Michelle's Progenitor: Phyicia RashadClaire Huxtable

No black woman, not Esther Rolle, not Hattie McDaniel, not Halle Berry, not anyone, has shaped popular culture's portrayal of the successful black woman like Claire Huxtable.
The power of "The Cosby Show" still lives on in the way Americans see First Lady Michelle Obama, a thoughtful mother and wife.
Claire's professional style, her motherful gaze, defied the prevailing stereotype at the time, that the black American woman was a weakling, a victimized mother that struggled to stay off the streets and frequently met the familiar hands of abuse.
Michelle has brought back everything that Claire stood for. But Michelle is real. Wow.

The Unflappable Pam Oliver: TV Sports Maven

I've been at this long enough that the players know I'm serious about what I do," Tv sports reporter Pam Oliver once said in a magazine interview. "I've never once heard it said to my face, 'Oh, she's cute so I'll talk to her.' You prove that you know your stuff, and everything else falls into place."
While many other female sportscasters may tolerate the gender-badgering
(and even play to the cameras) that seemingly comes with the territory, Oliver lives to swat it back, like the athlete she is.
Born in Dallas, Texas, the FAMU graduate has carved out a national identity on the sidelines with Fox Sports, Turner Sports and a host of smaller network affiliates.
The firestorm over ESPN reporter Erin Andrews' nude video has brought the topic of women in sports to the forefront, but only for some women.
Oliver refuses to be pigeonholed or typecast.
The revelations that someone at ESPN may haved outed Andrews won't discourage Oliver's tenacity one bit. She's never bought into the "Sports babe" mentality of some in the sports world.
With the Andrews scandal, we now know she never will.
She's Pam Oliver. TV Sports maven.
We'll look for her this fall on the sidelines again in the NFL.

Wherefore is Eisha Brightwell?

Ran across a name I hadn't heard in a minute today: Eisha Brightwell, the tall-as-an-Amazon model that Usher was dating for a while. Where is she these days?
Doing her thing in Cali, loc-style, evidently.
Last we heard from her Usher was quoted as saying that she was pressuring him ("Don't put any more pressure on me than she has, man.
We've been dating a while, but you've got to give us a little time," Usher told the media) to pop the question, and he wasnt' ready. Mind you, this was when "Confessions" was hot like fire.

Brightwell was months from breaking up with Xibit, while Usher was reeling from his fame-induced infidelities (the inspiration for "Confessions") against TLC's Chili.
Still, Brightwell and Usher were very public, but things didn't go the marriage route for some reason.
(Out of respect for Tomeka Foster, the pics won't show Brightwell and Usher together)Brightwell was most recently seen with Damon Wayans at an event earlier this year. Are they together?
We don't know.
Brightwell is still modeling, albeit smaller projects, but we may see her on the small screen pretty soon.

Zoe Saldana: I Heart Men's Undies

Star Trek actress Zoe Saldana recently revealed that when it comes to undies she likes the masculine look, preferring to don the boxers of her lover actor .
"I love wearing men's clothing and underwear," the 31-year-old said.
Not only that but she likes all of men's clothes.
"I just feel so sexy in jeans and a man's shirt. Plus, I love black and red. I love solid colours that say, 'I'm here, I'm strong.'"
Well, i guess with all the men wanting to dress like women, aint nothing wrong with a little stump and find, huh?

Study: Black Women More Likely to Stay Single

If you've ever been a bridesmaid, then no doubt you've fantacized about that magical day when you yourself would be walking down the aisle, being given away by a barely composed father and proud, weepy mother.

According to a new study many women will be forever locked in bridesmaidom: Living Single, and there's nothing wrong with that.
Is there?
If you're a black women, a new study says you're much more likely to remain that way than a white woman.
Now, what does that mean? Primarily nothing, if you're comfortable and confident in yourself and your life's course.
However, if there's discontentment then this could be disparaging, but it doesn't have to be: The hard numbers indicate that while 21 percent of white women have never married, for black women that figure doubles to 42 percent.
A lot of the reasons for that center on another species of sorts: black men.
As we know, "prison" is a prominent term of what ails BMWs (know what that stands for?). Also, to be honest, a lot of black men no longer even want to get married.
Another cause could be black mens' preferences may be changing.
Whatever the case, the hard numbers show what they show. The bigger issue is how do black women feel about it? (hint, hint)

BET Finally Ready to Premiere Tatyana Ali's 'Buppies'

Tatyana Ali will be getting BET's first exclusively online show this summer. The show, called "Buppies," is about the socialite daughter of a Hollywood celebrity father ("Baldwin Hills"?) who clings to her friends ("Harlem Heights"?) after his death. The show was announced last fall and has survived a torrid pace of revisings and is ready finally, BET says. It's a big move for Ali, best known for "Fresh Prince of Bel Air," but dangerous for actors that want to be considered for big-screen roles. The show premieres Sunday, June 28.
Check out some video for "Buppies," the new BET series.

Michelle Obama likes to get "touchy"

The ever-loving First Lady Michelle Obama is mentioned in the latest Time Magazine that she likes to physically bond with children.
She gets "touchy with kids, because I think if I touch them and I hug them, that they'll see that it's real, and then they'll relax and breathe and actually kind of enjoy the time and make use of it," she said.

They're Stockpiling Diamonds. And No One's Buying

The demand for diamonds has all but dried up worldwide, according to a New York Times story . But that hasn't stopped the Russian-owned company from stockpiling them monthly and putting them in a vault. A woman that handles them says: “I’m not a robot. I sometimes think to myself ‘wow, what a pretty diamond. I would like that one.’ They are all so beautiful.”
But diamonds are so 2006, don't you think? People are realizing that a quartz rock can't pay a light bill, or give me a job. Are diamonds still a girl's best friend?

Ashanti Preps for the Wiz

You know your career is at a crossroads when the announcement that the dog, Toto, the dog, that will play alongside you, is bigger than the initial announcement last week that reported that you sign on to the project.
Sigh, Ashanti Douglas.
Last week's news that Ashanti signed on to play "The Wiz," must have been too much for Irv Gotti though. The label head of The Inc. Records (formerly Murder Inc.) says the two aren't really speaking so it's time to cut her loose.
"We don't really speak or talk and it's sad, but in another way it's like it's all good. I don't think she could win - she needs some guidance, but she's not thinking that and honestly, I'm going to drop her," .he recently said
Ashanti has already been Alice in Wonderland, thrust down a rabbit hole of uncertainty and turmoil when her label, the infamous Murder Inc., was brought to its knees by the feds in a corruption trial. After a couple years of drifting down the charts, Ashanti has taken to the theater and will star as Dorothy in a stage production of "The Wizard of Oz."

Beyonce to Play Eartha Kitt in Film?

The puuuurfect one meets the (roll the r's) irrrrrreplaceable one in a biopic about the former's life, according to a report. While the two sides are just talking right now, if it becomes reality then that would be two diva roles for Beyonce, following the "Cadillac Records" turn as Etta James.
Would Beyonce make a good Eartha Kitt? I don't see how see should mimic those mannerisms without looking silly. Solange seems like likely.

Ciara May Launch Clothing Line

If you've ever wanted to dress like a superhero, CiCi may have something for the UnderRoos-lover in you (remember those?). Reports say that Ciara is interested in coming out with a clothing line.
"It would be a fun sexy line, like cute character underwear that kids wear," she is quoted as saying. "It'd be for laughs - I'd call it Fly Girl."
Don't know if Fly Girl will fly, but anything may beat those robotron drawers.

Sexual Peaks: Real or Myth?

Ii hit me a few weeks ago but i never got back around to it: When a poll released in January indicated that a woman feels most beautiful at age 32 it made me think about the age-old myth: Do women have sexual peaks? And do men?
I say age-old myth because, you and I both know that if somebody dedicated themselves to pleasing you in one session, I argue that you'd surpass any so-called peak during the performance. But we've heard it all our lives "sexual peak." What does that mean?
Does it mean that after or before that age, sex is less enjoyable? Or does it mean that the person is at the height of sexual adventure and feeling?
I beg to differ on both counts.
I know teenage rabbits, if you know what I mean.
I also know old heads that can hang with the best of them.
Aaliyah was right, Throwing down aint nothing but a thang.
Which takes me back to the aforementioned survey up top. What does it mean?
Nothing, except that most women that took the survey and said they felt beautiful were around a median age of 32.
Of course, younger women can feel beautiful, as well as older, but it's interesting because a fifth of the women surveyed said they felt most attractive at age 40.
There goes that sexual peak thing again.
So, I ask you, do you believe in sexual peaks?
By the way, men have sexual peaks, too (15 - 100 years old). LOL

Pictures From the 1950s: How We Were

The 1950s were a long time ago, but from these selected photos from Life Magazine we can grasp an idea of the times and how much things have changed - and remained the same Above: Dorothy Dandridge, 1950).


This is a photo by photographer legend Gordon Parks. It's a lounge/party/set of friends in 1950 just chillin'. Didn't you do this in college?



It's songstress supreme Lena Horne and composer Lenny Hayton in 1950 announcing to the world that they'd been married three years earlier.


Ahhh, color photo. This 1950 shot by Margaret Bourke-White shows us how they did it back in the day: Men wore hats more than they do now. The woman look like she's about to break out into a jit. LOL

In 1950, Jackie Robinson, who was right in the middle of being a bonafide baseball star, talked it up with wife Rachel and a little doe-eyed girl next to them. Who could it be? Ruby Dee!



In 1950, you had no idea what a screwface was until it had racial hostility attached to it: Here a group of girls hit the steps up to the school. Be honest, could you do this today? If you see a sister past 60 years old today, thank them.



Harlem Debutantes, 1950.

'Obama Sisterhood' Representing in Washington

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Study: Hourglass Figures Not Ideal

As if anyone needed confirmation from the media, major news outlets are reporting that the hourglass figure that so many women - from preteens to seniors - have tried to get is not necessarily desirable to men, nor is it necessarily beneficial health-wise.
Of course the study has set off a firestorm of debate, but that's to be expected.
The furor started with a scientific quip that went something like this: “Mounting evidence suggests there is no better cue than the relative contours of her waist and hips,” with a waist-to-hip ratio of 0.7 (that works out to measurements of 36-25-36) being the reproductive ideal, and “even a slight increase in waist size relative to hip size [likely to] signal reproductive problems.”
I think the hate mail is just now starting to subside.
By the way, there's also a new study that says French need the biggest condoms. Oui, Oui!

Meet Cheryl of the Netherlands. She's 18. And Can BeatBox Her Arse Off

Ahhh, Cheryl. Note the tranquilty of the Dutch lowcountry behind her as she cold gets busy with a so sick larynx, rapid-fire tough, and ability to suction saliva simultaneously. SIIIICK.