Black to the Future

Greetings, blogosphere! How's it hanging? Low and slightly skewed towards the left, one would hope. Guess who's black in the saddle after an 8 month hiatus?

But on an unrelated note, I, your favorite absentee blogger, am back with a small sampling of the witticisms, rants, and raves that you had come to expect with varying levels of frequency in the past. To the couples and couples of people out there who've been clamoring for this return - you're welcome. Strap in, kidlets - this ride's gonna get bumpy.

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- First and foremost today is that last night, America re-elected President Obama for his second term in office, granting him 4 more years to come through and deliver on the tidal wave of hope and change that carried him into office the first time four years ago. I'll be the first to tell people that I really don't care about politics too much, but I'm proud to say that for the first time in my life, I did vote. Credit goes to a few of my more political-savvy friends for pushing me to do it. I didn't do it necessarily to pacify them, but because it was something I wanted to do, provided the process didn't call for me to go out of my way to do so. Not that I take the process for granted, but I had never felt a strong compulsion to do so until this year.

Anyone with even a passing familiarity with my twitter account can tell you which candidate I favored, and I imagine those who voted for Romney either shut down their social media outlets for the night or just unfollowed me altogether. I personally think he's a decent guy, but the pro-Obama force was strong in my twitterverse last night. It's fine with me if some folks decided to detach themselves from my storm of retweets; I don't apologize for my opinions or tweeting tendencies, and neither should they. I am happy to report that I observed less vitriolic reaction via social media to Obama's re-election than there was when he first came into office. So whether celebrating that or the fact that America has gotten to a point where it can even stomach A BLACK PRESIDENT, let's have a toast to progress, folks.

Totally caught her slippin...

- A very close second on the news front is that I can very happily say that a little over 6 months ago, I was fortunate enough to find someone who can (mostly) not only tolerate and accept my imperfections and eccentricities, but grow to love them. I call her my Honey Dip, and she's a self-proclaimed "whole 'lotta woman," something that I can personally vouch for, at least in terms of personality. She's caring, affectionate, and outgoing like any Honey Dip should be, plus so much more - impulsive, deeply opinionated and outspoken, plus, much like myself, a card-carrying member of Team Jungle Fever. We are FAR from immune to the ups and downs of a relationship between young people, but everyday I can stand next to her as a friend and significant other, I'm that much prouder than the day before. We're both a bit stubborn and dramatic, which leaves rarely a dull moment when things get dicey, but at the end of the day, there's no one I'd rather go to sleep next to every night, and there's no one I'd rather see upon awakening the next morning. 

- I have recently become a proud inductee into America's bald society, and it feels good to be liberated from the hairline struggle. I fought it for a long time, but once your hairline starts betraying you, it's either bald or be balded. Score one for the home team.

- I'm still fighting the good fight as a textbook temp at the MU bookstore. That's the punchline.

**NERD-OUT ALERT; PLEASE QUIETLY EXIT THE KITCHEN IF UNABLE TO STAND THE HEAT**

My audition as "Blacktain America" didn't amuse them.

- In May of this year, the movie event of my lifetime - check that, OUR lifetimes - occurred, and my answer to your question is "4 times, and then the DVD finally came out." Of course I'm talking about the theatrical release of Marvel's "The Avengers," the culmination of years and years of patient superhero movie fandom. And by "patient," I mean "was constantly reminding any poor soul within earshot of the movie's release date as soon as it was announced."My diligence and fervor was then rewarded when the movie dominated its competition to the tune of over 1.5 BILLION dollars and a current spot as the 3rd highest-grossing movie of all time, behind only "Waterworld" and "Gigli." Just kidding: "Gigli" didn't make that much money.


Okay, full disclosure: neither did "Waterworld."

But "The Avengers" was wildly successful, and is actually 3rd on the all-time list, giving credence to the theory that if you let comic book nerds build up enough testosterone and make sure they don't waste it on frivolous things like sex, women, or sexy women, then they can marshall all of that enthusiasm in a way that can truly make things happen. Virginity, I CHOOSE YOU!

Non-comic book movie fans should take solace in that this seemingly once in a lifetime event.... DOES in fact have a sequel that is tentatively scheduled (for a definitive date of May 1st, 2015). And if that doesn't do it for those of you that know me, consider yourselves lucky; I know more about comics than the average person, but I don't REALLY know comic book stuff in the sense that I'm not a comic book reader. Had the opportunity to get into a hypothetical "Who's the best avenger/superhero?" debate with a guy a few weeks ago and even I came away scared by how into it others can be. I shit you not, I think the kid with whom I spoke  ACTUALLY believes in Batman.

- Speaking of Heat, my beloved-yet-beleaguered Miami Heatles exorcised all of the hateful demons that plagued them since the summer of 2010 in winning the NBA championship this past June. Along the course of their playoff run, Lebron James put all of the ridiculous "choke artist"/"no rings = not great" arguments to bed with one of the most mesmerizing displays of athletic prowess and consistency any player has ever recorded. Now the undisputed best player alive (when intelligent basketball fans hadn't doubted it for quite some time now), he has seemingly unlocked the "STUNTIN ON YOU HEAUXS" merit badge and focused that tantalizing potential with which he's been teasing us since he was in high school. Here's to hoping they can win a few more.

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Well folks, let's wrap it up there. Hope it was enough to whet that appetite a bit, because I missed you guys. It feels good to be back in the flow a little bit; let's not wait another 8 months to get together again, mmmmkay? As always, any feedback in the way of comments, suggestions, or constructive criticism is welcome and appreciated around these parts. Hit me on twitter or facebook or myspace or xanga or pony express or carrier pigeon. 

Until next time, this is Sir Marcus T. Williams signing off....... y'all stay classy out there and take care.