While You Were Sleeping: Gabriel Taye Suicide

Ugh. I have been putting this one out just because it made me miserable to know. This is about a kid named Gabriel Taye that was bullied in school. Unlike a lot of other stories where a kid is bullied and brings a gun from home to school and kills folks this 8 year old ended up hanging himself at home. Of course none of the people that should take any form of responsibility for this has or will. A couple of days before he killed himself he was attacked by another student at school. There is video of this if you wanted to know. This other kid, that should be in some kinda juvenile center if you ask me, shoved Taye into a wall knocking him unconscious.

While he was laying on the ground for about five minutes other kids came by and nudged him, laughed, and even a school official who was right by him didn't notice him on the ground. The school didn't tell his mother, Cornelia Reynolds, that he was attacked of knocked unconscious at school. They just said that he fainted. The case is reopening because after he had killed himself it was treated as very open and shut. The county coroner, Lakshmi Sammarco, requested that the police open this case back up and implied that it could be a homicide. “There's enough information here that we would like to reopen the case to look at whether we need to amend the death certificate. It was very hard for me to believe that an 8-year-old would even know what it means to commit suicide and so I asked Cincinnati police to treat this as a homicide until proven otherwise and investigate it fully.”

Bunch Of Random Ass Questions Part 1

I found this thing online with a hundred questions. I decided to do it because I am just sitting here postponing writing another blog that is of far more social significance but is depressing so I am dragging my heels in doing it. 

The Basics

What is your full name?

Delvin Ross. If you are reading this you likely already know my middle name. Hell, look at the name of this blog. Its not hard to figure out.

Where and when were you born?

I was born in Beverly Hills technically but I still say Los Angeles, California. I even got a tattoo proclaiming that I was made here. Oh, and in 1979.

Who are/were your parents? (Know their names, occupations, personalities, etc.)

Both of my parents are retired now. They did county work pretty much my whole life. My father is quiet for the most part unless he gets turnt and my mother is loud and tends to not like many people.

1 Mom 2 Cups

When I first saw this story I was automatically skeptical. There have been so many reports and video of folks getting into fights on planes with staff, each other, scorpions, and dying rabbits. Just too much. But this story confirmed my skepticism after I watched an interview about a Missouri mother of two named Nicole Harper with an overactive bladder. 

She says that while she was on a plane that she had to use the restroom but the staff would not let her. “I get out of my seat to go to the bathroom, the flight attendant gets on the intercom and says I need to return to my seat. They very rudely said that I was not allowed to get out of my seat and at that point I said 'well I'm either going to need to go to the bathroom or you're going to have to give me a cup to pee in or something'.” Ask and you shall receive! I read that in the bible once. Spartacus 3:16 I believe. Don't quote me on that though. I haven't been to church since Obama's first term.

Kids These Days 72

I saw this video the other day and immediately wanted to see this guy get arrested. Didn't care about race, age, location, previous life experiences. Nothing. Just arrest him. This 16 year old kid named Leon Balfour was at a pool party when this 68 (some places say 69) year old lady named Nancy James in North Lauderdale, Florida asked them to turn down the music at a pool party. There is video of all of this so you can see how many people, about 200 of them, are there just making a shit ton of noise. This isn't at a park or club. Its an apartment complex. So while she is there with her two dogs this kid comes up behind her and lifts her off the ground. They fall and she lands on her shoulder. No one steps in to help or stop this. Way more important to film and post it online. Leon then picks up the old lady and throws her into the pool with himself while everyone cheers.

You can say he slipped and dropped her. An accident because he went down as well. But, and this is the important part, he shouldn't have even touched her. This kid had absolutely no business touching this lady let alone lifting her off the ground for any reason. And the fact that he didn't stop at dropping her and then tossing her into a swimming pool makes it that much worse. Nancy suffered bruises on her shoulder and thigh and has been released from the hospital. In an interview she said “No one should ever, ever, ever, ever, have to go through that, you know? It just shouldn't happen. The kid has not evolved yet into what you're supposed to be as a human being.”

Dante Vs. Nature 67

A few days ago I watched this cool ass special about plants that ate insects and sometimes rodents on PBS as suggested by Camille. While watching all these goofy ass insects I got stuck in a Wikipedia hole and wondered which insects hurt the most when they stung us. The second worse is called a tarantula hawk or as I say “churanchula” hawk. Fuck this thing. Ain't a tarantula or a hawk! 

Its about two inches long and gets its name because it paralyzes an actual tarantula and then drags its stupid body to its nest and lays its eggs inside of the spiders abdomen. When the babies are hatched they eat the tarantula for a long time making sure to keep it alive as long as possible. They are then big enough to burst out the spider because nature isn't scary enough so it decided that you should be walking through a jungle one day, spot a dead tarantula, and suddenly these things come exploding out of its body. Tarantula hawks are known as something called nectarivorous and will eat fermented fruit till they get drunk and can't fly. Yeah. That's just what I thought the world was missing. Flying death bugs that are turnt. They say that the best way to handle being stung by one of these is to just lay somewhere and scream. I'm dead serious. They says its because when you are in that much pain you are gonna be acting eleven kinds of stupid and should just chill the fuck out. And scream. The sting won't kill you but you will just wish you were.

Just Talking With Dante Episode 23

Jasmine is back! We talk about our day of getting Plan Check, a new donut spot, complaints about being in downtown Los Angeles, me talking shit about everyone I see on the street, we lose our minds for a few minutes because of “chocolate mudslides”, a new drug called “pink”, Uber rides, hanging out with ugly people, and why I only hang out with girls. This was one of my favorite shows to record and edit. Click here for previous Just Talking With Dante episodes.

The Devil You Know

I have been trying to figure out how to write this for a while now. Last year someone I've known on and off since I was in junior high disappeared for a while. I'd send him comic book links and nerd stuff on Facebook and he wouldn't respond or see any of them. Fast forward months later and a mutual acquaintance asked if I had heard from him and asked if I checked the sheriffs inmate site for him. I'm glad that the way my life is going no one thinks to do that if they don't hear from me. They just think I am dead. So I check the site and it showed that his bail was set at a million dollars and that he was charged with a felony.

Yeah. Imagine my surprise.

But this was just the beginning. I talked to my mother about this and a few friends about this and she said to call and just ask what he was locked up for. I didn't know it was that easy. The lady answered, I gave his name, and she was like “continuous abuse of a minor.” I said thank you and hung up like “What. The. Fuck.” I told someone else that has known him even longer than I did and he was in shock as well. I told the first person that got me onto this and she was doubtful of the charge while my brain immediately thought he was guilty because he's a guy.

Kids These Days 71

When I first heard this story I was like “So what's the big deal?” I saw so many fights in school growing up and was in a couple. Hell, seeing a fight in school was one of the most exciting things that could happen. You remember what it was like if you missed a day at school? People would be like “There were three fights yesterday! Miss Aberley threw Tamika across the hallway! It was crazy!” It always happened like that. When you were there the fight was wack or would be broken up before it really started. These days kids are fucking savages and there are no one on one fights. Also, they record it. There is no evidence of fights from when I was growing up unless some kid got beat so bad they look or act different till this day. 

This fight happened at Cheltenham High School in Wyncote which is somewhere near Philly. These two girls started fighting and then two more jumped in because kids are kids. Everyone starts screaming and then some teachers try to break it up. There is a way to break up fights, you know. These teachers didn't and one of them tried to catch hands with her face and went down like a sack of bricks.

As you can see from the video provided she took a dive. I've watched boxing damn near 40 years and I know a dive when I see one. This was some Vladi Divac level shit. Some FIFA shit. That was a glancing blow at best. In all eight teachers were hurt. This shit started at 7:30am which means the shit talking started the previous night. Three of the girls were charged as children while one of them who is 18, Amber Lewis, was charged as an adult. Isn't the law weird? She was locked up on $10,000 bond. Goddamn. People beat up cops and get out for less than that. The school has offered counseling for students that are weaker than that teachers' jaw if they wanna talk about the fight.

Click here for previous Kids These Days.

While You Were Sleeping: Jordan Edwards Shooting

Whenever there is any shooting of a Black person by police the first thing that is done is digging. Media outlets and bloggers who side with the police regardless of any information that has or has not been released will begin to see if their “side” is going to win another fight. Its stupid and never something I understand. People do the same thing with politics, religion, and their race. They want to know if someone who is now dead ever committed a crime, hit a woman, or owned a gun to justify why they are no longer breathing. Jordan Edwards is a 15 year old kid that was shot and killed by Officer Roy Oliver last Saturday in Balch Springs, Texas.

DaddyOFive Kids Thankfully Taken Away

There is a Youtube channel called DaddyOFive and MommyOFive that some of you may have heard of from the news. I heard about them about a month ago of them pranking their kids. That's what they do. Its not even funny. Its the kinda shit that makes serial killers and school shooters. I'm not kidding. A lot of kids get fucked with by their family for far less and do some violent shit because of it let alone having it posted online for millions of people to see. The channel is run by the father Michael Martin and his wife Heather Martin. In another video commenting on people talking about their bad parenting skills they sit together and call everyone a hater. If you don't like seeing kids yelled at for things they didn't do and traumatized then you are a hater.

Just Talking With Dante Episode 22

In this random ass episode I talk about being sick, getting tired of having hair, my lack of enthusiasm, and Kim Kardashian's giant fake ass. Click here for previous Just Talking With Dante.

Dante Vs. Nature 66

Nature is like a god that will only send you to hell if you worship it. “That doesn't make sense” someone just said. No. You don't make sense. Much like nature. I saw a bat online and immediately said “Fuck you!” to it and decided to look up some other bats. Out of these three I only knew of the existence of one of them. Its the Megabat. Just by the name alone you know its trouble. This punk ass thing has a wingspan of almost six fucking feet. That is not fair. 

They say it only eats fruit but I think they are lying. They do not use echolocation like most bats instead having a great sense of smell instead. See, that way they can smell your fear and snatch you away from your adventurous friends on that stupid ass hike they convinced you to go on. You know how many people have died and the last thing they heard was “Oh, don't worry. It only eats fruit and bugs”? I don't know either. But I bet its in the dozens. Oh, and get this. They are reservoirs for the ebola virus. You even know what the fuck that means? It means they carry the shit but show no signs of it. Assholes. Flying in the air with they little dingalings just flapping in the breeze. Its gross!

My Current Jam: Random Ass Women

I am into the most random ass women at the moment and oversharing. The first is a fitness chick named Miche. Don't know the rest of her name. Don't care. I like looking at her. I don't even know what her voice sounds like. She is in her early 20's, from Tampa Florida, and is 5 foot 2 and 140 pounds most of which seems to be in two places. The fact that she is super young and into fitness means that automatically I am out of the running for being with her in any sense of the word. 

She is also into motivating people so I am definitely out. She is into guys with goals so we're pretty much beating a dead horse. What a terrible phrase that is. Her size (hips and all that shit) is available but it means nothing to me. Even when bra sized is explained to me in the simplest terms my brain just goes “Dolphins are so weird...” and I drift off. This chick is hot and tiny and I could fit her into my pocket. The only turn off I could find is when she said in an interview that she doesn't like Photoshop in her pictures and has cellulite and such. Its like when a 20 years old dude that should physically be at his peak saying he doesn't mind that he doesn't have abs. Its like, shut up. You'll mind one day. Anyhoot, cute chick. I'd smash. I love that term. Its terrible, but I love it and never get to say it.

Five Things I Learned Late

As smart as I was as a child there were still quite a few bits of basic information that I did not learn, was not taught, or never bothered to learn at an age appropriate time. I'm not quite sure how to describe the way I learned certain things while others just scooted on by. But there are some things I do remember learning or stumbling across and learning. These are Five Things I Learned Late. I know that you will read this and either laugh or feel bad for me. Don't. Feel bad that I ain't got any ass in a year or because I didn't taste a real mango until I was 35 years old.

How To Tie My Shoes

This one is a combination of parents that didn't give a damn and a lazy kid. I saw kids tying their shoes that were younger than me. I saw it on TV shoes. I knew that it was something I needed to learn, but fuck that. I was young and had shit to do. I didn't have time to be stopping to bend down and tie something I could just stuff into the sides of my shoes. Mind you, I waltzed into kindergarten knowing how to read and do math and at the age of 7 was reading at a junior high level. I just couldn't tie my shoes. It wasn't until I was 9 years old that I said “Guess its time to learn this” and did. It didn't take long at all. I just stared at my shoes, recalled some bullshit I saw on a TV show where a kid learned to tie his shoes, and that was it.

Folks Eating And Dying

I heard about two separate cases of people dying during some kind of eating/endurance challenges. The first was this cute ass 20 year old chick named Caitlin Nelson. Yes, the first thing I thought when I saw her before hearing her story was how cute she was. The second was that her dad died on 9/11. The third was that she was one of the most helpful people ever. And lastly that she died during a charity pancake eating contest. At this contest at her school Sacred Heart University in Fairfield in Connecticut she choked to death during the event. The official cause of death stated “asphyxia due to obstruction of airway by bolus of food.” I have never heard the term bolus in my entire life.

A policeman said that she started to choke on the food and someone noticed and helped her to the ground. They began CPR until police arrived two minutes later. The police tried to clear her throat but it didn't work and she ended up dying at the hospital. She was actually taken to one hospital and then another. Her family has stated that she was an organ donor so even in death she is still being more helpful than I'll ever be if you ave me another 38 years on this planet. After reading her story I thought “What a shitty way to go.” Just the other day my cousin asked me how I'd like to die. Fast or long. Fast meaning suddenly. Slow meaning I have time to say goodbye to folks and get shit in order. I picked fast.