Flipskript Ink

I spent the last couple of days researching the life and times of La Toya Jackson and finally purchased her latest memoir, Starting Over. I didin't even realize it was a New York Times best-seller, plus within my budget. I read some of this book online already and am prepared with some tissues, my Bible, orange juice, and my Jimmy Neutron DVD. I recently took on an additional role to my life as a domestic violence volunteer and Jackson's story really lingered in my inner-being. In my July post, I wrote about my curiousity about her and my article, Sexual Schizophrenia , where I compare and contrast sexuality between genders and race in society. The point in my paper (which I will post when I find it) was that women of color suffer the most from negative stigma. Jackson suffered the most from what I have searched out and I'm hoping that people will start having a little more respect for her efforts, career, and the control that she has for herself once again. In her book...

For the economically deranged freelance hustlers... After examining the in-between gigs of sites like Demand Studios , Freelance Writing Gigs and Yahoo! , I'm starting to realize that it may be time for me to put the ice cream carton down and [wo]man up! I came across a post I saw on my old professor's page that said, "WHENEVER YOU THINK ABOUT QUITTING, THINK ABOUT WHY YOU STARTED." So I sat in the middle of my small, roomy space and began contemplating what it was that drove me into the business of the wordplay. Writing has always calmed me down when I feel I could talk to my human counterparts (family, friends, etc) I appreciate the power of the tongue, pen, and paper I admit, I watched more than a necessary amount of TV growing up, but some of my inspiration had to come from somewhere It takes me out of the ever-changing normal anomalies in the world I get to have just a smidge of power and control over what I want to happen in this greedy, loveless worl...

I definitely would like to thank my other writing half and bestie, Marcus , because your creativity invaded my sleep. Then again, I did have ice cream for dinner while reading Writer with a Day Job. I dreamt that I was being chased by a new friend because Rihanna was chasing him and I ended up running to Brooklyn. Keep in mind that 90 minutes by car is probably 30 hours on foot. I couldn't help but laugh as I was running from the guy who was running from Rihanna. It turns out that the motivation behind such running fury had to do with barbeque sauce...and guess what I ended up having for dinner a few days later? Honey barbeque chicken wings :0). Fresh from my over-active imagination, I concluded why I was having these dreams. Gas prices, unemployment are going up with everyone's blood pressure, people feel the need to curse everyone out for something, and there are times when you just want to be left alone. Laughing seems to be a helpful remedy so recalling silly dreams have...

Photo Courtesy of The Cleveland Movie Blog . After all of the buzz, anticipation, and excitement, we are just less than two days away from the release of the 1976 classic movie, Sparkle . American Idol singer Jordin Sparks will be playing the lead role originally portrayed by Irene Cara. Before seeing the remake, I searched intently for the 1st movie at bargain stores (I thrive off of discounts, but I digress). The movie tells the story sisters trying to make it big in the business through life changes and challenges. Sparks, Tika Sumpter (BET's The Game), Carmen Ejogo (British Nigerian Actress and singer) will be playing the Williams sisters with the moves and voices. Derek Luke (just watched him on my HawthoRNe DVD) will be playing the ambitious, heart-throbbing Stix who manages the girls. And the late Whitney Houston will be playing Emma, the girls' mother. There are many reasons why I expect many tears to be shed during the movie...or parts of the movie. These reaso...

Photo courtesy of eHow . Do you ever feel like there are people in this world who wake up every morning and think, "So...who's life can I ruin today?" The way people are acting these days, it is so easy to dress up in apathy. After a series of events I have both witnessed and experienced (still uncertain if they are unfortunate or not), I found myself having to vent a lot but I didn't want to drive away my loved ones. It was bad enough that trust and smiling backstabbers were forcing me to alter my perception of my earthly siblings. Human interaction keeps revealing itself as compassion turns to dispassion, respect turns into rebellion, and order becomes disorganized. And I haven't even touched on natural rudeness yet. My inner-sociologist keeps putting dukes up with my procrastinating muckraker (bad combination, I know) and I can't help but apply the Marxist and Weberian theories in the what I see. Apparently, some people with important titles keep r...

As I balance my days between the 9-to-5 and the pen-and-paper on the side, I find myself nervous and confused about self-publishing. I'm still editing the second draft of my chapbook, Slow to Anger, and my very awesome friend, Poetyc Visionz did my book cover. By the looks of things, I better get goin on dee good foot fast. Ironic. I already let the anger channel through my being and my book was one result. Now, I have to let the anxiety channel through me so I can see the finished copy? Scattering the searches through sites like Outskirts Press , CreateSpace , and the newly formed SheWrites Press , I also thumbed through the pages of the annual Poet's Market and Writer's Market. I remember when I first moved to Dutchess County last year and I began This Year You Will Write Your Novel by Walter Mosley in the public library. I spent nights reading the book inside the library, taking notes in my notebook on the tips I needed to get myself going. The ambition, determina...

Photo courtesy of wotyougot . I read an excerpt of La Toya Jackson's latest book, Starting Over. Tell me how I'm didn't even buy the book and I'm already fighting back tears. I wrote about La Toya and Janet Jackson in a school paper a few years back in college, Virgin, Vamp, and Sweet Little Tramp , now titled  Sexual Schizophrenia. It mainly dealt with the American view of sexuality in the media, women, and race. I had to compare and contrast a lot with the racial part because...well let's face it, it's 2012, racism is not dead and sex is running as rampant as the common cold germ. Nonetheless, I was excited and anxious to delve into La Toya Jackson's life story. She was the Jackson sibling with the pretty face (they're a good-looking family), kind of quiet, and suddenly she disappeared, reappeared, everyone hated her and I couldn't understand why. I was determined to find out what happened to her when I became an adult. I saw her famous...