Blessings, affirmations, grace, and reflection

If I must say so myself, I did an awesome job with this week's playlist. I love it! It is called the Bossy Chix Mix and features some of the bossiest broads in the bizness. Enjoy. Have fun this weekend! Note: scroll down the sidebar to stop music player before starting new player. Bossy Chix in the Mix via Webjay

I risked the potential hail of bullets and the threat of rainwater hitting freshly pressed tresses for these...ah, memories of sitting on the front steps with my friends as popsicle juice dripped down our arms and left us with orange, purple or red lips. Good times and the innocence of youth.

Something is going down! If we were in South Central L.A. today would be "just another day living in the 'hood just another day around the way." But today has been quite unusual. First situation...I stepped out of a building across from Grand Central Station this afternoon to find that 42nd Street from Lexington to Fifth was swarmed with police cars, lights and all. They were parked in formation on both sides of the street. There looked to be hundreds of them. Someone said that it was some sort of practice drill that they do ever so often but to be honest it kind of freaked me out. Now, here it is after midnight and the ghetto bird is swirling over our building. Like right on top of the building. I know when it gets hot folks don't know how to act but this is unusual activity. Edit: As it turns out the block was hot last night resulting in a shooting. That explains the ghetto bird. I will never understand why people have their little kids "hanging out...

Although this article was first published in April, I am just discovering it and does it explain so much in my life! Maybe not in those exact terms but pretty darned close. If you can identify with this cultural phenom raise your hand. Come on, don't be ashamed. Raise it high! Edit: And since La Saucy Dame claims she is taking a blog break she is emailing out the wazoo and posted this link. Can you pass? Post your score (if you aren't too embarrassed).

Wow, I'm really disappointed in the blogosphere for not supporting the film. Yes folks, it was a film and not a show. Hence the website title In any event, it was a positive piece. You have to keep in mind it was an indie short so it had that feel to it but the acting was decent, and the cinematography and production quality were good. The main thing that I would have to say they could have been improved upon was the writing. The writing needed to be a lot tighter than it was. The dialogue didn't always flow and the monologues tended to be a bit preachy or as one friend of mine put it "after-school special" like. I also thought a couple of scenes could have been directed differently, I can think of three scenes in particular that would have benefitted from being shot from different angles but hey, filmmaking is hard work and I take my hat off to them for getting this project from conception to exhibition. In any event it was entertaining and educational. Of...

Is it just me or is life relatively bland these days. Bland like a slice of wonder bread. Bland like the tuna casserole your coworker made for the department potluck. Blah! No matter what I do I come back to the land of blahs. Yeah its summer, yeah there are a million and one things to do in this city but whatever. I've got a serious case of the blahs. I think I need a longgggg vacation...away...from...here...Calgon, take me away!

He lurks and lingers hanging precariously to the edge of my mind sometimes I wonder if he were ever there at all then the words that stung like tiny bee stings play over and over in my mind his vicious words like a broken record warped and insistent play over and over lately I have learned to press the stop button and a new recording comes on the one where I am coddled instead of criticized but the voice of diablo tries to loud talk the other he wants to steal my soul and kill my spirit then I remember the tenderness of the other one's touch the way he stroked my hair the way he cuddled me the way he carefully chose his words so that I would not become any more damaged than I already was He treated me like a porcelain doll fragile and beautiful He gently held and caressed me until my spirit was soothed I felt safe in his arms I wanted to trust him completely and let go but the pain held me hostage then he was gone and all I was left with were his beautiful words his tender touch a...

The annual bloggaversary of this "new-ish" blog...The Next Chapter. The turning of a new leaf? I think it is more insightful and slightly more thought-provoking than it's predecessor. In some ways the other blog was more entertaining but we go through changes in life and I think our blogging reflects that. But enough of that...enjoy the cake.

There are at least two people in this world that you would die for. At least 15 people in this world love you in some way. The only reason anyone would ever hate you is because they want to be just like you. A smile from you can bring happiness to anyone, even if they don't like you. Every night, SOMEONE thinks about you before they go to sleep. You mean the world to someone. You are special and unique . Someone that you don't even know exists loves you. When you make the biggest mistake ever, something good comes from it . When you think the world has turned its back on you take another look. Always remember the compliments you received. Forget about the rude remarks. And always remember.... when life hands you Lemons, ask for tequila and salt and call me over. The italicized ones struck a cord. I really hope that some of them are true. :-) The rest, I don't know about it. I've seen this one before but right now, at this very point in time, it is hitting home. Which...

Often when you spend time getting really clear, the people in your life will reveal themselves to you - sometimes they will all do it at the same time. On top of that, they might even say that it is you who has the problem. Don't believe them and trust in the process. God is cooking up some wonderful blessings in your life. When ugliness starts to rear it's head, stop, be still and praise God for all the wonderful blessings that are about to come out after the storm has passed. Edit: Kalamu & Mtume had this one posted over on Breathe of Life today and it was perfect. You can download it here it.

Can you hear him singing it? Bill Withers ! Man. So yeah, the weather today is incredibly gorgeous yet some people are either miserable or imposing their misery onto others. If you are having a bad day, keep the isht to yourself...I'm trying to enjoy my day and I gotta' deal with your stank attitude. Damn, give us break already. Riding the #2 train today a pair of drummers got on the train. They said hello and no one responded. One of the dudes just laughed and basically broke it down saying something to the effect that it doesn't cost you anything to be nice. That is true. His parting words, "don't let New York steal your spirit because it has a tendency to do that." They had on tee-shirts that said Skywalker...I'm assuming that is the name of their drum troupe. In any event the drums were so soothing. Reminded me of the Brooklyn days. Good stuff for your soul: Mahogany Butterfly has finally launched. I was supposed to be contributing to it but...

Nothing in my personal life worth wasting type keystrokes on so here we are. Fill in the blanks. Answers are in bold. 1. I have a picture of ME on my computer desktop. 2. There are 6 pictures hanging on my living room walls. (Just bought a new piece last week) plus a clock that is in a jazz motif. 3. My big goal for this week is to DO ALL OF MY LAUNDRY. 4. I plan to visit ??? blogs this week. (WHO THE HECK SETS A GOAL FOR THE NUMBER OF BLOGS THEY VISIT EACH WEEK???) 5. The weather we're having right now is LOVELY. 6. I really should EXERCISE more often. Have a great week my dear readers.

Hey 'Na...(waving)

Hee-hee...I thought this was pretty cool so I swiped it from the Assimilated Negro. He said to "feel free to add on or personalize as you see fit" so here is my female version of the Dating Exit Interview: Dating Exit Interview So, um, do you actually want to remain friends? A. Definitely, we had chemistry, just want different things. B. Yeah, sure, WHATEVER. C. I'll say hello when I see you, how about that? D. I'll be your friend only to have a better view as I destroy your life from the inside like a Trojan Horse infested with spiteful-friends-that-stab-you-in-the-back. E. Please ask me this in person so I can spit in your face. Do you want to remain friends w/ benefits? A. HOLLA!!! B. Hell No! How open to booty recruiting calls? A. You better not call me after 2AM! B. You'd better not call me after midnight! C. You's better not call me after 10 PM! D. You'd better not call me drunk. With a phone. Or your mo...

Excerpted from Please Understand Me II Copyright 1998 by David Keirsey If I do not want what you want, please try not to tell me that my want is wrong. Or if I believe other than you, at least pause before you correct my view. Or if my emotion is less than yours, or more, given the same circumstances, try not to ask me to feel more strongly or weakly. Or yet if I act, or fail to act, in the manner of your design for action, let me be. I do not, for the moment at least, ask you to understand me. That will come only when you are willing to give up changing me into a copy of you. I may be your spouse, your parent, your offsping, your friend, or your colleague. If you will allow me any of my own wants, or emotions, or beliefs, or actions, then you open yourself, so that some day these ways of mine might not seem so wrong, and might finally appear to you as right -- for me. To put up with me is the first step to understanding me. Not that you embrace my ways as right for you, ...

Compassion is the keen awareness of the interdependence of all things. --Thomas Merton Compassion is the ultimate and most meaningful embodiment of emotional maturity. It is through compassion that a person achieves the highest peak and deepest reach in his or her search for self-fulfillment. --Arthur Jersild Compassion is not sentiment but is making justice and doing works of mercy. Compassion is not a moral commandment but a flow and overflow of the fullest human and divine energies. --Matthew Fox The whole purpose of religion is to facilitate love and compassion, patience, tolerance, humility, forgiveness. --H.H. the Dalai Lama _____________________________________________ Regular Long time readers of my blog know that I lost my beautiful mother to cancer 11 years ago. My mother left me with many things but it seems the main thing she left me with the gift of compassion. Sometimes I feel as if this gift works against me just as it did her. It can be so much easier to be compl...