Thanks to Devin Johnson for sharing this video.

An email I received not too long ago from my good friend Tonie...



If you're looking for the closest Cheesecake Factory to you, or if you're just a skeptic and have to see for yourself, check out their website for more information.

Living in Washington, DC [And not having a license or car also helps], I catch the Metro everywhere I need to go. I virtually live, work and play in DC near a Metro station, so the price of gas is something I never think about. I couldn't even tell you where the closest gas station is to my pad. One night a friend of mine and I ended up across the river near the border to Maryland before finding a gas station, running on empty, filling up in a not-so-nice part of DC.

But, for those of you who pay attention to the fluctuation of gas prices each time you drive past a gas station while going to work, there are several sites you can visit to find the best deals in your area, if they're not already in your favorites. If times are rough, there are 10 other ideas of how to save money at ITWorld.

One of the most powerful [and motivating and entertaining and intense and no-frills-no-thrills and spell-binding] speakers I've ever heard speak is a guy named Jack Wu. He's a millionaire, and he did it through absolute sheer determiniation and that mindset that says, "of course I can." And he speaks right here in the DC area almost every week, if anyone is interested in hearing him explain money.

Anyway, so one day he was giving a presentation and explaining how money works when it comes to the banks and investments and so forth. What's the difference between putting your money in a savings account, checking account, money market fund, mutual funds, stocks, bonds, buying insurance, using credit cards and so forth. You really have to here him tell it, but I'm going to pull out a part of it and see if I can explain what everyone probably already knows, but never seems to talk about.

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'Going Broke Banking Your Future on the Banks'

A Happy Birthday shout out to Keonna! We celebrated her birthday at H2O where she had the VIP table service hookup. I rolled out with my homeboys E Mack and Freddie, but we kind of got kicked out of the VIP. Almost got kicked out the club. Either-or, also congrats to Keonna for getting a j-o-b at the Discovery Channel.

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'Happy Birthday to Keonna'

I remember reading in a magazine article one day that people rather share details about their sex lives than their financial standings. Maybe it’s because we all think we can improve our sex lives much easier than our income or spending habits. Perhaps it’s easier to exaggerate our sex lives than how much money is in the bank. Or maybe we’ve all been subconsciously convinced that money is something evil.

» Click Below to Continue Reading:
'Let's Talk About Sex Instead...'

Can you believe The Artist Currently Known As Prince turns 50 years old today! He's still cranking out albums every year. Remember Charlie Murphy's true story about when he met Prince on the Dave Chappelle Show?

People, people...
As most of you already know, I'm celebrating my birthday this Saturday, May 17, at Zanzibar on the Waterfront. I'll be there early [around 9:00 pm] for my people planning on coming out early to get home early. I'll be there around the time they open the doors, but I'm closing down the bar so no need to rush.

I sent out Evites. If you didn't get it, check your spam/bulk trash folder.

There will be a live performance by Emeline Michel, a Haitian performer with an African-Caribbean sound, on the first floor. Second floor is the usual hip hop, rap, reggae, soul and my favorite — go go. The cost is $25 at the door.

Dress code: Give them a call at (202) 554-9100, but last time I went, jeans were cool, no sneaks, no boots, no athletic gear and no head gear.

Around midnight we will meet up on The Deck. The entrance to The Deck is on the second floor. This way my people can meet the rest of my people and it gives me a chance to say "hey" and "thank you" to everyone. If you smoke stogies, bring 'em.

The club is in walking distance to the Waterfront Metro Station on the green line. There's plenty of parking in the area. If you get there early you might find free parking on the street. If not, I have no idea how much it costs. The address is 700 Water Street SW.

Be sure to RSVP on the Evite so I know to look for you. If you need me to resend it, just email me. Otherwise, I'll see you Saturday.

About a year ago at AppleOne, we had an office coordinator by the name of Camille Richie. Cool girl from Florida, degreed in sign language and crazy as all out. How did someone with a degree in sign language and a desire to become a sign language interpreter (which she eventually became, quitting AppleOne) become our OC? Who knows and who cares.

Anyway, while she was at AppleOne, she sent out an email about the different types of huggers people are. I remember many years ago a friend of mine, Chanda Torres, said my hugs weren't genuine because in the process, I'd pat her on the back as opposed to embraced her. My bad. I didn't know there were so many different types of hugs out there.

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'What Type of Hugger Are You?'

Wow, where did the time go? This past month flew past, as I've been in transition, from the j-o-b [I got a new j-o-b downtown DC], my living arrangements [Still working on that] and mourning the end of The Wire.

Ok, really the cable/Internet is turned off. It's on at the new place, but I haven't figured out when I'll finally move in, so I'm squeezing a minute in at work. I appreciate everyone who has asked what happened; people actually read my ramblings? It's still going to be a minute before I can get back on the grind with it.

But just to review the past several weeks, Devin and his wife Afiya invited me to campaign in Ohio for Obama with them back in February. DC for Obama, an organization supporting Obama [I know, obviously!], went three buses deep. I think there were maybe 300-400 people just from DC volunteering.

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'Getting Caught Up -- For Now'

"There is no better than adversity. Every defeat, every heartbreak, every loss, contains its own seed, its own lesson on how to improve your performance the next time."

For the past several years, the most captivating show on TV has been HBO's The Wire. It's better than "24." And "American Idol." And whatever else is out there. Not only is it entertainment, it's uncut, unfiltered, about as real as people get and it's based on not only the city of Baltimore, but the issues facing American cities everyday.

Recently there was a cover story in the City Paper about the show, but it's not a raving review. Instead it questions why The Wire isn't the same show it was when we first learned about it. Writer Mark Athitakis goes into details about why the final season of The Wire, when we're expecting a lot of questions to be answered and more shockers [like the death of Prop Joe], is turning out to betray the viewers just as everyone in the show seems to be betraying everyone else.

With the polls showing Barack Obama the favorite to win the "Potomac Primaries" tomorrow, he will be the front-runner for the Democratic nomination, currently trailing Hillary Clinton by only 27 delegates [1148 to 1127]. He swept her over the weekend [winning in Louisiana, Nebraska, Washington (state), the U.S. Virgin Islands and Maine] and beat her in 20 of the 31 states/territories that have already voted.

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'The First Victory Speech of Many'

As we prepare for the primaries here in the DC region, here's a little reminder of why we're voting. Thanks to my homegirl Johanne St. Leger for sending this reminder to me...

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'Remembering Why We Vote'

Years ago TV was simple. Turn on the 28 inch, position it so there's no glare on the bowl-shaped screen, grab the TV Guide to find something to watch on the 30 or so channels and enjoy. But today, with technology finding its way to America's favorite way to kill time, you start up the flat screen, high definition mega-sized TVs, click a button on the remote to see what's on the hundreds of channels and if you don't see anything you like, check out OnDemand or TiVo something coming on later to watch when you feel like it.

After reading The Fate of Africa, I've become more intrigued with the continent's history. To my surprise I found on OnDemand a movie starring Denzel Washington as Stephen Biko about South Africa as the blacks fought back against apartheid. The movie, Cry Freedom, was released in 1987 about a South African leader not named Nelson Mandela who sacrified his life for the black cause.

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'I Didn't Know Denzel Was Stephen Biko'