I am not my HAIR

Picture source:
http://www.rimmellondon.com/me/

INDIA.ARIE LYRICS

I Am Not My Hair

[Talking:]Is that India.Arie?
What happened to her hair? ...
[Verse 1]Little girl with the press and curl
Age eight I got a Jheri curl
Thirteen I got a relaxer
I was a source of so much laughter
At fifteen when it all broke off
Eighteen and went all natural
February two thousand and two
I went and didWhat I had to do
Because it was time to change my life
To become the women that I am inside
Ninety-seven dreadlock all gone
I looked in the mirror
For the first time and saw that HEY....
[Chorus]I am not my hair
I am not this skin
I am not your expectations no no
I am not my hair
I am not this skin
I am a soul that lives within
[Talking:]What'd she do to her hair?
I don't know it look crazy
I like it. I might do that.
Umm I wouldn't go that far. I know .. ha ha ha ha

[Verse 2]Good hair means curls and waves
Bad hair means you look like a slave
At the turn of the century
Its time for us to redefine who we be
You can shave it off
Like a South African beauty
Or get in on lock
Like Bob Marley
You can rock it straight
Like Oprah Winfrey
If its not what's on your head
Its what's underneath and say HEY....
[Chorus]
[Bridge](Whoa, whoa, whoa)
Does the way I wear my hair make me a better person?
(Whoa, whoa, whoa)
Does the way I wear my hair make me a better friend?
Oooh(Whoa, whoa, whoa)
Does the way I wear my hair determine my integrity?
(Whoa, whoa, whoa)
I am expressing my creativity..
(Whoa, whoa, whoa)
[Verse 3]Breast Cancer and Chemotherapy
Took away her crown and glory
She promised God if she was to survive
She would enjoy everyday of her life ooh
On national television
Her diamond eyes are sparkling
Bald headed like a full moon shining
Singing out to the whole wide world like HEY...
[Chorus 2x]
[Ad lib]If I wanna shave it close
Or if I wanna rock locks
That don't take a bit away
From the soul that I got
Dat da da dat da [4x]
If I wanna where it braided
All down my back
I don't see what wrong with that
Dat da da dat da [4x]
[Talking:]Is that India.Arie?
Ooh look she cut her hair!
I like that, its kinda PHAT
I don't know if I could do it.
But it looks sharp, it looks nice on her
She got a nice shaped head
She got an apple head
I know right?It's perfect.

Inked

Yes, I'm one of a kind. Unlike everybody else and they mama, I do not have a tattoo. No, I don't have anything against tattoos. In many cultures (outside of the US) it's a right of passage or just a cultural tradition. For me, being the art lover I am, I can't help but see it as an art form. ... albeit, very permanant art form.

Just because I love art, more than the average person ... I don't love ALL art. If there's a painting on display and the painting consists of simply a blue dot ... uh unnnnn ... that is NOT art. At least not something worth staring at for hours, certainly not worth hanging in my living room, certainly not worth $0.01 or $1,000,000. I don't care if a celebrity painted it ... nope, not true art, not true talent. I'm not THAT kind of art lover. I'm not a big fan of Jackson Pollock either. His art is sooooo 80's .. remember those paint splashed Trapper Keepers and acid washed jeans with the fake paint splatters?

Good grief ... don't go to this website: www.jacksonpollock.org .... seriously, don't do it. Ok, ok, it is a little fun, to get a bunch of paint (real paint, not like that website) and splatter it all over a canvas .... but it would get old really quick.

Anyway ... back to tattoos....What I have a really big problem with is NECK TATTOOS. This is seriously disturbing ... it's not enough that everyone and they mama's are sportin' tattoos and facial piercings ... but the neck tattoos .... let me remind you ... it is permanent, and removing tatt's is VERY expensive and probably more painful than getting the tatt in the first place.

People there are a LOT of ways to be bold, and in your face, and rebellious, and wild, avant garde and non-conservative, and non status quo .... and don't-give-a-@%#*ing ... lots and lots of ways.

Ok ok, I KNOW you love ______[fill in the blank]_______ and you want the world to know ... but I'm pleading with you, the NECK Tattoos are NOT the way to go!!!!!!!!!!

Here's a suggestion ..... about "Name tattoos" in general, because I estimate that 96% of Name tattoos are regretted at some point, do to heartache and breakups. ... My suggestion ... it could be just as expensive (if that's what you're looking for) as a tattoo, but not so permanant ... get a pendant with your boo's name on it!!!!! Yeah, see, isn't that a better idea???? Custom made, and everyone can see it prominantly displayed around your neck. You can get straight up ridiculous with it, and REALLy show how crazy in love you are with this person ... get the first, middle, AND last name, and next year (if you last that long) with the cute little pet names ... stack 'em up, layer it on .... that's wild. I have a feelin' this is gonna catch on. Just watch. Mark my word. Sales will sky rocket ...... I'm not sayin' people will stop getting tattoos ... they'll just stop getttin' "name tattoos" .. and hopefully neck tattoos.

That's what I'm here for. To help ya out. Gotta problem, I'll solve it ... bring it on.

The world's only tattoo school ... cool: http://www.tattoo-school.com/
Tatt's on tv: Inked, Miami Ink ... I was thinking there were a bunch of other tattoo-themed programs???? Do you know of anymore?

GOOD REASON NOT TO GET INKED:

Tattoo customers in 3 states get infections

By MIKE STOBBE, Associated Press Writer Thu Jun 22, 3:41 PM ET

ATLANTA - A worrisome superbug seen in prisoners and athletes is also showing up in people who get illegal tattoos, federal health officials said Thursday.

Forty-four tattoo customers in Ohio, Kentucky and Vermont developed skin infections caused by methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA), according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

The infections occurred in 2004 and 2005, and were traced to 13 unlicensed tattoo artists, according to an article in the CDC's Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report.

These are the first documented cases if tattoo-related MRSA infections, said Dr. Mysheika LeMaile-Williams, a CDC infectious disease investigator who co-authored the report.

MRSA is an antibiotic-resistant bacteria that fights off the body's immune system and destroys tissues. The community-associated variety, seen in the tattoo infections, has been diagnosed in otherwise healthy athletes, military recruits and prison inmates.

The skin infections can be transmitted from person to person by contact with draining sores, or through contact with contaminated items or surfaces. MRSA generally causes mild skin infections, but in some cases has led to pneumonia, bloodstream infections, and a painful, flesh-destroying condition called necrotizing fasciitis.

Clusters of MRSA cases were seen in Ohio in June 2004, November 2004 and April 2005, involving 33 people. A four-person cluster was reported in Kentucky in May 2005 and a seven-person cluster was in Vermont in August.
Four of the patients were hospitalized, but all recovered, LeMaile-Williams said.

Ohio, Kentucky and Vermont require licensing for tattoo artists, but all the affected customers went to unlicensed artists. Instead of doing the work in tattoo parlors, the body art was done in the homes of the tattooists or the recipients, or even in public places such as a park.

The tattooists sometimes did not use masks or gloves, did not properly disinfect skin and did not properly clean the equipment. One Ohio tattooist used a homemade tattoo gun made from a computer ink-jet cartridge and guitar strings, LeMaile-Williams said.

Three of the Ohio tattooists had recently been jailed, she said.

Customers sometimes seek out unlicensed tattooists because their services are less expensive, or because they are younger than 18 and cannot go to a licensed tattooist without parental consent, she said.

Several of the infected patients were under 18, she added.

The tattoo cases are not surprising, said Dr. Kate Heilpern, an Atlanta emergency room physician and Emory University researcher who has studied MRSA.

The superbug is appearing in locker rooms, homes and many other unsterile places where people are in skin-to-skin contact.

"We are still riding a big wave of this bacterial infection and I really don't see any end in sight," she said.
___
On the Net: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention: http://www.cdc.gov

Wow ... that's REALLY DISGUSTING.