SPOILERS for S5E3 of Power

If you missed our last review you can check it out here.

Ghost has got to be a Gemini.  I don’t know how I hadn’t seen it before now.  Think about it.  He’s hot and cold, has a dual persona, and has a swagger that serves as superior Thot Magic.  No, I’m not saying all Gemini’s are this way.  However, I AM saying that most of the Gemini’s I’ve met in my life share the same characteristics as one James St. Patrick.

This week’s episode saw James leave his Ghost persona behind in favor of the opportunity to show how a real man-harlot does a business deal.  Listen, I know women love Omari Hardwick and his hairline that just won’t give up, but Power has given the fellas some nice eye-candy as well.  We’ve gotten a chance to see Naturi Naughton and Lela Loren get it in several times, and the world was caught completely off guard when LaLa decided to show every man on the planet that has married her in their minds what she was working with.  Despite coming into this episode knowing that we were overdue for a love scene that wasn’t weird (more on that in a second) and having my own ideas on who would get the love scene we were virtually guaranteed, I DID NOT EXPECT GARCELLE BEAUVAIS TO SHOW THEM CAKES!!!

I grew up a fan of the Jamie Foxx show.  I’m going to tell you right now that I wasn’t a fan because of the comedy.  I wouldn’t rank that show in my top 10 black sitcoms.  However, if I had a list for the top 10 women from black sitcoms, Garcelle would probably be in the top 5.  I was crazy about Fancy and she still got the juice.  I’ve watched this episode twice now, but I’ve seen her big scene in this episode three and a half times (don’t ask) and I plan to watch it two more times before the end of this writing.

Seriously, though… I want her to come back and be James’ suga mama.

And Ghost finally checked Rashad on something only for Rashad to fire back by letting him know that he got played by Linda. (I know I’ve been using her real name, but that’s the name of the character Garcelle played)  The thought of Linda pulling a Lady Eloise on James is hilarious to me.
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If you didn’t catch that reference, your black movie card is under review.

Angela is Slow and Tommy’s Dad Ain’t S**t

The FBI is full of idiots, with Angela Valdez being chief among them.  Detective Rodriguez pulled up on her and asked her some questions about Raina’s death and the dude Tariq handled.  Angela was not only overly vague and defensive during the questioning, but she also decided the best thing to do was to use her authority to get all the evidence the NYPD had about the case taken by the FBI.  BRUH!!!

I hope she goes to jail by the end of this season.  She literally made the target on her back even bigger for Rodriguez.

That made me think of something.  What if the got d**n NYPD ends up bringing down Angela and Ghost.  That would be absolutely stupendous.  Why?  Because the FBI DESERVES NOTHING on this show.

Tommy’s dad has been playing Tommy AND the FBI since he hopped on the scene.  He knew Tommy was hot on the streets, got him to come visit him in prison, and built a bond with him all so he could get the FBI to come and offer him a deal… AND IT WORKED FLAWLESSLY.  It’s one of the best heel moves I’ve ever seen in any medium, and now savage walks the Earth again.  Furthermore, he’s such a gangsta that no one that he knows can fully buy in to him being a snitch, despite the fact that that’s exactly what’s going on.

The story that they’re crafting here is worth the price of admission, and it gives us something interesting to follow besides the Ghost vs. Dre storyline, which is moving at a crawl.

I’m Just Going To Say It… Dre Has No Idea What He’s Doing…

I didn’t talk about this in the last entry because I forgot, but Dre’s story has taken a hard left.  Diego Jimenez is a savage, dawg.  And how did they get that point across?  By revealing that he has some… peculiar fetishes.  Diego came on the scene last episode BLASTING two chicks and forced Dre to stand and watch until he finished, but that’s not where the eye-brows raised.  Nah, later you find out that he sent one of the aforementioned women to smash Dre so he’d have the opportunity to walk in and see it going down.

All of this AND he enjoys killing and the sight of others being killed.
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One thing I appreciate is how the acting and writing show that Dre is in way over his head.  His inner circle is crumbling because his flunkies don’t know who should get all of the credit, Diego appears to be running out of patience with him, AND he’s trying to keep up a lie that he told to Diego that is surely going to come back with a vengeance.  I think he’s going to bite it this season, but my money is on Diego to do the deed now.
But for real, though… Can we get Fancy back for a few more episodes?

SPOILERS AHEAD!!!

If you missed the review for the first episode of Season 5, click here.

This week’s Power episode was uneventfully eventful, but I'll get to that.

Ghost turning back to drinking in response to the death of Raina got me.  I didn’t think the weight of Raina’s death was properly conveyed at the end of last season nor episode 1, but they delivered here.  Ghost reaching out to his #1 Thot, only to be sent to voicemail was rough, too.  He can’t lean on Tasha for support (his fault), and him needing someone gave way to a reminder of just how important Angela is to him.  One thing Power has done perfectly over the course of the first 4 seasons is the relationships between James St. Patrick, Angela, and Ghost.  I know two of those people I mentioned are the same person… Or are they?  James is the one that left that voicemail for Angela that’s worthy of a Drake album, not Ghost.  Ghost is the muff***a that turned into the Punisher and decided to shank that sorry ass drunk in an alley.

Real quick:  I love the thought of Ghost being so stressed out he becomes a serial killer.  Just have him take out s****y people and gangsters to help him quench his thirst for vengeance.  It’ll be like Dexter.  Think about it… Ghost never got to kill Raina’s killer, so there’s a void in his life that, no matter what he does, may not go away.  That would be a great direction for the show.  Ghost: The Crazy Ass Killing Gangsta Thot.

You know what else was sad?  Man Tasha broke my damn heart in this episode.  I can’t even talk about it.

 Oh, and somebody is going to have to run up on Tate…

A Lot Of Interesting Nothings...

Things happened, but there were no real jaw-dropping moments to speak of.  I feel like the writers are biding their time and playing around a little because the second half of the season is where s**t is going to get real.  A testament to this is Tariq barely appearing in the episode.  I’m not complaining because I hate that mf, but he was such a big part in season 4 it’s hard to believe he’s barely featured at all in only the second episode of the season.

What this episode did well was set up other issues for Tommy that, in turn, become issues for Ghost and Kanan.  I love when protagonists are faced with several issues over the course of a season.  It’s perfect for a show that only has 10-13 episodes and it keeps the viewer invested.  After Ghost was informed that he was wrapped up in the bulls**t Tommy started he looked stressed af and I loved it.  It's another reason why he can't properly grieve.  The game he's so desperately trying to escape won't leave him alone.

Seriously My N***a, Plead the Fifth

The once-aspiring attorney in me loves Joe Proctor.  He ain’t s**t, knows he ain’t s**t, and don’t give a good got damn about not being s**t.  He got up there and finessed the hell out of his defense to practice law and I took in every second.  He was whoopin’ ass, but of course Han… Wait, I mean John Mack had to hate on my boy and bring Tasha’s ole peanut head ass side-main dude waltzed his holier-than-thou HEAD ASS in there and lied in the court of law!  We all know he did some under-the-table s**t for Tasha in season 4 and there’s no way it’s not going to come back to bite him.  He’s a sucker for love and homie should’ve just plead the fifth man.  But nah, he want to act a fool and now he’s going to be a fool.

Lastly… I can’t be the only person trippin’ off the reverend’s name being Mastodon…

Overall Grade: C+

This is a review of the Season 5 Premiere of “Power”, “Everyone Is Implicated”, and as such will include spoilers from the episode.  You have been warned.

It seems like an eternity has passed since we last saw the gangsta thot, James St. Patrick, and his criminal thotscapades in New York.  I forgot most of how season 4 ended and found myself having to pay attention to the recap that preceded the endlessly excellent opening credits to remember what’s going on (how is it that “Big Rich Town” doesn’t have a Grammy?”).  The main things I held onto throughout the year between seasons 4 and 5 are as follows:

1. Tariq needs his ass whooped.
   
2. There is no way Angela should have yet another job in law enforcement and I can’t stand her silly ass.
3. Dre ain’t s**t, further setting anybody named Dre back 20 years.
4. Ghost, Tommy, and Kanan have formed the Gansta Justice League and…
5. Raina St. Patrick is dead as F**K

Looking back on it, I guess I did remember enough. 

We start the season off looking at Angela’s goofy ass as she is present at a crime scene she shouldn’t even be close to.  She then goes on to call Tasha’s smart ass to find out what the hell is going on, and then CONSPIRES TO DO MORE ILLEGAL S**T THAT WOULD PUT THE JOB SHE JUST GOT IN JEOPARDY IN ADDITON TO HER FREEDOM!!! Boy, I tell you out of all the characters on this show, I only hate one more than Angela.  I think the show missed out on a more compelling narrative when they didn’t allow Tommy to carry out killing her in season 3.  Just imagine the story we would’ve gotten from the show if Tommy and James had to work together despite Tommy taking away the woman Ghost loves.  But, alas, the proverbial “N***a Plot Twist” (NPT for short) strikes again!

Note: A “N***a Plot Twist” is an event that occurs in a story (that usually has a ton of black characters in it) that makes no sense, yet happens simply to keep a character alive or story element going.  This happens quite often on shows like “Empire”, Tyler Perry programs, and soap operas.  As a matter of fact, soaps pretty much started the s**t.

So why is Angela being alive a NPT?  Well there’s no way she should’ve been alive AND free! Someone literally acknowledges that she can’t be trusted on the Ghost case because of past issues, yet this mf is free as Django with no consequences!  And then she has the AUDACITY to get an attitude with Tasha.  HOW DARE YOU YOU HARLOT FROM HELL?!
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You know who else should be dead? Tariq

THEY TOOK THE WRONG TWIN!!!

I remember the moment “Power” decided to inform us that Tariq and Raina were twins.  It was a scene where Ghost and Tasha were talking and the matriarch of this household of thots asked Ghost to think about the baby and the twins.  It was at this point I turned to my wife and asked, “Twins? Tariq and Raina are twins? Was that some s**t we were supposed to know?”  My wife was surprised by the news as well, so I reached out to the creator of NJL, Cherry, and asked her about it and she responded with, “Twins?! B***H WHERE?!”  It was at this precise moment I realized that the writers on this show don’t give a good hot damn about these kids.  Seriously, the baby has been off television so long I asked who tf she was when we got that glimpse of her in this episode.  She might be better off not being at the house because her daddy ain’t s**t and neither is her water-headed brother.

Dawg, Dre is just as responsible as anybody for Raina’s death, but you can’t tell Tariq, who’s DIRECTLY responsible for her death, a got damn thing about responsibility.  I was elated when Ghost flat out blamed him for getting his sister killed and my inner angry black father wanted to see James whoop his ass like buddy from “Fences” but it was not to be so.  However, it looks like James should’ve commenced the execution of the Kunta Kenta Willbreaker because his bobble head ass son took his ass right on and warned Dre that he was about to get that snatch-n-go treatment.

I HATE THIS CHARACTER!!!
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The producers of “Power” promised some big deaths, and Tariq has to be one of them.  I will quit a show if you don’t kill someone I hate.  Ask “The Walking Dead”…
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Baby Ghost is Feeling Himself

Hell nawl I ain’t talking about Tariq’s slaw ass here.  I’m talking about Dre, our clear antagonist for this season.  He has completely swagger-jacked Ghost and it’s hilarious to me.  I don’t know if he’s doing it on purpose, but Rotimi Akinosho is channeling his best Omari Hardwick and has started using Ghost’s mannerisms.  He has decided he’s going to pull a “Face-Off” and be a better James St. Patrick than James St. Patrick.  It’s even funnier when you realize Tariq likes Dre more than his dad!

My favorite scene comes at the end when Dre pulls up on Ghost with supreme confidence and threatens him and his N***a Justice League with the wrath of the Jimenez cartel.  We’ve heard about the Jimenez cartel for so long and I hope this is the season where we see why they are so deadly.  Dre has fully embraced his villainous role, but you get a sense that always looking over his shoulder is a heavy burden to him.  He seems like a kid that’s in over his head and it’s a story I’m looking forward to seeing play out over this season.

I know I didn’t get into the why’s and how’s of the quality of the episode.  Maybe I won’t be as angry next week as I was in this one.  The premiere did exactly what it was supposed to do.  Set us up for a LONG season of amazing, savage, hood insanity.

Overall Grade: B+

Before I even really start part 2 of this series, let me hit ya'll with the disclaimer *ahem*  "THE NEGRO JUSTICE LEAGUE AND JAY ARE NOT RESPONSIBLE FOR ANY FOOLISH ACTIVITIES OR THOUGHTS THAT CAN POSSIBLY CAUSE YOU HARM, IMPRISONMENT, OR ANY OTHER BAD STUFF BECAUSE YOU READ JAY'S POSTS AND FIGURED IF HE CAN DO IT SO CAN I. NAAAH BRUH." Seriously guys, for whatever reason my life is filled with random moments of chaos, and somehow... I survive lol. Like, this is what my close friends even say about me:

So please, please ya'll enjoy the posts, ask questions take some advice for if you go (with common sense), but uuuhh...if you end up in a ditch somewhere running from state police that's all you. So let's jump right into it:

Top L: Tran Quoc Pagoda, Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum, Ba Dinh Square
Bottom L:  Hoan Kiem Lake, Ly Thai To Monument, Temple of Lit.

Vietnam is off rip like walking into a whole new world. Honestly, it is making me want to see not just more of North Vietnam, but also check out South Vietnam (if not move there for a while period, but that's another story). Between the pagodas, lakes, temples, and historical sites you can spend a few days checking out the history of this great country. From the French influence seen all over in buildings, to the Buddhist and Confucius designs with lotus blossoms seen throughout the city, the dichotomy of inspirations is dope. I mean the Temple of Literature is Vietnam's First University, and they have records showing their first doctorate's from like 1205! If you're a history buff like me, to see pride like that after all Vietnam has gone through it's mad humbling in a big picture sense. So take the chance to see it and get some culture in your life before you start the next known thing Hanoi is known for ...

I now completely understand why SE Asia is backpacker mecca. Why you have all these European and American folk traveling there annually. Why a damn good chunk of em end up just staying till they have to leave, or finally get kicked out.  IT'S LIKE LIVING AS DEVIANT ROYALTY THE WHOLE TIME YOU ARE THERE. When you can eat, drink, party, entertain yourself, and live as lavish as you want on less than $20 USD a day...who the hell wanna leave that? Bruh, in the States $15 gets me maybe a nice Shake Shack meal, with a drink, I think. If you don't believe me, let's just go down the rabbit hole called "A Friday night in Hanoi with Jay"

Morning: Most hostels or hotels gonna hook ya up with the freeskie breakfast. You might have to prove your staying there with your room key, or a voucher, but small step for a free meal. Options are usually some fruit, spring rolls, fried rice, or some other localish dishes given. That's food. Now, I'm not saying I had a beer or 2 every morning as a drink...buuuut I am saying if your hostel is giving complimentary beers in the morning and water costs money, ya start day drinking a lot earlier than one usually expects lol.  Costs so far : $0

First off Rest In Peace Uncle Tony...

Afternoon: Before I continue, Rest in Peace to the late great Anthony Bourdain. We lost a real one ya'll. When I saw this picture floating around the social media streets that President Obama dropped, not gonna lie it hurt, since I definitely ate at this place in Hanoi because Uncle Tony ate there. It was a nice walk down the streets of Hanoi, and I went twice once by myself, and once with a friend to let them taste God Tier level Pho.  Which by the way between the Pho and a Hanoi Beer (or 3) for one person you spend 120,000 VND, or about $5 and change.  It probably cost less before getting well known, but even for that price I am not complaining. Costs so far: $5.29 

Night: So most hostels will start offering free beers from like 6 or 7pm for an hour. Why do I know this? Because I stayed at a few hostels for flavor reasons, and all tried to turn me into an alcoholic around this same time.  After those beers you'll probably start heading to beer alley which is infamous in Hanoi, especially on the weekends when the main roads are closed to allow maximum drunk people walking around space. It's blocks of restaurants, street vendors, and store front hustles offering cheap meals and even cheaper beer. Like I thought 25,000 VND for a beer is cheap ($1.10), and it is, till you find out Hanoi's famous kegger beer is 5,000 VND. That equals to about, oh...TWENTY TWO FREAKIN CENTS. Now this ain't the best tasting beer, but it ain't exactly PBR either (YEAH I SAID IT) so for .22 cents its #1 in my book. Query, when street vendors are cornering the market on alcohol, Vietnamese sandwiches called Bahn Mi are 25k on every corner, how do the real restaurants and bars keep up? Answer,  with 6  for 1 beers or 2 for 1 alcohol specials, or the Vietnamese craze of balloon huffing (I advise not to do, but hey ya'll grown so). So after 10 kegger beers, a Bahn Mi, A balloon or 2 at 50k a pop, what's your grand total for the day? A whopping 12.99 USD. I said $20 a day right? Yeah so if you try your hardest I am sure you can find a way to get to a solid Andrew Jackson (can't wait for when we can call it a Harriet). You might end up in a nameless bar, with people who don't speak English at all and passing around Absinthe like it's water, but hey, it'll be a memorable night...if you can remember it.

You know I got to talk about J.R. Smith first.

I don’t care if it happened 2 games ago, that s**t is always going to be sad and funny.  It’s sad because LeBron did any and everything he could to accomplish a near-impossible-without-at-least-two-more-all-stars-feat of stealing a game in Oakland against the Dubs, only to have it go to hell because of Henny.  LeBron was a damn madman out there, putting up nearly half of his team’s points.  NEARLY HALF OF HIS TEAM’S POINTS IN THE NBA F******G FINALS!!!  If LeBron and company walks out of that arena up 1-0, regardless of how the series played out, his fans would’ve had a nice bit of ammo for their “LeBron is the GOAT” argument.  But, alas, J.R. Smith did exactly what J.R. Smith is prone to do and went forth with some silly s**t.  I can’t even call it dumb, just silly.  Man you’re a professional athlete, getting paid millions to go around in public with your shirt off all the damn time and you mean to tell me you didn’t even bother to look up at the scoreboard?

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​The reason this s**t is hilarious is because of ALL THE GLORIOUS MEMES/PICS we got!!! Here’s one of my favorites:

The NBA and the Internet owe me NOTHING!!!

Now, back to J.R. I’ve never liked J.R. as a player.  I’m sure he’s a fine human being who’s cool to hang out with, but the bonehead mistakes and moves he makes piss me off so bad.  He really believes he’s the best player on the court and I can’t knock him for that.  What I can knock him for, though, is the fact that he doesn’t know when to admit that he’s NOT the best player on the court.  When LeBron James was calling for the ball after J.R. got the rebound and he flat out refused to pass it, I… was not surprised at all.  That’s J.R.’s move.  He enjoys the spotlight of the f**k up and in that regard he truly is the GOAT.

I know everyone wants to bring up the officiating, and the only thing I took exception with was the reversal of the call based on a replay.  That s**t just can’t happen.  I’ve never seen anything like that in basketball.  I’ll gladly admit that it killed a ton of the momentum the Cavs had before Henny drowned the rest of it in a pint.

Oh look! Another great meme! Let’s use it to transition to the Warriors!​

Man Tristan Thompson was so mad with J.R. that he decided he wanted to fight somebody.  I can’t help but wonder what slick s**t Dray said under his breath to get Tristan to react that way.  Y’all know DAMN well he said something.  I’m happy the NBA didn’t suspend Tristan (for trying to make Dray eat a damn basketball) and Kevin Love (for almost leaving the bench for a closer look, because you know he ain’t fighting), because they needed to bear witness to the ass whoopin’ that came in Game 2.
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I keep trying to hammer home the point that you don’t have to worry about beating the Warriors once.  That’s not what makes them so dangerous.  The fact that you have to defeat the Infinity Gauntlet 4 times is what makes playing them a clusterf**k. Just when you think you have a handle on two of them, the third one gets hot as Firestorm or some ish and starts hitting all of the 3’s.  Don’t believe me? Game 2 wasn’t going all that bad for the Cavs until a muff***a just decided it’s time to turn the 3-pt slider on 2k all the way up.  And who is the muff***a in question, you ask? Well:

Steph is going to win his first Finals MVP trophy when this is over.  He’s been a savage throughout the first 2 games so there’s no question that it’s his time.  Dude had as many 3-pointers by himself as the Cavs did as a team. Even LeBron fans are saying he deserved it, even though their guy is the best player in the series.  This should also cement Curry’s Finals legacy, as the Finals MVP trophy is the only big trophy he’s missing.  

Ok guys, I got to wrap this up like Bron did that press conference, minus the man bag.  I’ll leave you with a couple more memes I found, though:

And I got to save some for the next installment, but ya’ll get the gist. I’m OUT!!!

J2

J2 wants you to know that Magneto was right…

​As a black geek I was blessed and fortunate enough to grow up around a lot of black geeks.  Hell, my dad (R.I.H.) introduced me to all of this.  My mom grew up with basic awareness of a lot of super heroes and comics, but she was only into it because of my dad after they got married.  I’m married to a woman who didn’t know who the entire f**k Dr. Strange was before we got together, but now she’s trying to figure out how she’s going to make it to next year to find out how the heroes in “Infinity War” are going to deal with Thanos.  I said all of that to say black love exists for black geeks who date black non-geeks.  Due to my own personal experiences I just couldn’t wrap my head around black geeks still catching some roast over what they love in 2018.  So I started asking people to tell me about their experiences.

"The results were certainly interesting.  Check these out:
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“From my experience, I can say that I have had maybe 3 women that have been open to the world of anime and gaming.  Ones that I’ve tried to open to it seem interested at first but only because they think it’s one of those things that change after we date for so long.  Like I won’t be as into it if she occupies my time.  Not going to lie, the past few years my interest in manga and anime has grown tremendously and it’s as though because I lift weights I can’t be into that stuff.  I’m into "Harry Potter" and even trading cards, and it seems to be a child’s thing but I’m coming from a place of where it’s a lifestyle.  It’s not some random hobby I picked up on the weekends.  I have websites I check for new episodes of anime, I get updates for Comic-Con, and I am thinking about joining a LARP group.  So it’s like the more I grow into that it’s not a conversation I can always bring up for fear that I’ll be roasted over it.  We (black geeks) see a lot of shame and jokes made when stuff like Skyrim and Kingdom Hearts come up.  Yeah we’d rather play PC games than get drunk for a night or go listen to jazz music.  When I think of ridicule for being a black geeks, one story in particular comes to mind.  I have a kilt I wear for the Highland Games.  I wore it for Halloween with my Skyrim mask and off-top I got roasted when I showed up at the party.  I know that if I would’ve worn something different or recognizable, I wouldn’t have gotten roasted that way.  I was specifically because of what I wore that I got the ridicule.  And I can take a joke, but these came off as something deeper than just friendly jokes.  It just is what it is.”- Ced

That’s pretty messed up, but check this next story out:
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“There was this woman I worked with.  She was nice and I tried befriending her.  She is into the typical black things lik rap, R&B, urban movies and books, etc.  I liked all of those things as well but when I started talking about "Harry Potter", "Dragon Age", and "Game of Thrones" she proceeded to tell me, ‘Oh you’re one of those weird ones.  Into that white people stuff.’  After that she barely talked to me.  I haven’t had a problem dating but I tend to lean towards men who share my taste or ones who know nothing about my nerdy world and are open to trying some of it out themselves.  Trying to make black friends that were women was a nightmare, though.  Most of my close friends are white.  Once someone calls me ‘strange’ enough times, that’s when it’s done for me and I refuse to hide any parts of my interests for anyone.”- Denise

I didn’t even think that much about cultivating friendships as a geek when I started on this piece.  If you’re going to shut down from talking to someone based on the things they find entertaining, you’re kind of an ass***e.  Keep in mind that a lot of urban s**t like "Empire" and half of Black Netflix is trash to begin with.  I wish somebody would come and tell me that "Game of Thrones" is some weird white people s**t.

Man I just got heated…

I guess the overarching point of this (besides raising awareness of some sort) is that… Dawg, a geek could be your true match.  Stop being basic (closed minded) and embrace that black geek love.  We’re smart af, can hold a conversation like a muff***a, and we look at a lot of stuff in more creative ways.  Don’t be a c**t and think that someone can’t make you happy because they’re entertained by something that you believe is beneath you.  Embrace your differences and give it a shot.  And if nothing else works for you, then ponder on this:

Black geeks are amazing in bed.  If we’re open to watching s**t like “Outlaw Star”, then just imagine what else we’re watching…

Thank me later.

I debated on writing this for several days because I like to focus on the fun side of sports.  It’s a joy seeing the underdog triumph or the world’s best player in their respective sport put on an all-time performance.  Sports can be a place of hope, inspiration, and humor.  There are just so many positive and dope things about athletics you tend to get lost in it.  Like all things, though, there are ugly sides to it.  Sure I could get into sports figures that have committed various crimes, the corruption of sports betting, and how bad ESPN’s First Take is now, but I got a bigger fish to fry.

The NFL is trash for the Anthem Rule, and as a black man I would be doing a horrible disservice if I didn’t talk about it.

Before I get into this, here’s what the Anthem Rule is, straight from NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell:

POLICY STATEMENT
The 32 member clubs of the National Football League have reaffirmed their strong commitment to work alongside our players to strengthen our communities and advance social justice. The unique platform that we have created is unprecedented in its scope, and will provide extraordinary resources in support of programs to promote positive social change in our communities.

The membership also strongly believes that:

1. All team and league personnel on the field shall stand and show respect for the flag and the anthem.

2.The Game Operations Manual will be revised to remove the requirement that all players be on the field for the anthem.

3. Personnel who choose not to stand for the anthem may stay in the locker room or in a similar location off the field until after the anthem has been performed.

4. A club will be fined by the League if its personnel are on the field and do not stand and show respect for the flag and the anthem.

5. Each club may develop its own work rules, consistent with the above principles, regarding its personnel who do not stand and show respect for the flag and the anthem.

6. The commissioner will impose appropriate discipline on league personnel who do not stand and show respect for the flag and the anthem.

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What. The. F**K?!

I was cool on protesting the NFL last year because I just didn’t feel the need to boycott the league because Colin Kaepernik wasn’t given a job.  I agree that it’s bulls**t that he’s unemployed simply due to the fact that the Browns went 0-16 and I know damn well Colin could’ve gotten them one f*****g win.  We should be boycotting the existence of the Browns, if we’re being real.  I respect his cause and I still wish he had a job, but I wanted to still enjoy the sport I’ve grown up loving.  Then Ole-Boy-In-The-Big-House-That’s-White said something reckless last season about players protesting and all around the NFL several players started taking a knee during the Anthem, but that was out of defiance instead of social injustice.  The original cause for the National Anthem protest became diluted and it ruined what Colin initially set out to do.  THIS was actually in the NFL’s favor because they flat out cower away from social issues that don’t favor white people.  Truthfully speaking, they could’ve ignored it and moved on at that point because people made it about buddy in D.C.

But they didn’t.  They decided instead to just f**k all the way up.

The NFL just told us that money is more important than justice, the freedom to protest, the opinion and lives of black people (which account for about 80% of the players in the league), and that they’re afraid of that dude in D.C.  If you think this move was about the “respect” of the Anthem and not about advertisers threatening to pull out, you’re crazy.  So since the NFL has picked a side, I guess I have to as well.  I’ll still follow the league for the sake of Hot-Take Hotep, but I’m not watching the games. 
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We have to make them do better.

The Infinity Gauntlet is Out to Erase “The Land” (With Jordan Cryfaces!!!)

Both the Eastern and Western Conference Finals were nuts. 
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First I have to commend the Boston Celtics on a phenomenal season.  Game 7 of the ECF is all you need for proof that superstars matter in the NBA more than anything.  If Kyrie and Gordon were there for that game, Cleveland doesn’t make it out of the East.  It’s just that simple.  The purpose of the superstar on a talented roster is to close the door on any kind of comeback or to provide the spark for a comeback in any game.  The Celtics never really had that in this series and in the end the only true star on the court bounced them out of the playoffs.  LeBron capped of an incredible series with another outstanding performance, and punched his ticket to another ass-whoopin’ from Golden State (as well as his 8th trip to the NBA Finals, but whatever).

​Speaking of the world-destroying dominance, the Dubs survived a Rockets team that surprised me with just how closely they matched up with Golden State.  I’ll just say it… Golden State would’ve lost if Chris Paul didn’t get hurt in Game 5.  Without him to run the offense and temper the team, Houston just started doing dumb s**t.  Harden actually showed up, but he wasn’t the same player that he is with CP3 out there helping him out.  In Game 7, after a pretty solid first half from the Rockets, GSW just turned tf up on them and I don’t think that same situation plays out in that way if Chris is out there being Captain America.

So here we are again.  For the fourth (and likely final) time, Golden State and Cleveland will meet in the NBA Finals.  It’s either going to be really exhilarating or depressing affair, and that all depends on who you’re rooting for.  If LeBron can take this wack ass team and beat the Warriors he’s the greatest player I’ve ever seen.  I mean I’ll become a full on LeBron fan if that miracle happens.  Seeing as how we don’t live in that alternate timeline, this thing is over before the first tip-off.  Golden State is going to annihilate Cleveland.  I think it’ll take five games, but a sweep is very much in the realm of possibility.

What’s interesting is where we go from here.  LeBron is clearly leaving, right?

Right?

Oh yeah and Roseanne SUCKS, so this is hilarious and I have to share with you guys.

J2
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J2 recently went back and watched that first episode of “Black Mirror”.  It’s still SMUT!!!

If the title wasn’t a dead giveaway, I’m going to spend some time in this edition of HTH talking about LeBron “The Kang” James.  Let me preface this by saying I am in no way, shape, or form a LeBron fan.  I just can’t do it.  I despise the constant badgering of his super fans already and I can’t be a part of that club.  Seriously they are the most insufferable group of fans outside of the Beyhive, Cowboys fans, Saints fans, and Nintendo fans.  There’s either an abundance of over-praise or an abundance of excuses when it comes to all of the mentioned fan-bases.  With all that being said…

LeBron is cold as a muff***a.
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This man is in his 15th year in the league and he’s playing better basketball now than I’ve ever seen him play.  In the 2018 playoffs he’s averaging 33.7 pts (on a .550 FG%), 8.7 rebs, 9.0 ast, and just 3.8 turnovers.  Russell Westbrook can only DREAM about that level of efficiency.  Listen, there’s no way in hell the Cavs are going to win the championship but the way he has this awful supporting cast playing they could definitely fool you into thinking they have a shot.  LeBron James does make the players around him better.  Anything beyond that narrative has to stop.  His basketball IQ is too high for him to be a detriment to any supporting cast.  This team should be at home right now but James simply will not let this slaw ass squad lose!

As I’ve stated before, Cleveland is going to win this thing in 6 games and send Brad’s modem rebooting ass home before being sent to the Upside Down by Golden State.  At this point we’re all just along for the ride to see what kind of ridiculous game Bron is going to have next against a Celtic team that is finally missing their stars.  Kyrie and Gordon would’ve made a massive difference in this series.  I could make a case that the Cavs would’ve been swept with both of those guys on the floor.  Kyrie is a cold-blooded closer while being a game changer that would prevent James’ dominance from taking the Celtics completely out of a game.  LeBron better enjoy the East while he can because if for any reason he decides to stay in the conference and go to any team outside of Philly, it’s a wrap for him making it to the Finals. 
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The Celtics are going to be a significant problem in the East for a long time…

Team Rocket is Blasting Off Again…

I still don’t Trust James Harden, but that “f**k you” dunk on Draymond Green in Game 4 of the WCF made me want to.  This series is interesting because of how up and down it has been as far as the Warriors are concerned.  If Steph played like the REAL Steph and not Earth-2 Steph then this series would’ve been over.  The Rockets are a great team but it takes so much for them to get a win over the Dubs you start to wonder just how far ahead Golden State really is.  In both of Houston’s wins Durant and Curry had rough shooting nights.  Man how often is that s**t going to happen?
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This series is tied 2-2 and I still have the Warriors winning per The Infinity Gauntlet, but the Rockets have made the playoffs fun again.  The conflict over in the East is dope, too, but the inevitability of an NBA Street-style gamebreaker in the West gives the Rockets/Warriors match-up a more theme park-like feel.
 
Oh… The Suns are totally going to f**k up that #1 pick.

​Jemele is Great. Fox & Friends Still Leaves More to be Desired

Shout out to Jemele Hil for being named Journalist of the Year by the National Association of Black Journalist.  Jemele has always been dope to me.  I still hate that she and Michael Smith agreed to do the evening edition of “Sportscenter”, as their previous show, “His & Hers”, was far superior and allowed them to just kick back and speak their minds.  Of course the mass audience of “Sportscenter” caused ESPN to buckle to the pressure of white outrage due to Jemele’s comments on that-fella-that-sits-in-that-big-white-house, leading to the censoring of both Hill and Smith.  This lead to the departure of them both from ESPN television (and if Smith has popped up since then, I must’ve missed it) and it appears that they’re out here living their best life now.

And about that white, tearful outrage.  Well it lead to “Fox & Friends” incorrectly saying that Jemele was unemployed when they berated the NABJ for honoring her.  And of course, in true Fox “journalism” fashion, they cleared it up later, but not with nearly the same amount of enthusiasm.
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This is America…

J2

J2 actually came up with a concept similar to Django Unchained in 2010.  It was about a boy who was taught the ways of the ninja by a butler, who was to be played by Jet Li.  The name of this tale was “N***a Assassin”.  This is not a fabricated story.  Ask me about it.

Japan does NOT play about overstaying on visas. It’s not like some countries where you can kinda, sorta go over time a few days (or a few weeks) and it’s all good in the hood. Naaah fam. If you suppose to leave Tuesday, January 8th...you better leave Tuesday, January 8th. Otherwise you might stay a few years getting to enjoy their world class prison system, if you’re not lucky enough to be politely escorted out their country, and asked to never come back again. Now I am not saying I knew the exact date my visa expired, but uuuuh..Ya boy definitely knew the date I was expecting to leave Japan, was not the day the great country of the Rising Sun wanted me to leave. It’s hella funny to think about now since I am back in these Tokyo Drift streets, but baaabeeeee when I tell you I was feeling like I was in a Mission Impossible movie for a minute trying to make moves out the country.

Second, Vietnam is really, really inexpensive. Even compared to other Southeast Asia countries  it's hard to beat the Dong (hehehe).  As of this writing 1 USD equals to almost 23,000 VND. Meaning when I felt the urge to splurge on some Western food after missing good cheeseburgers while in Japan (sorry Japan, but when it comes to burgers ya'll lacking severely), for all you see above I spent maaaybe  $10.  This is like opulent spending of money for food in Hanoi. Compared to this local meal below:

I might have spent $2.50, and honestly...that's still low key expensive lol. I mean it's absurd. Hell, even lodging is inexpensive. Hostels charge anywhere between $2-$5 a night depending on where, and almost all still offer free breakfast, drinks, towels etc. Hotels, you might spend $10-12 a night for 4 star treatment. I wanting to sleep in a bed made for mini gorilla size men like myself, ended up renting an ENTIRE PENTHOUSE APARTMENT FOR A WEEK...$60 bucks. Balling on a budget has new meaning when you're in Vietnam.

Lastly, brothers and sisters of the black magic,  We are completely an unknown for most Vietnamese. You will either need to have thick skin, or walk with a sense of Black Folk ambassador diplomacy because you will be walking, talking entertainment to them. Not a day went by I wasn't asked to take pictures, practice English, hold a baby, and yes the biggest no no...to touch my hair. Correction. They didn't ask, they just did it. Unlike the Japanese who are polite with their "WTF?" moments when they see me, the Vietnamese in general do not give any fawks. They will stare, follow, point, and some even ran...but hey I am in their city, eating up all the good food, dancing with their women, breathing up all their air so who am I to judge lol? Jokes aside, most of it was just learning experiences and explaining stuff that they just don't see or interact with on the reg, and I get it, and hopefully you can to if you go since it's really a beautiful country with some good people. In fact, part 2 I'll share things to see, where to hang, and what not to do at 5am in the morning when you don't speak the lingo.

​So, Childish Gambino dropped a wonderful video for his song, “This Is America” (that you can find a dope ass piece about the video on this very site) and Black America lost its collective mind.  There have been plenty of comments, videos, and articles breaking down the myriad of messages in Donald Glover’s brilliant work.  Some people don’t care much for the song (I don’t think it holds up very well without the accompanying video), but the adoration for the music video appears to be unanimous.  Or at least it appeared to be unanimous.

SUMMON THE HOTEPS!!!

Of course the Hoteps came through like an aggressive, angry, cocoa butter flood, and brought up the fact that he has a white girlfriend and due to this he is not worthy of being “woke”.  The narrative soon shifted to what it means to be black enough to deliver positive messages and subtext for your people.  I’ll just put it out there now: F**k anybody who believes that bulls**t.  It makes no sense to dismiss someone because of the skin color of who they love.  That essentially turns you into the thing that you hate and that pattern of thought should not serve as a means to disqualify a person’s opinion or position in their community.  Something interesting happened over the course of the 2,000th Great Social Media Ragnarok that dramatically shifted the argument.  Some people adopted the theory that black women don’t want the black male geek.

I immediately called bulls**t.

As a dark-skinned big fella who loves himself some Spider-Man, I checked off all of the boxes that would prevent me from getting play according to a popular perception of the world during the 90’s and most of the 00’s.  For a while I did hide the geek that lied beneath.  Think of it in the way the Bruce Banner tries to hide The Hulk, but with WAY more success and WAY less rage.  The biggest things I had going for me growing up was that I knew how to hold a conversation and I had black knowledge on my side. 

Then “Iron Man” dropped.  Then “The Incredible Hulk” dropped.  Then “Thor” dropped.
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All of a sudden, a lot of black women were interested in super heroes, but they didn’t know a lot about it.

​BLACK MALE GEEKS WERE FINALLY A F*****G THING!!!  Keep in mind that this was around the time Rick Ross, a dark skinned big man with a beard, had ebony queens seeking out dark skinned big men with beards.  It was my opportunity to be my ENTIRE self when talking to women about the things I liked.  I didn’t have to end my description of myself at “…and I like sports, of course.”  Now I could end with “… and I’m a huge comic book, God of War, Dragon Ball Z, Samurai Jack, and wrestling fan.”  The paradigm had shifted dramatically and we had inherited the Earth.  

Because of my experience with this, I couldn’t grasp the notion that black women wouldn’t go for a black geek in 20-f*****ng-got damn-18.  My wife wasn’t into all of this Marvel/DC s**t until my web-slinging, tombstone piledriver using, Kamehameha throwing ass introduced her to that universe.  Dating is hard, especially for millennials, but not to the point where I had to hide my geek level.  It’s something that just wasn’t my reality.  I originally came into writing this piece thinking that I was just going to roast geeks who still couldn’t get with some Ebony Ecstasy and blamed their geekiness for their lack of game. 

​Hell I posted a meme on the NJL FB page kinda-sorda pointing to the fact that people who believed that ish couldn’t close the deal because they weren’t attractive enough to the target demographic.

Then you see testimonials like this and think there’s no way in hell black geeks aren’t getting it in:

“It was like 4am and I was with my cousin. We’d gone out to Nitelyfe of all places and some dude she was seeing at the time wanted to go to iHop, I just wanted to go home so my attitude was hella salty. He invited a friend to, I guess, keep me calm but I was pretty much ignoring the poor fool. I was drunk, tired, he wasn’t attractive to me at all and I’m not nice enough for small talk. Pretty much sat there on mute while we waited for our food. I can’t remember what happened but I remember chuckling and saying, “OK Quinn Blackwood.” Under my breath. He kinda leaned back and looked at me and said, “What you know about Anne Rice?” Now I’m pretty much looking at him the same way asking the same question. We start geeking out because she’s apparently our favorite author. Everybody at the table is giving us that look non-geeky people give when two of us unexpectedly find each other in public and start having a conversation they can’t follow. I think I decided I was going to screw this unicorn of a man the moment Anne’s name exited his mouth because how many dudes do you know that go to Nitelyfe AND read shit like Anne f*****g Rice?”- M

Dawg if Anne f*****g Rice out here getting people *insert long-ass inappropriate, graphic, COUNTRY descriptions of sex* then just imagine what Batman and Iron Man are getting ninjas out here!  When being a black geek and dating, confidence is definitely a key trait.  Without it, you ain’t s**t.  There are black, strong, smart, THICK geeky women who want to talk to you about the end of the Dragon Ball Super Tournament of Power or why the Nintendo Switch is an abomination in the presence of Odin.

YOU JUST NEED TO BE BETTER!!!

Or do you?  The more I researched this topic, the more I learned about the other side of this coin.  Apparently some people are trash enough to still tease and roast others because of the things that they like.

I didn’t expect to write this much about this topic, but I guess I have to split it up.  Come back for Part 2!!!
 
J2

J2 remembers the first time he was disrespected.  The event occurred when one of his friends tried to tell him that Barney was a better show the Batman: The Animated Series.  Legend has it, they’re still in the Shadow Realm singing that damn Barney song.