Like fine wine, The O’Jays just get better with age. Drawing on their past experiences and remembering the lessons taught by legends such as the late great choreographer Cholly Adkins, who taught the members of the group the importance of showmanship and how to execute their steps while still delivering their songs, the members of the O’Jays are more active than ever.
There have been “four faces” of The O’Jays. The vocal group was formed in Canton, Ohio by Eddie Levert, Sr., Walter Williams, Sr., William Powell, Bobby Massey and Bill Isles. The group was named after Cleveland DJ Eddie O’Jay. Bill Isles left the group in 1965 and Bobby Massey left in 1971 to become a record producer, leaving Eddie Levert, Walter Williams and William Powell to continue as a trio.
Rik, you’re up!
my 2 cents are in
Ex-NBA star coaches middle school, transforms his ‘hood
By Wayne Drash, CNN
updated 6:44 AM EDT, Sat May 4, 2013
Editor’s note: This is an edited excerpt from Wayne Drash’s upcoming book “On These Courts,” which documents former NBA all-star Penny Hardaway’s return to his Memphis roots to help a friend with cancer coach at-risk youth. The book, which is released Tuesday by Simon and Schuster, started as a story on CNN.com.
(CNN) — The boys of Lester Middle dripped with sweat. They raced up and down the court, doing layup drills. The orange glow of the fluorescent gym lights flashed off the hardwoods. Coach Desmond Merriweather barked out signals.
“Y’all ain’t hustling enough,” said Merriweather, who was in the throes of battling stage IV colon cancer.
At the far end of the court, former NBA all-star Penny Hardaway peeked his head in the door. None of the kids noticed. He and Desmond decided that Penny would show up and surprise the sixth-, seventh- and eighth-graders.
As the players continued to run the court, Penny kept peeping his head in and out of the black metal doors until finally breaking into their practice.
Some of the boys instantly recognized him from a charity game two nights before and sprinted toward him.
But the two best players, Reggie Green and Robert Washington, trailed behind. They weren’t sure who the 6-foot-7 guy with the trimmed goatee was.
Coach Penny provides tips to Reggie Green. Under Penny\’s leadership, Reggie\’s game improved along with his grades.
Coach Penny provides tips to Reggie Green. Under Penny’s leadership, Reggie’s game improved along with his grades.
Reggie was the team’s affable star, outgoing, talkative and smooth. A 6-foot-3 power forward, the 14-year-old could outmuscle most teams with his sheer size. He could dominate in the post or use his finesse to pull up on a 15-foot jumper.
His grandfather was Antoine Richardson, who helped mentor Penny in his youth. Basketball served as Reggie’s escape, his refuge away from street life and his mess of a home life. His father had been imprisoned 700 miles away in North Carolina months before. As with many serious offenses, the people of Binghampton — the rough and dangerous neighborhood where Penny grew up — have collective amnesia when it comes to specific charges: something about a high-speed chase, his car might’ve struck an officer, he might’ve resisted arrest — you know, ordinary stuff. He also beat Reggie severely before being captured, hurting the boy as much mentally as physically.
His father had been a huge boost for him the previous season, a mainstay at basketball games, and now Reggie’s world was shattered. Nicknamed Taz, his father turned into the Tasmanian Devil in the stands, so wild and crazy he spun around dancing with joy after each basket his son scored.
Taz would race from the stands and sprint alongside Reggie each trip up the court. In his view, Ji — as he called his son — could do no wrong. Taz would shout Ji’s name so loud it would bounce off the hardwood floors and through the cavernous gym. “Give it to ’em, Ji!” Taz shouted. And Ji lapped it up. He’d pound his chest after a made basket, point to his heart and back at Taz. It was a way of showing his dad how much he loved him. Taz hadn’t been there for most of Reggie’s upbringing and had only returned to Binghampton because he was trying to avoid arrest. He lived the life of a gangsta and had never dreamed Ji could get his family out of the ghetto the clean way, by playing ball. But when Dez took his son under his wing, Taz saw big lights and an NBA future for his boy.
But the blue and red lights of the police caught up with him.
http://www.cnn.com/2013/05/04/us/penny-hardaway-on-these-courts-excerpt/index.html?hpt=hp_c1
That’s the ticket! Rik, check your email, please. Thanks!
Kolaches anyone? :)
YUMMY Thanks!
What’s up with the NYT article on the Pickford Farmers, characterizing them as receiving handouts/welfare?
Hating!
After 30 years, Nurney Mason retires from the House barbershop
By Michael Laris,
May 04, 2013 02:34 AM EDT
The Washington PostPublished: May 3
Nurney Mason cut Tip O’Neill’s thick, white head of hair. For decades, he’s been giving Charlie Rangel a trim. John Conyers Jr. would sometimes come by twice in a single day just to fix anything that wasn’t quite right.
On Friday, after three decades tidying up the titans of Congress and their underlings, Mason stood behind his barber’s chair in the basement of the Rayburn House Office Building for a final few customers: Capitol Police Sgt. George McCree got a Temple Taper. Shoeshine man Al Bolden had an Even All Over. Simon Baugher, an assistant to Rep. Lois Frankel (D-Fla.), got the sides short.
“People come and go through these offices and the Hill,” Baugher said. But the barbers “are the ones that have the staying power.”
Mason’s first day on the job was May 3, 1983, which made Friday his 30th anniversary. It was supposed to be the perfect moment for a goodbye celebration. But one of Mason’s twin daughters, Faye, died unexpectedly Wednesday after being hospitalized Sunday with pneumonia. When his wife called him with the news of Faye’s death, Mason kept driving toward Capitol Hill and showed up for work in Room B323 — just as he always had.
“I felt I’d be better around people, you know, being here where I’m used to being,” said Mason, who rose from a life of labor on a Virginia peanut farm to a job that last year had him sharing an early Father’s Day soul food lunch with President Obama.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/local/trafficandcommuting/after-30-years-house-barber-nurney-mason-sets-his-shears-and-clippers-aside/2013/05/03/c2d6e4d2-b41b-11e2-9a98-4be1688d7d84_story.html?wpisrc=nl_headlines
The Kentucky Derby is today. Who’s your pick?
When: 6:20 p.m. today
Where: Louisville, Ky.
TV: NBC
Kentucky Derby notebook: Long shot takes Kentucky Oaks
http://www.dispatch.com/content/stories/sports/2013/05/04/long-shot-takes-kentucky-oaks.html
Kevin Krigger & GOLDENCENTS! Thread’s coming up!
ArgoJournal
@CharlesMBlow NYC Poll on Stop & Frisk Police Practice:
Approve / Disapprove
Whites: 59% / 35%
Blacks: 24% / 72%
http://t.co/Ymi9qwkQIn
Appears the 2520s aren’t getting stopped and frisked, and don’t mind if the colored are!
uh huh
uh huh
Prosecutor Behind Kiera Wilmot Arrest Filed No Charges For White Teen Who Killed Little Brother
by Rania Khalek on May 2, 2013
It turns out that Assistant State Attorney Tammy Glotfelty does not prosecute juveniles equally.
On Monday, April 23, Glotfelty told the Barlow Police Department to charge 16-year-old high school honors student Kiera Wilmot with two felonies for conducting a botched science experiment. Wilmot mixed a household toilet cleaner with aluminum in an 8 oz. plastic bottle, causing the top to pop and some smoke to rise. The police report states that Wilmot was charged with two felonies at the behest of Glotfelty:
I THEN CONTACTED ASSISTANT STATE ATTORNEY TAMMY GLOTFELTY VIA TELEPHONE. I ADVISED A.S.A GLOTFELTY OF THE CIRCUMSTANCES OF THE CASE AND SHE ADVISED THIS OFFICER TO FILE THE CHARGES OF, POSSESSING OR DISCHARGING WEAPONS OR FIREARMS AT A SCHOOL SPONSORED EVENT OR ON SCHOOL PROPERTY F.S.S. 790.115 (1) AND MAKING, POSSESSING, THROWING, PROJECTING, PLACING, OR DISCHARGING ANY DESTRUCTIVE DEVICE F.S.S. 790.161 (A).
This makes Glotfelty sound like a hard-ass who over-prosecutes. Yet just two days later, Glotfelty announced that 13-year-old Taylor Richardson would not face charges for shooting and killing his 10-year-old brother, Skyler, with a BB gun.
In a letter to the Polk County Sheriff’s Department, Glotfelty wrote, ”Our office has considered this case, keeping in mind that (Taylor) is 13 years of age and is a student at Roosevelt Academy.”
“After a thorough review of the facts, available to our office at this time, it is our opinion that this case can only be seen as a tragic accident,” added Glotfelty.
Tayler and Skyler were shooting what they believed were empty BB guns at one another. However, Taylor’s gun had a BB in it, which struck Skyler in the head while they were playing. Skyler died a week later.
I agree with Glotfelty’s choice not to prosecute Taylor Richardson for what was clearly an accident. But her decision is telling when compared with the harsh treatment dished out to Kiera Wilmot, whose misguided science experiment caused no harm or damage to anyone or anything.
Glotfelty was clear that she took 13-year-old Taylor’s age into account when deciding whether to prosecute. In stark contrast, 16-year-old Kiera is being charged as an adult, which raises the question: Why aren’t Kiera’s actions viewed through the same lens of childhood innocence and naiveté as Taylor’s?
Furthermore, young Skyler died on March 20, one week after he was shot in the head by his brother. That means Glotfelty spent over a month examining the case before making a determination about whether to prosecute Taylor. Conversely, Kiera’s treatment was quite the opposite. As soon as Glotfelty received word from police about Kiera’s actions, she wasted no time deciding to prosecute to fullest extent of the law.
The Polk County Attorney’s Office would not respond to requests for comment because they say the case is still under investigation.
So, what explains the disparity? Well, the most glaring distinction between Kiera and Taylor (aside from three years in age) is their race: Kiera is black and Taylor is white.
Is Glotfelty racist? I don’t know, but her actions are in keeping with the overall racial disparities that plague the criminal justice system and school-to-prison pipeline.
http://raniakhalek.com/2013/05/02/prosecutor-behind-kiera-wilmot-arrest-filed-no-charges-for-white-teen-who-killed-little-brother/
YES GLOTFELTY IS RACIST.
Good morning, everyone! Enjoy your Saturday.
It’s cool but sunny here.
Good Morning, Everyone :)
Good Morning, Everyone! :-) Totally enjoying the Ojays this week.