I Just Dont Understand…

Rest In Peace, Shaniya.

 Reported by Melissa Finlay of Primewriter.com:

Yesterday, her body was discovered approximately 7 miles from the Comfort Suites hotel where she was last seen. In the surveillance footage, a 29-year-old man, Mario McNeill was holding the precious five year old in his arms.That surveillance video led to the arrest of Mario McNeill who has been charged with first degree kidnapping. An autopsy is being performed on

Shaniya Davis as the hunt is now on for her killer. Mario McNeill is being held on $100,000 bond. Shaniya’s mother, Antoinette Davis is being held on a $51,000 bond on several charges, one including child abuse involving prostitution. It is alleged that Antoinette Davis sold her daughter, Shaniya Davis for sex.

 

My “FUEL MY BLOG” Homework Assignment: Review of SlimShots

Okay, so I volunteered with FuelMyBlog to do a review on my blog of certain products they send me, my first one being Slim Shots. I’m just now getting around to posting it (sorry Sylvie!). 

Okay, now I dont know exactly why I trust the FDA to greenlight everything I consume, but I do.  So honestly, I was skeptical about this liquid product, as I am with any diet product that claims to help curb your appetite or suck up any fat without Big Brother’s approval but I thought hey, its free so…

The product came in a cute little box with about 4 or 5  shots and a container to keep one in.  I read the instructions and it said that I could take it alone or add it to a drink so since it was morning when I opened it, I thought I’d add it to my coffee: BIG MISTAKE. My coffee tasted HORRIBLE after that!

Now maybe it was because of the flavor (chocolate). Maybe it would’ve been better if I had known to actually chill the product first before tasting it.  Maybe if there had actually been a SHOT, of the alcoholic kind, in the container, it wouldnt have been so bad. But given that none of above took place, I’m giving it a thumbs down. Not to mention the fact that I can’t see this little amount of liquid doing anything to suppress my appetite, I just dont think Slim Shots are for me. It could be a “psyche yourself out” type deal, but trust me, my mind cant argue with my stomach because it always loses. 

Thanks to the kind folks at FuelMyBlog for selecting me to review this product.

(slim shots logo jacked from dietsinreview.com)

Brenda’s Gotta Baby

I know, I know, its been a minute but bear with me. School and my slowly evolving addiction to Facebook has been keeping my attention. Though ‘The World’ has been a good place to air my rants, the interaction with commenters is what I like best, and unfortunately, I dont get much here. I have notice the pick up in visits, thanks in large part to the picture of the “asses for bathroom sinks” pics; LMAO, it’s a hot pic, indeed! But alas, little to no exchange in thoughts forced me to spend time among the social networks, Facebook being my preference (I strongly urge you to look me up on there!).

Well, this post is brought to you today by the lovely people in Chicago’s Paul Robeson High School. If you havent heard by now, 115 of the 800 students are with child. Thats right, one hundred and fifteen! Now you know me, I’ll ride for single moms ALL DAY, but this bullshit right here??? UNCALLED FOR. I cannot and will not uphold bullshit.  And I say this as a single, former teen mom myself.

How can you talk?, you may ask yourself.  Well, given the fact that I’ve been there, done that, I think I have the PERFECT expert opinion on this situation. Nothing, I repeat NOTHING is cute about that many young girls running around a high school with baby bumps and baby shower gift registries.  I’ve seen this story featured on several other websites, and what catches my attention is the deflection of responsibility when it comes to these children. Its NOT the administration’s responsibility to make sure these kids have access to sexual education. Its NOT a city or state responsibility, though I am predicting that the state will definitely be an intricate part of the children’s lives, once born. The responsibility lies squarely on the shoulders of the parents and their children. What a vicious cycle of neglect we create when we are too busy to raise our children. That was my mother’s problem. She too a single mom after a divorce, worked 2 jobs for as long as I can remember, trading sexual education for her children for financial security. Was she a horrible mother? ABSOLUTELY NOT! Was a responsible one? No.  But this is exactly why these young ladies need to comprehend what challenges face them ahead. My mother would do anything for me and my two brothers. And during our childhood, she felt she was doing what she had to do.  The shit aint easy; trying to be everything to everybody. Sacrifices were made. Sex education for us was one of those sacrifices, resulting in her 15-year-old daughter getting pregnant.

Now,  I’m also accountable. Though most scientists will tell you that a child’s brain is not fully developed in their teens/early twenties, I’m here to tell you, my brain was developed enough to cock em, spread em, hold em and fold em! I will not hide behind my age at the time as a means to say that I didn’t know any better. I knew exactly what I was doing.  And I knew it was wrong.  Without my mother having tell me, I knew how babies were made. I just didn’t care.

Back to the Chicago story, these young ladies need to count their blessings that a baby is the only thing they got out of the bed with. In this day and age, you would expect more caution, even if it’s not at the hands of the parents. The Rap-It-Up campaign, the Act Against AIDS, and many other initiatives were taken to get the education out there to these children about safe, responsible sex. Abstinence is great in theory but let’s be realistic. These kids know about protection and what it takes to not get knocked-up but, like me, they just dont care, which is harmless if its only one or two teens, but 115?? 

I propose a device, designed for insertion in the female at birth, preventing her from pro-creating until she is old enough to go the doctor to have it removed (hey-dont steal my idea without paying me first!).  Consented by the parents, of course, and if the parents are reasonable, they”ll sign for it as quickly as they would for a son’s circumcision. Once she is of age, like smoking or drinking, she would have to show ID to a GYNO to have it removed and be able to safely become pregnant. Not only is this morally responsible, its financially responsible.  I hear the nay-sayers right now: That will be giving government too much control. Well, while we wait for a better alternative to this mess, I say we get the ball rollin. Just cut my check!

(pic jacked from some pregnancy site. I dont know who this chick is nor do I claim to know if she is a single and/or teen mom)

A Letter to My “People-Pleasing” President

October 9, 2009

 

Dear Mr. President,

It’s gotta be alot of pressure to not only be the newest Leader of the Free World, with not even a year under your belt,  The Commander in Chief of the US military forces, Father, Husband but also a Black Man. Everyone has something to say about the job you’re doing; some say you’re not doing enough, others say you need to sit your ass down somewhere because you didnt deserve this gig in the first place. Me personally, I think you’re suffering from what I’d like to call the “People Pleasing Disease”. 

You make fantastic speeches that warms the hearts of many (You really got me with that speech in Congress on Healthcare). And in those speeches you speak on all these wonderful things you’d like to do or change for your country.  But perhaps is the all of us who mistakes your ideas for promises.  And when those “promises” are broken or perhaps not delivered to fruition, you feel a terrible backlash.  And all of a sudden EVERYTHING is your fault, you’re now marked as this compulsive liar and a back-peddler and that very faith from your people who you relied so heavily on to get you in office is now shaken considerably. I understand my friend.  

I too suffered from the same people-pleasing disease. I wanted everyone to like me.  I wanted to be agreeable, fearing that if I allowed my own opinion to be heard, I would lose the popularity I worked so hard creating. Then one day Barack, if I may call you Barack, I decided that I no longer gave a damn. And Im here to tell you, this was the most free that I’ve ever felt in my life! If I said something you didn’t like, that is your problem! If I had to disappoint some folks because I couldnt do what was promised, my disappointment didnt kill them so in my own way, I considered it a win-win.  I wish I could tell you  that the next someone talks shit about you and/or your administration that you should dress up in your finest suit, call a press conference, broadcast it on every TV station, interrupting all soaps and game shows, step to the mic, and after a long, strategic pause, simply say “Kiss my ass. That is all” and walk away from the podium. That’s it. Problem solved.

But you’re the friggin President of the United States.  That would be classless undignified and irresponsible. But just as such,  you CANNOT tell the gays that you’ve got their backs and do absolutely nothing to address their issues with dont ask/dont tell, and prop 8. You sir, CANNOT allow your employees in Congress to spend ridiculous amounts of money on “supplies” for the troops in Afghanistan that they didnt even request, to further fund the politicians’ relationships with major corporations. You SHOULD NOT have your ass over in Denmark smooching up to an Olympic committee when clearly Chicago needs more focus be to on the violence there (honor student death ring a bell?). And for crying out loud, you SHOULD NOT be honored at this point in time with a damn Nobel Peace Prize, just for doing your job!! If that’s the case, sign me up for one.

Listen, I like you, I really do. But lets face it: you won’t ever be able to win over those racist Rights, and you’re slowly losing the trust of the people who stay defending your decisions (even if it costs them their jobs).  I know in the bigger scheme of things, my opinion counts for squat, especially if it doesnt come in the form of a hole on a ballot. But if I can make a suggestion: please be more careful in your speech-writing.  Be honest about your limitations. Don’t stretch the people’s skepticism anymore than you’ve already done. Bush left enough for you to deal with.  Lastly, you don’t have to address every damn issue you’re asked about (i.e., Kanye/Taylor Swift and Cambridge Police)!

Respectfully (no, really it is)

Nik

 

 (pic jacked from CNN.com)

“Feel Good” Fridays

Back in the day, Black Sheep’s  ”The Choice is Yours“ , off of their 1991 release “A Wolf in Sheep’s Clothing“ was my JAM! It helped that I also had a little crush on Dres. Lol!

Noticed that I bolded the most memorable line of the song!  Ahh, that was in East Coast Hip-Hop was actually pretty dope, when you add up the talents of DAS EFX, Tribe Called Quest and Digable Planets.  I so miss the 90’s!  Anyway, be safe this weekend…

 

Who’s the Black Sheep, what’s the Black Sheep?
Don’t know who I am, or when I’m coming so you sleep
Wasn’t in my room, wasn’t in my sphere
Knew not who I was, but listen here
Dres, D-R-E-S, yes I get suckers start
If it’s all right with you, I’ll rip this here one apart
Back, Middle, to the front, don’t front
Wanna a good time, gonna give you what you want
Can I hear a hey? [Hey!]
Now get a yo! [Yo!]
You gotta hay? [Huh!]
It’s for the hoes [Oh!]
The styling is creative, Black Sheep of the Native
Can’t be violated, or even decepticated
I got brothers in the Jungle, cousins on the Quest
Deaf retarded uncles, in parties were they rest
Guess, which way, what, when, how
Mista Lawnge, Dres, Black Sheep slam NOW
Know you’ve heard the others, phonies to the lovers
Then of course, the choice is yours
Chorus
You can get with this, or you can get with that, You can get with this, or you can get with that, You can get with this, or you can get with that I think you’ll get with this, for this is where it’s at
[repeat both lines 2X]

Where’s the Black Sheep, here’s the Black Sheep
Even if we wanted to the flock could not be weak
Watch me swing like this, why should I swing it like that,
Because in fact, on me it might not attract
Therefore I ignore, do as I feel inside
I live with me, I’ve got my back tonight
Ya know what I’m saying, yo Black, I’m not playing
Need to go with this, or go with that with no delaying
See, in actuality, one be can it be,
I made it look easy, because it is to me
Any time capacity was filled, try to rock it
Any time a honey gave us play, tried to knock it
Never was fool, so we finished school
Never see us sweat, and you’ll never see us drool
Out to rock the globe while it’s still here to rock
Don’t punch girls, and we don’t punch a clock
Gotta go, gotta go, see you later by the cat
And you can’t beat that with a bat

Chorus

Engine, Engine Number 9, on the New York transit line,
If my train goes off the track,
Pick it up! Pick it up! Pick it up!
BACK on the scene,
Crispy and clean,
You can try,
But then why,
Cause you can’t intervene.
We be the outcast,
Down for the settle.
Won’t play the rock,
Won’t play the pebble.
Open the door,
You best believe,
We’re sliding through it swiftly.
Niftly,
We can make it hip to be,
What we are cause what we be,
Be the epitome,
Doo-Dah-Dipity.
So now I dwell
Just to say your plainar
Hold your cup cause I got the container.
Pass a plader,
Cross the fader.
Black Sheep get played
Like the Sony innovator.
Never the traitor,
Party of later,
And you can get a scoop,
Later.

 

(pic jacked from Discogs.com)