Soulja Boy Apologizes for his Anti-Military Lyrics

Yesterday, I wrote about the controversy that arose when Soulja Boy released his new song that took umbrage with the FBI and military.  It seems that the hip artist is feeling some regret for his art.  The following is the apology he penned on his blog.

As an artist, I let my words get the best of me. Sometimes there are things that we feel, things that we want to express, and when we put them on paper and speak them out loud, they can come out wrong. When I expressed my frustration with the US Army, not only did my words come out wrong, I was wrong to even speak them. So, I write this to give my sincerest apology to all members of the United States military services, as well as their families that were offended by my most recent lyrics.

As a young man who grew up in the post-9/11 era, I have watched our country fight two wars that seem like they are never going to end. I have seen thousands and thousands of our brave men and women get killed in battle and often times, I think for what? A lot of people in this country are struggling to make ends meet and I think a lot about what if we had never gone to war. Where would our economy be? Our schools, our after-school and work programs, our streets? I mean, damn, 48 people got shot in New York City just this past weekend ... in 3 days ... I'm not saying that it is just because of a bad economy, but at a certain point we have to take care of our own people.

In no way would I ever want to offend those who are protecting our freedoms ... a lot of homeboys who I grew up with, a lot of people who come from the neighborhoods we live in ... In no way do I want to hurt any of our honorable soldiers who put their lives at risk, regardless of how they feel about the two wars we fight in. I am just frustrated that we haven't been able to bring you all home quick enough and my frustration got the best of me. I am deeply sorry.

 I don't think that Soulja Boy should have apologized however even in his apology, he raised some very good points that I am sure will be ignored.  Support the troops, my country right or wrong and patriotism used to stop critical though are harmful.  The U.S. is behaving like a declining empire and if there is any hope of stopping this, the government and the populace must stop and examine how they got so far from the country that a few brave farmers created all of those years ago.

Was Soulja Boy Wrong to be Anti-Military?

Soulja Boy got his start with his internet sensation Crank That.  This quickly led to a record contract and the eighteenth spot on the Forbes Hip-Hop cash kings in 2010. Soulja Boy has recently gotten into hot water after debuting a video for his new track Let's Be Real online, which contains the lyrics, "Fuck the FBI and the army troops... fighting for what? Be your own man... I'll be flying through the clouds with green like I'm Peter Pan."

TMZ spoke with Fred A. Flores -- a retired Marine who is now a commissioner for the L.A. County Veteran’s Advisory Commission. Flores tells us, "It's a very offensive statement ... especially with the 10th anniversary of 9/11 coming up."

Flores -- who has two children currently serving in the military -- calls Soulja "Ungrateful" ... adding, "He should apologize to ALL armed forces."

"[The rap] is very irresponsible," Flores stated ... "especially for a person who is an entertainer for the youth of our country." (source)

I think that many people have the vision of the military standing on a wall keeping the invaders out but the truth of the matter is that they exist to further U.S. foreign policy which is more often harmful than it is helpful and that includes to the citizens of the U.S. itself.  9/11 didn't happen in a vacuum and it was a direct result of the U.S. arming and training Osama Bin Laden.  When the Afghans were fighting the Soviets it was to the U.S. advantage to engage in a cold war (i.e. not directly confront the Russians) by aiding Bin Laden.

The military follows the orders of the commander in chief and perhaps it's not best to put all of the blame on them, but not since Vietnam, when the military actively refused to follow orders have they been accountable for their actions.  Right after 9/11 there was a surge of people enlisting and few stopped to think about why the event occurred.  They actively bought into the with us or against us rhetoric that George Bush pushed and signed up to kill Brown people with no defenses. Just following orders is not enough, or at least it is not considered enough for American adversaries.

'Hysteria': The History of the Invention of the Vibrator Told as a Romantic Comedy

As part of my day job, in which I manage and write for a women's lifestyle, entertainment and news blog that I created in 2008, I frequently review sex toys. This has been an awesome perk to what I do for a living and I have benefited greatly from it. Throughout the past couple of years I have had the opportunity to experience more vibrators, dildos, massagers, lubricants and other types of toys than will fit into a 35-gallon plastic container that I keep in my office and then write about those experiences in proud, shameless, sex-positive and sometimes intricately-detailed ways. I'm a bit of an oversharer by nature, so these experiences have lent very well to the writing I do. But most of all, I have learned a lot. Before I started writing about this subject matter, I had no idea that there were so many concerns for one to consider before choosing that one toy or that one type of lube, and how each product could affect people so differently.

In the very beginning, before I knew of all the different toys out there, I was actually pretty indifferent to them. For one, I thought vibrators were merely phallic-shaped plastic tubes that you unscrewed at the bottom to insert two AA batteries, and somehow the extremely weak vibrations coupled with the incredibly hard and uncomfortable plastic was what was supposed to make your mind melt into lusty oblivion. That is precisely what made up my very first vibrator experience and as a result, I was left unimpressed and unknowingly ignorant of the entire sex toy industry. My first vibrator was purple, a color that is so completely exhausted in the sex toy industry that I could easily craft an entire post containing very little else but my annoyance with the pink and purple color scheme of most toys. I still have the hard and uncomfortable purple vibrator because even though I absolutely hate it in-use, it was my first vibrator and I'm sentimental like that. It's buried at the very bottom of my aforementioned 35-gallon plastic container where all of my sex toys live, completely out of sight and laying buried beneath the multitude of toys that came after it, all of which are infinitely better in comparison.

I consider myself extremely fortunate to have had the opportunity of reviewing sex toys on a fairly regular basis over the past nearly-four years. I believe that it has made me much more aware when it comes to knowing what materials are safest to acquaint my body with and what chemicals I now know to stay away from. It has also made me the impassioned sex-positive person that I am today; seeing first-hand the power that comes from exploring your own sexuality without guilt, shame or apology.

While I am fully aware that I possess toys in excess, I do feel very strongly about women in particular owning at least one, go-to vibrator that works for them every time. That is precisely why I was pretty excited to see the trailer for the upcoming film Hysteria, a film that aims to tell the story of the invention of the vibrator during the Victorian Era.

Rise of the Planet of the Apes

Spoilers

I am a huge Planet of the Apes fan, and I have seen all of the movies to date.  I was very excited when I learned about this prequel and I am happy to say that it didn't disappoint.  James Franco stars as scientist, Will Rodman. Will is attempting to create a medication that will cure Alzheimers.  He is particularly dedicated because his father Charles Rodman, played by John Lithgow, is battling the disease.  When his funding is cut, the apes that were his test subject are destroyed. Will takes young Cesar home and raises him as though he is his child. 

We watch as Cesar's understanding of the world around him begins to change.  When he attempts to play with the neighbor's children he is chased out of the yard, and attacked by the father.  It is Charles who comes to his rescue and tries to explain that Cesar only wanted to play.  We watch as Cesar learns to communicate and his consciousnesses and intelligence eventually causes him to ask if he is a pet, and what happened to his family.  Will tells Cesar that his parents were killed, and that he views himself as Cesar's father. 

Unfortunately, while the drug continues to help Cesar evolve, it stops working on Charles and he hops into the neighbour's car in a moment of confusion and attempts to drive.  When the neighbour gets physically rough with Charles, Cesar intervenes and attacks him, severing his finger in the process.  Because Cesar cannot tell his side of the story, he is viewed as a wild out of control animal, and is immediately incarcerated.  Will tells him that he will be back to get him soon, but the pain on Cesar's face is absolutely heartbreaking.

Yeah It's Catty, But So What

What would an award show be without commentary on who missed the mark.  There were so many terrible outfits at the VMA's, I found myself wondering whether we are in the middle of an ongoing shortage on mirrors. For me, the worst offenders were Nicki Minaj and Kate Perry

 

I am normally the fashonista type of person by Nicki needs to fire her stylist yesterday.  There is  fashion forward and out there, and then there is this hot mess.  

I don't know who told her that Asian inspired dress was cute, but they certainly do her any favors.  Not only is that dress all about appropriation by Whiteness, it looks horrendous on her. 

I suppose it's true, money does not guarantee taste, or class.

Dollhouse: Season 1 Ep. 6 - Man on the Street

 

This episode largely focused on thy mystery that is Dollhouse and the complicated morality at play.  Paul Ballard realizing after getting a glimpse of Echo in episode five that hunting for her will be fruitless and instead decides to focus on the money.  He quickly realizes that  internet mogul Joel Miner is transferring money on the same day each year to mayfair account, which Paul believes is run by the Dollhouse. 

When Paul shows up at Miner's home he sees him with Echo and immediately is attacked by Miner's security.  During the confusion, Boyd manages to whisk Echo away leaving Paul and Miner to talk.  What follows is basically Miner suggesting that Paul has become obsessed with Echo and is living in a fantasy world of his own creation.  Miner justifies his planned abuse of Echo by telling the story of how his wife died. While I don't like the idea that Paul is playing at knight in shining armor, I don't believe that it comes close to the equivalency that Miner is suggesting.

Even though Paul is certainly the better man when juxtaposed to Miner, the fact that he kissed and later had sex with Millie to erase Miner's words is a problem.  I know that he believed that she consented, because he is unaware that he is a doll, but it still comes down to using her.   This entire time he has called on Millie for favors but only returned her obvious interest when he needed to prove something to himself. His actions are not completely morally unambiguous. It is absolutely necessary to mention once again that because Millie didn't consent, what happened was rape.

Expedition Impossible Season Finale: Thank Goodness it's Over

Last night Renee and I tuned in for the final episode of Expedition Impossible. Final episode! Please sense the excitement here. I say final because even if this show somehow gets a second season, which I would like to see not happen but sometimes television networks make the worst calls ever, these two women right here will not be watching. Why go through a season of complete and utter boredom when you can just wait until fall for the Amazing Race to start again?

So yes, the last episode of the season ever, and you know what? Expedition Impossible succeeded in not just creating an entirely boring show, but an equally-as-boring finale episode, which is saying something considering that there should be some tension going on as we finally receive a conclusion. But no, we did not receive even that much from Expedition Impossible.