The coffee booth was not at the framer’s market this week, so I took orders from a few vendors to do a coffee run. A customer heard “Starbucks” in the exchange. African American Customer: “No, you can’t go to Starbucks. After what they did, boycott Starbucks.” African American Vendor: “Listen, Starbucks has an engage the…
“…the police shouldn’t be drinking soda anyway.” Huh? The speaker was referring to Berkeley’s sugar ban and a new recommendation asking the … City of Berkeley departments and City food services contractors to refrain from: 1. Procuring sugar-sweetened beverages with City funds; 2. Selling sugar-sweetened beverages on City property, including in vending machines; and 3.…
Can we stop with the Easter Bunny? Look, don’t have kids, I’m not involved in child rearing, so herein is an observation. A key objective in education is critical thinking reasoned judgment in thought and action; the ability to reason well and the disposition to do so. This means, education has to first undo the…
I see this in Target all the time. Shoppers start by picking up a drink at the in store Starbucks and upon check out, these shoppers do this strange juggling act of trying to carry all their items and not pay 10 cents for a bag. This is hilarious, because, oh yes, pay $5.45 for…
First, there are sirens. Your brain registers that there are a lot of sirens and emergency vehicles; something must have happened? Minutes later, you are in the office and everyone is standing in the middle of the office, still and quiet with one guy on the phone. When he finishes his call, he reports, “my…
Put down the phone, walk away from the tweets and posts and hashtags and let’s talk. Drop the defenses and attitude for a few moments. #MeToo shed light egregious forced assaults, degrading groping and humiliating innuendo in the workplace. Now, Three months post Weinstein, what sound likes “embarrassing choices” and “regrettable sex” have crept into…
“You will feel a little discomfort.” A little discomfort is squinting in bright sunlight. A little discomfort is your underwear wedged in your butt crack. This feels like my teeth are being flossed with a very slender wire, this feels like a sharp object is being shoved into my gums. This is not discomfort, this is…
I optimistically emerged from my post Futurama cartoon binge coma. I’m ready to write. How does this sound as a Hollywood policy and process for filing a sexual harassment claim? The accuser must first engage in 30 days of counseling with a legal counselor in the Office of Compliance. After 30 days, they can choose…
The crash and burn of Harvey Weinstein produced shock, rage and a hashtag. But, this is just an event. An event without action remains an event, not a movement and not a change. While many question how Mr. Weinstein’s behavior continued for decades, the better question is, will this continue? History shows it will. The…
Assumed you’re always being watched. I know there are those bristling at the thought. From my 7th floor balcony I can see people in a parking garage 3 blocks away, see housekeeping enter and exit rooms at a hotel a block away and see inside which restaurants have a line before I go out to…
It’s about to get dark in the US. Over 7 million people will travel to specific sites and millions more will participate in local events. Participation and interest are optional, but, awareness is not. There is a total solar eclipse on Monday, August 21, 2017. There is no pain when you stare at the moon…
Oh crap, this is more than I bargained for; the path of obstacles. I lean back, avoiding a swath of swinging sticks close to my head when a several yards later I sounds of alarm force me to duck to avoid a bombing. When I finally reached the end and remove my shoes to go…
Stop it people. Stop it now. Accepting a Facebook friend request from Jaden K. Smith will not allow him to hack my account and the account of all my fiends. It is a hoax. I got warnings from six brilliant people. Why? When something supports our belief system, there is less of a chance we…
There is a thing I do, make white people comfortable. Survival techniques my parents taught me. Be well-mannered and respectful as not be perceived as an uppity negro. It does not matter if you are better educated, better read and more economically advantaged, just make sure ‘they”don’t feel it. Over the years, I learned, be…
Crazy Time. Oh yes, you’ve been in it. A meeting goes on to long and people start talking crazy. Unfortunately, crazy talk has gotten confused with “innovative ideas” and “out of the box” thinking. If you watch small kids, when they get tired, but fear they may miss something, they do everything they can to…
As 2017 begins, I question the word “worst.” Politically speaking, some say President Obama was the worst thing to have happened to the US, while others say president-elect Trump is the worst event in the history of the nation. The US is still a young country at 240 years old, still, to say something is the worst is to …
It’s the end of the year when I start to clear out stuff. In the past, I went room to room. This year, I’m using a new strategy, purge first. I mean a serious purge of gathering all like items in one place and starting to toss stuff out. When I finally got all my books…
It was a spirited discussion of Trump versus Clinton with supporters on both sides. There was a moment when I just listened, observed and smiled; it was the coolest thing. This wasn’t some news program, debate or viral meme. This was dinner with a diverse group of friends having honest discussion. This was a group…
We can’t stop time, we can’t freeze the action or pause life. We can be still for just a moment. In all the craziness of opinions, information and general noise right now, I choose to calm down, sit still and be quiet. In this calmness, I can take inventory of what’s working and what’s not, what…
Some years back, I was groped by an executive at a work event while my male peers looked on. It was disturbing, not only due to what was happening, but because my co-workers looked on and did nothing. This was a group of men I’d worked with everyday work with every day for three years. No…
I had a gourmet breakfast today. In terms of today’s food trends it was the butter crunch bowl, crisp cereal and organic milk with just a hint of caramel and sea salt. Yes, that’s one way I could rationalized the fact I just ate a bowl of sea salt caramel gelato with butter crisp cookies…
Teen Kills Younger Brother Because He Thought He Deleted His Pokémon. This is a hoax. The phenomenon of Pokémon Go this week has unleashed a multitude of stories, many with no foundation in reality. Recent examples of non-factual facts are a hoax and a meme. Posting a legal notice on your Facebook wall will protect…
“Those shootings had nothing to do with racial profiling me were justified .” “Yes, but you know how they always get upset. “ “There is no more racism, Black Lives Matter is bull. That was part of a conversation I heard in Starbucks early Friday morning spoken so loudly, I could not help but think, are…
If one more person tells me drinking hot drinks will give me esophageal cancer, according to the latest study, well, I’ll probably nod and smile politely like I have been doing all week. I order my drinks extra hot – 180 degrees BECAUSE, when the chai syrup is added the temperature drops 20 degrees and…
This week was a media maelstrom of jaw dropping, pearl clutching moments. A hash-tagging frenzy of #LuciferInTheFLesh and #BeckyWithTheGoodHair followed former Congressman Boehner who spoke of his personal experience with Ted Cruz and Beyoncé Knowles Carter after the debut of her visual album, Lemonade respectively. Why was public reaction as if they were both talking…
I don’t have a particular Prince story, I have a Prince history. Prince released his first album when I was sophomore in college. We were both 19. Prince wrote, produced, did all the vocals and played all the instruments on that album whilst I bemoaned an early morning, 7:50 thermodynamics class. In engineering terms, my…
I perfectly planned my three-day weekend with twenty-four hour allocated to do yard work, house work, writing work and a kitchen faucet repair. I , being somewhat anal-retentive, also allocated a considerable chunk of free time to go see Batman versus Superman, Dawn of Justice. Well, I’m down to my last 8 hours and the…
Donald Trump supporters say they like him because he tells it like it is. Really? Is that a way to define leadership? Kids tell it like it is. To their parent’s chagrin, they blurt out, “there is a pirate,” at someone wearing an eyepatch or “look a cyborg,” when someone has a prosthetic limb. “Telling…
March is getting a little mad. This time is typically reserved for me to tune out the world and tune into a nonstop sports bonanza with the NCAA basketball playoffs. This March and my beloved “basketball zone,” is disrupted by Mad Hat syndrome. This is a situation where a practice is continued in spite of the…
Apple versus the FBI, I wonder what my dad’s position would be? My dad was a cryptologist before he retired. This week, I had a “reach for the phone moment.” Before he died, I’d grab a cup of coffee, call my dad and we’d debate issues citing references, articles and philosophical thought. Our talks were…
I have a new memory of Paris now. A great afternoon coffee break with a couple of friends on warm sunny California day changed the moment I checked my Instagram feed and started seeing messages of solidarity and support for Paris. I’ve been to Paris many times and I’ve had great moments. Watching an Italian…
In the last 10 years, attention spans have dropped from 12 minutes to five. The number of personal electronic devices has outnumbered people on the planet. The first iPad was introduced in April of 2010. At the time, skeptics questioned why someone would want an oversized smartphone. That’s humorous now since we have tablets, mini…
