Health Care Tactics via (Gawker)

"Oh you're sick Senator Byrd? I'm going to still need your 92 yr old self to come vote for the bill today"



the GOP makes the oldest serving Senator come to vote regardless.



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t.childz

Shala Monroque

Shala Monroque is the editor-at-large for Pop Magazine and a bonafied "it" girl. Frequently featured on the Vogue's top ten best-dressed list of the week, dates art deal mogul, Larry Gagosian, and is frequently spotted at NY social events.


Shala Monroque's blog
JakandJil blog

thanks teacakers


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t.childz

Olsen's Decade (via style.com)

The Online Home of Vogue features Ashley and Mary-Kate Olsen as style icons of the past decade. "What would the '00s been without the Olsens?" They have laucnhed two successful clothing lines-- The Row and Elizabeth and James. Balenciaga, Giambattista Valli, Proenza Schouler, and Givenchy have all benefitted from the Olsens wearing their designs. They were also inducted into the Council of Fashion Designers of America, which signals that the fashion industry takes them seriously.


ashley in paris @ Chanel Show March 2008 (taken by me)


mary kate in (Givenchy jacket) paris March 2008 (style.com)

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t. childz

Hollis Marie Claire Editorial

the baddest bish of all





source: marie claire 10/09 via thefashionspot


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t.childz

Mauritanian Independence Day

11.28.1960


Eid Mubarak,

t.childz

TCs Top Six for Pre/Early 2010

1.) a little bit of snowfall in the District

2.) the Holidays- and Dec. 5th 30% off at Nordie

3.) bringing in the new year in Paris with hubby

4.) Vancouver Olympics

5.) A manual transmission vehicle, preferably Swedish

6.) San Fran

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t.childz

Black Friday fashion round up (via the FashionSpot)

A preview of the Friday sales... (Sharon Feiereisen)



Though shopping and sales have started earlier these past two holiday seasons, Black Friday – the Friday after Thanksgiving – is still considered to be the official start of the holiday shopping season, and plenty of stores capitalize on this with short-lived, high-impact deals. The term "Black Friday" dates back to 1966, when the heavy shopping traffic of the day prompted it to be used to refer to the beginning of the period in which retailers go from being in the red, to being in the black (from loss to profit). Let’s hope Black Friday lives up to its name this holiday season.


full article


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t.childz

Gluttony

Nationally sponsored and supported gluttony means the best holiday of the year. Thankful for the unconditional love I give and receive from the universe


HAPPY EATING!

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t.childz

liya kebede in V Magazine

editorial in V Magazine November 2009



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t.childz

horoscope from a couple weeks ago.

"your interests become studies. your studies become transportation. your travels become adventures. your adventures become stories. your stories become the interests of others. the cycle continues."

post/style section




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t.childz

Wale, lyrically inclined

"Wale is exhausted. Bivouacked in a lounge across the street from Interscope’s Santa Monica headquarters, the Washington, D.C., native wears a countenance of weary resignation, preparing for the first in a seemingly never-ending string of interviews. When I tell him that I’ll try not to ask the same stupid questions, he exhales a sigh a relief...

It’s enough for the dreadlocked 25-year-old to handle the rigors of opening for Jay-Z and N.E.R.D. at sold-out arenas across America (as he’s been done for the last several weeks), but he’s simultaneously in breakneck promotional mode in advance of the release of “Attention Deficit,” his official debut that drops Tuesday. Accordingly, he’s frantically checking his phone, Twittering and trying to stay sane, knowing too well that judgment day looms a week away.

The problem is that Wale might be built for the old industry model. A complex craftsman in a fast-food rap world that rewards simplicity and prolificacy, Wale is trapped between binaries. Arguably the most buzzed-about rapper to emerge out of the blogosphere’s tower of babble, he’s acutely aware that to achieve commercial success outside of the Internet bubble, he needs a radio hit. But as he readily admits, “I’m not a radio artist yet.” So in a bid to earn visibility, he collaborated with Lady Gaga and Gucci Mane for his first two singles, alienating many of the purists in his vociferous fan base.

Compounding the disappointment was that neither cut caught fire, though the Gaga-aided “Chillin” has nearly gone gold. Moreover, “Attention Deficit” is riddled with commercial compromises that were absent on the free giveaways he made his name on: the outstanding “100 Miles and Running” and the “The Mixtape About Nothing,” a “Seinfeld”-themed opus that shifted people’s paradigm of what to expect from a mix tape. But in spite of the myriad hoops that the corporate brass forced him to jump through, Wale has delivered the strongest debut yet of XXL’s much ballyhooed Freshman 10 class (Kid Cudi, Asher Roth, Charles Hamilton, et al), one that augurs well for a lengthy and successful career.

In advance of his show Sunday night (with Jay-Z, N.E.R.D. and J. Cole), Pop & Hiss spoke to Wale about the difficulties of getting to release a major-label rap album in 2009, the negativity and fickleness of the blog age, and why he Twitters so much.

Like many of the more blog-buzzed rappers, you’ve been subject to a lot of rumors, beefs real or fabricated, and a level of media attention that rappers a generation ago may have had to face, but certainly not on as large of a scale. Has this been a difficult thing for you to cope with?

Q-Tip once told me that 15 years ago, all people had to judge you on was your album, one or two interviews, your record for the radio and the picture on the album cover. That’s it. The only way you can remain relevant is to give yourself up, unless you’re blessed to be in one of those every-once-in-a-while Drake situations. But that’s not even a once-in-a-while thing; that’s a one-time thing.

But that would seem to be a pretty different situation unto itself. A lot of people watched “Degrassi: The Next Generation,” a lot of girls watched "Degrassi" and they’re now some of his biggest fans. He had a built-in base.

Yeah, and now they’re more mature and can hear [curse] words, I’m happy for what happened to Drake, but the game is just completely impossible now. You have to give yourself up. That’s why I’m so frequently on Twitter; it’s because I don’t have a big record out right now. I don’t have a lot of outlets to explain and prepare people for the person they’re about to listen to.

Do you ever feel like abandoning Twitter? You always have the option of saying, "No, I don’t want to do something like that."

That’s why I take sabbaticals. It’s difficult because you can see how many people already have the leak of your album, and there’s always all these people that are like, "[Screw you], Wale, I hope you die." Back in the day, it took time to write a letter, fold it, find an envelope and stamp and mail it.

It makes people feel like they’re tough enough to say things to your face. They’ll write things like, ‘If I ever see you, I’m going to…." I’m like, "Dawg, I’ve been to every major city. I don’t have a security detail. I’ve never met a person who’d say that to my face."

In a way, counting mix tapes, this is really like your sixth album. Is it difficult to have to keep on creating mostly free content to keep on feeding the Internet-era appetite for new music?

I’m in a different place on the mix tapes than I am with the stuff on my album. I don’t care as much about the mix tapes. I say what I want to say, but on the actual album I was a lot more careful. I’d rewrite things two or three times just to make sure things were perfect.

Do you ever think that you’re angling more for a Mos Def-type fan base than say, a Drake-type fan base?

I don’t know. I really don’t know what my fan base is. I don’t think anyone knows. It’s so weird. On one hand, they’re like, Wale is the new Common or Mos Def, and on the other hand, people say Wale is the other Drake. On the other end, people are like, Wale is the new Jay-Z. On the other, they’re like, Wale is the new Talib Kweli. I don’t think anybody knows. There’s definitely some commercial appeal, but I’m not sure if I can put my finger on it. It’s interesting, because when I did my radio tour, all these people, all these pop stations spoke to me, and I was like, "Dawg, you don’t care about me. You only care about me because I did a record about Gaga."

In a lot of urban markets, they know who I was, they cared about me, they knew my grind and my struggle, but there wasn’t anything for me to give them at that point. It’s something I’m still trying to figure out. Still, we sell out shows all the time.

You have been for a while too. You and Blu sold out the Key Club last year.

But I’m not a radio artist, at least at this point. Pharrell says I am. Jay says I am, but I’m not at this point. I did “Chillin.” ... It was what it was, but nothing stuck -- at least stuck the way that I had hoped. But yet there are still fans coming by the boatload, so I’m thankful for that. I just hope they buy the album next week. I really think it’s going to stand the test of time."

-- Jeff Weiss


source: LA times blog, vh1 soulstage


I had the pleasure of meeting some of his entourage last summer and they said this day would come

2 of his more popular hits

Chillin w/ Lady Gaga
Rising Up w/ the Roots & Chrisette Michele (video)



more recent collaborations with Gucci Mane, Jay-Z, and kiD cuDi


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t.childz

Too Late

"I just want to take you away from everyone and keep you stashed under my pillow and then I'd take you out simply for my own pleasure and wear you when the occasion's special then..."

Free Enterprise

The film begins with footage of bank robbers. Next, County Sheriff breaks down doors of homes in Middle America with notices of eviction… Michael Moore gives us a raw look and of course extremely biased viewpoint of capitalism in America. We get an historical perspective of our “love affair” with the free market and it begs us to ask, “what happened to the Middle Class & the American dream?”

Moore gives an inside look at how the democrats on the Hill were punk’d/duped/b*tched into backing Paulson’s bailout bill. I appreciate his commitment to once again educate us on political corruption & lack of empathy on both policymakers’ part and big business.

His take Away > capitalism can be saved through democracy
My take away > maybe socialist Europe has it right


photo: Moore making a "citizen's arrest" of the CEOs at a nameless bank on Wall St.
Follow my blog with bloglovin

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t.childz

Why Mos Def is the truth....

watch and learn something

This clip is two years old but that doesn't stop its relevance.



don't blame the institution of religion, but blame the radical individuals

coming up are my thoughts on the film "Capitalism: A Love Story"

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t.childz

92nd Street Y fashion panel discussion, nyc

Glamour’s Editor-in-Chief Cindi Leive, The Washington Post’s Robin Givhan, Ashley Olsen, and Isaac Mizrahi got together to dicuss "Michelle Obama, Ralph Lauren's ad scandal, fast fashion and the fate of platform heels."

On Michelle Obama and the "first lady effect", Robin Givhan noted, "she is setting an example for women over thirty with busy careers and families who feel disenfranchised from fashion."

On spending money on high fashion during a global recession Mizrahi noted, "No one ever says spending thousands of dollars on season tickets for football is a waste of money, but spending $5000 on a dress…” to which Isaac almost jumped out of his chair in agreement."

Ashley Olsen on celebrity fashion lines... Most celebrities create fashion lines for the wrong reason, while she and her sister Mary-Kate are not doing it for publicity but for their genuine love of creative freedom that their lines The Row and Elizabeth and James afford them. “Most get involved to have a licensing partner and build their personal brand, you have to want it. I never wanted to be an actress [when I grew up] so I’m not coming at it from a ‘celebrity’ stand point,” before repeating that this is her career, that she loves fashion.

An audience member asked what she’d tell a young girl who wanted to look stylish on a tight budget and the Olsen answered, “Vintage.”

more from The Huffington Post

8min video clip




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t.childz

Spotted: MK shopping during fashion week

the Lanvin witch boots are back... gearing up for Halloween?



olsensanonymous

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t.childz

Bipartisanship at its Best

Obama's Healthcare Bill Advances in the Senate



full article


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t.childz

adorable.

saw this in the new USweekly and couldn't resist...

Jolie-Pitts at a French supermarket 10/5
celebrity gossip.net

Ethics & Charlie Rangel

What’s going on?

Congressman Charles Rangel is under fire on Capitol Hill and in the press because of his “questionable” spending habits and failure to pay taxes on several properties he owns in the Caribbean. The GOP demands that Congressman Rangel resign his posting as chair for the House Ways and Means Committee. This Committee is responsible for government oversight and writes tax law. Some of his offenses include failing to report more than 500,000 in assets on his 2007 federal disclosure forms and failing to pay taxes on his villa in the DR. Unfortunately, that’s not all- he solicited donations for an academic center bearing his name back home in Harlem- all of these offenses are in violation of House Rules.

The Congressman sat stone-faced before his colleagues in the House Chamber last Thursday as the Republicans argued their cases for why he should be removed. The Democrats had/ve his back- he is a powerful player in the political circuit. He helped found the Congressional Black Caucus and of course sides on the issues that [we] care most about. mais oui He also founded a summer enrichment program to help young minorities enter the foreign service. (my bias) BUT… "The man who is in charge of writing the nation's tax laws doesn't pay his federal income or property taxes," said Rep. John Carter, R-Texas.
After deliberation the Democrats ceded the issue to the Ethics committee and thus for the moment Charlie will keep the Chairmanship while the investigation continues.

"He is one of the most experienced knowledgeable people in the Congress about health care," Pelosi said. "But even if he weren't, the process here is that the ethics committee reviews the situation and then they make their statement on it, so I think it would be unfair to him to say he should step aside because you're under review."



sources: washingtonpost & cnn




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t.childz

Best Covers of Old Songs

what would James Brown say?

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t. childz

BPX: 1 TC: 0

So the annual Congressional Black Caucus/Annual Legislative Conference ’09 kicked off here in the District and while I was excited to attend a slew of the “Emerging Series” leader events, I could not take off work—I just started here—what type of impression does that set to the senior management?


I had to thus “settle” for the “Black Party Experience,” a black tie gala at the Grand Hyatt Downtown. The venue was huge; we got lost a couple of times along the way. This ended up being a gossip fest/”omg how do you know ‘so and so.’” Clearly DC is 2 degrees of separation… Jazzy phe let loose on the dance floor, while I stood front row sipping cabernet, and listening to the sweet live sounds of Case performing some of his old stuff.

Conclusion from the BPX: another fabulous Anthro dress wasted at a mediocre event

Want more info... cbcinfo.org




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t.childz

Your Boss is a Monkey

a "field guide" to boss management snippet




Exotic-animal trainers need a great poker face. Let's say you're a trainer, and one day, a beluga whale spits a mouthful of cold water at you. Your first instinct will be to shriek or jump or curse, but any reaction will probably reinforce the spitting. If you react, that whale will own you, and you'll be a Spit Bull's-eye for the rest of your life. Instead, you must ignore it and appear unfazed, expressionless -- a training technique called "least-reinforcing scenario," or LRS.

full article.




foreva clevaaa,

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t.childz©

Orange Glow

anxiously waiting with breath that is bated for this new album to drop...

Don't want to fight the state

[sort of]new single, listen
glowing and smiling,

t. childz©

Eid Mubarak

عيد مبارك‎

proenza schouler spring 2010

source: style.com

لیلة القدر

in case you missed it

new from fellow DMVer Trey Songz feat. Drake, i like it. he speaks to me

Invented Sex - Trey Songz ft Drake

hollis, dvf, bonnaroo style

[spring or sprung?]




dvf show closer, arlenis sosa

source: style.com

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t.childz

smooth jazz from Amel Larrieux

source: me

Maia Campbell

Please keep Maia Campbell in your prayers. I don't know if you are familiar with her story but she is a film and TV actress who hails from right around my area in Takoma Park, Maryland, daughter of author Bebe Moore Campbell and Tiko Campbell of Washington DC. Best known for her role in In the House.

She was recently institutionalized after some inappopriate videos surfaced of her on the internet smoking crack and prostituting herself.

Please read the story at Global Grind- and if you're curious to see the video proceed with caution. It is heartbreaking to watch.

Maia Campbell's father and Grandmother recently spoke out to Essence.com.



source: Essence.com & The Global Grind

CRACK KILLS

L.A.M.B.

Mercedes Benz Fashion Week kicked off yesterday in nyc and I would like to showcase Gwen Stefani, former lead singer of No Doubt. She launched her debut ready-to-wear line for L.A.M.B. (love.angel.music.baby)back in Spring 2006. Since then, her design style has evolved simultaneously with changes in her life-- marriage, two children, new solo album, and reconnecting with her band on tour this past summer.


LBD with a pop of color
perfect spring dressjumpsuits


Although it's fall and we are now focusing our attention on more covered up looks, remember that the fashion world is always a step ahead and designing for a season in advance and so we will see some of these trends trickle into stores by next spring. For the full collection and more from Mercedes Benz Fashion Week
 

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t.childz©

yeah...

oh and shout out to my paris partner in crime/fashion week hopper E. check out her fun celebrity gossip blog omgopinions. very witty

Why I have problems with Shari'ah sometimes...

Do you remember my post about the Malaysian woman who was going to be sentenced to canning for drinking during Ramadan? well I came across a similar story as well. This time in Sudan. A Sudanese female journalist, Lubna Hussein, was fined $200 for wearing pants, but opted instead to to take a jail sentence. Spoken like a true G.

source Politicsdaily.com











Ramadan in Malaysia (re-post)

A 32- year old Malaysian woman, Kartika Sari Dewi Shukarno, ( a mouthful) is sentenced to be punished by way of “canning” for drinking beer during the Holy month of Ramadan. This past Monday, Islamic officials took her into custody and then decided to give her a break. I wonder why the change of heart? Alcohol widely available in Malaysia and Muslims are free to drink, however Shariah law forbids Muslims from drinking. (27 million Muslims in Malaysia).

Amnesty International got involved and condemned this woman’s sentence, while Islamic officials said it is necessary to uphold Islamic values.

I think a simple warning would have been fine or a ticket or something. We don’t need to haul people into jail for drinking alcohol. I understand this is a different country with different value systems, but the sentence was extreme.

style inspirations from Ambassador to UN to mka

Young, exceedingly bright, and ambitious, Rice is the first woman of color to hold her position: a perfect symbol of everything that is so exciting about the Obama administration. She is also, as one former State-department official put it, "a great example of Obama's gamble: which is that by engaging an organization like the U.N. you can actually get better results than simply trying to marginalize and ignore it."

source: Vogue, June 2009




source: olsensanonymous

22.

Halima & Me (09/2007 bday)

"Two sisters only have their parents to blame
It's rare that two can get along
But when they do, they're inseparable
Such a blessing comes to few"

Happy Birthday Fellow Virgos

September:
Suave and compromising. Careful, cautious and organized. Points out people's mistakes. Stubborn. Quiet but able to talk well. Calm and cool. Kind and sympathetic. Concerned and detailed. Loyal and always honest. Does work well. Very confident. Sensitive. Positive Attitude. Thinking generous. Good memory. Clever and knowledgeable. Loves to look for information. Must control oneself when criticizing. Able to motivate.Understanding. Fun to be around. Secretive. Loves sports, leisure and traveling. Hardly shows emotions. Tends to bottle up feelings. Very choosy, especially in relationships. Systematic. sexy but has brains.


"you're a good catch don't pretend that you know that you are, know that you are" -GJ

Colette Becomes "Greener" + Liya Kebede

photo credit: taken by me

My favorite store in Paris was called Colette. It is one of the world's top trend-setting boutiques. Spread out on 5 five floors in the heart of the 1st arrondissement in Paris, Colette sells everything from home furnishings to music to high end couture.i

Recently they have hopped on the eco-friendly bandwagon. Honestly, Europeans in general are more conscience about the environment than we are, but they do it in more subtle ways. For instance they are sticklers for turning off lights and doing laundry in the evening to waste less water. This could have just been the family I lived with being cheap and trying to save money on their bills, but I'd like to give them the benefit of the doubt.

Colette "greens things" up article

My favorite model/icon/philanthropist, Liya Kebede, designs a collection of scarves from Ethiopia and they are sold there. More information on Liya Kebede. the model. the philanthropist.










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t. childz©

Paris Street Style

rue Saint Honore, Paris



in the jardin du luxembourg


www.justglitterlust.blogspot.com






courtesy of: paris street style via thefashionspot.com


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t. childz©

my [estranged] homeland

I became inspired to write more about Mauritania after a brown bag lunch at AED where we discussed technical assistance in Southern Sudan. Something that struck me was the fact that Southern Sudan is going to have its first presidential elections in 2010 and this will affect AED’s development projects in that country. Right now they have to deal with corruption and government bureaucracy so perhaps more democracy will mean better transparency better implementation for the projects.
With regard to Mauritania, they too have had a recent “electoral coup” is what they call it. It’s not quite an election because apparently it was rigged for the General (now president) Abdel Aziz to win. AED currently doesn’t have any development projects in Mauritania and it’s probably because of the extreme political instability there. Perhaps in due time AED will expand its portfolio to include Mauritania.

Country stats

Political concerns: poverty, inequality, lack of democracy- the majority of the population lives on less than $2 a day.
President Abdel Aziz’s platform: portrays himself as the “president of the poor”
US relations: it seems that the USG has endorsed his victory and be willing to work with him. This is a positive step. Although he may be corrupt (who isn’t) at least this opens the door for [hopefully] positive Mauritanian relations with other foreign countries.


Located in northern Africa, Mauritania sits on the North Atlantic Ocean between Senegal and the western Sahara.

please click on the label Mauritania in older posts


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t. childz©

PYT

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t. childz©