"The world is united in Utah" declared President Bush at the opening Ceremonies of the Winter Olympics on Friday night.

Amid patriotism and pride, the 2002 Olympic Games got under way . I'm sitting here watching the event feeling inspired by the majesty of the performances, the unity, passion and excellence that is truly representative of the very best that human nature has to offer.

While the Enron mess is still in the process of being figured out, cable network FX and Artisan Television are teaming up to make a
TV movie about the debacle. Well, I guess better sooner than later ... It is reported that "the film will chart the Houston-based corporation's web of secret partnerships that made company execs fabulously wealthy, drove up stock prices, hid Enron's debt and ultimately collapsed the corporation like a house of cards, costing employees their jobs and life savings". Corruption, greed, mystery, suspense... makes for gripping entertainment I suppose, funny how true it is that real life can often be stranger than fiction. My pick to play Enron CEO, Ken Lay? Jack Nicholson.

Update (it was true after all)

MSNBC apologizes to Niger Innis for the spelling mishap which happened on the air. "Let me offer a profuse apology from this network", Gregg Jarrett ( the interviewing reporter) told Innis. "We accidentally misspelled your name in the last hour and we are terribly sorry." WOW! Via(New York Daily News)

When Niger Innis (son of Roy Innis and the spokesman for the Congress of Racial Equality) appeared on MSNBC the other day someone made a Huge Typo with the spelling of his first name on national TV. I wonder if that person still has a job. Whoa! ... but then again, this might be a fake and somebody's idea of a not so funny joke. You decide. (via TVbarn)

In honor of "Black History Month"
Part one of a series by - Ray Garraud

To fully appreciate the celebration of Black History Month, it is important to recall that between 1619 and 1926, African Americans and other people of African descent were classified as a race that had not contributed to human civilization. They were so dehumanized and their history so distorted by academia that many of the injustices that occurred were considered justifiable.

It was this kind of climate and the sensational, racist scholarship that inspired the talented and brilliant African American scholar, Dr. Carter Godwin Woodson to lead the struggle and search for the truth and institutionalize what was then referred to as "Negro History Week". A Harvard trained Ph.D., Dr. Woodson dropped out of mainstream academia to devote his life to the scientific study of the African experience in America, Africa and throughout the world.

Under Woodson's direction and contributions from other African American and white scholars, the "Negro History Week" was launched on a serious platform in 1926 to neutralize the apparent ignorance and deliberate distortion of Black History. Today, this national and international observance has been expanded to encompass the entire month of February. The expansion, of course, has increased the number of days for celebration, but its strength and importance lie in the new meaning that has emerged.

Black History Month takes on a paramount significance as we move forward in the 21st century. We must truly understand our history as well as world history, and not forget the giants on whose shoulders we stand. Laws, national and international, may control behavior but attitudes can only change through education and the elimination of ignorance.

Black History Month should be the reaffirmation of our realization of the past struggles and the determination to change attitudes and heighten the understanding of the African experience. In the words of Ralph Crowder, "the observance must be a testimony to those African pioneers who struggled to affirm the humanity of African peoples and a challenge to the present generation to protect and preserve...the humanity of all people...."

Unlike many of the dot-com enterprises that have failed in the last few years, what began as a little start-up known as Paypal has survived — and thrived. PayPal has been enthusiastically adopted by the online community. In a single four-month period in 2000, registered users shot up from 10,000 to one million. The company now has over 13 million users, and annual revenues, generated by taking a small percentage of each transaction, of more than $100 million. PayPal isn't a sure thing. It's still not in the black, and it's had trouble with fraud. But it has done such a good job of dominiating the online payments industry that Salomon Smith Barney is expected to take it public tomorrow in one of the most eagerly anticipated Internet I.P.O.'s in nearly two years.

I've been a member since 1999 and I'm pleased with their level of service and security. Check them out and open an account online free of charge and you'll get $5 instantly just for signing up.

Several years ago, I read Stephen Covey's The seven habits of highly effective people . The one habit that impressed me the most was "seek first to understand". Most people typically seek first to be understood rather than to uderstand. Most people do not listen with the intent to understand; they listen with the intent to reply. We are either speaking or preparing to speak. We filter what we hear or see through the lenses of our own perspective, As a result, when we have a problem with someone, the first thing we say is "that person just doesn't understand".

Congrats to The New England Patriots. In sports as in life, it's always a great feeling to Win when the odds are against you.
Both teams played a formidable game, but after the wheel spun, the mighty Rams fell to the New England Patriots. WOW! Also, Kudos to U2 for an excellent half time performance and of course there were a couple of great commercials that kept me riveted to my seat. Budweiser, Yahoo, Pepsi ... But I especially liked the Levis Crazy Legs commercial the most.

There's a trademark battle going on for the catch phrase "let's roll". Supposedly it's become a "national catch phrase" since passenger Todd M Beamer used the term before foiling the hijackers of United flight 93. Not to sound like I'm jumping on the band wagon but back in my younger days, "let's roll" was the slang catch phrase of choice for my "homies" and I when we were getting ready to drive somewhere to "chill". My boys and I would appreciate some consideration before the court makes the final decision on who will get the trademark. I know folks mean well, but this is silly.