April 2008 Archives

This was spotted on SoulBounce.com and singer Ne-Yo will perform at Angie and Jesse's wedding. Both actors have been absent from the show for about 20 years. As I mentioned before, I have never watched this soap opera, but I think those two look so great after all of these years. Life seems to be treating them well. His guest appearance will air on May 21st and May 22nd. READ MORE...

Photo Credit:
USA Today

The Foundation for Health Coverage Education provides a free resource where the uninsured can search for low cost private, publicly subsidized, or free health insurance. According to a recent study 7.7 million African Americans are uninsured and about 1.6 million are children.

You will need to answer five simple questions on their site so that they may customize a list specific to your needs and locate plans in your state. They have downloadable enrollment applicationsfor specific plans. There is an 800 number customer service or you can email them with questions. This is not an ad and I don't make a nickel off of passing along this information.

Black Star News has a good interview with financial guru, motivational speaker, entrepreneur Byron W. Perry. Perry conducts seminars and workshops which teach children about money, wealth creation, and entrepreneurialism.

BSN: Please share with us a bit about the experience working with children on this subject.

BP: The general age range is between 8 and 14. I give workshops on “Too Young to Get Hired? Hire Yourself,” “Buy Your Own Bicycle,” “Don’t Eat Cookies – Sell Them.” I open with a question to get them engaged. I ask them, “Who wants to make money?” All of their hands go up. READ MORE...

Reference:
Black Star News
www.ThePowerOfPerry.com/

Take Care Down There is a contraceptive education website created by Planned Parenthood. I have not fully formed my opinion on it, but it is an interactive website on contraception, and features video skits which are used as an educational tool.

In the skits, a health teacher walks in on sex sessions and educates the parties. The content is R-rated for sexually suggestive content. Interesting. Is it educational, entertaining, or neither? Take Care Down There

Brazil's Missing Millions

One year ago, pilots were transporting cash for a bank when their fatal plane crash in a Brazilian village, Maracangalha, caused a scatter of over $3 Million dollars, which was stolen on the ground. Some locals took the money, and only 10 percent of the money has been recovered.

The money brought much trouble to the local residents prompting thugs to come looking for some of the recipients, to extort money. One person was killed.

Today, almost a year after the incident, a man interviewed in the film, said the money was a curse on the village, because of all of the trouble it created. Would you have taken any of the money?

Umoja- The Spirit Of Together Part 1

Umoja is a South African dance musical that tours internationally. Some of the women are topless in some of the performances. This looks like a phenomenal show. Check out their site for more information: Umoja Africa: The Spirit of Togetherness

This person claims he infected 15,000 girls with AIDS. Who knows whether it is true, but someone should be able to recognize this character. 15,000 is a high number, and he could mean the pyramid effect of his partners passing it to others, then those partners passing along, and so on. Could he have meant 1500? It may be a "chronic" error. I am angered after watching this, and filled with all kinds of thoughts.

A poor job was done at disguising his face. Perhaps he wanted his identity to be known. He chose to announce it to the world on YouTube. Whether truth or not, it is a stark reminder that there are people knowingly, on purpose, infecting someone (without informing the partner) with the disease, while you read this.

The YouTube channel lists an urban adult site, so if this is fake and done for publicity, it is a disturbing unconscionable act for website promotion.

Follow the jump to watch the video.

Madonna adopted an African baby boy, David, from Malawi back in 2006 and the adoption has not been finalized. She says the government is still not used to the concept of adoption. Madonna embarks on a journey exploring the lives of children who have been orphaned by AIDS. This 85 minute film is being shown at the Tribeca Film Festival, and will be available on DVD.

Follow the jump to see the film trailer.

According to this Washington Post article, the video game Grand Theft Auto is about to be released and this will be the 4th product release. The violence promoting video game has an "M" rating which means "Mature," and can be sold to customers over 16 years of age. But the game Grand Theft Auto (GTA IV) is more popular than before with kids in the 12-14 year old age group.

The article also notes: "The game, to be released Tuesday for the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3, hits all the hot buttons: It contains "blood," "intense violence," "partial nudity," "strong language," "strong sexual content" and "use of drugs and alcohol." " READ MORE...

Do parents who harbor these games in their homes, think this is just innocent entertainment? It would be interesting to get a comment from someone with children in this age group who actually has this game at home. We know you're out here on the web. Do they just bury there head in the sand and think: It's just fun and it keeps them busy? I wonder what parents think about this or do they think at all?

This was spotted on Vivica Fox's website. Is somebody gettin' called out...lol? Well, I was enjoying my visit until the R.Kelly "go getter" song started playing...then I promptly exited the site.

I guess folks can follow up with www.imreadyproductions.com for more information on the play.

I AM WHITE "PARODY"

He called it a parody. But he is way too much into character for a parody. Must be some of his sentiment in there...somewhere. It is hard to tell whether he is trying to be funny, or trying to get away with faking funny. Mr. Pregnant can be found on YouTube. Do you think this is a parody? Most of his videos fall under comedy.

Last weekend there were three dozens shootings which left 9 people dead. On Friday, Mayor Richard Daley called on a meeting with police department officials, schools, social service agencies and religious groups for a City Hall summit on the violence. He chastised the gun industry and called for parents and adults to step up their role.

After the meeting he spoke on how to combat violent crime. Sounds like a the govt needs to declare a State of Emergency.

The mayor says:
"I don't know why people think you're going to end something with a lot of police ... end something with a lot of guns, you don't. You have to have a combination of prevention and intervention and yes, yes, enforcement, but they all go hand-in-hand."

Officers are going to start carrying M4 carbines.

According to CBS 4 News:

"Meanwhile, it was announced yesterday that Weis plans to arm and train the city's 13,500 officers with more powerful weapons, including equipping many with M4 carbines to match the firepower of the street gangs they have to face.

Chicago Police SWAT teams are already equipped with M4 carbines, but rank-and-file officers are currently only allowed to carry handguns.

The M4 is a short assault rifle used by the Marine Corps, and it fires more shots in less time than most handguns. The fully automatic version can fire up to 1,000 rounds a minute, although the magazines only hold from 20 to 30 shots." Read More...

Last night Obama's pastor, the Rev. Jeremiah Wright sat down for an interview on the PBS Bill Moyers Journal television show. It was a pretty generically bland interview, lacking detailed explanations and all of the charisma, as noted in THOSE sound bytes we've been bombarded with, and I am not certain whether the timing was good in doing this interview.

At this point, anything he says is sure to be scrutinized, from "he didn't say this" to "he didn't say that" or "why didn't he act like he did on the videos." So, I don't know what to make of the video. However, I read two good blog posts relating to this inteview, and it's not the articles which make for the most interesting reads, it's the commentary in comments parts.

I have been thinking lately, and some random thoughts have crossed my mind. Here is one: The American public and media have been on this trend to reward bad behavior. Many people have become more famous, richer, and revered for "bad behavior." How is this guy any different for those who consider him to be a bad person? Is a book deal soon to come?

Read John Ridley's post on Huffington Post, which was published before the airing of the show: The Undeniable Virtue of Jeremiah Wright's Pro-Blackness (and the Problem with Pro-Whiteness)

Read Bill Moyer's blog entry which was posted after the interview: The Controversy Over Wright

If you missed the show, you can watch it or read the transcript here.

On May 1st and 2nd, 40 year old Gary Coleman and his 22 year old wife, Shannon Price will appear on tv's "Divorce Court," and I sensed it would not be long before they appeared on sort of reality show. I just not had expected a divorce court show. This is sure to be a high ratings series. Is May a sweeps month...lol? They met last year on a movie set.

Here are some Yahoo! News quotes from the show:

"If he doesn't get his way, he throws a temper tantrum like a five-year-old does," Price says, according to a transcript of the show obtained by The Associated Press. "He like stomps the floor and yells, 'Meehhhh,' and starts throwing stuff around. He bashes his head in the wall, too."

"The justice system let me down." ---- Nicole Paultre Bell.

I can't say that I am shocked. I wonder if holy hell is going to break loose. Read More...

Reference:

New York Post

There are reports with the source stemming from Fashionista, that top photographer Steven Meisel wrapped up photo shoots for the rumored issue. It sounds like there may be an all black model issue of Vogue Italia in the making. If true, this issue is sure to break barriers and fuel further discussion on discrimination and diversity within the fashion industry.

Out of curiosity I would probably buy a copy. It would most likely become a collector's item. And I HOPE this won't be a case of "we gave them what they want, now let them shut up," then carry on business as usual, with very little representation of black models in their publications. At best, this will be a signal of change. Therefore, I will risk betting on the side of optimism.

Fashionista reports:

This just in from a source:

Steven Meisel has just shot an entire issue of Vogue Italia with all black models, hoping that other issues of Vogue start to diversify their own portfolios.

Apparently, all of the photo shoots have already happened, as model bookers at various agencies have been contacted and sourced for new, beautiful, not-white girls -- and now they're twittering about how cool the issue will be.

No word on when the issue will hit stands or who's on the cover (Jourdan Dunn? Chanel Iman?), but whatever:

We don't really report the news over here. We just break it wide open.

xoxo.

Reference:
Fashionista
Black is finally in fashion at Vogue

On Monarch magazine's site, there is a cover story (must be previous issue) on Angela Bassett speaking on her acting journey and family. She is in Tyler Perry's "Tyler Perry’s Meet the Browns." READ MORE...

Bill Cosby, Chris Tucker, and Fulton County Superior court Judge Marvin Fulton (the judge who ordered whites out of the court, so that he could lecture black defendants) participated in the "Up the Path of Success" discussion Thursday at Benjamin E. Mays High School in Georgia. They stressed the value of personal responsibility.

All three have pledged to set up a mentoring program for the 600 students who attended the forum.

Cosby quotes from The Atlanta Journal-Constitution :

“I'm blunt, and I'm going to stay blunt," he said, drawing cheers from the crowd. Cosby's approach has its critics, but he's unbowed.

Barack Obama says "Yes, we can." Cosby's message: "Yes we should."

"The man from Nigeria comes here, he's here two months, and what does he do?" he asked. "He goes to community college. He's learning a second language while he drives the cab. What are our children doing? Practicing a first language that only they can understand." READ MORE...

Judge criticized for ordering white lawyers out of courtroom VIDEO

Reference:
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

I can't wait for this thing to be over. I think all of the energy has evaporated from these primaries. People seem to be tired, and don't readily strike up conversations on the Democratic primaries anymore.

Hattie Hart was a solo performer back in the twenties who also did lead vocals for the Memphis Jug Band. Will Shade on harp, Tee Wee Blackman on guitar, Ben Ramey on kazoo, and Ham Lewis on the jug along with Hattie made up the band. They made this song about cocaine, and I didn't even know people used cocaine back then, and was SHOCKED to hear this song.

According to a MemphisHistory.com site her songs were provacatively risque and she wrote songs about love, sex, cocaine, and voodoo. MemphisHistory.com says her voice was considered "one of the best, employeeing a high vibrato and a range of emotions." She had a brief recording career after traveling to Chicago during the Depression, and disappeared into obscurity. Well, if she wrote and sang songs about cocaine, one could only imagine how life wound up for her. Here is their song, Listen to Cocaine Habit Blues .

There must have been a lot of hatred and self hatred. Check out this next title by the folk band: A Black Woman Is Like A Black Snake. It is true, we must know our past to understand the present.

Here are the lyrics:

A Black Woman Is Like A Black Snake

A black woman's like a black snake, she will strike and run,
A black woman's like a black snake, she will strike and run
...

...

I wouldn't marry a black woman, I'll tell you the reason why,
I wouldn't marry a black woman, I'll tell you the reason why,
She's so black and evil she won't look in your eye

...

Oh fish are swimming, they come into the net,
Oh fish are swimming, they come into the net,
... try to do the best they can, they do the best they can

Follow the jump to get the Cocaine Habit Blues Lyrics

Are you fed up with the content on BET and MTV? If so, you can participate in letting major advertiser Proctor and Gamble know what you think. Here is YOUR chance to ACT rather than sit around and complain. All of the contact info is right here for you, just let your fingers do the dialing and speak up!

Anyway, Proctor and Gamble created a new, toll free hotline in response to the study of violence and sexual content on BET and MTV by the Parents Television Council, and the Enough is Enough campaign.

Following the jump to get dialing instructions and don't forget to pass the information along. Our power is in numbers.

The Fort Wayne, Indiana company settled an U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) age, race, and retaliation lawsuit. The company will have to pay total of $580,000 and up to $5,000 in settlement administrative expenses. It doesn’t pay to discriminate, IF you get caught.

According to the EEOC: “Renhill Services, Inc. violated federal law by failing to refer African American applicants and applicants age 40 for work assignments. Further, the EEOC said, Renhill unlawfully retaliated against employees who objected to these referral practices.” READ MORE...

HOW IRONIC? As soon as you click on Renhill's website there is a large image of a BLACK woman on the homepage, then photos of others flash. She's the first face you see.

Jazz musician Wynton Marsalis is featured in two EEOC Anti-Discrimination PSA. Follow the jump to see the video.

USA Today and other websites have reported that actress, Lisa-Raye’s husband the Turks & Caicos Islands Premier Michael Misick, was accused of sexually assaulting a woman, and they write “The FBI were on the T&C to investigate, and they've been in contact with the local po-po as the probe has progressed. Meanwhile, the police tell TMZ that Misick has been "cooperative."" READ MORE...

Anthony Hall is a lawyer, syndicated columnist, and the author of The Ipinions Journal wrote an open letter, dated March 8, 2008, addressed to The Rt. Hon. Gordon Brown, UK Prime Minister regarding an “inquiry into good governance in the Turks and Caicos Islands”. He wrote on behalf of the people of T & C on concerns over Premier Misick whom he characterized as an “incompetent, autocratic and kleptocratic” ruler.

"Can a man so weak in the war on gangs be trusted in the War on Terror?" This is asked at the conclusion of the ad.

This ad is being coined at Barack Obama’s “Willie Horton” ad. This latest anti-Obama ad is put out by The National Campaign Fund, a political action committee, which shows Obama’s record on Illinois gang violence, and reports that Obama voted against increasing the death penalty for gang murders, when Chicago was experiencing a rash of gang murders.

This is a fun, feature of this blog. Five random celebrity websites will be selected and rated and the results will be listed. We will try this whenever and see how it goes. The website must be an official website and not a MySpace type page. This is a review of the website only.

Scorecard max points= 65
Scale from 0-5 with 0=worst & 5=outstanding

Numeric Score:

59-65= A
52-58= B
46-57= C
39-45= D
0-44= F

Celebrity websites rated: Legendary Jazz vocalist Ella Fitzgerald, actor-musician Malcolm Jamal Warner, Queen Latifah, Professor-Author Dr. Cornel West, Will Smith

RESULTS

1. www.Malcolm-JamalWarner.com 60

2. www.CornelWest.com 57

3. www.QueenLatifah.com 56

4. www.EllaFitzgerald.com 55

5. www.WillSmith.com 49

Get a full breakdown of each site's score.

This man, Nicholas White, was stuck in an elevator for 41 hours, the video is edited down to a several minutes. I was wondering how he relieved himself.

I was stuck on an elevator for about 3 minutes last year and it was somewhat frightening. Back in the late 90s I worked with a woman who was permanently disabled, because she was in an elevator that dropped, I believed at least five floors. She was mentally and physically scarred for life. She seemed to be sort of shell shocked.

The company where this took place was global corporation. She unsuccessfully sued the company. You would think it would be an open and closed case, but without sparing details, the court found the company was not at fault. WATCH TRAPPED What would you do besides pray?

In my opinion, Coko was the vocal powerhouse with the model looks behind SWV. As a group, I really liked them, and now that she is a solo gospel artist, it is a welcomed treat to hear her sing again. I read a revealing 2006 interview she did with Vibe on skin color and the industry.

To me, she was the most beautiful, and her dark brown skin was an enhancer, and still is. She talked about the industry's preference for the lighter toned singers and how it affected her self-image. This is the first time I have heard this testimony from someone directly affected by racism and bias in the music industry.

Here are excerpts:

Coko: I don’t even think I knew what happiness was in the 90s. I was feeling my way. I’ve always asked myself about that. But I’m very happy right now with the woman that I’ve become. I love who God has created me to be and I’ve learned to accept who I am. I’ve always had a problem with just being who I was. I had issues with my skin color and all of that.

While I was standing behind the tape watching the marathon, there was this young girl, I'd say she was about 11 years old. Just swearing up a storm. She was with an adult whom clearly was within earshot of what she was saying. She learned it from someone.

Perhaps not her parents, but I thought about this commercial. Children don't always adopt their parent's habit or behavior, but it reminds us how parents' behavior can negatively influence their children. Some of us know a parent or are like a parent in this commercial. It has a powerful message. This commercial is from a Child Friendly Australia ad campaign.

Reference:
Child Friendly Australia

What a wonderfully exciting experience it is to watch almost 25,000 people run past me. My hands became numb from the cool air, and red from clapping so much. The temperature is 54 degrees. I took pictures with the camera phone, but I am still trying to figure how to email them to myself…lol. I look out the window and people are still running. There were wheelchair racers, very old seniors, blind runners, and thousands of people of all races, ages, and nationalities.

There were quite a few participants wearing prosthetic devices, and I saw a woman running with a cane. I saw many people of color and there were more black men than women runners, during the time I watched. Lance Armstrong is running, and he was all muscled up, looking very fit, and running for his Lance Armstrong Foundation.

Today marks Marathon Monday 2008 Boston Marathon, the course runs past my house and I can see the runners through my window, so I wanted to create this health related post, then I am going out to go and get an up close look at the runners. Will try to take a picture or two with my new phone. Still learning all the features, so I hope I can capture one moment of this spectacular event.

Over 20, 000 people will be running, many for charitable causes and most to achieve a personal accomplishment. God bless them. I run around the track one lap, and it feels like my lungs and shins are on fire…lol. I just need more conditioning.

Fast food consumption is related to obesity in many African Americans. A typical favorite combo or extra value meal items can set you back 2-3,000 calories or more. That is a TON of calories at one mealtime. If you are trying to modify your diet and lose weight, check with your family physician or get a referral for a dietician consultation.

Many parents let their young children eat entire adult sized packaged value meals, without realizing the long-term effect of feeding them excessive amounts of high caloric food. Fast food is loaded in salt and fat, in addition, a sugary beverage alone can have 300+ calories. If the recommended daily caloric intake is somewhere around 2000, and you have already used 300 calories on a soda during one meal, how do you think you will keep your weight under control? Magic?

Some of the most serious health problems in the black community include diabetes, hypertension, cancer, and more cardiac related problems. This is an informational post, I do not want to sound preachy, but I care. Here are links to nutritional data to some of the most popular fast food restaurants. Find out how many calories you are putting in your body, your child’s body, and the rest of your family. Fast food is okay in moderation, but consumption on a daily basis is detrimental to anyone's health.

After the jump, I have added height weight charts, which some say are not realistic. Okay. If it is not realistic, add 5 or 10 pounds to the range.

This morning I was leaving out to take a drive to the park and walk around the track and hit a few tennis balls. Before I left, I grabbed two empty Sprite cans from last night and thought I put them in the recycle bin next to the dumpster. Grabbed my racket, the cans, and head for the dumpster.

There is this old Asian guy with blue surgical gloves on with items laid out, outside of the dumpster and it looked a like a garage sale. As I approach him, I thought how convenient, he had his stainless steel grocery shopping cart, and several cans and bottles sorted. So I extend out my hand to give him the two cans, his face lit up in joy, he was smiling, laughing, positive gesturing, and joyfully took the two cans. At the same time, I am thinking: I hope his hands don’t touch mine with those gloves. After all, he was digging into garbage. Sure enough, his fingertips touched my hand during the exchange. So all I could think was I have to get to my car to that hand sanitizer.

He couldn’t speak a lick of English, not enough to even say “Thank You,” but his facial expressions and body language said “Thank You” and much more. I hand off the cans and proceed to back off with a good feeling, and walking away.

Last year, I posted on the story about the white Canadian dancer, MoMo who won the 2007 Jamaican Dancehall Queen contest. When she went to take her victory skip-to-mah-loo dance down the runway, bottles were thrown at her, and everyone ran for cover, but there was no posted video footage back then. MoMo is still dancing, so I guess that incident didn't stop her determination. I meant to post this early, but forgot about it. Without further adieu, here is the video clip. WATCH VIDEO Here is the story: White Canadian wins Miss Dancehall Queen 2K7…guess what happens?

Photo Credit:

Jamaica Observer

prices keep goin' up. I go to Connnecticut often, and their prices are always 20-25 cents more than Massachusetts. So now our regular is now $3.35 and their cheapest gas is $3.55-$3.60.

I wonder how poor people are making it, especially home health aides who have to drive from one client to the next, and if their employers reimburse them, it's often not enough to cover the fuel expenses. Here are the average gas prices in the U.S. I posted this chart once last year.

Reference:
Consumer Reports

Free Rice is a charitable organization that has a vocabulary game on the main page of its website. You will be given vocabulary word, and have to select the definition. For each correct word your get, Free Rice will donate 20 grains of rice to the UN World Food Program. Rice is a main staple, and sometimes the only staple for many people in poor and developing countries.

Just thinking about the recent events over rice in Haiti alone, and the droughts in Australia, are enough to make me want to donate daily by playing. I just donated 100 grains. It is totally free. You don't have to provide any information or sign up for anything. Too good to be true right? It's true. Play the game, and you give to a needy person as a result. Plus you might learn a few new vocabulary words. You can play as often as you wish.

Reference:

www.FreeRice.com

If you have a crappy website design or are thinking about starting a website or blog, take some lessons from this web design "consultant." He lays out the instructions on a hip hop beat. This info is very important so search engines can find your website, and bring visitors.

This Web Design 101 lesson is by The Poetic Prophet (AKA The SEO Rapper). This consultation is free...lol. He has more rap videos related to websites. Nice video in a nerdy gangsta sorta way. WATCH VIDEO

Afterthought: Wondering if this was used as a Biggie biopic audition tape.

Any plausible arguments on this life expectancy chart? Agree with it? Disagree?

Reference:

Wall Street Journal blog

Natasha Kelly, a 34-year-old doctoral student, says she was evicted from an apartment in Osnabrueck, Germany, because the neighbors objected to her being black and single parent. She has a 12 year old daughter, was given an eviction notice in December and is suing her landlord for discrimination and €10,000 ($15,800) in damages.

Boy did her landlord put a foot in his mouth and was quoted in the Tageszeitung newspaper: "Some of the other tenants are unhappy about the colour of your skin and your personal situation as a single mother. Some of the elderly ones have been here for 40 years and I cannot ask them to leave."

Kelly, a British woman who grew up Germany told tthe same newspaper: "I have been turned away before when I tried to rent an apartment because I am black, but I have never been thrown out because of it afterwards. If it were just me, I would have stayed and seen this out to the bitter end, but I do not want my child to grow up in a racist environment." READ MORE...

Reference:

The Local

This fashion show features africanwear fashions from eight different countries: Algeria, Ghana, Kenya, Malawi, Senegal, Mozambique, Sudan, Zambia

According to an LA Times article:

"The new comedy's characters include a sex-crazed black man, a drunken Latino gardener and a grumpy Asian housekeeper who speaks in heavily accented broken English. "It is difficult to do much except watch, wide-eyed with disbelief," writes Times television critic Mary McNamara, who was able to see an episode despite the network's withholding of screeners, "as terrible jokes are made at the expense of just about every racial and socioeconomic group in America."" Why am I not surprised?
Do we need another show like this? I know he has mouths to feed, but still. Why can't they produce a "Friends" type show? READ MORE...

This new "comedy" show (and yes comedy, because once again, the joke is on us) is a product of the young network called MyNetwork TV.

If you check out the show and are disgusted, here is their contact form if you want to express wishes for better portrayal of blacks on their network. Contact My Network TV

According to Wikipedia (hopefully, this info is accurate): "MyNetworkTV (sometimes written My Network TV, and unofficially abbreviated MyNet, MyTV, MYN-TV, MNT, or MNTV) is a television network in the United States, owned by the Fox Television Stations Group to fill the void left on their UPN affiliates after the WB and UPN merged to form The CW Television Network on January 24, 2006. MNTV was then announced on February 22 of that year."

Reference:
LA Times

Photo Credit:
Getty Images

I know that's a stereotype, but summer and vacations are right around the corner for many of us, and I ran into this article addressing black folks and swimming. Last year I created a post on black people learning to swim. This article was interesting, in a sense that it revealed some stereotypes about black people and swimming. Here is an unproven stereotype in the article: "blacks couldn't swim because of a "lack of buoyancy."

The CDC statistics on drownings are still alarming: "blacks are more likely to drown - three times more so for children between the ages of 5 and 14 - than whites" READ MORE...

Bottom line: Learn to swim or invest in a good life preserver/jacket...both are invaluable. No one is too old or too young to wear one.

Reference:
HamptonRoads.com

Photo Credit:
Steve Earley | The Virginian-Pilot

4/18/8 Update: You know. I had a day to think about this, AGAIN. And I put myself in the other couples' position. I would be pissssed...lol, if I knew Serena Williams sent out mass emails on behalf of my competitor in a contest trip to Jamaica. Who knows how many thousands of people she has on her mailing list...?? I felt kind of guilty, after I posted this post, but I left it up. I guess that's the softy in me. Steve should just send them all, and give the top winner the honeymoon suite. *sniff.sniff*

This is an e-mail from 'Serena Williams Official Site' Message: Hello All, Now you know I love to write on my blog about relationships. I know of this couple that truly embodies love, devotion, and respect for one another. The guy in the relationship name is James. He does everything in his power to make sure Kimdra is undyingly pleased with him and their relationship. Kimdra as most of us women gives James the utmost respect and relishes his love for her. This is the type of relationship we all wish for and one day we all will have! I received word today that James and Kimdra are in a contest to win a wedding and reception in Jamaica!!!! This would be the ultimate gift to a couple that works diligently to uphold openness, thoughtfulness, love, and respect throughout their relationship. So, please go read Kimdra P. and James A.’s relationship story and vote for them to win the Ultimate Jamaica Wedding Contest via the link below. http://www.steveharvey.com/weddingcontestvote Xoxo, Serena

Here are current results:

Kimdra P. age 23 and James A. age 25
Farmington Hills, MI

Votes:6492

Chidonna B. age 36 & Larry W. age 35
Columbia, SC

Votes:5394

Melissa W. age 27 & Lester J. age 29
Kansas City, MO

Votes:2791

Looks like they're going to have to name their first born after Serena if they win this honeymoon to Jamaica...lol

Follow the jump to read their contest profile, and go to the site to vote for then at the link if you are touched by their love story.

The Black Female Agenda has its own radio show called The Queen's Council, and it had its first airing last night. The call in talk radio formatted show airs every Tuesday night at 11 pm est. If that is not a good time for you download the program. It's great to listen to while you exercise, go for a walk, work on the computer, or whenever. When you miss