New Orleans funeral processions — brass band parades that are one of many rich traditions among the cities black residents — might become a thing of the past.
If police have anything to do with it.
According to Salon, police have been cracking down hard on these processions, citing noise ordinances. But for many it seems that the powers-that-be don’t consider a lot of New Orleans traditions appropriate for their vision of a post-Katrina city.
CONTINUED »
Why did I choose Kelly Rowland as the lead photograph for this post about the MTV Europe Movie Awards in Munich last night? Because everyone, even young ladies who will go down in history for playing second fiddle to a bigger, more talented star, deserve their time in the spotlight. More pics after the jump.
CONTINUED »
When abuse scandals hit a normal school, people are fired and counselors come in to help students. Maybe a school district gets sued.
When abuse scandals hit Oprah’s school, every single student gets their own cell phone with her number in it so they can call whenever they need her. If one of those phone doesn’t show up on Ebay within the next couple of weeks, I will have a renewed faith in humanity. [People]
News outlets across the country posted online stories about the questionable futures of Richard Parsons and Stanley O’Neal, the black CEOs of Time Warner and Merrill Lynch, last week, but if you searched Google News for “Richard Parsons,” the results popped up accompanied by a picture of monkeys. Oops!
According to Google, they have yet to find a foolproof way of matching images with news stories — a problem that sometimes has disastrous results. But I’m sure there is a contingent of people in the U.S. and elsewhere that thought the monkey photo perfectly matched the subject matter.[NW]
• This guy says he’s sorry for implying that if you wear saggy pants you’re gay. [DV]
• The NAACP joined 50 former Eli Lilly workers in a racial discrimination lawsuit against the pharmaceutical company. []
• Two NJ black coaches say racist parents were responsible for their firing. [WCBSTV]
• A couple of Yale students try to school their ignorant peers on the history of blackface. We’ll see if it hit home next year around this time. [YDN]
• Don Imus’ radio deal is official. [Reuters]
No, your mind is not playing tricks on you. Yes, this would have been more suitable for Halloween’s Rewound, but consider it the second runner-up to “Thriller.” Enjoy the Geto Boys’ ode to paranoia, “My Mind Playing Tricks On Me,” as you TGIF.
• How could you not love Jennifer Hudson after this:
“I have the height of a model, the breasts that people pay for and the lips that everybody wants, so why should I change?” the 26-year-old Oscar-winner asked at the Oct. 30 Avon Foundation Gala in NYC. “I wouldn’t change myself for anything or anybody. That will never happen.”
[OK]
• Of course Al Sharpton is open to a meeting with Dog the Bounty Hunter. [People]
• For all of you Vanessa Simmons fans. [C&D]
• And they wonder why there are no black people in San Francisco. [EaterSF]
• Brandy’s trying to make it happen post-scandal. [CL]
We can stop wondering about how Nick Cannon pulls so many girls who are out of his league. He just until they capitulate. Persistence is key.
FRESH off his split from fiancée Selita Ebanks, Nick Cannon is moving on. He has a major crush on Miss USA Rachel Smith and he’s been going all-out trying to win her over. “Last week, he sent her several dozen roses, chocolates and balloons,” said a source. “When she opened her apartment door, the hallway was flooded with stuff, and on each item was a different hand-written note from Nick to her.” No word yet if Smith wants to date him. Cannon’s rep had no comment.
Rachel Smith, Selita Ebanks, Christinia Milian, Kim Kardashian, this chick…Nick Cannon definitely has a type.
Omarion and Bow Wow are obviously trying to recreate some sort of Best of Both Worlds vibe with their new joint album, but they’re Bow Wow and Omarion. So we can predict how this is going to go, before we even see their so so clip for their lead single “Girlfriend.” Interestingly, Bow Wow had this to say about this track:
“[’Girlfriend’ is] probably gonna be one of the biggest records that I’ve ever done in my career,” he added.
But his career hasn’t even been that short!
Since I had you guys vote for the most popular blackface Halloween costume, the least I could do was search Flickr for some real life examples. While there were a few Michael Vicks – check one out after the jump — I found this one to be the most egregious. According to the Flickr site, this guy is supposed to be Zwarte Piete (Black Pete), who, to make a long story short, is Santa Claus’ black assistant in Dutch folklore. Considering the fact that this guy had the nerve to tag his photo “blackface,” I’m pretty sure he knew what he was doing.
More fun with ignorant blackface costumes Flickr after the jump.
CONTINUED »
