Friday, March 13, 2009

Gospel Singer BeBe Winans Arrested for Domestic Assault


MARCH 12--Gospel singer BeBe Winans was booked yesterday on a domestic assault rap for allegedly pushing his ex-wife to the ground during an argument last month.

According to a court filing, a copy of which you'll find below, Winans, 46, and his former spouse got into a "verbal altercation" on February 13 about "custody issues dealing with their children." At the time, Winans was at his ex-wife Debra's Nashville home, where he had driven to pick up his children. "The victim was telling the defendant of issues with the children when he became irate. The defendant then pushed the victim to the ground." Winans, pictured in the mug shot at right, was arrested yesterday on a misdemeanor domestic assault charge. He was briefly held at the Davidson County jail before posting $1000 bond.

Winans, best known for albums recorded with his sister CeCe, has won four Grammy awards.

Wednesday, March 11, 2009

Oakland Activist Is Hired By Obama


Oakland Activist and green jobs visionary Van Jones will be joining the Obama Administration March 16 as a special adviser for green jobs, enterprise and innovation, announced the White House Council on Environmental Quality.

Jones will work with agencies and departments to advance the administration’s climate and energy initiatives, with a special focus on improving vulnerable communities, according to WhiteHouse.gov.

Jones is the founder of Green For All, a national organization that promotes an inclusive green economy, and is also the co-founder of the Ella Baker Center for Human Rights and Color of Change. He is the author of the 2008 New York Times best-seller, “The Green Collar Economy.”
Jones has long been a proponent of environmental justice. He, along with other advocates like Majora Carter, tries to raise awareness of the fact that the communities most hurt by unsustainable practices are often the poorest, reports U.S. News & World Report.
Here, Jones speaks on a panel at the first official meeting of the Middle Class Task Force in Philadephia.

I have known Van and his work for years and met him during the days when we were both working to get technology related jobs for youth.

I am proud to see you working under this historic presidency and now I am even more sure that Obama is the president of change.


Joe

Actor Marcus Patrick Honored at BLATINO OASIS 2009

Often referred to as one of the most beautiful men in the world, British actor and model, Marcus Patrick has been selected as the recipient of the Blatino Erotica Award for Sexiest Actor during Blatino Oasis 2009 which takes place May 8-11.

Other honorees include author Lee Hayes and Retired adult film star and author Bobby Blake. The event is also co-hosted by logo (MTV Networks) reality show star (Shirts & Skins) and out gay professional basketball player Mike Survillion.

Born in Bath England to an English, Irish, father and Jamaican, Cuban, Cherokee mother, Patrick has appeared in a number of American television series to include the sitcom “My Wife & Kids” with Damon Wayans and Tisha Campbell and CSI Miami.

Patrick also performed on Dancing with the Stars. He became a Soap Opera heart throb as a cast member of the long running Soaps All My Children and Days of Our Lives.

After creative differences with All My Children he joined the cast of Days of our Lives but was dismissed after a controversial explicit photo shoot in the September 2007 edition of Playgirl Magazine.

Although this photoshoot ended Parick’s stint on these soaps, it elevated his image to international sex symbol status.

Aside from acting, Marcus Patrick has had a singing career, firstly with the boyband Worlds Apart as well as a solo career. He has also practiced Tae Kwon Do, winning championships at the junior and men's heavyweight level. He is engaged to porn actress Michelle Maylene.

Meet him live at Blatino Oasis in Palm Springs, California.

Tuesday, March 10, 2009

Michael Jackson: This Will Be the Final Curtain Call


The King of Pop still remains king, at least for the hundreds of screaming fans that flocked to the O2 Arena. Jackson announced these words, "These will be my final show performances London, this will be it, when I say this is it, it will really be it. This is the final curtain call." The

final performances will be at least a series of 10 concerts starting July 8. Tickets go on sale Friday, March 13 at 7AM. Jackson was on-stage for fewer than four minutes and he spoke less than 100 words. He spun in circles a few times, chuckled, repeated "I love you, I love you all" and threw an ending air punch.

Jackson being there was enough for the hundreds of loyal fans many wearing only one white glove reflecting Jackson's costumes. Fans ranged from the young to middle-aged adult males. Will this be the final curtain call for the King of Pop?It has been more than 10 years since The King of Pop launched a major tour. Jackson's media coverage has been widely about his financial, mental and physical conditions. Jackson has been a tabloid superhero in the past after accusations of being a pedophile which landed him in court.

During the special announcement in London at the O2 Jackson looked cheerful for a performer who has vanished for over 10 years from the stage.We can expect Jackson will be playing many of his past hits and there are rumors of new songs as well. Jackson announced "I am coming to London to play the songs my fans want to hear.

"Originally released in the US 25 years ago on November 30, 1982 by Epic Records "Thriller" was one of the world's top-selling albums of all-time. "Michael Jackson's Thriller is still widely searched for on the internet with an estimated 30,000 searches each month in the USA alone. Michael Jackson was named "Most Successful Entertainer of All-Time" by the Guinness World Records. Jackson has also been inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame twice.
Source>>>

Friday, March 6, 2009

Oprah shares 'O' cover with first lady

March 6, 2009 (CHICAGO) -- After sharing the cover of her magazine with her slimmer self a couple months back, Oprah Winfrey is for the first time sharing it with somebody else: first lady Michelle Obama.

Winfrey showed off the cover of the April issue during "The Oprah Winfrey Show" broadcast Friday. The media mogul had gone solo on the "O" magazine cover for nine years.

In the issue that will hit the newsstands March 17, Winfrey interviews the first lady about topics ranging from her decorating philosophy to how she hopes she can help other women.

In the interview, Obama talks about her first weekend in the White House and how the Obama family sees it as their responsibility to make the White House what she calls the "people's house."
Source>>>

Saturday, February 28, 2009

Drug violence spins Mexico toward 'civil war'

(CNN) -- A shootout in a border city that leaves five alleged drug traffickers sprawled dead on the street and seven police wounded. A police chief and his bodyguards gunned down outside his house in another border city.

Four bridges into the United States shut down by protesters who want the military out of their towns and who officials say are backed by narcotraffickers.

That was Mexico on Tuesday.
What is most remarkable is that it was not much different from Monday or Sunday or any day in the past few years.

Mexico, a country with a nearly 2,000-mile border with the United States, is undergoing a horrifying wave of violence that some are likening to a civil war. Drug traffickers battle fiercely with each other and Mexican authorities. The homicide rate reached a record level in 2008 and indications are that the carnage could be exceeded this year.

Every day, newspapers and the airwaves are filled with stories and images of beheadings and other gruesome killings. Wednesday's front page on Mexico City's La Prensa carried a large banner headline that simply said "Hysteria!" The entire page was devoted to photos of bloody bodies and grim-faced soldiers. One photo shows a man with two young children walking across a street with an army vehicle in the background, with a soldier standing at a turret machine gun.
Larry Birns, director of the Washington-based Council on Hemispheric Affairs, calls it "a sickening vertigo into chaos and plunder." By most accounts, that's not hyperbole.

Complete story and video at source>>>

Friday, February 27, 2009

Fitness Over 40 - Why You Should Take It Seriously

Next week I will be heading into the land of men who are 45 and over. The amazing thing for me about this fact is that I feel better than ever! In the gay community, particularly with men, body image is often over emphasized and people tend to have unrealistic views of what their bodies should look like.

However, what I am learning about my body as I age is that, your body can only give you what you give to your body. And feeling great isn't just about looking good, it is about feeling good about the steps that you take each day to stay healthy.

When I first started producing my event Blatino Oasis in Palm Springs, California in 2007, I learned a serious lesson about losing weight the wrong way. During that time, I only had three months to produce Blatino Oasis because of the deal that I had with the resorts. I also realized that I was carrying 200 pounds (about 10lbs more than normal) on my 5' 11" frame and needed to lose weight soon. I went on a crash diet, lost 20 pounds and nearly passed out.

The lesson: The healthy way to lose weight is gradually and over a realistic period of time.

In 2008, I emerged from the holidays with a few more pounds and began to plan a 120 day- 15 to 20 pound weight loss program. It included cutting out certain types of food, getting more fiber into my diet, and working out at least 5 days per week.

According to a New England Journal of Medicine study, people over 40 years of age must maintain average daily calorie consumption under 2,000…while maximizing the consumption of naturally high fiber food: FRUITS, VEGETABLES, NUTS AND WHOLE GRAINS. The lesson, researchers say, is that people lose weight if they lower calories.

The report goes on to state that "the more fiber one eats daily (up to about 50 grams, or 1.8 ounces), the more weight he or she is likely to lose."

Researchers believe that because fiber—which is found in veggies, fruit and whole grains—creates the sensation of fullness after eating by activating stretch receptors, nerve cells that are probably part of the group of signals sending the “I am full” message to the brain, in the digestive tract; it also slows digestion, extending the time that nutrients are dribbling into the blood stream from the intestine, which may lead to feelings of satiety.

The average person over 40 who refuses to start a regular workout program or give up the eating habits of their youth, will probably face many health related challenges in the future.
We all know that even healthy people develop health problems, but the stonger and healthier your body is, the more likely your body will more effectively fight challenges to your health, increasing chances of a healthy recovery.

As I prepare for another year at Blatino Oasis in Palm Springs, I am always reminded that my journey is not just a superficial one, but one that reminds me that a sexy and healthy body is not just for young people, it is for anyone who seeks to have one.....take the journey to a healthier you.

Joe

Wednesday, February 25, 2009

Sunday, February 22, 2009

Sean Penn earns best actor Oscar


Sean Penn, the bad-boy actor turned serious thespian, has been awarded the best actor Oscar for his role as the slain civil rights leader Harvey Milk.

Congratulations to my friends Mathew Riutta, Debra Wilson and all of the other Bay Area people who helped to make this film a success. See Dustin Lance Black's acceptance speech for Best Original Screenplay below.






‘Madea’ Goes to Town


Madea under lockdown put the smackdown on the weekend box office, once again demonstrating the allure of a man cross-dressing as a big, fat granny. Collectively, all movies playing grossed an estimated $142 million plus, up 29 percent over the comparable timeframe last year and making this the biggest post-President's Day weekend on record.

Tyler Perry's Madea Goes to Jail busted out of the gates with an estimated $41.1 million on approximately 2,800 screens at 2,032 theaters, nearly matching the initial attendance of The Nutty Professor (1996) and beating Norbit's debut among similar movies. The latest adventure of Tyler Perry's popular gun-toting, straight-talking granny character also served up the third biggest-grossing start at less than 2,500 theaters (without factoring inflation).

The last Madea-centered picture, Tyler Perry's Madea's Family Reunion, packed a $30 million opening on this same weekend in 2006 and was the highest-grossing movie of the Tyler Perry franchise with a final tally of $63.3 million. Fat-suit comedy seems to have perennial appeal, at least on opening weekend, from Mrs. Doubtfire to Big Momma's House.

Tuesday, February 17, 2009

Increasingly, Gay Men Busted for Prostitution in NYC

New York Times: On an October evening last year, Robert Pinter walked into the adults-only section of an East Village video store. Within minutes, he was approached by a young, handsome stranger.
“He was very charming and cute, and we agreed to leave the store and engage in consensual sex,” said Mr. Pinter, a 53-year-old massage therapist. But on the way out, he said, the man offered Mr. Pinter $50. Mr. Pinter, who is gay, said he found it odd for a younger man to want to pay him for sex.

“Then I got this weird feeling and thought if he continues to offer me money I am going to say, ‘Thanks, but no thanks,’ ” he said.

Outside, Mr. Pinter said, he was put against a chain-link fence by undercover police officers and handcuffed. As he was being led to a van, he was told he was being arrested for “loitering for the purpose of prostitution.”

The arrest of Mr. Pinter, whose narrative differs from the police account, and more than two dozen similar arrests in more than a year have touched a nerve among many gay New Yorkers and raised the concerns of some elected officials.

A recent editorial in Gay City News said the city’s actions were reminiscent of the era of the Stonewall Inn, which was frequented by gay men. A police raid at the bar in 1969 led to protests that are now considered the beginnings of the organized gay and lesbian rights movement in New York City.

“Forty years later, the N.Y.P.D. is still targeting gay men and places we gather,” said William K. Dobbs, an advocate for gay rights. Some of the arrests have been used by the city as evidence in “nuisance abatement” lawsuits, a tactic used for many years to try to shut down businesses where unlawful behavior is taking place. The chief police spokesman, Paul J. Browne, said that the police were not singling out gay men but merely responding to complaints about illegal activities.

In 2008, Mr. Browne said, the city obtained 900 nuisance abatement closings or “stipulations,” settlements in which a business agrees to change its practices.

Many of those cases involved under-age drinking, drug dealing and gambling in clubs. Though the police have been criticized for targeting gay-themed video stores, only 3 of the 100 nuisance cases that involved prostitution last year were at such businesses, Mr. Browne said.
“The impression is being put out there that it is all concentrated on gay Manhattan,” Mr. Browne said. “That is just not true.”

At least 34 men were arrested in 2008 and early 2009 in those types of police operations in sex-themed businesses, according to Mr. Pinter, who started a group called Coalition to Stop the Arrests. Mr. Browne said he could not immediately confirm that figure, but said that there were 1,650 female and 233 male prostitution arrests citywide in 2008.

America's Emptiest Cities


According to FORBES magazine, vacancy rates in these spots spell lots of empty neighborhoods.
Call it a modern-day tale of two cities. For decades, Las Vegas, ripe with new construction and economic development, burgeoned into a shimmering urban carnival. Detroit, once the fulcrum of American industry, sagged and rusted under its own weight. These days, it's the worst of times for both. Las Vegas edged Detroit for the title of America's most abandoned city.

Atlanta came in third, followed by Greensboro, N.C., and Dayton, Ohio. Our rankings, a combination of rental and homeowner vacancy rates for the 75 largest metropolitan statistical areas in the country, are based on fourth-quarter data released Feb. 3 by the Census Bureau. Each was ranked on rental vacancies and housing vacancies; the final ranking is an average of the two.
For complete story see source>>>

Friday, February 13, 2009

Flava Works Wins Federal Lawsuit, XXX Shows Continue at Miami Home

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Did Chris Brown Whoop Rihanna's Ass Over Herpes?


The drama around Chris Brown’s beating of Rihanna continues.

Media reports have confirmed earlier reports that Chris Brown did indeed beat Rihanna, but it’s the reason that’s even more bizarre.

Sources allegedly close to Brown allege that the fight leading to the domestic violence incident occurred because Rihanna gave Chris Brown herpes.

And how did Rihanna end up with an STD to begin with? Rumor has it that she picked it up from Jay-Z!

Brown would have found out about the Herpes due to the symptoms: the signs of infection typically appear as one or more blisters on or around the genitals or rectum. The blisters break, leaving tender ulcers (sores) that may take two to four weeks to heal.

While disturbing if true, it doesn’t excuse the beat down Brown gave Rihanna under any circumstances. He should have used a condom...No Glove, No Love!
DAMN! DAMN! DAMN!

TD Jakes's Son Caught Cruising For Trade in Dallas

The son of T.D. Jakes — the Dallas megachurch pastor who’s called homosexuality a “brokenness” and declared that he would never hire a sexually active gay person — was arrested in a gay sex sting in Kiest Park in January, according to Dallas police reports.

Jermaine Donnell Jakes, 29, faces a charge of indecent exposure after allegedly exposing himself in front of two undercover vice detectives shortly after 10 p.m. on Jan. 3. Senior Cpl. Janice Crowther, a DPD spokeswoman, confirmed Thursday, Feb. 12 that the detectives were both male.

According to an arrest affidavit, the detectives were conducting an investigation into citizen complaints of sexual activity when they observed Jakes and several other unknown males park their vehicles in the lot east of the park at 2106 W. Kiest Blvd.

The detectives followed Jakes into a wooded area, where he approached them with his penis exposed through his unzipped pants, the affidavit states. Jakes masturbated for several seconds while making eye contact with one of the detectives.

Jakes made no attempt to conceal his penis despite people walking and jogging on a trail nearby, the affidavit states. According to court records, Jermaine Jakes listed his place of employment as T.D. Jakes Ministries. Jakes was released at the scene after being detained.

T.D. Jakes is the founder of the Potters House, a 30,000-member church in South Dallas. A vocal opponent of same-sex marriage, he’s been criticized by HIV/AIDS activists for undermining prevention of the disease by stigmatizing homosexuality and drug use.

On same-sex marriage, Jakes once told USA Today: “To date, I have not seen scriptural authority that allows me to stand on behalf of God and say I now pronounce you husband and husband, and wife and wife. This is an issue the government is undecided about. The Bible is not.”

Jermaine Jakes’ attorney, Faith Johnson, issued a written statement this week.

“We are aware of potential allegations involving Jermaine Jakes and are undertaking our own investigation of these allegations at this time,” the statement said. “Given an apparent government investigation, we have no further comment at this time.”

Source>>>

Strictly dick? WTF

Is this the future of gay hip hop?
And they all look like babies.

Sunday, February 1, 2009