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

The Screen Actors Guide awards happened last night in Los Angeles and the stars came out in droves. The SAG awards pretty much tells you who will win the Academy Award, well 9 out of 10 times they are on the money, so we'll see how it plays out this year. Looks like Natalie Portman's performance in "The Black Swan" is a shoe in for the Best Actress category. As of Friday the divorce was official for Eva Longoria who stepped out for the first time as a newly single woman and she was looking like a million bucks, basically saying to her ex hubby Tony Parker, miss me yet?

The Boston Celtics put a whupping on the Los Angeles Lakers yesterday and sent poor Kobe Bryant home crying. Better luck next time guys, maybe the Lakers will get their revenge on their next meeting with the Celtics which will happen February 11Th-2011.

The Australian Open has two new champions this year, on the women side Kim Clijster took home the trophy it's her fourth grand slam win, and on they men side was my boy Novak Djokovic took home the trophy, it's his second grand slam win, congratulations guys you truly earned your strips.

On Friday,singer Chris Brown asked a judge to get the restraining order against him lifted.
Brown wants the order to change from "stay away" to "do not annoy" This would remove the part of the restraining order that requires him to stay 50 yards away from Rihanna. I personally think that Breezy needs to have a restraining order put on Rihanna, she's the truly crazy one, but I digress:)

David Arquette has completed treatment and checked out of rehab.
The actor checked himself into rehab over the New Year's weekend for alcohol and other issues.
Correct me if I'm wrong, but if you've had a drug problem for most of your life, can you realistically rid the problem at a six week stint at a rehab facility?

Charlie Sheen will be in rehab for the next three months(see this one sounds more realistic), derailing the next eight episodes of "Two and a Half Men" ... and possibly leaving the show's crew SOL. I'm glad that Charlie is finally addressing his demons.

It was a very slow weekend at the Box Office...Sir Anthony Hopkins' The Rite, which opened at number one, but below expectations with $15 million.

Hollywood continues to run out of fresh new ideas, so they recycle the old ones...The Tudors star Henry Cavill has landed the coveted Superman role in the upcoming Warner Bros. reboot.

Britney Spears was the maid of honor at her assistant's wedding yesterday at The Spanish Monastery in Miami, FL. I wonder what the first dance song was? Hmm probably Britney's "Hold It Against Me".

Recycle/TGIF

Hello and Happy Friday,
Ever notice people who constantly complain about their lives and how unhappy that they are? If you continue the same patterns in your life, you will have the same results, and ultimately you have no one to blame but self, although those types of people, it doesn't go quite that easily,because blame has to be placed on someone, and maturity for that type of person is never where it should be.

A person can only do what you allow them to do to you, if you have no guidelines, and then they are no lines that can't be crossed. You owe it to yourself to stand and be present in your pursuit to a well lived life, it's your right to say that I can do better, or that I'm not going to accept this spin, fluff and recycle mode in my life.

Strength is not an easy place to get to, but with much practice and observation, you can arrive at a lovely destination, and that place of satisfaction may not have a lot of your immediate circle traveling with you, and that's basically called cleaning house, as you get closer to the page that you're suppose to be on, few can arrive with you, as growth happens differently for everyone, and then there's the one who just refuses to grow, and that person isn't worth the recycling, so you move in the path that was chosen for you.

What Are You Doing With Your Life?

Command Performance

Let me present and introduce to others the one and only Mr. Dave Brubeck. This one is for my parents and my uncle Alvin, I owe my entire music repitoire taste to them. I would come home from kindergarten and my folks would always play the Dave Brubeck and "Take Five" was their favorite. Whenever I hear this song, and no matter where I am, I become that four year old again. The world was a much easier place to be and exist in then, aww the good old days...thanks Mom and Dad!

Circa 1956

Cyd Charisse was an incredible dancer and very easy on the eyes, she graced many stages in hollywood, either acting or dancing. She truly paved the way for Jody Watley, Madonna, Janet Jackson, Debbie Allen, Paula Abdul, Beyonce, Ciara and countless others dancers in Hollywood!

Cyd Charisse (March 8, 1922 – June 17, 2008) was an American actress and dancer.
After recovering from polio as a child, and studying ballet, Charisse entered films in the 1940s. Her roles usually focussed on her abilities as a dancer, and she was paired with Fred Astaire and Gene Kelly; her films include Singin' in the Rain (1952), The Band Wagon (1953) and Silk Stockings (1957). She stopped dancing in films in the late 1950s, but continued acting in film and television, and in 1992 made her Broadway debut.

In her later years, she discussed the history of the Hollywood musical in documentaries, and participated in That's Entertainment! III in 1994. She was awarded the National Medal of the Arts and Humanities in 2006.

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

Big mouth talk show hostess Wendy Williams is set to host "Love Triangle" on the GSN. I for one can pass on seeing Williams give us her opinions on what does and doesn't work in marriage, after all her husband Kevin Hunter is pimping her, if he gets her a job, then he doesn't have to work.

Britney Spears single "Hold It Against Me" debut @ #1, as her fans attest to her stature in music.

Soul singer Eric Benet is engaged to Prince ex-wifey Manuela Testolini.

Actor and Hip Hop star Drake is in talks to star in a new movie - a thriller called Arbitrage. The cast of the indie flick already includes Susan Sarandon and Eva Green, but there is no word on who Drake would actually play. The story centers around a "hedge fund magnate who is in over his head and desperate to complete the sale of his shady trading empire to a major bank before his fraud is revealed."

Despite passing on the David E. Kelley pilot last week,
NBC made the decision to pick up the show now that Comcast is taking over the network.
The network passed on the script due to costly licensing fees as well as having bad luck with superhero projects in the past (ahem, Bionic Woman).
However, now that Robert Greenblatt has taken over, the show just may have a chance after all. I'm hoping that Lynda Carter will be a part of this show.

R.I.P.fitness legend Jack LaLanne died of respiratory failure due to pneumonia Sunday afternoon at his home in California. He was 96.

Green Bay Packers and Pittsburgh Steelers are headed to the Superbowl, wonder who should I place my money on, takers anyone?

Reverence/TGIF

Happy Friday,
A sense of purpose a reason to be, things that inspire us are all things that we hold a certain reverence for, and in life all things are done in a certain order, and history books are bound to repeat, because all that we're experiencing, those that came before us had that same experience, but with completion because their chapter had an ending. As we come to acknowledge God's presence in our life we become centered and have proper foundation..

Leaning on others is a part of the journey, and knowing when it's your turn to let someone lean on you. The all about 'me' person is never one who will understand their purpose and their worth. To think outside the box means that you're open to a different resolve, some will criticize and the very one who wants to critique is the one whose life is on 'idle'.

Yesterdays is the past and cannot be recalled and those who have transitioned imprinted a staple on our hearts, which obviously left a lasting impression, and that's due to reverence, it's doesn't seem like the 'new breed' of today fully understand their history, but without the struggles and conquest, their world, our world would be a different reality than what we know it to be. We are vessels to serve, protect, teach and honor, remember to whom much is given, much is required.

Command Performance

Charlie Wilson is one of the most underrated singers to ever live. He stayed with his brothers in the The Gap Band for years, but couldve easily gone solo and because a superstar. Here's a great performance of their classic "OUTSTANDING" which speaks to his great vocals and delivery.

Coachella is going down April 15-17...

This years Coachella Valley Music & Arts Festival will take place April 15- 17 at the Empire Polo Club in Indio, California. In addition to Arcade Fire, Kings of Leon and Kanye West who will headline here is the very very long list of other performers......12th Planet, Afrojack, Alf Alpha, Andy C, Angus and Julia Stone, Animal Collective, Arcade Fire, Ariel Pink’s Haunted Graffiti, A-Trak, Axwell, Beardyman, Best Coast, Big Audio Dynamite, Black Joe Lewis & the Honeybears, Bloody Beetroots Death Crew 77, Bomba Estereo, Boys Noize, Brandon Flowers, Brandt Brauer Frick, Breakage, Bright Eyes, Broken Social Scene, Cage the Elephant, Caifanes, Caspa, Cee Lo Green, Chromeo, Chuckie, City and Colour, Clare Maguire, Cold Cave, Cold War Kids, Crystal Castles, CSS, Cults, Cut Copy, Daedelus, Death From Above 1979, Delorean, Delta Sprirt, DJ Hype, DJ Kentaro, DJ Marky, DJ Zinc, Duck Sauce, Duran Duran, EE, Elbow, Electric Touch, Eliza Doolittle, Ellie Goulding, Emicida, Empire of the Sun, Erick Morillo, Erykah Badu, Excision, , Fat Freddy’s Drop, Fedde Le Grand, Fistful of Mercy, Flogging Molly, Foals, Foster the People, Francis and the Lights, Freelance Whales, fun., G.Q., Gayngs, Glasser, Gogol Bordello, Good Old War, Gord Downie, Goth Trad, Green Velvet, Gypsy and the Cat.....other acts to be announced.

If you haven't attended before, I encourage to treat yourself to a weekend to remember.

Happy Martin Luther King Day....

Because of this great man we are 'still' allowed to dream. Here's a story on how the movedment came about, and Julian Bond is still here to ensure that Dr. Martin Luther King's passing was NOT in vain.

..Oct 28, 2004 | Julian Bond, chairman of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, has devoted his life to civil rights and voting rights issues. After a group of black college students refused to leave a whites-only lunch counter at a Woolworth's store in Greensboro, N.C., in 1960, Bond -- then a student at Atlanta's Morehouse College -- helped form the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee. Famous for its "Freedom Rides" challenging segregation, SNCC also worked to register black voters in rural areas of the deep South in the early 1960s, with Bond serving as the organization's communications director.

Elected to the Georgia House of Representatives in 1965, the 25-year-old Bond was denied his seat by legislators angry about his opposition to the Vietnam War; he was seated after three elections and a unanimous decision of the Supreme Court. Chairman of the NAACP since 1998, Bond is now a distinguished professor at American University in Washington and a professor of history at the University of Virginia. He narrated the prize-winning documentaries "A Time for Justice" and "Eyes on the Prize."

Salon spoke to Bond on Wednesday by telephone about Republican attempts to suppress the black vote in next Tuesday's election, including the placing of 3,600 election "challengers" at the polls in Ohio. The Republican secretary of state in Ohio, a crucial swing state with 20 electoral votes, asserts the challengers are needed to prevent voting fraud. But Bond countered that if fraud is really the issue, why are the GOP challengers focusing on cities like Cleveland, which have large Democratic-leaning African-American and Hispanic populations?

Nearly 40 years after passage of the Voting Rights Act, dirty tricks and intimidation tactics against black voters are alive and well, Bond said. In Louisiana in 2002, he said, fliers were passed out in African-American neighborhoods advertising the wrong date for a U.S. Senate runoff election. In the 2003 mayoral election in Philadelphia, he added, men wielding clipboards and official-looking law enforcement insignia paroled African-American neighborhoods asking voters for identification.

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

Saturday night BET Honors hosted by Gabrielle Union featured tons of celebrities looking great on the red carpet. The 4th annual gala event, held Saturday night at Washigton, DC's Warner Theatre, honored legends in the fields of music, theatre, media, service and education.
The six honorees are Jamie Foxx (Entertainment), composer Herbie Hancock (Musical Arts), actress Cicely Tyson (Theatrical Arts), publishing exec Linda Johnson Rice (Media), supermodel Iman (Service), and historian Lonnie G. Bunch (Education).
Celebrity guests included Trey Songz, Keshia Cole, Boris Kodjoe and Nicole Ari Parker among others. All looked amazing. The 4th Annual BET Honors will air on February 21 .

Pop Princess Britney Spears is back and hotter than ever her new single "Hold It Against Me" is blowing up all over radio waves and iTunes. Wonder if Gaga is shacking in her boots.

The Australian Open started yesterday, and Venus Williams is going for the title for the women and fellow american Andy Roddick is representing for the men. Good luck guys.

Academy Award winner Halle Berry is set to play the Queen of Soul Aretha Franklin in her biopic. The financing is finally in place and should begin filming within the next two years. Halle will play the adult version of Franklin.


Rapper bad boy Kanye West is spreadings his wings...Kanye has signed on to do some acting, in a flick about a GAY jazz band in 1939. He plays a gay band member, and there is EXPLICIT gay sex in this movie.
It is being funded by ALL of his buddies, Will smith, Jay Z and even Momma O' has put some money into this movie. its a 20 million dollar film.
The script won 9 awards, so i think it's good. The Oscars Academy has this thing called the nicholl, a competition for screenplays, and the script for the movie won there twice, so I guess that means it will be one of those oscar films. It isn't the typical hood movie rappers do.

Andre' 3000 makes a cameo appearance on Ke$ha's new song "Sleazy". Welmcome back Mr. 3000, we've missed you.

Hit sitcom The Game airs tomorrow night on BET, check your local listings, this show is on the money.

If you're in the Los Angeles area...this Saturday(Janary 22) will be a celebration of the life of the Late Ivory Queen of Soul Teena Marie at Oakwood Park in Venice, Ca. The celebration is from 11-4pm.

Ms. Jackson if you're nasty sold out her April 14Th Los Angeles show at the Gibson Theatre in 10 minutes, the promoters had to add another day April 15th to meet the demand. I can't wait to see Jackson do her thing.

Teena Marie A Celebration of Life...

I hope to see you there, if you were/are a fan of Teena Marie our Ivory Queen of Soul, then this will be the celebration for you.

Before Wendy Williams sold out....

When Wendy Williams was letting it all hang out, before she started lying about what "How You Doin" really means. I miss the old 'messy' days of Wendy Williams, most people 'still' believe that she's a man.....hey I'm Just Sayin...:)

Mystery/TGIF

Happy Friday everyone,
It's such a lovely thing to be a part of the world living, striving and just privileged enough to see another day. Take a moment and bask in the idea of what the new year brings, with the new desires of your heart, the future still holds a certain mystery, and the day that your number comes up is the biggest mystery yet. While you're here maximize the 'now' and what that entails. When you take for granted of what's been afforded to you, I think that pattern of thought is an opening to the devils playground.

One thing I learned a long time ago, was that friendships can be mysteries too, sometimes you go your entire life believing your true blue was just that, but how life goes, a mystery could unfold, and it's revealed that your true blue, wasn't so true after all. We decides on whom our friends will be, unlike that of your family, we should not take others for granted and we can't become complacent in our application to dear old friends, to make room for the new. There's something to be said for longevity.

I may not always agree with you, and vice versa, but the art of communication is that of a good listener, and we should all be open and mature to take heed from anyone who is teaching us something, life evolves for the well read person, a close mouth is someone with nothing to say or something who misses out because they didn't know how to stand up and be heard, which one are you? Don't let that be the mystery, because that's only interesting for so long.

What Are You Doing With Your Life?

New Edition is one of the baddest groups, especially of my childhood, and they really never get the credit that the deserve, but it never stopped them from doing their thing. They paved the way for NSync, Backstreet Boys, B2K, New Kids On The Block. New Edition is the real thing. Enjoy

As we say goodbye to Teena Marie.....

Teena Marie who was one of my favorite singers of all time was laid to rest today at Forest Lawn Cemetery in Los Angeles, California. Shanice Williams sang Ave Maria and was escorted by husband actor Flex Alexander, Doug Grisby led her band through some of her classic hits, Smokey Robinson sang a tribute in her honor, Berry Gordy, Stevie Wonder and Marie's daughter Alia Rose were all speakers in tributes to the late singer. Also in attendance were actresses Debbie Allen, Sheryl Lee Ralph,Queen Latifah, Tichina Arnold, Lisa Raye, Sheryl Underwood, Kim Whitley, Sinbad entertainment correspondent Tanya Hart, Sinbad, singers Deniece Williams, Johnny Gill, Howard Hewitt,Ray Parker, George Duke, Val Young, Rick James ex wife Tanya James and basketball great Gary Payton.
Marie passed away on December 26-2010, she was 54.

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

The much anticipated tv show The Game finally returns to tv starting tomorrow January 11Th on BET. This show is smartly written and the characters have layers, and as I always say, life doesn't always have happy endings especially when it's a 22 minute sitcom. The racist CW network slept on this show and never promoted yet it founds it audience. I encourage to give this show a try, and you will be hooked just like me. Welcome back, Melanie, Derwin, Tasha Mack, Malek, Kelly and Jason. Let's Go!!


It's official actress Natalie Portman IS pregnant AND engaged. Congrats beautiful girl!

David Beckham and wifey are expecting their fourth child. I must commend him, sleeping with a stick doesn't seem very comfortable, but that's just me.

Drug Addicted Lindsay Lohan sat courtside at last nights Los Angeles Laker game. I don't get it, when will she really attend rehab and get the help that she so rightly deserves. This has Kurt Cobain Anna Nicole and River Phoenix written all over it.

Jermaine Jackson is stuck in Africa and cannot come back to the U.S. until he pays what he owes in child support - which is nearly $100,000! I think this is a blessing in disguise, Jackson always has a lot of drama going on in his life.

Are You Ready for new Britney Spears .....

The 'hey yall' ditzy singer/lipsyncing Britney Spears returns to music with her new single entitled "Hold it against me". The cover art work is worth the money, so I'm on board, one thing that Hollywood loves is a little bit of crazy...and truthfully it keeps it all very interesting, another thing about this industry, is how fickle it can be, if you stay away too long, someone else is waiting in the wings to take your place. Stay tune and lets how this story unfolds to Britney...

Addendum/TGIF

Happy Friday,

It's a new year, renewed hope, for all the things wonderful real and new. Of course we say that we'll be smarter and wiser this year, and then there's that ongoing diet battle or that appointment with the gym that just doesn't seem to happen as often as it should, that's life and I say you must maintain a positive, we should always continue to strive for new heights to soar, why because we deserve it. A dutiful life is one with an agenda, to spiral is wayward, life's attitude flows on gossamer wings because geography comes with paths and guidelines, and for those times that we may drift off course, it's only a temporary bump in the road.

A death occurs out of nowhere and it takes you breath away, reality hits you dead smack in the face, it's call life, who could predict it, NO one can, your advantage is to learn from example. God wrote the rules, Adam and Eve broke them, and from that moment on the history books constantly are being rewritten to suit whatever cultures addendum, and the blessing is the acknowledgement of the opportunity to breathe in a new day.

What Are You Doing With Your Life?

Oprah's OWN debut is a HIT...

Oprah Winfrey's new cable network made a splash in its debut Saturday night, reporting more than 1 million viewers for its first prime-time shows over a holiday weekend.

Oprah Winfrey, during a segment of an episode of "Master Class."
The new channel, dubbed OWN: Oprah Winfrey Network, launched at noon on New Year's Day, replacing little-watched cable network Discovery Health in around 80 million homes. At its peak Saturday night, the channel says more women between the ages of 25and 54 were watching OWN than were watching all but two other cable networks—Walt Disney Co.'s ESPN and General Electric Co.'s USA.

A 50-50 joint venture between Ms. Winfrey and Discovery Communications Inc., the channel is a big bet that Ms. Winfrey can convert the nearly 7 million people who watch her syndicated "The Oprah Winfrey Show." into loyal viewers of a cable channel. The network launched a big promotional campaign, and Ms. Winfrey devoted two episodes of her daytime show last week to plugs for the new network.

"The good news is people showed up when they marketed it aggressivelyand Oprah told them to go out and watch," said Rich Greenfield, a media analyst at brokerage firm BTIG. "The real question is how capable they'll be of sustaining the ratings over the coming months and years."

Ms. Winfrey was OWN's biggest draw, averaging 1.2 million viewers for the first two episodes of "Season 25: Oprah Behind the Scenes," a reality show that chronicles the final season of her daytime show, according to early Nielsen Co. data that the network released. Ms. Winfrey plans to tape the last episode of her daytime show in May, and its last episode will air in September.

On Sunday night, the network fared less well, averaging 822,000 viewers in prime time, OWN said. Its two-hour question-and-answer special, "Ask Oprah's All Stars," averaged 968,000 viewers. "Master Class," an interview show that featured ABC News anchor Diane Sawyer at 10 p.m., averaged 602,000.

Full Nielsen data on the opening weekend, including daytime shows will be available on Tuesday, OWN said.

Celebration of Life for Teena Marie.....

Saturday January 22-2011 from 11-4 will be a celebration of life to the memory and legacy of the late blue eyed soul singer Teena Marie who passed away December 26-2010, Marie was 54. The celebration will be held in Oakwood Park in Venice, Calif. For more information call Vivian Young at 909-771-7487 or 909-863-1352

OOOPS...UH OH....and OH NO!!!!!

Can we say a "HELL NO" to plastic surgery? What the hell was Vivica Fox thinking? Oh that's just is, she WASN'T thinking.

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

2010 witnessed the return of Kanye West, and welcomed rappers Drake and Nicki Minaj, both long awaited projects were met with a huge reception. Some misses last year were Christina Aguilera's "Bionic" and a Mariah Carey CD that never caught the attention of the American audience, so her record label decided to shelve it and a few months later, they released a 'so so' Christmas CD.

The Miami Heat met with The Los Angeles Lakers on Christmas day ONLY to silence the Lakers by putting a whomping on that *ss.

2010 gave us a big scare the Queen of Soul Aretha Franklin was diagnosed with "pancreatic cancer" thankfully her surgery was very successful, and the Queen is resting @ home.

Lady GaGa ruled the music charts, but she's nothing new, and has Diana Ross, Cher, Barbara Streisand, Bette Midler and Madonna to thank for her success. The thing that I love most about GaGa is that she was discovered by rapper/singer Akon, so everytime she's gets paid...he REALLY gets paid!

Congrats goes out to Nicole Richie, singer Shania Twain and actress Valarie Bertinelli all said their "I Do's" recently.

2010 we said goodbye to legendary film and recording star Lena Horne, Elizabeth Edwards, actor Gary Coleman, the Golden Girls star Rue McClanahan, Mission Impossible star Peter Graves, The Gap Band bassist Robert Wilson, movie director/writer, Blake Edwards,singers Teddy Pendergrass and blue eyed soul starlet Teena Marie....gone but not forgotten.

Happy New Year.....

Happy New Year everyone, I'm happy to tell 2010 to kick rocks. Personally for me 2010 was the hardest year that I've ever had to endure, and when I speak to others, they seem to be in agreeance with me, the lovely thing about new years is the chance to begin again, a chance to set new goals, and also it's a spring cleaning of sorts if you will, but it's done in the winter time. I'm forever thankful to GOD for my life and for the people who continue to color my world. Life is constantly evolving and it's about the peaks and valleys, in which helps to season our lives.

My sincerest wishes goes out to everyone in the world for peace, contentment joy and goodwill. The world goes round in circles and often times the revisit has it's price to pay, and when a toll is requested, you must pay. Take time out to acknowledge the beauty, the presence of the here and the RIGHT NOW! Happy New Year!!!