Mattel recently launched its first series of black dolls featuring varying skin tones and ethnically authentic looks, with a big sister portrayed as a role model to a little sister. The new dolls have fuller lips, a wider nose, more distinct cheekbones and curlier hair than previous designs. The line is called “So in Style” or S.I.S, and features Kara mentoring sibling Kianna, Trichelle with little sister Janessa, and Grace’s with younger sister Courtney, which are three best friends in tune with fashion, fun and music. Each character has a distinct personality: Grace's style is "girly girl," Trishelle is "smart and sassy," and Kara is "funky and fun," according to Mattel. The big-and-little sister dolls together cost $19.99; the little doll assortment is $7.99, and the Stylin' Hair doll assortment costs $24.99.
Now this seems as a nice gesture from Mattel executives to cater to the African American community, but at first glance I was thinking why do these black girls have to have babies? I was so glad to read that they were focusing on teaching positive values about mentoring young girls. I think these new dolls are a better representative of what African American girls look like so I’m not mad at them. If I had a little girl I would approve what’s wrong with them making a doll that looks more like us?
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Five Questions All Single Women Should Ask BY Steve Harvey
From his best seller “Act Like A Lady, Think Like A Man,” Steve says if a man really wants you, these questions won't scare him off.
1. What are your short-term goals?
Steve says this is a question you need to ask on the first date. "That's important. You want to know what a guy's working on," he says. "You listen very intently. You use your investigative skills. You be smart."
2. What are your long-term goals?
Every man needs to have a plan, Steve says. "They have to be different from the short-term goals," he says. "If they're not different, you have a guy that's not really planning."Once you're armed with this information, Steve says you can decide whether you want to attach yourself to his plan and take the relationship to the next level.
3. What are your views on relationships?
Family, friends, God … find out if these bonds are strong. Steve says a man's relationship with his mother is the most critical. "If it's nonexistent, that's a red flag. If that bond has been tainted or broken, please know he has no problem tainting or breaking yours," he says. "If you can't love your mother, please know he is incapable of loving you." If you're spiritual — and he's not — Steve says you probably won't be able to change him.
4. What do you think about me?
Steve says women should listen carefully to how a man answers this question. It may reveal a lot about the impression you're making. "He'll gladly tell you this. 'I think that you're great. I think you would make a great mother. I think you would be a terrific homemaker. I think you're very independent. I think you're very worthy,'" Steve says. "He's going to tell you all of this stuff."
5. What do you feel about me?
Once you have the answer to the fourth question, immediately ask the last one on Steve's list. In most cases, how a man feels about you will be very different from what he thinks of you."A man that has been thinking about you seriously has an answer for that," Steve says. "[He might say:] 'How do I feel about you? I feel like when I'm not with you, I ain't going to make it. I feel like you're the one for me. I feel like finally I've met somebody who I can share my hopes and dreams with.' … You may even find these words: 'You know what? I'm in love with you.' Which is what you're all looking for."
Always have great mentors around you. The mentor is the one who comes to shorten the distance...The mentor can be the difference between success and failure. Remember, the difference between a fool and a wise man is a fool learns after his mistake and a wise man learns after yours.
Sly and the Family Stone are credited as one of the first racially integrated bands in music history, belting their message of peace, love and social consciousness through a string of hit anthems that fused R&B, soul, funk and rock n roll. On 'Different Strokes by Different Folks' a stylistically, culturally and racially disparate group of chart-toppers mirrors that idealistic diversity. Understand this: There was no precedent for Sly & the Family Stone.
Back in 1967, when the interracial, mixed-gender combo burst onto the scene with their debut album, the burgeoning rock & roll subculture was, as always, hungry for fresh kicks and different sounds. But no one was quite prepared for the magical, multi-faceted musical mix Sly and company served up. Their music was an inspired blend of rock, soul, pop, jazz, and an emerging genre soon to be dubbed funk. It packed a powerful, joyous wallop, delivering all the things one hoped to find in music: The thrill of the new, the excitement of the unexpected, a galvanizing groove, and lyrics that actually said something.
Sly's been sampled by Janet Jackson, Beastie Boys, Kid Rock, Fatboy Slim, Ice Cube and Public Enemy to name just a few! He was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall Of Fame in 1992, and is the recipient of the 2002 R&B Foundation Pioneer Award.
Did you know that the mind has a bias towards negatives? Therefore we must think positive happy thoughts ON PURPOSE! Be on it!!! Stay in the light! Have a bright, thoughtful, positive week!
Drake Says: Original Post: http://octobersveryown.blogspot.com/2009/09/best-i-ever-had.html Thursday, September 17, 2009 Best I Ever Had There have been questions posed to me the last few days about the writing of Best I Ever Had and I figured I'd take the time to clear the air directly. I have never met Kia Shine or worked with him. I wrote the entire composition in Toronto and I borrowed one line from a Lil Wayne song that he produced the BEAT for. The claims of 25% ownership are false and for a artist to brag about splits on a song is distasteful to begin with. Posted by Drizzy at 6:31 PM
Kia Says:
POSTED BY WAVEY WILLIE
GLOBALGRIND.COM This should end all the back and forth abou Kia Shine being a ghostwriter for Drake. Kia spoke exclusively to Global Grind about what went down. Read what he had to say below... “Basically I did a record for Lil Wayne called "Do It For The Boy", which was on The Leak mixtape back in October. My dude DJ Absolute & Enuff was spinning the joint in NY. I gave Wayne the joint back in March of ‘08 and I had yet to hear the completed version until Absolute hit me. Actually, he was in the office with my man Daralle Jones at Atlantic. He wanted buy the song from me to use for Jahiem. I tried to contact Young Money to get paid for the original track before I made a move, but couldn’t get anyone to hit me back. Producer note, as a producer, it‘s tough with mixtapes these days. Artist will rap on a 2 track version of a beat & hook you put on a beat CD to shop and the next thing you know your beat is on the radio. It’s really impossible for Wayne to do a mixtape track, because if the song is a hit, it’s going to touch radio. That’s why whenever I produce or perform on a record I immediately send it to my guy, Maani, on the publishing side to handle all the paperwork, etc. I get a call from Absolute and he's like, "Yo, you sold the song to Drake." I’m like who's Drake??? Absolute sent me the joint in January and I’m like...wooooow! Drake sampled the melody, some of the words, cadence, etc. So because I had already registered the original record, my business was in order. I sent in the Drake record and let my legal team handle it from there. We were able to settle at 25% of the "Best I Ever Had" publishing. It's a blessing, but the moral of the story is to "follow up to get your dollars up" and always be prepared and on top of your business. People should really read my discography and they would understand that this in no surprise. They will respect my mind and my grind soon enough.”Every1 sleeping on me will wake up working for me".... Alarm Clock Experience Mixtape Coming soon!
Check out Kia claiming he co-WROTE 'Best I Ever Had" @ 1:00 min mark
Miss Conversation Piece Says: Well if he did write good for him, but if it was just a beat sampled I can feel where Drake is coming from. Let me here the origianl track so we can see WHO'S LYING????
***Update***Acording to sources at VLADTV.com, There's a little controversy in the air. Kia Shine is going around saying that he co-wrote "Best I Ever Had" by Drake; when that isn't quite the case. Check it out...The word on the street is that Kia Shine didn't write any of the song, but instead he produced the beat on a Lil Wayne song entitled "DO IT FOR THE BOY." A song which Drake sampled and copied the melody from. IMO, Kia Shine is one smart southern boy. He called his lawyers and the case was settled at 25% for "BEST I EVER HAD."
But, on the flip side because there is always a flip side; Kia Shine did not write one line or one word on the track. He had part ownership of the orginal track that Drake sampled from. And, that's what it is. Why he is going around saying that he co-wrote the song?? That I don't know.
In what were supposed to be off-the-record comments, President Barack Obama called musician Kanye West a "jackass" because of the performer's outburst at a music awards ceremony.
The comments were mistakenly sent out via the online service Twitter by ABC News' Terry Moran, who had access to off-the-record comments Obama made while being interviewed Monday by CNBC.
"Pres. Obama just called Kanye West a 'jackass' for his outburst at VMAs when Taylor Swift won. Now THAT'S presidential," Moran, a "Nightline" co-anchor, wrote Monday evening. Moran quickly deleted the comment but it was still accessible online.
ABC News later issued a statement apologizing for reporting comments meant to be off the record.
West was widely criticized, and later apologized, for interrupting Taylor Swift after she won a best female video award at the MTV Video Music Awards on Sunday.
West took the microphone from Swift to proclaim that Beyonce was more deserving.
WHYYYYY is this happening? This saddens my heart that these children's innocence has been taken away. They should be playing hide & seek or something this is ridiculous and these parents ought to be ashamed and investigated.....SMDH!!!
Mattel recently launched its first series of black dolls featuring varying skin tones and ethnically authentic looks, with a big sister portrayed as a role model to a little sister. The new dolls have fuller lips, a wider nose, more distinct cheekbones and curlier hair than previous designs. The line is called “So in Style” or S.I.S, and features Kara mentoring sibling Kianna, Trichelle with little sister Janessa, and Grace’s with younger sister Courtney, which are three best friends in tune with fashion, fun and music. Each character has a distinct personality: Grace's style is "girly girl," Trishelle is "smart and sassy," and Kara is "funky and fun," according to Mattel. The big-and-little sister dolls together cost $19.99; the little doll assortment is $7.99, and the Stylin' Hair doll assortment costs $24.99.
