2011 Summer Reading List

Again and again I find myself pondering over the little dramatic moment of this morning after a two hour statistics examination, I could have entirely avoided the situation but I didn’t and now I am finding it hard to savor the bitter swill of regret. Discussing the situation is something that I will love to shun if possible but I can’t like other past instances. The process of reconciliation and the dishing out of blame is the painstakingly nature of it all that I don’t like, but somehow we’ll find a common ground to resolve it (I’m sorry).

I just came back inside from jogging and to my utmost surprise, my mentor (Carolyn Hoey) was inside the living room with my mother and sister; she brought the books that she ordered for my summer reading and I can’t even express how ecstatic I am right now. It is becoming her yearly ritual and these new books will increase my book tally to seven hundred and twenty-five. Yippee!

Below is the list of books and you guys should share yours if you have plans of reading during the summer:

1. Water for Elephants – Sara Gruen
2. Miles from Nowhere – Nami Mun
3. Stuck (Why We Can’t (or Won’t) Move On – Anneli Rufus
4. The Art of Power – Thich Nhat Hanh
5. Hector and The Search For Happiness – François LeLord
6. The No Asshole Rule – Robert I. Sutton
7. Be Yourself (How to Relax and Take Control of Your Life) – Lynda Field
8. Take Time for Your Life – Cheryl Richardson
9. Ask Again Later – Jill A. Davis
10. One Day – David Nicholls
11. Home Fires - Margaret Maron
12. Work As A Spiritual Practice – Lewis Richmond
13. A Thousand Splendid Suns – Khaled Hosseini
14. Long Walk To Freedom (The Autobiography of Nelson Mandela)
15. A People’s History of The United States – Howard Zinn

You Are...

You are strangely beautiful,

Like a pearl necklace

Waiting to be worn and appreciated

You are that pure morning dew

That sits calmly on a dainty violet

The crystalline droplet

That add richness to earth’s dryness

You are every man’s wish

The reason they all stop

To catch a second glimpse

You are a Tulip

As far as the eyes can see

The exquisite July-flower,

That put smiles on lover’s face

You are unusual,

Like a shooting star

That drops elegantly into my view

At night time

Myriads of stars in the night skies

But you are what I call E PLURIBUS UNUM

Written by: Abiodun Oketunji.

Windows Phone Mango

*scratches head*

Before i post what has got me scratching my head...i must say for someone who really isnt a beyonce fan (although i recognize her many talents...can't hate), i really do post one too many beyonce driven posts...weird.

Back to what's got me confused...being that i am a fan of originality...which is soooo hard to come by these days so everything "new" rocks my boat, but then again who can blame anyone when everything is recycled *shrugs*

I'm guessing they have the same choreographer.. *shrugs*

Tiny Miyo

Pin Ups

Icons that come to mind when the word, pin up is mentioned is Bettie Page and Betty Grable and a bevy of stars from the silver screen.

Bettie Page & Betty Grable

As much as i like these iconic women, they are not my point of interest today. Being that the popular pinups, from yesteryears were far less diverse due to so many issues that we all know to well about, I'd love to dedicate this post to the "forgotten", unsung lesser known black pin up models that rocked that era. Thanks to African American photographers, Howard Morehead, and Cass Carr (who also one the first photographers responsible for Bettie Page) who revolutionized the pin up industry and show cased African American women. 

Black is truly beautiful.

And to think this was once thought of black models

For more pictures, visit VintageSleaze.

source/photos: Jim Linderman

Tiny Miyo

Run The World

I was unable to watch Beyoncé’s Billboard Awards performance yesterday but TinyMiyo was giving me a live update of what was happening. We are not fans of her music but her talent and class was something that we find hard to refute. Watching her performance now struck a chord, as music legends and Michelle Obama praised her accomplishments as an entertainer and a role model to not just women but young girls around the globe that she is verily a great woman.

The message of her new single “Run The World (Girls)” can be subjected to wildly different interpretations, depending on whom you are talking to or the listener but I am an advocate of women's empowerment. It can be argued that women do not occupy many high-level positions in various sectors of any country's economy and as such they don’t RUN THE WORLD. But the story of the French Finance Minister, Christine Lagarde - who is emerging as the leading contender to run the International Monetary Fund after the resignation of Dominique Strauss-Kahn is a typical example of why I believe women should be empowered. Equality shouldn’t necessitate the dominance of one sex over the other but my only problem is that some indignant feminists out there use the theme “empowerment of women” for personal therapy because of the way they were maltreated in the past. What they deemed unjust is the similar thing that most of them perpetrate with their words, behaviors and actions. Not that I blame most of them but a positive movement to empower women shouldn't be used to pursue a "personal vendetta" against men.

If Beyoncé can refer to Jay-Z as her best friend then he must have a huge impact in her life not just as her husband but also as her colleague in the entertainment world. It is all about being there for one another and providing a shoulder that each other can lean on in life. There is a common adage that says ‘behind every successful man, there is a woman.’ I think now is the time to reverse that saying and change the world's sexual orientation and educate men to be supportive of women with aspirations - not just those with aspirations but also those with little or no education.


'Biodun

The Biotin Story

Anyone who's interested in growing their hair, must have come across biotin...

look familiar?...Anyhoo, this wonder vitamin H, is essential for hair and nail strengthening, and many other fascinating stuff. So i got a very

Since I'm very much involved with hair and its growth, i thought it would be an awesome idea to add biotin as part of my daily multivitamin regime. So i drive on to target get my hands on the first biotin i could find and begin to use it almost immediately. 

With happy thoughts i begin to think...hmm

I'm sure to definitely go from

  to

....in no time at all....(sorry Mr. President).

A couple of weeks into using biotin, the wonder drug...I got results. YUP!!!Results.

My RESULT?

I GOT ACNE....FACIAL ACNE...PAINFUL FORE HEAD, CHEEK NOSE, GROSS BLACKHEAD, WHITE HEADS...HELL, ALL THE DAMN HEADS. 

NOT A GOOD LOOK.

See the thing is i have never had issues with acne before, even in my teenage years. Then at 24, all of a sudden i get cystic acne (yeah the most painful kind). Not sure how it happened or what i took or did wrong, all i know is that it just came overnight.  I used everything from the oil cleansing method to proactive to prayers...yes prayers.  I finally came to the conclusion that it was as a result of hormonal imbalance. Even got mentally prepped to start with the pills.

Months passed and i still had this acne.....it never left, infact it came more and more....i felt so insecure about face...i mean, the acne was HUGE and painful....still is, yeah i still have 'em. Keep in mind i have been taking my biotin pills everyday since March.

Long story story short, a couple of days ago, i went online to investigate on the possible side effect of biotin.  Everywhere i went, said there were no possible side effects of biotin. infact it was safe to take during pregnancy. So it couldn't possibly be biotin. Then i googled biotin and acne, and boyyyyy was i shocked. Forums, notes, comments, Youtube Videos....many of them with users complaining about how biotin, the wonder drug for hair...caused cystic acne. :(

All these while, i was taking biotin to help with my hair and as a result i basically was destroying my skin. *double sad face*

Its been 2 days since i stopped taking biotin, i'm hoping that my face will slowly but surely clear up. Because i cannot deal with this kind of acne no more. Its really annoying.

The moral of this story

• Before you get a multivitamin or any supplement, please do thorough research
• You might want rethink taking those biotin pills, if you do have them. (i am not saying you shouldn't take it because my brother takes it without and hasn't had any acne issues, but he swears it has increased his appetite...yeah, thats another side effect web-MD failed to mention).
• Consult your physician....really, consult one before you take those fancy natural shit.

Tiny Miyo

3 Things I Learned While My Plane Crashed

This is inspiring, very touching and educative.

Edna Park

Here's an interesting fact about a not so known Nigerian, who represented Nigeria in the 1964 Miss universe pageant held in Miami, Florida.

Enda Park (pictured above) was the first Miss Nigeria to rep Nigeria at the Miss Universe contest. Although there was nothing really memorable about her looks that made her stand out except for the obvious (color, hair, tradition, etc). She is famously known for causing a ruckus on stage as the competition was going on. What did she do you might ask?  Well, this here pretty lady broke down in tears, refused to leave the stage, and finally fainted on stage after her name wasn't called as a finalist for the pageant...( how embarrassing that must have been). Reports claimed that she was "overly confident" and expected to easily take the crown...So when her name wasn't announced, her next course of action was to collapse (smh). 

She had to be sedated and taken by police to the Miami hospital where she was attended by and consoled by the wife of the Nigerian ambassador at the time, who according to Wikipedia stated: "All the judges are white and they aren't really competent to judge dark girls’ beauty". Since Park, no Miss Nigeria has competed at Miss Universe.

anyone notice her unshaved armpits...lol.

EDNA PARK, MISS NIGERIA AT THE MISS UNIVERSE PAGEANT (MIAMI, 1964)
One of the questions on the forms for the contestant biographies required the contestants to state what they hoped to gain from their participation in the competition. Most of them replied with typically insincere, faux-inspirational pageantry cliches like “To represent my country,” “To make friends” and “To travel.” Edna Park however, stated in no uncertain terms, ” To win the crown.”
(Photo from Ebony magazine, October 1964)

source: wikipedia, google.

Tiny Miyo

3 dollar blazer

Okay so, i got this blazer from the salvation army for like 3 bucks... and it was on half off Wednesday. So you can imagine how overjoyed i was to get it for absolutely nothing. I haven't officially worn it out yet (i'm still in my hobbit phase), but i cant wait to mix and match it with pieces from my closet. Whats more interesting about the blazer is that its quite light, so i can wear it in the dead of summer....plus i would not need to worry about being caught in the same outfit with a bunch of notorious mall shoppers.

love the little details

blazer: BGB ltd

Tiny Miyo

Stolen Beats

I’m passionate about music irrespective of genre and I have been referred to as a hip-hop connoisseur by friends; an attribute that I often like to shy away from because my knowledge of that genre is solely as a result of my collections. But lately hip-hop is losing its depth because of cheap beat making softwares and rarely will you see artist’s use live instrumentation when making a song.

It is call for originality and the underlying problem in today’s hip-hop is musical innovation. I’m sure some will agree with me that 70s and 80s hip-hop had more depth and perceptible sense. The current trend of sampling 40s, 50s, 60s, and 70s funk, soul, and perhaps jazz music is lack of intellectual honesty by hip-hop producers. Yet, they get showered with accolades for slicing someone else’s work, mix it up with kicks and snares, and send it to artists to record their braggadocio lyrics over it. We live in a mirrored world indeed, where everything is in its opposite - a place where the non-talented ones get so much recognition and praise for their cheat formula.

Why should I listen to Jay-Z’s “Success” (featuring Nas) when I can easily play Larry Ellis & The Black Hammer ‘Funky Thing’ and I’m sure a good percentage of people are still unaware of the fact that No I.D. and Jermaine Dupri sampled ‘Funky Thing’. Jay-Z must have paid a few quid for the production but like the Yoruba’s will say “Ole Gbe, Ole Gba” (a thief is outwitted by another thief).

Larry Ellis & The Black Hammer - Funky Thing

Jay-Z - Success Ft. Nas

Spot the similarity? Oh, there is more and even monsieur Kanye West sampled Curtis Mayfield’s “Move On up”. They are all doing it and it won't come to an end soon at the rate that our generation is tilting towards the once revolutionary genre called Hip-Hop.

Curtis Mayfield - Move On Up

Kanye West - Touch The Sky

Personally, I think now is the time to start collecting more funk, soul and jazz vinyls.

Touched By An Angel

We, unaccustomed to courage

exiles from delight

live coiled in shells of loneliness

until love leaves its high holy temple

and comes into our sight

to liberate us into life.

Love arrives

and in its train come ecstasies

old memories of pleasure

ancient histories of pain.

Yet if we are bold,

love strikes away the chains of fear

from our souls.

We are weaned from our timidity

In the flush of love's light

we dare be brave

And suddenly we see

that love costs all we are

and will ever be.

Yet it is only love

which sets us free.

By: Maya Angelou

Debbie Harry

Born to be cool is what i often use to describe Debbie Harry. She made punk rock fashionable and rocked it well. Her very quintessentially 80's punk rock look makes her a style icon in my book and a go to influence for future punk rockers.

All hail the punk rock queen.

 

 

Tiny Miyo 

Happy Birthday Katharine Hepburn (May 12, 1907)

Natural hair inspiration

My new favorite online hobby is to look at pictures of natural hair. I find it rather inspiring and even though i may have the kinkiest hair texture, i honestly cannot wait ...(hopefully), to achieve such awesome mane as these ladies. You can say, looking at them keeps me from relapsing...lets face it relaxer can be quite addicting.

source: naturalbelle

so whenever, i have those tempting days (natural hair blues), i just think of all the sweet possibilities of what i can achieve with my hair natural.

Tiny Miyo