the known world

i finished reading a book about a month or so ago called "the known world." i'm hoping that you all take some time and really seriously read this. the writing was superb; i was totally intrigued by historical, but fictional accounte. i don't think those are the best words to sell a book - but honestly, it's a must read. each charecter is so complex, that you'll be thinking in 9-10 directions ;) it's by edward p. jones. he won a pulitzer prize for this particular book and it's totally a prize read.

here's the synopsis:

Set in Manchester County, Virginia, 20 years before the Civil War began, Edward P. Jones's debut novel, The Known World, is a masterpiece of overlapping plot lines, time shifts, and heartbreaking details of life under slavery. Caldonia Townsend is an educated black slaveowner, the widow of a well-loved young farmer named Henry, whose parents had bought their own freedom, and then freed their son, only to watch him buy himself a slave as soon as he had saved enough money. Although a fair and gentle master by the standards of the day, Henry Townsend had learned from former master about the proper distance to keep from one's property. After his death, his slaves wonder if Caldonia will free them. When she fails to do so, but instead breaches the code that keeps them separate from her, a little piece of Manchester County begins to unravel. Impossible to rush through, The Known World is a complex, beautifully written novel with a large cast of characters, rewarding the patient reader with unexpected connections, some reaching into the present day. --Regina Marler

like i said, you must read this.

xo - get back to work!

jena 6 more info:

damn leroy!

this one is for you all to comment on! please, please, please tell me what you all think of this insanity! come on now, leroy.....

Leroy Greer said in a lawsuit filed this week in a federal court in Texas that he bought flowers for his girlfriend through 1-800-Flowers. He asked to keep his purchase private.

Greer said he was referred to the company's privacy policy, which states that customers can ask 1-800-Flowers not to share personal information with "third parties."

But, the lawsuit says, 1-800-Flowers sent a thank-you note to his house and his wife saw it. When she called the company, 1-800-Flowers faxed her a copy of the receipt from Greer's secret purchase.

The receipt revealed that Greer had sent another woman a dozen long-stemmed red roses, along with a note that read, "Just wanted to say that I love you and you mean the world to me!" according to court documents.

The couple was already going through what Greer's attorney described as an amicable divorce.

After learning of the affair, Greer's wife asked for a $300,000 divorce settlement in addition to child support, said Kennitra Foote, Greer's attorney.

"That thank-you note is going to cost him money," Foote said.

Greer is asking for $1 million for breach of contract and deceptive trade practices.

"This is not a moral issue," Foote said. "The issue is, is 1-800-Flowers in the business of causing divorce or are they in the business of sending flowers and sticking to their privacy policy?"

A 1-800-Flowers spokesman said the company does not comment on pending litigation. In a statement, spokesman Steven Jarmon said, "We take all matters relating to our customers seriously; however, we are not responsible for an individual's personal conduct." source - aol news.

newark shooting update

This story has really disturbed me....and the rest of the nation. Just an update for everyone if you haven't heard:
An arrest warrant has been issued for a fourth suspect in last weekend's execution-style slayings of three college students, the Newark mayor's office said.

Rodolfo Godinez, 24, is the fourth suspect wanted in connection with the schoolyard shootings.

Police are hunting for Rodolfo Godinez, 24. Three others have been arrested in connection with the case.

Newark police said Godinez, also known as Rodolfo Gomez, is a Nicaraguan national who lived in Newark's Ivy Hill section.

Newark Police Director Garry McCarthy called Godinez "a principal player" in the slayings and said he would be charged with three counts of murder, felony murder and weapons charges.

Funerals were being held Saturday for Dashon Harvey, 20, Terrance Aeriel, 18, and Iofemi Hightower, 20. Aerial's sister, Natasha, 19, also was shot, but she survived and helped police identify a suspect.

Newark Mayor Cory A. Booker was interrupted by applause as he urged residents to help fight the city's high murder rate, The Associated Press reported. "We need to raise our children," he said at the service for Harvey at Metropolitan Baptist Church.

A 15-year-old boy was arrested Friday, Newark Mayor Cory A. Booker said Friday night.

Earlier Friday, Jose Carranza, 28, pleaded not guilty to murder and other charges. He was being held on $1 million bond. Watch a shackled Carranza in court »

Another 15-year-old was arraigned Thursday and pleaded not guilty in a closed hearing. County prosecutor Paula Dow said she wants that suspect tried as an adult.

Carranza and the teen are charged with three counts of murder, four counts of first-degree robbery, one count of attempted murder, various weapons offenses and one count of conspiracy to commit robbery, prosecutors said.

Booker said there was no indication of gang or narcotics activity in connection with the slayings.

Wearing an orange jail jumpsuit, Carranza spoke softly through a translator. He had surrendered Thursday to Booker, who attended the arraignment.

"He knew maybe if he turned himself in to me he would be safer, but my focus was to get him off the streets," Booker said Friday during an appearance on CNN's "American Morning."

Carranza had been using a bogus Social Security number, Essex County Sheriff Armando Fontoura said. Carranza is an undocumented immigrant from Peru, his attorney acknowledged in court.

Carranza had been scheduled to appear in court Monday to answer two previous indictments. One accuses him of sexually assaulting and threatening to kill a 13-year-old, a girlfriend's child. Another charges him with an array of assault and weapons offenses.

McCarthy said his office was "close to piecing the entirety of this event together."

Ballistics evidence, information from the shooting's lone survivor and a fingerprint lifted from a beer bottle at the scene led to the major break in a case that has outraged a city numbed by street violence. See how the killings have sparked the community's outrage » There seems to be no motivation, no provocation," Booker said, calling the crime "evil."

"This was just a disgusting, vicious attack, and it's troubling," Booker said. "What they were attacking [was] not only these amazing children and their families but what the core of Newark is really about."

arrrgh!

my friend just called me and told me that she thinks she just got scammed. she told me that she was approached in the grocery story with someone who wanted her to open her mind to a new opportunity. she had a video she wanted her to watch..... i knew it wasn't a scan, but already knew where this was going....

i need some success stories right now b/c the past three times i have been approached to do pre-paid legal & acn they have been during some so-called rough times in the sellers' career OR during a period where they were up for a promotion..... let's not forget here that i'm totally a lover and supporter of people totally not a hater..... (hoping that will keep ya'll from calling me crazy...) lastly, i will say that i know a few people who are doing extremely well with this business.

there are 3 sales experiences that stand out in my life...

1. pre-paid legal services... college friend
the first one occured when i first moved to dc. a friend of mine was selling prepaid legal services. she talked about it 24/7. when she wasn't talking about it to all of us, she was encouraging us to meet up and watch a dvd of a business opportunity. being young and green - i was down. i wanted to see this business opportunity. she convinced me that i was a student and needed the extra money... um, she was right... alright. so after i turned it down the first time, b/c i knew it wasn't for me she came again... hard. she came at me the next time and told me that i was a slave living by the white man's rules. she informed me that she had finally found her freedom through pre-paid legal! she saw her supervisor buy his mother a car with cash. he had a 4000 square foot home. she had finally quit her job as a teacher full time! i was happy for her, but this whole approach to selling me a product or recruiting me was turning me off.... so i rejected again... the third and final time, she came even harder. with a pity story.. i'm a sucker for trying to help the people come up - so she said, i am one more order away from a promotion! i fell right into that one and bought damn pre-paid legal. i had it 2 months and cancelled.... whew.

2. acn - co-worker who barely comes to work
well - this one came from a person i worked with at the time. she was tellng me about her business and that she needed someone to come watch a video so she could meet a quota for her business.... yes - she said this was her own business.. maybe it is. anyway, i met her and some guy to show me the damn dvd. i was NOT signing up for this crap - i was just supporting. and the guy with her tells me of all the money he has made. he quit his job as a teacher too (i have made love for teachers, my parents were both teachers), he now drives a mercedes benz, he wakes up when he feels like it, and he just bought a new house. then she told me that she and her man wake up together to hear the vacuum cleaner going b/c they are still relaxing in the bed when their maid is at home - and where am i? at work! hi-larious..... i knew this act was definitely a scam... but anyway - the guy says, "smart people take risks, think outside the box when it comes to wealth. dumb people sit back and work their ass off 40 hours a week" woooooooooow... they also said, "people who spend their time in college forever i do not understand. while you read essence, i'm reading money mag. donald trump promotes this product" as a law student who has no interest in acn - i had to say - "sorry, but i need to get going! thanks, but i can't exhaust my friends!"

3. pre-paid legal from cousin.....
My cousin calls me and tells me that she needs to make up the slack for her partner not coming through for her on sales. her father just died, so she needs the money - could i get a month from her... ya'll already know i did it. that's family, so i'll take the slack for that one. at least for a month or two.

anyway - why do all these businesses approach you with a big story. it's either luxurious, panic filled, or hopeful for a promotion. what's the deal? i'm not knocking the profession if that's what you do. i'm really just trying to understand it. after my homegirl's ordeal today - i just really want to understand this hustle.
peace.

did anybody hear about this?

am i wrong for being mad at this? no. alright - this got NO coverage today from my understanding, yet i was perfectly aware that dc is the #1 city in the country for people who consistently check emails... wooooow - check it:

NEWARK, N.J. (Aug. 6) - Three friends were forced to kneel against a wall behind an elementary school and were shot to death at close range, and a fourth was found about 30 feet away with gunshot and knife wounds to her head, police said.

All were from Newark and planned to attend Delaware State University this fall.

Essex County Prosecutor Paula Dow said authorities didn't have any suspects or a motive in the killings late Saturday. None of the victims had any criminal record, she said.

"They were good kids," Dow said.

The four had been listening to music in a parking lot behind Mount Vernon School when they were gradually joined by a group of men, authorities said.

Newark Police Director Garry McCarthy said the four exchanged text messages saying they should leave, but were attacked before they could do so.

Police said the attackers shot one young woman, then forced her three companions down an alley, lined them up against a wall, made them kneel and shot each in the head.

Natasha Aerial, 19, was listed in fair condition at Newark's University Hospital, authorities said. Police identified her companions as her brother, Terrance Aerial, 18, Iofemi Hightower, 20, and Dashon Harvey, 20.

The Aerials' mother, Renee Tucker, said the last time she saw them was around 10:30 p.m. Saturday, when they told her they were going around the corner to get something to eat.

"They said they were going to come right back to the house," Tucker said.

Hightower was a motivated student who had recently enrolled at Delaware State, according to her great-uncle John McClain. "She was one of the most beautiful ladies you'd ever want to meet," McClain said. "Very smart, very intelligent. She wanted to be something in life." In the wake of the killings, Mayor Cory A. Booker's administration was again hearing from residents angry about the city's homicide rate. A month ago, Booker and Police Director Garry McCarthy announced that crime in the city had fallen by 20 percent in the first six months of 2007 compared to a year ago. Yet despite decreases in the number of rapes, aggravated assaults and robberies, the killings have continued. "He doesn't deserve another day, another second, while our children are at stake," said Donna Jackson, president of Take Back Our Streets, a community-based organization. "Anyone who has children in the city is in panic mode." Booker's office didn't return a call for comment on Monday. Saturday night's killings, along with an unrelated shooting over the weekend that killed a Montclair man, brought Newark's 2007 homicide toll to 60. That is three fewer than in the same period in 2006. But there have been 17 slayings in the eight weeks since June 12. At Delaware State, officials said the school plans to hold a memorial service Aug. 28, after the student body returns for the fall semester. "While the murder of the two students is a terribly loss in human terms, the facts that they were a part of the DSU family and were striving to earn a degree, create a bright future for themselves and become a solid contributors to society, makes this violent act especially tragic and senseless," university President Allen Sessoms said. check it: http://news.aol.com/dailypulse/_a/four-college-friends-shot-in-new-jersey/20070806090409990001?ncid=NWS00010000000001

weekender: nike

alright, so my last posts have been weekenders... "we got to do better" lol.
sorry i've been away - AGAIN - i took a little vacation down to the sip. i have photos coming soon.... some will blow your mind - seriously. on the bright side, hopefully you checked out some of the amazing afrospear blogs to the right --> while i was away. i have a feeling you did.. good people.

does anybody remember this nike commercial? i thought of it today and had to post on here! i miss you guys! i hate scary movies, but this commercial used to crack me up! it was so "scary" that people actually complained. nike ended up pulling it. so, i actually only saw it like 2 times....yada, yada... check it: