Damon Hodge reports from the front lines of race relations: My name may not clue you in but one look at me and it's irrefutable: I'm black. And proud. (Say it, loud!) So imagine my surprise when, standing in line at the Sacramento airport, ready to board a plane home, the non-black guy behind me begins using the N-word in his cell-phone conversation. And not just once—11 times, each time louder than the last, as if he's verbally thumbing it in my face. I'm thinking, "Have I just walked into an NWA video?" While nearly everyone looks at him, the blacks glare, me and my fraternity brothers sharing an if-only-we-could look—but we're professional men, not n--gas, so we don't. Calm down, I tell myself. Count to 10. It ain't working. I'm heated. What was this guy thinking? That because he's dressed in urban gear it's OK to use invective? Not! Neither Michael Eric Dyson rationalizing nor all the king's horses or all the king's men can remove this word's historical connotation, it's soul-slicing sting. I'll talk to him—that's what I'll do—and explain as much, tell him that some blacks are offended by the word, no matter who's using it. I can't. Still a bit heated. Besides, it might be breath wasted—he's still got a cheese grin on his face. I'm not sure what I'd say would come out nice. So I do the next best thing: I stare. All the black people stare. Without anyone saying a word, he seemed to get the message.
Lawmakers in the state assembly passed a bill last week that would let teens 14 years and older possess stun guns.
Apparently, our politicos haven't been paying attention to the ongoing controversy over stun guns, which dispense 50,000-volt electric shocks to subdue people.
Amnesty International: "Far from being used to avoid lethal force, many U.S. police agencies are deploying Tasers as a routine force option to subdue non-compliant or disturbed individuals who do not pose a serious danger to themselves or others. They have been used against unruly schoolchildren, mentally disturbed or intoxicated individuals, unarmed suspects fleeing minor crime scenes and people who fail to comply immediately with a command."
Statistics compiled by stun gun opponents: Stun gun deaths have average 4.2 per year the past quarter century.
Associated Press: "In response to high-profile deaths surrounding stun guns, the Chicago and Boston police department(s) have either delayed use or halted further distribution of the weapons."
A rearrangement of local headlines on the front page of the April 22 Review-Journal renders the following:
"Mayor fumes as 'pigs' grab finger in chili incident, then offer on eBay for hundreds of dollars; LV woman arrested, slaughtered for meat"
The R-Jˆs got us seeing double. On Page 2 of last Fridayˆs Nevada and the West section, the paper ran a story about the renovation and rededication of John S. Wright Hall, a social sciences research building named in honor of the late UNLV history professor. Thereˆs a picture of Wright in 1965 watching the building under construction. On the other side of the spread, on Page 3, the paper ran a large ad announcing —you guessed it—the rededication of Wright Hall. The ad even ran the exact same photograph of Hall. The only difference? The caption for the second photo says it was taken in 1964.
If you've been to a bookstore, you've wondered: What's to stop someone from loading up on the marked-down books the stores typically table on the sidewalk outside the door? Nothing, as it turns out. On this night, an employee at the Borders Books and Music at Sunset and Stephanie is on the phone to police. A customer has just informed the staff that some guy pushing a shopping cart has helped himself to a little reading matter. "I can still see him," the employee tells the cops. Sure enough, a hundred yards away, a man with a shopping cart has settled at a table outside a bagel shop. A few minutes later, three police vehicles are at the bagel shop, and the book thief is in cuffs.
As we all know, a week without snide, flippant or offensive comments about Las Vegas is like a day without neon. Here are our faves from last week:
• Entertainment Weekly: Staff writer Dalton Ross, in his jokey Hit List column, Part 1: "Las Vegas Honors Sean Combs with 'Diddy Day'—Diddy Day, I love it! And quite a departure from 'Lose Your Life Savings on Slots, Strippers and Crappy Buffets Day,' which I believe is still in effect the other 364."
Hit List, Part 2: "FDA Advisers Recommend Lifting Silicone Implant Ban—I'm pretty sure Vegas is already planning a day of celebration for this, too."
• TV Guide, reporting on the May 23 season finale for the series Las Vegas: " 'By the finale, (the casino will) have a new owner,' reveals Executive Producer Gary Scott Thompson. But buyers beware: The show's move to new soundstages has inspired Thompson's biggest gamble to date. 'We're blowing up the casino.' Now that's an explosive cliff-hanger."
• Time: And for the week's Vegas gross-out, here's conservative mega-mouth Ann Coulter in Time's cover story, quoted as mocking "ornate" claims of torture from suspected terrorists detained by the U.S. " 'It's completely insane stuff (such as), "The government flew me to Las Vegas and made me have sex with a horse."
Which may explain why Ann's rumored to neigh and whinny during the throes of passion. Then she relaxes with a post-coital bucket of oats.
John Harrison, the official taster for Dreyer's Grand Ice Cream (yes, that's his real job) will stop at the Ann Road Albertsons (3010 W. Ann Road) from 10:30 to 11:30 a.m. Thursday as part of the "Two Scoop Neighborhood Salute" contest. Residents are encouraged to come out and nominate their neighborhood, as one of 1,500 nationwide will receive a week's worth of ice cream, as well as a block party. According to a press release, Harrison will also teach the art of "swirling and smacking" and allow attendees to taste a variety of new flavors. Hey, we'll slurp to that.