Testostermobile

The MinuteCynic is a new man. For the past 10 days, I've had the pure pleasure of having the ultimate in manly motoring taking up residence in my garage.  Yes, it's the pickup truck, the working man's best friend and the cowboy chariot.  Sure, sports cars are cute and all, but a guy drives a Corvette because he's trying to look like a man.  Dudes drive trucks because they ARE men.  Big difference.


What's the big deal you ask?  I would have asked the same question 2 weeks ago when I borrowed my father-in-law's motorized beast of burden.  I've had some projects around the yard that needed attention, and my recent frugal attitude has made me quite the do-it-yourselfer.   2 weeks ago I was a mere timid overgrown boy, thinking: perhaps I can maybe shuffle some dirt around the yard, if it's not too much of a bother.  But after I summoned all my courage and asked my wife to ask her dad if I could use his truck, everything changed.


I will never forget the moment he smiled and tossed me the keys frowned and asked me if I knew how to drive a stick, to which I replied that I did, and then he smiled and tossed me the keys proceeded to give me a lengthy lecture on the delicate intricacies of a manual transmission.  Comforted by my attentive gaze and affirmative bobbleheading to all his questions, he then smiled and tossed me the keys commanded that I check the tire pressure regularly and broke down the required procedure in such a way that my frail, kindergarten-like mind could somewhat grasp the concept.  With a deep sigh, he finally smiled and tossed me the keys reluctantly allowed me to wrestle his truck keys from his firm and meaty grip.


**In keeping with the strict regulations contained in FIBA (the much-ignored Fairness In Blogging Act) I'm compelled to reveal that I have been involved in several very strange accidents in my life.  None of these were my fault of course, but unfortunately, a couple of them did take place in my father-in-law's vehicles.  Weird huh?


Listen, the minute I sat behind the wheel of this dude machine, I was instantly ushered into a higher consciousness of manhood.  Suddenly, there wasn't much I couldn't do anymore.  What to do with all the bushes Wonder Woman (my super-awesome wife) dug up and stashed behind the house?  Toss 'em in the truck and haul 'em over to the dump.  How are we ever gonna grow mammoth leafy greens in the garden this summer?  Why, I think a load of compost in the truck oughta do 'er.   The flower beds need  a yard o' black dirt? Lemme git over there to the landscape supply and have the boys in the yard dump a scoop 'er two right in the back there, and watch out for mah tool box son.  You best believe the dude driving the bobcat looked me square in the eye when he told me to come on back and he'll hit me with another scoop.  Nobody looks you in the eye when you have to ask if delivery is available.  Nobody.


There's a whole new level of respect people have when you pull up in a truck.  Obviously you're a man who's about the business of hard work.  I mean, look at all the stuff in the back.  You're really doin' stuff.  Plus, there's nothing like the nod you get from a fellow pickup truck dude - or even better, the 1 finger wave.   Go ahead, try a 1 finger wave in your Camry, and see what happens.  Nothing, that's what.


Being a pickup man means having to endure the envious looks from the non truck guys too.  I see you there Mr. I-gotta-shovel-my-dirt-into-5-gallon-pails-'cuz-my-wife-will-yell-if-one-speck-gets-on-the-carpet-of-her-2004-Chevy-Malibu.  I also see you, the how-the-heck-am-I-gonna-get-this-lawnmower-in-the-trunk-of-my-Prius guy.  I felt your shame when you had to ask the guys at Home Depot to please cut your shelves into 3 foot sections so you could get 'em home.  Truck dudes take their lumber whole and cut it at home with power tools.  In fact, whyn't ya gimme that 8.. naw, 10 footers'll do just right.  I'll just toss 'em right here in the truck.  No sweat.  A pickup man doesn't gloat in others' envy though.  That ain't manly.  A truck dude just takes his cargo and hits the road.  After all, he's got stuff to do.


This all sounds a little bit over the top, I know.  I can't explain it, but its all true.  You just feel different in a truck as your manstincts (man-instincts) begin to activate.  For example, I needed to head up north to get myself a load of firewood, and I just knew the right soundtrack for the trip included some Allman Brothers.  I started wondering if all the truck stuff was going to my head until my baby boy starts bobbing his head and singing the track.  Until you've heard your 19-month old KILL it on Midnight Rider well, you just ain't had him in a truck.  I started to doubt my manstincts theory later that night when I had my oldest son in the truck to pick up some lumber and he was talking nonstop about Harry Potter and wizardry or some not-that-manly stuff.  But later, when I took him to get some ice cream, he walks out of the store without skipping a beat, opens the tailgate and hops up into the truck bed.  Then, chewing on his spoon with a faraway look in his eyes he says: "Yeah dad, this night was pretty ok."   That right there is something a truck guy says...


After a week like that, it was no surprise when I informed Wonder Woman that we're gonna be getting a truck sometime in the near future, and there were no objections.  No doubt, WW digs my swagger 7 days a week, but she was for sure enjoying how I made that truck ride low with landscape supplies.  Ladies don't mind a little sweat when its mixed with the scent of sawdust, deck stain, and a little charcoal  Trust me on this.


I hope we get that truck soon, 'cuz I got stuff to do, like finish up my kids' sandbox.  In the meantime, here's hoping my man at the landscape yard still looks me in the eye when I roll up in my 4-door, midsize family sedan with an above-average safety rating, and ask if delivery is available.

Sound Quality Vs. Convenience?

Joseph Plambeck writes an interesting article in the May 9th New York Times about the idea that the current technological age hasn't done much to support sound quality in music.  He touches on a few pretty key points:


 - Major advances have taken place in recent years to improve the fan experience in most media formats except music.  No doubt digital music has completely broken the music industry wide open, but whereas TV's, Blue Ray, home theater, etc. has revolutionized the movie experience as it relates to quality, digital music has merely made listening to music more convenient.


 - Portability has transformed the music listening experience.  Do people listen - actually listen to music as an experience in and of itself anymore.  I do, but is it common?


 - Music has increasing become more song focused rather than artist or album focused. I don't feel it's necessarily a bad thing...

With the rise of digital music, fans listen to fewer albums straight through. Instead, they move from one artist’s song to another’s. Pop artists and their labels, meanwhile, shudder at the prospect of having their song seem quieter than the previous song on a fan’s playlist.

... unless the music is recorded at volume and compression levels that detract from the art.  Music is still art, no?

Buzzkill

It's been a busy day y'all.  One of those unexpected busy days where you thought there were only a couple things on the list, but then they end up taking quadruple the time with half the results.  But, it's all with good purpose - tryin' to drum up some work, and wrap up some house projects now that it looks like the MC fam may be taking in a new tenant.  I am bushed though...
So, I sit down to hit the interwebs and find some interesting nuggets for personal inspiration and blogging material.  Usually, I'm hoping for some obscure news story or some really cool music news from my stash of sites to impress my MB's (Music Buddies).  Tonight though, for whatever reason, I hit CNN.com.  This story is what I saw first, and let me say, what a shame.
Those of you in my age bracket will know that tossing the pigskin as a kid, if you wanted make the big plays, you tried to be Joe Montana, Jerry Rice, or Barry Sanders.  But, if you wanted simply be the baddest mama-jama on the field, it was LT all the way.  A little piece of my 8 year-old self died today.
THEN, front and center is this piece on "transracial" adoption addressing all the hubbub surrounding Sandra Bullock's recent adoption of a black baby.  It's not too often that the MinuteCynic stumbles on a topic on which he is a true expert, but today is the day.  As a black man raised by a white family, let me summon all my experience and wisdom on this subject and weigh in on the blogospheric turmoil:


STOP IT.


No, seriously.  Everybody take a deep breath, take 2 steps back and just.... chill.
Yes you, Ms. "she's-just-doing-this-as-a-publicity-stunt", shhhhhh.  And you, Dr. "If-more-black-folks-stepped-up-for-adoptions-she-wouldn't-hafta-do-it", simmer down. And especially you, Ms. Rita Simon:

"But love is not enough," said Simon, a professor of justice and public policy at American University in Washington. "You really have to make some changes in your life if you adopt a child of another race."

Shut up. Please.


Closed circuit to black folks: If you want to really address an issue of black babies and how they may or may not be treated in America, save your venom for this guy:

NFL Running back Travis Henry.  Vital Stats: 

11 babies, 

10 different  women, 

6 different states, 

2007 NFL Contract: $25 million

2007 Automobile expense: $100,000

2007 Jewelry expense $146,000
Current child support owed: $170,000 per YEAR
0 Child Support Dollars paid

Do your thing Ms. Bullock.  You'll be a great mom.  Even if you're not the best at it, you do your best, and Louis will someday be honored that somebody cared enough to call him "Son".  Gwon 'head, kiss that chubby baby....

?uestlove Interview

Check out this really nice interview with Questlove of The Legendary Roots Crew.  In it, he talks about how and why The Roots decided to take the Late Night with Jimmy Fallon gig (which had us fans scratching our heads for a minute), and the kinds of opportunities it's brought the band.


For musicians, there's a good lesson here about being really good at what you do so that you are ready for big opportunities.  Also, about how being versatile in addition to being skilled can take things to a whole new level.  The Roots have managed to turn what was a standard late night house band gig into being an integral part of the (arguable) comedic success of Fallon's show.


For anyone, there's a good lesson about striking when the iron is hot. From the Fallon gig, to recording/touring The Roots, to his steady DJ work, and the band supporting other major artists, etc. Quest and the crew are maintaining a pretty frantic pace.  They understand taking advantage of opportunities, and owning everything they do - with style, of course.

Race Rant by: Pretend Angry Black Man

People who know me, know that one of my more guilty pleasures is to make an issue of race, especially when it's completely unnecessary.  Yeah, everybody finds it pretty annoying when somebody is always whippin' out the race card on everything.  But, in my defense, it can be really funny watching somebody blush and backpedal on a perfectly benign statement that I've "interpreted" as racist and confronted them with.  Even better is watching all their friends silently back away in disassociation.


Aside from the personal amusement, I also keep working my "Angry Black Man" routine as a bit of a backhanded and not-so-gentle reminder that even in serene Midwestern suburbs, racism still exits.  I'm really not a big there's a KKK dude in the bushes guy baby, but I can't really buy into the "It's 2010 man, I think we're over that by now" argument that I hear alot.


Exhibit A:  2 University of Minnesota - Duluth students are in a whole mess o' trouble for making racist comments about an African American Student who was studying in the library with them.  Not only were these girls insensitive and ignorant, they were idiotic enough to post their dialogue on their Facebook pages.  I linked to this article from the UMD Statesman because its the only media source I found to actually print some of the comments.:

The alleged comments state racist remarks including, "ewww a obabacare [sic] is in the room, i feel dirty, and unsafe. keep a eye on all of your valuables and dont make direct eye contact.... i just threw up in my mouth right now....," and "were two white girls.. she already has her 'nigga' instinct to kill us and use us to her pleasure..."

Nice going ladies.  Ain't you heard?  We got a black president now, nobody thinks like that anymore!


The money quote actually comes from Helen Mongan-Rallis in this article from the St. Paul Pioneer Press:

"The outrage [is] that white people would act so surprised that this happened," said Mongan-Rallis, who is white and a native of South Africa. "For people of color, this is not new."

As much as I hate to agree with the token white-person-who-is-more-offended-by-racism-than-people-of-color, she's right.  This type of thing happens all day, every day.  In my experience, the average black person isn't all that interested in discussing racism in America all day long, but it is insulting to hear that our country and world is now so far advanced morally and intellectually that racism has become a figment of our imaginations.

Speaking of "advancement", I stumbled upon this gem the other day under the title: "Black People Genetically Predisposed to be Less Intelligent?" Oh yes, I had to bite.

The article is long and pretty wordy, but the story seems that a Harvard law school student put her foot in her mouth at a dinner party, and is emailing the author to defend herself. Here's her position:

"I absolutely do not rule out the possibility that African Americans are, on average, genetically predisposed to be less intelligent. I could also obviously be convinced that by controlling for the right variables, we would see that they are, in fact, as intelligent as white people under the same circumstances. The fact is, some things are genetic. African Americans tend to have darker skin. Irish people are more likely to have red hair. (Now on to the more controversial:) Women tend to perform less well in math due at least in part to prenatal levels of testosterone, which also account for variations in mathematics performance within genders. This suggests to me that some part of intelligence is genetic, just like identical twins raised apart tend to have very similar IQs and just like I think my babies will be geniuses and beautiful individuals whether I raise them or give them to an orphanage in Nigeria. I don’t think it is that controversial of an opinion to say I think it is at least possible that African Americans are less intelligent on a genetic level, and I didn’t mean to shy away from that opinion at dinner."

Soooo good.  I'll go so far as to grant that intelligence may indeed be genetic, but I don't believe it needed to be said because, what's the point?  What are you trying to prove? Money quote:

Nevertheless, because of and in spite of this era of racism without [self-identified] racists (Bonilla-Silva, 2010), we must remain committed to a notion of racial realism (Bell, 1990) as well as racial idealism, pushing onward and upward against the individual and collective ignorance of our colleagues. Let us use this opportunity to elevate the consciousness of our faculty, students, and staff and build a bridge connecting what we do in our privileged enclaves of the academy with the context of what is happening in the broader world.  

Nobody wants to be a racist.  Nobody really is a racist anymore these days.  I can't agree with the concept of "racial idealism" which I assume looks something like a Benetton ad, but I find it hard to believe in a disembodied "racism fairy" who rides on the wind making racist things happen that are nobody's fault.

I bet if you asked those 2 UMD students a month ago if they were racist, they likely would have thought you were crazy.  Now, everybody knows they're racist, and I bet they wonder what all the fuss is about.