Michael Joseph Jackson (August 29, 1958 – June 25, 2009)

Okay. The story of Michael's death is on every television channel, and every page on the internet. All they show is a short clip of Thriller, (as if that was his only hit. Michael had 13 number one hits), and then switch to the accusations of child molestation. Well I don't know about you, but personally I've had this shit up to there!!!!!!

Where are the stories of the mans kindness to EVERYONE? The hundreds of millions of dollars he gave away to just about every charity in the world doesn't seem to reach the lips of the MSM. Jackson donated and raised millions of dollars for beneficial causes through his foundation charity singles and support of 39 charities. 

Okay, so the man was an eccentric. But let's be honest here. Would you pay your hard earned money to see a boring show? Hell no we won't go!! And how many other stars have been front page news for over 40 years? Nuf said.

So today as we mourn the passing of the true SUPERSTAR, the KING OF POP, (no not Elvis!!!) I'm posting just a small bit of information to keep on our minds as we say goodbye to Michael Joseph Jackson. The seventh child of the Jackson family.

Heal the World Foundation

The Heal the World Foundation is a charitable organization, founded by musician Michael Jackson in 1992. The foundation's creation was inspired by his charitable single of the same name. Through his foundation, Jackson airlifted 46 tons of supplies to Sarajevo, instituted drug and alcohol abuse education and donated millions of dollars to less fortunate children, including the full payment of a Hungarian child's liver transplant. Failure to file yearly accounting statements saw the charity lose its tax exempt status in 2002 but it was re-gained, under new management, in 2008.

Fundraising

The Dangerous World Tour began on June 27, 1992, and finished on November 11, 1993. Jackson performed to 3.5 million people in 67 concerts. All profits from the concerts went to the "Heal the World Foundation", raising millions of dollars in relief. Through the foundation, Jackson airlifted 46 tons of supplies to Sarajevo instituted drug and alcohol abuse education and paid for a Hungarian child's liver transplant.

One of Michael Jackson's most acclaimed performances came during the halftime show at the National Football League's Super Bowl XXVll . At the show, Jackson performed his anthem "Heal the World", to help promote the organization with the assistance of a choir of 750 people and a flash card display involving 98,000 volunteers. Jackson donated his entire fees to the foundation, with the NFL also donating $100,000 and a 30-second TV spot to push for contributions.

Following the Super Bowl, Jackson ran a full-page advertisement in the newspaper USA Today, providing a toll-free number. A coupon was provided that could be clipped and mailed in along with a contribution. Those donating $35 or more were given a "Heal the World" T-shirt.

The environmental themed music video's music video's for "Earth Song" closed with a request for donations to Jackson's foundation.

In 1997, Jackson earned money from photographs of his son, Prince Michael. The photographs were sold to "OK" magazine and the Nation Nation Enquirer, raising $3 million for the foundation.

Heal the Kids

In February 2001, Jackson launched Heal the Kids, an initiative of HTWF and part of the foundation's attempt to boost children's welfare. Jackson launched the charity initiative, stating, "Heal the Kids will help adults and parents realize it's in our power to change the world our children live in".

Jackson gave a speech at Oxford University about raising children, as part of the launch of his "Heal the Kids" initiative. The websites www.healtheworld.com and www.healthworld.org described the initiative and this Oxford speech. In the speech, Jackson spoke rhetorically of his children, 

"What if they grow older and resent me, and how my choices impacted their youth?...Why weren't we given a normal childhood like all the other children? And at that moment I pray that my children will give me the benefit of the doubt. That they will say to themselves: Our daddy did the best he could, given the unique circumstances he faced. I hope that they will focus on the positives things, on the sacrifices I willingly made for them...". 

Journalist J. Randy Taraborrelli  concluded that Jackson's performance during the speech was "absorbing" and well received.

Now They're Picking on Michelle Obama

Okay, I had slowed down on the blog since the election, but I may have to come out of mothballs for a while. Is it me or have the Rethuglicans lost their minds?

I mean it's bad enough they ride Obama for every little thing that goes wrong in their lives, but now they are picking on Michelle Obama!  That calls for a good old fashion ass whuppin!!

Where I'm from if you talk about my momma, or my woman I'm kicling your ass.  Pure and simple. No buts about it. 

It's one thing to disagree with the politics, but way over the line to attack ones spouse. I don't care if you're the president, or the mailman, that's just not correct.

And to make matters worse, this ranting comes from Townhall.com, a website owned by a

Christian radio network.

These people call themselves Christians? More like right wing assholes!!!

These are the haters. They hate that she's attractive. They hate that she's intelligent. They hate that she may be sharper than the prez himself. They hate the fact that women around the world love Michelle Obama. They hate the fact that their own daughters want to be just like Michelle Obama. They hate that she can go without sleeves. They hate that she can look good in anything she wears, and pays less than $100 for an outfit. They hate that she looks good! 

But it's funny how they love everyone who had a hand in shitting on this country for the past 8 years!!!!

But I think their biggest mistake is to think that Blacks would still be slaves in 2009. I'll leave it at that.

I want to thank Becky Hudson for sending  this out. 

You all have a great and blessed day. PEACE!

Townhall: Michelle Obama is a Bitch, get it?

Chris Kelly

Writer, Real Time with Bill Maher

Posted March 23, 2009 | 09:01 AM (EST)

Burt Prelutsky was a TV writer a long time ago. Then he aged out of it and became a crank. This wasn't on

e of those major loses like Steinbeck. Now he writes a column for Townhall.com, the popular website owned by a Christian radio network.

Here's something from his current offering:

Take Michelle Obama...please. Every time I turn around, there she is on a magazine cover. Now, normally, like the Mafia, I lay off the spouses, but inasmuch as this particular spouse attended the same racist church as her hubby for 20 years, I'll make an exception in her case. After all, in spite of the fact that affirmative action got her an Ivy League degree and a $7,000-a-week salary and, moreover, has sent billions of dollars for no particularly good reason to Africa, she insists this is a mean country. The burning question in my circle is: if the First Family gets a female dog, will she be the First Bitch or will she have to settle for second place?

Get it? Because "bitch" had two meanings!

Ah, Christian-sponsored humor. That's not just funny. That's Jesus funny.

Weird that Burt Prelutsky doesn't work more. Because that "take my wife... please" bit is also pure dynamite. Must be ageism.

Naturally, the left-wing media is now trying to convince us that this James Brown-look-alike has all the allure, glamour and fashion sense of Jackie Kennedy.

She's not pretty, for heaven's sakes! She's black! She's a black bitch!

You can read the rest at Townhall. The Internet home of culture warriors Dennis Prager, Bill Bennett and Michael Medved.

(Who have all, by the way, written about Barack Obama's horrible, shocking association with that racist hatemonger Jeremiah Wright. Who called America an ugly black bitch. Oh wait, he didn't.)

(They've also all written columns bemoaning how angry and mean liberal humor is.)

If you read Burt Prelutsky's columns, you'll see that he isn't a racist; he just has a lot of thoughts -- I mean a lot -- about how black people should behave. If Langston Hughes had talked about black people as much at Burt Prelutsky does, someone would have told him to sit down.

Here's another Burt Prelutsky column from Townhall:

If we were a racist society, Oprah Winfrey, your fairy godmother, certainly wouldn't be a billionaire; she'd be fetching someone's mint julep. And Colin Powell and Condoleezza Rice wouldn't grow up to be secretaries of state; they'd be sweeping out the stables. And Will Smith and Denzel Washington wouldn't be movie stars; they'd be in the fields picking cotton.

That's awfully big of us, letting Denzel Washington rise so high above his station. Thanks, Burt. Thanks Townhall. (Cross-posted with Stormfront.)

The executive editor of Townhall is Hugh Hewitt. His current column is about how terribly offended he was when Barack Obama made a joke about the Special Olympics:

We should hope President Obama makes more than apology. We should hope he makes good.

By getting me a julep.

Now, if there's one thing I hate worse that playing gotcha with a joke that goes wrong, it's using guilt-by-association and high dudgeon to score cheap political points. But I gotta ask:

Should we hope Hugh Hewitt apologizes for publishing sad old Burt Prelutsky?

How should he make good?

Oh, the Christian broadcasters who own Townhall, the site that says Michelle Obama is a bitch and Will Smith is lucky he's not picking cotton is Salem Communications. You can thank them here.

http://www.salem..cc/contactUs.apx

The KINGDOM CLARION

By Larry W. King

Volume II, Number XVI

June 15, 2009

 

Are You Done Whoring Around?

“The first time God spoke to Hosea he said: ‘Find a whore and marry her.  Make this whore the mother of your children.  And here’s why: This whole country [Israel] has become a whorehouse, unfaithful to me, God ...’

And then I’ll marry you for good – forever!  I’ll marry you true and proper, in love and tenderness.  Yes, I’ll marry you and neither leave you nor let you go.  You’ll know me, God for who I really am ...

Then I told her, ‘From now on you’re living with me [faithfully].  No more whoring, no more sleeping around.  You’re living with me and I’m living with you’ ”.  – Hosea 1:2, 2:19-20 & 3:3 (The Message) [my editorialization]

The book of Hosea is the first of twelve (12) so-called “minor prophets” in the Old Testament.  As with many of the minor prophets (e.g. Joel, Amos & Jonah), his book centers around a solitary theme and tells a single story.  Hosea’s tale is told on two levels:

1)     Hosea’s actual courtship and marriage to Gomer, a well-known prostitute; the subsequent birth of their children and their family life, AND

2)     The symbolic “whoring” of Israel – God’s chosen people – as they allied themselves with neighboring countries (Samaria, Egypt, Assyria, etc.) and adopted their gods (Baal, Assur, Ishtar, etc.), practices (idolatry, witchcraft, human sacrifice, etc.) and customs (unhealthy diet, sexual misconduct, etc.).

Dear readers, how many of us would willingly obey God if He told us to marry a whore, get her pregnant and raise children together with her?  How many have perhaps done so, without any command from God whatsoever?  Or, how many of us have naively married a woman or man, only to discover that soon after the “I Do” they began to wantonly chase after any and every available two-legged representative of the opposite (or the SAME) sex?  OK, I’m not asking for a show of hands, but you get my point, right?  Suffice to say, this would NOT be a situation many of us would feel compelled to write about and pass on as a lesson for future generations!  Without question, countless divorces have resulted from similarly sinful behavior.

God illustrates three (3) timeless principles through Hosea.

1) We will not always understand WHY God is asking us to do certain things.  Nevertheless, what He requires is our obedience.  The Bible does not say so, but is there any question that Hosea MUST have had some doubt about God’s commandment?  Had it been me and not Hosea, I’m SURE the conversation would’ve gone something like this:

God: Larry, I want you to find Gomer the whore, marry her and have babies by her.  Got it?

Larry: Um, Lord, there MUST be some static on the line.  I didn’t HEAR you right, ‘cause I’d swear you said something like marry a WHORE and have some babies.  Sorry, Lord, please DO, hit me up one mo’ time.

God: No son, you heard right.  I want you to marry Gomer the harlot, get her pregnant and have several children.  I plan to use you and your future family to represent the abominable whoredom of Israel, and my merciful reconciliation.

Larry (laughs out loud): Yeeeaaaahhh, right, Lord.  Haha!  Now, THAT’S a GOOD one!  You’ pullin’ my leg, ain’tcha?  (chuckling, as he settles down a bit)  C’mon now, Almighty Father, quit kiddin’ around!  (now grinning, in hardly-suppressed, cynical disbelief) OK … I’m kewl now, God … whew!  You can really break a brotha up when you wanna, Lord.  So, now what do you REALLY want me to do?

God (with deafening thunder and brilliant lightning striking in a perfect circle all around yours truly): Does THIS look like “kiddin’ around” to you?

Larry (gulps, then blithers unintelligibly). Brrbrbrbrbrbrbrbrbrbllllblbl phhhffttthhhtthth!!

As the apostle Paul wrote to the Romans, “… so by the obedience of one shall many be made righteous” – Romans 5:19b (KJV).   Of course, in this passage he’s referring to Christ, but the power of his statement absolutely holds true for each of us today.  Our obedience to God’s perfect will (even when inscrutable to us) can transform lives – our own and others as well.

2) The people whom God chooses FOR us, are not often the ones we would choose for ourselves.  Why do you think God chose Gomer for Hosea?  Hosea, whose name in Hebrew literally means “salvation is from the Lord”, was a prophet.  Gomer was a prostitute.  Could there have possibly been a more unlikely couple?  But God sees the inner Spiritual being and not the outward appearance.  As such, His vision is perfect 20/20 at all times.  He knows what’s best for us and what will accomplish His purpose.  The major prophet Isaiah declares, “for my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the LORD” – Isaiah 55:8 (KJV).

3) In the end, when we are obedient to His will, God ALWAYS improves our situation far beyond anything we can imagine.  By the time Hosea’s prophecy closes, he is happily and faithfully married to his perfect mate with loving children.  Moreover, God promises to restore Israel as His chosen people, despite their collective self-abuse, if they return to Him.  He declares:

“O Israel, thou hast destroyed thyself; but in me is thine help.  I will be thy king: where is any other that may save thee in all thy cities?  And thy judges of whom thou saidst, Give me a king and princes?  Take with you words, and turn to the LORD: say unto him, Take away all iniquity, and receive us graciously …” – Hosea 13: 9-10, 14: 2a (KJV).

So, regarding your Spiritual marriage to God, cherished reader, my question to you is the same one Hosea probably asked Gomer, “Are You DONE Whoring Around?”

Marvin Graves "Henchi"

GRAVES, MARVIN "HENCHI" Longtime Boulder resident Marvin "Henchi" Graves, 64, died Monday June 8, 2009, at HospiceCare of Boulder and Broomfield Coun-ties. Henchi was best known as one of the lead singers in the popular R&B group, the Freddi-Henchi Band. Survivors include his mother, Henrietta Graves of Phoenix, AZ, his longtime companion Cheryl Cruickshank of Boulder, CO, two brothers Michael Graves, Richard Graves and his wife Lou of Phoenix, AZ. He also leaves three nieces, two nephews, and a host of close family and friends. Marvin was preceded in death by his father Marvin Graves, sister Beverly Graves, grandparents Earl and Mille Watson, Sally Chenault and Mike Graves. A Celebration of Life will be held on Monday, June 15, 3 p.m. at Nissi's, 2675 North Park Drive, Lafayette, CO. The family would like to extend a special thanks to HospiceCare of Boulder and Broomfield Counties, and request that donations be made to them in Henchi's memory. Donations may be mailed to 2594 Trailridge Dr. East, Lafayette, CO 80026.

A Entertainment Legend Has Passed Away 06/08/2009

I just got the word That longtime Denver entertainer, and friend Marvin Graves, or as most people know him as "Henchi"  passed away this morning.  6/8/2009

I don't have all of the details at present, but I do know that we've lost a legend in this city.

Henchi had been battling cancer for the past few years, and recently was caught on camera at a Nuggets Playoff game.

My brother, you will be missed. God bless. PEACE!

Oh Danny boy, the pipes, the pipes are calling
From glen to glen, and down the mountain side
The summer's gone, and all the leaves are falling
'Tis you, 'tis you must go and I must bide.
But come ye back when summer's in the meadow
Or when the valley's hushed and white with snow
'Tis I'll be here in sunshine or in shadow
Oh Danny boy, oh Danny boy, I love you so.

written by Frederick Weatherly 

Last-game wish granted, musician "Henchi" dies at age 64

By Joey Bunch 

The Denver Post 

POSTED: 06/08/2009 09:59:48 PM MDT

UPDATED: 06/09/2009 06:59:01 AM MDT

Denver R&B singer Marvin "Henchi" Graves, who was granted his wish for a first-hand view of the Denver Nuggets in the Western Conference Finals last month, died Monday. He was 64 and was fighting cancer.

Graves was best known as one of the lead singers and co-founder of the popular Freddi-Henchi Band, which toured and recorded extensively in the 1960s, '70s and '80s.

Graves nickname was Henchi, which is short for Henchman, a nickname from his days as a collegiate wrestler.

"Henchi was tough all of his life right to the end, yet he was always a very nice person," the band said in an announcement of Graves' death posted online Monday. "Even on days when he was feeling his worst from cancer treatments, he remained much more cheerful than one would expect."

Graves' younger brother, Richard Graves, said Monday evening that funeral plans have not been finalized, and a local memorial would be held for fans and friends, as well.

"He was an energetic, outgoing person who was a lot of fun to be around," he said. "He won't ever be forgotten by anyone he ever met."

A lifelong basketball fan, Graves was on his deathbed at HospiceCare of Boulder and Broomfield Counties in Louisville when, on May 24, he asked that his feeding tube be removed. As he made plans for his end with his doctor George Stark, he said he would love to go see the Nuggets play in Game 4 of the Western Conference finals the next day.

Dan Cook, the owner of Swis Tire and Automotive Services in Castle Rock, offered his suite. The Nuggets beat the Los Angeles Lakers 120-101 that night.

Graves first made his mark as an athlete. He was an All-American wrestler at Arizona State University who came up just short, because of an injury, from making the U.S. Olympic team, his brother said.

Graves co-founded the rhythm, blues and funk band Freddi-Henchi and the Soulsetters with Fred Gowdy in Phoenix in 1966.

The band relocated to Boulder in 1970 after playing a six-week run at a club in Fort Collins.

For the next decade and a half, the Freddi-Henchi Band was a headline act at clubs and arenas up and down the Front Range.

Known for its funky original music, slick choreography and party atmosphere, Freddi-Henchi was an opening act for such performers as the Average White Band, Nitty-Gritty Dirt Band, Chicago, Dr. Hook, Billy Joel, Etta James, Jose Feliciano, Three Dog Night, Firefall, B.B. King, Steely Dan, The Platters, Chuck Berry and Dan Fogelberg.

Off-Duty Officer Is Fatally Shot by Police in Harlem

A New York City police officer who had just gotten off duty was fatally shot late Thursday in East Harlem by a fellow officer who mistook him for an armed criminal, Police Commissioner Raymond W. Kelly said.

The officer who was killed, Omar J. Edwards, 25, a two-year veteran who was assigned to patrol housing projects and was wearing plain clothes, was shot in the arm and chest after a team of three other plainclothes officers in a car came upon him chasing a man on East 125th Street between First and Second Avenues with his gun drawn, Mr. Kelly said.

The team’s members, assigned to the anticrime unit in the 25th Precinct, got out of their vehicle and confronted Officer Edwards. The police were investigating whether the officers had identified themselves or demanded that Officer Edwards drop his weapon before one of them opened fire.

Mr. Kelly identified the officer who fired the shots only as a four-year veteran of the department, and said he had fired six rounds from his 9-millimeter Glock. Two bullets struck Officer Edwards.

Officer Edwards, a recently married father of two from Brooklyn, was taken to Harlem Hospital Center, where he was pronounced dead at 11:21 p.m. No one else was injured.

"While we don’t know all of the details of what happened tonight, this is a tragedy,” Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg said during an early morning news conference at the hospital. “Rest assured we will find out exactly what happened here and see what we can learn from it so it can never happen again.”

The shooting is likely to raise questions again about departmental procedures involving communications among plainclothes officers — particularly those in different units — as well as issues of race. Officer Edwards was black; the officer who shot him was white.

Mr. Kelly said the tragic string of events began when Officer Edwards, a member of the Housing Bureau Impact Response Team, left duty about 10:30 p.m., approached his car and saw that a man had broken the driver’s side window and was rummaging through the vehicle. The two scuffled, and the man escaped Officer Edwards’s grip by slipping out of his sweater.

A police official said officers at the scene learned that Officer Edwards was a colleague only when they ripped open his shirt in an effort to revive him and saw a Police Academy T-shirt. They then searched his pants pockets and found a badge.

Investigators were interviewing the two officers in the car who did not fire at Officer Edwards. The department does not interview officers involved in fatal shootings until a prosecutor determines whether criminal charges will be brought.

The man who apparently broke into Officer Edwards’s car, Miguel Santiago, was also being interviewed by investigators, officials said. The police said his five prior arrests include charges of robbery, assault and drug violations.

There have been at least two cases of off-duty police officers being shot by colleagues in the New York region in recent years.

In January 2008, a Mount Vernon officer, Christopher A. Ridley, 23, was killed by Westchester County police officers in downtown White Plains as he tried to restrain a homeless man whom he had seen assault another person.

And in February 2006, a New York City officer, Eric Hernandez, 24, was fatally shot by a fellow officer while responding to a 911 call about a fight at a White Castle restaurant in the Bronx.

DUMB ASS! WHY WOULD THEY INVITE YOU IF YOU DIDN'T WIN??????????

James Harrison, Steelers' LB, Refuses To Join Team At White House 

Yes my brother you're correct. If the Cardinals had won they would be standing in a history making situation instead of you. Excuse me but "Dumb Ass, it's the winner that gets invited! DUH!!!!!!!!

Pittsburgh Steelers' linebacker James

Harrison will not accompany his team to the White House when President Obama greets the Super Bowl champions. Harrison told WTAE, a local Pittsburgh television network, that his refusal to take part in the honor was not based on his political views but rather, according to his agent, "he just doesn't want to go." Harrison told WTAE:

This is how I feel -- if you want to see the Pittsburgh Steelers, invite us when we don't win the Super Bowl. As far as I'm concerned, [Obama] would've invited Arizona if they had won.

Here's the video of James Harrison talking to WTAE:

Wayman Tisdale 1964-2009

Updated: May 15, 2009, 5:00 PM ET

An appreciation: Tisdale was terrific

By Mark Kreidler

Special to ESPN.com

In a perfect world, Wayman Tisdale would have been an NBA superstar, if for no other reason than that he epitomized just about every characteristic fans claim to crave in their sports idols.

He was immensely talented. He worked hard. He was humble to an almost cartoonish fault. He had fun. He didn't equate "smile" with "competitive surrender." He took his game seriously; himself not so much. And win or lose, he had time to visit with the people who paid the freight. A more fan-friendly pro you won't find.

[+] Enlarge

Icon SMI

Nearly 25 years ago, Wayman Tisdale made Oklahoma into a basketball school, too.

Alas, Tisdale had two things going against him in the big leagues. First, he was a classic 'tweener, a purported 6-foot-9 power forward who actually stood about 6-7½. Second, he played on some seriously awful NBA teams. It's hard to reach the promised land while toiling on squads that average 31 wins a season, as Tisdale's teams did during his 12-year career.

If you're going to truly appreciate Tisdale, then you've got to dig a little deeper. Fortunately, the life of Wayman, who died Friday at age 44 after a long battle with cancer, makes that part easy.

Though you'd have a hard time selling the concept to today's jaded sports fandom, Tisdale was an absolute rock star in college, a player on the cutting edge of modern fame. His three-year career at the University of Oklahoma, from 1982 to 1985, was uninterrupted white-noise adulation. It baptized the greatest era of basketball in Big Eight (now Big 12) Conference history, and it made the sport relevant in a place -- Norman, Okla. -- where only football had ever mattered in even the slightest way.

Tisdale was good for all of it. He was that wonderful. His college game was a pure delight: The left-hander had a quick-release short jumper that was basically impossible to defend, and he used his big booty to burrow into the lane and take an easy turnaround basket off the glass any time an opponent was foolish enough to single-cover him.

When a coach from Texas-San Antonio tried man-to-man defense on Tisdale in 1983, his ensuing 61-point scoring barrage eclipsed Wilt Chamberlain's Big Eight record (the mark still stands). Tisdale scored, then smiled, then kept on scoring, and that's how it went most of the time. He was so magnetic, so outsized as a personality, that TV cameras were reflexively drawn to him, and because of that the Big Eight finally established a television market for its basketball games.

Looking back on his biggest rebound

In 2008, Anna K. Clemmons of ESPN The Magazine chronicled Wayman Tisdale's journey back to health and happiness. Story
• Chat: Tisdale in '08
• NewsChannel 8 in Tulsa on Tisdale

At the same time, Tisdale's humility and grounded nature took the college world by storm. The Tulsa native had virtually no ego beyond his obvious love of the offensive game. He never shied from his religious nature (his father was a minister), yet he never beat anyone over the head about it. Tisdale believed quite completely that his most effective witness was his own life.

Difficult as it is to fathom now, Tisdale's decision to attend OU ended a furious recruiting battle between the Sooners and … the University of Tulsa. Don't laugh: Nolan Richardson was the Hurricanes' coach at the time, later bound for Arkansas. But Billy Tubbs had an edge that Richardson could not overcome: William Tisdale, one of Wayman's two older brothers, was already on the Oklahoma roster. (If that sounds familiar, it's because the Sooners of 25 years later took a page from the same playbook with the Griffin family, recruiting Taylor to the program before his brother Blake followed suit.)

The result was magical. Playing alongside guys like Chucky Barnett and Charles "Big Time" Jones and Anthony Bowie, Tisdale was a consensus All-America selection in each of his first three seasons, after which he turned pro. Oklahoma won the Big Eight title his last two years on campus. The team's average home attendance went from well below capacity to standing room only by Tisdale's junior season. It was complete mayhem at the Lloyd Noble Arena when Tisdale went off on one of his scoring jags. And when Danny Manning subsequently followed Tisdale's lead, turning in a monster career at Kansas, the Big Eight had finally established itself as a conference that could play basketball on the national level.

[+] Enlarge

Brad Barket/Getty Images

Wayman Tisdale turned from basketball to music after he was done with the NBA.

"Wayman's one of the biggest reasons why I chose Oklahoma," Stacey King, who became part of a national runner-up team in the years after Tisdale left, said in a statement. "I wanted to be part of something special, and it made logical sense to go to OU because I wanted to pattern my game after him."

Tisdale cast such a shadow in Norman that even Blake Griffin willingly played under it. It was Griffin's request, upon signing with the Sooners, to wear Tisdale's No. 23 for Oklahoma, and he called Tisdale to personally ask the man's permission to do so. Griffin didn't have to -- OU had retired Tisdale's jersey, but not the number itself -- yet both he and coach Jeff Capel felt it was the only way to go. Naturally, Tisdale immediately agreed. Today, the transaction reads poetically, almost as the passing of a torch.

Tisdale's pro career was simultaneously an exercise in both versatility and futility. He made a remarkable transition to the pro game after having spent most of his college career with his back to the basket, and he averaged more than 15 points a game over his 12 seasons. But in going from Indiana to Sacramento to Phoenix, Tisdale played on just one team that finished better than .500.

The Kings years were particularly grim, but you wouldn't have known it from watching Tisdale play. He loved the game. He also loved the jazz music that reverberated deep inside him, the passion that fully took over when his NBA life was through. He reveled in his family. He generally had a fabulous time being alive, and even two minutes spent in his presence would leave you no doubt that the man might be on to something in that regard.

Maybe it doesn't all add up to superstardom. Almost certainly it doesn't. No bling, for one thing. But in the truly important ways, Tisdale was the kind of star most fans say they wish their kids could meet sometime. Know this: He'd have left them smiling.

ESPN.com contributor Mark Kreidler, a Tulsa native, covered Wayman Tisdale both in college and the NBA. He is the author of the books "Six Good Innings" and "Four Days to Glory". Contact him at mark@markkreidler.com.

Five Points Jazz Festival

The Sheryl Renee Band

Five Points Jazz Festival

Saturday May 16
3:00 - 5:00 PM
KUVO Outdoor Stage
29th & Welton
free

Estes Park Jazz Festival

Sunday May 17
        3:55 - 5:00 PM   Performance Park             US-36 to Estes Park   70 Miles  free                                               

Go to www.sherylrenee.com for my full performance schedule!! Happy May!

The KINGDOM CLARION

By Larry W. King

Volume II, Number XII

May 11, 2009

 

 

Be The Clay!

 

“Go down to the potter’s shop, and I will speak to you there.  So I did as he told me and found the potter working at his wheel.  But the jar he was making did not turn out as he had hoped, so he crushed it into a lump of clay again and started over.   Then the Lord gave me this message:  ‘O Israel, can I not do to you as this potter has done to his clay?  As the clay is in the potter’s hand, so are you in my hand’.”  – Jeremiah 18: 2-6 (New Living Translation).

In our text, God instructs Jeremiah, the “weeping prophet”, through the commonplace work of a potter.  Jeremiah has drawn the unpopular and likely unpleasant assignment of telling God’s chosen people (Israel) that the Lord is displeased with their long-term disobedience and will utterly destroy the kingdom.  While God Almighty will eventually rebuild, reshape and reform Israel into a kingdom which properly obeys and pleases Him, that process will take generations.  Nobody who hears this woeful “Jeremiad” will be around for the reconstruction.  Needless to say, it’s probably NOT exactly a message Jeremiah is amped about bringing to folks who were already sick and tired of his continual prophecies of doom and gloom!

 

Cherished reader, please permit me a brief personal digression here.  I PROMISE I will tie things together at the end of this issue …

 

Objectively speaking (i.e. NOT from the obviously biased viewpoint of being his younger son), my father, the late Dr. Norman W. King, was an extraordinary man.  For me, he epitomized the modern-day “Renaissance Man”.  He was a PhD psychologist who taught at several well-known institutions of higher learning around the Midwest (including The Ohio State University, Wittenberg University, Lindenwood College and Capital University), also teaching Hebrew and Greek at Aenon Bible College in my hometown of Columbus, Ohio. 

 

My Dad truly LOVED music and could play piano, viola and trombone.  Indeed, we played together in a community orchestra in St. Charles, Missouri – he on viola and me on the bassoon.  Each week, he’d bring home records borrowed from the library, which exposed me to a wide range of music from classical and opera to jazz, etc.  I have no doubt that exposure was fundamental in nurturing MY love of all kinds of music, and to being a professional musician today.

 

Dad was a veteran - serving his country honorably as a Quartermaster in World War II.  Moreover, he was a very practical man who was surprisingly good with his hands.  He was excellent in the kitchen, having worked as a short-order cook before getting his doctorate.  Among other things, he was also employed as a crane operator.  He could do plumbing and electrical work and was an outstanding gardener.  Regrettably, none of those talents were passed on to yours truly!  ;>)

Finally, while teaching at Lindenwood College in St. Charles, Dad began to pursue various creative projects in his spare time.  He welded beautiful candelabras out of leftover copper rods and scrap metal.  He crafted letter holders, jewelry boxes and small furniture items in the wood shop, and he fashioned pots, bowls and other vessels from clay on a pottery wheel.  He’d often take me to the welding, wood or clay shops, to observe, learn and play while he worked.  This was how I became well-acquainted with the potter’s wheel.

 

Make no mistake, reader.  Creating earthenware vessels at the pottery wheel is HARD work!  First of all, in those days (before electric wheels became popular) the turntable itself was driven by a mechanism you had to “pump” using both feet.  As a kid, it seemed to me that thing had a gear which felt like 13^th on a 10-speed bicycle!

 

Second, potter’s clay generally comes in large “bricks” which are VERY hard.  You have to soften up the bricks with both hands and with many applications of clear water to eventually form it into a lump which subsequently can be shaped and transformed on the spinning wheel.  This process leaves your hands, wrists, arms, etc. quite sore and usually covered with clay.  One must wear a smock or overalls while working at the wheel.  Why?  Because, otherwise you’d ruin your clothes, as dried clay stains simply do NOT wash out.

 

Third, using the wheel skillfully takes PRACTICE.  I “messed up” frequently.  After each failure (e.g. cereal bowls with one side grossly caved-in, drinking glasses leaning at angles far more acute than the Tower of Pisa, dinner plates with multiple holes in them, surreal asymmetrical flower pots, etc.), to my Dad’s grinning amusement, I’d have to use more water and clay to manually reform my lump and start all over.

 

Even after you’ve succeeded in shaping something useful on the wheel, it’s still just well-formed, soft wet clay.  For it to hold its shape you must “fire” it in a kiln – basically, a very hot oven or furnace which dries the clay within several minutes.  Kiln firing bakes the vessels and begins to prepare them for everyday use.  However, while kiln-baked clay does maintain the desired form or shape, it is extremely porous and simply won’t hold water.

 

Waterproofing earthenware requires glazing.  To properly glaze your work means carefully brushing or painting on several layers of this thick, oozy, gooey stuff - which has a consistency somewhere between airplane glue and black strap molasses.  The glaze is very sticky and it must be allowed to DRY between coats.  Again, skillful glazing requires a lot of practice before you can get it done without getting glaze everywhere EXCEPT on the pot!  Like the clay – much to my dear Mother’s chagrin - dried glaze stains didn’t wash out either.

 

Finally, though your flower pot is formed, kiln-dried and glazed it remains the color of clay - gray or dark orange-brown – not particularly attractive.  You gotta PAINT it!  Of course, most of us have had some experience with artistic painting.  Suffice to say, I was NO Picasso then, nor am I now!

 

Patient reader, I hear you asking “OK, Lareezy, is there ANY point to all this rambling?”  Excellent question!  I’m so very glad you asked.  My points are these:

 

1)     Spiritually speaking (at least early in our Christian experience), WE are very much like lumps of clay - basically soft, misshapen, dull-colored and not particularly useful for much of anything except staining, discoloring, tainting and generally ANNOYING everyone/everything around us.

 

2)     Our Heavenly Father labors patiently but diligently to shape us spiritually into forms which can effectively accomplish His Divine will - building His kingdom, ministering unto His people, spreading His good news and so on.

 

3)     Even when we’ve become well-formed Christians, in order to harden us against the assaults of the adversary, God must put us through the fiery furnace of trials and tribulations.  In this way, He refines out our impurities and strengthens us – glazing us with a thick, smooth, protective coating of His precious Holy Spirit.

 

4)     Finally, the Creator of the Universe must paint us into His beautiful, artistic vision and image through frequent dialogue.  This includes daily prayer, meditation and reading of His Word, corporate worship, tithing of our treasure, time and talents, fasting, self-discipline, honor, justice, mercy, peace and above all LOVE for all that is His creation.

 

When it comes to being/becoming a vessel fit for the Master Potter’s use, my daily prayer and desire is:  Lord, today and every day please let me … Be The Clay!

 

 

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Larry W. King is a graduate of the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music (Magna cum Laude) and heads the Denver-based music group, Kingdom Kru.  He serves as Minister of Music at Faith Community Baptist Church under the leadership of co-pastors Rev. Douglas and Katherine Farley.

 

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Live Video Shoot with Jakarta at Jazz@Jacks Friday May 8th

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