It's that time again. So what am I giving the head nod of approval?

1. Vegan Chocolate Chip Cheesecake-Stuffed Strawberries: I can't stand cooking. I've bought cookbooks and lost interest before I left the bookstore. Cooking shows make me sleepy. And I'm uninspired to cook even when I go to great restaurants. But for some bizarre reason I always want to cook something new when browsing Pinterest. I've made more new meals from perusing that site this year than I did in my entire 20s (I'm 31). Some recipes are losers and others are winners. My most recent is this strawberry recipe, and these things are delicious. Check out my version below. (Click the photo for the recipe.)

1. "Queen": I don't know how I managed to watch all of "Roots" but then missed out on this miniseries entirely. There were so many big stars in it (i.e., Halle Berry,
Raven Symone, Jasmine Guy, Danny Glover, Dennis Haysbert, etc.). It took me
awhile to watch this miniseries because you have to be still long enough to
follow the plot. There were countless cringeworthy moments, but in true Alex
Haley form, he stayed true to his family roots and history. I have always
admired the amount of depth he went into to portray his ancestors. I wish more
movies (not necessarily about slavery) were out that showcased so many
African-American stars at their best all at once.

2. Sample day at Whole Foods Market: I'd been to Soul Vegetarian East restaurant and I'd had Soul Vegan at different vegan events, but I never really paid attention to the fact that the products are sold at Whole Foods Market. I went into one location today to grab a few items, and it was sample day. Not only was I impressed by Soul Vegan products, but I had a nice time checking out some other new foods, too.

Been a minute but the past few weeks have been a few hair-pullers and a lot of laughs. This time around I could probably fill up 15 LOL moments but I'll stick to "head nods of approval." Let's go.

1. My godsister getting married: I won't say her name on this blog, but I almost ended up in another lane of traffic while I was on the phone and found out she sent a photo wearing a wedding ring. I saw her wedding photos this week on Facebook and stole plenty of them. Is it stealing if you let the bride know you did it? Probably not. She got married in the Bahamas, and the background was beautiful. It was great seeing my godsisters all dressed up and watching the bride-to-be seal the deal with her boyfriend (now husband). I'm extremely happy for her and looking forward to her party next month.

2. "G.I. Joe Retaliation": I loved that movie. Click here to read my movie review.

3. "Tyler Perry's Temptation": Folks were mad about this movie. I was not. Click here to read my review.

4. Cracking jokes with Mom at a movie theater: This is one of those had-to-be-there stories, but she asked me for some lotion while we were sitting in a movie theater. I gave her a high-five instead and she started rubbing her hands together. It took her a minute to realize that I gave her a high-five with the hand with no lotion on it. We both laughed way too loud and long. We ended up with the giggles so bad I thought the guy behind us was going to move into another row, but eventually we got ourselves under control before the previews started.

5. Watching my grandfather do the Truckin' dance: I would say he's got that Denzel/Sam Jackson swag, but he's 89 so his cool was around before they were even born! And whenever he is in a dancing mood, it's a treat. I've got a couple videos of him dancing with my father and one he recently did on his own while we were in his living room. He gets it in! I love it. I know he was never on the dance floor alone during his pre-married days.

Update 4/24/2013: I couldn't be more baffled by folks who enjoyed that horrific movie "Django" but are mad at L.L. Cool J. One completely rewrote history and did a terrible job of it. The other actually acknowledged our history but wants to get past the finger pointing. You want to see a film that's accurate and amazing? See "42," "Roots" or "Queen."

I bought Brad Paisley's CD and it came yesterday. I listened to this song nonstop the whole way home. I still stand by the blog I wrote below, but I do understand the venom coming at L.L. Cool J. I think if he'd have challenged himself to not do end rhyme and revert back to '80s and '90s rap, his point would've been much better. I also think that another hip-hop artist should've done the track. Anybody seen Yasiin Bey? But I just can't see being more mad about someone justifying wearing a Confederate flag than I can see Nas and Kelis walking around with outfits on that say "nigga" or Ludacris in a full Confederate flag outfit, and we're just cool with it. I'm still amazed at the amount of people I have to check for thinking I'm going to be cool with you calling someone a nigga. It's never cool. If we want to honor history, then we're all equally responsible.

But giving rappers poetic license and defending them for Freedom of Speech but then lambasting another artist for the same thing? I can't agree to it. And at least these two guys' messages was to come together and try to unite regardless of our ugly history. Some of the songs I've heard on the radio over the years have been nothing but ratchet lyrics doing their best to make sure we hate ourselves and everybody else. I'm still sticking to my guns on being a Brad Paisley fan. L.L.? I really wish you'd do a remix and rewrite all of your lyrics, especially the "iron chain" verse. As far as Brad Paisley, the 13th Amendment passed, but that didn't stop Jim Crow, racial profiling, police brutality, Black Wall Street destruction, projects construction and then deconstruction, gentrification, etc. But on that same note, I'm not about to blame everybody by complexion shade for the actions of those who are primarily long gone. I still say the song had very good intentions. It just needed a workshop group to say, "Good idea but get back to the writing board."

Original blog starts here: Yesterday was my first introduction to "Accidental Racist" by Brad Paisley, but I've been a fan of his music for a couple years now. I've heard every song he's released since "Who Needs Pictures" and a bunch of his songs are on my Pinterest "Songs I'll Never Get Tired Of" folder. So when I heard about a "racist" "failure" song he put out, I was thinking, "Are we talking about the same country artist who made 'Welcome to the Future' and sang for Pres. Obama at the White House?" Hell, the last time I heard an artist reference Rosa Parks in a song, it was Outkast and she was a bit annoyed about it. (I love Outkast, by the way.) All the videos for the song had been taken down so I read the lyrics of the song repeatedly trying to find the part that was so offensive. I was never offended. Then today I jump on Twitter and saw another rampage going on about the song and how L.L. is rapping about how we should forget the history of slavery. I won't lie to you. I'm not a fan of the song. The beat is a bit clumsy. The chorus could use some work. The lyrics definitely required a completely rewrite. But you and I both know the theme of the song was to not judge people solely based on looks. We can dissect all the lyrics, but you knew that's the goal both artists were going for.

Now they knew the song would be controversial and judging from their interview on "Good Morning America" they were prepared for a bit of a backlash, but what blows me away is not the song but too many people who are mad at the song. Here's why.

Hello! How are you? Time for round 3 (and 10 since I missed last week).

1. Justin Timberlake's vegetarian skit: I'm already a vegetarian so seeing Mr. Sexy Back in a tofu outfit was going to catch my attention regardless. He's funny, but this was absolutely hilarious. By the time he got to the Trinidad James remix ("veggie, veggie, veggie") part of the song, I was crying laughing. So glad to see him back on the scene. Click here to get to the video.

2. George Lopez on Big Boy's Neighborhood: I wish Big Boy had full-length versions of his interviews online. I think he's an excellent interviewer. But George Lopez took the cake with this one. I wish I'd heard it in my ceramic painting days. "You're just using me for my arts and crafts!" Click here to get to the video.

3. Compiling 50 Sexiest Men: I just couldn't agree with most of the guys VH1 chose for their countdown. I cheated and used some actors and comedians, but those two professions are "artistic," too, so I'm rolling with it. Click here to see who I think are the 50 Sexiest Men.

I watched VH1's "100 Sexiest" list and kept thinking, "I don't agree with most of the men on this list. And why don't some of these guys look like they bathe...ever?" Pinterest is my new favorite place to be (when I'm not on Twitter) so I decided to make my own list. Check it out, ladies. Tell me who you agree and disagree with.

Click here to see the gallery.

I've been enjoying people posting about Black History Month all February, and for those who say it's excessive or should be celebrated all year round instead of February, click "Celebrating black history month is necessary" or another blog of mine. I don't hold back on my opinions about BHM, but I'll keep it light in my HNA blogs.

1. Kids reenact black history moments: My favorite shot of this collection of African-American kids reenacting history is the one for Rosa Parks.

2. Tyler Perry's "Laugh to Keep from Crying": I liked the play. I'm not loving it enough to review it like I've done with other recommendations, but it's definitely a decent play with a strong cast. Seeing Cheryl Pepsii Riley in his plays is always a treat, but the most engaging characters for me were Palmer Williams Jr. as the crazy landlord; the two white tenants played by Wess Morgan and Stephanie Ferrett -- who bring an interesting perspective and diversity into his plays; and the son played by Donny Sykes. Click here to read a summary of the play. Nothing about the plot will exactly surprise you, but the comedic scenes stood out to me. The only downside was that I wasn't into any of the songs and there seemed to be an overkill of them. I usually like musicals but I got to the point where I was thinking, "Just keep the scene going. Stop singing already."

What's up? By now my regular readers realize I completely fell off of doing the "LOL" series where I find five things that make me laugh every week. That's kind of a killjoy because anytime I laugh, I have to remember what amused me. But I still like doing these blogs every week and reminded myself of it when reading the March issue of Ebony magazine. Their "Spring Clean Your Health" recommended "Begin a gratitude journal. Keep track of what brings you the most joy." That's pretty much what I've been doing with the 2011 series "Five Things I'm Obsessed With" renamed "Five Things I'm Digging" and then the 2012 series "What are you smiling about?" But there's some stuff that doesn't make me laugh out loud. They just make me want to give somebody a round of applause or a head nod of approval so I'm switching up the flow to incorporate all three -- things that make me laugh, things I recommend reading and things that I proudly co-sign. You know from the right-hand disclaimer that there are still topics I pretty much can't touch publicly (oh do they get a write-up in my print journals!), but these are recommendations (ahem, "head nod of approval") that I think are safe ground.

I missed three LOL weekly series so there will be 15 for this week. Let's nod!

1. Drake "Started from the Bottom": I couldn't care less what anybody else says about him. He's one of the few rappers of today that I can tolerate. I think he's attractive, but I like his charisma, attitude and skill far more. (It just doesn't hurt that I like seeing him, too.) I cracked up with his friend making a reference to Alicia Keys' video "You Don't Know My Name" with the "I look way different when I'm not in my work clothes." That cashier skit was entertaining, but I love the entire video and song. But my ultimate favorite line is: "I'm a worry about me, give a f**k about you." HEAD NOD OF APPROVAL!

2. HP Envy M6 Notebook PC: I'm feeling like a cast member on "Bourne Identity" with the finger pad log-in option (it's going to make me lazy about remembering passwords though), but I am totally in love with my new notebook. I finally had to let my last one go after seven years of replacements, repairs and being loyal to Gateway, but after the letter "o" fell off in my hands, that was enough. I couldn't see putting anymore money into that notebook so I'm on to a new one. And Windows 8 is impressing me, too. I've only had this new computer for two days but I can't see how I could not like anything about it. HEAD NOD OF APPROVAL, Hewlett Packard.

3. LA Times columnist Gerrick D. Kennedy's column "Chris Brown and Rihanna: Let's Move On": I am beyond tired of hearing slick comments about Chris Brown. He made a terrible mistake at the age of 19, but what he did was no different than what other young men (or women) do when growing up in a household with exposure to abuse. People are acting like what he did was absolutely alien to the planet. Was he wrong? Dead wrong. But I was over it a couple months later. And if Rihanna is over it, I think the rest of look like absolute idiots holding a grudge for her and acting like fortune tellers. Nobody can tell whether he'll repeat his actions but him. I keep hearing females say he didn't apologize to him. What makes you so important that he should? He doesn't know you. Never met you. He owes you nothing. He volunteered with the Jenesse's Center. That's a huge step in the right direction. I actually asked a columnist where were her stories on Charlie Sheen and Mel Gibson. She claimed she wrote columns about them but I never got a link nor do I see even an ounce of anger directed at the latter two celebrities the way I do Breezy. Let it go. HEAD NOD OF APPROVAL to Kennedy for his second article I agree with on the Rihanna and Chris Brown situation. Let them live. It's hypocritical to bully someone who you think is a bully and solves nothing. If anything you both leave pissed off. He's mad people won't let a four-year-old topic go. You're mad that he managed to win awards, sell records and get Rihanna back. And guess what? If you spent even half that amount of energy on your own life, you'd be a much happier person. If her family is still angry, I 100% understand but don't agree with them meddling either (unless there's a second incident of abuse). They have a right to be defensive of her. But the rest of us are here to be fans of the music.

I heard about this book before his Power 105's The Breakfast Club interview, but I hadn't made an effort to read it. Angela Yee gave him a hard time about mentioning his affair with Lauryn Hill while he is/was married to Claudinette. When Wyclef said that issue was explored at the end of the book, that made me wonder what else he could talk about? I wasn't aware of all the alleged affairs or nude photos or managerial photos. I just knew him as a member of the Fugees, a solo artist, a philanthropist for Haiti (Yele) and the guy who wanted to be Haiti's president after the earthquake. I own all of his CDs but I never paid attention to his love life or any rumors about it. Up until "An Immigrant's Story," I never knew what his wife looked like. She's super pretty, by the way. And Wyclef was correct. The book had far more to do with his life than his affair, and I was instantly frustrated hearing about his love life.

1. Fight on "Vanderpump Rules": When women have beef, the tension lasts for weeks before, during and after the fight (watch any female-dominated reality show to prove this or walk into a random high school). But when men fight (as long as it doesn't end up on the news), the commentary is funny as ever. A fight broke out on this show on one of the cast member's birthdays and one of the guys took off his shirt ready to box.

The next day his friend goes: "My only problem was you should've done a few push-ups before you took your shirt off. You jumped the gun on that, dude."

2. Wyclef Jean "getting respect": People are asking Wyclef about the chapter on Lauryn Hill, but I haven't gotten to that part yet. What I am finding out is "An Immigrant's Story" could've been a comedic memoir. I was repulsed by the Haitian Day issues at his school, but the way he made light of some fights cracked me up. Some guy slapped his brother and Wyclef decided to play into the Haitian stereotypes and came out wearing a fur squirrel accessory (his mother's), a machete on his waist and throwing salt. Imagining a young Wyclef do this made me crack up laughing on my way home from work while reading that part.