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MAGAZINE/BOOK BITS: Madea’s new book; Jada in ‘Essence’; ‘Neo Soul’ cookbook; Alba vs. Playboy; Maxim supersizes Longoria.
*“Don’t Make a Black Woman Take Off her Earrings,” a new book written by Tyler Perry as his most famous character, Madea, will hit bookstores on Tuesday. Madea, herself, wrote a letter to her fans promoting the book. “I talk about every thing from the miracles of Vaseline to ‘klink klink lock down,’” she writes. “So, pick it up. It is wonderfurr. You can get the book at my favorite store Wal-mart, or any book store, including that Barney and Nobles place, and all them other places where you readers go to get something to read. I hope you enjoy it and put it on your book club list cause it ain't never gonna make it to Oprah's book club. I guess if Springer had one, this book would be right at home.”
*Jada Pinkett Smith talks about her relationship with husband Will Smith in the upcoming 36th anniversary May issue of Essence – which features the actress on the cover. "People think I'm kidding when I say Will saved my life,” she says in the interview. “But he did. I was literally killing myself when we started dating ten years ago. I was doing drugs, drinking alcohol, and sleeping around. I was on the verge of a nervous breakdown. I was trying to off myself because I just hadn't found a way to cope with the things we all go through in life. But Will gave me the comfort zone of knowing that I had a relationship that was solid and was going to be there." Pinkett leads Essence’s second annual list of The Bold and the Beautiful, celebrating 25 of the world’s most courageous, powerful and inspiring women. Included this year are Oprah Winfrey, Robin Roberts, S. Epatha Merkerson and Raven-Symone.
*A new cookbook is available from the grandson of Harlem's queen of soul food, Sylvia Woods. “Neo Soul: Taking Soul Food to a Whole 'Nutha Level,” from Avery/Penguin Group, features recipes from Lindsey Williams that puts a healthy twist on such soul food staples as collard greens, macaroni-and-cheese and corn bread. Raised in the kitchen of his grandmother's restaurant, Williams was overweight for much of his childhood. After tipping the scales at 400 pounds, he decided to make drastic changes, beginning with a complete overhaul of his lifestyle and diet. He lost more than half his weight and eventually created his own brand of healthy soul food cooking, which he serves today through his successful event planning and catering business, Neo Soul Events and Catering.
*Jessica Alba settled a feud with Playboy over her unauthorized appearance on the March cover. The 24-year-old actress had demanded that founder Hugh Hefner pull the issue from stands over concern that the cover might lead readers to believe she appeared nude inside. But Hefner wrote her a letter of apology, and now, all is well. "I appreciate Mr. Hefner's acknowledgment of the distress caused by Playboy's actions, and I'm happy to put this unfortunate event behind me," Alba said in a statement. Going a step further, Playboy made donations to two charities Alba supports: Keep A Child Alive (embraced by Alicia Keys and Oprah Winfrey) and Until There's A Cure.
*You thought Eva Longoria was everywhere before? Maxim magazine has stepped up her presence by creating a 75-by-110-foot vinyl mesh replica of her January 2005 cover and sticking it in the middle of the desert outside Las Vegas. The display, a celebration of Maxim’s 100th issue, took nine workers more than 15 hours to build. It’s so big that satellites are able to photograph the image from space. In fact, satellite search engine Google Earth and the city of Las Vegas helped Maxim pull off the stunt. (Google Earth displays the image at www.maximonline.com/maximusa.).jpg)
