R.I.P. Michael Joseph Jackson 1958 - 2009

I am still in shock about the passing of Michael Joseph Jackson. I was getting ready for my bed when I heard the news on Twitter, Sky and Fox news. He passed away on 25th June 2009 with his brother Jermaine by his side. He is said to have suffered a cardiac arrest and currently an autopsy is being carried out on his body to identify the true cause of death.

He was such a talented soul. The media fell in and out of love with him through various stages of his career. Though one thing is for sure he has the most loyal fans ever in the whole world. His passing and sent shockwaves around the globe. Especially since he was due to start a 50 date tour starting at the O2 arena in London next month.

He is survived by 3 children, his mum, his dad and 8 siblings.

Rest In Peace ……may God bless your soul.

There is loads of information on the web about his passing. It is well worth the search to update yourself on the late MJ.

DS Personal Yoga training

I must confess I do like to shop and buy on impulse. Though I research like crazy. However I was thinking to myself yesterday I need to relax in the evening when the boys are sleeping. So I thought why not get a Yoga game for my DS.

The prices I saw for this ranged from £20 to £11. So off I go today to have a look after work. I ended up in HMV expecting to pay the least amount and surprisingly bought the last copy in the shop for £8. They had quite a few games going cheap, but I had to restrain myself as I am going on holiday in just over a week.

Personal Yoga training promise to teach you the skills in 15 minutes per day. You learn and progress at your own pace. There are over 180 poses to chose from. Yoga is meant to be could for relaxation. I will master this. I put on a stone though no one seems to have noticed. So my weight loss goals have just gotten harder. Lets hope my DS can help me out plus all the other stuff that I have at my disposal

Wimbledon is back 2009

I am so happy to be able to come home and watch a sport on TV that I actually enjoy. I ought to watch more tennis year round but Wimbledon is the business. You get the best players in the world come to battle it out on that beautiful lawn. The William’s sisters are still going strong.

Earlier this year Serena opened a school in Kenya. Which seems to be the celebrity in thing. Though you can never look down on education. Serena has made it through to the 2nd round at the all England club. Cannot wait to see her play more. Of course I want to see Venus play as well.

As for the British number 1 Andy Murray if he won this tournament the press say he will be Scottish not British not English. Which may be why he does not get the crowds going the way Tim Henman did. The British public may warm to him as they see more wins come his way. You just cannot be British one day and diss the rest of the union the next.

Anyway not really a fan of Murray. Though finally this morning I learn that Anne Keothavong is the British number 1 female tennis player. She is now ranked amongst the top 50 players in the world. So besides the Williams’ sisters and Federer I will be keeping my eye out on her. Its a pity Rafael Nadal is injured. Last years men’s final was amazing to watch.

I wonder who will life the trophies this year? Who do you think will win

NYC Polishes

I bought some nail polishes the other day. If you remember back in April this year I spoke of caring for my nails. Which I feel there is no better way to do so than by glamming them up with some polish. I have yet to try doing acrylic nails myself but for now doing my own French manicures and polishing should be enough.

I bought 3 NYC nail polishes. The one I am wearing in the picture is colour number 206B East Village. Its a a very bright turquoise. I also bought colours 118A Big money frost and 116A  Big burgundy frost.  My cuticles do need some care and my polish application is not perfect but all in good time.

Digital Britain – more cost to you

I always end my day with the news headlines and maybe if I can stretch to “the Newspaper headlines”, thanks to the Sky news channel. Anyway in media the big hoo ha at the moment is bringing everyone into broadband. Like the BBC there is a tax proposal, whereby everyone in the UK who has a fixed telephone line would be charged about 50-60 pence per month. Thus raising the revenue to enable those out in the sticks to have access to super fast broadband.

I think this is absolutely ridiculous. Phone bills are costly enough without having extra taxes added onto them. The phone companies will simply pass this charge onto the customer. When surely if the telecommunication industry want to reach more rural customers they need to use some of their revenue and invest in laying whatever pipes would be needed. Taxes are too high in Britain already and why take more away from us. Before you know it you will be paying the same amount per year as the BBC receives. At least half of the BBC should get his money elsewhere. Plus they have all those foreign branches of no benefit to us in the UK. Kiss Teet !!!!!!

Twenty20 Cricket world cup

I love this game. Especially when its a 20/20 game. It just gets so exciting. The match today between England and the West Indies was intense. To think after having such a beautiful sunshine in the UK,  thunderstorms dampened the event. So instead of the Windies chasing 160 runs the Duckworth Lewis ruling was applied due to the rain delay. This just means the over's and target are reduced in relation to the delay.

Some of the West Indies team look so gorgeous too. Anyway I look forward to seeing the semi finals. Could this be that the West Indies are finally finding themselves again.

Sleek Lip Glosses

I really would love to get back into Lipsticks. I have loads around the house. I am sure some need throwing out. I have given some away too. Though I am think nothing beats a brown lip liner with a clear lip gloss or any shade that suits you.

I already owned two high shine lip glosses by Sleek The colours I have are Honeycomb and Champagne, though I am sure I bought Kinky. I follow Sleek Make up on Twitter and found out about their Wonder last duo lip gloss. It comes in two parts. The colour which dries to a matt finish and then a clear gloss to add sheen and moisture.

I do like these but you have to remember to top up the gloss as and when, or else your lips feel chalky. Unfortunately I can not tell you what the colours are as the two I have do not have colours written on them. I love both of these colours and pinks and browns are 2 glosses shades I will always buy.

So regardless of brand if you know a good brown or pink lip gloss that would suit brown skin let me know.

JLS – Beat again

I am very happy for the members of JLS that being runners up was not a bad thing for them. Alexandra won X-Factor and has yet to bring out any new material. So being told of this song I thought okay let me YouTube it and have a listen.

Indeed the song is catchy but its so pop-tastic that I just cannot work out if I like it or not. It may grown on me as I listen to it more often. Though I am hoping and praying there is a credible R&B version doing the rounds. I may just ask my DJ brother if there is any.

JLS on x-factor were a vocal harmony group whose voices floated and blended nicely along to the rhythm. Now it seems they are being pushed into a more safe pop group. JLS won votes and admiration by not being a pop group. One of my friends said it come like the “the black Westlife” or even more pop than “Blue”. Will need to hear more songs before I decide.

The 1st group in x factor to reach so far. If there whole album sounds like this I will give it a pass but…if there is that essence that got my attention is present than I will support them. Undoubtedly they have a huge fan base and I believe they will do well regardless.

What do you think of their debut single?

Glamour magazine and Bad Gal lashes

Not sure if mentioned before but I am a regular subscriber to Glamour Magazine. I used to buy the magazine as it was small and I generally liked it. i must admit I only began subscribing because of the freebies. One of the items I got at the time was a plumping lip gloss which I hated. It made my lips feel odd and then I realised that myself and the majority of black women do not need plumper's and fillers for their pout.

Anyway as a subscriber you do not always get the freebie on offer each month. Though thankfully they have been giving out the monthly gift item to subscribers. This months magazine which I believe is the July issue comes with a full size Bad Gal Lashes mascara by Benefit.

I love the brush as the thinner spiky brushes do not look convincing enough to me. Though I will still try them out. Bad Gal feels light and not clumpy. I will be wearing this mascara all of next week to get a feel for it. Plus I think it would be perfect for my holiday. Plus its free!

I so would love to subscribe to other magazines but there must be a saving. Americans get a better deal when it comes to subscribing to magazines. Also the cost of international subscriptions to American magazines is just not worth it.

Oh my days Big Brother 10

It is that time of the year again for Big Brother UK. I am watching it thinking okay so I know what the line up will be. A handful of gay and bisexual people, the token or handful ethnic minorities and the totally odd insane people. Indeed that is what you get this year. This social experiment shall be interesting.

Anyway I am watching this show when a young black girl appears on the screen. Her voice sounds familiar and her face too. Just a bit more grown up. Then she mentions that she suffers from Lupus. I was like no way, please do not tell me her last name is Brown. Then I heard Sophia Brown. I was like oh my days. I had to log into Facebook to check if friends from my school and family updated their status’s. Yep it has been confirmed that is Sophia.

I am in a little shock as you do not expect to see people you know on telly like that. She was quieter back in the day. She still had a interesting laugh. Just know that I know her and her sister is sadly missed. Now I know I will be watching this season with interest.

PS – I must say she is looking fierce. Beauty and Brains.

BB 10 CH4 Sophia Brown profile

Sophia Brown

Is aid killing Africa – Is it dead aid

A friend posted a link on facebook of an interview with Dambisa Moyo. She argues that aid does not help Africa grow. In 1970 she says only 10% of Africans lived in poverty, now the percentage is 70 – 80 %. She further argues Africa should begin a 5yr plan to reduce aid and increase its own capital. Such as set up a sustainable infrastructure in which Africa looks after Africa.

Moyo points out that in some countries capitalism is pushed. Whilst in others the answer is always more aid and that many intellectuals know that this is not helping the situation. She has a book called Dead Aid, which I may have to read one day.

For more info on her check out these links :

Dambisa Moyo website

Dambisa Moyo YouTube channel