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Browsing through blogs
today, I ran across the MySpace blog of Kim Osorio (former Editor-in-Chief of
The Source) and the title immediately caught my eye – “Everybody’s a damn
writer these days.” She compares the new
crop of writers to the new crop of rappers, citing lack of creativity and true
love for writing. She says that being a
writer is the new thing to do now with blogs, upstart magazines and such. To an extent, I agree with her (and before I begin, I am not bashing her, her blog or newbie, online writers). I mainly say to an extent because I am not
yet an accomplished writer or journalist so my hopes are to one day be considered
a great writer. I would love to be
separated from the bunch and recognized for my passion and artistic side. I'm extremely proud of what I do but I have not attained my dream goal and
will do whatever it takes to get there, including maintaining my own blog and
writing for new magazines. Writing has
existed within me since I was seven years old. That’s when I wrote my first poem, which was published in the school
newsletter. I continued to spew out my
heartfelt emotions in this way for the next 10 years. Admittedly, I got away from writing for awhile
in pursuit of other goals which were not truly of my heart. But in 2002, I rediscovered my love of words. I started writing poetry again and toyed
around with ideas of writing a true story of my college experience,
nonfiction erotica, a print magazine and even an online magazine before they
were considered popular. A few years
ago, I began graduate school to obtain a degree in Professional Writing. The scatterbrain that I am, I took up
Psychology and Business as an undergrad student which was a complete waste of
time (on an educational level). So what
is my ultimate goal? Before the
disappointing demise of the magazine, I dreamed of writing for one of my
favorites, XXL. To me, it’s the only
reputable hip-hop magazine and it’s one of the few that I can read from cover
to cover, regardless of the content or subject matter. I can always appreciate the informative
interviews and the angles with which they present the hip-hop culture to
us. But music is not my sole love. I am a fashion ADDICT and would equally love
to be on staff of a prestigious fashion magazine. Vogue, of course is top notch. Besides the amazing clothing, they have the
most exquisite articles within its pages. But I could definitely rock with
InStyle and Lucky!
But back to Ms. Osorio’s
blog, I can only hope that in a world in which being a writer is easily
attainable, that I set myself apart from the hobbyists and turn this into a
lucrative career. There are plenty of hobby
writers and bloggers who are amazing and are recognized for their
talent. So until I perfect my craft and become a successful writer, I will be right here on your computer screens via these
blog pages and any new online magazines or websites.
And speaking of….check out
my new article for Empress Magazine…
I think it's cool that Vibe decided to run a cover story on presidential candidate Barack Obama and I might even have to pick this issue up just to see what they'll print about him. But I also wonder how many people will vote for him just because he's black? I know plenty of people who base their votes on who is popular or who their friends/family are voting for which is just wrong on so many levels. I predict that unlike the campaign that Diddy ran last time, the younger generation really is up on their politics now and they will make a solid vote based on who they feel is truly the lesser of two evils and who is fighting for what they believe in (but of course I could be completely naive and overly optimistic). For those of you who don't really know what his issues and views are, all you have to do is go to his website which will give you an overview but also listen to his speeches as well. It's very important to see candidates in action. I'm not big on speaking about politics - I vote for who I vote for and I just leave it at that and besides that, 98% of them are bogus anyway. But since this is going to be one of the biggest races ever, I felt the need to briefly speak on it. So here is some helpful info that you can link to on the candidate. But remember, this is just a starting point.
So with much hesitation I
decided to sit down and watch one of BET’s new shows last night, “We Got To Do
Better.” If you recall, the show was
originally titled “Hot Ghetto Mess” and was based off of the website of the
same name. The site would often post
videos and pics of black people doing ridiculous things and wearing even more
ridiculous outfits. You’ve probably seen
most of these images in your inbox as I used to frequently receive them from my
co-workers. At any rate, BET’s original
intent was to bring the website to the small tube as if it would be part of
their comedy line up or something, as if that’s what the black culture really
needs right now. In a time where
everything about us is being challenged and defeated, this was definitely about
10 steps in the wrong direction.
So after some much needed
criticism, the title was changed to “We Got To Do Better” and the shows
intention is now to highlight
everything that’s wrong, not only in the black culture but in general, and
figure out better ways to be better black people. But lo and behold, a name change is simply a
name change. From the first five minutes
of the show, I already knew it was a lame attempt to back out of what was
initially thought of as a grand idea. The host, Charlie Murphy tried his hardest to convince viewers that the
show as an attempt to rectify wrongful and disgraceful behavior. I wish that I had been keeping count from the
beginning because I could swear he said “We got to do better” at least 20
times. And it’s only a 30-minute
show. So in between showing hot ghetto
mess-ish clips, they have a street commentator who goes around asking random
people questions of importance to test their ‘black’ knowledge. Questions were: “Who’s richer – Bill Gates or
Jay-Z?,” “What happened first – blacks being able to vote or blacks being
allowed to fight in the war?,” and “Who is Barack Obama?” which surprisingly a
few people partially got correct.
So all in all, it was an
awkward, non-provoking, weak attempt of a show. Even funny man Charlie Murphy couldn’t save it. I kept waiting for them to play the sound of
crickets chirping whenever his solo commentary aired. Talk about needing to do better. I can’t find anything on BET’s website about
it since it aired last night so let’s hope they decide to cut it short. Why don’t they just bring back something like
“Teen Summit” and BET News????? All they
do is run the same videos all day. Hell,
even MTV has cut down about 90% of the videos and run more shows and these are
some of the same shows that BET has taken and flipped into their own
version. “Baldwin Hills” is the black
version of “Laguna Beach," " SOB" is the black version of "Punk'd" and they turned a non-MTV show and flipped it - "Hell Date" is "Blind Date."
And I know better than to
expect much from this urban station but they could at least put some effort
into it. Don’t even get me started on
that ‘game show’ “Take The Cake.” Sighhh
I digress…
I am heavily addicted to "reality tv" and came across Scott Baio's new show on VH1 ("Scott Baio is 45 and Single"). For those of you who don't remember, Baio had a hit show in the late 80's, "Charles In Charge." I actually remember watching it as a kid but apparently did not realize his hotness. And by hotness, I mean that I did not realize that he had bedded so many top notch chicks. Most of them were pin-ups - Playboy models and such and a lot of them were actresses.
At any rate, the premise of the show is pretty simple - as the title suggests, he is 45, single and wondering why he has this "fear of commitment" looming over him. HA, "fear of commitment". I hate when people say that, it's a terribly overused cliche, like "keeping it real."
So in the first episode, we get a preview of how many chicks he's bagged back in the day and then we are immediatley roped into his current life, which is very much the opposite with one main chick and a relatively normal life. He hires a life coach to set him straight on the ways of love and off he goes on the quest to find out whether or not he wants to live alone for the rest of his life. While watching, a few things occurred to me:
1. Some women can be extremely bitter, even at an old(er) age. And this is by no means a new founding because I have come across plenty of bitter, sad and hopeless women. But it still never ceases to amaze me when I come across women who hold a grudge against a boyfriend they dated 10 years ago. In one scene, Baio has to revisit some of his old girlfriends to find out what went right and/or wrong in the relationship. One chick is close to the same age as him, happily married (I suppose) and with kids. When he goes to visit her and asks about marriage life, all seems pretty coridal and normal. Then when he gets ready to leave, he says something to the effect of, "I must leave you now." BOY did that open the floodgates! Her reply was "yeah, I'm pretty used to hearing that from you." GEEZ this is a twenty-year old relationship. How can you still possibly harbor such memories and feelings for that long??? In another scene, he goes to visit his first sexual partner, who happens to be the chick from "Happy Days." She told him how at the age of 14, he told her that he wanted to marry her, and she believed him! AT THE AGE OF 14. Do you know how many times I have heard that line in my twenty'ish years of existence? Did I believe it? Not really. But do I still dwell on it today? Hell no! A proposal is not real unless there is a question asked and a ring is presented, and of course you must be of legal marrying age. But nonetheless, it begs a bigger question - when do women begin to take some responsibility in the situation? At some point, you have to realize the part that you played in the fiasco that you call your love life and handle it accordingly. And I don't mean to always come down so hard on my females because men play their part as well, but really, it becomes so obnoxiously redundant to hear a women's hard feelings toward a man who continuously cheats on her when she knew about his wild ways beforehand, a man who beats on her when she knew that he had been in jail on similar charges beforehand and for a man that won't marry her when she chooses to shack up with him. I'm just sayin....
2. It is blatantly obvious what Baio's problem is and trust, he doesn't need a life coach for it. It is pretty apparent what being a child star can do to you (Britney Spears, Lindsay Lohan, Danny Bonaduce...). You live as if you are still controlled by your id, no cares or worries and when you decide that maybe something in your life has gone awry, you have no idea why and no idea of how to correct it. Well in Baio's case, you have this traumatic syndrome over a period of 20 years coupled with the desire to find true love. This is a guy who used to order chicks out of the Playboy magazine and actually get them. He is so jaded and warped that he doesn't know what the hell true emotions are.
3. Do people really need shrinks/life coaches??? I say this, even being a Psychology Major - it is my belief that you can change most things in your life simply by changing your thought process. Focus on the solution, not the problem. Not that it will be easy, but seriously, when it's something minor such as getting over a relationship or losing a job, do you really need to pay someone to tell you what you already know??
I kinda feel for the guy because he has a seemingly nice woman who wants to spend the rest of her life with him and he seems sincere in his quest to make her his one and only forever and it also makes me wonder if this is what regular men go through on a less grander scale. Men are typically the ones to 'spread their wild oats' and it is harder for them to settle down when the time comes. What do you think?
Also be sure to check out "Rock of Love" which is the exact white version of "Flavor of Love."
I commend Mo’Nique for her attempt to rectify the mishaps and behavior of young women, especially the young black women.Admittedly, I was not going to watch Charm School when I first began to see the promos and commercials for it.Although I religiously watched the debacles that were Flavor of Love and I Love New York, I refused to turn my attention to a show whose focus was on changing the lives of those involved in the highest rating shows on VH1.Go figure.
Charm School was in its third week before I actually sat down to watch it and turns out, it was much better than I expected.My initial thought was that Mo’Nique doesn’t really want to fix these misled girls; this is just another spin off to capitalize on the spawns of Flavor Flav.Instead what I realized was that she is giving them life lessons that they should have learned while growing up.Kudos.Week after week, the girls embarked on new adventures and life lessons that were intended to empower them and help them to make wise decisions, sensible decisions and to behave in ways that show that they do, indeed embody some form of common sense.Granted, a lot of them didn’t get it and it will take much more for them to understand the ramifications of their actions and lifestyle, but she did manage to change quite a few of them.I was surprised to see that Leilene made it as far as she did.I didn’t really see much improvement in her or maybe I just need to go back and view the episodes again.Shay (Buckey) endured, but to me it was apparent that she was brought up properly, maybe she was just a little defiant or was just going through a phase of finding herself.Becky still has a little black girl inside of her (nothing wrong with that) but she also learned that it’s ok to be the white girl that she is. Larissa (Boots), being the loudmouthed spoiled brat that she is, still has a LONG way to go as evidenced in the reunion.Brooke is still a whore and maybe it is true that white women and black women don’t perceive sex/oral sex/making out in the same way.And much to my surprise, tears actually formed in my eyes as Saaphyri (Saaphyri) gave her heartfelt speech to Mo’Nique and Shay and won the $50,000.I found myself being proud of her and happy for her and wishing that more women could benefit from life lessons such as the ones given my Charm School.
I watched the reunion show last night to first of all hear what Saaphyri ended up doing with her winnings and secondly to see what would happen with Shay and Larissa.Sadly, the scene between the latter two was disappointing on so many levels and just goes to show that some black women still have a lot to work on within themselves.They didn’t even want Larissa out on the stage with Shay for fear that a fight would ensue.Finally, LaLa urged her to come out and you could feel that a brawl was on the verge of happening.But when the two began squabbling with each other, Mo (as they affectionately call her) stepped out and shut it down.She stated how heartbreaking it was to see that the two former best friends were acting so vehemently towards one another.Then, while Mo is still trying to talk sense into them, saying how could they behave in such a way knowing that their parents are watching, Larissa disrespects Mo’Nique by telling her to shut up.Mo got in her face to tell her some more and Larissa’s mother comes out to defend her daughter, which is not wrong at all but damn where you the first 22 years of this girls life when she was wildin out and acting like a child??I often ask myself what’s wrong with the younger generation today and this is clearly it – the parents.Why aren’t they raising their children? Why are they depending on others to instill values and morals into them?Why does it take a village to raise a child, but when that village attempts to help, you discredit and tear down the village?
I say all of this to say that I have a newfound respect for Mo’Nique for recognizing the situations that black people and women are in and for taking a stand and doing something about it.And for all of those who have kids, just know that your kids will grow up to be the person that you are, they will grow up with what you instill in them.If you read books and take pride in yourself, so will they.If all you do is watch videos and go to the club, spending no time with them, they will become a product of their outside environment…
I like documentary's and biography's so occasionally I will post something that I think you might find interesting. If you enjoyed the American Gangster seris on BET, you should enjoy this doc as well. Rayful Edmond is credited with introducing crack into the D.C. area. After being convicted and incarcerated, he continued to run his business and so was convicted two more times. The message is the same as always - crime doesn't pay, people. Parts 1-8 are below...
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