PERV DRAG QUEEN AND ROOMATE....ONLY IN THE A.....

Playing the hero led to the arrest of an Atlanta drag personality who, after appearing on television claiming he helped authorities nab his roommate for human trafficking, was identified by a minor victim, according to the Douglas County Sheriff’s Office.

Christopher Thomas Lynch, better known to local gay audiences as Pasha Nicole, is charged with human trafficking of a minor for sexual servitude, two counts of sexual exploitation of a child, pandering by compulsion and possession of drug related objects, Chief Deputy Sheriff Stan Copeland told the AJC.

His roommate, Steven Donald Lemery, 35, is charged with five counts of aggravated child molestation, two counts of human trafficking, child molestation, enticing a child for indecent purposes and pandering by compulsion. Lemery, who danced under the name Steven Lang at B.J. Rooster’s on Cheshire Bridge Road, was targeted by investigators in January after a victim from Alabama alerted authorities, Copeland said.

“Most of the victims were runaways or easy targets,” he said, adding that the suspects used social networking sites to lure potential victims. “They would put the kids in a dependent situation. If they wanted to leave, they’d have to perform sexual favors.”

OPEN LETTER TO CHRIS BROWN.....FROM MR. KEVIN POWELL....

Dear Chris,

I really did not want to write this open letter, and would have preferred to speak to you in person, in private. Indeed, ever since the domestic violence incident with Rihanna two years ago, there have been attempts, by some of the women currently or formerly in your circle -- women who love and care deeply about you -- to bring you and I together, as they felt my own life story, my own life experiences, might be of some help in your journey. For whatever reason, that never happened. By pure coincidence, I wound up in a Harlem recording studio with you about three months ago, as I was meeting up with R&B singer Olivia and her manager. You were hosting a listening session for your album in progress, and the room was filled with gushing supporters, with a very large security guard outside the studio door. I was allowed in, as I assume you knew my name and my long relationship to the music industry. I greeted you and said I would love to have a talk with you, but I am not even sure you heard a single word I said above the loud music. I gave your security person my card when I left and asked him to ask you to phone me, but you never did, for whatever reason. And that is fine.

But I have thought of you long and hard as I've watched you, from a distance, as you dealt with the charges of physical violence against your then-girlfriend Rihanna, as you were being pummeled by the media and abandoned by many fans, admirers and endorsers, and ridiculed on the social networks. You were 19 when the altercation with Rihanna occurred, and you are only 21 now. Yes, you've achieved both international fame and success in a way most people your age, or any age, could never imagine. But you also are at a very serious crossroads because of the dishonor of your persona derived from your beating Rihanna. There is no way to get around this, Chris. You must deal with it, as a man, now and forever. For our past can be a prison we are locked in permanently, or it can be the key to our freedom if we glean the lessons from it and deal with it directly. All the external pressures and forces will be there, Chris, but no one can free us but ourselves. And it must start in our minds and in our souls.

That is why I was very saddened to hear about your recent appearance on ABC's "Good Morning America" to promote your new album, "F.A.M.E." The interview was embarrassing, to say the least. You slouched through the entire episode, and you were so clearly defensive as Robin Roberts, the interviewer, threw you what I thought were very easy questions about the Rihanna saga. I get that you want to move past it, but that is not going to happen, Chris, until people see real humility, real redemption and real changes in how you conduct yourself both publicly and privately. Whether the interview and what happened at ABC studios were a publicity stunt to push your album sales (as has been suggested by some blogs) is not the point. It has been spread across the internet, and throughout the world, that you ripped off your shirt following that interview, got in the face of one of the show's producers in a threatening manner, and that somehow the window in your dressing room was smashed with a chair. And then there are the photos of you immediately after, shirtless, walking outside the ABC studios looking, well, pissed off. Finally, somewhere in the midst of that morning, you tweeted, "I'm so over people bring this past s**t up!! Yet we praise Charlie Sheen and other celebs for [their] bullsh**t."

Yes, that tweet was taken down very quickly, but not before it was spread near and far, Chris. And it was a tweet written with raw honesty and, for sure, raw emotion. It is very clear to me, as it is to so many of us watching your life unfold in public, that you are deeply wounded, that you are hurt by what you have experienced the past two years. It's clear that you've never actually healed from what you witnessed as a child, either -- your mother being beaten savagely by your stepfather, and how that must've made you feel, in your bones. You've said in interviews, long before the Rihanna incident happened, that it made you scared, timid and that you wet the bed because of the wild, untamed emotions that swirled in your being. I am certain you felt powerless, just as powerless as I felt as a boy when my mother, who I love dearly and have forgiven these many years later, viciously beat me, physically and emotionally, in an effort to discipline me, to prepare me, a Black man-child, for what she, a rural South Carolina born and bred, working-class woman, perceived to be a crude and racist world.

But the fact is, Chris, we cannot afford to teach children, directly or indirectly, that violence and anger in any form are the solutions to our frustrations, disagreements or pain, and not expect that violence and anger to penetrate the psyche of that child, to not expect it to be with that child as he, you, me and countless other American males in our nation grow from boy to teenager to early adulthood. Ultimately it will come out in some channel, either inwardly on themselves in the manner of serious self-repression, self-loathing and fear, or outwardly in the shape of blind rage and violence, against themselves and against others, including women and girls.

You see, Chris, I know much about you because I was you in previous chapters of my life. I am presently in my 40s, a practitioner of yoga and someone who has spent much of the past 20 years in therapy and counseling sessions. I shudder to think who I would be today had I not made a commitment to constant self-reflection and healing. Yes, like most human beings, I do get angry at times, but it is in a very different kind of way. I think long and hard about my words and actions, and if I do make a mistake and offend someone in some way verbally or emotionally, I apologize as quickly as I can. And I am proud to say I have not been involved in a violent incident in many years, that I am about love, peace and nonviolence now, and this is my path for the rest of my life. I am not willing to go backwards, nor am I going to permit anyone or any scenario to take me backwards, either.

But, Chris, it was not always like this for me. The hurt and pain I felt as a child led to arguments and fights in my grade and high schools -- arguments with teachers and principals and physical fights with my classmates, this in spite of the fact I possessed, very early on, the same kind of talents you had coming up. Mine is writing and yours is music. And because we both had gifts that people recognized, the more problematic sides of our personas were often overlooked, or ignored completely. In reality, Chris, I attended four grade schools and three high schools partly because my single mother and I (I am an only child) were very poor, and were forced to move a lot, and partly because of my behavioral issues at various schools. Many adults could not understand it because I was routinely a straight-A student breezing through everything from math, and science, to English.

Yet I was no different from countless American children terrorized by their environments, with no true outlets to understand, and heal, what we were experiencing. That is why, Chris, I eventually was kicked out of Rutgers University, why I got into arguments with my cast mates on the first season of MTV's "The Real World," and why I often had beefs with my co-workers, as a 20-something hot shot writer at Quincy Jones' Vibe magazine, and why I was eventually fired from Vibe, Chris, in spite of writing more cover stories than any other writer in the magazine's history. There was always a darkness in my life, Chris, a heavy sadness, born of years of wounds piled one on top of the other. And I did not begin to grasp this until a fateful day in July 1991 when I pushed my girlfriend at the time into a bathroom door in the middle of an argument. As I have written in other spaces, Chris, when she ran from the apartment, barefoot, it was only then that I recognized the magnitude of what I had done. Just like you, I had to deal with public embarrassment, and court and a restraining order. But the big difference, Chris, is that a community of people, both women and men, saw potential in me, the boy struggling to be a man, in the early 1990s, and rather than shun me or push me aside or write me off completely, they instead opted to help me.

The first step was returning to therapy, as I had done briefly in 1988 after being suspended from Rutgers for threatening a female student. The next step was my struggling to take ownership for every aspect of my life, and not just that bathroom door incident. That meant, Chris, I had to go very far into my own soul, and return, time and again, to being that little boy who had been violated and abused, and meet him, on his terms. I assure you, Chris, it was extremely difficult to do that, and I put off many issues for months, even years, unwilling or unable to look myself in the mirror. Add to that the sudden celebrity of my life on MTV and at Vibe, and I found myself around many other people who were living escapist lives, who were not bothering to deal with their demons, either. That, Chris, is a recipe for disaster, for a life stuck in a state of arrested development. The worst thing we could ever do is to be only in circles of people who are wallowing in their own miseries, too, yet covering it up with fame, money, material things, sex, drugs, alcohol and an addiction to acting out because that is much easier than actually growing up.

As a matter of fact, as I watched your "Good Morning America" interview, and read the accounts of what happened after, I thought a good deal about the late Tupac Shakur, who I interviewed more than any other journalist when he was alive. Tupac was, Chris, without question, equally the most brilliant and the most frustrating interview subject I'd ever encountered -- brilliant because his abilities as an actor were towering (imagine what he could have been had he lived), and his writing skills instantly connected him with the man-child in so many American males, especially those of us who grew up as he did, without a consistent and available father figure or mentor, and with some form of turmoil in our lives. But, Chris, I could see the writing on the wall of Tupac's downfall from the very beginning, because he willingly participated in it, encouraged it, openly advertised it every single time he rhymed about dying, or spoke about a short shelf life in one of his interviews. I do believe each and every one of us human beings is given a certain amount of time on this planet. I for one feel very blessed to be here as long as I have been, especially given my past destructive paths. But I also believe, Chris, that so many of us participate in what I call self-sabotage, or slow suicide. That is, because we do not have the emotional and spiritual tools to process the many angles of our lives, we instead resort to predictable behavior that may feel empowering or liberating on the surface, but is actually damaging to us, and doing even more harm to us.

For instance, when I looked at the photo of you, shirtless, with the shiny tattoos across your chest, I saw myself, I saw Tupac Shakur, I saw all us American Black boys who so badly want to be free, who so badly want to be understood, who feel life is unfair for labeling us "angry," "difficult," "violent," "abusive," "criminals," "cocky" or "arrogant." Yes, Chris Brown, in spite of Barack Obama being president of the United States, America still very much has a very serious problem with race and racism, which means it still has a very serious problem with Black males who act out or behave badly, who speak their minds, who assert themselves in some way or another. I know that is what you are reacting to, Chris. And you are not wrong in tweeting that Charlie Sheen is catching a break in a way that you are not. I am aware that Charlie Sheen's father is Latino and his mother is White, but Charlie Sheen operates in a space of White male privilege because of his White skin and his access to White power. Thus he is given a pass for his violent, abusive, mean-spirited, and drug-addicted outbursts in a way you or I never will, Chris. Charlie Sheen, as insane as it appears, is even celebrated in many circles because of how American male (read: White male) privilege can exist while ignoring the concerns of those he has harmed, including women. That is why, Chris, I rarely discuss in public the chapter of my life that is MTV's "The Real World." In spite of who I am as a whole human being, my numerous interests and skill sets, the one thing that was played up were the arguments I had with my White cast mates. So I was labeled, for years and years, Chris, as "the angry Black man," something that troubled me as deeply as you were bothered on "Good Morning America" by the Rihanna questions. And how certain media folks, including Joy Behar on "The View," must bother you calling you a "thug," in spite of the obvious racial overtones of such a loaded word. If you are a thug, then what is Charlie Sheen, or Mel Gibson, or John Mayer, or Jude Law, or any other famous White male who has engaged in bad behavior the past few years? Why are they often forgiven, given a pass, allowed to clean themselves up and to redeem themselves in a way Black males simply cannot, Chris? It is because, to paraphrase Tupac, we were given this world, we did not make it. And it is because of power, Chris, plain and simple. Whoever has the power to put forth images and words, to put forth definitions, to determine what is right and what is wrong, can just as easily label you a star one day and a thug and a has-been the very next day; or make you, a Black male, the poster child, for every single bad behavior that exists in America. Just ask Black males as diverse as Tiger Woods, Kobe Bryant, Mike Tyson, O.J. Simpson or Kanye West. No apologies are being made by me for these men or their actions, but the chatter, always, in Black male circles is how we are treated when we do wrong as opposed to how our White brothers are treated when they do wrong. Call it racial or cultural paranoia if you'd like. We Black brothers call it a ridiculously oppressive double standard. And that is because America has historically had a very complicated and twisted relationship with Black men, ranging from slavery, to the first heavyweight boxing champion Jack Johnson, to Malcolm X and Dr. King both, and including men like Louis Armstrong, Chuck Berry, Michael Jackson, Prince and, yes, Barack Obama. Sometimes we feel incredible love and affection, and sometimes we feel as if we are unwanted, armed and dangerous. It is a schizophrenic existence, to say the least, and it is akin to how the character Bigger Thomas, in Richard Wright's classic but controversial novel, "Native Son," saw his life reduced to the metaphor of a cornered black rat. Thus so many of us spend our entire lives, as Black males, navigating this tricky terrain, so few of us with the proper emotional and spiritual tools to balance our coolness with a righteous defiance that, well, will not get us killed, literally and figuratively, by each other or the police, or by the American mass media culture.

I am telling you the truth, Chris Brown, man-to-man, Black man to Black man, because you need to hear it -- straight up, no chaser. If you really believe that because you are famous and successful that the same rules apply to you, you are deceiving yourself. Like many, I love people, regardless of race, gender, class, sexual orientation, disability, religion, any of that, and I believe deeply in the humanity and equality of us all. But until we have a nation, and a world, where the media places the same energy and excitement in documenting a Black man who is engaging in, say, mentoring work, as it does in a Black man smashing a window at a television station, then we are sadly fooling ourselves, Chris, that things are fair and equal in this universe. They are not. And sometimes it will be big things, like what you just experienced, Chris, at "Good Morning America," and sometimes it will be quieter moments, far off the radar, where we Black men have to think on the fly about who we are, what we represent, how others perceive us or may want to perceive us, how we say things to people, particularly our White sisters and brothers, for fear or worry of being misunderstood and being pegged as "problematic" or a "troublemaker," and magically navigate best we can to assert our humanity, our dignity, our leadership, our visions and ideas and dreams, and, yes, our definitions of manhood rooted in our very unique cultural journeys. Complete insanity, this emotional and spiritual juggling act, no question, and our harsh reality in this world, my friend.

So what you have to understand, Chris, and what I had to grapple with for years, is there is no escaping your past, especially if we engage in angry or violent behavior. If we do not confront it, probe and understand it, heal and learn from it, and use what we've learned to teach others to go a different way, then it dogs us forever, Chris, and we unwittingly become the entertainment, nonstop, for others. And that simply does not have to be the case for you, Chris. You are too much of a genius to allow this to destroy you, but your self-destruction is exactly what many of us are witnessing. I have no idea who is around you at this point, or what kind of men, specifically, are advising you, but the worst possible thing you could do is act as if what happened with Rihanna was no big deal. It was and is a major deal because women and girls, in America, and on this earth, are beaten, stabbed, shot, murdered, raped and molested, every single day. Because of your fame you have become, unfortunately, a poster child for this destructive behavior in spite of your proclaiming just a few years before, in a magazine interview, you would never do to a woman what had happened to your mother. What I gathered, very quickly, Chris, after I pushed that girlfriend back in 1991, was that I could not hide from my demons or myself. That is why I wrote an essay in Essence magazine in September 1992, entitled, "The Sexist in Me." That is why I made it a point to listen to women and girls in my travels, in my community, even within my family, tell stories of how they had been violated or abused by one man or another. And that is why, Chris, nearly 20 years later, so much of my work as a leader, as an activist, as a public speaker, is dedicated to ending violence against women and girls. In other words, I took what was a very negative and hurtful experience, for that girlfriend, and for myself, and transformed it into a life of teaching other males how to deal with their hurts without hurting others, particularly women and girls.

Tupac Shakur, Chris, never got to turn the corner, as you well know, because he was gunned down at age 25. I do not know if he actually raped or sexually assaulted the woman in that hotel room as he was charged. But one thing he did admit to me, Chris, in that famous Rikers Island interview, was that he could have stopped his male friends from coming into his hotel room and sexually exploiting his female companion that night. And he did not. You, Chris Brown, cannot turn back the hands of time to February 2009. We have seen the photos of Rihanna's battered and bruised face. Yes, you've apologized; yes, you've done your time in court and your hours of community service; and yes, you have been tried and convicted in the court of public opinion. But it is really up to you, Chris, to decide in these tense moments, as you approach your 22nd birthday May 5th, if you want to be a boy forever locked in the time capsule of your own battered and bruised life, or if you want to be the man so many of us are rooting for you to be, one who will take responsibility for all his actions, who will sit up in interviews and answer all questions, even the uncomfortable ones, the kind of man who will admit, once and for all, publicly, privately, however you must do it, that you need help, that you need love, that you need to love yourself in a very different kind of way, that you no longer will hide behind an album release, music videos, dyed hair, tattoos or even your Twitter account, Chris Brown. That you will make a life-long commitment to counseling, to therapy, to healing, to alternative definitions of manhood rooted in nonviolence, love and peace, that you will become a loud and consistent voice against all forms of violence against women and girls, wherever you go, as I do, for the rest of your life. All eyes are on you because you've brought the world to your doorstep, my friend. The question, alas, Chris, is do you want to go forward, or not? And if "yes" to going forward, then you must know it means going to the deepest and darkest parts of your past to heal what ails you, once and for all, for the good of yourself, and for the good of those who are watching you very closely and who may learn something from what you do. Or what you do not do. The choice is yours, Chris Brown. The choice is yours.

Godspeed,

Kevin Powell

Kevin Powell is an activist, public speaker, and award-winning author or editor of 10 books, including "Open Letters to America" (essays) and "No Sleep Till Brooklyn" (poetry). Kevin lives in Brooklyn, New York. Email him at kevin@kevinpowell.net.

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UP AND COMING....MIGHT BE MY BABY'S BIG BREAK.....

WENDY WILLIAMS GOES IN ON CHRIS BROWN....LIKE A TRUE MOTHER WOULD....

GET INTO THE MESSAGE....F-YOU HAS MORE THAN ONE MEANING...

JUST BECAUSE IT'S MONDAY...ENJOY YOUR WEEK....

THOUGHTS ON A WOMAN ASKING A MAN TO MARRY HER....

In the newest reality show “Love and Hip Hop”, it is said that one character Chrissy (Jim Jones’s girl) will ask for his hand in marriage. Yes, you read that correctly: She proposes to rapper Jim Jones!! Now this brings up an interesting debate that’s currently going down in relationship and gossip circles all over the country:

Can a woman propose to a man?

I believe in traditional gender roles, but in this new era, there is room for evolution and flexibility. Women can be providers of the household just like men. Men can stay home and take care of kids. These notions, thought to be crazy generations ago, are widely acceptable and necessary in most cases. While I agree that evolution of these roles are for the greater good, there still should be some roles that stay the same. The role of a man asking for a woman’s hand in marriage is one role that I don’t think should change.

Asking a woman to marry you is one of the penultimate moments in a man’s life. Society, family, and even an inherent instinct tells us that this is a man’s time to take charge, express his feelings for his significant other and declare that this is the moment he wants to make clear that it’s her and him forever. Asking the parent’s for permission, finding the engagement ring (unless you’re against diamonds), and planning the proposal, are nervous and anxious, but fulfilling tasks that men know they will accomplish someday. This whole experience is built for the man to propose to the women, which is why the process loses impact if a woman proposes to a man.

If any women I knew came up to me with a gold wedding band and said “Streetz, I’m going to ask for my boyfriend hand in marriage”, I guarantee that the thoughts in my mind would be one of the following:

“She’s Desperate” – I would wonder why a woman would ever feel compelled to ask a man to marry her. Was she so desperate to have a husband that she couldn’t wait for her boyfriend to do it on his own? I would think that it wasn’t THAT serious to ask a man to marry you, and she must be super clingy or have low self esteem to break that tradition.

“She’s Trying To Force Him Into Marriage” – I would probably think that she wanted to make the ultimate chess move on her boyfriend and propose the ultimate ultimatum: “I’m asking you to marry me, either accept my proposal, or else!”. Now what if he says no or can’t decide? What does the woman do then? It’s a tough position to place yourself., and the woman will end up losing the guy, her pride, and that deposit on that wedding band!!

“She’s Going To Kill His Ego” – The biggest and loudest thought in my mind would be an indictment on her boyfriends’ character. As a man, I would question whether or not dude had a spine or heart. I could never imagine a woman proposing to me, even if I was “the submissive one” in the relationship! That is my right and duty, and no man with any type of ego would allow a woman to propose to him. What’s next, hyphenating his name with her last name? Please…

Women dream of marriage from young ages. I don’t think women ever dream of getting down on one knee and popping the question for a man. I think it taints the overall idea of proposals by having women play the mans role. It’s not a good look for either the man or a woman. Women, let the fellas have this one. You’ll win many battles down the road, this shouldn’t ever be one of them.

SHOUT OUT TO ALL BLACK SORORS....

Walk into any toy store or big-box retailer and you’re sure to find a wall of dolls and accessories, mainly of the Barbie variety. Parents can find almost every incarnation of Barbie and clothes to match every occasion, but Niccole Graves is still dissatisfied with the selection when shopping for her two daughters.

“When I go to the store, the selection of black dolls is minimal,” she said. “People like to see dolls that look like them.”

Graves is a 40-year-old radiation therapist from Chicago who in recent years decided to pursue her dream of creating dolls that celebrate African-American women. While working full-time, she is slowly bringing Trinity Designs onto the market with hopes of one day being the number one designer and manufacturer of minority-inspired dolls.

It’s a huge undertaking. The doll industry is dominated by a few major players and those companies aren’t interested in sharing any of their secrets, Graves said. Couple that with challenges such as sourcing materials, designers, sculptors, and a manufacturer, and you have a venture that few would decide to pursue. But Graves is on a mission to create something that she can pass on to her children.

Trinity Designs is fairly young, having launched just two years ago. Graves is a member of the Delta Sigma Theta sorority and started the company with an idea for a doll that would symbolize the sisterhood.

“You can find rag dolls, figurines, and statues, but you can’t find a fashion doll. I decided I would make one for myself,” Graves said. ”I decided I wanted a bigger doll. I went with a 16-inch doll and had a prototype made. I have a seamstress that sews the clothes, a lady that designs doll hair, and a doll sculptor. It took a little over a year.”

Graves shared the prototype with her sorority sisters who also wanted one. Form there her idea grew to include other sororities. "trinity designs" Fraternities and sororities may seem like a small niche market, but it’s a niche that likes to celebrate membership with clothing and other gear reflecting the tradition. Graves designed dolls with hands that would be able to move. Each sorority’s doll makes the group’s unique hand signal. They also sing.

Navigating an industry like doll making, which unlike restaurants and retail operations lacks any kind of how-to manual, is challenging for this first-time entrepreneur. But Graves doesn’t take the veterans she has working with her for granted.

“My doll sculptor has been very helpful and gives recommendations,” she said. “But no company is going to take you under their wing.”

The reaction of people to her product gave Graves the confidence to begin plans to expand beyond the sorority market into children’s dolls. The 16-inch sorority dolls are collectibles which is reflected in the higher price point of $149. Graves is working on a prototype for an 11.5-inch doll, the same size as Barbie, which at $20 to $30 will be more accessible to the average consumer.

One of the biggest challenges thus far has been access to capital.

“Getting a business loan is next to impossible and there’s no such thing as grant money even though they say there is. It’s not the reality,” she said. “When you have a start-up, banks want you to have huge amounts of your own money. It’s very difficult financially for new businesses.”

Graves received three small loans from friends and family to get a meager base from which she could start, but all other funds have come from her own pocket.

“It takes longer to get something done because you’re working with little funds,” she said.

Access to capital and working full-time with two children are big challenges for Trinity Designs, but Graves can see beyond those hurdles and is brainstorming the company’s future and looking to diversify its offerings.

“One of the biggest costs has been patents and trademarks. And the original sculpt was $5,000,” she said. “Our sculptor has been phenomenally gracious and has done more to help me than the average person would.”

Graves’s first shipment of dolls launched last year and the 300 “Essence of a Delta” dolls did well. However, marketing will be a bigger focus on the next round, Graves said.

“Marketing is a really expensive component of any business. Even two years after the pre-orders, people don’t know I’m out there,” she said. “I have to keep telling people about it. Now that I have these 300 in circulation, I’m able to tell others and show them the product. People have to see the doll, because it’s hard to show size. People are stuck on Barbie and she’s nothing like Barbie.”

Graves is modeling her children’s doll line after her daughters and is hoping to sell those wholesale through retailers and keep the more expensive, 16-inch dolls for sale on her website.

“I really think God gave me this idea as a gift and as something that has the potential to make me the largest producer of African-American dolls,” Graves said. “You don’t have a company with a line dedicated to minorities. Ideally I don’t just want to make black dolls – I also have designs in mind for Hispanic women. A lot of people get overlooked in the doll industry.”

CLASSIC MUST SEE MOVIE....SHE'S GOTTA HAVE IT....(MAKES YOU THINK)

She's Gotta Have It is a 1986 comedy-drama film written and directed by Spike Lee. It was also Lee's first feature-length film. The film stars Tracy Camilla Johns, Tommy Redmond Hicks and John Canada Terrell.

Nola Darling (portrayed by Tracy Camilla Johns) is a young, attractive, sexually-independent Brooklynite who juggles three suitors: the polite and well-meaning Jamie Overstreet (Tommy Redmond Hicks); the self-obsessed model Greer Childs (John Canada Terrell); and the immature, motor-mouthed bicycle messenger Mars Blackmon (Spike Lee). Nola is attracted to the best in each of them, but refuses to commit to any of them, cherishing her personal freedom instead, even though each man wants her for himself.

She’s Gotta Have It contributes to countless African American elements and popular film language. In addition, it represents the first movie of the 1980s to place the achievement of individual desire at the forefront of the black liberation movement, in the same manner the individual is at the center of the hip-hop revolution (i.e., the rapper). The movie also gave blackness a universal face, through the eyes of Mars (Spike Lee) and a universal home, Brooklyn. It is the story of Nola Darling, a young black woman, a source of conversation both in and out of the film. The film’s narrative style is taken from the challenges and pleasures of the competing views on who Nola truly is. This signifies the major source of controversy of the sexism in the movie as the viewer is reluctant to accept Nola’s voice as authoritative.

Nola idealizes having what men in the black community have—multiple sex partners—which symbolizes her as an individual struggling against the group. “A woman (or, at least Nola) can be a sexual being, doesn’t have to belong to a man, and perhaps shouldn’t even wish for such a thing.” Above all, Nola’s voice is the most revolutionary element in the film, a representation of the struggle of African American women in society at the time.

LIVING GOOD IS THE BEST REVENGE....(YOU FANCY GIRL)

FEMALE PRISON GUARDS GET IT IN....ALL NIGHT WITH MALE PRISONERS...

The female guards working at Rikers Island are sex-starved and promiscuous with the prisoners they are there to keep in line, says a former guard. “They would do it on the midnight shift when there were not many people around,” according to Yolanda Dickinson, who worked at Rikers from 1997 to 2004 and recently penned a novel called “Taboo,” based on the jail’s out-of-control sex scene.

“They have electronic cell doors, and it’s not a problem for someone to crack open the door,” she added. With 3,890 female officers guarding some 12,000 men, outlaw love blossoms. “It’s a soap opera,” Dickinson says.”There are a lot of lonely single women on the job, and you’re surrounded by these cute guys. They’re working out. They’re attractive,” she says. “They’re criminals, so they have a cunning way of approaching you. They study you all day.”

Though she claims she never had sex at work, Dickinson, 41, admits that she met a Rikers inmate on her watch, a gang member from her neighborhood who had admitted to killing a rapist. “People looked up to him for that. He said he did the world a favor,” she said. She says her soft spot for him developed after he defended her honor behind bars by beating up another inmate who groped her. “It made me look at him differently,” she said.

Another ex-boyfriend, the father of her 17-year-old son, served 10 years in federal prison on drug charges. She was fired for “undue familiarity” in 2004 after an inmate called her from Rikers and she denied to probers that she had gotten the call. At least six female guards have been fired or forced out for undue familiarity with prisoners since 2007, including Kimberly Hurd, 39, who bore an inmate’s love child; Yolanda Turner-Goodwin, 44, who was photographed hugging and kissing a prisoner; and Kadessha Mulgrav, 34, who allegedly sneaked away for a midnight liaison with cop killer Lee Woods in a shower room.

“Undue familiarity is illegal, and it compromises safety and security,” said Correction spokesman Stephen Morello. But Dickinson said it’s so pervasive, it’d be difficult to prevent. She once saw a letter from an inmate that graphically recalled his X-rated romp with an officer: “It was detailed.”

GOOD ALL THROUGH...FORWARD TO 5:00....RESPECT WHO AND WHERE YOU COME FROM.....

(CLASS IS NOW IN SESSION)

OLD SCHOOL VS. NEW SCHOOL....WHO RAN THIS CLASSIC?

VS.

PLEASE MAKE A DIFFERENCE AND VOTE....

The revitalization of Morris Brown College comes with a vision for a new Morris Brown, with new courses of study for the 21 century. And as we look forward, toward the future, we MUST remember from which we came. We have to take pride in the fact that Morris Brown College was founded by black people, for black people, the only college in Georgia with this distinction.

Please read the following and vote for Morris Brown College – vote every day until April 22nd.
Please take a moment and do this now. Wouldn’t be wonderful if Morris Brown did win this contest and we played a major part it the process.
2011 Retool Your School Campus Improvement Program
The Home Depot is overjoyed to bring this essential and successful program back for a second year. We know how valuable our nation’s Historically Black Colleges and Universities are, and how much they have contributed to our country's growth in so many ways. What could be more worthwhile than helping preserve and improve some of America’s most historic campuses and landmarks?

Thank you so very much,
http://www.homedepotretoolyourschool.com/

CLASSIC QUOTES FROM BW REUNION 2....

Gloria

Gloria is actually pretty on point with her observations of Shaunie. (That whole c-word thing was SO out of pocket though.) But when she talks about her maybe/maybe not upcoming wedding, don’t you just want to give her a hug?
“How childish of you to ambush me! You’re like 40!”

“We both called off the wedding. We are not ready to make that type of leap. If you’re not ready for it, then why do it? Some of the happiest couples out there aren’t married.”

CLASSIC QUOTES FROM BASKETBALL WIVES REUNION SHOW....

Evelyn (aka Gutta Mouth Queen)
I’m not super prissy or anything, but damn! Every other word our of her mouth was a curse word. Sheesh.

“It is what it is b*tch. If I wanna f*$ck, I can f*$k.”

“You looked a g*d-damned mess in that lingerie.”

“When and where I f*$ked Chad is none of your f*$king business, b*tch.”

GET INTO THE ABS....

GET INTO THE WORDS....DEEP

I'm coming home
tell the World I'm coming home
Let the rain wash away all the pain of yesterday
I know my kingdom awaits and they've forgiven my mistakes
I'm coming home, I'm coming home
tell the World that I'm coming

YOU CAN TAKE THE CHICK OUT OF THE BRONX BUT YOU CANT TAKE THE BRONX OUT OF THE CHICK....

CERTIFIED 40 YR. CHICKEN HEAD....GOOD LOOKS DO NOT EQUAL COMMON SENSE....

WORDS OF WISDOM....

"Water seeks its own level. Or put more simply, a certain type of man will eventually settle with a similar type of woman."

NEW CHANGES MAY BE COMING TO ATM WITHDRAWAL MAX....

Guess who wants you to start using your credit cards more? Reports CNN:

JPMorgan Chase, one of the nation’s largest banks, is considering capping debit card transactions at either $50 or $100, according to a source with knowledge of the proposal. Why? Because of a tricky thing called interchange fees. Right now, every time you swipe your debit card, your bank charges the retailer an average fee of 44 cents, which it shares with its partners. Those little fees, however, add up to about $16 billion per year, according to 2009 data from the Federal Reserve.

If the changes go into effect customers are expected to withdraw more cash from ATM’s and use credit cards more often.

OUR DAYS ARE NOW....

When I found out this morning about the earthquake in Japan, the tsunamis running through Hawaii and the ones headed towards the area where my family lives, of course I panicked. I called my mom at the ungodly hour of 4:00 a.m., ringing her phone until she woke up. Of course her being the woman she is, when she picked up the phone, she was worried about me.

Since that phone call a couple hours ago, everyone in my family seems to be just fine. My mother, my sister, my sister’s boyfriend, their children, my grandmother, step-dad, aunts, uncles, friends, everyone is okay. I heard from a dear friend of mine in Japan, she’s okay. Still waiting to hear from my people in Hawaii to get word on how they’re doing, though I have faith they too will be okay. For the most part, the people who I know in all these affected areas seem are safe.

So now, it’s time for me to pray for those I don’t know, for their safety and their peace, because when disasters like this happen around the world, it affects us all. Yet, I wonder why we worry so much about the way it affects us.

What I notice is how our society has gotten so selfish with our concern. We see things happen in other parts of the world and we internalize it to the point where we think the end of days for one person means we’re only one step closer to our own. Everyone is concerned with apocalyptic disaster. Everyone thinks about it in the back of their mind, and then when disasters like this happen, we start projecting those fears out loud, and it’s disheartening.

These days, we’re scared and it’s causing a great deal of distraction. We look at the earthquakes and Tsunamis and the end of other people’s days and use those events as indicators that our own days are numbered. And what’s crazy is, we don’t even apply some real logic or facts behind those thoughts. Instead, we just imagine the worst for ourselves when we see the worst that has happened to others. Our own fears are entrenched in some sort of selfishness.

What I try to do is not spend my time thinking about how events like these affect my own life. If I’m alive, then I’m good, and we should think of how that can be a benefit to others. Certainly I want to acknowledge the tragedies I see, but I don’t want to internalize them. I don’t want to think the end of someone’s life means I’m one day closer to the end of my own life. Not because it’s a scary thought, but because it’s a selfish one. Instead, I just want to pray for those who were affected, and keep them in my thoughts.

Far as I’m concerned, our days aren’t numbered, they are now, and instead of wondering when that will be no longer, let’s pray for those whose days are no more. For those of us who are alive, let’s be concerned but calm. We’re okay and alive, and with that we can do so much more than worry about when that will no longer be the case.

THE CHRONICLES OF CADILLAC KIMBERLY....YEA SHE'S BACK....

ON GETTING OLDER....

If you are getting older and haven't learned how to let some petty, insignificant things go, you are missing the reason God is allowing you to get older.

Age and experience = maturity and wisdom NOT an older fool

REMEMBER WHEN THIS WAS HOT AND HEALTHY....DAMN TT

DON'T YOU WANT TO BE DOWN??? THE BLISS CLUB....

We love hot parties. The Bliss Club is a sizzling private and exclusive social organization that produces theme and dance parties, special events and group trips exclusively for sexy bisexual women and select couples. The wild events are held the 3rd Saturday of every month in South Florida and the 4th Saturday of every month in Central Florida.

The catch: you have to be a beautiful bisexual woman or escorted by a beautiful bi woman to attend. We're hoping a hot bi woman out there will escort us to the party.

PAYING RESPECT.....VIDEO SOUL....

Video Soul was a 2-hour long American music video program that aired on BET from 1981 to 1996.

Video Soul premiered in June 1981 and was originally a half hour show. It was devoted to helping showcase new R&B/soul recording artists and performers. The show was created after MTV refused to play videos by most African American musicians, as MTV made the De Facto Colour policy effective. Both BET and Video Soul served as the place of refuge for new African American musical talent. The expanded 2-hour long Primetime version debuted on June 26, 1983 and aired from 9-11 p.m. Eastern time, Monday through Thursdays. A top 20 countdown aired Friday nights, 9-11 p.m. Eastern Time as well. Throughout the early-mid 1990s, until the show ended, it aired from 8-10 PM eastern time.

Virgil Hemphill was the original first host of the series, dubbing himself as the "Reverend Eldorado". After Hemphill left the series, Donnie Simpson became the show's most prominent veejay although he joined the show a few years after it premiered. Sherry Carter (who was also hosted BET's Video LP, a half-hour long video program) and Sheila Banks were the other hosts.

Throughout its run, it was responsible for surprise guests, bringing groups/bands back together, memorable interviews, etc. A number of up-and coming artists had their first interview on Video Soul.

Video Soul Top-20 aired on Fridays, it showcased the hottest top-20 videos of the week. It would also be known as The Coca-Cola Video Soul Top-20 Countdown, as Coca-Cola became a sponsor of the show.

Video Soul By Request was a two-hour long video block on Saturdays. This edition premiered in mid 1992. It showcased videos that were requested by viewers, who called a 1-900 number to request the video they wanted to hear. Throughout its run, Sherry Carter hosted unseen when she became a host for Video Soul in 1992.

"I WILL WAIT FOR YOU"-DEFINITELY WORTH PAYING ATTENTION TO....

FOOD FOR THOUGHT...

Why would a woman SETTLE for a scrub or a man settle for a chick that isn't up to his standard?

Maybe that person isn't as great or have as high standards or have their shit as together as they think.....

Think about it

ON HOLDING HANDS.....DEEPER THEN YOU THINK...

There is no public display of affection more intimate between two people than hand holding.

A woman and I can get caught having sex in a public place. We can make out on a street corner for all the world to see. We can hug so closely it looks like we’re dry-humping each others brains out. I can put my arm around her, grab her ass. She can lock her arm into mine, lick my neck. We can do anything we want to one another in front of people, or in places where people can see us, and none of it necessarily means we’re in a relationship. Sure it may be implied, but most of the acts I just mentioned prove my woman and I are nothing more than two lustful freaks who can’t find a room, or maybe don’t care to find one.

But holding hands? In public? That’s like Valentine’s Day — for couples only.

The truth is, holding hands is the ultimate semblance that two people are not only together, but happily so. Couples kiss mad, hug mad, have sex mad, but hold hands mad? Oh no, they don’t do that.

Holding hands is what we do with the person we like the most at the moment we’re happiest with them. To hold hands with my woman in private is to say, I’m here and I’m glad you’re here too. To hold her hand in public is to say to anyone who sees us, She’s with me, I’m with her, and yes, we’re getting along just fine.

I’ve believed this to be true since childhood.

When I was growing up, my Mom and Pop fought a lot with each other. In my house, screaming and yelling was the way we communicated and though there were a lot of good times, laughter always seemed to share a room with drama or tension. But when I think about those 11 years they were together, the times I look back and smile about the most were the times when the two of them were holding hands.

To this day, I remember all the drives in our family caravan; my sister and I in the back seat, Mom riding shotgun, and Pop handling the wheel. Everyone’s eyes on the road in front of us. And maybe it happened as we were all talking and laughing, mostly it happened when a song came on the radio or the car was quiet, but whenever it happened, it went a little something like this:

Mom, or Pop, in their respective seats, eyes straight ahead, not looking at one another. Mom, or Pop’s, forearm planted on their arm rest for support. Mom, or Pop’s, palm opens in the small space between the van’s two front seats. And then, Mom, or Pop, does the same thing with their forearm and places their hand into the other.

I’m here and I’m glad you’re here too.

Sometimes they would do this in public.

She’s with me, I’m with her, and yes, we’re getting along just fine.

REAL MUSIC.....THROWBACK

THE BODYGUARD BEING REMADE IN 2011.....THOUGHTS?

Lawrence Kasdan wrote the film in the 1970's, originally as a vehicle for Steve McQueen and Diana Ross.

Rachel Marron (Whitney Houston) is an Oscar-nominated music superstar who is being stalked and sent death threats. Frank Farmer (Kevin Costner), a former Secret Service agent during Ronald Reagan's presidency-turned professional bodyguard, is hired to protect her.

The film follows Rachel's life through her career and family. Performances include her singing hits such as "I Will Always Love You" and "I Have Nothing". Frank successfully protects her from danger and as a result of his protection, Rachel falls in love with Frank. He initially tries to keep the relationship professional, but the two sleep together. However, recognizing that their relationship may compromise his protection of her, Frank breaks off their affair. Rachel must put her trust in Frank ahead of her own desire for success. In the end, Frank's duty is fulfilled, having successfully protected Rachel, and they part with a kiss. Frank then moves on to his next assignment, guarding the Reverend Philip Hardy with the First Presbyterian Church of Iowa Rapids.

In 2011 Warner Bros announced a remake that will update the story to reflect the world of the Internet; in which sites such as Twitter, Google Maps and countless other sites makes access to celebrities easier than ever. The remake will be penned by Jeremiah Friedman and Nick Palmer, with singer, Rihanna, being tipped to play the role of Rachel Marron, though this is yet to be confirmed.

Original Soundtrack Album became the best-selling soundtrack of all time. It has been certified diamond in the US (sales of at least ten million) with shipments of over 17 million copies. Worldwide, the sales are at a staggering 42 million copies. In addition, Houston's "I Will Always Love You" sold 12 million units worldwide.

THAT'S THE WAY LOVE IS....STILL

SOMETHING TO THINK ABOUT...HARD....

Sticks and stones may break my bones
But chains and whips excite me

GET INTO THE WORDS....

She said she wants a man
To always understand
But that's alright for her
Still it ain't enough for me

And she said she wants a guy
To keep her satisfied
But that's alright for her
But it ain't enough for me

Still, I don't care
If he's young or old
(Just make him beautiful)
I just want someone
I can hold on to

I want muscles
All, all over his body
(Make him strong enough)
(From his head down to his toes)
I want muscles
All, all over his body
(Make him strong enough)
(From his head down to his toes)

They say they have to see
His real personality
But that's alright for them
Still it ain't enough for me
I need what the eyes can see, ah
(His anatomy)
If that's alright for them
Still it ain't enough for me

I don't care if he's young or old
(Just make him beautiful)
I just want some strong man
To hold on to

I want muscles
All, all over his body
(Make him strong enough)
(From his head down to his toes)
I want muscles
Whooooa-ho-ho, all over his body
(Make him strong enough)
(From his head down to his toes)

Muscle man, I want to love you
In the sun, or on your body
Come with me, high in the cascades
Let this be, we've got this thing made
Lost at sea, hide the desert
Stay with me, you won't regret it
Take this love, so deep to swim in
Come to me, and let the love in

She said she wants a man
To always understand
But that's alright for her
Still it ain't enough for me

I don't care if he's young or old
(Just make him beautiful)
I just want someone I can hold on to

I want muscles
All, all over his body
(Make him strong enough)
(From his head down to his toes)
I want muscles
Whoooa-ho-ho, all over his body
All over his
(I want) muscles
All, all, all over his body
(I want) muscles
I want all I can get
All over him, all over him
All over him
(I want) muscles, muscles, muscles...

SHOUT OUT TO CHICAGO....TRUE HOUSE....

SHOUT OUT TO DC HOUSE....

STICKS AND STONES MAKE BREAK MY BONES BUT CHAINS AND WHIPS EXCITE ME!!!! LOVE IT!!!

STIC

HUMP DAY EYE CANDY....ENJOY

CAN'T GET ENOUGH OF THIS SONG......IT GOES HARDDDD....

WHO RAN IT....OLD SCHOOL VOCALS VS. NEWER SCHOOL