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Pakistan drops murder charges against 9-month old baby

Posted on April 13, 2014

Really, Pakistan?

The government in a city in Pakistan charged a 9-month old baby, Musa Khan, with murder after this family was arrested while protesting conditions for the poor. During the scuffle, a sub-inspector complained that the infant’s family beat him up and hit him on his head. The inspector was trying to collect overdue bills.

The toddler appeared in court in the city of Lahore yesterday drinking out of a bottle while sitting on his grandfather’s lap. Out of mercy and perhaps being ridiculed by the world for being stupid, the judge dropped the charges against the baby.

The family were among many who had gathered to protest gas cuts and price increases and who stoned police and gas company workers.

WETV greenlights 3rd season for “Kendra on Top” and “Tamar and Vince”;

Posted on April 12, 2014

Congrats to our Bellywatch moms Kendra Wilkinson- Baskett and Tamar Braxton-Herbert on getting their respective reality TV shows renewed.

WETV recently announced that it has signed on Kendra on Top and Tamar and Vince for a third season for both shows.

This is Wilkinson-Baskett’s third reality TV show. She started on E!‘s The Girls Next Door and Kendra. She and hubby ex -NFL player Hank Baskett are expecting their second child this year. The couple are parents to 2-year old Hank Jr.

Meanwhile, the Herberts are staying busy since welcoming their first child together, almost 1-year old Logan. Tamar joins our other BumpWatch alum Tamera Mowry-Housley on a panel TV show, The Real, that will air nationally on FOX starting this fall.

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8 Steps to being a Happier person at Home

Posted on April 12, 2014

Given all the somber news recently, today is a great day to have discovered a wonderful article from the Apartment Therapy blog, “10 to Simple things to make you Happier at Home.”

I’d like to share this find which I have adapted by selecting my favorite 8 from the list and adding some personal insight.

Here are 8 ways to be happier at home:

1. Make your bed everyday. Actually, my aunt taught me this late in my life, telling me that it’s a simple and quick thing to do as soon as you rise. She was right. First, it gives you a straight crisp pallet to lay your clothes out on before you shower and get dressed. Second, you will feel much better knowing that when you are exhausted at the end of the day you get to come back to an un-feathered sleeping quarter.

2. Bring every room back to “ready.” I do this already because I am an anal Virgo, Type 1, First Born with a self-diagnosed case of some mild OCD. I prefer to leave each room in the house uncluttered, and my house close to clean as possible before I leave it. It may be a pain to do, but coming back to a clean home at the end of the day also lifts the mood and unburdens the mind which may be consumed and is probably preoccupied with a bunch of other things.

3. Display sentimental items around your home. If you get nostalgic every time you think about your trip to the Vineyards a few years ago, imagine you can relive those moments moments daily by having photos from the trip framed and displayed around the house. In our digital world, most of our positive memories are holedup on a Facebook album. Get them in your daily life.

4. Start a one-line-a-day gratitude journal. Make time before you hit the hay to write down a happy memory from the day in a journal you keep by your bed. Before bed, simply jot down one happy memory from that day. Ask the kids too. Their fave part of today can be yours too. Reflection is an important part of happiness, and pausing to reflect on a positive event from each day cultivates gratitude. When you’ve had a rough day, forcing yourself to do this will help you gain some perspective and refocus on the positives.

5. Before you get up each morning, set an intention for the day. In “The Art of Happiness” book, the Dali Lama is quoted as saying “”Every day, think as you wake up: today I am fortunate to be alive, I have a precious human life, I am not going to waste it.” How prolific. But your intention doesn’t have to be a big ole philosophical or lofty intention either. Your daily intent could be something like “be productive” or “enjoy today’s delicious moments” or it could be something more specific like “say thank you to my loved ones today.” But it should not be another “to do” item on your list. Now that would be adding stress.

But in no time your journal of good memories from the day and intentions could be used to brighten your mood and make a great keepsake. It could even help to get you out of a dark moment.

6. Spend money on things that cultivate experiences at home. Save money for a new grill for parties or a new DVD for family movie night — something that will encourage you to have people over and entertain. Plan a summer barbeque, invite your closest friends, kick back and relax. (And don’t forget to print out the pictures to remember the good times.)

7. Call at least one friend or family member a day. You can do this while you clean, while you make the bed, or while you walk the dog. Texts and emails do not count! Make an actual phone call to a loved one, just to chat and catch up. You’ll be glad you did because life is too short and you never know who may or may not be around anymore the next time you want to talk with them. It may be too late.

8. Spend a few minutes each day connecting with something greater than yourself. Finally, whether you believe in God, the ancestors, the spirit world or nothing at all, studies show that connecting to a high power is correlated with happiness. Just stepping back can help you realize that we are part of an enormous universe can put some perspective on your life and day. Before bed, spend just a few minutes contemplating something larger than yourself. Take a walk in nature. Write in a journal. Create a sacred space in your home. (Or if spirituality is really not your thing, create a home spa: light some candles, soak in a hot bath, delve into a good book… are you feeling better yet?)

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Bump Watch: Alyssa Milano Instagrams a bump progression pic

Posted on April 11, 2014

Mistresses star Alyssa Milano headed off the usual suggestions from onlookers that a woman larger than her gestational period may be having twins.

The petite 2nd time mom-to-be shared a bump progression pic on her Instagram account last Friday, April 4.

“The bump,” she captioned the photo. “#shortpeoplecarrybig #noitsnottwins.”

That’s right, mama! Tell em! She looked amazing though. We are fans!!

The Charmed alum and her husband David Bugliari are expecting their second child. The couple are parents to 2-year old son, Milo. They announced the pregnancy last month.

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In Memoriam to Self-Love Blogger Karyn Washington (And On Suicide Prevention)

Posted on April 11, 2014

Sad news in the Blogger world.

While I was prepping to publish this afternoon’s posts and lunching on a sandwich, I scrolled thru my Facebook and learned that a beautiful and progressive self-love advocate and blogger of the “For Brown Girls” blog, Karyn Washington, committed suicide at the age of 22.

I couldn’t even eat another bite and I literally sunk in my chair, saddened by such tragic news or such a tremendous loss of a female empowerment leader.

I didn’t know her personally, but I do recall seeing not long ago the Twitter hashtag #DarkSkinRedLip in reaction to rapper A$AP Rocky declaring last year that dark-skinned women shouldn’t wear red lipstick.

Karyn, at such a young age, created a movement off the hashtag outrage to encourage women with dark skin tones who may be struggling to accept their complexion to love and accept themselves.

Karyn founded The Dark Skin Red Lip project and blog where she collected images of dark-skinned women wearing red lipstick and raised money for an awareness campaign. It sold a shirt for girls to wear proud.

Apparently, according to Karyn’s friend, beauty blogger Ty Alexander of the “Gorgeous in Gray” blog, Karyn was having a tough time coming to grips with her mother’s own recent passing from a long battle with cancer and she became overwhelmed with the grief. According to text and email communication with Karyn that Ty published on her blog today, Karyn gave out warning signs months ago that expressed an interest in “giving up.”

And she did on April 8, coincidentally exactly one year after Madame Noire’s article about the A$AP comments. Rest in Peace, Karyn.

So sad. Some of those who knew her and her work of encouraging other young girls and women published memorial posts that you can find Here and Here and from media outlets The Root, Clutch Online, For Harriet blog, Black Media Scoop, Black Youth Project and Classy Black Lady.

Look for Warning Signs. Help Someone

And it’s a good time to remind ourselves to reach out to those personally around us if we notice mood and behavior changes, letting their appearance go, dropping out of school or hobbies, avoiding friends, not sleeping well, or a big change in mood, reach out. Let them know someone cares and you are there for them.

This is true especially, as in the case with Karyn, if there has been a life altering episode, or another situation that leads to extreme emotional stress. Heed to warning signs that someone may be suffering with depression.

If you have had suicidal thoughts, Please Stay.

If you are reading this, and you have had suicidal thoughts, and are dealing with so much sadness, loneliness or other anxiety that you feel you cannot cope any longer with the pain, please remember that “this too shall pass.”

“When one door closes, another opens; but we often look so long and so regretfully upon the closed door that we do not see the one which has opened for us,” Alexander Graham Bell famously said.

An unknown author quipped, “Nobody trips over mountains. It is the small pebble that causes you to stumble. Pass all the pebbles in your path and you will find you have crossed the mountain.”

It may be really hard to come to grip with the grande scheme of life and your perspective may be skewed right now because of how you are feeling, but trust me when I say, there is a light and hope and happiness waiting for you on earth.

Find someone to talk to and if you don’t feel you can open up with some there is always the National suicide prevention hotline for US residents (Internationally for others) where you can get help and guidance, and perhaps a referral to some place where you can get personal, confidential counseling at no cost too.

There is good and beauty everywhere.

Try to concentrate on the positive things about yourself and your life. Make plans this weekend to get away and have some fun. Splurge on a manicure or facial. Enjoy the weather and if it’s raining, check out some movies you’ve never seen. There are so many out there you haven’t watched.

You cannot end it all now. (smile)

Live for another day. Survive this.

(((((hugs)))))

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Eco Friday: Ways to Help Your Kids Prepare for Earth Day and Care about the Planet

Posted on April 11, 2014

April is now considered Earth Month, an extension of Earth Day which is on April 22.

It is time for us humans to appreciate mother Earth, learn about what we personally and collectively are doing to pollute her and what we can do to preserve her for the long haul. It’s also a great opportunity to teach children about the 3 Rs of Earth day: Reduce, Re-use, and Recycle.

Families create so much waste weekly, but there are simple things that can be done to reduce our collective carbon footprint if we learn about them. One easy way is to recycle.

And just in time for Earth Month, to help you get you children to understand the concept comes this month’s “WordGirl News” report from the popular Emmy® Award-winning cartoon show WordGirl, produced by Scholastic Media.

It’s all about the word “RECYCLE”!

Tune in this April 22 to the special Earth Day episode of the show which follows the everyday life and superhero adventures of WordGirl. She is mild-mannered 5th-grader Becky Botsford by day, but who also fights crime and enriches vocabulary usage with her monkey sidekick, Captain Huggy Face, with her extraordinary strength and added benefit of a colossal vocabulary. Each episode introduces four new vocabulary words and reinforces their meanings in a variety of contexts.

And Here are 5 Things you can do this Earth Day to help your entire family leave a smaller carbon footprint.

1. Calculate your Carbon Footprint using this online FREE tool, then do something to lower it, whatever that calculation amounts to.

2. Download one of these 10 apps to help you live a greener life.

3. Start recycling in your home. Review these easy simple rules for starting.

4. Build a compost and have the kids help you make it. Follow this guide.

5. Commit to buying eco-friendly products when you can.

6. About a quarter of diseases are exposed by environmental exposure, the World Health Organization states. Educate yourself about pollutants, including man-made substances that can not only pollute the Earth but kill, such as asbestos. Cancer survivor Heather Von St. James beat the 2 year to death prognosis given to the 3,000 people who contract mesothelioma annually from asbestos exposure and set up a webpage to raise awareness about it HERE.

7. Purchase reusable products like plastic lunch boxes to reduce the number of sandwich bags you use weekly, reusable water bottles to replace of crates of 8 ounce bottles, and mesh grocery bags to limit the amount of plastic bags you accumulate from weekly grocery shopping.

Start here and we’ll all make the world a better place.

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How one parent used her kid’s superhero to prevent bullying

Posted on April 10, 2014

guest post by Danita Dawson

As a parent in the age of video games, You Tube, and cyberbullying, I often wonder, almost to the point of obsession, about ways to impact my child’s development. I believe that superior parenting has always included a touch of creativity but with Generation X, Y, Z (or whatever they’re calling the current generation nowadays), creativity is the cornerstone of even remedial parenting.

To reach your children on the most basic of issues requires ingenuity, but it almost takes pure wizardry when it comes to lofty, esoteric issues like character, empathy and spirituality. Until Oprah comes up with Super Sick Sunday for kids, we as parents need to find ways to encourage soulful growth within our children. I have found such a tactic.

I have developed a very close relationship with the superheroes in my son’s life. By getting to know the ones he relates to the most, I am able to use their personas to teach him life lessons.

When my son was younger, he didn’t fit in. He generally was gentle and compassionate which probably came off as soft to other boys his age, and it didn’t help that he wasn’t into sports when most of the boys around our neighborhood were. Sometimes, he was bullied or just felt left out. Things got even worse once he starting middle school. He often begged me to drive him to school because of the school-bus fighting he often witnessed.

However, one day he did a rap about his favorite element for a science project. Once he performed it for the class and half the school, he became Mr. Popularity overnight. All of a sudden he was a 6th grader that 8th graders wanted to know.

Now, needless to say, I was concerned when he didn’t fit in and was getting bullied, but I became even more concerned now that he had become Mr. Popularity. I didn’t want him to turn into the child that bullied less popular children, or teased them and made them feel left out like others often had done him.

Therefore, I turned to his favorite superhero, Spiderman, for help.

It wasn’t enough to make sure he didn’t abuse others. I wanted to teach him to discourage others from doing so as well, now that he had this newfound popularity. So, I borrowed Spiderman’s motto, “With great power comes great responsibility”. I used this to teach him that as one of the popular kids (that used to be bullied) he had the responsibility to encourage kids to treat others well.

Usually when teaching my son, I never really know if he’s quietly listening to me or quietly ignoring me, and this time was no different since I got no immediate response. I even forgot we had this talk until the day he told me that on the way home a school-bus fight broke out and he stopped it.

Instead of cheering it on or taking pictures like many children in today’s media-crazed world, he got between the two boys and stopped them from fighting. I was astounded!

Just a few months before he was cowering; now he was intervening.

After that, I knew that at least in part, I had Spiderman to thank because while I’ll admit my son was naturally a peacekeeper before this incident, Spiderman helped that part of his nature flourish in what seemed to be overnight.

Since then superheroes have become one of my best teaching tools. It has even helped me have a new outlook on issues. Once, my son and I were having a conversation about one of his other favorites, Batman.

He was trying to get me to understand the reason that Batman wasn’t as nice as the other superheroes and didn’t always get along with them. He empathetically explained that, “Batman was messed up because he saw his parents die in front of him and he never got over it”.

I was so touched by this gentle and forgiving view of my eleven-year-old son that I decided to use it to remind myself along with him that when difficult people come into our lives such as bullies or mean coworkers, we should view them in the same non-judgmental way he views Batman, by looking beyond their actions and trying to understand their pain, and it actually works.

So, get to know the superheroes in your child’s life. It will give you insight into your child’s psyche. Then, you can develop methods to encourage his strengths and to overcome his weaknesses. And you may learn a few things to help yourself along the way.

Danita Dawson is a loving parent with a creative look on life and parenting.

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Brandy Norwood tells Queen Latifah she will freeze her eggs soon

Posted on April 10, 2014

Tuesday, during The Queen Latifah Show, singer and star of BET‘s The Game Brandy Norwood told Latifah that she plans to freeze some of her eggs at her next doctor’s appointment.

The mom to 11-year old daughter Sy’rai, said she was “hopeful but realistic” when it comes to having additional children.

“Chances are looking a little slim for the future kids. I’m 35,” Norwood told Latifah. “I feel like my next doctor’s appointment, I’ma have to freeze my eggs. I’m not sure if I’m going to have more kids; I’m hopeful. I have faith.”‘

She also said she avoids exposing her daughter to the limelight so she could grow up as normal as possible.

“I like that our life is simple,” she added. “I like keeping the sense of normality to our life”

In 2002, Brandy became the very first celebrity to showcase a pregnancy, labor and birth on reality TV when she starred in an MTV Diary special about it, “MTV special Diary Presents: Diary – Special Delivery”.

And true to Reality TV poor record with couples featured on it, Norwood has long since split with Sy’rai’s dad producer Robert “Big Bert” Smith.

Photo: The Brandy Blog

watch a segment from the appearance here:

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Is the “Common Core” curriculum ruining your child’s life? (INFOGRAPHIC)

Posted on April 10, 2014

To better enable American kids to compete globally with other “First World” nations that have been surpassing the US in reading, math, science and other subjects, a curriculum change called “Common Core State Standards” became popular. The new paradigm focuses on training children to be critical thinkers, analytic and objective.

Further, some in the business community complained that the caliber of students graduating from various US high schools lacked essential skills to be competent workers. Common Core proponents want close to standardization of the curriculum in all states so that all children learned the same level or way, irrespective if they were from a wealthy district in Connecticut or a poor one in Alabama. The initiative was backed by the business industry and many jurisdictions began implementing the changes. Some states adopted it and others didn’t.

It faced a swift backlash from parents who complained that the curriculum put too much pressure on children, taught them how to take a test rather than to learn and enjoy the learning experience, and was uneccessary. Many felt that state and local differences exist for a reason and schooling should remain a local issue.

Supporters maintain that states are free to opt in or out, and that the challenging coursework creates smarter and more equipped children. They also state the program is flexible and can accommodate teachers and local schools’ styles and preferences.

The folks at BestGraduateSchools.com created an infographic which presents Common Core from the position of those who are against the curriculum. Take a look and share your thoughts.

Source: BestMastersinEducation.com

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Students Pregnancy Call Prank on Professor is Laugh out loud funny (VIDEO)

Posted on April 10, 2014

If you haven’t already seen the now viral video of the college professor getting April Fools’ Day pranked with a call in class about a pregnancy, you must have been under a rock somewhere!

Lucky for you, we’ve got the video of macroeconomics students of Aquinas College professor Stephen Barrows prank him using his policy that anyone who receives a phone call during class be forced to answer it on speaker phone.

As they say in viral video world, “You won’t believe what happened next.”. Ha!

WATCH

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