Whoa

There is so much that gets lost on the internet. I constantly wonder what I created however many years ago that remains to this day but that I have forgotten about. Is there someone obsessively collecting and hoarding the things that make up my digital footprint? Take this blog for instance; I haven't posted anything in years but yet it remains. Even getting the log in information to access it was a trial (albeit a relatively short trial - now I know brysonblog@gmail.com is the appropriate email for this). The amount of internet garbage I have contributed probably isn't too damning, but it's crazy how quickly I move on. One day I hope someone is able to make it possible to see your full internet life. Every post, every comment, every like, every site created, every email address you supposedly own, all combined into a complete "internet you." Maybe some things are better left in the muck and the mire of the vastness of the Internet.

The Education Gap: Does It Really Matter?

In preparation for an interview for a program that will change my life and get me on the track to becoming a teacher (which is probably why I'm so nervous for it), I had to read a November 2010 article about the education/achievement gap between students of color and Asian and white students. This is not a problem lost on me, just a problem that I feel has received too much misguided attention and thought.

Yes, there is a problem, especially when you consider that the gap was widened over the years. Access should be at an all-time high and rising, but one group is improving while the other plateaus or even regresses. However, back to the article; it discussed potential race- and ethnicity-conscious strategies that, when implemented, would help alievate the achievement gap. And I thought most of it was nonsense. It is important to acknowledge the achievement gap and to brainstorm ideas and methodologies to close this gap, but concentrating on the gap and. Of the students that make up this gap does these students a disservice. That being said, before these race- and ethnicity-conscious strategies can be developed, tested and implememnted, it is more imperative that both educators and administrators identify their own personal biases.

As a person of color that has had success in academics, I find myself in an odd position. Though I cannot relate to these students of color in their academic struggles, I can identify in the obstacles that exist for students of color in academia.

In case you forgot

I really have no idea how many people actually have seen or regularly read my blog, but since I don't get paid for readership numbers - who cares? I've been slacking on my posting so hard that I wouldn't be surprised if that has "cost" me followers. Oh well, tough titty.

I think I'm going to treat this more as an online journal, even though I think LiveJournal from the early 2000s was created specifically for that. But it's 2011 and we're 2 months from 2012. The internet is so full of content, if someone does happen to come upon this site, who really cares what's on here or if I update it regularly. In case you forgot (I know I did), we're just ordinary people. S/o to John Legend.

The Problem with Faces (no strip club)

At its purest, a face is a pretty simple thing. There's the eyes, the nose, the mouth, the ears and the chin. Then you can take skin color and other modifications (facial hair styling, glasses/contacts, makeup, tattoos [shout-out to Mike Tyson, Gucci Mane and Soulja Boy] and piercings) into account. So all in all, the face isn't very complicated. But as is commonplace with humans, something that appears simple is the exact opposite. Proof that the human face is complex, unfortunate-looking people. This isn't to say that these people had any choice on the features that make up their faces, but it is amazing how some of these combinations have gone so wrong. If anything, it makes me more thankful that I was blessed with a good combination of eyes, a nose, a mouth and ears (thanks Mom and Dad for those good genes) and have been fortunate to make the right choices when it comes to the modificatione I've chosen to make.

It is just a crazy thing that something as important as a face can cause someone so much trouble and is something that a person has no control over. If you've got a good face, enjoy it. If you don't have a good face, make sure you have lots of money.

A New List of Exciting Things

I am glad that no matter how weird my life looks or feels, I have people and things to make me happy.

• USC Football (Home Opener this Saturday - FREE BEER!!!)
• Las Vegas for the first time in a long time
• my 23rd birthday
• Mike Stefani and my brother for a weekend
• iOS 5 in the next few months
• LA Conservation Corps, my co-workers, my kids
• Bowie
• the sneaking suspicion and feeling that my life is about to get exponentially better than I can imagine
• Yvette Marie Gauff, my wonderful mother

Love you Mum

The throwback dilemma

On my way to work today I saw a guy wearing a navy blue LeBron James Cavs jersey. And seeing this winner got me things about a few things. 1) Is that man the only person in Anerica still proud to be rocking a James Cavs jersey after "The Decision" and 2) Let's say LeBron eventually fulfills his potential and becomes the GBPOAT (Greatest Basketball Player of All-Time with the Miami Heat or some other team, what jersey will become his iconic throwback? Question #1 really doesn't need to be answered, but question #2 got me thinking.

First we have to assume that throwback jerseys will still be a desirable commodity in the future, I think it has to be at least another 15-20 years in the future before it'll be time to really look back at LeBron's career. But yeah, people still want jerseys from their favorite players from yesteryear. For a player like LeBron, who came in with so much fanfare and expectations, but lived up to almost all of them, it seems like the legend of the Chosen One should be celebrated. But let's say that LeBron finally wins a ring with another team and goes on to mark his places in the annals of NBA history with them, does this team become his most famous jersey? I would think the LeBron James dilemma is probably the most difficult of any current player because he switched teams, but has so much back history with the first one.

Thinking about LeBron James got me thinking about my favorite player in the NBA, Kobe Bryant of the Los Angeles Lakers. He won 3 championships in the early 2000s and was part of the most dominating duo in NBA history as #8, but after some legal troubles and wanting a new start he went to his high school number, 24. Kobe goes on to win 2 more NBA championships, puts his name up with the greatest Lakers of all-time (he's considered the greatest in some circles) and is continuing his climb up the all-time scoring list. But what is more important, his time as a champion as #8 as part of a dynamic duo, or his time as "the man" and possible NBA pantheon guy as #24? I guess what makes the Kobe situation easier is that he has only played for one team his whole career and I think there are so many good memories for each that both #8 and #24 will be acceptable throwbacks down the road. But what number do the Lakers retire?

We Suck but it's Shaq's ex-wife's fault

It's funny that my blog started with a teribble show (Jon & Kaye Plus 8), but thank the Lord that America will never stop producing terrible television, if anything America has started making even worse television. VH1's Basketball Wives, the apparent brainchild of former basketball wife Shaunie O'Neal (the former Mrs. Diesel, not Vin, Shaq Diesel), has taken the pole position as the worst show on TV. First, there is only one current basketball wife on the show and she is married to Speedy Claxton. He's far from the most famous husband, ex-husband, boyfriend or baby's daddy from the collection of men that these women have ran through, but kudos to Speedy and Meeka for keeping it together. Second, their popularity is derived from their checkered dating past and America's stupid obsession with reality TV (although BW is more scripted reality TV than actually reality, but when you have that many bitchy minority women in a group, it's hard to tell the difference). All in all, BW is something that I am ashamed that I have watched twice and truly wish that it will be taken off the air. But since it's already in its second season and will be spreading to the West Coast (same formula, only one true wife, the ever-crazy Mrs. Doug Christie), I don't see much of a reprieve.

This is why America sucks...BW is worse than big portion sizes, Rosanne Barr and Carl Lewis singing the National Anthem and the proliferation of juvenile obesity combined for America. And it is all Shaunie O'Neal's fault. But I guess it makes it Kobe Bryant's fault since he had some hand in putting Shaq's alleged infidelities out there, but Kobe can do no wrong by me, so it's Shaunie O'Neal's fault.