And from a velvet sky.....A SUMMER COLD!!!!

Just for the record....these "Wiz" references may be around for a while....lol...so prepare yourself. Anywhoo....I think that I may be catching a daggone summer cold.... here are my symptoms and my thoughts:

• Scratchy throat (could be allergies...taking a shot of echinacea)
• Sneezing (could also be allergies..another a shot of echinacea)
• Post Nasal Drip (Yup.  Could be allergies too)
• Clogged Nose (mmm hmm....pesky allergies perhaps?)
• Coughing repetitively from the DEPTHS OF MY SOUL???  (HUH? .... AW HELL NO!!!!)

THIS IS DEFINITELY A SUMMER COLD!!! THE DEVIL IS A LIAR!!!! I AM NOT HAVING THIS MESS!!!  I JUST TOOK A COLD AND FLU SHOT FROM DR. SCHULZE...

We'll see how it goes.....sigh....NO one wants a cold...but a cold in the middle of Summer during a HEAT WAVE???  Just miserable.....

Ugh.

I tried to write a poem last night
But my head was too foggy
And my eyes too watery
Then my nose started running
I still haven't caught it

- Erin Lewis

300lb Woman Kills Boyfriend by Sitting On Him....

I don't even know what to say about this one....I'm guessing that this takes SQUASHING to a whole new level!

Sigh...I wonder how long it will take for the comedians to take this story and run with it......SMDH.





SOURCE

Just cuz I like naked chocolate boys.....

Supermodel TYSON BECKFORD is quitting the catwalk to concentrate on acting.

Beckford claims there's no money left in modeling, so he plans to focus on his role hosting TV show Make Me A Supermodel (lol..silliest show on EARTH!! For real!!) - and expand his movie resume.

The 39 year old, who has appeared in a string of minor film roles, tells the New York Post , "I'm done with fashion . No one is getting those $1 million contracts right now. I want to concentrate on movies and other projects."

Sigh....I don't really care about Tyson and what he's doing with his career....but I DO like looking at dark chocolate boys with no clothing on.....yummy!

This Kiki comes courtesy of The Gossip Jacker! (one of my FAVE sites!)

Random Thoughts: Huh? You Can Freeze Cheerios Now?

Morning Fam!!!

I gotta tell you I absolutely LOVE visiting my home girl's house....there is ALWAYS some sort of inspiration or humor to be found there.....

Today's funny moment? As I was putting something in her freezer to chill, I noticed THIS sitting in the middle of her freezer when I opened the door....

WTF??? LMAO!!! Am I the ONLY one who thinks this is strange? I mean WHO IN THE HELL FREEZES cereal and milk? Does this actually WORK? Won't the whole thing just THAW INTO A MUSHY MESS?

Lol...I'm sorry fam....I thought it was funny and decided to share....

Thanks for the laugh Henry!

Chiwetel Ejiofor ROCKS in Kinky Boots!!!

Yesterday, I had some down time and decided to hang out with my homie and check out some movies (on the computer of course...lol).

The first movie I watched was a flick called "Kinky Boots" starring Nigerian cutie Chiwetel Ejiofor (the cutie from "Talk To Me", whose work I really love. He plays a drag queen in England who teams up with a shoemaker to design boots for a "niche" market....Drag Queens of course! Y'all KNOW I absolutely LOVE my "Queens" so I won't give away anymore

but I will say that both my homie and I enjoyed this film immensely. Although this film came out in 2005 it has taken me this long to find it (ahem...for FREE) and then view it....but it was most definitely worth the wait! And the soundtrack is pretty amazing too!! Check out the trailer below...

"Ladies & Gentlemen (and those of you who have yet to make up their minds)".....(LOVE this line!!! DEFINITELY gonna steal it!)...I present the trailer for "Kinky Boots"....Enjoy!

After a short break we moved on to Julie and Julia with Meryl Streep (doing a dead on impersonation of Julia Child) and Amy Adams. As many of you already know if you KNOW me, I am a huge fan of cooking shows, cooking movies, cooking demonstrations....get my drift? Lol...so I already knew I would fall in love with this movie and then be ABSOLUTELY FAMISHED when it was over....and I gotta tell you ... it didn't disappoint in the least....I desperately wanted to go home and find some tomato bruschetta, boeuf Bourguignon & chocolate cream pie waiting for me!!! But alas, it was not to be....I had to settle for the last of my fried chicken legs and salmon macaroni salad and PRETEND I was having what I really wanted but hey! I can dream right?

And a clip from the hilariously funny movie "Julie & Julia"



Both movies are not to be missed fam!!

Memories of Mallomars & Madison Avenue

You know every time I hang out with my homie Deb, something will happen at her house that will jog some long lost memory of mine from childhood.

This weeks visit was no different, in the midst of my visit my girl pulled out a box of Nabisco Mallomars....

I have not had a Mallomar since I was a young girl....my cousin Carl and I used to eat them ALL the time (I seem to recall that Nabisco or another company had a sister cookie that had a marshmallow center and two vanilla cookies....I can't remember what they were called but Carl LOVED those and I was (and am still) a chocolate fiend...).

I took one bite of that wonderful dark chocolate/marshmallow/cookie goodness and it was so yummy that I was immediately transported back to basement of 48 East 129th Street between Madison & Park Avenues; where Carl & I swung on the pipes and played in the coal pile for fun and ate ketchup & mayonnaise sandwiches because they were DELICIOUS!!!....lol...(yeah...I KNOW...I'm trippin')...

But this is what happens whenever I hang at Deb's house.

You know usually when I get a craving for something from my youth (Spam, Pink Champale, Spiced Ham & Cheese sandwiches, Yodels...etc) I am THOROUGHLY disappointed, they're usually loaded with so many chemicals that it's disgusting and it NEVER tastes quite like they did back then. But with the Mallomars they were so good that she had to take the box away from me....just like I remembered...

Needless to say I'mma be on the hunt for a few boxes soon.....

The NEW Pine Sol Lady????

Has anyone else peeped the inside cover of the June 2009 issue of Ebony Magazine (The one with Jada Pinkett-Smith on the cover) yet?



Is it me or did Diane Amos AKA the Pine-Sol Lady get a SERIOUS MAKEOVER????

Interesting.

She looks GREAT!!

I guess that's TRULY "The power of Pine-Sol Baby!!!"

Go Head Girl!!!

Ezra “Buddha” Masters Gets His Work Out On!!

What’s more beautiful than a beautiful spring afternoon along the ocean in Malibu? The fineness that is Ezra “Buddha” Masters running shirtless in front of you while you soak up the scenery:

Damn. Guess he’s gotta stay in tip-top shape while sexing it up on the “Zane Sex Chronicles” shows on Showtime. And I am not mad at that. (lol...neither am I!)

He's YUMMY!

Source: TheYBF.com

Harlem Heights on BET

Sigh....I watched this show last week in support of my peeps at Black 2 Broadway (they were featured)...7 minutes into the broadcast - I wanted to turn it off. 3 minutes after that I turned the channel. I absolutely hated it.

Sorry.

"Life's disappointments are harder to take when you don't know any swear words." - Calvin & Hobbes

Disney To Debut New Black Princess Doll

*Five weeks after America swore in its first black president, Disney will unveil a doll representing its first African American princess, due to make its official market debut in the fall.

Tiana, whose story will come to the big screen later this year in the animated musical "The Princess and the Frog," was on the drawing board long before Barack Obama broke the presidential color barrier. According to USA Today, marketing experts say Tiana signals a growing awareness by industries from toymakers to cosmetic companies that diversity is critical in a nation where people of color will be the majority in little more than 30 years.

"It's very significant," says Lisa Skriloff, president of Multicultural Marketing Resources. "It's like a stamp of approval for one of the most outstanding family (entertainment) companies to say this is important."

Mattel, which has the license to create the Princess Tiana dolls, is planning to release its own line of black dolls in September. Part of the Barbie family, the So In Style dolls are being touted as having a more authentic appearance, from their hair to their varying skin tones.

Disney, which has had great success with its Princess franchise, predicts that sales will surge with the arrival of Tiana.

"We expect our sales of Princess Tiana products to be significant, and not just to African-American households," says Franklin.

As with her fellow princesses, Tiana merchandise will range from Halloween costumes to backpacks. There are plans for Tiana-theme MP3 players and digital cameras to be in stores by the end of the year, and a line of Princess Tiana and The Princess and the Frog books will go on sale this fall.

Source: EURweb.com

Joe Cuba, Famed Salsa Band Leader, Dies At 78

You know fam....life is so funny....I swear to you, just yesterday I visited my parents and put on some music to keep my dad (who suffers from Alzheimer's) calm for a bit while I got caught up on things with my mom. I put on "Bang-Bang" by Joe Cuba and he jumped up (he loves Latin music) and we began dancing around the living room. This song ALWAYS makes me happy and when I was growing up in East Harlem in the late 60's-early 70's, whether you were Hispanic or not, this 45 (Yeah I said it!!!) was in heavy rotation on RECORD PLAYERS (YEAH...I SAID THAT TOO!!!) in EVERYBODY'S houses!!!

We ran around Harlem singing."Awww..Beep-Beep" ..... "Cornbread, Hogmaws & Chitlins"....Lol...I always wanted to know whose kid they had in the studio when they were recording this tune....sounded like the kid was having more fun than the entire band!!! Anyway, we had so much fun dancing around the house that I left the "Boogie Down" in a very good mood with my head in a happy place....ya know?

And then I got home, got comfortable, turned on TV1 and saw this:

Salsa band leader Joe Cuba, who was known as the Father of Latin Boogaloo, died yesterday at the age of 78.

A longtime member of his band, The Joe Cuba Sextet, says Cuba died at Mount Sinai Medical Center from complications of a bacterial infection he fought for several years.

Cuba was born Gilberto Calderon in East Harlem.

His group and its signature vibraphone-fronted sound became a hit in the salsa world in the 1960s.

Cuba was inducted into the International Latin Music Hall of Fame and served as director of the International Salsa Museum in East Harlem.

Sucked all of the good mood right out of me. I was saddened to hear of his passing but glad that he left so much wonderful music in his legacy.

Please enjoy the recordings of two of MY favorite Joe Cuba songs:


The Classic Bang-Bang by Joe Cuba



And "I'll Never Go Back To Georgia" (El Pito) by Joe Cuba

“Some songs are just like tattoos for your brain... you hear them and they're affixed to you.”

Carlos Santana

American Idol 8 - The Top 36.....No Curvy Chicks Allowed???

Did my eyes decieve me last night family? I watched American Idol last night to see some of the performances from the remaining hopefuls......

I commented to my friend Deb as we were watching..."did you happen to notice that there's not a curvy girl in the bunch????" Nope. Not one. Of course there are a few chubby males but no "substantially" sized ladies..... And you cannot tell me that NOT ONE curvy chick showed up in ANY of the audition cities that could sing.....

I ain't believing it. Something's smelling a little funky to me.......it appears that crazy people (Nick/Norman & Tatiana?) will abound on season 8.

Anyway, for a pre-glimpse of your top 36...Click here

“Prejudice, not being founded on reason, cannot be removed by argument” - Samuel Johnson

Will Somebody Please Tell Me......

What in the HELL was that THING Paula Abdul was wearing around her neck last night on American Idol??? The damn necklace (if you can call it that) was bigger than she was....and then she had the nerve to have 10,000 OTHER necklace & chains on with it! The medallion on the neck looked like THE ACTUAL continent of Mother Africa...ROFLMAO!!!

I know she's pushing her own jewelry line but come ON girl....you looked like you were about to topple over from the weight of that necklace.


I couldn't find a picture of the neckwear but it's real close to what Snoop Dogg is wearing in the picture on the right.

lol...Absurd. Simply absurd.

"Constructive criticism is about finding something good and positive to soften the blow to the real critique of what really went on."

- Paula Abdul

Why I Love The M11 & M104 Bus Lines.....

Why??

Because I meet the most interesting people driving buses on this line....like:

John King, the brother I met riding the M104 bus last year. He's a championship lacrosse player, a budding inventor (he's working on a new machine that aids in push ups) & former NYC sanitation worker who has one of the most fascinating stories about collecting trash in The Big Apple. (I am trying to convince him to write his story down....it would be a must read!)

- And -

Flip Gilyard, a cutie pie driver on the M11 bus who was funny and charming for the entire ride. (I told him, that "Flip Gilyard" is NOT the name for a bus driver.....It SOUNDS like the name of an entertainer.... can't you just hear it family?

"Ladies & Gentlemen...The Comedic Stylings of Flip Gilyard!!!"

lol...Flip!!! YOU should be doing something else!!!

- And -

An older woman on the M11 line whose name escapes me but I remember that she was a retired Merchant Marine, who was driving the bus because she likes people and was bored.....

- And -

A little, teeny, tiny little Puerto Rican mami, who lives in Harlem...I don't know her name but she DRIVES THE HELL out of that M104 bus.....absolutely fearless!!! Love her!!!

One night a few summers back, I jumped on a M104 bus late at night, headed up town and looked right into the smiling face of my younger brother Jeff.

I met a driver on the M104 one day who looked familiar to me and after talking to him for a few moments, we realized that we had both attended JFK High School together! Small World!

There are SO many others, cuz I ride both lines frequently and I am usually first to get on and I like to talk....and this is how I find out what their REAL dreams and aspirations are.

So because so many of the drivers on these lines have showed me love, I decided to send a little back to them and give them their props on a job well done!!! Y'all get mad love from The Runway Diva!!!

Hmmm....well except for the complete jackass that picked me up last night around 10pm. He was a dark chocolate brother, who drove the M104 last night with the busted fare box. (Yeah Bro...you know who YOU are...there was absolutely NO NEED for you to take your bad mood out on me!)

Not a pleasant brother at all. Very rude. I was TOTALLY surprised and disappointed.

"Behavior is a mirror in which every one displays his own image."

- Johann Wolfgang Von Goethe

Remember "The Electric Company"? - It's BACK!!!

Hey Family!

Y'all remember "The Electric Company" when it ran on PBS back in the day right? A lot of well known stars today honed their skills on this show (Its cast included Bill Cosby, Morgan Freeman and Rita Moreno; John and Faith Hubley were among the animators; and Zero Mostel, Gene Wilder, Joan Rivers and Mel Brooks contributed voices.)

Well according to David Hinkley of The NY Post....It's BAAAAAACKKKKK!!!

"The Electric Company" has turned the power back on, and let's just say the room looks a lot different than it did in the 1970s.

It also feels a little more confusing.

The first "Electric Company" started more than 30 years ago as a learn-to-read project, targeting viewers who knew the alphabet and were figuring out words.

It came out of the Children's Television Workshop (now the Sesame Workshop), so it had a good pedigree and understanding of how to make words cool and fun. One of its star characters, for instance, was "Silent E," which could tack itself onto the end of a word and magically turn a cap into a cape.

Traditionalists will be happy to know Silent E is back, proving the rules of language and vocabulary still have surprising similarities to the rules of three decades past.

The same cannot be said, however, for the cultural trappings of the new "Electric Company."

Now as then, many of the letter lessons are put to music, or reinforced with music. But where the music in the 1970s was bright, upbeat pop, with a sprinkling of sing-along folk, the keys to the music now have been turned over to rap.

Which only makes sense. Rap years ago spread way beyond urban America, and hip-hop beats form the foundation for much of today's pop music, across the board.
If you want to talk to the kids, as they say, rap is the language.

The only problem here is that once in a while the producers and cast get so enthusiastic about their production numbers, their words become almost unintelligible.

Since the songs all repeat the lyrics 25 times, which is a good strategy, the audience will probably get the idea. Still, at the age when you're learning the meaning and use of words, it's not a bad idea to make enunciation part of the package.

That minor point aside, "The Electric Company" still frames its lessons inside stories that are packed with little morals and lessons about life.

The actual Electric Company, for those who don't know the show, is a group of kids with special skills. They can, for instance, visualize a letter and make it appear on a surface.

In the opening episode, one of those skills is stolen by a mischievous rival group called the Pranksters. So Keith, the newest Electric Company member, must get it back.

As in the old days, the show tucks in a few references for grownups, like a glancing allusion to "24." But it keeps its eye on the ball, bouncing right along to that hip-hop beat.

("The Electric Company" celebrates its return today with four back-to-back new episodes, 3-5 p.m.)
dhinckley@nydailynews.com

Hmmm.....can't help but wonder what they'll try to "revamp & revitalize next"....perhaps "Zoom" or "Villa Allegre"? (Anyone remember THOSE???) (l0l)

"The foundation of every state is the education of its youth."

- Diogenes Laertius

What Ever Happened To: Angela Bofill

Raised in New York by a Cuban father and a Puerto Rican mother, Angela Bofill was a student of many styles of music, from the latin sounds played regularly by her family to the soul and jazz sounds of her neighborhood in the Bronx. She began singing professionally as a teenager as a member of New York’s All City Voices and as featured lead soloist for the Dance Theater of Harlem.

After completing her studies in California, Bofill was introduced by her friend, jazz flutist Dave Valentin, to Dave Grusin and Larry Rosen of GRP records, and they signed her for her 1978 debut, "Angie" (produced by Ashford & Simpson). The album was a breakout smash on contemporary jazz radio and the tastefully arranged jazz vocal disc showed a gifted young artist with a rich voice beyond her years. Featuring a number of great cuts, including most notably a cover of “This Time I’ll Be Sweeter,” Angie became one of the year’s biggest jazz albums. She followed it in 1979 with the even better "Angel of the Night," a more muscular album that showed she had the chops to handle upbeat material like the title cut and the fantastic “What I Wouldn’t Do” as well as softer tracks such as “I Try” (later beautifully remade by Will Downing).

Sensing a star in the making, Clive Davis and Arista Records bought out Angela’s GRP contract and teamed her with hot writer/producer Narada Michael Walden for "Something About You," an attempt at a more straight-ahead pop/soul album. While some of Bofill’s jazz fans balked at the new album, it was undoubtedly a critical success, providing her with some of the best material of her career, including the stepper “Holding Out For Love” and the wonderful ballads “Break It To Me Gently” and Earl Klugh’s “You Should Know By Now.” It was one of 1982’s best albums and still sounds great today (it was reissued in expanded form in 2002). Unfortunately, Arista pulled a rare blunder in its choices of singles to be released from the album, and the disc never received the props it deserved.

She teamed up again with Walden in 1983 for "Too Tough," which was even more directly aimed at the urban market, with a funk-laded title cut and very little resembling her earlier jazz stylings. And while it became her highest charting album on the R&B charts, it was at the expense of her loyal jazz following, which never really came back. She again teamed with Walden for Teaser, which featured the nice ballad, “I’m On Your Side.”

Whether singing jazz, soul or funk, and regardless of the quality of material she worked with, Bofill always got the most out of her material and made even poorly produced work sound better than it should.
She recorded two more modestly successful albums for Arista (with the help of the System and George Duke) before moving to Capitol and producer extraordinaire Norman Connors for "Intuition," in 1988. It was her last notable chart success. She recorded three more albums over the next eight years of varying quality, and provided backing vocals on a number of other albums, most notably Connors’ excellent "Eternity" in 2000, where she sounded as wonderful as ever.

She’s appeared in a number of stage plays over the last few years, including “God Don’t Like Ugly” and “What A Man Wants, What A Man Needs.” She's also regularly toured the US and Europe in multi-artist jazz artist shows.

In January, 2006, Bofill suffered a massive stroke that left her paralyzed on her left side. It's doubtful she will ever perform or record again.

Bofill, 53, was eventually released from intensive care and will require speech and physical therapy. She was uninsured, so many of her friends organized benefit concerts to raise money for her medical treatment. She currently resides in Seattle, Washington.

Source: Soul Tracks.com

"I love to see a young girl go out and grab the world by the lapels. Life's a bitch. You've got to go out and kick ass." - Maya Angelou

Florida Marlins Recruit Male Dancers with Big Bellies

Sigh...from Asylum.com....

The traditional model for cheerleaders is as well-defined as the pom-pom wavers' often tanned and sculpted physiques. Throw in beer vendors and a fuzzy mascot and you've got yourself a formidable supplement to the on-field action baiting ticket buyers.

The Florida Marlins seem to think that fans want more. A lot more. Belly, that is. The MLB franchise is hiring a new cheerleading squad -- to be called the Marlins Manatees -- consisting entirely of big-bellied men.

To be sure, these new cheer captains are to be very enthusiastic about the team, but the ad specifies that corpulence is also essential. They're not named after giant sea cows for nothing."The Marlins are looking for bellies with the biggest jiggle, big feet with the best dance moves and enthusiasm that will rock Marlins fans out of their seats," reads the ad.

As fun as watching a crew of enthusiastic fans dance on the field for their favorite team may be, we just don't think this team of cheerleaders would offer us a really, juicy scandal -- or at least a scandal that we'd ever want to know about.

Your Thoughts Anyone?

"I'm not a cheerleader. I'm an athletic supporter." ~Author Unknown

Not Feelin' It.....

I'onno WHAT was on Raven Symone's mind when she put on this lil ...er...getup?

And sorry ya'll I just ain't feeling the look for Latifah...I ain't feeling the hair nor the dress. It's all too beige for me.

Nope...I don't like it at all.

"There's a world of difference between truth and facts. Facts can obscure the truth." - Maya Angelou

Will The Current Recession Hurt Fashion Week?

Hmmm....things must be tight if this ISH is happening....from the YBF y'all:

In other news, New York Fashion Week needs to go on ahead and shut down the tents. (I'mma have to agree with this one fam)

Not only have NY Fashion Week mainstays Betsy Johnson and Vera Wang pulled out for this year’s shows, somebody is letting She by Sheree through the NY Fashion Week velvet ropes. She is indeed showing her “collection” at Fashion Week. Yes, the ATL Housewife will be hitting the catwalk. *blank stare*

Is this what we’re coming to with Fashion Week? I’ll pass. No word on if she’ll just be showing the sketches…again..or the actual clothes. This probably is the reason she’s bringing her ex Bob Whitfield back to court for more millions. Womp.

UPDATE: Sheree has withdrawn her divorce appeal for more money.

Hmmm...it will be interesting to see who else will pull out of fashion week due to financial difficulties.....I wonder if a plus size collection will be able to sneak through the back door this year.....

"A designer is only as good as the star who wears her clothes."

- Edith Head

Whatever Happened To: Lisa Nicole Carson

Lisa Nicole Carson (born July 12, 1969) was a popular actress. Carson was born in Brooklyn, New York and spent her adolescence in Gainesville, Florida, attending F. W. Buchholz High School and graduating in June, 1987.

Carson was noted for her talented singing voice, which contributed largely to her placing as a runner-up in the 1986 America's Junior Miss scholarship/talent pageant for the state of Florida. After she graduated high school, she moved back to New York to pursue a career as an actress, where she began her career by appearing in a number of 'After School Specials' and Home Box Office made short films.

Carson appeared on two critically acclaimed prime time shows, in some cases simultaneously. She had a recurring role on ER from 1996 to 2001, and a supporting role on Ally McBeal as Ally's best friend Renee from 1997 to 2001.

Carson received press notice for both roles, and in 2000, she was voted by readers of Black Men Magazine as one of "The 10 Sexiest Women of the Year." In 2001, she was fired from roles on both shows, because of her "unpleasant attitude and her mood swings and the frequent amount of times she came into work while inebriated.

In 2000, she was arrested for 'interfering with a lawful business establishment' and 'not leaving the premises' after a disorderly conduct incident at a luxury hotel. Shortly after, she was hospitalized in a mental health facility which was reportedly due to a drug-related incident. However, in recent years her family and friends have acknowledged that Carson's aberrant behavior was actually due to her developing schizophrenia.

Little has been known of her life since she made her last on-screen appearance on the series finale of Ally McBeal. Carson has since withdrawn from acting and public life while suffering from schizophrenia. Currently, Carson is being cared for by family and mental health specialists-who are treating her debilitating disease.

Damn. This chick was hot for a GOOD LONG minute....damn shame.

"The ability to be in the present moment is a major component of mental wellness." -Abraham H. Maslow