MJB

We live in a world of acronyms, don't we?  Why is so much emphasis placed on random letters put together, without meaning for most people, to represent something meaningful?  At work, I've witnessed an overuse of acronyms.  Governments over use them and most definitely, the medical sector uses them way too much.  I guess I’m also guilty of using too many acronyms.   I go shopping at SDM (Shoppers Drug Mart) or CT (Canadian Tire) or GT (Giant Tiger) or AE (American Eagle...for Sarah!) or YIGS (Your Independent Grocery Store).  I refer to one of Sarah's chores as emptying the SSD (Space Saving Drainer... for dishes).  I go to the ATM (bank machine).  I'm almost out of TP (toilet paper).  I listen to CDs (compact discs) and watch DVDs (no clue!).   When I text, I often use LOL (laugh out loud) and TTYL (talk to you later).  One of my favourite songs right now, "Sexy and I Know It", is by the group LMFAO.  See what I mean? 

So all of this has lead me to wonder, is there a difference between acronyms and initials?  Isn’t an acronym simply a string of initials?  Why such a fancy name?  Well, you know what that means?  I need to pull out my dic (in case you're wondering, that's my abbreviation for the word dictionary!). 

According to the Oxford Dictionary, an acronym is an abbreviation formed from the initial letters of other words and pronounced as a word.  While an abbreviation consisting of initial letters pronounced separately is called an initialism.  Oh my bad!  I’ve been using the term acronym incorrectly.  An example of an acronym would be CRASSH which stands for Centre for Research in the Arts, Social Services and Humanities.  The acronym is pronounced as a word!  The examples I used as acronyms, SDM for example, are initialisms because it’s pronounced using the letters; it does not form a word. 

So now I know....a string of initials that aren’t pronounced as a word is simply called an “initialism”.  My world has just changed!  I’m no longer going to throw the word “acronym” around as if I know what I’m talking about!  Hmmmm….makes me wonder how many other words in my vocabulary are being used incorrectly???   I’m also wondering if maybe we should simply change the definition of initialism to “when you’re too lazy to say the entire set of words, only the initials are pronounced”.    Is it too difficult to say "I'm going to Shoppers Drug Mart, does anyone need anything?" instead of "I'm going to SDM, does anyone need anything?" because the reality is that I'll probably end up having to say "Shoppers Drug Mart" when people look at me strangely and say "huh?".  Why do we feel the need to talk in code?   

I don’t think we could use laziness as a reason for using acronyms though because I think it’s kind of fun (yes, I said fun!), that we can take the first letter from each word, in a set of words, to form another word.  It’s kind of like one of those poems that uses the letters of your name or a word to tell a different story.  What is that called again?  Geez, if only Sarah or BFF or Bro were here to help me out with this one.  I guess I’ll have to search the internet for my answer.  Albeit courage remains  often stagnate to internet chases.  Okay, so after an extensive search,  I believe it’s called an acrostic poem.  Imagine that?  The answer was in front of me the entire time….did you catch that?   Anyways, if I’m wrong about the name of the poem, please correct me since this blog post is already turning out to be full of humiliation learnings for me.   Hmmmm....maybe the acrostic poem should have simply been called an “initialism poem”.   Just sayin’...

All of this talk has lead me to wondering (surprise!) if we are creating isolation or exclusion when using acronyms or initialisms?  Should they be banned?  Could eliminating acronyms and initialisms heal the world?  For those of you who didn’t catch my acrostic poem within the blog post, you’re probably feeling stupid isolated right now (uh, right?).  Well, in case you missed it, here’s the brilliant acrostic poem that I wrote:

Albeit

Courage

Remains

Often

Stagnate

To

Internet

Chases

Okay, it’s not really a poem but I was trying to be creative, brilliant and a little cheeky (failure!).  Geez, can’t a girl try???   

For fear of making people feel excluded or isolated with my blog post, I guess I should say don't worry if you don't know the meaning of my blog post title: MJB.  When I first decided to write this blog post, I thought the title was an acronym but now I know better;  it’s an initialism.  I’m somewhat disappointed because blogging about initialisms doesn’t sound as exciting as blogging about acronyms, right?   Well, if you don't recognize the acronym initials MJB, you're probably not going to be interested in this blog post (sorry!).  You’ll be happy to know that it's not a campaign to get Justin Timberlake to “Marry Jessica Biel” and it’s not a promotion so you’ll buy “More Jamaican Beer” and it’s not about a “Movement for Justice in Brazil” and it’s definitely not a campaign because I want to “Marry Justin Bieber”.  I guess you'll just have to read on to find out. 

This week, I bought myself an early Christmas gift (ahem!).  No, it wasn't a new book!  I purchased a new CD (yes, I actually bought a compact disc vs. downloading the music from iTunes!) and I'm really excited to share it with you.  Don't worry, it's not another Christmas CD!

So this is your last chance...any guesses??? 

Well, today is your lucky day because this week's blog post is an ode to MJB - Mary J. Blige!!!   WOOHOO!!!  (I can feel your excitement!!!)

Now those of you who know me well will know that I have been a huge fan of three female artists for a long time.  Obviously one is MJB and the other two are....any guesses?  Geez, I hope at least Sarah and Bro are shouting out the answers.  It's Mariah Carey and Barbra Streisand!!!  I’ve already shared my love of Barbra with you in Ode to Barbra so I won’t start ranting about my love for Barbra.  As for MC (Mariah Carey!), Sarah and I had the great pleasure of seeing her in concert (at least it was a great pleasure for me!), and I'm sure I will have a blog post dedicated to her very soon.   Today, it’s all about MJB though!  One day, I hope to see MJB in concert (I wonder if Sarah would come with me?) but until that time, I will gush about her in my blog. 

You know how everything happens for a reason?  Well, last year I discovered Private Practice which is now one of my favourite television shows (yes, this is going to lead to MJB, don’t worry!).  So last weekend, I watched the two hour special of PP which was one of the best episodes (EVER!).  Not surprising, I shed quite a few tears  during that two-hour episode (well, it’s actually only 84 minutes when you fast forward through commercials!).  Halfway through the episode, I realized something that would change the course of my life week.  Let me set the scene for you.  In the middle of a tear-inducing scene where Dr. Jake Riley (played by Benjamin Bratt) is sitting in a cemetery, talking to a tombstone while eating crullers, I found myself transfixed on the crullers he was eating music playing in the background during that scene.  I tried to Shazam (an app on iPhone that "listens" to a song then provides you with the name and artist) the song but it came out "unrecognized".   Since I’m not one to give up, I did a quick Google search to find out if someone had posted information regarding the music in the episode.  What I found out was shocking and elating!  Before I tell you about my discovery, I must tell you that PP has the best music!  So much so that the show has its own music lounge on the ABC website.  Now what I found out was that MJB provided the soundtrack for the entire two-hour PP episode!!!  Not only that but the music was from her upcoming new album My Life II…The Journey Continues (Act I).  Holy crap!   I didn’t even know she was coming out with a new album (yes, I’m a horrible fan!).   I could hardly contain my excitement…and my disappointment….how could I not recognize her voice in the song that had me transfixed during Benjamin's scene?  Based on the lyrics from the song during that scene "need someone, blah, blah, blah" I was able to identify one of MJB's songs from her new album (which hit stores on Nov 21!).  Here's MJB singing "Need Someone":

Amazing....she's so beautiful and so talented!!!  Do you understand why I ran out and bought her new CD My Life II...The Journey Continues (Act I) on November 21st?  Well actually, my ass never left the house because I ordered it from Amazon :)

You should know that the difference between MC, BS and MJB is that I seem to really connect emotionally with MJB's music, and since this is an ode to MJB, I'm going to share my favourite MJB songs with you (you're so lucky!). 

Her career took flight in 1992 with the release of her first album What’s the 411? which was produced by Puff Daddy.  Her hit singles included “Real Love” and “You Remind Me” but my favourite song on the album is a cover of a popular Chaka Khan song (she’s also one of my favourite female artists!).  Here are two legends singing one of my favourite songs, “Sweet Thing”:

WOW!!!  At some point, I need to dedicate a blog post to Chaka Khan.  I almost forgot how much I love her. 

MJB’s next album My Life came out in 1994 and was produced by Sean Combs (previously known as Puff Daddy!).   Hits included “Be Happy” and “Mary Jane (All Night Long)” and “I’m Goin’ Down” but my favourite was “You Gotta Believe”. 

The next album was Share my World (1997) which was produced without Puffy.   The most popular song on that album was probably “Not Gon’ Cry” which was featured in the movie “Waiting to Exhale” (one of my favourite movies and based on a book by one of my favourite authors, Terry MacMillan!).   I love the line "I should have left your ass long ago" :)

In 1999 came the album Mary which included collaborations with Aretha Franklin, Lauryn Hill, Jadakiss, Eric Clapton, Elton John, K-Ci, and George Michael.  Pretty impressive!  I honestly don’t remember this album (maybe I was too busy drooling over John Cusack?) but I must say that the MJB and George Michael collaboration (which I'm discovering today for the first time...thank you blog!) on “As” is pretty cool.  I enjoyed the video so I’m sharing it with you (you’re welcome!).   

I think she became a superstar with her next album No More Drama in 2001.  There were many hits from this album including “Steal Away” and “Dance for Me” but my two favourites are “Family Affair” which was always on my workout playlist (oh the good ol’ days when I worked out!), and the title song “No More Drama” which was so raw.   It still brings tears to my eyes when I listen to it.  

He’s baaaaaaacccckkkkk!!!  Sean “Diddy” Combs is back in 2003 to produce her next album, Love & Life.   Again, I must admit that I don’t really remember this album (shameful, I know!).   The hit singles included “Ooh!”, “Not Today” and “Whenever I Say Your Name”.  I’m sorry to say that as I listen to these songs for the first time (I think!), I'm not really feeling any of them.  I guess the rift between MJB and Puffy came through in this album because (yo diggity!) I’m not digging it. 

Thankfully, Diddy and MJB parted ways because what followed is my favourite MJB album, The Breakthrough (2005)!  I’ve always been able to relate to MJB’s music but this album managed to empower me after a difficult breakup (thank you MJB!).   Hit singles on this album included “Be Without You”, “Take Me As I Am”, "Enough Cryin’” and “One” (with U2!) but I must say that I loved every song on this album (that’s a rarity!).   My favourite MJB song is probably “Be Without You” and it has nothing to do with the fact that (yummy!) Terrence Howard is in the video!  Fun fact:  Terrence Howard also appeared in Ashanti’s “Foolish” video in 2002. 

In 2007, MJB came out with her next album Growing Pains just in time to help me through another heart-breaking relationship.  Hits included “Just Fine” (one of my favourite MJB songs!), “Work That”, “Stay Down” and “Shake Down” (featuring Usher!).  Fun fact:  Blige won "Best R&B Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocals" for the Chaka Khan duet "Disrespectful" (featured on Khan's album Funk This) which Blige wrote.  I dare you to not get up and dance when you hear one of my fave MJB songs, “Just Fine”.

That was a well-deserved dance break!  :)

In 2009, she released her ninth album Stronger With Each Tear.  Interestingly, this album got me through a difficult relationship and subsequently, another breakup (am I seeing a pattern here?).  Hits included “The One” (with Canadian rapper Drake!), “Stronger”, “I Am”, “Each Tear”, “We Got Hood Love” but again, I loved every song on this album.  My two favourites from this album are probably “I Feel Good” and “I Am”.   I believe “I Am” might be one of my all-time favourite MJB songs (there are so many!).   

We have come full circle and are back in 2011 with the release of her newest album My Life II…The Journey Continues (Act I).   Shockingly, this album is not helping me get through another break-up but I can so relate to her journey!   On this album, she worked with Swizz Beatz, Kanye West,  Jay-Z, Timbaland, Maxwell, Alicia Keys, Ne-Yo, Nas, and Beyonce on this album (just to name a few!).   So I have spent the last few days listening to it, and my favourite songs are “Need Someone”, “Ain’t Nobody” (another cover of a brilliant Chaka Khan song!), “25/8”, “Don’t Mind”, “No Condition”, “Mr. Wrong”, “Love A Woman” with Beyonce, “Empty Prayers”, and “The Living Proof”.  Okay, so that’s most of the album so if I had to choose my top 3 right now, I’d say “Need Someone”, “Empty Prayers” and one of my favourite songs of all time “Ain’t Nobody”.   First up is the song "Empty Prayers":

I know I said that "Ain't Nobody" is one of my favourite songs on the album (possibly my fave!) so I have to be honest and say that I prefer Chaka Khan’s version (oh dear!) but I'll let you be the judge!   Now get on up and dance because you’re finally at the end of this blog post there “Ain’t Nobody” like MJB (and Chaka Khan!). 

Oops....I guess it's not the end of my blog post yet.  There's one more thing I want to share with you which I accidentally discovered while searching for MJB videos:  a video of MJB and JB singing "Mistletoe".  It's a little creepy seeing Mary J. Blige sing "under the mistletoe with you" to Justin Bieber but nonetheless, some of my younger readers might enjoy seeing their boy "JB" singing his latest hit with my girl "MJB". 



TTFN :)