Air Jordans: The Must Have American Accessory

Photo by kanyetothe.com

Your favorite rapper has a pair of Air Jordans. So does your favorite athlete. You may have also seen them on your favorite singer, when she decides to take off her five-inch heels, and sport her J's instead.  If you are under the age of thirty, you may have seen your first pair of Jordans on your favorite cousin, who taught you how to wear and take care of them. 

Michael Jordan Slam Dunk Contest 1988 Photo by Cliff1066

The Air Jordan sneakers are the most coveted accessory, worn by fashion tastemakers of every economic background. Since their first release in 1985, the shoe named after one of the most influential athletes of our time, Michael Jordan, has been a staple in American fashion for the past 26 years. How is it that a shoe named after an athlete outlast even the most couture fashion brands? Does Todd Oldham ring a bell?

In 1985 Michael Jordan was playing with the Chicago Bulls.  Because of the MVP's  twenty-years with the NBA, Jordan has been revered as the best basketball player of our time. His shine and outstanding talent landed him one of the most successful athletes endorsements to date. 

Manny Pacquiao and Juan Manuel Marquez: Rivalry Between Filipino and Mexican Fans

via Facebook

As the country prepares for the Manny Pacquiao and the Juan Manuel Marquez rematch, Filipino and Mexican fans are sharpening their tongues in preparation for this Saturday.

Mexicans and Filipinos share the same Spanish colonial history as well as a passion for boxing, but Manny "Pacman" Pacquiao  has made things a little weird.

One night I was waiting for someone at a bar. The bartender was friendly and chatty, then he asked me what my ethnicity was. When I let him know that I'm half Filipino, the next question was, "Do you like Manny Pacquiao?"

"I love Manny Pacquiao," I said.

The bartender then properly informed that he was Mexican, and that he "Hated Manny Pacquiao."

We manage to stare down each other for a few seconds. This is a rivalry that is deep rooted and personal because Manny Pacquiao has been dubbed "The Mexican Assassin" and "The Mexicutioner."

Omaima Aree Nelson is Denied Parole: From Model to Cannibal

I'm sort of lost for words and also my appetite. 

Omaima Aree Nelson was convicted in 1991 for murdering her 56-year old husband William E. Nelson.  According to court documents she also cooked and ate her husbands remains. 

On Wednesday, Nelson faced a parole board pleading for an early release from her 27-years-to-life sentence. 

She was denied parole. Big surprise. 

Although she contends that she never ate her husband, her psychiatrist testified that she did in fact, dismember and consume her husband's remains.  She had to this to say in her defense: 

"If I didn't defend my life, I would have been dead. I'm sorry it happened, but I'm glad I lived." "I'm sorry I dismembered him."

One would assume that domestic abuse would contribute to such madness, which is exactly what Nelson claims her husband did: he had tried to strangle her the night before she killed him, and raped her throughout their marriage. 

So she fried his hands, literally. According to Orange County Senior Deputy Dist. Atty. Randolph J. Pawloski:

"There were suitcases and plastic bags soaked with dark liquid from his body parts. In the fry cooker there sat Mr. Nelson's hands, and when we opened the refrigerator there was Mr. Nelson's head with stab wounds,"

What Nelson did to her husband's body is horrendous. 

"After the murder, Nelson boiled her husband's head on the stove in an attempt to remove his teeth, skinned his torso and fried his hands in oil, Pawloski told the Daily Pilot. Nelson told a psychiatrists that she carved up part of her husband's back and dipped it in barbecue sauce, something she now denies."

The details of this crime is a sociopath's crime of passion, if there is even a term that exists. 

It's an oxymoron nonetheless, and although Nelson has been compared to Hannibal Lecter from Silence of the Lambs, I think Nelson's husband is the only human that she's ever consumed, but it doesn't make her case any less horrifying.