Saturday, February 14, 2009

The Real Man's Guide to Romance, Part 2: Burnin' Love

If you're anything like me, you care for your woman just as much as you care about the environment. Since you're still trying to figure out if that's a compliment or an insult, let me clear things up for you: yes, it is.

One thing that is not ambiguous is my love of pussy or my disdain for holidays that make me pay a price for my aforementioned love. But much like when Biggie went home with that broad that got dick from a player off the New York Knicks, I know how to make the best of a bad situation. I take lemons and make babies. Just not directly. So when the Holidays strike, I strike back like any Real Man would.

Such is the case with Styrofoam. It can't be easily recycled. It doesn't biodegrade. But it does make a very lovely fire. The same type of lovely fire that one might use to get some St. Valentine's Day ass. The type of fire that burns with passion, that burns white-hot, that burns with the aid of excellerants. That's right, Real Men. Nothing says "Bitch, take your clothes off NOW!!!" like a little homemade Napalm.

Now you may ask yourself "Why in the fuck would I want to make Napalm, especially for Valentine's Day?" If you have to ask, then this is not for you and you shouldn't read any further, Girlie Man. For the rest of you, it goes without saying that nothing sucks more than having to tend to a fire and a woman at the same time. Thus the genius in using a hot-burning long lasting firestarter like Napalm to kill one bird with an incendiary bomb is not only in it's Real Man Appeal, but it's practicality. You can save time and the planet all while getting laid. It's a can't miss proposition.

Unless you blow yourself up. Now, would a Real Man hesitate to post instructions on how to make Napalm out of styrofoam on his blog? No way. But a Real Man also would know how to make Napalm out of Styrofoam already, meaning if you don't know by now you're not a Real Man. If you're interesting in becoming a Real Man however, I am willing to do you a solid and point you in the right direction. Click here to take your first step in finding out how to make fire like a Real Man.

And that's will do it for Part II. If you're still alive for Part III, We'll take a look at how a Real Man pulls off a Romantic Dinner for two.

Bonfire Appetit!

The Real Man's Guide to Romance, Part 1: The Nameless Drink

***WARNING!!!***

The following is for Real Men only. If you are less than a Real Man, read no further.

Liar.

But since you're clearly determined to read on, know that I will not be held accountable for what happens when your eyes set upon the Truth contained in this passage.

Don't Say You Weren't Warned.

*** END WARNING!!!***

If you're anything like me, you ain't no punk bitch. No my friend, you're a man's man. In the tradition of Eastwood (Unforgiven, not Bridges of Madison County), Swayze (Roadhouse, not Dirty Dancing and for damn sure not Ghost) and Batman (the one without a Robin, not the one who kicked it with teen boys in spandex), you kick ass and leave the name-taking for those far more pussy than you're even capable of pretending to be. Your man-stank makes women ovulate. The sound of your voice gets broads so hot you violate the Kyoto Protocol every time you bother to speak to these hos. Women want to be with you and men want to be women so they can be with you, too. You're a Gangsta of Love'em and Leave'em.

But all that doesn't mean your ass won't be sleeping on the sofa if you don't make with the romance when your woman expects it. If you think the way Russia cut off gas to the Ukraine was fucked up, try skipping out on doing right by your lady friend on Valentine's Day. The pussy will freeze up faster than the credit market.

But just because you're more Rick Ross than Ross and Rachel doesn't mean you can't moisturize her situation and maintain your manly. You just have to know how to go about pulling that shit off.

That's where I come in. As the guy your girl most often thinks about while she's with you, I'm here you give you the upper hand you need to get her mind back to where it belongs: bouncing uncomfortably off of your headboard. Or your belly button. Or, if you're anything like me, her younger sister. So grab your composition books and sharpen your Sharpie, because if you follow my advice I promise you your relationship will be the same again. Ever.

The first step in improving your love life in getting her drunk. This is an Absolut must and can never under any circumstances be considered optional. To this end I am breaking my silence and offering you, noble reader a recipe that has been kept secret for thousands of days. But no longer. You make thank me properly when no one is looking.

The Nameless Drink

one part Vodka
one part Peach Schnapps
one part Blue Raspberry Martini Mix
one part Wildberry Pucker
Cranberry Juice

Shake first four ingredients over ice, pour into chilled glass and fill with cranberry juice.

Now let be clear about two things:
  1. The quality of the vodka in question will have a direct bearing on the panty peeling effects of this soft drink. If you're serving this to get served, don't pinch pennies.
  2. I've never actually tasted this concoction before, so I have now idea what it taste like. From what I've been (frequently) told, it taste like Kool-Aid. Take that for what it's worth.
So there you have it, Part I of the Real Man's Guide to Romance. What's Part II? I don't want to give anything away, but Here's a Hint: it involves Napalm. Seriously.

Friday, February 13, 2009

Spinal Crap

If you're anything like me, you were really looking forward to me being able to Twitter a running diary during the birth of my third and final daughter. I was ready. I had my iPod blasting the Launch theme from Armageddeon, my UMA BlackBerry was connected to the Hospital Wi-Fi, and I was still not completely sober from the wine pairings I enjoyed with my seven course meal the night before. It was on.

Unfortunately for all of us I was denied that opportunity when Pregatron proved to be impervious to painkillers. No amount of spinal blocks, anesthetic or Bullfrogs (which is a Raspberry Stoli and Lemonade for the uninitiated) could numb her up. So she had to be put under, which meant I couldn't watch the blessed event in the OR. The whole thing really upset Pregatron, which was made worse by the fact that I couldn't talk to her to calm her down. Stupid Modern Medicine.

But in it's own way it was cool. It was kinda old school. I was left to pace back and forth and wonder what was going on. It would have been nice if I could have had a pack of cigarettes and some scotch, too. And then just like in the movies I hear a baby cry and out the nurse comes with my little bundle of outrageous tuition and expensive ass wedding. It was cool. I might head across the river into Canada and bring back some Cubans for complete the deal.

I wonder if Pregatron's Doctor smokes?

Here We Go Again

Some of you may have wondered I haven't been posting anything to the blog lately, and for those curious few I have an answer: I've been busy. You see, today is Pregatron's big day. The Daughters of Destruction will be adding a third and final member to their ranks today, in about two hours or so. So for the past two weeks I've been preoccupied with putting the finishing touches on everything around the house in order to make room for one more reason I'll never be able to get out of debt.

Nonetheless, I'm here in the D getting ready for Episode III and I'll be making up for lost time and blog post all weekend.

Don't say you haven't been warned.

Monday, January 26, 2009

Broke Like Me

If you're anything like me, you've got your money spread out between several financial institutions. Among my current banks are Piggy, Almost-A-, and Bank of America. It should go without saying which one of these banks I'm least happy with, but I'll say it anyway. But not without some prologue.

If you've spent any time in Virginia in the past year, I'm sure you've heard about the legislative push to ban what must be Hampton Roads largest financial institution, the check cashing place. This is not hyperbole. Were the check cashing place an actual bank, Jefferson Ave would be Wall Street. And like Wall Street, Jefferson Ave is facing backlash and tough new oversight after years of little oversight and deregulation.

The idea behind the new laws are simple: people who need money in a pinch shouldn't have to pay insane amounts of interest to get it. And like most simple ideas, it was conceived by simple minds. Being a Virginia Legislator is a part-time job. When you're not writing laws, you're back to your regular job. So given the pay of the average Delegate and Senator, these people may have some familiarity with needing a little extra scratch between direct deposits. Legislating check-to-check is no doubt embarrassing enough without having to deal with paying up to 400% in annualized interest on top of everything else.

I have a problem with the logic being used to argue the merits of this law. The triple digit interest is a arithmetic reality manipulated into a fuzzy math fantasy. For every $100 you borrow from on of these establishments, you pay $15, with a maximum borrowable amount of $500. So the most you can pay for a loan is $75. The loan and interest is due the next time you get paid. So the actual interest for the duration of the loan is 15%. That's not inconsequential, but it's certainly not 400% .In fact, it's in line with credit card interest rates and actually less than getting a cash advance on your credit card. But more importantly than that, no real bank is going to lend you money until payday. Just try calling up your current bank and asking for a loan for $500. *Spoiler Alert* You're not getting one.

Especially if you're with Bank of America, which is for all intents and purposes is bankrupt and is only still able to open it's doors due to a huge backstop of taxpayer money. Most people will make a big deal out of the TARP funds that will ultimately dilute shareholders if the bank recovers and be a complete waste of money if the bank fails regard of either outcome. But I'm more concerned about the $118 in loan guarantees our heroes in Congress bravely made possible by Creating this TARP mess in the first place. Keeping in mind that the enitre company could be bought outright for less than $40B and that the Treasury has given BoA $45B in straight cash over the past four months and they still managed to post a 4Q loss, a reasonable person might think it's time to pull the plug of this nonsense. But then again, reasonable people don't make it to Washington, now do they? On top of the $45 billion that has already been given to BoA, the taxpayer is on the hook another $10 billion in writedowns and then 90% of their mortgage loan losses after that.

So from here on at 0K+3$ Bank of America will be known as Bank Owes America. Big Time.

Thursday, January 22, 2009

VTF?

If you're anything like me, you keep a running list of schools you will not pay for your daughters to go to and institutions that are just completely off limits from any consideration. My list used to look like this.

  1. Spelman
That was a simple enough list to maintain. I moved to Detroit in 2001 and had to adjust that list slightly. The revised list looked pretty much like this:

  1. Spelman
  2. Detroit Public Schools
Now that I live in Ann Arbor, not only did I have to tweak that list yet again but I also needed to add explanations for each item. That wound up looking like this when it was all said and done.

  1. Spelman- As if.
  2. Detroit Public Schools- Detroit schools frequently serve as polls on election day. I used to vote at Murray-Wright High, which the students lovingly referred to as Murder-Whites. One day as I was walking into the school to vote on amongst other issues Prop E, which was asking voters whether or not to allow then-Mayor Kwame Killpatrick to take over control of the city's public school system. This was like asking me if I wanted a give millions of tax dollars to a crackhead to do something about all those unsightly crackhouses in the neighborhood. As I was entering the building I saw that the doors and windows were covered with flyers. Not political flyers mind you, because that's illegal. No, these flyers were inviting the students to participate in a "Shake What Yo Mama Gave Ya" contest after school. There was a prize involved, but I've blocked the rest of that memory out. I do recall voting no for what it's worth.
  3. The Ohio State University- I actually don't have anything against the school, but the more I live in Michigan the less I like Ohio. The turnpike is nice. The State Troopers are dicks. But the real issue is that I just don't like the people. They have no lives and nothing to live for outside of OSU football and LeBron. As much as people love to diss Detroit, can you honestly tell me you'd rather go anywhere in Ohio? Cleveland? Cincinnati? Dayton? Columbus? At least in the D you get better clubs, bars and women who are ready to get down without a bunch of jibber-jabber.
  4. Harvard University- I can't afford that shit.
That was the list until today, when I made the following changes.

  1. Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University
  2. Spelman
  3. Ohio State University
  4. Detroit Public Schools
  5. Harvard
If you have to ask why Virginia Tech made the list at #1, then you clearly haven't seen the reports coming out of Blacksburg about the latest tragedy to hit campus. This is crazy for a few reasons. The biggest one is that 20 months after 32 students were killed in a crazed shooting spree another student is killed in a way that ups the ante on crazy on-campus murders. Now I am in no way making light of the fact that a young woman lost her life, but seriously? Getting stabbed to death is bad enough, but to then be decapitated all while sitting in Au Bon Pain in plain sight of witnesses? Over coffee and without any apparent provocation?

At this rate, Blacksburg might as well be Camp Crystal Lake. How could any parent feel good about sending their kid there given the recent history? First the Vick Brothers and now not one but two homicidal maniacs were enrolled at this school? Who's the Dean of Admissions, O.J.? It's as mind boggling as it is sad. It's the sort of thing that make you just shake your head and say WTF?

Sadder still is that this student and her family back in China probably won't get the same degree of public sympathy as the shooting victims because it was just her and we're a long way from football season. So effective immediately, in memory of Xin Yang and in honor of the shitty campus security at VT, the phrase WTF? here at 0K+3$ will officially be changed to VTF? until further notice. And as for Gumball and Lunchbox, well they'lll just have to be satisfied with UVA.

Just Kidding. That school's on the list too.

Monday, January 19, 2009

The Inauguration Proclamation

I have mixed feelings about tomorrow's Inauguration of America's 44th President. While most of you will be watching either on TV, them internets or even in person, I'll be sitting in a training class in Detroit pretty much all day. I'm going to miss the whole thing. This is not all bad to me, as it gives me a legitimate reason to not actually be in attendance on the day everything changed forever. More accurately it gives me another reason to not be there. It's not that I don't want to be there, it's just that I'm afraid of what going to happen to some of the people who are making the trip. Why am I afraid? Oh, I have my reasons. And this being a blog and all, my reasons just so happen to fit onto a neatly reverse-ordered list:

5. It's going to be cold as fuck.

It's Common Knowledge that a gathering of more than six Black Folks at a time is a leading cause of Global Warming. Conventional Wisdom would dictate that Black Folks don't go outside if the temperature's under 50. That would be if Common Knowledge and Conventional Wisdom hadn't been murdered in their sleep by that dastardly cabal of Hope, Yes We Can, Change and of course Oprah. We flipped everything on its head, and that's not a good thing when you'd like for things to work the way they used to. So now a million black folks, many of whom are from parts of the country where it doesn't even snow, are going to gather in sub-freezing temperatures and stand for hours on end and all of this will not keep a single one of them warm. Pity.

4. It's going to be like a funeral.

If you've ever been to a black funeral, you know exactly what I mean. There with be tears, crying, sobbing and all kinds of bawling. In fact, this will be the cryingest group of happy folk you've ever laid eyes on. Do you blame them. How could you not cry one last good time? After Slavery, Jim Crow, Selma, Malcolm and Martin and even OJ and Katrina our Trail of Tears will come to an end. Ironically in the shadows of the monument built to honor our first president, a slave owner himself, and a halls of democracy built with slave labor we will turn our country, our future and all of our hopes over to a Black man. It will be emotional for just about everyone. Except me. I'm not big on crying while others look on. Look, I haven't cried in a public setting since Optimus Prime died and even I would probably get misty if I were watching on TV. So I'll gladly bottle up all that touchy-feeliness and wait until I get home to watch. Manliness is next to Godliness after all.


3. There's No Easy Way Out

It's easy to forget that we live in an age of information when you look at how many people don't know jack. For instance, did you know that they've closed both bridges coming from Virginia to cars? Yup, hope you're on a bus if you're heading to DC and all points North or you're fucked. This will cause a riot on 95, I promise you. And if you've made it into town, I hope you're comfy, because you're not going to be able to leave easily. Cell phones might not work. Streets will be blocked and parking will be scarce. They're calling for Crush conditions on the Metro. I'm not sure what "Crush" conditions are, but I've been on the Metro after a game at RFK, and if it's anything worse than that, I'll pass. This will cause an underground riot, I promise you. And for the people who do make it to the Mall, watch your step. There will be tons of people there dressing in something they can't really afford and really isn't that comfortable. Don't step on anybody's Obama Outfit. This will cause a riot to break out, I promise you. Yes, I'm predicting violence at the Inauguration. Well, not at so much as around. I'm putting the over/under on Inaugural Shootings at five. Let's pray for the under.

2. The Power of Christ Compels Me.

More than a few people have made jokes about the Obama Shuffle, the Electric Slide and all manner of dances that could breakout at the Inauguration (I'm hoping for Thriller myself). But I think that no one has mentioned the most obvious: The Holy Ghost. To tell a family Secret, I'm scared of the Holy Ghost. You have to be careful who you sit next to in church, you could be putting yourself in harms way. I mean, it just pops up and people wig out. Well, some people. The odds of BHO catching the Holy Spirit in the middle of his speech is roughly 450-1. The odds of someone in the audience? 100%. This will happen. And it will spread like wildfire. My only hope is that the Department of Homeland Security has brought in enough Candy Stripers and Church Fans to contain the situation.

1. I have a job to do.

I cannot stress this enough. I work for a living. A living that would not have been possible without the sacrifices of a lot of people who came before me, many of whom I'll never know by name or face. It's fitting in a way that the day after we take time off to remember the dream, we'll actually get to realize it. It's fitting that some of the same people who were in that same place to hear Dr. King's vision of our future will be there to see that future arrive in it's most obvious way. Of course, we've been building towards this moment for a while now, and now that the moment is here I don't have much else to say about it that hasn't been said already by someone else. Except maybe this: Today's events make the score White Presidents 43, Black Presidents 1. There's been a little too much endzone dancing going, and some folks are acting like it's over and we won. Well, we didn't. I'm going to Detroit today and trust me, there's still plenty of work to be done. BHO isn't the first Black President, he's the only Black President. I'd like to see another someday. But until then, I'm ready to do what I have do for this one and I can't be alone in that effort. It took a shitload of money, effort and dialogue to make this day possible and we can't effort to let up. Otherwise the only thing we really accomplished was breaking up a shutout.

Good reasons, all. But perhaps the best one is that Pregatron is due in three weeks, and I've got my priorities. Top amongst them will be bringing my daughter home from the hospital, turning on the TV and telling her that the President of the United State is Black, and it's been that way her whole Life. If all goes according to plan, she'll smile. We both will.

That's what happens to a dream no longer deferred.