What are little girls made of?
What are little girls made of?
Sugar and spice,
And all that’s nice;
That’s what little girls are made of.

There is something about that nursery rhyme that always managed to strike a chord of insecurity within me, even when I was a little girl.  Its sing-song rhythm annoyed me, but even more than that I hated the message that a proper little girl is sugar and spice.  I know I’ve always resented its implications, because deep within me, I have always known that I am simply not that girl!  I have always been a little spunky, with a quick wit that can border on a sharp tongue.  (The old folks used to call it fresh.)

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That unforgettable image of Meryl Streep exiting the elevator in “The Devil Wears Prada”, may not have had the same umph were it not for those over-sized shades she wore. They seriously took her look to the next level of divadom.

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We all know that Detroit, the Motor City, has become Bizarro Land. How else can we explain the fact that Kwame Kirkpatrick remains in office and a child had to call Monica Conyers, wife of Senator John Conyers, and president pro tem of the City Council on her bad behavior?

Now, 13-year-old Keiara Bell has become famous for calling Conyers on her mess. Today, the Wall Street Journal had her story on page 1 (yes page 1, even though it was below the fold that’s still big) almost a month after she chastised Conyers. And the You Tube video of their exchange continues to garner interest (click below). Read the full story

I know that for many people, the mere image of Flavor Flav at the top of this post caused noses to be turned up, eyes to roll, and mouths to snicker at what will go down in history as, quite possibly, the single greatest example of American absurdity in television history. Particularly, for so called progressive people of color, Flavor of Love has inspired a most venomous sort of hate - the kind that, in the past, was reserved for your Clarence Thomas’, and your Marion Barrys. But in hating the man, and his show, are we overlooking some really hard-to-deal-with truths about the state of our race? Read the full story

Now that Wrightgate is in the past, those hoping to steer Barack Obama off course are once again turning to his wife, Michelle. Our girl is seriously under scrutiny because folks are looking for a crucial misstep they can latch on to derail this campaign. If they could do it before Denver, spectacular (then Hillary will all of a sudden be the nominee). Read the full story

There is no denying that R. Kelly’s music is infectious. Just the other day I found myself singing along in the car. But I had to stop myself and ask: should I be singing this? Sure, one can argue that In reality, not all people feel the same about the long, drawn-out preamble to this child pornography trial. Yesterday, Debra Triplett who is 49-years-old was arrested, yes arrested, for screaming “Free R. Kelly” to the juror when they got off the elevator. Now she is sitting in jail (unless she comes up with $50K for bail) with a charge of indirect contempt of court. This is a mother and grandmother who is so enamored with this man that she thought it was a good idea to come down to the courthouse and act the fool—talk about a waste of time and money. Read the full story

Today, The New York Times reviewed Crayons Donna Summer’s new album (and they called it an album too, not a good sign).  She was also called an aging pop star. I can’t say that the less than spectacular review was surprising, but I still want this former disco queen  to sing as long as she likes. Read the full story

Life doesn’t always work out the way we plan. I mean I’m one husband, a great career and three kids short of where I thought I would be at 36 years old. I’ve been silently hoping for my big break and so far it still hasn’t come. I’ve finally accepted the fact that my big break may never come!

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Recently, a good friend of mine asked me following: 
How do you know when it’s time to let go of a long-term relationship? 
She’s been with her guy on and off for a number of years. They’ve been through a lot; vast physical separation, infidelity, in between loves, times of extreme joy and times of equally extreme pain. Through it all they’ve managed to spend the last two years in relative peace. No states or countries separating them, no other men or women distracting them and, having both moved to a city far from their hometown, no family or friends to fall back on–for the first time in their relationship, it’s just them, and they have all the time in the world to just be. But in what should be the most wonderful time in their entire relationship, she cannot reconcile their seemingly miraculous survival of past tumultuousness against this unshakeable sense of unhappiness and dissatisfaction she now feels. And that is where her question was born. Read the full story