this is not my usual rant...
well, we are proud to announce the arrival, albeit a bit early, the newest Bell... Elijah Robert Bell was born at 12:39 am Monday August 6th. He weighs 4 pounds 1.6 oz. and is 17 3/4 long. Elijah is a few weeks early which means there are a few concerns, mostly related to his breathing, but that all appears to be going well.
we do have some concerns, Eli's ears are not developed as they should be, and there is no opening. at this point we can not tell if he has an ear canal or if he will have the ability to hear. its a very hard thing to take in and understand... we are adjusting to the news, this whole process has been a whirlwind. we obviously weren't planning on having our baby this weekend. and we didn't expect any developmental issues. we are doing well, but we can always use prayers. we ask that you pray for strength for colleen and myself, and that Eli will be able to have no problems with his hearing and that things can all be taken care of through medical procedures.
its an incredible feeling, being a dad, its scary, its hard, and we have some challenges ahead of us, but we know that God is in control, and we submit to His will. and we love our boy more then words could ever describe. pray for us.
--aaron
Monday, August 6, 2007
Thursday, April 12, 2007
i don't usually...
i don't usually have two posts in two days. and i don't usually re-post something that someone else has written. but i just read a fantastic piece by jason whitlock, a black sports writer from kansas city who has been featured on espn several times. i am pretty annoyed by this whole Imus/Sharpton thing. i am sick of the manufactured outrage that we have in america. its not just race issues. its everything that we manufacture in america to draw attention to ourselves. its not about issues, its about our 15 minutes of fame. its at a point where fame is worth more then real genuine thought. anyway here is jason whitlock's piece:
"Jason Whitlock: Imus Isn't the Real Bad Guy
Kansas City Star 4/11/07
Thank you, Don Imus. You’ve given us (black people) an excuse to avoid our real problem.
You’ve given Al Sharpton and Jesse Jackson another opportunity to pretend that the old fight, which is now the safe and lucrative fight, is still the most important fight in our push for true economic and social equality.
You’ve given Vivian Stringer and Rutgers the chance to hold a nationally televised recruiting celebration expertly disguised as a news conference to respond to your poor attempt at humor.
Thank you, Don Imus. You extended Black History Month to April, and we can once again wallow in victimhood, protest like it’s 1965 and delude ourselves into believing that fixing your hatred is more necessary than eradicating our self-hatred.
While we’re fixated on a bad joke cracked by an irrelevant, bad shock jock, I’m sure at least one of the marvelous young women on the Rutgers basketball team is somewhere snapping her fingers to the beat of 50 Cent’s or Snoop Dogg’s latest ode glorifying nappy-headed pimps and hos.
I ain’t saying Jesse, Al and Vivian are gold-diggas, but they don’t have the heart to mount a legitimate campaign against the real black-folk killas.
It is us. At this time, we are our own worst enemies. We have allowed our youths to buy into a culture (hip hop) that has been perverted, corrupted and overtaken by prison culture. The music, attitude and behavior expressed in this culture is anti-black, anti-education, demeaning, self-destructive, pro-drug dealing and violent.
Rather than confront this heinous enemy from within, we sit back and wait for someone like Imus to have a slip of the tongue and make the mistake of repeating the things we say about ourselves.
It’s embarrassing. Dave Chappelle was offered $50 million to make racially insensitive jokes about black and white people on TV. He was hailed as a genius. Black comedians routinely crack jokes and we all laugh out loud.
I’m no Don Imus apologist. He and his tiny companion Mike Lupica blasted me after I fell out with ESPN. Imus is a hack.
But, in my view, he didn’t do anything outside the norm for shock jocks and comedians. He also offered an apology. That should’ve been the end of this whole affair. Instead, it’s only the beginning. It’s an opportunity for Stringer, Jackson and Sharpton to step on victim platforms and elevate themselves and their agenda$.
I watched the Rutgers news conference and was ashamed.
Martin Luther King Jr. spoke for eight minutes in 1963 at the March on Washington. At the time, black people could be lynched and denied fundamental rights with little thought. With the comments of a talk-show host most of her players had never heard of before last week serving as her excuse, Vivian Stringer rambled on for 30 minutes about the amazing season her team had.
Somehow, we’re supposed to believe that the comments of a man with virtually no connection to the sports world ruined Rutgers’ wonderful season. Had a broadcaster with credibility and a platform in the sports world uttered the words Imus did, I could understand a level of outrage.
But an hourlong press conference over a man who has already apologized, already been suspended and is already insignificant is just plain intellectually dishonest. This is opportunism. This is a distraction.
In the grand scheme, Don Imus is no threat to us in general and no threat to black women in particular. If his words are so powerful and so destructive and must be rebuked so forcefully, then what should we do about the idiot rappers on BET, MTV and every black-owned radio station in the country who use words much more powerful and much more destructive?
I don’t listen or watch Imus’ show regularly. Has he at any point glorified selling crack cocaine to black women? Has he celebrated black men shooting each other randomly? Has he suggested in any way that it’s cool to be a baby-daddy rather than a husband and a parent? Does he tell his listeners that they’re suckers for pursuing education and that they’re selling out their race if they do?
When Imus does any of that, call me and I’ll get upset. Until then, he is what he is — a washed-up shock jock who is very easy to ignore when you’re not looking to be made a victim.
No. We all know where the real battleground is. We know that the gangsta rappers and their followers in the athletic world have far bigger platforms to negatively define us than some old white man with a bad radio show. There’s no money and lots of danger in that battle, so Jesse and Al are going to sit it out."
--aaron
"Jason Whitlock: Imus Isn't the Real Bad Guy
Kansas City Star 4/11/07
Thank you, Don Imus. You’ve given us (black people) an excuse to avoid our real problem.
You’ve given Al Sharpton and Jesse Jackson another opportunity to pretend that the old fight, which is now the safe and lucrative fight, is still the most important fight in our push for true economic and social equality.
You’ve given Vivian Stringer and Rutgers the chance to hold a nationally televised recruiting celebration expertly disguised as a news conference to respond to your poor attempt at humor.
Thank you, Don Imus. You extended Black History Month to April, and we can once again wallow in victimhood, protest like it’s 1965 and delude ourselves into believing that fixing your hatred is more necessary than eradicating our self-hatred.
While we’re fixated on a bad joke cracked by an irrelevant, bad shock jock, I’m sure at least one of the marvelous young women on the Rutgers basketball team is somewhere snapping her fingers to the beat of 50 Cent’s or Snoop Dogg’s latest ode glorifying nappy-headed pimps and hos.
I ain’t saying Jesse, Al and Vivian are gold-diggas, but they don’t have the heart to mount a legitimate campaign against the real black-folk killas.
It is us. At this time, we are our own worst enemies. We have allowed our youths to buy into a culture (hip hop) that has been perverted, corrupted and overtaken by prison culture. The music, attitude and behavior expressed in this culture is anti-black, anti-education, demeaning, self-destructive, pro-drug dealing and violent.
Rather than confront this heinous enemy from within, we sit back and wait for someone like Imus to have a slip of the tongue and make the mistake of repeating the things we say about ourselves.
It’s embarrassing. Dave Chappelle was offered $50 million to make racially insensitive jokes about black and white people on TV. He was hailed as a genius. Black comedians routinely crack jokes and we all laugh out loud.
I’m no Don Imus apologist. He and his tiny companion Mike Lupica blasted me after I fell out with ESPN. Imus is a hack.
But, in my view, he didn’t do anything outside the norm for shock jocks and comedians. He also offered an apology. That should’ve been the end of this whole affair. Instead, it’s only the beginning. It’s an opportunity for Stringer, Jackson and Sharpton to step on victim platforms and elevate themselves and their agenda$.
I watched the Rutgers news conference and was ashamed.
Martin Luther King Jr. spoke for eight minutes in 1963 at the March on Washington. At the time, black people could be lynched and denied fundamental rights with little thought. With the comments of a talk-show host most of her players had never heard of before last week serving as her excuse, Vivian Stringer rambled on for 30 minutes about the amazing season her team had.
Somehow, we’re supposed to believe that the comments of a man with virtually no connection to the sports world ruined Rutgers’ wonderful season. Had a broadcaster with credibility and a platform in the sports world uttered the words Imus did, I could understand a level of outrage.
But an hourlong press conference over a man who has already apologized, already been suspended and is already insignificant is just plain intellectually dishonest. This is opportunism. This is a distraction.
In the grand scheme, Don Imus is no threat to us in general and no threat to black women in particular. If his words are so powerful and so destructive and must be rebuked so forcefully, then what should we do about the idiot rappers on BET, MTV and every black-owned radio station in the country who use words much more powerful and much more destructive?
I don’t listen or watch Imus’ show regularly. Has he at any point glorified selling crack cocaine to black women? Has he celebrated black men shooting each other randomly? Has he suggested in any way that it’s cool to be a baby-daddy rather than a husband and a parent? Does he tell his listeners that they’re suckers for pursuing education and that they’re selling out their race if they do?
When Imus does any of that, call me and I’ll get upset. Until then, he is what he is — a washed-up shock jock who is very easy to ignore when you’re not looking to be made a victim.
No. We all know where the real battleground is. We know that the gangsta rappers and their followers in the athletic world have far bigger platforms to negatively define us than some old white man with a bad radio show. There’s no money and lots of danger in that battle, so Jesse and Al are going to sit it out."
--aaron
Wednesday, April 11, 2007
rev? really?
one of the big news items right now is all about don imus and some comments he made about the rutgers woman's basketball team. i don't want to get to much into what he said, but he choose to say something that could offend someone. he did not use the best judgement. he was stupid. should he have said it? no. i think it was inappropriate. but, he is a radio personality. his job is to make people respond. so i can see how it would have happened. do i think it was a stupid thing. of course.
my issue is not with imus. he did something wrong, and he has apologized, to the point of annoyance. he has jumped through every hoop put in front of him. my issue is with the media whore, one of the most worthless, self serving, arrogant, creeps in america. the reverand al sharpton. this man attaches himself to this stuff all the time. attaches himself like the parasite he is. his involvement has made this into ten times the media circus it needs to be. and does anyone buy for a minute that this jerk has any ones best interest in mind? absolutely not. he care only about making himself seem important. this man has zero credibility. he has zero actual worth to society. he doesn't actual care about black culture in america. he is self serving. he is a parasite and the rutgers institution should be ashamed of itself for allowing this waste this parasite to attach himself to them. your argument, rutgers, your ground to stand on, is being taken up by a loud mouth idiot. you, by association, rutgers, are risking losing your credibility.
and why do we continue to call this leech "reverand" he is no more a spiritual leader then colonel sanders led an army. he is as much a joke to followers of Christ as pat robertson and jerry falwell. self serving, egotistical, pompous, arrogant, fools.
there, that's enough...
--aaron
my issue is not with imus. he did something wrong, and he has apologized, to the point of annoyance. he has jumped through every hoop put in front of him. my issue is with the media whore, one of the most worthless, self serving, arrogant, creeps in america. the reverand al sharpton. this man attaches himself to this stuff all the time. attaches himself like the parasite he is. his involvement has made this into ten times the media circus it needs to be. and does anyone buy for a minute that this jerk has any ones best interest in mind? absolutely not. he care only about making himself seem important. this man has zero credibility. he has zero actual worth to society. he doesn't actual care about black culture in america. he is self serving. he is a parasite and the rutgers institution should be ashamed of itself for allowing this waste this parasite to attach himself to them. your argument, rutgers, your ground to stand on, is being taken up by a loud mouth idiot. you, by association, rutgers, are risking losing your credibility.
and why do we continue to call this leech "reverand" he is no more a spiritual leader then colonel sanders led an army. he is as much a joke to followers of Christ as pat robertson and jerry falwell. self serving, egotistical, pompous, arrogant, fools.
there, that's enough...
--aaron
Sunday, March 4, 2007
we have all been there...
so, i know part of this is my fault, but, overall, some people should just be locked up and not be allowed to interact with the world.
the part thats my fault is easy to explain, i know to never go to the grocery store on a sunday afternoon, i know that its never going to be an easy task, a "run in and grab" something outing. i am fully aware of how insane it can be.
but here is the issue, and we have all dealt with this. some people when they are shopping become completely oblivious to the fact the grocery store is being used by other people as well. i had to run in and pick up a few things, one of which was a container of sour cream. I didn't need a lot of sour cream, a small container would have worked just fine. i made my way over to the dairy department with the hopes of being able to grab my item. as i get to the section of the dairy case where the sour cream is there is a woman parked in front of the entire sour cream section. she appears to be going through her list or looking for a coupon or something that could easily be done not in front of the sour cream. i try to make my presence known by just moving in a little closer. nothing. she doesn't budge, she doesn't even realize i am there. i reach across her sight line towards the sour cream, again, nothing. i then have to contort myself to reach around the woman to grab some sour cream. she still doesn't move. how dare you, you self indulgent, arrogant fool. you think that your shopping for cheese puffs and ding-dongs is so important that its justified for you to take up any space you want?
this isn't the only instance of this type of behaviour, i see it all the time. some people are selfish, spoiled arrogant jerks who only think of themselves and can't be bothered to step aside whilst they organize their coupons or read the labels. how about you idiots do us all a favor and get some manners, some common courtesy. i hate you.
--aaron
the part thats my fault is easy to explain, i know to never go to the grocery store on a sunday afternoon, i know that its never going to be an easy task, a "run in and grab" something outing. i am fully aware of how insane it can be.
but here is the issue, and we have all dealt with this. some people when they are shopping become completely oblivious to the fact the grocery store is being used by other people as well. i had to run in and pick up a few things, one of which was a container of sour cream. I didn't need a lot of sour cream, a small container would have worked just fine. i made my way over to the dairy department with the hopes of being able to grab my item. as i get to the section of the dairy case where the sour cream is there is a woman parked in front of the entire sour cream section. she appears to be going through her list or looking for a coupon or something that could easily be done not in front of the sour cream. i try to make my presence known by just moving in a little closer. nothing. she doesn't budge, she doesn't even realize i am there. i reach across her sight line towards the sour cream, again, nothing. i then have to contort myself to reach around the woman to grab some sour cream. she still doesn't move. how dare you, you self indulgent, arrogant fool. you think that your shopping for cheese puffs and ding-dongs is so important that its justified for you to take up any space you want?
this isn't the only instance of this type of behaviour, i see it all the time. some people are selfish, spoiled arrogant jerks who only think of themselves and can't be bothered to step aside whilst they organize their coupons or read the labels. how about you idiots do us all a favor and get some manners, some common courtesy. i hate you.
--aaron
Thursday, February 1, 2007
it was a good time...
Well, you may think that I don't have anything to vent about. Seeing as I have not said anything since Christmas day, which by the way struck me as odd that I aired a grievance on Christmas, what is wrong with me?!? Anyway, I have had somethings that I could have posted about, but all of my grievances were overshadowed by the news that I am going to be a dad. Thank you, Thank you. For those that know me, and my wife, you are aware of our history, so you know our story. We can use all the support we can get, and appreciate the thoughts and prayers.
Well, on to the airing...
A few weeks ago my wife and I made a late night visit to a local hospital emergency room. My wife had some sort of allergic reaction which led to an outbreak that was very itchy and very very uncomfortable. We went to the emergency room at the local hospital, Cuyahoga Falls General. The experience we had at the hospital was one of the worst experiences of my life. From complete ineptness of the nursing staff, to an attending physician who seemed more annoyed that we had pulled him away from watching Later with Carson Daly. It was hands down the worst care I have ever seen. My wife was in an incredible level of discomfort and they were oblivious to everything we had to say. I asked several times about what options were available for treatment due to her pregnancy. I reminded them on several occasions that she was "with child." The "doctor" made a vanity appearance that was meaningless and useless and said he would prescribe her some medication. I asked if the medication had any issues with pregnancy and if there was anything to be concerned about. I was told that it was perfectly fine. The nurse came back with the prescription and I asked her if the drugs would be OK for my wife to take. She said that she would check, she left, I assume to do ten jumping jacks in the hall, because it wasn't to actually check on the medication, she came back and said it was safe. We said OK, assuming that the "doctor" knew what he was talking about. We visited the pharmacy to pick up the medication, and whilst I was waiting for the prescription to be filled, I read the information on the prescription. And lo and behold, in black and white, right there on the information printed at the hospital, clear as day, a warning about taking during pregnancy, especially early pregnancy. I asked the pharmacist about it and he seemed very surprised that they would even prescribe it to a pregnant woman. So, the frustration, the hassle, the "experience" of Cuyahoga Falls General emergency room was a complete waste of time, and almost was even worse then that. They were not helpful, they were harmful if anything. The only redeeming quality to the experience is that we learned a lesson, only go to Cuyahoga Falls General when you are ready to die, other then that go to Akron City Hospital.
As a side note to the experience, the Dir. of Nursing who oversees the emergency room, and with whom I filled a complaint with the next day was very helpful and very nice. So if they can figure out how to get more like her and less like the idiot who "treated" us, treated us like garbage if anything.
--aaron
Well, on to the airing...
A few weeks ago my wife and I made a late night visit to a local hospital emergency room. My wife had some sort of allergic reaction which led to an outbreak that was very itchy and very very uncomfortable. We went to the emergency room at the local hospital, Cuyahoga Falls General. The experience we had at the hospital was one of the worst experiences of my life. From complete ineptness of the nursing staff, to an attending physician who seemed more annoyed that we had pulled him away from watching Later with Carson Daly. It was hands down the worst care I have ever seen. My wife was in an incredible level of discomfort and they were oblivious to everything we had to say. I asked several times about what options were available for treatment due to her pregnancy. I reminded them on several occasions that she was "with child." The "doctor" made a vanity appearance that was meaningless and useless and said he would prescribe her some medication. I asked if the medication had any issues with pregnancy and if there was anything to be concerned about. I was told that it was perfectly fine. The nurse came back with the prescription and I asked her if the drugs would be OK for my wife to take. She said that she would check, she left, I assume to do ten jumping jacks in the hall, because it wasn't to actually check on the medication, she came back and said it was safe. We said OK, assuming that the "doctor" knew what he was talking about. We visited the pharmacy to pick up the medication, and whilst I was waiting for the prescription to be filled, I read the information on the prescription. And lo and behold, in black and white, right there on the information printed at the hospital, clear as day, a warning about taking during pregnancy, especially early pregnancy. I asked the pharmacist about it and he seemed very surprised that they would even prescribe it to a pregnant woman. So, the frustration, the hassle, the "experience" of Cuyahoga Falls General emergency room was a complete waste of time, and almost was even worse then that. They were not helpful, they were harmful if anything. The only redeeming quality to the experience is that we learned a lesson, only go to Cuyahoga Falls General when you are ready to die, other then that go to Akron City Hospital.
As a side note to the experience, the Dir. of Nursing who oversees the emergency room, and with whom I filled a complaint with the next day was very helpful and very nice. So if they can figure out how to get more like her and less like the idiot who "treated" us, treated us like garbage if anything.
--aaron
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