Elin Nordegren Has The Eye of The Tiger, Rumored To Get $750 Million Pretty Little Green Ones In Divorce Settlement!

Looks Like Elgin's Gonna Take A Real Licking

Golf maestro Tiger Woods has one thing to say to all the single ladies -- don't even think about coming around daughter Sam, three, and son Charlie, one. Unless, that is - He puts a ring on it (that would be their finger). Otherwise, Elin ain't having it!

More outrageous settlement details, under the hood.

In return, former wife ELIN NORDEGREN, 30, gets the biggest payout ever seen in a celebrity divorce, netting her a whooping three quarters of a billion dollars.

But she can NEVER publicly speak out over his flings with socialite RACHEL UCHITEL, reality star JAIMEE GRUBBS, porn queen JOSLYN JAMES and up to 17 others, who will work out costing him £25million each.

Mistresses ... Jaimee Grubbs, Joslyn James and Rachel Uchitel

A pal said: "Elin is desperate to protect the children from the womanising side of their father.

"Tiger's main fear is her telling her story after he's rebuilt his reputation, sending him back to the gutter."

Swedish ex model Elin ended up with double the sum she originally sought, after her lawyers proved Tiger, 34, was worth much more than the $1billion (£660m) she thought.

Her friend explained: "Elin's legal team have done a great job digging up all sorts of assets.

"The price of the huge sum is her silence: no interviews, tell-all books, or TV appearances about this for the rest of her life - even if Tiger dies first - or she'll lose the lot."

Elin keeps their main home in Windermere, Florida, and a nearby property - jointly worth £3million - plus an apartment in Stockholm and her island farmhouse nearby.Tiger gets a £50million estate in Jupiter Island, Florida, where they had been building a new mansion.

He will also keep their £2million apartment in Los Angeles, when the six-year marriage officially ends.

The pal said: "Everything's signed. Elin is ready to file for divorce at Orlando County Court. She expects to in the next seven days."

£50m estate on Jupiter Island ... goes to Tiger

Elin gets sole physical custody of their kids but they will split legal custody.

That means Tiger will share decisions about their future - so Elin will not be able to permanently relocate them to her native Sweden.

Tiger - believed to be building a golf resort in Dubai and investing in the Bahamas - will be able to see the kids for up to half of each week.

He can renegotiate the custody agreement in five years.

The pal said: "Elin admits that despite everything, Tiger loves his kids and has been a decent dad.

"She is confident he will not pursue seeing the children that much, due to his work and lifestyle.

"plus female members of staff known to Elin.

The pair threw separate birthday parties for daughter Sam last week.Tiger took his office manager Kathy to his. Elin also went along.

A source said: "Elin made an effort not to make it uncomfortable. They handed out goodie bags to the kids together. That was a nice moment."

The previous most costly celebrity divorce was $168 million, paid by basketball star MICHAEL JORDAN to his wife JUANITA in 2007.

Source.

NABJ Is Prepared To "Set It Off" If CNN Replaces Larry King With Someone Else White!

The following letter was released today by the National Association of Black Journalists:

Dear Cable News Executives:

It is 2010, but the National Association of Black Journalists sees our cable news networks moving backward when it comes to who they believe is worthy of anchoring prime-time news shows.

NABJ was founded in 1975 to encourage news media companies to hire and to promote more Black journalists. At that time, black journalists originally hired to cover riots during the turbulent 1960s found they were not being assigned to other meaningful beats or were only allowed to cover "Black" stories.

NABJ's advocacy for fair hiring practices paid off. Many of our founders, including columnists Les Payne in New York and DeWayne Wickham in Washington, D.C., and anchor Maureen Bunyan in Washington, D.C. remain prominent figures in the media.

NABJ continues this advocacy today. To be candid, we have been focusing our talks with media executives on ways they can increase the diversity of their news management teams. It is our belief that a diverse management team improves coverage decisions and hiring practices. It seems, though, that the companies have taken that to mean that we don't care about who is on the air. We're watching, and we do.

Over the past several years, NABJ Executive Board members have met with leaders of the top media companies. Our message: "Let us help if you are looking for diverse talent."

Some of the companies have reached out, but the names we have submitted never seem to be called in for interviews.

Three years ago, Ebony magazine's Kevin Chappell noted, "While CNN has the most Black news anchors with eight, the other cable networks don't (fare) as well... and none of the national cable stations has any Blacks in prime-time slots."

Nothing has changed. NABJ questions CNN's decision to hire former New York governor/attorney general Eliot Spitzer to co-host a new show in Campbell Brown's old time slot. The company missed another opportunity to place a person of color in prime time. It just seems that cable news can never find diverse candidates who are good enough to meet their standards. We want to know your standards.

Are you telling us that CNN could find no one better than an ex-politician who quit being New York governor after consorting with prostitutes to grace America's living rooms each night?

CNN does have Tony Harris anchoring in the morning, and Fredricka Whitfield, T.J. Holmes, and Don Lemon on the weekends. But that's not prime time. The same can be said about MSNBC which last week named veteran Lawrence O'Donnell as the anchor of its new 10 p.m. show. The prime-time host line-up at Fox News also lacks any racial diversity.

"In his story, Chappell talked with NABJ Member and CBS News anchor Russ Mitchell who summed up what many of us have witnessed over the years. Mitchell told Ebony "I've been to journalism conferences over and over again, and heard some executive say 'I'd like to hire more African-Americans, but I just can't find any qualified ones out there.' That was b.s. then, and that's b.s. now."

NABJ couldn't agree more.

Sincerely,

The National Association of Black Journalists

SOURCE National Association of Black Journalists

Who Needs America's Next Top Model? Essence Magazine's Nataya Smalls Pivots And Hits Her Stride

Tyra's Loss, Is Our Gain

For Norfolk, Virginia native Nataya Smalls, the real competition has just begun.

"Not as many places hire African-American models, so I know it's going to be hard," she said. "I'm going to have to work 10 times harder than other girls."

Smalls, 20, was declared the winner of the "Essence It Girl" Model Search Contest after a grueling competition process that began in February.

Smalls auditioned for Essence after her original plans fell through.

"I was actually supposed to try out for 'America's Next Top Model' the same day," she said. "Then my friend, who was supposed to drive me, couldn't go."

Instead, Smalls went to New York City for the Essence audition after hearing about it on former supermodel and 'America's Next Top Model' host Tyra Banks,' website. Smalls, who had previously tried out for "America's Next Top Model," said the Essence audition process was much different.

"For 'America's Next Top Model,' they just lined us up in a big group," she said. "Essence was different. It was a lot more intimate. It was more about you. They took us in one at a time and actually looked at each girl."

Five finalists, including Smalls, were then selected to participate in a "modeling boot camp" that aired on Essence's website in a documentary series called "Making of an It Girl."

Essence named Smalls as the contest winner on June 14. She has since received a one-year contract with Elite Model Management and will appear in Essence Magazine's Fall Fashion issue this September.

Essence Communications Inc. was founded in 1968 as a media company dedicated to African-American women. Based in New York City, the company promotes a brand "Where Black Women Come First." Essence Magazine, first published in 1970, features lifestyle and fashion information intended especially for African-American women.

The "Essence It Girl" Model Search Contest intended to address a lack of diversity on runways throughout the modeling world. Collaborating with Elite Model Management, Essence launched the search for an African-American "It Girl" to inject some racial diversity into a fashion industry predominantly comprised of Caucasian models.

"I actually saw this documentary a few days ago about how there is a lack of African-American models," Smalls said. "I think it's great that Essence and Elite are reaching out to African-American girls. I thought, 'Wow, I'm going to be making it more diverse.'"

Smalls always knew she wanted to work in the fashion industry. Growing up with nine siblings, the current Norwalk Community College student learned how to stand out in a crowd from an early age.

"I've always wanted to pursue modeling," she said. "I've done local fashion shows and stuff like that."

Beyond a photoshoot for the September issue of Essence Magazine, Smalls is not sure where her modeling contract will lead. She does know that as the Essence contest winner, she can be an important advocate for increasing diversity in the fashion industry.

"A lot of darker-skinned girls want to be lighter," she said. "I'm darker-skinned, so I hope that makes other girls more confident."

While her dream job would be to model for Victoria's Secret, Smalls has no intentions of leaving her education behind. She plans to maintain her Norwalk roots by earning a business marketing degree from NCC.

"I'm going to be registering for my classes for next semester pretty soon," she said. "I'm definitely going to continue school."

By KATE MARCAL - Hour Staff Writer

El DeBarge Is Back - Performance At 2010 BET Awards Confirms It!

El DeBarge brought the house down at the 2010 BET Awards. Judging by all the activity on Twitter, looks like El can reclaim his throne as one of the top balladeers in the game.

And with Michael Jackson gone and even more popular in death, the timing is perfect for brothers who can truly sing to step their game up. Exhibit A:



Get the back story of his rise, fall, and return (clean and sober) to the music scene here.

But before you go, see for yourself what he did at the BET Awards:



Welcome back El, you've been sorely missed. Don't you agree? And does this mean that light-skinned black man, including Drake and this guy, are back in vogue?

Morehouse College Student Named "Freshman of The Year" Dies Tragically, Legacy Lives on Via Youtube

It would've been easy for Khalifah Muhammad, a freshman who measured just a shade over five feet, to get lost in the crowd at Morehouse College.

But the 18-year-old, recently killed in a car accident along with an older brother not far from their Silver Spring, Md. home, stood tall during his brief time on campus, rubbing shoulders with Spike Lee and starting a club for ambitious peers, the 5th Floor.

After learning of Khalifah's death, club members had new T-shirts made in his honor. "They say ‘Khalifah changed my life,' " his mother, Nisa Muhammad, told the AJC. "He had his whole life figured out. He was a leader."

His professors took note, naming the English major Morehouse's Freshman of the Year. “In reflecting on [Khalifah's] brief life, I can only think about his potential,” said Paul Wiebe, chair of the school's English Department.

After graduating from Morehouse, Khalifah hoped to attend New York University Film School, fulfilling a lifelong dream to make movies. He was already a prolific filmmaker, shooting digital shorts that can be viewed on his YouTube account.


(recorded one week before his death)

"I really wanted him to explore his passion," his mother said. "It was something he was very good at."

Khalifah was also passionate about making a difference, especially after visiting quake-ravaged Haiti on a relief mission earlier this year. "It was his first time out of the country, and he's by himself, going to Haiti," said his brother Nasser Muhammad, 24. "It changed him. He got to see people less fortunate than him. He wanted to go back and document what's happening there."

Khalifah had been home in Maryland since May, spending most of his time with brother Idris, 18 months his senior. They were driving home from dinner with two friends when Idris swerved to avoid something in the road, his mother said. He apparently overcompensated while trying to swerve back into his lane, sending the car into a telephone pole, one of the two female passengers in the backseat told Nisa Muhammad.

Both girls sustained minor injuries; Montgomery County police are investigating. "They did everything together," Nasser Muhammad said of his two younger brothers. They avoided trouble, he said, though as teammates on a youth basketball team they ran afoul of their coach "because they'd only pass the ball to each other."

A Morehouse spokeswoman said a memorial service will likely be held in August, when students return to campus.

"I was his older brother, but he wowed me," Nasser Muhammad told the AJC. "People looked up to him, and so did I."

Source

--Story by Christian Boone. Staff writer Raisa Habersham contributed to this report

Leimert Park Book Fair Celebrates What's Good About Black L.A.

Harmony Bailey, 5, sings along to a children’s song performed for youngsters.

Oscar winner Lou Gossett Jr. is among the celebrities and authors on hand at the fair, which featured fiction, nonfiction, poetry and children's literature by 150 African American writers.

By Louis Sahagun, Los Angeles Times

Strolling down an aisle with hands clasped behind his back at the fourth annual Leimert Park Village Book Fair, Otis Wright noticed significant changes in the event as it unfolded Saturday in a neighborhood known as the cultural heartbeat of black Los Angeles.

Like similar literary festivals across the nation, the fair featured fiction, nonfiction, poetry and children's literature by 150 African American writers, as well as readings, panel discussions and performances by singers, including a Lena Horne impersonator. The thousands of visitors who turned out had plenty of opportunities to meet authors and celebrities such as Oscar winner Lou Gossett Jr.

But Wright, 72, a real estate broker and minister who has lived in the Leimert Park Village area for 55 years, was particularly pleased by what he described as "progress: more people, a younger crowd this year, and lots more children. I like that."

Nearby, 9-year-year-old Jada Salazar was exploring rows of long tables where dozens of independent authors were showing off their self-published efforts.

"It's so inspiring that as soon as I get home I am going to write something about it," said Salazar, vice president of the student body at Saturn Street Elementary School in Los Angeles. "I'm going to write about all the authors selling books and the people singing on stage."

The festival was founded in 2007 by Cynthia E. Exum and Associates in partnership with Los Angeles Councilman Bernard C. Parks, whose district includes the southwest Los Angeles neighborhood rich with Art Deco apartments and office buildings, Afrocentric boutiques and shops such as Eso Won Books.

In a kick-off activity Saturday, Parks presided over the unveiling of a 44-cent U.S. postage stamp honoring Oscar Micheaux, the son of former slaves who went on to write, produce and direct 44 feature-length films between 1919 and 1948.

"This festival can be appreciated on many levels," Parks said. "It is a celebration of the written word and presents role models from famous actors to little-known artists just starting to make their mark. It is also an economic stimulus because the crowds of book-lovers spill over into local shops and restaurants — and it's getting bigger."

Invited authors included Dr. Scot Brown, author of "Fighting for US: Maulana Karenga, the US Organization, and Black Cultural Nationalism," Douglas A. Blackmon, author of "Slavery by Another Name," and fashion consultant Daisy Lewellyn, author of "In Style with the Queen of Effortless Chic."

On a panel about a collection of scholarly essays titled "Black Los Angeles: American Dreams and Racial Realities," Paul Robinson, director of the Medical Geographic Information Systems Laboratory at Charles R. Drew University of Medicine and Science, presented a history of Los Angeles from its founding in 1781 by Spaniards of mostly African descent to the first decade of the 2000s, a time when the cultural fabric of American-born blacks is being challenged by new immigrants from the Caribbean and Africa.

These new immigrants share the same living spaces, he said, but have different cultural backgrounds and social identities.

Leimert Park is a microcosm of those changes. Developed in the late 1920s, the neighborhood was restricted to whites and known for its golf courses and several airstrips. Howard Hughes learned to fly there. The area began attracting African American musicians and artists in the wake of the 1965 Watts riots.

The Leimert Park Village shopping district features Jamaican shops and restaurants and Southern-style eateries offering live jazz music. The bustling neighborhood surrounding the intersection of West 43rd Place and Degnan Boulevard celebrates Kwanzaa and Christmas and is the last stop on the annual parade honoring Martin Luther King Jr.


Noted philanthropists Bernard and Shirley Kinsey, whose extensive collection of art, books and manuscripts chronicle the African American experience from 1632 to the present, know the area well.

They are coauthors of "The Kinsey Collection," a 155-page coffee-table edition that Bernard Kinsey said "is more about the African American experience in terms of 'How we overcame' than 'Isn't it awful?' "

Surveying the passersby, many of them with children in tow, Kinsey smiled and said, "I love what I see here today. This is the soul of the African American experience in Los Angeles. We are privileged to be a part of it."

The Smithsonian Institute: October 15, 2010 - May 1, 2011 in Washington, DC

With items dating to 1632, The Kinsey Collection exhibition will spotlight moments in African American history through rare books, sculptures, paintings, manuscripts and vintage photographs. Among the featured art will be works by such major African American artists as Romare Bearden, Elizabeth Catlett, Artis Lane, Jacob Lawrence, and Henry O. Tanner. From rare slave holder documents to glimpses into private 18th- and 19th-century lives, The Kinsey Collection reflects the richness of the African American experience.

Organized by the National Museum of African American History and Culture.

When Richard Pryor Is The Top Trending Topic On Twitter, It's Time For A Tribute... And A Movie!

Chris Rock and Adam Sandler are producing a new biopic focusing on the life of well-loved comedian Richard Pryor, who inspired countless comics during his career.

Pryor appeared in films and on stage from the 1960s to his 2005 death, though he is best known for his ribald standup routines.

Richard Pryor: Is It Something I Said details Pryor’s early life, rise to fame and his serious drug problems, which led to the famous “freebasing incident” of 1981. Marlon Wayans will portray Pryor in the flick, though the role was originally given to Eddie Murphy. Murphy passed on the movie due to “creative differences.”

Rumor has it that Pryor himself, who passed away in 2005 at 65, wanted Mike Epps to play the role.

Chris Rock said that Marlon’s screen test was amazing, and Wayans himself stated “I’m ready” to play the part.

Continue...

Technology Has Already Changed How We Pay Bills, Read, Watch TV And Listen To Music - Are You Scared Yet???

THE FUTURE - RIGHT HERE, RIGHT NOW!

Stop fighting the Internet black people, resistance is futile. Digital efficiency is the new world order, so bragging about how you are not computer savvy, or how you don't "do" email or social networking just confirms your stupidity. Don't believe us?

Well, what we've listed a few things for you to consider - under the hood.

1. The Post Office: Get ready to imagine a world without the post office. They are so deeply in financial trouble that there is probably no way to sustain it long term. Email, Fed Ex, and UPS have just about wiped out the minimum revenue needed to keep the post office alive. Most of your mail every day is junk mail and bills.

2. The Check: Britain is already laying the groundwork to do away with checks by 2018. It costs the financial system billions of dollars a year to process checks. Plastic cards and online transactions will lead to the eventual demise of the check.

This plays right into the death of the post office. If you never paid your bills by mail and never received them by mail, the post office would absolutely go out of business.

3. The Newspaper: The younger generation simply doesn't read the newspaper. They certainly don't subscribe to a daily delivered print edition. That may go the way of the milkman and the laundry man.

As for reading the paper online, get ready to pay for it. The rise in mobile Internet devices and e-readers has caused all the newspaper and magazine publishers to form an alliance. They met with Apple, Amazon, and the major cell phone companies to develop a model for paid subscription services.

4. The Book: You say you will never give up the physical book that you hold in your hand and turn the literal pages. I said the same thing about downloading music from iTunes. I wanted my hard copy CD. But I quickly changed my mind when I discovered that I could get albums for half the price without ever leaving home to get the latest music.

The same thing will happen with books. You can browse a bookstore online and even read a preview chapter before you buy. The price is less than half that of a real book. And, think of the convenience once you start flicking your fingers on the screen instead of the book; you find that you are lost in the story, can't wait to see what happens next, and you forget that you're holding a gadget instead of a book.

5. The Land Line Telephone: Unless you have a large family and make a lot of local calls, you don't need it anymore. Most people keep it simply because they've always had it. But you are paying double charges for that extra service. All the cell phone companies will let you call customers using the same cell provider for no charge against your minutes.

6. Music: This is one of the saddest parts of the change story. The music industry is dying a slow death. Not just because of illegal downloading. It's the lack of innovative new music being given a chance to get to the people who like to hear it.

Greed and corruption is the problem. The record labels and the radio conglomerates are simply self-destructing. Over 40% of the music purchased today is "catalog items," meaning traditional music that the public is familiar with; older established artists. This is also true on the live concert circuit.

To explore this fascinating and disturbing topic further, check out the book "Appetite for Self-Destruction" by Steve Knopper, and the video documentary "Before the Music Dies."

7. Television: Revenues to the networks are down dramatically; not just because of the economy. People are watching TV and movies streamed from their computers. And they're playing games and doing lots of other things that take up the time that used to be spent watching TV.

Prime time shows have degenerated down to lower than the lowest common denominator. Cable rates are skyrocketing. Commercials run about every 4 minutes and 30 seconds. I say good riddance to most of it. It's time for the cable companies to be put out of our misery. Let the people choose what they want to watch online and through Netflix, or pay a dollar and rent from Redbox.

8. The "Things" That You Own: Many of the very possessions that we used to own are still in our lives, but we may not actually own them in the future. They may simply reside in "the cloud." Today your computer has a hard drive and you store your pictures, music, movies, and documents. Your software is on a CD or DVD, and you can always re-install it if need be. But all of that is changing. Apple, Microsoft, and Google are all finishing up their latest "cloud services." That means that when you turn on a computer, the Internet will be built into the operating system.

So, Windows, Google, and the Mac OS will be tied straight into the Internet. If you click an icon, it will open something in the Internet cloud. If you save something, it will be saved to the cloud. And you may pay a monthly subscription fee to the cloud provider. In this virtual world, you can access your music or your books, or your whatever from any laptop or handheld device.

That's the good news. But, will you actually own any of this "stuff" or will it all be able to disappear at any moment in a big "Poof?" Will most of the things in our lives be disposable and whimsical? It makes you want to run to the closet and pull out that photo album, grab a book from the shelf, or open up a CD case and pull out the insert.

9. Privacy: If there ever was a concept that we can look back on nostalgically, it would be privacy. It's gone. It's been gone for a long time anyway. There are cameras on the street, in most of the buildings, and even built into your computer and cell phone. You can be sure that 24/7 "They" know who you are and where you are, right down to the GPS coordinates, and the Google "Street View".

If you buy something, your habit is put into a zillion profiles, and your ads will change to reflect those habits. And "They" will try to get you to buy something else: again and again.

All we will have that can't be changed are Memories.

Michael Jackson Was Bad! One Year After His Death, We Pay Tribute!

Why Black Women Are Angry - Kim Kardashian Exclaims, "What Black Man Shortage?"

Ray J and Reggie Who???

Sexy full bosom socialite Kim Kardashian has a new boyfriend.

Yes, after splitting from the Orleans Saints running back Reggie Bush, Kim has roped in another brother all too eager to sip her margarita.

Find out who he is, after the jump.

So after a three month grace period after a two year relationship with Bush, the E! Entertainment reality star is now making goo-goo eyes with this young buck.

He is Dallas Cowboys wide receiver Miles Austin, 26. Yes, Kim is rumored to be dating Miles and both seem very cool letting the world know it.

Source

Jailed Former Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick Facing New Charges, Possibly Decades in Prison

Kwame Kilpatrick illegally used the nonprofit Kilpatrick Civic Fund like a piggy bank to pay for crisis consultants, a Cadillac, trips -- even summer camp for his kids -- a federal grand jury said Wednesday, charging the former mayor with 19 counts of fraud and tax evasion.

The indictment comes seven years after Internal Revenue Service and FBI agents began looking into the fund in the wake of a Free Press report that a homeless shelter operator gave the fund $50,000 during Kilpatrick's first run for mayor in 2001. The newspaper reported that Kilpatrick then wrote a letter recommending the shelter receive a multimillion-dollar public contract.

Perhaps if Kilpatrick had more of a "Babyface" look, he would not be in all this mess.

Despite Kilpatrick's repeated claims to the contrary, the indictment says he used fund money for campaign and personal expenses, ranging from polling to yoga and golf lessons to college tuition for relatives.

Prosecutors contend he failed to report more than $640,000 in taxable income while mayor that he received in the form of cash, flights on private jets and perks paid for out of the civic fund.

"This indictment sends a clear message that those who make up their own rules based on fraud and deceit will be prosecuted," said Maurice Aouate, head of the IRS Criminal Investigation Division in Detroit.

Wednesday's 19-count indictment against Kilpatrick could keep him behind bars for decades. But the charges said nothing about whether Kilpatrick took bribes or kickbacks -- classic political corruption charges that federal authorities have been seeking to pin on Kilpatrick for years.

Keep reading...

Leimert Park Book Festival Coming Saturday June 26th

The Kinsey Collection - A Family Affair!

The Kinsey Collection: Shared Treasures of Bernard and Shirley Kinsey, Where Art and History Intersect will be one of the many books that will be autographed and available for purchase this weekend in Los Angeles at the Leimert Park Book Festival.

This event runs from 10:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. Saturday June 26 and admission is free. With all activities open to the public, it promises to be a great event for the entire family!

America's Court With Judge Ross Wants The Web To Follow Them To Daytime Television This Fall!

Here Comes The Judge!

In today's media landscape, launching a new syndicated television program requires more than just radio and tv ads, billboards, and print. The Internet and social media is absolutely critical to ensure audiences gravitate towards shows they want to see regularly.

Entertainment Studios, the company bringing "America's Court with Judge Ross" to daytime, is assuming a leadership role in this regard, particularly as it relates to communities of color.



With blacks making up 25% of the active participants on Twitter, and the increased presence of Latinos in the online space, Entertainment Studios will be launching a traditional and digital strategy that speaks not only to the general marker, but also those tech-savvy minorities who function almost exclusively on their computers and cell phones.

"Every tool available will be utilized to promote America's Court, from a robust web site, Facebook, blogs, Internet radio and RSS feeds, to e-blasts and mobile applications," says former California Superior Court Judge Kevin Ross, who will serve as host and one of the producers for the daily one hour strip. "We can no longer make comparisons about old versus new media. Today, it's about finding synergy and seeing the landscape with a 360 degree lens."

America's Court debuts in the Fall, joining other legal favorites such as Judge Judy and The People's Court. Will you be watching?

Black Men Are Going Retro With The 80's Hairstyles!

Rico London is a stylist at Levels Unisex in East Harlem. More Photos »

By Guy Trebay (NY Times)

IN the evolution of black barbering according to Kamal Nuru, the list of begats begins with the Fade (which some folks refer to as the Jersey).

The era would have been around 1982. The Fade was a popular haircut dating to the golden age of hip-hop, one in which the sides were cropped close and the puffy hair on top was kept low, an effect achieved using clippers fitted with No. 1 and No. 2 blades.

“A No. 1 is pretty close, so you can still see the scalp,” Mr. Nuru said last week from behind the Dutch doors to an office that also serves as the coat closet at Levels Unisex, his bustling barbershop on Lexington Avenue in East Harlem.

“A zero,” Mr. Nuru added, referring to clipper gauge, “would be bald.”

Stepped up and set back from the street, Levels is an oasis of calm and tonsorial focus in a part of the city where an awful lot of agitated people can be seen bustling around. There is a homeless shelter across Lexington Avenue. There is a drug treatment facility around the corner. A more-or-less permanent cluster of transvestite prostitutes plies the corners of nearby 125th Street, clad in summery ensembles of Daisy Dukes and tube tops, accessorized with clutch purses that seem awfully tiny until one considers the modest dimensions of the tools of their trade.

The Fade cut eventually begat the Hi-Top Fade, as popularized by rappers like Doug E. Fresh and Schoolly D. When an angled cut was worked into the longer hair at the top of the head, the Flat-Top (a k a the Box) became the Slope (a k a the Gumby), and then the Slope or the Gumby, or whatever you called it, eventually begat another ridged haircut named for a math geek character played by the actor Kadeem Hardison in the “Cosby” spinoff, “A Different World.”

The Dwayne Wayne, Mr. Nuru explained, “had a little swoop-up like a ramp” and was immensely popular at about the time that Mr. Nuru got into the barbering game in 1987. By lucky chance, that happened to be at the precise moment when many African-Americans fastened onto the idea of having their coiffures shaved into complex patterns and topiary designs.

“The late ’80s and early ’90s were a really great time” for African-American hairstyling, said Mr. Nuru, who is 39. Gazing around at the 11 chairs in the shop, one of three he owns in as many boroughs, he remarked with satisfaction that, like much else from the ’80s, the glorious hairstyles of that long ago era had cycled around again.

“The Mohawk came back heavy in the last year,” he said. “And people started playing with their hair again.”

They started having their hair shaped and shaved and cut into fanciful patterns. They began adding Chinese-made black coloring to already dark hair to achieve a blue-black “Beijing” dye job, an effect that lends the wearer a curious resemblance to an action figurine.

They resumed — and with greater brio than was ever seen in the 1980s, when the rigid machismo of early hip-hop culture put a crimp in playfulness — having fun with how they look.

“I used to cut Mickey Mouse into people’s hair, Yankees symbols, any logo or abstract symbol or caricature they could think of,” said Mr. Nuru, whose Islamicized name, he claimed, means “perfecting God’s light.”

Lately, he said, the so-called retro kids are going back to the styles of the ’80s, this time adding more intricate patterns than were ever seen then, more startling neon colors and patterns that are limited only by the imagination of barbers like Rico London, who commands the first chair at Levels, the one by the window, and who is without any question the star of the show.

“Rico is an artist, straight up,” Gonzalo Venegas, one of the three members of the rap group Rebel Diaz, said one recent Friday as Mr. London shaved an asymmetrical pattern of what he referred to as “futuristic arrows” into one side of Mr. Venegas’s scalp.

Roughly once every 10 days when he is not touring, Mr. Venegas, known as G1, stops into Levels to have a new motif styled into his hair. The cuts are a fraction of the cost of an average styling at Frédéric Fekkai SoHo, depending on the level of complexity involved. Mr. Venegas never knows and seldom even inquires in advance what Mr. London has planned.

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LAKERS REPEAT WITH 2010 NBA WIN! I LOVE LA PARADE KICKS OFF JUNE 21

This pretty much says it all about the Los Angeles Lakers and the fans who love them. It was a spectacular game that resulted in a Game 7 win of 83-79 between the reigning champions and the Boston Celtics!

Haters (including all you Celtics fans) to the left -- to the left!!!

FUNERAL ARRANGEMENTS ARE AS FOLLOWS: * Wake/Viewing was Thurs., June 17th, 6 pm.* The official funeral and burial will be Monday June 21, 2010 starting at The Staples Center, 1111 S. Figueroa Los Angeles, Ca. 90015....* Special invited guests include K. Bryant, D. Fisher, R. Artest, P. Gasol, L. Odom, S. Brown, and many more!* We ask that you wear...Purple and Gold...*

RIP Boston... you did your best, but your best was simply not good enough!

Black Teen Smacked In The Face Over A Jaywalking Ticket By White Cop - Was It Justified?

A 17 year-old female was tagged by a Seattle cop who was simply attempting to cite the teen and her 19-year-old cousin for jaywalking. When the girls resisted, watch the video and then decide who was in the wrong.



Thoughts???

Waiting For Superman: Black Folks Must Choose Education, Or Die!

Where Are The Black Television Shows???

Roles For Minority Actors Have Increased, Yet We're Still MIA

By John Consoli

ALSO READ: "Hollywood's White Summer: Where's the Diversity?"

The broadcast networks have made great strides in recent years by diversifying the faces we see on primetime TV, a momentum that carries into new and returning shows on the 2010-11 schedule.

But it’s a scattershot success. At the moment, the number of scripted, live-action shows on broadcast television with all-black (or predominantly minority, for that matter) casts is exactly zero.

If you take into account reality series, "you might actually be able to make the case that there are more African-Americans on broadcast TV than ever before," longtime media agency research guru Steve Sternberg told TheWrap.

Just not all on the same screen.

"Black people are starved for shows which not only feature lots of black actors but that put black culture front and center in a way they enjoy," veteran TV critic Eric Deggans of the St. Petersburg (Fla.) Times, told TheWrap.

The irony is in the past three decades, when a lack of minorities on TV was a measurable problem, programs with an African-American focus were in abundance: “The Jeffersons,” “Sanford & Son,” “Good Times,” “The Cosby Show,” “The Fresh Prince of Bel Air,” “A Different World,” “Family Matters,” “Martin,” “Living Single,” "The Hughleys," “The Bernie Mac Show,” “Everybody Hates Chris” … the list goes on and on.

Only NBC’s “Cosby” was a true crossover phenomenon – but each had a measure of success to illustrate that black shows have a place on the networks.

And ad-supported cable doesn't fare much better, with TBS – which premiered “Are We There Yet (cast photo below, right)” on Wednesday night – standing head and shoulders above everyone in the genre.

To its credit, Fox put on two new shows with all-black casts last year, the only network to do so. "Brothers," a live-action sitcom, failed in the ratings almost out of the gate and was quickly canceled. The animated "The Cleveland Show," which was renewed on Thursday for a third season just as it finished its first run, has been a success in part because it meshed inside Fox's Sunday animation block.

The show has averaged a solid 3.1 18-49 rating and 6.3 million viewers per episode, but was helped by its Seth McFarlane pedigree. And even in that show, some of the main voice actors, including the voice for lead character, are not black.

Fox has been able to cash in on "The Cleveland Show" where it couldn't with "Brothers." in part, because "Cleveland" airs within an animation block and the pieces flow well into and out of each other. “Brothers” did not have as compatible a lead-in or lead-out.

So why not put an all-black sitcom within a white sitcom block?

"They probably don't think a black-cast comedy would fit in with the audience flow of white-cast comedies, but I'd like to see more black-cast comedies," says Sternberg, who spent years doing show research and analyzing the programming landscape for media agency Magna.

Again, not to single out Fox, it did air "The Bernie Mac Show" for several years when many of the other broadcast networks were not airing any shows with primarily black casts.

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Comcast NBC Merger - Plantation Politics?

(Left to right) Rep. Steve Cohen, Rep Maxine Waters, Chairman John Conyers, a staff assistant, Rep. Louie Gohmert and Rep. Judy Chu

U.S. Congressional Hearing Blasts Comcast

By Yussuf J. Simmonds
LA Sentinel Managing Editor

It was a field hearing of the Congressional Committee on the Judiciary, which was chaired by Representative John Conyers (MI-14) along with Representatives Judy Chu (CA-32), Steve Cohen (TN-9), Louie Gohmert (TX-1) and Maxine Waters (CA-35). Its specific purpose was to solicit input from the community and members of the media on the pending merger of Comcast and NBC/Universal.

There were 12 witnesses slated to testify and when they were finished, the results seemed equally divided on whether or not the merger should go through.

Chairman Conyers said, "This is a hearing, not a formal discussion. It is a historic moment in the economic life of this country." He introduced each member of the panel, welcomed the witnesses and the guests. Then each panel member in turned spoke briefly about what each expected to result from the hearing.

Rep. Gohmert mentioned that the DOJ (Department of Justice) review of the merger is in the public interest and is "the main purpose we're here today."

Rep. Waters was the host since the hearing was held in her district, in addition, she has been on point in seeing that the pending merger is right for the community, for business and that her constituents will be treated fairly and respectfully. She welcomed the panel, the witnesses and the invited guests to the forum.

"DOJ is conducting a labor intensive review," she said, because the media statistics as they relate to minorities, are frightening. "Our due diligence is to further investigate and understand the implications this massive merger could have on our already heavily-consolidated media market and demand transparency. Comcast is in 39 states."

Rep. Cohen started off with some light humor about the stars that Tennessee gave to Los Angeles and loaned to the nation, then said, "I'm here to listen and hear what Comcast is doing."

Rep. Chu stated firmly, "The primary issue is diversity. The lack of diversity in television is not representative of the nation's changing demographics." According to her, the panel was interested in how the issue of diversity will be addressed.

The lineup of witnesses consisted of who's-who in the media and the subject of diversity in the media was front-and-center, as it related primarily to Comcast, the potential purchaser of NBC/Universal, who, if the merger is approved, will be the dominant force in the new company, and in the American media.

They included Paul Madison (NBC/Universal); Samuel Kang (Greenlining Institute); Alfred Liggins III, (Radio/TV One); Stanley Washington (National Coalition of African American Owned Media); Jim Weitkamp (Communications Workers of America); Will Griffin (Hip Hop on Demand); Allen Hammond (Santa Clara University School of Law); Alex Nogales (National Hispanic Media Coalition); Kathryn Galan (National Association of Latino Independent Producers); Darnell Hunt (UCLA); Frank Washington (Tower of Babel, LLC); and Suzanne de Passe, (de Passe Jones Entertainment).

As the executive vice president of diversity at NBCU, Madison told the panel of her 21-year relationship at NBC what the impact and benefits of the merger will have on diversity. As an advocate for the merger, she went on to say that Comcast is committed to investing in NBCU to support and enhance both the quality and the quantity of NBCU's content for consumers to enjoy.

Next was Kang; he was very caustic in his remarks about the merger in general and Comcast in particular. He stated that consumers will be harmed by a merger that creates a media Goliath with too much market control. "If Comcast's acquisition of NBC is approved, the transaction will create a behemoth that would control content production and content distribution at an unprecedented level." He followed up citing facts, dates, figures and statistics. After he was through, the audience applauded.

By contrast Liggins welcomed the merger and stated, "There are some critics of the Comcast/NBCU deal who argue that 'big is bad' and insist that this combination cannot possibly be good for those concerned about diversity or competition in media." He blasted the notion that his company is not 'minority owned' because of his ratio of ownership, and compared it with the ownership ratios of Fox, Viacom and Microsoft. Ending with, "Based upon my eight-year relationship with Comcast, I can offer a personal testament to Comcast's commitment to TV diversity."

It seemed like a seesaw--one for and one against. The next speaker, NCAAOM's Stan Washington, blasted the merger as inherently bad for African Americans saying, "African Americans are not interested in living on a Comcast plantation." His statement included, "African Americans media owners are deeply concerned about the proposed merger of Comcast and NBC Universal because this critical merger threatens to entrench the status-quo that keeps African Americans owned cable networks from being able to secure distribution to the Comcast platform. The lack of African American owned media companies in broadcast and cable networks in the U.S., simply put by an FCC commissioner, 'is a national disgrace.'"

According to Griffin: "Comcast has the best infrastructure of inclusion to build upon in the media industry." He likened the corporate family structure to the Thomas Jefferson/Sally Hemming affair, "If it's in your DNA, you might as well embrace it."

Many of the remaining speakers including Hammond and Hunt gave data and statistics from their academic research. The final speaker, Suzanne de Passe was the only music executive and film producer present and she stated in some ways, "we've gone backwards." Recalling a comment about her western mini television series, 'Lonesome Dove,' one critic said of her, "What is a Black woman doing producing a western."

After all the speakers were through, Rep. Waters focused on the issue of diversity in the present NBC shows on TV. In addition to Madison whom she questioned directly, there were two other NBC associates there, and together they responded to some of Waters' poignant questioning.

The direction of the questions were the numbers of producers and regulars on various television shows in a effort to highlight that if diversity is lacking in the present, it would probably escalate in the future. Waters also called on de Passe to buttress her case against some of NBC's diversity in programming and minority participation in decision-making positions.

Then a parallel was drawn from the recent massive corporations that were too big to fail and the government had to step in to bail them out. When placed against that backdrop, the pending Comcast-NBCU merger becomes economically frightening notwithstanding the other concerns, dispelling the notion: 'bigger is not always better.'

The Sentinel reached out to Madison to be able to understand more clearly her position as the spokesperson for Comcast-NBCU merger. "The brief issue surrounding the merger has to include the concern about diversity and that is ranging from not just the NBC Universal and Comcast team, but I think that we are seeing that played out as far as Congress is concern, because the questions around diversity in this industry, in this entire profession has been a big concern for many years now," she said.

"What we're trying to address is not something specific just about our companies but it's specific about the entertainment industry. And what we put on the table as our commitment begins to make a dent in a long-standing legacy in this industry," she continued, "I don't think you can find any other company that has put more commitments on the table that would advance diversity in the entertainment industry than NBC Universal and Comcast."

In reference to Rep. Waters intense questioning about lack of diversity in programming, Madison responded, "What you saw was the Congresswoman was going through a list of shows that we had just announced in our Fall lineup. What I learned yesterday is that one of the shows that she asked specifically about, we are still staffing those shows; this is a process that is presently in flux."

About the absence of Comcast at the hearing, Madison stated that in February, the chairman of Comcast, Brian Roberts, and the CEO of NBC, spent five hours testifying before the full committee. "At that time there were a wide range of questions that was put to them by many members of the full committee. The questions, as far as we were concerned, had largely to do with diversity and with the process of developing our shows."

Finally, in regards to advertising with the African American media and companies, Madison said that Comcast-NBCU consider that a part of its commitment to improving its overall position on diversity.

Rep. Waters and 68 of her colleagues asked the FCC to conduct public hearings around the country on the merger. The FCC recently announced that it will conduct a public meeting in Chicago in July. Congresswoman Waters considers this a promising start to what she hopes will become a series of public hearings, for which FCC Commissioners Mignon Clyburn and Michael Copps have expressed support.

"The field hearing was important, and the testimony was informative, but many questions still must be answered, especially by Comcast, which chose not to testify," said Rep. Waters. "That is why additional Congressional and formal FCC public hearings in D.C. and around the country are imperative: American consumers need to have all their questions answered as we prepare for one of the largest media mergers in this country's history. I want to thank Chairman Conyers for holding this hearing in Los Angeles, and also to thank my colleagues and the panelists for their participation as well. More events like this are necessary so that we all understand the merger's impact on diversity and consumer costs."