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Parisian Phat Wedding

Indian steel tycoon Lakshmi Mittal paid $60 million for his 23 year-old daughter Vanisha's recent 1500 guest, 6-day Paris, France wedding event which reportedly included renting the entire "Jardon du Tuileries". I'll remember to bring this up one of these days when I'm asking my father to foot the bill. Any amount seems reasonable compared to this. I think of so many more productive things to do with $60 million.

The Rich Man's Woodstock
A recent John Kerry fundraiser brought all of liberal Hollywood out of the the woodworks. Attendees included Barbara Streisand, Jamie Foxx, Angie Stone and comedian/actor Billy Crystal who remarked, "It's just like Woodstock, only for rich people." My sentiments exactly.

High Schooler Dwight Howard #1 Draft pick
Howard, a high school senior in Atlanta was the number one pick to the Orlando Magic (they could use it). He is by the way, a born-again Christian and a virgin; not necessarily something that should be celebrated since it's a basic expectation. However, considering the times and seasons, that's quite a feat. I should know. But to the pros straight out of high school? I'm not so sure. Somebody better warn him about the floozy-hoes now. Let's pray he sets a better precedent than that of adulterer Kobe Bryant and follows the path of AC Green. Except, I wouldn't pray 39-year virginity on anyone. God bless Dwight with a wife...soon.

In other news, my company's stock hit $44.25 today. That surely puts a smile on my face as I intend on selling...quickly. I'm off for the weekend. I am feeling the insatiable urge to go swimming. Enjoy the sun/son.

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Food stamps are being replaced with "Electronic Beneftis Transfer" or "EBT" for short. Apparently, the Federal Government is shifting the paper stamps to a plastic, bank type debit card. I never thought I'd see the day.

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In 1994, a dreadful event descended on the face of this world. A young, teenage American boy staying in Singapore had his backside flogged. The masses were insensed. Mothers were outraged. Michael Fay's alleged crimes in Singapore warranted what America felt was an inhumane punishment. Debates were rampant. Yet, people around my neck of the woods never quite understood the debate.

We've all been in a busy supermarket. We've all heard little Johnny crying bloody murder. We've all heard little Johnny's mom try unsuccessfully to use psychology to quiet him. We've all seen it fail to work. We've all wanted to smack Johnny; or at least wished his mother would. Or maybe you're one of those people who have amazing self-control and compassion and have never wanted to inflict bodily harm on a small child. I am not one of those people. My name is Ambra, and my parents beat my butt. The preferable term here is "spanking", but within a cultural context, there are many who know the word "beat" is merely an idiom and not literal. I come from a long line of corporal punishers. The fact that I say this with so much pride is a bit disturbing. I am still proud to say I am a product of spanking.

Continue reading "Spanking: The Best Way to Save Tax Dollars">>>

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It just doesn't end. Please excuse my sarcasm...

These are the people who make me ashamed to be from the Pacific Northwest. Once again, citizens with nothing better to do are intent on making a national spectacle of themselves. Off the coast of Vancouver, British Columbia, a whale rescue is underway. The killer whale's name is Luna and apparently he's lost. First of all, whoever thought "Luna" was a masculine name needs to be fired. A group of people are attempting to "re-unite him with his pod". The action gets better. Native Indians of the Mowachat-Muchalaat have attempted to thwart the plans of Luna's captors. They believe Luna is the spiritual embodiment of a former chief who died just days before the whale showed up. THREE YEARS AGO. I respect this culture greatly, but no one ever said they were perfect. While scientists were trying to capture Luna, the natives canoed into the area and sang songs and called to him. Yeah okay. Songs. This is madness. Let's stop worshipping the animals people.

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As Father's Day draws near, I am reminded of the fact that we make much less of a fuss around our fathers than we do our mothers. People joke about it all the time, making unsubstantiated claims like "Greeting card sales are higher on Mother's Day and lower on Fathers Day". I don't really have a hard time believing this is true because I too have been guilty of being entirely too cavalier about the third Sunday of the month. All too often I'm the one there at the mall the Saturday before Father's Day, at 7:00 pm with every other deadbeat child, scouring stores for the "perfect gift". Which usually ends up being not-so-perfect nor well thought-out. Meanwhile, I've gone to great lengths to make my mother feel special on her big day. Once while living in Connecticut, I even surprised her by flying in on Mother's day. I can say without a doubt, that fathers don't get their due.

I'd be fooling myself if I left out a major part of the equation being the fact that many people don't have their fathers in their life. When I go through my mental rolodex of some of my closest friends and colleagues, the majority of them either have a poor relationship with their father, or no relationship at all. Speaking in terms of the black community, statistically, the majority of young children will grow up without their father in the home. That's just the plain, sad truth. Last month there was a lot of discussion around an ad campaign run by the National Fatherhood Initiative, an organization working to:

"improve the well-being of children by increasing the proportion of children growing up with involved, responsible, and committed fathers.

I can't knock that. There is a need for more groups focused on this very issue. The ads that stirred the trouble began appearing on the sides of busses in Los Angeles County. A few of the ads read,

"Easter Bunny. Tooth Fairy. Daddy. Eventually kids stop believing in things they don't see."

"Each Night millions of Kids Go To Sleep Starving. For Attention from Their Dads."

"Dear Daddy, My Mommy Can't Be My Daddy Too."

Besides being grammatically incorrect, there's a lot more wrong with these ads. These particular phrases could be applied to anyone, but these ads featured pictures of young black children and clearly targeted black fathers. Glenn Sacks wrote in opposition to the ads and fellow blogger Baldilocks dropped some science regarding the lack of responsibility placed on the women who procreate with these absentee fathers. This issue is much more complex than child-support collectors would like to think.

Continue reading "Restoring Fatherhood">>>

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If you're from my generation, you know that the departure of former Bad Boy rapper Mase from the music scene delivered a huge blow to the Puff Daddy empire. Mase cited "religious reasons" for leaving hip-hop altogether. Mase left music to go into ministry. For awhile he was a very prominent pastor down in the Atlanta area. How many times do we see this scenario? Every famous person who becomes a Christian somehow feels like they need to be become a preacher. Well, after three long years, Mase is back with an album titled Welcome Back due out this August. In a recent interview with the always credible MTV, Mase talks about the real reason why he left music. He said his style has not changed, but he will not be rhyming about sex and women, and his video girls won't be scantily clad. These are all things of his former days. mase recalls,

"We[we're] gonna teach the ladies they can still respect themselves and still be beautiful. That's what's up."

Mase was in town in Seattle a few weeks back to speak at a local church. Needless to say, it faltered for unclear reasons. This should be interesting to watch. All I have to say is, he better mind the company he keeps...

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I don't presume to know much of anything about raising children, as I myself have never been a mother. I do however, consider myself to have reasonable amount of common sense and good judgment. That said, there are certain things I just don't understand.

Yesterday, I read an article about a Los Angeles woman, who after losing her 18-year-old son to a drug overdose on painkillers purchased via the internet, became a crusader for stricter law enforcement around drug/internet relations. She's claiming that if it hadn't been so easy for her son to buy vicotin on the internet, he wouldn't have overdosed.

Okay, yes, I realize this is a very sad and unfortunate situation, but let's not play the fool. Do you really expect anyone to think that this is the first time your son had experimented with drugs? News stories like this just remind me that we have work to do. This is the type of blame shifting that irks every bone in my body.

When something as tragic as this occurs, the first thing people jump to do is blame the government. Granted yes, the FDA could do a better job at a lot of things. But let's face it, they're wicked. So I wouldn't even bet my lunch money that anything fruitful will come out of her efforts. Plus, this is the world wide web we're talking about here. How on Earth do you intend to legislate what people are doing in Auckland, New Zealand and beyond? It is a pipe dream.

Somewhere in this equation, a parent lost perspective of their child. And yes, teenagers have their own mind, will and emotions. I know I had mine. The trouble is, we have a problem in this country. We don't like the words, "personal responsibility". In addition, the whole goal and aim of parenting seems to be distorted. If parenting is really about shaping, guiding and molding an infant into an adult, I'd say we are in great danger of having some terribly messed up adults walking around the Earth over the next twenty-five years.

Continue reading "Oh Parent Where Art Thou?">>>

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Who knew there were so many? A few weeks back, I started my running list called Tools of the 21st Century, of what I feel are the most trite and self-serving non-profit organizations on the planet. As promised, the list continues, and not without thanks to one reader who noted another org deserving to be on my list. I guarantee there will be a part three:

The American Civil Liberties Union
Just where do we begin? Founded in 1920, the ACLU calls themselves the "nation's guardian of liberty", keeping America "safe and free". This is by the way, a position no one ever asked them to take, more a self-appointed duty. They have perfected the art of manipulating the Constitution and the Bill of Rights. In the name of "civil liberties" they are strategically breaking down whatever traditional values may be left. Speaking of "left", the ACLU professes to be non-partisan in all their dealings. Yeah, and so is Michael Moore. I'd like to see the books on that claim. Seems to me, they've endorsed just about every Democratic candidate possible. If there is an organization with the potential for more foolishness than the NAACP, it'd be the ACLU. Their slew of lawyers handle an average of 6,000 cases every year, going to bat against all things moral and righteous. This organization has probably single-handedly done more to promote moral decay in America by blurring the distinction between "rights" and "responsibilities" and replacing truth with their atheist and humanist agenda. From the Jesse Jackson school of politics, they use intimidation to win their court cases by playing on the flaky conscience of Americans who buy-in to the "protecting liberties" propaganda because they themselves have no moral grounding or throughline. This organization is a wolf in sheep's clothing, a lie masquerading in truth's clothing, and as my mother would say, "a hot mess". It's time to expose the foolishness.

North American Man/Boy Lovers Association
Make no qualms about it. NAMBLA is just plain wicked. You don't have to pray about it, research it, or even be half-way intelligent to come to this realization. This is an organization who essentially defines pedophilia as a natural and misunderstood part of life. They must be Freudians at heart. Word to the wise, when NAMBLA endorses a political candidate, for the love of Lord crying out in the night, do not vote for that candidate! Red flag people; off-sides, error, technical foul. NAMBLA's goal is to "end the extreme oppression of men and boys in mutually consensual relationships by educating the general public on the benevolent nature of man/boy love." "Oppressive" doesn't even begin to describe this hedonistic philosophy. I don't usually talk about candidates for hell, but if there ever were some people most likely to "burn", NAMBLA members would surely be on that list. This organization is spewing sickening madness and it wouldn't be such a concern if it didn't involve the well-being of innocent children. Anyone who even considers the agenda this organization is pushing needs psychological help. Let it also be known that the ACLU has gone to bat on more than one occasion for the rights of this organization. Need I say more?

Continue reading "Tools of the 21st Century Part Deux">>>

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Every now and then, it strikes me how warped our perception of race and ethnicity is in this country. Here we call people of color "minorities" when in actuality the application of that term ceases to be true in the United States. From a larger perspective however, I often wonder how it is that others call me a "minority" when the majority of the rest of the world has melanin closer to my shade. Granted, it's often hard to see past our own borders. We're all guilty of tunnel vision on some level. I've had the awesome privilege of traveling quite extensively out of the country and it has certainly changed my perspective greatly.

All of my siblings and I have been to Africa at some point in our lives. As a "rite-of-passage" on our thirteenth birthdays, my parents took us on a trip to an African country. I chose Ghana. I'd always grown up with many friends who had Bar or Bat Mitzvahs, so I understood the importance of the "rite-of-passage concept". In fact, I think this is something we lack greatly in the body of Christ. My parents wanted to expose us to the reality that there were many people around the world who looked just like us, and were important contributing members of society. Traveling was also an opportunity to expose us to the "God of the nations". My biggest admonision for international travel is to see the expansiveness and diversity of God's people. To recognize that God wasn't "American" radically changed my life. In fact, it was on a trip to Zimbabwe when I was sixteen that I had my life powerfully transformed by the Holy Spirit. Although our society would put a label on me, one of the biggest and best gifts my parents ever gave me was to show me that I was no minority.

Continue reading "Breaking the Minority Mentality">>>

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