27 Aug
If you bookmarked www.michellehuxtable.wordpress.com or if you’re just used to typing that in then I have news for you. Michelle Huxtable has moved! The new address is www.michelle-huxtable.com. Please be sure to tell everyone!
27 Aug
She knows she's about to get a payout.
Nas and Kelis divorce business has been all over the internet for a little while now. It’s been reported that Nas earns $244,826 a month. Kelis makes $13,744 a month. Kelis is asking for $17,225 in child support and $72,728 in spousal support. Nas also has to pay retro child support of $29,522 and retro spousal support of $281,571.
In more basic terms, Nas makes about $250,000 a month and Kelis wants to take $90,000 a month in addition to one lump sum of $300,000. I can’t speak to these numbers but if they are anywhere in the ballpark of what Kelis is asking for then this is a problem.
According to Wikipedia, Alimony is an obligation based on the premise that both spouses have an obligation to support each other during marriage and sometimes after separation or divorce. That makes no sense to me at all. I completely agree with child support. You had a kid during a marriage, just because you divorce doesn’t mean the kid disappears too. What Kelis is asking for child support doesn’t seem crazy relative to what Nas is making. But that spousal support I just can’t get with.
In a (healthy) marriage husband and wife become one, assets are combined, bank accounts merged, etc. When you split, everything splits! If Kelis wants to leave Nas she should leave his money too. I understand she wants to maintain the lifestyle that she had when she was with Nas but that’s not how it should work. The kid should be taken care of, not your ex.
Plus, it’s not like Kelis would be broke and destitute without spousal support. She wouldn’t be balling out of control but she does make basically $156,000 a year which is great period let alone in this economy. Speak to me. I’ve never been married or divorced so I don’t know. Are their other reasons for alimony besides the ex just wanting a paycheck? Is Kelis asking for entirely too much?
26 Aug
When my parents were seniors in high school the question they were asked was, “Where are you going to work when you graduate?” Nobody asked, “What college are you going to attend?” Friends, family, and anyone they would meet asked this question to my parents, their friends, and everyone else their age. And yet they turned out great. Both of my parents graduated high school, college, and pursued Master’s Degrees. They’re kind of a big deal.
When I was a senior in high school I had to have all AP courses, all honors classes, community service, and extracurricular activities. Even then I wasn’t doing some extraordinary thing. I was doing what was expected of me. Having that on my academic resume didn’t set me apart because everyone I knew had that exact same resume: AP/honor courses, community service, and extracurricular activities.
Now my generation is either still in college or just graduating so I can’t compare the success just yet. But from what I’ve seen, we don’t seem to be doing better. If my parents graduated high school and got a good job people were proud. That’s all that was expected. Not to sound superior but the expectations were much lower and yet they succeeded greatly.
Today you’re expected to graduate high school and attend college at the very minimum. If you want to work in corporate America? You better have that Master’s degree in something. If the bare minimum keeps rising, when are people going to feel accomplished. If having a Master’s degree or another professional degree is just expected I think people will lose that zeal for education.
That’s what I’ve seen thus far. Because college isn’t the goal anymore, it’s just a step towards another goal, people don’t take it as seriously. We party, skip classes, and overall don’t appreciate the experience. (Most of us) are living without a mortgage, rent, cell phone bills if your parents are still covering that, and other responsibilities.
We’re not concerned with our credit score, health insurance, the economy, and much else. We only think of meal plans, our Xbox Live subscription, if that professor is 10 minutes late because then we can leave class (15 if they are tenured), and other trivialities. There’s nothing wrong with this aloof attitude to an extent. College kids have that luxury.
But I know when my parents went to college they knew they couldn’t mess up. They were thinking of the tuition and that people back home were counting on them because they were doing something that wasn’t the norm. We should have that kind of attitude as well.
Do you think college students (and even Master’s degree candidates) don’t take their education as seriously anymore?
25 Aug
This again. Yes, I already covered the disparity in the number of white actors to black actors in movies. But let’s talk about TV. I had the idea to write this article when I began watching a show called Mad Men on AMC. Then, I read an article at The Fresh Xpress about this same issue and it inspired me to go ahead and get my thoughts out there.
The Cast of Mad Men
I’m a little behind because the series started in 2007 but still. I don’t know the demographic of Mad Men viewers but I’m going to assume you haven’t seen it. The show is about advertising executives on Madison Avenue during the 1960s. (You see where this is going.) The main cast members are all white. Peppered here and there are black actors who rarely have a line other than “Are you done here?” and “What floor, sir?” The only roles Black people are shown in are bathroom assistant, elevator guy, waiter, and cafeteria workers.
Black Man as Elevator Attendant
Black Man as Custodian
Now, it’s one thing to depict life as it was during the 1960s but the writers of Mad Men would lead you to believe black people did not exist in the 1960s. I’m not an advertising exec but I’ve heard that their depiction of blacks in the office is correct. Well, there are shots outside of the office. They rarely show black people outside of a position of serving.
I would think as a writer of a critically acclaimed show they could figure out how to comment on the race issue. In all the interviews and articles I’ve read about Mad Men they’ve mentioned the sexism, the smoking, and the other social faux pas that just wouldn’t pass today. However they never mention race. Even in the actual show I only heard one comment on race about half way through the second season.
One of the main cast members started dating a black woman and his ex girlfriend commented on how he was only dating her so that he would “appear interesting”. But beyond that the issue of race is never addressed. If you’re going to take the time to hire 3 or 4 black actors just to put them in servile positions you’d think there would be some commentary.
I understand period pieces that try to be true to the time but when you’re showing the 1960s in 2009 do you think writers have to be careful to not be unapologetic about it? Instead of critiquing the characters for the mistreatment (or no treatment at all because they are literally ignored) of non-white characters and showing it as a flaw in their personality it is shown as just acceptable.
I once heard somebody comment that the most black actors they see on TV are on Prison Break. So if you think this isn’t a problem because this show isn’t number 1 and because it’s on AMC not NBC or ABC then think again. This is just an example but it definitely happens on other shows as well. It is just much more obvious because of the time period of Mad Men.
Are shows/movies set in time periods when women and non-whites were viewed as subservient and inferior excuses not to hire blacks and to enjoy the “glory days” when they knew their place? Do writers have a duty to comment on the treatment of groups that are now seen as equal (to an extent)?
25 Aug
Lately people have been asking me and others for new music. It’s no secret that it’s hard to find good music nowadays. I might not have the newest music but I have some stuff that I figure I’d share with you lovely people. It may not be “new” but maybe it will be new to you. So without further ado, here are 10 songs that I like right now. And don’t sleep on the songs that aren’t rap. Try something new!
“Song Name” – Arist – Album/Mixtape -Genre
o1. “Sole Glow (Coming to America)” – Loj – Vitamin Water Presents: Theme Music Vol 1 – Rap
o2. “Back” – Pac Div – Church League Champions – Rap
o3. “Mayor” – Pac Div – Church League Champions – Rap
o4. “Lost+” – ColdPlay x Jay-Z – Viva La Vida – Alternative/Rap
o5. “So Insane” – Discovery – LP – Rock
o6. “West Coast” – Coconut Records – Nighttiming – Rock
o7. “Love Story” – Big Sean – UKNOWBIGSEAN – Rap
o8. “Regret”- Letoya Luckett x Ludacris – Lady Love – R&B
o9. “Blown Away” – Phil Ade – Starting on JV – Rap
Unfortunately I can’t find this song on youtube but you can get the whole mixtape here
1o. “Fly Like Me” – B.o.B. – B.o.B. vs Bobby Ray – Rap
Hope you enjoyed that. I’ll do another post like this sometime if you enjoyed that. Let me know how you feel about the tracks.
23 Aug
While it kills me to dedicate an entire post to Beyonce, I wanted to talk about something. (I have nothing against Beyonce but you could probably get your daily fill of her at Bossip or something.) Anyway, this past year or so whenever I’ve heard Beyonce’s name it was usually closely followed by the word “over-saturation” and an argument about how she needs to start singing/making songs that reflect her age and situation. (Some people are still upset about “Single Ladies” being made by a married woman.)
To address the over-saturation issue, let’s look at the output. A solid 2 to 3 minutes of research shows that from 2008 and 2009 alone she put out “If I Were a Boy”, “Single Ladies”, “Diva”, “Halo”, and “Ego”. (Yep, I know how to use Wikipedia.) That wouldn’t be a bad thing if they didn’t all top the billboards and get played every 5 minutes on every station. So, over-saturation a bit? Maybe. She’s not on that Lil Wayne status of over-saturating the market with singles but she could take a vacation.
The age question interests me a lot more than that, though. First off, she’s supposedly 27 and I never would have guessed that. For one, I’m horrible at guessing ages but she just seems older for some reason. But back on subject, a thorough background check shows that Mary J. Blige is 38. That means she was 30 she put out “Family Affair”.
This woman is 30.
I don’t bring Mary up to defend Beyonce. I bring it up because I actually agree with the people that say Beyonce should make songs that go with her age. Then I look at Mary and I’m confused as to why I think that. Do people think this because they believe at some point older women shouldn’t sing about sexual things and have as much bravado? Because if that’s the case, I’d like to point out Anna Mae Tina Turner was 45 when she made “Private Dancer” and Mariah Carey was 38 when she put out “Touch My Body”. Nobody questioned either of them.
So if it’s not the sexual aspect then what is it? Is it that she should sing about old lady things? Because 30 isn’t old. Also, Mary was singing about getting drunk in clubs and perculatin’ all up in this dancery when she was 30. Is it because Beyonce is married? I don’t know. Somebody answer this question!
What is the difference between Mary J. Blige, Mariah Carey, Tina Turner and Beyonce? Discuss!
21 Aug
“You are who you associate with. Look around at your five closest friends and that’s who you are. If you don’t want to be that person, you know what you gotta do.”
-Will Smith
I think most people have heard this quote either from that Will Smith interview (I still don’t know if he is the original person who said it but I’m giving credit to him for now) or you heard it from the intro on Nas’ last mixtape. Just listen to the first 14 seconds.
Anyway, ever since I first heard that quote I have agreed wholeheartedly. Birds of a feather flock together, friends of a kind stay in the same line, etc, etc. I once heard someone say “If you hang around people who have nothing to lose, they will make you lose everything.” Therefore, I felt that quote was 100% real.
Then the other day I saw a friend “Will” that I’m very fond of and for the first time I hung with his crowd instead of our mutual friends. Not to judge, but… They were some fools. And unfortunately when Will got around those friends his whole demeanor, attitude, and personality changed – which I understand we all do because you just have to adapt to your environment.
Later I made a mistake and commented on his friends and how different they were from him and of course he got defensive and immediately accused me of hating on his friends. The loyalty was endearing but at what point do you tell someone, “You are not your friends”. Just because they do things or act a certain way doesn’t mean you have to as well. Trust me I have plenty of friends that do things that make me shake my head but we still chill! It’s because I realize what we have in common is that we like to have fun and we can talk about this or that but at the end of the day I am me and you are you.
Is there a fine line between “You are who you associate with” and “You are not your friends”? What’s the difference? How can you tell?
17 Aug
A lot of people respect President Obama. And they should. But we all have our reasons.
Reasons People Respect Barack Obama
1. He’s Black
2. He’s the President
3. He’s Black and the President
4. He’s a Black President
5. He gives people hope
6. His charisma
7. They’re hoping he will have a Chris Rock Head of State Presidential term with parties at the White House and a pimped out tour bus.
You get the drift. For any number of reasons, people look up to Obama. While I too share those sentiments I respect him for two completely different reasons.
This right here.
And this right here.
People often talk about how great it is that we have a Black President and while I’m proud of that I’m more happy that we have a Black Father and Husband in public view. Now I can’t say I honestly know how Obama parents or how he really is as a husband but I get the feeling he is great at both jobs. I miss seeing a dynamic duo in parenting and in their relationship like -you guessed it- Cliff and Claire Huxtable. Maybe I should just change the blog name to Life Lessons from the Huxtables.
Not to undermine all the hardworking Black parents out there, I’m just saying we hardly see that anymore. Especially in the media. You see how Cliff let Claire take the lead on this one and they ripped Denise a new one? That’s parenting! You don’t talk to your parents any kind of way! Warning: This rant brought on by standing in line at the grocery store and seeing a kid yell at their parents for not buying them something. Also notice how Cliff said, “Wait in the kitchen” and Theo just went. That’s parenting.
It makes me proud to see him as a President, husband, and father. That’s what people need to see. Not just how he handles political issues but how he can control a nation and still have time for his wife and kids. That’s why I respect Barack Obama.
Why do you respect Barack Obama?
14 Aug
First off, yes I realize there is more than one problem with rap music. But let’s try to stay focused. A problem with rap/hip-hop/trip-hop/nerdcore whatEVER you want to call it is that we relate to it. We’ll rap every lyric like we live that life knowing dang skippy we don’t. It’s actually one of the beauties of rap. And yet it’s what makes it so difficult.
Exhibit A - Not the life I live.
I got in the car with a pigmentally challenged non-black friend and I can’t remember what song was put on so I’ll just say Kanye West “Golddigger” even though I haven’t heard it in a minute. So instantly when you hear the faux Ray Charles aka Jamie Foxx intro “She takes my moneyyy…” and then Kanye says “I ain’t sayin she a gold digger, but she ain’t messin’ with no broke -
PAUSE.
*record scratches to a halt*
I dare you to say the n-word. Try me.
You KNOW you’re waiting to see if your non-black friend is gonna say it. Are they gonna finish the lyric? Are they going to whisper the n-word? Are they going to yell it proudly while giving you the side eye? If they don’t finish it and take the “ain’t messin’ with no broke, broke” route you can breathe a slight sigh of relief until the next song comes on.
What the N-Word Police can look like
Now you can’t enjoy the song you have to be on N-Word Patrol. And that job is no fun for several reasons.
1. Since you’re monitoring what they say you have to listen to them butcher a song that you like.
2. If they say the n-word you have to find a way to tell them it’s not OK for them to say it. The problem with this is that most people don’t know how to have this conversation.
3. If they skip the word and you say it because you think you’re the all powerful negro who can say it well then you’re trapped in their car while they are driving and you can’t escape the proverbial question of “If you can say it why can’t I?”
Reasons 2 and 3 both lead to this same question. Then you’re forced to dig deep and ask yourself questions about the history of the n-word. You start thinking about slavery. You go home and watch Roots. You start getting mad at white folk and can’t hold onto your non-black friends. It really just goes downhill from there.
That’s the problem with rap music. It is and always has been (even in its current state of foolishness) a mirror of society. It makes you think. It may not always produce change but it will make you reflect.
How do you have “the talk” with a friend about the use of the n-word? Is it really that serious? Do you find yourself on n-word patrol when listening to music with a non-black friend?
13 Aug
My dad’s birthday was a few days ago so we took a mini-road trip to his favorite restaurant and some museums. I made a little road trip mix because I couldn’t just plug in my ipod and go. What I listen to and what I would feel comfortable listening to with my father is just not the same thing. Ever. I put in a few songs on the mix that were iffy – I didn’t know if he would like it or not. Turns out, those were his favorite ones.
One of the first songs was “Let Me Clear My Throat” by DJ Kool, Doug E. Fresh, and Biz Markie
We were talking about the music playing and he made the comment, “See, that’s how it’s supposed to be. Music used to be fun.” One of the next songs was “Check the Rhime” by A Tribe Called Quest.
He played this song like 34 times in a row. While it’s possible he enjoyed the songs purely because it reminded him of the time period (early 90s) I truly believe it was because the songs were pure. I don’t mean pure like they weren’t saying anything wrong because there’s definitely some references to sex, drugs, and what have you but at least it was subliminal.
The mix was a hit and made for a feel good road trip. Some of the other songs were:
“Poison” – Bell Biv Devoe
“Google Me Baby” – Teyana Taylor (Yeah, he liked this one)
“I Want to Go Back” – Trin-i-tee 5:7 (Sampled “Back In The Day” by Ahmad)
“Good Ol’ Days” – Tamyra Gray
“Children’s Story” – Slick Rick
“Think (Freedom)” – Aretha Franklin
“Love and Happiness” – Al Green
What songs will always be a “feel good” song for you? What songs can you bond over with your parents or others?
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