On the Job Hunt and More Blah Blah Blah!!!


Ok! I did not decide to do porn or go into the ring, although I might have to consider these options since all three of my job leads have been flushed down the toilet. In any event I had not been seriously looking for a job and only recently started.

During my job search, I have learned a lot of lessons. To sum up the lessons in one phrase -- Trust your own judgment. If however, I am not working by December then something is seriously wrong.

In the meantime, I have also decided to go back to school. Why not? The economy is bad and the job market sucks. So I am going to do a post Juris Doctor degree. This might not be to my advantage as you know it might be difficult to hire a black man with too many degrees.

So it seems like President Bush can't go it alone in Iraq. We were wrong to go into Iraq without the United Nations in the first place and after doing so now we must go to the international body and get their help in cleaning up the mess we created. However, this is the right move for President Bush except that he has to go with a more lucrative offer- one that will give the UN more tangible power and that will share the fat contracts with France and Germany and other powers. If not, then there will be no incentive for these countries to send in their troops. One tends to be either on the side of saying "Thank you Mr. President for the fine leadership in the war on terror," or if you are more like me you are probably thinking that GW and his friends should pick up the tab. One thing is certain and that is the President sure continues to fool the scared and the intellectually lazy.

The president knows that in little over a year there will be another election and the votes will certainly not be counted as they were in 2000. He is putting his house in order.

Well if you have a job for me, send me an e-mail. Oh and by the way make sure the job pays more than $11/hour.

  • Back-to-School Tax Breaks
    Teachers and students may benefit from various provisions in the tax law, some of them even better than they were last year. But they won't do you any good if you don't know about them, so here's a chance to learn and save at the same time.

  • Don't Get Me Vexed!
    Getting Past Saturn Return
    By Ryan Williams

    Ok, introductions are in order - I'm Ryan Williams, born Jamaican, naturalized American and a high school friend of Dwight's. I write a little, but really only for myself and in e-mail - but I'm told I do that well. My day job is in Risk Consulting (which I'll eventually explain) - but not in the real risky part of the consulting - just in accounting.

    Here's why I'm doing this- I'm 30 this month. Yes! Me! In September of 2003! And I've always been told that 30 is an important milestone. Settling down is imminent; the carefree explorations of adulthood are coming to an end. It's about time to get married, raise some kids, but most importantly, get past Saturn Return.

    Many of my friends, most of whom are older than me, have already gone through it. Some of them passing its tests, some apparently failing, some I'm not so sure about - the verdict's still out. See, Saturn supposedly goes around the Sun every 30 Earth years and its doing so usually brings adversity in the form of a life affirming, life changing series of tests. An ex-girlfriend into astronomy I had in my early 20's told me all this and though I still think she was full of it, I've actually seen it mentioned in a couple of books. But more importantly, I've seen it in action. People unprepared, acting out and lacking focus hitting major snags in their lives - multiple girlfriends attacking at once, wallowing in drug binges upon the realization that their lives aren't going the way they expected - that sort of thing.

    So here I come, a little fearful, a little excited - but wanting to get my own Saturn Return over with and not do so alone. Hence, when Dwight (whom I may refer to as Simon every now and then because that's what we used to call him in High School) invited me to do this, I thought about it seriously and accepted. When else am I going to have the chance to make a Jackass of myself in front of the whole Internet? Plus, although I'm not that good at actually doing anything to change the world we live in, I've got a trailer-load of opinions to bombard you with so my girlfriend doesn't have to suffer through my tirades about current events at home. So here goes, pay attention, and Don't Get Me Vexed!

    Big Black Basketballers should keep it in their pants if…
    Yeah, she may come off as a slut for going up to Kobe's room after hours. So she may also have a myriad of other problems in her life - don't we all get psychological counseling, try out for American Idol and attempt suicide within a six-month period - that doesn't necessarily mean she's lying. Whether or not she asked for Kobe's Magic Stick or not is a moot point to me. What's more important and shocking is the absolute lack of intelligence displayed by this dope that had sex with her at all. Didn't he expect this? Dude, everybody knows you! Most know you're married! Even in West Butt-f@$%, Colorado! Make you bed hard, lay down inna it, you rucks.

  • Five Years of Solitary

    Five Years of Solitary, a book of poems, by Elliot Torres is now available at BarnesandNoble.com. The book ships out within 24 hours and same day delivery is available in Manhattan. The book can also be purchased at Amazon.com, Buybooksontheweb.com, and Openbookltd.com. A list of bookstores that carry the book can be found in the WHERE TO BUY section of ElliotTorres.com

  • Eliot Popkin's Down Along This Road

    Eliot is a Boston born singer/songwriter who saw his debut album "Down Along This Road" have 3 songs find their way into movies, radio airplay on more than 100 stations across the country as well as countless wonderful reviews and feature stories. He currently is writing songs for various major label and film projects, and is in the studio working on his follow up album. He lives in Los Angeles, enjoying the Pacific Ocean. To hear more of his music, drop by his web site.

  • Georgia Native Caesar Brunswick is on a Roll

    "Journeys of a Tortured Soul," "Things Found in my Father's Closet," "And let the Choir say Amen!," "Overtures, Curtain Calls & Encores,"-- all have in common the same author Caeser Brunswick.

    Author of the award-winning novel, Journeys of a Tortured Soul and its sequel Things Found in my Father's Closet, Brunswick finds his niche in works addressing the family issues of African-Americans. Recently completing his third release, And let the choir say Amen!, which gives deep insight into the closeted world of gospel musicians from a southeastern university, Brunswick is currently working on his next release, Overtures, Curtain Calls & Encores which depicts the life of a troubled African-American Opera Singer.

    Following the lives of a severely dysfunctional southern African-American family, Caesar Brunswick's debut novel, Journeys of a Tortured Soul, focuses on the trials, struggles and triumphs of one Arthur Wilson. Victim to the repeated abuse of a psychologically challenged father, the young Wilson runs away from home in search of safe haven. Facing the realities of survival, Wilson finds himself engulfed in the dark recesses of Atlanta's darker side. Arrested for prostitution, young Wilson is forced to return home to his father's wrath. Dealing with the responsibilities of parenthood, an ailing mother and the challenges of academia, Wilson seeks nurture and direction from a self-appointed mentor, as he struggles to pull himself from the pitfalls of his troubled teen life. For more info visit his web site.

    • PlanetOut Personals


    The following is a courtroom exchange between a defense attorney and a farmer with a bodily injury claim. It came from a Houston, Texas insurance agent.

    Attorney: "At the scene of the accident, did you tell the constable you had never felt better in your life?"

    Farmer: "That's right."

    Attorney: "Well, then, how is it that you are now claiming you were seriously injured when my client's auto hit your wagon?"

    Farmer: "When the constable arrived, he went over to my horse, who had a broken leg, and shot him. Then he went over to Rover, my dog, who was all banged up, and shot him. When he asked me how I felt, I just thought under the circumstances, it was a wise choice of words to say I've never felt better in my life.

    For snail mail write us at:
    Dwight Day
    The House of YAD
    P.O. Box 1201
    Teaneck, NJ 07666
    USA


    Stephen JordanAn Open Letter:
    Can a College Cross a Color-Line?
    (a response to the Admissions Counselor who asked me, "how do we recruit more minorities?")
    By Stephen Earley Jordan, II

    Dear Alderson-Broaddus College-

    I am a supplier of information. Each year, I provide millions of students with information regarding scholarships, college profiles and even their retention rate. As a provider of educational material, and an avid educational researcher I am saddened by the findings of my research on my alma mater Alderson-Broaddus College.

    I ask you, Alderson-Broaddus College: where have all the black folk gone? Where are the Hispanics and Indians? As reported in the 2003 College Handbook by The College Board, A-B Admissions reported 3% minorities were enrolled. Isn't this a pathetic percentage? Where are all the black folk who want to attend for academics, instead of athletics? Yes, Alderson-Broaddus, we do exist! Am I not a prime example?

    I've worked as a Financial Editor on Wall Street; three years as a freelance editor with the finest educational publishers across the U.S., having edited numerous college-related textbooks, and now for one of the finest Ivy-League universities in the nation. The wide view of other colleges across the country this has afforded me provides a sorry context for the facts and figures supplied by A-B Admissions.

    Historically, the Baptist Church has been the center of African-American families, our life, our culture, our teachings. Religion is deep-rooted in our culture. My people are people of intellect, who too often to have fallen through cracks, lost in the country hills and forgotten by Alderson-Broaddus College Admissions. I do not call for you to "lower" standards and simply allow a "minority" to fill a quota, faculty/staff/students. Cornell West was one of these. He was the token, hired-only to fill the quota, though he was far from qualified for his position, which in turn, resulted in the termination of his position. But I do call for you to recruit deserving black and other minority students far more energetically.

    How can Alderson-Broaddus College maintain a high retention rate for minority students if they do not 1) actively recruit qualified minorities, 2) actively hire qualified minorities for faculty and staff positions, and 3) stop hiring from within the college, and begin to hire "new faces"? Clearly you would rather hire an unqualified person from within than actively hire someone outside of these theoretical Christian tenants, these secluded mountains. Being genuinely inclusive requires more than offering a sprinkling of courses taught to promote diversity, or hiring a few minority faculty and staff. These only point to how exclusive the college has been, has become, and apparently will continue to be. A-B is ethnically and culturally retarded. This deficit is merely a minute reflection of the state of West Virginia, itself.

    A-B, I challenge you to practice your Christianity, promote A-B at predominately black churches and schools, and see if you can have a higher retention rate for minorities. I only ask what are you doing to actively cross the color-line and promote high standards for the future of our race?

    Sincerely,

    Stephen Earley Jordan, II
    Alderson-Broaddus College
    Class of 1999, Senior Class President