Who Do You Think You Are? (& The Roots Concert Review)

I need to know how some people were raised... SERIOUSLY!  The lack of concern & common courtesy in situations where the code of conduct should not have to be reviewed or repeated to you is PERPLEXING. With that said, lemme tell you about my night with The Roots.

We arrived about 40 minutes before the doors opened at the 9:30 Club & of course my stalker Mr. D. Hawk was there. He whipped around me for 40 minutes non-stop. I don't know how people in Chicago deal with that mess. The wind became quite torturous around the 25th minute of waiting.

Once inside, ?estlove was spinning a Teena Marie set that had me JAMMIN! and he looked so CAYOOT!

I checked his Twitter page & realized he was going to be spinning for a MINUTE! Most of The Roots were north of Philly which was where the blizzard- that SKIPPED the area around I-95 in Maryland all together- had dumped the most snow on. (Seriously the weather map had a big bald spot in the middle where I-95 was in Maryland, but to the east & west, they got POUNDED by powder). So we settled in... did a lil two-stepping & it was like a live version of VH1 Soul's Soul School. He played al ot of the ORIGINAL songs from which some of raps greatest beats were derived. But he got DEEP, there were somethings I NEVER thought I'd hear the original for, but of course he had them! He even played a go-go set that had me wanting to rep my hood, HARD! A little too hard as I twisted my ankle a lil when he played "Uh Oh!" How embarrassing!

After 2 hours.... *sigh* It started getting crowded at the front. We were about 4 people from the stage. Suddenly this group of three: 2 girls & a guy come SQEEEZING by. The beau, being hte nice guy he is steps back for them to get through. The first girl passes him, the guy passes him, the third girl? STOPS right in front of him, turns to the stage & starts jamming.

Me: Is she FOR REAL right now?

Him: *silently serious side eye*

Me: You've GOT to be kidding me!

Him: *DEADLY serious side eye*

There was a group of girls behind us that saw the whole thing happen & they were giving her the WIDE eyes of disbelief. For those of you that DON'T see the issue... let me break it break it down: When in a crowd of people, if you are saying excuse me & someone moves to let you by, you should MOVE BY THEM. Saying excuse me & then standing in the spot from which they moved to let you through is rude. But then commencing to tossing your hair hither & yon and partying all over said spot AND said person is just ignorant. The three of them acted as if they were the only 3 people there, especially the last one. At one point she ended up in front of me, swinging her hair all over me & my phone as I tweeted about the possibility of catching a charge that night if she didn't cease & desist immediately!

I was having flashbacks of a similar incident from back in my partying days. I was at Ozio with my girl J one night. We were on the third floor, which is a lil snug. Some drunk chick & her boyfriend comes near us & begins to dance all over the place. Including up on J. I grabbed her by the shoulders and told her like a mother speaking to an insolent child: "YOU need to get up, sweetie. You are dancing on my friend." Now I need you all to understand that we were ok with bumping into people on the dancefloor but this chick was giving FULL BODY CONTACT and winding down to the ground, J was NOT having it and neither was I! She looked at me drunkenly as if I were joking & continued to dance FACING J. She dropped down & had her head between J's legs- shoulders brushing J's legs & we lost it! J grabbed her by the hair & YANKED her up and said: "YOU gotta go!" At this point her boyfriend, comes over and is all hey hey hey, what's going on. I immediately jump in his face and tell him: "You need to get your girl!", J steps in close & suddenly there's no problem... uh huh, ok, what's up? SHUT UP!

SO... as my hands were BURNING from wanting to have her hair wrapped firmly around it, I decided instead to give her the STIFF arm in the back tolet her know that she was invading my LIL bit of personal space. Eventually, I had to move to the side and let the beau run interference. But in her quest to get closer to the front, she ended up between a guy in a wheelchair and his friend who at first was leaning on the wheelchair, but by the time she had finished rocking him out of the way, HER left side was behind the chair. Mind you all of this was going on while ?est was spinning to fill up the time. Eventually, I guess their highs came down & they just PLOPPED DOWN indian style in the middle of the floor.  The beau was like where is your phone, you HAVE to take picture. I whipped out the sexy Evo, made sure the flash was ON & took this pic:

YUP! she was looking right at me and NOPE! I wasn't the onliest one to take a pic. The one in the purple was the personal space invader, the tall GUY in the middle was the hair flinger & the one staring longingly into the camera was the one jumping up & down & shouting "WOOOO!" Security came over & told them to get up and they seemed totally upset by that.

My question is: How were you raised that you don't think there is anything wrong with acting this way? This is ignorant behavior by definition: b : resulting from or showing lack of knowledge or intelligence. They really acted like they didn't know that ANY of this was NOT OK!
_________________________________________________________

FINALLY, at about 10:30 the show started and the crowd shenanigans got kicked up a notch. I saw one couple make their way almost all the way up to the front, only to be pushed RIGHT back! And they had the nerve to look appalled! Then there was the guy that tried his hardest to get by about 7 people, but we all put up a united front & refused to let anyone else by us, for no other reason than we had been standing there for over 2 hours & had EARNED the right to do so. Much the same way they thought they had earned the right to show up late & just make their way to the front. One guy even asked one girl Do you mind if we get rght there & he pointed to a space that was maybe big enough for an anorexic flamingo to stand in on ONE leg, mind you. Her: "There's no room!" Me: "YES, we mind." but he wasn't talking to me so....

Anyway, The Roots came out with the energgy on 10 & just built it up from there. After all that spinning  & spinning ?estlove was CRISP on his hits! F Knuckles was all smiles as he worked it out on the percussion. Apparently the look for the night was geek chic as almost all of them had on plaid, or a slim fit sweater. Except for Quest & Kirk who were rocking a 9:30 Club hoodie & some sort of trench coat made out of a baby bear, respectively. As the show went on & they heated it up Tariq came out of his plaid jacket, Damon shed his V-neck sweater & Frankie slipped out of his sweater... all without missing a beat! They played EVERYTHING... Including hitting a GREAT go-go beat during Everybody is a Star that made my heart race. They smoothed it out with some swinging jazz injected into some tunes & ramping up the guitar & rocking out some others. They played hit after hit & jam after jam... taking SHORT pauses during which the band would freeze LITERALLY & Tariq would do what he does so well- swaggerin all over the stage talking it up and keeping the crowd HYPED after the long delay! The spotlights were great! Frankie & ?est went hit for hit and never lost the downbeat, which I am always impressed by, I'm way too ADD to play drums! The beau was impressed by Damon's energy level & hypeness while carrying that SOUSAPHONE. tariq made sure to point out: "Give it up for Damon AKA Tuba Gooding, Jr. on the SOUSAPHONE, he don't even play a f*****g tuba!" I died laughing because I knew that already! here's a quick visual...

Tuba:

Sousaphone:

Got it? GOOD!

Captain Kirk showed out on his spotlight doing his George Benson and his rockstar riffs. Kamal's solo came during a song they did inspired by Fela which I didn't dig because of whatever sound he was using on the keyboard... *shrug* and it was over shadowed by ?est flubbing the words 3 times to the point they had to STOP the song & start over because he kept laughing. And Owens bass solo had my stomach trembling because of how the sound was set up!!!

SO, in short, if you love LIVE music & have never been to a Roots show, you have to go! But beware that there seems to be a certain faction of Roots fans that like to think they are the only people there. This isn't just based on this one incident. But I saw similar incidents occur this summer.

Overall a great show, cool venue... AWESOME CHRISTMAS PRESENT!

WHEW!... that was alot! I'm so not going back to edit it either.... so NAH! :-P

Happy Kwanzaa!

I don't celebrate Kwanzaa, but one day when I have a family, I think I will.
My favorite principle is Kujichagulia! not just because it means self-determination, but ALSO because I loooove how it sounds when I say it. Koo-gee-chah-goo-lee-ah! LOVE IT!

In case you are not Kwanzaa-literate here's a break down of the days... You can google the rest:

IownohowIfeelaboutthis- Antoine Dodson's Chimney Intruder

I will not say a word... NOPE... notta one...
Not about the pancake makeup, or the cottonballesque wig, or the neck rolling, or the slightly baggy t-shirt... NOPE! Not a WORD!

"I Don't Do Christmas"

I was in the salon yesterday & someone said that. It kinda made me sad. They weren't sayying they didn't believe in Christmas, but that they didn't "buy into the Christmas hype" as they put it. The only person she said she got something for was her grandmother. Though she has 2 children & nieces & nephews. I can't imagine what it must feel like to not "do Christmas". To not be excited about the food & the family. To not care about seeing the faces of the people you love when they open their gifts.

I definitely understand not wanting to go in the stores & fight over the last Robosan 3000 that's advertised as 75% off. But there is just something to be said for making people happy in Jesus' name! Seriously, there have been years when my Christmas Spirit was at like a 5 out of ten. But once the day came & I was there with my family it kicked up to about a 7.5 or an 8. This year I am already at a 7! and I am ready to see the looks on several peoples' faces. Christmas & Thanksgiving, as commercialized as the outside world has made it is still a time for family traditions. A time to set the trend, if you will. Christmas, for me has, for the last SEVERAL years, consisted of opening gifts with my mom & sister & a silly-bazilly breakfast at my mom's friends' house. Sometimes dinner is elsewhere, but the breakfast usually lasts until about 4 anyway, with munching & chatting going on throughout the day. So who needs dinner anyway.

But I just cannot fathom my Christmas consisting of breakfast with my oldest child & then just chilling at home watching the tube. Besides there is NEVER anything on tv on Christmas anyway!
D'ahwell! To each his or her own!

Merry Christmas Eve EVE!

Guilty Pleasure Song- Cooler Than Me

I got me a slow lil shoulder shimmy going on & I'm smiling like a mean girl... lol
LOVE THIS SONG!

WHERE is the Next Musical Genius!??!

Does ANYONE play an instrument anymore?
Can anyone sit down with a pen & pad & write POETRY & put it to music?

Where is the next musical genius?
How many of these artists being lauded today can IDENTIFY instrument and walk up to it & play it?Excluding a beat machine...

With Usher claiming he is the successor to MJ (NOT!) and Kanye being compared to Quincy (and Quincy HOLLERING: I don't THINK so!), where is the next big thing that is accelerated to the top by more than a always-in-your-face PR campaign, a wind machine & a constant reminder of them being great?

Prince plays over 20 instruments... How many artists out today can NAME 20 ACTUAL instruments?

I am clearly disgusted with what is passing for popular music, partially increased by the fact that I am listening to Hot 99.5 right now & Ursher is whinnying thru this song. I need the old days back when ONLY Roger was using a vocorder! And only rappers performed in concert with a DJ! *sigh*

I need the REAL singer/songwriters to please STAND  UP!

Why Didn't Anyone Tell Me Christmas Was Next Week???

 

I JUST ordered HIS gifts! Now I am going to be STALKING the interwebs to ensure they get here on time.

I am taking care of my sister, nephew, mom & bestie tonight. But goodness, I looked at the calendar and realized... there are 11 shopping days until Christmas!

*bites nails nervously* Happy Chrismahanakwaanzakah!

That's Entertainment: 24 Hours With Bobby Brown

Read that title & think to yourself... is this a good idea???

How much would someone have to pay me to do this?

MY answer after seeing this clip?: Depends on how I'm feeling that day. If I'm up for an adventure, then MAYBE free.... if I am not, then there wouldn't be enough money in the world that would allow me to subject myself to this:
oh, btw... he is letting some CHOICE words fly... so ummm maybe it's NSFW.


THis dude's ETD was about to be 12:12! I understand him trying to get a reaction out of him, but COME ON DUDE, Bobby Brown does NOT play!

The show is called "24 Hours With..."  The reason you probably have not heard of it is beacuse it is a British reality show. But I am so sure American TV will copy this model soon. But here is more about the show from WikiWiki:

24 Hours with... is a chat show format as celebrity and interviewer spend an intense 24 hours locked in a room together.

Bobby Brown, Laurence Llewelyn-Bowen, Lee Ryan, David Gest, Stan Collymore and Steve-O leave their mobile phones and PR advisers at the door for the first series in the UK. The host, Jamie Campbell can ask them whatever he likes.

Each 30 minute show tells the story of their 24 hours in the hot seat, with a digital clock at the bottom of the screen marking the passing of the day.

I am STILL laughing!





Would the REAL Slutty Sister PLEASE SHUT UP!

Last night the Kardashian sisters were on Conan. The fact that Conan was rocking jeggings wasn't the ONLY ridiculous part:



Kourtney, Kim & Khloe came out to discuss their book. And Kim was shocked & appalled by Khloe & Kourtney's goofing around on Twitter. Something about adult toys, mayo & shiny lady parts... Kim's reasoning was that they have followers under the age of 17. Khloe's response: "Follow at your own risk". Khloe & Kourtney were laughing & Kim? I couldn't tell WHAT that expression was on her "face" because that thing has been pulled & pushed & botoxed to the point where her facial muscles are all mixed up.

But was she for real? You are famous because of your professionally filmed sex tape with Brandy's brother. And you are concerned about the jokes your sisters are making on Twitter being read by children that follow you? And you said this with a straight face? (thanks to the miracle of unnecessary modern cosmetic surgery)

I am all for people redeeming themselves for their past transgressions & turning their life around a la Nicole Richie. But Nicole is a wife & mom doing wife & mom things. Kim takes pictures in swimsuits & dates tons of men in the spotlight. (Put a pin in that I'm coming back to it.)

Kim is on a reality show... I think she's on her THIRD show. I'm not buying the goody goody act Missy Poo! Besides you are sitting between one sister that is married & one that stayed was in a committed relationship with the father of her child (no matter how unvelievably cheesy he is). You were in a sex tape with Brandy's brother, are all over the internet & mags in swimsuits, are injecting your body with crap before the age of 30 & were just seen on a date with Halle Berry's leftovers. You are NOT the one to hold the moral compass.

Now, back to that pin, she also said that she wants to be able to go on 10 dates with 10 different guys & not have the papparazzi all around. Hun, YOU signed up to be on reality tv. You made YOURSELF a household name. And now you are MAD about getting what you asked for. GIRL, BYE! You humped your way into the limelight & no you're mad that your "innocent" dates are being made into more than they really are. Do you have AMNESIA? Was a lobotomy included in your various and sundry surgeries? I just cannot believe you are serious. Oh to be famous for nothing & delusional.

On Repeat- Angel by Anita Baker

I can't get this song out of my head!
And that's been ALRIGHT with me!!

Bri Cooley's Favorite Things- Part 1

I didn't watch The Big O's Favorite Things cuz I knew I would just get mad! this isn't really my FAVORITE things because I don't actually own ANY of it.
I saw that a friend had a posted a Christmas Wish List on his FB page. So I "borrowed" his idea & brought it HERE!

This is a list I have compiled throughout the morning. There is no rhyme or reason, no price list & no chance of me getting some of it, but a girl can dream, can't she? I am posting this now, it's fairly reasonable... I MIGHT get foolish with it later today.

Here goes:

 ZEBRA PRINT SNUGGIE- Judge not lest ye be buying this for me! and it MUST be ZEEBAH print!

The Bobby Flay Grill Pan- which is no longer available on the Kohl's website so whosoinever finds this for me is in my eternal...... gratitude!

 Rachel Ray Casseroval Dish- her voice is grating, but her products are GREAT! I need that color!

Ninja Master Prep- I neeeed it!

The Yudu Personal, tabletop Screen printer- ZOMG I fell in love early one Saturday morning!

XBox 360 with Kinect- YEZZIRRRR!!!

Andrick coat by Anthropologie- *drool drool drool*

Tibi Women's Bastia knee-high boot- it's grey suede DELICIOUSNESS!!! for only $715 sweet bucks!

Minnetonka Tramper & Hi Top Back Zip Boots-

I don't NEED either of these, but I WANT THEM BOTH! I *heart* Minnetonnka shoes!

Kooba Mara                                 Kooba Asher

Kooba Savannah

Haverty's Bayhall upholstered headboard-

 Do you know what kinda SWEET DREAMS I could have?

Anna Sui Classic- I only have a SMALL bottle left... I am wearing it right now & I feel/smell FANTASTIQUE!

OSIM uAstro Zero-Gravity Massage Chair- 

 I would give up all the furniture in my living room for THIS CHAIR!

Nintendo Wii- RED- I want NEEEEEED the red one!



Shoestring Vacay!

(I THOUGHT I posted this last week... but clearly I didn't)

Where have you BEEN, girl?

Atlantic City.

I decided to be fiscally responsible and take a road trip complete with navigation that circumnavigated the tolls! I love an adventure & had a great co-pilot, so we hit Atlantic City. It's the poorman's Vegas. YOU AIN'T KNOW!?!

Actually I chose AC because of my obsession with Boardwalk Empire on HBO. I wanted to walk the streets that Nucky Johnson ruled & breathe the air that the REAL gangsters breathed.

We stayed at the Tropicana which has been redone & has some real SNAZZINESS going on including The Palm & some other restaurants that we didn't eat at because we already have them here in DC!

DAY ONE:
 We had food from the Seafood restaurant which was having a 1/2 off special on the Raw Bar & Rose' wines. We stumbled across a Jersey Blush that was GREAT, but the OVERPRICED wine store in the hotel didn't have it. *Womp Womp*

But let's talk about that Tasting of Crab!!

Then we had a lil lobster:

These were all served with three dips: Red cocktail sauce, GREEN cocktail sauce (which was surprisingly BANGING!), and horseradish. WOWSERS!

DAY TWO:

I woke up & it looked like THIS outside of the window:

There was a building RIGHT NEXT to us, but it was so foggy you couldn't see a thing!

We had breakfast in the hotel. I tried benigets for the first time & they were AMAZING, I could use some right now as a a matter of fact! lol

We walked the boardwalk & the streets of Atlantic City including the outlets. I was pretty upset that I didn't have a coupon for the Coach Outlet. UGH! I fell in love with 2 pairs of boots that didn't fit me quite right:

We watched the game at a GREAT restaurant called Redding's Restaurant. If any of you have ever been to Harlem & had Amy Ruth's then you know what's up. This is the same chef! They had food & drink specials at the bar, YAY! The food was great: maple wings, slider sampler, & deviled eggs. And the bartender, Lenore, was AWESOME! She muddled blueberries for my drink & everything! The bar was so SUPER WELL-STOCKED with liquors, liqueurs and mixers that the bartender was able to be super creative!

 DAY THREE:

More boardwalk perusal than you could shake a stick at. We had pizza on the boardwalk & just enjoyed a day of doing nothing.

We discovered this little treats at a candy store along the boardwalk.

It was BREEZY the whole time and I almost got the swirly eyes from the hypnotic Sex In The City slot machine!

 from: http://alifeofstyle.com/

But I did get to get away & it was MUCH needed! I look forward to going back up that way when the weather gets warmer. It was a great time with great company. So much to see to even be concerned with gambling! You can still feel the history of the place without feeling like you're actually living in the prohibition era! lol

How Young is TOO Young?

Scenario 1-
There was a story out of VA of a 7 year old boy getting shot in the back by his 10 year old brother while hunting with their father. The 7 year old had a pellet gun & the 10 year old had a shotgun. A 10 year old with a shot gun? Is that too young? The 7 year old walked into the path of the 10 year old's shot supposedly.

Scenario 2-
Gwen Stefani and her 4 year old son were seen getting mani-pedis. The little boy had colorful polish on his hands AND feet. Did he ask for this? Is it ok to allow it? Was this mom's idea?

Scenario 3-
Shiloh Jolie-Pitt wants to be a boy. She's 4 years old & demands to be called John. Is this just a phase? Is she too young to be obliged?

How young is too young for children to be exposed to things? How young is too young for children to be able to make their own decisions about some things?

You're 4 & you want to wear a blue shirt instead of a purple shirt, FINE!
You're 4 & you want to wear Spiderman underwear with the flap in front instead of My Little Pony... IdunnoaboutTHAT!

You're 10 & you want to hang out with dad & fix cars instead of mom in the kitchen, FINE!
You're 10 & you want to go HUNTING with dad's & shoot a shotgun... IREALLYdunnoaboutthat!

I understand that children must have the option & freedom to form their own identity. But there MUST be a LINE! When I was younger, I wanted a Hot Wheels garage & service station or something like that that was ALL THAT in the 80s. I got it! BUT I also got a Barbie vanity & a Cabbage Patch Kid. My mother gave me a BALANCE. But I never asked or wanted to smoke a cigarette or learn how to gut a fish. That's dangerous! My mother would never allow me to do something as dangerous as hunting no matter how NEARBY she was!

I just don't understand what goes through some parent's minds. I guess that's why I don't have children, huh?

SAY IT LOUD: I Don't Care & I'm PROUD!

Yesterday, we had the Rev. Al Sharpton visit my place of worship encouraging us to vote. Then our pastor got up and encouraged our voices to be heard adding, "If you don't vote, you're trifling!"

I whole-heartedly agree until I heard someone announce: "Well, I'm trifling, cuz I don't believe in politics," with a straight face.

from: http://www.norcalblogs.com/

There was a young lady that will be voting for the first time on Tuesday and she stated proudly: "Well I'm voting because my voice needs to be heard!" To which the person replied again: "I don't believe in politics." and she promptly received an "Mm." and a side-eye from the young lady & I.

I refused to engage her in any further conversation. What more was there to say, she was loudly & proudly uninformed & makes poor-life decisions, right? What would make you announce something like that not only once, but two times? All I could do was shake my head. Because, basically, what she was saying was: "I let life happen to me & I don't take any action."

After having Al Sharpton come to you directly & your Pastor calling you trifling, you still say that two times and with confidence. While I kinda sorta wanted to know WHY. I realized that nothing this person said would have made any sense. Because the bottom line is: if you don't vote, you cna't complain. I mean, well, you CAN complain, but no one cares.

I could really get deep and go all in, but that's not even necessary because anyone that would announce they don't "believe in politics" at such a time as this, clearly, just doesn't know any better nor do they care.

With that said- Go out there tomorrow & do ya thing!

from: http://www.kevinambler.com/img/vote2010-a.jpg



What LIES Beneath

From: http://freelancefolder.com

If you know nothing else about me, you know I am a strong proponent of the truth. When all else fails, it's all you have.

A male friend told me recently that he lied to his female friend to "protect her feelings". *record scratch* Don't we already know that this is a HUGE no-no? *wags finger*

Once he told me the story that involved 2 glasses of wine and a denial of responsibility or rememberance thereafter, I called BS on the girl! I said  & I quote:
She's lying
Congrats
Yer even
*bangs gavel*

She disavows any knowledge of her actions after 2 glasses of wine.

from: http://queenofsports.com/

Seriously, 2 glasses of wine couldn't get a 4 year old drunk enough to forget anything! So it seems, my dear friend, was suckered into a lie with a lie. It seems that the girl must have been testing him, why? I don't have ALL the answers, people. But I DO know why she lied....

Who hasn't gotten some liquid courage in them & said or done something they always wanted to or that seemed like a good idea at the time. Only to realize, the idea WASN'T that good afterall or the repercussions could be MUCH more than they thought initially. If they even thought about it beforehand. You rationalize it with a lil: "Eff it, I'm 'drunk'!" Even though, if you were truly drunk, you wouldn't relaly be able to think, right?

Poor thing woke up the next morning, in search of her panties & her whole make him wait 6 months plan was out the window! QUICK- what do I do? How do I fix this? THINK, girl, THINK! YES... it was the wine!

This lie led to HIS lie which led to them both lying under a pile of  lies. Now she's nto talking to him & he's not feeling great about that. But clearly she needs to be mad at herself, because she started the lie ball rolling. Now it's barrelling downhill and picking up anger and frustration & speed.

Had she followed my cardinal rule of being honest with YOURSELF first, she could've just said: You know what? I was NOT intending to do that & while I don't regret it, it probably shouldn't happen again for a while.

Done & done.

Letting Go & Holding On

This blog changed titles twice.

Not sure what I REALLY want to say here, but I am going to say something.

There was a point in time, earlier this year when i was afraid to let go. I was afraid to make up my mind. I was scared to put my foot down. I had chalked somethings up as a loss because I was to afraid to stand up for myself. I was defeated and was OK with that. Little did I know, the same thing was going on on the other side of this. But in a much different way. This person was holding on to something LITERALLY because they, as they finally admitted, were afraid I would stop talking to them. I didn't want to hold on out of fear, they didn't want to let go.

The item in question was one I had chalked up as a loss. But recently I have been urged to handle this business as it has reared it's head and become an inconvenience for the beau. I am fairly certain that it will be uncomfortable and inconvenient and maybe even involve some tension, but it is something I need to take care of. It is time to trade places. They need to let go of me & I need to hold on to me.

Sorry if this made no sense at all. I had to get it off my chest though.

How YOU Doin?

About 2 weeks ago while on my way to buy tickets with Mimi for Cirque du Soliel- Ovo Which I am soooo excited about seeing!)

Mimi called me all excited & said: "Guess what, we were picked for WENDY!" I instantly knew what she meant, we were going to be on the Wendy Williams Show. I was super excited, and immediately started to plan my outfit. 

Initially, we thought about taking the bus, but for a day trip, we wanted to be able to get in & out of the city at our convenience. So we decided to drive. A few days later, she got an email stating that we had to wear ll pink for Breast Cancer Awareness. So the outfit I had in mind had to be redesigned. A few days after that we  found out that the guests were going to be PATTI LABELLE & NENE & SHEREE from Real Housewives of Atlanta. We left DC around 1:45 AM and arrived in New York around 6:30 AM. I had already reserved a spot & guaranteed a rate at a nearby parking lot, so we had no problems parking & walking to the studio. The original plan was to stop outside of the city & change clothes, but since Mimi was sleeping most of the ride, I decided to just head into the city. We instead changed our clothes in the car while the parking attendant pretended not to notice. It was still dark outside & there were only three people in line at the studio when we walked by. Vaguely familiar with the area, we walked to 8th Avenue to try and procure some breakfast. We found a bagel shop that had just what we needed: hot breakfast and a clean bathroom. After eating breakfast & putting on our faces, we headed back to the studio to wait in line. There were a few other people on line when we got back. We spoke & waited. it misted & rained & misted, but everyone was ice & in good spirits, so it was cool. I tried to take pics of the banners outside, but the lights on the building kept interfering. 

meh...

ANYWAY, around 7 something a handsome young man comes out and starts setting up line queues. He remarks how early we are & we remark how CUTE he is. Hmmmm, I didn't get a pic of him, I just realized. He looks like a young, slim Taye Diggs, like his little brother Shaye lol. The list was checked TWICE & we were finally herded inside a little after 8. The waiting room was cute!

and so were we

Everyone was primping in front of the long wall of mirrors, except for THIS chick who forgot to brush her hair down over her tracks:

Anyone that knows Mimi & I should already know we made FAST friends in line and tried our best to sit with them. We ended up only sitting with one of them, a nice lady from The Bronx whose husband ditched her when he found out he had to wear PINK lol. I'm not sure what criteria they use to seat audience members, but they made me sit on the end, Mimi in the middle, and our girl from the Bronx on the aisle. Anyone without pink on was given a pink pashmina, cuz they were NOT playin!  The new set is SUPER cute, I fell in LOVE with the wallpaper.

We had a BALL, the show went by so FAST! Wendy was really nice & friendly and actually quite pretty in person. She didn't look like a man at all lol. Patti LaBelle was funny and gorgeous in person. The lady that was chosen from the audience to taste the food was part of our front of the line crew, we were so excited for her because she had THROWN together an outfit because she was already packed & in NY when she got the email about wearing pink. She was chosen by the producers just for being SUPER fab! GO LIZ! 

After the show, we were let out of the studio on the BACK end & no one knew where they were. Our goal then was to EAT & go to Crumbs! We took the train just a few stops because it was so cold & rainy out. The pizza was great, the Starbucks was better & Crumbs had just introduced a new black bottom cupcake that included brownies & cheesecake! I got two of those (one for me & one for him), a samoa cupcake, and a strawberry shortcake cookie. $15 worth of nummy goodness!

We ended up only being one stop from the car. We hit the road around 2:30 & after just one pit stop THIS time, we hit DC at 20 to 7. I had a meeting at church & by the time I got home, I had been awake for 22 hours. But it was SO worth it. I chose a random date in November when I requested tickets, so maybe we'll be back on the tube!

HOW YOU DOIN?

Tell Them That It's Human Nature

Last week, Bishop Eddie Long was accused of indecencies & such with boys. Yesterday in the Metro Area, the big story was about Gilbert Arenas not being happy to be back playing in Washington. And just now I got the news that Mario was arrested for allegedly of assaulting his mother.

They say people were laid out crying in the aisles at Bishop Long's church. When Arenas was initially charged, they got rid of all traces of him: posters, jerseys, everything. And now with the news of mario, I am waiting to see the backlash, uproar, and on and on.

It seems so many people put these celebrities on a pedestal. Somehow they had become superhuman. Beyond persecution. Above reproach. They have somehow been denied the "privilege" of making mistakes or doing something dumb. Imagine if that dumb thing you did that time in college was forever etched in everyone's memory & at the age of 45 people were stil "tsk tsk tsk"ing about that one time at band camp.
Now let's get one thing straight, an anti-gay preacher POSSIBLY sleeping with men is NOT okay. A grown man bringng guns to work is NOT cool. A young man allegedly putting his hands on his mother is NOT the business. I'm not saying any of that.

What I AM saying is these people are PEOPLE and people do things that aren't ok, cool, or the business. Sometimes accusations aren't true, sometimes the story behind things is totally different from what the media portrays and sometimes people DID DAT! lol

You can wonder why, or speculate how could they. But, in the end, shrugging it off is probably the best idea. You put too much stock in people & they will disappoint you, sometimes even a little bit. Admiration is one thing, idolizing is a whole other animal. Take Bishop Long for example, some folks put so much faith in a MAN that it detracted from their personal connection to their own spiritual welfare is scary. HOW can you put THAT much trust in a man that wears muscle shirts & a toupee that resembles mushy, moldy oodles of noodles. I don't care what he was preaching, I would ALWAYS be leary of that soggy dog on his head. I am not taking anything away from the work he has done or the lives he has saved but, seriously!

Sometimes we have to use common sense and put ourselves in other people's shoes. These people you IDOLIZE, are just people. And people, by nature, do all manner of things for which there is no logical explanation. Bishop Long has  not been proven guilty of anything. Arenas has served his time. And no one really knows WHAT went on @ Mario's mama's house. These people aren't superheroes, their human beings. CHILL OUT!

Super Grover 2.0 LOVES IT!

Early this morning, I was watching Jimmy Fallon on DVR & Super Grover 2.0 was a guest.
AWESOME!
After being scared witless by one of MY favorite childhood books: "There's a Monster at the End of this Book" and disavowing any knowledge of who Grover is, Super Grover 2.0 presented Jimmy & the Roots with their very own t-shirts with Sesame Street Chracters portraying them. My faves are Jimmy's, Tariq's & Questlove's especially. But really they were ALL great! I cued up the clip right to the t-shirt part, check it out:

Guess Who Loves You More?

I'm not going full mush on y'all, don't worry.

But back in undergrad I had a boyfriend tell me his mother told him to find a woman that loves him more than he loves her.

For a while, I wasn't sure how that was possible. How do you know? Why would you want that?

But, its all a matter of perception, really. It is all about a feeling. When you feel the love without having to search for it or decipher it. But it gets a little deeper, sometimes its not about your love for them, but your love for self. sometimes we think we know what kind of relationship we want and deserve, but when we receive it, we second-guess it. Wondering if this person can possibly love us so much. When in reality, they can and do and we need to get on THEIR level and see what they see in ourselves.

or maybe that's just ME. lol

One Man's Treasure...

is another man's option...

I've recently had to go about the task of informing various males that I am indeed no longer mingling. As J would say, I'm going steady. And this information, to some has been a bit of a blow, perhaps JUST to their ego. But it has led me to see that some guys don't want you, but they don't NOT want you. Dumb, right? There have been guys that I was dealing with, talking to, etc. for a year or more that have never mentioned anything remotely serious with me. So how then can they be upset that I have moved on? Oddly enough this blog may be the way that some of them find out. But I didn't feel compelled to call them all up and have "the talk". There is really no talk to have, honestly.

If I talk to you once in a blue moon about nothing serious or in particular, should I call you up out of the blue and say: "Hey, I know you don't care enough about me to be with me, but someone does and has decided to and I have taken him up on that. I hope there are no hard feelings as you will no longer be able to call me randomly and try to flirt with me, make me feel special and keep your options open. ok?" *end call*

For some it's about having options, but never having to choose. I never pressed any of them out for status because ultimately I knew, even if I was #1, there were other numbers. So now that there are no other numbers for me, can they really try to pull rank?  Am I using too many metaphors & idioms & analogies & such? have I even used ANY?

Anyway... options aren't open-ended, eventually you will have to choose. Sometimes the choice is made for you.

I'm Only Gonna Say This ONCE

*drags over soap box & stands on it*

AHEM, may I have your attention please!

The mosque at Ground Zero is neither a mosque NOR is it AT Ground Zero.

President Obama is NOT a muslim.

The people making the most noise about this ARE, in fact racist and ignorant.

The sky is blue.

Water is wet.

I'm done talking about this and you should be too!

*jumps off soap box & runs away*