Filed under: Life....I wonder... | Tags: candle light, candlelit dinner, expensive Valentine's Day gifts, life, love, love is, mall, on valentines, people, swarm, Valentine's Day, Yellowtail Pinot Grigio
Yesterday, as I watched well to do everyday folk swarm the mall at which I work and struggle to find a Valentine’s Day gift ‘expensive’ enough to convey the depth of thier emotions for a lover or spouse yet cheap enough to stay in line with thier budgets, I couldn’t help but think to myself…”Fools”. Was that mean, or just unapologetically honest? Love is so much more than a Fossil watch or a brand new pair of Roca Wear Jeans or a cubic zirconia heart pendant on sale for 19.99 (while supplies last), love is………unnavailable at your local retailer, unable to be gift wrapped, cannot be scrounged up last minute. I guess everyone has thier own idea of what it is though. As for me, at this present moment, my idea of love is home cooked lasagna cause he knows it’s my favorite, fresh garden salad cause he know’s I’m trying to eat healthy, Yellowtail Pinot Grigio cause he knows I like to sip , candle light cause he knows I think it’s sexy, some good ol’ conversation cause he knows I’m cerebral like that plus he truly digs my point of view, and knowing that someone cares just that much about the little things that mean so much to you…………
Hope all you lovers out there took the time to LOVE one another………..
Filed under: Dopeness, Life....I wonder..., Media Manipulation | Tags: arts, blog talk radio, culture, entertainment, Hip Hop, life, Tha Motha Flowa Experience
Back in the beginning of this year I had the privalege to work with a very talented MC/artist/entrepreneur by the name of Motha Flowa. We put together a dope azz internet radio program brought to the masses by the good folks at blogtalkradio.com, but due to some bad apples in the business plan we had to take our baby off the air. We will, however, be back to takeover the internet radio scene, and eventually the world, in the coming months and I will definitely keep yall posted. For now here are some goodies from our archives to tide you over. Enjoy!!!!
You can hit up the show page here
Filed under: Life....I wonder..., Media Manipulation | Tags: black culture, black experience, Black in America, Black in America 2, CNN, life, mass media, Media Manipulation
Is it wrong that I don’t want to watch CNN’s Black in America 2? Is it wrong that I didn’t watch the first one?
Truthfully I have no desire at all to watch because I feel CNN really can’t tell me nothing about being black in America, I’m sorry that’s just what it is. I’m also tired of all the mixed messages news specials like this send. When black people get indignant and fired up about something we perceive as an injustice, like the Jena 6 situation or Sean Bell or any of the other slights that have deeply affected our community,it seems people come out the woodwork claiming that we’re not as seperate as we think we are, times have changed, it’s not what it looks like, you’re over reacting, we’re all equal now blah blah blah, yet CNN still finds it necessary to dedicate a special news series to the experience of the Black American? When Black folks talk about the “struggle” people tend to get upset, and I’ve personally been told things like “Black people need to stop, slavery was so long ago.” or ” At least you all are still around the Native Americans are practically extinct.” Were these sentiments ignorant? Very, but I can manage to pull a little sense from statements like these and I get the impression that other ethnic groups are increasingly becoming disenchanted with being left out the great race debate. America is not just Black and White, anymore. There used to be a time in our history where blackness and whiteness were the main criteria for which all things were judged. We have been a multi-ethnic country for a long time now. Why doesn’t CNN give us White in America or Chinese in America, Indonesian in America, Dominican in America, Korean in America, Puerto Rican in America, Jamican in America, African in America, Native American in America…..you see where I’m going with this. Now I’m not saying that there are not any issues facing the black community, because those within the black community know what’s up, but something about a mainstream mega- media outlet such as CNN airing a special about them disturbs me for some reason. It gives me the feeling that we’re some exotic zoo animals or that we don’t know what issues trouble or community and can’t change them unless CNN shows us the truth, the way and the light. The “black” experience is too complex, too varied, and too multifaceted for CNN to ever portray in a way that would completely satisfy someone who strives to break the barriers that closed minded social norms have placed around me and my “experience” everyday. It all boils down to this; this is a conversation for black america, if you’re going to attempt to have the conversation about what it means to be black in America don’t sugarcoat it or water it down, show it in all its aspects, show all the factors that contribute to the negative and positive aspects of our past, present and future existence. News outlets like CNN are too concerned with retaining an air of political correctness which must be thrown out the window if you really want to get down to the nitty gritty. The black experience involves so many other facets that CNN will not explore, like the role of the mass media in perpetuating negative stereotypes……….
Thanks for bringing my attention to this pressing issue seeing as how many black americans are too dumb and/or ashamed to know when they are suffering emotionally and psychologically and need professional help, what would we do without you guys…….
Notice how she only says black and white? And I know Ms Obrien is supposed to be at least 50% African American but they couldn’t find nobody that looked a little bit more like the bulk of the disapora they’re talking about to narrate me through this enlightening journey? Yeah I said it…….
Filed under: Life....I wonder..., Media Manipulation | Tags: human nature, john mayer, life, Michael Jackson, michale jackson memorial
If you were one of the reported 1 billion that tuned in to watch Michael Jackson’s memorial service, than you were witness to a genuinely moving spectacle. I didn’t think I would feel such sadness, not for his passing, but for the unfortunate turn of events that shaped the later part of his life. The media had not been too kind to him lately, and in watching the many television specials that were aired detailing his life story, you can’t help but notice the correlation between the height of his fame and his perceived instability. Reflecting on his monumental artistic accomplishments, everything that he contributed to popular culture, all the important causes he stood for, and the personal sacrifices and hardships that comprised his childhood, and then seeing the way he was judged, ridiculed and ostracized by the society that once adored him showed that life, even for the most blessed among us, is rarely easy. Michael fell prey to one of the most malicious and twisted aspects of our nature. It seems that we can only place a man so high up on a pedestal until we feel the need to knock him down. Even I myself am guilty of writing Michael off as some crazy who had lost his golden touch. As a matter of fact, a week or two before he died yahoo had him on the homepage of their site cracking on his appearance, that’s why when I saw his picture on the home page again, I didn’t bother to read the story. Later that day I found out he had died, and the world commenced to mourning. It’s funny how people seemed to forget just how special Michael was until after he was gone. The same young man that accused him of the sexual misconduct that stained his reputation now wants to tell the world that it wasn’t true. He was nicknamed Jacko the Wacko and called a pedophile and in his death is now regarded as one of the greatest performers, and humanitarians to walk this earth. Before now, the mainstream didn’t mention Michael unless it was within the context of a joke or some scathing critique of his wardrobe or habits, and now most major networks are dedicating their news and radio broadcasts to celebrating the genius of his legacy and the memory of his life. Through the heartfelt speeches of his family and friends we got to see him as the sensitive, gentle, caring and human soul that fame obstructed from view. Like his brother Marlon said at the end of the program, maybe now they will leave him alone, and maybe a closer look at the story of his life will prompt us to have a little more compassion and understanding for the entertainers who devote countless hours, vast amounts of energy and risk their sanity to put smiles on our faces. We tend to view these individuals as super human, idols to be worshiped and fantasized about. The cult of celebrity can often cause us to forget that for all their money, power and respect, at the core they’re just like us. ……
Filed under: Cool ppl, Life....I wonder... | Tags: Carolina Ty, life, Love Poem, Poetry, Spoken Word
This talented young man goes by the name of Carolina Ty and he’s straight out of my neck of the woods, Fayetteville, or Fayettenam to most. Now dude is definately one to watch and he’s already got a lotta love in and out of the NC. I happened to stumble across this video on his youtube channel and yall already know I’m a poet at heart. One of the main reasons I connect with hip hop on such a deep level is my passion for the art of spoken word. Who said rappers ain’t poets?
This poem reminds me of something I read when I was in middle school. My best friends older sister had a large notebook that belonged to a friend of hers filled with love letters and poems from her longtime boyfriend. We were all up in her girl’s business and her boyfriend had written her some of the most romantic, in a hood way, and erotic things my young mind had encountered thus far. Growing up in Fayetteville, almost every dude who wasn’t considered a ”lame” was either straight out the projects, a suburban boy who acted like he was straight out the projects, or a boy who didn’t exemplify any ”soft” behavior. Maybe it was growing up in the 90′s but we were some bad azz young kids, everybody was either in a gang or affiliated and school was more wilding out than learning. I was floored when I read this young man pouring out the contents of his heart with such beauty, eloquence and sensitivity. I was like daaaaang this is what the boys are like in high school???? I can’t wait till I get a man!!!!!!! I got my answer and to my dismay, I learned that high school sweethearts who stand the test of time are a rare occurance, and boys who wrote like that were even more rare. This poem takes me back to those days, when I yearned to have a freaky love letter book of my own……………………
For music and more check him at, www.myspace.com/carolinaty
Filed under: Life....I wonder..., Uncategorized | Tags: Abortion, American, Civil Rights, life, Obama, polititcs, Racism
My friends and I love to crack on each other. One day my boy L called me Keema X and I just about died. You see, I constantly get on him for always jocking the light skinned girl on TV, telling him the only reason he thinks she’s cute is because she’s more on the european side of the black spectrum. He in turn thinks I’m the stereotypical angry black sista, hence the name Keema X. It’s all jokes, for sure, but ya girl connects the dots between the past and the present. I state the obvious, the obvious no one wants to identify as being so. The obvious about America is for all our greatness and diversity, we are ultimately a nation of fools, much more content with bickering about surface level symptoms than purging ourselves of a deeper sickness . America was founded on elitist principles which have permeated almost every aspect of our culture. That ideology is what causes well to do pale skinned white haired republicans on CNN news shows to whine like little bitches and scrutinize Obama’s every move as President of this country like he’s a house slave whose been allowed to touch his master’s fine china for the first time. That ideology is what causes black folk to be in an uproar over the charicterization of robots in Transformers 2 as “ghetto”, while the director claims there is nothing going on but a little creative liscence. That ideology is what causes the hatred behind that nutcase attempting to shoot up the Holocaust Museum. That ideology is what causes heterosexual people to vote agianst homosexual people they don’t even know having the same rights as themselves all because they don’t think the way they live thier lives is “right”. Why do black people always feel like someone is picking on us and our culture , when we are told time and time again that the racial bigotry of the past is loooong gone and it’s not what it looks like? Why is there so much ” I told you so” attitude coming from the one’s that obviously didn’t vote for Obama even though he won the election fair and square unlike Mr. Bush, and how does a country function properly when it’s legislative and executive branches can’t even agree on issues as pressing as healthcare? I don’t think I have ever seen so much speculation, dissection and critique of a Presidents views and policies. They didn’t sweat Bush nearly as hard and he was one of, if not the worst president in our nations history. Why did George Tiller have to die in his church because sombody thought he was a sinner and murderer for providing a presently legal service? Why are we still debating about abortion when people just find more creative, sickening and inhumane ways to take the lives of fully developed children everyday? Why is a pastor praying for Obama’s death? The only thing that can save us is co-existence and equality on all fronts, but it seems to me that we will always have to be either in the right orin the wrong. Christian right, muslim wrong. Straight right, gay wrong. Republican right, Democrat left. America right, everybody else wrong. Can’t we just agree to disagree and be done with it, or would it be too much to bear knowing someone across the street is living thier life just fine without having the same personal ideals as yourself. We are supposedly a Christian nation and what is the greatest commandment Jesus gave his disciples to follow? I got a lot of questions as you can see, anybody got some answers?
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/06/24/transformers-jivetalking-_n_220005.html
http://www.nola.com/news/index.ssf/2009/06/gretna_man_arrested_in_rape_an.html
http://www.cnn.com/2009/POLITICS/06/23/zelizer.obama.honeymoon/index.html
http://www.wbir.com/news/local/story.aspx?storyid=90814
Can’t you just hear the OOOH OOOH!!!! The international hypeness signifyer screaming ”It’s Saturday fool, what u gettin into?” Tell em Luda……
Filed under: Life....I wonder... | Tags: friday, i heart, life, may 2009, music videos
It’s a new month, now you’ve got a chance to do all the things you said you were gonna do in April, or do the things you can do now after you did what you was supposed to do. Enjoy the weather, buy yourself something nice, take a walk, but please do not waste the first on some bs…….besides going to work….
Hey young world!!!!! Guess what, ya girl just got “let go” today. I can’t really say I’m trippin off it though, I hated the job. It was a little part time situation down at the local beauty supply. I intially had my heart set on working at a Sally’s Beauty Supply. Unfortunately, they weren’t hiring but the spot down the street from my house was. I turned in my resume, they called me back, we got the rappin and that’s how it happened. I was geeked to say the least. The job didn’t pay that well but, I was paid in cash and without the hassle of being taxed. I also thought it would be pretty cool to work around beauty products since I like all things made for beautifying. I thought I found the perfect fit, I thought wrong. The owner, I’m gonna call her Ms. S, gave me the wrong vibe my first day on the gig. She wanted me to “closely watch” my co-worker and inform her of any suspciscious behavior I observed. One thing about me, I’m not a snitch. I also am not a personal watchdog. She has the place laced with security cameras and she checks them every night when she closes. To me that’s all the observation she needed. Plus, Ms. S was real hard up on us watching the customers as well, saying that people often steal from her and we should essentially take a person’s appearance as an indicator of shady motives. Lady you’re shop is in the semi-hood, shit happens and honest people might look a little sketchy. I’ve been followed in a store before, i’ve been clocked as someone who looked the part, so that whole judging a book by it’s cover thing really isn’t my style.
Tuesday afternoon, we got got for two lace front wigs. The perpetrator looked like Ms Noxema Jackson from To Wong Foo , see pic above.The chick convinced my manager to let her take two wigs outside to show her sister, supposedly waiting in the car. So I’m asked to escort her . When we get out front she starts pacing up and down through the parking lot claiming her sister had rode off somewhere. So she’s on the phone cursing her sister out and telling her how stupid she is for driving off . So we’re searching the parking lot looking for the car and in the midst of the commotion I handed her the wigs, dumb move on my part. So as we walk futher away from the store and spot the car in an adjacent parking lot, it starts to click that somthing ain’t right. She goes up to car holds the two wigs up to window asking, “Which one of these you want?”, looks at me one last time then hops in the car like jumpin jack flash and takes off. They pulled a jack move on me son. Stealing isn’t cool but hood rat antics do make me chuckle. People do the darndest things. Stealing a wig, really? You don’t a have a man who will let you hold some money to get you’re hair did, and is what you have growing out of your scalp so busted you need a 70$ lace front to get fresh? So many questions, not enough answers.
One of the things that worked my nerves about that job was working 9 and 10 hour shifts with no break. Ms. S had told us before she didn’t want us to leave , but delivery is expensive and 10 hours is a long time without any grub. Since she’s never there we usually get our lunch break , one way or another. Today I had a taste for Mickey D’s so I rode up the block to grab me and the manager a bite to eat. I come back no later that 15 minutes to find my manager looking distruaght on the phone. A minute or two after that Ms. S comes in looking pissed. The weave snatchers struck again. This time Noxema comes in the store, asks about a wig, and snatches it right out of my managers hands. I’m kind of nervous now, trying to hide the McDonald’s bags and then Ms. S turns to me. “Where were you!” I knew it was coming. Trying to cover my ass, I said I went out to the car to look for something. She’s all pissed now exclaiming that I needed to be in the store or this would’ve never happened. So then she waves me off telling me I need to go home. At this point, I’m done. I’ve been wanting to put in my two weeks notice for some time now and I’ve been increasingly unhappy as the weeks progressed. I knew it would’t be long until it all fell down. I mean I feel bad for not being there, but what are the odds the moment I step out to grab a bite the same chicks that stole the day before come by to steal again? Even if I had been there, what was I supposed to do? It was a snatch n dash, was I supposed to wrestle her to the ground or chase her? Ms. S gets in my face trying to drill me and that’s where things got a little ugly. She even inferred that I might have something to do with it since my prescence or lack thereof coincided with both incidents. On top of that she refused to pay me. To make it short and sweet Ms. S, perhaps you don’t make any money in the black hair care business because you don’t care about the business or the clientele, only how many 70 $ lacefronts and 90$ packs of milkyway you can sell. I know that nobody likes to be stolen from but the 210 dollars for those three wigs is chump change compared to all the items she has stocked and ready to high charge folks for. All in all I’m thankful to be out of there and I knew that wasn’t the place for me. Thanks for giving me the rest of my Saturday off!!! To you Ms. S
Update: Me and Ms. S have spoken and rationalized like human beings, I will be compensated, with minor deductions, and all is right in the world. I take back bout half of the animosity in this post
Filed under: Media Manipulation | Tags: career, college, debt, life, Life I wonder, Music Video, wu tang clan, wu-tang clan- cream
May 10 2008 was the date of my graduation from the prestigious Shaw Univeristy of Raleigh, North Carolina. For four years I thrusted myself headfirst into my studies and completed them, by obtaining my bachelor’s degree in Liberal Arts. I began as a Mass Communications major but decided I wanted a more diverse curriculum, so I switched. Now the only proplem I find myself running into is I’m out in the world with a degree that, according to my well-meaning family, wasn’t the right degree to get. For making money, that is. Sure there’s things I can do with the one I have but, I could’ve studied English so I can teach or Law so I can be a Lawyer. If I would’ve studied these subjects maybe I would be making more than my current O’Charley’s salary but, I didn’t want to. I studied philosophy and journalism because my passions were aroused, but I’ve learned the lesson that upper escaholon five figure salaries trump earnest learning anyday.
Maybe my post college funk has got me a little delusional but I find the thought of a suit and tie, average nine to five, dissapointing at best. Not saying that landing an occupation like that isn’t respectable or imppressive, it’s just what I envisioned for myself. It’s hard explaining to your mother that creatively inspiring work matters more than a fat pay check, but then again it’s hard rationalizing that sentiment when bills are due. The child in me feels lied to, like the adults in my life hyped up a college education as the skeleton key to all doors of oppurtunity. That’s only partly true. The truth as I’m beggining to see it now is all degrees aren’t created equal and the only ones that truly matter are the ones that snag you an above average salary. Now they tell me that If I really want to make it, I need to get my masters. Really, I would love to further my education but I’m just not feeling it too much this time around. I would go for the enviroment, for the mental stimulation and the transferrence of theories and point-of- views. I would go for the comraderie and knowledge that can be found on a campus, but what will be the cost? I just about had a nervous breakdown trying to work full time, fight the inevitable social and emotional battles of young adulthood, keep enough money in my account for rent, groceries and gas, all while racing toward commencement. Uncle Sam already has his hands deep in my pockets to get back that loan for my previous education so, the idea of taking on more debt at this stage in the game isn’t too appealing to me.
I don’t know about the bulk of my peers, but I feel had and strangely understanding all at the same time. When I look in the mirror and see these old tired eyes of mine, when my mom and I fight about the car payments, when I had to move back in with my grandma, I realized the meaning of death and taxes being the only things we will never escape. Creating a life for yourself is not cheap nor is it as great as you think it’s going to be at 16. Not to sound morbid, life can be a fun ride, it’s just the pressure of the dog eat dog, pull yourself up by your bootstraps, captalist, rat race mentality that get’s me down. We shouldn’t have to feel we must make enourmous amounts of money or attain a certain title just to be percieved as making it. In our present reality we have vivid depictions of the good life all around us, taunting us from VH1 speicals, commercials, and music videos.We shouldn’t have to choose between what we really want and what someone else tells us we need. I believe that we all have a calling that will lead us to all the things in this life we desire, we just have to be brave enough to follow it. The problem I find is most people will make you feel foolish for listening to the subtle voice from within instead of the blaring cat call of the almighty dollar. Do any of you other post- collegiates or twenty- somethings feel the same way ?
