Life in Sports: Everybody has to grow up sometime...

Hi All,

Here is the link to an article I read on ESPN this morning about former Nebraska football player Carl Nicks who went back and apologized to his coach and Athletic Director for his performance (or lack thereof) off the field in 2007.

Basically, he skipped some classes, got drunk the weekend before Nebraska's Pro day, and saw his draft stock slide to the 5th Round. At some point, however, he realized that he was heading in a direction that he didn't want to go, and turned a 5th round pick into a two-year starter with the Super Bowl champion New Orlean Saints.

I'm glad to see Mr. Nicks take the steps that he did to make amends for his mistakes even though he wasn't forced to. You gotta love seeing someone grow as a person.

Cheers to growing up,

JIP

Good Music: The Moon Man does it again...

Check out Kid Cudi's latest video below...although it is actually a collection of performance footage as opposed to the traditional music video, I can appreciate the behind the scenes look we get.

Also, this is the first song that sold me on the fact that he deserves to be part of this new rap movement.

If you haven't already, check out my post on why you should be a Kid Cudi fan here

Food for Thought: The Man in the Arena

The more I find out about former President Teddy Roosevelt, the more I realize that he was a pretty tough guy; this list alone paints a picture of what he was able to accomplish during his 60 years of life (read the full article here, courtesy of Art of Manliness):

1. Work as state legislator, police commissioner, and governor in New York

2. Own and work a ranch in the Dakotas

3. Serve as Assistant Secretary of the Navy

4. Fight as a Rough Rider in the Spanish-American War

5. Serve as President for two terms, then run for an unprecedented third term

6. Become the first President to leave the country during his term in order to see the building of the Panama Canal

7. Write 35 books

8. Read tens of thousands of books-several a day in multiple languages

9. Explore the Amazonian rainforests

10. Discover, navigate, and be named after a completely uncharted Amazonian river over 625 miles long

11. Volunteer to lead a voluntary infantry unit into WWI at age 59.

Based on this, it's no surprise that he is the author of the famous speech, "The Man in the Arena". It speaks of the toughness that Roosevelt embodied and the same toughness that we should embrace and try to bring out of ourselves each and every day.

I would attempt to highlight key points from the speech, but honestly the entire thing is worth not only reading, but also committing to memory. I hope you enjoy this and pass it on to others who can benefit from it:

It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs, who comes short again and again, because there is no effort without error and shortcoming; but who does actually strive to do the deeds; who knows great enthusiasms, the great devotions; who spends himself in a worthy cause; who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement, and who at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who neither know victory nor defeat.

Cheers to all of us being our own man in the arena,

JIP

BHM: Birth of Cool: 20 Black Style Pioneers

Happy Sunday!

So if you know me, you know that GQ is one of my favorite magazines/websites, so I was pleased to see their feature, in partnership with the guys of Street Etiquette (see my last post) entitled "Birth of Cool: 20 Black Style Pioneers". Many of the men featured are well-known figures such as Miles Davis, Marvin Gaye, and Harry Belafonte, but I was even more impressed by some of the lesser known men that were part of this distinguished list, including Dick Gregory, Johnny Hodges, and Vivien Thomas.

Anyhow, check out the slideshow here and see how these men helped mold our history.

Cheers to style,

JIP

BHM: Street Etiquette

Hi All,

One of the new blogs that I have begun to follow on a regular basis is Street Etiquette (check it out here). The website is run by two friends who basically explore various clothing staples and not only explain why they are stylish, but also give a brief history of their origins, which I particularly enjoy. Anyway, they have a new feature entitled "Sewn From the Soul", which honors historical Black figures including Gordon Parks, Huey P. Newton, Miles Davis, Cornell West, Sammy Davis, Jr., and Nat King Cole. Check out the behind the scenes video of the photo shoot below:

Sewn From The Soul from Alejandro on Vimeo.

Also, see the finished product from all of their hard work here.

It's always a great feeling when you're proud of people that you don't even know.

Cheers to Street Etiquette,

JIP

I make Black History every day, I don't need a month!

As stated in the line above, courtesy of Kanye West, I don't feel that Black History should be restricted to a single month. All history should be valued, so I plan on treating it as such. Going forward, I will try to incorporate things that I feel add some sort of value to my blog, and I am open to any ideas that are out there.

Hope you all enjoy! :-)

Cheers,

JIP

Food for Thought: A World Without Black People

This was written for kids, but I tend to think that we can all learn more about ourselves by reading this...it's not just pertinent to Black history, but the history of our entire country.

This is a story of a little boy name Theo, who woke up one morning and asked his mother, "Mom, what if there were no Black people in the world?" Well, his mother thought about that for a moment, and then said, "Son, follow me around today and let's just see what it would be like if there were no Black people in the world." Mom said, "Now go get dressed, and we will get started."

Theo ran to his room to put on his clothes and shoes. His mother took one look at him and said, "Theo, where are your shoes? And those clothes are all wrinkled, son. I must iron them." However, when she reached for the ironing board, it was no longer there.

You see Sarah Boone, a black woman, invented the ironing board, and Jan E. Matzelinger, a black man, invented the shoe lasting machine.

"Oh well," she said, "please go and do something to your hair." Theo ran in his room to comb his hair, but the comb was not there. You see, Walter Sammons, a black man, invented the comb.

Theo decided to just brush his hair, but the brush was gone. You see Lydia O. Newman, a black female, invented the brush.

Well, this was a sight: no shoes, wrinkled clothes, hair a mess. Even Mom's hair, without the hair care inventions of Madam C. Walker, well, you get the picture.

Mom told Theo, "Let's do our chores around the house and then take a trip to the grocery store." Theo's job was to sweep the floor. He swept and swept and swept. When he reached for the dustpan, it was not there. You see, Lloyd P. Ray, a black man, invented the dustpan.

So he swept his pile of dirt over in the corner and left it there. He then decided to mop the floor, but the mop was gone. You see, Thomas W. Stewart, a black man, invented the mop. Theo yelled to his Mom, "Mom, I'm not having any luck."

"Well, son," she said, "Let me finish washing these clothes, and we will prepare a list for the grocery store." When the wash finished, she went to place the clothes in the dryer, but it was not there. You see, George T. Samon, a black man, invented the clothes dryer.

Mom asked Theo to go get a pencil and some paper to prepare their list for the market. So, Theo ran for the paper and pencil but noticed the pencil lead was broken. Well, he was out of luck because John Love, a black man, invented the pencil sharpener.

Mom reached for a pen, but it was not there because William Purvis, a black man, invented the fountain pen.

As a matter of fact, Lee Burridge invented the typewriting machine and W. A. Lovette the advanced printing press. Theo and his mother decided just to head out to the market.

Well, when Theo opened the door, he noticed the grass was as high as he was tall. You see, John Burr, a black man, invented the lawn mower. They made their way over to the car and found that it just wouldn't go. You see, Richard Spikes, a black man, invented the automatic gearshift, and Joseph Gammel invented the supercharge system for internal combustion engines. They also noticed that the few cars that were moving were running into each other and having wrecks because there were no traffic signals. You see, Garrett A. Morgan, a black man invented the traffic light.

Well, it was getting late, so they walked to the market, got their groceries, and returned home. Just when they were about to put away the milk, eggs, and butter, they noticed the refrigerator was gone. You see John Standard, a black man, invented the refrigerator. So, they just left the food on the counter.

By this time, Theo noticed he was getting mighty cold. Mom went to turn up the heat, and what do you know? Alice Parker, a black female, invented the heating furnace. Even in the summertime, they would have been out of luck because Frederick Jones, a black man, invented the air conditioner.

It was almost time for Theo's father to arrive home. He usually takes the bus, but there was no bus, because its precursor was the electric trolley, invented by another black man, Elbert R. Robinson.

He usually takes the elevator from his office on the 20th floor, but there was no elevator because Alexander Miles, a black man, invented the elevator.

He also usually dropped off the office mail at a near by mailbox, but it was no longer there because Philip Downing, a black man, invented the letter drop mailbox, and William Barry invented the postmarking and canceling machine.

Theo and his mother sat at the kitchen table with their heads in their hands. When the father arrived, he asked, "Why are you sitting in the dark?" Why? Because Lewis Howard Latimer, a black man, invented the filament within the light bulb.

Theo quickly learned more about what it would be like if there were no black people in the world, especially if he were ever sick and needed blood. Dr. Charles Drew, a black scientist, found a way to preserve and store blood, which led to his starting the world's first blood bank.

Well, what if a family member had to have heart surgery? This would not have been possible without Dr. Daniel Hale Williams, a black doctor, who performed the first open-heart surgery.

So, if you ever wonder, like Theo, where would we be without black people? Well, it's pretty plain to see. We would still be in the DARK!