I was talking to a friend of mine a few weeks ago about NBA basketball and in passing I made the comment that "chippy" must be the Whitest word in the English language. For those of you who have better things to do than watch basketball all day, "chippy" is an expression used by announcers when the players look like they may fight. A few weeks after this conversation with my friend, he asked me, "well, if 'chippy' is 'White' then what is the 'Black' version of this word." I had no immediate answer. I offered "heated" and "testy" but neither seemed to be a perfect fit. The conversation amused me because I grew up in the suburbs, what do I really know about the "hood" and what is "street".

Afterwards, I got to thinking about White words and Black words because clearly there are some differences. I don't know a single Black guy who refers to his friends as Bro, as in"Hey Bro, how's it going?". That one definitely goes on the chippy side. By the same token, there is no explaining the collective dyslexia of Blacks who say "aks" instead of "ask". That one may result more from class and education than race though. On the colorblind level, I love to hear people on court shows "proceeding", as in "then I proceeded to go to the laundromat, your honor" Who in their daily life uses the word proceeded? It's one of those words that is so specific, like you only use the word reputed when referring to mobsters. Anyway, I'd love to know if anyone can think of any more "White" words or "Black" words. Hit the comment button and let me know if you come up with any?

The Big Wheel

Oscar Brown Jr. penned these lyrics for the song Dat Dere. For me, the Big Wheel symbolizes freedom. Well, not freedom exactly, but a taste of independence for a boy of my generation. The Big Wheel offered the first chance to truly venture out a bit and explore the block where you lived, which later gives way to the bicycle and a little more range before the ultimate rite of passage, the driver's license and driving a car.


Tomorrow is tax day I'm sorry to say, although President Jackass is going to try and appease everyone by giving us back some chump change. More importantly, it is also Jackie Robinson Day commemorating the 61 year anniversary of his breaking of the color barrier in major league baseball. It is only day when any pro baseball player can wear number 42, which was officially retired for all teams except for this one day every year. It's too bad that very few Blacks are drawn to baseball anymore. Such is life.

More signs of the apocalypse

What is with these new digital billboards? I assume they are everywhere, but in LA, they are everywhere! Inevitably, the bulk of the ads are horrendous and obnoxious but we expect that from the ultimate attention seeker, I mean the ultimate inanimate attention seeker(sorry Britney). In Los Angeles, and most American cities, Clear Channel owns almost all of the billboards, but I heard somewhere that the city must issue permits, giving the final say. Since our District Attorney, Rocky Delgadillo, was recently the guest of honor at some big Clear Channel function, its not surprising that these new billboards keep showing up like a dirty penny or crabgrass.

Since the billboards are here to stay, wouldn't it be nice if they were not 100% urban blight? Being that they are capable of alternating their images every 30 seconds or so, wouldn't it be nice if they were required to flash something cultural and/or artistic say every 30 seconds out of every 5 minutes? Maybe a quote from Martin Luther King or Ghandi, or the Dahlai Lama every once in a while will cut through the bile? Perhaps a view of Picasso's Guernica while driving to work could soothe a soul or two. It should be required, for every unpleasant image, there should be some kind of pleasant counterbalance. But what do I know, other than that LA gets uglier by the minute.

Cops

Can someone explain to me why police officers, when making traffic stops or answering complaints, feel the need to almost always leave their cars sticking out into traffic while writing tickets or dealing with the bad guys. I have never been given a credible explanation why it's necessary to make LA traffic worse than it already is. It seems ironic that they break the law in order to enforce the law. Is it that much trouble to park legally then write the ticket or tell some drunken knucklehead to stop peeing in public? Of course this is excusable at the end of high speed chases, bank robberies and the like, but do you really need to leave your prowler in the middle of the street. Some people say that desperate times require desperate measures but in an enlightened society, it is the desperate times that require character, ethics and clear, deliberate thinking, not less. Maybe someone should mention that to the idiot in the White House.

Based on a photo of Bob Gibson, one of the most dominant and scary pitchers ever. He was so feared that it was common knowledge that if you got a hit off of him and showed even the slightest hint of celebration, then he would throw at your head the next time you came up. The lyrics come from Novocaine for the Soul by The Eels.

Everything's Canada Dry

This line comes from a Tom Waits song called Little Boy Blue. I think that Tom Waits is one of America's greatest living poets. I'm not sure why this line cracks me up but it does. Who knows what he means. The intent for this piece was to have the look of a 60's record with a touch of Saul Bass, who designed many of my favorite movie posters(Vertigo, Carmen Jones, Man With the Golden Arm) and was influenced by Henri Matisse, my favorite painter. I put links to both Matisse and Saul Bass in the good stuff links to the right if you want to check them out.