co-star

"Sending out a special request/You can be my special guest/I want a Co-star

I'll be your leading lady/You can come and save me/Yeah, I want a Co-star." - Marsha Ambrosius


There is two conversations that will start a fight between men...

1. Who's better Biggie or Tupac

2. Who's finer...this woman (insert name) or that woman (insert name)


Last week, me and my boys from the Cypher got into the discussion about who would make our Top 5 Hollywood Leading Ladies. The only requirements were...they must be sistas, must have starred in a feature film, and they must be FINE.

So, I'ma show you our list and you pick your OWN top 5. (and it's gotta be 5!!!)

No particular order...


Zoe Saldana

Tamala Jones

Stacey Dash

Regina King

Meagan Good

Lauren London

Kerry Washington

LisaRaye

Kenya Moore

Halle Berry

Gabrielle Union

Beyonce Carter

Gimme your top 5...pictured or not...

Hollatchaboi

BTW...Make sure that you tune in to tonight's show...12 Radio...Topics...Off the Dome!!! 9pm est

http://bit.ly/d4RUp4

can't you see?

I met a really close friend's new man this friday (for my approval). Within 10 minutes of meeting him, I knew he was gay. He got even gayer as the night went on. I cant believe she doesnt see it and I am a little perplexed about how to tell her.
Suggestions please...

I received the email above from a very good female friend of mine.

Kinda scary when you think about it.

A straight woman who will be (if she hasn't already) be sleeping with a man who is gay. I found it intersting because MOST women can spot a gay man a mile away. This sounds like a woman who is in denial.

Maybe some self esteem issues?

What do you think?

Hollatchaboi

Deion vs Kyle

He's 10 yrs old.

And he's inquisitive...

He's my oldest son, Deion.

The other day he asked me..."Daddy, did you watch movies when you went on road trips when you were my age?"

I laughed. I told him when I was his age there were no portable dvd players to put in cars. He seemed amazed by my words. I wonder if he could conceive in his mind...a world where there were no portable dvd players.

The conversation made me think about his life at the age of 10. Then, I thought about my life at the age of 10. Who has/had it better?

Kyle or Deion (for the record...my middle name is Deion and his middle name is Kyle)


Video games - Deion (Wii)

Video games - Kyle (Atari 2600)

ADVANTAGE - Kyle


President - Deion (Barack Obama)

President - Kyle (Ronald Reagan)

ADVANTAGE - Deion


Pop Icon - Deion (Jay Z)

Pop Icon - Kyle (Michael Jackson)

ADVANTAGE - Kyle

Residence - Deion (4 bedroom house/he has his own room)

Residence - Kyle (2 bedroom apartment/shared a room with Damon)

ADVANTAGE - Deion


#1 Villain - Deion (Osama bin Laden)

#1 Villain - Kyle (Wayne Williams)

TIED


Time waster - Deion (internet)

Time waster - Kyle (playing outside)

ADVANTAGE - Kyle


Best basketball player - Deion (Kobe Bryant)

Best basketball player (Magic Johnson)

ADVANTAGE - Kyle


Happy Meal cost - Deion ($3.35)

Happy Meal cost - Kyle (.99)

ADVANTAGE - Kyle

As you can see, Daddy had it pretty damn good. Deion is blessed beyond his dreams.

Maybe one day he'll compare his list to his son...and he'll win.

404 times

It's a celebration!!!

Of sorts...

This is my 404th blog post!

You may be asking...Why are you celebrating your 404th post?

Well...I'm celebrating blog post #404 simply because I missed the 400th post! Hahahahah

I just wanted to take a minute to thank you all for coming to this blog every day. I started this blog back in 2007. I was going through a lot at the time. The company that I worked for had gone out of business. I had a great deal of frustration. I wasn't really sure how to handle it.

At the time, my fam, LRenee had just established her blog. I would check it out and comment every day. She encouraged me to start my own blog. What? Start my own blog? Nah. What would I talk about? I was unemployed at the time. Was I supposed to blog about the unemployment line blues? She advised me to write about whatever I was feeling.

And I did

With time, I got better at it. I remember when Don came through and commented on my blog. I went to his blog to return the favor and I saw that he knew 100 other bloggers. I was impressed. I wanted to get 40 people to comment on my posts. But I quickly learned that it's not about that. It's about the enjoyment that you get from writing. If people feel compelled to comment, then that's great. The objective is to get them to READ your blog. That's it. You should write your blog as if nobody is reading because at one point in time...nobody was.

After that, I met my blog sis, Eb the Celeb. I liked the way she wrote on her blog. Then I met Pretty Black. Then Pro. Then, I linked with more bloggers. Soon after that, I felt like an official blogger.

Over the years, I've had the opportunity to make a great deal of new friends and new family. It's funny because I have only met a handful of you. But I feel like I know you. And you feel like you know me. Some of the crew have gone from blogging to twitter/facebook to blackberry messenger with me. And it's all love. I appreciate this connection with you. Thank you for supporting the 12th Planet and 12 Radio.

Thank you for coming out. You could be anywhere in the world. And you're here with me. I appreciate that. - Jay Z


Pop bottles. Raise your glasses.

A Letter to the Hawks/ 12 Radio

Dear Atlanta Hawks,

The season is over. I know you didn't need me to tell you that it's over. You saw it end just like I did. It was ugly. Four straight losses to the Orlando Magic. To say that we didn't play well would be an understatement. We played horrible. And I said WE because I'm a fan. I come to Phillips Arena every chance I get and sit in my seat. I don't wanna lose sight of the fact that we won 53 games this year. The team has improved every year under head coach Mike Woodson.

I hate to say that we quit but um...we quit.

It's time for Mike Woodson to go.

I know that his contract ends next month. He wants to get an extension. I don't know about that. We lost 4 straight to Orlando. Not only did we lose but we lost by an average of 23 points. We lost Game 1 by 43 points! Who loses by 43 points in a playoff game. Then we lose by 30 points at HOME in Atlanta. Maybe it's time for a change. Maybe Mike has taken this team as far as they can go. Mike can't play for the team. We need a center. We had no answer for Dwight Howard. Then again...who does? We could have had Phil Jackson on the sidelines and it wouldn't have mattered.

Joe Johnson. He's our All-Star. His contract is up. He want's a new deal that would pay him 16M a year. I like Joe. I've met him before. Cool dude. Joe did not show up in the playoffs. If he wants to get paid like the league's best player, he's gonna have to average more than the 13 points that he did verses Orlando. That's not acceptable. If you want to be a Hawk next year, you've gotta play better. Period.


As a team, we're at a crossroads. We've got to go forward...right now. What are we gonna do?

Signed,
12kyle

Tune in tonight!

12 Radio

Tonight's subject...Sports & Entertainment

9pm est/ 8pm central/ 7pm mountain / 6pm pacific

http://bit.ly/bkqfWd

happy feelins

"I'm generally a happy person so I don't need someone else to make me happy. It trips me out when ppl say I want a relationship to be happy. For real? You need a relationship to be happy? Well that is putting way 2 much pressure on 1 person. Only I am responsible for my happiness. Now I don't mind sharing that happiness with the person I'm with. But I'd never make them responsible to keep me happy." - @crecks via twitter


I was contemplating about what to write about today when I came across my boy, Crecks' tweets. His thoughts on twitter had confirmed some thoughts that I had earlier in the day. Happiness SHOULD come from within. That's where it all starts...within. The other relationships that we have in our lives (with family, parents, spouses, siblings, kids, friends, etc) only enhance (or can hinder) your happiness. I often hear people talk/complain about their happiness. Sometimes I really want to ask them to look in the mirror. If you're not happy with the person that you see, is it really possible for anybody else to make you happy?

Is money the answer? Nope. Money won't make you happy. Have you ever seen a miserable millionare? I have. The LACK of money won't make you miserable but it's tough to deal with. I don't we should ever attach our happiness to our bank accounts. I mean, we all get happy on payday but you get my point.

Back to Crecks' tweet, we're fooling ourselves if we think that we can burden the responsibility of making somebody happy. From your infancy until the day that they throw dirt on you...it's on you.

It's all on you!

what we are

I tried to get some work done from home on a rainy evening.

The only sounds that were heard through my spacious, yet partially furnished condo was the rainfall and the instrumental beats from JDilla. Rainy days in downtown Atlanta always made me feel peaceful. I knew it'd be a good night.

Then my cell phone rang. It was Terrin. Terrin is a woman who I've been seeing for the last 4 months. She's not my girlfriend and I'm not her boyfriend. We've never "defined" what we have. We go out on dates and stuff. And of course, we're sleeping together. I like her. She said from the onset that she wasn't looking for a man. That was cool for me because I'm not looking for a girlfriend.

"Hello." I answered.

"Hey. I wanted to know if it was cool if I came over. I need to talk to you." she said

"Sure. C'mon over. I'll be here."

She said she was already downtown so she'd be over in 10 mins. I'll admit...I was curious why she wanted to talk to me in person. She could have said whatever she needed to say over the phone. She arrives 10 mins later. Before she gets comfortable, I offered her something to drink. She declined. I noticed a concerned look on her face. I asked what was wrong.

"I need to know where I stand with you? I want you to be honest with me. We spend so much time together. But I don't know where I am in your mind. I want to know where this is going. It's been 4 months. I like you. I mean...I really like you. I just need to know what's up."

I paused for a second. I wasn't expecting THIS conversation. I'm a bachelor without any kids. I want to settle down one day. Not today. Not tomorrow. I cleared my throat.

"You want me to be honest?" I asked

She replied..."Yes."

"I like you. I think you're cool. I enjoy hanging out with you. I've enjoyed these past 4 months. I haven't seen anybody since we've been together. I haven't asked you if you've been out with anybody since we've been together because it's not my business. I don't know if you have or not."

She interrupted me..."I haven't. I don't get down like that. You know me."

Before I began my next words...I started to sound like that song by Little Brother.

"I don't want a relationship with you. I don't want a relationship with anybody. I know that's not what you wanted to hear but you told me to be honest. You want to be my girlfriend. You can't be. I like you but I don't wanna be serious right now. If that means that we end what we have, then that's what we'll do. In fact, maybe that's what we SHOULD do since this is how you really feel. Somewhere between me and you sharing laughs...you had visions of me and you sharing baths. You want to see us together and I can only ask have I misled you. I don't think I did. If so, I'm sorry. I dig you...please understand. I just don't dig you enough to be your man."

Blank stare.

"I just can't give you what you want and you can't give me what I need. I'm sorry that we could never be more than what we are."

Silence...

happy mother's day

The second Sunday in May was officially proclaimed “Mother’s Day” by President Woodrow Wilson in 1914.

Take a look at some statistics about moms from the U.S. Census Bureau:

82.8 million: the estimated number of mothers in the U.S. in 2004.

25: the average age of women in 2006 when they gave birth for the first time, down from 25.2 years in 2005.

40 percent: the percentage of births that were the mother’s first in 2007.

18,674: the number of births in 2006 that were the mother’s eighth or more.

August: the month with the highest number of births, with 387,798 taking place that month in 2006.

Wednesday: the most common day of the week to deliver, with an average of 13,482 births taking place on Wednesdays during 2006.

5.1 million: the number of stay-at-home moms in 2009

57 percent: the percentage of mothers in the labor force.


Let me take a second to wish all of the mothers a Happy Mother's Day to all of you.

Big shout to Momma12. She's the woman who mamode me the man who I am. There hasn't been a bigger influence on my life. Love u.

Big shout out to Mrs12. You are the best mommy for our 3 soldiers. You are a HUGE influence on them. Love u.

12 Radio

"I want a woman..."

"I want a man..."

"I know what I like in a man..."

"I know what I like in a woman..."


Sounds familiar? Of course it does!

Do women/men REALLY know what they want in a mate?

We'll talk about it tonight on 12 Radio!

Show starts tonight at 9pm EST/ 8pm Central / 7pm Mountain / 6pm Pacific

Tune in!

http://bit.ly/begUvE

you BLACK, maybe?

I'm Pro-Black

Pro-Black doesn't mean anti-white. When I say I'm pro-black, it means that I'm about my people. I'm a proud black man. You'll know that by reading my blog. I am not always proud of how SOME of my people act from time to time. But I still got love for em. I will try my best to support my people. Especially when it comes to black owned businesses. I try to support them whenever I can.

But sometimes you gotta draw a line in the sand. And the line has been drawn

Case in point...I recently had 2 experiences that helped me draw the line in the sand.

One experience was a recent trip to Gladys (Knight) and Ron's Chicken and Waffle. I decided to take the family there because I've always enjoyed the food and it's a always atmosphere. Well...it used to be nice. As soon as we were seated, the soothing soul music had given way to the DJ who was tucked away in the corner of the restaurant. You'd think that a nice place like Gladys and Ron's would have a DJ playing music that would be fitting of the name of the restaurant. WRONG! Not only did the DJ play rap & r/b songs that you would hear on the radio, he proceeded to BLAST the music. The music was so loud that I had raise my voice just so that my wife could hear me. We looked around to see if the mangers were ok with the music and it being THAT loud. Not only were they ok with it, they were singing right along to every song that was being played. WTH? To make matters worse, there was a group of about 20 teens that were sitting not far from our table. The teens were there as a group but their "chaperone's" didn't seem to care what they were doing or how they were acting

The DJ played a song by Usher and the kids began to get up and dance. Huh? Does this happen at TGI Fridays or Applebees? I don't think so. As I looked around, we weren't the ones who were offended. The DJ turned the music down but it was still LOUD. Things really got out of hand when he played some song and the first word I heard was "BITCH". Are you kiddin me? You're gonna play that kinda music and I got my sons with me? We had eaten our food but by now I'm totally disgusted with the service. Was this a restaurant or was this Joe's sports bar?

The manager came over and asked how was the food. I told him the food was fine but I didn't know that I was "coming to Club Gladys and Ron's." I told him that I had an issue with the DJ...the loud music...and the profanity. He apologized for the profanity. He said that it was "the owner's idea" to bring the DJ in. I told him that he should remind the owner that this USED to be a nice restaurant. If you're gonna make it a hip hop spot, you'd better be mindful of the clientele that you'll attract. The bill came to $55. I had a gift card for $50. So I paid $5 (no tip). That's about all that experience was worth. Five freakin bucks.
That was my last trip there.

Second issue...the barbershop. I made the trip to the barbershop reluctantly. Normally, I'll cut the boys' hair myself. I didn't feel like it this time. I cut my own hair so I'm not a dude that goes to the barbershop for anything. This visit to the barbershop proved to be an eye opener. When we got there, one of the barbers greeted us outside. He was on his cell phone. There were only 2 barbers working despite they had been open for 20 mins. The barber who greeted us left in his car and returned an hour later. We waited...and waited. Finally...one by one...each barber strolled in. They all were an hour late. I would have walked out but I was pressed for time and I had to get the boys a haircut.

One barber walked in. His buddy walked in 2 mins later and hopped in the chair. Huh? So, he gets to skip those who have been waiting for nearly an hour? One of the barbers later tell me that the dude "had an appointment." Huh? So is that how it works? If that was the case, I would've made an appointment. I'm from the old school where a trip to the barbershop was on a "first come...first serve basis." I'm not gonna wait an hour and a half after you DECIDE to come to work and then you let people go ahead of me. I won't be going back to that spot. To hell with you and your barbershop.

The moral of these stories is that I wanna support my people but I will NOT support bs. You can complain about it and do nothing. Or you can be proactive. I've chosen the latter. Black businesses, like any other business, must be held accountable. Period. In this recession, one of the things that every business has to separate themselves from others is their customer service. As a consumer, I will hold you accountable. You want my money...you've got to earn it. The line has been drawn

You can't piss on me and then tell me that it's raining.