An open letter to Walmart

Dear Walmart,

You have managed to give me food poisoning, put the wrong tires on my car, and sell me a bookcase that fell apart on my head. Yet, all of this I took with a grain of salt, and a swig of Pepto. However, the time has come where one learns to draw the line somewhere.

Walmart, you are a red monopolizing scam of a corporation that preys on the middle to lower class citizens of America. There I said it. You hire unqualified individuals to do just about anything, and pay them the lowest wages possible. The lack of economic competition to produce goods and services is troublesome, while your lack of viable goods are astounding, to say the least. Also, you are NOT China, despite what you may think. You have wiped out the majority of small businesses from here to Kingdom come, and it is shameful. However, there is no use in beating a dead horse, so I will get down to it. It is not the fact that you are an enterprise of shameful high riders, with heads in a cloud of stolen money, it is the fact that your quarry are the under developed and the misinformed. Now you are planning on opening up a "Hispanic Walmart". I sincerely hope not. How dare you charge people for produce that is far from fresh. The produce you offer is disgusting, and I for one, will no longer remain silent. I will call for the boycott of your so called "goods", because you are not pulling the wool on this "hispanic" anymore. Appall-Mart is more like it.



PERSONAL PHOTOS TAKEN BY MYSELF:

ONIONS

ONIONS

RED ONIONS

MANGO SELECTION

There were flies everywhere, and fruit on the floor! There was also Celery and Potatoes with Mold on them, and Cucumbers with slices and gashes in them. Despicable!

Linger

Ever notice how a single scent can send you flying back in time, to a certain period in your life or event? The smell of leather reminds me of my mother while I was growing up. During the winters she always wore a long form fitting leather jacket with a red scarf and Italian leather gloves. Her breath always smelled like Doublemint ( her favorite gum) and like most women in the late 80's, my mother wore Charlie by Revlon perfume. The quintessential perfume of the modern day working woman. Sensual, powerful, it smelled a lot like Cedar to me. It reminded me of a chest of old blankets, hibernating for the summer. Warm and promising, when you needed it.

Scent is such a powerful medium as it evokes the strongest of memories. I have almost cried after smelling a stranger walk by me, who wore the perfume of a loved one who has passed. I have once, been instantly transported to my first love, when someone wearing Liz Claiborne's Curve, handed me some change at the gas station.

Whether it be the smoky smell of a campfire ...the waxy smell of a new box of crayons...or the smell of my father's old car, I am convinced that there is nothing more powerful, than that of which we breathe and the aroma that life has to offer.

Look for my upcoming perfume reviews!

On being alone...

A brilliant poem by Tanya Davis.

Ignition

Here are the songs that have been making me smile lately:

Car Song

Click or copy and paste the link below:


http://www.apexvj.com/sc/?89930614










Song to listen to before you go out ( slightly cheesy, yet surprisingly fun)



Song for Lovers


What have YOU been listening to lately? Click the word "comments" below!

Landslide

There comes a time
when the yellowest part of you
rusts gently at the edges, and you can just feel it happening.
My time came years ago, when Roxy reopened...

You see, Roxy was all the rage, and they never checked I.D.
Gina and I....we had a plan, and there was no way we could be stopped.
Dipped in the yellow of youth, and doused in Exclamation. We just knew we would get in.

Dance moves ready and hair sprayed to oblivion. Shhhhh. "Abuela is doing the rosary,it won't be long now until she is fast asleep." -And out the door we will slip, into the inky black night, and the smoke filled chambers of the nightclub. Chelsea Piers, we are on our way. Gold hoops loop at our necks and eyeliner is our war paint... and we have never felt so grown in our lives.

This is our chance. We are going to take back the night,no pills, no counting, no IV's. No nurses telling us what to do. At Roxy, Gina can blend into the crowd.. She doesn't have to be sick, she doesn't have to be a patient. She can be Queen Gina, goddess of Reggae, Spice Girls afficianado, and Menudo's number one fan.. and I, I can be her sidekick. I don't have to be the one who makes sure she doesn't skip a dose. I don't have to be the one to tell her "No, You can't do that." You're too sick. You're  too delicate.- And so tonight. We are gonna let it all go. Tonight, we are gonna forget the rules and make our own.

But when I get back from the restroom... Gina is crying...because her hair was falling out, and even though I covered it with a headband, she knew it was there. She said the room was tilting, and I said, "No, the world is." and though she still wanted to go to Roxy I said, "No, you can't."

I got into bed with her right then, and she said "Sing to Me?".. "Tupac?" I joked. "No, Landslide" she replied....

A week later she was gone. I looked around the room at all the Lipsmackers and Pogs and wondered, "Why did I have to be the one to say no?" I think back to the time I caught her with a cigarette and snatched it straight out of her hand. "You can't!" I yelled. Her eyes glared at me, "Could you stop yelling? My friends are watching!" she replied as if I was the wrong one and I never understood....

The other day I came across the word "cant" C-A-N-T. Defined as: "The thrust or motion that causes a slant or a tilt" and it hit me... all those times she complained that the room was tilting, it was because she was living in "CANT", and I wish I could take it all back now. I want to tell her that she could have gotten that tattoo, and that she could have gone night swimming, and that she could have stayed out past her curfew... and that I am sorry...but I can't. I want to tell her that she deserves to go to Roxy and that dancing...dancing will help with the nausea, and laughing? laughing will help with the pain. I want her to know that "CANT" was the only way I knew how to protect her, but now, now it all makes sense. The tilts, the slopes, the landslides.... and now, because of her, I live my life on the horizon declining all implications of "CANT". I want to run screaming through the gates of heaven yelling "I can! I can! and you can too!!!" and I would hope that she would hear me. I would hope that she would run to me and say..." Thanks Tiff, for the support and all, but could you stop yelling? my friends are watching".

The Grandeur of God.

This photo invokes one of my favorite poems by Gerard Hopkins:

THE WORLD is charged with the grandeur of God.
It will flame out, like shining from shook foil;
It gathers to a greatness, like the ooze of oil
Crushed. Why do men then now not reck his rod?
Generations have trod, have trod, have trod;
And all is seared with trade; bleared, smeared with toil;
And wears man’s smudge and shares man’s smell: the soil
Is bare now, nor can foot feel, being shod.

And for all this, nature is never spent;
There lives the dearest freshness deep down things;
And though the last lights off the black West went
Oh, morning, at the brown brink eastward, springs—
Because the Holy Ghost over the bent
World broods with warm breast and with ah! bright wings.

Fashion Faux Pas Friday

Okay. It's Fashion Faux Pas Friday. Today we will talk about the monstrosities of fashion crime that are committed every day by women and men everywhere. Whether it's a close friend, a relative, or you.... we must take the steps as loyal citizens to ensure that these crimes come to a stop immediately. Without further ado,

Platform Heels.

I am not sure when these things made a comeback, but I am just counting the days until they go away. Don't get me wrong, while I adore a nice heel and wear them often, these spiky, stacked, clunky pieces of stripper wear are just plain scary. Heels that tower over 3 inches tall or not only tacky, but unhealthy for your feet and spinal cord, and let's face it ladies...you can't walk in them! I see women everywhere wobbling and teetering forward on these things. Not cute. So unless, you are a supermodel, or have the legs of a goddess, Let it go.

Low Rise Jeans

Self Explanatory. There is no reason to show off all the inventory like this.

For the love of God, pick up your pants! There is not a woman on God's Green Earth, that thinks this is cute. It is very 1991,and please..don't try to be contemporary by doing it with skinny jeans.

This is an appropriate look, in my opinion

Leopard Print.

Some people are taking this trend way too far. While I adore a little leopard lining, or maybe a leopard clutch, head to toe leopard is a bit aggressive. Save it for the Amazon.

Tacky Nails.

Scary. How do you type, dial a phone, or wipe your er-- bottom properly?? Overly long, acrylic nails limit dexterity, and compromise nail health. Acrylic nails can cause serious damage if broken,and also fosters an environment for bacteria and fungus to breed. So I encourage you to go natural. If you really can't stand the thought of sporting your natural nails, get them at reasonable lengths. Also, I think nail designs should be limited.

Designer brands

Owning a quality designer handbag is nice. Idolizing a designer is not. Head to toe Coach, Gucci, ..e.t.c... is not cute. Never has been. What is so fantastic about a bunch of C's or G's on a bag anyway? Paying upwards of $300.00 for a handbag or pair of shades because it has a bunch of C's on it is ridiculous. The same thing goes for T-shirts that cost $48 bucks and just read "Aeropostale". Where is the quality there? Why is it so important to people, to have labels stuck all over them? Does it make your life more fulfilling? No? It just makes you broker than you were before, with an ugly shirt too. Oh, and knockoffs...well, you know better than that.

C'mon Guys...

I don't get it. Not unique, due to the masses of people wearing them,they look quite silly, and you get bonus dingbat points if there are no lenses in them. If you own a pair of these, you may be suffering from Tryingtooharditis. It's okay, we have all been there.


So that's it for today, stop by next Friday to help combat these Fashion Faux Pas and make the world a better place. What other fashion faux pas can you think of? Comment below!