sista « WordPress.com Tag Feed

Happy Birthday to My Sista, E$

getbradstanleypublished — Tue, 09 Feb 2010 05:16:36 +0000

Some gems of emails from over the years (the current banner picture is her from when she was a tiny child) …

From around 2003,

“brad your email was very informative.
so yesterday i was trying to fax something and this black guy i work with called les goes “excuse me sister” so i turned to keith who was also faxing something and said “did he just call me sista?” and keith was like nah. so he comes back in and i ask les and he goes yea i did. you got the hair for it. so i mumbled darsh and got some strange stares.
peace “

Work is sometimes tough -

“Spiked cereal on a Thursday??? Most people save that crap for Tuesdays.
Look at you, lush. This weekend will be nuts, I can already tell. Spiked
cereal for breakfast.
These poncho rumors are untrue, unfounded, and underrepresented.”

And, this dream which we finally fulfilled when I was home for Christmas:

“Skank face? I will punch you for that.
We should both wear some home made t-shirts tonight. If we had more time we
could make them some ridiculous ones and make them put them on.”

(At some point I’ll post pictures of the awesome shirts.)

Happy bday Stinky!

Heart Meditation

mjfontaine — Sat, 30 Jan 2010 02:24:51 +0000

Meditation Mixed Media Journal page

Video: "Sista!" by Dirty Disco

loft965 — Wed, 20 Jan 2010 06:59:32 +0000

This is the official music video for Dirty Disco’s debut single “Sista!,” which will be released on the 22nd of February. It is mixed by Grammy nominee Dylan Dresdow, who mixed the Black Eyed Peas’ latest album including “Boom Boom Pow.”

My Very 1st Video Cameo =)

emaphotography — Thu, 10 Dec 2009 03:38:22 +0000

After cameos in videos by Fresh Daily (“Apollo 13″) and Brokn.Englsh (“Cherry Popper”) this year, I thought I’d share with you my very first experience being in a music video…

One day, many many moons ago, when I was in elementary school, my best friend at the time, Iaisha, found out that a music video was being shot in our projects (Amsterdam Houses, baby!). Turned out to be Sista (of which Missy Elliott was a member), and we were extra geeked to meet DeVante and Dalvin of Jodeci! We ended up taking them up the block to one of our favorite delis to get some grub during the shoot =)

Later, I got everybody’s autograph, but I lost them when my wallet fell out of a hole in my pocket not too long after =(

Peep our 2-second cameo at the end of the video in the crowd scene; my friend Iaisha is in the white shorts and I’m the girl in the blue windbreaker clapping off-beat (SMH). Good times!

Sista – Brand Nu

LE VASTE UNIVERS DES POUPEES JAPONAISES

dovh — Thu, 26 Nov 2009 14:32:54 +0000

Plusieurs livres ne suffiraient pas à décrire la variété, la complexité et le raffinement des ningyô, ces poupées qui sont au Japon bien plus que de simples jouets ou souvenirs. Petite évocation succincte de ce vaste champ artistique ancestral.

Une origine spirituelle

Le conte de GENJI mentionne déjà la fonction religieuse et talismanique de la poupée aux environs de l’an 1000 : agamatsu (une simple croix en bambou avec une tête en tissu) ou hoko (une poupée de chiffon) placées près du nouveau né, sont sensées écarter de lui les mauvais esprits. Il semble également que certaines poupées (kokeshi⁽¹⁾en particulier) aient été réalisées pour honorer la mémoire d’enfants disparus (fausse couche, avortement, famine, maladie …).

La « mission » religieuse de l’objet s’illustre particulièrement dans la coutume des nagashi-bina (de simples figurines en papier ou en paille) qui consiste, le troisième jour du troisième mois, à frotter la poupée sur soi (ou à souffler sur elle) afin qu’elle s’imprègne des actes néfastes de l’année écoulée, puis à la jeter à la rivière (ou à la placer sur un petit bateau qui dérivera au loin) afin qu’elle emmène les péchés commis.

Dans le même esprit, les daruma⁽²⁾ sont achetés en début d’année pour donner courage : un œil est alors peint pour symboliser l’objectif à atteindre, l’autre le sera quand la réalisation sera accomplie. A la fin de l’année, le daruma est brûlé pour évoquer la destruction des péchés et actes moralement répréhensibles de la période écoulée.

Deux journées particulières …

Si rien n’interdit d’acquérir ou d’offrir des ningyô tout au long de l’année, deux événements impliquent particulièrement les poupées :

Le jour des filles, également appelé festival de la pêche car célébrant l’éclosion des fleurs de pêcher (momo no sekku), reprend depuis le XVII^ème siècle le rite de purification précédemment évoqué. Célébré le 3^ème jour du 3^ème mois, Il est l’occasion d’offrir et d’exposer les poupées, en particulier les hina ⁽³⁾.

Le jour des garçons, également appelé festival de l’iris (tango no sekku), est célébré le 5^ème jour du 5^ème mois, l’iris étant utilisé pour purifier les foyers et sa feuille en forme de lame évoquant les armes … d’où les figurines et instruments de combat (casques, sabres …) comme cadeaux. On offre particulièrement des poupées musha représentent des guerriers à cette occasion.

…Et de nombreuses autres occasions.

Au-delà de ces deux évènements, les ningyô participent de l’importance du cadeau dans la culture nipponne et tous types de poupées sont offerts selon les occasions : naissance (présentoir escalier pour accueillir une collection de hina ⁽³⁾), mariage ou anniversaire de mariage (on offrira typiquement le couple de vieillards «Jotomba», kokeshi⁽¹⁾symbolisant la longévité), etc. …

Le cadeau d’entreprise est également friand de poupées et il est fréquent qu’une compagnie offre à l’occasion d’une journée commémorative, d’un séminaire ou d’une visite de délégation, une ou plusieurs ningyô à ses invités (il est à remarquer que des entreprises japonaises implantées en France développent actuellement les mêmes pratiques auprès de leurs agents ou partenaires).

Issue de la tradition religieuse ou folklorique populaire, la poupée japonaise a également une vocation de souvenir régional c’est particulièrement le cas pour la kokeshi⁽¹⁾ dont les variétés sont si nombreuses que leur collection est infinie.

Les ningyô dans le foyer japonais

Comme beaucoup d’autres expressions artistiques japonaises, les poupées ne sont pas nécessairement appelées à durer et certaines se conserveront mieux que d’autres. Ceci n’empêche nullement la transmission de génération en génération et dans une maison japonaise, le tokonoma ou espace rotatif destiné à l’exposition de deux ou trois « trésors » familiaux sera souvent orné de très belles hakata⁽⁴⁾ ou kimekomi⁽⁵⁾ , voire parfois d’une rare et très onéreuse karakuri⁽⁶⁾.

D’autres poupées détenues par la famille seront soigneusement entreposées dans des coffrets appropriés, pour en être sorties et exposées à l’occasion des deux évènements annuels évoqués plus haut, de la même façon que les santons prennent le chemin des crèches occidentales à Noël …

Les poupées kokeshi : un artisanat ancien …

S’il existe des ateliers de production de ningyô dans tout le Japon, la région d’origine est historiquement celle du Tohoku (Nord-est du Japon) où les kokeshi⁽¹⁾ étaient fabriquées par des artisans vers le milieu de la période Edo (1603-1867). Ceux-ci (Kiji-Shi) vivaient à proximité des stations thermales et étaient initialement des fabricants de vaisselle et ustensiles de cuisine en bois.

De nos jours, on distingue deux sortes de kokeshi⁽¹⁾ : Les « traditionnelles » (Dento) ont comme caractéristiques un corps cylindrique sans membre et une tête sphérique qui leur donnent une apparence de quille. La plus grande partie de ces poupées sont produites dans la

région de Tohoku. Les kokeshi « modernes » ou « créatives » (Shingata) ont quant à elles vu le jour après la seconde guerre mondiale et leurs créateurs ont une totale liberté dans les formes, dessins et couleurs. Elles sont principalement produites dans la région de Gumma.

La production des kokeshi⁽¹⁾ est essentiellement réalisée par des petites manufactures dont certaines sont familiales et réunissent trois générations dans les ateliers. Il est assez courant que des artisans « associés » à l’atelier travaillent à leur domicile pendant les soirées d’hiver et fournissent leur production à la manufacture qui commercialisera leurs réalisations.

… Et des artistes primés

Si chaque kokeshi⁽¹⁾ a son charme et si certaines sont plus valorisées que d’autres (choix des bois utilisés, gravure et peinture plus élaborées …), la notoriété de l’artiste créateur est également un élément d’appréciation. Chaque automne, un concours annuel met ainsi en compétition des « maîtres kokeshi » dont les meilleurs sont récompensés par des institutions régionales ou nationales (dont un prix attribué par le premier ministre). Les artisans primés acquièrent ainsi une notoriété qui les autorise à signer leurs réalisations.

Comme précédemment indiqué, cette évocation des ningyô est loin d’être exhaustive et n’a pas vocation à traiter le sujet dans son ensemble, tant celui-ci est vaste. Ceci étant, le nombre des collectionneurs croissant (particulièrement, en France, pour ce qui est des kokeshi⁽¹⁾), il paraissait utile de résumer en quelques mots un aspect de la culture Japonaise associant harmonieusement la sagesse de l’inspiration spirituelle, la force de la tradition et la beauté de l’achèvement esthétique.

Belly Dancing

mjfontaine — Sun, 22 Nov 2009 21:37:08 +0000

Belly dancing ……

I love Belly dancing its such a healing way to exercise and feel my in touch with your self…. I have been dancing on and off for about four years (i never get to finish a whole term) but this winter I vow to finish and perform as part of a troup. The atmosphere during a class is such fun but it isn’t just a case of shaking your hips. Belly dance will challenge you and your body but at the end of the class you will wonder why you did not dance sooner….

Belly dancing on a budget

If you cannot afford to go to a belly dancing class you can alway buy this belly dancing kit in a box, that my friend bought for me, however i had already started dancing.

The kit is fun and is quite useful for the novice dancer.
Buy the Art of Belly Dancing kit here from Amazon!

If you are more visual then you may want to buy a video so Bellydance for Beginners [DVD] [2008 is the best way to start your journey.

If you have any queries for belly dancing please leave a comment here!

Counting d Days

Widya — Wed, 28 Oct 2009 16:48:18 +0000

Huaaa ….

Lagi counting d days ini …

H-6 menuju kepulangan kk gw dari Germany ….

Menunggu oleh-oleh seabgrek (pede amat mau dibawain banyak … hhahaha ya iyaaalah, secara gw satu-satuny adek yang paling cantik buat kk gw).

Lucunya, malam ini gw chatting ma kk gw, tiba-tiba kk gw -yang selama ini selalu homesick- ngerasa nggak pengen ninggalin europe …. dasarrrrr si uni. Ambil positifnya aja, berarti dia bakal balik lagi ke sono … Amiiiiin. dan itu berarti akan ada barang-barang baru buat gw (hahahah tetetuuuup ….) atau bahkan tiba-tiba gw diajak ikut serta ke sana (ngarrreeeepppp)

Ok sistaa … cant wait to meet u (or d stuffs … hehheheh piss ^_^v) soon ….

TTDJ uniiiii

Poemas inconclusos para Dalila

adagioparacuerdas — Tue, 15 Sep 2009 06:41:59 +0000

Serían dos:

Sista Gitana Buena Vibra
- extrañándola -

encanto gitano
vibrante princesa
cautivadora es tu palabra
cautivador tu silencio

aprendí a soñar tu presencia
a abrazar tu ausencia
a sonreir con tu sonrisa

qué tu voz y alegría siga pintándolo todo de colores

Encuentro
- alegoría de un encuentro

mejillas frías
tu cabello es cobijo para estas caricias
y cuentan tus ojos una historia en silencio

labios cálidos
ya están tus manos juntas
y tu muequita traviesa dice algo
o no lo dice?
no lo quiere decir

escondes bien la brújula
y no sé cómo llegar…
son fuertes las olas del océano
es tu latir este mar

GAB II

Ryktet om syslöjds-läraren

yrsha — Sat, 05 Sep 2009 19:47:35 +0000

Jag hade en lite mystisk slöjdlärare när jag var liten.

Vi fick koka pennor på lektionen. Röda, gula, bruna. gröna, orangea eller svarta. Olika färger olika smaker.

Röd: tomat, äpple och paprika
Gul: banan, ananas och citron
Brun: potatisskal, kanel och choklad
Grön: spenat, gurka och snorkråkor
Orange: apelsin
Svart: Litchi, avokado och gamla bananer

Man var tvungen att koka dem i exakt fem minuter för att de skulle smaka någonting. Om man hade tur smakade de inte allt på en gång.
De här pennorna var inte några vanliga blyertspennor, det var några pennor som bara vår slöjdlärare kunde få tag på. Det var någon speciell som tappade färgen när man kokade dem. Men man fick inte koka olika färger på samma gång för då smakade det som en blandning mellan spenat och ärtsoppa. Det kan hända att spenat och ärtsoppa är gott, men kanske inte på samma gång.

Nu tänker ni kanske “åh, undrar vilken skola hon/han gick på när han/hon var liten”, men det kan jag inte tala om, och om jag kunde det så skulle det inte vara någon nytta för dig för vi var den sista klassen som vår slöjdlärare kokade pennor med. Jag vet inte ens om de tillverkas längre.

Black Street BBW Has Moved to A New City!

blogblackstreetbbw — Sat, 05 Sep 2009 00:50:18 +0000

If you’ve been paying attention to blackstreetbbw you already know this, but for reasons I’ll explain later, especially if somebody cares enough to ask, blackstreetbbw’s ‘base of operations’ has moved to Washington D.C. That, combined with my new, but, unfortunately silent, camera, will mean some very fresh stuff on the site in the future. Man, I really need to get the tons, tons, and more tons of Virginia BBWs I’ve got left so I an finally get to posting the new camera vids I finally have!

I haven’t been here long, and have shifted focus a bit so I haven’t been making candid trips really, but already something got to bug me. As I arrived in the city, about 3 blocks away from where I was moving into, I looked out the car window and saw an extremely impressive set of thunderous thunder thighs outside. Of course I didn’t tape them then, and I figured I’d see her again soon with her being in the neighborhood. What bugs me is that the very next time I was in the car, the very next day, someone else was driving, I was sitting in the car thinking I should have just turned my camera on in case I saw that woman again, and guess what? She was outside waling her dog and we drove right past her! Slow! And I KNEW it was going to happen! Arg!
I went on MySpace shortly after and found pictures of this young woman below, who also happened to live in D.C. I wanted to say “Well, because I missed her outside, I found her on MySpace!”, but I really don’t think I did! (I think the bbw girl I saw was a little thicker!!) You might’ve found this girl on MySpace already, or maybe on Babs

Flashback Friday - 8/28

Lady — Fri, 28 Aug 2009 16:23:48 +0000

Happy Friday All! I am just getting back into reality after being away for a week, so bear with me, lol. I usually select random artists to post up every week, but this week was just a bit different. Today, just two of the songs were randomly picked, while the other three are songs from some maybe not-so-well known groups in which one member became solo and went on to do bigger and better things. We can call it, “The Cream Of The Crop” edition of Flashback Friday. The groups I am talking about are Mista, Sista and Vertical Hold, which produced Bobby Wilson aka ‘Bobby Valentino’, Melissa Elliott aka ‘Missy Elliott’ and Angela Brown aka ‘Angie Stone’ respectively.

I sat for a few minutes racking my brain, trying to figure out if I could think of any other obscure groups who had a member branch out and leave the rest of the group in their dust. I couldn’t think of any at the time, so please chime in on this discussion in the comment section if you can come up with any other artists. Remember, I said obscure so a group like Destiny’s Child doesn’t count! The group Mista came out when I was in high school and I recall the song “Blackberry Molasses” being a hot one at the time….but that’s not the song I posted; I put up “Lady” instead. For no reason in particular, . Amazingly, lil Bobby Wilson still looks the same and actually still kinda sounds the same; a bit on the nasally side, lol. Mr. Valentino has put out some hot tracks in the new millennium so I’ll leave my boy Bob alone. Sista debuted in 1994 and is a group I doubt many remember. The other three girls could’ve just been some chicks off the street who could dance a little and slightly hold a note while Missy handled the vocals and DeVante from put down a nice beat. I think we can say that Missy “Misdemeanor” Elliott has done pretty well as a solo artist and producer since. (Btw, did anyone else also notice Ginuwine’s half-second cameo in the “Brand New” video? ) And lastly, there is Angie Stone from out of Vertical Hold. A soulful artist who has had some hits, but probably hasn’t garnered as much attention as the previous artists I’ve talked about. Angie may be better known as one of the singer D’Angelo’s baby’s mothers. I believe I’ve said enough here, so take a listen to the throwbacks I’ve posted, enjoy, vote, comment, suggest and pass them on if you please. Anyway, have a blessed weekend!

*Exits outta the firescape*

Digable Planets –Rebirth Of The Slick (Cool Like That)(1993)

Jade – Dont Walk Away( 1992)

Mista – Lady(1996)

Sista – Brand New(1994)

Vertical Hold – Seems You’re Much Too Busy(1993)

Alla 1890-talister borta ! :(

Sven-Jörgen — Wed, 26 Aug 2009 19:14:00 +0000

Sveriges äldsta Rut Mikaelsson från Åsele har avlidit 109 år gammal, det innebär att alla personer födda på 1800-talet är borta. Sorligt, en epok går i graven.

Rut den siste 1890-talisten. Bild från www.aftonbladet.se

10 tips kring hur du hittar sista minuten

Erik — Wed, 19 Aug 2009 10:37:41 +0000

Lär dig hitta sista minuten till Asien och Australien

Här kommer 10 vassa tips för dig som letar sista minuten. Kanske ska du iväg till Asien och Australien eller så ska du hålla dig i Europa. Så här kommer du dit billigt.

1. Undvik att resa när alla andra reser
Priset blir högre de dagar många vill flyga på, exempelvis lov och helgdagar. Om det till exempel är helgdag en torsdag så är biljetterna billigare på fredag. Undvik att flyga ut på fredagar och hem på söndagar eftersom ”alla” vill resa då. Åk till exempel i stället på lördag till måndag. Så hittar du restresor, billigt flyg och billiga flygbiljetter.

2. Prova olika alternativ
Nöj dig inte med att göra en enda prissökning, prova flera olika datum för din resa. Du kan tjäna flera tusen kronor på att flyga en annan dag. Använd dig av topplistor och prisöversikter om du kan vara flexibel gällande resdatum. Så hittar du restresor, billigt flyg och billiga flygbiljetter.

3. Prova enkelresor
Två enkelresor med olika flygbolag kan vara billigare än en tur/retur-biljett med samma flygbolag. Så hittar du restresor, billigt flyg och billiga flygbiljetter.

4. Res en omväg
Om du ska till en mindre stad är risken stor att det bara är ett flygbolag i Sverige som flyger dit. Det kan vara billigare att åka lågprisflyg till London och sedan åka lågprisflyg därifrån. Tänk på att ha bra tidsmarginal mellan bytena och att du inte får ersättning om du missar anslutningen.

5. Fråga på resebyrån
Om du skall resa till och från flera olika destinationer under samma resa så rekommenderar vi att du kontaktar en resebyrå. De vet precis hur flygbolagens bokningssystem fungerar. Så hittar du restresor, billigt flyg och billiga flygbiljetter.

6. Sista-minuten-resa
Kolla charterarrangörernas sista-minuten-priser där du ibland kan köpa “endast flygstol” till många soldestinationer. Så hittar du restresor, billigt flyg och billiga flygbiljetter.

7. Boka lågprisflyg tidigt
Ju tidigare du bokar din biljett desto billigare blir det oftast. Priserna ändras ofta från dag till dag beroende på efterfrågan. Så hittar du restresor, billigt flyg och billiga flygbiljetter.

8. Erbjudanden och rabatter
De flesta lågprisflygbolag har prisvärda erbjudanden som du enbart kan boka via deras sajt. Leta efter rubriker som ”erbjudande”, ”rabatt” eller ”kampanj”. Prenumerera på reseföretagens nyhetsbrev där det ofta dyker upp erbjudande och rabatter. Du kan även få rabatt hos många företag om du är student eller pensionär. Så hittar du restresor, billigt flyg och billiga flygbiljetter.

9. Betala resan med betalkort
De flesta kontokort ger dig ersättning vid förseningar och uteblivet bagage. Kolla även om det ingår avbeställningsskydd i ditt kontokort. Så säkrar du upp billigt flyg och billiga flygbiljetter.

10. Ha god tidsmarginal
De billiga biljetterna går i många fall inte att boka om. Missar du flyget så kan du därför få problem. Till vissa flyg måste du vara på plats två timmar före avgång. På de stora flygplatserna är det ofta långa köer till incheckning och säkerhetskontroller.

Dessutom: Skatter och avgifter kan variera kraftigt mellan olika destinationer. Annonseras flygbiljetter för 1 kr styck och skatter sedan tillkommer är det kanske inte så billigt som det låter. Se upp med avgifter för tjänster som kanske inte är nödvändiga. Exempelvis avbeställningsskydd kanske ingår i din reseförsäkring o s v.

Alla lågprisflygbolag: Lågprisflygbolag.se

NASTAD and the Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation Release First-Ever National HIV Prevention Inventory

dak1215 — Tue, 04 Aug 2009 13:30:40 +0000

The National HIV Prevention Inventory provides the first, comprehensive inventory of HIV prevention efforts at the state and local levels in the United States. Based on a survey of 65 health departments, including all state and territorial jurisdictions and six U.S. cities, the Inventory is intended to offer a baseline picture of how HIV prevention is delivered across the country in an effort to provide policymakers, public health officials, community organizations, and others with a more in depth understanding of HIV prevention and the role played by health departments in its delivery.

Key Findings Include:

Funding for HIV Prevention Has Been Relatively Flat in Recent Years; While Funding from CDC Represents Just Over Half the Nation’s Prevention Budget, States Provide Key Share

Jurisdictions with Greater Numbers of People Living with HIV/AIDS Have the Largest Prevention Budgets, but do not Rank at the Top in Funding Per Person with HIV/AIDS

An Array of HIV Prevention Services is Provided Across the Country, Including Health Education and Risk Reduction Activities, Partner Services, and HIV Testing

Health Departments Are Increasingly Moving to Routine Population-Based HIV Screening, While Continuing More
Targeted Efforts to Reach Those at Higher Risk

Health Departments Face Numerous Challenges, Primarily Due to Funding Shortages, Which Affect Their
Prevention Capacity and Have Resulted in Some Scaling Back

Nice Visitor Award

Riffy — Tue, 14 Jul 2009 12:05:34 +0000

oke… I’ll introduce award that my sista made. gue disini hanya menjadi penyalur pertama this award. haha. it’s name : Nice Visitor Award. dibuat khusus buad setiap blogger yang datang berkunjung ke sebuah blog dan dianggap sebagai visitor yang menyenangkan. entah karena rajin leave comment atau pernah memberi komentar yang berkesan.

so… inilah dia awardnya !!! *jreng.jreng*

tata tertibnya adalah :

give this award ke 3 blogger yang menurud kamu pantas nerima award ini .

kasih tahu siapa yang ngasih. jangan lupa, masukan link si pemberi ya?

tinggalkan komentar ke blogger yang menerima award ini.

pajang gambarnya di postingan kamu!!! lebih baik jika mengambil kode HTML-nya di sini.

cantumin link gue and link sista gue di postingan kamu !!!

so… 3 orang pertama yang ‘beruntung’ yang mendapat award ini adalah :
1. Jiyy [thanks karena uda membuad award ini]
2. Morishige
3. Saka

yang gak dapat, bukan berarti gak nice, lho! tapi karena according to the rule, gue cuma bisa kasih 3 orang diatas aja. xixi. oke. cukup sekian and terima kasih .

ps : peraturan no. 5 asli cuma bercandaan. tapi kalo diturutin, give thanks degh buad kamu !!!

Sisters love

Sophie — Sat, 11 Jul 2009 22:25:35 +0000
The sweetest gift…

Week In Review - July 3, 2009

cfuwstratford — Mon, 06 Jul 2009 01:30:20 +0000

Canadian Politics

Abousfian Abdelrazik returned to Canada Saturday afternoon amid a crowd of cheering supporters at Pearson International Airport. Following several failed attempts to return to Canada, Abdelrazik said he was very happy to be home after spending the past six years in exile in Sudan.

American Politics

New measures aimed at reducing prison rapes are in the works and States that fail to take steps to protect their inmates could see their federal money cut. The new standards were proposed Tuesday by the National Prison Rape Elimination Commission, a bipartisan panel that spent five years studying the issue. It’s estimated that about 60,000 inmates in the US are sexually abused each year.

The U.S. Census Bureau announced on June 19 that it will include same-sex couples in the 2010 census. This move is a reversal of an earlier Bush-era court decision that same-sex marriages were not to be counted.

Reproductive Choice

The Arizona Senate approved more restrictions to women seeking abortions this week. Women will now have to wait 24-hours after their first visit to a doctor when seeking an abortion, and this visit must include specific information regarding the risks of the procedure as outlined by the state. The bill also allows pharmacists and medical professionals to refuse to provide emergency contraception if they are morally opposed to it.

Abortion providers in Virginia are now legally subject to criminal charges if they perform a second trimester abortion, under a ruling by the U.S. Court of Appeals on June 25.

Gendered Violence

Police in Bolivia have arrested eight men accused of raping over 60 women in their Mennonite community over the past few months, according to the Associated Press. The men were arrested on June 23 in the eastern Santa Cruz region, which is home to a Mennonite farming settlement.

A woman in an eastern village of Bangladesh was sentenced to being caned 39 times for pointing out the father of her child. Human rights groups are concerned with the rise of such incidents in Bangladesh and say it’s becoming increasingly common for hard-line clerics in remote villages to take the law into their own hands. One group has recorded 15 such incidents in May and June.

Singer Chris Brown will not serve jail time for his assault of pop star Rihanna, thanks to a plea agreement reached just hours before the scheduled trial on June 22. Brown will serve five years of probation – about 1,400 hours of community service – and take a year-long domestic violence course.

Health

Sista’s Organizing to Survive, a one-year-old Florida-based organization, held an innovative three-day conference in Orlando this week to raise HIV awareness among black women and to encourage them to be tested. One in 68 black women in the state is living with HIV-AIDS and many are unaware that they are infected.

Arts

A yearlong, three-part study by a Princeton economics student looked at the gender bias in theater. It found that there were twice as many male playwrights as female ones, and that the men tended to be more prolific, turning out more plays. The research also found that there is discrimination against female playwrights, but that it exists mostly because of female artistic directors and literary managers. Finally, the study showed that plays by women had to be “better” than those by men in order to make a profit.

International

India moved this week to overturning a colonial-era law criminalizing homosexuality. The victory is a historic step forward for human rights only days after people worldwide took to the streets for gay pride. LGBTQ individuals in India face discrimination and violence on a daily basis.

French cosmetics company L’Oreal was found guilty of racial discrimination by the La Cour de Cassation, the French equivalent of the U.S. Supreme Court, on June 25. The company had sent out a fax stating that Garnier’s Fructise Style promoters “should be aged 18 to 22, wear size 38 to 42 clothes and be BBR”. “BBR” translates to “bleu, blanc, rouge” – the colors of the French flag – and is generally code for white French people born to white French parents.

Foreign-funded development projects focusing on agriculture, agrarian reform and natural resources are the most “gender-responsive” because of their increase in women’s access to economic opportunities and basic services, concluded a study released this week.

The World Bank has increased support and lending for gender-related issues in developing countries in order to improve women’s social and economic conditions, according to their Annual Monitoring Report. The report says that gender issues informed the design of 45 percent of all lending operations in fiscal year 2008, up from compared to 35 percent in fiscal year 2006.

Progressive US nuns are facing scrutiny from the Vatican. In the last four decades since the reforms of the Second Vatican Council, many American nuns stopped wearing religious habits, left convents to live independently and went into academia and other professions, social and political advocacy and grass-roots organizations that serve the poor or promote spirituality.

A Service of CFUW National Office
Questions/comments? cfuwadvocacy@rogers.com

Kaya Mendadak

Riffy — Sun, 05 Jul 2009 09:45:46 +0000

hua…. di postingan sebelumnya, gue menceritakan tentang si pendeta and Mimi yang mau memberikan uangnya buad Aripin a.k.a my sista’s friend. di postingan itu kan baru nunggu e-mail balasan pendeta selanjutnya. and… guess what?! si pendeta akhirnya ngebalas e-mail Aripin like this:

I WANT YOU TO KNOW THAT I AM NOT HEAR TO ANSWER CROSS QUESTION OR SOME THING OF THAT SUCH.I WILL ADVICE YOU IF TRULY THIS BANK DRAFT CHEQUE IS INTRESTED YOU.KINDLY SEND THE DHL POSTAL FEE THROUGH VIA WESTERN UNION MONEY TRANSFER TO ENABLE ME FINALISE WITH THE DHL OFFICE BEFORE THE DATE ON YOUR ORIGINAL COPY BANK DRAFT CHEQUE WILL EXPIRY.

oh shit !!! nih orang keukeuh banged sii?! asli, pasti ini penipuan!!! jadi, impian gue makin ngelambung aja ke surga. makin susah juga kegapainya. yailah… susah bangedz sii jadi orang kaya mendadak tuh!!!

pengend banget punya kerjaan. tapi apa? kerja yang menghasilkan uang, yang penting halal! hickz. pengen buka usaha, but what?! di tempat gue tinggal, usaha yang maju agak susah dilihat. buka warnet? udah banyak warnet disini. kebanyakan juga malas datang ke warnet karena banyak yang memustuskan ngenet di Hp yang pastinya lebih simple. jadi, kerja apaan donk?

apa gue buka lowongan cari kerja aja? well…

dibutuhkan orang yang ingin memperkerjakan seorang siswi SMA kelas XII IPA. keahlian hampir nggak ada. may be, pinter nulis doang. silahkan klik untuk mengkonfirmasi penawaran.

ya sudahlah… rejeki gue mungkin nggak sekarang. mungkin aja besok, besok atau besok? atau mungkin besoknya lagi… besoknya lagi… besoknya lagi… besoknya lagi…

KAPAN ?!

Money, Rock My World !

Riffy — Sat, 04 Jul 2009 00:03:52 +0000

i really need money !!!

who doesn’t need it? dari sepuluh orang, sepuluh dari sepuluh orang tersebut berkata “gue butuh uang!!!”. hal ini menjawab pertanyaan gue di depan, “who doesn’t need it?“. everybody need money, that’s a reality. orang kaya iank tiap hari makan uang aja pasti butuh uang. buad masuk surga misalnya. bagi-bagi uang ke orang-orang seperti gue ini; beggar. wakakak. nggak sedramatis itu sih. well, walau gue bener-bener butuh uang, pengend uang, ngidam uang and pengend kerja demi dapad uang, gue berusaha sekuad dan setegar mungkin untuk nggak melakukan tindakan iank agak nggak gue suka itu.

semakin hari, otak kanan-kiri gue makin membesar seperti orang hidrosefalus. bukand karena makin hari makin pintar karena gue emank udah pintar dari sononya, tapi karena pikiran gue iank muter-muter di satu pokok pikiran; UANG. oh my God… segitu dasyatnya kehebatan uang bagi diri gue. ditambah lagi karena kasus ‘tersandung’nya mental gue akibat kekalahan bokap gue dalam ‘peperangan’ pemilihan wakil rakyat. lepasnya kursi DPR yang bokap duduki mulai gue SD sampai SMA kelas dua, membuat gue keluarga shock. terlebih jika mengingat everything about DPR; fasilitas-fasilitas cihuy, kekuasaan, wewenang atas kabupaten Penajam Paser Utara yang sedikit gue cintai dan gaji yang cukup ‘wah’. aih… nggak rela rasanya melepas itu semua.

pikiran mengenai uang ini makin menjadi-jadi ketika adik gue berkata, “mau sepuluh juta nggak?”. so, the story was like this… my sista’s friend namely Aripin got an e-mail from Mimi, a girl form Senegal. gue nggak tahu sejarah perkenalan mereka, iank jelas di e-mail itu Mimi menceritakan kalau ia dalam kondisi sulit. korban perang gitu kayaknya. my sista was selected as translator because Aripin nggak bisa bahasa Inggris banged-banged. diceritakan dalam e-mail kalau Mimi ingin mencairkan uangnya yang berjumlah ratusan ribu dolar. aduduh… langsung ijo aja mata gue! Aripin diminta untuk membantunya mencairkan uang itu. kalau Aripin bisa nyairin duit itu, Aripin bakal dapat setengah dari harta Mimi! but, ternyata Mimi ingin menikah dengan seorang pria [ow... she's normal] dan hartanya itu akhirnya diberikan pada suaminya [gile!!! asik bener!], so Aripin hanya mendapatkan $ 200.000,00 [hanya?!]. and… adik gue bakal dikasih 35 % dari harta yang bakal Aripin dapat! gue and adik gue itung kira-kira adik gue dapat Rp 900.000.000,00!!! sebagai kakak, jelas gue bakalan kecipratan. gue pun bikin planning bakal beli i-Phone 3G sebagai teman K660i gue, juga mini laptop impian gue selama ini. but…

sore-sore, gue dan adik gue pigi ke warnet. isenk. buka e-mail yang Aripin kirim dari seorang pendeta pengurus harta Mimi. but, guess what?! ternyata uang Mimi bukan dalam bentuk tabungan yang bisa dikirim via western, melainkan bank draft gitu. ampuuund! jujur gue juga kagak ngerti maksudnya apa. wkwkwk. iank jelas, the end of his e-mail, he told us that he need $ 139 untuk membayar pengiriman bank draft itu ke Indonesia. hh… langsung lemes aja gue and adik gue. BAYAR??! siapa yang nggak bete coba?! i-Phone and mini laptop impian gue langsung terbang ke surga. hickz. penipuankah?! akhirnya Aripin mengirim e-mail ke pendeta itu dengan isi kurang lebih begini,

i don’t have money because i’m poor man. can you lend me your money first, then I’ll pay you if Mimi’s money come to me.

wahahahakz. semoga aja pendeta itu mau pinjamin uangnya. dan semoga… pendeta dan Mimi itu benar adanya. bukan cuma omonk kosong. bukan penipu yang berkedok orang suci. because… I NEED MONEY!!!

Eagle Nebula - Summer MC Search

La Blaxicana — Sun, 21 Jun 2009 02:58:38 +0000

Eagle Nebula is dope. She’s on some next ish that you might not be ready for. Looking for post-modern rap? She got you!

Her album Cosmic Headphones is out now and I humbly suggest you purchase two copies. One copy to listen to and one get autographed and out away. You’re looking at a legend in the making folks.

She rocked the Brooklyn Hip Hop Festival. Follow her on Twitter.

Full interview will be posted soon.

PEACE

Tårdrypande avsked

annsann — Mon, 15 Jun 2009 21:16:11 +0000

Nu har jag sett det allra sista avsnittet av Cityakuten och det var ett extra långt avsked för det var ett extra långt sista avsnitt. Dessutom var det ett bonusavsnitt en timma innan så det har varit drygt två och en halv timmas avsked efter 15 års tittande. Jag har nog sett så gott som alla avsnitt av Cityakuten sedan det började sändas. Ett tag när jag inte hade tillgång till trean så spelade min dåvarande chef in varje avsnitt på video så att jag kunde se det. Nu frågade Sofia hur det gick till, om han spelade in det på samma band hela tiden och hur man gjorde då. Man spolade bara tillbaka bandet, sa jag. Kunde man spela över det gamla då? sa hon. Snacka om att ungarna är digitaliserade nuförtiden… =) Tänk om man skulle ta och leta fram en gammal bandspelare och visa hur det gick till när man spelade in ett blandband på den gamla goda tiden, eller spelade in låtar från radion och satt och passade när det var Tracks för att inte missa de riktigt bra låtarna och se till att man inte fick med pratet emellan.

Åter till Cityakuten! Jag kommer verkligen att sakna den serien, den har varit med mig så länge och det senaste året har jag fått med Sofia i mitt tittande och vi har suttit tillsammans i soffan och gråtit i kapp och skrattat där emellan. Och nu gråter Sofia här jämte mig, och jag också och nu skrattar vi åt varandra. Visst är det härligt!

Det som var roligt i kväll under avsnittet som var före det sista, var att de intervjuade skådespelarna och då slog det mig att de verkligen är skådespelare. Jag har nästan fått känslan av att de är riktiga läkare, sjuksköterskor och kirurger. Fast jag vet ju att de är skådespelare. Men det måste ju vara ett bra betyg på att det är en väldigt välgjord serie. Allt har känts så äkta och man har verkligen levt sig in i såväl patienternas som personalens liv.

Skulle gärna se om hela serien igen, från början till slut…

Farväl Cityakuten!

Kram Ann

2nd Class Sista's...Please Wake Up!

Brotha Real — Sun, 14 Jun 2009 08:09:22 +0000

As a married man with children, I’ve learned that their are some women that are just loose and wild regardless of your commitment status. Believe me unless you are just a dawg, these type of women have nothing to offer outside of sex and the destruction of your family. These are just low or 3rd class sista’s that offer little temptation.

But every once in a while, I meet what appears to be a together young or middle-aged woman, that makes herself discreetly available for dinners or out of town trips. Even women that say they don’t want to interfere with your marriage but they “enjoy your company”. These 2nd class Sista’s, often puzzle me.

According to Webster, a 2nd class citizen is “a person who is not accorded a fair share of respect, recognition, or consideration”. The same can be said about 2nd Class Sista’s. These are sista’s that often appear to be 1st class on the surface, but for whatever reason they lack the ability to demand the same amount of respect.

Allow me to clarify.

1st Class Sista’s are the top of the line: women that not only respect themselves, but demand that others do the same. They will not go out or attempt to go out with someones man no matter how strong his game presents. These sistas would be insulted deeply if approached by someones husband and won’t hesitate to let them know it.

3rd Class Sista’s are those that have no boundaries. They will sleep with anybody’s man, period. They have no respect for themselves on for anyone else. Often bitter from their years of 2nd class treatment, they enjoy being with somebody’s man.

2nd Class Sista’s, I saved for last because that’s the topic of this blog.

Last week, I spoke with a young lady that told me how much she loved another young man that we both knew. We both know that this young man was living with his current girlfriend and baby mama. She said that they can’t date openly yet, because he hadn’t really “left his baby mama”, he told her they aren’t in love(he & the baby mama), but he was there for the child. Now keep in mind, he still goes out publicly with his girlfriend to dinners, concerts, any daytime event. But when she’s at work, or he’s out at night he gets with the other young lady privately or out of town.

This is a prime example of what I mean by 2nd class Sista’s. Sista’s Wake Up! If you can’t be first, DON”T BE ANYTHING!

Why do these girls really believe that they will somehow end up in 1st place when they start out wrong. Think about it literally: If you by a 1st class ticket on a plane and you decide you want to move to that empty seat in coach…no problem. But try it the other way around…no chance.

Ladies that’s how it goes. If I can have you on the side as a second, why would I move you to first.

There’s other kinds of 2nd class Sista too. Like the kind that has a man and knows he creeps, but ignores it because he’s got money and “still comes home to me” or because they have a child. I actually heard a wife bragging about this on E-networks Hip Hop Wives show, “They may have him for a night, but he come’s home to me”. That may be the single most idiotic statement I’ve heard a sista utter on national television. Where is your self respect and dignity?

Finally there’s the last kind of 2nd class Sista. This is the kind that just stays with a man forever. Never gets a commitment and sometimes doesn’t even live with the man, but continues to have his babies and wait for his scraps to fall from the table. Often the male with this sista will have two or three complete other households and families.

Please hear me loud and clear Sista’s, and tell this to your daughters too: If you start out in 2nd place you will never ever maintain first place. I say maintain because I’ve seen a few 2nd class sista’s briefly slide into 1st temporarily, only to be smacked back into 2nd or an even lower position. One young lady even called it to my attention that I was wrong and that she had moved onto 1st, and she had…for about 6 months. Now she’s alone and bitter close to joining the 3rd class sistas.

I wish the girls that feel so comfortable in second place could hear the way the men they would die for speak about them to other men. “My woman, that ain’t my woman…that’s my ……”, you know what I’m talking about. They make it clear that these girls are just there, much like a spare tire. (A lot of brothers hate to hear me speak or write on this subject, but I have too, because it’s true and because I have a wife and daughters)

I’m not condoning or overlooking the male aspect of these relationships, but I’m talking to the sista’s because you have the final say in these relationships. Only you can determine what class sista you are. I don’t care what you look like, what size you are, how long your hair is, or anything else. Your respect for your self determines how everyone else has to respect you.

If you stand up for your self and don’t make exceptions or take excuses, you will be respected as a 1st class sista. Yes you may be hated on, but you will be respected.

If you accept weak or lame reasons for why he has another “friend or babymama”, or if you allow your man to do whatever he wants and then return to you, you will remain at least a second class sista with chances of falling into that bitter 3rd class that has lost respect for themselves and all other relationships.

So start right now, respect yourself and other people’s relationships. Demand that you are respected, and you will be recognized as a 1st class sista. Dont’ worry about your past, Just change your class!