Archive for April, 2008

23
Apr

How to be Shady

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Wednesday you will find posts concerning women and/or style on invisibleblog.com.

by JayGee

I know what you’re thinking. And truth be told, I probably could give you advice on that too. But I am actually here to give you advice about sunglasses.

Caveat: If you’re one of those people who have a drawer full of single gloves, 1/2 of a pair of socks, lose and/or are rough on accessories, stop reading right now!! This post is strictly for the grown and sexy – not the grown, sexy, clumsy and forgetful.

Much like any other part of your wardrobe, sunglasses are an investment on your appeal. So if you spend $10 on a pair of shades sold by a short, Korean lady outside of the train / metro / tube (pick one), then you are NOT demonstrating high value! If you show up to a park barbecue and you wear cheap-looking, scratched up or ill-fitting sunglasses, she will laugh at you! Who is she? The woman you looked at with those damn sunglasses!!

For those of you whom are or are interested in becoming shade wearers, I’d like to give you some advice as to what type of shades to get. Here are my three biggest pieces of advice for shade purchasing:

  • Do NOT buy those ridiculous, Men In Black Ray-Bansthat have been around for decades and a fashion faux pas for the last two. You’re not Arnold Schwarzenegger’sstunt double, nor a member of Nino Brown’s gang. And chances are, you don’t walk around in the summer wearing black, so they go with little. It’s ridiculous.
  • Second, if you spend the money to buy a nice pair of sunglasses, spend the money to have prescriptions put in them. Price is one of those things that are frustrating when you’re forced to pay it, but well worth it a year down the line when you’re still reaping the benefits. The only excuses you should have for not having prescription in your sunglasses is that you wear contacts or the lens is too big for a prescription. Trust me on this one; I know (sadly).
  • Don’t get sunglasses with the name brand in big, bold letters on the side a la Christian Dior. Unless your name is Kanye West, you should never feel obligated to shamelessly promote a company just to prove you have money.

Here are some great Sunglasses I would suggest:

Giorgio Armani

Ted Baker

Tom Ford

Bvlgari

Prada

Purple Label

Dunhill

Salvatore Ferragamo

By JayGee 3 Comments
Categories: style
23
Apr

Wednesday’s Grapevine

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Our top ten links to news that matters to you.

  1. Barack Obama’s 10-point loss in the swing state of Pennsylvania (even though he outspent Hillary Clinton 3-to-1) may cause a lot of superdelegates to support Clinton - or at least that’s what the Clinton campaign hopes. [source: Chicago Sun-Times]
  2. The Toronto Sun reports from the crowded streets of Philadelphia that, amid the excitement, both campaigns are repeating, as a “mantra”, the hope that the other candidate will drop out.
  3. John McCain has not given up on African-American voters, according to the Hill. Rather than impress them with social conservativism, he intends to woo them with economic initiatives.
  4. To mark Earth Day, NPR hosts a panel discussion on how the conservation effort impacts Black America.
  5. The San Francisco Chronicle covers a speech by the man they call America’s “most influential Muslim”. Imam W. Deen Mohammed, the son of Elijah Mohammed of the Nation of Islam, has carved a very different route out for himself: he believes defining religion for any one race is “dangerous.” The Chronicles quotes him as saying “Black theology weakens our ability to gain from scripture, guidance from scripture, to make ourselves a better religious community.”
    Continue reading

By Jason Proe 1 Comment
Categories: misc and politics
22
Apr

The Grapevine: Links to news that matters to you

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  1. As the Pensylvania primary approaches, Hillary Clinton appears with Maya Angelou at Wake Forest University to sway Black women towards her candidacy; the North Carolina primary follows hard on the heels of Pennsylvania. The Charlotte Observer quotes a professor at UNC who says “”For some African American women, I think Clinton’s role really brings up some longstanding challenges in terms of alliance-building.”
  2. The Washington Post points out that at that meeting she went out of her way to praise Obama, saying “”Because of what we are doing, I honestly believe we have broken one of those invisible barriers … never again will any little boy or girl in America not believe that he or she — black, white, brown, whatever — cannot grow up to be president.”
  3. AlterNet asks: what if the severe restrictions on felons’ voting rights were reviewed? The piece examines the history of the restrictions and their links to Jim Crow legislation, and points out that “entire communities lose their political capital when their citizens cannot vote. Denying the vote to one person has a ripple effect, dramatically decreasing the political power of urban and minority communities.
  4. If you’re Black and support Clinton, you get booed, according to the Dallas Morning News. Not only are elected African-Americans who support Clinton getting threatening messages, but, as one says, “people take it for granted that all black voters support Mr. Obama, which bothers her more than the pressure from other African-Americans.”
  5. And Tavis Smiley has left the Tom Joyner radio show, in part, according to Joyner and the Associated Press, because of the reaction to his support of Clinton over Obama.
  6. A column in the Minneapolis Star-Tribune takes on Robert Johnson, the founder of BET and a prominent Clinton supporter, saying “it’s time someone took out the brass knuckles and used them on Johnson, a first-class hypocrite who is stumping for the Clinton Clan as if the nomination were a street fight and he were little more than a thuggish mercenary.”
  7. The Wall Street Journal investigates Obama’s career in local Chicago politics. Rather than inexperienced, the WSJ says that “a look at his years in Chicago, based on interviews with friends, advisers, rivals and political strategists, reveals a shrewd combatant from one of the nation’s toughest political arenas.”
  8. The Pope is visiting America, and several columnists point out that the Catholic Church is more diverse than ever before. The Rochester Democrat and Chronicle notes that he addressed that in his celebratory mass; Linda Chavez points out that Hispanic outreach is important for the Catholics, but that recent immigrants from Africa are also driving the number of Catholics up.
  9. A Palm Beach couple who spent decades building up a collection of African-American art and cultural artefacts have permitted their local museum to exhibit them. The Palm Beach Post tells their story and goes into some of the background of the items on display.
  10. The University of Southern California is to receive a $25 million gift from an alumnus in recognition for its commitment to diversity. The donation is the largest ever by an African-American to a university, says the San Jose Mercury-News.
By Jason Proe 0 Comments
Categories: misc and politics
22
Apr

Play Financial War Games


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Tuesday is Money and Politics day on invisibleblog.com.

by Jason Proe

The military uses war games to train for worst case scenarios. These war games purposefully place personnel in tough yet likely scenarios to study how they will react and train them to react when things get real. Imagine how prepared you would be if you trained for life events in a similar way? Trent of the Simple Dollar presents this scenario: On Friday You Get Fired.

How would you react? What steps would you take to find a new job? How would you live, pay your bills and take care of your obligations? Wouldn’t it be nice to have a plan in place just in case. Trent’s post provides several suggestions including:

  1. Firm up your social network
  2. Update your resume
  3. Start a legitimate side hustle

You can check out the other great tips here. What steps would you take if you lost your job? Let us hear about them in the comments!

By Jason Proe 0 Comments
Categories: money
21
Apr

How to Avoid an Office Marathoner

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Monday is productivity day on invisibleblog.com.

by JayGee

What’s an office marathoner? Its a label I give to those people in your office, who no matter when you get up from your desk: to go to lunch, to go to a meeting, to go to the rest room, to go talk to a colleague about work, THEY are always up and conversing.

Here’s my stance: It can’t all be coincidence that you guys get up at the same time. So I guesstimate that this person is just perpetually up and walking around harassing people with their conversation, probably because they don’t want to do work, but probably more aptly, they don’t have any work to do. I figure that these people walk around the office so much, that they probably log a marathon worth of carpet traction on any given day, thus the term “office marathoner.”

You want to avoid these people for a few reasons:

1. You really do have work
2. You care about keeping your job/perception, so even if you don’t have work, you’ll make up work
3. They spend so much time talking to other people that they begin talking about people
4. They start rumors
5. If your manager sees you engrossed in a conversation with this person, they look at you as if you’re the slacker
6. You want to do everything in your power to avoid what Dave Chappelle calls, “When Keeping It Real, Goes Wrong.”

Once you’re caught in a conversation with an office marathoner, it is very hard to stop the conversation. Generally, they run on without any considerate breaks to allow you to bow out gracefully. But it is a must that you get away. Here are some tips to avoid the office marathoner:

Unless you’re going to the bathroom, try and buddy up to destinations. Office marathoners will talk an individual’s ear off, but they avoid talking to groups.

Only leave your desk 5 minutes to any hour, that way if you see the office marathoner coming, you can walk by quickly, pointing at your watch and shout “I’ve got a meeting in 5.”

When you see the office marathoner, avoid eye contact. Look down and look pensive as if you’re deep in thought about work, then when you’re a couple paces from them, look up, say “Hello!” then look back down and keep walking. I’d like to consider this as “demonstrating office high value.”

Say “hello,” or “hey.” Don’t say, “hello, how are you doing?” or “what’s up?” Many people don’t know this, because it has transformed over the years, but “what’s up?” is indeed a question. Any question asked to the office marathoner is an open invitation for conversation. Avoid creating OIC. AVOID IT, DAMMIT!!!

Every office has an office marathoner. If this post strikes you as rubbish, then you probably are the office marathoner and I implore you immediately to hang up your track shoes. Now I know these suggestions may seem silly to you, but here’s my guarantee, I bet you try them!!

By Jason Proe 1 Comment
Categories: productivity
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