You know who I love? Gabby Sidibe. Why? Well, have you ever heard her speak, read an article about her, seen her act, or do her thing on TV shows? No? Well she was on Jay Leno last night. Here she is-
Cuteness! She’s so confident and comfortable in her confidence that you just have to see it (if you didn’t at first) and respect it. And respect her.
And did you see her when she was on Ellen back in October? She as getting.it.in. If you missed it, thank goodness for youtube. Check it-
How could you not live this chick? Confidence is SO the business. That is all.
UPDATE: So, perhaps I should have qualified this. I do love that she is so confident and is making major moves in her career; however after being given the interview runaround, “yes-I-can-do-it, no-i-can’t,well-I-can-do-this, now I’m just avoid contact, let me just delete my myspace…I’m not feeling the love. I guess a lot can change in 15 minutes, huh? It’s understandable, on some level. But hey, we keep moving and will still (cautiously) rock with the girl.
Ladies! Today was a most-productive day! And I feel great!
After I finished writing my “I’m baaack” blogs last night, I stayed up and did something I haven’t done in a while…I wrote…and wrote…and wrote…until about 8:30 ish this morning.
Reeewiiiind…
When I finished blogging last night it was around 2ish in the a.m. I was tired, admittedly, so I played with the idea of “taking a nap” for an hour or so and getting back up to do some work. pause for the cause. Now, that inspired little idea never quite works out well for me because a power nap quickly turns into a good night’s sleep, despite my best intentions. So, instead, knowing myself like I do, I decided to stay up and bang the work out. I hit my second and third winds (you know the point when you’re so tired, you’re not even tired anymore and your energy just picks up?) and really got some things done.
So I stayed up wrote until about 8:30, took a shower, decided to send off an application and then, around 10:30, I took a nap, (I had to do it). I woke up around 2 and I’ve been working through my “to do list” since then. It’s like, once I got started, I did not want to stop. I had to actually make myself go and get food, and you know that’s commitment. It’s like I actually wanted to see how productive I could be, instead of putting things off until tomorrow or the day after that. Procrastination, I rebuke thee!
In any case, that was not the topic of today’s blog, but I just wanted to share. Now I see why people with such a strong work ethic are so super successful- you really have to get too fed up not to something, want it so badly you can’t sleep and work so hard that you surpass being tired. I’m there.
So, while I did go and get food, I didn’t actually eat until half an hour ago. I was trying to hold off until my actual dinner time (after 9 p.m., natch) but I was starving, so I went ahead and ate.
While eating, I caught a re-run of Roseanne (if you don’t know, seriously, get familiar) that I loved! It’s the episode where Roseanne, proud that her child was finally being recognized for an actual accomplishment, forced a mortified Darlene to read a poem she had written for homework at school’s “Culture Night,” per the prodding of Darlene’s teacher. This poem marked like one of the first times that Darlene, resident smart ass and heir apparent to Roseanne’s biting wit, shows any vulnerability…and she does it in front of her mother and her aunt, and the entire audience. Here’s a clip-
To Whom It Concerns by Darlene Conner
“To Whom It Concerns, Darlene’s work will be late, it fell in her pancakes and stuck to her plate.
To Whom It Concerns, my mom made me write this, and I’m just a kid, so how can I fight this.
To Whom It Concerns, I lost my assignment, maybe I’ll get lucky, solitary confinement.
To Whom It Concerns, Darlene’s great with a ball, but guys don’t watch tomboys, when they’re cruising the hall.
To Whom It Concerns, I just turned 13, too short to be quarterback, to plain to be queen.
To Whom It Concerns, I’m not make of steel. When I get blindsided, my pain is quite real.
I don’t mean to squawk but it really burns, I just thought I’d mention it, to whom it concerns.”
Love it! And yes, I did cry when I watched it again (for like the 20th time), as I do every time. It always gets to me.
On Friday night, Rihanna spoke to Diane Sawyer on 20/20 about dating violence and her relationship with Chris Brown. This was her first time speaking out about “the incident” (let’s call is what it is- the night Chris Brown battered her) publicly. It wouldn’t be a stretch to call it a “publicity stunt” for her new album (because, let’s face it, the timing is certainly no coincidence) but the fact that she is speaking out about it publicly remains a powerful thing. I stand by that. So, if you missed it, catch the full interview here-
and here,
and here,
Ladies, dating violence is very real and it is very serious. It can happen (and it does happen) to anybody. Speaking out about what it is, who and how it affects us helps take away the stigma. If you are being abused or know a woman (or man) who is, understand that the shame is not yours, nor is the blame. Get help, and sometimes it helps to speak on it.
I was all set to write a synopsis when I discovered, lo and behold, the cw does it for you. If you missed it, check out their recap here.
Or you can check out mine-
Annie is still pissy about videogate and gets smart with her mom over the whole thing. Her parents disagree on how to handle it (dad wants to punish her, mom wants to talk it out) which causes some friction between them. The situation gets worse when dad talks to Kelly about their problems and takes her advice (that Annie’s been punished enough) and eases up on Annie, leaving wifey feeling a bit jelly that he listened to Kelly and not to her (even though they were saying the same thing, basically). Dixon meets a new (older) girl and lies to impress her (about his age and leads her to believe that Navid’s lambo is his). Steve Sanders New boy (what IS his name?) decides to throw a party on his dad’s yacht and invites the whole gang where everything comes to a head, so to speak. Silver finds out that Naomi did send out the video, gets pissed and runs into Dixon’s new friend who (surprise!) is DJ-ing the party. Her feelings are hurt, but she goes over and meets her. She has the opportunity to bust Dixon for lying, but takes the high road instead, pointedly saying to Dixon, “I’m happy you finally found someone you can be yourself around.” Loved that. Love her. She also overhears Annie lashing out at Naomi (Annie lied and told Naomi that she and Liam did sleep together- totally blindsiding him- and says, “Isn’t it funny how every guy you love ends up loving me more,” or something like that just to hurt her back) Ouch. Silver was pissed at Naomi for lying to her about the video but she comforts her after that. They have a little heart to heart about love and broken hearts and removing tattoos- all of it very touching. Meanwhile, Navid and new boy bond and Navid decides he’s a good guy after all and that he likes him. New boy, for his part, tries to pull the okey-doke on Adrianna (reminiscing about when they lost their virginity to one another on that very boat, in that very kitchen) and gets rejected. Adrianna doesn’t kiss him, but she was tempted to. Dixon (still lying) borrows Navid’s car to take DJ chick home…only she ends up driving and has no intention of going back to Beverly Hills, so she wisks him away for the weekend. Meanwhile, back on the farm, dad Harry is feeling some kind of way (intrigued, a bit guilty) about Kelly. She ims him and they set up a lunch date to talk. I’m guessing he knows something is wrong with wanting to talk to her more than his own wife, but ,what can you do? Aaaand…scene.
Interesting eppy. I will say this, Silver’s vulnerability feels very real to me. And while I applaud Adrianna for not kissing new boy while her bf was seasick upstairs, I wonder if she’s going to be able to stay locked-down if her feelings are…unclear.
Ok, girls. Truth time. After watching this episode, I had a few questions:
1) Have you ever loved someone so much that you wanted them to be happy, even if it wasn’t with you? And I mean sincerely, not that knee-jerk “oh, I’m so happy for you,” thing that people do when they feel compelled to say something and don’t want to sound like bitter, jealous, shrews. It’s not easy being the “bigger person,” but does love compel you to do it?
2) What do you do if you are with the one you love, but you’re also feeling the one you aren’t with? Far be it from me to declare at what age relationships and feelings become “serious,” but what do you do if you are a teenager and your heart is pulling you in two different directions? Do you stay with your significant other (s.o. from here on out) out of obligation (and love, but, face it, obligation b/c you said you would) or do you risk hurting him/her and follow your heart? How much can you trust those feelings? What do you do? What have you done?
3) Did Annie actually have sex with video boy or what? Am I missing something?
Brick City. Did you watch it? Did you love it? Will you be tuning in tonight? Well I did, I am certainly interested, and I will. Now I will admit that there was a lot of hype surrounding this show. A.lot. So I was interested to see what it was all about. A friend asked me earlier what I thought and I said that I don’t know if “enjoy” is the right word, but I was drawn in. That said, I’m also charging myself to look at this thing critically- it is a documentary, it was edited, it’s real life, but it’s also been packaged. (Did you see the scene where they were in the CompStat meeting? I had a Wire flashback and was like, did you cook those books? lol!)
Now, before I jump into the show, let me just (honestly) say that going in, I , like most people, did not have the highest regard for (or opinion of) New Jersey in general and Newark in particular. That stems from several things: the smell emanating from it as I pass by on I-95 on my way back from DC, a particularly unpleasant bus trip from Delaware where all the miscreants causing the ruckus debarked in Newark, the Real Housewives, and then, its reputation I mean, it’s Newark. It’s brick city right? So it’s gritty and it’s grimy. No offense to my Jersey girls, I love you all, but my reaction to the city has always been kind of like- oh. and then there’s the look- the one that the girl who dated Aiden right after Carrie had on her face when they met for the first time. It just happens, I don’t own it. That said, I was born in Baltimore and raised in D.C. so I know from cities with certain reputations.
I liked the first episode for several reasons- the main one being that they are giving us a behind the scenes look at public policy from the ground up; literally, from the street teams who work for peace to the police director (Garry McCarthy) determined to lower the crime rate, to the mayor (Cory Booker) who wants to make the city one of the best in the nation- they all need each other to do their jobs and I think the documentary shows that.
There was one story arc that I was really interesting in following and that is the one of Jayda. This is from the Sundance Channel Website:
JAYDA
Blood Gang Member, Youth Mentor and founder of Nine Strong Women
Jayda is a young woman (probably in her 20s) and a member of the Bloods gang. She’s also the mother to a four- year-old son, the girlfriend of a member of the Crips, and a mentor to teen girls in Newark. She’s real, she’s raw, and she, like everyone else, is trying a hands-on approach to changing lives. She goes out to schools and talks to the girls around her life, the things she been through and survived, the type of life she’s lived, and about their lives, as well. I’m sure a lot of them can relate to her and trust her enough to listen to her. In this episode, she broke up a potential fight between two girls at a high school- one who claimed she was pregnant by the other girl’s boyfriend- and got them to calm down and shake hands. She also dealt with her own personal drama. She found out that she is pregnant and that there was a warrant out for her arrest, stemming from a fight she had back in 2004 when she assaulted a girl. So she had to decide whether or not to turn herself in (and risk going to prison) or run. She decided to face up to her mistakes. She also decided to start a non-profit to further help teen girls. I like her. A lot. And I’m curious to see what will happen. If you didn’t get a chance to watch it, check out the videos online. Here’s one of Jayda and her boyfriend, Creep. (I just love that they are both mentors/counselors to the young people; members of rival gangs and all)
She’s not perfect (none of us are). And I’m sure she’s done things in her past that she regrets (who hasn’t) but she is making a difference. And THAT, to me, is the point.
And I’m curious…who are the people that you look up to in life? Mentors? Parents? Teachers? Aunts? Do you feel like you have a voice? That anyone cares what you have to say and listens to what you think?
What’s the biggest issue you face in your life right now? Or in your school or your community? How do YOU think it can be solved?
Charles and Cassie are still in trouble with the police about his stepfather’s death in the earthquake. Their stories don’t match, Charles is troubled and has a history of violence with the evil stepdad. The corner ruled his stepdad died from a knife wound to the back, casting suspicion on Charles. Charles is scared to tell the truth (that they did fight but that the stepdad fell on his knife and all they did was refuse to left the refrigerator off of him) b/c he doesn’t want to go to jail. Cassie doesn’t like the lying, so this strains their relationship.
Tay’s jealousy over Nate is reaching a boiling point, putting Eddie in the middle. Tay sees Nate giving a man some prescription pills and tells his parents that he’s dealing drugs. Nate says he was assisting an old army buddy and they get into an argument in front of Jen and Eddie. Eddie believes Nate, further infuriating Tay and Jenn, who sticks up for her son.
Lizze is having trouble adjusting to high school and falls in with some mean girls (who only want to hang out with her b/c she knows Little Miss Popular Sage, who is back btw). Sylvia, her new friend (a fellow outsider) takes exception to her hanging out with the mean chicks and lashes out at Lizze so the mean girls encourage Lizzie to send a mean text (telling Sylvia that a boy she likes said he missed her). Lizzie does it, Sylvia embarrasses herself in front of him and Lizzie feels really bad after the fact, but the damage is done.
Charles flees Lincoln Heights, then has a change of heart and comes back b/c he loves Cassie. The police come to the Sutton house to search Cassie’s things and to Charles’ apartment so he has to hide the tool box containing the stolen cash at Sage’s apt. upstairs. The police don’t find anything and decide to close the investigation but Cassie still feels guilty about not helping save Charles’ stepdad.
Jenn is having trouble accepting the next extended family (particularly the inclusion of Dana, Nate’s mother and Eddie’s first love). Jenn takes up for Tay and wants Eddie to mend their relationship, at any cost. She becomes unsettled when Eddie suggests Nate’s mother go to the clinic where she works to look for a job, but hires her anyway, to do scut work, basically.
The family comes together for Nate’s birthday- Eddie cooks, everyone else, including Nate, decorates- and all seems to be going ok until Dana shows up with a present for Tay. Eddie invites her to stay and eat, Tay has an attitude b/c no on asked him, Jenn asks her (in private) to leave which sets off Nate and ruins Tay’s dinner. He pouts. The Sutton kids (minus Nate) have a little heart to heart and talk about their troubles. Lizzie tells her brother and sister how she ruined a girl’s life at school and Cassie confesses what really happened with Charles’ stepdad. They bond.
Lizzie apologizes to Sylvia and finds out the real deal about why the mean girls pick on her- the boy in question was dating one of the mean girls and broke up with her to date Sylvia. He was her first love and first lover. She sexted him a picture of her and the mean girls stole it off his phone and sent it out to everyone, causing Sylvia to have a breakdown (and seek treatment at Jenn’s clinic, of course). Lizzie feels really bad and they (sort of) make up. Lizzie stands up to the mean girls, quits their club and Sage stands up for her when they try to threaten to “ruin her life.” (turns out they were mean to Sage, too, before she was voted homecoming queen).
Nate moves out of the house b/c of all the drama. Charles shows Sage the secret money (mind you- Cassie does not know about this and if you didn’t tune in last season, Sage and Charles have…history. She was the bad girl, rebel daughter of Eddie’s partner who showed up out of nowhere and caused havoc. She pursued Charles, even though he was with Cassie, got into a bad accident with him, fought with Cassie, true frenemies style; but they eventually all made up and were friendly.)
Jenn and Eddie talk about their new family dynamic, particularly her difficulty with it which mirrors Tay’s. He encourages her to accept his Nate and Dana in their lives, she tells him to be patient. The original Sutton family (minus Nate) get together to share Tay’s birthday cake.
I understand Jenn and Tay’s discomfort, but they are both testing my nerves. I mean Jenn, you have the man, the ring, the family, the job and the house. How can you be insecure? His ex had to come to you and practically beg for a job? Get your life right. Plus, I like Dana (although she was wrong for not telling Eddie about Nate for like 17 years or whatever.
And Tay….please grow up. That is all. Why do I get the feeling that Nate is going to have to save his life or something to finally get some love.
Cassie and Charles are an interesting pair. How far would you go to protect the one you love? Would you lie to the police? Cover up a (possible) crime?
Sage is definitely going to be a problem in that relationship.
I’m surprised Lizzie fell for the peer pressure, but they say high school is a mutha…Have you ever done anything mean that “ruined” another girls life? That’s pretty deep.
Yeah, I watched it again. Mainly because people actually read the last post I wrote on OTH, so who I am not to give the people what they want?
One Tree Hill. What can I say? Well, first, allow me to recap- When last we left off a week ago, Julian had (finally) declared his love to Brooke after a whirlwind bi-coastal summer romance. He quit his job directing his new movie and moved to Tree Hill, and in with her. Brooke was very happy. Nathan was still without a contract and mysterious woman was threatening to go public with (what he claims are) bogus accusations that they slept together. Nathan was not happy. Haley was on her job being everywoman- good mom who planned a great birthday for Jamie, good friend who consoled (w/o judgement) her sister and offered her a place to stay when she appeared out of nowhere sans her hubby, a good wife to Nathan, you know her. But, in the final scene, (some might call it a twist), a music exec threatened to shut down Red Bedroom Records making Haley, you guessed it, not happy. Dan is still alive (!) and giving motivational speeches…who in the hell left the gate open?! Really. No clue as to whether or not he’s really a changed man, one who made a deal with the devil, or still is the epitome of evil. (full disclosure, Dan was an terrible guy, no doubt, but he had his moments…and he was funnier than a mug). Who else? Ah yes, Mouth was trying to oust Skillz from the apartment so he could get closer to Mille so he resorted to walking around naked. Skillz, unfazed, shed his clothing in kind. No sign of Nannie Deb. Karen and crew, Leyton and Peyton are all off traveling. And scene!
This week, I have to say I really wasn’t impressed and I can’t tell if it’s just me being negative or if the show is really not good this season. Here’s what happened- Julian’s dad came to TH to tell him that he was ruining his career by walking away from the movie to be with a harlot, basically. Julian revealed to Brooke that the one good memory he has of spending time with his father lives on in an ugly picture he has hanging in the living room. Yes, he is a scarred man with daddy issues…hmmm….where have I heard that before? In any case, she confronts his father (like he did with Victoria for her last season, only less angry) and father and son hug. They are happy.
Haley figures out a way to save Red Door Records with the help of Mia (hey Kate Voegele!) and is happy.
Jamie goes to the beach with Skillz and Ms. Lauren, buries them in the sand and spends some time with his aunt (Haley’s sister. Don’t know her name). He and Skillz are still doing the McCauley/Denzel thing and apparently no one works now (except for Mouth who didn’t get any face time and Mille). Perhaps Ms. Lauren isn’t at work because it’s summer, but I know Skillz has some houses to baby proof or something. What happened to all that creative energy and talent they had bursting at the seams last season? Did Leyton drive off with it, into the sunset. Skillz and Mouth are still doing the naked thing (which, for the record, they need to stop) and Millie wants them to work it out, preferably with clothes on. So Millie is not happy.
Speaking of Millie, she convinces Brooke to hire some model/actress-type to be the new face of Clothes over Bros, but in person she’s not quite what they had in mind. Chick is hilarious though. She’s like Brooke 2.0, before she was all pined-out over Julian and lost her spunk (we saw flashes of the old Brooke, but come on!) Model chick called Brooke fat, applauded her for making clothes for plus-sized girls and played her out to keep her job. (Brooke was going to fire her, model chick overheard and gave her some line about really needed the work and being inspired by COB which Brooke totally fell for.) We later learn that model chick was just repeating a line from a TV show she was in. She’s a little devious that one.
Nathan’s agent tries to get more info. on nathangate girl and agrees to meet her to talk. Nathan (having learned nothing from the previous seasons), shows up and has a tantrum at the restaurant, embarrassing himself and professional athletes accused of cheating on their wives everywhere. Agent boy chastises him, Nathan is like whatever. Turns out groupie girl claims Nathan fathered her baby and shows a sonogram (looked kind of big and developed for three months, but hey, I’m no MD…or WebMD, so what do I know.) Nathan still insists he didn’t sleep with her (although the night in question, he and agent boy were both wasted…cue Gucci). Both Nathan and agent boy are unhappy. Nathan (in a smart move) goes home to tell Haley, thus ruining her day and making her unhappy. These two, I mean seriously. When the season started, all I could think of was, hmmm, Leyton is outtie, so how are they going to increase the drama quotient on this show? Naley has been through it all- teenage marriage, teen pregnancy, poverty, points shaving scandal, a secret sex tape, drug-addicted mother, murderous father, cheating, abandonment, he almost died after getting hit by a car, she almost died after getting hit by a car, the rise of superstardom and the fall from it (for both), paralysis, depression, crazy stalker tried to kill me and take my kid Nanny, a kidnapping, near divorce. I mean seriously, what.else.could.go.wrong? Insert groupie. eh..I’m not so sure I buy it. It’s going to take a whole lot more than that to break up this happy home. So how else is the CW trying to get you tune in? Why, by showing gratuitous nakeness of course! This time, though, it’s of the guys. Nathan and agent boy, for some reason, kept having meetings at the beach, shirtless and well-oiled of course. Skillz appeared naked again and there were two booty shots (Haley’s sister in a bikini and model chick in her panties). Yeah, I’m not buying that.
Oh, and in other news, Dan Scott is married…to Rachel Gatina…really. Can you say recovered addicted spouse 2.0? I’m still confused about how (and why) that happened. Dan appears to be a changed man, he gave a signed book and had a drink with a bum, but Rachel still seems schemy…
Questions I have:
What is up with Brooke?! Go design something! Stop laying up under Julian and…idk…be Brooke again! We miss ya, girlie!
And Julian giving up his career (I mean, let’s face it, we all say what happened the last time he tried to make a move in TH)…that doesn’t seem like a winning move. I see (relationship) problems ahead. Hey! Maybe he’ll branch Red Bedroom Records off into a film studio?
And is it just me, or does the chemistry (both between Brooke and Julian) and just in general seem off? These kids look like they’ve aged waaay more than the year the show leapt forward. Like say, they’re worried about their jobs and the series not being picked up for another season? I’d say that’s probably a lock.
Where is Nannie Deb? I miss Boozie 2.0!
Did I really see Kate Voegele in a commercial declaring that she is a student at the University of Phoenix? What is she supposed to be, the people’s champ?
How is Dan still alive? Did he kill Deb and steal her heart or what?
Nathan, if you and agent boy can’t handle groupie chick, get Haley to handle your light work…I hear she goes hard in the paint!
Speaking of Haley- I’m liking you more and more. Your impression of Leyton was on point. Now, who’s catching a beat down from you this season? You stay read to fight. Maybe Rachel, your new mother-in-law?
Brooke quotables-“Umm…I’m normal-size,” “That’s what she said” (used when someone says seeming vaguely sexual) You have to watch it to get it.
And that wrap-up was waaaay too long. I’ll have to work on being succinct.
Alright, girls- Jersey girls…Newark girls…where are you?
TONIGHT TONIGHT TONIGHT is the premiere of the Sundance documentary/mini series, Brick City. Five nights, five episodes and it looks like a stunner. Here’s a quickie promo video that gives you an overview (I’m assuming) of what the series is all about.
Are you excited yet? Kind of? Well, here’s a little more, a music video about the series, called Brick by Brick.
So tune in at 10:00 pm. Tell a friend. Check it out. And oh, yes. We will be discussing it. All week long. I believe its channel 101 on Time Warner Cable.
Was anyone else excited to see this episode of 90210? Did she or didn’t she? Will she or won’t she? Hmm…and wait. I thought Annie was still a virgin…I must have missed that memo. In any case, if you missed it, here’s the teaser-
Whew. Alrighty then. So that didn’t go exactly as I thought it would. But interesting nonetheless. So let’s go in.
90210 (Pt.1) I typed this while watching the first half of the show:
Laim’s mom- get.a.backbone. I know you don’t want to go back to sweeping and mopping, instead of parlaying and shopping for a living but it’s California…if he divorces you, he has to split his bucks…right down the middle. So stop letting your husband verbally abuse your kid!
Liam- stop being a punk. Tell Naomi you had sex with her sister and take your lumps like a man-boy. She’s already pissed at you, so what is there to lose? I know you think you’re protecting her and what not, but have we not learned that secrets, like dairy products, will not keep?
Naomi’s sister- are you serious? stop being a psycho! Where is Kelly when you need her? Both for therapy (isn’t she a counselor or something) and a beat down. Scratch that, call Brenda for the beat down, she’d be better at it.
Naomi- poor, jaded Naomi. You’re not a bad person, really, but I can’t really say that feel bad for you. As sneaky as you are, you should be better at spotting the snakes in the grass…mirror much?
Silver- oh, Silver. Snap out of it girl! What happened to you? I know you’re hurting and all, but it’s hurting me to watch this. Get your spirit back on track, blog something! And since when did you become a part of the crew? I thought you were all “I’m not a prom queen/normal teen/alternative” Let’s revisit that, shall we?
Ryan- get a clue. Can you possibly be that naive? Seriously. At your age, (you passed young and dumb a long time ago) you had to have been around long enough to know better.
Dixon- get over yourself. Annie is your sister and even she’s been acting like a major bia as of late, you have got to have her back! always. Also, I thought you were supposed to be Brandon 2.0. What’s with the Dylan-like brooding, sullen leaning and now, surfing?
Annie- oh, Annie…when did you get so annoying? Were you like this last season? All this mealy mouthed whining, and passive aggressive behavior…get a grip.
New guy- Teddy is it? Steve Sanders, much? Seriously…the famous parent, “the blond and beautiful” thing, blah blah blah. I’m still sussing you out.
Navid- hater, much? Perhaps it’s all the sexual repression but you need a hobby or three.
Adrianna- good job. I’m liking you sober. Way to call Navid on that wack apology and stand your ground. A word of caution though, watch out for new guy, I’m not sure he’s to be trusted.
90210 (Pt.2)
Liam’s mom- now, didn’t it feel good to take up for your son just a little bit? I know it’s hard to choose between your husband and your teenage son (as a mom, you must ask the eternal question- at what age does your happiness matter more than his- and either dislike the answer, be unhappy, make him unhappy, or both)
Dixon- “Did you put your weight behind it?”
Naomi- you were sooo close…
Evil sister- “you’re scary good,” I hate to see what comes around for you. I just don’t like you. At all…Who are you supposed to be Valerie?
Annie- good job standing up for yourself and breaking dude’s phone. You still got outed, but you tried.
Liam- bonding with the fellas, huh? Awww…good for you, making some friends. If Dylan could do it, so can you!
[oh and very cute “I’m a New Yorker” moment between the fellas…I guess NY pride doesn’t ever wear off]
Idk…the jury is still out, but I am kind of interested to see what happens this season. I’m trying very hard not to be a Beverly Hills 90210 purist, but it’s just too easy…I mean, look, we never got our Brenda/Dylan/Kelly resolution and here you go trying to update the show?!. Come on!
At least they know what shows to try this stunt with. Can you imagine if someone tried to “remake” My So-Called Life?! (Blasphemy! Btw, if you’ve never seen that show…it will change your life. Classic.)
Oh, and before I go, I would be remiss not to say a word about sexting…Look, it’s nothing new. People get caught up…in feelings, in the moment, in situations…in flagrante…and things happen. I know that I’m not one to tell you all what to do, (Besides, I’m sure there’s very little I could tell you that you don’t already know), but, I will proffer a word of caution.
Actually, I fall back on something I wrote a year or two ago, called, the “NEW” rules of dating:
Re: Text photos (or sexting)
New dating rule: Do not send incriminating photos over the phone!
When to follow it: When you don’t know him well enough to trust that you won’t end up exposed on the Internet. Or when you’re planning a career in politics, law, medicine, media, business, or have any aspirations to be great.
When to break it: When you trust him (or her) and have equally (if not more so) incriminating photos of him.
Re: Text- stalking
New dating rule: Do not continue to text message him if he is only (half-heartedly) responding to you and never initiating contact.
When to follow it: When you two are just getting to know each other. You don’t want to come off like a text stalker, a pest or a lame with nothing else to do. You also don’t want to give him all the power. Let him work foryour time and attention as well.
When to break it: You know him well enough to decipher that something is not right and suspect that there is a reason he is avoiding contacting you. Be the adult and encourage him to “use his words,” even if it is through a text. If you respond by just avoiding him as well, you’ll soon tire of the “I can ignore you better” game. Besides, you’re better than that and if he’s not interested, he’s wasting your time.
Re: Friends
New dating rule: Don’t blab too much about the new guy person you’re dating too soon.
When to follow it: When you don’t want to mess things up or jinx it. Or when your girls talk way too much.
When not to follow it: When you just can’t keep it to yourself, you need some good advice, and you know your friends are trustworthy (and can keep a secret).
Ok. I tried not to address this, I really did. But I’ve had enough and now, I have to speak. For the record I generally don’t support or watch awards shows on TV. I have a few reasons, but mainly, I find that they are rarely worth the time investment. They are predictable to a fault- the awkward moments between the forced banter of the host and the stiff audience, the same popular artists winning the same major awards year after year, the mediocre performances and lack of enthusiasm from the audience, the crippling boredom- so what I wasn’t doing was tuning in to the VMAs this year. Initially, I forgot that they were coming on, but when someone called and asked me if I was watching them (no!) I remembered that Janet Jackson was performing a tribute to MJ- and that I wanted to see, so I flipped back and forth until she was on and then changed the channel. I figured I could just watch the clips from the performances I wanted to see on youtube the next day. (I’ve watched none, btw) But plenty of people have seen this one…
So I missed what is now being called the Taylor Swift (who?) Kanye West “incident.” Yet, I feel like I was there. I am so sick and tired of hearing about it. So I must now speak my piece, so I can stop being aggravated. Yes, Kanye was a jerk for going up on stage and interrupting her moment in the spotlight. But since when is his behavior a surprise? Remember when went off prompt at a Red Cross Hurricane Katrina Relief telethon to say, “George Bush doesn’t care about black people?” I’m sure the former president does. But, for the most part, he wasn’t called a “jerk” for that, because many people believed there was some truth to what he said. Seriously, watch the clip again. Mike Myers’ discomfort is palpable…and hilarious.
So is it the fact that Kanye is rude/impetuous/unpredictable/(overly) emotional that people object to? Is it what he said? How he said it? Who he interrupted? I think it’s probably a combination of all three. I mean it’s one thing to interrupt a Hurricane Katrina telethon because you’re emotional; people get that. But to take a microphone from a 19-year-old singer during an awards show because you don’t think she deserves the award she was given? Please. If everyone did that, there wouldn’t be any awards shows.
Now, you can blame his behavior on the Henny (Kanye doesn’t strike me as a “quiet drunk,” so perhaps his posing on the red carpet with a bottle of Hennessy- isn’t that illegal btw- was the first clue that there was trouble ahead); you can blame it on his people (did no one on his payroll think to pull him to the side and suggest he put the bottle down?) But the ultimate blame falls on Kanye. He gets that now. He has apologized ad nauseum. Great. If his “image,” or career, as it was, suffers, that’s his bad. But who cares? It’s called (say it with me) personal responsibility.
His behavior was unfortunate, tacky and ill advised, no doubt. But so is how far out of proportion it’s been blown. My biggest issue, and the reason I’m writing about it on this blog (where we don’t do the celebrity thing real heavy) is because of the way people are treating Taylor Swift like the poster child for victims of unforgivable crimes. Yes she was wronged. Everyone can agree on that, Kanye included. But she had someone take her microphone away during the VMAs; she wasn’t assaulted, battered, kidnapped, or forced into prostitution. (Things, btw, that are happening to girls all over the world right now) She got her feelings hurt and was embarrassed…ergo, she is not a victim. So stop treating her like one.
Now, the main question I had in all of this was, how in the world did he get the microphone away from her in the first place? If I’m on stage, accepting an award for excellence in my chosen profession- the culmination of hard work and the realization of a life’s dream- and someone wished to interrupt said moment and forcibly take a microphone from me, allow me to paraphrase for a moment, but he would have had to wrestle it from my dead lifeless fingers. Now, clearly she didn’t expect anything like this would happen. So understandably, she was surprised. And caught off guard. And stunned. But a victim? Not so much. In fact, Kanye probably did more for her career by interrupting her speech than winning the award would have in the first place. And that’s just being honest.
Speaking of taking things that don’t belong to you, and not being a victim, this movie scene comes to mind.
I’m just saying.
A word of wisdom to my homegirls reading this…if someone attempts to take something from you that you don’t wish for him or her to have (say a microphone, your cornbread, or your dignity), a little strong arm goes a long way…not to mention a swift roundhouse kick or a chop to the throat. Don’t allow anyone to “victimize” you, before or after the fact.
Now I know that people who want to get into an online confrontation will find a way to take this the wrong way, so let me be clear. I am not saying that Kanye’s behavior (or the subsequent backlash) was in any way Taylor’s fault. But I am saying that she’s not a victim. Was it unfortunate? Yes. Has it happened to artists before? Yes. Will it happen to someone else at another awards show in the future? Probably. Will it happen to her again? Doubt that. And THAT is the biggest lesson in all of this. Live and learn.
P.S. Justin Timberlake ripping Janet Jackson’s clothes off and exposing her breast on national TV brings to mind a scenario whereby a woman could be said to have been “victimized,” but somehow, in the subsequent media coverage, Justin’s role was downplayed and downright ignored while Janet was villainized…hmmm, I wonder why that is?
Speak your piece (I can handle it. I’m a big girl). Remember, we can disagree and still be respectful.
Homegirl NYC 