TalulaZoeApple

Happy New Year!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

May all of your BEST DREAMS COME TRUE.

That is my wish for 2010. There are no deaths, just marriages and births!!!!!!!!!!!! There is no job loss, just increase and houses built!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! There are no excuses, just go-getters making it happen.

Never one for resolutions but I am happy for new beginnings. I am also grateful for the past.

Soooo in 2010, I look forward to:

1. Completing my novel
2. GRADUATION!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
3. Debt elimination
4. All of you being around for the ride!

What are your expectations for 2010?

Black Women Being Unmarried is Now National News

Thank you, ABC News! **insert sarcasm**

 

 

Steve Harvey says date older men. Ha, I wonder why?

I would consider older, like 40, ONLY if he did NOT sport the 'stache. Stevie, baby, only Magnum P.I. can get away with the 'stache!

So I Saw The Princess and the Frog Today and . . .

. . .I realized that I am not a child anymore. So, I was a little annoyed by the children in the theater. LOL. Did they not get the message that this particular movie-going experience was about me re-living my childhood. Thank you!

I did, however, enjoy the film.

What I Liked During the Movie?

1. I really loved Princess Tiana - the animated figure and Anika Noni Rose's voice. I credit Rose's voice for keeping me emotionally interested when the beautiful Tiana morphs into a green amphibian.
2. I loved hearing Terrence Howard's smooth vocals as the dad.  I found out later that Oprah voiced the mother. Kudos Oprah I did not recognize Miss Sophia while watching the film. 
3. Great music, jazz, and color! I love color. There is beautiful scenery and something other than pink decor of Cinderella. Tiana dons amazing blues and rich greens that complement her brown skin.

What Disappointed me?

1. The princess is a freakin' frog! My hidden racism detector was approaching Danger Danger! status before I hit the OFF button. I mean, it is a movie for kids and not hypersensitive adults. I must say, I say the movie on Christmas day. I was the only AA in the theater and the children there LOVED this movie. At the end of the movie, this little girl started clapping and yelling YEAH!!!! It was the cutest thing.
2. The animation seemed low-budget in parts. I am not the only one to notice this. A.O. Scott describes most of TPATF as looking like Disney's straight to DVD features as opposed to it's animated classics. It alternates between great colorful animation to something akin to Woody Wood Pecker sketches. I doubt the kids noticed but I did.

What I appreciate after the fact?

1. The "Almost There" song sequence - The art style changes to a stylized "art-deco" as Tiana sings about getting closer to her dream. I found out later that this art style is a tribute to Aaron Douglas, the most famous artist during the Harlem Renaissance. Remember the episode of the Cosby Show in which Claire wants this painting. They go to the auction and spend $11,000 on it. That one is by Aaron Douglass.

1. Anika Noni Rose's voice - Granted she was over shadowed in Dreamgirls by Beyonce and Jennifer Hudson but she has a beautiful voice. She, ironically, beat out both Jennifer Hudson, Beyonce, Tyra Banks, and Alicia Keys for the role of Tiana.
2. Tiana, unlike princesses before her, doesn't just wish on a star - she works hard! That's a great message for any child to see.

3. Overall, it's a must-see. I happen to like 2-D cartoons. The Princess and the Frog is a throwback to that era. Don't listen to those looking for hidden racism in a cartoon. Most of those naysayers have NOT SEEN the movie. My advice is to let go and let your inner child imagine.

   What are your thoughts?
 

 

Merry Christmas!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

On the first day of Christmas, my true love gave to me. . . .

Denzel Washington

Brian J. White

Laz Alonso

Don't ever say, I have never given you anything!

Merry Christmas!

R.I.P. Alaina Reed Hall

Best known for her stint as Rose on 227 from 1985-1990, I remember Alaina Reed Hall as Olivia on Sesame Street - the Sesame Street I loved in my youth before Elmo. ELMO!!!!!!!!!

It is sad to hear of her passing, she was only 63.

During her life she accomplished many acting feats. She began her career on Broadway starring in Hair and Chicago. She landed the role as Olivia on Sesame Street in 1976. Throughout the years, she had a few guest spots including ER and Ally McBeal. She also did many commercials.

Open Letter To the Talkative Bathroom Lady

Dear Woman in the Stall Next to Me:

I am not sure of bathroom etiquette where you are from BUT 'round these parts stall time is a period of silent reflection. I must navigate this germ hole without serious injury and without peeing down my leg as I squat. I am also pondering the self-loathing issues that keep me wearing pantyhose and enduring the torture they inevitable bring especially around bathroom time.

Needless to say, I don't have time for small talk and getting to know ya through the aluminum partitions. The fact that you had to repeat yourself several times before I responded, should have been a hint to my wariness in entering this discussion.

I only responded because I thought you were in an emergency situation or, at the very least, needed tissue. Inquiring about the day's program does not an emergency make.

Thanks to you, tactless bathroom lady, I am upset at our little repartee and now must repent before entering the sanctuary for all the crazy things I am thinking about you.

Sincerely,

TZA

My Twitter Ramblings

Twitter is a funny little world. There are celebrities, businesses, regular folk and bloggers all mixing it up with one another.

It's also peculiar that everyone feels the need to dispense wisdom via a 140 characters. I started a little meem entitled #causeimdeep. Here are a few proverbs from www.twitter.com/Talulazoeapple

I listen to Sade when I clean #Causeimdeep

I drink tea with my pinky cup while day dreaming #Causeimdeep

I tweet about other people's drama and not my own #causeimdeep

I saw a dead squirrel on ,my walking trail, I poured out a little water in memorium #causeimdeep

Trust in the Lord and lean not 2 ur own understanding. In all thy ways acknowldge him, and He shall direct thy paths #causeimdeep

I put lol at the end of sentences when I am really serious about what I just wrote. #causeimdeep (lol)

Love is like Jello, and there's always room for Jello #causeimdeep

If u get caught in the rain, remember the sun will shine again #causeimdeep

If an elevator misses ur floor, you have an extra ride to get it right #causeimdeep

See I mixed in a few serious tweets with my jokes. . .  #Causeimdeep

Follow me on Twitter!!!!!!!

What Exactly Is Settling? A Few Necessities

I guess this a relationship post.

In this eternal pursuit of the right mate, what qualities are; a necessity, a want, and an if you don't mind i'll take a little of that too? LOL

Letoya Luckett has a song, "Good to Me," on her new CD. I LOVE THIS SONG!

However; there is a verse that goes something like:

I want me a man
You know the kind of man
That don’t mind cooking me dinner

I want me a man
You know the kind of man
That all night in bed he’s a winner

I want me a man
You know the kind of man
That gotta body like a gladiator

Cuz I want me a man, a real kinda man
And he ain’t gotta have alotta paper SOURCE

Soooooo? Which one of these items is a necessity, a want, and an if you don't mind i'll take a little of that too?

I was speaking with a friend last night who told me she admired me for not settling? I thought about that.

I dated a guy a few years back who, right out of the gate, was talking marriage. He was a cool dude but I had ZERO chemistry with him. I kept dating him thinking, well, he's a good guy, he is a god-fearing man, and he WANTS to get married. I was literally FORCING myself to like him. Then one day, I was discussing him with my mother and she bluntly stated, "if you don't like him, don't date him."

It was my, "Duh, stupid!" moment. LOL

My mom is from the old school where church folk had to approve your mates. That's how she ended up with my father. Needless to say she was not into that everybody says he's a good man so do it and ignore your heart meme.

But to answer my own question. I don't care about the body like a gladiator BUT the others. . .if you don't mind i'll take a little of that, too. LOL

How about you?

Check Out Stuff Black Girls Like

Here:

http://www.stuffblackgirlslike.com

Whitney Houston Still Has It

I know it is en vogue to make fun of Whitney Houston's downfall but that woman has a gift from GOD himself. My mom always says that a gift comes without repentance. That used to annoy me but I think I get what she meant by it.

Anyway, you have to applaud a woman who still sings all of her performances LIVE flaws and all. Everytime I hear her voice, I get a little teary-eyed.

Check out a recent moscow performance: