I also like Showtime's Dexter, but it's now airing (edited of course) on CBS.
I'll definitely keep my extended basic channels & shows like Top Chef, Boondocks, Project Runway, How Clean is Your House, Run's House, Snoop Dogg's Fatherhood, my HGTV shows, Food Network, TV1, Forensic Files, First 48, Chill Channel, etc.
Is there any good reason to keep the premium channels?
| Rating: | ★ |
| Category: | Other |
In St. Louis, we (i.e., black folks) call it Chinamen. We say things like - "Let's go to the Chinamen." "I want some Chinamen." "The Chinamen on Grand is better than the one Jefferson." It's a catch-all term & is used by the generation before me, my own & the younger ones.
Most old folks call it Chop Suey. {Just replace Chinamen above with Chop Suey and there you have it.}
The white folks just call it Chinese.
I have some family crap going on that's weighing on me heavily. All I seem to do lately is bitch & moan. However, I promised myself long ago that every time I seemed to dwell a little to long on the bitching & moaning, I'd remind myself of the reasons I have to be happy & thankful.
I was bitching & moaning about my 6 year old furnace going out & coughing up $309 to pay for repair. I reminded myself that many of my sisters & brothers have no place to call home & certainly don't have a furnace to go out. I reminded myself that many of my sisters & brothers who have homes might not have had the cash to pay for repairs and suffered/are suffering thru the cold.
I was bitching & moaning about niggas, yes niggas, trying to steal my car. I reminded myself that many are walking in the rough winter elements and/or catching 2/3 buses one-way just to reach their destination.
I was bitching & moaning about not being able to stay on my weight loss program. I reminded myself that while I do need to shed these lbs, I haven't missed nary a meal, while many are hungry.
I was bitching & moaning about my son begging for money & doing stupid teenage boy crap. I reminded myself that many young mothers are visiting the graves of their young sons.
I was bitching & moaning about these damn silverfish, this carpet that so desperately needs a deep cleaning & these walls that need painting. I reminded myself that I live like a queen compared to some.
I was bitching & moaning about my sister leaving her children at my house. I reminded myself that many of these young women leave their children with anydamnbody and these people are doing only God knows what to these innocent children.
I was bitching & moaning about those uber-needy ass people at my office. I reminded myself that "the man" pays me a decent salary to tend to these folks, while many are unemployed.
I was crying & missing my daddy. I reminded myself that my daddy loved me & provided for me beyond his grave, while many have no idea who and/or where their fathers are.
I was crying & missing my mama & granny. I reminded myself that I had them for almost 3 decades, while many young women never had a mama or granny in their lives.
I'm crying now as I write this, because sometimes I have to see it in black & white to remind myself of just how fortunate I am.
| Rating: | ★★★★★ |
| Category: | Movies |
| Genre: | Classics |
Note: This is an old publication. My mother was carrying me when these buildings came dowm. We lived in the low-rise developments a few blocks away & had family in the Pruitt-Igoe. I lived in the same projects until I was 28. The P-I site is now a decent & thriving apartment development for low to middle income families.
Pruitt-Igoe and the End of Modernity
(Pictures from http://www.defensiblespace.com/book/illustrations.htm)
The federally funded Pruitt-Igoe housing project in St. Louis was designed by St. Louis architects George Hellmuth and Minoru Yamasaki in 1951. It was thought to be the epitome of modernist architechture--high-rise, "designed for interaction," and a solution to the problems of urban development and renewal in the middle of the 20th Century. Pruitt-Igoe opened in 1954 and was completed in 1956. Pruitt-Igoe included thirty-three, eleven story buildings on a 35 acre site just north of downtown St. Louis.
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"These structures were no anomaly. Instead, the Pruitt-Igoe project was the product of a larger vision of St. Louis government and business leaders who wanted to rebuild their city into a Manhattan on the Mississippi. Other redevelopment schemes of the time, for example, placed middle- and high-income residents in buildings that actually rivaled Pruitt-Igoe in height and scale."
"There is, moreover, no evidence that redevelopment plans intended to make an all-black, all-poor enclave at DeSoto Carr, which had been a poor area housing both whites and blacks before it was razed. An early scheme would have produced a majority of middle-income black residents. The final plan designated the Igoe apartments for whites and the Pruitt apartments for blacks. Whites were unwilling to move in, however, so the entire Pruitt-Igoe project soon had only black residents." ("Why They Built the Pruitt-Igoe Project," Alexander von Hoffman, Joint Center for Housing Studies, Harvard University: http://www.soc.iastate.edu/sapp/PruittIgoe.html).
(Pictures from http://www.defensiblespace.com/book/illustrations.htm)
"The problems were endless: Elevators stopped on only the fourth, seventh and 10th floors. Tenants complained of mice and roaches. Children were exposed to crime and drug use, despite the attempts of their parents to provide a positive environment. No one felt ownership of the green spaces that were designed as recreational areas, so no one took care of them. A mini-city of 10,000 people was stacked into an environment of despair."
"In his 1970 book "Behind Ghetto Walls," sociology professor Lee Rainwater condemned Pruitt-Igoe as a "federally built and supported slum." His study outlined the failure of the housing project, noting that its vacancies, crime, safety concerns and physical deterioration were unsurpassed by any other public housing complex in the nation."
""Pruitt-Igoe condenses into one 57-acre tract all of the problems and difficulties that arise from race and poverty and all of the impotence, indifference and hostility with which our society has so far dealt with these problems," Rainwater wrote." (PRUITT-IGOE HOUSING COMPLEX, By Mary Delach Leonard, Post-Dispatch, 01/13/2004)
(Pictures from http://www.defensiblespace.com/book/illustrations.htm)
The first building was demolished on March 16, 1972 shortly after 3:00 PM. The demolition of the entire complex was completed in 1976. Today, much of the site still stands vacant, except for the school, Gateway Institute of Technology, located on Jefferson Avenue near Cass Avenue, at the western end of the Pruitt-Igoe tract.
The failure of Pruitt-Igoe represents to many the failure of modernist thinking and high-tech solutions to social problems (rational planning built on objectivist models of human behavior).
Useful Links:
Unless otherwise noted, all pages within the web site http://www.umsl.edu/~rkeel/ © 2006 by Robert O. Keel.
Wow....I don't even know where to start. I've already done the same thing for Mama & Daddy & theirs came to me easily, but you, well you, my dear, are in a league of your own.
Thanks to this media, a lot of people I call friend (even tho we've never met) know who you are.
Not a day goes by that I don't think of you. I have 2 pictures hanging in my foyer (yeah right...more like entry way) - you & mama. You two are the 1st thing my guests see when they enter my home. I also have a picture of you & Grandfather in my kitchen. I like having you in there. You did some of your best work in the kitchen.
Remember how I always slept in bed with you, even tho I had my own room at your house? I loved being close to you. Guess what Muda? My bed is very similar to yours...just a tad bit bigger.
Remember how I always stayed up late with you on weekends just piddling around the house or watching the late, late show? I can hear Papa now. "Dorothy! I wish you & that gal would just go to bed!" You'd just roll your eyes & say, "As if he has to get up & go to work." That was so funny to me. Papa did get up at 6 am everyday like he had somewhere to go, didn't he?
Remember when Papa was still drinking, came home drunk & angry that you didn't have his meal ready? That was the 1st time I ever saw you two really argue. He said, "I tell you what! You take yo kids & get the hell outta my house!" I tearfully asked, "Where are we gonna go?" You replied, "Girl hush & stop that crying. He better go lay his ass down somewhere." That's exactly what he did too. You kept on sewing or whatever it was you were doing & didn't give him a second thought
I truly believe He put me into your hands for a reason. All I can do is smile when I remember how you doted & bragged about me with the "oh my baby got this award & my baby got that award, my baby did this & my baby did that." I never wanted it to stop.
I know I sorely disappointed you with that whole teenage pregnancy thing. Truth be told, I disappointed myself. Why do you think I hid from you when I started to show?? I couldn't bear the hurt & disappointment I knew would be in your eyes when you laid eyes on me. Cuts like a knife comes to mind.
I will never forget you coming to hospital, not even asking how I was feeling, but asking, very sternly, "So, how many more are you going to have?" I wanted to cry but I didn't. Muda, as you know, that was the 1st & last time I got pregnant. Can we say lesson learned?!
I also knew you were hurt when I dropped out of college, but at the time I felt as if I had no other choice. I was on my way to burnout or maybe even breakdown. Of all the foolish things I've done, I regret that the most. Fortunately enough, I've still been able to prosper & have a successful career. (Thank you Lord!)
When I got my last promotion, there were 3 announcements in local publications. When I saw them, all I could think was, "I wish I could show these to Muda!" (Dammit, I'm getting teary-eyed just thinking about it.)
Muda, I'm sure you know I was about to act a natural born fool at your funeral. Not because you were gone, but because somebody (nobody ever fessed up), didn't have enough respect for you or your child (my mother) to even mention her name on your obituary. The simply referred to her as your "deceased child". When I saw that, I blew a gasket & Tony had to drag me outside. They better be glad he was there to hold it down, otherwise I can't really say what would've happened. I hardly ever listened to anything he ever had to say, but that day he was the voice of reason. (OK I need to keep it moving because it's pissing me off once again.)
I'm sure you are well aware of all the other drama that has taken place, so I won't go into the sordid details. I'll just say that I'm sick of it all & refuse to compromise my sanity or health because these so-called adults can't get it together. I know it's not what you would do, but I'm not you - more like you than I care to admit, but not still not you.
I know you always worried I would never find the right man (I'm sure that's a generational thing) and I still haven't. Surprisingly enough, I've reached the point where I'm OK with it. I'm glad I have the good sense not to settle for the wrong one.
Muda, I don't know if I ever told you this, but you said the one thing that hurt me the most. I think you were trying to comb my hair or something (which was no easy task) when you said, "Your mother had to go & marry the blackest man she could find." I know you loved my daddy & I couldn't understand what was so wrong with him that would make you say that.
I still don't know how you could be that hurtful when I know your peanut butter brown sisters did the same thing to you - "the little white girl".
I developed a complex about my skin tone & in the company of my hi-yella relatives, I felt like an outcast. I'm past all that madness now. I can't help but smirk when we travel & they have to lay in the sun and use products because they want to look like ME!
Well, Muda the snow & ice are melting so I'm gonna enjoy the sunshine.
I love & miss you so. You are forever in my heart.
Love,
Monni
If your landlord asked you to be tested for illegal drug use & offered 25% off of your monthly rent for passing results, would you take the test?
Take the poll & let's discuss.
VS & Bath & Body Works have gotten a grip from me over the years. Lawd, don't let either of them release a new fragrance that I like - I tend to go buck-wild.
When VS introduced the body butters, I had to go get a jar for every scent I already had. I love that stuff.
What are some of your fav B&B essentials? Fellas, don't be afraid to chime in. You know we love a man who smells nice.
Let's take into consideration relationships started via the net.
Ladies, you know what you like right? OK, let say, like yours truly, you prefer not to date short men.
You encounter a guy on-line and you hit it off. You like everything you know about him. He seems like good dating potential. You exchange photos & such and because of your height hang-up, you ask how tall he is. He replies with, "5 foot 8." You're OK with that because you're only 5'4" yourself. You finally meet homeboy (you're wearing flats) and face to face you two are eye to eye....in fact, he may be a tad bit shorter. Bottom line - either he's sadly mistaken about his height or he's just a plain ole liar.
Since you have such a great connection otherwise & his personality is awesome, do you overlook the shortcoming (pun intended) and let it flow? Or do you say good night & vow to never see him again?
Fellas same scenario - fine woman, impeccable dresser, no kids, professional sister with her own everything, but she suffers from noassatall and/or looks like a 12 year-old boy in a tank top. Do you say to hell with it & go with the flow or do you keep it moving on the next one who can satisfy your T&A cravings?
Again, I ask you, when does personality actually reign?
Usually, I don't do this, but er ummmm....
| Start: | Mar 26, '08 7:30p |
| End: | Mar 26, '08 11:45p |
Tell me/us about your best & worst Valentine's Day and the gifts that came/didn't come with it.
My worst was probably any day that all my friends were boo'd up with someone they loved or just happened to be boning & I was alone. *whine*
My best was a late V-Day celebration that took place in Las Vegas. I'll spare you the sordid details, but I will tell you after some mind-blowing sex & a few too many cocktails, we damn near ended up in one of the chapels on the strip! Needless to say, that didn't happen, but ahhhhh, the memories.
| Rating: | ★★★★★ |
| Category: | Other |
In the previous blog about appearances we started talking about shoes & ladies we know shoes deserve a blog of their own.
Me & Kel were taking about Crocs & she basically thinks they are the devil. LOL!! I own a cheap pair from Payless & I only wear them in the house and to work in my yard.
Like most women, I probably have way too many pairs of shoes to count but I do have a few favorite pair that get more wear than the rest. I also have several pairs of black, strappy ones that I adore, along with some 4-inch ho' shoes. They're stilletos so until I drop a few pounds I won't be wearing them outside of the house. I don't wanna bust my ass in public trying to be cute. I do have a few pair of 4 inch stack-heel boots that I don't have issue with.
I'd love to own some Jimmy Choo's, Prada or even Robert Clergerie's (the kicks shown run about $600 & I'm accepting donations towards the purchase price...for my birthday) but they are not in my budget at the moment.
A few of my favorite (in my budget ) designers are Nine West, Kenneth Cole, Steve Madden, BCBG, Marc Fisher, Kelly & Kate, J. Renee, Enzo Angolino & Bandolino...just to name a few.
| Rating: | ★★★★★ |
| Category: | Other |
Your jewerly should be limited to a ring or two and a watch. If your ears or any other visible part of you is pierced, remove them.
Everyone - all tattoos should be covered.
I found this little piece & it might explain why we have such difficulty.
1) The bandage was wound around the wound.
2) The farm was used to produce produce.
3) The dump was so full that it had to refuse more refuse.
4) We must polish the Polish furniture.
5) He could lead if he would get the lead out.
6) The soldier decided to desert his dessert in the desert.
7) Since there is no time like the present, he thought it was time to present the present.
8) A bass was painted on the head of the bass drum.
9) When shot at, the dove dove into the bushes.
10) I did not object to the object.
11) The insurance was invalid for the invalid.
12) There was a row among the oarsmen about how to row.
13) They were too close to the door to close it.
14) The buck does funny things when the does are present.
15) A seamstress and a sewer fell down into a sewer line.
16) To help with planting, the farmer taught his sow to sow.
17) The wind was too strong to wind the sail.
18) After a number of injections my jaw got number.
19) Upon seeing the tear in the painting I shed a tear.
20) I had to subject the subject to a series of tests.
21) How can I intimate this to my most intimate friend?
There is no egg in an eggplant nor ham in hamburger; neither apple nor pine
in pineapple. Sweetmeats are candies, while sweetbreads, which aren't sweet, are meat.
The inventory, written in French, lists the possessions Forchet and her second husband acquired during their marriage. The inventory was made at the time of Forchet's husband's death in 1790.
Forchet's possessions are quite numerous; a number of items on the list, such as the featherbeds and the armoire, were considered luxury items in the 1700s. It seems that her life was materially successful. Forchet and her children probably supported the family by growing corn on the farm plot and raising livestock.
At the time of Forchet's death in 1803, she was one of the few free black residents in St. Louis. As a woman, under French and Spanish law, she could own property, have a legal marriage and enter into contracts. But, as a person of African descent, Forchet's other rights were restricted; she needed permission to leave town and, if she was a freed slave, a legal infraction could mean her return to slavery.
This is Louisa. An enslaved woman, Louisa was owned by the Hayward family. In the picture, she holds Mr. and Mrs. Hayward's son on her lap. In 1860, two years after Louisa's picture was taken, St. Louis had a population of 160,773. Out of this number, 3,297 were African Americans; of those, approximately 1,500 were enslaved.
This portrait depicts Dred Scott (1795-1858). Born into slavery in Virginia, Scott traveled with his owner to St. Louis, where slavery was legal.
Scott's ownership changed hands, and he traveled with his new owner into free territories. When Scott returned to St. Louis, he attempted to buy his freedom, but his owner refused. In 1846, Scott petitioned for his freedom at the St. Louis Circuit Court, located in what we now call the Old Courthouse. He argued that because his master had taken him into free territory, he was legally free.
The judge granted Scott his freedom, but the Missouri Supreme Court reversed the decision. The case went to the U.S. Supreme Court, which ruled in 1857 that African Americans were not citizens and that Scott was still a slave in Missouri, even though he had lived in free territories. One year after the Supreme Court decision, Scott was purchased by St. Louisan Taylor Blow, who granted him his freedom.
Scott was buried in the Wesleyan Cemetery (near Grand Boulevard and Laclede Avenue). The inscription on his headstone read, "In memory of a simple man who wanted to be free."
This painting depicts a slave auction on the steps of the Old Courthouse. Each year on New Year's Day, auctioneers sold probated property - including slaves - on this site.
On January 1, 1861, a crowd gathered, hoping to disrupt the slave sale. Every time the auctioneer asked for a bid, people in the crowd shouted, "Three dollars, three dollars!" Finally, the auctioneer gave up trying to run the sale. Because of the efforts of the people in the crowd, this was the last public slave sale held in St. Louis.
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These objects belonged to Leon Anderson (1904-1998), a center fielder who played for the St. Louis Bees and the St. Louis Sports, segregated semi-professional baseball teams.
During the 1930s and 1940s, thousands of St. Louisans would gather at the ballfield at Grand Avenue and Market Street to watch these African American teams play.
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It belonged to jazz innovator Miles Davis (1926-1991). Davis used this trumpet in performance during the last decade of his life, including his famous collaboration with Quincy Jones at the Montreux Jazz Festival six weeks before his death.
Born in Alton, Illinois and raised in East St. Louis, Davis left this area for New York in 1944. In 1956, he returned to St. Louis to perform at Peacock Alley with the Miles Davis Quintet. You are hearing "All of You," which the group played at Peacock Alley and recorded later that year in New York. You also hear the reminiscences of St. Louis-born poet Quincy Troupe, who heard Davis play at Peacock Alley.
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What's the sweetest thing anyone has done for you and/or who's the sweetest person you've ever known?
The sweetest people were my granny (I was spoiled rotten thanks to her) & baby sister (she emulated everything about me & wanted to be just like me). The sweetest thing was my baby calling me "mama" for the very 1st time. Also a few months ago, a date stood me up & I was pissed. My son saw I was mad & said, "Ma, I'm sorry about your date."
What do you do when someone puts you in a not-so
good mood?
Depending on who put me in the mood (and it's usually a man), I'll break out my "I hate men" music. Bitter, A Woman's Threat, So Pissed Off, Love Don't Live Here Anymore, etc.....you get the picture.
Ladies & gents, please get yourself tested, especially those of us who may engage/have engaged in uprotected sex with men and/or women who are known or suspected to have multiple partners. This disease does not discriminate. A piece of ass is not worth dying for.
Say a prayer for all of our sisters & brothers who have fallen victim to this silent killer.
Don't forget to take the poll.
The first time I was tested, I hadn't planned on it, but the opportunity presented itself. I was scared, hoping, praying, repenting, etc. To make matters worse, it wasn't the rapid screen, so I had to wait a week. I had to personally go back to the clinic for the results. Due to my promiscuous past, I vomited twice before I even left home. I was sick. My BFF went with me (thank God for BFFs). I talked with counselor, got my results & went to celebrate. Whew! I was a happy heffa that day!
This lil dude that I've been dealing with off & on claims that he is with child and I'm his "baby mama". I have denied this "baby" on countless occasions, yet he insists that it's mine.
I think he just tryna get in my pockets 'cause I keep my Elexa! I swear to ya'll, if I get a letter from the State talking 'bout some DNA test & child support, I'mma kick his ass, cuz that ain't my baby!
This dude done been with a whole lotta women & I'm just one of many, so how is he just gon' pin that baby on me?? He'on know who his baby mama is & just tryna trap me cause I gotta job, my own place & my own ride. Ladies, this dude done threatened to call the Maury Povich Show and er'thang!
He said he had an ultra-sound and the baby already gotta mouth fulla teeth & cheesin' all on the ultra-sound. He claimed he showed the doc my pictures & the doc said, "You need to call child support asap, because that's her baby."
Ninja please. THAT AIN'T MY BABY!
While it's wonderful to celebrate our history as a people, I think it would be even better to celebrate our own family's black history.
I will always regret letting my grandfather take most of his knowledge and wisdom to the grave, because I was too busy doing me to take time to listen & learn.
I challenge you all to compose a blog or two about your own bloodline, going back as far you as can. Not everyone descends from royalty or is related to celebrities, so don't think your composition will be less interesting because you're not.
You might have to call up Big Mama/Big Daddy, Aunt Juicy/Uncle June Bug to get the facts right, so do it!
I'll start by sharing what I know without making that call, which I still plan to do:
Nettie Graham - my maternal great-grandmother (d. 1971).
Her daughters, Goldie (d. 1965), Dorothy (my Muda) (d. 2000) & Marguerite (d. 1997):
I'll be back when I find out more!
