Anthony vs. The Sickness Round II...or 6, I've lost count...

So, to sum up:

Friday woke up feeling like the crapness. Slept in. Went to work late. Worked while feeling like crap. Stayed home. Moped in the sickness.

Saturday still felt like crap. Watched TV all day. Coughed, rested, geeked out and missed out on everything going on on Saturday. Joy.

Sunday, woke up feeling better, went and got kumimonster from airport, hung out for a little bit. Ate Thai and passed her to kwouk for a while (thanks Kumi and Michael. You two understand the call of the geek!) and then went for first Werewolf session in over a year at Justin's. Triumphant session, hot dice rolling and then got Kumi, dropped her off at Nafta's and then went home, a bit later than I should have.

Coughed the entire night through to morning.

Woke up feeling super ratty, but went to work anyway. A little late. Kept falling asleep at the keyboard while typing and while on hold waiting for doctors to make up their minds that they weren't going to take cases. Coughed. Coughed. Coughed some more. Had a couple of folks wondering why I just didn't go home. Boss gave sympathies, but handed me new cases.

Ran an errand or two, met up for dinner with Nafta and Kumi for a brief while, and then took my ass home. Sat down in the chair at about 7:30 and promply fell asleep. Moved to bed about 3 hours later, and then slept until 6:30 or so this morning.

And today, I'm home sick. Joy.

Have many things to do, many belated birthdays to wish, lots to read, lots to write, and I currently have been coughing until I hurl.

March better be better than this, or I'll have to shoot myself with a water gun filled with antibiotics or something.

Anthony vs. Black History Month

Just because I felt the need to address this, this year, here are some unsung black folk. Some you may have heard of, others not so much. In case you ever wondered.

Edward Alexander Bouchet--The first Negro to graduate from Yale University, the first Negro to be nominated to Phi Beta Kappa, the first Negro to earn a PhD at an American University and only the 6th American to be awarded the PhD in Physics.

Willie O'Ree--The first black hockey player to break the NHL color line. O'Ree played for 41 games in the NHL for the Boston Bruins in 1958 with no fanfare. He would later be traded back to the minors in LA. No other black player would grace ice in the NHL until 1974. O'Ree's legacy would pave the way for future Black players like NHL superstar Jerome Iginla and well known African American player, Anson Carter.

Mifflin W. Gibbs--The First African American to be appointed a municipal judge. Gibbs a lifelong abolitionist and Civil Rights Advocate became a judge in 1875 in *Little Rock, Arkansas*. Gibbs would later be appointed so Registar of United State lands by President Hayes, while continuing his work with business, the Republican party, and Civil Rights.

Sammy Davis, Jr.--Dear Lord, where to start. Just go to google and give it a go. Davis was a pioneer for African Americans in the entertainment industry. Born into a Vaudeville family, he worked a long time dancing, singing and clowning with his father and uncle on the circuit, and eventually on television. His talent for dance and his crooning voice catapulted the singer into the shared spotlight with his dear friend Frank Sinatra and the rest of the Rat Pack. Because of the support of his friends, and his own starpower, he was the first black entertainer to be able to not only stay at the hotels in VEGAS! where he was performing, but he was one of the first and few who got to walk in through the front door. Check out his two autobigraphies: "Yes, I can!" and "Why me?"

Hattie McDaniel--Ms. McDaniel was the first Afro-American to win the Academy Award (for her role of "Mammy" in Gone with The Wind), the first to attend the ceremony as a guest, and has two spots on the Hollywood Walk of Fame--one for her work on film and another for her work in radio. The talented singer and actress fought not only the racism of Hollywood, but also the harsh criticism of peers and other Black Americans for her many portrayals of maids on film. She was, however, a proud actress and worker who saw the work of film as just that--work--and prefered making $7,000 a week *playing* a maid as opposed to the $7 a week *being* a maid--she had both realms of employment under her belt. While Ms. McDaniel still has her detractors, she was one of the brave few who worked in racist unpopular roles at a time when it was difficult for blacks to find any work as an actor other than background dancer. Her contribution to film would later allow more serious roles to filter to the foreground for African Americans.

Dr. Alexa I. Canady--Dr. Canady has the honor of being the first African American Neurosurgeon in the U.S. The recently retired Dr. Canady dominated in a subspecialty (pediatric Neurological surgery) in a field where there are few *women* let alone few *women of color*. Dr. Canady went through a WHOLE LOTTA schooling, earning her BS from U Mich in 71, her MD from Univeristy of Ann Arbor in '75, her surgical internship at Yale '75-76, her neurosurgical residency at Univ. of Minnesota Hospitals from '76-81 and then pediatric neurosurgery 81-82. She has written numberous papers and presentations on neurological diseases and treatement and has made it a continuing effort to recruit and mentor women and people of color into the medical profession. She has served as a growing standard for Black Women to hold themselves to, especially in the realm of Neurosurgery, where, in the US, there are currently under 100 black neurosurgeons, less a quarter of them women.