Quantcast
Channel: santa claus – MadameNoire
Viewing all 616 articles
Browse latest View live

Why I Won’t Be Teaching My Children To Believe In Santa Claus


All She Wanted For Christmas Was Dem Babies: Mariah And “Santa Claus” Share Pics Of Their Family Holiday Fun

Trailer Alert: Are You Ready For Tyler Perry’s “A Very Madea Christmas”?

Leave Santa Alone. Or Else.

0
0

Ah, parenthood. There's always something to debate. Tis the season for the everlasting Santa debate. I am fiercely pro Santa. I verge on the brink of holiday obnoxiousness. It's my favorite time of the year and having children gives me an excuse to go nuts without judgement.

The post Leave Santa Alone. Or Else. appeared first on MadameNoire.

Kids Try to Beat the Jimmy Kimmel Lie Detector Test to be on Santa’s Good List

What Color is Santa Claus?

0
0

My parents never did white angels in our house at Christmas, and the same went for Santa. When I prayed for a white Christmas, they wanted to be sure the only thing I had in mind was snow. Never mind that out in the world, Santa was a white man with a whiter beard: at the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade, in The Night Before Christmas, at the mall, everywhere.

The post What Color is Santa Claus? appeared first on MadameNoire.

Fox News Anchor: Santa Claus is White Because Jesus is White

Here We Go Again: Teacher In Trouble for Saying Santa Is White


5 Lies Parents Tell Their Children

0
0

With Easter coming up this weekend I have had to answer many questions about the Easter Bunny (reminder: I need to head to the mall and take my daughter to see him!) and that made me think about the five lies parents tell.

The post 5 Lies Parents Tell Their Children appeared first on MadameNoire.

Holiday Hype: When Are Kids Too Old For Santa?

A Requiem For Santa Claus

Dear White People: We Are Not Here To Teach You A Lesson

A Tribute To Santa Claus, My Former Partner In Crime

Let Me Sit On Your Lap: 8 Of The Sexiest Santas On The Internet

Did You Wear This Back In The Day? The Best And Worst Of ’90s Billboard Awards Fashion

0
0
The Billboard Music Awards are this Sunday! And while we're not necessarily jumping off of the walls in excitement about it, it's always nice to see what wild fashions the stars put on for the red carpet that evening. Over the years the looks that have been in vogue have changed big time. The clunky shoes and big hair from the past is nowhere near as popular as the barely-there dresses and all-leather-everything ensembles that usually grace the Billboard Music Awards red carpet these days. Still, the looks from the stars over the years were just a sign of the times -- they were cute for that moment. With this Sunday's festivities in mind, we thought it would be fun to take a look back at some of the ensembles our favorites graced the carpet in during the '90s. Whatever you see, don't clown it too indiscriminately, because chances are you were probably wearing something close to these 'fits back in the day as well. Check out Billboard Awards fashion from the '90s. Billboard Awards 90s fashion

Mariah Carey - 1991

Color Me Badd

Vanessa Williams - 1991

LL Cool J - 1991

Billboard Awards fashion 90s

Whitney Houston - 1993

Queen Latifah and Kim Fields - 1993

Snoop Dogg and Dr. Dre - 1993

Salt 'n Pepa  - 1994

Brandy - 1995

Terry Ellis - 1995

Montel Jordan - 1995

Toni Braxton - 1996

LL Cool J - 1996

Mariah Carey - 1996

 

New Edition - 1996

Spice Girls - 1997

Toni Braxton - 1997

LL Cool J - 1997

Puff Daddy and the Family - 1997

Tyson Beckford - 1997

Jay Z - 1999

  Images via WENN and Splash 

The post Did You Wear This Back In The Day? The Best And Worst Of ’90s Billboard Awards Fashion appeared first on MadameNoire.


This Black Woman Gave The Most Uplifting Advice To Millennials & Was Dubbed Auntie Tangela

0
0

She’s his biggest fan on social media.

Surely be now you’ve noticed that it’s on trend for publications, older, well-established, well-respected publications to bash the younger generation. I did a quick Google search on the phrase “Dear Millennials” and the results took a pretty bleak outlook.

We’re doing everything wrong. We’re not buying homes, we’re not getting married, we’re not establishing real human connections. And it’s causing eroding the entire moral fiber of society. Perhaps they haven’t said that last part but that’s certainly what it feels like. Ain’t no love in the heart of our parents and ‘nem.

But that’s not entirely true. There is at least one woman, Tangela Ekhoff, who had some very kind words to share with the millennials and it warmed my heart.

God bless Auntie Tangela. I know this was something I needed to see. And judging by her mentions something hundreds, if not thousands of others needed to read as well.

The post This Black Woman Gave The Most Uplifting Advice To Millennials & Was Dubbed Auntie Tangela appeared first on MadameNoire.

Is This Petty? When I Got Sick, He Went Out With His Friends

0
0

How do you act when your partner gets sick?

To be clear, I don’t mean anything life-threatening or something that can keep an individual down for quite some time. I’m referring to the somewhat simple stuff like the stomach flu. A bad cold. An infection. Something that can really mess with your energy levels for a few days, maybe even a few weeks. If you’re in a relationship that’s lasted for a short time, the most you might be expected to do is bring over some soup or pull the ol’, “Is there anything I can get you?” out of your hat. But if you live together, is it unfair to expect more?

left me when sick

I have a girlfriend who was dealing with food poisoning last week, and while she wasn’t completely bedridden, she was very weak. She has a live-in boyfriend, and they’ve been together for almost two years. Aside from a short-term cold, they hadn’t experienced any real illnesses together. When she contracted food poisoning from some bad Chinese food, she assumed that he would step up and take good care of her for the few days she was down when he got home from work. But she was disappointed to find that he’d already made plans and was set on keeping them.

“Every Friday, *Aaron and his friends usually go bar crawling,” she text me. “But last week, you know, I was sick. I started feeling bad on Thursday evening, but by Friday, I wasn’t able to go to work. So he comes home, tries to bring me food and sit with me for a little bit. Maybe like an hour at the max. And then he gets up and says he’ll be back later.”

She didn’t like that.

“‘I said WTF? Where you going?’ And he says, ‘It’s Friday. You know I go out with the guys on Fridays.’ I was heated. I’m like, ‘But you see me here ill. I need your help, and I’ve been by myself all day.’ He’s gonna ask me if I want him to bring me back somethin’. Girl…”

I don’t think she wanted him to play nurse and be there at her every beck and call, but my friend felt like it was shady for her boyfriend to leave her in a weak state so he could go off and have fun.

“You can’t just leave people like that,” she said. “It doesn’t speak well to how he could behave in more serious situations, you know?”

We all have certain days in our calendars that we allot to other people, or even better, to ourselves. Whether it’s date night Fridays, brunch with the girls on Saturdays or a meetup with the Lord on Sunday mornings, there are particular things that we just don’t like to miss out on every week. It’s how we stay connected to the people and things that matter to us. So when our significant other asks us to cut our plans to check out a live show with our best friends or to go to our mother’s house to check in just so that they can spend time with us, it’s understandable to want to stand firm on those plans. But when the people we love are sick and seem to need us, there’s definitely something petty about having more of an allegiance to a weekly activity than to our daily partner. And if something is weekly, the opportunity to do it again next week will likely be there (God willin’).

I know what you might be thinking: “Really? What can I do for you if you’re sick? You need rest!” But sometimes a sick person just needs someone to help them get back and forth to the bathroom. They need someone to bring them water when they’re low. They need someone to encourage them to eat when they feel like they can’t. And sometimes they just need someone present to at least give them an emotional boost, because being solo while sick can be sad. Take for example the time I contracted what was believed to be the Swine flu in college and knew damn well I had no business coming out of my room. Still, after two full days sequestered in a dark room by myself with roommates leaving food by my door, I finally came out. I sat as far as I could away from them while still in the same room just to feel in the company of others.

I say all that to state that people underestimate how positive contact with others they care about, and who care about them, can help someone feeling much less than 100 percent. So it’s not a good look to be that partner who feels more of a commitment to their mates and their weekly fun than to their romantic mate. Because Lord knows if a man was sick and you wanted to leave him to go drink with your friends, all hell would likely break loose…

But as always, that’s just my opinion. What say you? Is it petty to leave your sick significant other to go hang out with your friends?

Image via Bigstock 

The post Is This Petty? When I Got Sick, He Went Out With His Friends appeared first on MadameNoire.

Fitness Fridays: Body Builder Tokini Bilaye-Benibo On Not Getting Discouraged By Haters — Or The Scale

0
0

May is known as Women’s Health Month, as well as National Physical Fitness and Sports month. In order to celebrate all things health and wellness that have to do with women of color, today we’re launching Fitness Fridays for the month. We’re hoping to share stories that help others embrace the importance of taking care of themselves both inside and out.

Lyzadora

Even if you don’t follow her professional page @Lyzadora, chances are, you’ve probably seen Tokini Bilaye-Benibo somewhere on Instagram. Her waist-length locs are a sight to behold and have popped up on countless natural hair pages. And the makeup artist, who not only does hair and makeup full time but owns a shop in Houston called Lyzadora Beauty, has magician-like skills with a brush. But what really catches everyone’s attention is the 34-year-old’s body. Bilaye-Benibo, on top of being a stylist and MUA, is a body builder. In her most recent NPC fitness competition in 2016, she placed third after going up against elite women body builders from around the United States, Canada and Mexico. “There was no one on stage who looked like me,” she said about the lack of Black women taking part in such competitions. “There were no other Black girls on stage.” But it was a process for Bilaye-Benibo to stand center stage and represent Black women in bodybuilding, a process that started back in 2012.

She was a collegiate track athlete, who like many of us, entered the real world and packed on the pounds. It took a desire to transform her body, as well as the desire to live out a passion that had been burning within her since childhood, for Bilaye-Benibo to not only lose the weight and build muscle, but to become a force within competitive bodybuilding. Check out her story.

MadameNoire: What originally motivated your decision to transform your body and then eventually foray into bodybuilding?

Tokini Bilaye-Benibo: To be honest, I was probably six or seven years old and I was at home with my dad. There was a bodybuilding competition on, and of course, you see the men and I’m like, ‘Wow!’ So then after the men come on, I see all these women and I freaking lost my mind as a kid!’ That’s when I think I can distinctly remember my intrigue with muscles. And so fast forward to when I got older and the time actually got right, because it takes so much time and discipline to be competition ready. That particular year, 2012, I was 29 and I was overweight, and I was like, “I’m over this sh-t.” And so I said, “Ok, I’m going to give myself a new body, and if this doesn’t work, I’m getting plastic surgery.” A lot of people don’t tell you for real for real what it is, but that’s what it was. You graduate college, you’re making more money, and women and men, after a certain age, all you do is happy hour and Sunday funday. All that is is food and drinks. Next thing you know you’re 50 pounds heavier and like, “Ok, how did this happen?” So that’s exactly what happened to me. But I was like, “You know what? Let me get my life together.”

I didn’t want to be that person. I would look at my arms, I would look at family members — I didn’t want to be that person who the doctor told, “You have to change this or else.” I didn’t want to be told that. And we’re all told that “Oh, once you get to 30, your body goes downhill from there.” But I said, “I kind of think that’s a choice.” I think to a certain extent, it is a choice. For me, it was kind of one of those things where I was just like, “Whatever I can do in my power to make sure that I’m healthy, that’s what I’m going to do.” So initially I didn’t start bodybuilding. I started getting my health together. I went on a complete raw vegan detox and I did that for six months, and I think I lost maybe 65 to 70 pounds. This is before I even started working out. This is before I started training, before any of that stuff. So after I had gotten to 150 or so, I said, “I think it’s time for me to do what I’ve always wanted to do.” So that’s where I decided, “You know what? Let’s do this and it will be your gift to yourself for your 30th birthday. You’ll have a new body and feel good about yourself.” That’s what I did. I trained in 2012 to get ready for my first fitness competition as a birthday gift to myself.

Were you ever nervous about what people might say? You know we Nigerians.

I honestly didn’t care. My dad doesn’t compete, but he’s always been into bodybuilding as long as I’ve been alive. So that was never an issue for me. People are going to talk anyway. Outside of bodybuilding, people will talk if you’re fat, people will talk if you’re skinny — you might as well have the body you want. You might as well have the things in life you want because they’re going to talk anyway. But to be honest, there is a stigma when it comes to Nigerians, specifically women. It sounds terrible, but you don’t really have any value outside of getting married and having children, regardless of your degrees, regardless of your accomplishments. So I started training, and of course, my dad was impressed because he’s always been health conscious. But when I’d gone to Nigeria, they were like [in accent], “No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no. Don’t do too much. A man will want a woman to be soft. The exercise is too much you know? Stop now. It’s only yam. It’s only garri.” They don’t really get it. Instead of being a jerk I say, “You know what Auntie? I’m good.” But every once in a while, you know, I was at the airport in Nigeria and they were like [in accent], “Soooo, you be man or woman?” I was like, “Ask your mom.” That’s the worst thing you can do in the airport in Nigeria because they can hold you, but that particular day, I was over it. I hadn’t even really advanced that far as far as bodybuilding yet. But I continued.

Instagram Photo

How do you balance a busy schedule and making time for exercise? 

It’s hard having to balance it before work: Getting up at 4 a.m. to go train and then making sure all of my food is ready and then going to work. Normally, in the morning, I get my cardio out of the way and then I get out of work. And then after I get off of work is when I do my weight training. It makes it easier for me to split it up. One, I’m not as tired at once having to do cardio plus the training. And then it breaks up the time for me. I can get up, go do my cardio, listen to music and get my day started, get a little energy, and then it allows me to work because my workdays are long too.

How has scoliosis impacted you while building muscle, particularly on your back? 

For my whole college career, even high school, I was told “Don’t do this, don’t do that.” So I was afraid to do anything until I started training. It was a physical thing but it was also a metaphorical thing. I was so afraid to do certain things, but I literally had to put my foot in. I had to. I had to figure out how to work around it. I do limit myself with certain things in the gym. I believe that anybody of any ability can train according to their own body, we just have to make modifications. That’s what I do. My favorite physical attribute on my body is my back, but it’s also my greatest insecurity because of my scoliosis. I can see it. Other people can’t see it as well as I can. But on the other hand, I look at my back and I’m like, “Ooh this thing is shredded exactly how I want it.” So it’s both for me. As far as heavy, heavy weights that could put strain on my back, those I don’t do. I’m not a power lifter. I’m not in the gym to impress anybody with how much weight I can throw around. People always ask, “Well how much can you squat? How much do you bench?” I really don’t care. I don’t care about the numbers. My goal is an aesthetic goal.

As far as numbers go, what advice do you give women trying to build muscle who get discouraged by the number on the scale? 

It’s hard to tell someone not to look at the scale because the numbers, to a certain extent, are still an indication of certain progress. But certain days, with women and their hormonal fluctuation, you may hold more water. You may have days where you’re extra skinny one day and then the next day you’re like, “Why did the scale go up two pounds? I thought I put in the work.” As much as it sucks, you just have to get through the day. Don’t mess it up by binge eating emotionally. Get through the day. Keep doing what you’re doing. Add a little extra water. If you’re worried, drink some more water. As simple as it sounds, adding additional water helps to reduce belly fat and bloating. If you’ve ever seen a toilet that doesn’t flush, the best way to make it flush is to pour more water in it. If you want your body to flush, that’s what it’s going to do. The more water you drink, the more water you’re going to flush out.

As far as the fitness side of wanting to be at a healthy place physically, you have to be ready to do it yourself. Nobody else can motivate you like you can and no one else will. You can have all the gym buddies in the world, but they’re going to fall off. And it’s going to be left up to you to say, “You know what? I’m not driving through Jack in the Box today.” “Let me go to the gym, I’m not sleeping in.” “It may be cold today but I’m still going.” People say it’s a lifestyle change, but it sounds so cliche to me. The real, real, real, is that it’s a daily decision. You have to make a daily decision not to be greedy. I’ve been there. When I first started I was like, anything starch-related, I need it. And that’s my thing. I never had issues with sweets: candies, cookies. Mine was like rice, pasta, something like that. But I have to make a decision every day: “Ok, you’re good. You’re not hungry, you’re just greedy.” I have to tell myself that because I know. I gained weight because I ate too much. Not only did I eat too much but I was sitting my a– down all the time. Outside of work, all I was doing was sitting down and chilling and chilling. So I’ve had times where I’ve pulled into a drive-thru, ordered food and thought, “Ok, I’m going to regret this in two days or the scale is going to go up” and I would literally pull off on the plug. Literally run off before getting to the window to pay. That was a victory for me: “Ok, you didn’t actually buy the food so you’re not going to eat it.” Or days that I would buy junk food. I don’t have control when it comes to certain stuff, so I don’t put certain stuff in my house. I don’t put chips in my house because I like crunchy things and if it’s a family-size bag, I’m going to chew it. Most of these companies who have most of the junk foods, they have psychologists and neurologists who work for them. They know the things that are addictive: salty plus crunch, sweet plus chewy. Those things neurologically fire off things in your brain that give off the same hormones and chemicals as cocaine, heroine, all of those things. That’s why it becomes hard for people to let go of certain foods.

And what do you say to people who say that muscle and femininity don’t mix, so they’re afraid to do strength training because they might get “bulky”? Looking at someone like you, you are very feminine. You are a beauty lover! You do makeup and hair but then you’re also a very strong and muscular woman. 

Here’s the thing, a lot of women do say that, but what I’ve realized is that most of the people who say that have excess fat anyway. They’re like, “I don’t want to be big and bulky,” and I’m like, but your arms can barely fit in a jacket. Let’s try to look at something a little bit different so that you’re able to do whatever. Plus, you have to really train a lot to just get big and bulky. Naturally, I have smaller arms. So it’s taken me four years to even build muscle on my arms. And I decided that you can’t leave it up to someone else to determine what femininity looks like. It looks different for different people, and for me, I like muscle. I’m a glam girl, but I don’t need to necessarily be prissy all of the time. I like to sweat because sweat means I’m doing something right. I like my six-inch heels just as much as I like my running shoes. I decided that muscles look really cute in a dress! Either way though, you have to be confident in yourself. Whether you’re muscular, whether you’re skinny, whether you’re fat — own your sh-t. Own the skin that you’re in. Transform it in the way you want to, but you have to own where you’re standing. So for me, I was like, “Ok, this is what I am. This is who I am and this is how I like to look.” Even if I was wearing a fruit basket on my head, if it feels good to me, it’s going to appear confidently on me.

 

Follow this femme fitness enthusiast at @Lyzadora and @Lyzadorafitness.  Check out the rest of this month’s Fitness Friday features with yogi Jessamyn Stanley and CrossFit competitor Elisabeth Akinwale

 

The post Fitness Fridays: Body Builder Tokini Bilaye-Benibo On Not Getting Discouraged By Haters — Or The Scale appeared first on MadameNoire.

Basquiat “Untitled” Painting Breaks Record At Sotheby’s Auction

0
0

basquiat piece breaks record

Jean-Michel Basquiat, the Brooklyn-born artist who went from graffiti artist to art world wonder in just seven years before losing his life to a tragic heroin overdose in 1988, just made history. The artist who is a rap lyric favorite of artists like Jay-Z and Kanye West recently broke a record with his painting “Untitled” selling for $110.5 million at an auction at Sotheby’s, the sixth most expensive work to ever be sold at auction.

Dealer and Basquiat expert Jeffrey Deitch remarked the artist of Haitian and Puerto-Rican descent just joined the ranks of some of history’s most revered artists:

“He’s now in the same league as Francis Bacon and Pablo Picasso.”

According to the New York Times, only ten other works have broken the $100 million mark.

Not too long after the sale was announced, Japanese billionaire Yusaku Maezawa took to Instagram and revealed himself to be the buyer of “Untitled”, a painted of a skull forged by oil stick and spray paint.

Instagram Photo

41-year-old Maezawa  is founder of the Contemporary Art Foundation and as well as Japan’s largest online fashion mall, Zozotown. Last year, he set the previous auction for Basquiat high paying $57.3 million for the artist’s 1982 painting of a horned devil at Christie’s. In a statement to Sotheby’s he stated:

“I wish to loan this piece — which has been unseen by the public for more than 30 years — to institutions and exhibitions around the world. I hope it brings as much joy to others as it does to me, and that this masterpiece by the 21-year-old Basquiat inspires our future generations.”

Basquiat’s work focused on themes such as wealth vs. poverty using social commentary in his work to attack power structures, racism and class struggle. Last year Basquiat became the highest –grossing Americana artist at auction, generating $171.5 million from 80 works, his auction high increasing at least tenfold in the last 15 years.

The post Basquiat “Untitled” Painting Breaks Record At Sotheby’s Auction appeared first on MadameNoire.

Mathew Knowles Talks His Relationship With Daughters

0
0

As the rumors of Mathew Knowles’ troubled relationship with his daughters Beyoncé and Solange continue, he is finally putting it all to rest and setting the record straight.

In a recent interview with Houston’s Fox 26, Knowles told news reporter Jonathan Martin that his relationship with his superstar daughters is just fine.

“I’ll only say that I communicate with my daughters weekly,” he said, combating the reports. “I would describe my relationship with my daughters as ‘loving.’” Interestingly enough, there have been many instances where he and Beyoncé’s relationship in particular made headlines, including that he wasn’t invited to the hospital for the birth of her soon-to-be-born twins.

“That’s a lie,” Knowles said about the hospital rumor. “There’s a difference between a rumor and a lie. That’s a bold lie.”

During the interview, Knowles even went as far as showing recent text messages between him and Beyoncé to prove that their relationship is in fact not strained. In the messages, it revealed that Beyoncé had sent videos and messages in the previous days leading up to the interview.

“He can say, ‘I saw this, y’all are full of sh*t!’” says Mathew. “I don’t care what people say.”

 

The post Mathew Knowles Talks His Relationship With Daughters appeared first on MadameNoire.

Viewing all 616 articles
Browse latest View live




Latest Images