10-22-09 EUR ALL ON ONE PAGE
KANYE VICTIM OF INTERNET DEATH HOAX: Rapper is alive and well, despite 'Twumors.'
*Kanye West did not die in a car accident yesterday, as was tweeted all across Twitter and the Internet late Tuesday and early Wednesday.
According to MTV.com, computer security blog Sophos.com tracked the bogus story to hackers who used the rumor to push the false reports to the top of Internet search engine results. By Wednesday morning (Oct. 21), "Kanye West died" (and variations of the phrase) had become one of the most-searched topics on Google Trends.
The faux story claimed that "a bizarre car crash in Los Angeles involving two luxury cars early this morning [left] rapper Kanye West dead, a second injured, a third arrested for gross vehicular manslaughter and a fourth person was detained by police. A Los Angeles Police Department officer who witnessed the wreck and saw a red Ferrari and a white Porsche 'spinning out of control' on Jamboree Road between Bison Avenue and East Bluff Drive."
The article then detailed a made-up account of the wreckage and injuries, complete with quotes from an LAPD lieutenant on the scene.
West's girlfriend Amber Rose had to jump on her own Twitter page to set the record straight.
"This 'RIP Kanye West' topic is not funny and it's NOT TRUE! He has people like myself and his family that love him very much. ... It's in extreme poor taste to have that as a trendy topic. It's totally disrespectful to make up a story like this we're all human ... and we all make mistakes and to say someone died cuz of a mistake is ridiculous. You wouldn't want someone to say that about you."
"RIP Kanye West" was still the top trending topic on Twitter at press time Wednesday.
BLACK WEST VA WOMAN RECANTS SEX TORTURE CLAIM: Megan Williams says she lied to cover up her relationship with one of the defendants.
*Megan Williams claimed in 2007 that she was beaten, raped and left for dead in a backwoods trailer by a group of white people – seven of whom pleaded guilty for their part in the alleged crime.
On Wednesday, Williams officially recanted the entire story and said the abuse never took place.
“Megan Williams was 20 years old in September 2007 when she reported that she had been kidnapped, raped and tortured in an allegedly racist attack by six white residents from Logan County, West Va.,” Byron L. Potts, Williams’s lawyer said Wednesday in a brief statement. “Megan Williams is now recanting her story.”
In an interview with The Charleston Gazette on Tuesday night, Potts said of his client: "She has decided she has been living this lie for approximately two years and she has decided to tell the truth. She fabricated the story and she did this in retaliation because she was having a relationship with one of them."
But Brian Abraham, the former prosecutor for Logan County, who handled the cases, said the seven people charged had been convicted based on physical evidence and their own corroborating statements, not on Williams’s testimony.
"It's ironic to me that today she's saying she made all this up. At the time she was criticizing me for offering them plea agreements," Abraham told the newspaper Tuesday.
At the time of the alleged assaults, Williams was staying at the trailer owned by Bobby Brewster and his mother, Frankie Brewster. Bobby had killed his stepfather at the trailer when he was 12, authorities said, and served time at a juvenile correction facility.
In July 1994, Frankie shot and killed an 84-year-old woman she was looking after, also in the trailer, according to court records. She served six years at a state correctional facility and was paroled in 2000.
The police discovered Williams at the trailer in September 2007 after receiving an anonymous tip that she was being held captive there.
Williams later told the police she had been stabbed, sexually assaulted, beaten with sticks, forced to eat human feces, sexually assaulted and doused with hot water.
But in correspondence with The New York Times starting in February 2008, one of the accused offered a more complicated picture of life at the trailer. In a letter in March 2008, that person, Alisha Burton, wrote that Williams was indeed held captive at the trailer but only after a romantic relationship she had with Bobby Brewster took a turn for the worse.
“At the end, Frankie and her son, Bobby, would take turns pushing the chair by the door and sleeping there at night,” Burton wrote. “They made sure she wouldn’t go get the help she needed when she was cut by Bobby. She was held there for a week after she was cut by Bobby and Frankie B. b/c they was scared someone would get the law.”
Burton rejected the notion that the abuse was a hate crime, since Williams and Bobby Brewster had dated for months.
Because Williams said her beatings sometimes involved racial epithets, many civil rights leaders, most notably the Rev. Al Sharpton, expressed outrage when the prosecutor offered plea agreements to the defendants, all of whom are white, and only pursued hate-crime charges against one of them. Sharpton addressed a 2007 rally against hate crimes in Charleston, the state capital, and gave $1,000 to Williams’s family as a Christmas gift.
Sharpton said attorneys for Williams contacted him on Tuesday to apologize on behalf of Williams for accepting the money under false pretenses.
The activist said Wednesday that he sent a letter to the current Logan County prosecutor, John Bennett, asking him to look into Williams’s new statement.
"If they are being held under false information and she misled authorities and if the authorities went solely on her testimony, then they should be released," Sharpton wrote. "If there are other circumstances around the recanting we should know what they are. We did not handle this case nor were we involved in the investigation or rallies and we have no knowledge other than what was in the public media. Our involvement surrounded a call for hate crime investigations and we did not know the truths or non truths of the investigation.”
DOUBLE DUTCH BUS COMES FOR FIRST LADY: Michelle Obama jumps rope and hula hoops during White House event Wednesday. (Video)
*Yes, that was Michelle Obama on the White House South Lawn Wednesday jumping double dutch, working a hula hoop and running barefoot through an obstacle course with dozens of DC kids.
(Watch video here:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bCYJEVt89zA&feature=player_embedded)
The First Lady was participating in the Healthy Kids Fair, which promotes exercise and healthy cooking for children. About 100 students and parents from local elementary schools took part.
Sporting a black dot twist front tank with eyelash trim by Jason Wu, paired with a blue cardigan belted at the waist and black pants, Mrs. Obama got her playground sports on as the kids cheered her on.
While she was a natural on the hula hoop, the double dutch didn't go so well. After three unsuccessful attempts to jump in, she kicked off her flats and removed one of the two ropes. But the single rope didn’t go much better. (In her defense, they were on grass.)
Also on hand for the event was food writer/author Marian Burros and Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack, who spoke to the kids about making healthy choices in school lunches.
She also managed a great imitation of kids' whining about eating their vegetables, and declared, "I don't want to hear it. Just eat it."
CHAPPELLE STANDUP RECORD FOILED BY WEAK BLADDER: Comedian was trying for 'endurance comedy' high mark when nature called.
*Dave Chappelle tried hard to set the record for longest standup routine in the history of LA's Laugh Factory comedy club, but his attempt was ruined when he had to take a bathroom break.
Five hours into his routine on Sunday, he walked away to tinkle and was disqualified, club owner Jamie Masada told the Associated Press.
The audience wasn't happy, Masada said, but he insisted that rules are rules where endurance comedy is concerned.
"There are only two rules," Masada said Tuesday. "You have to continuously tell jokes that are funny and you can't leave the stage, even to go to the bathroom."
So as it stands, Dane Cook holds Laugh Factory's comedy endurance record with a 7 hour, 34 minute performance last year. The late Richard Pryor set the original record, 2 hours and 41 minutes, in 1980. Cook broke it 27 years later with a 3-hour, 50-minute set.
Chappelle raised the bar to six hours, seven minutes before Cook took the record back last year.
LEE DANIELS CONFIRMED TO ADAPT 'MISS SAIGON': Director to helm project under former UA head Paula Wagner.
*It's now official – "Precious" director Lee Daniels will direct a film based on the hit Broadway musical "Miss Saigon."
As previously reported, Daniels had mentioned the possibility of directing a screen version of the play during red carpet interviews for his critically acclaimed second feature "Precious: Based on the Novel 'Push' by Sapphire," opening Nov. 6.
Variety reported Wednesday that former United Artists CEO Paula Wagner will produce the film under her new Chestnut Ridge Productions banner. A screenwriter is about to be hired, and financing discussions are under way with an eye toward getting the film into production next year for a 2011 release, sources told Variety.
The movie will be faithful to Claude-Michel Schonberg and Alain Boublil's tragic love story of a Vietnamese bar girl and an American soldier before the fall of Saigon in 1975.
"Miss Saigon," which opened on the West End in 1989 and played on Broadway for nearly 10 years, has been performed in 25 countries.
Wagner is separately developing a stage musical about the rise of hip-hop pioneers Run-DMC.
RUN-DMC – THE MUSICAL: New theatre production in the works based on pioneering rap group's rise to fame.
*Paula Wagner has been busy since leaving her gig at United Artists. In addition to developing a film version of Broadway's "Miss Saigon" for director Lee Daniels, the film executive is creating a new original musical with legendary rap group Run-DMC.
"I feel their story lends itself perfectly to the stage," Wagner said, according to Variety. "This project has been a passion of mine for some time and I couldn't be more thrilled to be working with them."
Their inspirational rise is a compelling and dramatic journey and Wagner's new Chestnut Ridge Productions will oversee it, Variety reported Wednesday. She says the story of Joseph "Rev Run" Simmons, Darryl "DMC" McDaniels and group member Jason "Jam-Master Jay" Mizell (who was murdered in 2002) will be told in a unique manner.
Simmons and McDaniels are reportedly meeting with Wagner this week in New York to observe watch and learn from other musicals currently on Broadway.
LIL WAYNE MAKES COURT DATE IN NYC: Hearing considered viability of DNA profiling technique used in his gun possession case.
*Lil Wayne was in a Manhattan courtroom Wednesday for a hearing to judge whether a DNA profiling technique used in his 2007 gun-possession case is accepted within the science field.
The 27-year-old pleaded not guilty to charges filed after police searched his tour bus and found a gun in his belongings. He faces at least 3
1/2 years in prison if convicted.
Yesterday's hearing concerned a process used for identifying people from tiny amounts of DNA — including some that prosecutors say ties the Grammy Award-winner to the gun in question, the AP reported.
The hearing aimed to establish whether what's known as low copy number DNA profiling has general scientific acceptance.
GLOBETROTTERS SCORE NEW ANIMATED SERIES: Team signs deal for third cartoon show.
*The Harlem Globetrotters will once again star in an animated television series thanks to a new licensing and production partnership with the Cookie Jar Group, a Toronto-based company that has become the traveling team's global licensing agent.
The sports/entertainment property was last in make-believe form in 1971 and '72, when Hanna-Barbera Prods produced an animated series for CBS'
Saturday morning cartoon slate.
NBC next reran the Globetrotters cartoon series, which featured star black basketball players, as "The Go-Go Globetrotters" in 1979.
Cookie Jar, best known for its "Caillou," "Inspector Gadget" and "The Doodlebops," gave few details as it develops animated content around the Globetrotters global brand. But consumer product spinoffs are part of the deal.
FORE! HERE COMES HALLE BERRY'S BABY: Nahla, 1½, already knows how to play golf, Daddy claims.
*The 1½-year-old daughter of Halle Berry and Gabriel Aubry is apparently the next Tiger Woods.
"She started playing golf! She has a little hole in the backyard," Aubry, a golf addict, told People.com of his daughter on Monday at the Maybach Golf Cup 2009 Tournament in Pacific Palisades, Calif.
Does this mean Tiger should start taking cover now?
"Well, let's just wait [and see]," Aubry added with a grin.
BISHOP WEEKS MARRIES ANOTHER 'PROPHETESS': Juanita Bynum's ex hitched again a year after their divorce.
*Bishop Thomas W. Weeks III is again a married man.
Last in the headlines over his violent 2008 divorce from Pastor Juanita Bynum, the head of international church empire Global Destiny Worldwide put a ring on the finger of self-described prophetess Christina Glenn, reports the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
The quiet ceremony took place over the weekend, with only his church family and friends in attendance, a far cry from his extravagant marriage to Bynum, which was aired before millions on Trinity Broadcasting Network in 2002. The couple is currently on their honeymoon in an undisclosed location.
Global Destiny’s Web site, bishopweeks.com, features the lovebirds discussing their marriage plans and gazing lovingly into each other’s eyes.
“I am so glad that God has given me you, Prophetess Christina Glenn, as the greatest gift in my life besides himself,” Weeks tells his fiancé.
“He couldn’t have made a better choice .”
Weeks describes Glenn -- who like Bynum has a ministry of her own -- as loyal and caring.
“I love you so much,” she says. “God has blessed me with an awesome man of God, a prophet, a king — I appreciate you.”
On Aug. 21, 2007, Weeks attacked Bynum in the parking lot of the Renaissance Concourse Hotel in Atlanta. He was convicted of aggravated assault and sentenced as a first offender, given three years’ probation and ordered to attend anger management classes and perform 200 hours of community service.
SHYNE TO BE DEPORTED: Rapper being forced back to native Belize upon release from prison.
*It looks as if Shyne is heading back to his native Belize – and not by choice.
The rapper, a New Yorker since age 13, told Hot 97's Angie Martinez that he expects to be shipped soon to the tiny Central American country, where he was born and lived until moving to Brooklyn and living with his mother and grandmother, who still live in the United States.
“Shyne is one of the strongest people I know and he’s handling this situation just as I’d expect him to. It must be frustrating for all of his friends and family," said Martinez, according to missinfo.tv. "He served his time, and keeps getting all these different dates and conflicting information. But he’s a soldier, he’s dealing with it.”
Shyne, who legally changed his name to Moses Leviy in honor of his Jewish grandmother, was recently freed from prison after serving nearly 10 years for assault and weapons charges.
Harvard Professor Charles Ogletree is working on Shyne's behalf with his legal team and they seek a pardon through New York Governor David Patterson. Paterson's first gubernatorial pardon was for rapper Ricky "Slick Rick" Walters, who was convicted in 1991 on attempted murder.
EDDIE MURPHY SLASHES HOUSE PRICE IN HALF: Actor not immune to stagnant housing market.
*Eddie Murphy has knocked $15 million off the asking price of his home, hoping to spark some activity after it sat dormant on the market for nearly five years.
The New Jersey estate had an original price tag of around $30 million when the actor listed it in 2004.
The property, which boasts a bowling alley, theatre and recording studio, failed to sell - and the price has now been cut by half, according to the New York Daily News.
Real estate broker Dennis MCCormack says, "It's a beautiful house and 10 minutes from Manhattan. The home was recently renovated and I listed it three weeks ago."
'BALKI' DISSES DENZEL AND EDDIE: Actor Bronson Pinchot rips former co-stars in interview.
*He gained national attention from his first gig as wacky immigrant Balki in 80s sitcom "Perfect Strangers," but actor Bronson Pinchot went on to score solid work in film, stage and TV – including roles opposite the likes of Denzel Washington and Eddie Murphy.
In an interview posted this week at AVClub.com, Pinchot has nothing positive to say about the aforementioned co-stars.
Murphy, with whom he co-starred in the "Beverly Hills Cop" franchise, was described by Pinchot as uninspired during filming of the third installment in the early 90s. Pinchot remembers a "low-spirited, low-energy" Murphy, who had suffered a string of unsuccessful films. "I don't know what started the funk, but it lasted a chunk of time, and that was in the belly of the funk, and he was just really sad."
Pinchot was even harder on Washington, who Pinchot claims was rude to him on the set of 1996 drama "Courage Under Fire."
"[Washington] was really abusive to me and everybody on that movie, and his official explanation was that his character didn't like me, but it was a dreadful experience. I spent my salary on time with my shrink just for helping me get through it."
MEDIA WANTS SEARCH WARRANTS FROM MIJAC CASE: Nevada judge to make decision after meeting with LA prosecutor and detective.
*Lawyers representing The Associated Press, Los Angeles Times, TMZ and the Las Vegas Review-Journal, are seeking the release of all search warrant documents relating to the Michael Jackson investigation in Nevada.
A Nevada judge said Tuesday she'll meet with a Los Angeles prosecutor and police detective before making a decision whether to release the documents, the AP reported.
Clark County District Court Judge Valerie Adair wanted to review the reasons for sealing the search warrants executed July 28 at Dr. Conrad Murray's home, office and a storage unit in Las Vegas, and on Aug. 11 at a Las Vegas pharmacy where authorities say Murray legally bought the powerful sedative propofol.
Las Vegas attorney Donald Campbell said the state never showed why the warrants should be sealed and never gave a reason to keep them sealed.
"The sealed court records — search warrants and affidavits — involve a matter of great public concern: the investigation into the death of one of the world's most popular entertainers," Campbell and partner J. Colby Williams said in an application filed Oct. 7.
The 50-year-old Jackson died June 25 at a rented Los Angeles mansion. Murray, a Las Vegas cardiologist hired to be the pop star's personal physician during a world tour, told police he gave Jackson propofol that morning to help him sleep.
The Los Angeles County coroner has ruled Jackson's death a homicide, caused primarily by propofol and another sedative.
MCNAIR MISTRESS KNEW GUN SELLER FOR WEEKS: Newly released phone and text records show Kazemi had previous contact.
*Ex-NFL quarterback Steve McNair's mistress had for weeks been in contact with the man who sold her the gun she used to kill McNair and herself, police announced Tuesday.
Before the July 4 killings, Sahel Kazemi spent several weeks calling and texting Adrian Gilliam, who pleaded guilty to gun charges for selling the firearm to her on July 3, said police spokesman Don Aaron.
According to CBS News, Gilliam and Kazemi exchanged more than 200 calls more than three weeks before the murder-suicide, including 49 texts and calls the day before.
"The Police Department has been aware that their relationship was more than we were initially led to believe," Aaron told The Associated Press.
Investigators also released 50 text messages between McNair and Kazemi they say supports their conclusion of a murder-suicide because she was desperate over money and feared their relationship was ending.
Kazemi mentioned in a July 3rd text to McNair that she was stressed and might have a breakdown. She asked for $2,000 to pay bills, and texts show McNair had someone transfer the money.
"Given the totality of the evidence as we know it now ... the conclusion of the murder-suicide classification has not changed," Aaron said.
Gilliam will be sentenced in December.
ITTY BITTY BITS: 'Short Cuts' in LA; Converse's Weapon Evo; ALCU rewards Regina Kelly.
*NBC Universal will present the company’s newly expanded short film showcase in the fourth-annual “Short Cuts” Film Festival, now featuring minority talent and filmmakers across all film genres. This year’s finalist filmmakers will be honored on tonight (Oct. 22), at the Directors Guild of America in Los Angeles. Dwayne Perkins, correspondent for NBC’s “The Jay Leno Show,” will host the exclusive screening of the top-six “Short Cuts”
finalist films featuring a diverse production team, cast or theme. The winning participants will be granted an NBC Universal Talent Holding deal for the Best Actor, an NBC Universal pilot script deal and executive meetings for the Best Filmmaker -- along with a special international directing assignment from the Syfy Channel. For additional information, please visit the 2009 “Short Cuts” Web site: www.nbcshortcuts.com
*Classic shoe brand Converse has re-entered the marketplace with its Weapon Evo, complete with the signature Star Chevron logo, which is now the primary logo on all Converse basketball footwear. The Weapon Evo sports a more competitive look, style and craftsmanship that is ready for the court straight out of the box. The Weapon Evo launches with two premium color combinations and will follow up with nine team color ways. With the Weapon Evo and other products, Converse seeks to bring yesterday’s heritage to today’s game, all while challenging the status quo with positive change.
For more information see Converse.com, http://stylewiz.com/mnr/converse/weapon-evo-highlight-video.html
*The American Civil Liberties Union will present the Roger N. Baldwin Medal of Liberty Award to Regina Kelly, an African-American single mother of four who, based on an unreliable informant's information, was falsely arrested in a military-style drug raid for felony cocaine distribution. Refusing to plead guilty, Kelly fought the charges, resulting in a significant change in Texas law whereby cases can no longer be prosecuted based solely on the claims of a single confidential informant. The award will be presented on Saturday, Oct. 24 at 6:30 p.m. EDT at the New York Academy of Sciences. The event is closed to the general public.
JOSEPH C. PHILLIPS: What is Pornographic? What is Hip?
*What exactly does “affordable” mean?
A very good friend of mine has lately taken me to task for my opposition to a single payer, universal medical coverage. She argues that she is one of those the president speaks of when describing Americans that do not have “affordable” health insurance. She has a pre-existing condition and coverage is expensive. When I point out that while the cost of her coverage may be high it is certainly affordable (in that she is managing to pay for it) she rejects the argument on the basis that the high cost eats into other equally important expenses. When pressed to define exactly how much an affordable health insurance plan would cost her answer sounds an awful lot like what some folks refer to as free. Like many Americans her ideal is that she should receive the most comprehensive coverage – care for ilnesses minor and major -- for little or nothing; health coverage is, after all, a right.
Former Supreme Court Justice Potter Stewart wrote of hard-core pornography: "I shall not today attempt further to define the kinds of material I understand to be embraced within that shorthand description; and perhaps I could never succeed in intelligibly doing so. But I know it when I see it…” The position that policy and law should not be based on reason, fact and/or moral certainty, but on the infallible conclusions of judges or political leaders was later rejected by Stewart as untenable; no surprise, then, that it has been adopted as a cornerstone of progressive politics.
It is the ambition of the left to establish a whole new set of rights – rights not found in nature or revealed by natures God. Rather they are the product of the anointed and all too ambiguous progressive vision.
In addition to affordable health coverage they passionately claim that all have the right to a decent home, a good education, and a useful job. It all sounds quite noble until one begins to inquire as to the specifics. What is the definition of a decent home? Affordable medical care? A good education? Like Stewart, progressives could never succeed in intelligibly defining the material embraced within such shorthand descriptions, but they no doubt know them when they see them.
Residents of California have an intimate knowledge of the progressive definition of “good schools.” According to the National Center for Education Statistics, California, once the home of the best public elementary and secondary schools in the country, now ranks near the bottom nationally in reading and math proficiency. The good news is that the state ranks first in average teachers salaries. The definition of “good” schools in California apparently means paying teachers to prepare 8th graders not to read and write but to put condoms on a banana with one hand. And as if to prove the maxim that new liberals have no shame the leftists in the state assembly continue to ask for ever increasing amounts of taxpayer dollars so that they might further improve the schools. Gay pride day anyone?
I am reminded of conversations I used to have with friends in college. We would sit around dreaming of our future lives and describe the lifestyles we aspired to. Lest we appear too materialistic we all agreed that we didn’t want to be rich; we just wanted to be comfortable. Yes we were naïve but we were earnest. Of course upon fleshing out exactly what each of us meant by “comfortable” we realized our comfortable lifestyles virtually demanded that we either become rich or come within an arms length.
And just like eager, post-adolescents progressive notions of what is affordable, of sufficient quality or decent are completely divorced from the reality of the cost- either in dollars, actual freedoms or both.
In California the cost of “good” schools is a full 30% of the states’ budget and according to the New York Times school children must make do with old textbooks. Open space laws, exotic mortgage instruments and rent control have made housing considerably less affordable and offended private property rights. And the cost of “affordable” (free) healthcare for all will be two trillion dollars in national debt, higher taxes, rationing of services, restrictions and/or taxes on personal freedoms (smoking, cheeseburgers etc.), and a host of other costs never considered by those seeking the comfort of righteousness.
Certainly there is nothing obscene about the desire to educate children, aid the poor or ensure that the sick receive care. But to devise laws and policy based on ambitious, ambiguous and often arbitrary descriptives is, well, downright pornographic.
Joseph C. Phillips is the author of "He Talk Like a White Boy" available where ever books are sold.
AUDREY'S SOCIETY WHIRL: STARS COME OUT FOR 4TH ANNUAL BLACK GIRLS ROCK! AWARDS
Star-studded fundraiser hosted by Regina King & Tracee Ellis Ross
By Audrey J. Bernard, Lifestyles/Society Editor
*The fourth annual Black Girls Rock! awards were held on Saturday, October 17, 2009 at the beauteous New York Times Center in the bustling Times Square district. The awards show is the premiere fundraising arm for Black Girls Rock! Inc., a nonprofit youth empowerment mentoring organization founded by celebrity DJ, Beverly Bond. The event stopped traffic; and onlookers didn’t think they were seeing stars . . . they did!
The star-studded event was co-hosted by actresses Regina King and Tracee Ellis Ross and honored Grammy Award winner and founder of FFAWN, Mary J. Blige (“icon” award); trailblazer, entrepreneur, and actress Raven-Symoné (“young, gifted and black” award); and award-winning poet, playwright and activist Dr. Sonia Sanchez (“living legend” award).
Also urban-alternative singer, songwriter, Wondaland Arts Society/Atlantic recording artist Janelle Monáe (“who’s got next” award); supermodel and fashion icon Naomi Campbell (“fashionista” award); TruthAIDS founder, activist and White House Fellow Dr. Mehret Mandefro (“community service” award); inspirational speaker, author and television personality Iyanla Vanzant (“shot caller” award); and Oscar nominated actress and entertainer Queen Latifah (“idol” award).
Additional honorees included world-renowned DJ and media personality DJ Spinderella, (“Jazzy Joyce DJ” award); and Grammy Award winner Anthony Hamilton, who received the only award given to a man, the Black Girls Rock! “soul brother #1? award.
Other participants included hip hop pioneer Doug E. Fresh, Def Leopard guitarist Phil Collen, actress Kerry Washington, philanthropist Jessica Seinfeld, Essence Magazine's Emil Wilbekin, renowned visual artist Vic Muniz, multi-platinum producer Bryan-Michael Cox, fashion designer Catherine Malandrino, 2008 Black Girls Rock! award recipient Bethann Hardison, philanthropist Danny Simmons, Columbus Short, Andre Harrell, Melanie Fiona and many more.
This was some enchanted evening with many standout moments. Hosts Regina King and Tracee Ellis Ross were charmingly amusing. Their co-hosting duties included a number of impromptu skits beginning with their catwalk strut across the stage as an ode to this year's Black Girls Rock! "fashionista" award recipient Naomi Campbell.
King went over the top showcasing her rapping skills when she broke out in an impressive freestyle rap as an ode to honoree Queen Latifah. Not to be outdone, Ross responded with the chorus of Latifah's 90's hit, U.N.I.T.Y. The audience went ballistic!
On a more serious note, Catherine Malandrino honored Mary J. Blige with a heartfelt inspirational speech, prior to presenting her with the coveted 2009 Black Girls Rock! "icon" award.
Legendary poet, activist and playwright Dr. Sonia Sanchez commanded the stage when she accepted her Black Girls Rock! "living legend" award with a powerful speech and impromptu performance of one of her original pieces: "What does it mean to be human? If we don't know what this means, how can we move into the next century?" she asked.
Fresh and Collen added a touch of royalty to the elegant evening with the awarding of the Black Girls Rock! "rock star" award to Queen Latifah. The majestic presentation was followed by another memorable moment when Fresh brought the audience to their feet with a trip down hip hop lane performing snippets of classic tracks and closing with his own multi-platinum hit "Ladi Dadi." He was on fire! “This was the best introduction of my entire career,” exclaimed the Queen!
Upon acceptance of the Black Girls Rock! "who's got next" award, Janelle Monáe spoke on the need for diversity and appreciation in music. Her poignant words hit home with many of the evening’s honorees who repeatedly referred back to her speech throughout the evening.
Queen Latifah said it best, "Now that's the type of artist I wouldn't mind turning the industry over to," she proclaimed. The Queen’s regal sentiment was felt by everyone in the crowd. Monáe brought the hot show to a blistering end with an electrifying performance of her song, "Sincerely Jane."
This phenomenal program has become the darling event of the affluent entertainment industry as it brings together an eclectic amalgamation of some of the most influential names in entertainment, business, education, fashion, politics and philanthropy.
Former honorees and participants have included Iman, Erykah Badu, Jennifer Hudson, Melvin Van Peebles, Chrisette Michele, president of Spelman College, Dr. Beverly Daniel Tatum, Bethann Hardison, Missy Elliot, Veronica Webb, Susan L. Taylor, Pam Grier, Idris Elba, Estelle, Ryan Leslie, Sylvia Rhone and more.
Founded by philanthropist and internationally acclaimed DJ Beverly Bond, the annual benefit is Black Girls Rock!’s main fundraising event to provide creative arts programs and mentoring for teenage women of color.
“I am proud that Black Girls Rock! is at the forefront of a movement inspiring women of color to take charge of our images, our dignity, and our impact on the world. The annual Black Girls Rock! Award show is our way of saying ‘Thank You’ to these stellar women whose exemplary achievements help to navigate future generations towards excellence,” stated Bond.
Black Girls Rock! Inc. is a 501c3 nonprofit, youth empowerment mentoring organization established for young women of color with a mission to promote the arts and encourage positive life-changing activity, critical thinking, and promotes a more balanced and positive depiction of women of color in entertainment and the media. (Photos by Ronnie Wright)
Audrey J. Bernard is an established chronicler of Black society and Urban happenings based in the New York City area.
GLENN'S STRATEGIES FOR WELL-BEING: About Yeast Infections
Allergies, Vaginitis, Thrush, Genital and Urinary Tract Infections, Rash, Digestive Problems, Bloating, Cramping, Gas and Diarrhea, Respiratory Problems, Coughing and Wheezing, Earaches, Chronic Fatigue, Loss of Libido, Sugar Cravings Weight Gain
Do these symptoms sound familiar to you? If so, you may be one of the millions of men and women who have a yeast infection.
Candida Albicans is a yeast that lives in our intestinal tract. It is also the yeast that causes vaginal yeast infections. Candida Albicans or a yeast infection, both digestive and systemic, is a health problem of which answers to its elimination are far and few between. Literally millions of men and women have a potential yeast infection that is causing, directly or indirectly, a significant number of health problems or conditions.
Candida Albicans is a destructive yeast infection that begins in the digestive system and little by little spreads to other parts of the body. Candida is present in all of us not long after birth. Typically, this yeast remains in a healthful balance with the other bacteria and yeasts within the intestinal tract.
Under certain conditions, such as excessive stress, lowered immunity or the long-term use of steroids, the Candida yeast can multiply, thus disrupting the digestive tract. Candida overgrowth may also be a consequence of antibiotic treatment, as antibiotics not only kill pathogens but also a large number of those bacteria that are part of a healthy gastrointestinal flora.
It's estimated that 85% of Americans have some degree of a Candida Yeast infection. Most people don't realize that they have a Candida Yeast overgrowth. Candida Yeast occurs when the immune system is impaired by our lifestyle and diet.
Candida Albicans has become a household word for many health conscious Americans. Candida is a yeast that lives in the human digestive system. It has the ability to change from a yeast and become a fungus. As a fungus it operates in a similar fashion to any other fungus such as athletes' foot fungus, etc. Candida is kept at low levels by the friendly bacteria that also reside in the digestive tract. The friendly bacteria feed on the Candida, thus a balance in the body is maintained. Modern medicine's "gift" of antibiotics, birth control pills, cortisone and chemotherapy kill these friendly bacteria as do street drugs, alcohol, and junk food diets. Once this friendly bacteria has been destroyed, the yeast begins to overgrow and take over the digestive system. Left untreated, it becomes a fungus and grows into a plant-like structure complete with roots. These roots can break through the intestinal walls, allowing the yeast to travel to other areas of the body such as the sinuses, throat, reproductive organs, the lungs and skin just to name a few. It is capable of producing over 100 symptoms. This makes it extremely frustrating for anyone with this condition to be able to find out or understand what is exactly wrong with them. Billions are spent each year on antibiotics, creams, nasal sprays, unnecessary hospital visits, operations and antidepressants, due to the ignorance and arrogance of the medical profession.
Some women suffer from yeast infections so bad that eventually they also suffer from stomach problems (digestion) and start suffering from lower energy levels. These symptoms are usually all connected provided your doctor has ruled out any other illnesses that can be causing all of your symptoms. The digestive problems are caused by the yeast because they will battle your intestines for the food you’re eating. The mutated yeast is also a gas forming fungus that causes bloating.
The yeast will eventually perforate the walls of the intestines because it feeds on them. Once this happens toxins will enter the bloodstream, and these toxins put extra strain on the liver, and this is part of the cause of the low energy. The yeast will also rob your body of vital nutrients that you’re eating, and this also causes a loss of energy.
Most people will suffer from different symptoms depending on the severity of the yeast overgrowth in the intestines.
One simple test that seems very accurate is this: Leave a half glass of water on your nightstand by your bed and then, when waking in the morning, before eating or drinking anything, work up a mouthful of saliva and spit it into a glass. Let it sit for 20-30 minutes and if there are strings hanging down like icicles, you have a bad case of yeast infection. If there are particles floating below the water level, you have yeast infection. Healthy saliva will float on top of the water.
What are the supplements to remedy candidiasis?
1. In my experience, the best supplement is digestive enzymes. Other natural antifungal/antimicrobial agents include uva ursi (bearberry), and berberine. There are several others that are helpful, as well.
2. Probiotics boost the population of beneficial bacteria and friendly yeast in the digestive tract. Normal intestinal flora includes sufficient Lactobacillus, bifidobacteria, and beneficial yeast to optimally digest food; however, those with candidiasis often have a serious imbalance that these supplements often correct.
3. Essential fatty acids such as fish oil, flaxseed oil, and borage seed oil capsules. These fats play an important role in many of the body’s biochemical processes, especially in strengthening the immune system. Take 1 tablespoon of Flax seed oil or Omega-3 oil daily to improve healing and prevent the fungus from destroying cells.
4. Vitamins and minerals, including nutrients such as calcium, iron, and magnesium that are essential for body function and healing.
I know this may sound like torture, but there are some other dietary considerations:
Avoid all yeast containing foods: yeast breads, fermented beverages (beer, wine, brandy, scotch, etc.) moldy cheeses, fermented vinegars, salad dressing, peanuts, biscuits, canned citrus fruit juices, cake mix, ice cream, all dried fruit, oranges, pickles, tomato sauce, sugars, yeast powder, processed and smoked meats, malt products, barbecue sauce, olives, mayonnaise, chili peppers.
Avoid sugar and all refined carbohydrates, artificial sweeteners and especially hidden sugars such as those found in soft drinks, pastries, canned fruits and vegetables.
If your intestinal bacteria are out of balance, this can cause constipation as well as a yeast infection. Your intestines need beneficial bacteria to function at there best. This is important if you are suffering from an intestinal yeast infection as the Candida yeast enjoys a slower moving bowel. Constipation leaves toxins in your bowel longer for the Candida to feed on.
This column is intended for informational purposes only. It should not replace the proper medical advice from your doctor.
Remember, I’m not a doctor. I just sound like one.
Take good care of yourself and live the best life possible!
Glenn Ellis, author of Which Doctor?, is a Health Advocacy Communications Specialist. He is a national health columnist and radio commentator who lectures on health related topics.
For more good health information, visit: www.glennellis.com
THE PULSE OF ENTERTAINMENT: Neo-Soul's Rahsaan Patterson's world tour comes to an end in Detroit: and, Stellar Award nominated singer/songwriter Tarralyn Ramsey releases 'Beyond the Darkness'
By Eunice Moseley
Neo-Soul Rahsaan Patterson's world tour comes to an end in Detroit
*Rahsaan Patterson started in the entertainment business on the kids television show “Kids Incorporated” with Fergie, Mario Lopez and Shanice and then he later worked as a background singer for such artists as Brandy (“Baby”) and Tevin Campbell (“Back to the World”). He later signed to MCA Records and released his self-titled debut in 1997. His next release was “Love in Stereo” in 1999.
He later contributed to the soundtrack of “Brown Sugar” and in 2004 released “After Hours” on his own label Artistry Music. In 2007 he released “Wines and Spirits” and in 2008 he released “The Ultimate Gift.” Through it all he collaborated on projects for such artists as Ledisi, Jodi Whatley, Chico DeBarge and Brian Culbertson.
“I sing background, write and occasionally produce, “Rahsaan Patterson said about his work with other artists. “My 2007 release has been sustaining my live performances for two years.”
Rahsaan said he enjoys performing live; in fact, his world tour will finally be ending December 30, 2009 in Detroit. He recently performed near my home town of Baltimore in Annapolis at the Rams Head.
“I enjoyed performing there. I love Annapolis,” Patterson said. “Last Christmas was the first time I performed at the Rams Head. I heard about it from a friend, Lalah Hathaway.”
To date Rahsaan Patterson has sold over 10 million albums and has received a 2008 BETJ Virtual Award and was honored as the 2007 SoulTracks Artist of the Year. His single off of his “Wine and Spirits” CD, “Stop Breaking My Heart,” entered Billboard's Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs Chart as the Hot Shot Debut and the highest ranking debut of that week. On the Adult R&B Chart the single remained in the top 20 position for several months, an amazing accomplishment for an independent artist (and label).
For more in Rahsaan Patterson log onto www.Rahsaan.com and www.MySpace.com/Rahspace.
Stellar Award nominated singer/songwriter Tarralyn Ramsey releases 'Beyond the Darkness'
When I first listened to Gospel singer/songwriter Tarralyn Ramsey's “Beyond the Darkness” release her voice immediately reminded me of a combination of Deborah Cox and Whitney Houston.
“Recently I have been getting the comparison to Deborah Cox,” Tarralyn Ramsey admitted to me when I said her vocals were reminiscent of those talented ladies. “My nick-name is Lil' Whitney!”
Well “Lil' Whitney” has an awesome voice and she brings it to us, her third CD, on her own “indie” label Tarprincel Entertainment Group. Her company is not only a label but a publishing, management and production company.
In 2000 Tarralyn started in the music business with a recording deal at Verity/Warner with a self-titled debut which garnered her a Stellar Award nomination. In 2004 she released “Tarralyn” on Casablanca/Universal Records. Ramsey won the VH1 “Born to Diva” Award. Recently she released “Beyond the Darkness” on her label, which is distributed by Central South.
“My distribution company called and said it’s been two-three years,” Tarralyn recalls the reason she went back into the studio after so many years since her 2004 album. “I kind of got in a place before they called where I couldn't sleep and once the distributor called I got overwhelmed with stress. I remember stepping my foot in the studio and ten songs were done. We were in the studio for five days straight… (We) finished twelve songs in a month!”
Tarralyn told me the gap in CD releases was because she “got burnt out.” Well the wait was worth it because of her passion to the task resulted in a powerful CD. You don't hear a lot of instrumentals, which is great because you get to hear her unbelievable vocal ability.
“I don't like a lot of busy production.” Ramsey pointed out.
Tarralyn Ramsey says she hopes her CD touches people in a “dark place” because life can throw you curve balls but “God will change it.”
My favorite songs on this funky soulful Gospel singer's “Beyond the Darkness” CD include “I'll Take Your Trouble,” a sweet testimony of God's love for us; “Glory and Honor,” a great hand clapping Praise and Worship selection; “Wise Men Still Seek Him,” a heart-felt worship song, and “Yes, You Can,” a lovely uplifting anthem for dream seekers.
To hear from the CD or learn more about Tarralyn Ramsey log onto www.TarralynRamsey.com.
BETWEEN THE LINES: Black Unity: Can It Ever Happen?
Anthony Asadullah Samad
*Since President Barack Obama achieved what most Blacks (if not all Blacks thought was impossible), this call for "black unity" has been an overarching theme of everything the African American community (multiple and singular) desires to achieve in the 21st Century. People who have never agreed on the same thing, at the same time, EVER, since someone suggested we just walk away from slavery, suddenly got this "lovin' feelin," conditional-of course.
The divide in black America is as large as ever. The "my way or the highway" mentality is prevalent despite Obama 's name being invoked at every turn. Stuff like, "If Barack Obama can be elected President of the United States, we mostly certainly can come together." It's sickening, largely because it's most commonly by many who didn't believe Obama could be elected President in the first place. The vision behind his candidacy was absent in many that now have had an epiphany. Most had to be run over, literally, by the change they were standinng in front of. That epiphany is that "some people" realized they were about to be left behind, and black people never met a bandwagon they couldn't catch.
Opportunities for change are often lost in the "debate" (if you want to call it that) of what change is and who is really capable of change. Whether the debate is generational or ideological, neither side of the debate really believes that the other has the answer to bring real change into reality. The "age of Obama" has changed one reality about America, but whether it changes the state of black communities has yet to be seen. The fact is, if we had waited for black unity to come about on the simple question of whether Barack's candidacy was credible before we supported him, Obama would have never been elected, because the divide was in evidence and deeply entrenched. One side had to do what they had to do. The other side jumped on the bandwagon after the outcome was in evidence. That's a fact. The call for black unity is often a call to disrupt the opportunity for change. So when certain people call for change, why don't I believe them?
Whether it was the run-away or the enslaved, the freedman (emanicipated slave) or the free man (black who had never been enslaved), the emergence of the so-called "black leader" voice in Frederick Douglass or Martin Delany, Booker T. Washington or W.E.B. DuBois, Marcus Garvey or A. Phillip Randolph, Walter White or Charles Houston, Martin Luther King or Roy Wilkins (or Thurgood Marshall), Elijas and Malcolm, the Panthers and US, Farrakhan and Jesse, the Baptist and the Methodists, Christian and Muslims, the Crips and Bloods, Rich and poor, dark skinned and light skinned and the examples go on and on, black America never operated from a single united point of view. The largest (and most disruptive) divides in the history of black America stemmed out of questions of when it was time to change, why we needed to change, how the change would occur, and of course something we can never ignore, who would lead the change. Many times, most change agents were of the same ideology all wanting to change our realities. Others were just agents...period. Change was no where on their agenda, though disruption was.
Provocateurs are as common as activists in our community and we don't recognize interlopers like we once did. There is no test for "change agents." Just like there is no test for change. It just happens when it happens, but change is stonewalled more times than not. Blacks in America just have never agreed on how the progress we say we all want could ever come about. The divide often stems from realities of what's real versus the realities of what could be. There's always someone who either can see the new reality or won't see the new reality. The investiture in the status quo always seems to conquer the idealism that encompasses change. The call for unity is often a fraudlent call to accept compromised realities. Other times, the call is made by false prophecies and even more false prophets. The legitimacy questions of whose more legitimate than whom. And, of course, legitimacy is defined by no construct of own own. Whatever the reason, ideas about progress somehow never give way to unity. It's never about unity, but the "winners" and "losers" in the cause of change. Rarely, change is the winner because of the mindset that if we all can't win, none of us will win. We can't move the ball up the field ten yards at a time. It's a touchdown or interception on a "Hail Mary" pass. Some of us can't win now and others win later. Because those at the bottom of the well don't trust that there will be a later. So nobody goes anywhere. Just look at the absence of change in every city in America and the evidence of "lost battles" are in evidence. Change is not in evidence.
Every organization, group, cluster, "movement" I've ever been involved in, over three decades, was undermined on the "unity" tip. Even in the 21st Century "change movement," the vestiages of black disunity that causes the black divide in the 19th and 20th Centuries continue to persist. It doesn't mean change won't occur. It just means some will catch the bandwagon on the other side (if they ever catch it at all). The call for unity is the toughest challenge for Black America. It's almost as impossible as electing a black President. At least I can say I've seen one of them in my lifetime.
I have serious doubts about the other.
Anthony Asadullah Samad, Ph.D., is a national columnist, managing director of the Urban Issues Forum (www.urbanissuesforum.com) and author of the upcoming book, SREAL EYEZ: Race, Reality and Politics in 21 Century Politics. He can be reached at www.AnthonySamad.com
VERONICA'S VIEW: An Annual Assessment with a New View
Veronica Hendrix
*It’s that time of the year, again.
I use the term “again” not with a chagrin or any reticence but with gratitude and thankfulness.
It’s my birthday and I’ve got that “kidlike excitement” as I celebrate the entire month of October because it’s the only time of the year I pause and take a moment out of my hurried existence to celebrate “me” and the incredible life I’ve been given to live on the planet. One thing I will never stop is the shameless invitations for birthday wishes because it feels good. So if you haven’t weighed in, please do. The month is quickly coming to a close and I want to hear from you.
It’s been a year of many personal, intellectual, financial, emotional, physical and spiritual changes. But it’s all good and all a part of life’s cycle as I ascend through life.
I’ve had to do some pruning and purging of people, attitudes, beliefs, things and just plain old clutter. Are there some regrets and sighs? Sure, but it is well with my soul because after all life is an ascent and when I look back over the past twelve months I’ve climbed a little higher after getting rid of the extra weight, literally and figuratively – hallelujah.
The sobering reality about birthdays when you are a “grown folk” is that they make you take inventory of your life. It’s a time that makes you (and dare I say others around you) take a look at your “personal balance sheet” – because we ALL have one – and assess your self-worth in terms of “dollars and sense.” The unspoken question that reverberates within your soul around the anniversary of your birth is this: What have you done with your life in the past year? Where are you on the continuum of life? Has the mark moved any since last year? If it has, in which direction?
I’ve done my personal analysis of the past twelve months. The results are favorable and I give myself a few “happy faces.” But I still have a lot to work to do.
This year I’ve asked myself a new question: What are the five things I know to be true about me at this milepost in the journey? Here’s my first attempt at answering this new question:
1. The presence of God has been incredibly essential in my life this year. I’ve never prayed more or sought divine guidance more in my life. The sacred scripture says, “goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life.” I’ve decided to slow down and let them catch me.
2. My family has been a great source of comfort and contentment. My life has been dizzying this past year, but when I am in the presence of my family they imbue me with a sense of calm and unconditional acceptance. They have been my refuge and I thank them.
3. Truth and honesty haven been my rite of passage. I’ve had to be unceremoniously honest about my feelings, co
