the most amazing almost-week is missing from these pages
cannot re-cap it in stanzas or paragraphs
and don't know how to write in chakra's penmanship
or aura's cursive script
if could
would scribble crayola sixty-four
in 200 "GEORGIA" font
so much bigger than
so much smaller than
it is...
and you missed it.
so sorry
didn't document
know this won't suffice to describe it
but...will have to do.
just keep YOURS open
and listen
cause it can be so divine for you too.
Saturday, April 12, 2008
Friday, April 4, 2008
NPM challenge poem #4: Good sleep
OOoooooohhh...my honey loves me
'cause he
left me at his house for hours all alone
knowing I wouldn't check the caller id on his phone
or go through his mail
or check his drawers and closets for skeletons
Yeah...my honey must loooove me!
Cause despite the urge
all I did was clean his kitchen so it'd be fresh and clean
and
then
I wrapped myself in his shirt,
and slipped between his sheets
and went
to
sleep
with his scent in my nostrils
and the taste of his skin on my tongue
and his bedroom voice in my ear's memory
With the essence of his lovin' all around me
I slept soundly for the first time in weeks
'cause he
left me at his house for hours all alone
knowing I wouldn't check the caller id on his phone
or go through his mail
or check his drawers and closets for skeletons
Yeah...my honey must loooove me!
Cause despite the urge
all I did was clean his kitchen so it'd be fresh and clean
and
then
I wrapped myself in his shirt,
and slipped between his sheets
and went
to
sleep
with his scent in my nostrils
and the taste of his skin on my tongue
and his bedroom voice in my ear's memory
With the essence of his lovin' all around me
I slept soundly for the first time in weeks
NPM challenge: Poem 3
Haiku on my OWI
Nine months, eight court dates,
seven public defenders
FINALLY dismissed!
Nine months, eight court dates,
seven public defenders
FINALLY dismissed!
Wednesday, April 2, 2008
Poem #2
"Please watch your step as you exit the moving walk way"
the little boy on the moving walk way stared at me
as if he knew that
my empty womb reminds me of its struggle daily
like he knew that it spasms when i hear a cry or giggle
or
when little boys stare at me on moving walk ways.
his small-boy, pint-sized arms and legs pumped away
trying to keep up with the oblivious adults all around him
but his eyes stayed locked on mine
until he winked
with both eyes
as if to whisper...
"this is our little secret"
makes me wonder if it was only a young boy after all.
the little boy on the moving walk way stared at me
as if he knew that
my empty womb reminds me of its struggle daily
like he knew that it spasms when i hear a cry or giggle
or
when little boys stare at me on moving walk ways.
his small-boy, pint-sized arms and legs pumped away
trying to keep up with the oblivious adults all around him
but his eyes stayed locked on mine
until he winked
with both eyes
as if to whisper...
"this is our little secret"
makes me wonder if it was only a young boy after all.
Tuesday, April 1, 2008
Last blog for today:
The Academy of American Poets has issued a challenge for National Poetry Month (APril)
Write a poem a day. So....I'm gonna try it! The whole point of this blog is so tha I'll write everyday anyway...what better way?
I've decided to just start typing and whatever comes out will be todays "poem"...
So here it goes:
April 1st.
My third floor room in Pittsurgh has a view
of
wide black top
Pano-ram-ic:
LOOK!
FOR THE FIRST TIME EVER!
WATCH THE BREAKING OF THE SOUND BARRIER!
All day
all night
everybody gettin' the hell outta here.
And I'm here.
Starring outta my third floor window
at the tarmac.
Wishing I was on a plane to nowhere.
Write a poem a day. So....I'm gonna try it! The whole point of this blog is so tha I'll write everyday anyway...what better way?
I've decided to just start typing and whatever comes out will be todays "poem"...
So here it goes:
April 1st.
My third floor room in Pittsurgh has a view
of
wide black top
Pano-ram-ic:
LOOK!
FOR THE FIRST TIME EVER!
WATCH THE BREAKING OF THE SOUND BARRIER!
All day
all night
everybody gettin' the hell outta here.
And I'm here.
Starring outta my third floor window
at the tarmac.
Wishing I was on a plane to nowhere.
Third Grade Felons...
Why is everyone so shocked that elementary students are coming to school with guns and plottinng on their teachers?
A group of third graders in Georgia came up with a plot to harm their teacher. They came to class with duct tape, handcuffs and a knife! Now, tell me that this doesn't sound like an episode of a cartoon? Kids see this stuff everyday! So why wouldn't they think that they could get away with it? The only reason they didn't is cause some kid saw a knife in one of the students' backpacks and snitched.
You can check out the article here: http://www.news4jax.com/news/15755299/detail.html.
What trips me out is that "authorities" wanna charge these kids with conspiracy! Can you believe that? As if these third graders had malicious intent. They are 8 and 9 years old for goodness sake! Its an episode of Fosters or Ed, Ed, and Eddy! Remember HOME ALONE...the movie? Same idea right? Or any Disney movie or Scooby-Doo episode. The bad guys are always adults...always authority figures. And we may want to ask what this teacher was doing to make the students want to "harm" her/him. Is there something else going on?
Whoooo....
What a stange world we live in...what a strange world.
A group of third graders in Georgia came up with a plot to harm their teacher. They came to class with duct tape, handcuffs and a knife! Now, tell me that this doesn't sound like an episode of a cartoon? Kids see this stuff everyday! So why wouldn't they think that they could get away with it? The only reason they didn't is cause some kid saw a knife in one of the students' backpacks and snitched.
You can check out the article here: http://www.news4jax.com/news/15755299/detail.html.
What trips me out is that "authorities" wanna charge these kids with conspiracy! Can you believe that? As if these third graders had malicious intent. They are 8 and 9 years old for goodness sake! Its an episode of Fosters or Ed, Ed, and Eddy! Remember HOME ALONE...the movie? Same idea right? Or any Disney movie or Scooby-Doo episode. The bad guys are always adults...always authority figures. And we may want to ask what this teacher was doing to make the students want to "harm" her/him. Is there something else going on?
Whoooo....
What a stange world we live in...what a strange world.
Wednesday, March 26, 2008
Say it ain't so Al: a repost
STOP AL SHARPTON AND THE NAACP FROM DESTROYING BLACK WOMEN AND BLACK VICTIMS!!!
Right-thinking black people everywhere are stunned by the recent betrayal of Al Sharpton and the NAACP in a situation that is just too outrageous to ignore.
This is a painful story to tell, but it’s important for the moral, law-abiding majority of black Americans to understand exactly why Al Sharpton and the NAACP must be immediately stopped.
On June 18, 2007, a black woman was gang raped by 10 youths and forced at gunpoint to have sex with her own 12 year old son in a housing complex called Dunbar Village in West Palm Beach, Florida. The young men not only viciously punched, kicked and sliced this sister and her son with glass objects, but they also blinded her boy by pouring nail polish remover into his eyes.
The young men forced this sister and son to lay naked in a bathtub together, and attempted to set them on fire (they could not find matches). The youths boldly took cell phone pictures so that they could enjoy their violent, immoral and sadistic acts at a later time. The violence continued for more than three hours, and although this sister’s neighbors heard her screams, no one called the police or came to her aid.
This sister and her son had to walk a mile to the hospital, because the assailants stole her car, and threatened to kill her and her family if she told the authorities.
Only four of the young men have been apprehended, while the remaining six are on the loose, doing Lord knows what in our communities. There is no manhunt for the remaining suspects.
As devastating as this story is, what the NAACP and Al Sharpton have done about it will simply take your breath away:
Not only did the NAACP ignore hundreds of requests to assist this woman because it was 'outside the scope of their mission', but they joined forces with Al Sharpton, and sent their lawyers to speak out IN SUPPORT OF THE RAPISTS.
You heard me right.
Even though there is conclusive DNA evidence and signed confessions, the NAACP and Al Sharpton are saying that it is 'unfair' to not offer bail to these four alleged rapists. They even had a press release about it.
IT IS TIME FOR SENSIBLE BLACK PEOPLE TO STOP THIS KIND OF NONSENSE ONCE AND FOR ALL.
Al Sharpton and the NAACP are banking on the belief that you and I will be just like this black woman’s neighbors. Join me by saying NOT THIS TIME. We will not turn a deaf ear to when we hear calls for help from one of our sisters and brothers who are being victimized.
Stop the NAACP and Al Sharpton’s National Action Network from committing this disgrace in our community. Just this once, let’s stand up and be counted by saying that we demand safe neighborhoods for our women and children.
Here is what you can do:
1. Spread the word. Forward this email if your conscience and concern have been raised. Send it to every concerned black citizen that you know.
2. Demand an explanation from your local NAACP chapter about this case. Cancel your membership to these organizations, and write a letter explaining that you will return when they prioritize the public safety needs of black women and children.
3. If you do not belong to these organizations, call and write them to tell them of your outrage and displeasure:
NAACP National Headquarters
4805 Mt. Hope Drive
Baltimore MD 21215
Toll Free: (877) NAACP-98
Local: (410) 580-5777
National Action Network
Rev. Al Sharpton
106 W. 145th Street
Harlem, New York 10039
212-690-3070
877-NAN-HOJ1
4. If you know an African American reporter or a black radio talk show host, forward this story to them and ask them to follow up on it.
Each Friday at 9:00am, visit any of the websites below, which will give you an update on the status of this situation. DO NOT LET THIS GO. Let us start working for safer neighborhoods in black communities.
Read the history of the Dunbar Village problem here:
http://www.dunbarvillage.blogspot.com/
ON FRIDAYS, CHECK THE NETWORK OF A NEW GENERATION OF BLACK ACTIVISTS:
http://blackwomenvote.blogspot.com
http://adifferentstory.wordpress.com
http://anonymissblog.blogspot.com/
http://auntjemimasrevenge.blogspot.com
http://blackfirewhitefire.blogspot.com/
http://charactercorner.blogspot.com/
http://electronicvillage.blogspot.com
http://episcopalienne.blogspot.com
http://essentialpresence.blogspot.com
http://focusedpurpose.blogspot.com/
http://h-essays.blogspot.com/
http://lareinacobre.blogspot.com/
http://mynewblog-ravenelvenlady.blogspot.com/
http://politicalseason.blogspot.com
http://privyconcepts.blogspot.com/
http://thesowingcircle.blogspot.com/
http://web.mac.com/roslynholcomb/iWeb/Site/Blog/Blog.html
http://whataboutourdaughters.com
http://whattamisaid.blogspot.com
http://www.blacksapience.blogspot.com/
http://yanmommasaid.blogspot.com
http://www.somethingwithin.com/blog
Right-thinking black people everywhere are stunned by the recent betrayal of Al Sharpton and the NAACP in a situation that is just too outrageous to ignore.
This is a painful story to tell, but it’s important for the moral, law-abiding majority of black Americans to understand exactly why Al Sharpton and the NAACP must be immediately stopped.
On June 18, 2007, a black woman was gang raped by 10 youths and forced at gunpoint to have sex with her own 12 year old son in a housing complex called Dunbar Village in West Palm Beach, Florida. The young men not only viciously punched, kicked and sliced this sister and her son with glass objects, but they also blinded her boy by pouring nail polish remover into his eyes.
The young men forced this sister and son to lay naked in a bathtub together, and attempted to set them on fire (they could not find matches). The youths boldly took cell phone pictures so that they could enjoy their violent, immoral and sadistic acts at a later time. The violence continued for more than three hours, and although this sister’s neighbors heard her screams, no one called the police or came to her aid.
This sister and her son had to walk a mile to the hospital, because the assailants stole her car, and threatened to kill her and her family if she told the authorities.
Only four of the young men have been apprehended, while the remaining six are on the loose, doing Lord knows what in our communities. There is no manhunt for the remaining suspects.
As devastating as this story is, what the NAACP and Al Sharpton have done about it will simply take your breath away:
Not only did the NAACP ignore hundreds of requests to assist this woman because it was 'outside the scope of their mission', but they joined forces with Al Sharpton, and sent their lawyers to speak out IN SUPPORT OF THE RAPISTS.
You heard me right.
Even though there is conclusive DNA evidence and signed confessions, the NAACP and Al Sharpton are saying that it is 'unfair' to not offer bail to these four alleged rapists. They even had a press release about it.
IT IS TIME FOR SENSIBLE BLACK PEOPLE TO STOP THIS KIND OF NONSENSE ONCE AND FOR ALL.
Al Sharpton and the NAACP are banking on the belief that you and I will be just like this black woman’s neighbors. Join me by saying NOT THIS TIME. We will not turn a deaf ear to when we hear calls for help from one of our sisters and brothers who are being victimized.
Stop the NAACP and Al Sharpton’s National Action Network from committing this disgrace in our community. Just this once, let’s stand up and be counted by saying that we demand safe neighborhoods for our women and children.
Here is what you can do:
1. Spread the word. Forward this email if your conscience and concern have been raised. Send it to every concerned black citizen that you know.
2. Demand an explanation from your local NAACP chapter about this case. Cancel your membership to these organizations, and write a letter explaining that you will return when they prioritize the public safety needs of black women and children.
3. If you do not belong to these organizations, call and write them to tell them of your outrage and displeasure:
NAACP National Headquarters
4805 Mt. Hope Drive
Baltimore MD 21215
Toll Free: (877) NAACP-98
Local: (410) 580-5777
National Action Network
Rev. Al Sharpton
106 W. 145th Street
Harlem, New York 10039
212-690-3070
877-NAN-HOJ1
4. If you know an African American reporter or a black radio talk show host, forward this story to them and ask them to follow up on it.
Each Friday at 9:00am, visit any of the websites below, which will give you an update on the status of this situation. DO NOT LET THIS GO. Let us start working for safer neighborhoods in black communities.
Read the history of the Dunbar Village problem here:
http://www.dunbarvillage.blogspot.com/
ON FRIDAYS, CHECK THE NETWORK OF A NEW GENERATION OF BLACK ACTIVISTS:
http://blackwomenvote.blogspot.com
http://adifferentstory.wordpress.com
http://anonymissblog.blogspot.com/
http://auntjemimasrevenge.blogspot.com
http://blackfirewhitefire.blogspot.com/
http://charactercorner.blogspot.com/
http://electronicvillage.blogspot.com
http://episcopalienne.blogspot.com
http://essentialpresence.blogspot.com
http://focusedpurpose.blogspot.com/
http://h-essays.blogspot.com/
http://lareinacobre.blogspot.com/
http://mynewblog-ravenelvenlady.blogspot.com/
http://politicalseason.blogspot.com
http://privyconcepts.blogspot.com/
http://thesowingcircle.blogspot.com/
http://web.mac.com/roslynholcomb/iWeb/Site/Blog/Blog.html
http://whataboutourdaughters.com
http://whattamisaid.blogspot.com
http://www.blacksapience.blogspot.com/
http://yanmommasaid.blogspot.com
http://www.somethingwithin.com/blog
Monday, March 24, 2008
What looks like crazy...
On an ordinary day, I'd wake up. Eat good. Go to work. Come home. Talk to friends. Read a bit or maybe watch Law and Order (its ALWAYS on some channel or another). Go to bed. Well...Friday was no ordinary day.I woke up in Pittsburgh, PA :the city of firsts (http://pittsburgh.about.com/cs/aboutpittsburgh/a/facts_2.htm). Instead of flying for five or six hours...I SAT in Pitts ALL-DAY-LONG before catching a ride on a flight back to ATL.
Now, upon arriving in the Pitts...I'd sadly discovered that I'd left my cell phone in ATL. WHAT! And being the technologically reliant citizen that I am...the only numbers I have memorized are my mama's and one of my homegurls. But I was at a loss. How to call with no cell? Are there still pay phones? Do people USE them? How much do they cost? Luckily, the ancient artifact that is the land line pay phone is still in existence. At this point, Crys goes ANALOGUE.
I buy a phone card from a machine. Its worth 20 minutes. The plan is to call my mom to get my sister's number so she can call my brother so HE can pick me up at the airport inn ATL. No luck. This phone card is useless. I get about 8 minutes of talk time out of it..and can never catch up with my moms. So...I make change of my LAST ten dollars. ANd start blowing up my homegurls phone. Once I'm down to the last two dollars, she answers. We make plans for HER to pick me up at the West End Marta so we can hang out...
Fast forward to NPeachtree Ave at 11pm. Welcome to the AC3 conference! We got in the door of the LOFT on a wing a prayer...pretending to be important "talent" involved in the conference. I'm thinking that this conference is for back-packers and beat boxers...I'm believing that the concert is gonna be some unsigned, underground group that gained their noteriety on MySpace. I've been known to be WRONG before and Friday night's concert was no exception.
I'll be damned if I didn't find myself sitting in the second row of a concert for THE JUICE CREW!!! WHAT THE F*cK!!??
For free....I saw Roxanne Shante, Biz Markie, Marly Marl, MC Shan and Bone Crusher (a sad disappointment)! And I stood nnext to Posdnuos...laughing with him cause no one around him was trippin' on the fact that he was standing in the pit in the front of the house as opposed to kicking it back stage with the rest of the "celebrities". Anyone who knows me knows I have a mild ...mmm...obsession (such a strong word) with Posdnuos since I met him in teh Detroit Airport a while ago, so it was cool to talk to him again....not that he remembered me:-)
Hey...I KNOW you can't see his whole face...that's mostly because the way this blog is formatted won't show the entire pic...but you see that right eye...you KNOW who it is...right?
Anywhoo....I ended up staying out until 5:30am. KNOWING I had to fly out the next day at 10am. But oh well...sometimes what looks like crazy...ISN'T just an ordinary day...
Peace
Now, upon arriving in the Pitts...I'd sadly discovered that I'd left my cell phone in ATL. WHAT! And being the technologically reliant citizen that I am...the only numbers I have memorized are my mama's and one of my homegurls. But I was at a loss. How to call with no cell? Are there still pay phones? Do people USE them? How much do they cost? Luckily, the ancient artifact that is the land line pay phone is still in existence. At this point, Crys goes ANALOGUE.
I buy a phone card from a machine. Its worth 20 minutes. The plan is to call my mom to get my sister's number so she can call my brother so HE can pick me up at the airport inn ATL. No luck. This phone card is useless. I get about 8 minutes of talk time out of it..and can never catch up with my moms. So...I make change of my LAST ten dollars. ANd start blowing up my homegurls phone. Once I'm down to the last two dollars, she answers. We make plans for HER to pick me up at the West End Marta so we can hang out...
Fast forward to NPeachtree Ave at 11pm. Welcome to the AC3 conference! We got in the door of the LOFT on a wing a prayer...pretending to be important "talent" involved in the conference. I'm thinking that this conference is for back-packers and beat boxers...I'm believing that the concert is gonna be some unsigned, underground group that gained their noteriety on MySpace. I've been known to be WRONG before and Friday night's concert was no exception.
I'll be damned if I didn't find myself sitting in the second row of a concert for THE JUICE CREW!!! WHAT THE F*cK!!??
For free....I saw Roxanne Shante, Biz Markie, Marly Marl, MC Shan and Bone Crusher (a sad disappointment)! And I stood nnext to Posdnuos...laughing with him cause no one around him was trippin' on the fact that he was standing in the pit in the front of the house as opposed to kicking it back stage with the rest of the "celebrities". Anyone who knows me knows I have a mild ...mmm...obsession (such a strong word) with Posdnuos since I met him in teh Detroit Airport a while ago, so it was cool to talk to him again....not that he remembered me:-)
Hey...I KNOW you can't see his whole face...that's mostly because the way this blog is formatted won't show the entire pic...but you see that right eye...you KNOW who it is...right?
Anywhoo....I ended up staying out until 5:30am. KNOWING I had to fly out the next day at 10am. But oh well...sometimes what looks like crazy...ISN'T just an ordinary day...
Peace
Wednesday, March 12, 2008
Swagger to the Max!
Peace folks,
I know its been a minute. The glamorous life of a flight attendant just doesn't stop. I've been "Home" in Detroit for about five days of the last thirty. Mostly cause I'm doin' the whole commuting thing...catching flights to ATL just to work.
Any who...
This weekend I had the pleasure of escorting one Mr. Nicholas Speed to PHX for the Money Management Group's Producer's conference. After working on a plane for four days...I caught a flight to Detroit from ATL, and then met Speed at the airport to fly him to PHX. Ridiculous I know, but the "buddy passes" at my airline suck. ANd in order for friends to fly, I've gotta go to. So I spent the majority of my weekend on a plane....
Luckily, our hometown Super Producer is a great travel companion. We ONLY made our flight out cause it was delayed ten minutes and some poor folks couldn't run fast enough from the C concourse to the end of the A concourse....We got on the flight just minutes before they closed the boarding door. BUT WE MADE IT! YEA!
We get settled, take off, and prompty start sippin' on wine...to relax (wink, wink). Fortunately for us, the lead flight attendant saw me get on and offered us free wine for the rest of the flight. NEedless to say three quarters of the way to PHX, we're both giggly and talking pretty candidly about life, goals and aspirations.
Nick Speed subscribes to a philosophy that I seemed to have lost somewhere between the security line , the plane and the layover. He calls it "Swagger to the Max" (keep ya ears open for the single from Dannny Brown). Basically, it just means, if you ACT like you are the SHYT you WILL BE the shyt. If you BELIEVE you are the BEST, you WILL BE! I know...I know..."THE SECRET" has been out since Oprah blasted it a couple years ago...But Nick skipped the meta physical mumbo jumbo,and spiritual enlightenment to get to the heart of the issue. In terms that little hood boys and girls can relate to.
Question becomes...what do you(I) want to be the best at?
At twenty eight years old, you'd think I'd know by now. I didn't think that I'd still be soul searching this late in the game. I know what I want to HAVE. I just don't know what I want to do...and the longer I dally, the more I see OTHER folks out here DOIN" IT! I'm not a hater....more power to them. I'm just trying to figure out what GD has put ME here to do.
Nick here's music in head ALL THE TIME. He's constantly making music even when he's not in front of an MPC.
My home gurl BOOG BROWN is always in the studio.....perfecting her craft.
B. Houston is steadily on her acting grind. AUdition to Audition. Photo shoot to photo shoot....I KNOW its just a matter of time.
Asia is always on the NEXT project...the NEXT art show...the NEXT camera shot.
ANd I...I'm always working. Always on my way to the next flight. Sitting in the next airport or next hotel. I KNOW I'm better than this.
Aye...this wasn't supposed to be such a self-centered blog. It was SUPPOSED to be about all the wonderful things I learned in PHX. How divine the situation was getting Nick to the conference.....AH well....
Guess I had to start somewhere.
I know its been a minute. The glamorous life of a flight attendant just doesn't stop. I've been "Home" in Detroit for about five days of the last thirty. Mostly cause I'm doin' the whole commuting thing...catching flights to ATL just to work.
Any who...
This weekend I had the pleasure of escorting one Mr. Nicholas Speed to PHX for the Money Management Group's Producer's conference. After working on a plane for four days...I caught a flight to Detroit from ATL, and then met Speed at the airport to fly him to PHX. Ridiculous I know, but the "buddy passes" at my airline suck. ANd in order for friends to fly, I've gotta go to. So I spent the majority of my weekend on a plane....
Luckily, our hometown Super Producer is a great travel companion. We ONLY made our flight out cause it was delayed ten minutes and some poor folks couldn't run fast enough from the C concourse to the end of the A concourse....We got on the flight just minutes before they closed the boarding door. BUT WE MADE IT! YEA!
We get settled, take off, and prompty start sippin' on wine...to relax (wink, wink). Fortunately for us, the lead flight attendant saw me get on and offered us free wine for the rest of the flight. NEedless to say three quarters of the way to PHX, we're both giggly and talking pretty candidly about life, goals and aspirations.
Nick Speed subscribes to a philosophy that I seemed to have lost somewhere between the security line , the plane and the layover. He calls it "Swagger to the Max" (keep ya ears open for the single from Dannny Brown). Basically, it just means, if you ACT like you are the SHYT you WILL BE the shyt. If you BELIEVE you are the BEST, you WILL BE! I know...I know..."THE SECRET" has been out since Oprah blasted it a couple years ago...But Nick skipped the meta physical mumbo jumbo,and spiritual enlightenment to get to the heart of the issue. In terms that little hood boys and girls can relate to.
Question becomes...what do you(I) want to be the best at?
At twenty eight years old, you'd think I'd know by now. I didn't think that I'd still be soul searching this late in the game. I know what I want to HAVE. I just don't know what I want to do...and the longer I dally, the more I see OTHER folks out here DOIN" IT! I'm not a hater....more power to them. I'm just trying to figure out what GD has put ME here to do.
Nick here's music in head ALL THE TIME. He's constantly making music even when he's not in front of an MPC.
My home gurl BOOG BROWN is always in the studio.....perfecting her craft.
B. Houston is steadily on her acting grind. AUdition to Audition. Photo shoot to photo shoot....I KNOW its just a matter of time.
Asia is always on the NEXT project...the NEXT art show...the NEXT camera shot.
ANd I...I'm always working. Always on my way to the next flight. Sitting in the next airport or next hotel. I KNOW I'm better than this.
Aye...this wasn't supposed to be such a self-centered blog. It was SUPPOSED to be about all the wonderful things I learned in PHX. How divine the situation was getting Nick to the conference.....AH well....
Guess I had to start somewhere.
Thursday, January 24, 2008
"Love me like everyday..." ~ M.B.
Anyone who knows me know that I have an ongoing love affair with the music of one Ms. Monicva Blaire. Her lyrics speak to the experience of the twenty-somthing wombyn. You gotta guzzle Red Bull and OJ just to keep up with her high live octane performances. She invokes a physical and emotional reation everytime I see her live. Its like GD speaks to me through her....EVERYtime.
I'm proud to say that this week Monica Blaire graces the front page of the Michigan Citizen newspaper. It goes into detail about her musical back ground and innfluences. Monica, in my opinion is my generation's Anita Baker. Not so much in her style or music, but because she's a distinctive voice, and a native of DETROIT who is MAKING IT while still based in DETROIT. If you get the chance, check out the article in the Michigan Citizen: http://www.michigancitizen.com/. The article isn't posted on the web just yet since the weekle newpaper is dated Jan 27-Feb 2, 2008, But check out the website none the less. Its a great source of news effecting Afri-mericans in Michigan and across the country. It highlights POSITIVE issues and programs as opposed to just your run-of-the-mill drug busts, drive-bys, and tragic house fires.
I'm proud to say that this week Monica Blaire graces the front page of the Michigan Citizen newspaper. It goes into detail about her musical back ground and innfluences. Monica, in my opinion is my generation's Anita Baker. Not so much in her style or music, but because she's a distinctive voice, and a native of DETROIT who is MAKING IT while still based in DETROIT. If you get the chance, check out the article in the Michigan Citizen: http://www.michigancitizen.com/. The article isn't posted on the web just yet since the weekle newpaper is dated Jan 27-Feb 2, 2008, But check out the website none the less. Its a great source of news effecting Afri-mericans in Michigan and across the country. It highlights POSITIVE issues and programs as opposed to just your run-of-the-mill drug busts, drive-bys, and tragic house fires.
Wednesday, January 23, 2008
Black gurls in Paris
Shay Youngblood has a novel called BLACK GIRL IN PARIS about a young writer who moves to France with little money and the dream of meeting James Baldwin. To keep it cliche': it's an amazing coming of age tale...it was my favorite read for a few years. I read it religiously...annually.
I've always been facinated with international travel.
You'd think that as a flight attendant I'd have more stamps on my passport than pages....But alas. My salary is not proportionate to my debt. I'm reduced to trists around THIS continent. I've always wondered what it was like to LIVE, not visit, in another country. Having been exposed to the likes of Langston Huges, W.E.B. Dubois, Josephine Baker, Miles Davis and others...the IDEA of living in Paris is intoxicating. For a minute there... submerged myself in all things Parisian: food, music, language *limited to two years of high school french*, Canada . Though I've kind of moved on from that minor obsession, the subject is still pretty interesting.
That said, on my news feed today, there's an article frorm the Chicago Tribune about a woman named Rikki Stevens who offers tours of "black Paris". She takes you around to the lesser known spots where Josephine Baker, Langston Huges, and Alexander Dumas hung out...lived..performed. Check the article out. http://www.chicagotribune.com/travel/chi-black_paris_toursjan26,0,4469399.story?coll=chi_home_util
Ironically, yesterday , in totally unrelated visit to the World Wide Web, I added a blog to my personal list of "favorite" websites. It's from another Afi-merican ex-patriate. She's living in Paris and writing about her experiences there. Check out her blog at
http://www.blackgirlinparis.com/.
And speaking of Blk gurls in love with French culture...another homegurl of my mine GLENNISHA M. MORGAN has a magazine coming out called JE SUIS LIBRE (I AM FREE). This baaaad mamma is FLUENT in the language. That's in addition to being a writer, editer, activist, and natural hair care specialist. Has she actually visited Paris? Not sure. Check out her website and ask her yourself!!! http://www.freewebs.com/glennisham/
I've always been facinated with international travel.
You'd think that as a flight attendant I'd have more stamps on my passport than pages....But alas. My salary is not proportionate to my debt. I'm reduced to trists around THIS continent. I've always wondered what it was like to LIVE, not visit, in another country. Having been exposed to the likes of Langston Huges, W.E.B. Dubois, Josephine Baker, Miles Davis and others...the IDEA of living in Paris is intoxicating. For a minute there... submerged myself in all things Parisian: food, music, language *limited to two years of high school french*, Canada . Though I've kind of moved on from that minor obsession, the subject is still pretty interesting.
That said, on my news feed today, there's an article frorm the Chicago Tribune about a woman named Rikki Stevens who offers tours of "black Paris". She takes you around to the lesser known spots where Josephine Baker, Langston Huges, and Alexander Dumas hung out...lived..performed. Check the article out. http://www.chicagotribune.com/travel/chi-black_paris_toursjan26,0,4469399.story?coll=chi_home_util
Ironically, yesterday , in totally unrelated visit to the World Wide Web, I added a blog to my personal list of "favorite" websites. It's from another Afi-merican ex-patriate. She's living in Paris and writing about her experiences there. Check out her blog at
http://www.blackgirlinparis.com/.
And speaking of Blk gurls in love with French culture...another homegurl of my mine GLENNISHA M. MORGAN has a magazine coming out called JE SUIS LIBRE (I AM FREE). This baaaad mamma is FLUENT in the language. That's in addition to being a writer, editer, activist, and natural hair care specialist. Has she actually visited Paris? Not sure. Check out her website and ask her yourself!!! http://www.freewebs.com/glennisham/
Episode 1:" Me too" Syndrome
I've had some time off work. Ideally, I would have liked to meditate, drink hearbal teas, burn candles, and read. But of course, that would have been too much like right. So what did I do? I sat around, channel surfed, read, smoked menthols, popped vicodin *more on that later*, played spider solitaire , and SURFED THE NET.
During my travels on the world wide web, I discovered a plethora of ordinary individuals-regular Joe Scmoes and Jane Does, with web sites and blogs dedicated to everything from the Great Election of 2008 to their personal souveniour spoon collections. I found some great stuff.
For example, Terry Howcott has an awesome website full of useful links, thought provoking articles and insightful blogs (PLUG:Visit TerryHowcott.com!). After reading and surfing I decided that I TOO could put together a site. ME TOO!"
So...
Hang on folks. Cause I am Dada Chiku (Sister Chatterer), and now I'm equipped with yet another venue to share!
During my travels on the world wide web, I discovered a plethora of ordinary individuals-regular Joe Scmoes and Jane Does, with web sites and blogs dedicated to everything from the Great Election of 2008 to their personal souveniour spoon collections. I found some great stuff.
For example, Terry Howcott has an awesome website full of useful links, thought provoking articles and insightful blogs (PLUG:Visit TerryHowcott.com!). After reading and surfing I decided that I TOO could put together a site. ME TOO!"
So...
Hang on folks. Cause I am Dada Chiku (Sister Chatterer), and now I'm equipped with yet another venue to share!
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