"Crown"-ing Glory (Re-Post)

This blog started as a honoring of what I believed was a ghetto staple. Well thanks to some investigating, I discovered that it really is an American staple. The Crown Royal bag.

I got the idea for this blog when a friend of mine told me a story of how she was in downtown Chicago, and a fairly classy lady pulled out a Crown Royal bag (CRB) of change, and paid the meter. Through my laughter, I began to think of all the uses that I have seen of the CRB. For those of you who are not big liquor drinkers, a little background information. (I Love this part, lets take 'em to school).

Crown Royal, or Crown for short, was created in 1939 to commemorate the first visit to Canada by King George VI and his wife Queen Elizabeth. (The parents of Queen Elizabeth II, the current queen of England). It is a Canadian Whiskey, and was distributed by the Seagram's Corporation. Crown was only available in Canada until 1964, when its crown shaped bottle, and royal blue bag made its way to America.

And it is here where we begin our story.

See, growing up as a kid on the south side of Chicago, I have always been aware of Crown Royal. From previous blogs, you may believe it was due to my Grandfather, but honestly it was from a highly sensitive intellect. Either that, or all those alcohol billboards scattered across the soutside of Chicago. And the one that always stood out the most was the velvet looking CRB.
As I've gotten older, that bag began to take on a less elegant meaning. Think something more along the lines of a Scarlet Letter for alcoholics. Well folks, as usual, the Internet has shown me that I had no clue to the full extent the CRB has woven itself into the fabric of America. Literally!
The Crown Royal Quilt

An actual quilt, woven out of CRBs. When I first saw it, I said to myself not bad. However, the inevitable question set in, did the person who made it drink all that Crown? Hell Naw! Impossible. If you drink that much goddamn Crown, there's no way you even have the hand-eye coordination to thread a needle. So to those who've gone to this level of creativity, cheers to you, the Queen would be proud. Grade B+

The Crown Royal Dress

Now the sight of this one was very appealing. I thought the dress was pretty, and the Crown aspect was somewhat subtle. Could I really see someone sporting something like this? No. Much like walking around with a CRB, there is a certain stigma that would be applied to you when people see you. Grade B

The Crown Royal bikini

Now, I'm conflicted on this one. Do I really like the design, or am I just drawn to what being covered? Regardless, this would be an awesome sight at the beach. Only problem is that you can't stare too long. They lock people up, and make them register for certain lists for that kind of foolishness. So without oogling too long... Grade A- (A+ if you're a dime).

The Crown Royal suit

When I saw this one, I almost fell out of my chair. Now the gentleman in the picture is none other than Jerry Rice. Arguably the best wide receiver ever to play the position. Or to some of you, a contestant on Dancing with the stars. (Personally, I've never seen the show). Now, I have 2 schools of thought on this one. Number 1, the extravagance of the suit would actually make Bishop Magic Don Juan blush and put down his pimp cup. So it doesn't appeal to me on that level. Number 2 however, is a little more redeeming. I used to question some things about my man Jerry when he was still playing in the league. And for him to go straight from that suspect nature to Dancing with the Stars didn't help his image in my eyes. But seeing this pic. Well, how can I hate on a man that would support Crown Royal in such a way? Its a pimp drink, he's wearing a pimp suit: Jerry Rice is a pimp! (Well 2+2 is 4 right?) Grade F- if you or I try and pull this off, but A+ for Jerry. Way to man up!

The Crown Royal robber

This one was off the charts for me. A cat that robbed banks and had them putting the money in a Crown Royal bag. Now this activity is one that only a true Crown Royal drinker could undertake. Robbing banks is bad enough, but why would you do so, and limit the amount of money you get to what can be stuffed in a CRB? Grade F-

So as you can see, that which I thought was a hood staple is as American as Apple Pie. This little exercise actually made me feel better about my people. (Black People). We're clearly just reflecting the American spirit. And besides, Crown was made for Royalty, don't we all deserve a little bit of elegance in our lives. Hillary would drink to that.

--drizadre

Sticks and Stones May Break My Bones... But Barack Would Never Hurt Me?

"Hopin my true Mutha**ckas know, this be the realest s**t I ever wrote"
2Pac - Against All Odds


I know that not everyone is going to be feeling me on this one. Honestly, I just want to express the internal struggle that I have going on. I want to officially coin the phrase "Black Guilt". That's what I have going on inside. See the truth about it is that I'm the classic Independent voter. I voted for Al Gore in 2000, and I actually voted for George W. in 2004. (With no hesitation either). Coming into this 2008 election cycle, I really had no particular candidate that I felt a great affinity for. This is where I first experienced the phenomenon of "Black Guilt". See, early on, many people in this nation who looked just like me had made the choice as to who they would be casting their ballot for in this election. As they would say on Seinfeld, not that there's anything thing wrong with that. The difference is that at that time I was approaching 30 years old, and I just felt that I had to make more than a knee-jerk selection as to whom I believed would be best suited to run this country. So I started my due diligence, and began the process of discovering exactly who Barack Obama was.

The first aspects of what I discovered about him were simply rooted in the fact that Barack began his foray into politics in my own backyard, the south side of Chicago. I first heard of Barack back during his 2004 senatorial run. The first picture I actually saw of him was as I was driving north on the Bishop Ford freeway. As I was crossing the bridge just north of Dalton Avenue, I looked to my right and saw the name Obama. Now it got my attention because, of course, it looked way too similar to the name Osama. (Especially at 70 miles per hour).

What also caught my attention is that this man Obama is pictured with the Reverend James Meeks. Reverend Meeks had recently made his foray into politics at that time, and I found it interesting that Obama was pictured with him as a means for endorsement. However that wasn't the only billboard in the hood. I began seeing other billboards for Obama, one of which had him pictured with Jesse Jackson Jr., another rising star in south side politics. Immediately, I was more intrigued by Mr. Obama.

Then I saw him speak at the 2004 Democratic National Convention in Boston, Ma. I can't front, I was blown away, especially considering that I was pretty down on Democrats at that point and time. The way that he spoke, and inspired people, I figured that we would be seeing him again four years later running for President. I didn't believe that he would actually secure the nomination, but I thought that he'd be a great Vice-President. Probably for Hillary Clinton. Due to that, I didn't think that I'd be voting for that ticket. By far I am no fan of Ms. Clinton.

Fast forward to late January 2008. As the Democratic primary election approached in California, my then state of residence, I had a decision to make. I am a registered independent, and due to that, I can select which party's primary I want to vote in. I didn't really have anyone to support, so I decided to vote for Barack over Hillary on February 5th, 2008. When I cast that ballot, I actually felt pretty good. It was nice to cast a ballot for someone who looked like me. Due to it being just a primary, the actual issues were not as relevant for me.

That all changed on the actual candidates were the 2008 Presidential General Election were set. Now I had to actually study what these candidates believed in. Let me say this as gently as I can. I did not like what I saw in Barack Obama at all. Yes, the concept of having a black President was great. I also liked the concept of what having a black President could mean to the young black children of America. I mean, Lord knows that with so many negative influences within music and movies, the kids could use a positive influence in their lives.

Here's where the black guilt kicks in. Despite Barack's policies, am I strong enough to withstand the tidal wave of sentiment for Barack, and be one of the few black people in America to not vote for him? When I'm 65, what do I say to my grandchildren when they ask "So how did it feel to vote for the first black President of the country"? The story is not going to be very exciting when I tell them that I couldn't vote for him due to his radical stance on abortion, or his wanting to immediately get us out of Iraq, or his (somewhat) socialistic views on taxation. I mean, I know how I would feel if when I talk to my Grandfather about the Civil Rights days, and he were to tell me "You know, I wasn't really down with Dr. King like that. Too radical in my opinion". I'd be appalled!

So despite not agreeing with Barack philosophically, I'm taking a stand. I will officially announce that I am voting for Barack Obama for President. However I do so with this caveat, other than celebrating the fact that I helped to elect the first black President, I will derive no pleasure from this task. I will pray, probably each and every day, that this man operates in wisdom, and has the testicular fortitude to withstand the many trials that he is sure to face. More than anything, I hope that we as black people wake up. Yes, we're about to have a President who better understands the circumstances that we face on a daily basis. But please people, don't look at this as an opportunity to shove aside personal responsibility, and start looking for the "Brotha Man Hookup" left and right. And to Barack, don't pander to our community by being a constant source of handouts.

I spent some time with my nephew this weekend, and it amazes me that, even at only 4 years old, he is aware of who Barack Obama is. I couldn't help but smile. And probably more than any other person, even Barack himself, my nephew convinced me that Barack is exactly who I need to vote for. So if he ever says to me "Favorite Uncle, I want to be the President", I truly can respond to him "Yes you can"!


-DrizaDre-

Paint the White House "Barack"

"When you win, sometimes you really loseAnd sometimes when you lose, you really win"
Rosie Perez in White Men Can't Jump

In the interest of intellectual honesty, I want to start by saying that the following words are not written with any formal training in politics. However, they are rooted in 29 years that I've spent on Earth as a black man.

Barack Obama will be the Democratic Vice-Presidential nominee! I repeat, Barack Obama will be the Democratic Vice-Presidential nominee.

Is anyone else suspicious of Hillary's refusal to concede victory? I understand that they have a particular number of delegates that each person has to get to offically capture the nomination. 2,026 . But nobody believes that Hillary has a snow ball's chance at getting to 2025.

So it sounds like Barack is golden right? As they've been calling him, the presumptive nominee, right? Well let me equate this to sports for you. Right now, its about 2 minutes left in the game, and Barack is ahead by 2 touchdowns, and has the ball. Hillary is out of timeouts. So Barack should just be able to kneel his way to the victory.

Well Obama fans, prepare yourselves for a stunning defeat. Here's what my gut says.
The final primaries are on June 3rd, and in all likelyhood, neither Hillary nor Barack will have the necessary 2026. Which opens up what is called a brokered convention. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brokered_convention
Well for those of you who are politically unaware, that is where I suspect that Hillary Clinton and her minions will put on the fight of her life. And I believe she will emegre victorious.

Here's why.

As hot as Barack was at one point, winning 10 consecutive elections between February 9th and February 19th, those contests will not help him at all. The states that will decide his fate will have been Pennsylvania, Kentucky and West Virginia.

Barack has lost in those 3 states by what could be considered a large number. WV and KY by around 30%. Many of the pundits say that middle class white voters went overwhelmingly for Hillary, partly as a consequence for the whole Jeremiah Wright controversy.

However, it will be the results from those states in which Hillary will mount her vigorous comeback. She will argue that working class whites won't vote for Barack in the General Election, virtually gift wraping the Presidency to John McCain, should the party go through with nominating Barack. (If this were sports, lets just say that Obama fumbled the ball, and Hillary recovered and ran it back for a touchdown. She's still down 7 though).

She will find some way to convince the delegates that blacks will vote for Barack, even if its as the VP. Maybe not in as large a number as in the primaries, but in far larger numbers than in typical elections. (Ok sports fans, Hillary just recovered the onside kick).

The last thing that I believe will take place is that there will be some serious arm twisting being done by Hillary and the rest of the Clinton Machine. The likes of which, I don't believe that Barack will be able to withstand. I believe they will find a way to convince him that its just not his time yet. Sit back and be VP for 8 years. You'll be able to learn, gain experience and in 8 years, you'll be primed for the White House. Hell, he'll even have the blessing and backing of the Clinton Machine.(And that's it, the Hail Mary touchdown pass with the 2 point conversion).
Hillary Clinton wins in dramatic fashion!

Now I want to go on record and say that I predicted more than a year ago that the Democratic ticket would wind up being Hillary-Obama. So maybe this scenario would just be fufilling my own prediction. And there were times that I thought Barack might pull it off, hell I voted for him. However, slowly but surely, Hillary's hanging on. I can't call that a coincidence. Can You?

--drizadre