Archive for January 2013
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it’s hard for me to even write this post. i have been speechless since i heard about the murder of 15 year old Hadiya Pendleton. she was killed in a senseless shooting just ONE week after performing at the President’s inauguration.
Hadiya was an honor student, a marching-band majorette which led to the honor of her being selected to perform at the inauguration. she was destined to do great things.
why was she murdered? a horrible twist of fate. her friends were coming home from the park when it started to rain. they ducked for cover under a canopy to stay dry when a unknown gunman came running through the park shooting and took off!
just like that a precious life was lost.
i am in tears just thinking about it…
our country has seen too much of these senseless crimes. it is time for us to act with our hearts. how much more do we think out communities can take? it is not fair to our children that we as adults can’t get our acts together enough to protect and save them. it is time for us to heal.
i say a prayer for Hadiya’s family and friends. i can almost feel her spirit; so innocent and bright. she did not deserve to be taken from us.
below is a video that features Hadiya when she was in the sixth grade. it was an anti-gang video to stop the violence in our communities. little did she know that her life would symbolize so more more in our efforts to prevent violence.
may she rest in peace.
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i love project runway!!!
the show has been on for what seems like a thousand seasons but i can’t get enough! that’s why i’m encouraging all my girls to watch this season, especially cast member samantha black.
check out this write up about her on the blog, InHerShoes
“With a resume that reads like the “who’s who” of the fashion industry, Brooklyn-based style maven Samantha Black has worked with some of the hottest brands in the industry throughout her career. Michael Kors, Jill Stuart, JimmyZ, and even the late Alexander McQueen have been blessed with this woman’s talent…”
Read the rest of this inspiring article here
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- Comments Off on Hot off The Press: Best Books for Teens 2013
i have loved reading since i first learned my ABCs as a little girl. i would spend hours in the library and still do! reading may seem like a thing of the past for some but there are so many cool books out there. that’s why i wanted to share the winners and finalists of the 2013 American Library Association’s Youth Media Awards!
i’m giving a special shout out to awards for teen books!
happy reading!
Michael L. Printz Award for excellence in literature written for young adults:
“In Darkness,” written by Nick Lake, is the 2013 Printz Award winner. The book is published by Bloomsbury Books for Young Readers.
Printz Honor Finalists:
“Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe” by Benjamin Alire Sáenz, published by Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers, an imprint of Simon & Schuster Children’s Publishing Division
“Code Name Verity” by Elizabeth Wein, published by Hyperion, an imprint of Disney Book Group; “Dodger” by Terry Pratchett, published by HarperCollins Children’s Books, a division of HarperCollins Publishers
“The White Bicycle” by Beverley Brenna, published by Red Deer Press
Schneider Family Book Award for books that embody an artistic expression of the disability experience:
“Somebody, Please Tell Me Who I Am,” written by Harry Mazer and Peter Lerangis and published by Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers, an imprint of Simon & Schuster Children’s Publishing Division.
Alex Awards for the 10 best adult books that appeal to teen audiences:
“Caring is Creepy,” by David Zimmerman, published by Soho Press, Inc.
“Girlchild,” by Tupelo Hassman, published by Farrar, Straus and Giroux
“Juvenile in Justice,” by Richard Ross, published by Richard Ross
“Mr. Penumbra’s 24-Hour Bookstore,” by Robin Sloan, published by Farrar, Straus and Giroux
“My Friend Dahmer,” by Derf Backderf, published by Abrams ComicArts, an imprint of Abrams
“One Shot at Forever,” by Chris Ballard, published by Hyperion
“Pure,” by Julianna Baggott, published by Grand Central Publishing, a division of Hachette Book Group, Inc.
“The Round House,” by Louise Erdrich, published by Harper, an imprint of HarperCollins Publishers
“Tell the Wolves I’m Home,” by Carol Rifka Brunt, published by Dial Press, an imprint of the Random House Publishing Group, a division of Random House, Inc.
“Where’d You Go, Bernadette?,” by Maria Semple, published by Little, Brown and Company, a division of Hachette Book Group, Inc.
Margaret A. Edwards Award for lifetime achievement in writing for young adults:
Tamora Pierce is the 2013 Edwards Award winner. Pierce was born in rural Western Pennsylvania in 1954. She knew from a young age she liked stories and writing, and in 1983, she published her first book, Song of the Lioness. She continues to write and even record her own audiobooks. She currently lives with her husband (spouse-creature) and a myriad of animals in Syracuse, New York.
William C. Morris Award for a debut book published by a first-time author writing for teens:
“Seraphina,” written by Rachel Hartman, is the 2013 Morris Award winner. The book is published by Random House Children’s Books, a division of Random House, Inc.
Morris Award Finalists:
“Wonder Show,” written by Hannah Barnaby, published by Houghton Mifflin, an imprint of Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Books for Young Readers
“Love and Other Perishable Items,” written by Laura Buzo, published by Alfred A. Knopf, an imprint of Random House Children’s Books, a division of Random House, Inc
“After the Snow,” written by S. D. Crockett, published by Feiwel and Friends, an imprint of Macmillan Children’s Publishing Group
“The Miseducation of Cameron Post,” written by emily m. danforth, published by Balzer + Bray, an imprint of HarperCollins Publishers
YALSA Award for Excellence in Nonfiction for Young Adults Winner:
“Bomb: The Race to Build—and Steal—the World’s Most Dangerous Weapon,” written by Steve Sheinkin. The book is published by Flash Point/Roaring Brook Press, an imprint of Macmillan Children’s Publishing Group.
Excellence in Nonfiction Finalists:
“Steve Jobs: The Man Who Thought Different,” written by Karen Blumenthal, published by Feiwel & Friends, an imprint of Macmillan Children’s Publishing Group
“Moonbird: A Year on the Wind with the Great Survivor B95,” written by Phillip Hoose, published by Farrar Straus Giroux, an imprint of Macmillan Children’s Publishing Group
“Titanic: Voices from the Disaster,” written by Deborah Hopkinson, published by Scholastic Press, an imprint of Scholastic
“We’ve Got a Job: The 1963 Birmingham Children’s March,” written by Cynthia Levinson, published by Peachtree Publishers
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Thanks to TurtleandRobot.com for posting awards for children’s books.
For the full list of all ALA awardees click here.
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- Comments Off on Hot off The Press: Check Out My First Vlog!
2013 is flying by as a reminder to get things in gear and kick it up a notch
so that’s what we are doing at sassysagesays
we are starting a series of monthly video blogs on sassysagesays tv
our first vlog, ‘New Year, New You!’ is all about fitness
check it out
what other topics do you want to hear about on sassysagesays tv?
leave a comment and let me know what you think…
Hot off The Press: Shawty No!
Posted on: January 18, 2013
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this week blogosphere has been on fire due to the cancellation of the reality tv show ‘all my babies’ mamas’ that was set to air on oxygen network. the show was about shawty lo (rapper) and family life with his 11 children and their 10 moms.
outrage from the community led the show to get nixed this tuesday. shawty is asking the network to reconsider; stating that the show was unfairly labeled as negative. he said on a recent radio interview that we should give him a chance. i don’t know anything about the show but i do know that too many of us are tired of the craziness on reality tv.
sil lai abrams, founder of Truth In Reality, wrote a great piece on thegriot.com which states much more eloquently than i can the problem with trashy reality tv.
ladies, i’m urging to you keep the momentum going and learn more about truth in reality and what they are doing to clean up our tv viewing experience.
check them out at www.truthinreality.org
Sage’s Rage: If the concern is youth violence, why not ask them what they need?
Posted on: January 16, 2013
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all this talk about gun control has got me heated. i’ve said before in my previous post ‘guns don’t cause acts of violence, people do’ that i am not a fan of the nra and i am not supporting their stance. however, the laser like focus on guns is misguided. the president is set to lay out his plan for gun control and ny state has already passed a new ‘tougher’ law about guns. all this was done without sitting down and speaking with the group most likely to be impacted by these laws; the youth. here are some facts.
according to the centers for disease control in the US:
• In 2010, an average of 13 youth ages 10 to 24 were victims of homicide each day
• Homicide is the 2nd leading cause of death for young people ages 15 to 24 years old; it is the leading cause of death for African American youth
• 83% of homicide victims ages 10 to 24 years old were killed with a firearm
In a 2011 study of youth in grades 9-12
33% reported carrying a weapon (gun, knife or club) in the past month
6% did not go to school in the past month because they felt unsafe at school or on their way to or from school
• 7% reported being threatened or injured with a weapon on school property in the past year
these numbers are soo alarming and so far i don’t see anything in the laws that directly speaks to young people…
still no one is talking to the youth…
most of the youth i have worked with understand that violence is a person to person thing. you gotta focus on the person and helping them become non-violent (as the great MLK would be sure to say).
if we would actually ask youth, i’m sure they would have solutions wise beyond their years.
i’m pretty sure they would ask for programs to get those involved in gangs and guns off the streets. they would want more support for their parents so they could have time to be with them, instead of ignoring their concerns which leads to anger and them violently lashing out. they would want schools to have the funding they need so that could be a place they can feel safe from bullying.
i’m calling all youth to speak out!!!
what do you want law makers and our country to do about violence?
i’m sure by now you’ve heard about the twitter prank that used justin bieber’s name to encourage young people to ‘cut’ themselves. the tweet and hashtag went throughout cyberspace with photos of teens with cut arms.
quite frankly this is a form of bullying. to make fun of an issue that so many teens struggle with is heartless. self-injury is one of the fastest growing risk behaviors for teens, especially girls. studies have shown that as many as 1 in 12 teens harm themselves through cutting.
teens often cut when they feel like no one else understands them and they don’t know how else to express their hurt, sadness or anger. that posting served to make teens who self-injure feel worse about themselves. it only led to more violence and harm.
lots of folks have blasted the originators of the post. i agree we can’t allow bullies like the authors of that post get away with it. it’s zero tolerance time for that behavior.
let’s take back our cyber communities. i’m calling for the authors of that post to not only be protested but prosecuted. violence is violence and there is no room for it online…
