Get a room....or just away from me!

Confessions of a Hopeless Romantic: one of my ultimate pet peeves are public displays of affection. It's very strange as I do love romance, I believe in happy endings and I'm still waiting for Brad and Jennifer to lock eyes on the red carpet, come to their senses and passionately make out like there's no tomorrow. But in my every day life, walking down the street, on the underground, at a restaurant or at a club, I do not want to see OR HEAR a tounge wrestling match ok! "Turn away" I hear you say, "don't look then", but that doesn't get rid of that revolting, smacking, saliva-slurping sound I can hear behind me. The very thought of it right now is turning my face sour. And before you ask, no I am not miserable (well not all the time) and neither do I live alone in a one bedroom flat with only my black and white cat for company.

Recently, Simon Cowell was on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno and he actually kissed his fiancee, proving that he is a softie after all. Contrary to my usual reaction, I didn't go 'eeeww', it was more of an 'ah'. And that's because it was just a sweet little peck. So no, put your daggers away, I'm not completely closed off to men showing emotion and affection - hell yeah they should! To me it's very important in a relationship and doing it in public shows that you are proud of your partner and you don't care what others think because she or he is all that matters. But when you do a Tom Cruise, then come on, really?! Now you're just showing off.


So to all you 'show offs, can't keep my hands off my lover, don't have a room to relieve this tension in, hey look at me i'm not single any more, hey look at you - aren't you sad that you are single' people....get out of my face.....please. Thanks.

Get a room....or just away from me!

2010: Officially the Year of The Jump-Off

I'm slightly disturbed that nowadays, being the leading lady in a man's life is no longer the spot that chicks aim for. Gone are the times when it was all about getting to that wifey position, being the Queen B and getting all the perks that come along with holding the top status. But why toil night and day trying to get that ring on your finger when you can get all the benefits a wifey does, plus a magazine deal, a new car for your birthday, your love-children taken care of and maybe even a cash settlement or two?!

I remember the days when being a jump-off, the side-piece, the groupie or simply put 'the other woman' wasn't exactly something to be proud of. You would try and keep that info on the downlow. Well not in 2010! How many females stake a claim to being L'il Wayne's babymother???? And they will all happily cheese together in a picture like they just had a sleepover and compared notes! Sorry, but any mention of 'multiple women' can't go by without Tiger getting a name drop. His mistresses felt no way to capitalize off of his 'indiscretions' (love that word!) and make their faces and antics known to the whole world. Kim Porter, Sarah Chapman, and Misa Hylton go at it to determine which of their children by Diddy is going to get the most expensive blinged-out birthday cake (eye roll) - when will this nonsense end, get a grip ladies! I remember Snoop Dogg's wife Shante in a documentary about Hip Hop Wives on E! taunting Snoop's groupies by singing "He's mine, you might have had him once but I got him all the time". Looks like these ladies are singing right back "He's yours but let's keep it real, your joint account is paying all of my bills!"

Does this trend translate to outside of the entertainment world? Are girls nowadays settling for side piece titles, friends with benefits, is it worth the hassle to strive for wifey status anymore?

2010: Officially the Year of The Jump-Off

Er...and Who Are You?

The award season is among us and I have been doing what I love best - watching the red carpet for those fabulous designer gowns. Actress Diane Kruger is a fashion LOVE - she always kills it and Ellie Saab joins the list of my fave designers. Apart from watching the fashion, it's a great time for people watching too - the 'a-ha, he's got different arm candy this year', the 'is she pregnant?', and the 'what the hell happened to her face?!' Just love it, it's the old nosey woman in me!

However, something has disturbed me this year, it's the 'Er....and who are you?'. Awards like the Globes, Oscars, Grammys are supposed to highlight the creme de la creme of music artists and actors in the entertainment biz. So why on earth did I see THOSE kids from Jersey Shore on the Grammy Red Carpet yesterday. For those who don't watch Jersey Shore, click here for a cringe-inducing clip.

Just goes to show the society we live in when anyone can become a 'celebrity' no matter how they get their 15 minutes. Rachel Uchitel, one of Tiger's many conquests was paid to host an event under the title of 'Celebrity Socialite'. For the UK readers, I bet you John Terry's mistress is gonna get herself a presenting gig on This Morning any day now. I think the A-Z list celebrity rating scale needs some more categories because that celeb title is getting treated like a whore - passed round to every Tom, Dick, Harry...Nicola T, Chico, Deelishes, Jedward -who's on your list?

Hey Oscars, I'm a blogger, more than 20 people know my name, my invite's in the post right?!

Er...and Who Are You?

Having Fun vs Sin...Round One...FIGHT!

Yesterday (Friday 22), Steven Baldwin and sweetheart Sisqo were evicted from the Celebrity Big Brother House - now is the time to stop watching, the house is going to be dead! Watching Stephen's exit interview with Davina, I was slightly annoyed. Yes, Stephen was preachy in the house but kudos to him for representing and standing up for his faith. But I got the impression that Davina was trying to trip him up with comments implying that Stephen was going against what he preached by partaking in 'naughty' activities like smoking a cigarette and playing along with the pranks going on in the house. Hello!! Being a believer in God and the words in the Bible does not mean that you are exempt from all social and fun activities. All things in moderation and treat your body as a temple so perhaps smoking was not a good idea but Stephen already stated that he was not a smoker, hence using the quote about 'moderation' when explaining himself to Vinnie. Also, from my own understanding, God wants his followers to have fun, enjoy His creations and laugh and smile as long as it does not compromise their faith. Should Stephen just have sat in the corner reading the Bible refusing to laugh at jokes and take part in the social activities? It annoys me that Christians are often portrayed as aliens who cannot do anything fun and if they do, they are classified as hypocrites...nonsense in my opinion. What's yours?

Having Fun vs Sin...Round One...FIGHT!

Forever Young....I wanna be forever young...

Skins, Misfits, The Inbetweeners, Gossip Girl, 90210 and now Glee....you see a pattern here. These programmes either feature or are aimed at the teen demographic. It's really tricky to get teens interested in television full stop, with numerous distractions ranging from 'LOL' and 'SMH' texting to MySpacing and Facebooking their lives away. However, these programmes have managed to capture as well as maintain the interest of the young, cool crowd and along the way have picked up a few...well a load of...how can I say it - mature followers, myself included. With my age almost at that halfway point between the young and naive twenties and the 'yes-Mum,-I-know-my-biological-clock-is-ticking-30s, I find myself tuning to the antics of drunk-fuelled, sex-crazed, bitchy-drama-loving and ever so entertaining adolescents that grace our screens on a weekly basis.

So how have these shows attracted so many viewers who are old enough to remember when leg warmers were the ish the first time around? I guess you could put it down to nostalgia - they reminds us of a time when we didn't have bills to pay or have to put up with being under the armpit of a sweaty man on the Monday morning journey to work. OR perhaps it's because our society places so much emphasis on youth nowadays so we ended up living, or re-living our best years vicariously through E4. Look at me, 24 and I already think that i'm past it! Well not really, but it seems like that's the message the media and society pushes out on a regular basis. So if you can't beat em, join em. I'll definitely be tuning in to see what my adult life is missing.

Forever Young....I wanna be forever young...

Embarrassed by the beat of our own drum...

This is now old news but I was shocked to hear that the Cadbury advert (with the Zingolo song I can't seem to get out of my head) received complaints for being racist! Cadbury were cleared of any wrong-doing and rightly so in my opinion. When I first saw the advert, I couldn't stop smiling because Ghana is my home country and it was great to see a positive depiction of Africa for once aside from those "For £2 A Month" adverts.

So when I heard that people were actually offended due to the use of "racial stereotypes", I had serious 'rolling of the eyes' action going on. "Racial sterotypes"?!?!? Was the nose on the mask too big? Were the people in the village dancing too wildly? Were the people in the village too black? That was a traditional African street party if I ever saw one so it leads me to think that these cries of racism are in fact outcries of embarrassment. This is OUR culture. Deal with it! Are you embarrassed because now Paul from the office is finally going to realise you are an African and that posh, restrained, "I was born in England" cover you had for the last 5 years is blown? To be accepted in this country, people adapt, different faces and demeanors for different situations, I fully understand that. But when faced with our history, culture, tradition, ethnicity - it's no longer time to hide behind that British passport. I think we should accept it, embrace it and thank Cadbury's for showing the colourful, vibrant side of Africa that I know and love.

Embarrassed by the beat of our own drum...

Black British, Black African or Mixed? Tick your box...

As part of Channel 4's Race and Science season, 'Is It Better To Be Mixed Race?' went on a 'scientific' journey to find out whether coming from a mixed gene pool is actually better that being born from parents who are from the same genetic pool, i.e. same country. It went on to conclude that it is better to a certain degree as it means that the individual is not as susceptible to certain diseases that are prone in certain races e.g. diabetes in Black and Asian communities. They also noted that lifestyle also plays a major role.

With the mixed race population in the UK growing at an incredible rate, is there the risk that the hubbub of cultures that are present today will simply disappear? Arguments against mixed race relationships include that there is a dilution of culture and tradition where unique country-specific traits are lost as each new mixed race generation steps forward. This argument even extends to relationships between individuals within the same race but differences lie in the country they come from and the religion they practice e.g. Nigeria and Jamaica or Hinduism and Islam....come on, some time or another, I suppose a few us have had our parents look us sternly in the eye and say "You can marry whoever you like....as long as they are from (fill in the blank with appropriate country...your own!)."

In some ways I can understand, especially with parents who are not from the U.K and have strong ties to their country, village and even church back home. Living in the UK and having children who are from a place entirely different to them, I can understand their fear that if their children fully adapt to the British way of life and then have children who do not have strong cultural influences in their lives, the culture and everything they believe in will die.

Personally, I am all for the mix and blend. Just because you date outside of your culture and country, it doesn't necessarily mean that you lose this element that is often so embedded in your personality and way you behave. I have had plenty of Aunties who have suddenly turned up to an African party with an 'Uncle Barry' on their arm, complete with cockney accent and all. She didn't lose her culture, in fact they just embraced each others. If you love your culture then you should have no trouble keeping it alive.

What are your thoughts? Is it a big deal to marry inside of your country of origin and culture? Even though being mixed may be best for our health, is it best for our identity?

Black British, Black African or Mixed? Tick your box...