POEM: I am on a vibe

I am on a vibe
that only can get sweeter
because we've erased all the bitter
feelings that are sad are only a moment's torture
this good vibe is one you can not
bust or burst
you can only thirst
for this livity
cause I'm living, livid and alive
and no man can stop me
from what I strive
for I am heading to the rainbow
and taking all the positive people
in tow
so keep your toes
out of the way
because our speed can't be swayed
it can't be stayed
because I'm stepping God's way

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R&B of 2000: Aijuswanaseing by Musiq Soulchild

"Girl Next Door," "Love" and "Just Friends (Sunny)" are some of the songs on Musiq Soulchild's debut release of Aijuswanaseing in 2000.

In 2000, after the headaches and angst about Y2K, the music industry was popping with new music to officially set the tone for the music at the start of the millennium. Live in London and More by Donnie McClurkin, Like Water for Chocolate by Common, Mama's Gun by Erykah Badu were some of the albums released that year. Musiq Soulchild also released Aijuswanaseing in 2000.

A Talented Musiq Soulchild

A very soulful and talented young man named Taalib Johnson came on the music scene with an unusual artist name and an even more intriguing album title. Johnson is known to fans as Musiq Soulchild or for short Musiq. He released his debut Aijuswanaseing in 2000 and at that time, he brought a fresh style and energy to R&B/Soul music. Musiq not only had lyrical input in Aijuswanaseing but he also executive produced this album with Jerome Hipps, Mike McArthur and Kevin Liles.

Aijuswanaseing

Aijuswanaseing is this artist's way of expressing "I Just Wanna Sing" and it was released via Island Def Jam. Aijuswanaseing has 15 tracks including the first track "Scratch Introlude" and a self-titled ninth track "Musiq Soulchild (Interlude)." The popular songs are "Girl Next Door," "Love" and "Just Friends (Sunny)" which, according to MTV.com's Musiq Soulchild Biography, "appeared on the soundtrack to Nutty Professor II: The Klumps."

• "Settle For My Love (Intermission)": "Settle For My Love (Intermission)" is the fourteenth song on this album and it is entertaining from the start to the ending. A remake of [Patrice Rushen](http://www.patricerushen.com/)'s "Settle For My Love", Musiq croons along with Ayana and Ayinke of AARIES in a blended tune that makes you want to sway, sing along and then press the rewind button to hear the song again. They sing "settle for my love/ settle for my kiss/ settle for my love that you'll never miss."
• "Girl Next Door": In "Girl Next Door,' Musiq sings an 'Ugly Duckling' type story. While he never paid attention to a neighborhood girl in the past, he sings of his interest and how she has him captivated as an adult. The song contains a sample from Ed Green's "My Love For You" and features Ayana of AARIES. Musiq expresses in the hook "If I would've known the girl next door would've been you/ I probably would've shared my grub...by now we would be so in love."
• "Love": Love is a song with a short title but it has a powerful message. Produced by Andre Harris and Carvin Haggins with lyrical input by Musiq Soulchild, this song is probably one of the greatest love songs since 2000. Some lyrics are "ever since the first moment I spoke your name/ from then on I knew/ that by you being in my life/ things were destined to change...."
• "My Girl": "My Girl" is a man's testimony to a lady that she has all of her lover's attention. The second verse starts "Girl don't you know my whole world stops for you/ in this relationship you're first and I come two."
• "Just Friends (Sunny)": The 'Sunny' in "Just Friends (Sunny)" is attributed to the sample of Bobby Hebb's "Sunny." This song is almost conversational as it expresses his feelings and interest in a young lady. The hook simply starts "I'm not trying to pressure you/ just can't stop thinking about you/ you ain't even really gotta be my girlfriend...."

Since Aijuswanaseing, Musiq Soulchild has released several albums including Juslisen (2002) and then  with [Altantic Records](http://atlanticrecords.com/), he released Luvanmusiq (2007), On My Radio  (2008) and MusiqInTheMagiq (2011). He also released Christmas  Musiq in 2009. Musiq has also appeared on the sitcom, The Game and on Angie Stone's Mahogany Soul album. Musiq always bring unique music and is an artist to keep listening to.

POEM: Trials and tribulations

Trials and tribulations

greet us upfront
while we are sleeping
it's every day while we are living
but you can't turn back
you can't be discouraged
don't be unstable
just put your trust forward
because every day is your day
whether or not it goes your way
face each day with a prayer
because the devil is always busy
but we must be prepared

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Default Choices

How would you feel if you are the 'default choice'? I think in most instances, there is no way to feel but happy to get an opportunity. However, if it is a criminal matter, being the default choice may mean that you are a suspect or a key witness to something terrible.

I am sure that I have been the default winner on many occassions because that's how life is. I may not know when I am the latter choice, but I find it rather irrelevant to know if I am getting what I need. Job opportunities, prizes, sales are all good for a second choice pick.

When it comes to criminal matters, I would not want to be the default choice. I would not want to be a suspect, a pawn or key witness. I don't mind being an investigator expecially if it is a financial crime, but the rest is really for the birds (pun intended).

I have to make choices by default all the time. I had to choose that way for one of my subcontractors but in the end, it works out better for me. God has a hand in everything about us. While we may not know what the future holds, we have to live and move daily with common sense, faith and perseverance so that we can accomplish our goals.

Some choices are first preference and some are by default but we have to keep going.

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Premier Episode of Cycle 17 of America's Next Top Model

Cycle 17 of America's Next Top Model, the All Star Cycle, aired on September 14, 2011 on CW with many familiar faces from previous cycles.

We enjoyed sixteen great seasons of America’s Next Top Model (ANTM) on CWTV. America’s Next Top Model is the brainchild of Tyra Banks, acclaimed top model, television host and a former singer and actress. Tyra knew the challenges of the fashion industry and created a show to give young women a crash course in ‘Modeling in the Real World 101’. She puts them through weeks of challenges, photoshoots, training sessions, runway shows, ‘go-sees’, hair makeovers, dancing and acting. In the middle of all the modeling and the tools to help build their ‘star power’, the girls are also distracted by the drama of living in a house with sometimes 13 or 14 models with one and sometimes two going home in one week.

Cycle 17 – The All Star Cycle

America’s Next Top Model calls Cycle 17 the All Star Cycle because competitors from all seasons except for three, six, seven and eight are back to once again aiming for the coveted title. This all-star season offers the winner a spread in ItalianVogue, a spread and cover in Beauty in Vogue, the opportunity to sit as a guest correspondent for Extra, a $100,000 contract with Covergirl and other prizes.

Tyra seems to be looking for more than just a top model for this All Star Cycle. She seems to be looking through some of the best contestants from the previous shows for a true ‘all star’. According to Tyra in the opening of the first episode, there will be appearances by the Kardashians, Latoya Jackson, Kathy Griffin, Ashlee Simpson and other celebrities. Viewers can also expect to see the girls work on a music video, a perfume, also audition for a guest appearance on CSI among other surprises.

The Models of Cycle 17

Some of the fourteen ladies who are competing in this special season are Alexandria Everett, the one top model that people really seem to dislike from Cycle 16, Kayla Ferrel, the sultry lesbian from Cycle 15 and Angelea Preston, who tried out on numerous occasions and is known for her ‘ghetto fabulousness’ from Cycle 14. Laura Kirkpatrick from Cycle 13, the sweet country girl whose grandmother makes her clothes and Allison Harvard, the wide-eyed blonde from Cycle 12 are also back in this competition. Two models are back from Cycle 11, Isis King, who has since completed her gender transformation and Sheena Sakai, who is half Korean and half Japanese.

Cycle 10’s Dominique Reighard, the girl who was constantly berated by the judges for her masculine bone structure, is also back. Bianca Golden from Cycle 9 is one of the more successful returns as she has modeled for Ford Models and appeared in the 2008 Virgin Islands Fashion Week. Bre Scullark from Cycle 5 is a favored returning model and is noted for throwing away Nicole’s Red Bull after claiming to miss her snacks.

While many of the girls are known for their photos, their runway walk or their attitudes, Brittany Brower from Cycle 4 who was always loud and Lisa D’Amato from Cycle 5 who urinated in a diaper, are more known for their wild behavior and their antics. The girls who come from the earlier seasons are Cycle 2’s Camille McDonald, a self-declared diva and Cycle 1’s Shannon Stewart, the ‘religious Christian’ who refused to pose nude.

Episode One of the ANTM’s All Star Cycle

The first episode of Cycle 17 started off re-familiarizing the viewers with the returning models. Of course, there was a photo shoot and it was shot by CelesteCanino in the backyard of the girls' new home. Subtle drama was highlighted with Bianca’s disapproval of her red hair, which affected her performance because the photographer was not engaged with her posing. Shannon came back with her Christian values and refused to wear lace underpants for her photo. Instead she posed in a bikini swimsuit bottom which made her more scantily clad.

The judges’ task was to evaluate the young ladies based on their photos, personality, the potential to be the Top Model All Star and how they worked the crowd. The judges were the same: André Leon Tally, Nigel Barker, Tyra Banks and guest judge, rapper Nicki Minaj. This first episode showed a live judging with an audience and the girls stomped their runway walks on a long catwalk to impress all the onlookers. Most of the models had a favorable response but Alexandria was actually booed and derogatory remarks were hurled at her.

The judges still retreated to privacy to review the photos and the performances. The models were called out in the following order: Isis, Allison, Camille, Lisa, Angelea, Laura, Bre, Bianca, Shannon, Dominique, Sheena and then Kayla. Brittany and Alexandria sat in the bottom two because the crowd showed no positive or negative reaction to Brittany and because Alexandria was booed. Alexandria was given another chance at redemption because she was memorable so the boos actually worked in her favor. Brittany Brower, Cycle 4’s wild-child now an entrepreneur and host, was sent home once again.

While this first episode did not have much of the drama queen and ‘divalicious’ behavior, the clip from next week’s episode proves to have some excitement. As of today, with over four million Facebook fans, America’s Next Top Model All Star Cycle 17 will surely have viewers glued to their television to see which model will win this coveted title.  

The Topics I Write About

I'm always looking for topics to write about. Most times I just start writing and the topic comes. I have a task to write about R&B/Soul/Blues and I love that because I get to listen to nice music. I also love writing about television shows and giving little recaps. Afterall, I pay to watch cable and use internet, so isn't is best for me to benefit from these things too?

I have written about topics concerning the BVI, reggae music, marraige, television shows, health, recipes and others. I am always looking to expand my writing resume and I do this also with poetry. I share poetry locally, via internet and orally when given an opportunity.

No one would have thought that I would be a writer. I never saw myself as a writer. However, I find it to be worthy hobby and pasttime. I know it will not make me rich but I get another 'height' or you can call it another type of fullfillment from writing. I have new topics that I am working on and will continue to share links in the blog.

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Reed Between The Lines Premiers on BET on October 11, 2011

In BET's continuing bid to reinvent the network, a new sitcom, Reed Between The Lines, is set to launch on October 11, 2011.

Black Entertainment Television (BET) re-aired The  Game, a CW original with some awesome new talent and fresh drama to keep the fans locked to the television. So far, we have enjoyed the new sitcom, Let's Stay Together, and the new dance reality series, Born to Dance with LaurieAnn Gibson. The next new show to be launched will be Reed Between The Lines on October 11, 2011.

The Cast of Reed Between The Lines

There have been several commercials that have aired promoting Reed Between The Lines giving us a glimpse of the characters and their comraderie. The leading characters are Dr. Carla Reed, a therapist

played by Tracee Ellis Ross and Dr. Alex Reed, a university professor played by Malcolm-Jamal Warner. Ross and Warner are complimented by two sets of actors - the young and fresh and then the seasoned and the experienced. 

• Malcolm-Jamal Warner from The Cosby Show: Malcolm Jamal Warner is no stranger to the television. We recognize him acting as Theo Huxtable from The Cosby Show. Warner can be considered a tv icon because he has appeared on several television series including The Cosby Show spin-off, A Different World and then Malcolm & Eddie, with co-star Eddie Griffin. Warner has also appeared on True Blue, Sherri, Hawthorne, Jeremiah, Here and Now and others shows.
• Girlfriends' Tracee Ellis Ross: Everyone can remember the drama the character Joan Clayton, played by Ross, brought to Girlfriends. Ross has also appeared on CSI: Crime Scene Investigation and Private Practice. She also acted in the Tyler Perry movie Daddy's Little Girls (2007) with Idris Elba and Gabrielle Union.
• New Faces on BET: The Reed's son is Keenan, played by Nadji Jeter, also a dancer, and who has acted in the movie Grown Ups (2010) and on the Chris Rock sitcom Everybody Hates Chris. The daughters are Kaci, Keenan's twin sister, a role played by Zoe Soul who seems to be an enthusiastic young actor and singer; and the youngest child, Alexis, played by Zoe Hernandez.
• Other Cast Members: The Facebook page of Reed Between The Lines revealed that Anna Maria Horsford who appeared on BET's Let's Stay Together and who we know from Amen, The Wayans Brothers, Friday (1995) and Friday After Next (2002) and many other titles is one of the regulars on this new show. Horsford acts as Ms. Helen, Carla's assistant in Reed Between The Lines. Another familiar face of this new show is Melissa DeSousa who acts Gabby, an acupuncturist who seems to always have a bout with the character, Helen. DeSousa is known for her roles in The Best Man (1999), Miss Congeniality (2000) and the sitcoms Second Time Around and One on One.

 BET has seen the need to give the viewers fresh new programming and is working towards keeping its growing fan-base. Reed Between The Lines is a story about a family of successful parents with young children whose ages range from young to adolescence. Malcolm-Jamal Warner and Tracee Ellis Ross are no strangers to television so it is hoped that they will bring good chemistry to keep the viewers locked to television.