Keith's Amusing Musings » Commentary

The Essence of Alpha

Keith — Tue, 19 Apr 2011 05:20:26 +0000

Sixteen years ago I became a member of the Rho Nu Chapter of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc. At that time, most of the gentlemen featured in the short clip below were in preschool. While almost two decades separate our respective pledge experiences, watching this video brought back so many of the powerful emotions that made and make Alpha dear to me. Coincidentally, if you ask a Man of Alpha why he pledged or what the fraternity means to him, chances are he will struggle mightily to find the right words to convey its essence.

Spring 2011 – Beta Gamma Chapter from John Ledbetter on Vimeo.

Alpha is more than the pledging, the stepping, the strolling, the chanting, the signs, the gear, the partying, the debauchery, the brotherhood, the service, the academics, the secrets, the history. Yet, it is all those, too. I share this video because it captures the essence of Alpha better than I can and does so with no words. Now you know.

In the process of preparing to write this post I realized it is quite conceivable that, in sixteen years, Owen could be that skinny kid, standing with his line brothers in the rain, Alpha Phi Alpha emblazoned on his chest. How powerful would that be?

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How many countries have I seen? (2010)

Keith — Fri, 23 Apr 2010 15:35:31 +0000

It has been three years since my original “How many countries have I seen?” post. I thought it would be fun to update the list to get a sense of how much of the world I have yet to see. This is also a good way to get TB thinking about places we might visit in 2010.

As of April 2010, the tally comes in at 29, nine more since March 2007. This puts me at a mere 15% of the 193 countries in the world or +5% in 3 years. At this rate, it will take me about 50 more years to cover the globe.

Below is the updated list including links to the relevant blog entries.

Argentina
Australia
Austria
Barbados
Belgium
Brazil
Canada
China
Czech Republic
Dominica
England
France
Germany
Hungary
Italy
Japan
Malaysia
Mexico (Cancun, Puerto Vallarta, Cabo San Lucas)
Monaco
Mozambique
The Netherlands
New Zealand
Scotland
Singapore
South Africa (Kruger National Park, Cape Town, Plettenberg Bay)
South Korea
Spain
Sweden
USA

As before, these are all places I have actually visited so airport layovers do not count.

In the previous post I expressed a desire to visit South America and mainland Asia. I covered both with trips to Argentina & Brazil in October 2007 then China & South Korea in April 2008. Cape Town still reigns supreme as my favorite city but Rio de Janeiro is a close second. Kuala Lumpur maintains its rank on the bottom rung.

What’s next on the to-do list? Central America, India or the Middle East would be nice but we may have to wait until Owen is a little older before taking on those last two.

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Two feet high and rising

Keith — Wed, 01 Jul 2009 00:47:30 +0000

We took Owen to Kirkland City Hall today to apply for his passport. TB had me complete and print the online application beforehand and we both got a good chuckle while reviewing the section regarding his physical appearance.

His passport photo is even funnier.

We heard smiling in passport photos has been forbidden due to limitations in the facial recognition scanners used by security agencies worldwide. We knew not to worry since Owen is so serious in almost all his photos.

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Dallas Cowboys release Terrell Owens

Keith — Sat, 07 Mar 2009 16:49:37 +0000

It is a sad day for me as a Dallas Cowboys fan. It is no secret I place greater emphasis on all the good T.O. brings to the teams he has played for during his career than the bad. This was as true while he was in San Francisco and Philadelphia as it was in Dallas. I think Dallas has made an enormous personnel blunder.

Call him a ball-dropping, loudmouth, cancerous, crybaby distraction but you must acknowledge he is a competitor and winner. How else do you explain over the last five seasons teams he has played on are 48-20 (.706) with him and 2-10 (.167) without him? Coincidence?

I don’t know what Jerry Jones is up to but keeping head coach Wade Phillips while cutting T.O. is a quick-and-easy recipe for missing the playoffs again next year. You don’t rebuild a winning franchise by cutting the guy who, in week 12, racked up the most franchise single-game receiving yards since 1979 while keeping the entire coaching staff after, in week 17, getting embarrassed 44-6, just missing the playoffs.

Jerry Rice is the only receiver in NFL history with more touchdown receptions than T.O. Jerry can no longer play the game but T.O. can. I hope Cowboys quarterback (Tony Romo), tight end (Jason Witten) and offensive coordinator (Jason Garrett) know who to blame when T.O.’s absence from the roster results in more team absences from the playoffs.

I hear the Arizona Cardinals bandwagon is accepting late arrivals. There is a lot to like about Kurt Warner, Larry Fitzgerald and Anquan Boldin. They find ways to win while the Cowboys find ways to whine. Hmm…

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The Animal Kingdom, Part 3

Keith — Wed, 18 Feb 2009 05:43:02 +0000

I have been giving fair warning for over two years now yet people still haven’t learned. A 200-pound, “pet” chimpanzee attacked and severely mauled a woman today in Stamford, Connecticut. You know you’re in for it when you have a pet that weighs 200 pounds and you can only bench, say, 30 tops.

To me, it’s still not clear who won that battle. The chimp is dead, sure, but not before he bit off both his victim’s hands, completely disfigured her face, got shanked a few times with a butcher knife by his owner, chased a policeman into his cruiser after being stabbed AND took “several” rounds, close-range, from the cop’s firearm. And, if that weren’t enough, the chimp then retreated to his living quarters to die. Brings a whole new meaning to “Live free, die hard."

Similar to my previous Animal Kingdom post, I allocate points as follows:

Travis (the chimp): 1
Sandra Herold (the owner): 1
Charla Nash (the victim): 0.5
Policeman: nil

Jack Bauer has nothing on Travis the chimp. Ms. Herold gets a point for her quick-wittedness and knife work that saved her friend’s life. Ms. Nash gets half a point for surviving the brutal attack. The police officer must have had both eyes closed to fire several rounds close-range and not kill Travis immediately.

All that said, the silliest part of this whole story is the photographer (or Fox editor?) who decided to whiten Travis’ teeth in the photo of him above taken in 2003. Was he auditioning for a Crest Whitestrips commercial?

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Babymoon in Cabo San Lucas

Keith — Sun, 07 Dec 2008 08:10:58 +0000

TB and I are just returned from a mini babymoon in Cabo San Lucas, soaking up sun and R&R before the winter and our little one arrive. The weather was fantastic, in the 80s and sunny, completely opposite the weather in Seattle this time of year. While it was great vacation weather it was not-so-great running weather particularly in the hilly, rocky terrain surrounding the Pueblo Bonito Pacifica resort where we stayed. I kept up my training by running shorter times/distances but more days.

There is a lot I liked about Pueblo Bonito Pacifica and a few things I disliked. Here are my quick lists:

Highlights

Beautiful location: Located on the tip of the Baja peninsula, one can watch the sunrise and sunset.
No smoking: With a pregnant wife this is a no-brainer.
Adults only: We have to enjoy the kid-free, 16 or older, environment while we can. It is quiet and uncrowded.
Courteous staff: Everyone is very pleasant and accommodating.
Comfortable quarters: The room is well-appointed very clean with nice furniture and a great bathroom. However, the hard bed and pillows are not the hotness.

Lowlights

Location, location, location: The resort is remote and isolated. Free shuttles are available into town which is about 30 minutes away.
Food: While the quality and quantity are passable, the prices are not. Clearly, food is how the operators choose to make their money. Cabo overall is more expensive than Cancun or Puerto Vallarta but $9.50 for a 32 oz. bottle of water? Extreme. Making matters worse, the resort forbids any food or beverage from outside its gates including that 128 oz. jug of the same water sold at the grocery store in town for $2.45.
The beach: The phrase "fun in the sun" typically conjures up images of the beach with walks in fine, hot sand and dips in calm, cool sea. Here, the sand is not fine and the sea is not calm. The beach seems more an afterthought at Pueblo Bonito Pacifica and, unsurprisingly, most guests sit around the pool or in the Jacuzzi, instead. Doing so makes them prime targets for over-priced martinis and beers, of course.

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Silly Syllogism: The Plaxico Burress Conundrum

Keith — Thu, 04 Dec 2008 20:11:47 +0000

Maybe it is because I envy the New York Giants perch atop the NFC East divisional rankings. It is true my judgmental side makes me a bit harsh in situations like Plaxico Burress found himself last weekend. But, I mainly question the calculus which lead him to the illogical conclusion that the best way to make an environment safer for himself was to make it unsafe for everyone else. The rich irony being his “solution” backfired (no pun intended).

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Great Moments in Alpha History: May 1995 Northeastern University Stepshow Competition

Keith — Thu, 27 Nov 2008 09:31:32 +0000

You are about to witness something special. Something rare, magnificent and hilarious. This is how I chose to give thanks on this special day. Alas, I am getting ahead of myself and need to set the stage.

As you may recall, I’m an Alpha man. My two line brothers and I pledged Rho Nu Chapter of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc. in spring 1995. (On an historical note, Rho Nu—which encompasses MIT, Harvard and Tufts—will celebrate its 20th anniversary next September.) I was digging through some old VHS tapes, from the brief period during my college days when I had a camcorder, and came across several gems. In addition to footage of family, I also had hours of tape from the Million Man March and a tape of my first stepshow…the topic of this post.

Rho Nu inducts its new members in the spring. The tradition is the newest members join with the “older” chapter bros and their fellow counterparts from Sigma chapter—which covers the Boston side of the Charles River—to compete against other fraternities in the area in the annual Northeastern University Stepshow competition. At stake are trophies, a year’s worth of bragging rights and a hockey rink full of women who like a good stepshow and love to see young men work up a sweat.

Sidebar:
I suggest you take a moment to read the bottom of my Alpha turns 100 post which includes a brief summary of stepshows and their significance to Black Greek letter organizations.

To recap, after pledging during the long, bitter New England winter, a new member practices a couple more months with his fellow fraternity brothers to represent the fraternity at the competition and (hopefully) avoid completely humiliating himself in front of the Greater Boston community (which may include his future wife). It just so happens TB was the camerawoman for my first stepshow so there is a modest correlation between stepshows and long-lasting love, right?

Without further ado, I present a Keith’s Amusing Musings exclusive, 16-minute video of the Alpha step team from the May 1995 competition. We won first place, of course. So, go ahead and crank up the sound, sit back and feast your eyes on the “Peabo Bryson circa 1993” inspired suits, forceful rhythms and intricate formations only Alphas could pull off.

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Donovan McNabb redux

Keith — Wed, 26 Nov 2008 21:14:50 +0000

I think my posts about McNabb from two years back are particularly apropos given the recent dust-up in Philadelphia Eagles nation with its starting quarterback. Who knew four seasons would pass with the Eagles failing to make the playoffs? I cannot say I am surprised.

The last time the Eagles made the playoffs was following the 2004 season when they were beaten 24-21 by the Patriots in Super Bowl XXXIX. So, in 2004 the Eagles made the playoffs and went to the Super Bowl and here, in 2008, they are 5-5 and on the brink of missing the playoffs for four consecutive seasons. The difference since 2004: T.O. That guy who was too much a distraction in Philly. Oops.

I am all too happy to have T.O. distracting the Cowboys to winning seasons and playoff berths. Now Philly fans are distracted by McNabb’s inability to return the club to glory.

Now only if the Cowboys would actually win a playoff game…

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Obama-McCain Electoral Map and Exit Poll Results

Keith — Sun, 23 Nov 2008 03:02:37 +0000

It is hard to believe the election was less than 3 weeks ago yet it is already feeling like a distant memory with the euphoria fading rapidly. One aspect of the election that intrigued me the most was the on-again, off-again nature of the exit polling leading up to November 4th. I always wondered how accurate the various polls would turn out to be, and, more importantly, and how truthful those polled were.

As a follow-up to my "Deep Zoom: Obama" post back in July, here is a Deep Zoom-powered finale I created which shows just how our new President-elect redefined the electoral map. As you navigate down you can also see just how the electorate voted based on age, race, income, education and other pivot points collected by the CNN pollsters. I circled the following three data points I found most amazing or enlightening:

Voters age 18-29
Blacks age 65 and older (as compared to other Black age groups—remember this is the voting bloc that suffered the most under Jim Crow and the most egregious racial inequities of the 20th century)
First-time voters (admittedly there is significant overlap with bullet #1)

I am curious whether you think groups 1 and 3 will stomach an Obama administration with Hilary Clinton as Secretary of State. Further, what factors do you believe weighed in the decision of that 6% of group 2—twice the percentage of any other group of Black voters—that voted for McCain over Obama?

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