Why do I keep tempting myself with something that I know will never work out?

I know that I always complain about dating, but I have actually been enjoying it since being back in DC. If nothing more I have developed some new friendships with some very interesting people. I decided that when I came back I would take my time and only pursue interests that I thought had the possibility of sustaining. I was even upfront from the very beginning with each person letting them know where I am in my life, where I want to be, and that while get between the two I am openly dating to find someone to enjoy the journey.

So there are three people and each person has something about them that typically would never let me commit solely to them. Without going into the private details of our affairs, after taking time to think, I have realized that the issue actually may be me instead. (I know right imagine that)

This Sunday I was watching something on TV, and on this show the stereotype of gays being consumed by sex, made me realize that this may be true. Of the three... two of my issues are sexual in nature. I keep thinking I am better than this and that sex doesn't and shouldn't define me and my relationships with other people but the human side of me keeps taunting me with... Why do I keep tempting myself with something that I know will never work out?

I try not to assume or speculate about anyone's sexuality... but Star, haven't we already seen how this storyline plays out...

Speaking of the Oblivious and Desperate, everytime I see this photo on the web I just crack up laughing...

Finally...

The Georgia Supreme Court has upheld a ruling that Genarlow Wilson's 10-year prison sentence for having consensual oral sex with a fellow teenager is cruel and unusual, and has ordered him released from prison.

The state's highest court reached the decision today after a split 4-to-3 vote. Wilson was convicted of aggravated child molestation following a 2003 New Year's Eve party at a Douglas County motel room where he was videotaped having oral sex with a 15-year-old girl. Wilson was 17 at the time. He was also charged with raping another 17-year-old girl at the party but a jury acquitted him.

Chief Justice Leah Ward Sears wrote in the majority opinion saying the changes in the law "represent a seismic shift in the legislature's view of the gravity of oral sex between two willing teenage participants.'' Sears says the severe punishment makes "no measurable contribution to acceptable goals of punishment'' and that Wilson's crime did not rise to the ``level of adults who prey on children.''

“We thank You for his parents, who would not surrender in the face of tyranny,” Jesse Jackson said. “Now its morning time, and we feel a sense of joy that it’s morning time. We’ve endured the crucifixion, and now we see the stone is rolling away.”

Genarlow walked out of the prison a little after 5pm today to his awaiting mother and $9000 in scholarship money from Georgia Lawmakers and the Rainbow/PUSH organization.

Dear Media and Government -

Stop insulting my family and the millions of other people from New Orleans by comparing the fires of San Diego to the floods of New Orleans. And they say it wasn't a race issue.

Shit Your Mother Should Have Taught You #1

For the second time in less than a week, I have received a phone call at an improper hour. At 3:53am, Saturday morning, a person that I have hung out with a total of three times thought it was ok to call my house. When I saw him out Sunday, I confronted him, for him to tell me oh I was out and thought you were out as well.

This morning at 7:29am, I received yet another phone call from yet another person I have been hanging out with. Later this afternoon he explained, "Oh I am up at 5am everyday, I thought you would be up by then."

I remember years ago when I was in undergrad my mother called me at 7 something in the morning. I proceeded to answer the phone not with an hello but with, "Who is dead?" Since then my mother has never called me before 9am during the week and on the weekend waits for me to call her first. However for the record my mother is the only person that is alive today that has permission to call me at such an hour.

I remember growing up my mother would not allow me to call someone else's house after 10pm CST. She said it was disrespectful and there was nothing you needed to talk about at that hour. Regardless of what is going on in your life... there is no reason for anyone to call me or anyone else at 4 or 7am. If you thought you were getting some sex... if you weren't there before 4 it isn't going to happen. You wanted to hear my voice first thing in the morning... you should have been there last night. Like I told the both of them I found it very disrespectful that they even thought it was ok to call my house at such an hour and would expect for them to never do it again.

So just for general reference:

• If you are dying call 911... then hit me at 10am. I am not a doctor what the fuck can I do for you.
• If you are stranded call a taxi... I'd rather give you $20 than get out of my bed at such an hour.
• Someone I know died... yet again hit me at 10am, the will still be dead at 10am.

Random Thoughts for this Thursday Morning...

• As much as I enjoy listening and looking at Clifford... I really could careless if he goes to jail or not. I am so over these wanna be mogul hood rats... that have garnered opportunity and wealth that many of us dream about only to get arrested for some dumb "keepin' it real" nonsense.



• When I was reading the story about Jermaine Jackson not having any money or employment to pay his wife child support, I thought it was a tad bit funny. But when they gave the back story that their 2 kids together are now siblings to their cousins. Mrs. Alejandra Jackson also has two teenage children from a previous relationship with Jermaine’s youngest brother Randy and has been living with Jackson’s mother Katherine for quite sometime. Now that is truly "keepin' it in the family".


• I wonder now that ABC is allowing Don "nappy headed hoes" Imus back on radio... will Dr. Preston Burke, played by Isaiah "hey fag" Washington, return and reunite with Christina.


• Why is it that certain people pay you no attention till your attention has moved on to someone else... someone they know... someone I find more interesting. Yet we are always looking for something real, but never give reality ourselves.


• To think at this stage in my life I thought I had friends and friendships figured out but everytime I turn around... some new revelation is made. But when a friend comes in town and doesn't even tell you... and then when you do call them because you found out from some random that they are here and they still make no effort to get up... it definitely wakes you and makes you realize you aren't as close as you once were.


• I need a lesson in office politics. I don't play that game well either. Why can't we just come, do our work, and go home.


• It amazes me that we as a people complain about the lack of black faces on TV but yet we continue to accept the nonsense of Flava of Love or I Love New York. I would rather see nothing than that corny, train wreck nonsense. We must not only demand more, but demand quality. In a time of Jena 6 an Genarlow... this is doing nothing to advance our race.


• I think that if one more person holds up traffic or hijacks a bus, because they want to kill themselves inconveniencing the rest of DC... they should let sniper John Mohammed take them out. It doesn't take 3 hours for you to want to kill yourself, if you are going to do it... JUST DO IT, so the rest of us can go on with our lives.


• So I wonder how long will it take for them to find a cure for the MRSA strain of staph infections, seeing that it killed 6000 more people than AIDS did in 2005. umm hmm no cure but we can give you a few drugs to let you live for 30 years.

Dayne is Back

Dayne Avery, bestselling author of I Wrote This Song, introduces his second novel, Details —a story of lust, love, lies, and religion. Travel to the backwoods of Georgia in this captivating tale as Details offers a peek into church dynamics seldom spoken.

About Details: From humble 18th century beginnings to the mega churches of today, the Black Church remains a pillar in the African-American community. This fact holds true in the small southern town of Hephzibah, Georgia. There the church is the only way. Members of Stevenson United Methodist Church cling to old school Christian values, holding the Old Testament in their right hand and New Testament in their left. They hold beloved pastor, Reverend Toussaint, even closer, placing him on a God-like throne. But when a sudden turn of events sweeps through Hephzibah and sends its unsuspecting worshippers running to the rock of their salvation, they realize that no one is exempt from the errors of humanity—not even their beloved pastor.

Details is on sale now... and for more info on Dayne's first novel, I Wrote this Song, click here.

Why the Hell Did They Get Married?

In what I thought was one of the most competitive weekends at the box office in a long time, "Tyler Perry's Why Did I Get Married?" outsold several new and existing films beating out The Rock, Joaquin Phoenix, Mark Wahlberg, and Cate Blanchett with a strong $21.5 million in revenue. But are we really surprised?

Tyler's films and stage plays are giving black movie goers what they want, something relatable with people they want to see. However according to Lionsgate President Tom Ortenberg, the film's distributer, "Box-office analysts, most of whom predicted Perry's new film would open in the $10 million to $15 million range, relied on consumer tracking surveys that continually underestimate the filmmaker because his audience comprises nontraditional moviegoers." While I agree mostly with what Ortenberg has to say... 'nontraditional'... really?

When me and the Dark Knight arrived at the movie theater at 1:00pm for the 1:15pm howing, I was only a little surprised that we were sitting 4 rows from the screen. Luckily I prepurchased our tickets. As we settled in and began to watch the film, I looked through some of the bad acting to see characters that I recognized. Although Janet was often billed as the front runner... the story was about Jill Scott's character, and Jill stole the show. Tasha Smith's an emasculating bigmouth character provided the needed comic relief and I think brought attention to the little alcoholic in ourselves. But my favorite and most believable character in the movie was Richard T. Jones. Jones plays the demoralizing husband of meek, overweight Jill Scott, but while he plays his role quite well, you see faults in the script because there is no way you could be close friends with a man like this.

Regardless of the millions and millions of dollars Tyler makes on his films, he is still a far cry from the cinematic masterpieces such as the Color Purple, What's Love Got to Do With It and Love Jones. This film gives you two hours of enjoyment. Hopefully we can get Tyler to do a film on voting next November.

A Note from Maurice Jamal...

My friends,

I know the rumors have started circulating and I wanted to reach out to all of you personally to share the great news! Dirty Laundry is indeed coming out this December. Nationally we'll be out December 28 but the great news is that Codeblack Entertainment and FOX are so excited by the film that it's being released EARLY in select cities on December 7, 2007! Atlanta, Washington, DC, Baltimore and New York!

As you all know, this film was a huge labor of love. As an artist, I have always wanted to tell stories that reflect a human experience. Dirty Laundry is such a film. Funny, touching and raw....the film strikes a cord because of it's honest portrayal of a family in transition. I know some of you saw the film in sneak previews and others who haven't have been begging me to show them the film early! LOL. But each and every one of you have wanted to know how you can support. And we need you now! Our opening weekend on December 7 is VERY important. We need to sell out every showing on every screen. And I don't mean, we want to...we NEED to. Dirty Laundry is rare because it's a true independent film that tells a story which breaks new ground. And all eyes our on our community. Collectively we need to show that Dirty Laundry is important because it reflects our lives. If this film does well, it blows open the door for other artists and filmmakers to tell diverse stories about our people.

I have a love affair with film, so it's important to me that this crazy, wonderful, insane industry find the space for us to exist. And if they don't, we'll just make the space (smile). Dirty Laundry is about hope and redemption and I'm inviting you all to help tell this story.

PLEASE FORWARD THIS EMAIL to everyone you know. In particular, people who live in ATLANTA, BALTIMORE, WASHINGTON DC and NYC. THE CAST AND I WILL BE COMING TO THESE CITIES BEFORE THE PREMIERE, SO HIT ME UP AND LET'S STAY CONNECTED!


Thank you for your love and support!
Maurice J.

The Irony of Eso Wan

I found it very ironic that the same day I picked up my latest reading assignment for this new book club I am joining was the same day the LA Times carried a story by John Mitchell detailing the closing of Eso Wan.

Before reading the first few chapters of Stanley Bennett Clay's Looker, I had never heard of Eso Wan. And Leimert Park was just a place Maya on Girlfriends casually mentioned from time to time. Mitchell's article details that after 20 years of bookselling and selling 1800 copies of Bill Clinton's My Life in one day, the iconic bookstore is loosing the battle to the Barnes & Nobles and Borders of the world.

That is where the irony comes in... I had just finished chapter 14 of Looker and the characters were gathering for a reading at Eso Wan, when I came across the article online. Sitting right next to my Gateway laptop was a Barnes & Noble receipt for $13.65. I then immediately thought of all of the independent and small book stores like Karibu that I could have supported. I mean I do go there when I need that one black book that I just can't find anywhere else but maybe I should consider them first and Borders second.

But despite successful appearances by Obama, Angela Bassett (seen below... dont you just love her), Clinton, Superhead, and others, co-owners Thomas Hamilton and John Fugate said that sales had become progressively worse and the bookstore has barely managed to stay afloat.

So is it that we aren't supporting the indies... or is it that we aren't reading? Anyway for the article click here....

Vote or Die: Select a Candidate Quiz

OK... so this quiz was passed on to me and I thought it was interesting. Answer the 11 questions on this link to find out which candidates are most aligned with your views and opinions. You may skip questions if you do not want them factored into the results. This quiz is not meant to pick your candidate for you. It is designed to inform the public of the various stances candidates make. Results are not scientific. Based on a tool developed by Minnesota Public Radio.

Who were u aligned with?

Vote or Die: Reason #1 African Americans need to Rock the Vote

Well once again the Republican party has shown as Kanye has said about their leader that they don't care about black people.

First last week they prevented me and the rest of the FEDERAL TAX paying citizens of Washington... the Constitutional right to have representation in Congress. Bitter... no. Mad... no. Just refund me all the Federal tax money I pay every year and we can call it even.

Then after being invited in March by Tavis Smiley and PBS to participate in a debate at Morgan State University in Baltimore... the front runners recently announced that they wouldn't make it because of scheduling conflicts.

But am I surprised by any of this of course not this is the same party that stole the Florida electoral votes in 2000... the same that replaced Supreme Court Justice Thurgood Marshall with Clarence Thomas... the same government that went on vacation and sent a horse back riding idiot to deal with my city drowning... and led by the same man that snubbed his nose at the NAACP year after year but yet tells his party to reach out to the African American vote.

Until we as a people get out and vote in more numbers... they will continue to brush us to the side and ignore us. So regardless of who you vote for be counted and vote.