It was good….I finally rented it and watched it….

And I must say…it was a really good movie. :thumbsup:

My favorite lines:

“Call the Po-Po, Ho!” LMAO

“I may not be able to give you what you’re used to, but I can love you past your pain” *does the Halleluiah Dance*

I’d rent it again…and I’m thinking about purchasing Tyler Perry’s whole collection….

Continue to have a good weekend ya’ll….

xoxoxoxoxoxo

say hello to the newest addition to the ce family…him and incog are currently fighting over who gets the left side of the bed…

have a blessed weekend…and labor day…

xoxoxoxoxo

Ask Not For Whom the Bell Tolls. It Tolls For “Occupant.”
Here’s a thought.
(written by a live journal user)

It might cross your mind, at some point in the next few days, to write something about how “stupid” the people trapped in the disaster zones have been, or how “lazy” they must be to not have escaped sooner, or how they “deserved what they got” for choosing to live somewhere on the Gulf Coast, within direct reach of hurricanes.

My suggestion is this– sit on your fucking hands. Sit on them until those sentiments no longer make your typing fingers itch.

Natural disasters are ubiquitous. Somewhere in the world, something is always happening… a tornado is touching down, a dam is breaking, a river is surging, an earthquake is trembling, a forest is burning. Some of these events become so routine, that local residents come to view them as quirky inconveniences rather than hellish disasters. Weathering them with a smile becomes a source of pride, an essential element of local character. Inclement weather becomes a feature, not a bug. The national media does goofy human interest stories about it. Locals hook their thumbs in their belts and say, “No sir, them there sulfuric acid geysers ain’t never bothered us none. You just keep the kids indoors and wash the dogs with baking soda after you let ‘em out.”

The Gulf Coast gets hit by hurricanes pretty frequently.

Most of them are nothing like Katrina, or Camille, or Andrew. All of them cause trouble for someone, but most of them pass in a flurry of rain and wind, tear some shingles here and break some windows there, drop a few tornadoes, and then go away. Residents come out of their homes, take the boards off the windows, crack their knuckles, and get to clearing the debris from their streets and their yards. They’ve spat in Mother Nature’s eye one more time and lived to tell about it. Move? Why move, when the weather’s really not that big a deal?

They start to think they can handle anything. And then the once-in-a-century Motherfucker Maximus comes along and turns the landscape into a collaboration between Jasper Johns and Gustav Dore.

Quite a few of them weren’t stupid, or lazy. They were in fact tough, smart, and brave– and acclimated to expectations that didn’t hold true.

Quite a few of them were elderly, infirm, or poor, or without personal vehicles, or families, or anyone out-of-state to put them up even if they could get out.

Quite a few of them were surprised by the speed with which the hurricane gathered force, as was the entire emergency management infrastructure of the entire nation. The state of Louisiana and the city of New Orleans were caught with their pants down, to say nothing of Mississippi, Alabama, and Georgia. So the elderly, the bed-ridden, the poor, and the just plain busy were supposed to gather information how… Ouija Board? Owl Post?

Quite a few of the laggards are no doubt lying through their teeth about why they stayed. Pop quiz– a CNN camera crew shoves a microphone in your face and asks you to tell five million viewers why you stayed behind. What are you going to say– “I just shit my pants and had no idea what to do, so I crawled up on my roof and cried,” or “Ha! Yeah, I saw those fifteen-foot waves, and it’s nothing I haven’t seen before. I lived! Bring it on! Saints are gonna be in the NFC Championship Game, Bay-bee!”

Just reflect on that for a moment. Maybe Peg would’ve been honest, because she has the introspection of a Jedi Knight. The rest of you, I’m not so sure about. Me, I’m not so sure about.

And the macho speculation? The “Oh, gosh, if that was me in there, why, I’d just get out my trusty rifle and pack up my bags and I’d have walked right the fuck out of there, not like those pussies who stayed behind,” bullshit? Don’t sit on your hands. Put them together and pray to whatever god you believe in for a spark of empathy. Keyboard strokes are cheap. You are not special. “Skill” has nothing to do with it. “Deserve” has nothing to do with it.

Two weeks ago, half-a-dozen middle-aged folks taking a bus tour of Wisconsin were smeared against glass and metal because a drunk driver blindsided their bus. This happened a mile from my house. Six weekend vacations ended with plastic tubes down throats and helicopter rides to the nearest hospital.

Did they deserve it? Were they stupid? Lazy? What Matrix-esque midair contortions might you have performed in their place, you who are Prepared For All Contingencies?

Two days ago, a bicyclist in his late twenties was struck by a speeding car on the same stretch of road. He was folded up like a Transformer and pounded halfway through the windshield of the vehicle that hit him. He was nothing but a blood sponge when we got him on the stretcher– and the kicker was he had extensive scars on his chest suggesting a previous close brush with death. He reached the hospital but didn’t survive.

Surely, in his place, you would have done much better, right? Specialist training? Ancient wisdom? Some sort of machomancy that would render you immune to the laws of physics?

He was just a guy on a bike. He was obeying traffic laws. He didn’t do anything to anyone, and he’s deader than shit for it.

Yesterday, a motorcyclist and an automobile driver had a disagreement about right-of-way at moderate speed. They were both injured, seriously but not critically. Dozens of motorists behind them were delayed for up to forty-five minutes by the accident. Did they deserve that inconvenience?

One of those motorists began to pass out and experience some of the signs of an impending heart attack. Did he deserve that, for the sin of sitting in traffic on a hot day?

Where do you live, that’s so free from natural disasters you can pat yourself on the back for your excellent judgment? The Pacific Northwest? Volcanoes and rain! The Midwest? Tornadoes, blizzards, thunderstorms! The Gulf Coast? Hurricanes! The South/West? Droughts! Major cities? Blackouts! Bangladesh? Typhoons! Malaysia? Tsunami! Japan? Godzilla!

Look, if you get caught in a natural disaster, it’s your own damn fault for one primary reason– having been born somewhere on the surface of this fucking planet. Circumstance is chasing us all down, slowly but surely. There’s an expiration date stamped on all of us. Empathy, sympathy, and respect all stem from recognition of this. And there’s nothing cheaper, nothing less considerate, nothing more full of witless sound and fury, than sitting in comfort and safety and taunting the drowned, the displaced, the diseased, the lost, and the destitute for not being the Awesome Hurricane Warrior you would have been in their place.

Have some common fucking courtesy. Some day, I guarantee, you will find yourself in a situation where you will need the life- or health-saving assistance of others, and there’s a good chance some of them might regard you as stupid, or lazy, or foolish, or all three, because of it.

Those judgments will not necessarily be fair. Neither are yours at this moment. So muzzle them.

CLUELESS

WHO VOTED FOR THIS ASSHOLE?

Friday, September 2nd, 2005
**taken from michaelmoore.com**

Dear Mr. Bush:

Any idea where all our helicopters are? It’s Day 5 of Hurricane Katrina and thousands remain stranded in New Orleans and need to be airlifted. Where on earth could you have misplaced all our military choppers? Do you need help finding them? I once lost my car in a Sears parking lot. Man, was that a drag.

Also, any idea where all our national guard soldiers are? We could really use them right now for the type of thing they signed up to do like helping with national disasters. How come they weren’t there to begin with?

Last Thursday I was in south Florida and sat outside while the eye of Hurricane Katrina passed over my head. It was only a Category 1 then but it was pretty nasty. Eleven people died and, as of today, there were still homes without power. That night the weatherman said this storm was on its way to New Orleans. That was Thursday! Did anybody tell you? I know you didn’t want to interrupt your vacation and I know how you don’t like to get bad news. Plus, you had fundraisers to go to and mothers of dead soldiers to ignore and smear. You sure showed her!

I especially like how, the day after the hurricane, instead of flying to Louisiana, you flew to San Diego to party with your business peeps. Don’t let people criticize you for this — after all, the hurricane was over and what the heck could you do, put your finger in the dike?

And don’t listen to those who, in the coming days, will reveal how you specifically reduced the Army Corps of Engineers’ budget for New Orleans this summer for the third year in a row. You just tell them that even if you hadn’t cut the money to fix those levees, there weren’t going to be any Army engineers to fix them anyway because you had a much more important construction job for them — BUILDING DEMOCRACY IN IRAQ!

On Day 3, when you finally left your vacation home, I have to say I was moved by how you had your Air Force One pilot descend from the clouds as you flew over New Orleans so you could catch a quick look of the disaster. Hey, I know you couldn’t stop and grab a bullhorn and stand on some rubble and act like a commander in chief. Been there done that.

There will be those who will try to politicize this tragedy and try to use it against you. Just have your people keep pointing that out. Respond to nothing. Even those pesky scientists who predicted this would happen because the water in the Gulf of Mexico is getting hotter and hotter making a storm like this inevitable. Ignore them and all their global warming Chicken Littles. There is nothing unusual about a hurricane that was so wide it would be like having one F-4 tornado that stretched from New York to Cleveland.

No, Mr. Bush, you just stay the course. It’s not your fault that 30 percent of New Orleans lives in poverty or that tens of thousands had no transportation to get out of town. C’mon, they’re black! I mean, it’s not like this happened to Kennebunkport. Can you imagine leaving white people on their roofs for five days? Don’t make me laugh! Race has nothing — NOTHING — to do with this!

You hang in there, Mr. Bush. Just try to find a few of our Army helicopters and send them there. Pretend the people of New Orleans and the Gulf Coast are near Tikrit.

Yours,

Michael Moore
MMFlint@aol.com
www.MichaelMoore.com

P.S. That annoying mother, Cindy Sheehan, is no longer at your ranch. She and dozens of other relatives of the Iraqi War dead are now driving across the country, stopping in many cities along the way. Maybe you can catch up with them before they get to DC on September 21st.

(more…)

Flickr user dustin3000 uploaded two similar news photos; each of a flood victim in New Orleans wading in chest high water with boxes and bags.

Caption 2under the light skinned person: “Two residents wade through chest-deep water after finding bread and soda from a local grocery store…”
There’s so much controversy surrounding this now….

I’ve read the things that other people have to say….and well…it’s kind of disturbing…

JNOR cityboy says:
Now thats just rediculous. Its telling and transparent, but rediculous.

fixbuffalo says:
please…AFP doesn’t use the word “looting”…it’s not a racial thing…get real!

And from the man himself…

THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 1, 2005
Update: Photographer believes couple did “find” groceries
Sports Shooter
Chris Graythen wrote the caption for his photo of two hurricane survivors with bread and soda. “I believed in my opinion, that they did simply find them, and not ‘looted’ them in the definition of the word,” he writes. “The people were swimming in chest deep water, and there were other people in the water, both white and black. I looked for the best picture. there were a million items floating in the water – we were right near a grocery store that had 5+ feet of water in it. it had no doors. the water was moving, and the stuff was floating away. These people were not ducking into a store and busting down windows to get electronics. They picked up bread and cokes that were floating in the water. They would have floated away anyhow.”

smh…..*throws hands up in the air* *walks out of room*

No one is here…..same as yesterday….. just about 3 of us working today……MAN, if i didnt KNOW that i was going to be handling some things that would require me to leave work in a week or so…..SMH…I’d be in bed too. :pissed:

I’m soooo sleepy……..

more later…

xoxoxoxoxo

L to R (Tavia, Audris, Me, Andrea, Tif, Brandy, & Bri – circa 2003)

I remember the days when things were extra care free….nothing besides “who was gonna be at the next party”, or “when we were leavin for that road trip” or “who was crossing who and when” really mattered back then….I mean, school mattered….but at the time…it was all about the fun….all about the people….:surprised:

and now it’s just….NOT.

I have a lot on my mind….GRE, the Company, Bills…….just bare with me the next few days…..

xoxoxoxoxoxo

Welp, as promised…I started work on UrbanWeblogs.com.

Coley and I first considered having a place where Cali Bloggers could login and meet other Cali Bloggers…but the pull wasnt that strong…Well it was strong, but not strong enough for me to feel as if I should spend hours coding a website for Cali EXCLUSIVELY. :uhh: Truth is, I woulda been PISSED :pissed: if I had spent HOURS away from my honey bunny and not really had a lot of people using it……SOOOO

I talked it over with Coley and we’ve decided to EXPAND it. So it’s not just for CALI Bloggers….it’s for UrbanBloggers everywhere.

You’re able to signup/login and post your pic with your blog and information about it. So people can search by state, category or even name if they wanted to, in order to find your blog amongst other urban bloggers. :thumbsup:

Anyhow, I’d like to encourage everyone to sign up and “GET ON THE LIST!”. We’ll be updating as the days progress, but if you see any errors, please let me know. :thumbsup:

In the upcoming weeks, we’ll be adding a place where you can coordinate your meetups and keep track of who is attending and all that great stuff, online. *it’ll take me some time to code it all perfectly, but we’ll get there :curtsey:*

So SIGN UP! UrbanWeblogs.com

Enough of that…..

The weekend went pretty smoothly…Court’s tummy hurts….*yeah, i know…third person….WHATEVER*. :fever: To tell the truth, I dont even feel like going in to work tomorrow…but I guess I need to pay my bills..:sick:…*sigh*….

On Saturday, we went to go see “40 Year Old Virgin” and “The Skeleton Key”.

40 Year Old Virgin

Good movie, I’d definately recommend it…and I’ll probably buy it on DVD. It was HIGH-LARIOUS.

The Skeleton Key

There were some scenes that I had to cover my eyes….I was SCURRED. :hissy: I didnt really understand what it was about in the previews, but Movie Hopping is the lick and it WAS right across from “40 Year Old Virgin”…sooooooo…..WHY NOT? :surprised: Did I mention I was SCURRED? Yeah….I was…..It was just…too much for little old impressionable me. I wont be buying it or renting it or watching it again….had Incog not been there, I woulda had nightmares….It’s just one of the CREEPY movies that makes you THINK TOO MUCH after it’s over. Movies like that make you wanna just go home and PRAY. :pray: I kid you NOT, I was praying all the way to the car, and all the way home….

Earlier on Saturday, I was able to go to the Post Office and pick up my RockStar Tees….FINALLY. They’re super cute, think I’ll wear one tomorrow….

School/GRE News

Before going to the post office on Saturday, we stopped by CSUNorthridge so we could pick up some course catalogs and information on Graduate Studies and Teaching Credentials…..MAN is all that stuff confusing. :pissed: But anyways, I found out that I can take classes without being enrolled and then once I get in, just use those units and apply them towards the Graduate Degree. I’ve decided to just go ahead and wait anyways though until I get my GRE scores. :thumbsup: I’m waivering on whether or not I want to get my MS in Computer Science or Consumer Studies…if they had a Human Resources Graduate Program, I would definately be doing that, but alas, they dont…so I’m going to have to find an alternative. :surprised:

Anywho, I hope you all have a GREAT Monday and a GREAT Week…….:cloud9: Maybe some new pictures coming by the end of this week…..depends on how the clothes are fitting.

REMEMBER TO SIGN UP! UrbanWeblogs.com

Stay Blessed!
xoxoxoxoxoxoxox

MMMM…..yummy and smooth…..yesterday, I stopped downstairs to get a “Strawberry Blondie”….and BOY was I excited….I could just taste it….all smooth and tasty……with extra whipped cream on the top…..I thought I had found it; the replacement to my strawberry smoothie with Boba from my old job. I think you remember it. It was the subject of MANY a post on this website. As she mixed the frozen yogurt and crisp strawberries that were oh so fresh and ripe….I could just taste it. She couldnt be done soon enough….:yummy:

And the way it tasted….OMG. :cloud9: The heavens opened up and wrapped me in soft strawberry frothy pillows….mmmmmmm…….

And then I woke up.

What the HELL was I dreaming about?

All the while I was imagining my Strawberry Smoothie, I had SUCKED DOWN some type of STRANGE ASS CONCOCTION…

Nevermind the fact that the wench behind the counter didnt know what was supposed to be IN the smoothie….
Nevermind the fact that she ignored my request for NO BANANAS.
Nevermind the fact that EVERYTHING was frozen and packaged easily for her to grab in a hurry *I guess that’s how they do it these days*…..EVEN THE FROZEN ORANGE JUICE came neatly wrapped in a little FROZEN pouch.

I had lost my mind…

While daydreaming of my FRESH Strawberry Smoothie days, I had watched her get LOST in the making of this here “Strawberry Blondie”.

Where was my BOBA!?:typing:
And WTH is frozen ORANGE JUICE doing in a strawberry smoothie……is that the BLOND part? :typing:
What happened to the non-fat milk? :typing:
Where was the whipped cream topping? :typing:
And WHY was she still staring at me with this dumb look?? :typing:
Was it the fact that I had a look of utter disgust on my face? :typing:
Was it because she wasnt sure if she had made it right? :typing:
Is that JUST
HOW
SHE
LOOKS? :loser:

Awww fuck it…..:wtf:……I’ve decided that there will be no more ordering “SMOOTHIES” from this place….I’ll have to stick to good old fashion water.

I give up.

In other news…Guess who won an award? :curtsey:

Isnt it cute?

Anyhow, I’ll let you guys get back to your day….I hope it’s a good one! It’s FRIDAY! It should be….:surprised:
Have a great weekend ya’ll!

xoxoxoxoxo

doesn’t he just look….REGAL?

In light of my studying and cramming *ONCE AGAIN*, I’ve decided to find some type of inspiration. And I’ve found him in a Mr. Potato Head. I’d never had one as a child, so I decided to hop on Amazon and find one….but I couldnt…they didnt have any..So a coworker of mine who used to work for Shopzilla.com found one for me. :thumbsup:

I was happy to come home and find Mr. Tater atop of the TV in all of his splendor. :surprised:

I’d like to introduce……MR. TATER!

Isnt he just great? :cloud9:

Happy Wednesday you guys! :grouphug:

Please Vote for me for BEST BLACK PHOTO BLOG.

xoxoxoxoxo