We're moving!

For everyone that's been following this blog, I just want you to know that the blog is moving to its own site: http://www.costlyspeech.com.

See you guys over there!

P.S. I didn't plan to move away from Blogger on Independence Day. But it is a little ironic.

Taking a break...

I know. I've been gone for a while. I haven't even posted since Father's Day.

My bad. I'll be back soon, I promise.

There's so much I've wanted to blog about, such as:

• Michael Jackson's death and the unbelievable response to it
• The absolutely horrible, hilarious and ridiculous 2009 BET Awards (which was even worse, seeing as how it was supposed to be a "tribute" to Michael Jackson... it DEFINITELY did not represent the King of Pop, or any Black people for that matter, in an honorable manner...)
• The ongoing situation surrounding the Iran election
• That Mark Sanford guy that everybody's talking about
• How much I loved the new Transformers movie

Just to name a few topics of interest.

Recently, I've just been bogged down with work, work, and more work, so I had to take a brief hiatus from blogging. But it should be easing up soon, so I can get back to doing what I love to do the most: expressing myself.

In the meantime, stay caught up with what's going on in the world around you, and don't you dare watch BET.

Adios for now.

Happy Father's Day!

(This post is specially dedicated to my own dad, David L. Hudson, Sr., the best father a son could ever have.)

On this Father's Day of 2009, I wanted to make sure I fully understood what a father is. I'm 20, and I'm going into my last year of college. I should probably know what it takes to be a father. (Even though I'm not even trying to think about having kids anytime soon.)

So I went to the dictionary. According to Merriam-Webster, here's what it means to be a father:

fa•ther: n., a man who has begotten a child

Okay, now wait... that can't be all there is to it, right? All I have to do to be a father is have a kid? I mean, I guess technically that's what it means. But I know a lot of men that don't have any children of their own, but have definitely served as fathers to others.

So what is it that really makes a man a father?

When I really start to think about it, there's so much that goes into being a real father that I couldn't even try to cover it all in one blog post. But there a few main points that I have to list. And hopefully that sheds some light on what it really means to be a father.

So let's begin.

1. A father takes care of his children.

This should be an obvious point. But let's face it... all too often, "fathers" don't do this simple task. (And yes, I used those quotation marks for a reason.) When I say simple, however, I don't mean easy. Because it's definitely no easy task to take care of kids.

And many "fathers" can't stand up to the task. Especially in the Black community. According to recent statistics, roughly 50% of Black children in the U.S. are raised by single mothers. 50%. Half. So, basically, in the Black community, it's as likely for a child to be raised without a father as it is to flip a coin and have it come up tails.

That's frightening to me. Because, no offense to my mother, but there is so much that my dad contributed to my life, to the point where I can't even think about how I would be without having had him in the house growing up. I mean, I might have a skinny 6'0" frame, but I feel like I've grown into a very strong young man--emotionally, mentally, and spiritually--largely in part to my dad's care. Without his presence, though... I just don't know.

But let's continue.

2. A father trains his children in the way that they should go.

Another reason why the father is crucial is because he, along with the mother, should teach his children how to act and how to live. Whenever you're placed in a new environment, the best way to learn how to adapt to that environment is by learning from someone who's familiar with that environment. So when a child is born into the environment of life, he/she needs to learn how to adapt by learning from someone who's familiar with life.

And that's where parents (plural) come in. A single mother can train a child, but it undoubtedly helps the child to see both a man and a woman living the right way, especially in interaction with one another as husband and wife. And from the male perspective, how will a young boy know how to be a good husband and father when he grows up if he doesn't have a good example for it in the home? ...good question, right?

But even when there is a father in the home to train his kids in the way that they should go, kids don't always obey the rules. So what's a father to do then?

3. A father disciplines his children.

I can't speak from the father's perspective, but from the son's side, I know that I've given my dad a fair amount of trouble over the last 20 years. I mean, I'd like to think that I've been a fairly good son, but no one's perfect, including myself.

Either way, whenever I messed up, I could count on my dad to discipline me. His discipline may have seemed harsh at the time, but as I've gotten older, I can see that he only did it for my protection.

Now again, no offense to my mother. But I've always been more fearful of my dad's discipline than my mom's... even as a 20-year-old. There's just something about a father, at least from my own experience, that is more emphatic and commanding. If I mess up and my mom says something about it, I'll debate with her as much as I humanly can. But if my dad says something about it, I don't even try to argue with him. I might catch an attitude sometimes, but I wouldn't dare backtalk my dad. But just imagine if I didn't have him there to discipline me...

Fortunately, there are many men that act as fathers for children that don't have their own fathers in the home. And that's excellent. But that doesn't completely fix the problem.

Here's an example. In my high school, I was blessed to have very knowledgeable and intelligent teachers. Every once in a while, though, they couldn't make it to class because of illness or doctor's appointments, or whatever. And that's when they called in a substitute teacher.

Now the substitute would take care of us during the regular teacher's day out, watching us for the class period, maybe showing us movies about what we had been learning, answering a few questions here and there. But it just wasn't the same as having the actual teacher in the classroom.

And that's the same way it is when the real father isn't in the home. Other "father figures" can do a great job of looking out for these kids, but it's just not the same.

But I can only grasp this concept so much, because my father was in the home, and did everything that a good father should do. Not to say he was perfect... because, as we've already said, no one's perfect. But he covered all of the basics of fatherhood, and went above and beyond what was expected. He gave me the example of a loving, caring, disciplined, hard-working, strong, Godly man. (I could think of many, many more adjectives, but I probably have a character limit on this blog post.)

So, today, as with every other day of the year, I have to say that I am extremely grateful to have the father that I do. I couldn't ask for anyone better.

Happy Father's Day, Dad.

Are role models really important?

I think so.

I've always been the kind of person to look up to certain people and to model the way I live my life after them. For example: my parents, MLK, Malcolm X, Gandhi, Obama, etc.

But yesterday, I watched an interview with Lil' Wayne and Katie Couric (which can be seen on YouTube, of course: part 1 and part 2), and I'm rethinking the whole purpose of role models.

When asking Lil' Wayne about his two children, Katie Couric posed this question: "Did you ever think, am I a good role model? You know, am I a good example for people on how to live their lives?" Wayne responded:

"I'm not an example for people on how to live their lives. And never in my life would I ever set out to be an example for people on how to live their lives. If you need an example for how to live, then you just shouldn't have been born."

Now, I'm not the kind of person to just accept or dismiss what someone has to say without thinking it through all the way. So when I heard Wayne answer that question, I immediately started thinking deeply about what he was saying.

And I agree with him... to an extent.

Personally, I know that I wouldn't be anywhere close to the person that I am today without the guidance of my parents. Their love, their care, and their patience have helped me extremely. But the example that they both set for me... I can't even put my appreciation for it into words.

This isn't to say that I always get along with my parents, because that's definitely not the case. I'm a 20-year-old college student, still coming into my own and learning how to make my own decisions. Obviously, we're going to disagree on a few things. But I still respect them greatly for being the upstanding people that they are, and the impact that they have had/are still having on my life is immeasurable.

With that said, however, I don't want to be my mom or my dad when I get older. I want to be me.

Trust me, I don't mean any disrespect towards them at all by that statement. But it would be foolish, in my opinion, to try to be an exact replica of anyone else. I'm an individual, and I have to act like an individual. Not to say that there aren't certain character traits in other people that I wan't to make a part of my own character. But to be just like anyone else is pointless.

And I think that's the point that Wayne was trying to get across in that interview. If you're trying to be just like somebody else, then you're not living a good life. You have to be yourself.

Following his statement that I quoted earlier, Wayne said:

"I am a great role model because I'm only a role model for two. And that's all. So why don't you worry about yours, and let them worry about theirs. I got mine."

In Wayne's opinion, he only needs to be a role model for his own two (soon to be four) children. But his children will have to realize that he's just that: a role model. Someone for them to model their lives after. Not duplicate.

The only question is, how good of a role model will Lil' Wayne be for his children? But I guess that's really not my concern. I'll worry about mine, and everyone else can worry about theirs.

Wayne's got his.

Safari 4 is the truth!

Being the very proud Mac user that I am, I've been quick to recommend Apple's Safari browser to all of my PC-using friends, ever since the browser became cross-platform. But it took me a while to download the new Safari 4, only because I was too lazy to download the necessary security update for my computer.

But I finally downloaded the security update a few days ago, and subsequently downloaded Safari 4...

WOW!

It's hard to find the words to express just how much I love this new version of Safari. But I'll do my best.

First, the new "Top Sites" feature is a great idea. Now, I already had all of my top sites in the "Bookmarks Bar," which is located under the URL field. But the new "Top Sites" page is simply beautiful to look at. For example, here are my own "Top Sites":

Now, you have the choice of either selecting your own sites to be placed on the "Top Sites" page, or letting Safari pick your top sites itself (based on the sites that you visit most often). Personally, I like some things to stay constant, and since Safari's picks change according to your browsing history, I decided to select my own sites.

Being the very visual person that I am, this makes my web browsing experience a little bit easier, and a lot more nicer. But the visual improvements don't stop there.

If you're familiar with the "Cover Flow" feature in iTunes (and newer iPods), you'll probably be very excited to see this same feature present in Safari 4 when you're browsing through your history and bookmarks. The "Cover Flow" here contains screenshots associated with each page in your history and bookmarks. This is extremely helpful, as it gives you a glimpse of every page that you've either visited or bookmarked.

The search features are also much improved in Safari 4. When typing in the Google search field in the browser toolbar, Safari will automatically suggest searches based on what you've typed, as a result of Google Suggest. For example, if I type in "lupe," the first suggestion that comes up is "lupe fiasco," which is exactly what I was about to type. What a smart browser!

Even better, however, is the new "Full History Search" feature. On the "Top Sites" page, there's a "Search History" field, with which you can fully search through all of the pages that you've recently visited. For example, if I type in "state department," the first result that comes up is an article that I read on msnbc.com about Hillary Clinton breaking her elbow. The words "state department" aren't in the page's title or URL, but the article itself states that Clinton broke her elbow "in a fall in the State Department garage."

That's what "Full History Search" means. (By the way, that's a shame about the elbow. I hope she gets well soon.)

So anyway, those are just a few reasons why Safari 4 is absolutely amazing. I must say, I'm quite impressed.

Way to go, Apple.

If you need some inspiration...

"Peaceful Warrior" is the movie you need to watch.

Now, about 7 hours ago, before I sat down to watch this movie, I felt like I had a great perspective on life. Looking back on it now, it was still a pretty solid perspective. But there was one problem in my thinking.

Anybody that knows me well knows that I love to enjoy life, as much as possible. Sometimes too much. But you live and you learn. Either way, I'm just not the kind of person that's always concerned about every little bad thing that might happen. I try to live the right way, and I take precaution, but I still like to take risks at the same time. You only live once... so you might as well enjoy it.

At the same time, I make it a rule never to have regrets. I feel like everything that's happened to me has happened for a reason, and without my experiences (both good and bad), I wouldn't be the person that I am today.

With that said, I do often find myself getting upset whenever I don't get what I want. Not to say that I'm spoiled, but when I aspire to a certain goal and don't reach it, it hurts me.

My bad, scratch that... it hurt me. Past tense.

That was before I watched this movie.

Don't get it twisted. "Peaceful Warrior" isn't your typical inspirational, feel-better-about-yourself movie. It might be the farthest thing from cliché that you'll find. But I'm not going to ruin the movie for anyone who hasn't seen it.

I will, however, write a few of the movie's quotes, and then you can probably understand the movie a little better.

• "A warrior is not about perfection, or victory, or invulnerability. He's about absolute vulnerability."
• "The journey is what brings us happiness... not the destination."
• "This moment is the only thing that matters."

So, in a few words, here's what I learned from the movie. Too often, I would get so caught up in perfection that I failed to fully appreciate the journey that I was taking. People would always say, "learn from your mistakes," but often times, anything less than perfect is seen as a mistake.

It's not. The only mistake is when you don't take advantage of each moment on the journey. Like that first quote says, a warrior is "about absolute vulnerability." No one's perfect, or invulnerable... we're all human. But when you learn to master yourself, and bring the best out of yourself at every moment, THAT is when you truly become a warrior.

It's extremely difficult to put this into words. It's really something that you have to meditate on for a while to understand. And on that note, I don't know if anyone (including myself) can fully understand this, no matter how long they meditate on it.

But watch the movie first. That will at least put you on the right track.

A daily journal?

I'm not going to call it a diary, even though that's really what it is. The word "journal" just sounds better to me.

Anyway, I've been meaning for a very, very long time to keep a daily journal, but I just never got around to it. Until last week. At 3:12 AM on Friday, June 12, 2009, I began writing in my journal. And I can already tell that this thing is going to be a huge part of my life.

I love to write. And I love to give my honest opinions. Sometimes, however, I have to keep my opinions to myself. But not with my journal.

It's also good because there are some things about me that only God and I know. But it's always therapeutic, at least for me, to get some personal issues off my chest. And writing it down is often the best way for me to get this stuff out. And my journal will listen to whatever I have to say, and it won't criticize me or judge me at all. It won't really give me any good advice, though, but oh well.

The other thing I like about this is how I'll be able to look back and see how my thoughts and actions have changed over time. I don't really have that ability yet; I just started last week. But in a year or two, or five, or ten? When I'm 30, looking back at how I thought as a 20-year-old is probably going to blow my mind.

Yeah... I really can't wait to write in my journal tonight.

Flash fiction!

I don't know exactly why, but I'm totally hooked on the whole "flash fiction" genre. And I was just introduced to it today in my English class.

For those of you unfamiliar with what flash fiction is exactly, it's basically an extremely short piece of fiction. To be more specific, the "standard, generally-accepted length of a flash fiction piece is 1000 words or less", as stated in the entry about flash fiction that I just read on Wikipedia.

And, for the record, I trust Wikipedia on everything, whether it's a valid academic resource or not. Whatever.

But anyway, back to what I was originally blogging about. I love flash fiction.

Now, you might be thinking that I love it because it's short and easy to read. Au contraire. It's actually more complex, in my opinion, because, given the short length of flash fiction, the stories often lack many explicit details. And that leaves the stories open to much more interpretation on the reader's part.

But that's actually why I love it. I love reading stories where I have to rely on my own interpretation. For example, here's one of my favorite flash fiction pieces, which is credited to Ernest Hemingway:

"For sale: baby shoes, never worn."

That's the whole story. Think about it.

Flash fiction is pretty fly, right?

We won!!!

THE LOS ANGELES LAKERS ARE THE 2009 NBA CHAMPIONS!!!!!

That's all.

Am I the only Black college student that hates "College Hill"?

I really hope not.

In fact, I would rather be the only Black college student that actually likes "College Hill," because that would mean that my peers wouldn't enjoy watching this nonsense.

For those of you who aren't familiar with "College Hill," it's basically BET's version of "The Real World." Eight college students are forced to live with one another under one roof, and their day-to-day drama is the main focus of the show. In BET's description of this season, they write, "Pulling no punches, the new cast members clash almost immediately within minutes of meeting one another."

Black people fighting each other, in order to get good TV ratings. Excellent concept.

Usually, shows like this annoy me, but they don't push me over the edge. That is, until I recently saw an episode of this season's "College Hill," in which Kyle, one of the main characters, refers to Kathryn, one of the other housemates, as a "slave."

Yes. He really called her a slave.

Curious as to why? Here's the play-by-play:

1. Kyle cooked some ribs.
   
2. Kathryn ate the ribs... without telling Kyle.
   
3. Kyle got upset.
   
4. Kathryn gave Kyle the money for the ribs.
   
5. Kyle told Kathryn to put the money in the microwave, where the ribs had been.
   
6. Kathryn placed the money in the microwave, and then started the microwave.
   
7. Kyle and Kathryn continued to argue.
   
8. Kyle called Kathryn a "slave a** b****."
   

Black people can refer to one another as slaves now? Ahh... it's great to live in a post-racial America.

I know, I know. I should contact BET and tell them exactly how I feel about the show, and demand that they take the show off the air. But, realistically (and I hate to sound so pessimistic), as long as people continue to watch it, one letter isn't going to change anything.

But it's bigger than just this one show. I don't want to sound like I'm preaching, but Black people have to stop beating up one another, just to try to get ahead, or to get noticed or recognized. Sure, the TV ratings might be good, and the cast members might find good jobs after the show because of their increased popularity. But what impact is this show, along with other shows like it, having on our society?

It's not a good impact. That's for sure.

Oh well. Just another reason why I despise BET...

Black Evil Television.

Why is it...

...that when Kobe comes through in the clutch for his team, like he did last night against Denver, it doesn't seem to be as exciting to people as when LeBron comes through in the clutch for Cleveland?

I don't really know.

Maybe it's because LeBron supposedly has a better public persona? Because he's newer to the league? Because he's younger? Because he's already "surpassed Kobe as a player," according to former Lakers' player/coach/manager Jerry West?

I don't really know.

Even to Kobe's fellow Lakers, it doesn't seem to be that exciting. As teammate Lamar Odom remarked after last night's game, "Kobe does that time and time and time and time and time again for game winners." He then added, "It is routine--for him."

Maybe that's it. It's routine, for Kobe. For LeBron... not so much.

Sure, we all remember when LeBron manhandled--and I mean, manhandled--the Pistons two seasons ago by scoring 25 straight points for the Cavaliers in order to defeat Detroit in Game 5 of that Eastern Conference Finals.

And some of us remember when LeBron led his team, who was down by 17 points going into the fourth quarter, to a win over the Toronto Raptors in January 2008 by scoring 24 points in the final quarter... all by himself.

Sure, he's had memorable moments where he's stepped up to help his team in the clutch.

But for Kobe, it seems like it's just normal. When the Lakers were down by two points last night, with 1:09 left in the game, Kobe drained a 3-pointer over J.R. Smith to put his team up 96-95. The Lakers, with the help of some more clutch free throws by Mr. Bryant, kept the lead for the rest of the game.

And it just seemed typical.

When LeBron drained the game-winning, buzzer-beating 3-pointer for the Cavaliers two nights ago in Game 2, it was immediately hailed as one of the greatest shots, if not the greatest shot, in NBA playoff history. And as soon as LeBron hit that shot, there were Facebook and Twitter updates galore by people (including myself) expressing their admiration for LeBron.

Now, I'm not gonna lie, it was a spectacular shot. But if Kobe had drained that same shot, the reaction would not have been the same.

I guess why people go crazy over LeBron is because he's newer. A fresher face for the league. Plus, no player in recent history was hyped up as much as LeBron was before he entered the league... and we all love to see people live up to the hype. And LeBron definitely lived up to the hype.

But LeBron hasn't been doing it for as long as Kobe has been, and we still haven't gotten as used to LeBron coming through in the clutch as we have to Kobe doing the same. As a result, whenever LeBron does what he does, we just naturally get more excited about it.

Oh well. I just hope the excitement doesn't wear off anytime soon.

Praise God!

It's the weekend! More specifically, it's Memorial Day weekend. So I don't have class until Tuesday. I also don't have any more doctor's appointments, as my doctor told me yesterday that my eye is completely healed and my vision is perfect again. God is great, and greatly to be praised! (Thus, the title of this post.)

So what am I doing for the weekend? Nothing exciting, really. I'll probably just stay at school and chill out, relax, etc. Boring, I know. But after the last two weeks, I can use the rest.

Speaking of rest, I think those Cavaliers got a little too much of it. Having that long break after the conference semifinals definitely didn't seem to bode well for King James and his royal court Wednesday night in Game 1 of the conference finals. They started out strong against the Magic, building a 15-point lead by halftime. But they just couldn't hold on.

The Magic, however, after going for 6 games and 7 games in the first round and the conference semifinals, respectively, looked much more efficient down the stretch, made obvious by their 107-106 win. Even with LeBron's 49/8/6 performance, the Cavaliers just couldn't get it done.

Hopefully they'll get it done tonight.

No disrespect to the Magic, but I, along with approximately 99.76% of NBA-watching people, would love to see a Kobe vs. LeBron matchup in the Finals. That would just be too beautiful. I think...

But this Kobe vs. Melo matchup looks like it might be better than any potential faceoff between the Black Mamba and the King. During the regular season, both Kobe and LeBron averaged only 19.5 points per game when facing one another. In the first 2 games of these Western Conference Finals, Kobe's averaging 36 points per game, while Melo's averaging 36.5. A little better than that 19.5 average between Kobe and LeBron...

Actually, don't mind that last paragraph. After doing some calculations, I found that, during the Lakers-Nuggets regular season matchups, Kobe averaged 31 points per game, while Melo averaged a pitiful 14.5 points per game. So I guess that proves that the playoffs bring out the best in everybody.

If that's the case then, I really want to see the Lakers play the Cavaliers in the Finals, even more so than I did before. Kobe and LeBron bringing the best out of each other? And we already know that both of these guys love to put on a show for the crowd. Man... that would be a series for the ages.

Stay tuned... hopefully the #24 vs. #23 matchup... I mean, the Lakers vs. Cavaliers matchup, will be coming soon to a TV near you.

1,000 Twitter followers!

That's right... I just passed the 1,000-follower mark on Twitter! There are at least 1,000 people that care about everything that I'm doing with my life!

Am I friends with all of these people? No.

Have I even met all of these people? No.

Is that weird to me? Well...

Okay, so here's the story. I heard about this site called MyTweetFollowers.com, that allegedly would help me get new Twitter followers. And, for a VIP price ($4/day for 5 days, or $3/day for 10 days), I could get at least 200 new Twitter followers every day.

So, I decided to try this thing out. I put up $30, and waited to see the followers roll in. For the first couple of hours, it was pretty slow. Then, the followers started rolling in. This was Saturday night, about 5 days ago.

Now, it's Thursday night/very early Friday morning, and I've already passed the 1,000-follower mark. As a matter of fact, at the time that I'm writing this, I have 1,182 followers.

On a side note, however... remember how I said earlier that I wasn't friends with all of my followers? Well, apparently, Twitter refers to the people that I follow as my "friends." Really. It says it right there in the link: http://twitter.com/friends. But how exactly do you define what a friend is? The common conception of friendship is that... well, never mind. That's a deeper, more philosophical matter for another time.

When looking at my Twitter homepage now, the majority of the updates that I get are of people that I didn't even know existed until they started following me on Twitter. But, for some odd reason, I still find their daily updates interesting.

Maybe I'm just too nosy.

One thing I have found, though, is that a lot of the updates I've seen have helped me in my everyday life. For example, one friend of mine said to me (sorry... "@me") earlier in one of her updates, "Make it a great day!!" It might not look like much, but to me, it meant a lot. I usually tell people to "have" a great day, but "making" it a great day is completely different. It shows me that I'm in control of my own happiness on a daily basis.

Little things like that make me enjoy having all of my newfound friends on Twitter. Because it enhances my own life. Sure, some people might think it's too impersonal. But I guess I'm just one of those people that likes to converse with people. All people. Just because I've never met them in person, why shouldn't I feel comfortable knowing a little bit about them, as well as giving them a little bit of insight into my own life?

I'm not giving them all the details of my life story, and it's not like I'm giving them my home address and telling them when I'm leaving the house unattended. I'm just updating them on some things I do that anybody would do (e.g. going to the mall, watching the basketball game, studying for an exam), and adding a little bit of my own flair to it. And if a bunch of people are interested, or are at least pretending to be interested in that, then that's fine with me.

Yeah. Definitely worth the $30.

Guess how I started off my summer?

With one of these.

Yep. A corneal abrasion. And the story about how I got it is even funnier.

When I was unpacking my stuff in my summer dorm, I pulled out my alarm clock. As I was unwrapping the cord, the end of the cord bounced up and... well, you know the metal prongs that you stick into an outlet? One of them hit me straight in my left eye.

That's the story. And no, I didn't copy that from fmylife.com.

Additionally, I've missed my first two days of summer classes now, and I'm on my way to the hospital after I post this so the doctors can figure out the best way to fix my eye. Do I have the best luck or what?

I'll post more to my blog later after I can actually see clearly what it is that I'm typing.

Can anyone stop LeBron James?

So I'm watching the Cavaliers play the Hawks in Game 3 of the Eastern Conference Semifinals, and the Cavs are up by 1 (47-46) at halftime.

Good game, right? Yeah... only because the rest of the Cavaliers, not named LeBron James, aren't playing as well as they should be. That's really the only reason this game is still close. At the half, LeBron has 22 points, 6 rebounds, and 5 assists--already on pace for a triple-double. The rest of the team: 25 points, 13 rebounds, and 3 assists.

Some more numbers... LeBron's shooting 75% from the field, and 60% from 3-point range. The rest of the team: 39% from the field, and 0% (0 for 7) from 3-point range. And with all the work that LeBron is doing, he doesn't have a single turnover yet. (The rest of the team only has 5, but still.)

This post isn't supposed to offer any critical analysis of the game, but it's just amazing to watch one player make his team so much better. He definitely looks like the MVP that the league said he was this season.

And no, I didn't forget that I was a Lakers fan. Yes, I love Kobe, but still... the guys around Kobe (Gasol, Bynum, Fisher, Odom) are actually really good on their own. The guys around LeBron (Ilgauskas, Varejao, Williams, West)... well, they're good, but let's be honest. They wouldn't be anything without LeBron.

As great as LeBron is, though, I'm scared. The guy's only 24 years old. If he's this ridiculously good already... the next few seasons are gonna be very, very exciting to watch.

If you're a Cavaliers fan, that is.

Twitter: 18 days later...

"For the last couple of months, I've been bashing Twitter and saying why it was absolutely ridiculous and pointless. And then I actually went to the Twitter website. Obviously, that visit to their homepage changed my perspective on Twitter, so much so that I am the proud owner of a Twitter myself."

-- Me; April 21, 2009

When I wrote that, I had been using Twitter for three days, and I thought that it was the best thing since sliced bread. But that was still during the honeymoon period.

Now, I've had it for two and a half weeks, and in that time, I've really started to get a feel for the complete Twitter experience. The good, the bad, and the ugly.

The thing that I love about Twitter is the ability to stay connected with everyone, and to stay updated on what everybody's up to. I've even gotten a few of my friends hooked on Twitter; they weren't crazy about it at first, but now they're just as hooked as I am. As I've spent more time on Twitter, however, I've found that I now, unfortunately, have an addiction to Tweeting.

Yep. My name is David Hudson, and I'm a Twitterholic.

Over the last couple of weeks, I've Tweeted about everything from waiting forever at the DMV, to having a great brunch at IHOP, and to being appalled and disgusted at sportscaster Craig Sager's wardrobe choice. (Really, any guy that would wear a jacket like this should disgust anybody with any good fashion taste whatsoever. I respect him for not being afraid to oppose society's standards of fashion, but still. That's just not necessary. Neither is this.)

I've also Tweeted sometimes, not even because of a change in what I was doing, but simply because I felt the urge to Tweet. As a result, I would Tweet about trivial things... such as my strong disdain for Craig Sager's apparel.

But wait... is this what Twitter was created for? I highly doubt it. Twitter asks its users one simple question: "What are you doing?" The purpose of the site would then seem to be to keep people updated on what others are doing. In fact, the site itself explains Twitter's origins:

"Where did the idea for Twitter come from? Jack Dorsey had grown interested in the simple idea of what his friends were doing. Specifically, Jack wondered if there might be an opportunity to build something compelling around this status concept."

Did Dorsey then expect Twitter to become what it has today? A web of not only status updates, but people's thoughts and opinions on things such as sportscaster's wardrobes? He probably didn't. But that doesn't necessarily make Twitter bad.

Except for one thing. People don't often change what they're doing every second of the day, but people do have thoughts and opinions all day long. For example, a person who goes to work from 9 to 5 will most likely stay in the workplace for that whole time (except for maybe a lunch break). While this person is in the workplace, however, the thoughts that will go through his/her brain are innumerable. Therefore, the updates that this person could post to Twitter are also innumerable, as Tweets are no longer just status updates, but random thoughts, opinions, feelings, etc., that one may have.

Because of the innumerable amount of Tweets that one could post, one might feel the need to Tweet, and Tweet, and Tweet, to the point where Tweeting becomes a status itself. (The other day, I saw someone Tweet that they were "planning their next Twitter update." Ugh.)

Twitter might as well take a page out of Facebook's book (sorry for the redundancy). Instead of asking "What are you doing?", Facebook asks its users, "What's on your mind?" And that's basically the same question that Twitter users are answering, whether or not the question is worded the same way. Twitter should probably go ahead and fix that question.

Nevertheless, people (myself included) often like to feel important. We like to feel that other people care about what we're doing, what we're thinking, and what we're feeling. And Twitter shows that other people actually do care... but not that much. They don't need to know everything that we're thinking about.

For example, one of the people I decided to follow on Twitter was Ludacris, mainly because I'm a huge fan of his music, and I love the lyrical style he employs in his raps. In a recent span of 24 hours, however, he Tweeted 31 times. Is that really necessary?

No. No matter how famous you are, you're not that important. At least not to me.

So, people, just chill out with the Tweets. Keep some of your thoughts to yourself. They might be funny, humorous, deeply philosophical... whatever. But when you're filling up my entire Twitter homepage because you just can't stop Tweeting, that's not a good look. Just keep it simple and let me know what you're doing. That is why everybody signed up for this thing, right?

P.S. Seriously, though... somebody needs to get Craig Sager a gift certificate to either Men's Wearhouse or LensCrafters, so he can buy either a nice, fashionable, classy suit, or at least some glasses to help him see how awful and atrocious his current wardrobe really is. That mess is ridiculous.

Is this the season?

Last night, I was watching Game 7 of the Bulls/Celtics series (which the Celtics won... ugh...), and I saw something in the Bulls that reminded me of my Lakers:

A lack of a consistent killer instinct.

Back in the days when Kobe and Shaq played beautifully together, the Lakers would pull together to do whatever it took to finish off an opponent (e.g. Game 7 vs. the Blazers in the 2000 Western Conference Finals). We knew we needed to win, and we wouldn't stop until we did exactly that... win.

That was then, this is now.

Over the last few seasons, the Lakers have continued to be a very talented team, but we've just been missing that extra... that extra "umph." I realized that when we lost to the Suns back in the first round of the 2006 playoffs. And my realization was later emphasized last season with our Game 6 loss to the Celtics in the Finals.

So how do we overcome this? (Note: when I say "we," I mean the Lakers. Just to clarify.) To be honest, I have no idea. As good, and as skilled, and as talented as Kobe is... and as clutch as he can be, I still don't see that consistent killer instinct, night in and night out, like I saw in the past with MJ, the "Bad Boys" of Detroit, or even now with LeBron for that matter.

Okay, so I just attributed a quality to King James that Kobe doesn't have. Sorry. But if anyone remembers the Cavaliers' Game 5 win over the Pistons two years ago, you understand where I'm coming from.

Let me clarify something else right quick, though. I started out discussing the Lakers' lack of killer instinct, and then I ended up talking about Kobe's lack of killer instinct. Why? Because a team gets its strength from the head. For example, if the coach doesn't know what they're doing, then, no matter how much talent the team has, they won't know what they're doing either.

I know, I know. Kobe isn't the coach. But he's assumed a clear leadership role on the team, and, as a result, the team looks to him for direction. Therefore, to put it plainly, if he doesn't go hard, then the team won't go hard.

But anyway, I don't expect the Lakers to make this killer instinct clear every single night. The fact of the matter is, we're still one of the best teams, if not the best team, in the NBA. Some nights, we just won't have to go as hard as other nights.

However, in those big games where we need to go hard... well, we need to go hard. Talent doesn't win games on its own. Bummer.

So will this be the season that the championship returns to Los Angeles? It depends. If we want the championship badly enough, we'll get it. But that's all it depends on.

Do we have the ability to win it? Yes.

Do we want to win it? I would think so.

Do we want to win it more than the Cavaliers, the Celtics, or any other team still in the playoffs? That's the question... and I really don't know.

Is this the season that we actually will win it? We'll see.

Hmm... is technology really a good thing?

So I have a final exam tomorrow afternoon, along with a 5-page paper that's also due tomorrow.

But about 3 hours ago, I found myself updating both my Facebook and both Twitter. Which leads me to ask the question:

Is technology really a good thing?

Of course it is. I seriously just need to learn how to focus on my work.

The question I asked, however, is the same question that many other people ask all the time, as a lot of the technological advances over the past few years seem to become distractions, getting in the way of other work that needs to be done. With MySpace, Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, etc., there are numerous alternatives to doing work.

But why does it seem that people are more distracted with modern technology than they were in the past? The most likely reason is the interactivity that makes this new technology popular. All of the aforementioned web sites are examples of what has been termed "Web 2.0," described by Tim O'Reilly, founder and CEO of O'Reilly Media, as transforming the Internet into "a more mature, distinctive medium characterized by user participation, openness, and network effects" (Web 2.0: Principles and Best Practices, O'Reilly Radar).

"User participation"... that means users have to participate, right? And the more that users participate, the more popular the technology becomes. And the more popular the technology becomes, the more that users participate. It's a never-ending cycle that will continue to both attract and distract more and more people.

So how do we get past the "distraction" of this new technology? It's not easy, that's for sure.

But let's think about something: when televisions became popular in American society during the 50's and 60's, people saw TV as very distracting, as it "invaded" their households at a ridiculously fast pace, providing news and entertainment throughout the day.

Did this mean that TV was bad, though? Of course not. Think about this: when you wake up in the morning and want to know what you should wear, you don't have to step outside. Instead, you can just turn on your TV, flip to The Weather Channel, and get an update on the current temperature, along with information about the weather for the entire week. (You can even watch shows about crazy storms and hurricanes and such, but that's not as crucial.)

The point I'm trying to make is that, although new technology might be seen as a distraction, it helps make life more convenient and efficient in the long run. And it helps make it more fun, too. (My new iPod Touch is a great example of this... especially the fun part.)

Okay. I'm done writing. Let me go start my paper. I just need to update my Facebook and my Twitter first to let everyone know that I'm finally writing it.

Beyoncé messed that girl up!

***POSSIBLE SPOILERS BELOW***

I'ma keep this post very short and simple: if you haven't seen the new movie "Obsessed," you should.

Not because of its intricate storyline... because, well, it's not that intricate. It's actually very predictable.

Not because of its exciting script... because, well, it's very tedious to watch, and it gets very repetitive at some points.

Honestly, there's nothing that makes this movie stand out over any other movies. You know exactly what to expect from the movie after watching about the first 5 minutes of it.

So what is it that makes this movie appealing? Two things:

• #1: The actors are so into their roles that the ferocity with which they act is just amazing to watch (the on-screen chemistry between Beyoncé and her husband, played by Idris Elba, is absolutely brilliant).
• #2: The whole movie is basically preparation for one of the greatest ending fight scenes in cinematic history. (Obviously, I'm biased because it's Beyoncé, but when she goes at it with the girl who's trying to steal her husband... absolutely beautiful.)

But for real, good movie. Check it out... you'll be obsessed with it.

Nappy Thursday...

Yeah... "Nappy Thursday..." I know you're wondering why I gave this post that name. Well, two main reasons:

• #1: On a day that I really need to be extremely productive academically, I can't seem to stay mentally functional for more than 3 hours at a time. And I've been taking nappies all day long. I don't really know why. Probably because all these long nights I've been spending in the library are starting to catch up with me. Oh well, it's still just the beginning... it's gonna be a long couple of weeks...
• #2: I didn't get a haircut yesterday as I had planned... so I'm still NAPPY!!! That's all.

But back to reason #1. I have a 5-page paper due Monday, another 5-page paper due Tuesday, a 12-page paper also due Tuesday, and yet another 5-page paper due next Saturday. On top of that, I have my first final exam next Thursday, followed by another one next Friday, another one next Saturday, and yet another one due sometime before May 8...

Hooray college! Anyway, I'm gonna take a very quick nap since my TA hasn't shown up to my discussion section yet, which was supposed to start 6 minutes ago. I'll be back...

Ah, the joys of college...

I'm sitting in the library... late at night... again... working on a paper... and I'm not really that happy about being here.

So, I decided to make a list of reasons why I should be happy right now:

• #1: The Lakers took a 2-0 lead in their first-round series vs. the Jazz. Gotta love that PURPLE & GOLD!!!
  
• #2: I ate eel for the first time today. Absolutely delicious.
  
• #3: I had a really good workout earlier... getting me that much closer to having that six-pack for the summer!
  
• #4: I just devoured one of those new Reese's SnackBarz and washed it down with strawberry kiwi juice. (#4 probably isn't very good following #3, but oh well...)
  
• #5: Although I have work to do, I don't have anything that's due tomorrow, so I can finally get some sleep tonight/this morning... I miss my bed...
  
• #6: I'm finally getting a haircut sometime tomorrow. Praise His Holy Name!
  
• #7: I'm spending the night working in the library with a great friend of mine by the name of Erica... good times :)
  

Ahhh... there. That made me feel better. Now back to work...

Twitter, anyone?

Three days ago, the unthinkable happened.

I got a Twitter.

Yep... you read that right. I signed up for my very own Twitter.

So why is that unthinkable? For the last couple of months, I've been bashing Twitter and saying why it was absolutely ridiculous and pointless. And then I actually went to the Twitter website. Obviously, that visit to their homepage changed my perspective on Twitter, so much so that I am the proud owner of a Twitter myself.

So why exactly did I get a Twitter? Because it helps keep me connected. And anybody that knows me knows that I like to stay connected. Now, Twitter doesn't have all the added features of Facebook. It doesn't have all of the pictures you've taken, the videos you've recorded, or the random applications you've added to your page to make it look more "fly." And it doesn't have the collegiate feel of Facebook either... even though that last part is going away very quickly; it's scaring me how many Facebook friends I have over the age of 40.

But that's exactly what makes Twitter great. As much as I love Facebook, it gets way too unnecessarily cluttered at times. Sure, I'd love to hear about your amazing summer vacation in the Bahamas, but do I really need to see a whole photo album from your trip on my homepage? I think not.

Well, maybe I want to see the 5 billion quizzes you've taken on Facebook about your personality, what your name means, what your birth month means, what your... wait... I really don't care about that either.

What do I care about then? The same thing that Twitter does. All I do is tell Twitter what I'm up to, in 140 characters or less, and everybody following my Twitter will know what I'm up to as well.

Let me just put it this way: KISS... "Keep It Simple, Stupid."

Intrusive? Maybe.

Nosy? Probably.

Fun (to me)? Definitely.

Now not everybody's going to like Twitter. There will still be those that view this as an unnecessary invasion of privacy that allows everyone to see what you're doing at all times. And that's exactly why those people don't have to sign up for it.

For the rest of us, it's a very clean, effortless, and useful tool to keep abreast of what's going on with your favorite people. For example, when I was embarking on an all-nighter in the library yesterday, my dad, who wants to stay up-to-date on my academic happenings, got an update as soon as I changed my Twitter status. He sent me a message later that night, telling me not to work too hard... and that he had just enjoyed a "thrilling episode of 24." Thanks, Dad... not only did I miss out on sleep, but I missed my favorite show on television. Great.

(Just kidding Dad... you know I appreciate the advice.)

That's why I like Twitter, though. From either my computer or my phone, I can update anybody that wants to know what I'm up to.

And that's all.

Twitter keeps it simple. So don't be stupid. Get a Twitter, and Tweet away. You'll be glad you did.