Sex Slave

THIS IS CRAZY!!! The even sadder part about it, is that its real; not just a movie being made out of the figment of someone's sick imagination. This is a trailer for a documentary about things that are occurring in our own backyard. With the exception of Shaniya Davis, we dont hear about it. Its a LOT of stuff that we don't hear about until we go looking for it.

Today, I'm pointing you to a video of some people who went looking for it...



People... We got to do better.

Expendable - The Video



Link to the original post - Expendable

Try... Try again...

This inspired me a lil bit... You might fail... a WHOLE lot... and though you may need some help... if you keep trying... eventually... you just might succeed...

6 Days in Fallujah

The following is a video of a very controversial video game about one of the bloodiest battles the current war has seen. Not only is it based on a current battle, but its made extremely realistic, with and about true events and real people. How would you feel about this if it were your family? Someone actually "playing" the last hours of your relatives life? This isn't like Call of Duty, where most of the people who participated are extremely old and the people playing the game weren't even alive. This is happening RIGHT NOW! I don't know... I think I'm with the veteran's families on this one. Watch the video.

Paint a picture of the words...

The other night, one of my family members decided it was a must that I see 106 and park... Now, I havent seen this show in ages and I must say... not too much has changed. "2 step" songs for the ladies in the club, songs about money, cars, etc... I ain't even too mad at that though. The problem I have is with the lack of creativity in the music videos in the countdown I saw. Its the same stuff over and over again. Im wrong? Ok.

Exhibit A:

I love the Chalie Boy Song, "I Look Good". Very catchy and he's singing pretty good on his hook without heavy use of autotune (which equals an automatic win in my book). Reminds me of Ceelo Greene a lil bit (but Ceelo can sing a lot better).

Look at his video:


But we've this same video over and over again of people standing out in front of cars.
Example:


Exhibit B:

Is Birdman's Money to blow, which for some reason REFUSES to allow anyone to embed. But thas cool cause his "son" did the same video a lil while ago except he included a band amongst his women and there was less money being flashed...



OR you could compare it to...



Still not enough?

Omarion did the all black and white dance routine with some added randomness for no reason:



Only to be DESTROYED in the SAME countdown by Chris Brown doing the same type of dancing... only MUCH better with a more well put together video AND CREATIVITY!!!



Part of the problem could be what we are talking about... It could be a lack of vision... I blame the writers, though. If you don't tell a different story, how can you expect to display a different story visually that correlates to it?!? I dont know. And while you shake your head and say Im biased, I point your head to creativity...

Example:

Sharam feat Kid Cudi - She Came Along



Others...

Gnarls Barkley - Crazy

Talib Kweli - Hot Thing
(even though it WAS the HP commercial, still different for a music video)

OutKast - GhettoMusick OR Ms. Jackson


And for Kicks...

Taylor Swift - You Belong with Me
(Which DID deserve to beat Single Ladies. Yes, I did say it. Single Ladies had a dance routine in front of a white wall... No visual creativity. Its been done before.)


Stuff like this doesnt last too long 106 (Unless your name is Jay Z, Rihanna, or Kanye...) And as a result, doesnt get seen.

Ninja Assassin First Impressions

Its been a while since we've done one... But check it out.

"Anti-Social" Networking

The longer I spend on these social networks connecting with friends, the more I realize that these social networks aren't really all that their advertised to be. I'm sittin here lookin at my friends list of hundreds of people and thinking to myself "If we're friends, why don't I have your phone number?!? And if I do, why don't we ever talk by using it - text or phone call?!? And although many will give the response of "its not that serious", which may be true, I still cant understand the point of being "friends" with someone you didn't like/don't talk to back in middle school, only to proceed to NOT talk to them over the internet. (?!?) But maybe I'm wrong... Seems like a set up to me... Real stalker-ish... Voyeuristic even...

Im the type of person that likes to talk to each and every single last one of my friends; be it online, over text, on the phone or in person. Thas just the type of person I am. The online world is different... In the online world you bump into a person's online virtual representation of themselves... Rarely the true individual. I cant be friends with a representative. Take Twitter for example: Twitter is a list of status updates where people are constantly telling you what they are up to. Its been deemed "a blog for lazy people." Looking at it in another light, sometimes the replies amongst "friends" can turn it into a massive chat room. The problem is 65% of it aint real. Examples, you say? Ok... Explain to me, if you're having such a great time at a club at 2:30 in the morning, why you would stop dancing, put down your drink, go to the corner and tweet "Club suchandsuch is CRAZY tonight!!!" And then proceed, over the next 30 minutes to an hour, to describe the women/men in the establishment with you....

Come on... Really?!?

While I like the inspirational quotes that come around, updates in current events, free mixtape download links and the occasional "conversation" with people who are sitting at home or at their jobs, that "I just got some popeye's chicken" or "I hate all men" fluff can get a little overwhelming if done in surplus. Some are funny, I will admit... but others... delete...

Facebook seems to be a little more "grown-up" than the other websites; Still casual, but not as messy as Myspace and not as "make believe" as twitter can sometimes be... But the same rules apply. I feel like, if we're gonna be friends, lets be friends. Meet me at the waffle house and lets eat. Invite me to the house to watch the superbowl game. Lets go to the movies. I dont wanna be friend number 3,428 outta 6,539. I cant be just a number.

If facebook, twitter, or myspace is to be our only form of communication, lets at least USE it as a form of communication. No more lying. No more pretending. Let people see the real you. Otherwise, the network is pointless. Long story short: be real and be friends with your "friends" or don't be friends... Now, let me get back to tweeting...

The Black Card



Seen this advertisement under one of my yahoo emails and Im thinking: This use to be exclusive... Now you're advertising it?!? And beyond that, you want "regular" people to PAY 495 a year to use a credit card that they are going to have to pay interest on. So let me get this straight... I get money from you... pay interest on that money for using it... AND pay you an annual fee on top of the interest, just to say I got one?!? I could be wrong, but in a recession (that we're supposedly out of, even though many people are STILL getting laid off) I dont think this is a good weapon for the average individual to add to their arsenal... I guess thats why this really isnt for the average individual... At any rate... Im good.

Expendable

Sitting here reading and noticed this article. And while most of the information in the article is just more of the same information about falling wages and stuff like that, the sentence that got my attention was the following:
Over the past two years, the wages of the typical black male full-time worker fell, but wages rose 7.3% for black women.
Now, Im all for black women coming up. Im an advocate for women of all colors improving their finances. The problem I have is that I have been noticing a mentality that further delves into the "we don't need the black man" mindset. Its starting to become more and more prevalent and this statement seems to provide more support to the notion that we are becoming what these young girls are deeming expendable; becoming more of a liability than an asset. Choosing to love anybody else before "putting up with our mess". I don't really know how or what to feel about this. Should we be concerned? Will our black women stick by us "in sickness and in health... for richer or poorer... to death due us part?!?" I dont know...

Richard Pryor = Marlon Wayans (?!?)


This news threw me for a loop. I couldn't believe it. You talkin bout "White Girls" Marlon Wayans? "Fall out the back of the truck on GI Joe" Marlon Wayans? Scary Movie Marlon Wayans? THAT MARLON WAYANS?!? I don't know son... I could see Mike Epps doing Richard Pryor. I don't know if I can see Marlon doing a Richard Pryor character... How did this happen you ask? Basically, Mrs. Pryor went in on Mike real hard. She was going after his self esteem. Here's what she said according to this website:

"Poor Bitch…..
He got his ass so fired from me and Richard Pryor project and now he is trying to go around talking shit, saying he’s doing the Richard Pryor project…motherfvcker better watch his punk, country ass…it’s gonna get royally sued if he wants to play this game!
My lawyers are ready and waiting!!!
He said at Richard’s funeral: “I don’t know Richard...”
That was the only honest moment and thing that came out of this punkass’s mouth…he doesn’t have a clue who Richard is or was, never will...
Richard didn’t like you…you knew it too. I tried to make you feel better...”oh yeah, he likes you Mike” but he couldn’t stand your fake ass…your step and fetch it, higher than a kite, insincere shit you’d come up with…nothing original ever... Richard would look right through you and spot you for the country ass no talent bitch you are...
He’s so pissed at me he can’t see straight…yeah Mike…remember what you said to me:
“IT’S SO HARD TO LISTEN TO YOU TALK ABOUT RICHARD BECAUSE YOU’RE A WHITE WOMAN...”
That right there, says it all. Youse nothing but a damn racist who doesn’t have a clue who Richard is, what he stands for: you’re just a wannabe cvnt who has a small brain and a tin heart...
He’s so desperate, ain’t nothin and I mean nothin goin on in that poor bitches’ career except now he’s trying to catch a ride on Richard’s coattails... Motherfvcker is a rotten unfvcking funny comic and as an actor is a sad imitation of
Pauly Shore…
Ain’t got no chops, no where...
And now the motherfvcker hanging on tight to what might have been if God has given him any part of any talent...
Poor Bitch!!!"


Yeah....

Destroyed him...

I could be wrong... Nobody ever woulda thought Jamie Foxx would have killed that Ray Charles role like he did... Ima give Marlon a chance though...

Fake it til you make it...

So I'm looking at this website and I come across this article talking about a man who just HAD to have his "fantasy" and wasn't going to let his lack of ballertastic funds prevent him from "Kobe-ing" in a local strip club. This fella proceeds to print up some fake $50's in order to fund his pleasure seeking escapade. Crazy right? Bet the young lady was REAL upset after she did all that dancing and found out she was workin for free... Oh well... At least she got practice and experience for the next REAL client. Hopefully she'll have a run in with Pacman Jones at some point in time in her dancing career and he can make up for this "misunderstanding".

For better or for worse...

So I'm looking at this article and its talking about how these top 400 people have to deal with the devastating readjustment of gaining only 2 percent profit verses their usual double digit yearly profit. It goes on to describe how that 2% equates to about $30 million aka "enough to provide 500 school teacher jobs at $60k per year". This writer from the Huffington post goes down the list to describe the many things that this 2% increase, which was a poor year for them, could take care of and some of it is astonishing. Please read it.

Here's another article from yahoo talking about the income gap. And while it looks at things from a slightly different point of view, the bottom line is still the same: poor people are going further into the negative and the rich people are still getting paid. It speaks on the unemployed... but what the average person isn't considering is the underemployed who have a job but still can't make ends meet... Nor are they talking about the discouraged labor force; those who are able bodied and of a good working age but have quit looking because of continued disappointment. Those numbers aren't included in that "Unemployment" rate.

My conclusion: something has got to change... and I ain't talking about "Obama" change. I'm speaking of change in the system that runs America over all. Welfare doesn't encourage people to become employed. Middle class is becoming a thing of the past as inflation is increasing at a much faster pace than the salaries of the average person. The "poor" are getting poorer and an "underclass" is developing. The "underclass" are people who can't afford to survive or get the education to gain access the better opportunities and have to get by on the mentality of "by any means necessary" aka "Your door is being kicked in on a Tuesday afternoon and they are robbing you for 5 dollars and a pack a cigarettes."

And no I'm not promoting what some consider "Socialism", I'm just pointing out that what is currently in place ain't working... "Share" is real easy to say but, realistically speaking, not one of those 400 will voluntarily dramatically reduce their standard of living for the sake of some strangers who they probably consider lazy. There is no incentive and people just aren't "nice" like that anymore. You will die of starvation before you get a handout.

But maybe I'm just rambling and overreacting....

Gemstones - Fighting Crime



Saw this raw footage and I asked myself a question... The question is: What would I have done if I was the cop? The cop on the video swung back at the girl who jumped on him while he was trying to take the other young lady into custody. This looks wrong for two reasons: 1) He was a "He" and she was a "She" and 2) He was white and she was black. If you disregard those (which I know will be hard for most) AND take into account the fact that his team members were slow as molasses to get up and assist him, and replace this cop with a black or hispanic female cop, what would have been the best way to respond? What should have been his correct course of action? Does the cop just take a beating in the face while trying to hold onto the person he or she is trying to arrest? Does the cop let the suspect go to grab a stun gun or something to defend himself or run? How would you have handled the situation if you were put into his position; when swinging back at the young lady is the wrong decision on so many levels? Many times we bring up race and gender up in situations (most times, justifiably so) but this is one time it crossed my mind to look at it completely objectively... What do you think?

Neko Cheri Live!!!


Here's an online radio talk show that's worth taking a look at. The link to it is http://www.blogtalkradio.com/nekocherilive. The homegirl/coworker Sun is a part of it and she's making the radio show come alive!!! She definitely keeps it real (I wouldn't fool with her if she didn't) so be on the look out for anything to come outta her mouth! It starts at 8:30pm EVERY Wednesday night... So after you get in from Bible study, check it out you'll be able to catch a good hour or more of the show. Call in. Leave comments. Show love. Whatever. But whatever you do... DONT MISS THE SHOW WHEN SUN IS ON THE AIR!!!

Its just comedy Chris... Just comedy...

Hunt Chris Brown... The "Run This Town" spoof...


I thought this was pretty stupid. Its comedy. Chris Brown made himself look real stupid when he did his interview... this fella captured it pretty well, so Im sharing it with you. Check this out. Comment if you feel the need to.

The Boys Club.

About ME: Imma 20 something year old woman that loves inspirational moments AND more…. I’ve recently decided to share with the world the different adventures I go on daily with the infamous “crew” this blog I will appropriately call… The Boys Club


So recently I had the opportunity to "kick it" with the fellas... It was an interesting night to say the least... I always find myself surrounded by alll guys! Which to me is not a bad thing considering I always feel protected... I will more than likely have a dance partner or two ... although I will defiantly hear more dirty observations than I want to and there really is no need to share examples because quite frankly they are ...how do you say DISGUSTING! But anywho …They always feel the need to inform me about females that make their.... hmmmm... "life worth living" ( I put it in poetic terms)....Their individual love stories /sexcapades always provide me with a good laugh...The funny thing is I still feel like I know very little about men when it comes to dating... I would love to say by hanging out with the fellas I've learned all there was to know about men....but at this point in my endless journey I really don't see a difference between men and women...I mean hey they look at pinkie toes and teeth to judge a woman..the same way a woman will look at merchandise to judge a man.... Same difference right? In this generation it’s all about appearances.. plus both genders at this age are pretty superficial .... really having no clear justification behind what we like or why we like what we like....I mean come on...what does a nice pair of shoes or a pinkie toe really have to do with how much an individual will love and care for you? The answer would be.... absolutely positively nothing! We are all guilty of searching for love in all the wrong spaces.. trying to find the perfect person based on appearances …Trying to make the man with the nice car" the one "despite the way he may treat you...Or A man trying to make the woman with all the right curves “the one” despite her inability to love anyone but herself.. We will willing ignore the characteristics that will end up breaking our hearts to have what will look good on the outside..It seems having “something” to show your friends (like a nice backside or a nice automobile) has become more important than truelove itself…. no wonder why we are ALLL so heartbroken! Instead of taking our time and falling in love with a person for all the right reasons… we fall in love in an instant for all the wrong reasons…Having the childlike mentality that we want it now and we want it our way…But hey there's a bright side...we won't be 20 something forever so hopefully we've learned our lessons by the time we hit 30... Well as for me kids I’m taking a time out on finding Mr. Right…I’m learning a lot about love by sitting back and enjoying the show….In the meantime I'm completely satisfied simply... being one of the guys!

Love and a Bus Pass



So I was posed this question the other day by a friend... He asked: "Whatever happened to loving the fella wit a bus pass?" And while he was probably joking, as he often is, I started to think... Where IS the love?

Traditionally, if you were raised that way, men are supposed to be the provider and women are supposed to bring the emotional stability to the family. With this mentality, to a degree, I understand a woman looking at a man and using his outer appearance to access whether or not he will be a good provider... To a degree... But on the flip side of the situation, this same woman has to be able to bring somethin to the table besides her physical appearance. You can't just "be there". Unfortunately, I'm running into a lot of "be there" type of females. And on top of that, they wanna be there when its convenient for them and only when the times are good. My question is, why is it ok for a woman to come into a relationship with nothing but the inability to cook, the unwillingness to clean, a booty, a pair of tits and, more than likely, a kid, but a brotha gotta have all his I's dotted and all of his T's crossed? I am by no means advocating for a woman to take care of a sorry or lazy man, but am I wrong for sayin it needs to be more of a balance?

-The Man in Black

AT&T: iPhone will have MMS September 25, 2009

This is good news, because I have been waiting for the iPhone to receieve the MMS feature after the 3.0 software/firmware update. Read more.
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Today AT&T announced that it will offer iPhone 3G and iPhone 3GS users the ability to send and receive MMS messages starting on September25. iPhone users will be able to access the service via an iPhone software update that will be made available on that day. The software update will be distributed through iTunes. AT&T said the service has taken months to prepare because it wanted to offer the "best possible experience." It has taken steps to strengthen its MMS delivery systems to handle what it believes will be a "record volume of MMS traffic."

Courtesy of Phonescoop.com & AT&T Wireless.

Jay Z Rhapsody commercial... Pretty hot...



Check this out... Its a pretty cool concept and its hot how they pulled it off. Gotta praise creativity whenever it happens...

Chris Brown on Larry King



Im thinking... From the sounds of this little "snippet"... Either he's nervous and can't get his words out... or he's lying... I wanna believe Chris... I do... But he danced around that question more than he does when he is on stage...

Do stuff on yo date!!!

Gemstones - Drinking at 18.... Legally


So there is this law thats coming into question... Its about the legal drinking age. On one side, you have the people who believe in what I call the cookie jar syndrome. This is when, for example, you tell a kid not to stick their hand in the cookie jar and, as a result, they immediately become curious as to why not and decide that the cookie jar is the most important and phenomenal thing to ever happen to them in their life; but if the cookie jar is ignored all together and quietly placed on the counter, right next to the flower pot, they'll probably ignore it. In other words, they feel that by lowering the age and giving a younger crowd access to alcohol, they would be able to get teen drinking under control.

On the flip side, you have people asking the more logical question: "Why open the floodgates?" With something like alcohol, where so many lives are lost do to drunk driving, I think the last thing that should be done is to give open access to young people who are probably very in experienced drivers. Big mistake. We got enough cases of reckless teen driving when they are sober! Let them be creative and use their imaginations to find ways to get alcohol. Truth be told... this sounds like a case of someone in power who's kid has gotten in trouble with the law one too many times from underage drinking. Why would a responsible adult bring that up if that isnt the case?!? Suspect...

While we on this Big Boi stuff...



If you go out to stuff like this on a Thursday, might as well check him out... Mick Boogie is a nice DJ and Mickey Factz is nice too by the way... Peep the flyer for the details....

To beat... or not to beat... (Please don't beat!)


Today I got asked a question... They said "Journeyman... Why all these guys gettin violent all of a sudden?!?" Im like "What are you talkin about?!?" They said that its been numerous cases of violence from guys who are gettin let go by their future ex girlfriends and the dudes are just snapping!!! Bleaching, stabbing, beating, shooting... The list goes on... Now, I hadnt heard of many of the cases that they were referring to but I have been seeing guys act real insecure lately...

Was in the mall the other day in the food court and seen these two girls talking to these two guys and all of a sudden this other dude comes outta NOWHERE and just yanks the hell outta this girl's arm and pulls her away like he was gonna take her around the corner and beat her! Now I don't know the whole story, but even still... I have more of an oldschool mentality that mainly consist of a lot of "F*** that s***" In other words, if the chick wanna be reckless like that, let her go. Since when did guys get so jealous and insecure like this to the point of making a scene in the mall?!? Why not walk up and introduce yourself and see how she react? That woulda been a lil more classy. The guy mighta found out that this was a relative or somethin. But no... You gotta be crazy.

I know what it is though...

It's the economy.

Thats right... The economy.

Why, you ask? Im blaming the economy because the economy is exposing the true character of every man who is breathing. Either you are gonna sink or you are gonna float. No longer can a lil guy "BS" his way through life, pretending to be a star by buying one pair of designer glasses and some Jordans. These women have peeped game and are choosing... Now that NOBODY has any money, the boys are gonna have to do more than look pretty with a dream. There's a pretty good chance if all you have is a d*ck and a myspace page with your six pack on it, you WILL be left alone. Sad part about it is that's about all a lot of these young guys got; so they do everything within their power to control the women they get... and when it gets to the point where they start loose their grip... they loose control.

On one side I say to the women: the same games cant be played like they use to. If the guy looses his job and takes a hit to his ego/manhood, the last thing he needs is for his woman to bounce on him too. And to the men: Son... man up. Its other women out there and if the one you want aint actin right and yall aint been together at least 2 years, introduce that broad to her replacement and let her walk the green mile. It aint worth it to beat her and get a record. And thats not to mention how much less of a man you are for puttin your hands on a women like that anyway... We not gone even speak on that...

BIG BOI SPEAKS .... SOME MORE!!!

Before his show at a stop for the Rock The Bells Tour, Big Boi discusses his plans for releasing a new solo album (Sir Lucious Left Foot: The Son of Chico Dusty), Dre3000's solo, and a new OutKast LP on the way .... Check it out ..









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Rapping for the ENTIRE movie?!?



All I can do is shake my head... Please tell me this is a parody. Tell me the Ashton Kutcher is finna pop out from behind one of the Hummers on 32's. You have GOT to be kidding me!!! A movie where the whole cast is rapping for the entire film?!? Whoever came up with this wack idea needs not to do anything like this again. Im mad so many "relatively" established actors are in the film like its gonna be a hit or something. I guess this recession got these fellas tryin to grab at anything to make ends meet. Either that or it was a favor for one of the homies from back home. But I could be wrong. This may be groundbreaking... but chances are....

Miami rapper robbed at the barbershop

Ok so... Being broke is makin people act real reckless. Watch the video.



These fellas just ran up in a barber shop and robbed the young fella while he was gettin a hair cut...

This is the Barber Shop man!!! This is the safe haven. The barbershop is like a live Oprah but for black men. Its our midweek checkup therapy sessions. Its where the black man goes to, not only get fresh for the ladies, but to also talk about all that stuff that... well... all of that stuff that we talk about in the barber shop. This was messed up on many different levels. When I become an even bigger star, I aint wearin all that stuff though. Carry enough cash to feed yourself and look flashy for photo shoots special events; that will be the rule. Interviews and other stuff like that will get the "This is nice, but not nice enough to get me robbed" treatment.

On a side note, peep the white cop at the end and language he uses... All Ima say is "When a rapper looses his bling"?!? Come on man...

Charlie Murphy!!!


This fella is funny! He is in town at Uptown Comedy Corner tonight and Thursday night. I aint gone be able to make it but it might be worth the ticket; $20 for general admin and $30 for VIP. BE THERE!!!

or at least watch these two videos...



Why are they still arguing?!?

Saw this video on youtube today. And it made me think about this lil mess goin on between 50 and Rick Ross… My question is, if BIG and Pac were alive, would this beef matter?!?



It seems kinda silly to me. The majority already knows that most of the stories told over raps ain’t real noways. Most of the stories are limited to drugs, women, and money. The average nigga’s day is like what Soulja Boy is rappin (“Hop up out the beeeeeeddddd…” etc…) And lets just be honest, in this economy, the average cat that is downloadin the CD aint trafficking a whole lot of not one of them (read: we cant relate unless we’re imagining). Why can’t we just appreciate the art for what it is? How about respectin the nigga cause he can rhyme a lil bit? 50 clownin the fella; Callin Rick’s “Deeper than Rap” trash. And Rick is here talking bout how 50 runnin around ruining other niggas careers rather than letting another black man get his money (this is true, by the way…) I wont quite go as far as to blame 50 for the demise of hip hop in NY (the South is more responsible fro that), but I definitely think that the petty stuff needs to stop. By the way, how did this “beef” start again?!? I sure don’t remember….

Unreleased MJ


The song has the exact same music as America's A horse with no name, the cadence of the words is about the same, and the words aren't too far off from each other. I like Mike but I cant say this song woulda brought anything new to the table, which is probably why it went unreleased. MJ made the right decision. Especially since the original was a classic. Still cool to hear some different music from the greatest performer to ever live tho...

support music PERIOD!


CLICK ON IMAGE TO LISTEN/DOWNLOAD

you can also check the single out on the new "Students of the Culture" mixtape. Presented by KARMALOOP x IMFLASHY.COM x etc....
mixtape features appearences from Brittany Street (of course), Big Sean, Mike Posner, Wale, The Kid Daytona, Nickelus F, and more.....

CLICK ON COVER TO DOWNLOAD

will i see you there???

Young Scolla will be joining Wiz Khalifa in Atlanta on July 23-24, 2009.
Peep da Flyer for details.........

Chocolate Babies (Terrible...)


Just read an article on CNN talking about how single black females are starting to adopt a whole lot more. I don't have any issues with this; its better for a child to have 1 good/qualified parent than no parent at all and being raised by the system. The problem I have is with the statements the doctor made. She said "I had a family who turned a baby down because it was too dark. They said the baby wouldn't look good in family photographs." Crazy, right? But it wasn't quite the thing that raised my eyebrows much... What got me is when she said that some adopting parents walk in and make statements like "I want a baby to look like a Snickers bar, not dark chocolate". And thas when the "I can't believe this..." came out of me. I could almost understand sayin that you dont find the kid attractive but are you SERIOUS?!? A Snickers bar?!? You're picking out a baby and comparing him/her to a SNACK?!? GET OUTTA HERE!!! But maybe I'm the only one who is a lil disturbed by that comment... Black people, we gotta do better... Or at least make up some other reason for turning the child down and pretend that we're are comfortable with the skin color most of our ancestors had (Read: Darkness).

And now to end with a famous quote from the most famous person who nobody knows about... This person, while slightly under the influence, said: "I like babies... And I like Chocolate... So yeah! I like chocolate babies!!!"

Gemstones - Culture Shocked... Twice.


Several weeks ago I went to this lil hood Hip Hop awards show with my homeboy at a Holiday Inn. It was some lil up and coming entertainment organization that was doing their thing. I couldn't hate. They were celebrating the best among their peers and they were doing it in the biggest way they could at this time. Nice venue. Security was set up. Had the guest list. The whole nine. The problem I had was how the actual show was handled and the environment. The show was to start at 7 o'clock. Expecting to be VERY late, since we were just getting off of work, we show up at the location at 7:45. The show had still not started. There were an enormous amount of people in the lobby and outside the ballroom where the event was being held and very few people inside. Everybody's drinking, standing around and talking, which is fine. The problem is how they look. With the exception of a few fellas who had fades, everybody looked the same. All of them. The dudes all had over sized shirts, with the matching over sized pants, with the matching over sized imitation designer shades and dreads. An attempt of the what T-Pain does...



But on a budget... (Side note: Please make sure when buying Dolce & Gabbana shades or glasses or anything, that they say D & G. There is a pretty good chance that if that ampersand (&) is not there, the glasses may not be real. If you go the actual website, you won't see any with just "DG". At least, I know I didn't see any. But I could be wrong... If you cant afford it just try to find another expensive brand. Some of the others are much easier to replicate. At any rate... Back to the story.)

The girls seem to all have VERY small shorts on... most of which you could barely see beneath their shirts. And if you could see the shorts, it was because their top was short/cut off/tied in a not in the back (took a picture of some of the girls by the door but it came out too blurry... Sorry.). The environment was ripe for somethin to pop off. Girls rowdy, using more profanity than a re-run of Richard Pryor on the Sunset Strip, dancing on the front of the stage like it was amature night at a hole in the wall strip club. It was even fellas around them videotaping like it was 1995 in Atlanta and Freaknik was poppin all over again. It was crazy. And to think... All this was before the show even started. The level of "over-the-topness" that occurred that night was crazy. We waited til about 8:30 and then left; not having seen anything but then, seeing enough. I then begin to realize this was a culture that I was not a part of. And even though some of my family is hood, and I've been to the hood, and I've dated some girls who currently reside in the hood, and some of those hood girls at that event were attractive... I am not hood. I can manage not to get shot, but that vibe aint for me. Culture Shock.

Fast forward to last weekend I get a taste of the complete opposite of what I described earlier. I'm at the Ferrari dealership and they're having a release party for their new vehicle, the California (A beautiful car by the way).




I began to experience something like what people call "silicone valley". Old rich white men smoking complimentary cigars with come overs, rolled up sleeves on button downs, khakis from marshalls, and best pair of Clarks that the brand has to offer. Young white guys in polos and cargo shorts and the matching thong sandles/loafers. Old white women with some serious plastic surgery (face lifts, botox, implants, etc...) with one lady having so much make-up on it felt like a costume party with a "Dark Knight" theme. Some of the young white ladies appeared on the scene with some serious plastic surgery as well (face lifts, botox, implants, etc...) and dresses that look like they came straight outta Talbots To give a more accurate picture, the young girls looked like Legally Blonde...



meets Malibu Barbie...



meets the weather lady from Fox NFL show...



and sprinkle in one of the white girls from that girl group Puff Daddy put together a lil while ago.



Add in a lil bit more botox to the lips and you have a pretty good idea of what was going on.

Soon as we hit the door, the guy stopped us, looking at our youthful exterior and asked did we RSVP. Now me partially overreacting and partially right where I needed to be felt a lil slighted. Immediately one of the crew began to explain to him who we were and what we were doing there and although the doorman still didn't look 100% satisfied with the explanation, he backed down. Not that it mattered at all because after about 15 minutes of staring at these people's faces and looking at cars I wasn't going to buy (No matter how baller they are, 9 miles a gallon is ridiculous), I was kinda ready to roll out. And while the friends networked with people who built the homes our friends lived in... I was kinda detached. Looking at one of the few minorities in the building like "Why are you wearing a blazer in this hot heat?!?" No reason to talk to you at all. Your mind isn't quite operating correctly.

So I chill, snack on some sushi and grab a bottle of water to wet the throat and as I'm chilling, this lady appears outta nowhere with this flowing sparkly dress on. She was light brown-skinned; appeared to be of Indian decent and she began to dance. She was the entertainment for the night. People from all over began pulling out their iPhones and Blackberrys (and other phones that mock those two heavyweights) to snap pictures and videotape the young lady dancing around. And while it was nice, I felt like Phonte from the rap group Little Brother on a song he did called Last Day on their And Justus For All mixtape, where he spoke about being the black guy being asked to rap on at the company picnic. Yes... I did just pull race into a situation that may not have been there at all. Yes... that probably was her full time job and she probably got paid well for it... BUT something just didn't feel right. Yeah... The "Hollywood" scene got old to me. I got done with that relatively quickly and proceeded to walk outside, where I sat on the couches that they had on the white sand in front of the car display. These couches had been occupied all afternoon but now they were free. And so was I... Culture shock.

NOW... These two environments were completely different. They both had their high points and low points. And while I had no problem moving amongst the two different crowds because I am well rounded, the amount of stereotypical behavior being exhibited in one place at one time was completely overwhelming. I couldn't believe my eyes at either venue. It was like a movie: One based on Menace II Society and the other based on the Real Housewives of Orange County. Both of which were pretty good in their own right, but neither of which I wanna spend too much time around. No thanks.

The Flip Shot

Seen this... Couldn't hate... The fella hit a fantastic shot... Kinda felt like one of those McDonalds commercials from the 90's...



Hey... It could happen...

The Black Iron Man


This fella right here... He was look like he was on somethin new that aint healthy for him to be on. Crazy. But he is right... Ain't too many black people flyin. No superheros. No evil geniuses. No nothin... Except him... Peep the video.

Jay-Z - "D.O.A. (Death of Autotone)"



Check out this new Jay-Z banger. Coming straight off "The Blueprint 3" album. This is killin' the streets slowly and some rumors say that, Jigga himself will ether the EtherBoy Ron Browz ....

LISTEN / DOWNLOAD

Children of Passion (This aint cool but Ima write it anyway...)


The world seems to be getting more and more full of "Children of Passion"... You're probably wondering what Im talking about when I say that... Im talking about ugly people. Children of Passion have two parents who decided to let go of all their inhibitions for one night and succumb to the "desires of their heart". Now, maybe its a situation of being exposed to so many different types of "beautiful" people through the media that we have become de-sensitized and can no longer be satisfied by what used to be good enough to be deemed beautiful - and I'll revisit that notion but part of me just feels like people are just "humping" any and everybody now. Maybe Im wrong for askin it, but when was the last time you seen someone on the street that made you think "You know what?!? If I had to end it all right now with her/him, I would do it". I aint seen that.

Now, it could be the fact that I'm just extra picky and may never really be satisfied but I aint gone accept that; I'd rather blame it on the media for warping my perception. It ruined us all. Cant even see an article now without the broad or fella in the advertisement being all airbrushed up, tummy tucked, sucked, scraped, chiseled and drawn up. We cant even tell what a real woman is supposed to look like to even appreciate her anymore. Maybe this is the reason it has seemed that the Jet beauty of the week is seemingly become less and less appealing since the Olympics were in Atlanta in 1996... I don't know. Seems like society has made it so that "cute" just ain't enough.

On the serious note though, I think it comes from people living their lives a lil bit too hard and too fast at this point in time. Nobody's getting enough sleep; Old folk are piling on cremes and stuff to look younger and young folk wake up in the morning with one foot in the grave. Young girls putting on so much make-up it looks like their wearin a porcelain mask - all in an effort to be more sexy... too young to understand that sexy is a state of mind and not a look. Breaks my heart to see some of these "little sisters" tryin so hard to catch somethin. They've been gettin the attention they've been askin for too. Gettin the pill at 11 is a serious sign that just maybe these lil girls may be tryin to grow up a lil too fast. They ain't the only party that's outta control though, somebody had to bring the penetration to the party. Both parties are pleasure seekers and the kids that are poppin their little ugly faces out are very strong supporting pieces of the supporting evidence that somebody's self esteem wasn't too good and just needed to feel "loved". I know there are a few cases of people just falling in love with each other and the feeling was just so strong that it didn't even matter what the two parties looked like... But considering the fact that people ain't really tryin to get married no more, they'd rather be room mates with benefits, I don't think love is causing the birth of these "Children of Passion". I think its out of control passion that's causing these "Children of Passion" and this out of control passion is coming from low self-esteem; low self-esteem which is so prevalent among young people today that its disgusting. At the end of the day, they cant be blamed for having low self-esteem if their parents didn't help them build it at a young age. But now, with all these babies having babies, nobody is taking time to find themselves; the low self-esteem is compounded - generation after generation, and it ain't helpin if they're ugly...

But what do I know? I'm just the Journeyman - talkin loud to draw a crowd...

Rumor: Jordan logo to replace West NBA logo?!?


So there's this rumor going around that the NBA logo is finna change... Haven't been able to find the clip but they say Jerry West has been asked about it and he stated that, if it were replaced, it should be with Jordan's logo. Shortly after this comment, rumor is that Mark Jackson spoke out of his mouth on national TV and basically campaigned for Jordan to be the logo. While I have no words on whether or not they should change it, I do have a problem with the comments made on this CBS Sports video. The fella on the right basically blamed Jordan for the utter demise of the NBA. Saying basically that every since he came into the league, kids are coming in and that just want to dunk. Jordan moved the league away from fundamentals. Like Jordan wasn't about the fundamentals because he lived above the rim...

Excuse me?!?

CHARLIE MURPHY!!!!... aka Leroy Smith



THIS FELLA IS FUNNY!!! Got his own website now called GetYourBasketballOn. He is TRULY on somethin new. Please check this out right now, as I cannot be the only one laughing at this!!!



This fella got songs he has recorded and EVERYTHING!!! Be sure to check this out ASAP!!!

The AIDS vaccine...


Maybe I'm wrong but... I read this article online and the last paragraph got me to thinking... Why would someone of "low risk" volunteer to have a "this will stay with you for the rest of your life" virus pathogen injected into their bodies in an effort to develop a vaccine for AIDS? Yeah, I know that the pathogen is supposed to have all of the "virus causing" elements removed BUT... (you can say what you want about me for saying it) I aint willing to take that risk.

Nope...

Can't do it.

Now... if they were testing CURES, THAT would be a different story. Im all for helping to find a cure. A cure to heal the multitude who are already affected would be worth a little risk. A vaccine to prevent somethin that I can "mostly" stay away from by abstaining?!? That's something I can pass on; even when its supposedly "finished". AIDS is the only thing outside of God that's "scary" enough to make the few relatively chaste people on the earth remain that way, or least practice "safer" sex and/or monogomy. And while sex is not the only way you can get AIDS, I would imagine the random chance of exchanging blood outside of hospitals is low. The prevenative maintainence is education. As for the vaccine, aint nobody finna stick me with HIV while I'm healthy; Pathogen or not. This sounds like a set up to me...

Gemstones - Google Ion

Well aint this bout a snitch... You just got the G1 and they already got a blackberry storm / "iPhone hater" clone in the making. Meet the Ion from google...

Looks pretty cool and, if you like T-mobile, might be something to keep an eye out for a little bit later on... Want more pictures?

Here you go...

Gotta compare it to the iPhone...


Its a little bit shorter and a little bit smaller in width than the iPhone, which may mean a smaller area for texting. But who knows, it could be the greatest things since... Well... since the iPhone...




Original article here.

Mid Week Fixx... Episode 2


I told you about it the last time... This is how it went and when its gonna happen again. The video came straight from the Royal Flush people themselves. Check it out...

MID WEEK FIXX - FEATURING ART IN MOTION - 5.27.09 AT SAMBUCA JAZZ CAFE from Jeron Ward on Vimeo.

Charles Hamilton and his Ex

I got mixed feelins about this one... On one hand I'm like "Why would this dude talk crazy to her like this in public?!?" On there hand I'm like "Why was she messin with Charles Hamilton in public like that to get put in that position?!?" The nigga put her business out there... Basically called her some rip... Emotions came into play... Her feelins got hurt... She hit him. Watch:



Now... I read a comment on twitter how everyone was gettin on Chris Brown for hittin Rihanna and now they gettin on Charles for not "handling" his "Brooklyn Girl" but these two issues are not the same: 1. because we know exactly what was said and many (especially women who respect themselves) would say he deserved to be hit 2. because we DON'T know exactly what happened in the Chris B case and 3. because it would've hurt him even more to beat that chick down on camera. I can't agree with the critics. I can't call Charles "soft" for not doing something at that moment. He did the best thing and the only thing he could do: stand there and try to laugh it off like it ain't hurt (his pride AND his face). He can always call the girl later on and leave her a message to apologize so that at a MINIMUM he can say "I was immature, but now I've grown up" and eventually time will heal all the wounds.

What I will say is that he handled the situation very sloppily. As a word of advice from one black male to another, never let ya business get out on the street like that; handle the drama behind closed doors so that at least you can deny everything or clean it up later. "Mess" is bad for the image, which is bad for your money, and beautiful women have a tendency run from messy broke niggas.

The good thing about all this is, next week somebody else is gonna do something stupid and the masses will forget that this ever happened. Use it as motivation for something new and try to save some face over the weekend by leaking a hot freestyle or new song or something.

Lebron hits the game winning shot in Orlando!!!

Today's message was sponsored by the letters L. B. and J. Here it is again just in case you didn't see it... It was RIDICULOUS!!!



P.S. Cavs... Please step it up so you won't be put in this position again. You almost (and should be) down 2-0. Can't rely on miracle shots if you wanna win a chip...

The Beautiful People Problem

A while ago I'm watching TV with my sister and saw where some study was done by some college somewhere in the U.S. of A. (wish I could find the study) that said that the happiest couples/marriages are those that are composed of an ugly/homelylooking man and a gorgeous woman. Now, when I heard this, it seemed to be more evidence to support a belief that I've had for about 7 years now; two "beautiful" people can't be together. I've had my share of arguments with friends of every shape size and color about this. They disagree with me, but Ive had a stance that it takes a miracle for two "beautiful" people to be together for quite a while now. And now this study is co-signing with their "Ugly men make the best husbands" report.

A lot of my mentality came from watching and over hearing the issues that my mother's and sister's friends would talk to them about. They would call with some crazy sob story about how some sorry fella done sat back and done something ridiculous to them but they still love them and can't "get them out of their system". You know, that BS "so deep in this blind and blissful love" mentality they developed from listening to too much Babyface as a teenager. Sometimes I even got sucked in to talking to them about their problems so they could get a "guy's perspective" on the situation. After looking at these girls and women, between the ages of 16 and 45, I noticed that they all had one of two very common denominators: either they were ugly and they didn't know it so they continued to strive for some guy who was out of their league and tried to play everyone else OR they were beautiful and didn't understand that, with the scarcity of good (100% straight) men in conjunction with the fact that 75% of single women on this earth will do almost ANYTHING to have one of those, they just might wanna deal with the guy who genuinely loves them instead of trying to hold on to this dream guy that they've been searching for for the last 15 years since they divorced their last husband.

QUESTION: Do you know any "Popular Jock/Cheerleader" couples that survived after high school?!? Cause I don't. They don't survive. (Especially if the fella didn't go to the pros...)

The problem comes along with the term "Superficiality". You see, I'm a good looking guy. So I know there's this mentality deep down inside of every good looking person that says "this girl/guy better not mess up, cause if they do, I promise I'm finna upgrade the first opportunity I get!" And that's how it goes. An endless cycle of someone waiting on the other party to mess up cause they weren't ever happy to begin with. There's also fact that a woman trying to find a good looking/perfect man who ain't gone cheat these days is like trying to find a prostitute without aids in Swaziland, Africa - possible but very difficult to locate.

I know this lady; She's got to be a good 47 - 48 years old now. She got this guy who likes her and this fella is a straight square, but he tries SO hard to impress her. I mean, this guy worships the ground she walks on and she lets him try but continues to shoot him down. Now, the sad part is that hedidn't learn what I learned so long ago - beautiful people who haven't learned how to deal with the "Beautiful People Problem" will never be with someone society deems as normal. Its nothing he did, its just the facts. As long as she feels like she deserves Male #1, anything less than Male #1 is settling and a person of her caliber can't be with just anybody. The situation is further complicated because Male #1 don't wanna settle down cause he wants to be 100% sure he got all of his escapades outta his system before he gets locked into some mess. She can't understand why Male #1 won't settle down, even though she's doing everything he ask and everything she possibly can to please him. And her woes wont end until she realizes that Male #2 is trying just as hard for her as she is for Male #1, stops looking at his flaws and starts looking at the fact that she finally has somebody in her life who ain't gone put her second. She ain't figured that out yet, so she's gonna be single for a while. She is the middle piece holding together the "Beautiful People" Problem.

Disclaimer: This may only apply to large cities where the number of good looking men is much smaller in proportion to beautiful women AND ugly people with a "false self-image" (read: don't know they're ugly) and beautiful people with low self-esteem can throw a monkey wrench into the equation...

But what do I know? I'm just the Journeyman. Talkin loud to draw a crowd.

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