First of all, those of us who managed to be educated and professional tend to like these things…

Stuff Educated Black People Like- stuffeducatedblackpeoplelike.wordpress.com

Stuff Professional Black People Like- http://stuffprofessionalblackpeoplelike.wordpress.com

Second of all, all of us apparently like these things…which includes not bothering to give our sites original names…

Stuff Black People Like_site 1- http://stuffblackppllike.wordpress.com/

Stuff Black People Like_site 2- http://cobb.typepad.com/cobb/2008/02/stuff-black-peo.html

Stuff Black People Like_site 3- http://stuffdarkpeoplelike.wordpress.com/

Stuff Black People Like Also- http://stuffblackpeoplelikealso.wordpress.com/

But wait!  We don’t only like stuff, we like other stuff and we love stuff…

Other Stuff Black People Like- http://otherstuffblackpeoplelike.wordpress.com/

Stuff Black People Love- http://blog.stuffblackpeoplelove.com/

Finally, we that live in the concrete jungles like our own set of things, too!…

Stuff Ghetto People Like- http://stuffghettopeoplelike.wordpress.com/

As I read about all the hype surrounding Lebron James and Giselle regarding the Vogue cover, I think back to that photo TMZ and celeb gossip tv show The Insider (spin-off from Entertainment Tonight) used when referring to Sarah Hussein Obama, Barack’s Kenyan grandmother (I think she’s actually his step-grandmother but it’s all the same in the context of this post), holding a chicken. Or what about CNN’s typographical fuck up last year as they showed a picture of Bin Laden with a caption naming Barack Obama on their show The Situation Room?

Just like violence and the objectification of women, the more these images slip into our dumb brains the more accepting we become. We just soak in the subtlety to the point when we’re ready to defend its innocence.

Enough said.

Not much to squeal about here. I got my package of Mixed Chicks products (shampoo, deep conditioner, and leave in conditioner) and used them all today. In short, their products are good and actually work. If you want pretty smells, stick with Carol’s Daughter. If you want hair care that works but maybe not as aromatic then go for Mixed Chicks.

Shampoo- I got a lather which I like but know is not required. I did feel the shampoo was a little more drying than I’d want it to be for my hair texture, so if I continue to use it, I’ll probably mix it with some of my Kenra shampoo.

Deep Conditioner- Worked well with my hair. I left it in a few minutes and finger combed it out.

Leave In Conditioner- I purposely only put that product in after shampooing and conditioning just to see if my hair would wild out or stay tame. It worked fine. I could use this alone with no other hair products. There was a curl defining agent that gave me the definition I like and it’s soft to the touch.

Keepers- Mixed Chicks Deep Conditioner and Leave In Conditioner

Don’t Bother- Shampoo

I don’t have my eye on any product lines at the moment, but I’ll be sure to post the next time I’m curious about some new stuff. I do need to take some photos showing results with different products so perhaps that will be my next hair care project.

Update 6 hrs later: My hair does feel a little dry, so this regimen would need some of my moisturizing stuff (sorry, I’m too sleepy to use fancy adjectives). In other words, my African-ness can not escape me! I’m sure if you have more fine hair or are biracial you might not find the need to apply anything else. However, the more kink your hair has to it, the more prone it is to being dry and brittle, hence more moisturizing applications. Me still likey this product line.

Update 3/30/08: I’ve been using Mixed Chicks for nearly a week now, and I’m still happy with the conditioners.  I needed to apply more of the leave in conditioner than I did that first night, which is the reason for the dry feeling.  The good thing is that I have been able to manage with just conditioning my hair with Mixed Chicks conditioner followed by the leave-in conditioner and I’m done.  Sometimes, I put in a little of the Carol’s Daughter Tui Hair Oil as a final step or a little Tresemme bouncy girls gel if I want a really defined curl.  Since I don’t shampoo every day, I still can’t say much more for it, but I’ll keep my mind open and continue to use it for a few more washes.

My stupid husband doesn’t get this blog thing and has insisted that I post this for your amusement. Feel free NOT to land here and NOT to comment because the last thing he needs is a reason for him to get a bigger ego. He is literally on the couch cracking himself up right now as he rattles off this retarded list.

Stuff My Husband Thinks Ghetto Black People Like

1. Being in school for more than 6 yrs

2. Alize

3. Mambo Sauce (ya, i originally spelled it mumbo…it’s all the same to me)

4. Baby Names with more than 11 letters

5. Naming their kids after cars

6. Beads in their hair

7. Now Laters

9. Boston Baked Beans (apparently i can’t count to ten…those fancy MD suburb schools i attended)

10. Lemon Heads

11. Spades

12. Tootsie Roll Pops

13. Free daycare

14. Similac

15. Gold Teeth

16. Doo rags

17. Money or Food Stamps

18. Lawry’s Season Salt

He says his creativity is full now so I can go ahead and post now. Lawd, help me! He keeps yelling over at me making sure that I don’t correct his English.

Update3/26: * NEW ONES * …ya, you fools are commenting, and now that he has your attention, his inspiration is miraculously reappearing.

19. Restraining orders against at least 1 family member

20. Baltimore (that was a direct stab at me, don’t worry…I’ll get him back)

I’m up tonight watching CNN which had Obama on Larry King Live and now Lou Dobbs, and I’m just getting annoyed.  They are still going after Obama’s affiliation with Reverend Wright and picking apart every sentence in Obama’s speech earlier this week that inspired me so much.  This is just ridiculous.  Now he’s being labeled “controversial”.  When media vultures harp on race then it gets white people scared and all of a sudden there’s an issue where there was none before.

Back off media vultures!  Go chase someone else.  I’ll even let you chase Michael Jackson since he’s coming out with that 25th anniversary of Thriller album (which makes me feel old by the way).

I experienced an Obama moment recently at work.  The Higher-Ups dissected an email that was accidentally copied to them (note to self…ALWAYS check the names on a distro list).  It was a harmless set of 3 emails intended for my co-workers regarding my status of coming into work during the blizzard.  I thought they were getting all huffy about a different email and soon realized it was these innocuous emails that put the Higher-Ups into a tizzy.  “What do you mean by…?”  “I feel you’re trying to negatively influence…”  I honestly can’t remember the emails nor do I think they’re still sitting in any of my co-workers’ inboxes.  However, the Higher-Ups read every single word over and over then sent my boss over the course of 2 weekends to poke and prod at me.  You might as well have locked me in a dimly lit interrogation room like you see in the movies.  I know I’m the furthest thing from a celebrity, but if I take a moment to imagine this scenario magnified a million times over and broadcast through every possible media venue, I can see how those celebs end up in rehab, and Lord only knows how politicians handle it behind the scenes.

Don’t crack Obama!  Don’t let them trap you with the race card!  “…typical white person…”  They’ll never let you live that down.  They can’t wait to label you something other than a good candidate.  They’re preying for a scandal.  Lou Dobbs, Barack is NOT creating a race issue as you claim.

Pause…I’m cracking up now that they (CNN) have Geno’s infamous cheese steaks owner(Joe Vento) from Philly talking about his court win regarding a sign (really a sticker) insisting that people speak English to get service.  “This is America, Please Speak English.”  I never went there while we lived in the area because I believed a story that someone told me that they had a cockroach in the cheese steak they ordered.  That just grossed me out.   Now, I’m a rumor spreader.  Eat there if you want.  I don’t want a lawsuit because I said I heard a story about cockroaches in their cheese steaks    Good!  Let’s obsessively focus on that stupid ass story instead, so Obama can go back to addressing bigger issues.

Mmmm…now I’m craving a cold, clammy pretzel from Wawa.  Good times, people.  Good times….  What the hell is Columbus known for?

I just ordered “The Trio” from http://www.mixedchicks.net./curlyhairproducts.html which includes: Shampoo, Deep Conditioner, and Leave In Conditioner/Styling Creme from the Mixed Chicks website. I’ll offer my thoughts when the products arrive and I start trying them out. I should be taking photos, eh? If I get that organized, then I’ll throw a few in there. If not, just trust my opinion, but only as my opinion.

This is my last post in the “Taking the Carol’s Daughter Plunge…wish me luck” series.

My only keeper from this set of products would be the Tui Hair Oil. First of all, it smells fantastic. Also, I like the idea of a light hair oil to use as a conditioning/moisturizing option.

Here are the Affrodite No Likeys… I apologize in advance if any of my commentary is similar to my earlier posts, but I’m too lazy right now to go back through the previous 2 posts about this product line.

On the Fence List (i.e. you decide for yourself)

Hair Milk- Nothing special, but if you haven’t found your own daily hair moisturizing product, it’s worth a try I guess.

Healthy Hair Butter- I’m on the fence a little with this one, but I don’t feel like I need to go out of my way to buy it. Smells good. It’s not too bad as a moisturizer to use after you have washed your hair or your hair is extra dry. I was using it after washing my hair and then the Hair Milk on a daily basis. I’ve also offered this to my hubby to use.

Don’t Bother List

Rosemary Mint Shampoo- looks like vomit which makes it difficult for me to want to put it in my hands or hair, doesn’t lathe which perpetuates my vomit visual, smells bad (to me it does). I don’t think I’ll even finish the bottle. Instead, I’ll leave it in the guest bathroom and maybe someone will want to throw it in their suitcase.

Black Vanilla Leave In Conditioner- Smelly water. I can’t see any significant conditioning effects. I don’t like that they’d advise black people to use the Rosemary Mint Shampoo followed by this conditioner as opposed to a real conditioner. I think it’s their excuse for not having a decent conditioner in their hair care line.

Kizzi “Stay Put” Pomade – Nothing special either. I pulled my hair back the other day and used this to help, but I don’t think it stayed put as much as it claims without the help of my regular hair products. I have offered it to my hubby to use.

Stuff Black People Hate- http://stuffblackpeoplehate.com/

I never thought to flip the script and go for stuff we hate, but this site is absolutely brilliant.  Check it out and bookmark that shit.  Admiral Furious is crafty (ugggh! I just lost cred by saying “crafty” because I can’t help but to think of that stupid Beastie Boys songs) and you can’t help but to laugh, love, and hate right along with him.

Gil Scott Heron was right when he said The Revolution will not be Televised, however, I don’t think he fathomed it would be blogged.

Also, I ran across a couple of posts from blogger Fly Funky Diva that are at least worth a gander.

Stuff Educated Black Women Hate- http://flyfunkydiva.blogspot.com/2008/03/stuff-that-educated-black-women-hate.html
Stuff Educated Black Women Love- http://flyfunkydiva.blogspot.com/2008/03/stuff-that-educated-black-women-like.html

I’m on blog overload tonight as I feel like I just tapped the manna of black bloggerdom.  I keep clicking link after link after link…and they just keep me linking and linking and linking…

I’ve added a lot of new ones to my site that I’ll be checking out as well, but I think the blog New Black Woman is going to be one of my new favs.  Check it out, and I’ll update this post sometime down the road once I’ve had a chance to really hang out on her site.

In clicking a series of links from blogger sites tonight, I stumbled upon this site:  Light-skinned-ed Girl. Since I’ve diverged lately from the subject of hair, I wanted to post this link to an interview from Light-skinned-ed Girl:

http://lightskinnededgirl.typepad.com/my_weblog/2008/03/biracial-hair-1.html

…and he has seen the glory of the coming of the Lord! Watch out folks! Obama’s still got it.

Go watch or read his speech given in Philadelphia. I’m still waking my brain up, but I promise to post my reaction. Thanks, Aisha, for keeping me in the know. In the meantime, if you have any thoughts of your own, please share.

http://my.barackobama.com/page/community/post/samgrahamfelsen/gGBbKG

UPDATE:

A. I had this brilliant post and then my computer just cut off and I lost it. I’m so mad because you can’t recreate creativity. It’s an oxymoron.
B. I still felt compelled to say something because I was so moved after hearing Obama’s speech.

Here we go…

This was another brilliant Obama moment. Everyone seems to share a particular speech of Obama’s that sealed the deal regarding their support or feelings about him. This speech did that for me today. Admittedly, I have kind of sat on the sidelines stunned but intrigued by this guy. I kept wanting to know “what’s the catch?” or as “Making the Band” legendary choreographer Laurie Ann Gibson would say…the “gotcha gotcha!” (Damn Diddy for kicking her to the curb, but I honestly don’t know exactly how all the drams went down other than what I saw on tv) Living in this country will do that to you. Don’t get me wrong, I was cheering for him, but from a distance. Today, he reeled me in, front and center, to his message, his purpose. Today was my Obaptism*.

Keep the comments coming. I want to know your reactions to Barack’s speech today on the subject of race. This very well could end up as the 21st century version of Martin Luther King’s I Have Been to the Mountaintop speech. I say that with with some reservation because that was MLK’s famous last words and I, no manner shape or form, want to insinuate that Obama is a martyr. Barack, rather, is walking us through history, shedding one of those ultraviolet lights to pick up the uglies of our present, and inviting us to shape our future.

The answer is not in party lines. It’s in doing what’s right for America, people.

For those of you who want to brush up on MLK’s I’ve Been to the Mountaintop speech can click here:

http://americanrhetoric.com/speeches/mlkivebeentothemountaintop.htm

or here: http://publicradio.org/tools/media/player/americanradioworks/features/sayitplain/mlking

The site American Rhetoric was an interesting find of mine today in general. Click below for the homepage. I think I’ll add it to my links as well since it’s a good reference.

http://americanrhetoric.com

*…btw…just remember, you heard me say Obaptism here first

Damnit Morgan St.! So close but AGAIN so far away… Well, what can I say now?

Raleigh, NC (Sports Network) – Tywain McKee’s jumper with three seconds left helped Coppin State top Morgan State, 62-60, to win the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference Tournament at the RBC Center.

Because I know you all care so deeply about this post and my last one about my dear alma mater through your intense lack of clicks, I will not bore you with the gory details. You can just click here instead: http://www.sportsnetwork.com/default.asp?c=sportsnetwork&page=cbask/news/AEN4138686.htm

I shall now sing my alma mater to grieve this loss. I’m amazed that I remember so much of it still. I guess something stuck in from being there. Maybe that’s my cue to write a check to the Alumni Association. You know black folks don’t be givin’ money back to their HBCUs unless Tom Joyner makes them. It’s like like being stingy about your church offering people! I remember the dollar wave thing they did whenever I went to see Farrakhan speak. Oops! I said the F-word! I guess I can’t be president now. …as if they’d let Hillobama (that’s me black + woman = Hillobama = ME = Affrodite…coined here first before you sneaky mofoes start stealing my shit! Awww man ya’ll, I’m cracking myself up right now! Hit enter if you feel me!…whoo! more funnies!) win an actual election anyway.

(more…)

OMG!!! I am overjoyed to know that Morgan FINALLY has a good enough basketball team. I’m so proud of my alma mater. Coppin, ya’ll have been there done that before, so I’m not caring so much, plus I want Morgan to wax your hot Baltimore asses tonight.

Let me tell you, damn scarlet and gray groupies, this ain’t nothin’ like OSU vs. Michigan. First of all, it’s black folks with bands that play songs that make you say “unnhh…na-na-na-naaa”. I’m so mad we moved from Raleigh (ok, Cary, NC…the suburban equivalent of where I grew up in MD…trust me, I righted that wrong move this round.) or I’d be there.

Even I want to see this, and I don’t follow much basketball. The Morgan-Coppin game was always the highlight of the Basketball season for those of us at those schools and who lived in Baltimore. It was East Side vs West Side…wassup! wassup! pow! (Ms. Tony moment). There’s not much to Coppin, but I have to give their basketball program props for their ability to work the local area and scoop those basketball boys that probably had given up thoughts of/or never had thoughts of playing in college and giving them a break. Morgan has been a little slower on that front, well basically the entire sports front. I guess that’s why this whole freakish allegiance I see folks have to their school’s football and basketball programs seems so foreign to me. My hubby attended Big East schools, and he’s in the scene, but even he is weirded out about the extent that some areas are about their schools. Just for kicks, and just because, we wear our school’s gear when we go to breakfast on game days just to break up the monotony of OSU sweatshirts from the staff to the customers.

(more…)

Found some interesting reads on there as well.  Check it out:

http://theassimilatednegro.blogspot.com/

I’m sort of surfing for inspiration today since my last few posts before now have been pretty dull for the masses.  If you have read anything recently that would be a discussion topic.  Holla at yo’ girl Affrodite!

I know I’ve been seeing various blogs playing on this what people like but targeted at different audiences. Since Affrodite keeps it classy here…most of the time, I thought I’d share a new find courtesy of my homegirl The Falster.

Check check it out!

Stuff Educated Black People Like

http://stuffeducatedblackpeoplelike.wordpress.com/

UPDATE 3/12: Here’s a link to an article about this phenomenon.

http://www.jsonline.com/story/index.aspx?id=725895

….and you can’t have Stuff Educated Black People Like without Stuff Black People Like

http://cobb.typepad.com/cobb/2008/02/stuff-black-peo.html