I am currently on a few days vacay - thanks to a dear friend's insistence - in Toronto and had one of the most amazing experiences of my life yesterday.
We decided to go down to the city and take in the annual LGBT Pride Parade in all of its glory and splendor. It was by far the most amazing display of people celebrating each other's diversity in its purest form. The parade itself draws approximately 2.5 million people and is 8 days of celebrations culminating in what is now the largest pride parade in North America.
I saw all kinds of people, from all walks of life, having a myriad of professions all marching and singing and celebrating each other's diversity and the fact that diversity is beautiful and should be celebrated. The Mayor of TO, all of the major party leaders, religious leaders, policemen, firemen, nurses, doctors, kids in college, babies, grandmothers and parents - all marching in support of one common cause - the right for everyone to be simply who they were born to be. Gay dancing with straight, lesbians hugging big burly men, kids waving their flags in support of people they don't even know.... it was awe inspiring.
What a simple notion, live your life in its purest authentic form and be allowed to thrive and flourish in your own beauty. How amazing.
From fabulous drag queens to moms and dad's marching with their kids...everyone was having a blast. And I thought to myself - Toronto gets it. They get that a city without diversity will fail, they get that a city that celebrates and honors its citizens for who they are is a true global city!
So, whether you're gay, straight, fat, tall, short, black, white or polka dot - I urge you today to celebrate YOUR diversity and know that you are perfect - just the way you are!
Monday, June 29, 2009
Friday, June 26, 2009
Le Roi est mort
I promised my sister I would write in my blog and that is the only reason I am actually sitting here now. Because to be honest, my fingers feel as if my brain is lying when it is asking me to write about how I feel about the death of Michael Jackson. Michael Joseph Jackson, born Aug. 29, 1958 is dead. It doesn't make sense. The King of POP is dead. Dead...how is that even possible?
I awoke yesterday to the news that Farrah Fawcett had died and although I was very sad for the family and friends and smiled silently to myself as I remembered Charlie's Angels and that iconic poster (which I had), I knew she had been ill for 3 years battling anal cancer and she was really on borrowed time.
But at about 3PM, I checked out TMZ to see if there was a Farrah update and there it was - Michael Jackson rushed to UCLA Hospital and then for the next hour I sat there stunned until TMZ updated that what I feared had come to pass. Michael died. It still feels so odd to say it.
To say that he was talented, seems trite, to declare that he is an icon is obvious. I do not think there has ever been or will ever be another artist that has impacted so many lives across the world as MJ did. He is known in all four corners of this earth as the King of POP and rightly named so by Dame Elizabeth Taylor many years ago. He was a freakin genius!
Michael Jackson as odd as it seems has been a major part of my process of growing all of my life. The song "Ben" was the first song I learned to sing all of the lyrics to as a small child and I still love that song till this day. In fact thru all of this shock and numbness, the only time I cried is when I listened to the song today. When I had my first heartbreak in love the song - She is out of my life was there to help me thru it. His humanitarian efforts inspired me to find out more about those less fortunate than myself. No other artist in history has influenced, fashion, music, dance, business - the arts as much as Michael. We all swooned when little Michael sang ABC, we all ran out to buy Off the Wall, rushed out to get the white glove, we all wanted the cool red jacket from Beat It. We ALL learned the dance moves from Thriller and we all desperately tried to learn to Moon walk.
I can still remember that like it was yesterday. I was in our family room watching the Motown special and I remember when he came on and threw the hat off stage and started singing and when he moon walked I screamed out like a middle school girl and fell off of the sofa to the floor! It was the most incredible thing I had ever seen in my life - and I think it is still up there!
A shy boy who became a shy and misunderstood man, Michael was never truly understood by anyone. I think in many respects we - the citizens of the world - felt more comfortable to label him "Wacko-Jacko" and "Pervert" as it made us more comfortable now that we had conveniently found a box to put him into, some neat little package we could live with now we knew what to call him. But really - so what if he wanted an oxygen chamber? So what if he loved playing with chimps and adored animals and kept away from many industry peers. Like most geniuses, he lived in his own world, - a world he created to help him cope with the pressures of being Michael Jackson. Something none of us will ever truly comprehend. I never believed the accusations and I still don't. What I believe is that kindness was trumped by greed and opportunity. What I believe is that while we may not understand his own thought process or agree with how he conducted his life - who are we to judge?
I grieve for the loss of talent, for the loss of life and for the loss of a voice that to this day makes me smile when I hear him sing. I wanted oh so badly to go to London to see his comeback tour and I know that I was not alone! Millions across the globe were awaiting the return of the King and we almost made it - just shy by two weeks.
Michael Jackson will forever be the King of POP, and I will forever be a fan. For all of the conjecture about his life and the accusations and innuendos and slurs - all I know for sure is that he was a star, a humanitarian, a child at heart and a lover of his craft who gave the world and the industry all he had to give and when there was nothing else left to give, he moved onto Glory.
I found this song on YouTube and I had never heard it before but I think it truly says all that Michael Jackson truly felt and was.
Rest in peace King of POP..Long may you reign!
I awoke yesterday to the news that Farrah Fawcett had died and although I was very sad for the family and friends and smiled silently to myself as I remembered Charlie's Angels and that iconic poster (which I had), I knew she had been ill for 3 years battling anal cancer and she was really on borrowed time.
But at about 3PM, I checked out TMZ to see if there was a Farrah update and there it was - Michael Jackson rushed to UCLA Hospital and then for the next hour I sat there stunned until TMZ updated that what I feared had come to pass. Michael died. It still feels so odd to say it.
To say that he was talented, seems trite, to declare that he is an icon is obvious. I do not think there has ever been or will ever be another artist that has impacted so many lives across the world as MJ did. He is known in all four corners of this earth as the King of POP and rightly named so by Dame Elizabeth Taylor many years ago. He was a freakin genius!
Michael Jackson as odd as it seems has been a major part of my process of growing all of my life. The song "Ben" was the first song I learned to sing all of the lyrics to as a small child and I still love that song till this day. In fact thru all of this shock and numbness, the only time I cried is when I listened to the song today. When I had my first heartbreak in love the song - She is out of my life was there to help me thru it. His humanitarian efforts inspired me to find out more about those less fortunate than myself. No other artist in history has influenced, fashion, music, dance, business - the arts as much as Michael. We all swooned when little Michael sang ABC, we all ran out to buy Off the Wall, rushed out to get the white glove, we all wanted the cool red jacket from Beat It. We ALL learned the dance moves from Thriller and we all desperately tried to learn to Moon walk.
I can still remember that like it was yesterday. I was in our family room watching the Motown special and I remember when he came on and threw the hat off stage and started singing and when he moon walked I screamed out like a middle school girl and fell off of the sofa to the floor! It was the most incredible thing I had ever seen in my life - and I think it is still up there!
A shy boy who became a shy and misunderstood man, Michael was never truly understood by anyone. I think in many respects we - the citizens of the world - felt more comfortable to label him "Wacko-Jacko" and "Pervert" as it made us more comfortable now that we had conveniently found a box to put him into, some neat little package we could live with now we knew what to call him. But really - so what if he wanted an oxygen chamber? So what if he loved playing with chimps and adored animals and kept away from many industry peers. Like most geniuses, he lived in his own world, - a world he created to help him cope with the pressures of being Michael Jackson. Something none of us will ever truly comprehend. I never believed the accusations and I still don't. What I believe is that kindness was trumped by greed and opportunity. What I believe is that while we may not understand his own thought process or agree with how he conducted his life - who are we to judge?
I grieve for the loss of talent, for the loss of life and for the loss of a voice that to this day makes me smile when I hear him sing. I wanted oh so badly to go to London to see his comeback tour and I know that I was not alone! Millions across the globe were awaiting the return of the King and we almost made it - just shy by two weeks.
Michael Jackson will forever be the King of POP, and I will forever be a fan. For all of the conjecture about his life and the accusations and innuendos and slurs - all I know for sure is that he was a star, a humanitarian, a child at heart and a lover of his craft who gave the world and the industry all he had to give and when there was nothing else left to give, he moved onto Glory.
I found this song on YouTube and I had never heard it before but I think it truly says all that Michael Jackson truly felt and was.
Rest in peace King of POP..Long may you reign!
Thursday, June 25, 2009
Sunday, June 7, 2009
This I know for sure...
I believe this is my Karma. This is how my life was to supposed to unfold. I believe our purpose in life is to express our divinity by transcending our limitations both real and imagined..
.
Wednesday, June 3, 2009
Something meaningful
My dad sent the below to me.... I love that man!
Something Meaningful
The results you get do not come from a situation. The results you achieve are determined by what you choose to focus on and what you choose to do.
From the very same set of circumstances, two different people can achieve two vastly different results. The outcome is not based on what they're given, but on what they do with what they are given.
If the results you are getting are not the results you desire, stop looking for someone or something to blame. Start looking for the possibilities that you have not yet considered.
Make your most positive and compelling purpose the filter through which you view everything that happens. That will cause outstanding, powerful possibilities to come into focus. The world around you is constantly changing. There is always a way to harness the energy of the ever-changing landscape to suit your purpose.
Look calmly and confidently at the situation in which you find yourself. Then step gratefully forward, and make something beautiful, valuable and meaningful out of it all.
Something Meaningful
The results you get do not come from a situation. The results you achieve are determined by what you choose to focus on and what you choose to do.
From the very same set of circumstances, two different people can achieve two vastly different results. The outcome is not based on what they're given, but on what they do with what they are given.
If the results you are getting are not the results you desire, stop looking for someone or something to blame. Start looking for the possibilities that you have not yet considered.
Make your most positive and compelling purpose the filter through which you view everything that happens. That will cause outstanding, powerful possibilities to come into focus. The world around you is constantly changing. There is always a way to harness the energy of the ever-changing landscape to suit your purpose.
Look calmly and confidently at the situation in which you find yourself. Then step gratefully forward, and make something beautiful, valuable and meaningful out of it all.
Tuesday, June 2, 2009
Everyone needs a Sergio
(ITS LONG..)
Today is a very dark day for me and I really don't even know how to put one foot in front of the other today to be honest and more importantly I don't know that I want to. After much soul searching and looking for a brighter day my best friend, Sergio has decided that now may be the best time for him to take a break from the daily grind and return to Costa Rica to the love and support of his family and while there find the necessary clarity he seeks.
I would be lying if I said I didn't feel like I was dying inside but I know that in the long run Sergio must do what is best for his physical and emotional well being and for his life in general. Someone far smarter than me told me last night that we must not make this about us and that it must be about Sergio and what he needs for his life at this time. So I am trying, but I can not lie - it is unimaginably hard. Today when I took him to the airport I thought I would expire because I could not breathe - it was one of the hardest things I have ever done in my life. Every fiber of my body was screaming to not let him go...but I did cause it's what he needs at this moment in time.
Most of you know Sergio is my best friend, what you may not know is that for 9 yrs we have been completely inseparable - there has not been a Sergio without Brian close by for 9 full yrs and we have been the truest form of best friends you could ever imagine.... In fact, the longest we have ever been apart physically is 14 days and the longest without talking is one day.
He left today - this morning actually and as I stood there at the airport I felt such sadness but also a little hopeful that he would find his center and the light in his eyes would return again soon. For those of you who know him and love him, you can imagine this decision could not have been easy for him and it is tearing him apart because he is concerned he is letting me down and all of you who love him as well. Which as you know is typical Sergio....loving, sweet, and just the biggest heart of anyone I know.
So I really don't know what to do... So I will write and say all the things I could not say to his face for the last few weeks when I knew of his decision.
How do you begin to thank someone who gave you the courage to live your life in its truest authentic form? How do you even say to that person that you love them more than life itself without sounding melodramatic? I have been thinking about that very thing since January 6, 2000 when I met and became connected for the rest of my life to my best friend, my soul mate, Sergio.
Most people tell you that your soul mate is your spouse or life partner or whatever phrase you use, but I don’t necessarily agree. I think it can happen for some, but my soul mate is Sergio. Not taking anything away from anyone I have ever loved or love, but it’s different with "boo" as I call him. From the time we met we both knew we shared an amazing connection that has bound us inextricably to each other for the rest of time.
That is why I feel everyone should have a Sergio. If I could bottle him I would because his is the kind of support, friendship and love that everyone should get to experience in their lives. He is kind, sweet, generous, funny, crazy, lovable and one amazing man. Everyone who meets him immediately falls in love with him, so much so that after they have met him if they see me without him their first and sometimes only question for me is where is he?
We actually started talking to each other in 1999 online in a chat room and became chat buddies, but never met. It was hurricane season 1999 and I was freaked out and staying at another friend’s house and chatting on line and I was designated to give the updates to the rest of the room and Sergio was one of the guys who would constantly ask me for the updates while laughing at the fact that I was freaking out over the bad weather. Having now lived through Katrina and Wilma I have to agree that wasn’t even a bad rainy day in comparison to those horrific forces of nature.
From those first exchanges we started to chat more often and when the person I was seeing at the time finally revealed themselves to be the psycho they really were, Sergio was there for me to lean on and shed all my worries. I guess at that time it was easier to talk to a stranger than to share my grief with someone who knew me personally.
But from there the seeds were sewn. We exchanged telephone numbers and the first time we spoke on the phone we talked for hours and it felt like it was only minutes and I had found a great friend for life.
They say if you listen to the voices inside and get out of their way that you would have experienced God’s divinity. Well I think that is what Sergio has been for me all these years living in America since. He was divinely sent to help me through this journey I have been on in the last 9 years. Without him, I would have been lost and definitely not had all these wonderful life experiences we have shared. So many that they could fill a lifetime for another person, but for us, they have been 9 incredible years of laughter, friendship and self discovery.
He is probably the only person in the world that I know that can put up with my BS and also call me on it and I won’t walk away from him in anger.
He is the only person that knows the true me, the full me, all of me, warts and all and doesn't care. It almost feels wrong to call him my best friend. He is far more than that, but there is no word yet in our language for what we share. I would lay down my life for him, and that says it all.
What I cherish the most is that we have laugh together a lot. I think it’s the laughter that I cherish the most. We crack each other up like you could not imagine. We can sit together and spend hours making each other laugh. Stupid things like sitting in a movie together and we’ll look at each other and one of us will stick out a tongue or tickle the other for no reason at all.
We quickly discovered years ago that we finished each other’s sentences and that we also said the same things at the same time. I think one of the funniest was one day we were at Banana Republic and I was backing him and he me, and we both said to each other at the same time “Ohh you have to see this thing” and when I turned around and he did as well, we were holding the same item. It’s what Sergio refers to as our “freakishness!” Well, whatever it is, I love it!
We have traveled together to some of the most amazing places on earth. Traveling as a duo we have certain shared guidelines for any trip. We don’t do lines, time schedules, or anything obligatory. Paris, Prague, Rome Milan, Berlin, Amsterdam were all left in our wake. I have loved every minute of every trip. I’m the scrap-booker, so I have been the keeper of our physical memories of every trip we have taken together. I have been looking at them a lot recently and the one common thread no matter the location is how much fun we are having.
Our friendship however is more than about just having fun. Sergio has been there to support me at every step of the way in my career. When I started to do more major marketing events it was him I turned to for help and guidance. I know that if for a single minute that I have doubts about my abilities or talents, he is right there lockstep with me assuring me that I can do it and that he is going to be there with me to make sure it all goes well. He was there when I had the boss from hell and wanted to quit every single day, assuring me I was better and bigger than her and that I would prevail.
His warm huge heart belies what he tries to project as a serious exterior. He is a true angel, sent to watch over me. Sometimes I think my family ordered him to watch over me in America, he is so perfect. He is the child my parents didn't have and the other big brother to my sister.
If I could bottle whatever IT is that is his essence, I would because when I tell you that I truly believe that everyone should have a Sergio, I mean it. Thank you boo, for being the best friend anyone could ever ask for. For being the one person I know will always be there to cheer me on, and who I know will tell me the ugly truth no matter what not because you get pleasure from my pain, but because you want to help me avoid the pain that delusion causes.
But now he is gone and I am going to have to try to figure this out till he gets back.
I have always felt that in life there is a wind behind each of us, pushing us on our life's journey taking us often times to paths unknown and unplanned. My wind has taken me all over the place and now it is his turn. Now, his wind is taking him in a new direction away from me and all that we have enjoyed together over these years. I don't know where it is going but I do know that I will miss him more than any of you can ever imagine and I will wait right here and pray that he finds what ever it is that he seeks and more importantly deserves.
I pray that he has felt as much love and support from me over the years as I have felt from him... I send him home to his family with a very heavy heart, but grateful that I know he will go home and have some distance to find the clarity he so desperately seeks but can't find here right now. I hope that path leads him right back here to all of us who love him for more life experiences and laughter and I hope it is soon. But if it isn't, I let him go knowing that we have a bond that is unbreakable and while the distance may be more than we planned to ever exist, it will not, can not and shall not dampen our friendship.
I pray to God that he watches over my boo and brings him all things good while he is away. I love you boo with all my heart and will miss you every day until I can see your face again. Until then - here is a song for you....
Today is a very dark day for me and I really don't even know how to put one foot in front of the other today to be honest and more importantly I don't know that I want to. After much soul searching and looking for a brighter day my best friend, Sergio has decided that now may be the best time for him to take a break from the daily grind and return to Costa Rica to the love and support of his family and while there find the necessary clarity he seeks.
I would be lying if I said I didn't feel like I was dying inside but I know that in the long run Sergio must do what is best for his physical and emotional well being and for his life in general. Someone far smarter than me told me last night that we must not make this about us and that it must be about Sergio and what he needs for his life at this time. So I am trying, but I can not lie - it is unimaginably hard. Today when I took him to the airport I thought I would expire because I could not breathe - it was one of the hardest things I have ever done in my life. Every fiber of my body was screaming to not let him go...but I did cause it's what he needs at this moment in time.
Most of you know Sergio is my best friend, what you may not know is that for 9 yrs we have been completely inseparable - there has not been a Sergio without Brian close by for 9 full yrs and we have been the truest form of best friends you could ever imagine.... In fact, the longest we have ever been apart physically is 14 days and the longest without talking is one day.
He left today - this morning actually and as I stood there at the airport I felt such sadness but also a little hopeful that he would find his center and the light in his eyes would return again soon. For those of you who know him and love him, you can imagine this decision could not have been easy for him and it is tearing him apart because he is concerned he is letting me down and all of you who love him as well. Which as you know is typical Sergio....loving, sweet, and just the biggest heart of anyone I know.
So I really don't know what to do... So I will write and say all the things I could not say to his face for the last few weeks when I knew of his decision.
How do you begin to thank someone who gave you the courage to live your life in its truest authentic form? How do you even say to that person that you love them more than life itself without sounding melodramatic? I have been thinking about that very thing since January 6, 2000 when I met and became connected for the rest of my life to my best friend, my soul mate, Sergio.
Most people tell you that your soul mate is your spouse or life partner or whatever phrase you use, but I don’t necessarily agree. I think it can happen for some, but my soul mate is Sergio. Not taking anything away from anyone I have ever loved or love, but it’s different with "boo" as I call him. From the time we met we both knew we shared an amazing connection that has bound us inextricably to each other for the rest of time.
That is why I feel everyone should have a Sergio. If I could bottle him I would because his is the kind of support, friendship and love that everyone should get to experience in their lives. He is kind, sweet, generous, funny, crazy, lovable and one amazing man. Everyone who meets him immediately falls in love with him, so much so that after they have met him if they see me without him their first and sometimes only question for me is where is he?
We actually started talking to each other in 1999 online in a chat room and became chat buddies, but never met. It was hurricane season 1999 and I was freaked out and staying at another friend’s house and chatting on line and I was designated to give the updates to the rest of the room and Sergio was one of the guys who would constantly ask me for the updates while laughing at the fact that I was freaking out over the bad weather. Having now lived through Katrina and Wilma I have to agree that wasn’t even a bad rainy day in comparison to those horrific forces of nature.
From those first exchanges we started to chat more often and when the person I was seeing at the time finally revealed themselves to be the psycho they really were, Sergio was there for me to lean on and shed all my worries. I guess at that time it was easier to talk to a stranger than to share my grief with someone who knew me personally.
But from there the seeds were sewn. We exchanged telephone numbers and the first time we spoke on the phone we talked for hours and it felt like it was only minutes and I had found a great friend for life.
They say if you listen to the voices inside and get out of their way that you would have experienced God’s divinity. Well I think that is what Sergio has been for me all these years living in America since. He was divinely sent to help me through this journey I have been on in the last 9 years. Without him, I would have been lost and definitely not had all these wonderful life experiences we have shared. So many that they could fill a lifetime for another person, but for us, they have been 9 incredible years of laughter, friendship and self discovery.
He is probably the only person in the world that I know that can put up with my BS and also call me on it and I won’t walk away from him in anger.
He is the only person that knows the true me, the full me, all of me, warts and all and doesn't care. It almost feels wrong to call him my best friend. He is far more than that, but there is no word yet in our language for what we share. I would lay down my life for him, and that says it all.
What I cherish the most is that we have laugh together a lot. I think it’s the laughter that I cherish the most. We crack each other up like you could not imagine. We can sit together and spend hours making each other laugh. Stupid things like sitting in a movie together and we’ll look at each other and one of us will stick out a tongue or tickle the other for no reason at all.
We quickly discovered years ago that we finished each other’s sentences and that we also said the same things at the same time. I think one of the funniest was one day we were at Banana Republic and I was backing him and he me, and we both said to each other at the same time “Ohh you have to see this thing” and when I turned around and he did as well, we were holding the same item. It’s what Sergio refers to as our “freakishness!” Well, whatever it is, I love it!
We have traveled together to some of the most amazing places on earth. Traveling as a duo we have certain shared guidelines for any trip. We don’t do lines, time schedules, or anything obligatory. Paris, Prague, Rome Milan, Berlin, Amsterdam were all left in our wake. I have loved every minute of every trip. I’m the scrap-booker, so I have been the keeper of our physical memories of every trip we have taken together. I have been looking at them a lot recently and the one common thread no matter the location is how much fun we are having.
Our friendship however is more than about just having fun. Sergio has been there to support me at every step of the way in my career. When I started to do more major marketing events it was him I turned to for help and guidance. I know that if for a single minute that I have doubts about my abilities or talents, he is right there lockstep with me assuring me that I can do it and that he is going to be there with me to make sure it all goes well. He was there when I had the boss from hell and wanted to quit every single day, assuring me I was better and bigger than her and that I would prevail.
His warm huge heart belies what he tries to project as a serious exterior. He is a true angel, sent to watch over me. Sometimes I think my family ordered him to watch over me in America, he is so perfect. He is the child my parents didn't have and the other big brother to my sister.
If I could bottle whatever IT is that is his essence, I would because when I tell you that I truly believe that everyone should have a Sergio, I mean it. Thank you boo, for being the best friend anyone could ever ask for. For being the one person I know will always be there to cheer me on, and who I know will tell me the ugly truth no matter what not because you get pleasure from my pain, but because you want to help me avoid the pain that delusion causes.
But now he is gone and I am going to have to try to figure this out till he gets back.
I have always felt that in life there is a wind behind each of us, pushing us on our life's journey taking us often times to paths unknown and unplanned. My wind has taken me all over the place and now it is his turn. Now, his wind is taking him in a new direction away from me and all that we have enjoyed together over these years. I don't know where it is going but I do know that I will miss him more than any of you can ever imagine and I will wait right here and pray that he finds what ever it is that he seeks and more importantly deserves.
I pray that he has felt as much love and support from me over the years as I have felt from him... I send him home to his family with a very heavy heart, but grateful that I know he will go home and have some distance to find the clarity he so desperately seeks but can't find here right now. I hope that path leads him right back here to all of us who love him for more life experiences and laughter and I hope it is soon. But if it isn't, I let him go knowing that we have a bond that is unbreakable and while the distance may be more than we planned to ever exist, it will not, can not and shall not dampen our friendship.
I pray to God that he watches over my boo and brings him all things good while he is away. I love you boo with all my heart and will miss you every day until I can see your face again. Until then - here is a song for you....
Friday, May 29, 2009
Wednesday, May 27, 2009
Soome more talented Bajans
Here are two childhood friends working it out at the Jacksonville Jazz Festival - Arturo Tappin who is a bad hush your mouth Saxophonist and Grammy nominated Nicky Brancker - here with legendary Roberta Flack who is an adopted Bajan!
Tuesday, May 26, 2009
Welcome the South Bronx to the Supreme Court BABYYYYYY!!
On Tuesday morning, President Barack Obama picked federal appeals Judge Sonia Sotomayor to be his first Supreme Court Justice appointee, succeeding retiring Justice David Souter.
If confirmed, Sotomayor, 54, would become the first Latina in the history of the U.S. Supreme Court!!!!
A graduate of Princeton University and Yale Law School, a former prosecutor and private attorney, Sotomayor became a federal judge for the Southern District of New York in 1992. She grew up in the Bronx in a housing project after her parents moved to New York from Puerto Rico. She has dealt with diabetes since age 8 and lost her father at age 9, growing up under the care of her mother in humble surroundings.
Congratulations, Sonia!
If confirmed, Sotomayor, 54, would become the first Latina in the history of the U.S. Supreme Court!!!!
A graduate of Princeton University and Yale Law School, a former prosecutor and private attorney, Sotomayor became a federal judge for the Southern District of New York in 1992. She grew up in the Bronx in a housing project after her parents moved to New York from Puerto Rico. She has dealt with diabetes since age 8 and lost her father at age 9, growing up under the care of her mother in humble surroundings.
Congratulations, Sonia!
Wednesday, May 20, 2009
Welcome Livvi Franc
The next Bajan Superstar has finally released her first two songs! Livvi Franc - signed to Jive Records is about to become the newest Barbadian sensation! Look out world..here she comes! Hell yeah I am proud!!!!
FREE
NOW I AM THAT B.I.T.C.H (Babe in Total Control of Herself)
FREE
NOW I AM THAT B.I.T.C.H (Babe in Total Control of Herself)
Tuesday, May 19, 2009
This week's Flash back pick me up!!
Have always loved this song! This one is dedicated to my best friend Sergio!
Sunday, May 17, 2009
I LOVE KEITH OLBERMAN!!!!!!!!!
Visit msnbc.com for Breaking News, World News, and News about the Economy
Saturday, May 16, 2009
Friday, May 15, 2009
Grey's Anatomy tore out my heart!!!
OMG! Did you all see Grey's Anatomy season finale last night?
It left me exhausted, crying and shouting at the TV. Now you all know I am a big softee and cry at NAACP ads but last night Grey's took me on a roller coaster ride I did not expect and then
dumped me out at the end with not one but two plot lines that raised the emotional level so high I had a headache and had to go to bed immediately.
So, in case you didn't see it here is a synopsis. In a stunning climax to the season, Izzy (Katherine Heigl) flat-lined after a risky surgery performed by McDreamy (Patrick Dempsey) to remove a brain tumor and George (T.R. Knight) appeared set to meet his maker after getting hit by a bus.
But before we could hear anybody call “time of death,” the screen faded to black and “Grey’s” headed off for summer hiatus leaving me hanging and screaming at the TV. Now I know that it has long been speculated that Heigl and Knight wanted out of the show, her because of her burgeoning move career and him because of how his character has been minimized the last two seasons. So the safe assumption is that both characters are now among the carnage of May sweeps. On the other hand, the scenes played out very much like a good old fashion "Dallas" cliff-hanger — as epic as the Who Shot JR one... and thus leaves the door open to new life and new contracts for the two.
Shonda Rhimes did an excellent job of keeping us in the dark until the very end. In Izzy’s case, she agreed to go under McDreamy’s knife, despite the risk that she could turn out to be a vegetable. That plot line alone was an emotional roller coaster because my spirits were lifted when the surgery was successful and she woke up speaking, but then dropped again when short-term memory problems came to light. Then for a moment it appeared as if Izzie would recover fully after Alex Karev yelled at her and she remembered it — then the final drop - she lost consciousness in the arms of a horrified Alex. And I freaked out!
The George plot line was even more of a mean and a complete shock. At one point, they showed him signing up for the army to become a trauma surgeon - I knew that was going to be him) and then we spent the rest of the show thinking he was in surgery and the team would have an intervention to make him change his mind only to discover the chief sent him home early and I thought he would simply disappear from Seattle Grace, leaving us to assume he was on his way to Iraq.
It wasn’t until the very freaking end we discovered he never made it out of Seattle — and was, instead, right under our noses all along, clinging to life as a bloody and unrecognizable John Doe when he took Meredith's hand and wrote "007" in her palm and I screamed out GEORGEEEE.
It appears, he was on his way out of the hospital when he heroically pushed a woman out of the path of a bus and was struck and dragged by it himself. Such a George thing to do!
So what did you think of the finale? Were you stunned by the ending — or did you see it coming? Can “Grey’s Anatomy” survive without Izzie and George? Let me know..
Monday, May 11, 2009
Sunday, May 10, 2009
Monday, May 4, 2009
Build a bridge!
THIS IS A RANT!
So here it is.. I had intended to write a blog today about a show I saw on Oprah about the little girl Madeline that went missing in Portugal two years ago and how her parents were wrongfully and horribly vilified. I will still write it but I instead wanted to write one about people and how they truly amaze me!
As all of you who read my blog know, I have really changed my life in the last two years or so. I am no longer working for Barbados, no longer living in Miami, have followed my bliss and working in my area of passion and I am discovering who I am again and what makes me happy and how to build something you believe in from scratch! It's exciting, its scary and its exhilarating all at the same time! The love of friends, family and great business contacts have bolstered me and kept me afloat even when I wasn't so sure myself I could swim!
Then today rolled around. I got a call from a great old friend telling me that people (from a previous life) were wondering why I was hiding and what was I doing and where was I living and did anyone know where I was, that they heard I had a secret blog but I didn't send it to them... etc, etc etc. So I laughed at the news because I honestly found it silly really. But as the minutes passed by, I began to take a different approach to it...why do they care?
I mean really, maybe its just me but I don't walk around collecting useless information on everyone just so I can satisfy some bizarre inappropriate curiosity - its insane to me. If you don't know what's going on with me, and I haven't told you whats the 411 - then assume one of two things - (1) I am not ready to tell you or (2) its none of your business and I won't tell you!
I have always been a very open person, I wear my heart on my sleeve and would make a horrid poker player because you know what I am feling immediately as it shows on my face every time. If I like you then I love you! If I love you, then I am an open book. I will take the shirt off of my back for you and do my best to give you the world. If I don't .... well..I don't! That is just me. I don't have malice towards you but we won't break bread, I won't share my life and its details with you and you should be OK with that as I am OK with you not sharing yours with me.
People get caught up in creating drama that someone has done them wrong because they chose NOT to tell them something or the other or divulge some aspect of their lives with them. My message is quite simple....get over yourself! No one has to share anything with anyone. I guess I was lucky that at a very early age my grandmother (the one married to the Yankee) gave me a lesson that I have kept with me for my entire life!
When I was 6yrs old, my parents were in Europe and I was staying with my grandmother during that time. I remember coming home from school very upset because someone (I don't recall who to be honest) would not play with me. I was in tears! What did my loving, nurturing grandmother do? She sat me down and said this to me - "No one has to like you Brian....No one has to play with you and you have to be OK with that. Just like you may not want to play with someone else or talk to someone else - they too have the right to do the same. Now run along and learn to be happy with your own company"
I remember being stunned and upset - and thinking what a mean woman but I have to tell you that lesson has stayed with me my entire life! It was a great lesson to learn so early in life - learn to be Ok with the fact that not everyone will think the sun rises and sets with the fluttering of your eyes!!
I am not really a looking back kind of guy..never have been....I am always looking forward - even if what lies ahead is cloudy and scary..at least I know its new and exciting. So for me, when I move on..I really move on. I do not generally miss people - like people pine for people etc..I do not do that. I miss them and think fondly of them but I don't lament that they are gone. Generally because they are gone for a reason whether it is one I accept or not - it is what it is.
Example, when I left my last job, I wasn't deep dear friends with many people, I liked most everyone but I was truly friends with a very small hand full (in my office two people and within the whole company five tops!)
And those five people all read this blog because I love them and they really are my friends - the rest - if I pass them in the street, I will say hi and I wish them the best but we weren't friends then..so I am not so sure we would be friends now. I have been that way from school days. My dearest friends from school are still my friends today. So I guess I find it weird when people are so curious about my life, what I am doing etc..
So I guess my my rant is basically, if you don't know what is going on in someone's life you have two options..ask and be willing to be told they don't wish to share with you, or be curious but not offended if they don't wish to share it with you!
So here it is.. I had intended to write a blog today about a show I saw on Oprah about the little girl Madeline that went missing in Portugal two years ago and how her parents were wrongfully and horribly vilified. I will still write it but I instead wanted to write one about people and how they truly amaze me!
As all of you who read my blog know, I have really changed my life in the last two years or so. I am no longer working for Barbados, no longer living in Miami, have followed my bliss and working in my area of passion and I am discovering who I am again and what makes me happy and how to build something you believe in from scratch! It's exciting, its scary and its exhilarating all at the same time! The love of friends, family and great business contacts have bolstered me and kept me afloat even when I wasn't so sure myself I could swim!
Then today rolled around. I got a call from a great old friend telling me that people (from a previous life) were wondering why I was hiding and what was I doing and where was I living and did anyone know where I was, that they heard I had a secret blog but I didn't send it to them... etc, etc etc. So I laughed at the news because I honestly found it silly really. But as the minutes passed by, I began to take a different approach to it...why do they care?
I mean really, maybe its just me but I don't walk around collecting useless information on everyone just so I can satisfy some bizarre inappropriate curiosity - its insane to me. If you don't know what's going on with me, and I haven't told you whats the 411 - then assume one of two things - (1) I am not ready to tell you or (2) its none of your business and I won't tell you!
I have always been a very open person, I wear my heart on my sleeve and would make a horrid poker player because you know what I am feling immediately as it shows on my face every time. If I like you then I love you! If I love you, then I am an open book. I will take the shirt off of my back for you and do my best to give you the world. If I don't .... well..I don't! That is just me. I don't have malice towards you but we won't break bread, I won't share my life and its details with you and you should be OK with that as I am OK with you not sharing yours with me.
People get caught up in creating drama that someone has done them wrong because they chose NOT to tell them something or the other or divulge some aspect of their lives with them. My message is quite simple....get over yourself! No one has to share anything with anyone. I guess I was lucky that at a very early age my grandmother (the one married to the Yankee) gave me a lesson that I have kept with me for my entire life!
When I was 6yrs old, my parents were in Europe and I was staying with my grandmother during that time. I remember coming home from school very upset because someone (I don't recall who to be honest) would not play with me. I was in tears! What did my loving, nurturing grandmother do? She sat me down and said this to me - "No one has to like you Brian....No one has to play with you and you have to be OK with that. Just like you may not want to play with someone else or talk to someone else - they too have the right to do the same. Now run along and learn to be happy with your own company"
I remember being stunned and upset - and thinking what a mean woman but I have to tell you that lesson has stayed with me my entire life! It was a great lesson to learn so early in life - learn to be Ok with the fact that not everyone will think the sun rises and sets with the fluttering of your eyes!!
I am not really a looking back kind of guy..never have been....I am always looking forward - even if what lies ahead is cloudy and scary..at least I know its new and exciting. So for me, when I move on..I really move on. I do not generally miss people - like people pine for people etc..I do not do that. I miss them and think fondly of them but I don't lament that they are gone. Generally because they are gone for a reason whether it is one I accept or not - it is what it is.
Example, when I left my last job, I wasn't deep dear friends with many people, I liked most everyone but I was truly friends with a very small hand full (in my office two people and within the whole company five tops!)
And those five people all read this blog because I love them and they really are my friends - the rest - if I pass them in the street, I will say hi and I wish them the best but we weren't friends then..so I am not so sure we would be friends now. I have been that way from school days. My dearest friends from school are still my friends today. So I guess I find it weird when people are so curious about my life, what I am doing etc..
So I guess my my rant is basically, if you don't know what is going on in someone's life you have two options..ask and be willing to be told they don't wish to share with you, or be curious but not offended if they don't wish to share it with you!
Friday, May 1, 2009
Tuesday, April 28, 2009
My new favorite song!
A few days ago I dedicated this to my sister...I hope you all enjoy it as much as I do. I love Heather Headley - fellow child of the Caribbean! Listen carefully to the words.. They are magical!
Sunday, April 26, 2009
The Craigslist Killer...My thoughts...
Ok.. So first I want to say that I think it is so sad that NY Queens masseuse Julissa Brisman was allegedly killed by Philip Markoff - AKA The Craigslist killer. This young lady did nothing but wake up that morning to follow her own type of bliss and ended up dead. To her family, friends and loved ones I offer a prayer for her.
But there are things specifically about the whole moniker of Craigslist Killer and this whole story that bothers me. First off, to declare the alleged accused the "Craigslist Killer" sounds like we have a had a severe rash of killings all with ties to the online classified ad website and police have been searching for months for this serial or spree killer, that mass hysteria has erupted across the city and people are worried who may be next. Now understand that one life is no less important than 4 or 44 but really - The Craigslist Killer? Isn't it just a bit of an overkill? Now maybe he was working his way up to being a serial killer - it is alleged that he had met several others previously and with each, the degree of contact between him and the ladies has intensified to this apparent murder.
But to name the alleged killer this name is just another slide in the proper way the media should be doing their job. With each passing year I find myself shuddering as more and more people who should not be on TV as "reporters" end up on TV with a bully pulpit to say whatever they so desire. Local network stations join in the morass and begin rushing stories to beat the competition with stories that are incomplete and worse - incorrect. We end up with local anchors warning us to be fearful of EVERYTHING and EVERYONE and ONLY they can tell us how at 5PM, 6PM and 11PM. Stay tuned...we're gonna push the boundaries of acceptable journalism to the edge in the name of beating the competition. This is how you end up with names like "The Craigslist Killer" for a sick random man who allegedly took the life of someone else.
The second thing I have an issue with is the fact that several media outlets have been asking if Craigslist should shut down the erotic section of the site - because of this one death. Again, I do not intend to sound callous but I haven't heard of anyone trying to shut down the NY Times personal section or the hottest night club because someone's life came to an end because they met their killer at those locations. The reality is that this is a horrible thing that happened. But, what is the reasoning behind this mass hysteria? Lets get our pitch forks and burn the heretic!
The reality is that if we allow these people calling for Craigslist to shut this section down, then we get into a situation where people will be wanting to monitor the Internet in the name of safety and next thing you know we are giving up freedoms in the name of safety! No thanks..we just got out from underneath eight years of the abandonment of Habeas Corpus. So while I grieve for the young lady I can not add my voice to ignorant hysteria. I was proud of the team at Craigslist when they said simply NO. We will not shut it down because of one bad person who uses the service for their own nefarious purposes.
My other issue with this case speaks more to the prejudice that exists in the world. I listened to a few commentators on TV (a well known cable channel) who made the comment "but he's such a good looking guy...why would he need to do this" It made me literally shake. The premise here is clearly that good looking people do not need to commit crime. Simply put good looking people get a pass in life. They are expected to lived charmed lives, be the hero or heroine and flash that winning smile you see in the toothpaste commercials - you know, the ones that go **PING** as they smile.
It is something I have always found fascinating. Really? Just because they are good looking they can't be a killer, or a thief or just jerks? Really? Why not? But this happens everywhere. Good looking people get into places easier, get given things easier and get a pass! And it goes farther - good looking AND taller people get hired faster, and get paid more money too. This isn't something I plucked from my mind, this is sadly a proven fact. Timothy Judge, a business professor at the University of Florida, calculated that each inch in height corresponds to $789 extra in pay each year, even when gender, weight and age are taken into account. An extra six inches, for example, results in an extra $4,734 in annual income.
I actually had a boss who once told me he hired me for the job simply because I had dimples and was cute. He wasn't trying to harass me sexually, he was being honest. He said in marketing, the easy smiling people who are non-threatening do best. I was stunned, bemused and befuddled but I took the job!
So here is my message - just cause the person is good looking, taller or whatever doesn't mean they are any specific anything other than just that one fact. Look around in your own life and see who is getting a pass simply because they can for what ever reason! It's a fascinating study in human behavior.
But there are things specifically about the whole moniker of Craigslist Killer and this whole story that bothers me. First off, to declare the alleged accused the "Craigslist Killer" sounds like we have a had a severe rash of killings all with ties to the online classified ad website and police have been searching for months for this serial or spree killer, that mass hysteria has erupted across the city and people are worried who may be next. Now understand that one life is no less important than 4 or 44 but really - The Craigslist Killer? Isn't it just a bit of an overkill? Now maybe he was working his way up to being a serial killer - it is alleged that he had met several others previously and with each, the degree of contact between him and the ladies has intensified to this apparent murder.
But to name the alleged killer this name is just another slide in the proper way the media should be doing their job. With each passing year I find myself shuddering as more and more people who should not be on TV as "reporters" end up on TV with a bully pulpit to say whatever they so desire. Local network stations join in the morass and begin rushing stories to beat the competition with stories that are incomplete and worse - incorrect. We end up with local anchors warning us to be fearful of EVERYTHING and EVERYONE and ONLY they can tell us how at 5PM, 6PM and 11PM. Stay tuned...we're gonna push the boundaries of acceptable journalism to the edge in the name of beating the competition. This is how you end up with names like "The Craigslist Killer" for a sick random man who allegedly took the life of someone else.
The second thing I have an issue with is the fact that several media outlets have been asking if Craigslist should shut down the erotic section of the site - because of this one death. Again, I do not intend to sound callous but I haven't heard of anyone trying to shut down the NY Times personal section or the hottest night club because someone's life came to an end because they met their killer at those locations. The reality is that this is a horrible thing that happened. But, what is the reasoning behind this mass hysteria? Lets get our pitch forks and burn the heretic!
The reality is that if we allow these people calling for Craigslist to shut this section down, then we get into a situation where people will be wanting to monitor the Internet in the name of safety and next thing you know we are giving up freedoms in the name of safety! No thanks..we just got out from underneath eight years of the abandonment of Habeas Corpus. So while I grieve for the young lady I can not add my voice to ignorant hysteria. I was proud of the team at Craigslist when they said simply NO. We will not shut it down because of one bad person who uses the service for their own nefarious purposes.
My other issue with this case speaks more to the prejudice that exists in the world. I listened to a few commentators on TV (a well known cable channel) who made the comment "but he's such a good looking guy...why would he need to do this" It made me literally shake. The premise here is clearly that good looking people do not need to commit crime. Simply put good looking people get a pass in life. They are expected to lived charmed lives, be the hero or heroine and flash that winning smile you see in the toothpaste commercials - you know, the ones that go **PING** as they smile.
It is something I have always found fascinating. Really? Just because they are good looking they can't be a killer, or a thief or just jerks? Really? Why not? But this happens everywhere. Good looking people get into places easier, get given things easier and get a pass! And it goes farther - good looking AND taller people get hired faster, and get paid more money too. This isn't something I plucked from my mind, this is sadly a proven fact. Timothy Judge, a business professor at the University of Florida, calculated that each inch in height corresponds to $789 extra in pay each year, even when gender, weight and age are taken into account. An extra six inches, for example, results in an extra $4,734 in annual income.
I actually had a boss who once told me he hired me for the job simply because I had dimples and was cute. He wasn't trying to harass me sexually, he was being honest. He said in marketing, the easy smiling people who are non-threatening do best. I was stunned, bemused and befuddled but I took the job!
So here is my message - just cause the person is good looking, taller or whatever doesn't mean they are any specific anything other than just that one fact. Look around in your own life and see who is getting a pass simply because they can for what ever reason! It's a fascinating study in human behavior.
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