It's a sad day. I've lost yet another part of my childhood. Donnie Simpson is leaving radio in Washington, DC after 32 years. He is originally from Detroit, but after 32 years in DC, we let him call it "home" too.

Most of the country remembers Donnie from his years on BET's "Video Soul," but in my hometown of Washington, DC, Donnie was our morning radio guy. Since we weren't afforded the luxury of iPods and internet and the such, we counted on guys like Donnie Simpson to introduce us to new music. He also bought us news at the top of the hour. He ended every morning's session with the song, "Jesus is Love."

Alas, everything must change. As Granny used to say, "nothing lasts forever." I'm listening live on the station's website. Celebs are callling left and right to wish him well. Thanks for the memories, Donnie!!

Your comments--priceless!!

I have a question. It's on of those "Chicken or the Egg" questions. I'm interested to see how you weigh in on it. Here it is--

Is the world really getting worse or do we simply have more immediate, in-depth coverage of news than we did in the past?

Let me explain. Thirty years ago, if a major news story broke, we couldn't turn on CNN and get the news 5 minutes later. We wouldn't have had up to the minute coverage of such an event. In fact, unless you lived in that particular city, you would have had to wait until your next newcast or the next day's paper. Because of the internet and nationally linked news correspondents, most big stories are available to the public within moments and that coverage can last for days, weeks, months, even years.

Has this kind of access made us think that these news items didn't occur years ago? Of course, they did. We still had serial killers, mass murders, kidnappings, etc., didn't we? What do you think? What came first--the news story or the coverage?

Your comments--priceless!!

Last week, I eluded to big news coming up. Well, it's official--I've gotten my first paid writing gig. I'm so excited to share this with you. It was only last New Year's Eve that I performed and self examination, as well as a lot of reflection, and decided that what I really wanted to do with my life was write. The very next day, I started this blog. Now, mere months later, I have become the Miami Fashion and Style Examiner for Examiner.com.

Examiner.com is website that focuses on local news, written by local writers. While it's certainly not the Washington Post, I'm glad they bought me on board.

I will cover South Florida from a girly perspective and everytime I think about it, I just giggle! Please do me a great favor and check out my page. There's only 1 article published, as I had to wait for it to be reviewed and accepted, before the page became live. There will be many new articles coming up. While I won't publish daily, I'm required to keep the content fresh, new, and timely.

This is different from my blog in a huge way. While my blog is comprised of my personal opinions, Examiner.com is focused on fact-based articles--more like news. I've added a button on the sidebar to make it easier for you to find me in the future. Let me know what you think!

Your comments--priceless.


I post daily. So that you don't miss any of my randomness, you might want to subscribe by email.

Have you noticed, lately, how many things can now be bought from vending machines? When I was growing up, soda machines were commonplace, as were newspaper and stamp machines. I remember the break room at my Mom's job that had revolving sandwiches. Now you can buy nearly anything from a vending machine.

Have you seen the machines in the grocery store that dispense movies? What about the machines in Macy's where you can buy Apple products, like iPods, and batteries? And the dispensers in airports that sell perfume?

Well, I've learned that Japan has the most unusual vending machines around. I'm told that you can purchase thing like umbrellas, fresh flowers, and porn from machines. I was able to picture those, but then I learned that you could also get fresh eggs, hot popcorn, beer, french fries, and hot ramen noodles. Wow! And we wonder where the jobs are going..

Your comments--priceless!!

Two years ago today, Apple introduced the iPhone. It resulted in what I call, "The Fruit Salad War: Apple vs. Blackberry." Each is vying for consumers to buy their fruit. Two years later, many of us put a piece of fruit up to our ears daily.

I think that there's room for both in the salad. Some folks prefer apples, some blackberries. I actually like them both, but if I was hardpressed--I'd have to go for the berry. My blackberry is an integral part of my life. It's my phone, my calendar, my address book, my camera, my GPS system, my video player, my newspaper, my Twitter, internet, and Facebook(on the go). I probably couldn't function without it.

What about you? How tightly are you and your cell phone connected? Do you use all of the functions of your phone? How do you "get away?"

Your comments--priceless!!

Ok..so during a trip to the zoo, you decide to jump into the polar bear habitat during feeding time. Is it just me who thinks that was a bit "not smart?" What did she think--that they were going to hand her a bottle of Coke???

Now there are public outcries for zoos to be safer? I think zoos should have measures to prevent animals from escaping, as well as those designed to prevent accident entries or falls into exhibits. But now we want them to be required to keep crazy folks out?? At what point does responsibility for one's self enter the picture?

And then, when she was finally rescued, she gives the authorities fake names and isn't cooperative? Is it just me? Is it??

Your comments--priceless!!