Chittlin's and Chopsticks

Love and Science

noreply@blogger.com (Mother) — Sun, 25 Jan 2009 20:54:00 +0000

When I was a nerdy lil thing some 50 years ago, I was madly in love with George Washington Carver.

I imaged myself as Mrs. Terris Mae Washington Carver, cooking up sweet potatoes and reading books together with my hubbie in the shade of a big ole pecan tree.

I found out about George Washington Carver in one of my sweeps of the school library at Thompkins Elementary School where I went to hunt down books about “Negroes.” I discovered Harriet Tubman on one of those sweeps, and Langston Hughes, too.

In a book of black and white photos whose placement in an elementary school library full of little negroes could only have been an act of terrorism, I also discovered the ungodly practice of lynching.

But back to my first love, George. I learned that George Washington Carver discovered about a million things that could be made out of peanuts, and about a million more that could be made out of sweet potatoes. I learned that he practically, singlehandedly, saved southern agriculture after the great boll weevil infestation of the early 1920s.

I learned all of this without once thinking of him as a scientist. Somehow the books I read fifty years ago didn’t emphasize that.

“Of course he was a scientist," says my daughter. "Didn’t you see all those test tubes in the background of his pictures?” Maybe I didn’t know what a test tube was in those days, but it never dawned on me that he was a scientist.

I knew he was smart, but I pictured him holding a peanut to his forehead and saying, “Hummm.”

I wish I had known Carver was a scientist. That would have meant a lot to me. I think I would have viewed science from a different perspective. It would have made science more accessible.

I could have been a contender.

It's In the Eyes

noreply@blogger.com (Mother) — Sun, 25 Jan 2009 19:10:00 +0000

You Are Cordially Invited...

noreply@blogger.com (Mother) — Sun, 04 Jan 2009 00:05:00 +0000

You Are Cordially Invited

What: Going Away Party

Who: W

When: Now Until Twelve Noon, January 20, 2009

Where: Right Here at Mother's Place

RSVP

BYOS

Viagra Anyone?

noreply@blogger.com (Mother) — Mon, 15 Oct 2007 01:29:00 +0000

Me to my ten-year-old: "Sweetie, will you go upstairs and get my medicine?"

He to me: "You mean the Viagra?"

Me: "No, Sweetie, the Vicodin."

Wow! What a teachable moment.

Naturally, I had to explain erectile dysfunction to him. It was so much fun, especially when he screamed "Ugh!" and ran from the room.

Later on I took a Xanax.

Get Your Head From Under My Dress!

noreply@blogger.com (Mother) — Mon, 24 Sep 2007 21:55:00 +0000

I came across this chilling disclosure while reading the section on medical records privacy in the CalPers "Health Program Guide" brochure:

Protective Services for the President and Others
We may disclose medical information about you to authorized federal or state officials so they may provide protection to the President, other authorized persons or foreign heads of state or conduct special investigations.

What I Want to Know Is:

How will my pap smear results help protect the president?

Who is this “other authorized person"?Does that include my ex-husband?

And, can these “special investigations” find their way to YouTube?

Let me save y’all Homeland Security folk a little work:

Yes, Mr. President, I’ve found that Cymbalta is much more effective than Zoloft for treating depression.

However, for psychopathic, mass murders, nothing short of lobotomy seems to work.

Shhh!

noreply@blogger.com (Mother) — Tue, 11 Sep 2007 00:35:00 +0000

I am writing this from a secure, protected, secret location.

Until now I’ve been afraid to contact any of my friends. Afraid of detection. Afraid one of them would find me and it would start all over.

I am in the Negro Kinfolk Protection Program. I have been given a new name and a new identity—I am now a former exotic dancer with a PhD in physics. I am safe. Some days I’m even happy. If you love me, do not try to find me. You may inadvertently lead them to me and I’ve had enough of kinfolk to last a lifetime.

From time to time, when I feel it is safe, I will send you a message. Wait. Be patient. And remember, Mother loves you.

...and the Winner Is!

noreply@blogger.com (Mother) — Wed, 02 May 2007 04:06:00 +0000

Mother asked for a moral for her fable, "Slurs." Five brave and creative people
responded (private comments to me were disqualified.)

Congratulations:

Villager--you nailed it, besides you gifted me with a story about your grandfather.
Credo--because it was hard, but you did it anyway
Firefly--the classics always work
Pearl--we all need to try your way more often
Dan Harlow--I liked your twist and wisdom

You are all winners!

Please contact me at terrisgrimes@comcast.net and give me your mailing addresses, and I'll send you an autographed copy of Shades of Black.

Paris, Texas--Its Your Turn to Laugh

noreply@blogger.com (Mother) — Sun, 29 Apr 2007 22:51:00 +0000

West Sacramento Gang injunction voided

Police serve only one gang member wanna-be whom they expected to notify all 350 Broderick Boys gang members

Read full story: Published 12:00 am PDT Wednesday, April 25, 2007, Sacramento Bee

A three-judge panel for California's 3rd District Court of Appeal unanimously and rightly struck down a court order that imposed an overly broad injunction against a West Sacramento gang known as the Broderick Boys.

The sweeping injunction, first imposed in 2005, had been criticized by law-abiding citizens and even members of the West Sacramento City Council. It barred some 350 unnamed gang members from "standing, sitting, walking, driving, gathering or appearing" together in a 3-square-mile area that police designated as a "safety zone." It also imposed a curfew that prohibited gang members from being on the streets after 10 p.m. or before sunrise.

The Bigger the Bra--The Badder We Are

noreply@blogger.com (Mother) — Sun, 29 Apr 2007 22:09:00 +0000

She has to be an Air Mom! Check out her lesson: How to put on a bra.

clipped from www.youtube.com

Pay as you go jails

noreply@blogger.com (Mother) — Sun, 29 Apr 2007 21:50:00 +0000

clipped from www.brendan-nyhan.com

Anyone convicted of a crime knows a debt to society often must be paid in jail. But a slice of Californians willing to supplement that debt with cash (no personal checks, please) are finding that the time can be almost bearable.

For offenders whose crimes are usually relatively minor (carjackers should not bother) and whose bank accounts remain lofty, a dozen or so city jails across the state offer pay-to-stay upgrades. Theirs are a clean, quiet, if not exactly recherché alternative to the standard county jails, where the walls are bars, the fellow inmates are hardened and privileges are few.

How long until we offer rich people nicer courts too? Or let them buy their way out of their sentence?

Calling All Wizards!

noreply@blogger.com (Mother) — Mon, 23 Apr 2007 21:04:00 +0000

I was reared Catholic. I received my first communion in a little white bridal dress. I did the confirmation thing. I was devout. Today, I consider Antioch Progressive Baptist Church, here in Sacramento, my home church. We held my mother’s funeral in our family parish, at St. Joseph/St. Andrews Catholic Church, in Oakland, California. The American Friends have always been my friends. My boyfriend is a Buddhist.

Now, I’m a Catholic/Baptist/Quaker/Buddhist on my way to becoming a secular humanist.

Don’t get the wrong idea. I’m a wonderfully, well adjusted, Boomer Mama/Air Mom, of African ancestry with the good fortune of having been born in Tucker, Arkansas yet reared in California—at least that’s what my therapist says, minus the back-story.

If my variegated religious background has taught me one thing, it is how to deal with evil. You pray, anoint, fast, burn stuff, sacrifice things, read ancient texts, dress in certain ways, eat some stuff/avoid other stuff, dance, sing, believe…I could go on, but I’m sure you get the idea.

A great evil has befallen our land. Our children are being gunned down in the streets, in their front yards, at their houses of worship, in their universities, and on foreign soil. Babies are dying in Mississippi because it is cheaper to let them die than provide prenatal care for mothers.

And an evil, death worshiping, cabal, dressed in the flesh bags bought on the cheap from old men weak enough and evil enough to trade their own skins for a bit of power, has taken over this country and most of the world. Folks, we are in great peril. The fate of the planet is at stake.

I’m putting a call out to wizards—real ones, not you Dungeon and Dragons types—the kind Michael Gruber writes about in, Tropic of Night, because the evil in the Whitehouse is so great only the worlds greatest wizard can take it on now. And I don’t mean the Washington Wizards, unless they have some very strong mojo.

You may scoff, but enough of you believed in the bush baby to elect him, not once but twice, so keep your condescending smugness to yourselves. I believe in a lot of things unseen, like Social Security, liberty and justice for all, and fat burning pills.

If you know a wizard, please have it get in touch with me—pronto!

Slurs: The Fable

noreply@blogger.com (Mother) — Mon, 23 Apr 2007 04:29:00 +0000

There once was a very nice lady who lived next door to a young couple who held one another in very high regard, in fact, you could say they were very much in love.

One spring day the nice lady was in her backyard weeding her petunias and the couple next door was in their backyard cleaning their pool. The nice lady overheard one of them say to the other, “Please hand me that gizmo over there, Babycakes.” The other replied, “Sure thing, Suga Booga.”

The next day the nice lady was walking her dog, when she passed the couple next door. As the nice lady not only was nice, but was also exceedingly polite, without a bigoted bone in her body, she nodded and said, “Good morning, Suga Booga. Beautiful day isn’t it, Babycakes?”

The couple next door did not return the nice lady’s greeting. They stared at her until she turned the corner, then they went directly to the Human Rights Commission and filed a complaint charging the nice lady with making slurs based on their ethnicity, race, gender, and sexual orientation.

The moral of this story is …

Mother Needs a Moral for this Story

Write the moral to this fable and win a copy of Mother's anthology, Shades of Black. Three winners will be chosen. Contest ends when Beltane begins.

Take The Duck!

noreply@blogger.com (Mother) — Wed, 18 Apr 2007 19:02:00 +0000

Air Mom Parenting Tip #17

When I'm trying to give the young folk in my family good, sound advice such as, stay away from the home of a certain distant relative because you never know when it might be raided, and they, the very picture of ennui, roll their eyes, sigh, and say, "Oh mother/auntie..." I say, quit firmly, "Take the duck!"

In the parlance of our family, "take the duck" means, "I know you are all grown up, but listen anyway."

It hasn't failed yet. They settle down and listen. And I owe it all to Sony. Take a gander at the commercial below.

56 Day and Still No Apology

noreply@blogger.com (Mother) — Sat, 14 Apr 2007 19:26:00 +0000

56 days and no apology from Eddie Murphy, no contact from Biden’s office, and now Imus shows his behind. I offered the services of my public relations firm, Act Like You Been Raised, but neither Murphy nor Biden saw fit to contact me. My rates are steep, but my services are well worth it. Maybe Imus will have his people call my people.

You know what my sainted mother used to say (and yes, I was raised Catholic and my maiden surname is Irish), “Hard head, soft behind.” You people better start listening to me—and yes, I said “you people.”

You know why Imus apologized and Murphy didn’t? Because a lot was at stake for Imus and nothing was at stake for Murphy. Imus lost sponsors. You remember what sponsors are, don’t you children? That’s right Jamal, sponsors are the guys who were paying Imus tons of money to spout mean spirited, bigoted, diatribes that appealed to other mean spirited, bigoted people. But once “We the People” raised our voices in protest, the sponsors took their money and slithered away trying all the while to look sanctimonious about cutting and running.

Remember this children—under the right kind of light, slime trails glow in the dark.

Why hasn’t Murphy apologized for virtually calling black women big fat nappy head hoes for close to two hours? (Mixed race black women escaped his slimefest) Because he doesn’t have to, that’s why. A little matter of $94,815,036, says he doesn’t have to. That’s what Norbit has grossed so far according to Box Office Mojo. Expected worldwide earnings are $150,250,410.

Maybe Paramount’s Dreamworks should be apologizing. Imus took 10 seconds to say what Dreamworks took nearly two hours to rub in our faces.

Children, remember how Mother frequently says it all about the money? Here’s something else I won’t you to remember, “Money talks, bullshit walks” (yes dears, Mother is bilingual)

Don’t worry, Mother hasn’t forgotten about those little rappers out there saying all those nasty things about women, and making those blue movies they call videos. But all of this talk about ill manner children saying and doing things that reflect so poorly on their mothers has got me feeling a little dirty. Let me go take a bath and we’ll talk more later.

Welcome Home Shaquanda

noreply@blogger.com (Mother) — Sat, 31 Mar 2007 05:36:00 +0000

Welcome Home Shaquanda!!!

Shaquanda Freed!!!!

noreply@blogger.com (Mother) — Sat, 31 Mar 2007 05:12:00 +0000

Girl in Texas prison controversy to go free early

Teen is first of possibly hundreds to be freed from a scandal-ridden juvenile justice system

By Howard WittTribune senior correspondent
March 30, 2007, 8:26 PM CDT HOUSTON

Shaquanda Cotton, the black teenager in the small east Texas town of Paris whose prison sentence of up to seven years for shoving a teacher's aide sparked nationwide controversy, will be released Saturday morning, prison officials confirmed on Friday. Her release, ordered by a special conservator appointed to overhaul the state's scandal-ridden juvenile prison system, is the first of what could be hundreds as a panel of civil rights leaders begins reviewing the sentences of every youth incarcerated by the Texas Youth Commission to weed out those being held arbitrarily.

"We have no confidence in the system that was in place," said Jim Hurley, spokesman for the conservator, Jay Kimbrough. "And this case is an example of what we expect to happen if something wrong has been done to youths being held inside that system."

Shaquanda, who is 15, had no prior criminal record when she was incarcerated a year ago under an indeterminate sentence that could have lasted until her 21st birthday. Her case rose to national prominence and became the focus of ongoing civil rights protests following a March 12 Tribune story that detailed how a 14-year-old white girl convicted of the more serious crime of arson was sentenced to probation by the same judge.

Shaquanda's case occurred against a backdrop of persistent allegations of racial discrimination inside the Paris public schools; allegations that are the subject of a continuing probe by the U.S. Department of Education to determine whether black students in the district are disciplined more harshly than whites.

"When I learned about this case, I thought, this just looks so bad and smells so bad it made me hurt," said state Rep. Harold Dutton, the influential chairman of the Texas legislature's juvenile justice committee. "I told [prison officials] I wanted her out of there immediately.

The superintendent of the Ron Jackson Correctional Complex in Brownwood, Texas, where Shaquanda is being held, called her mother, Creola Cotton, Friday afternoon and told her she could come pick up the youth, Cotton said. But because it is a five-hour drive from Paris to Brownwood, and the weather in the area on Friday was severe, Cotton said she couldn't reach the prison until Saturday morning to get her daughter. Later Friday, prison officials, who had not told Shaquanda of her impending release, allowed her to call her mother.

"She thought they were bringing her to the office to tell her I was not going to be able to visit this weekend like I was planning because of the bad weather, so she was already crying," Cotton said. "I said, 'Oh, I'm still gonna come see you tomorrow. But you're going to be coming home with me.' She nearly fell on the floor."

Officials said Shaquanda was being released on 60 days' probation to allow her to access state health and counseling services. But after that, she would be completely free, they said. Cotton said her daughter would not return to the Paris public schools but would pursue her GED at home. What effect her release might have on the legal appeal of the youth's case, now pending before a state appeals court, was unclear.

Since she's been in prison, Shaquanda said that she had grown despondent surrounded by other youths who were hardened criminals and that she had tried to commit suicide. Her sentence, which ultimately was up to the discretion of prison officials, had twice been extended, first because she would not admit her guilt as required by prison regulations and then because she was found with "contraband" in her cell; an extra pair of socks. Those sentence extensions drew the attention of Kimbrough, who was confirmed by the state Senate on Thursday as conservator of the youth prison system, which has been rocked by a sex scandal over allegations that guards and administrators coerced youthful inmates for sex.

Kimbrough, a former deputy attorney general, said last week that he was convening a special committee to examine the sentences of all 4,700 youths in Texas juvenile prisons to determine how many might have had their sentences unfairly extended by prison authorities—and that Shaquanda's was the first case he intended to review. Prison officials said it was Kimbrough who personally ordered Shaquanda's release on Friday.

Since the Tribune's first account of Shaquanda's case, her story has been circulated on more than 400 Internet blogs and featured in newspapers and radio and TV reports across the country. Two protests demanding her release were held in Paris and a third, to be led by Rev. Al Sharpton, was scheduled for Tuesday.

Even before news of Shaquanda's impending release broke Friday, the Lamar County District Attorney's office, which prosecuted her and pressed for her to be sent to prison for up to seven years, made an abrupt turnaround and said the youth had served enough time and ought to be freed.

"Let her out of TYC," said Allan Hubbard, spokesman for Lamar County District Atty. Gary Young. "Hell, she's done a year for pushing a teacher. That's too long." Hubbard also backed away from claims he and Young made this week in numerous media interviews that the judge in the case, Lamar County Judge Chuck Superville, had had no choice but to send the youth to prison because her mother had testified that she would not cooperate with probation officials had the judge sentenced the teen to probation.

On Thursday, Young's official Web site contained this assertion: "This juvenile's mother (Creola Cotton) told the judge she would not comply with conditions of probation." But a review of the full court transcript shows no such testimony. In fact, Creola Cotton repeatedly answered "yes" when asked in court whether she would comply with any conditions of probation that the judge might impose. On Friday morning, after an inquiry about this discrepancy by the Tribune, the district attorney's Web site was altered to read: "Through her actions of non-cooperation, Ms. Cotton told the judge she would not comply with conditions of probation."
Copyright (c) 2007, Chicago Tribune

Criminalization of Children?

noreply@blogger.com (Mother) — Fri, 30 Mar 2007 03:49:00 +0000

A Paris, Texas resident took the Free Shaqaunda movement to task for claiming or assuming Paris, Texas is racist. In a post to this blog, the commenter disagreed that the harshness of Shaquanda's sentence was due to her race, rather it was due to the criminalization of children in the wake of Columbine and 9/11.

Read the comment excerpted below, click on the link , and tell me your thoughts.

If you want to see where a huge portion of the problem comes from, try checking www.texaszerotolerance.comand click on their link of reported abuse. There are literally dozens if not hundreds of cases of children who have been criminalized for what would have been considered normal behavior prior to Columbine and 9/11. Shaquanda's case is just another example of a political system that holds school children to higher behavioral standards than the adults. She deserves a break, and I think community service would have been a much better choice for punishment.

Texas Youth Commission to Review Shaquanda's Sentence Extension

noreply@blogger.com (Mother) — Fri, 30 Mar 2007 02:30:00 +0000

Today's Washington Post:

A spokesman for the Texas Youth Commission, an agency recently turned over to a conservator because of long-ignored allegations of sexual abuse of incarcerated juveniles by facility employees, said the extension of Cotton's sentence will be examined.

Youth facility supervisors can extend a juvenile's sentence until he or she turns 21 for any number of infractions. About 45 percent of the more than 4,600 juveniles have received extended sentences in recent years. Allegations have been made that sentences were extended arbitrarily and to intimidate
teenagers.

Although forbidden by law to comment on a specific juvenile, Youth
Commission spokesman Jim Hurley said that "the publicly cited case of someone getting a term extended for having contraband which turned out to be an extra pair of socks is indescribable. It is beyond belief, if it is true, and we will have a panel reviewing each of these cases."

Shaquanda Cotton's Sentencing Exemplifies Rehabilitation Gone Bad

noreply@blogger.com (Mother) — Thu, 29 Mar 2007 22:09:00 +0000

Read complete article
DiversityInc

The Paris News

noreply@blogger.com (Mother) — Wed, 28 Mar 2007 23:04:00 +0000

Read the latest in

The Paris News

Free Shaquanda Cotton In The News

noreply@blogger.com (Mother) — Wed, 28 Mar 2007 04:44:00 +0000

Olberlin Times
Uproar over Texas teen‘s imprisonment
27 March, 2007
By PAUL J. WEBER, Associated Press

The Socialist Worker Online
Racism On Display in Texas Town
By Cindy Berringer

CBS Dallas/Fort Worth
Teen in Jail Prompts Racism Rally in Paris, Texas
By Steve Pickett

The Paris News
Smiley: 'It is time for a new movement'
By Mary Madewell

From "On the Black Hand Side: FREE SHAQUANDA COTTON - Update #2: Worldwide Prayer, Sat. March 31st!

noreply@blogger.com (Mother) — Wed, 28 Mar 2007 03:17:00 +0000

FREE SHAQUANDA COTTON - Update #2: Worldwide Prayer, Sat. March 31st!

Paris, Texas Protestors Gather at Locked Down Lamar County Courthouse

noreply@blogger.com (Mother) — Tue, 27 Mar 2007 19:22:00 +0000

Mighty Bloggers--Thank You

noreply@blogger.com (Mother) — Tue, 27 Mar 2007 17:50:00 +0000

It Ain't Over

I'm feeling good right now about the prospect of Shaquanda Cotton being released sometime soon. But, if I may loosely quote Kirk Franklin, "It ain't over." So keep the prayers coming and keep posting. Don't let the fire die down. Shaquanda and 4,000 other child prisoners are depending on us.

For Shaquanda Cotton--Cyberspace Mattered

noreply@blogger.com (Mother) — Tue, 27 Mar 2007 15:33:00 +0000

Tribune reporter Howard Witt hasn't seen a reaction to a story quite like the one he got after writing about a controversy in the small Texas town of Paris.

If you had Googled the black girl's name, Shaquanda Cotton, the day before the story was published on the front page of the March 12 edition of the Tribune, you would have gotten zero results. On Monday afternoon, there were more than 35,000 hits.

The story has been picked up on more than 300 blogs around the country, many of them concerned with African-American affairs. It has generated thousands of postings to Internet message boards.