Sunday, December 26, 2010

We Are Our Only Solution

Recently, St.Louis,Mo was given the ugly title of "Most dangerous city in America." Since that news report, it has been a free for all for senseless and vicious crimes in the area. Most notably, a killing at funeral, and just last night on CHRISTMAS, a teenager was killed and several others wounded outside of a nightclub. The violence has to stop. These kids need to see that shooting and looting aren't the way to the top. There are very few Real gangsters who are alive and doing well. Most who live in the street and get their money by harming others die the same way or get caught and spend their lives in prison. I want better for them for us. I have my own opinion on why the city is crumbling right in front us. The breakdown of the family structure,lack of religion, morals, respect, and false bravado shown and encouraged by older "thugs and gangsters" are the main source of blame. We need to be teaching the youth and showing them how to live, thrive and be successful without the use of a gun. Our older relatives did it and so can we.We all talk about how things need to change and they do, but how do we get started? We need to stop relying on government officials to just hand us a solution. Of course we all want a better life, but there are certain ways to go about things.If all of us who want to see change leave the neighborhood for greener pastures then it will be left to the vagrants that plaguing us now.Instead of hightailing it, let's stay around and start the change we want to see. It's sad to say, but they have their own agendas and we are not it. As many problems hindered the real intent of the Black Panther Party, they had good ideas at their core. They wanted help the under served and overlooked and in doing so, teach them to be better for themselves and their families. That's what it is going to take for us to reach out and save each other. We need to start being accountable for what is going on around us. Everyone is not against us, we are against ourselves. Better decision making skills about who we choose to lay and reproduce with are needed. Respect for our spiritual selves is needed. Strong communities need to be revived so it will be safe for us to raise a family and to sleep at night. Each new generation is supposed to be a link in the chain, our bridge to the future. Our bridge is falling and the chain has ceased to be. We can prove the racists and naysayers wrong.Yes, I said racists. That practice is still alive and well and they are rooting for our failure. Every shooting, every crime that we commit against each other puts a smile on their faces. If you read some of the commentary on the news sites you would be appalled, you would think we stepped into a time machine, and that progress had not been made. What many people fail to realize is that every crime and infraction done to us by us, is like a blemish that we can't get rid of. It's ammunition for their small minded comments. We can come together and make a change. We need to start taking action before things become even worse. The keyword is 'WE' I can not do it alone and neither can you, the village is needed so WE can heal.

Friday, December 24, 2010

Merry Christmas!


I am no scrooge. I thoroughly enjoy Christmas and everything that comes along with it. I like the snow,smiling faces, the niceness of people, the extreme family togetherness, gifts and of course the real reason for the holiday:the birth of the Savior. A lot of people have forgotten that He is actually the reason for all the celebrating.I like new shoes and clothes as much as the next gal and I admit it's easy to get caught up in the commercialism of it all. When you strip all of that away, it leaves you with CHRIST and that's the best gift one could have. In my opinion anyway. I could stand on my soapbox and proclaim "how things have changed, and how the commercialism of the holiday is sickening,etc..." but you've heard that before. This holiday is about family, whether yours is loud, dysfunctional, crazy, loud, silent, or separated every other day except for this one, cherish it. You didn't have to be blessed with them. No matter how much they get on your nerves and no matter if you count the minutes until you go back to your corner of the world. A part of you secretly loves this time of year. It makes you feel like a kid again. Reverting to childhood isn't always a bad thing. If you don't feel the way I do, then that's fine we're all entitled to our own beliefs, thoughts, and feelings. I'm not the best Christian but I do hold and keep some things sacred. Spirtuality, family,being two of them. I don't wish people a "Merry X-mas" for the simple reason if you take 'Christ' out now on HIS birthday,what makes you think He won't do the same to you when you two finally meet? These are just some things to think about on this beautiful day. Merry Christmas to you and yours!

Update

Hey there,

It's been a while since I've posted so I decided that I would do so. The last time I blogged, there was a busy weekend ahead of me. I got some of the natural hair things accomplished. My sister's hair turned out really well thanks to Erica at UHURU salon (S 39th St. Stl). I got some really good information,tips and products at the natural hair meeting. Now, the give away that was to take place did not happen because I live in the Midwest and we had a bit of a snow and ice situation that prevented it. Let's see what else has occurred... That's right, I had a BIRTHDAY! Another year older and slightly wiser,lol. My birthday is dangerously close to Christmas. This used to bother me when I was younger but now as long as people remember and are sincere with their wishes, I am happy. So I think that's all I have to update for now. I'll try and post more often.

Friday, December 10, 2010

A Stop on My Natural Journey

As you can tell from that fetching picture on your bottom right, I am a card carrying napptural girl. I am constantly in search of products and services that are both affordable and genuinely good. In my quest to embrace the crown that was given to me, I unknowingly brought my little sister with me. She has locs. They aren't long yet but they're hers and are in a constant of progression. I have ceased to try and re twist her locs myself, lol. I just couldn't get it to stay neat for more than a day. I was scouring other blog sites and just happened to find a list of natural salons in St. Louis. Tomorrow I will be taking my sis to one called UHURU. Uhuru is Swahili for freedom. The reviews I read were good so I hope our experience is good as the other reviewers were. I also have been invited to a Natural Hair Meetup tomorrow. This is where like follicled sisters meet and swap products, stories, and tips in hopes to encourage, uplift and extend each other, our selves and our hair respectively. On Sunday, there is another meeting this time of a more structured and promotional nature. It will be hosted by AVEDA. They want to demonstrate how well their products work on African-American hair. I am dragging my two best friends with me, no need to hold out on the free products and pampering. It promises to be a natural hair bonanza for me and my folk this weekend I will post the results of this trip sometime this weekend.

Sunday, December 5, 2010

Really?

"You ain't got no limo!" This was the sentenced yelled out in the middle of traffic last night on my way to a nightclub. It came from a gaggle of women in ONE limo, yes only one and while I'm not sure of actually how many were in there I am willing to wager that there were at least 5. This statement alone wouldn't have bothered me (besides the construction of the sentence, of course)if it hadn't been said after "That's the Black Label, I can't afford them." Really?! This is what you choose to say? You can't afford one of the hottest night spots in the city, but you and your cronies are proclaiming your hood richness for all of downtown to see in your white limo? It sounds like you've got your night life priorities out of order. You can rent a limo for the evening but can't go the club? Ladies always get in free at least until 11 and then drinks don't cost that much. This may seem like a trivial subject to discuss but I feel this is only the root of the problem. If you can't afford a full evening out, then what other parts of your life have you mismanaged? I am far from Rockefeller or Rocafella for that matter, but I do try and handle my finances so I can enjoy the little time off I do have. If I don't have the money then I stay home. See, this post isn't really about the ladies from last night, well not entirely anyway. It's dedicated to all the situations and people that I witness or hear about that make me ask "Really?" I get that everyone has their own way of doing things and that I am not meant to understand their way of life, but when your apparent misunderstanding of how some things in life work start to impair your judgement, maybe you should take a step back and honestly reevaluate the situation. You might make a better decision. This goes for crazy haircuts, obnoxious tattoos and basically all under thought decisions that lead to unsatisfactory results.
I understand that most of the time, things don't work out as planned but it's better to have some semblance of plan than just hoping this half mo hawk doesn't affect your chances at the interview. These are just some things to consider. The decision is definitely yours ultimately. Just remember these things for the next time you see something is making you question yourself, safety, or sanity. If the aforementioned women would have done so maybe they would have enjoyed The Label instead of yelling with such fervor as I drove into the parking lot of the club that you couldn't afford in my fully paid off car, "You ain't got no limo!"

Friday, December 3, 2010

Can We Talk?

Tevin Campbell used to croon back in the ‘90s, “Can we talk for a minute?” Things were a little different then, but the singer was on to something. Human connection.
If we could slow down long enough to notice each other and actually speak, instead of hiding behind our mobile phones and laptops, we could actually talk and stop doing that thing we do when we pretend we’re connecting with one another. We would inevitably be able to relate to others and become a better society.
In a day and age where technology is king, it seems that having face-to-face conversations has almost ceased to exist. Our world is in trouble. We have become a society that is accessible 24/7, no matter what we are doing or where we are, and we rely on text, Facebook “wall” posts, e-mail and most recently and disturbingly Twitter to do it. Even with all that, we still are not communicating. Gone are the days where one set out to spend time with another. Don’t be mistaken: Modern technology is great, but there’s nothing like good old-fashioned human interaction.
With the introduction of these inventions into society, we have drifted farther and farther apart. Statistics have shown the lack of communication is one of the leading contributors to the high rates of divorce. The advancements have also proven to be a reason so many parents don’t know what the heck is going on with their children. No one is talking.
Someone can respond to a “How are you?” text with “I’m fine,” and because there’s no face-to-face interaction, the fact that their world is closing in on them is completely lost on you because eyes are the windows to the souls. There are no eyes in texts.
These creations may have made contacting each other easier, but are slowly creating nothing but cold strangers, no matter how much we text each other. Look out onto the street on any given afternoon and see how many people are looking up, engaged in the world around them. There won’t be that many. Most of them will be engrossed in the message they just received, forgetting that there is a breathing world right before them that does not need to be plugged in to work.

Red Light Special

Two of your favorite artists have just shaken up the Internet and ignited the airwaves with their new singles and videos. The tones are very mature Raheem Devaughn’s “She’s Single” and Keri Hilson’s “The Way You Love Me.” They have all the ingredients to be hits and not just become hot topics on your daily news. These two video showcase the racier side of the aforementioned artists. Mr. Devaughn easily transitions from socially conscious to flawlessly pleasing your woman. “Break out those 12 -count, gold packed magnums, I’m going to make her melt like ice cubes.” Ms. Hilson is simply letting her edgier side be shown to the masses by boldly screaming “I have the type of p---y that’ll keep you out of the streets.” In a recent interview with Perez Hilton Keri says that "this song is for those times when we (women) don’t want to be held or caressed. I want you ‘thug’ me. The sentiment is there whether I use a curse word or not. ” Raheem recently told VIBE.com “I wanted to create an image that was tasteful, but cutting edge, provocative, grown… real,” Mission accomplished. While both videos command attention, I am willing to bet that Keri’s will be scrutinized more. Raheem’s video is intended for promotional use and Keri’s will be banned from music video stations soon. As we know, music is still very much a boys’ club and full of double standards. A man be he a singer or rapper, can flaunt his conquests and sexual prowess without fear of judgment, but once a woman decides she is comfortable with her sexuality it’s an issue. “She’s setting a bad example; she’s slut, whore…” and every other negative term one can think of. This couldn't be further from the truth. Both are free to express how they live through their art. Hence the phrase “art imitates life.” Contrary to that thought the question of How does one go from “Pretty Girls Rock” to “The Way You Love Me” and “Bulletproof” and “She’s Single” in such a short amount of time ? The answer: Easy. It’s the growth and progression of art and an artist. Both artists have displayed their love of the opposite sex in other songs and the events that take place between them (albeit a little more subtle depending on the track). They both may be seen as overtly sexual but that was the intention. All of an artist’s work is not and should not be for all ages. The songs themselves are what we’ve come to expect from artists like them. They are well written, sensual, raw, real, contain catchy lyrics, bed rocking and dance floor ready beats (Devaughn and Hilson respectively) and yet beautiful in their simplicity. They have all the ingredients to be hits and not just become hot topics on your daily news. These themes cover adult subject matter and should be treated as such. These two videos will no doubt be downloaded virally and talked about incessantly but just remember music is what feelings sound like, and some feelings need to be sounded out more explicitly than others.
Links to both videos are below:
http://live.drjays.com/index.php/2010/12/02/raheem-devaughn-gets-steamy-with-shes-single/ http://www.worldstarhiphop.com/videos/video.php?v=wshhNQx41sxbkr7BJLyu