TOTALLY random

um, this is a total Boogie/ADD moment...

how sad is it i, at damn near 30, have to ask my little (wait, younger, she's got 2" on me) sister for help with make-up and hair? very. buying new eye-shadow took about 2 hours today and of course they are ALL in that N.A.G. (Neutral Ass Girl) family...i need help. Black Lilly knows my pain and has lived it second-hand by attempting to help me through my struggles. ugh.

TOTALLY RANDOM: the small joys of being single

cereal, chips-n-salsa or maybe a nectarine with a glass of wine for dinner. hell, why not all four?
combine that with no one asking you, "hey, can you pick something up? what are we having? should we go out for dinner?"

howabout being FLYY as hell and doing it for ya damn self?

ok, ok, one more...having unlimited options of who you spend your time with: him? nah, him...no wait, him. eh, maybe the girls. no wait, i don't want to see a damn person. ;)

anywho, i just had a moment.

lata, loves!

Real Talk PSA: Don't Front on the Sexy IT Guy

Sure, he may own one too many polo shirts, but ladies please don't hate on the hidden sexy of the quiet unassuming "techie"...you are gonna need someone to defragement you hard drive sooner or later... literally and euphamistically.

More Happy: Pretty Wings

So...I know I clowned Maxwell when we were in college...but I'm older. And wiser.

And yeah, he can get it.

(Maybe it's the haircut and the whole confirmed-but-label-flipped-so-now-i'm-just-questionably gay thing; I think I lust for less than accessible men)

Besides the fact that this video is unbelievably erotic...happy, happies for all.


Maxwell - Pretty Wings (Official Music Video) - Click here for more blooper videos

Random Happies

Recipe for delicious thin crust pizza

Food is yum. And....

The Rebecca Project (covered by the Magnificent Michel Martin of Tell Me More):

Mothers who fall victim to drug abuse, domestic violence, and other life altering circumstances are often vulnerable and need help starting over. Regular parenting contributor Jolene Ivey is joined by Malika Saada Saar and Imani Walker to discuss how families can find paths to stability and safety. Saar and Walker are co-founders of The Rebecca Project for Human Rights

And I didn't see BIA2 but I heard about this story from T and am sharing it.

Voila.

Facebook foolishness, vol. 2: the things that come up in my news feed

I am going to with hold any of my own personal commentary on this one for the time being. I look forward to hearing your thoughts. As usual, the names have been removed to ...well...i just figured it was in good taste to do so. Its one thing when you put your name on something, and another when said thing is reposted on a blog for public commentary. OH... but I want the commentary!!!! =)

Maven on the high seas...

in case you were wondering how i keep myself busy while I'm missing all of my girls..... sigh... oh the foolishness... The embedding specs are off since we shot in wideframe but you get the idea.....

Delicious

Kinda quiet here in the Common Room.

Here's your regular dose of J Smoothie the Race Literate Cutie:



And some Music You Can't Get Out of Your Head:



(can you name all the supers in the video?)

peace

something more

ever get the feeling you need something more?
still figuring what "more" is. hmm...

Sometimes its the (big) little things!

One of the the things I love about this blog is that I can share pretty much anything with you all. Even if it's ridiculous... and this is ridiculous!!!

So i was returning my movies to my local grocery store redbox, when i decided to grab a few items for my lunch this week. I headed over the the produce section to browse the fruit. It was there I found these: The BIGGEST GRAPES I've ever seen....


Just to give you some perspective on how huge these things were, let's compare one to a quarter shall we?:


UNREAL!!!!

So if you like green grapes, it may be a good time to check out your local market, cuz the ones here are ABSURD!!!

I know this is completely random, but I had to share... (oh p.s. they taste amazing!!!! Lets just hope what ever steroids they pumped into these things is not a carcinogen!)

Pop culture questions....

After listening to the radio over the past few months, I have at least 4 questions burning in my mind......


1. What IS a goon to a goblin? Is there historical or mythical context similar to vampires and lycans? what are the defining attributes of each? If I were in a fight who would I want on my team????

2. Are you SURE it aint trickin' if you got it? Is trickin' determined by means or intent?

3. Is there a legitimate and equitable comparison between a "Diva" and a "Hustla' "? Is the difference merely based on gender or sex? Are the two mutually exclusive?

4. Is the population of the world clearly delineated into 2 groups: performers and observers? Are there other parts of the artistic process not encapsulated in this division?


I know, I know, I may be the only person who talks back to their radio... but i really would enjoy your feedback...artists like Wayne, Luda, T.I., Beyonce' and Britney make statements and I am just not sure they hold up most of the time!

Comment at your leisure....

Happy Birthday!...

Kis & Delta Sigma Theta Sorrority, Inc

A very special shout-out to my homegirl kis and her LS, the maven.

work it out, boos!

*now i am late b/c of you heffas*

Liberating Books

It is amazing how having to travel really simplifies the things you need in life.

That said, I always need books. Who wants to do a Global Bad Black Girl Book Exchange with me?

Reason: I can't carry all the books I want to read and the books that I do carry and finish I need to dispense with (paper is probably the heaviest thing we lug around with us)

So, I've just finished C. E. Murphy's Heart of Stone. I won't tell what I think of it, but I'll put it in a letter to whoever I send the book to. And maybe they could do the same?

First person to shoot their address to kismetfour@gmail.com with a book I'm dying to read gets the book. Now, just because you don't want Murphy doesn't mean you have to blow this off; I just bought Junot Diaz's The Brief, Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao, I'm totally floored by it, and I can't take it with me. That's the next exchangee (or exchanger?)

Come on BBGS! Hollatchurgurl! kismetfour@gmail.com!

Bouncing from D.C. to Chicago to Atlanta to New York to Atlanta leaves me very little time to play in the Common Room. :(

So I am checking in.

Hi!

And I've got food for thought. I had an interesting discussion with Diva Feminist & Black Lilly (separate convos) this weekend about nice vs. good. Are you a nice person? Are you a good person?

We decided that almost everyone we know are good people...but we aren't all nice.

Enter the Nice Meter.

On a scale of 1 (downright evil) to 10 (sweet as pie), how nice are you? And what is niceness to you?

(There was some debate about whether there should be a B.S. meter too...but that is for another post)

I'm putting myself at a 5.

::pregnant silence::



(Say something. I dare you.)

Guess Who's Bizzack?!

so, after a forced hiatus from ALL leisure web-related activity and most web-related activity altogether for the better part of a month...ya girl is soo happy to be back with her boos in the Common Room!

What's good chicas?!

1. LOOOOVE being in a "black city" no really... I was at my new employer's orientation session today and guess what I saw?
a)our people of the disapora running the isht! whoop, whoop!
b)sistah's with locks, head-wraps, afro-inspired dress and accessories
c)people of ALL backgrounds respecting the above's gangsta.

now for those of you who,(unlike myself) have had the privilege of being around our people for the past 5 years...good for you. i, for one, have been majorly deprived. soo, imma relish these moments of being in love with my peeps.

2. Stella needs a dad...or uncle or something in 2009. we think it will aid her transition into this new city. ya'll like how i use my baby as a scapegoat?

3. in general, very much looking forward to all the new opportunities in '09!

...i'm back!

Qualified Kennedy?

i remember freshman year when hilary clinton was running and the WU new yorkers had VERY strong opinions on the matter. similar story..."what makes her qualified to be a senator, the fact she is married to a former president?"

Just want to know my bbgs' opinions on this one...

NEW YORK (CNN) -- Judging by the screaming newspaper headlines and the steamy ecstasy of the gossip columns, people from other worlds might presume that it has already come to pass: that a woman who happens to be named Caroline Kennedy was pole-vaulted above the crowd and sent with magic wand and golden slippers to the U.S. Senate from New York, in the hope of saving the Empire State and bringing goodness to all its inhabitants.

After all, why shouldn't she be sent to the Senate?

Her unique experience of writing a book or two, smiling well, appearing from time to time -- but not too often -- at city mayoral news conferences announcing help for those who attend New York City public schools -- and, well, just being a Kennedy -- should suffice.

Her social standing alone, some might argue, would give her the advantage of all advantages. A Kennedy. Camelot. Ah! The greatness of it all? Not.

The man who has to make the decision whether or not New York is to be so vaunted in representation is Gov. David Paterson, the former lieutenant governor who had the fortune of replacing morally triangulated Gov. Eliot Spitzer after Spitzer's resignation in the face of a publicly humiliating sex scandal.

Paterson will have to face the voters in 2010. So will his pick to fill the seat that will be left vacant after Hillary Clinton is confirmed as secretary of state in early 2009. The governor's poll numbers suggest that voters like him.

Paterson has taken a tack much unexpected by challenging all to tighten belts, cut spending, pay more fees to the state and get rid of waste after Wall Street's collapse and the subsequent free fall in tax collections from the financial services business.

Paterson could have a tough time. Voters don't like losing money, they hate losing services, and all the earnest explanations about fighting the good fight together won't put better food on the table or pay the bills.

He needs someone who can help him win, and he needs someone who can win. He and the senator he chooses will both face the voters together. With that in mind, is Caroline Kennedy the correct choice?

On the issues of the day, Kennedy has been mighty silent. Financial cretins stealing for fun, profit and because they can? Not a word.

The wars? Syllable-less. Millions of humans evaporated in Africa's inner madness? Quiet and silent.

The auto bailout? Nada. The printing of a trillion soon-to-be inflated dollars that will further sap our savings? On such matters, Kennedy remains absolutely silent.

What about the destruction of the economy of western New York?

Does she know that there is a deeply pained world beyond the Westchester County border just a bit north of New York City that benefited little from some fairy-tale place called Camelot and less from well-orchestrated and timed public relations campaigns afforded only by the rich?

Why should Caroline Kennedy be named a U.S. senator? Is it because merit no longer matters? Surely, Kennedy offers the dazzle of an unmistakable surname and the kind of celebrity appeal that seems to follow members of the New York social elite. But for the white ethnics who gave their vote to Democrats on the promise of fairness and merit, Kennedy's star quality may not suffice.

The simple fact is that if the governor passes on other options -- candidates, many of whom serve in Congress and have earned their right to represent New York -- then he does so at his own risk.

In 1964, Robert Kennedy wanted then-Sen. Kenneth Keating's job so badly that he ran for office. President Lyndon Johnson's landslide victory in New York helped Kennedy win the election, but not before the challenger ran a campaign that made its appeal to voters and proved worthy. His niece has done neither. If Kennedy wants to be New York's junior senator, she should stand in line and run for office in 2010.


also, what are new yorkers' feelings on this as well?

Ummm do you guys remember her???

Okay I was going to be discreet and send an email... but heck why not just write a blog! =)

I just got a friend request on facebook from a Jani. On her info it said she was Wash U '04... but i am blanking! I'm usually very good with names and faces, so thats why i'm stumped. Help a sista out before i accept or ignore this request....


I KNOW this is triflin' but humor me, ladies! (And if she friends the rest of yal don't put me on blast!)

Caption This!

Just Googled some images for the last post. This one caught my attention. What do you think this picture is saying?

...aaaaaaaaaaand GO!

Black Girl Gifts?

I'm in a secret Santa grab bag thing at my internship. Each day we give and get a small gift and on Friday we give a larger gift. Monday, I received nothing but Tuesday I received a bag of candy and a copy (as in a printout on regular computer paper) of The Black Women's Creed. I am the only black intern and the only black person in the grab bag. The black staff members chose not to participate for whatever reason. I don't feel one way or another about the creed but it's a little strange to get gifts like this from white people. These indirect comments about my race only show me that it is an issue for them or is that was it means to be multicultural? A Christmas card would have sufficed. Today, I received some candy. I'm waiting to see how the rest of the week goes and what I will get as a final gift.

My supervisor also bought all of the interns gifts. From what I can tell, everyone received a GAP scarf. I received a GAP (RED) scarf. Maybe I'm looking too deeply at that one but I'm wondering if this has happened to anyone else.

Has anyone received a black girl gift? If so, please share your stories.

You Know You Used to Sing This Song in the Mirror!