Are they hotter than us?

All this talk about childhood obesity and health care has hidden perhaps a symptom of the American way of life: Our belief that we're hotter than anybody else on the planet.
I mean, sure some of them may sound cooler than us (Et tu, cute'?) but deep down we've always thought of ourselves as really good-looking folks.
But not if we keep eating like we're eating.
Actually it may already be too late. See, baby boomers were the last generation to raise their children on homecooked -- every Sunday -- family meals. The generation after that knew the cashier of McDonalds and Arby's on a first name basis. Waistlines have expanded accordingly. Now, even our first-graders have little pouches for stomachs that protrude while doing the most basic childhood exercises: running.
In Europe it's not much better, but it seems that it is, especially in Eastern Europe, where they make models (you realize they make 'em over there, right?).
Here's a good reason why you haven't heard the word "Eurotrash" in the last decade. Mainly because Ameritrash is getting much more obvious. Painfully so.


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Hair Wars: Don't You Hate when you 'Sweat it Out'?

Recording artist The Dream has a song on heavy rotation on urban radio called "Sweat it Out," where he describes the pleasures of loving and the bad hairdo that comes as a result.
Is sweating it out a concern for most women?
Me thinks not. (At least I hope not).
But sex is not the only way women sweat their hairdos out: I know several women that refuse to exercise explicitly because it would ruin a good perm before it's time.
The good news? Men don't really care about a sweated-out do (trust me).
Chris Rock has been getting blasted with the release of his "Good Hair," for putting black women's hair woes on front street, but it's high time everybody - men, women - dealt with each other on an intimate "real" level.
Men have a BUNCH of hang-ups as well, that have yet to reach daylight.
When will we all deal with that?

Btal2006 'Falsetto' (Dream)

The Future for Nivea: Mo Hits or Mo Kids?

With the spawning of a child for Lil Wayne, Nivea, formerly Mrs. Dream, has some decisions to make about her future.
For starters, she's pretty much wealthy for life now. Sorry, it's just the truth.
Secondly, she has something she put on the backburner, called a singing career (remember that?), and she has to make a decision soon on what she'll be, a stay-at-the-mall-Mom or a singer.
If she chooses to marry Lil Wayne, the Dream is on record as saying that he and Wayne would need to "have a talk," and it doesn't sound like a real positive situation. But, grown people do grown things.

The New, Improved Jennifer Hudson 2.0

"God pulled her through."
That was the simple statement her assistant said that explained the whirlwind ordeal that Jennifer Hudson had gone through in 2008. The American worker had a rough autumn last year; J-Hud had a heartwrenching, tragic, devastating autumn.
But now she has announced plans for a 27-city tour with Robin Thicke, the first time since the tragedy that she will be put the kind of strain on her body and mental state that tests one's mettle.
People close to her said she's built for this; she's a better person; she's stronger.
She'll need to be.
J-Hud herself explained in a recent interview her reasons for jumping back into the limelight as such: ''I have been active for the past four or five years, and to be working like that and then to just stop and all you hear is the clock ticking...'' She shook her head. ''That will drive you crazy.''

Dream on marriage to Nivea: 'I didn't Understand'

Hitmaking songwriter and artist, The Dream, sat down with the New York Times recently and spoke on his short-lived marriage to singer Nivea, whom he divorced in 2008. He said that he thought money could solve all their relationship woes: "“Money affects everything, from who I’m with to what label I’m on, so everything I do now is about protecting it,” he said. “But I didn’t understand how powerfully that would affect my home life.”
When they announced their separation, Nivea said in part: "I don't feel it is fair for neither of us, especially him, to continue this never-ending battle of the minds that he and I have continued for long enough. I want nothing more than for him and I to be happy. His happiness is all I want, for I could never repay him for what he has endured by being my friend, partner, and husband."
The Dream, on radio interviews, has said that "she just wasn't ready" for marriage.
Nivea is reportedly seeing rapper Lil Wayne now.

Can J-Hud Hold On to Her Sanity?

Jennifer Hudson has the No. 1 song "Spotlight" in the nation today. Ironically she finds herself trying to avoid it as she pieces together the last hours of her slain mother, brother and nephew. An invitation-only funeral has been announced for Monday on Chicago's South Side. The arrangements are being handled by Hudson Funeral Home, whose owners are related to the singer.
But how is Hudson's mind-set right now? More than 50% of patients admitted to asylums have had some sort of traumatic experience in their lives. Many of which have refused to cope with reality and have retreated into dementia, pyschosis or worse. Can Jennifer hold it together?
A spectacular entertainment career may have come to a bloody, cruel end. Jennifer Hudson, Oscar-winning actress and singer is no doubt trying to hold it together as the last week has been a whirlwind nightmare for her. Reports have surfaced that she is holed up in a Chicago hotel, still trying to deal with the unthinkable: the bullet-ridden bodies of her mother, Darnell Donerson, 57, and Jason Hudson, 29, her brother, and 7-year-old nephew, Julian. The rumors have been in full-swing as well, ranging from the fact that the only "person of interest" in the case, William Balfour, wquestioned in the deaths and vilified in the pubic, has been arrested but not charged. Did Balfour indeed do it? Security video at the South Side high school showed someone parking the vehicle that Julian's body was found in on Friday, but investigators have not been able to determine the person’s identity from the images. A time stamp on the video showed the car was left there at 12:30 p.m. Friday, but it was unclear whether the stamp was accurate, sources said. If it is, it presents a troubling scenario because investigators say Balfour's cell phone records placed him on the West Side at that hour. If the time stamp is accurate, it would suggest another person may have driven the Chrysler from the Hudson home to Robeson, sources said.
Then there's the troubling issue of whether Balfour is in the notorious stree gang, the Gangster Disciples. If he is then police have a lot more to worry about than just Balfour himself, as the gang is reknown for retribution killings and the like. More troubling is the fact that Hudson's sister went on national TV and pleaded for her son's life but had nary a mention of Balfour, as if she were protecting him. Is she also affiliated?


The tragedy comes as Jennifer Hudson, who grew up in Chicago, continues to reach new heights in her career. Her song "Spotlight" is No. 1 on Billboard's Hot R&B/Hip-Hop charts and her recently released, self-tiled debut album has been a top seller. She was featured in this year's blockbuster "Sex and the City" movie and is also starring in the hit film "The Secret Life of Bees."

She won an Academy Award for best supporting actress in 2007 for her role in "Dreamgirls." In an interview last year with Vogue, Hudson credited her mother with encouraging her to audition for the TV singing competition "American Idol," which launched her career.

Police ID Body as Jennifer Hudson's Nephew

Police late Monday identified the body of Julian King, the 7-year-old nephew of actress-singer Jennifer Hudson. Police found the boy's body in a vehicle belonging to Hudson's slain brother, Jason, 29.
The body was discovered "in the rear seat" of a white Chevrolet Suburban on Chicago's West Side Monday morning, according to the Chicago Police Department. He suffered multiple gunshot wounds, according to reports.
Immediately following the news of the body's discovery, Hudson's family members – assuming the worst – organized a church vigil. Several family members visited the medical examiner's office Monday afternoon.
It's been 3 days, Friday, since Hudson's mother and brother were found shot to death in their home. The stepfather, who's face has been plastered on TV screens for more than 36 hours now, has not been charged and is being referred to by police as a "person of interest" in the killings.
On Sunday evening, Hudson appealed to the public for help, offering a $100,000 reward for her nephew's safe return.
"Jennifer and her family appreciate the enormous amount of love, support and prayers they have received while she and her family try to cope with this tragedy and continue the search for Julian," her publicist Lisa Kasteler aid in a statement.
Hudson, who won an Oscar for her role in "Dreamgirls," has long been coy about her family's personal life. Questions about why should let her mother continue to live on Chicago's South Side have dogged her in recent years.
Jennifer's sister looked to be of a different cloth than her sister. He emotional appeal, oddly without mention of the boy's stepfather, last weekend set off a vicious search for the boy. "Give me my baby back. That's all I ask," Julia Hudson said. "I know he's out there. Put him on the side of the street. Just let him go."

The End of the White-Bread American Dream

If you've been leaving in a cave in Tasmania somewhere you might not have caught it, but, the American Dream is dying. Whether it was spurred by high gas prices, two wars at the same time or just good ole fashioned corporate greed, the A.D. (American Dream) is on the way out. But what's interesting, is that it's not just any ole American Dream, specifically the white-bread American Dream: The nice truck, late-model minivan, husband-wife, 2.5 kids and dog from the terrier genus, plus home with white picket fence. Nope, outta here. Been replaced by overworked manager with suicidal teen, wife who "friends" strangers on Myspace while Daddy's at work, and the single-car family. The people we know are increasingly colorful: Indians, Mexicans, Nigerians, and less and less from ... say, Idaho. Jobs are scarce; the employed are just as scared as the unemployed; what's happening? TO BE CONTINUED.