I have been dressing myself for several decades...but occasionally I get it wrong (not just a Glamour fashion don't). Today is one of those days. I just noticed I have on an article of clothing which is being worn backwards/inside out.
Has that ever happened to you? :-)
Wednesday, November 25, 2009
Saggin Pants
My Friend Alan sent this to me earlier today, two things happenened: I learned something and I was moved and therefore, I'm sharing!
Letter from a college student
The other day, a friend of mine visited me in the lobby of my dorm just to chat while her laundry was drying. As we were chatting, two young freshmen came by. One of the 2 boys wanted to 'talk' to my friend (as in date). She asked him how old they were, and both of the boys replied 18. My friend and I both laughed hysterically because we are both 22 years old.
After my friend left, the young men were still hanging around and one wanted to know how he could gain her interest.
The first thing I told him to do was to pull up his pants! He asked why, and then said he liked saggin ' his pants. I told him to come over to my computer and spell the word saggin'. Then I told him to write the word saggin ' backwards.
S-A-G-G-I-N
I told him the origin of that look was from centuries ago. It was the intent of slave owners to demoralize the field workers by forbidding them to wear a belt as they worked in the fields or at any other rigorous job. In addition, men in prison wore their pants low when they were 'spoken for'. The other reason their pants looked like that was they were not allowed to have belts because prisoners were likely to try to commit suicide.. And, saggin' pants prevents you from running.
We as young Black people have to be the ones to effect change. We are dying. The media has made a mockery of the Black American. Even our brothers and sisters from Africa don't take us seriously. Something as simple as pulling up your pants and standing with your head held high could make the biggest difference in the world's perception of us. It is time to do right by ourselves..
Remember all eyes are on you Black Man. All eyes are on you Black Woman. All eyes are on your Black Child. People point the finger at us an expect us to engage in negative and illegal activities, to manifest loud, boisterous behavior, to spend our hard earned money in their stores, buying goods we don't need, or really want. We have allowed not only the media, but the government and the world to portray us as a 'sub-culture. ' They have stripped our culture down to the point where the image of Black people is perpetuated as rappers, athletes, drug users, and consumers of junk food, expensive tennis shoes, expensive cars, expensive TVs, cell phones and not investing in homes for our families.
We are so much more!!!!!!!
To all our Black Men :
To all our Black Women:
For all our Black Children:
Letter from a college student
The other day, a friend of mine visited me in the lobby of my dorm just to chat while her laundry was drying. As we were chatting, two young freshmen came by. One of the 2 boys wanted to 'talk' to my friend (as in date). She asked him how old they were, and both of the boys replied 18. My friend and I both laughed hysterically because we are both 22 years old.
After my friend left, the young men were still hanging around and one wanted to know how he could gain her interest.
The first thing I told him to do was to pull up his pants! He asked why, and then said he liked saggin ' his pants. I told him to come over to my computer and spell the word saggin'. Then I told him to write the word saggin ' backwards.
S-A-G-G-I-N
N-I-G- G-A-S
I told him the origin of that look was from centuries ago. It was the intent of slave owners to demoralize the field workers by forbidding them to wear a belt as they worked in the fields or at any other rigorous job. In addition, men in prison wore their pants low when they were 'spoken for'. The other reason their pants looked like that was they were not allowed to have belts because prisoners were likely to try to commit suicide.. And, saggin' pants prevents you from running.
We as young Black people have to be the ones to effect change. We are dying. The media has made a mockery of the Black American. Even our brothers and sisters from Africa don't take us seriously. Something as simple as pulling up your pants and standing with your head held high could make the biggest difference in the world's perception of us. It is time to do right by ourselves..
We need to love and embrace each other. No one is going to do that for us.
It all comes down to perception. What people perceive is what reality to them is. We have to change not only the media's perception of us, but we need to change our perception of ourselves.
It all comes down to perception. What people perceive is what reality to them is. We have to change not only the media's perception of us, but we need to change our perception of ourselves.
Remember all eyes are on you Black Man. All eyes are on you Black Woman. All eyes are on your Black Child. People point the finger at us an expect us to engage in negative and illegal activities, to manifest loud, boisterous behavior, to spend our hard earned money in their stores, buying goods we don't need, or really want. We have allowed not only the media, but the government and the world to portray us as a 'sub-culture. ' They have stripped our culture down to the point where the image of Black people is perpetuated as rappers, athletes, drug users, and consumers of junk food, expensive tennis shoes, expensive cars, expensive TVs, cell phones and not investing in homes for our families.
We are so much more!!!!!!!
To all our Black Men :
It's time to stand up. There are billions of Black Women who want to do nothing more than worship the ground that you walk on. We are so in love with your potential. We want to have your back, we want to love, support and cherish every ounce of your being. But with that you have to show that you are willing to be the head of our households. You have to prove yourselves worthy of our submission.
We need you to be hard working...Not a hustler. We need you to seek higher education, to seek spirituality. We need you to stand! And trust us; we will have your back. We know that it gets hard. We know you get weary. Trust and believe that there is nothing that a Black Man and a Black Woman can't handle with GOD on their side.
To all our Black Women:
It is also time for you to stand up. It is time for you to stop using our bodies as our primary form of communication. It is time to be that virtuous woman that Proverbs spoke of. You cannot sit by the wayside while our men are dying by the masses. You are the epitome of Black Love. It starts within you.
You need to speak with conviction to let not only our Black Men know, but the world, that you are the Mothers of this world. You are so powerful. You are so beautiful. You need to love and embrace every blessing God has given us physically, emotionally and spiritually.
For all our Black Children:
We need to love them. We need to teach them. We need to stand up for them. We need to protect them. We need to show them that there are no 'get rich quick' schemes. We need to tell them that they WILL die trying if they submit to a life of crime and deceit. We need to teach our children that no one will love them the way we can. And being a basketball player, a rapper, or a drug dealer is not reality. It's not realistic and only a small percentage of people ever make it as a rapper or professional athlete. We need to teach our children that we can be more than rappers and athletes. We can be the owners of these sports teams. We can be the CEO's of OUR fortune 500 companies.
We need to believe in literacy.
Monday, November 23, 2009
Tracking A 'Missing' Man By Virtual Bread Crumbs
I found the following story on the NPR iPhone App:
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=120580855&sc=17&f=1001
by Alex Cohen
NPR - November 21, 2009
In this digital age, where so much information about us is available online, how difficult would it be to shed all traces of your identity and start a new life?
That was the premise of Wired magazine's Vanish contest. Wired promised writer Evan Ratliff $3,000 if he could go on the lam and not get caught for 30 days. It also offered a $5,000 reward to anyone able to find Evan and say the password — "fluke."
Into The Great Wide Open, Sort Of
But Ratliff wasn't allowed to just hide out in a tent for a month. He had to go places and be public — both in the real world and online.
So he picked a fake name, "James Donald Gatz," a nod to a character in The Great Gatsby, to confuse people who Googled him.
"The idea was," Ratliff says, "they would go Google that and say 'Ha-ha, you have the same name as the guy in The Great Gatsby,' and I would say, 'yes.' "
As Gatz, he traveled unnoticed from San Francisco to Las Vegas to Venice Beach, Calif.
He also set up a fake Facebook profile and Twitter account.
"I was describing where I was and what I ate," Ratliff says. "When the contest was over, I could say, 'Hey! Look everybody, I've been broadcasting exactly where I was this entire time!'"
And people all over the world were looking for him.
"I would wake up, check online to see if anything happened while I was sleeping," says Sarah Manello of Rochester, N.Y. "Then I would make phone calls until around 4 in the morning."
Manello made more than 1,000 calls looking for Ratliff. One guy in Seattle set up a Facebook application. A 16-year-old kid in Oregon created a secret chat room to share information.
Some clues were provided by Wired — Ratliff likes soccer and dive bars, and he can't eat gluten because of a medical condition.
Meanwhile, a band called the Hermit Thrushes hooked up with Ratliff through a ride-sharing Web site.
"The only rules we have on the bus is no whiners, no minors and no drugs," says drummer Sam Tremble. "And he seemed to fit the bill."
Ratliff traveled with the band all the way to St. Louis.
From there, he went on to rent an apartment in New Orleans and catch a soccer game in Salt Lake City. He narrowly dodged getting caught at the Atlanta airport.
Hiding Took A Toll
With each step, Ratliff became more paranoid. Whenever people looked at him, he worried they'd shout out the password, "fluke."
"I became more and more emotionally attached to the idea that I was going to show all these thousands of people that they had found all this information on me, but they weren't gonna catch me," he says.
"For a long time it seemed like the contest was unwinnable," says Jeff Reifman, who set up the Facebook application. Reifman was positively stumped until he saw an online video interview that Ratliff did in California.
The interview was a man-on-the-street deal, and the correspondents asked Ratliff a few questions about how worried he was about swine flu. Reifman thought that shaggy-haired guy with a goatee and glasses looked familiar.
"I recognized that disguise as an account in our Facebook Vanish Team application — someone named James Donald Gatz," Reifman says.
He followed the account to a Twitter account, which was following Naked Pizza, a New Orleans business that sold gluten-free pizza.
'A Feeling Of Freedom'
Reifman thought fast and sent an e-mail to Jeff Leach, the owner of Naked Pizza.
"When I first got the e-mail from Jeff," Leach says, "it read like one of these desperate letters from a princess in Nigeria, needing nothing more than my account number to wire me some money."
Once Leach figured out the contest was legit, he took the hunt off the Internet and onto the New Orleans streets.
He passed out photos of Evan to his staff and flagged every gluten-free order. But Ratliff was nowhere to be found.
But Wired had leaked another clue — that Ratliff was headed to a book reading.
So Leach went to a local bookstore that night with a friend.
"A guy went by on a bicycle," Leach says, "and he made eye contact with me."
Leach stepped up to the man on the bike and said the magic word: "Do you know anybody named 'fluke'?"
Ratliff says he initially froze. Then he said, "Yeah, that's me."
So he lost the contest but gained a very real glimpse of what it means to vanish.
"There was a feeling of freedom in it," he says. "And there were moments in there where I felt like I didn't have any obligations; I was just sort of out there on my own, having new adventures."
But not being able to share those adventures with his real-life family and friends, Ratliff says, wasn't worth much at all. Copyright 2009 National Public Radio
To learn more about the NPR iPhone app, go to http://iphone.npr.org/recommendnprnews
Sent from my iPhone
Wednesday, November 18, 2009
Speak the truth!
I've been thinking a lot about truth and personal assessments lately. It has occurred to me that whenever someone makes an (unflattering)statement of fact about themselves, the people around them are quick to dismiss it as "silly talk". Perhaps when someone says to you "wow, I look fat in those pants" or "dayum, I think I'm old for my skirt to be this short" or "does this fur vest work with the sequin halter"?; it's not a reflection of low self esteem but a moment of personal clarity. We don't need to rush in and save them from themselves; maybe, just maybe they are looking for honesty and trying to critically evaluate the situation. It's possible that maybe they are trying to come up with a corrective course of action. In which case, shouldn't we support them? Why do we assume the person needs to be talked "off the fashion ledge"?
I often take pictures of people when I'm out in public. My twitpics are "infamous" and may likely get me "beat up" one day if I'm not more careful. I'm prompted largely by some of the bizarre things I see, and I ask myself "does she own a mirror"? Or "does he have any friends". It always seems to me that someone in your life would stop you, warn you, counsel you with warmth and support but with truth! For example, "yes, those pants are too tight" or yes, you are too old for that trend"!
I suspect that we know for ourselves and when we try to send up a test balloon many of the "Polly Annas" in our lives want to talk us out of it! Don't be a Polly Anna or a cheerleader....the next time someone says to you "does this look ok" - be honest! Don't be mean or cruel but be honest.
Spandex isn't for everyone. Just because it comes in your size doesn't mean you should own it in 6 colors and finally, red lipstick does NOT look good on everyone! If he/she looks in the mirror and suspects something is wrong - don't you be the one to send them out in to the world with VPL!
Sent via BlackBerry by AT&T
I often take pictures of people when I'm out in public. My twitpics are "infamous" and may likely get me "beat up" one day if I'm not more careful. I'm prompted largely by some of the bizarre things I see, and I ask myself "does she own a mirror"? Or "does he have any friends". It always seems to me that someone in your life would stop you, warn you, counsel you with warmth and support but with truth! For example, "yes, those pants are too tight" or yes, you are too old for that trend"!
I suspect that we know for ourselves and when we try to send up a test balloon many of the "Polly Annas" in our lives want to talk us out of it! Don't be a Polly Anna or a cheerleader....the next time someone says to you "does this look ok" - be honest! Don't be mean or cruel but be honest.
Spandex isn't for everyone. Just because it comes in your size doesn't mean you should own it in 6 colors and finally, red lipstick does NOT look good on everyone! If he/she looks in the mirror and suspects something is wrong - don't you be the one to send them out in to the world with VPL!
Sent via BlackBerry by AT&T
Monday, November 16, 2009
Social Media, Social Graces
This just bugs me.
Just becuase you tweet/status update something about yourself and people follow you, that doesn't mean it's true and/or a good idea!
Declare yourself "Emperor" on Facebook or Twitter and someone in the world will eventually realize you have on "no clothes".
Get over yourself!
Just becuase you tweet/status update something about yourself and people follow you, that doesn't mean it's true and/or a good idea!
Declare yourself "Emperor" on Facebook or Twitter and someone in the world will eventually realize you have on "no clothes".
Get over yourself!
Social Media, Social Graces
(I received this email today and almost hit the delete key because the sender is notorious for sending me spam and urban legends but I read the first two sentences and was instantly hooked - Thank you This was the best spam/email junk/urban legend ever)!!
I just want to thank all of you for your educational e-mails over the past year. I am totally screwed up now and have little chance of recovery.
I no longer open a public bathroom door without using a paper towel or have them put lemon slices in my ice water without worrying about the bacteria on the lemon peel.
I can't use the remote in a hotel room because I don't know what the last person was doing while flipping through the adult movie channels.
I can't sit down on the hotel bedspread because I can only imagine what has happened on it since it was last washed.
I have trouble shaking hands with someone who has been driving because the number one pastime while driving alone is picking ones nose (although cell phone usage may be taking the number one spot).
Eating a little snack sends me on a guilt trip because I can only imagine how many gallons of Trans fats I have consumed over the years.
I can't touch any woman's purse for fear she has placed it on the floor of a public bathroom.
I MUST SEND MY SPECIAL THANKS to whoever sent me the one about poop in the glue on envelopes because I now have to use a wet sponge with every envelope that needs sealing.
ALSO, now I have to scrub the top of every can I open for the same reason. I no longer have any savings because I gave it to a sick girl (Penny Brown) who is about to die in the hospital for the 1,387,258th time.
I no longer have any money at all, but that will change once I receive the $15,000 that Bill Gates/Microsoft and AOL are sending me for participating in their special e-mail program.
I no longer worry about my soul because I have 363,214 angels looking out for me, and St. Theresa's Novena has granted my every wish.
I no longer eat KFC because their chickens are actually horrible mutant freaks with no eyes or feathers.
I no longer use cancer-causing deodorants even though I smell like a water buffalo on a hot day.
THANKS TO YOU I have learned that my prayers only get answered if I forward an e-mail to seven of my friends and make a wish within five minutes.
BECAUSE OF YOUR CONCERN, I no longer drink Coca Cola because it can remove toilet stains.
I no longer can buy gasoline without taking someone along to watch the car so a serial killer won't crawl in my back seat when I'm pumping gas.
I no longer drink Pepsi or Dr. Pepper since the people who make these products are atheists who refuse to put 'Under God' on their cans.
I no longer use Saran Wrap in the microwave because it causes cancer.
AND THANKS FOR LETTING ME KNOW I can't boil a cup of water in the microwave anymore because it will blow up in my face... Disfiguring me for life.
I no longer check the coin return on pay phones because I could be pricked with a needle infected with AIDS.
I no longer go to shopping malls because someone will drug me with a perfume sample and rob me.
I no longer receive packages from UPS or Fed Ex since they are actually Al Qaeda in disguise.
I no longer shop at Target since they are French and don't support our American troops or the Salvation Army.
I no longer answer the phone because someone will ask me to dial a number for which I will get a phone bill with calls to Jamaica , Uganda , Singapore , and Uzbekistan .
I no longer buy expensive cookies from Neiman Marcus since I now have their recipe.
THANKS TO YOU I can't use anyone's toilet but mine because a big brown African spider is lurking under the seat to cause me instant death when it bites my butt.
AND THANKS TO YOUR GREAT ADVICE I can't ever pick up $5.00 dropped in the parking lot because it probably was placed there by a sex molester waiting underneath my car to grab my leg.
I can no longer drive my car because I can't buy gas from certain gas companies!
I can't do any gardening because I'm afraid I'll get bitten by the brown recluse and my hand will fall off.
If you don't send this e-mail to at least 144,000 people in the next 70 minutes, a large dove with diarrhea will land on your head at 5:00 pm. Tomorrow afternoon and the fleas from 12 camels will infest your back, causing you to grow a hairy hump. I know this will occur because it actually happened to a friend of my next door neighbor's ex-mother-in-law's second husband's cousin's beautician . . .
Oh, by the way..... A German scientist from Argentina , after a lengthy study, has discovered that people with insufficient brain activity read their e-mail with their hand on the mouse.
Don't bother taking it off now, it's too late.
ps...don't send me any more crazy ass emails!
I just want to thank all of you for your educational e-mails over the past year. I am totally screwed up now and have little chance of recovery.
I no longer open a public bathroom door without using a paper towel or have them put lemon slices in my ice water without worrying about the bacteria on the lemon peel.
I can't use the remote in a hotel room because I don't know what the last person was doing while flipping through the adult movie channels.
I can't sit down on the hotel bedspread because I can only imagine what has happened on it since it was last washed.
I have trouble shaking hands with someone who has been driving because the number one pastime while driving alone is picking ones nose (although cell phone usage may be taking the number one spot).
Eating a little snack sends me on a guilt trip because I can only imagine how many gallons of Trans fats I have consumed over the years.
I can't touch any woman's purse for fear she has placed it on the floor of a public bathroom.
I MUST SEND MY SPECIAL THANKS to whoever sent me the one about poop in the glue on envelopes because I now have to use a wet sponge with every envelope that needs sealing.
ALSO, now I have to scrub the top of every can I open for the same reason. I no longer have any savings because I gave it to a sick girl (Penny Brown) who is about to die in the hospital for the 1,387,258th time.
I no longer have any money at all, but that will change once I receive the $15,000 that Bill Gates/Microsoft and AOL are sending me for participating in their special e-mail program.
I no longer worry about my soul because I have 363,214 angels looking out for me, and St. Theresa's Novena has granted my every wish.
I no longer eat KFC because their chickens are actually horrible mutant freaks with no eyes or feathers.
I no longer use cancer-causing deodorants even though I smell like a water buffalo on a hot day.
THANKS TO YOU I have learned that my prayers only get answered if I forward an e-mail to seven of my friends and make a wish within five minutes.
BECAUSE OF YOUR CONCERN, I no longer drink Coca Cola because it can remove toilet stains.
I no longer can buy gasoline without taking someone along to watch the car so a serial killer won't crawl in my back seat when I'm pumping gas.
I no longer drink Pepsi or Dr. Pepper since the people who make these products are atheists who refuse to put 'Under God' on their cans.
I no longer use Saran Wrap in the microwave because it causes cancer.
AND THANKS FOR LETTING ME KNOW I can't boil a cup of water in the microwave anymore because it will blow up in my face... Disfiguring me for life.
I no longer check the coin return on pay phones because I could be pricked with a needle infected with AIDS.
I no longer go to shopping malls because someone will drug me with a perfume sample and rob me.
I no longer receive packages from UPS or Fed Ex since they are actually Al Qaeda in disguise.
I no longer shop at Target since they are French and don't support our American troops or the Salvation Army.
I no longer answer the phone because someone will ask me to dial a number for which I will get a phone bill with calls to Jamaica , Uganda , Singapore , and Uzbekistan .
I no longer buy expensive cookies from Neiman Marcus since I now have their recipe.
THANKS TO YOU I can't use anyone's toilet but mine because a big brown African spider is lurking under the seat to cause me instant death when it bites my butt.
AND THANKS TO YOUR GREAT ADVICE I can't ever pick up $5.00 dropped in the parking lot because it probably was placed there by a sex molester waiting underneath my car to grab my leg.
I can no longer drive my car because I can't buy gas from certain gas companies!
I can't do any gardening because I'm afraid I'll get bitten by the brown recluse and my hand will fall off.
If you don't send this e-mail to at least 144,000 people in the next 70 minutes, a large dove with diarrhea will land on your head at 5:00 pm. Tomorrow afternoon and the fleas from 12 camels will infest your back, causing you to grow a hairy hump. I know this will occur because it actually happened to a friend of my next door neighbor's ex-mother-in-law's second husband's cousin's beautician . . .
Oh, by the way..... A German scientist from Argentina , after a lengthy study, has discovered that people with insufficient brain activity read their e-mail with their hand on the mouse.
Don't bother taking it off now, it's too late.
ps...don't send me any more crazy ass emails!
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