to be them. But I soon fell upon becoming a lawyer. I wanted to do or be someone who would advantageous to my people…black people. Something that we needed the most…that is why I thought doctor at first…then somehow came to lawyer.
And so I set about to make that happen. When it was near time for 
me to enter into the 12th grade…I had already begun thinking about and applying to colleges…mostly black colleges…though I would have loved to have been accepted at University of California Berkley. The Black Panthers were there…Angela Davis was
there…the Soledad Brothers… Yeah, that whole black thang was going on…and I wanted to be in the midst of it.
But that book, ‘The Throw Away Children ‘ by Lisa Aversa Richette…motivated me to want to become a criminal lawyer working in juvenile court. It was at the time my desire. I think because I have a passion for children…with particular children who feel lost and have no voice.
While I was a teacher in the high school system…I was often in tune and engaged in trying to encourage my students…as well as other students…some of which I would catch trying to sneak into my classes from time to time. It was during my time as a teacher that I came to realize just how tough some kids really have it…and there is little wonder why they end up doing much of what they do.
During the time I taught…I had never been aware of just how many students were involved in the foster care system before. For some children this was a great alternative to their own families…but for some 
(many)…it was not. It seems that many people turn to become foster parents solely for the money. And that is very sad. They never see the greater reward…and that is pouring something of value into the lives of those children…by showing them love and kindness…paying attention to them.
Then there are those children which are left to grow up on their own. They are like wild little animals…and many people observing them wonder why? But if they knew where these kids lived…or how they were living…or under what circumstances…and what sexual and other abuses they were subject to…then they would know why the child was acting as he or she was acting.
http://www.boston.com/news/local/massachusetts/articles/2009/02/25/teacher_student_found_in_w_va/
I have no idea as to what is going on with these female teachers becoming involved with young grade school children. It makes me sick…yes, to my stomach. Because I can’t see what any grown woman…or for that matter…grown man would see or find interesting in a child.
I know that children become infatuated with their teachers. I had my share of admirers. I never realized it at the time…but later on I did in 
particular one. He even proposed to me time after time. I never took any of it seriously…nor did I indulge him. But after I had left the teaching profession…this boy began calling me in New York.
I found out that he had gotten my number from my son. I wasn’t overly concerned at first…but then he started calling every evening. It did not frighten me…but I really wasn’t interested. By this time I didn’t even think it was cute. I could see that this boy really had an interest in me. So, I just stopped answering his calls. And I think he got the message.
What kind of conversation can I hold with a young boy?
Even one graduated from high school…come on, now.
In ’95, I went to L.A. to shop my screenplays. I had forgotten all about Ojay 
and his trial…it was months after the shooting had happened. So, though when I used to ride the bus from Woodlawn Hills into downtown L.A and see all the remote TV trucks with their huge satellite dishes…tons of them sitting outside of that court. But I didn’t at the time realize what I was looking at when the bus would drive pass. It is so funny…because I used to think-
“Wow, there must be a big case going on in that court.”
And what made it even funnier…was that during the whole time of the Ojay case…I was glued to the TV. I didn’t miss a beat…from day to day…I wast locked in and tuned to every episode of the Ojay Simpson trail saga until they signed off from day to day.
But when I could not get an agent to represent me or my work…because everybody in L.A. is about who you know…who referred you…who are you connected to. And being connected was all they cared about.
It was like you talked to tons of people all in the right place…but if you couldn’t give a name and didn’t have any ties…the conversation stopped right there. Years later, when I initially went into pre-production with my film, LIFE 101: da real skool…(which is where the 101 in my name comes from)…when I went into pre-production…I started getting all kinds of calls then talking about-
“Let’s do lunch.”
I hated L.A.
I became so frustrated with L.A. that I decided to give up and not leave the hotel room anymore. But my friend…whom I had gone to L.A. to spend some time with while her job had sent her there to audit some banks…she kept on encouraging me saying-
“So, what you couldn’t find an agent. And nobody wanted to see you or read your scripts. Go see a show or go to one of the movie lots. You know that is what you are interested in. So, go check it out.”
And finally, I did. Only because she kept trying to cheer me up.
It is so funny…because you may not believe this. The one day that I decided to go the night before I saw an expose on Prime Time or some show like that…about some male teacher who they tracked from New York to a motel down in Las Vegas. He had taken some very young Jr. High School girl and ran off with her across country. The television segment on the story was very detailed.
So, the next day, I visited Universal Studio’s movie lot…where a lot of 
television programs are shot. At the time I arrived the only thing going in was the audience for the “Leeza Show.” It wasn’t anything that I wanted but (well, because really I have never watched much television). But…I was there…it didn’t cost anything…and they were letting people in.
When they tape these shows you never know what topics are going to be featured or discussed until the show begins taping. To my surprise that guy…that teacher who had gone to Las Vegas with his little school student was the topic…and he was there.
I never went into that taping with any intentions of saying anything or being a part of any program. But it is very funny how things just seem to happen.
I sat quietly listening and watching taking in everything about the production…how they had someone warm up the audience before the show…the size of the studio…where the cameras were…all the people who worked in conjunction with the show…just the whole behind the scenes thing. This is what interested me…but of course, I was also listening to all the discussion and the questions coming up out of the audience. But there was something that disturbed me.
As that teacher talked about the young girl…her family…and how he just felt sorry for her…how he was trying to help her out…etc…etc… The audience all seemed sympathetic to him. They were eating that garbage up like candy. Here it was…and that girl was very pretty (and it doesn’t matter what she looked like…she was a kid)…he had engaged in sexual activity with this girl…had kidnapped her and taken her across state lines. And they were all just sucking it in like he was some kind of hero…a divine saviour.
“Why wasn’t anybody looking at the whole picture?”
“Did he have any responsibility in this matter?”
“Hadn’t he taken advantage of that young girl?”
He was her teacher. And as described on that expose show by other teachers who had also worked at that school with him…he was a male teacher who was a little too friendly with many of the female students.
Between segments of the taping they would stop to allow for the commercial break time frame to countdown then resume with their taping. At this time the program host would walk through the audience searching out the best questions to feature during the resumption of the program taping.
Finally, the cameras went dead…and Leeza started walking through the audience looking for her next audience questiones. She came up my aisle seeking for questions. I wasn’t going to do it…but they had made me mad. I put up my hand and Leeza walked over to me and said-
“Yes, do you have a question?”
And I said yes.
And she said, “Okay, what question would you like to ask?”
And I told her. Evidently, Leeza liked my question because she did not move from me. When the cameras came back up…she said what she had to say and asked me stand and ask my question.
Before I knew it…that guy and me where firing off against one another…and I was winning. And I did win.
I had made him mad. But I just could not stand it. And he was nasciating to me.
He was a teacher. He did not have any business…no matter what may have or may not have been going on in that girl’s life to become involved sexually with her. She was an under age child…and he was a 30 or 40 year old man. I didn’t care how he tried to justify it…there was no justification for it. And how dare…anyone try to make a movie out of that story.
Yes, he…that man…ex-teacher was out of jail walking around and making the television rounds because some production company had paid big money for the rights to his story. This is why the world is in the state that it is in. This is why many people are doing some of the craziest things…men killing their pregnan wives…teachers running off with grade school children. It is sick.
Everybody wants their 15 minutes of fame…and they are willing to do anything to get it. It is truly sad. When they see the TV coverage and movie…and book deals coming up out of these sick acts…people with copy cat mentalities figure…why not?
And what is sadder…is that there is a market for this.
http://msn.foxsports.com/nfl/story/9271398/Report:-Haynesworth,-Redskins-reach-deal?MSNHPHMA
A guaranteed $41 million…included in his $100 million deal. These guys make tons of money. You would think that the people who really work for a living could earn at least a tiny portion of it. It would look nice.
And Michael Vick is soon to be released from prison.
Sometimes it takes losing something…even if it is for a little period of time to have an appreciation for it and other things…and to look back and reflect on your blessings.
Not everybody gifted…or fast…or good at something gets a contract. Millions dream such dreams whether it be a music deal…or a sports deal…a movie deal…whatever…they dream of. They work hard to make it happen…and yet it doesn’t. So, for those that it does materializes for… Well, they really ought to feel blessed. They should make the most out that blessing…not only for just themselves but for others around them, as well.
Well, it has been beautiful here for the past 2 days. I’m feeling spring in the air.
And…oh, yes.
I was not only on that Leeza Show giving it to that teacher. But Leeza and her production must have really liked me. They started featuring me in their commercial for the show, as well.
You will not believe how many people stopped me in grocery stores to talk about that show with me. I never would have thought anything like that would have happened to me. And I certainly never set out to be on anybody’s show…much less in their commercial.
Talking about 15 minutes. Well, I guess I have had mine now too.
Well, God bless…and enjoy your weekend. And I have not forgotten that it is still Black History Month. I celebrate our achievements all the time. Can’t help but do so. Don’t know what it is. But I love me some black folks…(smile). I really really do.
And oh yes, I have just added my real photo to my “ABOUT” page of this blog. Sorry, if it isn’t what you were imagining…but it is what God gave me. And on that page you can find out more about what I am doing…besides giving you my opinions on things in these blogs. I am truly a highly opinionated person…just can’t help it.
Thank you for reading this blog…and my others. Please be sure to continue to share this blog site with your family, co-workers and all your friends… “pass it on” www.bsmith101.wordpress.com ©2009
1 comment February 28, 2009
Poor Michael Vick…
I really don’t like animals and have never had any pets of my own outside of a couple of gold fishes. But the Michael Vick story got to me. I have heard a lot on the story and today he filed for bankruptcy saying he owes his creditors between $10-$50 million in debt.
I feel for Michael Vick having to go to prison for breeding and funding dog fights. I cannot think of anything more vicious or cruel than that outside of, of course, many of the things that we humans do to each other and children. But I once saw a dog who had been involved in that sort of thing. She had gotten out and was running from yard to yard.
At first I was horrified when I saw the dog. It was the ugliest dog I had ever seen. I never realized what I was looking at a dog which had been abused and scarred through many attacks from being one of those dogs which was used in dog fights.
This poor dog was afraid of its own shadow. When I realized what dog it was, I remembered how it had looked before when the young boys on my block used to have it on a chain as a young puppy growing up. It was not even a shadow of what it had been.
I felt so sorry for the dog and felt that someone should put it asleep. You would have to have had to see the state that this dog was in and just how fearful it was. This dog that had been used as a fighter…taught to attack…so badly abused that it looked so extremely ugly and hideous.
It had been breed to bring into the world more fighting dogs, she had been torn apart by other dogs and now left to run from yard to yard trying to find food…and afraid of everything around her. This dog was so afraid that after my shock of seeing it come into our yard…as I don’t like anything coming into our yard…but my heart went out for this poor animal lost in this cruel world, and now left trying to search out some food.
The dog was simply so ugly beyond anything natural. This state was just from being used in that way…as a fighting dog. Nothing should have to go through that. Nothing.
I feel for Michael Vick…but I felt more for that poor dog which had been put through that. That dog never had any choices in that matter. And nobody ever gave that dog a contract or any endorsements.
Still catching up on my sleep. Today I ran around a little bit…had a few errands and some business that I needed to take care of. I have some money owed to me so I had to go about trying to take care of that. We put off things…and at some point we have to take care of them. So, this was one of those days…trying to take care of business and taking care of some things I had put off.
Needless to say…I didn’t get much of it done. But I did set out trying to get it done. Now, tomorrow I will get it done and move on to some other things I also put off that need to be done. It never ends…always something to do. And my summer is flying by. Just too much to do. God bless… ©2008
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