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Oprah, Kathleen and Heavy D: we got our OWN thang
O, the wonders of photoshop
So, yesterday Oprah was talking to me (like she does several times a week). I was a little preoccupied with something on my laptop, but when I finally looked up at her she looked me right in my eyes (to make sure I was really paying attention, I suppose) and she said,
“Here we are, this is our day. This is our moment.”
She was talking about our new OWN network, of course–you know, the one we launched on January 1st. She insisted to me that (even though her name is the only one on the logo) it really is OUR network, and darn it, I believe her.
I know she said the same thing to you, I mean, I’m not crazy. I know she wasn’t talking only to me when she said this network is for us, but I must say that so far the programming choices come pretty close to exactly what I would love to see on television. I especially love the show called Master Class. <click to see the promo if you haven’t seen the show yet–it’s (in Oprah’s voice) really good.
I won’t list the complete schedule, but in addition to Master Class I’m super geeked about these shows: (OWN’s descriptions)
The Miracle Detectives: Do miracles really exist? Or is there a logical explanation to the seemingly inexplicable? Two investigators; one a believer, the other a scientist will travel the globe to uncover answers to mysterious incidents that transcend logic
Mystery Diagnosis: Every year, millions of Americans fall victim to real-life medical mysteries—ailments that go undiagnosed or misdiagnosed for years. Their lives are thrown into turmoil—sometimes their sanity is called into question
Searching For: Viewers can expect an intensely personal ride when cameras follow Pam Slaton, a professional investigative genealogist, and her clients through each step as they track down lost loved ones. Whether Pam’s clients find a joyous reunion, painful rejection or tragic loss, they all walk away with the closure they were desperate to find. (Pam has an 85 percent success rate, follows a strict “no find, no pay” policy, and is one of the most sought-after professional searchers in the country.)
The Gayle King Show: Start your day off right with Oprah’s best friend and O Magazine Editor-at-Large Gayle King, as her hit radio show comes to television every weekday on OWN. Gayle’s live talk show will offer her unique perspective on an array of topics ranging from current events and cultural trends to politics and more, all while bringing viewers closer to their favorite celebrities and notable public figures with her revealing, compelling daily interviews.
I love Gayle. I think she’s really down-to-earth for someone who is the best friend of one of the most powerful women in the world. (Sorry, I digress.)
Anyway, by now you’re wondering, what the heck does Heavy D have to do with any of this? Well, ever since Oprah started talking to me about this OWN thing… Heavy’s “diddly diddly diddly dee” has been stuck in my head. I know I can’t be the only one who mentally plays the song when the OWN network promos come on.
“We Got Our Own Thang” by Heavy D and the Boyz <listen to a snippet.
Although not all the lyrics in the song are going to be to Oprah’s liking (you know how she is about hip hop), this part of the song is perfect for what OWN is all about:
“In this life, I strive for improvement
Be your own guide, follow your own movement
Loving is a legend
Me, I’m legendary at it…Stay self-managed, self-kept, self-taught
Be your own man, don’t be borrowed, don’t be bought
Started with a pow and I’m going to end it with a bang
We’ve got our own thang
We’ve got our own thang”
How is that not the theme song playing on the OWN promo?
Maybe Will.i.am and Heav could do a remix for you…
Oprah, it is our network, right?
?
🙂
How much do you hate “Octomom?”
If she’s not buying a ticket for this week’s Mega Millions lottery, Nadya Suleman should pray for me to win.
If I did win that $290 million, I would gladly take 1% of my winnings and build a house for “Octomom” and her 14 children–not because I agree with her decision to ef around with nature and bring all those kids into the world with no partner to help her feed, house and parent them–but because now that the kids are here, who really wants them to end up homeless?
Nadya and 9 of her 14 children
I will probably receive hate mail for saying it, but I don’t hate Nadya at all. Yeah, so she cost us tax payers a few million dollars. On the list of people to be mad as hell at for the irresponsible decisions they’ve made that are costing me money, believe me, Ms. Suleman is waaaaaaaaay down at the bottom. I’m far too upset about:
$800 billion spent on Afghanistan war
$400 billion spent in Iraq
$1 trillion failed war on drugs
$700 billion bank bailout
$800 billion in tax cuts for the rich
I can’t even fathom the mindset of a person who would camp out in front of Nadya’s house or bust out her car windows to protest her irresponsibility. Please. Camp your ass out at the doors of Haliburton or AIG. Bust out some windows at one of the many million dollar homes of Martin Sullivan or Lloyd Blankfein if you’re deadset on taking your anger out on somebody who makes us pay for their dumb (greedy) choices.
After watching her interview with Oprah, I really do believe Nadya has been dealing with an untreated mental illness that makes her addicted to giving birth–like how people get addicted to tattoos (except birth is a lot more painful…and pretty much impossible to reverse.)
It’s not a great thing to be adding fourteen more to the millions of kids in the world who don’t have a father in their home, but at least these kids are fortunate to have a mother (arguably a tad off her rocker) who loves them. The upside of this whole thing is that Suleman is not a drug addict who sits around eating Dingdongs and watching soaps all day. She’s pretty intelligent and articulate, and she has a degree in child development. Most eye witnesses say she has good parenting skills despite being so outnumbered by her offspring.
(Wouldn’t it just be beautifully ironic if one Sulemon’s kids grows up to cure cancer, or some other disease afflicting the children of the protesters who despise them all so much?)
For those who can’t get past their hatred of her, I have a suggestion that might help shift your paradigm. Imagine Suleman is a sterile, childless woman who has opened an orphanage and volunteered to care for fourteen adopted children for the rest of her life. You would pin a medal on her.
I would buy her a house.
UPDATE: (1/3/11) I will not be approving any more comments, because to do that I have to read them and I’d rather not expose myself to the profanity, name calling and viciousness.
“Holding on to anger is like grasping a hot coal with the intent of throwing it at someone else; you are the one who gets burned.” -Buddha
Sofia Vergara’s heart is bigger than her…well, everything else
One big drawback to being as friggin’ drop dead ridiculously gorgeous and sexy as Sofia Vergara–It’s pretty impossible for people to see (or bother looking for) your spiritual assets when your physical ones are so distracting.
If you’ve watched the Emmy-award winning ABC show “Modern Family,” you already know. Sofia’s character Gloria is a scene-stealer whose thick Columbian accent seems almost too thick to be true–along with some other thick things that Sofia was actually born with. (She wanted a breast reduction, but her mom talked her out of it, saying, “God is going to punish you if you cut them.”)
Before she was discovered on a beach in Columbia and fast-tracked to modeling gigs and a Pepsi ad, Sofia was a catholic school girl (no, really) who more than anything wanted to be a dentist. Please. Can you imagine how popular her dental practice would have been? She abandoned her dentistry dreams to take her first television hosting job–but only after consulting with the nuns in her hometown school who told her to go for it.
Beauty has not shielded Vergara from life’s tragedies. In 1998 her brother Rafael was murdered by kidnappers in Bogota, Columbia and two years after his death Sofia was diagnosed with thyroid cancer, which she was able to beat with radiation and surgery. About her cancer battle she said,
“When you go through something like this, it’s hard, but you learn a lot from it. Your priorities change. You don’t sweat the small stuff. “
The experience led her to create Peace and Hope for the Children of Colombia, a charitable organization that has served thousands of needy children in her home country.
“Through the charity I sponsor, we’re building a cancer center in my hometown of Barranquilla. I visited the cancer ward of a hospital in Colombia, and parents were just sitting on the floor while their kids were being treated.”
Sofia also launched a clothing line called Vergara by Sofia, a socially-conscious brand generating over 1,500 jobs in her native country.
This fall Vergara joined Gloria Estefan, Placido Domingo, Enrique Iglesias and other Latin stars to record the song and video “La Gota de la Vida” to raise money for bone marrow donation awareness.
That’s right. In addition to everything else she’s abundantly blessed with…her singing voice is pretty too.
Mike Vick and I have something in common
First things first, let me confess that as it relates to discussing Michael Vick’s crimes against animals I cannot be considered unbiased. I have an 8-year-old pit bull who has been with our family since he was two months old and the thought of Baloo, or any other dog, being tossed in a fighting ring to win or die trying is beyond disgusting–it is just plain evil.
Having said that, let me also confess that I am an avid fisher-woman. There are few activities that bring me more peace of mind, excitement or satisfaction than sitting on a boat from sunup to sundown casting my bait and fighting those fish who are desperately trying not to end up on my plate. The bumpersticker “I’d rather be fishing” was created with me in mind.
There are some members of PETA who will call that just plain evil.
Now, if you think I’m equating dog fighting with fishing, I’m not. I don’t think they’re the same–not even close. Dog fighting is about violence, ego and money. Fishing is about… Um, well, hmm… many people do fish for food.
No, for real. The creator obviously intended for fish to be eaten by other animals. Am I not one of many predators who kill fish for food? (And, I bet grizzly bear claws cause the fish a whole lot more suffering than my little hook.) Besides, I never catch more fish than I will feed to my family, and I do not catch and release. Once I’ve caught enough fish to eat (or to give away to friends or family who will eat it) I quit fishing. Just between us, when I’m impaling a worm or bait fish on my hook I apologize to it, and once I’ve landed a fish and got it into the boat, someone else has to kill it for me because I can’t bring myself to do it. (I have no problem, however, rolling it in some cornmeal and frying it up afterwards).
All of that “justifying” my violence against fish is the result of a little voice in my head that doesn’t want to feel bad about making the fish suffer–it’s called “empathy.”
EMPATHY : “Understanding, being aware of, being sensitive to, and vicariously experiencing the feelings, thoughts, and experience of another.”
Most humans have empathy for other humans, and many have it for animals, but empathy is an easy thing to lose when you are desensitized to violence from a very young age. I can remember being taken fishing when I was a small child and refusing to participate because to me it looked like they were torturing defenseless creatures. Over the years, the more I witnessed the adults around me doing it, and the more I saw the benefits of catching fish, the more desensitized I became–until I eventually grew to love the sport myself.
I will never understand how a person could get pleasure from electrocuting an animal or how they could throw their family dog into the fighting ring and laugh as their pet suffers (which Vick reportedly did), but I can understand how over years of being exposed to that kind of violence, your empathy voice might get silenced until you just don’t hear it anymore. It appears that after years of exposure to violence against dogs being perpetrated by people Mike loved and admired, he not only shut the voice off, he developed an appetite for the violence himself.
Michael Vick is now an ex-convict who served time for torturing dogs, and he is using his experience to prevent other young people from going down that same violent road.
“God sent me to the bottom. And I’m a firm believer in karma, and I think it happened because of what I did and what I allowed to happen to those animals, so I was stripped of everything, stripped me down to the bone of everything and, you know, I think I took for granted the position that I was in in my life, all the blessings that I had, and that wasn’t my purpose in life to be doing what I was doing and it was wrong,” -Michael Vick
There are thousands of little boys out there right now who have been taught that dog fighting is a sport. They have never had a high profile “role model” tell them otherwise. Now they do.
Unless you’ve been hiding from television and Internet news for the last 24 hours, you have probably heard that President Obama recently called the Philadelphia Eagles owner Jeffrey Lurie, and praised him for giving Michael Vick a chance to revive the career he lost when he was thrown in jail for operating a dog-fighting ring. Obama said the Eagles giving Michael Vick a second chance was important for society.
I agree.
Obama’s message gives hope to ex-convicts who want to work and become productive members of society, and it also uplifts a high profile spokesperson against cruelty to animals to whom kids will pay attention.
I believe thousands fewer dogs will suffer as a result of what Michael Vick is now doing. How could that be bad?
By the way, I really would appreciate
any arguments you all have
for or against fishing.
After writing this piece,
I think I’m on the fence.
Teena Marie’s last words were wishes
It is beyond tragic that Teena Marie, who at age 54 had so much more living to do, died in her sleep on Christmas night–the very same night her only child, Alia Rose, turned 19.
Teena’s last words via Twitter just a few hours before she died were Christmas wishes for you and your family, a thank you to Jesus Christ for being born, a happy birthday message to her daughter, a tribute to singer Sarah Vaughan, and one wish for herself:
Your last wish on earth has been lovingly granted by your family friends and fans all over the world–You will never die, Ms. Teena. Your music, your legendary love of life and your open heart and soul will live forever.
“I’ve been called Casper, Shorty, Lil’ Bit
And some they call me Vanilla Child
But you know that don’t mean my world to me
’cause baby, names can’t cramp my style…
…That’s what I’m talking, baby
Square , Square Biz” -Teena Marie
Tyler Perry’s extreme makeover…burned home edition
I know he’s now an entertainment mogul who can hang up the granny dress for good if he chooses, but it is still pretty difficult to think of Tyler Perry and not think of the extreme makeover he undergoes to portray grandma Madea–a makeover that led to him becoming very, very rich.
Two days before Christmas Mr. Perry used some of that money he’s earned to help a real-life grandmother rebuild the home she’s lived in for forty years after it burned to the ground. 88-year-old Rosa Lee Ransby and the seven great-grandchildren she is raising by herself escaped injury but were left homeless by the tragedy. The local fire chief asked the Coweta, GA community for donations to assist the family, and within hours Tyler, who lives in nearby Atlanta, came to the rescue in a major way.
Not only is Mr. Perry paying for Ms. Ransby’s home to be reconstructed, he has rented a home nearby for her and her family to live in until their new home is finished, which will be sometime next year. Tyler will fill the home with new furniture as well.
It is a time like this that must make being a several hundred millionaire feel pretty amazing.
Click the link below to view a video of the 88-year-old woman, her great-grandchildren and the local fire chief who said the gesture made his Christmas. “I’ve been doing this a long time – seen a lot of bad things come and go – but this is special.”
An intimate Christmas gift from L. Boogie
When rap legend Rakim was asked by MTV News who he most wanted to see on stage at Rock The Bells in San Bernardino this summer, he had a quick answer.
“Lauryn Hill, man….I’m amped. Lauryn, welcome back. We need you.”
It was the first time in over a decade most of those in attendance had seen the hip-hop legend perform on stage, and they weren’t disappointed. Along with some new rhymes, she gifted the crowd with classics from The Score and Miseducation. During a reggae breakdown of “Fugee La” she was joined on stage by Mary J. Blige, Beyoncé and Alicia Keys, and her set ended with her telling her fans repeatedly, “I miss you. I miss you.”
Fans on the East Coast who miss her too will get an opportunity to experience Lauryn Hill up close and personal at these intimate venues over the next few weeks. Can you imagine being at the Blue Note for a Lauryn Hill concert? (Definitely on my Christmas wish list).
| December 27 | New York, NY | HighLine Ballroom |
| December 28 | Brooklyn, NY | Music Hall of Williamsburg |
| January 1 | New York, NY | Bowery Ballroom |
| January 3 – 5 | New York, NY | Blue Note |
| January 8 | Charlotte, NC | Amos’ SouthEnd |
| January 9 | Asheville, NC | The Orange Peel |
| January 12 | Charleston, SC | Music Farm |
| January 14 | Atlanta, GA | Center Stage |
| January 16 | St. Louis, MO | The Pageant |
| January 18 | Minneapolis, MN | First Avenue |
| January 20 | Chicago, IL | House of Blues |
| January 22 | Toronto, ON | Sound Academy |
| January 23 | Montreal, QC | Metropolis |
| January 29 | Atlantic City, NJ | House of Blues |
| February 4 | Montclair, NJ | Wellmont Theatre |
| March 19 | Miami Gardens, FL | Jazz in the Gardens |
Rainn, Rainn, goes away…
Forgive me for the drippy headline pun, but it has rained so much in Southern California this week, some of us damn near needed a rowboat to get our holiday shopping done. Rainn Wilson, I forgive you for abandoning us to the floods, but I gotta ask you why a rich and famous mega TV star like yourself didn’t go straight to the Bahamas or BoraBora or some other peaceful, sun-drenched destination. No, you get a break from filming The Office and you pack your bags and head for Haifa, Israel? Isn’t that, like, one of the stormiest (politically, that is) places on Earth?
Well, since you and I aren’t BFFs like you and, say, Andy Grammer or Devon Gundry, and you’re not going to be receiving or answering any tweets or emails on “the internets” until next year, I’m not really going to get a response to my question, am I? So, I think I’m just going to eat a Soul Pancake and write about what I’m guessing you’re up to for nine days over there in the Holy Land.
In recent weeks, Rainn has been on every major media outlet in the country talking about his non-Office related project “Soul Pancake,” an interactive website and bestselling book that attempt to, in Rainn’s own words, “de-lame-ify talking about God and religion.”
Religion is a subject close to Rainn’s heart and he is very open about his belief in the Baha’i Faith, a world religion whose prophet-founder Baha’u’llah professed in 1863 that he was the return of the same Divine Spirit embodied by every other major religion’s founder including Buddha, Moses, Christ and Muhammad.
“The Prophets of God should be regarded as physicians whose task is to foster the well-being of the world and its peoples, that, through the spirit of oneness, they may heal the sickness of a divided humanity…”
“That all nations should become one in faith and all men as brothers; that the bonds of affection and unity between the sons of men should be strengthened; that diversity of religion should cease, and differences of race be annulled — what harm is there in this? …Yet so it shall be; these fruitless strifes, these ruinous wars shall pass away, and the `Most Great Peace’ shall come…” -Baha’u’llah
The Holy Land for Bahai’s is on Mt. Carmel in Haifa, Israel near where Baha’u’llah is buried. Baha’is are obligated to visit the Shrine of Baha’u’llah at least once in their lifetime if, according to the teachings, “one can afford it and is able to do so, and if no obstacle stands in one’s way”. The nine-day pilgrimage also includes visits to the seat of the Baha’i administrative body, the Universal House of Justice. Baha’i Pilgrims (who travel to Haifa from every country on the planet and are a striking example of unity in diversity) also visit the Shrine of the Bàb, as well as other sites precious to the faith’s adherents.
The Baha'i Shrine of the Bàb on Mt. Carmel
Ever the comedian, Rainn’s first tweet from the Holy Land was a commentary on the hotel accommodations over there:
Rainn, as you travel to that historically blessed, yet volatile region, be safe, sleep tight and don’t let the bed…oh, uh, never mind. I hope your trip’s amazing. We’d love to hear all about it when you’re back home.
http://news.bahai.org/story/548 <more from Rainn about the Baha’i Faith
Eva Longoria’s “Desperate” daughter faces deportation to Mexico
If you’re an avid Desperate Housewives watcher, you know that Eva Longoria’s character, Gabrielle Solis, is currently tangled in a heart-wrenching storyline involving a past hospital baby switch. Gabby’s daughter Juanita is not biologically hers, but is the “anchor baby” of an undocumented Mexican couple who are now on the run with Gabby’s biological daughter (whom they raised from birth). We have yet to see where this plot is headed, but according to US law, Juanita could be taken to Mexico if her bio parents are deported.
In real life Longoria has been very vocal about immigration issues, and it appears that the writers are helping her use the show to bring attention to the serious plight undocumented children face. The actress has also recently donned the executive producer hat for the upcoming documentary “Harvest,” a film exposing the exploitation of migrant children who pick produce on American farms at sub-poverty wages.
“We won’t take a shirt made in China by a child, but yet in our own country 25% of the food we eat is harvested by a child…Over 500,000 kids are working in the fields and 80 to 90 percent are American children. We have these mixed-nationality families…How does immigration reform address those kinds of families?” -Eva
This morning Longoria joined a group of Latino leaders in addressing a letter to the leadership of the US Senate urging them to pass the Development, Relief and Education for Alien Minors Act (DREAM Act). If passed, the legislation would provide a path to citizenship for children who were brought illegally to the United States by their parents.
December 16, 2010
Dear Senators Reid and McConnell:
As Latino leaders in government, business, entertainment, and sports, we urge members of Congress to support the “Development, Relief, and Education of Alien Minors (DREAM) Act.” This modest and sensible piece of legislation would allow young people who were brought to the United States by their parents at a very young age to pursue higher education or serve in the military.
These students are success stories in their communities, serving as student body presidents, star athletes, and performers, graduating often with honors from schools in their hometowns. Our country benefits immensely from the talent and drive to succeed that they demonstrate. They want the chance to go on to college or serve in the military to continue giving back to the only country they have ever called home.
We know from a recently released study that the students covered under the “DREAM Act” will contribute at least one trillion dollars to the American economy over the course of their lifetimes. Moreover, according to the Congressional Budget Office, enacting the “DREAM Act” would reduce the deficit by $1.4 billion dollars over ten years. The intangible benefits of investing in these students’ futures, however, are immeasurable.
America cannot afford to lose another generation of young people who stand to contribute to its economic and social prosperity. The beneficiaries of the “DREAM Act” are our future teachers, nurses, and engineers. The U.S. has invested in the education of many of these individuals since kindergarten, and it is only fitting that we enable them to serve and contribute, allowing our nation to reap the benefits. The Latino community is counting on Congress to come together and show its support for the future of these young people and the nation.
Sincerely,
Luis Castillo
Linda Chavez
The Honorable Henry G. Cisneros
Maria Contreras-Sweet
Emilio Estefan
America Ferrera
The Honorable Carlos Gutierrez
Eva Longoria
Monica Lozano
Janet Murguía
Ozomatli
The Honorable Federico F. Peña
The Honorable Bill Richardson
Lionel Sosa
Solomon D. Trujillo
The Honorable Antonio Villaraigosa
Be the change you want to read…
I hate to admit this, but I read Internet gossip blogs just about every day. I have a folder on my Google Chrome toolbar with eleven gossip sites I visit regularly. A few of them I would loosely describe as “journalistic,” that is, although they are made up of “celebrity news,” (mostly none of our business) they’re pretty careful not to print unsubstantiated rumors. However, several of the very popular gossip blogs are really just irresponsible rags that revel in dragging celebrities through the mud–those blogs will print any story (or non-story) they think might land them on Twitter’s trending topics list.
To justify my daily wade through the filth, I tell myself I’m visiting these sites to investigate whether any of my friends, family, acquaintances or favorites in the entertainment industry are being gutted or glorified that day (who died and made me the blog police, right?) But, the reality is I’m just like every other gossip blog reader who is looking for the latest tidbit of juicy scandal that might be, but probably isn’t, true. Of course, I give myself credit for knowing I can’t believe most of what I’ve read (which I’m sure to announce right before I share it with a friend).
Though I can’t say I’ve stopped visiting them altogether, lately I’ve discovered that I’m reading fewer and fewer of the more scandalous stories on these blogs, and am instead scrolling through the headlines to find something positive to read. On the rare occasion that I do come across a positive or uplifting story, I really appreciate it–it’s like I’ve discovered a rose among the thorns feces.
I don’t think I’m particularly “holier” than anyone else, so I’m not trying to put myself above it all. I’m just wondering if there are other readers out there who would appreciate not having to scroll past “NBA baller’s new wife joins his baby mama to beat up his jumpoff” to find something a tad more inspiring.
If you’re out there, this blog’s for you.
realgoodgossip 