2000s: “the Noughties” the term is a portmanteau of naught, meaning “nothing” or “zero”

With this decade drawing to a close, I’ve been reflecting on the state of music in the last 10 years. In the era of file sharing like Limewire (2000), iPods (2001), and Youtube (2005), a good album has almost all but become irrelevant in favor of the one-hit-wonder single hyped and discarded (or downloaded for free).

As much as I complain about the state of R&B (my fav!) these days, I don’t put much effort into seeking out the gems within the mass. I just bought (Amazon.com Downloads) Ginuwine – A Man’s Thoughts and realized I’d been sleeping on Jamie Foxx and Jon B’s 2008 albums (Did anybody know that Jon B HAD an album last year?!). That’s just my point however, one shouldn’t have to “seek” out established artists. Someone let me know, did you have to “seek” out good stuff pre-2000s? Back then you had the radio, live club performances, and the music store, the end. Was hunting through racks of records the “seeking” instead of surfing through Myspace Music?

XM Satellite: The Future (or no?)
This brings me to mainstream music and media–I haven’t listened to the radio on the regular since early this decade; it’s been downhill from 2000. These days I refuse to listen to it. Why would I, when I can get ANY song on demand, no commercials? I really wonder about the future of FM radio in the coming decade. Will it go the way of the portable CD player or simply morph to fit the times?

The Great and Powerful YouTube
I really feel TRL was put off the air by Youtube. Who waits a whole 24 hours for a 30-second clip when you have video on demand sitting in front of you? My theory for 106 & Park still being on-air is that 1) it’s their “flagship” show (what the hell else comes on BET?) 2) the “target audience”, and I use that term loosely now, is less likely than the general population to have a home computer (see: the technology gap & minorities). Those are random guesses by the way, feel free to debate.

MySpace, IMEEM, etc.
On the flip side, technology has made it easier than ever for artists (or aspiring artists…) to get their music out there and heard whether they are washed up and/or under hyped artists from major labels or independent. I think it’s great. Everybody can trash MySpace (in favor of Facebook) if they want to, but really it helped otherwise ignored folks.

more…

via Nitrolicious

Sex is not a four letter word, it’s not dirty, shameful or a topic that should be kept out of daily conversation, sex is natural! So it never ceases to amaze me that there are some of my friends that refuse to talk sex. Why? What is so shameful about talking about our sex lives? As you all know I’m a lesbian (hence the blog name) and I think that a lot of lesbian women limit themselves when it comes to sex. If I had a dime for all the times that I heard the question “You like penetration, then how come you don’t like men?” and believe me I am more than happy to answer. For the record, yes I do enjoy penetration (giving and receiving) and no that does not make me bi-sexual or straight. A lesbian by definition is A woman whose sexual orientation is to women – that’s it. There is no set of sexual practices that are specifically for lesbian women only. To put it in much simpler terms, I get off by being with women, men do nothing for me sexually.

I decided to write this post after having a few conversations with some friends and of course the topic of sex/relationships came up. Now I always hear questions about my relationship but not my sex life and honestly I feel that the two go hand in hand. Many friends ask me how do I make it last, how do I keep her interested but few every ask about the sex. And if you know me, then you know I LOVE sex and feel that sex is an important part of my life. Well let me share a little something with you…sexual compatibility is important to any intimate relationship, meaning that you and your partner should be on the same page or at least willing to explore. Luckily I found my soulmate and sexual soulmate because my partner is willing to entertain and explore ANY sexual fantasy that I have. Now when I mean explore, I don’t mean whipped cream and handcuffs..we’ve explored bondage, role-play, D/s dynamics, swinging, voyeurism, flogging, play partners…and I could go on. I find it liberating that I can come home with a blond, a midget, a stun gun and a cattle prod and my wife will offer to make drinks for us (j/k) but in all seriousness she wouldn’t be mad.

The first step to an amazing sex life is communication – be clear on your boundaries, desires and fantasy’s. This first step is important because your lover needs to know what you want or need in the bedroom. Once you share your desires, you may find that your partner has similar fantasies or is at least interested in exploring your desires with you. The second piece of advice that I would give is to never participate in any sexual activity that you do not enjoy. If you participate in a threesome for example just because your girlfriend wants you to, you will be creating even more problems in your relationship – not to mention the guilt and anxiety that you will feel by doing something that you were not comfortable. I encourage ALL lesbians to explore unconventional lesbian sex with your partner or a cute girl . And by unconventional lesbian sex, I mean, anal sex, suck your girlfriends “strap” (believe me the visual alone will having her digging the skin on your back out), elaborate role play (costumes & all), swinging (if there are no jealousy issues), threesomes, dirty talk (be her personal slut), stripping, sex in public etc. So go out and have some good sex, then come back and tell me all about it.

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BRIDGETOWN, Barbados — The incoming governor of the Cayman Islands, Duncan Taylor, has said that Britain’s move partially to suspend the constitution of the Turks and Caicos Islands (TCI) and assume full administrative control is not a backward step, the Caribbean Media Corporation (CMC) has reported.

Taylor will take up his position as the new governor of the Cayman Islands in January 2010. He was until recently the British High Commissioner for Barbados and the Eastern Caribbean, a position he held from 2005.

Taylor rejected the notion that the decision to set aside the elected government in the TCI amounts to modern day colonialism, CMC said.

“I don’t think it is necessarily a backward step. I think the circumstances which had developed in the Turks and Caicos were truly exceptional, and once the Turks and Caicos remains a British Overseas Territory, in extreme circumstances, the power of the British government to take control still exists,” he told CMC in an interview.

Local government in the TCI was suspended by Britain in August following a long-running wrangle over alleged corruption.

A probe was launched in July 2008 into allegations of corruption in land sales, distribution of government contracts and development deals, the granting of voting rights and misuse of public funds.

In March, Turks and Caicos Prime Minister Michael Misick resigned after an investigation pointed to a “high probability of systemic corruption or other serious dishonesty” among the ruling elite.

At the time, Misick railed against London’s plans to strip the TCI of its independence, saying: “This is tantamount to being re-colonised. It is a backwards step completely contrary to the whole movement of history.”

Chris Bryant, Foreign Office minister responsible for the Overseas Territories, said that suspending local government in the TCI was only decided upon after all other options failed.

Taylor expressed doubt that a similar situation could emerge in the Cayman Islands, as he prepares for his new posting.

“I hope it won’t come to that in the Cayman Islands and I would be very surprised if it did but the nature of the relationship with the British Overseas Territories is that they are still British overseas territories and that is the constitutional positions,” he told CMC.

Taylor also responded to critics of the UK government who claim it has no moral authority to tell others how to operate, given recent scandals that have emerged within its own ranks such as the recent expenses scandal.

“I think we are dealing very vigorously with the expenses scandal. There has been some pretty tough action taken already against a small number actually of the worst miscreants in the expenses scandal and a major review of the way parliamentary expenses are operated in Westminster,” Taylor told CMC.

He added: “I think that the leaders of all the parties in the parliament of Westminster have committed themselves to very tough action to ensure that a system is put in place that is more transparent and accountable and to ensure that some of the difficulties which arose and which were made public over this summer don’t recur.”–CNN

When Forever 21 isn’t knocking off indie and major label designs, and being sued for it, I wonder how much time they devote to damage control in light of the Made in L.A. documentary? Probably not much, seeing as though I’m just now learning about the 2007 Grammy awarded film two years later.

Far from the city’s glitz and glamour, a trio of Latina immigrants toils away in a Los Angeles sweatshop. This documentary follows the women’s three-year battle with their employer, fashion retailer Forever 21, for essential labor rights. Enduring 14-hour days and oppressive, dangerous conditions, the women never lose focus on the need to effect change. Award-winning filmmaker Almudena Carracedo directs.–MadeinLA.com

This explains it perfectly:

As a noun, female has no place in ordinary conversation unless one is speaking of an animal species.

Ex. Can you tell if that lizard is a female?

Using “female” in place of “woman” in other than a clinical setting smacks of depersonalization and contempt.

Ex. At Thanksgiving the females watched a chick flick in the living room while the men watched the game in the den.

Substituting the word “male” for “men” in this context would not improve matters. In Western culture the words “male” and “female” are not merely designations of reproductive roles. They are terms frequently used to imply superiority or inferiority.

Among the many definitions given for the word female in the OED, we find:

female: n. Applied to various material and immaterial things, denoting simplicity, inferiority, weakness or the like.

I’m not objecting to the use of female as an adjective, as in “female reproductive organs.” My objection is to its careless use as a noun substituting for “woman” in ordinary conversation.–DailyWritingTips.com

The selection is OK, but growing (they say). I’m kind of ticked they don’t offer international mags. Lately I’ve been eyeing Elle Decor in the grocery store, but haven’t felt moved to purchase it. Maybe this is the opportunity I’ve been waiting for? There’s a free month trial. So maybe I’ll do that. Haha.

Making prints cheaper may be part of the solution, though the big issue is still lack of relevant content most times. Publications really need to get on that.

Prior to the group’s performance, it was revealed Vogue Evolution had a hard week with Leiomy repeatedly missing dance practice and then walking out before dress rehearsal [Apparently due to homesickness--L.X.]. After the performance, Lil Mama kicked off the critiques calling the performance good not excellent. Apparently linking it to Leiomy’s behavior, Lil Mama chose to direct a bit of “advice” to Leiomy when she told her, “your behavior… is unacceptable….you have to always remember your truth. You were born a man and you are becoming a woman. If you’re going to become a woman, act like a lady. Don’t be a bird…. Even though you’re the face for transgenders, you’re the face for America right now with this group.”–BlackGayGossip

I really have to say Leiomy (the “Beyonce” of the ballroom scene right now, and a Mother of the House of Mizrahi), really has character and kept her composure despite looking extra pissed at Lil Mama’s insensitive comments. Leiomy may have been uncooperative this week, but I don’t see at all what that has to do with her gender identity. Someone fill me in? Right.

You can catch ABDC Sunday’s 9pm ET/PT on ABC. Also remember to vote! You can do so each Sunday; it’s easy, even if you didn’t watch the show! Vogue Evolution’s appearance is the first time the ballroom scene has been in the national spotlight in a big way since the Madonna “Vogue” era (circa 1990). Let’s help them make it!

Economics is my major because I was “grasping at straws” trying to pull out something I thought I would be kinda-sorta interested in studying. I had no idea what I wanted to do with my life, but I had a few ideas: sociology, neuroscience, chemistry, computer science, public health/pre-med, pre-law. All these were majors that I either had or contemplated (the pre-med/pre-law were my father’s wistful ideas of course; he refused to pay for a sociology degree.) on switching to. As you can see I wasn’t very focused.

To top it all off my GPA isn’t the best because I was studying a bunch of crap I wasn’t passionate about. (I got top marks during my sociology phase though.) I’ll just be glad when I finally have that piece of paper and it’s all over. The majority of what I “learned” during my college years was not in the classroom, but through life experiences. Then again that’s probably true for most people.

***To top it all off, our campus looks like a demolition zone since they are renovating everything. I’m also mad that our campus pub got rid of my favorite item on their menu: three-cheese steak nachos and replaced it with dry chicken wraps! Ugh!