Black Girls Like Us

NKOTB ARE FINE!!!!!!!!!!!

2013-06-17T23:04:00.000-05:00

I (Tia) just cursed SO HARD when I saw this picture. I mean COME ON MAN!!!! How are they all getting MORE fine as they age?!?!?! That doesn't even make sense. I just...I mean...DAMN MAN!!!!!

Two Things:
1. Jordan Knight bathes in the waters of unicorns, has cocoa butter injected directly into his veins and makes tea with water from the Fountain of Youth. GOLLYDAWG!!!! How and why does he look like that?!?!?!?! I for real can't look at this picture for too long without dissolving into giggles and impure thoughts.

2. There is a reason that God has never allowed me to be alone with Donnie Wahlberg. I mean, I wouldn't even TRY to act right. Consequences...HA!!!!! I scoff at them when it comes to that Wahlberg boy. And THAT is why the Lord keeps me away from him. It's really for everyone's safety.

Now excuse me...I need some water or something. I can't even think straight right now. Goodnight...

You Gon' Learn Today: Joel Kinnaman - Tia

2013-06-17T19:54:00.001-05:00

The Killing is back that means one thing: HOLDER!!!!!!

I really enjoy this show for a lot of reasons. It's well written and brilliantly cast. But the realest talk, the reason I never miss an episode, is Joel Kinnaman. He is EVERYTHING!!!! Not one episode goes by that I don't yell, "HOLDER!!!" at the screen.

Holder is dark. He's B-Rabbit with an attitude. He will snatch a kid up if need be. (No for real...in the first episode of Season 3 he snatched up this kid. It shouldn't have been funny but it was.) I love everything about him.

Joel is my boo in my head. I don't care that he's "supposedly" dating Olivia Munn. He was mine first. (I'm aware I sound like a crazy stalker. I'm not...I'M NOT.) But for real though, if they break up, I'm gonna try to get up with him. I've been trying to holler at Joel for two years. I just want to say "Hi" and stuff. That's all...Don't give me that side eye.

Anyway, Joel is currently filming the reboot of RoboCop, and I have a feeling he's about to blow up. Don't get left behind. Trust me, you want to know about Joel NOW. When he's a HUGE star and every one is trying to get on his squad, remember it was BGLU who hipped you first.

Remember that BGLU gave you this:

and this

(I have NO idea what's he's saying. Something about education. And for him, I would learn everything about everything.)

And sometimes this happens:

*sigh* I just...I just can't.

HOLDER!!!!!

The Freaks Come Out at Night- Toya

2013-06-03T06:00:00.000-05:00

Oh Nashville. You and your barely nothing stays open past midnight ways.

I left work really late and really hungry one night and for some reason had a hankering for french toast. Okay I always have a hankering for french toast..or pancakes... and pretty much any breakfast food. But tonight I just had to have some french toast by any means necessary. My schedule starting Tuesday is about to be insane so I wrecked my brain trying to figure out what place that wasn't IHOP would be open after midnight. I decided to stop by one of the few 24 hour spots we have in town to treat myself to some breakfast in a quiet atmosphere.

And what a breakfast it was! French toast with bananas, blueberries and strawberries, with whipped cream and a grilled banana underneath. The grilled banana was a nice surprise and set the entire dish off. SO good! When it came out, the older couple sitting at the table next to me- one white gentleman and a hispanic lady- asked what I had. "French toast!" I said happily as if I was about to burst into applause. They marveled at how good the dish looked and began to share with me what some of their favorite dishes were at the restaurant. I ooed, aahed, and smiled a bit before I started checking messages on my phone.

"She can't hear us. She's really into her phone" I heard the man say. "Yikes!" I thought. "I am now being one of those people that can't be in public without constantly looking at their phone." Thinking that I knew better than to ignore my elders, I put my phone face down and welcomingly engaged them in conversation.

The man asked why someone "young and nice looking" like me was at a diner solo and not at a club somewhere. I mentioned that I worked late at night and just wanted to be some place a little quiet. The wife said "Wait around long enough and you won't be alone long. You definitely look nicer than some of the girls that walk in here late at night from the club. You'll see." I chuckled and said that I probably won't be there that long and thanked them for their compliments. Someway somehow we started talking about loud restaurants and crowded clubs and the husband says "I hate when you go dancing and it's so crowded and you can't hear people talking." "Me too" the wife agreed. "We went to one club and it was wall to wall people! I hate when you go somewhere and are constantly bumping into everyone. We don't go to clubs a lot." "Well" the husband corrected "we do go to a few clubs but...they're a little different and cater to people like us." So I'm thinking, senior citizen clubs, clubs for people that are over 50 that like to salsa (yes I went there with the hispanic lady and salsa. Yes.) country clubs, etc. When I looked at the husband while he was talking, I noticed that while he was not exactly forthcoming his tone appeared to have become slightly luring.

Him: "There are only two in the area. You may know what I am talking about."

Me: *Cutting my french toast slower and slower* *blink* *blink* *blink* He can't be talking about....nah!!! That's somebody's Mee Maw and Paw Paw!* Umm...I...ummm...no. Not, I don't think I...

Him: *smiling slyly* Well there's one by the mission and...*looks at his wife* I think she knows but she just doesn't want to say it.

FLASHBACK

One night Melissa and I were coming from an event in walking distance to the Nashville Mission and I was driving. We somehow stumbled upon what looked like a restaurant in the cut with a giant M on it. I rolled down the window and asked the doorman what it was. "It's a club for swingers" he said nonchalantly. Now I think the M stands for Menage but that day it may as well have stood for Mind Your Daggone Business Toya because I kindly thanked him for that bit of information, rolled up my manual window with the quickness, and hightailed our behinds out of there.

Not really knowing how to end this conversation, for some crazy reason I said "You know, it sounds really exclusive." "Oh it's not exclusive though" he said. "Now they do make you sign a waiver but it's not exclusive at all. Mostly couples. But they do have single people there sometimes." Then he paused and added with a smile. "We've brought some single people there a few times."

o_O

o_o

O_O!!!!!

In the nick of time my waiter showed up and I asked for a box so I could take my food home... quickly. Desperate to change the subject I said "So you said that chicken sandwich you got wrapped in dough was really good? That sounds really interesting. I may try that. I think I need to try some new things anyway. You know, venture out more...WITH MY FOOD!!! I need to venture out more with MY FOOD!!!! Excuse me. I'm going to go use the ladies room."

As I walked away I heard the man say "If you leave us we'll have no one to talk to."

I sat in that bathroom and did not blink for about five minutes.

Thankfully when I got back to my table my check was there. I could not get my wallet out fast enough. "Got some ketchup on me" the man said. As I picked up my box of food I replied "Yeah...ketchup can uuh...be a trip sometimes. Heyitwasnicetalkingwithyoutwohaveagoodnightbye!" I waved goodbye and tried to hold it together as I saw a reflection in the window of them looking me up and down as I walked out of the door.

With my mind going 100 miles per minute trying to figure out why an elderly couple would try to enlist me in some sort of alternative hanky panky, I got in my car and adjusted my rearview mirror. It was then that I thought to myself "I am never wearing false eyelashes ever again."

Throwback Thursday - Tia

2013-05-30T11:06:00.000-05:00

Okay, so I know people normally post pictures for Throwback Thursday. But I decided to do something a little diffrent. Since I don't have any pictures of Toya and I from back in the day (we've only known each other 10 years or so...wait 13 years...whoa...) I decided to throwback to some music, cartoons, and other things that make me smile from the days of yore.

And rest assured, if I find a picture of Toya and I that is TBT worthy, you guys will be the first to see it.

SPICE GIRLS

This may be my favorite Spice Girl songs of all time.

Realest of real talk, I LOVE the Spice Girls. I mean LOVE them. I still have and listen to all of their cds. I wanted to be a mixture of Mel B and Mel C like nothing else. And I loved how bougie they made Victoria out to be. Or maybe she is that bougie in real life. Who knows?

I still have the Spice World movie on DVD and VHS. I'm honestly not sure why I hold on to the VHS. I don't even have a VCR. But something in me won't let me throw it away. (Side Note: I also have the following on VHS: DC Talk's Free At Last, Breathe's All That Jazz: The Videos, A Christmas Story (still in it's original plastic), the original Star Wars (the ones before George Lucas diddled with them) and DC Talk's Rap, Rock and Soul. I know I sound like I'm 2 steps away from being a hoarder. I don't care.)

I was bummed that I never got to see the Spice Girls live. They're one of those groups that I'll probably always be a little sad about not seeing. But I'll always have the music. COLORS OF THE WORLD!! EVERY BOY AND EVERY GIRL!!!! PEOPLE OF THE WORLD!!!! AAAAAHHHHH!!!!

Carmen Sandiego

I liked the Carmen Sandiego show and cartoon for several reasons.

1. I like anything that's entertaining AND makes you learn. That's why Mr. Wizard's World was EVERYTHING to me. Television today is straight RUBBISH compared to what we had back in the day. Seriously...I just read The Kardashian show is on it's 7th or 8th season. REALLY?!?!?! I can't. I just can't. *sigh*

2. Ummm....Carmen could dress. If I could find that red coat and matching hat I would rock them RIGHT NOW. Yes and MA'AM!!

3. Both the live action show and the cartoon had the most FIYAH theme songs. Before there was Glee there was Rockapella. And they sang the mess out of a 5 part harmony song about a girl who stole stuff from all over the world. Thievery had never been so catchy.

But, can we take a minute to talk about the cartoon theme song? I'm beginning to wonder if I like music too much. I literally get goosebumps when the voices crescendo toward the end of the song. What is that even about? I wish I could download an extended version of this from somewhere. It's ridiculous how much I like it.

Oh and can we also talk about how I just found out a month ago that the Where on Earth theme song is actually a Mozart song? How was this NEVER brought to my attention? My favorite comment from the Youtube page, "Just think. Carmen Sandiego is so good she managed to steal Mozart's song with almost no one being the wiser ;)"

Skip-It

You are not a child of the 80s unless you almost sprained your ankle and busted your head open playing with a Skip-It. The commercial made it look so easy but you had to have real coordination to use this thing. And God help you if you didn't jump at the right time. You were headed down to the pavement at an awkward angle. I'm sitting here laughing thinking about some of my failed Skip-It attempts. God bless the children of the 80s. We made it out alive and mostly unscathed. Kids today are wimps compared to us at that age.

Alright y'all, I hope you've enjoyed this trip (pun intended) down memory. I have to get back to work. Happy Thursday!!

Sunday Funny - Tia

2013-05-27T20:52:00.002-05:00

I used to teach preschool and my co-teacher and I would have the most absurd conversations with our two-year olds. One of the conversations that will forever stick with me went something like this:

Mac: (while sitting on the potty to poop) Ms. Tia...are you brown...?
Me: (Trying not to crack up laughing) Yes, sweetie. I'm brown.
Mac: (deep in concentration for many reasons) I no brown. (That's exactly how she said it. I NO brown.)
Me: Nope. You're not brown.
After a few minutes of deep thought:
Mac: Is Ms. Joy brown? (Side note: My co-teacher was half Lebanese. She had thick dark curly hair and olive-brown skin. You see the confusion this might cause a two-year from a less than ethnic suburb.)
Me: Ummm...honey, why don't we finish going potty then you can ask Ms. Joy.
Mac: Okay

EVERYDAY was like that. I had more conversation about stars, being brown and a whole array of random things. And if I'd had those same conversations with another adult they would be beyond ludicrous but because I was having them with a toddler, it was perfectly normal.

I think that's why I love this video so much. It reminds me of how awesome and bossy and fantastic and infuriating toddlers are. *sigh* I won't talk about what my uterus is doing to my emotions right now. So just ignore me, watch the video and get your giggle on.

Fun Music Friday or Day Late Throwback Thursday - Tia

2013-05-24T19:04:00.001-05:00

Oh man...this video is when I fell in love with Adam. That skinny angry man was singing his heart out and I loved it.

I bought Songs About Jane before it sold a bazillion copies. (Yes, I'm proud I was ahead of the curve.) By the time the album blew up I was already on my 2nd copy because I'd worn the 1st one out taking it in and out of the cd player/travel case. It was for real so scratched that it wouldn't play. That's how you know that you have a good album.

I'm all about artists growing and evolving. But I would love it if Maroon 5 went back to their Songs About Jane roots for their next album. It's not that I haven't loved their later albums, it's just that I haven't loved them as much.

But regardless of the direction that band goes in, I will continue to be a fan. I will continue to love Adam. And I will continue to rewind the bridge from "Harder To Breathe" video when Adam is angrily singing at the wall because that doesn't stop being hot.

My shameless love of YA Fiction - Tia

2013-05-22T07:30:00.000-05:00

Allegiant - Veronica Roth

I love to read. I always have. I remember being in elementary school and meticulously pouring over the Scholastic Book order form deciding which books I needed and which ones I could live without until the next go round. (Spoiler: I usually needed them all right then.) Most kids looked forward to new video games or ice cream sundae bars in the cafeteria. I was always geeked for the day the books would arrive.

I loved my books. I was a shy only child for almost 9 years. Awkwardly tall for my age, I liked sports, books, math and science. So you KNOW I was a hit with all of the other elementary school girls. Books were my way of escape. You could usually find me curled up in some corner reading something or other.

And I treasured my books. No, you can't borrow them. I don't know your life. You might try to write in it. Or *gasp* fold down the corner to hold your page rather than use a bookmark. I can't take that chance. Side note: I wanted to give my little brother away when he wrote on my copy of Otherwise Known as Sheila the Great. Which, by the way, I still have, green marker scribble and all.

I hate to admit it but college kind of got in the way of my leisure reading. I was pre-med for two years and didn't have time to read anything but science books. Then when I switched my major to Psychology I didn't really have to time to read anything but psych lit. Leisure reading was essentially put on hold for 4 years. Even for a while after college, real life seem to have a way of intruding on my reading time.

But the last few years have been quite different. I spend a ridiculous amount of time in the air. I usually travel for work 2-3 times a week. It's hard. And tiring. And lonely. However, it completely affords me the time to read. And that almost makes it worth it.

The other day I was archiving some of my eBooks and I realized, for someone who hasn't been a young adult in a VERY long time, I have A LOT of YA fiction. I've never been a huge fan of biographies and memoirs. (Wait, is Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter a biography?) I can't respect anything about the Harlequin/Romance/50 Shades type books. (I secretly judge anyone I see reading a 50 Shades book.) And while there is some adult fiction out there that I have read and enjoyed, for a while now I've been coming back to the YA stuff.

Side note again: I know I said I don't really get into memoirs. However, if you have not read Let's Pretend This Never Happened by The Bloggess aka Jenny Lawson, go immediately over to iTunes or Amazon and get it now. I literally almost wet my pants laughing at this box. No, not figuratively, LITERALLY. (I don't like airplane restrooms and I was trying to hold it because we were landing soon.)

So if you're like me and you're not ashamed to be seen with something labeled as a children's book (or if you have an e-Reader and don't have to worry about anyone seeing what you're reading) here are some books that I've read in the last few months that you may enjoy.

Zom-B Series - Darren Shan

I am not yet unconvinced that a zombie apocalypse isn't right around the corner. You laugh, but don't come looking for me when it all goes down. I will be hunkered down with provisions and weapons...surviving. Anyway, Zom-B is the story of B, a young British (yay!) student trapped at school when a zombie apocalypse breaks out. And that's honestly all I can say because anything else would be:

The Zom-B books are easy reads. It's never taken me longer than an afternoon to read them. The only down side to that is that the author is not cranking them out fast enough for me. So once I burned through the first 3 books, I had nothing else to do but wait.

Matched Series - Ally Condie

The Matched series is set in a dystopian society (like a lot of other YA series) where choices have been removed. What you learn, where you'll work, who you'll marry and even when you die are all decided by the Society. Do I even need to tell you that that ain't gonna work out for everybody? Yeah, I didn't think so.

There is a love triangle per se. But you don't want to murder the female lead for being an idiot. (Looking at you Bella.) So if you hate stupid romance stories in books like I do, you'll be okay with this one. I won't give it away, but I will say the choices the lead character, Cassia makes are driven by strength and principle rather than desperation. Again, looking at you Bella.

The Program - Suzanne Young

I stayed up until 2am last night finishing this book. I could not put it down. As I got closer and closer to the end I started getting a panicked feeling. There were far too many ongoing issues with what was clearly not enough pages to resolve them. My mind immediately asked the question, "When is the next book!?!?!" A tweet from the author made me do a slow wall slide and whine, "nooooo."

@tiabglu well... Next April?? But ARCs maybe this summer...
— Suzanne Young (@suzanne_young) May 21, 2013

*sigh*

In The Program suicide has become an epidemic for people under 18. The only cure seems to be The Program. But while kids who go into The Program may come out "cured" of depression, they also return with no memory of who they used to be. Sloane and her boyfriend will do anything not to end up in The Program. But it's getting harder and harder to keep up the charade. The depression is setting it. And once it does, they come for you.

Obviously, I will make it until April but I won't be happy about waiting. No ma'am.

Divergent Series - Veronica Roth

A friend of mine told me that his daughter liked to read but she didn't have any books she could get into at the moment. I bought her the first two books of the Divergent series because I thoroughly enjoyed them and my friend's daughter reminds me a lot of myself at that age, so I figured she'd like them too.

Two days after I gave her the books I got the following text, "WHEN DOES THE THIRD BOOK COME OUT?!?!?!" The first and second book are 496 and 592 pages long respectively. That child read 1000+ pages in two days. But I understand. The Divergent books are THAT GOOD.

Set in a dystopian Chicago of the near future, (see, I told you. Dystopia as far as the eyes can see) 16-year-old Beatrice must decide which of the 5 factions she will dedicate the rest of her life to. She can follow her heart or stay with her family but she can't do both. Stressful, right? And if that wasn't enough, she has a secret that could get her killed.

Page-turner is an understatement for these books. It's suspenseful and heart-breaking. You'll laugh at parts and weep at others. Okay maybe not weep, but I guarantee you you'll get misty-eyed during that thing with...you know what, you're gonna cry...deal with it.

The Hunger Games - Suzanne Collins

Seriously, if you haven't read The Hunger Games books by now, I can't with you. I just can't.

If you've read this entire post then good on you. It probably means we are kindred spirits and which means you too will love all of these suggestions. So run along and start getting your read on. And if you have a title that you think I'd enjoy tell me in the comments or via "The Twitter."

Face of the Day: Kerry Washington

2013-05-21T11:47:00.000-05:00

No...YOU bow down - Tia

2013-05-21T07:12:00.002-05:00

Janet Jackson turned 47 last week. Let's start with that..

DAMN PENNY!!!!

Janet lit souls, brows and edges on fire back in February when she showed up at the amFar New York Gala looking FIYAH!!! in the dress above. Excuse me...I need to go get my life. Seriously, if this is what 47 is supposed to look like then I need to step up my game like CRAZY!!!

Oh and in case snatching wigs with her fineness wasn't enough, she wants to be a humanitarian too. Sheesh!!

You know why I like Janet, because for the most part she has no cares to give about the rest of us. She's not out there dropping vague, passive aggressive Instagram photos and Twitter messages. When her family drama does sprinkle into the public light she politely ignores the questions and inquiries and let's you know that this ain't about you. Translation: You mind your business and I'll mind mine. And trust and believe, you may think you know Janet, but I firmly believe that we only know what she allows us to know. And we will take that and deal.

In honor of Ms. Jackson if ~~you know what's good for you~~ you're nasty, here are some of my favorite Janet songs. I have far too many favorite Janet songs to list them all here. It would be the longest blog post in history. So these are just the ones that pop into my head as I type. You know you've got hits when people can randomly pull songs from your catalog and still haves tons of other songs to choose from.

If

No one would ever accuse me of being a dancer. It's just not going to happen. But when I tell you that I darn near hurt myself learning the choreography from the breakdown, please believe it was real. (I can still do the arm part in the beginning.) This song was just IT. Period.

I Get Lonely (Remix)

I realized the other day when this video came on that the reason I could never receive Rihanna with red hair is because Janet did it so much better.

Confession: when this video came out I colored my hair with red Kool-aid (tropical punch flavor) for weeks. Judge me if you want. But I wasn't the only one and I know some of you readers did it too. It's okay. This is a safe space. You can share.

Escapade

This is STILL one of my favorite songs of all time. I remember I played it so much my mom asked me if there were any other songs on the album that I liked. Translation: STOP playing this song on repeat every day for hours.

Sorry mom.

Love Will Never Do (Without You)

True Story: I had a poster of Antonio Sabato, Jr. on my wall for YEARS.

I truly believe one of the reasons that I fell so in love with this song was because of the aesthetic of the video. It was just gorgeous. And this was a Janet we hadn't seen before.

This song was the 7th...yes SEVENTH....single off of the Rhythm Nation album. And in the previous six videos Janet was either covered up, in a dark warehouse or looking angry/lovelorn. Then she did a complete 180 and came out with the lighter hair, the abs showing and looking happy as all get out to all hugged up with ASJr. And can you blame her? That man is FINE!!! And let's not forget that Djimon Hounsou also graced us with his beauty. Seriously, how do his face and body just look like that? Delicious is the word that comes to mind.

Pleasure Principle

"Thank you for the ride, nowhere" was and still is one of my favorite lines from a song.

Janet Jackson dances. You hear me...DANCES!!! Honestly, nothing else needs to be said.

I know we aren't the only ones who love Ms. Jackson. So shout out your favorite Janet song in the comments or via the Twitter.

And since I now have "Pleasure Principle" stuck in my head on a loop, I'm going to grab a coffee and see if I can do that chair fall thing she does in the video. If you don't hear from me, it's because something probably went wrong with it.

P.S. If for some reason you have holes in your Janet catalog, click the links in the video titles to get your purchase/download on. I mean, Rhythm Nation is only $6. Go get your Janet catalog in order.

Weekend Roundup

2013-05-20T10:25:00.000-05:00

Backstreet's Back...no, for real. - Yahoo!!

Apparently, Miguel tried to decapitate some girl at the Billboard Awards. I see litigation in his future. - Vine

Kelly Rowland might be on X-Factor. (Insert indifferent shoulder shrug here) - TMZ

I was holding my breath for the last minute of Scandal. I really thought Olivia was going to take a bullet in that white jogging suit. But then it was worse when she go snatched up into the limo. Yeah, it was actually worse than her taking a bullet. - Pink Is The New Blog

Justin Beiber got booed at the Billboard Awards and he got a little tender about it. Bless his heart. - Perez Hilton

Someone in Florida won half a billion dollars in the Powerball. I'm calling everyone I know in Florida this morning. - USAToday

David Beckham retired from football (soccer for the rest of us) and he cried. Posh cried. The kids cried. Yeah, pretty much everyone was crying. - NPR

I feel OLD!!! - BuzzFeed

Kanye did this over the weekend. My only problem with this is that he broadcast the unedited version. Just as he has the right to say what he wants, other people also have the right to not have to hear you cursing or dropping the N-word. If I had kids around and this song just started blaring around me and I had NO WAY to shield my child from it, I would be pissed. That aside, though, I think it was a brilliant piece of marketing - Mashable

Almost Human - Tia

2013-05-15T12:47:00.000-05:00

This is like a fan girl dream come true for me.

If you've been reading this blog for any length of time you know I am a sci-fi geek.

From Doctor Who to Star Wars (Episodes IV-VI ONLY!!! Those "prequels" could never see the light of day again for all I care.) I'm into it.

I'm also a huge fan of JJ Abrams' work. Though I've never fully forgiven him for the ending of Lost, he still holds a special place in my geek heart for Fringe, Super 8, Cloverfield, and Felicity. (That last one is random, I know, but Abrams produced, wrote for and directed on Felicity.) While that Lost thing will probably forever be a sore spot, his other projects essentially make up for it. So any time I see his name attached to something I always get excited.

But the pièce de résistance of Almost Human was the cast. God GAWD!! Michael Ealy AND Karl Urban. Yes and AMEN!!

Michael Ealy is just going to stay fine. He's always been fine and he's always gonna be fine. We have talked about this man on numerous occasions. And we're not going to stop now. I was genuinely disappointed when Common Law went off the air. I liked that show. Who wouldn't like watching Michael Ealy every week? So of course I am on board with anything that gives me weekly access to his gorgeousness.

And then there's Karl Urban. Remember when I wrote this...9 years ago? (Wow, we have been blogging a long time.) Yep, I've been down for Karl for quite some time. While I did not love Doom, I've been a fan of pretty much everything else he's been in since he popped up on my radar. I really enjoyed him as Bones in the Star Trek reboot. I always like grumpy, surly characters. And I also enjoy his face, that jaw line and his awesome Kiwi accent...YES PLEASE!!!

This show is everything I believe in. Pretty guys, sci-fi, JJ. Yeah, it's hitting me in all of the right spots. Plus, it fills the gap that Fringe left. (I love you Walter Bishop.) So you know I'll be watching every week.

In case you need a little encouragement (although I'm not sure why you'd need it. Ealy and Urban, people, EALY and URBAN) here's the official trailer for your viewing pleasure. *sigh* They're so pretty.

Weekend...errr...Tuesday Roundup

2013-05-14T11:24:00.000-05:00

Happy Endings is easily one of my favorite shows of all time. I put it up there with Friends. Yeah, it's that serious. So of course, ABC cancelled it. Hopefully USA will pick it up. I feel like it could have a Cougar Town comeback. *crosses fingers, wishes on a star, yanks wishbone in half* (some people eat turkey outside of November) - E!Online

Angelina Jolie had a double mastectomy and NO ONE in the media knew. Kim and Beyonce, THIS is how you keep your life private. Take notes. - CNN

Shannon from Pink Is The New Blog posted her Scandal recap late and I was concerned for her safety. Like, she's never late. I was about to call someone to check on her. - PITNB

Speaking of Scandal, apparently EVERYONE is watching. - EW.com

I have a crush on both Seth Meyers and Jimmy Fallon so this is good news all around for me. - Mashable

I ADORE the shade that Anna Wintour throws. - Radar Online

Spoilers: How I Met Your Mother is finally going to let us meet the mother. - Us Weekly

The winner of this year's TVnext hackathon was 17-year old, Jennie Lamere. She was the only girl who entered and she kicked butt. You Done Good, Girl. - CNET

People are saying Beyonce is pregnant again. ~~That is so selfish because I have tickets to her Nashville show.~~ Congratulations if it's true. - TMZ

Thank you BuzzFeed for making me feel old. - BuzzFeed

Toya's Random Musings

2013-05-14T08:00:00.000-05:00

1. True story: I've taken this pic about ten times because I thought I looked old. Then I said to myself "You'll be 40 next year. Get it together. ". Anyway, I want to confess that I've relaxed my hair. I got a Just for Me kiddie relaxer (I did this often after my first big chop) because my hair just would not dry! It was driving me nuts! Also i wanted my hair to drop and it wasn't going. Why am I confessing this? Because of something @fabglance1 said before I did it: "It's your hair. Do what makes you feel good about YOUR HAIR." So whether you are weaved up, bald, natural or relaxed, don't let anyone hold you to an ideal of what they think you should be. I don't always get weaves and naturals don't always get girls with relaxers. So what? Who cares? Be your own standard of beauty. YOU have to be okay with YOU.

2. I have the weirdest non-existent love life of a love life of anyone I've ever known. I just...*sigh* My love life is why I stay away from brown liquor. Moving on.

3. This Thursday will be the end of Jim and Pam. The end of Pam Beesley alone is taking me through it. Let's not even talk about Jim. Speaking of Jim, watch this and get your entire life!

I remember when Friends went off and all I kept saying was "No more Chandler! No more Chandler!" I have real friends. I promise I do.

4. And speaking of Thursday, am I the only one that needs a good 30 minutes to recover after Scandal goes off? Lord help us Thursday!

Kerry Washington said that this week's Scandal finale is so intense that she could barely get the words out at the table reading. I will be watching this with someone in the room lest I need someone to administer CPR.

5. When my budget allows, I may or may not pay over $100 just to hear Justin Timberlake perform the ending of "Let the Groove Get In". That CD has not left my car since the week it came out.

6. The Party is back, 98 Degrees has reunited and the Backstreet Boys are going back out on tour. Still no word on The Jets touring though huh? Because THAT is when it gets real for me.

7. Some people are saying that this is fake and I really don't care if it is or not. Real love is singing 80's pop songs together. That's all there is to it.

8. We are almost half way through the year. Let that sit with you for just a little bit.

9. RiRi Woo lipstick vs. Ruby Woo lipstick: I like RiRi Woo much better. I like the formula better because it's smoother. The color is slightly different, not different enough for some but I love it. Rihanna will be getting more of my money when it comes back out. I'm not mad at her.

10. I haven't finished a book this year but I also have not watched any episodes of Real Housewives of Anything or Love and Hip Hop so I think I'm about even right now.

Fun Music Friday - THE PARTY!!!!!!

2013-05-10T10:50:00.000-05:00

HOW DID WE NOT KNOW ABOUT THIS?!?!?!?!?!

Toya sent me a message on Facebook that said, "OMG YES!!!! The Party got back together!!!" My response was, "DAMON PAMPOLINA!!! I LIVE!!!!!" (More on that in a minute.)

Okay what you need to know is that I still have The Party's CD somewhere in this house. (I can't currently put eyes on it because I just moved in and there are still boxes everywhere, but it's here.) That and the MMC CD were two things that I was NOT letting go of regardless of what happened. I used to STAN for The Party before staning (or is it spelled 'stanning') was a thing. And what adolescent girl wouldn't? They had something for everyone. An ethnically mixed group of cute girls and guys who could sing and dance...it's all any of us ever wanted to be in the 90s.

I remember racing home from school so that I could watch the MMC. I watched for two reasons: JC Chasez and The Party. Y'all already know how I feel about JC so I won't get into that. But I was equally enamored with The Party. They were the cool kids that I wanted to hang out with. The way they dressed and danced, I literally couldn't get enough. The Party and MMC were the epitome of 90s awesomeness.

So when I found out that The Party was back on the scene my inner middle schooler almost passed out with excitement. And YESSSSS...my crush on Damon was reignited.

Here's the deal, the only problem I had with The Party was there were too many cute guys to choose from. Albert...*girlie sigh* no one should be that cute AND have a voice like that. Seriously, why did he sound like a grown man at 15? Chasen...again...*girlie sigh* Y'all know how I feel about the red-heads. And he had the most luxurious hair. I was a little mesmerized by his hair...true story. But MY GAWD that Damon Pampolina was IT for me. He was cute AND funny AND could dance. My 12 year heart could not get enough.

I am 50 shades of excited about new music from The Party. I CAN NOT wait to hear what they're working on. But until the new stuff drops I will continue to scour the YouTube streets for old Party clips. I will sing along to "That's Why" and every other Party song because even after all these years I still remember every word. Y'all, The Party Is Now!!

My girl crush: Aisha Tyler - Tia

2013-05-09T07:00:00.000-05:00

It's no secret that we love Aisha Tyler over here. We've talked about her for years. In our minds she is the epitome of a BGLU.

But someone recently sent me a link to her response to those who may question whether she's a true gamer (FYI she neither seeks or needs the approval of doubters) and now she is officially my new girl crush. Like, she has pushed Paula Patton out of the top spot.

I love how unapologetic Aisha is. (Can I call you Aisha? In my head we're awesome friends. And friends don't call their friends by their last names. So Aisha it is.) She's funny and sarcastic and not afraid to laugh at herself. She's also gorgeous and statuesque and I secretly want to go get mani/pedis with her.

I liked her before. But after reading this she is now my new #1 homegirl in my head. Now I just need to figure out how to get her to play Tetris with me on Xbox.
(There's some language in this. So if you're sensitive, you've been warned.)

I play.

I've played since I was a little kid.

Since I begged my dad to buy me a Nintendo LCD Donkey Kong, Jr.

Since I blew through three weeks' allowance playing Defender at the laundromat.

Since you were a twinge in the left side of your daddy's underoos.

I've been a gamer since I made friends with a girl in the 5th grade just to get at her Atari.

Since I missed the bus playing Galaga after school.

Since I missed the start of Return of the Jedi playing Tempest in the theater lobby.

You think you know. You don't know.

I've been a gamer since before you could read.

Since I aced midterms after staying up all night playing Evil Tetris.

Since I became dorm champ at Leisure Suit Larry.

Since I double-wielded on Time Crisis 3 at Fuddrucker's.

I was a voice in not one, but two major video game titles.

I hosted the Reach Beta tutorial.

I was a Gears of War superfan panelist at ComicCon.

I hosted the Ubisoft presser at E3 2012.

I didn't do any of it for the money.

For most I got paid next to nothing, and for some, less than that.

I did it because I love video games.

Because I've dreamt since I was a kid of being in one of the games I love.

How many games have you done voices for?

How many cons have you repped at?

Your buddy's Unreal Tournament garage deathmatch doesn't count.

I go to E3 each year because I love video games.

Because new titles still get me high.

Because I still love getting swag.

Love wearing my gamer pride on my sleeve.

People ask me what console I play.

Motherfucker, ALL of them.

I get invited to E3 because real gamers know I'm a gamer.

I don't do it for the money.

I have plenty of money.

I don't do it for the fame.

Fuck fame.

I do it because I love video games.

I don't give out my gamertag because I don't want a mess of noob jackholes lining up

to assassinate me on XBL.

I don't give a shit what you think about my gamerscore.

I don't play to prove a point.

I don't play to be the best.

I play because I love it.

I play.

I've been playing my whole life.

I'm not ashamed of it.

I don't apologize for it.

It's who I am.

To the core.

I'm a gamer.

So to all the haters out there who claim I don't play;

To the GAF dicks,

Gamespot trolls,

To every illiterate racist douchebag on Youtube:

Flame away. Go nuts.

Post every jackass comment your heart desires.

I'll still be playing when your mom's kicked you out of her basement

and you have to sell your old-ass console

and get a real job.

For now, I say to you respectfully,

and I mean this from the bottom of my heart,

GFYS.

It's official...Aisha Tyler wins everything.

I SEE YOU JUSTIN!!! - Tia

2013-05-08T08:00:00.000-05:00

*sigh* Y'all know I am team JC all day and twice on the Sabbath. But Justin Timberlake is doing ALL of the right things and I receive it.

I like how he just busted back on the scene with a new album and it was FIYAH!!! I like how he was all, "Yeah, I think I WILL go on tour with Jay-Z this summer." And I especially like how he can go 7 years without dropping an album but when he does release new music it reminds us that JT is not hardly playing when he's in the studio.

The other day I was watching Vh1 Soul and they played "My Love" and I got caught up. After the video went off it was "Justin Timberlake Day" in my house. I went back to "Gone" and played nothing but JT for the next hour or so. (Say what you want, but if the other members from Nsync didn't see that Justin was going to break away and do his own thing when they were recording "Gone" then they just didn't WANT to see.) Justin has hits AND B-sides. I can't really go wrong with a JT song.

After my JT afternoon, I figured I would share my top 5 favorite JT songs in no particular order.

Pusher Love Girl

I'm not exaggerating when I say that this song is the one I'm most excited about seeing him perform in July. I promise you I listened to this song on repeat for DAYS after this album came out. And he's been performing it a lot lately so I hope there's an official video coming soon.

My Love

Two Words: Justin DANCES!!! He was not playin' in this video. You can say what you want about Justin's voice. (It's good but he's no JC.) But you can't say NOTHIN' about his dance moves.

LoveStoned/I Think She Knows

Sometimes Justin plays too much. Because how is he going to make a hot track like "LoveStoned" and then stick a hot interlude like "I Think She Knows" on the end? He knows good and well those should have been two different songs. I mean, I can understand the reasoning behind putting them together, the first easily blends into the second, however, he could have just as easily given us two separate hot tracks. But whatever...

Let The Groove Get In

This song is the hotness. When I tell you every time I hear it I want to learn to salsa dance, I'm not kidding. But listen...the last two minutes of this song are RIDAMNDICULOUS!!! I have lost count on how many times I have sat in my car, on a plane, in my office and rewound the last two minutes of this song over and over. If ever he should have separated a song it was this one.

I know it is highly unlikely, but I would LOVE it if he made the last two minutes of LTGGI a song of it's own. I mean, it could happen. Coldplay did it with "Life In Technicolor" on Viva la Vida and Prospekt's March. So a girl can always dream.

Let's Take A Ride

I felt like this song was so over looked when Justified came out. It's understandable, though. If I remember correctly, there were only 4 singles released from that album and it was still hugely successful. So he probably had to hit the road immediately to support the record and that's why he didn't release "Let's Take a Ride" as a single. Yeah..that's it. At least that's what I'm telling myself.

(I posted this video because I love watching the process of a song coming together. I also love watching Pharrell trying to hit some of those notes.)

In all honesty, I could probably add another few songs to this list. Justin has HITS. But instead, I'll let you shout out your favorite JT songs in the comments or you can tweet your favorite on The Twitter.

She's No You - Tia

2013-05-07T07:00:00.000-05:00

Dove's Campaign for Real Beauty has always been endearing to me. I remember the last time I was in the UK (which was FAR TOO LONG ago) I saw this ad on the side of a double decker bus:

I immediately loved it. While I felt it was a bit of an oxymoron (be bold with your curves...but buy our product to tighten up your cellulite) I loved that a company would be so brazen with their marketing. I mean, how many ads do you see with women who don't fit into the supermodel category? Very few. So while no company is perfect, I applaud Dove for what they continue to do with the Campaign for Real Beauty.

That said, Dove's latest commercial brought me to tears. If you haven't seen it, take 3 minutes and watch the video above. It's amazing. Part of the reason that I was so moved by what I saw is because I recently had an epiphany that was 30+ years in the making.

My dad used to say, "If you wish in one hand and crap in the other, which one is going to fill up fastest?" Yep...that's my dad. While I understood what he was trying to tell me, I was still irritated whenever he said it. But a few weeks ago I really began to understand the point he was trying to make, and in this case I thought about it in relation to my looks.

I have spent far too many years lamenting the things I didn't have. I always wished I had hair like Chilli from TLC. I always wanted smaller calves. I always wanted to be taller. And I always wished like hell to be Aaliyah "Are You That Somebody" thin. But the reality is that my hair is so fine that when it's straightened I've been asked on more than one occasion what my nationality is....umm...black, y'all...just black. As far as I know, there's nothing out there that will thicken up hair. And I could run, swim and do HIIT until the cows come how and I'm still not going to have little calves. Thick legs run in my family and I will deal. I have a closet full of 4 inch heels so there's the taller thing. But even if I starved myself I will never, ever, EVER have Aaliyah's body type. (I did one of those body mass/fat calculation things at the gym. They essentially told me even if I had ZERO body fat I would still weigh around 145-150. At 5'9" petite ain't nowhere in my future.)

But even with knowing the realities about my hair, weight and everything else, I would still find myself wishing I had hair like this or that girl; wishing my legs were longer and thinner. Wishing my abs were flatter. Wishing. Coveting. Sometimes even hating.

And then one day, a few weeks ago, I just woke up. I literally opened my eyes and realized that I had the power to set myself free. I realized that I'm unique and what I have is AMAZING. I know it sounds corny but when you truly catch the revelation it is so freeing.

Do I all of a sudden have an inflated sense of self? Absolutely not. But am I learning to appreciate what makes me and my looks uniquely me. Yes, yes, a thousand times, yes!!

I say learning because it is a process. Almost every day I have to stop myself from looking envyingly at some girl at the gym who has perfectly sculpted, small calves or some girl in the store who has a beautiful mound of thick wavy hair piled up on her head. When I catch myself gazing at some other girl's 5'11"stature and as my mind readies itself to think the words that for years have tortured me, "I wish..." I literally stop myself in mid-thought and say, "NO!!" I have to constantly remind myself that the reality is that what I've got is what I'm always going to have. And it's not bad. In fact, it's damn good.

I may not have perfect calves but my legs are strong. I may not ever be able to craft a respectable bun of my hair without the help of extensions and/or weave but my hair is healthy and it colors magnificently. What I'm trying to say is every day I have to remind myself that I am truly beautiful and made in the image of God. And NOT in the image of television shows, supermodels or anything else that purports to define beauty.

So as I sit here at the ripe old age of 30ish, I'm finally starting to understand what MY beautiful truly looks like. I'm frankly pretty stoked about it. The freedom to love me is more liberating than I ever imagined. Who'd have thunk it?

Stay Beautiful BGLU!!!

Weekend Roundup

2013-05-06T19:03:00.000-05:00

The only reason I'm not giving this TLC biopic every imaginable side eye is because T-Boz and Chilli are actually involved with the project as consultants and executive producers. And what is that face that Lil' Mama is making? I swear if she messes up this role she should be banned from all things television for life - VH1

Dear BuzzFeed, As a black female who has experienced almost ALL of these, I say a hearty "THANK YOU" for posting this. - BuzzFeed

Saturday was May 4th. May the 4th be with you. If you have someone who understands that last sentence, then these cell cases would probably make a great gift. - GeekSugar

Justin Timberlake is giving fresh music AND more tour dates!!! Yes sir!!! - HuffPo

This is so funny to me. Drunk Joking needs to be a thing. - Mashable

You can sleep around if you want to. But this is what's out there...soooo - CNBC

If you're not watching Scandal then something is wrong with you. If you are watching then you A. Need to be following me on The Twitter so that we can talk about the show in real time when it's on every Thursday and B. You need to read Shannon's review every Friday on Pink Is The New Blog. - PITNB

Apparently, Lauryn Hill is going to jail. - CNN

I feel like the cicadas are doing more than they should. I was just in Tennessee when they made their "glorious" return. And now they're coming to Georgia. Are these things following me? - Yahoo! News

Rihanna's documentary comes on in 2 minutes. I've heard it's a complete snoozefest. I'm still gonna watch it. - Just Jared

Are You Too Going Cuckoo for RiRiWoo?- Toya

2013-05-02T10:35:00.003-05:00

Anybody else at their desk right now on pins and needless until 12PM EST to get the new RiRiWoo lipstick from Rihanna's new makeup collection from MAC Cosmetics? I am a red matte lipstick FIEND and this looks like everything I believe in!!! I'm not the only one though. The Internets are going buttnoodles. I swear between RiRi Woo & a new episode of Scandal coming out today, women all over America are having the most intense day ever. For more on her collection, click here.

Throwback Thursday

2013-05-02T09:20:00.000-05:00

MAAAANNNNN!!!!!

I JUST saw Kris Kross back in February at the SoSo Def 20th Anniversary concert. They opened the show with "Warm It Up" and "Jump" and the whole crowd immediately got super hyped. It was like the 90s all over again.

Chris "Mac Daddy" Kelly passed away last night at the far too young age of 34. Early reports say he died from a possible overdose and everything in me hopes that's not true. My heart hopes that with the group poised on the cusp of a comeback, his life was not cut short due to poor choices.

I feel like fame and fortune are a double edged sword. And too often people don't know how to handle them. God help you if all you have in your corner are "Yes Men" who will co-sign on everything you do so that they can ride the wave of celebrity rather than tell you you're coasting/driving/screaming toward disaster.

I'm sure I could sit here and speculate and wax poetic about how his "real friends" would have tried to help him. But truth is, I didn't know Chris Kelly. And I didn't know his life. So rather than be a judgmental, anonymous face on the internet, I'll instead be a fan who is sad for the loss of life and talent, who prays that his family and friends will have the strength to endure this time and I will sit back and play some Kris Kross songs and remember when EVERYONE was trying to wear their pants to the back with a little slack.

UPDATE: I just found a video from So So Def Concert. I am not exaggerating when I tell you the floors were shaking from some people jumping during "Jump."

Funny of the day - Tia

2013-04-24T08:00:00.000-05:00

I can't wait for this kid to become famous. He's seriously funny. I'll be following him for sure.

Confessions of a first time homeowner - Tia

2013-04-23T17:15:00.001-05:00

I BOUGHT A HOUSE!!!! That actually happened!!!

Aside from the fact that I've spent the last 3 weeks on the road full time (No, seriously, 3 weeks in a row I left on Sunday and got home on Thursday or Friday.) the main reason, I haven't had time to blog is because I was too busy becoming a homeowner. YAY!!!

It has been one of the most exciting and somewhat overwhelming things in my life. I'm so happy that I did it. And although it is by far the biggest thing I've ever purchased in my entire life, I'm not too stressed about it. Yeah, there are things that are bothersome. HOAs are a bit ridiculous even though there's a pool and a dog park. (I don't have a dog!) And there seems to be a small but bothersome leak that although covered by the aforementioned HOAs still needs to be fixed pronto. And those loud kids need to find somewhere else to play...But all in all, I'm super excited about this new phase in my life.

If you're thinking about buying a house, I would say do it. And here are a couple of helpful hints that may make the whole thing a bit more bearable.

- Make sure you have a good realtor.
My realtor was AWESOMESAUCE!!!! I looked at this house with my previous realtor and not only was he NOT helpful, but he told me that the offer that I wanted to put in wouldn't be accepted. Fast forward a few months to the same house with a different realtor and the same offer that I originally wanted to put in was accepted. Why..Because my realtor actually cared about me and was willing to go to bat for me. So make sure that whoever you're working with knows your requests and is willing to listen and help you every step of the way.

- Know your lending options.
I went the FHA route. It meant a lower down payment but higher mortgage insurance. Make sure that when it comes to financing you read the small print. Don't finance more house than you can comfortably afford. And don't finance more than you're comfortable with.

On paper, I look fantastic. I was approved for way more money than I needed. But even though the bank crunched the numbers and told me what I could afford, I knew what my long term financial goals were and so I chose less house and lower payments. Set your financial goals BEFORE you start house hunting. Because you will get your feelings hurt by all of the bright, shiny, fun houses the realtor will show you. I guarantee you will fall in love with a house the bank says you can afford but you know in your heart you can't. I'm not saying you won't love what you buy. (I LOVE my place.) But don't fall in love with house that's so pricey that all you can afford to furnish it with is blow up furniture.

- Buyer's remorse is inevitable.
I swore I was going to stop moving around and put down some roots. Nothing says roots like a mortgage. And yet, last night, I found myself wondering if I'd made the right choice. I began to wonder if I should have just kept renting so that I could move to/back to London/LA/Arizona/Rio. A bit of sadness washed over me when I realized that I can't move anywhere any time soon. And I found myself overwhelmed by the thought of mortgage payments, home upkeep, HOA fees and the like.

I had to calm myself down and talk myself off of the ledge. After settling my nerves, I realized that this house is the first step to attaining something that resembles normalcy. It's bad enough that I travel so much for work. But now, for the first time, I have a home base that's contingent on no one but ME!! I have a place to call my own. Somewhere I can walk freely in my underwear without a care in the world. A place I can call home. That is remarkable to me. So every time I find myself wondering if I made the right choice, I'll look around at all of the things that I've placed, I'll turn the stereo up, and I may even strip down my skivvies and I will do a dance of happiness and thankfulness because this place is mine. This place is home.

You Done Good Girl! Issa Rae Gives Her First College Keynote Speech at Vanderbilt University

2013-04-11T09:00:00.000-05:00

Don't even ask me what's going on with my face right here. I have no idea.

Toya here. It's been a while since I've posted some stuff and I will explain why in a bit. There has been so so so much going on. However in the midst of so much happening, I gladly rearranged my life on March 21st to hear the high priestess of awkwardness herself, Issa Rae, speak at Vanderbilt University here in Nashville.

It was packed!

Issa Rae just so happened to be speaking in Nashville during the busiest and craziest week of my 2013 thus far. The event she was speaking at happened to be the day before my India.Arie tribute benefit show that I was producing. I am an absolute mad woman on the week of a show. Luckily for me I took off both jobs that day (yes a sista is working two jobs right now. It's real out here) so I was able to catch her give her very first college keynote speech.

Go Issa!

When Issa opened her mouth to speak, I heard a lot of giggles and I think I know why because I was giggling too. I am pretty sure I was not the only one thinking "Oh my gosh it's J! What awkward thing is she going to do next?" as if we somehow had been sucked into Youtube and were a part of the latest ABG episode. But in no time at all we were brought back to the reality that it was indeed Issa Rae in front of us, the woman that so many of us have championed for giving a voice to us awkward black girls. So many of us are just so proud of her and it showed when the room erupted with applause when the introduction mentioned her latest collaboration with Shonda Rhimes.

After showing three episodes of ABG for the two people in the room who had never seen it before (I'm kidding. Not sure if there were only two), Issa Rae shared with us how she began her journey of creating ABG and how important it is for you to tell your own story in your own voice. She made some really great points and I would totally share them with you if I could find my notes from that evening. Pray for me y'all. I'm scatterbrained right now. Oh but what I do remember is that during the Q&A when I mentioned that I was one half of a blog called Black Girls Like Us, she said "Oh yeah! I know you guys! I didn't know you lived in Nashville! Cool!" Seriously, how awesome is that?! My question for Issa was how did she handle negative comments and the intrusiveness that comes with being in the public eye, particularly from The Internets. Her answer was simply to just keep creating and don't let it get to you. Issa has dealt with her share of criticism concerning everything from ABG to a pair of glasses she wore in a picture that was posted on Instagram. Still she keeps her head and continues to create and push forward. I love that. I enjoyed meeting her afterwards too. She was funny, real, humble and very gracious.

Me to Tia: Issa said "Tell Tia I said hi!"
Tia: OMG we're famous...sorta. Okay not really.

The last season of ABG definitely saw its share of criticism. While I'll admit that much like The Office, the earlier episodes seem to be my faves, we need to support this sista as much as possible. She's a trailblazer and I love that she is now able to provide opportunities for other content creators as well. We need to encourage her and anyone that is stepping up and getting behind the camera to provide more positive diverse content versus getting behind a laptop and complaining all day long. For that Issa Rae gets my prayers and support. I can't wait to see what her bright future holds for her.

"At the end of the day it's up to us to create the content we want to see."- Issa Rae

Doc 11 - Tia

2013-04-02T19:02:00.001-05:00

I have a lot going on and hopefully will have some good news to share on Friday.

But until then, you should know that I have watching Doctor Who as often as possible. (Which isn't as often as I'd like. I'm only on Season 5 episode 1). I just finished Season 4 this afternoon and I'm not ashamed to say I cried like a baby. Between Wilfred and the Doctor and Martha...yep, I cried like these people were real.

When the episode was over I was convinced that there was no way anyone could fill David Tennent's shoes. Before I even started Season 5 I was looking at Matt Smith like, "This guy...???"

Then this happened:

I yelled, "HELL YEAH!!!" at the tv when Matt Smith proved that not only is he more than capable of being the Doctor but that he is a BAMF!!! I'm officially excited to get into the 11th Doctor. And you know how I feel about gingers, so I'm already loving Amy Pond.

GAHHHH!!! I love this show. I think it's safe to say that I'm a Whovian. My geeky love for this show is unabashed. And whenever I make it to ComicCon and meet whoever is playing the Doctor at that point, I will weep Tardis shaped tears of joy.

Allons-y!!!

YES JOJO...YAAASSSS!!! - Tia

2013-03-21T13:45:00.000-05:00

It is no secret that I sweat JoJo. If arson weren't a felony, I would burn Blackground Records to ashes for the "contract issues" they have taken this chick through. Yes, I'm a JoJo stan LIKE THAT.

JoJo's mixtape Agape dropped last November and surprise, surprise, (It wasn't a surprise) I loved it from start to finish. But hands down, without hesitation or question, "Andre" was my favorite song. So I was SUPER geeked when I found out she was shooting a video for the song back in January.

I must confess that I was getting a little worried when the video didn't immediately materialize. Yes, I'm impatient. Give me new JoJo music and give it to me now. (Still side-eyeing you Blackground.) So y'all know my day was made when the video popped up in these internet streets today.

All I can say is YAASSSSSSS! Sing Ms. Levesque...SING!!!

JoJo is coming to Nashville in May and I will be calling in sick or whatever I need to do to be at that show. This chick is the business and I will not miss her. I mean, I couldn't call myself a ~~Stan~~ fan if I didn't go.