"The Christmas Song"

Good morning peeps!! As i sit here in my leopard print Snuggie, I want to wish all of my friends; both near and far, A VERY MERRY CHRISTMAS, A BOUNTIFUL KWANZAA AND A SAFE, HEALTHY NEW YEAR!

Beverly

EAST COAST * WEST COAST DIVAS: "To Be Real" - Cheryl Lynn

EAST COAST * WEST COAST DIVAS: "To Be Real" - Cheryl Lynn

"To Be Real" - Cheryl Lynn

Good Morning Peeps!! Folks, so called "Reality Television" has run amok! Yeah, I know...the cynical among you are probably saying: "who gives a flying fig...I don't watch Reality TV!" Well I confess to watching some of this escapist drivel, so I can smugly think, "these people need help and I don't...nah-na-nah-nah-na!" But seriously, some of you might think thank that MTV ushered in the genre with the premiere of "The Real World" over eleven or more years ago, right? Not so...One advantage to being an O.G. like myself, is that I have a wealth of trivial memories stored in my cranial area! I contend that the reality genre started many years ago, with a TV show called, "This Is Your Life" hosted by Ralph Edwards. The premise of the show was that the producers would have some well known person on stage receiving accolades about their careers or accomplishments, as the host showed highlights of said person's life. The subject would then be further embarrassed by someone from their past revealing something personal, like their first grade teacher or some girlfriend or boyfriend from their ordinary days. As a young viewer, I was always amazed that so-called celebrities had real lives like me!

However, I've digressed from my premise...reality gone amok! I think it started in the early 1970's, when a filmmaker thought it would be a good idea to produce a documentary about an upper middle class family from Santa Barbara California; purpose being...? Perhaps, to show the world that "Leave It To Beaver, Father Knows Best, Ozzie and Harriet" type families are the American Ideal? Well, a family called the Louds were chosen for this project and agreed to having cameras chronical their lives, to be broadcast on television. The family consisted of the parents and five children; one of whom was a gay male. The show aired over a period of weeks, and cameras were allowed to film their every move. Unbeknownst to the producers, was that the marriage wasn't quite ideal afterall! Turns out the father was having an affair and the wife was filing for a divorce! During the filming of the show, the wife actually threw the husband out! The other drama that was unfolding was the "coming out of the closet" of the son! Although the family knew, the world at that time, was not as accepting of that "lifestyle" then, as it supposedly is now. This family literally "imploded" right before the public's eyes via national television.

By the end of the series, the so called "All American Family" was making headlines on all the news magazines and newspapers, for personifying everything that is wrong with American families! How ironic considering the original premise! Fast forward to today...Reality shows running amok! Fighting, fornicating (yeah, I said it), women jockying for position for some rock star, r and b star, rap star, bachelor, millionaire, etc. etc., and being willing to show their asses for all the world to see! Black women; White women, Asian women...acting a fool! The Omarosa's; The New Yorks, The Snooks...all looking for their fifteen minutes! The Bad Girls, who drink and fight, fight and drink...all for what? Why to parlay it into some momentary affair with fame of course! Men punching women out a la "guido" style, on The Jersey Shore no less! Women spitting on each other to get at...Flava Flave??? It goes on and on and on. I fear that the next reality craze might involve someone taking someone else's life before live cameras. Oh, that already happened? What was it called again...?

HAPPY HOLIDAYS TO YOU!

Well how are you? I hope this post finds you in great spirits. I've been absent but my SFAMF Beverly has held this spot down like a true East Coast Diva. And certainly brought back memories for many of us with her musical knowledge. I consistently find myself running to the music collection to find some diddy she posted about that I'd completely forgotten! :-)

I have way too much going on but love every minute of it. At the beginning of this year I labeled my year 'The Reinvention of Steph' and set about doing just that. LOL that's my comment...LOL.

Aside from my Art I've tried to touch hearts with my weekly Articles seen in Divaprenuer Magazine and my weekly Newsletter Diviacity. I've met many wonderful people through Beverly and her support and inspiration has been a major blessing! And the story of how we met in itself is amazing!

I wish you all the best in the upcoming year. And I certainly believe that 2009 has opened up a lot of opportunity for opportunity, growth and improvement, even if it seems slow coming. We never thought there would be an Obama in office...yet there he stands...a symbol of hope and a reminder that with faith, perseverance, determination and a little something something upstairs...we can do it.

Visit me anytime at www.diviacity.blogspot.com or www.diviacity.com

May your everyday be better than the one before it.
Happy Holidays

Steph Jordan
Diviacity!

"Computer Love" - Zapp and Roger

Good morning peeps! Question: Have you ever met and fallen in love with someone over the internet? There are a plethora of "social networking" sites around these days that didn't exist as recent as five or less years ago, and people seem to be forgoing the traditional ways of meeting potential friends, lovers and in some cases spouses; opting instead for the internet. I can count myself in this category, because after years of resisting, I acquiesced a little over a year ago and joined one. I now visit two regularly; one semi-regularly and one that I recently joined just the other day. my original intent was not to meet a soul mate or date; I just wanted to correspond with people who shared some of my interests, which include a love of doo-wop music, sci-fi movies, cruising and trivia. The first site that I joined was dedicated to movies and related trivia about movies. Next, a male friend sent a "friend" request from another site, which I initially ignored. Several months later I received another invite from this friend and I decided to see what it was all about. After joining and posting a profile picture, I started receiving "friend requests" on a regular basis. I would accept the ones that shared my interests and so on. I have to say that I have made quite a few "friends" that I most likely would have never known had I not joined. I am enjoying these "friendships" and don't regret joining.

The third site was joined after I kept receiving emails from the site itself. This was a specialty site, geared towards the "mature" individual. In my profile I state that I am looking for pen pals and friends; not serious relationships. I have received over 130 views, 18 bookmarks, 128 flirts and numerous messages! What troubles me about this site, is that the requests I've received so far, are mostly for serious relationships. Some stories I've heard involve details that sound suspiciously similar: recently widowed; raising my child alone...etc etc etc. Haven't you read my profile? NOT LOOKING FOR A SERIOUS RELATIONSHIP! (Not on this site anyway).

The site that has become my "favorite" site, is the one you are probably on also. This site has allowed me to reconnect with people I grew up with, relatives, celebrities, former schoolmates, co-workers, etc. I visit this site to play trivia games, send and receive messages, look at photos from friends and families and more! I joined this one after invites from co-workers and family members! This is truly a networking rather than dating site. I'm having a good time here, in spite of occasional glitches. Also, many of my friends from another site are also on this one.

The good news about all this is that I have met people whose friendships I now welcome, including the lady I started this blog with. I have met some really nice guys too. Have I met that special, special someone? That is for me to know and for you to find out! He could be reading this, you know! Please share your "Computer Love" or "like" or "friendship" stories, if you will.

"Say My Name, Say My Name" - Destiny's Child

Good and snowy morning peeps!! Here in the east we are experiencing our first "major" snow storm of the season! Contrary to the newscasts you might be seeing on the west coast, this is nothing unusual for this time of year and we "New Yawkers" are going about our business as usual! Now, back to the business at hand. I'll call this the name discussion partie deux! In writing about names the other day, I came across some interesting information about names. Much of what I discovered reinforced my idea that what we are named and what we name our children, does indeed impact on how we perceive our selves and how others perceive us. Furthermore, studies were conducted with college students, teachers and employers, to determine how names influenced their opinions of others, how teachers expect students to perform based on their given names and how employers decide who to hire.The most interesting studies are the ones that purported to correlate criminal activity with specific names; some concluding that having an uncommon name and being more likely to show up in the juvenile justice system are intertwined.  Essentially, most of the studies support the notion that unusual, uncommon, or so-called "ghetto names" greatly affect people's perceptions of each other. That being said (I dislike that phrase, but will use it anyway) I will predict that most of the criminals in the near future, will most certainly be the children of celebrities!

More unusual celebrity children names:

Jermajesty and Jaafar, sons of Jermaine Jackson

Moxie Crimefighter,  daughter of Penn Jillette

Tu Morrow, child of Rob Morrow


Audio Science, child of Shannyn Sossamon

Rocket, child of Robert Rodriguez,

Pilot, child of Jason Lee


CoCo, child of The Arquettes


Kyd, child of David Duchovney


Destry, child of Steven Spielberg


And did you know that Punky Brewster's real name is Soliel Moon Frye? or that her half brother's name is Meeno Peluce?


In 2005, actor Shia LaBeouf supposedly said, "name your kid Billy or Timmy! Who better than him to give that advice? Why me of course! Here are my suggestions:

If you must name your child after, let's say furniture for example; make sure you use the French or Spanish word for it. That way, it won't sound "ghetto," it'll sound "exotic." Therefore, instead of chair you can name your child "Chaises" or "Silla."

Maybe you want to name your child after an animal; at least choose a cute animal name like "Bunny" instead of "Rabbit" or "Lamb" instead of "Sheep." If you choose to name your child after a cat or dog, choose a cute breed name; for instance, "Calico" or "Papillon." I know that some of you like to name your children after alcohol, so try the good brands at least: Christal, Cognac, Chardonnay, rather than Tequila, Ripple!

Don't get me started on perfumes!  Chantilly and Chanel are always cute! Aviance or Emeraude is pushing it. How about those other names like, Precious, Passion, Fashion, Queen, Princess, King, Mister, lady, Man, etc.etc. I know people with these names folks...so do you! Some of us are such avid readers that we name our children after magazines: Essence, Ebony, Jet...don't deny it! Whew! It's a good thing I am not having anymore children because I am inclined to name my girl Indigo Blue after the Rainbow Brite character. I've always thought it was a cute name! I also like Teal or Stage for a girl. My boy might be named Max, Rocky, Duke (not a dog but royalty) or Biff, because I find these name particularly masculine sounding. Stormy for my daughter or Logan for my son...I am an X-Men fan! I tend to shy away from names that sound "too ethnic", but once pondered "Shaka Zulu!" Just kidding!

"Let It Snow, Let It Snow, Let It Snow!" - Frank Sinatra

Good afternoon peeps!!  Yes, it is snowing here in the east! It seems as if Mother Nature said, "OK, I've held off long enough...it's time to sock it to 'em! Now ordinarily I would be welcoming the snow this time of year, because it adds to the atmosphere of the season. However, since I became a homeowner eleven years ago; not so much! I am now responsible for keeping my walkway cleared of snow, or risk being fined. I am thankful for my daughter Donya and her partner Michael, for taking this daunting task upon themselves!

Snowfall in New York City is a pretty sight for about a day. After a day, it can be downright ugly! Mixed with exhaust from buses and cars, and sometimes dog poop plus street garbage and other discarded what nots...eeewww! And another thing, why does it have to happen on a Saturday as opposed to a Monday? By Monday, it's usually melted and with that, any chance of schools being closed are also gone! But wait, I don't have to worry about that, now do I? I am retired!!! Last year at this time I wasn't. We finally did get one snow day last year, but the Mayor waited so long to notify city agencies, that some people had already left for work when the word finally came! Speaking of snow, here are some of my favorite "weather songs." As always, please chime in.

Playlist of weather songs:

1. Baby It's Cold Outside -  Vanessa Williams and Aaron Neville


2. Let It Snow, Let It Snow, Let It Snow - Frank Sinatra


3. The Rhythm Of The Rain - The Cascades


4. Sunny - Bobby Hebb


5. I Can See Clearly Now - Johnny Nash


6. Raindrops - Dee Clark


7. I Wish It Would Rain - Temptations


8. I Saw You (and him) Walking In The Rain - Oran "Juice" Jones


9. I Wanna Go Outside In The Rain - Dramatics


10. I Can't Stand The Rain - Ann Pebbles


11. Stormy Weather - Lena Horne


12. Stormy - The Classics Four


13. Windy - The Association


14. Sunshine Superman - Donovan


15. It's Raining Men - The Weather Girls


16. Have You Ever Seen The Rain? - Creedence Clearwater Revival


17. I Love A Rainy Night - Eddie Rabbit


18. Rainy Night In Georgia - Brook Benton


19. Feeling Hot, Hot, Hot - Buster Poindexter


20. Frosty The Snowman - Burl Ives