Michael Ealy Responds to the Criticism of For Colored Girls

Here is a response that actor Michael Ealy gave to essence.com concerning the complaints surrounding the negative portrayal of black men in For Colored Girls.

"I think that if you say this is male bashing, you're not looking at the bigger picture. Yeah there are some men with problems in the piece and if you did notice, yes, Hill Harper is one good man. But this is a play by women, by a woman. And it's not like Tyler [Perry] or anyone else wrote the script that had all these men with problems. In my opinion the bigger picture is that the issues that were applicable in the mid '70s when the play was on Broadway, are still plaguing our women and our children right now. The bigger issue is that the piece is timeless. And if you're a man who is handling your business then you know this doesn't apply to you. This isn't a film that showcases men; this is a film that showcases the triumph of our women."

I couldn't have said it better myself.

Jessica Simpson Waleo Pump

About two months ago I showed you guys a pair of Jessica Simspon Waleo pumps on my shopping wish list and I finally gave in and just bought them. It took me a little while to find these shoes in my size and I eventually found them on piperlime.com.

The natural color isn't a nude (which is how it looks online). It's kind of a beige, mustardy color. Here are a couple of pics.

GOP Is The New Black?

I have to be honest, law school has been kicking my butt this semester. I am working on two real life cases and once I finally drag myself out of clinic, all I have time to do is come home, eat, and go to bed. So unfortunately, I have not been following the news as much as I usually do. However recently this story caught my eye.

I read an article posted by Mary Benton describing her reaction when she first saw the "GOP is the New Black" billboard in Texas (you can read it here). She says that she was lucky that the billboard didn't cause her to have a fender bender. To be honest, her post really didn't alarm me, but I was surprised by many of the comments left on her blog. It wasn't until then that I realized that a lot of African Americans were personally offended by this billboard. One of my friends on her facebook page even stated how disgusted she was that this billboard was going up in her home town. Disgusted? Really?

I am really confused as to why everyone is up in arms about this. I admit, I do consider myself to be a moderate conservative but that DOES NOT mean that I vote on solely partisan grounds in elections. Surprisingly, I actually take the time to read about the candidates before I vote. But I guess that's just too much work for some people...

Anyway, back to the topic. It's a campaign season. Both parties are interested in getting their people elected. How many political commercials have you had to sit through prior to this most recent election? So if we know that politicians are willing to put in a lot of extra work to get another vote, why is this so shocking?

Was it shocking that the GOP was actually going after the "black vote"? Or was it offensive to people that there are African American people who consider themselves to be part of the GOP? This is an honest question because I really don't know.

I have often been the victim of eye rolling, disrespect, rude comments, and exclusion whenever I mention my support for a GOP politician. I'm black, I'm from the South, I grew up in a single parent home, how can I support a party that has done nothing for me? Well if you feel the GOP can and has done nothing for you, then you are right to vote for someone else. However I take the time to read and educate myself prior to casting a vote. And I'm sorry, it's going to take a lot more than a politician identifying him or herself as a Democrat for them to get my vote!

Did you guys see this billboard? Have you heard others talking about it? What is the big deal?

Shopping Wish List: Shoes!

Why can't shoes be free?!?! Here are some of the shoes I am totally crushing on right now.

Report "Juniper" currently retailed at $115

Harajuku Lovers "Avallon" retailed at $94.95

Betsey Johnson "Caeley" retailed at $175

Naughty Monkey "Shock and Awe 2" retailed at $93.95

Paris Hilton "Reznor" in pewter retailed at $98.95

Odd Girl Out?

This is slightly different than the type of posts I usually do but I really wanted to write this because this issue has been bugging me for a while now. Have any of you ever experienced being the odd man out? For me, I feel like it happens all the time. I have a very small group of friends 1) because I really don't trust a lot of people and 2) I think that true friendships are rare and most people I "hang out" with I don't really consider my friends. Well anyway, the people I do consider my "friends" leave me out of just about everything. They are always going out with each other and never inviting me. When I talk, they cut me off or change the topic as if what I have to say isn't important. One of them even stood me up on my birthday because the rain was giving her a headache. She then called me that same night and kept me on the phone for over 2 hours so she could talk to me about a guy she likes. So much for being sick. It was so frustrating!

I have been blessed with a twin sister and it's really nice to have someone that you can always depend on. However we now live in two different states so we can't be as much a part of each others lives as we want. So I feel kind of forced to put some effort into finding and maintaining some really good friendships.

A part of me sometimes wonders if my feelings are a bit irrational. Of course things can't be about me all the time, or even most of the time. But shouldn't they be every once in a while? It's just difficult to always be the one that everyone calls when they have a bad day, or when they need notes from class, or when they want to talk about their relationships, etc. But when I have a problem, none of them are ever available. I don't think a single one of them has ever even asked me how I am doing, but that of course would take the spotlight off of them and their problems.

What do you guys think? Am I being a bit irrational? I really do love them, it's just hard to always be the one who has to give but never receives...