buddha in babylon

Swine Flu, Swine Eaters + Enlightenment: My Argument

2009-05-02T12:04:00.003-04:00

as an intelligent eater, i started questioning things at the age of 12. and I have never looked back.

that is not to say because you didn't, you are un-intelligent. or...lesser than I. now ask yourself, 'self, does it matter whether or not she is vegetarian? no...intelligent eating is just that. it's smarter.'

in light of recent events, I am sharing my thoughts:

the swine flu. the WORLD HEALTH ORGANIZATION renamed it (it's scientific name, HL01 - Influenza A or some shit) because people stopped buying/eating pork. yes, we had to stop using the term 'swine' since people stopped supporting the pork industry.

pork belly is still a commodity in the stock market.

skittles has beef gelatin, and most meat eaters overlook this because they eat meat. what they don't realize is that it's used as an emulsifier (to keep the skittle soft inside) and it's the part of the animal that NO ONE eats (connective tissue).

instead of meat-eaters admitting and caring about all the different parts of animals that are put into hot dogs, they blindly eat them scoffing at highly informed, intelligent eaters. Mechanically separated meat (MSM), also known as mechanically recovered/reclaimed meat (MRM), is a paste-like meat product produced by forcing beef , pork or chicken bones , with attached edible meat, under high pressure through a sieve or similar device to separate the bone from the edible meat tissue. Mechanically separated meat has been used in certain meat and meat products since the late 1960s. This product can be contrasted with meat extracted by advanced meat recovery systems. The most common type of MSM are hotdogs.

the reason I have been a vegetarian for so long is to prove I can stick to something most people just consider a granola/crunchy way to live. to me, it is a religion.

I feel great about not having to live off of the meat of other animals. instead, I get ALL of my nutrients, minerals, fats and proteins from beans, nuts, vegetables, fruits, and vitamins.

what makes me the happiest is the fact that I was vegetarian while pregnant, and now while breastfeeding - I am still refraining from eating eggs, animal products, and skittles. my child will NEVER have to survive on meat from other species. from the time she was a fetus, all she has ever known is whole food.

milk is a funny concept. we are the ONLY mammal who drinks milk from other mammals. funny enough, humans were designed to live off our own mother's milk, and that milk only. we were never intended to drink the milk meant for a baby cow. this is why lactose intolerance and other milk-related allergies persist in our community these days.

it's amusing to me when people would rather not watch the videos of farm animals preparing for slaughter or to read up on what they are eating. it's truly bliss for those who are ignorant, as they take another bite of their pork sandwich. and then...they get mad at people like me saying we are on soapboxes. no....we just care about your health.

high fructose corn syrup is DAN-GER-OUS. read up on it. in fact, there is so much skepticism about it, the GOVERNMENT is putting out commercials promoting it.

do you think it's a coincidence that the FOOD AND DRUG ADMINISTRATION overlook BOTH food and drugs? do you ever stop and think for a moment that they can be connected to one another (ie the food that makes you sick, in turn makes you turn to drugs: diabetes - insulin, high blood pressure medicine, heart (attack)medicine, etc).

vaccinations aren't even vegetarian. do you want some calf blood in your veins? how bout some chicken embryo? mercury?

if hormones and antibiotics are administered to the animals you eat, and they die in a frightened state (ie heads chopped off, dropped live into boiling water, having their neck broken, or anal/vaginal electrocution).....does it not register that you too eat the meat (petrified, medicine'd up, steroided up) of these poor animals? with the drugs and adrenaline pumped into the muscles - we are no longer eating the way our ancestors did when they clubbed animals to death and dragged their ladies through the mud to the cave. at least back then, we had the dignity to get our hands dirty.

puhhhhlease feel free to comment.

JOIN THE GREEN EVENTS COMMUNITY!

2009-01-29T18:57:00.002-05:00

2009

2008-12-31T22:48:00.005-05:00

it has a ring to it, doesn't it? 2009.

i believe in the custom of celebrating the 'new'. but it's always a weird night for me, the 31st of December. I would much rather do a brunch on New Years Day and save all of my ambitions, dreams and conversation topics for those who sit around me. not really into the 'let's party our arses off tonight and kiss whoever' anymore. come to think of it, i have never gone out and gotten crazy in celebration of the new year.

being surrounded by good friends, enjoying good drinks, and good biscuits and egg-like things are my idea of a celebration. however, it is a great time of reflection and I would be lying if I said I am not up past midnight every year this time.

so....

tonight, I am truly enthralled with life. I think that there is so much we can all manifest and should really take the time and energy to do so now. NOW. not tomorrow, and not for another year. we should ideally manifest every single day. life is all about what we create while living. we define our own lives.

our life is in our hands.

I wish you all the power to know what you want, and the energy and motivation to go and get it.

- Lady Luck

You thought you heard this song...

2008-12-03T00:17:00.001-05:00

BUT YOU DIDN'T HEAR IT LIKE THIS....

Check out the Producer - Jalyn's page here.

black friday: now I understand the meaning behind the name.

2008-11-29T02:45:00.004-05:00

don't mean to be debbie-downer, but seriously folks...since when do we need (especially in this economy) a $750 50-inch flat screen Plasma.

and since when is it worth someones life?

out on Long Island today, a Wal-Mart employee was trampled to death. to death. did they close the Wal-Mart? no. did the shoppers pause at least for a second to see if he was ok? no. did they make some room around the scene once ambulance workers came and tried to resuscitate the victim? no. he was trampled on by 100's of people. not just 100. hundreds.

it's really a shame when in this day and age, we value products over people's lives. this election could have gone the other way with McCain having presided, and y'all would not be running out to shop at (of all places) Wal-Mart. that is for sure. since when did consumerism take precedence over human life and compassion?

I wonder if they are going to go back to the tapes and press charges on the exact people who killed him. after all, it's homicide. and nothing would taste sweeter than those hillbillies not being able to enjoy their 50-inches of LOST this year, and having to spend time in the county jail.

who is to blame though? is it those who were standing on line at 9pm on Thursday night for the store's 5am opening? is it advertising? is it consumerism, and the machine we have created on a whole here in America? or is it the evil empire of Wal-Mart? story here.

dying to know,
lady luck.

living whole.

2008-10-28T11:07:00.000-04:00

1) Loving acts begin at home, but the effects ripple infinitely outward.

2) Each transition is an opportunity to look at who you are - and where you're headed.

3) Walk a little, every day.

4) Let go of what you don't need; you'll make space for what you want.

5) The desire for change shows up in your body as well as your thoughts. Pay attention to it.

6) Good food that serves you in the short term will sustain you in the long run.

7) A healthy life stems from better choices.

8) Help others because they need it, not because you need to provide it.

9) Giving is the key to a happier, healthier life.

10) Teach what you know, and you'll discover what you're ready to learn.

beer is buddhist?

2008-10-28T10:39:00.006-04:00

seriously. it is now.

the Wt Pa Maha Chedi Kaew Temple in Thailands Sisaket province used a mere 1,000,000 beer bottles to build the temple.

the washrooms and creamatorium are built of Heineken and Chang Beer bottles (Heineken = green, Chang = brown).

and not only did they use the bottles, but they created intricate patterns on the walls.

a moment of silence.

2008-10-25T00:02:00.003-04:00

please, let's all take a second and pray for Jennifer Hudson and her family.

her mother and brother were shot dead today in the South Side section of Chicago.

it's a shame when this happens to anyone, not just celebrity's families...and worst of all - her little nephew is missing.

GOD BLESS THE HUDSON FAMILY.

there is no end in sight.

2008-10-24T10:28:00.006-04:00

UPDATE - 12:22am, Sat 10/25
the story is totally fake. She is being held on $50k bail. claiming she is insane. yes, b*tch, you are. that is what the B stands for. I hope she is imprisoned for the election and can't put her vote in. people like her don't deserve a voice.

I am so appalled. excuse the rant below, but I have to let a few things off my mind.

after trolling through Gawker last night, I came upon a ridiculous story. let me run this by you and tell me what you think...(I won't even get to my issues with Gawker right now, so it's just the actual news story):

a 20 year-old goes to an ATM in Pittsburgh and (apparently has a MCCAIN sticker on her car) goes to take money out. afterwards, walking back to her car, she is 'mugged' by a man. not just any man. a black man who supports Barack. how do we know this? because, with a knife - he carved a 'B' into her cheek....a perfect B as a matter of fact. you would think someone robbing another person on the street would be a bit rushed..maybe not the time for perfect penmanship.

here is the funny part - the 'B' is backwards. hmmmmmmmmmmmmm...
does that scream 'I did this in a mirror' to you too?

now, this is a hefty girl. one who would need more than a slight punch in her eye. nothing is matching up in this story. and on top of this all - she refuses medical attention?

when I stub my toe, my first thought is - great. it's broken. - and I often consider going to the hospital.

now, I know Texas is a Republican state - but what 20 year-olds are seriously voting for MCCAIN? obviously she has a screw loose to begin with. now, hold onto your seats, cause here is the kicker - MCPALIN called her themselves to apologize. yep. you heard me. both Republican candidates dialed up this doll (as they were prancing around Philly that night, campagning saying they will do anything to win PA as a state). a bit fishy, no??

now - Gawker. damn it!!!!!!!! I liked you. why do you have to so emphatically report in the headline, "Woman Mugged by Obama Supporter!". WTF! and then, then to add injury- you report he was a "dark-skinned" Black man. why would that matter? how does it matter? the Pittsburgh Post Gazette (where the story was first posted) never stated the tint of 'his skin'. since when does the shade of what race you are come into play? I will tell you. when you have a Black man sweeping the polls for President. Obama made a statement hoping there would be justice in the case. I am sure he is talking about the fact that this is complete fiction.

the Pittsburgh Post Gazette is looking into the case. ATM cameras will be investigated as well.

she should be locked up on two accounts - 1. lying and 2. supporting terrorists.

UPDATE: her name is Ashley Todd who has a video on YouTube about another 'black man' who has harassed her in her campaign for a Republican Congressman. yep, you heard right - not only is she a MCCAIN supporter, but they say she also has been doing some campaigning for him.

UPDATE #2: I emailed nick@gawker.com my questions about their journalism skills in reporting he was a 'dark-skinned' black man. when he emailed back, he told me "to get over yourself". love the media.

spruce up your wardrobe, wood ya?

2008-10-23T01:08:00.005-04:00

make like a tree and leaf...asap, to go shopping at CK.
X-MAS here you come!

and for those who are in the mood to burn through some paper:

Meaty news in MEPA.

2008-10-13T11:47:00.003-04:00

dear club-owners of NYC,

having lurked in the trenches, been at parties, in the DJ booths, at VIP tables, worked behind the scenes at Club day offices and events...I have to say - we are clubbed out. NYC is just so behind the dime when it comes to good parties. and now...now, they are knocking down The Garden of Ono just so another fleshed out, underage, cheezy nightspot can open to rape us all of our morals, photog shots and wallets.

why would this be exciting...another club-disaster in MEPA? and to even think the purveyors behind Stereo are somehow involved - this hurts my heart.

as a woman (and quite a hot one at that), I get quite a kick out of the 3 am-messes who stumble out of the clubs on the cobblestone streets to hail a cab. lipstick smeared, ankle-boots scuffed, hair a complete disaster, and their bony knees run as far as they can with cigarette in hand to either deface men who already got a cab, or steal it to go back to their loft and blow some lines.

maybe this is my rant of having enough of the party scene in NYC for a while. but seriously, how hard is it to come up with a new idea, something other than the typical music - bottle - b&t crowd. and, let's totally ignore concepts like The Eldridge, Upstairs, and Backroom.

here is my advice to you: stay away from ridiculous ideas like The Box, steer clear of monster-clubs like Marquee and Pink Ele, and get those 'idea bulbs' going so we know for sure that someone is home upstairs.

maybe then I will resurface and come out.

signed,
woman on the guestlist

Women against Palin! Unite!!!

2008-09-11T19:15:00.002-04:00

Friends, compatriots, fellow-lamenters,

We are writing to you because of the fury and dread we have felt since the announcement of Sarah Palin as the Vice-Presidential candidate for the Republican Party. We believe that this terrible decision has surpassed mere partisanship, and that it is a dangerous farce on the part of a pandering and rudderless Presidential candidate that has a real possibility of becoming fact.

Perhaps like us, as American women, you share the fear of what Ms. Palin and her professed beliefs and proven record could lead to for ourselves and for our present or future daughters. To date, she is against sex education, birth control, the pro-choice platform, environmental protection, alternative energy development, freedom of speech (as mayor she wanted to
ban books and attempted to fire the librarian who stood against her), gun control, the separation of church and state, and polar bears. To say nothing of her complete lack of real preparation to become the second-most-powerful person on the planet.

We want to clarify that we are not against Sarah Palin as a woman, a mother, or, for that matter, a parent of a pregnant teenager, but solely as a rash, incompetent, and altogether devastating choice for Vice President. Ms.Palin's political views are in every way a slap in the face to the accomplishments that our mothers and grandmothers and great-grandmothers so fiercely fought for, and that we've so demonstrably benefited from.

First and foremost, Ms. Palin does not represent us. She does not demonstrate or uphold our interests as American women. It is presumed that the inclusion of a woman on the Republican ticket could win over women voters. We want to disagree, publicly.

*Therefore, we invite you to reply here: *

Mailto: womensaynopalin@gmail.com

With a short, succinct message about why you, as a woman living in this country, do not support this candidate as second-in-command for our nation. Please include your name (last initial is fine), age, and place of residence.

We will post your responses on a blog called "Women Against Sarah Palin," which we intend to publicize as widely as possible. Please send us your reply at your earliest convenience. The greater the volume of responses we receive, the stronger our message will be.

Thank you for your time and action.

VIVA!

Sincerely,

Quinn Latimer and Lyra Kilston
New York , NY
womensaynopalin@gmail.com
http://womenagainstsarahpalin.blogspot.com

music to your ears...

2008-08-28T22:36:00.004-04:00

for more from this fabulous artist, JALYN - check out his other songs HERE.
he's handsome, soulful and sings well acoustically? done deal!!

Italian's are fans of bans...

2008-08-19T15:34:00.005-04:00

E BASTA COSI!!! (enough is enough)

Italy is bugging out. hardcore. a beach near Venice has outlawed sandcastles. what's next - pails and shovels carried by 3 year olds?

if you are caught displaying any type of PDA in car, you are smacked with a 500 euro fine in Eboli.

in Vicenza, a man recently got fined for laying down in a park to read a book. clothed. no, it wasn't a Playboy man, it was The Alchemist.

in Capri, you are not allowed off the beach in merely a bikini.

any groups of two or more people in Novara, are forbidden from lounging around in parks at night. right, so one person can go, but three cannot.

in another town, you cannot mow your lawns on the weekend.

wow, it makes living in China sound like a cake-walk.

meet Jazzy - adopt Jazzy...

2008-08-14T23:35:00.010-04:00

THANK YOU FOR ALL OF THE AMAZING SUPPORT!! JAZZY WAS ADOPTED, AND IS IN A WONDERFUL HOME IN BROOKLYN, NY. I WILL UPDATE THE SITE WITH PICTURES OF HER GETTING HEALTHIER AND HEALTHIER.

to the world, she may be one dog - but to one dog, you can be the world.

what made us think China would behave this time?

2008-08-12T14:18:00.013-04:00

I still cannot believe China won the bid to host the Olympics.

well, as I am sure you have heard by now - China got caught faking us out. in more than one way. quite a many, actually.

perhaps you were one of the billion people who tuned in to watch the Opening Ceremony...one of the people who 'oooo'd' and 'ahhhh'd' at the amazing spectacle they put on, many claiming "Wow, no way. How did they do that?". By tricking you, us, everyone - that's how. By assuming we are complete idiots who just sit there and watch with mouths agape and our remotes in our hand, drinking our beers and talking about Paris Hilton - as their Politicians and economy get richer.

first, we have the tiny singer singing "Hymn to the Motherland" lip-synced.

look above. does one child's face disturb you more than the other? c'mon, tell me the truth...wouldn't you boo the child to the right, off-stage for not being as cute as the one to the left? it's ok, you can tell me...Communists thought the same thing, so you are not alone.

what is really bothersome is the new claim of a child's face "not being suitable for television", hence having a vocal stand-in to lip-sync the 7 year old's part. why you may ask? her teeth as a 7 year old, weren't perfect. yep. they felt she would offend people with her 'imperfect looks'. revealed to a local radio station in Beijing, the musical director of the ceremony Chen Quigng stated Lin Miaoke, the 'television ready 9 year old who everyone would think was cute'. where did they find two little girls anyway these days in China? and what kind of message does that send to people, little girls and Yang Peiyi, who still has teeth growing in because she is only 7 ?! (story)

then, we have Olympic Officials admitting what we saw, was not real. no &*^&!!
that brilliant display of fire in the sky was not all authentic. did you know that 70% of the fireworks were pre-recorded and computer generated? what a great idea to save money China!! the chairman of Beijing's committee cited "most people could not tell the difference." how right you are China! we are complete idiots who love being made a fool of with your animated fireworks. thanks so much, really! (story)

not to mention, they violated the agreement made which secured their hosting of the 2008 Olympic Games - which was to improve the human rights of their citizens.
about 10 days before the Beijing games began, Amnesty International went in there just to validate their disappointed suspicions. "The Chinese authorities have broken the promises they made when they were granted the Olympics seven years ago," Amnesty's UK campaigns director, Tim Hancock, said. he also stated, "They told the world that the Olympics would help bring human rights to China, but the government continues to persecute and punish those who speak out for human rights ahead of the Games....The Olympic values have been betrayed by the Chinese government." China promised to make the city 'greener'. They said they would work on police brutality and imprisoning people voicing campaigns for human rights; all of which have not happened. (story)

what should have tipped us off is the fact that we cannot buy toys for our children manufactured in this country.

it's a special time when you give a child a toy- a time for them to grow with it, learn from it, and have fun. certainly not to get poisoned and die. lead paint is used in most of China's manufacturing of plastic, wood, and metal toys; and recently, we discovered the lead paint to also be in children's bibs. and it's not only our kids who are targets folks - it is us (Chinese-made toothpaste and tires and our pets (pet food). these products are way beyond China's limits and International limits for acceptable lead amounts - so how do they get out? money talks, that's how. while I understand the responsibility of this problem lie not solely on China's ground, and manufacturers still demand certain items, made in a certain way - the onus must be upon the Country who exports. (story)

or the fact that about 175 million children under the age of 14 (who make up around 20% of the workforce) in factories are making fireworks, garments and textiles, sporting goods, games and those toys...

(an updated story)

or perhaps the gender-war where prenatal sex selection, forced abortions and female infanticide (the systematic killing of girls soon after they are born) are all widely accepted.

in fact, the Chinese men now have a problem finding brides. a recent (2007) United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) State of the World Population Report, stated these practices, combined with neglect, have created a vast number of "missing" girls in Asia, what's the number you are wondering? 60 million. that figure may not seem like a lot to some people, so let me put it in these terms - there are under 9 million people in NYC. only 18 million in the entire state; women and men. so that would mean every woman you have seen on the streets, dated, loved, worked with in our city - could all have been victims of China's strict policy regulating female babies, and have gone 'missing'. (story)

they have even upset BUDDHISTS!! the non-violent group who is all-loving. jailing them and beating them was just not enough for the police and politicians. Now, The State Administration for Religious Affairs mandated all future incarnations of living Buddhas in relation to Tibetan Buddhism, "get government approval". (story)

listen, I am not saying we here in America are all-mighty. in fact, there is a lot wrong with this country and world. but when human rights have been so visibly violated, and humans so visibly humiliated - fingers will point. and mine is targeted at a yellow star against a red backdrop.

in honor of animal-olympics.

2008-08-11T22:53:00.005-04:00

I like elephants - alot.

they symbolize good fortune and luck (when their trunks are up), and are known to be mystical giants. I despise when they are mistreated, painted, used in circus stunts and the like; but that is a different story. having said that, this is a computer generated gray-giant, but it does not take away from the hilarity of the video.
(try to be patient in the first 20 seconds, it's worth it)

in honor of the olympics...

2008-08-11T22:37:00.003-04:00

...we might just see this little bugger in 2020's Olympic Games.

I mean, when I was 4, I was maybe a little coordinated and enrolled in ballet, tap and jazz classes. but by no stretch (literally) of the imagination, was I doing perfect-form gymnastics with a personality of an adult; nor winning the likeness and ovation claps from adults like this tiny talent is, check her out!

so, you think you can dunk?

2008-08-11T22:33:00.001-04:00

to that I say "goonadisht ayma oosteabala hai". in other words, you really have to watch this...it's unreal.

why craig? why?!

2008-08-10T20:13:00.003-04:00

all day long craigslist.org has been down. yes, craigslist.

it's one of the top 50 highest-trafficketed sites on the internet these days.

let's say I wanted to rant-or-rave about the concert I went to yesterday...

or search for apartments in Key West?

yes, frighteningly enough - these are things I had on my to-do list today.

anyway, my one vice left - the almighty search engine - is down. let's pray it's up... soon. (update - started working again at 11:02pm)

Farewell Isaac Hayes

2008-08-10T19:04:00.005-04:00

Isaac lived a full life, but not that full where only 65 years on this earth is enough.

he had 12 children, a superior music career, an acting gig on South Park and in over 20 other tv shows/films, was a Scientologist, head owner of a basketball team and won 4 academy awards - including the first Academy Award for a non-acting category by an African American, for his work on Shaft - "Best Original Song".

found dead near his treadmill by his wife today, we have lost another great this week folks (Bernie Mac died yesterday).

having grown up picking cotton in Tenessee, he regretted to finish high school by 18, but returned to get his degree later in life. he soon got into music with the now infamous Stax Records, and was one of the biggest driving factors behind the success of southern soul.

(as buddhas in babylon, we struggle to keep a balance of yin & yang. having said that, this weekend suffered some heavy loss in the world of entertainment. while we normally are not this bleak, we must still honor those who have been greats in our lifetime! let us pray Morgan Freeman pulls through after being released.)

a fighter, successful businessman and an artist known to have deep-bass vocals and a very unique sound. as a tribute, please enjoy some Isaac Hayes mojo below:

I am not smiley over Miley anymore...

2008-08-09T23:49:00.004-04:00

kiddie porn.
because Leibovitz shot it, and it's in Vanity Fair, it's ok?

where do we draw the line for sexuality to be used in gaining fame? sure, talk about Kim Kardashian's backside, or David Beckham's rippling abs...oogle Pam Anderson at 41 still as toned as ever - but to look at a 15 year old that way? come on, it's a little twisted.

it's only a matter of time before media, pressure, success and our people make her into a train wreck like many other teen-turn-adult stars: Lezlo, Spears, MJ, Corey Haim, etc...

why she gets on my nerves:

her real name is Destiny Hope Cyrus.
at the age of 14.5 she was earning $3.5 million - last year she earned $18.7 million.
on the show, Hannah Montana, her name is Miley Stewart.
she now has her father's middle name as a stage name.
her show moniker is Hannah Montana and her second album titled Hannah Montana 2: Meet Miley Cyrus had all of the songs on it written by Destiny Hope Cyrus.
she is a wax figure at Madame Tussauds, already.
as a 15 year old, she appears in Vanity Fair wrapped only in a bed sheet.
she is blonde when she is Hannah, and brunette when she is Destiny, or should I say Miley, or should I say Miley Ray.

are you as confused as I am? she has multiple identities, parents who apparently allow her to be portrayed as a sex symbol when she is nothing more than 'a barely cute kid' and we support this!

she is no different than the annoying spoiled teens on Gossip Girl, The OC, The Hills - well, except for the fact that she gets caught in precarious circumstances quite often, for a 15 year old: near nude cell phone pics, scandalous magazine spreads and the like.

I am not hating on this teenager. I am concerned about the attention and pressure we give to young women. Daniel Radcliffe, Mr. Harry Potter himself - wasn't a sex symbol at 15, he wasn't shot nude wrapped in a bedsheet - nor did he take lude photos with his phone while 8 year olds chanted his name, and he made millions.

do you see where I am going with this?

anyway, enough of my rant - here is this little hussy talking...and fyi, everyone is confused including Barbara Walters and Rosie. her pitch in her voice alone is enough to drive you crazy, here she is on The View where she admits to being annoying.

We will miss you Mr. Mac.

2008-08-09T11:31:00.006-04:00

The idea is to die young as late as possible. ~Ashley Montagu

this NAACP winner, Emmy & Golden Globe nominee - rose above all of the poverty and loss he suffered in his life to become a well-known comic. in fact, he was # 72 on Comedy Central's list of the "100 Greatest Standups Of All Time, and his character on The Bernie Mac Show was ranked # 47 in TV Guide's list of the "50 Greatest TV Dads of All Time" in 2004.

from what we know, he was hospitalized for 8 days and passed on this morning from pneumonia. it's amazing how serious pneumonia can be, albeit he had another health condition regarding his lungs but it had been in remission for almost 4 years - his body just could not fight it.

pneumonia has taken many greats from us: Kelli's mom - Lynn, Fred Astaire, Harriet Tubman, Leo Tolstoy, Jim Henson, James Brown and many personal members of families around the world.

all I can say is it's a shame that such a multifaceted, real talent has left us so early in his life. here is a an ironic skit from his tv show, The Bernie Mac Show:

to see him in one of his films, check out: (links to wikipedia)

Old Dogs (2009)
Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa (2008) - Zuba (voice)
Soul Men (2008)
Transformers (2007)
Ocean's Thirteen (2007)
Pride (2007)
Guess Who (2005)
Ocean's Twelve (2004)
Mr. 3000 (2004)
Bad Santa (2003)
Charlie's Angels: Full Throttle (2003)
Head of State (2003)
Ocean's Eleven (2001)
What's the Worst That Could Happen? (2001)
Life (1999)
The Players Club (1998)
How to Be a Player (1997)
B*A*P*S (1997)
Get on the Bus (1996)
Don't Be a Menace to South Central While Drinking Your Juice in the Hood (1996)
Friday (1995)
House Party 3 (1994)
Above the Rim (1994)
Who's the Man? (1993)

enjoy your day.

separated at birth.

2008-08-06T00:03:00.006-04:00

cute to look at. wouldn't harm a fly. wants to lick your face.

terrifyingly awful to look at. would harm your country. wants to kiss your ass so he can steal your Obama vote.

could it be?

2008-08-05T23:43:00.002-04:00

no no no, your web cam is not on.
you are not wearing your pirate hat right now.
and your facial asymmetry is not that drastic, silly.

enter, SLOTH and his crew from The Goonies. enter, Goonies part deux. yes. it's true - however, sans Feldman. it's a little exciting, and I am very curious as to who they would cast in it, and if our one-eyed friend will make an appearance.

lingerie can save lives.

2008-08-05T22:45:00.004-04:00

Vicky's secret may just be - looking sexy while being unscathed by flying bullets.

apparently police in Germany have outfitted their police-women in bulletproof bras. where we here as laywomen in America often have to deal with the uncomfortable woes of bras, i.e. the straps leaving marks on shoulders, underwires cutting into our skin and some have to deal with the back-fat ordeal...police women were often severely hurt by the plastic and metal pieces when wearing their bulletproof vests and bullets penetrated them.

often times when pretending to be espionage and traveling through an airport or ghettos of Oakland or Philly, I wish I had on some protective gear that would still hold my DDs. now, we have an answer - and it's a pretty good-looking one at that.

dubbed, 'the action brasserie' , the German word for 'police' is sewn across it just in case you start to undress a female officer then try to shoot her.

I am not sure what the cross-dressing population is up to now in Germany, but you really can't blame the policemen if they would rather forgo the vests and put on this lighter, more attractive option.

Wiedersehen.

the real monster is - a sad attempt at fame, with this Montauk hoax.

2008-08-02T01:48:00.007-04:00

this is the most pathetic attempt to gain attention for these three 20-something wanna-be's from Montauk.

how bout this for a movie...

the main character's stories are:

Rachel Goldberg thought her aging looks, even at only age 29 would be ignored...but if she only had a media stunt - an idea, where she could become famous overnight and not have to get into acting - that would be ideal.

Jenna Hewitt agreed, and knew her mid-20's looks were disappearing and thought instead of getting a stylist, losing weight, or getting her hair done - that she would take place in the hoax.

Courtney Fruin has a scientist ex-boyfriend who she stalked in Plum Island and thought this would be a great way to give them bad press.

Monster - note: it will not look like any of the animals above. To be a computer-digitized image of a mix of three random animals just so it can debunk any scientists go at what it may be/where it may have come from.

the dialogue went like this, on a Friday in early July:

"Rachel, I swear I am getting saddlebags. What can I do to find a man without having to workout and actually pretend to be smart?" said Jenna

"Well, Jenna - I know this girl Courtney who got dumped by this hot scientist who works right here on Plum Island. She wants to get him back and thought of this amazing idea...let's have lunch at the Surf Lodge and talk about it on Monday."

Monday comes...

The three pseudo-socialites go to the 'hot spot' Surf Lodge out in Montauk just so they can be spotted and decide to talk about their plot to become famous. Jenna and Rachel approach Courtney and bring up her ex who hurt her, and works at a lab where they do animal-testing. Knowing of a science-testing facility out in their rural town of Montauk, the three decide to play desperate and come up with a ridiculously obvious plan to expose the Plum Center by creating a monster of no known origin. Oh, and then - it disappears...yep....to their friends backyard, where they um...let it decompose, and now where is it? Well, they decided to put the bones in a box.

Their simple minds averaged it would take three weeks, but it wound up taking only two to make the image. All eye witnesses were their friends, and no known people are to have said to see it who are not part of their clique.

the plot:

Post on an internet site.
Gain buzz and attention from the even 'simpler' American media.
Make appearances on web-tv and tv's hottest news stations.
Gain fame and notoriety before getting discovered as fakes.

the ending:

let's not spoil it and let the actors do it for themselves.

I thought at first it could have been real. After watching these a**holes in an interview, I used my better judgement as should you - check it out for yourselves here.

take a deep breath and relax...

2008-07-31T13:42:00.009-04:00

yoga nidra

it means to relax which does not have to necessarily take place in yoga class. you do not have to twist into a pretzel. you do not have to chant or pray. you only have to breathe and relax.

now that we have gotten that out of the way...for you neophytes - many things are beneficial about the actual act of relaxation, not just 'relaxing'. many of us are usually either in the grind and busy working, or vegging out in front of the TV, or drinking/eating and then sleeping. do you see how there is no true relaxation?

chances are many of us are constantly surrounded by:
a ringing cell phone
a computer
a television
music
another person
moving images (via transport)
books and magazines

we hardly take the time to:
stop and listen to the complete silence that naturally surrounds you
listen and work on our breath
meditate
relax

so, let's explore the definition of relaxation: total abatement or relief from bodily or mental work, effort, application.

let's start with the basics. breathing helps to sustain life. using our common sense, we know it helps us to de-stress and slow down our heart rate. it is something that happens involuntarily and something we rarely think about (unless you are a runner, yogi or swimmer - besides other things).

but no one takes the time to consider how obsessed we are with the actual act of breathing. in fact - that is all smoking is...breathing in......hold, and out. except, air is free - not $8 a pack, and (mostly) clean and clear of pesticides, chemicals and life-harming drugs.

it's actually amusing to me when people either discount breath-work, or assume they know it all. the truth is - breathing and relaxing go together. here is my advice: if you don't have time to work on your breathing, then you have to work on your breathing. likewise, if you don't have time to work on your relaxation, you have to relax. got it? good.

many studies have been designed to measure the brain's activity during deep relaxation to see exactly what proof stands regarding it's effectiveness. one study in particular I am referring to was conducted by a brain researcher and his team at The Kennedy Institute in Copenhagen, Denmark.

basically the subject lies down in a PET scan bed. the only other object in the room besides the 21 electrodes attached to their head, is a guided relaxation CD which they are listening to in headphones. there are 7 subjects, who will remain in the PET scan for one and a half hours each.

the study showed the individuals had EEG (brain activity) which was similar to the relaxed state of sleep except they remained in complete control and were never unconscious or drowsy at any point. imagine you could be in control over your thoughts, visions, manifestations and dreams - all while completely relaxed?

what about being able to completely concentrate and focus on one activity for an undisturbed period of time? think about all you could accomplish by becoming a more focused and determined mind.

pictures were taken before (1), during (4) and after (3) the relaxation. before and after, the pictures illustrated the state closest to normal waking consciousness - sans stress and fatigue. during the relaxation - there was an increased ability to visualize and become more in touch with one's emotions.

so, the fact remains - for those of you who needed scientific proof. relaxation does a body good. here are some helpful links for you if you would like to start relaxing today: (for the guided relaxations, my advice is to put on headphones to your laptop, etc. and listen in that capacity as opposed to watching it....you should be lying down with eyes closed unless noted to be seated)

the study itself
guided relaxation - male voice, 10 minutes
guided relaxation - male voice, 9:18 minutes
guided relaxation/meditation - female voice, around 8 minutes
guided relaxation - female voice, 10 minutes: seated

if you don't know, you better get to know...

2008-07-30T14:36:00.005-04:00

Jazmine Sullivan has been under most people's radar...J Records better be promoting her with a bigger budget (and make this girl some dang music videos), this upcoming year. look out for her new record...she's got the best vocals (even better in my opinion) since Lauryn Hill, lyrically I would say Lauryn and Jill Scott are pretty close.

yeah, I said it.

what color(s) are you?

2008-07-30T14:07:00.006-04:00

everyone's skin contains all 4 colors.

all skin, without coloring, would appear creamy white.

near-surface blood-vessels add a blush of red.

a yellow pigment also tints the canvas.

lastly, sepia-toned melanin, created in response to UV rays, appears black in large amounts.

these 4 hues mix in different proportions to create the skin colors of all the peoples of Earth.

some of us have more or less of another...just means we are different shades, not races.

if we keep using 'race', we should first consider the implications in defining the word: any contest or competition, esp. to achieve superiority: the arms race; the presidential race.

so I ask you this:

which color are you racing against?

perhaps none.

maybe you are just relaxing in the shade.

interesting (and upsetting) facts - part 2

2008-07-30T13:54:00.002-04:00

there are 27 million slaves in the world.

there are 44 million child laborers in India, some working 16-hour days.

every week an average 88 children are expelled from US schools for carrying a gun.

same-sex relationships are illegal in more than 70 countries. in nine - including Afghanistan, Iran and Saudi Arabia - the penalty is death.

2 million girls and women are subjected to genital mutilation every year.

and you thought you were having a bad day.

some pretty amazing feats...

2008-07-30T12:41:00.005-04:00

if this doesn't touch your heart, you are a robot.

I swear it's not corny, it's actually quite amazing for a 6 year old!

her name is Connie Talbot, and she apparently likes Bob Marley - which means I like her. she was on Britain's Got Talent, and swept through to the finals. she's even made some adults cry...anyway, her CD is out, and you should consider a purchase. I have. see Connie's site here.

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there are many times I am in Times Square and I find myself cursing the American public, tourists and New Yorkers alike. it's so overdone and forced, crowded and sub-human. but here and there, some really cool stuff happens...this is one of them.

who is he? I don't know, and I would be surprised if you do; he is a (cheesy looking) record producer/clothing maker who reps Andy Hilfiger (yes, the 50 year-old looking brother of Tommy) and has his album coming out soon. I guess giving the money out to homeless people isn't really 'good marketing' since they don't buy albums.

___________________________________________________

this little guy is one of my favorites. he used to be the regular Sunday act for the Seattle Sonics at their Sunday games, until the Sonics went bye-bye. but his 6-year old career isn't going anywhere, check him out...B-boy Jalen Testerman.

special right? is there something these 6-year old's are eating? what is really in their milk?!

___________________________________________________

so, regular jumping off buildings and gymnastics weren't enough for these kids overseas. instead, they have taken movie stunts, and made them real - enter: Free-jumpers and Free-runners. just some bored kids in Russia, Paris and the UK who need some excitement in their lives. you might want to put this on mute, unless you like bad music.

interesting facts - part 1

2008-07-29T23:41:00.002-04:00

if you are right handed, you will tend to chew food on the right side; vice-versa if you are lefty. so, right-handed people have more cavities on the right side, and lefties on their left side?

if you stop getting thirsty, you need to drink more water. when a human body is dehydrated, it's thirst mechanism shuts off. so if you are always thirsty does that mean you are always hydrated?

when peeling onions, chew gum to stop the tears. too bad this doesn't work when you get laid off, dumped or while watching a sad movie on a first date.

a pink tongue means you are germ free. and only a pink tongue. if it's white, there is a film of bacteria on it. makes you wanna check out your dates mouth before diving in, huh...

the pupil of the eye expands almost 50% when a person is looking at something pleasing. kinda brings some meaning to: 'My, what big eyes you have.'

hungry? get your grub on...

2008-07-29T23:23:00.004-04:00

for as long as I can remember I have had impenetrable beliefs in caring for my diet. in fact, as I grow older (albeit wiser) I learn more and more that most people do more research on which cell-phone to purchase (new touch-screen Blackberry coming out, btw) than they do the story behind their meals.

do you know which vegetables you should buy organic due to an overabundance of pesticides?

do you know what happens in the meat industry just so you can celebrate your promotion with an Anus, or celebrate Thanksgiving?

I have also learned people choose not to be educated on this matter. they would rather eat and live in ignorance than to further learn, decipher, analyze and decide on what to do about their diet choices. and then, there is that select group who is completely apathetic about the quality of animals' and workers' lives.

for the most part it's negligence - giving up the validity of your own responsibility in situations. but at least have the decency to understand the value of life...enjoy those ribs and egg omelet folks ;-).

if you would like some literature or book recommendations, hit me up via email.

cheers to green (and free) reading!

2008-07-28T15:15:00.003-04:00

my new favorite vice - reading magazines. free magazines. online ; without having to worry about them taking up space in my 850 sq. foot apartment with a 300-book library. my ideas are running thin on making furniture out of my old magazines.

Mygazines , provides a greener & cheaper alternative to buying, keeping and then having to recycle magazines. my advice is to save trees and money folks, and halt your subscriptions for the next year or so...

you can search for your favorite magazine, a certain article. topic or feature. you can clip them out and create your own 'magazine' out of the virtual tear-offs. email them, or post them to your del.icio.us account.

as I was fanning (as much as you can do through a pdf) Vogue, a question crossed my mind - how is this legal? I mean it's groundbreaking and I am not complaining, but it seems they are on that legal edge of what's acceptable in the publishing & copyright world.

so my advice is get it while it's hot off the 'presses' folks. keep reading alive dammit...and enjoy.

Madonna turns 70 in August!

2008-07-27T12:10:00.012-04:00

how to look like Madge...aka, 20 years older:

* study the Kaballah
* wear no makeup, and ONLY sweats in public
* have blatant affairs and prefer a sordid sex life
* work out incessantly so you looka-like-a-man
* get your body fat down to a 'healthy' 5%
* become 'the' target of a US Media scandal
* maybe stay away from food altogether
* get obnoxious amounts of 'discreet' plastic surgery

Chi-town at it's finest, people's actions - a whole other story.

2008-07-27T10:25:00.007-04:00

I peeped this on one of my favorite blogs. it's a clip from the Showtime series, "This American Life" which while I have never watched, seems to perfectly depict what is wrong in this country.

I love my Chicagoan friends. I do. but in such a (still) heavily segregated part of the country, there is something very un-funny about this scenario. as a matter of fact - they even say in the clip that there is a new term for how segregated Chicago is: HYPER-SEGREGATED.

there is much about the Wieners Circle that represents a microcosm of our world, especially right here in our homeland. with a 99% White crowd and 100% Black
staff - you can plainly see what happens when us 'kids' are left alone to play.

what was once a 'good-idea' marketing tactic via the owners, has slowly turned into a cathartic avenue for rich drunk kids, to unleash their fears and ignorant beliefs...which should have been kept in, and those people and their intoxication, kept out.

even the owners remark how morally-sadistic the crowd is, and the workers - well you can see the pain in their eyes regarding the 'accepted abuse' they undergo just to get paid.

warning - strong language, may not be suitable at work, unless you are self-employed, or...work at a hot-dog stand.

do you feel me?

2008-07-27T01:52:00.003-04:00

good ol' Anthony Hamilton...for years, I fought being a fan but recently have given in, for sentimental reasons really.

great song, great movie it was in....I always forget about this dude, but his voice is so smooth and soulful. enjoy - I will be hitting you with other musical treats.

I have picked a flower for you...

2008-07-26T13:44:00.003-04:00

and it's right here

...all you have to do is enable the microphone when the little box comes up (press accept!) and speak or sing or play music.

this is a bunch of fun...and you will probably get sick of in 2 minutes, which is your attention span anyway (wink, wink).

put some color into your life :0)

2008-07-26T13:17:00.004-04:00

here is a virtual - kaleidescope.

once again, in the realm of 'virtual sand art' I am mystified as to just how they do it...enjoy kids.

(I am giving ya the easier program link, but in the upper left hand corner - the new program link is there once you get to the web page)

Dr. Randy Pausch's words will change your life.

2008-07-26T11:56:00.006-04:00

Dr. Randy Pausch, who was an amazing man, teacher and father - died yesterday at the young age of 47.

when he had nothing left but his word, he gave it to an audience of 400, but was truly talking to his three small children. diagnosed with Pancreatic Cancer, at the time of this speech, doctors gave him months only to live. he went on to live for another ten months, blessing us with appearances, Congress visits to speak about cancer research and more incredible perils of wisdom.

this first video is Dr. Randy Pausch on Oprah giving a much-abridged version of his amazing speech:

the second is the unabridged Carnegie Mellon speech.

he was asked to take part in Carnegie Mellon's 'Last Lecture' series which is a trend amongst colleges nowadays, where the top Professors are asked to think deeply about what matters to them and to give hypothetical 'final talks'.

except, for most of the speakers, they were in their usual 'healthy' states. for Dr. Pausch, it would essentially be his last public speech.

we have all been touched personally by death, and many times - they are non-ideal situations ; a parent who didn't get a chance to say goodbye or even give you that 'life talk', a friend you didn't get to hug, your grandparent you didn't call the week before. there are always regrets. but Dr. Pausch shows us that we can live without those regrets by honoring ourselves, and being positive. learning to apologize properly, and value people more than things are just two key lessons.

I leave you with the most outstanding quote I have heard in a very long time, from the revered Dr. Pausch:

"Experience is what you get when you don't get what you want."

and, if you are interested in learning more about life and enjoying every damn moment of it as I swear to do, read his book (I am getting it today):

THE LAST LECTURE by Randy Pausch.

speechless by a writer who should be pen-less.

2008-07-25T14:26:00.004-04:00

so...all sleepy eyed and groggy - I manage to pull myself out of my bed and log on, only to find myself, 20 minutes later, totally engrossed in this very interesting article on 'business pundit'. without ruining it for myself, I go page by page through the '25 Visionaries Who Created Empires From Virtually Nothing' piece. and the piece while being quite impressive and predictable listed only 2 out of 25 people, were women; they were the 2 last listings on the page. all of the people were mostly caucasian, with exceptions like Tiger Woods and Alex Rodriguez. Ayn Rand was the last woman listed and right before her was one of my faves, Ms. Ciccone - Madonna, herself - but how did she beat Oprah onto that list?!?

I ask of you - are we that mentally and gender-depleted for the writer of this article to be so void of options when he crafted this mashup of words? certainly not. in fact, upon a bit of research and knowledge (being a female entrepreneur myself) I have re-created the list to reflect the women and minorities who have changed our world as we know it. perhaps they didn't create the PC or Yahoo! but they have made huge advances from nothing, which is what the article was supposed to reflect.

the revised list is below in a completely separate post since it deserves to stand alone without the taint from that b.s. of an article I read this morning. there are many other things wrong with the inductees as well, to this delisional writer's repetoire:

Steve Forbes - not a self-made man. he's been lucky enough to have been an heir of his daddy's empire. he runs a magazine with his inheritance. he might as well have included Paris Hilton.

why are these athletes in there?

Tiger Woods: his talent, not entrepreneurship got him to where he is. Alex Rodriguez: what empire did he create???? David Beckham: I mean, he is easy on the eyes and makes an offensive amount of money per annum on endorsement deals, but did he create an empire? or did he get that empire because of his talent?

if listing them, why not have included:

Michael Jordan - Shaq - LeBron - Kobe Bryant - Arthur Ashe - Venus & Serena - and many many others....

well, I have my own speculations. in fact, i voiced those speculations in the 'comments' section on the page, as did many other people, and since then it has been changed, only to include Oprah in place of Forbes, but hey - it's a beginning.

anyway, I can go on and on about the lack of ingenuity and intelligence that went into this article. but have a read below and let me know your thoughts.

my list of 'The top 25 Most Influential Visionaries'

2008-07-25T12:22:00.003-04:00

this blog is in response to a really offensive article I addressed above. since writing these two pieces, and commenting on the site in response to the author's negligence...they have replaced Forbes with Oprah on their list and here is the site's moderator's message to me:

Steve Forbes, #7 on the list, did indeed inherit his papa’s empire. Malcolm built Forbes; Steve expanded it. Thus, we decided to remove him from our list and replace him with Oprah Winfrey, who perhaps boasts one of the most iconic success stories ever.

so, it's good to know in this day-and-age that voices are heard and people are honored by their virtue, not just membership into a boy's club.

I have compiled this list below of the '25 Most Influential Visionaries'. I have described in short the life and works of my personal Top 15...the other list is an honoring of their names with links if you would like to know more about their legacies. and please, if you feel inclined to do so, just as I did, please chime in and let me know if there is a person you feel should be honored and for what reason...personal stories are welcomed.

in no particular order, and in a random selection of people from each type of legacy - so please don't get upset about comparisons (i.e. Martin Luther King, Jr. and Mrs. Fields):

OPRAH
American television host, media mogul, philanthropist, academy award nominated actress, influential book critic and magazine publisher. after having won multiple Emmy awards, she stands to still have the highest rated talk show in the country. growing up in a poor household in rural MS, she was a two-time rape victim who also had a son from the second rape, who later died. she stands true as a woman who has conquered adversity, overcome criticism and has revolutionized talk-television as we know it today. there is really so much to note about her amazing rise to success, including being one of the wealthiest Americans, not to mention being an African American woman on that list...she should be praised endlessly and forever for her lifetime of work. (she is my number 1 hero).
LINDA ROTTENBERG
CEO and co-founder of Endeavor, a non-profit designed to support entrepreneurs of high impact in emerging markets. since 1997, she has been the pioneer of this company who identifies then mentors the most promising undiscovered entrepreneurs in Latin America, South Africa, Egypt, India, Jordan and Turkey. a recipient for many awards including, and not limited to: "Innovator for the 21st Century" by Time Magazine , One of the 100 Bold Innovators of 2003 - MIT Tech Review, World Economic Forum named her "Global Leader for Tomorrow" and "Young Global Leader", among many others, she was also The 1st Female Chair of the World Economic Forum on the Middle East, in 2007.
MARTHA STEWART
American business magnate, author, editor, homemaking advocate, former stockbroker and fashion model. in 2001, she was named " The 3rd Most Powerful Woman in America" by Ladies Home Journal. growing up in a modest, middle-class household in NJ, she went on to being a successful stockbroker after becoming a mother, started a catering business in her basement in 1976, and a year later wrote a New York Times Best Selling cookbook - Entertaining. since then, she has created the DIY empire and homemaking as we know it in the 21st Century. her show as well as many books, Kmart products and magazines later - has proved her to be a powerful vision of success.
ARTHUR ASHE
a victim of the segregated Virginian tennis circuit, Ashe moved to Missouri when he was young to play tennis in a better matched environment, one where he wouldn't have to travel great distances. he was recognized by Sports Illustrated and later received a scholarship to UCLA in 1963. it was also this year history was made - he was the first African American ever selected to play for the US Davis Cup team. he was the only player to have won amateur and open national championships in the same year. he called attention to many philanthropic causes, including South Africa's apartheid policies, an avid civil rights supporter, and a protester for crackdown on Haitian refugees. in 1975, Ashe won Wimbledon against Jimmy Connors. this amazing legend remains to be the first African American player to ever win the men's singles at Wimbledon, the US Open or Australian Open. he is one of only two men of Black African ancestry to win a Grand Slam singles title. he founded the National Junior Tennis League, and supported the creation of the Association of Tennis Professionals. he was inducted in 1985 to the International Tennis Hall of Fame.
DR. MARTIN LUTHER KING, Jr.
'The second most admired person in the 20th Century" (Gallup poll)
Voted #6 in "The Person of the Century" Poll (Time Magazine)
the leader of the American civil rights movement. a Baptist minister born in Atlanta, GA. he led the Montgomery Bus Boycott, helped found the Southern Christian Leadership Conference - serving as its 1st President, led the March on Washington - giving the "I Had A Dream" speech, and proved himself to be one of the greatest orators in US history. he became in 1964, the youngest person ever to receive the Nobel Peace Prize due to his groundbreaking and heartfelt work in ending segregation and discrimination of Black people through non-violent means. as a religious man - he focused on ending poverty and heavily opposed the Vietnam War. it was only until after his assassination in 1968 that he was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom in '77, and the Congressional Gold Medal in '04. in 1986 - America established Martin Luther King Jr. Day as a national holiday, and to this day - the 3rd Monday in January is shamefully, still not honored by many people/companies and foundations.
MOTHER THERESA
a Roman-Catholic nun who was born in Albania in 1910. for a period of over 40 years of some of the most compassionate work we have seen in recent centuries, she administered services to the poor, sick, orphaned and dying. this mission began when she started the "Missionaries of Calcutta" foundation in India in 1950, and then spread across the globe. a recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize in 1979 and earning India's highest civilian honor, her foundation reached outstanding heights. at the time of her death, she was operating 610 missions in 123 countries. Pope John Paul II beautified her and gave her the title Blessed Theresa of Calcutta since her death in 1997. although heavily criticised throughout her decades of work, she is a legend in her own wright, and she leaves quite a big set of shoes to fill.
HIS HOLINESS THE 14th DALAI LAMA - TENZIN GYATSO
born in 1935, he is a revered spiritual leader among the Tibetan people. the 5h of 16 children born into a farming village in Tibet, he was said to be the rebirth of the 13th Dalai Lama at the age of TWO! in 1950, at the ripe old age of 15, he was enthroned. he fled Tibet for India in 1959. now in exile, he has presided over the Central Tibetan Administration in India. he remains one of the most regarded spiritual teachers of our time.
MAHATMA GANDHI
India's major political and spiritual leader of the Indian Independence Movement. a vegetarian, and long-time faster, he focused on self-purification leading to social protests and lived a in a modest, self-sufficient community, wearing clothes he spun by hand. a believer in mass civil disobedience, founded on the principle of non-violence (also known as 'ahisma' in yoga). known as The Father of the Nation in India, his birthday, October 2nd is not only a national holiday there, but it is the International Day of Non-Violence. back when it wasn't fashionable or advertised, he led nationwide campaigns for easing poverty, women's rights, pushing for religious and ethnic amity to be built, ending 'untouchability', increasing economic self-reliance and most importantly - he allowed for the independence of India from foreign domination. he led movements for civil rights in South Africa, where he was imprisoned (as well as in India), and he played an important role in the Zulu War of 1906 as well.
ESTEE LAUDER
born in Queens, NY in 1906...she was the only woman on Time Magazine's 1998 list of the 20 most influential business geniuses of the 20th Century. she was also awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom. having lived for 97 long, she created a billion-dollar legacy after learning valuable merchandising experience from her work in her father's hardware store. a natural saleswoman, she utilized her chemist uncle's knowledge and began selling her skin-care products to beauty salons and hotels. she and her team of executives have only enriched the company's portfolio by adding new brands such as: Aramis, Clinique, Prescriptives, Origins and MAC.
DESMOND MPILO TUTU
a South African opposed to apartheid, he rose to worldwide fame in the '80s. in '84 , he became only the second South African to be awarded the Nobel Peace Prize. the first elected black South African Anglican Archbishop of Cape Town who also chaired the Truth and Reconciliation Commission as well as still the chairman of The Elders. Tutu is a huge AIDS activist as well as a member of the UN Advisory Panel on Genocide Prevention, since 2006. he has also received the Albert Schweitzer Prize for Humanitarianism and the Gandhi Peace Prize in 2007. an author and orator, he resigned from teaching school to protest poor educational prospects for Black South Africans (following the passage of the Bantu Education Act). he went on to continue his studies in theology, and eventually in 1960 was ordained as an Anglican Minister. he had an intense position where he voiced his discontent about the way Black people were treated in a largely White parish. after many director-level positions for honored organizations in the UK, he returned to South Africa in 1975, when he was appointed the Anglican Dean of St. Mary's Cathedral in Johannesburg, as the first African person to ever hold that title.
NELSON MANDELA
a noble man. an educated man. at the age of 7, he became the first member of his family to attend a school. he went on to study at the early age of 16 at a boarding institute, and completed his Junior Certificate there a year early than all other students. due to his beliefs and taking part in revolutions, he was asked to leave college but went on to gain his Bachelor of Laws from the University of London while imprisoned. former President of South Africa, he was previously an anti-apartheid activist and leader of the African national Congress. spending a significant time in prison (27 long, hard years) dubbed by the apartheid government as a communist and terrorist, he became a symbol of freedom and equality internationally, to people who knew better. a recipient of over 100 awards over 4 decades, to include the Nobel Peace Prize in 1993. Mahatma was a huge inspiration for Mandela (aka Madiba, as he is known in South Africa) on the non-violence policy issues and facing adversity with a sense of dignity. a great book, which he co-wrote with his journalist friend, Mandela: The Authorised Biography.
U2
an Irish band with members Bono, The Edge, Adam Clayton and Larry Mullen, Jr. formed in 1976 , when they were teenagers. within a decade, they became a top international act whose main source of income was in performing live, until the release of The Joshua Tree album in 1987. having sold several hundred-million albums worldwide, they have won more Grammy's than any other band in history. in 2005, their first year of eligibility, the band was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of fame and are listed as #22 of the 100 greatest artists of all time, by Rolling Stone Magazine. what puts them easily on this list is their track record for campaigning for human rights and social justice causes, participating in Band Aid, Live Aid, including Amnesty International, ONE Campaign, founding of Music Rising, Project Red and Bono's DATA (Debt, Aids, Trade in Africa) campaign. many performances have donated proceeds to charities such as the Chernobyl Children's Project and they have performed at many charity functions, such as Mandela's 46664 series of concerts. They have been awarded the Amnesty International's Ambassador of Conscience Award for their human rights' efforts.

VENUS & SERENA WILLIAMS
Venus, "One of the 30 Most Powerful Women in American" (Ladies Home Journal, 2001)
born in 1980, Venus is a former world #1 tennis player and the reigning Wimbledon singles/doubles champion. a strong player, she has won 16 Grand Slam titles as well as Olympic Gold medals. this year, she struck the fastest serve by a woman in Wimbledon's history during the singles finals at a record 129 mph. in previous years, Venus won the Lipton International Players Championships a couple of times, the Hamburg Tournament, the Italian Open in Rome, the Pilot Pen Tennis Tournament in CT, and the Zurich Tournament. she and Serena teamed to win doubles titles at the French and US Open, becoming the first sister team to win a Grand Slam doubles title in the 20th century. she has met endlessly with officials from the French and Wimbledon tournaments to follow in Billie Jean King's footsteps that female tennis players should be paid as much as males. her demands were rejected. however, Tony Blair and members of Parliament publicly endorsed her arguments and later that year in 2006, the Women's Tennis Association and UNESCO teamed for a gender equality sports campaign, with Venus at the helm. early in 2007, Wimbledon and the French Open announced it would award equal prize money to all competitors in all rounds. nicely done Venus. she is also the CEO of her Interior Design Firm, V Starr Interiors in Florida, and has also designed a line called EleVen with Steve & Barry as the retailer.
Serena, the current top-ranked American Female Player.
a former World #1 ranked female tennis player with 8 Grand Slam singles titles and an Olympic Gold in women's doubles. she is the most recent of all players (read: women and men) to have held all 4 Grand Slam singles titles at the same time. at the age of 4 1/2 she had already won her first tournament, and in the next 6 years of her life out of 49 tournaments she entered, she won 46 of them Tennis Magazine in 2005, ranked her #17 of the best players from the preceding 40 years. she has also tied Venus' record for the fastest WTA tour serve by a woman, of 129 mph. her titles match Venus' as does her fashion sense, she has had lines with Puma and now Nike, and also started her own line of clothing in boutiques in Miami and LA, called Aneres which is her first name spelled backwards. having modeled for Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue, she has also had fame with her sister Venus on The Simpsons, and on ABC. she has had numerous other acting gigs including an appearance for Common's music video, 'I Want You'.

J.K ROWLING
The 12th Richest Woman in Britain.
"48th Most Powerful Celebrity of 2007", Forbes Magazine.
Time Magazine's runner-up for its "2007 Person of the Year" award.
her real name is Joanne as was the authored name on the first Harry Potter book published. but her publishers urged her to use two initials so that young boys wouldn't be biased to read a book a female wrote!! a former welfare recipient after divorcing and moving to Scotland with her daughter, this amazing and imaginative author went from rags-to-riches as a millionaire only 5 years later. when in school, she majored in French and Clasics. she became a researcher and secretary for Amnesty International. in 1990 while on a train in England, this British writer conceived the phenomenon, Harry Potter. having sold almost 400 million copies, she has had the time to become an international philanthropist with organizations like Comic Relief, One Parent Families and the MS Society of Great Britain. her initial novel was rejected by all 12 publishing houses it was submitted to in 1995. since then, her book series has earned numerous awards and prizes, and her films have gone on to be legends. congradulations Joanne Rowling.
JOSEPHINE BAKER
"...the most sensational woman anyone ever saw." Earnest Hemmingway.
this legendary singer/dancer was also called the 'Bronze Venus' or the 'Black Pearl' and the 'Creole Goddess'. she was a US born French ex-pat. Ms. Baker is the first female African American to star in a major motion picture, integrate a US Concert hall and become a world famous entertainer. an avid contributor to the US Civil Rights Movement, she has paved the way for many of today's African American performers. a school dropout at the age of 12, within a year she was dancing and performing on the streets of St. Louis. a few years later, during the Harlem Renaissance, she made her move to NYC and performed at The Plantation Club as well as Broadway revues. evenutally, she was touted as 'the highest-paid chorus girl in vaudeville'. in 1925, she ventured to Paris and was an immediate success due to her highly erotic shows, where often she would be accompanied by her pet cheetah, Chiquita. this woman was dynamite!! later she became an actress in Europe but always remained a muse for authors, painters, designers and sculptors alike, in the contemporary vein: Langston Hughes, Ernest Hemingway, F. Schott Fitzgerald, Pablo Picasso and Christian Dior. she was the first American-born woman to receive teh highest French military honor - the Croix de Guerre. She was also inducted into the St. Louis Walk of Fam. she was so fierce and popular with the French, even the Nazis who were occupying France during WWII refused to cause her harm. she was always a bigger star in France, and unfortunately fell victim to such criticisms here in the US as the New York Times calling her a "Negro wench." oh boy, how off-target they were. I am sure this only added to her vehemntly strong defense for social justice and opposition of segregation; in fact, she refused to perform for segregated audiences in the US and in Las Vegas where she insisted on mixed audiences, she began to finally integrate shows in this Country. in 1951, she made a case for charges of racism against the Stork Club in NY where they would not let her perform. Grace Kelly who was at the club at that moment, rushed over to her and left with her entire party, boycotting the establishment for the rest of her life. the two women became very close and Kelly even helped Baker in hard financial times when she needed a home and money to live. Baker spoke at the March on Washington beside Martin Luther King, Jr. when she worked with the NAACP. she was the only woman to speak at the rally. even Coretta Scott King asked Baker to take Martin Luther King's place and lead the American Civil Rights Movement, after his assassination, but she turned it down in fear her children were too young to lose their mother. Josephine adopted 12 multi-ethic orphans whom she called her 'Rainbow Tribe'. she eventually had one child, who was stillborn in 1941 and had to have an emergency hysterectomy. just after celebrating 50 years in show business by a revue backed by Prince Rainier, Princess Grace and Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis - in 1975, she passed away two days later at the age of 68. cited as the iconic performer for Diana Ross and Whitney Houston, this woman will forever live on in entertainment, Civil Rights Movement's and women's history. however, you can still honor her legacy at her son's restaurant on 42nd Street in NYC's Restaurant Row, Chez Josephine.

OTHER NOTABLES (with live links)
MARY KAY ASH
DEBBI FIELDS
COCO CHANEL
ALBERT EINSTEIN
JOAN OF ARC
BILLIE JEAN KING
MUHAMMAD ALI
HOWARD THURMAN
MICHAEL JORDAN
MALCOM X

your name is what?!

2008-07-24T20:22:00.004-04:00

an update from below, more celebrity names to shock and awe...

Aanisah: Macy Gray (also mother to Tahmel)

Astrella Celeste: Donovan and Linda Lawrence (also parents to Oriole Nebula)

Atherton Grace: Don Johnson and Kelley Phlege

Aurelius Cy: Elle Macpherson and Arpad Busson

Blue Angel: U2's The Edge and Aislinn O'Sullivan

Brooklyn: David and Victoria Beckham (also parents to Romeo and Cruz)

Calico: Alice and Sheryl Cooper (also parents to Sonora Rose)

Camera: Arthur Ashe and Jeanne Moutoussamy

Destry: Steven Spielberg and Kate Capshaw

Fuchsia: Sting and Frances Tomelty

Gaia: Emma Thompson and Greg Wise

Gulliver: Gary Oldman and Donya Fiorentino

Heaven: Lil' Mo (also mother to God'Iss Love Stone)

Hopper: Sean Penn and Robin Wright

Jaz: Steffi Graf and Andre Agassi

Jazz Domino: Joe Strummer

Jermajesty: Jermaine Jackson and Alejandra Genevieve Oaziaza (previously married to Jermaine's brother Randy)

Kal-El Coppola: Nicholas Cage (Kal-El is Superman’s original birth name- OMG, that's where it came from!!!)

Kyd: David Duchovny and Tea Leoni

Lark Song: Mia Farrow and André Previn

Lennon: Liam Gallagher and Patsy Kensit

Liberty: Ryan Giggs

London Emilio: Slash

Luna Coco Patricia: Frank Lampard and Elen Rive

Marquise: 50 Cent

Memphis Eve: Bono

Moon Unit: Frank Zappa, also father to Dweezil and Diva Muffin

Moxie CrimeFighter: Penn Jillette (also father to Zolten)

Ocean: Forest Whitaker (also father to Sonnet and True)

Poppy Honey: Jamie and Jules Oliver (also parents to Daisy Boo - listed below)

Rocket: Robert Rodriguez (also father to Racer, Rebel and Rogue)

Rufus Tiger: Roger Taylor also father to Tiger Lily and Lola Daisy

Saffron Sahara: Simon and Yasmin Le Bon (also parents to Amber Rose and Tallulah Pine)

Sage Moonblood: Sylvester Stallone and Sasha Czack (also parents to Seargeoh)

Seven Sirius: Andre Benjamin and Erykah Badu

Shiloh Nouvel: Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie

Sosie: Kevin Bacon and Kyra Sedgwick

Tallulah: Bruce Willis and Demi Moore (also parents to Scout and Rumer)

Willow Camille Reign: Will Smith and Jada Pinkett-Smith

Zola Ivy: Eddie Murphy and Nicole Mitchell

uh, what did you say your name was again?

2008-07-24T17:42:00.010-04:00

a serious epidemic is occuring right now, in the US. children are getting tagged with the worst possible names out there...why not just turn to different languages, or combine parent names? why would you take obscure nouns and turn them into your new baby's reality? maybe it's the curse of fame and wealth, where you don't care what people say, but these children sure will once school starts. watchout...

Kim Basinger & Alec Baldwin: Baby daughter Ireland
one of them is Irish, at least, so it makes sense...

Gwyneth Paltrow & Chris Martin: Baby daughter Apple and son Moses
I know someone named Moses - and he isn't half bad. Apple on the other hand, well - is she taking a page out of Eve's book, aka the Bible?

Matt & Annette Lauer: Baby boy Thijs
I keep wanting to spellcheck their son's name to 'this'. how do you even say it??

Courteney Cox & David Arquette: Baby daughter Coco
hello people, it's not that bad - for the Arquettes! it makes me think of Chanel.

Alice Kim & Nicolas Cage: Baby son Kal-el Coppola
why hyphenate a name in these days and times of getting picked out of an airport line based on your name? them being fans of Francis Ford, is cool though.

Julia Roberts & Danny Moder: Twins Phinnaeus Walter and Hazel Patricia
I keep wanting to call him 'Pinhead'. I do hope Hazel doesn't have blue eyes and just confuse the sh*t out of everyone.

Shannyn Sossaman & Dallas Clayton: Baby son Audio Science
wanna help me out on this one? it would be cool if they were actually musicians or scientists. but...no.

Tom Cruise & Katie Holmes: Baby daughter Suri
I am over them. Katie was just shot with purple hands from a Scientologist ritual. the kid has very little hope ahead of her.

Toni Braxton & Keri Lewis: Baby son Diezel Ky
it's Toni Braxton people...

Heidi Klum & Seal: Baby son Johan Riley Fyodor Taiwo
4 names for one child...with a father who only has one name. hmmm...

Jennifer Garner & Ben Affleck: Baby daughter Violet
it's actually not that bad. but those ears....yeesh.

Geri Halliwell & Sacha Gervasi: Baby daughter Bluebell Madonna
I guess Geri wanted to be Madonna, so why not name her baby after the legend.

Jools Norton & Jamie Oliver: Baby daughter Daisy Boo
her mama's name is Jools, helllooooo....

Summer Phoenix & Casey Affleck: Baby son Indiana August
anytime you have one of the Phoenix's involved, you know it's got to be spicy.

Drea de Matteo and Shooter Jennings: Baby daughter Alabama Gypsy Rose
do you see it? do you see the father's name? at least they named her after a character in one of my fave movies - True Romance.

Beth Riesgraf & Jason Lee: Baby son Pilot Inspektor
I am so offended. Inspector Gadget would be ashamed.

Paula Yates & Bob Geldof: Baby daughters Fifi-Trixibelle, Peaches, Little Trixie, and Honeyblossom.
which one is worse - being called 'Little' anything when you are actually oversized, or instead of a flower name like Rose/Lily, you get stuck with Honeyblossom?

Paula Yates & Michael Hutchence: Baby daughter Heavenly Hiraani Tiger Lily
see above before you get angry, she was the mom of the four fraggle's, why would she name a child with the famous druggie-INXS singer any differently?

Tonya Linette Lewis & Spike Lee: Baby daughter Satchel
Spike's always got something in the bag...

Claudia Schiffer & Matthew Vaughn: Baby son Caspar
he is friendly, and you can hardly see him :-)

but just when you thought it was bad in the US, New Zealand's got:

Talula Does The Hula - what, she's Hawaiian!

Fish and Chips - their parents shared that the night they concieved him.

Yeah Detroit - big time Michigan fans, um....in New Zealand.

Keenan Got Lucy - guess what their parent's names were.

Sex Fruit - their sex was peachy enough to have this wonderful child.

Bus Shelter - place of conception.

Violence - I don't have a witty one for this child, instead - I feel really bad for them.

New Zealand also has laws allowing these names to be blocked, and a ruling that will not allow parents to name their children with embarrasing 'titles'. (source)

should we do the same?

I am not gassing you up here folks.

2008-07-24T13:28:00.009-04:00

this (sadly) will not be my last rant on rising gas prices. it has hit a moral rock-bottom in my book, when it affects the children of this country. oil prices are so high now, which of course itself isn't news, but the fact that some rural cities are cutting their school week down to 4 days...well, it's incomprehensibly offensive.

in 2005, they began to turn down the thermostat settings in schools due to natural gas and oil prices soaring. they actually claimed in a school in rural southern NJ that reducing the temperature is a learning tool, teaching little ones about hot and cold, and older kids about the cost of things. (source) even as an adult, I have had to sit frigid in some offices here in NYC and freeze my budunkadunk off with a cashmere button-down in July and that adversely affected my performance, since all I could do was complain as my numb hands attempted to work.

and 2005 was just the start of things for children who are just trying to get an education in this Bush economy... now, in the past few years - they have been reducing the number of field trips kids go on, children will have to more frequently walk than take the bus to and from school, and slowly instilling 4 day school weeks with 10 hour school days. fairly enough - I am really a bit torn on the issue here. i mean, yes of course the environment is of great concern to me, as is each individuals carbon footprint. but when we were kids, in the 80's, it was a time of excess and Reaganomics. children are subjected more-so than even we as adults are NOWADAYS to the rising costs of oil.

we are still buying cars which don't use fuel-efficiency (yes, I am talking about all of you H3 owners out there), printing out emails, eating out of non-recycled materials from fast-food chains, using toxic cleaners and detergents still, abusing agriculture and farming of animals just so you can celebrate with a leather jacket and a steak when you get a promotion, and ignorantly using plastic bags at the market.

but our children, well - they are being forced to sit in school for an unbearable 10 hours a day, until 5:30 at night, and then partake in after-school athletics?? it sounds impossibly tiring, even for the next LeBron James. the best part is their 3 day weekend...it sounds good to us adults, right? but in this time of failing economy thanks to our President (who, the other day when asked about the recession we are in, claimed 'I am not an economist, I don't have a comment on that' to a reporter on ABC) both parents have to work. and most parents have 5-day work weeks still. which means on their Friday, kids will be in a daycare facility so mom and dad can earn a living just to barely get by.

so now, on Fridays in several rural cities across America, you have thousands of individual cars going to drop their unschooled children off at daycare, then off to work, then to pick them up from daycare from work, to home. maybe stop for some plastic bagged groceries along the way, or pick up some toxic bleach cleaner for their tub, but always, always stopping for....yep, you guessed it...gas.

how is that better than 100 school buses taking children to a school to learn and then participate in sports, so they may be able to get a scholarship, and bring some (much needed) money into their schools and home...

don't get me wrong here. once they can prove that children can still get in their musical classes, football, track and cheerleading in these 10-hour days, as well as still learn in a non-pressured environment and make the best of their Fridays, then I will be on board.

at the end of the day, it really makes me sad that college is so expensive, urban schools are not excelling as they should, and oil prices are so high that our children are being negatively affected; all while we adults live in a land of abundance and can make a choice to be actively aware of being 'green' in this society, or as 'un-green' as we want.
(source)

if you feel the way I do about social networking sites by now...

2008-07-23T11:48:00.003-04:00

then you will really enjoy the below, and totally identify with the dude with the mullet....'the tom' is the funniest part. enjoy.

NYC must have it's SAG card by now

2008-07-23T00:09:00.007-04:00

is NY still on this post-911 kick of promoting tourism? are they giving people money to shoot in the city when they could take their films elsewhere like Seattle or Chicago, albeit not as cool - though films are definitely shot there. are there tax benefits I don't know about?

what happened to the romantic Paris, or dirty LA, or pristinely segregated San Fran...go there movie-people, show me other cities, suffice my cathartic vice of travel. though i am an avid Netflix watcher, I also pirate - which isn't legal, but neither is what happens 100% of the time on my favorite TV show, Weeds.

here is a list of the previous 20 movies I have seen in the past 30 days. the purple ones were shot in NY. these are in no particular order. and some of them aren't new-releases, so feel free to comment on my tastes or the flicks themselves :-).

if anyone has any information about this suspicious initiative by NY to bring revenue into our city, please spill the reels. (get it? ok...)

the namesake
cloverfield
the happening
made of honor
sex and the city
the business of being born
the wackness
lucky slevin - which is totally amazing, btw.
the incredible hulk 2008
what happened in vegas
forgetting sarah marshall
you don't mess with the zohan
babymama - you don't have to see this one.
hellboy II
dark knight - doesn't really count, though it is gotham.
the kite runner
michael clayton - pheonomenal flick
the brave one
definately maybe
jacobs ladder - if you haven't seen this since the time it was on TV or it first came out, you seriously need to watch it again. movie is crazy!!

for an interesting and very incomplete list spanning several decades, click here.

so as you can see, i am not sticking to one particular genre nor time period. these are literally 20 random films i have seen out of my own free will in the past month, and 15 out of 20 have NYC in common.

these are the things that keep me wondering. has this happened to you - where you sit down to watch a movie and there you are not surprised about the landscape or accent because you are sitting beside it, within it....

babylon it is indeed, good ol' NYC.

buddhism for busy people

2008-07-22T18:56:00.003-04:00

when the next social comes up or your friend tells you they are reading Nhat Hanh , be armed with a little information under your belt. after all, like most things - it's a numbers game:

the 3 marks of existence: buddha taught everything in the physical world, including mental activity and psychological experience include the below.

pain, impermanence and egolessness.

the 4 noble truths: buddha's first sermon after his Enlightenment centered the below, which are the foundation of buddhism.

life is frustrating and painful, suffering has a cause, the cause of suffering can be ended and finally - the way or path to end that cause of suffering (meditation).

the 5 skandhas: fully perceiving the nature of oneself is a direct way to define enlightenment. the combination of the below comprises each human's ego split into 5 categories.

form, sensation, perception, mental formations and consciousness.

the 8-fold path: buddha divided the path into three main secions - wisdom (right view & right intention), ethical conduct (right speech, right action & right livelihood) and mental discipline (right effort, right mindfulness & right concentration).

right view, right intention, right speech, right discipline, right action, right livelihood, right effort and right concentration.

the goal: nirvana

yahoo vs. lady luck

2008-07-22T15:16:00.009-04:00

yahoo recently put out "8 ways to stomp the dating drama". my take is that the writer is not a babylonian resident. since NY has some of the biggest dating woes, i have altered some of their advice, well, actually - all of it. you compare the two... and let me know what you think.

1. yahoo says : when you break up, make it for good.

lady luck says : if (s)he continuously messes up on that one issue, bounce.

from my experience, the warning signs are there from the beginning. if it comes up more than once and the same result is present each time, well - there you have the definition of insanity. why be insane when you can be fabulous and on top of your game? don't stick around to talk, move on.

2. yahoo says : learn to spot drama-prone personalities.

lady luck says : if your girlfriends are dramatic, good luck finding a partner who ain't.

this goes for man and woman. if you haven't picked out some drama-less friends, chances are your radar for the opposite sex won't be that keen. start cleaning up your backyard before you begin to landscape the front. and note - if you are drama prone, and you are lucky enough to find someone who isn't - well they are just going to leave your ass before you get a chance to.

3. yahoo says: stop picking fights.

lady luck says : argue! just pick your battles.

expressing your dismay about hour long phone calls with ex's is totally normal, or your partner clearly not out and about with their best friend, but over their 'secret friend's' house. i vote to be succinct in your speech, eliminate emotion, and sink your teeth into facts that can't be argued. and btw, on rainy days - y'all should be in bed knockin boots, not screaming at each other.

4. yahoo says: learn how to say, "game over!"

lady luck says: hell yes, throw in that towel.

if you can see they thrive off of you getting red in the face, and can't see the beauty of 'when you're mad' like Ne-Yo, then be out. after all, if you wanted to play games at this point, you wouldn't be steady seeing them more than 2 times a week, and would still be getting your groove on elsewhere. i say - start off anew, wipe your slate clean.

5. yahoo says: take your arguments down a notch.

lady luck says : are you seriously still in this relationship?

if (s)he is overly critical and you doubt their love for you - you should start questioning what it is you are looking for: a father/mother figure, some abuse with a side of salt - wake up people!!
life is too short for you to be wasting your time and breath with all this arguing. let things roll of your back - it takes more energy to be upset than it does to be happy. TRUST.

6. yahoo says : find other ways to create excitement in your relationships.

lady luck says : if you have lost excitement in your relationship...

that means you are not nearly being experimental enough in the bedroom. get a book on tantra, or get off, and get out.

7. yahoo says: detox the drama addiction.

lady luck says : if you are dating and need counseling - run for the border.

unless you are married and forced to work things out, for numerous reasons, counseling should not ever be in your repertoire. there is still time to save face, and money.

8. yahoo (finally) says : know that drama gets boring.

lady luck (emphatically) says : if when you write that pros/cons list, the cons outweigh...

then grab your pride, toothbrush, pajamas and dvd you lent them - and leave. there is absolutely nothing keeping you in this relationship besides your fear. and fear is a fake assumption of future happenings. if you believe in yourself, you will not fail. stop the drama is right.

the 'masterpiece' itself: yahoo article.

sand in your pants

2008-07-22T01:52:00.004-04:00

i don't know how they created the virtual version of the above. but i like it.
a lot.

this is sand is the most phenomenal waste of time, either procrastinating at home - or better yet, making money while doing it at work. why count the minutes, when you can count sand grains.

all of you '80s kids - put aside memories of garbage pail kids, and skids - how bout:
colorful sand art in bottles?
at camp, festivals, carnivals, a rich kid's birthday party?

all you have to do (if at work) is turn off the sound, and start to move that mouse feverishly. otherwise, keep on that soothing waterfall of sand grains onto your screen - and create away. you can even submit it to the gallery once you are done.

to start, click the diminutive square in the upper left hand corner. my 2 year old niece could follow the directions, so i think you'll be okay. enjoy lads.

google is babysitting craigslist

2008-07-22T01:29:00.008-04:00

they did it again, google. they rented an apartment upstairs from my neck (aka in my head for those of you who haven't had coffee yet) and stole my year-old idea. i mean, it was about time, but is there anything they can't do? seriously.

craigslist - before i go on, ponder the word, the man, the machine - and ask yourself: if there is one thing i would change about the search function, what would it be?

yourself would answer: to look on all of the craigslist's at once.

after all - if you need, and i mean need, that THRILLER record by MJ himself...why would you limit your isht by only looking in NY? perhaps if you had the time, you might stop by and wander around philly's CL, but all in all - it's a waste of time.

low and behold, my brainchild which google took countless hours to hide and make so damn undercover, you actually need instructions.

instructions so circumstantial, you must just go to the instructions herein laid out by Wired to see it's magic. now - i will warn you, if i get one threatening comment or email because you can't stop going on google to look for things on craigslist (two nemeses employers complain about attacking the production of their employees), then you will be banned, banned i say.

have fun wasting and chasing.

bimbos are everywhere

2008-07-22T00:36:00.001-04:00

just when you thought you were safe, and your children (or your niece, cousin, stepchild, supposed child, childhood crush, aunt - you get the drift) could sleep at night after watching all this reality tv, there is a new kid on the block. literally.

welcome to - design your own bimbo. a game targeted to poor little girls who don't go through enough torture with the media, but now the internet has found yet another way to make me sound like a feminist.

breast implants, face lifts and medications - these are all purchases you can make for your very own virtual bimbo (it's what they call the dolls, i swear...) to win the world-beauty-contests.

she starts off naked, like every good bimbo does!

then, you can take your own little whore clubbing, and then make her down a whole bunch of diet pills to meet her target weight. when this little gold-digger's money runs out, as does the 'free-ness' of the game, you must send text messages costing around $2.50 each to top up your whore's account.

so, in essence - your 9 year old daughter could inadvertently coerce you into being a sugar-daddy for her new internet play friend. and all it is, dad, is playing 'doll'. kinda like all the dad's did when they were in college - undressing, dressing, urging the girls to take weight loss pills, and get breast implants. it's literally, virtually, life repeating itself...

France has 1.2 million players.
Britain (which is a fairly new market for the bimbos) has 200,000 and growing, literally.

you can even send your bimbo to a psychiatrist if she is having problems with boyfriends or work - interesting.

maybe the site creator - nicolas jackquart (or jackoff, if you will), should be seeing one as well.

(don't act like you are surprised it's a man who created this, or shall i say boy).

ok - go get your bimbo on children...Miss Bimbo's site.

moody-ass coworkers.

2007-09-24T11:52:00.006-04:00

like it's not bad enough to have to work for a living. but to have to stare at this all day? >>>>>>>>>

and then it really tops that proverbial cake with the cherry-tinted thought of having to race in this concrete jungle just to get to the door, after you have been eyed up and cat-called for the past 2 miles on foot, in your push-up bra and heels.

as if i am not already upset about having to sit on my ass all day long in a fluorescent-lit environment, but now I have to hear you sigh, belch, and see you play with your frizzy hair all day as you contemplate banging your head on your keyboard. that is quite unnecessary.

as is your howard stern lookalike bit you have kept up. why? save your plight for the moments alone in the bathroom; those times in the mirror when you look and just want to scream - go ahead, scream away.

and while you are at it, tuck in your shirt, and zip your fly you sad excuse for a business man. you and your beaten up briefcase - i have seen lizards who have gotten run over by a Yugo look better than what you carry your alienware laptop in.

anywho, back to menupages, to figure out whats for lunch.

box-ing up The Box.

2007-05-11T00:33:00.002-04:00

so I have to say...for a spot to be open for only a few months - not charge at the door, and then start, is tacky. i mean i liked the old door dude who opened the spot. and i have been, aplenty. but - when revenue is tight and they take it out on us, that is way ghetto.

so ghetto in fact, it's too ghetto for me.

upon walking up to the door last night, with the new 'uneasy in his own skin with no door experience' door guy wimply holding a bogus clipboard. he questions everyone if they have a reservation, then when they say 'no' he says (with the cartoonish finger-to-lip 'wondering' face) :

"give me a second" and turns to pause, then a dramatic re-entrance into the club; bouncer holding door open, him spinning on one foot, to 'pretend' and go ask someone. and then...the dismissal, poor souls.

over it people. the box....should be a cardboard one. with that dude inside. that's that.

i mean, i went in, but...still.

THINK OUTSIDE THE BOX....