novaslim.com

It’s like I am going to have to do some maintenance on this site. Think about what happened to me several days ago when I had to move all my stuff to a new folder. Think about why new entries aren’t showing up on the main page of ~Sunray~’s site and why comments aren’t being couned there either. Think about why my site was “suspended” a couple of nights ago.
Here’s the main tea. Uploading, rebuilding and saving has been quite a task lately for Sunray and I in Moveable Type. I am thinking maybe there were some misplaced tages or something, but that’s neither here nor there. According to my hosting company, my scripts, namely mt.cgi, are consuming too many server resources. Before I get too pissy and switch servers (something I neither have the money or patience for at this time), I’ll just uninstall and reinstall MT. Or have Karsh do it. I might just have Karsh do it because the whole task seems very grim to me.
Hopefully, I won’t have to disappear too long, and I haven’t started the big upheaval yet. So no fear. I’ll still be blogging for days to come. It might be a few weeks before I even decide to do it, because I’d rather come up with a new dynamic layout first before I even touch it. There’s some things I want to learn. I still have to work on how to customize the search template, include cute little features like recent comments and most commented on entires, a sideblog, and perhaps a few other things. I’ve also been fooling around with SWiSH, buying countless magazines and scanning them for layout ideas.
Do you have any ideas? Let me know. This is a blogosphere-wide call for assistance.

Just wanted to post on my favorite 10 joints of the moment in no particular order:

• Missy Elliott “Pass the Dutch”: Missy keeps dropping hits and this one definitely makes me go off. The only thing I’d say is lacking is that I have yet to hear a club edit where she doesn’t stop the music to talk and stuff like she does on the regular version.
• Rah Digga “Party & Bullshit ’03″: I’m supposed to be mad that she’s remaking my beloved B-I, right? Well, Just Blaze is a friggin’ animal and this beat is dangerous. If this song doesn’t make you move, you must be in a coma. I am loving her references to old house hits like “The Perculator” and “Beat That Bitch With a Bat”.
• Kelis “Milkshake”: The only thing that annoys me about this song is that it’s taken everyone a couple of albums to catch on to this girl. By the reaction of the public in general, good or bad, you’d think this was her first single ever. Wake up, world! She’s been making bangers for a minute!
• Chingy “Holiday Inn”: Okay, I am not supposed to be liking Chingy, but this song is too cute! D-O-Dizzle and Luda save this one for me, and I’ll leave it at that.
• 112 “Hot & Wet”: I have always been a fan of 112 and for me, this song doesn’t disappoint, especially the remix with (!) Chingy.
• Musiq “For the Night”: I’ve always said that Musiq ain’t as granola as people try to claim he is, but he still makes a catchy record. Anything vaguely disco, I can move to. I cannot wait for this album.
• Alicia Keys “You Don’t Know My Name”: I first heard this when I was at Venice Beach. Not realizing it was her, I just sat there transfixed while the song played. This song is really amazing. And to think, after her last album, I wanted to hate her so bad.
• Monica “Knock Knock”: Okay, I’m not supposed to be liking this song either. Aside from Monica rapping and Missy’s invasive ad-libs, it’s a pretty decent joint. I still have no intention of buying this CD.
• Ludacris “Stand Up”: This song is getting old, but I never get tired of it. I just luh me some Ludacris!
• Jay-Z “Change Clothes”: Oh big damn deal, another Hova song with Pharrell. I’ll admit, it’s pretty typical and non-spectacular, but it still rocks a bit. I haven’t heard it enough to what the hell it’s really about though. I don’t think he really talking about clothes. Do you know?

See, nigga first was used back in the Deep South
Fallin out between the dome of the white man’s mouth
It means that we will never grow, you know the word dummy
Other niggas in the community think it’s crummy
But I don’t, neither does the youth cause we
em-brace adversity it goes right with the race
And being that we use it as a term of endearment
Niggas start to bug to the dome is where the fear went
Now the little shorties say it all of the time
And a whole bunch of niggas throw the word in they rhyme

I really need to stop using this word. We can try to justify its usage (with the acronym I used for the title) as much as we want, but it’s still damaging. What’s the reason for this breakthrough?
I want to clarify this it’s not the word “nigger” I am speaking of but its variation “nigga”. Some say there is a difference, some say there really isn’t, but that’s not what this post is about. I’d also like to point out that I hold no judgement against people that use it casually in everyday conversation. It’s just starting to bother me when I hear it coming out of my own mouth. It’s almost automatic. I feel the same way Q-Tip felt, it’s just hard not to say it at times. I think the main reason for al this is that the word has gone “pop”.
Remember the whole backlash against Jennifer Lopez using it in the “I’m Real” remix? Well, I want to know who’s really at fault for that? We should look at Hip-Hop/R&B over the past few years and how it has become interchangeable with Pop. You’d think we’d be armed with the knowledge that the millions and millions of non-blacks that are listening to this music are likely to sing it, just we all sing any song we know and love. Jay-Z’s song titles conisist of “Nigga Please”, “Jigga My Nigga”, and “Nigga What, Nigga Who.” Let’s say I have a white friend that says his favorite track on The Blueprint is number five. I don’t remember exactly what song that is so I ask him to clarify. He hesitates and says “Jigga That Nigga.” Should I haul off and slap him for saying the n-word? Is it his fault Jay-Z used the word not only in the lyrics but also in the song title?
Sometimes we unwittingly invite non-blacks into our culture. Without speaking, we say “Listen to hip-hop, wear our fashions, you can even date our women but just don’t use the N-WORD.” They have been provided with the foundation to slip up and use it. Then we get mad and call them racist, or ignorant, going into an entire dialogue about “You don’t know the pain that’s associated with that word! You have no right to say it!” My question is, do we?
I think the thing that bothered me most was hearing kids use it. Somehow hearing them say “shit”, “fuck” and the various curses used for the male and female anatomy didn’t seem as bad as hearing “nigga.” So now we’re teaching children and non-blacks to use the word casually. I am still torn over this whole issue. I know when my friends and I say it, it really isn’t a huge deal. But I think we need to be more careful about when and where we use it, so we don’t get upset when the “wrong” person says it.

Yo I start to flinch, as I try not to say it
But my lips is like the oowop as I start to spray it
My lips is like a oowop as I start to spray it
My lips is like a oowop, yo you know the rest
A Tribe Called Quest (http://atcq.com)
“Sucka Nigga” Midnight Marauders

This is a post I saved for a rainy day in my pre-blog file. (I know I am not the only one that does this). I took these questions from Michele’s site. Some of them have been removed since there was absolutely no way I could answer them:
Q: If you were stranded on a desert island and could only have one thing you currently own what would it be?
A: I would say Mary J’s My Life but I guess that would be useless since I couldn’t bring my system. Sigh… Umm, I never liked this question. I guess I’d bring The Bible or some other religious tome.
Q: If you won the lottery, what’s the first thing you’d do?
A: Rob a bank. (Think about it)
Q: If you could steal one thing in the world besides money without getting caught, what would you steal?
A: Lenny Kravitz’s heart. Duh! (I’mma do a layout with Lenny Kravitz one day and ya’ll gon’ be so mad!)
Q: If you were to die in a public spot, where would it be?
A: Filene’s Basement. Can’t get more dead than that.
Q: If you could become rich doing one thing you currently don’t do, what would it be?
A: Directing music videos.
Q: If you could be buried anywhere in the world, where would it be?
A: Next to L. Frank Baum, author of The Wizard of Oz. But I don’t want to be buried. I want to be cremated and have my ashes made into fireworks to be set off at the end of my services.
Q: What single manmade object best represents your personality?
A: That George Foreman grill joint. It’s versatile and it makes things hot.
Q: If you had to give your kids to be cared for forever by someone you know, who’d you pick?
A: My mentor.
Q: If you were granted one wish, what’d it be?
A: To start life over and wow everyone with my knowledge of the future. I think the only solution to Dubya’s madness would be for someone to go back in time and undo it.
Q: If you could determine what age to die despite everything, what age would that be?
A: That’s a sick-ass question! Moving along…
Q: What do you feel most guilty about in your life?
A: Not keeping in better contact with my younger siblings.
Q: What one thing would you rid earth of?
A: Didn’t I already mention Dubya? But seriously, I’d prolly rid the world of that state-of-mind that comes from ignorance, intolerance and prejudice.
Q: Most memorable night of your life.
A: November 16, 2002.
Q: One thing that gives you most comfort.
A: Breathing.
Q: If you could trade your ass for someone else, who’s would you choose?
A: My most recent ex. It’s all cute and shapely and stuff.
Q: Where would you say is the least erotic part of the human body?
A: I typically find that anyplace on the human body can be supremely erotic, but it really depends on the person. Feet can be erotic, but not if he/she has some effed-up dogs.
Q: If you were to prescribe a cure for grief, what would it entail?
A: Lots and lots of Vodka, and not that rail shit.
Q: If you were to change one thing about your face to make it more beautiful, what would it be?
A: Well, I think I have a big head. Does that count towards face?
Q: If you were to select a moment when you were convinced an angel was watching over you, when would it have been?
A: When I realized I could actually put my thoughts and ideas on paper and make them sound good.
Q: If you had to have one piece of music softly playing in your mind for the rest of your life, what would you want it to be?
A: Lenny Kravitz: “Let Love Rule”.
Q: If you could hypnotize anyone for a day, who would it be and what would you have them do?
A: Bill Gates. I think you know why.
Q: If you found out for certain that there was a heaven or hell, how would it change your life?
A: Heaven and Hell are on Earth, just depends on who’s watching.
Q: If you had to describe the idea of your perfect mate, how would you do it?
A: My perfect mate is a woman. I came to that conclusion a long time ago. Men are the flatulence of the earth.
Q: If you could be any place in the world at this moment where would it be?
A: D. I. C. ! Duh.

I am sick of the following club-related things:

• Fake-ass dreadlocks. Men, if you ain’t have that shit last week, what are we supposed to believe now?
• Women that come up to me tom’bout “I can change you.” Honey, change me into what? If you do it, make sure you have your Halle, Janet, or Nia Long mask handy.
• Strangers that grab me and say, “Can I have your number?” Well, since we’ve known each other for exactly 1.5 seconds, why not?
• I usually like dancing by myself to hip-hop, so don’t start grinding on me because you like the way I dance. If you see me backing up, that does not mean dance closer. I’m trying to get away from yo ass!
• I do not want to hear the following songs in the club NO MORE: Beyonc