Tuesday, December 20, 2016

How To Play Roulette Games

Live roulette is a casino game which derives its name from the French for wheel. It is played on a wheel where one can place bets on a number or a range of numbers, red or black color and odd or even numbers. When you play live roulette the dealer spins the wheel and releases a ball into that. The ball comes to rest on one number when the wheel stops. That determines whether someone has won or not. Live roulette games come in multiple variations, but the basics remain the same.

Roulette was first played in France and is now played throughout the world where casinos are legal.

As with other live casino games, a player must register with one of the websites to play live roulette games. After the registration, an initial deposit needs to be made to be able to play. Some websites offer an initial amount as registration bonus, but the payout in these sites is relatively lower. For the real thing, it is better to register with some of the better known websites. The odds are certainly better in these sites.

After entering one of the online rooms for live roulette games, a player can place either an inside or an outside bet. Inside bets is better paying where one can bet on a single number, or two adjoining numbers, or three numbers on a single horizontal line, or a square, or a six line or on a trio.

Outside bets are lesser paying where the chance of winning is better. One can bet on any of the numbers from 1-12 or 12-36, or red or black colors on the betting table, or even or odd numbers, or dozen (a bet on the first, second or third of the twelve numbers, i.e. 1-12, 13-24 or 25-36) or column (betting on all the 12 numbers on any three vertical lines of the roulette table) bets. The lower the probability of winning, the higher is the payout.

Websites offer various versions of this famous casino game to attract players, live roulette games are popular. At the end of the day when you play live roulette it is still gambling and can make kings or paupers.

Unlike some of the card games, live roulette online or offline is completely based on one's luck because it is absolutely unpredictable as to where the ball will sooner or later come to rest in a slot.

Many professional gamers online have started playing free roulette games online before they were able to master their strategies. Once you have mastered the game of roulette, for sure you will be able to earn extra income. You do not only enjoy, you also earn from it.

You may not always win when you play in free roulette games online but for sure you will be able to determine the ins and outs of the game. To make sure that you win, you must look for a roulette system that really does the work for you and provides you a steady stream of income.

Thursday, November 3, 2016

Neiman Marcus' $66 Collard Greens: Cultural Appropriation Or Good Business?

"Cultural Appropriation" is one of those rare phrases used exclusively in academic circles that has somehow seeped into mainstream black vernacular over the past few years. With the rise of "wokeness", buzzwords like "trigger", "implicit bias", etc. are now tossed about with reckless abandon on Black Twitter anytime a story involving race begins to trend. Sometimes the story doesn't even have to involve race. Often it's simply about a white woman wearing cornrows or faux dreadlocks, a white guy doing an acoustic "cover" of a rap song, or merely food.

No recent story encapsulates this phenomenon to such a comical degree as Neiman Marcus' decision to market overpriced soul food for Thanksgiving.
Only at Neiman Marcus, where you can buy a $395 rabbit-fur jacket for a baby who will probably throw up on it, or a $1,300 tufted sofa for your dog, are collard greens considered “gourmet food.” But there they are, among the holiday offerings: $66 for frozen collard greens, not including $15.50 in shipping.

“I was like, ‘Whaaaat?’” said Nicole Taylor, author of “The Up South Cookbook.” “A lot of things ran through my head. The first was, I need to call and tell my mom that they are selling collard greens for $80.”

She couldn’t help but be amused: “The food that was considered poor people’s food, or Southern food, or black food, is now being advertised and sold by a luxury brand,” she said. “I‘ve heard people from the South say that they were ashamed that their family cooked collard greens.”
You should read the rest of the article, which is full of embedded "woke" Tweets, and quickly dissolves into something you'd typically find on The Onion. I mean, seriously, people really sit around all day upset about leafy greens not named Kale?!?

I'd like to break the fourth wall for a moment and speak exclusively to my black readers. Everyone else... just skip to the comments.
Dear fellow black people,

Enough already. Every instance of corporate America/white people mimicking something closely associated with black people isn't "cultural appropriation". Sometimes it's just people admiring/exploiting something for personal gain. Nothing more, nothing less.

Blackness does not come with residual checks. Please stop expecting people to pay homage. Culture doesn't work that way, and I'm not even 100% sure if I want undesirable food (and all of the health related ailments that come from eating it on a regular basis) handed down from masters to slaves to be considering my "culture" anyway.

How about we make academic excellence our "culture"? How about we make strong families our "culture"? How about me made wealth building our "culture"?

I'd be more than happy to take up arms with you when someone "appropriates" that.

Between now and then, knock it off. This trivial shit sounds so stupid.

Thank you.
Question: Is Neiman Marcus' smart to sell $66 Collard Greens to people rich/dumb enough to buy them, or is this just another case of The Man stealing what's ours?

Thursday, October 6, 2016

Of Gangsta Rap Radio Edits, Precocious Kids & Bad Parenting...

I drop my kids off at school every morning. Obviously, this presents an issue because I want to listen to music that I like, but they are seven and four years old. So a fair compromise is to let them listen to classic rap instrumentals. I get a beat I can ride to, they can bop along in the back seat and they don't get polluted with grown-up messages. Win win.

So anyway, an instrumental they absolutely love is Snoop Dogg's "It Ain't No Fun". We've listened to it every morning for the past 2 weeks. My daughter (who is 4) asked me could she "hear the words" to the song. Of course I'm a responsible adult and wouldn't do that to my kids. Instead, I went on YouTube and found the song labeled "It Aint No Fun" (extra extra clean version). I'm thinking, what's the worst that can happen if they bleep out half of the words anyway? Press play.



Well the song gets about 4 bars in and Nate Dogg's already said "open up your gap" and I'm quickly going for the pause button to close the app but I have to swerve suddenly (I am driving after all. Judge me.) and the phone slides across the seat where I can't reach it. Before I can reach for the volume, Nate is already at the "next time I'm feelin' kinda horn-aaaay" part and I'm feeling like the worst black father of all time.

I cut the song off, and silently pray that my kids are not going to ask me what they've just heard. But of course they are smart kids, so my daughter asks "Dad what is horny?"

"Like rhino honey. Like a rhino. It has horns."

"So the man feels like a rhino? That's a weird thing to sing about,"
says my 7 year old son.

We'll just stick with the instrumentals until they're teens.

Monday, October 3, 2016

Visit Mobile Slots Today

Over the decades of casinos, we’ve seen online slots catapult into the stratosphere and they really are proving to be an area of high growth and profitability for casinos. Since the age of land based casinos, internet based casinos are now what everyone is attracted towards, nothing beats the convenience of sitting in your pajamas and playing from the comfort of your own home. Slots machines, which are still fairly new in the market allowing gamers to play on the move. Most online gamblers love playing on their ios or android device, visit Mobile Slots Today if you want to find out more information on which slots you can play on the move.

As you’d expect, the general movement from land based casinos to slots has been aggressive and fast, since playing slot games through your laptop or mobile device is an extremely enjoyable experience. Most casino players tend to gravitate towards slots, because the payout tends to be a lot higher than most traditional card games.

A lot of land based casinos have now come over to the internet industry and are competing quite heavily. Digital slot machines are the new thing and the most seasoned players are coming over to online casinos, playing on the move, as well as playing at home on their desktop or laptop. Online slots come in all varieties and offer players the flexibility to choose from a number of software providers as well as a whole mix on playability.

Friday, September 23, 2016

Top 5 Tips for Creating a Successful Career in Art

How to make careers in art or how to make money with art – these questions are popular not only among the recent graduates of Academies of Arts with scientific degrees, but among experienced professionals (many people are working at the same place for many years and cannot understand how to become an artist and how to become famous). The career prospect is even more significant than a decent salary for many people (but usually one follows from the other). This is not strange.

If you desire to, or just thinking about how to become a famous artist and desire to get a good salary in future, then you need to make thoughts about what qualities you need to have and what to do for a quick promotion.

Bohemian crowd, photographers, light music, flowers, clinking of glasses with the champagne, elegant reception and paintings. And what artist does not dream of this becoming a reality? Who do not want to become the main character of this? Today, when art has an unusually high demand, such dreams may become a reality, but what to do to build a successful future career in arts and what should be the starting point? Art related careers are very difficult to create.

Try to make yourself famous
Those who chose the path of a freelance craftsman as well as the path of the assignment writers, automatically becomes an entrepreneur and, like every other aspiring businessman, should try to make himself famous using original ideas to attract the attention of important gallery owners as well as potential sponsors and clients. Those people who do not understand how to become a successful artist should be able to explain why people need him and his paintings, sculptures or photo books. You should understand this.

Ask for help
Beginners, who have no experience in marketing, can consult with special service centers - for instance, there is a good service for those people who want to learn the information how to make money in art in the Career Center at the Berlin University of the Arts. A young entrepreneur will learn the secrets of a successful start of his professional career, receive a lot of practical advices and understand how to make a business profitable from this particular career center. This is brilliant information.

Ask for support
In the starting phase of the career, the person can apply for financial support to artistic funds. For instance, only Bonn Art Foundation annually provides about 1.1 million euros of scholarships to people and various art projects. It is a huge sum of money! Rarely an artist suddenly awakens famous. They can even be starving or have to attend group therapy meetings or meet personal therapist because of the failures they had faced before becoming famous and finding themselves in the Guardian. In jobs that involve art, you are climbing up the career ladder and have to overcome it gradually, one step after another. But if you do not stop, every step will be a significant bonus for success.

Organize your personal exhibitions
The art career includes active exhibition activity: this event requires the cost of rent of exhibition space and the printing of mini-directory is desirable. The main question here is a personal activity: availability of personal exhibitions is necessary for the career of an artist. The most significant thing here is to start the communication and friendship with collectors and buyers. For the artist it is extremely important to be in touch with the collectors and to maintain relationships with them: to meet, to talk about the world of art and do not expect a short-term buying activity from them. Remember this.

Bring your paintings to an auction
The statistics of auction houses is the only thing that is always in the public domain. As obvious to all market participants, this information can play in favor of the artist: the auction affects directly at the promotion of an artist. It is a series of consecutive and strategically sound measures to promote. In the modern era of postmodernism the artist promotion needs a very important integrative approach. The fine career of the artist in the art business is made up of several terms. Only involvement of all the mechanisms of promotion on the market can give the desired result. If you desire to become famous and have money, try to do your best and remember to never give up.

MUST-GO PLACES OF STUDENT SUMMER-2017

Summer is the season of inspiration and opportunities in any student’s life. Besides holiday pleasures, you can gain new knowledge and skills, passing summer courses abroad or performing some jobs which you like and know how to do. The students-trip will fill you with great impressions and experiences. Here are the ways one can make this season gorgeous:
  • combining studies with active and self-developing rest in summer school abroad;
  • applying for a position in a summer camp and enjoy visiting interesting places for free;
  • joining a volunteer project and get to know around the world without considerable fees, accepting a challenge in solving problems facing the entire world.
A student looks for getting new experiences and saving own budget. The best vacation spots meeting different student priorities are listed below.
  • Sign in short courses of the summer school abroad. If you want to improve your academic performance, make international friendship with your peers from various countries and become familiar with a new culture and society, this is just it. Delight with completely new environment with Trinity College short courses. Learning youth increases their level of specific knowledge, has a nice occasion to express their views, opinions and inclinations taking up a favorite activity within any of multiple organizations or clubs while spending summertime 2017 in Dublin. It’s a high time to form new acquaintances through the communication. The Ireland capital is also one of the popular tourist destinations. The latest innovations don’t disrupt a quiet majesty of the culture evaluated by hundreds of years and there are many fun places to go in Dublin. Residence advisors assure the safety of learners’ stay in their residences. This staff passes a special training and the state Irish police inspects them regularly. Numerous organizations represent the possibility to get studentships. Why not to use this tip and decrease the fees for studies in Trinity College summer school to the minimum?
  • USA summer camp is the way of an active rest. The camp is the place, where a student can both provide other people with own experience and get the skills necessary for professional and personal development in the future. It’s the opportunity to travel over USA with minimal expenses. The practices of camp leadership will help you be in a more advantageous position than other job applicants. Spending vacations in any of summer camps, one guarantees for oneself a good mood and the advantage over other seekers of a promising position.
  • Are you going to have a cheap and impressionable summer tour? Consider volunteering as a travel chance for students. If you are the person striving for making this world better in any possible aspect, all destinations will be available for you. The projects in Latin America are enticing for optimistic and romantic persons. The volunteering areas are oriented to the protection of the environment and wildlife in particular. Getting aware of a marvelous nature of the region, you can also express your optimism and willingness to act in the domains of healthcare, teaching and learning Spanish. Volunteering is an excellent platform for a wonderful vacation. Practices of volunteer activity are useful for professional growth.
Whatever plans of summer travelling you are going to have, the study goals should be prior. Anyway, you should carry out all tasks of your learning. Otherwise, you won’t be satisfied with choosing the places to go. You should successfully submit all papers not to be disappointed at the end of the academic year. Skilled assignment writers Australia perform all assignments you put in. This cooperation will supply the learners with more free time. It helps to fulfill the expectations relating to summer.

Wednesday, September 21, 2016

Of Profile Pics, Fearing Cops & Being Black In America.

Earlier this week, after reading the disturbing story of a Tulsa, OK motorist shot by police, I had a sudden epiphany. I immediately changed my Facebook profile pic from a casual photo in shades and a basketball jersey to a serious pic of me, in a suit and tie professionally shot for the employee directory at my job.

Why, might you ask? Well sure, because the professionally shot pic is nicer. But also because I know the power of narrative. Should something of this sort happen to me, the image that a majority of people would see whatever photo news agencies can locate first. Would I want that pic to show me as the playful husband of 15 years and father of three I am from 5-9, or the hardworking software engineer I am from 9-5?

If this sounds like a bunch of pointless mental gymnastics to you, welcome to being black in America. Where you actually worry about your mortality on a daily basis and how others might form an opinion on how valuable (if at all) your life was based on a photo splashed across a news article.

We see these photos when people like Philando Castille, Eric Garner, and yes, Terence Crutcher die. The photos are often informal, sometimes cropped to remove others, and more times that not fuel the narrative of what that person’s life meant. It’s why the families of the deceased often jump in to fill in some of the blanks about said person’s life. That the person in the grainy photo was a father, a husband, a son, a something of value that extends beyond whatever initial impression said photo formed. Because these people, however flawed, whatever their past might have included, mattered to someone.

It’s why #IfIDieInPoliceCustody and other such hashtags trend from time to time. Because people want some control, no matter how fleeting, of how they’re perceived when they’re gone. Most of those people are black, hardworking, and have no criminal record to speak of. And that’s sad.

Worrying about how the media might describe you after death, and how your kids/spouse would feel if that description is unfair is something I'm sure most of you've never even considered. Yet it's a thought that crosses my mind every time I see a police car.

So yeah, suit & tie profile pic it is.

Tuesday, September 20, 2016

What do the NE Patriots and the Browns have in common?

Going by football betting site odds, the New England Patriots and the Cleveland Browns are as far apart from each other as CM Punk and MMA credibility. However, these two teams have at least one thing in common, and it’s the fact that both will have burned through three QBs is as many weeks, or less. The Pats’ Tom Brady obviously has not set foot on an NFL gridiron so far in the 2016 regular season, but he’s nevertheless bull goose quarterback and his shadow looms large over backup Jimmy Garoppolo and third-tier QB Jacoby Brissett.

Speaking of whom, Garoppolo threw 18 of 27 for 234 passing yards and three TDs in New England's 31-24 win over the Miami Dolphins before he left in the second quarter with a right shoulder injury. Enter Brissett, who went 6 of 9 passes for 92 yards, and led the Patriots to a touchdown on its first possession of the second half. Now, whether Brissett will take his turn starting under center for the Pats, or Garoppolo will return has yet to be seen. When asked about Garoppolo’s health, New England head coach Bill Belichik said “I’m a football coach. I’m not a doctor. The medical staff is the medical staff. I coach the team. The medical people handle the injuries. They don’t call plays, I don’t do surgery. We have a great deal there. It works out good.”

So there you have it; this is the type of scoop one doesn’t usually find on a football betting site. Bill Belichik is in fact not a doctor. He’s also not a bricklayer. The Pats shouldn’t worry, though. Even if Garoppolo’s injury is serious, and even if something happened to Brissett, they can always fall back on ‘Fake Brady.’ So Tom Brady is just a dummy? I know, but he sells tickets. Actually, if Fake Brady is anything like Fake Sting, New England fans better cross their fingers that either or both Garoppolo and Brissett hold out until week 4 of the regular season.

As for the Browns, the football betting site’s underdogs continue their revolving door of quarterbacks, of which at this point they have had more than Spinal Tap has had drummers. Coincidentally, Belichik was Cleveland’s head coach the last time they had a big name QB in the legendary Vinny Testaverde. That was in 1994, the last season before the Browns disappeared for three years. Since 1999, the Browns have had 25 starting quarterbacks. This season has already seen two; Robert Griffin III – by the way, if RG3 ever launches an acting career, don’t tell him to break his leg, he just might take you up on it – and veteran Josh McCown. With those two injured, rookie Cody Kessler is set to take the mantle, and the Browns have just signed veteran Charlie Whitehurst to be his backup. Whitehurst last stepped foot on the gridiron in 2014, when he went 105 of 185 for 1,326 yards with 7 TDs and two interceptions in seven games – five of which he started – with the Tennessee Titans.

Mayweather will “move on” after McGregor fight failure

It would have been an offshore betting dream come true, but to the surprise of absolutely no one, Floyd ‘Money’ Mayweather told FightHype.com, “I tried to make the fight happen between me and Conor McGregor. We wasn't able to make the fight happen, so we must move on.” He added that “I feel honored to be the biggest name in MMA and in boxing and I don't even compete no more.” Presumably, Money will move on to continue fighting both grammar and reality. Back in August, McGregor said he was interested in the fight as long as Mayweather could “come up with the $100 million cash he needs to fight me.” The Irish brawler said he had “Floyd running around the Showtime [Network] offices gathering my money.” I’m willing to believe the “running around” part.

Speaking of McGregor, he won his rematch versus Nate Diaz, despite the latter’s, err, strategy. According to Joe Rogan, who “saw Nate at the grocery store randomly,” Diaz “was falling on purpose to dupe Conor.” Yeah. And CM Punk was doing the ol’ ‘face-to-fist style.’ Thankfully, he got choked out before he could try ‘my-nuts-to-your-fist style.’ All of this is to say that McGregor is under contract with UFC, and any potential fight versus Mayweather would have had to either involve a cross-promotion or Dana White’s blessing – though he’s already allowed inside the octagon someone who had no business being there, so why not another?

Surely, Money can’t be serious, though? Actually, he is serious, and don’t call me Shirley. To prove that his heart is just not in it, Mayweather is giving up on the McGregor fight only a few months after the idea was planted in fevered mind of the most extreme of offshore betting fans, whereas he hyped his bout with Philippine senator Manny Pacquiao for an unbelievable six and half years. That ranks right up there with Axl Rose in levels of teasing. In fact, they could have named that fight Chinese Democracy II. Later they based a movie on the ordeal. That’s what Grudge Match is about, right?

One has to wonder how serious Mayweather was, though. White repeatedly said Money never contacted him about making the fight happen. Knowing Floyd, he probably called Scott Coker instead. All things considered, it was all most likely a cry for attention, and if it was, it succeeded in spades – so much so that both Amir Khan and Canelo Alvarez follow the lead and challenged McGregor to fight. And sadly, it was for realz and not in the only environment in which that might make sense – a UFC videogame. “It's so crazy that when I talk about fighting Conor McGregor, you've got so many other fighters that's in boxing that wants to fight Conor McGregor. I was the first, once again,” Mayweather said. In some ways, it is a shame – not the least in offshore betting terms – that Money and McGregor didn’t agree on this one. But then, many things don’t agree in Floyd Mayweather’s world; for example, subject and verb.

Just How Bad Can It Get For DC Sports?!?

Living the the Capitol of the Free World for the past 20 years has been awesome. Washington, DC is routinely rated one of the best regions in the country, and I can co-sign that. The restaurants are world-class. The parks and museums here are great. The weather is moderate. The people are diverse. The economy is practically recession proof. It's a lovely city that only seems to get even nicer by the year.

One huge downside of living here (beyond the traffic and cost of living) is the pro sports teams. To put it lightly, they just plain suck. The Redskins are far and away #1 on the local pecking order, but even they find their home games typically invaded by visiting team fans and it's not a stretch to say 40% of the fans here root for the Cowboys. The Caps have postseason losing in their DNA, no matter how good they are during the regular season. The same could be said for the Nats, who rack up plenty of wins until October rolls around. The Wizards are a non-freakin' factor, a moribund franchise that's basically pissing away the prime of John Wall's career and practically begging him to leave when his current contract ends. Nobody cares about the Mystics, DC United, or the Valor. And the Valor haven't even started playing yet.

I've often found myself envious of vastly inferior cities, just because they're won titles recently. From Cleveland, to KC, to Pittsburgh, to (ugh) Baltimore, plenty of not-ready-for-primetime cities have recently won it all across the 4 major pro sports, but DC can't catch a damn break. It's enough to make me visit a list of online sportsbooks and bet the farm on the Jacksonville Jaguars to win the Super Bowl and take whatever I win and move to Canada.

Heck, depending on how this election goes, I might be heading there soon anyway, aye.

Tuesday, August 30, 2016

Huma Abedin, Rudy, Pastor Burns and Kaepernick...

So much to talk about, so little time...

Huma Abedin finally kicked her deadbeat husband to the curb. I have nothing but sympathy for that woman, and I'm sure there's plenty of eligible bachelors in DC just waiting for the moment she shows up on their Tinder screens. Weiner, on the other hand... bruh. There's a phrase that some people on The Internets like to employ from time to time that called "Risk It All". Namely, is there a woman/man/whatever worth tossing your entire life (spouse, kids, career, reputation) on? I contend there's not, period. Weiner has no such filter, having Risked It All once on a chick named Sydney Leathers, being given a 2nd chance, and risking it yet again on some random chick whose DMs she successfully slid into. As a person who once proclaimed on this very blog (search for it) that I really like this dude's willingness to out d-bag the GOP while he was in Congress, it's sad to see his descent to a cautionary tale for working women. For the good of his kid and himself, I hope dude gets some help.

Rudy Giuliani resumed his weird feud with Beyonce yesterday. Apparently outraged at her VMA performance, he went on (where else?) Fox News and ballsily proclaimed that he'd saved more lives than Beyonce. Which, when you think about it is factually true. I hear Beyonce gives random women "life", but I'm not sure if that's the same as preventing people from dying. In any event, Rudy's proclamation is also dumb as f*ck and nonsensical. Last I checked, Beyonce was an entertainer, not the disgraced one time mayor of the largest city in North America. Comparing the two is a wee bit silly. Sorta like if Beyonce claimed she had more Grammys than Rudy. Again, apples meet Oranges. Rudy, meet the seat. Have one.

Pastor Mark Burns, noted profuse sweater (shout out to Patrick Ewing!) and Trump Supporter made some silly allegations about Hillary Clinton being bad for the black community yesterday and then made the faux pas of retweeting an equally silly cartoon with the candidate in blackface. To his credit, Burns is making the media rounds today apologizing for the Tweet, which in an odd way gained him a bit of my respect. Considering the ferocity with which Trump and his surrogates take a lie and run with it as if they're defending the Constitution, I think this is a sign of progress. Katrina Pierson, you're up next.

I don't have much to say about Colin Kaepernick. I just don't. I've seen lots of very smart black people defending him, for reasons that don't make a lot of logical sense. And of course the usual "you're adopted by white people", "you're making $20M a year to sit the bench" and "go back to Africa, or since you're biracial, Halfrica!" (see what I did there?) mostly from white people on the far right. I'm somewhere in the middle. While I agree with his points about police misconduct for the most part, his way of going about relaying his message was the worst possible manner conceivable. Seriously, you're already fighting for your NFL life, about to lose your starting gig and you sit during the anthem? Nah bruh. Just, nah. By choosing that approach to make your point, you make the point about yourself instead of your point. Did that make sense? More people are talking about Colin Kaepernick sitting during the anthem than they are about police misconduct. He coulda just as easily announced to reporters after the game that he wasn't talking about the game today (see what the WNBA players did?) and instead announce that he wanted an audience to hear him discuss his concerns about some things happening in the country. Simple. He woulda gotten his megaphone, and he wouldn't have gotten the brushback for sitting out the anthem. I swear I need to be working in public relations for someone.

The Blog Is Back From The Dead.

Raise your hand if you've seen that subject before...

Okay, folks. Enough is enough. I've missed the blog, and whether or not you guys are still out there in the ether, this blog still needs to exist, mostly because I have ads that run here and there need to be signs of discernible life for me to keep gettin' that SEO paper I need the outlet to vent. Nope, I won't be turning this into some personal blog where to rant off endlessly about my kids or my wife or my day job or unresolved Daddy Issues (I don't have any, thank you).

Instead, I'll be using this blog to rant endlessly about current events instead. I gave up Twitter cold turkey a few months ago. Subsequently, I just so happened to end up on Twitter the other day to see some young white chick with 100 followers has claimed by mantle. #DontBeFooled #ItAintMe

The format will be different, because it just has to be. I don't have the energy or time to do fullblown posts about individual topics with links, quotes, photos, videos, etc. anymore. I just don't, sorry. In the place of that, I'll probably just riff on 4-5 topics at a time in one post. I hope you'll come back to join the convo. Because I need the traffic to keep selling these ads, I got two kids in private Montessori school, a brotha needs that SEO paper, homie! miss you guys and your opinions on my opinions.

Let's Talk.

Jay

Wednesday, June 8, 2016

Microgaming online casinos

Microgaming online casinos are some of the best that people are going to play anywhere. There's a reason why Microgaming has managed to be the leader in online gaming since 1994, and not just because they showed up at the right place and the right time twenty-two years ago. Microgaming online casinos are constantly updating, with new games released every month and new opportunities for the people who plan on succeeding in this constantly-changing environment. People can go to the Royal Vegas Online Casino website all the time, and it is still never going to be the same website twice.

Microgaming online casinos are still not going to be available to United States players. However, this is largely a consequence of the gambling laws of the United States. Microgaming online casinos could theoretically be open to United States players at some point or another, which is only going to increase the scope and power of Microgaming online casinos further. These are the online casinos that people will try when they're just starting out, and they're also usually going to be the online gaming casinos that people stick with when they're trying to develop further as casino game players.

The web-based instant play games of the Microgaming online casinos were completely new and different at one point. Today, they have become standard in the industry, but it has always been the Microgaming online casinos that started the whole trend, and they have continued to innovate within the trend as well. People are going to have a great experience whether they are playing table games and slot games alone on websites like the https://www.royalvegascasino.com/casino-games/table-games/ website, and they're also going to have a great time with any of the games that require live casino interfaces.

Many people still like the experience of being able to interact with anyone else during their gaming sessions. The live dealer interfaces of the Microgaming online casinos are some of the best that people are going to find anywhere, which is going to drastically enhance the experience. People can go to the https://www.royalvegascasino.com/casino-games/table-games/ website and enjoy lots of different types of gaming experiences, which will allow them to feel as if they are exploring several different casinos all at the same time. Microgaming online casinos might as well be several different casinos all at once, since people can enjoy so many different types of online gaming experiences.

The Royal Vegas Online Casino will represent a lot of what the best of the Microgaming online casinos have to offer. All of the most popular games are going to be found there, at least for the most part. Usually, if there are any gaps in the catalog, these gaps are going to be filled relatively quickly. People go to the Royal Vegas Online Casino website in order to really expand their repertoire after they have become seasoned online casino game players. Microgaming online casinos work at attracting a lot of new players in the first place, and they work just as hard at making sure that they keep seasoned players.

Monday, May 23, 2016

Ex-NBA Player Denied Seat On Train. Racism or Size-ism?!?

Despite electing a black POTUS in 2008, most people with half a brain would tell you we're hardly "postracial". I'm not sure this country ever will be. If it seems like race relations have only gotten worse in America since 2008, you're not alone. Race seems perhaps at the forefront of the collective American consciousness more than any at any point in my (admittedly short) lifetime. My theories are many, but I think the biggest reason is that the media's figured out how to commoditize race for it's benefit. From the Obama election, to the Beer Summit, to the Tea Parties, the slow boil began and culminated with the Trayvon Martin trial. That was the point when media outlets drew clear lines of bias that they're able to monetize each subsequent race-related story through.

Liberal media outlets side with minority victims (perhaps to a fault), while Conservative outlets without fail (with. out. fail.) are already going to side with the white guy (double bonus if he's got a gun!). These are the rules. People on one side are gonna be slandered as having white guilt, those on the other are called racists. And when everyone's a racist, nobody's a racist and everyone's a winner and the ratings (or page views, take your pick) pile right on up. None of these diametrically opposed viewpoints actually addresses why people are inclined to still be racist in 2016, or discuss how the harmful vestiges of slavery, Jim Crow and Lowry's Seasoning Salt (#StayWoke) actually contribute to the helpless situations people in certain communities have to deal with daily manifest themselves, but whatever. Post that racial hot take and watch the numbers pile up.

I couldn't help but think about how much this "run a race story, any race story" phenomenon has become so commonplace in American media when I saw this story in today's Post.
Etan Thomas, a former NBA player who is also a poet, author and activist, was involved in what he said was an ugly racial incident while he was looking for a seat on a crowded train recently.

A white woman on the train took issue with having Thomas, a 6-foot-10 center who spent most of his career with the Washington Wizards and played college ball at Syracuse, sit next to her, though Thomas said she had no problem with a white man who made the same request moments later. Thomas told the story on Facebook:

“I ask this lady if I could sit next to her (very politely and I soften my voice as to not frighten her) and she says someone is sitting here,” he wrote. “So I go to the next seat. Now, less than 2 mins later a man (who happens to be white) asks if he can sit there and she says why sure let me move my stuff.”

Thomas, 38, decided to confront the woman.

“I ask ummmmm did you just not want ME to sit next to you? Were you scared? Not comfortable with a Black Man sitting next to you? And she says lol smh don’t pull the race card stuff with me I dated a Black guy in college.”

At that point, the man sitting next to the woman offered to get up, but Thomas had other ideas. He was taking a photo of her alongside the extremely uncomfortable-looking white man.

“I said no need I’mma just take this pic and make a Facebook post about it. So then she says did you just take a pic of me? Well I’m going to tell the conductor that you’re over here illegally taking pics of ppl without their consent.
I had the pleasure of meeting Thomas a couple of times when he played for the Wizards. He's a thoughtful, incredibly well spoken guy whose intellect separates him from the stereotypical dumb jock NBA player.[1] On the other hand, as someone who's had the pleasure of meeting Thomas a couple of times I can tell you that the man is absolutely gigantic. I mean, seriously, he literally looks like a giant. The dude's feet are the size of cinder blocks. He looks like a cartoon sized version of a real person.

If he was asking to sit in the open seat on my Acela to Penn Station I'd comply because I'd love to hear him tell some off the record stories about the Wizards, and also because he's big enough to kick my ass if I said no. But mostly the former. That said, would he be one uncomfortable assed trip with a 6-10 265 pound man sitting next to me? Prolly? Is it entirely possible that the unnamed white woman in this story is a Heat fan and/or just didn't want to endure the discomfort of sitting next to a man-giant for the next 4 hours? Possibly. We'll never know because she hasn't spoken about this incident (yet).[2]

I don't discount that the woman might have been racist and simply not wanted to sit next to a black man because [insert random inexcusable excuse here]. I've has plenty such incidents of microaggressions where I've been denied a seat at a bar (!), or a preferred table at lunch, or a seat on a train by someone who didn't look like me, only to see someone else who also didn't look like me get that privilege moments later. Hell, I had a woman clutch her purse when she sat next to me on a plane and that was just a few months ago. This is the daily racism that some people just don't get. When this sorta shit happens over the course of 30-40 some years on a semi-regular basis it makes you paranoid, bitter, and yeah, it almost conditions you to expect sh*t to pop off and might even cloud your consciousness to the point that you see things that aren't even there. Having people explicitly tell you that there's no way in the world you coulda possibly seen what you might have possibly seen just makes it even worse.

That's what racism looks like in 2016. And yeah, you're right to call people on their sh*t as Thomas did. You could argue whether or not putting this woman's face online was the right move (I wouldn't have done it personally) but you still need to call people out. Challenge them.

That's the only way things get better.

Question: Was Etan Thomas imagining racism here, or does this sorta thing happen everyday?

[1] I'll just conveniently ignore the fact that Thomas, a very educated man who's written books and poetry is writing on a 4th grade level here. What's that all about, homie?

[2] The ole' "I banged a black guy in college, I can't possibly be racist!" line is the new "Some of my best friends are black". Very classy, ma'am.

Thursday, May 19, 2016

When Did R&B Music Become So Foul-Mouthed?!?

[Editor's Note: Yeah, the blog's back. In a limited capacity, but back nonetheless.]

As a guy now firmly entrenched in his (early) 40's with a wife, 3 kids, a day job and a mortage, I find myself frequently revisiting my youth via the magic of Spotify. While I'm perfectly content listening to what passes for "hip hop" nowadays, I've got the illest 80's and 90's R&B playlists. Sorry, I just can't listen to today's R&B, and I'm not even sure if the genre, on which a rapper is featured more than the singer, even properly qualifies as R&B anymore.

Diet Drake ripoffs like Bryson Tiller and Tory Lanez are what pass for R&B today. Sure, there's still plenty of old man R&B being made that plays on the "grown and sexy" stations in most urban markets, but who wants to hear Keith Washington and Will Downing? Not even me, and I own albums those guys made. So yeah, I just stick with the older stuff, because the newer stuff sucks.

Case in point is many R&B artist's (new?) tendency to talk sh*t and curse. Not that this is anything new. As you purists will surely tell me, R&B singers like Millie Jackson and Clarence Carter have trafficked in low brow, crude content since the 60's. The difference is, those songs, and those artists were always seen as a novelty of sorts. A comical sideshow, not the norm.

Now, you can't listen to a song without being serenaded by curse words and called a "nigga". I just pulled up a random playlist on Spotify and played the first 10 or so songs. Rihanna ("Needed Me"), Tiller ("Exchange"), Tinashe ("Ride Of Your Life"), Chris Brown ("Back To Sleep"), Lanez ("Say It"), and Eric Bellinger ("Valet") all had the same recurring themes of sex, cheating, revenge and retaliation with enough curse words to make Samuel Jackson blush. If a generation of black kids are being raised on this sorta sh*t, what chance do we have to flourish as a people?

#BlackEarsMatter

By comparison, a random song from my 90's playlist, Monifah's "I Miss You", sounds like a relic of another era. Which is sorta is. And I like that. A lot.

You youngsters can keep that ratchet sh*t. I'll stick with my oldies.

Question: Do I have any valid points about how awful today's R&B music is, or do I just sound like the suburban soccer dad I've morphed into?

Monday, March 28, 2016

Do supporters of Online Poker and Internet Gambling Want Trump in the White House?

Does anyone want Donald Trump to be the next US President? It would appear so, oddly enough. There’s no doubt that he he’s been super successful as a business man with an estimated fortune in excess of $5 Billion – and anywhere up to $9 Billion, depending on your source.

Even with his business success, could the American people really vote in someone with his personality traits? I would love to say this could never happen however he has support – and more than anyone could have guessed he would be able to drum up. Whilst he has the intelligence of former presidents, any positive characteristics he shares are so exaggerated, they often come across offensive, lacking in respect and non-credible. Whether he will make it all the way, remains to be seen. The bookies certainly have their views. They have Clinton as their favorite at close to 70%, with Trump trailing with 20%.

So where does online gaming sit on the political spectrum and more importantly, is Donald Trump a supporter of legalizing online poker and online gaming?

Back in 2011 Trump made it clear to Forbes that he was a supporter of the internet game and that ‘it was about time for the United States to collect the revenue that online gambling could provide’. He has stated more recently that he look to turn things round. He estimated that some $40 Million would be lost over a 10 year period and was keen to keep that money inside US borders. Not a surprising stance from a man in his shoes. But as he clearly is an advocate of online gambling, is this gaining him support? Almost certainly it is, however many of the forums suggest that as much as they want the like likes of online poker back in the US, it's not enough to give Trump their vote.

When we consider gambling institutions such as those who run poker rooms online, they obviously want the US traffic back. Those that were around in 2011 when the online poker community was shaken up (known as Black Friday), took a real hit in terms of traffic, with the knock on loss of the US market. Whilst this might not be enough to openly state support for Trump, it would be a massive boost for their businesses. For the average man and woman, the temptation of legalizing online gaming could certainly swing a vote - combined with the fact that Trump is seen as a breath of fresh air by many due to his unorthodox 'say it as you see it' approach.

For many outside of the US who see the US as having a big part to play in both the global economy and the global peace effort, they have a different view. We all know that at time, politicians seem to give us the same old party line nonsense. From that perspective I can understand why a man who just tells it as he sees it could be seen as a breath of fresh air - but not one running for the White House.

Trump might be able to make gains in the US economy - after all he is an astute business man. But how could faith be put in a man who is in favour for a complete shutdown of Muslims entering the United States? If you heard someone in power saying ‘it really doesn’t matter what the media write as long as you’ve got a young, and beautiful, piece of ass’ or ‘It’s freezing and snowing in New York – we need global warming!’, you would be concerned - and rightly so.

These are not the views you would want coming out the mouth of the world’s most powerful man. A man that would play a massive part in world stabilisation and global warming efforts, to name a few. It wasn't all plain sailing for Trump. When asked about his numerous bankruptcies and how that affected him, he replied "I came out great, but I guess I'm supposed to come out great. That's what I'm supposed to do for the country," he said. "We owe $19 trillion. Boy, am I good at solving debt problems. Nobody can solve it like me."

One way to tackle the debt problem is to step back as a key player in maintaining global stabilisation and fighting the war on terror, all of which costs the US a lot of money. Would he legalize online gambling? Quicker than you could ask the question, if he had his way. His obsession with money may be good for the economy however people in power need to be able to see past the dollar sign at times. Many of the things the US does might not be good for their underlying balance sheet but it is good globally. Could a man obsessed with money be able to take a lead with this responsibility? Possibly a big ask for your average billionaire.

Wednesday, March 23, 2016

What Happened To This Blog?!?

Greetings and salutations to the tens of you who might someday stumble across this, if only by your RSS reader. As you might gather from the relative lack of new postings here, the blog is for all intents and purposes a wrap. GoDaddy renewed the domain name the other day, so at the bare minimum AverageBro.com will still come up when/if you choose to type it in your browser window for another couple of years, but for the most part, this blog's finished. It's been an 8+ year, 3506 post ride, and I loved every moment of it, but it was just time to take the the old mutt to a secluded field in the country and put him down gently.

The reasons are plenty, but the overriding one is time. I simply don't have it anymore. I have three quickly growing kids, a day job that's more brainwave consuming by the day, and a wife who appreciates that I not use the little free time and energy I have after all of that on people who aren't physically in our home. There's also the small matter of online conversations shifting to Twitter over the past few years, that make the relatively outdated mode of blogs and comments a bit anachronistic. If that $3 word throws you for a loop, sorry. It's my HBCU education speaking.

Of course, I'm not dropping off the cyber universe. Since this blog will still be live, I'll undoubtedly throw something up here from time to time because I have paid ads on those sidebars and have no choice because I still value you guys opinions. Does this contradict everything I said in the prior paragraph? Yeah, prolly. But whatever.

Play on App stores Monster Brain Studios

I guess since this is a quasi goodbye, I should that everyone who made this blog what it was, because without an audience a blogger is just some dude who leaves his personal journal on a park bench. Ya'll made this what it was, and I thank you because while it did last, this blog opened some incredible doors and gave me some lifetime experiences I'll never forget. None of that happens without pagecounts, and ya'll delivered. Preciate that.

Thanks to The Uppity Negro, RiPPA, CJames, Spool32, VLatte, EBW, Marbles, Mwatuangi, Cinderfella Daeda Daedalus, Ciara, Shady Grady, rozb, Antonio, SKTheKid, Lavern, The Janitor, Just_Lena, JD, TwoNuse and everyone else who was here over the years. If I missed your name, sorry. Thanks anyway.

Two fingers,

Jay

Fear Of A Robot Planet.

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