Game Show Wednesday-Who Wants To Be A Millionaire?

*****Sorry about the missing post last week. You know I had to deal with life and I just didn't get around to writing a post. I'll make it up to you. Post today, tomorrow (national holiday) and Friday.*****

With that out the way, this week's post is Who Wants To Be A Millionaire?

This is how the game works if you've been under a rock and never seen the show. A contestant is asked increasingly difficult general knowledge questions by Regis Feldman. Questions are multiple choice: four possible answers are given (labeled A, B, C and D), and the contestant must choose the correct one. There is no time limit to answer a question; a contestant may (and often does) take as long as they need to answer. By the way I hate when the contestant takes a long time. After the first few questions, the host will ask the contestant if that is their "final answer." Upon making the answer the final answer, it cannot be changed. On the first few questions, some choices often have joke answers. The complete sequence of prizes of the show is as follows:

• $100
• $200
• $300
• $500
• $1,000
• $2,000
• $4,000
• $8,000
• $16,000
• $32,000
• $64,000
• $125,000
• $250,000
• $500,000
• $1,000,000

After viewing a question, the contestant can quit with the money he/she has already won rather than attempting an answer. If the contestant answers a question incorrectly, then they lose all the money they have won, except that the $1,000 and $32,000 prizes are guaranteed: if a player gets a question wrong above these levels, then he drops down only to the previous guaranteed prize. The game ends when the contestant answers a question incorrectly, decides not to answer a question, or answers all questions correctly.

I actually like this show because during the first couple of questions I feel like a genius. Like me taking 5th grade arithmetic right now. Then around the $32,000 questions I start to feel less and less intelligent. I always said that if I went on the show I would stop at $32,000. That's all I need right now. I'm a low risk kind of guy. Why leave with anything less than that? But then I know what would happen if I actually made it on the show. I would think to myself: "Self, think of all the things you could do with a million dollars.

Here's what I would do with a million dollars:

Pay 40% to the IRS (eff Uncle Sam)

Buy my mom a house

Put $100,000 into a Roth IRA

Invest in my future business

What would you do if you won a million dollars? Is a million what it used to be in today's economy? How would winning a large sum of money change your life?

Game Show Wednesday-Family Feud

This week I'm going to discuss a show that I loved watching growing up. Actually I still love watching this show. Family Feud was the first computer game that I owned. This was before Window'95, back when I was still running MS-DOS. If you don't remember MS-DOS then you might be too young to be reading my blog. I had a book of command prompts. That shit was more complicated than memorizing HTML command prompts.

Getting back on tangent, I always wanted my family to go on Family Feud. The only problem was I didn't grow up in the type of household that would EVER be invited on that type of show. Sure I grew up in a two parent household with 5 children but I think we would have been more suited competing against each other than we were competing against other families. As a tribute to my family, this post will be dedicated to functioning dysfunctional families.

What is a functional dysfunctional family? Glad you asked.

Functional dysfunctional family- a family which maintains status quo and existing conditions despite conflict, misbehavior and often abuse on the part of individual members of the family leading other members of the family to accommodate such actions.

First let me give you a little background on my family. My parents have 5 children between the two of them. I am the second to oldest child. I have an older sister who is 8 1/2 years my senior. I have two younger brothers (twins) who are 20 months my junior and my youngest brother is 9 years my junior.

One of my favorite sayings growing up was "you can pick your friends but you can't pick your family". I found it a lot better than my dad's favorite saying was to me and my brothers, "blood is thicker than water". I'm a first generation American. Both of my parents were born and raised in Nigeria. We were raised with Nigerian values and cultures. That being said my father believed that since I had 3 brothers that's all the friends that I needed.

Looking back at my childhood I really don't regret anything about it but what are some signs of a functional dysfunctional family.

Family Secrets & Problems

Like most Black and African households keeping family business within the family was always stressed. No matter how bad things got at home it was understood that we were to never talk to anyone outside of the family about our issues. It was looked upon as betrayal. What happens when you keep so many secrets and you can't find anyone to talk to about it? Depression and resentment that's what.

Petty Behaviors by Parents

Parents are humans too. Humans can be petty. A lot of times the adult doesn't always act like an adult. Often times children can take on the role of the adult. My mom and my sister haven't spoken to or seen each other in close to 5 years. You would think as the only two women in my immediate family they would put whatever differences they have/had aside but they are too much alike. Both of them are extremely stubborn and prideful. I learned early on that the concept "Do as I say, not as I do" is a load of sh*t.

Questionable Behavior Outside of Marriage

"My parents have 5 children between the two of them."

I wrote this earlier in this post. The reason is because I'm about 98.6% that I have a another sister that's maybe a couple months older than me. My mom pointed her out to me at PG Plaza when I was about 5 or 6 years old. Children are like sponges. They remember so much more than we give them credit for. At this point in my life I have enough siblings that I'm not that interested in getting to know more. I often times do wonder what it would be like to grow up in a household with a sister around my age.

Growing up in any of the aforementioned enviornments can be emotional destructive if not dealt with. It is especially hard for a child to know if they should love or hate their parents. They still love their parents but they hate the pain their parent's issues have caused them. Some children will develop the attitude that their parent's issues have nothing to do with them so they will love their parents regardless (this is my case). However, that attitude is another symptom of a dysfunctional environment. This does not mean that you won't be able to live a healthy life nor does it mean that you or any family members are dysfunctional. What it does mean is the elements that make up the family unit are dysfunctional.

So the question becomes how can one overcome growing up in functional dysfunctional household?

Game Show Wednesday-Are You Smarter Than A 5th Grader?

The next game show that I wanted delve further into is “Are You Smarter Than A 5^th Grader”.

Each game is played by a single contestant (an adult) who earns money incrementally based on a payout ladder by answering simple trivia questions, with the game themed as a school quiz. Each question is associated with a grade level; there are two questions per grade, from first to fifth. The game relies on the premise that an adult would not know the information generally taught in elementary grade school, because it is rarely used in adult life by the type of person chosen to be a contestant. Therefore, the show is essentially a test to see how much an adult has retained since graduating elementary school.

Based on this show I think there are not only facts but life lessons that you acquired in elementary school that a lot of people have lost over their transition into adulthood. Let's examine some of these life lessons.

Sharing is Caring

If you look at a group of elementary school children it's amazing how simple things can go if scissors and crayons are shared. If your friend doesn't have enough glue why not use let them have some of yours? Sharing is indeed caring. Some people either never learned to share or completely forgot the concept as they got older. We have adults who don't know how to share anything. Some people wouldn't share a morsel of their food with a starving toddler from Ethiopia. My parents had 5 children (4 of them boys) so sharing was essential in my house hold. This is something that I still have not forgotten.

Don't take things that aren't yours

This is a kind way of saying "don't steal". Stealing is wrong on so many levels. I remember that one time I was in grade school and I got caught trying to steal a pack of Fruit Stripe gum. I got in so much trouble. Looking back on the situation, it wasn’t even worth it. I should have stolen a pack of Wrigley’s. Fruit Stripe gum loses it’s flavor in like 12 seconds.

A couple month’s ago I was in the mall and I had to use the bathroom. These two Latino teenagers were in the bathroom talking. As I was relieving myself I noticed one teenager putting an earring in his ear. The reason I knew this was because the other teenager complimented him on the size of the cubic zirconium. o_0 Not 15 seconds after the mall cop came in the bathroom and apprehended the teenager with the earring for stealing it from Macy’s. Crime pays until you get caught. Nothing is cool about being walked through a mall in handcuffs over some $15 earrings.

With that said I daydream often about being a caper like the Italian Job, Oceans 11-13 or The Inside Man Takers and knocking over a bank or casino. Now that is cool. Not realistic but cool nonetheless.

Don’t be a bully

I really despise bullies. No matter what age, they just bother me. Perhaps it was because I was bullied in grade school until I picked the biggest one out the bunch and knocked him out. They stopped picking on me after that day, which is what I expected. Bullies are really cowards.

As children it’s hard to decipher if you are being a bully or not. Often, actions start out just being fun, but may at some point actually turn into bullying. I was taught that if you are not sure whether something can be classified bullying, stop and think and ask yourself these questions:

~Are my actions or words hurting someone else's feelings?

~Are my actions or words hurting someone else physically or making that person feel afraid?

~Would I want someone else to do this to me?

~Am I unfairly taking my anger out on someone?

~Am I trying to control someone against his or her will?

Based on these questions I know quite a few bullies that are adults. This is a shame. There are bullies in the workplace, in college, hell there are twitter bullies. I still feel the same way about these types of people. Cowards. All of them. You worry you are inferior in some sort of way so you try to draw attention away from you and place it on you so your shortcomings won’t come to light.

Do you know any selfish people? Thieves? Bullies? Are there anymore life skills/lessons that you think people have forgotten or never learned?

Game Show Wednesday-Change of Heart

Dish Network Ch. 116. My TV stays there.

Last week I was thinking about something new and refreshing to add to my site and then I came up with the bright idea to start a blog series. Since I love games (ask about me on the spades table or with dice and cee-lo) and I love tv, I thought what better subject than game shows. I know what you're thinking, "Why would I want to read about game shows?". Glad you asked. Life is one big game anyway. Jayceon Taylor. So as I explore some of my favorite game shows past and present, I'll try to tie it in to real life.

First up is a show you may or may not have heard of depending on how much television you watch you might remember this dating show. The show for this week is Change of Heart. I found it mildly entertaining that a couple would agree to go on a date with other singles because they were having trouble in their current relationship. The culmination of the show is when each person in the relationship decides if they want to "stay together" or have a "change of heart". The sad part is even after all the trouble the relationship may be in, after testing the waters and seeing how green the other side of the fence is and having all your dirty laundry aired on television, one person wants to try to work things out and the other person doesn't.

I mean how bad do you have to feel after this:

Believe it or not this happens all the time in relationships. Maybe not on national television but nonetheless it happens often. Boy meets girl. Boy falls for girl. Things turn sour. Someone doesn't want to work at it. Someone does. Feelings are hurt. There are no bad guys in situations like this. There are no winners. There are no losers. Just circumstances, bruised egos and feelings.

When a relationship has run it's course it's not easy to end things. Some relationships last a lifetime and some only a season. No one wants to end a relationship when the sex may be good or everyone but you can see "how good they are for you." The life of a relationship depends on the partners in the relationship. If one wants it and the other doesn't, then it really can't be a relationship right?

I've been in relationships where I've held on knowing that my feelings have changed but I didn't want to seem like the bad guy for ending what seemed like on paper a great thing. I just went along with the flow and hoped that my feelings would change. You know what happens when you do that? Resent. You start to resent the person that you are with. Little fights become heated arguments. You nitpick at things that normally you wouldn't be concerned with. Eventually things come to a head and the situation ends in a less than desired manner.

How do you really come out and say that you really don't want to be with a person anymore? What if it's someone you still have feelings for? How have you ended things with a significant other? Would you go on a show like Change of Heart? Talk to me.

Random Thoughts 8/12/09

**This is my 100th post. I appreciate everyone who follows and reads my blog (whether you comment or not). [Lifts glass of vodka/lemonade to the air] Here's to another 100 posts. Thanks for coming by my corner of the Internet.**

Random Thoughts:

Today is my line brother's birthday (deuce dawg). I need to call him. Speaking of birthdays, I'm going to be home for my birthday (9/30) for the first time since 2003. I'm trying to do it big. I'll leave all the planning to my brother. My brother's album should be dropping sometime in November. He's a stupid fresh dope rapper. I'm really feeling this Scrappy & Ludacris song 'Patna Dem rmx'. My chest feels a lot better after being elbowed in the sternum on Monday. I feel like my injuries heal faster than the average human. I be on some Wolverine type shit or at least Claire Bennett. The new season of Heroes comes on September 21st, 9/8c. I will be tuned in. I can't wait for the fall season of television shows to start. Until then one show that holding me down during the summer is Dark Blue on TNT. Y'all should check it out.

Video Chicks

I was checking my google reader and I came across this Necole Bitchie blog post. The singer Jeremih premiered his video for 'Birthday Sex' on 106th and Park yesterday (video at the bottom of the post). The leading lady in the video is Brazilian. A lot of people have a problem with him (and other entertainers) using non-Black women in their videos.

Honestly, when I first watched the video I really didn’t think about the race/color of the girl. I just saw another pretty woman. I probably wouldn't have noticed if she were Black, White, Latino or Aborigine well I would have noticed that one.

I actually did a blog post about black complexions and stigmas a while back. You can re-read it here. For the record I feel like you should be with who you makes you happy and f**k everyone else who doesn't like it (just so happens that I like black women). But my opinion on this issue is somewhat two-faced. One on side I feel like what if that’s what he’s attracted to in real life? Why should he have to change what he likes to appease an entire race? I think that black people (women more often) look to the wrong places to try and fight this color/race issue.

Some people don't like the fact that plenty of rappers/singers put non-Black women in their videos. They feel its not so much that this issue effects them personally but how these videos are perceived by a young generation of black girls (the age range in which these videos are actually targeting. Watch the audience's age bracket during 106 & Park).

I actually agree with these sentiments and train of thought. But I feel what the bigger problem is that our youth is actually looking up to rappers and singers for examples of how to treat the opposite sex and how the opposite sex views them. For example, I would hope that a young girl is not taking that 'Birthday Sex' video seriously and thinking that no man can actually want her because she's not Brazilian or something exotic (i hate that conception as well. like black woman aren't exotic but that's another blog post. Coming soon. lol). But for real its a video talking about birthday sex. C’mon. Do you really expect it to solve this current issue?

Technology

Before I blog about my frustrations let me tell you that I watch a lot of television when I'm not busy with school, basketball, work or hanging out. The only way I can keep up with my shows is with the help of my DVR.

Last week on Thursday as I was getting ready for school I had my TV turned to Sportscenter and while I was brushing my teeth the top 10 plays was on. When I was done I tried to rewind my TV to catch all the plays. For some reason my TV wouldn't rewind. I told myself I would deal with it when I got home. As I walked in the house after work, I heard a clicking sound coming from the receiver in my living room. In my mind I was like this I'm fucked doesn't sound good. Long story short, my DVR function was messed up and Dish Network had to send me a new receiver. I activated it this morning and I lost all my saved shows (Heroes, The Wire Season 5, Lost, etc.) and I have to go back and re-program all my shows to record. I already missed I Love Money 2, For the Love of Ray-J, Nip/Tuck, Baldwin Hills and who knows what else.

This incident got me thinking about how much I rely on technology. How did I watch television before satellite? How did people reach me before cell phones? *Gasp* What about before the Internet?