Scary Movies

In honor of Halloween, here are my favorite horror/terror movies:

The Mist (this movie has scarred me for life)
Carrie (the music alone especially at the end was terrifying)
The Descent (sleeper hit, I really enjoyed it)
The Birds (one of my favorite all-time movies)
The Ring (when she climbs out of the well....I can't)
The Exorcist (the backwards climb down the stairs....I can't)
Child's Play 2 and 3 (pure comedy gold)

What horror/terror movies are your favorites?

Ghetto Twins-Responsibility

OMG, I have been waiting for this video to pop up on Youtube. I know a lot of Houstonians remember this song, but not like I do! My cousin and I knew THE WHOLE SONG and I must say, I still remember the lyrics.

Yes, the video is broke as hell and the twins are indeed ghetto, the lyrics are actually pretty good, and a positive message for young girls out there lurks underneath the sunglasses, blue lipstick, swoll-ass twins walking toward the camera, fur coats, and such.


If GB don't hustle then my kid won't eat/My kid don't eat/Then Mama won't sleep/I have no time to sit around/See what his dad gon' do/He ain't do shit from the start/What the fuck he gon' do....Now he prayin' for forgiveness cause his luck messed up and/His kid growin' up and/Don't know what's up/Responsibility, have you ever heard of it baby/I'm a strong chick and you will never worry me baby...Your baby son is growin' up/Baby mama's blowin' up/If I catch that tail, I just might leave it swoll'd up (LOL)/In this world to make a child it takes a man to raise one/Boy you just made one/Too stupid to raise one/And these youngsters think you cold, let em' know you ain't ___ but a ___/When it comes down to this real ____ (some of the song sounds better with the censor)/Responsibility he couldn't take/And that was one of the many things that made him fake/You really think you's a man/Hey busta you's a lie! (LMAO)/Strong women survive/FAKE PLAYAS DIE......fake playas die

Well if I didn't write rhymes/Where the hell I'd be?/And if I don't pay rent/Where the hell I'ma sleep/I ain't dependin' on my man cuz he ain't worth it/And if I did depend on mine I'd be a stuck out chick/I keep my eyes on my riches/Women do the same/Ain't no love in this game/Ain't a damn thing changed....I give them girls the finger who ain't bout makin' dollas (ROFL)

The first thing you must do is stay true/Dependin' on your man leave you stuck like glue.....Only thing he wanna do is screw/Lord knows that's the truth/Now your rent's past due/And your man's sayin' it's through/Who gon pay the bills, now where you live, we guess it's all on you/But you totally disagree/Now your kid's up on the street/It's all about your salary/Use your best ability and you'll see

So many things to do/So many places to be/It's my/Responsibility/Responsibility-ee

Am I ashamed for still knowing most of the lyrics? A little. But stop hating. This post is dedicated to my cousin and loving, devoted husband. :-)

I Love the 90s Friday: Halloween Special!

In honor of Halloween, here are some creepy rap videos from the 90s:

Geto Boys-Mind Playin Tricks On Me

Houston churns out some of the most....intriguing rappers. I don't think I know too many people who don't recognize the opening bars of the music and remember the lyrics: At night I can't sleep/I toss and turn.....My hands were all bloody from punchin' on the concrete.......this song, lyrically was kind of awesome. The video goes very well with the song.

Bone Thugs N Harmony-Crossroads

This video always used to get to me with it's imagery of death. The deathy dude comin away to take souls and turn people's eyes black....graphic! Nice lyrics on this one too. I remember the funeral scene at the beginning always struck a chord with me, but looking back on it I wonder why Mr. Death was all late collecting the dude's soul at the funeral....shouldn't he have already scooped his ass up when he died? Was he just trying to traumatize the poor family member who saw him? Anyhoo, this song/video was AWESOME!

Tupac-Hail Mary

I remember my cousin and I used to think this video was SO. SCARY! Now I see how very very broke it is, but that's ok though.

Socks On Your Feet

I think people (or at least I) underestimate the physical warmth socks on your feet provide, at home, in your lounging clothes, when it's cold outside. Especially if you are feeling a little under the weather (what is the origin of that phrase? I need to look it up). I feel so comfy and toasty while also exhausted. It's kind of comforting.



Sometimes it takes a stranger's view of your life to put things in perspective (or at least more so). One of my students congratulated me on my promotion and we talked about career counseling because she wasn't sure what she wanted to do. I told her I recommended it because I wished I had been more aware of those services earlier on in my undergraduate career. She asked about my studies and I told her about my bachelor's degree and that I am now a graduate student. She said, wow your life is really good; you know what you want to do in school, you got promoted, *she glances at my ring* and you're married...she sounded kind of in awe. I think people tend to brush off these kinds of remarks but I believe you need to kind of soak this stuff in. I realize how my life looks to others (even strangers, or people who look up to me, like my students) and even if it's a careful presentation of self that we offer, I am aware more and more every day of the stage I am setting for my life. I am tired all the time from work and school, but the future is becoming clearer every day as well, like a pinprick of sunlight that gradually gets brighter. I am comforted by the love in my life and feel a certain peace right now at this moment in time.



To undecided voters at this juncture....really? You're undecided? Still?



And for absolutely no reason at all:

I Love the 90s Friday: Double the Freaks!

Freak Like Me-Adina Howard

Okay, I remember jammin hard to this (still do--thanks Yahoo Radio!) and I think I was like 10 or 11 when this came out. If my mother is reading this, I didn't grow up to be a hoochie! Dudes, those corn-chip fingernails on the passenger side of the car.....the shiny clothes, the house party. Don't fight the jam. Just don't do it.

Wreckx-N-Effect-Rumpshaker

I was 9 or 10 when this one came out. I remember how graphic the video seemed to me back then (LOL). I wonder what those women are doing with their lives now. Will they show their children/grandchildren this classic piece of art? Anyhoo, yeah this song jammed too. Did you know Pharrell wrote the verse that Teddy Riley did on this song? I didn't! Have a magical Friday!

Running

How Ya Feelin Eskimos? ICE COLD!

Amy Poehler's sick mic skills
"Todd Palin" comin on-stage all crunk in that outfit
The Eskimo hype men
The mother-humpin moose
The GUNSHOTS

I am done with life. Absolutely done.

Hair Idol!

This is Sabina Karlsson of Swedish and Gambian descent, my hair idol. My hair wants to like her hair when it grows up. I am three years in to the natural game, and my current length is almost mid-back when stretched. My texture is somewhat similar to hers. No red hair though (that is SO AWESOME). My hair progress can be found here. Anyhoo, this girl is gorgeous! I love seeing people of multiple races/ethnicities being represented in a (somewhat) mainstream fashion.

Picture peeped at Mane & Chic.

I Love the 90s Friday

I'm going to start posting jams from the 90s on Fridays....to start off, here's 3 classic Friday-ish feeling songs.

Montell Jordan-This Is How We Do It
Unfortunately, I can't embed it so click on the title to blast back to the 90's. This is probably the best Friday song EVER IN LIFE!

Zhane-Hey Mr. DJ
I still love Zhane's music. More on them in a later post.


Aaliyah
Back and Forth


Don't act like you're not doing some New Jack Swing type dances in your chair, I see you.

Esperanza Spalding

Esperanza Spalding is awesome. Listen to more of her music here. Oh, and you know that I'm loving her hair too!

I Know You Know

I know that you know but I'll say it again, I love you baby nothing will take me away
The way you look at me when you think I'm not lookin'
I look at you that way too, you just don't know that I do

I gave this post a foreign language tag because she also speaks/sings in Spanish.

Just One More Lap

I can't tell you how much this image is ruining my life, piece by piece.

I just know the lion's paw that's out of view is holding a switchblade to this poor horse's neck murmuring, "Just one more lap Mahogany, just one more...."

Please include this horse in your prayer circle today.

Source.

P. S. Shout out to DJWaltd for this fuckery.

Diary of a Dying Mom

I had been following the blog Diary of a Dying Mom for the last few months. Michelle, the author, was diagnosed with scleroderma and chronicled her life including essays about people she knew and loved, her daily struggle with the disease, triumps and setbacks regarding medications and feeding tubes, buying future birthday gifts and cards for her kids, talking to them about death, and many other topics. She died October 11th, her 11th wedding anniversary. Her last post was October 9th and she knew at that time that death was imminent. I think for people looking for inspiration about daily life or examples of perserverance and optimism through difficult times and situations will find it on this blog.

Genocide and Tragedy on a Micro-level

When many people hear/read about global tragedies such as the genocide in Rwanda, they feel horrified, sad, and helpless because of the grand scale of these events. But when you hear an individual's story of suffering and the unfathomable torture he/she endured, it makes it that much harder to ignore or push aside.

Maryam, a human-rights worker, shares the following story in her blog that was told to her by a victim. I am pasting it here:

Rwanda's genocide: and Vestine's story
She has a small, neat head, her features delicately sketched, her teeth very white. Her grey suit is too large for her narrow frame but her cream shoes are polished and she moves with a certain elegance on ankles impossibly slim.

Her name is Vestine. She's 42 and she survived the Rwandan genocide.

Vestine was rounded up one night and held captive in a stadium with others. Left without food, on the fifth day, she began to eat grass, one green blade after another. It was that day, too, that a soldier marched her to the sordid bathroom and ordered her to take off all her clothes. Her hands twisting in her lap, she says,

"He told me he wanted to see if Tutsi women were made differently than Hutu women. Then...then he raped me."

The next day it was a different soldier, this one trying to force his penis into her mouth. When she protested, he clubbed her on the head. With her fingers lightly tapping her face, Vestine describes how the blood streamed into her eyes and down her nose, as she did what he required.

Vestine's story continues, relentless. After they had had their fill of her, you see, the soldiers would force her down on her hands and knees, straddle her back, and ride her around the stadium like a donkey, beating the soles of her feet with a stick urging her to go faster and faster.

When she was finally brought back to her home, Vestine found her husband and two brothers on the floor, hacked to death by machete. By day, she was raped over and over by a soldier who held her captive. By night, the dogs would come and feast on the rotting bodies of the people she loved most.

After weeks, Vestine was ordered to the local Hutu commander's house who wanted a piece of the action. Vestine fought back, perhaps her fatal mistake. Her voice faltering, she looks down at her lap and whispers,

"The commander took a knife and then he mutilated my genitals, cutting off ....cutting off everything I had left there. Then....then, he made me swallow what he had taken from me."

Vestine survived the genocide, rescued by a Hutu neighbor who hid her. Two of her three children also survived, the third was killed by a grenade when he tried to flee into the mountains.

It was only seven years later that Vestine -- broken and sick -- found out that she had been infected by HIV/AIDs.



Vestine, and many like her, are now being helped by AVEGA, a Rwandan NGO dedicated to widows of the genocide. Their funds are small but their hearts are big.

Could you, would you find room in your heart to help, too? In a different dark life, in a different dark space, it could have been you, in Vestine's place. It could have been me in Vestine's place.

Is fifty dollars too much? Or perhaps 25 dollars if times are tough? You can make a contribution via paypal to the following address: Tammy.Cody@gmail.com. I will personally make sure that the money is used to help Vestine and others. And please do also email me at maryam@mtds.com so I can thank you and share with Vestine who you are.

Vestine will be so grateful. She didn't want to let go of my hands after we talked -- care and kindness mean so much to her after what she has been through.


Any mentions on blogs would be incredibly appreciated, too. I promise you -- with a certainty that is desperately sad -- that this will be the most meaningful money you spend all month.

My week has been filled with horror -- I can't look away. Please, please, don't you look away, too.


This story reinforces my desire to work in the human rights field. I hope if you read this and don't know about what happened in Rwanda that you will research it. I hope that even if you cannot or will not help Vestine that you will at least remember her story and keep it with you.

!

I believe there is a direct correlation between someone's fucked up life (and subsequent denials) and the quantity of exclamation points they use in a text message, e-mail, or other communication.

As you were.

My Blog Is Loved

This is waaay late, but life happens. Thank you Farsighted Fly Girl, for tagging my blog as a blog you love! Blogging is kind of a way to catch all my random thoughts and goals for myself, but it is always cool when somebody admires you for something. Without further ado (even though I am one who loves ado):



Here are the rules:
1. The nominated is allowed to put this picture on their blogs.
2. Link to the person that hearted you.
3. Nominate at least 7 people and link to them.
4. Leave a message on those people's blogs to make them aware that they've been nominated.

All of the blogs I (currently) heart are on my blogroll. I may re-visit this later to play by the rules.