Barack Obama speaking at a press conference in Winston Salem, North Carolina, today…April 29, 2008
Archive for April, 2008
Color-Coded Sex Messages
April 4, 2008
So now girls are wearing lipstick, nail polish, or rubber bracelets in different colors to indicate what they will do sexually with a dude? And we live in an age in which HIV can take you out?
Hmmmm.
Do you hear alarm bells? I do. If you, or someone you know, thinks this game is cool, please tell me about it. I’m an inquiring mind. I want to know. Just don’t give me any real names. If you’re writing about yourself, just play it off like you’re not. I don’t need to know your business.
The fact that any girl would think this type of game is all right is yet another reason why the 7-book series I’m coauthoring with Dr. Linda Bradley is way past due. Read about Teen Sisters’ Health–A Body, Mind, & Spirit Wellness Guide for Girls of Color here.
A 23 Year-old with 11 Pregnancies
April 4, 2008Unbelevable, but true. She was one of my coauthor Dr. Linda Bradley’s patients. Stories like this are why Dr. Bradley and I want every teen girl to get our 7-book series, Teen Sisters’ Health-A Body, Mind, & Spirit Wellness Guide for Girls of Color.
Right now, we don’t have a publisher. But we’re working on it with our agent Susan Schulman.
Do you know a story like this one? If so, tell me about it.
LaVora
My Favorite Song Forever —”Solsbury Hill” by Peter Gabriel
April 2, 2008I started digging this song while I was living in downtown Brooklyn, New York, 1986, and have never stopped. It will remain my favorite song for the rest of this lifetime. My personal anthem.
In 1986, two of my roommates were a married couple—Israelis who grew up in a kibbutz, Chiam and Ayella (sp?). Chiam said of my Peter Gabriel cassette, “This is really great music! Who is this?” He and Ayella were music engineers, I think.
Recording
Live
The Lyrics
Solsbury Hill
Peter Gabriel
Climbing up on Solsbury hill
I could see the city light
Wind was blowing, time stood still
Eagle flew out of the night
He was something to observe
Came in close, I heard a voice
Standing stretching every nerve
I had to listen had no choice
I did not believe the information
Just had to trust imagination
My heart going boom boom, boom
Son, he said, grab your things, I’ve come to take you home.
To keeping silence I resigned
My friends would think I was a nut
Turning water into wine
Open doors would soon be shut
So I went from day to day
Though my life was in a rut
till I thought of what I’d say
Which connection I should cut
I was feeling part of the scenery
I walked right out of the machinery
My heart going boom boom boom
Hey, he said, grab your things, I’ve come to take you home.
Yeah back home
When illusion spin her net
I’m never where I want to be
And liberty she pirouette
When I think that I am free
Watched by empty silhouettes
Who close their eyes, but still can see
No one taught them etiquette
I will show another me
Today I don’t need a replacement
I tell them what the smile on my face meant
My heart going boom boom boom
Hey, I said, you can keep my things, they’ve come to take me home.
Warning Signs: S.T.R.S.—The First Three Letters of “Stroke” Plus “S”
April 2, 2008I rarely pass on information I receive in email chain letters. But since this message might save lives, here it is, unattributed, since I don’t know who originally wrote it or created the image:
RECOGNIZING A STROKE: The 1st Three Letters + S— S.T.R.S.
According to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC.gov), strokes are the third leading cause of death in the United States. Sometimes symptoms of a stroke are difficult to identify. Unfortunately, the lack of awareness spells disaster. The stroke victim may suffer severe brain damage when people nearby fail to realize what’s happening. A bystander can recognize a stroke by asking three simple questions:
S
* Ask the person to SMILE.
T
* Ask the person to TALK and coherently speak a simple sentence—for instance, “It is sunny out today?”
R
* Ask her or him to RAISE both hands.
S
*Ask the person to STICK out his or her tongue. If the tongue is “crooked” and goes to one side or the other, that’s an indication of a possible stroke.
If the person has trouble with ANY ONE of these tasks, call 999/911 immediately and describe the symptoms to the dispatcher. To learn more about strokes, check out the CDC “Stroke” Web pages here.
