Black versus White

'But if you are thinking about my baby
It don't matter if you are black or white' - (Black or White by Michael Jackson)

The news media in USA is saturated with stories of Michael Jackson, the 'King of Pop', who died suddenly yesterday. Everybody is unanimous in their acceptance of Jackson as a music icon in the league of ‘Elvis’. However, I notice a big difference in the way the black and the white people talk about him. Blacks are sincere about their love of Michael Jackson, and talk as if they lost someone in their own family. They hardly mention anything about his troubled private life. The others, especially people over 30, has a different take on Michael Jackson. They also talk glowingly about the impact of Jackson songs and music videos in their younger days. However, there is an invariable ‘but’ about Jackson being ‘let go’ of child molestation charges, and his addiction to prescription drugs. (Check this morning T.V. show for an example). The irony is that Michael Jackson looked and acted more like a white person in his life. He lightened his skin, married two white women, and ‘fathered’ three lily white children. I admire how the blacks so easily accept their prodigal sons back to their fold. (Same thing happened with O.J. Simpson!)

I am quite irritated about the tepid reaction of President Obama on the passing of a person who had a major role in breaking the color barrier for him. (I remember Michael Jackson bringing actress Brook Shields as his date in the 1984 Grammy awards, and people feeling that it was Shields who was lucky!)

Business interest in sports

There is a lot of excitement here about Los Angeles Lakers being at the threshold of winning the 2009 NBA Championship. They are just one game away from winning it, with a 3-1 lead in the series with Orlando Magic. The game is about to start in Orlando in a few minutes. While sports fans like me want to see Lakers win today, I am wondering if the owners of Lakers feel the same. If Lakers lose today, the next game is in Los Angeles, which will be a huge event with millions to be made. Do the players also share this interest or they rather see the whole thing finished today? Will find out soon!

Update:

Well, the players did not share the interest of the management... Lakers thrashed Orlando Magic today to win the NBA Championship!

Time to be on high alert!

I cannot get over the hesitancy for the authorities and MSM to admit the obvious about the sudden crash of the Air France jet from Brazil – that the probability of a jet plane suddenly disintegrating in mid air without an external force like a missile or bomb causing it, is infinitesimally small. A commercial aircraft simply does not disappear without a squeak from the pilot! That is what happened with the Pan Am flight which crashed in Lockerbie, and the TWA flight which exploded mid air in New York – dead silence from the pilots. I hope our Homeland Security is now on high alert. What if the bombing of Air France it was a trial run by the terrorists before hitting USA with multiple aircrafts, 9/11 style?

A nasty jolt in the making?

The MSM analysts and talk show hosts here in USA, are busy analyzing the rulings and speeches of the Supreme Court nominee Sonia Sotomayer to figure out what type of a justice she is going to be. The Conservative Right (GOP) is concerned if she will favor the minorities in her rulings, shaped by her experiences as the daughter of a struggling Hispanic family. The Liberal Left is confident that she is going to be their representative in the Supreme Court. But I feel that they may be in for the shock of their lives, if Sotomayer supports the overturn of ‘Roe VS Wade’ ruling which made abortion legal in this country! I will not be surprised if that happens as she has a Catholic upbringing.

Too much of a good thing is bad!

I am always on the lookout for new clients for my software company. It is not an easy task. It requires months of patient campaigning to convince a client to use our services. I feel triumphant when I get a new client. But what happens if for some reason my company becomes so famous that clients start calling me with work instead? According to basic Business 101, we will go out of business in a hurry! The reason? My business will fold either because our service will deteriorate due to the sudden increase in volume, or because of the bad publicity created by people who were turned down. In short, being famous suddenly is not a good thing. This is what the British singer Susan Boyle, who suddenly became famous thanks to a single performance in a T.V. show, is finding out.