You say life's been hard on you
Well brother I got news
It's hard on me too
We seem to face the same old issues
Some are just surface
Some deeper in the tissue
I know slavery has paid its part
Word...
Being separated
And subjugated
And that passes to the brain of our child
So I want to step off what was
And start with right now
You say the world just don't understand
But I aint the world, my love
I'm your woman
And I know how deep it really goes
Trying to tread on a dream
When the water feels low
And ooooh, if our ancestors can walk
Barefoot afraid in the dark
For miles and miles and miles and miles and miles and miles and miles
I know we can do this
Come on lets start
I wanna be real with you
I wanna get healed with you
I wanna grow up with you
I wanna be more for you
Be whats in store for you
Open the doors with you
To a truer healing
Can you imagine the feeling
The sky ain't a ceiling
At all
Tuesday, November 24, 2009
Wednesday, October 21, 2009
Form Your Sentences in Straight Lines...Not circles...
I'm blogging again, lol...Not too much else needs to be said about that. Moving on...
Anyone who blogs, can tell you that the themes of the blog are generally centered around things that irk the spit out of the blogger. I like to mix it up a bit, with encouragement, funny stories, current events, etc. However, I have opted to be ordinary today, and talk about something that is burning me a little bit, and in an effort not to physically hurt someone, blog about it. I'm sure everyone remembers the Dave Chappelle skit about the Habitual Linestepper. Many of us have encountered such people, and call many of them friends. The girl in your crew that always seems to get caught in the bathroom with someone's boyfriend at a party; the friend that no matter how many times you mark the point of no return in their night of drinking, still can't seem to stay two drinks away from that mark; the friend that walks in your house, goes directly to your fridge and turns your milk carton up to their mouth, empties it, and then puts it back in; or even the relative that calls at 7am Saturday morning, asks if you're asleep, and immediately starts talking about nonsense (isn't everything nonsense at 7am on Saturday morning?). While all of these would easily serve as a comical blog entry, I'd like to identify a subsector of the Habitual Linesteppers; a group that can easily be missed if you don't pay attention...The Habitual Circle Talker.
I got the idea for this blog from events that have been unfolding in my life over the past few weeks. It all came to a head yesterday, when my BFF and I were watching Ellen, and she was interviewing one of the contestants for the upcoming Miss California Pageant. Ellen asked the girl how she planned to win the pageant. The girl started her answer by saying, "It's such an honor to even participate in the Miss California Pageant...it's been a dream of mine since I was a very young girl. It's so important to consider...blah blah blah". Ok, *is this thing on?* Did you even hear the question? The reason I inserted the blah's is because that's the only part of her answer I remember...I stopped listening, and only paid attention to the show again, when Jam said, "She didn't answer the question!". Excuse me, Little Miss "I want to be Miss California", you're a Habitual Circle Talker.
One person in particular, with whom I've been forced to communicate on a regular basis, has mastered this art. Should write a book really. For a while, I hadn't actually been paying attention to anything she said, so it didn't really matter. She'd send a painfully long email or text message, or go on and on in a phone conversation, and you know how, you'll throw filler questions out to people just so they think you're into what they're saying? For the longest, this is how my interaction with this person has gone. Only recently, have I been interested, or invested in what comes spewing out of the whole in her face, and am now becoming increasingly fed up with the lack of respect for my intelligence. Because when it all comes down to it, that's what it really is, right? These people have mastered the art of talking in a circle to disguise the fact that they don't really have anything of substance to say. They've done so much work in putting on the facade that would make them appear knowledgeable, or able to play this "part", but they're a fraud, which is why, when put in a position where questions have to be answered, or input is required, they resort to talking in a circle, and can only hope that 1. You're so dumb that you buy it, 2. You aren't really paying attention anyway, 3. They talked in SUCH a circle that you can't remember what they're even talking about, or 3. By some divine intervention, you're able to put the foolishness together in a way that remotely makes sense, or at least ponder it long enough to give them time to come up with a better story.
I think the part that burns me up the most, is that the easiest way to disguise the fact that you don't have anything of substance to say, is just to shut up. It's a novel idea...almost so simple that it HAS to work. It's almost amusing to watch a habitual circle talker at work. At some point during the conversation (I use this term loosely, as most cases are just one sided, because no intelligent person can participate in an actual conversation with a circle talker without exposing them) you can almost see their eyes glaze over, and a look come across their face that says "I don't really know what I'm talking about, but I was way too deep in this conversation by the time I realized it, and can't back out now."
Everyone is guilty of talking in a circle at least on occasion. Most times it happens like this...you start a normal conversation, and realize that you aren't being well received at all, or you're being misunderstood, and instead of just shutting up and regrouping, you kind of take a roundabout route to get back on track. That whole time you were trying to get back on track...you were talking in a circle, and I promise, you'll be hard pressed to remember anything you said on that detour. Don't feel bad, it's normal...we all do it...I did it the other day. This, a habitual circle talker, does not make.
It's easy to identify habitual circle talkers, and even easier to expose them, once identified. Anyone, colleague, friend, classmate, whoever, that is incapable of sending a two line email, is almost always a habitual circle talker. The person who can't ever seem to get their thoughts in the 160 characters allotted for text messages, is probably a habitual circle talker. The person that never answers a yes or no question with a yes or no...habitual circle talker. The person that always says things like, "so much is going on", or "the response has been crazy", or "I'm working on a ton of stuff", or anything general like that, but can never provide a list of tasks embarked upon, with the result of each...is probably a habitual circle talker, and probably doesn't really have too much of anything going on. If you aren't amused in the least by this post, YOU are a habitual circle talker, and for the love of God, and the fear of being exposed as a fraud, please shut up until you have something to say that someone wants to hear.
Monday, June 29, 2009
Why now?!
I'm going to start off by saying that a lot of people are going to be utterly pissed off by what I'm getting ready to write here, but I must say that I've held my tongue, with no intentions on saying anything at all, out of respect for the departed and the bereaved. However, I think the hypocrisy that has reached a startling high, has given me the extra push needed to write a little something down.
I would also like to add a disclaimer to this post, stating that, I have been an avid follower and fan of Michael Jackson, for as long as I can remember. I remember huddling into my parents bedroom on Monday nights when a new video was being released; and begging for a Michael Jackson "Ken" doll; and my uncle buying me a red leather jacket like Michael's (even though it was for boys), after I screamed and cried and promised never to ask for another thing as long as I LIVE; actually crying and feeling just a little faint when he walked out onto the stage at the Capital Center; and watching Thriller over and over again through the holes in my godmother's afghan, until I was too excited about knowing all the dance moves to be afraid anymore; and of course, watching Moonwalker several times EVERday, until my tape popped, then, learning the art of "fixing" popped VHS tapes (this was my first experience with a screwdriver), and remembering exactly where the tape skipped over the scotch tape...somewhere right around Smooth Criminal. So please, don't mistake my intentions here.
We all saw the disastrous BET awards last night. I think we can all agree that it was a mess, although there were some mildly entertaining parts. Truthfully, what made the show such a disaster was the effort made to honor Michael. One has to know, BET spends the entire year, or a good portion of it, preparing for the annual awards show. They were asked, this year, 72 hours before the show was scheduled to air, to change EVERYTHING, and make the show about Michael. Of course, they immediately swung into motion calling on folks who were guaranteed to be free, like New Edition including Bobby Brown, to add a little spice to the tribute. I feel they would've done better to get Day 26 to do the opening tribute, they certainly would've moved a little freer than the Senior Citizens that were New Edition, but I guess the "has beens" fit a little bit better into the budget than the newbies...or maybe they just thought they were going to get points for nostalgia from generation X'ers, but it really just turned out be an embarrassment (Bobby Brown in a mohawk...please).
While I could go on and on, the BET show isn't the purpose of this post, it was just the responses to the show and the alleged disgrace of Mike's memory that has made me a little hot. I'm constantly hearing people suggest the show should've been more substantive, that there should be more thought and care put into the tributes, and memorials. And my question to all of you that feel this way is, "Why now?" Everyday you're, swaggin' and surfin'; never leaving the house without FIRST turning your swag on; wishing you could f*ck every girl in the world; begging to be somebody's boyfriend #2; all while feeding on a healthy diet of cookies and applejuice...again, I could go on, but you get the picture. All of a sudden, people who have lived their lives with little to no purpose, are actually requiring something of substance out of this world. How dare you?! How dare you, all of a sudden decide to care about something other than yourself, and have the gaul to post articles on facebook, change your profile picture, and post youtube clip after youtube clip, and expect anyone to do anything but roll their eyes (as I've found myself doing almost simultaneously as my facebook page loads every morning).
Exactly what did we expect last night? Did you expect for a show that is already a borderline coonfest, to completely switch up production after months of preparation and put together, in 72 hours, a show worthy to be called a tribute to Michael Jackson? Someone, please tell me what you would've done? I know there's no way that BET stood a chance of ever coming close to the vigils you each have on your myspace and facebook pages, but just for arguments sake, what did you expect? You can't spend your life concerned only about yourself, and how the actions of others will effect you alone, and expect anyone to take you seriously when you finally find a cause you consider to be worthy. And what is that cause really? Micahel Jackson? Are you fighting for the cause of Michael Jackson? Or have you found something else that will draw more attention to you? Just another reason to post something and start a string of comments on your status message? Out of all of the posts that I've seen (and there have been hundreds), not one has said anything about carrying on, or attempting to carry on the legacy that Michael Jackson left behind in his philanthropic work. The comments range from those that have crawled out from under their rock of indifference concerning anyone but themselves and posted a tribute, to those suggesting that their should be no tribute, and citing his child molestation allegations, and all around suspect behavior over the past decade, as reasons for oversight. But not one person said anything about the philanthropy. Many people forget that he was the one that made it "cool" to be a celebrity who gives back. Thus, one might venture to say, he was the only one to do it without any altertior motives. Once again, in all of our conceit and self-indulgence, we have missed the mark. So change your profile pic, already...and get back to what you know best...you.
I would also like to add a disclaimer to this post, stating that, I have been an avid follower and fan of Michael Jackson, for as long as I can remember. I remember huddling into my parents bedroom on Monday nights when a new video was being released; and begging for a Michael Jackson "Ken" doll; and my uncle buying me a red leather jacket like Michael's (even though it was for boys), after I screamed and cried and promised never to ask for another thing as long as I LIVE; actually crying and feeling just a little faint when he walked out onto the stage at the Capital Center; and watching Thriller over and over again through the holes in my godmother's afghan, until I was too excited about knowing all the dance moves to be afraid anymore; and of course, watching Moonwalker several times EVERday, until my tape popped, then, learning the art of "fixing" popped VHS tapes (this was my first experience with a screwdriver), and remembering exactly where the tape skipped over the scotch tape...somewhere right around Smooth Criminal. So please, don't mistake my intentions here.
We all saw the disastrous BET awards last night. I think we can all agree that it was a mess, although there were some mildly entertaining parts. Truthfully, what made the show such a disaster was the effort made to honor Michael. One has to know, BET spends the entire year, or a good portion of it, preparing for the annual awards show. They were asked, this year, 72 hours before the show was scheduled to air, to change EVERYTHING, and make the show about Michael. Of course, they immediately swung into motion calling on folks who were guaranteed to be free, like New Edition including Bobby Brown, to add a little spice to the tribute. I feel they would've done better to get Day 26 to do the opening tribute, they certainly would've moved a little freer than the Senior Citizens that were New Edition, but I guess the "has beens" fit a little bit better into the budget than the newbies...or maybe they just thought they were going to get points for nostalgia from generation X'ers, but it really just turned out be an embarrassment (Bobby Brown in a mohawk...please).
While I could go on and on, the BET show isn't the purpose of this post, it was just the responses to the show and the alleged disgrace of Mike's memory that has made me a little hot. I'm constantly hearing people suggest the show should've been more substantive, that there should be more thought and care put into the tributes, and memorials. And my question to all of you that feel this way is, "Why now?" Everyday you're, swaggin' and surfin'; never leaving the house without FIRST turning your swag on; wishing you could f*ck every girl in the world; begging to be somebody's boyfriend #2; all while feeding on a healthy diet of cookies and applejuice...again, I could go on, but you get the picture. All of a sudden, people who have lived their lives with little to no purpose, are actually requiring something of substance out of this world. How dare you?! How dare you, all of a sudden decide to care about something other than yourself, and have the gaul to post articles on facebook, change your profile picture, and post youtube clip after youtube clip, and expect anyone to do anything but roll their eyes (as I've found myself doing almost simultaneously as my facebook page loads every morning).
Exactly what did we expect last night? Did you expect for a show that is already a borderline coonfest, to completely switch up production after months of preparation and put together, in 72 hours, a show worthy to be called a tribute to Michael Jackson? Someone, please tell me what you would've done? I know there's no way that BET stood a chance of ever coming close to the vigils you each have on your myspace and facebook pages, but just for arguments sake, what did you expect? You can't spend your life concerned only about yourself, and how the actions of others will effect you alone, and expect anyone to take you seriously when you finally find a cause you consider to be worthy. And what is that cause really? Micahel Jackson? Are you fighting for the cause of Michael Jackson? Or have you found something else that will draw more attention to you? Just another reason to post something and start a string of comments on your status message? Out of all of the posts that I've seen (and there have been hundreds), not one has said anything about carrying on, or attempting to carry on the legacy that Michael Jackson left behind in his philanthropic work. The comments range from those that have crawled out from under their rock of indifference concerning anyone but themselves and posted a tribute, to those suggesting that their should be no tribute, and citing his child molestation allegations, and all around suspect behavior over the past decade, as reasons for oversight. But not one person said anything about the philanthropy. Many people forget that he was the one that made it "cool" to be a celebrity who gives back. Thus, one might venture to say, he was the only one to do it without any altertior motives. Once again, in all of our conceit and self-indulgence, we have missed the mark. So change your profile pic, already...and get back to what you know best...you.
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