Naomi Sims has died of cancer at the age of 61. Sims was credited as breaking racial boundaries in modeling, appearing as the first black cover model of Ladies' Home Journal in November 1968. She was also among the first to be represented by Wilhelmina agency and went on to model for designers such as Halston in her career. Two photographs of her are featured in the The Model As Muse exhibit currently on display at the Metropolitan Museum of Art.
Former New York Giants wide receiver Plaxico Burress was indicted by a Manhattan grand jury on weapons charges stemming from an incident last November in which Burress accidentally shot himself in the thigh at a New York nightclub, prosecutors announced Monday.
Burress, 31, was indicted on two felony counts of criminal possession of a weapon and one count of reckless endangerment, according to the announcement by the Manhattan District Attorney Robert Morgenthau.
New York Giants linebacker Antonio Pierce, Burress' former teammate who was with him at the club and drove him to the hospital, was not indicted for his role in the incident, according to the prosecutor's announcement.
Lionsgate has released the music video for Mary J. Blige's newest single, 'Stronger.' The video features the talented players from 'More Than a Game,' a remarkable true-life coming-of-age story about friendship and loyalty in the face of adversity.
Five young basketball players from Akron, Ohio, who are coached by a charismatic but inexperienced father and led by future NBA superstar LeBron James, embark on an improbable seven-year journey that leads them from a decrepit inner-city gym to the doorstep of a national high school championship.
Along the way, the close-knit team is repeatedly tested on and off the court, as James' exploding worldwide celebrity threatens to destroy everything they've set out to achieve together.
Nicole Spence – Relationship Guru
I'm a sexy soon to be 30year old woman... not quite at that the age where I could be labeled a Cougar. So, of course the notion of dating younger men seemed like a big waste of time! Why, you ask? Because in my mind, I'm like WTF is he ready for? And when I say young, I literally mean anyone below two years younger than me. Pointless! But you know what? I'll be 30 soon, so, I'm all about doing things differently and seeing what the outcome will be….
A girlfriend of mine, let’s call her "Renee" recently started dating (or let’s just say hooking up) with a younger guy. She is 30 and the guy is 26! Once she mentioned his age, I was like “Oh Please K.I.M {Keep It Moving}.” Then the story grew even more stereotypical...drum roll please...he wants to be a Rapper!! WTF?? Who has time to deal with that headache? "Not I" said the Cat LOL! The voyeur that I am found this story to be very interesting, because my formerly sex starved friend then began to describe a “sexcapade” of 10 rounds! Whew! Nice! I'm Jealous!
Apparently, this young lad never grew tired or limp (giggles). He wasn't the dreaded "one nutter"! My girlfriend who once shared my same sentiments: " MF is too young K.I.M!" was now lying spooned up with this young buck! She felt comfortable, so she was honest about her initial reaction to his career aspirations {wack}! To her surprise, she found out that "The Rapper" has a degree in Marketing, and can write his ass off! Light bulb! He's talented. Being that's she's in the entertainment field, they discussed other avenues where his skills could be used like "advertising". Then, they rested in between sessions and had a building dialogue. Now, this sex buddy doesn't seem that pointless. They had a great weekend of; I repeat 10 rounds {still jealous}! You never know they could be really good friends, or dare I say, "future Boos!”
I don't know but it has me wondering… Is Young More Fun?
Ladies, is young more fun? Hit me up and tell about your experience with younger guys...
Seems like there are going to be a few big time artist missing from this years Grammys. Chris Brown won't be in attendance because of his investigation, Rihanna won't be either, and now it looks like Usher won't be. Usher canceled his performance at Clive Davis's Annual Pre-Grammy party due to a "family emergency", which involved his wife Tameka. It has been reported that Tameka is experiencing complication from her recent plastic surgery, but these reports haven't been confirmed. Now I usually don't have anything nice to say about her but I hope she has a safe and speedy recovery.
TNT's "Gifted Hands" is one of those longform projects that has Emmy written all over it.
It boasts near-flawless direction from Thomas Carter, a vivid teleplay adaptation by John Pielmeier and uniformly magnificent performances, particularly from star Cuba Gooding Jr., who puts himself back onto the Hollywood map here in a way he hasn't since his Oscar-winning turn in 1996's "Jerry Maguire."
Gooding portrays the real-life world-renowned brain surgeon Benjamin Carson, director of pediatric neurosurgery at Johns Hopkins Children's Center and author of a best-selling 1990 autobiography.
It's taken nearly two decades to get Carson's inspiring story to the screen, but Gooding does him more than proud with a portrayal at once sensitively wrought and quietly moving.
In lesser hands (if you'll pardon the pun), this biopic could easily have drifted off into maudlin sap, but Gooding keeps the character of Carson centered and human and the film honoring him wise and surprisingly graphic. (The surgical procedures are showcased in all of their bloody glory, but not so much as to cross the line to gratuitousness.)
A federal judge says she might toss some of the strongest evidence against Barry Bonds, a blow to prosecutors trying to prove the home run king lied when he denied knowingly using performance-enhancing drugs.
U.S. District Judge Susan Illston said her "preliminary thoughts" were to exclude from trial three 2000-2001 positive drug tests that prosecutors say belong to Bonds unless there is a direct link that the urine samples came from the former San Francisco Giants slugger.
"If there's no testimony to establish that, I don't think any of them work," Illston said.
The only person who can do that seems to be Bonds' personal trainer, Greg Anderson, who spent more than a year behind bars for refusing to speak to a federal grand jury investigating Bonds. And Anderson's attorney, Mark Geragos, has said his client will not testify against Bonds at the trial, scheduled to start March 2.
If her preliminary thoughts stand, the government's case against Bonds will suffer a significant blow — but not a fatal one, legal analysts said.
"It hurts, but the government still has quite a bit of other evidence," Golden Gate University law professor Peter Keane said.
That includes a recorded conversation between Anderson and Bonds' former personal assistant Steve Hoskins in which they discuss injecting steroids; a conversation Illston said she's inclined to allow at trial.
Illston will issue a formal decision on the evidence discussed Thursday at a later date. She also will hold a separate hearing on whether to allow testimony from expert doctors the government hopes would persuade a jury that changes in Bonds' body were due to steroid use.
Serena Williams routed Dinara Safina 6-0, 6-3 Saturday to win the Australian Open for her 10th Grand Slam title and a return to the No. 1 ranking.
It was total domination for the second-seeded Williams, who moved fluidly on the court and looked at ease in winning back-to-back majors, including the U.S. Open title in September.
"I absolutely, clearly, love playing here," the 27-year-old Williams said. "You guys root for me so much. I don't get that everywhere. So thank you so much."
Williams becomes only the seventh woman with double-digit Grand Slam singles titles. She leads all active players and broke a tie with two greats of the game -- 2009 Hall of Fame inductee Monica Seles and Maureen Connolly -- who each won nine majors.
Justine Henin was the last to win back-to-back major singles titles, at the 2003 U.S. Open and 2004 Australian Open.
Williams' near-perfect performance was in sharp contrast to No. 3 Safina, who was tight from the start. Later apologizing to the crowd for her performance, Safina said Williams was just too good, leaving her feeling like a ballboy.
Star Jones Reynolds had some strong words for Bill O'Reilly at Fox News. Star is not known for making such strong comments toward a major at host at a major network, but she is known for speaking her mind.
Bill O'Reilly said:
"I don't want to go on a lynching party against Michelle Obama unless
there's evidence, hard facts, that say this is how the woman
really feels. If that's how she really feels - that is a bad country or a
flawed nation, whatever - then that's legit. We'll track it down."
Star Jones Reynolds said:
"I'm sick to death of people like Fox News host, Bill O'Reilly, and his
ilk thinking that he can use a racial slur against a black woman
who could be the next First Lady of the
apology and not be taken to task and called on his crap.
What the hell? If it's 'legit,' you're going to 'track it down?' And
then what do you plan to do? How dare this white man with a
microphone and the trust of the public think that in 2008, he can still put
the words 'lynch and party' together in the same sentence with
reference to a black woman; in this case, Michelle Obama? I don't care how
you 'spin it' in the 'no spin zone,' that statement in and of itself
is racist, unacceptable and inappropriate on every level. O'Reilly
claims his comments were taken out of context. Please
don't insult my intelligence while you're insulting me. I've read the
comments and heard them delivered in O'Reilly's own voice; and there is
no right context that exists. So, his insincere apology and
"out-of-context" excuse is not going to cut it with me.
And just so we're clear, this has nothing to do with the 2008
presidential election, me being a Democrat, him claiming to be
Independent while talking Republican, the liberal media or a conservative
point of view. To the contrary, this is about crossing a
line in the sand that needs to be drawn based on history, dignity, taste
and truth. Bill, I'm not sure of where you come from, but let me tell
youwhat the phrase 'lynching party' conjures up to me, a black woman born in
North Carolina . Those words depict the image of a group of white men
who are angry with the state of the own lives getting together, drinking
more than they need to drink, lamenting how some black person has moved
forward (usually ahead of them in stature or dignity), and had the audacity
to think that they are equal. These same men for years, instead
of looking at what changes, should and could make in their own lives that
might remove that bitterness born of perceived privilege, these
white men take all of that resentment and anger and decide to get together
and drag the closest black person near them to their death by
hanging them from a tree - usually after violent beating, torturing and
violating their human dignity. Check your history books, because you
don't need a masters or a law degree from Harvard to know that is what
constitutes a 'lynching party.'
Imagine, Michelle and Barack Obama having the audacity to think that they
have the right to the American dream, hopes, and ideals.
O'Reilly must think to himself: how dare they have the arrogance to think
they can stand in a front of this nation, challenge the status quo
and express the frustration of millions? When this happens, the first thing
that comes to mind for O'Reilly and people like him is: 'it's time
for a party.' Not so fast...don't order the rope just yet. Would
O'Reilly ever in a million years use this phrase with reference to
Elizabeth Edwards, Cindy McCain or Judi Nathan? I mean, inall of the
statements and criticisms that were made about Judi Nathan,the one-time
mistress turned missus, of former presidential candidate
Rudy Giuliani, I never heard any talk of forming a lynch party because of
something she said or did.
So why is it that when you're referring to someone
who's African-American you must dig to a historical place of pain, agony and
death to symbolize your feelings? Lynching is not a joke to
off-handedly throw around and it is not a metaphor that has a place in
political commentary; provocative or otherwise. I admit that I come from a place of
personal outrage here having buried my 90 year-old grandfather last
year. This proud, amazing African-American man raised his family and lived
through the time when he had to use separate water fountains, ride
in the back of a bus, take his wife on a date to the 'colored section' of a
movie theater, and avert his eyes when a white woman walked down
the street for fear of what a white man and his cronies might do if they
felt the urge to 'party'; don't tell me that the phrase you chose, Mr..
O'Reilly, was taken out of context.
To add insult to injury, O'Reilly tried to 'clarify' his statements, by
using the excuse that his comments were reminiscent of Supreme Court
Justice Clarence Thomas' use of the term 'high-tech lynching' during his
confirmation hearing. I reject that analogy. You see Justice Thomas did
mean to bring up the image of lynching in its racist context. He was saying
that politics and the media were using a new technology to do to him what
had been done to black men for many years -- hang him. Regardless of if you
agreed with Justice Thomas' premise or not, if in fact -- Bill O'Reilly was
referencing it -- the context becomes even clearer.
What annoys me more than anything is that I get the feeling that one of
the reasons Bill O'Reilly made this statement, thinking he
could get away with it in the first place, and then followed it up with a
lame apology in a half-hearted attempt to smooth any ruffled feathers,
is because he doesn't think that black women will come out and go after him
when he goes after us. Well, he's dead wrong. Be clear Bill
O'Reilly: there will be no lynch party for that black woman. And this black
woman assures you that if you come for her, you come for all of us.
" -- Star Jones Reynolds
