The Gemini Life

Do Me A Solid...

2009-11-02T22:02:00.002-06:00

...and follow me to my new home at Wordpress. The new blog is Rainbow Colored Lens at the address is http://www.rainbowlens.wordpress.com/

Please update your links accordingly and come chat with me there. I will no longer be updating or posting here.

Wordpress is pretty. And bawse. You can still comment whether you're on Blogger, some other site, or Anonymous. So come on!

This Year Halloween Fell On A Weekend...*

2009-11-02T06:59:00.006-06:00

*10,000 cool points to whoever finishes that line first.

Here are the tame pics of me and Crabby gettin' crunk and holy for Halloween. This was the best Halloween ever. In addition to Father and Sister Gem, there were Riley and Huey Freeman from The Boondocks, a sexy cop and baseball player, a monster, zombies, pirates, old school basketball players, a French maid, a woman in male drag, a hunter, a prisoner, a hood vampire (complete with jheri curl), a pimp, Wonder Woman, vampire queen, 2 doctors, and some other assorted fuckery.

Also, October 2009 marked 4 years since I did the "Big Chop" and went natural on all you hoes. Here's a pic of my growth 4 years out.

This is unstretched length, stretched, my hair reaches almost elbow-length. Feel free to hit me up if you have any hair-related questions (bohemianbahamian@gmail.com).

-Also, I was asked to be a bridesmaid in a wedding next year; I'm super crunk over that.

-I love my Crabbypatty (he's going to kill me for that nickname, blame KB).

-Check my Tumblr page for some pictures I took in October. Skies, sunrises, sunsets, and rainbows.

-'Chall do this weekend?

Thoughts on "Morbid" and Halloween

2009-10-30T09:18:00.001-05:00

I am often called morbid in response to my interest in death. I find this extremely backward. The definition of 'morbid', aside from the physical definition of illness and disease, is an uncharacteristic propensity for gloomy thoughts. I ask questions about death, loss, etc. because we as a society don't know how to talk about it without deflecting or hiding behind something else. There are things people do concerning death in this society that I consider extremely morbid and probably contribute to us not having the capacity to deal with death in an entirely healthful way. Open-casket funerals come to mind. If you think about it for a moment, that shit is extremely traumatizing. I hate this practice. It feels wrong to gaze upon the body of your loved one in a too-expensive coffin, face made-up into a stranger, with that god-awful organ music in the background. It feels intrusive to me. This context is different than the medical study of bodies; forensics, etc. because there is something to be learned there. There is nothing to be learned from the open gazing upon a dead body in the funeral context. Just my opinion. I also don't like the feeling of walking over other dead people's graves to get to the nylon green tent set up over a gaping hole in the ground for the burial you are attending. There is something just unsettling about that.

This society is also morbid when it comes to profane, or everyday dealing with death. We speak in hushed tones, refer to the dead as "passed on", refer to the body as "remains", speak of a "better place", etc. The news shields us from our own dead bodies from the war, 9/11, everyday accidents, etc. In it's place, we glamourize death via movies and TV shows, trivialize it through video games and speech, we say this team "killed" the other team, we're "dying" of hunger.

For Halloween, we hang nameless, anonymous skulls and skeletons around, we buy fake blood for spattering, we make food creations resembling eyes, brains, guts, human limbs, maggots, etc. We volunteer to inject panicky fear into ourselves by visiting dark, "haunted" houses. This is morbid. It's fucked up.

Don't get me wrong, I like the fun of Halloween. But to me, Halloween can be fun without the aformentioned paragraph. I like costumes, dressing up, being spooky, etc. But spooky and morbid are two different things. I love scary movies, but this is not a Halloween-specific occurrence. Why don't we celebrate meaningful death, like Mexico's Dia de los Muertos or Japan's OBon? Here, death is remembered on a mass scale, but it is also meaningful because people are remembering who they actually lost. To just string up skeletons for decorative purposes with no meaning, is so devoid of any compassion and an example of how vacuous people can be.

Speaking of Halloween costumes, I hate when people use this day as an excuse to let their racist flag fly or be a gussied-up whore. Dressing up as a gypsy, an "Oriental", an "Arabic princess/genie", a MEXICAN (seriously, these ladies were trying on ponchos and sombreros in a Halloween store) is not a costume. You're just letting your secret racial ignorance be made public for a night. Don't get me started on the blackface costumes, nope not even going there. Now, I understand kids dressing up as gypsies/fortune tellers but parents should be a little more responsible in their children's costumes. For adults, there's no excuse. As for the whore costumes, there is a distinction. If it's an actual COSTUME, I have no beef with it. So I definitely understand the sexy nurse, police officer, fairy, princess, witch, she-devil, black cat, etc. I get it. What I don't vote for, are the blatantly made-up shits. Such as a costume I saw called the "Honey Bee". What the fuck is a honey bee costume if it's not an actual bee costume? Some antennae, and a couple of pieces of torn yellow fabric? -_- Just say no.

As for me and Crabby? Tonight we're going to be ain't shit at a party as a priest and pregnant nun. BAWSE. Pictures forthcoming.

I leave you with my last Halloween costume, from 2003 when I worked at a bookstore. I was a pimp, and my drag-queen co-worker Justin, was my ho. Yes, I had a purple fur (faux) coat. Yes, I had a cane. Yes, I had a "grill". Yes, my ho is puttin' that money in my hand. Yes, I know we were terrible, terrible people. We lived near each other at the time and worked 6am-2pm because we were on the inventory team. So I picked him up at 5am. Let that image marinate in your brains. The security guard at Justin's apartments was like O_o and it was hilarious to see customers unaware that Justin was a 'he'. Oh, and I had THEE STANKEST pimp voice ever all day. Good times, good times.

Chall doin' for Halloween?

HEY GUYYYYSSSSS

2009-10-23T15:27:00.003-05:00

Been super busy. Work. School. Thesis. Papers. Doctoral program apps. Cooking. Twirling. And stuff. Be back next week. Have a funeral and a wedding to attend tomorrow, both in two different cities than the one I am currently in (Marlin, Halletsville, Houston, respectively). Have a magical weekend. Oh, and here are 7 reasons to keep your T-rex off crack cocaine. If you don't help him/her, who will?

P.S. Here's a list of things bears love. kBAI.

Serena Williams and Body Image

2009-10-14T09:26:00.002-05:00

Serena Williams is on one of several covers for ESPN magazine this month. There have been comments going around on various websites about this cover that run the gamut of opinions. What's interesting is that the negative comments I have seen are coming mostly from black women. Comments such as Serena's being exploitated by white men, she's whoring herself out, she has fallen into the trap of showin' naked ass, she's reduced herself to a sexual object and thus can no longer be a role model, etc.

Others have rightly pointed out white women who have posed nude for magazines and have been called graceful, beautiful, artistic, etc. Serena's cover is posed pretty much the same way as these and yet she doesn't get these same comments.

I personally don't see how you can look at this cover and not see a celebration of a well-sculpted human form that has served as the foundation for greatness in sport. She looks BEAUTIFUL here. All that chocolatey, dazzling skin with her curves is just stunning. I mean, Serena is a straight brickhouse. However, she is NOT bent over, booty cheeks spread open for the world to take a looksie. She is not spread-legged, crotch all out. There are no tittays all in our face. This is as artistic as you can get, especially for sports.

Black female sexual repression is alive and kicking, and surfaces almost daily in judgmental words. I'm not here to start a revolution, but I can definitely point out these pockets of historical effects manifesting themselves in people.

Point blank, this is a celebration, bitches. Not exploitation. Not whoring.

Your Love is Mine

2009-10-11T13:14:00.003-05:00

Speaking of Corinne Bailey Rae, I heard a song featuring her today that I had never heard before. It's by The New Mastersounds, on their album and it's called Your Love Is Mine. Very fresh sounding.

Corinne Bailey Rae Emerges

2009-10-06T09:49:00.003-05:00

Corinne Bailey Rae's debut album is still in heavy rotation in my household. Her songs are like moonlight. I was saddened to hear when her husband died of an accidental overdose in early 2008. Not much had been heard from her since then, but an interview has surfaced with her. She looks lovely as ever, beautiful hair growing out, sad eyes with fleeting smiles. She's working on her 2nd album, and I am very excited to hear it. Here are some excerpts from the interview:

Corinne went home to her house in Leeds and began writing songs, just her and her acoustic guitar. One of the first she finished was called The Sea, a powerful elucidation of loss that was based on a family story that had been passed down to her about her grandfather's death in a boating accident. It climaxes with the lines, "The sea, the majestic sea, breaks everything, cleans everything, crushed everything, takes everything from me."

She says now, "I don't know if there was something in the air or what, but the songs seemed different, a bit darker. With The Sea, I was just thinking about loss, about the impact losing your father would have on you as a child, how one event that big could colour your life, bleed into everything else and force you into a certain shape."

Another song she wrote around that time was called I'd Do it All Again. It was written after an argument with her husband, Jason Rae, a gifted jazz musician who often played saxophone in her band. It was a testimony to the strength of her love for him, a song about how nothing, not his restlessness or the occasional rows it precipitated, could ever make her question that love.

"It was written literally just after me and Jason had this massive disagreement, a big argument, a bad one," she says now, faltering. "Almost as he was leaving the room, I just sat down and wrote it. It's just about how I felt about him at that time. Even right in the middle of the worst times, I remember thinking that I would choose this exact life again, that I would do it all again. It was me saying, I'm not wishing myself out of this situation. I'm 100% committed to this person. I don't have any regrets about this relationship even though there are all these difficult times."

I'd Do it All Again begins: "Oh, you're searching for something I know won't make you happy/Oh, you're thirsting for something I know won't make you happy…". It sounds now like a plea, a calling-out to someone to accept the life they have been given. "I just wanted him to be content," she says.

She wrote I'd Do it All Again in January 2008, and "just kept on writing and trying out ideas". Then, on Saturday 22 March, she was in a taxi in Leeds when her phone rang. A voice she did not recognise said that it was the police, that they had been trying to contact her all day, and that they needed to speak to her in person.

The police asked me to meet them at a certain place so the taxi had to do a U-turn and go back the way we came," she says now. "I always think of that moment when I had to turn back. My life was going in one direction, then, in an instant, it was turned around."

The coroner's report found that Jason Rae, aged 31, had died of an accidental overdose of methadone and alcohol. The coroner described Rae as "a naive user", which brought a strange kind of comfort to the young widow who was struggling to make sense of a death that seemed so random, so senseless. "The word 'naive' jumped out at me," she says. "It's like Jase was playing with something he didn't know the consequences of. He was impulsive, I guess. He liked to have a drink, have fun. It could easily have turned out to be one of those stupid, drunken things you do that you get to talk about afterwards – 'You'd never guess what I did when I was pissed?' – that sort of thing. It's unbelievable that this one didn't turn out like that, that this was the drunken, curious thing that went wrong."

In the living room, she picks her way through guitars and amplifiers, and sits down at a piano in the corner with Steve Brown. As he plays a slow meditative melody, she sings I'd Do it All Again. It is breathtaking; sombre but defiant, and imbued with a whole other layer of meaning – and longing – since Jason's death. It feels almost as if I am listening in on someone singing to herself.

"A year ago I could not have imagined going out and playing these songs live," she says afterwards, "but now I'm looking forward to it. I want to play live as much as possible. I want to get to that place where it's just coming through. It's not a performance, it's not self-conscious, you're outside of time, outside of yourself."

Later, I tell her that the "before" songs have now come alive in a different way, maybe because she is singing differently, inhabiting the songs in a much more forceful way than before. "They have," she says, "they definitely have. What surprises me most is how the songs I wrote before it happened resonate almost as much as the ones I wrote after. The circumstances have cast it all in a different light. It began as a 'before and after' record, but it's become an 'after' record."

For a long time, she continued to refer to her late husband in the present tense, seemingly unable to grasp that he was gone for ever. About three months after his death, she tried to record some of the songs she had written, even turning up at a studio to meet a producer. "I laugh now at how deluded I was," she says. "I felt like everything would somehow go back to normal if I got on with things but, in reality, I was still in shock."

Then came the strange inertia that grief instils in those left behind, the long, terrible numbness that is, in itself, a kind of death. "I didn't do anything for a year. I mean, nothing," she says, still sounding as if she can barely believe it. "Everyone was asking, 'What have you done?' But I had nothing to show them. I didn't go anywhere. I didn't write anything. I didn't work. I sat at my kitchen table for a whole year, people came and people went, life drifted by. It was just bleak. Bleak."

Did she think that she might give up music altogether? "I did think that I could never do this sort of thing again because if anyone asked me about Jason, I would just explode. For a long time, I didn't even try and write. It was just too big a thing, too raw. It was just too destructive to make anything creative out of. All I wanted to do was destroy things. And I'm really not that type so it was all these emotions that were totally alien to me. It was just a bleak, empty, hollow nothing."

Earlier this year, though, Corinne began tentatively recording again. She had started writing after playing a few low-key club gigs at the end of last year. The intimacy of that set-up had led her to Limefield Studios, where she has worked at her own pace for months now.

Most poignant of all, though, are a pair of songs written in the wake of her loss: the plaintive Are You Here? and the slow-burning I Would Like to Call it Beauty. The first is a love song, or, more precisely, a lost-love song. It begins, "He's a real live wire, he's the best of his kind, wait till you see those eyes!" When I ask her about it, she says, "I actually don't remember writing it. That was one of the songs that just came through. It was like I was wishing him here. It's a song about grief and loss and that's really what the whole record is about. It's like I want to tell people about this thing, this thing that I could not make sense of and could not find anything I could read, or listen to, that would help me make sense of."

Anyone expecting the same kind of well-wrought, if hardly challenging, pop songs that made her debut such a big seller is in for quite a surprise. In her place is a singer of immeasurably sad songs, someone who has transmuted her well of grief and anger into something beautiful and raw. "I definitely feel more serious," she says. "I feel more impassioned. I have total belief in these songs and when I sing them in front of people, I want to pass that on. I don't think there is anyone of my generation saying these things, singing about these things. And it happens, you know. It can happen to anyone at any time. I want to be out there on stage with my hands out going, does anyone else feel the same way? That's what it's about, too."

Full interview and a video clip here.

Suggest A Song Monday-Don't Look Back

2009-10-05T11:47:00.002-05:00

Hey peeps! How was your weekend? Regulars, newbies, and lurkers are you ready to drop a song recommendation? Welcome to Suggest A Song Monday. I suggest a song that I love and that I think you would love. You listen to it. Tell me what you think in the comments. Then, you also recommend one song to me and I will listen to it and tell you what I think. You don't have to limit yourself to a particular genre, just any one song that you love.

Today, we're working with Don't Look Back by Telepopmusick. I love dreamy, enchanted, electronic, chill music so this is straight up BAWSE.

Sit still...and close your eyes/What's behind the door...oh/No more silence/Don't kill this thing we got called love/Just searchin' for the perfect drug//(Chorus) When love comes calling/Don't look back/When love comes calling/Don't look away/(Repeat)//And I'm standing over here/Watching you over there/Smiling, happy, unaware/Oh, life is spinnin' round/You're going underground, forgettin' who we were/Let's try and keep it...just one more day//Chorus//You take your love/Throw it all around/Like it's nothing special/Just a sound/Let me say one more thing/I don't think you realize/That a day is like a year sometimes//Chorus (repeat til end)//

Color Personality

2009-09-27T12:30:00.028-05:00

Saw this Color Personality quiz over at Colour Me Happy. It's supposed to determine what colors are around you most, and theoretically what colors you should dress in and decorate in (if you're in a rut or lost). I am a colour whoure (yes that's right), so I jumped right on it.

1. What's the first color you see in the morning?

Black: The color of my curtains

2. What color are your eyes?

Orangey Brown (see blog header)

3. What color do you wear the most?
Purple

Me in NYC last year

4. What color do you never wear?

Oatmeal

5. What color do you wear when you want to feel sexy?

Black

6. What color gets you the most compliments?
Blue

7. What color is your lipstick?

Plum Burgundy (sheer-ish though)

8. What color was your living room when you were growing up?
Forest Green

9. What color was your bedroom when you were growing up?
Purple

Yes I had one of these, LAWD. It was soothing though.

10. What color are your sheets?

White (ahhh so relaxing, like sleeping in a cloud)

11. What color was your favorite crayon as a child?

Green (it was always so crisp)

12. What color is your car?

Plum

Not this bright, more like a really deep midnight purple.

13. What color was your prom dress?

Orange

14. What's your favorite gemstone?

Opal (Would you expect anything other from a unicorn descendant?)

15. What is your favorite flower?

Blue Hydrangeas

16. What color makes you happiest?

Infinity Blue

Detroit airport tunnel, taken by me.

17. What color depresses you?

Muddy Brown

I also hate chocolate. The taste, the smell, BARF!

18. What color calms you?

Periwinkle

19. What color makes you grind your teeth?

Pepto Pink

20. What color would you like to try, but are scared to?

Acid Green

So, apparently your color personality are the colors that show up most frequently. To get to this, I edited out colors from the questions that don't have to do with everyday life and choices, or colors from questions with a negative, dislikey focus. So I eliminated questions 2 (can't choose your eye color), 4, 8 (had no control over living room color growing up), 11 (because I don't recall having a favorite crayon color; I just think back and am like hmm, green was kind of nice...yeah, that's the ticket!), 13 (one time choice), 17, and 19. This basically left me with variations of purple and blue as my color personality, not too surprising! To see this illustrated, I went to Flickr. Me eliminations make more sense because you can only pick up to 10 colors, so if you try this, keep in mind what colors surround you the most in your life in regards to the questions and edit out the others.

Here is the full link to my supposed color personality. *glances at my blog colors* Look familiar? Not too surprising, although I wouldn't decorate according to that color scheme. The clothes I am drawn to are usually those colors though.

Try it for yourself and let me know when you do so I can come see! Colors give me LIFE.

Pour Out Some Liquor for Cursive Handwriting

2009-09-23T09:52:00.003-05:00

Charleston resident Kelli Davis was in for a surprise when her daughter brought home some routine paperwork at the start of school this fall. Davis signed the form and then handed it to her daughter for the eighth-grader's signature.

"I just assumed she knew how to do it, but I have a piece of paper with her signature on it and it looks like a little kid's signature," Davis said.

Her daughter was apologetic, but explained that she hadn't been required to make the graceful loops and joined letters of cursive writing in years.

The decline of cursive is happening as students are doing more and more work on computers, including writing. In 2011, the writing test of the National Assessment of Educational Progress will require 8th and 11th graders to compose on computers, with 4th graders following in 2019.

Students accustomed to using computers to write at home have a hard time seeing the relevance of hours of practicing cursive handwriting.

Text messaging, e-mail, and word processing have replaced handwriting outside the classroom, said Cheryl Jeffers, a professor at Marshall University's College of Education and Human Services, and she worries they'll replace it entirely before long.

"I am not sure students have a sense of any reason why they should vest their time and effort in writing a message out manually when it can be sent electronically in seconds."

For Jeffers, cursive writing is a lifelong skill, one she fears could become lost to the culture, making many historic records hard to decipher (Gem--this made me sniggle for some reason visualizing people throwing their hands in the air "Bob, I just can't read the damn thing!") and robbing people of "a gift."

But cursive is favored by fewer college-bound students. In 2005, the SAT began including a written essay portion, and a 2007 report by the College Board found that about 15 percent of test-takers chose to write in cursive, while the others wrote in print. That was probably smart, according to Vanderbilt University professor Steve Graham, who cites multiple studies showing that sloppy writing routinely leads to lower grades, even in papers with the same wording as those written in a neater hand. It's common for adults to write in a cursive-print hybrid. (Gem--this is actually what I do for mundane stuff)

Full article here.

I remember learning to write cursive and how important it was in elementary school. It was like a rite of passage when you could write in cursive, so "grown up". What are your memories of learning/using cursive? I have two types of cursive (besides the print-cursive hybrid). One is my scribbly cursive, which has no slant and looks pretty psycho due to my left-handedness. Then I bust out the fancy schmancy cursive when necessary, the kind that slants up to the left. My print handwriting however, could win awards. I am constantly getting compliments on my beautiful print handwriting, no joke. Crabby be hatin' because his cursive looks like one of the forefathers on the Declaration of Independence and stuff, but ER'BODY AIN'T ABLE, YOU KNOW WHAT I'M SAYIN?

Warning To My Readers: Never Befriend A Blogger

2009-09-22T06:50:00.004-05:00

Ok so I know I gave thanks and stuff a couple of posts ago but I want to recant at this time, my friendship with Karrie B. Bloggies, do not befriend people such as her and let them into your life, e-mail, and phone. Otherwise you subject your inbox to stuff such as this:

The subject title of this picture was: Gem Nomming.

I'm upset at so many things, as discussed with Karrie and QQ. Why does it look like a pony-sized bite was actually taken out of the tomato? Why is she gazing at the tomato so lovingly and smirking about how her lunch has more swagger than yours? The way her pink and white locks are in a breezy fresh roller-set style...

Let this be a warning to those who open your hearts to bloggers. Love is a losing game.

Pink Insects: The Cuntiest in the Land

2009-09-18T08:02:00.006-05:00

A boy found a pink grasshopper in a nature reserve recently. Pink insects are rare, but can pop up from time to time. How much you wanna bet they J-set every Friday for no reason?

Pink grasshopper

Pink Katydid

Pink Dragonfly

Peeped here.

Also, have a song to take you through the weekend. I usually don't like "feel-good" songs, but this one is irresistable with the bass and instrumentation in the background combined with the floaty vocals and lyrics. Turn it up loud and jam. Ok, BAI.

Weather - Amel Larrieux

Feelin' It

2009-09-11T09:47:00.007-05:00

Love, that is. In it's various forms. I just want to hand out some virtual wildflowers today (I don't eff with cut flowers anymore) to people who make life interesting.

I've mentioned before how I am constantly amazed at how technology brings together people who probably would never have met otherwise. I have met and "met" some dear people online; many who have turned into true friends who I know I can reach out to.

I was just reading the blog of a blogger who died very recently, and reading the comments on her last post reinforces the importance of the connection that so many of us feel to people we know online.

Knowing that I've inspired people in the virtual world to go natural, maintain their natural hair, and go vegetarian or vegan (or even reduce their meat) means a lot to me.

The virtual friend I've known the longest is a dude that goes by DJWaltd. We "met" on Blackplanet (LAWD) back in like, 2001 or 2002 (no funny business, just friendship) and are still friends today just shooting the breeze every now and then about music, books, TV Shows (always quoting The Simpsons for something), etc.

Muze is the first blogging friend I made. She was my very first consistent commenter on this blog, and always made me feel like I was saying something interesting when I didn't think anyone was reading. She linked me on her blog and is responsible for a lot of my early blog traffic because her blog was already crunk. She is an extremely talented writer and phenomenal woman all around. I love how she stays positive in almost every situation and retains a bit of mystique while sharing some of her most personal stories. We missed each other when I was in Detroit last time, but I know I'll see her one day! Thank you Muze, for being you!

Karrie B is my best blog homie right now. We are pixie twins; the shortest, fun-size bloggers you know. I lurked on her blog for a long time (I believe I found it through Muze), then we began chatting on Twitter about ain't shit type things. Months later, we talk in some form (phone, gmail, twitter, text, yahoo) every day. What I love about our friendship is we can say absolutely anything or share anything, and the other person will not even bat an eye. No judgment. Just honest assessments and advice.

QQ is another one whose blog I had lurked on forever. I lurked on C&D back in 2006 and 2007 and I remember her from there as well. She is one of the most forthright, intelligent, funny, and kind people I know. There are Gmail threads every day between her, myself, Karrie, Slaus, Bully, Sherri and Terri that keep us all wheezing for breath and cackling and for that I am thankful.

Vesper inspires me with her creativity and her expressions about life. We have e-mailed back and forth (I still owe you one!) about life, love, career, health, TV shows, whatever.

Mrsmarymack and I have also e-mailed and shared texts back and forth about family choices, careers, dreams, etc. She is my go-to person for advice and tips on certain areas of life and we can always make each other laugh with our Dallas vs. Houston rivalries in ain't-shitness.

TheJadedNYer, Kingsmomma, ChocolateOrchid, Chanel, BCU, Cheron, InnyVinny, and Sydney all keep me looking forward to our chats and their blog posts. I love chatting with Lina, and I hope she brings her blog back because she has a lot to say and I love how she says it.

Cas is a fierce warrior for righteousness and I learn so much from her everytime I read one of her posts. I look forward to continuing chats with her.

My Blisslife homies, linked in our admiration of one of the most inspirational artists out there (Amel Larrieux) provide a haven to come relax and share. I am thankful for the presence of 2Serenity, Ness, Sacha, Tanijoy, SoulReflection, and SS1.

To the peeps who follow and/or lurk on my blog, thank you for reading and finding what I have to say interesting or entertaining. School and work have left me little time to read as many blogs as I want, so know that I read your blogs when I can, even if I don't comment. Also, I chat with so many wonderful people on Twitter; too many to name. I have made friends with several people on there, even people from my own city. Bawse.

I'm also really feeling the love for Crabby. 4 years strong as a couple, and it's a nice feeling. We are at a point where THINGS and STUFF are closer instead of a distant horizon and it's a funny, buzzy feeling.

I'm also reading blogs from people who were in NYC on 9/11/2001. I was in college, in a class when it happened. A classmate was getting news updates on his phone and said out loud, "A plane has hit the WTC in NY." We turned on the TV in the classroom. As it became apparent what was happening, the buzz of people's voices grew louder. Class was dismissed. People poured out into the hallways from other classrooms. People left. Went home. My school was downtown, and it was jammed with traffic of other people leaving work to go home. People were confused and scared. Houston is a space, energy, and medical hub in this country. Could we be in danger too? The rest was a blur; I just remembered being glued to the TV once I got home. The fact that so much video was obtained forever stands out to me; as I am a visual person, I need to see things. My thoughts are with the people who experienced this first-hand and/or lost someone today. My thoughts are also with anyone who is hurting right now, be it from loss, heartbreak, disappointment, whatever.

One of my favorite Coldplay songs (and one of my favorite songs, period), Sparks:

Sparks - Coldplay

Hump It

2009-09-09T06:50:00.004-05:00

Check out these tasty morsels (always and forever ruined by QQ) I made *snobby voice* from scratch this weekend:

Strawberry-banana muffins

Also, let this license plate be your entree.

Hump It

Labor Day I got crunk in Spades and Boca chicken nuggets with veg. baked beans and homemade fries courtesy of my mother-in-law. Also contemplating big changes for the future. It's that weird time period where stuff is about to happen and you gotta ride the wave. But which one to ride? Hmmm.

I am also now hooked on Law and Order. I saw Benjamin Button for the 1st time and enjoyed it a lot more than I thought I would.

I Love the 90s Friday: The 1st Night

2009-09-04T00:00:00.000-05:00

Monica was so cute and sassy in the 90s. This video and song are heavily linked to a lot of high school memories. Flirting with Crabby, basketball, summer changing to fall, and fashion. I just HAD to have a white and khaki outfit after being influenced by this video. I think I was trying to find a khaki skirt and couldn't, so settled for some khaki capris and a white tank top. LAWD.

Homegirl at the 2:18 mark was trippin' though. Bish, do you hear the lyrics to the song? All hot and bothered being a hussy on somebody's couch. Where are your parents? Anyhoo, I thought it was a nice message for teenagers since this came out my sophomore year (I think) of high school. It didn't avoid the fact that there is temptation out there for girls, but firmly said "not now" with a cute little beat.

Bleak

2009-09-02T00:00:00.000-05:00

This is exactly why I do not support the death penalty.

In hindsight, it is nothing short of amazing the crap that was thrown together and presented as evidence to convict a father of murdering his 3 daughters by way of arson with NO MOTIVE, SCIENTIFIC EVIDENCE REFUTING JUST ABOUT EVERYTHING IN HIS TRIAL, and other gems of truth. The death penalty does not deter criminals from committing crimes. The death penalty costs the state more than keeping a prisoner alive. Oh, and innocent people are murdered in the name of justice. Why? How can this be? How can I believe in people as a whole with this ceiling above everything? What can be done?

Twins Getting Crunk in Indian Village

2009-08-31T11:12:00.005-05:00

THEY'LL KILL US ALL!!

Walk around Kodinji village and you'll think that you have double vision. The village is home to as many as 230 sets of twins. Nobody knows why there are so many twins in the village of 15,000 people, although one local doctor suspects it might be due to the water.

In fact with about 35-45 twins per live birth, this village in North Kerala, India, has four times more twins than normal. Not surprisingly, the village has been dubbed "the twin village." The latest official estimates by the Kodinji's Twins and Kins Association (TAKA), which conducted door-to-door surveys at the start of the year, found that there were 204 sets of twins.

Based on births since the survey was conducted, there are probably now around 230 sets of twins in the village, locals said. That number is set to rise as there are five women pregnant with twins.

Full article here. P.S. Read the last sentence of that linked article. That was a non-sequitur like a muhfugga, wasn't it? Like, did the author have no other possible way to end the story?

Breaded Tofu, Baked Macaroni and "Cheese"

2009-08-24T21:19:00.004-05:00

This is the 1st week of school at my job AND I have a deadline of Friday to turn in some important stuff for my thesis so I'll be blogging all sorts of random nonsense after that. In the meantime...GETCHU SUMMA THIS!

Breaded tofu from the cookbook 'The Garden of Vegan'...made with a BAWSE ASS breading and spice recipe then pan fried.

Baked Mac n "Cheese" made from a mixture of soy cheese, macaroni shell pasta, cornstarch, nutritional yeast, soymilk, and breadcrumbs baked in the oven. From this vegweb recipe, but I changed some of it.

I served some peas with this too. No recipe. :-/

My Regular Amel Larrieux Fanatic Update

2009-08-21T20:38:00.003-05:00

One thing I love about all this technology is how many people I've met and "met" online/offline. When I went to San Francisco to see Amel, I met Ness who I frequently talked to on Blisslife.

I was SO exhausted at this point. Had been up since 4 am CST flew to Cali, traipsed and frolicked around San Francisco, went to 2 back to back concerts, so this was around 12:30-1:00am when this pic was taken.

Anyhoo, she went to see Amel last month in LA and got this video of her singing how she met and married her husband, Laru.

Love it.

Dog and Owner in Need

2009-08-21T20:03:00.002-05:00

If you guys are animal lovers or even if you can just feel compassion for someone going through a tough time, help out Krystle; aka YoungBlkBeauty (she blogs). Her dog, through some unfortunate events is very sick and she just relocated and took a new job and can't afford to get him treated and cared for. Those of us who have pets know what dear companions they become and it is heartbreaking when something isn't right. Here's the link where you can read the story and help if you so choose.

Yum-Type Dinner

2009-08-19T22:08:00.002-05:00

Boca Chikn patty, green bean casserole, mashed sweet and regular potatoes. I felt so proud tonight, this meal was full of YUM. This was my first attempt at making my own mashed potatoes, and I was very pleasantly surprised. I don't know why I always assumed making mashed potatoes was complicated.

Surfside Sunday

2009-08-16T20:47:00.006-05:00

For some reason I keep forgetting what a wealth of treasures Texas has to offer regarding nature. I went to Surfside, TX today with Crabby and our friends and friend-family. We had a blast! (Blast is one of those words that always makes me giggle because it's so over-the-top) The water was shallow very far out and the waves were awesome, so we were just a-frolicking to our heart's content. I'm definitely going to keep exploring this big ass ~~country~~ state.

Stuntin' and mermaiding on all you hoes

Me and Crabby saltwater'd up

My hair post-oceanwater. The salt defines and separates the curls so crazy-like.

Oh yeah, I saw District 9 on Friday. It was weird. Like, hella weird. I don't even know what else to say about it. I enjoyed it overall, but wouldn't want to see it again. The beginning was really blatant with comparisons to current world issues and that annoyed me. After that, it was just weird man. Has anyone else seen it yet?

Colorgenics

2009-08-16T00:00:00.000-05:00

I saw this on the blog of Cas and tried it for myself. The results for me were so accurate that I was actually stunned because I didn't think it would really tell me anything. Funny how you know certain things about yourself but when it's presented to you so you can SEE it, the impact is so much more serious. I put in bold the parts that really struck me.

Date: 8/15/2009 Colorgenics Number: 15243067

You have always longed for tenderness, love and a sensitivity of feeling into which you would like to blend. You are a very gentle warm person and responsive to 'All things bright and beautiful'. This personifies a caring person, a person who 'needs' and indeed 'needs to be needed'.

You are trying to improve your position and prestige - be it in your life or in your workplace. Things are, at this time, OK - but they could be better. You feel that it is essential that you break down any opposition that could possibly lurk in the shadows. You know that you are quite capable of achieving this set goal because you have to and because it is essential to your self esteem.

At times all of us would like to be like the ostrich - to be able to bury our heads in the sand and let the rest of the world go by, but unfortunately you can't do just that - you have to face up to reality. A little peace and quiet would be most acceptable at this time but if only one could turn a blind eye to the problems of the day! Tomorrow is another day and who knows, it could be 'today' (not tomorrow) that could be the first day of the rest of your life!

Presently, you are experiencing stress because of restriction on your independence. You need and seek respect from other people and it is essential that they appreciate you for yourself and not for what they would like you to be. You have your own beliefs and convictions and you would like to be respected for them. You are anxious to avail yourself of every opportunity that may come your way but nevertheless, come what may, you have the need to control your own destiny without imposed limitations or restrictions.

You wish to be left in peace... no more conflict and no more differences of opinion. In fact you just don't want to be involved in arguments of any shape or form. All you want is for 'them' to get on with it - and to leave you alone.

Try it for yourself here. The energy we put out is often overlooked. This means more to me than I realized.

Robot Chicken Gummy Bear

2009-08-15T11:41:00.001-05:00

I am CACKLING. CACKLING!

Poodles n Tumblr n Sawngz

2009-08-14T13:54:00.004-05:00

~Poodles have always been among the top 3 smartest dog breeds. This year it has been reported that they are the 2nd smartest breed next to Border Collies, with German Shepherds rounding out the top 3. The article also reports that many dogs have the intelligence of a 2-year old person; recognizing over 100 words and being able to do simple arithmatic. As someone who has a poodle that routinely reads the dictionary for fun, this is not exactly news to me.

Pookie

Examples of the ways my soul has been weakened by having a poodle:

*He knows not to pee in the house. One night years ago, me or Crabby forgot to take him out at night. Around 5 or 6 the next morning, I dimly saw Pookie scratch the bedroom door open, and leave. He came back after a moment and stood in the doorway looking toward us. He then got back in his bed. When I woke up, I noticed he had peed on the trash can and put 2 and 2 together. He had to go so bad but didn't want to pee in a "bad" area of the apt, so he peed on the trash can. He came back and looked at us as if to say, "I hope you're ok with what I just had to do."

*One day years ago Pookie kept walking up to me and whimpering. I had no idea what he wanted, because he had already been outside and I grabbed a toy but he didn't want to play. So I forgot about it and went back to watching TV/reading. I get up and go in the kitchen and this muhfugga is laid out on his side in a roadkill position in front of his water bowl. He had been trying to tell me to refill his water bowl. This dramatic cunt of a poodle just collapsed in front of it like a dying man in front of an oasis.

*When I get up, somehow he KNOWS if I'm getting up just to get something and sit back down or if I'm about to get my shoes and leave. This is before I go in any particular direction that would give him a hint.

*If our other dog Topaz wants to go out and we're ignoring her, she'll go sit by Pookie all upset and Pookie will get up and come ask us for her.

*He knows the phrase "Go tell him, then!" If I want him to ask Crabby to take him out I'll say "Well go tell him, then!" And he'll make a funny noise and gallop off.

~I have joined Tumblr and set up a page. It's really just an excuse to have a dumping ground for my unicorn/cuntiness. I post images that inspire me and songs that are dreamy and jamming. Also lyrics and quotes that stand out to me. I've only done a few since I just started, but I'll be updating frequently. Join me! The Treasure Hunter.

~I'm looking forward to a restful weekend. I started the process for my Masters Thesis this week and that has been a HUGE relief to finally get the ball rolling. We're supposed to head to a beach this weekend so I'm greatly looking forward to that, as well as another game of Spades (I'm addicted), and a viewing of the movie District 9. To send you off for the weekend, here are a couple of sexy-chill instrumentals that I jam. I am usually not a fan of instrumentals; they really have to put me in a zone. But these two are Gem approved, so enjoy!

Florent 2AM

Cinquo Dias
http://www.last.fm/music/Espresso+Del+Lago/_/Cinquo+Dias

Exercise and Weight Loss

2009-08-13T09:38:00.003-05:00

Extremely interesting and eye-opening article on Time about exercise and weight loss. It's eye-opening because when you think about it, it really makes sense.

People believe exercise helps you lose weight. While exercise is good for toning, muscle-building, and general health; it will not blast away the excess pounds you hope to lose. Diet remains the number 1 factor in weight loss. People will almost kill themselves in the gym to burn a couple of few hundred calories, which is promptly negated by the salty and sugary snacks and beverages that people eat and drink afterward. Amazing. I have been overlooking this in order to focus on my new workout plan when I had forgotten that when I watch what I eat, my pixie stomach pooch disappears. Crabby (my husband) just told me about his friend who has a friend who just lost 15 pounds in a month simply by cutting out all fast foods and soda (drinking only water) and not going to the gym once. I know people who were almost obese when pregnant, and got super slim without working out.

This is not a gym-bashing post at all; I just think people need to be realistic about their expectations when they go a-gymming (doesn't that sound delightful? A-gymming?). Get toned, get swoll, get beefcakey, build endurance and strength, YAAASSSS. Get rid of the excess poundage? Not so much. I don't advocate crash dieting or stuff that cuts out whole sections of food, like carbs. Just watch what you eat. Watch what you drink. Read labels. Pay attention to serving sizes. Look at the size of our dinner plates. They're huge! I read a study once that showed people will fill up their plate no matter what size, no matter how hungry they actually are. So huge plates=huge portions. Read your juice. I diligently hunt out 100% juices that have no corn syrup or added sugar. You'd be surprised how much of your juice says 3% juice or has high fructose corn syrup in the 1st 3 ingredients. Vitamin Water? Glorified sugar water. Fast food? Welp, you see where I'm going with this. Here are some excerpts from the article:

According to calculations published in the journal Obesity Research by a Columbia University team in 2001, a pound of muscle burns approximately six calories a day in a resting body, compared with the two calories that a pound of fat burns. Which means that after you work out hard enough to convert, say, 10 lb. of fat to muscle — a major achievement — you would be able to eat only an extra 40 calories per day, about the amount in a teaspoon of butter, before beginning to gain weight. Good luck with that.

If evolution didn't program us to lose weight through exercise, what did it program us to do? Doesn't exercise do anything? Sure. It does plenty. In addition to enhancing heart health and helping prevent disease, exercise improves your mental health and cognitive ability.

But there's some confusion about whether it is exercise — sweaty, exhausting, hunger-producing bursts of activity done exclusively to benefit our health — that leads to all these benefits or something far simpler: regularly moving during our waking hours.

The problem ultimately is about not exercise itself but the way we've come to define it. Many obesity researchers now believe that very frequent, low-level physical activity — the kind humans did for tens of thousands of years before the leaf blower was invented — may actually work better for us than the occasional bouts of exercise you get as a gym rat. "You cannot sit still all day long and then have 30 minutes of exercise without producing stress on the muscles," says Hans-Rudolf Berthoud, a neurobiologist at LSU's Pennington Biomedical Research Center who has studied nutrition for 20 years. "The muscles will ache, and you may not want to move after. But to burn calories, the muscle movements don't have to be extreme. It would be better to distribute the movements throughout the day."

You regularly hear about the benefits of exercise in news stories, but if you read the academic papers on which these stories are based, you frequently see that the research subjects who were studied didn't clobber themselves on the elliptical machine. A routine example: in June the Association for Psychological Science issued a news release saying that "physical exercise ... may indeed preserve or enhance various aspects of cognitive functioning." But in fact, those who had better cognitive function merely walked more and climbed more stairs. They didn't even walk faster; walking speed wasn't correlated with cognitive ability.

In short, it's what you eat, not how hard you try to work it off, that matters more in losing weight. You should exercise to improve your health, but be warned: fiery spurts of vigorous exercise could lead to weight gain.

Frito Pie

2009-08-12T12:44:00.005-05:00

~It has come to my attention that many people outside of Texas have no idea what a Frito Pie is. Upon learning this news, I clutched my pearls, fell back against the wall and slid down sobbing. The f*** y'all mean y'all don't know what a Frito Pie is?! So it is my job to educate the masses. If you want the non-vegan version, I invite you to accept Google as your Lord and Savior.

~Growing up, Frito Pies were part of pretty much every Texan child's memories. Bowling alleys, skating rinks, various events were associated with the little Fritos bag opened with steaming hot chili and a fork inside.

~My vegan version is adapted a bit from the childhood frito pies. I use:

-Fritos

-Amy's Vegetarian Chili (the green can, medium level of spiciness)

-Diced tomatoes

-Nooch for that creamy, cheesy type taste

-Boca Ground Beef Crumbles

~Combine everything except the Fritos in a pot and heat. Pour some over a bowl-o-Fritos. Nom to death. Be satisfied.

~Dearest bloggies, won't you make a Frito Pie with me this summer? They're also good in winter. I swear to you they taste like liberty and justice for all. You're welcome.

NATURAL HAIR PORN EXTREME!!!*

2009-08-08T00:00:00.000-05:00

*Imagine me saying the post title in a monster truck rally type voice

Click the following link for natural hair inspiration MOTHER *BLEEP BLEEP* OVERLOAD!

http://lecoil.tumblr.com/

Discovered through Get Togetha.

Irresistable B****, Let's Go. Where We Goin'?

2009-08-07T12:55:00.003-05:00

20,000 points to anyone who knows where that line is from!

I went to Marlin, TX last weekend for a family reunion on my husband's mother's side of the family. This quote about Marlin from Wikipedia did me in: "At the census in 2000, Marlin had a population of 6,628, a increase of 242 more people from 1990, when the census said Marlin had a population of 6,386. Things went downhill from there." It was relaxing and country. Got crunk in several games of Spade. Ate some fries. Drank a Pibb. Watched people of all ages sing hymnals and later do the Stanky Leg.

At a gas station on the way...what in the Soylent Green hell is "Potted Meat Food Product"? Reason #4869 I do not eat meat, right here.

Monday I started my workout plan, it was a pretty good beginner work-out, but I've had a cold or cold-like symptoms all week so I haven't been back yet. It's on next week though! I have stuck to my no soda during the week rule though, so big ups to me. I've been cooking. Last night I cooked this tasty morsel (I hate you, QQ) for your delight:

Linguine with broccoli, diced tomatoes, diced red and green bell peppers; lemon-herb tofu pan-fried (got the recipe from here) and some bread for nomming purposes. The bread was mid-nom when this picture was taken, my bad.

Work It Out

2009-07-31T11:47:00.002-05:00

It's high time for this pixie to get back in shape. I've been so lazy and all procrastinatory-like. But QQ and ChocolateOrchid have (whether they know it or not) inspired me to get up and DO IT! (imagine that in an extreme monster truck rally type voice) I have some bawse gym equipment in my new apartments. My main obstacle has been when I get home from work I am too tired to want to work out. I never considered early morning workouts until recently. So starting next week, I will:

-Buy a scale to track my progress
-Wake up at 5 AM to work out
-Finish by 6 AM and shower and get ready for work
-Cut out soda (except on celebratory occasions)
-Cook MORE!! (try to limit eating out to once a week, then less gradually)

I wanna work my abs area mostly, but all-over fitness and health is my goal.

To my fit, healthy, swoll, buff, beefcake bloggies out there...what exercise tips do you have?

Should I go Monday-Friday and take weekends off?
Should I go Monday, Wednesday, Friday?
What's most effective for a 1-hour work-out? Ab machine and elliptical machine? What else?
Early-morning worker-outers...how do you manage to not be exhausted at work? What time do you go to bed?
I welcome other tips and advice in the comments.

My Life According To...

2009-07-25T13:58:00.004-05:00

Saw this over at Brother's Blog, and had to do it! I am a whore for light-n-fluffy memes, and I'm ok with that.

Instructions: Using only song titles from ONE ARTIST OR BAND, answer these questions. Pass it on to 12 people and include me. You can't use the artist or band I used. Do not repeat a song title. Repost as "My Life According to (ARTIST OR BAND NAME)"

Pick Your Artist: Amel Larrieux

Are you a male or female?: Bravebird

Describe yourself: Magic

How do you feel: Searchin' For My Soul

Describe where you currently live: Mountain of When

If you could go anywhere, where would you go: Beyond

Your favorite form of transportation: Your Eyes

Your best friend is: Dear to Me

Your favorite color is: Orange Glow

What's the weather like: Weather (HA!)

Favorite time of the day: Morning

If your life was a TV show, what would it be called: Unanswered Question

What is life to you: Just Once

Your relationships: For Real

Your fear: Don't Let Me Down

What is the best advice you have to give: Get Up

If you could change your name, you would change it to: Shine

Thought for the Day: We Can Be New

How I would like to die: Sacred

My soul's present condition: Giving Something Up

My Motto: Say You Want It All

I'm tagging Vesper, Karrie, MrsMaryMack, QQ, Chanel, Chocolate Orchid, kingsmomma, InnyVinny, Little Miss Knobody...those are the only ones I know who might actually indulge me here, lol. All of my followers are tagged too, drop a comment if you do one!

What's in a (Screen) Name?

2009-07-21T10:22:00.003-05:00

Mad props to kingsmomma for inspiring this post!

This shall be a bonding blog.

What does your screen-name mean and why did you choose it?

Share more than one, if you have multiples.

Here's mine:

Blog Title
The Gemini Life; more of me going through life as a Gemini, and how life always presents these multiple, often polar options and pathways. It used to be the Bohemian Bahamian which was paying homage to my Bahamian ancestry; then I didn't want to look like a poser or cultural usurper so I changed it to the Bohemian Bookworm (which is the URL) because the latter was my nickname in school...then I haven't had time to post book reviews like I want so it became The Gemini Life!

Blogger Name
Contrary to popular belief, Gem is not from the cartoon show Jem, though I did wake up many mornings before school to watch! Gem was picked from me being a Gemini through and through, and my lifetime obsession with gemstones. No seriously. I have books. Multiple books on gemstones. I also have a gem tattoo. I fancy myself a treasure hunter in life....hmmm...that gives me an idea....

Twitter Name
@pixiegem Welp, Gem was already taken, so I called upon my unicorn heritage and my chocolate pixie twin KB for pixiegem.

Eric Frimpong

2009-07-17T10:28:00.004-05:00

Peeps, I feel so sick inside when events such as the following occur in this country. Progress is progress, but too many people--and specifically, minority racial group people, fall through the cracks (or get stomped through them, it seems). This is a long read, so take the weekend if you need to. However, I implore that you read the whole case. Share it with a friend. Post it on your blog. Don't be silent if this moves you. If it doesn't move you, maybe you're just used to it; too far gone over the bitter fence. If there's another reason, please share. I have pasted excerpts from the article to give a more concise version of the following case:

Eric Frimpong was an immigrant from Ghana who came to the US recruited to play soccor at his college. He was accused, convicted, and sentenced for rape based on virtually no evidence but the victim's testimony, who herself was heavily intoxicated and admitted to not having much memory of the night, AND with evidence of her boyfriend's semen on her panties the night of the rape. I have pasted excerpts from the article to give you a somewhat concise understanding of the following case:

Back in Ghana, in western Africa, he and his three younger siblings were raised by their mother, Mary, in the poor farming community of Abesin, but her job as a typist with the government forestry department allowed the family to have plumbing and electricity, unlike many of their neighbors. Eric was an engineering major and a midfielder for Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, in Kumasi, when he caught the eye of UCSB assistant Leo Chappel, who attended a 2005 match to scout the son of a Ghanian pro but ended up offering a scholarship to Frimpong instead.

Everyone around Frimpong was buoyed by his success: his mother, friends and classmates, prominent locals who had helped him out along the way with invites to dinner, rides to the store and, when he struggled with homesickness during his junior year, a fund-raiser that yielded $3,000 for a ticket to Ghana. "We all tried to pitch in, because Eric's so darn likable," says Tim Foley, a booster who made Frimpong a regular guest at his family's home. "He was an American success story."

The Monahans were especially proud. Frimpong had met his "American parents" on move-in day in 2005, and they promptly invited him to spend Thanksgiving in San Diego. They gave him his first cell phone and laptop and took him on family vacations. They sat in their kitchen for hours listening to his stories about Ghana. They were also impressed by his knowledge of the Bible, and his quiet spirituality helped bolster their own faith. "He was going to graduate, play professionally, make more money here than he ever could in Ghana and bring it back to support his family," Loni says. "Eric really had it all."

Frimpong's journey from soccer hero to convicted felon began a little more than halfway through his senior year. (The account that follows is based on police reports, interview transcripts, court proceedings and comments from trial observers.) The night of Feb. 16 began for Frimpong in the same place where he started most Friday nights, on the couch in his house at 6547 Del Playa Drive, watching a movie with housemates. His girlfriend, Yesenia Prieto, was working late, but Eric had reason to celebrate, fresh off an impressive 10-day tryout for the Wizards, so he showered and went to meet friends at a party at 6681 Del Playa Drive. It was outside that home, at about 11:30 p.m., that Frimpong met Jane Doe, a UCSB freshman. They struck up a conversation, then walked back to his house to play beer pong. They arrived just before midnight, and Eric introduced Jane to his roommates before taking her to the patio, where the two of them played beer pong for a few minutes until, according to Frimpong, Doe said she wanted to smoke, so they headed for the park next door. At the park, he says, Doe approached another male, who appeared to have followed them. When she walked back to Frimpong, she started kissing him, but he wasn't interested because she smelled of cigarettes. Doe became aggressive, he says, and stuck her hand down his pants. He pushed her away, then headed to the home of his friend, Krystal Giang, who'd been expecting him. By 4 a.m., he was in bed at Prieto's apartment.

About an hour and a half earlier, Jane Doe, accompanied by her sister and two friends, checked into Goleta Valley Cottage Hospital emergency clinic, claiming she had been raped. She was transferred to the Sexual Assault Response center downtown, where a nurse discovered a laceration to Doe's external genitalia and bruises on her body, findings consistent with sexual assault.

"Yesterday was a really good day," Doe told sheriff's detectives Daniel Kies and Michael Scherbarth when they arrived at her dorm room the next morning, according to a police transcript. The reason for cheer: The 18-year-old Doe had just regained her driver's license following a juvenile DUI conviction. At around 9 p.m. on Feb. 16, she went to a party. After stopping at a second party, Doe left the group and headed for a fraternity bash on Del Playa. "That's where I saw the guy," she told police.

From there, Doe's story is mostly consistent with Frimpong's, up to and including their game of beer pong. "He was really nice," she said. But their accounts differ sharply after that. According to Doe, the next thing she remembers is being on the beach, where the nice guy turned violent, knocking her to the ground, striking her in the face, holding her throat and raping her before fleeing. Having lost her purse, Doe walked to Del Playa, where she stopped a passerby, student Justin Hannah. Using his cell, she phoned a friend, her father and then her friends, who picked her up around 1:30 a.m. Doe, who admitted to drinking heavily throughout the evening, couldn't remember anything between stepping into their car and going to the hospital -- a period of one hour -- but her friends would fill in the blanks: At first Doe didn't want to go to the hospital because she was worried about getting in trouble for drinking. But back at the dorm, her friends kept urging, and she relented. Sitting with the detectives that morning, she described her attacker as a black male who spoke with an "island accent" and had "big lips" and short hair. His name? "Eric, I think."

Sometime around noon on Feb. 17, Kies and Scherbarth spotted Frimpong hanging out with friends at the park on Del Playa. When Kies asked if he would accompany them to the station to talk about "what happened last night," Frimpong agreed to go, despite being unsure what the detective meant. Once at the station, Kies reminded Frimpong that he had come voluntarily and asked him to describe what he'd been doing the previous night. According to the police transcript, Frimpong told Kies about watching a movie at home, then going to a party and eventually meeting Doe, whom he described as one of the "random soccer fans," and playing beer pong with her before heading to Giang's house and later to Prieto's. Kies then asked for Frimpong's consent to collect the clothes he'd worn the night before. "Yeah," Frimpong responded, "but I still don't know what's going on." Kies explained that the girl said that they'd "had sex" on the beach. "Wow," Frimpong responded. Kies then informed Frimpong that he was being detained and read him his rights. Minutes later, he explained the rape accusation. "I didn't have sex with her," Frimpong insisted. Charged with felony rape, he phoned Paul Monahan, who spread the word. Vom Steeg couldn't believe it: "I'm thinking, Frimpong? Rape? No way." (The coach later asked Frimpong directly. "I said, 'Eric, is there any chance you had sex but you thought maybe it was consensual?' He said, 'Tim, I never pulled my pants down.' I said, 'If you did this, DNA will prove it.' He said, 'Coach, I'm not stupid.' ")

When the test results came back in March, Frimpong's DNA hadn't been found on Jane Doe's clothing or body, but Doe's DNA had been found on Frimpong: in two nucleated epithelial cells, found on his scrotum and penis, and in an unspecified trace under his fingernail. (Epithelial cells are found inside the body and in body fluids like mucus, saliva and sweat. These tested negative as vaginal cells, but such tests can be inconclusive. When the case went to trial that November, the defense argued that the findings were consistent with Frimpong's claim that Doe had grabbed his genitals.) Also, semen found on Doe's underwear didn't match Frimpong's -- but it was a match for that of Benjamin Randall, Doe's sexual partner throughout her freshman year.

Despite having DNA evidence matched to him, Randall was never a suspect. Neither was the man who retrieved Doe's purse, which she said she'd lost either on the beach or at Frimpong's home. It was delivered to the sheriff's department the next day, minus $30, by someone described in the police report as a "can recycler." But because of a "language barrier," he wasn't questioned. Frimpong was the only suspect, even though there was no apparent sign of sexual activity -- no blood, semen, vaginal secretions -- or any scratches or other telltale marks of rape on his body or clothes. The absence of abrasions was odd. Doe told authorities she was wearing a "thicker ring" on her right ring finger and that she hit her attacker so hard, "all my knuckles were screwed up." There was also very little sand found on his clothes.

Throughout the investigation and during the trial, Doe admitted to gaps in her memory. In her interview with detectives, she claimed she had consumed "a couple shots of vodka" before leaving her dorm. In an interview that April with assistant district attorney Mary Barron, the lead prosecutor, Doe said she'd consumed more throughout the evening. "I know I had beer," she said. "And I know I had rum." She also acknowledged that her memory after beer pong was hazy. "That's when it starts to, like, cut out," she told Barron. According to the transcript, Doe had little memory of going to the beach, and her recollection of the rape itself was scattered. Asked whether she recalled going outside to smoke, Doe said she "probably" smoked but didn't remember when. "I don't even know, since there's that chunk missing."

So what happened on the beach? Doe said Frimpong may have tried to kiss her, but when pressed by Barron she admitted, "I have no clue. I'm just assuming…" She also said, "I remember him biting me on my face," even though she had told the emergency room doctor she thought she'd been hit, and when questioned by detectives, she said she didn't know about being bitten. Doe continued, "I saw him, like, feel around -- take off his belt -- or something on his pants -- I don't know." She said she remembered being penetrated, and "it felt like a penis." Barron asked if the attacker was the same person she'd played beer pong with. Doe said that while she couldn't recall going to the beach, she remembered the attacker's accent, his eyes ("They were white") and his lips ("They're big"). She was also fairly confident that the rape lasted "15 minutes at the most… but then, since there's that huge chunk of time that I don't remember, it could be anything."

Many of Frimpong's supporters believe that race is at the heart of the case. Santa Barbara County has nearly 425,000 residents, but only 2% are black. "I love this town," says Foley, a resident for 30 years, "but there's no question there's racism here." Thanks to Frimpong's celebrity status, he wasn't flying under the radar. "I'm 100% convinced that they were going to nail this guy before he walked into the station," Foley says. (At the trial, Burns testified that in a Feb. 22 phone call from Kies, the detective asked her to expedite her usual process, reminding her that this was a "high-profile case.")

The jury began deliberating on Friday, Dec. 14; the next Monday, just after 3:30 p.m., came the guilty verdict. On Jan. 31, 2008, with Frimpong in jail awaiting sentencing, the defense filed a motion for a new trial, citing several factors, including a development with the jury: In a written declaration to the court, juror Ann Diebold stated, "I regret the decision I made in finding Mr. Frimpong guilty." Among her many points was the court's refusal to provide the jury with evidence they had requested for review, including Doe's testimony and Frimpong's interview with Kies -- the latter because some jurors stated that they wanted "the opportunity to hear Mr. Frimpong's side of the story." (They were read only Doe's direct testimony, without cross-examination, because Judge Hill said "it would take some time to gather the additional information," Diebold wrote.) Diebold also claimed that the jurors rushed through deliberations so they could conclude the case by the Christmas holiday. "I felt pressure from the judge and other jurors to reach a verdict by Dec. 18," she wrote.

Sanger's motion was a last-second heave, but it allowed him to put his own forensic dentist on the stand. Defense expert Charles Bowers fell ill during the trial and was unable to testify, but at the hearing on Feb. 28, he delivered his opinion: Frimpong's teeth could not have made the bite, but Randall's (the victim's boyfriend) teeth could have. As Bowers spoke, there was a buzz in the gallery. But Judge Hill was unmoved. He began the hearing by saying that in his 27-year career, "I've not seen a rape case with so much incriminating, credible and powerful evidence," and ended it by dismissing the motion. Three days later, he sentenced Frimpong to six years.

"It's a terrible thing that happened to me," Frimpong says. "Being in here, I keep asking myself why God put me in that situation. And then it struck me: Maybe I can reach more people, help more people, if they hear my story." His supporters say it's working. "All you have to do is look at Frimmer's camp -- he hasn't lost anyone," Vom Steeg says. "In fact, since the trial, he's actually gaining supporters." In Ghana, Frimpong's plight is well-documented by the media. In Santa Barbara, people continue to proclaim his innocence, even when it's not easy to do so. After writing several opinion pieces in the local papers, Kim Seefeld was inexplicably subpoenaed to appear at the hearings on the motion for a new trial. (She was never called to testify.) "I got harassed by the DA, subpoenaed and threatened, all because I stuck my neck out for someone I believe is innocent," says Seefeld, who plans to continue her writing. "That's what happens to a citizen who dares to question our justice system in Santa Barbara."

And then there are the letters from all over the world, many containing donations. "These are people who don't even know Eric, have never spoken directly to him," Loni Monahan says with awe. "Eric was born to be a pro soccer player, but he's realized he has more impact in the direction he's going. There's a groundswell going on." The key addition to Team Frimpong is Ronald Turner, a Sacramento-based, court-appointed appellate attorney who has filed the opening brief in an appeal with the Second Appellate District of California. The process gives Frimpong hope.

Full article here. Originally peeped here.

Finding My Voice and Stuff

2009-07-15T13:21:00.005-05:00

I had one of those self-realization/epiphany moments the other day that came to light simply from my husband telling me he liked my natural speaking voice.

My natural speaking voice is pretty deep. Sort of like Alicia Keys deep, but not quite that homeboyish (anyone remember how she used to talk around her 1st album? I doooooooo!). But hearing that made me realize that I rarely use my natural speaking voice unless I'm at work, or bitching someone out. I realized that most of the time I speak in a higher, lighter voice. Why? Why have I been doing that for so long?

I have always been extremely shy (in the past) to somewhat reserved (now) unless I know you pretty well. I suffered from low self-esteem for various reasons, like many other girls and young women. Most of my friends (and even some of my bloggies--blogging homies) view me as a hippie unicorn sunshine creature--which I am, most of the time. I wonder if over the years I unconsciously changed my voice tone to "fit" that image of me. Or to seem non-threatening in general, maybe? My voice sounds pretty authoritative when I get to talkin' bout thangs. In one of those party games where people have to write stuff about you, last week, a friend wrote that I was a Southern Belle. When I think back to the voice I have been using, my southern accent also sounds a LOT stronger in the voice I "use" than when I use my natural speaking voice. KB said I sound like Sandy the Squirrel from Spongebob Squarepants. I have not heard the voice of this character, so KB's ass-beating status is currently pending. ~~(As long as I don't sound like Beyonce, LAWD)~~

Anyhoo, so now I've been trying to consciously use my natural speaking voice and in the process have become aware of the different situations I use the "pixie-friendly" voice in. It's not COMPLETELY unnatural, as when I'm tired or other random times my voice is softer but there is a definite switch. But I have fallen in love with my natural speaking voice after all these years. It's unique, awesome, zexy, powerful, direct. Pixies can have deep voices! No more trying to fit an image. It's amazing how we can be so UNAWARE of the things we do to hone our presentation of selves. And all it took was this one comment (shout out to my boo, HEEEYYY!). I am seriously stunned over here.

Have any of you had something similar happen to you? Where you tried to hide or play down a physical or personality trait of yours (consciously or unconsciously) that you felt somehow wouldn't "fit"? Share!

In other news, my jaw has been hurting like whoa. I know my teeth are out of alignment but I'm in denial over braces. Invisilign, maybe. Anyone been told you need braces in adulthood? I also want, NEED Lasik. Soon, my pretties, soon. Anyone had Lasik??

Sup

2009-07-14T00:00:00.000-05:00

Surgeon General and Scientists

2009-07-13T13:18:00.002-05:00

Dr. Regina Benjamin is the new Surgeon General, as picked by President Obama. Here are some facts about her and her practice that stuck out to me as inspiring and most excellent.

"When people couldn't pay, she didn't charge them," Obama said. "When the clinic wasn't making money, she didn't take a salary for herself."

Like many of her patients, the clinic has suffered its own life-threatening challenges. It was heavily damaged by Hurricane Georges in 1998 and Hurricane Katrina in 2005. It also burned to the ground several years ago. But Benjamin rebuilt it after each setback and has continued to offer medical care to the village's 2,500 residents.

For more about the role of the Surgeon General in the United States, who often is the face and first line of defense of public health, click here.

Peeped here and here.

I am in admiration whenever I encounter a woman scientist or doctor, especially a black woman scientist (because I rarely see black woman scientists). I secretly want to go back and get a degree in Biology, but I don't know how realistic or feasible that would be.

Do I have any scientist readers (male or female, any race)? I know BCU is in the science field and if she's reading this, I invite you to comment.

What is your job/career like? What was school like? What is your daily routine at work? Do you enjoy it? Are the hours manageable? Please share!

Uganda Bravebirds

2009-07-08T22:10:00.004-05:00

In a land far away where the sun doesn't spare a soul
And a twisted tradition has a girl in a strangle-hold
Lies a desert with the footprints...of little girls with a secret
Of a pain, that you and I could never know

Uganda's President has banned the practice of Female Genital Mutilation (FGM), or female circumcision. This practice is done on young girls with a crude, often unclean knife or blade with no numbing or anesthetic, often removes the clitoral hood, and/or vaginal lips, and often is stitched back up into a small opening. This cultural practice transports them into womanhood and makes them marriageable, from what I understand. I have read often that the subsequent pain is supposed to ensure the woman's faithfulness, as she will not seek out sex for pleasure thus ensuring the husband's paternity and control/domination over his wife. Complications include reduced-to-no sexual pleasure, infections, pain and possible life-threatening complications in childbirth, maternal and infant mortality, and increased susceptibility to diseases such as HIV.

Little feet running fast as they can like a bird in flight
Through the sand with the fire in the sky and the indigo nights
She ran away from a life spent...being witness to other unwilling participants
Of a pain, that you and I could never know

The song in this post is attributed to Waris Dirie (but also others like her, I'm sure), who underwent FGM at the age of five years, and fled from an arranged marriage at the age of thirteen years to London. She has written an internationally bestselling book about her life and worked on a film of the same subject. She became a supermodel and is still an activist against FGM.

As she speaks you can tell that the words are not easy to say
Cause they have the power to transport her to that impossible day
But she hasn't any regrets, cause she won't become a woman with a secret
Of a pain that you and I could never know

Several other African countries have officially banned FGM, but in some countries apparently, the practice is still rampant. This seems really difficult to police effectively, but I truly believe just recognizing the dangers and human rights violations of this practice and stating sanctions against it is a hugely important step for women. Awareness is key so I think this is a giant leap forward every time a country bans it. I am always respectful and mindful of other cultures but I do think a line has to be drawn when it comes to blatantly harming, disabling, and often incapacitating another human being for the sake of marriageablility and womanhood. If there are those more knowledgeable on this subject, I invite your thoughts as well as those of all my readers.

You're a bravebird...of the rarest kind
You may be one of the walking wounded...but still you fly
You're a bravebird...you put yourself on the line
When you shared your secret with the world...you saved another mother's child

Peeped here through here.

Bravebird - Amel Larrieux

Moving and Thangs...

2009-06-26T16:39:00.001-05:00

Hey peeps! New posts coming soon, I'm moving next week so I've been busy with that, work, and my summer class. If you're on Twitter, find me! www.twitter.com/PixieGem

Child Murder

2009-06-19T16:29:00.000-05:00

Last weekend I saw this episode (forgot what channel) of a documentary-style series that CBS does called 48 Hours. Featured on this episode was Eric Smith, who at the age of 13 murdered Derrick Robie who was 4 years old. The episode traced back the story and focused on the parole hearings of Eric, now an adult. He has been denied parole 4 times, so he has been in prison since he was 14 (he is now 29) for a crime committed at age 13.

Eric Smith, age 13-14, on trial for murder

Derrick Robie, murdered at age 4.

Eric Smith as an adult and prisoner. He is 29 now.

Here are some facts about the case, as excerpted from the 48 Hours episode, in italics. I have bolded lines that stuck out to me and/or that I will address toward the end.

During the summer of '93, Smith attended a recreation program held a block from the Robie home. Derrick also attended the program. On Aug. 2, Derrick was ready to head out to the program, but his mother wasn't ready to take him. "Normally, I would walk him to the end of the driveway, but Dalton that morning was very fussy," recalls Doreen Robie. "Derrick says, 'It’s OK, mom. I’ll go by myself.' … He gave me a kiss and I said, 'I love you,' and he says, 'I love you, Mom,' and he went hopping off the sidewalk." He had only a block to go, and no streets to cross. The park was on a dead-end street. "It was the first time I've ever let him go anywhere alone," says Doreen Robie.

On Aug. 2, 1993, Derrick's body was found in a small patch of woods, halfway between the park where he was headed, and his home. Evidence showed that Derrick was lured from the sidewalk and strangled. "He discovered and dug up one very large rock and one smaller rock. And he battered Derrick with those rocks," recalls lead investigator Charles Wood. "He went into Derrick's lunch bag and he smashed a banana and took Derrick's Kool Aid, and he actually poured that Kool-Aid into the – that had been made by the large rocks. And he sodomized Derrick with a small stick that he had found."

"At one point, he turned to me and he said he did it. I lost control," said Smith's mother, Tammy. "I asked him why, and why he did it. And he was just saying, 'I don't know. I don't know.' And he cried." The jury heard that as a toddler, Smith threw temper tantrums and banged his head on the floor. He had speech problems, he was held back at school, and he was relentlessly bullied. When he asked for help with his anger, his adoptive father did not seem equipped to give it to him. "He was really upset. He was crunching his fists and shaking and told me that 'Dad, I need help,'" said Ted Smith. "I said 'Hold it. When I got angry when I was your age, I just grabbed a bag in our barn and started beating on it until I was too tired to do anything else.' "Then, Ted Smith said: "I heard a door shut, and I turned around and he was gone. And as I got to the window, he was coming back in the door and he was calm. And I looked down and I noticed his knuckles and his hands were kind of skinned up and bloody. I asked him what happened, and he said, 'I hit the tree a couple of times.' Seemed to be OK."

When coming up for a parole hearing:

Smith has made the case that he is uniquely qualified to counsel bullied children, and one day sees himself as a forensic psychologist, doing research on children who kill. "You may think I'm a threat to the well-being of society," says Smith. "And I can understand why you would feel that way. The fact is that I'm not. I'd be an asset to society."

Full story here. So, what is your opinion? Should minors be sentenced as adults? What is the age cut-off if minors should be charged as adults? Does it depend on the crime? Do you believe Eric has been punished enough for his crime?

I think what Eric did was horrendous and I also believe 13 years old is not a "child" mindset when it comes to this type of crime. If you read what exactly Eric did to Derrick, it truly seems as though he had some serious mental problems and needed psychiatric care. But would you think the same thing if it was an adult that committed this crime? It could be true that he has mental problems; it could also be just as true that he is simply a sociopath (there seem to be elements of both spur-of-the-moment, out-of-control rage and cold-blooded calculation). But a competent psychiatrist should be able to make that diagnosis. Since Eric has also gone through intensive counseling, it does appear that keeping him behind bars is done for the sake of Derrick and his family rather than society and legal justice that is supposed to be part of the foundation of this country, it seems that morality and emotions are taking precedence over justice and rehabilitating criminals into positive contributors to society.

The bottom line is that we are not sure how to treat children and minors in the criminal arena. It's easy to point to the law for other issues such as statutory rape and other decisions that minors cannot legally make, but when a crime occurs, ESPECIALLY murder, that line is blurred because it is difficult to keep your emotions out of cases like these. If Eric's psychiatrist/counselor does believe him fit to be among society, i think it is doing other troubled children and society as a whole a grave injustice to keep him imprisoned.

Suggest A Song Monday-Bachelorette

2009-06-15T09:18:00.003-05:00

Hey peeps! How was your weekend? Regulars, newbies, and lurkers are you ready to drop a song recommendation? Welcome back to Suggest A Song Monday.

I suggest a song that I love and that I think you would love. You listen to it. Tell me what you think in the comments. Then, you also recommend one song to me and I will listen to it and tell you what I think. You don't have to limit yourself to a particular genre, just any one song that you love.

Today we have Bachelorette by Bjork. This song makes me think of old literature about scorned women haunting their lover from a dysfunctional relationship. I see blackness, fire, ghostly wisps, glowing rage, etc. This song communicates love, obsession, anger, hurt, all of that. I love it! Even if you don't like the melody of the song I bet a lot of us can relate to the lyrics. One of my favorite lyrics from this song is featured on the sidebar of this blog. I bolded the lyrics I really like below. This is a powerful song. If they remade Medusa, this song should totally be on the soundtrack. Killer.

Bachelorette (Family Tree Version) - Bjork

I'm a fountain of blood/In the shape of a girl/You're the bird on the brim/Hypnotized by the whirl/Drink me, make me feel real/Wet your beak in the stream/Game we're playing is life/Love is a two way dream/Leave me now, return tonight/Tide will show you the way/If you forget my name/You will go astray/Like a killer whale/Trapped in a bay/I'm a path of cinders/Burning under your feet/You're the one who walks me/I'm your one way street/I'm a whisper in water/Secret for you to hear/You are the one who grows distant/When I beckon you near/Leave me now, return tonight/The tide will show you the way/If you forget my name/You will go astray/Like a killer whale/Trapped in a bay/I'm a tree that grows hearts/One for each that you take/You're the intruders hand/I'm the branch that you break/Hum-yeah!

Detroit and Other Notes

2009-06-11T08:48:00.005-05:00

HOLA! I flew into Detroit last Friday evening and got back Tuesday morning. My sister graduated high school. I was so grateful from the brief respite from work and responsibilities and I love hanging with my siblings. The plane ride itself was inspiring. As we descended into Detroit, I looked out the window and it was just this grid of sparkling lights almost as far as the eye could see. When you fly at night, it's like everywhere is Christmas. The city lights were hypnotizing and for a few moments I felt suspended in time and unbelievably happy. I knew at that moment that I have to maintain and cultivate this feeling, and for me, the excitement of traveling, even from city to city just does something to me. Do you ever get these feelings? Or do I sound like I'm on acid? A little bit of both, you say? Very well then.

Anyhoo, I am always fascinated by different cities and the tapestry of the streets. I rode by the old house and neighborhood that I used to visit during my pre-teen and teenage years when my stepmother and father were married, and that my siblings grew up in. We used to ride bikes up and down the street, take a walk a few blocks down to the drugstore, everyone knew each other and all had kids around the same age, it was a very positive street for families. Now, the house is boarded up, various other houses on the street are either boarded up or in a terrible state of disarray. It was really sobering to see that. Driving down Detroit's streets, everything seems gray (partly due to the weather), many buildings are delapidated, there are more individually owned stores and fast-food restaurants than chains, etc. But it definitely has a unique character, as do many other cities. I didn't get to see the African-American museum, but I will surely see it next time. Stopped by the Motown museum, downtown, Riverfront, Detroit's Breakfast Club, and other small restaurants. It will definitely be interesting to see what happens to this city in the upcoming years. Census numbers have been under 1 million for several years. I know one of the people running for City Council and let's just say this person is certainly not what Detroit needs but I think voter will be able to see through this person easily.

BTW, my sister's graduation was so ghetto and cunty. The administrators need to be slapped for not having better control and decorum. The funny thing is, her school is actually one of the nicer schools in Detroit. The class treasurer made a speech where he basically started giving shout outs to individual students, called out students to come get their T-shirts, then straight up broke the law. As many know, it is illegal to have prayer in public schools. This mothafugga acknowledged that while they couldn't pray, they would have a "commemorative moment" instead and straight bust into a prayer thanking the Lord and thangs. The administrator (I think the principal) instructed him to do so in the introduction so she's just as bad if not worse. The graduation was not organized very well, with long pauses and awkward moments. One of the speakers I had to look around to see if it was a joke. To sum it up, he may have been retarded and/or blind, and spoke about completing a 4 year degree in a year and a half, then going on to get 2 Masters degres, and then completing a Bachelors of Social Work at one school and a Masters of Social Work at the same time. Yeah. Needless to say, my face was like this: -_- the whole time. There was an excellent keynote speaker though, a black man who is a professor of Comparative Literature. He gave great, applicable college curriculum advice and was proficient in many languages. I just reminded myself to look him up...think his name was Derek Collins or something. Then, the diplomas had the students' names on them which theoretically was nice, but in application, jammed up the whole procession of calling students names while they frantically tried to match diplomas tostudents. At the end, the students were heard chanting, "09, bitch!" while their loving and devoted family members looked on. SMH.

So anyways, I'm back. Welcome and hello to my new followers, regulars, and lurkers. I need to go through my archives but I think this month might be my blogiversary...been blogging for a year now hooraaayyy! I want to leave you with a video of Amel Larrieux performing live last Friday in New York at the Greene Space. Click here for the link. Amel comes out and gives a short interview at the 5:30 mark. Her songs are from the 12:00 mark to the 53:00 mark. The songs she sang (in order) are We Can Be New, For Real, Magic, Down, Gills and Tails, Have You, and I Like the Sunrise (she tears it down for this song). Check it out and tell a friend!

Arab, Middle-Eastern...White?

2009-06-04T10:29:00.003-05:00

I have always been fascinated by multicultural studies and racial/ethnic classification. One under-studied facet of race has been the racial/ethnic identity of Middle-Easterners and Arabs. The United States officially classifies people from these regions as white. However, I have never thought of them as what we consider white (although some do "look" white), and I am willing to bet many of you haven't either.

Discussions on race/ethnicity are of course always based on the foundation that race is a social construction. We know this, accept this, and move on. But operating within and under this social construction, there are still many valid points and feelings because self-identity is a crucial component of individual and societal development.

I recently read an article about Middle-Eastern and Arab students applying to UCLA and not having an option to check the racial/ethnic classification they were looking for. Most did not identify with being "white" so some checked other options. Here are some quotes from the article, in italics:

For years the federal government has classified Arab Americans and Middle Easterners as white. But confusion and disagreement have led some students to check "Asian" or "African," depending on what part of the Middle East they came from. Some, like Salame, simply marked "Other."

This is interesting to me because if you think of countries and regions usually associated with the Middle East (including but not limited to Afghanistan, Iran, Iraq, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Saudi Arabia, Syria, and Yemen), you rarely hear them in the context of the continent they are situated in; they are usually mentioned as a totally separate entity from Africa or Asia.

The UCLA students said having their own ethnic designation goes beyond self-identity and has real implications for the larger Arab and Middle Eastern communities.

The "white" label can hurt them with universities and companies that use the information to promote diversity, they say, and can result in the gathering of little or no statistical data on important issues, such as health trends in the community.

The Arab American Institute estimates that including Middle Easterners in the white category on the census has led to a population undercount of more than a million, said Helen Samhan, who works at the institute. There are more than 3 million Arabs in the United States, the institute says.

I also feel it's important to make a distinction between Middle Eastern and Arab people because not every Middle-Easterner is Arab and not every Arab is a Middle-Easterner (North Africans, etc.). Also, people further assume Middle Eastern and/or Arab equals Muslim and that is not always the case either.

I feel that we, especially in the United States, have a lot to learn about the nuances and distinctions between people of Middle Eastern or Arab descent and issues of racial and/or ethnic classification and self-identification. What comes to your mind when you think of Middle Eastern people or Arab people? Do you agree with their classification in the United States as white people? Why or why not? I also welcome any discussion/enlightenment from people more knowledgeable than me on this subject.

Interview with Black Girl Long Hair

2009-06-02T08:15:00.000-05:00

In my continuing quest for natural hair world domination *insert unnecessarily long evil laugh here* I was interviewed by the blog Black Girl Long Hair, which is a wonderful, glorious blog community centered around natural hair, about my experience being natural. Read the interview here! Drop a comment there if you like. You can also use this post on my blog to ask me any questions about natural hair in the comments. I know some people from there are now following my blog here, so welcome to you! Thank you for reading!

I Left My Heart in San Francisco...

2009-06-01T06:58:00.007-05:00

I just had the best 1-day trip ever, lol. This trip has taught me that it really is good to get away, even if only for a weekend. Don't rule it out if you want to see certain cities. You can see a lot in a weekend. Anyhoo, flew in to San Francisco. Gorgeous city! Mountains in the distance, the bay, the steep, roller-coaster like streets, historic charming feel, walker-friendly. Great city. I was struck by the significant Asian population there. All of the airport workers, most of the cab drivers, every other restaurant was Asian. It was cool seeing the diversity. Houston is extremely diverse and has a large Vietnamese population, but Houston pretty much has a large everything population. We probably have a large unicorn population if you know where to look.

View from the plane. Over some deserty looking state. I wish the pilot, flight attendants, SOMEBODY would update the passengers on what we're flying over. Some of us are fascinated by it!

View on the way to the hotel

We stayed in the Hotel Carlton, a cute, eco-friendly boutique hotel with an Arab aesthetic theme.

In the elevator

Love the decor, especially the side table

View from the hotel window...love the mountains on the horizon

The hotel room key card. Looks like a Tunisian woman, maybe?

So we ate, shopped a bit, walked, got cursed out by calf muscles and foot arches, then got ready for the concerts. Both shows were sold out. The crowd was extremely diverse, all ages and races turned out. I didn't get any pictures or video (except a couple of audio clips) inside the venue, but let me tell you, Amel Larrieux is a living legend. This woman is an entertainer with a capital E. Her voice is amazing. She hits the high notes like Minnie Riperton, her voice sounds even better live than on the track, she uses a live band, she involves the audience, and she really just has an open, positive vibe, aura, etc. During one song she freestyled the sound of a trumpet with her voice and her hand cupped over her mouth. It was crazy awesome.

***

I am a member of her fansite, Blisslife, and somehow she knows and remembers the members on there and seeks them out at her shows. After a song she asked if any Blisslifers were in the house and my arms shot up. She looked at me, smiled and said "Gem! From Texas!" She told everyone that I flew in from Texas to see her and how I had sent her some lavender lotion to New York. She left the stage, came out into the audience, held my hand and sang Stevie Wonder's All I Do (Is Think About You) to me. I bought tickets to both the 8pm and 10pm songs and I am so glad I did. I got the personal experience at the 8pm show, and at the 10pm show she performed different songs so I really got to experience a full concert with her. Then, I got to meet her afterward. She signed my concert tickets, took a picture with me, and we chatted. I had requested that she play a song on the Blisslife forums and she did. She thanked me for requesting it and said because of my request she had the band learn the song because they didn't know it. Elated, was I! She told my husband I was a precious angel and hugged me. We chatted a minute more, and that was it. I floated to the cab back to the hotel.

***

To have had this personal experience with my favorite artist is beyond amazing. I love that she has been able to find success as an independent artist. I encourage you to check out some of her songs and especially to read the lyrics. Look her up on Youtube to see some of her live performances. Here are the songs she performed, all clickable links to either the recorded song or her live version (although not Saturday's live versoion). Best. Birthday. Ever!

***

Songs Performed:

Earn My Affections

Trouble (this is the song she freestyled the trumpet at the end with her voice...she went above and beyond the recorded version)

All I Do (Is Think About You) by Stevie Wonder. She came out in the audience, held my hand and sang this TO ME!

We Can Be New-album version here. Live version here. This is one of my FAVORITE all-time songs.

Magic

Make Me Whole

If I Were A Bell

Infinite Possibilities

Tell Me

For Real (love the lyrics)

Down (this is the song I requested that she thanked me for requesting. This is 1 of my favorite songs, so underrated.)

Pop Life by Prince

Keep Tryin' (I still jam this song on the IPOD. Love it)

Have You (she hasn't even recorded this song yet, so you can only hear it live.)

Gills and Tails (another favorite)

Bravebird (this song is about a woman who experienced female genital mutilation)

Get Up

Map of the venue. The circle is where our table was and at the top you can see the stage. We were basically right smack dab in front of the stage.

My signed tickets by Amel. The 1st one says: Love you my lil sis and the 2nd one says: You know how I feel bout you.

Amel and I. Hair cousins!!

Unicorn Tattoos Gone Horribly Wrong

2009-05-28T08:33:00.003-05:00

As you all know, I am mixed with unicorn. This is a source of pride for me, so it hurts to tell y'all I cried so many rainbow unicorn tears after witnessing the following unicorn tattoo tragedies. Join me, won't you?

Why is it wearing the hood of the Grim Reaper? The magic gem in the middle of it's forehead...what really kills me is how serious it looks about rocking out on the guitar. And if that wasn't enough of a guitar pick to the soul, they had to put metal at the bottom and splatter blood everywhere. I'm feeling weak...

...*grabs a counter to steady myself* I need answers. Why is it pissing a rainbow onto a cupcake, which then appears to give the cupcake almighty powers? What's with the foliage in the background? Why is all of this #1?

...It's...it's raping a dolphin, guys. Look at the expression on the dolphin's face. The unicorn just straight up plucked homeboy (homegirl?) out the ocean and is making the dolphin it's bitch. Why? Also, does the rainbow really need to be a backdrop to this taking of innocence?

...I can't. I just can't.

To see more, click here via here. I don't know whether to thank or fight my husband for showing me this.

Pygmy Jerboa

2009-05-27T13:44:00.004-05:00

As cute as this little Pokemon-looking creature is, if I saw homie hobbling through my hallway my first instinct will still be to reach for the nearest flamethrower (yes, I have several flamethrowers, don't you?). When my husband and I saw this, we were expecting it to attack the camera and then you would just see blood everywhere for no reason. But it didn't. What a cutie!

Pygmy Jerboas are apparently the smallest rodents in the world and are found throughout Central Asia.

Originally peeped here via my husband.

Quarter Century Milestone

2009-05-25T05:00:00.002-05:00

Today is my 25th birthday! I'll wait while you cabbage patch, tootsie roll, butterly, booty clap, and/or stanky leg appropriately.

Done? Mm-kay. I don't feel old or young. I just feel important. I feel I am at a stage in life where things are about to start happening; where the foundation of my peak adult years will start being poured (you pour foundation right?). I see things looming on the horizon of the future and I am not afraid. I am excited.

My bloggies, here is how y'all can help me celebrate my birthday. You must do all of the following, because it's my birthday and I said so.

1.) Stop by the comment box and tell me how you found my blog and what keeps you coming back. Is there anything you want me to blog about in particular? YES, EVEN ALL YOU LURKERS, just for this one day, de-lurk and give me some feedback.

2.) Ask me anything. ANY question you want to know and I will answer it in an upcoming blog.

Can't wait to hear your responses! I'm off to bowl ~~drunkenly~~ and chillax. Then this weekend, I'll be headed to San Francisco to see my favorite singer perform. Have a great ~~my birthday~~ Memorial Day and be safe.

My 22nd birthday in 2006:

I was only 7 months natural here, look at my Chia fro!

My 23rd birthday in 2007:

My 24th birthday in 2008:

Tagged! Get To Know Me

2009-05-19T19:29:00.003-05:00

The lovely ChocolateOrchid tagged me for this meme way back when color televisions debuted and I'm jussssttt nowww getting to it. Forgive me bloggers (and lurkers)!

What's your current obsession?
Getting a handle on my academic research. I start my Masters Thesis this fall and hope to get into a doctoral program.

What's your must have fashion need?
Currently: 2 bougie outfits for my birthday
Generally: T-shirts in every color of the rainbow...the nice cotton ones.

What are you wearing right now?
Teal scoopneck modal/cotton blend T-shirt, brown dress pants. I'm at home on the couch, so all jewelry and shoes are off. Or for maximum ignant impact, AWF.

What's your favorite food?
Fried garlic tofu!

What do you do for fun?
Bowl or read.

What made today special?
Eating lunch with my husband...and fried garlic tofu.

What would you like to learn to do?
Make jewelry, learn other languages, belly dance

What's the last thing you bought?
Whataburger for my husband. - _ -

What are you listening/watching right now?
NBA draft

What's your favorite weather?
Anything unicorn-friendly. Sunny, warm, breezy, rainbows, and sparkles.

What's your one goal in life?
Always keep the big picture in mind.

What do you think of the person that tagged you?
Natural, glowing, lovely, beautimous!

If you can have a house totally paid for, what would it look like?
Spanish or Mediterranean style layout, bay windows or similar nooks to cozy up in, abundant natural light

What would you like to have in your hands right now?
Acceptance letter to doctorate program of my choice

If you can swap lives with anyone in the world for one day who would it be and why?
Amel Larrieux. To be in the midst of all that creativity and her fresh outlook on the world would be inspiring.

If you can go anywhere in the world for the next hour where would you go?
Only an hour? Harsh, dude. Way harsh. I'ma go with Jurassic Park. Nothing at all could go wrong in an hour right?

What language would you like to learn?
Spanish fluently. Arabic, French, and Japanese conversationally.

What do you look for in a friend?
Someone who rises above the sea of stupidity and judgments.

Who do you want to meet in person?
Amel Larrieux. Seriously y'all, if you've never read her "blogs" I bet at least one will inspire you or at the least make you feel like you are wherever she is experiencing what she is experiencing.

What's your favorite type of music?
Trip-hop, ambient, jazz fusion/acid jazz, soul/funk, electronic and/or any combo of those

What's your dream job?
Author/jewelry/printmaker extraordinaress

Do you admire anyone's style?
Can't think of anyone famous, but I see admirable style all the time. Peeps that can pull the vintage/bohemian look off without looking like a hipster, douche, douchette, or just plain wrong.

Describe your personal style?
Colorful. Colors make me happy. I love combining random colors. I tend to go striking with color choices for clothes and shoes, and more simple with the jewelry. Simple emerald studs, crystal earrings, rose gold wedding ring, etc. Don't wear watches. Don't wear bracelets too much anymore, but if it catches my eye I'll throw it on. I like pendants a lot.

What's your favorite t.v show?
This changes as shows go on, come off, or I take a break from watching. Currently, I'm all up in The L Word. (pause?)

What's your favorite dessert?
Something with a bunch of grapes, strawberries, and blackberries and other berries, with a little bit of sugar or vegan cream cheese.

What's your favorite makeup brand?
I like MAC, but I really don't know shat about the various makeup brands. I used to be big on eyeshadow but not so much anymore. Just lip color and maybe some smoky taupe eyeshadow. I tried to eff with eyeliner but my eyes said no, no, no. Occasionally eff with mascara. Never effed with the other stuff (foundation, blush, bronzer, etc.).

What's your all time favorite perfume?
Twas Betsey Johnson but I don't eff with perfume too much anymore. I like natural, subtle scents more now, like from L'Occitane.

What's you fondest childhood memory?
Making up all sorts of unnecessary scenarios for my multi-ethnic Barbie dolls then climbing in my canopy bed and reading.

What would you do w/a major lottery winning?
Do the stanky leg all around my office, all in my supervisor's grill. Build a home. Or just buy one with a nice view. Sit down on the floor with all my travel books and make plans. Travel. Become author/jewelry/printmaking mogul. Take care of (select) family. Rescue poodles.

If you had to pick a song for your funeral/memorial service, what would you choose?
Beyond-Amel Larrieux

Rules:
1.)Respond: answer the questions on your blog.

2.)Replace one question that you dislike with a question of your own invention, add one more question of your own. (I replaced what is your favorite ice cream flavor with what is your favorite dessert?, and the question I added is the very last one.)

3.)Tag eight other people
Vesper
Mr. Socialight
Chanel
Mrsmarymack
Sydney/Bloggal
Bella
Lina
Alicia/Instant Vintage

And everyone reading!

Suggest A Song Monday-Wait Till You See Him

2009-05-18T09:34:00.001-05:00

I'm back for serious this time! The spring semester is over and I'm free as a bird! I missed you all, and thank you so much for hanging with me and giving words of encouragement. Let's get back in the mix with Suggest A Song Monday. First, the rules:

I suggest a song that I love and that I think you would love. You listen to it. Tell me what you think in the comments. Then, you also recommend one song to me and I will listen to it and tell you what I think. You don't have to limit yourself to a particular genre, just any one song that you love.

Today, we have Wait Till You See Him by Ella Fitzgerald. This is a very soulful, jazzy remix found on the Verve Remixed album (I think the 2nd one). Sounds like a nice song to listen to whilst driving at night to somewhere bougie (lol) or a wine/movie/date night with someone wonderful. I love the smooth feel of the music along with Ella's velvety voice. Enjoy!

Here is the version from the Verve Remixed Album:

Wait Till You See Him - Ella Fitzgerald

Wait till you see him/See how he looks/Wait till you see him/Wait till you hear him laugh/Painters of paintings, writers of books/Never could tell the half/Wait till you see him/See how he looks/(Music break)/Wait till you see him/See how he looks/Wait till you see him/Wait till you hear him laugh/Wait till you feel the warmth of his glance/Pensive and sweet and wise/All of it lovely/All of it thrilling/I'll never be willing to free him/When you see him/You won't believe your eyes/You won't believe/You won't believe your eyes (repeat)/Wait till you see him/You won't believe your eyes (repeat)//

The Light at the End of the Tunnel Approaches

2009-05-06T07:08:00.003-05:00

I'm done with all 3 classes and 1 out of 3 research papers. I received much positive feedback on my presentations of my paper subjects and had 1 very senior professor say he would love to be on my thesis committee, and another very respected professor say that the topic I did for her class may be publishable. I feel so high, academically speaking. I really think research may be my niche. Time will tell. The 2nd paper is due Friday, the 3rd paper on next Tuesday. After that, I shall be back to blogging (or blawgin if I may be a bit ignant). In the meantime, keep up with my shenanigans on Twitter (www.twitter.com/PixieGem) a magical day!

Family Weekend

2009-04-27T10:04:00.005-05:00

Hey peeps! No Suggest-A-Song Monday today; still playing catch-up. I was in Detroit/Kalamazoo/Battle Creek, Michigan all weekend for one of my brother's graduation from the School of Aviation at Western Michigan University. My brother has been a licensed pilot in different areas for some time now, and has now graduated. He has known he wanted to be a pilot since he was a wee tyke, so I am very impressed and proud that he has followed his dream all the way through. I remember when we were kids and a plane would go by and he would say, oh that sounds like a *insert engine or plane name here* and he would be fascinated by airports and everything. It feels good to be a black family that can say we have a pilot in the family. At age 22, no less. I have even been up in an airplane with him flying before; back in 2004 when he was only 18. How many of us can say we have literally put our lives in our sibling's hands before? Here are some pictures.

The new terminal at the main airport in Detroit. I like colors, so I couldn't help but to capture the changing scenes.

My brother, the graduate

Going clockwise from left: My father, brother #2, sister, brother #3, brother #1, stepmother, brother #1's girlfriend (kind of cut out the pic), grandmother, me, aunt.

My sister, 3 brothers, and me. Yes, I am the oldest and the shortest. Shut up.

My sister and I.

How was your weekend?

Suggest A Song Monday-Emeraldine

2009-04-20T08:34:00.002-05:00

Hey, bloggies! Man, I have been swamped with work and school. I want to share with you what I'm researching for my classes. In one class (Sociology of Law), I am writing a paper on media coverage on women who have been sentenced to death over the last 20 or so years and whether the focus goes more to women who have harmed their children vs. women who were convicted of other crimes. I will compare the coverage of women who harmed their children with the actual proportion of cases like these to see if the media is reinforcing and maintaining the motherhood ideal that society perpetuates (20 pages minimum). In my Quantitative Methods class, I am doing a research proposal on bi/multi-racial students and how they identify racially in different groups (whether a black-and-white student will identify as black, white, or mixed); 35 pages. In my Qualitative Methods class, I have interviewed 10 interracial couples on their experiences. I audio-recorded the interviews, am transcribing each one verbatim, and will write up my analysis in a journal-style paper (30-40 pages). I am overwhelmed but also excited about the research I am doing. Every semester brings me closer to my Masters degree and future. I told you all of this so you won't think I've abandoned you. I wanted to at least do a peace offering of a Suggest-A-Song Monday post, lol.

Welcome back to Suggest A Song Monday. First, I want to give shout-outs to all who participated last week (2 weeks ago?). Responses are forthcoming for those; I haven't forgotten!

Here are the rules: I suggest a song that I love and that I think you would love. You listen to it. Tell me what you think in the comments. Then, you also recommend one song to me and I will listen to it and tell you what I think. You don't have to limit yourself to a particular genre, just any one song that you love.

Today, we have Emeraldine by Corinne Bailey Rae. I love the dreamy, wintry springtime blossoming feel this song has. Very mellow. I have been missing her musical presence; I hope we hear something from her soon. She has understandably been very quiet since her husband died.

Emeraldine - Corinne Bailey Rae

I awake to the drip-drop of icicles/Melting outside my window/Everything was new/I had noticed a bird and seen/Cherry blossom/Was falling like confetti/What is happenin' to me these days?/(Chorus) I...I got intuition/Oh, I...I had my suspicions/I'm in love with you/It feels like springtime//Emeraldine, apple seed, olive green, intense/Colors unfurl like petals in a time-lapse sequence/Feels like something in embryo/My heart melts like 2 inches of snow in April's glow/What's this urgency?/What's this heat I'm feelin'?/Could I say I'm dreamin'?/Do I change my ways?/What is happenin' to me these days?/Chorus//

Let the Right One In

2009-04-08T08:43:00.004-05:00

I recommend you see Let the Right One In. It's a Swedish vampire film about love, friendship, fear, and loneliness. It is not a typical vampire movie where the violence and gore take center stage, and that is part of its charm. I love films that are magical aesthetically, and the Swedish setting and cold environment is shown off beautifully. The main characters are children which makes the story that much more haunting. This instantly became a favorite movie of mine. Here is the official website. You can buy, rent, or Netflix it now. Here is the official trailer:

Pink Dolphin

2009-04-07T00:00:00.000-05:00

This story is hella old, but my unicorn ancestry would not allow me to ignore this. For all new followers, I am part unicorn. This will become apparent to you throughout random blog posts that I do. ANYhoo...this is an albino dolphin that popped up in Louisiana. At least, that's the scientific description of it. Those of us of unicorn-ary heritage know that magical creatures such as these are plentiful on this good planet of ours; you just have to believe. (That was read in a whispering voice.) No, I am not high.

Peeped at DListed.

Check out my purple squirrel post here.

Suggest A Song Monday-I Belong To You

2009-04-06T00:00:00.000-05:00

So, I pretty much said 'eff' blogging again last week. I have 3 separate, original research papers and projects due for school (20 pages for one, 30-35 pages for the others) so I have been trying not to just quit life and be a vagrant, though it is tempting. I have decided to type up stuff when I can and schedule it to post on later dates. Aloha, new followers! What better way to introduce yourselves than in today's post?

Welcome back to Suggest A Song Monday. First, I want to give shout-outs to all who participated last week. I responded to all of you in the comments so check it out if you haven't already. Much love to MrsMaryMack, ChocolateOrchid, Fly Girl, Chanel, La Maravilla, and Mocha for dropping song suggestions!

Here are the rules: I suggest a song that I love and that I think you would love. You listen to it. Tell me what you think in the comments. Then, you also recommend one song to me and I will listen to it and tell you what I think. You don't have to limit yourself to a particular genre, just any one song that you love.

Today we have I Belong To You by Lenny Kravitz. This song is so sexy, dark, sweet, funky, and of course jamming (at least I think so). Some of you may be familiar with this song already. If not, groove. If so, groove. It's hard not to groove to Lenny Kravitz, especially this song. The guitar breaks on here are soooo rockin'. I just want him to have jam sessions in my kitchen whenever I want. ~~Butt booty naked if possible.~~ Anyhoo, I love the lyrics to this song. If my husband dedicated this to me somehow, my panties would throw themselves at him. Ladies and fellas, if you feel this way about someone you should definitely let them know. It's a wonderful feeling.

I Belong To You - Lenny Kravitz

You are the flame in my heart/You light my way in the dark/You are the ultimate star/You lift me up from above/Your unconditional love/Takes me to paradise//(Chorus) I belong to you/And you...you belong to me too/You make my life complete/You make me feel so sweet//You make me feel so divine/Your soul and mine are entwined/Before you, I was blind/But since I opened my eyes/And with you there's no disguise/So I could open up my mind/I always loved you from the start/But I couldn't figure out/That I had to do it everyday/So I put away the fight/Now I'm gonna live my life/Giving you the most in every way/Chorus (repeat til end)/

Busy

2009-04-02T12:52:00.003-05:00

Hey there, my precious bloggies. I am overwhelmed with work and school right now (have 3 separate original research papers/projects ranging from 20-35 pages each due in a month), so blogging will resume shortly. I will try and schedule some blogs to post for when I'm too busy. In the meantime, follow me/chat with me on Twitter! I have gotten to know a lot of you through there, and it's a guaranteed good time. Here is my page.

I Love the 90s Friday:SWV

2009-03-27T09:40:00.004-05:00

I had a special request from Doc Brown to feature SWV, so that's what we're visiting today. Even though only 1.3 out of 3 members sang, everyone loved-did them some SWV. Coko and those fanga-nails...lawd. I picked a favorite song from each album:

Weak

Red lipstick, check. Camouflage, check. Industrial/elevator/shadowy setting, check. Velociraptor fingernails, check. I used to sing my little pre-pre-teen heart over this, lol. And I know many of y'all did too; don't front!

Use Your Heart

Apparently, this is a Neptunes production and Pharrell wrote the song! He was on so much 90s stuff that I had no clue! Anyhoo, I loved Taj's voice on this song. It was almost like hearing the Grim Reaper's voice because you would only hear Coko sing, so it was a surprise.

Someone

I still like this song even with P. Diddy douching up the song flying around in a helicopter for no reason. Motha****** are you even licensed?!

What were your favorite SWV songs?

Male Readers Turn Away For A Second...

2009-03-26T08:35:00.003-05:00

...Unless you are interested in dealing with the female blessing or curse (depending on how you look at it).

Ladies, the female monthly reminder is something that is so private, yet shared by all of us. We are often shamed into treating it as a dirty occurrence, and to hide every piece of evidence that it exists at all costs. Commercials show blue liquid cascading soothingly into whatever pad or tampon they happen to be advertising, as if we don't all have blood, RED BLOOD coursing around inside of us. We deny the natural in our society. Anyhoo, a year or two ago I discovered something that has made my cycle easier to manage. The menstrual cup.

Menstrual cups such as the DivaCup or the MoonCup make cycles easier in the following ways:
1. They are re-usable and last for a year or longer (DivaCup recommends replacing once a year). You can boil it between uses which cleans/disinfects it.
2. Because of the re-usable nature and long-lastingness (is that a word?), it saves you a lot of money (cost of a cup is about $30) compared to buying pads and tampons throughout the year.
3. Eco-friendly. Again because of the re-usable nature, you won't be contributing all the plastic and other materials to dumpsters and landfills via multiple pads and tampons.
4. Convenience/mess factor. The DivaCup can hold a lot. Most people can get away with only changing it once a day, depending on how heavy your cycle is. The easiest/non-messiest way to do it is to change it in the shower. This also eliminates odor as opposed to pads and tampons.
5. The DivaCup is made of natural rubber/silicone that does not irritate you or harm you inside while it is inserted. This is a welcome change from tampons which can scratch you, dry you out, and make you more susceptible to infections like Toxic Shock Syndrome.
6. You don't have to worry so much about leaks (especially if you know when approximately your cycle will arrive; you can insert the cup ahead of time). It even says you can go swimming, but I reeeeallly don't think I would do that.

Anyhoo, that is my female-friendly PSA for the day. Here is the DivaCup website. If you want/need more details, ask me in the comments or email me at bohemianbahamian@gmail.com. If you have used/are using a menstrual cup, share your experience in the comments as well.

Don't Waste Your Money

2009-03-25T08:08:00.002-05:00

Recession or not (and I'm sick of people blaming the recession or the economy for everything. Bitch, you were broke before the recession! But I digress.), it's always good to have money-saving tips handy. I read this article on Yahoo about ways we waste money. I have highlighted excerpts that stood out as follows (words from the article are italicized, my thoughts are in bold):

1) Bottled Water
Getting your recommended eight glasses of water a day by bottle instead of tap is a huge waste of cash. That buck-a-bottle water you down on a regular basis can really add up. Potential Savings: Spend $37 to buy a 40-ounce Brita pitcher and filter ($13 at Bed, Bath and Beyond), plus a four-pack of replacement filters ($24), and you'll be able to filter 200 gallons of water. Buy that much water in 24-packs of 16.9-ounce Aquafina bottles at Shop Rite instead, and you’d spend $283.50. Your total savings: $246.50.
*I can attest to this. I bought a Pur water filter that attaches to the faucet from Target for about $30 and bought a glass water bottle. I fill up the water bottle every day with the filtered water. I have never been one to drink much water, but after seeing the tangible difference in my body from drinking soda and juice all the time (not to mention the soda stomach pooch you get), to increasing my water intake, I wanted to drink water every day if possible. I felt guilty about buying water bottles because, hello, it's water! So many countries are not able to drink their own water. In America you can. But I also couldn't ignore the stories about dirty tap water, etc. So now that I have the filter and a re-usable bottle, me and my hydration can't be stopped! I also love the money I'm saving from not buying 800-packs of Ozarka, and contributing more plastic to landfills.

2) Extended Warranties
Think twice before you shell out $10 a month for a two-year protection plan on your pricey new BlackBerry. New products tend to malfunction within the manufacturer’s initial warranty period, or well after any extended warranty has expired, says Michael Gartenberg, vice president of strategy and analysis for Interpret LLC, a market researcher. (Most extended warranties exclude accidental damage, too, so you’d still be out of luck if you drop that Blackberry and crack the screen.) To protect yourself, pay with the right credit card. Many credit cards -- including most American Express and MasterCard cards -- double the manufacturer’s warranty on purchases, adding up to another year of free protection.
Potential Savings: Someone buying a 40-inch Samsung flat panel high-def television at Best Buy for $800 has the option to add a four-year protection plan for another $150. Skip it, and pocket the cash instead. (The set already has a one-year manufacturer’s warranty.)
*I'm sure I'm not the only one who has had a Wild West style stare-down with a cashier trying to get me to buy an extended warranty for whatever-the-fuck. Like, do I really need an extended warranty on a dog bed? Seriously though, they try to get you with the, "Oh it's just $136 more." Eff you and your mama. Like the article says, most stuff breaks inside the regular warranty or way down the line after whatever extended warranty you bought expires.

3) Gym Memberships
The cost of a gym membership can really rack up over the course of a year (an average of $775, according to the International Health, Racquet & Sportsclub Association). So make sure you're tapping into all of the discounts available to you. Check with your employer, health insurer and other membership groups like your union or alma mater to see if they offer discounts on gym and fitness club memberships, says Bob Nelson, president of Nelson Motivation, a benefits consulting firm.
Potential Savings: On your own, you’d pay $54.99 per month, plus a $49 enrollment fee, for a national access plan at Bally’s Total Fitness. Through discounter GlobalFit.com, which offers special rates for members of partner companies, you’d pay $37.80 per month plus a $29 enrollment fee for the same Bally’s membership. Over a yearlong membership, that’s $226.28 saved.
*Currently, my apartments have a little mini-gym, and I can use the #1 Stunna-style gym/recreation center at my university for no extra cost (unless you look at your student fee bill. Bitches.). But I would definitely recommend shopping around; you'd be surprised at the discounts you can find outside of the main gym chains.

Full article link above in my first paragraph. What money-wasting/saving tips do you have? I can think of at least one more, but it applies specifically to women. I will have a blog post on that tomorrow, probably.

Kreativ Blogger Award

2009-03-24T00:00:00.002-05:00

The lovely ChocolateOrchid has named me as one of her 7 favorite creative bloggers! It really cheers me up to know that something I have said/typed has made someone laugh, think, or feel inspired. The rules in accepting this award are to name 7 things you love and to tag 7 creative bloggers. Without further ado:

7 Things I Love:

*Being curled up in a blanket with a book or journal as the sunlight filters in through the curtains.

*Game nights. Cards, Board games, trivia games, I love them all. Great way to bond and just chillax.

*Colors. Something about a vividly or multi-colored anything makes me feel comforted and inspired.

*Mother(bleep bleep) fried garlic tofu and rice!

*Traveling. I feel so exhilirated packing, going to an airport, boarding a plane, unboarding a plane, settlin in to the hotel, soaking in the new surroundings, (in a tropical location) seeing the ocean in glimpses from the taxi, even driving for a roadtrip, whatever; I live for it.

*When someone is genuinely happy to see me, or purposefully seeks me out for something (work doesn't count).

*Hearing other people's stories. I am a Sociology student which is often called professional voyeurism. I was attracted to this field mainly because of my interest in other people. I LOVE hearing people's biographies; what has shaped them into the person they have become. If you would let me, I would pepper you with questions to my heart's content. People who like me like that especially about me because let's face it; it makes most people feel good when someone is interested in them (see previous point).

7 Creative Bloggers

Vesper. She is my Canada-dwelling soul-mate, y'all. She has a way of combining words and images that is beautiful, haunting at times, piercing, clear, elegant, I could go on. She really gives you a sense of who she is by what she posts on. She posts on literature, philosophy, pop culture, photography, her son, her hair, whatever.

Marlo. He displays some of his wonderful and creative photos often mixed with short stories, or captions explaining what was occuring when the photo was taken. His presentation is so fresh.

Karrieb. She is a liberated thinker, and just the way she words her rants and observations is pure life creativity. Spend a day with her on Twitter; see if you don't fall out laughing at least once. She is my cunty NYC-via-TX soulmate.

Muze. One of the first bloggers to regularly drop in on my blog; Muze is a fierce poetess and natural hair enthusiast. When she blogs a poem, she leaves you wondering how much is true and wanting to know more.

Jaded. She is creative as a writer, and also because of the way she makes everyday rants and life events so coherent and relateable. You never know quite what you're going to get with her blog. Family stories, movie quotes, book giveaways, song lyrics, big-upping her Dominican background, FML moments, chat show hosting, etc. But I would expect nothing less from a fellow Gemini.

MrsMaryMack. This is my Dallas soul mate and hair cousin, lol. Some of the life experiences we have parallel each other in that funny way that happens sometimes. She is blunt, and doesn't hide the ugliness that life can take on. She is also very open and will share stories that are very adaptable and relatable. To me, having a certain openness coupled with bluntness is creative.

All'o'yall. Yeah that's cheating. But honestly even if I don't comment, if you have made yourself visible to me and those who may not even know about my blog; I love reading your blogs and seeing how you present your world; your perspective. This is one of the beautiful things about current technology how it can link people across states, countries, and continents all over one small thing you may have in common with someone else. Finding out you can relate to others or seeing a brand new experience (to you) that someone else went through is amazing. We are not alone.

Suggest A Song Monday-Careful Where You Stand

2009-03-23T08:49:00.002-05:00

So, I pretty much said 'eff' blogging last week. It was Spring Break for me and I was off work Thursday and Friday. But I'm back! I see some new followers have climbed aboard; what better way to introduce yourselves than in today's post?

Welcome back to Suggest A Song Monday. First, I want to give shout-outs to all who participated last week. I responded to all of you in the comments so check it out if you haven't already. Much love to JamaicanBellaDonna, Lina, Mrsmarymack, Vesper, Mista Jaycee, and Chanel!

Here are the rules: I suggest a song that I love and that I think you would love. You listen to it. Tell me what you think in the comments. Then, you also recommend one song to me and I will listen to it and tell you what I think. You don't have to limit yourself to a particular genre, just any one song that you love.

Today we have Careful Where You Stand by Coldplay. This song is special to me because it reminds me of when my husband and I were courting. Yes, courting. Anyhoo, even if you have pre-conceived notions of Coldplay, give this song a whirl. It's very mellow, and a little somber while still being sweet.

Careful Where You Stand - Coldplay

I feel safe/I feel warm/When you're here/Then I do no harm/I am cured/When I'm by your side/I'm alright...I'm alright/I am safe/When I am with you/And I feel warm/If you want me too/I am cured when I'm by your side/I'm alright/(Chorus) Careful where you stand, my love/Careful where you lay your head/It's true/We're always looking out for one another//I feel safe/When I am with you/And I feel warm/If you want me to/I am cured when you are around/I'm alright/(Chorus)/So I'd like a quiet time, please/Yeah I'd like a quiet time/(Music break)/Careful where you stand/Careful where you stand

Suggest A Song Monday-Four Women

2009-03-16T09:03:00.003-05:00

Good morning! Welcome back to Suggest A Song Monday. First, I want to give shout-outs to all who participated last week; there were some nice songs in there! I responded to all of you in the comments so check it out if you haven't already. Much love to Lina, MrsMaryMack, JamaicanBellaDonna, karrieb, TKB, and Vesper!

Here are the rules: I suggest a song that I love and that I think you would love. You listen to it. Tell me what you think in the comments. Then, you also recommend one song to me and I will listen to it and tell you what I think. You don't have to limit yourself to a particular genre, just any one song that you love.

Today we have Four Women by Nina Simone. Accompanied by a somber piano, Nina gives us a brief glimpse into the open doors of four black women's life stories. I wish like anything I could have had the chance to see her perform live; she is a definite musical force. I love the crescendo near the end of the song after the piano break; with the last woman's story. Let me know what you think!

Four Women - Nina Simone

My skin is black/My arms are strong/My hair is wooly/My back is strong/Strong enough to take the pain/Inflicted again and again/What do they call me?/My name is Aunt Sarah//My skin is yellow/My hair is long/Between two worlds/I do belong/My father was rich and white/He forced my mother late one night/What do they call me?/My name is Saffronia//My skin is tan/My hair is fine/My hips invite you/My mouth, like wine/Who's little girl am I?/Anyone who has money to buy/What do they call me?/My name is Sweet Thing//(piano break)/My skin is brown/My manner is tough/I'll kill the first mother I see!/My life has been rough/I'm awfully bitter these days/Because my parents were slaves/What do they call me?/My name is PEACHES!

I Love the 90s Friday: Immature

2009-03-13T08:45:00.005-05:00

My husband is going to side-eye me so hard for this, but I DON'T CARE! I know I am not the only one who was jamming Immature as a pre-teenybopper...sheeit I know there were grown ass women jamming to them, DON'T HATE! Of course looking back now at Batman, Romeo, and LDB (lol, there was never any love for LDB)...and their hair...and that high, soft voice...and those clothes...I just can't. Journey back with me, won't you?

Never Lie

This was their debut single. Jesus H. Christ, where do I begin? The ocean, the hair sleekly pulled back into buns, the eye-patch, the silver jewelry, the hoop earrings, the Different World sunglasses, and where the hell are their parents? Does this just happen in everyday life where 12 year old boys congregate at the beach to share some raw emotion over a girl? Get you some of that zest at the 1:15 mark...so dead at the serious looks they are giving...Of course we can't forget the cuntiest part of the song toward the 3:40 mark: "Lie-ee-i-ee-i, lie-ee-i-ee-i...excuse me while I go resuscitate my soul.

Feel The Funk

Sofa king destroyed at Batman's "Rihanna" bob and Romeo's "trip to Cancun" micro-braids. Oh, 90s. So much was allowed back then. I'm not gonna sit here and pretend I didn't use to groove to this though.

Please Don't Go

Um, this video was kind of heavy for pre-teens...my little sensitive 11-year old ass used to cry when I watched it...this has to be a top contender for the Raw Emotion of the 90s award. I read a long time ago that the song was written for Marques Houston's mother who died of cancer. I imagine that was a bit awkward to translate this into a love story for the video. There were bedside chats (again, who's parents allowed this shit?), graphic pre-teen makeout sessions, realization of death (she keeps holding her stomach but the viewers never know why she died...ultimate crazy gas?), tearing shirts off to reveal teenage pecs in the rain, cemetaries and tombstones, dressed in all black...I think this video actually traumatized me, like watching Bambi's mother get gunned down in the Disney movie.

We Got It

Aw, what happened to the innocent, fun songs? Can't come out with anything like this now and expect to sell...one thing about Immature is they never tried to sex things up (except when they later became IMX, but I refuse to acknowledge that tragedy any further).

Camouflage Art

2009-03-11T08:10:00.004-05:00

I stumbled across some cool art via Cracked a while ago, which took me to this website showing artists who paint people to match various backgrounds, giving an invisibility effect. Have a looksie:

Dog Tells Owner She Has Breast Cancer

2009-03-10T08:41:00.002-05:00

Look at the expression on the dog's face. He's like, Yeah that's right bitches. I smell cancer. Tell all yo' homies bout me.

From the article:

When her normally boisterous dog Max began moping around the house, Maureen Burns wondered if he was coming down with something.
But it turned out she was the one who was sick - and she believes the nine-year-old collie cross was deliberately acting out of character to alert her.
After Max began sniffing Mrs Burns's breath and then gently nudging her right breast, the 64-year-old examined herself and discovered a small lump in the same breast.

Mrs Burns said: 'When the nurse told me I had breast cancer my first response was, 'I know, my dog told me!'. I expected her to laugh but instead she told me she had heard of similar cases.
'Max is usually such an excitable, loving animal but he became very sad and had stopped doing all the things he used to - such as sharing our bed or jumping on my lap for cuddles. Instead he would touch my breast and back off unhappily.'

She said she finally realised there was something wrong last May when Max watched as she examined herself in the mirror.

'As I felt it I just happened to look over at Max, who was lying on my bed. Our eyes met and I just remember he looked so sad.
'I knew in that instant that something was badly wrong.'

She had an operation to remove the cancer, and is now in remission. When she got home after the operation, her dog was happy and jumping around like a puppy. Crazy, huh? Scientists believe dogs might be able to be trained to sniff out cancer; with their highly sensitive sense of smell.

Full article here. Originally peeped at Jezebel.

Suggest A Song Monday-Wake Up Alone

2009-03-09T07:01:00.003-05:00

Good morning! Welcome back to Suggest A Song Monday. Here are the rules: I suggest a song that I love and that I think you would love. You listen to it. Tell me what you think in the comments. Then, you also recommend one song to me and I will listen to it and tell you what I think. You don't have to limit yourself to a particular genre, just any one song that you love.

Today we have Wake Up Alone by Amy Winehouse. The lyrics deal with a relationship that seems to be spiraling down quickly. The lyrics convey that feeling of having the heaviness of ongoing hearbreak and trying to do all you can not to think about it during the day; but at night the loneliness and emptiness wash over you; the lyrics are very creative and moving. The music and melody has that kind of 50's lounge, diner-esque feel.

Wake Up Alone - Amy Winehouse

It's ok in the day, I'm stayin' busy/Tied up enough so I don't have to wonder where is he/Got so sick of cryin'/So just lately/When I catch myself, I do a 180/I stay up, clean the house/At least I'm not drinkin'/Run around just so I don't have to think about thinkin'/That silent sense of content/That everyone gets/Just disappears, soon as the sun sets/(chorus) His face in my dreams seizes my guts/He floods me with dread/Soaked to the soul/He swims in my eyes by the bed/Pour myself over him/Moon spillin' in/And I wake up alone//If I was my heart, I'd rather be restless/Second I stop, the sleep catches up and I'm breathless/Cause this ache in my chest/Cause my day is done now/The dark covers me, and I can't run now/My blood runnin' cold, I stand before him/It's all I can do to assure him/When he comes to me, I drip for him tonight/Drowned in me, we bathe under blue light/Chorus

Erykah Badu Concert

2009-03-07T12:35:00.007-06:00

I give the concert 1 and 1/2 thumbs up. The only negative was that it was a little too short for my liking. Erykah kept saying they were going to kick her out; so I wonder if the concert had begun at 8pm as scheduled instead of 10pm, if we would have heard more songs. Nevertheless, WOW. As my husband said last night, she has great stage presence. She is a natural performer and entertainer, funny, sassy, country, and so down-to-earth. The Arena Theater in Houston is semi-intimate; there really aren't any bad seats. The stage rotates so everyone can see the performer(s). She walked slowly out, like a bad-ass, down one of the audience aisles with a smoking incense stick hanging out her mouth. Here are the songs she performed that I remember, in no particular order:

1. The first song was The Healer
2. On and On (now that I'm thinking about this, I think I might be making this up. I can't remember if she performed this now : - l)
3. Apple Tree
4. Bag Lady
5. Didn't Cha Know (I was hoping she would sing this! Video below)
6. Otherside of the Game
7. Danger (Then she chopped and screwed it toward the end! Total awesomeness. For those unfamiliar, screw music originated in Houston and just imagine slowing down the music as much as you can...that's screw. Chop is...well, chopping up the music. For examples from Erykah Badu, look up the Love of My Life video, second verse or listen to the very end of her song I Want You) 8. I Want You
9. Love of My Life
10. Me
11. Black in the Day (Puff)
12. ...And On
12. Tyrone
13. Soldier

Maybe I'm greedy, but I needed at LEAST another hour, lol. I like to milk concerts for all they're worth (even though this is my first real concert).

Toward the end of the concert, her and her back-up singers took a break to take off their shoes. The band played some fake gospel/church music and Erykah sang, "Do you wanna go to hell? Hell no!" Her back-up singers helped her take her shoes off, after which she exclaimed, "Throw them mugs in the trash!" She made comments about her figure, namely her ass (she has mad junk-in-the-trunk now), saying "That's that baby weight!" She stopped one of the songs in the middle because the ushers were trying to get people out of the aisles who were trying to take pictures saying "They ain't tryna hurt nobody! Give my people free! Come on police!"

In conclusion, I would definitely see her again. This concert was to benefit the 20th anniversary of the Imani School (her kids attended the sister school in Dallas) which is a black-owned/headed charter school, so that could also be why it felt short. I leave you with some pictures--OH! OH! THAT REMINDS ME! MY CAMERA WAS A PUNK ASS BITCH! What the eff is the point of having a flash on the camera if it doesn't capture what you need it to capture in the dark? My husband was laughing at me because I was looking at the people around me capturing all these National Geographic quality ass pictures and I had THE saltiest look on my face. A couple of peeps on Twitter recommended Canon Powershoot so I will research it. Anyhoo, here are some pictures that I was able to get, and a video of Didn't Cha Know. The tone-deaf singing you hear in the background is TOTALLY not me. : - l

P.S. The opening act was a Houston group named Neon Collars...they were jamming!

I Love the 90s Friday: Erykah Badu

2009-03-06T08:24:00.002-06:00

In honor of the Erykah Badu concert I'm going to tonight, I am posting my favorite Badu 90s videos.

Next Lifetime

One thing I have always loved about her as an artist has been her creative videos. The scenes and time periods are striking and pleasing to the eye. I loved the concept and how she took it beyond the normal meaning of the lyrics to a quite literal interpretation. If you have not seen this video, try it out!

Tyrone

This song and video are so fun. Apparently, she made this song up onstage (not this video) when she was touring somewhere.

What are your favorite Erykah Badu songs/videos? What do you think of her?

Goats!

2009-03-05T08:41:00.002-06:00

In case you didn't know, I looooooove the Morocco aesthetic. I fantasize of turning my home into some sort of Moroccan lounge. In the book I have below, I saw the following picture:

Yes. There are goats in the tree. They are straight up having a goat festival in the tree. Apparently, this happens throughout Morocco. The goats say eff the grass and climb the trees to eat the leaves and stuff.

Fainting Goats

These goats have a genetic condition that causes their muscles to freeze up when they're startled. As they get older, they learn how to control it a bit.

Color My World

2009-03-04T00:00:00.000-06:00

I want to share some photos of items from my home that illustrate my love of vibrant color and patterns.

Enamel jewelry box

Asian/chinoiserie style slippers

Mexican blanket I got on my honeymoon

Patina-tile mirror

Tiffany-style table lamp (I have 2 of these and 1 floor lamp)

Indian-sari table runner

Bohemian-graphic kitchen towels

Indian throw pillows

Dining room wall panel-My favorite is the second to last one on the right; the orange-brown panel where if you look closely, you will see a peacock.

Seeing all of these items with the colors/patterns grouped together is inspiring to me. I am a visual person and just the presence of multi-colored items comforts me and enables me to dream and do good work. What do you have in your home that inspires you?

Beefin' With My Pops and Granny

2009-03-03T08:19:00.003-06:00

First, a little backstory. My parents were never married. My mother had me, my father was not in my life. He married my stepmother (long divorced now) and I have 3 half-brothers and a half-sister. I have nothing but contempt and pity for my father for various reasons, but to sum it up I just think he is a waste of space.

His mother, my paternal grandmother has always been a Grade-A bitch to me. She never accepted me as "her" granddaughter because my parents were not married when I was born. Yes, of course that's my fault you bitter old hag. But I digress. I started visiting Detroit (where that part of the family lived) when I was 12 every summer to mainly spend time with my brothers and sister. During that time, my stepmother was in college. I remember having to go to class with her, and I thought nothing of it at the time because I was 12. Years later, I find out that the reason I had to go to college with her is because my grandmother refused to babysit me.

Over the years, she has gotten more cordial with me, sending me money every now and then out of the blue, telling me I have grown into a wonderful young woman, giving me fake-ass hugs when I see her, etc. But I resent her heavily for treating me differently than my brothers and sister, and I resent my father heavily for allowing this bullshit to go on (and a bunch of other things). My brothers and sister have a love/hate relationship with her for other reasons and a hate/hate relationship with our father, just like their big sis.

Anyhoo, so I have no idea when the last time is that I actually spoke to my father because he sends text messages to communicate with his offspring. He sent me a text this morning saying "On this date in 1927, your Grandmother was born! Don't forget to send well wishes..."

Normally I brush off his text messages. I am past the point of being angry that I grew up fatherless. I am past the point of trying to make things right between us. I have no desire to. I just tolerate him when I have to. But this text is getting under my skin today. My first knee-jerk reaction was to respond that when she can remember to contact me on my birthday then I will remember to contact her on her birthday (that was the nice version). My next knee-jerk reaction was the ever-poignant "Fuck both of ya'll" while throwin' up gang signs.

Now I'm pondering if I should e-mail Grandma Dearest and let her know how I feel (respectfully, of course). She e-mails stuff all day (chain letters, Jesus loves you shit, Barack Obama shit, etc.) so I'd be speaking in her language. After all she is 82, and pretty damn healthy and fit for an 82-year old but nevertheless you never know how long someone has. And I have a lot of anger pent up inside at her. So maybe today's the day that I let it out.

Today's Colors: Red, Navy, Black

2009-03-02T15:43:00.004-06:00

Inspiration for the palette (palate?): Red scarf with blue/black leopard print. Please ignore my thirsty hair. I was supposed to wash it yesterday but I had to go to a gathering.

Red necklace

Navy sweater, black pants, red socks, black flats. Please disregard my radioactive-looking hand.

red, black, navy - by Bohemian Bookworm on Polyvore.com

Suggest A Song Monday-Gills and Tails

2009-03-02T08:43:00.002-06:00

I am beginning a new feature on this here blog; Suggest A Song Monday. I suggest a song that I love and that I think you would love. You listen to it. Tell me what you think in the comments. Then, you also recommend one song to me and I will listen to it and tell you what I think. I think this is a wonderful way for us to spread our musical horizons.

First up is Gills and Tails by Amel Larrieux. This song is one of those universal songs that I honestly cannot imagine anyone disliking. The lyrics (below) deal with being in a world you thought would be one way but it turned out very differently. You feel trapped, imprisoned, and you want out. The music and the way she uses her voice almost as an instrument are intoxicating. I love the breakdown at the end where it sounds like she's gasping for air but in this beautiful way...the song has a distorted mermaid feel but also feels grounded on land. So give it a spin, no matter what genre(s) you prefer. This is one of my favorite all-time songs. I hope you will participate!

Gills And Tails - Amel Larrieux

I looked at my reflection in the water/Thought what an unlikely pair/Closed my eyes, held my breath, plummeted down, down, down/And anchored myself there/(Bridge) Can't tell how long I've been...in the company of gills and tails/I think I feel my skin...growing scales/(Chorus) Can I come up for air? Can I come up? Can I come up? (Repeat 3 times)/I'm gettin' eaten up down here/I'm just not built like that/The big fish have a monopoly/The little fish get buried in the sand/(Bridge) This sea world I'm in...sucks your life out, leaves you comatose/Take back your salt and fins...send me a lifeboat/Chorus/I look up with longing at the surface/Hypnotized by the way the sunlight seems to ride each ripple/And they do a dance/Every ray becomes a beckoning hand/I miss the sweetness of oxygen/I mistook this for the promised land

I Love the 90s Friday: Deborah Cox

2009-02-27T08:46:00.002-06:00

I have never had any beef with Deborah Cox's music. I feel with the right material, she could have gone very far. Not to say she hasn't been successful; because she has. This Canadian songstress has such a strong voice, and she is gorgeous. She is of Guyanese descent; apparantly Canada has a significant Guyanese population. I digress. Here is my favorite 90's song by her, Sentimental.

Under the Sea (and River!) News

2009-02-26T10:17:00.007-06:00

Transparent fish

Since 1939, scientists have thought the "barreleye" fish Macropinna microstoma had "tunnel vision" due to eyes that were fixed in place. Now though, Monterey Bay Aquarium researchers show that the fish actually has a transparent head and the eyes rotate around inside of it.
Full article here.

Giant stingray caught

This baby-eating (baby-eating not verified) beast weighs 771 pounds and is 7 feet by 7 feet. It was found in a river. Imagine a mother-flippin' Yao Ming sized stingray coming atcha. Well, since it's 7 feet BY 7 feet, imagine TWO Yao Mings, coming at you in a T-shaped formation with vampire-like wings of death and a venomous sting on the butt. Full article here, originally spotted on Yahoo.

All of this supports my theory of a giant, possibly evil and soul-stealing octopus dwelling in the depths of the ocean somewhere waiting to wreak havoc. Soon my pretties, soon...

Mis-heard Song Lyrics

2009-02-25T13:13:00.003-06:00

Go to the 20 second mark and just wait. The background lyric I hear is: "Got a New Jack SWING comin' up!" My husband hears: "So you can New Jack SWING on my nuts!"

Please somebody help me. I...I just cannot accept his version of the lyrics. I quit life at least twice already because of this. What do you hear?

*****EDITED*****So apparently my husband is right. The line is from an Ice Cube song...link in the comments if you want to check it out. Thanks to Cheron and everyone else who corrected me. I will never live this down at home, ya'll have ruined my life!! The More You Knooooooow! *NBC rainbow music*

Other mis-heard song lyrics: TLC-Waterfalls. The chorus goes "Don't go chasin' waterfalls..." WHY did my mom think they sang: "Go, go, Jason's waterfalls..." Her: "Who is Jason?" Me: "...What?" Her: "JASON....GO, GO, JASON'S WATERFALLS?!" Me: *flatline*

Crucial Conflict-Hay. Chorus: "Smokin' on hay...HAAAAAAAY..." and so on. My friend's dad: "Circle of pain...PAAAAAAAAIN..."

What song lyrics have you mis-heard or has someone else mis-heard? Holla in the comments!

3-D Street Art

2009-02-24T09:30:00.004-06:00

I originally saw these months ago and am still amazed by the concept. It is crazy what one can do with his/her passion when he/she really lets go and dives into it. Julian Beever creates these 3-dimensional street drawings out of chalk. I am a huge fan of trompe-l'oeil art so I could look at this type of work all day and be fascinated.

Hair Conference

2009-02-21T00:38:00.005-06:00

I have been so busy this week, so many apologies for the lack of blogging. Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday I was at a conference from work. I got into a few conversations about natural hair. One that stuck out the most was when a co-worker from a different department approached me about my hair routine. She was sitting behind me in a seminar and was staring at my head, I guess. She has two daughters, the oldest one had hair that she compared to one of our white co-workers who has kind of loose curly hair...the co-worker seemed proud that her daughter's hair was like that (she said it was also long, "down to here"). Her younger daughter apparently has hair like mine but "frizzier" and she doesn't want to perm/relax the hair. "She's only 3, so I don't want to perm it." This disturbed me a bit, the way so many (black) women automatically consider the perm because they don't feel like/know how to deal with their daughters' hair. I was bothered that (it seemed) only because of the daughter's age was she not getting a perm, while the daughter with long, loose curly hair was obviously prized. Another thing that bothered me was that she kept touching my hair and flipping it around with her fingers like I was her fucking 5-year old.

Since she asked, I went into great detail about conditioners, braiding, air-drying, de-tangling, everything because I wanted to convey that she had many options and that my hair routine is so low-maintenance. I plan on e-mailing her too once we get back to the office. I am a kinky/curly crusader, what can I say? ESPECIALLY when it comes to the wee ones.

I just wish more women would at least be open to keeping the hair natural; there are tons of resources/products available now and it can be lower-maintenance, healthier, and cheaper than maintaining a relaxer over many years.

Here is how my hair looked today: (Disclaimer: I literally just took this picture after a long day at work/school and I had it in a bun, and un-bunned it for the picture so it's a little frizzy. I'm also at the end of my hair-week meaning I will wash tomorrow or Sunday, so the curls are looking frizzy at the front...but check out those back curls, lol!)

Trust me, I feel as tired as I look in these pictures, lol. The weekend won't bring a respite either, but you just gotta keep on truckin' (my Texan is showing).

Let It Take You

2009-02-14T12:59:00.005-06:00

Rules:
1. Copy and Paste this note into a new note
2. Turn your ipod or media player, etc on "shuffle songs"
3. Answer each question by writing down the name of the song that appears when you hit next.
4. Type it no matter how silly it sounds.
5. Tag whoever you want including me

IF SOMEONE ASKS YOU, "ARE YOU OKAY?", YOU SAY...Morning-Amel Larrieux (Cool!)
HOW WOULD YOU DESCRIBE YOURSELF? Come Over-Estelle (This is actually pretty true. I am shy, so I love when friendly people reach out to me.)
WHAT DO YOU LIKE IN A GUY/GIRL? Between the Bars-Madeleine Peyroux (This song is about drinking away your troubles...so apparently that's what I like in a person, lol)
HOW DO YOU FEEL TODAY? That Hump-Erykah Badu (LMAO! Today is Valentine's Day and I just want to get over that hump. Classic.)
WHAT IS YOUR LIFE'S PURPOSE? Different-Goapele (Awesome.)
WHAT'S YOUR MOTTO? Every Time He Comes Around-Minnie Riperton (Ha! That would be kind of awkward.)
WHAT DO YOUR FRIENDS THINK OF YOU? I Like the Sunrise-Amel Larrieux (Aw! That's sweet.)
WHAT DO YOUR PARENTS THINK OF YOU? Thinking of You-Lenny Kravitz (Hilarious.)
WHAT DO YOU THINK ABOUT VERY OFTEN? Country Livin' (The World I Know)-Esthero (Interesting.)
WHAT IS 2 + 2? I Belong To You-Lenny Kravitz (Wow, way to avoid the question.)
WHAT DO YOU THINK OF YOUR BEST FRIEND? Can You Feel What I'm Saying-Minnie Riperton (Since I call my husband my best friend, I guess this won't be that awkward, lol!)
WHAT IS YOUR LIFE STORY? Take Time-Lenny Kravitz (I can roll with that.)
WHAT DO YOU WANT TO BE WHEN YOU GROW UP? A Song for You-Christina Aguilera/Herbie Hancock (That's kind of nice.)
WHAT DO YOU THINK WHEN YOU SEE THE PERSON YOU LIKE?For Real-Amel Larrieux (Makes sense.)
WHAT SONG WILL YOU DANCE TO AT YOUR WEDDING? Fastlane (Cottonbelly Mix)-Esthero/Jemeni (I am already married but this would be HILARIOUS...and awkward.)
WHAT WILL THEY PLAY AT YOUR FUNERAL?Hey You-Floetry (WOW that would be kind of scary/creepy. The chorus goes: Hey you...I'm sorry that I had to leave, I'll try to come back...one day. Wow this is a perfect one.)
WHAT IS YOUR HOBBY/INTEREST? Precious-Esperanza Spalding (Um...)
WHAT IS YOUR BIGGEST FEAR? Wild is the Wind-Amel Larrieux (This makes sense in a way.)
WHAT IS YOUR BIGGEST SECRET? Don't Speak-No Doubt (Ha! These answers are hilarious.)
WHAT DO YOU WANT RIGHT NOW? Enchantment-Corinne Bailey Rae (Nice.)
WHAT DO YOU THINK OF YOUR FRIENDS? Don't Explain-Billie Holiday/Verve Remix (Um...)
WHAT WILL YOU POST THIS AS? Let It Take You-Goldfrapp (Ha!)

I am tagging Alicia/InstantVintage, MrsMaryMack, Karrieb, LittleMissKnobody, DocBrown, Desiree, Chanel, Lex, Marlo, Vesper, and EVERYONE!

I Love the 90s Friday: Toni Braxton

2009-02-13T08:30:00.005-06:00

Toni dominated much of the 90s with her love songs. I feel a lot of nostalgia when I hear one of her songs from this era.

Seven Whole Days

I love how blues-ey she sounds in this song: "What's a girlllllll to doooooooo" They are so wrong in this video for showing the women tearing pages off the daily calendar and drawing X's through the days, lol! They didn't have to make them look that desperate. Although, Toni took the approach that I would take in a video if I was a musician. I would have other women lookin' all sad and alone, I'll be damned if I'm playing the lead role in my own music videos lookin' a fool, lol! 90s video checklist includes close-cropped teased hair, soulful dancing (lmao @ the background singers and guitar player; they were feeling this song!), jeeps, and raw emotion.

Love Shoulda Brought You Home

Heaven help me if I ever got caught singing this song, lol. You can really get into it. Also, LMAOOOO @ the 4:04 mark.

How Could An Angel Break My Heart

Toni Braxton - How Could An Angel Break My Heart (Official Music Video) - Amazing videos are here

This song/video used to make me so sad! I think it was because I was going through the after-math of a break-up at that time. I love the Kenny G. saxophone bridge: "Oh, my soul is...dyyyyyyyying, it's cryyyyyyyyying...I'm tryyyyyyying, to unnnnnnnnnnderstand, please helllllllp meeeeeee"...just wonderful.

You're Making Me High

This song is so fun. I love the blue background of the video.

Toni really had a bunch of great songs. My Honorable Mentions are: Breathe Again, Another Sad Love Song, Talking in His Sleep, In the Late of Night. What are your favorite Toni Braxton songs and/or videos?

123 Book Meme

2009-02-12T07:01:00.008-06:00

I saw this over on Wicked Anomie: Sociology Run Amok.

The game: open the nearest book to page 123 and reproduce the 6-8th sentence.

"Her casket must be both comfortable and eternally durable. And-oh yes, do be sure her burial footwear is really practical? Perhaps it does not often happen just like that."

This excerpt is from The American Way of Death (Revisited) by Jessica Mitford.

This book is a fascinating glimpse into the world of the funeral industry. It is a business, remember, and they sucker people into parting with money when they are at their most vulnerable. Most people don't realize this because we will (hopefully) seldom have to plan many funerals in our lifetimes. One interesting point the book makes is that America is one of the only countries to practice embalming. Most Americans are under the impression that embalming is necessary for sanitary reasons, preserves the body for a long time, and is required by law. None of those are true. The main reason behind embalming is to temporarily preserve the body for open-casket viewing. Open-casket viewing leads to the heart of the sales, the casket. America is also one of the only countries who view bodies in an open casket.

The author was sarcastic, witty, and funny in this book. The excerpt I quoted is dealing with a (fake) supposed internal monologue that a person would have when considering what to buy for the deceased. Yes, there is a market for burial footwear, specially designed to fit the foot after the body goes into rigor mortis.

I could go on forever about the information I learned but I'll save that for another post. In the meantime, I am tagging ChocolateOrchid, InstantVintage, Chanel, Desiree, Marlo, Karrie B, Mrs.MaryMack, Lex, LittleMissKnobody, Muze, Vesper, TheJadedNYer, Zombietronics, and anyone else reading this. I want to see your excerpts!

Whimsical Eye-Candy

2009-02-11T08:43:00.005-06:00

One of my favorite inspirational blogs is My Marrakesh. Maryam and her family moved to Morocco to build and open their own boutique hotel called Peacock Pavilions. She has a wonderful way of weaving thoughtful words and magical images together and inviting readers into her life. For one of the boutique hotel rooms, painters from Modello Designs created this fanciful wall mural:

I have always been part-unicorn so I love this type of aesthetic. I can't wait to see how the room will look when it's completely finished.

The same painters created this floor design for Maryam's son's bedroom:

Love that they included a Barack Obama quote.

So creative, and just a perfect complement to a child's imagination. I think everyone could use an inspirational spot in their home.

Maryam's son is at the age where innocence can be harder to hang onto, and the cruelties of other children and life come into play. She wrote:

If only she could provide some protection against the hardening of his nine-year old heart.

Perhaps if he slept among the wise words, among the magic numbers, among the street signs, it would penetrate some how and leave an indelible imprint just below the surface……… for times when he felt lost in the maze of his little boy life…..

Click on the link above the floor design to see more of her blog.

Esthero

2009-02-10T08:10:00.008-06:00

I love this woman's music. I love how her music switches in tempo. I love the sensuality, ethereal-ness, submerged feeling her music puts you in. Her Myspace lists her as Soul/Jazz/Pop. I am a big fan of artists who grant their fans some degree of accessibility to them and Esthero is one of those artists. She has a ton of blogs on her Myspace, she interacts with her fans, responds to notes, etc. I guarantee (*guarantee not valid by law) that you will like at least one of her songs which will lead you to another, and then another. Here are my favorite Esthero songs:

1. Dragonfly (Outro)

Dragonflys Outro - Esthero

The melodies and music of this song turned up loud just envelop me. The song cloaks me in an atmosphere of cloudy dusk skies with a storm breeze blowing, with dragonflies and fireflies flitting about in an open field...while the busy lights of the city lay below the hill I'm standing on. The way the instruments come together in a heady mix accompanied by the opening vocals is wonderful: "Find me...find me in an open sky..."

2. Country Livin' (The World I Know)

Country Livin (The World I Know) - Esthero

The instruments and melody in this song also wrap me up and take me on a journey. I love the soaring music and lyrics: "We can drive around all night, we wouldn't have to go too far...just look at the stars". This song and Dragonfly are 2 of my favorite songs period.

3. I Drive Alone

I Drive Alone - Esthero

The beat and lyrical maze on this song are insistent, pulsating, driving, and sensual. "Can't go on, but I...can't go home, and I'm...not so strong, but I...make my way to the...place I know, in...side my heart, where I...used to go, to get...brave, and I don't wanna be lost anymore"

4. My Torture

My Torture - Esthero

This song is slow-motion, slightly trippy, despondent, longing. I know many of us can relate to the opening lyric: "Set myself on fire...anything to...turn your head" and I love the tempo switch-up toward the end. I can re-live the pain in her voice when she says: "I want you to comfort me...I want you to stop...disturbing my sleep" and "I want it to stop hurting...so bad, so bad"

5. Fastlane (Cottonbelly Remix)

Fastlane (Cottonbelly Mix) - Esthero

Cottonbelly (from Sweetback) has a tendency to porn-ify a song via remix. I think this song is fun and seductive, especially with Jemeni's spoken-word vocals at the end: "You can tie my hands behind my back and lick your initials in my neck"

Here is her official website if you want to know more about her and support her. I think she is immensely talented. FYI, she also co-wrote Kanye West's Love Lockdown.

Notes From The Weekend

2009-02-09T08:58:00.002-06:00

Jesus Christ on a cracker. Back to your regularly scheduled blogging program.

*So I up and caught the flu for no reason. Or at least, "flu-like symptoms". How the hell do you know if you have the flu or flu-like symptoms? I am at the end now (I hope) and I thank you all for your well-wishes, especially ChocolateOrchid for checking on me periodically!

*I am the Natural Belle of the week over on Hairspiration, check me out! Thank you again for featuring me (it says natural for 4 years, but it's been 3 years and some change)!

*I watched The Wrestler, Bubba Ho-tep, and Pineapple Express over the weekend.
The Wrestler: Good movie, wonderful acting.
Bubba Ho-tep: If this isn't one of the brokest movies of all time, I don't know what is. That's what the appeal is though. I met my demise toward the end of the film where the villain/mummy starts cursing in hieroglyphics.
Pineapple Express: This movie was a tad over-hyped (and so unnecessarily violent, lol) but it did have its funny moments. "FUCK THE PO-LICE (in slow-motion)!"

*I have recently been in awe of all the big-ass pickup trucks I see driving around Houston. I mean like unnecessarily, Canyonero big. I am in awe because:
1. I wonder why I'm just now noticing all these big-ass trucks because
2. This MUST be a Texas thing right? MrsMaryMack, Tanijoy, Desiree, TheHoustonGirl, any other Texas lurkers help me out. Are ya'll seeing these too?
3. It makes me realize that not only does one country have a unique culture, but regions cannot be under-estimated for their own culture. Like seriously, you wouldn't see this in New York, California, Oregon, etc.
4. THAT makes me then wonder how much we underestimate other regional cultures of other countries. Vesper, does Canada differ noticeably in culture depending on region? What about England? I know Italy and South Africa do. What about Australia? Anywhere else?

That's all my congested ass can---wait that sounds gross. That's all my congested self can think up right now. Blogging shall resume! Have a magical day!

Pre-Sick

2009-02-05T11:50:00.002-06:00

I'm feeling what I call "pre-sick" today. I have a cough, and feel a bit run-down. Hopefully my immune system will fight it off by tomorrow. Since I feel like ass, regular blog-posting will resume tomorrow (immune-system willing). In the meantime, let this get you through your day.

Apples and Poodles

2009-02-03T09:43:00.003-06:00

Here are the last of my leftover pictures to share.

If you can't read the fine print, this is a package of dried apples which should just contain...dried apples. The fine print here says "May contain peanut, tree nuts, milk, soy, and wheat." The hell? Wtf else may this package contain? A french fry? 4 Skittles? The Da Vinci Code?

This is Pookie. Who the hell does he think he is? From this picture you'd think he was either some sort of Roman emperor poodle or had been working the fields all day. I can't even get that comfortable on my own damn couch.

Natural Hair Inspiration-Esperanza Spalding

2009-02-03T09:08:00.004-06:00

I am adding Esperanza Spalding to my Natural Hair Inspiration Hall of Fame (can be viewed on the sidebar). For my previous post on Esperanza, click here. Also, click here for the best article I have read on her so far. To sum it up, Esperanza is a singer (in English and Spanish), song-writer, composer, bass-player, and professor of music. She is a formidable talent. Look up her songs Espera, I Know You Know, and Precious. If you like those, check out her whole music catalog; she is very smooth.

Today's* Colors: Gray, Blue, Green, Gold

2009-02-03T08:25:00.005-06:00

*Today's actually means yesterday's... :-l

Gray sweater, green camisole, blue-n-gold celestial necklace, gold hoops, navy pants, navy dress socks, gray and yellow flats.

Gray, Green, Blue, Yellow - by Bohemian Bookworm on Polyvore.com

Notes From The Weekend

2009-02-02T09:10:00.006-06:00

*Bought tickets to see Erykah Badu in concert in March. So. Excited.

*I studied with a few classmates who all smoke (3 on Saturday, 2 on Sunday). This morning I noticed small red blemishes on my face. My precious face. They've tarnished it with their cancer sticks, tarnished it I say!

*I feel good about attempting to live more simply and healthier. Gave up cable and fast food and giving up items that serve no function around the house.

*In search of some fine bed linens. I want the white, hotel look.

*Check the poll in the sidebar. Out of 10 votes, only 2 consider Sunday as the start of a new week. Interesting.

*Upcoming book review blog post soon (maybe Wednesday if I have the chance).

*While looking at different funeral home websites for a research project, I stumbled upon this gem. He is apparently a DJ in addition to his funeral home duties. "We can funeralize your loved one at a price from..." and "This ain't no ranky-dank funeral home. This is a first class funeral home run by first class people" are sending me to an early grave myself. Please look at his website. For me. I am not responsible if you fade to black after you view it.

*Here is a recipe I cooked up. This was so full of yum due to the different seasonings:

Rigatoni with zucchini, diced tomatoes, red, yellow, and orange bell peppers. Used nutritional yeast to give it an almost parmesan flavor (you can find it in the bulk aisle of natural-food grocery stores and regular well-stocked grocery stores and it's full of vitamin B12), red pepper flakes, and chicken seasoning (which is basically paprika, garlic, onion, pepper, and some other spices). SO. YUMMY.

Fast Food Nation*

2009-01-31T00:00:00.001-06:00

*You should totally read the book, Fast Food Nation.

Anyhoo, please watch this. With your speakers on when you can. Give up fast food (or try to phase it out if you are not in a position to cook all the time). There are cheap, healthy, easy recipes out there. Try them. If you need help, ask me. This is amazing. What the hell are we putting in our bodies, in our children's bodies? Happy Meals my ass.

One-Word Weekend Meme

2009-01-30T15:36:00.002-06:00

Thanks for this, Vesper. There are some numbers missing; not sure what that's all about but I'll roll with it!

USE ONLY ONE WORD. It’s not as easy as you might think. Copy and change the answers to suit you and pass it on.

1. Where is your cell phone? Around
2. Your significant other? Joy
3. Your hair? Curly
4. Your mother? Supportive
5. Your father? Wasted
6. Your favorite thing? Bliss
7. Your dream last night? Static
8. Your favorite drink? Nectar
9. Your dream/goal? Moon
10. What room you are in? Office
11. Your hobby? Daydreaming
12. Your fear? Absence
13. Where do you want to be in 7 years? Set
14. Where were you last night? Class
16. Rockets? Houston!
17. Wish list item? Shoes
18. Where you grew up? Imagination
19. Last thing you did? Blog
20. What are you wearing? Navy
21. Your TV? Netflix
22. Your medium? Bubbles
23. Friends? Lacking
24. Your life? Transitioning
25. Your mood? Cautious
26. Missing some one? Category
27. Car? Unnecessary
28. Something you’re not wearing? Contacts
29. Your favorite store [designer]? Research
30. Your favorite color? All
33. When is the last time you laughed? Earlier
34. Last time you cried? Recently
35. Who will resend this? Subscribers
36. One place that I go to over and over? Apprehension
37. One person who emails me regularly? Cousin
38. Favorite place to eat? Couch
39. Why you participated in this survey? Twiddling
40. What are you doing tonight? Absorbing

I Love the 90s Friday: En Vogue

2009-01-30T11:44:00.007-06:00

En Vogue set the bar really high for girl groups. Each member sang beautifully and they were all glamoured up in their videos. I still love all the songs (and videos!) featured here today.

Hold On

Here we have a video that is 90s to its core. Raw emotion, random shirtless dudes dancing and tattered rags wearing men voguing, singers dancing funky, red lipstick, teased hair, camera zoom-ins for no reason, etc. This song didn't feature Dawn as much as the later ones did; and I liked hearing the other singers. Love (and lol at) the 90s dance choreography for: Don't waste your time, fighting lies...fight that thought, of despair.

Don't Let Go

Here is a song that you should see me sing in my car (actually, you probably shouldn't.) A mess. A total mess. I can only imagine the raw emotion on my face as I switch lanes on the freeway with this song on. I thought they all looked pretty in this video. I actually don't remember the movie version of the video (from Set It Off) but anything is better than the Mekhi Phifer version.

My Lovin' (You're Never Gonna Get It)

Another song you should never, ever see me sing. ESPECIALLY the talking parts. "I give to the needy...and not the greedy! Mm-hmm that's right! Cause you see baby...when you LOCKIN, ya LOSIN!....AND I'M OUT THE DOOR!" Also: "And now it's time for a breakdown. Never gonna get, never gonna get it (times 4) WOO-WOO-WOO-WOOOOO!"...Okay, I'm done. The video is chock full of sparkles, curly-fry wigs, full bodysuits, and zesty men dancing and doing cheerleader jumps. The video kind of freaked me out for some reason. When the woman slaps down the man at the 2:34 (I think) mark, I remember feeling like I witnessed a murder or something...I don't know, that part always messed with me.

Giving Him Something He Can Feel
Giving Him Something He Can Feel By En Vogue

This song was a cover, but Dawn and'nem did it so beautifully. Of course the video was glamour times 100. The slinky red dresses, the swoop hair, the male audience. Great visuals (the red dresses against the blue curtains).

I heard word on the street is that they're doing a reunion, but who isn't? Call me when their record is available to preview on Itunes. Until then, I will refer to the 90s, thanks. Leave your favorite En Vogue songs/memories in the comments!

The Sky Is Crazy

2009-01-30T10:43:00.003-06:00

Here are some pictures I have taken with my cell-phone camera. I'm going to put them on the sidebar as well. As I may have mentioned before, nature fascinates me (especially the sky and the moon).
1. A rainbow after a thunderstorm from August 2007 driving through College Station, TX.
2. Sunrise in Houston from October 2007 while driving to work.
3. Dusk while driving on a freeway in Houston.

Today's Colors: Lavender, Mauve, Gray

2009-01-30T09:22:00.003-06:00

These are actually yesterday's colors, but if you won't tell I won't tell. Mmkay?

Silver gypsyish earrings with pink and lavender beads

Lavender sweater, mauve camisole

Gray pants

Lavender, Mauve, Gray - by Bohemian Bookworm on Polyvore.com

Obama Inspires Black Iraqis

2009-01-27T08:25:00.004-06:00

I read a most interesting article on CNN a couple of weeks ago. The article highlighted the experience of black Iraqis (mostly male). This is something that I (and I imagine most Americans) never hear or read anything about. We hear about religious conflict all the time, but never consider the race problems other countries can experience. The article also reflects how much people in other countries are affected by stories in America. The fact that black Iraqis see Obama's rise to success in a foreign country and it gives them hope that their circumstances will change in their home country is amazing to me. Here are some of the highlights from the article:

BAGHDAD, Iraq (CNN) -- Their faces and darker skins make them look different. They are routinely called "slave" by the majority, whatever their profession. But Iraq's black population hopes that Barack Obama's rise to the White House will mark a turning point for minorities not just in the United States, but also in their country.

Jalal Thiyab Thijeel, general secretary of the "Movement of Free Iraqis," followed every detail of Obama's election campaign. "Inspiring," he calls it. Inspiring politically, and personally. Like Obama, Thijeel has family roots in Africa.

Thijeel's organization estimates there are approximately 2 million black Iraqis. The country's total population is more than 28 million, most of them ethnic Arabs. It's impossible to verify Thijeel's estimate, since the government does not keep statistics on race, but there is no denying there are many black Iraqis in the southern city of Basra.

Their history goes back 1,000 years to the time when Africans were brought as slaves to the south of Iraq to drain marshes and build Basra. Many Iraqis still call blacks "abed," an Arabic word that means "slave." Thijeel grimaces when he pronounces it. It's demeaning, he says, and he wants the government to forbid its use. Many white Iraqis claim the word isn't meant to offend, but Thijeel says they have no idea how hurtful it is. "I never want my son to go through this," he says.

The Movement of Free Iraqis was founded two years ago and on January 31 it will run the first slate of black candidates in Iraq's modern history. Thijeel hands me the party's documents that spell out its demands. Foremost is that the government recognize blacks as an official minority in Iraq. This is key, because power in Iraq is apportioned along ethnic, religious and even tribal lines. The party also wants an apology for slavery, although it is not asking for financial reparations. The movement also wants laws to combat racial discrimination.

Full article here.

Crazy-Eyes Cupcake Dog

2009-01-26T15:44:00.000-06:00

I hate everything.