Roy L. Pickering Jr.'s Blog, page 30

Doing the Crime and the Time

Lately there have been countless discussions taking place around water coolers, online message boards, and in back & forth tweets on Twitter in regards to the topic of crime and punishment. Fyodor Dostoyevsky would be so proud. Professional athletes being arrested for various infractions is no new thing, but lately the profile of the players has been especially high, and despite the top notch lawyers they've hired, repercussions are actually being paid. In cases where the legal system did not ha

Favre is back - Palin won't leave

Back on 9/29/08 I wrote the following piece on this blog. At the time I was close to being equally wired about what was going on in the worlds of sports and politics. In the former, my beloved Jets had just enjoyed a history making victory over Arizona Cardinals with then quarterback Brett Favre throwing six touchdowns. Ironically it was the Jets who would fall apart after a 8 – 3 start and end up missing the playoffs while the Cardinals found themselves in the Super Bowl with a fourth quarter l

SHORT STORY XI

This story ain't for everybody, just the sexy folks! Short but sweet - aka A Quickie.


CLIMAX

BY ROY L. PICKERING JR.Copyright by Roy L. Pickering Jr.



Pushing, pushing, pushing. Harder, faster, deeper, as deep as I can go within myself to find what it will take. What will it take to surge past the boundaries I reside between? They can be overtaken if mind is at one with will, transforming the material that forms me into an iron piston, pumping relentlessly, fueled by ego, mastering the rigors of per

The Michael Vick Story

In terms of football strategy, the signing of Michael Vick by the Philadelphia Eagles to back up Donovan McNabb at the quarterback position was a no brainer. The ship of their organization is McNabb's to either sail or float, and if by chance he goes down to injury, by the time Vick is eligible to play again he will be a far superior replacement for Donovan than anyone else currently on the Eagles roster. As a public relations move many people feel that the signing of Vick was a risky one, even

Short Story X

Short Story Sunday has reached double digits. Hopefully you'll enjoy the latest one, and as always, all comments are appreciated. An old ad campaign once gave us the great line - Between love and madness lies obsession. "I Watch" is about living in between.



I Watch

BY ROY L. PICKERING JR.
Copyright by Roy L. Pickering Jr.




I watch as she floats across the street, her daughter's tiny hand securely clasped in her own. The sun competitively brightens in envy of her superior radiance. Other pairs of eye

Black Literature – Dead or Alive

This posting was written after I was prompted by a question posed at Rawsistaz.com

So called black literature is not quite dead, but seriously injured in my humble opinion as someone who reads and writes plenty of it. This most likely is a temporary, even if rather long lasting condition. The problem isn't that there are not plenty of African American authors writing quality novels. The problem IS that these books aren't the ones being published, or when published, the ones being heavily marketed

Short Story Sunday IX

A story that many women can relate to whether they want to or not.



THE CAMEL'S BACK

BY ROY L. PICKERING JR.
Copyright by Roy L. Pickering Jr.




"Shake it baby, shake it."
"Honey, you got some serious back."
"Girl, you got it going on."
"I sure do like what your body language is saying to me."
"How about giving me your number, sweet thing?"
"Can I have some fries with that shake?"

Lawanda Jenkins marched steadily onward, avoiding eye contact with anyone. She valiantly tried to appear oblivious to the onslaug

Are You Ready For Some Football?!!

I conducted an informal poll on Twitter amongst ladies only in search of an answer to the following question. What is your favorite sport and why? Sports is supposed to be a guy thing, or at least it used to be. I talk to guys about sports all the time, a tradition passed down to me from my dad. Women allegedly have more profound conversations about feelings / emotions / yada yada. But it has become increasingly apparent to me that women have gotten into sports in a big way, not merely as casual

Art & Literature Giveaway!

First there was bacon and eggs, then peanut butter and jelly, then rhythm and blues, and now at long last, the teaming of Erin (illustrator) and Roy (author) to host an Art & Literature Giveaway. The lucky winner will receive a copy of my novel Patches of Grey AND a print of their choice from Erin's Etsy shop.
Here's how you play, folks. Head over to Erin Go Paint, look through all of the listed items, then go to the contest posting at her blog The Gluten Free Illustrator and leave a comment stat

Short Story Sunday VIII

In the wake of recent events such as the group of African American children who were treated in a reprehensible manner at a Pennsylvania pool club; the accusation of racial profiling in the incident involving a lauded college professor and the Cambridge police department; and discussions that came about as result of the sudden death of Michael Jackson and the question of who would raise his children; it seems fitting to post one of my short stories that addresses the subject of racial identity f