Keepingitreal

LEDISI: LOST AND FOUND

ANYTHING BUT BORING
I don't believe that the reviewer actually listened to the CD ten times. This album to me is musical gumbo, all of the different flavors and ingredients blend together to make an appetizing dish. Like gumbo, it gets better with each serving. It's different from Soulsinger and Feeling Orange But Sometimes Blue, and that's a good thing. Ledisi is appealing to a wider audience now, and it's good that she's branched out and shown the growth and maturity in her music, all the while managing to retain her funkiness. I believe it's an incredible album; with cuts such as "Upside Down" and "I Tried," it is anything but boring and repetitive.

ALICIA KEYS COVERS COMPLEX MAGAZINE

Alicia Keys is looking smoking hot on the October 2007 cover of Complex Magazine. I’m really loving how she’s showing off her womanhood and sexiness with the upcoming release of As I Am.

What If You Gave A Debate and Nobody Came

Tavis Smiley is fighting mad. 

The four front-runners in the Republican presidential race lamely cited scheduling conflicts as an excuse to avoid the “black” debate to be held at Morgan State University in Baltimore Thursday night.  http://www.baltimoresun.com/entertainment/news/bal-to.smiley26sep26,0,5971022.story. This leaves the debate to be carried by former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee, Sen. Sam Brownback (KS), Cong. Ron Paul (TX), Cong. Duncan Hunter (CA), and perennial candidate and gadfly Alan Keyes.  Smiley successfully held a black debate for Dem candidates in the summer at Howard University in which all of the front-runners participated.  http://www.pbs.org/kcet/tavissmiley/special/forums/.  You’ll recall I live-blogged from that event.  I’m scheduled to live-blog from Thursday’s debate as well.

Well, I’m not angry at the Republican front-runners.  In fact, I admire their refreshing honesty.  They are not interested in black voters. They know that the Republican nominee, whoever he is, is unlikely to get more than 10% of the black vote.  And with a short primary season, they don’t have the time to indulge in the empty gesture of debating about issues of primary importance to black voters.   Moreover, most of them (Giuliani, I mean you) would be hypocrites if they stood up on the stage at Morgan and suggested that any part of their former or future policies would be aimed at addressing the particular concerns of African Americans.  Why should we expect these candidates  to continue the lame story peddled by the Republican Party during the past 10 years that the Party is really, really interested in courting black voters? What policies, advanced by the Republican Party in the last eight years could reasonably support the idea that Party leaders understand and are responsive to problems faced by so many blacks (e.g., over-incarceration based on draconian drug laws, predatory lending, lack of health insurance, hate crimes, property tax-funded education, voter intimidation, racial profiling, sky-high college costs, lack of meaningful public transportation, a living wage, gun violence)?  I admit that the Dems have tried to make progressive change on only a few of these, but the Republicans have been resistant, even hostile, to addressing any of these issues.

Perhaps the front-runners’ decision to dis’ the debate at Morgan signals a new period of candor in the Republican Party.  My fervent hope is that this honesty will continue through next summer’s convention, where I hope the Party will return to featuring Alan Jackson and the Oak Ridge Boys as the evening talent.  That way I can tune-out after the presentation of the nominee, instead of agonizing through every night just to watch Chaka Khan or Brian McKnight (although the deer-in-the-headlights look on Chaka’s face while she sang “Ain’t Nobody” before the disinterested throng of white delegates at the 2004 Convention was priceless). 

I’m going to join Giuliani, McCain, Thompson and Romney in a show of honesty.  I’m not going to attend or live-blog from the debate at Morgan on Thursday.  I don’t think we’ll learn much by talking with candidates who have no hope of even approaching the nomination.  In fact, I think we’ve learned all we need to know about a future Republican presidency from the decision of the Party’s most viable and popular candidates that they have better things to do on Thursday night than focus on the interests of black voters. SOURCE OF THIS STORY

RAP SHEET: Ja Rule Setting it Straight on Gay Remarks

Though he was quoted spewing homophobic rhetoric in the September edition of Complex magazine, once-hot hip-hopper Ja Rule cleared things up with AOL Music's Spinner blog. "I was taken out of context," the 31-year-old Murda Inc. rapper (legally known as Jeffrey Atkins) said about remarks he made to the hip-hop fashion magazine about needing "to step to MTV and Viacom and lets talk about all these f---ing shows that they have on MTV that is promoting homosexuality, that my kids can't watch this s---.""My statement was more about where our mind state is as a people," the pint-sized lyricist continued the clarification to Spinner. "We're focused on the wrong things -- like, our country is at war right now," he continued. "These things are more of a problem to me. Like another case I just read about -- young ladies being raped by six white men. These are the stories that should be popping up on my TV screen. That's what I was talking about, and somehow it got spun into some other s---."When probed about his stance on homosexuality and gay marriage, he took a more diplomatic approach, admitting that "it's not something that bothers me."Peculiarly enough, former rap superstar DMX bragged of having proof of Ja Rule being homosexual during their bitter feud from a few years back. As previously reported by The BV Newswire, Ja Rule's new album -- titled The Mirror' -- is due in stores in November.SOURCE OF THIS STORY 

Colleges See Flare In Racial Incidents

A couple of weeks into classes at the University of Maryland, a rope tied into what looked like a noose was found hanging outside the campus's African American cultural center. Campus police reports this month included two incidents of racially disparaging remarks, one written on a workstation and one on a bathroom stall in the student union. This weekend, a swastika was spray-painted onto the car of a member of the Kappa Alpha fraternity, which one member described as a Christian fraternity. It's not the only campus that has seen intolerance. A Maryland congressman is asking for an investigation into nooses left among the personal effects of a black cadet at the U.S. Coast Guard Academy and on the office floor of a staff member doing racial sensitivity training after the initial incident. This month, more than 200 students at the University of Virginia protested cartoons depicting starving Ethiopians and a slave that ran in the student paper. Because so many colleges are more racially and culturally diverse than ever, with students hanging out, dating and studying together, such incidents have left many wondering: What's going on? And what are schools doing about it?  SOURCE OF THIS STORY

Spot the Layoff Signs

September 26, 2007--There are two kinds of layoffs, both of which are tied to a company's strategy to reduce costs and improve efficiencies, says Frank Traditi, co-founder of Get Hired Now L.L.C., a career coaching firm in Carson City, Nevada, and co-author of Get Hired Now!: A 28-Day Program for Landing the Job You Want (Bay Tree Publishing; $17.95). "Organizational restructuring layoffs occur when departments merge and a company eliminates unneeded functions," he says. "Performance-related layoffs focus on departmental performance around a bottom-line metric. Those who fall below it are let go," often with severance pay, which varies according to the position and tenure.

If you know what to look for, you can see a layoff coming. Traditi offers this advice to help you get out of the way of the falling ax:

Company Warning Signs: Hiring freezes, significant expense and budget cuts, reduced travel expenses, senior management level repositioning or resignations, and a noticeable increase in bureaucracy and decrease in decision-making authority can all signal impending layoffs. Listen to the company grapevine with an objective ear. You may get wind of rumors surrounding a layoff. Pay attention to other factors that support some of the talk going around; there may be some truth to the rumors.

Personal Warning Signs: Poor performance reviews and a higher level of scrutiny on your day-to-day job duties should raise a red flag. If managers are asked to prepare a performance ranking of their team, they may begin to associate more with the surviving employees and distance themselves from the layoff group. If you suspect you are being left out of meetings, social gatherings, and discussions that were part of your everyday work life, you might consider this a sign that things are about to change.

How to Avoid Getting Axed: To avoid a performance-related layoff, make yourself indispensable. Seize opportunities to take on new challenges and look to assist others facing them. Help solve complex problems facing the department or company. Accept new projects with enthusiasm and a commitment to success. Be seen as a leader, even if you aren’t responsible for supervising or managing people. SOURCE OF THIS STORY

WHAT BLACK MEN THINK

KILL 100 GET 16 MONTHS?  BEAT UP A STUDENT GET?

Band manager whose pyrotechnics led to 100 deaths has served 16 months CRANSTON, R.I. - The band manager whose pyrotechnics ignited a nightclub blaze that killed 100 people was granted parole Wednesday and will be released after serving less than half of his sentence.

Daniel Biechele, the former tour manager for the 1980s band Great White, is scheduled for release in March, the state parole board said. He has served 16 months of a four-year sentence levied after he pleaded guilty last year to 100 counts of involuntary manslaughter. SOURCE OF THIS STORY

MORGAN FREEMAN TO PLAY NELSON MANDELA: Clint Eastwood eyes director's chair in post-apartheid film about rugby team.

If all goes well, Clint Eastwood will direct Morgan Freeman for a third time in their storied careers. Following "Unforgiven" and Oscar-winner "Million Dollar Baby," Eastwood is in talks to helm "The Human Factor," about how the 1995 Rugby World Cup helped heal post-apartheid race relations in South Africa. Freeman would play the role of Nelson Mandela. The film is set immediately after the fall of apartheid, and after Mandela was released from a long imprisonment and became South African president. Mandela recognized the significance when South Africa was selected host of the 1995 Rugby World Cup after the team had been barred from even competing since the 1980s because of apartheid. Freeman, who stars with Jack Nicholson in the upcoming Rob Reiner-directed WB film "The Bucket List," went to South Africa with McCreary last spring to get Mandela's blessing on the project. Matt Damon is in talks to play the captain of the Springboks team. Freeman and Revelations partner Lori McCreary are co-producing, while Warner Bros is currently negotiating to provide financing."The Human Factor" is an adaptation of the John Carlin book "The Human Factor: Nelson Mandela and the Game that Changed the World." SOURCE OF THIS STORY

BWE.tv Exclusive: Kanye West Drunk on the Wendy Williams Experience

This clip of music’s reigning #1 Human Kanye West giving a rambly, pseudo-drunk interview is, quite simply, one of the funniest things I have ever seen. When I tell you that I’m going to be checking out the Wendy Williams Experience this Friday at 9:30 after BWE, believe me, I say it not as a corporate whore, but because this teaser could make me tune in to watch Carlos Mencia whipping batteries at a child for 60 minutes. And because Kanye and I is like Siamese Twins.

Congress Goes Head to Head with Hip-Hop Artists on Offensive Lyrics

Levell Crump, aka "David Banner," left, accompanied by Percy Miller, aka "Master P", center, and Georgetown University professor Michael Eric Dyson, right, testifies on Capitol Hill Tuesday, during the House Commerce, Trade and Consumer Protection Subcommittee hearing on stereotypes and degrading images. (Susan Walsh/ AP Photo )"I want to apologize to all the women out there. ... I can honestly say I was wrong." That's what rapper Master P told the House Energy and Commerce Subcommittee today in a hearing on hip-hop and stereotypes. Master P, born Percy Miller, in New Orleans, formed and founded No Limit Records in the 1990s and made millions of dollars off records with the sexual and violent lyrics found in most "gangsta rap." "My brother was killed. My cousin was killed ... and I used my rage," said Miller, whose album "Da Last Don" was No. 1 on the charts and went platinum four times over. Miller hopes he won't be judged by his past, which includes charges of felony gun possession and a season two stint on "Dancing With the Stars," but by his future -- a future he hopes will include a television show for people living in urban areas that would teach them about financial responsibility. "I'm going to challenge the networks. Let me put on a financial show, enhance our kids in these communities, and see what happens." Rapper David Banner, who testified alongside Master P, said that some segments of society were taking the role of music in culture too seriously. "It's still just a song," said Banner. He later added that members of Congress should focus on the message, not the word. "Instead of listening for curse words, listen that we're asking for help," he told the committee.
The hearing featured three panels of testimony, including one consisting of some of the most powerful CEOs in the entertainment industry. Edgar Bronfman, CEO of Warner Music and Doug Morris of Universal Music, defended the content of rap music, saying the artists had a First Amendment right for the work to be published and heard. "In my mind this is free speech, and this is what he wanted to say. It's not my place in this life to tell him what to say," said Morris, responding to a question from Rep. Cliff Stearns, R-Fla., regarding censorship of lyrics from a song by rapper Cam'ron that contains words expressing explicit sexual acts. SOURCE OF THIS STORY SEE VIDEO OF THIS AMAZING STORY

Barack Obama

Barack Obama will be speaking in the West Village on Thursday at NYU's Washington Square Park. Obama goes on at 5pm, i'll probably be in the crowd snapping pictures. Quite frankly, I can't wait!

Can We Be Frank?

Randomness...Can we be Frank? Did any of us really think that 50 Cents actually stood a chance against Miss Kanye? I'm mean, c'mon on now, we should have known better. I will say though, ego and all,absolutely fascinated with the ways in which Kanye has been able to unapologetically flaunt his nerdish, queerish/punkish ways. The constant diva tantrums [exhibit A] the extravagant, feminizing frames and tailored suits; the fashion editor position at Complex Magazine, the strange relationship John Legend...I love every dam bit of it. What’s also interesting about Kanye is the way in which he embodies what one of my old mentors, Manthia Diawara, used to call "homeboy cosmopolitanism": a sort of hybrid amalgamation of black “high” and "popular" (low) culture. By situating himself within the Hip Hop genre, Kanye earns "street" credibility, even while subscribing to the logic of black middle class respectability ("the college graduate," etc). His performance persona can be situated within a long genealogy of "elegant" black male stars like Sidney Poitier and Harry Belafonte, though he's not quite as polished. But again, thats the goal--I think. Go on Kanye, I aint mad at ya! Check out Miles Marshal Lewis’ take on Kanye over at the BronxBiannual blog. SOURCE OF THIS STORY

South Africa ‘devastated’ by halt of HIV vaccine trials

JOHANNESBURG (AFP) — The supervisor of a major HIV vaccine trial in South Africa voiced "huge disappointment" Saturday after testing was halted in the wake of poor results from sister trials in Australia and the United States. US pharmaceutical giant Merck announced on Friday that it had halted the trials of its V520 vaccine after a study found it to be ineffective. "It is a huge disappointment because this vaccine has shown promise all the way through, but it's only when you get in on these big trials that you start to see how the vaccine behaves," South Africa trials supervisor Glenda Gray told AFP. South Africa is home to nearly 5.5 million HIV-positive people. "Although in earlier studies we saw beautiful immune responses, it doesn't look like this immune response translates into something that could protect people against HIV infection," Gray added. The prototype had been tested on 700 HIV-negative people since February in five South African hospitals. "It is devastating for us, to say the least, but we have to keep going ... we need something that can prevent infection," said Gray, who also heads AIDS research at the Chris Hani Hospital in Soweto, southwest Johannesburg. She stressed that the prototype did not have any consequence on the health of those who participated in the study. "It is sad and... it is a huge disappointment because it is about life and prevention of new infection," said Treatment Action Campaign (TAC) president Zachie Achmat, the main organisation that helps people living with AIDS in South Africa. "But it shows that there is proper control on human trials and when something is not effective it can be stopped," said Achmat, adding, "we want to encourage them to maintain hope." Source: Google News & AFP

Beyonce's American Express Commercial

I Can't Make This Up...I Just Comes!

 

Gay Characters Decline on Network TV

LOS ANGELES - The number of gay characters depicted on TV is falling on network series but rising on cable, a study by the Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation found. In the 2007-08 TV season, broadcast series will feature seven regularly seen characters who are gay, lesbian, bisexual or transgender, down from nine characters in 2006 and 10 the season before, GLAAD said. Most are on one network _ ABC. The new figure represents 1.1 percent of all regular characters on ABC, CBS, NBC, Fox and CW, compared to 1.3 percent in 2006, according to the study to be released Monday. A total of 87 comedies and dramas with 650 characters were analyzed. By comparison, cable shows will feature 40 gay characters as series regulars, GLAAD said. "While we acknowledge there have been improvements made in how we are seen on the broadcast networks, most notably on ABC, our declining representation clearly indicates a failure to inclusively reflect the audience watching television," GLAAD President Neil G. Giuliano said in a statement. The seven broadcast characters appear on five shows, including "Brothers & Sisters," "Desperate Housewives," "Ugly Betty," "The Office" and the new midseason series "Cashmere Mafia."ABC shows are home to six of the seven, with one on NBC. There were no lead or supporting gay or transgender characters set to appear on CBS, FOX or CW, GLAAD found. Last year, the characters were spread among five networks. However, there will be an additional 13 gay characters seen occasionally on broadcast TV shows this season, compared to five recurring characters last year. That increase "suggests that producers and writers are showing a guarded interest in being inclusive without making the characters lead or supporting," GLAAD said in a release, noting that gay characters on "Ugly Betty" and "Desperate Housewives" first appeared as recurring before being added to the regular cast. ABC, Fox and CW declined requests for comment, while NBC and CBS did not immediately respond. The "real advances" in gay depiction on TV are being made on cable channels, GLAAD said. The 40 regular characters depicted on 21 scripted shows on cable channels including HBO, Showtime and FX represents 15 more characters than last year, the study found. GLAAD has issued its "Where We Are on TV" report on gay characters for 12 years. For the past three years, the organization also has looked at representation of minorities, men and women on broadcast TV. Whites make up 77 percent of network series regular characters, up 2 percent from last year. Blacks remained steady at 12 percent and Asian-Pacific Islanders at 3 percent, while Latinos dropped from 7 percent to 6 percent.Male characters outweighed females 58 percent to 42 percent on network shows. CW, although lacking gay characters, ranked first in overall diversity with ethnic minorities making up 32 percent of its series regulars, the study found. SOURCE OF THIS STORY

SOHH.COM

Affordable Housing Associates (AHA) To Renovate 401 Fairmount - Meeting Monday 9/24

This has been a controversial issue in the Adams Point area. 401 Fairmount is currently a rather slumy dwelling not far from the new Whole Foods store still under construction. Apparently, AHA wants to obtain the City of Oakland's help in buying and then renovating this place. On the surface, it seems like a good idea. But for some reason, certain people don't want the City of Oakland to spend money on AHA to improve it. Check out this email message from one concerned resident: I just drove by the building the housing advocates want to buy. It is one of the two Pearl Street hell holes that have been repeatedly raided by OPD and the state bureau of narcotics. It's just up the block from where the man was murdered for his parking place. This makes me so mad. The building is owned by a couple who lives on Skyline Boulevard and who has two other properties in our neighborhood, also run down, though not as badly as 401 Fairmount. Indeed, 401 Fairmount is the most dilapidated cash cow you ever saw, generating about $399,000 a year in revenue. That's cash flow positive even at rock bottom rents, unlike the renovated duplexes in our community ,which are severely cash flow negative. The couple's total tax bill on the property is $26,182, though the problems created by their building are enough to keep 10 OPD officers employed full time. Meanwhile, their 35-unit building is in such awful shape that just being in a unit whose rugs haven't been cleaned in 20 years can bring on an asthma attack. I'm told the entire building is seismically unsafe and that the balcony railings are rusted. And that's just the beginning of the code violations. If the place is so bad, why not welcome AHA's involvement? What does the person want, for the problems she points out to remain? Confusing at best.
AHA Meeting
Affordable Housing Associates (AHA) invites the HarriOak community to discuss AHA's interest in purchasing and renovating a dilapidated apartment building located at 401 Fairmount Avenue. Please join AHA staff to share your ideas and concerns.

Monday Sept 24, 2007
7:15 pm
First Congregational Church of Oakland
2501 Harrison Street.

JAY Z BLUE MAGIC TRAILER

Jay-Z FT Pharrell - Blue Magic [NEW 2007]
Uploaded by lilalo

Raheem DeVaughn Love Experience