Entertainment Archive (198)
If a break-in that took place last year at Bishop Eddie Long's New Birth Missionary Church office proceeds to trial, the disgraced bishop could be called on to testify, according to The Christian Post evangelical magazine.
Long recently settled lawsuits to the tune of $25 million that were brought against him last September by four young men who accused the church leader of engaging in sexual acts with them. The Christian Post reported that Anthony Boyd, a former security guard at the Lithonia, Ga., mega church, was accused a year ago of breaking into Long's office and stealing $100,000 worth of jewelry and electronics. Among the items were an iPad and iPhone.
"He's certainly a witness that would have to be called by somebody. The state or the defense, Boyd's attorney David Fife was quoted as saying.
While investigators have reportedly said that security cameras captured video of two men using a key to enter Long's office, Boyd has maintained his innocence. He claimed that Maurice Robinson and Anthony Flagg, two of the men who filed the lawsuits against Long, broke into the office to collect evidence against him for their lawsuits.
The Christian Post also reported that during the month before the men's lawsuits became public, Long had asked the DeKalb County district attorney to drop the burglary charges against Boyd and Robinson, but his request was denied.
Courtesy PhotoPatti LaBelle is counter suing the West Point cadet who has claimed that she ordered her bodyguards to attack him at an airport in Houston, Texas.
The soul singer's lawsuit accuses Richard King of drunkenly instigating the attack by swearing at her, using racially and sexually insensitive language and attempting to force his way into her car. This legal petition is LaBelle's first official response to King's lawsuit, which was filed earlier this month. The singer is seeking actual damages and litigation costs.
King's suit claims that the incident on March 11 at George H.W. Bush Intercontinental airport happened because LaBelle believed he was standing too close to her belongings outside the terminal.
The altercation between King and LaBelle's entourage was captured on a security camera, but King was off-camera during parts of the footage and there was no sound recorded, resulting in both sides providing very different accounts of the event.
Throughout your life, you've done some regretful things.
Riding your bike downhill with iffy brakes, that was one of them. Cutting your own hair. Sassing your grandma while she was standing close. And then there was that time you ate something somebody said "tastes good."
You can attribute that to being young and dumb, but there's no excuse when you're grown. Dating the wrong person, going clubbing in some hideous outfit, that email to the boss: all impulsive, all regretful.
So could five 18-year-olds be forgiven for bartering their futures? Blue Hamilton thought so, but in the new novel "Just Wanna Testify" by Pearl Cleage, compassion nearly cost Blue his life.
Regina Hamilton was blessed.
Step Afrika! Hit the Mark
When the drum was banned during slavery in the United States, it was seen as a weapon, a powerful instrument that could send messages to incite the Africans in bondage to rise up and revolt against their enslavers. And so the drum was "taken away." Intonations of this pivotal time in African American history became part of the script for Washington's first and only Cultural Ambassadors, Step Afrika! during its amazing recent production, "The Migration: Reflections on Jacob Lawrence." Dancers circled the rounded stage at the Atlas Performing Arts Center, telling the audience "they took the drums away." But by no means did that put an end to the innovative use of percussion by African descendants in the Americas, and Step Afrika! eloquently illustrated the transformation of the drum to percussive dance steps which is now known as stepping.
Using the impetus of another Washington icon, the paintings by Jacob Lawrence known as the Migration Series, owned by the Phillips Collection, Step Afrika! added a narrative performance to enhance the story told in the 60 colorful panels Lawrence painted between 1940 and 1941 when the artist was only 23 and living in Harlem. The paintings follow the story of the Great Migration, when freed slaves traveled up north, mainly by railroad, to find a new home in the urban centers of the East Coast and Midwest providing manpower for the burgeoning industrial revolution and creating a culture that endures and is evident to this day. The entire series is owned jointly between the Phillips Collection and the Museum of Modern Art in New York.
There are plenty of artists that have come and gone in the past thirty years, but none seems like no other keeps it coming harder than R&B artist, Charlie Wilson. Coming off of the success of his recent album, Just Charlieand a 2010 Grammy nomination for his hit single, There Goes My Baby, Wilson it riding higher than ever before. In fact, Wilson may be one of the few remaining showman of his time.
In addition to his dynamic vocals, Wilson is known for his dapper, dressed to kill attire.
"I'm putting a new face on old school R&B shows", chuckled Wilson.
Growing up, Wilson said he was influenced by Stevie Wonder, Donnie Hathaway, and Sly and The Family Stone. He cultivated his voice in church, and his school choir back in Tulsa, Oklahoma. He still takes great pride in being one of the most energetic showmen, despite his age.
"Three weeks ago, Rick Ross came on stage with me. They hit me up on Facebook and were like, wow, Uncle Charlie put it down" said Wilson.
UPPER MARLBORO, MD -- Most women fantasize about their wedding day. They dream of a "picture perfect" wedding that includes a beautiful wedding gown.
Couture Miss Bridal & Formal, a full-service bridal boutique located in Upper Marlboro, wants to help make that dream come true for active duty service members in the Washington metropolitan area by giving away a limited number of wedding gowns on July 12 and 13.
"Active duty service members give themselves selflessly in order to provide us with a sense of security and protection," Ephonia Green, owner of Couture Miss Bridal & Formal, said. "Giving these dresses away is a small way of expressing my gratitude for all the sacrifices they make."
Couture Miss Bridal & Formal is donating the gowns as a part of a national initiative created by "Brides Across America."
"Brides Across America" is a non-profit organization committed to uniting military brides and bridal boutiques across the country in an effort to support them and their families.
In order to qualify for a dress, participants must be engaged or have had a civil ceremony -- or planning a wedding within the next 18 months. Either they or their fiancé must be on active duty and must be scheduled to deploy to Afghanistan, Iraq or Qatar. Participants can also qualify to receive a gown if either they or their fiancé was deployed within the past five years and neither have had a formal wedding.
On the day of the giveaway, military brides must bring a driver's license, military ID and copies of deployment papers for themselves or their fiancé which states the date of deployment.
"We are really excited about this event!" Green said. "My staff and I hope it brings real joy to the women and their families who are able to participate."
The giveaway will take place from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m., both days (July 12 and 13) at Couture Miss Bridal & Formal, 14703 Main Street, Suite 1, Upper Marlboro.
For more information, call 301-627-1886 or visit www.cmbridal.com. For more information about "Brides Across America," visit http://www.bridesacrossamerica.com.
Young Obama and Father (Courstesy Photo)The author of a new book on President Barack Obama's father cites a document that indicates he once considered putting young Barack up for adoption.
According to biographer Sally Jacobs, a Boston Globe reporter:
In the spring of 1961, President Obama's father revealed a plan for his unborn son that might have changed the course of American political history.
The elder Barack H. Obama, a sophomore at the University of Hawaii, had come under scrutiny by federal immigration officials who were concerned that he had more than one wife. When he was questioned by the school's foreign student adviser, the 24-year-old Obama insisted that he had divorced his wife in his native Kenya. Although his new wife, Ann Dunham, was five months pregnant with their child -- who would be called Barack Obama II -- Obama declared that they intended to put their child up for adoption.
"Subject got his USC (United States citizen) wife 'Hapai' [Hawaiian for pregnant] and although they were married they do not live together and Miss Dunham is making arrangements with the Salvation Army to give the baby away,'' according to a memo describing the conversation with Obama written by Lyle H. Dahling, an administrator in the Honolulu office of what was then called the US Immigration and Naturalization Service.
Jacobs' book -- The Other Barack: The Bold and Reckless Life of President Obama's Father -- is scheduled to be published on July 12.
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-DC) has introduced a resolution, which has 22 original co-sponsors and designates Saturday, July 30 as "National Dance Day."
The effort is to promote physical exercise, dance art forms,and dance education.
"So You Think You Can Dance" producer and celebrity judge Nigel Lythgoe also recently announced National Dance Day on the popular TV show, including how participants can access the dance routines to learn for the Dance Day flash mobs.
Lythgoe, the Dizzy Feet Foundation and the Larry King Cardiac Foundation, in conjunction with Norton, will host the National Dance Day celebration at the Sylvan Theatre on the National Mall.
The National Dance Day resolution demonstrates the need for dance as a form of exercise, when almost one-third of children and teenagers ages 2 to 19, and 68 percent of adults ages 20 and older, are obese or overweight.
"Our National Dance Day on the National Mall will show residents that anybody can dance and have fun with flash mobs," Norton said in a statement. "And all of us will be inspired to get up and move by the dance groups that will perform."
Last year, "National Dance Day" attracted several thousand participants to the National Mall, including former U.S. Olympic gymnast and co-chair of the President's Council on Fitness, Sports and Nutrition Dominique Dawes.
Ashley Boalch, Miss District of Columbia 2011. / Courtesy photoA University of Maryland student has been crowned Miss District of Columbia 2011.
Ashley Boalch,23, won the title over 15 other contestants in a pageant that took place July 10 at Arena Stage. The talented vocalist who is a D.C. native, will go on to compete in the 2011 Miss America contest.
Boalch won the Lifestyles &Fitness and Evening Gown competitions and said that among the first things she wanted to do after winding down from the pageant is to eat.
"I want to eat a cheeseburger," she said in interview shortly after winning.
In keeping with her platform at empowering youth, Boalch plans to campaign on behalf the Children's Miracle Network of Hospitals.
"You probably already know that I'm very involved with the Miss America Organization, but you probably didn't know that I'm also working closely with Children's Miracle Network to raise funds for local children's hospitals," Boalch said in a statement on the Miss America for Kids Web site.
Lauren Seely, 15, won the contest for Miss D.C. Outstanding Teen and like Boalch, will compete on the national level.
Freddie Jackson performs July 15 at DAR Constitution Hall in D.C. (Courtesy Photo)When Freddie Jackson brings his romantic, soulful ballads to DAR Constitution Hall on July 15 as part of the “Men of Soul” tour -- which also features R&B legends Jeffery Osbourne and Peabo Bryson -- fans can look forward to seeing an entertainer whose propensity for going full force, remains unwavering.
Known as a hard-worker who believes in giving his fans their money’s worth, Jackson said he was honored to be a part of the tour, having admired the works of Osbourne and Bryson since he was in junior high school.
“Peabo Bryson told me that I was like a little brother to him,” Jackson said in a recent interview with the Washington Informer. “I have learned a lot from these guys while on tour -- in fact, we’ve learned a lot from each other.”
However, the 54-year-old Harlem-born singer whose career began in the mid-1980s, attributes his longevity to “my amazing fans,” and feels blessed to have made “great” music for so long.
“I believe I have that special gift,” Jackson said, while crediting the late Luther Vandross for encouraging him to develop his niche.
But according to Jackson, the music industry is more concerned about what’s happening now, as opposed to expressing interest in music that lasts.
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