When they come...

Shout out to D'banj and Mo Hits!

I love them! 

I cannot wait until the US is up on this and they are played all over the radio.

I don't have a Twitta but you can follow me and

them "Bumpa to Bumpa"

....... please!!

Beauty

WWW.AFRICANEXISTENCE.TUMBLR.COM

In today's News

The promotional photo for WINNIE has been released. Starring Jennifer Hudson and Terrance Howard, the film is supposedly captivating and epic. 

I'm not sure when this will hit theaters, but I will be sure to see it when it does!

According to Sean Carter, better known as Jay Z, New Jersey will no longer be apart of the basketball team known as the Nets, anymore. Instead, the team will be known as The Brooklyn Nets. In a year, the new home for the Nets will be the Barclays Center in Brooklyn. 

This is interesting, I wonder where the newly weds Kim and Chris Humpries will be stationed once the transition from New Jersey to New York occurs. 

Jay who is part owner of the Nets franchise, is really shouting out his home borough with this one. 

Big ups to Brooklyn! 

Why?

I would love to know why many minorities especially Blacks and Latinos are always competing with one another. Despite the fact that there are various scarce resources for people of color, it boggles my mind that there is constant bickering/hatred among people of color who are doing good for themselves. 

Instead of standing alone and being divided, I believe it would be better to stand together and unite. As cliche as it sounds, everything works better in numbers. United we stand and divided we fall. At the end of the day, people of color have way more in common with each other than they have with Whites. There is a common denominator known as struggle that minorities have had to endure, which is why it is so bothersome that many Latinos, Blacks, Arabs and Asians are at odds with one another. 

I don't have raw numbers, but I'm speaking based on observation.

I can't change the world, I can simply express how I feel and be the individual that I was always raised to be. I can't and won't follow the crowd or the hype, I will ALWAYS follow what I see fit. 

I said it before and I will say it again, 

 "I am for truth no matter who tells it, and for justice no matter who it's for or against."

Shout out to Malcolm X for that ever so sound and valid argument!

It's Good!

Watch the Throne is an amazing album!

I know I'm late and all but I've heard the album in its entirety and I must commend my two favorites for doing it again! Shout out to Kanye and Jay who have blessed our ears with great music. 

I'd have to say "Lift Off" featuring Beyonce is my favorite off the album, but there are other hits featuring Frank Ocean that I do love. 

If I could I would be attending one of the many tour dates, but being in Albany deads all great movements lol. 

I'll be there in spirit though!

FAB!

Kendall Jenner looks stunning.
Fashion Week 2011

Solange is so beautiful.

Such a Bad chick.

Beautiful.

Con-fi-dence (noun) :full trust; belief in the powers, 

trustworthiness, orreliability of a person or thing.

Beauty (noun) : the quality present in a thing or person that gives intense pleasure or deep satisfaction to the mind, whether arisingfrom sensory manifestations.

Being beautiful is more than how one looks on the outside. 

In my opinion, beauty is more than skin deep. As cliche as it may sound, beauty is in the eye of the beholder. While each person may have his/her own definition of beauty, I believe confidence is beautiful. 

The utmost assurance in yourself is amazing, magnificent and luring. The presence of a confident person has the ability to silence a noisy room and turn the heads of both men and women. 

There are a plethora of females who lack confidence and security which contributes to their dirty looks and their condescending speech in regards to a female who is confident. 

What many people fail to comprehend is that beauty is not simply how one looks on the outside. For example, when females feel the need to apply pounds of make up before leaving their homes, that is a sign of insecurity. Don't get me wrong, there is nothing wrong with make up, but if an individual deems it necessary to wear make up to leave the comfort of one's home, than there is an underlying issue within that person. 

The clothes one wears, the shoes to match, and the accessories that top off an ensemble are not what makes somebody beautiful. A "bad" chick will always be a "bad" chick no matter what she decides to put on. 

"Sweat pants, hair tie, chilling with no make up on", according to Drake, that's when a women is the prettiest; And I couldn't agree more. 

If a female refuses to give credit when credit is due, than there is a problem. 

By credit I mean, if a  female looks great from head to toe, and another female simply gives a dirty look, or tries to find a single thing wrong with that "bad" looking female, than there is an issue of security and confidence. I have no other choice but to deem somebody else insecure if she cannot own up to the fact that other females are capable of looking good. 

It boggles my mind that I've been the subject of dirty looks by so many of my female counterparts. 

It's as if I stole their money, killed their families, or talked negatively about them. But in reality, I'm in my own world and mind my own business. I've come to the conclusion that my confidence might be disrespectful to them. My posture and "swag" may be something worthy of dirty looks but I don't see why. Can't we all just get along? Not to be corny, I know we all can't get along, this world is not perfect,  But why must I be the subject of "hateration" from my peers. I felt the need to ask the former question in a Facebook status one afternoon, and an intelligent women by the name of Uraidah Hissani said it best:

"When a woman is strong & has attitude, 

other women will either

 a) admire her or 

b) envy her... either way you get looks ;-)"

What she said is very true and I don't know why I couldn't reach that conclusion myself. 

I am a firm believer in being effortlessly chic. 

Because when you try hard, that's when you die hard. It's a shame to say, but there are too many females who try so hard. I'm not sure what their reasoning for trying so hard is, but I've taken an educated guess and concluded that they are in need of male attention. They want to look good enough to command the attention of that one boy that has always been of interest to them. 

I understand why girls want to look good for the opposite sex, but when it comes to the point of going an extra ten miles just to look good for a guy, I think that's a bit much. But we all know that I am a serious feminist so let me not transcend this post into something way off topic. 

Instead, I will end with an all too cliche quote by the ever so confident and beautiful Maryilyn Monroe:

“I don't mind being burdened with being glamorous and sexual. 

Beauty and femininity are ageless and can't be contrived, 

and glamour, although the manufacturers won't like 

this, cannot be manufactured. Not real glamour; it's based on femininity.” 

Happy Autumn!

Summer is officially over!

 Today is the first day of the autumn equinox which marks the season we know as "fall". 

It's time for earth tones, infinity scarves and chunky sweaters. 

It's time for shorter days and longer nights. 

And it is also time for holidays such as Halloween and Thanksgiving. 

Cheers to Fall 2011!

FAB!

Never fails to look amazing.
Shout out to Solange!

It's been a long time, I've been busy! But here's a lil fab for your eye balls!

Front row and center for NY fashion week

Denise Cosby has come a long way! lol
Lisa Bonet looks great for her age!

Pardon my swag

I sincerely apologize for me being absent and not blogging. 

It has been an interesting three weeks (to say the least) at Albany, and I am fully convinced that "these are the times that are trying my soul".That which does not kill me will only make me stronger, so I've rolled with the punches and dusted myself off.

School work has been my main priority, but I believe I've finally got into the swing of things. Thus I will be back on this blog wave ASAP. I know a makeover is long over due and I will come correct when the time comes to face lift the layout, content And All That Good Stuff. 

Please look out for a facebook page. The purpose of the page will simply be to let the readers know when I update. It will also serve for readers to voice their opinions on any of the posts that I make. Not to mention clicking the like button lol. 

Be patient with me, for the best is yet to come.

In the mean time, catch your dreams people!!

-Good day :)

Spoken.

I already gave my remix to Ambitious Girl with my Ambitious Boy revelation. But now that Wale has come out with Part II of his beautiful song, I must follow up with a part II as well. Here goes nothing!

AMBITIOUS BOY

Shout out to the intellectuals, the individuals and the men with integrity. "I" raised to the third power, and I hope he cubes me with his captivating mind; and although I'm constantly busy, I will always make the time. 

The time for him and I  b/c frankly speaking, an Ambitious boy is hard to find. And I must shout these guys out b/c they will be successful at penetrating my mind. And like Julie said, "One must first stimulate up here before you can stimulate down there." And Maybe this is too much to ask from the average male, but the average male he's not. He is Ambitious, intelligent and the only 9 I see. And 10 doesn't exist because perfection is inception, it simply is a dream. 

And a 9 is the best that can ever occur to me, but the best will be a 10 because he'll be the best thing that I'll always have. Because an ambitious boy won't be perfect, but he'll be perfect for me. I want to say cum laude, that I honor you....Ambitious boy. And after four years is over, I hope you graduate Summa Cum Laude....the greatest.

And after time has passed we'll be Ambitious boy and girl. A couple way more powerful that HOV & B. They call themselves Bonny and Clyde, but we'll be : A squared raised to the 81 power. We won't need a label.And like Wale said, we'll deserve the title. An equation that will only make sense to us. Because the square root of A squared raised to the 81 will only make sense to us. 

Neither of us will be perfect Ambitious boy. And you'll be successful so I wont need to play you like a toy. Instead we'll play/study & grow together. And if you have pledged, its all good but just pledge to yours truly. And my allegiance will be to you. 

I won't give you a pet name like "boo" because you will transcend any generic nick name. You may be an elite member of Alpha Phi Alpha, Kappa Alpha Psi, Omega Psi Phi or what have you.I won't pledge but our story might just be very similar to the pledging process.
There won't be Prophytes or Neophytes or letters but there may be haters....

who will serve as our motivators. 

And Ambitious Boy, you're so Ambitious that you won't let the former fools get in the way. Your ambition is inspiring and I'm not perspiring you but  I see so much in you which is why ill invest in you. And monetary problems will not be an issue.
 And when you're tears may fall, my hearts will be your Kleenex. And when you leave the room briefly I'll miss you.

Ambitious Boys shout out to you!

Ivy League waddup? HBCU waddup? Athletes waddup? 3.0 -4.0 waddup? Science majors waddup? Future lawyers waddup? CEOs waddup? 

When it rained....

....for about 15 minutes of the day..... I had to throw on the Equestrian  Rain Boots! 

And although they are so thick and inconvenient at times, I love the look of them. As for comfort I'd give it a 6/10. Because they are so tall, and the rubber is genuine and sturdy, it tends to trap my legs. But that's not to say I wouldn't invest in another pair of Burberry Rain boots. This particular style does not come in half sizes so rather than be so large, I went with an 8 instead of a 9. If these had a zipper in the back I would give it a 10/10. Burberry makes such classic items that I can't defame them, but I'm just being honest. 

If you are looking for something Versatile, I would go with a pair of Hunter boots that can be worn both in the rain and the snow. But then it begs the question of whether or not you would like to be more unique with a pair of Equestrian Burberry boots or less unique and go with the Hunters. And also something that is important to consider is a budget. Hunters are way more reasonably priced at approximately

$150 depending on the color/style/where you purchase it. The Burberry Equestrian rain boots are approximately $300.

Depending on where you live, Hunters may not be as popular, but I know that in NYC, they are extremely popular. When I used to walk up Columbus Circle, on rainy days, I would see about 7 people in a pair of Hunters, in the matter of 5 minutes. 

They have grips on the bottom which makes for such a Versatile boot. Unfortunately I was more concerned with style so I went with these. And now that I'm all the way in Albany, I will eventually have to invest in a pair of Hunter boots. Ehhh until then, I'll stick with my H&M trench and my Burberry boots!

Daily Fab.

AfricanExistence. Tumblr. com

African Existence. Tumblr.com

She most definately has the stamina.
Jessica Stam

Story of the Dream Catcher

*Native American Origin

          


*A STORY OF THE DREAMCATCHER

by Finder

      " Long ago in the days of the ancestors, some of the children of the people were having strange, frightening dreams.

       As the children talked to other children, the troubling dreams spread among them like a plague.  The parents of the children were concerned. The people wanted their children to be happy but they didn’t know what to do.  The people went to talk to the shaman. The shaman listened patiently as the parents told him about their distress.

       The shaman told the parents that he could help. But he would need to spend some time in counsel with the spirits before he would have a solution. The shaman would have to enter the dream world to find the answer. Upon entering the dream world the shaman was approached by the four elements: Air, Earth, Water and Fire. Air had already heard of the parent’s concern, and had carried the message on the wind to the other elements.  All the spirits in the dream world loved the children and wanted to help return the children to their state of peaceful sleep. The elements and the shaman dreamed together for a long time. They finally came to understand that:

       Air could carry the children’s dreams. Earth could hold the dreams within her hoop. Water could wash and separate dreams - the wanted from the unwanted. Fire could use the morning sun to burn up the unwanted dreams that are caught in the web. Now all they needed was something to capture the dreams as they were carried by the air. Try as they might, the shaman and the elements could not think of a way to catch the dreams. Grandmother Spider had been listening!

       She said, "Beautiful, loving elements, I can help you as you help me every day." Grandmother Spider continued, "I can weave a special web that only wanted dreams can escape down to the dreamer. And so she did, and the first Dreamcatcher was made.  The shaman brought the dreamcatcher with him when he made his journey back from the dream world.

       All of the families of the people made dreamcatchers. The families hung them above where the children slept, in a place that was seen by the sun. No longer were the children troubled by unwanted dreams. Instead they had happy dreams and peaceful sleep.  And so, at last, Great Spirit looked into the dreams of the children and smiled?"

- the end –

"According to Native Americans, dreams that humans have while they sleep, are sent by sacred spirits as messages.  According to their Legend, in the center of the Dream Catcher there is a hole.  Good dreams are permitted to reach the sleeper through this hole in the  web.  As for the bad dreams, the web traps them and they disappear at dawn with the first light.   For some, they try to determine what messages are being past onto them and what the message represents."

*The correlation of the Native American story

with the reality of And All That Good Stuff.

*Chasing one’s dreams is simply not enough, at least according to yours truly. While it is always important to have a blue print of what is to come, it is even better to keep alive the blue print and not let it go to waste. In other words; aspire, plan and implement.

*Instead of talking about it, be about it. Here on And All That Good Stuff, there isn’t much beating around the bush unless it’s for dramatic affect. Rather than beating around the bush, I believe it is imperative to do what needs to be done as opposed to wasting time.

*Time is of the Essence, so we must live each day as if it is our last. And with that being said, I would like for you all to make a plan, stick to the plan, and catch your dreams with a firm grip.