Blast from the Past: Gadget Trish shares her thoughts the BET awards featuring Chris Brown for the Michael Jackson Tribute.

I go hard for Chris Brown.  Check out my post from the BET award when he did a tribute to Michael Jackson.

When I did something wrong my mother would punish me, and I personally found it very effective. At times I disappointed her, but at the end of the day she would forgive me and a valuable lesson was learned.  I see the Media playing the role of my mother, but unlike her, they just wouldn’t forgive Chris Brown.  His fans formed support groups like “Team Breezy” a group of fans that would reach out to fellow fans to call radio stations to play his music, and write to networks requesting for Chris Brown to perform at various venues. Blogs, youTube Channels, and multi-social sites were expressing how they wanted to give Chris Brown a second chance to redeem himself.  It seemed like the efforts were going in vain, and then B.E.T finally allowed him to perform for the Michael Jackson tribute that we all were waiting for.  I tell you know lie when I say that I was screaming like a little girl, “Chris, Chris.”  Not to knock any of the previous people that did tributes for Michael in the pass year, with the exception of Janet Jackson on the MTV awards last September  and Beyonce singing “I Can’t Help It” at one of her concerts, I really didn’t feel like anyone has stepped to the plate to live up to the “Jackson” standards. Both Michael and Chris fans knew the only one that had the essence of Mr. Jackson was Chris Brown PERIOD!

The opening of the performance had Chris Brown with the signature “The Way You Make Me Feel” outfit with the corresponding song. It was followed with my personal favorite MJ song, “Remember The Time” with dancing steps from the music video with the Breezy touch.  One of my favorite parts was this neon light segment to Smooth Criminal, followed by Michael’s iconic “Billie Jean” with the signature outfit.  As I’m seeing Chris Brown perform this, I knew something was wrong because I’ve seen him do this before and you can tell he was nervous or something.  The screen starts to display social issues and you hear the melody of “Man in the Mirror.”  Chris barely gets a word out and his voice is deep like Johnny Gill.  The next thing you know, he is crying like he lost his best friend. His emotions overtake him, and you get this sense of an artist honored to perform for his lifetime idol, infused with the actions of everything that led him from being ban in the first place.  It was one for the history books for sure.  His emotions caused me to cry and I found myself rewinding the DVR in disbelief that this just happened on live TV.  You felt his remorse, you felt the lyrics, and feel Michael all in this one moment.  At the very end of the show, Chris Brown was given a BET award from the fans, and appears very humble.  He informed us that he wouldn’t let us down, and appeared sincere. I personally for one believes he deserve another opportunity to get his career in order.

I could talk about Chris Brown for a lifetime, but I just wanted to briefly talk about the overall B.E.T. award show.  In terms of production value, it was very professional.  It looked like people rehearsed and took pride into what was being asked of them.  However, the artist overall didn’t have enough “Wow” factor for me.  My favorite performances that deserve honorable mentions were Piddy and Dirty Money, Monica, and Kanye West. I was really feeling Janae Monae, and Patti Labelle for the Prince tribute.  My only awkward moment was seeing Prince wearing a shirt with his image on it, can we say “Vain.” I enjoy Queen Latifah’s as the host, and I appreciate Nicki Minaj indirectly addressing Lil Kim by saying that woman should keep things positive

“I think it’s so important right now for positive energy among women because I’m doing this, I’m fighting for women. This is not for me; this is for all of us. So thank you to all the female rappers that paved the way for me.”

Overall the B.E.T. award was well produced, but with the acceptation of the artist mentioned, there was nothing that inspired me.  One a personal note, “Chris as a fan, I got your back and everyone deserves a second chance.”

Gadget Trish Returns To Theatre For Chris Brown's Takers.

I got a unpleasant surprise at the Magic Johnson Theatre while attending Chris Brown's "Takers". See what happens when I returned.

Publish Post

Chris Brown Shows Off His Dance Moves

Chris Brown's Red Carpet Interview with Terrence J at the Takers Premiere in Los Angeles

Gadget Trish: Survival Tips for College

This past May, I became the class of 2010, and I am taking a little downtime before taking the next step – career. College was one of the best experiences I ever had in my life, but there are a few things I wish I knew before attending.  Here are some tips on getting through college.

Building Your Network

In my freshman year, I made the mistake of connecting with the “popular” kids.  Little did I know, they were not focused, cut classes, and in most cases ended up dropping out.  I was placed on academic probation, and left school for a few years before returning back. College is an investment and should not be taken lightly.

It’s okay to interact with everyone, but watch the company that you keep.  Get close to people especially in your major.  Create or join study groups. Get a few numbers with people in your courses just in the event that you have to miss a class and need the notes.  Join clubs, causes, sororities or fraternities to connect with people with common interest and passions.  Avoid lazy people, and surround yourself with students that take their studies serious.  Your GPA is important; it helps with scholarships, good internships, and sometimes jobs. It’s okay to party, but keep your priorities straight – your studies! The workload is heavy and will pile on quickly, so keep your eye on the prize – your degree!

Don’t worry about the Jones

You always come across students that have more money then most and have the ability to spend it effortlessly.  For those fortunate few, God bless, but don’t focus your energy keeping up with them.  College is so different from High School.  It’s not a popularity contest, or a fashion show. Live within your means!  On most campuses, people wear t-shirts, sweats, khakis, and jeans. Save your nice clothes for events, dates, parties, and interviews.

The one thing I wish I didn’t take out was student loans.  If you have to take out a loans, don’t borrow more then you need. You don’t know what the job market will be when you graduate and you are responsible to pay it back. Look for grants, scholarships, and contest in your major. Consider a Junior College for the first few years, and transfer to a Senior College to cut cost.  If you are not a business major, you should consider taking a business, marketing, and an entrepreneur courses as electives.  If you can’t find a job when you graduate, create it.

Freshman Fifteen

Have you ever heard of the “Freshman Fifteen?” If you haven’t it is typical the amount of weight gained within the first year of college.  For me personally I gained 30 pounds in the first year, and additional 20 by the time I graduated.  Then means I gained 50 pounds!!!! On most campuses, fast food restaurants surround you. The prices are alluring especially when you are on a budget, but consider smarter options.  For example, Subway sandwiches have $5.00 footlongs and you can eat one half for lunch and the other half for dinner.  That averages out to $2.50 a meal. 

Consider investing in a stainless steel water bottle to reduce your carbon footprint. Calorie intake from juice and sodas, and overall cost of buying beverages throughout the course of the day add up both around your waist and wallet.  The campus is usually flooded with water fountains, so fill it up! My personal favorite bottle is from Klean Kanteen and it could be purchased from Amazon.com. Buy healthy snacks like nuts, yogurt, and fruits.  These will keep you satisfied longer, and if you have a Target, Walmart, BJ’s, or Costco in your area, buy it in bulk.

Design on a Dime

Shopping for a small room, dorm, or apartment?  If so, it’s wise to be frugal because college is expensive and cutting corners will keep you one step ahead.  My favorite places to shop for cute furniture and knickknacks are Target, IKEA, Bed, Bath, & Beyond, The Container Store, eBay, Thrift Stores, & Urban Outfitters. For my personal space, I centered my design on music.  First off, ask friends and family to see what they are willing to part with; you can save hundreds by doing this. For example, my brother gave me vinyl records, my mother’s old AOL CD disc, my Aunt gave me a TV and my High School BFF gave me VIBE magazines with some of my favorite artist.

On my main wall, my BFF found oversized frames from IKEA and had the idea that of taking the CD’s from AOL to create a record studio look. I used my old Aaliyah calendars and records to fill the space up.  The frames and shelves also came from IKEA for less then $5.00.  The NYTTJA frames are about $1.99 each and come in a few colors, and the shelves were about $3.00 each where I placed my favorite wigs. 

On the second wall, at first I placed posters and records on the wall.  The following year I purchased a frame from Target for about $7.00 each for promotional free posters, and on that same wall designed floating shelves from 45 records for more wigs. In my final year of school I upgraded the space with album frames from Urban Outfitters.  My window treatment was simple blinds from Target with an orange plastic curtain from IKEA, with vinyl records that I cut in half.

The wall with the closet was originally decorated with random pictures on the door and sides, and I placed the records in a square formation on the same wall.  In my final year of college, I upgraded the space by again placing the album frames on the sides of the closet from Urban Outfitters.

When you are decorating your room, get the essentials first like a bed, desk, and storage.  Compare pricing is key to save on these items because they will cost the most, and use coupons and coupon codes to get extra savings. Build your space slowly to avoid going over your budget.  Each semester I focused on a different part of the room until it was complete. Other fundamental items like my desk came from a closeout section from Bed Bath and Beyond for under $50.00, the TV stand came from Kmart for $20.00. My office accessories came from the Container Store from a sale event, and the storage ottoman came from Target.

If you are in a dorm, see what furniture comes in the room already, many dorms come partially furnished. If you are a sharing room with someone, don’t bring things that cannot be replaced. For example, a friend of mine brought her High School yearbook with her with all her friends’ signatures and greetings in it.  Someone borrowed it and she never got it back. Another thing to keep in mind with both dorms and rooms, know the rules.  In some places you can’t paint or put nails in the wall, so get the guidelines before planning your space.  Most websites from the stores mentioned above have Dorm tips my favorites are Target.com, The Container Store, and Bed Bath & Beyond.

Tech talk

A computer is an essential tool for completing college. It will be used for research, presentations, and writing papers.  If purchasing a computer is not in your financial reach, don't panic. Most campuses have computer labs with printers you can utilize for free or a very low fee. Research your campus to see about access. I personally had to use the campus computer lab for my first year; my only advice is to not do anything at the last minute.  Sometimes the labs are full and it takes hours to get one. 

Understand what tasks need to be done with your computer. For example, of you are a video or graphic major, it's more then likely you will need to purchase a Mac or a PC with a very strong graphic card. The PC I owned when I attended Junior college was a Dell and I was very pleased with it. I used Roxio and Adobe to edit my videos, and used external hard drives for storage.

In my senior college, I purchased a Mac.  Mac computers are a little bit more money, but they are great investments. First, out the box you get iLife, which allows you to edit movies, manage your photos, create music, and burn DVD. They also have cameras in their laptop and iMacs, so you can iChat and video chat. That is a lot of power in a computer. Second, they have student discounts; just make sure your college qualifies. If you purchase your computer before September 7, 2010, you meet the requirements for get a free iPod touch 8Gb or use the value towards a larger capacity iPod for the value of that iPod. For example, is you want an iPod 64 GB for $400, then the final cost will be $200. There is also an option to get a free printer after rebate, so if you have the means to get a Mac, do so.

My favorite gadget to use a study tool is an iPod (iPhone or iPad.) They have great study applications that will make getting through college easier. My top applications for school is Cram, My Homework, and Flashcards. I have a terrible memory and it takes longer to retain information. Flashcards were an essential tool through successfully completing college.  I used paper index cards for the majority of my college experience, but the downside is that you have to carry huge stacks around.  The iPod touch had all my information compacted in a small device. I also used Cram to do quizzes throughout the year to test myself so that when midterms and final came, I was well prepared. Professors usually have papers, projects, and major test in the same timeframe.  Don’t make the mistake of trying to balance 4-5 classes by doing everything at the last minute. Take a few hours a day to concentrate on your schoolwork, and you will find that slow and steady wins the race. 

Below is my video post on this topic:

Gadget Trish 2010 Wishlist (Jackson and Chris Brown Fans I need your help!)

My wish for 2010 and beyond…

My love for the Jackson family started when my mother would play the Jackson 5 Christmas album.  I couldn’t tell you why I was mesmerized with their voices, but Christmas was miraculous as I danced with my brother and sister as we performed for our family to what is still my favorite holiday body of work of all time.   My mother would play this song from Jermaine Jackson on steroids call “Found that Girl,” my mother is a huge Jermaine Jackson fan, and with his smile and voice I can truly understand.  With the exception of the Christmas album, I don’t have strong memories of too many Jackson 5 songs except for “ABC,” “Daddy’s Home,” “Never Can Say Goodbye,” and “I Want You Back.”  My mother was a serious Motown lover and I call her a “Motown Mommy”, so I had a huge range of Motown sounds that played in the house, but I have to admit, I really didn’t like very many at the time, but I loved hearing the Jackson 5. 

I was still a little girl when “Thriller” came out and it was the hit of the year.  I attended a Christian private school, and my mother would not allow to many new artist in the house.  One day I was at my Aunt’s place and she was babysitting us and was dancing to “Baby Be Mine” from Michael Jackson for hours.  When I got home I beg my mother for the record, I wanted to know who was the person that made her dance for hours with awestruck beats, lyrics, voice, and hooks. To my surprise my mother let me have my first secular record.   I had the limited edition pictured disc that I played until I memorized every lyric and adlib.  Within that same era, Jermaine Jackson did a song with Michael called “Tell Me I’m Not Dreamin” and a solo called “Do What You Do” which is still a favorite of mine, and when little sister Janet hit the scene with “Control”, that solidified that the Jackson family was here to stay.

As years went by, the focus from Michael Jackson would shift to Janet Jackson, and 3T. For example in the mid-nineties I loved “Dangerous” as Michael sang my favorite MJ song and video of all time, “Remember The Time”, but I had this thing with “Girl Power” and Hip-Hop, and would focused on artist up like TLC, SWV, and of course Janet Jackson.  I recall having my hair like JJ from the movie “Poetic Justice,” with the cool thick braids.  Around this time 3T came out swinging with their first hit CD with “Memories,” “Why”, and my favorite song “Tease Me”. Janet Jackson, Mary J. Blige, and TLC became my favorite R&B/Pop artist in the nineties. I wouldn’t feel right not talking about top Hip Hop artist like Nas, Mobb Deep, and who can forget Bad Boy artist like Biggie, Lil’ Kim, Total, and of course P. Diddy himself (you couldn’t go to a party without playing something from Bad Boy.) The Jackson family had some stiff competition with Hip Hop, but was holding it down for sure. 

In 2001, Michael Jackson returns with a reunion TV special with various artist and his brothers.  The magic has returned, but then the most unthinkable event in the countries history happen, “911”, the attack on the towers of the world trade center. From a native New Yorker, it was the most hectic time living in the city.  I wouldn’t leave my home unless I had to and when MJ came to MTV to promote “Invincible”, I could kill myself for not having more courage to see him.  Little did I know that this would be the only opportunity to have seen him in person.  I did buy the CD of course and it became my 3^rd favorite MJ CD while he was alive.  My favorite songs were “Butterflies,” “Heaven Can Wait,” “Break of Dawn,” and “Whatever Happens.”  At the time I wasn’t aware of Michael Jackson’s problem with Sony promoting of his latest creation, and as a result  there really wasn’t as strong of a presence on the radio or TV.  The CD slowly faded, and only his hardcore fans would know how good of a CD that was. 

Little sister Janet Jackson was keeping the family musical legend alive with her releases of “All for You,” “Damita Jo,” and “Discipline.”   Anything her or Michael released I brought it.  Around 2007-2008, I remember I purchase old CD’s from the Jacksons.  I really love the late 70’s stuff and decided to add that to my iPod.   In  2009 Michael Jackson announced that he was doing a final tour.  It broke my heart when the tickets sold out so fast.  There is nothing I wouldn’t have done to see him, but that fate wasn’t in my cards.  On June 25, 2009 while watching BET’s ….. they announced the death of Michael Jackson.  I really was hoping that the Media had got their information mixed up, but I remember feeling numb.  My BFF called me to see how I was doing, and I informed her not well.  I remember a tear falling down my face and playing his songs throughout the night.  I recall praying that when I woke up that this would a huge misunderstanding and that he was alive. Unfortunately, he was gone, and that is when my quest for learning about Michael Jackson in greater depth began.

I have a deep spiritual connection to Michael for so many reasons, but I just want to just focus on the music for this blog.  Since I had the Jackson 5 greatest hits, the first thing I did was attempt to complete the Jackson 5 collection, but as luck would have it, those CD’s were hard to find because all the CD sold outs and the people that were selling them where charging as much as $150.00 a CD!  I ended up downloading the rest of the Jackson 5 collection on iTunes, and my curiosity got the best of me.   Slowly, but surely I started making discoveries like MJ’s first four solo albums from Motown, and eventually the rest of this siblings outside of Janet and Jermaine.  That’s when my love for the Jackson’s went from a fan to a super fan.  I started seeing the family in a whole new light.  I just couldn’t stop playing Jackie, Randy, and La Toya.  They all have such a great amount of talent and I started recognizing how the Media tries to create friction by downplaying them. I will go in depth of what my favorite CD or albums are from each Jackson member in a future post, but the bottom line is that I truly admire them and really would like to meet them.  If you haven’t watch my video attached with this post above, please do.  If anyone can get me some talk time with the Jackson and Chris Brown or “Cousin Chris” (the honorary Jackson family member), please make it happen. The youTube post is my thoughts about Chris Brown, so please watch this as well.

Music featured is this post is: Rebbie Jackie’s “Yours Faithfully” Jackie Jackson’s self-title LP, The Jacksons self-title, Jermaine Jackson’s self-title aka “Dynamite”, La Toya Jackson’s self-title, Marlon Jackson’s self-title, Randy Jackson’s “Randy and The Gypsys”, Janet Jackson’s “Number One” and  “Together Again” single, 3T “Sex Appeal”, and Chris Brown’s “Graffiti” deluxe version.