Back in Black

Trends come and go: skinny jeans, leg warmers, shoulder pads.  Even being ethnic has seen its trendy times: Lisa Bonet was more popular than Tempestt Bledsoe, Al B Sure got more girls than Keith Sweat. We moved to Tyson becoming the best dark chocolate on the scene. The black trend ceased when JLo, Mariah Carey and Salma Hyack rose to stardom or the introduction of Bollywood's popularity. 

Last night, I realized it is, yet again, trendy to be Black! I've been Black all my life, so I never realized when my skin tone was or wasn't popular.

Dinner last night was interesting.  It's always fun to dine with my girlfriend when she comes to town.  I covet her shoes and secretly plot to steal them off her feet. But that's a blog for another day.  Last night, her son declared he is no longer Caucasian and that he wished he was raised in a Black family. Um yeah, right kid. He even attempted to use the N-word referring to his bros.  This put me off guard.  After that exchange all I could think of is that this kid listens to too much Eminem. Here we go again with non-Blacks thinking it's cool as long as you come off as "down" to use the term. Hell-to-the-naw and if he uses it in the wrong presence, he will receive the brutal end of a nasty beat down. I asked his mom to have their good friend who is from a small town in East Texas where they probably just recently removed the segregation signs from public places to have a serious talk about what it really means to be Black.

We ended the night with her son insisting that he was Black. And I left it with "you are an honorary Black person".  Knowing this is just a trend, I am hopeful he will grow out of it and soon.  But this lead to me think what the constant distinction will do to his thinking.  I have a another very good friend that we jokingly said was Black on the inside.

I am used to being the token among my friends.  I was 1 of 2 Black kids (at least I think there was another) in my HS class. I was never in an all-Black situation (excluding my family) until the day my parents dropped me off at Tuskegee Institute. I have been accused of acting white, wanting to be white, sounding white - etc. etc. Although lately, I've been told I have a Texas accent (time to move). Sue me that I don't sound ignorant, country, uneducated. No, I'm not saying all Blacks sound ignorant the moment they open their mouths. I am saying that when I meet people face to face after having telephone conversations, their favorite line is "Oh, I didn't think you were Black".

I guess I will never understand why we have to lay claim to other ethnic backgrounds. I know that I am lucky to be Black, educated and employed - I'm not blind to that. But I don't wake up every day saying I wish I was Anglo or Latin or male.  I may wake up wishing I had curly hair - but that's what weave is for. Being a minority is never easy but I wouldn't trade it for another lifestyle.

Thank goodness for the few of us who are colorblind and see each other for who we are inside and not the tan we wear on the outside.

Yoga can get you in to Heaven

Or maybe not...

I'm not an expert on what will or wont get you closer to St. Peter in the afterlife, but personally, I think those who tell their parishioners that they shouldn't practice yoga because it diverges from Christian values are off-base.

There are plenty of totems that have been "normalized" from an Eastern culture - yoga being one of them. Heck modern-day Christianity stems from a multi-god religion. Yes, yoga is a Buddhist practice used to achieve a oneness with the universe and depending on your type of yogi - you may or may not chant.  So what! If you don't like chanting, turn it into Hail Mary's or other prayers.

Honestly, if you ask many Americans why they take yoga, it's for health benefits - it's a good work, it helps center Type A personalities after stressful days through the use of concentrated breathing and stretching movements. I don't think practicing yoga in the US negates your Christian values. If anything, a Christian may use their yoga time to meditate and say private prayers.

The day people stop spreading hate and start learning about the subtle differences among us - we will all be a better person for it.

It's the Gun Show

Ok, so Joise at Yum Yucky is one crazy, wacky chica...and her blog is super hilarious. Check her out if you haven't already. She has a Big Bad Bicep Challenge that just started and here's the schedule or you can do any combo at 5 days a week.  That's a lot of badass gun work.

Option A – You Have Gym (or gym equipment at home)

• 21s – EZ curl bar, 7x halfway up, 7x halfway down, 7x all the way. Without pausing, 25 reps of situps on a decline bench. DO THIS SET 3x. BREAK.
• Seated bicep curls (start with both arms at top – lower one, bring it back up, lower the next one – so one arm is always at the top) – 12 each arm (or more).
• Without pausing, 25 reps of leg raises (lift both legs, but if you get tired alternate them). DO THIS SET 3x. BREAK.
• Regular curls with a straight bar – 12 (or more).
• Abdominals: Without pausing, do 25 reps of pull down crunches (behind the neck or an ab machine). DO THIS SET 3x.

OPTION B – You only have dumbbells

• Seated bicep curls (as in 2nd stage of option A – alternating arms, starting at top bringing one arm down and then up, so that one arm is always at the top). Without pausing, 25 reps of situps. DO THIS SET 3x. BREAK.
• Seated isolation curls (one arm with elbow against inner thigh, legs open, bring it up and down 12 times).
• Without pausing do leg lifts (flat on back, legs in the air, hands under butt – push butt up) – do it 25 times or for 1 minute. BREAK.
• Hammer curls (end of weights face forward and palms face into body or cross-over curls) – 12 (or more).
• Planks: Hold the plank position for 60 seconds. DO THIS SET 3x. BREAK. Note: (I’ll be doing 90-second planks).

So are you down?  All the cool kids are doing it!