Secrets of the Heart

Kandace Springs Album: Soul Eyes Music is a journey of the heart and imagination. Just like with the wonders of reading a book, a great album can take you different places without you moving from the comfort of your home. Kandace's music embodies what was great then and making it cool again. Her voice compliments the instrumentals so much that to hear the instrumentals on their own is good but the presence of her voice makes it great because they dance together in smooth operative style. The title track, Soul Eyes is full of sultriness and pure soul. Her voice on this track reminds me of the late, great Etta James with the spunk of the great Toni Braxton the way she deeps into those lower notes. This is the type of album you kick back, relax and drink a glass of wine to. It is the type which is perfect for entertaining friends, looking at art, and slow dancing to. Many may not believe it but this work proves that you don't need a techno pop beat to have that sex appeal.

It amazes me that the government's answer to poverty is the food stamp program (SNAP) as well as other programs of assistance when people are in financial hardship. What they don't tell you is how THEY manipulate the program. I write this blog for those cheated out of assistance when they truly need it because of their so called high income. While the presidential candidates are too busy picking on each other whilst the untainted one is silenced, hard working Americans struggle to stay afloat. President Obama has always stated how the economy is so much better than it used to be and I pray you tell us Mr. President, where is it better? Allow me to show you some figures. I assure you I am not the only one who is mistreated by the system. I applied for SNAP a few months back because all of my money as well as my boyfriend's money was and is going toward bills. I was honest in my application and the interview. They asked me in the interview why I was applying for food stam

This is my favorite picture of Michael. It shows the King of Pop as I remember him, always smiling and always looking sharp with a shirt and tie. I've always thought Michael was so handsome when he wore a suit like his blue and white ensemble in Smooth Criminal  or this red shirt and black tie from the Liberian Girl  video. It's hard to believe it's been 7 years without his bright light shining in this world. Recently I've seen, mainly on twitter, fans posting negative stories/rumors about Michael. I couldn't stand the way people tried to tarnish him when he was alive and I don't like it now. I never knew Michael personally, unfortunately, but I cannot ignore the fact that I learned so much from him through his music and exceptional good deeds. He was an advocate for children. He was right when he said there is much we can learn from children and that it's not childish. Children do not know how to hate until we teach them. They don't recognize the dif

Independence Day Resurgence Starring Jeff Goldblum, Bill Pullman, Sela Ward, Joey King, & Liam Hemsworth Release Date: June 24, 2016 It's been 20 years since Captain Steven Hiller, David Levinson, and President Thomas Whitmore headed the fight to save earth from the aliens who threatened their very existence.  Unfortunately for mankind, the aliens did not forget and we don't have Will Smith's Hiller to lead us in battle. In this new story, Steven Hiller is dead. He was killed in a flying exercise using one of the alien ships. It is time for the new generation to evolve and once again fight for their right to live. Jeff Goldblum and Bill Pullman reprise their roles as David Levinson (Goldblum) and President Thomas Whitmore (Pullman). The script proves to be witty with lines like "They always go for the landmarks" and "I'm not going up there to make friends." Welcome the new generation of fighters, Jake Morrison (Liam Hemsworth) and Captain

Artist: Chantele DiBrava Single: Rolling with the Homies I'm going to state the obvious. Looking at this woman, I would've never guessed her music had a country vibe to it. When I began following her which was quite recently, she messaged me a "welcome" video which was very nice. She went an extra mile to show her appreciation for the followers she gains. I think this is a smart move on her part because it makes the person feel special and proud to be a fan. Now I had to go on her actual twitter page to find any of her music which is how I came across Rolling with the Homies . My first thought when I saw this title was the "Rolling with the Homies" song from the movie Clueless . I said to myself, "Oh she did a cover of that song. This should be interesting." However much to my surprise, it was completely different. It was a countrified spin on a fun/ghetto saying. (Ghetto in a positive sense that is.) The lyric video is fun but I think it coul

                  The Gabbie Show The first time I watched Gabbie it was a compilation of her "If I were a parent" series. One of my friends posted it on Facebook and I could not stop laughing. I looked it up on YouTube only to find this girl has a show. The more I watched the more I became hooked. What is so awesome about Gabbie's show is that you feel like a personal friend of hers. Her stories are hilarious!  Gabbie is also so appreciative of her fans which she expresses in every video with a fun "luv ya" and kiss sign off.  Honestly she reminds me of how I am with my friends when she tells her stories. My favorite episodes are her horrible dating stories. If you haven't checked her out yet, do it! Check out The Gabbie Show on YouTube! And show her the love because she is fabtabulous (No I didn't misspell fabulous, that is my own word that goes beyond fabulous)                         Joe Santagato Okay ladies, we have got to admit the obvi

I know many of you aren't fond of my rants as they have lower viewings than my entertaining posts but I will say this. On Facebook, a friend posted a link that displayed tweets from people who praised the Orlando shooter for what he did in that nightclub. They are very disturbing yes, and what's worse is they use God to justify such a horrific act. First, God does not condone such acts. He has made us as He has made us. He gives us a choice in every situation we have. To damn someone because of their sexual orientation, race, gender, or ethnicity is to damn your own soul. That is NOT YOUR DECISION. It IS the decision of God and God ALONE. Mark my words, He will judge you as harshly as you judge these individuals. They are people just as the individuals who have committed these horrific acts are people. They are monsters but they are people nonetheless willingly choosing to follow Satan. Those that agree with such acts of violence are also servants of Satan. I recognize none of

I did not know Christina Grimmie prior to her fame on "The Voice." Today of everything I read, she was also a YouTuber. When I saw her audition for The Voice, I thought she was fantastic and how could you not? She had a powerful voice. I was shocked as everyone else to learn that she was murdered at her own concert during a meet 'n' greet. When I watch that last video of her inviting people to come see the concert, it saddens my heart even more. She was a light to her family, friends, fans, and anyone she encountered. She was a woman excited to share her talent with the world and all this was apparent in that last video. Every time I see her picture, I say, "I am so sorry you were robbed of your life." What did she do to deserve this? Nothing. What has any person done to deserve to have someone play God and decide theirs was done? Nothing. I see they identified her killer. I pray they don't glorify her murderer as they have so many others. Tell me wha

This post is inspired by the wonderful Wendy Williams. I saw she tweeted about Lindsay Lohan and her fiance Egor Tarabasov don't want a prenup. I did reply to my thought on prenups but I figured since twitter is restrictive in characters, I'd use my blog to further discuss my stance on prenups. First I want to point out that in the past I didn't believe in prenups. I thought, why would you draw up a prenup if you trust and love the person? Through the years I saw why they are necessary especially if one or even both individuals have money. Most cases are seen in celebrity marriages/divorces. Sure when you meet someone you're infatuated, in love, and think that is the most wonderful person in the world however if things don't work out then sometimes that can bring out a person's true colors. In Lindsay's case, since this is the topic that brought up the question, she is a talented actress/singer who has come into money with her talent. No matter who she were

Artist: Alexander Jean Head High EP For those that didn't know, Mark Ballas (well known for his fancy feet on Dancing with the Stars ) is one half of this duo. I had no idea he could sing. That aside, the amazing female vocals are done by BC Jean. Speaking of the vocals, their voices mix together like smooth, soft silk. It's not only the cover that is art but the music. I'm not sure if any of you remember/heard of the painter Bob Ross who had a show on PBS but he was so relaxing to watch because of the way he painted and his soft spoken voice helped as well. This EP is like one of Bob Ross's paintings. It's handled with so much care the the execution is perfect. BC Jean's vocal range is amazing. She doesn't go flat. Her voice does what a voice should when used properly. She is able to round out the notes in such a way that it glides with the instrumentals. It also makes way for Mark's beautiful vocals to underline it with the perfect pitch. Both Mark

Artist: Kerli Album: Love is Dead Release Date: July 8, 2008 Yes I'm reviewing an older album because this is one of my favorites and just because it's old doesn't mean it can't be made new with a fresh review. I stumbled across this album by accident. My best friend Megan and I were in F.Y.E. searching through the used CDs when we saw this album. We ran it to one of the listen stations and decided we love the music. Unfortunately there was one copy and two of us so Megan bought it that day. I admit it I was jealous but then I purchased it off of Amazon for my digital music library. It was my first time listening to the album in full and I loved it as much as when I heard the snippets. Kerli has her own unique sound with a hint of Avril Lavigne. I say a hint because Kerli has this electric rocking sound. Many may have the urge to classify her as goth which is what I wanted to do at first but I feel it's so much more than a goth look or sound. One of my favori

Christian Mingle The Movie Starring Lacey Chabert You're lonely, looking for love. You know Mr./Ms. Right is just around the corner but you're tired of waiting so you take matters in your own hands, take a leap of faith, and try a dating site. After a bad date, Gwyneth Hayden, sees an ad for Christian Mingle and decides to try it out. She's not exactly a believer so she bends the truth a bit and when she meets Paul she's thrown into his world of hardcore Christian values. His father is a preacher and his mother, well she's a piece of work (portrayed by the marvelous Morgan Fairchild). Gwyneth gets in way over her head when she accepts an invitation to join Paul and his family on a mission trip. Although she refers to "Christianity for Dummies" to force the faith, if you will, she slowly begins to see what this is all about. The most heart wrenching scene is when she's "exposed" as a non-believer. I found this scene to be interesting bec

Artist: ZaZa Song: Go Back What I love about ZaZa's sound on this track is that again it brings me back to what music is supposed to be, based on true sheer talent. It's traveling back to the early 90's when music was real. I'm talking about early Mariah Carey, Shanice, and SWV. ZaZa has that beautiful blended sound and harmony that the music industry needs. Her voice carries the song perfectly. She knows how to use her instrument in a way that just makes the song glide smoothly as if on the edge of her fingertips. Go Back  is upbeat and fun. It tells the tale of wanting to turn back the hands of time to a period where things were good. She sings, "I wanna go back back to the old you, no playing games the way you do now that I told you we were better off back then we didn't feel like we needed to pretend." Despite the upbeat tempo of the song, in the lyrics you can sense the end of this relationship. She wants to go back when things were real, genuin

I've noticed on both Facebook and twitter that there is talk about a wondrous machine that can fold laundry. Very miraculous indeed. Why the machine is only around $700-$850. I mean just when we thought we couldn't get any lazier, we're about to rely on a $700-$850 machine to fold laundry. Really? I honestly think that Eric Liner from Cosmopolitan summed it up correctly by stating in his article, " The FoldiMate isn't out quite yet, but when it is finally available for sale, the price is expected to be around $850, a true bargain and not at all an absurd amount of money for an overly sophisticated machine with a ridiculously singular purpose which is to automate a relatively infrequent chore which, as far as chores go, is really not  that  bad. Why would you ever spend a few bucks on  a folding board , when you could spend a few hundred on a robot, right?" My point exactly. This is absurd. The fact that you would pay a few hundred dollars on a machine to do a

Artist: J.P. Kallio Hard to Stop EP I'm beginning to think that Saturday and Sundays are the best time to listen to music because that is when I get a burst of inspirational music to listen to. J.P. Kallio has developed a very inspirational EP. This is a 5 track EP that includes good old fashion music on it. It's a cross between a really great MTV Unplugged concert and what great music used to be like. His musical style reminds me of several artists,mostly country artists. Those artists include Billy Ray Cyrus, Philip Philips, Johnny Cash, and the non-country Dave Matthews Band. His voice is very soothing to the ear allowing for clarity of his musical message. The one thing I've definitely noticed is that his songs seem to be on the shorter end of the stick. At first I thought, "wow I think this is too short" but you know, much to my surprise it works. It forced me to play the song again which is a good thing because that means I liked it enough to play agai

The Good Witch Starring Catherine Bell, Bailee Madison, and James Denton Network: Hallmark Channel "The Good Witch" began as a series of television movies surrounding the story of Cassie Nightingale and the mysteries of Grey House. The series continues the story of Cassandra (Cassie) Nightingale as she continues life after the death of her husband Jake (her main squeeze in the movies). She is a single parent to Grace (her daughter with Jake) and his children, her stepchildren, Lori and Brandon. In the pilot episode we meet James Denton's Sam who is moving next door to Cassie with his son Nick. Things get stirred up pretty quickly with the new resident in town. However above all else, the town is preparing for a special dedication to Middleton's late police chief, Jake. The first season of this series is spellbinding (pun intended). "The Good Witch" has successfully carried over the magic of the television movies into the series. Cassie is not your typi

Artist: Nikki Nik EP: I'll Meet You Here I took a listen of this EP on her official site Nikki Nik: a singer-songwriter empowered by autism . Most of the tracks have videos with the exception of Waterfalls . I have to be honest so here it goes. I think Nikki has a lot of work to do. However I'm going to begin with the good news. I see talent in Nikki. She has a good voice but I believe she needs to work on range. Through each song her vocals remain monotone. I'm not sure who her inspirations are but I would suggest listening and watching Elle Goulding, Kelly Clarkson, and Cascada. I specifically recommend Cascada's Evacuate the Dance Floor because it seems from her songs that she desires more of a techno/club dance style. I think also listening to these different artists will help her find range in her voice so it doesn't come across as monotone. Speaking of techno dance music, it's important to differentiate between the songs. All the songs tend to sound