Archive for Socializing

Dirty Pretty Thoughts on FELA!: The Power of Beauty, Black Mothers & Booty Shakin’

from umslobby.org

 

Last night, I was able to attend a performance of the Tony Award-winning musical FELA! at the Murphy Fine Arts Center on the campus of Morgan State University in Baltimore, Maryland. Massive love to Kanyecha of Gypsy Soul Events- I won the 2 tickets to the show last Sunday at her Fela Forward event celebrating the opening of FELA! in Baltimore.

Me @ the Fela Forward event in Baltimore, hosted by Gypsy Soul Events

Two tickets! So I got Kellie to come along and we really enjoyed the show! It inspired so much thought in me I figured I needed to drop a few personally poignant gems here:

 

The Queens: Those women were INCREDIBLE dancers. Breath-taking. I was mesmerized. Beautiful. And for me, they lend even more credence to the power of Regular Black Girls I see who Twerk, who are the Clappas and the Booty Bounce experts, whether they do it on a pole, at show or in a video.


As famed African-American poet Missy Elliot once wrote and sang out “Ain’t no shame baby, do yo’ thang/Just make sure you’re ahead of the game.”

 

 

photo from broadway.com

Funmilayo Kuti, Nigerian teacher, feminist, political activist & Fela’s Mother: The importance of Fela’s Mama to him, even after her death gave me LIFE. In the play Fela sought guidance from her wisdom when he was in the midst of crisis and making a great decision, through a surreal spiritual journey. The influence and power of Mothers/Other Mothers in African diasporic cultures cannot be denied, which flies in the face of everything we see portrayed about Black mothers/motherhood. Historically, we are revered. Let’s act like we know that’s our Truth for real.

I left the performance last night affirmed, REAFFIRMED, as a Black woman who is a mother and likes to shake a tail feather when the beat moves me.

For those of you in/around/near the DC Metro Area, Fela! will be playing at the Murphy Fine Arts Center at Morgan State University through this Sunday, May 20, 2012. Go check it out if you can.

 

 

~pbg

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“Go Comb Your Hair!” And Other Quips From The Loser Brigade

The other night I was out with my friend Kellie. We stopped in a 7-Eleven and happened upon a very crass and dusty Black man. He had to have been all of 35 years-old and had some fuzzy straight back cornrows. His entire essence gave me the impression that he’s either just finishing a stint in jail or about start one, undoubtedly related to unpaid child support or a botched robbery. This guy thought he’d talk very loudly about defecation in front of a few pretty women, no doubt to garner some attention and wow us with his charm. He defended his prepubescent potty humor chatter by saying “It’s natural!” Yeah, it is but let’s not pretend that if I had started talking about menstruation or childbirth he wouldn’t have fallen to pieces. I turned around to get a little cash for the evening from the ATM and when I was done, this grown ass Dust Bunny was still talking, being a complete jerk,  but had turned his attention to Kellie. So I frowned at his lameness. I’d had about enough of him at that point. He asks me “Why you frownin’ Miss Lady?” I chuckled at his utter ridiculousness and asked him “Why are you talking??” and we walked out. He ended up passing us on the sidewalk outside and yelled over to me “Shawty, don’t ever ask me why I’m talkin’ again.” Boy, bye…with your wack delayed response. Check this out:

Me: “Sir. Really? What are you gonna do? Like, for real?”

Him: “I ain’t gonna do nothin’; I ain’t gotta do nothin’.”

Me: “OK then. Gone and catch up with your friend. We’re done here.”

Him: “You need to go comb your hair!”

I tell this story to illustrate the utter ridiculousness of attempting to insult someone by making statements in relation to factual information. This is the logic of the unfunny, the hurt and the desperate. Fuzzy Wuzzy tried to come for me by saying that my hair was unkempt and needed combing. “Nappyheaded”, right? So original. So ironic. But the truth of the matter is I didn’t not comb my hair before I left home. I usually don’t because that’s not how I care for my hair. I’ve also been “insulted” (mostly by Angry Ugly Bitter Men) by being called “fat”, “short”, “Black”, some derivative of “old” (stop guessing at my age because you will never be right) and making mention of my wigs.

This is the laziest bullshyt I’ve ever had thrown my way.

Look, when you get mad and start making statements of fact about someone in order to alleviate your little hurt-ass feelings, you look like a fool. ESPECIALLY when you do it in a public forum (on the street/Twitter/Facebook/My blog comment sections). Calling a Black girl “Black” or a Fat Girl “fat” is silly and bland. No one is impressed. Telling a Naturalista to “go comb her hair” isn’t insulting, it’s nonsensical. Same for calling a woman in her 30’s “old”. I mean, that may make sense if you’re like 19 or have the mentality of a teenager. Either way, as a rational woman, there is simply no way I can respond to any of that and not look as shamefully stupid as the one attempting to hurl the insults. I would not even begin to waste the glory of my eviscerating wit on someone who will NEVER ever be a worthy opponent. You are King Zero No Higher of The Loser Brigade.

Besides, those things you point out to try to hurt my feelings are the very things that made you notice me in the first place, right? You just didn’t anticipate being so attracted to them. Make the world a better place and go deal with your issues.

 

~pbg

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Happy New Year: Living & Loving in 3D In 2012

Happy New Year Dedicated Readers!!

I hope you all made it to 2012 with heads held up high and your personal standards intact. As for me, I certainly did and I know I’m a blessed and HIGHLY FAVORED woman because of it. Haleloo…that certainly isn’t everybody’s testimony.

It was my awesome New Year’s experience that lead me to this particular post. I feel like I just have to talk to My People about our online relationships. Our eFriendships, if you will. If you’re reading this blog, I would venture to say you have friendships that so far, are only cultivated and maintained over the Internet. In 2012, I want you to try to take at least ONE of those relationships offline. Make your eFriends, your 3D Friends!

I spent the New Year’s weekend with friends that I made online. We had a great time eating, drinking and being merry. We had a wonderful warm toast to love and prosperity at midnight. It was awesome! On New Year’s Day,  I ended up at a dinner party with a bunch of older beautiful Black women (and men). As I sat and talked and listened to them, I felt like I was being bathed in wisdom.

Side note: Oh, yes. That food was the BOMB dot COM. Can you believe I actually tried not to eat because it was first time meeting those folks. I gave that up REAL QUICK when I tasted those greens! LAWD!! Heavenly is what they were! I’m mad I didn’t bring a plate home with me.

There’s something to be said about being in the physical presence of friends and absorbing the energy that you already know is there. As much as I love these Internets, there is nothing like unplugging for a while and meeting up. It’s very life-affirming and makes me feel “real”. It makes me feel a lot more connected than Twitter, Tumblr, Facebook and other social media platforms ever have. While I thank Former Vice President Al Gore for inventing the Internet (what, y’all ain’t know that? learn yourselves some knowledge this year), I really don’t want to depend on technology to build the realness of the Love that I carry into my friendships. It’s reasonable support but if you really mean what you say, then you will have to live in 3D with your Loves.

I challenge My Dedicated Readers to take at least ONE of your online friendships into the physical world in 2012.

I know it can be scary, but brave (and smart, of course) and do it anyway. I can speak from personal experience that you have more of a chance to make a life-long friend than meeting some lyin’ ass Internet Creeper. Would I lie to My People?? Nawl.

  • Have you made any cool friends on the Internet?
  • Met any azzholes or creeps?
  • How do you feel about meeting folks you meet online?

~pbg

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Friends With [Fringe] Benefits

My friend Jean DeGrate, whom I believe is a very talented writer in the same way that I am (awesome storyteller), sometimes blogs over at Jean DeGrate Has Spoken. I wish he’d write more, but when he does I make a point of reading what he has posted. I enjoy his voice and his point of view. I’ve learned a lot from him since I’ve known him, even if it has meant looking in the opposite direction when it comes to some of his opinions. Hell, at least he has one and is able to articulate it in a way that people can understand it.

Earlier in the week, I was reading Jean’s latest post while riding the bus to work. You can click the link and check it out yourself, but my homie had basically written about all the women with “convenient jobs” he’d like to date and why. He ran down a list of women with specific occupations in public service and how advantageous it would be to him  if any of these women were his Boo-Thang. I thought this was the funniest thing ever that morning, and it immediately reminded me of the “Patchwork Love” post I wrote last year. But as funny as it was, I realized a.) how real and practical that line of thinking is and b.) how if a woman had written that post she’d be slandered from one end of the blogosphere to the other as an…*ahem*…“Opportunistic Woman”.  You know I ain’t even lyin’. 

No, I ain’t lyin’. So I had to write my own list, because there are some men with Practical/Beneficial Occupations I need to get with and upgrade my situation. Friends With Fringe Benefits, y’all.

1.) A Target Employee

Like Jean, I spend CRAZY money in Target. The last time I went there, I spent $70 buying underwear for me and Ike n’ Tina. OK, I bought some hair products and makeup too, but you get the gist! If I had one of those fellas clad in the Crimson & Tan, I’d get a decent discount on all my life essentials like the aforementioned pannydrawls, kitty litter and bed sheets.

2.) A Metro Bus Driver

Preferably one that drives my regular bus route. I am thoroughly anti-owning a car in DC, so I am always taking the bus somewhere (yes, the bus, since I prefer that over the trains here). I want My Metro Boo to let me ride for free. The bus, you pervs. I also want him to get my kids’ Student Passes either for free or a deep discount. That would make my life so much easier.

3.) An Orthodontist

My kid needs braces. This is self-explanatory.

4.) Bartender

This is self-explanatory as well. And a lot of explanations fit. Just pick one.

5.) The Owner Of A Beauty Supply Store

 

This one automatically tells everybody that I am open to dating outside of my race, right? OK. But for as much as I spend on wigs, this man would be treated like a king by me. Rose petals at his feet and all that. He would know when the new shipment comes in, I get first dibs. That’s love! Get me the FreeTress Tracy wig, boo…so I’ll know it’s real. 

I’m sure I could think of at least three other men if I really put my mind to it ( Somebody over at Amazon.com, A bagger at Whole Foods, Value Village Stockroom staffer and the manager at TJ Maxx), but I’d like to hear from my Dedicated Readers. What fringe benefits would you love in a love/dating relationship? Would it be worth it?

 

~pbg

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