THE THING TO DO...

"The thing to do is to get
organized; keep separated and you will be exploited, you will be robbed, you
will be killed. Get organized and you will compel the world to respect you."


Marcus Garvey.

¿WHO SAYS RAISING BOYS IS EASIER?

Editor's note: LZ
Granderson, who writes a weekly column for CNN.com, was named journalist of the
year by the National Lesbian and Gay Journalists Association and a 2011 Online
Journalism Award finalist for commentary. He is a senior writer and columnist
for ESPN the Magazine and ESPN.com and the 2009 winner of the Gay and Lesbian
Alliance Against Defamation award for online journalism. Follow him on Twitter: @locs_n_laughs.

(CNN) -- My son had
barely taken his first breath when the people in the hospital started telling
me how lucky I was. 

Not because he was healthy,
mind you, but because he was a he.

"It's easier to raise
boys," I was told. 

LZ
Granderson

And for a while I actually
believed them. 

Then I started paying
attention.

Did
you know boys are more likely to drop out of
high school than girls? Or that there are more female college
students than male? And did you know the imprisonment rate for men is roughly
15 times higher than the rate for women? 

If this is what boys being
easier to raise than girls looks like, could you imagine how many men would be
in jail if raising girls got any harder? We worry so much about girls getting
hurt -- and justifiably so -- but interestingly enough, the stats show it's our
boys who are more likely to get robbed, attacked or even murdered.
We see girls as fragile orchids and boys as plastic plants. But let's face it:
At the core of this line of thinking isn't safety -- it's sex.

When someone offers this piece
of advice, it's with the thinking that girls have to be protected from boys who
will say and do just about anything to get in their pants. What's typically
missing from this discussion is the challenge to parents -- particularly
fathers -- not to raise a liar and a cheat.  

True, parents of boys do
not  have to worry about them coming home pregnant, but does that mean an
unplanned pregnancy can be considered "the girl's problem"? After
all, a boy's girlfriend did not get pregnant asexually. That's why I'm Tebowing
day and night, hoping my 15-year-old has the will to stay away from sex -- even
though the world all around him tells him there's something wrong with him if
he does. 

Easier? Ha. Try
different. 

A little girl who likes to
play sports is called a tomboy. A little boy who doesn't like to play sports is
called weird. A teen girl who says "no" is called a good girl. A teen
boy who says "no" is called a sissy. A lot of words describe what
it's like for parents who are trying to teach their teenage son how to be his
own man in a high school setting that demands conformity, but "easy"
is not one of them. 

I know, I know, "boys
will be boys" is the accepted rule of thumb. But given that we have a
federal department that hunts down and sometimes arrests deadbeat fathers,
doesn't that raise the question: What kind of boys are we raising? And if
they're dropping out of high school at a faster clip than girls, why do we
think raising them is easier?

Last year, I wrote a piece
with the headline "Parents, don't dress your girls like tramps."
I received a lot of e-mails from offended readers who told me I had no idea how
hard it was to avoid buying sexy clothing for their little princesses. I
usually responded by reminding them I never said it wasn't hard.

And then I asked if they've
ever seen the words on many of the T-shirts aimed at young men. They may not be
blatantly inappropriate, like a cut-off shirt that reveals their bellybuttons,
but if I had a dollar for every T-shirt I've read that sexualizes the words
"balls," "sticks" or "size," I could
retire. 

I guess if parents don't care
if their son thinks being a man begins and ends with his penis, then yes, I can
see how some would think raising a boy is easier. But if you're actually trying
to raise a gentleman, and you hear LMFAO rap "I'm running through these
hos like Drano" -- as they do in "Party Rock Anthem," the second
most popular song of 2011 -- then you're not breathing a sigh of relief because
it's so much easier to raise a boy. Instead you're wondering how much of what
you're trying to teach him soaks in, versus what our culture says is OK. 

We've made so many advances as
a society in terms of gender equity, and yet we still hold on to this
nonsensical double standard that celebrates sexually active boys while
demonizing their female counterparts, as if we can have a lot of one without
the other. This kind of thinking is handed down from generation to generation
almost as soon as the umbilical cord is cut.

But how can we continue to
believe boys are easier to raise than girls, when only 42% of custodial moms
received all of their child support payments in 2009? Some see loose women in
that statistic. I see some men who are punks. 

Perhaps if we stopped viewing
raising our boys as easier, we wouldn't have to deal with so many men who still
behave like boys later in life.        

SOURCE: CNN

THE DAHL HAUS PRESENTS: MAY STIFF ONES

 ‘STIFF’ ONES WITH A
MIND OF THEIR OWN…

DREAMLOVER

"Dreamlover" is a song by American singer-songwriter Mariah Carey, first released on July 27, 1993 by Columbia Records, as the lead single from Carey's third studio album Music Box. It was written by Carey and Dave Hall, and was produced by the pair and Walter Afanasieff. The song incorporates a sample of the hook from "Blind Alley" by The Emotions into its melody andinstrumentation. "Dreamlover" helped Carey's transition into the pop music market, a choice made following the mixed reception to her previous studio effort Emotions (1991), which featured gospeland 1960s soul influences. Lyrically, the song pictures a protagonist calling for a perfect lover, her "dreamlover", that will whisk her away into the night and not delude her with false hopes.

"Dreamlover" received generally positive reviews from contemporary music critics, many of whom praised the song's incorporated sample, as well as Carey's carefree vocal style. The song was the first of several of her lead singles that sampled older tunes as a musical bed, as seen in "Fantasy" (1995), "Honey" (1997), and "Heartbreaker" (1999). It experienced strong worldwide success, becoming Carey's seventh chart topper on the Billboard Hot 100, remaining there for eight weeks. It peaked at number one in Canada and became a top-ten single in Australia, the Netherlands, New Zealand, and the United Kingdom.

Carey performed "Dreamlover" live on several televised talk shows around the world, including The Arsenio Hall Show in September 1993, the British music chart program Top of the Pops, and the 1993 Music Fair in Japan. In 1999, following the release of Carey's Rainbow, the song was included in the Mariah Carey Homecoming Special, and her appearance on The Today Show. Additionally, "Dreamlover" was featured in the set-lists of most of her succeeding tours, making its debut on the Music Box Tour (1993). The song was included on Carey's compilation albums,Number 1's (1998) and Greatest Hits (2001).

The song's music video was filmed by Diane Martel in an undisclosed location in upstate New Yorkduring August 1993. It features a cameo appearance by Carey's dog Jack, and shows her frolicking through a flowerbed and field, swimming in a large pond, boarding a hot air balloon, and dancing alongside several shirtless male dancers. According to author Chris Nickson, the video's carefree setting harmonized well with the song's soft instrumentation. Due to the song's strong radio airplay and extended charting, the video received frequent play on several music video channels throughout the summer of 1993.

NOT, HOW DID HE DIE, BUT HOW DID HE LIVE

Not, How Did He Die,
But How Did He Live

I POSTED THIS ENTRY BECAUSE OF THE MANY WHISPERS N' SIP SIP FOLKS STILL PUTTING OUT THERE ABOUT MAURICE'S DEATH. 

Not how did he die, but how did he live?

Not what did he gain, but what did he give?
These are the units to measure the worth
of a man as a man, regardless of birth.

Not, what was his church, nor what was his creed?
But had he befriended those really in need?
Was he ever ready, with word of good cheer,
to bring back a smile, to banish a tear?

Not what did the sketch in the newspaper say,
but how many were sorry when he passed away

Not, How Did He Die, But How Did He Live - Author Unknown

I dedicate this to Maurice, his was a gentle soul to those that knew him
and a kind, loving friend to many…
Rest in Peace.

THE BEST WAY...

"The best way to start, is to begin."

Malachi Z. York

¡HAPPY EARTH~DAY NOEL!

¡ENJOY YOUR DAY TO FULLEST MY LOVE!