Sh*t Is Real In Oklahoma

Posted: May 21, 2013 in Articles
Tags: , ,

Oklahoma

Honestly, I don’t really have a point to make in this post. All I know is, my heart goes out to everyone in Oklahoma right now. The city of Moore was rocked by a tornado yesterday, killing a confirmed 51 people, with 40 more yet to be identified. To make matters worse, after this two-mile-wide and twenty-two-mile-long behemoth ripped through homes, businesses, a hospital and two elementary schools, about half of the victims were children. While there’s no one else to blame but nature, I can’t help but wish there was something we all could’ve done to prevent this. Rebuilding physical structures is one thing, but how do you rebuild families? How do you explain this to the children? How do you comfort parents who lost their kids? The collateral damage spreads further than bricks, wood and steel.

For right now, all we can do is pray for the best and donate what we can to aid our neighbors below the Mason-Dixon line. Below are links to The Salvation Army and American Red Cross. Let’s all do the right thing.

The Salvation Army
American Red Cross

*Sigh* The playoff dreams of my beloved New York Knicks ended in such a patented Knicks way. As soon as us fans started getting our hopes up is when the “Blue & Orange” brought us back to reality. I mean, I should have known better, man. I’ve been a Knicks fan my entire life and it always ends this way. It never ends with a blowout or clear domination, but with the team in a position to win. However, that damn win never comes. Per usual, this is the way our season ended on Saturday night against the Indiana Pacers. Despite the same movie playing over and over again, it still hurts, son.

First off, we should have never been in this position to begin with. While the regular season series against the Pacers was tied at 2-2, we should have been way more competitive against them. There’s no excuse for losing Game 1 at home. We had one of the best home records in the league and we let these dudes steal home-court advantage from us? With that being said, I still wasn’t worried at first. After we smacked the Pacers in Game 2, I figured we’d finally woken up and realized we have to earn our way to the Eastern Conference Finals. Sadly, that game was the last time the Knicks played like the #2 seed in the East.

In terms of the “Blame Game,” there’s a lot of it to go around. Let’s start with Mike Woodson. After praising this dude in a previous post, he decided to completely shit the bed in this series. When he’s this far into the playoffs, why the fuck are we switching rosters around? Why the fuck would he bring back A’mare Stoudemire at a time like this? Let’s keep it real for a second, man. A’mare hasn’t been good since Carmelo Anthony came to town. They simply don’t mesh together, man. If Woodson has been successful with a particular lineup for most of the season, why would he alter that now? I mean, he won 50+ games without A’mare, so leave his ass on the bench, man.

Next, let’s talk about this JR Smith dude. In my eyes, he should give back his Sixth Man of the Year award. He no longer deserves that shit, son. This team has depended on him for the entire season and this is the time he decides to forget how to play basketball? Ever since his suspension for flagrantly fouling Jason Terry during the series against the Boston Celtics, this dude couldn’t hit a roach with a boulder, man. Seriously, homie missed EVERYTHING! Jump shots, layups, free throws, you name it. It was the most ridiculous shit to witness. He literally forgot how to play ball, man. It’s simply preposterous.

Finally, let’s talk about the rest of these bums. What happened to all of that veteran leadership Jason Kidd, Marcus Camby, Kurt Thomas and Rasheed Wallace were supposed to provide, huh? Thomas was released, Wallace retired (again), Camby got no minutes and Kidd hadn’t score a point since before my son’s birth. Iman Shumpert and Pablo Prigioni were the only players who seemed to play worth a damn toward the end. When it comes to Melo, his low shooting percentage is another reason we lost this series. I don’t care if he scores 30 points if it takes him 30 shots to do it, man. Our offense completely died when he resigned to engage in “hero ball.”

I don’t know what else there is to say, man. I’m fucking pissed. This season was a wasted opportunity, son. No Derrick Rose, no Rajon Rondo, no Danny Granger and we still couldn’t get it done. I get mad at this team every year and still always end up coming back. I guess next season will be no different, man. Good day. Wait, no, it isn’t a good day. Bad day to all.

Loop

Before you start thinking whatever it is you’re thinking, don’t be alarmed. I will still be maintaining this blog site. However, your boy is moving up in the world, son! As it stands now, I will be writing a weekly column for the good people over at Loop21. Yes, you read that right, man. Several intelligent people thought it was a good idea to let me ramble on their site. With that being said, with great thuggery comes great responsibility. I will do my American duty and speak the unadulterated truth, regardless of how much potential trouble it may get me into.

In any case, the column revolves around my dating life. I will be chronicling the history from my days as a young (and foolish) whippersnapper to my current role as a fiancĂ© and a father. Needless to say, I will be incriminating myself on a weekly basis, so to any women who may be leading characters in some of these stories, I, Lawrence Charles, apologize to you all ahead of time. The goal is to share some life lessons through the stupid things I’ve done along the way. Are you excited yet? Of course you are!

All of the final details are being ironed out right now, but I believe the column will start running this upcoming Tuesday. As I’m sure you can figure out, I’m going to be promoting the HELL out of this thingamajig. Speaking tomfoolery on my site is one thing, but speaking tomfoolery on someone else’s site is dope, son. I want to give a shout-out to Larissa Vasquez at The Ella Project for putting me in touch with the people who know the people who know The Man. At this rate, I’ll be part of the Illuminati in no time, son. Don’t be surprised if I start acting brand new around my friends if this thing blows up. Isn’t that what Hollywood people do? Anyway, I’ll catch y’all on the other side. Good day.

Angelina

First, before I even continue, I advise everyone to read Angelina Jolie‘s op-ed in the New York Times. After watching her mother slip away due to cancer, Jolie took a gigantic step. Knowing she was at risk for not one, but two different variations of the disease, she decided to be proactive and do what she could to beat the odds. With an 87% chance of developing breast cancer and a 50% chance of developing ovarian cancer, Jolie decided to have a double mastectomy. Yes, you read that right. One of the world’s sexiest women had both of her breasts removed, and in my eyes, it couldn’t have been a better decision.

I wrote about cancer before, shortly after the death of Steve Jobs. I threw out all kinds of statistics, and even mentioned a few of my family members who have succumbed to the illness. In the span of two years, I lost two of my aunts and a cousin to three separate versions of this plague. The fact of the matter is, things aren’t improving. More and more people are taking the fall because of a disease that doesn’t discriminate. Regardless of race, gender, religion or sexual preference, we’re all at risk and it’s easy to feel powerless. However, Jolie made the choice to fight back. Due to the procedure, her risk of developing breast cancer dropped from 87% to 5%. She can sleep a little bit easier at night knowing she made a smart chess move in the fight against this deadly affliction.

With all of that being said, I’m still sad it had to come to this. If we were further along in discovering the catalyst for this disease, how to better treat it and how to handle things more preemptively, Jolie wouldn’t have had to take this step. Alas, here we are, and here she is, relaying her story to us. For such an act of bravery, she should be applauded. Now, let’s continue raising money and supporting the cause of ridding the world of an unnecessary evil. Good day.

Russell Westbrook

Disclaimer: Although I’m about to give Russell Westbrook props in this post, his fashion sense is still preposterous.

Once again, I’m grown enough to admit I was wrong. I used to give Russell Westbrook grief, son. Watching this dude take on 3 defenders in traffic with Kevin Durant open on the wing can be infuriating, man. Countless times I’ve found myself yelling at the TV, “pass the ball, dammit! Pass the fucking ball!” In my eyes, when you have KD, the most gifted scorer in the league, on your team, there’s no need to continuously go HAM during games. However, while watching the Oklahoma City Thunder play the Memphis Grizzlies, I’ve learned a valuable lesson: OKC can’t score. With that being said, my apologies, Westbrook.

After Westbrook was injured by Patrick Beverly in OKC’s first round match-up against the Houston Rockets, the Thunder have struggled to generate baskets. Last night’s overtime loss to the Grizzlies is the perfect microcosm of their issues. With no additional help, Durant took 27 shots and still ended the game with only 27 points. Serge Ibaka shot 6-13 from the field, and sadly, that’s a noticeable improvement over his last few games. Ibaka hasn’t just been missing shots, he’s been missing them horribly. Just the other game, homie shot a straightaway mid-range jump shot and somehow hit it off the backboard to the right. That’s just pitiful, bruh. Fact of the matter is, hardly anybody on OKC can create their own shot and it’s a glaring defect right now. Reggie Jackson is trying his hardest to pick up the slack, but at the end of the day, he’s still Reggie Jackson.

So to reiterate, I’d like to apologize to Russell Westbrook. I’ve shitted on him on numerous occasions, but I’m finally understanding the method to his madness. Do I still believe he takes too many shots? Absolutely, but shit man, judging from the pieces around him, he has no choice. The defending Western Conference champs are now only one loss away from their season ending in the second round. Honestly speaking, if I were an Oklahoma resident, I would pay a visit to Patrick Beverly. He thoroughly fucked their entire season and should be dealt with accordingly. Now am I advocating violence? Definitely. Good day.

P.S. Because of this post, I will no longer call him “Westbrick.” Well, for now. Who knows what the future holds, son?

Wade Robson & MJ

Let’s keep it all of the way real for a second. Molestation accusations aren’t new to the late Michael Jackson. He was first accused of misconduct in 1993, which he settled out of court, and brought to trial in 2005, where he was found not guilty on all charges. Fact of the matter is, MJ always found himself in trouble. With that being said, I don’t believe any of the words coming out of Wade Robson‘s mouth. After all of these years and all of his previous interactions with MJ, now is the time he brings up these allegations? Nah, son, he needs more people.

In case you don’t know who Robson is, here’s a brief history. He’s a famed choreographer, who’s worked with everyone from ‘N Sync to Britney Spears. He’s also an accomplished songwriter, helping Justin Timberlake write some of ‘N Sync’s hits, including “Pop” and “Gone.” He was originally discovered by MJ himself when he was kid, and appeared in his videos for “Black or White,” “Jam” and “Heal the World.” During the entire duration of his relationship with Michael, they maintained a close friendship. Robson even testified during MJ’s 2005 trial, denying ever being molested by the King of Pop. Now, all of a sudden, I’m supposed to believe he’s a “monster” who took advantage of him for 7 years? GTFOH, son.

I can tell you exactly why Robson is bringing this shit up now: the money. Don’t tell me it’s a coincidence that MJ’s estate made over $1 billion since his death and now Robson wants to sue. His claims are completely transparent, bruh. If he was really that distraught by what Michael allegedly did to him, why didn’t he speak up sooner? Better yet, why did he wait until after he’s been dead for 5 years? That math doesn’t add up to me, son.

Needless to say, Wade Robson can go somewhere with his bullshit. I don’t believe him for a second, man. In actuality, I never believed any of the accusations against Michael. I honestly believe he was a grown ass man who preferred pretending he was still in elementary school. Was it ridiculous? Absolutely, but that doesn’t necessarily make him an evil individual. It’s easy to judge, but tell me how normal you’d be if you were your family’s breadwinner from the time you were 5-years-old. Just let that man rest in peace, son. Go sit down, Robson.

Charles Ramsey

Ok, before I continue, let me get one thing out of the way: Charles Ramsey is an inadvertently funny dude. Any man who can tackle McDonald’s, ribs, Salsa music and racial viewpoints in under 3 minutes is a supremely talented storyteller. With that being said, let’s not lose sight of what actually happened here. This dude helped save 3 women and 1 child from the grips of a madman. Since Ramsey’s foray into the spotlight, it’s been easy for social and news media to latch onto his colorful personality and turn something so tragic into parody. I think it’s time to slow down and figure out how this situation occurred in the first place.

Between 2002 and 2004, Michelle Knight, Amanda Berry and Gina DeJesus disappeared in Cleveland, Ohio. Their ages ranged from 14 to 21 at the time and they were collectively held captive in a house by Ariel Castro for a decade. Now, the last 2 sentences alone provide more details about this case than I’ve seen in 99% of the posts on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and YouTube. Instead of focusing on the terrible ordeal these women found themselves in, people would rather scream “DEAD GIVEAWAY” and make musical remixes to Ramsey’s news interview. Let’s not even start with the memes, son. Take your pick. In any case, we should spend more time on putting Ariel Castro under the jail and less time laughing at Ramsey’s unique speech patterns. The man is a hero, simple as that. He’s not a court jester or a clown, so let’s stop treating him as such. If that man wasn’t “eating [his] McDonald’s” near by, the police department might have never found those women. How about we focus on that?

All in all, I know it’s easy to get caught up in the whirlwind, but let’s keep things in perspective here. What happened to those women wasn’t funny, what Charles Ramsey did to help them wasn’t funny and law enforcement’s previous lack of progress wasn’t funny. I just hope those 3 women get to live the rest of their lives with a sense of normalcy, no matter how irregular that sounds.