Shine, Donna, shine

She Worked Hard for the Money

I never watched the television series “Taxi” with much regularity, but I remember one scene between Louie De Palma (Danny DeVito) and Zena (Rhea Perlman). He was trying to break up with her for some reason. When she asked him why and whether there was another woman, he said yes. “Donna Summer,” he said to [...]

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Don't let that sweet face fool you ...

My Spring Cleaning

Colloquialisms, buzzwords and slang. We need them to get our points across and make the most of our busy days. Hey, I understand the need for phrases like “on the spot” or “get your ___ on” or whatever. Yet there are times when the sounds of certain phrases, just drive me nuts. They are patronizing, [...]

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Sister 2 Sister: The Interracial Love Issue

Today I was rushing through the train station on the way home when I stopped to briefly scan the stacks of a small newsstand. The April issue of Sister 2 Sister magazine was still there, and you can still get a copy. The publishers might as well call this the interracial love issue. There are [...]

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Guess Who Got Married? Katie and James!

Kathryn, known as “Katie” Rost and a doctor named James Orsini. Apparently, they have been close friends for 13 years, according to the announcement in The Washington Post. So their friends are probably breathing: “It’s about time y’all! We knew something was up when you took that road trip. Yeah right, you’re ‘just friends.’” I [...]

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James Roland: Aspiring Gospel Artist

Anyone who devotes a discernible amount of their talent to this underpaying genre is almost sure to get a listen from me, out of moral support. I just happened to come across James Roland, a self-starter in the biz, and gave a quick listen. The basic track is appealing, even if it is a little [...]

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Congrats Halle

Ummm … Halle?

French guys have a lot to brag about right now. First “The Artist” swoops into Hollywood and almost pillages the Oscars, in true victor fashion. Big ups to Mr. Dujardin (ooh la la) who won for best actor. Now another Frenchman, Olivier Martinez, is about to carry off another Hollywood prize, our dear Ms. Halle [...]

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These Two Are Absolutely Adorable

Gentle readers, I normally get incensed whenever I hear about a man beating a woman’s face. This morning, though, I got bored/sleepy on the train ride into the city, so I ended up trolling YouTube until I came across this video. They are very entertaining and too cute, don’t you think? He’s there, bungling the [...]

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Image from Amazon.com

Are the Kids Alright?

Immigrant families from the Black Diaspora are familiar with this passage: moving to countries with thriving economies to make a better living, and leaving their children behind in the care of trusted relatives and friends. Of course, the separation is never permanent. Just long enough for the mom or dad to get working papers and [...]

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Whitney Memorial Pic

Still A Towering Voice

Give me one moment in time, when I’m more than I thought I would be When all of my dreams are a heartbeat away, and the answers are all up to me About a year ago, I steered our family station wagon through the narrow wizened streets of East Orange, consulting a scrap of paper [...]

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camila williams

A Deafening Silence

Black History Month is well underway, and with a paltry 29 days with which to revel in the achievements of Blacks here in America and throughout the African diaspora, we need to get moving! Camilla Williams is a great place to start. A lyric soprano, her debut in the lead role in Puccini’s “Madama Butterfly” [...]

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Little Baptist Church

Duncan & Paulette: Canvassing

Duncan and Paulette encounter each other at a mutual friend’s house during an Obama for America 2008 event. After Paulette gains more insight into how Duncan sees the world, she begins to change her attitude about him. The friendship between the Simmonses and the Barrowses cools off considerably, as they stick by Ralph and Paulette, [...]

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Something New: Awkward Black Girl Made Her Choice

Ever since I read an item about Issa Rae in Essence magazine, I’ve been following the ups and downs, victories and defeats of J, the central character on the hit Web series “Awkward Black Girl.” J is an appealing character, the type of woman who is intelligent, pretty, sensitive and operates with empathy for others. [...]

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‘Something New’ + Natural Hair = Hilarious Video

It takes a lot of spunk to be a black woman who gets up on YouTube to talk about her hair journey. Some of us introverts would sooner DIE! But only a real man, who happens to be white and married to a black woman, can get up there to crack jokes about his “bald [...]

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Baby was on Santa's "nice" list this year.

A Christmas Story

Most adults can maintain the Santa Claus mystique for young kids, and deftly, too. A couple years ago my cousin Melinda and her husband Jeff curbed their son Walter’s naughtiness by making him write a letter of apology to Santa Claus. Parents have staged phone calls from the North Pole workshop and jingled sleigh bells [...]

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