God will not look you over for medals, degrees or diplomas but for scars.
 -- Elbert Hubbard

Unless it is mad, passionate love

Unless it is mad, passionate, extraordinary love, it’s a waste of time. There are too many mediocre things in life—love should not be one of them.
--author unknown




Every time I google images for  'black passionate love', this above picture always comes up amongst others and this is the most passionate of the pics I find, time and time again. I know you've probably seen this pic in my blog before,  with other love quotes, but this pic always make me smile.

Wisconsin Lawmaker: If You Are Being Beaten, Just Remember the Things You Love About Your Husband

If you need any further proof that we are in the midst of a full-on patriarchal biblical-religious war on women, a Wisconsin lawmaker is happy to provide it.

According to Yahoo News, Wisconsin Rep. Don Pridemore helpfully suggests that, rather than divorcing an abusive spouse, you should try to remember the things you love about the guy while he is beating you up.
In Wisconsin -- yes, the same state where lawmakers have introduced a bill penalizing single mothers for being unmarried -- a Republican state representative has come out against divorce for any reason -- even domestic abuse.
Instead of leaving an abusive situation, women should try to remember the things they love about their husbands, Representative Don Pridemore said. "If they can re-find those reasons and get back to why they got married in the first place it might help," he told a local news station.

Yahoo continues:

Pridemore -- who, coincidentally, is a co-sponsor of Republican state Senator Glenn Grothman's "being single causes child abuse" bill as well as a controversial voter ID bill that was ruled unconstitutional earlier this week.
Grothman now asserts that not only is single parenthood a factor in child abuse, women in particular are to blame for it.
Basically, if you are female, Mr. Grothman and Mr. Pridemore feel you are worthless once you leave the delivery room. According to Yahoo, "while [Pridemore] thinks women are capable of caring for a family "in certain situations," fathers are the only ones who provide structure and discipline. If they don't grow up with married biological parents, Pridemore says, "kids tend to go astray."

Let me get this straight. Let him beat you, let him beat your children, whatever it goes on in a house is just fine as long as you stay married.

Listening to....

Happy Birthday Mariah Carey!

Chaka Khan unites Hollywood celebs for Trayvon Martin tribute music video

Fear Kills, Love Heals

Chaka Khan just released the song "Super Life" along with a 'We Are The World'-esque tribute music video for Trayvon Martin.

In the video, which lasts a little over 4 minutes, a mix of recognizable celebrities and everyday people are seen wearing black hoodies and t-shirts that read "Super Life, Fear Kills, Love Heals." Eric Benet, Kelly Price, Luke James, and V. Bozeman joined Chaka Khan for the vocal track, while celebrities like Angela Bassett, Courtney B. Vance, Kimberly Elise, Loretta Devine, Eva Pigford, Terry Crews and Boris Kodjoe appear in hoodies as they are heard saying "I am Trayvon."

story of my life

Baby it's me, I'm the same as you
A dreamer who dreams that's a dream come true
And all my life all I've wanted to meet someone just like you
Someone just like you who wants to love me, too
Someone just like you...

Happy Birthday, Miss Ross!

Diana Ross turned 68 today

 My top two favorite songs happen to be by Diana,  Endless Love ( which I sang as a duet with a Deborah Harris in college for our final exam for our voice class)   and Love Hangover

Listening to...

The Empowerment Experiment

President Obama: 'If I had a son, he'd look like Trayvon'

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

They don't get gotten

It never quite reaches the top

 It  almost gets there. But the further I go, the heavier it gets. It shouldn't be this hard. Should it?

It was Cocaine

that did her in.

Whitney Houston's cause of death: Accidental drowning, cocaine use, heart disease

(CBS/AP) Whitney Houston's death was caused by accidental drowning, but heart disease and cocaine use were contributing factors, according to coroner's officials.

The announcement Thursday ends weeks of speculation about what killed the Grammy-winning singer on Feb. 11, at the age of 48.
She had cocaine in her system when she died, the coroner added. Marijuana, Xanax, Flexeril and Benadryl were also found in her system, but did not contribute to the singer's death. No foul play or trauma is suspected.
Houston was found submerged in the bathtub of her room at the Beverly Hilton Hotel, the day before the Grammy Awards.
Several bottles of prescription medications were found in her hotel room, but coroner's officials said they weren't in excessive quantities.
Coroner's spokesman Craig Harvey says cocaine metabolites were found in Houston's system, and it was listed as a contributing factor in her death. He says the results indicated Houston was a chronic cocaine user.
She was laid to rest in New Jersey on Feb. 19, the day after she was mourned at a star-studded funeral. Her will leaves everything to her 19-year-old daughter, Bobbi Kristina.

An Eliot Moment

 

And I will show you something different from either your shadow at morning striding behind you or your shadow at evening rising to meet you; I will show you fear in a handful of dust.

--T S Elliot

Please keep Travyon Martin's family and loved ones in your prayers.Our sons could be the next Travyon Martin. Our nephews could be the next Travyon Martin. Our friends' sons could be the next Travyon Martin. You could be the next Travyon Martin. On sunday morning I was followed by the cops for about 15 minutes in my car rental. They were driving around in my neighborhood at 730 in the morning and without provocation they approached me and asked to see my Drivers  License. They went back to their cop car and I had to wait for about 10 minutes before they approached with my Drivers License, and before I could ask why they stopped me, they said  I was free to go. 

I could be the next Travyon Martin.

All I'd have to do is leave my home and be black, which means  looking suspicious, angry, and confrontational. White people already accuse me of looking angry. Even when I'm in  a good mood.

Thursday Flashback

Choose Love

This world is hard. It has sharp edges and points that cut. It'll make you choose between love, money and sleep. Choose love each time and sleep when you can, money - only when you must.

Because this world is hard. And at times, it is too hard, for me.

President Obama uses sign language during impromptu greeting with student

President Obama was shaking hands with supporters after an energy policy event on March 15 with Maryland Governor Martin O'Malley when he had an impromptu sign language exchange with a deaf man that was caught on video.


The website Distriction was first to report on the candid exchange, which was captured on video by a 26-year-old Prince George's Community College student named Stephon, who is deaf. As Obama made his way down the line of supporters, Stephon used American Sign Language to tell the president, "I am proud of you." In the video, you can see Obama momentarily pause at the unexpected greeting. But he quickly responds by signing, "Thank you." A second deaf student then signs, "I love you." Obama smiles back at the student and shakes her hand before continuing down the line.
"When I shook his hand it did not feel like he was superior to me," Stephon said. "He was just a humble man," Stephon told Distriction. As H. Hoover writes on the site, the rare exchange was a humanizing moment for the office of the president and would have been so regardless if the signing commander-in-chief had been a Republican or a Democrat.
In a follow-up video, Stephon recounted his experience. He even wrote up a transcript for those of us not versed in American Sign Language. I've included some excerpts from his remarks after the jump.
Back during his first presidential campaign in 2008, President Obama also signed "Thank you" to another deaf campaign supporter. You can learn some of the 100 basic American Sign Language gestures.

PARTIAL TRANSCRIPT, via Distriction:


"Hello, I would love to share my experience; something that I will not forget for rest of my life. Today was a special day for me, and I was preparing for it. It was announced yesterday, March 14, for everyone to receive tickets to see none other than the President of the United States, Barack Obama! "
"The moment I will never forget was when he looked at me. He gave me a chance to talk to him. It was like he was waiting for me to say something. I took the moment and signed 'I am proud of you,' and his response was 'Thank u' in sign language back!"
"Oh my gosh! I was like wow! He understood me after I said I was proud of him. It was so amazing…I was just speechless. Right after he thanked me, he smiled at another deaf lady who signed 'I love you.'"
"When I shook his hand it did not feel like he was superior to me. He was just a humble man. I am just impressed by him and know that he will have my vote and he will win second term without a doubt. Yeah, I feel safe to have him for another term."


I LOVE my  President. 

When did these become weapons?

De Niro's first lady remarks draw rebuke: Gingrich insists that Obama apologize

Showbiz figures venturing into presidential politics are getting a reminder that jokes and stray gestures can draw laughs one minute and polarization the next.
Click Here

The latest such figure is Robert De Niro who along with his wife, Grace Hightower, hosted first lady Michelle Obama for a fund-raiser at their Manhattan eatery on Monday evening.
In introductions to the first lady before she addressed the crowd of about 85 people, De Niro quipped, "Callista Gingrich. Karen Santorum. Ann Romney. Now do you really think our country is ready for a white first lady?" According to a pool report from the evening, the line drew a roar of laughs, and De Niro added, "Too soon, right?"

The joke, coming from a figure who's normally reticent in media interviews, drew a sharp rebuke from Newt Gingrich, who has staked part of his campaign on railing against media and Washington elites.

He charged that De Niro's remark was divisive and called on President Obama to apologize.
"What De Niro said last night was inexcusable, and the president should apologize for him. It was at an Obama fund-raiser. It is exactly wrong; it divides the country," Gingrich said, according to CNN.
He also drew a comparison to the flap over Rush Limbaugh's remarks, suggesting that those on the left are quick to criticize conservative figures yet do not do so when it comes to liberals. But he went on to seize on De Niro as an out-of-touch movie star, familiar territory for many Republicans who have long targeted Hollywood's embrace of Democrats. Others who attended all or part of the De Niros' event included Starr Jones, Angela Bassett  and Ben Stiller. Beyonce and Harvey Weinstein also were spotted.

"De Niro is rich enough he probably doesn't notice the price of gasoline," Gingrich said, per CNN. "He's successful enough he probably doesn't notice the unemployment rate. As the Hollywood actor, he might well be shortsighted enough he doesn't understand what it might do to our children and our grandchildren."
A campaign spokeswoman for the first lady called De Niro's joke "inappropriate."
A spokesman for De Niro had no immediate comment.
Last week, Cee Lo performed at a fund-raiser for President Obama in Atlanta and, somewhat humorously, gave the audience the finger. That triggered an entire segment on Sean Hannerty's Fox News show in which commentators talked of how appropriate that was for a performance where the president was appearing.
It won't be the last time a showbiz figure steps into the partisan fray, particularly as Obama's campaign taps entertainment figures to draw crowds at fund-raisers and campaign appearances. One co-chair of his re-election campaigns, Eva Longoria, who is focusing on women and Latino voters, appeared on MSNBC on Monday and slammed Mitt Romney's contention that his decisive victory in Puerto Rico means he has a shot at drawing heavily from the Hispanic vote. Showbiz figures on the right, such as  Ted Nugent, who is endorsing Romney, also have drawn their share of criticism.

Tu Comprende?

Who's loving you?

Will The Real Mitt Romney Please Stand Up (feat. President Obama)

God's Three Answers

Note to self

Life is too short to waste any amount of time on wondering what other people think about you. In the first place, if they had better things going on in their lives, they wouldn't have the time to sit around and talk about you. What's important to me is not others' opinions of me, but what's important to me is my opinion of myself.
― C. JoyBell C.

I got sunshine on a cloudy day

Did I stutter?

Colossians 3:22

An atheist group put up this billboard in a racially diverse neighborhood in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, angering Civil Rights activists who called for its removal:
The atheists behind the sign said they were trying to draw attention to the state House’s recent designation of 2012 as “The Year of the Bible” — an action by lawmakers that the atheists have called offensive.
But there were concerns that erecting such a billboard is playing with fire.
“If this had been Detroit, there would have been a riot,” said Aaron Selvey of Harrisburg, who visited the billboard site last Wednesday (March 7), the day after the sign was put up and later torn down.
“We don’t want things to escalate into violence or community tension, so we try to address situations like that right away,” added Shannon Powers, spokeswoman for the Pennsylvania Human Relations Commission. “We would not recommend tearing down because it could lead to escalation. It hasn’t, and we’re tremendously thankful for that.”
The billboard was quickly replaced with an ad for the Harrisburg Symphony Orchestra.


What do you think of the billboard?

Another Flashback

In order to find her

My first attempt

at making fondant for one of my cakes. I know it looks plain! I saw a recipe for it on youtube wednesday night and I had to make it for a cake I was asked to make for a friend's engagement party on tomorrow.

White Chcolate Raspberry Cake

Friday Flashback

Lets get justice for Trayvon Martin

Unarmed Black Teen Gunned Down By Neighborhood Watch Leader After Being Deemed Suspicious

Trayvon “Trey” Martin, 17, of Miami was visiting his father living in a gated community in Sanford, Florida. He had just left a local 7-11 after buying a snack and was on his way home around 7:00 PM on February 26. George Zimmerman, a 26-year-old member of the local neighborhood watch, saw Martin and called police to report a suspicious man in the community. He tailed Martin in his car. He had a loaded pistol on him. The police told Zimmerman they would handle it.

For some reason, Zimmerman didn’t obey. Minutes later, a number of local residents called police to report a fight. A gunshot was heard. Martin died 70 yards from the house he was staying in. Zimmerman was arrested and then released. He was carrying the pistol legally and has claimed that he was acting in self-defense.
Said Sanford Police Chief Bill Lee Jr. in an interview with the Huffington Post, “For some reason he (Zimmerman) felt that Trayvon, the way that he was walking or appeared seemed suspicious to him.”
Ah, yes. The way he was walking and his appearance were deemed “suspicious.” Oh, did I forget to mention that Martin is black? And that the gated community, called Retreat at Twin Lakes, is predominantly white?
Martin’s parents are demanding the police make an arrest and release the 911 call. They are expected to file a suit in state court on Friday.
“Zimmerman, an adult, had a gun. Trayvon Martin, a 17-year-old, had Skittles. No way you can say self-defense,” said the family’s attorney, Benjamin Crump.
Zimmerman was a twenty six year old man in a car following a seventeen year old kid at night. He has all the power in this situation. He is older, he is more familiar with the area, he is armed, and he is inside a car. The only way an altercation occurs is if he gets out of his car. If it’s night and I’m walking alone and a car begins to follow me, I am going to be terrified of that car and it’s driver. I can completely understand a young kid reacting aggressively in that situation because that’s a terrifying situation to find yourself in. The only person who should be held responsible for any alteracation that occured is the adult who thought it appropriate to follow a young kid around in the dark after the police dispatch explicitly told him not to do so and then NOT GOT OUT OF HIS CAR.

If you come across a petition to seek justice for his death, Please sign it! 

Some days feel like just another stone in the path. If I don't make days like these special, I will never remember them. Here's to making it count; Every damn day.



--Alex George

Here is the world. Beautiful and terrible things will happen. Don’t be afraid.

---Arshad Al-Ouadim (to his son, my friend Alex Al-Ouadim when he left Malaysia to attend Medical School at UCLA)

Funny, true though

I did it before and I can do it again

love again.


get up.


clean up the scrapes.


bandage the cuts and wounds.


move on.


start over from scratch.


love again.


have the feelings reciprocated.


start over from scratch,

&


love again.

The Sweetest Thing

The sweetest thing
I've ever known,
was like the kiss on the collar bone...


        --The Sweetest Thing,   Lauryn Hill

            Fifteen years ago, a 24-year-old screenwriter-director named Theodore Witcher created one of the definitive romantic dramas of the 1990s, Love Jones. Laying Chicago's hip spoken-word set against a backdrop of rain-soaked scenery and a tumultuous courtship, the story of characters Nina Moseley and Darius Lovehall, played by Nia Long and Larenz Tate, became legendary.

            Unlike the gritty black films opening the 1990s like 1991's Boyz n the Hood and 1993's Menace II Society, 1997's Love Jones depicted an artistic niche of African-American life. Instead of having his characters struggle with "the man," Witcher wanted them to wrestle with themselves and their careers, as humanistic beings trying to get over their personal shortcomings. In hindsight, the first-time director created a mold from which many black romantic dramas draw and presented an idea of love that still lingers, like America's undying affection for Cliff and Clair Huxtable.

--courtesy theroot.com

            One of my  favorite songs ever, frrom one of my favorite movies-

Def Poetry- Shihan This type love

towhomitmayconcern

Nothing is permanent in this wicked world. Not even our troubles.

Note to self

Psalms 34: 17-18

On today

in 1773,

Jeanne Baptiste Pointe de Sable founded the settlement now known as Chicago, Illinois.

A black man of Haitian and French descent, he settled on the banks of the Chicago River in about 1773, when the land that would become Illinois was still a part of the British Empire. Married to an Indian woman, DuSable operated a thriving trading post and farm near where present-day Michigan Avenue crosses the Chicago River. DuSable's post served Native Americans, British, and American explorers, as well as Frenchmen who stayed on in the territory even after their armies' defeat in the French and Indian War. Sometime around 1800 DuSable left his settlement for Missouri. Historians do not know why he departed the Illinois country. Nonetheless, DuSable's pioneering effort made him the first non-Native American to settle the area that would become the metropolis of Chicago, Illinois.

The intrepid frontiersman had the foresight to recognize the economic potential of the Great Lakes site. He also had diplomacy necessary to befriend the area Native-Americans who considered him one of their own. Du Sable spoke several Indian dialects, as well as English, French, and Spanish. He and his family were detained by the British for five years during the American Revolution because of their American and French sympathies. Despite this, the British spoke highly of du Sable's character, as did many others. In 1784, du Sable reclaimed his Chicago property and he and his family lived there until 1800. In 1796, du Sable's granddaughter was the first child born in Chicago.

In 1800, du Sable sold his Chicago property and returned to Peoria where he lived for a decade. Du Sable moved to St. Charles, Missouri in 1813, where his granddaughter lived. He died on August 28, 1818, the year Illinois became a state, and is buried in a small Catholic cemetary in St. Charles.

Listening to ...

Florida Republican representatives debate Jay-Z '99 Problems' lyrics

Two Republican representatives in Florida recently got into a debate over the correct quoting of Jay-Z's "99 Problems." The dispute took place during an argument over an amendment to the Florida State Code that would allow certain type of hearsay as evidence in criminal cases.

Representative Allan B. Williams quoted the line from the famous song saying, "I know my rights, so you will need a warrant for that. Aren't you as sharp as a tack? Are you a lawyer or something?" In response, speaker Dean Cannon corrected him, saying that the second line is said by the officer, not Jay-Z. He also advised Williams that if he is going to quote Jay-Z, to make sure that the lyrics are correct.

Note to self

On Today,

in 1997,

 Christopher Wallace, aka  Nortorious B.I.G.aka Biggie Smalls is killed in a drive-by shooting in Los Angeles. He was 24.

 

'The Road We've Traveled': Trailer For New Documentary Highlights President Obama's First-Term Accomplishments

Were Rush’s Slurs Against Black America Not Cancellation Worthy? - by Kirsten West Savali

I received an extremely interesting email this morning pertaining to the train-wreck that is Rush Limbaugh:
Hi,


Rush Limbaugh’s radio show is a part of the Clear Channel lineup. Let’s send a message to them that no longer can they allow Rush Limbaugh the opportunity to spew hateful and sometimes derogatory comments. Sign the petition and help get this done.
That’s why I signed a petition to Communications / Media Relations: and Communications/Media Relations, which says:
Sandraa Fluke, a law student at Georgetown University who was advocating for health insurance plans to cover the cost of contraception, became the target of a series of attacks by Limbaugh. Besides calling her a “slut,” he also called her a “prostitute,” said that he wanted her to make sex tapes and post them online, and speculated that she only had a problem paying for contraception because she was having “so much sex.”
We who support Ms. Fluke, find that this is a serious offense enacted by Mr. Limbaugh and we ask that his radio show be terminated.”
Will you sign this petition? Click here:

Thanks!

Now, I wholeheartedly agree. Limbaugh is a waste of air space and an embodiment of the hateful rhetoric and dangerous unsubstantiated “facts” that divide the United States and vilify sub-sets of the population.
There is just one small problem here though:
Where is all of this outrage when Limbaugh relentlessly attacks Black America? Yes, Black America, as a monolith. When he throws out generic, racist stereotypes to define all Black people, who protested? More importantly, how many advertisers jumped ship?

Not one.
Where was the outrage when he called first lady Michelle Obama “uppity” and supported her being booed at a Nascar event? Where was the boycott when he suggested that she was overweight, unattractive and hypocritical for advocating for healthy living when “she obviously doesn’t follow her own dietary advice.”
Why weren’t sponsors and listeners and Republicans angry when he referred to the 44th President of the United States of America as a “bi-racial oreo?” Where were the emails and petitions when he depicted him as a burglar breaking into the home of a wealthy white man?
Advertisers had no problem selling beds and flowers between monologues by recurring character, Bo Snerdley, who touts that he is certified to speak on Black issues because he has a “heavy dose of pure, unadulterated organic slave blood” before proceeding to speak with perfect diction then shifting to “ebonics” so the “hood” can understand him?
What about when Limbaugh told a Black woman caller to “take the bone out her nose and call him back?”
Or how about when he said that the NFL looked like a shoot-out between the Bloods and the Crips without guns?
Or when he said that Black people are only “12 percent of the population, [so] who the hell cares?”
The list goes on and on, but the recurring theme is that jokes and insults about Black Americans are perfectly acceptable, but when you start calling people “sluts” we have a problem.
Something is seriously wrong with that picture.
And no, it’s not the fact that a white savior more cliché than anything that could have been conceptualized in “Cadillac Records” or “The Help” didn’t swoop in and save Black America from big, bad Rush. The dual issues staring us in the face are immense and telling of the psychological damage we’ve experienced in this country:
1.) We have allowed ourselves to become so apathetic and marginalized that no one takes us seriously in leading roles outside of villains, crackheads, gang-bangers and baby mamas. We’re always called in for the assist like the good ole’ Black supporting casts of yore.
2.) We’re so used to being beaten and whipped from the plantation to the polls to the airwaves, that we just take the blows and keep going – because they bounce off the scars.
Statistics are thrown our way on affirmative action, on Black-on-Black crime, on Black children born out of wedlock, on incarceration, healthcare and education disparities, yet, when it gets down to the get down, there are no rallies planned on our behalf – unless it surrounds a government sanctioned murder (Troy Davis) in one the most backwards, racist states in the Union.
I have seen more Black folks posting FB statuses and Twitter updates screaming “down with Rush” over his Fluke comments than I ever have about anything he’s said previously. Just as his apology reeks of political and corporate strong-arming, so too does this pseudo-outrage on Ms. Fluke’s behalf.
Sadly, as November 2012 draws near and Obama has backpedaled on his firm pro-choice stance of 2008, he even issued a political phone call to Ms. Fluke – which he made sure was reported – to say that Rush’s comments were “reprehensible” and that thoughts of his daughters motivate him to make the call:
“One of the things I want them to do as they get older is engage in issues they care about, even ones I may not agree with them on. I want them to be able to speak their mind in a civil and thoughtful way. And I don’t want them attacked or called horrible names because they’re being good citizens,” he said at a White House news conference Tuesday.
Apparently, attacks on his wife and mother of his children weren’t enough to make him speak out, but when a politically advantageous phone-call presents itself, he chose to ride it ‘til the wheels fall off.
Again, this is not saying that we shouldn’t be engaged in the call for Limbaugh’s cancelation, nor am I saying that we should turn a blind eye to the degradation of others. What I am saying is we have reached a pivotal point in history where we have to start pooling our collective economic and political power and use it to progress our own communities and self-interests, while expecting the same level of outrage and engagement from other members of society when atrocities are committed against us in the name of freedom of speech.

When Roland Martin made his little stupid Twitter jokes, many of us, myself included, supported GLAAD, when issues about women’s subjugation arise, many of us support NOW. As Reverend Al Sharpton and the National Action Network recreate our march from Selma to Montgomery to commemorate “Bloody Sunday” 1965, we also extend our arms to the Latino community as they fight the inhumane anti-immigration laws that amount to nothing more than a requirement to present “freedom papers” — yet tensions between our two communities remain at an all-time high.

We have to be careful. We have to be careful that we don’t keep bending our knees and using our strength to uplift others without expecting any reciprocity. We have to be careful that we don’t assimilate to the point where everyone else’s problems become our own, but when the issues are Black-specific, we find ourselves standing alone.
Rush Limbaugh is scheduled to be inducted into the Hall of Famous Missourians in May. Joining him in receiving this honor will be Dred Scott. During Scott’s trial in 1857, Chief Justice Roger B. Taney ruled that ” negroes had no rights which the white man was bound to respect; and that the negro might justly and lawfully be reduced to slavery for his benefit.”
Not surprisingly, Rush Limbaugh’s views over 150 years later are not much different:
“I mean, let’s face it, we didn’t have slavery in this country for over 100 years because it was a bad thing. Quite the opposite: slavery built the South. I’m not saying we should bring it back; I’m just saying it had its merits. For one thing, the streets were safer after dark.”
The St. Louis Post-Dispatch reported that in 2009 and I don’t recall a peep from sponsors.
Do you?
Bottom line:
We need to stop piggybacking on everyone else’s grievances as a way of getting restitution for our own, because it’s not coming.
More importantly, we have to stop asking who’s going to fight for us, if we’re not willing to fight for ourselves.

--Kirsten West Savali


“We need to stop piggybacking on everyone else’s grievances as a way of getting restitution for our own, because it’s not coming.”
That was one of the realest statements ever made. I agree with this article.

Your thoughts

Just a thought

This should come as no surprise to us that those that are selected to vote for the nominees of the Academy Awards, for the most part- are Caucasian. Only 2 % are Black, and less than 2 % are Latino. We tend to gravitate towards those to whom we can  relate. Some kids gew up listening to American Bandstand, and I grew up listening to Soul Train. I only watched American Bandstand when there was an R&B musical guest that I liked.  I remember, how, in the 90s I used to watch Martin, Living Single, and New York Undercover, while all my white friends watched Friends, Cheers, and Seinfeld. I thought Martin was funny as hell, and when I asked my white friends why they didn't watch it or any of the shows I watched, they all said they couldn't relate to them.  As a result, generally, white people will gravitate toward those movies and actors  that can speak to them. And the majority of them are the judges of the most coveted award given to actors/ directors, cinematographers, etc. 

During my lifetime, who has been deserving of an Academy Award  and has been ignored?
Cicely Tyson- The Autobiography of Miss Jane Pittman
Angela Bassett-What's Love Got to Do With It.
Diahann Carroll-Claudine
Diana Ross- Lady SingsThe Blues
Viola Davis-The Help,  and Doubt
Taraji P. Henson- The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
James Earl Jones- Claudine
Whoopi Goldberg-The Color Purple
Angela Bassett-Waiting to Exhale
Sophie Okonedo -Hotel Rwanda
Adepero Oduye- Pariah
Kimberly Elise- in every single movie I have ever seen her in ( 'For Colored'Girls', 'Beloved', 'Diary of a Mad Black Woman' , 'Woman Thou Art Loosed.' Few people can pull off “downtrodden” like her.

Will Smith – Six Degrees of Separation, and The Pursuit of Happyness
Danny Glover - The Color Purple
Laurence Fishburne-What's Love Got to Do With It.
Samuel L Jackson- Do The Right Thing
Derek Luke- Antwone Fisher
Djimon Hounsou-Amistad
Michael Wright -The Five Heartbeats
Thandie Newton-Beloved
Ving Rhames  - Rosewood
Lynn Whitfield-  in any movie she has ever been in.

   Do you agree? Am I missing anyone?

If you cannot inspire a woman with love of you, fill her above the brim with love of herself; all that runs over will be yours.


--Charles Caleb Colton

mom used to say

and she still does say to me and my sister:

"Touch not my annointed.
 I'm a child of God, and you're my children. No one's going to mistreat, disrespect, or harm you without negative consequences.You don't even have to do anything. God is taking care of it for you."


Just a thought.

Note to self

When a man's ways please the Lord, he maketh even his enemies to be at peace with him.


       --Proverbs 16:7

I'm thinking about the story of Samson & Delilah (Judges 13-16). if you've never read it..it's a must read and a whole other entry in & of itself! but the piece i connect to Proverbs 16:7 is that Samson had many enemies since we learned of his birth. but an angel came to Samson's mother and gave her promises about what Samson was going to do as a man according to God's will. Regardless of the  drama that Samson would go through, he was given a mission.
When i look at the first part i wonder: at what point is it that God took pleasure in Samson's life? Samson was quite arrogant. Then he fell in love with a whore & lost everything. But then Judges 16:28 happened. Then Judges 16:29-30 happened. Samson admitted that he could not have his strength without God and ultimately fulfilled his mission but not without experiencing death.

Samson's death is much like Jesus's death on our behalf. A request. An invitation to a new life by allowing ourselves to be dead to our own desires. FINALLY Samson got the message and defeated his enemies just as God has intended for him to do.

reading Samson's story may appear like a sad one..he did die...but its evident that God's Word & words have sincerity & meaning. His messages for us are to lead us in the right direction and not the direction of death that we, mindlessly, define as life.
Samson's story continues to be one of my favorites. it's a constant reminder about love, self love, God's love & the pursuit of life and our dreams. i didn't think i'd get that from a small & short Scripture i just stumbled over today.


thought: learn from Samsom & avoid making similar mistakes but reminded that God's pleasure is the primary. those in opposition to God's plan for you will make many Delilah like moves...be careful.

To love is to receive a glimpse of heaven.

--Karen Sunde

:)

 Real love. When the only person in a room of people, is the one you're looking at. This  pic, and smiliar pics where The President and The First Lady look like they can't wait to be alone,  always make me smile.

One word.

One word frees us of all the weight and pain in life. That word is love.


--Sophocles

Stupidity

 So,  about an hour ago I'm in the elevator at work heading down stairs, and a white guy and 2 white women get on at the 5th floor. The white guy looks at me like he knows me and smiles and says hi, and I say hi back. Then he says:

"Oh, I'm sorry, you look like Will."
In this building of maybe 1,000 people, there are about 7 black men. Before I could open my mouth, one of the women says :

"Will, you're in my Diversity meetings.We meet every tuesday afternoon on Diversity projects!"

My response:

"Will is about 6'3" and tall and lean,and light-complextioned and wears glasses. And in his 20s. I'm 5'8" and I'm not lean,I'm dark skinned and I don't wear glasses. And I'm in my 40s. We look as different as night and day. If you think we look alike, then I don't even know what to say."

They all gave me that blank look of awkwardness, like they couldn't wait to get to the first floor to get away from me since I embarrassed them. I'm sure the rest of the elevator ride was uncomfortable for them, but I didn't care.

The situation reminds me of an episode on Good Times where JJ was accused of robbery, as he fit the description of the criminal, but when the criminal was discovered, it was a young, very short,  fat black boy, and the cops told Florida and James "it was an honest error. Anyone would have made that mistake."

Listening to...

Call On Me (Album Version)

Listening to:

on today

Rebecca Davis Lee Crumpler graduated from the New England Female Medical College today March 1, 1864 and became one of the only two African-American women to practice medicine in New York

i don't care about those other months