Trying something new

No, I’m not into hockey. I can’t even really say that I’m into any sport. But for some reason I’ve been wanting to go to a Bossier-Shreveport Mudbugs game.

I guess with the bar and club scene getting old and the allergy I have to actually playing a sport, I’ve been looking for some new things to do.

I briefly mentioned my curiosity about the local team and the hockey game experience to the boyfriend so he got us some tickets for Saturday’s game.

Being the girl that I am I wondered what to wear, if it would be too cold and if I’d be able to keep up with the game.

Yea, none of that mattered.

I won’t say I’m a hockey fan now, but I really did enjoy the experience.

I liked throwing the plastic mudbugs on the ice the two times the team scored and I enjoyed my wimpy attempts at landing a puck on a tiny, circular mat in the middle of the rink during halftime.

The chants and screams of hatred from true hockey fans really amused me and made me wish I could get that passionate about any team.

(Shouts out to Eric Benbrooks whose enthusiasm and heckling kept me laughing through the entire game. Lol.)

Next up: A Battlewings game.

Before you sex text...

Look, I’m not here to judge anyone and what they do in their personal lives, as long as it’s legal.
I mean, if extramarital affairs is your thing, hey, do you. (Just don’t even think about trying it with me!)

But, in this world of high technology, let the case of Detroit mayor Kwame Kilpatrick be lesson to all of us cell phone users:

If you’re gonna cheat and attempt to keep it on the down low, think before you text (Or at least use code words, for goodness sake!) because you never know when those sneaky, sexy text messages you thought were just between you and your er.. umm… cohort (or any text message for that matter) will come back to haunt you.

Through the years...

Last week, I gathered with many other fabulous women of all ages at Jayne Marie’s to celebrate the centennial anniversary of our sorority, Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority Inc.

It’s hard to believe it’s been 10 years since I pledged at Dillard University.(Yes, that's me nearly 10 years ago in the pic below.) Those days were filled with hard work, lifelong friendships and lots of fun.

And when you can stick around for 100 years, it’s just cause to celebrate, especially when it’s the first and oldest sorority founded for black women.
So, let me take a moment to send out a few birthday wishes to my lovely sorors of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority: Happy 100 years. Happy 70 years to the Dillard University chapter and happy 10 years to my line sisters. Skee-wee my sorors.

Peace, poverty and beautification projects

I don't mean to be cynical but I have to ask this question: when did Martin Luther King, Jr. become the poster child for cleaning up the parks and streets of Shreveport?

On the day the nation has chosen to honor the slain civil rights leader, many of the city's happenings were beautification projects. That's a good thing, but why do we need to wait until MLK Day to do a mass, city-wide cleaning project? Couldn't we have done this on Friday? Or even next Thursday? Why today?

I suppose he'd like for Shreveport to be beautiful.

I get King being associated with non-violence and justice. Or education and prayer. And eliminating poverty for all.

But picking up trash?

I'm thinking that may be a stretch.

I found this story today and I think it's interesting.

Tell us what you think.

Don't forget the dream...

Happy Martin Luther King Jr. Day everyone. It's been 45 years since this famous speech, but the hope of King's dream still lives on...

Sadly, even 45 years later, that dream still isn't fully realized. The irony of one particular event today especially hits home.

Thoughts anyone?

Presidents and Books

Presidential elections are pretty serious business.

And so is checking out a library book from the Shreve Memorial Library system, apparently.

Since many of the new Times' staffers are Shreveport transplants, we have to go through the trouble of getting new licenses, library cards, voter registration cards and other life necessities.

Last week my co-worker Velda Hunter and I went to register to vote in Caddo parish. We were out in five minutes--maybe less. All we needed was a form of picture identification and some proof that we actually lived in the parish: a checkbook, recent bill or updated drivers license would do.

I suggested we walk to the downtown branch of Shreve Memorial Library to get new library cards. I figued it would be a snap.

I was wrong.

I needed identification and two other pieces of mail that said I lived in the parish. My Tennessee license and check stub and online bank statement were not enough, though they were at the registrar's office.

Come back when you have something mailed to your address, the woman at the desk told us.

We tried to protest. We said we had just come from registering to vote. We even said we loved to read books. Did we need to use the computer? We could have gotten a guest pass for that.

No! We don't need computers. Both of us have two computers for work and one in our homes. What we needed was a library card, but the woman was having none of it.

I can register to elect a new president but I can't check out a library book.

Gee whiz.

I guess kudos are in order to the lady in the library who followed the rules.

Til death do they part...

As much of a pop cult junkie as I am, even I’m really getting tired of all these dizzy, self-destructive Hollywood starlets hogging the spotlight and headlines in the midst of real news going on in the world, like, I don’t know, the upcoming presidential elections.

I mean, the way Britney Spears’ life has played out over the past couple of months, better yet, weeks, it’s pretty obvious that she’s on the Anna Nicole plan…

Well, it’s obvious enough to some folks so much so that I was shocked to hear about a web site that’s actually asking folks to bet on when her date with death would be. And it turns out there’s a prize if you guess the right date – a free PS3 player! They even let you leave "early condolences" for her.

I tried to browse the site a little bit, just to see if this was for real or some kinda sick joke, but the whole thing just creeped me out. Come to find out they also have such a site for Amy Winehouse who’s better known these days as half of the British version of Bobby and Whitney instead of the awesome songstress that she is (Ok, yes, I’m a fan…)

I mean that’s GOTTA be a wake up call when folks are counting down the days to your death.
Am I the only one who thinks this is sick, or are you placing your bets?

It's officially LSU day

Yes, we are still celebrating.

I went to New Orleans to watch the BCS National Championship game, but I didn't have a ticket. I never made it into the Superdome.

Some people, including several who love me, think I am crazy.

I made an effort during the season not to get too blog happy with what some call my LSU football-related shenanigans. But I don't really consider it nonsense.

Some friends and family members couldn't understand why I would drive for hours late at night to make it to Baton Rouge or through the night to Alabama for an away game. One night I went without sleep. Another I slept in a tent in a mall parking lot. Then there was an apartment floor. The most comfortable spot probably was my pal's recliner in exotic Jackson, Miss. Of course, I had to startle said pal awake at 3 or 4 a.m., since he thought I wasn't coming when the arrival didn't happen at a decent hour.

I jogged with a buddy up a winding Tiger Stadium ramp to make it to my nosebleed seat for the Arkansas game in time to hear a player and close family friend recognized on senior day. Fortunately the defensive end was near near the bottom of the alphabetical list of honorees. Between coughs in the chilly November air (since my cross country runner buddy overestimated my fitness), I shouted with glee when they called out the name Zehyoue.

Tuesday I had to make a bleary-eyed, six-hour drive from New Orleans to Shreveport to make it back to work after the big win. But even though the dang BCS didn't shower favor upon me me in the form of a reporter's golden ticket -- the press pass -- Monday night was proof that all my fanatical effort was worth it.

Some fellow Tiger fans and I joked Monday that the BCS National Championship should mean a statewide holiday. (Who was really working anyway?) Yes, it is only a game. But only being a game is what makes it magic. Magic enough to spill onto Poydras and down Carondolet to Mother Clucker's wings where I watched the game, and up to Shreveport and everywhere between.

In a state that is last on a lot of bad lists, where crime is a major problem and children can't finish school, a little magic goes a long way. We are No. 1 at something.

Even converted Tech graduates like my dad can appreciate it. LSU football unites. We may not be able to agree on who the next president should be or what makes good foreign policy. We can't get New Orleans rebuilt or I-49 north finished fast enough. (And by we, I'm not just talking about father and son here.)

When the Tigers play, we all act like a family. Being national champions was enough for Gov. Blanco to declare today as LSU Day. Here's part of her prepared statement:

"They have faced adversity, doubt and criticism from their foes, but their talent and tenacity have proven without question that they are the best team in the country. I encourage fans to join me in celebrating LSU Day by wearing purple and gold to show their pride in our Fighting Tigers!"

So let's band together... and point at people from Ohio and make them feel like they're last in line.

Allow us to reintroduce ourselves

Ahhh, the start of a new year. Everyone’s excited about things to come. Some are happy to leave 2007 behind.

In the spirit of all that is new, I think this would be a good time to welcome some new folks who have started to stop by, read posts and vote in the weekly polls. Welcome, and we hope you enjoy your time here!

I also think this may be the time to introduce ourselves to those newcomers and reintroduce ourselves to those that have been with us from the beginning.

From our very first post:

Basically we’re a bunch of 20- and 30-somethings who happen to be journalists at The Times, living in the Shreveport-Bossier City area.
You’ve probably seen us out and about, or talked to us, and, if we’re lucky, you might have even read at least one of our stories.
Well, what you may not know about us is that we’re a very opinionated bunch with a wide range of ideas, beliefs and perceptions of the world around us.And more times than not, we’re very vocal about those opinions and views among each other.
In fact, our discussions have played out a many of times over everything from newsroom chats to lunch and dinner debates. But at the end of the day, we’re just normal folks like everyone else, trying to figure out our way through this maze called life.
So we’ve decided to open up and share those experiences, thoughts, observations and perceptions with you all.

We talk about a little bit of everything on here. From the serious to the silly, from the controversial to the crazy, we comment on it all. It’s a mix of news from our personal lives and news from local, national and global levels.

And to clear up a point that seems to get confused in a lot of the comments left on posts: there is a difference between blogging and reporting. Think of blog posts as opinion pieces and news reports as unbiased presentations of what happened. We blog here, we don’t report.

Basically, if we’re thinking it or experiencing it, we’re blogging about it. Everything we write is personal to us, making this a place of personal thought, reflection and plain old fashion sharing.

Not everything is meant to be news and what we write here, you most likely won’t find in the pages of our employer. And that’s the point.

Like all situations in life, we realize we can’t please everybody all of the time. But we hope you’re finding something you like that brings you back and we enjoy the dialogue generated from some posts. But a little understanding on each of our parts goes a long way, I think.

So, Happy New Year, welcome, welcome back, and it’s a pleasure to meet you!

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Which presidential candidate would you drink a beer with?

I was just surfing the net for some news on the Iowa caucuses when I came across a Washington Post column on a cute Web site asking folks which presidential candidate they'd rather sit down and drink a beer with.

Whodoyouwanttohaveabeerwith.com is a hosted by the National Beer Wholesalers Association and, so far, has Barack Obama ahead of the 15 other candidates with 22 percent.

Ron Paul is the next best beer drinking pal with 15 percent.

So, which hopeful would you choose and why?