I pooted? No, I voted!

I pooted? No, I voted. Georgia held statewide run-off elections this morning and I cast my ballot for State Senate and DeKalb County CEO. I also cast my nominations for the 2008 Black Weblogs Awards.

Have you considered "the new intellectual pursuit" for category 30: Blog to Watch?
The criteria reads:
"This category highlights the best “undiscovered” blog in the blogosphere; keep your eye on this one! This is for that great blog that not everyone knows about…but should!"
Vote here at:
http://www.blackweblogawards.com/database/step1.php

Tales from the Hood

Hi, hater! I know you wished you lived in my neighborhood, because if you did, you would have access to some things found in no other part of the country!

When you live in my hood, you can see some fine orthodontic work on display so you too can bling when you smile!

The shrimp steak and cheese is a culinary creation only found in a Chinese restaurant in my hood!

Until the Cheesecake Factory serves the steak-shrimp burger,

-Zack Kirk

A poem of comfort (for me at least...)

For all who know the discomfort of hope and the uncertainity of faith...
My prayers are with him as are yours. I have hope for the fight and faith in God's plan.

Faithless
The tide is full, the moon lies fair
Upon the straits. . .
Matthew Arnold

By mid-July I'm tired of the mountains.
I want to be near the sea,
walk beside it for an hour or two,
watch it cleaning the wounds of the shore.
Such persistence—though we know
there isn't a plan, just this
going back over the same places,
revising everything out.
"Is there a way to win?"
Jane Greer asks Robert Mitchum
in Out of the Past. "Well," he says,
"There's a way to lose more slowly."
He knows he shouldn't trust her,
and he doesn't care. Ah, Matthew Arnold,
our lovers are more melancholy than yours,
more desperate, more faithless.
"You can't help anything you do,"
Mitchum tells her at the end.
Which is what he might have told himself.
But nobody ever sees how far
the things we shouldn't feel can take us.
I just want to walk along the shore
for an hour, watch the waves
rearranging whatever they can.
I like the way the sea encourages me
to think about the past,
as if I could leave it where it is:
the moon on the water, the stars
that gleam and are gone.

By Lawrence Raab

When faced with the difficult...

We Walk in Faith by Raymond A. Foss

A momentary blip,
a bump on the road of life
hit us again today, as it has
for a few weeks
a scare in our lives
prayed over, worry over
brought us together
family of blood,
of affinity,
our family of faith
wrapping arms around us
praying for us
for the doctor’s skill
the sureness of his hand
the guiding hand of God
in the testing to come
the results we wait for
the healing of the body
and the balm of the soul
feeling the presence
the people put in our path
wanting to help
to care for her
support her
comfort her

-August 24, 2006

The 20th Annual National Black Arts Festival

Every year, I attempt to attend at least one cultural event sponsored by the National Black Arts Festival. Held annually during the last two weeks in July, the festival celebrated 20 years this month.

According to nbaf.org, the National Black Arts Festival (NBAF), a non-profit cultural institution based in Atlanta, Georgia, celebrates the contributions of people of African descent and their impact on world cultures. The mission of NBAF is to engage, cultivate and educate diverse audiences about the arts and culture of the African Diaspora and provide opportunities for artistic and creative expression

If you missed this year’s artist gallery, you missed a real treat.

Tales from the Hood..

I have become addicted to Checker’s hot dogs. I know, I know… don’t judge me.

So I go to the drive-thru and order three of the 99 cent frankfurters. I am greeted by a rude Checker's employee.

Checkers Worker: Yeah.
Zack Kirk: Excuse me.
Checkers Worker: Yeah, can I take yo order.
Zack Kirk: Three hot dogs, please.
Checkers: Three chili dogs?
Zack Kirk: Three hot dogs.
Checkers Worker: Huh. Nobody orders hot dogs. $3.21. Drive around.

And I drive around and wait ten minutes while the car in front of me gets three bags of food. When I finally get to the window, I am greeted by weave all over the place and two gold teeth blinging brightly.

Zack Kirk: How much is it?
Checkers Worker: Huh?
Zack Kirk: How much is the order?

Checkers Worker: I told you 3.21.
I hand it over and take the bag.

Zack Kirk: Excuse me. Can I have some ketchup?
Checkers Worker: We ain’t got no ketchup.

How can a fast food restaurant not have ketchup? I am almost sure there was ketchup in the back, but she did not want to get it.

Why? Why can I not get decent customer service in my neighborhood? I know, I know… don’t tell me.

Until Santa Claus comes to the hood and hands out some manners,

-Zack Kirk

Is this freedom of speech, satire, or something else?

Did the cover of this week’s New Yorker make me angry?
The cover portrays Obama as an Islamic Terrorist, who has taken over the white house, is burning an American flag, and is greeting his wife, an aforoed militant with a machine gun slung across her breast. The only thing missing are Natasha and Malia sitting on the lawn, reading from the Koran.

Did the cover of this week’s New Yorker make me angry?
The cover is insulting to African Americans and Muslims. The cover plays into the lies and slander being perpetuated by FOX news and other conservative news outlets concerning the Obamas.

Did the cover of this week’s New Yorker make me angry?
The cover could have easily been perceived as true by the 27% of Americans who believe Obama to be Muslim, when he is not a Muslim. He proclaims his faith to be Christian.

Did the cover make me angry? No.

I am firm supporter of the first amendment.
It is the job of the media to propel us into the world of thought. I read magazines and newspapers to make me think beyond my own preconceived judgments.

The portrayal of Barack needs to be explored. While the New Yorker’s cover (not the actual story) plays into the negative thoughts surrounding the Obamas, the majority of news magazines are giving Obama tons of positive free press. This is just as inflammatory as what is being done by FOX news.

We, the American people, to be an informed citizenry, deserve multiple sides of the story. The media that forces us to seek truth for ourselves instead of having that truth interpreted for us is helping move democracy forward.