Anyone that knows me knows that I have been a huge fan of Kelly Rowland since she first graced my screen with Destiny's Child (Beyonce stans please sit down!) so I was uber excited when I heard she was going to be a judge on X-Factor UK (I have to specify now that there's a USA version!).
I have never really watched X-Factor but when I heard Kelly was going to be a judge I knew I would be glued to the screen and she has not disappointed me. Unlike the fashion crisis she was clearly going through in 2009/2010, 2011 (or a new stylist!) has brought the style out of Ms. Rowland and she looks absolutely gorgeous on Saturdays.
Hot mess: On the
Graham Norton Show 2009
X-Factor judge 2011
Although her hair stylist still needs to be replaced (I will never understand celebrities with bad hair *cough* Serena & Venus Williams *cough*), her look as a whole is just stunning and her beauty has me mesmerized. We love you Kelly!!!
There are rumours circulating that Will Smith and wife Jada Pinkett-Smith are due to divorce after 14 years of marriage. I don't know about everyone else but I'm really saddened by this news!
We live in an era where marriages often end before death comes knocking so I find it very inspiring when I hear or see people who are still managing to keep it together despite their careers and life throwing hurdles at them. The Smith's are one of the two couples I truly look up to (the other is the Beckham's) and it would be really sad if it truly is the end of the road for them.
I'm going to pay homage to other black couples who have kept it together (so far!) through the rainy days because they truly deserve a standing ovation.
Actor Samuel L. and LaTanya Jackson, 31 years
Actor Denzel and Pauletta Washington, 28 years
President Barack and Michelle Obama, 19 years
Basketball player Mitch and Juli Richmond, 18 years
Director Spike and Tonya Lee, 16 years
Basketball player Byron and Kim Russell, 15 years
Actor and comedian Chris and Malaak Rock, 14 years
Actor Courtney B. and Actress Angela (Bassett) Vance, 14 years
It's inspiring to see couples that are making it through the 'publicity wedding', 'single black women/baby mothers' and 'Hollywood marriages' stereotypes, even more so, to see that some people still believe and work hard at the 'till death do us part' section of the wedding vows. I pray that when I get married I too will be able to boast about making it through decades of marriage.
I want to start off by saying thank you to all the people who have read and shared my blog posts, I can't believe I've had so many views!
I have now set up a Facebook page that will keep you updated on any new posts and all other NRH related information so please 'like' the page and tell a friend to tell a friend!
I'm not very computer savvy so it takes me ages to do anything technical but I'm working on a new look for my blog page so I'd love to get some ideas and feedback, every little helps. Apart from that, I'd love to hear your opinions on my posts, topics you'd like to get my opinion on and any other general banter (I'm a chatterbox!) so feel free to subscribe, comment (no electronic gangsters please!), follow me on Twitter, contact me via email or all the above!
Promise to continue being not rude but totally honest :D
My last post was fuelled with anger but this one is filled with pride! Nabil Abdul Rashid put everything I was feeling into words and did so in an eloquent and knowledgeable manner. Watch, learn, share and enjoy!
I am so angry right now I hope I can type coherently but please bear with me if my grammar and language becomes inappropriate *deep breath*
As you all know and as I previously blogged about there has been a series of riots in England that started in London as a result of the London Metropolitan Police shooting and killing an innocent man. The severity of these riots has lead to many 'educated' (I use the term loosely!) people to look into the underlying causes of these riots so that a solution to the mass violent attacks can be sought and a reoccurance can be prevented.
The issue was discussed on BBC Newsnight by presenter Emily Maitlis with historian David Starkey (racist mo***rf**ker!), author and broadcaster Dreda Say Mitchell and author of the book 'Chavs' Owen Jones.
I can't for the life of me explain how ANGRY and OUTRAGED I am at this imbecile's claims! I tell you the rage in my chest went straight to my head!!!
His whole argument that black 'bad' people have corrupted the white 'good' people just makes my blood boil! He's implying that black people are the root of all evil! WTF!!!
Then he brought in the age old argument that rap is the reason for violence. I don't remember any history books saying the slave traders used rap on the slave ships or Hitler spitting some bars before going to kill all those people! Rap also didn't start any of the World Wars so please spare me the 'rap = violence' argument! It may or may not contribute to it but so does bad living conditions and I don't hear that argument being used as a red card or a solution for that being sought!
I can't even express how angry I get when racist people use such an occasion to be openly racist! I do not in any way condone the violence that took place during those riots but to sweep the government's role under the carpet and blame Jamaican patois for it is just disgusting and f**king out of bloody order!!!! I have to commend both Emily and Owen because if only Dreda had objected to his views her opinion would have been ignored as a 'she's defending her people' type thing.
A very wise Youtube viewer posted this under a David Starkey video:
EVERY SATURDAY FOR NINE MONTHS OF THE YEAR, the police spend thousands of hours preventing guys from smashing up town centres and battering each other at FOOTBALL.
Not too many blacks and no Jamaican patois there. There isn't even any material benefit. But that's OK, eh?
MrDerekMullins
Another pinpointed the part of all this that that the a**e wipe missed:
Whites haven't become black, the reason they mix cultures so well is because they have a lot in common, from sexuality, to music, to humour, there's no difference in the way they are inside. Blacks in white communities become 'white', whites in black become 'black', it's being different shades of the same page.
scoocheeful
I'm glad some people are looking at the bigger picture here.
Some people are under the impression that racism in England is dead because there are many 'ethnic minorities' living here and this is a prime example of how real and current racism is in our society. Since the riots I've seen many 'go back to your country' and 'they are monkeys anyway' comments on social networking sites. If anything, it's just sad that people like David Lammy (MP for Tottenham) are stripped of their 'blackness' by the likes of David f**king Starkey in order to be accepted as a successful person.
Now that I have got that off my chest I want to share a video that actually shows a speaker whose brain cells are still fully active.
I apologize once again for my language, I edited some of it out but there are parts that needed it in order to convey my outrage.
I'm sure you've probably all heard the craziness that started in London and that has now spread to other cities in the UK.
Rioter on front page of newspaper
It all started when the police shot father of four Mark Duggan in Tottenham, North London while carrying out an arrest. The short version of events is that while the police were trying to arrest Mark a police officer was shot at. Believing the shot was fired by Mark, he was shot dead only to later find out that the bullet was fired by another officer and that Mark had been killed for nothing. Many black people have been reportedly killed by police officers whether while in custody or during an arrest and although there has been previous riots, very few of these officers were ever brought to justice.
R.I.P. Mark Duggan
With that background info it seems understandable that the community in Tottenham and other areas of London felt the need to protest in order to change the state of affairs HOWEVER what started off as making a point and sparking a change turned into a complete disgrace and disregard for others.
Tottenham, North London
The protest in Tottenham started off as a peaceful one, turned into a looting frenzy and ended up as straight up vandalism. Maybe because those in that area got away with taking merchandise from the local stores or just because it was seen as an excuse to carry out anti-social behaviour, whatever the reason, the youths in other areas of London started rioting and looting in their neighbourhoods.
Clapham Junction
To be honest, at first I wasn't too bothered since it was chain stores such as T-Mobile and Footlocker being affected and it seemed like an opportunistic and harmless attempt at committing mass burglaries but THEN these youths started setting things on fire, attacking innocent by standers and damaging civilian property! As a result of all this craziness many stores have opted to stay closed to protect their products and their staff.
I wasn't taking it very seriously, it seemed kind of surreal watching it on my TV screen, but while driving through areas in London and seeing first hand the damage that had been done I was furious! What sense does it make to damage your own neighbourhoods and attack properties of innocent people? I actually saw people breaking into stores and I was quite shocked at how animalistic and savage these people were.
Rye Lane, Peckham
The more shocking part for me was also that many of these people were actually children! I'm talking kids under 13 being allowed to roam the streets unsupervised and therefore given the opportunity to partake in the rioting. I wrote a previous post on giving your children far too much freedom and privacy and this is a prime example of the point I was trying to make! There is no excuse for your child thinking it's ok to act like a criminal even if the consequences may not necessarily affect them (it's very unlikely that many people will be convicted because of the large number of people involved). Also, what kind of parent must you be for your child to think it's ok to bring stolen goods to your home?
Child getting arrested. SMH.
The other thing that I have to highlight is the inefficiency of the London Metropolitan Police. Their role is to protect the city yet from what I've seen on TV and witnessed first hand they are too scared to act and therefore are not effectively stopping the madness but rather waiting till the people involved are tired enough to go home. Cowardly much?
Woolwich
This begs the question, why send British soldiers to help bring order to another country and win a war if you can't maintain order in your own and are losing a war where your opponent is fighting with plastic bottles from a garbage bin?
Garbage Warriors
What also annoys me is the fact that everything is being blamed on poverty driven people. Don't get me wrong, none of these people can afford to live lavishly but they are looting in £100 trainers, organizing it on £300 phones and driving away in 2008 model cars! I'd say the drive was greed rather than poverty if you ask me!
As a city the damage is going to take a long time to be repaired, many people are going to be out of work, a VAT increase should be expected, tax payers that were busy working while fools were getting free merchandise are going to end up paying for the damage, people are going to get criminal records for silly reasons (I hear girls are looting weave from the hair shop!), those who are convicted will be used as an example and therefore receive heavy sentences and window companies are going to benefit the most since they will have their hands tied repairing store windows!
This used to be Footlocker in Brixton
On a personal level, it took me nearly 7miles to find a petrol station brave enough to stay open, all my local supermarkets have been shut down, police sirens can be heard constantly and socializing outside my home seems practically impossible since everything is closed and many routes have been blocked.
Curry's employee arrested
In all this madness some people have completely thrown caution to the wind and started stealing without hiding their identity. This particularly foolish young lady started looting in Curry's while still wearing her Curry's uniform! Stupid much?
Others started thinking of their families and were sure to bring home some rice for their mothers and Pampers for their kids!
Basmati thieves!
Thought of his kid while looting - Peckham
Some fools used their Blackberry to organize a looting session which obviously was later traced by the police. There are reasons why they keep you in school till you're at least 16...
It's sad that what started off as a good cause ended up as national vandalism and that people have been made homeless as a result of these mindless arson attacks. All we can do now is hope it stops and that the police have learned that if the justice system will not hold them accountable, the public will.
