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I know I have written about this before, but I think the situation is dire enough for me to write about it yet again. My barber, a straight, 50 year old with locs, who loves the music of Bob Marley and Rare Essence, has a Sex and the City ringtone. It is baffling to me still, and I've known about this for two months. He was edging up my goatee, and talking about his cousin who was drafted by the Wizards, when his phone rang.

Now I know the Sex and the City theme because of fiancee and other women who attempted unsuccessfully to make me fans, so let me just get that out of the way now. So when his phone rang, I instantly looked at the phone, then I looked back at him, then the phone again, and I just shook my head. When a barber has given you 2+ year of great service the way mine has, you don't bite the hand that cuts you by clowning his ringtone. But something ain't right. If he just likes the music, I can think of at LEAST, five shows that have better theme songs

1) Taxi (which happens to be my current ringtone)

2) Barney Miller

3) Frasier

4)Season 4 of the Cosby Show

5)Seinfeld

I'm sure there are more, but that's a start. Perhaps I'll make him a mixtape of TV theme songs or something.

I would also like to shoutout Tiffany, who works for the church where my lady and I are getting married in December. I know I've heard horror stories about how slow church folks are, but I chose not to believe it, because you come highly recommended by my mother. But I am revoking the benefit of the doubt I foolishly and prematurely gave you. You told my fiancee and I that all emails and queries would be answered within 24-48 hours. I thought that was a little pompous, but I don't know your schedule better than you do, so I stayed quiet.

But guess what Tiffany? We are working on 96 hours now, and we haven't heard a peep out of you. And you're lucky my lady has banned me from picking up the phone and peppering your ear with antagonizing banter, because I'd let you have it. This is not professional, and if it wasn't such a pain in the ass to start over and find a new spot, I would bail. Step your game up and act like the professional you pretend to be. I almost hope you google me and stumble on this blog.

Here's the list of things I'd be willing to stand in an insanely long line at 6am for:

1)Seeing Michael Jackson in concert
2)Prince backed by the The Roots

That's it. That's the list. I damn sure would not be in line at 6am, in 80 degree heat, just for a damn phone. Yet as I type this, there are about 70-80 people lined up across the street at the AT&T store on 14th and New York Ave, waiting to get their grubby little hands on an iPhone4. The intensity on the faces of each one of this individuals was downright scary. There was no smiling, no talking in the line, no offers for a coffee run, there were just mean mugs, and occasional glances towards the front of the line to see if the doors to the store had finally opened.

What drives people towards this type of behavior? Why the rush to get a phone that could quite possibly be upgraded and surpassed in a year or less? Its just a damn phone. If someone could explain this phenomenon to me, I'd really appreciate it.

I've written about my lack of air conditioning in the building I reside in, and I am happy to report that it is finally working the way it always should have been. It went out for several hours on Saturday, but it magically righted itself that night. Still, there were approxmiately 10-14 days when it was not working AT ALL. As a result, I tried to organize a coup attempt in my building, by contacting several tenants via email, and suggesting that they request rent reduction next month. I realized it was a long shot, but given that I fried in that apartment when the temps were well over 90 degrees I thought it worth a shot. But yesterday, one of the other building tenants said that she spoke to the rental office, and our request has been denied because the cost to fix the A/C was allegedly so expensive.

I think that's bullshit, and I am investigating my other options. But that is not the real inconvenience here.

The real inconvenience is that now, as a result of these wonderful emails between tenants, I cannot just go in and out of the building without speaking to anyone anymore. This morning when I came back from my run, and while I was sweaty and out of breath, one of my fellow building mates asked me if I was Rashad, started talking to me about the A/C (I was too tired to pay attention), and talked to me non-stop in the elevator until she thankfully got off on the third floor. Yesterday during my walk home, one my other neighbors just started talking to me about our A/C situation, and it took me a minute to figure who the hell she was. The days of me going in and out of that building with me giving little more than a head nod as acknowledgment, are long gone...

That being said (yeah I'm on a tangent now), I think the tenants talking and uniting is a beautiful thing, and I think we should take this one step further. I think everyone should take a picture with their name and the apt number, and we should put the pics in the lobby yearbook style. That way, I won't feel pressured to remember everyone's name all the time, and we take this communal atmosphere to a higher level. I wonder if how much support I could get for that..

Doin' It Again - The Roots feat. John Legend
This is a great song to a)workout to and b)pump loud at your desk or as soon as you get in the car.

Please read my latest article by clicking here.

For the second time in two months, I had the distinct pleasure of appearing on Fox Sports Radio last night to talk about the NBA. And as usual I was nervous and sweating uncontrollably. Hopefully you can't tell.

You can hear me and my main man Ryan talking about the NBA draft by clicking right here.

Here is an interesting NY Times Op-Ed piece on the Culture of Exposure.

You know what annoyed me the most about Michael Jackson passing away last year? It was the millions of "fans" in this country who jumped back on the bandwagon once he was gone. During the last several years of his life, MJ got minimal love in this country, which was one of the main reasons he was going to start his "This Is It" tour in England. Now I'm sure the allegations and his odd appearance didn't exactly make it easy to root for MJ, but that sure as hell did not stop people once he passed away. Meanwhile, loyal fans like me, never left the MJ bandwagon, and were forced to carry the torch in the leaner years. So now when I see alleged MJ fans talk about the depth of their fandom, I want to smack them with hose full of sand. I'm glad they still appreciate MJ's music, but where were you when needed you? Where we you when Invincible came out?

Damn I sound like a creepy groupie. Only one of those words is an accurate description of me though.

Anyway, tomorrow I will be helping my brother, my sister-in-law and my nephew pack their stuff and move out of the area. They are moving on up in the world, and they will now call Brooklyn, NY their home. If I take my own selfish needs out of it, this is a good move for both of them. My sister-in-law will be teaching at a good charter school, and this will allow my brother to pursue his side ventures with more vigor. But the big brother side of me will miss being able to drive 15 minutes down the road to Largo, MD, to see my nephew. I'll miss calling my brother after work and meeting him for a drink (or 2 or 9). I'll miss giving my lovely sister-in-law yet another chance to poison my fiancee and I with her awful macaroni and cheese (true story, she gave us REAL bad food poisoning two years ago). These are priceless memories, and its not like they can't be created in Brooklyn, its just not as convenient for me--and that's ultimately who its all about...me. But seriously, I will miss all of them, and I have no problems visiting New York more often. Happy trails to you all, and if I throw my back out while helping you all move in the 145 degree heat, there will be hell to pay.

In this MJ/Jacksons video below, pay special to attention to the 53 second mark when he spins three times, and still sings on-key without missing a beat.

I had a beautiful entry in my head, that I was going to type out for the world to see. And then I realized that I left my cellphone at home, and now I'm grumpy. F**k a blog entry man.

I'll be more excited tonight, when my beloved Washington Wizards pick John Wall in the NBA draft. It is quite an exciting time to be Wizards fan my friends. Feel free to hop on the bandwagon. I'll be right there at the Verizon Center tonight and again tomorrow, so I shall have interviews, audio, video, etc.

But no phone today.

Check these photos from my main man Neil

I would like to personally thank the Kennedy Center for wearing me down and finally convincing me to give money to become an official member. For two years now, the beautiful men and women who work for you, have been bombarding me with phone calls and emails about joining your establishment. I usually listen to the pitch, momentarily consider pulling the trigger, and then I change my mind at the last minute. It always seems like a good investment, and then I look at the upcoming schedule and I get underwhelmed and turned off.

But my dear Kennedy Center, you stepped up your game tremendously this past weekend, and you went directly for my heart. You sent out just the jazz schedule for the next year or so and included some heavy hitters that I listen to often:

Bassist Christian McBride
Violinist Karen Briggs
2010 Grammy-winning vocalist Kurt Elling
Roy Hargrove (trumpet) and his Quintet
Terence Blanchard (trumpet), Branford Marsalis (sax) and their respective quintets AT THE SAME TIME IN THE SAME SHOW.

So yes, I will become a member, I will attend these shows as well as some of the other wonderful plays, musicals and educational experiences you have to offer, and I regret that it has taken me so long. All I ask is that you send me some type of gift for becoming a member.

I would also like to thank the property manager at my place of residence, for paying attention to all of the emails sent by his tenants, and finally coming to the building to feel the non-working air conditioning. You claimed it was now working, but then you were bombarded with emails to the contrary, so like Obama did with the oil-filled Gulf, you visited each apartment in the building, in an effort to assuage the anger that increases as the temperatures do. I especially liked how you came to my apartment, got distracted by my neighbor who peeked into my apartment with a wife beater, no bra, and short shorts, and then tried to leave without acknowledging what I had to say. Luckily for me, I stopped you and made you talk to me, even though I know you were itching to get to my neighbor's building to see the show. What you don't know is that she's a lesbian and is not thinking about your dumb ass, she simply desires functional AC like the rest of us. I suggest you identify the problem and fix it!

If you love marriage and blogs that discuss them, this is your lucky day. I have two wedding blogs to recommend.

My friend Dana and her wedding blog is right here.
My friend Faye and her wedding blog is here.

I will not be doing one of these, but if my lady starts one, I'll be sure to link that one too. I should record her watching one of the 34 million wedding shows she has tried to hook me into watching, and put that in a blog entry. How is it that I never knew any of these shows ever existed, and now, I can tell you what channel and what time each and every one of them comes on the television. Thank God the NBA draft is on Thursday.

As you may or may not know, the title of my blog is Synchronicity, and although that phrase has many definitions and interpretations, there is one in particular that I like. It is the definition that says things happen, occur and exist at the same time during the same time period for some reason. A version of this happened to me yesterday within a seven hour span.

On my day off yesterday around 2pm or so, while I was flipping back and forth between soccer and tennis, I decided to catch up on blogs that I have listed on the right side of my blog. I had a busy weekend, so I was behind, but usually I try to read every one's blog, so I scanned the titles and skimmed the blogs, and I stumbled on this one by my friend Brian. Brian does PR for the Wizards, and just awhile back he was diagnosed with a rare form of brain cancer., but he fought it, and he is now cancer free. Now, instead of blogging about treatments and pain, he's able to blog about his health and father's day, so it was good to catch up on his blog.

Then around 4pm or so, the Washington Wizards sent out an official email (sent out and drafted by Brian) about an upcoming clinic that would be given in New York City. The NBA is conducting a series of clinic (called NBA FIT) designed to help kids stay in shape and learn the value of health. Joining the kids and the NBA, will be Justin Freelander, who is a 13 year old kid diagnosed with inoperable brain cancer. Justin has founded something called Justin's Quest designed to raise and awareness and money.

I read that email, thought it was a good cause, and then I closed it. 10 minutes later my editor sent me an email, asking me to write a brief article for Hoops Addict, and I did so here. We usually write articles strictly about on-the-court activities, so it was nice to switch it up a bit. After I wrote the article, I laid back down on the couch, and resumed my relaxing day.

Then last night around 9:30, my brother called me and told me that a friend of ours who we both went to high school with, had died of brain cancer. He had actually been diagnosed a few years back, but he had been fighting through treatments, and up until I got this phone call, I was under the impression that he was supposed to be in remission. He died yesterday morning and left behind a wife and young child. I wasn't that close to him anymore, but when we were in high school, I was a senior and he was a freshman. And because our names are so similar(his name was Rashaa), when people called his name, I thought they were calling me and vice versa. We would joke around about that all the time, and that's how we got to know each other. I've seen him a few times since I left high school in 1992 but that's it.

So I'm not quite sure what I'm supposed to do with yesterday's events. I know I'm supposed to appreciate life, my health, my blessings, etc. Beyond that, I'm still thinking about what I should/can/will do.

i promise this is the last Roots-related item i'll post and/or mention today.

First off, let me gloat a little bit and say that I am off today, which means I am in the bed with my laptop. The remote is just a few inches from my hand, and I am switching back and forth between Portugal/North Korea World Cup soccer and Wimbledon which started today. Sure the air conditioning is broken once again after being up and running on Friday and Saturday, and sure I was so nauseous last night, that I'm hesitant to eat right now. The point is I'm in the bed watching sports, so I can't complain about much.

So my son is officially spending the next several weeks in Cleveland, Ohio with my mother. As I type this, he is probably getting registered to camp at Case Western Reserve University, and he will be knee deep in orientation and activities soon. I dropped him off at the airport yesterday morning, and he was excited about the whole experience, while I had mixed feelings. On one hand I know this experience will be a great one for him, but I knew I'd miss him on father's day, and I did (thanks my brother, my father and my boy Cliff for lifting me up) Still once he called and told me he was there safe all was well. He's a big boy (who apparently had a girlfriend now) so I need to trust he can handle these things because he can.

And finally, this may seem completely random, but the next time you are cooking out and searching for items to place upon the grill, put this on there. I brought some of that over to my brother's house yesterday and he grilled it and it was fantastic. So fantastic in fact, that I don't think I shared it with anyone else.

Go buy the new Roots cd.

Back in 1985, when I was 10 and my brother was 8, my parents sent us to Akron, Ohio to stay with our grandparents. My mother was working on her dissertation, and my father had to go London for several weeks, so they just dumped us in Akron. My brother and I loved our grandparents (still do), but to us, spending extended time with the grandparents meant church and lots of it. They made us attend Sunday school, long 11am services and bible study on Wednesdays. Considering we lived in a church-free state when we were at home with our parents, we knew we were headed towards some serious culture shock.

Once we got to Akron, our grandparents had lined up an entire summer worth of plans for us, that went beyond the scope of just church. There was day camp, there were cookouts and parties with cousins, lots of ice cream, basketball at the park, etc. We still longed to be home, but suddenly Akron seemed like a respectable home away from away home option. When our parents rescued us from Akron in mid-August, we appreciated what our grandparents did for us..and we also vowed to never have to stay that long, and we never did..still, we appreciated it.

I say all that because tomorrow morning, my son will be on the plane to Cleveland, Ohio to spend a month with my mother. This is his summer-with-grandparent rite of passage, and the poor kid has NO idea how annoying (and loving of course) my mother can be, but he will learn. He will be in a athletic/academic camp by day, and he will learn at the feet of Dr. Mobley by night, and he will have a ball.

Later on today, when my son arrives v, I will interview him on camera to get his feelings on this matter.

Oh and go buy the new Roots cd that comes out next week

1) The Lakers won, and even though I was rooting against them, I appreciate the greatness of Phil, Kobe, Artest and the rest of the team. Here is my discussion about the game last night.

2)I got the opportunity to watch John Wall workout yesterday, and here is my article based on that.

That's all I have right now.

When I got home yesterday, there was a note in the elevator that said the AC will not be working for another 2 to 3 days. The property manager, who of course does not live in the building, explained that he and his staff were working diligently with contractors in charge of fixing it. Now, far be it from me to question the property manager or the contractors and the extent of their diligence, but that's not cutting it. Allow me to list the temperatures for the next 3 days: 90, 90 and 94. When the temps are that high, it doesn't do a damn bit of good to have the fan on, because it feels (but not smells) like morning breath being blown all over the place. To make matters worse, this is the THIRD summer in a row that we've had to deal with such matters. Now I am forced to unleash the loosely tied up a-hole in me, and write a diligent letter to some higher-ups about the high level of inconvenience I am forced to wallow and sweat in, as a result of this egregious negligence.

I feel like I'm bitching and moaning like Uncle Leo, so I'm stopping now. But I'm unhappy and I'm hot, and I don't enjoy going home the way I should. However, that little sentence I wrote yesterday about it being too hot to get some trim? Disregard that please.

And if you hate Kobe the wy I do, please join me in rooting for the Celtics tonight. Please.

I just heard from Carlton's (my son) teachers, and he made the Honor Roll this quarter. So he went from a terrible progress report in March to honors at the end of the school year. I couldn't be prouder of him. Now he just has to maintain it in 8th grade next year.

You can hear me having a great discussion on last night's not-so-great Celtics/Lakers game by clicking here

The air conditioning wasn't working in my house last night, which just totally jacked up my evening and my morning for that matter. I couldn't watch the game comfortably, I couldn't drown my sorrows in wine, because that would have made it hotter, I couldn't get any trim because that would have made things even hotter, and this morning after I ran 5 miles, I couldn't come back to a cold apartment, so I was sweaty when I left the house, and I'm still a bit sweaty here at work while I type this blog. And for you people saying its never too hot to have sex, you come stay at my house and try, and let me stay in your air conditioned place until its fixed. How 'bout them apples?

Also, if your father is alive, and you have a decent relationship with him, please show the man some love on Sunday--actually show him love everyday, but kick it into high gear for Father's Day. I'm sure he deserves it, and I'm quite sure he's tired of receiving Old Spice, ties and socks and corny plaques. I know its tough because you can't just resort to the bailout gift (flowers and candy) that works like a champ on Mother's Day, and I know older men make it damn near impossible to buy gifts for them. They've been wearing the same clothes and shoes since 1992, they refuse to convert their CDs to IPODs, and they won't watch or even take season one of Mad Men out of the box, even though you raved about how good it was over and over again. Still, you should dig deeper and make your father happy.

And once you come up with some ideas for Father's Day, please share them with me, because in the words of the great Joe Namath, I am struh-ga-linng, to come up with something good.

And one more thing. If the cleaners mistakenly gave you an article of clothing that fit perfectly, would you keep it for yourself or take it back so it could be returned to his rightful owner? Just curious.