We Thank You

Have you ever passed a soldier on the street and wished you could tell them just how much you appreciate their sacrifice.

I'm sure all if not most of us have family and/or friends that are in the service and have put their lives on the line because they were called to duty. Leaving behind everything and everyone they love to go off to a foreign world for months & years at a time, some never having the chance to return home. People my age and younger are experiencing the realities of war ever day and I respect them for their bravery and selflessness more than they would ever know.

Well, now there's a way to show our thanks with a simple hand gesture. This sign was created in France and brought to America in the 1816 by the famous Thomas H. Gallaudet (the inspiration behind the founding of Gallaudet University). While the sign has been modified to start at the chin when used in normal everyday signing it's original form has been revisited and adopted as the official expression of gratitude towards soldiers.

I love this!

For more on this campaign chack out the official website @ http://www.gratitudecampaign.org/

(Just wanna say "Thanks" Ty!)


At the end of the day... this is my favorite sign!

Now, I know this is a national campaign and all but I still wonder... do the masses know about this? And furthermore, do the soldiers know about this? I would hate to greet a soldier and have him/her look at me like a loony :)... so I'm gonna try this out and see if they know what I'm saying. You guys do the same and let me know the feedback you get!




Please feel free to leave a comment if you have any family and/or friends away at war, or if you yourself have toured in Iraq, or just let us know what you think of this new "Thank You" gesture..............

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We'll never forget our BabyGirl

I honestly can't believe that today marks 8 years since we lost our precious Angel, Aaliyah. Every Friday I listen to what's called my "Friday song" (I know, how did I ever come up with that name lol). It's Aaliyah's "Back & Forth" and it gets me ready to tackle the weekend. It's also my way of remembering her.

Over the years we saw her change and evolve from a beautiful young girl to an even more beautiful young woman. Through out her many looks Aaliyah always kept her style original. There was never a moment when I ever thought Aaliyah was trying to be like some one else.

(funny how only this year Beyonce & Ciara both released albums with shots similar to this)

From day one Aaliyah's originality was evident as she busted on the scene with her dark shades, pants hanging low, boxers showing, abs popping and hair covering half her face like some kind of pretty thug. We quickly learned that she was doing things her way, when rumors started to emerge of her marriage to R. Kelly. She was a rebel and an angel all at the same time. The original "good girl gone bad".

Her voice has it's own sound. Something that the game didn't have before her and hasn't had since. Mellow & Beautiful! (*tear)

And let's not even talk about the choreography... Fatima Robinson (Aaliyah's go-to choreographer and friend) used to do the damn thing for her babygirl. Always keeping her moves sexy, suductive and smooth, sultry but cool at the same time. We always looked forward to Aaliyah's next video not only because we knew she would come with a sick concept, never done before, but because we knew her moves would be equally as entertaining.

We Need A Resolution:
Rock the Boat:
One in a Million:

Aaliyah's talents didn't stop there. Her roles in Romeo Must Die and Queen of the Damned were just glipmses into what she had in store for the world. Now-a-days it's the norm for singers/rappers to jump on any random movie roles that come their way. I'm not by any means implying that Aaliyah was the first to ever do it, but to her contemporaries she really was a Trend-setter.

Aaliyah could do no wrong in our eyes... and somehow the rumors of her many love intertests never seemed to taint her image of innocence.







Now that's what I call a SMOOTH Operator lol!!!

Aaliyah's highly anticipated biopic is in the works and singer Keisha Chante, the Canadian "Princess of Pop" has been tapped to portray Hip-Hop's babygirl. (I smell a Major movie night coming on)

Keisha Chante:

This girl is extremely talented and I think she'll do a great job in this role.

So what do you guys think? Do they look alike?

This is one of my FAVE Aaliyah pics:

FAB!

In Central Park there is a Weeping Willow Tree planted in memory of Aaliyah located in the Cherry Hill area of the Park. Stop by there sometime.

Park Map:

Check this out:

If you have any memories to share about Aaliyah please feel free to leave a comment.......... Read more!

BK we gotta do better!!!! SMDH

For Hip Hop News & Entertainment at DimeWars.Com

Now I definitely had my reservations about putting this extremely disturbing video on my blog... I kinda felt like I was encouraging this kind of foolery by posting it. But then I figured that if more people saw this footage then the possibility of someone recognizing this idiot would increase and authorities would have a better chance of finding him. And when I found out that Brookdale Hospital is trying to stop the viewing of all copies of this footage then I knew for sure that I wanted to share it with you guys!

For any "man" to assault a woman like this is completely unacceptable... he needs a good old-fashioned a$$ whooping by her man, brothers, cousins, uncles, etc.
(Peep the sneak hits tho)

BK we gotta do better! SMDH


Furthermore... where was security during all this drama and how could the hospital staff allow for this brawl to go on for so long??? Shorty should sue!!



Please feel free to leave any thoughts you may have on this ridiculousness...... Read more!

Fabulosity: Nails Edition

OK, so I already knew that my best friend Major A had the sickest nails in Brooklyn but when I saw what she got done for her birthday two weeks ago I was in absolute shock and awe. I mean I thought Minx nail coverings were hot!! But this Japanese artist Naomi Yasuda from Hello Beautiful Salon in Williamsburg Brooklyn is taking Nail art to another level!! I love it!


I finally was able to book an appointment with her today so I'll update you guys on how my masterpeice turns out...

UPDATE: Here's my girly girl set... Hello Kitty!! ;)

While I was getting my Nails done Naomi told me she was booked to do Amber Rose next week for a Magazine shoot.... and Jordin Sparks called in to get a Makeover at the

Glamor Garage (the sister store of Hello Beautiful)

Now don't get me wrong Minx is the ish! You can put pretty much any design on your nails and it lasts for weeks. In case you've never heard of Minx it's one of the newest crazes in nail designs and celebrities have been swearing by it due to it's stylish patterns and durability. Beyonce & Solange were two of the first fab girls I noticed rocking them:



Right now there's only one tech in NYC doing Minx designs so as you can imagine she's extremely booked up. Her name is Honey and her # is 212-920-1066.

You can find out more on minx nail coverings online here:
http://www.minxnails.com/cylantscart/index.php?p=catalog&parent=10&pg=1

(don't say I never hooked you up lol)

Major A's Obama Minx:

tip: Minx lasts longer on natural nails than they do on acrylic.

But I think Naomi's work is so fly because it's not just a pattern that she's putting on your nails... she's creating these designs HERSELF with gel, shaping them and everything right there on the spot! Check this out:

One of my favorites:

I can totally see Gwen Stephanie rocking a style like this

:

Here's what A got done for her Bday!
(the pic doesn't even do it any justice. Talk about bling!!!)

Naomi's done art for Keri Hilson and Teyanna Taylor to name of few and her work has been featured in Magazines like Complex and several others. Look her up!

If you've ever gotten Minx or designs by Naomi on your nails please feel free to leave a comment. And even if you haven't... what do you think about her Nail art?.........................

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Rocsi Gets REAL!

For Hip Hop News & Entertainment at DimeWars.Com

The beautiful Rocsi has been a co-host of BET's hit show 106 & Park for the last 5 years. I'm sure there are millions of girls out there that would give their right arm to trade places with her in a heartbeat. Shes on TV everyday, gets to meet the hottest celebrities, free wardrobe,, hair and makeup, and gets the A-list treatment everywhere she goes. Oh the Life! But as life shows us time and time again, the grass isn't always as green as we think it is on the other side. Who knew that Rocsi had such insecurities about her body image??? Even Terrence J (her co-host) admitted that he never knew of her past eating dis-order before now.

It really pains me to see such a beautiful girl go through such unhealthy measures to lose weight. But I'm the last person that can criticize her. As the visiting Doctors explained they hear stories like Rocsis everyday. And my experiences aren't that far off.

In my very own group of friends it's so commonplace for us to criticize and think negatively about our body images. Now that I think about it I can't remember the last time I heard a female say anything positive about her body.

Being a thick girl it makes me nuts to hear my more slender friends point out their invisible "guts/rolls" etc. It's acutally quite comical to me. But these thoughts really are no laughing matter. It goes to show you how warped a person's perception of their body image can be.

I've never been a skinny girl myself and to this very day I have the habbit of binge dieting. Meaning, I go thru these periods of eating horribly and not working out, then all of a sudden I starve myself and try to lose a million pounds in the shortest amount of time possible, by any means necessary. I remember practically starving myself freshman year in college to avoid that dreaded Freshman 15. That year I hit the lowest weight I remember ever being in my adult life. A close friend and I would work out everyday (which is GREAT) and use Xenadrine pills to surpress our apetite (not so great). Only God knows what we were doing to our insides. Xenedrine with ephedra (the type we were taking) was banned by the FDA shortly after.

I never really took what we were doing that seriously but when I look back we were definitely suffering from eating disorders.

During this video Rocsi mentions how she tried throwing up as one of her weight lose methods but never really stuck to that method ONLY because she physically was unable to make herself do it. As sad as it is I also never successfully was able to make myself throw up and thank God for that (and for fingers the size of an 8 yr. old's) because that's probably the main reasons why I never really took to vomiting as a weight loss option.

This issue is way more common than we might ever know. I guess Rocsi said it best at the end of the video when she explains that, people should really not be so quick to judge a person that is "fat" or "skinny" because we honestly don't know what inner deamons that person can be battling to make them the way they are. And your insensitive opinion just might be the one to push that person off the edge instead of help them get things in perspective.

I must say that I am proud of Rocsi for having the courage to share her story. In today's world, everyone has an opinion and thanks to all the social networking sites we can share our opinions with the world, at the click of a button. Let's try to be kind with this new found freedom of expression! Be kind on the Blogs guys!!


If you have ever struggled with an eating disorder or knows someone that has or if Rocsi's story has touched you in any way please feel free to leave a comment................. Read more!

Tacky Yaki!

I've been weaving my hair for years (against the wishes of many friends and family members who insist on telling me how beautiful I would be without it), and people always joke that it's "horse hair". But who knew that Yaki hair really got its name from the animal that it comes from...the Yak?! WOW!! I definitely am not feeling that and I can understand why the girl in this KGB commercial wasn't too pleased to hear that news either.

BUT hhhmmmm.... really!?! Was it necessary for home girl at the end to act like that? I don't know about this one guys I think this is pushing it a bit. Now I am definitely thick-skinned and can take a joke. But to me this just seems a bit stereotypical and for a national commercial I don’t think it was done in good taste. This is not Hair Show or some made for TV movie by black people for black people. I for one think it's totally different when a group makes fun of itself and when it is being mocked by others; and I'm just not feeling it. And what really bugs me is that this actress had no problem playing the damn fool, while insulting her people... but anything for a check I guess.

Furthermore Black women are not the only ones that rock weave or "extensions" as other races like to call it. I think this commercial should've featured at least one person of another races in the background, just to illustrate that this is an issue of interest not to just black women but everyone that wear hair pieces.

I understand that Yak/Yaki hair is more popular among black women as opposed to actual human hair extension used by other races because it is cheaper for both the manufacturer as well as the buyer. And let's face it this is not the only area in our society where black people have the economic disadvantage and are left to take what they can afford or what's made available to them as opposed to what's better in quality. With all that said I still find this commercial offensive. And come to find out that Yaki hair isn't even made with actual Yak hair anymore due to too many people developing allergic reactions to it. So... what was the point of this commercial again???

Now, I personally wear Virgin Hair that is taken from a living HUMAN being. OK!!! So slow your role KGB. *screwface*

But I can't front… this commercial has seriously put the thought in my head that I might need to kick it au' naturale for a while!! Even if I don’t rock Yaki. Just can't take chances now-a-days boy.

I know this whole issue brings up other factors like why do Black woman want to alter the look of their natural hair in the first place? and why are we trying to look White? why do we perm and color our hair? Blah... blah... blah...

Apart from a legacy of white America putting down black features and many blacks not being accepted into mainstream society if we didn’t assimilate our looks (for example guys with dreds having a harder time landing a job) I think that in this day and age it's all a matter of expression and I see nothing wrong with it. I've come to realize that the darkest black person with the nappiest hair and a Moshood outfit on, hugging trees on Howard University's campus can have the mindframe of the quintessential "Uncle Tom". Meanwhile, a girl that grew up in the suburbs who's complexion is light, bright, damn near white, with a perm and blonde streaks that went to Cornell University is extremely aware and in tune with her African heritage and the history of her people in this country, and confident in her skin. And with the rising trend of White girls getting butt enhancement surgery and lip injections, etc it seems that the self-hatred arguement falls a bit short... or isn't as one-sided as we once thought. Yes feel free to leave your comments of Black self hatred etc. but I don’t think it's necessary to go that deep with this post. But then again that's just my opinion. I could be wrong.

Sidenote: Someone please explain to me how it is that the Yaki hair packaging says "Human Hair" on it? I think it should say "Real hair" (as opposed to Synthetic). I have never heard of a "Human Yak" a day in my life.


Check out this explanation that I found on Hairfinder.com:
http://www.hairfinder.com/hair4/yak-hair.htm

"Yak Hair and Yaki Hair

Q: What is Yak hair? I have heard several cosmetologist and beauty supply sales agents tell me Yak hair is “human hair” from a human being and not a Yak animal. Others say Yak hair IS from an animal, however, since it is a human living creature, it is considered “human hair”. Please advise me on this matter.

A: This is another development in the hairdressing industry that results in LOTS of confusion due to the way our industry professionals decide to name the products being used. (I’ve ranted for years on the way names of hairstyles can vary widely causing massive confusion for women who want a particular look.)

When it comes to hair extensions as well as wigs and hair pieces, the term(s) Yak Hair (or Yaki Hair) are found all over the place. These two terms refer to hair fibers that are naturally produced, but are very different in their origins.

Yak hair is NOT human hair. It is harvested from the body of the Yak animal – an ox-like mammal native to the Himalayas and Tibet with dark, long and silky hair, a horse-like tail and a full, bushy mane. The hair of the yak is structurally similar to human hair and testing revealed that it responded the same way to the styling methods used to style human hair as human hair responded. In look and texture, this animal hair closely matched “relaxed” African-ethnic hair and Indo-Asian hair types. Because the hair could be grown and harvested from these animals in massive quantities, it has become a staple in inexpensive hair extensions and accessory products.

However, some time after yak hair became widely used in the industry, it was discovered that many people were allergic to the fibers. Since the look of the yak hair products was so popular, researchers immediately went to work looking for another alternative that would be inexpensive, yet give the look women had begun to clamor after.

And thus “YAKI” hair was born. Yaki hair IS human hair that has been harvested in as inexpensive a manner as possible and chemically processed and treated to look and feel the way yak hair does. This allows women to get the look they want without the risk of allergic responses."

Please feel free to leave a comment about your thoughts on this commercial. Do you find it funny? offensive? or simply informative?.......

UPDATE: Thanks to reader Kharisma you can check out the trailer for Chris Rocks new movie currently in the works entitled: "Good Hair". This looks Hilarious! :) what do you guys think?


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Culture Unplugged Video

This touching video is the winner of the Berlin Short Film Festival.

View this movie at cultureunplugged.com

WOW!

Think twice next time you say "I'm starving".



Please feel free to leave a comment if this short film touches you in any way........ and how could it not!


UPDATE: Thanks to reader Ty for reminding us of these commericals that used to frequent the airwaves in the 80's:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fBOazSjvFG8 Read more!

Weekend Outings: Electrik Red host Pride Event at Tavern on the Green

(in this pic: event promoter Ken of K&K, Binky, Leslie, Garvin, Me, Naomi, Sarah)

This past week was Pride Week in NYC and as I said before my girls Electrik Red are big supporters of the GLBT community. They hosted an event on Saturday at the legendary Tavern on the Green in Central Park. Also there to perform was powerhouse House music singer Sabrina Johnston. Your girl Sabrimna tore it DOWN and the cutest part is that one of her back-up dancers is actually her daughter. Sorry I don't have any pics of Sabrina's performance guys, but check out these flicks of Electrik Red doing their thang!!! the kids went CRAZY for them :):

My fierce friend Corey!

Loves it!


Les going in!! :)



singing "We f*ck YOU"

"Friend, Lover"

"Drink in my Cup"

sidenote: Naomi's dress is the b.u.s.i.n.e.s.s! I have to fly out to L.A. soon to do some SERIOUS shopping.

If you attended any NYC Pride events this week or the Parade this past Sunday or if you've ever had the pleasure of seeing E.R. perform please leave a comment and share your thoughts.......

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