Archive for the ‘African American’ Category

Happy Holidays (Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukkah and Happy Kwanzaa) to all.

This writer’s strike is really bothering me. I am missing Conan O’Brien, The Daily Show and The Colbert Report. If there were not other important things going on in my life, I would have no reason to exist. I hope both parties can come to a suitable agreement, so I can see my men live on the TV once again.

My top 5 favorites shows are (not in any specific order) that I have never discussed on Pumps and Gloss before:

1. Eureka on the SciFi Network – Mr. Maven turned me on to this show as he is a sci-fi fan, but not in a weird/nerdy way. The show is about a sheriff who moves to a town where all the residents are geniuses. One of the major employers of the town is Global Dynamic where scientists work on high-level, top secret assignments for the Department of Defense. The show has a nice mix of romance, science and mayhem, which I totally love. The ensemble cast includes Salli Richardson, Joe Morton, and Colin Ferguson.
2. The Nanny -I love this show. When the show first aired, I was a freshman in college. At the time, I liked how Nanny Fine dressed because I, too, loved the short skirts and wore them as often as I could. The show is a classic just like “I Love Lucy.”
3. I am not a huge animated fan, but I love “The Boondocks.” This sharply written animated show is definitely NOT for the kids. The show is based on the cartoon strip of the same name. The strip contained a biting critique of popular and political culture in the United States. My favorite episodes include Gangstalicious, a rapper who gets shot and kisses a fellow male rapper. I am still trying to figure out who he is supposed to represent.
4. Chuck is a new show on NBC prime time. We missed a few episodes in the beginning. Thankfully, we were able to catch on easily to the show. “Chuck” is a show about 20-something techy nerd, who accidentally downloads NSA and CIA information into his brain. Chuck works at BuyMore as a tech support that works in the Nerd Herd (i.e. Geek Squad.) He works undercover for the government and each week battles, along with his spy handlers, terrorists and other evil-doers.
5. Las Vegas is worth watching for Josh Duhamel alone. He is definitely fine!! I liked the kick-a$$ nature of the show, until James Caan decided to leave the show, I am sure for valid reasons. The new addition of Tom Selleck as casino owner is a, somewhat, dull . Would have been super nice, if Mike got the President of Operations job, considering he has a degree from MIT. Still I enjoy the show, but I waiting for an increase in kick assery.

What are some of your favorite television shows?

Decking the Halls with Boughs of Holly,

Mix Maven

Mix Maven is feeling refreshed and renewed.

While on the vacay, Joyful Radiance introduced to my new ami(e), Love B. Scott. This dude is crazy funny, yet insightful. Check him out!

On to the heart of the matter!

I have been railing against the images being forced to us via the fashion industry. We have been forced to view androgynous, gaunt White girls walking down runways and in magazine spreads and accept these images as the standard of beauty. (Uhm er a, I don’t think so!!) I want to see more women of color: Black, Native American, Pacific Islanders, Latinas,  South Asian, indigenous tribes. The majority of the world appears to be teetering on the brown side, so how come we are not represented?!?!

On Specktra.net, we have been discussing possible new Viva Glam models i.e. Fergie and Gwen Stefani. Ok, I am cool with the idea of Gwen Stefani, but definitely not Fergie. Fergie looks kind of drugged out, so I am not keen on seeing that. Of course, I suggested Jill Scott. Fortunately, there was agreement on that idea. So MAC selects Fergie. I am thinking WTH. What about Kelly Rowland, Taraji P. Henson, or Bollywood actresses: Shilpa Shetty or her sister Shamita?

I stumbled on a New York Times article , Ignoring Diversity, Runways Fade to White, about how designers have not been using many Black models (or any female models of color for that matter.) Guy Trebay states,

“IN the days of blithe racial assumptions, flesh crayons were the color of white people. “Invisible” makeup and nude pantyhose were colored in the hues of Caucasian skin. The decision by manufacturers to ignore whole segments of humanity went unchallenged for decades before the civil rights movement came along and nonwhite consumers started demanding their place on the color wheel. “

According to the article, Black women spend over $20 billion on apparel annually. So why have not we been represented in this year’s fashions shows? Bethann Hardison, former model, successful business owner and mother of Kadeem Hardison, stated that “modeling is probably the one industry where you have the freedom to refer to people by their color and reject them in their work.” Very shameful!! Some designers have been very emphatic in stating that they only wanted White models.

I know that designers think of creating pieces that will be create a fashion buzz. A few years back, the industry was all a twitter on pointed-toe shoes, A-line dresses. Now the styles include round-toe pumps and wedges and trapeze tops (thank the Lord for that!!) But Black women and all other women of color will NEVER, EVER go out of style. (So suck it and deal with it!!!) So there should be no rotating of images. I want to see all models of every shade and ethnicity. As my boy B. Scott says, enough with the “monkey doodleness”!!!!

Remember we are all beautiful and precious in His sight. So ladies, keep on being the best you!!

Live Victoriously,

Mix Maven

Happy Wednesday,

I realize that all artistic geniuses are troubled, which explains Kanye’s frequent rants and why some artists consider suicide as cure all for personal angst. (Mental illness should no longer be ignored!)

Saying all that, Kanye West was a good sport for doing the skits on Saturday Night Live of his obnoxious ranting and raving. The best quote of the skit, Kanye storms the podium lambasting the children for voting for “Drake and Josh.” He screams, “how’s kids gonna get taken seriously, if they keep making bad choices. I used to believe the children were our future, but f*** that!” Too funny!!!

You all need to cop [if you have not done so already] (are people still saying cop), “Graduation”. Kanye’s sound is not formulaic compared to other mainstream rappers, he fuses hip hop and reggae, alternative sounds even has Chris Martin of ColdPlay singing the hook to one of his songs. I enjoy this album, the current standouts are “Champion”, “Good Life” with T-Pain, the MJ sample of “PYT”, which the Ladies of P&G are certified members of this exclusive club, “Everything I Am,” a heartfelt anthem about being different in the rap game, and the heart wrenching, “Bittersweet Poetry,” which features the vocal stylings of John Mayer. (The first time I heard this song, I did not realize JM was on the track.) This angst-laden song laments a complicated love affair. Mayer croons, “I don’t want you, but I need you/I love you and hate you at the very same time.”

Good Life

Bittersweet Poetry

Joyful Radiance, not an avid SNL viewer, decided to watch the season premiere. Her favorite parody of the night was “High School Musical 3: Return of the Seniors.” She told me that she fell off her sofa when she heard LeBron sing, “On second thought/ I think I’ll stick around/Play a little ball/And have sex with your girlfriend.” She does not want anyone to know that she will be watching more often. That is our little secret. (Shhhh)

Have an awesome week

Mix Maven

P.S.

Sexual Carob has recommend some “toys” for me to try. Will report when I return from my anniversary excursion.

Hey Pumps and Gloss Readers,

Happy Tuesday to you! I hope you all enjoyed your extended holiday weekend.

Mr. Maven and I had to a chance to spend a part of the holiday weekend in Chicago for my friend, LH, surprise engagement party. You may remember LH from an earlier post I wrote about “Shopping Serendipity” about one of my friends who asked God to help her find an inexpensive, yet elegant dress and she did.

In early August 2007, J, LH’s sister, invited us to the engagement soiree. We gladly accepted the invitation for this joyous occasion. Both LH’s and her fiance’s families went the extra mile in planning this event. They all had her believing she was going to get the proposal around December 2007.

Fast forward to Saturday night. Elaborate romantic plans were made for the actual engagement. Every action was well-thought out. (Sidebar: I am going to suggest to GS to do a series of seminars on the fundamentals of romance. Let’s just say he raised the bar!) Everyone congregated in the fiance’s (GS) family’s home. The great thing is that she had no idea that family and friends came from far and near to celebrate her engagement. (Backtrack: LH and I were chatting a few weeks back about what she thought the proposal would be like, so I told her to be patient and it will happen soon enough probably by October or November.)

So G suggested to L that they go back to his mom’s house to show off the ring. She called her parents and siblings to let them know what happened. They were all “stunned, yet happy” for the news. As they were approaching the house, we were all instructed to hide. As we heard the first set of “Congratulations” from her family, the rest of us emerged. She was so surprised that she cried. (I was misting up too!!) LH was totally speechless when she realized that her parents had flown in from the Southwest to share this wonderful memory. When she saw the rest of us, she could barely stand because she was too stunned.

The rest of the night was about showing off the ring (which was absolutely LOVELY!) and sharing each version of the engagement story (the best!!!!) My heart was warmed that night to be apart of Love that was in the room:

1. The obvious Eros – romantic love – L and G.
2. The Agape – the love that we have for God for being wonderful and always working on our behalf, even though at times things may be seem hopeless.
3. The Philos love – the love shared among family, friends and community.
4. Storge – the specific love that a family shares with each other.

I was very impressed, not shocked, than Mama and Sister S love LH, so that will be 3/4 of the battle won. We, Mr. Maven and I, look forward to sharing more wonderful memories with LH and GS. May God continue to be in their details and that their love for each other will continue to grow.

We learned that JOE’s “I Wanna Know” is LH’s special ringtone on GS’ phone. (A great song!!)

Continue to Live Triumphantly,

Mix Maven

Hey Pumps and Gloss friends,

I have been worried about Amy Winehouse. I have been reading that she has canceled all her tour dates to go to rehab. (If that is true… a definite YAY!!!! ) I hope she gets better.

Lincoln Heights is one of my favorite shows on the TV. About late December 2006 / early January 2007 iTunes offered the pilot episode as a free download. I said “what the hay” and downloaded this video. Before the episode ended, I set-up my DVR to record the entire season.

The premise of the show is an African-American police officer (played by Russell Hornsby), his wife (played by Nicki Micheaux), a nurse, and their 3 children, 2 girls and 1 boy (Erica Hubbard,  Rhyon Nicole Brown, and Mishon Ratliff) move from a tiny apartment in the suburbs to live in a former crack den, a dilapidated Queen Anne home in an urban area. They are able to purchase and renovate the house because of a special program that allows police officers to live in the neighborhoods they patrol. I just love the premise of the show because it is about normal African-Americans doing regular stuff, even as they face challenges i.e. challenging stereotypes, dealing with childhood acquaintances. This show is one of the few, if not, only African-American dramas on television.

I enjoy the show, especially how the children must navigate from living in the suburbs, mostly White to living in an area that is mostly Black and Brown. The husband and wife get to interact a lot because of their jobs, which helps the show to flow well. This family has such strength and dignity without coming off as pious.

Check out video below..

Clips from Lincoln Heights

If by chance, you missed the entire first season, you can view the episodes online. (Arrow up to Pilot and enjoy the viewing.) UPDATE: ABC Family channel will air a marathon of Lincoln Heights‘ first season starting 11 AM – 7 PM on September 4, 2007. I, kindly, suggest that you set your DVR to record all the episodes.

The new season begins September 4, 2007 @ 8PM EDT on ABC Family.

Have a Blessed Tuesday,

Mix Maven

Hey P&G Readers,

We hope you all had a restful holiday, and reflected on the sacrifice of our Armed Forces.

Now onto today’s post.

First of all, I am not having a hair crisis. Secondly, I am not an indecisive person. Here is the story: One of my cousins will be getting married next month. I want to try a fresh, new look for the wedding.

In the past, I have worn a similar updo to the ubiquitous Beyonce, but putting a shower cap (more like 2 shower caps and a scarf around the edges) is problematic.

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I love this Kelly Rowland look, but the hairstyle would be too distracting as no one has ever seen me with long, voluminous hair. Everyone would be fawning over me, and that would not be cool, after all, the day/weekend belongs to the bride. {My hairstyles tend to be on the conservative side.} (Sidebar: Kelly Rowland has a flawless look. I am looking forward to the release of her new album.)

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I like 3 hairstyles. Two seem no maintenance for the weekend (notwithstanding shower cap issues). The other hairstyle looks like slight maintenance. This is where your assistance is needed. I cannot decide which style I want to wear for the weekend. I will be traveling to another state, so the style must be able to hold up in those conditions. So it is time to vote!! In the comment section, please select 1 hairdo:

1. Eva 1
2. Eva 2
   
3. Rihanna

The hairdo with the highest vote will be the one I will wear to the wedding.

In a future post, I will reveal the hairdo to everyone. I am looking forward to reading the comments. Thank you in advance.

My Coif is in Your Hands,

Mix Maven