Rewind Time

Note: Leaving town today for a few days to ring in 2010 and to take care of a few matters. If the time and the inspiration hits me, you may get some new stuff. Until then, let me leave you with a rewind blog. I wrote this one on my former blog home, Yahoo 360. Shout out to my blog homie from the 360 days Original Glamazon! Enjoy this and to you and yours have a safe and blessed New Year. Don't drive drunk and do what you do if it is FUN and SAFE!!!

Sometimes church can be funny...

I like to observe things and people watch. Of course this can happen anywhere and anytime. Church is the one place where you can sit quietly and watch many things unfold but if these events unfold incorrectly, you have to fight like hell to not laugh out loud. For example:

We all aren't great singers and sometimes we get stuck next to someone who sings better or worse than us. There is one lady who sings very nice, I mean she sounds like she has been trained. But she sings so good, she sometimes drowns out the choir. I see folks in the choir looking real frustrated as they hear her voice go up a few octaves. I want to turn to her and really encourage her to don a robe and add to the already stellar, angelic singing occuring at the FRONT of the church. Of course the flip side to that is the person who sings so badly, they mess up your already bad singing and then you have a whole section sounding like Corky from Life Goes on.

As a young man learning the ways of how to dress properly (back in the day there was no "What Not to Wear, you either took someones advice on what to wear or you got clowned) I was taught that you do not wear striped shirts with a striped tie. And what do I see, a gentleman wearing a Fruit Stripe Gum shirt (Yeah, you remember Fruit Stripe Gum) and a striped tie. My eyes watered when I saw the combination and I quickly had to regain my composure as I was going to communion. Wow, that combination was louder than Joe Clair in a wind tunnel!

Why are some of these young mothers wearing revealing clothing to CHURCH?! There is this one young lady who wears jeans every Sunday and those jokers are low riders! So when she decided to dress up in a nice pantsuit, the pants were low riding! Geez, we are there to repent and here you are trying to sell us some crack! Get behind me Satan!!!!

I can say this, it seems I have been getting lucky with those sitting around me and their breath. Either that or these folks have been doing what they need to do....BRUSH THEIR TEETH! Remember, a brush at night needs to be reinforced in the morning, the cavity creeps are just that, they like to creep around your dry ass mouth at night! So when you wake in the morning, that green cloud around your head is from the war the just finished fighting in your mouth! So fight fire with fire, brush your breath with some toothpaste and wash it out with some Listerine! Because Listerine kills the germs that cause bad breath!

Who knew getting your weekly dose of Jesus could be so entertaining?

I support black, not ignorant

I think alot of confusion has come about in the age of "hatin" where if one does not subscribe to what is hot, not or black then you are classified as a hater. Thinking long and hard about this, I really could not accurately (not enough to give it justice) define what hatin' or being a hater is. Now I gotta go to school on you and pull out, yes...THE URBAN DICTIONARY to provide some clarity on this.

Hater: A person that simply cannot be happy for another person's success. So rather than be happy they make a point of exposing a flaw in that person.

Hatin': Sayin bad things about/puttin someone down because they have something that you want

So basically, it all boils down to one word: jealousy! As the title of the blog states, I support my sistas and brothas provided what they are doing is positive and makes a bit of damn sense. I had a former co-worker who took this to an extreme and supported black even though the intent of the person may be kind of questionable. Which leads me to wonder how pervasive is this type of thinking when it comes to people's reactions when someone says "I'm not supporting Tyler Perry's new movie" or "I don't like Beyonce, she can't act/sing/whatever." Does a statement like that classify someone as a hater? Let's analyze this.

I will be honest, not a Beyonce fan. There are songs of her's I like but not a fan of her singing and her acting is even worse. She couldn't play a corpse on CSI, lets be real here! Now in saying that I am just offering an opinion of how I judge her talent. Her success is great, she is popular and that is why one works hard and grinds to enjoy the benefits of success. So does my opinion of her make me a hater? I have not said that i envy her success and hopes she fails. On the contrary, I hope that she continues to entertain the masses but in the same regard become better at it. I think as a people we have become a bit too sensitive especially now that we come from more and more diverse backgrounds. I am a lover of music...good music and what passes today for music does not get my approval or support. If you are good, I will give you credit. Doesn't mean I have to like you, I just either support or not support you. No jealousy involved, to be able to sing, act or be creative and to touch a life with it is simply a gift from God. We need to take better care as to use certain terminology when we describe what we percieve as the actions of others. Lastly, we need to return to better respecting the opinions of others. Diversity in thought makes us better, stronger. I like that black folks do things differently and that we are all aren't the same in how we think. I like that better than being a lemming. Thoughts greatly appreciated!

Awkward Moments: Partying amongst Frienemies

I rarely have awkward moments at parties. When I arrive I see friends have lots of laughs and just chill. With all of that going on, where is there room for an awkward moment? Are you the person who is cool with everyone but the folks in the circle that you in have their interpersonal squabbles that makes your good relationships awkward? I never understood how that came about for me, I like to think I could get along with just about anyone and if I had a problem with someone I would either address the issue (most likely scenario) or just not associate myself with you (last resort either because the person has pissed me off or is a complete d-bag or biatch).

Last night I went a xmas party hosted by friends at their home. It was a good night for a xmas party, it was cold, the first snow of the season had fallen during the day and it just felt like a great Saturday night thing to do. As soon as I walked in, I scanned the room and there were folks congregating in different areas talking, dancing and drinking. Sounds like a good party, yes. But then something struck me as odd, like a tension but I ignored for a hot second as I saw a friend I had not seen in a while and then that feeling of tension came back. I realized that she was friends with me and had been associated with some of the other folks at the party but each party was at opposite ends of the room. We chatted for a few but at that point the die had been cast, things were officially awkward.

I hate feeling like this, kind of being the buffer amongst folks who aren't necessarily cool with each other. What's even more strange is when I am engaged in a conversation in short distance from the frienemy and my attention span splits between the conversation and observing the reaction of the other person and the resulting awkwardness from that situation. In work situations where this has happened, I have walked away hands in the air and hoping that the two opposite parties either figure it out or kill each other. Either way, I am no longer in the middle of your war!!!

Anyone have this problem, always feeling like you are constantly in the middle?

The 80's called, they want their fashions back!

I have to remind myself that I work in close vicinity to a college campus in a college town. Depending on when I take lunch, I find myself in the between class rush of students. Now I am not a single man but that doesn't mean I can't look. Ahhh, youth and some of the young ladies...well this is a family blog! LOL!!! I hate to say this but the 80's are back!! I know, surprised? You shouldn't be, they say everything old is new again. I guess every generation brings back something that was way before their time but to see leggings, big sweaters, wayfarer sunglasses and popped collars on polo shirts ala Tom Cruise in Risky Business is a bit much. These youngins were just DNA when these fashions were out originally! Oh well, I just hope the 70's don't come back!