Just For Giggles

I've been needing all the laughter I can get these days. A girlfriend & I spent some time remembering some things that have made us giggle like silly chillins. I call these my "Memory Lane Giggles" since they've all been around for a while.

My all time favorite is one that I'm sure we've ALL seen before (even tho I do believe that I am committing some kind of sin by laughing at this kid). He's SO sincere, bless him. Still, I dare you not to laugh...



Whooo! Wait, wait, wait... Let me catch my breath.

Okay.

Next up, this was only funny to me because of the hosts. One brother was trying hard to hold it together, but Armstrong (the other dude) gave it up right away. I've loved him ever since!




Okay, I do need to quit cuz I can't sing the Alphabet Song, but I bet you won't see me on t.v. or up in the choir stands doing solos either!

This next brother here, bless him, I could have dealt with this if he hadn't forgotten the words & then let it get so good to him that he yells parts of the song, trying to go all Jodeci on us.

My mother would say something positive like, "Well, at least he was up there, praising the Lord." (I'd get smacked for doing it, but I'd have to tell Mama that he was just up there making a racket!)



All right. That's gotta be enough for today. I'm pretty sure that my angels are watching me and plotting to teach me a lesson by having me fall and bust my behind all out in public. Just plain payback...

Keep smiling, people

P.S.: This felt good. I may have to change the direction of this blog...

Blogging & Family

I am SO shocked. My niece and most of my family have never been to my blog... Wow. Here I was, wondering why I didn't get more comments... (I even deleted the My Following feature because I wasn't getting any followers, & I wondered why. Well, NOW I know.)

Here's the hilarious thing: I've been having trouble with Technorati (Gabby, that's another site you might want to check out if you are going to start a blog), so I thought that was my whole problem. Not. I have a counter now and I can see that I am getting quite a bit of traffic, just not the kind of folks who like to comment.

For shame!

So. Now I am passing on the word to my fam 'n such. We'll see if those sorry buggers actually come around and check me out.

Peace
--Free

Hilarious!

Help! I've fallen down laughing at this mess & I can't get up...

I don't know if this is real. I don't care. It was my morning chuckle. (Thanks to Electronic Village for the heads up on this one.)

Whooooooo!!!

Is It Just Me Or.....?

Didn't I hear McCain making noise about Barack Obama's "rock star" status (and implying a lack of experience)?

Wasn't the McCain camp always trying to say that the media was on Obama's side?

Didn't McCain boast that he would rather lose the election than be president? (In other words, he wouldn't do something he didn't believe in?)

Okay. Answer me this:

Isn't Palin looking a little bit rock star herself these days? And if she's so experienced, why is McCain keeping her in school away from interviews?

And isn't the media just loving it up with McCain/Palin since he picked her as VP?

And does McCain really only do what he believes in - or in what he believes works???

Seems like to me that McCain looked at the crowds paying attention to Obama and decided that if you can't beat someone, you steal their game.

Just some things that make ya go hmmmm...

And, while I'm on a rant - have you noticed Hillary seems awful quiet since Palin came on the scene? Wonder if she's of the mind that she'd rather see a woman ANYwhere in the White House before Obama??? I'll hold out on that judgment until I see if Hillary is going to step up for her party's candidate.

Peace
--Free

Boo AT&T, BOO!!!!

Okay. I'm a little bit heated.

I finally get some national cellular service that actually hits Alaska without price-gauging me like local companies will do... but I will be danged if I still can't get full respect JUST BECAUSE I LIVE IN ALASKA...

Okay, here's what AT&T advertises as the MediaNet service:

MEdia Net Unlimited $15.00 -

• Unlimited high-quality video with CV,
• unlimited mobile web, and
• unlimited access to email, ringtones, games, music and more.

And that is straight from their website (which might have disclaimers) and also from the service rep who hooked me up (and sista gal didn't mention any "not in Alaska" mess when she was putting in my order...)

Here's what I get - because I LIVE IN ALASKA, damnit:

• unlimited mobile web.....Check
• unlimited access to email, ringtones*, games*, music* and more ....Check

*the access is free but the items are not (unless you got something like Zedge, which I do!)

Notice what I'm, missing??? That high-quality CV, right?

Because the rep had gotten me all excited about the CV, I was pretty sad when I couldn't get anything to load. I contacted AT&T and was told that because my area (Alaska) doesn't have the 3g network (whatever the heck that is), I don't get CV.

Cool.

What's not cool is that I also don't get a discount on the service.

Now, is it just me or doesn't it seem reasonable to you that if I'm paying $15/month for a 3-part service and I only get 2 parts ... a $5/mo discount should be allowed??? Is that just me???

I'm not done yet. I'm going to be contacting somebody at AT&T to find out why my $15 in Alaska doesn't get what $15 does in the Lower 48. Because here's the thing: I just KNOW that when they DO get that 3g or whatever up here, they're going to want to charge Alaskans MORE for the service. It always happens, never fails.

In the meantime, 2 things:

1. I'm blabbing EVERYWHERE - on every survey panel, blog, website and phone call I get to - about this tricky little billing glitch for Alaskans, and
2. BOOOOO to AT&T. That's not good customer service, people!
   

Double Standards/Double Talk

Wow. They just make this too easy...

Go over and watch a fascinating spot on Daily Show/You Tube

Power of the Vote

Last I heard, there were 8 million in the Black community not yet registered to vote. I don't know how many of my White, Asian, Indian and other brothers and sisters there are who haven't registered yet. (I myself am an Independent.) We all, regardless of our race, need to stand up and speak up in the one most powerful way that we can.

Think about this: looks, money, access and other sometimes elusive factors might determine what you can or cannot achieve in certain arenas of society. The one thing that you have that is equal to everyone else is your vote. Bill Gates is richer than most, Naomi Cambell is more beautiful than most, Marilyn vos Savant is smarter than most. One thing you and I have in common with these people? 1 vote.

Please, people, get out there and get registered. Do your thing, express your power. As the young folk say, "Rock the Vote!"

Still not convinced? Here's some Black voter history that might inspire you. And even more relevant to women and young people.

Do we want to go back to a time when this was true?:

By the time of the Civil War, most white men were allowed to vote, whether or not they owned property, thanks to the efforts of those who championed the cause of frontiersmen and white immigrants (who had to wait 14 years for citizenship and the right to vote, in some cases). Literacy tests, poll taxes, and even religious tests were used in various places, and most white women, people of color, and Native Americans still could not vote. (from iwantmyvote.com)

Sisters, especially my Black sisters, think about Fannie Lou Hamer (about midway the page). You can go here to read more about her, or here, or here...

Peace
--Free

Facts vs Lies

I was just wondering if anyone had noticed the "discrepancies" in the speech. Well, someone did.

I also love that someone compared Obama's record to Palin's (since the Republican's like to do comparing of their own). And it's all summed up nicely over at Pam's House Blend...

I'm just saying.

(By the way, go HERE for some cool stuff!)

Wonderful Speech By Palin

Not.

Look, after all the country-hick, idiot portrayals of Palin, expectations were so low for her that as long as she didn't drool or forget her own name, she was okay. But was the speech great? No. I didn't hear anything to build up the citizens of this country. All I heard was the same Republican lines meant to tear down the Obama campaign.

Where was the hope for ALL citizens? Where was the offer to be willing to work across party lines?

So, YAWWWWWN.

I'm waiting for Palin to have to think a little faster on her feet - like poor Tucker Bounds did when asked to give some specifics about her experience in foreign policy....

Unwind

The last several days of the McCain/Palin mess has me tuckered out. So, today during my afternoon errands run, I shut off the talk radio and turned up the Earth, Wind & Fire.

Man.

Nothing like EWF to mellow you all the way out.

Seriously. When's the last time you heard horns like those on "In the Stone"? Or a slow jam like "Wait"? This is stuff you can crank up in the car and not die of shame when you pass a car filled with little kids. No talk about grinding or thongs or mysteriously named body parts. Just plain ol' good music and musicianship.

I haven't listened to much new music lately (except for that damn Hannah Whoever mess that my niece is obsessed with and those little Jonas people and whatever I happen to hear sonic-booming my car when I'm driving around town). I wonder if there are any artists out there actually using instruments the way EWF or Barry White did. Are any of them pouring their soul into their songs like Lenny Williams or Otis Redding or Teddy P. did? The last attempt at putting some old school soul and sweat into their craft was youngsters along the lines of Jodeci (who were good, but sometimes ruined it all by trying just a. little. too. hard).

So, anyway, I just had to toss out that little rant. Maybe some of your "growner" folk will be inspired to take a cue from Mr. Pendergrass and "turn out the lights and light a candle"...

Peace
--Free

She was vetted - sort of

I've said it before & I'll say it again: I don't know why the HELL anyone would want to run for such high public office especially when you read stuff like this about what goes into the vetting process. (And, by the way, until I look it up, can someone please tell me where the term "vetting" came from???)

So, McCain's people are saying the vetted Palin. Oooo-kay... so he still picked her? Gracious. What great judgment that shows.

Actually, I'm not so bothered by McCain picking Palin. I'm bothered more by Palin accepting. Here's why:

1. As someone on a talk-radio show brought up, back when Clinton was touting the "it takes a village" message, Republicans were protesting with, "No, it takes a mother and father", etc. So, let me ask this: what village is going to help Palin (mother of five & running for VP) raise a special needs infant?
2. Palin wants the Clinton voters. Why? Palin didn't like Clinton's message to the Clinton voters. She and Clinton have nothing in common except for the fact that they are women.
3. Palin plays the gender card when it suits her. One minute, she's to be fawned over because she is a "woman" governer. The next minute, no one should bring up her responsibilities as a mother (because they wouldn't do the same to a man).
   
4. Some of the things that endeared her to Alaskan voters (refusing to be away from her family a lot & even adjusting her schedule to allow for that) is not an option for a VP.
   
5. She wants to compare herself to Clinton (who reminded us that she wasn't a cookie-baking, stay-at-home mommy) while still pandering to the cookie-baking, stay-at-home mommies. Pick one, girl. Define yourself by your actions, not your words.
6. If a parent is going to voluntarily put themselves in the public spotlight, plan ahead. Find out what kinds of pics your kids have posted up online.
   
7. If a candidate is going to brag about being open and honest, don't use your infant to shield the pregnant belly of your teenager because you weren't being open and honest...

Peace
--Free

I Love Gadgets

In case you can't tell, I love gadgets. Anything that shines or beeps or can be enhanced with wallpapers, backgrounds or extra memory - that's the stuff.

So... I have a few places around the web where I like to browse & dream:

Coolest Gadgets - They have stuff for just about anybody, like the "Remote Controlled Hovering Space Surfer" (for real), a stonebake pizza oven (I want, I want) and this wearable alarm clock that I really should get for my niece who doesn't simply sleep but goes into 9-hour comas.

Techfresh - These guys seem a little more serious & upscale. The first thing that caught my eye was the Solar Cell Tree Charger (no kidding, you can charge a cell phone or camera from something that looks cute sitting on your desk). Then they have a whole section that I need to tell my nephew about: "Upcoming Cell Phones". He's a man who likes to have the latest phone before it even comes out, so...

Think Geek - Nothing on the first page grabbed my short-assed attention span, but if you want to browse, check out something I saw about Jolt drinks in new flavors.

Net Gadget - I don't know what it says about me that I jumped right over to the "Spy Stuff", but once I got there, I was a little disappointed. Yeah, they have things that sound cool, like the bionic ear and walkie-talkie sunglasses, but they look cheap 'n cheesy like the stuff you'd find on a dusty flea-market table.

Discovery (Channel) Store - Even if you find something cheesy here, it won't be cheap. I actually fell in love with the strange-looking shuttle and globe set (it hovers, people; how cool is that? Too bad it hovers right out of my price range for something that I can't eat, live in or drive...). The anti-gravity globe looks nice, so does the magnetic globe puzzle (which I could actually afford).

Gadget Universe - It at least LOOKS a little less flea-market like than Net Gadget, but has some similar spy stuff. So if you want an "agent cam" or "bionic ear", I'd go here instead.

If Looks Could Kill

I don't know if she was ever on his "short list", but she better be on his "to be watched" one. I cracked up when I saw this:

Saggin' Pants

This was forwarded to me by my cousin:

Saggin Pants

Pass this on to Our Youth, Our Parents, Our Black Men and Women

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 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.

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 and 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. I am almost certain if we were to look back to the 1930's and 40's, the literacy rates for Black American Children are probably still the same.

Please Keep This Going & Have a wonderful day

'This is the year of empowerment.' God will empower us to accomplish things this year that will be mind blowing'.

Peace
-Free

Just Something Pretty

I dig this website with graphics like these from desicomments.com

Friends, User Submitted | Forward this Picture

Random Thoughts

Some things that have gone through my, uh - the mind of a pack rat while packing to move...

• Why do I have about 20 different kinds of skin lotions and face creams? When did I buy all this stuff?
• Why did I bring so much stuff with me from Alaska???? Why am I trying to re-pack it to take it to the next place?
• Damn! HERE'S that printer cable I was looking for... (This is after I went out and spent money on a new one several months ago.)
• Do I really need to keep the 50 copies I have of my cousin's graduation picture? And how did they end up in my possession in the first place?
• I'm pretty sure that I can toss this five year old bag of ATM receipts. (But I might ought to hang on to the stack of checkbook registers though...)
• Who the hell is Brenda Talinson & why do I have her address on the back of a 1993 Safeway store receipt for tollhouse cookies?
• I'll go ahead and keep this bag of loose clothes buttons. I think I still have the bell-bottom jeans this yellow one goes to...
• Oh, man. Did I really ever think that Leroy Powell was THAT cute? According to this eighth-grade school picture, he looked like the drunkenly conceived love-child of Charles Manson and Eartha Kitt.
• Wonder if those are ibuprofen tablets I have in this tinfoil that was stuck in the corner of my old beat-up vinyl purse?
• Here's that pair of gloves I got for Christmas eight years ago!
• And, oh shit - here's my sister's pair of earrings that I swore I never borrowed... Better pack those down in the bottom of something so she doesn't see them...
• Wonder if I can still cash this $2 rebate check from... 1981??? Wow. I might be able to auction that off on Ebay!
• When's the last time I had a computer with a floppy drive? Guess I won't need this box of disks...

And on it goes. The more I root through my belongings, the more I realize I might need psychiatric help. I'm not a run-of-the-mill packrat. If packrats had a committee, I'd be chairman, treasurer, and H.P.R.I.C.

Today's the day, folks. I'm going to get rid of some of this junk. I'm going right now to pick up some more garbage bags at Walmart... Garbage bags and maybe some of that new body lotion I heard about, and I'm out of razors - definitely should pick up some more of those. Maybe I should make a list. I know I'm out of hair oil - and I'll need some of that where I'm going because of the humidity. Ooh! And maybe a de-humidifier, huh? I mean, that kind of stuff will probably be cheaper here where it's NOT humid.

I'll talk to you guys later. I really need to sit down and make a good shopping list. There's so many things I'm going to need if I want to get organized and get rid of some of this stuff I keep packing around from place to place...

Peace
--Free

Lost in ... WORK

I'm still here, fellow bloggers. Barely tho.

As if I didn't have enough to do what with working, writing, and trying to be engaged... I now have a second (paying) job: as a personal assistant to one of the agents in the office.

I always thought the term "Personal Assistant" sounded so glam. I feel anything but. Half the time, I'm looking (as Natasha over at YBF says) "a hot azz mess." The other half, I'm learning to curl my hair AS I type, fax or take notes.

Know what tho? I'm digging it. I'm making the extra cash I need (the new boss is quite generous - like we females are) and I really like my boss. She's a hard worker& expects the same of me, but she rewards the work better than most men I've worked for.

Believe it or not, I am still managing to get some writing done along the way.

Anyway - just wanted to pop in and say Hi. I'm going to get around to checking out what you guys have going on your blogs this weekend, but I hope you drop in here to let me in on any juicy secrets or gossip!

Peace
--Free

Still no digital camera...but

Because I'm too lazy (again) to post, here are some more pics of the fam @ Christmas 2005 (and of the dreaded Mother's Day 2006 -- BEFORE I got wasted on Saki Bombers...)

This is a mural of one of my brothers. He sold a house to a couple who now apparently think he some jazzy king of real estate. (You have to know MY brother to understand how funny that it)... Cool mural though. I call it being "immuralized." LOL



One of the approximately 20-30 pics we took to get ONE decent one of the siblings...

And then -- um, Mother's Day before I tried to drink myself to death. (That's me with the one of the sis-in-laws on the right end. I pretty much ruined that little black dress...

That's me and one s-i-l on the right end, a good, good friend (and fellow Alaskan) in the middle -- and y'all know I'm talking about the only other Black chick...
Another s-i-l on the left end, standing next to the little lush who started me on them damn Saki Bombers.

And once again... Messed up a pic:

And ***drumroll please***
the ONE halfway decent sib pics: I give y'all the Conway Crew...



Thanks to Supa, I cropped some of the ashy ankle angles! LOL

All righty. Now I just have to take some updated photos. Maybe I'll do "before'n after" pics of my about-to-be-cut hair.... Yeah. I'm still on that kick.

Gospel Song

I'm gonna go to hell for laughing at this baby, but this is funny. (My aunt says this is why some people should just usher.) All I want to know is: where is this child's mama? Did his daddy send this in to AFV?

Fearless. Peerless. Free.

Since I am now 45 years old -- Grown & Sexy, as Supa would say -- I resolve to live life a little fuller from the here on out. Not by making major life changes (I'm not good at major or changes), but by taking tastier bite-sized pieces of being me.

I know y'all noticed my new motto: Fearless. Peerless. Free. So, I resolve to:

Smile more.
Life is so very beautiful in all the happy & sad, good & bad colors it comes in. Smiling will be my constant and consistent Thank You to God for it all.

Flirt more.
Well, okay -- I'm already a huge flirt, but going to try to keep that up.

Dance more.
Not so long ago, I was my own private dancer. I danced around the house, bopped my head while I drove, and choreographed moves for every daily chore and tribulation. I'm not sure when I stopped feeling the music so deeply, but I'm convinced it was around the time I first started trying to be more "adult."

Buy more upper-body lingerie.
It's official folks: Thanks to my Victoria's Secret gift certificate, your girl Free now owns a bra. Last time I owned anything with cups and straps was when I was getting married and Mama just didn't believe I should be bra-less until after the wedding. Now, I have to tell you, it was a little embarrassing getting fitted to find out that I'm a 36B. After she finished snickering, my well-endowed niece taught me the ABC's of chesticles: A= Attempt, B=Bless your heart, C= Complete, and D=Damnnnnn!

That's cool, tho. My little shit looks good propped up here. Hell -- I damn near have cleavage. Plus, I have my VS wings now (They came with a credit card) LOL.

Practice my autograph.
I'ma need a cool Hancock for when my stuff hits Bestseller status. (Yeah, all right, I know, I know -- it's got to hit published status first!)

Quit cussing so fucking much.

Write erotica.
(Under a pen name, tho.) I had to cut a good fourteen pages out of "Enough" because it's supposed to be romance and not porn. That mess was good, y'all -- too good to shred. Plus, I need the money to support my new Bath & Body/Victoria's Secret habit... (Did you guys know the companies are related? Yep.)

Smoke at least one joint.
Never have & never regretted it, but I want to see what it does for my creative processes.

Quit threatening to take time off from blogging.
First of all, I never follow through. Matter of fact, I usually get freaking prolific two seconds after I make the vow. Second of all, my blogs are like steam vents on a tea kettle. I need to let off some of my thoughts here so that the good ones don't boil over before I get them onto paper.

Write poetry.
I love poetry and I have tried my hand at it, but I really suck. Too damn bad, tho. I'ma torture the hell out y'all when I start posting verse on this blog!

So. Sound good? I think so. Of course, I have the attention span of an embryo & I'll probably forget half these resolutions before I sign off.

Peace,
--Free

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