COMMUNITY POLICING
By Richard Ray Once upon a time in small communities like Brooklyn, NY, residents would walk down the street and see a neighborhood patrolman, we will call him officer McMurphy, rousing the local hooligans for missing school, loitering or just general perceived mischief. Now back then this wasn’t profiling, racial or otherwise, because McMurphy […]
BITCHASSNESS
Forget the Walking Dead zombies, vampires, werewolves and the undead everyone is so fascinated with, because the real apocalypse is upon us and I feel like it may already be too late to stop it. Bitchassness is upon us people. Be afraid…be very afraid. If you are not worried, chances are you have already been […]
INSOMNIAC
I have been an insomniac for well over twenty years now. It started in college and grad school where the cocktail of no curfew, my own room for the first time and the stress of procrastination in having to stay up late to get my work done conditioned my body to late nights and early […]
SPORTS REPORTERS ARE FULL OF IT
All of these sports reporters need to stop with the BS indignation over Kevin Durant leaving the OKC Thunder for the Golden State Warriors. All NBA cities are not created equal, especially for the appeal it may hold for wealthy men of color. With all due respect to Oklahoma City, (a city that I have […]
CAPTAIN CHAOS
I am the lead architect, Chief Engineer, El Capitan, HNIC, CEO, Big Dawg, Boss Hogg of all of the Chaos in my life. Sure, there are other contributors, enablers and facilitators who can share in the credit and/or blame, but at the end of the day all the responsibility for my life’s choices and status […]
STATE OF HIP HOP
As hard as I try not to, from time to time I sound like the old school dude stuck in the past when it comes to lamenting the state of hip hop today versus its alleged glory years of the late 80s-90s. For so many, music is a soundtrack for one’s life journey… the first […]
MANNERS
My mother grew up poor in the housing projects of Brownsville, Brooklyn. Despite her occasional Tina Turner accent from incessant British Broadcasting Channel (BBC) watching, she was hardly refined growing up. She raised three boys into strong men amidst difficult circumstances and a challenging environment. We have all progressed from her lessons of education […]
RISKY BUSINESS
What is it about human nature that causes us to take on so much risk in our lives? Risk comes in so many forms. Risks to our lives, physical wellbeing, relationships, employment and finances are just a sampling of the different forms we encounter voluntarily. We take on risk all the time. Risk is a […]
LUTHER VANDROSS
I cannot believe that it has been over eleven years, since perhaps the greatest voice of our generation passed away. I know that many more famous entertainers have passed in that time period, like Michael Jackson, David Bowie and Prince, and while others have been more popular, know one has ever possessed a more pure, […]
TRAVELING
Aside from my formal education and experiences growing up in New York City, nothing has shaped my development more than being able to see, feel and experience people and places that were outside my normal boundaries of New York City. NYC may be the greatest city in the world, but the residents there often […]
