What’s going on, y’all? I have been so wrapped up, so caught up, that I completely forgot my OSF post yesterday…sorry!
Anyway, here’s my contribution. When I’m sitting in traffic, I want something that makes me move blaring out of my stereo. And there is nothing like a little Marvin Gaye to make you want to move your hips. I put this song on full blast and wiggle my way through traffic.
Enjoy!
Happy Friday!
The theme this week is “It’s Cold Outside.”
Snuggle up to this one, y’all…
httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3Wj8Yxa309E
Happy Friday y’all…
The theme for this week is Not Another Sad Love Song.
Sigh.
Everyone got their glasses of brown liquor? Check. Is the room dark? Check. Is there a box of tissue within arm’s reach? Check.
Alright…here we go:
and one more…we lost Teddy Pendergrass a year ago today (January 13). There is no one that matches his voice…
I could not let the day escape without posting this vid. Last night, at an appearance at the University of Arizona, President Obama delivered an excellent speech eulogizing those that were killed, and lifting those of us in the country who have heavy hearts. I watched and cheered, for this was the President I voted for, and believe in still.
If you missed it, or haven’t caught it yet, you can view it below.
I subscribe to the theory that a writer owes the world that reads his/her words three things:
The truth is easy. It is the basis of any story, fiction or not. Truth is also personal; the things that you tell the truth about are your own personal truths, and it is your choice, as a writer, to share these truths with others. Choosing to share these truths mean that you must involve a level of integrity in your work. This is the part where ethics and values come in. Writers as a whole should have a foundation that they have built upon over time that frees them to tell their truths. And when telling their stories, the gift of clarity is always appreciated.
With that said, when a writer writes, not everything is worthy of offering for public consumption. We as consumers speak with our dollars and cents, and in order to do that, we have to use our common sense when we opt to support these writers of words.
There is (was?) a book available on Amazon.com with the title of, “The Pedophile’s Guide to Love and Pleasure.” I am not so naive that I believe that books like these are not circulating in underground circles and on some Web sites, but I am shocked and appalled that Amazon.com, a respected Web site that I use to order my textbooks for school, looked at this title and decided, “Hey, why not?”
We must ask ourselves where our minds are. The world has changed so much that things like this are finding their ways into the mainstream for consumption of those who may or may not have the wherewithal to engage. How do we stop this from happening? How do we keep these threats from our children?
By not remaining silent, that’s how. Over 800 people hastily and loudly complained to Amazon.com and the book was removed. I have issue with the fact that the book was available in the first place; wasn’t there someone at Amazon.com who saw this and a red flag was raised? We have to continue to fight the darkness from invading into our everyday life.
Oprah Winfrey has such a personality that it causes people to react one of two ways to her: they either love her or they “cain’t stand her,” as my mother says. I’ve always believed that the hate generates from some psychological feeling of inadequacy or low self-esteem. Because I can’t for the life of me look at Oprah and not love her. She is everything that I think we need to try to be as Black women.
On January 1st, Oprah launched her OWN network…let’s digest that for a moment. Her. OWN. Network. Chris Rock once told a joke that went something like this: “Shaq is rich; the white man who signs his checks is wealthy.” Chris said during his comedy special, Never Scared, that there are no wealthy Black people in America. Well, Chris…you are wrong. One of the things that I’ve always admired about Oprah is that she signs her own checks. The decisions she makes are her own, and there is no one above her to tell her what to do and how to be. That is freedom.
I spent most of the day on January 1st watching OWN. One of the most impressive shows was Masterclass. I only got to see the one with Jay-Z, but it held me captive for the entire hour. I’ve been a fan of Jay’s for a long time, and I learned something new. It was riveting to hear his thoughts on everything from fame, success and failure, and being a man. The stories told here are, quite simply, fascinating. And it doesn’t stop at Jay-Z; future Masterclass episodes feature Diane Sawyer, Maya Angelou, and Sidney Poitier.
Below is just a brief clip of Jay-Z’s Masterclass:
Back to Oprah for a second. I spent 30 minutes of my life—that I wish I could have back—watching Basketball Wives. The women, Black women, were acting as if they had no sense of decorum or respect for themselves or each other. I was disgusted by what I saw and it made me ask, “Is this what we as Black women have to look to?” Even as much as we try to label this show and others like it as entertainment, the images that are portrayed on television leave a lasting impression on those who view it. If you are ignorant, then you adapt these images as what all Black women are: loud, obnoxious, ghetto (whatever you want to call it). I rebuke this; I would much rather people look at Oprah and say, “There is the Black woman that I know,” than look at the women on Basketball Wives and say the same.
Oprah Winfrey, and her OWN network, offers something different. It offers things that can help you, teach you, inspire you…and that is the television I prefer to watch. If I want to be a better person, I need to be surrounded by those things that make me want to be better.
OWN is one of those things. It has a fan for life in me.
Happy Friday and welcome back OSFers (that sounds obscene, doesn’t it?)!
For the first installment of Old School Friday, we are paying homage to the one and only Teena Marie, who died over the Christmas holiday. I grew up with two aunts who introduced me to her music, and I’ve been in love with her voice ever since.
I am choosing two of my very favorite Teena Marie songs: Deja Vu (I’ve Been Here Before) and Square Biz. Enjoy!
Ah, what the hell…here’s another:
Expect nothing. Live frugally
On surprise.
become a stranger
To need of pity
Or, if compassion be freely
Given out
Take only enough
Stop short of urge to plead
Then purge away the need.
Wish for nothing larger
Than your own small heart
Or greater than a star;
Tame wild disappointment
With caress unmoved and cold
Make of it a parka
For your soul.
Discover the reason why
So tiny human midget
Exists at all
So scared unwise
But expect nothing. Live frugally
On surprise.
~ Alice Walker
Every woman, if she has lived long enough, has that one guy in her past or present whose memory still makes her heart pitter-patter. I’m lucky; I’ve had two. While still in those relationships, it’s easy to find a place for the feelings. All that love is bundled up and hopefully, offered without condition or limitation. But what do you do with the feelings that just won’t go away once the relationship is over?
What do you do when every song on the radio or that comes up randomly on your mp3 player triggers some memory that takes you back to when; when the scent of a cologne takes your mind back to there; when your dreams are invaded by his face, his voice, his touch?
I’m remembering…and it’s making me feel all these feelings that I thought I had buried a long time ago. Maybe these feelings that have visited me are trying to tell me something else; that perhaps I need to take them in and let them open me up to something new. But how do I turn them off for him and turn them onto something else?
Sigh. I keep going, that’s what I’ll do. I will keep getting up every morning and facing forward. I will keep reminding myself that the relationship had to fall apart because of something; whether that be my fault or his doesn’t matter. Eventually the memories will fall away, and perhaps I will then be ready to create new memories.
I’m rambling, I know. But there is one constant thing that stays on my mind: there is no way to move into the future by holding onto the past. It’s okay to remember, as long as you do it in passing and don’t stop and stare for too long.
Welcome to Twenty-Eleben!!!
I would venture to guess that many of us have made New Year’s resolutions, many of which will be pursued beginning today. I would also venture that by the end of January, most of those resolutions that we swore to on New Year’s Eve will be forgotten or dropped like a hot rock.
Some of us forgo the resolutions altogether. We know that we will never keep them, so why make them in the first place? We bring in the New Year the same way that we’ve always done, and go about our life, trying to survive or at the least, exist in the world that at times, seems to ignore our presence.
No matter which category you fall in, if you take a look around you and see things that don’t make you happy, change them. You don’t need a New Year’s resolution to get your life right. You also don’t need a resolution to stand in the space that God has prepared for you; just do it.
My goals this year are quite simple and they all begin with the same thought in mind: I am going to be the best me I can be. Included in that are all things that I think are me, or the me that I know I am supposed to be. I will go about making changes in my life quietly, without much fanfare, and without announcing to the world my intentions. My actions will speak louder than any words that I can utter, and it is my goal to show and prove.
This is a picture of me when I was five months old. I look at this picture and see the wide-eyed innocence and blank slate that a child is born with. I see, besides the loads of cuteness, potential. It’s always been there, always right in front of those big dark eyes, and this year I will move surefooted to begin picking up the pieces that build the life that I want to have. It is about rebirth, not resolutions, and I am prepared to strip all the things away from me that prevent me from moving ahead.
I will use my life to put on full display the power of goodness and love. As Mahatma Gandhi once said, “Be the change you want to see in the world.”
I plan to, everyday.
