This is great served over rice with a side of Stewed Black Beans (page 230) or served over boiled fettuccine.
INGREDIENTS | SERVES 1
1 tablespoon butter
1 tablespoon olive oil
¼ cup sliced mushrooms
1 green onion, thinly sliced
Dash salt
1 small tomato, cored and diced
1 garlic clove, minced
Juice from 1 lemon
2 tablespoons dry white wine or vermouth
¼ pound medium shrimp, shelled and deveined
¼ teaspoon Old Bay seasoning
Place a small skillet over medium heat. Once it is heated, add the butter and olive oil. Add the mushrooms, green onion, and a dash of salt. Cook for 4–5 minutes.
Stir in the tomato and garlic and cook for 3–4 minutes, or until the garlic smells fragrant and the tomato is starting to break down. Stir in the lemon juice. Cook for 1 minute.
Stir in the wine, the shrimp, and the Old Bay. Cook for 3–5 minutes, or until the shrimp turns pink. Serve while warm.
Jennifer Hudson stole the show at a Fashion's Night Out event in Tokyo, Japan, where she donned a body hugging leopard print dress. Jennifer showed off her svelte new figure in the dress, which was cinched at the waist and paired with satin black pumps.
The sultry singer/actress proudly stood next to designer Michael Kors at the opening of his new Tokyo store. Vogue editor-in-chief Anna Wintour was also in attendance
Heidi Klum takes her daughters Leni, 7, and LOU, 2, out for a day on the town in Brentwood, California. Look at the man in the background facial expression. COMEDY! please leave a comment!
Over the course of the past week, "X Factor" hopeful Stacy Francis, the 42-year-old single mom with a dream and a pair of easily activated tearducts, practically went from being America's sweetheart to America's most hated, when her professional past was "outed" by anti-fan site Vote For The Worst, and later by Radar Online and Perez Hilton. (The latter blogger called her a "fraud" and seemed to harbor a personal vendetta against her, after a Twitter feud between them escalated when Adam Lambert jumped to Stacy's defense.) Of course, none of these gossippy sites actually exposed anything than couldn't be uncovered via a regular query on YouTube, Wikipedia, or IMDB. But the inflammatory articles still elicited public outrage that could now possibly thwart the former frontrunner's chances, as the "X Factor" live voting begins this week.
Yes, Stacy was a member of the '90s R&B girl group Ex-Girlfriend, who were signed to Reprise by Mariah Carey manager Benny Medina and produced by R. Kelly. Yes, she has performed with Whitney Houston, Madonna, and Prince. Yes, she has starred in Broadway and West End musicals. And yes, in 2004 she was hired to perform at Tom Cruise's birthday party. But how, exactly, does this differentiate her from her seasoned "X Factor" castmate LeRoy Bell, who used to write songs for the Spinners, the O'Jays, the Temptations, and Elton John, some of which made the Billboard charts; who was once nominated for a Grammy; and who's performed with the likes of B.B. King, Van Morrison, Sheryl Crow, Etta James, Al Green, Erykah Badu, LeAnn Rimes, and Idina Menzel? How does this make Stacy different from her open admirer Adam Lambert, who starred in The Ten Commandments with Val Kilmer before "American Idol," or from "The Voice's" winner Javier Colon and runner-up Dia Frampton, both of whom had previous major-label deals?
The issue, of course, is transparency--for which "The X Factor's" producers and editors are likely more to blame than Stacy herself. Come on, there is NO reason to assume that "The X Factor" powers-that-be were entirely unaware of Stacy's past professional endeavors; even if she had failed to mention her credentials, or even intentionally lied about them, any cursory background check would have quickly brought up all those YouTube videos, Last.fm and MySpace bio pages, BroadwayWorld.com articles, etc. But of course, splicing together the juicier, more emotional tidbits from Stacy's "X Factor" interviews--to paint her out to be a struggling mother, domestic abuse victim, and keeper of deferred dreams--made for better television than depicting her as just another Melinda Doolittle type, just another industry pro hoping to take her career to the next level after years of steady C-list work.
It's no wonder that viewers feel duped, but really, this is not unlike how the producers of "The Voice" initially chose to focus on Javier's family-man background and Dia's side career as an author of children's books, while overlooking those contestants' respective tenures with Capitol and Warner Bros. Records. Or how "American Idol" depicted Season 7's Carly Smithson as an Irish immigrant with visa issues and Kristy Lee Cook as a farmgirl who sold her horse to raise the funds to travel to her audition, while conveniently failing to mention that both girls had past ties to "Idol"-affiliated record labels.
Most of the reality contestants mentioned above emerged from their "scandals" relatively unscathed--in the case of "The Voice" specifically, that was probably because that show never overtly claimed that its contestants were total unknowns who'd queued up for hours in rainy parking lots to attend open auditions. But Carly, whose situation was the closest to what Stacy is going through now, definitely suffered from what appeared to be deliberate deception, or at least an egregious sin of factual omission. As a teenager under the name Carly Hennessy, she had been signed to MCA Records when Randy Jackson actually still worked there; when this came out mid-season, disgruntled "Idol" viewers actually rallied for her disqualification, and Carly eventually stalled in sixth place despite being an early favorite. I will freely admit that at the time, I wrote quite angrily about what seemed to be a great reality-TV injustice. But looking back, I now sheepishly wonder: Was this backlash Carly's fault? Did she deliberately portray herself as a newbie when she was anything but, or was that "Idol's" doing? And if Carly had been honestly portrayed as a showbiz second-chancer who'd fallen on tough times and needed a career reboot, would she have fared better on the show? These are the same kinds of questions being asked about Stacy Francis and "The X Factor" now.
Stacy Francis - Kills Prince's Purple Rain" at The X Factor USA Judges Houses 2011
The bottom line is, it's a bit of a stretch to say that Stacy is someone who has "already made it." While she has definitely made industry inroads and had some career breaks that many aspiring singers only dream about, I had never heard of her before she auditioned for "The X Factor," and neither had probably 99.9 percent of the American TV-viewing public. And I have no reason to believe she wasn't still struggling or living in a modest one-bedroom apartment, as she has claimed; as a longtime L.A. resident, I can assure you that this industry town is filled with many Hollywood bit players who, despite walk-on sitcom roles or famous friends or impressively lengthy CVs, still hold day jobs or have trouble paying their bills. Really, Stacy is just another under-the-radar talent who has come close, but not quite close enough, to her superstardom goal. As she put it in a backstage interview I conducted with her last week: "If I was Janet Jackson, I wouldn't be here. There's a reason why I'm here."
So, what do you think? Was Stacy deceptive about her past, or are producers and selective editors to blame here? Should shows like "The X Factor" be more transparent about contestants' backgrounds in general, to avoid such backlashes, or--here's a thought--do you think these series' producers secretly (or maybe not-so-secretly) relish the free publicity that such scandals generate?
I personally think Stacy should be given the same chance, and the same benefit of the doubt, as any less-experienced "X Factor" contestant, and let her talent do the talking (or the singing, as it were). If there's a real reason why all those years of slogging away in the Hollywood trenches never got her very far, that'll soon become all too clear on future "X Factor" episodes. But until then, let's all back off.~ PDT by Lyndsey Parker(reality rocks)
Monday, October 31, 2011
Aisha Sekhmet is a hip hop artist from Louisiana. With a resilient spirit and a passion for mental liberation in the African-American community, she has embarked on a mission to "Wake Up The Hood." With a raw, assertive flow and an uncompromising approach to deliver truth, Aisha Sekhmet became known to many in the hip hop world with her single "You The Whiteman's Bitch." It showcased her skill at making 21st century oppression appear clear to any young person unaware of the matrix of white supremacy that still exists. Listening to many of her songs like "Everybody's Gay" and "Age of the Bitch Nigga", one can perceive that Aisha is just a bitter black female who was taken her anger out on her male counterparts and the white man who is responsible for our misfortunes. But any intelligent minded individual who has experienced Black Hollywood, the music underground, and the overlooked racism and exploitation in the quest of money, status, and fame, knows Miss Sekhmet is telling the undiluted truth. She is fierce, she is raw talent, she is fearless in speaking truth to power and the uninformed masses who don't know what truth is.
"The Answer" available online only @ ITUNES OR CDBABY.COM
"Did I colonize myself, destroy my institutions, enslave myself, use and neglect myself, steal my identity, & then being reduced to nothing, invent a competitive economy knowing I cant compete? I blame the capitalistic dog, the imperialistic, cave dwelling brute that kidnapped us, pulled the rug from under us, made us a caste in his society with no vertical economic mobility." --George Jackson, Soledad Brother~--George Jackson, Soledad Brother
THANKS FOR SUPPORTING INDEPENDENT HIP HOP
Friday, October 28, 2011
Queen, who is often referred to as "Da Queen of da South"... because of her swagger, lyricism and street credibility. She holds the crown as the hottest female rapper out of the South, who fans can count on to keep it sexy without depending heavily on her sexuality as many female rappers do. Queen's hustler mentality and street savvy keep her sittin on top of the game.
Queen has made her name in Atlanta, as a tough, profane rhymer whose hardcore lyrical skills were never in doubt. Queen was born Telisha Dozier in Chattanooga,Tn and raised in Atlanta since age 1. She began writing poetry at age 12, and has been performing since age 15 in Atlanta and other states as well. Mention her name anywhere in the city and people are sure to show love. People from all walks of life can relate to Queen's passionate lyrics, because her music represents the struggles we all go threw and how we deal with them.Queen raps about what she knows about she's "Real." Queen absolutely dominates and holds the crown lyrically flexing her prowess and gangster mentality, So much so, that she has not only captured the respect of female rappers in the game, but male rappers are giving her props as well. Clay, T.i'.s road manager has even handed her the mic to freestyle at T.i.'s "Club Crucial", and Queen killed it! She has opened for Grand Hustle's own Young Dro, Dem Franchize Boyz and other local artist as well. Queen has been featured on Big Cat Records mixtape with "AK" from the group "PSC" and "Young Sneed", which was released March 2005, Featured on songs with Block Ent. artist "Gorilla Zoe" and also has featured on tracks with beatmaker "Marvelous J" just to name a few. Queen continues to prove everyday to her fans everyday why she is Atlanta's best kept secret.
Check out her music on Reverbnation ... Please Support the ladies.
Shout out to Miss Phillippines's answer at the Miss Universe Pageant. She didn't win, but I had to give recognition to her response..WELL SAID!!!!
During the Q&A part of the contest, Miss phillippines was asked by Judge Vivica A. Fox if she would change her religion to marry the person she loved.
Miss Phillippines answered: “If I had to change my religious beliefs, I will not marry the person that I love. Because the first person that I love is God who created me. And I have my faith and my principles, these are what makes me who I am. And if that person loves me, he should love my God too, Thank you,”
R&B queen Mary J. Blige will release new music this fall with her album, My Life II, The Journey Continues. "From me to you, 'My Life II'.....our journey together continues in this life. It's a gift to be able to relate and identify with my fans at all times. This album is a reflection of the times and lives of people all around me," Blige says in a statement about the album, which is due Sept. 20.
Watch the video to her first single from My Life II called Someone to Love Me (Naked.)
Henrietta Lacks (1920-1951) was the 31-year-old leading contributor to the sciences of aging and cancer, but she never knew it.
Her name was Henrietta Lacks, but scientists know her as HeLa. She was a poor black tobacco farmer whose cells—taken without her knowledge in 1951—became one of the most important tools in medicine, vital for developing the polio vaccine, cloning, gene mapping, in vitro fertilization, and more. Henrietta’s cells have been bought and sold by the billions, yet she remains virtually unknown, and her family can’t afford health insurance.
You're not my daddy, your my man! I think it's time that you understand, so just make me happy if you can. I am not your momma, I'm your girl! I am the lady in your world, and loving each other is how we works. ~kelly Price~
Stop calling these men your daddy. That's what's wrong with most of our relationships.. Could it be that we are confused about our rolls in the relationship?
