Difference of Opinion

This blog has moved ...

2009-12-06T00:34:00.001-05:00

... and changed names. You can now find Smarty P. Jones at Smarty's World. Please change your blog rolls.

- Smarty P. Jones

It came to me like an epiphany ...

2009-06-28T17:43:00.000-04:00

My shero, Oprah, often speaks about having "aha" moments where in an instant, you get the answer to questions and issues you've carried around forever.
As of late, my life and my situations have been lending themselves to multiple "aha" moments, sometimes several times a day. I can say that today has been one of those days full of "ahas" and realizations. Today's realization: I hurt.
I hurt everywhere, all over and it's the kind of hurt that can't be soothed. My heart hurts, my feelings hurt. Hell, my soul aches. There's not an ointment, a salve, a compress or a damn thing to ease it. It's the kind of hurt that I can't articulate, but the stubborn Taurus inside has to try anyway.
Last night, gathered at my father's house, were a group of family and friends who have made it a habit to come on the weekends since my father's surgery to play cards, drink and have a good time. When everyone left, I noticed that they all left with a mate in tow, my dad's girlfriend was here and I am not ashamed to say that I felt alone.
I felt more alone last night than I have in my whole life. It wasn't that I wanted a significant other to be with, it was that I felt abandoned and disconnected. I think I always have. To the best of my knowledge, I have only felt truly connected to one person and now, that connection no longer exists.
I've been walking around all month long with an attitude, a chip even, that I couldn't shake. One I refused to cry about or even acknowledge went this deep. Today, in church, I realized this relationship, rather the demise of this relationship, has really taken its toll on me, on my mind and my body.
As an emotional eater, I have gained back 10 of the 30 pounds I've lost. My mind is constantly flooded with thoughts of what used to be and what will never be. I have started to process of truly mourning this loss, so came the tears, the unreachable ache and the realization that it is all for the best.
With that said, I'm on hiatus until further notice. I need to take some time and do the work on me that is necessary for me to move forward mentally, physically, spiritually, emotionally and creatively. If you know me well enough, you know you can find me on Facebook For those of you who don't, I'm on Twitter at http://twitter.com/tsj2003grad. My Tweets are protected so you'll have to request to follow me.
Until next time, find your inspiration, find your peace and wallow in your creativity.

- Smarty

Free Will.I

2009-06-23T01:08:00.005-04:00

Long ago, I heard that school is life and life is school. I agree, life is high school and it gets a whole lot worse. Now this -ish is happening on TV, the Internet and all in the press.
I woke up today to a Tweet from one of my friends from college about my future ex-husband, Will.I.Am having beef with my least favorite blogger in the entire Blogosphere, Perez Hilton. Usually, I could give less than a damn about what Hilton has to say, but I followed links today to his video statement on his website and to Will.I.Am's on his site.

I'm going to preface this with the fact that I am NOT an advocate of violence but it is about time somebody hit this bitch in his mouth! YEA I SAID IT! I'm all for free speech but there is a level of responsibility that comes along with it and he has been the opposite of that.
One of the first things you learn in journalism school is you have to be responsible for everything you write and say. Since seemingly everyone with a blog and an opinion lately fancies them self a journalist, you should be treated as such. Be responsible for what you say, this stuff has consequences.
Now, everybody in this equation acted in a juvenile manner and it needs to be stopped. If I had to choose a side just based on the videos and the situations, I would have to go with Willie on this one. He got out ahead of this thing first with his drunken video when he got home from the after parties. Add to the that the fact that Perez Hilton, in all his Drama Queen glory, produced a 12-minute soliloquy and pretty much told on himself by acknowledging the fact that he intentionally said -ish to upset the situation and the fact that he "took to Twitter" to blatantly lie and say that Will.I.Am personally struck him in the face.
The dude's Tweet reads verbatim: "I was assaulted by Will.I.Am of the Black Eyed Peas and his security guards. I am bleeding. Please, I need to file a police report. No joke." Now in his video he says it was the Black Eyed Peas' manager. There are so many holes in this story, it ain't even funny. And who Tweets after they've been assaulted?
Since all of this, Will.I.Am has started a Twitter account in attempt to clear his name. Personally, I don't think he should be buying into Hilton's particular brand of bull but it's not my name being drug through the mud either. I'm not being called a thug by a crying, blubbering idiot with an audience of millions. So yes, I understand his madness.
I just wanna know what Hilton was tryna accomplish going to Twitter. And why can't he be like normal people and not mention the fact that he got his ass kicked? Trust me when I tell you that if somebody kicks my ass, I am so not gonna jump on Twitter to tell my Tweeps that it happened.
When you get your ass kicked, you don't tell that. You gotta change up the story. He made himself a victim after he spent all that time running his trap about saying that because he dishes it, he could take it. Well, obviously, he couldn't take it because now he has a small cut under his eye and several Tweets to prove what Diddy has coined #Twitassness.
Hilton has managed to do what he has set out to do and that is draw attention to himself with this little cut he got on his eye and his river of crocodile tears. I swear, this mess has been like a damn high school soap opera all day long. It was a trending topic in the Twitterverse while there is so much real -ish going on.
SHAME ON YOU PEREZ HILTON AND WILL.I.AM! SHAME ON YOU! LoL.

*** By the way, my thoughts and prayers are with the families and the victims of the train collision in DMV today.***

Good news ...

2009-06-08T15:58:00.003-04:00

I just got the best press release ever!
Brantera Music Group Inc., announced the star-studded line up of artists they tapped for "Silky Soul Music...An All- Star Tribute to Maze featuring Frankie Beverly." I'm so excited! Under normal circumstances, I hate remakes, but I miss real music.
*sidebar* Foolishness has taken over the airwaves and crazy-looking characters are masking themselves as musicians and artists when all they are doing is bastardizing the work of the artists who came before them.
OK, I'm back now.
Anyway, I'm sooooo excited. The have on deck Ledisi, Musiq Soulchild, The Clark Sisters, Mint Condition, Joe, my future ex-husband Raheem DeVaughn and Her Highness Mary J. Blige! I'm so freakin' excited I could just run a marathon! I said I can but I'm not gonna!
Another reason I'm so excited is I think Maze and Frankie Beverly are prolly the best band in creation - EVER! I've been tryna see them in concert for at least the last five years of my life and I've been unsuccessful thus far. Every damn time they're somewhere close, I always have something going on - ALWAYS!
The most recent concert I missed was Friday when they were at the House of Blues in Myrtle Beach, S.C. I was at a friend's surprise birthday dinner in Charlotte. If me and that chick were not down like "fo' flat tires" I woulda done my best to be in the place! One year, I had tickets and everything and I missed the concert tryna be there for a friend who was going through some serious -ish!
I have missed so many of this band's concerts that I wrote a short film called "Chasing Frankie." I swear man! Next time though, next time!
The project is due out by the Summer's end. There will be 10 songs on the CD including "I Wanna Thank You," to be recorded by The Clark Sisters, Kierra "KiKi" Sheard and J. Moss, "Silky Soul" to be done by Musiq da Soulchild. And the No. 1 song to jump start ANY family reunion, "Before I Let Go," recorded by Mary J. Blige.
I can't wait! This is like Christmas Eve! *jumping up and down*

Things that make me smile 2...

2009-06-02T01:30:00.002-04:00

5. Chappelle's Show Frontline: Clayton Bigsby sketch is prolly the funniest piece of sketch comedy EVER created! I miss Dave. *crying* Come back Dave!

4. Twitter Convos. These nuts have me literally laughing out loud, sometimes in the most awkward places, i.e. my cubicle, hospitals, in line at the grocery store, during the offering in church. I just love these crazy people, they keep my day going and they keep me from catching a case!

I gotta give a special shoutout to @deltalady @goodenufmother @karriedaway @4cap and others!

3. "Martin" and "Living Single" reruns are the best!
I remember finishing up everything (homework/dinner/caking with high school boys) by 7:30 so I could take my bath and be ready to watch these two shows every Thursday night! *sigh* I miss good TV.
My favoritest episode of Martin:

Don't have a favorite Living Single episode, can't pick one:

2. South Park Songs. Trey and Matt are comedic geniuses in a league all by themselves!
Case in point:

1. Music! I love music with passion. It's probably the only inanimate that I love just as much, if not more than, words. It's been said that it soothes the savage beast, I don't know about all that, but I do know that it's kept me from getting in trouble and it's gotten me into a little bit too. ;)
My favorite song of all time is Marvin Gaye and Tammi Terrell's "Your Precious Love." Marvin Gaye is the smoothest crooner of ALL TIME!
Shut it! I grew up on this music and so will my unborn children. They won't have a choice just like my siblings and I didn't.

Things that make me smile

2009-05-29T14:41:00.007-04:00

Over the past two weeks, I have been on an emotional roller coaster. As some of you know, my dad just underwent pretty major surgery to straighten out his spine, realign some discs in his back that are now being held in place by rods and screws and to fix some spinal compression he had in his neck. It's going to be a long, painful road to recovery for all of us and I thank you guys for your prayers, positive thoughts and well wishes for my dad, my family and me.
My brother and I have been going at it since he got here, there have also been a few personal issues that I don't care to discuss anymore and add all that to the fact that this is PMS week. With all of that, I'm in need of a serious smile, aww Hell, I need laughter. And this got me to thinking, I should compile a list of the Top 10 things that make me smile and or laugh hysterically.
I'm gonna do this VH1 style and start from the bottom and go to the top. But I'm not gonna give 'em all to you in an hour or less, you gotta come back for the rest of them later.
So starting from No. 10, here we go:

10. Tyler Perry as Medea. Say what you will but this is funny to me! Everybody feels some kinda way about this dude and him dressing up in drag, but it's funny to me!
*Take that Rocky! :-P*

9. Reese Witherspoon in "Freeway." If you've never seen this movie, slap yourself and then go rent it! This movie came out when Witherspoon was unknown and my sister and I discovered it in the middle of the night while we were on summer vacation. It came on Cinemax so you know we had NO business watching it as 12 and 14-year-olds. Still, it's funny as crap!

8. The Cosby Show Reruns always make me smile if not fall out laughing. My favorite episode is when Cliff had a nightmare that all the men were pregnant. Another favorite is the Gordon Gartrelle episode and the ones where they performed for their grandparents. I could use one of those right now!

7. "Life" with Eddie Murphy, Martin Lawrence, Bernie Mac, Guy Torry, Anthony Anderson and er'ybody else! When I pop this DVD in I watch it like I've never seen it before. It's a combination of the funny ass lines and the way the actors portrayed the characters. Claude and Ray as old men still holds up and 10 years later, this movie is still hee-larious!

6. "Harlem Nights" with Eddie Murphy, Richard Pryor, Redd Foxx, Della Reese and others. This is another DVD I can pop in and laugh all day long. If ever there were kings of comedy Pryor and Foxx are definitely among them. My favorite scenes in the movie include the exchanges between Redd Foxx and Della Reese because they sound like the old married couple who love to hate each other but would never get a divorce.

What in the Hollywood Hell?

2009-05-26T00:01:00.007-04:00

*whistle blowing* FLAG ON THE PLAY!!! OFF SIDES!!! TECHNICAL FOUL!!! STOOOOOOOOOOOP!!!
Now that I have your attention, It has come to my attention in recent weeks that a lot of producers out in LaLaWood have decided that it is a good idea to remake several cult classics and I have taken offense to the foolishness.
You guys know I am an aspiring screen writer and you know I LOVE movies with every ounce of my being. What you may not know is I love them to the point that I apply quotes from movies to everyday life. Sometimes, my family and I 'speak movie' to each other. It's hilarious really. Usually, the point is to use a line that either most people don't remember or haven't heard.
The problem is most of the movies we like, that are off the beaten path, are about to be bastardized with remakes coming soon to theaters and I HATE it, you hear me? HATE IT!
Case in point, "Fame." OMG, I (heart) "Fame" so much it's not funny.
It's not just the story line, for some of the performers, the acting was horrible. It was Debbie Allen as Lydia who made the movie for me, though, when she said, "You've got big dreams, you want fame, well fame comes, right here is where you start paying for it - in sweat!"
Shoot, after that, I was ready to work! And if you think about it, that applies to everything in life. Now, sadly, they're re-making it and they've gotten Naturi Naughton to be CoCo. *smdh*
If defaming "Fame" were not enough, these crazy people are planning to re-make "The Last Dragon," and make Samuel L. Jackson, Shonuff. I guess we haven't seen Jackson holler enough, now we gotta watch him claim to be "The baddest Mofo Low Down around this town!" *smh* Where will it end?!
I tell you what, if they re-make "The Wiz" I'mma have to cut somebody! I will phone up The Jaded Nyer to borrow one of her limited edition machetes and cut somebody!
Since we know that screenwriters all over Hollywood have run out of creativity and we know they're going to re-do it anyway, one of my friends, K.Rhone and I have taken the liberty to suggest a few folks we think should play the parts now and some posthumously. Enjoy!
Muahahahahahahaha!

Dorothy was played by one Diana Ross. She did a good job and I'm not sure who could fill her blinged out slippers, but I'd give Jazmin Sullivan a crack at it based on her amazing vocals and her ability to bounce back after she busted her ass!
Posthumously, I would say that Aaliyah hands down! She was just awesome and I think her sweetness radiated in everything she did, even that horrible acting she did in "Romeo Must Die."
The Cowardly Lion was played by Ted Ross who was soooo hilarious as the lion. I think the only logical choice would be the Velvet Teddy Bear himself, Ruben Studdard. He's got the voice (and the girth) for it. I think he'd be awesome!
Posthumously, it could only be Gerald Levert. And he woulda played the hell outta that lion and brought some, dare I say, Big Boy Swag to it.
The rusting, big woman loving Tin Man was brilliantly executed by Nipsey Russell. We kicked around a few ideas of Jamie Foxx and Anthony Hamilton as the Tin Man, but I finally settled on Dule Hill from "The West Wing" and more recently "Psych." I settled on him because of course he's an excellent tap dancer and his singing voice doesn't suck. But, Russell couldn't sing that well either.
Posthumously, NOBODY could EH-vah out Nipsey Russell, Nipsey Russell. So I'd keep him as the only one who could ever play that part!
As for the Scarecrow, he was brilliantly played by a young, Negro Michael Jackson. I thought, and thought and thought about this and K.Rhone added her own thoughts to this as well. Her first nomination was one Usher Raymond IV. My choice was "Iron Fist" Chris Brown because he's a better dancer.
Given Brown's recent troubles and the fact that I want this movie to do well, I don't think it would be a good look to have one of the most hated men in America in a principle role in this movie. So, Ursher wins by default.
Posthumously, I'd say Michael Jackson. LoL. That Michael Jackson is dead now and no one could top him for that.
And Richard Pryor is the best Wiz there ever was. K.Rhone and I both agree that The Wiz should be a "mature comedian" and I have several ideas, but none of them stick out as "The One." I think George Wallace, J. Anthony Brown, Steve Harvey or Miss Laura (yes, a female Wiz) could pull it off.
Now for the supporting roles, I'm just gonna name 'em all off and I'll let your imaginations wonder why. Here we go:
Ms. One - The numbers witch who came out after Dorothy killed the first Wicked Witch should be played by Katt Williams or Sheryl Underwood. Y'know Williams would pimp it out at the male witch while Sheryl Underwood would be funny as all hell coming through there with her numbers!
Crows Wanda Sykes, Chris Rock, Mo'Nique and Rickey Smiley. Do you really need to wonder why they would make the funniest crows EVER?!
Glinda the Good - I'm thinking Patti LaBelle or CeCe Winans for no other reason than their vocals and the fact that I'm sick of the light-skinned long hair chick being the "good" one in everything! OK, that was some childhood stuff creeping up, but I really do LOVE Lena Horne.
My wild card pick for the good witch though would be Miss Bebe Zahara Benet, the winner from last season's "RuPaul's Drag Race."
Evilene just HAS to be Jilly from Philly and that is NONE other than Jill Scott!

Kanye "The Gay Fish" West needs to assume Quincy Jones' role and produce most of the music and appear as the conductor to the music during the ballet at the end.
OK, whaddaya think? Who did I miss? Who would be your picks or did I hit the nail on the head?
A girl can dream, can't she?!

About Jon & Kate ...

2009-05-21T17:34:00.004-04:00

... leave them alone!
Please America, I'm begging you. For the love of all things holy and for the sanity and security of those eight innocent children, leave those people alone.
Yea, yea, yea. How dare I say leave reality TV stars alone? Because I believe it. So what they have a TV show on - cable TV. They are still entitled to their problems and issues in life but they DO NOT have a right to have their business and issues on front street for all the world to see.
First off, I am an avid viewer of the show. I think it's interesting to see such a young couple have so many children with so many different personalities deal with it all.
Secondly, I don't give a crap if they walk around with their own cameras filming -ish and putting it up on YouTube, who are we (America) to be judging anybody for what they are doing or not doing?!
OK, let me back up. Jon and Kate Gosselin married in 1999 after two years of dating. They experienced some fertility problems and they had trouble conceiving. They tried fertility drugs and long story short, they have eight children out of two pregnancies.
The had a set of twins first, Mady and Cara and later sextuplets, Aaden, Alexis, Joel, Hannah, Colin and Leah. TLC first approached them about doing a special on their unique family that turned into two specials and eventually a TV show. The show will begin its fifth season this summer and now we fast forward to their issues.
For the past five years, we've heard accusations about Kate's quirks and her need to clock Jon every few minutes. Regardless of the situation, they still appear to be a semi-functional family who is just trying to make it. Granted they thrust themselves into the public spotlight with that show but who can blame them for trying to make a little bit of change? They got eight kids to feed.
They have their issues right now with their relationship. Kate is claiming infidelity on Jon's part and he on hers. But the bottom line is people deal with these issues everyday - off camera. Why can't we give him the same luxury?
I think Michael Jackson said it best.

It's my birthday, my b-b-b-birthday!

2009-05-20T08:24:00.002-04:00

Well, well, well, exactly 27 years ago today the world was blessed with my presence. I am so happy to be blessed with another year of life. Life is good. I tell ya'll, 27 never felt so good. Well, I feel good, IDK about ya'll.

I'm looking forward to this new year. I'm following Rev Run on Twitter and he Tweeted something yesterday that will become my mantra for my new year: "Man should never be a victim of his moods, a slave of his feelings, his food or THE WEATHER! MAKE a happy day! Tell ur feelings how to feel!"
I like it. Hell, I love it! Now if I could just put this into practice.

My name is Smarty Jones ...

2009-05-13T23:29:00.006-04:00

... and I'm a girl.
No, it has not taken me nearly all my 27 years to figure that out, but it just kinda sorta showed itself in the worst way earlier this week.
First, lemme give you a little bit of background about ya girl. I am the last of four kids. The baby always bears the brunt of their siblings problems, I don't know why, we just do. In theory, we are supposed to be able to run to our parents and cry and point and wait for someone to catch a beat down. It didn't go that way in my house.
If I ran crying to my parents about something one of my siblings did, their response was, "so what are you gonna do about it?" This taught me two things: 1. Don't go crying to your parents for a problem you can fix and 2. Crying doesn't solve a damn thing! Maybe that's harsh, but that's what I got out of it.
Add to that the fact that I am the opposite of what one might call a "girly" girl. I played varsity volleyball, basketball and was on the track team. I was in JROTC. I have always hated dressing up. I still can't walk in heels. I NEVER wear make-up. And I only cry when someone dies or is near death and NEVER in front of people unless it's at a funeral.
Think of me as Sweet Pea in this clip. Well maybe not that extreme, but you get the point.
With that logic, experience and attitude, a girl learns to either suppress her feelings, go numb or fool herself into believing they don't exist. I'm very good at the last two. So much so that I don't trust anybody any further than I can throw them. And, I shoulda been a brick mason for the expert way I construct walls around my heart.
So I've been going through with this dude I got "feelings" for that I'm not ready to admit I have. I've always known how I feel, it's just never been this intense. Anyway, we ended up in a restaurant together recently where we had a "flirty" waitress. My first instinct is to call that heffa a ho, but I won't stoop so low.
This chick was blatantly flirting with this dude right in front of me. I mean to the point of leaning in to take his drink order with her titties in his face. Under normal circumstances, we both would have found this funny because she's sooooo NOT his type. We were NOT in Hooters and small Breastuses were not on the menu.
Everyone sitting in our section was constantly calling her to get stuff they needed. We didn't have to because she was always at our damn table. Long story short, I ended up having a sucky night because of this tramp and what it boils down to is I don't know if I was jealous or if I was feeling disrespected. Either way, this is NOT the kid.
Usually, I'm too cool for school and I let everything roll off me like water on a duck's back, but that ain't happen that night. IDK what my issue was, but I was pissed. I mean, I was really feeling some kinda way and I don't like it!
I have spent the majority of my (almost) 27 years building walls and trying not to feel anything and here he comes tearing 'em down and making me have - feelings. Ewwwww. I feel like a girl now.

Is it real?!

2009-05-01T00:50:00.005-04:00

Right now, I'm reading a book right now, called "Quarterlife Crisis: The Unique Challenges of Life in Your Twenties." As you can guess from that long a-- title, the book is all about the -ish you go through in your 20s and I want to hear from my older blog brothers and sisters if you think it's true. Shoo, I do. I'll tell you why.
I've got exactly 19 days before I hit 27. I'm looking forward to it actually. I'm hoping life gets better in my 30s. Don't get me wrong, I'm good right now, I really am, but it's been an uphill battle tryna get here. Dude, my 20s thus far have been the opposite of paradise, OK?
Check it, I graduated from college early right? So I jumped into the full-time working world, feet first at the tender age of 21. Secured an internship that turned into a job that was a 12-hour drive away from home and an 8-hour drive to my closest relative. I'm the baby of my immediate family with a lot of cousins my age.
The two years I lived there, I endured some of the craziest events I've ever seen in my young life. I was diagnosed with Panic Anxiety Disorder and took meds that had me thinking about some wild -ish! Like that wasn't bad enough, I spent six of those months drunk five out of seven days, withdrew from the world even more.
Lemme tell you, anti-anxiety meds and alcohol does not mix! That -ish had me contemplating ending it all. It really did. Thankfully, I decided against it because I thought that would be selfish to my family and besides, suicide would have taken away from my fabulousness and I can't have that! Needless to say, I took myself off the meds and I stopped drinking. That mess was scary!
OK, so, I had to quit that job because it almost drove me crazy and I couldn't take being that far away from my family all the time like that. I moved back home to my dad's house and took a job at a big box store that has a big red 'K' in the front. That started the craziest nine months of my life.
After Christmas, I left that store and went to work with kids and young adults with behavior and mental problems and selling furniture part time. Yes, Smarty worked with bad a-- kids and people who wanted to buy furniture.
I think I sold a set of mattresses and a bedroom suite while I worked at that furniture store. But while I was working with those kids, I took a couple of kicks to the shin, a couple of pushes and a few punches to the gut - while I had cramps! I almost caught a case for that one! After that, I came back to journalism. I had to. The idea of getting arrested, going to jail and having to be Big Bertha's wife just didn't appeal to me.
My entry back into journalism wasn't exactly grand. I took a job in one of the most unlikely places. I was only there for six weeks and that led to my job now. That's a lot of five years, huh? *LoL*
Even with all of this craziness, all of these changes I'm still grateful for it all. It's all played a part in who I've become. It's helped me, I think, to make better decisions about all the issues that arise being an upwardly mobile woman of the 21st Century. But please God, and ya'll too, tell me it gets better.
Tell me that trivial crap will stop mattering so much and I'll learn to take trials in stride as they come without completely spazing out! I swear, my 30s are a couple years off, but OMG, please, tell me I've got something better to look forward to. Tell the truth, hell, lie to me, just tell me it gets better.
The Quarterlife Crisis is really kicking my butt! I'm sick of it all ready. I'm tapping out! No mas! Twenties, you win!

I love to read ...

2009-04-29T15:33:00.005-04:00

... seriously, it's the only other thing in the world I couldn't live without besides writing, music and movies.
Last night, I finished Sista Souljah's latest book, "Midnight." For those of you who read her first fiction work, "The Coldest Winter Ever," this book is the follow up to that.
It really has been dang near 10 years since she's published a fiction piece and this is the result. We actually met Midnight, the title character, in "The Coldest Winter Ever," but this is NOT the sequel. It took hearing from one of my college classmates that it was not the sequel for me to actually get into it.
Just to give you a little background on Sista Souljah. She is a Bronx native who graduated from Rutgers University. She's traveled to several countries such as England, France, Spain, Portugal and South Africa for work and studies.
She's done a lot of work in her community as an activist organizing rallies against police brutality, racially motivated crime and miseducation of black children.
I got all this from the bio on her website. Since I'm no plagiarist and I don't feel like paraphrasing the whole thing, visit her site and take a look.
So, for those of you who have yet to read or see the book, it is hella long, but that didn't bother me. I'll read a story forever if it keeps me captivated and this one did. I like the way she writes and the way she describes things to the reader. Hell, even if my imagination weren't so active, I'd probably still feel like I was there watching the whole thing.
I found it to be fascinating the way she told the story completely from Midnight's point of view and how after all those words and pages, I still don't know his name. Still, I felt like I knew him and I wanted to hug him, shake his hand and take some of the burdens off his young shoulders.
But at the same time, I wanted him to know that life is not as cut and dry as he saw it. There are a lot of gray areas in life. Midnight is by far the most complex character I've read in a long time. He has so many layers that if he were a real person, I'd probably be terrified of him.
I'm not going to tell you anything about the book - what it's about, the conflicts - all I will say is I despise cliffhangers. I didn't even watch the movie "Cliffhanger" because I need to see what the freak happens. I feel gypped.
After days and days of reading this big, heavy a-- book, it ends in a damn cliffhanger! A cliffhanger! With all that, you'd think she wrote the last episode of "The L Word."
What's next? Will they kill off George in Grey's Anatomy too without an explanation? Will my dude in "Lie to Me" quit his job for no reason? This is why I hate suspense movies. I just NEED to know what's gonna happen! My imagination is too damn active to just let this rest!
Ugh!
*pops a Motrin for my migraine*

Sometimes I Wonder ...

2009-04-28T01:00:00.002-04:00

- Was it always cold on "Good Times?"

- Why did Thelma always whine?

- Exactly how many times did she get engaged?

- How come Willonia just walked in without knocking?

- Who left their door unlocked living in the Chicago projects?

- How come people never say "bye" when they hang up the phone on TV?

- Who picks the people to interview for these VH1 specials?

- How come I don't know half these so-called comedians and actors on "Ego Trippin's Black to the Future?"

- How do I become one of these random people on VH1?

- Speaking of random -ish on VH1, am I the only person who refused to watched the foolishness that was "For the Love of Ray J?"

- Who do I need to curse out and/or beat down over there to stop from putting that crap on the air?

- Why do people give a crap about these D-list celebrities finding "love?"

- Speaking of that damn word, why do you coupled off people want to set your single friends up with other single people?

- If you know both people well, shouldn't you know they're incompatible?

- Don't you think if we wanted to hook up with each other, we would have said something before?

- Why is the dating process so damn taxing?

- What is it about "you irritate the -ish outta me" that you don't understand?

- Note to men on the DL, "YOU'RE NOT AS STRAIGHT LOOKING AS YOU THINK YOU ARE!"

- Do you ever see an odd-looking couple and wonder how in hell they met?

- Is it wrong that I give them names and back stories?

- Do you think I'll be caught doing it and forced to stop?

- I'm contemplating a week of silence, think I'll make it?

- I'm gonna do the 5K Walk for Lupus Now in the Queen City of Charlotte on Saturday. You guys wanna help me reach my fund raising goal? I know it's a recession and all, but I know you got $5. Click the link and help a chick meet her goal!

DO NOT BUY THIS BOOK!!!

2009-04-22T21:02:00.013-04:00

Lee Woodruff, a freelance writer and the wife of wounded ABC News anchor Bob Woodruff, has written a book "Perfectly Imperfect: a Life in Progress." Don't buy it. Seriously, don't buy it. No I've not read it, I don't plan to. I don't really need to. I'm not posting a picture because that book gets no play up in here! I'll tell you why.
First, lemme just say that social networking sites are awesome!!! They allow us to keep up with our friends, family and co-workers and they give us a chance to get not so up close but personal with some of our favorite celebs.
Thanks to Facebook, MySpace, Twitter, YouTube and an endless list of blogs, I have been able to meet and in some cases converse with some of my favorite celebs and journalists like Kandi Burress from Xscape, MC Lyte, Royale Watkins and Rene Syler. Actually, Rene is the reason for this post.
For those of you who don't know her, Rene did a four-year stint as an anchor for the CBS Early Show and she penned the book "Good Enough Mother - The Perfectly Imperfect Book of Parenting." You guys saw her more recently hosting BET's inauguration coverage.
She was let go from The Early Show about two years ago round the time that she underwent a double mastectomy to drastically reduce her chance of developing breast cancer. Since then, she's been working to build her web site and network of GEMs (Good Enough Mothers).
Since the book came out, Rene has been on her grind. First promoting the book. Then, doing speaking engagements and raising awareness about breast cancer, which both of her parents battled and last but certainly NOT least, raising two kids and a husband! *tehehehe*
Because we are friends on Facebook and I follow her tweets, I have seen a lot of her videos and read her blog on her website and I know she's coined a lot of terms. According to the U.S. Patent and Trademark office, she's even trademarked the terms "The Good Enough Mother," and "GEM," in 2006. And guess what else she trademarked? You've guessed it, "perfectly imperfect."
Because Woodruff and her publishers have allegedly stolen Rene's work, you'd think this could all be settled with a lawsuit, right? WRONG! Apparently, a judge has ruled that Woodruff and her publishers are merely exercising their first amendment rights in naming the book.
Not only that, apparently, Woodruff is on the speaking circuit speaking to groups about women's issues. Now, call me crazy, but this somehow sounds like this Woodruff chick is trying to jack Rene's swag - allegedly.
Ya'll know that I'm all for the First Amendment, but what I'm not for is bastardizing it for a monetary gain. I hope everything will work out for Rene but I also hope that you guys DO NOT buy this book. In fact, tell everyone you know not to buy that book.
I always like to see fellow journalists succeed, but I can't co-sign for anyone succeeding while trampling the work of others - allegedly. I hope Oprah and the ladies on "The View" get a hold of this story and do it objectively without the sympathetic slant.
Click her pic to visit Rene's site or click the link to visit her YouTube Channel. Follow her on Twitter or do a search for her on Facebook. If we're friends on Facebook, she's on my friend list. Send some prayers and encouragement her way, she's in the middle of the fight of her life!

When I have bad days ...

2009-04-14T01:09:00.003-04:00

... I usually find a song(s), usually Gospel, to get me through my day. Without going into detail, the last few weeks have been really trying for me dealing with death, illness and a whole lot of stuff I can't control.
So, here are a few songs that are getting me through as of right now. I hope they will be a blessing to you if you're ever in need.

"Praise Him In Advance" by Marvin Sapp

"My Name Is Victory" by Jonathan Nelson

"Just That Good" by Kim Person. Do yourself a favor and buy her CD.

Since we're writing letters ...

2009-04-10T10:26:00.011-04:00

I got this idea from two fellow bloggers, Irene and The Jaded Nyer. They wrote a letter to their younger selves giving advice based on what they know now.
Honestly, I think this could be very cathartic but it could be drudging up old memories of things I'm not quite over. Either way, here goes ...

Dear Tiffany,
There's so much to say, I hardly know where to begin. I know you've seen a lot with your young eyes, but that IS NOT all that the world has to offer. The world is so much bigger than that Podunk wasteland you call home and you'll see that soon enough.
Right now, you're probably too young to see it, but there are people in your family who don't want to see you do well. They talk about you, put you down all because they see your potential, they see your drive and they don't want to see you succeed because you have dark skin and course hair.
They will talk about you. They'll call you tar baby, porch monkey and every other degrading name they can think of, but you're not that. You're better than that. They can see it and they hate you for it. Let them hate and and let them talk. You just keep doing your damnedest to prove them wrong.
You'll make them eat the words they spewed calling you dumb and saying that you'd be pregnant before you graduate high school. You'll shock them all by becoming the first in the family to graduate college - and you'll do it early, with honors.
Don't be surprised when they don't show up. Just know that they can't stand that it was you who did it first but revel in the fact that they will need you later. You don't need them to love you. Love yourself.
LOVE yourself, LOVE YOURSELF! After a while, you'll learn that you're all you have and if you mistreat yourself, how do you expect everyone else to treat you? If you start treating yourself like you're worthy, like you're deserving, everyone else will follow your lead. If they don't, damn 'em. You don't need 'em anyway.
Please stop being angry and bitter toward Daddy. He's going through a rough time right now, things will get better. He never intended for you to see how drunk he can get and how much weed he could smoke at one time. He didn't mean to almost kill you on the way home that day. Alcohol and weed is how he copes. It's not right but that's what he does. You'll understand him later when you spend six months of your life drunk damn near everyday because you can't deal.
In spite of his actions, he does love you. He gets better. He'll start going to church, he'll get baptised and when you get to college, he'll be your best friend. I swear, it's going to happen, you just have to be patient.
He'll be there for your concerts, your drill meets and he'll even come to your basketball games when you're riding the pine. When he gets himself together, he'll be your No. 1 fan.
You'll forgive him for all the broken promises and for ignoring you and taking you to places where you felt beyond uncomfortable. All of this will instill a healthy mistrust of men that will be a blessing and a burden later on.As for Mama, be as less of a burden to her as possible. I know she seems invincible right now, but she's going to get sick - really sick. If you can, try to get her to stop smoking. It's bad for her and it's going to jeopardize her health.
And regardless of how you feel, she loves you. Though she may not hug you or tell you, she does love you. She's been through a lot and she's showing you she loves you the best way she knows how.
She doesn't love your brother and sister more. She is trying to make up for what they didn't have in their father. Don't feel like she loves them more because she gives them more attention and accolades. Stop finding ways to hurt yourself so that she will hug and kiss you and give you attention.
That rusty nail in your foot will hurt like hell and setting your self on fire is NOT a good idea. That shit burns and hurts at the same time and you will never forget it! Besides, you won't need her attention all the time. You'll have Daddy to be your cheering section.
In spite of their constant teasing and your sister's need to use you as her punching bag, your brothers and sister love you. They're all hurting and you'll be the one thing they'll be able to control. Don't take that shit!
Mama and Daddy will write it off as them giving you a hard time because you're the baby. They won't see the bruises, inside and out. They won't be around when they knock the wind out of you and laugh about it. They won't be there to stop them from humiliating you in front of your friends and theirs. Again, don't take that shit!
Give as good as you get! Man up! Your sister will not stop beating your ass until you beat hers. She will continue to punch you in your face and sit her fat ass on your head until you promptly beat the hell out of her! Hit her one good time and while she's standing there stunned, jump on that ass!
Trust me, she'll stop. And when you get older, she'll drop about 100 pounds and you'll be bigger than her. Then, you can smack her around when you get ready! For real, it happens.
Mama's going to get married. Don't worry, he's cool. His kids are too, but you won't like them at first. Get over it now because you want her to be happy. OK?
Being the baby of the family, you have an advantage that none of your siblings do. You will be able to learn from their mistakes and not make your own. This will be a big help, but I warn you, do not become too cautious. Making mistakes spices up your life. It creates memories. I don't want you to look up when you're damn near 30 and remember that you spent your life over thinking everything and not participating.
Your friends are not wild and crazy, they're being kids. It might do you some good to take your cue from them and take the stick out of your ass. You might have some fun.
Last but not least, enjoy your life. Right now, you take sunny days and warm weather for granted. Later on you won't be able to just sit on the porch with a Popsicle and watch the clouds change shapes. You're gonna have to work your ass off just to make your ends meet. You'll have to figure out how to get through stuff on your own because you will have NO point of reference.
So, be easy and enjoy your life now. You've got plenty of time to be serious and grown later. If you stop taking yourself so seriously, everyone else will. Keep a song in your heart. Enjoy yourself, because when you get grown, it's on.

Love always,

Me

Open Letter to Alltel/Verizon

2009-04-06T17:36:00.005-04:00

To Whom It May Concern at the Alltel Corporation:

My name is Smarty Jones and my father and I have been loyal customers of your cellular phone service since 1999. Until about six months ago, we have not had any problems or concerns that your cadre of (one-time) well-mannered and articulate customer service representatives could not handle.
In the past six months, my father and I have both encountered inefficient, inarticulate and down right rude customer service reps, and those are the ones in the stores. If we decide to call, we've both spoken to John and Raj who were set up somewhere in India I'm guessing because these guys were NOT in America.
As I understand it, Verizon has completed the purchase of this company in January. I spoke with one of the representatives for your company last June and was assured that I would see minimal changes and interruptions if any at all. Either that rep lied to me or you all lied to her, either way, I'm pissed about it.
We have paid our bill, on time, every month for the past 10 years. How many of your other customers can say that? It isn't that we are looking to be rewarded for being responsible but where's your appreciation for the dang loyalty? Where's your customer loyalty?
More recently, I have been having trouble with my Moto Q Smartphone that I purchased last May. Less than six months after I purchased it, it had to be replaced by the manufacturer because it would not hold a charge.
A week ago Thursday, I went back to the same store where I purchased the phone because again, I was having problems with this phone and to change my service plan. Now, the phone shuts itself down in the middle of conversations and I can not get the jack for the charger to stay put so that the battery can charge. In addition to that, I needed to down grade my service plan because I found that we have been wasting money.
I made the attempt to do some of this on the phone where I spoke to Raj who could not understand that I was saying that we don't need 2,000 minutes when we only use about 800 between us. When I asked to speak to a manager, he acted as if I'd offended him and the three prior generations of his family.
Frustrated, I went to the nearest store only to wait an hour and 15 minutes before I was able to be seen because apparently 20 other people in the area tried to call in and they, no doubt, talked to Raj too. After waiting all that time, one of your immaculately dressed but incredibly dizzy customer service agents in the store ordered a "new" phone for me and changed my service plan to 1,200 minutes per month instead of the current 2,000.
I was told I would receive my phone in four to six days. Eleven days later, I still don't have a phone and I'm walking around with a partially charged phone that has been on the charger for two days. *smdh*
Given the circumstances, I was forced to make another trip to the store where I was told by another associate, with a pissy attitude, that the wrong address was typed in as the delivery address and my new phone was somewhere in Kentucky and my service plan had not been changed.
This sir/ma'am is highly unacceptable for a pair of loyal customers. While I'm sure this is just the result of piss poor management somewhere other than the executive level, *sarcasm* my father and I don't appreciate being jerked around because of the incompetence of your employees.
There are too many intelligent people out of work for you to have an assload of incompetent, inarticulate fools running your stores and call centers. In the event that something does not change between now and May 2010, your company will lose the Grice/Jones cell phone account.
Thank you for your attention in this matter.

Sincerely,

Smarty Jones

The Book, The Final Episode

2009-04-03T00:07:00.001-04:00

OK class, so yesterday, we learned (or already knew) from "Think Like a Lady, Act Like a Man," that men are simple, they need three things for relationship survival and they are not talkers. The day before that we learned that they are driven by three things and they love differently than we do.
I've also shared some personal situations and emotions in relation to this book with you. I told you yesterday that the part of the book that stated that men don’t talk is where I started to get pissed off. It’s not that I saw myself or my situation. It just kind of bothered me that this is the information that the author, Steve Harvey, felt is appropriate to teach women.
Harvey states over and over in his interviews that he is no expert, but be prepared for the title when you write a book that becomes a “relationship/self-help” guide or manual. Since he’s thrust himself in the position, allow me to crucify his ass like one.
With that said …

ACT LIKE A LADY
It is no secret that a large majority of women of color who are college educated, sometimes with multiple degrees, successful in their careers are single. In a lot of cases it is by choice, but with my friends and me, it is more by circumstance than anything else.
Apparently, strong and successful women intimidate a lot of men because we either put out a vibe or they determine by looking at us that we don’t need a man. I’ll wait while you roll your eyes, suck you teeth and laugh …According to Harvey, before men look at us, they size us up based on what we’re wearing and how we carry ourselves (I hate that phrase) and determine whether or not they can “afford” us. *smh* If we’re wearing nice clothes, carrying expensive designer bags with our hair and nails done, wearing fabulous shoes with flawless make-up, the “average” man determines that we are taking care of ourselves and by their definition not needing a man to take care of us.
*smdh*
First of f$%kin’ all, I have never been the make-up, dressing up type chick who cared about name brand anything. Give me some jeans that fit and a pair of Nikes, some lip gloss and I’m cool! That's the kind of girl I am LoL. Harvey basically said I am camouflage. LoL. Ohh-kay.
In the same chapter, he also says that we need all of that to make ourselves aesthetically pleasing to them. So by his logic, the things that attract men also repel them. I thought they were supposed to be simple. *hmph*
The book says that over time, women have evolved into these strong beings out of necessity because men have been making babies and running out on the women for the past three generations so we’ve had to make up for what we missed having men around.
I can see that. What I can’t see is how we evolved but men haven’t. By this logic, we have to cast aside the things we were taught by our mothers and our grandmothers about being strong and not taking any -ish from men.
For example, where some of my female counterparts shudder at things like spiders and mice and others of us just get rid of the damn pest by any means necessary, we’re supposed to jump on chairs, scream and point so he can poke out his chest and swoop in like Captain Save ‘Em and take care of it.
By Harvey’s logic, we have taken away two of the three ways a man shows his love. We’ve eliminated provision and protection. Pardon me, but this is a crock of shit!

SHOW HIM GRATITUDE
If that isn’t enough, we are supposed to congratulate them for their “help” if they step in and wash a dish, do a load of laundry, wash the car, cut the grass and everything else their asses should be helping with to keep a household going.
If this is being lady like and the reason I am still single, thank you Jesus and three other black men! I ~~can not~~ will not stroke anybody’s ego. And I especially don’t reward people for the –ish that they should be doing. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not saying let all the good deeds go unmentioned. Even a dog likes to hear they are being a good dog. But, I am not going to break my neck to thank you and/or throw you down to violate you every damn time you do what you are supposed to do.
I tell you what I will do though. Men like sports, right? Nothing says "Job well done," like a pat on the ass. I say every time dudes take out the trash, cut the grass, wash the car, anything to help out, I say we pat 'em on the ass! We could start a brand new craze that sweeps the nation.
Honestly, aren't relationships are designed to be a give and take kind of situation? To paraphrase a couple I interviewed earlier this year who has been married nearly 49 years, “(relationships) aren’t always 50/50. Sometimes, I don’t have 50. Sometimes, I might only have 30 and she has to make up the other 70.”

WHAT I THINK
So, my logic begs the question, will I act this way to get a man. The answer to that is not just no – HELL NO! And if men are honest with themselves, they don’t want this either. According to my own independent research, men want honesty, they want real women, well how in the hell are we gonna be honest and real running around playing the damsel in distress to a man who get validation from killing a mouse? *smh*
Call it what you will, but asking me to put aside my strength and independence is asking me to shed the very essence of my being. If this is lady like, I don’t want it. Is this is what I have to do for love, I’ll be OK. I’ll take Madea’s advice and get a puppy and a gold fish for company and somebody to light up and be happy when I get home at night. *smh*
Harvey calls this “playing the game” and I can’t get with that. We’re grown now. It’s time out for playing games – these kinds of games anyway. I don’t play games with my heart. This is the very reason I don’t like to make decisions based on how I feel because other mofos are out here playing “games.’ *smh*
And to think, I thought this dude had something to say.

WHAT I'LL TAKE WITH ME
Overall, I have to say that this book has opened my eyes to my own power as a woman. I'm not sitting over here with the evil laugh or anything but the ball is definitely in my court. And yours too ladies.
Ultimately, we have the final say so in how men treat us. I love Betty Wright, but she was wrong when she said, "Having a piece of man is better than having no man at all." If you settle for less, you get what you deserve.
It's all up to us, ladies. Men treat us as bad as we let them and it all begins with our standards or the lack thereof. That much I agree with Harvey on. He even gave a list of 10 questions for women to ask themselves to formulate our standards and requirements. I have yet to answer these questions for myself because I am still working on my answers. Our resident RBW, Eb the Celeb did answer them, though. Go take a look to see what she had to say.
Well, that's all I got. It's up to you now. Read the book - or don't. It's up to you. It's entertainment if nothing else. :)

The Book, Part 3

2009-04-02T10:50:00.011-04:00

Yesterday, I delved into some of the things in Steve Harvey's book, "Act Like a Lady, Think Like a Man," that stuck out to me. Scroll down, you'll see things like, "What Drives Men," and "How They Love."
While these things stuck out to me and brought insight, the following enlightened me and annoyed me at the same time. Again, I'm mildly impressed because I've never felt both things at the same time.

MEN ARE SIMPLE
Well duh! I've been saying that for years. One of my fellow bloggers, The Jaded Nyer, even says that the Y-chromosome is a birth defect. LMAO!!!
While I won't go that far with it, I will agree that they are simple. Real simple. Like, boiling water simple. That's not a bad thing, it's actually a good thing, that means it doesn't take much to make you happy.
At least it seems like it doesn't take much to make you happy. You are all far more complicated than this book lets on. I'm not saying that I'm looking to this book for ALL the answers but Harvey is telling half-truths.

WHAT THEY NEED
The book says you only need three things: love, loyalty and support and the Cookie.
Apparently men need our love, that's a given, I think. Nobody wants to be in a relationship where they don't feel loved. If they do, I think that's a cry for help that you just need a warm body next to you and there are deeper issues.
Secondly, he says they need loyalty and support. He's basically saying that a man wants to know their woman is gonna be their ride or die chick no matter what. I took this to mean that they want us in their corner for all the decisions they make no matter how crazy or rash we think they are, they need to know that we'll support them in it and that we will love only them.
I can understand that. That's what women want too. All I'm saying is reciprocity is the name of the game!
Last but certainly not least, men need The Cookie and I don't mean Toll House either! The book, and every man I know, say they need sex like they need food and air so it's cruel to make them wait for it. *smh* Make up your damn minds is what I say.
Every man with a daughter or a sister or a cousin that they treat like a sister is going to tell a woman to hold on to her most prized possession. I got the "Don't let a dude talk you out of your draws" talk more times than I can remember, yet ya'll say you need it. *smh*
Ladies, a word from the wise - you can not control a man with sex. He'll go get it somewhere else, they always can. That is basically what Harvey says in the book, but I've seen it with my own four eyes. Holding out NEVER turns out well.
Hell, I know so many women who hold out to prove a point. I still don't get that. I have never been that chick. My logic has always been, "Cause you mad I can't get none?" That's ri-damn-diculous!
Shoot, give him some and still be mad! That will mess him up! OK, that was me talking. Let's get back to the book.

MEN DON'T TALK
Another thing that Harvey said in the book that is hella obvious to me is men are fixers, not talkers. I agree with that to a certain degree. Lemme explain.
I work in a highly stressful field. In previous jobs, I have been threatened, called all kinds of racial slurs, found nooses, you name it, it's probably happened to me. Sometimes, I just want to vent. Hell, sometimes I need to vent. You can't walk around with all this stuff bottled up inside you, that's how people go postal.
On separate occasions, I have called my father, my brothers and the dude I mentioned yesterday to vent. The problem with that is I could barely do it, they all interrupted me offering solutions when I just wanted to put it all out there. Then it became an argument because I told them, I don't need them to fix it, I just want them to listen.
I think, perhaps, the more accurate way to say this is men don't talk to women because they damn sure talk to each other. They may not do it over coffee or a glass of wine or in the middle of the book club meeting, but they do talk. They talk to each other during half time, on the golf course, at the gym, shooting pool. I guess doing manly things takes the femininity out of actually talking through your issues.
Harvey advises that in the event you do need to talk to your man, never begin the conversation with "We need to talk," because he puts up his defenses and he is then hearing defensively. According to Harvey when men hear those four words, the immediate thought is, "What I do now?!" He advises to begin with, "Nothing's wrong, I just need to vent for a few minutes," or just start talking about the issue.
Either way, this is around the time this book started pissing me off again and I started taking issue with Mr. Harvey's words.

***More to come tomorrow***

The Book, Part 2

2009-04-01T10:58:00.014-04:00

So, yesterday, I gave you guys a couple of reasons why I decided to read "Act Like a Lady, Think Like a Man." I told you that most of what is in the book is information that deep down in our heart of hearts, women already knew.
I can't speak for all women, but I can speak for me and some of this, I knew. There's something funny though, even when you know stuff, there's something about seeing it in print that makes it true.
To start, I'll give you a brief synopsis of my background. I am the baby of my family. I have two older brothers, an older sister, two step-brothers and a step-sister. My parents split when I was four, I'm not sure why, but I have my suspicions.
In high school, I played sports and participated in my school's JROTC program. This gave me an opportunity to hang out with a lot of guys. In hanging out with these guys, and having a father and a brother who have been known to date more than one woman at a time, you pick up on stuff - a lot of stuff!

WHAT DRIVES MEN
In the book, Steve Harvey says that there are three things that drive a man: who he is, what he does and how much money he makes. According to Harvey, a man is not ready to settle down and take on the responsibilities of a wife and family until he is confident in all three areas.
I knew that, for the most part. Like most women, I applied the book to my current and past dealings with men (and boys) to get a better understanding. When I read this, I started to understand why I have been disregarded and written off at certain times in my young life.
For example, I am currently in love (yea I said it) with a dude that I been on a merry-go-round with since the 10th grade! In our adult lives, we have each other's everything, best friend, pal, confidant - you know, all the stuff in The Golden Girls theme song and R. Kelly's joint "Homie Lover Friend."
We've never had the "adult relationship" that I want. Without going into the details and pissing myself off, I will say that Harvey made a lot of sense with this statement. This dude knows who he is, he knows what he wants to do and he's taking the steps to get there because he knows how much he is going to make.
He's about to graduate in May with a master's in public administration and take the certified public accountant exam in December. (Yes, he is a nerd, just like me!)
Because he's been on his grind, working full-time and going to school full-time, he barely has enough time to sleep, let alone give me all of what I need to feel secure and loved. So, I understand.

HOW THEY LOVE
As I read further, Harvey says that a man shows his love differently than a woman. Where we, ladies, like to coddle and spoil our men they show their love by doing three things: professing, protecting and providing.
Basically, if a man loves you, he wants everyone within ear shot to know that you belong to him. It sounds cave man-like, but whatever. Anyway, Harvey says that if a man loves the woman he's with and has plans for her, he will introduce her as his lady, his girlfriend, his fiance, his future wife or whatever his intentions are for you.
With that said, if he introduces you as a friend or simply by your name, hang it up, he has no intentions for you beyond friendship. He will sleep with you, but he won't wife you up! I won't lie, when I read this, it pissed me off. I put the book down for about a week. I was mad. I've only ever been introduced by this particular dude as a friend.
Anyway, after a week of brooding and being depressed, I picked the book up again and the depression subsided because he then moved on to the protecting portion.
Said dude has always been the type to walk between me and cars, putting himself between me and strange people (particularly dudes), he was ready to jump on the highway and drive 12 hours to promptly whoop some ass after a man had offended me back in the day at my first job. This dude even offered to buy me a gun when I lived in my first apartment all alone because I needed "protection."
It made me smile.
When I got to the part about providing, my smile grew to an all out grin because according to this book, a man will move heaven and earth to provide for the woman he loves. Providing means paying the bills and buying the food and providing all those things that people need, the food, shelter and clothing.
Of the 11 years we've been going back and forth, I don't recall paying for a single thing. A stick of gum, a soda, nothing - haven't paid for it. I've tried, he won't let me always saying, "let me be a man!" LoL. So, I let him. I don't even offer anymore. I'm letting him be the man. Whatever that means.

More to come tomorrow. Stay tuned.

The Book, Part 1

2009-03-31T12:18:00.006-04:00

Lately, Steve Harvey's book, "Act Like a Lady, Think Like a Man," has been getting a lot of press. Some bad, but for it most part, it's all been really good.
First off, this dude, a comedian, has soared to the No. 1 spot on the New York Times Bestseller list. That is the most coveted position of all writers. And, he did it selling a book that is categorized as "relationship/self-help."
*applause*
Harvey, 53, is a Cleveland native (who I thought was from Chicago) is the host of a syndicated morning radio show, one of the Original Kings of Comedy, an actor and now an author. He's a Renaissance man of sorts.
Usually, I don't buy into the hype of whatever the latest new trend is but when a pair of my favorite RBWs, Oprah and Eb the Celeb, and gave it the thumbs up, I had to see what all the hype was about.
I not one of those people who does everything that Oprah says, but I do listen to what she has to say. It's the same with Eb. I don't always agree with her, for example, I love Jennifer Hudson's album and she doesn't. But I do trust her opinion.
So, I read the book. It took me the month of March, but I finished it. And I have to say, I'm mildly impressed with it. He made some very valid points that, if we're honest with ourselves ladies, we already knew were true.
Since he's been doing press with the likes of Oprah, Giant magazine, the Philly Inquirer and others, he has given a pretty good idea of what the book is all about. Another blogger, The Savvy Sister, broke the news of Harvey's book having at least the same title of a book written by one Sharon P. Carson. In his show today, I'm told, Harvey had his publisher on to talk about how they came up with the title.
Originally, the title was "Act Like a Girl, Think Like a Man," and Harvey did not want to offend anyone so they changed it. I'm not sure if I buy it. You'll find out why in a later post as to why the whole "Act Like a Lady ..." thing offends me.
Until then, prepare yourselves, for the next few days, I'll be delving into the book and giving you my "interpretation of the sitchy-ation!"

Sometimes I Wonder ...

2009-03-26T16:20:00.004-04:00

* What ever happened to background dancers for rappers?

While we're talking about music, I wonder:
* How come rappers don't dance anymore?
* Why do they feel a need to have 175 other people on stage with a microphone?
* How long do we have to wait until real hip hop comes back?
* Why is it that the best singers and performers become victims of drugs and alcohol abuse?
* How come we don't have anymore super labels where every artist is a hitmaker like classic Motown, Uptown/MCA, Jive and Laface?
* Am I the only one who can't listen to this new music?
* Why do I have to resort to my mp3 player with the FM converter in the car?
* How come nobody ever has sightings of dead black singers like white folks do Elvis?

In sports, I wonder:
* Am I the only person who could care less about the NBA?
* Is it just me or have the players gotten boring and ugly?
* Why did it just register that Oklahoma has a team now?
* How in hell did the owners come up with a nickname like "Thunder?"
* Shouldn't they have been the Tornadoes?

In general, I wonder:
* Is ugly the new cute now?
* Why one of my little nieces think's Weezy is cute.
* If I should have laughed when I told her parents to have her eyes checked.
* Are talent scouts on the look out for ugly talented people?
* Should I still say ugly or have we gone PC with that too?
* What would be PC for ugly anyway, attractiveness deficiency?

Another one bites the dust

2009-03-23T21:56:00.007-04:00

Well, another one is over. Another fabulously wonderful television show has ended and again, I am verklempt.
In case you have been living under a rock or your cable company is homophobic, like mine, and doesn't offer the Logo channel, the show I am referring to is "RuPaul's Drag Race."
First of all, this show has two of my most favorite things in the world, gay guys and reality show competition. I think the general idea was to make this "America's Next Top Model" meets "The Crying Game." Regardless, I effin' loved it!
RuPaul has always been FIERCE. In the show, we got a chance to see him in and out of drag. Personally, I like to see him in drag. Call me crazy but I somehow feel good about knowing that he has to put all that work into something I was born with! *sticks tongue out* Take that, Loca!
Like all reality TV shows, there are the stereotypes, all of them are gay so that one doesn't apply. What I liked about this one is that there were two people in that b$%tch role who played it very well. Then of course there's the minority, here though, there were a few and I liked that. The one you really rooted for but could never get it right. The weird one, the whiner who got on my good nerve and the one who smoothed things over.
I'm telling ya'll, this show was awesome!!!
For so long, all I ever knew about drag queens came from RuPaul, who we really didn't know, and the movie "Wigstock." Both were pioneering for drag performers, but I think this was a step in the right direction to have drag performers be humanized.
So much of what they do is illusion and make-up and wigs and a lot of people tend to see them as fake people who feel like they are stuck in the wrong body. This show challenged that and became, dare I say, pioneering?
While there was a whole lot of Tom Foolery going on, there were a lot of issues brought up like HIV/AIDS, poverty and homophobia. All of these things need to be discussed on a huge stage and I commend RuPaul and the show's other producers for giving us this awesomely entertaining show.
To all the performers - Victoria , Tammie, Akasha, Jade, Ongina, Shanelle, Rebecca, Nina and especially the winner Bebe Zahara Benet, you all made my Monday nights. And best of all, you didn't eff it up!

Picture is property of Logo.

You missed a great show!

2009-03-17T00:12:00.006-04:00

So, I wanna give a great big shout out to The Jaded Nyer for having me on her show. I had a great time, I got to live my dream of being one of the talking heads on the radio.
Check it out:
We still didn't get anything accomplished other than the fact that she hates Tyler Perry movies and I don't. LoL. And guess what people, there was no blood shed. A few folks pulled out machetes and gats but still, nobody died.
All in all, we had a good conversation and we basically decided, decreed and agreed that we've got to do it ourselves. It's time we stop waiting on the big Hollyweird studios to produce our stories, we've got to get on our grind and start helping each other.
So right now, any aspiring director, producer, screenwriter make contacts with other folks who are either doing or want to do what you want to do and help each other out!
To paraphrase the wonderfully fabulous RuPaul, "If we don't help ourselves, how in the hell do we expect anyone else to help us? Can I get an 'Amen' up in here?"

What are you doing on Monday night?!

2009-03-10T00:31:00.004-04:00

I know what you oughta be doing! You oughta be checking me out on The Jaded Nyer's BlogTalk Radio show.
This show came about after a conversation The Jaded Nyer, 12kyle and The F$%k It List and I had about one Mr. Tyler Perry.
Monday night, we won't have any of those pesky typos getting in our way! We'll be going head to head and the gloves are coming off!
OK, so it won't be the Rumble in the Jungle, but it's going to be a great show! I mean, what else could you be doing at 10 p.m. on a Monday? There is nothing on TV and you need something to help you unwind from the God-awful day that is Monday.
Tell a neighbor, tell a friend, call all your cousins and your mama 'nem! Tell 'em tune into to BlogTalk Radio on Monday night.

Today, I'm sad.

2009-03-09T10:09:00.007-04:00

One of my favorite shows met its demise last night around 10:04 EST. *sniffles* Showtime pulled the plug on "The L Word" and I am not over it. Honestly, I'm not sure if I will get over it.
First of all, if you weren't watching "The L Word," I don't know what you've been doing with your life for the past six years. Let me try to explain.
I happened onto this show by pure circumstance. Toward the end of 2003, one of my best friends from college asked me if I'd seen this new show that follows the lives of a group of lesbian friends.
The convo went a little like this:
TQ: Have you ever seen that show "The L Word" about this group of lesbians?
Me: Hell no! Why would I want to watch that?!
TQ: If you can make it through the first episode, it's a great show.
Me: I'll have to take your word for that one.
TQ: For real, it's a good show. Did you watch "Queer As Folk?"
Me: Yes, but that's different.
TQ: Why? Because they were men?
Me: Yeah. I don't want to watch women in sex scenes together. *shudders* Ewww.
TQ: *laughs* Just make it through the first episode and it's a good show.
To make a long story short, I was living in Tennessee in an apartment that had Showtime on Demand. It was one of those days where there was nothing on TV and I had seen every movie that had come on Lifetime that day. I decided to take a gander at what TQ was talking about. I was bored, I didn't have a damn thing else to do, so I watched. That Saturday afternoon, I was introduced to a show and a cast of characters I won't soon forget.
I won't front, at first, the show was a little hard to watch. Not only were these beautiful women making out (I hate that term) and having sex, but I couldn't get "Flashdance" out of my head whenever Jennifer Beals character "Bette" was in a scene.
I have to admit, TQ was right, once the initial episode was over, I had to keep watching it because the storyline was freakin' awesome! The writers on that show wrote such great stories that I had to keep going back to watch it.
After about the third episode, I stopped looking at the characters as "lesbians" and they became characters in a show that I liked. They were just regular people who go through the same crap everybody else does.
They became like any other cable TV drama. There were characters that I loved, like Dana (Erin Daniels), Kit (Pam Grier), Shane (Katherine Moenning) and Tasha (Rose Rollins). Then, there were characters I loved to hate, like Marina, Tonya, Jodi and in the last two seasons, Jenny.
As a side note, I have never in all my life of watching television hated a character more than I hated Jenny Schecter in the last two years. Kudos to Mia Kirshner for being a helluva an actress!
Anyway, my point is, this was an awesome show that I'm sad to see head off into the abyss of great shows that I wasn't ready to see go. Farewell to "The L Word." You'll be in great company with "The Cosby Show," "A Different World," "Ally McBeal," "Six Feet Under," "Queer As Folk," "Noah's Arc" and "Soul Food."

It's All About A Good Day!

2009-03-03T13:29:00.006-05:00

What's up peeps?!
Ever have one of those days where you wake up rested, content and just happy with the world around you? The sun shines a little brighter, the air is fresher and every thang is every thang?!
I'm having one of those days today and I'm going to enjoy it dammit! So much so, I'm going to subject you all to my favorite "happy song." Enjoy!

Happy Face
I woke up this morning,
The sunshine was shining
I put on my happy face
I'm living, I'm able,
I'm breathing, I'm grateful
To put on my happy face

Woke up and realized
This world's not
So bad after all
Looked at it through
A child's eyes, and
I saw these beautiful
Things that you
Never think about
Like the ocean, moonlight,
Stars and clouds
It's amazing how
We don't appreciate
Our blessings
There's plenty of people
Who don't like me
But there's ten times more
Who love me and
I love myself
Sometimes, it gets tough,
It gets tough
But I can't give up,
Can't give up
Just take a deep breath,
Close my eyes
Feel the love and
Give a smile

I woke up this morning,
The sunshine was shining
I put on my happy face
I'm living, I'm able,
I'm breathing, I'm grateful
To put on my happy face

I woke up this morning,
The sunshine was shining
I put on my happy face
I'm living, I'm able,
I'm breathing, I'm grateful
To put on my happy face

It's me,
I just wanna be happy
Uh, just be happy, uh,
Just be happy
Today is the day
I am willing to say
I will put all the
Past behind me,
No more enemies
Ready 'cause
(Ready 'cause)
I'm living in this world
(Living in this world)
I wanna make a change
(Wanna make a change)
Gonna make a change
(Gonna make a change)
Put on my happy face

I woke up this morning,
The sunshine was shining
I put on my happy face
I'm living, I'm able,
I'm breathing, I'm grateful
To put on my happy face

I woke up this morning,
The sunshine was shining
I put on my happy face
I'm living, I'm able,
I'm breathing, I'm grateful
To put on my happy face

Everything's gonna be all right,
Everything's gonna be okay
Everything's gonna be all right,
Everything's gonna be okay
Gonna be all right,
Everything's gonna be all right
Everything's gonna be all right,
Everything's gonna be okay
Gonna be all right,
Everything's gonna be all right
Everything's gonna be all right,
Everything's gonna be okay
Gonna be all right,
Everything's gonna be all right
Everything's gonna be all right,
Everything's gonna be okay

I woke up this morning,
The sunshine was shining
I put on my happy face
I'm living, I'm able,
I'm breathing, I'm grateful
To put on my happy face

I woke up this morning,
The sunshine was shining
I put on my happy face
I'm living, I'm able,
I'm breathing, I'm grateful
To put on my happy face

I woke up this morning
With a happy face
I'm flying, I'm flying,
I'm flying, I'm flying
I'm flying, I'm flying,
I'm flying, I'm flying
I'm flying, I'm flying,
I'm flying, I'm flying
Flying, flying

Everybody's Talking About Tyler Perry

2009-02-26T17:54:00.002-05:00

It's either all good or all bad. I don't know of anyone who feels indifferently.
Earlier this week, a few of us got into a discussion about Perry on Twitter. I saw "Madea Goes to Jail" on Sunday and quite frankly I'm still cracking up. Perry's brand of comedy is not for everybody but those of us who enjoy it, really enjoy it.
I have purchased copies, certified not bootlegged, of the play "Madea Goes to Jail," which is my favorite of all the plays, and the movies, "The Family That Preys," "Why Did I Get Married?," "Diary of a Mad Black Woman," and "Madea's Family Reunion." So yes, I am a fan.
So the arguement from The Jaded Nyer and 12kyle was that Perry's brand of comedy is reminiscent of "shuckin' and jivin'" and his character "Madea" is a "lil' suspect" because he's a 6'5 black man in drag.
Because I am half-Gemini, I kind of see their point. I'll admit, some of the punchlines are a little simple and some of them are a little slapstick, but it is still funny. Well, I laugh at it and millions of others do too.
Some folks are actually comparing his work to misygonistic rappers saying that what he does is degrading to all black people. That I don't agree with at all. How is it that the work of one man tears down a whole race of people?
The way I see it is Perry is paving the way for a lot of filmmakers and actors of color. As a budding screenwriter who has yet to sell a screenplay, I've been researching how hard it is to get a black story greenlighted in LaLaWood. Not only did he get his stories greenlighted, he's doing them on his own terms. You gotta respect that even if you don't particularly care for his brand of comedy.
Perry's success with his plays and movies, both comedy and drama, have afforded him the opportunity to purchase and run successfully his own studios, production company and operate the two most-successful cable sitcoms to date.
Even if you don't agree with it, if you hate to watch his work, respect his hustle and don't belittle the people who enjoy it.
Obviously there is a market for wholesome entertainment that is not riddled with an abundance of profane language and soft porn sex scenes. And if you can relate to the characters, the stuff is hella funny.
I have never gone to the movies to find the meaning of life or to determine how people should act. I go to enjoy a good movie and to laugh when appropriate.
I don't want to get into a whole lot of this, but I guarantee you I know people who have a lot of the qualities that I see in Perry's characters, Madea included. While my mom has not had any run-ins with the law, she will certainly have you laughing like hell at the things she says and will hit you off with some wisdom at the same time - just like Madea.
As for Brown, there is a man in my home church who can't talk worth a damn who always wants to pray for somebody. My high school basketball coach was always ashy and God only knows where he got those shirts he used to wear.
I could go on and on, but my point is, people can relate to his work and we all just want to be entertained. Let us be entertained, dammit!

I Can't Make This Up ...

2009-02-20T00:03:00.000-05:00

... I swear I can't.
Let me preface this with the fact that I think the following commentary is going to send me straight to Hell, the real one, not the one in the Cayman Islands. But one thing is for sure, if I go, I'll be laughing all the way there.
So, I saw a story on CNN earlier this week that a woman was attacked by her friend's pet chimp Travis who weighs more than 200 pounds. Excuse me, he weighed, because the cops killed that hairy-backed Bama.
OK, let me start from the beginning, according to a report on CNN, the woman showed up at her friend's house and the chimp just jumped on her and started biting and mauling her.
WOW!!! Talk about going "ape-shit!" *ROTFLMAO*
Anyway, the woman called 911 and screamed at the operator, "he's killing my friend!" The woman called her friend to the house to help her put the chimp, "who was like a son to her," back in the house after he used a key to "escape" the house. Apparently, Travis is a "trained" actor who has appeared in several commercials for Coke and Old Navy.
During the process of the attack, the woman stabbed the chimp with a butcher knife and hit him with a shovel to get him off of her friend, but neither affected him, the report said. She called 911 after all of that failed and she couldn't get him off of her.
*ROTFLMAO!!!*
The owner told police that earlier that day, Travis was acting a little "rambunctious" so she slipped a Xanax into the chimp's tea to calm him down.
*ROTFLMAO*
Ya'll, Xanax is given to people who suffer from panic and anxiety disorders. They calm you down, but if you don't take it like clock work, you get all nervous and panicky and you sort of amp if you don't get it. The side effects include sedation, sleepiness, memory impairment, impaired speech, abnormal coordination and/or muscle action, and reduced sexual drive.
That last one doesn't matter for Travis, but you kinda get the point.
What I wonder is, if it was time for him to take another dose and he just went crazy or if it is apart of his nature.
So, the chimp's owner is 70, her friend is 55 and Travis was 14.
"What do ages have to do with it, Smarty?"
I'm so glad you asked. Every thing you read about primates, i.e. chimps, monkeys, apes, gorillas, will tell you that they flip when they become teenagers. Come to think of it, they are a lot like human teenagers.
Thankfully, human teenagers are able to speak and communicate their frustrations. Those primates have only their animal instinct to rely on and nothing else.
What I want to know is what in the HELL that elderly lady was she doing with an aging show-monkey living in her house the first place. Even Michael Jackson's weird ass had since enough to get rid of Bubbles when he turned 13.
And further more, why would she think that human medicine would work on an animal? I really hope her friend makes it through OK, but I'm with Katt Williams, how are we gonna be upset with an animal for acting like an animal?
If ya'll are anything like me, you really want to know what these animals are thinking about when they amp.
So me being the curious journalist that I am, I caught up with Bubbles in a California zoo via cell phone to ask him his thoughts about this tragic incident.
Here's what he had to say:
Smarty: So Bubbles, how you been? We haven't see you for a while.
Bubbles: I'm a'ight. They got me living in this fake ass rain forest feedin' me bananas every damn day like that's all I like to eat. Can I try a apple today? Your big human asses eat more than bananas, don't they think I want more than some damn bananas?
Smarty: OK, Bubbles, I understand.
Bubbles: No you don't. Until you eat bananas every day for 10 years, you can't tell me you understand me.
Smarty: OK Bubbles. So what do you think about Travis attacking the lady in Conneticut?
Bubbles: Good enough for her ass! I don't know why people don't understand that we is some wild animals. We don't wanna be kept in no cage. We don't like clothes and we eat more than bananas! And I heard that heffa slipped him a mickey in his tea. Dat's what she get!
Smarty: Alright Bubbles, you're on my daytime minutes and I know you got kids to entertain at the zoo. So I'm going to let you go.
Bubbles: Man, f%^k dem kids!

About performance enhancing drugs ...

2009-02-19T11:31:00.003-05:00

... I don't care.
For the past couple of weeks, news has surfaced that that super-phoine Alex Rodrigez tested positive for performance enhancing drugs back in 2003 when he played with the Texas Rangers.
SO!
The league didn't give a crap about steroids then so why should we? Now everybody's saying that calls all his achievements on the field into question because they don't know if he's been under the influence of a helper.
Honestly, I don't remember there being a whole lot of uproar on the part of anyone about steroids until the now deceased wrestler, Chris Benoit, offed his family and himself in a fit of 'Roid Rage. I'm not saying that wasn't sad, but he obviously was using too much or he shouldn't have been using that particular kind or something.
OK, I lied, I do care. I'm in favor of them, for the most part.
How is a sports fanatic like Smarty Jones in favor of "performance enhancing drugs?" I'm glad you asked.
Hear me out. As consumers and fans, we expect to see professional athletes do amazing things on the field, court and in the ring. Hell, you spend your hard earned money on those expensive ass jerseys, tickets and the expensive ass food in the arenas if you are fortunate enough to attend a game. Why shouldn't they put on an awesome show?
I'm not saying it should be like "Gladiator" where they have dudes fighting to the death, but damn, I don't want to pay $65 to see the Charlotte Bobcats get blown out when all they need to do is shoot up to get as good as their opponents!
I think if these guys are going to get juiced up, they should do it under the supervision of a trained, health care professional and not get all this crap on the black market that is causing their best asset to shrivel up and make them stupid and angry.
I swear man, if everybody could learn to kept their dang mouth shut like Barry Bonds and Roger Clemens, there wouldn't be any problems. Shoot, if the sports world would just go ahead and open up their minds, we can avoid scenes like this one:

No. 201 ...

2009-02-18T15:00:00.004-05:00

Hey, whaddaya know, my last post was No. 200 and it's only taken me a little more than two years to get here. :)
It's been a helluva ride and there's so much more to come. Just you wait. I've got some stew brewing for the rest of the week!
Until then, in honor of post No. 200 (and 201 now), let's party ...

"Ya'll know what this is, it's a celebration b*tches ..." - Kanye West

It's time to wake up!!!

2009-02-14T01:32:00.004-05:00

When I was nine, I saw my cousin's husband beat her. She'd just thrown him out of the house a couple of weeks before. They had a four-year-old and a one-year-old.
He came to the door saying he wanted to see the kids, when she opened the door to tell him to leave, he forced his way in and jumped on top of her hitting her in the face.
He left after my sister called the police. The whole thing probably lasted less than 10 minutes, but in my adolescent mind, it was an eternity. That was the first time domestic violence ever hit that close to home.
I had only seen men beat their wives on television. I had no reason to believe it actually happened. My father didn't beat my mother and to my knowledge, my grandfather never beat my grandmother.
All this happened nearly 18 years ago and I have never forgotten it. My point is, I never will. I still remember the fear in my cousin's eyes and the sheer evil that was in the eyes of her now ex-husband. The whole thing amazed, frightened and saddened me all at the same time.
A little more than a week ago, when news broke that Chris Brown and Rhianna had a domestic incident that resulted in assault on Rhianna, it brought all those feelings back and I don't even know them.
It seems like since everybody started watching Lifetime Movies on Sunday afternoons that we've all become desensitized to domestic violence. We don't hear about it until October during Domestic Violence Awareness Month or a woman in your city has been killed by her abusive husband and the evening news decides to throw the public some statistics.
Our society is based so much on living vicariously through our entertainers and following their every move, it almost feels like I do know them. If that's not enough, I have a couple of young nieces who are in love with that boy and have the nerve to defend him.
Friday night, I sat down to discuss with my 10-year-old niece why she thinks he didn't do it. It went a little something like this:
Niece: He wouldn't do that.
Me: Why the hell not?
Niece: Because he's Chris Brown.
Me: All the more reason for him to believe he could get away with it.
Niece: Well how do you know he did it?
Me: I don't. But if he got arrested for assault on a female, there's a pretty good chance it happened.
Niece: Well, people who didn't do it go to jail all the time.
Me: You're right, but in domestic violence cases, police tend to arrest the aggressors.
Niece: What's an ah-gress-rr?
Me: It's the person who did the most damage.
Niece: Well how you know that she wasn't the ah-gress-rr?
Me: I don't know. But the reports say that she had visable signs that she was abused.
Niece: She coulda just got in a fight with somebody else.
Me: You're right, but the chances are pretty good it was him.
Did I tell ya'll she was 10? I'm gonna get this kid into somebody's law school or j-school, she'd be great at either!
Anyway, odds are you know someone who has been affected by domestic violence in one way or another. I challenge you all to educate yourselves and others. If you are involved in an abusive relationship, get out and get help or get help so you can get out.
Love is not supposed to hurt, it's supposed to be "patient, kind, not puffed up" and everything else it says in I Corinthians. Today is the day that those blood sucking retailers and gullible people have set aside for "love," so let's remember what it actually means.
Make everyday Valentine's Day, tell your loved ones how you feel about them and by all means, keep your hands to yourself!

It is O-FISH-AL!!!

2009-02-10T23:54:00.004-05:00

I am getting old as all hell! Why is this an issue at the age of 26? I'm glad you asked!
Earlier this evening, I got a little bored and started watching videos on YouTube. Now I know you guys are familiar with the craziness that is on that site but for some reason, I decided to look up the foolishness that is "The Stanky Leg."
I know, I know, but I had to see what all the fuss was about and exactly why it is called "The Stanky Leg." After watching a couple of these crazy looking videos, I see now that it is called "The Stanky Leg" because that is exactly what it looks like.

Of course with that foolishness, the box with related videos showed other foolishness like those damn "Crank Dat ..." videos and this foolishness.
Whatever happened to dances like "The Electric Slide" and "The Tootsie Roll." Hell, I'd even take "The Achy Breaky" over the nonsense that is "The Stanky Leg" and those damn "Crank Dat ..." dances.
Under normal circumstances, I rather enjoy line dances and the like. In fact, everybody in my family will tell you that when "The Cupid Shuffle" comes on, I beat everybody to the dance floor and start the damn dance.

But this mess has left me a lil' disheartened with organized ghetto dancing. Oh well, I guess I'll have to do the line dances created for the older folks, like this one:

Eight is e-damn-nough!!!

2009-02-08T17:49:00.006-05:00

So, I know this is sooooo last week's news, but I am just now getting around to posting about it.
I'm sure you all have heard of Nadya Suleman or at least her great feat of delivering eight babies on the same day. That's is without doubt newsworthy, but perhaps the most newsworthy thing of all is that this woman is single and already had six other children at home.
*Insert all your four-letter expletives and grunts here*
Did I mention that she's unemployed and all the kids are younger than eight? I'll say it for you, "Double Damn!"
OK, so, I was trying to get myself together on this one before I gave my opinion. Part of me says, she's a grown woman and she can do what she wants. Another part of me says, how is she going to take care of all those kids by herself. And yet another part of me is concerned about her mental and emotional well-being.
Let's do the math of how she got all these kids in the first place. First off, according to the Jones Institute for Reproductive medicine, I swear it's not me, the In Vitro Fertilization (IVF) success rate varies based on age and the health of both the male and female donors. I won't bog you down with numbers, but based on my research, for each of the six embryos implanted into Suleman had about a 48 percent chance of survival.
So you see, the fact that all six embryos survived, and two split to form two sets of identical twins, it is no doubt a miracle that this woman was able to carry these babies for as long as she did and that they all survived.
Given that, I say we all praise the Lord and pray for her and her family in the same breath. As a Christian, I know God doesn't make any mistakes, but giving this woman 14 children at the age of 33 leads me to believe that He blinked or sneezed or something.
That woman might as well shave her head and admit herself to a psych ward now. After this, I hope she's had her tubes tied, cut, clipped and burned so that this does not happen again and whatever "friend" she's been getting sperm from needs to stop giving it to her.
Now, the state of California is "probing" into why she was allowed to have more than four embryos implanted at once and they are investigating her doctor. Quite frankly, I think these people need to get out of this woman's uterus and work on something that matters like the damn economy!
The only reason this is even an issue is because this woman is single and because she is unemployed. My question is, who the freak isn't unemployed or in danger of being unemployed? The bottom line is she was impregnated seven months ago, where were all these people then?
They didn't have any reason to step in then and they don't have any reason to step in now. Leave that woman and her uterus alone and let her hit Oprah and Ellen to get some free diapers and clothes and stuff for those kids. She's gonna need it.
In a few interviews last week, Suleman told reporters that she's always wanted a big family to make up for the fact that she was an only child. And she also had three miscarriages over a seven-year period.
This is why I am concerned about her emotional state because from what I understand, once you've lost a baby, you never really recover. Plus, I watch "Jon and Kate Plus Eight" and "Then Came Six" and I see what those families go through with two parents in the house, God only knows what she will go through by herself. My heart goes out to her, it really does.
*SMH*
On a side note, she said she plans to breast feed them all, is it just me or do you think her nipples are going to fall off?

Old Bitties ...

2009-02-05T11:07:00.007-05:00

... need to leave the young chicks alone.
So, I was watching Headline News this morning, like every other morning, and a story came up about Etta James blasting Beyonce for performing "At Last" at the Neighborhood Inaugural Ball.

OK, I saw it and I think she did a great job singing a song while the whole world watched to see her mess up Etta's song. Everybody of every generation since that song came out knows who originated that sound and that awesome song, she doesn't have to put Bey down.
Under normal circumstances, I am all for talking about how Bey is over-saturating the market with herself, but you gotta give credit where credit is due and she deserves the credit for a great performance.
Check it out:

What do you think?
The conversation on Twitter was that they should have just asked James to do it because she is still alive. My answer to that is have you people eh-ver seen her in concert? She's still got it as a vocalist and she probably always will.
But that woman is nasty and I mean nasty like that woman on "Meet the Browns." She was gyrating all over the stage and humping and whatnot at her age. Add to that the fact that she can't go as long as she used to. The whole show, opening acts and all, lasted about an hour. I was so glad I didn't pay for those tickets.
Another old bitty whose time has passed is Faye Dunaway. In response to a remake of the movie "Bonnie & Clyde," where she gave her break out performance, that will star Hilary Duff, she said, "Couldn't they at least cast a real actress?"
Just me or is that some hateration in that dance-o-ree?!
So to not be outdone, Duff has shown that she's not only the younger of the two but she's more equipped as she had more ammo for the "Mommie Dearest" star.
Duff's retort, "I think that my fans that are going to go see the movie don't even know who she is."
She continued, "I think it was a little unnecessary, but I might be mad if I looked like that now too."
I effin' LOVE it!!! We haven't even heard from or about Dunaway in years. She should have at least waited until the movie was released to trash it.
All of this just shows me that these women feel like their legacies are threatened by the new starlets. Jealousy is not cute on anyone and it looks even worse on those seasoned folks. I recommend these ladies do something I'm sure they know a lot about.
In the immortal words of the great prophet, Chris "Ludacris" Bridges, "Drink some prune juice and let that -ish go!"

WTH - The Inauguration Version

2009-01-23T18:45:00.006-05:00

I've started watching The View again, apparently my job isn't enough of a headache, and they have a new segment called "What the Hell Wednesdays." I thought, 'why can't I do something similar whenever I take a notion to?'
Sometimes it may just be a picture, sometimes I may add text with that picture and sometimes there will be a video and so on.
So, here it is, my first installment of "What the Hell?!"

Fox contributor Michelle Malkin called the song "My President Is Black" racist. Since when do we look to rappers to uphold any kind of moral standard and the president is black. I am with Eb the Celeb on this one. It's just entertainment. Gah!

Is it just me or did Roberts do this -ish on purpose? Somehow, I think he wanted him to mess up. How do we know that Roberts isn't a tool for the Fox News "Fair and Balanced" news system?

*In my best Claire Hanks Huxtable voice* "Let the rec-cord show... " that Obama became the president at 12:01 p.m., per the U.S. Constitution. Why won't they just let it go? Your guy lost. Get over it.

WHAT THE HELL?! My initial thought when I saw Jigga Man in this get up is that someone killed a rabbit and put it on his head. But upon further review, it appears that someone trapped a beaver, skinned it and stuck it on top of his head.
And what is up with his goggles? Somebody please tell me that those things are not prescription. Obviously, his wife did not dress him before they left their hotel room. Next time, they should seek the opinion of others instead of having him run lose on the streets of our nation's capital looking like a new fool!

Speaking of folks looking a fool:

LMAO! This hat has Women's Day speaker written all over it. Those of you who grew up in a southern black church know exactly what I'm talking about. I don't usually have anything against church hats, but come on ya'll. This hat was a bit much for me.
My late grandmother wore hats, my godmother wears them and so do so many other women I look up to, but ya'll, I was not feeling this big ole' Christmas bow of a hat.
I'm just glad she didn't have her tatas out.
But I heard it was so cold, she might have frozen them off if she did. Long story short, if I had to choose between the hat and the tatas, I'd choose the hat. But dang, that hat was too much for me.

Feel free to share your WTH moments from inauguration. I'm pretty sure I missed a few things. Fill 'em in for me.

Today is the day!

2009-01-20T11:09:00.002-05:00

Shortly after Noon today, our country will be calling a black man, "Mr. President." How awesome is that?
Yesterday was of course Martin Luther King Jr. Day and of course because both are great leaders who happen to be black men, they were compared. Because of the effect Obama has had on the public with his gorgeous looks and his celebrity appeal, he's been compared to John F. Kennedy.
Now, because one of Obama's political heroes is the nation's 16th president, Abraham Lincoln, and he's using Lincoln's Bible to be sworn in, he's being compared to him. Anybody seeing a pattern here?
Look closer. While all of these were excellent men and great leaders, they were all assassinated. Think about it.
I don't like these comparisons, not one bit! I'm superstitious and I need ya'll to stop it with these damn comparisons. Let the man get to work first. Give him some time to get into the swing of things. Don't immediately start comparing him to dead predecessors, that bad policy and I don't want ya'll to give these racist crazies any ideas.
If you need to compare him to previous leaders, say how he's smarter than Dubya. Say he's got more integrity than Richard Nixon and how unlike Ronald Regan, he's got everyone's best interest at heart.
Better yet, don't compare him at all. Instead of being the next Somebody Else, let him be the first Barack Obama.

Reflection

2009-01-19T01:27:00.005-05:00

As we all enjoy our day off and participate in community service projects, I would like for everyone to pause and reflect on the great man behind this day. While we all know a lot about him, we as the younger generation have never given him his due.
So today, take a minute, reflect and thank whatever deity you worship for Martin Luther King, Jr., and the wonderful rich legacy he left behind in us all.

Enough is E-damn-nough!!!

2009-01-15T22:29:00.000-05:00

OK, so you guys know what I do for a living and you know that I've spent a lot of time covering crime and courts. And now, one of my favorite things to do is catch up on the news of crime and courts.
Well, this week in my regular stroll on the CNN Crime page, I saw not one, but two videos about nasty a-- teachers having sex with their students.

You guys know how I feel about these pedophiles, so I won't go any further into it. But I'm a little pissed off that a teacher in Washington State won't serve any time because the student was 18 when they had sex.
OK ya'll, what difference does it make whether or not the girl was 18 if that pedophile of choir teacher took advantage of his position and had sex with the girl. Maybe technically, the girl was an adult but she was still one of his students and he was still an authority figure.
When will people realize that those students are children and not sexual partners? Is there some kind of test or analysis that can be done to weed the pedophiles out of education? I hope so, I might not be able to take this mess.
I swear man, if I get knocked up with any lil' Smarties, I sure hope their daddy makes enough money for me to quit work and home school 'em because I ain't sending 'em to a school full of pedophiles!

Blog Talk Radio

2009-01-13T00:07:00.004-05:00

Sooooo, I spent a couple hours last night listening (and participating) in The Jaded NYer's talk radio show. First off, I had to listen because I knew Eb and 12kyle were going to have me rolling at their exchanges.
The topic though was "Mars vs. Venus: A Conversation Between Heterosexuals." It was basically a chat amongst adults about communication between the sexes, particularly singles. It would be more appropriate to say the lack of communication between the sexes.
This all got the wheels of my mind turning and I'm wondering, do we as women give off some sort of vibe when we are or are not feeling a dude?
Don't get me wrong, I know there are some subtle things we can do to let a dude know we're interested like giving eye contact and what have you. But, what is it that men see or think they see that let's them know it is OK to approach a woman? This is something I've always wondered and have gotten half-assed answers from my brothers about.
Another blogger, one Mr. Darius T. Williams basically said that women are constantly giving off signals from the perfume we wear to simply saying "hi," and if we don't want the attention, we should stop it. Of course we didn't let him get away with that, but I want to know what you guys think.
Of course this is all a very long story and I'm leaving out parts intentionally so that you guys will go over to the site and listen to the podcast of last night's show.
Because I'm all about examples and using this blog for my own personal benefit, I have a scenario. Feel free to chime in on this or the topic overall.
So, in my quest to become a healthier, happier me, I have joined a gym. I've been going three or four times a week since November. There's a dude who is always there when I'm there. About two weeks ago, I felt someone staring at me while I'm trying to do my few minutes on that dreadful elliptical machine.
I looked up and saw dude staring at me. He smiled, I'm sure I gave him one of those, "what the hell you looking at" faces.
Wouldn't you? I'm in the gym, sweating and breathing hard, let me do my workout and try to holla at me when I look more presentable.
Anyway, now whenever I go, dude is still looking and grinning. What did I do to invite his attention?
Need a visual? Fast forward the video to six minutes.

I Want You Parents ...

2009-01-04T17:57:00.004-05:00

... to stop the madness!
The other day, I followed a link from Facebook about a woman who gave birth to twin boys on separate days in separate years. OK, common sense should tell you that one was born on New Year's Eve and the other on New Year's Day.
I would like to send out congrats to both parents. I commend all women who have given birth, that looks like some excruciating stuff that I'm in no hurry to experience.
Of course, with a new baby comes a lot of new responsibilities. Parents have to make sure the kid is fed, clean, healthy and happy. Those are a given right? There is one major responsibility that the parents have that people don't really think a lot about and that is what you name your kid.
These twins names are Tarrence Junior and Tariq. Those aren't that bad. The name I had a problem with is the mom's name. Her name is Tangernika Woods. I lie to you not, her name is Tangernika.
I apologize in advance if any of the following offends you or your mama, but come on people! Is it just me or have we gotten a little out of control with these names. Seriously, ya'll.
When I read her name, my initial thought was that it was clearly made up. And after a thorough Google search, I confirmed that this name is indeed made up. Usually, parents who make up names for their kids combine their names or name a female after her father. Think names like Albertina, Claudette and Jamesina. The only thing I could think of that her parents could have combined to name her after was Tangerine and Tanika and that's not cute.
Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying that she had to name her something as ordinary as Tiffany, but damn! Tangernika? I mean really! People need to realize that your name says a lot about you. It's your calling card, people judge you by it before they meet you. It's not right, but it happens.
Sometimes it can help you but some times it can hinder you. How many intelligent people do you think have been held back because of their name? Let's be real, we can't all be Oprahs, Condoleezas and Baracks. They made it in spite of their names because they are freaking brilliant!
I'm not saying that Shaheed ain't smart, but how many times do you think he'll be discriminated against before he gets his chance?
Naming your kid is not your opportunity to live out your vain fantasies of what you'd name yourself if you had a chance! Name your kid something that will help them get a job that they won't need a college degree to spell!
Keep in mind that naming your child is the only decision you can make for your child that can't be undone. While they can have their name legally changed, you will call them what you named them and so will the family.
"His mama named him Clay, I'm gon' call 'em Clay!"

Merry Christmas ...

2008-12-25T02:37:00.003-05:00

From my family to yours, have a very happy and safe holiday season!

Here's a few tunes to help you through your day today. Remember to pause the regular playlist on the right before you start to play this one.
Enjoy!

There's no crying in basketball ...

2008-12-18T10:24:00.019-05:00

I guess there is.

In case you didn't watch the video, Glen "Big Baby" Davis proved that he has his nickname for a reason. That dude stomped off to his corner, started crying and threw his towel after hearing some "harsh" words from Kevin Garnett.
Note to KG, "Nobody puts Baby in a corner!"

I thought nothing would would be worse than seeing Terrell Owens cry last year after the scrutiny his quarterback, Tony Romo, faced last year after losing in the first round of the playoffs when he returned from a Mexican vackay with his Space Cadet girlfriend Jessica Simpson.

This though has taken the cake, the ice cream and the damn cherry on top! Crying over some "harsh words" from a teammate? What's next, bitching to the coach that nobody will pass him the ball?
I'm sorry, I just have a thing for overly sensitive men. I can't respect 'em, I never have. Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying that men should never cry, I'm saying they shouldn't cry about everything. Hell, women shouldn't cry about everything, it has never solved a single problem in your adult life.
When you're a child, you cry when you get upset about something because you can't effectively articulate your feelings. When you're an adult, you cry as a means to show hurt, regret or frustration. Go ahead and argue that Davis was crying out of frustration and I'll argue that his work is called a game and games are supposed to be fun. How many people find work fun?
Since this can be a little confusing, I'll give you a couple of scenarios where crying is acceptable and when it's not.

Cry when:
*you're laughing just that hard
* you're moved by the Holy Spirit
* there's a death of a relative, friend and a pet that you've had more than five years
* you're too broke to pay attention
* Duke Power has turned off your lights and you're about to lose the house
* you get divorced.
* your children are born or there are other major events like graduations and YOUR or your daughter's wedding.
By all means, have at it. Cry, "take your soul to the laundromat" like Lyfe Jennings said.

Do not cry when:
* you get reprimanded at work
*you get criticized
* your team loses a big game
* it is your child's first day of school
* you are in the middle of an argument
* you see a touching movie
* there is something frivolous involved
Honestly, how many more of these dudes do we need?

I'm gonna tell you now, if a dude comes to me crying about nothing, I am subject to laugh in his face and leave him all on the same day. If he's the one crying, when do I have time to be emotional? How is he going to comfort me, with his sensitive ass?!

In the spirit of Christmas ...

2008-12-17T00:01:00.000-05:00

Check out the video I made of my siblings and I with my dad.

Send your own ElfYourself eCards

What do you think?

2008-12-15T17:07:00.002-05:00

Everyone is up in arms about SNL's latest skit poking fun at New York Governor David Paterson. I don't normally poke fun at the handi-capable but this skit was hilarious.

First off, Paterson is one of the smartest people in politics. He is also one of the funniest because he is the only dude I have ever known to admit to having extramarital affairs and being a coke head while in office. Now, folks are all pissed off because he's blind.

If he had 20/20 vision, we would have been falling over laughing at that skit. Take a look:

I thought handi-capable people wanted to be treated like everyone else. With that comes being made fun of just like everybody else. Truth be told, I think they laugh at us behind our backs.
But I guess we'll never know, unless somebody writes a mov-. Let me get back to ya'll on this one.

I'm lovin' it!

2008-12-08T16:22:00.004-05:00

So, in the past few weeks, everyone I know has been trippin' hard off the new McDonald's "McNugget Lovin'" commercial.

I think it's funny because at first, I, like a lot of others, thought, "who is this?" Then I saw that the dude was singing about some dang chicken nuggets. My first reaction was to laugh at the fact that I thought it was a new song, my second reaction was to laugh at the actual commercial looking like an R&B video.
Now, everybody's all upset. Those extra militant folks are threatening to boycott Mickey D's because they seem to think that every time a black person is in a commercial for them, they are either singing, dancing or playing a sport.
While there is a lot of evidence to support that:

I think the commercial is funny as crap.
It's just a commercial, nobody is looking to McDonald's to better the image of black folks. I think these are the people who look for racism everywhere. I don't know why everybody's acting like this is the first time Mickey D's has done a commercial catered to the black community.
I remember a commercial with some black kids jumping double dutch back in the day and what about that series of commercials starring Calvin who got the job at McDonald's?
Get a grip people! And just to show you guys that there are no hard feelings, enjoy this song from Dwele.

Must See TV

2008-12-04T12:56:00.006-05:00

I know that it is no secret that I watch a lot of television. I have to put you guys up on a great new series on my new favorite channel TV One.
First off, they've got all the great reruns of some of my favorite shows like "Martin," "Living Single," "Good Times" and "Roc." They also play some great movies starring wonderful black actors of the past and present.
In addition to all of that, they manage to put on awesome shows like their latest series, "Unsung." Let me just go on record as saying this is the best musical documentary series I have ever seen. Don't get me wrong, I like "Behind the Music" and all, but these shows are just better to me.

The title says it all, they are highlighting the careers and lives of some of the most unsung artists in music. From what I gather from the website and the shows, there are four episodes thus far. The first was about the incomparable Clark Sisters from music mecca Detroit.
I did a post during Black Music Month talking about how much their music has really touched me in my life. Being a fan< I only saw what was on the surface< I had no idea that they had such a fascinating story.
Of course I knew their historic gospel music lineage through their mother, Mattie Moss Clark, and I knew that they'd split to work on solo projects. I had no idea about all the things they endured just to get the music out.
In fact, the same can be said for Donny Hathaway and DeBarge. Their episodes came on Tuesday and Wednesday respectively. If you guys have TV One in your area, I strongly encourage you to watch these shows. I hope they make it apart of the weekly line-up, I would love to see stories on The O'Jays, Teddy Pendergrass, Stevie Wonder, Marvin Gaye, Babyface and so many others..

Sometimes I Wonder ...

2008-12-02T14:48:00.005-05:00

Sometimes I wonder about …
Athletes:

Why do some athletes think they are above the law?

How stupid do you have to be to shoot yourself in the leg?

Do athletes care how much they hurt the team?

Do they really deserve to make that much money?

Can you really call it work when it’s called a game?

How come teachers aren’t making 1/10 of what some of these athletes are making?

Did you know that the minimum salary for a rookie in the NFL is $295K and $398,762 for the NBA?

Holiday Shopping

Why do people lose their minds over Black Friday sales?

Is it really so serious that people should be getting trampled to death for a $97 GPS?

Shouldn’t we be pissed if they sell an HD flat screen TV for $1,499 all year and they turn around and sell it for $799?

Why do people get pissed at the retail salespeople when they run out of the stuff you want?

Don’t you think if they had it that it would be on the floor?

Why do I get a flashback of my Kmart job every time November rolls around?

Why do I feel like if I see this one lady who cursed me out because we put her lay-a-way back on the floor that I will beat her down?

Fitness

How come it is easier to find weight than it is to lose it?

Why is it that I feel better when I see people in the gym who are bigger than I am?

Why are the personal trainers always cute until they make you excrete 12 gallons of sweat?

How come I touch the areas on my body that I know are sore from my workout?

Should I be that happy that I’m not that big or should I just keep my eyes on my own workout?

It's been nearly three weeks ...

2008-11-26T02:21:00.004-05:00

... since I posted last and I'm not even going to give you an explanation. I will say that a lot has happened since I posted last so let's get right down to it.

First off, did you all have the opportunity to catch any of the episodes of "The Real Housewives of Atlanta?" I hope so. I don't often get sucked into reality TV but this was too good to pass up.

L to R: Lisa Wu Hartwell, Deshawn Snow, Kim Zolciak, Nene Leakes and Sheree Whitfield

Ya'll, this show has everything I enjoy in a TV show - comedy, drama, a villain - you name it, it's in the show.

For those of you who don't know, this is the latest installment of Bravo's "The Real Housewives ..." series. Bravo just premiered the fourth season of "The Real Housewives of Orange County" and they had an installment of The Real Housewives of New York."

Much like many TV shows, there was not much, if any, representation of African Americans on Bravo's original programming. So of course when they extended the series to ATL, you know the majority of them were going to be of the African American persuasion.

Anyway, this is the best reality TV show I have seen since the second season of "The Real World." I love it and I loved the reunion show even more. I don't know who cast this show but they did an outstanding job of it.
I will so be waiting for next season because this show made Tuesday nights worth turning on the TV. It also made me thankful for my situation. So, as a treat to you for being gone so long, here's a clip from the show.
Enjoy!

Obama - The Movie

2008-11-06T12:41:00.024-05:00

So, last night, a friend and I were talking about the fact that there has to be a movie about President-Elect Barack Obama's life coming out.

We're not sure when, we don't know who would do it, but I thought why shouldn't I cast the movie and post it here for you guys to weigh in?

I have chosen several people who I think would fit certain parts. I am going to show you a split screen photo of the actor along with the person I want them to play and I'll give my reasons. Keep in mind that this is simply my opinion of what I would like to see and who I would like to see. The comment section is for you all to weigh in or to give your suggestions of who would make the better actor for the role. A'ight?

OK. First of all, this movie has got to be a Spike Lee Joint. Nothing would do my heart better than to see opening credits that read, "40 Acres and a Mule Filmworks" and "OBAMA" in all caps.

Barack Obama

That handsome brother on the left is Roger Guenveur Smith. I know you've seen him in several Spike Lee Joints including "Do the Right Thing," "School Daze," "Malcolm X" and others. The thing I remember him for most though is his one-man show "A Huey P. Newton Story," in which he wrote and starred. That too was directed by Spike Lee.

The man to the right of that needs no introduction as every person in the free world who has eyes can identify him. That is none other than Will Smith. We all know his work "The Pursuit of Happyness," "Ali," "Independence Day" and of course the list goes on and on.

Either of them would work because they are both phenomenal actors. Obviously, Roger Smith fits the part because he looks the part with the light skin. Will Smith also fits the part because he has the ears for it.

I think that Evan Ross should be tapped to play a young Obama. He's becoming a good actor and I think he could probably fit the part, after he's had a tan. What do you think?

Michelle Obama

Ladies and gentlemen, Gabrielle Union. *applause* I like her, she's pretty, she's confident and I think she could pull this off. I think she can be aged to show Michelle getting older.

Malia and Sasha

OK, of course there aren't many children of color on television and in movies, but I picked these two because I think they can pull off the parts.

On the left is China Anne McClain, she starred in Tyler Perry's Daddy's Little Girls and she is perhaps best known as Jazmin on Tyler Perry's House of Payne. She is feisty and sometimes too grown for her own good, but I think she'd make a perfect Sasha, that's the baby girl who loves the camera.

The little diva on the right is Willow Smith, Will and Jada's baby. She seems to have a lot of personality with her too, but I think that she's a little older than China and I think that they would be the perfect ones to play the small roles.

Barack's Parents
I think Jane Krakowski and Djimon Hounsou would be the best actors to play his parents. When I saw the picture of Obama as a child sitting on the fence with his mother supporting his back, I immediately thought of the "Ally McBeal" actress.

I think they look a lot alike and Krakowski has that wide-eyed innocence that his mother has in all the pictures I've seen of her. And Hounsou looks like he could be the stern man Obama wrote about in his book "Dreams From My Father."
Shoot, put some Malcolm X glasses on that brother and make him put on his serious face and I'll bet he'll look like Obama Sr.
To me, Hounsou and Obama Sr., share a lot of the same facial features and they both have smiles that look like they light up the room. Now I can't tell by the picture what Obama Sr., really looks like but I know Hounsou is a gorgeous man and if Obama Sr., made Obama II, he had to be a handsome feller in his own right.

Stanley and Madelyn Dunham (Obama's grandparents)

I happen to think that Robert Duval and Sharon Gless from TV's "Cagney and Lacey" would be great as his grandparents.

Not really hearing a lot about his grandparents in the media, I am going solely on looks and acting ability. In his book, I read that his grandparents were his rock and the people he looked up to for a lot of his wisdom and well, don't they look wise to you?

Maya Soetoro-Ng (his sister)

When I saw his sister, I thought that the only person who could possibly play her is Thandie Newton. These two look so much alike and Newton is a great actress. You guys probably remember her as Terrance Howard's wife on "Crash." She also has a major role in this year's movie "W" as Condoleeza Rice. I know, she looks nothing like her, but that is neither here nor there.

Joe Biden

I think Will Ferrell will make the best Joe Biden in Hollywood. First off, I know Ferrell is a comedic actor, but Biden is one funny dude. I had the opportunity to observe him at a rally earlier this year.
He says exactly what's on his mind and I think that Ferrell is probably like that at home. Plus, they both have that same crooked smile that looks like, "I just farted."
Everyone else, I just post their names and pictures and you can tell me what you thing, OK?

Brian Dennehy as John McCain

Tina Fey or Megan Mullally as Sarah Palin

Glenn Close as Hillary Clinton

Eric Dane as Bill Clinton

Paula Newsome as Oprah Winfrey

Jeffrey Wright as Jeremiah Wright

Who did I miss and what do you think of my picks for the characters?

America the Beautiful

2008-11-05T10:29:00.002-05:00

It is indeed a wonderful day to be an American. It is an even better one to be a black American. I'm feeling so good, I'm downright speechless. Imagine that, Smarty Jones, speechless. Who woulda thunk it?
At any rate, enjoy the sounds of the late great Ray Charles in his rendition of "America the Beautiful." Oh how beautiful she is.

Somebody, help me ...

2008-10-30T12:40:00.002-04:00

... my computer has crashed and I can't do anything with it. I've done everything I know how to do and I can't get it back.
It's all good though, Poindexter gave me seven good years and I can't be mad that he finally tapped out. The only thing is I am currently looking for a new computer and my money is funny and my credit ain't gon' get it.
My dad has offered to help a sista out and ya'll know me, if my daddy says he's got it, I'm gonna let him have it.
At any rate, it seems my October has been an all around crappy month and I don't know about you guys but I'm glad it's pratically over. Now, I get to ease on into the holiday season and it's my favorite time of year.
I can say that something good did come out of this month. I think my faith in the music video is slowly being restored.
As a kid, I was a music video fanatic. But it's sad to say that the Wreckx-N-Effect "Rump Shaker" video started the slow spiral to hell for the music video.
Don't get me wrong, there have been some bright spots like TLC's "Waterfalls," Dr. Dre's "Been There, Done That," Aaliyah's "Are You That Somebody" and Outkast's "Hey Ya." But let's face it, the majority of the videos that I like to watch, R&B and some Hip Hop, feature scantily clad females shakin' what their mamas gave them in the cameras.
Back to the point, this month, I had the privilege of seeing Anthony Hamilton's "Cool" and Beyonce's "Single Ladies (Put a Ring On It)" videos.
In case you guys haven't noticed, I tend to like simple videos with story lines and off the hook dancing.
I love Hamilton's story line and all the wonderful Southern imagery and I love how Beyonce channeled her "inner Anna Mae Bullock."
These videos are the epitome of what I like.
Have a look for yourself:

(Sound) tracks of my tears ...

2008-10-21T17:41:00.007-04:00

I'm going to do something I rarely do and that is put myself out here.
I had every intention of posting my Top 10 Celebrity CGI list but I had a minor set back over the weekend that has taken me back to some old school New Edition.
First off, I've pretty much been dealing with the same dude since the 10th grade. I know, that's a hot minute, right? Anyway, we dated in high school, it didn't work out but we remained great friends.
The problem is, we crossed a line a couple of years back and we can never go back. Since we crossed that line, I have been slippin' on my pimpin'. At no time have we ever discussed having a relationship. We simply had an understanding, "I ain't messin' with nobody else and you ain't either."
That has worked for the most part, but of course that pretty much leaves me stuck out in the abyss of free booty without a net. Because there is no relationship, of course dude didn't feel obligated to participate in outings and social functions.
Don't get me wrong, we went out from time to time, but it has always been a spur of the moment, any time something is planned, he doesn't show up and that's enough to piss you off.
Long story short, I pretty much promised myself that he had "one mo' time" and I was done. Well, he used up his "one mo'" on Saturday night. He's been on the way since about 9:30 p.m., Saturday. I still haven't heard from him. No phone call, text message, not even a damn e-card. But it's cool.
Honestly, I don't/didn't have any real feelings toward this current situation. I guess I kind of expected him not to show up. I just think it's kind of jacked up that he didn't call to tell me he wasn't coming.
Long story short, I played myself and I've learned my lesson.
Oh well, so ends another era of my young life. My friends would tell you that it's time. I'm not so sure. To be honest, it's love, it always has been and I guess that's what's made it hard to let go.
But now, I'm drained, I'm tired and to quote Mary J., "I've done enough cryin', cryin', cryin'. It's time to say bye, bye, bye, it's time I do something for me!"

OK, I'm back now ...

2008-10-16T12:54:00.004-04:00

... I know I've took an unofficial hiatus and I'm sorry for that, but a sista has been stretched out like the dog on the Greyhound bus.
And add to that the fact that my beloved alma mater celebrated homecoming last week. Long story short, we got slaughtered on the football field, but a good time was had by all anyway.
Of course there are pictures but they are all of the WNAA-FM soundstage where I spent most of the day working on Saturday. Oh, there aren't any of me because I spent the day behind the camera.

With all of this said, of course I've got a post coming for ya'll, I just don't have time to do it all right now. Check back early in the "morn-ting" and I'll have my Top 10 CGI list.

High School High

2008-10-03T00:55:00.005-04:00

So, I was having a conversation with Eb the Celeb while we were watching football last week and we started talking about how this whole blog world is like high school.
You got your smart kids, your weird kids, your crazy kids, your jocks and folks beefin' over crazy stuff and prominent cliques. It doesn't matter where you grew up, which state, region, that was your high school experience.

With all that said, I have a question for you guys. If the blogosphere were a high school and we're all seniors, what would be your superlative ("most likely to ..." or "best ...") and describe your clique.
Now, keep it cordial, civil or whatever you want to call it. This is something that I did out of fun just to get you guy's reaction about how you see yourself in this parallel universe I'm calling Blogger High.
With that said, I vote myself Class Clown because we all know that my randomness is funny as crap. Well, it's funny to me. I also vote myself most likely to get fired for bursting into hysterical laughter while reading blogs at work.
Your turn!

Sometimes I Wonder ...

2008-09-22T13:36:00.008-04:00

The Emmys Edition …

• Who in the hell told Laurence Fishburne it would be a good idea to wear that god-awful blazer?

• Why did they get Josh Groban to sing that bi-polar, schizophrenic medley of TV theme songs?

• Wouldn’t it have worked better with the cast of American Idol?

• What was with the opening by the reality hosts?

• Wouldn’t it have been better if Stephen Colbert, Jon Stewart and Steve Carell hosted?

• Am I the only one who wishes Tina Fey would have accepted one of her awards as Sarah Palin?

• How come the only black person I saw on stage accepting an award was Glynn Turman?

• Can we please hurry up and get some quality shows with minorities in them on television please?

OK, now, I’ve heard it all.

2008-09-22T13:09:00.002-04:00

No, for real, I have. This morning, I received an e-mail from a co-worker that says that Bishop Thomas Weeks is looking for love on the World Wide Web.
According to EurWeb.com, Weeks launched his online search via his web site. Weeks has posted a video to his web site asking what kind of advice his followers and fans would give him about his third wife.
"I'm sure there are some of you that would like to just share your personal heartfelt [thoughts] of what you would say to either Mrs. Weeks in the future, or to myself about Mrs. Weeks."
***ROTFLMAO***
In case you all forgot, Weeks is the former husband of Prophetess Juanita Bynum, a gospel singer and televangelist. Critics and church folk alike have accused Bynum of exploiting this incident of domestic violence for financial gain. I’m not going to address that because if she is, she won’t prosper.
I blogged about this incident a little over a year ago when it happened. Since then, Weeks pleaded guilty to attacking Bynum in the parking lot of Renaissance Concourse Hotel and has been sentenced to three years probation, 200 hours of community service and anger management. The official charge was aggravated assault.
Fast forward to last Friday, the story surfaced that he’s been posting these webisodes in search of his next wife.
What’s even more laughable than that, there are a few takers. I’m not sure how many, but I hope they fit his criteria of being “someone who can bear children, is sensual and can't be ugly.”
Now, I have no words for him, but for the next Mrs. Weeks, whoever this poor woman may be, take a few kick boxing classes. Hell, take kickboxing, Karate, Tae Kwon Do and some good ol’ fashioned self-defense classes. I say that because the man does have a track record of beating a woman down and being verbally abusive.
Around the time all of this came out, former secretaries and other women in the congregation came forward saying he’d been verbally abusive and we all know that’s how it starts.
At any rate, I hope everything works out for him and his new punching bag, I mean, wife.

I'm Gettin' Grown ...

2008-09-16T20:06:00.007-04:00

I got a phone call from a high school boyfriend who told me that it is time to start locating our classmates for our 10-year reunion. I said, "dayum, has it been that long already?"
Apparently it has. After that phone call, I started thinking back, reminiscing, if you will. We graduated from Fairmont High School May 26, 2000. And to me, that doesn't seem that long ago. I just realized, I now fit into that 26 to 30 age bracket and that is a trip to me.
Those four years of high school were filled with games, clubs, JROTC drill meets and a whole lot of other activities.
I could have been labeled as somewhat of an overachiever while in high school. I had decent grades, mostly A's and B's. I played varsity basketball for three years, threw shot and discus on the track team, played in the marching band for all four years, concert band for three years. I was also one of the the top cadets in JROTC, I was the drill team commander for two years, participated in several clubs and like most southern teens, I was heavily involved at church.
I graduated from high school with honors and headed off to Aggie Land, that's N.C. A&T for those of you who don't know, and kyle. I swear, all of that feels like just yesterday, then again, it feels like it was decades ago. I don't know about you guys, but my life has changed drastically since high school.
Since then, I've graduated from college, changed jobs and addresses about four times. I've been in more weddings and bought more ugly dresses than I care to remember and a lot of my friends are now parents.
The thing that has changed most in my life is probably the fact that my priorities have changed. While I still don't have the husband and family to worry about I do have to take care of myself.
When I was 18, I was into everything pop culture and entertainment. I was never the club type chick but I could tell you any and everything about whatever artist was hot and where they were going to be. Shoot, back then, if I was having a cash flow problem, I would just call my daddy.
Now, I can't tell you anything about anybody who is hot right now. All I know about commercial radio is it sounds like noise and Plies and Lil' Wayne are dominating the airwaves. And now, if I am running low on cash, I just gotta wait until pay day.
Man, life was sweet! Why the hell did I have to grow up? And why has it been so long since I was a kid?
I feel like I just moved out of my parents house and like I just graduated. I swear ya'll, I have no idea where the last eight years of my life have gone.
I'll be around 27 or 28 when my classmates decide to gather and lie about what we've been doing with our lives. That means I am knocking on the door to 30 and I'm not that happy about it.
While I am looking forward to my 30s, there's still so much I haven't done, so many goals I have yet to accomplish. I gotta get crackin'!
Oh well, here's a song for the road.
"... la la la la laaaaaa, la la la la la laaaaaaa ..."

And they're off ...

2008-09-14T12:30:00.003-04:00

... gas prices have again made the trek upward again this weekend.
I gassed up my car on Thursday night for $3.59/gallon and packed my clothes in anticipation of driving down to the Queen City (Charlotte, NC) to see my best friend, my goddaughter and my brand new godson this weekend.
I got up Friday, finished up my stories for the week and jumped on the highway only to find that gas had gone up as much as a dollar in some places overnight. To add injury to insult, some gas stations were limiting drivers to only 10 gallons.
What does that have to do with me since my tank was already full, you may ask? Well, I could get down there, but getting back would be a different story. I could go, but I would run the risk of spending $50 to $60 to fill my tank when I got back and another $40 when I got home for the week. I don't know about ya'll but I don't have it like that.
Long story short, I opted not to head to the QC and went to the movies to see "Tyler Perry's The Family That Preys." And I must say to all of you I was presently surprised. Honestly, I don't know what I expected, but it was a good film. Trust me.

OK, first of all, I have to give Sanaa Lathan her props. Yea, yea, I know she's pretty and everything but up until now, she's always taken on the same type of role. The girl next door, love starved pretty girl who doesn't know how pretty she is type of role. But she really stretched herself for this one.
I must say, I had to sort of deprogram myself to realize that this was only a character that she was playing. With all due respect to Ms. Lathan, she plays a great bitch.
The film also stars two of my favorite actresses Kathy Bates and Alfre Woodard. For the first 15 minutes of the movie, I could not get "Misery" and "Crooklyn" out of my head. After that, it was a trip.
Tyler Perry pulled a Spike Lee and cast himself in the movie, but it worked. The only thing that didn't work was that god-awful wig he wore.
Don't get me wrong, there was the overly clueless character who everybody wanted to choke via Rockmond Dunbar. And my girl, Taraji P. Henson. She is so my favorite "new" actress. I say new because she hasn't been around that long, but I just like her. She's picked a lot of different type of characters and she's convinced me as all of them.
I am not going to spoil it for you but I will tell you that it is certainly an entertaining movie and I am proud of Perry. He did his thing on this one. Long story short, go see it. For real, don't bootleg it either, go to the movies, buy some popcorn and mix in some peanut M&Ms and drink a Sprite.
Go on, you owe it to yourself.

I've been awarded ...

2008-09-13T20:27:00.008-04:00

... the Honest Blogger Award. Thank you, thank you! Please, no pictures.
It was just an honor to be nominated, right?
I'd like to thank all my regular readers and those of you who comment. It does my heart good to know that you guys will actually pay attention to my rants and raves when my friends and family seem to think I have too much time on my hands.
The Pretty Circle Drawer aka PCD awarded me for my blogs about serious, thought-provoking issues and my "Sometimes I Wonder ..." posts.
The rules are as follows:

1. When you receive the prize you must write a post showing it, together with the name of who has given it to you, and link them back

2. Choose a minimum of 7 blogs (or even more) that you find brilliant in their content or design.

3. Show their names and links and leave them a comment informing they were prized with ‘Honest Weblog’

4. Show a picture of those who awarded you and those you give the prize (optional).
5. And then we pass it on!

PCD added a "Things About Me" part of this so here are somethings about me that you probably don't know.

1. I love football. My brothers and I watch games together on Sundays and Mondays whether we're in the same place or not. If our teams are playing each other we call after each other on an average of every six plays.

2. I am an aspiring screenwriter. I've written several shorts and have been working on my first feature for about a year.

3. I am convinced that I have ADD because I can't stick with one thing for any extnded period of time.

4. Ice cream is my most favorite thing in the world, well, not my most favorite, but it's a close second. ;-)

5. I'm a big ole' kid. When I get bored, I play video games, watch cartoons or color. I have several coloring books and crayons all over the house.

6. I'm think I'm addicted to those teenie-bopper movies starring the white kid stars like "What A Girl Wants" "Bring It On" the "American Pie" series.

7. I've noticed that when I'm in a foul mood, everything and I mean everything pisses me off. From a dumb ass plot in a movie to the way people chew when they're around me. I get irritated by everything.

8. I think I spend too much time online everyday. I'm always reading somebody's blog or checking my daily round up of news, entertainment and gossip sites.

9. I am constantly plotting my next move.

10. I'm desperately in need of motivation to get active. I'm soooooo out of shape it's not even funny.

Now, just like PCD, I'm going to nominate Eb the Celeb because she is constantly switching up her Renaissance Black Woman blog to keep it looking fresh and new and because she's gonna give all the news and her opinions straight with no chaser.

I am also nominating 12kyle because he gives me comic relief during my stressful days at work. He's also been known to get me just a lil' P.O.'d when he tries to bash my Aggies. Because I know that he doesn't know any better, I will give him a pass and embrace him with that HBCU love, even though I plan to break him down in the Fantasy League.
I am also nominating TravelDiva from Chicas In the City. She is one of the main sources of comic relief during the chaos that is my work day. And she has the Joker of the Week contest which is her way (and ours) of sticking it to the tomfoolery offenders of the week.

Sometimes I Wonder ...

2008-09-10T17:45:00.002-04:00

*Why men deem it necessary to periodically muse about why we're not "used to" menstrual cramps?

* If I'll ever get my ultimate wish of every man having to go through the first day of a woman's cycle? That would be awesome!

* Who is that dude in the Free Credit Report.com commercials?

* Have you guys seen "Then Came Six" on Discovery Health?

* Wouldn't you lose your minds with six 5-year-olds in the house?

* Why is it so easy to slip back into watching soap operas?

* How come they all sleep with each other and marry each other two or three times over?

* Who's going to see "The Family That Preys" this weekend?

* Am I the only one who is tired of chicken?

* Will I grow feathers and cluck if I don't eat something other than poultry?

* Why is looking for a job a full-time job?

Am I wrong?

2008-09-04T13:46:00.003-04:00

For the last three months, the national news has been inundated with reports about Caylee Marie Anthony, a missing 3-year-old from Central Florida.
According to a timeline from a Central Florida television news station, Caylee went missing in June. Apparently, her mother, Casey, allegedly left her with a babysitter, repeatedly, while she went to work. After her mother's parents hadn't seen the child in a while, they made her go to the authorities.
After being caught in several lies about who she'd left the child with and where she worked, Casey Anthony was arrested. They did one of those Horatio-CSI mock ups on her car and evidence of human decomposition was found. She was charged with child neglect and held under a half million-dollar bond.
Long story short, she got out of jail and ended up having to go back on unrelated charges. She's still there and the child is still missing. Authorities now believe that she is dead and have even called in the help of a search and recovery team, not search and rescue.
With all that said, I have to say that I am tired of hearing about this case. Don't get me wrong, I wish they would find her alive and I don't wish harm on anybody's kids, but I sort of believe if this were a black child or any other child of color or a kid that people deem as "not cute," this case would not have gotten this much coverage.
Think I'm lying, take a few minutes to surf the site for the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children and tell me that all these kids are getting the same treatment as Caylee.According to that site, more than 2,000 are reported missing every day. Granted a lot of kids, mostly pre-teens and teens, run away, but the majority of the younger kids are snatched - usually by somebody they know.
Regardless of how they get missing, they all need an advocate and dare I say, some air time. Call me cruel, call me crazy, but I know for a fact that kids and women of color who go missing do not get the same coverage or air time or whatever and that is sad.
So, while they've formed a massive search team and are looking for this possibly deceased child, why not dedicate just some of that man power to looking for some of those kids whose pictures aren't being flashed on the 6 o'clock news and the 11 o'clock news and Nancy Grace.
Here are only four of the kids who went missing in North Carolina over the last year. I encourage you to look at their pictures and be on the look out. They were all abducted by a family member who is believed to have taken them out of state.

I also encourage you to check the site and look up kids who have gone missing in your state. Do your part, I know I'm doing mine.

Sometimes I Wonder ...

2008-09-03T15:34:00.004-04:00

Whatever happened to background dancers for rappers?

When did MCs make the transition to "Lil'" people?

When did "Lil'" people become "young"?

Will "Old" be the new rapper prefix?

If so, wasn't Ol' Dirty Bastard ahead of his time?

Is it just me or is it awesome that football season starts this weekend? Go Panthers!!!

Am I the only one who's been quoting Bernie Mac more than normal since he passed?

How come black folks judge whether or not somebody can sing based on how clearly they scream? Think Yolanda Adams and Patti LaBelle

Am I the only one who wants to snatch a knot in those kids on "Supernanny?"

Isn't it great to have TravelDiva back? And congrats to her on her engagement!

Is it just me or is that 10 Million Pound Challenge commercial funny as crap where the dude said "Because I'm tired of my thighs rubbing together."

How do I quit this Quarterlife Crisis crap and get on with my life?

I want to apologize ...

2008-08-25T10:01:00.007-04:00

... my blogs have fallen victim to the increasing demands of my new responsibilities at work. I used to update on the days when I had a lot of down time, now my down time is pretty much nonexistent.
Since I last posted, I found out that Julius J. Carry, also known as, "Sho Nuff" from "The Last Dragon," has passed away. There haven't been any official details released about his death but Wikipedia is reporting that he had pancreatic cancer.
Carry, 56, is best known for his role in "The Last Dragon" but he appeared on several TV shows including "227," "Murphy Brown," "JAG" and more recently, "The Unit. " While he will always and forever more be "Sho Nuff," he has had a lot of excellent roles as a professional man, more often than not playing a detective, a doctor or someone in the military.
To me, that is commendable because you all know how easy it is for us to see only negative images of black men in movies and on TV shows. His death was really a loss.
Da Brat has also been sentenced for her role in an altercation at an Atlanta-area nightclub last fall.
I first reported to you guys last November that Brat, aka Shawntae Harris, was arrested in Tucker, Georgia for hitting a waitress in the head with a bottle of rum. As a result, the woman's face was cut and has been scarred for life.
She pleaded guilty to aggravated assault and was sentenced to three years in prison, seven years probation, 200 hours of community service and she has to complete completion of substance abuse treatment, mental evaluation and anger management classes.
Dayum! If that's the deal she got, I wonder what she could have gotten if she didn't make a deal.
On a lighter and brighter note, both the US Men and Women's basketball teams claimed the gold in this year's Olympics. I saw both games and that could explain why I could barely keep my eyes open in Church yesterday.
The U.S. Men won a hard-fought victory over the Gasol brothers and the Spanish National Team. I missed the entire third quarter while I was taking a nap. But I woke up just in time to see them win it all and get their medals. But the women's game, I saw it all!
The U.S. Women turned the Australian National Team into spectators. Lisa Leslie claimed her fourth straight gold medal in the same sport. That is unprecedented in the Olympic games. She hasn't said so but I think this was her last time on the National Team. I will give it to her though, she went out on a helluva high note. She was 10th in the tournament in rebounding, fourth in field goal percentage making 38 of the 66 shots she took. She was tied for second place in blocked shots and ranked 12th and 11th for offensive and defensive rebounds respectively.Simply put, the girl is BAD!
Honestly, I've known it since the '96 Olympics in ATL. That is when I started to sit up and take notice of women's basketball and that could have been because I made the varsity team as a freshman. *brushes off my shoulders* The next summer, the WNBA was launched and she became my favorite player and the L.A. Sparks became one of my favorite teams.
Leslie, 36, is a wonderful ambassador of women's basketball and has been for years. She played for University of Southern California Trojans from 1990-94, then internationally for a year before the '96 Olympics.
At any rate, if this is her last Olympics, her legacy with the Women's National Team has been cemented in her four golds and in the young players like Candace Parker and Sylvia Fowles who are coming behind her.

To clarify ...

2008-08-18T13:57:00.002-04:00

... it seems that quite a few of you have yet to hear about Hip Hop Harry. So you know I had to go to YouTube and find a couple of videos for ya'll.
Before you ask, I have a gang of nieces, nephews and god kids, so no, I don't watch this during my leisure time.
Check him out:
He is so hood, ain't he?

Sometimes I Wonder ...

2008-08-13T22:52:00.003-04:00

In case you're new to this, the following is a mash up of my random thoughts of the last week.

Sometimes I wonder ...

Whatever happened to the female MC?

Where the hell is Missy Elliot?

Why is Timbaland a freakin' bodybuilder?

How do they decide which sports are played for Olympic medals?

Who the hell voted to make table tennis a sport?

How come they didn't include air hockey and pin ball?

Where the hell did Hip Hop Harry come from?

What happened to Barney?

Am I the only person who thought he was a child molestor? Think about it, you do all this stuff with this big purple freak and you can't tell anybody? That's sounds a little freaky to me.

How come the characters on Sesame Street never got older? Every year Elmo turns three on his birthday. He's been three since I was three.

While we're on Sesame Street, were Bert and Ernie brothers or a couple?

If they were brothers, weren't they too old to share a bed?

Whatever happened to good cartoons?

Am I the only one who thought Smurfette was a ho?

Not only that, wasn't Hefty Smurf (the one with the tattoo) gay? I mean, Smurfette was trying to give that thang away and he wouldn't take it.

And just where the hell did all those smurfs come from with only one woman in the village?

Where they cussin when they used the word "smurfy" as an adjective?

Who told white folks that calling someone "articulate" is a compliment?

Why did a white lady get offended when I smiled and said, "thank you, so are you."

Man, it's been a helluva weekend ...

2008-08-11T14:00:00.007-04:00

... I'm sure you all have heard about the death of one of the Original Kings of Comedy, Bernie Mac. Mac, 50, passed away this morning from complications of pneumonia and the death of 65-year-old, Black Moses, better known as Isaac Hayes.
These were two of our most talented and treasured entertainers and they will, without doubt, be missed by their hometowns of Chicago and Memphis, respectively.
I heard about Bernie Mac's passing on Saturday morning while I was laying in bed. The radio announcer said "he will be missed," and I sat straight up in my bed. Just the night before, I read that he was improving and he might be able to go home soon. It's just sad.
Mac is of course known as one of the Original Kings of Comedy. He's also appeared in the "Ocean's Eleven" movie franchise, as well as "Transformers" and "Mr. 3000." My favorite movies that he's appeared in have got to be "Life" and "House Party 3."
Uncle Vester was funny as hell but Jangle Leg, oh ... my ... gah!!! He was the funniest dude in the movie.
I heard about Hayes on Saturday afternoon when I got a CNN Breaking News alert on my phone. I just shook my head and said, "Damn." I know he had a stroke a while back, maybe a year ago and had been on the road to recovery.
I actually remember Hayes more for his music than for his acting. Some of my earliest memories are of listening to my mom and uncles sing "Stand Accused."
Perhaps our generation will remember him most as the love making, heart breaking, Chef on "South Park." All of the South Park fanatics will never be able to forget episodes like "Chef and the Succubus" and "Chef's Chocolate Salty Balls."
Other than his singing, the funniest thing I remember him doing is "I'm Gonna Git You Sucka" where Chris Rock in all his Jheri Curl glory went into the restaurant owned by Hayes and Jim Brown asking for "one rib."

My heart goes out to both families because I know this was a huge loss for both of them. Mac leaves behind a wife, daughter and granddaughter to cherish his memory. Hayes leaves behind his fourth wife and 12 children.
Lets keep both families in our prayers.
For old times sake, here are a couple of my favorite Bernie Mac clips and Isaac Hayes songs.

One thing is for sure, there is some serious laughing and grooving going on up in Heaven. With greats like Richard Pryor, Redd Foxx and Robin Harris preceding Mac and Gerald and Sean Levert, Marvin Gaye, Otis Redding and Sam Cooke preceding Hayes, I'm sure the good times aren't stopping up there.
What are your favorite "Mac Man" and "Black Moses" moments?

Sometimes I wonder ...

2008-08-05T15:07:00.005-04:00

Brace yourselves, this is a series of random thoughts that have been weighing on my mind and I feel so inclined to release them into the blogosphere.

I Wonder ...

- why do I get so dang sleepy after lunch.

- when did skinny white girls become the standard of beauty.

- what smart person decided that the medians on interstates was a good place to plant flowers and trees.

- why kids always hate the single adult in the neighborhood.

- if eating during those few hours after breakfast and before lunch is called brunch, how come eating after lunch and before supper isn't called lupper? Or if you eat dinner, why isn't it called linner? While we're at it, why doesn't Taco Bell call that Fourthmeal, Dinfast?

- how come we don't get summer vacations as adults? Shouldn't we be able to get a month or two off during the summer and get paid for it.

- why do co-workers assume you're pissed if you're not talking.

- when black folks will stop blaming everything on being black.

- what the hell was L.L. talking about in the chorus, "Pink cookies in a plastic bag, getting crushed by buildings ..."

- why is it only old, ugly and really big or really skinny men who find extra thick women attractive.

- why do white folks always want to touch my hair.

- if I feel comfortable enough to oblige them, why are they surprised that it's soft? And why do they whisper about how soft it is? If it were coarse, would they scream at me, OH MY GOD IT'S SO COARSE!!!

I've got a question for you.

2008-08-04T09:59:00.004-04:00

Think really, really hard, what one thing do all these people have in common?

They've all had their bouts with breast cancer.
In case you don't recognize them, clockwise from the left, they are: Diahann Carroll, Cynthia Nixon, Robin Roberts, Roxie Roker, Kylie Minogue, Ruby Dee, Richard Roundtree and Sheryl Crow in the middle.
This all came to me last night when I read that actress Christina Applegate has been diagnosed with breast cancer at the age of 36.
Most folks know Applegate as Kelly Bundy from the super funny, "Married With Children." She's also been featured in guest spots on TV shows like "Friends" "Family Ties" and "21 Jump Street." She also starred in the series "Jesse" and is now the star of ABC's "Samantha Who?" I like her best in movies though, "Don't Tell Mom the Babysitter's Dead" and "Anchorman" are my favorites.
Anyway, last night, I saw the story on CNN and it threw me for a loop. She's 36 ya'll, 36. Don't get me wrong, I'm not so naive that I believe cancer only affects people over 50. It's just that she's only 10 years older than I am right now and things like this have a way of shocking you back into reality.
The thing is, nobody and I mean nobody is immune to this beast. I hope you guys are doing your self-exams and getting regular check ups. I don't really do either but I'm going to start. I hope you guys do too.

I know I'm a little late, but ...

2008-08-02T23:00:00.003-04:00

... I just watched CNN's "Black In America" series in its entirety and all I can say is, WOW! I think Soledad O'Brien can expect to get a Peabody out of this one, that was just a wonderful piece of journalism.
Now that the accolades are out of the way, lemme just say that the statistics for single, professional women in the "Women and Families" episode are down right depressing. I had no idea that getting an education would cut my chances of being a wife and mother in more than half.
I heard those stats when Tyra Banks did her show, but damn! Something about hearing Soledad say it made it more concrete. I mean, dang, did she have to just spring it on us like that? Gah! I kinda did want to wait on my "IBM" (ideal black man) to jump the broom and have a couple lil' cute brown babies.
I think that every little girl grows up with the fantasy of having the great job, with the house that has a white picket fence, an awesome husband with two kids and a dog. But that's what it is, a fantasy. How many folks are actually living that dream and loving it?
My favorite quote by my shero, Oprah Winfrey, is "you can have it all but not at the same time." I believe that. I believe that I will have the husband and kids, I will have the awesome career and I will have my dream house. I was never sure if I'd have it all at once. Now, I'm even less sure of it.
If that weren't bleak enough, when I watched the second half, I spent most of the two hours shaking my head at the statistics of black men who are incarcerated. While I know not all of them are innocent, I am certain that not all of them deserve to be there.
Everybody in prison swears they're innocent, I wonder how many of them are really. Given the number of folks who have been freed with the help of DNA evidence and modern technology, it sort of makes me think that a lot of them are innocent.
Something else I found interesting is the number of folks in prison on drug offenses. They're in there for use, possession or for selling mostly crack. That one drug is responsible for the destruction nearly two generations of black folks. The jacked up thing is folks get more prison time for possession of crack than they do for possession of cocaine.
Why is that important? Well, crack is a poor man's drug, while cocaine is for those folks in the upper echelon of society. I'm not saying that anyone should get off for committing drug crimes but I'll bet if some of these folks were offered help, i.e. rehab and/or job assistance, they would be able to get themselves on the right track.
All in all, watching the special actually motivated me. You guys know I'm working trying to get my my non-profit organization off the ground. It will be an after school program for kids ages 10 to 14 in my hometown of Fairmont, NC. I even have a name for it, Levi Leadership Academy.
It's all about equipping these kids with the skills they will need to become the wonderful leaders they are destined to be. There are a lot of minorities in my rural hometown and a lot of the adults have never attended a college class or even dreamed that they could.
My goal is to not only allow the kids to dream about going to college but to help them get there. I want to expose them to people who look like them who have gone to college and become successful by using their education. I'm not going to bore you guys with the details but the piece has really reinforced and re-motivated (is that a word?) me to get this thing up and running.
To update you all, I finished my plan. The only thing it's lacking now is a table of contents and a good proofreader. I'm so excited, I'm rejuvenated and I'm ready to work!
If you didn't catch the special, do yourself a favor. In my opinion, it lived up to the hype.

The fast is over ...

2008-07-30T12:27:00.002-04:00

... the fast is over, buh-da bye bye!!!
Cue the DJ, call the cable company and plug up my TVs, my self-induced TV fast is nearly over. Today is the last day that I go without my favorite glowing box of entertainment.
The last day I remember watching TV was Sunday, June 29. I don't remember what I watched nor do I remember why I didn't watch the following Monday. I only remember sitting in the 11 a.m., worship service at New Jerusalem Cathedral in Greensboro beside fellow blogger Sheletha.
I had been contemplating a fast to complete my business plan for my nonprofit organization. That Sunday, the pastor spoke about getting off track and using other vices to keep you from accomplishing your calling. My vices of choice were fear and that dang contraption.
While I think my fast has proven that I can go with out TV, it was the fear that kept me from moving forward with my ideas. And here's the kicker, I wasn't afraid of failure, I was afraid that the thing might be successful. This just might work!
I am happy to report that during this fast, I have been able to face, not only my fear, but so many other things that were laying dormant in my psyche.
You know, you learn a lot about yourself when you're forced to spend time alone with yourself. I can honestly say that I really know me now and I ain't half bad. Of course I am constantly trying to improve myself but I am really happy with who I am at this time in my life.
This fast was good for me but I am in no rush to do it again. I have been going through Law & Order withdrawals and CNN cravings. Quite frankly, I feel like a kid on Christmas Eve. Just think, tonight at midnight, I can watch Larry King Live and then at 1, Anderson Cooper 360.
I can hardly wait!

Some people should just ...

2008-07-22T13:02:00.004-04:00

... shut the hell up sometimes.
OK peeps, consider this a warning, I am a little more irritable than normal so this post may seem a little like I'm extra pissed off.
So, I was doing my daily rounds on CNN and I happened to see a video about a "shock jock" making downright dumb assessments about children with autism.
In case you opt not to follow the link, radio host Michael Savage made this comment:
"You know what autism is? I'll tell you what autism is, in 99 percent of the cases it's a brat who hasn't been told to cut the act out ... what do you mean they scream and they're silent? They don't have a father around to tell them 'don't act like a moron. You'll get nowhere in life, stop acting like a putz. Straighten up, act like a man, don't sit there crying and screaming, idiot' ..."
I'm not sure how familiar you guys are with autism but, according to the Autism Society of America, autism is a complex developmental disability that typically appears during the first three years of life and affects a person’s ability to communicate and interact with others.
It is defined by a certain set of behaviors and is what is called a "spectrum disorder" that affects each person differently and to different degrees. There isn't a known single cause but a lot of mother suspect, and I do too, that it has something to do with all these vaccinations they're shooting kids up with now.
To my knowledge, there aren't any kids in my family on the spectrum and for that I'm thankful because I wouldn't want them to have to deal with the ignorance being spewed by Savage and a whole lot of other folks who don't recognize the seriousness of autism.
A blogger buddy of mine, Kim Stagliano has three girls who are all on the spectrum. She is the managing editor of the blog "Age of Autism" and writes on her self-titled blog. There's a wealth of information about the disease on the first blog and in the second one she shares a lot about her person experiences and what she endures daily as the mother of three children on the spectrum.
While autism is certainly not new, we've been hearing a lot about it because more and more kids are being diagnosed as on the spectrum. To my recollection, Oprah has done a couple of shows about parents who have children with autism. Two stick out because I remember a black man who looked drained and frustrated because of what he and his wife are going through with his son.
I also remember the show where Oprah talked to celebrities who have children who are on the spectrum. You guys probably know that Jenny McCarthy, Holly Robinson Peete and Toni Braxton all have children with autism. Toni Braxton sticks out in my mind because her son had recently been diagnosed and she spent a large part of the show in tears.
There are symptoms that kids on the spectrum show. Check out this video for some of those symptoms:

I do hope you all take a few minutes and do a little research to find out about autism. It's high time we all become aware.

They're at it again ...

2008-07-21T10:43:00.002-04:00

... this time in Dayton, Ohio. Police in that Midwest city tasered a blind lady in her own home.
So, here's the situation. The police show up to this woman's house looking for her son. She is on the telephone when they get there. They obviously ask for her son, everybody heard the woman say that her son was not there. The woman says that the officers tried to make her get off the phone and when she told them no, they grabbed her and threw her on the futon. At some point, the woman ends up on the floor and an officer uses a taser on her.
Because the name of the game is CYA (cover yo' ass), of course the police are saying that she was combative when she opened the door and claims that she punched one of the officers.
The police spokesman says,"She was able to force herself down on to the floor and not be cooperative, grabbing on to the detective. A taser was dry stunned onto her arm to control her hand movement, then she was cuffed."
Keep in mind that this woman is blind and neighbors and family members say that she was robbed and assaulted by someone who knocked on her door claiming to be the police. So if she was swinging on them, she was justified.
Not only is this woman blind, she is also sick. She also has cancer. I don't know what kind because that has not been reported. But regardless, that taser had to wreak havoc on whatever kind of treatment she's been receiving.
For those of you who don't know, a taser is a weapon used to push electroshock waves through a person's body to cause muscle contractions or spasms to render the person incapacitated. So in other words, the thing shocks you into submission. It is called "less-lethal" force because in theory it won't kill the person on the receiving end of all that voltage and there are no stray bullets so bystanders won't get hit.

It is true that bystanders won't get hit but I don't know about it being less lethal. It's certainly not humane. I don't know if you've ever had a muscle spasm but that crap is no walk in the park. Muscle spasms are violent, involuntary episodes that you have have to endure until they are over. Why would anyone want to inflict that on anyone is beyond me.
Granted, if someone is coming at you swinging a weapon or you know that they are coming toward you and can actually cause harm, that is one thing. But to use a taser on someone you can control with a side step or a simple hold it ridiculous.
During my sabbatical from journalism in 2006, I worked with kids with behavior problems and granted I did want to shoot those bad a-- kids with something but there are ways to restrain folks without using voltage. I know grown people, in theory, are bigger and stronger than kids. But, those same holds work on grown people too.
I don't understand why the cops are so taser happy. I think if they all had to take a taser in the ass they'd be a little less likely to use that dang thing on people at the drop of a hat.
I hope that lady sues the city and gets enough money to pay her medical bills and then some! ***SMH***
That just don't make no damn sense!!!

Crocodile tears?

2008-07-17T22:22:00.004-04:00

So, I was checking my e-mail earlier today and someone sent me a link to watch a video of Elizabeth Hasselbeck crying on The View - again.
The unique thing about this is her tears came during a heated discussion about use of the word Nigger, Nigga or however you want to spell it. One of the hot topics was of course the video of The WRONG Rev. Jesse Jackson using the word at the same time he mentioned his desire of neutering the presumptive Democratic nominee for president.
Since there are now two black women on the show, of course the entire panel was looking to them to "explain" why it is OK for black people to use it but not white people. This probably the dumbest segment of hot topics I've ever watched.
Take a look:

Of course, anytime the word nigger/nigga comes up in conversation amongst a crowd of racially mixed people it's going to get heated. I didn't expect Hasselbeck to cry and I didn't expect the ignorance that flew from Sherri Shepherd's mouth on the subject. I have heard the argument that Whoopi Goldberg has about the word having as much power as you give it. I've listened to my brothers and my cousins and in some cases some of my best friends who defend themselves by saying "it means ignorant" and they grew up using it.
I got news for some of you guys who think the word nigga means ignorant. That's not what it means. Take a few minutes and look the word up in the dictionary, it'll piss you off.
The Random House Unabridged Dictionary defines the word as:
nigger:1. Slang: Extremely Disparaging and Offensive. a. a black person.
b. a member of any dark-skinned people.
2. Slang: Extremely Disparaging and Offensive. a person of any race or origin regarded as contemptible, inferior, ignorant, etc.
3. a victim of prejudice similar to that suffered by blacks; a person who is economically, politically, or socially disenfranchised.
In the description, Dictionary.com states that nigger is probably the most offensive word in the English language. I'm going to have to agree with that. How is that word endearing?
I think it is agreed that words do have power. I think that we as bloggers have no choice but to agree because why else would we further exhaust ourselves after a full day's work, some of us write for a living, just for the sake of putting words together.
Since we know words have power, we should assume that their definitions and origins should as well. I've already addressed this in a much early post but since this keeps coming up, it may warrant redundancy.
The word nigger is derived from the Latin word nigre which means black. Some where around the 1700s, some southern slave owner got a hold of the word and butchered it and it derived into the racial slur that it is.
I don't, won't and will not ever use the term "the n-word" because I think it takes away the power and seriousness of the word. It should never be shortened or otherwise disregarded because it does carry a lot of weight.
The first time I ever remember hearing the word in a song was in Curtis Mayfield's "Pusherman." After that, rappers picked it up and you started hearing it in all their songs. Rappers began describing themselves, their friends and their enemies as niggas.
Personally, I think the gratuitous use of the word is a testament to the hate that so many black folks have for themselves. Whether it is sub-conscious, subliminal or blatant, a lot of us do hate ourselves and how could we not? It's what we've been taught and fed throughout history. It's in everything that we do.
Going back to slavery, our ancestors were not viewed as people, they were viewed as livestock and treated as such. They were beaten and degraded and they passed that along to their children who in turn passed it on to their children.
We have come a very long way and I am thankful, but there are some things that we have yet to let go of and this word is one of those things. It saddens me that we continue to degrade ourselves and piss on the memories of our great ancestors with not only this word but some of the downright ignorance that we subject ourselves to on a regular basis.
I don't want to get up on my soapbox but I think it is high time we kill the word. Hell, the NAACP had a funeral for it, buried it and everything and it has risen again. How in the hell do we expect the rest of America to stop treating us like niggers when we insist on identifying ourselves as such and acting that way?
Because of this, I can see why some white folks in America would be confuzzled as to why they can't use it. Hell, I wonder the same thing. I get offended when anybody, and I mean anybody calls me a nigger. If you call me a nigger/nigga, be prepared to fight me.
I won't lie, I've used it before. People in my family, my parents included, use the word - often. But I'll tell you what, if I call somebody a nigger/nigga, I mean to offend them. Shoot, every time I hear somebody use it, I take it as a teaching moment and tell them why I don't want to hear it. Now, they get tired of me bringing it up and now I rarely hear it when I'm around. We've got to police ourselves.
It's going to take some of us "educated and enlightened" folks to keep saying until it gets on their nerves to the point where they will stop saying it. Better yet, let's try to get us all some help to deal with why it is we hate ourselves so much that we have to to degrade ourselves every chance we get. Then, let's stop using it. Let's start one person at a time and we won't have to have dumb ass conversations like that one.

It's just one of 'dem days ...

2008-07-17T13:46:00.002-04:00

... ever feel like this?

I - don't want to - Go to work today - I 'd rather - Stay home - And play -
video games- I wanna chill
(music)
But I gotta get up
I gotta gotta gotta gotta gotta gotta gotta gotta gotta get up
(repeat 1x)
Get up
I don't want to go to work today
I'd rather stay home and play video games
I'd rather chill for real
I don't know how you feel
But sometimes I feel like I'm
Workin' for nuthin' tryin' to get sumthin'
Every where I turn there's a bill standing out
Swim the river climb the hill
Complacency you ain't gone get me no no no no

Chorus
"Cause I gotta get up
I gotta gotta gotta gotta gotta gotta gotta gotta gotta gotta get up
I gotta gotta gotta
(Got to get up, Got to get up, Got to get up, (Jill: Gotta Gotta get up) Got to
get up)

I don't want to go to work today
I rather stay home and play video games
I rather chill for real
I don't know how you feel but sometimes I feel like I'm
Workin' for nuthin' tryin' to get sumthin'
Every where I turn there's a bill standing out
Swim the river climb the hill
Complacency you ain't gone get me no no no no

(Chorus)
'Cause I gotta get up
I gotta gotta gotta gotta gotta gotta gotta gotta gotta gotta get up
Get up
I gotta gotta got to gotta gotta gotta get up
I gotta gotta gotta gotta gotta gotta gotta gotta gotta gotta get up
Get up

I'd rather be in my space
I'd rather chill in my place
So I can go out and play all day I
I'd rather chill at home
I'd rather lay alone
True, but I got to work
I don't wanna go
I wanna play today
But what can I say
Bills to pay
I just can't get comfortable doing (doing) nuthin'(nuthin')

Ohhhhhhhhhhhhhh
Ohhhhhhhhhhhhhh(Gotta get up, Gotta get up)
Ohhhhhhhhhhhhhh(I gotta got to got to gotta gotta got to get up, I gotta gotta
get up)
Ohhhhhhhhhhhhhh(Hey I gotta gotta get up, Get up)

Gotta gotta
I gotta get up
I gotta gotta gotta gotta gotta gotta gotta gotta gotta gotta gotta get up
Get up Uhmmm

Sometimes I wonder ...

2008-07-15T10:17:00.005-04:00

... this will probably be a regular post. How regular, I don't know. But I will say that it is inspired by 12kyle even though he's an Aggie Hater.
This is a series of random thoughts I've had over the past few weeks since I've given up TV that my friends and family members refuse to listen to so I guess I'll subject you, my audience, to these thoughts. Brace yourselves.
Sometimes I wonder:

If

- I am the only sane person left in this universe. I find it sad when I'm always the one making the most sense in a conversation.

- we will ever truly get over our hang ups and stigmas long enough make this a better place for the generation behind us.

When

- media outlets will stop being fixated on celebrities and their business. I don't care that Angelina Jolie had her babies.

- the maintenance people at my apartment complex will fix something right the first time and not have me burning up in the middle of the night because of a broken air conditioner.

Why

- people lick their fingers to separate papers and plastic bags. Do I look like I want to come in contact with the germs from your dirty a-- mouth?

- people cough into their hands and offer it to you to shake when they greet you or touch something that you have to touch. I guess you automatically assume that I want in my body what ever you're trying to force out by coughing.

- old people get on major interstates and drive 40 mph in the middle lane. I know 40 is the minimum you can go on the highway but I think they mean for them to stay in the right lane.

- do people continue to hire ghetto a-- secretaries. The secretary in my office takes a series of personal phone calls all day long, sometimes babysits her granddaughter at work and gets upset when she has to do some real work. She's trying to talk to a 2-year-old on the phone now.

- the actual lyrics to The Temptations "The Way You Do the Things You Do" are so corny. Have you ever really listened to them? "As pretty as you are, you know you coulda been a flower, if good looks were a minute, you know that you could be an hour ..." WTH?

- if all these people are looking for love online, why don't they have a weekend-long singles conference and hook up in person? It seems like that would make more sense than meeting somebody online and having these in-depth convos via instant messenger and you meet them and discover their picture is 20 years old.

- corporate America deems it necessary to stick their employees in cubicles. Isn't navigating through these cube farms similar to sending hamsters through a maze?

*** Addendum ***
I'm also wondering why it seems like Miss America can't walk in heels?

New readers ...

2008-07-09T13:52:00.005-04:00

Welcome!!! I hope you all will stop by periodically and not just look around, feel free to engage in the on-going conversation that is Difference of Opinion.
With that said, can I just say that I love the Real Time Live traffic feed component in the right rail?
I am always curious about the folks who come to read and this gives me the city you're from and how you got here. While some of you have been coming to my spot via Eb, 12kyle and PCD's spots, thank ya'll for the extra traffic, it has come to my attention that a lot of folks are coming through Google searches.
The craziest sounding Google search is "Will Smith + down low" and you're getting directed to a December post I did about Mr. Smith, Young Joc and R. Kelly. I'm sure this post is so not what you guys are looking for but I hope you'll stick around anyway.

Let me just say that I have no knowledge of Mr. Smith now or ever being on the down low. I certainly don't have any knowledge of him engaging in such acts with Duane Martin. In fact, up until I started seeing some of these Google searches, I hadn't heard any of this - at all.
How come every time black men are friends or cool with each other or get photographed in a "brotha man embrace" they have to be dating? That irks my soul.
Granted, I heard that Will and Jada and Duane and Tisha were into some freaky -ish, but I didn't buy into it. Folks are always going to gossip about celebrity couples and black celebrity couples especially. Truth be told, folks have been questioning The Fresh Prince's sexuality since "Six Degrees of Separation" and Jada has always been a lil' on the tomboy side.
Either way, I think it's their business and they can tell, or not, if they want to. If the Smiths are swinging and it's keeping their marriage together, more power to them. If the Martins are swinging and it's keeping their marriage together, more power to them. I don't think we ought to be getting in their business one way or the other.
These people are adults and they are married and if my mama taught me two things it's to stay out of grown folks and married folks business! So that's what I'm going to do. Besides, if you can't be freaky with your spouse, who else you gonna be freaky with?

No TV for you!

2008-07-07T15:54:00.008-04:00

No, I'm not channeling the Soup Nazi from Seinfeld. I have actually decided to fast TV for the month of July. It might look and sound a little strange but it's something I felt I had to do.
First off, I don't claim to be some religious nut but I am striving to be more like Him and I have accepted Jesus as my savior so that makes me a Christian. Because I'm human, I don't always do right, nor do I always obey. I'm working on it, Lord knows I am, but it's an uphill battle.

To let you guys in on a secret about Smarty, I watch a lot of TV. I mean, a lot. Like, on a regular night, I get home from work around 6, maybe. Then, I proceed to watch TV until I go to to bed around 3 a.m.-ish. If you're counting, that's about nine hours of TV.
What could I be watching pray tell? Well, there's always CNN and Headline News and an episode of "Law & Order" on, whether it is the original, "Criminal Intent" or "Special Victims Unit." Then of course there is "Wheel of Fortune" and "Jeopardy!" Of course I have to get my dose of reality TV with "Jon & Kate Plus 8" and "Little People, Big World." And if "Grey's Anatomy," "In Plain Sight" is on, I'm watching that too. Let's not forget the shows on Nick @ Nite plus reruns of "Girlfriends," "Half & Half," "The Golden Girls" and believe it or not, there's almost always something worth watching on BET-J, TV One and HGTV.
The thing is, I didn't realize how much time I wasted watching TV, particularly those shows I've seen before, until I turned off the TV. Today is Day 7 and I think I am going through withdrawals. Seriously, I don't ever recall going this long without CNN since I've been working in the media. I hate not knowing what's going on in the world.
I know some of you may be asking why I'm doing this to myself. Trust me when I tell you that there is a method to my madness. Stay with me now.
There are a lot of things I have been praying for and asking God to do in my life and they all require me doing something first. That's not hard, right? Wrong, I noticed that watching that much TV served as a distraction and actually made me procrastinate even more.
The main thing I have been praying for is sleep. I have had a jacked up sleep pattern since high school and I haven't been able to get it together since. I usually require four hours of sleep to function. I need five to be productive and I need six to be cordial while doing it all. Anything after that is icing.
So, add to that the fact that I am trying to get my non-profit organization started and for that, I have to put together a business plan. I can not and I will not throw something together just to say I have a plan. I owe those kids more than that and I owe myself more than that.
Add to that the fact that I really need to stop being a punk and take the GRE so that I can apply to graduate programs for non-profit management. I was blessed/super fortunate/lucky (whatever you prefer) to have made it through four years of high school and three and a half years of college without learning how to study. As you can imagine, that leaves me at a disadvantage in prepping for what is no less than the SAT on steroids.
The plan was to take the test before my birthday, that didn't happen. I got discouraged after seeing my scores from a practice test. I allowed fear to set in and I haven't taken it. Yea, ya girl Smarty gets scared sometimes.
At any rate, since abandoning TV, I have managed to nearly complete my business plan. I need perhaps a solid day and a half to complete the plan. From there, I have to identify grant-giving public and private organizations and pull together the research for the presentation to board of directors for my uncle's ministry and the focus group I've pulled together. And this is only Day 7.
In addition to this, I'm sleeping so much better it's not even funny. I don't remember being this well-rested in all my 26 years of life. It's not that I'm going to sleep at a set time, I'm getting more sleep when I do go. Instead of knocking off at 3-ish, it's more like 12:30 and then a nap when I get home in the evenings.
There's a lot to be said about this no TV thing, but then again, I hate to be in the dark about the world happenings. CNN.com only gives you so much.
Anyway, I think the purpose of this post is to get you guys to hold me accountable. Plus, being a Christian, we are supposed to 'speak' things into existence. Personally, I think that if you shout it out to the world, folks are going to expect results and this is what I'm doing. I want you guys to mention my nonprofit or ask me how my "studying" is going or something just to sort of keep me on track.
Can I count on you?

Many, many thanks ...

2008-07-01T16:55:00.002-04:00

... and big ups or whatever the young'uns are saying nowadays.
You all have helped to make Black Music Month a success. I decided to try something that I've never done. It is really rough and unedited. and I hope ya'll enjoy it.
I couldn't mention everybody but that doesn't mean I don't appreciate you all.
I will be taking a brief sabbattical from this blog so that I can catch up on Poli-ticked because I haven't been over there in a hot minute. I'm sure you guys understand.

Gone But Not Forgotten ...

2008-06-29T23:59:00.009-04:00

Throughout Black Music Month, we've been highlighting some of the greatest songwriters, musicians and singers to ever perform. While I certainly don't want to take anything away from the folks who have been highlighted, I also want to pay homage to those who have passed on and left us with some timeless music.
Let's get things started off with Otis Redding. Mr. "Sittin' On the Dock of the Bay" himself. I actually started loving his music at a very early age. I think I was about eight or nine when one of my mom's friends told me I had an old soul. I didn't know what she meant by that. So my mom had one of her famous tapes playing in the house that day and Redding's "Love Man" came on and I started singing and dancing to it.
At that time, all the adults were convinced that we knew the song because it was used in the movie "Dirty Dancing" and we used to watch it like every day. Even then, there was something about his voice that made me want to find all his music. By the time I was in my late teens, I had found a lot of it and it was in heavy rotation. From "Love Man" to "Try a Little Tenderness," I heard something by Otis Redding at least once a week and believe it or not, I still do.
Another great who left us too soon has to be Barry White. I still remember when he died. It wasn't too long after his song, "Practice What You Preach" came out. That song was the bomb! I used to stop whatever I was doing to hear that song.
I love his voice. It's so thick, deep and rich like molasses.
The first time I ever remember hearing him sing was on the Quincy Jones song, "Secret Garden." I was young then too, but I knew what I liked and that song was alright with me. It wasn't until later that I really started paying attention to all the music he'd released earlier.
I know I was late, but I really didn't know a whole lot about Barry White until "Money Talks" came out and Chris Rock was singing "My First, My Last, My Everything" in the opening credits when he took that guy's car from the car wash. Then it played for a whole season on the Fox show "Ally McBeal" for all those weird people in that law office when they went to the bathroom. After that, I was pretty much hooked for a minute.
Somebody I'm still hooked on is Gerald Levert. I almost cried for real when he passed away. I love me some Gerald Levert. He was a big dude but he was sexy with it. He just seemed like no matter what was wrong, he could give a hug that would make it all better. That's the way he looked anyway.
Well ya'll know he got the majority of his fame from being Eddie Levert's son and the lead singer of the group Levert and a member of LSG. But let's be honest, he put out some great songs by himself. Truth be told, those are some songs that I still find myself singing. My absolute favorite song by him is "I Just Can't Help Myself" from the HBO movie "Strapped" soundtrack. I'm telling ya'll, that song used to make me cry - you know, before I became all 'hard' and stuff. *smile*
Then the brother had the nerve to put out "I Was Made to Love You," and "You Got That Love." That's the ONLY man I would have let scream at me like that
Well, until I get there to hear him sing again, in that Heavenly Choir, "DJ Don't" will have to do.
I have yet to even touch on Reggae this entire month and I have a reason for that. As far as I'm concerned, in Reggae, there's Capelton, Peter Tosh, Bob Marley and everybody else. I'm sorry, but that's just how I feel.
Don't get me wrong, I like Lady Saw, Buju Banton, Elephant Man and I enjoy TOK from time to time. But, there is something about hearing "No Woman, No Cry that makes me want to sit down and eat a plate of curry chicken, peas and rice while I'm inhaling the scent of salt water and patchouli (because that is as close to smelling Mari J as I can get).
There's something about Marley's voice and his lyrics (what I can understand of them) that made me fall in love with his music a long time ago. My favorite song by him is "Redemption Song" then "I Shot the Sheriff" because of the beat and then, "No Woman, No Cry." Let me put it this way, I'm on my third copy of "Legend" in 10 years. Since I had to "give it a rest" a few months back, I can't remember if I need another now or not.
Now, let's get back into some Gospel and Soul music. As far as I'm concerned, you can't do either without bringing up the name Sam Cooke. Now this dude had a sweet voice. My mom and my uncles turned me on to Sam Cooke when I was really young in the back yard at my grandma's house during a cookout. My mom started singing the verse to "Bring It On Home To Me" and my uncles joined in and they didn't sound half bad either.
After I heard that one, I had to know who sang that song. They told me and from then on, I was after all the Sam Cooke I could get my hands on. If you scroll through the folders on my mp3 player, you'll find everything from "Touch the Hem of His Garment" to "Sixteen." And for those of you who frequent my spot, I'm sure you heard my second-favorite song ever, "A Change Is Gonna Come."
Cooke is a man who should have been featured in the songwriters post. He wrote the majority of his own music. He passed in 1964 but his songs have been remade, redone and performed, albeit horribly except in the case of the group Solo who did the FOOL out of "Cupid."
Who are some of your favorites who are singing in that Heavenly Choir?

"This is for my homies ..."

2008-06-29T23:25:00.003-04:00

"... in that gangsta lean" grave yard of one-hit wonders.
Since starting these posts on Black Music Month, I have been thinking about some of the greatest artists who have ever done this music thang. But I got to thinking, some of my favorite songs were from people I never heard from again. These are folks commonly referred to as One Hit Wonders.
Usually, nobody knows where these One Hit Wonders came from and often don't care because they don't stick around long enough for us to get to know them. I'm not going to bore you with a litany of folks who came and went just as quickly. I, instead, want to hit you in the face with some songs that I'm sure you haven't thought about in years.
Let's begin, shall we?
First of all, I'm sure you've connected the title to the Dirty Rotten Scoundrels (D.R.S.) song, "Gangsta Lean" from 1994. This is the only slow song I remember the drug dealers in my town blasting on their sound systems while they rode through the neighborhoods real slow-like.

Ya'll know what I mean, usually the drug dealers have the nicest cars, with rims and tinted windows and the loudest sound systems. Usually, to be seen, these folks blast the hottest song on the radio. Well, that particular year, "Gangsta Lean" was that one. Plus, it seems to be one of the only songs where a thug can be sensitive, pissed off and religious at the same time.
What about H-Town? Ya'll remember them? I know they had two hits with "Knockin' Boots" and "Emotions" but they still fit into the category. That had to come out around '93. I remember because they made it into a Christmas song, "Knockin' Boots for Christmas." That had to be a Luke Campbell idea, right?

Ya'll know he had to come back with an R&B version of the 2 Live Crew or were they supposed to be a fine version of Jodeci? Either way, they only had two decent songs. I used to watch the video just to see those twins. Umph, umph, umph. They don't make 'em that look like that in the music business anymore do they?
What the freak ever happened to Domino? Ya'll know the dude who looked like Harpo from "The Color Purple." I can't be the only one who remembers him. He came out in probably '94 or '95 with that whinny song, "Ghetto Jam" that Halle Berry was singing the Hell out of in "Losing Isaiah" when she got arrested in that store when she was high on crack.
That should have been her Oscar winning moment, not that "MAKE ME FEEL GOOD!" madness in Monster's Ball. It should have been "GHET-TO JAMMMMMMMMMMMMM!" Wouldn't that have been the junk?
And what about MoKenStef? Ya'll remember "He's Mine." Why in the world were these chicks singing a song gloating to some chick that even though her man cheated he goes home to her? I'm sorry, but I can't co-sign on that. And what was up with the words to that song? "He's mine, you mata had him once but I got him all the time."
Yea, you got a cheatin' dude all the time! And shoot, I'm with the comedienne Debra Terry, "Everybody knows that a 'mata goes on a sandwich."
How about J.J. Fad? I haven't heard anything from them since "Supersonic." It was the bomb though. That's another song that my sister and I used to tear up. I didn't know many of the words so I got to be that chick at the end that said, "summa lumma lumma lumma summa lumma lumma lumma, yea that's it!" *teheehee*
And, The System's "Don't Disturb This Groove." I was little, but I used to love that song. "Hang a sign up on the do-aaaa, that says, don't disturb this groove ..." That song actually came in handy a little later in life. >-)
Another one is "Me & Mrs. Jones." A lot of people don't realize that nobody heard of Billy Paul before or after that song. Shoot, you know I was feelin' it because, well, I am Mrs. Jones - well, Miss Jones anyway. When I first opened up my MySpace account, that was the song playing on my profile.
Another one of my favorite songs is "Cool Like Dat" by Digable Planets. I hadn't thought about that song in years until the other day when I was watching House Party 3 and the former member, Half Pint, said, "Uncle Vester's cool like dat!" Ya'll can't tell me that song wasn't the bomb. The video was crap-tackular but the song was bumping.
Another song my little cousin brought up to me tonight was "Tender Kisses" by Tracie Spencer. I'm sure I would have come up with it some time this week, especially seeing as how Family Matters just became a part of the Nick @ Nite line up. The episode where Eddie and his friends snuck into her hotel room and Travis from "227" was her manager. The only other song I remember from her is "Love Makes Things Happen" with Babyface and that is my joint - still.
And I can not talk about one-hit wonders without talking about Subway, not the sandwich chain, the group. You remember they had that song "This Lil' Game We Play" with 702 when they had four members. That song used to be the jump off! Still, my favorite song by Subway was "Fire."

And last, but not least, the modern Jackson 5, Soul For Real. Was "Candy Rain" not the -ish? I was in the seventh grade when this song came out and my friends and I used to walk up and down the hall of the "seventh-grade building" of my middle school singing this song. We even tried to do that retarded looking dance.
What are some of your favorite one-hit wonders?

All the ladies in the house ...

2008-06-29T23:23:00.010-04:00

... say "OWWWWWW!!!"
So, I know I just did a post about R&B crooners and it was well-received. But ya'll know I couldn't leave out the ladies! Let me preface this post with the fact that I am mentioning my favorite artists. Some of you might love them as much as I do, but that's not important. smile What is important is these ladies' songs have provided the soundtrack for love, life and getting over it all!
Let's kick things off with my favorite gospel vocalists. First off is definitely Yolanda Adams. I don't have to tell you that this woman has one of the most angelic voices I've ever heard. My daddy, the man who tells people he left his eye in Vietnam, said that her voice "will bring a tear to a glass eye." And he's probably right. Lord knows she brings tears to my eyes when I hear some of her songs.
When you hear Adams' name, a lot of folks immediately think about her CD, "Mountain High, Valley Low" and while it was a good one, it's not her best work. Don't get me wrong, I can listen to "Open My Heart" all day long, but give me her early stuff, like, "The Battle Is the Lord's," "Is Your All on the Altar" or "My Liberty."
Her last studio-recorded CD, "Day by Day" has some nice songs on it too. Everybody and their mama is familiar with "Victory" from "The Gospel" soundtrack. My favorite song on that CD though is "Be Blessed." There's something about the lyrics that can make me stop dead in my tracks and want to "fall out and cry" like my daddy says.
The Clark Sisters have also had that affect on me. I talked about Twinkie Clark in my songwriters post but I didn't mention her sisters Jacky, Dorinda and Karen. These ladies have voices that make you want to throw something at them.
I'm one of those people who gets the majority of their Word through music. That's why if the music is not on point at a church, I probably won't be there long. Anyway, you don't have to worry about it with these ladies. Most folks probably know their songs, "You Brought the Sunshine," "Is My Living In Vain" and "Pray for the U.S.A." My favorite, however, is on their CD, "Live - One Last Time." It's simply called, "Instrument." While Donald Lawrence certainly wrote beautiful lyrics, the ladies sang that song like no one else could. The first few lines are:
Plastered and molded, sculpted and folded,
Designed to praise in every way
Gifted with music, anointed with lyric
You made me an instrument of praise
Simply beautiful!
Let's move on to more heavenly voices. Though we know Gladys Knight, Patti LaBelle and Aretha Franklin for their rhythm and blues music, they all got their start singing in church. Now, they've all gone back to recording gospel music, so it's all come back full circle.
Starting with my favorite of the three, Gladys Knight. While she has a nice gospel CD, I'd sooner pop in her Greatest Hits CD. Most of that music is the stuff she recorded with the Pips, or the Pimps as I said when I was younger.
I know I compared Jill Scott's voice to pecan pie and Jaheim's voice to velvet but I swear to you I can NOT find a single thing in which to compare Knight's voice. I thought, and thought and though some more about what has both a rough and smooth texture. The only thing I could think of is sandpaper.
Have you ever run your hand across sandpaper? You feel these raised granules that will scratch you if you're not careful, but it will soothe you if you are careful with it. That's her voice. I'm a big fan of raspy voices and hers is, well, probably the most raspy voice I've ever hear on a woman, with the exception of Leela James.
When I hear songs like "If I Were Your Woman" and "Midnight Train to Georgia" I hear pain in her voice, but I hear that twinge of 'I'm gonna be alright' too.
Next, let's go to Re Re. That's THE QUEEN, Aretha Franklin ya'll. I really, really love her voice and I don't know why. Under normal circumstances, high soprano voices irritate the mess out of me. I don't know why they just do. Hers doesn't though.
When I think Aretha Franklin, I think "Think." I think, "Natural Woman," "Pink Cadillac" and "Spanish Harlem."
Here's a tid bit of info on your girl, Smarty. I enjoy singing karaoke from time to time. I lost my karaoke virginity in a karaoke bar in Jackson, Tenn., back in 2004 with a very good friend of mine and a co-worker singing a drunken version of "Respect."
I don't drink anymore now, but back then, I used to toss back Blue Motorcycles and Long Island Iced Teas with the best of them. Anyway, we looked through that book and it was the ONE song we all settled on immediately, after a bit of liquid courage. We ended up having to scream the song into the microphones because the rest of the ladies in the bar lifted their drinks and started singing with us. If she doesn't record another song, that will live on long after she's gone.
Now on to Patti Patti, Labelle that is. Here's a woman who is beyond explanation, I won't even try. I'll just say that she's awesome and incomparable and she's going to be that way until someone can dethrone her. To be completely honest with you, I'm not sure that there's anyone who can.
I said earlier that Gladys Knight is my favorite and she is but Patti LaBelle is in a class all by herself. This woman was the lead singer of the group responsible for "Lady Marmalade." Come on now, that's the only song that EVERYBODY knows, saints and sinners alike. The saints know it because they've condemned it forever. The sinners know it because, well, it's all about sin. ***hehehehehe***
She's not all about the sin though, my favorite Patti LaBelle song is "You Are My Friend." That song alone makes me love her. Listen:
Just before her recent gospel CD, she released a duet of "Ain't No Way" with Mary J. Blige. Now Mary, that's that chick! She is hands down the best singer of my generation and she will NEVER, NEVER be knocked off that pedestal.
I can still remember hearing "Real Love" for the first time. We were more fascinated with the beat than anything. How could you not hear that cow bell at the beginning of that song and not yell out, "Ohhhhhhhhh," and be up in time to start dancing when the beat dropped.
Shoot, between my sister and her best friend, I learned every single word to the "What's the 411" CD. My favorite on there was "Sweet Thing." I'm not a fan of remakes but Mary did that! Then came "My Life" which by far is some of, if not, her best work. Pull it out, dust it off and listen to it. After you've done that, get "Share My World" and try listening to "Seven Days," "Missing You," "You Are Everything" and "Be With You" just one time.
And then, I DARE YOU to pop in "Mary," you know the one with her profile on it that shows the scar on her face. "All That I Can Say" is that CD help to bring out all the emotions that were "Deep Inside" me. I could go on and on about her but I don't have the space.
I hope that Fantasia will be the one to pick up the torch and move it on through the new millennium. If she could just get a stylist and a hair dresser who don't think it's funny to have her out here looking like a damn fool, she'll be alright.
Since we heard her sing on American Idol and saw her movie "Life Is Not a Fairytale," we've all come to love the North Carolina native. (You know I had to throw that in there, right?) The girl has got pipes for days and she's another one who can sing the phone book and I'd probably buy the CD. You know by the time she gets to 'S' we'll all be standing up and cheering because she's tearing it up!
She's put out a few solid singles and two good solid CDs. I am just ready for her contract to be up with the American Idol producers so that she can get on to working with songwriters and producers who can sky rocket her career. I really love the song she and Aretha Franklin did together. I think that is the perfect marriage of the old school and the new.
Well, I could go on about Lalah Hathaway (Please check out her new CD), Betty Wright, Angie Stone, Natalie Cole, Whitney Houston, Deborah Cox, Syleena Johnson and a 'slam slew' of others but then, you all won't comment. And I want you to comment. Drop a line to let me know who your favorites are and don't be shy about it!

Oh, remember I said these ladies' songs have provided the soundtrack to my life? Well check it out!

Opening credits: Livin' - The Clark Sisters
Waking up: All That I Can Say - MJB
Average day: Rock Steady - Aretha Franklin
First date: Where Do We Go From Here - Deborah Cox
Falling in love: Saving All My Love For You - Whitney Houston
Love scene: No Words - Syleena Johnson
Fight scene: 20 Dollars - Angie Stone (I only GOT 20 dollars)
Breaking up: Free Yourself - Fantasia
Getting back together: I Believe In You and Me - Whitney Houston
Secret love: I Got Love On My Mind - Natalie Cole
Life's okay: Wish I Didn't Miss You Anymore - Angie Stone
Mental breakdown: Chain of Fools - Re Re
Driving: This Will Be - Natalie Cole (I was listening to this when I got my ticket)
Learning a lesson: I've Got to Use My Imagination - Gladys Knight
Deep thought: Brotha - Angie Stone
Flashback: Family Affair - MJB
Partying: Tonight I'm Gonna Let Go - Syleena Johnson
Happy dance: Just Fine - MJB
Regreting: What Goes Around - Lalah Hathaway
Long night alone: Greatest Love of All - Whitney Houston
Death scene: Someone Watching Over You - Yolanda Adams
Closing credits:

Have you seen them?

2008-06-26T17:05:00.011-04:00

What's happened to the R&B group?!
A while back, you couldn't turn on your favorite video show or sitcom for that matter and not see your favorite R&B group. Now, the only groups you see on TV are Day 26 and Danity Kane and that's because they have their own reality show. A while back, groups were on scripted shows and they liked it!
Remember this?

OK, before I get carried away, lets go back, waaaaaaaaaay back. Back into time. And while we're there, let's highlight some really great groups. First off, let's visit the some famous groups of the 70s. Let me just say that this in no way reflects my age. I wasn't even thought about until late 1981.
Anyway, growing up, my parents exposed my siblings and I to a lot of great music. Of course we heard all the Motown we could stand. But thanks to them, we were also exposed to groups like Kool & the Gang, The Stylistics, The Whispers, Sly and the Family Stone and my personal faves, The O'Jays.

While we were growing up, my mom used to play in softball tournaments on the weekend. She used to load my sister and I into the back seat while she and my step dad fought over whose turn it was to drive and she'd put on the cassette she'd made of her favorite songs.
I don't remember whether or not it was the same tape but for some reason, the first song was almost always, "Backstabbers" or "992 Arguments." My sister and I had to be about nine and 11 sweatin' it out in the back seat of my mom's Pontiac Sun Fire riding up and down the interstates of North and South Carolina to those tournaments.
Our ages are important in this because I don't know sisters who are that close in age who don't argue all the time. Lord knows we did our fair share of arguing and it seems like every time my mom would turn on one of those two songs, we'd stop and start singing.
"Nine hundred and ninety-two arguments, nine hundred and ninety-two, we're just a fighting, nine hundred and ninety-two ..."
And it never failed, we'd scream the last line and point to each other, "I'M SICK OF YOU!"
After that, I can almost guarantee a song by The Manhattans would come on. By that time, we were cool again so we each had a part to sing. Back in the 70s, it seems like every group's member had a part. You had the lead singer who sang every single song. Then you had the dude, or chick, with the deepest or the raspiest voice to do the "rap."
Since I had the raspier voice of my sister and I, I always, ALWAYS, had to do the talking. Well, that's until "Kiss and Say Goodbye" came on and she wanted to do the talking. Wouldn't you?
"This has got to be the saddest day of my life. I called you here today for a bit of bad news. I won't be able to see you anymore because of my obligations and the ties that you have ..."
Come on! Ya'll know that song was the joint! Anyway, we had to take turns doing that part but she always got to sing lead. (I'm still a lil' salty about that.) Anyway, we used to tear those songs up!
While we were learning those songs from my mom's "hey day," we were also learning the songs we were growing up with. Now, I was born in '82, my sister in '79 so we are children of the 80s. With that comes groups like New Edition with both Bobby Brown and Johnny Gill, Levert, After 7, Guy, The Boys and a few others.
Don't act like my siblings and I are the only ones who used to push the coffee table out of the middle of the living room so that we could learn the dances from the "If It Isn't Love" video. Truth be told, we tried to learn the dances to all the Bell Biv Devoe videos too but the camera would hardly ever let you see the WHOLE routine.
And guess what, when groups like Jodeci, Boyz II Men, Hi-Five, EnVogue, TLC, XSCAPE and SWV came out in the early 90s, it only got worse.
We knew all the dance steps to all their videos and wouldn't you know it, we each had our singing parts. When an EnVogue song was on, I got to be Maxine. In TLC, I was T-Boz and in XSCAPE, I was Kandi until she hit that high note in "Understanding." The bottom line is, we had fun - and good music.
What do they have now? Day 26 and Danity Kane. I'm sure they can sing, well, no I'm not because I know NOTHING about them except that on the show, Puffy keeps saying the "Bitchassness is a disease." I couldn't watch.
Whatever happened to groups getting together in grade school or high school or growing up together or chance meetings? Every since that weird-looking white guy put that boy band together on ABC, Puffy, and seemingly the rest of the world, has been fixated on created the "super group." It doesn't happen. Look at what happened to Fatty Koo.
Fatty Koo, a sextet out of Columbus, OH, had the potential to be the best group in music since, shoot, I don't know, since a very long time. Five of the six met on the John Lennon Educational Tour Bus. The bus provides free hands-on programs high schools, colleges, Boys and Girls Clubs, music festivals, concerts, conventions and community organizations.
They later added a sixth member and even had a reality show on BET (gag) called "Blowin' Up: Fatty Koo." That show was non-stop drama because they didn't know each other and they were constantly getting on each others nerves. Their career, as a group, was over before it got started.
It kinda sucks because since they split in '05 or '06, there haven't been any really successful groups. Well, B2K, but after all that nonsense with Chris Stokes and Omarion's success, we forgot about them and they were really pop anyway. The bottom line is we need to get some R&B groups or at least revive the greats.
Since recent photos show that K-Ci and JoJo look like somebodies granddaddies, I doubt seriously we'll be seeing a revival of Jodeci. But, Alicia Keys did revive three of my favorite girl groups from the 90s at this year's BET Awards (double gag).

Even though they missed a few notes (Miss Keys included) it was still good to see all the original members back together, especially EnVogue. I swear, they got gone too quickly. I wish they would get back together and do a tour or something. I think as fans, we deserve to have great groups to see perform.
***On a side note, I see why Miss Keys prefers to sit behind a piano and not dance. She can't.***

Who did I miss? Who were your favorite groups?

The best artists you haven't heard of ...

2008-06-24T15:25:00.010-04:00

YET!
I say yet because there is no doubt in my mind that all of these folks are destined for greatness. Sadly, the success of musicians and artists is dictated by how commercially accepted their music is. That, for the lack of a better term, sucks!
It is pretty much a fact that even on the most widely selling commercial CDs, the best songs never become singles. Think back to when they used to make cassette and CD singles (I might be telling my age here), usually, if the artist or singer had three or four decent singles, it made you want to buy the entire project. And, when you listened to the whole thing, you favorite song was usually NOT a single.
With that logic, I have, what I call a talent, for finding the best singers and artist that may have a deal but no commercial success or who have yet to secure a deal or are on independent labels.
Now, you lucky readers of my blog (and my black music month posts), have the good fortune of seeing clips and hearing songs by five of my favorite artists and singers that you haven't heard of yet. Let's get things rolling with some gospel because you know I got to give the Lord his do for creating these talented voices.
Up first is Greg Drumwright and the Singers & Musicians ALIVE!. I came across Greg's music while doing my weekly gospel show "First Light" on Saturday mornings on 90.1 WNAA-FM in Greensboro. (Yea, it is a shameless plug!)

Anyway, I remember Greg from N.C. A&T. I met him on several different occasions and he is a former student government association president from my esteemed alma mater. Anyway, Greg is the senior pastor at the Citadel of Praise in Greensboro, N.C. According to his MySpace page, he's been preaching for a minute and has been singing and performing for the past 15 years.
The choir's CD, "A Long Time Coming" was released last year and has sold out on the independent artist Web site CD Baby. You can still hear some of the songs on his page. My favorite song is "My Hope".
Since we're already here, let's stay in my great home state of North Carolina and introduce you to Kim Person. Now Kim, this girl can saaaaaaaaannnnnnnnnnggggggggggggg!!! I first heard her sing at my grandmother's church, Minter's Chapel First Born, Inc., down in Boardman, N.C. Trust me, that town is as small as it sounds.
Anyway, I had to be about six or seven and it was the church's annual homecoming celebration so we were in there for a hot minute. I remember getting restless and whoever the program's M.C. was called her up front to sing, her last name was McDowell then. Her grandmother requested that she sing "Somewhere Over the Rainbow." When I tell ya'll she sang the FOOL out of that song, that's what I mean!
She has since moved on from Minter's Chapel and is now singing at conferences and churches and she's put out a couple of CDs of her own.
She recorded her latest project, "Speak Life" in December. I was supposed to go but something came up and I had to miss it. I hate I did, but to pacify me until I get my hands on the new project, I listen to my favorite song by her, "G Double-O D God" and I got to You Tube to look at this clip:

Now, let's take a jump to the sole hip hop artist on my list, Ozy. First off, I don't hate hip hop, I hate the commercialized crap that has become of a lot of the hip hop artists of late. You know who they are so I won't bother to name names.
So anyway, I like Ozy because he reminds me of the hip hop artists of old, like De La Soul, the Jungle Brothers and Pharcyde. His flow sounds a little bit like Common but not exactly. He's not rapping about killing and disrespecting folks.
Listening to him is a breath of fresh air because I am not offended at the end of the song. It seems like he's having fun with it and that's what it is all about. Don't get me wrong, it is the music business so some money has to be made but you should also have fun with it and he seems to be doing that.
My favorite songs by him are "Fire Fly" and "Staywitchu." Go to his MySpace page and listen to some of his music.
Now we've come to the two people that you guys have simply GOT to hear. I have grouped them together because they've worked together before and I have a video of them singing a duet. It's priceless - simply priceless!

Since ladies are first, I have got to hip ya'll to my girl Shelby J. First off, Shelby can sang her face off and yours too! At the present, Shelby is singing back up for Mr. Purple Rain himself, Prince.
I'm not sure if she had to "purify herself in the waters of Lake Minnetonka" but he's certainly recognized her talent. I'm not sure if you've had the great fortune of hearing Prince's "Planet Earth" in its entirety but if you have, you can hear her putting that "stank" in the background vocals of just about every song on there. The one that you hear her voice in the most is "Chelsea Rodgers".
I had the great fortune of meeting her long before her days with Prince. Her mom used to work at the same radio station where I do my show and Shelby used to come by from time to time. She used to sing background for Mary J. Blige, D'Angelo, fellow D'Angelo alum, Anthony Hamilton and Martin Luther.
That's the brotha she's singing with in the video. He might look a little familiar to you because he used to play with The Roots and his single "Daily Bread" did well. If you've seen the video, you might recognize Nona Gaye of The Matrix Reloaded and The Matrix Revolutions movies.
Martin Luther has also appeared in the movie "Across the Universe" and on the TV Show "Love Monkey." That's where you might have seen him. While I think he's a decent actor, I'd much rather him him sing and play guitar.
The only CD I have by him is "Rebel Soul Music" and I lie to ya'll not, I still listen to it on a regular basis. There's something about his blend of R&B, Funk and Rock that is off the hook!!! "Daily Bread" is a nice song, but he's got this song called "Growing Pains" that talks about the things you go through immediately after you move away from home or graduate or whatever. My favorite line from that song is: "You kids don't know how good you got it, once you get grown, it's on!"
My favorite song on that CD varies from week to week, sometimes from day to day if I'm going through some things. Today, my favorite is "Sleep Walking".
Who are some of your favorites that I should be aware of but I'm not?

***All pictures were taken from the artists MySpace profile pages***