Nay-Sayers

I realize I appear chatty lately, but it's mainly because instead of using all 7 blogs, I'm not using one. I'm going to convert them all over to the domain I've been using for a few years soon, but trust I had my reason for keeping them seperate and maintaining some anononmity.
Each blog is a different aspect of what I do and speaks to a different piece but it's just time to merge them all. No secrets...well, there is but one. It's not just my secret, but a bit of marketing and positive thought genius on behalf of Rhonda Byrne, author of The Secret.

The Secret is a DVD or book that is being handed from friend to friend, hailed as success of the minds on talk show after talk show and really it's its own revolution. The real secret is that the secret behind 'The Secret' not really a secret. If you have ever been happy for even a fleeting moment, you know the answer to 'The Secret'. If your dreams have ever come true or if you cling to the belief that they will, you are in full posession of 'The Secret. End of story. It's that simple.

There is however another side to everything though, isn't there? For every believer, there must be one that doesn't believe. This is how we form thought. We balance what works for us and what registers with what doesn't and somewhere in the middle, we find our position. It's why I love debating so much. It's my thing. One of them anyway.

So of course, I knew it was a matter of time, moments really before people jumped on a bandwagon going in the opposite direction of 'The Secret' to disspell it for folly. Balance, you see. Even they are part of it and just don't realize it...but before I digress, I read an article in Newsweek that basically called 'The Secret' a joke. It downplay positive thought and used a familiar dagger to burst the bubble, asking, "But what of those in Darfur or those starving? How is it that they are in their circumstance and why hasn't positive thinking lured them out of it?" Well, I will admit, I've been practicing the principals in 'The Secret' my entire life and didn't need a guide book for it, but when I saw the segment on Oprah, I asked the same question and the answer was relatively easy to come by but required some knowledge of the history of the world and the sociology of people. When you tell someone for so long that they are nothing, eventually, they will believe you.

They can look around their world and see that they are the have nots and then they could question their station in life. They could believe that they are worthless and then they would become that. Haven't we seen enough examples of this? Don't we know entire people's that this is true for? That's an affirmative.

Conflict breeds conflict. Negative anything can only create more negatives. It's only when something positive is injected that we can change the formula and for some 'The Secret' will be enough to do that, so who is anyone to balk at it? Even for the writer that wrote the article, some positive thought, some ambition was neccessary to acquire a position with Newsweek to write that article. Something brought him to the forefront of his class, even if in his mind at some point and told him that writing was his gift. Something led him down that path and if he is too lost to realize that he is that something, well, he's in the wrong business because as one of us, he is a dreamer. We are the visionaries. We see it in our minds and we create it. This is what we do as writers. We are the embodiment of 'The Secret'. How did he miss that? I fear that someone told him that he didn't measure up and he believed that. The power of thinking and believing did him in and he bought it, hook line and sinker. That's unfortunate. Perhaps I should offer a bit of balance to that mind set. Perhaps, the experiences that I know to be a result of believing in what I know I am capable of and a step further, envisioning my future would be helpful to balance that. Well, hell, that's a whole book in and of itself. Check the lightbulb moment. And like that, flashes! You gotta love the mind.

On a completely unrelated subject, I cannot fault videos for affecting my daughter's mentality today. No, today she made it crystal clear that it was all me providing her template for womanhood. It was another moment that I had to check myself. Kids will give you a million of those a day if you are open to it and don't go crazy from it.

It started innocently enough. She arrived home from the nice, quiet Catholic school that I do not take part in but encourage her to do so in and we talked about her day, then mine, then it was snack time. The usual stuff. Well, I was in the midst of picking up the laptop and about to channel hop for background noise and she followed me downstairs, so I was mindful of the channels I landed on. There are things I will watch and/or listen to that aren't meant for her ears and to be honest, that I would hope she would never have interest in listening to or watching.

There is a group called Pretty Ricky out now that is being marketing to young girls and I'm gathering this is a spin on all the young male groups we've always had decade to decade that add a twist to the mindset of young girls that shapes them for the pole. It used to be sweet. New Edition was sweet in my day. I don't recall too much of the sexual overtone, but hey, I was 16 before my friends took me to Chuck E. Cheese to explain the dynamics of oral sex after they tired of my innocent ignorance. What's funny is that looking back, they didn't have a damn clue either so what they were teaching me, I'm glad I didn't take for gospel. I was at least smart enough to wait and read a few books...but hey, WHOLE other topic. Thing is, Pretty Ricky is OVERTLY sexual.

They have a song called "On the hotline". Again, I hate to sound like a broken record but back in Weeziana, one of my aunts neighborhood friends rounded all of us kids on the block up( It takes a village) and made us sign up for the talent show. She gave us two songs, "And the beat goes on" by the Whispers and "Hotline" by the Sylvers. We danced to The Whispers. Now, all of these songs may have very well been about sex. Most songs are at some point, but there is an art to not being crass. We don't have to put it ALL out there. Shouldn't there be some mystique? I mean, we all know basic anatomy, but damn, this is lyrical porno these days...and I'm no prude.

Pretty Ricky Lyrics:
on the hotline its not enough but I had to call ya cuz im home alone lustin for ya
im in my room nuthin but a towel on take them granny panties off out a thong on
I luv it when I hear ya moan ya got a sexy tone that turns ya boy on u in a complete nother city on the fan line with nothin but a baby tee on? u the kind of girl thats sexy in the boxer shorts im the kind of player to make u ride it like a porche yeah I met u on myspace now im about to fly u out to my place in the morning

Um, that's not cute! That's NOT pretty and someone needs to whoop Ricky and his buddies arses. Not only that but my daughter bet not EVAH find herself on myspace or skype talking panties with anyone. EVAH! Because someone's going to jail that night and I ain't skeered. Aww ready!

Ride it like a porche? Can these boys even drive legally yet? And they aren't adults yet, so IT certainly hasn't reached the point of maturity. They song lyrics are "Let's talk about sex baby", well, have they talked about babies? What do they know about sex? Because what ya do at 17 ain't sex. It's just getting some and it's "some" because you aren't getting the full meal deal yet. It's half hearted and half assed. I am so happy to be 36...those books weren't lying about when you peak. But I digress. They may have some funds these days to afford to fly a girl ( because frankly, they are too young to be dating women) out to their homes, but someone is going to jail for real. That's statutory rape no matter how you slice it and underage and flying??? KIDNAPPING! Who is teaching these fools? Where are their parents? What I find appalling is that mama and daddy aren't stepping in to say, "No son, you won't sing that and it's ok if they replace you in this group because you can do better." I would imagine that these parents prefer to cash in on this generation of their children than to give a damn what happens to subsequent generations of their children AND mine.

I mean, I have a Kitchen aid mixer but that doesn't make me Emeril...I don't have to use it everyday just because I have it. Just the same, I start watching Raven with my 6 year old. It's Disney. It's all good and Raven is the $400 million woman, and she isn't puking for fame so I don't mind my child seeing her on tv. Just then, there is a commercial and young dancers come on and my daughter says she wants to learn to dance like that, to which I reply that she can dance whenever she gets the urge just get up and do it, but I remind her that it was her choice to discontinue dance classes that she has been taking since she was 2. Thus, the structured dance is out until she wants to return to class. She thinks about it for a minute and then she says, "No, you can teach me. You can do the booty shake." Oh HELL NO! Um, no more dancing in the kitchen while I make dinner. At least I was mindful enough to remove my 3 year old son from the room while I did my belly dancing dvds. LOL! But he still thinks the instructor is popcorn worthy and would sit there like it's a Spiderman marathon if I let him. BOYS! Now I have to check myself and what I've been taking in. That's what I get for "bringing sexy back". See, that's the thing with kids, they are always watching and always learning so we have to watch what we put out there because our children are our real FUBU, no joke. For us by us. Aw Ready!