AtypicalAnecdote God, Life, and Observations all aggregated in a progressive pot of goodness.

A few days ago I was at my favorite nail shop off La Brea and Rodeo about to get all fancy. "chào buổi sáng" good morning I say as I walk into the nail shop. (Yes, don't hate...I know a few vietnamese words).  I'm ushered in like VIP, hooked up with the warm water for my toes and offered some water.  As soon as Kim starts taking the polish off, she looks at my necklace and stops. A few beats pass and she says, "That whistle...that...whistle...where did you get it?" I said happily like an ignorant American that feels good for any minor donation, "it's for charity, you know about it?"  Kim started to cry and said, "yes, I know all about it." 


You see, around my neck that day was a whistle necklace. An old school whistle that was symbol of Falling Whistles, (FallingWhistles.com) 
a nonprofit started by Sean Carasso after a trip to the war zone fo the Democratic Republic of Congo.  I happened to see the whistles hanging up in my favorite shoe boutique in the Beverly Center and after reading the story I purchased two whistles at $34.95.  After Sean came upon an illegal prison for children, he learned boys too small to carry guns, are forced out to front-lines armed only with whistles with instructions to make as much noise as possible. As the enemies approached, the children would be shot in hopes to quiet them. Being a mother, I was deeply touched by this story.  Children ripped from the loving embrace of their mothers are forced into a prison only to be misused, mistreated, and the valve of their life destroyed. 


Upon returning home, Carasso struggled with what to do about the innocent bloodshed in Congo. Then one day, a friend placed a whistle around his neck and said, “No matter where you go, make sure you keep those boys alive in your heart.” It was then that Falling Whistles was born.


It's impossible to know how taking a stand for a wonderfully conscious cause can not only be a conversation starter, but bring about an awareness in places least expected.  I was in a nail shop off all places...and a woman a woman from Vietnam, about 6,000 kilometers away from the Congo, knew about the injustice of tiny body's being sacrificed for an inhuman and unjust war. 


One of my favorite quotes is, "If you don't stand for nothing, than you'll fall for anything."  What will you stand for?  Whether its the walk of faith or taking a stand for a positive cause, do it! You'll be surprised by how effective you'll be. 

I can make you scream, shout, and moan.  Toes curling, body thrashing about as if it wasn't your own.  I can make the brass, flute, and horn section of your body reach notes darkly beautiful as I am the conductor to your symphony, baby.  Headboard knocking the wall on some real, "I think the neighbors know my name."

Can I...touch you there?  Taste you and lick you there? Your body moving rhythmically with mine, legs intwined, because I own this. I   own     this...physical manipulation. Because you see, baby...sex is the easy part.

Sex is the manipulation that gets people in trouble. Your body becomes no longer your own...days spent with a wet "nana" as you cross and uncross your legs under your desk at work...plaguing yourself with memories of your physical dance from the night before. (Does a soul tie ring a bell?)

How many times did you have an argument with your loved one and the only resolve was sex? You see...during sex, no one is responsible for an adult, in-depth conversation.  I'm gonna work her so good I'll make her forget.  No one is held accountable for a real resolution to a problem.

And let's be real...sex, without the covenant of marriage is complicated. Yes, the bible tells us about fornicators and where they're going. That we must abstain from the appearance of evil (1 Thessalonians 5:22)....our bodies are temples (1 Corinthians 6:19)...we have been bought with a price so we should glorify God with our bodies (1 Corinthians 6:20)...that the marriage bed is the only place that will be undefiled. (Hebrews 13:4)  I get this, this is my walk...but this blog is not meant to through bible at you, but use common sense.

God gave you the ability to think, to use your natural thought process, use wisdom.  So because God instilled that on the inside of you, you using those devices from an internal place and operating from your moral campus is not you thinking you're the ish but giving thanks to God! (Some of you will get that tomorrow).

Ladies, you should know by now that I'm a "soft feminist." I encourage you to use Godly wisdom and not accept mediocre.  You are more than just a good lay, a soft body, and a wet hole.  Save that good good for your husband--a man worthy of all of you.  The most telling sign of a man that's a complete lame is one who will always divert the conversation to becoming physical.   "Babe, I need you." You answer, "why, is everything ok?"  "yes," he answers. "I just wish you were my hand is right now."  YUP...ladies, run away.

Sex is always the easy part.

Hollywood icon, Elizabeth Taylor was quite possibly the first celebrity sooo glamorous you wanted to not only be, but smell like her. ((Sigh)) Ms. Taylor, 79, passed away today of congestive heart failure at Cedars-Sinai Hospital 

In her last notable interview with Harper's Bazaar Mag she says:
“I never planned to acquire a lot of jewels or a lot of husbands, I have been supremely lucky in my life in that I have known great love, and of course, I am the temporary custodian of some incredible and beautiful things.

The former child star and two-time Academy Award winner not only famous for such films: “National Velvet,” “Cleopatra,” and “Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?” but she was known for her impressive diamond jewelry collection and a plethora of marriages, twice to Richard Burton and 7 other marriages.

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Fans and celebrities alike are pausing with reflection as word spreads that hip-hop artist and vocalist Nate Dogg passed away today. Rod McGrew, his longtime manager confirmed to CNN that Nate Dogg, born Nathaniel Hale, died at the age of  41.


Celebrities have been tweeting away:

As of Wednesday, McGrew told CNN that the family has yet to receive an official cause of death, although McGrew believes the artist died of natural causes. Complications from the two strokes Hale suffered in the past few years could have been a factor as well.

L’Officiel, one of the top French magazines, is celebrating it's 90th anniversary and has asked Beyonce to grace it's March 2011.  This issue is geared towards honoring legendary Nigerian singer and activist, Fela Kuti and has therefore styled Beyonce in African Garb and--get this--blackface. Yes, you read that correctly.  Beyonce willingly let the magazines make up artists paint her face stopping at her neck.


L’Officiel writes,

“The Fashion magazine is about to celebrate its 90th birthday. To celebrate this anniversary, the festivities start with the March issue, with Beyoncé on the cover. She agreed to pose for an incredible fashion shoot, with the theme of African Queen, paying a tribute to the legendary Fela Kuti. Far from the glamorous Sasha Fierce, the beauty posed for the magazine with amazing fashion designers clothes, but also in a dress created by her mother. [It is] A return to her African roots, as you can see on the picture, on which her face was voluntarily darkened. All the pictures will be available in the collector edition, on sell at the end of this month.”

Ok...let's begin with fail # 1 "Far from the glamorous Sasha Fierce" are they insinuating that African culture isn't glamorous r was that statement just badly written? Fail # 2 "A return to her African roots, as you can see on the picture, on which her face was voluntarily darkened" now, typically I take the route of reporting...but COME ON.  Even if L' Officiel and Beyonce didn't mean to stir up controversy with the blackface...I wouldn't expect them to be that stupid.  Here's the thing you might not know--Beyonce is actually black.  So she doesn't NEED to darken her face.

[DISCLAIMER: Here is when I go off on a tangent.] A black women returning to her "African roots"?!?! Beyonce isn't from Africa she's from Houston, Texas...so returning to her roots means returning to texas.  I'm a melting pot of black, latin, native american, and european....born and raised in Los Angeles.  I would slap the person that told me to return to my roots. And yes, yes, we can speak on the horrible reality of slavery and what took place.  People ripped from their families, land, and culture coupled with generation after generation of self-hatred. A self hatred so immense that brothers don't want to mess with anything darker than a milky way so women press their hair on a regular, resort to lightening cremes, or death defying silicone injections. Let's not forget how our brothers and sistas try to "come up" on each other or and blame THE MAN on why they can't find a job--accepting defeat when really that could be translated into lacking the willpower to move forward. These things are all very real...but that's not what we're discussing now.

Back to the matter at hand...this magazine failed for me.  I am offended by this sham of a way in honoring Fela Kuti, a man wholly concerned with the freedom of Africans throughout the Diaspora.
At first glance, the photograph just looks ridiculous.

While I understand the impulse to use Beyonce as the model for an “African Queen” since she reigns for black woman under Oprah, would it have been difficult for her to stay as she naturally is? She simply could have been in the editorial with beautiful African attire with a hint of edge.  OR why not have Kuti's son, Femi Kuti, or a real African model?

Here's a quick behind the scenes look:



Questions...questions...questions.

 I find it quite interesting that I find myself in a paradox of sorts...on one end I'm getting e-mails from readers asking to write more on media and gossip.  On the other hand, I'm getting Christian's asking me why I am writing any secular topics it all. And although I appreciate your concern...did sending an e-mail in all caps make you feel better. (Yes, you...I'm talking to YOU).

Let me put it simply...this is my blog; AKA...an outlet for my expression.  My banner has always been "AtypicalAnecdote: God, Life, and Observations all aggregated in a progressive pot of goodness."  Let's dissect the matter...this blog is my pot of gumbo...and in that gumbo I speak on my religious beliefs, and mainstream stories that draw some type of surprising emotion from me.Whether is draws my sarcasm, anger, love...I'll write on it.

I love that each of you read my blogs and send me e-mails on them.  Just know that I am not that writer that falls into a certain type of genre...exploration is key to elevation.

The world hasn’t seen this kind of protesting in Egypt since the 1970’s. Thousands of people—men, woman, and children—are taking to the street to protest the autocratic governance of President Hosni Mubarak. The people of Egypt are tired of government corruption, poverty, and seemingly uncontrollable unemployment.
As protest leaders began assimilating their groups via Twitter, the Egyptian government responded by blocking Twitter and then proceeded to block facebook.  Twitter responded by developing a tweet feature based on a voicemail.Here's what they said on their blog:

We worked with a small team of engineers from Twitter, Google and SayNow, a company we acquired last week, to make this idea a reality. It’s already live and anyone can tweet by simply leaving a voicemail on one of these international phone numbers (+16504194196 or +390662207294 or +97316199855) and the service will instantly tweet the message using the hashtag #egypt. No Internet connection is required. People can listen to the messages by dialing the same phone numbers or going to twitter.com/speak2tweet.

Tablib Kweli said in an interview with Lipshultz on Billboard when questioned about his TV spot for Pepsi Max's NFL playoffs campaign:

"There's a segment of my fan base that wants to believe that I'm in some basement somewhere with a notebook, with a backpack on, writing rhymes to Eminem instrumentals or something," says Kweli. "So the idea that at this point [is that] I'm 35 years old and there's no music business, and I have grown man responsibilities, so of course I'm going to get paid for my craft. And I'm going to work with companies that are willing to support the lifestyle."

I respect that.  What most of you don't know--unless you out searching for that good hip hop is that Kewl's 5th album "Gutter Rainbows" was released digitally today. You can cop that on itunes here. 

President Obama said a few things that would make even the most rigorous Libertarian sit up a little taller in their chair. To be perfectly honest, I have not been as pleased with his term or his decisions but I have slowly come around to being pro Obama again. Although I would have liked to watch his address with my grandmother last night, my daughter had other things in mind.  


I sat and listened to this man who had promised so much at the beginning of his term and had failed. I then thought about how his presence alone seemed to be the unifying force for all ethnicities and how he is simply the most progressive President since FDR. You could tell from jump that as republican and democrats sat side by side, there was a little bit of a stale attitude creeping from the audience and out of the television.  Democrats who usually leap from their chairs with admiration and joy politely sat and clapped as they agreed with what the President said their neighbor Republican looked head on.

I was waiting on him to tackle a few issues head that seemed to cause unrest in the American people.  He said, “I've heard rumors that a few of you have some concerns about the new health care law," Obama joked. On curbing illegal immigration, Obama did little beyond expressing his support for tackling the issue and acknowledging that it will be "difficult and take time". The White House knows that Obama entered tonight's speech with genuine political momentum following last year's lame-duck Congressional session and the reaction to his handling of the Tucson tragedy. The speech then was geared to play it somewhat safe, offering up a popular message -- America needs to "win the future" -- and not engaging on some of the issues that dominated political discourse over the past two years.

This blog is not meant to give a blow by blow of what was spoken about…but as I mentioned before, after I sat with my 4 year and listened to a man whose complexion mirrors my own, how he compliments his white grandmother for instilling in him—much like my background---I’d like to remain hopeful.  Prayerfully he has a plan for his feel good words and I can again jump out of my seat with as much enthusiasm as I had on Nov. 4^th of 2008.