The Insider: Contributed by openentrance

Did You Know

openentrance — Mon, 21 Jul 2008 13:33:34 GMT

Bad Boy Records boss Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs will take on a new presidential role when he poses in an upcoming photo shoot as U.S. Presidential hopeful Barack Obama. The hip-hop honcho will pay tribute to the Democratic candidate in an upcoming issue of Italian men’s fashion magazine L’uomo Vogue by posing as the potential world leader, according to reports. Rapper The Game has been inundated with TV and radio offers after announcing his plans to retire. The Los Angeles-based star insists his upcoming third album, L.A.X., will be his last and he now hopes to devote more time to his family and other business opportunities. Rock legend Jimi Hendrix has become the latest musician to appear in video game Guitar Hero. Experience Hendrix, which controls the rock icon’s musical legacy, is providing his music and likeness for use in the game. An avatar of Hendrix as well as the song The Wind Cries Mary and a live version of Purple Haze will be included on Guitar Hero World Tour.

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DMX Arrested Again!

openentrance — Mon, 21 Jul 2008 13:19:08 GMT

This is almost becoming like a broken record. I guess I could say at least it isn’t for drug possession, but does that really make it better. DMX has been arrested for a fifth time this year over allegations of identity theft. He was detained by police in Phoenix, Arizona on Saturday on suspicion of giving a false name and social security number to a hospital to avoid paying for his medical expenses. Simmons is accused of visiting the Mayo Clinic in Scottsdale, Arizona, in April and giving medical officials the fake name of Troy Jones. He then allegedly failed to pay a $7,500 bill. Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio says, “He’s back in jail again. I don’t know why judges keep letting this guy out. Every time he goes in there, he gets out on bond. I’m hoping this is the one time he’s going to pay the penalty for his offense.” The latest arrest is just one of many legal woes the hip-hop star has faced so far this year. To recap it all, in January, he was arrested for allegedly speeding down a Phoenix, Arizona freeway. In May, he was charged with suspected drug possession and animal cruelty following raids on his Arizona home. A month later in June the star was arrested for allegedly attempting to buy drugs from an undercover officer, and earlier this month he was taken into police custody for violating his bail terms relating to a previous incident in June of driving without a valid licence.

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My New Favorite Athlete

openentrance — Mon, 21 Jul 2008 10:43:30 GMT

<!– /* Style Definitions */ p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal {mso-style-parent:”"; margin:0in; margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:12.0pt; font-family:”Times New Roman”; mso-fareast-font-family:”Times New Roman”;} span.ececececyshortcuts {mso-style-name:ec_ec_ec_ec_yshortcuts;} @page Section1 {size:8.5in 11.0in; margin:1.0in 1.25in 1.0in 1.25in; mso-header-margin:.5in; mso-footer-margin:.5in; mso-paper-source:0;} div.Section1 {page:Section1;} –> For some time now I have been trying to get t this new store (new to me at least) called Steve and Barry’s (S&B). Well, I finally got my chance this past weekend, and I must say that I was impressed. Everything was for sale under $8.98!! What was more impressive to me was the fact that Stephon Marbury of the New York Knicks had his clothing and shoe lines for sale there—all for sale under $9.00! That is amazing to me. In this day and age of athletes like Lebron James, Michael Jordan and Kobe Bryant selling their shoes and the apparel that matches it for anywhere from $75 to $100 or more depending on the piece, it was refreshing to see an athlete who truly cares enough about the fans who support him, to make shoes and clothes for them that the masses can afford. That’s why Stephon Marbury is my new favorite athlete. It doesn’t stop with Stephon though. Venus Williams sells her 11 clothing line at S&B; Ben Wallace sells his line there and even Sex and the City actress Sarah Jessica Parker has a line of clothing that is sold at S& B. I appreciate these athletes and celebrities for choosing to sell their shoes and clothing at prices that adults with children can afford. I thank them for designing styles that people can actually wear with a level of quality that belies the price. I commend Marbury, Williams and Wallace especially for remembering the places from where they come, and their struggles while growing up. I just finished an interesting email that talks about spending in the African American community. It wasn’t new information, and it wasn’t encouraging. According to Target Market, a company that tracks black consumer spending, blacks spends a significant amount of their income on depreciable products. In 2002, the year the economy nose-dived; we spent $22.9 billion ($2 2,900,000,000.00) on clothes, $3.2 billion ($3,000,000,000.00) on electronics and $11.6 billion (11,000,000,000.00) on furniture to put into homes that, in many cases, were rented. Among our favorite purchases are cars and liquor. Blacks make up only 12% of the U.S. population yet account for 30% of the country’s Scotch consumption. Detroit , 80% black, is the world’s No.1 market for Cognac (Pass The Courvoisier). Detroit is also the number one crime city of America. The only area where blacks seem to be cutting back on spending is books; total purchases have gone from a high of$356 million in 2000 to $303 million in 2002. This short-sighted behavior, motivated by a desire for instant gratification and social acceptance, comes at the expense of our future. The National Urban League’s ‘State of Black America 2004′ report found that fewer than 50% of black families owned their homes compared with more than 70% of whites. According to published reports, the Ariel Mutual Funds/Charles Schwab 2003 Black Investor Survey found that when comparing households where blacks and whites had roughly the same household incomes, whites saved nearly 20% more each month for retirement, and 30% of African-Americans earning $100,000 a year had less than $5,000 in retirement savings. While 79% of whites invest in the stock market, only 61% of African-Americans do. We all have to purchase clothing and we all spend some portion of our income on frivolous items, but having the pressure on parents to buy $150.00 sneakers for children is just not fair to them. Our athletes should know this better than anyone. We have to do better with our dollars. Spending at a place like S&B on designer fashions by the likes of Marbury, Wallace and Williams is a step in that direction. They’ve got my patronage—but we have tog o further than that. We need to get past Economics 101, and spending reasonably is just that—simple common sense Economics. We need to start wielding the power of our collective economic might. While we praise athletes like Gilbert Arenas for leaving $11MM on the table by forgoing a maximum contract with the Washington Wizards of $127MM and choosing to accept $116MM, I propose something else. What about Gilbert taking that extra $11MM, and forming a cooperative with 9 other NBA players all contributing the same $11M. With that $110MM, partner with African American professionals in the banking business and use the $110MM as leverage to lend out $1.1Billion ( the FDIC only requires 10% of the amount lent to be secured by deposits). That $1.1 billion could then invest in businesses and serve as venture and angel capital to the host of African American entrepreneurs that need capital. What about that cooperative forming a strategic partnership with HBCUs to train graduates in degrees in entrepreneurship? How about funding scholarships for those degree programs and leveraging your money with other private foundations; stipulations for the graduates would be that they would have to start their business within a certain number of years, hire a certain number of African American, and mentor an African American teenager who has a desire to be his or her own boss. That is advanced Econ, a 500 level course building on the principals laid out by among others Jawanzaa Kunjufu (sic) in his book Black Economics. I have new favorite athletes, and I harbor the hope that someone will step up and lead in a more advanced manner. S&B has my continued patronage as would efforts like the ones prescribed above. It can be done. So who’s going to go first?

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Contest: Free Gas Fridays

openentrance — Mon, 21 Jul 2008 00:56:20 GMT

By now, everyone’s feeling the pinch of high gas prices, so don’t miss out on your chance to win $50 worth of free gas. OpenEntrance.com will be holding a weekly contest that gives away free gas to the Top Four(4) Commentators for the week. To be eligible: The top four(4) commentators from Monday(12:00 am) through Friday at 5:00 pm(EST) will win a $50 Gas Card that can be used at any gas station in the United States that accepts Mastercard or Visa. So entering the contest and competing is easy, simply comment frequently on posts on OpenEntrance.com. That’s it! The Top 10 commentators are listed in the left sidebar about half way down the page. If you are not in the Top 10 , but would like to see how far away you are from possibly winning the contest, you can check the Top 100 Commentators page which is listed on the navigation bar at the top of the page. For bloggers, this is a way to get two links to your site: one on the left side bar and and the other on the Top 100 Commentators page. Let the games begin!! Rules: 1. Contest is only available to residents in the United States. 2. This contest will be held weekly. 3. Winners of all contests will be contacted at the email address used with their comments and the person receiving and replying to the winner announcement email will be considered the winner unless they specify another person within the reply email as the winner. 4. OpenEntrance.com will mail the contest prize to the address supplied by the recipient of the winner announcement email. 5. OpenEntrance.com reserves the right to alter any rules of any contest at anytime.

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James Brown Auction Goes Very Well

openentrance — Sat, 19 Jul 2008 19:28:49 GMT

An auction of soul legend James Brown’s belongings has raised over $850,000 - which will pay off the late singer’s outstanding tax bills. His possessions were sold to fans and celebrities alike who were eager to own a piece of music history. Brown’s former business managers, Buddy Dallas and Alford Bradley, had tried to halt the auction after learning the cash raised would go to his estate, but a judge ruled on Monday (14Jul08) that the sale could go ahead. The top lot was a black cape embroidered in metallic thread with the words James Brown, which fetched $47,500- more than double its estimate. The leader of the Late Show with David Letterman’s band, Paul Shaffer, bid $32,500 to win a medical bracelet which stated that Brown was a diabetic. Brown died of heart failure on Christmas Day in 2006 at the age of 73. Source

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Hovas Next Album Will Surprise

openentrance — Sat, 19 Jul 2008 19:21:14 GMT

Jigga’s forthcoming album will shock his hard-core hip-hop fans - because Timbaland plans to feature bagpipes on the disc’s tracks. The hip-hop heavyweights are teaming up in the studio to record Hova’s new LP, and Timbaland insists using the Scottish instrument will lend the songs global appeal. He says, “We want to go to the world. Some of the songs are gonna sound like (world music artist) M.I.A. You’re gonna be like, ‘Whoa!’ But it’s Jay on them. That means it reaches everywhere. I’m gonna have songs with bagpipes too. The music is gonna be so worldwide, he’ll be able to tour the rest of his life, maybe, off just this one album.”

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Off The Tongue

openentrance — Fri, 18 Jul 2008 15:36:08 GMT

Chris Brown-In response to questions on his personal life: “Nobody wants to focus on what’s positive, they want to know about my personal life. Every interview I do, they’re like, ‘So, how are you and such and such doing?’ And I’m like, I don’t know you, why you all in my business? So that’s my take on it personally.” Game- In response to his upcoming ”Rap Game” Retirement: “I’ve missed a lot more of my family than I have rap in recent years and it’s time to address the balance. I’m focused on the upbringing of my children. That’s important to me. Jay-Z came out of retirement. I can’t see that happening for me.”

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Rihanna: Crowned Hair Style Queen

openentrance — Fri, 18 Jul 2008 15:11:47 GMT

Rihanna has just received another Crown to add to her trophy case- she has topped a new U.S. magazine poll aimed at naming the stars with the best hairstyles. Rihanna beat out Gwyneth Paltrow and Jennifer Aniston to top the In Touch Best Hair In Hollywood list. In 2007, Rihanna won the best legs accolade. The Top Five Hairstyle Queens are: 1. Rihanna 2. Gwyneth Paltrow 3. Jennifer Aniston 4. Vanessa Hudgens 5. Isla Fisher Congrats Rihanna!!!!!

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West Lashes Back @ Ghostwriter Attack

openentrance — Fri, 18 Jul 2008 14:58:35 GMT

Kanye has published photos of himself on http://www.kanyeuniversecity.com/ to prove that he updates and writes his own blogs. Marcus Troy, a fellow blogger has recently accused Yeezy of employing a ghostwriter for his site. West captioned the photograph above with: “I don’t know who the hell this is… but I covered his name and face so he wouldn’t get the publicity he was obviously lookin’ for.” This is hilarious, Cmon Marcus. I guess I have to say it again, “If they hate, then let them hate, and watch the money pile up!” I will always respect ”Academic Honesty”- If you say its you…its you! FLAT OUT!!!!!

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1st Bob Marley Monument Unveiled

openentrance — Fri, 18 Jul 2008 14:38:14 GMT

Organizers for the Rock Village Festival in Banatski Sokolac, Serbia have planned to immortalize Bob Marley in sculpture on August 23. The event’s website explains, “We are honored to announce that the first monument in Europe of the reggae legend Bob Marley will be erected in Banatski Sokolac. Our village thus enters into history and supporters and all those who respect this ‘liberty fighter armed with a guitar’ can take part in the unveiling ceremony.” Marley died of cancer at the age of 36. It’s about time!!!!!

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Akon: Harassment Trial Delayed

openentrance — Thu, 17 Jul 2008 20:51:02 GMT

Akon’s court hearing for alleged misdemeanor endangerment and harassment charges has been delayed. He pleaded not guilty to charges of endangering the welfare of a minor and second-degree harassment in December (07). He was accused of the charges following an incident while performing in New York in June (07). It is alleged a fan threw an object at the star, which encouraged him to retaliate. Akon - real name Aliuane Badara Thiam - was due in court yesterday, but it has now been delayed until August. The alleged victim’s mother, Patricia Smith called the hearing “pretty typical,” adding of the latest setback: “People can just hang in there long enough until the case goes in their favor.” Akon could face one year and 15 days in jail if convicted. Source

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Weezy Baby: Back On Top!

openentrance — Thu, 17 Jul 2008 20:41:08 GMT

Lil Wayne’s-Tha Carter III is atop the US Charts for its 3rd week. Tha Carter III debuted at number one with over one million sales last month but the album was toppled by Coldplay’s Viva La Vida, which spent one week on top. Lil Wayne rebounded to the top spot once again last week (July 9th).

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Lost Hendrix Guitar Up For Auction

openentrance — Thu, 17 Jul 2008 20:25:45 GMT

The famous Jimi Hendrix guitar that was burned on stage at the Astoria venue in 1967 will be auctioned off later this month in London. Its been 40 years, but the instrument has finally been found and is expected to go for more than $1 million. Other lots for sale include the last surviving drum kit belonging to late Led Zeppelin star John Bonham and Jim Morrison’s final notebook of poetry written before his death in 1971.

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Veteran Actor Intimidated By Upcoming Role

openentrance — Thu, 17 Jul 2008 20:13:08 GMT

Morgan Freeman has admitted that he is a little intimidated by his upcoming role as Nelson Mandela in the new film The Human Factor. Freeman is currently mastering Mandela’s voice and heavy accent stating that this will be the most challenging role of his whole career. In a recent interview, he says, “I’ve met Mandela several times and it’s the one role which does intimidate me. How do you play a man like that? You have to get it right - otherwise there’s no point.” The Human Factor is based on the John Carlin’s book Playing the Enemy: Nelson Mandela + The Game That Made a Nation.

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Nate Dogg:Broke and Locked Up

openentrance — Thu, 17 Jul 2008 18:02:32 GMT

Nate Dogg will remain in jail after failing to raise enough bail money following his “stalking” arrest. Nathaniel Hale, was arrested on June 23rd after a car chase with his ex-wife. He was charged with three felony counts of making criminal threats and stalking, and one misdemeanor count of driving with a suspended license. After a court appearance in Los Angeles on Wednesday, the wheelchair-bound rap star was remanded into custody and bail was set at $100,000. He was also ordered to stay 100 yards away from his ex-wife, Latoya. Nate Dogg will remain in custody until he can come up with the bail money. Sad story…what happened to the Cash Flow that was reaped during the G-Funk era. DAmn Nate, DAMN!

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Did You Know

openentrance — Thu, 17 Jul 2008 13:44:14 GMT

Oscar winner Halle Berry is appearing in a series of public service announcements to raise awareness about ovarian cancer. The campaign, due to begin this August, is a collaboration with the Callaway Golf Foundation and the Entertainment Industry Foundation. Morgan Freeman feared for James McAvoy’s health on the set of their movie ‘Wanted’, after witnessing his co-star pushing himself to the limit. The veteran actor was impressed by McAvoy’s commitment to the action film, which required him to slave four nights a week in the gym to transform his physique. He says, “James is a hard-working kid, maybe too hard. This was an action movie and he got a little ill.”

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Smiths Son Joins Stars on High School Football Team

openentrance — Thu, 17 Jul 2008 13:30:12 GMT

Tickets to see high school football games at Oaks Christian School in Westlake, California have become a hot item thanks to the team’s new recruit, Will Smith’s son Trey. Trey, 13, is Smith’s son from his first marriage to Sheree Zampino which ended in 1995. The teenager joins a star-studded team of rookies which also includes the offspring of American football legend Joe Montana and ice hockey great Wayne Gretzky. The youngsters’ fathers and their celebrity friends are now expected to be fixtures at next season’s games, but the Lions players are used to the famous faces in the stands. Team star Chris Coyle says, “Last year Will Smith was out there with Tom Cruise (and) we got a little distracted before games and then we just didn’t let that get to us. “It’s cool that they’re out there but we’ve got to focus on football.” Coach Bill Redell insists its a pleasure to have the kids of celebrities on his team, admitting his starry trio are perfect students and players. He says, “They’re great role models and, if you have a daughter, you’d want her to date these kids.”

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Obama Raises $52 Million in June

openentrance — Thu, 17 Jul 2008 13:27:32 GMT

Barack Obama continues to set campaign donation records by raising another $52 million dollars in June. The most interesting aspect of the money that he raised is that the average donation is only $68. So that is a lot of people that are giving to his campaign. Obama now has $72 million of cash on hand that he can spend on his General Election. That is a lot of TV commercials and direct mail coming your way. Obama even did his part last month to help Hillary pay her debt. Source

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Obama Tags Hip-Hop Artists For Convention

openentrance — Thu, 17 Jul 2008 12:47:14 GMT

This year’s Democratic National Convention should be more entertaining than most as Obama has grabbed a few hip-hop entertainers for the show. Kanye West, Pharrell Williams, and Wyclef Jean will be performing at this years event. Obama has been heavily supported by Hollywood and is using some of the star power for entertainment. I almost feel compelled to throw in one of those jokes about changes at the White House when there is a black President, but I will refrain.

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