Tuesday Beat: Double Play - Shawn Desman Nobody and Jordin Sparks Next To You

Tis the last Tuesday of the month and I thought I'd throw in a lover's double play. First up is Shawn Desman with Nobody. That's my song of the moment. Yes, I'm still highlighting the not so new stuff.

When I think about my baby
I think how lucky I am
To have somebody who can love me
Love me for who I am
Girl for me you just are so perfect
Just the way you are
No matter where, we go from here
You'll alway have my heart

And I realize what I got, so I never take it for granted girl
And no matter how far away, I will stay true to you, yeah

Second is Jordin Sparks with Next to You from her first album.

Maybe were friends
Maybe were more
Maybe it's just my imagination
But I see you stare just a little too long
And it makes me start to wonder
So baby call me crazy
But I think you feel it too
Maybe I, Maybe I
Just got to get next to you

Half Penny Post: Weekly Rundown

T.G.I.F!!!!!!!!

• Quite a good week dare I say. A few rough patches here and there did very little to put a damper on the week.
• RC training is officially on!
• A friend of mine got a job so congrats to him! Another doing the interview rounds and it's looking promising.
• 1 week off and all I've done is lounge, catch up on movies and sleep. Come Sunday it's back to the trenches. I need to sit for the GRE exam before Sept 15 if I have any intention of getting into a fully funded PhD program. I'd be getting in in the Fall of 2010 so I have about 12 months to get in as much play time as possible. This is backup plan # 3. Why a PhD? Well when I was in elementary school I really wanted to be Dr "Ty" by the time I was 30. As such I was nicknamed professor by the fam and am still called that to this day.
• I spoke to my mama, albeit through text messages and she is doing well.
• Work is coming along. I think I've hit my stride with the tech projects that I've been getting. As the new school year approaches some people are leaving and some are coming in. It is indeed a time for renewal.
• If you are in the Boston area, there is a showing of the South African film Society. More info on the viewing can be found here. I wrote a bit about the film here. BTW Sibulele Gcilitshana, who plays Beth, is quite lovely.
• Next Friday marks the return of Cherry Bomb on AfterEllen. Can't wait!

Have a wonderful weekend and be safe out there!

image courtesy of http://bookmarketingbuzz.com/category/tgif-fun-day/ *there is some redundancy in the caption at the bottom of the image.

Random Post: Society - A South African Film / Mini Series

As many of you know I like to stop by AfterEllen every so often in order to keep up with what's going on. Today I was not disappointed. They reviewed the movie "Society" which is taken from the South African mini series of the same title. To read the full review click here. I hear it is doing the rounds at film festivals in the US but I have not yet been able to locate a schedule. I am so looking forward to seeing it.

The story of four affluent South African women who are “making it” in post-apartheid Johannesburg, Society is actually a miniseries that has been re-cut into a feature film, and is currently playing at film festivals in the U.S.

Ten years out of high school and less than two decades after the end of apartheid, four twenty-something women are chasing the new African dream

Inno (Lele Ledwaba) is a climatologist who features prominently on TV. She’s a minor celebrity who obsesses over fashion and her various boyfriends. Beth (Sibulele Gcilitshana) is a schoolteacher; in fact, she’s the only black teacher at a prominent private girls school. She’s also a lesbian — but more on that later.Akua (Zandile Msutwana) is a banker and a real jet setter, while Lois (Sam Tyelbooi) is married and pregnant. She’s forced to turn down life as a doctor in order to accept being a wife and mother, a fact that she’s not terribly happy about.

The film actually opens on them in bed, waking up on the morning of their third anniversary. They’re happy and in love, but it soon becomes evident that Beth is still living deep inside the closet (no thanks to the strict cultural norms and the oppressive atmosphere she finds at work), a fact that irks Thuli to no end.

Beth in particular is at a cultural crossroads. She’s living a secret life with an out partner, too terrified of the judgment that she sees everywhere in her world. Caught between the modern concept of a loving same-sex relationship and keeping everything “private," she’s forced to confront her own internalized homophobia — and the traditional attitudes about what is normal and what isn’t.

Extracted from AfterEllen - Review of "Society" by Danielle Riendeau July 21, 2009

Tuesday Beat: Maxwell - This Woman's Work

The man is back with a new CD Black Summers' Night that I am loving. The song Phoenix Rise is probably may fav on it. Today we take it back to the days of Love & Basketball with This Woman's Work.

Half Penny Post: Weekly Rundown

IIIIIIIIItttttttttt'''''''sssss FRIDAY!

• I'm coming off of a roller coaster week. It started hella low and built up so I'm not complaining.
• I got through the interview with the RC and I'm in! YAY! Now I'm plowing through paperwork so that I can begin training. I really am looking forward to volunteering with them since it's free training and I get to do what I like. I mean this is me test driving my dream job.
• I finished a tech project that's been on my plate for a lil over a month. 5 weeks of work and all that I have to show for it is 10 lines of code that work perfectly... at times life just flows.
• A mate of mine recently got some of her work published as part of an anthology.
• At times I feel like everything falls into place of it's own accord.
• BTW I've had people guessing who I was talking about 2 posts ago. Thus far 2 people have guessed my past crush correctly.
• I realized that I haven't spoken to my mom in almost 3 weeks. VERY unusual. I think the longest that I've gone in the past is a week and a half. It's been a combo of her traveling and my just not feeling like going a round with her. I'll call her tomorrow and see how she's doing.

Have a good weekend!

Tuesday Beat: Taj Munroe - Guilty Innocence

As you might have noticed by now, most of my Tuesday beats are not new music. I have lots of new music (it pays to be a former radio personality) but I like to play the not so new stuff. It just depends on my mood when I select it. Today we have Taj. Enjoy some RnB ...

Half Penny Post: Insanity Reigns

My bad for being M.I.A for a few. I know I owe you a recount of my travels from last week as well as a weekly rundown. I hope to do a combo post on Friday.
Shit hit the fan and for some bloody reason the fan jus keeps on blowing. Digging out of this mess will require a lotta elbow grease and a big ass shovel. I actually have a tension headache from this mess and I broke down and took some meds for it. I accept full responsibility for my part in this whole fiasco. Now where did I leave my coveralls and wellingtons ... might as well get to work. BTW the insanity officially began with my phone taking an unsanctioned swim.
Other than the shit and the fan can't say much else is going on.

Tuesday Beat: TLC - No Scrubs

We're taking it back a lil with this one. This used to be THE jam.