Inspired by Vogue magazine, voguing is characterized by model-like poses integrated with angular, linear, and rigid arm, leg, and body movements. This style of dance arose from Harlem ballrooms by African Americans and Latino Americans in the early 1960s. It was originally called "presentation" and later "performance." Over the years, the dance evolved into the more intricate and illusory form that is now called "vogue." Voguing is continually developed further as an established dance form that is practiced in the gay ballroom scene and clubs in major cities throughout the United States—mainly New York City, Atlanta, Los Angeles, Philadelphia, Washington D.C., Miami, Detroit, and Chicago.
Formal competitions occur in the form of balls held by "houses"—family like collectives of LGBT dancers and performers.
Some legendary houses include the House of Garcon, the House of Icon, the House of Khan, the House of Evisu, the House of Karan, the House of Mizrahi, the House of Xtravaganza, the House of Ebony, the House of Revlon, the House of Prodigy, the House of Escada, the House of Omni, the House of Aviance, the House of Legacy, the House of Milan, the House of Princess, the House of Pend'avis, the House of LaBeija, the House of McQueen, and the House of Ninja among others.
("Legendary" in ballroom terms refers to a house that has been "serving," that is, walking or competing on the runway, for twenty years or more.) The House of Ninja was founded by Willi Ninja, who is considered the godfather of voguing. Members of a house are called "children." Sometimes children legally change their last name to show their affiliation with the house to which they belong
Many performers, particularly females, have used vogue-style dance as a part of their routines. The transgender member of Vogue Evolution, Leiomy Maldonado, is responsible for making her signature voguing move, the "Leiomy Lolly," popular. It is featured in Britney Spears' video for "If U Seek Amy" and Beyoncé and Lady Gaga's video for "Video Phone." "The dip" originated from voguing. Lil Mama and Chris Brown incorporated the "dip" in their music video for "Shawty Get Loose" as well as Ciara in many of her videos.
There are currently four distinct styles of vogue: Old Way (pre-1990); New Way (post-1990); Vogue Femme (circa 1995); and Dramatics, which includes stunts and tricks. Although vogue "femme" has been used in the ballroom scene as a catch-all phrase for overtly effeminate voguing as far back as the 1970s, as a recognizable style of voguing, it only came into its own around the mid-1990s.
It should be noted that the terms "Old Way" and "New Way" are generational. Earlier generations called the style of voguing the generation before them practiced "Old Way." Voguers, therefore, reuse these terms to refer to the evolutionary changes of the dance that are observable almost every ten years. Ten years from now, today's "New Way" will likely be deemed the "Old Way."
Old Way is characterized by the formation of lines, symmetry, and precision in the execution of formations with graceful, fluid-like action. In its purest, historical form, it is a duel between two rivals. Traditionally, Old Way rules dictated that one rival must "pin" another to "chop" (win the contest). Pinning involved the trapping of an opponent so that they could not execute any movements while the adversary was still in motion (usually voguing with the arms and hands called "hand performance" while the opponent was "pinned" against the floor doing "floor exercises" or against a wall).
New Way is characterized by more rigid, geometric movement coupled with "clicks" (limb contortions at the joints) and "arms control"—hand and wrist illusions, which usually include tutting and locking. New Way can also be described as a modified form of mime in which imaginary geometric shapes, such as a box, are introduced during motion and moved progressively around the dancer's body to display the dancer's dexterity and memory.
Vogue Femme is fluidity at its most extreme with exaggerated feminine movements influenced by ballet and modern dance. There are six elements of Vogue Femme: hands, duckwalk, catwalk, spins, dips and floor performance. The dip has been popularized by mainstream dance forms and is occasionally called the "5000," the "shablam," or the "shawam." When competing in a vogue battle, contestants must use each element in their routine.
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April 28, 2011
WHERE IS A DIFFERENT WORLD 2O11.....(THIS IS MUCH NEEDED)
A Different World is an American television sitcom which aired for six seasons on NBC (from September 24, 1987 – July 9, 1993). It was a spin-off series from The Cosby Show originally centered on Denise Huxtable (Lisa Bonet) and the life of students at Hillman College, a fictional historically black college in the state of Virginia.[1] After Bonet's departure, the series primarily focused on Southern belle Whitley Gilbert (Jasmine Guy) and mathematics whiz Dwayne Wayne (Kadeem Hardison). The series frequently depicted members of the major historically African American fraternities and sororities (along with the fictional Kappa Lambda Nu fraternity and Alpha Delta Rho sorority).
While it was a spin-off from The Cosby Show, A Different World typically addressed issues that were avoided by the Cosby Show writers (race and class relations, the Equal Rights Amendment). One episode that aired in 1990 was one of the first American network television episodes to address the HIV/AIDS epidemic.
An increase in enrollment at historically Black colleges and universities during the late 1980s and early 1990s has been credited to the success and popularity of A Different World.
While it was a spin-off from The Cosby Show, A Different World typically addressed issues that were avoided by the Cosby Show writers (race and class relations, the Equal Rights Amendment). One episode that aired in 1990 was one of the first American network television episodes to address the HIV/AIDS epidemic.
An increase in enrollment at historically Black colleges and universities during the late 1980s and early 1990s has been credited to the success and popularity of A Different World.
THIS IS WHAT SHE SAID....(SWEAR TO GOD)
Oh lover, don't you dare slow down
Go longer, you can last more rounds
Push harder, you're almost there now
So go lover, make mama proud
And when we're done, I don't wanna feel my legs
Go longer, you can last more rounds
Push harder, you're almost there now
So go lover, make mama proud
And when we're done, I don't wanna feel my legs
WHAT'S NEXT FOR TYLER PERRY....GOOD DEEDS....
The upcoming film, centers around Glen Deeds, an affluent, romantically engaged businessman who falls for a struggling, single mother (Thandie Newton). Tyler Perry, who plays the title role, tells Black Film:
It’s a romantic comedy that I play the lead role in. It’s about a guy that’s torn between the girl he’s going to marry and a new girl that he just meets and he falls in love with. So that’s a little different for me.
The Cast also features Phylicia Rashad and Brian White, however, Tyler Perry’s popular character ‘Madea” will not be making an appearance in this film.
It’s a romantic comedy that I play the lead role in. It’s about a guy that’s torn between the girl he’s going to marry and a new girl that he just meets and he falls in love with. So that’s a little different for me.
The Cast also features Phylicia Rashad and Brian White, however, Tyler Perry’s popular character ‘Madea” will not be making an appearance in this film.
April 27, 2011
INTRODUCING.....SINGLE LADIES....(WILL YOU BE WATCHING?)
It 's about Val, Keisha, and April, three best friends with different philosophies on sex and relationships, The lead characters are:
Val (Stacey Dash) is an ambitious, aspiring fashion mogul who believes in fate, romance and finding
that special someone to be with forever.
Keisha (LisaRaye McCoy) is a former video dancer who believes in making her own luck, her own money and
choosing men with her head instead of her heart.
April (Charity Shea,) has found the "perfect" man for the "ideal" marriage - but is learning that
marriage might not be her happily ever after.
The series introduces Christina (Kassandra Clementi) a free-spirited, wild child intern with an
eye for fashion that Val takes under her wing.
ADVICE OF THE DAY....
Negativity and hate are as contagious as smiling and being happy...be conscious who you decide to surround yourself with.
Growing Ranks of Non-Traditional Couples Face Uncertainty, Expensive Rules
For decades, gay and lesbian couples have known the financial difficulties of living together without the protection of an official marriage. If the government doesn't recognize a relationship, taxes, estate planning, buying property, and dividing assets after a breakup all get messier—and pricier.
The number of unmarried cohabiting couples has surged, meaning millions more Americans, gay and straight, are facing these issues. New laws and court rulings are increasingly recognizing the rights of live-in couples, but so much rapid change is also making the legal and financial status of couples more confusing. The U.S. Census Bureau estimates 7.5 million heterosexual couples and 620,000 same-sex couples lived together in 2010, compared with 6.7 million heterosexual couples and 476,000 same-sex couples in 2009. The total number of cohabiting couples in legally unrecognized relationships rose 14 percent since 2009, a trend Census analysts attributed partly to the weak economy. Disputes between these nontraditional couples are also on the rise. A survey of the 1,600-member American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers found 48 percent of the divorce attorneys have detected more court battles between live-in couples in the past five years.
"One of the greatest benefits of marriage is divorce," says Richard Wilson, an attorney at Grund & Leavitt in Chicago. State laws prescribe how a married couple's assets should be split, usually with protections for the poorer member of the couple. Without such guidelines, untangling a couple's finances can be tricky. Even if people maintain separate bank accounts, couples are increasingly relying on each other's credit, says Margaret Hickey, an attorney at Becker, Hickey & Poster in Milwaukee. For example, she says, one member of a couple with a better credit score might buy a car, but the other partner might be the one driving it and making payments on the loan: Who should keep the car in a breakup?
Erika Karp married her wife, Sari Kessler, on a spring day 12 years ago in New York City's Central Park. Because the marriage isn't recognized by state or federal law, Karp has spent "tens of thousands of dollars" on lawyers and financial advisers who specialize in gay and lesbian couples. Karp, 47, took out life insurance policies to pay estate taxes because as an unrecognized couple her estate wouldn't transfer tax-free to her spouse, which is opposite the case with traditional married couples. She wanted to ensure that the 45-year-old Kessler, a jazz singer, and their three daughters ages 3, 6, and 9 could afford to stay in their Manhattan home if Karp died. "It's extraordinarily expensive," says Karp, head of global sector research at investment bank UBS (UBS). "I am fortunate to have had the wherewithal and resources to do it."
Complicated Planning
Legal and financial planning for unrecognized couples may be more costly than for traditional couples because the issues are so complicated. Adoptions of children and cohabitation agreements, for example, must hold up even when families cross state lines. To hold shared assets like real estate, a couple can set up a trust, which ensures inheritance rights while minimizing income and estate taxes, according to Jane King, president of Fairfield Financial Advisors in Wellesley, Mass. "There is no gay economic advantage that makes up for those extra fees people need to pay to lawyers and planners," says Lee Badgett, who has studied the issue as an economics professor at the University of Massachusetts at Amherst and as research director of the Williams Institute on Sexual Orientation Law and Public Policy in Los Angeles. It's dangerous to leave matters like custody of your children or holding on to your home to nonspecialists, says Howard Forman, an attorney at Turkel, Forman & de la Vega in New York. "It's heart-wrenching when you see people who think they are protected and they're not."
Judges and politicians in a growing number of states are beginning to recognize the rights of gay couples and unmarried straight couples. A law that takes effect June 1 in Illinois grants civil unions to both gay and unmarried straight couples, offering them many of the same rights as marriage. A similar law takes effect in Hawaii at the beginning of 2012, while Delaware's legislature on Apr. 14 approved a civil union bill, which the governor says he will sign, that is restricted to same-sex couples. On Apr. 5, Washington State, which already offers domestic partnerships, recognized same-sex marriages performed outside the state. Other states, including Maryland, Colorado, and New York, are debating civil union or same-sex marriage laws.
Judges in both federal and state court are wrestling with similar issues. The Obama Administration is no longer defending the federal Defense of Marriage Act, under which same-sex couples cannot access more than 1,000 federal marriage benefits, from immigration to taxes, and states can ignore same-sex marriages performed by other states. Among the first cases affected is the lawsuit of an 81-year-old woman who is fighting the payment of $363,000 in estate taxes after the death of her wife. In the past year, judges in New York granted a divorce to a lesbian couple married in Vermont and recognized the inheritance rights of a man who married his husband in Canada.
Anti-Rights Moves
Not every jurisdiction has granted more rights to unofficial couples. In Indiana, the legislature on Mar. 29 took the first step toward a constitutional amendment banning same-sex marriage. Constitutions in 29 states already restrict marriage to one man and one woman, and 18 of those states do so in ways that could also be interpreted as banning civil unions or domestic partnerships, according to a tally by gay rights advocacy group Human Rights Campaign.
Conservative judges are taking a harder line on the rights of unmarried straight couples amid concern over setting precedents that could later be applied to gay couples, says Linda Lea Viken, an attorney in Rapid City, S.D., who is president of the American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers. "It's a changing area of the law," Viken says. "Some places are becoming more hostile to same-sex relationships. Others are becoming more liberal." A civil union or domestic partnership can complicate rather than simplify legal matters. After the Illinois civil union law takes effect, Wilson, the Chicago attorney, says he will "still encourage people to do all the things they always do" to protect themselves, from adopting children to assigning powers of attorney to partners in case of hospitalization. That's because civil union rules generally don't cross state lines. Unlike marriages, civil unions represent "political compromises," Wilson says.
Domestic partnerships and civil unions don't give couples the same breaks on federal taxes traditional couples receive. Without a federally recognized marriage, any asset transferred from one member of a couple to the other, whether after a death, a breakup, or even just adding a partner's name to the title on a home, may be considered a gift by the Internal Revenue Service and can trigger a tax bill, Wilson says. Because the laws affecting her relationship remain in flux, Karp says she worries daily that she might not have done enough to cover every eventuality. "It shouldn't be a privilege for me to be able to protect my family and my home," she says.
The number of unmarried cohabiting couples has surged, meaning millions more Americans, gay and straight, are facing these issues. New laws and court rulings are increasingly recognizing the rights of live-in couples, but so much rapid change is also making the legal and financial status of couples more confusing. The U.S. Census Bureau estimates 7.5 million heterosexual couples and 620,000 same-sex couples lived together in 2010, compared with 6.7 million heterosexual couples and 476,000 same-sex couples in 2009. The total number of cohabiting couples in legally unrecognized relationships rose 14 percent since 2009, a trend Census analysts attributed partly to the weak economy. Disputes between these nontraditional couples are also on the rise. A survey of the 1,600-member American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers found 48 percent of the divorce attorneys have detected more court battles between live-in couples in the past five years.
"One of the greatest benefits of marriage is divorce," says Richard Wilson, an attorney at Grund & Leavitt in Chicago. State laws prescribe how a married couple's assets should be split, usually with protections for the poorer member of the couple. Without such guidelines, untangling a couple's finances can be tricky. Even if people maintain separate bank accounts, couples are increasingly relying on each other's credit, says Margaret Hickey, an attorney at Becker, Hickey & Poster in Milwaukee. For example, she says, one member of a couple with a better credit score might buy a car, but the other partner might be the one driving it and making payments on the loan: Who should keep the car in a breakup?
Erika Karp married her wife, Sari Kessler, on a spring day 12 years ago in New York City's Central Park. Because the marriage isn't recognized by state or federal law, Karp has spent "tens of thousands of dollars" on lawyers and financial advisers who specialize in gay and lesbian couples. Karp, 47, took out life insurance policies to pay estate taxes because as an unrecognized couple her estate wouldn't transfer tax-free to her spouse, which is opposite the case with traditional married couples. She wanted to ensure that the 45-year-old Kessler, a jazz singer, and their three daughters ages 3, 6, and 9 could afford to stay in their Manhattan home if Karp died. "It's extraordinarily expensive," says Karp, head of global sector research at investment bank UBS (UBS). "I am fortunate to have had the wherewithal and resources to do it."
Complicated Planning
Legal and financial planning for unrecognized couples may be more costly than for traditional couples because the issues are so complicated. Adoptions of children and cohabitation agreements, for example, must hold up even when families cross state lines. To hold shared assets like real estate, a couple can set up a trust, which ensures inheritance rights while minimizing income and estate taxes, according to Jane King, president of Fairfield Financial Advisors in Wellesley, Mass. "There is no gay economic advantage that makes up for those extra fees people need to pay to lawyers and planners," says Lee Badgett, who has studied the issue as an economics professor at the University of Massachusetts at Amherst and as research director of the Williams Institute on Sexual Orientation Law and Public Policy in Los Angeles. It's dangerous to leave matters like custody of your children or holding on to your home to nonspecialists, says Howard Forman, an attorney at Turkel, Forman & de la Vega in New York. "It's heart-wrenching when you see people who think they are protected and they're not."
Judges and politicians in a growing number of states are beginning to recognize the rights of gay couples and unmarried straight couples. A law that takes effect June 1 in Illinois grants civil unions to both gay and unmarried straight couples, offering them many of the same rights as marriage. A similar law takes effect in Hawaii at the beginning of 2012, while Delaware's legislature on Apr. 14 approved a civil union bill, which the governor says he will sign, that is restricted to same-sex couples. On Apr. 5, Washington State, which already offers domestic partnerships, recognized same-sex marriages performed outside the state. Other states, including Maryland, Colorado, and New York, are debating civil union or same-sex marriage laws.
Judges in both federal and state court are wrestling with similar issues. The Obama Administration is no longer defending the federal Defense of Marriage Act, under which same-sex couples cannot access more than 1,000 federal marriage benefits, from immigration to taxes, and states can ignore same-sex marriages performed by other states. Among the first cases affected is the lawsuit of an 81-year-old woman who is fighting the payment of $363,000 in estate taxes after the death of her wife. In the past year, judges in New York granted a divorce to a lesbian couple married in Vermont and recognized the inheritance rights of a man who married his husband in Canada.
Anti-Rights Moves
Not every jurisdiction has granted more rights to unofficial couples. In Indiana, the legislature on Mar. 29 took the first step toward a constitutional amendment banning same-sex marriage. Constitutions in 29 states already restrict marriage to one man and one woman, and 18 of those states do so in ways that could also be interpreted as banning civil unions or domestic partnerships, according to a tally by gay rights advocacy group Human Rights Campaign.
Conservative judges are taking a harder line on the rights of unmarried straight couples amid concern over setting precedents that could later be applied to gay couples, says Linda Lea Viken, an attorney in Rapid City, S.D., who is president of the American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers. "It's a changing area of the law," Viken says. "Some places are becoming more hostile to same-sex relationships. Others are becoming more liberal." A civil union or domestic partnership can complicate rather than simplify legal matters. After the Illinois civil union law takes effect, Wilson, the Chicago attorney, says he will "still encourage people to do all the things they always do" to protect themselves, from adopting children to assigning powers of attorney to partners in case of hospitalization. That's because civil union rules generally don't cross state lines. Unlike marriages, civil unions represent "political compromises," Wilson says.
Domestic partnerships and civil unions don't give couples the same breaks on federal taxes traditional couples receive. Without a federally recognized marriage, any asset transferred from one member of a couple to the other, whether after a death, a breakup, or even just adding a partner's name to the title on a home, may be considered a gift by the Internal Revenue Service and can trigger a tax bill, Wilson says. Because the laws affecting her relationship remain in flux, Karp says she worries daily that she might not have done enough to cover every eventuality. "It shouldn't be a privilege for me to be able to protect my family and my home," she says.
April 26, 2011
GET INTO THE LYRICS.....STAY....
Don't talk
Just listen
First of all
I have to be honest with you baby
I lied
When i told you i never wanted to see you again
Can you please stay
Just for tonight
And maybe we can do something
Like make love
Watch the sunrise
Or listen to jojo, k-ci, sing us a verse
Slide closer baby
Ha, that devante baby
Oh you feel so sexy, so good
Sorry i left you
Left you cryin
But since you've been gone
I've been all alone
Cause all of my tears
You know they left me drownin
Please baby i'm beggin
For you to stay at home
[Bridge:]
Tonight
Let's start our love again
Tonight
We can be more than just friends
Don't you know
The sun
Is going down
So baby won't you just stay
Baby won't you just stay
For a little while
[Chorus:]
Baby won't you just stay
For a little while
Baby won't you just stay
Baby won't you just stay
So here we are
Just me and you
We're thinkin of the things
That we used to do babe
Tonight is yours, lady
Yours and mine
Let's try again to put our trust on the line, yeah
Tonight
Let's start our love again
Tonight
We can more than just friends
Don't you know
The sun
Is going down
So baby won't you just stay
For a little while
Baby won't you just stay
Baby won't you just stay
For a little while
Baby won't you just stay
For a little while
Baby won't you just stay
Forget about yesterday
Cause i want you so bad
Make love to me like you never had
My love
Is coming down
So baby won't you just stay
For a little while
Baby won't you just stay
For a little while
Just listen
First of all
I have to be honest with you baby
I lied
When i told you i never wanted to see you again
Can you please stay
Just for tonight
And maybe we can do something
Like make love
Watch the sunrise
Or listen to jojo, k-ci, sing us a verse
Slide closer baby
Ha, that devante baby
Oh you feel so sexy, so good
Sorry i left you
Left you cryin
But since you've been gone
I've been all alone
Cause all of my tears
You know they left me drownin
Please baby i'm beggin
For you to stay at home
[Bridge:]
Tonight
Let's start our love again
Tonight
We can be more than just friends
Don't you know
The sun
Is going down
So baby won't you just stay
Baby won't you just stay
For a little while
[Chorus:]
Baby won't you just stay
For a little while
Baby won't you just stay
Baby won't you just stay
So here we are
Just me and you
We're thinkin of the things
That we used to do babe
Tonight is yours, lady
Yours and mine
Let's try again to put our trust on the line, yeah
Tonight
Let's start our love again
Tonight
We can more than just friends
Don't you know
The sun
Is going down
So baby won't you just stay
For a little while
Baby won't you just stay
Baby won't you just stay
For a little while
Baby won't you just stay
For a little while
Baby won't you just stay
Forget about yesterday
Cause i want you so bad
Make love to me like you never had
My love
Is coming down
So baby won't you just stay
For a little while
Baby won't you just stay
For a little while
April 25, 2011
WORDS OF WISDOM...
If whoever you are dating/married to/booed up with does not have your best regards/interests at heart, you are wasting your time.
Love and like are often fleeting but somebody that genuinely cares about you will always care.
This might be a repost but it's that good!
Love and like are often fleeting but somebody that genuinely cares about you will always care.
This might be a repost but it's that good!
ALL IN A WORD-GHETTO
Recently the word "ghetto" has been used in slang as an adjective rather than a noun. It is used to indicate an object's relation to the inner city or black culture, and also more broadly, and somewhat offensively, to denote something that is shabby or of low quality. While "ghetto" as an adjective can be used derogatorily, the African American community, particularly the hip hop scene, has taken the word for themselves and begun using it in a more positive sense that transcends its derogatory origins.
MUST SEE TV...ONLY ON SHOWTIME.....
"How is this legal?" I asked myself several times watching the premiere of Showtime's Gigolos (tonight, 11/10c). The show portrays five male workers in the slippery field of escorting. To many, the words "escort" and "gigolo" are euphemisms for "prostitute," but Garren James, the owner of the escort company Cowboys 4 Angels that's profiled on this show, draws the line early on to new hire Vin: "We are a companion service and clients pay a rate per hour. First thing you're gonna do is collect the money from the client and then from there, whatever happens between you two is two consenting adults. It's illegal for you to take any money after that for any sort of sexual services or whatever."
So, escorting theoretically is based on a loophole: you can pay for sex just as long as you pretend you're paying for companionship and do the money exchange up front. Gigolos, though, goes on to obliterate the pretense when we see a client jump escort Nick's bones within minutes of meeting. The services requested and rendered are made even further explicit when a married couple arranges for escort Jimmy to have sex with the wife with no trace of the foreplay of euphemism. A softcore scene of what appears to be hardcore sex ensues.
So what gives? How is it legal for Jimmy to walk into a room, get paid, have sex and leave, and why on Earth would he consent to do it on camera? The answer is simple: he wasn't paid. At the end of the show's credits, a typical porn disclaimer stating that everyone having sex on camera is of legal age pops up. Then, in small print at the bottom of the screen is: "No one depicted in this program was remunerated in exchange for engaging in sexual activity." So that's how they did it.
To portray escorting, Showtime had to strip it of an essential element: the exchange of funds. What made it to air is just highly orchestrated sex amongst consensual adults (after all, a pro-bono gigolo is just an attentive dude). Using a loophole to portray the loopholed world of male escorting makes Gigolos a double loophole all the way. Whoa. That's so intense.
That's maybe the most fascinating thing about the Showtime reality series (whose realness is automatically demoted a few notches with the "remunerated" disclaimer). A few more stray observations from the premiere:
- This show represents among the very best and worst portrayals of men's treatment of women. On one hand, the 'los livelihood depends on being as sweet and respectful as possible to the women they encounter. On the other, they speak openly about their process of manipulation. Watching Gigolos, I thought of several alternate titles: Smarmy Lives, CrazySexyDouche and Extreme Douche-Uponing being among my favorites.
- The raciest thing about this show is the commentary on newbie Vin's skin color. In advance of the crew's first meeting with Vin, Nick muses, "If he's really black, he's on ghetto time, so he'll be 20 minutes late." Giggles fly on the racism of this statement. Then, after he sees mixed-race Vin's less-than-mahogany complexion, Nick notes, "Actually, he's more black...ish." Finally, when the guys "allow" Vin to join their women-pleasing crew, Nick explains, "We decided to give Vin a place in our crew 'cause he's black. I'll say it." At least all the racialism didn't lead to discrimination?
- Nick, by the way and per his Twitter, is recording an album. It's never too early to get excited.
- Brace yourself for Brace. He makes Snooki's orange complexion look positively designer imposter.
- The women who hire these men are the most fascinating on the show. We meet a two-toned haired teacher, a wife and a "really rich lady." Given the remunerating disclaimer, they presumably are agreeing to show their faces and admit their escorting habit to the world all for the sake of a free ride. You have to wonder how they'll end up paying for this. Everyone does eventually.
- Gigolos is a candid reality show a la The Real Housewives, and yet a competition breaks out anyway over who'll get to take on the "really rich lady" as a client. Dudes! Everything is a game to them!
- Jimmy: "Well, my parents don't know that I'm a gigolo." Now they do. Oops.
April 22, 2011
RIP BLACK BUTTERFLY....
The body of a 16-year-old honor student from North Carolina -- missing since December -- has been found in a Maryland river, her father and police said Thursday.
Russell Barnes, the girl's father, said that a female body found in the Susquehanna River in northeast Maryland is that of his daughter, Phylicia Barnes. It was recovered about 40 miles from where she was last seen, in the city of Baltimore.
On Thursday night, Maryland State Police Superintendent Terrence Sheridan and Baltimore Police Commissioner Fred Bealefeld confirmed at a press conference that the body is that of the teenager student from Charlotte, North Carolina.
"All of us, since that fateful day, have been praying and hoping for a different outcome," said Bealefeld. "But unfortunately, we are here today."
Phylicia Barnes' body was one of two found Wednesday in the river -- one south and the other north of the Conowingo Dam -- state police said.
Her body was recovered around 10 a.m. that morning, less than three hours after people spotted it and flagged down police, said Sheridan. Authorities spotted another body -- which hasn't been identified but was described by the superintendent as a black male weighing 240 pounds and standing about 6 feet, 4 inches tall -- floating in water about three to four miles away just before 2 p.m.Wednesday. There were no clothes on either body.
"There's no other indication of any connection," Sheridan said of the bodies, besides the fact both were found in the same river, though he didn't rule out a link.
The teenage girl said she was going out to get something to eat and maybe a haircut when she left a residence in Baltimore where she'd been staying with her half-sister, according to that city's police.
Later, authorities said they feared that Barnes had been abducted or otherwise harmed. She had left her debit card where she was staying, and hadn't answered her cell phone since her disappearance, her mother, Janice Sallis, told HLN.
Sallis, who described herself as very "protective" as a mother, said she was "stunned" and "devastated" after learning from one of Phylicia Barnes' siblings "there was a listing of 20 different guys going in and out" of where the teen was staying. The mother claimed that the daughter was also allowed to drink alcohol.
On Thursday, Russell Barnes said that his daughter didn't know anyone besides immediate family in Baltimore.
"She's a well-loved individual, with everyone," Russel Barnes told HLN's "Nancy Grace."
According to police, Phylicia Barnes communicated through text messages with her half-sister about 12:30 p.m. the day she disappeared.
The half-sister's ex-boyfriend was moving out of the apartment and he saw the teenage girl on the couch around 1:30 p.m. But he said when he came back around 5:10 p.m., she was not there there. The door was reportedly unlocked, and music was blasting very loudly in the apartment.
In January, Baltimore police spokesman Anthony J. Guglielmi said the FBI did a profile on the girl and found no reason that she might run away. She was a good student with no major emotional disturbances in her life, he said.
"The fact set of this case is different than anything else we've seen," he said.
Her body was positively identified at the Baltimore city medical examiner's office thanks to a tattoo on "her lower extremity," said Sheridan. He added there was "no indication of any overt wounds or injuries," nor any indication either body found was weighed down.
The superintendent said the bodies may have been dumped much further down the fast-moving river, and said that its cold temperatures may have prevented the bodies from signficantly decomposing for several months.
"The medical examiner has indicated that it's not out of the ream that the body could have been there" since December, said Sheridan. "If you look at that river, look at how fast it's moving, all sorts of things could have happened."
Bealefeld, the top policeman in Baltimore, vowed that authorities will "work as hard now as we've worked all those days since December 28." A city police spokesman earlier said more than 100 Baltimore police officers, Maryland State Police troopers and FBI agents had been working on the case.
"Our goal is simply to bring closure to Phylicia Barnes' family ... and hold those responsible accountable," Bealefeld said.
The girl's father called the discovery of her body a "first step" in providing closure. But he said that the family won't be fully satisfied until justice is done.
"We're still not finished," Russell Barnes said. "We're going to find out what happened with Phylicia ... There are a lot of answers that we need to find out."
April 21, 2011
SEASONS CHANGE.....
Some dreams, are in the night time
And some seem like yesterday
But leaves turn brown and fade
Ships sail away
You long to say a thousand words but
Seasons Change.
It feels, like it's forever
No reason for emptiness
But time just runs away
No more day by day,
You dream and yearn and sees the day when
Seasons Change
I want you
I want to feel you by my side
I need you
Don't you know I need you baby
Seasons change
Feelings change
It's been so long
I've found you yet it seems like yesterday
Seasons change
People change
I'll sacrifice tomorrow just to have you here today
Forever, seems so far away
This time full of ample play
You dream about today
Belief slips away
The wings of love they come away and
Seasons change
I want you
Don't hide your feelings from inside
I need you
Got to have your love now baby
Seasons change
Feelings change
It's been so long
I've found you yet it seems like yesterday
Seasons change
People change
I want you
I want to feel you by my side
I need you
I got to have your love now baby
Seasons change
Feelings change
It's been so long
I've found you yet it seems like yesterday
Seasons change
People change
I'll sacrifice tomorrow just to have you here today
People change, feelings change-
It's been so long
I've found you yet it seems like yesterday
People change- people change
People change- people change
And some seem like yesterday
But leaves turn brown and fade
Ships sail away
You long to say a thousand words but
Seasons Change.
It feels, like it's forever
No reason for emptiness
But time just runs away
No more day by day,
You dream and yearn and sees the day when
Seasons Change
I want you
I want to feel you by my side
I need you
Don't you know I need you baby
Seasons change
Feelings change
It's been so long
I've found you yet it seems like yesterday
Seasons change
People change
I'll sacrifice tomorrow just to have you here today
Forever, seems so far away
This time full of ample play
You dream about today
Belief slips away
The wings of love they come away and
Seasons change
I want you
Don't hide your feelings from inside
I need you
Got to have your love now baby
Seasons change
Feelings change
It's been so long
I've found you yet it seems like yesterday
Seasons change
People change
I want you
I want to feel you by my side
I need you
I got to have your love now baby
Seasons change
Feelings change
It's been so long
I've found you yet it seems like yesterday
Seasons change
People change
I'll sacrifice tomorrow just to have you here today
People change, feelings change-
It's been so long
I've found you yet it seems like yesterday
People change- people change
People change- people change
DEFINITION...MAN'S MAN...
He's the real class act.
He always shaves and wears clothes that fit. He's worldly, educated, and a gentleman.
He thinks that buttoned shirts are not just for special occasions and that newspapers have more than one section. While he is polite, he is not a pushover.
He will swear when he needs to, but will try to control his temper.
He can handle his liquor and keeps himself in shape. Most importantly, he will admit his faults and errors, because that is what real men do.
He doesn't have to be gay or straight, black or white, Republic or Democrat, Athiest or Evangelical; he just does what ever he thinks makes himself a good person that he can be proud of.
For these reasons, women want him and men want to be him.
He always shaves and wears clothes that fit. He's worldly, educated, and a gentleman.
He thinks that buttoned shirts are not just for special occasions and that newspapers have more than one section. While he is polite, he is not a pushover.
He will swear when he needs to, but will try to control his temper.
He can handle his liquor and keeps himself in shape. Most importantly, he will admit his faults and errors, because that is what real men do.
He doesn't have to be gay or straight, black or white, Republic or Democrat, Athiest or Evangelical; he just does what ever he thinks makes himself a good person that he can be proud of.
For these reasons, women want him and men want to be him.
THE IMPORTANT OF A MENTOR IN THE WORKPLACE....
You recently started a new job and are eager to find a mentor. How do you recruit someone for this role?
Patiently. Joe Watson, chief executive of Without Excuses, a diversity consulting firm in Reston, Virginia, said: "Too many workers are waiting for the equivalent of the 'Career Fairy' to come down and appoint them a divine mentor who can look out for their interests. These types of relationships take chemistry, synergy and trust, none of which happen overnight."
Why are mentors important?
It's all about perspective. Mentors can provide institutional knowledge about your employer, your industry and the politics involved in both. Neil Fiore, an executive coach in Berkeley, California, said this knowledge could enable employees to "expand the learning curve" and react to situations from a more informed vantage point.
"Mentors allow you the benefit of their experience to see around corners and anticipate what is coming at you so you can make better decisions," Fiore said.
What qualities should you look for in a mentor?
Find someone whose advice you respect and who is supportive and willing to offer constructive criticism. Barbara Wankoff, national director of workplace solutions at the auditing firm KPMG in New York, said the best mentors were selfless and committed to meeting regularly.
"It all comes down to time and availability," Wankoff said. "You want a mentor who is going to make your needs a priority, no matter what might get in the way."
Vincent Brown, managing partner at Global Lead, a diversity consulting firm based in Cincinnati, said employees should note their career goals before setting out to find a mentor. "You can't be mentored," he said, "if you don't know what areas you want to improve."
Should you seek someone whose life experiences mirror your own?
It is most important to choose someone you can trust and communicate with freely. That need not be someone of the same race, sex or ethnicity, although a common background can be helpful.
That was true for Robert Jeffrey Jr., chief executive of ColorsNW, a publishing company in Seattle.Jeffrey said that early in his career, when he was one of a handful of African-Americans at a local newspaper, an African-American woman who had been at the company for years became his mentor.
"She gave me what I call 'real talk' about the political environment at the company and how to navigate the place as an African-American," Jeffrey recalled. "Even if another mentor was completely sincere, he or she wouldn't have been able to give me that kind of support."
Once you've identified a potential mentor, do you need to formalize the arrangement?
There are a wide range of mentor relationships in the workplace. Depending on your company and your mentor, you may not even need to acknowledge the relationship at all.
Some employers require that you notify them of the arrangement and have both parties sign a standard contract that outlines basic responsibilities for each.
A growing number of companies have taken a third approach, establishing formal mentor programs through their human resources departments. Based on personality tests, these programs pair employees with executives who have volunteered to serve for a certain period.
At Dow Chemical, based in Midland, Michigan, more than 8,000 employees have obtained mentors through such a program. Julie Fasone Holder, corporate vice president for human resources, diversity and inclusion and public affairs, said the effort was intended to make finding mentors less intimidating. She said when the match did not work out, participants were encouraged to try again.
Is it acceptable to have more than one mentor?
It may be preferable. If your primary mentor is busy or out of the office, it is good to have a backup. Rich Wellins, senior vice president of Development Dimensions International, a human resources consulting company in Pittsburgh, said that, since no one was skilled in everything, a network of mentors could increase your chances of getting good counsel.
"Your career is something that should be governed by what amounts to a board of directors," Wellins said.
Patiently. Joe Watson, chief executive of Without Excuses, a diversity consulting firm in Reston, Virginia, said: "Too many workers are waiting for the equivalent of the 'Career Fairy' to come down and appoint them a divine mentor who can look out for their interests. These types of relationships take chemistry, synergy and trust, none of which happen overnight."
Why are mentors important?
It's all about perspective. Mentors can provide institutional knowledge about your employer, your industry and the politics involved in both. Neil Fiore, an executive coach in Berkeley, California, said this knowledge could enable employees to "expand the learning curve" and react to situations from a more informed vantage point.
"Mentors allow you the benefit of their experience to see around corners and anticipate what is coming at you so you can make better decisions," Fiore said.
What qualities should you look for in a mentor?
Find someone whose advice you respect and who is supportive and willing to offer constructive criticism. Barbara Wankoff, national director of workplace solutions at the auditing firm KPMG in New York, said the best mentors were selfless and committed to meeting regularly.
"It all comes down to time and availability," Wankoff said. "You want a mentor who is going to make your needs a priority, no matter what might get in the way."
Vincent Brown, managing partner at Global Lead, a diversity consulting firm based in Cincinnati, said employees should note their career goals before setting out to find a mentor. "You can't be mentored," he said, "if you don't know what areas you want to improve."
Should you seek someone whose life experiences mirror your own?
It is most important to choose someone you can trust and communicate with freely. That need not be someone of the same race, sex or ethnicity, although a common background can be helpful.
That was true for Robert Jeffrey Jr., chief executive of ColorsNW, a publishing company in Seattle.Jeffrey said that early in his career, when he was one of a handful of African-Americans at a local newspaper, an African-American woman who had been at the company for years became his mentor.
"She gave me what I call 'real talk' about the political environment at the company and how to navigate the place as an African-American," Jeffrey recalled. "Even if another mentor was completely sincere, he or she wouldn't have been able to give me that kind of support."
Once you've identified a potential mentor, do you need to formalize the arrangement?
There are a wide range of mentor relationships in the workplace. Depending on your company and your mentor, you may not even need to acknowledge the relationship at all.
Some employers require that you notify them of the arrangement and have both parties sign a standard contract that outlines basic responsibilities for each.
A growing number of companies have taken a third approach, establishing formal mentor programs through their human resources departments. Based on personality tests, these programs pair employees with executives who have volunteered to serve for a certain period.
At Dow Chemical, based in Midland, Michigan, more than 8,000 employees have obtained mentors through such a program. Julie Fasone Holder, corporate vice president for human resources, diversity and inclusion and public affairs, said the effort was intended to make finding mentors less intimidating. She said when the match did not work out, participants were encouraged to try again.
Is it acceptable to have more than one mentor?
It may be preferable. If your primary mentor is busy or out of the office, it is good to have a backup. Rich Wellins, senior vice president of Development Dimensions International, a human resources consulting company in Pittsburgh, said that, since no one was skilled in everything, a network of mentors could increase your chances of getting good counsel.
"Your career is something that should be governed by what amounts to a board of directors," Wellins said.
April 20, 2011
ALL IN A WORD....L-O-V-E
Love is overrated by definition....Love is an emotion of strong affection and personal attachment. In English, the word love can refer to a variety of different feelings, states, and attitudes, ranging from generic pleasure ("I loved that meal") to intense interpersonal attraction ("I love my partner").
T. PERRY QUEENS OUT ON SPIKE LEE.....(FUNNY)
Tyler Perry voiced his frustration with Spike Lee on Tuesday at a Beverly Hills press conference for the West Coast premiere of his new film Madea's Big Happy Family, according to Box Office Magazine.
In a 2009 interview with Black Enterprise's Ed Gordon, Lee alluded to Perry's work on film and television in particular as coonery buffoonery.
"I'm so sick of hearing about damn Spike Lee," Perry said during the press conference. "Spike can go straight to hell! You can print that. I am sick of him talking about me, I am sick of him saying, 'this is a coon, this is a buffoon.' I am sick of him talking about black people going to see movies. This is what he said: 'you vote by what you see,' as if black people don't know what they want to see."
"I am sick of him -- he talked about Whoopi, he talked about Oprah, he talked about me, he talked about Clint Eastwood. Spike needs to shut the hell up!" Perry reportedly said.
Regarding Perry, Lee has said, "Each artist should be allowed to pursue their artistic endeavors. I know it's making a lot of money and breaking records, but we can do better."
Lee went on to say, "I am a huge basketball fan, and when I watch the games on TNT, I see these two ads for these two shows [House of Payne, Meet the Browns], and I am scratching my head. We got a black president, and we going back to Mantan Moreland and Sleep 'n' Eat?"
"A lot of this is on us, you vote with your pocket book, your wallet, you vote with your time, sitting in front of the idiot box. And the man has a huge audience, and he's, Tyler's very smart in what he's done," said Lee.
Lee believes that directors are different.
"We shouldn't think that Tyler Perry is going to make the same film that I am going to make, or that John Singleton or my cousin Malcolm Lee [would make]" said Lee. "As African-Americans, we're not one monolithic group, so there is room for all of that. But at the same time, for me, the imaging is troubling and it harkens back to Amos n' Andy."
At the press conference on Tuesday, Perry discussed housing with the criticism he receives from some people in the black community.
"I've never seen Jewish people attack Seinfeld and say, 'This is a stereotype,'" he said. "I've never seen Italian people attack The Sopranos, I've never seen Jewish people complaining about Mrs. Doubtfire or Dustin Hoffman in Tootsie. I never saw it. It's always black people, and this is something that I cannot undo."
Perry says other black artists faced similar critiques from their African-American peers.
"Booker T. Washington and W.E.B. DuBois went through the exact same thing; Langston Hughes said that Zora Neale Hurston, the woman who wrote Their Eyes Were Watching God, was a new version of the 'darkie' because she spoke in a southern dialect and a Southern tone. And I'm sick of it from us; we don't have to worry about anybody else trying to destroy us and take shots because we do it to ourselves," said Perry.
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