Posts filed under 'China'
Serena and Venus $50 mil…but not half of what they should… O’mama… Michelle…war…
While the Obamas have been taking Europe by storm 
the Williams sisters, Venus and Serena have been hard at it on the courts.
Just finished reading that between them Venus and Sererna have amassed 
over $50 million in tournament earnings. Wow…that really should 
motivate some people to get up and go out and learn how to play tennis…big time. However, as strong as they may be on the court the endorsement dollars still have not totally represented who they are and their standing in the tennis world.
Considering the fact that there are other players who have yet to see the 
type of wins and tournament money that Venus or Serena have managed to win…yet they have not been able to match their court success with bigger endorsement dollars…unlike some of their white counterparts.
For 
example Maria Sharapova reportedly has earned about $30 million in endorsements while having won only a mere $10+ million in tennis tournament money.
It seems to me that something is terribly wrong with that picture. Considering the fact that Serena Williams most recently became the highest grossing female athlete of all times. Based upon this fact alone the ad agencies and major companies should be running to her to sell or aid in branding their companies and/or products. But this is far from the case.
Perhaps, Venus and Serena aren’t complaining about it. Maybe through the years they have come to grips with the way the world is…and how it operates. But it is a shame that with all their skills and finesse upon the tennis courts…the mega ad deals and corporate sponsorships have not come their way. Clearly they have earned the right to reap the full benefits of their labor…not just the tournament wins…but lots more 
of that other money too.
In her joyous victory over Serena in the Women’s Final, Saturday, Victoria Azarenka of Belarus jumped for joy…she managed to do what many wish to do. She beat Serena. 6-1, 6-1.
Wow…what a lost.
http://www.straitstimes.com/Breaking%2BNews/Sport/Story/STIStory_360463.html
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/othersports/2008976683_digs03.html
This past weekend Serena and Venus had another finals show-down. Playing 
down in Florida in the Sony Erricsson tournament, They played hard…and in the end Serena won over Venus, 6-4, 3-6, 6-3…in the Women’s Semi-Finals.
It is amazing how they can compete against one another and not let it interfere with their love, appreciation and respect for 
one another. It is just amazing…truly in their own rights they are not only great sports women but also fantastic role models for how siblings should feel about and treat one another.
Oftentimes, when one isn’t playing…the other is up in the 
stands cheering on and rallying support for her sister…which ever one it may be whether she is awaiting her turn to play…or out of the tournament because she lost. As well as, their mother, Oracene, and other family members…including 
their father…who by this time has probably married his young girlfriend (that is in another blog along with a picture or 2). As he had planned their wedding for the end of March or sometime during the first of April.
Of which…being that the young woman isn’t much older than them…or somewhere near Venus’ age…and for other obvious reasons the girls…Venus and Serena were not quite tickled pink at the announcement that their father was heading to the altar with the young woman whom he has been seeing for some time now. And it seems that she loves to shop…which means…spending their money.
Mighty Michelle…that is the name that the folks abroad have dubbed
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her. She was indeed stunning…with beauty and brains to match it is hard to 
beat First Lady Michelle Obama. And with his hand in hers…and hers in his they looked liked 2 teenagers in love over in Europe.
It is marvelous to see a man and woman who obviously love each very much that every chance they get they find a way to 
connect themselves with one another.
The Queen too was smitten by the Obama aura…something which seems to have swept the world. France’s President Nicolas Sarkozy loves him…and calls Obama friend.
Who would have thought that a man who many had debated whether he would 
be able to answer the call if a call came in the wee hours in 
morn concerning some type of U.S. calamity. They questioned his…what they called ‘his lack of experience.’ They questioned his ability to be able to handle foreign affairs…and how he would be able to handle himself around other world leaders.
Well, Obama put all those fears to rest this past week during 
his first visit to Europe for the G-20 Summit. For a guy who many scoffed at…and grinned over what they called ‘his lack of credentials.’ Told him that ‘he was wet behind the ears.’ I don’t know…but maybe that community organizing stuff that people laughed about paid off this past week…when Obama managed to mediate between a 
riff that developed between France and China during the summit…when both men became angry at one another and were nearly about to fight.
Obama not only managed to calm them both down but also got them talking and they came to some type of an agreement.
You know what?
There are benefits to learning how to work with people in the community 
that can really pay off when you come together with world leaders…and it is
called knowing how to break up a fight…how to negoiate…and things like that. You can’t learn that sitting in some office shoving papers all day and playing like politics is all there is.
Imagine…at his first time on the world stage as 
President of the United States, President Obama brokered a peace agreement between 2 nations…that were well on their way to disrupting the entire G-20 Summit by having a fist fight. That’s pretty good. Better than good…for a man who many questioned whether or not he was qualified.
http://www.businessweek.com/ap/financialnews/D97AHEDG1.htm
At the location where I am currently working to launch my website…there is this guy name Josh, who coincidently shares my birth date…he was telling me the most interesting story about his little niece, who happens to be the apple of his eye. He says that every time she sees Obama on the television she begins pointing at the television screen saying gleefully-
“O’mama…O’mama…”
She is only about 2 years old…and can’t pronounce ‘Obama.’
Well, that will clearly change as she grows up. She will learn in history that one of them started the war and that other one put an end to it. As I am sure that the history books will be filled with information on the controversy that the Iraqi War brought not only to this country but around the world.
After 8 days of trying to re-new the spirit and trust of foreign leaders in this country…Obama paid a surprise visit to Iraq. There is something about going somewhere in order to get the full impact of the real situation. I found that out for myself following my mother’s passing.
I had relied upon others…my siblings…as we spoke on the phone or during my weekly visits home…which would always be on one of my days off from my job…but I depended upon others to be my source for what was happening at home…in the house with my father once my mother had passed. I never would have believed that the sources of my information were anything but truthful. It was not until I was forced to go home to stay amid my father being what literally amounted to kidnapped…by another sibling (who was more interested in his money than him)…that I found out the truth…and nothing but the truth…as it started to be revealed to me slowly over time.
Had I never been forced to return home…I would still be living in oblivion and listening to lies about what was really going on at home.
Going and seeing for himself…was something that yes…President Obama had to do. And judging by the pictures…the troops were happy to see him…greet him…and take pictures of him. All of which was something I never saw in any of the media stuff when Bush went to Iraq.
The job that those young people and others have been forced to do was 
huge and the outcome was never one that was going to be good. For one thing though no one says it…it was an act of aggression on the part of the George Bush Administration to initiate a strike against a country that posed no possible immediate threat or otherwise to us. Thus, there was and is no way that what started off as being bad in the first place could possibly be turned around…as nobody who lost their life…or a limb…or mental or physical state of being…or other problems or complications due to that war…there is never any way that they…or their families…or their love ones will ever be the same. Nor this country…but perhaps somebody thought this when we dropped that bomb on Hiroshima …and then on Nagasaki.
When President Harry Truman, in August of 1945, made the decision to bomb Hiroshima and Nagasaki following the bombing of Pearl Harbor. Like Bush…Truman had committed political suicide by believing war and killing people is the real show of power. Truman’s fear of communism…the Red Threat…and whatever else that was running through his head at the time…including like Bush…he too had a plunging voter approval rating.
It is interesting how past Presidents used war like some type of commodity to use at will…as a means of vamping up their voter approval. War to them has long been held as a means of engendering country loyalty and solidarity. And they used war also as a means of creating jobs…and all with little care for the lives these wars would exact in return.
The unleashing of the single most dangerous weapon known to all of mankind…the atomic bomb by Truman was the most atrocious thing that any country could do to any group of people. And from that time to this…this country has sought to wide the memory of it from history.
To view just DOUBLE CLICK the LINK BELOW…ignore the text.
It is my hope that such weapons are totally removed from society…as the technology is entirely too dangerous…to even be used as an energy source. And as it renders those countries which have it trying to monitor and prohibit others from obtaining it…which speaks to the fact that the world would be a far better place without nuclear weapons.
But I applaud President Obama for being strong willed about bringing to an end a war that never should have been started in the first place.
http://www.defenselink.mil/news/newsarticle.aspx?id=53820
http://www.miamiherald.com/news/world/story/989579.html
http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/world/la-fg-obama-iraq8-2009apr08,0,642881.story
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090409/ap_on_re_af/piracy
I really do not know how long the Somali pirates believe that they can continue to interfere with the waterways by pirating ships?
At some point somebody…some country will not take it. And frankly, I do not believe that Obama is somebody to be played with. I know that there might be those of you who have a different opinion of him…but I can tell that he is nice and easy-going as long as you do not cross him. It was in the way he looked into the camera and kind of smiled one morning…though you knew he really wasn’t smiling…and then he said-
“Leave my wife and my children alone.”
You do remember that…that is when the Republican party during the campaigning period decided to go after Michelle Obama. Once Obama stared into that camera and said what he had to say…that campaign launched against Michelle Obama came to an abrupt halt. An immediate halt. I couldn’t blame them…you could tell that Obama meant business. And that is why I say-
“Obama is not a man to be played with.”
Yes, he can kid and joke with the best of them. But for anybody who believes there is not another side to him…look out. Everybody has another side…even me. And as kind as I am (lol)…I have scared my share of people…and
still do…when I have taken all that I was or am going to take.
It would be very foolish of the people of Somali to believe that the events that happened when that Black Hawk aircraft was shot down in their country years ago under Carter…will ever be allowed to be repeated again…with them dragging the bodies of Americans through their streets.
No…I don’t think so. America is not going to take that twice.
First Lady Obama, Michelle’s mother, Marian Robinson, is gracing the pages of Essence magazine. Didn’t like the make-up job though…or maybe it was the photoshop touch-up…but she is still beautiful. And Michelle 
looks just as beautiful sitting beside her mother.
I have said it before…and I am going to say it again.
“What a family.”
It is great to see the type of black families I have known all my life finally hit mainstream media in a continuous manner.
http://cosmos.bcst.yahoo.com/up/player/popup/?rn=3906861&cl=12897430&ch=4226714&src=news
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090409/ap_on_re_us/meltdown_shriners_hospitals
I think that the above story is sad. The Shriners Hospitals are really just too valuable to allow them to close…even one of their facilities much less 5 of 
them. There must be someone who is capable of aiding them. The number of children who need special medical care is growing…and the Shriners Hospitals because they are made to service children their medical facilities are happier and brighter places for children who have to be hospitalized due to a variety illnesses and accidents…burn victims etc… And can provide them with long care treatment right in their hospitals.
I have a younger cousin who fell out of a 3 story window years ago. She had to spend a very long time in the Shriners Hospital here. The injury impacted her growth andshe had other medical problems which were brought about due to that 
fall. It caused her to have to stay there for quite a while. That hospital provided for her a happy atmosphere with a great team of care providers who really know how to deal with every need of children from fear…to tears.
There have often been times when I wished I had money…so I could give it away. This is one of those times. I would give it to them.
I never knew that they offered their services for free. Wow…all the more 
reason to give.
If you would like to make a donation or contribution…you can do so via their website… http://www.shrinershq.org/
Or by contacting: Shriners International Headquarters
2900 Rocky Point Dr. Tampa, FL 33607
813.281.0300
Well, today is so beautiful…that I shouldn’t even tell you about it. But just keep it to myself…and not share it with anyone…as if I could bottle it up and store it somewhere.
Was in New York yesterday. Bought some things for Easter. I decided that I wanted something new and springy. So, I settled on something yellow and can’t wait to get my hair done and put on my new earrings and new wears.
I am looking forward to Easter…not because I want to show off some new clothes…but because I am just so thankful that God loved us enough to endow us with a special gift…his son. And that his son in turn loved us so much…that he laid down his life that we might live…might walk in liberty and free from the yokes and bondage of all the things we once allowed to hold us hostage. And if you did not understand that…you should get yourself a Bible and begin to search it out for yourself. It is something that I am still doing…and have no doubt that I will be doing for the rest of my life. Continuing to read and search it out for myself.
Well, enjoy your Easter…remember Him and eat an 
Easter egg for me.
And to all of those of you abroad serving this country with pride and dignity…I wish you well. And with God’s speed hopefully you will soon be home.
Well, it is just about Easter…
God bless…
Thank you for reading this blog…and my others. Please be sure to continue to share this blog site with your family, co-workers and all your friends…
“pass it on…” www.bsmith101.wordpress.com ©2009
Add comment April 10, 2009
More on the Olympics… Jamaica, yes…
What a season for Jamaica. They are
takin
g the Track & Field events by storm… from Usain Bolt…the lightening bolt..
.to Jamaica’s other lightening bolts…the ladies on the track…Veronica Campbell, Shelly Ann Fraser, Sherone Simpson, Kerron Stewart etc…etc…
CLICK the following LINK BELOW to see the Lightening Bolt take the 400 meters in Bijing.
http://newscenter.zideo.nl/index.php? Shelly Ann Fraser taking the gold followed by Jamaica also tying for double silver.
http://www.csmonitor.com/2008/0628/p01s01-woam.html
Jamaica went crazy seeing Bolt take gold in the 200 meters…CLICK BELOW to watch.
Shelly Ann Fraser
http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2008/olympics/2008/08/21/jamaica.200.ap/index.html
http://cosmos.bcst.yahoo.com/up/player/popup/?rn=207187&cl=9413754&ch=6527422&src=sports
http://www.jamaica-gleaner.com/gleaner/20080814/sports/sports2.html
http://voices.washingtonpost.com/olympics/2008/08/track_flash_americans_jamaican.html
http://www.nationalpost.com/sports/beijing-games/story.html?id=737528
Audio only on the next clip…but well worth listening to as they call the race.
Now, watch it below…
This is so much fun. I enjoy putting these things together…and I hope that you are enjoying it as well.
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,404804,00.html
http://www.spikesmag.com/news/usainboltfliestoolympicdoublein1930125.aspx
http://www.nydailynews.com/ny_local/2007/12/09/2007-12-09_jamaican_track_star_remembered.html
http://www.csmonitor.com/2008/0628/p01s01-woam.html#
http://www.radiojamaica.com/content/view/10935/48/
A few positive words from USA’s Allyson Felix on being positive and believing in yourself.
You have got to watch this clip below…and I only thought they won metals that went around their necks. Wooa!
Some pre-warm up tips from Sanya Richardson.
Thanks, Sanya…good looking out. We appreciate the tips.
Most have been disenchanted with the coverage of the Track & Field events which always draw huge amounts of interest…but unfortunately NBC felt it was much more important to watch Michael Phelps…following and watching his every move…rather than to watch records being broken in other equally important events…and of interest to wider audiences than swimming. Causing many who would have loved to see some of these other records being shattered in other sporting events to have missed out.
http://cosmos.bcst.yahoo.com/up/player/popup/?rn=207187&cl=9335715&ch=6527422&src=sports
In other Track & Field news at the Bijing Olympics…Bryan Clay, USA, is working his way towards his decathlon metal. CLICK LINKS BELOW to read more on that. the.honoluluadvertiser.com/…/01/sp/sp02a.html http://sports.yahoo.com/olympics/beijing/track_field/news;_ylt=AjsXbQYKTOdCPXWpgcM.Q_fQ1Zl4?slug=ap-ath-trackandfield-heats&prov=ap&type=lgns
More USA Track & Field news…both the men and women relay teams dropped the baton during the 400 relay…CLICK LINK BELOW to read more on the story….
http://sports.yahoo.com/olympics/beijing/track_field/news?slug=ap-ath-relays&prov=ap&type=lgns
http://www.nbcolympics.com/trackandfield/news/newsid=242887.html?_source=rss&cid=
Well, if you have spent the past week getting your sport’s craze on…good for you. There has been much to digest…and it has been exciting…seat clutching in fact. And if you are like you have can’t get enough of Track & Field. Well, I hope that this blog along with my other one on the Olympics has aided in some small way to help you get your dose of sports…and caught you up on things that you may have missed.
And as I close…don’t forget…to ‘pass it on’ www.bsmith101.wordpress.com …God bless and have a beautiful day tomorrow.
I’m suppose to be working on my book, THE BISHOP’S WIFE. But I can’t stand hold ups. When I finish a thang I finish it…and move on to the next thing. I don’t like having to come back unless there is 
some type of benefit to doing so…in this case there was. But it doesn’t mean I don’t hate it nonetheless. But this delay has probably saved me a lot of money. In fact, it has saved me money…at corrections costing $2/per correction…then consider me being ahead of the game.
I caught stuff this time that would have definitely sicken me if my book had been published with them. Even with these blogs…I have to keep going over and over them…often resting between reading them…so, that I can read them with a fresh eye. That way my mind won’t read the text as I believed how it typed it…but as it is.
It is not easy…so, bare with me.
Follow your dreams…and hold fast to your vision.
Finally, took an iron tablet today…can’t remember when last I took one. I am trying to be diligent in taking them…but sometimes I just forget. Then as my energy level sinks, I remember them. But I thank God that all I need is a little iron tablet. I am bless…and hope that you are too. ©2008
Add comment August 21, 2008
Olympics 2008… Williams’ …Track & Field, baby
The Bijing Olympics Games 2008 are almost over…and to date we’ve have only grabbed 22 gold metals compared to China’s 39…and Great Britain l2. If 
you have been like me and haven’t watched any of Olmpics yet…it is till not too late. There are still plenty of events straight through to the 24th of this month.
1. Track & Field
2. Basketball
3. Canoeing
4. Equestrian
5. Gymnastics
6. Swimming
7. Volley Ball
8. Diving
CLICK BELOW for scheduling of events….
http://www.chinaorbit.com/2008-olympics-china/olympics-2008-timetable.html
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=92642187
For their second time in the Olympics, Serena and Venus have walked off the courts with the gold in the Women’s Double’s match…they walked all 
over the competition delivering 6-2, 6-0 to take home the gold.
And if you’re like me…and missed them during the Olympics…but can’t get enough of the Williams’…here’s something for your Williams sisters’ habit.
Just love those Williams sisters…Venus and Serena. Now, that is what I call family…and as all families should be. CLICK BELOW for the full story.
http://www.latimes.com/sports/olympics/la-sp-olytennis18-2008aug18,0,2450347.story
Cannot close without mentioning a little Track & Field…just lov
e the sport. In fact, many would not believe this…but when I was growing up…I used to fantasize about being a Track and Field star.
Well, lets face it if you’re going to fantasize…why not put yourself at the very top. So, yes…star. And I really really did fantasize about it…and often. In 9th Grade, I was the fastest girl in my class. During gym…as a warm up the teacher would take us outside (our
school had a track) and he would have us all line up and then count us down to ‘go.’ For the first 50 yards…no one could catch me…but I would always be the last one walking around track…into the finish. But I prided myself on that first 50 yards…I could not be caught.
Once my father took us out to one of the local tracks and raced us. He shouted ‘go’ and let us all start running before he started running…but once he started running he blew right pass us. I recall feeling the win
d as he sweep pass me, my other sisters and brothers. I will never forget that day…because I never knew daddy could run. But he’s a Jamaican…and even though he was years older than us…and we were not young kids when he did it…nevertheless, he beat us ha
nds down. I marvelled at it…I was amazed by it…I thought about it all the way home as daddy drove us first to get some ice cream cones, and then home from the track. I wondered how he had done it. And when I say ‘flew pass us’…you would’ve had to have been there. It was definitely one for the books. Today, when I think back on it…and realize that maybe I could have been that Track & Field star…as speed evidently was and is in my genes. “Go, Jamaica!”
Boy, I could have been a Wilma Rupdol
ph or an Evelyn Ashford…Flo-jo…Marlene Ottey…if only somebody could have seen my potential. I could have been the Tiger Woods…Venus and Serena…Cullen Jones…all wrapped in one of the track. And yes…as you see I am still fantasizing. But I could have been it though…I could have… I know I could have.
http://www.2point6billion.com/2008/08/14/asians-win-31-gold-at-the-olympics/
Jamaica…1-2 & 2…in for gold and a tie for double silver…what an Olympic story. Go Jamaica…go!
http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/olympics_blog/2008/08/jamaicans-1-2-3.html
http://sports.yahoo.com/olympics/beijing/track_field/news?slug=ap-ath-mens200&prov=ap&type=lgns
More men track & field events….
And of course Cullen Jones…taking home his gold…
To read more regarding the Bijing Games CLICK on the LINKS below…and check out the info on the Women’s and Men’s basketball beneath it.
Congratulations to Lisa Leslie and American Women’s Basketball team from bringing home yet another gold metal…their 6th total…straight. Go, USA!
http://www.abc.net.au/olympics/
http://news.yahoo.com/fc/Sports/Olympics
http://sports.yahoo.com/olympics/beijing
http://edition.cnn.com/SPECIALS/2008/news/olympics/
http://www.nytimes.com/pages/olympics2008/index.html
http://www.examiner.com/x-426-Sports-Examiner
Women’s basketball…
http://www.lsusports.net/SportSelect.dbml?DB_OEM_ID=5200&KEY=&SPID=2167&SPSID=27830
http://www.cbc.ca/olympics/basketball/story/2008/08/11/olympics-basketball-women.html?ref=rss
Men’s b-ball…
http://www.sportsline.com/olympics
http://www.usabasketball.com/news.php?news_page=2008molyschd
Enjoy your day…and the Olympics.
Bring home the gold…
Had a busy weekend. But it was a good weekend…I am paying for it now. But I won’t regret it.
Be encouraged…love the Lord…and always believe. God bless…
And keep reading…thank you for reading.
And I do hope that some of this is making sense to you…if so ‘pass it on…’ www.bsmith101.wordpress.com ©2008
Don’t forget that your vote counts…so, please get registered if you are not. And if you are registered…stop by your local Voter Registration Office to double check on your registration…so, there won’t be any surprise
s on Election Day. It has happened to me a couple of times. Once they claim I hadn’t filled out a US Census form…and I hadn’t. But did that have to do with my vote? It is a game…to keep down certai
n numbers…any ol’ thing to hinder you. That is what they will do…throw up anything ol’ thang to stop you from voting. So, don’t be hindered…double check your registration before November just to ensure you won’t have any problems casting your vote come Election Day November 2008. ©2008
Add comment August 18, 2008
Cullen Jones, Venus & Serena …Michelle O
It’s 4:00 and I’m just getting up. Didn’t go to sleep until after I mopped the kitchen and bathroom early this morning and scrubbed down the tub. Sometimes you just can’t sleep until you have done some things…and that was after 5 AM this morning.
I guess I sho
uld have turned on the television yesterday so I could have seen Cullen Jones shatter the World Record at the Olympics in China. He is classified as the fastest swimmer in the world…#1, baby. Ching-ching…I hear the cash registers now.
And they said we couldn’t swim.
Born in the Bronx…as in New York City…all the more reason why he should not be a swimmer…but maybe a ball handler.
So much for stereotyping.
New York is known as the concrete jungle…simply because there isn’t much green. Few trees, grass, parks etc. But plenty of playgrounds and basketball courts. It is a wonder that more champion basketball players don’t come from it…which by the way is the home of LaBron James…Brooklyn in the house.
Raised in New Jersey…Irvington…which at one point was rated as the having the higest rate of auto thief in the U.S. It’s part of the Newark, East Orange part of Jersey…and it can be very rough.
Did I say can?
It is very rough.
In fact it is so rough…that Whitney Houston made a point of reminding Wendy Williams that she was from Newark.
When I heard Whitney say that…I had to laugh…because I knew what it meant. It meant that Whitney was not afraid of storming up into that radio station and taking care of Wendy on-air or off of it. That is how those folk in Newark think…those Jersey people. They are rough.
I never really listened to this Wendy and Whitney interview (all the way through) until after I posted this blog…and though I am not a cursing woman…and hate to hear such language…I can only say that one day Whitney will look back (as many of us have) and wished she could remove all of these things which are in the public domain…because she will regret them. Maybe the not telling off of Wendy part…but she will regret the state that she was in at the time.
I know a changed Whitney Houston is going to emerge one day…one who will proclaim that this was who she was…’but today I am a new creature through my Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ.’ And she shall walk in the steps that God has ordered for her.
Once I started looking up in youtube for the Whitney stuff and Wendy…I could not resist these other videos.
Let me take the time to say that I am praying for Whitney Houston who after a 
concert at Radio City (some years ago) where I had an opportunity to be at the after party…and everybody who is anybody was there…LaToya Jackson, Cicely Tyson…I can’t even think of half of the people who were there…just everybody…Stevie…every artists and New York City media person and politician etc. All of them clamoring for a piece of Whitney. She was the diva of the hour. In demand at every turn. My how they seemed to love her then.
I think back on that night and Whitney’s fall…and all the jokes that have come upon her since having fallen…and I think about how people truly are. Everyone loves you when you’re up…but don’t fall. They’ll make jokes about you and call you outside of your name. There is something about kicking people when they are down…that so many seem to love to 
do. I suspect it all stems from some level of envy of the person while they were up…and of course, there is money in being mean…just ask Wendy.
It is sad…I pray that Whitney’s life will turn drastically around and that she will become a true witness and testimony about the goodness of God…because He is capable of doing all things. I can say this because I know what He did for me.
How could I have been so deep into lesbianism…and yet He pulled me out…and turned me around?
I was far from seeking a change in my life…but God wasn’t.
I see it in her…Whitney…particularly in that youtube clip where she talks about her daughter…of one day sitting back and seeing her daughter as a woman of God. That speaks volumes…for Whitney and the training that her mother instilled in her.
***She is on her way back!!!
Praise the Lord.
I serve a God who can do all things…but fail. I am happy to see that 
Whitney is getting her life back on track. And hopefully at some point that she will begin to walk in the steps that God has ordered for her life.
Though you can see the scars from the years of the drug abuse…but she looks great… and more and more like her aunt…Dionne.
The prayers of the righteous availeth much.
Now back to Cullen…that other person from New Jersey…the Jersey boy…or should I say young man who will be coming home an Olympic Champion…and had left for China as already being one.
I used to work at a radion station in Jersey, WNJR…and had to go through those mean streets many a days to get to and from work. Newark…Irvington…Union and the Oranges are no joke…New York was a lot milder.
Ranked #1 in the world the 50 meters freestyle, Cullen already has a 7 year deal with Nike which is
reportedly worth more than $2 million. Not bad for a bright young man with some really fast swimming skills.
At 24 years of age…Cullen having broken 3 world records can look forward to many more endorsements…which will surely be for quite a lot more money since he will be returning home all wrapped in gold after last night’s race through that beautiful water of that Olympic pool in China…and the team gold he also managed to acquire.
An English Major with a Minor in Psychology from North Carolina State he is said to be very humble. And he is a champion who wants to give back to his community and that is oh so…so important.
Cullen is to be saluted…for his valour, his devotion, his God given skills, humility and generosity of spirit…a real champion. His mother and father taught him well.
Serena and Venus have won 3. On Tuesday they won in their singles matches and in their doubles game. CLICK below to read more.
http://sports.yahoo.com/olympics/beijing/tennis/news?slug=ap-ten-tennis&prov=ap&type=lgns
Shame on China for deciding that one little girl was not good looking enough…but that she had a great voice. So, they elected to allow a more visually attractive little girl to lip-sync while the other little girl, 7 years old, with her crooked teeth and lack of stage presence was hid away from the public eye…as she sung their Olympic song.
What a sad story that is. And that 7 year old will probably grow up to be such a beauty…and still have a fantastic voice…probably even better. And she’ll have the last laugh then.
What a disgrace for China.
http://sports.yahoo.com/olympics/news?slug=ap-china-lip-synchedsong&prov=ap&type=lgns
http://cosmos.bcst.yahoo.com/up/player/popup/?rn=207187&cl=9247790&ch=6527422&src=sports
The Democratics are getting ready for the Democratic National Convention set to kic
k off on August 25th in Denver, CO. During the first night of the convention Michelle Obama is set to be speaking.
I guess I will have to turn on the television…I do not want to miss a minute of the convention. This is as much history in the making as when the founding fathers decided how this country was going to be run…and formed the policies for its operation…called the Constitution of the United States.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080812/ap_on_el_pr/democratic_convention_speakers
Xia xia…that’s is Chinese for thanks or thank you…for reading. And pass it on… www.bsmith101.wordpress.com to all your friends, family and foe. Enjoy the rest of your day…and God bless… ©2008
Add comment August 12, 2008
John Edwards… biggest con job …Hayes & Mac
For some reason I just can’t get out of my head how John Edwards had me 
completely fooled.
It has to be the biggest political con job in the world.
I will tell you this…if I had known anything about that video footage that that woman had shot of John behind the scene…I would have been able to tell that he was not what he projected in public…on the political stage.
Where I had thought him quiet and comtemplative…in the footage he is chatty and laughs a lot…such as the time where he is in the car and tells how he told the television host that if he were going to run for President then he would announce it on his show. In that sequence…you see a John Edwards who marvels at his own craftiness…something that you totally would not expect of him. Then there is another sequence where he looks into the camera playfully teasing with the woman (Rielle Hunter) and calles her ‘camera-girl.’
Yes, in that footage of him behind the scenes…you do see a side of Edwards that you didn’t know was there.
It would seem that the person whom I thought he was…was really just a fake.
Media is a great tool…but you better know how to use it. And use it wisely.
If you are going to have a camera following you shooting behind the scene footage of you as a mean of aiding in people getting to know you…you better not forget that there is a camera there catching your every nuance and word.
In fact, if a camera is there…you better remember that you are still on stage. Something that Jesse Jackson, I think, recently just learned.
But Edwards…I thought he was a family guy.
I thought his wife was his childhood sweetheart…and the only woman he had ever known.
Well…that is what he made it sound like every time I ever heard him tell the story.
The Nightline interview was a disaster for poor John…whom you got the idea that maybe his wife told him she wasn’t going on the show with him. When he tried to explain her not being there…he stammered and studdered through it…which is something he did through much of that interview.
Finally, poor John just broke down saying he was a man who needed to do it alone…talking about the interview. And I am sure he was right…as it seems he had no problem doing a lot of other things alone…I mean without his wife.
A novice filmmaker whom Edwards met in a bar in New York City, Rielle Hunter managed to land a job on Edwards’ staff during his 2004 bid for the White House. And he paid her $100,014.00 to do it…to shoot behind the scene video footage???
Hiring that woman…putting her upon his payroll was more than a one time thing…she got to fly around the world with him pretending to just be shooting behind the scene video footage.
For Edwards to claim that being 99% honest is not enough…shows just how far off the mark he really is.
What kind of a dumb statement is that?
Ninety-nine per-cent?
His claims of no affair…and not being unfaithful to his wife…were 100% untrue. He wasn’t even 1% honest. So, how could he lay claim to being 99% honest…when he was not being honest at all?
What a con job.
What a con job.
To read and see more on this CLICK the 2 LINKS below and then check out the youtube footage.
http://cosmos.bcst.yahoo.com/up/player/popup/?rn=3906861&cl=9217808&ch=4226716&src=news
http://cosmos.bcst.yahoo.com/up/player/popup/?rn=3906861&cl=9217808&ch=4226716&src=news
How do you throw away everything just like that?
People do it everyday…they just take everything and flush it down the toilet for something that later on they mostly all come to regret…all for a few moments fleeting of supposed ecstasy.
Being in media as a woman you come in contact with a lot of men. Sometimes it can be quite sickening. There seems to be something inside men that can’t stop them from trying to chase down women…young and old…or no matter what they look like. And, of course, the opposite can sometimes be equally as true of some women chasing down men…particularly rich and powerful men…or men in the arts and media.
But lets stick with men for the moment…maybe it is a thing of trying to see if they still have it going on. Who knows.
Sometimes it is just about seeing how many women they can get sexually.
I recall getting into a cab and the cabby telling me out of the clear blue sky that he was not one of those 30 second men.
I acted as those I had not heard him…and never commented on the subject.
He was not a bad looking guy…but why bring up something like that?
I recall once in New York City having to rush a package to Fedex on 42nd Street…as it was the last Fedex office open any where in the city at that hour…and my package needed to be in the mail and postmarked by midnight.
I jumped into the cab in the Wall Street area and asked the cabby to rush.
Through the whole ride, from Wall Street to mid-town, the cabby was try
ing to seduce me. He would not hear anything I was saying…no matter how many ways I said ‘no.’
When I was getting out of the cab to rush inside Fedex, he took my money asking me-
“Do you want me to wait?”
And I said, “No, it is going to take me a while.”
“That’s okay. I don’t mind waiting.”
That cabby waited and waited.
Once I was through getting my package off…I stood inside wondering what I was going to do…as I could clearly see the cab outside throught the window of the Fedex office…he was really waiting on me.
Of all the women in New York…why me?
Luckily that Fedex office stayed open through the night and there was a bus stop right outside it’s door.
A group of people were waiting on the bus…and as the bus pulled up…I dashed out of the Fedex office and leaped on the bus to the nearest train station so I could jump the train to Brooklyn.
Talk about ‘Sex n da City.’
But why are men like that?
I once got a job offer to do radio…I forget where really but it was somewhere South. The radio station manager/program director and I were talking on the phone trying to work out all the particulars for my arrival…when I asked-
“So, where will I be staying?”
“I thought you could stay with me until we can find you a place.”
He went on to tell me about his house and how much room he had.
There went that job.
That was it for him. Needless to say…I never set one foot in that radio station or his house. But thank God he had be truthful in saying what he did…otherwise I may have been stuck.
Enjoy you day. and God bless….
Oh, yeah. I’m usually excited about the Olympics but this year for whatever reason I could care less. Haven’t turned on the television one time to watch anything…and probably won’t. May regret it…but for some reason I am just not interested.
Can’t believe that Issac Hayes, 65, just died. And right after Bernie Mack, 50. They 
say that death comes in 3’s.
I have 2 funerals this week that I must attend. Thursday is the funeral for my friend whom I informed you in earlier blogs that we believed that she was in the process of passing. The following day after she had passed I received a call that a cousin in Florida had just passed, as well. I am happy for them both to released from the cares and pain of this world. As I know that in the end they both were suffering and had lingered in states that they really didn’t want to be in.
It is so hard to loose love ones. It is hard to see someone suffer…and get so far down that they can nothing for themselves.
My friend whom we had believed was passing had gotten into a state where she could not walk, eat or talk…and had become bed ridden. It was hard seeing someone who had been so active and alert in that state…someone with whom I had shared some much and her with me. I 
wanted to take her out of the rehab center and take her for one last drive around the city…but I was told she was unable to leave.
All I could think about was giving her one last time out in the fresh air.
When I was in LA…one morning we went for brunch on Sunset Blvd at some vegetarian place. We were seated at the table…and I heard a voice. The voice caught my hear and it was right beside me.
I knew immediately who it was…I afterall had played his music over the radio airwaves for years. And at college when his ‘Black Moses’ album came out…if you worked overnight…or late into the AM…we would just put it on and let the whole side play.
When I heard the voice I didn’t dare look over. I looked down instead. And there to my surprise was this long leg stretched over near me…with a loose sandal on its foot.
I knew that voice anywhere…and had often debated who was greater…more talented…him or Barry White.
It was of course, Issac Hayes. He was seated at the table with a white woman…who I thought was an agent or PR person…as they were talking business.
I could not believe that I was in LA…and seated right next to me was Issac Hayes…the Black Moses. And when I say seated next to me…he wasn’t even 5 inches away.
I didn’t say anything to him…we never interrupted him…as I made everyone at the table aware that I was sitting next to Issac Hayes.
You don’t interrupt the Black Moses.
Then a few weeks after getting back into New York…there was that voice again. He was now on my radio…aiding in doing the KISS-FM morning radio show…Issac Hayes, Linda Tripp and the whole 98.7 FM morning crew.
Sorry, but 
I don’t have any Bernie Mack stories except I liked his TV show…the few times I had an opportunity to watch it. It definitely was an intelligent program that not only entertained but tried to pass along a lesson or 2…Bernie style.
There is much death all about.
The Bible says…we know not when…or where.
Thanks for reading. and pass it on…share this blog address with all your friends and family…and anybody and everybody else…. www.bsmith101.wordpress.com pass it on…and have a beautiful day.
Don’t forget that if you are not registered to vote…please get out and get registere
d…and take everybody with you who you know is not…or bring them back the registration forms to get registered. And we will see you all in the voting booth come November…Obama…all the way!
Add comment August 11, 2008
It hurts sometimes… but you just have to say it
Let me apologize to all the office workers out there…because the worker who was trying to help me…well, she was right.
I had it all messed up. Sent them the wrong forms and everything.
So, office worker’s of America…I apologize. It is not always you. Nor is it always your fault. But sometimes it is us. (you can read my last blog to get the whole story)
I was talking with a friend most recently who told me that I rarely think that I am ever 
wrong.
Which is definitely not the case.
Only a fool would think that. And there are a lot of people who believe that they are never wrong…but I am not one of them.
Not only can I be wrong…but I have done some stupid things in my life. Said some things…that I should not have. Acted in ways…that I wouldn’t have liked to acted but did.
That is why growing up is so important. Accepting responsibility is a very necessary factor…and just being able to say-
“I was wrong.”
Or yes…even, “I’m sorry.”
Sometimes if you just say it to nobody but yourself…
“I was wrong.”
It is better than never saying it at all.
But here is one that really should be said as often as you can.
“I love you.”
And to as many people as you can say it to…with truth.
The Olympics start tomorrow. I understand that there are some issues with smog. Some of the athletes are even wearing facial masks in order try to keep out the pollution. Though the Chinese Government says that there is no reason for alarm or concern. They, however, placed a ban on their over 3.3 million
vehicles on the road by drasticly cutting the number of vehicles they will allow to operate on the roadways during the Olympic Games.
http://sports.yahoo.com/olympics/news?slug=ap-ioc-pollution&prov=ap&type=lgns
Just a little tidbit on the effects of bad quality air.
When I was in LA for the first few days it didn’t bother me…but as the days worn on. I started feeling continuously dehydrated. I could not get enough to drink. I didn’t know what it was. Then physically I started feeling sluggish…like my energy level was way down.
It was the smog. And LA is loaded with it…you can see it.
When you are accustom to breathing that in everyday…of course, it won’t have any effect upon you. Because your system is use to it…and your body has adapted to it. But coming from the East Coast….no, baby.
It bothered me. And the effects of it were very real.
Well, thanks for reading. ….and God bless.
Oh, yes.
I’ve got to get you ready for November. Please at some point just drop by City Hall and double check your voter registration. There is nothing as frustrating as waiting in line to place your vote…and then being told that there is some kind of problem.
One time it was because I hadn’t filled out some consensus form which had bee
n sent to the house. And another time…I can’t even remember what that was about.
But both times I was prohibited from voting. These are the kind of things which come up and can make a large difference in whose votes get counted and whose 
don’t.
So, before November run into your local Voter Registration Office and just double check your status…to ensure that you vote gets into the mix and is counted.
And while you are in that office grab up some voter registration forms to pass out to all your relatives and friends…get it back from them and take them to the voter registry yourself. Lets get everybody registered and out to vote this coming November.
And don’t forget to pass it on…. Why not share me with all your friends and family etc…etc…? www.bsmith101.wordpress.com ©2008
Add comment August 7, 2008
