Student. Sister. Jerk. City Slicker. SU Alum. People-Watcher. Best Friend. Godmother. Daughter. Comedian. Psychologist-in-Training. Angry Black Female. Educator. Small Towner. Gifted. Acquaintance. Bitch. Petite. Laugher. Writer. Homeowner. Lover. Therapist. Nemesis. Spectacle.
Grew up on the block, [Willow Ave]. 20 years later, so many things have changed...
Random Recents
at what age do you get over your birthday? at what age do you NEED to get over your birthday?? (9.6.09)
this fall semester (last major hurdle) is gonna be like that last 15 minutes of labor (so i've heard)...push it out AY! get it DONE! (9.6.09)
it ain't right. it ain't fair. how i've been away from this site that i use partially as my outlet. but i'm back. and trying to make a schedule of sharing time. a lot has happened. let's see how much of it matters. (9.2.09)
is seduction still in? (7.26.09)
damn, i ain't been here in a minute! (7.26.09)
it's july 4th people, i know. great bbq day for all! but please, remember how we really colonized this mofo. with mass genocide. remember your history! (7.4.09)
speechless. don't think it's hit me yet. R.I.P. Ed, Farrah & Michael. this week is too much! (6.25.09)
Lisa Rinna. She's admitted to bad cosmetic surgery , but....wow. The hair. The lips. I used to be a fan in your Days of Our Lives era, Lisa. Where have you left me?!?!?
I'm sick of this little Miley Cyrus girl, I'll be honest. The teeny bopper trying to turn sex symbol is an old idea, and I don't think she's making the transition well, at all. And this dress? You look like a Christmas tree, boo. Go home.
Fabulouuuuuuuuuuuus! Kate Winslet is stunning as she (usually) is in this grayish-bluish number. Elegance!
Jennifer Aniston, simple and elegant as usual. She looked great, though I wasn't feeling that Bohemian braid at the front...talk about an awkward moment when she presented with Jack Black and Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie in the front row! She presented with grace and did not bat ONE DAMN EYE! Loved it.
Beyonce'...this was a bad idea. You've got great curves, gorgeous skin, stunning smile; this dress was a COMPLETE miss. Leave House of Derreon ALONE!! What are those, fish?!?!?
Evan Rachel Wood....took the cake for me Sunday night. From the moment I saw her, she was it for me! She's young, some say she's misguided...but in this number, she was the BIDNAAAAAASSSSS OF 2009! The pale skin with the soft toned gown, with that tat on the upper back? Picture perfect!!
As Marilyn Manson's young and current on again-off again girlfriend, many people are comparing Evan Rachel Wood to Manson's ex-wife, Dita Von Teese, Burlesque dancer extraordinaire (love her). What do you think?
Yes!
Now, I don't think this is from the Oscars, and I don't know exactly where this shot was taken nor do I give a hot damn, but I am thoroughly appalled. What the hell was Niecey Nash thinkin??
A schizophrenic (Nathanial Ayers played by Jamie Foxx), is a homeless musician from Skid Row, Los Angeles who dreams of playing at the Walt Disney Concert Hall. Through "chance," he meets a journalist (Steve Lopez played by Robert Downey Jr.), who tries to help this mentally disturbed man get "back on his feet" and make his dreams come true.
Lopez was walking through downtown Los Angeles three years ago when he came upon a man playing a violin. Over the following weeks, Lopez kept returning to that street corner to listen to the music and learn more about the man who made it. Those visits resulted in a series of newspaper columns in which Lopez introduced the homeless musician to his readers.
"His name is Nathaniel Anthony Ayers. He was a little over 50 years old when I met him," he says. "He grew up in Cleveland and got interested in music through the public school system back then in the 1960s. Mr. Ayers, after high school, went to Ohio University to study upright bass and later got a scholarship to Juilliard, which was quite rare. He was one of the few - if not the only - African-American students at Juilliard in the late 1960s.
Around his second year at Juilliard, Lopez told his readers, Ayers began having problems. Although his musicianship was outstanding, he had trouble focusing in class. At the beginning of his junior year, he had a mental breakdown and was diagnosed with schizophrenia. He left Juilliard and ended up on the streets of Los Angeles.
Today, Ayers is getting treatment for his illness, and while his recovery is far from complete, he now has a lot of people looking out for him. Lopez also has been changed by the friendship the two men developed. Ayers also introduced Lopez to the reality of the link between homelessness and mental illness. [Voice of America News, February 2009]
Anika Noni Rose. Hailing from CT, is a Tony award winning singer and actress. She attended FAMU, earning a BA in theatre, then studied Drama at the American Conservatory Theatre in San Fran. She performed on stage most notably in Footloose and Caroline, or Change. In 2006, she starred in Dreamgirls as Lorrell Robinson and is scheduled to appear in the upcoming films Just Add Water, Razor, and....in Disney's upcoming animated feature THE PRINCESS AND THE FROG, in which she will be the FIRST BLACK DISNEY PRINCESS EVER (Tiana)!! This is huge y'all. HUGE! She also starred alongside Jills Scott in The No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency...
I’m calling his phone up Just to tell him how much I really love him ‘cause His everything I want He listens to me, he cares for me So I truly believe
God sent me an angel Up from above That’s gonna love me for life Might as well be perfect only because It’s the only way I can describe, so
It this isn’t love, tell me what it is ‘Cause I could be dreaming or just plain crazy It this isn’t love, tell me what it is ‘Cause I never felt like this baby If this isn’t love
L-O-V-E, what is in me L-O-V-E, oh if this isn’t love L-O-V-E, what is in me L-O-V-E, oh if this isn’t love
I’m selfish ‘cause I don’t Wanna share him with nobody Not even knows People that came before me But see, I never believed
God would send me an angel Up from above That’s gonna love me for life Might as well be perfect only because It’s the only way I can describe, so
It this isn’t love, tell me what it is ‘Cause I could be dreaming or just plain crazy It this isn’t love, tell me what it is ‘Cause I never felt like this baby If this isn’t love
L-O-V-E, what is in me L-O-V-E, oh if this isn’t love L-O-V-E, what is in me L-O-V-E, oh
So if you got real love Lemme see you put your hands up See you put your hands up The kind of love that fits quite like a drug Lemme see you put your hands up See you put your hands up If this isn’t love ‘Cause I know I ain’t crazy I know I ain’t tripping I know I ain’t slipping I know that is love You see me with my hands up If you think I’m dreaming I know I ain’t dreaming ‘Cause this is the reason I love him because If this isn’t love
It this isn’t love, tell me what it is ‘Cause I could be dreaming or just plain crazy It this isn’t love, tell me what it is ‘Cause I never felt like this baby
L-O-V-E, what is in me L-O-V-E, oh if this isn’t love L-O-V-E, what is in me L-O-V-E, oh if this isn’t love
Love, L-O-V-E Love, L-O-V-E
I cry. Almost everytime I hear this song. I sing loudly. Almost everytime I hear this song. My hands go up in the air. Almost everytime I hear this song.
So this year I have a "Valentine." Not someone I chose to be my Valentine, or someone who asked me to be their Valentine. But someone, who by definition, has been labeled as such. This someone, being my wonderful, knuckle-headed, sweet and absolutely imperfect boyfriend.
So, what does February 14th, (tomorrow) mean to me? Not much. So, why are we not celebrating? Good question. A question that, while he is ecstatic that I'm fine not celebrating and is happy to know that no money shall be spent on this Hallmark Holiday, still makes him wonder, "What is wrong with this chick to not want to celebrate the day that was made specifically for her, and more specifically for her, when she's in a relationship? What did I do wrong?"
Awww, boo, you did nothing wrong. My problem, my issue, my concern, is with what this holiday represents and says to all who indulge, and those who don't indulge. I mean, the cliche way to approach this is to say that this holiday should be moot because romantic love should be celebrated EVERY day. Sure. That's fine. I get it. But why is something the matter when I've been "given" something that's always been a fad and wanted by eveyrone (unless you're on the Schizophrenic spectrum), and I'm just kickin it??
Here's why. Honestly, I don't celebrate romantic love everyday. Should I be? No doubt it's one of the most surreal experiences I've ever entertained in my life, and I'm grateful to have run into it at least once, but should it really always be celebrated? Because, in fact, this man pisses me off sometimes. He makes me mad, to the point where "love" is not the topic, and I'm spittin hot fire at his neck. Love, in and of itself, is tiring. It's takes time, energy, emotion, etc. It's not all gravy, it's not all nice, and while it's been my best life experience, it's also been my worst, and will indeed likely lead to some detriment in my life.
Now, I'm not saying that I don't love love. I wouldn't trade it, I promise you. And I'd go through all the shit I've already been through, to get to where I am in my journey to love. But...have we been putting love on too high of a pedestal? For those of us who have it, or had it, or long for it, or need it, or think they may have had it...the answer may be no. But what about those thousands and possibly millions of people that haven't had the chance? What does Valentine's Day say to them? "Awww, maybe next year you'll reach this quinessential peak of life..." That ain't even right...
I really don't know where I was going with this one...I'm just annoyed by the sea of read and pink I'm seeing all over the place, as well as sick of people asking people what I'm doing and where I'm going, then seeing their disgruntled and confused faces when I tell them that I'll be studying and playing PS2 with the boy.
Cicely Tyson. You recognize her. You know she's flyy. You know she's outstanding. But do you know why?
Ms. Cicely Tyson was born and raised in Harlem, NYC, in 1933, the daughter of Theodosia (a domestic) and William Tyson (a pushcart operator), immigrants from the island of Nevis of Saint Kitts and Nevis in the WI. She married Miles Davis in '81, and they were together until '88. She is an honorary member of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc.
She was discovered by a photographer for Ebony Magazine and became a popular fashion model. You know her from Guiding Light, an off-Broadway show called The Blacks (with james earl Jones, Maya Angelou, and Louis Gossett, Jr.) In 1972, she was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Actress for her role in Sounder, and in '74 she won TWO Emmy's for The Autobiography of Miss Jane Pittman (holler that she was the 1st to win Outstanding Lead Actress in a television movie). She played in Roots, and portrayed Coretta Scott King in King. She also won THIRD Emmy for her role in Oldest Living Confederate Widow Tells All.
Some of Ms. Tyson's recent roles have been in Idlewild, Because of Winn-Dixie and Diary of a Mad Black Woman, and Madea's Family Reunion. Ms. Tyson has made a note to ONLY portray strong Black women in her roles, stating, "Challenges make you discover things about yourself that you never really knew. They're what make the instrument stretch-what make you go beyond the norm." "The choices of roles I made had to do with educating and entertaining. And as a result I found myself working only every two or three years."
Heart Truth's (an awareness campaign for women about heart disease) Red Dress Collection 2009 Fashion Show...
YAY FOR NIA LONG!! Do we ever get tired of her ageless beauty??
NAY FOR VIVICA FOX!! Am I the only one who has been over her since her divorce a few years ago and fast decline since turning 40??? From her 'hood booga brush with 50 Cent, to some bad collagen in her lips, Vivica has lost it for me...
GET IT MS. CICELY TYSON!
I'll end with some tidbits that all women should know about heart disease. In alliance with the best motto I've heard all year: KNOW BETTER, DO BETTER.
-> one in four women in the United States dies of heart disease, while one in 30 dies of breast cancer.
-> An astonishing 80 percent of women ages 40 to 60 have one or more risk factor for heart disease.
-> It's not just a men's disease. If you've got a heart, heart disease can be your problem.
-> Mmong U.S. women ages 18 and older, 17.3 percent are current smokers, 51.6 are overweight (BMI 25 or greater), 27 percent have hypertension, 35 percent have high cholesterol, and 53 percent do not meet physical activity recommendations.
-> African American and Hispanic women, in particular, have higher rates of some risk factors for heart disease and are disproportionately affected by the disease compared to white women. More than 80 percent of midlife African American women are overweight or obese, 52 percent have hypertension, and 14 percent have been diagnosed with diabetes. Some 83 percent of midlife Hispanic women are overweight or obese, and more than 10 percent have been diagnosed with diabetes.
-> To protect your heart, it is vital to make changes that address each risk factor you have. (READ: going to the gym for a few months at the beginning of every ain't cuttin it, ladies. I don't give a damn how slim/trim you are. Being healthy is a mind frame; your psychological health, your physical health, your spiritual health, your healthy relationships.
-> Talk to your doctor. Don't wait for him/her to talk to you.
I haven't decided whether this will make my "next buy" list...Mr. Harvey tends to rub me the wrong way sometimes in the morning...but I WILL admit that sometimes he's right on the money!!
If you've read it, or know more about it, do tell.....
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."
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?
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.
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...
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!!
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?
Lisa Rinna. She's admitted to bad cosmetic surgery , but....wow. The hair. The lips. I used to be a fan in your Days of Our Lives era, Lisa. Where have you left me?!?!?
I'm sick of this little Miley Cyrus girl, I'll be honest. The teeny bopper trying to turn sex symbol is an old idea, and I don't think she's making the transition well, at all. And this dress? You look like a Christmas tree, boo. Go home.
Fabulouuuuuuuuuuuus! Kate Winslet is stunning as she (usually) is in this grayish-bluish number. Elegance!
Jennifer Aniston, simple and elegant as usual. She looked great, though I wasn't feeling that Bohemian braid at the front...talk about an awkward moment when she presented with Jack Black and Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie in the front row! She presented with grace and did not bat ONE DAMN EYE! Loved it.
Beyonce'...this was a bad idea. You've got great curves, gorgeous skin, stunning smile; this dress was a COMPLETE miss. Leave House of Derreon ALONE!! What are those, fish?!?!?
Evan Rachel Wood....took the cake for me Sunday night. From the moment I saw her, she was it for me! She's young, some say she's misguided...but in this number, she was the BIDNAAAAAASSSSS OF 2009! The pale skin with the soft toned gown, with that tat on the upper back? Picture perfect!!
As Marilyn Manson's young and current on again-off again girlfriend, many people are comparing Evan Rachel Wood to Manson's ex-wife, Dita Von Teese, Burlesque dancer extraordinaire (love her). What do you think?
Yes!
Now, I don't think this is from the Oscars, and I don't know exactly where this shot was taken nor do I give a hot damn, but I am thoroughly appalled. What the hell was Niecey Nash thinkin??
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