Informative and empowering blog dedicated to commentary and information serving and pertaining to the African-American community, however, all are welcomed here. This blog covers current and social events, politics, business, culture, music, personal and black global events. Most of the time this blog will be a class act, but don't be surprised by the occasional straightforward rawness. Please don't forget to read the archives for great articles and opinions.
About Me
Name: Terrence
Location: Houston, Texas, United States
American. Southern-rooted St. Louis native, Houston resident, HBCU (Historically Black Colleges and Universities) graduate. Professional. Moderate Independent. Spiritualist.
Only months after three members of her immediate family - including her mother - were killed by a homicidal maniac, Academy-Award winning actress Jennifer Hudson returned to the national spotlight to blast into heaven America's National Anthem, The Star-Spangled Banner, at Sunday night's Super Bowl XLIII. Jennifer Hudson was poised and beautiful during her performance. Her rendition, although not the best in Super Bowl history, was nice and classy.
Hey Jennifer, ever thought about doing a Jazz album?
Adele Laurie Blue Adkins (born 5 May 1988 in Tottenham, North London),[1] known professionally as Adele, is a British[2] four time Grammy Award-nominated singer. Adele has described her musical style as "heartbroken soul."[3] She is the first recipient of the BRIT Awards Critics' Choice, which was given to artists who, at the time, had yet to release an album.- Wikipedia
It's been a busy year for me professionally and personally. A new job, the loss of my sister, the political season, etc. has been taxing. As a result, I have been chillin'. Still, your visits are greatly appreciated so thanks for stopping by. I plan to start blogging again in early 2009.
In the meantime, feel free to share my blog with others.
I like the song. The video is captivating too. Beautiful precision. However, there's too much credit grabbing on one side about who inspired Beyonce's dance sequences. While Beyonce's choreographer definitely borrowed dance moves from the famed Bob Fosse dancers, there was also some borrowing from the Jackson State University J-Settes. I am sure too, that there are other dance influences in the video.
Between the 1:24 and 1:42 mark of the video, Beyonce and her dancers do a style of precision dancing called J-Setting, made popular by the Jackson State University J-Settes (i.e.majorettes).
For the record, J-Sette groups in the black gay community have popped up all over the country and they compete against one another at Black Gay Prides across the country. This phenomenon is primarily sweeping the South (Houston, Memphis, Atlanta, Birmingham, Dallas, St. Louis, Little Rock, New Orleans, Jacksonville etc).
While most gay J-Sette groups are comprised of young black gay men, others are more inclusive regardless of sexuality.
As it took the movie, 'Paris Is Burning', and Madonna to bring vogue dancing mainstream (thus popularizing it), Beyonce's new video has the potential to bring J-setting to the mainstream. But first there has to be recognition of what is J-setting.
Republican Senator John McCain, who is vying to become President of The United States, politely told a white female supporter in Columbus, Ohio on Friday that Senator Barack Obama is a "decent family man (and) citizen that I just happen to have disagreements with on fundamental issues" when the woman suggested that Senator Barack Obama is an Arab.
In his surprising defense of Senator Obama, I think Senator McCain made a big political gaffe. Although it seemed unintentional, Senator McCain dissed the hell out of Arabs when he tried nobly to dispel the rumor about Senator Barack Obama.
In my opinion, Senator McCain should have been astute enough to not only inform the ignorant woman that Senator Obama is not an Arab, but he should have offered to her too that there is nothing inherently wrong with being Arab or a person of Arab descent; and based on what I have observed, the media is not highlighting this gaffe by Senator McCain much.
Regardless of intention, politicians, especially one's that are seeking to become President of The United States, should be taken to the mat by the media for such comments.
Although the horrid story is about three months old, above is a video clip in my continuing series about our so-called "post-racial" America. How sad is this story? I hope this young woman, Nekedia Cato, has an expedited physical and psychological recovery.
As with Senator Barack Obama, there's been a lot of micro-scrubbing of Alaska Governor Sarah Palin's leadership experience and political credentials. Many Americans, mainly Democrats, are questioning if Sarah Palin has enough experience - particularly foreign policy experience - to be Vice President or President of The United States. Questions have been raised about her preparedness if she needed to replace a President John McCain if an unfortunate incident - like death - happened to him.
During an interview, Republican Vice Presidential candidate Sarah Palin was caught with her panties down when asked a foreign policy question about Russia by CBS Evening News anchor, Katie Couric.
Below is a viral clip airing like crazy on every major news channel - including Fox News Channel. While Palin definitely seemed to be caught off guard like a polar bear staring head-on at a fast-moving snow machine........
.....below is a video that has not been looped over and over by liberal-leaning or conservative-leaning media. Go figure!
In my opinion, the liberal media continues to show its contempt for female political candidates. It didn't matter that Senator Hillary Clinton was a Democrat, the donkey's media machine still kicked her ass. For the record, every time I see the Senator Obama clip above, I am thoroughly embarrassed for him. Why, you ask? Because I have been in his shoes before....stumbling....scrambling....trying hard to recovery before an audience....and was simply brain dead in the moment. It was humiliating so I empathize with both candidates - Palin and Obama.
However, going brain dead, scrambling and stumbling on occasion - unlike George W. Bush who is brain dead everyday - is not an absolute measure of one's intellect or capabilities. If the intent of the media is to show Palin as an airhead, do it, but on the flipside they need to be equally critical of Senator Obama's policy and political stumbles.
And by the way, I am not a conservative nor have I made up my mind about the upcoming election. I am simply pointing out the double-standards of the liberal media machine. I am only challenging the media to be fair. The media should loop questionable brain farts made by candidates equally.
Fortunately, I wasn't without power long - only 39 hours, but 39 hours is still too long to be without power in humid Houston. Between three power companies, nearly 2.5-million people lost power in the Houston-Galveston-Brazoria area. Can you imagine that? As of this morning, 500,000 homes and businesses were still without power in the metro area. After Hurricane Ike blew out my power around 12:00am early Saturday morning (09/12/08), obviously I couldn't log on. Then my land line phone died to boot.
And boy, it is a mess in the Houston-Galveston area, but it is getting better. The people of Houston are resilient. Keep in mind too that Ike was a borderline Category (CAT) 2 hurricane. I certainly wouldn't want to be here for a CAT 4 or 5 hurricane. There are downed power lines, billboards ripped apart, downed trees, fences as well as light and telephone poles, and damaged property in almost every corner of the region.
Anyway....I am alive and well. Thanks for your concern.
The above video is of footage I caught live when it first aired on a local Houston news program. I knew the footage would end up onYou Tubebecause the footage is absolutely hilarious. It has gone international. He now has he own website too. It aired live in Houston on KHOU-11 as Hurricane Ike approached the Houston-Galveston and Southeast Texas regions. I love it. Why not have a good laugh as an ominous storm approaches? I laughed so hard that I cried.
Two months ago, I bought a portable audio system, and now I don't know how I managed to go without one for so long. My library has grown to 375 songs. Occasionally on this blog, I will feature songs I've downloaded onto my portable MP3 player.
The first featured song is "Stand" by Sly and The Family Stone. The song is timely especially considering the upcoming Presidential election. By the way, I love hippie music (i.e. Sly, The Fifth Dimension, The Carpenters etc.) but don't get it twisted, I've never done pot or any other drug in my lifetime.
