A while back we did a story on Twitter, the latest social networking craze. I must admit that it is easy to become enthralled with perusing the microblogs of people you know as well as complete strangers.
Now it seems that celebrities have also begun to tweet their lives away; From the sublime to clashes with the law:
"Particularly interesting is the trend of instant-update personal journalism - tweeting during, say, plane crashes in Denver or the Hudson River miracle in New York City and even from the scene of the Mumbai terrorist attacks earlier this year. So perhaps it shouldn't be surprising to find that rapper Jim Jones broke out his BlackBerry during a traffic stop to chronicle his arrest on Twitter Monday night in New Jersey.
Jones, no stranger to a view behind bars lately thanks to an alleged scrap with a friend of R&B singer Ne-Yo in New York and possibly being part of an argument that ended in gunfire last month in Detroit, fell victim to the worst of all possible hip hop crimes this time, though - a warrant for an old traffic ticket. The man best known for 'We Fly High (Ballin')' got jacked for his $120 worth of oversight in Teaneck. The rapper posted bail and was scheduled for a Tuesday court hearing on the matter." Source: The Chicago Sun-Times
So I've got to know, do you use Twitter?
By the way, you can click here to follow me on Twitter!
The patriarch of the famous Winans gospel family, David 'Pop' Winans passed away today in Nashville, Tennessee.
Pop Winans is the father of gospel superstars The Winans, Marvin Winans, BeBe Winans, CeCe Winans. Our prayers go out to the family in the time of theie bereavement:
"David 'Pop' Winans Sr., died today in Nashville with his wife at his side. Funeral details have not been released. Read more about what is known at Tennessean.com
Winans suffered from numerous heart ailments as reported on Gospelrama late last year." Source: Baltimore Sun
It seems that FOX's House actor, Kal Penn has caught the Obama bug and has left the series for a job in the White House.
We told you how the Intenet was buzzing after the season finale in which Penn's character commits suicide. Thank goodness the real life actor appears to have a much brighter future:
"The demise of Penn's character cleared the way for the actor to move on to another 'House,' the White House.
Penn, 31, will be an associate director for the Obama administration's Office of Public Liaison.
'It seemed like something I would enjoy doing,' Penn said. 'I figured it was something to do.'
He's not retiring from acting, just pursuing a longtime desire for public service that was rekindled when he campaigned for Barack Obama's election, Penn said." Source: CNN
If you tuned in to the Country Music Awards last night, then you got a chance to see Carrie Underwood's extremely huge dress.
It get's a thumbs up from be for it's audacity to engulf the stage like that:
"Carrie Underwood's dress almost stole the singer's own thunder for her Entertainer of the Year win at Sunday's Academy of Country Music awards in Las Vegas.
The country music awards show has only given its most coveted award to a woman six times previously. But her dress during her performance 'I Told You So' made a bigger splash -- the dark red strapless dress practically billowed across the set and threatened to swamp the MGM Grand." Source: NJ.com
So what do you think, was Carrie's dress a hit or a miss?
I can really appreciate that Spike Lee is giving encouraging, yet realistic advice to students at the University of Pittsburgh. It's so important for young people to understand that "paying one's dues" is inevitable on the path to success. I also agree with Spike, and to add to his advice, doing what one loves makes it easier to pay those dues on the way to success:
"Film director Spike Lee, one of the few African-American filmmakers to achieve widespread success, prescribed a formula last night to college students who want to follow his example: Find a trade they love, hone their skills and work hard even when they don't feel like it.
'Do not believe this thing called overnight success -- there is no such thing,' he told a throng inside the David Lawrence Hall on the University of Pittsburgh campus last night. 'Anyone who's a success had to bust their ass for it. That means when you're tired, when you're grumpy, when you're sick, you have to do more.'" Source: The Post-Gazette
I recently had a conversation with my Dad about Spike Lee, which led to a very interesting discussion about "eating one's vegetables." When asked to give advice to people, Spike is known to tell people to eat their vegetables.
Although this advice is so simple, it can be hard to swallow. The fact of the matter is that most people want to eat cake, not vegetables. And it's the desire to eat this proverbial cake, and the pursuit thereof that actually keeps them from attaining their goals.
So I agree with Spike Lee, and my advice to you is to eat your vegetables!
These days most celebrities have at least one stalker who highlights the evergrowing need for security:
"Jamie Foxx claims he was gripped by fear when an unknown man forced his way into the actor's hotel room -- while Jamie was still inside.
It all went down at the AKA Hotel in Philadelphia on March 22 -- sources say Jamie had to physically struggle to shove a 49-year-old perp out of his room, after the guy tricked Foxx into thinking he was Beyonce's producer.
We're told Jamie realized something was wrong as soon as he opened the door, but the suspect quickly tried to push his way inside. Fortunately, Jamie overpowered him and slammed the door in his face. Law enforcement sources say the man, later identified as Willie Brown (pictured above in a 2006 booking photo), then fled from the scene.
But Tuesday -- 9 days after the alleged incident -- Jamie's private security spotted Brown just a few blocks away from the hotel and contacted police. Brown was arrested for burglary, criminal threats, stalking, false imprisonment and harassment." Source: TMZ
Looks like Jamie's security is on point. Hopefully they continue to keep a look out for this deranged fan when he is released from jail.
It is commendable that Natalie Cole has come forward as a champion for the cause of end stage renal failure and chronic kidney disease. I watched an interview she did with Larry King on CNN where she discussed the fact that she is in need of a kidney transplant because her kidneys are functioning at less than 10%.
Cole is a former cocaine and heroine addict who contracted hepatitis C from her IV drug use. She discovered this in 2008, and underwent chemotherapy to rid her body of the virus. After four months of chemotherapy, Cole's kidneys failed. She immediately began dialysis three times per week to replace her kidney function.
Cole stated that she believes it was the Interferon chemotherapy treatment that caused her kidney failure. Although she readily admits that her drug used caused the hepatitis C, it seems quite plausible that this may have also contributed to her kidney failure as well.
Of course I have no idea what it is like to face renal failure, and I want to make it clear that I wish nothing but the best for Ms. Cole. However, I was surprised that she said that if she got a living kidney donor she would ask them to wait until the end of the year due to her busy schedule.
Are you kidding me?
Because of my line of work, I have come in contact with many kidney dialysis patients, and there was nothing in my experience that would lead me to believe any of them would have said this. Someone is giving you the gift of life, and you have the nerve to say, "I'm busy, can we wait until the end of the year?"
When King asked her why she would delay the transplant, she told him that it's because her kidney failure is not a life or death thing. What!
Well here's what the American Association of Kidney Patients has to say about renal failure and whether it's life or death:
Life expectancy statistics for end-stage renal disease (ESRD) patients are sobering. According to the 2003 U.S. Renal Data System report, “The poor long-term survival of ESRD patients continues to be an area of concern. Expected remaining lifetimes for dialysis patients are only one-third to one-sixth those of the general U.S. population.” For a healthy 20-year-old, life expectancy is around another 58 years – compared to 14 years in dialysis patients. A 50-year-old dialysis patient can expect another six years. Source: AAKP.org
At one point during the interview, Larry King held up a stack of papers and told her that all of these people had written in to find out how they could be tested to see if they were a match for her. I think it's great that her celebrity status has raised awareness about kidney disease, and I hope that those potential donors might consider donating a kidney to someone else if they're not a match for Cole.
Here's a link to the CNN article, and you can view the video below:
A while back we did a story on Twitter, the latest social networking craze. I must admit that it is easy to become enthralled with perusing the microblogs of people you know as well as complete strangers.
