You think black folks got problems getting into swimming pools these days? A heatwave is sweeping across parts of China bringing temperatures of over 104 degrees so folks over there have to cool off somehow. How about a cool and quiet day at the beach? Set up your umbrella and sprawl out on the soft sand…

Hop into the ocean and let the cool salt water soothe your hot n’ tired body…

What’s a diva anyway?

‘Nuff said.

Check out other OSF Participants!

Electronic Village | Fresh And Fab | Danielle | Kim | Ms Grapevine | Quick|Marcus LANGFORD | Cassandra |iriegal | Mahogany | Hagar’s Daughter | Lisa C| Chocl8t | DP | Dallassouth | John | CC Groovy | Kreative Talk | Marvalus One |Regina | Clnmike | Vivrant Thing | AJ | Sharon | The Creole Pimp | Invisible Woman | 

The entire world was shocked by the premature death of Michael Jackson. Sure, we all knew that the man was under stress. The intense scrutiny at the hands of the media, which was essentially fueled by our own obsession with celebrity, took a visible toll on Michael; the recurring allegations of child abuse and financial debt of an unimaginable magnitude made him even more of a recluse; his varying health problems that were always hard to separate from his general weirdness undoubtedly contributed to his early passing. Still, it’s hard to believe that any combination of these factors could lead to death at age fifty. But we tend to forget that we’re average, and the average person (who, mind you, can only hold a tune in the shower) only worries about the neighborhood busy-body, overdue student loans, and pretty bad allergies every spring. By comparison Michael’s life should be as unimaginable as the science behind evolution or The Big Bang – it’s just too large and far-out a process for our personal experience to let us believe he’s really gone. This, my friends, is why I am choosing not to. That’s right, I’m too sad believing it, so I’ve decided that Michael Jackson isn’t really dead, and I have five supporting reasons.

Nope, I do not understand Jamaican-talkin’, and as usual I am tickled by what idle hands and the internet will do.

This is the third time I’ve posted about Not The Cosby Show XXX because the information and media keeps getting better and better and I do have to keep you informed, after all. I chuckled through this entire trailer for so many heart-warming/sick-minded reasons. It’s totally safe for work and almost suspiciously so – looks more MadTv than porno.

Not The Cosby Show Trailer from Global Grind on Vimeo.

h/t Blogxilla

My anti-social streak yearns to participate in a Flash Mob, and I swear had I been in this skinny jean store at this particular moment I would have hung my head in shame for a few moments at being spotted there and then joined in with the dance as best I could to redeem myself.

Note: The photo above is a sign my landlord placed in the foyer of my last apartment building. It just never gets old!

We should obviously all be doing whatever we can to keep this beautiful planet safe and clean for as long as possible. I love this earth; I enjoy camping and going to the beach more than almost any other activity, was a Girl Scout as kid, and am a proponent of larger changes in energy consumption across the board. But…

Where would be as a society if television networks weren’t so adept at substituting curse words in movies with family-friendly alternatives such as “freakin’” “micky flicky,” and “Monday to Friday”? What’s that? Monday to Friday…?…

Am I tickled by this news item because every once in a while someone becomes so concerned with luxuries such as vanity license plates that the world stops to tell her tale of bureaucratic woe replete with an official comment from the state? Not really, it’s pretty much just because this lady really doesn’t get it…

Baltimore native Anna Deavere Smith has the name recognition of a black c-lister but the accomplishments of a black American legend. You probably recognize her best from her recurring role as Nancy McNally on The West Wing, as Mrs. Silk in The Human Stain (the story of a young man, Coleman Silk, who passes for white his entire life), from last year’s Oscar-nominated Rachel Getting Married, or as the secretary in Philadelphia who testified that her earrings were considered “not American,” by the xenophobic/homophobic law firm…