Long hair don’t care… But how bad is it that many folks assume that being mixed is a recipe for “good hair” ? The reason we ask is that we read a lengthy interview with our boo thang Elle Varner from the November issue of Sister2Sister magazine where publisher Jamie Foster Brown grills Elle about where she got her thick natural hair and starts quizzing her about her gene pool. Via the print edition of S2S : Jamie: Okay, what about that hair? Where did you get that hair from? Elle: My hair is my hair, you know? I’m Cape Verdean and Black. Jamie: But who in the family has hair like that? Does your mom have a lot of hair? Elle: My dad’s hair is thick and long, and, like, longer than mine. It’s crazy. My dad has so much hair. Jamie: He’s got long hair too? Is he mixed or anything? Elle: Yeah, he’s half Black, half Swedish. Did that offend you at all? Or did it sound like perfectly normal questions? The reason we ask is that Melanie Fiona was reamed this summer for remarks she made in an interview she did this June/July with a “black hair” magazine. Here’s the troublesome quote from the Sophisticate’s Black Hair Styles and Care Guide interview via Longing4Length.com : SBH:What’s the secret to your gorgeous long hair? Melanie Fiona: I was born with a full head of hair, and my mom wouldn’t let me cut it until I was 12! I’m mixed – my mom is Black and Portuguese and my dad is Indian so I have a good mix for growth . Elle’s answer isn’t much different from Melanie’s — the response is that their hair texture is a gene pool thing. But many folks took offense to what Melanie had to say because she chose the words “good mix for growth” but Elle’s answer implies almost the same thing. So what’s really the difference? And does it even matter? Let’s be honest, you don’t have to be “mixed” to have good hair. There are plenty of full black women with healthy heads of thick, long, natural hair. So do we all need to be re-educated about this topic? Regardless, the “exotic” girls seem to always have the most success in the entertainment business, so is this just a touchy topic for black women? Please discuss! WENN
Yeah, so I’m guessing this probably isn’t what you were hoping for from the words “car wash water fight,” but for some reason, AnnaSophia Robb and her friend apparently don’t know that you’re always supposed to wash a car in a bikini. Or at the very least, a white T-shirt. Anyway, this is from the set of AnnaSophia’s new show The Carrie Diaries — which means now we have a kiddie version of Sex in the City to look forward to. And I’m as excited about that as you were to find AnnaSophia wearing a bunny sweater instead of a bikini. Related Posts: Adrianne Curry Is A Naughty Nerd Adrianne Curry Twitter Bikini Pictures Adrienne Curry Gets Cozy With Jenna Jameson Adrianne Curry Exposes Her Tight Body Photos: PacificCoastNews
Is the media grossly misreporting the taxes paid by Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney? According to one review of his 2011 return , very much so. Mitt and Ann Romney ‘s 2011 adjusted gross income (AGI) was about $18.6 million, with their total federal income tax coming to $1.9 million, or 14.1 percent. This number is a bit misleading, however, when analyzing Mitt Romney tax returns . It implies the Romneys kept 85.9 percent of what they earned, which isn’t the case. First off, they clamed $4.6 million in itemized deductions, including $1.3 million in state and local income taxes and $215,000 in real estate taxes. That’s more than $1.5 million they never saw, and the generous couple also donated $1.3 million in cash and another $921,000 in securities. Another $2.21 million they did not keep for themselves. The Romneys earned $2.2 million in qualified dividends and $6.8 million in capital gains in 2011, income taxed at the favorable rate of 15 percent. While this rate seems low, it has been taxed at the corporate level first at a higher rate – 35 percent. The government has been paid twice, in other words. Finally, the Romneys paid $103,000 in foreign taxes, which has nothing to do with offshore accounts, but global investments taxed in their nation of origin. According to this analysis, on $18.6 million of productivity, they paid $10.8 million in taxes and gifts to charity, keeping just 42.1 percent of what they produced. Yes, this still makes them extremely wealthy, and no, it does necessarily make Romney any more (or less) qualified to be President of the United States. Viewed through a different lens, however, Romney’s generosity and tax burden is not the example of responsibility-shirking greed his opponents might like you to believe. U.S. Presidential Election 2012 : Obama-Biden Romney-Ryan View Poll »
A few months ago I won tickets from Tumblr to Justin’s opening show in Arizona. I live in Utah, which is about a 9-hour drive from Glendale , so I took Friday off of work and drove straight to the arena, stopping only once for gas, because I was way too excited to get there. As soon as I arrived, I saw a bunch of other fans waiting for Justin and as I walked over to join them, they all started screaming as if Justin was walking toward them or something. I immediately looked down the ramp and saw Scooter and Carly walking over, so I ran to the fence and found a spot just as the girl next to me yelled, “Scooter! Scooter! Can I get a picture with you?!” I was really bummed he took a picture with her since I figured he wouldn’t stop for me standing right next to her, but as he started walking away I said, “Scooter! Can I get a picture with you??” He turned around and looked at me so I yelled, “I’m @quotesfrombieb!” As soon as he heard me say my Twitter name it was almost as if he recognized me so he smiled and walked back over to take the picture. I’ve been wanting to meet Scooter for such a long time, so at that point I knew the trip was worth the long drive, but it only kept getting better. The people around me told me Justin had already come out twice that day, but Scooter told us he would come back out after rehearsals that night. It was over 100 degrees so I decided to walk back to my car and wait in the shade so I wouldn’t melt. After an hour or two I walked back over and found a great spot to wait for Justin again, and after a couple more hours, he rode up the ramp on his Segway. He put his hand out for all of us to touch it but I was too busy trying to take pictures to reach my hand out to touch his. Within only a few seconds, one of the security guards made a mistake and somehow opened the gate Justin was behind, and about a hundred girls started running toward him. Justin immediately zoomed back down the ramp and into the arena, and the rest of us were pretty scared and upset the other girls cared more about themselves than Justin’s safety and ruined the experience for the rest of us. The next morning, I got ready and drove to the arena, picking up some donuts I promised Justin’s photographer, Mike, on the way. I waited with the fans outside for a couple hours until a tour bus arrived, and as soon as I got out my phone and started filming, I saw Jaxon waving to us from inside the bus. It was the cutest! After that, my cousin and I went over to the radio stations who were having competitions to win tickets and meet and greets, and we decided to enter just in case. One competition they were having was a Bieber trivia contest, and I was one of the last lucky fans to enter. The radio station asked tons of easy questions like, “What is Justin’s middle name?” and “When is his birthday?” and I answered everyone else’s questions correctly in my mind…until I walked up on the stage and had to answer my own question correctly. Radio: “Where was Justin discovered?” Me: “STRATFORD, ONTARIO!” As soon as I answered, I knew what they were looking for was “YouTube” of course. I knew the correct answer, but I said the literal location he was when he was discovered. I was so upset and even tried fighting my way back into the competition, but it was too late; I’d lost my chance and felt like I wanted to cry. One girl I’d made friends with during the competition went up to answer her question after I lost. Radio: “Where does Justin currently reside?” My friend: “Los Angeles, California!” Radio: “That is incorrect!” I immediately yelled, “WHAT!?” because the radio station was incorrect. After a few seconds of confusion, the radio station announced that the correct answer was Atlanta, Georgia. Wrong. True beliebers knew the correct and current answer was Los Angeles , so when she left the stage, I went with her to explain to one of the workers that she answered correctly and they were wrong. After just a few minutes though, the competition ended, and the random drawing began for another winner. We decided to hold off complaining any more until after they drew a winner, and all of a sudden we heard them call out a name. I looked to the right of me where my new friend was standing, and she was in complete shock. THEY HAD CALLED HER NAME! I sincerely couldn’t have been happier for her, and I didn’t even care that I didn’t win the meet and greet because I knew she deserved it. I gave her a hug and congratulated her and talked to her mom for a minute about how crazy it was that we were just going to complain about the mistake the radio station made but she ended up winning after all. As I was about to leave the area and charge my phone in the car, her mom asked me for my phone number just in case they got more meet and greet tickets that we could use, but I wasn’t counting on anything because I knew they would only get two, and she and her mom would use them. Just as I got in the car and plugged in my phone, I got a phone call from an Arizona area code. Me: “Hello?” The other end: “Hi! Where are you? Are you close by? We have one extra ticket if you can get here in three seconds!” I started SPRINTING back to the arena and made it just in time to get a wrist band. I couldn’t believe how incredibly blessed I was to have gotten this opportunity after being genuinely happy for this new girl I’d just met. Karma is real! Her mom ended up giving me her ticket, which was the nicest thing any stranger has ever done for me. I just hope someday I can pay it forward and give back to someone else the way she did for me because I’ll never be able to thank her for her incredible act of kindness. As I was waiting in line to meet Justin, I saw his backup dancer, Jon Boogie, and talked to him for a second and asked for a picture. Then I saw his agent, Marco, and talked to him as well. They were both so nice and Marco especially acted as if we were best friends! I loved them both. The line started moving, and it only got harder and harder to breathe. I’d just met Justin exactly four weeks earlier, so I was rehearsing what I would say to him and I came up with the perfect line to say to him. As I walked through the curtain, Justin looked at me and said, “Hi! How are you?” and as those caramel brown eyes looked right into mine I forgot everything I’d planned and said, “Hi, good! Sorry I’m so sweaty!” Ya…I wasn’t even close to what I’d planned on saying! He responded with, “It’s all good!” and he continued to hug me as if he didn’t even care that I got my sweat all over him. Our cheeks even touched, and afterward I tweeted that Justin has the softest baby’s bottom skin I’ve ever felt…BECAUSE IT’S TRUE. My group and I proceeded to smile and take a few pictures before Moshe said, “Okay this way, thank you!” It was absolutely perfect, even though it was super quick and “Sorry I’m so sweaty!” weren’t exactly the words I wanted to say to him. We said bye, and as I walked out I touched Moshe’s arm and said, “Hi Moshe!” He said, “Hi how are you??” Then I saw Kenny and patted his arm and said, “Kenny how’s it going!?” and he said, “Hey what’s up how’s it goin’?!” I love Justin’s entire crew. They have a special quality that makes it so easy for them to make each of us feel so special whether or not they know our names. After meeting Justin and freaking out for the next little while, the doors to the arena opened, so my cousin and I went to find our seats. I tweeted Mike to see if he’d come by and meet me inside the arena since I wasn’t able to meet up with him and give him his donuts outside, but I decided to meet up with one of my good Twitter friends while I was waiting. As I was waiting to meet up with her though, my cousin texted me and said, “Mike came by, and I think he thought that I was you!” I was devastated I missed him, so as I was texting her back and trying to tweet him, I looked up and saw him walking in my direction. I yelled for him and luckily he heard me, and we ended up chatting for a good 15-20 minutes about everything from the show to Avalanna to photography to donuts. Even though I’d just met Justin, it was one of the highlights of my weekend to talk to Mike, because he was so down-to-earth and just a genuinely awesome guy. He spent so much of his time getting to know me and talking with me, and I’ll never be able to thank him enough. Thanks again for being so amazing, Mike!! The entire concert was incredible. I went from being the most excited I’ve ever been to shocked at the beginning of the concert…to laughing at some of the things Justin said onstage to almost crying while watching him throw up…to tearing up watching him dedicate One Less Lonely Girl to Avalanna and then singing Believe just for us. It was the most incredible night of my life, and I’ll never forget how special it was. After seeing Justin in concert, I can say without a doubt that he will be around for a very long time. Thank you Justin, Scooter, Mike, Kenny, Moshe, Marco, Jon, Natori and her mom, and everyone else who took part in making my weekend one I’ll never forget. Dreams DO come true! -@quotesfrombieb Excerpt from: A few months ago I won tickets from Tumblr to Justin’s opening…
The 2012 BET Hip-Hop Awards aired Tuesday night after being handed out a week and a half ago. Notably absent from the much-anticipated telecast: Kanye, MIA despite 17 nominations The Rick Ross-Young Jeezy fight The Gunplay-50 Cent melee BET Awards Brawl or not, it was a fun event hosted by comedian Mike Epps and featuring performances by some of the biggest names in the genre. The full list of winners from the 2012 BET Hip-Hop Awards: Reese’s Perfect Combo: G.O.O.D Music, “Mercy” Hip-Hop Video Director of the Year: Hype Williams Track of the Year: “Ni–as in Paris,” Jay-Z and Kanye West Sweet 16: Best Featured Verse: 2 Chainz, “Mercy” Rookie of the Year: 2 Chainz Producer of the Year: Kanye West People’s Champ Award: “Otis,” Jay-Z and Kanye West MVP of the Year: Rick Ross Made-You-Look Award (Best Hip-Hop Style): Kanye West Lyricist of the Year: Kendrick Lamar Impact Track: “Daughters,” Nas Hustler of the Year: Jay-Z CD of the Year: Watch the Throne, Jay-Z and Kanye West Best Mixtape: Dreamchasers 2, Meek Mill Best Live Performer: Jay-Z and Kanye West Best Hip-Hop Video: “H.Y.F.R,” Drake featuring Lil Wayne Best Club Banger: “Ni–as in Paris,” Jay-Z and Kanye West DJ of the Year: DJ Khaled Best Hip-Hop Online Site: World Star Hip Hop
After an electrifying Battle Round premiere Monday, The Voice returned with three more head-to-head performances last night in its hour-long Tuesday episode. Let’s see who won, who lost and who was stolen away to sing another day on NBC: Team Adam – Caitlin Michele vs. Melanie Martinez – “Lights” (Team Adam) Melanie Martinez vs. Caitlin Michelle – Lights (The Voice Battle Round) Winner: Melanie! Steal: Cee Lo! Team Cee Lo – Cody Belew vs. Domo – “Telephone” Cody Belew vs. DOMO – Telephone (The Voice Battle Round) Winner: Cody! Aquile vs. Nathalie Hernandez – “You Give Me Something” (Team Christina) Aquile vs. Nathalie Hernandez – You Make It Real (The Voice Battle Round) Winner: Aquile! Also, we barely got to see it, but Celica Westbrook defeated Lisa Scinta on Team Christina, and on Team Blake, Rudy Parris took out Charlie Rey … Rudy Parris vs. Charlie Rey and Celica Westbrook vs. Lisa Scinta (The Voice Battle Rounds) Which battle was your favorite Tuesday? Are you liking the new steal format? Which coach is your favorite, and whose team do you think is best?
With new Sarah Palin photos causing a stir online, the former political figure and current pro celebrity has offered an explanation for her noticably thinner frame: She’s working with her family on a new fitness book! She tells People , “Our family is writing a book on fitness and self-discipline focusing on where we get our energy and balance as we still eat our beloved homemade comfort foods!” Sarah Palin promises a “unique and motivating book.” “We promise you what we do works and allows a fulfilling quality of life and sustenance anyone can enjoy,” the 48-year-old former Alaska Governor adds. It is unclear when the work will be published or if haters will be singled out for criticizing her recent weight loss. Also unclear? What she bought at KMart (above). [Photo: Fame/Flynet]
Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney is again trying to distance himself from his infamous “47 percent” comment, calling it “completely wrong.” As opposed to “ineloquently stated,” his original description of the quote. Mitt Romney on Obama Voters Romney, whose comments were caught on video at a private fundraiser in May, says “the words that came out were not what I meant” and disavowed them. His comments implied that 47 percent of voters are government-dependent, self-identified victims who will vote for President Obama no matter what. In an interview with CNN, Romney said he’d work for “100 percent of the people,” adding: “What was stated in the tape was not referring to what kind of president I’d be.” Trying to put the remark in context, he said, “I was talking about how you get 50.1 percent of the vote … I’d like to get 100 percent of the vote, but I figure that’s not going to happen.” “I was trying to tell contributors how I get to 50.1 percent. I think it’s always a perilous course for a candidate to start talking about the mathematics of an election.” Romney dominated the presidential debate last week and has enjoyed a major bump in the polls as a result, with survey composites showing him virtually tied with Obama. Election 2012: Who’s your pick? Obama-Biden Romney-Ryan View Poll »
Damn, these politicians stay smearing, and unfortunately this gay couple from Jersey is the butt of one Colorado smear campaign. According to The Denver Channel: A gay couple from New Jersey is suing a group that used their engagement photo in an attack mailer against a Republican Colorado state lawmaker who supported civil unions this year. Brian Edwards and Tom Privitere, and their attorneys, talked about the lawsuit Wednesday outside federal court in Denver. “It brought back feelings of bullying in my childhood, which was startling to us,” Edward said. “Tom and I both cringe now when we see our engagement photo, a photo which will forever live on the Internet as a message of hate.” The Southern Poverty Law Center is filing the lawsuit on behalf of the couple against the Virginia-based Public Advocate of the United States. The couple was originally photographed kissing with a New York City skyline as a backdrop. The couple shared the engagement photo with family and friends through Edwards’ blog, along with photos of the couple’s wedding ceremony. The photo was altered and the couple was superimposed against a snowy backdrop with the words “State Senator Jean White’s Idea Of ‘Family Values?’” The photo was used in mailers in a June primary election involving Republicans Jean White of Hayden and Jeff Hare of Greeley. White was one of a handful of Republicans who supported a civil union bill that was blocked in the state House. “I cringe every time I look at what once was one of our favorite photos,” Edwards said. “All I see now is the defiled image used to attack our family and our community. All we want is justice for the pain that Public Advocate has caused us.” “This case is about the defilement of a beautiful moment by a group known for demonizing the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community,” said Christine P. Sun, SPLC deputy legal director. “This was just a cheap way for Public Advocate to avoid having to pay for a stock photo to use in their hateful anti-gay attack ad. It was nothing short of theft.” The SPLC has labeled Public Advocate as a hate group. SMH.
Greta Gerwig has gone from so-called Mumblecore actress, appearing in indie titles LOL , Hannah Takes The Stairs and Nights and Weekends to bigger fare by the likes of Ivan Reitman and Woody Allen in No Strings Attached and the recent To Rome with Love . But what most audiences may not know, is that she’s picked written some of the material she’s played on screen, including her latest Frances Ha , which she co-wrote with director Noah Baumbach . The comedy is Gerwig’s second match-up with Baumbach following 2010’s Greenberg and the pair began bouncing ideas off each other, eventually creating the hysterical black and white feature that debuted at the recent Toronto International Film Festival and will be having its U.S. premiere at the upcoming New York Film Festival . “We started trading some ideas after Greenberg Gerwig said in New York this week. “I knew I wanted to work with Noah again, and luckily he felt the same way.” Baumbach and Gerwig emailed sent email back and forth, creating Frances Ha ‘s electric personalities and hypnotic banter. In the film, Gerwig plays Frances, a New Yorker who is constantly on the move. Her best friend Sophie (Mickey Sumner) ups and moves into a plush apartment with a friend in New York’s TriBeCa neighborhood, leaving Frances to fend for herself. A budding dancer, she is dropped from her apprenticeship at a dance company, but her slow descent never does little to undermine her determination to succeed. Friendship is at the heart of the film and the sometimes racy lifestyle of twenty-somethings living in New York is played out honestly, even with some discomfort. “If you want to get technical about it, anything other than women falling in love is under-represented across the board [in movies],” said Gerwig. “When we were writing it, Frances and Sophie emerged rather than something that was imposed. It became clear that this was the most important relationship in her life and we decided that that was the story we would focus on.” Though Gerwig and Baumbach were obviously very aware of the script, the Oscar-nominated director of The Squid and the Whale decided not to let the other actors see the entire screenplay. He decided to experiment with actors only focusing on only their material and be left in the dark as to how their words and deeds fit into the bigger picture. “I thought there might be something interesting to having actors play at the moment and what was in front of them instead of having them in some ways tell the overall story, so that was the experiment…I didn’t want them to think how this scene falls in the movie,” said Baumbach. “They may know all too well where a scene falls in the movie. You don’t want the characters to know that really.” Gerwig received praise for her performance at a pre-NYFF screening of the film this week. Her character is a case study in contrasts. She’s smart, but makes bad decisions. She’s determined, but is constantly stumbling. She has strong relationships, but she’s often left in the lurch. Gerwig wrestled up a persona that would have been difficult for just any actor to pull off Frances’ unique peculiarities. Asked how she tackled Frances, Gerwig wasn’t quite sure how her personality came about. “I never really particularly meant to have a different way of acting than anyone else,” she said. “I don’t mean to sound like Johnny Cash, but that line, ‘I play guitar like this because I don’t know any other way’ – I don’t know any other way to act.” Continuing she added, “It’s always weird when you talk about acting because it inevitably descends into something mystical. But it’s from the inside coupled with needing to know why I am saying something. Working on the script doesn’t make acting any easier. It actually in some ways makes it more difficult because you know what something is supposed to be.” IFC Films picked up Frances Ha and will release the film in theaters and VOD at a future date.
