A sneak peek into the Juniverse

Today is a wonderful day! Besides the lovely Spring weather we're experiencing in New York, celebrity stylist June Ambrose's show premiers tonight on Vh1! I absolutely adore June Ambrose! She's beautiful, fashion forward, and has an amazing personality! June Ambrose is responsible for styling celebs like Jay-Z, Diddy, Mariah Carey. She even styled Missy Elliot in her classic "I can't stand the rain" video. Ambrose has had an extremely successful styling career and is also renown author.

Vh1 was generous enough to release the first episode of Styled by June and of course I had to catch it!! Instead of summarizing what happens throughout the episode, I'll give you a chance to see it for yourself!!!! Just click the link below and you'll be able to get a sneak peak into June Ambrose's new show!!! Ahhh don't you just love technology! Sit back, relax, and enjoy as you prepare to enter the JUNIVERSE!!! :)

http://www.vh1.com/video/styled-by-june/full-episodes/mischa-barton/1681001/playlist.jhtml

America, the brave. Willing to fight for everyone but their own.

I come to you today confused and quite disgusted. I just want to know why is it that when there is a big spectacle going on in foreign countries, American citizens rush to their aid when there are similar situations occurring on their home soil? Case in point, the unfortunate murder of Trayvon Martin.On February 26, 2012, 17 year old Trayvon Martin was shot and killed as he walked through his father's gated community in Florida. Martin was shot and killed by 28 year old George Zimmerman. Zimmerman told police officials that Martin looked suspicious and used self defense as an explanation for the shooting. I would normally agree with someone choosing self defense as a plea but there's something a little off here. Martin was dressed in a hoodie and sneakers and carried a bag of skittles candy and Iced Tea. What exactly is suspicious and life threatening about that? To make matters worse, Zimmerman has yet to be charged or arrested with any crime. What's driven me completely crazy about this whole situation is that, there has been very little media coverage regarding the incident.

Last week a documentary hit the web about a long time war brewing in Africa at the hands of Joseph Kony and it became an over night sensation. Hundreds of people rushed to purchase bracelets and tee-shirts, and made donations to support the cause and raise awareness. Almost every Facebook update and twitter status I saw had some opinion about the whole "STOP KONY" phenomena and it bother's me! Although I am completely against what's going on in Africa, I am more concerned about what's going on domestically. A 17 year old child was murdered for carrying candy and tea and that's okay but what's going on a million miles away is what has our attention. Call me shallow but I think we all need to pay close attention to what's going on here in the United States because we're all more likely to experience some level of "racial profiling" than we are to experience the war going on in Africa. Rodney King? Sean Bell? Abner Louima? Amadou Diallo? Trayvon Martin? They've all gone with out documentaries being made, trending topics on twitter, and seem like an unforgotten piece of American History. While we're fighting so hard to protect the rights of thousands of Africans, we need to fight to protect our brothers, sons, husbands, cousins, and friends from being gunned down for being "suspicious."

Another issue I have with the way "we've" been supporting the KONY movement is the fact that children being armed with guns is something that is so alarming to us. Hundreds of teens are murdered everyday in the United States. Six year old Aliyah Shell was shot and killed while she played on her porch with her mother in Chicago. I haven't seen any news about that. Over the weekend there were several more shootings in Chicago, where 10 people were murdered and 39 people were injured. Over a 2 day span at least 49 people were shot! That should be a movement in itself, but in typical American fashion we'll turn the other cheek and worry about what's going on in another country UNTIL we receive the call that one of our loved ones has become another tragic victim and then we'll hope for change.

Don't get me wrong, I think the things that are going on in Africa are terrible BUT I do believe that the atrocities in the country I call home are equally important and deserve the same amount of support and awareness. Loss of life is loss of life, regardless of where it occurs, so that's not my issue. My issue is that people have become so willing to turn their back on their own neighbors to assist someone a million miles away. It's always been acceptable in American society to overlook its own problems while meddling in another countries issues. It doesn't have to be this way. We can make a change at home. We just have to want to.

Ambitious Man

Anybody who knows me knows I love music. Good music can be a catalyst for thought provoking conversation, an inspiration for change, or in this case motivation to write. I absolutely love Wale. If you're unfamiliar, Wale is a rapper from our nations capital, who was once signed to Jay-Z's Roc Nation but is now with Rick Ross' Maybach Music Group. His music is and has always been creative and poetic. && I'm a sucker for some good poetry! Last winter I heard his song Ambitious Girl for the first time and I was hooked. He was basically shouting out all women out their that were in college doing their thing and as a college senior I was like "Hell Yea..it's about time we get some recognition from somebody!" So I automatically fell in love with the song! To my surprise, Wale released a "sequel" to Ambitious Girl entitled Ambitious Girl II featuring R&B singer and fellow Washington D.C. native J.Holiday. Once again Mr. Folarin had me hooked! I was just so thrilled to see a rapper supporting and encouraging women in college because we're often overlooked. One day I was listening to both versions of Ambitious Girls as I was on the phone w/ my beau and he was expressing how he felt overwhelmed with school and all the pressure he went through maintaining good grades and working and I had an epiphany, a bright light bulb moment. I decided to create an ode to all the Ambitious Men out there, because as much as "college girls" are bypassed, African American college educated men are like a figment of someone's imagination, hardly ever acknowledged by the media. So here I am, I decided to share my little poem with you guys. By no means do I consider myself a talented poet, I'm just a girl who found inspiration in a song and tried to do something nice SO be easy with the criticisms. LOL In the words of Erykah Badu, "Keep in mind, I'm an artist and I'm sensitive about my shit!" Sit back, relax, and hopefully enjoy... Here goes....((oh yea videos to both versions of Ambitious Girl will follow))

Ambitious Man....

Look at that man. That ambitious black man. Educated and highly motivated, ambitious man this corrupted world could never leave you jaded. Raised on the mean streets of Brooklyn NY or the West Side of the Chi, ambitious man, you know their plan, you know the only way out. They say you have to sell rock or have a wicked jump shot but you know those means usually come to one end. See most dudes around the way can ball and the one's who sell rock end up in the pen. Ambitious man you have the livest jump shot and never had a desire to sell rock. Your need to succeed resembles the dream of Dr. Martin King. Walking with your head held high, so fresh and so clean, ambitious man, your aura beams confidence and self esteem. Sure of your skills on the court and in the class, Lord knows how much kitten you're passed or pass up because every queen knows an educated African American king, with no kids, never been to jail, and never spit a 16 is something far from reality. Dedicated to furthering your career, ambitious man, I understand those early nights when you say "baby you know I love you, you know I care but between school and work I just can't be there."  We may put up a fight, roll our eyes, and suck our teeth but ambitious man, we admire the man you aspire to be. When the pressures of midterms and finals come around, excelling in school never makes you lose your cool. Mr. President of SGA, Mr. King, Mr. Junior.-- Mr. Que Psi Phi, Mr. Phi Nu Pi, Mr too cool to pledge a frat but you know that scholarship, community service and brotherhood is where its at. Mr. A phi A, Mr Royal Blue and Pure White, Student Teacher, Mr. Intern who stays up studying late at night. Mr. Advertising, Mr Graphic Design, I just wanted to take the time to let you know that your ambition blows my mind.

Love Jones celebrates its 15th anniversary

If you're a hopeless romantic, like myself, Love Jones should definitely be on your top ten favorite movies. If you're unfamiliar with Love Jones, I suggest you rush to NetFlix or YouTube and hunt it down because its that good of a movie! Nina Mosley, a newly single photographer, meets and has a whirlwind relationship with Darius Lovehall, a poet and writer. A modern fairytale set in 1990's Chicago, Love Jones shows the plight of young African Americans striving to attain their career goals as they unexpectedly fall in love in the process. Both Darius and Nina share a passion for art, photography, and poetry. Despite the twists and turns between Mosley and Lovehall, nothing different than things that many relationships go through, the electric "Jones" between the two is undeniable. With realistic issues that face the two, it is impossible for anyone to say they could not relate to SOMETHING that occurred in their relationship. They say "love prevails" and that's exactly why Love Jones was, and 15 years later still remains, a prevalent piece in African American culture.

 Even though I was 7 years old when this movie was released, I remember sneaking to watch it on VHS when my parents weren't around and playing it on DVD when I got older over and over. During my undergraduate experience in college, so many of my new friends, who had never seen the movie before, grew to love it then hate it because the frequency in which I watched it. I love this movie so much, my beau decided to recreate the cover with our faces as a cute little surprise for me. (if I can find it on my new pc I'll post a pic but don't tell him).

So here's a toast to my favorite movie as it celebrates 15 years since its release. With talks in the air of a sequel, I am completely thrilled  but hopefully that if a sequel does happen it stays true to the Love Jones I knew and fell in love with.

How you gon' win when you ain't right within?

This is a different kind of blog post. A quick, more personal and intimate look into the random thoughts and ramblings of me, Jasmine! I know I've been kind of MIA lately but I'll be back with posts galore this week to make up for my absence.

 I want to take the time to briefly discuss the state of women, African American in particular. The idea for this post stems from a night of listening to Lauryn Hill's Doo-Wop(that thing) and closely dissecting the lyrics. Here are some of the lyrics that inspired this post.

"Showing off your ass cause' you're thinking its a trend, girl friend let me break it down for you again."

"You know I only say it cause' I'm truly genuine, don't be a hard rock when you really are a gem."

"Baby girl respect is just the minimum." 

"It's silly when girls sell their souls because its in."

In a time where women are made famous for who they date (Basketball Wives, Love & Hip Hop), releasing sex tapes (Kim Kardashian), or detailing their sexual exploits with celebrities (Karrian Superhead Steffans, Kat Stacks), its hard to find any female role models who have not "sold their soul" for 15 minutes of fame. Because these women have garnered so much attention for their loud, ghetto, and sometimes promiscuous ways, it is no surprise that women and young girls a like try to emulate these Reality TV Stars. Studies report that "mean girls" on television breed "mean girls" in reality. Women and young girls are observing the behaviors and characteristics of these reality television stars, musicians, models, and actresses and try to become them. Half naked pictures of girls of all ages are surfacing on the web as they try to exude the same sexiness that they've seen in all their favorite television shows, music videos, and magazine covers. In another post I discussed the issues regarding sexting and its unfortunate effects, so there's no need to go into detail about that BUT the fact that the trend of sexting became popular as celebrities began having their pictures and videos leaked is a little bit ironic.

Women are going to new extremes and sometimes life threatening options to get an "Ass like Kim K or Nicki Minaj." Some women have gone as far as getting cement filled butt injections to enhance the size of their bottoms. With people taking these extreme measures to fit society's standards, I have to wonder who's to blame for this new culture? Is it the media for its portrayal and depictions of women? Are women responsible for succumbing to the pressures that is "forced" upon them by the media? Could it be men for pressuring women to have a body like Kim K and look like Beyonce'? Or is it little girls who want to be considered beautiful so they decide to dress in trashy clothes, wear a face full of caked up make up and send nude pix of themselves?

 Often times we get so caught up on the women who have fallen victim to the whole wanna be celebrity and reality t.v. star that we overlook the women who have chosen a different way. Women who uphold a certain level of class, dignity, and respect for themselves, like Lauryn Hill, usually go overlooked. Think about it. A woman who is dressed, well barely dressed, will receive more attention, good or bad, than a woman that is neatly dressed from head to toe. If you're on line at a club, the girls with the least clothes, most makeup, and biggest ASSETS will get in without a question, they'll probably be able cut the entire line and end up in VIP just because of their looks.

 "How you gon' win when you ain't right within?"  How will we continue to progress as a society if put so much emphasis on material things? What will we do with all of the young girls and foolish women who think that dressing scandalously and behaving wild is acceptable? What will happen to all these women when they are no longer able to use their Nicki Minaj booties to get what they want out of life? What happens when the wrinkles start to come in and skin starts to sag? What becomes of these women then?