I like to read a lot about music and entertainment so for the purpose of this course I would like to focus on those areas. There are no shortages of those kinds of blogs but I think that I can bring a unique perspective by discussing themes and artists that are not necessarily main stream. I find that when it comes to entertainment blogging, people tend to just jump on bandwagons of what everyone else is talking about. If I read three blogs in one day they are all usually writing about the same stuff and begging readers to remember that they “heard it here first.” A lot of times I find myself wishing that they had given more meat in their article that just simply stating that something occurred.
I would like my blog to look more like the comment sections of many on these blogs with interesting opinions and perspectives that people can build off of when commenting. I won’t just talk about what an outrages occurrence on a reality show. I plan to g a step further and actually give an opinion about it. Also, I look forward to the opportunity to talk about topics and people that other people are not writing about in the entertainment world.
There is a lot of interesting interpretations of movies and music on the internet that range from secret society claims to other claims of corrupt messages for the masses and I would like to discuss some of these as well. Thinking critically about the things we watch and listen to is a right that many people forfeit so I would like to get a dialog going about how some may be affected. For instance, The Bad Girls Club is a show all about women living in a house and acting more like they live in an insane asylum. They have achieved record rating during their most recent seasons and I can’t help but wonder if they are affecting the behavior of young girls who sadly don’t have the guidance at home that would prevent them from watching in the first place. Don’t get me started on MTV’s new show Skins!!
What I hope this blog will be is “Talk Soup” for the thinker. I hope to offer a fresh perspective and interesting point of view on this topic.
Monday, January 31, 2011
Night Writer
Most of my best work is done between 10pm and 2am and this has been the case since I had my first child in 2004. For me this is a time when I can be sure that everyone is asleep and any requests can be met with "Go to bed!!!!" I am very easily distracted so I need quiet to focus and I can take breaks through out the night while brain storming. Sometimes I wish I could avoid sleeping all together...ohhhh the things I could accomplish with that kind of time.
Sunday, January 30, 2011
The Expert
Many of the blogs I follow are about very specific topics like cooking, knitting or hair care. I very rarely read those stream of consciousness style blogs as they tend to bore me. When I consider the type of blog I want to have and the topics that inspire me, I wonder if I would be able to write about one topic with the same passion over time.
I read "black girl with long hair" regularly for hair care tips although I would not say that their voice is consistent. It seems like there may be a few different people writing the blog and they all have different points of view. For instance, they do a lot of product reviews on the site but one writer decided to review a list of her favorite drug store products in a way that her audience found inconsiderate. Her review was really one sided and self serving resulting in a very colorful discussion. (By colorful I mean heated at at times unnecessarily disrespectful!)
The original writer began deleting comments and even scolded a few readers for getting too emotional about this particular post. I don't know if she continues to partner with this particular writer but clearly in the case of this particular post, her readers where not getting what they came for.
I wonder if the reason the original writer of "black girl with long hair" found co-writers is because she was finding herself a little bored with her blog. I imagine it's a little difficult to write about hair all the time when there are so many other parts of your life that you want to share. I notice at times there is a little room to talk about your day when working with a specific topic but you have to be very careful not to ramble.
No matter what the topic, I like to writers that can teach me something new with almost every post even if it's just a fun fact or a small piece of trivia.
I read "black girl with long hair" regularly for hair care tips although I would not say that their voice is consistent. It seems like there may be a few different people writing the blog and they all have different points of view. For instance, they do a lot of product reviews on the site but one writer decided to review a list of her favorite drug store products in a way that her audience found inconsiderate. Her review was really one sided and self serving resulting in a very colorful discussion. (By colorful I mean heated at at times unnecessarily disrespectful!)
The original writer began deleting comments and even scolded a few readers for getting too emotional about this particular post. I don't know if she continues to partner with this particular writer but clearly in the case of this particular post, her readers where not getting what they came for.
I wonder if the reason the original writer of "black girl with long hair" found co-writers is because she was finding herself a little bored with her blog. I imagine it's a little difficult to write about hair all the time when there are so many other parts of your life that you want to share. I notice at times there is a little room to talk about your day when working with a specific topic but you have to be very careful not to ramble.
No matter what the topic, I like to writers that can teach me something new with almost every post even if it's just a fun fact or a small piece of trivia.
Wednesday, January 26, 2011
About me
My best memories are of living in Queens, New York as a kid and walking to the edge of the world and back with my sister Melissa. We would talk about everything we could think of with bus after bus passing us by, not even realizing how far we had made it. Now that we are older and live in different states I think of those days and how they have shaped me today.
Growing up in New York City is a special experience. There is so much life and culture that I can remember being on the train and a group of boys getting on the train one day and doing flips and tricks turning my afternoon commute into a day at the circus! Or the day I walked down 165 Street on Jamaica Avenue when some middle aged men were huddled in a group singing “You make me feel brand new” by The Stylistics and they sounded just like the real thing! (Now that I think of it, maybe it was them…)
I have lived in very rural towns since then and now I see that I was a bit naïve to believe that if I could make it there I could make it anywhere. I am currently living in Enfield, CT with my husband and three kids and I still have not gotten used to it. Most of all I just don’t understand how people can live without sidewalks. Then again, I know people around here that drive from store to store at a strip mall. I’ve got the cure to obesity…use your legs!
I have not lived in New York since I was 18 years old which is about 10 years ago but when I cross that Throgs Neck Bridge I feel a calm come over me kind a like when you’re a kid and you have a bad dream and you jump and your mother’s bed and sink into it like “Ahhhhh…”.
These days I am a busy mother of three which keeps me on my toes to say the least. My dream is to make a living while being a cookie baking, homework helping, swing pushing, recital watching mom. The idea of owning my own business has crossed my mind several times as I have a lot of different ideas about different things I would like to do like a children’s clothing line or even a food truck. Whenever I have those thoughts I can hear the cynic in me shout “Oh shut up and get a real job!” which scares me straight!
I believe that there is a thin line between giving up on your dreams and giving into delusions and I struggle to find balance between the two. As a first generation American, it was always instilled in us growing up that education was the key to success which was defined by how much money you could make and the kind of possessions you could acquire. There was a lot of talk about this or that person’s accomplishments or failures since their arrival to the United States. This kind of thought did not leave much room for dreaming because the image of the starving artist was not one of promise or success.
My parents are hardworking people who never finished high school. My father in particular was a truck driver for years making it hard to spend quality time with him. However, he was able to support my chronic shopping habit and gave me an American Express card at 16. He asked me one day if I wanted the things or if I wanted to see him more. When I told him that I wanted to see him more instead, he told me that money makes the world go round and that I did not know what I was talking about. He is one of those people who believe that if he can obtain a certain dollar amount, he will finally be happy. I know better.
So this is my dilemma, should I risk loss of money I don’t really have to pursue something that won’t make me rich and may pay less than a “real job” but will make me happy every day? I have had a few real jobs that have made me absolutely miserable for 40 hours each week and left my bank account just above empty but I want more for myself and more importantly I want to teach my children to work hard at finding their own way in this world.
Tuesday, January 25, 2011
BACON AND EGGS
Two years ago I found myself at a conference for health policy executives in Texas where I attended a seminar meant to encourage young health policy professionals of tomorrow. Needless to say I did not belong there because I was NOT going to be a health policy executive. However, I did take away some thought provoking information and experiences from my time at the conference.
The main thing I could not stop thinking about was an idea that one speaker presented. He said the key to success is all about hard work and sacrifice, not a revolutionary idea, I know, but what got my attention is when he blurted out "It's like bacon and eggs."
"Huh?" There were confused looks all around and a few laughs. He clarified by explaining that in bacon and eggs the chicken sacrificed it's egg, "but that pig" he said with his southern drawl, "that pig sacrificed on another level."He looked around at the silent students and repeated "Bacon and eggs." as if he aimed to coin the phrase.
Are you the Chicken or the PIG?
I wondered how he or more importantly, my future employers would want me to answer that question. I answered it in my mind....the chicken. I always wanna be the chicken. Is that wrong? Should I want to be the pig? No. Never.
I probably sound like an underachiever but let me explain.
If you're into bacon and eggs and you view the bacon and eggs as two separate products/outcomes then you'd have to agree that neither animal produced more actual product. The pig, assuming the pig agreed to this whole process, gave it all it had which sounds great but what does this pig know about balance?
The chicken, however, has contributed it's egg and will go on to create again as it will still be around fo
r the next breakfast. More importantly, the chicken lives. I want to live.
Get Real!
Is is possible to live and be a success?
Can I be a good employee if I insist on clocking out when it's my time? Is it possible to be present with my family without being dead weight at work?
As a mother of three I find myself wondering what will be expected of me once I secure that well paying job that I have been waiting on. I watched an episode of Oprah recently where she applauded an employee of hers for never missing work despite some deaths in her family and other serious personal issues but I thought that was awful.
True balance for me is knowing when to call out and when to clock out. I guess I could never work for Oprah.
The main thing I could not stop thinking about was an idea that one speaker presented. He said the key to success is all about hard work and sacrifice, not a revolutionary idea, I know, but what got my attention is when he blurted out "It's like bacon and eggs."
"Huh?" There were confused looks all around and a few laughs. He clarified by explaining that in bacon and eggs the chicken sacrificed it's egg, "but that pig" he said with his southern drawl, "that pig sacrificed on another level."He looked around at the silent students and repeated "Bacon and eggs." as if he aimed to coin the phrase.
Are you the Chicken or the PIG?
I wondered how he or more importantly, my future employers would want me to answer that question. I answered it in my mind....the chicken. I always wanna be the chicken. Is that wrong? Should I want to be the pig? No. Never.
I probably sound like an underachiever but let me explain.
If you're into bacon and eggs and you view the bacon and eggs as two separate products/outcomes then you'd have to agree that neither animal produced more actual product. The pig, assuming the pig agreed to this whole process, gave it all it had which sounds great but what does this pig know about balance?
The chicken, however, has contributed it's egg and will go on to create again as it will still be around fo
r the next breakfast. More importantly, the chicken lives. I want to live.Get Real!
Is is possible to live and be a success?
Can I be a good employee if I insist on clocking out when it's my time? Is it possible to be present with my family without being dead weight at work?
As a mother of three I find myself wondering what will be expected of me once I secure that well paying job that I have been waiting on. I watched an episode of Oprah recently where she applauded an employee of hers for never missing work despite some deaths in her family and other serious personal issues but I thought that was awful.
True balance for me is knowing when to call out and when to clock out. I guess I could never work for Oprah.
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