Today's Black Woman

Ads list..

2007-04-19T10:24:00.000-07:00

Ok, for the past few days I've felt really horrible, I've been watching the coverage of the VT shooting non stop man Cho was one messed up individual. If there is anything that can be or should be learned from this is that when someone doesn't seem 'right in the head' we should speak up fast and loud and if people still don't listen speak up louder and louder to anyone who would listen and to more importantly that person's family, friends or acquaintences so that they can get help for that individual.

Hmm..anyway, after watching all that sad, sad stuff, today I decided to write about one of my quirks most of you will probably think it's weird or pretty boring but I don't care..lol.

You see, I have this thing about ads..yes ads. Television ads, I like them..I love to analyze their effectiveness, (if I remember the product when I'm shopping for that service or product) originality, (how they convey it to me i.e humor, great spokesman, cartoon etc, etc) the actors and the products themselves and you see the strange thing is I didn't even do marketing in school my major was international studies so ads should bore me like they do everyone else but they don't I love watching them, well at least most of them..lol

Anyway, I decided to start a list detailing my 5 favorite ads of the week and at the end of the month I'll list my top ten ads..sounds cool? No. Well, again, I don't care..lol.

It would be better if I started this on a Monday but hey that's how I roll totally crazy!

Before I say what the ad for today is I must let you know that I have a couple of favorites...I love the Geico caveman ads..I absolutely love them, they are always original and the only insurance company I know is Geico and the Rozerem ads..the have Abraham Lincoln, the talking Beaver and the space man..when I saw this ad I laughed so hard I cried and believe me if I ever need sleeping pills Rozerem will be on mind.

So there full disclosure..I love Geico and Rozerem ads but believe me all other products and services are fair game. I don't know if I'll eliminate them from the competition..I'll think about it but for today they will remain on my list.

You know what I think I will start this on Monday..so come back on Monday for MY favorite ad of the day but if you want to drop me a line and let me know one of your favorites or to tell me how crazy I am (make sure you do it in a nice way..or else) do so I wouldn't mind..my friends tell me I am all the time.

P.S I really need a life don't I? LOL

Virgina Tech my heart goes out to you..

2007-04-17T11:51:00.001-07:00

What do you say about an act so horrendous?

What words can offer comfort when your love one has been plucked from your life?

What actions can be taken to soothe all those broken and damaged hearts?

I have no solutions. No words and little action.

But I can tell you that you are in my prayers and that I mourn with you and I ask that God's bosom hold's you and comforts you all and that today, tomorrow and always the memories and love for your lost ones shine forever in your hearts.

Virgina Tech my heart goes out to you..

2007-04-17T11:51:00.000-07:00

What do you say about an act so horrendous?

What words can offer comfort when your love has been plucked from your life?

What actions can be taken to soothe all those broken and damaged hearts?

I have no solutions. No words and little action.

But I can tell you that you are in my prayers and that I mourn with you and I ask that God's bosom hold's you and comforts you all and that today, tomorrow and always the memories and love for your lost ones shine forever in your hearts.

Imus fired, but that's just the beginning...

2007-04-13T06:17:00.000-07:00

So Imus has been fired. Good! Fantastic!

But I do hope that's not where it ends I hope that CBS and others like Sharpton, Jackson, all the women groups and more importantly us, the public ,will be more motivated to hold public officials, media personalities and our artistes accountable for the words they utter and their lyrics.

Freedom of expression and free speech comes with great responsibility if it is be uttered publicly on airwaves that WE all pay for and support and I don't believe that we jeapordize our civil liberties when we ask others to be respecful and mindful of the damage their words can cause to our communities.

I as a black woman made a decision some years ago not buy or support artistes that maliciously demean others and that includes black artistes, I don't discriminate and if others follow my example I am sure that our society can continue to evolve for the better. There is no such thing as too much political correctness i even take issue with that term(political correctness) there is right and there is wrong!

If we choose to strive to always do the right thing by each other even in the fields of 'entertainment' like Imus is supposedly in the US and by extension the rest of the world will become a more tolerant and a better place for ALL OF US to live in.

IMUS IS SORRY...SO ARE MOST RACISTS WHEN THEY GET CAUGHT!!!

2007-04-09T18:03:00.000-07:00

Imus, Imus, Imus. So you had to go there? By now all of you know what he's said, have heard his apology and have read that's he's been suspended. Well here's what TBW thinks:

HE NEEDS TO BE FIRED BUT ONLY IF WE STOP DOWNLOADING ALL THE MP3s AND STOP BUYING THE CD'S OF RAP/HIP HOP ARTISTES WHO REFER TO US (BLACK WOMEN) AS HO'S IN THEIR SONGS! BECAUSE IT ISN'T ANY BETTER, INFACT IT'S WORSE (IN MY OPINION) WHEN BROTHERS DEGRADE US LIKE THAT. AND HERE'S A QUESTION HOW CAN WE EXPECT SOCIETY TO TREAT US FAIRLY AND REGARD US THE SAME WAY THEY DO OTHER WOMEN FROM OTHER RACES WHEN OUR OWN MEN ARE DISRESPECTING US JUST AS AND IN SOME CASES MORE FREQUENTLY AND WORST THAN IMUS HAS DONE!

Of course I'm appalled and of course I'm want a piece of him for disrespecting my sisters like that and the fact that these racist, and yes I think he's racist (michael richards is racist, mel gibson...all of them in fact are racist) can get away with stuff like this and that all they have to do is apologise sickens me! And then they have the audacity to claim they don't know why they did it or they were just angry. Yeah right!

I'll tell you this no matter how mad I've been at a white, asian, native american yes I know it I've probably had a beef with somebody of a different race..lol I've never, ever, ever used a racial or deragotory slur! I don't use them, don't tolerate them around me and I don't believe anyone who says anger makes you so dumb things..yeah it does but not that dumb!

And you know what else if he or anyone else thinks that by appearing on Al Sharpton's show and talking to Jesse Jackson somehow 'makes everything alright' and after appearing on their shows black people will magically bring you back into our fold...let me tell you this..you got another thing coming! Because although Sharpton and Jackson have done a lot for the black community, young black people aren't as linked to them as our parents.

We know them but they don't speak for us and it says a lot for our community that there is such a void in youthful oriented black leadership that these two men are still considered part of the top echelons of black America. I hope to change that one day..but that's a story for another day.

Anyway, to end this let me just add this, the next time and believe me there will be a next time some famous idiot out there decides to go on a tirade and then is pressured to say sorry to us black people. One, say sorry right after you do it, don't wait until days later then to say sorry, it isn't authentic or at least doesn't appear to be authentic when you do that and don't make the rounds on Sharpton and Jackson shows because to be quite honest their shows aren't reaching the bulk of us try something else maybe a prime time network apology on CNN or BET or NBC pay some money to get the message out there that works a whole lot better..believe me..and you know if you want to avoid doing these things all together..here's a bit of advice..THINK BEFORE YOU SPEAK!!

Exploited British sailors

2007-04-06T07:27:00.000-07:00

I'm watching the press conference given by the 'freed' British sailors.

As expected the sailors have confirmed that their statements were not authentic and that the confessions were forced and edited to portray them in a negative light, their capture was exploited for propaganda purposes by the Iranian government and that they as well as the lone female were interrogated and subjected to countless psychological tactics at length by the Iranian Revolution Guard.

Now, I must say that I suspected that this was case.

It's unfortunate that at the end of the day Iran has come out as the 'top dog' because they chose to let them go and I can't believe like some have suggested that these sailors should be condemned for their actions i.e 'their confessions both written and on video' instead these young men and young woman should be praised for possibly averting the start of World War III.

They reamined cool under pressure. Respectful of their captors power and their 'current' place within that society and did not allow their captors to get the upper hand regardless of what tactics they used.

Because I see the world through the prism of a student of international relations and not just in black and white but countless shades of grey, I interpret the actions of the Iranians not like the average lay person who would view their actions simply as 'crazy and irrational' instead I see them as methodical and strategic because they knew exactly what steps would be taken by Blair, the British government, the British and global media and the US president.

And every one played their role to perfection.

Let's just hope that the next time, and there will be a next time, that each side can walk away proclaiming success if not, you and I could be looking at some dire, dire times.

I like John Mcwhorter..

2007-04-05T12:16:00.000-07:00

If you're reading my blog, you probably have some idea who John McWhorter is if you don't here is his bio http://snipurl.com/1fajq. I 'discovered' McWhorter a few years ago when i was researching a paper on welfare and welfare reform (that's his pet peeve..welfare and how it has destroyed black america).

I've also watched him on CSPAN (yup I watch CSPAN and I love it) and although I disagree with him on some things, I can't remember them right now..lol, I do agree with the majority of what he says and how he thinks, also has a really dry sense of humor which I can definitely identify with kinda reminds me of my dad not many people can carry it off but he definitely does.

My father was an intellectual who was educated in Britain so you can imagine what his sense of humor was like I guess the smarter you are the more cynical your sense of humor becomes..

Here are a couple of articles McWhoter wrote that I like check them out and let me know what you think:

What is blackness? http://snipurl.com/1fajy and Hip Hop holds Blacks Back http://snipurl.com/1fakm, while I don't think all Hip Hop is bad over the last 10 years with the evolution and acceptance of gansta rap into the mainstream instead of pushing black america forward it has in my opinion reinforced the negative stereotypes of our people to other communities across the country and the globe for that matter.

Plus it has done and continues to do immeasurable damage to the psyche of black women and how they are portrayed in the media and society. I've written about this before at another blog check out the article here: http://4everalady.tblog.com/post/1969837694.

TBW

Obama matches Hilary..so what?

2007-04-04T09:02:00.000-07:00

Ok, so Obama has almost matched Hilary in his fundraising efforts view the story here http://snipurl.com/1f4a9 What does this really mean? Does this mean that he will be able to match her ad for ad? Does this mean he will be able to continue crisscrossing the US asking for our votes? Support his campaign and its workers?

Yes, it means all of that and a bit more i'm sure but with all this money will Obama be able to get middle America and the southern states to look past his race and to see him and his promise of a 'new politician' and 'new politics in DC' that could herald a new future for America as the country's first black president?

I still have my doubts and unfortunately my cynicism outshines my optimism. So, unless I start to see a real shift in the attitudes of people in these states towards Obama in the polls I don't think the millions he raises will make any difference come 2008.

5th Graders having sex at school, now I've heard it all...

2007-04-04T06:41:00.000-07:00

I can't believe this actually happened! I thought 11 and 12 year old kids thought about video games, clothes..tv shows and impressing their friends but this..all i can say is OH MY GOD! I'm so scared about becoming a mother now i'm terrified!

Check out the article here http://snipurl.com/1f3zh and if you have kids people please, sit down and talk to them..talk to them today, tomorrow, next week every single day, you may not be able to prevent them from having sex until they are an adult or at least over 18 but you might be able to prevent them from making a terrible, terrible, terrible mistake like this one.

Go on, YOU can do it it's easy, just talk!

All black guys aren't sorry ass baby daddies!

2007-04-01T19:20:00.000-07:00

Tonight I was watching an episode of Family Guy, the cartoon show, and in it two of the characters make reference to African American guys not taking care of their family responsibilities.

In America, I'm sure many people believe that this is the norm for all black families but you see it isn't in the Caribbean, where black people are the majority, men even if they aren't with the mothers of their children more often or not take care of their kids even if that means toiling in the cane fields or working as a laborer in the brutal, hot sun for hours and hours just to bring home a cheque at the end of the week to give to the mother of their children.

That you see, is the NORM for many, if not most black men not the EXCEPTION! It isn't even the norm here in the US, the majority of black men do take care of their families and their children but because a significant, I agree the percentage is way too large, number of African American males do not once again the minority speaks for the majority.

This scenario reminds me of an argument I had with a friend of mine who was convinced that the majority of African Americans were on welfare and lived in poverty when I showed him the statistics that most black people in the US were actually in the middle class and that in fact the majority of people receiving welfare were white, single mothers he was stunned.

Now, I'm not going to argue about the number of black men in jail, the numbers are definitely disproportionate to their number in the actual population butI would need an entire book to explain this situation maybe I'll talk about the reasons in another blog but needless to say we need to reduce the number of dead beat black dads out there because fathers are just as important as mothers in the black community.

So if you know of any dead beat dads report them, black or white and if you want to talk about them here's a cool site to either post their pics of just to check out http://www.sorryassbabydaddies.com

What it's all about

2007-03-30T19:54:00.000-07:00

This blog will be dedicated to issues affecting the black community/black diaspora.

I hope that it will not just be a forum for my rants..lol, but also a community where people from all over the world can stop by to discuss anything and everything.

I only have a few rules:

1) All opinions are welcomed but they MUST be presented in a polite and respectful manner if they aren't you will be warned however if the behaviour continues you will be banned from my blog.

2) No racism or prejeudice of any kind will be tolerated. NONE!!

These are my rules I reserve the right to add a few others if the need arises so if you aren't willing to accept these rules please do not post on my blog.

I am looking forward to blogging and hope that I hear from many of you!