Why I'm Proud of The Source

The Source magazine announced this week that they're pulling all lewd advertisements from their pages.

Publisher Londell McMillan said that they won't run anymore "booty ads" because "It's time the hip-hop industry stop advertising junk and be more responsible about what we sell to our readers."

Please excuse me while I draw a random parallel but... I'm going to attribute this one to Barack. I feel like now that black culture has the eyes of the world on us, courtesy of our new President, many people are opting to clean up their acts. Well, at least that's what I want to believe.

McMillan goes on to say, "While we realize we are taking a major risk, we want to gain larger more corporate mainstream advertising and believe we can. There's a lot of major corporations that want hip-hop, but don't want the filth that goes along with it."

I commend The Source for making this bold decision which is both very morally satisfying and also a smart business move. Wouldn't it be easier (and more lucrative) to just deal with larger sponsors than keep rubbing together pennies with those little individual ads for escorts and porn Web sites?

And perhaps this decision will encourage similar publications to follow suit. I sure hope so. I'd like to think that major corporations secretly have huge hearts that are willing to reward those who are trying to do right...

How annoyed am I going to be when Hennessy answers the call and takes out an ad for "44"?

Think Like a Man

Mark your calendar's January 27, 2009.

That's when Steve Harvey's book Act Like a Lady, Think Like a Man comes out. Now, I don't normally endorse stuff like this and I actually despise all types of self help- books, movies, videos, and TV shows. However, I'm making an exception for this one because I'm been listening to Steve Harvey's morning radio show over there and he's been speaking the truth!

In an effort to promote his new book Harvey's been sharing some of his words of wisdom on air. The other day he shared this rule:

In the beginning of the relationship never tell a guy what you want because that's exactly what you'll get- what you want. It'll be weeks before they get tired of that and start showing their true colors.

The book description says that the book discusses concepts and answers questions such as:

The Ninety Day Rule: Ford requires it of their employees, should you require it of your man?

How to spot a mama's boy and what if anything you can do about it.

The five questions every woman should ask their man to determine how serious he is.

I'm definitely going to buy the book and blog about the juicy stuff I find but I think you should buy the book and read it yourself too.

Horror Movie Fans Rejoice!

The God of Horror, the Sultan of Sadism, the Messiah of Macabre (I just wanted to use that word), Mr. Wes Craven is going to do what no other (as far as I know) horror film maker has ever done- remake one of his own classics.

Wes Craven's first film Last House on the Left (1972) is set to be released this year and I'm so excited to see what he's going to do with it. Check out the original trailer of the film that's pretty much THE most grotesque horror film in history:



Here's the trailer for the 2009 version:



The remake is supposed to come out on Friday March 13. If you can't wait that long to get your scary movie fix, don't worry because in about three weeks you'll be able to take a stroll down memory lane toward Crystal Lake to re-visit my fav fictional serial killer- Jason! :) I love it!



Friday the 13th (2009)going to be in theaters on Friday, February 13th and I'm going to be somewhere in the back row struggling to keep my eyes open. (I'm scary, yet I hate missing stuff)

Obama Isn't Black Again...

Okay, so we've heard the argument about Barack Obama not technically being black already. I have an opinion on that which I don't want to get into but I think it'll seep into this post nevertheless. Aaron McGruder, the genius who created the comic book strip turned television show The Boondocks, has been criticized for saying that President Obama is not black.

Now, I don't want to get into the politics of what McGruder meant by what he did or did not say. You can figure that our for yourself. I just simply wanted to make a comment on an analogy that McGruder provided in his attempt to clear things up that I'm really feeling:

Barack is the son of an immigrant, not the descendant of slaves. It's like comparing a half-Japanese man to the oppressed Chinese who built the American railroads. Yes they are both Asian, but it is not an honest or accurate comparison. We all share the common experiences of being Black in America today- we do not all share a common history. A history that in part makes us who we are- and in some cases (as with the psychological damage that still lingers from slavery) holds us back. These are not, I believe insignificant distinctions.

Agreed.

It's so funny because it's almost impossible for one black person to tell another black person that Barack is not black... even though he isn't technically.

I studied Afro-Am in college and I know that "black" is not an ethnicity... it's more of an identity, and it's definitely a political term used to describe Americans of African descent who are also descendants of slaves specifically. Point blank period.

I agree that while Barack Obama is allowed to identify with black because that is the way he is perceived and that is the experience he has had to live, being that he lives in America and looks black, however, he wasn't raised anything like the way I was or even the way children of Kenyan immigrants to America were. How can you say that that's insignificant?

I love Barack. He is the first black President as far as I'm concerned but I'm just saying if you want to get technical he's really just the first black President to identify with blackness... which he's said in his memoirs. Don't believe me. Read it for yourself.

44: Limited Edition, Unlimited Disrespect

Some things should just be off limits. Sadly everything is not. Introducing Hennessy's "44":


I know you can't read the fine print but it says "In honor of the 44th President... etc. etc." I really can't read whatever's past the first line either but that's all I needed to see to be satisfied that my suspicious mind wasn't deceiving me- Hennessy is trying to exploit Obama and black people nationwide (well at least in New York, Georgia, Illinois, Washington D.C., and Maryland where the Limited Edition bottles are being sold).

What the press release for the drink said:

"This collector-edition, individually numbered bottle will further cement Hennessy's roots in the urban community, with a percentage of proceeds being donated to the Thurgood Marshall College Fund to help America's next generation of leaders."

What the press release really meant:

"We recognize how much black people like Hennessy and how anything with Obama's name on it will sell like hotcakes so we decided to capitalize on our popularity in the African American community by creating this collector-edition, individually numbered bottle of cognac. We recognize that this is in poor taste so we're going to donate some of the proceeds to a black college fund so ya'll won't get too mad."

I feel so disrespected...

Changes

It's been a little quiet around here...

That's because:
1. Things are picking up at work.
2. I'm developing a group blog. (Details to come soon)
3. This blog is moving!

Not only am I moving this blog but the focus is going to be shifted a little bit. (Just a little bit I promise). More than likely, all of the personal stuff is coming out, for the most part at least. Don't whine! You know you wouldn't care either way! Also, there's going to be a little bit more of a pop-culture-y feel. We'll see what happens...

But for now, I'll be posting some of the new and improved content here- which is now the "transition blog" so bare with me : )

The Advice

Can you tell from the advice only, what I should choose to do?: 

Well give it more time then and go from there. I don’t see the point in pursuing anything. He can’t give you what you want right now and that isn’t changing for a long time. You’ll end up hurting yourself in the end by trying to stick it out. That’s the practical answer. The emotional side is saying keep seeing him, do him, and enjoy life. You only live once and you don’t want to think, “what if?” down the road.

No, the details don’t matter. You’d think they would but they don’t. Most dilemmas come  down to this- a battle between what you should do and what you want to do. 

This fact happens to be the primary reason why I get so annoyed by the advice that people give me. Don’t get me wrong, this is great advice but I think the problem is that I don’t actually want advice. I just want someone to tell me to follow my heart and pay no regard to what my brain is telling me. 

In case you’re wondering, more than likely I’m going to keep seeing him... continue to play this one by ear, but since I know what I’m doing is quite right, I’m also going to try to be a little more guarded. 

Pass the...

Let me start out this post by saying that I was saddened when I heard that Dr. Dre's 20 year-old son, Andrew Young Jr. passed away in August 2008. However, I was also very disappointed when I read a news story this afternoon that reported that he was found to have overdosed on morphine and heroin.

I hate to say it but there's this evil side of me that shakes my head when things like this happen. Simply because it seems like another case of a pop culture figure getting a reality check on just how destructive their contribution to greater society has been. Clearly I can't say that Dr. Dre is the reason why his son OD'd but I can say that any form of popular culture that promotes drug use, can't be too surprised when it's negative effects hit them where it hurts.

Take rapper Pimp C for example, who was found dead in a hotel in California after over dosing on the colorful codeine concoction known as "Purp", "Sizzurp," or "Lean," The intoxicating beverage which was made popular by Houston-based rappers like himself who glorified it in their music, was found to be the cause of his death.



Can we really do anything besides shake our heads when we find that he's fell victim to his own vices? Can we be sympathetic to his partner Bun B, who all of a sudden things glorifying the consumption of prescription cough medicine concoctions is... *gasp*... a bad idea?!!?!? (Well, a bad idea now that his long time companion died because of it. It was okay when the kids were OD'ing, just don't let it happen to someone I actually know.)

But I digress. I don't want to go to hard with speaking ill of the dead and all... I especially don't want to go to hard on Dr. Dre, who I feel wasn't as irresponsible as Pimp C with his message but I can't help but shake my head nonetheless.

Dre's Detox album, which is supposed to be a concept album, has been pushed back to sometime in 2009... I'm not sure what that "concept" is but if it's at all related to the title, it's probably too little too late.

Something to Think About...

Watch your thoughts,  for they become your words. Choose your words, for they become actions. Understand your actions,  for they become your habits. Study your habits,  for they become your character. Develop your character,  for it becomes your destiny. 

I recently got into an argument with a friend of a friend whom I seriously can not stand. This person has always been nasty and disrespectful to me and I just recently came to the point where I just couldn't take it anymore. 

I told her about herself and my frustrations with her failure to change her negative attitude towards me, and when her response turned more belligerent, I calmly (yet firmly) told her to discontinue communication with me. 

Now, a lot of people like to say that I'm really quick (and too quick) to write people off. I have one person whom I absolutely will not speak to under any circumstances and a host of people who's connection I've let die because I thought they were either a bad influence on me or simply brought too much negativity in my life. 

I know full all too well the dangers of burning your bridges and always keep that in consideration when I make decisions... 

I TRY to choose my friends wisely and be careful whom I call a friend.

Some may not agree with a lot of the decisions I've made. I've been called childish for telling people not to talk to me and I've been criticized for being too rough, like in my treatment of my ex-boyfriend, who remains a good guy in my eyes but has also been strongly discouraged from contacting me (I have my reasons).

Yet I read this message from a friend today about an hour after I sent out a message to the girl mentioned above, who simply wanted to inform me about an upcoming social gathering. I had told her that "I was serious about (her) not talking to me." 

A little, harsh but necessary I thought and although I stand by my decision, I wonder if I can afford to be a little nicer? 

I just thought that if you find cancer in your life, you'd want it cut out just like you would if you found it in your body. 

Ciara Covers... Beyonce's "Diva"?!?!?!!?

Ciara... Why would you do this to yourself?