Getting To Know Jay :-)

SouljaBoyTellEm
Teyana Taylor
Monica
Keyshia Cole
Dondria aka Phatfffat
Bow Wow
T.I. Harris
Lil' Kim
Keri Hilson
Ashanti
Trey Songz
Demi Lovato
Drake
Nicki Minaj
Sammie
Aaliyah


So I'm giving you the chance to get to know me! This first blog is about knowing my favourite singers/rappers/artists.

Drizzy Drake

I'm sure you've heard of Drake aka Drizzy Drake, the hottest canadian artist out right now who made his name without a record deal. I think he is talented and his songs are alright. I wish him the best. But in the mean time let's get to know Drake.

Aubrey “Drake” Graham (born October 24, 1986 in Toronto, Ontario) is a Canadian actor, rapper and singer signed to Universal Records. So far he has released three mixtapes, 2006’s Room for Improvement, 2007’s Comeback Season, and 2009’s critically acclaimed So Far Gone, which is considered one of the best mixtapes of 2009. He is in the beginning stages of recording his major label debut, tentatively titled Thank Me Later, which is projected to be released late 2009. The first single from the album, Best I Ever Had, debuted at #92 and has since reached #2 on the Billboard Top 100. Should it reach the #1 position, Drake would be only the second artist to have a #1 single without having a recording contract at the time of its release. The music video for the song is directed by fellow rapper Kanye West. In June 2009, it was revealed that an unauthorized album entitled The Girls Love Drake, that featured songs from his mixtapes and credited to be an official Drake release, was up for sale on iTunes. A lawsuit is planned against the Canadian label who uploaded the album and claimed they represented Drake. Drake has previously dated singer Keshia Chanté, and is rumoured to be seeing R&B sensation Rihanna though neither have confirmed or denied the relationship.

Drake has been writing songs since he was ten years old. Since then he’s collaborated with The Clipse, Pharrell and Justin Timberlake, has 30 registered fan clubs, more than 80,000 topics on message boards, and a collective attendance of over 20000 fans for mall tours. He has done interviews and specials for MTV, The New York Times, TeenNick, Teen People, Elle Girl, Pop Star Magazine, and 17. In 2006, Drake has launched and promoted his first mixtape. It provides insight into the mind of a changing man. From the smooth ballads that can be cherished by the softest women, to tales of his family during “the Memphis days” – songs best understood by a genuine hustler. In his words: “I didn’t make this album to be judged, or for listeners to tell me what I need to alter about my image for the next project. I simply made it because it felt right. All the songs on here were made on certain dates due to certain events in my life and nothing was rushed. I’m telling you right off the bat who I am. I used to lie to people to impress them but those times had to cease. It’s like trying to get back together after a break up. You’ve had your time apart, and right away you want to express all your concerns, all your flaws, and let them know exactly what you’ve been through so that there’s little room for error. I really just want to draw the fans into me as a person so that we can communicate better in the future. I need you to understand my concept before you listen. If you’re not willing to do me that favor, we may as well remain split up.” Drake continues to pursue his passion for R&B, penning lyrics for many up and coming R&B singers. Much of his musical influence comes from his family, which includes funk creator Larry Graham (Graham Central Station) who’s hit song “One In A Million” became a top 10 hit, and Mabon ‘Teenie’ Hodges who, alongside Willie Mitchell, was the soulful mastermind behind the majority of Al Green’s hits (9 Grammy Awards). Drake has worked with Cash Money Records, TVT Records, BMG, and has featured on tracks for producers Mike City, Neek Rusher, Saukrates, and Brian Cox. He’s been a guest on Soul Food, and has appeared in movies with Mekhi Phifer and Omar Epps, and received two Young Artist Awards, the Shaw Rocket Award, and a Teen Choice Awards.

Go Drake!

Become A Better You - By Joel Osteen

There are few things I love to eat more than bread. I just love a good loaf of white bread. I eat it the way many people eat junk food (and, I suppose, one could argue that it is junk food). Not too long ago we bought a bread maker from a person nearby who was selling all his possessions to move back to his native Poland, having found that North American living was not to his liking. The machine worked well for five loaves but on the sixth, while the bread was being kneaded, I heard a strange grinding sound followed by a sharp crack. I opened the machine and saw that the paddle, the piece that beats against the dough, had broken. I removed the lump of dough and decided I could simply put it in a bread pan and bake it on my own. A few minutes later I pulled the loaf from the oven. It looked just perfect—golden brown on top and shaped a whole lot better than the loaves that come out of the bread maker. I eagerly cut into it, looking forward to enjoying a slice of bread. But, to my surprise, I cut into, well, nothing, really. Apparently the dough had not been properly kneaded. The loaf of bread was full of air; it was full of nothing. I had baked a crust.

As I thought about Joel Osteen’s new book, Become a Better You, I was reminded of that sad, pathetic little loaf of bread because this book, like that bread, is form without substance. This is Osteen’s second book, and the follow-up to his bestselling Your Best Life Now. Like the previous title, this one features a picture of the smiling pastor on the front cover and offers seven steps to a better life. Like Your Best Life Now much of the book follows this format: “The way to ______ is not to ______. Instead, you need to ______. You might say, ‘But Joel, I can’t do ______ and ______.’ I know it’s hard. Rise to the challenge. Don’t let yourself get beat up or knocked down. God has so much more for you.” And like his previous book, this one is maddeningly repetitive. It is a handful of his sermonettes for Christianettes expanded into 380 pages of mind-numbing repetition.

The book is divided into seven parts, which together are sure to improve your life every day. “What does it mean to become a better you? First, you must understand that God wants you to become all that He created you to be. Second, it is imperative that you realize that God will do His part, but you must do your part as well.” To become a better you, you must following the seven steps:

1. Keep pressing forward
2. Be positive toward yourself
3. Develop better relationships
4. Form better habits
5. Embrace the place where you are
6. Develop your inner life
7. Stay passionate about life

Each step is broken into several chapters and each part ends with a series of Action Points intended to give the reader concrete steps to tak to improve his life. It is, frankly, a lot like every other self-help book on the market today, but with one crucial difference—this one is built, supposedly, upon the Bible.

As I closed the cover on this book I began to wonder, What is it that draws people to Joel Osteen? Why do people enjoy his teaching so much? After all, tens of thousands of people attend his church each week and hundreds of thousands more watch him on television. He has become one of America’s most popular pastors, even while he teaches things that most pastors would testify are inconsistent with the Bible.

I think the secret to Osteen’s success is this: he teaches self-help but wraps it in a thin guise of Christian terminology. Thus people believe they are being taught the Bible when the reality is that they are learning mere human wisdom rather than divine wisdom. Osteen cunningly blends the wisdom of this age with language that sounds biblical. He blends the most popular aspects of New Age and self-help teaching with Christianity. And his audience is eagerly drinking this in.

And this raises an important and related question. What is Osteen’s authority? On what authority does he base what he teaches? Christians have long understood that the only authority we have when it comes to spiritual matters is authority given to us by God through the Bible. We are committed to teaching only things that are consistent with God’s revelation of Himself in the Bible. Without the Bible we have no authority. A pastor has no right to stand in front of a congregation and teach people what he believes. Rather, the pastor is to stand in front of the congregation and teaches people what God says about Himself. He bases all he does and says on this standard. In reading Joel Osteen we do not see this manner of authority. In reading Osteen we see a man who appeals to himself and to his own understanding and experience as authority. Rarely does he appeal to the Bible (66 times in 380 pages). Never will the discerning reader feel that Osteen has sought to understand the Bible first. Rather, it seems that he looks to the Bible to prove what he has already written or what he already believes. He uses the Bible, but not as a source of authority.

This is not to say that Osteen has no understanding of Christianity. Become a Better You contains some teaching that seems consistent with the Bible, and certainly there is lots of Christian terminology woven in. But Osteen teaches what is clearly a woefully inadequate theology of sin, repentance, sanctification and life. Osteen seems unable or unwilling to bring the power of the gospel to bear on life—real life. Life, he teaches, is not a meant to bring glory to God, but is meant to bring blessing and ease to the individual. He occasionally shares words that approximate the gospel, but ones that always stop short of providing the complete gospel as we find it in the Bible. “We’ve all sinned, failed, and made mistakes,” he says, “But many people don’t know they can receive God’s mercy and forgiveness.” That sounds fair, but he goes on to say, “As long as you’re doing your best and desire to do what’s right according to God’s Word, you can be assured God is pleased with you.” Is it enough to desire to do what’s right? Is God pleased with those who do their best? “That accusing voice will come to you and tell you, ‘You lost your temper last week in traffic.’ Your attitude should be, ‘That’s okay. I’m growing.’” But sin is never okay, whether we are growing or not. We can never excuse sin and can never minimize it.

My encouragement to those who intend to read this book and to those who enjoy the ministry of Joel Osteen is simply this: examine his authority. If you love Joel Osteen for who he is—a charismatic, smiling, successful, wealthy purveyor of advice—you will appreciate this book. It may change the way you live. But in that end that is all just puff. It’s like bread that is nothing but crust. If you are looking for teaching with true substance and for teaching that can really transform a life and renew a heart, look for a teacher who relies on an authority outside of himself—look for a person who humbly and faithfully teaches the Bible and who brings the wisdom of the Bible to bear on all of life.

This is a great book. I think you should cop it and take the advice in it. I have!

Quotes From Joel Osteen

A good thing to remember is somebody's got it a lot worse than we do.
Joel Osteen

A lot of churches have not moved with the times.
Joel Osteen

A merry heart is good like a medicine.
Joel Osteen

Choosing to be positive and having a grateful attitude is going to determine how you're going to live your life.
Joel Osteen

Do all you can to make your dreams come true.
Joel Osteen

Faith activates God - Fear activates the Enemy.
Joel Osteen

God didn't make a mistake when He made you. You need to see yourself as God sees you.
Joel Osteen

God wants to bless us where we are.
Joel Osteen

God wants us to prosper financially, to have plenty of money, to fulfill the destiny He has laid out for us.
Joel Osteen

I don't go down the road of condemning.
Joel Osteen

I don't think that a same-sex marriage is the way God intended it to be.
Joel Osteen

I don't want to just preach to the church. I feel like I have a broader message.
Joel Osteen

I have always believed in God.
Joel Osteen

I made a decision when my father passed away that I was going to be who God made me to be and not try to preach like my father.
Joel Osteen

I think Bible principles are principles for life.
Joel Osteen

I think God's justice is making wrongs right.
Joel Osteen

I try to speak in everyday language. I feel like God has gifted me to take Bible principles and make them practical.
Joel Osteen

I'm going to let God be the judge of who goes to heaven and hell.
Joel Osteen

I'm very careful about saying who would and wouldn't go to heaven. I don't know.
Joel Osteen

I've never preached one sermon on money, on just finances. I want to stay away from it.
Joel Osteen

If Jesus were here today, he wouldn't be riding around on a donkey. He'd be taking a plane, he'd be using the media.
Joel Osteen

If we say it long enough eventually we're going to reap a harvest. We're going to get exactly what we're saying.
Joel Osteen

If you give, you will be blessed.
Joel Osteen

If you want to rear financial blessings, you have to sow financially.
Joel Osteen

It's God's will for you to live in prosperity instead of poverty. It's God's will for you to pay your bills and not be in debt.
Joel Osteen

Most people already know what they're doing wrong. When I get them to church I want to tell them that you can change.
Joel Osteen

Only God can look at somebody's heart.
Joel Osteen

People respond when you tell them there is a great future in front of you, you can leave your past behind.
Joel Osteen

Prospering just doesn't have to do with money.
Joel Osteen

To me, we're marketing hope.
Joel Osteen

We were old sinners - but when we came to Christ we are not sinners anymore.
Joel Osteen

When you focus on being a blessing, God makes sure that you are always blessed in abundance.
Joel Osteen

You can be committed to Church but not committed to Christ, but you cannot be committed to Christ and not committed to church.
Joel Osteen

You can be happy where you are.
Joel Osteen

You can change your world by changing your words... Remember, death and life are in the power of the tongue.
Joel Osteen

You may make some mistakes-but that doesn't make you a sinner. You've got the very nature of God on the inside of you.
Joel Osteen


Keep these in thought on this beautiful Sunday.

My Saint Lucian History

History of St. Lucia

St. Lucia was first settled by Arawak Indians around 200 A.D., though by 800 their culture had been superseded by that of the Caribs. These early Amerindian cultures called the island "Iouanalao" and "Hewanorra," meaning "Island of the Iguanas."

The history of the island's European discovery is a bit hazy. It was long believed that Columbus had discovered St. Lucia in 1502, but recent evidence suggests that he merely sailed close by. An alternative discoverer is Juan de la Cosa, a lesser-known explorer who had served at one time as Columbus' navigator. There are some indications that de la Cosa may have discovered the island in 1499, although there is also evidence suggesting that he didn't find the island until 1504. In any case, there was no European presence established on the island until its settlement in the 1550s by the notorious buccaneer Francois le Clerc, a.k.a. Jambe de Bois, or Wooden Leg. Peg-Leg le Clerc set up a fine little base on Pigeon Island, from whence he issued forth to prey upon unwitting and treasure-laden Spanish galleons. Around 1600, the Dutch arrived, establishing a fortified base at Vieux Fort.

The first attempt at colonization occurred just a few years later, in 1605. An unfortunate party of English colonists, headed to Guyana on the good ship Olive Branch, landed on St. Lucia after having been blown off course. In all, sixty-seven colonists waded ashore, where they purchased land and huts from the resident Caribs. After a month, the party had been reduced to only nineteen, and those were soon forced to flee from the Caribs in a canoe. A few decades later, in 1639, a second party of English colonists under Sir Thomas Warner also failed in their settlement attempt.

By mid-century the French had arrived, and had even "purchased" the island for the French West India Company. Needless to say, the persevering British were less than enchanted with this idea, and Anglo-French rivalry for the island continued for more than a century and a half. The island's first settlements and towns were all French, beginning with Soufriere in 1746. By 1780, twelve settlements and a large number of sugar plantations had been established. Two years earlier, the British launched their first invasion effort at the "Battle of Cul de Sac." By 1814, after a prolonged series of enormously destructive battles, the island was finally theirs.

Over the next century St. Lucia settled into the stable democracy and multicultural society that it is today. The country remained under the British crown until it became independent within the British Commonwealth in 1979. Despite the length of British rule, the island's French cultural legacy is still evident in its Creole dialect.

Teyana Taylor

I never knew who Teyana Taylor was until I joined twitter. Hey, I live in the Caribbean so I can't keep track of all American artists. But anyway, I've been listening to her tracks ever since and I am quite impressed. Wish I could see her on BET maybe other people would appreciate her sound and style too!

So this is what I know about Teyana for those who are not familiar with her:

Teyana M.J. Taylor (born December 10, 1990) is an American socialite, singer, rapper, choreographer and dancer from Harlem, New York. She is signed to Star Trak Entertainment and is most notable for her debut single, "Google Me".

Life and career

Taylor's first brush with fame came about when she was featured on MTV's "My Super Sweet 16" in 2007. A protége of Pharrell, she signed to Star Trak Entertainment in 2007. She appeared in Jay-Z's "Blue Magic" in October of 2007 and her debut single, "Google Me," was released by Star Trak in February of 2008. She is of Afro-Trinidadian and Native American decent. Taylor's debut album is called From a Planet Called Harlem. From her website:

"With production from sonic architects like Jazze Pha, Pharrell, Mad Scientist, Frost, Shondre and Hit Boy, Teyana's first solo offering has the rumblings of a party-pumping earthquake. The mix of throwback break beats, futuristic boom bap, and melodic renderings is the perfect backdrop for the starlet's musical mayhem."

She has not announced a release date.

Although she has yet to release a full length album, she has recorded a number of singles. "complicated," "Hit My Jack Up," "Google Me," and "Traffic stop" can be heard on her MySpace Music site.

Discography

• From a Planet Called Harlem unreleased

Singles

• "Google Me" (2008)
• "I Get Crazy Remix"(2009)

Keep Up The Good Work TT and hope to buy your album in the near future! Much love to you girl!

Who Moved My Cheese!

Change can be a blessing or a curse, depending on your perspective. The message of Who Moved My Cheese? is that all can come to see it as a blessing, if they understand the nature of cheese and the role it plays in their lives. Who Moved My Cheese? is a parable that takes place in a maze. Four beings live in that maze: Sniff and Scurry are mice–nonanalytical and nonjudgmental, they just want cheese and are willing to do whatever it takes to get it. Hem and Haw are “littlepeople,” mouse-size humans who have an entirely different relationship with cheese.

It’s not just sustenance to them; it’s their self-image. Their lives and belief systems are built around the cheese they’ve found. Most of us reading the story will see the cheese as something related to our livelihoods–our jobs, our career paths, the industries we work in–although it can stand for anything, from health to relationships. The point of the story is that we have to be alert to changes in the cheese, and be prepared to go running off in search of new sources of cheese when the cheese we have runs out.

Definately a good book to read to keep in you in check in terms of your goals in life.

Happy Reading!

What's On Jay's Mind?

Question! Why do people expect you to accept them as they are but they cannot accept you as you are?

This question has been on my mind all week! People in this world expect you to accept their "flaws and all" without asking any questions or making any comments. When it's time for them to accept you as you are they can't and try to change you instead, to suit them.

I have always been an antisocial person, that's just me and that has always been me. I don't like to mingle or go clubbing or do anything adventurous because that is just me. I love being by myself because the way I see it is that people just complicate your life.

Nothing you do or say can ever please anyone in your life, no matter how hard you try and I have learnt that the hard way. So I came to the conclusion that you can only make yourself happy and to hell with the rest!

I see people making themselves unhappy just to let the other persons in their lives comfortable. Why should I make myself unhappy so that you can be happy? It's clear that you don't care about me or my well being because just as you expect me to accept you as you are then I expect you to accept me as I am!

People in today's society need to get over themselves. They need to realise that the only person you should worry about making happy is The Almighty Father. He is the ONLY being worth pleasing.

You make mistakes just like me, you have your own dirty habits just like me, you are no better than me, so why should I sacrifice my happiness and peace of mind for you???

Like my deceased mom told me: "There is only one thing you MUST do is DIE!"

So check yourself before you wreck your self before you try to change someone into what you want them to be. Each man was created differently for a reason! Remember that!

Religious Food For Thought Via Joel Osteen

Be confident in your dream. Act like it's a done deal. Plan like it's already happened. Be confident God will finish what He started. Ph 1:6

New Moon :-)

Thirteen Things I Learned From The Newly Released New Moon Trailer!

There is a flash back scene, obviously what we ‘missed’ in Twilight. They are giving us a back story in New Moon. No, that isn’t funny, but hey I said I’m going to tell you things that I ‘learned’, well that was one of them!

There is an empty table at the Forks High cafeteria. Sad, shocking, but ever so true! I just want to sit there! All p@$$ed off. WHY EDWARD, WHY?!

Edwards.Volvo.Is.Black. Or dark grey, or metallic something or other. But! It.is.not.silver. Calm down, it will be ok! right? I mean, surely THAT won’t ruin the movie! right, k?! Chillax!

HOLY Freakin’ crap! Edward Forkin’ Cullen (aka Mind Reader) can magically disappear!! WTH? He was like there, and now he is like gone ..

Check out more of my randomness after the break!

Ok – Some of you may or may not get this. But another thing I learned from the NM trailer – Edward Cullen looks like Bill Compton(True Blood) while underwater, and upside down! Who knew!!

Awww .. Edward’s shirt is all ripped! Poor boy … he needs a new Stoli, right ladies ; )

Dear Alice Cullen: While you are driving, at “Cullen Speed” it is STILL important that you PRETEND to be human and WATCH the road! crazy.

Didn’t really learn anything new from this. Just wanted another excuse to post this picture full of HOTNESS!

Who in the HALE did Demetri’s hair? Demetri’s Hair = Epic.Fail. But yet, he is still hot! go figure!

This.will.give.me.nightmares! Thats all!

Soooo … Miss Bella gets a joy ride from someone who isn’t Jacob Black. I don’t remember this in the book? Intriguing .. very intriguing ..

Faster then a speeding bullet. More powerful then a Locomotive. Able to leap tall buildings in a single bound. Look! Up in the sky!
It’s a bird. It’s a plane. It’s Superman!

Sorry, I had to!!

Is it just me, or does Marcus look like the most incredibly BORED person/non person in the WORLD! Which I know that is how he is in the book .. way to go, you’ve accomplished it!

So that’s it! Those are the 13 things I learned (or thought of I guess) when I watched the newest New Moon trailer! HA!

[New Moon trailer frames found at MTV!]

New Moon Screencaps :-)

More Screencaps are available due to the newly released extended New Moon trailer at the MTV VMAs last night!

More MTV Video Music Awards Pictures