At the water cooler...White supremacists

In April, the Department of Homeland Security released a report saying that the election of President Barack Obama would trigger a rise in White supremacist violence from White men who felt increasingly marginalized and powerless in the changing cultural make up of the United States.

Two months after this report was released, we had the shooting of Black security guard Stephen T. Johns at the Holocaust Museum in Washington D.C. by an 88- year-old ant-semetic white man.

Today, cops stopped an ambulance carrying a wounded Black woman because the driver "failed to yield." As the paramedic in charge hopped out of the truck to talk to the paramedics, he was assaulted.



I must say that I am more than disheartened. In an age where the leader of our country is African American, instead of reveling in our open-mindedness and crediting ourselves for being open to change, we have to deal with enraged White men who feel somewhat inferior.

What does this say about the "land of the free and home of the brave" when we have to fear for our lives and be threatened by cowards? Another instance where this country needs to step back and practice what we preach.

I'm really hoping...

That J-Hud doesn't want us to go on thinking that she's just gaining weight...

Cuz we know, boo. You're nose is spread wide as anything and the way that dress in bunching is not in the original design.

Congrats tho!

I don't usually do this...

I've been debating doing so, because you know I love some dark chocolate (on my...lol) men, but I had to put a little bit of vanilla into my sundae....


I'm not even going to lie. Chris Pine b.k.a Captain James Tyberius Kirk in the new Star Trek movie is doing something for me!




This 29 year-old Southern California cutie is a graduate of the University of California. Although he's starred in a number of movies, you may best know him from The Princess Diaries 2.

Damn it if he isn't up there with James Marsden for my #1 cutie from the other side of the tracks!

Just a little something to lighten up your Tuesday!

Enjoy!

I'm gonna go ahead and issue some double taps...part deux

Ok Kids, I feel like (with the prompting of my sis!) that the neuvo rash of Set-it-Off, straight back, a la Cleo braids need to be called out.
Here we go kids. My pointer finger is ready! Double taps go to:

Ciara. it was only thinking out of the box for the album cover, OK boo? Never mind that the "double edition" was really the same album cover with those low budget graphics in a different color. Rocking the same hairstyle in public is unacceptable.

Even if it is Z100. That outfit would have looked GREAT if your Yacky 1B was done.

And let's not even get started on:

Kim, we know you want to be "down" with your FYONE boyfriend Reggie. But, after watching Keeping up with the Kardashians (my secret addiction), he's not "down" with us. So let it go? K, hun? And J. Holliday's straight backs look better than yours anyway.

And the H.A.M. everyone hates to love:

*Side eye*

Just why Tyra? Why are you always on some stupid quest to be "real." So far on your show, you're proven your breasts are "real," the picture they took of your retired model self was "real", and now, you're "real" for the Obama movement for wearing braids on TV?!

It's just not OK!

Now, please, let me explain that I love braids. Micros are so chick, box braids a little more common folk but suitable none the less. And I like the side swept cornrows into a ponytail or a bun. But the straight back movement is best reserved for overnight wear, children under the age of 11, men, and mug shots.

Even Alicia Keys, QUEEN of the braid movement, let it go.
And she didn't even have the jail-inspired straight backs!

So a double tap to you all. Let's pray I don't have to do anymore anytime soon!

A Letter to J-Hud.

Dear J-Hud,



You're Pregnant.
We Know.
Stop Lying.
Stop the Madness.
You're being whack-tastic.
Fatness spreads everywhere. not just you're belly.

XOXO!

Steph

I just can't..Lord!

I need somebody to tell me why your girl (Natalie) J-Hud was on the streets, let alone Good Morning American rockin this outfit

It gets worse people:
I'm gonna take a shot of WHAT THE HELL chased by a Shaking my damn head at this outift! Like we know you're pregnant and all so you need bigger clothes, but this is ridiculous! I'm not ready for the flat big girl butt syndrome to be all ablast in this pic! And is that a ZIPPER buried into the CREVICE of those pants?!

And I'm so bad she's got the hand on the leg as if she's doing something with this outfit! JENNIFER WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!

I just can't! Maybe that's why the Essence photo spread was taken entirely from the neck up...

They probably didn't have time to find another stylist and didn't want this kind of monstrosity to be in there magazine!

Jennifer, this isn't even Pseudo-fab. This is a H.A.M. Unacceptable.

Faith 21...Fab or PseudoFab?

Trendy-Chic, ballin-on-a-budget, skinnie minnie retailer Forever 21 has announced that it will launching it's official plus sized line called "Faith 21" on May 1st both online and in stores.


It will offer the same clothing styles in the same price range (Under $30) as traditional Forever 21 clothing, but sizes will range from Xl to 2XL to fit a "curvier" girl.

And while I'm all for the thick sister movement, and am proud of Forever 21 for realizing the demand for young fashion to bigger ladies (the type that Lane bryant markwets but only your momma want to wear...sometimes...) I have to call into question the service that this is really doing to the unhealthier Americans.

I'm not going to lie and say, as a bigger girl, that I'm not excited at the prospect of being able to buy a party dress for under $30 and not have to tape down my boobies. It would SIGNIFICANTLY decrease the amount of money I spend on party dresses and significantly INCREASE my wardrobe options.

However, as someone who has recently dropped a jean size (HOORAY!!!), I know that part of the motivation for losing weight, besides being healthy long term, is the fact that I can't wear what I want to wear. I like the litle dresses hat Forever 21 has, and am on a constant quest to fit into the ones with zipper closures as oppossed to the summer dresses with runching (which will make there appearance in the 80-degree weekend we are suppossed to have.) I run on the treadmill and chant my mantra "I have to wear shorts to six flags, I have to wear shorts to six flags...but if I can get $10 shorts, what's the point?

I fully understand that there is a need for bigger girls to feel better about themselves. And I understand that feeling better often comes from how you feel in the clothes you are wearing. But I think we should feel better about being healthy than being trendy.

So, I guess there's no conclusion to this one, kids. Will I be at Forever 21 on May 1st scoping out cute club/summer outfits? Sure. Do I hope they may skinny jeans in larger sizes so i can get a pair for $18. You bet!

Am I gonna stop working out and eating right because I can finally shop there?

Not a chance!

I Might be a Little Off...

Now, I'll be the first one to say that my vision isn't what it used to be, especially since my *ahem* problem (please hold comments- NATALIE) but...



Doesn't she look a bit on the "pale" side to you?

Portraits of Lady O and El Commander in Chief were unveiled at Madame Toussaint's Wax Museum today.

And while I love the fact that they captured the essence of Michelle's tea length shift dresses, signature double strand pearls, and perfectly cinched cardigan by a KILLER belt (I'm going to excuse the flats, we all know she does pointed toe kitten heels), I can't help but think something's a little off.

And it's not Barack's slightly off center smile, his a la top model smiling with his eyes or his Dennis Quaid (think--new Parent Trap) laugh lines...

(Excuse me. I'm allowed a groupie moment for the President.)

I can't help but swear that Michelle, even in a wash out color like red, is darker than her hubby.
See?

And Madame Toussaint has gotten the melanin pretty right before...

I don't understand why the "yellow"er Black people look real close to the real color, but Mrs. First Black Diva in the White House looks like:
well, like she took a wrong turn on that European tour and took a 2 month vacay on that piece of Antartica that broke off...

Now, the optimist in me want to believe that this is just bad lighting. But two pictures have indicated that Barack is depicted, in the same light, darker than Michelle.

So, the realist in me can't help but wonder if this is just a manifestation of the "White woman" complex. Or, in other words, the notion that a pure, accomplished woman who stands behind her man and is successful in her own right has to be fair in complexion.

What do you all think?

Under rated cutie- Pseudo Fabulous Indeed!

I just wanted to take a moment out of my day and point out someone who I believe has flown under the radar for far too long:

Well, hello Mr. Columbus Short. How are you doing?

This choreographer/actor/ McDonalds #8 McCutie Meal, supersized hails from Kansa City, Missouri but moved to Los Angeles at 5 where he began acting in youth theaters. Tho he has appeared in numerous movies including Save the Last Dance and You Got Served. Most memorably, he starred and helped to choreograph Stomp the Yard.

And I must say that if i wasn't devoted to my cutie, and then NeYo, I would let Mr. TNT stomp my yard early on a Sunday :-)

And I'm out!

I'm gonna go ahead and issue some double taps....

Certain trends in the celebrity world often force me to issue double taps...which, in sister-gurl speak, means that I'm going to have to tap you twice and tell you subtly about yourself. So here goes!:

The current shoe trend is a platform high heel a la Christian Loubiton, Yves Saint Laurent, etc. it looks like this:

Beautiful shoe. Christian Loubitoun's. And don't get me wrong, I love this trend, but they have to FIT. Like this:
Now, 'Tasia is a H.A.M, but her shoes fit and they're pretty OK. She's making her way back to us, one psedofab outfit at a time.

But then you have this:

in a recent Louis Vutton ad.

Now, one could rebuke that Trina is a mess from her God Awful lacefront to her toes that are looking like they're holding on for dear life lest they be thrown overboard onto the floor.

But then you have repeat offenders like

And Ms. Goode is a repeat offender. I know it's a recession and she ain't done nothing IN A MINUTE but she needs to go ahead and "video model" it out so she can buy shoes that aren't one size (doesn't) fit all.

And then, this week's shocker:

Now, RhiRhi, you don't need to be shopping for a house if you can't afford the pair of Loubiton's that fit you, hun. Bad break-up and all.

Moral of the double-tap: If they don't have them in your size at the store, shop online. DO NOT SETTLE.

Oh, and I found this too

But you know I don't tolerate talking about Mrs. Carter on my blog.

Peace!

The Source of My Immediate Frustration with Pop Culture

My hopes and dreams being realized were again shattered by the powers that be known as popular media...

I have been waiting TWO YEARS for the release of The Frog Princess (the title has been since changed from The Princess and the Frog). The initial release read as such:

From The Times

March 17, 2007

Disney films go from Snow White to a black princess

Chris Ayres in Los Angeles

Walt Disney will soon have a new heroine — a black princess.

After years of criticism for alleged white bias and African- American stereotyping, the company responsible for Snow White will release a film in 2009 entitled The Frog Princess, starring a black animated princess called Maddy.

Like her white Disney sisters — Cinderella, Sleeping Beauty, Snow White, the Little Mermaid, and the beauty from Beauty and the Beast — Maddy will also get her own product line of toys, books, clothing, DVDs, furniture and other merchandise, sold under the Disney Princess brand...."

See that date? I have been waiting TWO YEARS AND ONE DAY to see this princess come out!!!!

This is the first released picture of her back in '07

Isn't she pretty?!

And then, today, I see this in the blogosphere

Can someone please tell me who that man sans pigmentation is and why he is STANDING NEXT TO MY PRINCESS?!?!?!?!?!

Now, after my rage subsided, I recognized that this was, in fact, a blow the progress that we have made in what some call the "post racist era."

Viewing this picture forces us into the realization that this is, in fact, not the post racist era. It is, rather, an era of suppressed racism. This Prince Eric (see The Little Mermaid) looking so and so is the graphic depiction of an ideology that says, though Black women are making strides, Black men are still lacking. And even now, in an era that a Black man is running this country, his fair skinned disposition makes it excusable.

Therefore, my Frog Princess's prince Charming has to be light skinned. I mean, isn't it a little much to ask Disney to have a Black princess and a Black prince?

*side eye*

As I stated in my letter to Walt Disney, they need to go back into the crayon box and pick themselves another shade for Prince Charming.

Because my Prince Charming doesn't look like that.

Star Magazine Must Love them Some J Hud...

So, yesterday I was at the supermarket using a Star Magazine to distract myself from the impending hit my bank account was gonna take at the end of the transaction when I came across this

right....

So then as I flip further, I see another celebratant heralded as being a Size 10.

(sorry, I couldn't find the actual pic.)

*Blank Stare*

Now, someone over at Star must love them some J Hud cuz I could have sworn I just saw a picture of her on an off day looking like

--Let us disregard the hot messness--And I could've sworn the last posted pic of B looked like

* please do regard the diva-lishesness*

Now, I'm not hating on Jennifer Hudson, because Lord knows she works it out for the curvy girls but..um...honey....

Star Magazine done lied on you, boo.

I leave you with this, folks:

Hmmm...

arms go to B...mid section goes to B...neck goes to B...cheeks go to B....

You be the judge! And I'm out!

Lady Obama...Killin the Game!

Again, I don't normally do this, but I can't escape the way Lady O is killing the game right now with her clear plastic belt. She donned it first here on the cover of O Magazine with a Michael Kors dress and Isaac Mizrahi for Liz Claiborne cardigan:

*moment of silence for the pure diva-lishesness that is this cover*

And again at a recent speaking engagement:

And yes, I know it's the same belt. But I really don't care. it's FABULOUS both times!

And although her Sonia Rykiel belt retails at about $150...we in the working world can buy our own version at French Connection for about $30

And if that's too expensive, you can always reach back into your closet and grab those jelly belt from back in the day..you have them..don't front!

Get Over It!!!

So, I don't usually comment on fashion unless it affects my train of thought.

I have found such an instance, and have chosen, for your benefit and mine, to address it.

Why exactly are people hating on the fashionista that is Michelle Obama? Like, for real, stop HATING.

You may wonder what I'm referring to. Well, recently Michelle Obama's official White House photo was issued to the public:

and she's KILLING THE GAME right now in her Michael Kors dress and antique pearls. But haters want to be haters all their lives:

"Does the lady not understand that these Big Speech Events are serious and important? Not a cocktail party?"~ Fox News (of course).

This picture makes me proud to be a Black woman. First Lady Obama, bearer of two young girls, is wearing a sleeveless dress and flaunting her KILLER arms and a FIERCE body. Instead of looking up to this multi-tasking maven, we have comments from the peanut gallery (*cough* FOX *cough*) that tell us she has something to be ashamed of.

Madame First Lady: YOU BETTER WORK!

And "two points" if you noticed that picture of the notorious slaveholder turned President Thomas Jefferson in the background. From plantation to President's wife. I bet Sally Flemmings is somewhere smiling right now....Get it Lady Obama!

Oh, and, for reference purposes, since the media just loves to compare the game changing first lady to another stylista white house femme fatale, here is Jackie O's official White House portrait

Lookin' kinda fierce there with your "sit-down-come-hither- "I can do you better than Marilyn" look there, Madame Onasis. Oh, and is that dress sleeveless? No, no. It must be a sheath dress.

*long side eye*

Jackie O was a game changer as well. And, for all the research I've done on Madame Onassis' portrait, I can't find the backlash. Even though, first lady pics usually looked like this:


I think you need one more ruffle for effect, Madame Reagan.

Don't Call it a Comeback!

Hola Pseudo-fab peeps!

You missed me didn't you? I know! But I'm back to give you something to talk about!

So, let's talk about Black health. You know where this is going right?

HAIR!!! AHHHHH!!!!!!

Now, my hair has always been my crowning glory. It's always been healthy and well maintained, and has been a source of admiration for most people that look at it.

But, recently, my hair has betrayed me to the point that I look like a Dr. Miracle commercial contender.
The "Before" version. Ya dig? SAAAAADDDDLY!

So why don't I do my hair, you ask? What has hapenned to Stephanie, Queen of the Fresh-to-Death layered hair that she's looking like Who Shot John?!?!?!?

I'm working out. I have made a concious decision to put my body and health in front of aesthetics for long term aesthetic appeal.

And I must admit that, although my clothes don't fit as ridiculously as my sisters (cue MC Hammer boot cut looking pant...ROTFLMAO..proud of you Stis!) they're doing better. And, per my sister this morning, my face is getting leaner. And my boyfriend says I'm getting a butt. LOL!

More importantly, I feel healthier. I'm able to run for the bus and not be that person on the bus breathing all hard like that kid on "Hey Arnold"
And that's important. As Queen Latifah and Clair Huxtable...uh...Phylicia Rashaad big up Jenny Craig and Dr. Ian promotes the 50 Million Pound Challenge, it is becoming more aparent in main stream media that we as African Americans are becomign increasingly more unhealthy. 44% of Black men are overweight. And, an alarming 4 out of 5 Black women (non-hispanic) are considered either over weight or obese (http://www.womenshealth.gov/minority/africanamerican/obesity.cfm). That evens out to a staggering 80%!

So, with all the hair options afforded to Black women (weaves, braids, going natural, twists, short cuts, etc.) I am going to be a big girl on this one.

Because, the fact of the matter is, no one will be admiring my hair when I'm dead and can't fit in my coffin.