POP Culture at a glance....and not in a glass!!

My favorite TV show 'The Game' returns Tuesday January 11Th-2011. I can never say enough about this show, it's very cleverly written, well cast and it deals with life in a very real way, and sometimes in life there isn't always happy endings, sometimes when the dust settles you must face reality and deal.

Kanye West's new CD is selling out everywhere, but this brutha still needs to deals with his demons. His rantings and tirades are getting a bit old.

Rihanna new CD "Loud" wasn't a box office success, she debut in #3 place. She decided to generate some kind of interest in her product, the topic of her romance with Chris 'Breezy' Brown continues to come up, why because Rihanna brings it up. That situation is almost two years, old.....let's move on.

R.I.P. actor Leslie Nielsen passed away yesterday. He was 84 years old, and passed away from pneumonia.

Welcome/TGIF

Happy BLACK Friday!
In the spirit of giving and tis the season is about being grateful, without wavering in your faith. I may not have much, but what I do have I'm willing to share it with you, my fellowman. There is much to be thankful for, no matter the situation, Inner strength will always trump inner demons. You make it through gracefully enough to see another day.
In my humble state I invite you to share my world, and you're welcome to challenge my wrongs, and of course you’re welcome to feast at my table. I say thank you with reverence, because I have not made it this far on my own. Challenges continue to arise and that will never change. When your work is done, the victory is for someone else who were not as fortunate as you or I. As our light continues to shine, see it for what it truly is, which is a blessing afforded to you, accept it with grace.

What Are You Doing With Your Life?

Command Performance

When love is neglected, someone on the outside shows up,and does it better than you, this song is the attempt to get love back. Kelly Price bust out on the scene and she had something to say, and she said it. I love this performance of her hit single "You Shouldve Told Me". Let this be a listen to all of you, treat your relationships right, and that way, no one will get 'it' in but YOU. Enjoy!!

POP Culture at a glance....and not in a glass!!

Black Hollywood Starlets....holding the reigns. ainger Keri Hilson and newly single actress/singer Christina Millian and holding it down for the ladies is actor/rapper Romeo getting it in Hollywood.

Barbara Walters announced this morning that she will interview President Barack Obama and the First Lady for a prime time special to air the day after Thanksgiving on ABC.

Rihanna performs on MTV’s "The Seven" in Times Square (Nov. 15, 2010) *Rihanna caused the complete shut down of New York’s Times Square Monday evening while rocking her No. 1 single "What’s My Name."The performance, for MTV’s "The Seven," marks the release of her fifth studio album "Loud,"
She told the crowd: "Thank you, New York! It’s amazing! It’s a lot of people. I’m really excited. I’m looking forward to sharing it with the world. I want everybody to get ‘Loud’ The singer also talked to "The Seven" hosts about working with Drake on the album. "[It was] really good," she said of her pal. "We know each other. We’re good friends. It’s easy for us to work together."

Jenifer Grey won the DWTS championship. Hopefully next year they producers will step their game up and actually cast stars who have no dancing abilities, it's unfair to the rest of the competition.

Grandma Moses Susan Boyle continues her reign at the top of the Billboard Top 200 with her Christmas CD 'The Gift', Rihanna debuts @ #3 with her 'Loud' CD and Nelly Debut @ #10 with his "5.0" CD.

He's BACKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKK Kanye’s Latest to Debut #1 in next weeks Billboard Magazine, Nicki Minaj #2, as Black Friday Looms
Kanye West’s Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy just got a lot brighter.
The Roc-A-Fella/IDJ renaissance hip-hop icon and awards show provocateur lives up to his own lofty ambitions with a chart-topping debut for his latest rap opus, on target for between 525-575k, surpassing all pre-release forecasts. That tops the total registered by 808s and Heartbreak, which bowed on almost the same week last year with 450k.

Those figures are based on those intrepid music retailers not being full body-scanned at our nation’s airports by the frisky TSA.
Cash Money/Universal Motown’s red-hot Nicki Minaj also bested pre-release predictions, with a total in the 375-425k range for her hotly anticipated debut, Pink Friday, though the upcoming Black Friday could render these estimates a little less accurate than usual.

Michael L. Brea, an aspiring actor who had a small part in the former hit ABC series 'Ugly Betty,' has been arrested after he allegedly stabbed his mother with a three-foot sword after a fight early Tuesday in their apartment in Prospect Heights, Brooklyn, according to online media outlets.
The 31-year-old actor is alleged to have killed his mother while screaming Bible passages, reports the Associated Press, citing police officials.
Son kills mother with sword Officers, responding to a call of a family rampage loud enough to be heard by alarmed neighbors, found the victim, identified as 55-year-old Yannick Brea, dead in her Prospect Heights home that she shared with her son and his twin brother, Marcel, who was not home during the attack.
When cops got inside the home, they found Brea kneeling with fatal lacerations to her head in a blood-spattered bathroom, the police said.
Brea had cuts to her head and was pronounced dead at the scene, Police Commissioner Raymond Kelly told the AP.


“Neighbors on the first and third floors of the Brooklyn apartment told reporters they could hear screams outside and inside the building at about 1:30 a.m. They also claim cops refused to enter her apartment for about an hour despite their pleas.
”Arrested
Officers then arrested Michael in a nearby bedroom on charges of murder and criminal possession of a weapon. They found him with a 3-foot sword believed to be the weapon used to kill Brea, Kelly said.

"In a bedroom was her son ... with a 3-foot sword," Kelly said. Michael was taken to Kings County Hospital for a psychiatric exam.

Cops not acted promptly
Neighbors on the first and third floors of the Brooklyn apartment told reporters they could hear screams at about 1:30 a.m.

They also claim cops refused to enter her apartment for about an hour despite their pleas.

"I could hear her groaning inside ... She was still alive, but they wouldn't go in," Clinton Clare, 52, who lived in the apartment below the Brea family, told the Daily News of New York.

"I heard this wild screaming," Gregory Clare, 25, who’s father owns the building. He said he heard screams of "'Repent, repent, sinner, sinner,' over and over again," and "'You never accepted Jesus.'"
Neighbors estimated police waited an hour before bursting into the apartment

"I heard a 'Help me!' shriek," said Vernal Bent, 18, who also lived in the apartment above. "Police kept knocking on the door. Knocking and knocking ... All of us kept saying, 'Open the door.'"

"They just kept saying protocol this and protocol that," Clare added. "Now a woman's dead who should be alive if only the police would have listened."

But NYPD Commissioner Raymond Kelly said that the patrol cops handled the situation properly.

"It was a barricaded situation," Kelly said. "When there is a barricade situation the responding patrol officers if possible wait for Emergency Service officers. They're trained psychological technicians; they have additional equipment that enable them to better protect themselves because you don't know the type of weapon... They take prudent precautions I believe that was prudent at that time."

About Michael and his past
Michael has no prior arrests, and no previous domestic violence incidents had been reported at the home, police said.

In addition to the now-canceled ABC sitcom 'Ugly Betty,' the Haitian-American actor appeared as a dancer in 'Step Up 3D,' a film that was released in August, and starred in a campaign for the energy drink Full Throttle.
According to The Wall Street Journal, Michael’s profile on a Haitian entertainment website says that he opened a Subway sandwich shop on Broadway in Brooklyn in 2007. He also wrote there that he gave away free turkey sandwiches in 2008 on Thanksgiving.
"I remember growing up and my mother was always feeding people who were less fortunate," WSJ quoted him as writing. "My parents raised me to always share and to give charity in the name of God!"

HAPPY THANKSGIVING EVERYONE!!!!! WISHING YOU THE BEST HARVEST SEASON WITH YOUR FAMILY AND FRIENDS!!!

POP Culture at a glance....and not in a glass!!

Could this rocket scientist be our NEXT president? Hmmm I'm just posing the question. She seems to have a lot of stuff to say, but not always about anything of importance. Because of her, I now know where Russia is NOT located.

Some marriages in Hollywood are working....like Samuel L. Jackson and his wifey LaTanya Richardson(30 Years), Harrison Ford and Calista Flockhart, Jay - Z and Beyonce' Knowles, Denzel Washington and Pauletta,Ginuwine and Sole', Demi Moore and Ashton Kutcher, Kenny Lattimore and Chante Moore, Sallie Richardson and Dondre Whitfield, Morris Chestnut and Pam Byse ,Barbara Streisand and James Brolin, Ben Affleck and Jennifer Garner, Matt Damien and Luciana Barroso. Marriage is tough work so you must give credit where it's due. Congrats guys.

According to Billboard Magazine here's a list of their Top 10 Artist of the last 25 years: Drum roll please....

1. R. Kelly
2. Mary J. Blige
3. Whitney Houston
4. Mariah Carey
5. Janet Jackson
6. Usher
7. Luther Vandross
8. Jay-Z
9. Freddie Jackson
10. Alicia Keys

ICON Cher, and singer Christina Aguilera's movie Burlesque opens this Friday. I can't gage this movie just quite yet, but for some reason, it doesn't peak my interest. I love Cher, and it's always good to see her doing her thing. I saw Christina at the AMA's and she seemed big for her, and when I saw the show on television later, she looked HUGE, but that's TV for you, always adding the extra pounds.

How adorable is Katy Perry, such a great personality, she sings LIVE, she's quickly becoming one of my favorite celeb beauties, right behind Halle Berry, Ciara, Beverly Johnson and Keri Hilson.

Chris 'Breezy' Brown gets glowing remarks from Judge Patricia Schnegg she told the 21-year-old, "Of all the probationers I have had, no one has done a better job, or been more consistent than you. You are working diligently"

PAUL MCCARTNEY TO PERFORM AT APOLLO THEATER
*For the first time in his legendary career, Paul McCartney is scheduled to perform at New York’s world famous Apollo Theater.
The 68-year-old former Beatle is scheduled to rock the Harlem venue on Dec. 13 as part of Sirius XM’s celebration of reaching 20 million subscribers, the company announced today.

POP Culture at a glance....and not in a glass!!

Beyonce' special airs Thursday Thanksgiving night. The show takes you behind the scenes and it also shows you some of her in concert.

The American Awards aired last night, the show was okay, mostly lip sync performances, thankfully people like Neyo, Katy Perry,Christina Aguilera, Bon Jovi, Taylor and Justin Bieber they actually kicked it old school AND performed LIVE!!! Big winners were Justin Bieber, Taylor Swift, Usher and Rihanna. The highlight performance was easily Neyo!

Can 'real' love work in Hollywood, earlier this year it was the fall out of Courtney Cox and David Arquette, now we're witnessing Eva Longoria and Tony Parker's divorce, and you just know that it's about to get UGLY!!!

Harry Potter cleaned up @ the box office this weekend raking in over 125 million dollars.

Dancing With The Stars....hard to believe that joke of a television show will air it's finale tonight. All I know that if Bristol Palin wins, then her mother is a shoe in as our next president of the country, hopefully that thought alone scares you enough to go out and VOTE!!!

Charlie Sheen's hotel bimbo appeared this morning on Good Morning American, truly to enjoy her 15 minutes of shame. It's clearly obvious that Sheen has his demons.

In record stores today are the highly anticipated releases from Nicki Minaj"Pink Friday", Neyo"Libra Scale" and Kanye West"My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy".

Could it be that the Black Eyed Peas are running out or creative ideas....their new single "I Had The Time Of My Life" is a remake, and I didn't care for it the first go round, and this time is no different. Let's hope that their CD has other worthy selections.

Fleeting Moments/TGIF

Happy Friday,
Weighing in, a smoker, quit smoking for years, gets dealt a hand of lung cancer, you win that battle, a routine doctors appointment forces you into another surgery that must happen today, but I'm not ready, who will watch my house, what about my job, my children, this can't be happening to me, I paid attention to all the warning signs, it's not fair, it's NOT FAIR, but this is the damn reality, and I know that it's not by design, here again at this impasse, why?

Making mistakes we must take ownership, the curve was a setback, not a defining moment. Learn from that incident, and walk away with your integrity in tact, others can't cultivate you into the image to fit their need, you are your own motivation, the life lesson is actually teaching and setting examples. This week, I paid a costly mistake, which cost me a potential job, if you don't address matters , they can haunt you, but honesty is the best way to address matters, today I know this fact to be true, twenty five years ago, I would've tucked my head in shame. Isn't wisdom and growth amazing?

Honoring Thanksgiving, both situations that I just covered, owes their strength to God, a isolated incident, we get through them never on our own, the beauty of life, it gives us a certain resilience that challenges the most difficult of situations, forcing us to reach deep into our souls pushing us to produce, taking ancillary things and looking at the important matters that hit closest to home, insisting that we address the problem NOW. Its harvest time once again, we must extend and lend our hands to those in need. Happy Thanksgiving everyone.

What Are You Doing With Your Life?

Command Performance

Eric Benet just can't seem to get over his ex-wifey Halle Berry. Enjoy this recent performance of him singing 'Sometimes I Cry'. Mistakes happen right, and redemption is the truest apology. Enjoy.

Something Fishy ........

Hollywood publicist Ronni Chasen was murdered in the early hours of Tuesday in Beverly Hills, RadarOnline.com reports. Chasen, 64, was shot five times in the chest while driving her Mercedes-Benz and crashed into a pole. She was pronounced dead at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center.

The LA Times verified the information with the LA County coroner's office, adding that police are searching for the shooter.

Fellow publicist Howard Bragman called the killing "bizarre," telling the Associated Press, "She wasn't a shady character." He also remembered her fondly to the Times, "She had been doing this forever. She had a lot of class, a lot of style and a lot of intelligence. She was just very, very well-respected."

According to Deadline, Chasen attended the LA premiere of 'Burlesque' on the night of her death. She was working on getting Oscar bids for 'Alice in Wonderland 3D' and for Michael Douglas in 'Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps.'

"We were all together last night, and Ronni was having the best time doing what she enjoyed most," producer Donald De Line told Deadline on Tuesday. "I am in shock; that this could happen is incomprehensible. Only a few hours ago we were celebrating. I'm glad she was happy last night and that she was in all her glory."

Chasen represented 'Inception' composer Hans Zimmer, producers Dick Zanuck and Irwin Winkler, and actress Natalie Wood, who died in 1981. She worked on Oscar campaigns for films like 'The Curious Case of Benjamin Button,' 'Doubt,' 'The Wrestler,' 'There Will Be Blood,' 'Babel,' 'Crazy Heart' and 'Walk The Line.' Chasen became MGM's senior vice president of worldwide publicity in 1993.

The LA Times reported Wednesday that detectives have several leads but remain uncertain of the motive for the crime. Beverly Hills police are currently seeking security videos of the shooting and subsequent crash. Sgt. Lincoln Hishino told the Times there would be a "thorough investigation."

Police told The Hollywood Reporter on Tuesday:
"On Nov. 16th 2010 at approximately 12:28AM Beverly Hills police officers received info regarding shots that were heard in the area of Sunset and Whittier, shortly after a collision was reported in the same area. Units arrived and discovered a newer black Mercedes Benz E-350 involved in a solo crash to the light pole. The lone female occupant was located in the vehicle with apparent multiple gunshot wounds to her chest. Beverly Hills paramedics transported the victim to a local hospital where she was later pronounced deceased. The investigation is in the preliminary stages and no further information is available at this time. At this time there is no suspect, info or motive for this crime."

Publicist Jim Dobson told the Times he spoke with Chasen at a party after midnight, little more than an hour before her death. "She was happy-go-lucky and gossipy and fun, just like she always was," Dobson said. "We talked about food and life, just normal things. There wasn't any sign of stress."

Morgan Freeman said in a statement: "I had the extreme pleasure of working with Ronni on 'Driving Miss Daisy.' We've been friends ever since. She is someone I greatly admired, and she will be remembered."

Chasen was an active community member who spent time with Women in Film and Big Sisters of Los Angeles.

DWTS SUCKS..Blatant favoritism, only in America!

Bristol Palen has a baby out of wedlock it's ACCEPTED! Her mother can see Russia from her window, it's applauded, she then screws up Websters and invents a word Refudiate(the correct word with meaning is REPUDIATE) and it's gets notoriety as word of the year....c'mon REALLY America. Fast forward to last night's judging of DWTS, clearly Brandy was the front runner along with Jennifer Grey, somehow America pit Brandy against Briston Palen in the bottom two, everyone in the world knows except the DWTS audience that Bristol Palen should not have made it this far. Clearly again DWTS shows that it rarely gets it right. UGH

TV Gets It Right with The Game....

The GAME returns....The BET network is doing something that the whack racist CW network did not do. The Game is very cleverly written and it tackles relationships,career, love and friendship. As life doesn't always deal you the best of hands, and happy endings are something that are better saved for fairly tales. If you want to laugh, cry and rejoice, tune in Tuesday nights on BET starting January 11Th to see what Derwin, Melanie, Tasha Mack, Malek, Jason and Kelly Pitts are up to now. I can promise you that they will keep you on the edge of your seat!!!!!!!!

Tender Mercies/TGIF

Happy Friday everyone,
We cling and grasp, as we inquire not always knowing if the answer will ever reveal itself, but we continue on, and that's about taking a leap of faith, Tender mercies are something that we've all faced in our lives or witnessed through another eyes. It's a scary place to be, and it's hard to address our fears, emotions are what make us human, and the bond that connects us to one another, is most essential.

I watched the Oprah Winfrey show a few weeks ago, and I could not move, the episode was so compelling, especially when you think that you're the only person in the world who has dealt with molestation, I never think you quite figure out the makings of a monster, once you've battle the guilt, you must champion on to tell your story, addressing doesn't always free you, and the innocence that you once had was stolen from you, owning your truth strengthens you against the enemy, and it allows you to provide a softer landing to someone who can't speak. I still have awkward moments, and truthfully, it's something that I've locked away or so I thought. When you love someone your focus is on their every move, and if you're in tuned, you can see it, now the bigger question, is do you really want to see it? Harsh realities reveal that Daddy, Mother, Uncle, Aunts, people of the cloth, next door neighbors are not always as innocent as they seem, but society hides their secret and paint them ‘normal’ and ‘worthy’. If your child is distant and removed, your job is to investigate. Not addressing it makes you a monster too.

It's your responsibility to know who you let into your child's life it is your duty, no matter who it is. If your child tells you something, LISTEN to them, females wake up, stop selling yourself short, with the dreams that he loves you, but just can't seem to find a way to be present and constructive, men who were molested it doesn't make you a punk, nor weak, keeping the secret makes you weak.. Children are vulnerable and at your mercy, if you don't want them, be the mature person and take the proper steps to ensure that a pregnancy does not occur. Feeling ashamed only keeps you angry, caged and bitter. Always know that the part you played was very small, even for the person who may have enjoyed it, when traumatic experiences happened, mentally your mind has checked out a long time ago. Even so it's still not your blame. Know who you let into your life and it's especially important who you introduce your children too. Remember children are tender, because they are at your mercy.

What Are You Doing With Your Life?

Command Performance

Tom Jones is a soul brother, and don't you ever doubt it. Staying to true to his core, and never wavering, he's timely and on point. Also he's knows something about the sista's he had a very steamy affair with Mary Wilson of the Supremes back in the day.

Short and Sweet/TGIF

Happy Friday...remember we fall back on Sunday!

As we rise, we fall, giving it your all is understanding that dreams go awry and can be life altering. Going it alone comes with a price, with that list comes struggle, angst dedication and hard work.

We live for the impact, life is about impression, to dream is the ability to accomplish, to hope speaks to the believability factor. The day gives you 24 but 32 would give you more time to fulfill the things that we put off and file into that 'tomorrow' bin. For those who are on board today reading this, we made it to see another day, for some Thursday was their final curtain call.

What Are You Doing With Your Life?