A few days ago Dj Stylus shared this video on Facebook and I haven’t been able to shake it since. He quipped, “I’m surprised that I saw this before Thembi, aka the mistress of all things obscure and Negronian.” Yeah thanks, but courtesy of this video I’ve developed a mild phobia related to brown leather and fringes. I’d never seen Fox’s Celebrity Duets let alone this performance, but there is so much squatting and doing-the-most-ness on the part of Alphonso Ribero that Chaka Khan’s trademark extraness is almost a mere distraction. Just watch

Whenever I see Christopher “Kid” Reid on VH-1 or in a random commercial I ask “where is Play?” Play is the one I had a crush on, the one who was *really* cute, and, frankly, more than 50% of the Kid N’ Play equation. Although I missed them on the Mo’Nique show I’d previously heard that Play (Christopher Martin) married and divorced Shari Headley of Coming To America fame, almost died in a car accident, and became a born-again Christian. Whatevas, I just wanna see Blade Brown do that dance and hear some nice clean buddy rap…

I’ve been thinking a lot about what qualities I find attractive in the opposite sex and realized that above all else dudes who remind me of Gerald Levert have an automatic edge. This oldies tribute performance by Levert and Boyz II Men from the 1992 NAACP awards will have to do for today, though.

Why is it that the older I get the more I sweat Diana Ross? I always thought she was so gorgeous and glamorous but now that I know what a *diva* is I’m in awe of the career she’s had. Undercover Black Man hipped me to this 1968 clip of a twenty-four year old Diana rocking out with some African Interpretive Dance on national television while she was still part of The Supremes. Just for some context, 1968 is the year Martin Luther King was assassinated. Blaze those trails, sister!…

I’m Angry at the Media.

I consider myself a McNugget-sized part of the media but the coverage of Michael Jackson’s death and its aftermath has done nothing more for journalism than demonstrate what low standards news outlets will set just to drive viewership. I’m still miffed at CNN for its faux-journalistic integrity on June 25, reporting that “other news outlets say Jackson has died,” but speaking of him in the past tense for hours beforehand while not bothering to have a single reporter at the actual hospital

This clip from a 1969 episode of the ABC variety show The Hollywood Palace featuring Diahann Carroll and Stevie Wonder chased my blues right away this morning! The song is “Pretty World,” and was originally recorded in 1966 by bossa nova master Sergio Mendes. Enjoy!

Right now I am more overwhelmed with life than ever. I just found out that I’ve been accepted to a graduate writing program at USC (thanks to my work/your support of WWTD, might I add), and my head is spinning daily with unanswered questions about how I’m going to pay for it, how to get there, where to live, how to splash down in LA looking cute, what to do with my car, and how to say goodbye to Philly so I can proceed with this dream. Until I get my feet back on the ground and my head together posting will have to slow a bit because I’d way rather write than deal. But I should get it together soon – I feel really excited and fortunate and just cannot wait for this new chapter in life!

How come nobody told me today was Shakespeare’s birthday? Just because he’d be an impossible 455 years old, I guess. I’ve studied some Shakespeare (mostly by force) but never fully embraced the common perception that his works are hard to understand. Almost every sitcom has an episode where a frazzled high school or college student struggles to interpret Shakespeare; it’s almost as common a plot device as a card/pool shark trying swindle a main character out of some money. I guess that’s what made Dr. Foster (Roscoe Lee Browne) so important to the 90’s Cosby franchise: he appears in…

I hate the internet so very much. Seriously, I start off looking into something that is borderline scholarly and end up finding types of despair that make me realize that I have no business looking on the internet with an empty stomach. I started out at Mental Floss (a nerd site) where I discovered this tickling re-interpretation of the opening credits to Diff’rent Strokes called “Disturbing Strokes.” It’s entertaining to see how much different music can change the intentions of Mr. Drummond. Check it out:

I know it seems like I always keep it real but there are too many little secrets about myself that people aren’t aware of just because they prove that I’m not “cool.”  The blackgirl acceptance theme of this blog’s title has made me realize that I need to live my Lady Law #2 – “Go where no black girl has gone before” – a little more publicly. Therefore,  I’m starting a new feature called “Thembi Keeps It Real.”

So let me keep it real with you all…I LOVE New Kids On The Block, especially Donald Edmond Wahlberg Jr…