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.

In the darkest of days, I refer to this passage to remind me of what I am here for. Even when you feel that life is dealing you a bad hand, and maybe you feel as if the world is against you, always remember that there is someone who loves you and is praying for you.

In these times especially, when it seems that all the world cares about is money and material things, this passage reminds me of what is most important in life. It is my prayer that it helps you to remember too.

1 Corinthians 13

1 If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal.

2 If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but have not love, I am nothing.

3 If I give all I possess to the poor and surrender my body to the flames, but have not love, I gain nothing.

4 Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud.

5 It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs.

6 Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth.

7 It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.

8 Love never fails. But where there are prophecies, they will cease; where there are tongues, they will be stilled; where there is knowledge, it will pass away.

9 For we know in part and we prophesy in part,

10 but when perfection comes, the imperfect disappears.

11When I was a child, I talked like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I put childish ways behind me.

12 Now we see but a poor reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known.

13 And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love.

Let’s do this, shall we?

10 - Black Friday

In a time long since past, I was one of those folks who set the alarm and woke up to be at the Walmart or the Best Buy before the crack of dawn. My aunties and I would coordinate a schedule of stores that we would hit on Black Friday, and usually spent the entire day in the car, running from one store to the next. I admit, we got some great deals and have equipped our homes and gotten some wonderful toys for the children in our family by these early morning runs. The sheer tiredness that we would be overwhelmed with eventually won out, and we stopped these runs, deciding that our sanity was more important than saving 100 bucks on a television or DVD player.

So when I hear of stories like a Walmart worker getting stomped to death in Long Island, NY, and two people shot at a Toys ‘R Us in Palm Desert, CA, I am saddened. Saddened because it doesn’t have to be this. Saddened because commercialism and the allure of saving a buck on a plasma TV has overcome what the meaning of this holiday season truly means. And at that NY Walmart, the folks rushed in and trampled that man and kept shopping as he lay on the floor, dying. Is it really that serious? Where has our compassion gone? Where has the humanity disappeared to?

9 - Hell To The Naw!

There is a rumor going around that Whitney and Bobby have reunited. The rumor has even gone so far to say that the couple has been seen around Georgia “looking romantic.” What the hell does that mean? Did they have dinner together? Were they walking to the car and they hugged? Or maybe he leaned over and gave her a kiss on the cheek as they departed company? I swear I hate the media… 

Whitney immediately put out a statement denying the rumors by way of her publicist, calling the speculation “a complete fabrication.” Well, at least that…

8 - Role Models

In an article on MSNBC.com, Barack and Michelle Obama are being painted as the new role models for relationships. I must admit that I look at them and smile, but I don’t want to put them in a bubble. I don’t want to call them perfect, because I think that would be an insult to them. They are a married couple who I’m sure have to work hard at sustaining their marriage just like everyone else. I’m sure they have had ups and downs and arguments just like everyone else. Of course, there is much to be said about their commitment to each other, and the affection and love that you can plainly see when the two are together (and for that matter, apart), and I admire that. It’s not a bad thing they are being labeled as relationship role models; but I think people have to have realistic views. Both Michelle and Barack were and are their own people who bring 100% to this relationship. You can look at them and want to have a love like that, but you have to take a look at yourself and work on you before you can get there.

7 - Plaxico, Plaxico, Plaxico

Plaxico Burress, of the New York Football Giants, accidentally shot himself in the leg while at a nightclub last night. Apparently he was trying to take the bullets out of the gun and shot himself in the thigh. This dude…

6 - When You Think Of Me

video credit: originally uploaded to YouTube on January 15, 2007 by spanishjoint

5 - Superior Scribbler Award

PJazzy gifted me with the Superior Scribbler Award…my thanks to you! I am supposed to pass it on…here are the rules:

1. Each Superior Scribbler must in turn pass The Award on to 5 most-deserving Bloggy Friends.
2. Each Superior Scribbler must link to the author & the name of the blog from whom he/she has received The Award.
3. Each Superior Scribbler must display The Award on his/her blog, and link to This Post, which explains The Award. and add his/her name to the Mr. Linky List. That way, we’ll be able to keep up-to-date on everyone who receives This Prestigious Honor am passing the Superior Scribbler Award to the following diverse five who have inspired me through their unique insights, providing me with a more diverse perspective. Y’all keep up the good work!
4. Each Blogger who wins The Superior Scribbler Award must visit This Post
5. Each Superior Scribbler must post these rules on his/her blog.

So I’m passing this one along to (and they may be repeats; I seem to travel in the same circles as everyone else):

Symphony @ Essential Presence - Because she has a pulse on all the good things that are happening in the world, even in this time of bad things happening.

Jack @ Jack’s Gay Chronicles - Because he is an amazing daddy.

Cynthia @ Love.Self.Entirely - Because she bares her soul and invites others into her world.

Viv @ Songs In The Key Of Life - Because she has excellent taste in music.

Manchild @ When Least Expected - Because he is my inspiration and a true blessing to me.

4 - Uber Amazing Blog Award

Wow, I’m raking ‘em in…hee hee! The Uber Amazing Blog Award I received from Mike…thank you! Here are the rules for this one:

The award is given to sites that:

• inspire you
• make you smile and laugh
• give amazing information
• are a great read
• have an amazing design
• and/or any other reason that makes them Uber Amazing!

So I’m giving this one to:

Invisible Woman @ Black Cinema At Large - Because she is my girl, and I always learn something new over at her spot.

Tha Connoisseur @ SoulAfrodisiac - Because she shares what is on her mind, and ends each post with a song that touches my spirit.

Sharon @ The True Urban Queen - Because she is perhaps the realest blogger I’ve ever read. 

3 - Jilly From Philly

Another rumor…this time, that Jill Scott is pregnant with her first child. Remember that she is engaged/married to the drummer in her band, Lil’ Jon Roberts? After reading several of the comments left on different articles reporting this, you would think that folks have a personal stake in what goes on in Ms. Jill’s life. Who are we to decide when is too soon for her to move on with her life and fall in love again? That is entirely up to her! I love Jill (”she is me, I am her”) but this is one area that I am not going to touch. I can only be happy for her and continue to support her artistry and music.

2 - CNN Heroes

I was up at midnight last night, watching the CNN special, CNN Heroes. There were some remarkable stories highlighted, about regular people who are doing extraordinary things. It just goes to show you that we all have a purpose in life and I think if we are called to serve, then we must act upon it. One of the people highlighted was Anne Mahlum. She started a program, “Back On My Feet” in Philadelphia where she takes homeless people running. But it is so much more than that. She used to spend her time running past the homeless folks but one morning stopped and decided to help them. The Back On My Feet program has a job training program and really is a support group for folks to motivate themselves to do better.

It is stories like this one that makes me realize that humanity, however small it may be, still lives inside of some people. How easy it is for us to walk past and ignore the less fortunate, but this young lady, by doing something that she was already doing, has changed people’s lives. That is highly commendable.

1 - While You Were Here

I’m on an Eric Benet kick…

video credit: originally uploaded to YouTube on May 27, 2008 by joebloggs242

Have an excellent night all!

There is so much music to choose from, that it is hard to narrow it down to just two favorites…

video credit: originally uploaded to YouTube on February 20, 2007 by broutzitterd

video credit: originally uploaded to YouTube on January 14, 2008 by ihatehate0116

I was dubious, at best. In the least, I would give it a listen, but just knew that I would hate that “T-Pain” sound. That shit is like fingernails on a chalkboard to me. I hate the very existence of the Auto coder or Auto-Tune, or whatever the hell it is. Oh sure, it was fine when Roger did it with Zapp…because it was his shtick. But T-Pain? I can’t stand that dude because he has taken something that I loved and turned it into pure-d buffoonery. And I blame him (and Soulja Boy, and other bootsy ass rappers that don’t have a clue where we come from and are just in it to make a buck) for ruining what once was a genre of music that represented a generation of people who gave a damn about their lives and futures and the people around them…

What have we become now? Money, hoes, and clothes is what and I hate that.

But I digress. I listen to Kanye West’s 808’s and Heartbreak and I realize that all is not lost. There is another level that Hip-Hop can ascend to. You might hate his attitude, his arrogance, his steed…but when dude says that he is the voice of a generation, don’t be so quick to toss him aside. I’m not ready to label him a genius; instead, I’m ready to label him as an artist that is not afraid of taking risks. Can you imagine anyone else but Kanye doing something like this? I cannot. He, the one of unlimited imagination and creativity, has scored with me here.

Let’s talk about the music for a moment. There is pain and hurt here. There is…well, heartbreak. You can hear it in the beats, you can hear it in ’Ye’s singing, you can feel it in the lyrics. I am struck by the intensity of the emotions that I feel coming from this CD. Maybe because I’m an emotional chick…but I think it goes deeper than that. You simply cannot ignore the fact that even though ‘Ye, at times, seems to be the biggest asshole, he is still human and feels shit just like everybody else. I’ve now listened to this CD three times this evening and it just keeps getting better and better.

There will be some that will absolutely hate this CD. It’s not traditional; it does require that you be still a bit and listen. There are no real “bangers” here. It may not sell a million copies in a week; so? Easy for me to say “So?” because I’m not the artist. What I like most about Kanye is his passion for his music; if don’t nobody else love it, he does. And yes, he may throw a tantrum when he is not recognized for his contribution to the music world with this CD…but hell, I get mad when I’m not recognized at my job too.

I will end it by saying that I’m a Kanye West fan. I see his arrogance as confidence; I see his attitude as belief in himself. Yes, he gets on my nerves at times…but shit, I don’t have to deal with him all the time and I can turn the damn TV off or choose not to be bothered if I want. But as far as the music goes? I’m right there with you, ‘Ye…I’m right there.

Be thankful that you don’t already have everything you desire.
If you did, what would there be to look forward to?
Be thankful when you don’t know something,
for it gives you the opportunity to learn.

Be thankful for the difficult times.
During those times you grow.
Be thankful for your limitations,
because they give you opportunities for improvement.
Be thankful for each new challenge,
because it will build your strength and character.

Be thankful for your mistakes. They will teach you valuable lessons.
Be thankful when you’re tired and weary,
because it means you’ve made a difference.

It’s easy to be thankful for the good things.
A life of rich fulfillment comes to those who
are also thankful for the setbacks.
Gratitude can turn a negative into a positive.
Find a way to be thankful for your troubles,
and they can become your blessings.

~ Author Unknown

Peace and blessings to you and yours on this Thanksgiving…

video credit: originally uploaded to YouTube on November 7, 2008 by failblog

Umm…I think I would not be eating here…

see more pwn and owned pictures

I love how this dude just keeps talking, even though he knows the chair is going…going…gone!

video credit: originally uploaded to YouTube on October 23, 2008 by failblog

So let’s do this…

10 - What You Know About This?

video credit: originally uploaded to YouTube on July 10, 2007 by wakemeupb4ug0g0

9 - Myron Rolle

Mr. Rolle arrived at Florida State University as the #1 high school football recruit in the country. He has had an All-American season with the Seminoles, both on and off the field. He graduated from FSU with a degree in pre-med and a GPA of 3.75. You see, this is no average student athlete. This young man will know tomorrow if he is one of the 32 winners of a Rhodes Scholarship, one of the most prestigious (and hardest to get) accolades in the academic world. Because of his attention to his studies, he has been criticized for being “too studious”…but that has not stopped him. The article is worth a read…here.

What I love about this story is the fact that you can have everything…if you work for it. Oh, Mr. Rolle may be an exceptional case, but why can’t we all be exceptional cases?

Update: Myron Rolle earns Rhodes Scholarship…read the story here.

h/t to Symphony at Essential Presence for the story…thanks, Lady!

8 - The Internet Is The Debbil

A teenager committed suicide in front of a live web cam and by the time folks figured it out and called the police, he was dead. The camera was on fro 12 hours! People watched for 12 hours and it took that long for folks to figure out that he was seriously going through with this? The article on MSNBC.comsaid that the stream showed Abraham Biggs taking some pills and then appearing to go to sleep and breathing for a few hours. What trips me out is that out of the people who watched this, some of them encouraged him to kill himself, some tried to talk him out of it, and others discussed whether or not the amount of pills he took were enough to kill him. WTF?!

7 - Proposition 8

I haven’t said much about this issue, because it is one that is so controversial that I chose to keep silent. But this is my space, right? And I can say whatever the hell I want to say. So here it is: I have a gay friend, let’s call him Craig, who I adore. He has told me stories about his 2 ex-husbands and every time that he does that, I still get thrown for a loop. And it has nothing to do with the fact that he has loved someone of the same sex…it is that he uses the term “husband.” Do I think that gay people should have the same rights to take care of their significant others just as a traditional couple does? Absolutely. But I honestly think that folks get turned off by the “husband/wife” terms. I’m not saying it is right, I’m just saying it is what it is. I find absolutely no fault with anyone who loves who they love, and feel that everyone has the right to do what they feel is natural to them. What they do is between them and their God…I stand in judgement of no one. But if I, as open-minded as I am, am uncomfortable with my beautiful gay friend speaking of his husband, imagine how the rest of the nation, operating on fear and ignorance and close-mindedness, thinks. That’s all I’m saying. What I say to my gay friends is: call your partner husband/wife if that is what you want…I don’t care…my hangups are something that I will get over. But maybe in the eye of the law, ”marriage” isn’t the wisest choice of words.

6 - Enough Of That…Grab Your Lighters!

video credit: originally uploaded to YouTube on February 3, 2007 by AndersonCouncel12

5 - I Could Look At This All Day…Amazing!

4 - A Bad (But Funny) Joke

Maybe you have to be drunk to enjoy this one…I had a margarita before Ms. Jeannine told it to me and we giggled all the way home!

What’s the difference between an epileptic oyster shucker and a prostitute with diarrhea?
The epileptic oyster shucker shucks between fits…

3 - Feature Movie Of The Week

I’m sitting here watching Rosewood. For me this is one of those movies that is hard to watch, but I can’t seem to tear my eyes away from it. It represents everything that we’ve come from, yet where we have to go. It’s one of those films for me that shows how lies rage out of control and damage people that you never knew they would reach. It also shows how indifference and ignorance can ruin society. Rosewood is a true depiction of the story of the town of Rosewood, FL and how it was burned to the ground based on a lie. If you haven’t seen it, I highly recommend it. Learn a lesson from it…

video credit: originally uploaded to YouTube on September 28, 2006 by undys

2 - Love Is What You Make It

It was Friday morning and a young businessman finally decided to ask his boss for a raise. Before leaving for work, he told his wife what he was about to do. All day long he felt nervous and apprehensive. Finally, in the late afternoon, he summoned the courage to approach his employer, and to his delight, the boss agreed to the raise.

The elated husband arrived home to a beautiful table set with their best china and lighted candles. Smelling the aroma of a festive meal, he figured that someone from the office had called his wife and tipped her off. Finding her in the kitchen, he eagerly shared the details of his good news. They embraced and danced around the room before sitting down to the wonderful meal his wife had prepared. Next to his plate he found an artistically lettered note that read, “Congratulations, darling! I knew you’d get the raise! This dinner is to show you how much I love you.”

Later on his way to the kitchen to help his wife serve dessert, he noticed that a second card had fallen from her pocket. Picking it up off the floor, he read, “Don’t worry about not getting the raise! You deserve it anyway! This dinner is to show how much I love you.”
Dr. Joe Harding
From Chicken Soup for the Soul

1 - Funniest Comic EVER!

I found this article during my Stumbling that rated the top 7 funniest Black comics of all time. They are:

1. Richard Pryor
2. Redd Foxx
3. Dave Chappelle
4. Eddie Murphy
5. Chris Rock
6. Robin Harris
7. Bill Cosby

Let me throw in my 2 cents…first of all, we all know that Richard Pryor is the Ultimate King of Comedy…there will never be no other. If anyone else had been # 1 on this list, I wouldn’t have even paid any attention to it. But Eddie Murphy in his prime…definitely #3. And Chris Rock before Bill Cosby? Nah…And what about Martin Lawrence, Bernie Mac, Paul Mooney?

That’s all for me…everyone have a wonderful Saturday!

When I need something familiar:

video credit: originally uploaded to YouTube on November 5, 2007 by dabo4217

And when I need something sexy:

video credit: originally uploaded to YouTube on September 1, 2007 by ArchieGe

That’s real good!