The husband recently made a comment about a pair of pants that I was wearing. Specifically that I was once again wearing my brown yoga pants, and for that reason, maybe I should give my mother a pass for wearing the same three outfits all the time.
[Insert neck roll].
First of all, I had not been wearing the same pair of brown yoga pants. I had been wearing several different pairs of yoga pants--three black and one brown. Second, I had long ago ceased to comment on my mother's attire even though she insists on wearing summer clothes all year. Third, when the h3ll did he start paying attention to my clothes?
Although I cannot find it on YouTube, comedian Kathleen Madigan has a routine about yoga pants being great for many things, including but not limited to yoga. I would agree and add that for most women--especially Busy Black Women--yoga pants are a more stylish alternative to other workout clothing such as baggy sweatpants, booty shorts, or anything on last week's what not to wear list.
What is there not to love about yoga pants? They are made from stretchy opaque material, have an elastic waist band, are multi-functional, and of particular benefit to me as a tall girl with hips, they come in an array of lengths and figure-flattering fits. Unlike shopping for jeans (which is akin to preparing for battle), most women can find a decent pair of yoga pants anywhere. So yes, yoga pants are my default option for most non-formal situations. Travel? Quick errands to the store? Impromptu coffee shop run? Flea market browsing? After work lounge wear? Pajamas in a pinch?
Check, check, check, check, check and check. If I could get away with it...no, I would not wear yoga pants every day. I would at least switch things up and wear a dress to church.
And for the record, the husband is dead wrong about me being in a wardrobe rut. I am simply a victim of too many clothes with not enough places on my weekly itinerary to wear them. If the best going out opportunity I get presented with on a Saturday night is dinner at Chipotle or carry out on a Groupon, then yes, I am probably going to throw on a pair of yoga pants since no one really cares what the next person in line is wearing anyway.
And another thing, I am proud to say that for the first time since April I've actually worn yoga pants to YOGA class recently! And they were not the brown pair, so there!
Thursday, October 11, 2012
Monday, October 8, 2012
Red Beans and Rice Monday: Steel Magnolias Remake
I just don't know where to begin...
So, let me start off by offering my take on the general concept of a remake. Hard. Very hard. Super hard when half of the folks in your intended audience are old enough to remember and recite lines from the original. And let me add, a much beloved original.
Not that remakes can never be successful, but certain conditions have to be met. First, the update needs to offer a different take on the original. Second, the remake should be influenced by, but never an outright clone of its predecessor. And finally, the new film should be able to stand on its own merits.
So, with all due respect to the very talented Phylicia Rashad, Alfre Woodard, Queen Latifah et al...your magnolias were just not made of strong enough steel.
This remake fell short on every one of the conditions, starting with the most obvious reason for its existence: the casting. Queen Latifah was miscast as M'Lynn. Jill Scott was miscast as Truvy. What's her name was miscast as Annelle. Phylicia Rashad's daughter was miscast period. And as much as I wanted to love Alfre Woodard and the aforementioned Mama Rashad, I just didn't. At one point, I actually tweeted that someone should have called Jennifer Hudson, but I am sure that the casting director would have found a way to misuse her as well. How does one film have so many character flaws?
Perhaps I was too distracted by the six degrees of Queen Latifah thing that was going on in my head: remember how she was in Barbershop 2, which led to Beauty Shop in which Alfre Woodard co-starred (along with a Eurotrash Kevin Bacon!) and Keisha Knight Pulliam, who starred in The Cosby Show with Phylicia Rashad who starred in Tyler Perry's For Colored Girls alongside Anika Noni Rose, who was in The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency which starred Jill Scott, who also happens to be a Tyler Perry alum from Why Did I Get Married which also starred Janet Jackson, who as you remember appeared on Good Times as the abused daughter of Chip Fields who is Kim Fields' mother in real life and on screen in Living Single, which also happened to star Queen Latifah. And should I mention that Queen Latifah starred in Joyful Noise alongside Dolly Parton, the original Truvy? I need someone to make a wiki of all this...
Bottom line--since the racial conscious casting did not quite work, the movie needed to chart its own course in order to stand on its own as an independent work. Which, ironically it does, despite the fact that it only made a few minor departures from the original film. However, those subtle changes modified the central theme from a story about a diverse group of strong-willed southern women to a mother-daughter melodrama set in a southern beauty shop. Unfortunately, that was enough to make this just another run-of-the-mill Lifetime movie.
Thus if given the choice, I will always prefer the original, which is sad because I desperately want to see more actresses of color breathing life into empowering stories. I will avoid dissing Tyler Perry today to say that at least he tried to do something original with For Colored Girls and generally he tries with most of his work to offer his version of strong black women (even if Madea is a man in drag). The point is, for better or worse, he does his own stuff. There is no shortage of excellent material written by women of color that could be adapted, so must we wait another 10 to 25 years for the next The Color Purple (1985), The Women of Brewster Place (1989), The Wedding (1998) or Their Eyes Were Watching God (2005)?
Oprah, do you read me???
So, let me start off by offering my take on the general concept of a remake. Hard. Very hard. Super hard when half of the folks in your intended audience are old enough to remember and recite lines from the original. And let me add, a much beloved original.
Not that remakes can never be successful, but certain conditions have to be met. First, the update needs to offer a different take on the original. Second, the remake should be influenced by, but never an outright clone of its predecessor. And finally, the new film should be able to stand on its own merits.
So, with all due respect to the very talented Phylicia Rashad, Alfre Woodard, Queen Latifah et al...your magnolias were just not made of strong enough steel.
This remake fell short on every one of the conditions, starting with the most obvious reason for its existence: the casting. Queen Latifah was miscast as M'Lynn. Jill Scott was miscast as Truvy. What's her name was miscast as Annelle. Phylicia Rashad's daughter was miscast period. And as much as I wanted to love Alfre Woodard and the aforementioned Mama Rashad, I just didn't. At one point, I actually tweeted that someone should have called Jennifer Hudson, but I am sure that the casting director would have found a way to misuse her as well. How does one film have so many character flaws?
Perhaps I was too distracted by the six degrees of Queen Latifah thing that was going on in my head: remember how she was in Barbershop 2, which led to Beauty Shop in which Alfre Woodard co-starred (along with a Eurotrash Kevin Bacon!) and Keisha Knight Pulliam, who starred in The Cosby Show with Phylicia Rashad who starred in Tyler Perry's For Colored Girls alongside Anika Noni Rose, who was in The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency which starred Jill Scott, who also happens to be a Tyler Perry alum from Why Did I Get Married which also starred Janet Jackson, who as you remember appeared on Good Times as the abused daughter of Chip Fields who is Kim Fields' mother in real life and on screen in Living Single, which also happened to star Queen Latifah. And should I mention that Queen Latifah starred in Joyful Noise alongside Dolly Parton, the original Truvy? I need someone to make a wiki of all this...
Bottom line--since the racial conscious casting did not quite work, the movie needed to chart its own course in order to stand on its own as an independent work. Which, ironically it does, despite the fact that it only made a few minor departures from the original film. However, those subtle changes modified the central theme from a story about a diverse group of strong-willed southern women to a mother-daughter melodrama set in a southern beauty shop. Unfortunately, that was enough to make this just another run-of-the-mill Lifetime movie.
Thus if given the choice, I will always prefer the original, which is sad because I desperately want to see more actresses of color breathing life into empowering stories. I will avoid dissing Tyler Perry today to say that at least he tried to do something original with For Colored Girls and generally he tries with most of his work to offer his version of strong black women (even if Madea is a man in drag). The point is, for better or worse, he does his own stuff. There is no shortage of excellent material written by women of color that could be adapted, so must we wait another 10 to 25 years for the next The Color Purple (1985), The Women of Brewster Place (1989), The Wedding (1998) or Their Eyes Were Watching God (2005)?
Oprah, do you read me???
Monday, October 1, 2012
First Monday
Today is the first of October, one of my favorite months of the year. For me, October marks the true start of autumn--my favorite season of colors, food, clothes and holidays. As usual, it is shaping up to be a pretty busy month for me, but I will not complain just yet...
On the Facebook page, I posed a question about new beginnings because for many of us, October marks a transition point. October is the start of the fiscal year in the federal government (something that every DC denizen knows). Today is also the first day of the new Supreme Court term (something that every law nerd knows). October is the month when most women change over their wardrobes from sundresses and sandals to sweaters and boots. October is the month for observances, such as Breast Cancer Awareness and Domestic Violence Awareness. October brings us Oktoberfest, which like most good Americans, I enjoy despite the fact that I am not even a smidge German. October is also Apple Month, Caramel Month, Pizza Month, and Sausage Month.
Are you suddenly craving candy apples or sausage pizza?
Yesterday I attended a baby shower for a friend and it gave me hope (again) that God can and will show up when least expected. So on this October 1st, I am choosing to believe in miracles!
And for now, that is all I wanted to say. Happy Monday and Happy October!
On the Facebook page, I posed a question about new beginnings because for many of us, October marks a transition point. October is the start of the fiscal year in the federal government (something that every DC denizen knows). Today is also the first day of the new Supreme Court term (something that every law nerd knows). October is the month when most women change over their wardrobes from sundresses and sandals to sweaters and boots. October is the month for observances, such as Breast Cancer Awareness and Domestic Violence Awareness. October brings us Oktoberfest, which like most good Americans, I enjoy despite the fact that I am not even a smidge German. October is also Apple Month, Caramel Month, Pizza Month, and Sausage Month.
Are you suddenly craving candy apples or sausage pizza?
Yesterday I attended a baby shower for a friend and it gave me hope (again) that God can and will show up when least expected. So on this October 1st, I am choosing to believe in miracles!
And for now, that is all I wanted to say. Happy Monday and Happy October!
Monday, September 24, 2012
What Not to Wear
Every now and then, the Busy Black Woman feels compelled to offer unsolicited advice because well, I know things and this is my blog. This past weekend, I was in New York City, the so-called Fashion Capital of the United States, but let me tell you, I saw plenty of unfashionable faux pas(ses) on the streets. Mind you, I do not claim to be any kind of expert on the subject, but let's just say that a lot of ya'll need a Clint and Stacy intervention.
And no, this is not about the Emmy's...so, doing my best David Letterman impression, here are the Busy Black Woman's Top Ten Fashion Pet Peeves:
10. Team apparel - Americans love their sport heroes and proudly display their team preferences all year round, even in the off-season. My disdain for team apparel reaches its zenith during football season because errybody and their mamma in DC is either a Redskin or Cowboys fan, but I don't care if you are wearing a football, hockey, soccer, basketball, or baseball jersey. If you are not physically at a game, in a sports bar, or seated in front of a giant flat screen in somebody's living room eating hot wings and watching a game, then wear some real clothes. I do not want to be seated next to you and your children at church dressed in matching Lakers gear (and WTH)!
9. Stripper heels - Maybe it is because I am a tall girl and I think this obsession with higher and higher heels is over-rated, but the very description of this footwear suggests that no self-respecting woman should be teetering down the street in 6" heels. The average woman can barely stand to walk around in heels half that height, so why in the name of all that is holy would you want to submit yourself to such torture? Just say no to skanky ankle-spraining shoes!
8. Brown flip flops on men - A few years ago this viral parody made the You Tube rounds and it was kind of funny when it was noted that every guy in Arlington wore brown flip flops (right around 1:57). Then I noticed that it was not just an Arlington thing as brown flips are apparently the universally preferred summer weekend footwear for men. Not that I go around judging men's feet, but maybe I wouldn't have such a problem with this look if women were allowed to walk around with ashy ankles, crusty heels and unclipped toenails...
And no, this is not about the Emmy's...so, doing my best David Letterman impression, here are the Busy Black Woman's Top Ten Fashion Pet Peeves:
10. Team apparel - Americans love their sport heroes and proudly display their team preferences all year round, even in the off-season. My disdain for team apparel reaches its zenith during football season because errybody and their mamma in DC is either a Redskin or Cowboys fan, but I don't care if you are wearing a football, hockey, soccer, basketball, or baseball jersey. If you are not physically at a game, in a sports bar, or seated in front of a giant flat screen in somebody's living room eating hot wings and watching a game, then wear some real clothes. I do not want to be seated next to you and your children at church dressed in matching Lakers gear (and WTH)!
9. Stripper heels - Maybe it is because I am a tall girl and I think this obsession with higher and higher heels is over-rated, but the very description of this footwear suggests that no self-respecting woman should be teetering down the street in 6" heels. The average woman can barely stand to walk around in heels half that height, so why in the name of all that is holy would you want to submit yourself to such torture? Just say no to skanky ankle-spraining shoes!
8. Brown flip flops on men - A few years ago this viral parody made the You Tube rounds and it was kind of funny when it was noted that every guy in Arlington wore brown flip flops (right around 1:57). Then I noticed that it was not just an Arlington thing as brown flips are apparently the universally preferred summer weekend footwear for men. Not that I go around judging men's feet, but maybe I wouldn't have such a problem with this look if women were allowed to walk around with ashy ankles, crusty heels and unclipped toenails...
Thursday, September 20, 2012
You Never Know
Last year a hurricane was expected to blow through these parts, so I dutifully went about preparing by buying groceries for my parents, my aunt, my then-crippled brother and the husband. While I did resist the impulse to stock up on toilet paper and batteries (since I already had plenty in reserve), I did buy lots of tea bags, freeze-dried coffee creamer, canned soup and crackers. I also went by the stadium and got a couple of sandbags in case of flooding.
For this, I was mocked mercilessly by the husband. What good are sandbags, he asked, if we do not live anywhere near the river? That might be a head-scratcher for some, but I suspect that even if we never have to use them to guard against a flood, we always have the option to split one open to use for traction in case of an icestorm. Mark my words, they will come in handy one day!
I am admittedly an over-preparer. An over-planner. I am not a Mom, but I would be a great one since I always have wipes, snacks and anti-bacterial hand gel somewhere in my purse or in my car. I am that friend who can respond favorably when someone asks for an aspirin, Tylenol, Advil or a Motrin.
For this, I was mocked mercilessly by the husband. What good are sandbags, he asked, if we do not live anywhere near the river? That might be a head-scratcher for some, but I suspect that even if we never have to use them to guard against a flood, we always have the option to split one open to use for traction in case of an icestorm. Mark my words, they will come in handy one day!
I am admittedly an over-preparer. An over-planner. I am not a Mom, but I would be a great one since I always have wipes, snacks and anti-bacterial hand gel somewhere in my purse or in my car. I am that friend who can respond favorably when someone asks for an aspirin, Tylenol, Advil or a Motrin.
Monday, September 17, 2012
So Let Me Start By Saying...
This is the long-awaited recap of all the articles that I started, but never finished. Instead of finishing them, I thought you might enjoy a little amuse-bouche of what I would have fully served:
Queen's Jubilee - I am a big fan of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II, so like a good former subject, I celebrated her 60th year on the throne by watching the ad nauseum Today Show coverage with Matt and...Meredith???
Ann Curry's Exit - I was a fair-weather fan of the Today Show until they curried Ann in favor of the perfectly bland and unoffensive Savannah Guthrie. I have to say that while everyone in America except Ann knew that she was at best an awkward fit, nothing was more awkward than how NBC auf'ed her.
Sarah Palin on Today - Yes, because if your ratings are slipping why not take a chance on the maverick? After all, that worked gangbusters for John McCain!
Mitt Romney - Snooze button (I'll come back to him in a few).
The Olympics - I actually wrote a lot about the Games on the FB site. And the sum total of all I need to say: GO TEAM USA!!!
Meeting Michelle Obama - Yes, the Busy Black Woman can honestly say that she was at a White House event where our gorgeous First Lady made an appearance. But no, I didn't actually meet her...I did, however, take a somewhat fuzzy picture of her on my cell phone camera.
Growing older - My birthday is in a few months which means that someday (not anytime soon, but someday) I will have to change the advertising on my blog to say that these are the musings of a forty-something Type A personality. Yikes!
Mitt Romney - Snooze button...(give me in a few more minutes).
Growing older, part deux - Unfortunately, a side effect of aging is losing people. This summer felt particularly tragic for me because several people I knew passed away, including an aunt and the woman who gave me my first professional job. It is sobering to realize that the safety net most of us had while growing up is fraying; yet, because we are still here, it is being rewoven with us as the fiber for the next generation.
Summer B-cubes - Yeah...too late for that one.
Soapy nights - I was not initially psyched about the return of Dallas until I saw the first episode and then I had to watch every single one and now I'm thinking that I need to join a fan page or something because WHOA!!! (Oh, and I also liked what I saw of Scandal.) So dear sultans of pop culture, if you have any compassion, you will usher out reality TV as quickly and efficiently as you did the macarena.
Mitt Romney - Snooze button...(last time, I want to talk about his convention first).
The Year of the Woman 2.0 - Is it me, or did the GOP really try to repent for its 1950s-like obsession with birth control and invasive ultra-sound procedures with Ann Romney?
Clint Eastwood - As I watched his speech, I kept reminding myself that this was the RNC Convention and not some random awards show where the cue cards got shuffled.
Paul Ryan - Apparently the dashing young VP candidate thinks he's Superman...
And finally, Mitt Romney - Snooze.
Queen's Jubilee - I am a big fan of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II, so like a good former subject, I celebrated her 60th year on the throne by watching the ad nauseum Today Show coverage with Matt and...Meredith???
Ann Curry's Exit - I was a fair-weather fan of the Today Show until they curried Ann in favor of the perfectly bland and unoffensive Savannah Guthrie. I have to say that while everyone in America except Ann knew that she was at best an awkward fit, nothing was more awkward than how NBC auf'ed her.
Sarah Palin on Today - Yes, because if your ratings are slipping why not take a chance on the maverick? After all, that worked gangbusters for John McCain!
Mitt Romney - Snooze button (I'll come back to him in a few).
The Olympics - I actually wrote a lot about the Games on the FB site. And the sum total of all I need to say: GO TEAM USA!!!
Meeting Michelle Obama - Yes, the Busy Black Woman can honestly say that she was at a White House event where our gorgeous First Lady made an appearance. But no, I didn't actually meet her...I did, however, take a somewhat fuzzy picture of her on my cell phone camera.
Growing older - My birthday is in a few months which means that someday (not anytime soon, but someday) I will have to change the advertising on my blog to say that these are the musings of a forty-something Type A personality. Yikes!
Mitt Romney - Snooze button...(give me in a few more minutes).
Growing older, part deux - Unfortunately, a side effect of aging is losing people. This summer felt particularly tragic for me because several people I knew passed away, including an aunt and the woman who gave me my first professional job. It is sobering to realize that the safety net most of us had while growing up is fraying; yet, because we are still here, it is being rewoven with us as the fiber for the next generation.
Summer B-cubes - Yeah...too late for that one.
Soapy nights - I was not initially psyched about the return of Dallas until I saw the first episode and then I had to watch every single one and now I'm thinking that I need to join a fan page or something because WHOA!!! (Oh, and I also liked what I saw of Scandal.) So dear sultans of pop culture, if you have any compassion, you will usher out reality TV as quickly and efficiently as you did the macarena.
Mitt Romney - Snooze button...(last time, I want to talk about his convention first).
The Year of the Woman 2.0 - Is it me, or did the GOP really try to repent for its 1950s-like obsession with birth control and invasive ultra-sound procedures with Ann Romney?
Clint Eastwood - As I watched his speech, I kept reminding myself that this was the RNC Convention and not some random awards show where the cue cards got shuffled.
Paul Ryan - Apparently the dashing young VP candidate thinks he's Superman...
And finally, Mitt Romney - Snooze.
Thursday, September 13, 2012
Life is Relentless
I have been meaning to write for so long and have so many unpublished pieces in the cue that the only person left on Earth who still believes in this blog is me (and there are days when I'm doubtful). But today I had a revelation that compelled me to write this:
Life is relentless.
There is always a bad time for something important to happen. There is never the right time for something unexpected. There is always something--the very next day after you come back from the other side of the ocean with a head cold, someone needs you to part the Red Sea or feed the multitude with a can of tuna and a box of crackers. It never stops!
Life just keeps going. The only way to keep up is to keep moving.
So that means that instead of making excuses about how difficult it has been to write these past few months because every time I turned around there was some catastrophe that needed my immediate attention, I will just come clean and say that when I might have had a spare moment to write, I just didn't--I chose to sleep/shop/drink/whatever. However, today I am choosing to write. Later on I will get a drink.
This past year (and yes, this particular phase started a year ago tomorrow) has been hell and I expect that it will not be the last time that I will make this declaration in my lifetime. It was hell when I lost my mother in law a year and half ago. It was hell when I lost my job. It was hell when I turned 35.
But so what. Get up and get busy, Busy Black Woman! Inspire others to do the same. And have a drink after everything goes to back to hell. Cheers!
Life is relentless.
There is always a bad time for something important to happen. There is never the right time for something unexpected. There is always something--the very next day after you come back from the other side of the ocean with a head cold, someone needs you to part the Red Sea or feed the multitude with a can of tuna and a box of crackers. It never stops!
Life just keeps going. The only way to keep up is to keep moving.
So that means that instead of making excuses about how difficult it has been to write these past few months because every time I turned around there was some catastrophe that needed my immediate attention, I will just come clean and say that when I might have had a spare moment to write, I just didn't--I chose to sleep/shop/drink/whatever. However, today I am choosing to write. Later on I will get a drink.
This past year (and yes, this particular phase started a year ago tomorrow) has been hell and I expect that it will not be the last time that I will make this declaration in my lifetime. It was hell when I lost my mother in law a year and half ago. It was hell when I lost my job. It was hell when I turned 35.
But so what. Get up and get busy, Busy Black Woman! Inspire others to do the same. And have a drink after everything goes to back to hell. Cheers!
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