Letter from the Editor
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April 29, 2014 1 Comment

Meet the Fresh Faces of Fresh Takes Magazine

Here are the contributors to Fresh Takes Magazine: Summer Adawn is an Atlanta area actress and a former radio personality.  Her controversial article “Divorced is the new sexy” was featured on a nationwide radio talk show and sparked an intense dialogue about why divorced women seem to find their way back to the alter faster than never married women.  Her comic style is a joy to read. Elaine Forte is Fresh Takes’ globe trotter.  Her travel agency business takes her to all corners of the globe but the Chicago native is quick to call men, even international men, on their BS.  Elaine’s epic Facebook battles have been known to humble […]

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Relationships
thN5Y6E4CU
April 24, 2014 0 Comments

Marriage! What’s in it for Men?

I recently asked my Facebook friends why men should get married and to no surprise, there were a lot of crickets.  A few of my more religious friends quoted the scripture “He who finds a wife finds a good thing,” some made reference to tax breaks and of course there were the claims that married men live longer. Now I’m not one to contradict the good book but I really feel that passage should read “He who finds a good wife finds a good thing,” because a bad wife can mess up your life worse than a bad boss can.  […]

31,237 total views, 2 views today

Entertainment
thICMONLMG
February 6, 2014 1 Comment

The Humanization of Side Chicks

 THE SITUATION: First, we had “Scandal,” and now we have “Being Mary Jane.” Two wildly popular TV dramas which, for the first time, attempt to shine a sympathetic light on side chicks. In Scandal, Olivia Pope is a strong, independent woman who is being relentlessly pursued by the President of the United States. It’s almost like their inconvenient love is a gravitational force that is pulling them together despite their efforts to resist. At one point, the POTUS was ready to give up the Oval Office for their love, but circumstances beyond their control forced them to keep their affair […]

36,357 total views, 1 views today

Comedy
thA9LSRLNG
January 16, 2014 0 Comments

Why the World Needs Golddiggers

Despite the fact that V Stiviano recently ended the raciest regime of Donald Sterling, few groups in our society are as unfairly vilified as the gold-digger.  To some they are even more despicable than working girls.  They are generally viewed as heartless pariahs who prey on unsuspecting wealthy or well to do men for the sole purpose of worming their way into their affections then systematically separating those men from their money.  But let’s take a closer look at their real effect on our society. Which image does not fit your conception of a gold-digger out with her meal ticket? […]

22,980 total views, 2 views today

World
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January 16, 2014 2 Comments

Are All Girls Secretly Gay?

Ok, let’s just dive right in.  Contrary to a popular myth, all girls (women) are not gay…BOOM!!!  Sorry fellas in search of the threesome fantasy, the cat is out of the bag.  The evidence outlined to support this paper thin theory simple does not add up, and its time that masses of heterosexual women not only reject this stereotype, but vocalize their protest in large numbers.  It’s a ridiculous fairytale, a propaganda tool to woo vulnerable women into compromising positions that many live to regret.  One of the major rationales behind this misrepresented generalization is the female tendency to show affection toward one another.  Innocent hugs […]

6,451 total views, no views today

Relationships
arm wresstling
January 1, 2014 0 Comments

How Submissive Should A Woman Be To Her Man?

This is a very easy question for me to answer because if you’re not married, then submitting your will is obviously a choice and not something that you have to do. So, in essence, outside of marriage it really depends on how much you’re digging the guy that you’re with. When you’re in a marriage, submitting your will to a man means that you are willing to put your needs, wants, and desires in the hands of your husband because it is also expected that he is going to provide for and protect you. I’m not so sure that I’m […]

6,161 total views, 2 views today

Relationships
Check Mark 5
December 7, 2013 1 Comment

Relationship Reality Check

I fancy myself a people watcher. I observe and listen well. As I sojourn through life via varying social events and mediums, I encounter individuals across all racial, religious, and socioeconomic backgrounds. No matter the age, sex, or sexual orientation, there is a one consistent shared fiber that runs through this colorful tapestry: relationship “issues.” One recurring problem that is always like the pink elephant in the room is the misconception of what a relationship really is–what a healthy, thriving relationship consists of. Here is the summation of what years of my experiences have yielded. I won’t redundantly spew out […]

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Family
15 year Fizzle
December 7, 2013 2 Comments

WHAT JUST HAPPENED TO MY MARRIAGE?! Avoiding the 15 Year Fizzle

The day begins like any other.  You wake up on your side of the bed and she’s clear on the other side with her back to you as has become the norm of late.  You take a quick shower and fix your own breakfast since she stopped preparing it for you weeks ago. Work is slow so when out of the blue she calls to invite you to lunch you gladly accept.  Lunch is awkward as you both struggle to find topics and you know something is really amiss when she uncharacteristically inquires about how the Lakers are doing. When […]

10,840 total views, 1 views today

Relationships
Girl Dude
December 7, 2013 2 Comments

Growing up Without a Father: Confessions of a Girl Dude

Admission is the key to healing. Acceptance is a part of recovery. And change is essential in resolution. I am a 33 year old woman who is still learning to be a woman. An interesting thing happens to some females when a father figure is absent. She begins to take on the social attributes of the missing male. She becomes tough, rough, hard, and independent.  Feeling vulnerable is foreign and seeing vulnerability is out of the question.  She becomes a Girl Dude. Over the course of adolescence and through teen years, Girl Dude develops habits. For her, the company of […]

5,402 total views, 1 views today

Entertainment
NWA
November 23, 2013 1 Comment

Should Niggaz Wit Attitudes (NWA) be in the Rock n Roll Hall of Fame?

Well let’s consider the criteria: “It must be 25 years after their debut album.” Well, my computer-like mind tells me that from 1988 when they released “Straight Outta Compton” until now is 25 years. (Damn, I feel old.) “The influence and significance of the artists’ contributions to the development and perpetuation of rock and roll.”  Well, no doubt about it, they had a huge influence, and let me tell you, it was significant! I mean, like Dr. Dre said himself, they started that gangsta shit. (That’s where I have a problem, but we’ll get back to that a little later.) […]

25,350 total views, 1 views today

Relationships
Benefits 2
November 11, 2013 0 Comments

Friends With Benefits Part 2

Last week I addressed the fellas, now on to my ladies. Girls, I just have to say it; this friends with benefits thing is a fail in the grand scheme of things. I realize we live in the day and age of “I am woman hear me roar,” “I love me,” “I’m getting mine,” “A girl got needs,” etc. But if we would really keep it 100% real with ourselves, we don’t want to just be a physical release outlet for our “buddies”…do we? Ok, so we’re busy with careers and kids, so we’re up to our eyeballs with the lies […]

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Relationships
Infidelity
November 10, 2013 8 Comments

The Married Man’s Choice

I’m at a grocery store, and I see Tim. Tim is the father of my daughter’s classmate. Tim is married. We stop. We talk about school, the kids, and the Lakers. We laugh. We say goodbye. I arrive at my car with a note stating, “Let’s meet privately…soon.” I smile. I’m at a hotel lobby having a drink. I meet Matt. Married for 13 years, two daughters, and very handsome. We shared a drink, and I learned he was an accountant from Chicago here on business. After a half hour, he left. But before he did, he gave me his […]

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