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10-09-08 EUR ALL ON ONE PAGE
BLACKS ARE VOTING EARLY AND OFTEN IN GA: Ludacris among the reported 38 percent of African Americans casting ballots before Nov. 4.
*Chris "Ludacris" Bridges won't have to worry about standing in line at his local polling station next month on Election Day.
"I already voted," the Atlanta-born rapper-actor told the New York Daily News. The supporter of Democratic nominee Barack Obama added: "I think it's very clear who I voted for."
In fact, the Wall Street Journal is reporting that a substantial number of blacks in Georgia have taken advantage of the early voting option as a way to avoid any unforeseen polling problems on Nov. 4.
Of the 263,408 ballots already cast in Georgia since early polling opened Sept. 22, 38% were by voters who identify themselves as African Americans, even though blacks account for just 29% of Georgia's 5.6 million voters. Registration is up from about 4.3 million in November 2004 and about
4 million in November 2000.
John McCain holds a substantial lead over Barack Obama in most Georgia polls, including leads of seven and eight percentage points in Research 2000 and SurveyUSA polls taken last week.
'BET HIP HOP AWARDS' ANNOUNCES LINEUP: Performers include Lil' Wayne, The Game, Ludacris, Young Jeezy and Common.
*Lil' Wayne, Ludacris, The Game, and Young Jeezy are among the performers set for the upcoming "BET Hip Hop Awards," which will take place on Oct. 18 at Atlanta's Civic Center and air on the network Oct. 23 at 8 p.m.
Common, T-Pain, N.E.R.D. and Lady of Rage are also scheduled to take the stage, while Jadakiss serves as the night's celebrity announcer and DJ Drama mans the turntables throughout the show.
Presenters include the Wu-Tang Clan's Raekwon, Masta Killa, U-God, Inspectah Deck and RZA.
As previously announced, actor/comedian Katt Williams will host the ceremony and legendary hip-hop veteran Russell Simmons will be honored with the "I Am Hip Hop" Icon Award.
A special tribute will also be paid to female pioneers in hip hop who have paved the way for women in a predominantly male industry.
T.I. LEADS 'PAPER TRAIL' TO BILLBOARD APEX: Rapper earns third straight No. 1; replaces himself on Hot 100; new J-Hud, A-Thicke in top 5.
*T.I.'s newly-released album "Paper Trail" entered the Billboard 200 at No. 1 yesterday, marking the third consecutive disc from the rapper to reach the chart pinnacle following 2006's "King" and 2007's "T.I. Vs.
T.I.P."
The hip hop star earns his biggest sales week ever with the Grand Hustle/Atlantic set, which moved 568,000 copies in the U.S., according to Nielsen SoundScan.
According to Billboard, the artist also makes history this week on the Hot 100, where he breaks the record for largest climb to No. 1 -- a feat he already accomplished only six weeks ago.
"Live Your Life" featuring Rihanna, the second single from "Paper Trail," leaps 80-1, replacing the album's first single "Whatever You Like"
at No. 1; the latter leapt to the top 71-1 the week of Sept. 6 and remained there for five weeks total.
That makes T.I. the first artist to replace himself at No. 1 since Usher traded in "Burn" for "Confessions Part II" in July 2004.
Meanwhile, with 217,000 copies, Jennifer Hudson's self-titled Arista/RMG debut lands at No. 2 on The Billboard 200. Robin Thicke scores his best sales week and highest charting album on The Billboard 200 with "Something Else," which enters at No. 3 with 137,000.
Elsewhere on the Billboard 200, Jazmine Sullivan's debut "Fearless" (J) rounds out the top tier on The Billboard 200, falling 6-10 on a 35% sales hit to 42,000.
JOHN LEGEND AND RAPHAEL SAADIQ TO TOUR: Short autumn trek kicks off Nov. 19 in Minneapolis.
*John Legend will hit the road this fall on a tour supported by opening act Raphael Saadiq.
The 13-date trek begins Nov. 19 in Minneapolis and hits such cities as Chicago, Boston and Washington D.C. before wrapping Dec. 13 in Durham, N.C., reports Billboard.
Legend will support his upcoming album, "Evolver," due Oct. 28. His current single, "Green Light" featuring Andre 3000, is No. 32 on Billboard's Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart this week. "Evolver" also features appearances from Kanye West, Estelle and Brandy.
Here are John Legend's tour dates:
Nov. 19: Minneapolis (Northrop Auditorium) Nov. 20: Chicago (Chicago Theatre) Nov. 24: E. Lansing, Mich. (Wharton Center For Performing Arts) Nov. 26: Detroit (Masonic Temple Theatre) Nov. 28: Toronto (Roy Thompson Hall) Nov. 29, Dec. 1: Montclair, N.J. (Wellmont Theatre) Dec. 2: Boston (Orpheum Theatre) Dec. 5: Philadelphia (Tower Theater) Dec. 8: Baltimore (Lyric Theatre) Dec. 9: Washington, D.C. (Constitution Hall) Dec. 10: Greenville, S.C. (Peace Center) Dec. 12: Charlotte, N.C. (Ovens Auditorium) Dec. 13: Durham, N.C. (Durham Performing Arts Center)
FOREST WHITAKER TAKES ON LOUIS ARMSTRONG: Actor will direct and star in biopic 'What a Wonderful World.'
*Variety is reporting that Forest Whitaker is on board to direct and star in a biopic of jazz pioneer Louis Armstrong that is named after his signature tune, "What a Wonderful World."
The first big screen project to be authorized by the Armstrong estate, "World" will follow the musician's impoverished early years in New Orleans and primarily chronicle his career as a trumpet virtuoso and improvisational singer.
"Armstrong left a monumental mark on our lives and our culture," said Whitaker, who portrayed jazz great Charlie Parker in "Bird." "He lived an amazing life and, through his art, shifted the way music was played and would be heard after him, not just here in the U.S. but all over the world."
Oscar Cohen, executive of the Armstrong estate and the Louis Armstrong Educational Foundation, began working for the musician in the late '40s as his road manager. He'll serve as an executive producer on the project and has granted the filmmakers exclusive access to his personal accounts as well as to letters and other material in the Armstrong archives.
"What a Wonderful World" will begin shooting in the summer in Louisiana. Whitaker's directing credits include "Waiting to Exhale," "Hope Floats" and "First Daughter." He won an Oscar in 2006 for his role as Idi Amin in "The Last King of Scotland."
DJIMON HOUNSOU STORMS INTO 'TEMPEST': Actor joins Oscar heavyweights Helen Mirren and Jeremy Irons for Shakespeare film.
*Djimon Hounsou is among the ensemble cast gathered by director Julie Taymor for her upcoming film adaptation of Shakespeare's "The Tempest."
According to the Hollywood Reporter, Taymor's gender-bending twist on the story has Helen Mirren starring as the male character Prospera. Shakespeare's play mixes romance with fraternal politics and the supernatural. Taymor's revision will center on Prospera, her daughter Miranda (Felicity Jones) and a shipwrecked crew full of Prospera's enemies.
Hounsou will play the deformed slave Caliban, while Ben Wishaw stars as the airy spirit Ariel. Recent MTV Video Music Awards host Russell Brand will suit up as jester Trinculo, Jeremy Irons takes on Alonso, the King of Naples; and Alfred Molina has been cast as the drunken butler Stephano.
Geoffrey Rush is in talks to play Gonzalo, a royal adviser and old ally of Prospera's.
The film is eyeing a November start date in Hawaii.
Hounsou won best supporting actor nominations for "Blood Diamond" and "In America."
SCRAPPED J.LO ARTICLE ENDS UP ON WEB: Elle killed profile because reporter allegedly got too personal. Tina Brown picks it up.
*A profile of Jennifer Lopez written by reporter Kevin Sessums for Elle magazine was reportedly "much too personal" for the publication and was subsequently scrapped in favor of a more flattering profile written by Peter Rubin, at the request of J.Lo's reps.
However, the original Sessums article lives on thanks to Tina Brown, who posted it ib her Web site, The Daily Beast," reports the New York Post.
According to Page Six, "Elle's article flatteringly focuses on Lopez as a fashion icon. But Sessums describes a flu-ridden Lopez: 'Her unwashed hair is pulled severely back and there's a halo of frizz around the crown of her head.'"
The singer-actress also told Sessums she doesn't breast-feed her newborn twins, is willing to put the kids in Scientology classes, and said she had "a kind of nervous breakdown" while filming the 2002 film "Enough."
Lopez explained: "There were no signs leading up to it. You really don't know what's happening at first. I was going, 'what's going on?' It was about five in the afternoon in my trailer and I just sat there. I remember telling my assistant at the time - Arlene - to go get the director Michael Apted and I asked if I could go home because I was feeling so, so sick and weird. I kept saying, 'I'm not weak, I'm not weak.' It's funny what tricks your mind play on you. I just didn't want people to think I was falling apart. But when I look back on it now it's so odd to me that those are the words I chose to say: I am not weak.
The doctor told me to go back to work on Monday after a weekend of sleeping because if I waited longer that I would only get more panicked about working. So that's what I did. I've still never been to a shrink. I'm not a shrinky person."
A rep for Lopez told Page Six of Sessums' interview appearing on The Daily Beast: "We're very unhappy about it, and think it was poor judgment on his part. As long as we have represented Jennifer, we have never heard her refer to having a breakdown of any sort."
'AMERICAN GANGSTER' BACK ON BET: Ving Rhames narrates a new season beginning this month.
*BET's documentary series "American Gangster" returns for another season on Oct. 23 at 10 p.m. with a lineup including "Monster" Kody, Larry Davis, Mutulu Shakur, and J. Edgar Hoover and COINTELPRO, among others.
Now in its third year, this series reflects the life and times of American criminals, how their actions have affected the public at large, and the black community in particular.
The first two seasons have included close-up views of the Chambers Brothers, drug-dealing emigrants from one of the America's poorest rural counties; Stanley "Tookie" Williams, who was executed for murder in California amid controversy regarding his real role in the founding of America's most notorious street gang, the Crips; Frank Lucas, the larger-than-life subject of the Hollywood blockbuster motion picture, also titled "American Gangster"; and "Freeway" Ricky Ross -- L.A.'s homegrown crack king -- a hustler and pawn within a complex international enterprise.
LIL JON SIGNS WITH UNIVERSAL REPUBLIC: Deal calls for producer to run own imprint, produce, consult on A&R decisions and more.
*Crunk king Lil' Jon has signed a multi-faceted deal with Universal Republic Records that calls for him to serve as an artist, as well as run his own label imprint and production company.
His title also involves being an A&R consultant and overseeing the company's digital presence. The Grammy winner's first project under the new partnership will be the release of his upcoming album early next year.
"I'm excited to find a new home in Universal Republic, they've got a great team over there," Lil Jon said in a statement. "A lot of big things comin' from me, get ready! I been workin' hard on my new material and it's time everybody hears it!"
Monte Lipman, President and CEO of Universal Republic Records, announced Wednesday that the entertainer's first album under the deal is in the first half of 2009.
"Lil Jon is a larger than life figure who casts a giant shadow over every facet of the entertainment business," stated Lipman. "His name is synonymous with brand-building and we want him plugged into multiple Universal Republic platforms for maximum results. I view him as our Urban Music Czar! Now, if he'd only send me a couple of cases of that wine."
SLICK RICK STILL HAS IMMIGRATION ISSUES: Despite pardon from NY governor, rapper's woes continue.
*Slick Rick's past criminal convictions may have been pardoned by New York's Governor David Paterson earlier this year, but the rapper says he's still running into red tape with U.S. immigration authorities.
"We're in a better position that we was before," said the recent recipient of a VH1 Hip Hop Honor. "We have a couple of hurdles that we have to go through, just clarifying everything with the immigration people. Other than that we're just on standby to see what the board does from this point forward."
The rap icon, born Ricky Walters, has been jailed in the U.S twice - once in 1991 for attempted murder and assault , and again in 2002 over immigration issues. He was released from jail in 2003 after spending 18 months in detention, and Gov. Paterson officially pardoned the star for his crime in May.
QUEEN LATIFAH BRUSHES OFF GAY RUMORS.AGAIN: Actress says she doesn't care if people think that she is.
*In Sunday's New York Times, Queen Latifah was again queried about her sexual preference during an interview to promote her new film "The Secret Life of Bees."
"I don't have a problem discussing the topic of somebody being gay, but I do have a problem discussing my personal life," said the 38-year-old entertainer.
"You don't get that part of me. Sorry," she added. "We're not discussing it in our meetings, we're not discussing it at Cover Girl...nobody gets that."
"I don't feel like I need to share my personal life, and I don't care if people think I'm gay or not," she said. "Assume whatever you want. You do it anyway."
MARIAH AND HUBBY CELEBRATE HIS B'DAY: Couple hits Pure Nightclub in Las Vegas.
*Mariah Carey squeezed in a birthday celebration for her husband Nick Cannon while the two were in Las Vegas this week shooting a video for her next single, "I Stay in Love," which was directed by Cannon.
According to People.com, Cannon served as the DJ of his own party Tuesday night at Pure Nightclub, and took time to give a "shout out to my beautiful wife in the building."
Carey, 38, was reportedly posted up at a VIP table next to Cannon's deejay booth, where the soon-to-be 28-year-old worked the ones and twos for nearly three hours. Later, she arranged for a birthday cake to be brought out for her husband-of-five-months.
"Thank you, my love," he said into the microphone. "We about to take this to the next level!"
BARRY BONDS LOVING CIVILIAN LIFE: Former MLB slugger says 'I'm happy now that I have more time.'
*Barry Bonds showed up Tuesday at the kickoff event of the Macy's Christmas tree lighting in San Francisco; a rare public appearance for the former baseball star since being cut by the San Francisco Giants in the wake of a steroid scandal.
"I'm happy now that I have more time," Bonds told the crowd gathered at Union Square. "I've actually enjoyed myself immensely."
Bonds, honorary chair of this year's lighting, did not talk to reporters and left quickly after giving a brief speech during the 30-minute ceremony, reports the Associated Press. Lights adorning the large tree are sold to benefit the UCSF Children's Hospital palliative care program, and nearly $700,000 has been raised during the past five years.
When a young patient asked Bonds about possibly returning to baseball, he replied: "I had fun, but I like my freedom."
Bonds has donated time and money to the program, hosting golf tournaments and visiting patients and their families. He passed out autographed baseball cards of himself and politely chatted with several patients, many confined to wheelchairs, AP noted.
"We all go through adversities and tragedies," Bonds told the crowd, which greeted him with a standing ovation. "It takes every one of us to stick together to make all of our children's times as precious as we can."
Bonds pleaded not guilty to 14 counts of making false declarations to a federal grand jury and one count of obstruction of justice, and his trial is scheduled to start March 2. Bonds is accused of lying when he said he never knowingly used performance-enhancing drugs during 2003 grand jury testimony.
The 44-year-old Bonds hit 762 homers, seven more than the previous record set by Hank Aaron.
EUR FILM REVIEW: An American Carol
Pro-War Spoof Lampoons the Left While Painting Michael Moore as Unpatriotic Film Review by Kam Williams
*Michael Moore has staked his career on controversial documentaries exposing the dangers associated with everything from the outsourcing of jobs (Roger & Me) to the easy availability of guns (Bowling for
Columbine) to the Bush Doctrine of unilateralism (Fahrenheit 9/11) to the profit-oriented healthcare system (Sicko).
While many hail the intrepid iconoclast as a populist providing a valuable service as a cinematic whistleblower, there are also certainly those who deem his anti-establishment, anti-corporate antics as a combination of self-aggrandizing and unpatriotic.
Only folks who fall into the latter category are apt to appreciate An American Carol, a shameful spoof which takes cheap potshots at Moore ostensibly for the amusement of right-wing zealots. The picture was written and directed by David Zucker (Airplane!), the original inventor of the lampoon genre along with his brother, Jerry.
This film features Kevin Farley in the starring role as Hollywood moviemaker Michael Malone, a thinly-veiled caricature of Mr. Moore. The plot is very loosely based on Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol, except that here Scrooge (aka Michael) hates the Fourth of July holiday instead of Christmas. The simplistic premise has him not merely being un-American but the unwitting dupe of a cell of radical Islamists planning to blow up Madison Square Garden.
Narrated by Leslie Nielsen in a series of flashbacks shared with a group of attentive youngsters gathered around a picnic table, the story unfolds in post 9/11 Afghanistan. There, we find Michael naively accepting $10 million in financing for his next project, “Fascist America,” from a trio of Taliban terrorists he proceeds to bring back to the States. Fortunately, he is visited by three ghosts, that of General George Patton (Kelsey Grammer), President John F. Kennedy (Chriss
Anglin) and country singer Trace Adkins (himself), who take turns trying to show the Prodigal citizen the light in time to avert the impending disaster.
While a few of the film’s first jokes revolving around suicide bombers might be deceptively palatable, it doesn’t take long for the humor to turn twisted and be subsumed by a heavy-handed political message. Director Zucker resorts to his trademark slapstick, silly skits and sight gags to poke fun unfairly at Michael Moore and a host of liberal causes, including global warming, nationalized healthcare and gay rights.
Along the way, ACLU attorney are depicted as zombies who deserve to be shot on sight, student demonstrators are demonized for exercising their First Amendment rights, and Moore is repeatedly ridiculed for being a traitor who doesn’t support the troops. Less a legit satire than a scary soap box in service of a mean-spirited agenda. A dead giveaway is the cast which boasts a bevy of arch conservatives like Bill O’Reilly who gets to take delight in slapping Michael Moore right in the face.
Challenging authority as unpatriotic? Bah, humbug!
Poor (0 stars)
PG-13 for profanity, drug use, irreverent humor and crude content.
Running time: 82 minutes
Studi Vivendi Entertainment
To see a trailer for An American Carol, visit: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7-VrRdzCs_U
EUR DVD REVIEW: Stuck
Horror Flick Based on Real-Life Crime Released on DVD DVD Review by Kam Williams
*On Friday, October 26, 2001, 27 year-old Chante Mallard, an African-American employed as nurse’s aide, was driving under the influence following a night of partying when she hit Gregory Biggs as he was crossing the street.
The homeless white man landed on her hood, critically injured but alive, and Chante decided to drive home without reporting the accident to the police.
Instead, she invited her boyfriend, Clete Jackson, over, and they continued to drink alcohol, smoke pot, do Ecstasy and make love, while Mr. Biggs gradually finally bled to death over the weekend.
Monday morning, the couple dumped his body in a park with the help of Clete’s cousin before setting the car on fire to destroy the evidence. And the only reason the trio got caught is because Chante was later overheard joking about the incident.
Stuck, a gruesome crime saga only loosely based on the above events, stars Mena Suvari (American Beauty) as Brandi, a white girl sporting corn rows and dating an overbearing black drug dealer named Rashid (Russell Hornsby). Just past the point of departure, she runs into a street person (Stephen Rea) with her car in an accurate recreation of the aforementioned accident. However, the screen version of the story departs considerably from the facts after that, portraying Brandi as a sympathetic figure and only her Svengali-like boyfriend as a monster.
While the two proceed to mate like rabbits in a controlled substance-fueled frenzy, the picture introduces an array of colorful passersby, from a kid chasing an errant soccer ball to curious illegal aliens to a dog walker to nosy neighbors, who come close to discovering the semi-comatose hobo moaning in Brandi’s garage. Surprisingly taut and absorbing, even if you’re already familiar with the facts of the famous case, Stuck turns out to be a grisly horror flick not to be watched on an empty stomach.
Excellent (4 stars)
Rated R for nudity, profanity, explicit sexuality, drug use, graphic violence and disturbing images.
In English and Spanish with subtitles.
Running time: 85 minutes
Distributor: Image Entertainment
Disc DVD Features: Audio commentary, theatrical trailer and three featurettes.
JOSEPH C. PHILLIPS: Walking the Walk
*The catch phrase for this political season is “change.” Voters want it though they are often at pains to describe exactly what that change is. They are tired of business as usual and desirous of a new politics in Washington, an end to partisan bickering and the beginning of a new vision and a new political culture.
The candidates in this year’s presidential election offer a clear distinction in race, age and temperament. It is clear as well which candidate’s rhetoric is more style over substance.
In August, during the saddleback civil forum on the presidency, Democratic presidential candidate Barak Obama was asked by Pastor Rick Warren: “Can you give me a good example where you went against party loyalty, and maybe even went against your own best interest for the good of America?”
Obama responded by offering as an example his work with John McCain on the issue of campaign ethics and finance reform. It turns out however, that this shining bi-partisan moment was anything but. After pledging to reach across the aisle and support Senator McCain’s efforts, Obama withdrew that support one week later. The reneging of support resulted in a scathing letter from McCain in which he wrote among other things: “When you approached me and insisted that despite your leadership’s preference to use the issue to gain a political advantage in the 2006 elections, you were personally committed to achieving a result that would reflect credit on the entire Senate and offer the country a better example of political leadership, I concluded your professed concern for the institution and the public interest was genuine and admirable. Thank you for disabusing me of such notions…”
Here was Obama’s opportunity to display before an eager audience his actual ability to do more than talk about rolling up his sleeves and working with Republicans and the best example he could come up with was a lie.
In contrast, according to analysis conducted by the Washington Times, “Mr. McCain has reached across the aisle far more frequently and with more members than Mr. Obama… In fact, by several measures, Mr. McCain has been more likely to team up with Democrats than with members of his own party.” Not great news for conservatives, but sobering for those truly interested in bi-partisanship.
As we debate the prospects of a trillion dollar bailout of the financial sector voters are emphatic about the need for greater oversight of our financial institutions. It is interesting to note that in 2005, Senator Charles Hagel (R-NE) introduced the Federal Housing Enterprise Regulatory Reform Act. The bill sought to establish “an independent Regulatory Agency which shall have authority over the Federal Home Loan Bank Finance Corporation, the Federal Home Loan Banks, the Federal National Mortgage Association (Fannie Mae), and the Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation (Freddie Mac); and (2) the Federal Housing Enterprise Board.” There are 3 co-sponsors of the bill that may have helped curb the current financial crisis. Senator John McCain was one of them; Senator Barack Obama was not.
Obama has been vocal about pay equity. On his website he laments, "Despite decades of progress, women still make only 77 cents for every dollar a man makes.” Alas, his dedication to pay equity for women seems to have eluded those women actually working for him. Columnist Deroy Murdock, using information compiled on the Web site of the non-partisan group Legistorm <http://www.legistorm.com/> examined the pay of female staffers working for both the Obama and McCain campaigns. According to Murdock the information determines that, on average, “women in McCain's office are paid more than the men in McCain's office -- $1.04 for every dollar a man makes.” Conversely, “Men in Obama's office make more than women do; female employees make 83 cents for every dollar made by male employees.”
The information also reveals that, “Only one of Obama's five best-paid Senate staffers is a woman. Of McCain's five best-paid Senate staffers, three are women. Of Obama's top 20 salaried Senate staffers, seven are women. Of McCain's top 20 salaried Senate staffers, 13 are women.”
I will hold my breath waiting for feminist outrage.
This election might be properly titled a study in contrasts: one is black, the other white; one is young and energetic, the other older and more seasoned. And if it is truly change voters want, this election offers a clear distinction between one candidate that talks of new politics and change and one that actually practices what he preaches.
Joseph C. Phillips is the author of “He Talk Like A White Boy” available wherever books are sold.
ASK ADVICE CHICK: Answers to YOUR Dating, Sex, Life, & Love Questions!
By AdviceChick at ameritech.net
Chicago Ladies! Have a really good time at my All Male Revue! Visit http://www.ultimateladiesniteout.com to see clips from the last show!
Dear Advice Chick,
*I am sort of dating a man I will call Aaron. That is not his real name. Aaron and I have been kicking it for about three months. We chill at my house and have sex at least twice a week. I want to be more than a weekly sex hook up but he says he is not ready for a relationship. He also said although he can see us together in the future, he likes things as they are now. I believe him but I am tired of waiting. What should I do?
Advice Chick replies,
You should stop allowing him the benefits of a relationship without the commitment. You guys chill at your house? You guys have constant sex? What the hell else? What does he do for you emotionally, mentally, or financially? Does he ever ask you how your day went, or what your life plans for the future are?
Do you know even one of his friends? Please be honest with yourself, then be OUT. You will eventually meet a good guy. When you do, save the sex for later. Love yourself as a lady, then allow a man to get to know you. Allow him to learn how to love you. Let him deserve you. I speak from real life experiences, but y’all already know that! Good luck!
Sponsor my November 8, 2008 Male Revue in Chicago!
Beauty companies, record labels, cosmetics and fragrance companies, beverage sponsors magazine publishers, etc! Place your products and message in front of over 200 african American ladies (21-44 age group) in one night! Interested? Send an email to kimw(at)ameritech.net OR CALL 312-893-0538 NOW!
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! Send your emails t advicechick at 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.
JASMYNE CANNICK: Confessions of a Former Teenage Tramp
*Part of coming of age means not just growing older but taking an honest look at the life you’ve led and the decisions that you’ve made along the way–both the good and the bad.
For me, this is an example of just that. As I tell people all of the time, I am was not always the well adjusted young lady you see today and while many of us have traveled the same path, there are very few of us who are actually able to speak publicly about it.
Voters in California are going to be voting on more than just the next President of the United States of America come this November.
They’ll also be voting on a proposition to make it illegal for a minor to have an abortion without prior parental notification.
When I was a teenage girl, I was sexually promiscuous—hard to believe for those who know me today, but yes I am a former teenage tramp.
I’m not proud of it but looking back, sex was my self-destruction drug of choice. I am sure my self-destructive behavior had something to do with my parent’s divorce, my relationship or lack thereof with my mother, my anger about my family situation, being thrown into “the system” and made a ward of the State of California at 13, and my thinking that the more sex I had with men, the more likely I was to get rid of the feelings I had for the same-sex. In the end, it got me nowhere and forced me to learn a lot of lessons the hard way.
During the 90s, I was a teenager having sex, oftentimes with men old enough to be my father (sorry Daddy) who often stalked the campuses of my junior high school and high school around 3 p.m. Monday through Friday looking for teenage girls like me—young, dumb, and impressed by brothers who carried beepers and drove cars that had rims, tinted windows, and a sound system.
In the end, those same men who took advantage of naïve sistas like me got what they wanted, sex, and I lost my innocence and ended up with an unwanted and unplanned pregnancy to deal with.
I can still remember the white women standing in front of the parking lot to the clinic in Inglewood with sincere smiles holding disturbing photos of aborted fetuses urging me not to go through with it and me feeling awkward for not knowing how to respond.
I can still remember lying on my back looking up into a blinding light trying not to focus on anything in the room while the anesthesiologist is telling me to count backwards from 100. I think I got to 90 before passing out.
I can still remember waking up hurting down there and feeling an awful guilty feeling up there—in my heart.
And even though it’s been over ten years, it feels like it was yesterday when I had my first abortion courtesy of the State of California.
It’s not something that I am proud of, but it is something that today on the eve of my 31st birthday, I have come to terms with and have begun to talk about. Especially now when California voters are poised to vote on whether or not to make abortions available to minor girls without prior parental notification.
Let me be clear—crystal. I wasn’t having sex because I knew that having an abortion was a choice should I end up pregnant. I wasn’t smart enough to even be thinking that far down the line. But what I do know is that I am glad that I made the decision to have an abortion instead of becoming another Black unwed teenage mother unable to care for a child and ending up going from one system to another…the welfare system.
It was a hard decision for me to make at such a young age. And I can tell you had I have been made to discuss my decision with my parents or grandma prior to going through with it, I probably would have kept my pregnancy a secret until it was too late or worse, tried to get rid of the child on my own.
Now, I am not advocating for young girls to have abortions, but two wrongs don’t make a right. Wrong number one is to be having sex at such a young age in the first place. Wrong number two is putting that same young lady’s life in danger by forcing her to confide in her parents regarding her pregnancy in order to get an abortion.
All of the energies and money that have been put into Proposition 4 would have been better spent on continuing to find new, culturally relevant, and innovative ways to educate our youth on the consequences of having unprotected sex—those being HIV/AIDS, sexually transmitted diseases, and pregnancy.
Whether we agree with it or not, our youth are having sex…most times willingly. Quite frankly, today’s pop culture practically demands it. Some Black music encourages it, along with disrespecting Black women.
Needless to say, we’ve come a long ways from my parent’s generation where if you got knocked up in high school you either disappeared for nine months while your family lived in shame or the young man who did the knocking up was forced, sometimes with a shotgun, to marry the mother to be. There was no parading of unwed pregnant teenagers and their boyfriends around the country, even if they were the daughter of a vice-presidential candidate.
We’ve got to address teenage sex like we’ve attempted to address sex in the prisons among inmates. We all know it happens and that it is going to continue to happen; the least we can do is make sure that both parties are educated and have access to condoms and other mechanisms to protect against unwanted outcomes.
Proposition 4 isn’t going to put an end to teenage pregnancies, I can assure you of that. And not all of the teenagers that get knocked up are going to come from wealthy families where it’s not an issue to add another mouth at the table—in fact most are not.
Take it from someone who has been there before, if passed, all Proposition 4 is going to do is open the flood gates for at-home abortions or for young girls not addressing their unwanted pregnancy until it’s too late—even for an abortion.
If the goal is the safety of our children, then let’s not do anything to put them in harm's way and that includes passing Proposition 4.
Oh, and today I know how to respond to those nice white ladies that love to prop themselves up in urban communities in front of clinics that perform abortions.
It’s very simple. Unless those same nice white ladies with their sincere smiles and disturbing photos of aborted fetuses are willing to support me and my child, they need to mind their own damn business because the last time I checked while they didn’t want me to get an abortion, they weren’t exactly championing welfare for unwed teenage mothers either.
Vote No on Proposition 4!
At 30, Jasmyne Cannick is a critic and commentator based in Los Angeles who writes about the worlds of pop culture, race, class, sexuality, and politics as it relates to the African-American community. A regular contributor to NPR’s ‘News and Notes,’ she was chosen as one Essence Magazine’s 25 Women Shaping the World. She can be reached at www.jasmynecannick.com or www.myspace.com/jasmynecannick
VERONICA'S VIEW: A Breast Cancer Awareness Month Special - The Sister Study
Veronica Hendrix
*“I have breast cancer.”
Many women have uttered these four words.
This year, more that 200,000 women are expected to tell their families that they are the “one” out of eight women who the American Cancer Society estimates will be diagnosed with breast cancer in her lifetime.
The question many of these women ask is -- why me?
There are certainly many known factors that predispose a woman to breast cancer such as her gender. The growth promoting affects of female hormones can be dynamic and visceral.
Age is another factor and studies have shown that a woman’s risk of developing breast cancer increases as she gets older.
Family history plays a big part too. A woman with a family history of breast cancer that includes her mother, sister and even father doubles their risk of developing the disease.
And there are other known factors that are believed to increase a woman’s risk such as early onset of menstruation, late onset of menopause, long-term use of hormone replacement therapy, alcohol consumption, obesity and high fat diets, and race -- with white women at a slightly higher risk of developing breast cancer than women of other races.
However, there remain many unknowns when it comes to why some women in families develop breast cancer while others from that same family don’t. Finally, there is a new survey underway by the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, an institute under the umbrella of the Department of Health and Human Services, which is seeking to understand why.
The study is called “The Sister Study” because it will study the lives of women whose sister has been diagnosed with breast cancer. It will explore if and how a woman’s environment and genes affect her chances of developing the disease.
Their goal is to recruit 50,000 women throughout the United States and Puerto Rico to participate in this landmark, 10-year study. To date about 22,000 women have signed up to participate in the study, with California leading the nation in the number of participants thus far.
However, less than 4,640 women who have signed up are women African American. And increasing their participation is critical to ensure that the results captured by the study benefit women of all races.
What researchers know is that while white women are more likely to develop breast cancer, African American women are more likely to die of it. For some reason, their cancer appears to develop at an earlier age and tends to grow much more aggressively. While these results are not conclusive, breast cancer does appear to affect African American women differently than other races. This is why the Sister Study is reaching out to African American women across the nation to participate in the study. They hope to get answers to help them better understand why this is happening.
Through a range of questions and interviews with participants, the study will take a thorough look at how a women’s genes and the elements she may come into contact with at home, work and in her community may influence her risk of developing breast cancer. Participants will also be asked to give a blood sample, have their blood pressure, height, weight, hip and waist circumference measurements taken. Some of the samples taken from participants include urine, toenail clippings and house dust.
To participant in the study, you have to have a blood sister – living or deceased -- who had breast cancer, be between the ages of 35 to 74, have never been diagnosed with breast cancer yourself, and live in the United States or Puerto Rico.
Los Angeles, California resident Donna Castleberry said she decided to participate in the study because she saw how first hand how aggressive breast cancer could be when her 46-year-old sister Gail died of it in 2003. “As soon as I saw they were doing this study, I knew I had to sign up,” said Donna, adding that she is doing the study to honor her sister. “I know I have to continue to fight the battle and believe we can find ways to prevent breast cancer.”
If you meet the requirements and would like to join the Sister Study, call 877-4SISTER or visit www.sisterstudy.org. And if you don’t meet the requirements, you can still help by telling others about the survey and becoming a Sister Study volunteer, so visit the website to find out how.
We all have to help fight this battle. Our survival depends upon it. (If you have comments about Veronica’s View, email them to vsview@yahoo.com)###
BETWEEN THE LINES: Sarah “Six-Pack” and All That Goes With It: This Presidential Campaign’s “Culture War” Has Begun
Anthony Asadullah Samad
*When Sarah Palin signaled to the “Bubba” vote that she was part of the “Joe six-pack” crowd—meaning she was just an average American seeking to represent the nation on the highest ticket in the land—during her debate with Joe Biden last week, it became obvious that this presidential campaign would no longer be about the issues. Despite the fact that the American people are suffering through the worse economy in years and want answers, as well as solutions, Palin refused to answer Gwen Ifill’s questions. In the days after the debate, and despite the fact that Americans have had their fill of an average person in the White House the past eight years (and that’s giving Bush the benefit of the doubt), both Palin and John McCain have begun a coded language fight that we’re all too familiar with. With McCain’s presidential chances fading fast and as the polls become increasingly more reflective of the public’s intolerance around the Republican ticket’s avoidance of the core issues Americans care about, Palin and McCain have decided to make this presidential campaign a “culture” war over what is American, who is American and what represents America.
Speaking in codes as only extremists do, the McCain campaign has shifted the conversation away from the dominant issue in the daily news cycle, the collapsing economy, to the fear and alienation of what an Obama administration would mean to the “average” American. This engagement in cultural identity politics, or whiteness politics without saying the word “white,” is loaded with all the signs and symbolism of historical xenophobia. Starting with Sarah Palin’s favorite sign, “the wink,” coded signals are all through the McCain-Palin message. Palin, who started out as a hockey mom, went to hunting mom, then went to soccer mom and now is a beer packing mom, has proven herself to be a base pick with “average” intellect about government and governance. By “base” pick, I mean an ultra conservative right winger that will draw that segment of the party’s base that wouldn’t support McCain under nearly any circumstance. Segments that know code language when they hear it. But once they found out she had “bimbo” tendencies, they gave her a script and told her to stay on message. Her message? Invigorate the base with code language like mentioning “heartland” (code for white folks) and “terrorist” (code for un-American, or threat to America) as many times as she possibly could. The ideological codification is bent on suggesting Obama is alien and his contacts are threatening. This is really where you see the campaign’s desperation. To suggest convorting with “sixties” radicals in the 1980s and 1990s somehow makes you a terrorist, or terrorist sympathizer, is about as dumb as suggesting that associating with segregationist from back in the day makes you one, or suggesting everybody who has redneck friends are comfortable with racists or are racists themselves. While we know some of the is true, guess Palin never met ex-Black Panther, Bobby Russ, or former California State Senator, Tom Hayden, to know that even domestic radicals reform. And McCain has a past too, that he’s obviously reformed (Keating association). McCain and Palin are unabashed about going after the redneck vote, codified as the “average Joe,” because it's that vote that will not always tell you how they are going to vote. But even the Bubba vote is hurting in this election and McCain, nor Palin, have any answers for them. McCain is falling in the polls because he won’t address the economy. He has to give voters, any voter, a reason to vote for him, not just reasons to vote against Obama. There will be plenty of those type voters, and we know why they are really not voting for Barack. Their “cultural” upbringing will not allow them to do it. Now Palin brings this dumbed-down approach to the campaign trail and while people are coming out to hear it—the culture war is not enough to cover up the economic abyss that McCain and his party orchestrated. But at this point in the race, it’s all they got.
So expect them to bang that drum that you know he's a n________, codified as a terrorist, an alien, not American, or simply not “one of us” drum until election day. The politics of whiteness and privilege and entitlement will not relent this presidential seat without exhausting all options. It’s a cultural war Barack Obama will have to endure to the end.
It’s a part of being in America and all that goes with it.
Anthony Asadullah Samad, Ph.D., is a national columnist, managing director of the Urban Issues Forum (www.urbanissuesforum.com) and author of the new book, Saving The Race: Empowerment Through Wisdom. He can be reached at www.AnthonySamad.com
THE PULSE OF ENTERTAINMENT: Comedian Annie McKnight at legendary Comedy Store; and Tony Rich's latest project is on Hidden Beach Recordings
By Eunice Moseley
Comedian/actress Annie McKnight at the legendary Comedy Store in Hollywood
*Comedian/actress Annie McKnight has an extensive list of credits that include acting in such films and television projects as The Soloist (starring Jamie Foxx - November 11th release), iCarly, Heroes, Everybody Hates Chris, Crimes of the Heart, Hairshow; commercials for The Home Depot and Southwest Airlines; stand-up performances on BET’s Comic View, The Tonight Show, The Tom Joyner Fantastic Voyage and Martin Lawrence presents 1st Amendment, and various voice-overs. McKnight recently hosted Shehezz Funny at the world famous Comedy Store in Los Angeles.
“I’ve always been considered funny, all my life, even as a child my auntie named me Bozo,” Annie laughs about her gift for making people laugh. “I was the only one who could get my grandmother to laugh. One day my brother told me I should get into comedy. I took an acting class and the bug bit me and here I am.”
As host of the Shehezz Funny show at the Comedy Store, which featured a list of talented female comedians such as Erin Schaer, Breeze, Sally Mullins, Ann Snowden and Jackie Jones, Annie kept the audience laughing. When I left the club my cheeks were aching from laughing so hard at her skits and punch-lines.
McKnight hopes to one day have her own television show and movie.
“I am a good girl at heart so I would want to be a bad girl (in her movie),” Annie said about the role she would play in her movie while make-up artist Tracy Kennedy was doing his thing on her face.. “Cicely Tyson would be a club owner….Penny Marshall would be a mobster. I’d have my bad girls, Queen LaTifah, Demi Moore, and Jennifer Hudson. And of course I need (some good looking men) Richard Roundtree, Shamar Moore, and Morris Chesnut. It would be directed by Bill Duke.”
That movie sounds like it would be worth waiting in a long line to see, in fact, after seeing Annie’s stand-up performance at the Comedy Store I am now a big fan who would wait in a long line just to see her perform again. Annie McKnight is truly a very talented comedian and actress.
Annie will be serving on a panel at the national Uplifting Minds II Entertainment Conference in Los Angeles Sunday, October 12th where she will give advice and wisdom about the entertainment business. She will share the panel with industry people such as Larry Williams (Williams Talent Agency in Hollywood); actor Allen Maldonado (The Shield/Young and the Restless); award winning jazz guitarist Vernon Neilly (Boosweet Records); radio personality Lee Bailey (RadioScope), television producer Chris Denson (Academy Awards), film director Ben Foster (Ben Foster Films), and celebrity fitness trainer Sam Bell.
For more information on Annie check out her web site at www.anniemcknight.com and for more information on the L.A. ULMII Conference visit www.upliftingminds2.com.
Tony Rich is back with a new project, ‘Exist’ on Hidden Beach Recordings
“I started as a staff writer at Laface Records,” singer/songwriter/producer Tony Rich said about his career in the music industry. “I penned hits for Boyz II Men, Elton John, Johnny Gil, TLC and Toni Braxton.”
Rich was later signed as a recording artist on Laface Records and his first Tony Rich Project was release, “Words.” That 1997 debut went platinum and garnered him a Grammy Award as Best R&B Album and two hit singles were released “Nobody Knows,” which reached number two and “Like a Woman,” which received a Grammy Award nomination. Three more albums were released “Birdseye” in 1998; “Resurrection” in 2003 and in 2006 “Pictures.”
Tony called a friend to see how he was doing, that friend was founder and CEO of Hidden Beach Recordings and by the end of the conversation Tony had a recording contract. The Hidden Beach debut, “Exist,” has 11 tracks. The first single is “Part the Waves” which was the number one most added single at Urban radio for its first week of release. The feel and sound of the CD is R&B, Jazz and Soul.
“Most people are not true to themselves,” Tony said about his unyielding demand to always be the artist he wants to be and not the artists a label would want him to be. “They build illusions, false perceptions in their music.”
The “Exist” CD is a must to get for those who love good songwriting. My favorite cuts on the “Exist” album are “I’m Thinking You Love Me,” “Take Me to Jordan,” “Sugar Hill,” “Sad Day,” and “Face the Wind.”
GLENN'S STRATEGIES FOR WELL-BEING: Some Facts about Caffeine
*Up to 90% of adult Americans consume caffeine every day. Most commonly, the caffeine is in coffee, tea, soft drinks, and chocolate.
A health benefit of caffeine is that it can ease a headache. The stimulant of caffeine interacts with the headaches and slowly gets rid of the symptoms. Try coffee, tea, hot or cold, the more caffeine the better, soda like Coke or Pepsi and cocoa. You will notice your headache start to disappear in no time.
Research indicates that coffee provides protective effects for the following conditions:
Asthma – Drinking coffee can help to control asthma, and in some cases can even be used to treat an asthma attack when conventional medication is not available.
Colon cancer – 2 or more cups of coffee per day can reduce the risk of colon cancer by 25%.
Gallstones – The likelihood of developing gallstones is decreased nearly 50% by drinking at least 2 cups of coffee per day.
Headache – Coffee cures or diminishes some types of headaches.
Liver cirrhosis – The risk for this condition is reduced by 80% with the ingestion of 2 or more cups of coffee each day.
Parkinson’s disease – 6 studies have found that regular (caffeinated) coffee drinkers reduce their risk of developing Parkinson’s disease by as much as 80%.
Type 2 Diabetes – A Harvard study of 126,000 people found that 1 to 3 cups of caffeinated coffee per day can reduce the risk of developing diabetes.
Drinking coffee provides a number of health benefits, including reduced risk for Parkinson’s disease, diabetes, colon cancer and even suicide. However, on the negative side, coffee can cause a number of problems for some people, particularly in large doses:
Acid imbalance - Caffeine can cause indigestion, skin irritations and arthritis flare-ups.
Hypoglycemia - Caffeine causes a release of glycogen by the liver, which can generate wild swings in blood sugar, causing attacks of hypoglycemia (low blood sugar). Hypoglycemia has a variety of unpleasant symptoms, including weakness, nervousness, sweating and heart palpitations.
Increased cholesterol - In some individuals, coffee can raise cholesterol, which increases the risk of developing cardiovascular disease.
Infertility, miscarriages and low birth weights among babies - Women who are pregnant or attempting to get pregnant should avoid excess caffeine consumption, which may increase the risk for a variety of fertility problems.
Kidney stones and gout - These conditions can result from the strain that caffeine puts on the kidneys.
Nervousness, anxiety, rapid heartbeat and trembling - Excess caffeine can overstimulate the central nervous system. This not only causes anxiety, but can also exhaust the adrenal glands over time, decreasing resistance to stress and increasing vulnerability to disease.
Osteoporosis: Because coffee prevents the full absorption of necessary minerals, it increases the risk of developing osteoporosis. Women who consume 300 mg (2-3 cups) or more of coffee per day suffer accelerated loss of spinal bone mass.
Possible addiction: People who quit coffee often experience withdrawal symptoms such as fatigue, headache, decreased energy and alertness, difficulty concentrating, and even irritability and depression. These symptoms usually begin within 12-24 hours of quitting caffeine and hit a peak within 20-51 hours. Overall, symptoms tend to last anywhere from 2-9 days.
Stretch marks – Caffeine consumption increases the risk of developing stretch marks.
Weight gain – Caffeine increases the risk of long-term weight gain by increasing stress hormones and creating a greater risk for hypoglycemia, which stimulates appetite. Although caffeine can assist with short-term weight loss, in the longer term, heavy consumption is more likely to lead to weight gain.
Most people who drink decaffeinated coffee do so because it doesn't make them jittery or keep them awake. But some believe it's better for them than regular coffee.
A recent study of women in Iowa found that those drinking four or more cups a day of decaf had an elevated risk of rheumatoid arthritis.
Decaf can, however, have some of the same effects on the body as regular coffee. It too can cause heartburn or irritate stomach ulcers in susceptible people. And oddly enough, even without the caffeine, it too can stimulate the nervous system and briefly boost blood pressure in those unaccustomed to coffee, according to Swiss researchers. But coffee, decaf or regular, does not cause hypertension.
In sodas, caffeine is both a natural and an added ingredient. Only about 5 percent of the caffeine in colas and pepper-flavored soft drinks is obtained naturally from cola nuts; the remaining 95 percent is added. Caffeine-free drinks contain virtually no caffeine.
Many prescription and nonprescription drugs also contain caffeine. Caffeine increases the ability of aspirin and other painkillers to do their job, and it is often used in headache and pain-relief remedies as well as in cold products and alertness or stay-awake tablets.
Because children have developing nervous systems, it is important to moderate their caffeine consumption. For children, major sources of caffeine include soft drinks and chocolate.
Remember, I'm not a doctor. I just sound like one.
Take good care of yourself and live the best life possible!
Please be aware that this information is provided to supplement the care provided by your physician. It is neither intended, nor implied, to be a substitute for professional medical advice.
Glenn Ellis, author of Which Doctor?, is a health columnist and radio commentator who lectures, and is an active media contributor nationally and internationally on health related topics
For more good health information, visit: www.glennellis.com
AUDREY'S SOCIETY WHIRL: FASHION & BEAUTY BEAT
b. michael’s Amazing Spring 2009 Show Was Drenched In Beauty; Color Illuminates Runway At 10th Anniversary Baby Phat Fashion Show; Tracy Reese 2009 Ready-To-Wear Show Is A ‘Spring Awakening’
By Audrey J. Bernard, Fashion & Beauty Editor
*b. michael’s spring 2009 show was drenched in beauty, color and lots of dreamy material. Long considered a throwback to the Yves St. Laurent era where women wore garments and not the other way around, michael’s new line was ooh, aah, gorgeous and nothing like anything held under the tents at Bryant Park.
Michael -- whose collection was in a class by itself -- distinguished his show from the beginning by holding
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