Webmagg~The Ultimate Chatroom

Most week days between the hours of 11-3 (PST) you can find me on my computer listening online to the Ryan Cameron show via V103Atlanta.  For the past few years I have been listen while at work, but due to an unfortunate accident I have been listening from home.  About a year ago (to my surprise) I figured out that you can actually chat with other listeners and sometimes you can actually see Ryan and Elle (his co-host) in the studio when they go 'live'!   Before this time just be able to listen to Ryan while at home was good enough for me, but being able to interact with other humans has really kept me from going stir crazy. 
You see~ Since my injury, it has really hard to just sit and do nothing, but that's what my body was telling me to do, even though my mind wasn't trying to hear it.  So everyday I  log on and chat with other people who are fans of Ryan Cameron.  This was just what my spirit needed!  Daily contact with people who are just as crazy about Ryan as I am.  The 'Webmaggers' as we call ourselves is the regular group that log on most days and chat and crack joke on each other.  And not only that, Ryan is able to chat with us and sometimes (on a real good day) we even get a shout out on the radio.  Imagine how I felt the first time I heard my 'stage' name on the radio!! WHOO HOOO!!  
When an celebrity comes in the Studio, they might wave and/or blow a kiss at the camera.  We've seen LisaRaye, TreySongs, and Chris Brown just to name a few.  Now don't get me wrong, there are times when 'haters' or 'animals' enter the room, talking crazy or making hateful comments about the guest, but the true webmaggers are a great group of folks who keep me entertained daily.

Snoop Dogg - Drop It Like It's Hot ft. Pharrell Williams

This Sun Drop commercial is messing up the mental images in my mind. This classic rap song inspires the thought of 'droppin it like it's HHOT'...but you got to HAVE SOMETHING TO DROP to make it work.  Below are the images you should see when you hear a beat as fresh as this..Not some White chick looking all goofy...dressed in clothes from the sixties ?? and randomly popping up like Lil Mama...Ugh we can't have nothing!! 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GtUVQei3nX4

*Side Note: here is the poem I wrote back in 2005 when this song first came out. 

The Memory of Dance

Drums pound rhythmic sounds-new yet so familiar 

Pulsating rhymes-penetrate my mind

Dance instinctively moves my body

I am overcome

I am one

with the music

-Visions of contracting mid-sections

Rotating, gyrating hips

giving praise to the goddess above

None of the movements are new,

just recycled and re-used, but no longer for good

The when and why's 

no longer matter

just intoxication movements devoid of purpose

Antiway..My random thoughts..okay back to your scheduled programming

My Hair Story-Why It's Such a Big Deal~ Part II

Let me start this blog by saying; I am really lucky to have hair.  This next heartbreaking story really brings to life the complexity of having hair or of NOT having any.  Yeah, I've been bald at one point in my life, so I truly cherish the hair on my head.

Me and my dog Tio

The time was Spring of 1988. My daughter was about 8 months old, so I had that pregnancy length.  My hair was the longest it had ever been at that point. Unfortunately during this time, I was unable to go to get my hair done at the shop..(as I had been doing up till then).. so I let a 'friend' perm my hair.  She had a licensed so I was confident that she knew what she was doing. "I'll get your hair straight".. I'll neva forget those words... Ugh how we hate our hair.. But anyway, we continued with the process, but let me make this statement. I'm not sure if it was the 'old perm' or the fact that I had color on my hair, or a combination of both things; but I really thought she knew what she doing...And then again; maybe she did...

Circa 1990-2 yrs later

Anyway as I sat with the perm on my head; I had no premonition of what was to come.  I don't remember feeling any pain, or thinking that anything was wrong...Until we went to wash it out.  I could just FEEL the hair leaving my scalp.. Yeah it was straight alright..straight off my head..Like WOW!!!  I could NOT believe it!! All my long hair down the drain..literally..I was SICK!! I think.. to be honest, I probably blocked out most of it.  When I did recover from the shock and went to my regular hair dresser with my heart (and hair) in my hand I said.."What can you do?"  The next 4 words were hard to hear~ 'Cut it all off'..
WHEEEETTTT??? Now I was in shock again.. Well needless to say, I had to 'wear' my little buzz cut until my best friend could braid it..Yes!! it was too short to braid!! *Life lesson # 567  I tell ya.. the adverse things we endure makes us stronger.  Believe me it was not easy to walk around the streets of Oakland with no hair....especially in the 80's.  But I survived and now I am really happy with my nappy hair.

All twisted up after a wash

Why don't they just leave him alone??

Okay, so I decided to way in on the whole Chris Brown thing... maybe it's all a publicity stunt, or maybe he still has some issues to work out; but whatever it is...Why don't they just leave the boy alone? 
It seems that whenever they get a chance; they are trying to provoke some sort of reaction from him, and then when they get it; OH they are sooo surprised!!  After all the things he has been through, he just wants to do his music; his Art; his passion.  But because of one mistake; he is forever doomed in the eyes of America.  I think sometimes we forget how hard it is to be Black in this country and especially for a Black Man. This blog is for you Chris.  Keep your head up bru!  Don't let them steal your shine!

My Hair Story~Why It's such a big deal

There has been a lot of 'natural' hair buzz within the last few weeks due to a few celebrities cutting their hair and deciding to wear it short.  Living in this America culture, you can't help but notice that yes, hair is a big deal.  From the daily maintenance to color choice to hair length and texture; hair is a big deal.  And in the Black culture it is big deal and then some. 
When I cut my hair almost six years ago and decided to go all natural; it was a big deal to me as well..After one too many tight braid jobs and not wanting to put yet another expansive and mind altering 'perm' on my scalp (Imean head) I was like okay I quit...no more 'trying' to straighten my hair; I'm going natural...it's time for locs. I was tired of trying to convince my hair to be something that it wasn't.. After years of 'processing' and pressing my hair; it was time for it's liberation!

And I'm lucky to have hair to liberate... I have had so many bad experiences with my hair that I am lucky I have any left.  One time in particular happend when I was around 6 years old.  My mom and her sidekick (My Aunt) decieded to give me 'my first perm'.  Off to the store they went and when they returned; they began their first science project (me).   

MY FIRST PERM????

These two creole women had no idea what to do with my 'black hair'...but hey..we gonna perm it'..or so they thought...So they follow the instructions on the box...and by the time they got to the rolling part; they still hadn't realize maybe something was wrong; Oh no, 'Her hair so Nappy, the 'perm' won't even take!", they laughed to themselves...What we gonna do with this? The talked amongst themselves like I wasn't in the room.. Well. I don't know at what point they REALIZED that they had got THE WRONG KIND OF PERM for my 'black hair.???  You see, I needed a RELAXER...not a perm.  Perms are what the white women use to CURL their hair...and you see we were kind of going for the opposite affect... Ummm. Oh, We got the WRONG kind!!!  They laughed??.. No wonder it's not working???  Ugh..You have GOT to be kidding right??  So off to the store they went..again to get the relaxer... Same day; let's try this again. WTH!!!

Looking back... I am lucky hair still grows on my head!! Hair is such a big deal; especially when you don't know what you doing.

My Next Door Neighbor-"Oh No he dinint!"~Revised

As some of you may know I am a PROUD owner of the cutest dog in America.  His name is Tio Joe and he is one of my best friends.  Being a first time dog owner; I will admit I was a bit 'obsessive' about being a good human to him.  I watched all the dogs shows and read books preparing for his arrival. One of the things that I take seriously is being a responsible  dog owner so on our daily walks, I am one of those people who ALWAYS picks up behind my dog.  I mean I have the scented bags with the holder to match the leash and everything!! 

So imagine my reaction one day when I was accosted by my next door neighbor as I was out walking Tio.  Okay, maybe I am being a bit ova dramatic...ugh (hate that term), but yeah he came at me kind of foul. 

The scenario went like this:  N: "Hey, why do you let your dog poop and pee on my grass?"..Me: "Wheettt??

For one thing, his 'grass' looks a hot mess and my dogs poop would give him free fertilizer and would probably improve it.  But the thing that got me was... Yeah my dog might pee on your grass...(can't pick that up), but IF and that was a big if.. my dog did go on his grass; I always picked it after him!! He neva saw my dog do much of anything on his grass, but he was acting like he just saw the dog doing it but I had walked away. 

 So needless to say I had to bring out the 'crazycreolefromeastoakland' that hides in me.  I cussed him all UP and DOWn the street!   I was so mad at him!! ~~He just looked at me like he wasn't expecting me to respond to him.  But just like that bully that needs to be put in his place; that sucka says 'Good Morning' to me EVERYtime he sees me now.  Ha ha ha. I didn't want to do it; but he messed with the wrong woman that day.

If I don't Remember You- A Poem by El_boogie

As we get older, the first thing to go is the memory.  Watching our love ones get old can take it's toll on the whole family and can be very stressful.  My own grandmother suffered from Dementia and at the time I didn't understand why she thought I was still a kid (even though I had kids) and she would talk about things that had happened years before like it was yesterday. Looking back it makes sense now, but at the time; we didn't understand how those type of diseases worked.  She never forgot who we were, but she thought we were still young kids. 

Last year I was watching the Tiny and Tonya show and the episode was focusing on Tiny's father who has Alzheimer.  It was really sad to watch her communicate with him and try to get a response.  I could only imagine how that might feel….so I wrote down some words.    *Yes I write poetry too...

IF I DON’T REMEMBER YOU

If I don’t remember you,

            Please don’t hold it against me.

I can only hope you hold enough memories for the both of us.

If I don’t remember you

            Please don’t forget me.

I will be depending on you to tell me who I am.

 If you remember me

            Please tell me; that I was loved, I am love, I still love.

Are we only the memories that we chose to hold inside?

Or are we everything that you need us to be.

If I forget you; let me know that you will remember me.

Dedicated to the Memory of Artonsie Bagby