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11-13-07 EUR ALL ON ONE PAGE
REPORTS - DONDA WEST DIED OF HEART ATTACK: TMZ says Kanye's mom had plastic surgery despite warning of pre-existing health issue.
*TMZ.com and local Los Angeles news stations are reporting that Dr.
Donda West, the mother of rap star Kanye West, died Saturday of a heart attack after undergoing two cosmetic surgeries: liposuction on her stomach and a breast reduction. However, an official autopsy is scheduled to be performed Wednesday.
Dr. West died in the emergency room at Centinela Freeman Regional Medical Center in Marina Del Rey, Calif.
According to TMZ, she was rushed there at 7:35 p.m. Saturday night after paramedics responded to a 911 "sick person call" at her home in Playa del Rey. LA's KABC news interviewed Dr. West's neighbor, Millie Art, who said she heard screaming and hollering coming from the home shortly before paramedics arrived.
A hospital spokesperson tells TMZ that West was unresponsive upon arrival in the emergency room. After unsuccessful attempts to resuscitate her, she was pronounced dead around 8:30 p.m., according to the Web site.
TMZ is also reporting that several weeks earlier, a plastic surgeon had refused to perform procedures on Dr. West due to a pre-existing health condition that could have led to a heart attack.
"We've learned Beverly Hills physician, Dr. Andre Aboolian, was set to perform a tummy tuck and breast reduction on Ms. West, but told her she needed to get clearance from an internist whom Dr. Aboolian recommended,"
TMZ reported. "We're told West never went to that doctor, and subsequently had the procedures performed -- but not by Dr. Aboolian."
West was age 58 at the time of her death. She served as her son's manager and was also chairwoman of the Kanye West Foundation, an educational nonprofit that works to decrease dropout rates and improve literacy.
The former chairwoman of Chicago State University's English department, Dr. West was also a member of the National Association of Black Female Executives in Music & Entertainment, Inc. (NABFEME). The group issued the following statement:
We are grieved by the passing of our beloved sister, Dr. Donda West. A NABFEME Member, our "Celebrity Mom," Co-Chair of our 2007 Celebrity Mom Luncheon, Leader, Mother, Educator and Author -- We will remember her for her giving spirit, her wisdom, and her warm smile. Dr. West leaves a legacy of dedication to family and community, inner strength and extraordinarily hard work. To Kanye and the West family, we offer our condolences and prayers. Dr. West, may your rest be as peaceful as your nurturing spirit.
JAY-Z DEDICATES NY CONCERT TO KANYE: Mogul asks for a moment of silence before the final song.
*"Let's get serious for a minute," announced Jay-Z during the encore of his sold-out concert Sunday night at New York's Hammerstein Ballroom.
The hip hop mogul and mentor of rapper Kanye West was near the end of a two-hour concert in support of his new album "American Gangster" when he asked for a moment of silence to mark the passing of West's mother, Dr.
Donda West.
"This show is dedicated to Kanye West who had a death in the family."
According to People magazine, the crowd quickly fell silent.
"We got you, Kanye. Stay strong," he added before beginning his final song and current single, "Roc Boys."
BEYONCE BILLBOARD VIEWED AS 'OBSCENE' IN VEGAS: Local residents object to bikini-clad photo of singer.
*A protest has jumped off in Las Vegas, of all places, over a billboard for the city's radio station, KWNZ, featuring Beyonce dressed in a bikini.
"It's obscene," said one resident Pamela Keeney, according to the Las Vegas Sun. "I have my two little grandkids coming over here, and they don't need to be seeing that. You can change the channel on the TV but you can't change that."
Scott Seidenstricker, manager of KWNZ, said: "The billboards were taken from publicity shots and this is the way those people perform. So to show them in a jogging suit probably wouldn't be the right thing."
Ward Ryan, another Sin City resident, has collected 100 signatures on a petition protesting the billboard and accuses Clear Channel of installing it without permission.
City spokesman Chris Good told the Las Vegas Sun: "It complies with all the locational criteria that are set out in our code." In other words – the billboard stays put.
'NICKY' BARNES NOT HAPPY ABOUT 'GANGSTER' PORTRAYAL: Frank Lucas rival says film downplayed his importance in the dope game.
*Harlem drug kingpin Leroy (Nicky) Barnes says his role in New York's heroin trade during the late 60s and early 70s is grossly underrepresented in the new film "American Gangster," which details the rise and fall of his drug rival Frank Lucas.
"This whole thing about him being an entrepreneurial genius is nonsense," Barnes told the New York Daily News from his undisclosed location in the federal witness protection program. "I didn't see it. I did business in all five boroughs, Atlanta, D.C., Philly and Baltimore. Frank had 116th St. and maybe a few places in New Jersey."
In the Universal Pictures film, Denzel Washington portrays Lucas as a likeable family man but ruthless killer who dealt heroin by shipping the substance in the coffins of dead soldiers coming home from Vietnam. The movie features Barnes briefly as a "loud-mouthed buffoon" played by actor Cuba Gooding Jr.
Barnes tells the newspaper: "I like Cuba Gooding Jr. He probably did the best he could. But they depict me as a footnote in Frank's life when it was the other way around.
Barnes also disputes Washington's characterization of Lucas as articulate and understated, in contrast to Gooding's pimped-out dimwit.
"I wore flashy clothes, but not outrageous," says Barnes. "Check out the photos of me at the time. And have you listened to Frank talk? Frank is functionally illiterate. I've read all of Shakespeare. I can quote his sonnets. I read Dickens, Melville, Emily Dickinson. I won a poetry contest against inmates from the entire prison system.
"I did things Frank is incapable of. They took attributes of me and gave them to Frank. He was an empty vessel."
"They said I approached Frank for his dope," says Barnes. "I always got my drugs from the Italians. They have this scene where Frank yells at me for using the name of his dope - 'Blue Magic.' It never happened!
"This business about him being the protege of Bumpy Johnson - I never heard anything about Frank and Bumpy.
"Frank never went to Southeast Asia to get Ike Atkinson to bring him to a general in the Golden Triangle. Ike told me he won a bag of dope from some guys in a card game and unloaded it on Frank. His dope never came in the coffins of G.I.s from Vietnam. Check the public record.
"They're showing Frank as credible by undermining me. It's mythology.
They portray Frank as their strident Afro-centric guy standing up to the white mobsters. Did you see Frank on Charlie Rose's show? He was the only one saying, 'Mister Rose.' He was like a lawn jockey."
In its defense, Universal says the studio "has every confidence that the material facts are conveyed truthfully in 'American Gangster,' from abundant research with direct sources and from the public record."
Barnes, meanwhile, is featured in a documentary currently in theaters, titled "Mr. Untouchable."
XZIBIT HEADED TO 'NAM FOR OLIVER STONE: Rapper books role in drama based on Vietnam War's My Lai massacre.
*Xzibit further expands his Hollywood resume with a plum part in "Pinkville," the forthcoming Vietnam War drama from famed director Oliver Stone.
The film centers on the infamous My Lai massacre of more than 500 people by U.S. soldiers. Xzibit, whose real name is Alvin Joiner, will play a soldier who is convinced he carried out his orders in a moral way.
The rapper joins a cast that includes Bruce Willis, Channing Tatum and Woody Harrelson. The United Artists project is set to begin production next year, according to the Hollywood Reporter.
Xzibit's film credits include "Gridiron Gang," "Derailed" and "XXX: State of the Union." As a rapper, he has sold more than 3 million records.
CHARLES S. DUTTON BEHIND A&E DRAMA PILOT: Actor to direct mob-based project starring 'ET's' Elliott.
*Actor Charles S. Dutton has booked yet another directing gig. The filmmaker has signed on to steer the Fox Television Studios drama pilot "Under," which will run sometime next year on A&E.
Actor Henry Thomas, most famous for his role as Elliott in Steven Spielberg's "ET: The Extra Terrestrial," stars in "Under" as a young thug who, after being marked for death by the mob and turning state's evidence against them, joins the witness protection program. He becomes an NYPD patrolman but is unable to escape his past.
A&E senior vp drama programming Tana Nugent Jamieson praised Dutton's body of work as a director, including HBO's "The Corner" and Showtime's "Sleeper Cell."
"He's the perfect director for this unique script," Nugent Jamieson told the Hollywood Reporter. "The lead character is one who has seen both sides of the law, and I think you have to have someone who understands and has shot that."
The project, which begins filming next month in Vancouver, follows Lifetime's announcement of Dutton directing and starring in its upcoming original movie "Racing for Time."
DARIUS MCCRARY IMPRESSED WITH 'SUPERHEAD': 'Family Matters' star and vixen's rumored fiancé tells all in 'Sister 2 Sister.'
*Self-described video vixen Karrine "Superhead" Steffans, who has written two books about her various sexual encounters with entertainers and athletes, has apparently set her sights on a veteran of ABC's "Family Matters" to live happily ever after.
There have been long-standing rumors that actor Darius McCrary, who played Eddie Winslow in the series, is about to put a wedding ring on her finger. The actor, in turn, told Sister 2 Sister: "If you're gonna turn a ho into a housewife, that's the one to get."
McCrary claims to have enjoyed a three-month long "sleepover" with Steffans and tells the magazine that he was impressed with her ability to cook and keep a clean house.
Although reports of a future trip down the aisle are rampant around the black blogosphere, Steffans would only tell EUR's Lee Bailey that her boyfriend is "a B-list actor."
McCrary also beamed to Sister 2 Sister that Steffans kept a board of all the various men she was juggling – and wrote his name at the top of the list.
WYCLEF JEAN HELPS HAITI ONE PERSON AT A TIME: Artist creates several programs funded by his own charity.
*Wyclef Jean says he has founded several youth-based programs that are backed financially by Yele Haiti, the charity he launched to benefit his Caribbean homeland.
Yele Haiti will provide computer labs, classrooms and counseling for jailed child gang members, help local women's groups sell food in the seaside slum of Cite Soleil, and establish a youth scholarship and soccer program, Jean said.
"If you want to change a country, unfortunately, you're not going to be able to help 8 million people at one time," Jean told reporters Saturday after arriving in Port-au-Prince. "But if you can get one or two or three and start to make that change, that will make the difference."
Jean, who wore a white linen jacket with Haiti's shield embroidered in sparkling stones, spoke to reporters mostly in Creole during his first visit to the city since being appointed its roving ambassador in January.
CHILDREN OF NY GANGSTERS JOIN FORCES: Daughters of Nicky Barnes and Frank Lucas team to help kids of imprisoned parents.
*Their fathers may have been rivals in Harlem's deadly heroin trade 30 years ago, but the daughters of Frank Lucas and Leroy "Nicky" Barnes – both the subjects of two separate films currently in theaters – have joined forces to support other children who may have grown up in the shadow of heavy crime.
According to the New York Post, Francine Lucas-Sinclair is planning a program to mentor and support children of parents who have been imprisoned. And in an unscripted turn of events, Nicole and Ebony Barnes have volunteered to provide assistance.
When all three women were young, the prison system snatched their mothers as well as their fathers. Francine Lucas was raised by grandparents; Nicole and Ebony Barnes were placed in foster care.
“Yes, their parents might have broken the law, but the children deserve help and support,” Lucas-Sinclair said of the kids she wants to help. “First, because they’re innocent and they can’t fend for themselves.
And second, they will be your children’s spouses, their neighbors or, God forbid, the person carjacking you 10 years from now.”
Lucas-Sinclair has a degree in public relations and lives outside Atlanta with her husband, a computer database manager, and their two children. She said the current Universal film "American Gangster" about her father provided a chance to call attention to her Web site, www.yellowbrickroads.org, which lists resources that are already available for the children of inmates.
“I thought to myself, I have a great opportunity to use some of the publicity my dad is getting to bring the spotlight to this issue,” she said.
“Yeah, I would have to put myself out there, but because there’s a good reason to do it, it was worth it. There was no other benefit to come out and say I’m Frank Lucas’s daughter.”
During the publicity surrounding the release of "American Gangster,"
Nicole Barnes’s did an online search of Frank Lucas to find out more about her father's rival and stumbled across a Glamour magazine article about Lucas-Sinclair’s life and her project.
“I was searching the Internet about Frank Lucas, not knowing he even had a daughter,” Nicole Barnes recalled. “I felt really compelled to contact her. It was the first time I had read anything that sounded so familiar to my childhood.”
Barnes, like Lucas, became a witness for the government in return for a reduced sentence. He and his daughters are living under new identities in the federal witness protection program.
All three daughters are in their 30s. They say their fathers approve of their continuing conversations about assisting other children.
“I think our father felt it was something we felt we needed to do,”
Ebony Barnes said. “He trusted our decision. He didn’t think of it as his daughters contacting the daughter of his rival.”
To read the entire New York Times article, click here:
(http://www.nytimes.com/2007/11/11/nyregion/11daughters.html?ex=1352523600&e
n=a6cf0677cadcd519&ei=5124&partner=permalink&exprod=permalink)
ALICIA KEYS VS. ALICIA WILD: Artist says we have her mother to thank for the latter name being tossed from consideration.
*Singer-songwriter Alicia Augello-Cook sought advice from her mother when considering a stage name that would help her stand out as a performer.
She tells Newsweek in the magazine's Nov. 19 issue of going through a dictionary and being struck by the word "wild." She floated the name Alicia Wild past her mother.
"She said 'It sounds like you're a stripper,'" laughed the artist.
After that, she decided to use Keys. The rest is history.
"It's like the piano keys. And it can open so many doors," the singer explained. Alicia Keys' new album, "As I Am," arrives in stores today.
NELLY PLANS ATHLETIC FACILITY IN HOMETOWN: Rapper teaming with fellow native Larry Hughes for the project.
*The St. Louis Business Journal reports of a new multi-million dollar athletic facility being built in St. Louis by Nelly Inc., the development company owned by rapper Nelly and Cleveland Cavaliers star Larry Hughes.
The building will sit on 60 acres of farmland at Page Avenue, near the Maryland Heights expressway, according to the publication. Nelly and Hughes have reportedly presented their plan to Maryland Heights officials but have yet to put in a request for zoning variances.
“This thing is in the baby stages,” explained Christopher ‘Topher’
Jones, managing partner of Nelly Inc. “We're still in talks with the city.”
In the meantime, Nelly is about a month away from the release of his fourth solo album, "Brass Knuckles." Due Dec. 11, the set features guest turns from Chuck D, Pimp C and Sean Paul of the YoungBloodz.
WENDY WILLIAMS 'EXPLORING OPTIONS': Contract with WBLS expires in March.
*The New York Daily News is reporting that New York radio diva Wendy Williams is "exploring her options" now that her contract with WBLS is due to expire in March.
"She's weighing whether she wants to stay at WBLS," a rep for the radio personality told the newspaper. "There has been interest elsewhere."
According to the rep, the gossip queen and New Jersey native will remain in the radio field. Her show, The Wendy Williams Experience, is nationally-syndicated by Superadio Networks out of WBLS, where it has consistently been near the top of the ratings.
A simulcast version of her radio show airs periodically on cable channel VH1.
FOUR TOPS WIN COURT BATTLE IN LONDON: Imposter group ordered to stop using name of Motown act.
*Motown legends The Four Tops won a legal battle Friday when a British judge ordered a rival group to stop performing under the band's name, a rep for the group told us.
High Court judge Nicholas Warren said in his ruling that singer Viscount Oliver Miller must stop performing and recording under the name Viscount Oliver's Legendary Four Tops.
The judge also declared invalid the trademark "Viscount Oliver's American Dream The Legendary Four Tops," which Miller has used to promote dates by his Four Tops tribute act across Britain. Publicity materials were causing venue managers and the public to be misled into believing that his group was or was associated with the real Four Tops
Miller, who was ordered to pay damages, had never been a member of the original Four Tops, nor had he ever recorded with the group.
"Today's ruling was important for The Four Tops because it permitted them to protect their legacy in the U.K.," said The Four Tops' British lawyer, Adam Robertson.
A legitimate Four Tops lineup, including original member Abdul "Duke"
Fakir, still performs and is currently touring Britain with fellow Motown act The Temptations.
ITTY BITTY BITS: Chaka's Purple; Spike TV's 'Afro'; BlackSantaMagicLetters; Jacksons' 'Pop Dynasty' on hold.
*Chaka Khan has been named the celebrity face of the new antioxidant health beverage, Purple. The product is available in health food stores, restaurants, delis, drug stores, supermarkets and convenience stores in select cities – including New York, Los Angeles and Miami – and should be available at retailers nationwide this winter. "With the demands of travel, rehearsals and a stressful promotion schedule in my daily life, I need to make sure that I stay healthy and get antioxidants each day," said Khan. "A friend of mine turned me onto Purple. I was excited to try it. From the first sip, I loved it. I happily agreed when The Purple Beverage Company approached me to work with them; after all, it's a drink I already use."
*Spike TV's animated series "Afro Samurai," starring the voice of Samuel L. Jackson, has finally gotten a following in its native Japan after debuting recently in theaters. "I never expected Afro Samurai to get this huge. It started out as doodlings I made in college," creator Takashi Okazaki said in an interview in Tokyo. "Now, I have Samuel doing Afro's voice, and lots of black kids thanking me for creating an awesome hero. I just can't believe it." The show's first season aired as a five-part series on Spike TV early this year. It follows a young samurai with a big Afro who seeks to avenge the death of his father at the hands of a mysterious warrior called Justice. A video game based on the animation is headed for Xbox 360 in December.
*Parents can start a new tradition sending children personalized letters from an African-American Santa Claus via BlackSantaMagicLetters.com, a service launched last year that offers visitors a choice of three culturally designed letters to personalize with children’s names, best friends’ names, toy wish lists, hobbies, accomplishments, and other information. There are also plenty of interesting articles and fun facts about Black Santa Claus. To download a free letter sample, visit http://www.BlackSantaMagicLetters.com.
*TMZ.com is reporting that "Pop Dynasty," the singing competition series starring members of the Jackson family hunting for the next big superstar music clan, has come to a screeching halt due to money. Last spring, CBS ordered 8 episodes of the show, which listed Jermaine Jackson as executive producer and judge alongside his brother Tito and sister LaToya.
But no moves have been made to push the project forward. "It's still in development," producer Steve Kroopnick tells TMZ. "We are hoping it will come to fruition at some point, but right now, nothing is happening ... it is for purely financial reasons."
EUR DVD REVIEW: Movies 101
AMC Network's Celebrity Interview Series Arrives on DVD
DVD Review by Kam Williams
*For over a quarter of a century, Richard Brown's Movies 101 has been one of the most popular courses at NYU.
The way the class has been conducted is that the students first watch an upcoming film prior to its release date, followed by observing their professor conduct an interview with the picture's director and/or star.
Many of the interviews have aired on the AMC Network's series of the same name, and now 16 choice chats have been packaged together as a treat for serious cineastes.
The tete-a-tetes have been divided into four categories, each with its own disc, namely, Award Winners, Icons, Leading Ladies and Leading Men.
The first one features all Academy Award-winners: Martin Scorcese (for The Departed), Susan Sarandon (for Dead Man Walking), Cuba Gooding, Jr (for Jerry Maguire) and Whoopi Goldberg (for Ghost), who expounds on how she got her start in showbiz. Among the Icons are a couple of Oscar-recipients, too, Jon Voight (for Coming Home) and Kevin Kline (for A Fish Called Wanda) who devotes some time to discussing his love of Shakespeare. And that disc is rounded out by Willem Dafoe and Jeff Bridges who fondly reminisces about Among the Leading Ladies there's only one Oscar-winner in Jennifer Connelly (for A Beautiful Mind), plus several very accomplished thespians in Julianne Moore, Sigourney Weaver and Jennifer Aniston who weighs in on making the transition to a producer. And the Leading Men section has two more winners, George Clooney (for Syriana) and Daniel Day-Lewis (for My Left Foot), along with Dennis Quaid and the up-and-coming Josh Lucas, who spells out the types of flicks he'd like to make in the future.
Overall, credit Professor Brown for compiling quite a collection of candid conversations with an impressive cross-section of Hollywood royalty.
Excellent (4 stars)
Unrated
Running time: 12 hours
Studi City Lights Media
4-Disc DVD Extras: A highlights trailer, each interview contains 20 minutes of never-before-seen footage, exclusive interviews with Professor Richard Brown and a DVD-ROM link with bonus interviews.
EUR FILM REVIEW: Fred Claus
Santa's Sibling Cause Ruckus at North Pole in Kiddie Holiday Comedy
Film Review by Kam Williams
*What's the first thing that comes to mind when you think of Michael Jackson? Even though he's never been found guilty, pedophilia always pops into my head.
For this reason, excuse me to find it first distracting, then disturbing, to hear him singing "Santa Claus Is Coming to Town," not once, but twice during this movie.
There were certainly plenty of other artists who have covered the popular Christmas song who director David Dobkin could've chosen from, if he was dead set on including that particular tune in his picture.
So, the inclusion of the Jackson Five version makes you wonder whether the North American Man-Boy Love Association (NAMBLA) might have had a say about the soundtrack.
Let's be brutally frank for a minute, it's already a little creepy just thinking about your average Santa, seasonal help plucked from the pools of the unemployed.
But if you arrived at a mall, and Michael Jackson was being piped in, you might have second thoughts about letting your kids sit on St.
Even if you can get past wacko Jacko's warblings, Fred Claus is a film with plenty of other failings, ranging from a flawed premise to questionable casting to a dearth of mirth to its lasting way too long. The film stars Vince Vaughn in the title role as Santa's ne'er-do-well elder brother, opposite Paul Giamatti, who looks a little out of his element as Fred's saintly sibling.
The kid-friendly plotline is easy enough to follow, as it revolves around Santa's generously offering his broke brother a job managing his Naughty or Nice Department during the busy holiday season. Recently-bailed fro jail, Fred bids adieu to his practically fed-up girlfriend, Wanda (Rachel Weisz), and to his orphaned next-door neighbor, Slam (Bobb'e J.
Thompson), and sets out for the North Pole from Chicago.
But upon his arrival, the slacker only throws a monkey wrench in Santa's streamlined facility by encouraging DJ Donnie (Ludacris) to play distracting dance music instead of holiday hymns and jingles. Soon, the elves are partying instead of making toys, and Santa falls way behind schedule. Then, nosy Mr. Northcutt (Kevin Spacey), a Scrooge-like efficiency expert roaming the grounds, threatens to shut down the operation entirely.
To top it all off, by Christmas Eve, suddenly sick Santa is worried about the prospect of disappointing all the children around the world eagerly-anticipating the impending arrival of their presents. The solution is no surprise, as he asks his brother to deliver the gifts by sleigh for him. Of course, Fred makes the most of this opportunity to overhaul his loser image, stepping in to save the day for a fairytale finale.
Don't make the mistake of misreading the tacked-on happily-ever-after ending as a stamp of approval for a mean-spirited production, its PG rating notwithstanding. Among the movie's tasteless moments is when Santa slides down the chimney and disturbs a Jewish family during Hannukkah dinner. He leaves without giving the children any gifts ostensibly because they're of the wrong faith.
Equally insensitive is the depiction of African-American characters as reprobates. DJ Donnie, the only black elf, willfully screws up at his job, while little Slam is so morally-unprincipled that he pickpockets Santa on Christmas Day, as if to suggest a genetic predisposition towards criminality. Ha-ha.
Squandered in the service of this often offensive adventure is a talented cast which includes Academy Award-winners Kathy Bates, Rachel Weisz and Kevin Spacey, nominees Miranda Richardson and Paul Giamatti, and cameos by overshadowed, celebrity siblings Roger Clinton, Frank Stallone and Stephen Baldwin, brothers of Bill, Sly and Alec, respectively.
A feel-bad Christmas flick, not exactly the way anybody would want to kickoff the holiday season.
Poor (0 stars)
Rated PG for mild epithets and crude humor.
Running time: 116 minutes
Studi Warner Brothers
ASK ADVICE CHICK: Answers to YOUR Dating, Sex, Life, & Love Questions!
By - AdviceChick@ameritech.net – (312) 205-0850
Dear Advice Chick,
*I heard you on the radio here in the DC area a while ago. Thanks for your advice about online dating. I am a single black female, professional, mid-forties, divorced with two grown children. I have been unsuccessful finding dates the "old fashioned" way and have given a lot of thought to online dating.
I have more than a few reservations and some questions. While your discussion on WHUR Radio answered a few of them, I was wondering if you could answer a few more:
1. I am thinking about joining a pretty well known online dating site - E-Harmony, but I am afraid that the pool of black men might be too small. How can I know what the percent of their clientele are black males in my age range before I join?
2. Do you have any recommendations for sites that are more likely to have professional black males that are looking for relationships?
3. I want to find a committed relationship - not just a date, I do I increase my chances of locating someone with similar interests?
4. One of the issues that I've with traditional dating methods is that I make a lot more money than most of the black men I meet. This has been more of a problem for them than for me. Although ultimately, it becomes a problem for me. Are there screens for income on online dating sites?
Advice Chick replies,
I applaud you for having the courage to take your dating destiny into your own hands. eHarmony allows you to complete the relationship questionnaire and personality profile absolutely FREE. You can also receive matches from compatible potential matches and review their profiles.
You must be a paying member to respond to the potential matches, but they offer a FREE 7 day trial for new members. The FREE trial will give you enough time to search for they type of men you’d like to meet. You can search according to ethnic group, location, age, interests, education, etc.
I suggest you try the larger, well known online personal sites like Yahoo, Match, eHarmony, and True. Pick two sites and see what happens.
You can increase your chances of finding men with similar life interests by stating your intention in your ad. I also suggest that you post a few recent (less than 14 days old) photos with your profile. Make sure the photos portray your attractive side. No super cleavage or booty shots, o.k?
Some sites allow you to search by income, but I suggest you keep your financial information to yourself. Women gold-dig, and some men do too. Internet personals can be fun! Sure, there are some weirdoes online; there are weirdoes’ offline too. Exercise common sense and you should be fine. Good luck!
Dear Advice Chick,
I recently broke up with my girlfriend (We are both 26) of 2.8 years, due to her not being willing to commit to marriage in the next few years. I began dating my best friend from undergrad 2 weeks later and we are a perfect match. She speaks in terms of "when we get married & have kids." My ex thinks she and I can remain friends, but I don't feel that we need to talk again. After such a long relationship I feel somewhat bad for wanting to cut off communication with her. I don't want to burn any "bridges", but I don't want to unintentionally leave the door of hope open in her mind that we may get back together. My current girlfriend supports my thought of cutting my ex off totally, but it feels too cold. Do I need to be tough and cut it?
Advice Chick replies,
Cut it! You’re not being tough; you’re being true to you. You can remain cordial and speak to each other, but that’s about it. Your ex thinks the two of you can remain friends but in order for that to be true you must think it as well. I’m thinking --- you moved from one relationship to the next one awfully fast. What’s your deal? Girlfriend #1 was moving too slowly for you; now girlfriend #2 is moving too gawt damn fast. It’s only been two weeks and she’s talking marriage and kids? Hell, does she even know your middle name? Inseam? Shoe size?
Does she know if you prefer white or wheat, Coke or Pepsi, paper or plastic? Slow down boo. You don’t always have to be in a relationship.
Send YOUR questions and comments to Advice Chick right NOW! Please put “Dear Advice Chick” in the subject line so your email isn’t deleted as spam. Thanks! advicechick@ameritech.net.
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Ask Advice Chick about ANYTHING and EVERYTHING related to dating, sex, love, and life! She is THE resident dating expert at EURweb.com, and calls on over 11 years of dating and relationship industry experience.
The Robertson Treatment (America’s Premiere Lifestyle Column) Volume 10, Edition 18 – Superstar Ascent- A Conversation with Idris Elba
*In over 15-years of chronicling the celebrities I have encounter only 3 individuals with whom I’ve been truly excited about interviewing: Yolanda King, because of her father’s legacy; Eartha Kitt, because of her overwhelming legend, and most recently actor Idris Elba, who I honestly believe is the black actor to watch for the next generation. I was first introduced to the work of this British born actor when he starred on the popular HBO drama, “The Wire,” which left me intrigued by his onscreen presence, but nothing more. However, after his performance playing a survivor of the Rwanda Genocide (“Sometimes in April”, 2005), I realized that more than a pretty face, he’s an actor with enormous talent. Hollywood has taken notice as well, giving the actor back-to-back roles that surely must please his growing fan base. The Robertson Treatment’s regular contributor (and fellow Brit), Samantha Ofole recently spoke to red-hot actor in support of his new film “The Christmas,” which opens in theatres on November 21st. Enjoy!
Robertson Treatment: Most of your fans know that you are from the UK even though you’ve mostly played American characters. Do you feel in a sense you are losing you British traits and accent and are becoming more Americanized?
Idris Elba: I definitely think I have Americanisms, but when I go back home it [British accent] comes back. I’ve lived in New York for a while and so I have this twang.
RT: Most of your fans know that you are from the UK even though you’ve mostly played American characters. Do you feel in a sense you are losing you British traits and accent and are becoming more Americanized?
IE: I definitely think I have Americanisms, but when I go back home it [British accent] comes back. I’ve lived in New York for a while and so I have this twang.
RT: You’re a very intense actor and watching your movies it’s clear that you study the character and immense yourself in that role and that’s what we call real acting and you’re certainly one of the black British actors who have successfully made it in Hollywood. Do you think it was a combination of luck, skills and accent that aided your career?
IE: Thanks. I think English actors who come to America have to be prepared to go in and work hard because it’s very, very tough and very competitive. I have been very lucky. I didn’t broadcast the fact that I was English whilst I was on The Wire. The people that hired me didn’t know that I was English either. Now, of course people will say: he talks funny and are asking ‘who is he?’ now it’s more common knowledge. I’d say its luck and hard work really.
RT: Many people are definitely comparing you to Denzel as being the next big actor of our generation. How does that comparison make you feel?
IE: I think it’s such a compliment but at the same time I am very different from Denzel Washington. There are other people that remind you more of him. I think I am doing something that fills my own lane. I would love to be as successful as Denzel who has had a great, great career as an actor.
RT: How is the music going? A lot of people don’t actually know that you write lyrics also.
IE: Wonderful. I wrote something for Angie Stone which I think is going to be her second single. I met Angie on the set of her video shoot and I reached out to her and she gave me a break. I also wrote a reduced intro to Jay Z’s new album. It’s a great honor to be honored by someone that is such a genus doing what he does. I was honored to be able to open his album for him and that was big for me. I also have a record label in England that I am starting to try and get artists.
RT: Being British and being part of American culture in the movie celebrating Christmas soul food style, was it enriching for you to experience that culture?
IE: I don’t do America very often during the holiday because I travel and so I haven’t been accustomed to it, but I definitely love the way Americans celebrate and enjoyed it. Their holidays are so huge. Halloween and all that they really go in and celebrate it.
RT: So with American Gangster due out and This Christmas scheduled for release November 21st, what’s the next project we can expect from you?
IE: The next movie I have coming out will be the Guy Ritchie one called RocknRolla
RT: In This Christmas, you’re working with another very talented British actor Delroy Lindo and initially both your characters don’t gel, but I get the sense that you are both best of buddies -- call it screen chemistry or the bonding of the Brits. Was it difficult to work with him playing his arch enemy?
IE: We don’t know each other well but we do get on really well. He loves to improvise so we definitely brought that to the table.
RT: Now the movie has wrapped, what do you take away from this project?
IE: Pride. It’s such a good film and I think it’s a classic. I want it to do very well and I want people to see it. It’s so good and it’s so rich.
Additional reporting Samantha Ofole
AUTOMOTIVE SPIN - THE KIA EXPERIENCE
KIA SPECTRA SX
The Kia Spectra is a standout vehicle in a market becoming increasingly hungry for fuel-efficient, compact cars that can still pack a lot of punch on the road. Although its look will remind you of the quite, smart guy who always set at the front of class, it’s important to remember that he was one who got all the A’s.
Ride: I was impressed with the Spectra’s solid on the road handling under various road conditions. With smooth acceleration and solid power (especially for a 4 cylinder engine), the Spectra offers an easy and controlled drive.
Comfort: From its roomy interior, sharp exterior accents and excellent placement of gadgets and controls, the Spectra offers a comfortable driving experience. Another plus are its seats, which handled my 6ft plus frame very well. I also like the low road noise it generates on surface streets and the highway. The 5-speed manual transmission and Front Wheel train will add to the confident drivers feel behind the wheel.
Spin Control: The Kia Spectra is a smart and efficient ride that will appeal to a broad cross-section of viewers. With a MSP starting at $15, 595, the Spectra offers an all around good value where it counts in fuel, safety and price, making who ever drives this car a real winner.
Grade: A
KIA SPORTAGE 4x4
The 2007 Kia Sportage makes a great first impression. It’s a solidly built vehicle -- highly functional and dependable -- making it a very practical choice for drivers who place more value on performance over flash and bling.
Ride: The Sportage performed well on various terrains and traffic conditions, which is an added plus for driving in and around Atlanta. With a 2.7 liter, 24-valve DOHC V6 engine, the Sportage delivers 173 hp and 178 lb-ft of torque. Its four-speed automatic transmission is also very efficient on various road surfaces. The Sportage also has great safety features (a signature trademark for Kia) that will leave its driver feeling confident on the road.
Comfort: With an interior that offers great space for families and is able to carry from light to medium size loads, the Sportage is great for busy individuals who are looking for a car that can handle everyday jobs.
Spin Control: Like other SUVs in its class, the Sportage is large enough to carry some loads and still small enough to be agile on the road. Offering decent gas mileage and competitively priced (starting at $15,900), the Sportage is durable and reliable – two very desirable traits for every driver.
Grade: B
Copyright, 2007 Robertson Treatment, LLC
Visit www.robertsontreatment.com
THE JOURNAL OF STEFFANIE RIVERS: Uncle Sam, an American Gangster?
*If you’ve had to apply for a passport recently you know what a headache that process can be. In July some two million people were waiting for passports. Even though the normal wait time is said to be six weeks, more than 500,000 of those people had been waiting for more than three months.
It turns out not only did they spend time filling out lengthy paperwork, according to some people in congress they were charged too much money.
And you know how much I hate to see people waste time and money. (See last week’s column: Working Out or Wasting Time?)
According to a congressional investigation, State Department and Postal Service employees collected $111.4 million more in passport fees and related costs last year than was necessary. Lawmakers say passport processing was not intended to be a profit making venture. Now they want to know where the money is.
The base fee is $97 for an adult passport and $82 for a child under 16. Federal employees got away with overcharging us by adding on extra fees for things like expedited service, overnight delivery and photo processing. They also charged an extra $30 to cover the cost of clerks examining and accepting passport applications at post offices, State Department passport offices, court houses, libraries, municipal offices and universities. The $30 fee was almost double the actual cost - $16.30 – when it was imposed in 2002. In all the investigation revealed it was a two hundred percent mark-up on the base fee.
Americans, as well as other travelers always have had to carry passports when traveling internationally. After the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attack even U.S. territories and neighboring countries that provided no-passport access – Canada, Mexico, Central and South America and the Caribbean – require travelers to carry a passport to enter.
As with any businesses where there’s a demand, greedy people are sure to follow. So it’s not surprising some of them work within the federal government. I am amazed at the frequency with which the feds or government sanctioned industries try to shake down everyday working people. Passport price gouging is just the latest example. (Go to pbs.org/now/insurance for another example).
Gone are the days - if they ever existed - that you could just go to work, pay your bills and trust government officials to do right by their fellow citizenry. Now days you’ve got to check every household bill for errors, question authority at every turn and get a third opinion.
The Government Accounting Office (GAO) plans to (over)pay a contractor to perform a new cost study of passport fees, which could take at least another year to complete. Good luck with that.
In the meantime expect to be overcharged for your passport or resign yourself to those four invisible walls called the contiguous United States. At least there’s Hawaii.
Steffanie Rivers is a free-lance journalist living in the Washington, DC metro area. Send your comments and questions to teamtcbadvertising@hotmail.com.
TURNER’S TWO CENTS: Wayans disgraces himself by defending Imus
By Cameron Turner
“When he called them nappy headed hoes I was like, ‘Wow! He’s right!”
-- Damon Wayans (on The View, 11-7-07)
*Damon Wayans has, evidently, lost his mind. The veteran comedian/actor/writer actually went on national TV (ABC’s The View) last week and said that Don Imus was “right” when he called the members of the Rutgers Women’s Basketball team “nappy headed hoes.” The former star of My Wife and Kids said he wasn’t offended by Imus’ comment because, “black people can say that about each other.” Wayans grinned and giggled in solitude as the View panelists and audience responded with shocked, nervous laughter, head-shaking and groans of disapproval. As Sherri Shepherd struggled to get a word in over the uncomfortable cacophony (“Damon! You know what, Damon?”), Joy Behar challenged Wayans directly: “These women are not hoes,” she said, “They’re highly respected sports (stars).” Then, as if his original statement wasn’t crazy enough, Wayans clarified and expanded position by saying something truly ignorant: "Black people at home are laughing right now. White people are going, 'That's not right!' (But) it’s all cultural."
No it isn’t.
First of all, Damon, I guarantee you that a whole lot of black folks – the majority, in fact -- were not laughing at your pro-Imus statement. Just like we didn’t laugh when Imus opened his mouth and ignited this whole controversy.
Under certain circumstances black people who are good friends agree to play around with insults (including the wretched n-word and b-word). But that has to do with individual relationships, not ethnicity. There is no across-the-board acceptance of crude, demeaning language within black culture. I, as a black man, can not just walk up to a sister, call her by the h-word (even in jest) and think she’ll be okay with that. Then again, it would never cross my mind to do that because, like most African-Americans, I have home training.
Even if Damon Wayans’ false premise was true, it wouldn’t excuse Imus. If black folks give one another conditional permission to use inflammatory language that permission stops with us. Sorry, but white folks don’t get to do it. Especially a race-bating instigator like Don Imus, who takes pride in behaving like a donkey’s rectum.
Imus was not “right.” He was malicious, racist and sexist. Damon Wayans disgraced himself and undermined us by defending him.
TURNER’S TWO CENTS -- Pt. 2: Conservative, not Christian
By Cameron Turner
*Jerry Falwell must be rolling over in his grave! Influential conservative Christian leader Pat Robertson has endorsed Rudy Giuliani for President, despite the fact that the former New York Mayor supports abortion and equal rights for gays and lesbians. But Robertson’s endorsement proves something that I have suspected for a long, long time: that many right wing Christian activists are more loyal to Republican Party politics than to the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
Since the 1980s heyday of Jerry Falwell’s Moral Majority, we have seen conservative Christians take several stands which are hard to square with Biblical morality:
? They backed the apartheid government in South Africa. (I’ll never forget seeing Jerry Falwell tell the nation on his Old Time Gospel Hour that Americans should invest rather than divest from South Africa)
? They denounced Nicaragua’s Sandinista government and supported the Contra rebels trying to overthrow it. But they expressed no mass outrage over human rights abuses of the pro-American military junta in El Salvador.
? Christian conservatives fought tooth-and-nail to defeat the Equal Rights Amendment, opposed every form of affirmative action (no matter how fair) and consistently challenged federal aid to the poor.
? They demanded “the truth” after President Clinton said he tried marijuana in college but didn’t inhale. But they let President Bush slide when he refused to give a straight answer about the DUI arrests and alleged cocaine use in his younger days.
? When Mr. Bush’s daughters were caught using fake IDs to bar hop (with Secret Service agents in tow, no less) there were no public denunciations from the Moral Majority types. Imagine how the right wing church leaders would have reacted if Chelsea Clinton had done the same thing?
? Conservative Christians stoked the flames of rage against President and Mrs. Clinton over the Whitewater investment deal (a non-issue if ever there was one) but they’ve been shamefully silent regarding Blackwater, the civilian security firm that has killed dozens of Iraqi civilians.
? They supported both Iraq wars even though neither of them was necessary or morally justifiable.
But the most un-Christian aspect of the conservative Christian movement has been its arrogant, belligerent, judgmental and malicious attitude. Listening to their most prominent leaders, one would scarcely guess that these Christians were followers of one who said (in Mattew 22: 38 – 39) that the second greatest commandment was to “love thy neighbor as thyself.”
Pat Robertson’s endorsement of Giuliani is causing fissures within the politically-active conservative Christian movement. James Dobson of Focus on the Family and Tony Perkins of the Family Research Council are talking about backing a third party candidate if the Republicans pick a pro-choice nominee. We’ll see. Meanwhile, don’t be surprised if more right wing church folks find reasons to compromise their religious values for what they see as a higher political purpose. After all, they’ve been doing it for a long time now.
Thanks for listening. I’m Cameron Turner and that’s my two cents. I’d love to hear yours. Holla back at TurnersTwoCents@aol.com. “Think! It Ain’t Illegal yet!”
EUR MOTIVATIONAL NOTE
Your Input Determines Your Output
By Willie Jolley, Host of the “Willie Jolley Show” on XM 169 –The Power!
Before you change your thinking, you have to change what goes into your mind. To change where you are going, you must first change your thinking. Your thinking affects how you act and therefore what you do, just as to change your weight and health you must change what you eat. And the same is true for your mind. You must fill your mind with positive, healthy, inspirational, and encouraging material and get rid of the things that will kill your dreams and aspirations: doubt, fear, and negative thinking. Just as you are what you eat, you are exactly what you think about. Remember that your input always determines your output. Change your thinking and change your life!
Willie Jolley is America’s “Premier Celebrity Speaker, Singer and Author”
and was recently inducted into the Speakers Hall Of Fame. Visit www.williejolley.com for FREE Motivation and Information on his Hot New “Money Making Music and Motivation” Program designed to Grow Your Faith, Your Future and Your Finances!”
CELEBRITY BIRTHDAYS
Nov. 13: Actress Sheila Frazier ("Superfly") is 59. Actress Whoopi Goldberg is 52. Actress Monique Coleman ("High School Musical") is 27.
WEBSITE OF THE WEEK
HBCUkids has a ton of resources for black parents who are interested in positive images and educational opportunity for their children.
http://www.HBCUkids.com
Submit your favorite Web site to us along with a 15-20 word (or less) description to info@eurweb.com.
BLACK HISTORY
Nov. 13, 1894: A. C. Richardson invented the casket lowering device. (Source: www.BlackFacts.com)
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