The Meltingpot is Offline--Temporarily

Hi People,

Due to the lameness of my internet service provider, I have no internet service at home for the next several days. (I also have no TV, but that's kind of my fault). I also have a sick child and no child care...

So I know your lives won't be the same without my posts, but might I suggest you use this time to mourn Michael Jackson and think about how incredible his legacy will be. Really, he did so much in the world, touched so many people. I don't even pretend to understand it, but everybody in the world knew Michael Jackson and could probably hum the tune of at least one of his songs. Apparently there is a run on the US embassy in Sri Lanka for visas to come to the United States to attend MJ's funeral!

And for your reading pleasure, check out this article by my friend Jesse Washington, who wrote for the Associated Press about Jackson's own unique color complex.

And remember, I'm starting with the Man in the Mirror. Cha-mon!

Peace!

Is is just me?

1) I swore I wouldn't watch too much politics on TV running up to the election, but a friend of mine was supposed to be addressing the Republican Convention tonight. He got bumped, by the way. But I couldn't help but notice that there sure were a lot of pale faces at the Republican National Convention and a seemingly scant amount of faces of color. Is it just me or did all of the colored Republicans suddenly become Obama supporters? I mean even the token contingent of Black Republicans seemed to be absent.

2) And speaking of annoying things about Cindy McCain...Did anybody else happen to catch the Cindy McCain video played at the RNC and wince when they said she "found" her youngest daughter while visiting an orphanage in Bangladesh? Like the baby was some random object she picked up on her travels. Is it just me or is that girl being trotted around to prove that the McCains understand colored people?

3) And is it just me or am I the only one who forgot that September begins National Hispanic Heritage Month (or as I just read on a calendar, National Latino Pride Month)? Why does Hispanic Heritage month feel like a second-class citizen on the cultural calendar? Is it just because I live in a city without a large Hispanic population that I'm missing the Latino love? Is it different in the southwest or Los Angeles for example? Is anybody celebrating? I hope so.

4) And finally, as my children prepare for movie night tomorrow (Friday Night), where the featured film is The Wiz, I ask, is it just me, or do other people have trouble explaining to their young children why Michael Jackson used to be a Black man and now, in the words of my seven-year old son, looks like a "Chinese woman?" No matter how many ways I try to explain it, he just doesn't understand the concept of plastic surgery. Ahh. Kids!

Peace & Happy Weekend!