Is This The End?

What happened? I don't get it. Are you trying to tell me that Battlestar Galactica is over? I'm not mad about how it ended. I don't see any other way to give closure and not be corny and still leave us like "Oh snap" - which is why I love this show so much - it's the mouth hanging-open-factor that happens to me time and time again. I love the great writing, the great acting and the incredible twists in plot.

What I am mad about is that there are so many unanswered questions. D says that to get the answers, you have to go to their website, but I don't wanna. I want another episode. Who is the last of the final five? Why was there that vision of Caprica Six and Baltar with Hera in the Opera House? Why was the door closing? Where were they going? Why is Hera so important? Who cares that she drew a coloring book full of Sixes - maybe she (like everyone else) just thinks the Six is pretty? What's up with "You are the harbinger of death, Kara Thrace"?

Can anyone help me out here?

***On a happier note, glad to see that the Six herself, Tricia Helfer, will be on Burn Notice, another good show. And that the only other show worth watching on SciFi, Eureka, is back. Who is in charge of SciFi's programming? They suck. There are way too many good old Science Fiction shows for you to waste our time with Lucy Lu's old B vampire movies (though I love Lucy), and attack of the giant dinosaurs. What about the original Bionic Woman, Star Trek, Quantum Leap, Friday the 13th the Series -- okay, so that last one was corny. I don't care. I liked it.

Megasaur or Gwen?

My godson, Noah, is the sweetest kid in the world. He has already picked out names for our baby.

He told me a couple of months ago that if the baby is a girl, she should be named Gwen. I said, "That's a nice name. We'll have to keep that in mind." "And", he said, completely serious, "if the baby is a boy, he should be named Megasaur." We're still laughing over that one. But we don't have to worry about that now, because it's not a Megasaur, it's a Gwen!

We had our 20 week (alright, so, it's 21 weeks) ultrasound yesterday. And the ultrasound technician (what are they called? Sonographers?) said, in her infinite wisdom, that it was a girl. I could tell where the head and nose and arms and legs and feet were, but she had to point everything else out to us. Although it was so obvious when we saw the spine -- wow.

I was laying there, and the next thing I knew a couple of tears had rolled down my cheeks. ("Had rolled?" My grandmother would be appalled at my poor grammar.) It was so good to see that the baby was doing well, and growing okay. My husband, D, kept asking me if I was breathing, and I don't think I was. I was so nervous.

The baby kept moving her feet around. D said she was a little soccer player. I said she was a dancer like her mama. But I loved seeing her little clenched fists, up by her face, like she was boxing. She has been moving around a bunch, so maybe she's trying to box her way out. Hope she's more like Laila Ali than Jackie Frasier, or God forbid, Tonya Harding (remember when she was boxing -- why?). I don't even want to say that woman's name in any connection or comparison to my child. Ugh. Anyway, I've been calling her (our baby) my little American Gladiator. I'm really curious to know what kind of a personality she's gonna have.

Lakers vs. Celtics -- the remix

Lakers versus Celtics...

No, no, no...It's the 21st Century. Let's try that again.

That's more like it.

Celtics versus Lakers, 2008. The Remix

Yes, I watched the other games in the finals (okay, 3 of the 6), but I had to work tonight 'til 8 and forgot (!) to set the VCR (shut up. No, I don't have Tivo), so by the time I got home, I only got to see the last 5 minutes of the game. That's alright though, 'cause the Celtics won, 131-92! I'm just saying, don't expect a play by play from me. I like to watch, but I'm no expert. Check out ESPN for that.

My boy at "Str8Hoops" called it in a post back on April 19. He said Celtics over Lakers in 6. Nice. I have no idea what everyone else was saying, but I know that way back when the Celtics picked up Kevin Garnett and Ray Allen, I was cheering to myself knowing that we had some nice basketball ahead of us (and at that point, I didn't even realize that Doc Rivers was the coach - that's how long it's been since I've watched.)

I'm someone who doesn't usually get into the games until the playoffs (someone called me a fair-weather fan), but I knew I hadn't heard anything from the Celtics in a while. You don't have to watch every game to know what's going on and who's getting the buzz. I grew up with my Dad cheering on the Celtics, and I was excited to see what Pierce, Allen and Garnett were gonna do, but I do have to say, I was surprised to see them up against the Lakers at the end. At first I was like this is the finals? Like the final finals? Then, I got real excited.

Because my husband doesn't watch as much sports as my Dad does (it's not hard to watch less, since growing up, it was all sports, all the time), I just wasn't in the loop. I was happy to see that the Celtics made it to the playoffs, then that they were Eastern Conference champs, and really happy to see that they made it to the finals against the Lakers. Deja Vu! I like Kobe and Derek Fisher, but neither of them are Magic Johnson. I wasn't for a second going to feel conflicted about cheering on the Celtics against them.

During one of the games, one of the commentators was like: "The Lakers are the team of the future." I was like, yeah, the future. This is the Celtics time to shine. And Paul Pierce? He didn't sit down once during game 5, and in game 1 he had to be carried off the court, only to come back to lead them to the win. He earned that series MVP title. Good for you.

I don't know what was up with KG's outburst after the game! But that's emotion for you. Half the time, I didn't know what he was saying. Something about his mother and "Top of the World" and I did read his lips for part of that bleeped out swear (that made me laugh). But what really made me laugh was when he looked down at the reporter and said "Michelle, you're looking good tonight. You're looking good, girl!" I don't know if he was just all caught up in the emotion or trying to pick her up, but it was funny - my husband was like "Oh God. Go to Ray Allen. He's acted. He knows what to say on camera." Not your normal postgame interview. He did get it together enough for me to understand what he was saying at the press conference. But you know what, KG, I ain't mad at ya. Celebrate.

Not Guilty? - Friday, June 13

"Just because they found him not guilty doesn't mean he's innocent."
-Admiral William Adama, Battlestar Galatica

R. Kelly Acquitted of Child Porn Charges - NPR

So on Friday, a jury in Cook County found Robert Kelly (better known as singer/producer R. Kelly) not guilty of having sex with an underage girl (possibly as young as 13) and videotaping the act.

Humph. I have to say that I don't believe that he's not guilty, and I am amazed at some people's characterization of him as having dealt with an ordeal these last six years that he managed to avoid both trial and prison. This is the man who calls himself the "Pied Piper of R&B." If he's innocent, would he like to explain just what all that is about? I mean, this man seemed to almost capitalize on this - remember "Guilty Until Proven Innocent?" the song he did with Jay-Z?

"You can't touch me, no you can't touch me/Jigga, Kelly, not guilty/Try to charge me but I'm not guilty/I got, all, my mamis/I've got all of my mamis/Tell me, what you, want from me/Tell me.. (I am the one)/What you want from me? Not guilty."

Okay. Whatever. Don't think we've forgotten about Aaliyah. There is precedent for this. Like Adama said: Just because he's "not guilty" doesn't mean he's innocent.

***If you ever get a chance to see season one of the Boondocks (check your library or video store to see if they have it), check out the episode where R. Kelly goes to trial. Some of the stuff on the Boondocks might make you mad, but you'll be laughing at the same time...***

La Musique

If you've never heard of Les Nubians and you think you might like music that is a mixture of R&B, World Music, and Jazz, do yourself a favor and check them out. They are fabulous. I love listening to music in other languages, even when I don't understand the language, because when an artist can't hide behind the words, we as listeners get a chance to really focus in on whether they can carry a tune and if their music flows and speaks to us. And music doesn't have to be in your language to speak to you.

In fact, here's a list of some of my favorite artists from other countries or cultures (don't be intimidated if they don't sing in English - listen to it anyway!)

1. Les Nubians - Cameroon/France. I love just about everything they've done, but my absolute favorites are Makeda, Demain, Si Infidèle, etc., etc., etc.


2. Joy Denalane - Germany. Heard her on a Putumayo CD and couldn't get her music out of my head. I b-tched and moaned about not being able to find her album on I-Tunes, and having to pay something like $27.00 for her album, Mamami, on Amazon.com, until my husband got fed up and just bought it for me (along with her English language album, Born and Raised.) Favorites from Joy: Was auch immer, Höchste Zeit, Sag's Mir, Born and Raised (song).

3. Crystal Kay - Japan. While checking out a You Tube video from Funkanometry SF, I heard this little sample "You need to chill out and let go sometimes/feel free to let yourself say/Kirakuni, take it easy..." so I googled that phrase (why not?) and found Miss Crystal Kay. It's J-Pop, and I make no apologies for my love of pop music. So there. Favorite: Kirakuni.

4. Bebel Gilberto - Brazil. My sister turned me on to her. (Thanks, Shell!) She's the daughter of a famous Brazilian musician, João Gilberto. My favorite songs of hers are from her album, Bebel Gilberto: Aganju, Jabuticaba, Baby. Though I have to be fair and give her album Momento another listen, since when I heard it, I might not have been in the mood for mellow.

5. Zap Mama - Belgium/Democratic Republic of Congo. Though I think there are people in the group who back her up. Zap Mama is primarily (and basically) Marie Daulne. My favorites are from the only Zap Mama album that I own Ancestry in Progress - though I'm open to hearing more...Miss Q'n, Yaki, Zap Bébés.

6. M.I.A. - Sri Lanka./England. I almost forgot! How could I? She's constantly playing in my I-Pod! U.R.A.Q.T., Galang, Boyz, Bingo, etc., etc., etc.

I just realized that all these artists are women. I didn't plan it that way, but hey - Let's hear it for the sistah's! (And why are they all so fraking gorgeous!)

Baby, I'm Back!

I'm sorry that I've been gone so long! Sooooooooooooooooooo much has happened since last I posted! I wish I could backdate and pretend that I was actually a timely, responsible blogger, but no such luck, so for those of you who have been living under a rock, let's talk about some of the biggest, most hopeful and incredible things that have been going on in the world (and in my world). These are out of order for a very good reason, but don't cheat and scroll to the bottom just yet!

The Second Amazing Thing - May 16, 2008
The California Supreme Court overturned a ban on Gay Marriage! Why shouldn't people who love each other be able to get married? Who cares if they are the same sex? Doesn't the world need more love and a lot less of the hate that causes people to ban gay marriage in the first place? (I guess my post is a little timely, since official gay marriages can start June 17th - actually, I'm early!)
State's Top Court Strikes Down Marriage Ban.

Now unfortunately, conservatives in California have already gotten a measure to overturn the overturning (basically, to "re-ban" gay marriage) on the November ballot. Click here for that story.
This, in spite of the fact that polls have shown that Californian's approve of actually letting two grown people who love each other get married. In his decision, Chief Justice Ronald George, God Bless Him, compared not letting gays and lesbians get married to the laws that used to exist that didn't allow blacks and whites to get married. Seems silly now, doesn't it, but there are a lot of people who wouldn't have been allowed a loving, committed relationship with all the legal perks and rights that married people have if those laws had been allowed to stand, and it's the same thing here and now.

The Third Amazing Thing - June 4, 2008

Barack Obama has secured the nomination of the Democratic Party for President? Wow!! I somehow thought this madness between he and Hillary was just going to go on forever. (I kid you not) I had actually stopped paying attention.

Of course, Time Magazine had already predicted this back in May, which I do have to say, I thought was a little hasty, but I didn't read the article, either, which I'm sure would have illuminated their reasons. I can't say I didn't get a little internal leap of joy when I saw the cover, though. :)

Of course, good news for me is not good news for everyone, and the media is already predicting that Clinton supporters might vote for McCain rather than support Obama. What the hell has Obama done to them that they would abandon the values that made them vote Democratic in the first place and vote for someone who represents a party that has led us into the mess that we are in now?

One thing I have to say for Obama: this is just the beginning of his fight. He's not stupid. I'm sure he knows it. We've all got a lot of hopes riding on him. I was lucky enough to see one of my favorite musical groups, Les Nubians, perform recently, and they mentioned (they are from France) that the whole world is watching the U.S. to see the result of this. Around the World, Much Is Expected of Barack Obama
A lot of people, including me, are hoping that the fact that Obama grew up in this country with brown skin, will allow him to be more open to working with people of color around the world to end their oppression and more sympathetic to issues involving communities and countries that are made up of what has been for too long in the U.S. been considered the "other." I really hope at least, that he works to get us out of the deep and saddening hole that the Bush Administration has taken every opportunity to dig even deeper.

Now, the moment we have all been waiting for:
The First Amazing Thing - February 20, 2008

Drum Roll, Please....

I passed the test! Thus the change from Library Lady to Chic Mama.

Nuff said. You'll be hearing plenty about it later!

Just know that we are overjoyed and I am loving being pregnant,

especially now that it's the second trimester and I'm not tired all the time!