Asides | Black Gay Blogger

Posted on 03/05/09 @ 12:39 am

I'm a little surprised no one wants a chance to win 1000 free business cards or an 18″x24″ print from UPrinting.com. There have been no entries! None! Zero! What's up with that? The contest is still going until March 18, so get you a piece while you can. I've gotta say, I expected more participation. Que sera sera.

Speaking of giveaways, the Black Weblog Awards is also having a bit of a contest. Fill out their survey, and you're automatically entered for a chance to win an ASUS Eee PC Netbook. Not too shabby for supplying a few details about yourself. They'll pick a winner on April 4.

Since one of my clients is still dragging out meetings with respect to a brotha getting paid, I'm afraid SXSWi is out of the picture for me for, what, the ninth year running? I know I've said before that I'm going to stop trying to go, but it looks like even without a J-O to hold me back, attendance is just not an option. That is, unless someone wants to sponsor me to go. Imagine me riding into SXSWi Strangé-style. Get into it!

From the company that brought you "McNuggets Lovin'"…please put your hands together for Keith Sweat's McNuggets Lovers Club. Please tell me this shit is a joke.

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Posted on 01/16/09 @ 9:00 am

Word of another violent shooting in East Atlanta made the AJC today. I've read on a few local blogs today a debate about whether the shooting was justified self-defense. Reading some of the comments on AJC's "Talk of the Town" blog discussing it just made me sick. There's obviously a lot of scared, angry, and hurt folks out there. Keeping yourself armed is one solution, but I really hope an Amadou Diallo type situation doesn't arise. That would really set shit off. Amber's post sums up a lot of what I'm feeling, though. Something is just not right.

If anybody knows about how social media can come back to bite you in the ass, it's me. Remember the "Karshed" incident? I had to own up to shit I said about my boss and my company to their faces. Now I know the ramifications about it, and I make sure now that whatever's said is shit that I'll own up to and not apologize for. So when I heard about James "keyinfluencer" Andrews' Twitter snafu, I didn't really give it a second thought. Shit happens, y'know? And I'm sure James would own up to it, especially since he was representing his company in an official capacity and isn't some rank and file member, but a vice president. As soon as he hit "Update", it's out there. And once it's there, you have to deal with the consequences. But you know how folks will look for any kinda flaw to try and bring you down to make themselves feel better, especially if it has to do with big business and public relations. Just ask Comcast. Let's just let sleeping twits lie, 'k?

I might have to give up my Facebook account (again!) since I can't play Scrabble on there anymore. The app locks up for me, and I've been stuck in a game since December 30. Crap.

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Posted on 01/06/09 @ 3:37 pm

According to Mashable, LiveJournal is on its last legs after a massive layoff. Way back in 1999, I started my second blog "Neptune Piscean" on LJ and kept it going until 2002. If you've got a blog or blog community over there now, you might want to start looking for a new home. I'd suggest WordPress.com, since you can import LJ posts and comments easily and it's not as tacky as Blogspot.

I just saw this TV ad before starting this entry.

No words on this shit. I wouldn't even let these Negroes know I pay taxes, let alone arrange for them to file them. I come in here to get my…CHECK!

Good thing I got my undergrad sheepskin in Math. The Wall-Street Journal reports that math-based jobs rank as the top three best jobs to have in the U.S. And here I am trying to do the web design thing. Nah, I'm joking. Math is awesome. But I've been so far removed from what I studied when I graduated five years ago, I don't know if I'd make a decent mathematician, actuary, or statistician. OK, well maybe not statistician since I crunch a lot of numbers with the Black Weblog Awards. That purported $90K salary though looks mighty sweet.

SoCon '09 kicks off February 6-7 this year. I'm debating on going this year since finances are a bit slim due to a non-steady income stream. (Need a website? E-mail me!) Granted, it's much cheaper than going to SXSWi (which I've decided to stop trying to go to), but I always feel a little insecure about going to these kinds of things. Yes, I've been blogging for almost eleven years (almost six years here) and I've done the Awards for almost five years and have written in a bunch of different corners of the 'Net, but I tend to feel a bit shy about sharing that, you know? I'm so much more of a behind-the-scenes kind of guy, and these conferences tend to attract a lot of blowhards looking for an echo chamber for their own greatness, and I'm so not that kind of person.
Unless you get me drunk. Hey-o!

As evidenced in numerous posts on here, I have not been a fan of NPR's "News and Notes" for the past few years. But I do give them snaps for their ongoing, vigilant coverage and featuring of Black blogs and bloggers. (Full disclosure: They have asked me to come on before, but never about things I felt like discussing, so I declined them.) When I heard the show was going under, I felt bad, but I didn't feel totally bad. Why? Well, the show certainly gave a lot of bloggers a springboard and a bit of traditional media caché other outlets wouldn't offer. The latest news from the show is that host Farai Chideya moved up her last day to January 16 in the light of news that "News and Notes" would not cover the Obama inauguration. Now that's a straight up gangster move I can appreciate. Go 'head, girl! I'm confident that the next project she has will certainly be on her own terms and allow her to give more shine to the Black community. Maybe a Pop + Politics redux?

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