Black Daria's Year in Pictures - 2009

I thought about where I should start...or at least, how to begin this process of writing and telling you how I feel about the world around me. I think the answers are letters.

First, thanks to those who called, texted and emailed me to ask me when I was going to blog again. It's not that I needed to feel missed or anything, I did (like we all do) need to know I was on to something here on this little blog.

So, I decided that I love to write letters, so I am just going to start writing letters and emails to celebrities, potential dates, and whomever else I wish to talk to...since this other blog I used to read a few years ago looks as though it's really never coming back, I guess I will give it a shot, eh? I'm personally bored with the "picture and insult" blogs that swear they are on to the edge of professional journalism. The blogs I support keep it edgy and they simply put, just have a authentic voice I appreciate.

So, without further ado, before I begin my letter/e-mail writing campaign, I'd like to show you some pics I took with some folks that I never got to post, but always intended to...Black Daria's scrapbook for 2009:


Teyana Taylor. The other day, my fellow blogger dude @UrbanREUP asked "No disrespect, but who exactly is she?" Simply put, she's Harlem's Princess. Acheived her beginnings on a little show called My Super Sweet 16, got signed by this Producer named Pharrell Williams, then signed a deal with this company called Interscope Records. ..

And blah blah blah...oh, I also threw a little party for her that wasn't documented on television. A fundraiser for a charity she promotes, supporting a local after-school center she attended growing up.

She's also a beautiful girl, so please do me a favor bloggers: lets not demoralize her. She's not who you think she is, and I know this first hand from spending time with her family.

So yeah, I'll probably be biased about Teyana. Sue me. Oh well, as Miss Jones says.


Necole Bitchie, Mario, and Spongebob as Yogabob. Russell Simmons loved this plush at Sundance in 2009. I gave it to Necole as a gift for her birthday held at Taj back in the Fall 2009. A fellow reader sent me a text days later saying she'd just tweeted about "playing with Spongebob" or something like that. Well, I hope she had fun, whatever she was doing.



Publicist Mecca Moore...she threw the event for Necole. Great person, and so busy, I've only spoken to her via Twitter since we took this picture...maybe that will change in 2010 :)



Keke Palmer. Never met such a true 16 year-old. Fun, bubbly and sweet. Signing autographs after a Fashion Show for her new line at Wal-Mart, Mad Style - also the name of the fashion company on her show on Nickelodeon, True Jackson, VP. Wishing the best for her success.


Spongebob. He turned 10 last July, and we had a big party for him. As you can see, he loves to be kissed.


Photographer Terrance Jennings. He's always out and about...if I don't see Johnny Nunez, I see Terrance.


Celebrity Blogger Micah Jesse. He was JUST on Good Day New York this morning...great personality...I told him I was a "friendly" blogger, and when I have time, I come out and meet the people. Was happy to finally meet him.


DJ and Photographer D-Nice. When we took this picture I had to inform him that I was treated like a stepchild when I tried to attend his birthday party at Taj. He said it wasn't his fault, and I knew that...I mean it was his birthday. I just felt that since I'd supported Jessica Rosenblum's events in the dead of winter when only 7 people showed up, that I shouldn't have deal with the shenanigans at the door.


DJ Lance. So, why not? All the other kids were getting their pictures taken, so I figured I'd take my opportunity. Plus, without the gear he looks like a Raphael Saadiq type. He could be my boyfriend. Yeah, I said it. I was asked by the events director to stop the fury of people trying to get pictures with DJ Lance because "I know how to tell people 'No' in a nice way." Can someone tell him to call me? Laugh now, but that orange suit pays bills folks. Black Daria is totally game.

Well, let's see how 2010 fares out for my photo adventures. Until then, let's pray for Haiti and the hope that finally the world will pay attention to people that need us most.

xoxo,

Black Daria ;/

BLACK DARIA REVIEWS: 2009 AMA'S

Too many things happened at the AMA's. I didn't watch the whole thing, but I'll start with what I caught, followed by what was online:


J. LO BUSTS HER ASS



No words. I'll let Whitney get up in that ass, maybe a little Thanksgiving Special of "Keeping It Real, Whitney" is in the works. Stay tuned.


WHITNEY IS A DIVA



I refuse to say anything bad about Whitney "THE DIVA" Houston. She gave her best live performance I've heard since promoting her album. Let's face facts. She's just not the Whitney we used to know, but she was the one we remembered last night. Take notes Bey and co.


RHIANNA'S AD FOR BAND-AID/ACE BANDAGES



I hope Johnson & Johnson broke her off for this...was it a coincidence that I thought of Band-Aids and my mind shot back to a bruised up Rhi? Or was I just supposed to be stupid and that was just supposed to fly over my head. And I guess the shoulder pads were to distract me from the lack of singing she actually did while on stage. OK, cool. She sucked anyway. I don't care what happened, she sucked and that's that.

LADY GOO-GOO-GAA-GAA

I mean whatever. I don't hate her, but don't really love her either. I don't know, just always so freaking distracted by the massive amount of shit that she wears, like that alone needs a show. Someone sent my co-host Courtney Brown a picture of the chick from The Fifth Element, and that's a perfect comparison to this outfit GooGaa is wearing.

EMINEM AND 50 CENT - BECAUSE HE CAN'T GET SHOT AT THE AMA'S



I assume that's why 50 performed, otherwise I would have been OK with just Eminem. Maybe 50 fit the quota. Or something. Em's last verse is the best part, IMO.


ALICIA KEYS & HER CHASITY JACKET



I don't really know why the show felt that after she performed with Jay, we needed to see her by herself. Filling that quota I guess, plus Bey wasn't available. Could be a reflection of the music, which kinda sucks, but somewhere Jazmine Sullivan or Chrisette Michele could have filled in a blank.


***THINGS I MISSED (AND THAT'S OK):


JAY & ALICIA



Sounds like Alicia is pushing through her voice...just isn't smooth to me...and I just am kinda like Jay-Z's broach is bothersome.


***PERFORMANCE I WISH I'D SEEN LIVE

TIMELESS JANET



People were hard on Janet about this performance but I thought she did her thing, isn't she over 40? Shiiiiiieeet, if I could remember five dance steps in a row, I'd be proud of myself. This was a mini-concert. I felt Mike's energy in this performance...yeah yeah, I know that sounds wack and clique, but that's how I felt about the performance.


Signing off,
Black Daria ;/

Gangs take it to the Social Media sites to get it on...

Photo Source: Daily News

Just when you thought people got hip to the computer forensics of things, enter gangs.

I was watching NY 1, and this article appeared and somehow it caught my attention. Anytime I hear the word Twitter, my ears perk up. Gangs are taking their beef to Twitter, right around the corner.

I dunno, I'm amazed. You?

Read the article here.

xoxo,
Black Daria ;/

Since EVERY other F'ing blogger is gonna post it...

So will i...why not get a few freaking hits on my blog too?

I still think that Beyonce is too much. I also like the Sweet Dreams video better than this one, even though that one looks like the other four she did before that one.

But I digress from my point.


Beyonce, featuring Lady Gaga. Here's how I imagined this went down:

To: Bey
Date: September 14, 2009
Time: 1:04 PM
From: Gagabitches


Hey Bey-

Can I call you that now? Good seeing you at the show last night. So, I'm rethinking this whole Kanye tour after the stunt he pulled. Hope my management gets on that before they start releasing the promos, although you know shit like that makes for good press.

Anyway, let me get to the point. After your father practically squeezed my ass several times to get my attention despite my security... Your father Matthew (nice man, please send him my regards) suggested I speak to you about a duet. He thinks it would be big for both of us.

Maybe we'll go on tour?

Let's do lunch.

~GGbitches

**********************
From: Bey
To: Gagabitches
Date: September 15, 2009
Time: 2:12 PM


Dear Lady Gaga-

Please be advised that this is Beyonce's assistant typing for her, as she does not care to type unless necessary. She's also not very smart, and couldn't write a sentence to save her ass, however, she's gifted and I'm honored to work with her.

As per your request, Beyonce's management will be in touch soon. As soon as we find a song to recycle, we will schedule a call with your people immediately.

As per Beyonce, she "Will pass on lunch. I'm not as desperate as Ciara yet, and I'd rather pull that Trump card later." (Sorry, she makes me write these things.)

Sincerely,
Beyonce's Assistant (awaiting her clearance on calling her Bey, please refrain until obtaining notice, as per her lawyer who reads every email I write.)

************************

Well, you be the judge on the end product. Courtney Brown, my co-host on Thursday's Return of the Black Daria Files radio show, seems to like Bey, and no likey Gaga.

I think everyone knows how I feel about this, and I think it may have been a reach to get Taylor Swift. Or something.

Your thoughts?



xoxo,
Black Daria ;/

A moment with Author King Dhakir: Black Daria's First Interview

Black Daria loves a good book. I just finished reading Twilight and I'm looking forward to reading New Moon before it comes out...those werewolves in the commercial...oops.

Anyway, I met King Dhakir at a friend's going-away party, and when he told me he was a writer, I was impressed. It wasn't until about a month later or so that I took him a tad more seriously...most reviewers are given free books to review, but I actually believe in supporting people, so I did things the old fashioned way. Not true, I was actually forced to buy the book...even Black Daria wasn't worthy enough of a free copy (somewhere I can hear King saying "Why do black people always want something for free?")...

The title is captivating, especially at a time when you're afraid to say out loud "I Hate My Job." It also sounds like you know what it's about, but I guarantee there's a lot more to the title. I read it expecting the typical story but was already thrown by the fact that the book had over 300 pages...but I interrupted my Twilight Saga and indulged.

King currently lives in Brooklyn, but hails from Chicago. He's now making the rounds up and down the East coast promoting his book. And Ladies, he's also single, and advertises this on the back of his book. You can talk about that amongst yourselves.

Black Daria: There's a theme throughout the book, the red cardinal, can you talk about its signifigance?

King Dhakir: The cardinal symoblizes resurrection, and red symbolizes death. When things are about to change, the cardinal appears as the warning. It can also be seen as a spiritual cleansing, I believe it's the Cardinal who proceeds over the Catholic church.

BD: Tell us something about the main character, Justice, that we wouldn't know from reading your book. We know he's a college graduate now working a retail job to try to make ends meet. We also know he lives in Brooklyn and works in Harlem. What else should we know about him?

KD: Justice is striving to find his way like a lot of men. He's trying to find an identity without being complacent in his current situation. Even though he has a lot of women in the book, and carries himself as a lion on the outside, when he looks in the mirror, he still sees a kitten. Justice is a go-getter and is going after a vision, not just a dream. Justice is looking for the greatness within himself to get to the vision.

BD: Bloomberg was just elected mayor for a 3rd term in New York City. One of your supporting characters, Felicia, is an activist; how would she feel about the current state of affairs in NYC today?

KD: Felicia would have been on the front lines educating people about the changes happening right under their noses. The book itself takes place in two boroughs that have seen enormous amounts of gentrification taking place. Prices are still increasing, and gentrification is still taking place, displacing Black Americans to make room for a different class of people or big businesses. I hope that when people read the book they will feel empowered with knowledge on this topic.

BD: Where did the title of the book come from?

KD: The “I” stands for individual or identity. Hate is an emotion, and job stands for “just over broke.” When you start a new job, the first day you are usually bugging out, sitting at your new desk or standing at your new post, asking yourself if you belong there. Sometimes as you are there, you begin to feel stuck, like sort of a prison you’ll never get out of, trapped or hopeless. On the cover, the heart wrapped in chains recognizes the conflict, but the journey is to release your heart from the trap or chains to live your true visions.

BD: I read an interview you did with Urban Reviews where you mentioned that writing was barely discussed in a public forum. Can you touch on that and discuss your process?

KD: Mathematics are the key to life, and keeps gravity in check. I subconsciously wrote the book with a beat in mind, to keep people interest and make it a read that follows through without breaks. A lot of people don’t talk about the mechanics of writing anymore because the writing game has become money driven, so that’s what their focus is: if street fiction and erotica are selling on the streets, that’s what they choose to write. It isn’t fair to readers to get the same stories, and what’s happened with rap music, specifically gangsta rap, has happened with this book genre. It’s now flooded, and it’s time for something new.

I also took the time to have the book professionally edited, another area where I see a lot of corners cut. It doesn’t serve the reader any justice if your book has inconsistent paragraph structure, spelling, grammatical or punctuation errors. Writers need to know the mechanics and the passion has to return. I feel these are the tools of an influential writer.

BD: How have you used the digital age to promote your book?

KD: Right now, I have over 2000 friends of Facebook, and about 5000 MySpace friends, however, I know that when I have a book signing, I may only get 1 percent of those people. I don’t rely completely on those outlets to sell my book, but I do continuously advertise, as I have gotten sales from talking about the book online. The key was consistency. Otherwise, I am out in the trenches.

BD: So what you are saying is, you don’t just stay behind your computer screen…

KD: Jesus and Elijah Muhammad were amongst the people, so I have to be as well. I always carry a book to sell, I’m like Clark Kent almost. But I don’t rely on just being online, I know the importance of talking to the people, and I do that as well.

BD: Talk about your next book.

KD: It’s called “Cracked Mirrors are Good Luck”; I don’t want to give the plot away, but it will be five short stories based off the words of the title. “Cracked” will be the first, with crack being used as a metaphor, but will be a person in the book. It’s a science fiction book based off real life situations. That’s all I will say for now.

BD: Lastly, who have been some of your writing influences?

KD: Actually, MCs have been more influential in my writing than other writers. When I tried styles like Donald Goines or Eric Jerome Dickey, I failed terribly, and realized then I had to find my own voice. I took four years off from the time I’d written anything last to find my own voice. That’s been the most important voice in my writing; my own. Through writing as an MC, it helped me to make the transition, and find my own voice.

-fin-

My first interview, I think I did pretty damn good. If you buy his book, then that means I did really well.

You can find King online at www.kingdhakir.com, as well as on Facebook and Myspace. It's worth your money, and a quick read...so go on, buy the book.

xoxo,
Black Daria ;/

It's Natural...

Depends on who you ask, but in the end...this is definitely a classic case of not understanding what love is...how old are you again, Rhianna?

It was time to hear this story, and I didn't say it, but my homegirl Courtney Brown pretty much reminded me of the fact that Rhianna's album is dropping later this month.



I would like to know the following:

1. Who hit who first? Not just that night, but in general?

2. What was it that you loved about him?

3. Why did you think it was Normal? Got the part about telling yourself it wasn't happening...but I need more details.

4. Are you going to therapy? Spirital advisors?

So mant questions guess we will learn more tomorrow. Sigh.

xoxo,
Black Daria ;/

Winter Boo Informational Video

See, here's the thing. They DO put a Parental Advisory at the beginning of the video. That doesn't change the fact that this video is very easy for little eyes to find.

However, Trey Songz and I may need to talk about this...you know, talk.

Hot. Damn. My winter boo needs to just watch this video, then holla at me. That includes Trey Songz. He's not currently in play, but he certainly can be after watching this...these are the moments where I's young, single, and wants to mingle with something like this...



xoxo,
Black Daria ;/