Thanks South Park

I watched an old South Park episode, it was the christmas one with Charles Manson (gotta love South Park and their crass). At the message part of the show Manson's character points out that while there might be a lot of f@#% up , perverse, dangerous people in the world, they are the minority. The majority of people are decent who basically just want to be happy and have a nice life. Simple, true and easily forgotten. Because if we remembered that we are the majority then it means that when we let the manipulative, egomaniac, twisted people of the world rule our lives, it's because we let them and have given up our power. I repeat our power. Let's try not to forget that. Thanks for the reminder South Park.

Peace and love

Last King of Scotland

"Well-disposed to Britain: perhaps to an extent damaging to him in the African context." Concluding that Amin was in need of their help, the Foreign Office recommended the sale of arms to him. He was one of ours, not likely to kick up about Rhodesia or South Africa, and keen to stem the communist drift of neighbouring states.

I got that quote from Giles Foden's article in The Guardian. I made it to The Last King of Scotland and wow a lot is going on in my mind that I had to write about it. So I googled to find out more about the infamous Idi Amin. His madness and brutality I will never and hope to never understand. What is interesting is as he rose up in the ranks there were huge documented red flags about this man. And while he isn't credited with much intelligence he managed to charm and brutalise a country and live out the rest of his days in pretty much peaceful exile. The man killed almost half a million people. And that is why I lifted this particular quote about him. Amin was a conveniance, it was believed he could be controlled, eliminated easily enough when necessary (there were 7 assassination attempts), a good tool for the powers that be (same ones who pretty much turned a blind eye on apartheid and the other crap they were creating in Africa)...hmpfh I wonder who really was the tool. What makes me sick is here is a man who wiped out whole families and got to live out the rest of his days, still driving his fancy cars, getting massages on the condition that he please just lay low and keep his mouth shut. I have to say I really don't know what to make of this and it's stuff like this that makes me wonder about the world we live in. We've got people dying because of some rocks we decided are beautiful and valuable, black liquid that has us addicted harder than the worst crack addict. People I believe we are better than this we have to change or else, well I don't even want to go there.

Peace and Love

Margaritas, friends and hair

I had a lovely night last night with my good friend C. at Malo's (on Sunset Blvd. past Vermont in the Silverlake area) we had some excellent Margaritas and some serious catching up to do (it's been two months) . While sipping margaritas and catching up, one of the big topics we discussed was respect. Most of us realize we deserve respect and know that you usually don't get it until you start giving it to yourself but it is always a unique situation when you realize that you're not getting it from a friend. When a friend disrepects you DON'T TAKE IT! As a woman I am prone to the we need to discuss things but I've decided....you don't always have to. Before engaging in a serious we have issues that need to be sorted out conversation, you first need to ask yourself do you care any longer? Is there anything worth fighting for in this relationship? And is the other person even willing to listen to you? If you said no to all of those questions why are you wasting your time? Out of some need to tell yourself well at least I tried, believe me you've probably tried everything before things got to this point. Or you might feel some weird sort of obligation or guilt and if that's the case then that is your issue that you need to work on. If there is some wrong doing on your part address it and move on. At the end of the day life is precious and we only have this one life right now that we know of. Yes there will/are people in your life who you spend a whole lifelong friendship with and there are some that your paths will go in different directions and when that point has arrived then let it happen. Why struggle for something when there is nothing to struggle for? Now I'm not talking about little arguements you have, becuase we're all human and those are bound to happen or even bumby schisms (they too will occur) I'm talking about when you've reached the point that you're looking at this other person and you're wondering why am I here, when you can no longer contribute anything to this relationship, when you don't feel good about yourself or the other person. That's life and it's ok, the key is not to stay there and grow to resent that person or yourself. You met for a reason and be grateful for the lesson learned, the good times had (and hopefully there were some). So that's the crio girl's rant for the day. Oh and how did hair come into last night's topic? I told C. about the website nappturality.com we had a good chuckle, she's going to check it out and since C's a white girl it makes it all the more amusing.

Peace and love

The Pursuit of Happyness to the Secret

I am on an oscar tour this year and I will try to watch as many of the oscar nominated films before the awards, just because. I've got Blood Diamond, Notes on A Scandal and I can now add The Pursuit of Happyness. I just saw the latter yesterday. I walked into that film just knowing I was going to get uplifted because I knew it has a happy ending..... hmmph!! OK it does but gosh for an hour and I don't how long that was one emotionally draining movie. To see what that man goes through with his child just breaks your heart and I shed many a good tear. I left the theatre depressed and not wanting to have children. Yes I know he gets the job and is a multi-millionaire but after seeing him lose his wife, sleep in a public toilet, homeless shelter, etc., I needed to see the man walk into his million dollar home, drive his fancy car, have his son in the best of the best schools not just a little blurb at the end. So I started to wonder why the film got to me so much. I think the reason the film got to me so much was because it hit a little too close to home for me. I won't even pretend to be near Mr Darden's previous situation but there were enough moments and scenes that I knew exactly what was going on through his mind, dealing with the late rent, bills, notices piling up, needing to get paid right away and when the boss asks you for that 5 bucks because they have no change but for you that 5 bucks was your meal ouch! So as I ran to catch my bus home I also realised that I didn't like the fact that I could closer associate to that part of Mr. Darden's life as opposed to the multi-million dollar aspect. Today I was supposed to watch the Last King of Scotland. I passed because I don't think I'm emotionally ready yet and opted instead to watch this movie called The Secret and I am so happy I did! In a nutshell it's about how we are all energy and our thoughts are energy and that the universal law in life is the law of attraction. I shall repeat I won't give a full breakdown of the movie because I do believe it is something that everyone should watch and a quickie summary won't do it justice. What I do want to say is it brought me out of my Happyness funk and made me realise that while I keep on wanting, wanting, wanting that is part of my problem. I live in the land of wants and the land of don't. I don't want another bill, I don't want to be late, I don't want to blow this audition and all I keep attracting is what I don't want because that's what I focus on. Yesterday night I missed the point of Happyness because if I hadn't been so immersed in my world of want and don't I would've seen a man who despite what everybody was saying around him believed in himself and dream so much so that despite being homeless, having the IRS on your back, no university degree and a single parent he was selected to a position where there was only one place to be filled and he ended up surpassing that!!! So I have decided tonight and made this promise to myself to pack my mental bags and am leaving the land of want and don't, they may try calling me every now and then and that's ok but I've emigrated and have new citizenship in the land of believe in myself and I dream it, believe it, I achieve it. I will start tonight with gratitude for all the blessings in my life (and there are many) and ask my genie the universe to grant me my wishes. Now for all of you naysayeers who find all of this just mumbo jumbo positive nonesense, all I ask you is how is that negativity, fear and self-doubt working for you?


check out the secret by going to www.thesecret.tv or you can buy a copy of the movie at the bodhi tree (for those living in los angeles)

Peace and Love

For the locers out there

This one basically goes out to people who have started locing their hair or who maintain their locs by twisting. I'm in the baby loc stage (one month) but I've had locs before and I've been searching for that holy grail of products which would combine good for your hair ingredients and good for my wallet price. After reading I don't know how many websites and forums (yea to www.nappturality.com!) I just decided to go ahead and make my own. Now for all of you non-nappy locers (basically if you don't have kinky, curly hair) I'm not so sure this will work as well for you but as a consolation it doubles up as a good hand lotion.

2Tbs pure shea butter (mine comes straight from Ghana, thank-you grandma:)
2Tbs coconut oil (got from the Dominican Rep. but I hear they sell it at Wal Mart for cheap, in the cooking section)
2Tbs of grapeseed oil
1tsp lanolin oil (adds a nice sheen)
10 drops of essential fragance oil (check out www.chiflow.net they have good ones)
pure aloe vera gel ( I just put as much as I liked)

I melt the shea butter add the oils (don't use an aluminum pot) then mix in with the aloe vera gel. (you can get one of those plastic dispensers from Sally's or recycle from the old products you're not useing anymore)

My review is so far so good, I'm in control and it works out as the least expensive product.
Oh I better do my disclaimer right now. If something happens that you don't like or any other adverse reaction it's not my fault. I'm not a hairdresser just a girl who likes to tinker around because she's obsessed with hair and thought she should share something she knows works for her.

Hello and Welcome

Basically just my two cents from an African chic pursuing my dream in LA and the ups and downs of living in one of the most interesting cities in the world, I can say this as I've been to quite a few in this lifetime and basically having a place to satisfy the exhibisionist in me by publicly posting my rants and raves. So I welcome all to peruse and share in the crio girl's journey.