Closer to the Weekend...

But not there yet.
Personally, I'm growing less fond of summer as I get older, and we'll see WHY in a bit, along with some other interesting things.
Still not firing on ALL cylinders, but we're giving this the college try, as they say...so bear with me, please.
*** First up, the answer to yesterday's Motto of the Week:
"A genius cannot be forced, nor can you make an ape an alderman."
This was spoken by Thomas Somerville and I cannot find ONE definitive WIKI on this bloke.
Apparently, someone liked the quote, tagged his name on it, and then forgot who the hell he was or what he did in life.
Could be a bishop from Westminster, so your guess will be as good as mine.
I even saw a reference to George Bernard Shaw (Mr. Eugenics) with this quote.
SO, if YOU can find out who EXACTLY Thomas Somerville was or is, feel free to comment. Your "no-prize" will be shipped ASAP...LOL.
Moving on...
*** Getting the flu (or whatever the hell this crappy feeling is) sucks big time, and I'm a person who has to be doing SOMETHING, lest I go crazy (or crazier than I already have become living down here in Ghettoland), so I figure I'll mow the back yard as it needed it, and (as the song goes) "see what condition my condition was in..."
No big deal right?
HUGE mistake...!!!
(we're taklking near-Biblical proportions)
Laborious doesn't even begin to cover it, especially when you're not up to speed to start with.

I was pushing the mower with my BODY rather than my arms (which ached off their bones), my breathing got very labored.

I was sweating like there was no tomorrow, and my heart was trying to pound it's way out of my chest like some cover song from a Meatloaf album in the mid-70s...!

Kinda felt like a 20 click "nature walk" with full gear...on a full stomach.
(nausea-central)

Well, I hadn't eaten hardly anything in over a day, and only been downing raspberry iced tea with LOTS of ice, because my tastebuds were shot to hell, so I was running on damn near "fumes" from the get-go.

I quit outright when the string trimmer (thankfully) ran out of string...LOL

(fate...and perhaps GOD was giving me a hint...which I took GLADLY)

So...word to the wise...if you feel like crap, yard work is not, I repeat NOT the method to make one feel better in ANY way, shape, or form ...kapeesh?

*** The other night, Bill O'Reilly had an intriguing aspect to the whole gun violence thing which made good sense to me.

He said that gun violence had a RACIAL component, and you know...he's RIGHT.
I did some nosing around and came up with some really startling statistics that backs that up.
-- Here's a story from the Washington Post that supports this premise:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/sf/feature/wp/2013/03/22/gun-deaths-shaped-by-race-in-america/
Seems if you're a WHITE man who lives a in a RURAL area, you're more likely to shoot yourself (suicide), but if you're a BLACK man in an URBAN area, you're more likely to be shot by someone else! (and that would be another black man, a pissed off home owner you burglarized, or the police, take your pick)
I'd say that tracks pretty damn true.

Homicide gun death rates for blacks (per million people) is about 151, while the rates for whites is about 15.
(some difference)
Experts claim that SUICIDE is very preventable, and I would say that's a lot more correct than even trying to say that HOMICIDE is preventable.
(many times homicides are impulsive in nature)
-- Here's another story...see what you think:
http://www.redstate.com/2013/01/09/the-real-gun-violence-problem/
In THIS article, it's mentioned that the typical murderer with a gun is a BLACK MALE in a city UNDER the age of 25.
"This is not to suggest that we should profile young black men. We should not. But we SHOULD if we really want to curb gun violence in the United States." states the author of the story.

The DoJ states that in 2008, black males (18-24) had the HIGHEST homicide victimization rate - 91.1 per 100,000 people, nearly DOUBLE the rate for black males OVER the age of 25 which was 38.4 per 100,000.
But these numbers are LOWER than figures compiled from 1993, when the same age group posted numbers of 195.9 per 100,000.
Teen black male offending rates have risen from 54.3 per 100,000 in 2002 to 64.8 per 100,000 in 2008.
ALL of this occurred in... URBAN AREAS...!

And since this aspect of RACE is SO pronounced in these statistics, everyone concerned is dancing ALL around the real issue, and NO amount of gun control will be able to handle that, right?
-- Next, we have THIS article calling black violence nothing short of URBAN TERRORISM:
http://www.wnd.com/2013/01/surge-of-black-violence-called-urban-terrorism/
This story concerns the black FLASH MOBS , and guess WHICH city is considered the top o' the heap?
INDIANAPOLIS...especially at the Circle Centre Mall.
(used to be a NICE place - who knew?)
There is also a link in this article to the BIG list of black mob violence.
Remember the downtown Philly mobs, and the one in Minnesota a year or two back?
Such mobs have now been given to attacking POLICE OFFICERS.
And many times, the lame-stream media all but IGNORES this sh*t...WHY?
Indy attorney Hakim Shabazz said it best:
"There is a criminal element in this town that consists largely of young black men....the most high ridden crime areas in the city...who are the BAD GUYS?
Say it with me - YOUNG BLACK MEN.
Indianapolis, you have a problem. Your problem is young, black men who are out of control."

Change the name, and it SURE sounds a LOT like FORT WAYNE...does it not?
And yet there are those that would love to control GUNS....
Funny, I've said all along that it's really a PEOPLE problem and not a GUN problem.
Maybe a few are listening.
*** Lastly today, I was going to get into what's being done DOWNTOWN in Ft. Wayne, but I think we can save that for a whole other day.

I would remind all of you (locally) to watch the WANE series on IS FORT WAYNE A DANGEROUS PLACE?

Those of you not living nearby can just go to their homepage and follow the links...it's a good series and well worth your time.

Also, Glenn Beck's new book CONTROL hit shelves this week, and I have got to get it! It's not about guns..but it IS about "control".
Tomorrow, a look at possibly the first of the "summer" blockbusters, so have the popcorn ready.

Be well, make a difference to someone, and...
Stay SAFE out there, America.