Priests to purify site after Bush visit

I got a chuckle out of this... they're really serious, too :)

Mayan priests will purify a sacred archaeological site to eliminate "bad spirits" after
President Bush visits next week, an official with close ties to the group said Thursday.

"That a person like (Bush), with the persecution of our migrant brothers in the United States, with the wars he has provoked, is going to walk in our sacred lands, is an offense for the Mayan people and their culture," Juan Tiney, the director of a Mayan nongovernmental organization with close ties to Mayan religious and political leaders, said Thursday.

....

Tiney said the "spirit guides of the Mayan community" decided it would be necessary to cleanse the sacred site of "bad spirits" after Bush's visit so that their ancestors could rest in peace. He also said the rites — which entail chanting and burning incense, herbs and candles — would prepare the site for the third summit of Latin American Indians March 26-30.

Bush's trip has already has sparked protests elsewhere in Latin America, including protests and clashes with police in Brazil hours before his arrival. In Bogota, Colombia, which Bush will visit on Sunday, 200 masked students battled 300 riot police with rocks and small homemade explosives.

The tour is aimed at challenging a widespread perception that the United States has neglected the region and at combatting the rising influence of Venezuelan leftist President Hugo Chavez, who has called Bush "history's greatest killer" and "the devil."

Good night, ya'll.

From Yahoo News

Probably couildn't find parking...

This is incredible... I found myself just watching this, mouth wide open...

This guy drives through the Augusta, GA mall.

No.

Let me repeat myself.

He drove. Through. The. Mall.

Then drove out again. Oh, and to cap up a lovely evening, he decided to resist arrest a lil' bit.

They say he was crazy, I think he might have just been bored... anyway, he wasn't completely crazy, he went after the mall had closed. I think that was very considerate of him (dripping with sarcasm, just in case you didn't get that...)

Here are some screenshots:








Watch the video for yourself at the Augusta Chronicle.

But this guy might have been crazy. He did it as a suicide attempt. It actually happened near my old stomping grounds in Orlando... he drove in from the second floor and went over the edge, 25 feet, to the second floor...



Heart goes out to all of them...

It is not, repeat, it is NOT OKAY to give kids drugs

Say whatever you want to about drug use. That's your own opinion.

Just read this foolywang:

OSKALOOSA, Iowa.
An Oskaloosa woman is accused of giving cocaine to her 20-month-old son.

Alicia Boyd-Reynolds was arrested yesterday on charges of distribution of a controlled substance to a minor and neglect.Officials say she put cocaine on her baby's tongue. The boy is in protective custody.

Boyd-Reynolds faces a court hearing on March 15th.

And you all might remember about a week ago this story about the guy who gave his 2 and 5 year old nephews weed:



And they don't see what is wrong with it!!!!

My biggest thing about this is that it's not these kids' choice.

The guy in the weed case has said that the kids asked for it and that he gave it to them because it seemed safer than alcohol. Damn it, if the 5 year old wanted to go drive the car, or drink Drano and was whining and crying about it, would you let him?

Yeah, say what you will about they might have experienced it sooner or later, why not sooner? Blah blah blah. These aren't, let's say for the sake of argument, 10, 11 or 12 year olds with some sort of rational thought in their head. No, these are kids. Kids who depend on the adults to show them the right way. Who depend on adults to protect them.

Long term effects of these drugs on still developing minds... who knows? Who knows whether or not these kids have been damaged by all of this?

It just shows an ignorance in some people about the true effects of drugs and how it may not seem to be doing anything, but it does still have effects. I'm not going off on drug users, weed smokers, cocaine snorters, like I said, that's your choice.

People!

Just stop! And! Think!

It may seem cute, it may seem funny, but it's not.

James Brown is Finally Buried

Well they took him out of the fridge at least...

James Brown's body was placed in a crypt Saturday at the Beech Island home of one his daughters, family and friends of the soul singer said.

White balloons were released and Brown's adult children and other family members and friends sang and prayed over the singer's body, said the Rev. Al Sharpton, who presided over the noon ceremony.

Also at the service were Brown's partner, Tomi Rae Hynie, and the couple's young son, who led the procession. "This is what James wanted, for the family to come together. Everyone really felt like James was there with us," Hynie told The Associated Press by phone.

The service took place more than two months after the singer died in an Atlanta hospital. Brown died Dec. 25 at age 73, and his body had been held at an undisclosed location since then.

....

The crypt likely will not be Brown's final resting place. A public mausoleum is being built and its location will be announced once it is completed, the family said.

Brown's children decided to use their own money to place his body in the crypt instead of waiting for disputes over his estate to be settled in court, Sharpton said in a statement.

"Where he is now has nothing to do with court proceedings," Sharpton said.

People need to stop being greedy and just let this man finally rest in peace.

Hynie, who claims she is Brown's fourth wife, and her son were not included in Brown's will. Attorneys for Brown said his marriage to his backup singer was annulled because Hynie was still married to another man.

Now that the family has come together, Hynie said she and her son will move back to South Carolina "to carry out James' plans."

"He wanted our marital home to become a Graceland. He wanted us to have a James Brown museum," Hynie said.

Long legal battles between Brown's children, Hynie and Brown's trustees will likely occur before a museum and mausoleum can be built.

Brown's children wanted to consult with Elvis Presley's family to see how they transformed his Memphis, Tenn., home into Graceland after Presley's death.

A longtime friend of Brown and trustee of his estate was disappointed by the service.

The trustees had made arrangements for Brown to be laid to rest at no cost at a "very prominent memorial garden in Augusta," Buddy Dallas told the AP by phone. "Mr. Brown's not deserving of anyone's backyard," said Dallas, who was not at Saturday's service.

I'm pretty sure that they didn't need to keep Elvis unburied for months to figure out Graceland...

Disney's First African American Princess

Disney's trying to be... ummm...progressive?

Disney's next animated fairy tale, The Frog Princess, will feature the studio's first black princess.

Maddy is an African-American girl living amid the faded grandeur of New Orleans' French quarter.

The movie will also see a return to the hand-drawn animation process, instead of using computer animation that has become the industry standard.

....

Walt Disney Studios chairman Dick Cook said: "The film's New Orleans setting and strong princess character give the film lots of excitement and texture."

Composer and singer Randy Newman will provide music for the film, which promised an "unforgettable tale of love, enchantment and discovery with a soulful singing crocodile, voodoo spells and Cajun charm," a Disney spokesman said.

The studio said its new princess will be added to its collection of animated princesses used at the company's theme parks and on consumer products.

The film is set for release in 2009.

Also, there's a casting call describing the main characters from the Manhattan Theatre Source forum:

THE FROG PRINCESS.
"The Frog Princess" is an animated American fairy tale musical, set in New Orleans, in the 1920's Jazz Age.
SINGING ROLES:
[MADDY] A 19-year-old African American chambermaid. Bright, resourceful, ambitious, intense. A little too grown-up for her age. Dialect: Mild southern colloquial.
[CHARLOTTE] 18 years old. A spoiled, southern debutante. A diva. Comic "steel magnolia". Bossy but insecure. Dialect: Southern belle.
[DR. DUVALIER] A 30-40 year old Voodoo magician/fortune teller. African American. Charming, charismatic, smooth and a sinister bad guy. Theatrical and grandiose. Dialect: Elegant, possibly New Orleans Creole.
[MAMA ODIE] An elderly, 200 year old Voodoo priestess/fairy god-mother. African American. Broad, comic, eccentric. Benevolent, wise and all knowing. A mixture of Moms Mabley & Yoda. Dialect: Southern colloquial.
[RAY] A 25-35 year old lovesick Cajun firefly. Warm, friendly, laid back and easygoing. Comically obtuse. Missing front tooth, has a lisp and occasionally speaks in Cajun French. LOOKING FOR AUTHENTIC CAJUN ACTORS.
[LOUIS] A 20-40 year old Jazz singer alligator. Comic, manic, high strung. Can be African American or white. Has extraordinary jazz singing voice since he, in effect, "sold his soul" to get it. Dialect: New Orleans hipster.

NON-SINGING ROLES:
[PRINCE HARRY] A gregarious, fun-loving European Prince, in his early twenties. A young Cary Grant. Charming, witty but irresponsible and immature. Loves jazz. Dialect: British upper-class.
[LAWRENCE] Harry's pompous roly poly valet. In his forties. Stiff, snobbish and sarcastic. Secretly envious and resentful of Harry. Dialect: Overly affected British upper crust.
[BIG DADDY LA BOUFF] Wealthy, Southern plantation landowner. Doting father of Charlotte La Bouff. A "good ol' boy." Warm, affable, courtly, imposing and powerful. Dialect: Thick southern drawl.
[EUDORA] Maddy's mother. In her fifties. Eudora used to be Charlotte's nurse maid. Warm, homespun and nurturing. Overly fretful.
[GEORGE] The cook for the La Bouff family. African American 50s-60s. Curmudgeonly.

Huh... I'm not sure I would go and see this... I'm just wondering how this all will be handled...

I'm gonna say no comment until further notice or until I see an actual trailer.

From A Hot Mess

Why I can't watch Fox News for too long...

Hillary Clinton on the campaign trail in Alabama decided to take on a "Southern" accent and recite a hymn by Rev. James Cleveland.

Fine. I'm not sure how relevant the hymn was, especially since it was shown out of context. I also personally think it was a sucky accent, but Fox News decided to make it a whole OTHER issue...

Quote - E.D. Hill from Fox News:

But would it happen elsewhere? If she was attending, say, a GLAAD convention, would she speak with a lisp? If she were attending a Hispanic convention, would she speak with a Spanish accent? Or if she were attending an African-American convention, would she start throwing out phrases -- you know, 'Homies, here I am?

Uuuuggggghhhhhh...

Thank you Fox News for showing what close-minded, rightist freaks you can really be.

Fair and balanced, indeed... I have no problem with you serving a primarily conservative agenda... do what the hell you want, but don't say that you represent a fair and balanced view of things!

That's my rant for the day...

You can watch the YouTube video below:

Spotted at Kenneth in the (212)

Tracy Morgan is an Utter and Complete Mess

When I saw this, I laughed so hard... then I got a little sad for Tracy Morgan...

I can't even explain the madness that is this clip.

SMH at the fact that the producers felt they had to cut away before Tracy did anything to get them or himself in trouble...

SMH at Tracy taking off his shirt (Yes. You read that correctly.)...

SMH at the fact that Tracy couldn't stay on any kind of topic that might have been relevant for this interview...

Take a look for yourself...



Wow. Just...wow.

Soon you'll hear a story about Tracy Morgan in rehab going "Help me... help me please..." (I kinda miss the Wayans Brothers...)

Spotted at SnarkyGossip.com

If they can do it, why can't we...

I came across this article on Yahoo about how this hippo who got marooned after the 2004 tsunami formed a bond with a 130 year old tortoise at the Kenyan wildlife preserve that they brought the hippo to.

A giant tortoise and an orphaned baby hippo who forged an unusual friendship after the 2004 tsunami in southeast Asia are the stars of a new Web site so fans can follow their progress.

Mzee, a 130-year-old Aldabran tortoise, became a surrogate parent and inseparable friend to hippo Owen who was washed out to sea off the coast of Kenya, rescued by villagers and taken to a wildlife park where the tortoise lived.

...

The animals' friendship came to international attention when New York-based father and daughter team, Craig and Isabella Hatkoff, teamed up with the park's chief environmentalist Paula Kahumbu to write a book about the pair, "Owen & Mzee: The True Story of a Remarkable Friendship."

They have now released a second book, published by Scholastic, chronicling the deepening friendship, with Owen and Mzee living, sleeping and playing together, but also creating a language of their own.

"They have created sounds unique to hippo or to tortoise and use gentle nods and pushes to communicate with one another," said a spokeswoman from Scholastic which has just released"Owen & Mzee: The Language of Friendship."

The second installment in the animals' story follows their remarkable friendship at Haller Park Animal Sanctuary nearMombasa, Kenya, which is operated by Lafarge EcoSystems, a unit of Kenyan cement maker Bamburi.

It's very sweet. They (Owen and Mzee) overlook the fact that they look nothing alike and form a mutually beneficial relationship... if humans could do that, who knows, maybe we could have a calmer world? Just a thought...

You can check out the website for more info: Owen and Mzee

From Yahoo News

Kramer and the N-Word... Seinfeld style

I'm not even going to touch on the whole Kramer and the N-word issue. That's a quicksand waiting to happen...

but I did come across a video that parodies that event and re-creates it using Seinfeld clips.

I admire the people who took the time to do this... it's very good and flows very well. It does include that infamous clip, so if you don't want to relive that, then you need to skip this video. It could be kind of offensive, but if you look at it as a parody, as a joke, it'll be okay.

If you are still angry at Kramer, and I mean that if you saw him in a dark alley... you know... then please please please avoid this video...

enough with the disclaimers...

Simon Cowell makes sense sometimes...

Simon says...

ha ha, Simon Says...

Anyway, Simon is calling out Britney Spears and Robbie Williams... calling them straight punks, cause they don't know what real problems are:

This whole thing is a total indulgence. Britney and Robbie need to get a grip. We’ve allowed these people to feel sorry for themselves. I don’t know what’s going on in Britney’s head but my attitude is I couldn’t care less. She should go back and live with her mum for six months.”

The acerbic Idol judge suggested that the pair spend time in impoverished nations to gain a little perspective.

“I went to a deprived part of the world recently and saw a set of conditions that people live in that are beyond belief,” says Cowell.

“So when I hear about the Robbies and the Britneys going into rehab I think, ‘I’ll tell you what rehab is. Go to where I just went, where people really are suffering and then you’ll see just how good your life is.’”

While I do has some sort of sympathy for people who go to rehab, I does seem like "rehab" has become the buzzword for the last few months and is a way for celebs to, I guess "prove" that they are committed to getting better?

But with the rate that people celebs are entering and exiting rehab and not really seeming to make those needed life changes, i.e. Robbie Williams going to a bar right after getting out of rehab, it just makes it look like it's a joke...

maybe Simon is right... rehab should be getting sent to an impoverished section of Asia or Africa, without the $30,000 per month rehab facilities... on the other hand, that might make you want to drink more...

From absolutely.fa-bulo.us

Say What Now?

*sigh*

Producer Timbaland is crying out to work with Britney... good God...
I loves me some Timbaland (and yes, I would like to meet/work with him one day) and I just want to believe in my heart of hearts that this is 100% genuine, but it feels... almost...smarmy... like it might just be a publicity stunt? I mean, Tim does have his new album coming out soon...

No, no, no. I'll give Timbo the benefit of the doubt. Check out this excerpt from the article from EW...

The hitmaker tells EW he would like to work with the troubled star, who — at press time — was enrolled in a 30-day-minimum rehab program at Promises Malibu, an inpatient treatment center in Southern California. ''I feel her pain, it really bothers me,'' says the influential beatsmith, his voice cracking with emotion. ''I'm the type of person who tries to save the world. I just want to take her away, go overseas, and work [it] out.''

"Voice cracking with emotion"?
And, get this, he's gonna get JTimb to work with them:

And if the pair decide to team up, there could be another unexpected guest. Timbaland reveals to EW that his ''best friend'' and Spears' ex, Justin Timberlake, would be willing to reunite with Britney in the studio. (Representatives for Spears' and Timberlake's label, Jive, could not be reached for comment.) Says Timbaland: ''I asked Justin, 'How would you feel about me working with Britney?' I had to ask him that. I said, 'Would you do it with me?''' According to Timbaland, the singer said he would. ''She's just gotta be serious.''

Wow. It would be interesting if these three got together... really interesting... I'd pay to be a fly on that wall... Cry Me A River, anyone? And anyway, wouldn't Nelly Furtado start feeling left out?

Last lil' bit:

However long it takes, Timbaland is standing by. ''I just want to hold her hand. I want her to be in my camp, to be around Justin. I need Justin to talk to her. Help her, please!''

Uhhhmmm... yeah... benefit of the doubt...

Full article at Entertainment Weekly






And then there was Lil' Kim...

she's talking about being a judge on the CW show The Search for the Next Doll... to find a replacement for Nicole Schersihqwk... uh, Nicole S. the lead singer who is no doubt working on her solo album and saying F-U biatches to the rest of the "group"... but I digress...

...the petite MC is turning the tables and doling out the critiques. ''This is right up my alley,'' says Kim, 31, who proves a blunt but fair judge on The CW's reality competition The Search for the Next Doll (debuting March 6 at 9 p.m.). ''I think [the producers]kind of know that I was born a Pussycat Doll'' — so who better to help find the band's newest member? ''I know for a fact I paved the way,'' she says. ''At the end of the day I proved that sex sells.''

She was born a Pussycat Doll???? Okay... and sex sells for Lil' Kim like, back in... let's say 2001 with La Bella Mafia... that's the last time that I can recall her being "sexy"... SMH...

Full article at Entertainment Weekly

Tha Louis Vitton Don needs to go somewhere and sit down!

*sigh*

SMH at Kanye West who is making news for getting some Indian food takeout delivered... from the U.K. to New York.

Kanye, is it that damn serious?

Kanye, couldn't your silly ass have ordered from the Indian takeout place up the street... you're in New York... I know there's got to be some Indian takeout of comparable quality somewhere nearby...

That's why some people don't need to have that much money... I...just can't take it...

First spotted on Yahoo Music News


Update: curry ain't for Kanye... but someone ordered the food cause someone from that Indian restaurant is on their way to New York... from Yahoo

Dance Dance Revolution

Yahoo did it to me again... I'm listening to my Yahoo music player at work, thinking what in the hell do they have me listening to...

It's a song called the Cupid Shuffle... so of course I realized that there's got to be a dance for this.

Trusty ol' YouTube did not disappoint.

The song is from an Atlantic Records artist named Cupid (here's his MySpace page). Apparently, it's pretty big in the Louisiana area... which can only make me assume that it will end up in my area soon enough... and darnit, it's a catchy song and catchy dance, so it's bound to get stuck in my head sometime soon.

Ladies and gentlemen, The Cupid Shuffle:





Oh yeah and the "other" dance "craze" that I have only recently been introduced to...
Do the Heizman on dat ho! Work it out!

Macy Gray - Finally Made Me Happy

I guess Macy Gray has a new single out? Has anyone really heard about it?

I'm listening to the song and just thinking that Macy Gray sounds like when your drunk aunt grabs the kareoke mic at your family reunion....

I keed I keed. But her voice is such a hit-or-miss thing for me. I do like the song... I guess it grew on me...

Anyway, Yahoo has a video for it (here are some screen shots).



It's just a live set, nothing too special... then like halfway through it, one of the backup singers starts going for it. I'm like, she's really good. Shes' showing up Macy Gray, too. Then they focus in on the backup singe and it's Kameelah from 702!!!!



Has it gotten that bad for you, boo? Can we please get her another record deal? Thanks.

Anyway, to see the video, you may need to have a Yahoo account or be using Internet Explorer to view it though. Go to http://music.yahoo.com/musicvideos/default.asp and do a search for the video. I can't find this video anywahere else online, right now.

Human Space Invader

Taking it back!!!!

Very original and inventive. I just wonder how long it took to plan this and how long it took to make it.

Check out the Human Space Invaders:

The Original Human SPACE INVADERS

Beyonce likes to put things in her mouth

I'm not kidding. Just watch her new video for Upgrade U.

Another hot video from B.

Video highlights:

• Beyonce putting lots of things in her mouth (I'm still not kidding... it's not as bad as it sounds)
• Baby alligator (Didn't PETA get on Beyonce about this before?)
• A fat braid that's the size of a human arm (hate it, love the rest of the look, PETA might not)
• Lots of gold!
• An androgynous look going on (Love it... I still think Ciara pulled it off better...)
• Surprise "mystery guest"

Yup it's a pretty busy video, but I loves the song and the video did not disappoint.

Upgrade U - Beyonce, Jay Z