MJ Tribute

Dwele really did Human Nature justice...truly beautiful. Figured I would post this since they have finally laid MJ to rest...RIP MJ...

And another one!!!

On Wednesday, I did a blog post regarding a rally concerning a noose-hanging incident at the city water plant. At said rally, we protested the way the case was. or is, being handled and demanded that there be a no-tolerance policy for such incidents, or hate crimes. At this time, there have been no arrests made for the water plant incident and according to the newspaper, the two men responsible are still working at the plant. That's some bull, right? Well, I guess seeing the lack of consequences in this case, another man decided "Hey, I'm gonna hang a noose at a different city work site! That will be funny!" The only difference in this incident, is that this man was arrested, but for disorderly conduct. There's that phrase again...disorderly conduct. Why is this city so afraid of calling a spade, a spade! These actions are HATE CRIMES!!!! Stop coddling and trying to sweep this shit under the rug! The first two men should have been arrested, just like this new guy was arrested! What is the hold-up?! Oh yeah, supposedly the mayor's blood is involved in the first case...the names of the first two idiots have yet to be released to the public, so that theory is starting to look more and more plausible. Again, I say call this what it is...RACISM!!!

Here's a link to this new story: http://www.sj-r.com/homepage/x1331799616/Mayor-Davlin-to-discuss-arrest-of-city-employee

Guess what I did today in post-racial America???

Alright folks, all over the nation they are coming out of the woodwork. They? Who is this "they" you speak of Tiff? "They" is in reference to the people who have been masking their racist and/or prejudiced feelings toward African Americans. Here's the situation: African American man arrives at his city job for CWLP, ready to get to work. He walks to his designated work area and guess what's there? A pile of work? A bouquet of flowers? A welcome back present? Nope, nothing so pleasant. Hanging in the man's work area was a noose. Yes, a noose...hanging in a black man's work area. Ha Ha, funny, right? Yeah, I don't think so either, and neither do the people who showed up at tonight's rally. A rally was held prior to the city council meeting where this issue would be discussed. Varying ethnicity showed up to voice their outrage at the fact that this even occurred and also at the fact that "disorderly conduct" is being considered as the charge. Yes, disorderly conduct! This was a HATE CRIME and that should be the charge! The brotha who was the target of this hate crime said that the investigation was performed without asking him for his side of the story. apparently they didn't even ask him if he was having issues with any co-workers! Wouldn't you ask that question in a thorough investigation? Rumor has it, that one of the two men involved in committing the crime is the nephew of the mayor. Again, this is currently just a rumor. So you know we gotta stay on top of this in order to make sure justice is served and that the both men are terminated from their jobs.

Here's a link to the story: http://www.sj-r.com/homepage/x1543607867/Police-CWLP-investigating-noose-hung-in-water-plant-workstation

I'll be sure to comment further on this when I find out more information...

Have I told you about the time I won a Nickelodeon contest?

It was a crazy moment and I still chuckle at the way it went down. I was at home and had just been grounded for something, maybe for not cleaning my room or something. Anyway, my mom was leaving the house to go somewhere and, of course, I wanted to go with her. However, I had just been grounded, so she was not taking me anywhere with her. As she starts to walk out the door, a UPS truck pulls up. My parents are asking each other if the other was expecting anything. The answer was no. So the UPS guy brings this big box to the front door and asks for "(My Name)." My parents are asking what this is for and I'm like "I don't know." So, I sign for the box and take it into the living room. I start tearing into the box, mind you, I had never gotten anything like this delivered to me before. Finally, I get the thing open and see a ton of Nickelodeon stuff! There was a letter in side the box congratulating me on my win (I can't remember which contest it was, I always entered a bunch of them, lol). There was all kinds of stuff in there...toys, Nickelodeon SLIME, videotapes of my favorite Nick shows, etc. That was a great moment! Needless to say, I was no longer concerned with not being able to leave with my mom, lol!

Let me tell you (that I have) a secret

I know the purpose of this prompt is to tell a secret, but I'm a fairly private person. And while my "secret" is nothing scandalous or shameful, at least not to me, I always have a filter going when I use these social networking type of websites. But I'll tell you this much...if you ask the right question, I will tell you the truth....

Sonia...You got some 'splainin to do...WTH?

You know what? I'm not surprised in the least by the stereotypical, racially tainted response given by Senator Tom Coburn. Quite often republicans have made, especially in the past year, these ignorant "jokes." She, Sotomayor, of course handled it all in a lighthearted manner and, if for nothing else, she gets my respect for that. I just shake my head at the Republican party...I mean really, WTH?

What's in my cd player in the summer? These three are a must!

I love music and the following songs are not only apart of my summer soundtrack, but they are apart of my life soundtrack...

Summertime by Jazzy Jeff & the Fresh Prince

This song is the straight up truth when it comes to describing what goes on during the summer! And when the radio stations start to play it in preparation for the beginning of summer, it amps me up!

Summer Breeze by The Isley Brothers

I love to roll my windows down in the car in the evening and have this playing. The summer breeze caressing my face and blowing through my locs...yeah, summer breeze makes me feel fine...

Golden Time of Day by Frankie Beverly and Maze

I love listening to this song right after work, in my car with the windows down, when the sun is starting its descent. Actually, this song works no matter what season we're in. Whenever the sun is starting to make its transition, it's the golden time of day. But summer is the best season to have that moment.

R.I.P. Michael Jackson...The King of Pop

What a day this has been...

Michael Jackson, a man whom I've been a fan of it seems all my life, passed away this afternoon. A true icon...it's difficult to find the words to describe what I'm feeling right now. Earlier today, when I read that he had been taken to the hospital due to a cardiac arrest. I was thinking that he would be okay; no way would this man be taken away from the world, not yet at least. Then, via Twitter, I started to see folks saying that he passed away. Still, I could not believe it! He had to make his comeback, give a middle finger to all the haters out there who said he didn't have what it takes anymore. While I wouldn't have been able to attend one of the concerts in London, I knew that there would be footage or some other way that I could experience THE CONCERT OF THE CENTURY!

So no matter what was said, I refused to believe that Michael was gone. I sat at work, tissue in hand, tears in my eyes trying not to break down as I read all the news websites and listened as radio stations made the claim that he was indeed gone. Feeling numb, I left work, listened to the radio so I wouldn't miss anything. Got home, watched the news and began to cry when they said the LA Times announced his death. Cried even more when CNN started playing a clip from a TV show when Michael was performing "I Want You Back" as one of The Jackson 5. Cried off and on, for awhile as I watched all the coverage and the music clips. Reminisced about my childhood, listening to my parents Off The Wall and Thriller albums (for real vinyl records on my record player, lol). Music that would have me laughing, singing my heart out one moment and crying like a baby because he was so vulnerable and I could feel what he was feeling. Mind you, I'm 7 or 8 at the time, but I knew what he was feeling and you couldn't tell me otherwise.

What were your fave MJ moments? I remember when a Michael Jackson video was an EVENT!!! And if you missed the world premiere of the video, you should have felt shame. I would be on the phone with friends, talking about how cool this "Black or White" and "Remember the Time" was. The first time I saw "Smooth Criminal" and the entire Moonwalker movie...Michael Jackson is apart of many memories in my life...I'm going to miss him so much...getting teary eyed again....

Really, what were your favorite Michael Jackson moments?

Thinking about this makes me feel something like what John Mayer was saying on Twitter...I feel like a piece of my childhood is gone. Not trying to be dramatic or anything, but this truly hurt my soul.

I wanna be loved....

Yeah
I said it
I wanna be loved
And another thing
I want to love back

See
I'm not a selfish woman
I have every intention
of loving a man
as strongly
as he loves
me

That is what Lauryn said, right?
Reciprocity
That is what I'm looking for
what I'm craving
and aching for

Closed mouths
don't get fed, so
no fear of
rejection here
anymore
Vocalization is
necessary

I said
I want to be loved
And
I want to love back

There is nothing
selfish about
a woman who
has every intention
of loving a man
as strongly
as he loves
she

Okay, you may be asking yourself: what brought this about? I enjoy writing; it is said that one can find catharsis in writing. I needed to purge. I've been feeling, lately, that I'm missing out on something major. Music does something to me; I love it so much. In me, it brings about realization. That said, I've been listening to this song by Jeff Bradshaw (feat. Glen Lewis) called Beyond the Stars. It is beautiful; the music and words do something to me. So I decided to really open up here and share something deeper about my self. That's not to say that what I post on this blog is meaningless. What ever I say on here means a lot to me, but I realize that most of what I post deals with my external concerns. I want to dig and deal with some internal things as well. This was my first attempt; hope you understand and possibly enjoyed. Below is the YouTube video for my inspiration: