Friday, April 28, 2006

Friday Entertainment Report - The News We Want To See...



Nicole and Boris Have Good News...

The mainstream media (Entertainment Tonight, E!, People Magazine, etc.) acts like only two couples in the world are having babies and like nobody else ever had a baby before. Unless you've been living under a rock for the past year, you are aware that Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt and Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes have been looking forward to their new bundles of joy. I have to admit that the story about Angelina and Brad are bit more interesting, because they don't run after the media. The media runs after them. Their mysterious lives keep the media in a state of suspense. *yawn*

But Tom Cruise is way beyond his 15 minutes of fame. In the past year, he's hopped like a bunny rabbit on Oprah's couch, criticized Brooke Shields for taking medication to treat her postpartum blues, orchestrated a full-fledged media stunt *oops* I meant to say relationship with Katie Holmes, put a bun in Katie's oven, touted the fact that he bought an ultrasound machine for their home so that they could monitor their baby's every move (exposure to multiple sessions of ultrasound waves can't be healthy), converted Katie to his religion, proclaimed that Katie better shut her beak (silent birth) during labor and delivery, named their daughter a name that they seem to not understand the meaning of, and so on and so forth. What a whirlwind year? I wish them the best and hope that the child has a normal childhood, but enough already!!!

Last week while surfing the net, I found out on the Celebrity Baby Blog that Nicole Ari Parker, formley of Showtime's "Soul Food" series, and her husband, Boris Kodjoe, an actor in his own right, are expecting another child this fall. The couple is pictured above with their adorable daughter Sophie Tei Naaki Lee. Much love and blessings to the Kodjoe family.


Angela Bassett and Husband Courtney Also Announce Good News...



2 + 2 = 4...

Now that you all know that I can add, I can report that Angela Bassett and her husband, Courtney Vance, know how to multiply. About a month or so ago, I found out that Angela and Courtney became the proud parents of twins (a boy and girl) via surrogacy. I have to admit that when I first heard that Angela and Courtney became new parents, I almost didn't believe it. First off, Angela is in her mid to late 40's and I don't recall seeing her in maternity clothes last year. But when they revealed that they went the surrogate parent route, things became more believable. Some women are having babies in their 40's, but I don't know if it's medically safe. Nevertheless, we all wish Angela and Courtney and their bundles of joy the very best.


Akeelah And The Bee...



Keke Palmer Makes Her Big Screen Movie Debut...

Speaking of Angela Bassett, she's staring in a movie that opens today along with Laurence Fishburne and newcomer Keke Palmer. Keep an eye out for Keke. I heard that she was just signed to a record deal with Atlantic Records.

Every now and then a movie comes along that you can take your whole family to without having to endure a whole lot of cursing, violence, adult action *raised eyebrow*, and other inappropriate material for young audiences. I don't see many movies at the local theater, however, I might just see this one, because of it's positive story. The movie is about an eleven-year old who aspires to win the National Spelling Bee. It brings back old memories of me competing in a spelling bee back in junior high. To this day, I still love words and their prefixes, suffixes, and derivatives. That's why I keep a dictionary on my desk at work. I can always be found flipping pages back and forth while learning new words everyday. What a nerd? I'm not a nerd; I'm inquisitive.


People Magazine Names List Of Most Beautiful People...



Beyonce' and Terrence Howard Made The List...

I'm a big fan of Beyonce' and Terrence and love their work, but I just want to know why People magazine's list is always so predictable? Well, dang. Can anyone else get some shine? There happens to be other beautiful people out here like Sanaa Lathan, Gabrielle Union, LL Cool J, Vanessa Williams (from Soul Food), Morris Chestnut, Boris Kodjoe, Denzel Washington, Rosa Blasi ("The Division"/Lifetime TV), Mark Consuelos ("Missing"/Lifetime TV), Ziyi Zhang (Memoirs of a Geisha), Ken Wantanabe (Memoirs of a Geisha), etc.


Rosie O'Donnell Joins The Ladies At "The View"...



Why Did The Show Add Her? That's All I'm Asking...

I haven't heard anything official yet, but I've seen reports that ABC's "The View" is going to add Rosie O'Donnell to the show to replace Meredith Vieira who will replace Katie Couric who left NBC's "Today Show" to become the CBS Evening News anchor. I have a question. Why??? Are "The View's" producers trying to add fireworks to the show. Star Jones Reynolds and Joy are bickering enough from time to time, but within acceptable bounds. But now they're going to bring on Rosie. Why?

It wasn't but a month ago that Rosie was getting on Star's case about not revealing how she lost a ton of weight. Normally, I crack on Star for fun and not for meaness. But who is Rosie, a person of wide girth herself, to rag on Star? Plus, I can remember when Rosie called Whitney Houston out at the Grammys or some other big time music awards show. Rosie cracked a joke about Whitney's recreational/pharmaceutical problem. And like a true lady that she is *insert giggle*, Whitney shot Rosie the bird in full view of the tv camera. That's right. When Rosie or her dear friends such as Madonna are going through trials and tribulations, Rosie always asks the media to give them privacy and respect. Rosie seems to never respect or provide privacy to the family members and friends of other fallen or troubled stars. Did Rosie ever think that her words may have hurt Bobbi Christina, Whitney and Bobby's daughter? Respect for some and not for others. Hmm. I wished that I could offer more kind words to Rosie instead of a verbal knuckle sandwich. Oh well. Sometimes, we fall short of the glory. *hee hee*

Well, it's lunch time for me. It's time to bounce. Have a great weekend!!!... ;-)

Monday, April 17, 2006

Tragedy Touches Ashanti And Her Family...



Drunk Driver Kills Ashanti's Cousin in South Africa...

Yesterday, I saw news reports that a drunken, unlicensed teenager, who had stolen his mother's car, killed Quinshae Snead, 20, Ashanti Douglas' cousin. Snead was on her way back to the Ashanti's hotel to pick up a few forgotten things such as jewelry and clothes for Ashanti, who was preparing to perform for a Saturday night concert with Lauryn Hill, Regina Belle, and other local artists in South Africa. The excessive speed mixed with the drinking caused the teenager to rear-end the car Ashanti's cousin was riding in with Ashanti's body guard, who was driving the other car. The rear-ended car rolled over, throwing Snead and the bodyguard from the car into the path of oncoming traffic. The driver of Snead's car was injured and expected to make a full recovery. The drunk teenage driver was injured also.

As of today, I've read reports that Ashanti and her family are preparing to bring Snead's body home to the U.S. for burial. I haven't seen any official statements from Ashanti yet, but a promoter for the concert said that Ashanti and her family are traumatized and devastated by their loss. The promoter's comments can be quite understandable, since the Douglas family has been described to be very close. In fact, I recall reading in one of the articles that Snead lived with Ashanti. For more information, please see the following: ==> Tragedy Touches Ashanti's Family.

No matter how many times folks have been told not to drink and drive, accidents like this one continue to happen. Because of Saturday's accident, lives will be changed forever. Let's keep Ashanti and her family in our prayers.

Thursday, April 13, 2006

Static: Don't Start None. Won't Be None. Hay!!!....



Motto: Home Sweet Home...

My Motto: I Take A Lot Of Trash At Work, But I Don't Take It At Home...

Intro: Hello, Good People. I hope everyone is doing well. I've been checking out your blogs in the middle of my crazy days between meetings, but didn't get a chance to reply. (Side Note: Shellyp: Congrats, Miss Lady, for your and your husband's blessing, *RPM*: Congrats on a new chapter of your life; I have so much respect for you in the way that you determined that it was time for you to move onto another job, SP: Don't let those crazy folks at your job get you down, Dee: Smile, things are going to get bettter and better for you and your family, PrincessDominique: Keep churning out those interesting blog entries; are you in the process of writing a new book?, Everybody else: I haven't forgotten about you. I feel like I'm at the Grammys trying to remember to mention everyone in my shoutouts. *hee hee*) All I can say is thank you for helping me make it through the day at work. I know it's been a while since I've blogged, but it's just not going to be done on a regular basis for a while, because of my job situation. I'm still in the process of trying to get a promotion so I barely have any free time. At lunch, I'm still working many times. And when I get home, I'm too tired to string two lucid sentences together. However, I decided to blog a little bit before I go to work.

Now check this out. A few weeks ago, I noticed that the neighbor who lives across from me was getting a new refrigerator on a Sunday. But I didn't pay much attention to the situation. I went about my way. But the next day on Monday, why was an old refrigerator pushed up beside my front door? Mondays are a little tough on me, because every single week I have to come to terms with the fact that I have to go to work. Don't get me wrong. I'm thankful to have a job. I just get tired of the mindless bullcrap and crazy people I have to deal with.

Before proceeding on, I must provide you with a little background information. About a year and a half to two years ago, I purchased my first place. I got tired of paying rent that was equal to or more than what folks were paying for mortgages in the area. Homes in the Baltimore-Washington Metro area can be very expensive. So, I was very thoughtful in making my home purchase decision. I took my accountant's advice and decided to purchase a small place in a planned community, because the neighborhood strives to keep up its home values. But with that comes the home owners' association. And part of this kind of set up doesn't allow appliances to be discarded improperly.

Being Plain Proactive: When I first noticed the refrigerator, I was thinking what nerve my neighbor had to push her old, leaking fridge beside my door. Why didn't she push it beside hers? The condo association president lives very near me. And I could totally understand the neighbors or the condo association president seeing the fridge and thinking it was mine. So, at the risk of hurting my easy to hurt back (via my do-myself-mentality: towing huge suitcases at the airport; assembling bookcases and an exercise bike; moving boxes, etc.), I pushed the refrigerator back over beside my neighbor's door. And to make sure no one reported me, I called the management office for the condo to inform them that it wasn't mine. Afterall, residents can be fined for such violations. I stated to the management company that I wasn't trying to get anyone in trouble; I just wanted it to be documented that the fridge wasn't mine. Could you imagine me getting fined for something that I didn't do? Chile please!!!.... (Side Note: If anyone hears or sees, Tiff (Proactiff), tell her I side hi and we miss her blog.)

Neighbor Trying To Pull Someone Up...Namely Me: As I said before, this incident happened some weeks ago. When I made the phone call to the management company, the representative told me to call her if the fridge had not been hauled away in the next day. The next day or two it was gone. So, I didn't think anymore of the situation. But no...I get a little knock at the door. This was the first time I've seen/talked/met my neighbor since I moved there. Of course, I didn't open the door and opted to talk through the door and look out the peep hole. What? Come on now. I don't allow people to case out my place. Shuxxx....Where were we? Oh, yeah. Yesterday, my neighbor came over to discuss the incident with me. Evidently, the management company charged her $200 to haul away her old fridge and she wasn't happy about her little bill. And I guess she wanted someone to take responsibility for this bill. Good folks, when it comes to money, I don't play. What can I say? I come from a long line of folks you can't mess with when it comes to money. It's been said that my Great Granddaddy handled a difficult situation dealing with his land purchases decades ago during the jim crow days. Years ago, I witnessed my Grandmother getting someone told about not paying a bill on time when she used to sell products similar to Amway products to supplement her maid's job. So, let's just say this thing is genetic. I ain't getting off no cash when it ain't my fault.

I hate starting a sentence with the word, "being." But being the person that I am, I put a whole lot of thought into my decisions no matter how big or small. I just didn't call the management company for kicks or to embarrass my neighbor. I'm just tired of being done wrong and done in. I've seen the consequences of me staying silent in many situations over the years. So my conclusion was that if I had not called, then most likely I would have been the one to have to bear the burden of proving that the fridge wasn't mine. I've had appliances replaced in my place since I've been living here. However, I always made sure the delivery person hauled away the old appliance at $10 a piece (and not $200). I just factored the removal fee into the total purchase price of getting the new appliance.

The Half-Apology: As my neighbor told me about the $200 charge, she told me that she was trying to apologize. I accepted. Then she followed up with, "We should be more neighborly in the future." Next time, leave a letter or a note on my door instead of calling the managment company." "Say What?", was my response that I was thinking. But I told her being neighborly means not rolling old refrigerators beside a neighbor's door. Had she left the fridge beside her door, I most likely would have let the situation go on for a while. But no, I felt that she intentionally and deliberately had the delivery folks to push the old leaky one near me to keep herself out of trouble. People need to learn how to apologize or just don't do it all, because conditional statements placed with an apology nullifies it. What's the point? Either you're sorry or you're not. Move on. I sincerely apologized to a motorist some years ago, because it was my fault that I wasn't driving carefully one winter morning. I thought the street was wet, but it was actually black ice. I slid down a hill and hit a truck. His bumper fell off. I apologized sincerely, provided my insurance information, and followed-up with a call to see if he was feeling okay later that day. I paid much more than $200 to fix his car and mine, but I was simply grateful that he wasn't hurt. Thank God. Afterall, I was wrong and caused him to have to take off work to get his truck fixed. Getting back to my neighbor, I bet she wanted me to apologize to her and help pay that $200. Didn't happen. So, in the words of James Brown, "Static: Don't Start None. Won't Be None. Hay!!!..."

Alrighty, I have to get rolling. Take care. And have a good day. *Smile*