So Sad...

"

A man fatally shot his wife, five young children and himself Tuesday after he faxed a note to a TV station claiming the couple had just been fired from their hospital jobs and together planned the killings as an escape for the whole family. “Why leave our children in someone else’s hands,” Ervin Lupoe wrote in a letter posted late Tuesday on the KABC-TV Web site. The station called police after receiving the fax, and a police dispatch center also received a call from a man who stated, “I just returned home and my whole family’s been shot.” Officers rushed to the home in Wilmington, a small community between the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach, about 8:30 a.m., apparently within minutes of the killings.

Officers could still smell the gunshot residue in the air, reports The Associated Press. Although the fax asserted that Ana Lupoe planned the killings of the whole family, police Lt. John Romero said Ervin Lupoe was the suspect. A revolver was found next to his body. Ana Lupoe’s body was found in an upstairs bedroom with the bodies of the couple’s twin 2-year-old boys. The bodies of an 8-year-old girl and twin 5-year-old girls were found alongside Ervin Lupoe’s in another bedroom. All were shot in the head, coroner’s Assistant Chief Ed Winter said. Ervin Lupoe removed three of the children from school about a week and a half ago, saying the family was moving to Kansas, the principal told KCAL-TV. Crescent Heights Elementary School Principal Cherise Pounders-Caver said nothing seemed to be troubling Lupoe at that time; she did not ask why the family was moving. Kaiser Permanente Medical Center West Los Angeles released a statement confirming both Lupoe and his wife had worked there; both were medical technicians. “We are deeply saddened to hear of the deaths of the Lupoe family,” it said in a statement. In his letter, Ervin Lupoe claimed he and his wife both had been fired and that she suggested they kill themselves and their children, too. The letter indicated that Lupoe and his wife had been under investigation for misrepresenting their employment to an outside agency in order to obtain childcare."

(courtesy of www.bossip.com)

speak on it...

Us vs. Them

On the topic of race and ethnicity, [Aaron] McGruder said that to him, Obama is not black because he is not a descendant of a slave. “The person who is one of us in the White House is Michelle Obama and her momma,” [Aaron] McGruder said.


(Aaron McGruder is the creator of the popular political extremist satire, "The Boondocks")




What do you think?? Are we really still in the place of the "us, them" mentality? With the OBAMAS, of all people?

Black Love.

President-Elect Barack Obama's Essay in Honor of MLK.

On the day of the first inauguration to take place in this city, a small band of citizens gathered to watch Thomas Jefferson assume office. Our young and fragile democracy had barely finished a long and contentious election that tested our founding ideals, and there were those who feared our union might not endure.

It was a perilous moment. But Jefferson announced that while we may differ in opinion, we all share the same principles. “Let us, then, fellow citizens, unite with one heart and one mind,” he said, urging those assembled to begin anew the work of building a nation.

In the more than two centuries since, inaugurations have taken place during times of war and peace, depression and prosperity. Beneath the unfinished dome of the Capitol, a young lawyer from Illinois swore an oath to defend the Constitution a divided nation threatened to tear apart. In an era of unprecedented crisis, an optimistic New Yorker refused to allow us to succumb to fear. In a time of great change, a young man from Massachusetts convinced us to think anew with regard to serving our fellow man.

At each and every moment, the American people have joined with one heart and one mind - not just to commemorate a new president, but to celebrate those common ideals, share our hopes for a brighter future and resolve to advance our bold experiment.

Tomorrow, we’ll gather at a new time of great challenge for the American people. Our nation is at war. Our economy is in turmoil. We have much work to do toward restoring prosperity and renewing the promise of this nation.

And yet while our problems may be new, what is required to overcome them is not. What is required is the same perseverance and idealism that our Founders displayed. What is also required is that we break free from rigid ideology and small thinking, and together grab hold of this opportunity to bridge partisan divides and deliver change for the American people.

The state of our union and challenges of a new century demand that we move beyond the old debates and stale arguments. We must focus today not on the dogmas of left and right, but on practical answers to the difficult problems of our times.

The impetus for that change will come from the American people, where the ultimate power in our democracy lies.

That is why the events of this week are not simply about the inauguration of another American president - they are a celebration of our democracy. We have made this inauguration the most open and accessible in our history, with the sole purpose of involving more citizens than ever before. And as we gather on a mall, in our neighborhoods and in our homes to begin our new journey together, we remember that our greatest strength has always been found in one another.

For the first time ever, we’re opening up the entire length of our National Mall for an inauguration. We’ve invited ordinary citizens from across the country, welcomed local schoolchildren and their families to the parade, and worked with local organizations to distribute free inaugural ball tickets to D.C. residents and military families. And we’ll broadcast and webcast the first-ever Neighborhood Inaugural Ball so that all Americans can join us - wherever their neighborhood may be.

We’ve heeded Jefferson’s words by involving Democrats, Republicans and independents in all aspects of this inauguration. Tonight, we will hold a series of dinners to honor leaders whose lifetime of public service has been enhanced by a dedication to bipartisan achievement, including my former opponent, Sen. John McCain.

We will couple the spirit of this inauguration with the celebration of the life of a preacher who once stood and shared his dream for America on the very mall where we’ll gather tomorrow. Martin Luther King lived his life as a servant to others, and today, ordinary citizens all across the country honor that legacy through the more than 10,000 service projects they’ve created on USAservice.org. And I’m asking the American people to answer the call and turn today’s efforts into an ongoing commitment to enrich the lives of Americans in their communities, their cities and their country.

After all, it’s that commitment to one another that’s always led us forward as a people. Because from those first citizens to the millions technology will connect this week, through times of great challenge and great change, we have remembered that fundamental American truth - that what unites us is always more powerful than what divides us.

That is the spirit that has always sustained us. That is the principle that must drive us now. And I am confident that if we come together and summon that great American spirit once again, we will meet the challenges of our time and write the next great chapter in our American story.

courtesy of www.bossip.com

I Just Don't Get It.

Forgive me this evening. Call me a "hater." Say that I've been brainwashed by Hollywood and their ridiculously high standards. But I have to be honest on here, in saying that I really don't see the great appeal of Ms. Joy Bryant or Ms. Kim Porter.
Sure, they're cute. Sure, they're slender and have legs for days.
Nice smiles. And, sure, they're skin is smooth and buttery. But...that just don't make beautiful to me! I've never seen what all the hype is. And I get really pissed, because...is it me? Have I missed the memo?

I know, "beauty is in the eye of the beholder." But why am I beholding differently from everyone else?? Is it because they are average looking women, who we are happy to see get some limelight? Regular, around the way beauties, that would get a lot of play in their respective hoods, but have risen to the eyes of the nation, and make us feel better about our own, maybe average, decent looks?

So do we think these women (and others) are actually beautiful? Or is it really that they give us hope that we could match up to Hollywood beauty, too?



random, I know. Just been on my mind for some time...

Don't Call It a Comeback!

whitney houston is doing her best, to be her best, and get back in the game! love it all.

Safe Sex!

M.I.A., Sorry in Advance

A new semester has started - already proving to be as challenging as last semester was.

Course load:

GLBT seminar (Gay, lesbian, Bisexual & Transgender)
Dissertation Maintenance (the bane of my existence)
Therapy seminar
Statistics II
Psychopharmacology

2 jobs = 30 hours/week
1 practicum = 22 hours/week


Anyone wanna switch places?? Riiiight.


HOWEVA, I've got many drafts in the works, of all the BS I encounter and my very often scattered and random thoughts...stay tuned for an exciting 2009!!

Umm, Excuse Me. What Did You Just Say?

So...while celebrating NYE in all it's glory last night (really, this morning) I was struck by a few things said to me over the course of the night that make me think...


When is it OK to laugh off inappropriate commentary? Especially coming from males? And when is it important to care enough to say something?


While dancing (which I did a TON of, which is not surprising if you know me), this "dude" (I wish I could call him a gentleman) approaches me, and watches me dance with a friend. Says nothing, just watches for maybe...10 seconds. I turn to him, to which he responds with a smile, "I like that."


OK. I mean, I'm glad you like. I wore this, so you, and others would like. "Dude" proceeds to look and smile, then asks me for a dance, while taking my hand. I ask him something to the effect of, "Where are we going? Are you kidnapping me?" He said yes, and proceeded to guide me toward another area of the room we were already in.

We commence to dancing, bumpin, gettin low, whatever your fantasy. I ask "dude" his name (quick comment: I typically do not like talking while dancing, because it's small talk and dudes almost NEVER say the right things, case in point. However, sometimes I talk so that I control the conversation.) to which he says something I couldn't hear then gives me his "street name." OK. I tell him my name and go back to dancing.

"Dude" then proceeds to form these words and have the nerve to say them to me (not verbatim): "Damn girl, you can dance. I bet you can fuck, too."

Really, though? Is THAT the conversation you want to have with me right now? Is that what's hot in these streets nowadays? Now, part of me, a large part, wanted to respond defensively, and tell him how inapprop that is to say to a lady. Part of me would like to do the night over, and respond accordingly. However, what I did do, was laugh, say "wow, it's like that?" and continue to dance.

Shocked? Surprised?
Would you have done something different?

The reason I did this is because...I really didn't / don't care. Sometimes we give others the power to make us so upset, the power to get us so riled up...but for what? I wasn't in the mood to teach any lessons. He did not call me out of my name, and yes, his comment was immature, insensitive and raunchy. Eh - whatever. But clearly, I had no plans on engaging in anything with him past this dance, so why get mad? And me saying anything to him likely would not have changed anything, either. This, was apparently his swag. And that's cool. That's him. And I guess that has worked in the past for him. Swags are not meant to be compatible. You got yours; I got mine.

Minutes later....he proceeds to ask the "boyfriend in the room" questions, to which I explain to him that I'm single and here with friends. "Dude" then says (verbatim): "You a dyke?" No boo, I'm not. Then I made a joke that if I was a lesbian (and I said, lesbian) that my girl would be the friend I attended with. To which "dude" replies: "I bet you I'll eat ya pussy better than her." I guess he was trying to assert his manhood to me. Good job.

Wow. Again? Damn! Really, though? Which were the exact words I used, and proceeded to make my not so smooth getaway toward another friend.

I only write about this because I've been thinking about it alot. No, not "dude." But...the approach of men these days in an effort to get names, contact information, and eventually...sex. I can't speak to how / where men learn how to deal with women, but I can speak to how women handle the approach of men. My response last night was dependent on my mood. Which was very good and I didn't want to ruin it.

I tend to laugh things off that don't matter to me, and that I don't think apply to me. Kind of like laughing in your face, but not. So tell me, is this approach just another method of perpetuating the problem?