Basket of Thanks November 19, 2008

Often with our busy everyday lives, we forget to express the true depths of our gratitude to our partners and those around us. We may find that we haven’t taken the time to really show our appreciation for having that someone special in our lives. Sure, we all feel the emotion, but when was the last time something was done to really show it? This year you can bring the real meaning of Thanksgiving to your relationship with our delightfully simple, yet captivatingly clever Basket of Thanks idea.

What You’ll Need:

• Basket (If you have time, decorate with a fall theme!)
• Separate colored strips of paper for each person
• Pencil or pen
• 2 to 3 minutes a day

The Idea:

About a week or so before Thanksgiving, cut out strips of paper, enough for each person to write at least one message a day until Thanksgiving. Set out the basket, the strips of paper and a pencil or pen in a spot you and your partner have easy access to. Each day before Thanksgiving write a message about what you are most thankful for about your partner. Fold up the message and place it in the basket. Your partner should do the same. During a private moment on Thanksgiving Day read the messages that have been written. You may choose to read the messages aloud to each other, or just read your partner’s messages quietly.

Expanded Idea:

This idea can be easily expanded to include the whole family, especially children. Just be sure to assign each person a uniquely colored paper, so it is easy to determine who each message belongs to.

Photo of the Day November 19, 2008

exsell Male 22 years old  staten island, New York

MM URL: http://www.modelmayhem.com/bl3ss3d

Will Smith’s Son Cast As ‘The Karate Kid’ November 19, 2008

 

Film will be co-produced by Will Smith

It’s been 24-years since The Karate Kid hit theaters, and for the past few months rumors have swirled that a remake was in the works. 

According to Variety, those rumors have now been put to rest: Yes, there will be a remake and the star will be none other than Will Smith’s son Jaden. 

The film, which is scheduled to begin shooting next year in Beijing, China, will keep the plot of the original classic, and will be produced by Smith’s Overbrook Entertainment company, and the film’s original series launcher, Jerry Weintraub. Chris Murphy, the film’s original screenwriter, will pen the new version. 

Jaden Smith is best known as the charismatic 10-year-old who co-starred alongside Smith in the 2006 film The Pursuit of Happyness. 

LABELLE ANNOUNCES OFFICIAL REUNION TOUR November 19, 2008

 

The newly-reunited Labelle – Sarah Dash, Nona Hendryx and Patti LaBelle – will kick off their first national tour since 1977 at Harlem’s Apollo Theater in support of their new album “Back to Now.”       

       The Apollo gig is on Dec. 19 and is followed by stops in Chicago, Atlantic City, Detroit, Los Angeles, Oakland, Washington D.C. and Atlanta.      

       The Los Angeles Times last month called Labelle “a phenomenon whose music helped change the very idea of what pop and the artists who made it — especially women singers previously confined to ‘girl groups’ — could be.”       

       Billboard says it’s the combination of “LaBelle’s soaring sass, Hendryx’s rock-edged stance and Dash’s earthy accents” that make for a unique and electrifying combination not to be missed.       

       Below are Labelle’s “Back to Now” tour dates:

Fri, Dec. 19 – New York, NY at The Apollo Theater
Sat, Jan. 10 – Chicago, IL at Chicago Theatre
Sat, Jan. 17 – Atlantic City, NJ at Taj Mahal
Sun, Jan. 18 – Detroit, MI at The Fox Theatre
Thurs, Jan. 29 Los Angeles, CA at Nokia Theatre
Fri, Jan. 30 – Oakland, CA at Paramount Theatre
Fri, Feb. 13 – Washington, DC at Constitution Hall
Sat, Feb. 14 – Atlanta, GA at the Civic Center

Sharpton to roast Cheech & Chong; Mel B in topless Vegas show; Jamie Foxx covers Men’s Fitness; Jamaica Jazz and Blues Fest November 19, 2008

 

Rev. Al Sharpton has signed for an upcoming roast of Cheech Marin and Tommy Chong of the comedy duo Cheech & Chong. Sharpton joins fellow roasters Steve Carell, Andy Dick, Tom Arnold, Geraldo Rivera, Penn & Teller, Wilmer Valderrama and Greg Giraldo for the Nov. 21 event, to be taped at Caesars Palace at the Comedy Festival in Las Vegas. TBS will air the roast in a special set to air Nov. 30 at 10 p.m.

 

      *Melanie “Mel B” Brown and actress Kelly Monaco are set to star in “PEEPSHOW,” a topless, burlesque-style performance that is expected to open in March at the Planet Hollywood Resort and Casino in Las Vegas, reports People. Neither Brown nor Monaco will be topless, but the showgirls surrounding them will be. Brown will be “scantily clad, but in a classy way,” she says. Monaco’s character in the show will be “Little Bo Peep,” a timid and lonely girl who is guided by Brown’s character, “Peep Diva.”

 

       *Academy Award-winning actor Jaime Foxx appears on the December/January cover of Men’s Fitness magazine, on newsstands Nov. 24. In the cover story, Foxx reveals the secrets and rigors of preparing for some of his most physically challenging roles and why he is willing to make such sacrifices to reach the top of his field.  “Awhile back, I did this tribute for Al Pacino,” he says in the issue. ”Look back on his body of work and you see the different ways he’s changed. …I want people to look back on [my] body of work and say, ‘Wow, it’s like he morphed into different characters.’”  

 

       *The Jamaica Jazz and Blues Festival will take place on Jan 22 with a lineup that includes Estelle, Lionel Richie, Atlantic Starr, Alto Reed, the O’Jays and Randy Crawford accompanied by pianist Joe Sample. The 2009 event presented by Air Jamaica will be staged at the historic Aqueduct in Montego Bay from Thursday, January 22 to Saturday, January 24. Tickets for the Festival go on sale later this year. For more information and all the updates please visit the festival online at www.jamaicajazzandblues.com

AUTOPSY INCONCLUSIVE ON PAULA ABDUL FAN November 19, 2008

 

An autopsy on the Paula Abdul fan discovered dead in her car outside of the entertainer’s Beverly Hills home last week has been conducted, but an official cause of death is on hold until toxicology tests can be completed.

 

       Lt. Cheryl MacWillie of the Los Angeles coroner’s office tells E! News the toxicology screenings “will take six to eight weeks.”      

       Although Goodspeed’s brother said Thursday that her body would be released to the family Saturday and flown home to Maine for burial, MacWillie says the remains are still with the coroner.        

       “The body is ready to be released,” said MacWillie, “but the legal next of kin [still] has to make arrangements with a mortuary.”      

       Police suspect Goodspeed’s death was the result of a suicide. Just months ago, she reportedly tried to commit suicide by overdosing on pills, also in a car parked on Abdul’s street, E! News reported.

LL, MARIAH TO CO-HOST GRAMMY SPECIAL November 19, 2008

 

LL Cool J, Mariah Carey and Taylor Swift will serve as co-hosts of the first-ever one-hour special to announce the 2008 nominations for Grammy Awards.

 

       The event, to be held in Los Angeles at the Nokia Theatre, LA Live, will also serve as a grand opening ceremony for the new Grammy Museum, located inside of the venue.       

      Performers confirmed for the still-growing lineup list include B.B. King, The Foo Fighters, Celine Dion and John Mayer.

 

       The “Grammy Nominations Concert: Countdown to Music’s Biggest Night” airs live Dec. 3 on CBS. Tickets can be purchased through Ticketmaster at www.ticketmaster.com. The 51st Grammy Awards will air on Feb. 9. 

BERRY AMONG HONOREES FOR ESSENCE LUNCHEON November 19, 2008

 

Halle Berry, Diahann Carroll, Gina Prince-Bythewood and Taraji P. Henson were announced as honorees for the second annual Essence Black Women in Hollywood Luncheon, to be held Feb. 19 at the Beverly Hills Hotel.

 

       The star-studded event commemorates the magazine’s annual Hollywood issue by saluting four of Hollywood’s finest who have helped to change and inspire positive images of black women in television and film–both in front of the camera and behind-the-scenes.       

       Berry will receive the Power Award, Prince-Bythewood the Visionary Award, Carroll the Legend Award and Henson the Lexus Star to Watch Award.      

       “By presenting the Essence Black Women in Hollywood Luncheon, we continue our legacy of supporting and celebrating the accomplishments of actresses such as Halle, Diahann and Taraji and filmmakers such as Gina, who all embody excellence in Hollywood both in front of and behind the camera,” said Essence editor-in-chief Angela Burt-Murray.

 

       The 2008 inaugural event, which honored Jada Pinkett-Smith (Power Award), Ruby Dee (Legend Award), Suzanne de Passe (Visionary Award) and Jurnee Smollett (Lexus Star to Watch Award), hosted A-List stars including Will Smith, Tom Cruise, Katie Holmes, Kerry Washington, Star Jones and more.

JESSE JACKSON TALKS OBAMA AT BALTIMORE CHURCH November 19, 2008

 

During a visit to Baltimore’s Bethel AME Church Sunday, Rev. Jesse Jackson said the election of U.S. President-elect Barack Obama is cause for celebration but that “substance” must follow.

 

       According to The Baltimore Sun, Jackson told churchgoers his relationship with Obama was a good one, despite a highly publicized remark caught by microphones in which he said he wanted to castrate him for “talking down to black people” when calling for black fathers to take more responsibility for their families.       

       He said Obama’s presidency “represents a chance to start over,” The Sun reported, and expressed concerns that outgoing Bush administration may cause economic harm by backing ill-conceived taxpayer bailouts for the financial industry.       

       Instead, Jackson called for help for the ailing U.S. auto industry and for urban and rural restructuring to end racial injustice, the newspaper said.

RASHIDA JONES BACK ON FAMILIAR GROUND November 19, 2008

 

Actress Rashida Jones, who had a role on “The Office” for a year, was just hired by that show’s creators and NBC to star in the spinoff that will be headed by “Saturday Night Live” veteran Amy Poehler, reports the New York Post.       

       Jones, the daughter of legendary music producer Quincy Jones, played the romantic interest of John Krasinski’s character Jim in 24 episodes of “The Office” during the 2006-07 season. She and Krasinski started dating in real life after meeting on the set.      

       The untitled spinoff, also starring Aziz Ansari, is scheduled to premiere after Super Bowl XLIII along with a new episode of “The Office.” The series will then shift into the regular timeslot of Thursdays at 9:30 p.m.      

       Details of the series are being kept a secret and will be released at a later date.