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[Browning] As Good Fridays Go

I am constantly haunted by water. I try to drink eight full glasses a day, swim as often as possible (the dog paddle is my favorite stroke), do some menial hard labor task so that I coax tiny droplets to ooze out of me, and I adore soaking in a hot spring during those quiet crepuscular hours before dawn in contemplation of all that the day may bring. But my favorite association with water is sitting on top of it in a canoe, rhythmically stroking a good wooden paddle again and again and again, in motion meditation.

No. 2, September 29 - October 5

<b><u>The Place to Be</b></u>

I very much enjoyed the recent cover article, "The Place to Be," and beautiful accompanying artwork (although lacking the key Standard Life building in its layout) about the growth of downtown Jackson (Sept 22 - 28, 2005). I am very interested in seeing our downtown reinvigorated and was encouraged to hear that things are happening to see this take shape.

[Kamikaze] Don't Blame Nelly

My condolences go out to rap mega-star Nelly and his immediate family. In case you haven't heard, Nelly's sister, 31-year-old Jackie Donahue, lost her battle with leukemia recently. What a lot of people don't know is that Nelly spent a lot of his time trying simply to save his sister's life. As some families can attest, fighting leukemia, or any other terminal illness, is not cheap. Luckily for Nelly, the blessings of the music industry allowed him the means to start the Jes Us 4 Jackie Foundation. His fame and fortune helped shine light on the condition of his sister and those like her.

[Stiggers] Stuck Like Chuck On The Side Of The Road

The Ghetto Science Team's Department of Transportation presents Transportation Secretary and Head Mechanic of Rev. Cletus Car Sales, Deacon O.D. Mann, promoting his transportation program for financially challenged commuters.

[Greggs] Why Ask Why

A few days ago I got an e-mail asking if I could write a column about "college" due to the theme of this week's paper. I decided it probably wouldn't be kosher for me to write a column screaming about politics, and then roll it in weed and dip it in beer. In sitting around thinking about what I could write that would encapsulate my five years of college, I wasted 100 words writing this introduction. I thought that was fitting, considering most everything I wrote in school had about 100 words of crap at the beginning.

[Kamikaze] Pump It Up

I've been an athlete all my life. Since I can remember, I've participated in organized sports, whether it was soccer in elementary school; baseball, basketball and track in junior high school; or football in high school and briefly at Jackson State.

[Kamikaze] Racists Win Again

Excuse me if I'm a little cynical when it comes to the American judicial system. Any system run by human beings is going to be flawed. Being that we are supposed to be the superior species on the planet, we're often too smart for our own good. We're a civilized society (sometimes), so we have laws and rules. Sometimes, however, our predilection to interpret and follow rules overrides basic common sense.

[Stiggers] Bring Back The Hustle

Brotha Hustle: "Greetings, fellow hustlers and ghetto economists. I've come to realize that we live in a society of racketeering. Gone are the days of Hustle-Utopia (a.k.a. legitimate hustling society), a time when people made equal exchanges with each other, such as a product for a service. Today, lies mixed with the truth keep the insane craziness going.

[Ali] Bootstrap Fury

I was attempting to have a nonviolent "discussion" with my conservative father the other day when he said the phrase, "Pulling themselves up by their bootstraps." After quickly looking around for President Reagan, I realized the man responsible for my existence had said that to me in reference to the ideal social welfare system.

[Damiani] From One Iraq Extreme To The Other

Today, after you've had your first cup of coffee and stumbled out of your home to join society, walk up to somebody and say, "What do you think of when you hear the word 'Iraq'?"

[Stiggers] Tips From Hair-Did University

Boneqweesha Jones, the president of Hair-Did University's Schools of Cosmetology, Hair Styling and On-the-scene reporting, addresses the freshman class: "To each member of the freshman class, I'm pleased that you did the right thing in the midst of tough times by choosing H.D.U. for your post-secondary education. We poor folk must pay the 'high' price because we allowed ourselves to be 'okie-doked' (tricked) by the 'American Scream.'

[McLemore] Say It Ain't So, Raffe

On March 17, Rafael Palmeiro pointed his finger at the U.S. Congress and emphatically stated his position. Of all of the baseball greats there that day, Palmeiro came off as the cleanest. The outcry against Mark McGwire, Sammy Sosa and Jose Canseco never took aim at the Baltimore Orioles' star. Palmeiro's testimony even led to his participation in a coalition of pro leagues against steroid use.

But Earth, Which Is His Due

At the Neshoba County Fair this year, I had gotten up close to the lectern so I could take a close-up picture of Gov. Haley Barbour's face during his annual political address. He said my family name at the exact moment I snapped his picture.

[Kamikaze] God Is Smiling

It's a testament to the human spirit to see how Mississippians have responded in this time of crisis. Hurricane Katrina may have devastated property, homes and businesses, but it didn't crush hope. Out of the rubble that is now the Gulf Coast rose a renewed sense of worth.

[Stiggers] Hands Off My Grandbabies

"While locating my favorite weekly broadcast of The Rev. Cletus Car Sales program on the radio, I accidentally tuned in a talk radio show. A discussion about Social Security caught my attention —since I'm a senior citizen with grandbabies and stuff.

We Need A Mayor, Not A Daddy

It is going to be painfully ironic—and useless—if the recent murder spate is the factor that finally gets the Jackson media to start questioning Mayor Frank Melton. Unless proven otherwise, the nine murders in 10 days are not Frank Melton's fault. To my knowledge, he did not put the guns in the killer's hands; he did not tell them to rob and kill; he did not provide illegal drugs that people are willing to kill for; he did not tell a troubled man to pick up a weapon and go kill his girlfriend and another man.

[Casey's Note] Leaving My Heart In Jackson

When I first saw the Jackson Free Press, something sparked. I had given up hope for local weeklies, but the cover—a grid-like spread of a variety of Jackson folks—called to me. Someone had dropped off about 100 copies outside of the Millsaps cafeteria, and I—the eternal journalism snoop—scooped up two. I devoured the whole preview issue and then Googled "Jackson Free Press," hoping to find some Internet connection to this new paper.

[Stiggers] The Michael Moore Of The Ghetto

The Bootleg Low Power Television Network presents "Wee Hour Conversations by the Stove in Grandma Pookie's Kitchen with Ghetto Economist Pookie Peterz."

[Greggs] Like Bourbon For Chocolate

Last week, after spying the ever-growing acreage of my cat's butt, I begrudgingly headed to the store to buy her diet food for the first time. I felt badly about it. Mainly because I would think one of the perks of being a cat is the fact you never have to diet. That and naps being two of the things that make up for the daily indignity of crawling into a box of your own crap.

[Kamikaze] The CNN Of The Streets

Over the years hip-hop music has been effective in uncovering many truths. The L.A.-based group NWA shined a bright light on rampant police brutality in songs like "F_*ck the Police." Rapper-turned-actor Ice T practically predicted the L.A. riots that followed the Rodney King verdict on his sophomore album, "Rhyme Pays." Quite frankly, rap music has been, as Public Enemy front man Chuck-D once said, "the CNN of the streets."