Stars Sing For Haiti On Oprah
Maxwell Singing Live On Oprah
Rihanna attempting to sing live On Oprah
Both of these songs are available on iTunes, with the proceeds from the sales going to the earthquake victims of Haiti.
Wyclef's Response to Accusations from Smoking Gun
Last Week we shared some developments released by thesmokinggun.com in regard to Wyclef's non-profit organization Yele. This is his response to the criticism his organization received for how the money was spent in previous years. To read my original post click here
Music Monday: Aaliyah "More than A Woman"
RIP Aaliyah she would have turned 31 this past weekend.
Aaliyah "More than A Woman" Life is short, it's length is not determined on how good or bad you are either.
Congrats to Monique on Winning a Golden Globe
Her Acceptance Speech:Everybody kept asking me do I know my speech, and I said, ‘No, I don’t know what I’m going to say because I don’t want people to think I just know I done won something,’ so no, I don’t know! But I am shaking when I tell you all I am in the midst of my dream and when I look into the eyes of the man I stood next to at 14 years old and I said to him, ‘One day we’re going to be stars, and he said, ‘You first. And we walked this red carpet together tonight. Sidney, I will love you more than you will ever know, baby.
Lee Daniels, the world gets a chance to see how brilliant you are. You are a brilliant, fearless, amazing director who would not waver, and thank you for trusting me to be Mary Jones in this movie. To Gabby, sister, I am in awe of you. Thank you for letting me play with you.
To the cast and the crew of this movie, thank you all so much. I celebrate this award with all the Preciouses, with all the Marys — I celebrate this award with every person that’s ever been touched. It’s now time to tell. And it’s okay."
This is a huge accomplishment for her, it seems like things are lining up in her life. Her talk show is doing very well, her and hubby seem to be doing well. Go Mo!
Black Love: Kimora, Djimon & Kenzo covers Ebony **Updated
In the February Issue of Ebony MagazineThe celebrity couple discuss ‘marriage’ and life in their own way "For high-profile duo beauty maven Kimora Lee Simmons and actor Djimon Hounsou, the term “marriage” is not defined by an official license. The two, who sealed their relationship during a “commitment ceremony” in front of Simmons’ daughters, Ming and Aoki Lee, while in Benin, Africa, said they are married.
Armed with their new baby boy, Kenzo Lee, the two say they feel very fortunate. In fact, Simmons says her ex-husband and father of her two daughters, Russell Simmons, is actively involved in her bicoastal life. “I feel like my life has fallen into the right place in a great way,” she said. “I’ve been very slow and deliberate, and I feel like it has paid off for me in ways that I could not have imagined.” (p. 68)
Djimon on Meeting Kimora
“She turned around and said, ‘Hi, my name is Kimora Lee,’ and I said ‘Right, you don’t need to introduce yourself. I am quite aware of who you are.’…We were having a deep conversation about our families, about kids, about this and that…And then the eyes meet….and I realized, there’s so much more to her. I never thought she would be as grounded as she seemed that night…As I was giving her my number, I said, ‘Well, I hope you would enjoy the number for something other than your fashion shows or get-togethers or parties…First thing in the morning, I sent her a text. I wanted to catch her because she was to leave and go back to New York. I wanted to get, as we say, a good conversation in before she took off. I sent a text and said, ‘Hey, if you are up for dinner…’ And that’s how we started it. I said to her, ‘You’re one very successful woman. You have it great. You have two kids. You are married to one of the most iconic men in the world (Kimora and Russell were separated before she and Djimon met). What else could you need? Or want?’ I was much more skeptical of where she was coming from than I was about what I had to offer. I realized that she was looking for a great foundation as far as relationships are concerned and that really hit me. No woman has ever made me feel the way she makes me feel. She makes me dream big.
Kimora on Djimon
He’s just different. I can’t explain it. If you meet Djimon, to know his personality and his sentiment. (she sighs) I don’t know. He’s just different spiritually. I just never would have thought a life could be possible like this. Me and Djimon can be in a room full of people or we can be in a room alone and we maintain a connection. I feel like he’s my long-lost friend. Something about him is really nourishing for my soul and makes me very happy. I don’t feel like I’m keeping up with any Joneses. I don’t feel like my hair or my clothes have to be a certain way. I don’t feel like I need anything. I feel like I’m more than a complete person, Djimon really completes me. I feel like my life has fallen into the right place in a great way. I’ve been very slow and deliberate, and I feel like it has paid off for me in ways that I could not have imagined.”
I’m a family girl with children, and that’s really the goal and the life I want for myself. I have everything a girl could ever want. I have everything that you could buy. I have every diamond in ever color. That’s not important to me now. I have it all and I could do fine without it. And that’s what’s important to know.
KIMORA ON HER & RUSSELL
"Russell and I had a great relationship....but I think coping with or adjusting to my life, which was becoming very big and very busy was tough for him. When you get older, when you get wiser, when you get busier, when you start to create a career for yourself, a life for yourself, I think that certain issues or topics or indiscretions or whatever you want to call them are not going to be OK as when you were a teenager in love. Nothing's the same when you hit that mid-20s, late-20s stage. And when you're in your 30s, you kind of know what you want for yourself. I felt like I owed it to myself and to my children to obtain the best life possible. People may have thought the break-up was because my personality is so much bigger than life. I'm loud. I'm over the top, whatever. I'm a family girl with children, and that's really the goal and the life I want for myself. I have everything a girl could ever want. I have everything that you could buy. I have every diamond in ever color. That's not important to me now. I have it all and I could do fine without it. And that's what's important to know.
I cannot say that Russell wants something different, but I want different in a partner. I expect different in a partner. I expect an equal playing field when it comes to matters of family and raising children."
Source: ebonymagazine.com & necolebitchie.com for the article updates
Djimon on Meeting Kimora
“She turned around and said, ‘Hi, my name is Kimora Lee,’ and I said ‘Right, you don’t need to introduce yourself. I am quite aware of who you are.’…We were having a deep conversation about our families, about kids, about this and that…And then the eyes meet….and I realized, there’s so much more to her. I never thought she would be as grounded as she seemed that night…As I was giving her my number, I said, ‘Well, I hope you would enjoy the number for something other than your fashion shows or get-togethers or parties…First thing in the morning, I sent her a text. I wanted to catch her because she was to leave and go back to New York. I wanted to get, as we say, a good conversation in before she took off. I sent a text and said, ‘Hey, if you are up for dinner…’ And that’s how we started it. I said to her, ‘You’re one very successful woman. You have it great. You have two kids. You are married to one of the most iconic men in the world (Kimora and Russell were separated before she and Djimon met). What else could you need? Or want?’ I was much more skeptical of where she was coming from than I was about what I had to offer. I realized that she was looking for a great foundation as far as relationships are concerned and that really hit me. No woman has ever made me feel the way she makes me feel. She makes me dream big.
Kimora on Djimon
He’s just different. I can’t explain it. If you meet Djimon, to know his personality and his sentiment. (she sighs) I don’t know. He’s just different spiritually. I just never would have thought a life could be possible like this. Me and Djimon can be in a room full of people or we can be in a room alone and we maintain a connection. I feel like he’s my long-lost friend. Something about him is really nourishing for my soul and makes me very happy. I don’t feel like I’m keeping up with any Joneses. I don’t feel like my hair or my clothes have to be a certain way. I don’t feel like I need anything. I feel like I’m more than a complete person, Djimon really completes me. I feel like my life has fallen into the right place in a great way. I’ve been very slow and deliberate, and I feel like it has paid off for me in ways that I could not have imagined.”
I’m a family girl with children, and that’s really the goal and the life I want for myself. I have everything a girl could ever want. I have everything that you could buy. I have every diamond in ever color. That’s not important to me now. I have it all and I could do fine without it. And that’s what’s important to know.
KIMORA ON HER & RUSSELL
"Russell and I had a great relationship....but I think coping with or adjusting to my life, which was becoming very big and very busy was tough for him. When you get older, when you get wiser, when you get busier, when you start to create a career for yourself, a life for yourself, I think that certain issues or topics or indiscretions or whatever you want to call them are not going to be OK as when you were a teenager in love. Nothing's the same when you hit that mid-20s, late-20s stage. And when you're in your 30s, you kind of know what you want for yourself. I felt like I owed it to myself and to my children to obtain the best life possible. People may have thought the break-up was because my personality is so much bigger than life. I'm loud. I'm over the top, whatever. I'm a family girl with children, and that's really the goal and the life I want for myself. I have everything a girl could ever want. I have everything that you could buy. I have every diamond in ever color. That's not important to me now. I have it all and I could do fine without it. And that's what's important to know.
I cannot say that Russell wants something different, but I want different in a partner. I expect different in a partner. I expect an equal playing field when it comes to matters of family and raising children."
Source: ebonymagazine.com & necolebitchie.com for the article updates
Every One Has A Story To Tell, Tell Yours
I'm no pencil artist but I am an artist and this seems like a wonderful opportunity to win 6 months free residence in this beautiful NY high rise condominium. All you have to do is submit a self portraits; seem pretty simple right?
The deadline to submit your self portrait is Midnight, January 21st. At that time voting will end and formal judging will begin. If you submit your work before the deadline you might be able to rack up votes for the people’s choice award.
For More Info visit :http://www.artistswanted.org/
Image source:missomnimedia.com
The deadline to submit your self portrait is Midnight, January 21st. At that time voting will end and formal judging will begin. If you submit your work before the deadline you might be able to rack up votes for the people’s choice award.
For More Info visit :http://www.artistswanted.org/
Image source:missomnimedia.com
The A-Team Movie Trailer
When I was a kid I loved the theme music to The A-Team, I'm hoping that the movie does the original justice. The trailer is okay, I will probally go to see because I am an oldschool A-Team fan. The new A-Team feature Liam Neeson as Col. John “Hannibal” Smith, Bradley Cooper as the playboy mercenary role of Lt. Templeton “Faceman” Peck, Sharlto Copley as Capt. ‘Howling Mad’ Murdock, and UFC champion Quinton “Rampage” Jackson as B.A. Baracus. 
The 2010 A-Team
The A-Team in Theatres June 11, 2010
Say It Ain't So Wyclef?
The Haiti earthquake has already triggered hundreds of thousands of donations to musician Wyclef Jean's charitable foundation, which expects to raise upwards of $1 million a day in the disaster's wake. However, Internal Revenue Service records show the group has a lackluster history of accounting for its finances, and that the organization has paid the performer and his business partner at least $410,000 for rent, production services, and Jean's appearance at a benefit concert.
Though the Wyclef Jean Foundation, which does business as Yele Haiti Foundation, was incorporated 12 years ago--and has been active since that time--the group only first filed tax returns in August 2009. That month, the foundation provided the IRS with returns covering calendar years 2005, 2006, and 2007--the only periods for which it has publicly provided a glimpse at its financial affairs. In 2006, Jean's charity reported contributions of $1 million, the bulk of which came from People magazine in exchange for the first photos of a pregnant Angelina Jolie (the actress reportedly directed that the publication's payment go to Jean's charity, not her personally).
As seen on the following pages from the foundation's 2006 tax return, the group paid $31,200 in rent to Platinum Sound, a Manhattan recording studio owned by Jean and Jerry Duplessis, who, like Jean, is a foundation board member. A $31,200 rent payment was also made in 2007 to Platinum Sound. The rent, tax returns assure, "is priced below market value." The recording studio also was paid $100,000 in 2006 for the "musical performance services of Wyclef Jean at a benefit concert." That six-figure payout, the tax return noted, "was substantially less than market value."
The return, of course, does not address why Jean needed to be paid to perform at his own charity's fundraiser. But the largest 2006 payout--a whopping $250,000--went to Telemax, S.A., a for-profit Haiti company in which Jean and Duplessis were said to "own a controlling interest." The money covered "pre-purchased...TV airtime and production services" that were part of the foundation's "outreach efforts" in Haiti. No further description of these services was offered, though the return claimed that "the fees paid are below market" and that the use of Telemax was the "most efficient way of providing these services." The group's tax returns also report "consultant" payments totaling $300,000 between 2005-2007, while the 2006 return reported nearly $225,000 in "promotion and PR" costs. These expenses are not itemized further in the IRS returns. Continue Reading
& Then Star's charity repeatedly dissolved after failing to file reports
JANUARY 15--Musician Wyclef Jean's charitable foundation--now the recipient of many donations big and small in the wake of the Haiti earthquake--has repeatedly had its corporate status dissolved for failing to file required state disclosure reports, records show. As seen below, the Florida Division of Corporations has, on four separate occasions over the past five years, sanctioned the Yele Haiti Foundation (the charity was incorporated in Florida in 1998 as the Wyclef Jean Foundation, but formally changed its name two months ago). The longest involuntarily dissolution lasted 26 months, ending in November 2008 when Jean's organization provided Florida officials with overdue annual reports disclosing the identities of the group's officers and directors, its registered agent, and office address. The foundation's most recent dissolution occurred in September 2009, but was vacated a month later when the 37-year-old Jean's group filed its disclosure report. As TSG reported yesterday, the Jean foundation's records delinquency extended to the filing of its tax returns--and could make a prospective donor question whether the organizationally challenged foundation is a wise choice for disaster relief contributions. In August 2009, the group filed overdue tax returns for 2005, 2006, and 2007, documents showing that Jean and fellow board member Jerry Duplessis paid themselves at least $410,000 for services provided to the foundation. Duplessis, a bass player who has toured with Jean, co-owns a New York City recording studio with the performer, as well as a Haiti-based production company. Continue Reading>>
Source:www.thesmokinggun.com
I surely hope and pray that the current donations are going to the right places.
Idris Elba Acts, Sings & Raps Oh My
One on One Video with Idris "Driis" discussing the process of making the album.
Songs
Jennifer Hudson Year is off to a Great Start
Additionally, in 2009 Jennifer signed on to play Winnie Mandela, ex-wife of South Africa's first black president and the world's most famous prisoner, Nelson Mandela. The film "Winnie" will start production in South Africa in May 2010. Portions of the film will be shot at the prison where Nelson spent 18 of his 27 years in prison. Jennifer says that Winnie is a "complex and extraordinary woman" and she is "honored to be asked to portray her." Congrats to Jennifer I hope 2010 continues to be good year for her.
Macy's is Looking for New Fashion Brands
Macy's is searching for established brands that may already be selling at rival stores such as Lord & Taylor. That's a different approach than Bloomingdale's takes. Last spring, it held an event called B-Seen, which was designed to attract new and emerging designers.
The Macy's casting call includes a two-week application process that starts Friday. If brands are selected, they will be asked to showcase their wares at Herald Square on Feb. 25 and 26.
“Macy's is continuing to invest in new endeavors that focus on inspiring our customer,” said Nicole Fischelis, Macy's fashion director, in a statement. This is the first time Macy's will sponsor an event of this kind, although in the early 1990s, the department store held a vendor fair where sought new and underexposed designers.
The switch to an already-established label makes sense, experts say. During this financial uncertainty, many stores are looking for tried and tested designers who already have their merchandising, marketing and production strategies in place.
Last week, Macy's announced it will close five underperforming stores, affecting over 300 employees. It has struggled with sales during the recession, though did end 2009 with sales at stores open more than a year rising by 1%.
In related news Thursday, online retailer Bluefly Inc. announced that it will be the exclusive online retail sponsor for season seven of fashion reality-TV series Project Runway. Macy's sponsored the show during season six, when Project Runway moved to the Lifetime network. Bluefly also sponsored seasons four and five, and earned high marks for TV brand integration, according to IAG Research rankings
Source: http://www.crainsnewyork.com/ words by Adrianne Pasquarelli
Haiti The Aftermath & How You Can Help
Please help as much as you can!
Supplies That Are Needed:
- Cots and tents that will be instrumental in providing temporary shelter to those who have been displaced.
- Medical supplies such as band aids, alcohol, peroxide, etc.
- Water and non-perishable food items.
- Generators and Industrial supplies for building will be needed for rebuilding.
- Supplies for children such as diapers, baby clothes, wipes and bottles are of great need as well.
Additional Ways You can Help
You can help via Text Message
• “Yele” to 501501 to donate $5 to Wyclef Jean’s Yéle Foundation;
• “Haiti” to 85944 to donate $5 to Rescue Union Mission and MedCorp International;
• “Haiti” to 25383 to donate $5 to the International Rescue Committee;
• “Haiti” to 90999 to donate $10 to the Red Cross in the U.S.;
• “Haiti” to 45678 to donate $5 to the Salvation Army in Canada (Canada only).
Donations show up as one-time charges on the contributor’s next cell phone bill. (Amounts are in U.S. dollars, and standard text-messaging fees apply.)
Top 5 Earning Couples in Hollywood
Jay-Z and Beyonce — 122-million
Harrison Ford and Calista Flockhart — 69-million
Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie — 55-million
Will Smith and Jada Pinkett Smith — 48-million
David and Victoria Beckham — 46-million
Source: Forbes Magazine
Happy New Year
Thank you for sticking with me checking back and stay tuned for great writing and great updates. I would like to hear more from you this year, let me know if my stories or post matter, ring a bell, entertain, or delight you? Leave comments let me know your thoughts; it makes blogging a little more fun when I get a reaction or feedback. Happy New Year !!!!!
Posts
