Jerks & Irks XL: Thoughts & Prayers

I think it’s fitting that I ended up writing this post on America’s Memorial Day. A day where most people worry more about the weather’s effect on their weekend shore plans and BBQs than they do about the men and women who dedicate their lives for the freedom that affords us such “first world problems.”

That mini-rant aside, my issue today is with the social media phenomenon of “Thoughts and Prayers” whenever something tragic happens. Most recently the Oklahoma area devastated by tornadoes and, before that, the Boston Bombings. When events like these occur, whether man-made or nature-made, my Facebook & Twitter feeds become flooded with statuses and memes depicting people’s “Thoughts & Prayers.” Flags waving, dramatic shadows, lit candles. All these little pictures. For what?

And every single time, I’m irked. Because the people effected by these tragedies don’t need your thoughts and prayers (Not to mention they’re probably too busy picking up the pieces of their lives to login to Facebook and Twitter and catch a glimpse of your supposed “support”). No. These people need your blood donations. They need your unused clothing and appliances. They need your non-perishable food. They need your money. They need to rebuild and recover. And I’m sorry, but your thoughts and prayers really don’t help with that. You can post as many memes as you want, they don’t make you a better person than your friend, who didn’t post a damn thing. As far as I’m concerned, “Thoughts & Prayers” statuses aren’t any better than someone’s check-in at the local gym. Besides, for all you know, the people who haven’t publicly acknowledged the event might have donated anonymously and chosen not to broadcast it. (Likewise, the meme-posters may have donated something too, but we all know that’s not always the case either.)

So if you want to elevate your status as a gosh darn human being, here’s how. Visit this USA Today post, which lists several charities that are assisting with the rebuilding and recovery. There are several listed in one place, so you don’t even have to search around. Many of these organizations even offer a “Text to Donate” option. You can help while standing in line at Starbucks for heaven’s sake!

Also, in the spirit of Memorial Day, you can visit www.purpleheartpickup.org and schedule a morning for their volunteers to COME TO YOUR HOUSE and pick-up your gently used clothes and household items FROM THE CURB. So your lazy ass can sleep in AND help out!

So what are you waiting for? Be a gosh darn human being!

Jerks & Irks XXVIII: Fo’rizzy

Are you confused by the title of this post? Are you confused by the caption next to Colin Powell? Would you be even more confused if you were reading a novel in which an Ivy-educated journalist, who happens to be Black, uses such phrases in his inner monologue? Because that’s what I’m going through right now. I won’t tell you the title or the author, but I will say that I’m enjoying the story so far. Except for the unrealistic and completely ludicrous “slang.” I put “slang” in quotations because, with the exception of several-years-ago-Snoop-Dogg, no one speaks like that. No one seriously uses the terms “Fo’rizzle” and “Fo’shizzy” in replace of “for real.” Especially when they’ve been Harvard educated and write for an illustrious NYC magazine for a living. I’m not saying that the character’s inner monologue should sound like Stephen Hawking or anything, but a simple “Is she for real?” would suffice.

Also, I find it irksome and more than a bit insulting (as a person of mixed race) that the author thought a Black character wouldn’t come across as Black unless they spouted off these incessant “Fo’shizzles” at every turn. By the way, my novel has a Black female character and the only thing that sets her apart as Black is her physical description.

Ya know what I mean? Fo’sheezy. (Ugh, I need to wash my keyboard after this…)

Anyway, speaking of being “hip,” there’s still time to enter to win this totally “happenin” Jordanna East tote bag. It’s roomy, it’s canvas, and it’s got my pretty face on it. If that doesn’t say chic, I don’t know what does. And if doesn’t say chic, draw your best happy face on the other side and wear it backwards. Click here before December 16th.

That’s one good lookin’ gal on there!

A Dose of Friendly Deja Vu

Good day all! Just logged into WordPress to discover that the wonderful Whitney Rains over at A Serendipitous Happenstance (I’m always so scared I’m gonna spell that incorrectly one of these days) nominated me for the Reader Appreciation Award and also tagged me with the Lucky 7 Meme. Since I’ve recently participated in both of these (and I’m running out of things to say about myself and other bloggers to nominate), I’ll just ping back to my previous responses. I hope y’all don’t mind! (That was said in a country drawl, irregardless of the fact that I’m from New York. I don’t know…) Again, I would like to thank Whitney for thinking of me not once, but twice. Everyone should go visit her page right now and stuff.

You can find my response to this award here. I strongly urge you to check out the bloggers nominated there. I also strongly urge you to drink more tea, it’s good for you.

You can find what I did with the Lucky 7 Meme here. Enjoy.

A Beautiful Day to Be Beautiful

Someone thinks I’m a beautiful blogger and that someone is Bill over at This Page Intentionally Blank. Even though I’m the beautiful one, he’s pretty nifty himself so go ahead and spend some time on his page.

Here are seven other beautiful blogger peeps:

1. Catherine, Caffeinated

2. SBibb’s Photo Illustration

3. Jill of All Trades…Expert of None!

4. Kate Policani

5. Cult of Racewood

6. yawattahosby

7. Lynn Reynolds

At the risk of being cliche, all of these bloggers are beautiful in one way or another. So follow them dammit. And when you’re done, follow me on Twitter and Facebook because we all know you can’t get enough of me! 😉

 

 

 

 

Tagged Twice? Pretty Nice!

Like an unsuspecting kid at recess who’s just trying to finish her pudding cup, I’ve been tagged, not once, but twice in the last few days. The lovely Yawatta tagged me with the Lucky 7 Meme, and the fantastic Ellie literally tagged me in the Tag-You’re-It Meme. So let’s get started!

For those who aren’t familiar, the Lucky 7 Meme allows writers to display a teaser of their work and pass it along to other aspiring writers. The novel, short story, poem, or other work can be complete or still a work in progress. The rules specify that I go to page 77 of my manuscript, skip to line 7, post the next 7 lines/sentences/paragraphs, then tag 7 more writers. Sadly, I don’t have 77 pages in my manuscript yet. I mean, I would if I double-spaced it, but until I have to pass it off for review or submit it to an agent or publishing house, I really just don’t wanna. But, in the spirirt of participation, I’ll post 7 lines from Chapter 7. This works out for me especially well since the last snippet I posted was from Chapter 6.

“Lyla hadn’t quite composed herself yet as she pulled into the parking lot in front of the fitness club at which she was a long-time member. She always kept a duffle bag full of gym necessities in her back seat, which she reached for now. As she strolled through the lobby towards the back of club, where the locker rooms were located, every head turned to admire her, including two men who were stretching near the treadmills. Even though she was emotionally distressed, her radar was functioning just fine; right before she entered the locker room, she smiled at them as she noticed the subtle shimmer of the sunlight off one of their wedding bands, She couldn’t believe her luck.” 

*Writer’s Disclaimer: that passage was not edited. Please refrain from commenting about my passive prose, or adverbs, or gigantic run-on sentence. I usually edit the snippets as I post them, but today I don’t feel like it.

**First Tagged Blogger’s Disclaimer: That wasn’t quite 7 sentences and was way more than 7 lines, but that’s what I’m going with. KK? Also, I will not be tagging others because the writing bloggers I know either A. Have already been tagged, B. Don’t share their work here, or C. Won’t participate because they’re too cool for school (And I respect that, just for the record).

Next up is the actual TAG Meme, which is basically a way to snoop into the psyches of your fellow bloggers. Just kidding. The rules stipulate that I answer the question posed to me, then pick 11 fellow bloggers to tag and ask questions of them. Apparently I must ask a different question of each person. No prob. *Cracks Knuckles* Let’s do this. By the way, for an unexpected quirky twist, I’m going to pick the bloggers and Hubby-pants is going to pick the questions. *tee-hee*

The question posed to me was: What is your greatest fear? My answer to that is: having children. That terrifies me. I have no maternal instincts. I don’t coo at babies in strollers. I have the bare minimum of patience allowed by nature. Stickiness repulses me. You get the picture. But that’s technically my second greatest fear. My absolute greatest fear is losing my husband. If I lose him, I’ll lose my mind. Literally. And no, he didn’t make me write that since he’s right next to me.

And here are my tag-ees and their respective questions (Again, the questions were chosen by Hubby-pants, so I should maybe apologize ahead of time, not sure yet):

• Fictional Impulse: What is your favorite insect?
• Elizabeth Barrow: What is your favorite Disney movie?
• corey m. p.: What is your favorite childhood TV show?
• Finding Subjects: What is your favorite game for your phone?
• Ramblings of a Writer: What is your favorite chocolate-based-candy? (That’s exactly how he worded it, I swear)
• I’ll drink to that: What is your perfect day? (Thought he was gonna say “favorite” something or other, didn’t you? He’s a complex man y’all.)
• Descent Into Slushland: What is your favorite boardwalk-based food? (Aaaannd we’re back to the “favorites”)
• The Writer’s Advice: What was your favorite birthday?
• It’s Your World, I’m Just Living In It: What is your favorite season?
• Michaelsfishbowl: What is your dream car? (He said “favorite” again, but I”m opting for artistic license here)
• write, aubrey, write: What is your favorite ice cream?

*Second Tagged Blogger Disclaimer: Hubby-pants doesn’t “know” you, or read your blogs every day, therefore he didn’t ask soul searching questions. I was tickled by his ice-breaker-type questions seemingly aimed at a shy 5th grader, but if you weren’t, I apologize. But he’s cute and I like him.

So, I’m finally finished with this post! Yay! See you back here on Friday!