June 2008 Archives

The photos are pictures of actress, comedienne Mo’Nique and the other is supposedly someone, a young lady from a MySpace page. Both photos were spotted and mocked on other websites, for the God given hair one has on her legs and the other, her underarms.

This might be too much information, but I will put it this way, in general, I let all of my hair grow. I never shave my legs and could care less what someone thinks. I don’t have woolly mammoth legs so that could be a factor also, but I shave the hair under my arms only when I think it is too long, the outdoor temperatures are too hot or I begin to perspire enough. In addition, I don’t let it get long enough to braid…lol. But it is a personal choice. I shave, but I don’t shave due to any outside pressure. If I wear a tank top and have ¼ inch of hair under my arms (which I do right now, and just showered) and someone doesn’t like: Too Bad.

I did not know anything about shaving nor ever heard about shaving until I reached high school, and this is when I would hear fellow students grossed out over the sight of someone’s armpits. I think it is silly. This is the hair God gave us, and if someone does not want to trim or shave that is her perogative.

The description under this video:
"The legacy of slavery has left African-Americans with an interracial disparity between light-skinned and dark-skinned blacks. This candid conversation between black women of all shades asks, "Is the black community still color struck?" "

Is it the media's fault as one woman suggested in the film?

Well, I guess it was more like an Internet rumor, conspiracy, or birth of a new urban legend. There were rumblings going around on blogs, where someone initially claimed the labeling was racist, supposedly portraying slaves at the plantation house on the cover of the cans and bottles. If I had seen those images, I would not have purchased the tea.

I have been drinking this tea for a few years and had never seen any racially insensitive appearing images on the tea containers. With that person’s rants, there was a phone number to call the Arizona company and complain about the images.

It was a cause not worth my time, but it was a good time to acknowledge the fact that sometimes people try to make you see racial smoke where no fire exists. It is quite possible that many individuals took the bait, called this company, and fired off a few emails.

Okay I had not thought about that campaign until I was in the 7-Eleven last week and thought I would buy four 23 oz cans of this delicious Sweet Tea. When I reached into the cooler to load up, I noticed two different labels. I thought to myself, “whaaaattttt?” did that little campaign work?

The wording was the same: Original Brand, Arizona, Southern Style, Real Brewed, and Sweet Tea. However, on my left were about five cans of the old labeling with the plantation on it, and to my left were about 20 cans of the new labels with faded black and white images of two old steamships. Waiting for the next rumor of someone spotting slaves on these ships…

Maybe the company gave in and decided to phase out the plantation images due to the rumors. Again, time will tell.

This photo of Vin Diesel was spotted on Monaga blog and was taken last week in the Dominican Republic. Lucky guy...lol. Wish I could be there. Anyway. Diesel is on location for a film there, and I wonder if it is for his "Fast and Furious" film due out next year. Diesel and his girlfriend model (had to be, right? couldn't have been former cashier or toll booth operator. let me get back to the story...) Paloma Jimenez welcomed a baby daughter on April 2nd. So now we have a baby Diesel. congrats to the couple

Has he lost some of his pizzazz. twinkle. star spark? It seems as if when he first came on the scene, women could not get enough of him-black-white-hispanic-Asian-whatever. It did not seem to matter. gugu gaga drool everywhere. Now I don't hear women talking about him anymore. It seems, the more the media pushed the race or racial makeup question on this guy, the less appealing he became.

I think people liked the ambiguity factor associated with him, and the mystery of not knowing his background made him more sexy and alluring. Once he had to make comments about his racial identity all of that mystique went away, and so did the fantasy for many women.

Photo Credit:
Remolacha.net

The big velvet voiced teddy bear is off the market ladies and married his beautiful girlfriend of two years Surata Zuri McCants at a Birmingham, Alabama church yesterday. Word is, he met his bride in a Wal-Mart during a CD signing event. According to AP, the ceremony was over in about 30 minutes and a string ensemble played music. The former "American Idol" Studdard has another album due out later this fall. Congrats to the lovely couple. www.rubenstuddard.com

Watch Wedding Video Footage:

Ruben's Big Wedding
Newlyweds Ruben and Surata

Essence.com interviewed the happily wedded couple. Sounds like a true love story....awwwww. How sweet!

Essence: What made you fall in love with Zuri?
RS: She’s my best friend. I can talk to her about anything. When we go out, I just feel like I can always be myself. I never have to be anybody other than the real Ruben. Also, she’s the most gorgeous woman I’ve ever met. She loves God, and I love her for just being who she is.

Essence: What is it about Ruben that made you fall for him?
ZS: Before we really started dating, it was as if I’d known him forever. He was my homeboy. Then, after I visited him in Birmingham for the first time, I just looked at him differently and thought, Wow, I could really love this guy. He’s sweet and genuine. I knew I was in love when I started telling my friends about him, and I was like, Ruben this, Ruben that. READ MORE...

I am watching Serena play in the Wimbledon tennis tournament and this ESPN commercial comes on...lol. It's cute.

I was listening to Warren’s radio show yesterday while in the car and he had a topic, which I did not get to hear him discuss, but he said he was going to talk a bout the Black Israelite street preachers in Manhattan-NYC. I heard some of the audio clip and all of the vulgar language was bleeped out. Warren was saying that these people reportedly yell at black women as they walk down the streets screaming in an angry antagonistic manner repeatedly, “Sl*ts, Ho’s, B*tches!”

I did hear the audio and he said there was a You Tube video that was so bad, it received too many complaints, was flagged, or pulled by the person who posted it, and it is no longer available on YouTube for viewing.

This particular black woman in this video confronts them and uses a couple of expletives, and does not help the situation, but listen to what the men have to say about black women. The audio of the video I heard on Warren’s show did not sound like this one, because the one he played yesterday sounded like a group of men shouting those three words listed above repeatedly at people.

For those interested here is an in depth article on the Black Israelites from the Washington City paper. I don’t know enough about their beliefs to comment too much, but what I do know from the video is, that interaction with those two women is not a good representation of any religious beliefs. So I ask the question in the title of this post. The Real Jews: Socrates, Mozart, Queen Elizabeth, and these guys

This is a good documentary which I happened to see at the movie theatre a few years ago when it was released. You will really enjoy watching a group of New York City elementary kids who learn how to ballroom dance then enter a citywide competition. What a charming film and it is heartwarming to watch these kids evolve. WATCH FILM

I always thought this should be a program offered in every school including high school and recently ran into a news article on how the program may be going national. Kids really need their horizons expanded. READ ARTICLE...

Chiman Rai, 69 years old is on trial for the murder of his black step-daughter, Sparkle Reid, which took place eight years ago. He is accused of paying for a hit of $10,000 to have the then 22 year old mother of one killed. She was holding the couple's 7-month old baby when she answered a knock on the door, and was then stabbed 13 times. Cleveland Clark has been identified as the alleged hitman.

According to Ajc.com: "Rajeeve Rai told police his parents were a "little racist" and didn't approve of his relationship with Sparkle." READ MORE...

I guess being a "little racist" is like being a "little pregnant."

UPDATE 6/27/8: Indian man found guilty of killing son's black wife.
Prosecutors are seeking the death penalty. Follow the jump for a photo of Ricky Rai, the convicted murderer's son who was at the center of this marriage.

Nowadays it is not uncommon for verbal disputes to end up with a deadly or near fatal result. Here is what happened in Seattle as columnist Robert L. Jamieson Jr. pens his article, "Another dead black kid -- still no justice":

"A recap. On Aug. 31, 2006, about 10 p.m., Johnson, his male friend and a woman -- all white -- were in the parking lot of the Ventana Apartments. A group of three blacks -- two men and a woman -- thought one of the white men yelled a racial slur.

This touched off a volley of words. Before fists flew, Drungo, who authorities say had no part in the initial dispute, approached the shouters. This was his nature. He liked to see people get along, as I learned when I wrote about him after his death, a death that initially elicited little more than a public shrug.

Drungo planned to go into law. He was a model product of a Seattle YMCA program for young people. He was beloved by parents at a Shoreline elementary school where he worked. In Seattle he also was known for being book smart, a peacemaker. His nickname: "Knowledge."" READ MORE...

While visiting the Charles Hamiton website, I noticed a caption reading "Angela Bassett & Courtney B. Vance: “Friends: A Love Story”" with their photos for a September 24th book signing at the Harvard Law School in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Both co-authored the book which was released in 2007. Both REAL actors are Ivy League trained and there is a great biography of the two on the website.

His theatrical training: "graduated from Harvard with a Bachelor of Arts degree and received a Master of Fine Arts degree from Yale School of Drama."

Her theatrical training: "Yale School of Drama graduate"

Their twins are named Bronwyn Golden and Slater Josiah.

Some of them are damned if they do, damned if they don’t and caught in a catch 20-20 situation when it comes to finding employment. Yesterday afternoon while out running errands, I happened to catch about ten minutes of Al Sharpton’s show since I had not tuned in, in probably weeks.

There was a guest on from the Charles Hamilton Houston Institute for Race & Justice; I want to say it was Professor Charles J. Ogletree, Jr from the Harvard School of Law, who was talking about ex-convicts and second chances in regards to employment.

Ex-convicts deserve a second chance at trying to be productive citizens, but many who are trying to do right often run into roadblocks when it comes to finding a job. Some go on 10, 15, 20 interviews and when they have to check those boxes about ever being convicted of a crime, that once promising job opportunity often vanishes, and most employers probably never call back with this being the underlying reason.

Of the 16,200 U.S. Border Patrol agents only 1 percent are black (150 men, 8 women). We didn't know these jobs existed before? So if you know Spanish or don’t mind learning Spanish (I think this is required for southern border positions. I could be incorrect.), and relocation if required this sounds like a good opportunity for someone looking for a change and stable employment with good benefits.

In addition, after a few years an agent can make about $70,000 a year and a high school diploma is required. If I wasn’t looking for a job, I would seriously consider jumping on this opportunity and look for work in New Hampshire, Vermont, or New York state.

Please pass their website information around to people you know or print out the contact information and spread the word about these U.S. Department of Homeland Security positions. U.S. Border Patrol Careers Info

According to The New York Times:

“The Border Patrol says it has no quota for recruiting blacks, but it says it wants their ranks to be more reflective of the civilian workforce, where they number 11 percent. Hispanics make up the bulk of the agents, 52 percent, a reflection of the agency’s concentration on the heavily Latino Southwestern border. All agents must serve in the Southwest before seeking posts elsewhere, like on the Canadian border.” READ MORE...

UniTee Design Featuring Obama and Lil Wayne Track

check 'em out: www.uniteedesign.com

With over 205k YouTube views who hasn't seen this is the question...lol. I thought they were singing a gospel tune at first. Now this is what I call live singing. correction: sangin'

So this is for those who have not witnessed this bundle of talent. There are shower singers and studio singers, then there is CraigLewis. All in a class of their own. Check the theatrics.

Kevin Garnett is has the nervous shakes with the legs...he's so emotional. Congrats again to them!

I was too tired to post this yesterday, but I saw this 60-minute film on Frontline, Can You Afford to Retire?, I think, last year and it is a documentary on how companies used to offer pensions to employees and changed this practice by putting all of the responsibility in the hands of employees by adopting investment retirement accounts (IRA) such as 401k and 401B plans, etc.

I know people who have signed up for these investment retirement plans, have x amount of funds deducted from their paychecks, and do not even check in on the balances to see how funds are performing. Some of the stories are sad, because some of the people interviewed said the company did not educate them enough.

Well, in several cases in this film's footage some employees, when they opted for retirement they still had to take pt or ft jobs, because they lost money in their plans or they did not contribute enough. I asked a friend if she checks to see how her accounts are performing, and she said "no," shrugging her shoulders. I told her "It's YOUR money. You don't care?" She further shrugged her shoulders with facial expressions as if some magical IRA god from the sky would take care of it all and make everything all right.

Anyone with a job should be putting something away, even if it is $25/week, and start in your early twenties, which I wish I had done when I was in my twenties. If you are not eligible, open a Roth IRA account. WATCH DOCUMENTARY

"I would say, unless you're fortunate to be in the upper-income quartiles, that you're probably going to be in for a very rough ride," adds Jack VanDerhei of the Employee Benefit Research Institute (EBRI). "You're not going to have sufficient monies to pay the predictable expenses -- your housing, your utilities, your food -- plus the potential catastrophic medical care costs."---FRONTLINE

I am glad Essence.com and Jet have finally adopted a practice of tracking down celebrities from the past, instead refurbishing old stories about what today's few black celebrities are doing on vacation or inside of a clothing boutique. They are bringing us up to date on what our favorite celebrities from the past are doing now. Even if some are just living "typical" daily lives out of the spotlight I would be interested in hearing about them. Well, who didn't love Thelma on the 70s television show called Good Times? She was and still is beautiful, a trendsetter, smart, and funny.

Today, she is a 54 year old mother of two (Dior 25, Brittany 13), author, she talks with Essence about a relationship book she wrote entitled, 101: Relationships, The Good, The Bad…and The Ugly, the Good Times show, she mentions she was a virgin when she married, show she made tight jeans popular, and you can visit her website and call her and she calls people back. Stanis has another book called For Men Only. I wanna look that good when I hit 54. She looks WOW.

READ MORE...

Photo Credit:
ThelmaofGoodTimes.com

"I'm the most arrogant person you'll ever meet, and any woman I date has to know that. Life is too short to pretend that you're okay with somebody when you're not." --Terrence Howard

People magazine's Hottest Bachelors 2008:

1. Mario Lopez

2. Brody Jenner and Frankie Delgado

3. David Cook

4. Terrence Howard

5. Bryan Spears

6. Gerard Butler

7. James Blake - tennis star

8. Bret Michaels

9. Andy Samberg and Akiva Shaffer

10. Hunter Johansson

11. Adam Levine

12. Chace Crawford, Ed Westwick and Penn Badgley

omg...I just love this video Dorothee sent. Thanks again Dorothee! This is another fatherhood initiative ad put on by the Ad Council. visit fatherhood.gov for more info

"More than 79% of Americans feel "the most significant family or social problem facing America is the physical absence of the father from the home." Research shows that the lack of a father in the home correlates closely with crime, educational and emotional problems, teenage pregnancy, and drug and alcohol abuse."-- Ad Council

Today was the parade of champions for the fans and a convoy of 17 duck buses traveled from Causeway Street (Celtics home court) to Copley Square. Onlookers started lining the streets as early at 9 am to claim their spaces on sidewalks before the 11 am parade start time.

Glenn "Big Baby" Davis letting it all hang out on the duck bus.

Check out more photos and coverage of the victory rally.

The Times reports:

"In a landmark ruling the Pretoria High Court accepted the Chinese as a “previously disadvantaged” group. This means that – at least in legal terms – Chinese South Africans will now be included in the definition of black people in legislation covering lucrative black economic empowerment (BEE) deals."

According the article, Chinese came to South Africa in the 1870s to mine gold and under the white minority rule they were classified as Coloureds. They will be entitled to a certain percentage of equity in companies, which will be a move to reverse decades of apartheid bias.

Critics say this is just another way for China to make deals with corrupt leaders, which, in the long run, will not be in the best interest of South Africa. READ MORE...

Chinese in South Africa

47 million Population of South Africa

20,000 Estimated number of people with Chinese origins

63,000 Chinese labourers who were sent to revive the South African gold mines in 1904

Sources: Colour, Confusion and Concessions: The History of the Chinese in South Africa by Melanie Yap and Dianne Leong Man

On Sandra Rose's site, I was looking at a recent family photo of Will and Jada Smith with their children and could not help but notice their young daughter, Willow with extension braids in her hair. Now, the braids did not cause me to bat my eyelashes a few extra times, but fact that she had a few light colored strands, which appeared to be dyed pale yellow, or blonde braids had me thinking.

Have times changed so much? Are many of parents letting young children where dye in or colored highlights in their hair? I have seen little boys, mostly white with colored Mohawks, in the past, but not in recent years. However, I am talking about little girls with colored hair for cosmetic purposes. When is young, too young, to wear hair color…even if it is innocently sparingly added into a head of braided hair?

Here is a Flickr photo, entitled, “My Red Headed Step Children” where the caption reads “Too Much Fun With Hair Dye! The Dye Washed Out In Two “Weeks

Photo of Willow Smith.
That page keeps redirecting, but here is the link to cut and paste: http://www.sandrarose.com/images1/kkaag-smithfam.jpg

I say under 16 is too young. If your child wanted highlights or to get a full head of blonde, red, or black dyed hair would you allow it? What about a "fun" purple, blue, burgundy or orange color? What do you think?

Follow the jump to watch a video of children as young as 6 years old getting hair highlights at a hair salon. Does that father have a clue in that video? They sat down and had a family discussion on whether or not the kid could have highlights, and decided to go with the haircolor.

There are so many video versions of this instrumental eighties jam. The is supposedly the original video for the song. The quiet storm version was what I was used to hearing at night. Weird video...lol. UK band. The song is still hot.

Happy Father's Day! to all of the real, responsible, involved dads out there and to the moms and other family members and friends filling in for the father role.

UNITEE Designs wants to give away free t-shirts and I want to give away some gas, but no entries yet and this is the final week. I ran this post last month, since then many folks have not had the opportunity to read it or knew it exists. We will run the same contest next year and plan to add more prizes. July 10 or 11th marks the 1 year anniversary of this blog, so the contest will run annually around this time. So here it is again.

This blog has collaborated with Unitee Design to award three lucky contest winners with one of their fabulous, high quality, professionally designed black pride t-shirts. To enter the contest, you will need to create a short 350 words or less written work on the subject of ‘Black Unity.’

The submission can be a creative or thought provoking opinion, open letter, statement, problems and/or solutions, poetry, lyrics, blog post, a photo with explanation, essay or video less than 5 minutes in length, etc…let your creative juices flow. Submit something you have already written or a video you have already produced and want to share. Three winners will receive a Unitee Design T-Shirt courtesy of Unitee Design, and a Shell or Mobil gas card compliments of WeNeedToStop.com. My favorite entry will receive a $100 gas card, 2nd fave gets a $50 gas card, and the 3rd fave gets $25 gas card.

I don't know about you, but my ongoing goal is to be debt free. This week's documentary is all about debt in America. I always wondered, why do we HAVE to have a credit card to rent a car or a hotel room? Who is behind this practice? Wasn't cash always good enough before credit cards became popular?

Back in the 90s I bought an audio book, loaned it out and have not seen it since, but it was a former slave narrations book. One of the male former slaves said he was debt free, didn't owe 'nobody' and always paid cash. If he did not have the cash, he did not buy it. This film's runtime: 89 minutes

Excellent film! Watch it over several days if you must. Some of the main points: stay away from credit cards, payday loans, and live within your means. Credit card companies and banks have a lot of power and influence over the government.

"IN DEBT WE TRUST shows how the mall replaced the factory as America's dominant economic engine and how big banks and credit card companies buy our Congress and drive us into what a former major bank economist calls modern serfdom. Americans and our government owe trillions in consumer debt and the national debt, a large amount of it to big banks and billions to Communist China. "---www.indebtwetrust.org

Reference:
www.indebtwetrust.org

I hope I just didn't hear this on the radio. Don't see anything on the Internet. Maybe I am mixing up names. OH NO! It's true. I really enjoyed watching Tim. This man always had a smiling face. R.I.P. damn

Our local Boston Conservative (well he claims to be a Libertarian) talk radio personality has been floating a rumor for about a week pertaining to Obama's place of birth. The rumor claims Obama was not born in the U.S. and therefore is NOT a U.S. citizen. I have only heard Obama was born in Hawaii.

Apparently, the rumor is his birth certificate has been under lock and key (he's supposedly hiding it), and if he is not a U.S. citizen he cannot become President of the United States AND he would have to give up his Senate seat. The radio show personality and his listeners (not me...lol) are praying that rumor it true. Right now, I don't believe it. I could not imagine him pulling a stunt like this. They are working overtime to try to get goods on this guy and he probably anticipated all of these antics. Oh well, that's politics.

My, my, my. I have never had such an up close and personal look at this guy and he is charismatic and well...GORGEOUS!! BAM! Check out the co-host while he chit chats with the guest. I see a little 'tude there with her body language, arms crossed with a little pouty look. He NEEDS his own show...lol.

He talks about journalism and reporting and the people making editorial decisions in the newsroom and how it reflects on reporting in the community.

TJ on local markets: "I can go in there all day long and pitch a story in a morning meeting, a positive story that I think is important that's happening in the black community, but if the people making the editorial decisions faces don't look like mine, it might not be of interest. You have to fight it. You can keep going and fighting that good fight and convince them of one or two good stories here or there....they're not bad people or anything like that..they just don't see the world as I might see it or you might see it. The things that interest me might not interest them."

Holmes adds, students need to change journalism by wanting to work behind the scenes...most want to be in front of the camera on TV, and don't realize they can make great differences behind the camera.

Check out other great content on www.myurbanreport.com

A special thanks to reader Dorothee for sending the PSA video link released by the American Stroke Association and the Ad Council to raise stroke awareness within the African-American community, and the stroke information. Did you know last month was a national stroke awareness month?

Last week, I attended a stroke prevention seminar conducted by a pharmaceutical company, and had not really thought about doing a post anytime soon; therefore, the timing could not have been better so thanks again for the suggestion.

This is a lengthy post, more informational for those seeking an easy, quick point of reference on stroke information. Having a stroke isn't just an old person's ailment, so us young in age folks should really know how to recognize the signs and symptoms and follow a lifestyle which will prevent the future occurrence. Prevention time is NOW even if you are in your teens, 20s, 30s etc., because we are planning NOW to stay healthy for the future.

According to the National Stroke Association:

• -- ½ of all black women will die from stroke or heart disease
• -- blacks are twice as likely to die from stroke than whites
• -- in the 45-54 age group, black males have a 3 times greater risk than white males of having a stroke

TIA: Warning signs of a coming stroke
TIA (transient ischemic attack) and stroke symptoms occur suddenly:

• -- Brief period of weakness or numbness of the face, arm, or leg, especially on one side of the body
• -- Brief period of confusion or trouble speaking or understanding
• -- Trouble seeing in one or both eyes for a brief period of time
• -- Trouble walking, dizziness, or loss of balance or coordination for a brief period of time
• -- Brief period of severe headache with no known cause
• -- Never ignore these signs—even if they go away

If you think you are having a TIA or stroke, call 9-1-1 immediately or go to the nearest emergency room.
Source: Aggrenox.coom

Follow the links at the jump to find out what causes stokes and what you may do to try to prevent a stroke from occurring.

If you can't take an f or mf expletive DON'T WATCH!!! This is so funny!!! LOL...he's reporting, then all of a sudden that professional journalism goes right out the window...LOL, pure comedy.

Guess I am feeling a little nostalgic, because Rece reminds me of how rap used to be when I was growing up as a young tot...I mean, teenager back in the early 80s.

So I can say, I am loving some Rece Steele, and hopefully she will clean up some of the language, because some of the best rappers back then did not need all of the profanity, but outside of that I am a fan. Can't say I will be bopping to her music 24/7, but it is just a good time to have fresh, new female talent in the area of rap. LOL...one never lost for words, you know she has a lot to say...lol. She looks great and it's nice to see the upgrade from the yellow hair.

She did an interview with VH1 and for any one interested the link is provided after the jump. Here is a taste of what she had to say:

VH1: You talked about putting women back on the map. Going into the show, did you have a sense of how hard it is to be a woman in hip-hop in ’08? Is that something you even thought about?

RS: Definitely. A year before the show, I had promoted myself, being my own manager and publicist, and I was up against a world full of sexist men who don’t want to hear what you have to say. I’m a strong woman and I feel like I can handle being a hip-hop artist. And I’m not just talking about spitting bars and looking cute on stage, but showing women that we can do this on our own. There are so many teams that have a first lady, but why can’t the first lady head a team on her own? Jay-Z did it. He’s from the hood. The only difference is he has a penis.

VH1: Do you have any theories as to why hip-hop is so disproportionately male-dominated?

RS: Not to take anything away from the pioneers – MC Lyte, Latifah, Salt-N-Pepa – or even the ones that came after, like Eve, Kim and Foxy Brown, but some of them had writers. I feel like women are always looking for the hand-outs and the help. We don’t go and try to get it ourselves. When I started going to get things myself, it’s when things started working for me. I think we need to stand up and say, “Hey. I’m an independent artist and I’m trying to do it.” And come original. You can’t be the next Lil’ Kim. You have to be who you are and work with that.

This is absolutely heart wrenching. The father is an alleged drug dealer. Nancy reports the guy has a history of 23 arrests. Why does a woman make the decision to stay with a man like this, and bear children for him? Why is it within a child's reach? Choices. Choices. This child should be alive. I am quite certain the little angel faded off into a painless, deep sleep, but this is still no consolation for this OD.

Here are excerpts from the transcript from Nancy Grace’s show:

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: A baby is dead after authorities say he overdosed on cocaine and Oxycontin. Authorities say 21-month-old Darius Clark was found with enough cocaine and Oxycontin in his blood to kill an adult. Mom and Dad both charged with neglect of a child, both facing serious jail time tonight.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What really happened to 21-month-old Darius Clark? Riviera Beach police detectives believe it was a case of foul play and say the youngster`s parents are to blame. Autopsy results show the baby died of a cocaine and Oxycodone overdose. The baby`s mother, 25-year-old Tocarra Nobles of Riviera Beach, is charged with child neglect causing death. The baby`s father, 29-year-old Vincent Clark, is also charged in the toddler`s death and is already in jail on unrelated charges.

READ TRANSCRIPT

WATCH VIDEO

I was trying to find out what Dave Hollister, former member of BlackStreet, has been up to lately and was a little surprised, but not overwhelmed to find out he is no longer doing R&B. Just the other day I was listening to his old hit “One Woman Man.” I just love that tune.

He does not want to call it gospel and it is not R & B. He did an interview with HoneySoul.com and explains his decision to make inspirational life music.

At one point, the interviewer asks what triggered the switch.

Dave: "One big thing that turned it around and that was my accident in California…that should have left me dead and I walked away without a scar on my body. I should have been dead." Hollister said the car was hanging over the cliff. "I should have fell over the canyon…that triggered it all."

According to the UK Daily News a company has created this washing machine and it only uses one cup of water to clean a load of clothes. You add about 44 lbs of chips which are good for about 100 loads along with a cup of water. Amazing. I just need to know whether or not those chips will be a nuisance? Will I have to pick them out of my clothes or do they really filter through and collect at the bottom of the machine? And what arethese chips are made of and do have to worry about toxicity...a lady needs to know. Would you buy one of these machines? I like the technology.

I have been looking for children's shoes for a family member and saw some of the most adorable shoes in the Boston Sunday magazine and the advertisement was for PRIMIGI brand of children's shoes produced by Italian footwear maker IGI. They have a toddler line (0- 2 years), pre-school (2-5 years old), and school age (6-10 years old) target.

Here are some images and I did a quick search and Nordstrom's was one place where I clicked on the link to take a look at the prices, and it's great that they can be purchased online. I saw the shoe advertised in the magazine listed on Nordstrom's. Take a look at their collection. You will be pleased. I wish I could get a pair for myself...lol. : www.primigi.com

The poster on YouTube questioned whether or not this new hat video was racist. In the video, Japanese fans are flocking to a person whom they think is Boston Red Sox slugger David "Big Papi" Ortiz pictured above. Folllow the jump the see the video. I don't find it to be a racist video...they made a weak attempt at trying to be funny. There is some humor in it, and I thought the real David Ortiz would eventually appear, to make it funnier, but he never did.

He was on television last night at a UNICEF charitable awards ceremony, and they surprised him with an award (he did not know he was going to receive it). Last night on Fox News, Big Papi was at the podium, tearful, breaking down a couple times talking about how he was blessed with so much money to be able to help others. I think they mentioned he and his wife had donated $200,000 to that organization. The guy has a big heart and does a lot of good.

What's more interesting is the silly dialogue taking place in the comments section:

katwillny--- "dbdotdot David ORTIZ is Dominican not
Black, which by the way is racist of you to call them Black, they are African American..next time you decide to post a video depicting "racism" you should get your facts straight.. you ignorant idiot"

The Essence hair gallery features: Spring Styles, Ponytails, Volume, Glam, Work Styles, Waves, Asymmetric, Celeb Hair, Color, Fall Styles, Retro Styles, Couture Strands, Wrap Updos, Super Naturals, Iconic Styles, Natural Hair, Buns, Highlights, Roller Sets, Party Styles, Straight Strands, Weaves, No Fuss Styles, Bangs, Classic Styles, Special Occasion, Trendy Cuts, Long Hair, Braids, Locs & Twists, Updos, Bobs, Curls, Short Cuts, Summer Styles, Extreme Hair, Hair Show Styles Essence Hair Gallery

Need an idea for a hairstyle? It seems like the styles don't change over time, and I can swear I have seen most of these styles back in the eighties.

Photo Credit:
Essence.com

Last night, Vh1 wrapped up its female rap competition reality show and my, was it entertaining. I may have missed the first couple of episodes. The 'step off' props were so funny, and Yo Yo and Mc Serch called it correctly by selecting the best all around constestant. Rece Steele deserved that 100k prize and Byata was my second favorite. Rece says she has been rapping for 12 years and Byata for five. Both ladies are going to be stahhhs. Third place runner up Cherry is also a star.

Finally, it took a reality show for the young lady to get a breakthrough. Mom, Lisa, must be really proud of the femcee. I wish her much success in the business and hope she doesn't spend all of that money in one place. :)

Interesting Now with Bill Moyers transcript on Gullah Culture-the heir’s property system and gentrification. Moyers interviewed Marquetta Goodwine (Queen Quet) of the Gullah Geechee Sea Island Coalition, Vertamae Grosvenor, and Emory Campbell, Director Emeritus, Penn Center. Now with Bill Moyers: Gullah Culture

Reference:
Living in the Low Country

The critics were right. Perpetuation on stereotypes run rampant on this show. However, I thought I would force myself to watch it before I could comment, and it was a little painful to watch. I did not laugh, but the laugh tracks were on cue.

No less than five minutes into the show, it reinforces the notion that Asian parents do not want their kids to date black. The aunt *&%^ blocks. She does not say it, but the image is there. It seems as if Flavor Flav does that “wowwwww” with every other scene. Someone must have told him he sounds cute when he does this. Guess it helps to cut down on his speaking lines. In addition, if I hear that “yeahhh boy” one more time and he is not on the stage performing…lol.

There is a high society white woman with a biracial daughter whose relationship with a black female cultural mentor causes the mom to become jealous and distraught over the fact that the mentor is teaching the daughter about her “black” side. The mother embarrasses her daughter by attempting to “act black” to gain acceptance from her daughter. Don’t ask me what acting black is…I am trying to explain the story. Here is the link if you want to watch and judge for yourself. The show runs 20 minutes. Blacker The Berry. Season:1Episode:6 Blacker the Berry

You can also follow the jump to watch this episode. What do you think? Will this be a long running sitcom?

I give it 1 star out of 5

I was looking for something online and came across this photo of a young woman on the right and her mother. I had not seen her since she was 5 or 6 years old. She has blossomed into a beautiful flower. Her father was a legendary athlete who died of AIDS after receiving tainted blood from a blood transfusion, after double-bypass surgery. She must have been around six years old at that time. Do you know who is her father?

Follow the jump to find out who her famous daddy is...

You most likely have seen this latest issue of Ebony on the newstands or on other blogs, but until you read the story you probably would not be hip to the fact that Jasmyne Cannick wrote the cover story featuring tennis superstar, Serena Williams. Congrats, again, Miss Cannick on landing the cover story, and I wish you many more! Check out her site: www.jasmynecannick.com/blog/

Photo Credit:
JasmyneCannick.com

If you are in NYC and want to take in a show this sounds like a good theatre production. Single Black Female is playing at The Duke on 42nd Street. Here is more information from The New York Times.

Off Broadway, New 42nd Street Studios - The Duke on 42nd Street Theater

PLOT DESCRIPTION
Lisa B. Thompson's 'Single Black Female' takes a comic look at the pleasures and perils of being a single middle class black woman who's got everything she wants and needs except more R-E-S-P-E-C-T... and a man! The play mines topics such as dating (on the Internet and the old-fashioned way!), gynecology, family gatherings, shopping, racial bias, white folks and, poignantly, the odd sense of loss a black woman feels when she does find a man and leaves her single sisters behind. — TheaterSource

SHOWTIMES / VENUE

Previews Start: Jun. 10, 2008
Opening Date: Jun. 12, 2008
Closing Date: Jun. 29, 2008

Next Five Shows:
Jun. 10, 2008 8:00 p.m.
Jun. 11, 2008 8:00 p.m.
Jun. 12, 2008 8:00 p.m.
Jun. 13, 2008 8:00 p.m.
Jun. 14, 2008 2:00 p.m.

New 42nd Street Studios - The Duke on 42nd Street Theater
229 W. 42nd St.
New York, NY 10036

Ticket Price: $30
Ticket Information: Box Office: 646-223-3010; http://www.dukeon42.org

According to an AP news report, former boxing champ, Evander Holyfield denies his home will be foreclosed on being quoted as saying: "Everything is all right with the house now."

And that he has assets, but is unable to quickly convert them into cash without losing money: "I'm just not liquid." READ MORE...

Reference:
Yahoo! News

Photo Credit:
AP

This film is 44 minutes long and explores the tourist/sex trade down in Jamaica. This is nothing new as foreign women flock to the island for flings, quasi-relationships, and/or to play the role of temporary sugar mamas for Jamaican "escorts" who are essentially gigoloesque contract workers.

I will try to post an interesting documentary once a week on Fridays or the weekend. Just bring your own snacks and beverages and you will be good to go. The intro is long with about 5 minutes of still photos and drawings set to music, but once you get past that the main story gets to be pretty interesting. Language is R rated with expletives used by some of the participants in the film. But overall, it is quite insightful.

Well, it all turned out to be a marketing scheme. The Philadelphia Inquirer and Philadelphia Daily News newspapers reportedly allowed a company to place an ad for an "airline" called Derrie-Air which supposedly charges customers to fly according to their weight...lol. Brilliant marketing scheme to drive traffic to the website flyderrie-air.com. I'd like to hear the stories about those who actually tried to book flights.

Should the newspaper have allowed this and I wonder if the customer service worker who handled that account knew this was possibly a bogus ad. They would not have made a cent in this country if they were a legit airline...not with all of these fatties running around, and the ACLU would have been all up in that piece with weight discrimination lawsuits stacked as high as the clouds....lol. Where's the booty cheeks logo? No spokesmodel...hmmmm, Serena, JLo, Nay Nay...just thoughts...lol.

Here is the supposed disclaimer tagged at the end of the ad:

"A disclaimer labels the ad campaign "fictitious" and says it is designed "to test the results of advertising in our print and online products and to stimulate discussion on a timely environmental topic of interest to all citizens."

Reference:

AOL Money

According to recent reports, Evander "The Real Deal" Holyfield is facing foreclosure on his $10 million dollar suburban Atlanta mansion and AP reports:

"the mother of one of his children is suing for unpaid child support, and a Utah consulting company has gone to court claiming the boxer failed to pay back more than a half million dollars for landscaping.

Meanwhile, Holyfield's handlers allegedly told the mother of one of his children that he will no longer be able to make his $3,000-a-month support payment. Toi Irvin claims the boxer has already missed two payments, so she has gone to court seeking restitution." READ MORE...

What do they do will all of that money they make? Whatever happened to investing?

I have been hearing about this on our local conservative talk radio show for over a week now, and the rumor is there is supposedly a video tape with Michelle Obama ranting and raving ala Rev. Wright yelling "whitey this. whitey that." People claim they have seen it and according to Politico, Obama responds:

Sen. Barack Obama on Thursday batted down rumors circulating on the Internet and mentioned on some cable news shows of the existence of a video of his wife using a derogatory term for white people, and criticized a reporter for asking him about the rumor, which has not a shred of evidence to support it.

"We have seen this before. There is dirt and lies that are circulated in e-mails and they pump them out long enough until finally you, a mainstream reporter, asks me about it," Obama said to the McClatchy reporter during a press conference aboard his campaign plane. "That gives legs to the story. If somebody has evidence that myself or Michelle or anybody has said something inappropriate, let them do it."

Remember the 7-year-old kid, Latarian Milton, who ran away with his grandmother’s SUV last month and sent police on a kiddie car chase? Well, he is in trouble again…a quote in this video from him: “It’s fun to do bad things.”

I am really starting to believe mental illness and behavior disorders are increasingly going undetected or ignored in the black community. If not offered, people need to start demanding help.

He has been hospitalized for mental health evaluation, because of his latest incident, which occurred in a Wal-Mart. He wanted chicken wings and his grandmother told him ‘no,’ so badazz proceeded to go in the food line and order his own chicken wings. When she intervened, he started hitting her. He is still facing grand theft auto charges for the 'joy ride' incident.

If you were listening to this video with your eyes closed, you would think it was a joke. I hope he and his family get the help they need, otherwise, ten years from now he is destined to be in the state or federal penitentiary or six feet under. After watching this video, I am puzzled as to why we know his name and why are cameras following him seeking and recording comments, as if he were an ADULT?

Former Spice Girl and tabloid princess, Melanie Brown aka Mel B. is working on another solo album and Contact Music reports Missy Elliot will work with her and she is going to be doing a duet with phenomenal vocalist and entertainer extraordinaire Janet Jackson. Now, I expect some way-out-there material with combo partners (Janet + Elliot).

I read somewhere where Janet is going to "help" Mel B., and I could not help but think: Hey, wait a minute. Who is helping whom in this collabo? Either way, hopefully the result will be a good much needed blockbuster hit record for Jan and Mel B. READ MORE...

That's right. Rolling Stone magazine has declared Chuck Berry's song to be the greatest rock 'n' roll guitar song of all time. Wow! The 81 year old pioneer of rock 'n' roll is still rockin'.

Jimi Hendrix's "Purple Haze" was number 2 on the list. Go. Go. Johnny Go! They both topped the magazine's "100 Greatest Guitar Songs of All Time."

Here is Jimi Hendrix's version of Johnny B. Goode. He plays the guitar with his teeth. Watch Jimi!

Here is Chuck Berry performing Johnny B. Goode in 2007. Watch Chuck!

Although I have never watched one episode of the tv show “Lost,” Harold Perrineau whom I loved in the “Best Man” movie was recently interviewed and expressed some disappointment in the fact that his character, Michael Dawson was killed off in the ABC season finale of the drama, and addressed the question of whether race was a factor.

He was particularly irritated by the fact that the death of his character left his onscreen son fatherless, as if we as blacks need another prominent portrayal of an absentee father.

Here is what he had to say TV Guide: “Listen, if I’m being really candid, there are all these questions about how they respond to black people on the show. Sayid gets to meet Nadia again, and Desmond and Penny hook up again, but a little black boy and his father hooking up, that wasn’t interesting?”

He was brought back on the show only to be killed off and here are his thoughts:
“I had no idea,” he said. “It’s like, ‘What the hell?’ I felt like, ‘Was that it? I came back for that?’ ”

He later clarified (backpeddling?) some of his position with Entertainment Weekly: “I should probably think before I say things. I should especially think before I say anything racial, because I recognize that when you make a racial comment it polarizes people.” READ MORE...

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Yeah Harold. There is this powerful thing call blacklisting. Quite sure you’ve heard of that one. Your point about the fatherless kid image is a valid one. Again, I have never seen the show, so I cannot comment on his performance, and I know getting cut isn't always about race. Perhaps, another reader has seen the show and can shed some light on his character and performance.

Reference:
Boston Herald

Photo Credit:
ABC

Tonight he clinches the 2008 Presidential Democratic nomination. Mrs. O looks like she has a little bun in the oven tonight. He sounds like he has already made deals with Hillary Clinton. Can't wait to see what unfolds.

Synopsis from RopeofSilicon.com:
"Towelhead" follows the dark, bold and shockingly funny life of Jasira, a 13-year-old Arab-American girl, as she navigates the confusing and frightening path of adolescence and her own sexual awakening.

When Jasira's mother sends her to Houston to live with her strict Lebanese father, she quickly learns that her new neighbors find her and her father a curiosity. Worse, her budding womanhood makes her traditional and hot-tempered father uncomfortable. Lonely in this new environment, Jasira seeks friendship and acceptance from her neighbors Mr. Vuoso, an Army reservist, and Melina, a meddling but caring expectant mother.

Thrown into an unfamiliar suburban world, Jasira must confront racism and hypocrisy at home and at school - and at the same time struggle to make sense of her raging hormones and newfound sexuality. Her boyfriend, Thomas, though a few years older, provides some comfort - but even that relationship causes problems when her father discovers that Thomas is black. Surrounded by adults who are just as lost as she is, Jasira yearns for understanding, even amidst often brutal acts.

Based on the critically acclaimed novel by Alicia Erian and written for the screen and directed by Alan Ball (Oscar® winning writer of "American Beauty" and creator of "Six Feet Under"), "Towelhead" stars Aaron Eckhart, Toni Collette, Maria Bello, Peter Macdissi and newcomer Summer Bishil as Jasira. Towelhead is due to be released on Friday, August 8, 2008.

There is an interesting article at MSNBC on Americans salvaging food, electronics, furniture, clothes, art, etc. from dumpsters. Sorry, I just can't bring myself to do that--climbing inside of dumpsters. This is very dangerous also, as I can remember when I was a kid, two kids in the neighborhood I lived in died from being burned to death in dumpsters.

Times are not that desperate and I pray that I am never faced with this decision to make, but there is a 51 year old woman interviewed in the article named Rebecca who gets 99% of her food from the dumpster and here is how they describe her background: "owns a small duplex and has a job running an art program for a health care organization. She’s also an artist in her own right whose accomplishments include a piece that hangs in the Seattle Art Museum."

“It’s so easy to eat for free,” she says. “The only things I buy are butter and milk.”

The Yuck factor is just too high for me. I will live off of beans and rice forever, preparing it one thousand different ways, before I diversify my menu with food from the garbage. That's just me. I will bet anything ole Becky has a cat, and it gets fresh Meow Mix on the regular. No dumpster scraps for Garfield. READ MORE...

Companies/entrepreneurs are coming up with “innovative” ways to market and advertise to us, and it seems as if we can’t get away from cameras when we go out into the public domain. This will probably never change, but the fact that a computer program details what types of ads to show me based on what I look like (stereotypes)…seems, well, very biased.

I think I’d be ready to blow a gasket, if suddenly, based on my appearance-- weave, watermelon, and fried chicken ads appeared. I do like watermelon…no, love watermelon, and enjoy homecooked fried chicken, along with tons of other things, but you get my point.

“They are equipping billboards with tiny cameras that gather details about passers-by—their gender, approximate age, and how long they looked at the billboard. These details are transmitted to a central database. The goal, these companies say, is to tailor a digital display to the person standing in front of it—to show one advertisement to a middle-aged white woman, for example, and a different one to a teenage
Asian boy.” READ MORE...

Check out this video produced by Quividi, which produces audience measurement software. In the video, the video software captures the activity of shoppers while they browse and make purchases in a store. Quividi in Action

Check out Motomedia's StreetlevelBillboardsTM. Can you visualize one of those digital billboard ads changing (in front of your face) to another product based on what you look like? What I am reading is, the tracking is similar to statistical tracking website stat software does. But our browser can't see what color we are or how old we are or tell our age. Well...can it?!

Former congressman, J.C. Watts is creating a black news network called Black Television News Channel and is set to launch early to mid 2009. According to the NY Post, the news venture "has an agreement with Comcast cable to be carried in several cities with large black populations including Philadelphia, Chicago, Detroit, Washington D.C., Atlanta and Baltimore."

Watts told the NY Post: "I'm not so sure that you see anything on CNN or Fox News that specifically targets the African American community."

According to the BTNC website: BTNC will be a 24/7 cable news network that provides original news programming with a distinctly African-American perspective, filling a major gap in coverage of African Americans by today’s mainstream media.

If you are interested in learning more about the network, sending feedback, or looking for employment or have business proposals here is the website link: http://www.btnc.tv/

I like their poll question to which the results should be obvious:
Does the African American community really need it's own news channel?
90% yes
10% no