Children's Day and the importance of independent thought

"I definitely don't want to become a parent. It's not my bag" - Hollywood actor Sam Rockwell, on November 11th, 2007.

It should be noted that Sam Rockwell's parents separated when he was a young child. He moved to San Francisco with his father, and spent summers in New York with his mother. Where that fits into his decision not to become a parent is anyone's guess.

This is because, children that grow up with divorced parents can either be apathetic to marriage and parenting, or vow not to end up like their parents and choose to build strong, healthy marriages.

The important point is the role of personal choice that isn't influenced by reasons which can be detrimental to one's decision to start a family. If you are yet to have children and the multitude of pictures you've been bombarded with today act as peer pressure, then you need to take a step back.

Parenting is a lifelong investment. One that ties up resources and can be very restrictive when one considers the opportunity cost. Contrary to what many think, it is entirely possible to have a fulfilling life without having any children; Mother Teresa or former CNN journalist Roland Martin serve as examples.

Anyone who tells you to have children simply because;

1) "God said you should"
2) "Your mates are having children"
3) "You owe it to your parents"

without considering your economic status, is not to be considered sympathetic to your well being.

With a 60% poverty rate in Nigeria that hits millions of our children the hardest, the last thing we need is more begging on our streets, or resorting to crime simply because they've been neglected.

We also don't need more families in financial struggle or ruin simply because they couldn't afford to take care of children they didn't properly plan for.

I've noticed status messages today saying;

"Every child is my child."

It's a very trendy thing to say on a day like this, too bad it's not more mainstream enough to make a difference where it matters.

Sam Rockwell is a hollywood actor that could easily afford to have a child. He chose not to. It's my hope that those of us that are yet to have children have the independence of mind to decide whether or not it is the best thing for us and the children we plan to bring (or not bring) into this extremely harsh world.

Plan accordingly

Happy Children's Day.

A First Reason To Like Chris Brown Since 2009

I was buying groceries last night (May 20^th) when first I heard the catchy beat for what I did not know at the time was Chris Brown’s latest single “Fine China” from his upcoming sixth album “X.” I strained my ears to catch lyrics from the song that I could google later and got “Baby, you’re my baby” which didn’t make sense (but turned out to be “Baby, you’re my favorite.”) but I used them anyway and got results that included “Number One,” “I Love You,” and “Make Love.” I filtered through “Number One” in mere seconds before discarding it and then came upon the “Fine China” video before even checking the other two.

Nothing spectacular or original about the storyline in the above video. Overused plot and poor acting was what I was greeted with, and did Mr Brown really have to hit us over the head with the theme by including Asian actors in a video titled “Fine China”? C’mon man…..but anyway, this wasn’t directed by John Landis and I didn’t watch the video for Chris Brown’s acting skills. The song is what drove me to search online and what a lovely tune it is. It’s a refreshing head nodder that sees Brown going back to R&B after a lot of what I consider to be House/Techno-influenced garbage like “Don’t Wake Me Up,” and “Don’t Judge Me.” 

Despite nauseating songs (and videos) like the two I just mentioned, one thing that has always been impressive from Chris Brown is his dancing and he really put on a show in “Fine China.” What I especially liked was the nod to Michael Jackson and as far as I’m concerned, nobody in mainstream entertainment does it better than Breezy. An argument can be made for Usher but that’s about it. Don’t bother wasting my time with Ne-Yo and Justin Timberfake.

Thanks to YouTube, I found out that Chris Brown performed the song on Sunday the 19th at the Billboard Music Awards 

He put on an entertaining performance even though he seemed to struggle a bit with his voice, but my favorite clip for "Fine China" is the one below where he just dances throughout the entire track. 

Visuals from this clip where included in the original video but you kinda feel that Brown had to release a “Dance only” video to placate MJ fans like myself around the world. Peep the flawless spin move (from a crouching position, no less, with balance and form maintained throughout) at minute 1:32. I got chills at minute 1:50 when he belted out the legendary “Woo Hoo” ad lib. Look at the break dancing from 2:15 – 2:27 and how the camera pans out to give this talented young man the space he requires to dazzle the mind with his footwork. Absolutely loved the closing from 3:05 - 3:20 (especially 3:14 and the way they all switched perfectly with the beat). I’ve now watched this over a dozen times and already started thinking about how well it would work as a choreographed piece in a wedding reception or an office Christmas party. Ha!

As the title of this blog post states, I haven’t had a reason to like Chris Brown since 2009 and think his “Bad boy” image is completely unnecessary but like all truly gifted artists, he has the ability to silence all talk about anything other than his music and dancing and make you focus on exactly why he is such an authentic reincarnation of Michael Joseph Jackson on the dance floor.

Does this mean I’ll be purchasing his upcoming album “X”? I doubt it. For the record, I don’t own any of his previous albums. I just watch his videos for his moves and sing along when he releases something decent. In an interview with Ebony Magazine about his upcoming album, Brown is quoted as saying; 

“When you go through the album it’s diverse, it doesn’t just have that one sound”

That tells me we could be in for more horrible House/Techno (or whatever the hell it is) stuff like “Don’t Wake Me Up” and “Don’t Judge Me.” Don’t get me wrong though, I like that stuff when it works and a perfect example is 2010’s “Yeah 3x” which was the last time I checked for a Chris Brown song (and why I’m almost two months late on “Fine China”), but a lot of that hasn’t worked so I’ll patiently wait to hear the album first before deciding to buy. However, no matter what the album turns out to be, Chris Brown has given Michael Jackson fans everywhere a reason to crack a bright nostalgic smile and admire his effort on “Fine China.” I for one am very grateful.