From RED.MSN.com:

On December 1st, World AIDS Day, MSN is celebrating the launch of (RED)WIRE, (RED)’s new digital music magazine designed to help eliminate AIDS in Africa. Some of the greatest artists on earth have contributed amazing songs to (RED)WIRE. Enjoy these world premieres throughout the day and sign up for (RED)WIRE for so much more.

You can sign up by visiting MSN Music…there is music by U2, Jay-Z, Coldplay, and others…including the beautiful rendition of “Redemption Song” sung by John Legend…click the link to take a listen.

Be informed. Be smart. Be careful.

Did you know that the leading cause of death among black women between the ages of 25 - 44 is AIDS? Did you also know that over half of the over 1 million Americans living with HIV or AIDS are black?

All of this information can be found in a report released in August 2008 by the Black AIDS Institute entitled, “Left Behind—Black America: A Neglected Priority In The Global AIDS Epidemic.” The statistics are staggering and frightening; what can we do to change the course of this disease?

The first and most important thing is education. It is imperative that we equip ourselves with the information necessary to combat this disease. Below are some common misconceptions about HIV and AIDS:

HIV is the same as AIDS

HIV is the acronym for Human Immunodeficiency Virus and AIDS is the acronym for Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome. AIDS is the collection of of symptoms, diseases, and infections associated with an acquired deficiency of the immune system. HIV is the underlying cause of AIDS; however, not all HIV-positive persons have AIDS and HIV can remain in a latent state for many years.

AIDS can be spread by casual contact with an HIV-positive person

A person cannot become infected with HIV through day-to-day contact in social settings, schools, or in the workplace. A person also cannot be infected by shaking someone’s hand, by hugging or “dry” kissing someone, by using the same toilet or drinking from the same glass as an HIV-infected person, or by being exposed to coughing or sneezing by an infected person. Saliva carries a negligible viral load, so even open-mouthed kissing is considered a low risk. However, if the infected partner or both of the performers have blood in their mouth due to cuts, open sores, or gum disease, the risk is higher. The CDC has only recorded one case of possible HIV transmission through kissing (involving an HIV-infected man with significant gum disease and a sexual partner also with significant gum disease), and the Terence Higgins Trust says that this is essentially a no-risk situation.

HIV cannot be transmitted through oral sex

While it is agreed that oral sex has a much lower HIV-infection risk than vaginal and anal sex, HIV can be transmitted through both insertive and receptive oral sex, when there is contact between semen or vaginal fluid and the mucous membranes of the mouth. The risk of infection from a single encounter is small, but it increases with frequency of activity.

Transmission risk may be elevated in the case of open sores on the genitals and/or mouth, or significant gum disease or bleeding, i.e., when there is direct contact between semen and breaks in the skin or surface of the mouth.

source: Wikipedia: HIV and AIDS Misconceptions

The second thing we can do is protect ourselves. If you are sexually active, use a condom. If your sexual partner protests, then maybe he/she isn’t the one that you should be having sex with. Sex is no longer just “casual”; this is your life we are talking about here.

Get tested and ask your partner to do the same. Be safe and think.

What’s up, y’all? I couldn’t sleep a wink last night…and when I did fall asleep, my phone rang this morning. It was my ex-husband who was in line at the polls, telling me to get up so I could go vote. Pshaw! I was going, but I wasn’t getting up that early to go! I drifted back off to sleep because I was having the most awesome dream…something about a huge party and lots of smiles and music and confetti flying around in the air…

I woke up at 6:30, got my son off to school, and came into my office and turned on the PC. I checked a couple of blog sites, and then got my ass up to take a shower and get dressed. I was out of the house by 7:20, and at my voting location by 7:25 (it’s right around the corner)…and there was a very short line! I had maybe 8 - 10 people ahead of me and my wait was only about 30 minutes. I had absolutely no problems with signing in and getting my ballot, and stepping up to the booth turned into an emotional tide for me. My eyes welled up with tears that I couldn’t see in front of me. I gathered myself and as I marked the ballot for Barack Obama/Joe Biden, I started to well up again and had to take a moment to think about what this meant. Here I am, a 36-year-old woman, who never in her life has held much interest in politics, feeling as though I had connected with something for the first time that I could believe in. I could literally feel my ancestors looking over my shoulder as I made my selection, and I smiled.

With my voting over, I collected my sticker (gotta have the sticker!) and walked out of the little church. It is a beautiful day here in Missouri…the skies are clear, the air is crisp but not cold, and I will forever remember this day as a good one. I went and collected my Starbucks coffee, and then had breakfast with my friend who had voted this morning also. I talked to my girlfriends who had just come back from their pollign locations and were just as excited as I was…the mood is electric!

I am at home now, trying to relax until the results come in tonight. So I’ll leave you with this. I BELIEVE…do you?

video credit: originally uploaded to YouTube on May 27, 2006 by Remington

Hello everyone…my stomach is just in knots about tomorrow…TOMORROW!!! It is finally here.

First, let me send my condolences out to That One and his family about his grandmother’s passing. I prayed that she would stay to see her grandson win the election, but I like to think that she found some peace in knowing that she raised a great man, no matter what happens.

I could barely contain myself today…I was a bundle of nerves; I couldn’t sit still, kept checking MSNBC.com for updates (and that’s today…guess what tomorrow is going to be like?), and was just on edge. We got into this huge discussion about how to handle the employees and their schedules and going to vote, etc…no worries for me there; I have the day off. I find a little relaxation this evening in Keith Olbermann’s Campaign Comment in which he asks the question: what if it had been That One who pushed all the bullshit that The Old Dude had? It was excellent, and when I find it on video, I will post it here.

Update: Here you go…

I was on Huffington Post (I’m totally addicted) and I ran across a pictorial that I could relate to. It is a picture of Tears for Obama…I have cried more during this campaign, been touched by the sheer historic nature of it all, and most of all, inspired by the coming together of all kinds of people for this one moment…and I wouldn’t take any of it back. Here’s the link:

Tears For Obama

 Lastly, a little release…

video credit: originally uploaded to YouTube on October 7, 2008 by kushcomedy

Go and vote tomorrow…if you have not already! I’ll see y’all tomorrow!

video credit: originally uploaded to YouTube on October 7, 2008 by indiefamous

This post will be brief. I have just finished watching the Vice Presidential debate and I have only one thing to say: if someone put me in a room and told me, “Say this, no matter what the question,” and “Make sure you remember to connect with the moms,” and “Fuck the facts…stick with the script!”…I’d be declared a winner too.

I am running through a gamut of emotions right now; the least of which is disgust. Sure, she looked good, she didn’t stumble and stutter like she did with Katie Couric…but seriously, do you want someone who is a robot, who cannot think on their own? Do you want someone who is going to follow, not lead?

I don’t…

Do you know who Troy Davis is? Read this story on USA Today…

My question is this: if the witnesses who said they saw this man commit this crime, recanted their stories…and others claim someone else pulled the trigger, why isn’t this enough for a new trial? Moreover, there has to be something that has garnered as much attention as this case has garnered (by former President Carter, Desmond Tutu, and others) that point to reasoning that this man deserves, at the very least, a new trial.

…with liberty and justice for all…

Man…this weekend has been difficult on the entertainment world. Seriously, the past couple of months have been just hard. George Carlin, Tim Russert, Bernie Mac…and now Isaac Hayes have all passed. I realize that death is a part of life, and that we must say goodbye and continue to move forward; but the emptiness is hard to ignore.

Isaac Hayes just epitomized cool to me. He always reminded me of someone who could sit you down and have a nice long conversation about life…no bullshitting, no fillers…just straight, no chaser. My mother used to play those Isaac Hayes records, one in particular: “I Stand Accused.” Man, I heard that record so much growing up, not really knowing what it meant until I got older, but even in my youth, I knew that that man was laying down some serious, serious realness.

I feel blessed to have been exposed to his immense talent…blessed to have heard his rap, his speaking, his songs. All of these happenings this weekend have just reminded me how precious life is, and how important it is to live every day.

I leave you with my favorite Isaac Hayes song…

Isaac Hayes - Walk On By
video credit: originally uploaded to YouTube on December 2, 2007 by CWroyal88

Good Saturday, everyone…

10 - R.I.P.

I awoke to the news this morning that Bernie Mac has died from complications from pneumonia. He was in the hospital in critical condition, but I remember reading last week that he was improving…at least according to his publicist. He died this morning at a Chicago hospital.

I have always enjoyed Bernie…he was just funny. My favorite routine of his has to be from the Kings of Comedy…talking about his sister’s kids…

video credit: originally uploaded to YouTube on April 20, 2007 by mcpacrule

9 - Obama Threatened

So I’m on my way to my concert Thursday, and my mom calls me to tell me that some crazy ass man has threatened to kill Obama and they found an arsenal in his hotel room. We knew it was coming, right? Dude says that he didn’t threaten Obama, but believes that he is the “anti-Christ” prophesied in the Bible. I was disheartened and frightened…and thought to myself that there has to be a higher power watching over him. More than that, though…as we get closer to the conventions and the election, the kooks are going to come crawling out of the darkness; I think it is safe to say that this is the first of many. Sad…

8 - The Scarlet Letter

Well, well, well—looks like the Golden Boy has some tarnish. I have always had such regard for John Edwards, but this puts a crack in his seemingly perfect finish. I know we all make mistakes, but to cheat on your wife while she is going through the challenge of her life…that is not cool to say the least. Will he come back from his fall from grace? Some say no…we’ll just see about that.

7 - Tyra In The White House…Not So Much

So Tyra did a spread in Harper’s, portraying herself as Michelle Obama…then an article came out that said that she has aspirations of being a First Lady one day. I like Tyra and all, but her as a First Lady is not something I want to see.

6 - The Pimp Mayor

So the Detroit Pimp Mayor found himself in jail for making an unauthorized trip to Canada while on restrictions resulting from his perjury charges. He has been released, but now faces felony charges for assaulting a sheriff’s deputy.

I believe in standing up and fighting…when you are right. This man is so wrong that it is impossile to even say how wrong he is. he needs to save what little pride and dignity he has left and take himself away from the public eye and work on building himself up. His ego is out of control…and he seems to be tearing down everyone else around him. I don’t live in Detroit, so I don’t know how the folks up there feel about him…but I do know that it just does not look good from the outside.

5 - Old School Friday—Rock Songs

We’ve done many a OSF, but I have to say that Rock Songs was my favorite so far. As I did my OSF tour, I was pleasantly surprised by the diversity and love for Rock music. There were so many choices and so many favorites that I had to choose from, that the choice was hard. One of my very favorites was covered over at Mrs. Grapevine’s: Bon Jovi’s Wanted Dead or Alive. I think this song started me on my journey down Rock music lane. You know, during the 80’s, it was easy to expand your brain and get into other genres, and I was so into Duran Duran, Wham, Bon Jovi, and others.

So I give you another piece of Bon Jovi…

video credit: originally uploaded to YouTube on March 25, 2006 by twiztedd

4 - I Could Look At This All Day

Tyrese is giving up music for acting…I think that’s a shame because I love a crooner and he is definitely that.

3 - Blog Spotlight Of The Week

I have found a new friend in Fresh, writer of the blog The Concrete Journal. His site is, well…fresh. The writing is excellent and he offers a new perspective on things that I have never seen before…me likey. Stop by and give him a shout.

2 - OBW

For those of you who missed the news (Ms. Regina, I’m talking to you!), OBW is back up and running. The posting has been slow, but give me some time…it’ll be hot over there soon!

1 - Happy Birthday!

My son turns 13 today. I went and bought him a cell phone for his birthday. I found myself calling his friend’s cell phones when he was away from home in an attempt to reach him. I finally climbed out of denial and realized that the boy needed his own phone. So I caved…

But the real gift comes today. I am giving him a copy of The Autobiography of Malcolm X. I believe that it is a resource for young Black men…one that plants the idea that you can come from anything and become something.

I wish you all a peaceful Saturday…

Tomorrow is the day…Ms. Jill Scott and me (and those other people who paid for their tickets too) will enjoy an evening under the stars with her serenading us…I am beyond excited!

video credit: originally uploaded to YouTube on August 10, 2007 by hiddenbeachmedia

The Obamas

What a gorgeous family…every time I see them together, I smile. They make me proud…

CSI Meets Ike

Laurence Fishburne is in talks to replace William Peterson (the head dude) on CSI…I may have to tune in and start watching…

Mr. Freeman!?

Morgan Freeman and his wife are getting a divorce after 24 years…guess that explains that “friend” that was in the car with him when he had his car wreck…

OK, I’m tired, sleepy, and ready for bed…I won’t be here tomorrow because I’ll get home late (or I might be; depends on how crunk I am after the concert!)

See y’all later…oh, I think the OSF theme is Rock Songs…those participating will get an e-mail from Mrs. G…