Monday Madness...

"Can I get an encore, do you want more?..."  Encore - Jay-Z

Now that I am recovering from my hoarseness from the amazing spectacle of sportsmanship (okay there were a few questionable moments) at the Superbowl, with chai tea in hand, I have a couple of tidbits to share.

Jennifer Hudson - by FAR the most amazing display of talent singing the american anthem at the Superbowl EVER.  For me anyway.  At first I said she ranked up there with Whitney, but the goosebumps lingered around long after and that was my reason for changing my statement. I think her deep breath at the beginning said it all. Recorded or not, it was phenomenal.

Erykah Badu & Jay Electronica: this is old news by now, but worth a mention anyhow.  The talented duo welcomed a beautiful baby girl into the world today (being Sunday).  And both Erykah and Jay tweeted.  Jay took up from where Erykah left off and tweeted the rest of the event live and direct. If you are not on Twitter as yet, you are obviously missing out.  Congrats to the proud parents and family!

Thank you for the love: And what a nice surprise to find myself on their blogroll. :)  Married duo Danyel Smith - Vibe Magazine's Editor-in-Chief and Elliott Wilson - ex XXL Editor-in-Chief, founder of everything Ego Trip and soon to come Rap Radar, have come together to produce Take It Personal - a podcast that is well worth a listen.  You get a taste of everything from Danyel's song of the week and Pink Bull (yes Danyel, I went there) and Elliott's infectious troublesome laugh and tidbits on EVERYTHING. Whether it be hip hop old and new, their arguments, The President's movements or Danyel's cooking - nothing is safe.  Take a listen, you won't be sorry.  I guarantee you will be on your ass laughing by the end of the show.  They are out of control.

On that note, here is Monday Madness: the news last week that made me cuss, cringe and shake my head.

1) No words: I was speechless when I read this and I think that tragic is an understatement.  I have no idea what that sense of loss of self feels like.  I still do not think that he was the one to play God and know what was best for his family by killing them and himself after he and his wife both lost their jobs.  It is crushing, but enough to kill your entire family thinking that it would be the answer?  This economic struggle is hitting everyone hard and if everyone's solution is to wallow in despair and do the cowardly thing and commit suicide taking their family with them - think again, because it is not the answer.  Seek help.  The healing process is on the way, as there are people now in The White House who are looking for a better way for you, than suicide. Just devastating. Read the whole story here. (aol.com)

2) Bong Anyone?: So Michael Phelps is in trouble for getting too sucky-faced with a bong.  To my surprise, I learned today that he was arrested for a DUI in 2004 and was put on probation for his act of stupidity.  Well what do you know, here is act of stupidity number 2.  Can he actually blame the act on being young?  Will we let him get a pass for that one?  My answer - NO. There are many kids out there his age, without 8 gold medals, endorsements and world records that have more sense than him.  I wonder if this would actually make a dent in his media persona.  Don't even get me started on why we know he won't be investigated for his stupidness, looked into his olympic time and stripped of medals and such.  Here is the pic that got him in trouble that he is apologizing profusely for:

(newsoftheworld.co.uk)

3) Little Miss What??: There is a show debuting next week that has already found its way under my skin.  Little Miss Perfect on WE TV is not going to be on my must see TV list.   It is a show about little girls on their pageantry path.  I would think that we have already seen enough after the Jon Benet Ramsey case.  I shudder at the fact that mother's put their kids through the heavy make-up, the ball gowns, the vaseline on the teeth and the whole pretentious aspect of this pageantry bullshit.  With their mother's touting about the fact that the money won is "college tuition" and so forth looks like a mere justification.  It drives me absolutely insane when I see a little one crying on stage and her mother pushing her to man up.  Not my cup of tea.  Again, just my opinion and mine alone. 

4) Here we go: I am only going to say this once and may get on some people's nerves too.  But this is my spot to rant.  Would you believe that The Black Artists Association is upset with First Lady Michelle Obama for not wearing anything from a Black designer?  NOW, one thing I think that some black people have to understand.  Just because the First Lady is black, does NOT mean that she has to wear something from a black designer.  So now she is being criticized by her own, for not wearing clothing from her own?  The quote from cofounder Amnau Eele states: 

"It's fine and good if you want to be all Kumbaya and We Are The World by representing all different countries, but if you are going to have Isabel Toledo do the inauguration dress and Jason Woo do the evening gown, why not have Kevin Hall, B Michael, Stephen Burrows or any of the other black designers do something too?"

She makes it sound like The First Lady was going to be wearing 5 dresses that day.  I know it was a special day and it's the attention that is given to the dress that matters, but really there are so many more events to come.  Stop bitching.  I am sorry, but I saw this coming from a mile away.  We all know that you can't make everyone happy. So true colors come out because no one black was picked?  God don't like ugly.

5) The feel good video of the day: There were quite a few Superbowl commercials that had me cracking the hell up.  But my favorite has to be this one - SHANKAPOTOMUS! LMMFAO:

Not a flashback but: Still winding down from that Superbowl.  It's not old school, but I was feeling like:

See y'all soon...

Tha Connoisseur