Just a quick programming note: I'm heading to Toulouse bright and (too) early Monday morning. I wanted to do a post about things I'll miss from London, but it looks like I'm going to run out of time. I'll do that post at some point after I get to Toulouse and get settled. And since I have a lot of things going on this week (moving, hunting for a room, training for a possible part time job, reviewing all the French that I've already learned to prepare myself for classes next week, keeping the Frenchies from driving me insane, etc.), posts may be a bit sparse for the next week (or two). ‎À bientôt!

As I finish up my packing for the move to Toulouse, I've been listening to a ton of music to ease the boredom that packing inevitably induces. Randomly enough, Robin Thicke is in heavy rotation on my playlist at the moment. Singing along (off key of course) to his music, among others, has helped keep me from passing out face first into half packed luggage. For that, Robin is this week's Hot Many Candy of the Week! Well that and because he's beautiful, beautiful man.

"How important it is for us to recognize and celebrate our heroes and she-roes!" - Maya Angelou

"History does not long entrust the care of freedom to the weak or the timid." - Dwight D. Eisenhower

"We are going to have peace even if we have to fight for it." - Dwight D. Eisenhower

"War may sometimes be a necessary evil. But no matter how necessary, it is always an evil, never a good. We will not learn how to live together in peace by killing each other's children."- Jimmy Carter

A post over on D-Listed is saying that a movie promo parody called Skank Robbers showed during the BET Awards is being made into a full length movie. In it, Martin Lawrence and Jamie Foxx will revive two of their old characters, Sheneneh (from Martin) and Wanda (from In Living Color)

I remember watching both of these characters growing up. At the time I thought both were hilarious. I was also between the ages of 8 and 14 years old when both of these shows aired. I was surprisingly stupid during that time period (I was actually surprisingly stupid well past that time period, but that's another post). Happily I'm older now...and hopefully wiser. While watching this trailer, all I could feel is disgust. Seriously? Another black-man-in-drag-portraying-the-stereotypical-angry/ugly-black-woman movie? WTF?

I'm not even addressing the fact that the original skit was shown on BET (my dissection of the wasteland that BET has become is also another post for another day). Seriously Jamie, is your career so slow you have to dredge up a character from 15+ years ago? Jamie, Jamie, Jamie...after Ray I thought you were better than that. And Martin, I'm giving an especially mean shank eye to you. Seriously dude, if you want to cross dress, just freakin' cross dress...no need to make a (sh*tty) movie every time the urge hits you (see: Big Momma's House and Big Momma's House 2).

I like a good comdey just as much as the next person, but damn this is just insulting to me as a black woman...hell this is just insulting to my intelligence as a human being! I'm really hoping this isn't really going to be turned into a movie...but I'm awarding this a WTF?! Award for crappy movie concept alone. Do I really need an explanation as to why? Didn't think so.

I've been following the news of the shootings at Fort Hood since it happened a couple of days ago. I actually first heard about it on the BBC, but switched to reading CNN and NPR to get more in-depth coverage from the American perspective. After hearing the suspect shouted "Allahu Akbar" just before the killings, I can only hope that Americans won't jump to conclusions or make gross generalisations. Unfortunately, I think there are some folks in the U.S. (some politicians, journalists and pseudo-pundits included) who would use this as an excuse to demonize all Muslims.

Before September 11th, the single worst act of terrorism in American history was the bombing of the Alfred P. Murrah building in Oklahoma City. I remember that day, as well as the news coverage, quite clearly...at first, many news outlets incorrectly speculated that the bombing was committed by Islamic terrorists. When Timothy McVeigh and Terry Nichols were revealed as the perpetrators behind the bombing, there was no rush to indicate all white American males. But much like how one black criminal tends to be an indictment against an entire race, I fear that this act by one Muslim will serve to deepen the prejudiced that some folks have against folks who practice Islam.

Perhaps I've grown more cynical as I grow older. Or perhaps some of the comments left by folks on the news articles I've been reading have given me pause. Sigh. Why do some elements of American society attribute the actions of an individual to an entire group of people? I'm tired...tired of generalisations thrown out at folks who have a different name, different religion, different skin color, different look, different ideas than what's considered "mainstream America."

On a side note, I have a lot of respect for soldiers. There are very few people who are willing to put their lives on the line...let alone do it on a daily basis. This is probably why I also have a lot of respect for police officers and firefighters as well. Although I don't like war, as I've gotten older, I've come to view it as an unfortunate, but necessary evil (kinda complicated why I think that...if anyone wants to know why let me know). Years before I was born, my dad was in the Army. I grew up with my father telling me stories about his own combat experiences...and the constant state of fear for his safety that his family lived with while he was gone. It's bad enough what military families go through when a loved one is deployed. But being forced to worry about their safety even before deployment is horrible. Every single person killed during this shooting had someone who loved them. Brothers. Sisters. Fathers. Mothers. My heart, my sympathies and my prayers go out to the families of the victims back in Fort Hood, Texas.

Thanks to Mika over at Mika's Closet for presenting me with the Kreativ Blogger Award! I feel so honored! So there are a few things I have to do when accepting the award. Here are the guidelines:

For those of y’all who don’t know, my hair is au naturale. I rock (what I think is) a very kick ass wee ‘fro. In my hometown of Atlanta (and in New York, where I lived briefly before making the jump across the pond), finding black hair care products was never really an issue. I’m pretty low maintenance, so as long as I can find 5 things I’m pretty content: hot oil, moisturizing shampoo, a good conditioner, detangler (my best friend these days) and a good hair moisturizer. Most of this stuff is pretty easy for me to find in London (Superdrug and their buy one get one free offers is my 2nd best friend). The only exception: good hair moisturizer. Another American expat friend of mine here in London said that I need to go to my nearest “ethnic area” to find good hair moisturizer. Since I live in central London (Zone 1), that nearest “ethnic area” would be Camden, which is in fact not an ethnic area. Camden is wonderfully, oddly quirky and unique. But ethnic? Methinks not. Since I only know my central London slice of the city really well, that leaves me with one haven of black hair care products: Sally’s Beauty Supply on Shaftesbury Avenue, not too far from Piccadilly Circus. As much as I love Sally’s, the “ethnic hair care” selection in London leaves quite a bit to be desired. I’ve seen entire sections of a store (larger than the London Sally’s) in the US devoted to black hair care. On my next trip to the US I’m loading up on hair moisturizer like it’s my birthday and Christmas all rolled into one. In the meantime, I’ll hit up my Sally’s and pay the insanely overcharged prices that I loathe for my Pink Hair Lotion. No one ever said rocking a ‘fro in London would be easy…or cheap.

Back in the day, I was a huge Law and Order fan. I still am actually, but since I don't actually watch much TV now, I've fallen out of my 3 times a week Law and Order habit. But I still remember the hotness that is B.D. Wong, probably best known for his role as Dr. George Huang on Law and Order: Special Victims Unit. And before anyone ask, yes I know he's gay. And no, I don't care. He's still hot...even at 49.

From Oxford, England

Ever since I made the decision to move to France for a few months, I've been busy thinking about the logistics of the move itself (language classes, visa, phone, bank account, place to stay, packing, send stuff home, and so on). Now that most of the paperwork is out of the way, I've had time to think. As the the time for me to actually get on the plane and fly to Toulouse quickly draws near (only 2 more weeks in London!), I've been analysing my decision. Is it the right one? I'm a screwing myself later on career-wise?

Admittedly I tend to (over)analyse a lot. During one of my semi-regular introspective analytical sessions, a friend of mine said that phrasing decision in terms of "right" or "wrong" isn't terribly accurate. Clearly there are some things that are obviously "wrong" decisions, like murder (she actually used that as an example), but there are very few decisions that are that black and white. She pointed out that, when faced with choices in life, one decision may be better than another one, but neither is necessarily "wrong." Since you didn't pick the other path, you don't really know if it would have been better anyway. I rather like her way of thinking.

As I have a mini-freakout session (f*ck! I don't know the language! I don't know the customs! What the f*ck was I thinking!), I'm trying to calm my nerves by reminding myself of the reasons why I made this decision. As my friend's advice bounces around in my head, I try to convince myself that this isn't a bad decision (notice I didn't say "wrong" decision), but it's not easy. A friend of mine here in London just got a job she really wanted and it makes me wonder: perhaps I should have stuck it out in London. But her career field is not mine, and neither is her path.

So even as I worry about how I'm going to get on in a country where I barely speak the language, for an indeterminate amount of time beyond knowing I want to be in Atlanta by the end of next July, I try to remember that everyone's path is different. Perhaps this is my path, as non-traditional and random as it may be. Hopefully future employers won't hold that against.

I originally saw this video over at Stuff White People Do:

Amazing how Wanda Sykes manages to sum up in just over a minute something I've been mentally chewing over for months. I think a great comic is one who can make people laugh while also giving insightful, analytical social commentary. Not an easy job to be sure. Luckily, Wanda Sykes is a great comic.