Reflections on Black History

(c) 2016 image by Google

February will be ending at the stroke of midnight tomorrow night. A new month will emerge called March. I want to take the time to reflect on this month. The reason why I want to reflect on this month is because of recent events that have happened within the past 5 years.

Now I can see many of you mumbling under your breath “here we go again, she’s got another one.” No, it is not that kind of a post. I just want to reflect that’s all.

It has to do with a sermon I heard my minister say today. It is all about the phrase, “Young, Gifted, and Black.” In case you are wondering about that phrase, it was actually a poem by Nina Simone, who also turned it into a song called, “To be Young, Gifted, and Black.” This song was written in 1969, and it talks about how beautiful to be young, gifted, and black. What she talks about in the song is the whole world was waiting to see how talented billions of boys and girls are. To me, this song reflected on how I should be, even though I did not quite understand at 4 years old.

Today, as I listened to the lyrics of that song at 51 years old, I fully understood what those words meant, as my minister read them from the pulpit. Sometimes, you have to read between the lines in order to understand a song that was written so long ago. My understanding is that I should be proud of what I have accomplished so far in my life. But more importantly, I should be proud of what my race has accomplished before I was born, and after I was born. What I also understood and those lyrics is that we should never let someone, thing, or idea hold us back. This is both as individuals and as a race of people, who has felt like they were held back for a very long time.

Do not wait for permission. What I meant by waiting for permission is you do not need anyone’s permission to learn, to research, to think, and to do (within reason) good things, in order to make this world a better place to live in.

I never had a problem with the #blacklivesmatter movement. It is a worthy cause towards ending racism once and for all. I do not have a problem with protest, when it’s done right, but there have been several incidences in the past 3 years since the protest, where protesting did not work for the common good. Is it really necessary to burn down buildings, loot, beat, and call people a name that hurts and maybe scar a person for life? No, it really is not necessary to do those things, and much more that have been seeing on the television, and read online. I agree with some people who say that all lives matter. So to me, there should be a protest where all lives matter, no matter what.

“But, you are on their side.” No, I am not. I am on the side where Jesus says to accept everyone, no matter what they look like, act like, or economic situation. This also includes those who do not have the same lifestyle as you.

One last thing before I end this post. Do not honor black history in just the month of February. There are so many accomplishments that black people have contributed to in the past. It doesn’t even boil down to that. When you think of it, there are so many talented young people who have lots to contribute with their talents. It is up to us as older people, and I’m talking about adults over 26 years old and older, to steer them in the right direction. If you know of any resources where a young person can steer their talents at, such as community service, then show them. Don’t just show them, take them by the hand, and lead them in that direction. You never know how that person will turn, which I hope will be a valued member of society.

“Young, gifted, and black does not mean they are thugs, rappers, drug addicts, and dropouts”, as my preacher said today. It means that there is potential, great potential in that head of theirs, if they were guided in the right direction. Here’s to February.

The cuteness is Real

(c)2015 P.Lynne Designs - Please note: I did not get
permission to publish actual child's face, so I went with
This one.

Two little hands ready to grab anything.  Two little feet just learning how to walk.  All of that and a head full of big, fat curls, not worrying who loves him, who cares for him, and who he turns to in time of need, but he is just a baby.  All he wants is his paci (pacifier), his Ba (bottle), his giraffe, and his mommy and da-da (daddy).

All I know is he is my nephew, a 1-year-old, who I just met, named Kirer, Ki-Ki for short, and he is the cutest little boy I have ever seen.  Yes, as his aunt, I have seen lots of cute little ones, and the ones that came before him (meaning his cousins, father, and grandfather) were all cute as babies, but he is my present cute baby boy. I cannot believe that I am a great-aunt.

Yes, you heard it right, great-aunt.  My nephew is the father, my brother is the grandfather, and my parents are great-grandparents.  Now, I know what you are thinking if you have been following this blog for a while.  Yes, I am single, and still looking in the love department and in the baby department. 

So, I talk was trying to find the actual story that I wanted to reference to on being single, but I found this one instead, and I could not help but to reference to my then great-nephew-to-be in the last paragraph because his uncle was 2 at the time.

Back to whatever I was talking about.

It is days like this that make a person wonder why they were chosen to be in a baby’s life, especially if you are adopting.  I often think why now.  Sure, I want children, and I want to be that person that a child can come to.  I am a young great-aunt, a young aunt, but I will be an older parent.  I just published a post on this blog about being in a nesting mode, and I love it.  For those who are in a rush to do anything in life, do not rush it, for it will come, IF it was meant for you.  I was hoping to share this moment with a special man in my life, but you take what you can get.  I am looking forward to mother, and hopefully we (child) can manage rather a man comes into our lives or not.

In the meantime, this aunt is enjoying the cuteness in all of her nephews and niece.  I just you as my readers to do one small favor.  Pray for us and Disney World, because 13 people will be going there and the cruise line in December.  8 adults and 5 kids.  I have a feeling that Disney Word will never be the same again, but it will be fun. 

The Dark side of Writing: PLRs and Plagiarism 2

(c) 2015 P. Lynne Designs

There is a dark side to the world of writing and if you are a new writer, I thought I should warn you about this very nasty beast.  As I sit here munching on a cookie (and very tempted to grab another one, along with some milk or coffee), I was thinking about how this would be addressed.  After all, this blog has had its share of freedom articles and the like.  It is time for me to return back to why I started the second phase of My Ambiance Life in the first place.

I started to title this post, Trying to Avoid This 2: PLRs, but I did not because for one, I did not want anyone to think that I am writing yet another “Look what Beyoncé/Jay-Z/Black Panthers/police brutality” type post again.  Take note writers: when you get tired of a subject, it shows.  Second, 95% of you do not know what a PLR is, and what it has to do with plagiarism in the first place.  Well, now you are going to learn, so get ready to take notes (if you desire).

PLRs is abbreviated for Private Label Rights.  You pay a person to write you a basic article or post, and they sell you the rights to make changes and claim the article as your own piece.  This is difference from ghost writing, which is perfectly legal (more on that in a moment). 

You can have PLRs for anything.  Think about your Royal-free photos if you are into photography or Royal-free music if you are a musician.  It is the same thing, only this is for writing.  Let me give you an example:

You have just started a blog.  Your subject is about cars, classic cars.  You love talking about these cars, but you do not know a thing about them at all.  you first few posts turn out well, but you are a little concern about how long can you keep up the hype.  How long before people start noticing that you are no expert on classic cars?  (here is a tip:  make sure you are well-versed on your subject before attempting a blog, or you will run out of subject to post about).  You start researching for the answer to your little problem (when you should be learning about classic cars), and you stumble on an ad from a person who writes PLRs on any subject that you desire. Great, so you check out their website.  The “R” in PLR gives you the right to make changes in the document you now own (for a price).  The original writer cannot come to you and claim copyright infringement and order a cease and desist letter to you, because it is now your blog post to do whatever you want to do.

Problems with PLRs

As explained, you have the right to make changes to a post once you pay the person $5 or more to pen your post to your blog.  Now it is perfectly legal to have someone write for you, and you pay them, as in ghost writer or a guest writer on your blog.  The only thing you have to do as the blog owner is to just post it or give that person credit where credit is due.  The problems associated with PLRs are:

·         Plagiarism.  Didn’t your parents and teachers teach you anything about this subject?  PLRs is just another form of it.  Many sites use a program called Copyscape to check to validity of the article, and to make sure you are not spinning a post that has the same wording as the one you have written.  If there is any hint of a post, that can choose to reject it.

·         As the saying goes, make sure you check your sources.  Some writers are in it for the money.  They write stuff, do not check their facts, and next thing you know, you have a post with the wrong information on it.  For example:  If I know about the subject of glues and adhesives for scrapbooking, and I told you that you can use a specific type of glue for paper, but it causes a hazard later on.  You later find out from a friend that the type of glue used in the project was not made for paper project.  You could blame me, and I could blame the person who sold me the information.

·         Search engines frown on it, especially Google.  Enough said.

·         Scams.  You can spin the information in so many different directions once you get it, after all, it is now yours.  Again, most sites use Copyscape and the post you buy could be stole from a writer who worked for hours to get their message across.

Over all, do not get involve with PLRs, in both writing them and receiving them. Do not take the lazy way of writing a blog post or reposting them. You are better than that and your writing deserves better too.  There are better ways of earning money for writing blog post, articles, and publishing a book.  Prepare to be amazed at what your writing career can do for you and you never know where it can take you. Do not sell yourself short.  You can do this.

Am I nesting?

(c) 2015 P. Lynne Designs

Ok, this is sort of personal, so if you do not feel like getting a big dose of Patricia 101, you can skip this post, and I do not mind.

So, I am part organizer, part lazy person.  I hope you understand where I am coming from.  There are some days where I can look at my condo, my little humble abode, and work my business.  I do nothing but the bare essentials to the house and feel like the world could go suck on something if one person says anything about the house.  I mean it is my house, my life, I am a grown woman, single, and there is nothing you can do about it.  Trust me, I can leave a dish in the sink for a week if I wanted to.

Lately, I have had this burst of energy, and everything in my house has annoyed me.  What has me annoyed?  It is not organized, and I have been starting to toss things, planning for new things (for organizing), wanting to change the furniture, wanting new blinds, bed linens, Towels.  I want a new craft room, planning to redo the kitchen, you name it.  Oh, did I mention that I am preparing to have someone to look at my house?

I will have people looking in my house for two reasons:  the first is I am preparing for a baby/child.  In order for a social worker to deem you fit to welcome a child into

your home, it has to be a safe environment.  This means inspection.  Did I mention that the room that the baby will be sleeping in currently looks like a disaster zone?  It is supposed to be my craft room, and I have basically dedicated that task to my office downstairs, so I am now in the process of making it look like the bedroom it is supposed to be.

The second reason is when I find a new home, this one is going up for sale, which may happen before or after the baby gets here.  Once I move out, my father has to sell the condo and according to new association rules as of October 2015, an owner must live in the condo or sell it.  Well, my parents are perfectly happy in their home, and this home was bought with me in mind.  I no longer want to live here, and they could have my nephew move in, but there have been too many idiots making too many mistakes (like not paying the association fees).  So the condo association decided the “no more tenants” rule needs to be in effect for this condo complex.

So, like the title says, am I nesting?  In case you are wondering, nesting is what a woman in her third trimester does to prepare for birth.  She has a burst of energy to clean, do DIY projects around the house, decorate, and basically change things around.  In my case, I am not pregnant (or preggers as sometimes call it).  I cannot get pregnant.  I am adopting a baby, a child, who may be “in vitro” (womb) right now, newborn, toddler, preschooler, or school-age (up to age 12).  I have no idea until I see her (yes it is defiantly a girl).  I want to make sure that when this kid comes, rather it is in this house or my new one, that she is comfortable and happy. 

So is it wrong for me to prepare right now?  I know I have classes to take for this, make sure that I am financially stable, and that I am not going to go cra-cra on her if she defies me.  I want to make sure she is loved and I know that it is not going to be easy to be a parent.  Heck, it is not easy being an aunt, so why would I expect anything less as a mommy?  It is hard enough when you are raising someone you waited for 9 months to see, it is even harder when that child in not your biological child.  I am up for the challenge.

So, am I nesting?  You bet.  Adoptive mothers to be can nest too.  I may not be in my third trimester, but I have all the signs of a woman, who must prepare for a baby and move in one unfailing swoop.  “Lord, help my finances during this time because they need it.”  I am only in phase one, the “decluttering phase”.  Phase 2 is around the corner.  Happy  Nesting Everyone!!! 

Trying to avoid this subject

(c) 2016 P. Lynne Designs

Over the past few months, I have had my share of #blacklivesmatter, #policebrutality, and other subjects like this.  Although as a black person I feel the pain, although I have not gone through the problems associated with being an inner city black, I cannot help but think that I could have gone through everything that Urbanites, especially in cities like Ferguson, MO have experience. 

This is humorous in a way, but it has to be said.  I saw an SNL (Saturday Night Live for those not from the United States) clip, featuring a group of white people in an uproar because they just found out that Beyoncé was black.  It caused a national crisis for everyone, and even though the skit was meant to be funny, it shows how an innocent halftime show at the Superbowl can start a firestorm.

OK, let me back up for a moment.  This all started with Oscars and ended with Beyoncé. Everyone thought that she was saluting the Black Panthers.  To me, it was really about

promoting her new tour.  Everyone was wondering why she pick this time period to promote the tour.  If you were performing in front of a crowd of thousands, won’t you promote your new tour?  Kind of bad timing, but smart move on Bey’s part.

Next, comes the criticism of her video, Formation (which by the way is the name of the tour).  Folks are not happy that she capitalized off Hurricane Katrina.  Ok, I was only in New Orleans once, and it was not during that time.  I watched the news, and I feel bad that after all these years, everything is not as they should be in the 9^th ward and surrounding areas.   I am not inside of Bey’s head, so I do not know what she was thinking at the time of the creation of the video, but I think she was trying to show that one part of her is from that area (her mom), while the other part is from Alabama (her father and ironically both my parents). 

I do not think she capitalized off of her roots and this tragedy.  After all, they are. Her. Roots.  This is something that Beyoncé cannot deny.  My question is why does a black person has to forget where they came from to get ahead, to be successful, but every other race in this country can carry their roots to the boardroom and in the entertainment industry, and not get criticized for it.  It is no wonder when we go visit family and friends, some blacks say that the person has “sold out.”  There is nothing wrong with talking (or singing) about where you came from, if that is all you have known since you were “knee-high to a turtle” (baby).

Beyoncé did not become “Queen Bey” overnight.  To earn a status like that take hard work and dedication the craft.  I read a Facebook status from one of my Facebook friends, which she criticized the way Bey carried herself at halftime.  She wanted to know why can’t Bey use her talents to empower young girls.  She also said that Bey was not a queen but an ordinary person.  Not sure what her purpose for the comment was except this Facebook friend was not using her own Christian values by criticizing Bey on her actions.  I want to criticize her on the comment, but as a Christian, I would be doing the same thing to that Facebook friend.  God will deal with Bey in His own time.  You do not know until you walk a mile in their shoes.  So, while this friend is welcome to her own opinion, she is just a white woman who does not understand Bey’s journey as a wife, mother, Christian, and entertainer.

I hope this dies down soon.  Sunday after this Sunday will be the Oscars, and I have already said my peace about that little fiasco.  People need to get it together, get along, and have something for everyone, because I did not see hardly no love at the Grammys either especially for Natalie Cole.  Don’t get me started on that one.

#Grammys

(c) 2014 http://www.metalinsider.net/

So the Grammy are on right now, and there are some things that are different, while others stayed the same. While there are some people forgot that Beyoncé was black (oops), she is supposed to present for album of the year.  Taylor Swift opened the show, and while I was behind, expecting her to open with Shake it Up, the opening number was nice.

I was a little vague on what happened next (someone at Longaberger forgot that this show was on, and scheduled an online consultant’s meeting (another oops)) for the little bit I heard, it was pretty good.  I actually thought that it started to be a bit on the boring side, but it perked up a little bit with rap segment. Next thing I knew, it when south, as in AT&T Uverse decided that I didn’t need to see it, and it lost the signal. It also decided that I needed to take a break from the internet AND my landline phone.  I was two seconds away from using my cell phone to connect this big butt of a computer. 

(OK, side note:  what happened to Beyoncé presenting Album of the Year, Ooops, my bad, Record of the Year.)

Anyway, I thought that Lady Gaga was a changed person.  Nope, she just took a break when she sung with Tony Bennett.  I was not impressed to say the least.  Adele had throat surgery, so her subpar performance is excused.  Not sure what Justin Bieber was doing, but I ignore him anyway.  The tributes were wonderful.  They picked the right artist for them.

Well, that is it for the awards.  Next award show is the Oscars, and I have no plans to watch it.  It is not what Jada Pinkett Smith or what Stacy Dash said.  I am so over that.  I never really cared for the program.  That is all.

Tell us what hobby you want to begin.

(c) Google Images

Hello, and Welcome to February.  January started off nice and smooth for me and this 366-day writing journey.  I hit some bumps along the way.  Not at all what I expect it to be, but I have made it to the other side.  Today is a new day for me.

So, I decided for this month, I am going back to one of my old habits, and take on writing prompts.  In a separate post, I will explain why writing prompts are good and why they are bad.  I use to post my take on the writing prompts, Blogher used to have.  They never went away, I just got bored of them.  This is one of the reasons why you should not do writing prompts every day (just a little tease of what’s to come).  So while I love this month’s prompts from Blogher, I am not going to do them every day.  In fact, Blogher does not have the prompts for all, in this case, 29 days.  They allow you to have free rein to write whatever you want on Saturday and Sunday. 

This month’s prompt is about Passion, and not just the one kind, which is your true lover.  They will be talking about all kinds, and today, they want to know about that hobby you never tackled. 

I can truly say that I am living out my passion.  I started out wanting to know how to scrapbook and make cards.  I love doing it, and it turned into my business.  I am working on the nuts and bolts to run this business called P. Lynne Designs, and I love seeing my baby grow up.  I always talk about how I am really going about this business backwards.  Even though I have been in business for 5 years (2010), I am just getting started as far as have the proper registration of my business name, a business checking account, a vender’s license (because in the State of Ohio you need one) and so forth.  It can be quite overwhelming when you think about it, but as they say, “slow and steady wins the race”, and that is what I am shooting for.

My other passion is Marketing.  I have a bachelor’s degree in Marketing, but I only had a chance to use what they taught me only a few times.  Marketing is always changing, and it is one of the few trends you have to keep on your toes with, or you will be left behind.  I fell into one corner of marketing, and that is graphic design.  It goes hand and hand with the skills I learned from crafting, but it also involves computers.   Computers lead to Social Media and then you have a full circle moment.   I am on almost every social media out there at the moment, and now starting my second part of this stalled career, and it begins with Photoshop.