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Looking back, I think S didn’t buy a gift because he couldn’t afford it.  I remember he lived in the projects and a lot of the other kids made fun of his clothes because they weren’t considered to be very nice.  I know a Secret Santa gift isn’t the same thing as denying a kid food, but I feel really bad for that boy being singled out in front of everyone and I regret that I didn’t have empathy.

in my dream world this is real

listen.   Nova iz dead azz wrong to ambush Charley, Aunt Vi and Ralph Angel with a published book ((Nova says they're her “memoirs”)) that details her family’s deepest, darkest secrets.   for example, Nova reveals the exact amount of hush-money that Charley paid to Davis’ sidepiece.   “Blessings and Blood” also announces that Ralph Angel iz not Blue’s biological father.   and can you believe Nova wrote Aunt Vi lived most of her life as anything but a “strong Black Woman”?   damn, Nova.   you went too far.   and a lot of what you’re revealing iz NOT your business to tell.   everybody has a right to keep certain secrets.   and who are you to tell them. of course Nova wants to start an intelligent conversation within the Black community.   however, since Charley iz a wealthy former basketball wife, the public iz gonna sensationalize Nova’s so-called “memoir” as “tell-all trash” – both in social media and mainstream news outlets.   therefore, all Nova will accomplish iz ripping her family to shit.   and i still can’t believe Nova published intimate secrets that were told to her in confidence.

On June 9, 1934, Donald Duck made his debut in Walt Disney’s Silly Symphony, The Wise Little Hen.

one of my favorite moments in television

(1/3)  “I was the easy one to pick on.  I was born blind.  I didn’t walk until the age of four.  I repeated kindergarten, first, second.  They just called it mental retardation back then.  They tried to place me in hospitals.  And the other kids in the housing projects would torment me.  They’d call me Bozo and Clarence the Cross-Eyed Lion.  They’d chase me with broken bottles.  I felt worthless.  I felt like a thing.  My only protector was my older brother Hank.  He had learning problems too but he was a male so he had power.  He was state champion in running and cross-country.  Whenever he practiced, he’d let me follow behind him and carry his towels.  Eventually I got to where I could keep up with him.  No other girls were running back then.  There weren’t any female sports teams.  So people would look at me like I was crazy.  They’d say: ‘That’s Rita’s daughter.  She runs.’  A lap around the projects was one mile.  I’d run it three times every night.  It gave me solace and peace.  None of the punks who picked on me could keep up.  I grew really strong.  I had rough edges on me.  Word got around: ‘Put your hands on Loretta, and she’s gonna eat you up.’” (Special Olympics World Games, Abu Dhabi, UAE)

(2/3)  “School was hell.  There were just a few of us in special education and they taught us in the basement.  They offered to let me stay until I was twenty-one, but I wanted out.  So I went to a workshop for people with intellectual and physical disabilities.  Vietnam was going on back then, so we were making lots of bomb stuff.  And we made it for cheap.  I got a six dollar check for two weeks of work.  I was still very rough back then.  I was angry.  And one morning I took a hammer to a guy for picking on me.  The bosses called me to the office.  I thought for sure they’d throw me out.  But my counselor said: ‘I’ve seen you running to work every day.  And think I have something you’re going to like.’  He handed me a piece of paper and told me to take it home.  My mom didn’t like it.  She didn’t want me joining anything that cost money.  But when she noticed the line that said ‘free to participate,’ she crumpled up the piece of paper and put it in her pocket.  I thought she’d forgotten about it.  But early Saturday morning she started knocking on my door, and said: ‘You need to wake up and go to that damn Special Olympics!’” (Special Olympics World Games, Abu Dhabi, UAE)

(3/3)  “I wanted to quit Special Olympics after the very first day.  It took me two hours to get there.  It was raining the whole time.  But my mom forced me to keep going, and I learned to enjoy it.  We’d go run in the park once a week.  I was around people who didn’t tease me.  Nobody called me names.  I wasn’t made to feel stupid.  After a few months our coach convinced my mom to let me go to an overnight event.  It was at Westchester State University Teachers College.  I did three events: the long jump, the softball throw, and the 50-yard dash.  I won all three.  And I’ve been competing ever since.  It’s changed my life so much I can’t explain.  I’m more confident.  I speak at schools and colleges.  I own a house.  I pay property taxes.  If there’s something not going right in my town, I’ll go down to city council and complain.  And I’m still competing.  I’m sixty-five and this year I tried out for the tennis team.  I picked weeds off a public court and spent hundreds of hours hitting the ball against a wall.  But I didn’t make the team.  And I’ll tell you what, I went back to my dorm and cried.  And it takes a lot to make me cry.  But I wanted compete so badly, because this is where I feel important.  I think the feeling I get when I win a medal is the same feeling a President gets when they’re getting elected.  It’s the feeling of achieving something that you dreamed about.  And people with intellectual disabilities don’t get to feel that enough.”   (Special Olympics World Games, Abu Dhabi, UAE)

I will add a small caveat that if it’s something like giving a statement about, say, witnessing a car accident or whatever, that’s a bit different. But if you’re in custody? Shut the hell up for your own good. It’s not “guilty,” it’s SMART, and don’t let cops or cop shows convince you otherwise.

Given the history of false imprisonment and police misconduct in this country, that’s a very dangerous lesson to be teaching.

shuri, somewhere in the crowd: NERD

That’s her entire circle of friends and enemies in one fell swoop. Not a single person should judge her if she’s angry. Who knows, she might not be, these writers might subvert my expectations, but they’ve set this up for a REALLY bad fallout.

for the plot-twist cliffhanger, Lois Lane announces her pregnancy – and Clark proposes marriage.   meh.   i’m NOT a fan of this version of “Lois Lane”.   i don’t like the actress who plays her.   and back at Arkham Asylum, Deegan forms a new friendship with Psycho-Pirate.

That’s funny.

It sure seems that way. The thing is that Enty usually knows what he’s talking about and I’d hope he wouldn’t blindly take the word of only one person.