MOM JAILED FOR NOT ALLOWING SON TO VISIT HIS DAD IN JAIL....WTF?

Sukhwant Herb, a 29-year-old single mother from Brooklyn was just released after spending 19 days in a Rikers Island jail cell. A judge sentenced Herb because she refused to let her son visit his father, a convicted serial rapist serving time in an Arizona jail!

The Brooklyn mom jailed at Rikers Island for refusing to let her 9-year-old son visit his father – a serial rapist imprisoned in Arizona – was finally freed Tuesday night after 19 days of confinement.

Her first thought was of her children.

“I’m going to hug and kiss them,” said Sukhwant Herb, as she emerged from Brooklyn Supreme Court – still wearing black prison sneakers. “I miss them so much and I’m so happy to be out. I wouldn’t wish this on anybody.”

But in this bizarre case, Herb, 29, was kept prisoner for 25 hours after Brooklyn Family Court Judge Robin Sheares issued the original order for her release Monday evening, after the Daily News reported her plight Sunday.

Sheares was the judge who tossed Herb in jail in the first place, handing down a 50-day minimum sentence on June 10 after Herb defied an order to allow Seon Jr. to visit his dad in prison.

The release paperwork was not sent to Rikers Island until yesterday morning. So Herb remained a prisoner throughout yesterday – first at Rikers, and then in a holding pen at Brooklyn Supreme Court – until Sheares called a hearing at 5:10 p.m.

Herb sat in the courtroom, stone-faced, during the brief procedure, in which she was released into her lawyer’s custody and ordered to return to court July 29.

Sheares tossed Herb into jail after she violated the order – having a change of heart after originally agreeing to it – without offering bail consideration.

The judge’s move, and comments in court, sparked outrage in the city’s legal community, especially since Herb was not charged with a crime and has no criminal record.

Tuesday night, Herb’s lawyer Dale Frederick said he will demand Sheares be removed from the case.

Seon Jonas, 31, the father of Herb’s son, was convicted in 2003 of raping three women in Phoenix. He obtained the visitation order last year.

THE STRAIGHT MALE'S GUIDE TO RECOGNIZING TRANNIES....VERY TRUE AND VERY FUNNY....

Straight Male’s Guide To Recognizing Trannies in the Clubs

1. Big Feet – The average American male’s shoes size is 10-12 in mens. In female shoe size that translates to size 12 or 13. Some stores don’t carry female shoes in those sizes, so some trannies get their heels custom made. So beware if the shawty you’re macking in the club has unusually large feet.

2. Adam’s apple — I would have placed the adam’s apple at the top of this list, but for the fact that some trannies have had the surgery to trim theirs down to the point where it’s virtually undetectable. Still, the adam’s apple remains the litmus test for trannies.

3. No hips – The average female’s pelvis is wider than a male’s. Nature made this possible so that babies could pass through the birth canal without getting stuck. Therefore, the average male’s pelvis is narrower which gives males a more pronounced straight up and down shape.

4. Wide shoulders — Even the most feminine tranny has shoulders that are set wider apart than a female’s. That is because the average male has larger heart and lungs than females. So if you meet a female in the club whose shoulders are as wide as yours, scroll back up to #1.

5. Too much makeup — This one is a no-brainer (no pun intended).

6. Prominent brow — The average male’s brow is thicker and more prominent than a female’s. The ridge area between the eyebrows (above the nose) should be flat if she’s a natural born female. If the female you’re crushing on in the club has even a slightly raised brow, scroll back up to #1.

7. Long Ring Finger on right hand — On an average female, the right ring finger is shorter than/or the same length as the right index finger (second finger).

8. Flat chest/Implants — Trannies are either flat chested (small breasts) or they have breast implants. The ones with implants are rare because implants are not covered by insurance and the procedure can be expensive. If you’re not sure, ask her to show you her breasts. Most females in a club will comply with your request because no female wants to be confused for a tranny.

9. Longer Canine Teeth — I made this one #9 because most trannies have already been to the dentist to have their canine teeth shaved down. But on average, most males have longer canine teeth than females.

10. Limited Eye contact — When holding conversations, men tend to look away more rather than make eye contact.

WHO RAN IT...SAMPLING AT IT'S BEST....

TOO FINE FOR CORPORATE AMERICA....?

Debrahlee “I Wanna Be T!ts on a Stick” Lorenzana is now claiming Citibank violated her human rights. Pop the top to hear what this bird is chirping…

Monday Lorenzana has enlisted state human rights officials to look into claims Citibank, in requiring her to dress less provocatively, violated her human rights. This development is in addition to a lawsuit she filed last fall represented by the queen of attention whores attorney Gloria Allred.

In her complaint the 33-year old single mom says she was sexually harassed and eventually fired from Citibank because bosses felt her looks were too distracting for male co-workers.

Lorenzana is quoted in an interview as saying:

“I know men have a fantasy of having a Playboy Playmate – that’s what I want to be.”

O-kay… As the case gained more attention, it was revealed Lorenzana had had four boob jobs, one she got on a reality show.

While Citibank claims she was fired for poor performance, male customers didn’t seem to mind.

Assuming the sexy banker is telling the truth, is this discrimination? Some people say yes. Surprisingly, Lorenzana has gained the support of feminist groups like the National Organization Women (NOW).

“If a woman has breast implants, that really doesn’t justify inappropriate comments,” says Terry O’Neill of the National Organization of Women”

WHAT HAPPENS WHEN YOU HAVE KIDS IN MIDDLE SCHOOL?...YOUR MOTHER LOOKS LIKE YOUR GIRLFRIEND....

TALL, DARK AND HANDSOME...SOME MONEY FINE....

INTRODUCING....POWER....SUMMER BANGER

THIS WHY I'M HOT.....

Carrie Bradshaw and co. have spawned many contentious fashion trends over the years, including Uggs (ugh!). But the bold, gold mirrored aviators that SJP sports in Sex and the City 2 are pure eye candy. A collaboration between the Belgian fashion designer Bernhard Willhelm and the Berlin-based eyewear company MYKITA, the light, sleek, stainless frames were inspired by the Alpine ski racer Franz Klammer’s downhill heroics during the 1976 Winter Olympics. They’re $525 at Bergdorf Goodman, Barneys New York and patriciafield.com.

IS IT FOOTBALL SEASON YET....?

I LOVE FOOTBALL (PLAYERS)

SOUTH AFRICAN DOCTOR CREATES CONDOM WITH TEETH FOR RAPE VICTIMS.....

South African Dr. Sonnet Ehlers was on call one night four decades ago when a devastated rape victim walked in. Her eyes were lifeless; she was like a breathing corpse.

"She looked at me and said, 'If only I had teeth down there,'" recalled Ehlers, who was a 20-year-old medical researcher at the time. "I promised her I'd do something to help people like her one day."

Forty years later, Rape-aXe was born.

Ehlers is distributing the female condoms in the various South African cities where the World Cup soccer games are taking place.

The woman inserts the latex condom like a tampon. Jagged rows of teeth-like hooks line its inside and attach on a man's penis during penetration, Ehlers said.

Once it lodges, only a doctor can remove it -- a procedure Ehlers hopes will be done with authorities on standby to make an arrest.

"It hurts, he cannot pee and walk when it's on," she said. "If he tries to remove it, it will clasp even tighter... however, it doesn't break the skin, and there's no danger of fluid exposure."

Ehlers said she sold her house and car to launch the project, and she planned to distribute 30,000 free devices under supervision during the World Cup period.

"I consulted engineers, gynecologists and psychologists to help in the design and make sure it was safe," she said.

After the trial period, they'll be available for about $2 a piece. She hopes the women will report back to her.
It hurts, he cannot pee and walk when it's on. If he tries to remove it, it will clasp even tighter
--Dr Sonnet Ehlers
RELATED TOPICS

* Sexual Offenses
* South Africa

"The ideal situation would be for a woman to wear this when she's going out on some kind of blind date ... or to an area she's not comfortable with," she said.

The mother of two daughters said she visited prisons and talked to convicted rapists to find out whether such a device would have made them rethink their actions.

Some said it would have, Ehlers said.

Critics say the female condom is not a long-term solution and makes women vulnerable to more violence from men trapped by the device.

It's also a form of "enslavement," said Victoria Kajja, a fellow for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in the east African country of Uganda. "The fears surrounding the victim, the act of wearing the condom in anticipation of being assaulted all represent enslavement that no woman should be subjected to."

Kajja said the device constantly reminds women of their vulnerability.

"It not only presents the victim with a false sense of security, but psychological trauma," she added. "It also does not help with the psychological problems that manifest after assaults."

However, its one advantage is it allows justice to be served, she said.

Various rights organizations that work in South Africa declined to comment, including Human Rights Watch and Care International.

South Africa has one of the highest rape rates in the world, Human Rights Watch says on its website. A 2009 report by the nation's Medical Research Council found that 28 percent of men surveyed had raped a woman or girl, with one in 20 saying they had raped in the past year, according to Human Rights Watch.

In most African countries, rape convictions are not common. Affected women don't get immediate access to medical care, and DNA tests to provide evidence are unaffordable.

"Women and girls who experience these violations are denied justice, factors that contribute to the normalization of rape and violence in South African society," Human Rights Watch says.

Women take drastic measures to prevent rape in South Africa, Ehlers said, with some wearing extra tight biker shorts and others inserting razor blades wrapped in sponges in their private parts.

Critics have accused her of developing a medieval device to fight rape.

"Yes, my device may be a medieval, but it's for a medieval deed that has been around for decades," she said. "I believe something's got to be done ... and this will make some men rethink before they assault a woman."

WHO NEEDS TALENT WHEN YOU LOOK LIKE THIS AND CAN DANCE LIKE THIS....

MY WHOLE CREW IS BAD....DAMN...

HAPPY BELATED FATHER'S DAY....SHOUT OUT TO ALL THE HOT DADDIES....

SHOUT TO TEXAS....HAPPY JUNETEENTH

Juneteenth, also known as Freedom Day or Emancipation Day, is an American holiday honoring African American heritage. It commemorates the announcement of the abolition of slavery in the U.S. State of Texas in 1865. Celebrated on June 19, the term is a portmanteau of June and nineteenth, and is recognized as a state holiday in 36 states of the United States.

WORD OF THE DAY....PANSEXUAL

Pansexuality (also referred to as pans), or omnisexuality, is a sexual orientation, characterized by the potential for aesthetic attraction, romantic love, or sexual desire towards people, regardless of their gender identity or biological sex. Some pansexuals suggest that they are gender-blind; that gender and sex are insignificant or irrelevant in determining whether they will be sexually attracted to others.

For others, an individual's sex, gender expression, or gender identity can be a key factor of attraction, despite the pansexual individuals' wide range of sex and gender attractions.

WHAT THE FUCK IS GOING ON IN SEATTLE???

DAMN....DEFINITELY GROWN AND SEXY....

YOU MIGHT BE A SWINGER IF....

1. You are wearing wristbands in most of your vacation photos
2. You take your Liberator to dinner parties
3. You have over 100,000 frequent flyer miles on Air Jamaica
4. You giggle at the golf course when someone asks if they can join your foursome
5. You leave the kids at home when you go to the toy store
6. You’ve closed emails with “Bi Bi” instead of “See you later”
7. The movie “Swingers” was a huge disappointment to you
8. On Monday morning, you are glad to get back to work so you can get some rest
9. You spent twice as long on your online profile as your resume
10. The employees fight to take your order at the One Hour Photo

SOME SUMMER SEXY....EYE CANDY

FLORIDA TEACHER FOR HAVING SEX OUT OF WEDLOCK....WTF THEY DO THAT AT IN 2010....

A Florida teacher is retaliating against her former school after she says she was fired from her position because she became pregnant out of wedlock.

39-year-old Jarretta Hamiliton was fired from Southland Christian School in St. Cloud, Florida where she taught fourth grade after she asked for maternity leave.

The mother to a now 8-month-old baby girl says she met with the school's principal Jon Ennis to ask for time off but was questioned about when she conceived her child.

Hamilton and her husband Samuel Treftz appeared on the Today Show this morning and told Ann Curry that she was shocked by her former administrator's behavior.

“I was only requesting a standard six weeks maternity leave, and as the conversation progressed, he said, ‘I'm just trying to do the math here. When did you get married?' I said ‘Feb. 20'…He said, ‘Well, did you conceive prior to marriage?' I answered and I told him, ‘Yes.'”


Following that she says she received a letter of her termination from Principal Jon Ennis who wrote,

“Jarretta was asked not to return because of a moral issue that was disregarded, namely fornication, sex outside of marriage. The employment application, which she filled out, clearly states that as a leader before our students we require all teachers to maintain and communicate the values and purpose of our school.”


Hamiliton argues that the there was no morality clause in her contract and her privacy was violated after Ennis not only informed the entire school staff why she was fired, but called her student's parents with specifics as well.

She has since filed a lawsuit against the school.

WHO NEEDS PROOF WHEN YOU HAVE THIS....DRAKE=THE GAY RAPPER

CUT YOUR LOSES AND MOVE ON WHEN ITS TIME....

Everyone isn't for everybody. Sometimes no matter how dope someone looks on paper, no matter how awesome your friends may think he/she is, no matter how much fun you have, you're never totally invested in being with this person. It doesn't mean there's anything wrong with either of you. Some chemicals just don't blend well together, no matter how dope they may be apart.

Look at your watch, your calendar, your planner...it's check out time.

People often make the mistake of assuming that there has to be some sort of catastrophic event in a relationship in order for one or both parties to call it quits. Untrue. It's actually pretty grown up to recognize checkout time and own up to it.

Years ago, I was seeing a dude. (I know...GASP! Feign surprise!) We were a fairly new relationship, but I was still eager to show him off to the 'rents. Mommy met him on a drive down to Chocolate City, but Daddy had yet to meet him. Since Daddy & his wife were in town a day early to speak at a dinner @ NYU, I saw this as the perfect opp. to make the obligatory introduction. If you're uncertain about a beau or lady love, DO NOT introduce them to the 'rents. My Daddy casts a loooooong shadow. For a confident man, this sets a precedent in terms of expectations. For an insecure and petty man, this sets a high bar that he will use to defeat himself before he even begins to reach.

We met Daddy and some admiring Black law students for dinner in a quaint restaurant in SoHo. The lawstudents were typical in their garb, sport coats w/leather patches on the elbows, courderoys or some other slacks, and a button down shirt.

My then-beau rocked a tee-shirt under his blazer, dunks, and jeans not because giving artiste-hipster was his intention, but because he was such a contrived poser, he wanted to seem as "anti-establishment" as possible whenever possible. I tried to argue w/him about his choice and urge him to wear something more conservative. In his mind dressing the way he did was his way of winning an imaginary pissing contest with these lawyers-to-be. They may have had the degrees, credentials, and the future earning potential, but he had the style.
"We're going to SoHo!" He whined. But we were going with my Daddy.

I may play the role of the bohemian writer/thespian living in the big city, but my Daddy is an iconic gentleman to whom the Village was a stomping ground DECADES before I was even close to a twinkle in his eye. Damn near 40 years removed from NYC and after calling at least 3-4 other cities home since then, he STILL knows where to go for a good time. Daddy's shirts are always starched. His slacks always fall at the appropriate hem. His shoes are always polished and cobbled and there is ALWAYS an handkerchief in at his pocket. I can get away with a few tattoos, outlandish hair colors/styles as long as I dress and play the part of my Daddy's daughter when the times present themselves.
It's the role I was born to play. (parumpum)

Had the beau been a more sensible man, he would've realized he didn't need borrowed Hip Hop/Skateboarder style. Had he been a more savvy man he would've known that he could've had me and the offer of my heart (a most coveted accessory) had he played his cards right. I watched him flail miserably in conversation with the 3 Black Ken Doll Baby Lawyers and and noted the shock & disdain they masked poorly. I saw the flicker of disapproval on my Daddy's face as my arm candy unknowingly made numerous social gaffes. Ever so slight, but I caught it. I guess a part of me knew what was going to happen that night when he pulled on the snarky teeshirt that made me wince.

The then-beau didn't get that. He got hung up on not knowing the right wine to order, the fact that he forgot to put his napkin in his lap.... smh....He allowed his insecurities to manifest as unspoken challenges issued from men he allowed to defeat him before he even opened his mouth; he came into the meeting with a chip on his shoulder about where they attended school versus his school. My polite conversation with one person was misconstrued as flirting which led to him being sullen for the rest of the night. I knew then it was time to close out our tab.

There was nothing wrong with him. He & I just weren't meant to blend.

Mommy tends to think the universe is random, while Daddy has always said that everything happens for a reason. I have a tendency to agree with them both. I think some people are randomly placed in your life for some divine purpose. Everything that happens may not be wrapped up in a transparent reason, but there is some life lesson, some take away, something that can help you in some way shape or form if you let it.

From: http://www.itsthelaurenshow.com/

CAN WE SAY EXCESSIVE FORCE FO R A 15 YR OLD IN INDIANA....

An Indiana policeman may lose his job after authorities say he unnecessarily struck a teenager while he was being arrested and subdued by other officers.

Indianapolis Police Chief Paul Ciesielski told reporters in a news conference that he had called for the firing of Officer Jerry Piland after an internal investigation determined that he used excessive and unnecessary force in the arrest of 15-year-old Brandon Johnson.

Johnson, a biracial boy, claimed he was beaten because of his race when he and his younger brother were arrested on May 16.

Investigators found that Piland used his knee to repeatedly strike Johnson in the face and shoulder even though two officers had subdued him leaving him with a bloodied face, broken nose and chipped teeth.

One of the arresting officers, Officer Oliver Clouthier, was praised for putting a stop to the beating and ordering Piland to leave the boy alone.

Police Chief Ciesielki told reporters that the department would not stand for this type of behavior saying,

“It was a difficult decision, but I know it was the right decision to terminate his employment because that certainly serves as an example that we have a zero-tolerance policy”


Black community leaders and Johnson's family want an investigation to be conducted to see if his civil rights were violated.

All three of the officers involved in the incident were white.

The attorney for the boy's family says Johnson asked officers why they were arresting his brother after the boy was seen trying to kick in the door an abandoned building.

Johnson was told to go get an adult and reportedly did so but when he questioned police again he was reportedly struck.

A police report says Piland hit the boy with an open hand before “using his knee to apply pain” when the boy fell to the ground.

Internal affairs investigators reportedly interviewed 27 witnesses, spoke with Johnson and his family, reviewed a 911 call, listened to radio calls and examined laptop computer messages.

The police chief's call for Piland's firing will go to the Civilian Police Merit Board which will ultimately decide his fate.

THE NEW FACE OF HIP HOP....(NOTICEABLY LIGHTER AND WHITER)

IN March the young hip-hop star Drake was in town for a harried few days, polishing up the final details on his debut album, “Thank Me Later,” and filming the video for the first single, “Over,” before heading out on his first proper headlining tour. On his last night, his team was holed up at the studio in the basement of the Sunset Marquis hotel, accessible only by special elevator.

Earlier in the day Jay-Z had sent him an encouraging e-mail message that paraphrased one of his own lyrics: “Things are going good/But good can turn to better.” Taking a break to eat before settling in for an all-night session at the studio, Drake checked his phone and laughed. He was texting with someone he was pretty certain was Halle Berry; LeBron James, a close friend, thought he’d be a great match for Ms. Berry’s cousin, and Ms. Berry seemed to be feeling him out.

For most of his teenage years Drake, tall, broad and handsome, was still known as Aubrey Graham (Drake is his middle name) and played the basketball star Jimmy Brooks on the popular Canadian teenage drama “Degrassi: The Next Generation.” In the last 18 months, though, he’s become the most important and innovative new figure in hip-hop, and an unlikely one at that. Biracial Jewish-Canadian former child actors don’t have a track record of success in the American rap industry.

But when “Thank Me Later” (Aspire/Young Money/Cash Money) is released this week, it will cement Drake’s place among hip-hop’s elite. It’s a moody, entrancing and emotionally articulate album that shows off Drake’s depth as a rapper, a singer and a songwriter, without sacrificing accessibility. That he does all those things well marks him as an adept student of the last 15 years: there’s Jay-Z’s attention to detail, Kanye West’s gift for melody, Lil Wayne’s street-wise pop savvy.

In rapid fashion Drake has become part of hip-hop’s DNA, leapfrogging any number of more established rappers. “I’m where I truly deserve to be,” Drake said over quesadillas at the hotel’s lobby bar. “I believe in myself, in my presence, enough that I don’t feel small in Jay’s presence. I don’t feel small in Wayne’s presence.”

But “Thank Me Later” is fluent enough in hip-hop’s traditions deftly to abandon them altogether in places. Finally his outsider background has become an asset. As a rapper, Drake manages to balance vulnerability and arrogance in equal measure, a rare feat. He also sings — not with technological assistance, as other rappers do, but expertly.

Then there’s his subject matter: not violence or drugs or street-corner bravado. Instead emotions are what fuel Drake, 23, who has an almost pathological gift for connection. Great eye contact. Easy smile. Evident intelligence. Quick to ask questions. “He’s a kid that can really work the room, whatever the room,” said his mother, Sandi Graham. “Thank Me Later” has its share of bluster, but is more notable for its regret, its ache.

As for Ms. Berry’s cousin, Drake’s interested, of course, but wary. “I think I have to live this life for a little bit longer before I even know what love is in this atmosphere,” he said. More fame only means less feeling, he knows.

Dodging vulnerability has been a fact of Drake’s life since childhood. His parents split when he was 3. An only child, he lived with his mother, who soon began battling rheumatoid arthritis, a condition that eventually prevented her from working, forcing Drake to become responsible at a young age. “We would have this little drill where, Lord forbid something happened, if there was a fire or an emergency, he would have to run outside and get a neighbor and call 911,” Ms. Graham said. His father, Dennis, who is black, was an intermittent presence — sometimes struggling with drugs, sometimes in jail.

“One thing I wasn’t was sheltered from the pains of adulthood,” Drake said. When something upset him as a teenager, he often told himself: “That’s just the right now. I can change that. I can change anything. The hand that was dealt doesn’t exist to me.’ ”

From an early age he’d been interested in performing, whether rewriting the lyrics to “Mary Had a Little Lamb” or spending time as a child model. By then, he and his mother were living in Forest Hill, a well-to-do, heavily Jewish neighborhood on the north side of Toronto, where he attended local schools, often the only black student in sight. His mother is white and Jewish, and Drake had a bar mitzvah. At school he struggled academically and socially. “Character-building moments, but not great memories,” he recalled. In eighth grade he got an agent and was soon sent off to audition for “Degrassi: The Next Generation,” an updated version of the popular 1980s Canadian drama.

He auditioned after school, on the same day, he said, that he first smoked pot from a bong. Nevertheless he landed the role of the wealthy, well-liked basketball star Jimmy Brooks, who was originally conceived as a white football player.

“Part of his journey is trying to figure where he does fit in in the world, having a white Jewish mom and a black, often absentee father,” said Linda Schuyler, a creator of the show. “It’s almost a comfort factor with Jimmy Brooks. That was the antithesis of his life at the time. It was probably reassuring and a bit escapist for him to play that role.”

Sometimes he was hiding even when the cameras were off, sleeping on the show’s set. “When I woke up in the morning, I was still the guy that could act and laugh,” he said. “It’s just that home was overwhelming.” Along with “Degrassi” came a new, more diverse school closer to the set, where he first tried rapping in public. As he got older, he also tried out his verses on one of his father’s jailhouse friends, who listened over the phone.

In 2006 Drake, then an acolyte of hip-hop’s thoughtful bohemian wing, released his first mixtape, “Room for Improvement.” He also was testing out the rapper lifestyle, spending money — some from “Degrassi,” some borrowed from family and friends — out of step with his actual earning.

He leased a Rolls-Royce Phantom, parking it on the street outside the family’s apartment, much to his mother’s chagrin. “Who drives a Phantom and doesn’t have a place to park it?” Ms. Graham remembers asking her son. “And what’s even more embarrassing is we owe so much money and we have so many debts and bills.”

Summers were spent with his father’s side of the family, in Memphis, where one of his cousins was dating the manager of the rapper Yo Gotti. There Drake gained an affection for the energy of Southern rap, which contrasted with the headier material he had started out making himself.

The New Orleans rap star Lil Wayne heard Drake’s music in the summer of 2008 and invited him out on the road. “I sat in the same place on the bus for a week,” Drake recalled. “I was scared.” Wayne only found out about Drake’s acting past when he landed on “Degrassi” while flipping channels on the bus’s television.

In short order Drake became a key part of Wayne’s touring madhouse, and whenever there was downtime, in a studio or hotel room, he worked on songs. The outcome was “So Far Gone,” his third mixtape and one of last year’s best-received hip-hop recordings. It’s one of the most ambivalent, melancholy documents of rap success ever released, which is odd, because it was recorded long before Drake’s turn in the limelight.

On “So Far Gone” he sought to cultivate multiple audiences at once: in addition to straight-ahead rap songs, he also rapped over instrumentals from indie acts like Santigold, Lykke Li and Peter Bjorn & John. “That was supposed to be the wild and crazy project we did to get that out of our system before we put out a really generic rap album,” said Oliver el-Khatib, Drake’s longtime friend and de facto creative consultant.

Most notably, he sang — some songs in their entirety. In part that was a response to heartbreak: he’d been trying to shake loose of a destructive relationship with a manipulative woman who had taunted him with the fact that she had previously been involved with a famous rap star. The wounded R&B songs are about her. “I don’t even know if I wrote a rap song in that whole nine months,” Drake said, “because I wasn’t a rapper anymore. I didn’t believe in myself. I was someone else’s property.” (He was so uncertain about the sung tracks on “So Far Gone” that he tried to get them placed on an album by his friend the R&B singer Trey Songz — fortunately, with no luck.)

His next relationship was better: it inspired “Best I Ever Had,” the bawdy song that became his breakthrough solo hit. It reached No. 2 on the Billboard Hot 100, practically unheard of for a song that originated on a mixtape. Eventually it would earn Drake a pair of 2010 Grammy nominations, a first for a rapper with no album out. (An abridged EP version was eventually released to stores to capitalize on Drake’s raised mainstream profile. It has sold almost 500,000 copies, a surprising number for a collection of songs widely available free online.)

An endorsement deal with Sprite (which led to a bizarro commercial in which Drake’s body splits into pieces, then reforms) was already being negotiated before Drake’s record deal was complete. “The fact that he has a background that differs from your prototypical rap artist — from Toronto, multiracial, the fact that he was a child actor — corporate America, they’re attracted to that,” said Shawn Gee, Drake’s business manager.

But Drake’s difference has also made him a target. In May 2009 he was robbed at gunpoint in a Toronto restaurant. He cooperated with the police investigation, in what some perceived as a violation of hip-hop’s no-snitching ethos. The black gossip Web site MediaTakeout.com posted a snapshot of a page of the criminal complaint under the headline “Caught Snitchin!!! Rapper Drake Testifying Against Men Who Robbed Him!!!”

“I feel unsafe in Toronto at all times,” Drake said. “I’m a one of one. There’s no one else you can hate as much as me if you hate money, or you hate success.” Reminders of fame’s dark side are all around him. Since March his mentor and label boss, Lil Wayne, has been on Rikers Island serving a one-year sentence in connection with a 2007 gun charge. This month Drake visited him there for the first time. “That’s not the place for him,” Drake said.

“A lot of ‘So Far Gone’ was predictions,” he said. “I was rapping about things I’m only going through now.” As a result “Thank Me Later” often feels like a memoir: Drake is the rare pop artist who seems to think of himself in the past tense. On “Light Up” he raps, “I keep thinking, ‘How young could you die from old age?’ “

For a first single, “Over” was particularly paranoid and cheerless. “I know way too many people here right now/That I didn’t know last year,” he sings at the chorus. As if to prove the point, at the video shoot just outside Los Angeles, which was meant to be private, the hangar-size studio filled up with hangers-on over the course of the long night, including the actor Ryan Phillippe, a friend of the director. “Thank you for coming,” Drake said, his face a blend of gratitude and bewilderment.

On “The Resistance” he raps about an accidental pregnancy with a woman he was briefly involved with, who chose to end the pregnancy. And on “Fireworks” there’s a verse about Rihanna, who asked him last year to write a song for her new album; the two soon began seeing each other regularly, though they never publicly confirmed their brief relationship.

“I was a pawn,” Drake said. The song he wrote for her never got released. “You know what she was doing to me? She was doing exactly what I’ve done to so many women throughout my life, which is show them quality time, then disappear,” he said. “I was like, wow, this feels terrible.”

But it’s also the new normal, and Drake wonders if real intimacy is now out of reach, maybe irretrievably so. “Did I sacrifice something?” he asked, looking for the black cloud above the silver lining. “Have I not realized what it is yet because I’m enjoying this too much?”

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/06/13/arts/music/13drake.html?emc=eta1&pagewanted=all

PROF. HILL'S RESPONSE TO DUMB ASS SLIM THUGS THOUGHTS ABOUT BLACK WOMEN....

In a recent interview, rapper Slim Thug unleashed a very disturbing attack on Black women, here's an excerpt:

...Most single Black women feel like they don’t want to settle for less. Their standards are too high right now. They have to understand that successful Black men are kind of extinct. We’re important. It’s hard to find us so Black women have to bow down and let it be known that they gotta start working hard; they gotta start cooking and being down for they man more. They can’t just be running around with their head up in the air and passing all of us.

I have a brother that dates a White woman and he always be fucking with me about it saying, 'Y’all gotta go through all that shit [but] my White woman is fine. She don’t give me no problems, she do whatever I say and y’all gotta do all that arguing and fighting and worry about all this other shit.'...

While many people dismissed it as a publicity stunt or the rant of an ignorant rapper, I felt compelled to respond to him in the form of an open letter.

Slim,

A few days ago, you made comments in Vibe magazine that have caused a great deal of controversy. While I appreciate your willingness to offer your opinion in public, you made several statements that were not only unfair and untrue, but deeply damaging to our community. Normally, I would reach out to you privately, but since your comments were made in a very public place, I feel compelled to respond in the same manner.

As an artist who is respected by millions of fans, particularly young ones, I found your comments to be hurtful and irresponsible. For good or for bad, our children follow the lead of you and other artists for everything from fashion and slang to self-esteem, body image and relationships. Imagine how a young black girl feels to hear from you, her role model, that her “standards are too high” and that she should “bow down” and “settle for less.” Consider the pain that our beautiful brown skinned babies feel when Yung Berg says he doesn’t date “dark butts.” Think about the self-esteem of our community when Nelly refers to our mothers, sisters, and daughters as “Tip Drills.”

As celebrities, your public comments are not just your own. Instead they influence the choices, beliefs, and lives of an entire generation of young people who look to you for direction.

Of course, you have every right to say things that you think are true. The problem, however, is that there was very little truth in your comments.

In your interview, you talk about how much better white women treat their partners than black women. If what you’re saying is true, why do Whites have the highest divorce rate of any group? Do white men get tired of being treated like kings? In reality, it seems that you are buying into (and selling) a stale but dangerous ideal that constructs White women as ultra-feminine, loving, queens, and Black women as angry, selfish, and untrustworthy hoes.

Even more disturbing was your comment that “Black women gotta start being down for their man more.” Since slavery, Black women have had to withstand rape, torture, and humiliation (from both white and black men) in order to sustain their families. Now, in 2010, 1 in 3 Black men between 20 and 29 years old are incarcerated or otherwise under criminal supervision. Every day, Black women are raising children without men in the house, working multiple jobs (for less pay!), and supporting brothers as they finish their prison bids.

With Black male unemployment as high as 50 percent in some cities, sisters are often holding down households without child support or other financial assistance. Black female incarceration rates are skyrocketing, partly because Black women are “riding” for their men, hiding guns and drugs, operating as mules, and refusing to snitch to authorities. In addition, Black women are the group most likely to be victims of domestic violence and the least likely to be married. Still, in spite of all this bad news, Black women are less likely to date outside their race than Black men.

How much more “down” do you want Black women to be?

I agree with you that both brothers and sisters have work to do. Over the last year, we’ve seen countless TV shows, movies, and bestselling books telling Black women how broken they are, how ugly they are, why they don’t have a man, and how they need to behave. Instead of adding to this pile of pain and ignorance, I would encourage you to turn the mirror on yourself. How does the image of the pimp/player/baller/dopeboy promoted in your music help to create the “gold diggers” that you badmouth in your interviews? How might your own admitted failures at monogamy undermine the type of loyalty that you find missing in Black women? Criticizing the vulnerable is easy. Working on yourself is the difficult part.

I hope you don’t take this letter as an attack, but as an act of concern and love from one brother to another. Through your fame and wealth, you have tremendous power. You can use it to hurt or to heal, to injure or to inspire.

The world is watching. What will you do?

Your Brother,

Marc Lamont Hill

Gay Men Are Thinner Than Straight Men, Lesbian Women Are Heavier Than Heterosexual Women…

A new study shows that gay men really are leaner than straight men. And conversely, it also found that gay women tend to be heavier than their heterosexual counterparts. Boston researchers determined that gay women were more than twice as likely as straight women to be obese, while gay men were 50 percent less likely to be obese compared to their heterosexual counterparts, according to a report published in the American Journal of Public Health.

After scrutinizing a health survey of more than 67,000 Massachusetts residents between the ages of 18 and 64, the researchers found that 14 percent of gay men were obese versus 21 percent of straight men. The opposite was true of gay women: 26 percent were found to be obese, as compared with 17 percent of the straight women.

The researchers also found that both gay men and gay women were more likely to be current smokers compared to their heterosexual counterparts. And gay women were more likely to have multiple heart disease risk factors than straight women.

Earlier studies that looked at health in the gay community focused mostly on sexually transmitted diseases and mental health, rather than on chronic illnesses like obesity and heart disease, says the study’s lead author Kerith Conron, an associate research scientist at Northeastern University and a research fellow at the Harvard School of Public Health. “This may mean that we in the public health community need to come up with more tailored messages to reach these groups, just as car dealers do when they want to reach a specific target audience,” she said.

Conron suspects that cultural differences might at least partly explain the weight divide. It may be more acceptable in the lesbian community for women to be full-sized, she said. That explanation makes sense to Esther Rothblum, a professor of women’s studies at San Diego State University. “People in sexual relationships with men — heterosexual women and gay men — get more pressure to look thin and to otherwise conform to attractiveness norms than do people in sexual relationships with women — lesbians and heterosexual men,” Rothblum said.

The best evidence for that comes from an older study of bisexual women, Rothblum adds. When the bisexual women were asked to describe their experiences with women and men, the differences were dramatic: they often reported that they got more pressure to be thin when they were with men.

Other researchers have found further evidence of this male effect while studying personal ads and dating sites like Match.com, Rothblum explains. “Men will say they are looking for a partner who is not above 35 years old and not above 135 pounds,” she said. “Women don’t typically do that. They say they are looking for someone with good sense of humor, intelligence, and creativity, or someone who is not an alcoholic.”

THE GOOD, THE BAD AND THE UGLY FROM MIAMI 2010....

OLD AND NEW SCHOOL WAYS TO LET YOU KNOW IT'S OVER.....

DIVORCE...CELEBRITY STYLE...

What is it about these celebrity divorces that gets so so riled up about them? Clearly it isn’t a moral compasses and the circumstances by which the marriages fell apart that holds our rapt attention since we tune in to hour upon hour of reality tv dribble and call ourselves entertained. Celeb divorces have a way of inadvertently dividing us up by our genders. Men find themselves in outrages about the exorbitant amounts awarded in alimony as if the coins are being pulled from their own pockets, while the ladies have a tendency to lament that certain "paltry" amounts are not enough to justify the wrongs that the wife in question endured. Nowadays even the mistresses can get a pricetag slapped on the fun they’ve had with a man who belongs to another.

A crime that can be remedied with a fine is not a crime at all but rather an unpleasant experience paid for and soon forgotten about.

"Therein lies the defect of revenge: it's all in the anticipation; the thing itself is a pain, not a pleasure; at least the pain is the biggest end of it."- Mark Twain

In our society, high celebrity alimonies have become a fine paid for marital wrong doing instead of being the financial element of the promise made when both parties stood before the altar and all those they love. What people overlook in discussion about marriage is that marital infidelity is not just a crime of the heart, but rather it is a crime in the courts as well. Thing is, most people don't know or nowadays just don't care about what repurcussions there are when they get bored or disinterested in their marriage.

Proving infidelity is really difficult to do legally because it involves the culprit and his/her paramour standing in a court of law and under oath testifying that they knowingly violated their marital vows. Or at least that's how it was described to me. Sometimes the judge should just recognize what EVERYONE ELSE IN THE WORLD knows (*cough*cough Tiger Woods *cough * cough*) and cast their informed decision based on that.

Kelis and Elin Woods have quite a few fellas with their boxers in a knot for the amounts they’re requesting/settled upon in their divorce/alimony. (sidebar: anyone have any idea what Tameka walked away with in their SUPER quick divorce? If everyone knows the marriage is doomed from the start, I guess no one is interested in what happens at the end hunh?) Crazy thing is, these same folks that are all in an uproar about what the wealthier spouse should or should not pay have nothing of merit to say about what their involvement and obligation with their children should be. Just because one spouse was the wronged one doesn't automatically make them the better parent.

I see everything as a teachable moment. Blame the educator in me. In cases like Tiger Woods, there should be some sort of community service penalty affiliated with the divorce settlement. Not any fluff PR type of community service like PSAs or speaking on panels in front of youth groups. Something just a wee bit more hardcore than when Boy George had to pick up litter sans makeup & wigs. The injuring party should be forced to do something that ordinarily their accountants, managers, bankers, and agents would say is beneath them. The assignments should be comparable with the length of time, publicity, and emotional injury done to the non-philandering spouse.

This, and my Hammurabish code of ethics is why I probably won't ever get a seat on anyone's Supreme Court...well that and the lack of a law degree...but ummm... Thoughts?

From:http://www.itsthelaurenshow.com/

LIVING BEYOND YOUR MEANS...

In a recent episode of the Suze Orman show a caller asked Suze for her definition of living beyond your means. Suze responded with the following, "If you have credit card debt of any kind that you cannot afford to pay in full at the end of the month you are NOT living within your means." Suze clarified the definition by including specific purchases like vacation, clothes, manicures and spa services, which cannot be paid off in full. She also excluded all debt from medical illnesses from the definition.

I would also add food and recurring monthly entertainment expenses to Suze's list. Expenses such as going out to eat, cable TV, and the latest and greatest cell phones and cell phone plans should not be overlooked. If you are paying off this month's meal three months from now you are probably living beyond your means. Similarly, if you can't pay off your grocery bill each month, because you have an unlimited calling plan you are probably living beyond your means.

Investopedia expanded on the definition with the following five signs that you are living beyond your means:

Your credit score is below 600. (Typically low credit scores are caused by having too much outstanding debt, failing to pay your debts on time and having balances that are too close to your credit limit.)
You are saving less than 5%. ("A savings rate below 5% means you could be in real danger of financial ruin if someone in your family were to have a medical emergency, or your family home were to burn to the ground. With savings this low, it likely means you wouldn't even have the money to pay the necessary insurance deductibles.")
Your credit card balances are rising. (This matches Suze's sentiment. If you can't pay off your credit card balance in full each month than the balance will rise as you pay minimum balances and incur outrageous interest and/or fees.)

More than 28% of your income goes to your house. ("Why is 28% the magic number? Historically, conservative lenders have used the 28% threshold because their experience has told them that this is the rate at which the average person can get by, make their mortgage payments and still enjoy a reasonable standard of living." The world has certainly seen the repercussions of high housing prices on today's homeowners.)
Your bills are spiraling out of control. (Small monthly bills like cable, cell phone, Internet and utilities can add up to a large sum of money. In order to pay these bills in full each month you may be putting other expenses like food and groceries on your credit card. If you can't pay off your credit card each month than you may be living beyond your means.)

THE DEFINITION OF HOT....

ANOTHER TERRIBLE ROLE MODEL....KNOCKED UP AND UNMARRIED....

ANOTHER BROKE ASS HOUSEWIFE...THIS TIME IT'S JERSEY BABY....

Free-spending “Real Housewives of New Jersey” diva Teresa Giudice and her husband, Joe, make just $79,000 a year and are up to their tanned necks in liens, foreclosures and unpaid bills, according to bankruptcy papers filed in Newark federal court.

The Giudices say they owe creditors $10,853,648.04.

Teresa, known for her lust for designer clothes and expensive bling on the Bravo show, owes nearly $20,000 on credit cards for Bloomingdale’s, Nordstrom and Neiman Marcus. In total, the Giudices show $104,000 in debt on at least eight credit cards. The bank has moved to foreclose on the Giudices’ $1.8 million, 10,500-square-foot, eight-bedroom, 5½-bath marble-and-onyx manse in Towaco, NJ, the couple moved into during the first season. Teresa and Joe defaulted on their $1,280-a-month payment for the family’s ubiquitous black Cadillac Escalade. They also didn’t have insurance on the massive SUV, according to GMAC.

Teresa — who this season told Joe to get a vasectomy — owes $12,000 to a Garden State fertility clinic. * Banks have taken the couple’s $279,000 four-bedroom Jersey Shore house. The Giudices had three mortgages on the house and owed $325,000. The couple also handed over a $200,000 home in Lincoln Park, NJ, that had four mortgages — and an outstanding debt of $600,000.

SOME STR8 UP FUNNY SHIT...IN CASE YOU NEED A MONDAY NIGHT LAUGH

IF YOU MISSED MIAMI 2010....YOU MISSED THIS...