seen from China
seen from Indonesia
seen from Spain
seen from United States
seen from United States
seen from Germany
seen from Germany
seen from China
seen from Spain
seen from Spain
seen from United States
seen from Spain
seen from United States
seen from United States
seen from Malaysia
seen from Philippines
seen from Germany
seen from Philippines
seen from Russia
seen from Yemen
As we kick off a new year we naturally seek ways to start anew. We want to release old, negative, stagnant energy and step into a space of renewed positive energy. Starting a new year supports the feeling that we have another opportunity to start/complete the things we didn’t start/complete last year. This is an awesome time to do a few activities to help you usher in the new year. Here is one…
View On WordPress
Arguing with myself -Stream of Consciousness 12/2/16 #soc
Arguing with myself -Stream of Consciousness 12/2/16 #soc
Set the timer for 5 mins.
Get comfortable.
Type anything that comes to mind.
This is a way to clear the mind before starting the day or before going to bed.
This may not make sense to anyone but me (maybe, ha!)
The people mentioned are real people. The names may/may not be their real names.
This is unedited.
AAANNNNNDDDD GO!
This chair is not comfortable. I should get a better chair. It’s early.…
View On WordPress
Despite the self fulfilling prophecy that I need a trainer, a workout, a more European body, a more beautiful weight I am feeling great. To be more healthy when I have no health problems that are weight related. This picture/post is selfishly ALL ABOUT ME. My selfie rockets ego from floor to heaven. My selfie be alive Pixel shape shifting my conscious to glory. My selfie be exhaled belly Raised arms Today I chose a smile vs. puffy cheeked grin My selfie know what I mean I say "heeeyyyy selfie, yasss" Its me! Looking at me! My selfie be me like me want to see. My selfie be brave My selfie be beauty bending My selfie be all it can be Or I'll just take another. #bodypoetry #blackbodiesrock #iamshellybell #madebyablackwoman #mbabw #stayampfilms
"I got shit to do!" is a funny statement.
#Shellyisms
Black Poets Speak Out, Shelly Bell, Secret Shopper
I am black
I am a poet
and I will not remain silent while this nation murders black people.
#BlackPoetsSpeakOut
Secret Shopper:
You must be black
male
between the ages of newborn and forever
Must have questionable behavior
like stealing cigarellos
wearing hoodies
going to clubs
smoking cigarettes
and/or getting bad grades
Must have skin the color of danger
able to absorb at least 6 shots
be able to make officers feel threatened
from at least 20 feet away
with voice
with your hands up
or in your pockets
or by your side
Police departments all across America
are now seeking black men as secret shoppers
A good secret shopper is always anonymous.
You should be able to be harassed by the same
Officers several times without growing disdain.
You should appear to “fit the description”
Your humanity must remain secret
You must have slave flesh
Believed to have been built for beating
your body may need to lay in the street 4 hours
handcuffs may need to control your asthma
fist and flashlight may need to test your tough
police may need the butt of a gun to say goodbye
to what really happened.
During a shopping assignment
aka altercation
with police
Wear a hoodie
grab your wallet
Say things out of the ordinary like
I’m just a few feet away from my destination.
Why am I being stopped?
I can’t breath!
don’t shoot!
You must submit your most innocent looking
adolescent pictures for media use
the “almost made it to community college”
or “was about to marry the love of his life”
narratives are preferred.
Reliable shoppers appear on police reports
within 24-72 hours after interactions
Give new meaning to meeting “dead lines”
Bleeding is a formality
If caught dead on assignment
have witnesses
America believes Black boys can outlive excessive force.
You will help us prove
our money well spent.
Our police chiefs well vetted.
We will secretly assign you a stereotypical black male profile.
mismatch the demographics in your community with the proper police
Send you into the arms of officers
to see if they’ll bag you, barter with you, or let you live to shop again.
Here at www dot secret shopper dot com
we employ all black males whether they apply or not.
Help us improve police efficacy
by being target practice
Help us analyze trends in police brutality
by continually living with black skin
looking police in the eye
and pleading for your life
Help us evaluate the static in 911 calls
by testing the amount of shots we can hear in the background
scream a little louder
hit the ground a little harder
Use video to help us verify
that black life doesn’t matter
While we know that every
black male can stand a beating
Not everyone will make it through their assignment
Lucky for you
The compensation
is living long enough to see your son
become a secret shopper
Copyright 2014 Shelly Bell
Our radio show is live
WEDNESDAYS from 2-4pm
on WINDC
Consent
I tried to be on the ceiling of my boyfriend's bedroom once.
at the edge of scream and moonlight.
ricochet my spirit from dark corner to corner.
The floor was cold.
The bridge between his thumb and pointer finger chained words to the back of my throat.
I winked at the moon,
it did nothing.
The window rattled as if it cared to save me.
The room was hot.
His hips never gaped my limbs so forceful.
limbs never laid so flimsy.
5 plus 5 multiplied by two.
the number of times I consented
minutes I've counted
His body is heavy
spell "consent"
L O V E
Rhythm and Beef: Trey Songz can't take constructive criticism
Biggie and Tupac went to war over assumptions, Drake and Chris Brown came to blows over a girl, now Ne-Yo and Trey Songz beef over a simple critique. Hip-Hop beef is historical for building and breaking careers while R & B feuds are few and far between. The machismo thrown around in interviews and diss tracks often builds a wall of silliness between artists. Whereas wild statements from the artists once raised issues, there is now usually a radio station, reporter, or blogger dousing the fire with loaded questions and sarcasm that provoke the artist into a defensive state. Power 105’s The Breakfast Club (DJ Envy, Charlamagne, and Angela Yee) is known for being entertaining, informative, and provocative. Their recent interview with Ne-Yo shifted from questions about recording reference tracks for Beyonce, to gay rumors, to marriage, to endorsements to causing an issue between the Grammy award winning vocalist and Trey Songz.
During the discussion in question, Charlamagne asked “Are you inspired by what’s out now, musically?” Ne-Yo immediately responded “no.” Charlamagne repeats the response in an attitude of surprise as if to ask Ne-Yo “Are you sure?” This opened the door to poke and prod for specific names. This is that moment when radio personalities get to stir up trouble by strongly encouraging artists to express personal feelings against other artists. DJ Envy threw the first jab by asking “What do you think about Frank Ocean?” Ne-Yo describes his feeling by saying “on some records it’s a little too cool for the room” meaning the lyrics are abstract and confusing. However, Ne-Yo expresses that Frank he has an emotional connection to his work that is missing in R & B music right now. Then Charlamagne slides in with the sucker punch by asking “do you have conversations with them like do you see somebody like Trey and say Trey step it up…”
In light of Ne-Yo’s new position with Motown Records as the Senior VP of A &R as well as his award winning track record he was comfortable enough to say that he feels that Trey Songz could be better. The manner in which he expressed this was subtle and simple. He didn’t go into detail about what Trey could improve on. He acknowledged that he has communicated with Trey Songz and that his overall feeling is that Trey Songz could be “a serious problem in this R&B world” meaning an amazingly revered artist if he would add an emotional connection to his work. This was not a rant, there were only 3 minutes left in the interview. He answered the question openly and honestly, then followed his critique with “no disrespect to Trey, love Trey to death.” Trey Songz didn’t take these comments as love at all. He expressed to iHeart Radio show hosts of 106 KMEL “I’ma talk to Ne-Yo when I see him….ain’t no need to have that conversation for the world to hear and I feel like that’s a sucker move”
A true sucker move is responding to constructive criticism with “I feel like that’s a sucker move.” Trey expressed that Ne-Yo has never mentioned these thoughts to him therefore I can fathom the comments being viewed as deceptive. From Trey’s point of view he could be pondering questions like so is this what Ne-Yo was thinking of me this entire time? We’ve been on tour together and celebrated my birthday together did he not take those opportunities to give feedback on my work? Has Ne-Yo spoken about this in private with other artists or A&Rs? These are all viable questions. However, Ne-Yo was just responding to a question and nothing more. Even the energy from The Breakfast Club was not dramatic or forceful at all.
Trey Songz then appeared on Hot 97’s Peter Rosenberg show on the day his album dropped expressing that he does not want to discuss his beef with Ne-Yo. However, due to the existing rivalry between Hot 97 and Power 105.1 there is a constant tug of war with getting new music and interviews first. This was evident by the remark made by Cipha Sounds that Trey came to the interview with topics that were off limits and he wanted to ensure that they got the news first. Hot 97 missed the boat! WHOMP! WHOMP! WHOMP! Instead of accepting this and moving forward to talk about the album K. Foxx tried to push the envelope as much as she could but it turned into a smart lipped back and forth moment between she and Trey. He stood his ground with sarcasm and arrogance. He repeatedly told her that he didn’t want to give energy to the situation and what needed to be handled would be handled between Ne-Yo and himself.
The beef between Ne-Yo and Trey Songz offers a wonderful glimpse into the nature of both beef and the state of R & B in the modern era. An issue was started by radio personalities, fueled by social media and ended with a tweet. Given the nature of R & B’s arguably middling success at the present time, the working relationship between Trey and Ne-Yo is much more beneficial than letting thirsty radio personalities hawk over beef.
