I have been thinking about Kim Burrell since my son made mention to me about her crossing-over into secular music.  From gospel artist to jazz diva…or R&B mama…I don’t know… But I find it hard to wrap my mind around it. 

Why would anyone want to give up on the Lord and go search out something else?

To me all I can think is that she sold her soul for a contract and a hope for a few  more dollars. 

When you sit down…when you think about it…her rep and CD sales were not shabby gospelwise.   So, then why the cross-over?

http://www.prleap.com/pr/146391/

Why did Kim decide that she wanted to forsake gospel music for something more inclined to not be accepted by the gospel community…something like going ’secular?’

Maybe she feels that if  Sam Cooke could do it…and do it… I guess by some reports…that  he did so successfully… then maybe she could… or can do it  too.   But  Sam died young.  I  think he ended up being  shot to death.

And that is why I would never turn my back on the Lord.  The Bible tells  us  that it is better to have never known Him…than to turn away from him.

If   Whitney Houston knows better…and I feel she does…how  then can Kim Burrell who professed to be saved…then how can she be so backward in her thinking?

And Whitney does know better.  Whitney has always added bits and pieces of  gospel to her repertoire.  And  just  the other day…I heard Patti singing a duo with the Queen of   Gospel  Music… Shirley Caesar…and they really were singing that song.  So much  so that I had to get up and write  down the name of the song so I could look for it and buy it.

Gospel music is definitely where the money is.   The only people who are making money in secular music right  now and for some time now  have been and are rappers.  So, then…what does Kim Burrell hope to obtain by crossing-over? 

Then the other thing most recently Kim was given a very big promotion in the ranks of  the International Church of  God in Christ.  She became the second in command over the cogic international music department…a dream job that many would literally die for.  And here  it is…she  is  going secular?

I know it must mean that she is forsaking this post that had most recently been bestowed upon her.   But if  this has been on her mind…then why did she take on the job in the first place?

I say for the prestiege that went  with it.  She had just gotten the position only a few months ago.  She had to have been thinking about getting her gastric operation…and sexing herself up…way before that.  After all, that operation is not just something you  just  jump up and decide to do overnight.

She can’t  possibly be planning on keeping the post…and be a secular artist…say another Beyonce…too?

Can she?

Though I do honestly believe that some people get involve with a very large organization…such as the Church of  God in Christ…just for the sake of  launching their careers.  Practically everybody in the music industry… singer-wise and musicans…have at some time been in a choir or played in the church band…and many of  them in cogic churches.  You often hear them being interviewed on some  show talking about  their cogic experiences under Dr. Mattie Moss Clark…the Clark Sister’s mother.  And many stars, Grammy and Stellar winners have come out of  the Church of  God in Church…such as… the Clark Sisters just to name one (who since being babies had been involved with the cogic music department).    That list also includes the God Father of  Gospel Music, the late and very great Rev.  Timothy Wright…not to mention Myrna Summers, Rance Allen, Vanessa Bell Armstrong and the list goes on and on…

Though I have to truthfully  say I  have wondered how Bishop Blake could have replaced more than 400 years of  collective experience in the international music department  between Iris Stevenson, Bettye Nelson and the Clark Sisters alone not to mention several others in the cogic international music department… with people who had never even worked in that department before…in its highest positions? 

I am a believer in that old saying…if  it is not broken don’t fix it.   Considering how the cogic international choir has lead the way and set the standards that many other choirs and group follow…  So, why would have Bishop Blake wanted to mess with that?

It just didn’t make sense.  Now, one of people whom he put over that department decides to go secular?

Though I must say that I have never been  big on Kim Burrell.  For one thing I just do not understand why people taunted her…like she was some big singing phenomenon.  Like she was an Aretha Franklin or somebody.  And like she had been around for  years…I just could not understand it.

Maybe it all has to do with the time that Kim came to our church to perform.  It was one of the worst and most un-professional shows or performances I had ever seen any known talent perform.  And it cost our church $5,000…with a demand for a limousine and a 5 star hotel to boot. 

And that $5,000 cost came with no band…but with Kim shouting during the performance to the audio guy way in the back of  the church what tracks  to play as she performed one song after another.

Once somebody told me something.  They were talking about a young rapper…and she said-

“Where did he come from?  It seems to me that he just sprang up on the scene and look at how large he is.  I believe he must have sold his soul to the devil.”

I thought that statement was interesting coming from her…because in all the time we had sat together editing video tape footage I would have never have thought she thought about such things.  Nor did I believe her to be religious.   But it was true…the rapper she was talking about  did spring up overnight and did  seem to  become instantly successful.   That rapper which she was talking about   was  50¢.   And he kept on getting hotter…hotter…and hotter.

I would never want to walk away from following the Lord.  I can’t imagine anything that I would rather not do.   Besides I am fearful of  Him.  But even more I love Him.  I would love Him to be able to trust  me as much as He trusted  Job…and feel that I like Job would never let Him down.

No contract…or hope of supposed fame…or riches could make do what Kim Burrell has decided to do.

And though she said she did the gastric operation for health reasons…   Well, anybody could have told her she needed to shed weight.  I don’t  need anybody to tell me that…much less a doctor.   Everytime I look in the mirror…I get the message.  And this pass weekend  while we were away…the hotel we stayed in had a mirror on the bathroom door.  Well, everytime I sat down on that toilet…I was startled back to reality. 

What  a disaster.

I left that hotel vowing to take it off.  I mean shed it like crazy.  But I am not going lay down on some operating table to do it.  No…I am not.  I know how to set the fork…and push away from the table.   And that is what I intend to do…and add a little workout. 

Baby, it’ll be a brand new me.   Eat your heart out Kim.

http://www.gospelpundit.com/2010/01/20/word-has-it-kim-burrells-new-look-new-life/

http://elev8.com/gospel-music/markchappellecoston/can-kim-burrell-be-sexy/

I’m fighting off  a cold.  It’s something that happens whenever dust gets into my system.   Yes, I have allergies.   Most of  the time they don’t bother me…but then once in a while a spec of  dust  is  somehow  introduced into my system…and  the battle begins.

So, since getting from our little trip this weekend…I have had the sniffles.  Of  course  I have started downing the OJ…as in orange juice.  And drinking cranberry juice…and taking my iron tablets.

But it  is all good.  I will not complain.  I am blessed and this  too shall soon pass…and then maybe sometime this week I will really get some sleep. 

Hope you had a good day.  I have begun psych-ing myself  up.  I have so many things I want to do this year.  And it will be exciting.

Lots of  editing…and shooting footage…and working on my websites…and launching a couple of  access programs…and  launching  my 2 other business enterprises.  I am so excited.  Not to mention my book,  THE BISHOP’S WIFE, will definitely soon be out.  And when it does…it  means I begin to hit the road to sell it.  

So, you see…yes I will be very busy as the year continues.   I hope this year has lots of  good things in store for you too.

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  ©2010

I really love winter…it  is  so beautiful.

Really, what was all the fuss about?

Why were some so desparately against Obama delivering a speech to our school children?

What kind of  brainwashing were all those Republican conservatives worried about?

Every opportunity our children can get to hear from someone who can encourage and inspire them…it should be availed upon them.  And what a great thing for the President of this country to take the time out of  his busy schedule to go to a local high school,  and to impart his own personal story to them…and not only to tell students how important education is to them…but also to be a living and shining example  of  the heights that education can bring them.

What I wouldn’t have done to have been a student in a school where  the President of this country happened to stop by to challenge us to be successful.  And then to take the time to step down off the stage and to shake their hands…certainly an event those students in the Wakefield High School will remember for the rest of their lives.

Any parent who was suckered into keeping their child home for the purpose of missing President Obama’s speech to students…was seriously mis-informed.  And their child missed out on something not only historic…but great and beneficial to them.

Some things are just absurb.  And certain controversies utterly ridiculous.

Imagine parents sending notes to schools and telling school districts that they did not want their child to hear Obama’s speech to students. 

Imagine school districts making decisions not to allow any of their students to watch or hear it.

Then imagine a world full of bias, pomptous, ignorant and quite foolish people.   Oooh…you really don’t have to imagine that.  Just take a look around…the world is full of them…many sitting in high positions.  

http://news.aol.com/article/obama-school-speech-text/658197

It is hard to believe that it has taken 21 years for the police in Milwaukee to final solve a string of serial murders. 

A 21-Year Murder Spree?

After 21 years…Milwaukee police have finally apprehend a supposed murder of some 9 black women. 

Perhaps the fact that they were as called in the news article  and other media ‘a bunch of prositutes and addicts’   had something to do with  the reason why no real attention was given to this case.  

Over a period of 21 years, I have no doubt that perhaps there may have even a couple of  ‘copy cat’  murders thrown into that pan.  And why not?

After all, the police couldn’t have really cared in the first place because the victims were poor undesirables.  That’s what they were…undesirables…least ways maybe that is what the police in Milwaukee felt about them. 

Just trash…waiting to be thrown out or away.

Of no real human good…the lot of them.

So, their murders went barely touched for some 21 years.  City finances and that sort of thing, you know.   The money couldn’t be spared…and there were more important things to do with the city’s money. ..than to stop a slew of  murders against black women.

They were black, you know?

So, what did it really matter?  

And then for the Milwaukee  police department and city officials to want to pat themselves on the back for having finally possibly solved a 21 year old murder spree…how pious and self-righteous of  them.

How strange it is that we don’t  apply an equal value upon all life.  People have blown up abortion clinics and killed abortion doctors… calling themselves pro-life.  Yet, they would not get out to call for justice and demand that the police do something in regards to tracking  down a murder of young black women. 

It reminds me very much of the Atlanta child killings.  How long did that go on before the police really began to do something about it?

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,155774,00.html

And yet…I have never believed that they arrested the right person or perhaps the only person responsible for all those young boys and a few girls who were killed throughout the city of  Atlanta from the period of 1979-1981.

There is a great injustice when skin color determines the amount of urgency, resources, effort and monies put into a case.

http://news.aol.com/article/suspect-arrested-in-milwaukee-serial/658134?icid=main|hp-laptop|dl1|link3|http%3A%2F%2Fnews.aol.com%2Farticle%2Fsuspect-arrested-in-milwaukee-serial%2F658134

http://www.jsonline.com/news/crime/45348447.html

http://www.cnn.com/2009/CRIME/05/19/wisconsin.serial.killer/index.html

While school has started I am very happy to say…you won’t find me in any classrooms this fall.  Well, not taking any classe anyways.  

No, because I am just to busy still looking  forward to the day that  my book, THE BISHOP’S WIFE, rolls off the press.   And when it does…I will be out promoting it.

Well, I’ ve got to get some sleep now.

Hope you enjoy your day. 

Well, God bless… and enjoy the rest of your weekend.

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

Happened to come across this on youtube and it touched me.

You’re pretty for a black girl???

In this the 21st Century…I would have hoped that we were far from the backward thinking of yesterday…all of  us.  But particularly black folk…or so called black folk.   You know when we walked around trying not to be black…afraid to show our napps and kinks.

You do remember yesterday?  

You know the time when …when if  you were white  you were alright.  Light and you could  just get by…or wasn’t as dark as the brown paper bag…and your hair wasn’t too short…too kinky…or your lips too big.

After all these years…and throughout history we have yet to get over not loving who we are.  And what makes it so really bad…we can’t even see that the rest of world wishes they were us.

If  the truth be known…for better or for worst…we set the fashion trends…style…language patterns… music…dance… and almost everything.   And not only here in this country…but around the world as well.

Western Culture…is definitely highly rooted in the black culture of this country.

So, then why do we feed in to this…I hate me…or can’t find a good black man… or can’t  find a good black woman lie?

It is a lie…because I am a good black woman…and I know I’m not all by myself. And I also believe that there are just as many good and decent black man.

I will never buy into the hype that the reason so many black men and women are preferring to date outside of our race…is because they can’t find someone good in it.  That is a lie.  

I would really like to know just where they have been looking?

The bars…and  prison?

If you seek out junk…then you will find junk.

And if  you seek junk…don’t expect it to step up…to being anything else.   But junk.

I know someone…a black woman…a bit younger than myself…who I used to think of as being smart.  Until one day she said to me that she was  involved with someone who is an addict…and he has been this way for years.

Now, she has her own business… is in the church…but.   She says she loves the guy….that he is a good person.    She says…she is willing to wait on him with the hope that he will straighten out his life.  

And with God’s help…that could happen.

But has anybody ever heard of  being  unevenly yoked?

What if  he never gets his life straight?

And there you are…sitting around all these years…hoping and praying…and sexing it up with somebody who may never be able to be anything real in your life…outside of what he already is.   An addict. 

I don’t know if this is still true or not…but when this whole thug culture was being hyped up…I could not believe the number of decent women…and who I thought were intelligent black woman… talking about they wanted a thug.

“I want me a thug.”

What????

Were they crazy?

A what???

A thug?

I guess that is what Vivica Fox wanted when she hooked up with half-a-dollar.

It got even worstt when I went to hear Nikki Giovanni…and she flashed her tatoo…a large…very large…marking…a tattoo on the inside of  one of  her arms reading….”THUG LIFE.”    At 60 something years of age…I felt she had lost her mind talking about celebrating that lifestyle.  Of what...men beating their women…neglecting their children…etc…  And having sex with anything moving…and dis-respecting women with a bunch of  misogynistic lyrics…loaded with the N-word from start to finish…and a bunch of  other filth.

What is there to celebrate about someone playing like he’s a thug?

“Ahhh…come on now, Nikki.”

In the above video Oprah says that 70% of  black women are not married because “there are not just as many black men out there.”  Meaning that the earth is populated with more black women than black men.   I debate this highly…simply because it is not true.  Since we were created by God…and He is and has always been a God of  balance.  He would never have created more of one sex over another.  And particularly since He…Himself  said-

“Be fruitful and multiply.”

And He would not have said that…to go against His own laws against adultery and fornication…by creating a shortage of any one sex to the other. 

All through nature there is balance between the sexes.  Why would it be any different for man?

I think that people make all kind of excuses to accommodate their choices.  In the earlier days of  black stars in this country (of which most of them had white husbands or wives)…they claimed that it was that they could not find anyone black equal to who they were…being that great singer or actor or actress… or musicans etc.  that they were.   Today they  certainly could not make the same claim since many African-American people excel in all areas from business to sports to entertainment to entrepreneurship…and ministry too.  

In churches all across this country today there are plenty of  black millionaires lining church pews and pulpits…and not  just in the church.   (But doesn’t Pearl Bailey and Queen Latifah look very much alike?)

So, nobody can tell me that there are not enough good or decent black folk around…of both sexes to go around.  Just a couple of weeks ago I was at a very large church convention called AIM in Tampa, Fl…and I never once saw an im-balance between the black men and women…or teens…and children that were there of   either sex.  And they packed the Tampa Bay area coming from everywhere across this country and outside of  it.

I think that media is to blame for starting the rumor that women out number  men.  Since in the beginning…media like most of everything else was male dominated.   Men love to justify certain behavior.    So, why not create a lie like saying-

“Women out number us.  So, therefore we are allowed to have as many of them as we would like.”

All through history you see women being used as sexual objects…and with men having multiple wives…or harems.   Yet, when you see pictures of those times, art, and readings from early times…they do not reflex a lesser number of  men to women.  If anything…it seemed as though the opposite were true. 

So, shows like the above  segment on the Oprah Winfrey Show only legitimized that lie for many people.  Vast number of people have always believed  it.  But now because Oprah said it…that makes it true.  Not so.  

It is very much the same as saying that there is a ‘gay gene’ …therefore, gay people can’t help being gay.  That too is a lie.  There is no ‘gay gene.’   Gay people are not a freak of  nature.  But there are some scientist who claim that this is true…and falsely want to lay claim to this based upon some bogus laboratory discovery.

What it rally all gets down to… is  what do you want to believe?

You can choose to believe lies…falsehoods…or choose to believe the truth. 

But no matter what…black is beautiful…even for a black girl.

CLICK the LINK BELOW to see the video…it is sad to the level of  self-hate due to their dark conplexion.

http://www.mwza.com/tyra-banks-show-black-women-their-children-bleaching-their-skin/

It is amazing the number of women, men and children is this country and abroad…from the Caribbean Islands to Europe…and Africa…who are running to blench their skin.  Many without any knowledge of the vast risk to their health or  life…not to mention that  the chemicals in the blenching creams are toxic and can destroy the person’s face and body over a period of time.

It is a mystery how many of  us would have loved to have been born darker…and those darker…some of  them least ways…and I guess many…since the blenching cream market has grown so big.  It is truly a shame that  so many would want so badly to be lighter.   And would destroy their beautiful natural complexions trying to undo what God has  so richly and generously blessed them with. 

In listening to the videos above…it all mostly stemmed from feelings that they felt that lighter skin meant better treatment…better jobs…status etc…   All of  which really stems…from lack of respect of  yourself… your capabilities… and how you preceive yourself.   Preception of  one’s self  is a great thing…it can hinder you …or sky rocket you into excelling high levels in life…whether others believed you could…or not.

Personally…I have never felt that anything was more beautiful than being black.  I may have never liked what I personally looked like (in terms of my facial stuff)…or my size…but I have always liked being black…and black features.

Beauty…is us…in all of  our  varying shades.   It’s really what makes us so much more interesting than all the other group of people in the world.  We’ve got variety, baby…and lots of it…and in all kinds of ways.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2008/aug/08/celebrity.race?gusrc=rss&feed=worldnews

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/talking_point/africa_have_your_say/8095882.stm

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/7244374.stm

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/8148719.stm

They say a picture says a 1,000 words.  If  this picture could speak what would it say?

I think…it would say-

“I’m not happy.”

In comparing this picture with some of  Michael’s earlier pictures before any of the surgery… you can see that he not only hated his skin color…but his lips…hair… nose…chin… and I guess just about everything else about himself.    How very sad.   And even worst…what he did to himself  thinking he could improve upon what  God had already blessed him with.

Thank you so much, Aisha for posting your video on youtube.  You are not only pretty…but fasinatingly beautiful…and a highly intelligent young black woman.  Your husband must marvel every time he looks…at his queen.  I know you must be an equally wonderful mother…because you possess all the right tools to having a beautiful and  successful loving family.

Take a peak at Ethiopian Sara Nuru…Germany’s next top model…and perhaps the world.

And yes…I’m still plugging  my book, THE BISHOP’S WIFE.    In fact…I better get some sleep now…so I can get up early in the morning and get out to go work on my book trailer some more…which I will post here as well as on youtube.  Soon and very soon…   It  is coming.

 Well, enjoy your day tomorrow.  Finally…some sun…but  lots of  humidity too.  Plus I have hot flashes…oh, well… 

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

I just finished listening to the most hypocritical piece of garbage I have ever heard…or maybe I should say in a long time.  It has to do with some white woman announcer talking about First Lady Obama who recently paid a visit to a local D.C. school and began sharing with the young students about her earlier years growing up.  Being bright and well spoken the kids in her school and neighbor used to tell her that she ‘talked like a white person.’

This white woman announcer pounced all over that and began saying, “We have trash in the White House.”

Clearly, she is in need of loosing her job…besides having been way off the mark.

For some reason white people just can’t seem to get it right.  They think everything is about them.  They have no understanding of the black experience…yet want to say that they do.

Because we are the only group of people who came here in chains…there is no other group of fellow country men who can quite grasp this with any kind of clear understanding because they never went through it.  Sure, many groups were ostracized, joked about, called names, belittled and many hated…some more so than others…as they came here to this country in search of a better way of  life for them and their family…same as those who came before them.  But their experiences were still not the same as ours.

Having worked on a job…my last job with a bunch of black folks.  The first time in my life I had ever worked with all black people.  I must say it was the worst job I ever had.  They put me through the ringer…and it was all because…as I came to find out over time…because I had a highest level education than anyone else in the building including out of all the workers, other managers and upper management.

I did not talk like them…I did not swear…nor did I stand around telling nasty jokes…and I did my job far above average.   They hated me because I was not like them.   They hated my work ethics…everything about me.   To them…I have no doubt…they felt that I thought I was white.   Because this is something which many black folks have been called when they were smart, or well spoken…good workers… etc…etc…  Which for those of you who may be white…it means they thought that I thought…I was better than them.

So, that white woman radio announcer had not a clue of what she was talking about when she started to bite into Michelle Obama.  Because had she had a clue she would have known that Michelle Obama was telling the students in that class that it was okay to be smart and not to be ashamed of making good grades…and not to worry about what the other kids might call them.   This was indeed what Michelle Obama was telling those students…and vast numbers of African Americans, if not all, hearing that speech knew right off what the First Lady was saying without thinking twice about it.   She was not talking about some ‘white/black thing’…but a ‘black on black thing.’

But white people do not have a clue.  They feel they know us.  Have a handle on how we feel about things…how we operate…behave…and react.  But really…they do not have a clue.

Take for instance shock jock-Imus in the Morning.  He thought he was being funny…that what he was saying was cool and that he could get away with continually degrading and belittling black folks.  And he felt this because of  Pop culture…rapp music…rapp videos…and how the brotha’s talk in the streets.

But he failed to understand that there are other groups of black folks who felt that even the brotha’s and sista’s on the streets, in the videos etc…speak things we too find offensive and unacceptable.  Because the kids…the rappers etc…do not have clue…didn’t mean that Imus could also operate within that same clueless realm and feel it was okay…because as he said, “They say it.”

Like Imus…the kids are clueless.  The kids know nothing about the history behind much of what they say…nor take it, unfortunately, as being serious.   But those of us who know the history…know also the pain…and saw the cost…we know.  And not only take it seriously…but personal.

But…so isn’t that female announcer who would dared to want to call the First Lady of this country ‘trash.’ She is definitely quite clueless…and maybe so to a even higher level.

Would anyone dared to have called Barbara Bush that…and then felt that they could have gotten away with it?

How about Jacqueline Onassis-Kennedy?

Never.

And if you tried…everybody would be up in arms coming at you.

But you can get away with things when you are talking about black people or other minority groups that would never be acceptable or allowable when talking about  someone white who sits in such a high position as the Obamas…or anywhere.

After all the stuff that Bill Clinton did while he was in the White House with Monica…never once did anyone call him outside of  his name.  They may have went after Bill but they never called him anything but Bill Clinton…or Mr. President.

Two semesters ago in a communications class we had to read about the uproar about the making of a TV movie about Ronald Reagan.  The first part of the controversy was about the belittling of an American President…making him to appear erratic…and lost.

The second part of the argument had to do with party lines…the Republicans were staunchly against the TV mini-series about their beloved President Ronald Reagan claiming that the mostly liberal Democrats of the Production’s Executive Directors and writers were trying to tarnish the memory of an American hero, as well as, President…which should not be allowed.

I doubt that any of those people will stand up for First Lady Obama.  But clearly large groups of people should including the owners and affiliates of that radio station that she works for and the syndicated stations she airs on.

Not only did not the woman have a clue as to what she was talking about by trying to under-cut what the First Lady had said to the students…but she was also highly out of order and offensive…and racist.   There was an air about her tone which spoke…”I can say whatever I want about those n…..s and nobody will stop me.  Because they are just n…..s anyways.”

So, it is not Michelle Obama who has a problem.  No, but anyone who thinks and talks like this woman announcer.  CLICK the LINK BLOW…if you want to read more about what this woman had  to say…and you will also hear what it was that Michelle Obama said to the students.   This woman clearly did not have the slightest clue to the real meaning of…outside of possibly pushing up some negative ratings for her radio program.

http://www.blackvoices.com/blogs/2009/03/24/tammy-bruce-calls-the-first-family-trash-in-the-white-house/?icid=main|hp-laptop|dl5|link3|http%3A%2F%2Fwww.blackvoices.com%2Fblogs%2F2009%2F03%2F24%2Ftammy-bruce-calls-the-first-family-trash-in-the-white-house%2F

I wish I were the Program Director or manager at that radio station…she would have been pulled immediately…and sent packing.

And oh, yes…I purposely did not call her by name.  Some people just are not worthy of the bother…I have given her more than enough play…(many of you might not understand that either…but I will let you try and figure it out). She is in dire need of a proper education.

This is America…and we do have freedom of speech.  But she went way overboard.  And for that there should be a penalty…as was in the case of  Imus.  And no appology will do.  We are in the 21st Century…when do people start to grow up?

I get so tired of people saying whatever they want to say whenever it comes to black people…and then have the nerve to feel that there should and will not be any reprecautions for doing so.

Still working on the web site.  I have to admit that it is really shaping up far better than anything I have done in the past.  God is so good…He has endowed me.

And oh, yes…the weather has turned again.  It is freeeeeeezzzzing.

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

I had a conversation with my son who was telling me that Chris Brown’s girlfriend, Rihanna, should not have started it.  Then he commenced to tell me that she had hit him first…as if my son had been in the car with them and seen the whole thing.

I was irritated that my son under any circumstance would find it okay for Chris or anyone of the male species to do what that boy did to that girl.  He beat her…and one could say it was almost unmercifully done so.

I have really been trying to stay away from the subject because I do not know either him or her…nor much about them or their careers outside of this incident.  But what did bother me was my son’s attitude and position on the subject.

I did see the pictures which had been released by the police showing how badly Rihanna, a young singer, had been beat at the hands of her boyfriend, Chris Brown.  As young role models for thousands of teens who follow them closely…the incident sets a bad example and sends all the wrong messages to young teens regarding dating, abuse, power and acceptable male/female interactions…as well as, how to resolve issues and problems in a relationship.

Rightfully so, everyone with endorsements behind Chris Brown should drop him…as I have heard that for the most part they have.

I have no doubt that it has made  Chris Brown think twice about his actions concerning taking his fist to fight his girlfriend…when males possess more than enough power to restrain and resist any attack against them from most women.  So, yes…I believe that loosing all those endorsements have given Chris much to pause and consider.

So, much so that I have no doubt either that it has  mostly been him trying to re-unite with Rihanna and get back their little relationship…because when you loose the kind of money I hear that Chris has lost since the story surfaced…not to mention his music being pulled from radio stations…and police charges. 

If they don’t play you over the radio…your videos…it is all that is wrote for you…it is goodbye from there…the career is over. 

You have got to have air time in order to sell music or anything else.  Not to mention the legal charges.  Yeah, I am sure…Chris went running to patch up that little miss understanding between him and Rihanna.  I am sure…and real quick. 

I wonder if he bought her a rock the size of the one Kobe bought for his wife?

Clearly, the type of anger exhibited by Chris Brown, a very young man of about 19 years of age…shows that he is indeed in need of intervention before it is too late…because someone at such an early age like him who exhibits that kind of rage or anger…may kill the next woman.

And my son has it all wrong…and I don’t care what he says.

And I better not catch him out there trying to beat up some woman.  Or he will have to fight his mother next.

http://www.cbc.ca/arts/story/2009/03/20/rihanna-abuseawareness.htjhtml

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/deadlineusa/2009/mar/16/rihanna-usaml

http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1607405/20090320/rihanna.

http://www.buzz7.com/entertainment/chris-brown-rihanna-stuck-in-los-angeles-due-to-police-investigation.html

http://www.findingdulcinea.com/news/entertainment/2009/feb/Why-Has-Chris-Brown-Lost-Deals-and-Radio-Play-So-Soon-After-Arrest-.html

And will people please leave Will and Jada alone.

I think they are a beautiful couple. 

Stop trying to  bad mouth them with a bunch of nasty little rumors.

The Bible says…we can speak life or death into any situation…by the sheer power of the tongue. 

What do they have to prove to us?

There are some people just jealous…and they seek to destroy any and everything thing  or anyone they envy.

Out of all those Hollywood families…and Hollywood types…you do not see Will or Jada hanging out…or getting into trouble.  Nor is there any bad press about them anywhere…or has there ever been.  And then…along comes these ugly rumors. 

Well, if you can’t find anything bad…I guess you just want to create it.

I admire and respect the Smith’s…Will and Jada…and their beautiful family.  They are wonderful parents and excellent role models.  I guess that might be why…the real reason why the rumors are flying. 

Can’t believe that there are decent people in the world.  But there are…look at the Obama’s another example of a great black family.

We do exist.

Now, on to Lil’ Kim.

I really have paid little attention to her lately.  Though I did read that she and Biggie’s mother are currently going at it.

Biggie’s mother said, “Lil’ Kim is a white woman in a black woman’s body.”

I guess that really must be the way Lil’ Kim thinks…as my son was telling me that she wants to look like Barbie (you know the doll). 

How sick is that?

Since, Lil’ Kim showed up on Dancing with the Stars…with her new nose…people have been buzzing.  In my opinion she has already wrecked the good looks she used to have…when she did the other things that she had done…including the oversized boob job.  If she keeps it up…she’ll be another one who won’t be able to leave the house without people running from her in fear…like Michael and some others.

Personally, I think Lil’ Kim’s best years were when she was with Junior M.A.F.I.A…after that it has all been down hill.  And she has been fighting to stay afloat ever since.

Who in their right mind would really want to do this to themselves?

Talking about Biggie’s mother…what mother makes a movie about her deceased son showing him having sex all over the place?

I didn’t see the movie…but my son is pretty good critic when it comes to some things.  And I just happened to overhear a conversation about the movie…and everybody was agreeing on the same things.  So, it has to be true.

http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1603801/20090129/lil_kim.jhtml

And yes, the women on the tennis circuit have a good reason to be concerned over the 22 year old German, Sarah Gronert, who was born having both the male and female sex organs.  Though a couple of years ago she had the male organs removed…she still remains stronger than any average woman because of her biological makeup.

Because of her bilogical makeup…having been born…both male/female…she does possess greater strenght and endurance than
other woman could possibly have.  And this would, therefore, give her a greater advantage over all of her contenders.  Though they state that she has only won 2 tournaments since becoming a pro-player…it doesn’t mean that she wasn’t holding back her added strenght until she really stepped into the big time…as she is only listed as being seeded as #619, compared to Serena being #1…and Venus #4 in the women’s world of  tennis.

This reminds me of that story I shared with you a while back in another blog about the woman…who was really a man…who came to Salsa Soul, a lesbian organization, and joined…well, sort of.   She had gotten really involved in the organization for a few months before the story of who she really was got around to all the members.  Or I guess I should say…what she really was got around to all the members. 

Though like Sarah has done…she was planning on having the operation.  But unlike Sarah, however…she had not been born having dual sex organs…what they call in the new articles…male and female genitalia.

http://www.momlogic.com/2009/03/tennis_gender_controversy.php

http://www.tennisforum.com/showthread.php?t=351579

As I mentioned in my original blog on that story…the reason I refer to him as ‘her’…is really because that is what I met him as.  Up until that point I had not met anyone like her.  He was highly confused as I have come to now know and understand…as well as, I was.  He wanted to live his life as a lesbian.  

Yes, that is what I said…you have to read my original blog to come to understand the story.

But it was when she was appointed to become a board member of Salsa…that is when all the sisters and what was left of the founding mothers of the organization flew into Salsa one night and demanded a special meeting.  They were not having it…and finally had it voted upon…that no one other than a ‘biological female’ from birth could become a board member of Salsa Soul Sisters, Inc.

Though she looked on the surface like a woman…I have no doubt that she possessed superior strenght…but mentally could never really think like a woman…because it was not who she really was.  All of her experiences had been different etc…etc…   And besides…legally he was still a man…at that time.

My opinion on the subject.  God does it best. 

Even in regard to all that plastic surgery…God does it best. 

The body is in constant evolution…from the time we are born until the day we die…our features change…age…mature.  Sometimes for the best…many times for the best…but to some who would like to keep what they have…sometimes for the worst.  But yet…God does it best.

Finally, I found this article to be highly bias and racist.

http://edition.cnn.com/2009/SPORT/02/13/equal.pay.tennis/index.html

Here it is a woman journalist writing that women’s tennis has become boring and that women should not be paid the same amount of money as the men players.  Had the top female players not been black…er- African Americans…I wonder if anybody would be complaining about the amount of money they were paid for winning tournaments?

I highly doubt it.  These issues only come up when it is about us.  It is a shame that we cannot celebrate each other…and our gifts…without biasness and racism showing its ugly head.

Following her win in the Australian Open…the female champion, Serena Williams…took home $1.3 million.  Now, is anybody but me and Serena happy about that?

And oh, yes…Dexter King signed EMI to rep him.  Yes, I did say ‘him.’   He signed a deal for EMI to police the licensing of his father’s likeness, his intellectual property etc…etc…  

And he signed the agreement without the knowledge of his 2 other siblings…Martin the 3rd and Bernice King.

So, yes…little greedy Dexter is still at it.  

How unfortunate for the other 2…but it is a wonder how the mother, Coretta Scott King, had removed Dexter from the foundation following several disputes with him over the direction he was tryingto take the Dr. Martin L. King, Jr. Center for Non-Violence… at that time of which she was highly not in aggreeiance with.

Why would she have restored him as the head of the center if she knew then the type of disagreeable and selfish spirit that Dexter possessed?

Bernice and Martin the 3rd have a very long battle…that frankly without God…they are very likely not going to win.  But it is when things seem the bleekest that God loves to step in. 

So, Martin and Bernice…never become discourage…fight to the end.  And even then continue to fight…because the tide always turns.

There was a point in our family matters…that I was told by my son-

“Ma, you’re not going to win.  You should just go back to New York.”

At that time everyone on the planet would have agreed with my son.  But God turned the table around.  All the road blocks and stumbling blocks were swept away…and I am the one left standing.  But for more than a few years it seemed that everything and everyone was against me.  But it is true…you don’t need anybody else as long as you have the Lord on your side.

But I had considered what my son said…but conscience wouldn’t let me do it.  It would have been far easier to have turned and ran from what was going on with my parent’s estate…and I figured-  No, I knew…I was part to blame as I had never tried to intervene from the on-set though I was aware of the problems.  But it was easier for me to look the other way at that time…until I was forced to come home and confront all the issues and problems that I had tried to avoid and had looked upon blindly for years.

I have had to pay for my errors…and have to work to build the bridges to bring our family back together.  But I am the oldest and it is my responsibility…to not allow us to all fall apart from one another.  Families are important…not really should they be allowed to be torn apart.  But there comes a time where every ill thing must be addressed and corrected…and fallout does happen.   In the end the family will be a lot stronger for it if it survives.  But it has to happen…if indeed the family is to survive at all.

I have been so busy working on building my web site.  As Fridays have rolled by…I have pushed hoping that by that weekend I would have at least posted a page or 2.  It is not that I have not completed more than a few pages…but I am just such a stickler about everything.  Everything has to be right…perfect…correct…the music…the photos…the navigation system…the color schemes etc.   You name it and I become obsessed with it…but at the end of the day…you will not only like the site…but enjoy it.   And that is all I will say on it for now…and hopefully by this Friday…I will have some pages posted.  I’ll be working on it…believe that.  Enjoy…

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

Well, it seems that everybody has been hitting me up today trying to see what is going on with the Da Brat.  Born April 1974, she is 34, and I am checking on it.   But I haven’t tracked down any new info on her since last year when she was given a 3 year sentence for busting a beer bottle and cutting a waitress across the face with it.

But in looking up information on the da Brat while trying to find out what you may have heard…and I hadn’t.  I came across these pictures of her.

From the very beginning I always thought that she was a cute girl…even as a little girl she was cute.

You do remember when we were all introduced?

In was back when this little boys group came out, KrisKross.  They wore their pants backward and they too at the time were being managed by the then an emerging but little known guy out of Atlanta by the name of Jermaine Dupree.

Dupree was actually the manager who started popping up in the videos of his groups…long before the idea hit Puffy…I mean, P. Diddy.  And for a while those little boys were cute…Chris and Chris…but that little girl…this little kid who they called Da Brat even then you could tell she had something.

The unfortunate part…is having something… and being able to do something with it.  Having…and doing are 2 different things.

But, like I said…I always thought she was cute…and she was…and still is. But then she started getting rough around the edges.  She was still cute…but she started emulating the boys.  She had become boyish in her style and manner.

Perhaps, many of the hip-hoppers liked it…but to me it took away so much from her.  Mostly it detracted from her natural beauty.  Which she is…a natural beauty…kind of like that girl who used to be on that HBO show…The Wire…Snoop. That girl is absolutely beautiful… but you can’t really tell it.  Because she has managed to harden herself so much.

But it was what da Brat wanted to do…and I guess maybe that Snoop girl too.

It was who da Brat was becoming…and to a degree she seemed to wallow in it…she was liking it.

From bar hopping to brawling…she was in and out of trouble.  She was diggin’ on this one…and diggin’ on that one.  She was back and forth in and out of court…and I watched and would hear little tidbits of news on her from time to time…always thinking whenever I saw her…that she was cute.  And if she wanted to…she could be a really beautiful woman…if only she would grow up.

I wonder that now that she is sitting in jail if any of that has started to happen for her…the growing up process.  And maybe while sitting in jail and contemplating her life and future…perhaps if she just happened to reach out to a little black book with those 2 little words enscripted upon it.  That book could make all the difference in her life.  It can make all the difference in the world to anyone’s life who chooses to follow it.

Never knew though that da Brat was Lisa Raye’s half sister.  The world is small…and they both are very beautiful young ladies…upon whom God has a calling if they would allow Him to use them.

I have met a lot people in my life whose best years of their lives…were their yesterdays…or so they thought.  And so they chose to stay there…always thinking and talking about yester-years.

When you talked to them…they reminded you of what they did…yester-years ago.

Life moves on.

We do not come into the world moving backwards.

Our tomorrows should always exceed by far our yesterdays.

It is a mystery to me why these young ladies…and young girls of today who decide that they want to go into ‘the life’…why they are so drawn to being hardcore?

Perhaps as a kid…it may appear appealing to them.  But as  adults though …I think of it as being sad.  But it seems to be the big thing today.  Everybody seems to want to try it.  And not just these young kids.

I have to smile every time I think of one of my aunts telling me that she had decided ‘to try it out.’ Just that statement alone lets you know how it went.

She was a woman very much into men.  So, it was interesting to me that she would have allowed someone to talk her into such a thing.  And do note…that all of this is coming from me…an ex-lesbian.  But it was curious to me…and I guess a bit amusing to me now that I think back on her disclosing that information to me…because I never would have imagined my aunt doing such a thing.  And she even told me with who.  That alone should have been her big turn off…but they were friends.

You have to be careful about the sort of people you run with and call friends.  That very woman years later I came to find out had been the grandmother of a few of my nieces…and the niece I wrote about in another blog who told me how her grandmother used to allow her husband..or boyfriend to have sex with her own grand daughter on a regular basis…when my niece was a very young child.  At that time my niece was not part of our family as she came to us via foster care.  But that woman was her maternal grandmother.  Knowing such a thing would have turned my aunt’s stomach.

I had friends who used to ask me to take them with me to clubs…the gay clubs that I hung out at…I really guess I should say partied at…as I never really hung out.  That was not the kind of life I lead.  I had to be a bit more discreet…because of my profession and popularity.  So, I partied outside of where I lived and worked.  But when my friends asked me to take them out with me…I told them ‘no.’  If they wanted to get involved ‘in the life’…then they were going to have to find their own way there.  I was not going to pull my friends into that life with me…and I didn’t.

But I see and hear women talking about it-

“So, who’s the aggressive one?  You or your friend?”

I do not know why people have to be talking about such things…when I am passing by?

Some times I think that it is a fleeting thing…something hip today…something that people want to test out…dip and dab into.  But then I am reminded of scripture…of the Benjaminites.  Whole cities consumed by it.  But there is a cure…and with it comes a re-newing of the mind.

Well, I hope you have enjoyed your day.

I went out walking.  The snow did not last long…but it was wet and heavy.  So, though it was not a lot…I had to put a bit more effort into shoveling it yesterday.  But the sidewalks were all clear today…thanks to the sun.  And my cold is getting better.

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

Just CLICK a few times in following 2 screens below in order to play them…and ignore the text.

Tell me…

“Who really listens or watches that stuff…called ‘The Wendy Willams Experience’?”

“Do you not have anything going on in your life that you would take your valuable time to give someone like Wendy Williams one second of  it?”

She is a ship wreck…just look at her. 

When you sell yourself for what you consider ‘fame’…then you are on a fast track to one big ship wreck.  There is little wonder that H0t 98 in New York showed her the door, and then Philly decided to slam it in her face when they too had had enough, and gave her the boot.  Now, back in New York she is still trying to create high arbitron  ratings by stirring up controversy.

Wendy is a sinking ship.   Better yet…a ship wreck. 

You can only go but so long…trying to cause havoc in the lives of others as a means of your talent.   Beyond a point people will begin to look for more.  And more…is something which Wendy Williams does not have.  That is why she can only do what she does…..try to create a living while living off others. 

It is sad when someone so visabily sells their soul to the devil and grins at you as though they are happy.  And you can look into their eyes and see that they are not.

You cannot be happy living the kind of life  and lie that Wendy Williams lives.  First of all she has no real talent.   What she has is just a trick of the enemy…created to deceive.  

How dare she be sitting on the radio calling herself giving advice to people…when she needs to be sitting on a psychiatrist couch herself.   Better yet…calling upon the name of the Lord for some help.

I will never forget once while driving through the streets of Manhattan and somehow the radio happened to be on WBLS and the Wendy Williams Experience…and now that I think about it.  I was in the car with one of my nieces…when she turned the radio to the Wendy Williams Experience. 

That day was a day that Doctor Wendy was on duty.   A woman called in, and I don’t  know if it was real or something  Wendy and crew had invented.   But now that I think of it,  it was a fax supposedly faxed into the radio station telling Wendy that she was married to someone she was considering leaving.  The person to whom the woman was married to was supposedly suffering from cancer and was very sick…near dying.  And she was asking Wendy for help to decide what to do because she wanted to leave him.

Now, that show has stayed with me for a very long time…because Wendy very uncaringly trying to create humor out the situation gave some of the most bogus advice I had ever heard.  She asked of herself in the reading of this fax…well, how long have you been together?   Was he ill when you married him or did he just become sick?     WHAT?

Wendy told the woman that as long as she continued to received some kind of benefit from being with the man then she should stay.  But if there wasn’t a benefit to staying then the woman should get out of the marriage.  And Wendy said this as if she were an ’all knowing’ and ‘learned pyschologist’…or some kind of prophet.

Yes, I have a problem with people trying to pass themselves as something which they are not…and with people who think that everything is funny when it is not. 

I have had a problem with ‘The Wendy Williams Experience’ for a long time.  

When you sit in a position where you can ’speak life or death into a situation’ and chose to speak death…then you are wrong. 

The Bible says that the power of  ‘life and death is in the tongue.’

When you have millions of people hanging onto your every word you have to temper your tongue…and seek not to give bad sinful council. 

There may not be profit from speaking truth…but there is peace.   Which of…Wendy Williams has none.  Practically ever rapper, dancer, singer and everybody else is out to get her. 

How can you live like that?

Then to mess up your body and life so much.   Come on, Wendy.

That breast job…really.   Come on…a grown woman trying to play and look like one of the kids.     It looks ridiculous.  Grow up…grow up.   And get saved.

The time for foolishness is offer.

And poor little Robin Givens.

What?

Getting happy because Wendy has a list of every white male she ever went to bed with. 

And we wonder why the kids are in the state that they are in?

Look what they are listening and watching.   These are the role models they fashion themselves after. 

TURN THAT MESS OFF!

And shut it down.

No wonder Whitney Houston threaten to pay Wendy Williams a visit one day.  I wish I had a recording of that…when Whitney told Wendy that she was from Newark.   Whitney didn’t even say that she was from Jersey.   No, she made a point of saying that she was from ‘Newark.’      And that does mean something.  To those people who know…it spoke volumes…believe me.  And Wendy understood it…loud and clear.   Because she started stuttering and lost her train of thought. 

And Whitney was not joking.   I still laugh when I think of that day.  

I love you, Whitney.   One of the few people who has ever put Wendy Williams in her place.  

Whitney, I pray that you come victoriously out of that wilderness that you are in.   Be mindful…that God is able.  And let not deceivers deceive you.   You already have the victory.

How dare Wendy try to reap rewards off the suffering of others.

My Lord…

God bless…Happy New Year!

Praise ye the Lord…he is mighty in all things.   For He is just and merciful.   And I am sure He has so much more for you…in 2009.

Well, God bless again…and thanks for reading this blog…and  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 ©2008

“Happy New Years!   And may God bless you all.”

Hopefully you enjoyed your Christmas.

I spent mine mostly in bed…and I am not ashamed to say it.

But the sultry sex kitten whom I

used to watch on the Ed Sullivan Show, Ms. Eartha Kitt

passed yesterday, Christmas day, at the age of 81 in the city unlike any other, New York, New York. 

Somebody said New York was the city so nice…that they had to name it twice.  Only black folks can think of things like that.   I guess that is why I love them so much.

Ms. Kitt passed due to complications associated with colon cancer.

http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5j1C56dYy4W-IgXZueldUkrEjKMxwD95AE5P00

http://www.time.com/time/arts/article/0,8599,1868753,00.html?imw=Y

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/obituaries/3965054/Eartha-Kitt.html

It is odd that Eartha should pass at this time when a friend of mine was having a conversation with me about this movie called “Cadillac.”  While discussing the facts  of what black artists had to suffer back in the days when Eartha was really out there as an artist trying to make a living.   How they couldn’t stay in hotels or eat in resturants while touring out on the road those days.  But yet…they somehow managed to make their dates and survive the events and struggles of their times.

Ms. Etta James….

Now, moving on to Jermain Dupree and Janet Jackson.  

Been reading for a while…well, kinda catching glimpses here and there of the story of whether or not Janet Jackson is pregnant?

I really can’t understand all the hype or interest in the story.   Janet is what….?

Somewhere in her 40’s now…or at least late 30’s.  And after having been married twice…and now currently shacking with Dupree for what…?    All of at least 6 or more years.  You would think that something would happen.  And I don’t understand why they (Janet and Dupree) are so angry about all the ‘baby rumors.’  

They say that ‘bad news’ beats ‘no news at all.’  Just ask all those rappers who can’t seem to get in the news any other way [Lil' Kim, Foxy, Da Brat etc....].   So, having a bunch of baby rumors floating around is evidently great news for Janet because it is the most press she has gotten in years…and that goes for Dupree too.

And all I can say is this.  

“Who cares whether or not Janet is pregnant?”

I just hope that she is not suffering from vertigo as they originally released.  Because I have an aunt who suffers from that…and has suffered from it for years.   And being dizzy all the time cannot be any fun.

But what strikes me as interesting is that Janet has managed to find someone whom she is actually taller than.   Because believe me…she is small.   I recall standing near LaToya…I had to keep taking a double take.  If she was 4′ tall…I will pay you.  And she had on boots.

And my personal opinion on the subject…Dupree, “Be a man stop living with her…marry her.   You want to protect her?   Protect Janet by becoming her husband.”

Now regarding Obama’s security.  Yes, I am a bit concerned.

If a group of photographers could get close enough to take pictures of him and his family while they were in Hawaii…than any whackco gunman or gunmen could too.

I am not going to dwell upon fearing for Barack Obama’s life…because honestly I do not.  And I know that he and his family does not either.

But it does not mean that there are not crazy evil people all around this world looking to make a name for themselves…by seeking to destroy other people’s lives.

Obama is the President of this country and I am just wondering just how serious the secret service of this country is taking guarding him and his family with the same type of indulgence that they have protected Presidents and others in the past?

I am determined that it is as equally important for me to look out and try to protect Obama as much as it is for those who have been put in that capacity officially.   But I would really like to see more black men put on the secret service to guard Obama’s life…and some black women.   I did read Julius Ceasar…‘et tu Brutus?’

I don’t come from the ghetto…but I do understand…and know a ‘little somethang somethang.”

God bless….Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

Praise ye the Lord…for He is mighty in all things.   And I am sure He has so much more for you…in 2009.

Well, God bless…and thanks for reading this blog…and  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 ©2008

“Happy New Years!   And may God bless you all.”

Okay, only because you wanted to see this.

Here’s Mary with her short hair style.  Anyone as attractive as Mary J. Blige really looks pretty with whatever style she chooses to wear.

Can’t imagine what Mary J. hair style you are looking for.  But  I like this one the best.  But I’ve got a few more for you below.

I think she is pretty but I can’t stand all the tatoos.

The one thing I can say about Mary J. Blige is this… that she keeps her head low and doesn’t get tangled up in a whole lot of mess…and I think that is good for her.  And that speaks volumes for her…not trying to mess with anybody or having anybody mess with her.  Lil’ Kim and Foxy…all of them…can definitely take a page or 2 out of Mary’s book. 

Then I like that part about where she seems to have a true sense of God...and never forgets Him.  Someday perhaps He will allow her and them all to get to His next level…if they want it.

And oh, yeah…does she have some fur coats?

“Hey, Mary.  Can you hook a sistah up?”

And  married life seems to have suited her very well…and I am so happy for her.   Now, as far as her music goes…  Well, personally these days I perfer gospel.  And maybe one day you will too…and Mary J. Blige too.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Uw7M25zbxKo

God bless…and thanks for reading and  …pass it on www.bsmith101.wordpress.com ©2008

Okay…okay, already.  After reading my in-take box and seeing that people keep hitting this blog looking for info on Puffy…I mean P Diddy…I finally decided to do a little somethang somethang.  So, here it is.

It is not a secret that Sean Puffy Combs considers himself to be the real “Mr. Big.”   High roller…big time spender and entrepreneur extraordinair…who happens to be personally responsible for creating such mega stars as Biggy Smalls, had a hand in Mary J. Blige’s career amongst others.  Little wonder Puffy as he was then known was on target for where he is today. 

The one time apprentice of Andre Harrell of Uptown Records….P. Diddy who once co-sponsored the party that ended in the death of at least 2 students during a party at Hunter College.  Puffy…or P Diddy as he now calls himself is raking in the green…and burning it up equally as fast.  Trying to keep up the image doesn’t come cheat.  And believe me it is all about image.

From lavish yachts to high class resturants…and top shelf drinks…P might believe that he has it all.  Widely looked up to among the hip-hop world the former Howard University student who used to jump  Amtrak going back and forth between DC and New York City…now rides in nothing but style…try Bentleys for one…then limousines etc…

Though his claims as a bad boy for life may not really be true.  One thing for sure he is smart.  And has managed to reinvent himself a couple of times.  I must say that his production of Lorraine Hansberry’s play “Raisin in the Sun” was simply great. 

Though as a rule I think Piddy can’t act but based upon the reports of what he did to get him into being that character, which was the son who takes his mother’s money and throws it away and still somehow manages to emerge a champion…and finally does the right thing.  Well, in a word…good.  Puffy or Diddy or Sean…or whatever he calls himself…he did a very good job. 

The entire production was fabulous…which I thought would have failed badly.  But it did not because for one thing Diddy is a very smart guy.  And he really proved that he does take some things seriously…including where he places his money and trying to project a good image every now and then…like paying to produce quality work, such as ” Raisin in the Sun.”  

From restaurants to clothing lines to his own record label to reality TV show…and as you read below by CLICKING on the LINK…a car service for drunken stars.  He thinks of everything…that can make him ‘mo’ money.‘

In it all…one has to wonder…is he really happy?

I have seen over and over again how hard it is for people to find true happiness in life…when they have too much money.  It seems that money rules them…that it had been their aspiration and life focus.  But at the end of the day…it is not all about money.  Believe me.  In fact there are many things that money can’t buy.   And those are the things which are the most important in life.  True respect…love…a good family…health…peace of mind…etc. 

There is much that can be said about the free things in life…and it is so sad that they go so widely overlooked.   To me they have so much more value.

But we are happy for anyone who can find a balance.  Here’s to you and your balance in life.  Hold always…God first and everything else follows.

Well, have a blessed day.  And maybe Mr. P Diddy will find the ONE who really counts and has more value than gold.

Finally, got some rest last night.  Got 2 exams tomorrow.  So, I will be studying most of the night.  But God is good…and I am so happy that I know Him.

…pass it on…’ www.bsmith101.wordpress.com

God bless…and thanks for reading ©2008

http://blogs.wsj.com/wealth/2008/09/08/p-diddy-cuts-back-on-private-jet/

http://www.observer.com/node/48826 

http://www.contactmusic.com/new/xmlfeed.nsf/mndwebpages/p%20diddy.s%20house%20scandal

http://www.allbusiness.com/real-estate/commercial-residential-property-rental/10381565-1.html

http://mediamatters.org/items/200409030015

http://nymag.com/nymetro/realestate/columns/n_9888/

http://motortorque.askaprice.com/news/auto-0803/p-diddy-to-launch-taxi-service-for-drunken-celebs.asp

Well, today is the day before Thanksgiving.  And if you are like me, I am sure that you are looking forward to it.  Though I will probably be up all night cooking…I am still looking forward to it.  Even though by the time we finally sit down to eat…I will be too tired to want to eat much.  I will still enjoy it…and look very much toward Friday…the day after.  And not because the following Friday is a huge shopping day…but because the leftovers always taste better.

I definitely hope that your Thanksgiving will be a joyful one and that you will remember those who may not have all of what you have…or even a portion of it.

Hopefully, if you are a person who feels that there is nothing to be thankful for…but if you have the leisure of reading this then that in of itself is a reason for you to be thankful. 

Many times, I have found that we do not take the time to appreciate what we have.  Falsely, we are oftentimes too busy thinking about what we don’t have or what we think we want, and therefore we forget or minimize the things that we do have.  I have come to learn that this can be a shortcoming and a vast fault in human nature itself.  We all from time to time have been quilty of it.

There was a time that I never loved myself.  Hated the way I looked…my size…my hair…etc…etc…  I never at all minded that I was black.  In fact, I have always been thankful to be black…I’ve even always thought that I wanted to be darker.  A thought I had last night when Michael Jackson ran across my mind…not about being darker but…just about being black. 

Imagine if Black folks wanted to be white.  Today that technology does exist.  I believe that Michael believed that he was going to set a trend in that direction.  But it didn’t happen.

For years and years African-Americans, black people had been told that they were too dark.  They were called ‘black this’ and ‘black that.’  They were made to feel that their lips were too big…their noses too flat…their butts too big…hair to nappy etc.  All of which modern technology has made possible for those people who criticized and told black people that their characteristics and facial features were just not acceptable…and in many cases just plain downright ugly.  They degraded us not only for those things but also because of our skin color.

Now, these very people…they spend millions upon millions making surgeons richer than rich to get big lips, wide hips, big butts, sun tans…and some even braid or have dread their hair…all for the sake of trying to look more like the very people they once  supposedly scorn. 

Though I am sure that they would certainly not say that they were opting to go up under all that surgery for the purpose of trying to get ‘black’ or even…that they have or have had any deep hidden desires to look more like black folks.  Whatever their driving force the things that they claimed to have hated and dispised about black people’s features and everything else…today they don’t mind shelling out plenty of money with the hope of duplicating.

But that trend has not been in the reverse…though as Michael Jackson proves that technology does exists too.  But very few of us have choosen to rush out and change our noses, lighten our skin or shrink the size of our lips. 

Sorry, Michael…I guess way down deep inside we really didn’t buy all that stuff after all.  Which is maybe why James Brown’s hit “Say It Loud…I’m Black and I’m Proud” was such a large hit among black folks in the 70s.  And then he hit big with “Sex Machine”…and he had to be talkin’ about us when he wrote that one.

But going back to what I was trying to say in the beginning about myself…I never used to love myself because…well, because I just never thought of myself as being ‘pretty’ or ‘attractive’ and certainly never ‘beautiful.’  And of course…every woman wants to feel these things.  

I have most been amazed when I have run upon people whom I felt were not  attractive…but for some reason they seemed to have a far greater sense of being then me…thinking of themselves ’more’ handsome or ‘more’ beautiful than anyone else.  I suspect that these things really are a matter of perspective…and definitely dependent upon who is looking at who.  And of course how you perceive you own self. 

Over time I have truly come to realize that beauty really is skin deep.  And that we all should be very much thankful for what God has given us.  Whether it be family, family members, siblings, car, house, job, even our problems…or our perceived problems. 

No matter the situation…there is always someone who is in a worst state of being…who has a worst family (or no family at all)…worst siblings…car that is in worst condition…or house in greater disrepair etc…  Or even those who think that she or he is not as smart as…or as pretty as.  It is all a matter of perception.  If you perceive yourself as being beautiful…then you will be beautiful.  And the same thing goes for being smart.  

It is kind of like that Scarecrow in the moive the ‘Wizard of Oz.’  Just by receiving that piece of paper (that degree) his whole perception of how intelligent and smart he was changed…and he became confident in the knowledge he now felt he possessed.

Everybody is attracted to confident people…who are sure about themselves and are grounded in who they are…and exhibit high standards of personal quality.

So, I guess you could say it is a mind thing.  Today in my mind my view point of myself  is very different from what it had been.  I do love myself.  Today, sometimes when I a reflection of myself…I smile.   I feel I am growing into my looks.  And I am highly confident in myself…in my skills, who I am and certainly about the gifts that God has instilled in me.  I didn’t have that before…and I never felt I was all that good in anything that I did…though I was told the opposite.   And told it often by others…many whom who sought me out to do so.   But I just thought that they were being kind.

I love me now.  I still may not think I am the best looking…but I feel I have a lot more going for myself than mere looks. .and I really really really…really do.

And you know what? 

But this above all I do have…the love of God.  I  am a good person…who will do nothing for money.  And I have never valued money over people.

This is what I think of beauty today…when you want to find real beauty in this world…it can be found in those who have true humility…and those willing to give of themselves for others.  That is real beauty to me. 

Wow…do I wish I had humility…even just a piece of it. 

I have had the pleasure of being in the presence of at least 2 people who possessed true humility…and I have never been the same nor stopped enving them because they possess it and I did not. 

True humility has to be the greatest of all things that any person could possess.  It far exceeds good looks…it is something with resides on the inside.  And there is something very calming and peaceful about it…and those who possess it.

In a few words…  ‘Happiness in this world is what we make it.’  We can either choose to be unhappy, sad or depressed all of the time…part of the time…or none of the time.   But it is a personal choice…and languishing over such things as physical beauty is an absolute waste of time.  As we are in a constant state of evolving…what we looked like 20 years ago is no more and is forever gone.  But personal and mental growth is something which we should all always be in search of.

Be safe this holiday season and enjoy your Thanksgiving.  Always seek to do good over evil…and stay encouraged. 

Now, can I go to Sarah Palin, at least one last time?

It seems to me that the world celebrates mediocrity in ways that it never did before. 

http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/story?id=6189621&page=1

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/27853608/

On the heels of suffering a lost as Vice President of the United States, Sarah Palin is being hit with a slew of offers from film to television to books.  She is reportedly close to closing a $7 million book deal about her life.  But the problem that I have always had with Sarah Palin is that she was below the standard.

She was a governor from a very large yet isolated state, not populated by very many people.  She had a 17 year old daughter who was and may at this time still be pregnant, and out of wedlock.  And in my personal opinion, she was a woman who cared less about her family and home life than her own political ambitions and being in the lime light.

I really don’t know many women who when they were pregnant and their amniotic fluids leaking would risk their baby’s life by flying off to conferences or any conventions, as Sarah Palin did.  Knowing that her last child was already going to face challenges it is inconceivable to me how Palin would have risked further danger upon her then unborn son, Trig.  Who ended up being born at least 2 months early…you can read more on this story as I wrote on the topic in more detail in an earlier blog on Palin….@ www.bsmith101.wordpress.com.

Though I have never thought much of Sarah Palin as a Vice Presidential pick…I have certainly thought even less of her as a mother.  When you compare just how her children even the baby was dressed when they were paraded out on the world stage..or even the McCain kids for that matter.  There was a sharp contrast to them and how the Obama children have looked and been dressed. 

There is something which can be said for parents who pay close attention to not only their own attire but also to that of their children as well.  It shows up…and speaks volumes about those people and the type of  parents that they really are.

My parents were somewhat well off.  My mother stayed in the stores…she loved to shop…but she also was hard working, as well as, my father.  They had 8 children and they worked to ensure that we had everything we needed and most of what we wanted. 

My mother had plenty of furs and the best of women’s church apparel.  She was attactive in our church and a big giver in many ways.  

My father equally…he was top shelf too…and always maintained himself very well down to his mustache and the shine of his shoes…and his shoes always shined as he took the time to ensure it before putting them onto his feet.  He didn’t just wipe his shoes…he bluffed them…shoeshine rag and all. 

But my parents never forgot about us…my brothers stayed in the barber’s chair…my father’s.  And we stayed up under the comb or curling irons.  Our clothes were always clean crisp…as my mother washed every day.  She also cooked every day and usually mopped the kitchen floor once everyday…besides hold down her own job as a nurse supervisor.  This she did up until the time I became of age and was able to take on certain responsibilities around the house as well.  But when Sundays came or special events that called for us to be presentable…we were and without fail…from head to toe. 

That is the nature of parents who not only care about themselves and how they look…but also take pride in their family as well.  And my parents certainly did.  They took great pride in us…and it showed in their care of us but also in the great amounts of money they spent on us.

Enjoy your family…and your friends.  Happy Thanksgiving.

And whatever your plans may you be safe…and please remember those who are less fortunate than you. 

I don’t know about you but we Smith’s have an awful lot to be thankful for.  We truly…truly do.  And I for one certainly thank God for everything…and His many many blessings unto me and my family thoughout all the years.  I hope that you can say the same.

God bless…   Thank you for reading and don’t forget to share this blog with your friends, family and…and just everybody.

…pass it on…’ www.bsmith101.wordpress.com

God bless…and thanks for reading ©2008

http://www.youtube.com/user/barackobamadotcom?ob=4

It is like a breath of fresh air to have a black woman who totally and so completely despells that myth that many black women have taken such a bad rap for…and has been highly heighten by black music and rap videos.  You know the ones…like being cheap…loose…trampy…brainless and easy…etc…etc….

At last a black woman who not only has grace and poise but a brain to go with it.  Somebody who is not flashing her flesh…but yet is sexy in a quiet and enticing way…not understated…or yet overstated.  But stated.  And this is not to miminize my sisters who truly have it…well, going on…some pastors…some evangelists…some business owners…some lawyers…some doctors….etc…and some just moms.  But they got it going on.

Not trying to play like someone else.  Content in who she is…in her blackness…in her feminity…in her womanhood…life…motherhood…and as a wife…daughter…and auntie…

And not only having brains…but power…confidence…and humility.  What awesome combinations!

There is little wonder that President Elect Barrack Obama refused to accept “no” while trying to continuously seeking her to date him.  Sometimes a little opposition can go a long ways.  It may have been just the thing he needed to help have the determination to make it all the way into the White House as the President of the United States this past Presidential Election period.

Having pursued her undergraduate studies at Princeton, in 1985 for her thesis topic she chose “Princeton-Educated Blacks and the Black Community.”  Within the pages of her thesis, Michelle wrote that her experiences at Princeton University had made her more aware of her blackness than ever before.  Princeton being an Ivy League university located in Princeton, New Jersey, was a far cry from being in the large urban hub of Southside Chicago from where she came.  At the time there was no Toni Morrison there or a Dr. Cornel West on its campus back then…nor much by way of African-American studies which the school has since expanded, which may have a lot to do with a former student who minored in the subject there.

Michelle Obama graduated cum-laude from Princeton University in 1985 with a major in sociology and a minor in African-American studies.  In 1988, Michelle Obama received her doctorate degree in law from the Harvard Law School.

She met Barrack Obama when he came to work as a summer associate at the Chicago law firm for which she was working for at the time.  She was assigned to mentor him through that period at the company. 

Obviously self-confidence was not something which Barrack Obama has ever lacked.  He liked her…but she…well, she just was not interested.   She believed that co-workers should not be fraternizing while working on a job together and so…she maintained that code while Barrack never gave up trying.  He invited her to a community organization meeting and impressed her so much by his work, oration and commitment to what he was doing that slowly he began to win her over.  The rest is history…

But it is clear to say that Michelle Obama is not only a good role model for any young girl…young lady…and/or woman out there…everywhere, but an excellent one.  With Barrack Obama’s good looks it is hard to believe anybody could have ever told him ‘no.’   But Michelle Obama did and continuously several times.  If nothing else…this may prove to many that saying ‘no’ might not be such a bad thing to practice.  Look what it can get you. 

Obama didn’t just look over at Michelle and flash that winning smile at her…and she went weak in the knees.  No, that didn’t happen.  Barrack Obama had to win her affection…her love…her admiration…and her respect.  After a while he finally got her attention.  It didn’t happen the moment she laid her eyes on him.  She wasn’t looking for someone to just throw her down and leap upon her.  In fact…she wasn’t looking.

But Obama found her. 

She was sitting in an office fulfilling the capacities of her job when he stepped into her life.  She viewed it as a professional arrangement.   As something her company had put together and asked her to fulfill by being his mentor.

It is perhaps that arrangement which laid the foundation for their future life together…where she can say things to him such as she did following her introduction of him at the 2004 Democratic Primary Convention…when she said to him as she passed him while she was walking off stage, “Now, don’t blow it.”

That foundation having been laid from the time they first met positioned Michelle Obama to be Barrack Obama’s closest…dearest…most truthful confidant whom he knows will always lovingly be balantly truthful no matter how much it hurts while at the same time bringing him much joy, happiness and pride in his life.  These are combinations which cannot be beat. 

Born Michelle LaVaughn Robinson on January 17, 1964, there is no way that her parents, Fraser Robinson and Marian Shields Robinson, would have known that their daughter was destine to make history.  And that history would include her marrying the first African-American man to become President of the United States, in the form of Barrack Obama…or that their daughter would ever become the First Lady of the United States of America.

At 5′11″ Michelle Obama is capable of making any fashion statement she chooses.  But if being a fashion statement is what media thinks is the only thing that Michelle Obama is all about…they better back up and think twice.  She is no Jackie ‘O’ but may go down in history as be as beloved, admired and respected.  Jackie didn’t come complete with 2 degrees from 2 very prestigious schools, Princeton and Harvard…or hold a doctorate in law…or work as a lawyer.  No, Michelle Obama will be more than just a beautiful woman on the arm of a very handsome President.  And look for her to make more than just fashion statements…though she says she is really looking forward to being just ‘First Mom.’ 

At a time when many African-American college students neglect African-American studies as part of their coor-electives or even as a major or minor…Michelle Obama’s story may prove to be an incentive in increasing the enrollment in those classes by all students…and that would be a very great thing.

Well, she ain’t no hip-hop mama shaking her booty in some rap video.  Oh, no…no…  Or some hotty stepping up out of a pool dripping wet…while a bunch of male singers gang around her and start simulating sexual acts.   No…no…she’s too wholesome, too clean cut, too mature and too hip for that…and she sho’ nuff got more than that going on.  She’s got brains plus body…but prefers to display if anything…her brains.  And she has a whole lot more of self-respect for herself than to want rub up and down on some stripper’s pole.

She is a Mack truck coming down the freeway…and it’s all brain power…and natural inner and outer beauty, baby.

And what a mother…and wife.

Barrack Obama could not have made a better choice.  

Every man owes it to himself to find a Michelle Obama…and nothing less.

And every woman owes it to herself to allow a Barrack Obama to find her, respect her…and then to become the head of their family.

Welcome into our world, Mrs. Michelle Obama, First Lady of the United States of America!

And oh, yeah…First Mom.

http://www.reuters.com/article/politicsNews/idUSTRE4A00UF20081101

http://images.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://www.chicagotribune.com/media/photo/2008-08/41833017.jpg&imgrefurl=http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/politics/chi-michelle-leadall_for_finalaug26,0,256879.story&h=350&w=500&sz=32&hl=en&start=6&um=1&usg=__UqgOxMaWRjb6gwDZLuBN9OEMLok=&tbnid=cDLIzaYShrWZSM:&tbnh=91&tbnw=130&prev=/images%3Fq%3Dpicture%2Bof%2Bmichelle%2Bobama%26um%3D1%26hl%3Den

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/in_pictures/7720974.stm

VENUS WILLIAMS…still tearing up  the courts….

 Topping off her already superb year having won Wimbledon again, the US Open and gold in the 2008 Beijing Olympics, this year, with her Doubles partner and sister, Serena Williams, who has also had a very outstanding year.  Which I am sure gives the entire Williams family much to cheer…smile and to be proud about…including the fact that these 2 young ladies are very great role models for young women…and young boys and men everywhere. 

They are the stuff that champions are made of…determination and lots of hard work…and forever perfecting their craft and sharpening those skills.  Both, Venus and Serena…are athletic mechines…capable to chasing down the most far reaching balls and slamming them back with razor sharp precision.

Venus Williams

It was hard work but Venus pulled it out…winning her final tournament for this year…giving her…her 39th title.  She won 6-7, 6-0, 6-2 thus giving her…her first win over Russia’s Vera Zonareva.  The tournament in Doha, Qatar this past Sunday featured the top 8 players in the world of which Serena was also one.

http://www.iht.com/articles/2008/11/10/sports/TENNIS.php

http://afp.google.com/article/ALeqM5jJyh4vNEHwFGo9veCRL1xT13GZXQ

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/tennis/7705943.stm

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/tennis/7718624.stm

http://www.sportinglife.com/fanzine/story_get.dor?STORY_NAME=tennis/08/11/10/manual_115915.html

Hope you are having a wonderful day…today is suppose to be a holiday…Veteran’s Day here…but since my school is private we had class.  But to any of you who are veterans…happy Veteran’s Day and thank you for your service.   

I’m due in Boston tomorrow as I am considering DIV school…that is Divinity School.  I’m viewing the campus of Harvard and sitting in on sessions…should be interesting.   Then I am also thinking about the possibility of Howard University’s Divinity School too.

Well, God bless…

…pass it on…’ www.bsmith101.wordpress.com