Tuesday Beat: Mark Schultz - Walking Her Home

Sending this one out to the future Mrs Ty. One of the most beautiful love songs that I've ever heard.

Random Beat: The Unwinding Hours - Knut

Something a little different for you to enjoy.

Tuesday Beat: The Floacist ft Musiq - Forever

Love love love her new CD. If you don't already have it you should really consider getting it.



Need You

Tuesday Beat: Timbaland - Symphony

The beat does it for me.

The Rundown

Today's edition includes a topic request that I've included after the usual frivolities, The topic is in draft form so that I can get feedback [additions / your observations] from y'all before I put up the actual post so please tweet back, comment, smoke signal - do what you need to do to get me some feedback.

• First up - I got called out for dropping the potential new lass thing and not adding to it. So I'll offer a few tidbits. She's a little more seasoned than I am but not by much. Good conversation but of a very different flavor from what I'm used to. She has served hot cocoa [if you don't know what that means read BougieLand's best] in a few more cafes than I'm comfortable with but we'll work with it. I did encounter a lass way back when whose cafe list read like the yellow pages. I ran screaming the other way. For all I know new lass might end up firmly in the friend category. K that ought to get me back in y'alls good graces.
• Job search = pain in my derrière. Network - Research - Apply - Rinse and Repeat.
• I'm looking forward to Thanksgiving cause I might get to see my little princess. Le cheerleader jump and le YAY!
• If you have never paid a visit to BougieLand I highly recommend it. Chele's posts are sometimes funny and sometimes thought provoking. The readers' comments on the other hand ... pure ratchetness. My lunchtime routine includes going through them because they are just that entertaining. Yesterday's post on bad cocoa is second only to her her post on the Usher themed wedding that she attended.
• Soul Seduction is a new blog on the block that has some grown folks only types of posts by a blogger of the sapphic persuasion. Check it out.
• BBC's Lip Service would get a post of it's own of I wasn't so tired. We have one more episode left and I'm not feeling the way things are looking. DS Sam, go #teamsam, might have overdone it a little by proclaiming love for Cat. Cat's response of I like it made you feel really sorry for the DS. Moral of the story provided by the DS herself "Saying "I love you" is like a gun fight. If you draw first, you better not miss."

Have a great weekend folks!
-quick edit 11/12/10
-------------------------------------------------------------
Onto the topic request: Cultures and Norms
CDS, my friend, comes from a more conservative culture but lived in the US for many years. Much like most of us, she picked up a few americanisms and now that she is back home they are posing some challenges. So after much discussion I told her I'd blog on the topic and see what my web fam thinks.

Culture -

The customary beliefs, social forms, and material traits of a racial, religious, or social group; also : the characteristic features of everyday existence (as diversions or a way of life} shared by people in a place or time.

Merriam-Webster Dictionary definition 5b

We can all agree that cultural norms vary widely by and within cultures. Italian American in Chicago is not the same as Italian American in Rome or o say Jersey [I know "reality tv" shows are scripted but stay with me]. I'm going to just point out a handful of things that I've observed that might present challenges for those from a more conservative culture when they either come here or go back. *Disclaimer: This is by no means a scientific study. My observations are based on my time in the midwest and looking at those in the 20 - 30 age bracket. *

Informality. We are an informal bunch of  folks. We'll call older folks by their first names and for the most part interact with them on an almost peer level. When I first got here I had a very hard time adjusting to calling adults by their first names. It took me years to do it without mentally cringing. Now I do it without much thought and it does earn me the stink eye on occasion when I meet some southern mannered folk. I do sometimes preface a name with Ms. or Mr., Dr. or use ma'am and sir but for the most part I don't.

Touch Feely a.k.a The business of being an equal opportunity hugger / handshaker etc. I am a fan of personal space and am still not totally comfortable giving hugs to people. Having said that, I will shake a hand without giving it any thought. In some more conservative areas, women may not shake men's hand. Now for those of you that keep up with current, you may have heard of the kerfuffle that was caused by Mrs Obama shaking the Indonesian president's hand ... best and most timely example. At the beginning of the quarter I used to give the male students that I knew very well dap as a sort of welcome back hug. If you live n the lab together for 3 months, you end up really well acquainted. Anyway I remember one quarter when one of my classmates brought a few of his new country men in so that they could get through the formalities. We gave each other dap and a few eyebrows went up. He'd been here almost as long as I had so to us it was nothing to them it was positively scandalous.

Use of terms of endearment such as dear / hun / girl / et al. Didn't realize how much of a problem this could cause until CDS and I were chatting. Granted in each there are terms of endearment, think habibti in Arabic, but one has to be very careful about when and with whom you are using them. There is a lot of room for misinterpretation. Here I could be talking to a someone and say "Ooo honey hush ...". Nobody would think much of it. Catch a flight to a more conservative place and that statement could be misconstrued as my already dating the person or trying to get familiar with them.

Aiight. That is my starting line-up. I'm shooting for 5 so let me know what comes to mind.

Tuesday Beat: Devlin's London City Instrumental

Enjoy.

The Rundown

Happy Diwali folks! May the lights be bright and the laddoo shared with family and friends sweet.

• On to the fun stuff for this week ... k so maybe I met this lass, who maybe I'd like to get to know a little better. Totally different from the librarian in a good way. And I am talking a full 180 degree turn.
• My niece is mumbling words. She'll do an i love you that'll bring you to tears. She'll also say hie and her personal favorite is oh-oh which she does when she drops or spills something or if she does something she knows she's not supposed to be doing and gets caught. She is also clicking her tongue ... there is hope for my little american learning ndebele.
• I blinked and suddenly we are in November. What did I do with October?
• How many of you twitter folk follow @luvvieig? If you don't you should. Trust me when I say you will never be bored.
• @atlfoxy has taken on the 30 days of blogging challenge that has some serious lineage. Check it out when you get a chance.
• Today I celebrated my youngest sister's birthday. She would have been 17 today. Life is short.
• Trying to decide whether I'm going left or right. One of them ought to be a good direction just don't know which it is.
• Anyone watch Bitchin' Kitchen on Cooking Channel TV?  I get quite a kick out of it every week. It's one of those shows that you either love or hate. The Israeli Spice Agent is my favorite character. The bit that he did on cinnamon a few episodes ago was just too much. iDahd when I saw it.
• Aiight have a great weekend folks. I get to spend part of mine with a good friend who'll be in town.

Tuesday Beat: Ghana Beats

First Tuesday = Africa's finest. This month Ghana's holding court. Thanks to K for the recommendations.

Wutah - Kotosa [Sa-sa-sa kotosa] love it!


Bradez - Simple