Out of the Mouth of Babes: The Wal-Mart Edition

Like everyone else, I've seen lots of commercials this holiday season. But not a single one of them could top the unscripted scene that occurred between my just-turned-four-years-old niece and me as we stood in the toy aisle of our local Target store:

Her: You know what I'm going to do first with my new wand,
Tata?

Me: What, mami?

Her: (with a little hop and a wide dramatic sweep of her arm): Change this store into Walmart!

Note to self: Send a copy of this blog post to the Martin Agency (Wal-Mart is an advertising client of theirs)

Will Sing for Money to Self-Publish

Seriously.

Times are tough financially. It's hard enough to pay for the necessities of life, much less keep up a website (which is why mine is currently down) or spend money self-publishing a book.

So I'm tapping into my other talents to try and put together a few extra dollars to go to print. I'd love to do some studio work. And I'd love to do a little voiceover work too. I can't afford the demos necessary to get the attention I need to book the jobs, so I did a quick YouTube video and I'm hoping someone will stumble across it and contact me to sing a hook...or do a radio commercial...or something behind-the-scenes like that.

You get the idea.

So if you're someone who has a PAYING gig for which I could use my voice, then drop me a line here at my blog. Thanks!

Oh, and yay me for losing another 15 pounds (65 down...many more to go)!

I'm A Cover Girl!

Okay, so not really. All I did was upload my pic at the Figure magazine website and pick from their headlines to make a mock cover. I thought the idea was cute, and I'll never appear on a magazine cover, so why not fantasize a bit?

Meanwhile, I do love that mag. That one and Heart & Soul. And Essence. And Ebony. And Upscale. And Black Enterprise. And Jet. And Black Issues Book Review (of course). And so many others, actually...

What was the point of this post.....? Oh, yes, that I'm a (fake) cover girl!

Someday: Akwaaba DC

One day, when I've finally gotten to where I want to be in my writing career, I'm going to treat myself to a stay here at Akwaaba, a gorgeous luxury inn in Washington D.C. It's one of five locations opened by author Monique Greenwood and her husband, but I have a special affinity for this particular spot because it's decorated with a literary theme. Each guest room features the books of the author or genre it is named after. I do like the Zora Neale Hurston, Toni Morrison, and Walter Mosley suites, but I think my first reservation will be for the Langston Hughes suite (pictured above). Looks absolutely stunning, doesn't it?

Someday...

Note to Linda S.: Write On, Girl!

I chatted with a waitress/server named Linda this past weekend during my stay at the Hilton Garden Inn and Conference Center in Suffolk (lovely hotel, by the way...would most definitely stay there again...I'll take Room 508 again). I was eating breakfast alone and reading a Mary Higgins Clark mystery when the young woman approached to see if I needed anything. She must've asked what I was reading. Somehow, that lead to the subject of writing (as it almost always does with me). She excitedly admitted that she'd always had a desire to write a book.

You know me.

I encouraged her to get to it. I know nothing of her writing ability, of course, because I'd only just met her. But that was neither here nor there. The point was and is that she wants to write. There are stories running through her head. Stories she wants to share. Stories that can only be told the way Linda herself can tell them.

So, Linda, here's my note to you: write on, girl! No matter what people (including/especially family) may say or do to discourage you, don't let it kill your dream. You have a book in you? Put pen to paper and let the words flow.


P.S. I told you that you'd inspire me! I went upstairs to my room and wrote all day long. Your excitement became mine, and I owe you much appreciation.

Michael Jackson on the Cover of Ebony Magazine

This picture is, um, well, uh, so, you know, like...

Ahem.

So wow, did you see the game Sunday? Any game...?

Diggin' This Site: Meetup.com

Great place to search for and create in-person meetups with people who share your various interests.

Need A Stylish Way to Carry Your Rhymes To and From the Studio?

This messenger bag features a line ("you bring the beat, I'll bring the flow") from "The Micness", a little diddy I co-wrote and recorded with a local producer a couple of years ago. I think it's the perfect gift for the aspiring lyricist/songwriter in your life.

Buy it online at WordCanvas.com for just $29.99.

How to Score a Get-Out-Of-General-Population-Free Card

What do you do when you begin to serve a sentence at Rikers and you quickly realize that each woman around you is ten times the hardcore thug you only thought (and wanted people to believe) you were? Befriend at least one fellow inmate, stage a scuffle in the yard, and get your poseur behind out of General Population (and into punitive segregation for as long as possible) as quickly as you can without losing face.

You can't tell me that's not what went down here. And to be honest, if I were Foxy Brown, I would've done the same thing. There's a big difference between throwing a cell phone at a complaining neighbor and trying to throw a punch at Big Wanda and her crew.

Note to Ms. Brown: Don't forget to have your manager write and send the check to that inmate's family in return for her role as Punk Inmate No. 2 in your little cellblock "play".

Is That Terrence Howard Pushing the 2007 Camry XLE V6?

I'm not sure (and the question has probably been asked and answered ten thousand times already), but is that actor Terrence Howard's voice on the new Camry commercial? It's meant to be a sexy and seductive spot, and I think the advertisers certainly accomplished what they set out to do. A beautiful African-American model/actress to appeal to the fellas, and the mellifluous tones of TH's voice to catch the attention of the ladies.

I know I'm sold!

Think Pink When It Comes to Your Dreams

I've put my personal quote ("dreams only die when you let other people kill them") on a t-shirt! It's available for sale at WordCanvas.com. Stop by there today to cop yours for just $27.00.

Also available in Lemon, White and Light Blue

What Do You Do When You Can't Sleep?

You write. That's what I'm doing right now. It's 1:30AM in the morning, and I can't sleep. I hate laying in bed, staring at the ceiling, so I'm staying up to write until I get so tired that I can no longer sit upright.

That's the luxury of being in bad health, semi-reclusive and out on Disability. No two days are alike. No two nights are alike, for that matter. Oh yes, I've got The Life (she said, her words dripping with sarcasm).

Good lord, I hate this path I'm currently walking. Some way, somehow, I have to figure out how to get off Disability and write full-time. Some way somehow...

My I.Q.

In an earlier post, I wrote about feeling dumb. I'm kind of obsessed with it at the moment, so I took one of those online I.Q. tests. My score was 127. I could swear it used to be higher.

Hm, I'll have to give some attention to this...

Diggin' This Site: Encarta.com

I swear, there are days I feel that I'm just getting dumber and dumber.

Why, I don't know. I mean, I'm well-read. I write alot, so my mind is constantly active. I engage in stimulating conversation with friends, family and strangers.

Still, I feel downright stupid at times. So I've gotten into the habit of visiting the Encarta section of msn.com lately, and I take their little quizzes to test my knowledge of things taught to me way back in the day, as well as learn new things based on my current interests as an adult. It's not much, I know, but it helps. At least until I can afford to take some online courses I've had my eye on.

Try it!

Some Days It's Just Like THIS!

I had to post this picture of my three-year-old niece Jaz because I think it's just too funny.

Let me start by saying that my baby is a straight thug. Whew the temper on this child sometimes! This particular day, my sister had told Jaz to go upstairs to her room and lay down for a nap because the child was out-of-her-mind tired and acting like a little mad woman. Jaz, of course, was not happy about this and complained (read: screamed and cried) all the way the up the stairs. Eventually, the screaming stopped, and my sister went about her business. At some point, she started up the stairs and saw this:

The child was so tired that she'd fallen asleep on the top step.

Some days it's just like that!