Why Didn't He Speak Up Before the Spins?

* Note * A video from Livesteez of Funkmaster Flex was here but I couldn't figure out how to turn the sound off, so I got rid of it. Go to Livesteez for the footage.

Back in the day, when I first found out about 'the tape' I decided to boycott R. Kelly. I was disgusted by his behavior and offended that so many of the DJs on urban radio (Mostly Men) did not publicly speak out, not only against R., but in DEFENSE of the young black woman that was exploited. There were all kinds of excuses, 'girls these days are fast.' 'she probably went after him.' 'these young girls are after that paper, so let her get pissed on.'

Now, your boy has been exonerated, found not guilty, totally innocent of all charges. I'm not surprised. After all, it was a young black girl in the video. If she was of ANY other race, R. would've been on the inside of a jail cell years ago. I'm not surprised that the majority of the black men in the hip hop community, at least the ones with the air time and the big voices, kept trying to give R. the benefit of the doubt. But, I'm saddened by it.

Funkmaster Flex, has come out with an open letter of sorts for your boy R. In the video he admits some culpability in the whole situation. There is no excuse for the fact that over the last 6 or 7 years since the charges were first filed, that R. has been 'allowed' to run urban radio airwaves with his music. Yes, he's talented. That is not being debated here.

But, my question to black men is this...if someone comes into YOUR house and violates your wife, sister or daughter, are you going to tell your her that she should just get over it, because the dude is so talented and rich. Maybe she should feel lucky?

And if your wife, sister or daughter is being or has been violated by some perv, but he's smooth and wiley, so she doesn't realize she's being played...are you going to continue to stand by and let it happen?

I think if R. was white, black men would've been all up in arms that some 'other' was coming into THEIR house stealing one of THEIR women and then degrading her. (something new) But, when it's one of your own, you look the other way.

Stop doing that please. Even if some women don't realize it, we need you to stand up and have our backs.

GOP She-Veep

So, all of those rumblings early last week about McCain picking the governor of Alaska as his Veep were on the money. Most people figured that he would have to do something considered 'unusual' to have a good chance at stealing some of Barack's thunder. Picking Sarah Paulin is supposed to attract the disgruntled HRCites. So, how funny was it, just a few days later to find out that the GOP VP nominee's daughter is about to become a baby mama.

Of course Obama took the high road (a road he's well familiar with) and denounced any effort to pull him into some negative BS surrounding the situation. Now, the GOP pundits are crying about how Paulin could not possibly be responsible for the choices that her daughter has made. Paulin is backing up her daughter, saying that she looks forward to becoming a grandmother and that the young woman will be getting married to the sperm donor soon.

Ok, let's get this straight.

They want me to believe that a 17 year old getting pregnant is NOT a reflection of parental influence.

That they couldn't be happier about this development?

I blame Juno, Knocked Up, Gossip Girl and Jamie Lynn Spears for the double standard that is becoming so popular amongst mainstream America. These little white girls are out there being extra fast and the conservative mainstream is eating it up with sprinkles and chocolate sauce.

It burns me up that just a few months ago, there was a hailstorm surrounding Jeremiah Wright's (JW) comments with regard to Barack, America and white people. MSA (mainstream america) argued that Barack was somehow responsible for JW's comments since he had chosen him as a spiritual advisor/leader. I don't know about you, but my mom has a whole lot more influence on my behavior and decision making process than my preacher...especially when I was 17 years old.

Have you ever had an argument with someone that had no evidentiary support for their position so, they threw out one illogical conclusion after the other...then you get so bogged down with trying to follow the faulty logic that you get frustrated, so you basically throw your hands up and say, 'Ok, you're right!'?? Well, that's what the republicans are trying to get us to do, throw up our hands and just let them win. That is soo not happening.

Barack is smart because he knows that the best way to win an unfair fight is to not engage in the first place.

I swear, these people get on my nerves with this kind of BS.

Yes we can!

Holla

It's a Black Thing - You Wouldn't Understand!

Do y'all remember back in the day, when everyone was rocking shirts with that saying?

Remember when selling out meant trying to appeal to mainstream America and MC Hammer was the poster child for the term?

Remember when we weren't so eager to try to exploit ourselves and our culture to satisfy the junk food appetite of suburban teenagers?

Remember when the most popular rappers of the day dressed like college kids instead of like jailbirds?

Remember when Luke was considered risque, not a chauvinistic albeit harmless older dude?

I know there are some younger people that have only known a life of MTV and constant 'lifestyle' marketing...but occasionally I wonder, have we really 'progressed'?

On the one hand, I am happy that so many young people learned how to own their own dreams and learn how to capitalize off of their efforts. But, in the same vein, what have we given up to achieve the big bank accounts, and is it worth it?

Just a thought for now...

Holla

It's In Their DNA - The Jamaican Olympians

Why is it that whenever a group, other than caucasians, completely DOMINATE an activity, the mainstream media has to link it to some genetic predisposition???

Today, I read an article in Slate, 'explaining' why Jamaicans run so fast. (Article originally posted on 8/18/08) I looked at the title Jamaican Me Speedy with the side-eye, because I knew nothing good this way was gonna come.

Jamaica is a poor, tiny nation about half the size of New Jersey. What makes its people such champion sprinters?

Uh - could it be that they work their @sses off, eat a healthy diet of mostly non-processed foods and are dedicated to achieving their goal, or in this case their GOLD??

Nah, that couldn't be it, it must be something genetic...because we know black people don't work that hard...especially Jamaicans. They're too busy drinking rum and winding.

Then, the article goes on to talk about some study that was done in the 80s that showed a trait in West African students, that allowed them to run faster. Now, imagine if I said that there is a trait amongst American East Coasters. You would look at me like I'm crazy. In your mind, you'd think, all East Coasters aren't the same. That's ridiculous Penni.

But, for some reason, people act like Africa, the continent is one big homogenous country...except for Northern Africa which sometimes 'passes' for middle eastern. (I've got more to say about that, but I'm trying to be focused here.)

The article does NOT go on to explain why the American black people were left in the Jamaicans' dust. Aren't their ancestors from the same 'West Africa' as the Jamaicans?

Check out the article yourself and sign in to leave a comment over there. Let The Explainer know that his/her article is some racist fragglenackle!

Edited 8/20 - Nadra over at Racialicious wrote about this too. Check it out.

Holla

Penni

p.s. and while we're on the subject, am I the only one that wants a t-shirt with a thunder bolt on it in honor of Usain Bolt??? Dude is like lightening!

Italian Vogue - The Black Issue

So, the July issue of Italian Vogue has chosen this month to feature ONLY black models in its features...and it's not even February.

I've got to admit, I was excited a few months ago when I heard that this issue was going to happen. I was looking forward to seeing pretty brown faces that I hadn't seen before. And while I love the idea of bringing these models to the forefront, I've been wondering if the editors have missed the point.

The editor mentioned in this article that she was unafraid of being 'unconventional' and provocative. The whole point of hiring more black models is to make them more mainstream, more commonplace. The point is NOT to feature a black girl in some animal print, so that you, the photographer/editor can be seen as a rebel.

I'll still be purchasing the magazine because if we don't support it, the takeaway message will be, 'See, we gave you people a whole issue and it just sat on the stands. This is why we don't hire black models!' But, I can't get away from feeling like I'm also in effect praising these racist fashion editors for doing something they should be doing without expecting a pat on the back.

Is this really different than us picketing to eat at the whites only lunch counter?

Holla

ETA: Interview with Bethann regarding the issue here.

African American Water Torture

So, there's this guy that I went out with a while ago. He was really nice, helpful, smart, good job, all the stuff a woman looks for. But, homeboy didn't even get to first base.

Talking to him was like sitting outside in a torrential downpour that happened one drop at a time.

Here's how today's convo went...

'How's your day going?'
'Pretty good, no complaints. Yours?'
'Yeah, I'm good.'
'Good.'
5 minute pause

'You have big plans for the evening?'
'Nope, no 'big' plans.'
'Ok, how about medium? LOL'
I'm not making this up, y'all!
'Nope, I'm chillin.'
5 minute pause

'We should have lunch or dinner or something soon.'
'Sure.'
'Great. Whenever you are up to it. *wink*'
'ok.'

Just ask me out already!

This is the kind of guy that would ask you if he could kiss you. (and not in that BIG kind of way.) Dayum, if you have to ask, then maybe we don't need to be kissing. Are you going to ask me if it's ok to whip it out too?

Cheese N Crackers!

Isn't there a medium? One where the guy is not a player and not slow?

Holla

Black and White People Make Pretty Babies

That is what he said.

We were sitting on his couch, looking through his photo album. In it, I found a series of pics of a blonde haired little boy playing with his son. He told me that blondie is his nephew.

Was that pride in his voice?

"Really? Is your sister white" I said.

"No. She's married to a German guy."

He looks white doesn't he?

I picked up the pic and looked at it closer.

He actually has 'black features. The blonde hair threw me off. Not many black people have cornsilk colored wavy locks. Even his very fair complexion doesn't take him out of the 'black' category.

So, then he commented about how cute the little boy is. I agreed.

Then, he said, 'I've always thought that Black and White people make the prettiest babies.'

I burst out laughing.

He wanted to know what was soo funny.

Surely he had to be joking.

Apparently, he was not.

So, I engaged him.

'Why do you think biracial children are so cute?'

'I know what you're going to say, it's because of the hair and skin color. But, that's not it. I think the mixture of the features is really cute.'

'Really?'

'Yeah! But, you're 'Miss Natural', so you probably won't agree.'

Before responding, I had to replay all of our interactions through my mind's eye. When we first met, he said that he didn't like natural hair on black girls. I explained to him my philosophy about black girls learning to love what they are, without alteration. He knows I'm quite passionate about it.

Eventually, when he saw my hair in its natural state, he said that he liked it...that it wasn't like an afro. Could it be because my hair product mojo was working well that day and my curls weren't frizzy like they are right now? He's also commented many times about how beautiful he thinks I am. Could it be because my nose and lips are narrower than his, the strong reddish hue in my skin or because my eyes have a subtle epicanthal fold. To him, am I just pretty for a brown girl?

I snapped back to the moment.

I told him that he's not alone in his thinking. Mainstream America thinks that a person that is just a little bit black is attractive. That 'je ne sais quoi' is African. He denied that was the case. I reminded him about the black man's obsession with Kim K (who - while Armenian, is still considered white by my company's EEOC department), J. Lo, Vida Guerra and the bevy of other non-black 'models' that have graced the cover of black men's magazines advertising their very African assets.

I'm not hating, pretty is pretty, and I know that there are alot of black men that find black women, that look like them, attractive and desirable. I was just trying to get THIS black man to think about WHY he thought a particular set of physical attributes are more desirable.

Alas, I dropped it. I've learned to pick my battles. I certainly can't get a grown man to see the world differently all in one conversation.

Then, as if to prove he's not whitewashed, he said, 'It's not like I'm caught up on white people. I actually think Asians and Blacks make really cute babies too!'

*DEAD*

holla

My Best Side

Remember back in the day, before you'd take a picture, you'd say to the photographer, 'Wait, make sure you get my best side.' and then you'd proceed to turn your face from side to side, testing out your right, then, left profile.

Now, when a woman wants to get her best side photographed properly, she turns away from the camera. Yep, you guessed it, she turns away from the camera, props her booty up and then tries to turn her head far enough toward the front so that enough of her face is in the picture to identify the proud owner of that illustrious backside.

WTF?

Even girls with noassatall are doing this now. I saw a pic of Hef's girlfriend Kendra the other day online. Poor thing, had her back arched so much she darned near looked like a boomerang. I thought her little bobble head would surely pop right off after that much tension.

Imagine the kindergarten class photos that are a result of this trend: Most of the little boys are smiling (we all know boys stop smiling in photos somewhere around middle school) and all of the little girls are facing the back of the room.

I won't go on my rant about the ubiquity of misogynistic music videos, poor self esteem and similac. You all know the drill.

I'll just say STOP IT!

As my grandma would say, 'Have some pride about yourself!'

Are your assets really your best side?

Holla

Who's Your Go-To Person?

So, I just got off the phone with TNG and he asked me to do something that required a girlfriend caucus decision (at least in my mind).

I hung up with him and then picked up the phone to dial. But, like Ghostbusters, who was I going to call? Y'all already know about my limited (or concise - glass half full) cadre of friends. The first one, if I called her, the call would go straight to voicemail and by the time she got back to me, TNG might be history. The second, she'd say, 'I don't know girl. What do you think?' Uh, that's why I'm calling you! The third, she'd probably offer good advice...eventually. Usually, during one of my long stories (do I have that many?) her other line would ring and she'd have to call me back. There's nothing that can take the wind out of your sails better than that dayum call waiting.

Sure, they mean well. I can't be mad at them. People do have their own lives to live, right?

But, what about me?

Who's going to be my go-to person? Sure, TNG is cool and all. But, he's not my best girlfriend, nor do I want him to be. And I can't always wait until our weekly SATC happy hour to vet things with the girls. Somethings demand immediate attention.

Maybe I'm slow. Maybe you're not supposed to need a go-to person after a certain age. Have mine expired like that chocolate soymilk in my fridge?

Sure, I'm self sufficient. Does needing a go-to person mean that I'm not? I don't ask for advice often. Doesn't that count for something?

Maybe I can put an ad on Craig's list for an occasional go-to person. I wonder what the rates are for that. They sell everything on eBay, has anybody seen ads for a go-to person?

In the meantime, TNG is waiting for me to call him back with a response. I've got to go. I think my mom is home from work by now.

Holla

No Regrets?

I've been surrounded by endings and beginnings this spring. Just last week, my sister graduated with her Master's from Hopkins. It was a remarkable accomplishment considering the fact that in the last 9 months, her stairs have had 'tacks in it, and splinters, and boards torn up...'*. I've moved from one project to another, I'm driving a new-to-me car and I'm moving to another city. After the congratulations come in, one question that I've asked of others and myself is, 'If you had it to do all over again, would you change anything?'

It's funny, because, most people's first response is, 'No' followed by, 'My journey is what made me who I am today. I wouldn't be 'me' if I hadn't gone through what I did.' That seems noble, strong and resiliant...until you really dig deeper.

Ever since I saw the Devil's Advocate in the theater many years ago, the notion of 'choice' has always resonated with me. We all make choices. Some of which can make our road more or less bumpy. Can you learn life lessons without the bumps? Can you be a well rounded, grounded, aware person without having made the 'wrong' choices? For me, the answer is yes. Would you do it the same way, again? Not if I could help it.

There are experiences that changed me in ways that did NOT make me better, and it was all because of my choice. I never hear anyone say that.

There are classes that I would have taken, jobs that I would not have taken, men that I would never have called, admirers that I should have ignored and others that I should have paid more attention to.

I think the reason many people claim to have no regrets is that it is groundshaking to acknowledge that the hurt you experienced or trauma you suffered was your own fault. I wrestled with that. The natural inclination is to find someone to blame, but what if that person is staring at you from the mirror? How do you recover from that?

For me, after trying to rationalize (ration out the lies - according to my pastor), having the epiphany, being weakened by the realization, then climbing up out of the ashes, I find it to be empowering.

There are choices that I will NEVER make again. The beauty of being over 30 and then over 35 is that you really understand what your grands meant when they said, "there is nothing new under the sun." You begin to see the patterns and playbook with 20/20 clarity. At least I feel like I'm getting to that point.

The thing about growth is that it does hurt sometimes. But, I don't believe the hurt has to be at your own hands. For some people, this may be the most effective way to go about it. For me, not so much. I'm not hard headed. I'd rather learn from your mistakes, than be the one making them. Thank you very much!

So, if someone were to ask me, 'So Penni - Congratulations! Would you change anything if you had it to do all over again?'

I'd simply reply, 'Thanks and absolutely!'

Holla

*This is from Mother to Son by Langston Hughes. It's a poem that I had to memorize when I was 9 (5th grade reading class - Bmore public schools weren't always the worst. :-))

Picking Boogers

So, I just started a new project this week and right now, I'm sitting in an orientation meeting with my new team. The program lead is sitting right next to me. It's awkward enough to have to make eye contact with someone sitting so close to me, as he discusses my role. What's worse is the fact that he has this dime sized flat white booger hanging from his left nostril.

It's staring at me!

Everytime I look up, there it is, calling my name, drawing my attention to it.

In my mind, I point at it and scream, 'ewww'.

But, what I really do is keep my head down and try to look ANYWHERE but to my right.

It looks dry, like a coconut flake. Mental note to wein myself off of coconut cake.

I guess I should be greatful that it doesn't look like guacamole.

Holla

Where Do Mature IT People Go?

I mentioned to one of my girlfriends that I happen to work with a handful of attractive men now. But, they are all a good bit younger than me. If I were to judge by their swagger alone, I'd put them in the 28/29 range. Then, I took a second look around and noticed that it's not just the cute guys that are younger. The women are younger too. In fact, if I were to guess the percentage that is over 32, I'd say it's less than 20%.

Is this just a consulting phenomenon? Or is it just IT consulting? One of my other girlfriends that is a different kind of consultant, said that she never really noticed before. I reasoned that maybe it's because she's been one of the youngest.

The last time my boss was older than me was in 2003. The last time my boss was significantly older than me was in 1999. Lately they've been from 4 to 9 years younger. I don't mind taking direction from someone younger. I think what gets to me is that these people may be making more money than me. LOL (Being a 'boss' at my company doesn't necessarily mean you are earning more.)

Where are all the over 35 IT people working? Is it just that consulting is a 'young' man's game? Am I just going to fall off the face of the earth one day and end up in some kind of other world break room, sipping red bull with a bunch of IT pro's that graduated from college (not high school or middle school) in the early 90s? In our building, we have an elevator that gets stuck. The next time I'm on there when the doors don't fully close and I can catch a glimpse between floors, I'm going to look carefully. Maybe that's where my peers are.

I'm not even sure why this matters to me. Is this just my job clock ticking?

Holla

I Dare You!

I've been contemplating the purpose of this online journal and whether or not I should keep updating it. Since the last entry, my world has changed incredibly and for the first time in a long while, writing about it wasn't going to help. So, I hibernated.

But, now, it's spring and I can't stay in my hole forever!

This weekend, me and the new guy (TNG)... (I'm not even sure it makes sense to call him the new guy, because he's not really new. But, my ace and I decided not to give a guy a position until after the marriage license is signed :-))...ok me and TNG participated in this thing called Urban Dare, this weekend. I'd been wanting to do it since I first heard about it a few years ago. Its like amazing race, only, it's confined to DC. It's part trivia, part race and part craziness.

Here's the long and short of it. You meet downtown on the ellipse, get a clue sheet and basically run all over the city taking pictures in front of the answers to the clues. For example, our clues took us from the ellipse, to foggy bottom, to dupont circle and then back down to judiciary square before heading over to pennsylvania avenue, then union station...and most of this was on foot because there were stops along the way.

Our pictures are straight comedy. At first we're all smiles, posing in our fresh t-shirts. Then, by clue #6, the heat, running and confusion causes us to look like straight fools.

I think we did pretty well...before we quit. LOL We got all the way to clue #9 (of 12) before we just couldn't take anymore. My brain was fried (I was the designated clue solver) and his feet were throbbing (New Balances are not the most comfortable shoes) and we were both starving! I wish we'd videotaped our performance, because it was straight hilarity.

You've seen amazing race and how those couples just implode from the stress?? I think each of us had those images in the back of our minds, 'is he going to act a fool?' 'is she going to flip out?'.
But, it didn't happen, we worked well together and there was no drama. In fact, there were times when I know if we weren't so tired, we would've been cracking up.

Would we do it again? I don't know, it's too soon to tell. My ankle is still sore from the 3-legged race. But, I would totally recommend trying it...at least once.

Google urban dare for the details. It's probably coming to a town near you soon.

Talk About the Wire

I just watched episode 2 last night. Here's some discussion on episode 1 from Slate.

http://www.slate.com/id/2181449/entry/2181450/

Enjoy

The Wire's Back!

I caught the new episode the other day. It's on onDemand now for all of you that are like me...sweatin' the final season of the best series on television!

:-)

Updated 1/4: Check out this to be unaired final scene of The Wire...

http://www.slate.com/id/2181339/entry/2181340/

Happy New Year!

I'm soo glad that a new year has come and I'm here to see it. I can't even begin to touch on the events that have transpired since my last post. I feel as if I've lived a year in the last few weeks. Lessons learned:

1. Don't suppress things that are bothering you. Just because you don't talk about it doesn't mean that it goes away. It ALWAYS come back in some way, shape or form and when it does, it's ALWAYS waaay worse than if you'd just talked about it when it first happened.

2. Upgrade your car alarm, especially if you drive a Honda.

3. Steal moments to rejuvenate yourself --no matter what! You can't help others if your battery is low.

Here's to a healthy, prosperous, joyful '08.

Holla

Credit Denied!

This 2004 article from the Onion is hilarious!

Secretary Of Defense Humiliated As U.S. Credit Card Rejected

ST. LOUIS-An attempt to build international goodwill backfired horribly for Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld Monday, when he was unable to pick up the tab for Australian Defense Minister Sen. Robert Hill's order of 11 Apache AH-64 helicopters using the U.S.'s credit card.

What's the government's credit score anyway? I think instead of our score being compared to other citizens. I think all credit scores should be compared to that of the department of defense. As long as your score is better than theirs, you'd have good credit.

"You are twenty times more creditworthy than the government. Would you like to buy a new house at $0 down and $0/month for 2 years? And for such a great score, we'd like to throw in a subsidy of $5k a year?"

...and on the flip side...

"In the news today, the Secretary of State was banned from panhandling on the Pennsylvania Avenue off ramp in the District. The Secretary claimed that this effort was just part of the normal fundraising campaign this year."

Oh what a world it would be.


Holla

Oh No She Didn't!

So, for the past 3 months I've been working in a new role on my project. I'm supposed to be the lead on several processes, however, I have been micro-managed to the nth degree since I started.

The signs were there from the first week. My manager asked me to develop a way to manage and monitor factors that may adversely affect the project. Fine. I did some research, checked out the company's best practices and methodology archives and came up with a draft. I submitted the draft before I went on vacation with specific instructions for my analyst to follow up on in my absence.

When I returned from vacation, the analyst under the other manager's guidance had created a completely different process. I was livid. She basically undermined my authority and if this was a job for an analyst to do, why was I - a manager - tasked with it in the first place??

I spoke with the manager and let her know my concerns. I advised her to speak directly to me regarding changes to the process and that the analyst has no right to make updates to my work. Ok fine - she said.

Cut to a few weeks ago. She tasked me with developing yet another process. This one for reporting status in a weekly meeting. I solicited requirements from both her and her manager to make sure that all of the bases were covered this time. This request came in on a Thursday afternoon at 4pm and the expected due date was Monday at 9am. Basically, she and her boss expected me and the team to work on this over the weekend. I completed a draft by Friday at noon.

Do you know that she called me Friday afternoon wanting to discuss the changes she'd made?? Basically, she revamped the entire deck. It seemed as if she had an idea in her mind already of how it should look, so I felt my time was wasted. On the call that Friday, I told her that I'd make her updates and re-submit in time for the deadline.

So, why on Sunday when I logged in did she IM me asking if I was done yet? WHO DOES THAT??

I wanted to tell her to go micro-manage her husband's man parts and stop bothering me. Instead, I told her that I'd be done in time to meet the deadline, then I logged off. Because I was soo pissed I ended up putting it off for another few hours. LOL

So, today, ole girl decides to have a 'confrontation' with me. She wanted to review a draft I was preparing before I sent it out to the team. I was flat out against it but, I conceded when I realized that I had no choice. During her 'review' she kept making comments about changes that I'd made. I explained the rationale and expected to move on. But, she seemed to think that my changes were negotiable and that she had the final say. I was so over it...and I'm sure my face showed it.

Finally she grabbed her head in frustration and said, "I'm sensing so much opposition on this." To which I replied, "There's no opposition unless you count, every time I tell you how I'm going to manage my process, you tell me 'no - do it this way instead.'"

So then she went on this little rant about how she isn't negating everything I say and that she is just thinking aloud. Meanwhile, I'm focusing on my computer screen. I'm afraid to look at her face because my hand is already itching to make contact with her cheek. The eye contact would've been misinterpreted by my hand as the 'Go!' signal. So, I'm staring at my screen. How about Little Mrs. Blanca-Curry decides to lean over, basically in my face, to make sure that I'm hearing what she's saying.

That sent a signal to my feet to jump up, push her to the
floor, grab her by the neck and start squeezing. Then the cops had to
come and pull me off of her. So, I'm in jail now. Does anyone have bail
money?

Ok, that's what happened in my mind, what really happened is that I gave her
'the look'. The one black girls give people when they want to say, "Bitch
Please!"

My heart was racing, my hands were shaking. I don't know
how I
managed to stay seated, but I did. So, now, I'm about to email HR
and
request to
be taken off of this project immediately.

Holla

The Luddite Rapper

So, on Hollywood Boulevard there are all kinds of people out there getting their hustle on. Well, we ran into this guy who professed to be the next Jay Z. This balding guy, in his mid 30s, was allowing people to hear his demo on a CD walkman. Ok, aside from the fact that this guy was a little long in the tooth to be looking for his first record deal. He was also behind the times technology wise which is unacceptable in an industry that prides itself on being on the bleeding edge of technology.

So, our interaction went something like this...

'You gonna support a brother? Buy my CD.'
He blurted out with CD player and headphones in hand as my mom and I passed him on the sidewalk.
'Well, I download my music, I don't buy CDs, do you have a website? What's your name?'
For the sake of this story we'll call him O.A.R. O stands for Old, R stands for Rapper. You get the picture?
'I go by O.A.R! Nah, I don't have no website set up yet. But, you need to get this CD. I have over 40 songs on here.'
So, I take a listen. I'm feeling generous. As my friends call it, I'm wearing my vacation personality.
'That sounds like Biggie to me.'
'Oh yeah, that is Biggie, I'm on the next track. '
He takes the CD player and skips to the next song.
'Well, what about myspace. Most artists have a myspace page. Do you have one?'
So, he looks up at me. Even in my Uggs, I'm taller than him.
'Nah, I ain't on myspace. Just listen to this song real quick. This is some hard isht. I'm the next Jay Z. '
I listen for a second then I say,
'Well, if you had them online, I could maybe download the ones I like.'
'Download? I don't want nobody gettin my music for free.'
'No. By download, I mean purchase the songs online.'
Irritated, he takes the unmarked CD away from me and says,
'You gonna buy it or not?'
'I'm sorry, I don't have a CD player anymore. '
I am dismissed. He walks on to the next potential customer.
'Good luck!' I yell after him.

In an age where Soulja Boy gets a record deal based off of his youtube video and Tila Tequila gets her own show based on her myspace traffic, there's just no denying the importance of having an internet presence to get you 'put on'. I don't like to think its an age thing. Although the stats prove that younger people have more easily adapted to this new culture. Then, what about the fact that becoming the next Jay Z is like a 1 in a million lottery ticket. For most people it's just not going to happen. Should someone in their mid 30s know that already?

I don't know, I'm just sayin...

Holla

Penni Hits the West Coast

This year for my birthday, instead of getting a present from my mom, I decided to give her one. I treated her to a weekend in LA to help me celebrate. The original plan was to surprise her. I was going to tell her to pack a bag and then take her to the airport. That plan was nixed when she started making excuses for not being able to go. The thought of not knowing what to expect was stressing her out. So, about a month ago, I told her my idea and she was still stressed, but at least she had a month to prep herself.

I've been soo stressed out with work and family stuff for the past 2 months that I was craving this time away like an addict craves a fix. As soon as I got to the airport I began to feel the muscles in my body relax.

When we got to the hotel, the very attentive hotel manager welcomed us with a bottle of champagne and some chocolate covered strawberries. What a great way to welcome us to LA! Of course we were soo tired from the journey that it only took 1 glass of champagne to send me sinking into the thick down comforter and off to sleep. The next morning, we were still on east coast time. We were up before sunrise ordering breakfast. We spent our short stay visiting Hollywood and Highland (including Mann's Chinese Theater), The Grove and The Beverly Center. It was an exhausting weekend but oh so much fun.

The fact that I had my mom on the metro and the bus travelling around LA was so funny to me. She was super nervous and commented several times that she didn't want to end up in the middle of some crossfire on Crenshaw (yes - she watches too much TV). I assured her that we were in no danger.

All in all, this had to be the best birthday so far. Every year I'm amazed at how I think I just can't top the previous year and somehow I manage to do just that.

Holla