Worker Dies During Black Friday Stampede

Last night I wondered aloud to my wife about whether people would really be out for Black Friday given the state of the economy. We both felt like there would still be the typical crowds as many would ignore the doom and uncertainty for a new TV. Unfortunately, one person lost their life over it. Apparently, the shoppers in Long Island just could not wait to get into Wal-Mart and scoop up $2 DVDS or $400 dollar TV, that they had to break the door open and trample the poor worker to death to get to all those low prices and great deal.

And that is just too sad for words.

I know there will be those who say that this is just one unfortunate incident, but given the madness at some of these events, it really is amazing this doesn't happen more often. I haven't gone early to a Black Friday deal in years because of all the chaos.

I mean, come on.

Is it really that important for you to get your 30 buck MP3 player that you have to trample someone for it?

I mean, didn't most of us just spend yesterday talking about what we were thankful for?

Meanwhile, someone else probably just died in the terrorist attacks in Mumbai.

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Lighten Up Folks...

So I'm watching the game and out of nowhere this R&B dude comes on and is singing. The first thought in my head is pretty much "what the hell?" Then I heard the words - "Got that McNugget lovin" and I almost fell out of my seat laughing. Yeah, I'm talking about the totally lame and completely hilarious for all the wrong reasons McNugget commercial. It's come on several times and I have laughed pretty much all of them and put it out of my head.

But as I was checking out some sites today, I couldn't help but notice some people are upset by the commercial going as far as to write to McDonalds. I don't want to trample on people's feelings, but this seems like a bit too much to me. There are a LOT of things going on right now to be upset about and write letters on, but I just don't feel like this commercial is one of them.

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Song of the Week - Illa J - Timeless

I was supposed to blog about the continuing economic crisis, but to be quite honest, I'm sick of thinking about it. So on to something else, starting with this track.

Background info - Illa J is the younger brother of J Dilla, producer extraordinaire who passed away a few years ago. Illa J dropped a CD featuring himself rapping and singing over his brother's beats and I have been listening to it constantly for the last couple of weeks. The beats were crafted by Dilla during the late 90s, so they have a Tribe Called Quest / Pharcyde feel to them.

Some feel like the CD may just be a guy trying to cash in on his brother's celebrity. I think that's a bit out of bounds. How someone chooses to honor a deceased family member is truly on them. If the family has no problem with this album, then neither do I. Also, the more you listen to the CD the more you really feel like Illa J was channeling the vibe and spirit of his older brothers sound and the style of the late 90s.

While Illa J won't necessarily excite anyone with unbelievable lyrics, he more than holds his own performing over his brothers beats. The nostalgia of the the entire disc quickly grew on me and was a nice break from today's hip hop. The CD is definitely worth taking a minute to listen to at Last FM or through videos on YouTube.

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What??

So no help to the automakers (which I was actually kind of for), but we bail out Citibank? The same Citibank that had money a week or so ago to try and buy other banks, but now is mysteriously broke and needs government help? What happened to all the tough talk put on the Big Three automakers? Didn't we already bail our Citi with the original bailout plan?

Look, I buy the premise that we can't just let these huge banks fall apart. But, like with the Big Three Automakers, we shouldn't just be throwing out cash awarding the irresponsible management of these banks.

Plus, it sounds like this could result in higher interest rates for consumers. Where are the consumer protections in this?

Word is coming in that Obama is set to announce a 500 billion economic plan. More ranting afterwards, but I'm still wondering why they don't just give money directly to the consumers to get the economy back going. It would definitely be cheaper....

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