The World Without You

I just finished reading the book The World Without Us, by Alan Weisman, for the second time. It's not often that I read a new book twice, back to back, but this one needed it. It's one of the deepest books I've read in a long time, and it took me a couple readings to really understand where he was going. Once I did that, the book became even more incredible.

The premise of the book is to imagine a world without human life... not from the beginning of time, but from right now. Imagine if people somehow vanished from Earth. What would happen to the planet? That question is what Weisman answers throughout. Clearly, the book is entirely hypothesis... BUT the "answers" are based on Weisman's vast scientific background, as well as the research provided by others. In answering the question, he wonders about species of plants and animals that are extinct, close to extinct, and currently in perfect condition. He wonders about the decomposition of man-made materials and infrastructure. He takes into account global warming and even a belief in God/s. I HIGHLY recommend the book to anyone who is interested in books based on theory and research.

That said, after reading the book, I went off in a different direction. What would the world be like without ME? The answer is a pretty far reaching one, and I'll blog about that another time. But think about this for a minute...

What would the world be like without YOU?

Most of the time, people think about what they'd like to do with their lives, but not many people think about how their own personal stamp on the world would be felt if they no longer existed. So think for a minute... think about all of the people you have met; your job; your dreams; your kids, family, and friends; the things you have already done in your life...

If you were to just disappear tomorrow and life continued with the things you have done but without your presence and project that out... what would the world that you left be like? What would happen to all of the things listed above if you were no longer here? How would your personal stamp on the planet look tomorrow? 1-5 years from now? 10 years? 50-100 years? When thinking about this, try to have some fun with it!

Feel free to comment on this one. I'm still digesting this...

Oh yeah... for more information on the author and the book, click the link/s below.

http://www.worldwithoutus.com/index2.html

http://www.worldwithoutus.com/did_you_know.html

My Weird Co-Worker (When Cheating Isn't Cheating??)

So yesterday was the second day of my new job. I have two co-workers who talk a lot, which is good. However, one talks too much about things most people wouldn't talk about to someone they have known for just a couple hours.

For the sake of conversation, we'll call the co-workers Myra and MB. I'm sitting at my desk, and I hear Myra talking to MB. I'm not paying a bit of attention to the conversation... I'm off in my own world studying some finance documents. Then I hear Myra saying my name... once... then twice... I figured she didn't realize I was ignoring her, so I turned around after the third time. Then she tells me that she feels like she needs to tell me something, so I can understand conversations and I don't think she's a total hooch. (Yes, she said hooch. But MB says words like "anywhooski," so I'm numb to that sh*t already).

Myra continues and tells me that her husband has two kids, age 15 and 11, that live in Honduras. Lately, he has been expressing a strong desire to go back to Honduras. Because of this desire, along with his lack of interest in having any more kids, the two are going through an annullment (they're Catholic). Now this is where it gets weird.

She goes on to say that even though they are getting divorced, they are still really good friends that live together. So since they are good friends, she's seeing other people and currently has a boyfriend. Her husband doesn't know she has a boyfriend, and she is NEVER going to tell him that she has one. But she has one nonetheless.

So I was a little ummmm... surprised by this. And of course, I have questions. My first one is if she has a boyfriend, and she's living with her husband, what do they do when they wanna get down. But since I don't know her like that, I didn't ask her. But I did ask her if she thought it was cheating, and she said no. She said it's not cheating, because even though they live together and are still married, they aren't together. And because they aren't together, it's not cheating even if it's happening under his nose.

So I'm biting my tongue so hard it's starting to bleed. I stop biting and ask her a question. "Since you're seeing someone, it's okay for him to start doing his thing too, right?"

She looks me dead in the eye and says "If he started seeing someone else, I'd probably kill him."

I turned back to my computer and focused my attention elsewhere.

Yeah...

So basically, she acknowledged she's still in a relationship, but happily is involved with someone else. She took a lot of time to say why it's not cheating, but also said that she wouldn't tolerate that from her guy. And she's known me for two working days. And she told me that so that I wouldn't think she was a hooch when she was talking about a guy other than hubby.

Wow.

Maybe I'm old-fashioned at the ripe old age of 30. But....

If it takes you more than 3 minutes to put together a "logical" explanation of why it's not cheating, it's cheating.

If you feel like you have to hide some shit from your significant other that happened while you were with your significant other, it's cheating.

If you wouldn't allow your significant other to do the same sh*t you're doing, it's cheating.

Am I wrong on this? Does this girl have some serious issues, or am I too old-school?

On top of that, would you tell a co-worker that you don't know from a can of paint some sh*t like that??

Today was my third day at work, and I already know this is going to be interesting.

My 80s (Throwback)

There was a show that I saw on TV not too long ago that was talking about the music that defined a decade. It was definitely one of the more interesting shows, as music makes my world go around. However, I did notice something that didn't seem completely correct...

I was born in 1978. That means that I pretty much grew up in the 80s. The show said that the 80s were defined by Cindi Lauper, Madonna, The Bengals, the B-52s. Neon clothes and big hair defined the styles used in videos. All of it, to be sure, did define part of the 80s.

But not my 80s.

What do I mean?

I think I was meant to be an 80s rapper. That's what I mean.
See, while the show focused on the music that was playing in the burbs, my friends and I were wearing running suits and tennis shoes with no laces in them. When I was in elementary school, I used to hang with a bunch of dudes that called themselves the FMC (long story). Our "crew" had four people. Me, Duane, Cebo, and David. David used to carry a big platform. Cebo carried the boombox on his shoulder, and I carried the bag full of D batteries. Duane was the one with the jheri curl that could dance better than any of us. We'd walk up and down the street layin out the platform and trying to out-breakdance each other. And every now and then, other crews would want to battle. At the end of the day, we'd either win or lose, then learn or teach some new moves to the other crews. I really didn't have coordination to do any "choreography" but the moves I could do, no one could do it better. The backspin and the windmill. I could do them all day without throwing up. I could get my body to jump a foot off the ground in the middle of a spin. I was the KING of those moves.

The music that was coming out of our boombox? It sure as hell wasn't Peter Gabriel or The Police. Nothing against them. Try Cool J. Afrika Bambaata. Ice-T. Run DMC. Beastie Boys. As terrible as they may be, we spent most of our time copying the moves we saw on Krush Groove, Beat Street, and Breakin (and of course, Breakin 2: Electric Boogaloo). That's the music that defined us. That's the music that defined our generation. That's the music that isn't counted as part of the 80s generation - rather, it's seen as a subtext and categorized ONLY as old school rap.

I'll admit that I'm so much a part of the 80s rap scene, that I can't stop listening now. I mean I can go to a club and get my groove on to pretty much anything they play. But when I get back in my car, I'm popping in a Cool J or Run DMC CD. Seriously. That's the music I connect to. I'm okay with Jay Z. But I'm REALLY down with Grandmaster Flash, or Doug E Fresh. I don't care about Sean John clothes, but give me a Kangol and four finger ring and I'll rock that all day and night!

Now excuse me while I go outside with some Eric B and Rakim. Time to take some suckas to school.

Why I'm Worried About Barack

Sorry it's been a while since the last blog. Some things have been going on that have kept me off the pages. However, I do have a few thoughts, and I'm not sure if they are shared.

We're still high on Barack Obama being the presumptive nominee (it's the same title that McCain has right now). And with very good reason. He's the first black dude to get the spot. He's been a hell of a uniter since he hit the campaign trail a while ago. He brings a lot of energy and common sense that the administration has been lacking.

But I'm worried about him. Seriously.

My biggest concern is his safety. The country has a tendency to rid itself of our great black leaders. I don't think I even have to go into names here. Barack is now the face of the Democratic party, and, while he has a lot of support across the country, he has to battle against a bunch of people who would rather not see him there. Just like our other black leaders. I think we have come pretty d*mn far to get him his seat at the table, but his seat should come with a bulletproof vest and extra security guards too. That might seem a little dramatic, but we have never had anyone in this position. And when black leaders get close... so I'm worried.

I'm also worried that he gets to deal with the "first" syndrome. Here's what I mean by that. Say Obama gets elected as President. He'll officially be the first black President. Well, if you're the first black anything, you have to be more successful than just about everyone that came before you. In his case, he has to fix Iraq, the economy, education, and health care. He has to do that where a good portion of the administration and country may not be interested in supporting him. If he can do it, that will be great. He will have cleaned up one of the biggest messes in recent history. But if he can't, that would likely mean that no black person would get elected president for the next fifty years after that. Would you really want to carry weight that heavy? Is he up for that task? Or am I being overly dramatic again?

Is he really up for the job? Is the guy who was once defeated for a House of Representatives spot and a current rookie on Capitol Hill really up for the job?

Don't get me wrong. I am definitely supportive of him. But I'm worried.