The Runway Diva in the Fall 08' Issue of Uptown Magazine

Good Morning Fam!

Make sure you go out and pick up the Fall 08' Issue of Uptown Magazine with Sean "P. Diddy" Combs on the cover....There's a photo and a quote from The Runway Diva! The article is entitled "A Fashionable Fete" and the story is located on pages 104-109.


I covered the event in an earlier blog..."Cocktails & Conversation with Cynthia Bailey" and I really had a great time at the dinner and I was eagerly anticipating the article....unfortunately they edited about 99% of my interview from the article (guess they didn't like what I had to say)...lol...but all press is good press I suppose......

Anyway, go out and get an issue family....it's sure to sell out quickly....Cuz...I'M IN IT!!!! lol....

Thanks for your continued support!

“Be daring, be different, be impractical, be anything that will assert integrity of purpose and imaginative vision against the play-it-safers, the creatures of the commonplace, the slaves of the ordinary.”

Untitled Fat Friends Project on Lifetime

This one comes fron The Futon Critic website:

LIFETIME TELEVISION ANNOUNCES EXPANSION OF DAYTIME PROGRAMMING WITH DIVERSE SLATE OF NEW UNSCRIPTED ORIGINALS

Released by Lifetime

[NOTE: The following article is a press release issued by the aforementioned network and/or company. Any errors, typos, etc. are attributed to the original author. The release is reproduced solely for the dissemination of the enclosed information.]

20 EPISODES OF NEW CULINARY SERIES "MOM'S COOKING" TO PREMIERE IN DECEMBER 2008

WEEKLONG EVENTS INCLUDE "LISA WILLIAMS" (WT) IN OCTOBER '08 AND

"UNTITLED FAT FRIENDS PROJECT" (WT) IN JANUARY '09

LOS ANGELES, CA From moms and daughters bonding together in the kitchen to best friends bonding over their struggles with weight, Lifetime is launching its first-ever slate of original unscripted daytime programming with the new series "Mom's Cooking," and two new weeklong special programming events, "Lisa Williams" (wt) marking the return of medium/clairvoyant Lisa Williams to the network, and a new docu-series, "Untitled Fat Friends Project" (wt), it was announced today by Jessica Samet, Senior Vice President, Reality Programming, Lifetime.

'Untitled Fat Friends Project' looks at the eternal struggle to lose weight, but links best friends sharing a common goal."

The five-episode, half-hour special programming event, "Untitled Fat Friends Project," will premiere in January 2009 will air for five consecutive weekdays on Lifetime.
In "Untitled Fat Friends Project," a new five episode special docu-series, follows friends Anna Lloyd (30, Pasadena, CA), Lydia Moody (25, Los Angeles, CA), Megan Stewart (29, Anaheim, CA), Shawna McClellan (27, Anaheim, CA) and Morgan Lancaster (30, Monrovia, CA), as they attempt to lose weight together.

They've enabled each other's weight problems to escalate for over half a decade, but now, they finally have the courage to transform their lives together. Each has their own reasons for wanting to lose the pounds, but all have one common goal to look their very best at Anna's upcoming wedding. With the help of professional fitness trainer Jessie Pavelka, each woman will change her eating and exercise habits over the course of 90 days.

They will also have the opportunity to heighten their self-esteem and work through the issues that lead them to their weight gain with the help of psychotherapist Stacy Kaiser. Tara Sandler ("House Hunters"), Jennifer Davidson ("$40 a Day"), Scott Templeton ("Design on a Dime") and Kris Curry ("The Family") serve as executive producers. Annie Price ("Oprah's Big Give") is co-executive producer and showrunner. "Untitled Fat Friends Project" is produced by Pie Town Productions ("A Baby Story") for Lifetime Television.

LIFETIME is a diverse, multi-media company, committed to offering the highest quality entertainment and information programming, and advocating a wide range of issues affecting women and their families. LIFETIME Television, Lifetime Movie Network, Lifetime Real Women and Lifetime Digital (including myLifetime.com) are part of LIFETIME Entertainment Services, a 50/50 joint venture of the Hearst Corporation and The Walt Disney Company.

Any thoughts on this one Family?

"Nobody can make you feel inferior without your consent."

A Fee For Being Fat????

I found this article on the net the other day.....

Extra Pounds Mean Fees in Alabama
By PHILLIP RAWLS
AP

MONTGOMERY, Ala. -- Alabama, pushed to second in national obesity rankings by deep-fried Southern favorites, is cracking down on state workers who are too fat.

The state has given its 37,527 employees a year to start getting fit — or they'll pay $25 a month for insurance that otherwise is free.

Alabama will be the first state to charge overweight state workers who don't work on slimming down, while a handful of other states reward employees who adopt healthy behaviors.

Alabama already charges workers who smoke — and has seen some success in getting them to quit — but now has turned its attention to a problem that plagues many in the Deep South: obesity.

The State Employees' Insurance Board this week approved a plan to charge state workers starting in January 2010 if they don't have free health screenings.

If the screenings turn up serious problems with blood pressure, cholesterol, glucose or obesity, employees will have a year to see a doctor at no cost, enroll in a wellness program, or take steps on their own to improve their health. If they show progress in a follow-up screening, they won't be charged. But if they don't, they must pay starting in January 2011.

"We are trying to get individuals to become more aware of their health," said state worker Robert Wagstaff, who serves on the insurance board. Not all state employees see it that way.
"It's terrible," said health department employee Chequla Motley. "Some people come into this world big."

Computer technician Tim Colley already pays $24 a month for being a smoker and doesn't like the idea of another charge.

"It's too Big Brotherish," he said.

The board will apply the obesity charge to anyone with a body mass index of 35 or higher who is not making progress. A person 5 feet 6 inches tall weighing 220 pounds, for example, would have a BMI of 35.5. A BMI of 30 is considered the threshold for obesity.

The board has not yet determined how much progress a person would have to show and is uncertain how many people might be affected because everyone could avoid the charge by working to lose weight.

But that's unlikely — government statistics show Alabamians have a big weight problem. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 30.3 percent are now obese, ranking the state behind only Mississippi.

E-K. Daufin of Montgomery, a college professor and founder of Love Your Body, Love Yourself, which holds body acceptance workshops, said the new policy will be stressful for people like her.

"I'm big and beautiful and doing my best to keep my stress levels down so I can stay healthy," Daufin said. "That's big, not lazy, not a glutton and certainly not deserving of the pompous, poisonous disrespect served up daily to those of us with more bounce to the ounce."

A recent study suggested that about half of overweight people and nearly a third of obese people have normal blood pressure and cholesterol levels, while about a quarter of people considered to be normal weight suffer from the ills associated with obesity.

Walter Lindstrom, founder of the Obesity Law and Advocacy Center in California, said he's concerned that all overweight Alabama employees will get is advice to walk more and broil their chicken.

"The state will feel good about itself for offering something and the person of size will end up paying $300 a year for the bad luck of having a chronic disease his/her state-sponsored insurance program failed to cover in an appropriate and meaningful fashion," he said.

William Ashmore, executive director of the State Employees' Insurance Board, said the state will spend an extra $1.6 million next year on screenings and wellness programs, but should see significant long-term savings.

Ashmore said research shows someone with a body mass index of 35 to 39 generates $1,748 more in annual medical expenses than someone with a BMI less than 25, considered normal.

Hmmmm....Interesting the way people think eh? Well before you start taxing folks by size....perhaps an the charts in this whole "Body Mass Index" thing should be adjusted to the current times.....it's (the charts) are really quite outdated now. Not realistic at ALL!

Kids are coming out of the womb a size 12 with big azz feet...those charts DON'T apply to today's growing child....just a thought fam....

As always your comments are most definitely appreciated!

"There is nothing more frightening than ignorance in action."

Happy Birthday Gwendolyn "Diva" DeVoe

Well Family,

If you don't know or haven't heard about it yet.....let me be the first to inform you of the news.... Last night I attended one of the biggest plus sized industry events of the season - The 50th birthday celebration for Gwen "Diva" DeVoe....

Diva is the CEO of DeVoe Signature Events (http://www.dseventinc.com/) and is one of the most powerful and influential women in the plus sized industry today. With the creation of The Plus Academy a "training camp" for plus sized women and aspiring models, she has been successfully grooming and preparing young women for a career in the fashion industry for years

Anyway, the plan to put together this event was hatched back in July at a Manhattan BBQ's....some of her closest friends & colleagues met over dinner to put the party plans in motion...and it all came together on this one night, Sunday, August 24, 2008 in Brooklyn.

The party's theme was a "Midsummer Night's Dream" again...ya'll know us plus gals LOVE to dress up anyway and tonight was no different....

From the moment I arrived at Deity Lounge with my sister Karen and girlfriend Deb in tow we were enveloped in a sea of beautiful evening attire in luscious purples, blues, oranges, yellows, reds....EVERYONE looked phenomenal - absolutely phenomenal!!! The big girls were rocking some of the hottest plus sized designers in the business...Douglas Says, Monif C., Qristyl Frazier, Igigi Designs....I'm telling you family...we were NOT playing on this most special night!

Tonya "T-Boogie" Giddens was holding things down effortlessly and upon your arrival you simply HAD to stop and pose for the photographers outside the venue where the "Step & Repeat" was set up and chat with the DSE TV crew BEFORE you walked the red carpet to get inside. The security was tight and the brother out front made SURE there were no party crashers at this exclusive event!

Miss Diva arrived around 9:45pm with makeup artist Tara Taylor and was totally floored by the scene that was waiting for her when she exited her car....there were tons of us waiting for her outside and she looked absolutely stunning in an Original Douglas Says Autumnal hued evening gown. I gotta tell you, Diva & I have been BFF's since forever and I cannot remember the last time I have seen her this happy....my girl was smiling from ear to ear and seeing faces she hadn't seen in YEARS.

As she made her way into the main level the surprises just kept on coming for my girl...everyone was waiting for her arrival and as soon as she entered the room the flashbulbs started going crazy....EVERYBODY either wanted a photo or wanted to be IN a photo with the birthday girl.

People came by plane, trains, automobiles & Access A Rides.....lol.. from everywhere to celebrate with Diva and the guest list was CRAZY ya'll.... Plus sized models Terri Murray, Jese Gary, Runway Coach Alva Page, Designers Douglas Says, Just Raymona, Monif C. & Qristyl Frazier, Jennene Biggins of The Voluptuous Woman Co. (http://www.volupwoman.com/), Rhonda Wilkins (http://www.divasunlimited.com/), Natalie Sandy of Plushus, Karen & Michelle Duncan, The DSE TV Crew and Diva got a special birthday serenade from Plus Sized House Music Diva....Michelle Weeks (Boy! Can that chick can SING Ya'll!!! Whew!), who had her beautiful daughter in the house with her....DJ Rockin' Rob & his fiancee Sharon (Congrats on the upcoming nuptials ya'll...), Terronce Styyles out of Washington DC, .....and SO many other folks....I am telling you people....ALL of the movers & shakers in the plus sized industry today was at this party....it was definitely the place to be!

There was a beautiful and delicious buffet in the upstairs lounge and the cuties working the bar were holding it down lovely.....Everyone was mingling and having a great time awaiting the birthday girl's arrival.....once she got there, though....everyone began moving to the lower level where the dance floor was and.....

The PARTY WAS ON!!!!

Diva is a stone cold "house music" head (like myself) and she quickly took to the dance floor as the DJ began pulling stuff from "the back of the crates"....Those gold sparkly peek toe pumps I was wearing were killing me but it didn't stop me from snatching up a cutie named Karlos and working it out on the dance floor....Diva was in full party mode and I swear, my girl must have danced all night long....the floor was packed and EVERYBODY was loving the music...lol...except perhaps Mia & Mike (who I don't think care all that much for house music!) and it got hot and sweaty down on that dance floor real quick. After dance music diva Michelle Weeks sang Happy Birthday to the Mogul....

I made my way upstairs to begin slicing up cake for the guests to take on their way out.... When I got back upstairs my sister Karen was perched on a bar stool and holding court in a corner...lol....(I don't get to hang with my baby sis too often and we had a blast that night!)

and the suggested dress code was "Elegant Evening Attire"- Folks took the dress code seriously ya'll....(But then you KNOW the big girls NEVER sleep on an opportunity to get all dolled up...right fam?)

We partied until the wee hours of the morning and as things were winding down the last remaining few of us met back upstairs at the bar where we ended the night with a few chilled Patron shots.

The party was absolutely phenomenal and as I said earlier....I have not "seent"...lol...my girl this happy in a very long time and that's all that really mattered to me.

Happiest of Birthdays D! You know I got nothing but mad love for you mama!

Photos & Slideshows courtesy of RDE Inc., BklynGurl productions Inc. & Lucaspictures, Inc.

"Birthdays was the worst days, now we sip Champagne when we're thirsty...."

Riverton Houses in Foreclosure?

Oh Wow Family...

Someone just alerted me via email about these articles regarding Riverton Houses in Harlem......

A River Ran Through Them
Monday, August 18, 2008, by Joey

The owners of the 1,230-unit Riverton Houses rental complex in Harlem—built by MetLife to be the black Stuy Town—are about to default on the property's $225 million mortgage because they couldn't meet their goals in turning rent-stabilized apartments into market-rate ones. But by how much were their projections off? Well, the goal was to convert 50% of the units, but they only converted 10% in just under two years. Oops. Cue the Crain's doomsday headline! [Crain's]

Big Harlem landlord signals end is near

In a sign that even New York’s healthy residential market isn’t immune from the nation’s housing woes, the owners of the rent-stabilized Riverton Houses in Harlem say they expect to default on their $225 million mortgage next month,The owners of the 1,230-unit complex, Rockpoint Group and Stellar Management, told the company that services their mortgage that they won’t have enough money to make the September payment. They blame their inability to deregulate units as quickly as expected, according to Trepp, a firm that tracks commercial mortgage securities. The owners said that to date they have only been able to convert 10% of the units to fair-market rents. Neither Rockpoint nor Stellar returned calls for comment.Manus Clancy, senior managing director at Trepp, said the pending default is one of the largest he has seen in the last 12 months.


The story was first reported in the Wall Street Journal. The news of the pending default will be yet another blow to investors in mortgage-backed securities. The Riverton House mortgage was obtained in 2006 and then put into a pool with other commercial real estate loans that were later sold to investors as mortgage-backed bonds. Mr. Clancy says the Riverton Houses loan is the sixth largest in the $6.6 billion pool.Shimon Shkury, a partner at Massey Knakal Realty Services who specializes in Harlem, said the owners likely fell victim to a tightening credit market, which, along with rising fuel costs, is making refinancing difficult.“The buildings still have value,” Mr. Shkury said.

The complex, located between East 135th and East 138th streets and Fifth Avenue and the river, was built by the Metropolitan Life Insurance Co. to house black tenants that were excluded from its other complexes, Peter Cooper Village and Stuyvesant Town.

I spent a lot of time during my childhood in Harlem, passing through and hanging out in "The Riverton"..often times just passing through to get to the complex located next to it..."Riverbend". It was always kept very clean and well maintained and EVERYONE wanted to live there...I am sitting here wondering (because I am still a little fuzzy on this whole foreclosure thing) what happens after this sort of thing? What happens to the tenants? They don't lose their homes do they?

On a totally different note...lol...I wonder if the "Stellar Management" mentioned in the article is the same "Stellar Management" that I used to write my rent checks to when I lived on Madison Avenue ...in the beautiful, sunny apartment that had all the mice I was catching and naming in an earlier blog.......

"The origin of every excuse is the failure to do something."

Janice Dickinson Loves Fat People...Heh-Heh

This weeks award for the biggest D.B.O.E. (Dumbest B***h On Earth) goes to Janice Dickinson (The Janice Dickinson Agency).....

Her latest knuckleheaded quote comes from the pages from this week's Star Magazine....Enjoy!

"I don't want to represent plus sizes, but we gave it a shot. I love fat people; I just don't want anything to do with them. Is that bad?"

- Janice Dickinson, On bringing plus-size models into her agency for the first time.

Well, If I am not mistaken....the new season premiere of The Janice Dickinson Agency airs tomorrow night on the Oxygen Channel (check your local listings for air times).

My home girl Mia Amber is making a guest appearance this season and the word on the street is that Miss Janice tried to break my girl down and make her "come out of her face" but Mia wasn't trying to hear that at all....kept her composure & dignity through all the BS Miss Janice tried to throw at her!

Mia is the only reason that I will watch this show this season....I have checked it out several times and it just fails to hold my attention....

Congrats on the gig nonetheless Mia....We'll all be watching!

“The greatest ignorance is to reject something you know nothing about”

Happy Birthday Mykela Young

Last night I attended my first ever "Sweet 17" birthday party out at Bay Ridge Manor in Brooklyn last night. The guest of honor was my girlfriend Michelle's beautiful daughter Mykela, who just got back from a fabulous tour of Europe!

I tried to get out to Brooklyn fairly early because Miss Mykela asked me if I would do her makeup....so I had no choice but to honor her request...lol...it was real easy because Missy lady is quite beautiful and doesn't really need any!

Anyway, I dragged my friend Deb with me and we rode out to Bay Ridge on the train. Upon our arrival we went upstairs to the "holding area" where she was upstairs waiting for me....

Also upstairs was a newly married couple, whose groom was Italian and the bride was Russian....they shared a glass of Champagne with me and were some of the nicest folks I've met in a minute. I wish the happy couple all the best!

After I finished beating Miss Mykela's face, she changed into an absolutely stunning orange evening dress....Mama Michelle was also done up in an orange number (that I hear she designed herself...you GO girl!!!)

Anyway, we made our way downstairs and straight to the open bar...I was told by her mom to "close the bar down!!!"....lol...but I don't drink like that anymore...so I just settled for a glass of white wine....Deb was throwing back the Jack Daniels & Cranberry Juice!

Shortly after our drinks Mykela made her entrance escorted by her mom, Michelle and her brother Myles (who is the son of my late home boy photographer Ronn Thornton)....I hadn't seen Myles in a few years and he's grown up quite a bit! He looks and moves more like his dad every day...(lol...he HATED the suit he had to wear)....

After Mykela came in and danced with her mom...who cried almost immediately, the dinner buffet was open, and a young brother played some tunes on the steel drum while we dined....I got a chance to chat with Michelle's mom for a moment (I don't get to see her too often) and dinner was followed by reggae (ya'll KNOW I was dying right??? lol) and Soca music (Mykela & her family are from Trinidad)....and I partied with Mykela & her family until almost midnight and then I had to hoof it back to Manhattan...on the way out though we stopped outside the other ballroom where the couple I had champagne with earlier were partying....they were playing the Cha-Cha slide and Deb and I paused for a few moments to get a couple of moves in before we departed (lol...slide to the left....slide to the right...criss cross!!!)

And speaking of Champagne...I almost forgot to mention that Miss Mykela pulled a "Miss Ross" on us and just as I was heading out home girl was headed back upstairs to change into a beautiful champagne colored evening dress for the 2nd half of her party....lol...I ain't mad baby....THAT'S how a DIVA does it!!!

Happy 17th Mykela and many more....thank you for inviting me to share your special day...

Love you much....Keep making us all proud!

Aunt Sharon

"The best birthdays of all are those that haven't arrived yet."

Plus Size Sideshow??

This article came (once again) from my friend & colleague Monica Lynch....it's a lengthy read but well worth it....

This one is from The New York Times (Sunday Edition)....

Television
Plus-Size Sideshow

From left, WE TV; Trae Patton/NBC; TLC
From left, scenes from “Bulging Brides” on WE; “The Biggest Loser” on NBC; and “Honey We’re Killing the Kids” on TLC.

By ALESSANDRA STANLEY
Published: August 22, 2008
IT’S the suffering that sells.

Before-and-after television needs a deep reserve of misery, and particularly on weight-loss shows the “before” returns in rhythmic waves of humiliation and self-loathing:

In a faded snapshot on the Joy Fit Club segment of “Today,” an obese young woman in a frizzy perm and bulging shorts gamely holds up a fork at a family picnic.

Newly slimmed down contestants on “The Biggest Loser,” don their lost weight — padded fat suits — to race one another across a beach in the hot sun.

The 500-pound heroine of “Ruby,” a new documentary-style series on the Style Network that is scheduled to begin in November, piles bricks under her bed so it won’t splinter under her weight.

The lows drop ever more excruciatingly downward before rising up in a frenzy of exertion, deprivation, extensive weight loss and a new life. And then the cycle starts over again: a new season of “The Biggest Loser” or “Celebrity Fit Club,” fresh variations on “X-Weighted,” “Big Medecine,” “Honey We’re Killing the Kids,” “Bulging Brides” or “I Can Make You Thin” — binge viewing for a nation obsessed with weight.

From top, WeTV; Filmmagic/VH1; Trae Patton/NBC; TLC
From top, an episode on “Bulging Brides”; contestants on “Celebrity Fit Club”; the weigh-in on “The Biggest Loser”; giving advice on “Honey We’re Killing the Kids.”

Society venerates skinniness, but people identify mostly with those who have trouble measuring up. Oprah Winfrey was perhaps the first major star to humanize her weight struggle and ennoble it into a parable of redemption and self-discovery.

Now that kind of journey is engrained in the culture as Americana, an escalator-age version of a Horatio Alger story, from fat to thinness. Early in the 2008 campaign the dark horse who emerged as a Republican favorite was Mike Huckabee, a preacher and former governor of Arkansas who won over primary voters with his tale of huge weight loss as spiritual salvation. On talk shows Mr. Huckabee would hold up his campaign pledges and the bannerlike size 50 pants he wore in his previous life. Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton made herself likable by invoking Weight Watchers, while the naturally slender Senator Barack Obama has to watch how much he watches his carbs or risk alienating working-class voters.

Fat was rarely seen in the early days of television, and mostly, it was either funny or scary, Jackie Gleason or the profile silhouette of Alfred Hitchcock. Back then obesity wasn’t an urgent concern or a national pastime, and it figured only at the margins of popular culture. Nowadays magazines and fashion designers cut their cloth to size zero, while the Health and Human Services Department warns that 65 percent of the population is overweight or obese. Thinness is a class-conscious fixation, but fat is a national rite of passage: like marriage, divorce or the death of a loved one, corpulence is something most people cope with at a point in their lives.

So it stands to reason that weight-loss shows are now a part of the television landscape, spanning NBC, the Style Network and Discovery Health, as common as crime procedurals, soap operas or talk shows. (All television genres have signature moments. On westerns it’s the cattle stampede; on weight-loss shows it’s the weigh-in, presented in slow motion and in black and white.)

These fat-reduction spectacles are embedded in a mixed message that mirrors a broader cultural clash of appearance and appetite — and our obsession with both. Against a loop of talk shows and made-for-TV dramas about eating disorders, Americans are goaded into ever more drastic and extreme expectations of physical perfection on prime time, while their path is mined with Double Croissan’wich specials at Burger King and Olive Garden “Tour of Italy” triptychs (lasagna, chicken parmigiana and fettuccine Alfredo). On “Today” a homily on sensible dieting from the Joy Fit Club is followed by instructions in a following segment for hibiscus margaritas and churros — deep-fried, sugar-dipped Mexican crullers. On the WE network’s show “The Secret Lives of Women,” a tribute to three women’s hard-won journey to extreme weight loss is interrupted by an ad for Baskin-Robbins Oreo sundae.

It’s a world of contradictions bracketed by all-you-can-eat breakfast at Applebee’s and pay-as-you-go gastric bypass.

Television is rife with shows that are part public health warning, part carnival side show (Jenny Craig meets Coney Island), and none is more so than “The Biggest Loser,” which returns on Sept. 16 for its fifth season. This NBC reality competition selects alarmingly overweight people and puts them through a Herculean diet and exercise regimen. The winner of the $250,000 prize is the one who loses the most weight, but everybody goes home lighter. Contestants are divided into teams and swaddled in tough love, encouragement and self-esteem tips, aided by trainers, dieticians and counselors.

There is not much laughter in the dining halls or steam rooms but plenty of inspirational sweat, hugs and tears.

But “The Biggest Loser” is first and foremost a reality show, where the entertainment value is measured in extremes. There isn’t much punch or visual payoff to a loss of 20 or 30 pounds; viewers have come to expect 100- and 200-pound miracles. Contestants who weigh 300 and 400 pounds are stripped down physically and emotionally, put in form-fitting bike shorts and forced to get on a scale, as clumsy and vulnerable as the human blobs of the future in “Wall-E.”

Audiences look on with repulsion or empathy, and sometimes both. It’s a conceit that simultaneously prods viewers to gape at unimaginably large human beings and also root for their success. Mostly the visuals feed complacency; as overweight as a viewer may feel, he or she surely will never fall this far into the potato chip abyss. And if the morbidly obese people on screen can drop 100 pounds, then even the chubbiest kid on the couch can fit into a swimsuit by summer.

On all of these shows the obese confess to past excesses and shameful moments. Often the kind of infra-red camera that captures illegal aliens crossing the borders at night catches the contestants raiding the fridge or bolting down raw cookie dough straight from the package. There are old snapshots of solitary prom nights and beach holidays spent indoors. It’s biography as body mass index, chronicled with lurid close-ups of bulging stomachs, tree trunk thighs and wobbly arms. On a recent segment of the Joy Fit Club the “Today” host Hoda Kotb introduced Mary, a woman who weighed 345 pounds before losing 174 pounds on Weight Watchers over years. “Lets look at her story,” Ms. Kotb said.

Mary obligingly spoke of embarrassing moments and moments of despair over a mournful montage of photographs from childhood to middle age, marooned on a couch in giant jeans stretched tight, arms failing to conceal overlapping stomach folds.

Then comes the reveal: Mary danced out, trim in a wrap dress and high heels, and triumphantly described her joy and the many surgeries she underwent to get rid of excess skin, including a tummy tuck, breast lift and work on her arms. (“I had my arm waddles wacked off,” she explained.)

These plus-size transformations are spellbinding, admirable and even enviable, but they are also teases, making impossible transformations seem just a commitment away. The lonely, self-hating journey of weight loss is turned into an exhilarating and emotionally fulfilling team sport. These programs also dismay advocates from groups like the Council on Size & Weight Discrimination or the National Association to Advance Fat Acceptance, who complain that they frame obesity as a character issue or a public-health menace and further stigmatize those who do not conform.

Few other shows on television have done much to reflect the new supersize viewer, though Tyra Banks and Dr. Phil pay lip service to confidence-building and size acceptance. And Dove has an advertising campaign featuring normal-to-plus-size women that sells self-esteem along with facial cleansers.

Real women — and the national average is between size 12 and 14 — are certainly not represented on television in any proportion to their actual numbers. Sitcom moms and crime-show detectives are reed thin (though off screen, should they commit the crime of failing to lose postpartum weight or reveal an inch of flab on the beach, they are exposed and mocked as cellulite recidivists). At most, an occasional sidekick will show some avoirdupois. Roseanne was the first television heroine who was heavy and sexually active, but she didn’t start a trend any more than the Junoesque heroine of ABC’s “Less Than Perfect” did.

The American physique has changed, but television still perpetuates a two-way body image distortion. Characters on dramatic series are unrealistically slender, while reality shows like “The Biggest Loser” showcase contestants who are dramatically obese.

Viewers are caught somewhere in the contradictions.

Very interesting, dont'cha think Family?

"To say that obesity is caused by merely consuming too many calories is like saying that the only cause of the American Revolution was the Boston Tea Party."

Obama Taps Biden as his Running Mate

What's Up Family?

I just read this news when I logged on this morning....Now NORMALLY, I don't really follow politics that much (people do CRAZY things in the heat of passionate discussions...lol). But this is a very strange time that we are living in now and with our struggling economy, education at an all time low and this seemingly never ending war....I think that it would be VERY foolish for us to NOT pay CLOSE attention to what's happening in politics right now....

From AOL Black Voices:

Posted Aug 23rd 2008 1:00PM by Jeff Douglas
Filed under: BlackSpin, Elections, Barack Obama

No more guessing, Sen. Barack Obama has selected Sen. Joe Biden of Delaware as his VP.

Photo courtesy of The Chicago Tribune

The news came overnight Saturday ... did you get the text message?

Praise for the VP pick is coming from all directions.

"Sen. Biden will be a purposeful and dynamic vice president who will help Sen. Obama both win the presidency and govern this great country," Hilliary Clinton said in a statement. ...

So who's Biden?


He's 65 and has made two runs for the White House, first in 1988. He's a Catholic with blue-collar roots, a liberal voting record and a rep for being an excellent speaker.

Biden has spent 30 years in the Senate serving on the Foreign Relations Committee and Judiciary Committee. He's helped pick Supreme Court nominees and break down Constitutional issues.

He brings the so-called experience that Obama is has been criticized for lacking.

What do you think ... is it your dream ticket?

Well, I am a STRONG supporter of Senator Obama myself but I don't know if it's MY "dream ticket" just yet...I was actually kinda feeling the "Barack Obama - Caroline Kennedy" rumors that were going around a few months ago...

I don't know much about Sen. Biden yet, so I will hold my opinions until I do.

Don't forget to "Barack" The Vote in November Family!!!

“As Americans, we can take enormous pride in the fact that courage has been inspired by our own struggle for freedom, by the tradition of democratic law secured by our forefathers and enshrined in our Constitution. It is a tradition that says all men are created equal under the law and that no one is above it.” -Barack Obama

Rest In Peace, Henry Grate, Sr. 1922 - 2008

Good Morning Family!

I just received word this morning that my friend, plus sized model Roslyn "Rocky" Grate

lost her father, Henry Sr, this morning after a lengthy illness.

Homegoing Services for Henry Grate Sr. will be held on

Wednesday August 27, 2008 at
J. Foster Phillips Funeral Home, Inc.
179-24 Linden Boulevard
Jamaica, NY 11434
Public viewing from 4pm-6pm
Service immediately following

My condolences go out to Rocky and her family at this very difficult time.

I ask that you all keep Rocky and her family in your constant prayers.

We love you my sista!


"Death is no more than passing from one room into another. But there’s a difference for me, you know. Because in that other room I shall be able to see."

- Helen Keller

Queen Latifah to Become a Mom?

I just read this one on Media Takeout ya'll.....I wonder if it's true.....

August 22, 2008. It appears that not everyone is looking overseas to adopt a child. MediaTakeOut.com is hearing whispers that Queen Latifah and her longtime partner Jeanette Jenkins are in the early stages of adopting an African American child.

Word on the street is that the two ladies are fairly deep into the process but are trying to keep everything hush-hush. And that if they're lucky enough to make it through the grueling process, they don't plan on talking publicly about it.

Good to see that The Queen and Jeanette are looking to spread some of their love and wealth. Now when's the wedding LADIES????

Aside from that last line...which I think is just really childish and shady....We should be able to live with and love whomever we choose...be it publicly or privately. You don't have to like it, love it or even agree with it...but you SHOULD respect it.

If this rumor is true...I wish them both the very best...EVERY child deserves a good and loving home...it's a good thing that they're doing...I hope it happens for them.

"Adoption is not about finding children for families, it's about finding families for children."

Da Brat Gets 3 Years for Assault

Hey Fam!

I just read this on AOL Black Voices....

Da Brat has joined a distinct group of black female rappers imprisoned.



Today, the rambunctious hip-hop lyricist and reality TV fixture was sentenced to three years in prison for striking a woman with a rum bottle at an Atlanta-area nightclub.

The Atlanta-Journal Constitution' reports that a DeKalb County judge also sentenced the 'That's What I'm Looking For' rapper, whose real name is Shawntae Harris, to seven years probation and 200 hours of community service.

The fateful incident occurred during a Jermaine Dupri-hosted Halloween party at Georgia-area nightclub Studio 72 on Oct. 31, 2007. The victim, a waitress at the club, had to be hospitalized after being struck by the rapstress, and Superior Court Judge Gail Flake said the woman suffered permanent facial scarring.

Da Brat and the victim had reportedly gotten into an altercation prior to the assault, police said at the time.

This sentence follows a string of other female rappers who have been imprisoned for assault and attempted manslaughter, including Lil' Kim, Foxy Brown and most recently Remy Ma.

You know what fam? For a change...I have absolutely nothing to say on this mess.

Let's hope time passes quickly for her in the joint.


"In prison, those things withheld from and denied to the prisoner become precisely what he wants most of all."

Jae "Jae-Boogie" Everett Gets Hitched!!!

Morning Family!

I am sending some mad Runway Diva Love & congrats to former NYYT-er and WIZ castmate Jae "Jae-Boogie" Everett who just got married in Florida on July 26 and has a little one on the way.....

His new bride's name is Donna and I hear the little baby diva (yeah...it's a girl!!!) Jade Celeste (LOVING the name!!!) is due on/or around October 5th and daddy has her new room all ready for her!

I met Jae back in my NY Youth Theater days when we were both performing in "The Wiz", Jae was 1/3 of the yellow brick road (thanks for the correction my love) and I was Evillene...And we performed together again in "Once On This Island".....we had an absolute blast!!!

Peace, Blessings and all the best to you and your new family!

"A baby will make love stronger, days shorter, nights longer, bankroll smaller, home happier, clothes shabbier, the past forgotten, and the future worth living for."

Danielle "Charlie" Bye Has a New Baby!!!!!

I have some wonderful news family!!!

My homegirl and former roomie from Mo'Nique's F.A.T. Chance (Season 1) became a new mommy on May 27, 2008 at 9:23 in the morning. Little Chad Bernard Carter, Jr. entered this world at a very healthy 8 lbs 7.6 ozs.!!!

His mama tells me that he is a VERY happy baby who's developing ahead of schedule and is a little bit of a flirt already! (Check the "baby tat" ya'll...hilarious!)

So I ask you to join me in welcoming little Chad Bernard Carter Jr., "CJ" for short to the world!

Congrats to Chad Sr. & Charlie...You done good girl!!! He's beautiful!

"A new baby is like the beginning of all things-wonder, hope, a dream of possibilities."

R.I.P Actor Julius J. Carry III 1952 ~ 2008

Sigh....I guess this makes three...

I remember the movie "The Last Dragon"...one of the last films that Berry Gordy produced...it was a cult classic and one of my faves...I was saddened to hear of this brother's passing and I thought I share with my family......

Julius J. Carry III 1952 ~ 2008
TV, film career lasted almost three decades
Chicago native's credits include 'Last Dragon,' TV shows like 'White Shadow,' 'Murphy Brown'
By Trevor Jensen Chicago Tribune reporter
August 21, 2008

Julius J. Carry III, whose love of acting was sparked by roles in "Hamlet" and "West Side Story" at Hales Franciscan High School, had a long career in TV and movies that included a scene-stealing turn as Sho'nuff in 1985's "The Last Dragon."

Mr. Carry, 56, died of complications from pancreatic cancer Tuesday, Aug. 19, in his Studio City, Calif., home, said his mother, Rev. Helen Carry, executive minister of Christ Universal Temple in Chicago's West Pullman neighborhood.


Mr. Carry left the Midwest to pursue an acting career on the West Coast after one year at Quincy College in Quincy, Ill. He studied communications at Loyola Marymount University, where he received a master's degree, his mother said, and made his big-screen debut in 1979's "Disco Godfather."That same year he had a part in "The Fish That Saved Pittsburgh," and for the next 25 years he landed a steady stream of acting jobs, primarily on TV shows including "The White Shadow," "The Adventures of Brisco County Jr.," "Tales from the Crypt," "Murder She Wrote" and "Murphy Brown."

While a versatile actor who moved easily between comedy and drama, he was somewhat limited by his height of 6 feet 5 inches, his mother said. But his size made him perfectly suited to play Sho'nuff, the bad guy who yearns to be the "Shogun of Harlem" in the cult action-comedy "The Last Dragon."Sporting an outlandish frizzed-out hairdo and a tripped-out version of samurai garb, Sho'nuff demands to know from his followers, "Who da mastah?" to which they respond, "Sho'nuff!""It came to life with what he did," said Taimak,


who played the movie's hero, Leroy Green. "He just stood out because the character was so over the top."Mr. Carry inhabited his role so thoroughly that, during a climactic scene where he's pitted in a martial arts duel with Taimak's character, his mother recalled standing up in a Chicago theater and yelling, "Kill him!" in support of her son's opponent."He should have known better, I raised him better than that," she said, laughing.


Mr. Carry grew up in the Lake Meadows neighborhood and attended St. Elizabeth Catholic School before Hales Franciscan. After getting a taste of the stage in high school, he knew he wanted to be an actor, said Chicago attorney Roland M. Stewart, a friend since childhood.He worked hard for his role in "The Last Dragon," badly injuring a biceps while working out in preparation for his martial arts scenes, Stewart said. Taimak recalled Mr. Carry taunting him off-screen to make sure the actors had a real edge between them during the shoot."He had a dream, and he knew how to make his dreams come true," Stewart said.Mr. Carry, who was once divorced, also is survived by his second wife, Naomi; and a brother, Ronald.

Services are being arranged.
ttjensen@tribune.com


Enjoy the classic clip fam...Rest in Peace My Brother....

“I think the thing to do is to enjoy the ride while you're on it."

Introducing Tadshi Shoji......."Fashion with a fuller figure in mind"

What Up Fam!

This article came to me from my new friend Monica Lynch via email...it's a MUST read for ALL of my plus sized sisters and I simply HAD to repost it here:

ON STYLE By CHRISTINA BINKLEY

Dressing Women Of a Certain Size - August 21, 2008; Page D1

The average woman's size in the U.S. approximates a 14, but fashion designers generally don't make anything larger than a size 12. It doesn't take an economist to see that supply is out of kilter with demand for large-size designer duds.

This is precisely the opportunity that Tadashi Shoji saw when he began offering his collections in sizes up to 24. "It's money dangling in front of your eyes," he says.

Mr. Shoji is best known for svelte eveningwear of the sort that he'll show on the runway during New York fashion week next month.

Tadashi collection cocktail dresses and gowns tend to be figure-flattering, with gathers called ruching, darts and shutter pleats coyly masking all manner of flaws. These designs often show up on celebrities, helping to generate Mr. Shoji's high-end reputation.

He says, grinning, that the queen-size version of his Tadashi collection now accounts for about $5 million of Tadashi Shoji & Associates Inc.'s $60 million in annual revenue. Queen Latifah is a frequent customer. Although her weight fluctuates, she is generally a size 16, he says. Phone calls to the representatives of the singer and actress weren't returned.

I've spent months asking people in the fashion industry why large sizes are so rare. Designer Elie Tahari explained last year that it's expensive to offer bigger sizes, which require more fabric, as well as special patterns and a separate "fit" model, a model whose standard proportions are used to fit the clothes.

Mr. Tadashi, however, says large women are willing to pay extra for designer duds. His queen-size dresses retail for roughly $350 to $800, about 10% to 15% more than his standard sizes.

Perhaps more important, fashion-industry people are often fixated on their own ideals of beauty. Many designers just don't want to see their clothes on big people -- and many stores are complicit, displaying tiny sizes and keeping larger ones in back. Paige Adams-Geller, a former fit model for many high-end jeans manufacturers, told me in March that she urged designers to consider how their clothes would look on a woman who wore, for instance, a size 10.

"And the designer would say, 'Well, I don't want someone who is that size,' " she said, " 'They shouldn't be wearing my brand.' " Ms. Adams-Geller turned that into a profitable business, Paige Premium Denim, selling jeans for up to size 28 -- or "4X." "I'm like, there's a lot of people out there that size with money to spend," she said.

Associated Press
Queen Latifah's gown by designer Tadashi Shoji,

worn at the American Music Awards in November,

was based on the regular-size version.

Sometimes, what fashion calls "plus" size seems out of sync with real life. I recently received an email from a "plus-size" model who noted that she wears a size 8 pant. That's my size. Gulp.
When Denise Brodey came on board as editor-in-chief of Fitness magazine two years ago, she began demanding that the magazine use real-size models. The magazine, she says, "was not a reflection of what's going on in the world out there."

At first, she says, Fitness struggled to find clothes since the designer samples were all too tiny for the new models. "The only thing that really works is shoes and handbags," says Celeste Brown-Wright, the magazine's fashion director.

But Ms. Brown-Wright says she now relishes working with women who devour pizza during fashion shoots. "They smile!" she says.

The first time I came across Tadashi Shoji's plus-size gowns, I was visiting http://www.myshape.com/, an online retailer with an innovative sales approach: They take women's measurements and suggest clothing to fit. MyShape uses real women as models -- in every shape, size, age and color. They had a warehouse rack full of Mr. Shoji's big-size gowns.

Evans Vestal Ward for The Wall Street Journal
Cocktail dress on model Nancy Kruse is adjusted by Tadashi Shoji.

Mr. Shoji employs a size-18 fit model named Nancy Kruse to come to his Los Angeles studio several times a week for fittings. Because his "queen-size" garments are based on her proportions, she's careful to keep her measurements -- 48-39-48 -- from fluctuating. "You can screw up someone's company if you go up and down all the time," Ms. Kruse says. The model, who drives a shiny, white BMW, says she has a don't-ask-don't-tell deal with her doctor: "If I hear my weight, I'll want to lose weight and then I'll be poor."

Mr. Shoji trained as an artist in Japan before coming to the U.S. to make his fortune in fashion.

He began making queen-size gowns about five years ago, after buyers from Saks asked if he'd be willing to make certain items from his collections in bigger sizes. Today, they're sold in the plus-size departments of stores that include Saks and Bloomingdale's, along with big-size garments from Anne Klein, Ellen Tracy, Harari, and Magaschoni.

Mr. Shoji adjusts the garments to offer more coverage for wide bra straps, less plunging necklines and extra coverage for the upper arms. Shoulder pads are often wider to de-emphasize hips.

He has ordered a garment-dummy custom-made to Ms. Kruse's dimensions to use for fittings when she isn't available.

The clothes are cut and sewn in Shanghai, where it has proved difficult to find a fit model with voluptuous curves. Hence, Mr. Shoji purchased shapely hip and breast pads at Frederick's of Hollywood and shipped them to Shanghai for the factory's model. "Certain people have said, 'This is not our image,' " says Mr. Shoji. "But I said, 'We can sell it -- why not? ... We aren't doing art -- this is commerce.' "

Write to Christina Binkley at christina.binkley@wsj.com

Thanks for the head's up Monica!

“The great thing in the world is not so much where we stand, as in what direction we are moving.”

Emperor's Roe Caviar & Fine Foods - CLOSED

And the "hits" just keep on coming family......

Emperor's Roe Caviar & Fine Foods - CLOSED
200 Lenox Avenue
New York, NY 10027
212-866-3700 phone

The gourmet Champagne & Caviar Bar on Lenox Avenue has closed too! This doesn't surprise me because I used to live right around the corner on Mount Morris Park West....lol....

I was walking around the area with my girl Eda when we came across this place a few summers ago. We KNEW immediately when we saw it that it wasn't "for" us....So I gotta believe that there weren't enough "new settlers" in the area yet to keep that place open.

Now as much as I love caviar (with a little chopped onion & egg on a toast round...yummy!) & champagne...you gotta KNOW that the brothers & sisters in that neighborhood wasn't trying to mess with no fish eggs!!! We will eat fish heads (or at least I did when I was a kid) and even pig intestines but we draw the line at caviar....ROFLMAO.

You can still purchase the caviar online though...(www.emperorsroe.com)

“Some people wanted champagne and caviar when they should have had beer and hot dogs”

Ginger Express on 116th Street - CLOSED!!!! WHAT????

Okay Family!!!!

I am truly about to lose my doggone mind here....after blogging about the Harlem Tea Room closing....I glanced at another column and saw this:

Ginger Express (CLOSED)

$13-$20

"Ginger" would like to thank all of our patrons for supporting us since our opening.

Unfortunately, Ginger has closed it's doors.

THANK YOU

Ginger is a quick service concept restaurant that focuses on healthy, full-flavored, fast affordable Chinese food, delivered though a modern and comfortable dining environment.

Our Philosophy
"To provide healthy, fresh, low-fat and calories full-flavored Chinese food in a comfortable modern setting."

The ginger root has been an Eastern food ingredient with documented beneficial remedies, of which the Western world increasingly has become aware as Eastern ideas about health and wellness have become more accepted and understood. Ginger Restaurant will explore its usage for flavor and for health in cooking and it will be an ingredient carried through many of dishes.

Sunday Brunch with musical vocalist. No cover charge. 1PM - 3PM. Call to confirm artist.

Now you all know that I absolutely LOVED this restaurant....I wrote a big ol' blog about it last year! The food was absolutely delicious...the pterodactyl (lol) bbq ribs in hoisin sauce were a MUST HAVE!!!!

I met Titus C. Bankuti at a benefit last year and we exchanged info....I was wondering why his emails kept coming back undeliverable.....

Dang! I really thought this restaurant would be around for a while....I'mma go ahead and take a guess that the rental fee on the space was absolutely killing them.

What's going on in Harlem people????

I am starting to believe that NYC is truly becoming an enclave for the rich.

Damn shame.

"Bear in mind, if you are going to amount to anything, that your success does not depend upon the brilliance and the impetuosity with which you take hold, but upon the ever lasting and sanctified bull doggedness with which you hang on after you have taken hold."