I'm Movin' On

I've been doing a lot of reading of blogs as of late, and as I've been reading, I've noticed a lot of them were blogs hosted on tumblr.com. I did some investigating of Tumblr and have decided I like it a lot better than Blogger.

Blogger is cool, but it's very, very basic, and sometimes when I look at my blog it all seems so cluttered. Tumblr is more organized looking, it has more templates (and allows you make your own), you can update from Twitter and it can automatically update Twitter when you post something. You can even call a number and leave a voice recording as a post, how cool is that?

Main point of this post is, once I figure out how to import this blog to Tumblr, I'll be switching blog hosts. There's a way to do it, it has to do with RSS feeds and all that technical mumbo-jumbo, so I just have to take the time to read the directions.

Title Song: 'Movin' On' - Mya

Tell Me, Tell Me Whatcha Said

Happy Monday, Children. So, I've decided to do something a little different. I've been thinking about it for a while, and finally I figured, why not? 

With that, I want to tell you all that I've decided to start another blog. Instead of being a blog about my day-to-day, it's about my opinions of the nonsensical things in this world. A (hopefully) amusing take on the hot messes of the world.

The blog is officially titled: Strictly For Suckers: Just a Little Nonsense.

I'll post multiple times throughout the day, so you can check randomly when you're bored, or you can check it at the end of the day before you hit the sheets. They're all short posts, so they'll be quick and easy to read.

Of course, I'll still be posting on this blog, but I thought it'd be fun to do something else as well. I'll be posting there when I'm not out looking for a job...

The first posts on Strictly For Suckers will be up shortly. It is 6:10PM (PST) at the moment, so if you're reading this after 6:45PM, I'm sure there's already some posts up, so go check it out.

Also, look out for a really awesome video that has to do with me and my favorite late night show: Chelsea Lately!

Talk to you all soon.

Title Song: 'Whatcha Say?' - Jason Derulo

Sew Me a Sail to Catch Me the Wind

Remember reading Shel Silverstein poetry in elementary school? I used to love reading Where the Sidewalk Ends, it was probably one of my favorite books to reread on a regular basis. I thought we had that book in my house somewhere, but I can't seem to find it. We do have Falling Up, however, which is also a great collection of poems.

Some of my favorite poems from Falling Up:

ALPHABALANCE


Balancing my ABCs
Takes from noon to half past three.
I don't have time to grab a T
Or even stop to take a P.

THE MONKEY


1 little monkey
was goin' 2 the store
When he saw a banana 3
He'd never climbed be4.
By 5 o'clock that evenin'
He was 6 with a stomach ache
'Cause 7 green bananas
Was what that monkey 8.

By 9 o'clock that evenin'
That monkey was quite ill,
So 10 we called the doctor
Who was 11 on the hill.
The doctor said, "You're almost dead.
Don't eat green bananas no more."
The sick little monkey groaned and said,
"But that's what I 1-2 the 3-4."

FURNITURE BASH


The hand of the clock
Pinched the foot of the bed,
So the foot of the bed
Kicked the seat of the chair,
So the seat of the chair
Sat on the head of the table,
So the head of the table
Bit the leg of the desk,
So the leg of the desk
Bumped the arm of the couch,
So the arm of the couch
Slapped the face of the clock.
And they pinched and they punched
And they banged and they knocked,
And they ripped and they flipped,
And they rolled and they rocked,
And the poor dresser drawer
Got a couple of socks.
There was sawdust and springs
When I turned on the light
After that horrible furniture fight.

And that's the truth, no lie--no joke.
That's how your furniture
All got broke.

Now, this last poem is from Where the Sidewalk Ends and is one of the first non-nursery rhyme poems I had ever memorized.

SARAH CYNTHIA SYLVIA STOUT WOULD NOT TAKE THE GARBAGE OUT


Sarah Cynthia Sylvia Stout
Would not take the garbage out!
She'd scour the pots and scrape the pans,
Candy the yams and spice the hams,
And though her daddy would scream and shout,
She simply would not take the garbage out.
And so it piled up to the ceilings:
Coffee grounds, potato peelings,
Brown bananas, rotten peas,
Chunks of sour cottage cheese.
It filled the can, it covered the floor,
It cracked the window and blocked the door
With bacon rinds and chicken bones,
Drippy ends of ice cream cones,
Prune pits, peach pits, orange peel,
Gloppy glumps of cold oatmeal,
Pizza crusts and withered greens,
Soggy beans and tangerines,
Crusts of black burned buttered toast,
Gristly bits of beefy roasts...
The garbage rolled on down the hall,
It raised the roof, it broke the wall...
Greasy napkins, cookie crumbs,
Globs of gooey bubble gum,
Cellophane from green baloney,
Rubbery blubbery macaroni,
Peanut butter, caked and dry,
Curdled milk and crusts of pie,
Moldy melons, dried-up mustard,
Eggshells mixed with lemon custard,
Cold French fries and rancid meat,
Yellow lumps of Cream of Wheat.
At last the garbage reach so high
That it finally touched the sky.
And all the neighbors moved away,
And none of her friends would come to play.
And finally Sarah Cynthia Stout said,
"OK, I'll take the garbage out!"
But then, of course, it was too late...
The garbage reached across the state,
From New York to the Golden Gate.
And there, in the garbage she did hate,
Poor Sarah met an awful fate,
That I cannot now relate
Because the hour is much too late.
But children, remember Sarah Stout
And always take the garbage out!


So, there's that. Hope all is well with you guys.

Title Quote: 'Needles and Pins' - Shel Silverstein

I Just Need a Compass and a Willing Accomplice

I was going to post this on Monday, but I decided to put up the post about the Joyful Heart Foundation instead. So here it is:

P!nk is most definitely one of my favorite artists. I can't get enough of her music. I have all of her albums. Up until Funhouse came out, her first album, Can't Take Me Home, was my favorite of her albums. But Funhouse has so many great songs and has taken the place of #1 in my ranking of her albums.

Seriously, friends. I've loved all of her singles from the Funhouse album. However, my two favorite tracks are:

Crystal Ball (Funhouse Tour):


Glitter in the Air (Funhouse Tour):


And then there's this one:

Bohemian Rhapsody (Funhouse Tour):

Three great performances. Three great songs. The last song isn't on her album. Must just be something she does for her concert. Anyhoo, I can't get enough of this album (especially Crystal Ball), it's really the only thing I've listened to (with the exception of Tik Tok, Whatcha Say, I Gotta Feeling & Replay) for the past two or so weeks.

Well, I hope you all enjoyed. Later gators.

Title Song: 'Crystal Ball' - P!nk

Vote Joy

Hello Friends,

I want to take a moment to ask you guys to vote for a great cause. Pepsi, through their Pepsi Refresh Project, gives away $1,300,000 each month to fund different ideas. This month, the Joyful Heart Foundation is in the running to win a $250,000 grant.

The Joyful Heart Foundation was founded by Mariska Hargitay, who plays Det. Olivia Benson on Law & Order: SVU. Because of the subject matter of the show, and the outpouring of personal stories she receives from viewers, she was compelled to start this organization to help survivors of sexual abuse, domestic violence and child abuse.

I think anyone who has ever called or text me to ask what I was doing, knows that I'll often respond, "Watching SVU." I absolutely lovelovelove the show. However, I don't want any of you to think that my love of the show is the reason why I'm asking you to vote for this organization. I would like you to vote for it because the Joyful Heart Foundation is doing wonderful and selfless things for numerous men and women. I'm voting for it because it is a cause I care deeply about and one that needs, and deserves, as much awareness as possible.

What You Do:

When you go to the site, you click 'Vote for this idea'. A window will pop up and from there, you can log in through your Facebook account with just a click of a button. After you connect to Facebook, the page will refresh and you'll need to click the 'Vote' button one more time to actually cast a vote. You can also access the site through a Facebook application.

It's really very simple; you don't have to sign up for anything. You get 10 votes per day and you can vote everyday (only one vote per organization, per day, however). I encourage you to take some time to read up on this cause, and the other causes that are in the running for grants, and make an informed decision, as you should with any vote.

The voting is open until February 28th, so please do your best to remember to vote everyday until then. 

Click to Vote Joy.

Click to see the other organizations.
Facebook Application.

Feel free to leave a comment simply to say that you voted, or to mention other causes in the running that you want to bring attention to.

My sincerest thanks,

Jamika

It's a Secret No One Knows

Hey everyone! Sorry I've been MIA for the majority of the week and haven't been able to comment on your posts, or respond to your comments. I've been busy trying to get a complete draft of a script done that, hopefully, will be filmed by a local filmmaker and entered into the Tacoma Film Festival. I'll write more about that later.

Anyhoo, I wanted to post a link to an article that ties in with my last post.

It's from MSNBC. It's about Blacks in film. They talk mainly about Denzel Washington, Will Smith and Tyler Perry. However, they mention Halle Berry for a sentence or two. Anyway, it was a nice read, so check it out when you have the time.

Shine on, my friends.

Title Song: 'Mmmbop' - Hanson

You May Say That I'm a Dreamer

But I'm not the only one.

So, here we have the cover of a new issue of Vanity Fair (and, just to cover my bases, the photo was snapped by Annie Leibovitz). 


A few of the girls I don't really know of, some of them I like a lot and some of them I don't mind. They're all decent in their own right (rite?). I just want to make it clear, before I get into the true topic of my post, that I don't have any strong dislike for any of the actress in that photo. I even enjoy Kristen Stewart (as long as it's not in Twilight). 


On with it then?


I'm sure if you look at the picture for a moment, you'll be able to guess what's on my mind. Here's a different shot:

Well, if you don't know what I'm thinking (well, that's good because I'd be jealous of your mind reading skills), I'll just tell you what my issue is with these photos:

There's absolutely no diversity.

Does that mean that the people of Vanity Fair are racists? No.

Does that mean there are no talented, young actresses of color? Absolutely not.

What it does mean, however, is that there aren't enough diverse roles being written to include women of color. But also, that when it comes to casting, people are still a bit closed-minded when it comes to what a Hollywood "Leading Lady" should look like.

There have been 8 Black women (1 winner - Halle Berry), 2 Hispanic women (o winners) and 1 Asian woman (0 winners), nominated for Best Actress in a Leading Role for the Academy Awards. The only list less diverse than that is the list of Presidents of the U.S.; and as far as winning goes, they're pretty much the same. 

Keep in mind, I'm only talking about women of color in leading roles. There are a few more who have gotten supporting nominations, and quite a bit more on the men's side, but considerably less than White nominees and winners.

I think what bugs me the most about it is: Seeing the same type of women in leading roles discourages me.

I'm a pretty confident person. I know where my strengths lie. I also know that if I'm not particularly strong in some area, I can work hard at it to improve. However, I simply cannot do anything about the fact that I am a Black woman (not that I'd want to).

There were times when I had gone in for an audition and, more often than not, I had the thought, There's no part in this play for me. 

Talent-wise, when it came to certain roles, I thought I matched a lot of my fellow auditionees. But some of them just had the "look" I knew the director would be looking for. i.e. The long-haired, skinny, fair-skinned woman.

I don't mind being the sidekick (it's usually more fun), but there were times when I saw someone who was more fitting for a role in the talent department, but went overlooked because they didn't have the ideal look.

It's not the director's fault all the time. Sometimes it's the writer's fault. They describe their leading lady's looks in depth when they pen the script.

It's hard, once the image is there, to get it out of your head. I'm so use to seeing White women in leading roles that when I read a book or script and picture the character, I automatically assume she's White - unless it's otherwise written. Even when I write a script, I usually see White characters rather than someone of color. 

However, in my scripts or stories, I make a point not to describe the characters' features. One of my favorite things when reading is picturing the character myself, I don't want to take that away from anyone. I don't want to write a book that a little Black girl picks it up and sees herself in the character, then gets dismayed because I mention she has long blonde hair and pale skin. I'd much rather write something where any and every girl can be the lead. On the other hand, there are stories where description is necessary, of course.

And it goes every way, I don't want to describe a leading lady of any specific and have a White/Asian/Hispanic/Middle Eastern/Black girl feeling left out.

This was kind of a long, rambling post, but hopefully you all see my point. Mainly, it really just disappoints me to see how un-diverse films are, it always has. Like I said, all of those women are decent, it'd just be nice to see some color speckled in there.


I didn't mean for this post and this month to coincide, it just happened that way.

Happy Black History Month.

Title Song: 'Imagine' - John Lennon