ALICIA KEYS: AS I AM

Alicia Keys. She's the best. An explosive singer, songwriter, producer, actress & humanitarian. I decided to highlight her as my Person of the Day/ Song of the day, but I'm actually gonna do her new album. Yea she's that good. Can't just highlight one song cuz her whole album is hot.
Actor got me the album last week & I haven't stopped listening to it since. She's so refreshing compared to all the garbage out there. Blah. Y'all know exactly the bunch I'm talking bout too. There's alot of 'em. Name somebody. More than likely they fall into that category. Except for the exceptional ones of course, but they're a given.... Well let me get back to my point before this blog becomes a list of whack artists...

Anyhoo, I've literally listened to that album from beginning to end at least 30 times. Dead ass. It's great. Some of my favorite songs are:

*Superwoman*
- An inspiring, uplifting girl power song.

For all the mothers fighting
For better days to come
And all my women, all my women sitting here trying
To come home before the sun
And all my sisters
Coming together
Say yes I will
Yes I can

Cause I am a Superwoman
Yes I am (Yes she is)
Even when I'm a mess
I still put on a vest
With an S on my chest
Oh yes
I'm a Superwoman




*Like You'll Never See Me Again*
I'm sure you've heard this on the radio as this is her new single. It's so hot! The melody, words, runs, harmonies, everything...I love half notes (flats or sharps for those who aren't music literate) Very different from normal & simple songs. Love it!

If I had no more time
No more time left to be here
Would you cherish what we had?
Was it everything that you were looking for?
If I couldn’t feel your touch
And no longer were you with me
I’d be wishing you were here
To be everything that I’d be looking for
I don’t wanna forget the present is a gift
And I don’t wanna take for granted the time you may have here with me
Cause Lord only knows another day is not really guaranteed

So every time you hold me
Hold me like this is the last time
Every time you kiss me
Kiss me like you’ll never see me again
Every time you touch me
Touch me like this is the last time
Promise that you’ll love me
Love me like you’ll never see me again

*Lesson Learned*
This song features John Mayer on the hook & guitar. He's great too. It's a beautiful heartbreak/uplifting song.

He broke my heart
and now it's raining
Just don't rub it in
I'm at your door
I feel so crazy bout' it
You say I told you so
You saw it long ago
You knew he had to go
I finally came around
I'm back on solid ground
Can't let it get me down

(2x)
It's alright
it's alright
It's alright
It's alright

Yes I was burned but I called it a lesson learned.
Mistake overturned so I called it a lesson learned.
My soul has returned so I call it a lesson learned.
Another lesson Learned


*Teenage Love Affair*
A nice bubbly reminiscent song. Makes you wish you were back in high school again.

Can't wait to get home
Baby dial your number
Can you pick up the phone
Cause I wanna holla
Daydreamin about you all day in school cant concentrate
Wanna have your voice in my ear til mama come and say its too late

Cause the lights are on outside
Wish there was somewhere to hide
Cause I just don't want to say goodbye
Cause you are my baby baby
Nothing really matters
I don't really care what nobody tell me
I'm gonna be here
Its a matter of extreme importance
my first teenage love affair

*Where Do We Go From Here*
This is a sample but she does it so well. I love it! It's funky, soulful & smooth.

We're at the crossroads, my dear
Where do we go from here?
Maybe you won't go, maybe you'll stay
Oh I know I'm gonna miss you either way
It's such a lonely road

Where do we go from here?(We go)
All I can do is - follow the tracks of my tears
Oh

When I cry your name
Am I calling in vain?
Oh and am I waiting only to drown in pain
Oh, Don't you do it
No, said don't you leave me this way

I don't know
If I can lift my head and face another day
Ooh it's such a lonely road

Where do we go from here?(We go)
All I can do is - follow the tracks of my tears
Oh

*Tell You Something*
This is a don't take life & your loved ones for granted song.

Get so caught up everyday
tryin to keep it all together
while the time just slips away
see i know nothing lasts forever

Imagine there was no tomorrow
imagine that i couldn't see your face
there'd be no limit to my sorrow
so all i can say

i wanna tell you something
give you something
show you in so many ways
cuz it would all mean nothing
if i don't say something
before it all goes away
don't wanna wait to bring you flowers
waste another hour
let alone another day
i'm gonna tell you something
show you something
won't wait til it's too late

i can't wait, i can't wait, i won't wait, i don't wanna wait
i can't wait, i can't wait, i won't wait, i don't wanna wait
i won't wait til it's too late


Go get her album! It's definitely a good $15 (or how much ever you spend on cds) spent.

Love,
Akanke

HAPPY CHRISTMAS! *what?!* *oh* I MEAN, THANKSGIVING!

Ok I know it's cliche to write what you're thankful for for Thanksgiving, but that's what you're supposed to do. Duhhh. And besides I have lots to be thankful for & I'd like to put that out into the universe :-D

~ Life. I smile because I get to wake up everyday & I know that some people didn't. So, very thankful for that because I get to get closer to my dreams & goals everyday because I'm pushing forward. It's not over till it's over!

~ Family. I love my parents. We have the weirdest relationship & are still working on bettering it but for the most part all parties know that we love each other.

~ Friends. Even though I don't talk to everyone all the time (cuz I hate talking on the phone) they all know (or better know) that I love them dearly. All of my friends are my second family. With your crazy asses. Love you guys!

~ Actor. He is the world to me. Besides being sexy, smart & caring he makes me laugh. I think that's my favorite thing about him. There is never a dull moment around him & I cherish it. I'm laughing right now thinking about him. For more reasons why check out HE IS

~ Food. Not just today. But every day. I heart food. That is all.

~ Music. Music makes me feel so many things & I love it. Music transcends all ages, races & any differences that you might have.

~ Movies. I mean, how can you not love a good movie? I live for movies. I live to be in some too. No make that many. Hollywood watch out! Once I get there I'm not looking back. Better catch up!

~ Clothes. Tell me why I have clothes for years? I mean, as of right now, if I didn't have to wash clothes for a year I'd be fine. Dead ass. I'd probably have a couple of months of clothes left over after too. I love getting new clothes.

~ Work. I love working. And the fact that I love my job makes it easier for me to get up every day & drive 45 minutes to & from. I love my co-workers, the environment, my pay & best of all, I'm great at it. Yay! For more reasons why check out THINGS I LOVE ABOUT MY JOB

~ Skills. I have many & love that I'm so versatile & blessed with being great at so many things. I take great photographs (abstract & etc.) I can draw, cook, clean, sing, write songs, play pool, paint & anything that you'd throw at me. If I don't know how to do it then I'd learn, and I'd probably be great at that too, I'm a quick learner. I'm a great adapter to any environment.

~ My car. If you missed that blog I just recently bought a new (well newer) car. It's my baby! I miss my old Honda but it was due time to let it go as it was falling apart by the second. This car is newer, shinier, more stylish & it just fits me. And it's all mine. Love it!

~ My apartment. This is my 1st official apartment. Me & Actor. We've lived together before & I've had an apartment before but we had roommates. Now it's just us two. Everybody says it's not a good idea to live with your boyfriend but we found out that they were wrong. We have a blast together. We're like best friends playing in the sandbox together. Except that sandbox is the apartment & we're some big ass kids. haha.

~ This blog. When I first started my blogs were sporadic & infrequent but now I feel more comfortable with expressing my feelings & letting strangers in my tiny little world. I know that there are many of you reading & I love you guys. Even if there are no one reading I'd still write. There'll always be something here because there'll always be something there *points to my heart*

Have a blessed & wonderful Thanksgiving you guys.
Love you & talk with ya soon,
Akanke

BEOWULF

We saw "Beowulf" on Saturday at Atlantic Station. If you haven't seen it then check it out, and if you can, check it out in 3-D. We didn't but we heard that it was banging in 3-D.

The synopsis: Beowulf (Ray Winstone) is a strong, handsome, brave & endearing hero. Grendel is a demon who has extremely extremely sensitive hearing & every noise that the town makes is amplified by about 500 times, which enrages him & causes him to kill everyone who is at the party. Hrothgar (Anthony Hopkins,) King of the town, seeks a hero to kill Grendel & Beowulf shows up to do the job. After Grendel's death his mother (Angelina Jolie) seeks Beowulf for revenge & the town suffers along with him.

Handily crafted with an extraordinary cast, beautiful story line, unbelievable graphics, sounds, colors & infamous nude scenes, Beowulf stands out from ordinary movies. Like I said, I didn't see it in 3-D but even the regular movie looked like 3-D sometimes. That's the 1st movie that I've seen done like that. It's hot!

Ray Winstone has a nice body, complemented by Angelina's body who is provokingly hot as usual with nothing to cover herself but drops of gold that's slowly running down her body as she speaks. Yea, fellas you might wanna check it out just for her. haha. We had a brief discussion about whether it was her or a body double because she was extremely curvacious. I said it might be a body double cuz she's skinnier than that but Actor reminded me that she did have a baby so hey... It might be her body. Either way it was hot. No homo

I loved the movie & thought it was thoroughly entertaining & Actor enjoyed it too but being a fan of the actual story he likes it a little less. He said that they changed alot of stuff (which isn't a big surprise being that the movie is never as good as the book) & some were good but there were also bad changes.

Overall, Beowulf kicks ass. Literally. haha. Go see it! Yay!

BEOWULF

“The gods will do nothing for us that we can't do for ourselves. What we need is a hero.”

"Tonight will be different! I am the ripper, the terror, the slasher. I am the teeth in the darkness! The talons in the night! My name is strength! And lust! And power! I AM BEOWULF! "

"Are you the one they call Beowulf? Such a strong man you are. A man like you could own the greatest tale ever sung. Beowulf... Stay with me. Give me a son, and I shall make you the greatest king that ever lived. This... I swear..."

“Keep a memory of me, not as a king or as a hero, but as a man fallible and flawed.”

THE ILLUSIONIST

We rented "The Illusionist" last weekend & it was, how should I say? Impeccable. I mean, why were we sleeping on this movie?! We've been meaning to get it for soooo long but kept putting it off for other movies. But now I've got to say sorry for not watching it sooner. We've been missing out man!

In a nutshell it is about a battle of wits between Eisenheim (Edward Norton) & Uhl (Paul Giamatti.) Eisenheim is an acclaimed magician who has die-hard fans and also die-hard haters (ok I'm sure they weren't called haters back then but hey, it's my review, so :-p) The biggest hater that he has is Prince Leopold (Rufus Sewell) who's fiance is Sophie (Jessica Biel.) Leopold is a logical & thinking man & believes that there is an explanation for everything, ergo doesn't believe that Eisenheim can really do magic. Oh and the fact that Sophie & Eisenheim are childhood loves doesn't help either. So Leopold is jealous & critical of Eisenheim & sends Uhl to investigate him. That's when the battle of wits start.

Mesmerizingly filled with romance, politics, magic, elegance, cleverness & so much more, "The Illusionist" has got to be one of the better movies out there. The story is ridiculously brilliant, the shots were illuminated as if there was a spotlight in the middle, making it so beautiful & the acting was magnificent! I mean, Edward Norton? whoot whoot! He's another one of our favorite actors & Paul Giamatti is one of Actor's favorite. I don't know too much about him though, gotta do me research...

The ending was breathtaking. I mean, wow. I can still remember me looking at the tv like "Whoaaaa" (in my head cuz I was too caught off guard to actually verbalize it.) Then me & Actor looked at each other like "Did you see that?!" & just smiled. It was great!

Check it out! It's one of my favorite movies now. Oh & by the way, Edward Norton is redoing "The Hulk." Every role that he plays is incredible & I know that he's gonna make the movie way better than the last. Can't wait to see it. Yay!

Love,
Akanke


THE ILLUSIONIST

"Life and death. Space and time. Fate and chance. Theses are the forces of the universe. Tonight, ladies and gentlemen, I present to you a man who has unlocked these mysteries."




"Are you completely corrupt?"
"No, not completely, which is why I'll advise you not to accuse anyone."

"Everything you have seen here has been an illusion."

PATIENCE IS A VIRTUE

Be patient me lads, I've got lots of blogs to post. Just really really really really really really really really slammed with work right now. Work work & also getting ready for the holidays & stuff work. I promise I'll post soon! Promise promise. Got 2 new movies, a new restaurant, erractically random news & lots more goodies. Check back with me soon k.


Love you guys,
Akanke

REFLECTIONS pt. 3: AKANKE vs. the CHURCH

I haven't been to church in a long time. It's been months, maybe even a year. I've just been really busy, but that's not really what's holding me back. Me & Actor feel like church is a big business now & would rather not go. We had this really long conversation about the money aspect: tithing & pastor appreciation & etc. Yea it's in the Bible but the church bought Pastor's 1st luxury car through "appreciation" funds and there's so many God-fearing & abiding people who go to church faithfully & tithe & all that good stuff but they're still struggling. Still living check to check. Now tell me where are the benefits that they are reaping? Maybe it's because they're not totally devoted in their lifestyle or whatever the case, but it doesn't settle well with us. Oh & our church is, once again, being investigated for financial issues & "unnecessary" spending. Not to discredit the works & messages that goes on in the church because I've gained numerous great things from going, but sometimes the money aspect overwhelms the spiritual.

We haven't been to church that long but we're still living good. We're deeply connected to him spiritually & I feel like that's worth way more than going every Sunday but still living wrong. I talk & pray to him every night before I go to bed & every morning during my commute to work. I even speak to him during the day when I feel the need to. I know that he's always there for me, not just at church.

Not to discredit the Holy Book at all, because we do live by & follow most things in it; we just don't believe that everything in it is right. I mean, it IS a man made book. It didn't just fall down from the sky one day with a note that said "Here you go, I wrote it myself. Love, God." No. It was written by man a long time ago, and since then how many times has it been revised & rewritten & retranslated & republished? Yea, you can't tell me that somewhere along the way someone didn't add or take away something for their own gain or based on their personal beliefs.

If you truly live by the rules of the Bible then everybody is a sinner. Even the most righteous person curse, lie or do something wrong every single day. And some of the 10 commandments are very iffy. For instance "Honor thy father & mother." What if your parents are mobsters or if they've sexually abused you? But you're supposed to forgive right? So you're supposed to act like nothing happened because you're not supposed to hold grudges & love them unconditionally. Because they're your parents right? So do you go ahead & honor a sinner, or risk being the sinner yourself for not "honoring" your mother & father?

"Thou shall not murder." What if someone breaks into your house with the intention of robbing & killing you. And in the struggle you manage to kill them & get away. You're now a sinner; even if it's self-defense you're still a sinner. And you weren't supposed to hit back because you're supposed to "turn the other cheek" remember? So either way you've sinned.

And you're telling me that if you're not Christian then you're going to hell? I highly disagree with that. Yes I believe in God & I love him. But what about my mom? She's the sweetest lady you'll ever meet who loves & does good every day. But just because she's Buddhist you're telling me that she's not gonna have a good afterlife? You're telling me that people from other cultures that aren't even exposed to Christianity are going to hell for the lack of knowledge but murderers, rapists & crooked politicians are going to Heaven because they confessed their sins & are forgiven now? No sir. I refuse to believe that that is how the world works.

All in all, I feel that no one religion is better than any others. There are atheists out there who are more righteous & influental then most devoted whomevers. People should live life & do the right thing because it is the right thing to do, not just because they're obligated to or will be punished if they don't. I don't feel that I'm better or worse than anybody in any religion. I just life my life the best way that I know how. Whether if it's wrong or right according to whatever religion, at the end of the day I am content...

A HOTPOCKET THANKSGIVING MARRIAGE

1) I love Hot Pockets; they're the best. My fav is the 4 meat 4 cheese one but I couldn't find it so I settled for the meatball & mozzarella one. (Pretty good but not as satisfying as the former.) So I'm heating it up for lunch & had a little complication: you know how the Pockets have little paper holder thingies that you can tear off as you eat? Well, you're supposed to put the Pocket in the Pocket (hehe. Pocket in the Pocket) & heat it up so you can hold & eat it without burning your hands. So I unwrap the plastic & try to insert the Pocket into the Pocket & *gasps* it doesn't fit! After about 5 seconds of squeezing & maneuvering I concluded that it wasn't gonna happen. So I did it the old-fashioned way & put that baby on a napkin & called it a day.

Talk about not being fit for the job. haha. I dunno if the meatball Pocket should get fired for being overweight or the paper Pocket for being too small. You're both meant to be a certain size. Oh well... either way it was good for yours truly cuz that meant that it was overstuffed with goodness. Yummmm


2) Selva Kumar from India just married a dog. Apparently he's been haunted by a horrendous act that he committed 15 yrs. ago. You see, when he was 18 he saw 2 dogs mating & clubbed them to death. He then proceeded to hang their carcasses from a tree. Since the incident his hands & legs have been paralyzed & he lost hearing in one ear. Being superstitious & feeling cursed, he seeks advice from an astrologer & her cure was for him to marry a dog. So he did.
"In a ceremony befitting a beautiful Indian bride, the bitch, a former 10-year-old stray named "Selvi," was bathed and dressed in a ceremonial orange sari with a garland of flowers adorning her neck. She was then brought to the temple in Tamil Nadu to be presented to Kumar by members of his family."

He promised to take care of it till it's death & they were pronounced married on Sunday. Hey it's not too late for presents, I heard they're registered at PetSmart...


3) I dunno where we're going for Thanksgiving yet. I planned on going to Actor's mom's place but she's planning on going to Savannah so, yea. Not quite on the same agenda... My parents don't celebrate any holidays except for Vietnamese New Years (which is in February by the way. Cool huh?) so needless to say there's no turkey to be eaten over there... If Actor's dad is cooking we'd probably go over there. If not then my last resort would be to cook at home (which I'm kinda dreading cuz I just wanna eat & not cook at all. lol) or we can just go to Golden Corral & eat for 3 hours. I dunno yet. We'll see. Either way I'm eating me some Honeybaked Ham. I'll buy a mini one & demolish that thing by myself if I have to :-D

MATTER OF LIFE & DEATH

I'm sure that everyone has heard by now but Kanye West's mom passed away on Saturday due to complications from cosmetic surgery. No one's sure of the details yet, as the autopsy isn't going to be done till tomorrow, but it's a horrible horrible thing. Even though I don't know him personally I'd like to send my condolences out into the universe & maybe it'll reach him wherever he's at & console him a little bit.

I can't imagine what he's going through right now. I can't even imagine that happening to me; I don't think I'd deal very well. Me & my parents have an odd relationship but I love them dearly & couldn't possibly imagine going through that anytime soon. I'll send a prayer up & hope that she's doing ok on the other side...

On another note, did you know that scientists have only discovered & classified 10% of all living life on earth? The National Science Foundation's "Tree of Life" project estimates that there are up to 100 million species on the planet but they have only identified about 2 million. 10%. Which means there are 90% of living things that haven't been seen or discovered. Kinda shocking & creepy yet cool at the same time. Hey, look left right up & down, maybe you'll discover something.

Imagine the possibilities...

THE LADY IN MY LIFE

My song of the day is "The Lady in my Life." I heard this song yearsss ago & instantly fell in love with it. It's beautifully written by Rod Temperton (correct me if I'm wrong, but I'm pretty sure that's right) & masterfully delivered by Michael Jackson in 1982. (It's on the Thriller album if you wanna find it.) Every time I hear this song it just makes me feel gooood. I mean, I was folding laundry this weekend & it came on & I was swaying & sniffing my clothes & letting the song whisk me away to a romantic place for a couple of minutes. lol. Ok I'm corny so what? I'm a ladyyyy, I can do that. Huy ya!

... A passionate & heartfelt love song. Loveeeee it! Here are ze words:


There'll Be No Darkness Tonight
Lady Our Love Will Shine
Just Put Your Trust In My Heart
And Meet Me In Paradise, Girl
You're Every Wonder In This World To Me
A Treasure Time Won't Steal Away

[Chorus]
So Listen To My Heart
Lay Your Body Close To Mine
Let Me Fill You With My Dreams
I Can Make You Feel Alright
And Baby Through The Years
Gonna Love You More Each Day
So I Promise You Tonight
That You'll Always Be The Lady In My Life

[Bridge]
Lay Back In My Tenderness
Let's Make This A Night We Won't Forget
Girl, I Need Your Sweet Caress
Reach Out To A Fantasy
Two Hearts In The Beat Of Ecstasy
Come To Me, Girl

[Chorus]
And I Will Keep You Warm
Through The Shadows Of The Night
Let Me Touch You With My Love
I Can Make You Feel So Right
And Baby Through The Years
Even When We're Old And Gray
I Will Love You More Each Day
'Cause You Will Always Be The Lady In My Life

Stay With Me
I Want You To Stay With Me...

Reason #37,384,940,272

Reason #37,384,940,272 why I love Actor: he brings me lots of gourmet candy :-D

I love candy & deserts & food & well, you get the point... But yea, he recently started working at this great store & I've probably eaten like 10 pounds of candy. That sounds really bad but it's oh so good. lol. I mean I've eaten pralines, truffles, glazed pecans, fudge & chocolate covered everything! I've had chocolate covered pretzels, Nutter Butters, marshmallows... yes white chocolate covered marshmallows, or WCCM. They're like 4 or 5 jumbo marshmallows on a stick like kabobs & covered with the greatest white chocolate ever! I remember the 1st night he gave it to me I didn't get a chance to eat it so I took it to work with me the next morning. So how about I'm sitting at me cube eating a WCCM at 8 o'clock in the morning. My co-worker (who's really health concious btw) walked past & was like "Oh my God! What are you eating?!"

*Insert voiceover here* "Need a moment? Chew things over with a... WCCM?"

I looked up & said "Huh?" like I didn't hear the question. "What are you eating dear child?!" "Ummm, a chocolate covered... banana?" despite the fact that there's sprinkles on top & that there's no way that it looks like anything else but candy. "Yea right, a chocolate covered banana! What the HELL are you doing eating a WCCM at 8 o'clock in the morning?!"

*Insert me slowly handing her WCCM as a gesture of "Cuz it's good. Try it."* all the while my face has that half smile half don't-hurt-me look. The same look that a 4 yr. old gives their mom when they're caught doing something really bad & tries to be cute to get out of it.

"Akanke! What the hell! Where does it all go? If I had that it'd go straight to my thighs" she said patting her thighs. By that time everyone in the office had heard our conversation & said "Wait, what is she eating?" "A WCCM!"

*Insert same reaction from her times 20*

She walks off, muttering to herself "A WCCM at 8 o'clock in the morning..."

But yea, that's how good that thing is. I couldn't stop eating despite the bad reactions. hehe. I didn't want to...

Another one of my favorites from his store are bear claws. They're pecans, caramel & white chocolate; a huge "Turtle" if you will, but wayyyy more succulent. I had the first one at work too & as soon as I took that bite I immediately wrapped it & put it back in the ziploc bag that I got it from. It was so good that I didn't wanna get distracted from my work. haha. No seriously... I texted him & was like "Umm, I gotta finish this bear claw later." I knew that if I took another bite I'd just fall back in my chair, feet kicked up, eyes closed, paper knocked off the desk, hair all flowing from the invisible wind. It was like a Dove chocolate commercial. Seriously man. It's THAT good.

Now I'm mad that I didn't bring any to work with me today. Boo...







But at the end of the day, nomatter how many decadent & divine goodies that I have, Actor's still my favorite chocolate.

*Insert corny smile here*

WE OWN THE NIGHT

First of all, this whole American Gangster bootleg movie thing is so aggravating! I will not watch a bootleg movie, I feel like that is so disrespectful. Being a movie buff & aspiring actress causes me to have strong views on this. Actor feels the same way. There's been times where people have given us bootleg movies & we don't care how clear it is, we will NOT watch it. We're planning on going to see it today. Go pay for the movie people! Stop being cheap!

Anyhoos, we saw "We Own the Night" last Saturday. For those who haven't seen the trailer, here's a brief synopsis: It's 1988 & Bobby Green (Joaquin Phoenix) is manager of a banging Russian club. Being wild, rebellious & distant from his family he changes his last name to hide the fact that he comes from a long & distinguished line of cops: his brother Joseph Grusinsky (Mark Wahlberg) is an up & coming NYPD officer & dad Burt (Robert Duvall) is the deputy chief. NYC's drug trade is escalating & he keeps his distance from the Russian gangster that's operating out of his club. Joseph raids Bobby's club to arrest the Russian gangster & the war starts from there.

This is an emotionally charged story filled with love, hatred, rebels, gangsters, drugs, sex, loyalty, revenge, family, and everything inbetween. Bobby has to choose between his blood & street family, his girlfriend & career, and living or dying. It was a good movie, but not as action packed as we expected. It focuses more on relationships, internal & external, than action, which isn't a bad thing. The trailer was explosive so we thought that they were gonna kick alot of ass but... not as much as we'd like. haha. And being a Mark Wahlberg fan I was biased & disappointed that he didn't get alot of screen time. The whole movie was really about Joaquin Phoenix & I don't like him as much. His character was powerful but I feel like him & Mark Wahlberg should've switch roles.

The rest of the cast are personal favs & their characters were great: Mark Wahlberg looks good in a uniform, Robert Duvall (Godfather consigliere, come on!) is a great father & respectable officer, and Eva Mendes is sexy, supportive & strikes a good balance between being a ride or die chick & keeping her & Bobby from getting killed.

The opening sequence caught us off guard but in a good way; it was wild. lol. Watch it & you'll know exactly what I'm talking about. The ending wasn't as explosive as the culmination of events had led us to expect but it was a decent completion. We felt like they showed too much "middle" & ran out of time/money for the ending & had to rush it. The rain sequence was banging though. It was one of the most intense & heartfelt scenes that we've seen in a picture. Overall I give this movie a 3 1/2 out of 5 stars. It's not Oscar worthy but I don't regret my $8.25. Go see it & judge for yourself!

WE OWN THE NIGHT

"Better to be judged by twelve than carried by six."

DRIVING IDIOTS

To add to my LIST OF ANNOYANCES are the idiotic drivers of the century. Yea I know it's usually "of the day" but there always have been idiotic drivers & always will be even when I'm gone, so... take that!!!

It's 6:20am, road is wet from overnight rain, skies still lightly drizzling, and there are idiots EVERYWHERE! I swear for part of the license exam they should have people pass a "rainy day" course. I'll even donate a sprinkler or two to recreate the rain or something...

So as an ode to the driving idiots & cuz I said I would in my previous blog REFLECTIONS ADDENDUM I'm going to list some dos & don'ts when you're on the road, especially with me. Cuz I am not afraid to blow my horn & hold it as long as needed to either wake your ass up or knock some sense into you. Either or, or whatever it is that the horn can do for you to make you a better driver :-)

* DOS & DON'TS*

1. Turn your lights on in the morning. People can't see your black on black car even if they have 21/21 vision. Or you can just get hit. Whatever you choose.

2. Stay in your lane. If you have to merge turn your blinker on. Don't merge all fast, especially without your blinkers cuz people are slow, especially in the morning. And once you turn/merge turn your damn blinkers off! That's another accident hazard. If you have it on for so long people will assume you're an idiot that's not gonna turn. And then you turn.

3. Let people over. Stop being assholes & try to speed up & make it difficult. Or if you're gonna speed up do it completely so they can get behind you.

4. Pay attention! Get off the phone, don't read/text, put on make up... etc. Keep your eyes on the road!

5. Slow down when you see pedestrians. Somehow they think they're invincible & just walk or run infront of your car.

6. If you see an accident & don't have anywhere to go, stick around & be a witness. Some people are liars & will try to blame the other person for their idioticness.

7. Don't drive in the fast lane, i.e. lane next to the HOV lane if you're gonna go under 75. I have places to be & can't get in the HOV cuz I'm riding solo. And since you're apparently not in a rush to get anywhere, get the $&%* outta my way!

8. In an addition to #2. Stay in your damn lane! Yes there's lines for a reason. If you need an alignment then get that shat! But if you're not then you better keep that wheel a little to the left or right to keep your car straight. Cuz I have insurance. Great insurance. Car & medical. So if you hit my car I wouldn't care. Do YOU have insurance?

9. Turn your music down. It's 6 in the morning! I don't care if it's a new banger, I don't wanna hear it right now. And not everyone on the road likes what you like so be respectful & keep it to yourself. I didn't say turn it down, just don't have it filling up the whole intersection is all.

10. Don't stare. Ok. This is a social rule period. I mean, what the F*$% is you looking at?! Did a diamond that I didn't know about fall in my car or something? Do I look like your ex-wife? Do we look like somebody on the wanted pix you saw at the post office or something? I'm usually calmer than Actor, cuz if he catches you staring he'll ask you what you're looking at. lol

So there they are: 10 rules to abide by when you're driving on the road with me, or if you're not sure, anybody that looks like me. There's plenty more but I don't feel like thinking about idiots anymore.

Until next time... Akanke

KEYVIN LYLE

In an addendum to my ORIGIN OF AIDS blog, did you know that it's a felony in Georgia to have sex with someone without disclosing that you have HIV? (I myself did not know that.) It's punishable by up to 10 yrs. in prison. Another reason why you should get tested cuz I don't think they'd care if you knew that you had it or not. You know the law: ignorance is not an excuse, even though some laws are not common or accessible to most citizens.

Police in Athens have arrested Keyvin Lyle, 34, and charged him with felony reckless conduct. The woman, who remains anonymous, apparently had sex with him 3 years ago & got infected. She just recently found out that she had AIDS & investigators traced back in time & established that it was him.

And guess what? He was arrested because police were responding to a domestic violence call & found out that he was wanted. He was also charged with simple battery on a police officer and obstruction of a law enforcement officer because he resisted arrest and tried to punch one of the officers. lol.

Good job buddy. It's sad because he probably didn't know that he had it; or maybe he did & was just being nasty & sleeping with everybody to infect them too. Hey I've heard that that happens alot.

Either way. Shame on him & I hope both of them get treated & not infect any more people.


~ Akanke

MARIE ANTOINETTE

I know I said that I was gonna post the library movies & that I'm extra extra late but hey I've been busy! So here goes the Marie Antoinette one.

A brief history lesson: Marie Antoinette was an archduchess of Austria whom's marriage to Louis XIV of France was arranged to make "peace" between the two countries during the Seven Years War. Antoinette & Louis' marriage, whom were only 15 & 17 yrs. old at the time respectively, was a disaster. He was a strange & standoffish husband & they didn't consummate their marriage for 7 years! (didn't have intercourse.) They became king & queen after his father passed away. She is best known for being flamboyant, free, wild & rebellious & was executed by guillotine at the height of the French Revolution in 1793 for treason.

The movie? Very indifferent for me... There were great things & things that are, well, on the other side of the spectrum. Let's start with the good shall we? The colors were perfectly rich & the costume & set designs were one of the best I've seen in a movie. I mean, the buildings, furniture, food, shoes, dresses... everything. The food, oh my god! Plate after plate, day after day the food were just so beautiful you didn't wanna eat it. Every single one of her dresses were to die for; they were the most gorgeous things you'll ever lay eyes on. And the buildings & furnitures? *shakes head* I told Actor I want our house to look like that. lol. Ok not the whole house cuz then that would be weird but at least one room, ok two. French furniture is THE best. It's exquisite! Basically everything in that movies was insanely & abnormally gorgeous!

Now let's talk about the other side of the spectrum... hehehe... I mean, the soundtrack... *shakes head* the soundtrack... It was not cool man, wasn't cool at all. At one point they had "I Want Candy" playing. Yea... I mean, I get the whole concept of "she was wild & free beyond her time" so you had a modern/rockish soundtrack to something that happened in the 1700s but some things are better left as a concept if you know what I mean. There were some parts that were so quiet & captivating & then loud ass rock music comes in and 1) scares the crap out of you cuz it's so loud for no reason 2) gets annoying after about 5 seconds & you have to move from the comfortable fort that you've made with the futon & blanket to reach for the remote & turn the volume down.

I adjusted the volume about 8 times during the movie. Not a good look. Not a good look at all.

Now usually I won't tell you anything about the movie cuz I want you to see it for yourself, but hey, I just gotta get this off my chest! Stop reading if you wanna watch it.












You're not still reading are you? Click away from the page I tell ya! Click away!















Last chance...



















Ok, whew! Now where were we? Oh yea... The night scenes. Oh my GODDDDD. The 8 million night scenes. Remember how I told you that they didn't have intercourse for 7 years after they got married? Yea... The movie showed just that. Scenes after scenes after scenes after scenes after scenes, well you get the point, after scenes... of them in their PJs saying good night & him turning the other way on his side to go to sleep. And then some more of the same scenes! Goody!

And they showed one undetailed & impersonal scene of them actually sleeping together to conceive the baby. You know the one where it fades out & they don't actually get naked or anything. Not that I'd want to see them naked anyway, they're not that attractive...

The ending... Wow, the ending was just them running away from the mobs of people that were angry at them because they were hungry. See, she had wasted all of the country's money on parties, clothes & shoes, and he had sent the rest of the money to America to support them in the war. Ergo, the people had nothing to eat. Ergo, they wanted their heads. Ergo, they ran away...

I was disappointed because it didn't show her getting beheaded. I mean, when you watch a Marie Antoinette movie you expect her to get beheaded. That's just like expecting Angelina to hook up with her costars. DUHHHHH.

Since I'm already talking about the movie & to ease it up a little because it wasn't THAT bad there were some scenes with substance: 1) Some people hung up a painting of her & her three children & the next scene is them taking it down & putting the same painting but with only 2 children up. Ergo, she lost a baby... 2) The affair she had with the Swedish Count Fersen was hot. He's way cuter than short & stuffy Louis. hehe.

Overall, I'd give this movie a 2 1/2 out of 5 stars. A 5 out of 5 for set & costume design though. If I haven't persuaded you not to cuz that wasn't my intention, you can go watch it & judge for yourself. For me, it wasn't my cup of tea...

Love, Akanke

MARIE ANTOINETTE

Marie: So, I hear you like to make keys as a hobby?
Louis: Yes.
Marie: And do you enjoy making keys?
Louis: Obviously.

DAYLIGHT SAVINGS TIME... OR NOT

Somebody tell me why I was the only one that missed the memo that daylight savings time was pushed back to next week?

At one point in the middle of the night between my turning over to the other side Actor asked me if we were changing the time back an hour. Sleepy but still coherent I mutter "Yes. I remember seeing it on my calendar at work." *falls back out*

I went to bed wayyyy past my bed time so I was glad that he said that. "Yay I got an extra hour to sleep" I said to myself in my dream. Yes I can do that. Can't you?

A few hours later I woke up to a beautiful day outside: clear skies, birds chirping, cool yet the sun was shining so warm rays hugged my body as I walked to the car. Somehow traffic was thicker than usual so I called my boss to let him know that I'm running a little late, well left a voicemail anyways, he didn't pick up.

I got to work as everyone was coming out of the morning meeting. My boss came up & said "What happened to you?"
"I was in traffic, I left you a voicemail."
"Yea I got that, but it's 8:20."
"Huh?"
"It's 8:20"
"No way! It's 7:20"
"Um, no. It's not" haha.
I told him how I changed the time back & etc & he just laughed. He said his computer & cell phone changed back too but he remembered that they said it wasn't till next week so he changed it back.

We had a good laugh & went about our day. Did I mention I love my job by the way? Everyone is extra cool, even my bosses. I'm never usually late & hate it when I am but they don't ever care. They're like "Hey Akanke's here!"

Everyone else was already at work too so apparently me & Actor were the only 2 people that missed the memo. Yay. We're special!

The end.

REFLECTIONS ADDENDUM

Ok seriously? This has got to stop! In an addendum to my REFLECTIONS blog are 3 accidents, 3 days in a row, in the same lane, right in front of me.

Wednesday I was driving to work & in the lane right next to the HOV. Halfway to work traffic completely stops. Feeling that it was more than traffic I merge over to the next lane & saw an accident as I drove past. It was only 5 or 6 cars in front of where I was.

Thursday I'm driving to work once again & a little more than halfway there traffic halts once again. Getting quite used to this, I merge over to the next lane & see another accident as I drove past. In the same lane. 5 or 6 cars in front of where I was once again.

Today I was driving to work & was feeling good cuz I was early. I get 3 exits away from my job & traffic completely stops. Ok, this is getting kinda old... We creep 2 miles an hour for about 15 minutes, making me late for work now by the way. I get close enough to see an accident being led to the left.

It's Atlanta so bad traffic is a given, but come on! Everyone go to bed early so you won't be sleepy for the commute in the morning! And pay attention! And stay in your lane! And turn your damn blinkers on! And... man I'm just gonna write a whole 'notha blog about traffic dos & don'ts. Screw this. Everybody gets on my nerves. *Napoleon Dynamite* "GOSHHHH"

But yea, to reiterate, I'm blessed. And I thank you Lord. Please watch over your other children also. They really need it. Thanks. Love you. K bye.

~ Akanke

REFLECTIONS pt.2

Did I mention that we're in a drought? There's outdoor water bans everywhere & people are getting fined left & right for taking care of their lawns or washing their car. Yeah, it's getting really bad; even our governor is fighting with Alabama's governor over the water supply.

I've been hoping for rain for a while now. It's been drizzling the last couple of days but nowhere enough to even compensate for our lack of so much water. I've been cautious of my water use, i.e. turning the faucet off when I brush my teeth & only using the dishwasher when it's full.

I keep thinking about my parent's garden in the backyard. Their beautiful plethora of Vietnamese herbs, spices, persimmon trees, not to mention the flowers, are going to wilter for the lack of water. My mommy love flowers & I hate that they'll all die. Well, I guess it's not as bad now that it's going to be winter soon anyway. blah.

I'm also thinking about the wildfires in Malibu, California. I hate that it happens so often in that state but it's never old or overrated news to me. I'm always hoping that everyone is ok. I heard on the radio that Mel Gibson's & Suzanne Somers' places have gone down under it too. I feel bad because Mel is one of our favorite actors & I feel connected to him (no I'm not a stalker. lol. Just a movie fan.) Not that they won't be fine cuz they're, well, rich, but just the fact that you lost your house is devastating. There's just some things you can't replace you know?

I also hope everybody else is fine & that they have insurance. And I hope that they can get back to their normal lives as much as possible. It's going to be a difficult challenge but may God bless & watch over them. Keep them in your prayers everyone!

Love,
Akanke

REFLECTIONS

I did not want to get out of bed this morning. But I did. Got my butt up, got ready & headed to work. I've gotten to the point of counting my blessings instead of my troubles, realizing that I'm blessed to be able to wake up and start another day while others might have not. That I have a great job to go to, my day's gonna go by fast & I'll get off early & still have the rest of the day to do whatever I want. That some people don't even HAVE a job so I just take it in stride & be grateful.

I get on the road & start my 40-45 minute commute to work. Tell me why there's always an accident around me? That's how I really know that I'm blessed & protected. I mean, I can recall at least 7 accidents that occurred in the next lane or right infront of me. Just a month or so ago me & B-Ball were in the car headed home talking, laughin & cruising. We were 2 lanes away from the HOV & I was slowly merging over. All of a sudden I had an instinct feeling to stay in my lane. Something told me to not merge anymore. So I didn't.

2 seconds later a car rams the car right next to me. I mean, totaled the back. It blew us away because one, it was so loud & unexpected that we thought something something blew up; two because that was supposed to be me, us. That was supposed to be my car that got hit. So we were talking about it the whole ride home. It still gives me chills to think about it.

A few days ago I was literally a block away from my job. Slowing my speed down from getting off the highway but still doing 65 on a 45, I was trying to get it! Feeling good cuz I'm early for work, I see the yellow light & stop. Usually I would just blaze right through it cuz that light stays yellow for a while & at the rate I'm going I'd clear it easily. But I didn't. So I stopped & reached down to change the radio station.

2 seconds later I hear a big crash. Not as loud as the former but loud enough to completely annihilate any sleepiness I might have had. I look up to see 2 cars slowly spinning, debris & parts scattered all over the busy 4-way intersection & honks from cars backed all the way up the street. Even though I didn't physically see what happened, from deduction skills I gathered that one car was going straight at at least 45 miles & the light turned green so he already had momentum & kept going. The other guy figured since his light just turned red that he could take a right while the left turning light was on. To his dismay when the lights turned green both the turning arrows & green lights came on at the same time.

One guy got out of the car (in the middle of the intersection might I add) to assess the damages. The whole right side was smashed in from bumper to bumper. I didn't see the other guy get out, I hope he's ok. Numerous people ran over to check on them so I didn't feel the need to go over & make a crowd. I went forward to work...

I guess I'm just feeling a little sentimental today. It's cold & raining & days like these usually cause me to reflect on random things. You should take a second to think about what you're thankful for. There's so many things people take for granted & it takes a tragedy or something dramatic to happen before people think about the great things that they have. Take a little time out to hug or tell your loved ones how you feel. Forgive. Love. Live. Be happy.

Love,
Akanke

RANDOM THOUGHTS

Random thoughts I'd like to put out into the universe:

~ Swiss Miss milk chocolate with 3 thingies of French Vanilla Coffee Mate = bliss. Add 2 if you want it less creamy.

~ Land O'Lakes white american cheese is so yummy. You can get it fresh from the deli.

~ Sandwiches taste good after they've been put in the fridge for a while. I made one for work last night (John Derst bread, brown sugar ham, LOL cheese, mayo) and somehow the mayo, cheese & bread just kinda fuse together after a while and taste so good. *This excludes Subway & etc. sandwiches. They're no good after you put them in the fridge.*

~ By the way, if you don't know you better get on it. John Derst bread is the bestestest bread there is. It's the softest you'll ever eat. If you don't believe me, next time you're in the bread isle look for a brown bag that says John Derst and feel it.

~ I need glasses. I really want some transition ones (that turns into shades when you go outside) & want to get them soon. I hope they can sandblast it down cuz I'm blind & don't wanna be wearing extra thick ones.

~ The CNN anchor lady Nancy Grace was really annoying me a couple of nights ago. Her voice is whiny & country, on top of the fact that she was chewing gum. I mean, I already had to get over how you sound & now I gotta ignore you using your tongue every other sentence to keep your gum on the side hoping that no one can tell that you're chewing. Come on! So unprofessional! *changes channel*

~ Just because you sing the SAME. EXACT. song, changing girl to boy & a couple of runs doesn't make it a remix. *stares at Justin & Beyonce* Yea I love love love that song ("Until The End of Time") but I hate it when people say something is a remix and sing the exact same song. *stares at Beyonce again for "Dangerously in Love"* I dunno, maybe I'm picky but a remix is supposed to sound different from the original song: i.e. faster/slower track, different words & notes, etc.

~ Speaking of bad remixes, what is up with Jagged Edge singing Neyo's hook for "You Make Me Better"? That joint is so whack!!!! Fabolous, I love you & your music and ya'll have done a hot song together before ("Trade It All") but for real though. I feel like I'm listening to somebody's dad's group reunited & the only gig they could get was a hook. So doesn't fit. Boo.

~ Speaking of Jagged Edge & bad remixes, what is up with Ashanti on the remix of "Umph In It"? Lordddd. I mean, the song already sucks & then you put her on there, singing all soft. I couldn't tell if it was Ashanti or Nivea or Ms. Piggy. I used to like Jagged Edge & Ashanti... now? Not so much.

~ Wow, I'm exhausted thinking about bad songs & how much they hurt my ears... Let's end it on a good note shall we?

THE LANDLORD

"I want my MONEYYYY!!!!!" lol. "I'll put you on the streets!"

Classic. lol.

LIBRARY GOODIES

In case you didn't know or forgot, you can check out movies from the library. Yes, they have good movies in there. Of course most of them are old school movies (which are great anyway) but they also have popular titles which are even better. Actor & I went to the Atlanta one (the Central library) for the first time & it's HUMONGOUS!!! There's 5 FLOORS filled with books & brain goodies as I'd like to call it.

Actor checked out numerous books while I hunted for movies. I would've looked for more movies/books but I was sick that day & the place was getting a little stuffy cuz I couldn't breathe that well. So I checked out 4 titles: "Munich", "Marie Antoinette", "Rebel Without a Cause" & "The Thomas Crown Affair" (old school one.) I've seen 3 of them so far & will be watching "Thomas Crown Affair" sometime soon, hopefully tonight.

I'll post the movies in the order that we watched it.

Check the next blogs for them. K thanks!

<3 Akanke

MUNICH

The first movie we watched was "Munich." Yes we know we're late, but guess what? Screw you. lol. I'm glad we finally saw it though; it was incredible.

*A brief history lesson for the day: In 1972, 11 Israel Olympian athletes were murdered, whose massacre was believed to be planned by 11 Palestinians. Immediately after the occurrence, Avner (Eric Bana) and a few others are chosen by the Israeli secret service agency, the Mossad, to murder the 11 that were responsible. (This is a true story people!)

Avner, brave son of an Israeli hero & soon to be father, joined by Steve (Daniel Craig), a strong Jewish patriot; Robert (Matthieu Kassovitz), a goofy & don't really know what he's doing bomb maker; Carl (Ciaran Hinds), a morally conflicted soul & Hans (Hanns Zischler), an accountant who is the truth! (You'll see.)

Their hunt takes them all around the world & they can't go home until all 11 targets have been, exterminated, if you will. Throughout the operation numerous people are killed in the crossfire, teammates begin to doubt the purpose & effectiveness of the mission & the coldhearted killings begin to take a toll on everyone.

Filled with twists, turns, stress, happiness, anxiety & ruthlessness, Munich is a deep, powerful & touching movie. It runs approx. 2 hours & 45 minutes making it longer than most movies, but nowadays you won't likely find a great, and I think epic, movie under 2 hours anyways.

If you haven't already, go rent or check it out at the library. Definitely worth your $2.99 from Blockbuster. Oh yea by the way, if you haven't heard, Blockbuster (well, at my location anyway, possibly yours too) rentals are only $2.99 now & you can rent them for 7 days. Whoo hoo!

But yea, Munich... Great movie. Great great great. A must see!

"We are supposed to be righteous. That's a beautiful thing. And we're losing it. If I lose that, that's everything. That's my soul."

"Hey, sweetheart, this is your papa... this my voice, my darling... don't forget what I sound like, okay?"

"There is no peace at the end of this."