Tuesday, September 14, 2010

Lady Gaga's VMA winning streak By Nikky Raney




Lady Gaga VMA dress: real meat
Lady Gaga won the majority of the awards at the 2010 MTV Video Music Awards last Sunday night. Twitter was filled with "little monsters" jubilant about every single win, and others who were getting a bit annoyed at the predictability of the outcome. It is debatable whether the right artists won - or if it just a popularity contest. The fans rule the votes, but it seems as though some of the Lady Gaga fans voted for her in every category regardless of whether or not another artist may have been more deserving. Lady Gaga is brilliant, and there is no doubt that she deserved to go home with awards; but was she really the BEST in each category that she did win. Did fans judge based on the videos or based on whose video it was?

The winner's list from the night includes:

Best Female Video: Lady Gaga - ‘Bad Romance’
Best Male Video: Eminem - ‘Not Afraid’
Best Hip Hop Video: Eminem - ‘Not Afraid’
Best New Artist: Justin Bieber featuring Ludacris - ‘Baby’
Best Collaboration: Lady Gaga featuring BeyoncĂ© - ‘Telephone’
Best Pop Video: Lady Gaga - ‘Bad Romance’
Best Rock Video: 30 Seconds to Mars - ‘Kings and Queens’
Best Dance Music Video: Lady Gaga - ‘Bad Romance’
Video Of The Year: Lady Gaga - ‘Bad Romance’
Best Art Direction: Florence + The Machine - ‘Dog Days Are Over’
Best Choreography: Lady Gaga - ‘Bad Romance’
Best Cinematography: Jay-Z and Alicia Keys - ‘Empire State of Mind’
Best Direction: Lady Gaga - ‘Bad Romance’
Best Editing: Lady Gaga - ‘Bad Romance’
Best Special Effects: Muse - ‘Uprising’

Click the links to watch the video that won.

Chelsea Lately did a wonderful job hosting the VMAs, a full review of the VMAs to be posted in an upcoming entry.



(All information was obtained through first hand account)

Deadspin's Racist: Attack On Blacks Is Insufferable

Deadspin's Black Row on 
There are times this blogger likes Deadspin, and others where the whole blog just sucks. Today, Deadspin sucks. Why? Because in short order, the September 13th edition of the sports blog managed to mar the image of black sports legends Joe Morgan, Tony Dungy, and John Salley, all right in a row on on blog issue.

And never mind that Salley's an invited contributor, Deadspin's asking him to basically make himself look like Tiger Woods before Thanksgiving 2009.

Even if he's willing, why take advantage of him?

Yeah. John Salley is married, big time. Moreover, Salley has a history of cheating on his wife. Have doubts? Look at this result for the Google Search for "John Salley Married."

What Deadspin editors did is very not funny, and shows how little regard they have for blacks in sports. The most fun this blogger would have would be either buying Deadspin and firing its staff or, just having my blog army bash it into the Internet ground.

What Deadspin did was institutionally racist. The editors might as well have showed the online version of Birth Of A Nation.

Will Deadspin apologize? No. Just do something stupid and snarky, if anything at all. That much is expected. I've lost all respect for Deadspin. And I don't care that they or their minions have none for me.

ESPN's Jay Mariotti Charged With 7 Misdemeanors, Stole Girlfriend's Purse?

Jay Mariotti and Girlfriend (?) (Deadspin.com)
ESPN Personality and former AOL Fanhouse Columnist Jay Mariotti, after being declared all but done at ESPN, panned on Twitter, and then canned from AOL Fanhouse, is not breathing a sign of relief, because after the LA County District Attorney announced it was dropping domestic abuse charges against him last Thursday, The LA City Attorney slapped 7 misdemeanors on him: 4 domestic violence charges, false imprisonment, vandalism and grand theft according to TMZ.com.

Yes, he's accused of taking his girlfriend's purse and keys!

If convicted of all of them, Mariotti faces a year in jail. According to Fox Sports, Jay's lawyer says the allegations are false.

What happened was that on August 22nd, Mariotti was arrested after he got into a heated argument with his girlfriend, or woman friend, and because she was flirting with another man at a Santa Monica night club. (Wonder if the guy was black?)

He was spotted allegedly tossing her around and pulling her hair, and throwing things around in her apartment on Venice Beach. A witness called 911, which led to Jay's arrest.

Ironically, Jay Mariotti's in the exact, same trouble of athlete's he's written about and harshly criticized for getting into.

Jay's due in court Friday.  Stay tuned.

Monday, September 13, 2010

Kansas City Chief's Mccluster, Arenas, Berry - Rookies Open New Arrowhead Stadium

The Kansas City Chief's Dexter Mccluster, Javiar Arenas, and Eric Berry are rookies that opened the New Arrowhead Stadium with a win against The San Diego Chargers. So much for the yearly "Chargers are the best in the AFC West" media mantra that this blogger's sick of. Not a fan of the Chiefs, but it was nice to see them beat the Chargers. They had to be, and are, a vastly different team.

According to ESPN's Trent Dilfer, Chief's Head Coach Todd Haley said they were essentially better, stronger, and faster compared to last season. Dilfer said he'd not "bought the Kool Aid" until he saw the team. This space agrees. The Kansas City Chiefs are certainly faster, and reports are the Chargers are still chasing Dexter Mccluster.



Dexter Mccluster, formerly of the Mississippi "Runnin Rebels," was one that, when the Chief's picked him #36 and in the 2nd round of the 2010 NFL Draft, Bill Chachkes of Zennie62.com remarked "He's going to be a good one for them."

Bill was right.

He's listed as wide receiver, but really it's best to think of him as something like a hybrid U-back that can play receiver or running back. He's fast and his 94-yard punt return was a record in Chief's history.

Dexter Mccluster, Javiar Arenas, and Eric Berry, their 1st round pick, together with new coaches Romeo Crennel on The Chief's Defense and Charlie Weis heading The Chief's Offense, give the Chief's new life and identity. It's a different team, with new player and schemes, that if it gets confident could go deep into the playoffs.

Pican's Oakland Female Bartender Competition October 5th 2010 By Grand Marnier, Zennie62

Oakland's bar scene has really improved over the last five years. Where there were one or two good bars downtown ten years ago, now there's arguably six of them. You know the environment's good when there's a bartender competition.

The problem is such events have been all-male or mostly male. Not anymore. On October 5th, 2010, Pican Restaurant will play host to the first Oakland Female Bartender Competition sponsored by Grand Manier and Zennie62.com.

A Great Idea.

How the idea started goes back to a video I created of another Oakland bartender competition held at Sidebar on Lake Merritt. This one:



Where at the end of the video, I said Oakland needs an all female bartender competition. Well, Josh Perry and the good folks at Pican Restaurant at 2295 Broadway at 23rd, in Oakland CA, figured it should be done and at Pican!

One thing: the first person to say they saw this at Zennie62.com, of which this blog is part of the network, gets a bottle of Grand Manier!

Here's the rules:

This competition is open to all female bartenders that are currently working in the San Francisco Bay Area and may not be employed by a liquor company or distributor as full
time employees.

2. Please submit your recipe on the official submission form and e-mail to candacecooper@southernwine.com no later than midnight PST on Tuesday, September
28th, 2010. If an entry is incomplete, it will be automatically disqualified.

Recipes

1. The recipe submitted must be a long drink, a drink on the rocks, or served up in a cocktail glass. Ingredients must be listed in ounces and the total amount of liquid should be no more than 10 ounces. The breakdown of ingredients should be divided in respectively whole numbers (1 oz, 2 oz, etc.) and/or half and quarter numbers (½, ¼, etc.), dashes and drops being the smallest quantities.

2. The maximum number of alcoholic and non-alcoholic ingredients in the recipe shall be limited to six (6) including dashes, drops and rimmed glassware. The recipe should contain at least two (2) but not more than four (4) alcoholic ingredients.

3. Garnishes must be edible and can be placed on the rim of the glass or in the drink.
4. Recipe shall not include hot beverages (coffee, tea, etc.). Ingredients
1. Each competitor must use Grand Marnier as the base spirit.
2. Each competitor must bring all ingredients except Grand Marnier, which will be provided.
3. Exotic, self-made ingredients or the blending of multiple ingredients to be counted as one (1) ingredient shall not be allowed.

Garnishes

1. Garnishes shall consist only of edible fruits or vegetables.
2. Artificial arrangements or food-dyes shall not be allowed.
3. Condiments such as salt, sugar, pepper, nutmeg, cinnamon, and others, shall be allowed and will be counted as ingredients in the recipe.
4. Any questionable garnish must obtain the approval of the competition committee.

MTV Presents : Bachelor Pad Finale

Today at 8 p.m the final 4 contestants of the MTV Bachelor Pad (Kiptyn Locke and Tenley Molzahn, David Good and Natalie Gertz went into the Semi -final not knowing what the final challenge was. Only knowing it was in front of a live studio audience along with the people they voted off to get to that point.
At first the people who were voted off the show were given the chance to ask the final four personal questions. If you remember
the last time we saw Michelle, she got in an argument with Tenley. So Chris Harrison, the host of the season asked Michelle if the way the argument
was handled would influence her vote. She replied specifically "Yes, it definitely will influence my vote and Tenley does not have it."
Tenley and Kiptyn were definitely the outsiders. In the end David Good and Natalie Gertz went onto the final round.
In the final deliberation the two finalists would go into separate deliberation rooms to decide their fate. They could either "Share" the money or one person could be greedy
and take the money and run. The choice was up to them. If they both chose to share the money they would split the $250,000 . If one said keep and the other said share then the person
who said keep would take all the money and run. If they both said keep, the 17 other contestants would split it up. In the end
Natalie and David decided to "Share the money" and both came out winners.



Katherine Schwarzenegger's Message To Girls - Love Yourself

Kat Schawarzenegger
Katherine Schwarzenegger, the daughter of California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger and California's First Lady Maria Shriver, has a new book out with a great message for young girls: love yourself.

First, this blogger has to note that Katherine Schwarzenegger has a massively good publicity machine which undoubtedly is due to her father's celebrity status and connections. As of this writing, Katherine Schwarzenegger's number one on Google Trends and she doesn't even have a sex tape!

The 20-year old USC Annenberg student heard her 8-year old cousins talking about their bodies and about how they didn't want to be fat. So she was spurred to write a book cslled Rock What You've Got: Secrets to Loving Your Inner and Outer Beauty, and which comes on September 14th.

Hey, that's Tuesday!

Katherine Schwarzenegger's observation reminds me of when I was 8 years old and went on my first diet. No kidding. My did so because my godmother said I was fat. I stopped eating what candy I did consume, and lost my once proud "Banker's Belly."

All at eight.

So you want a job? Check here



So you want a job? Check here: Acccording to reCareered:

Business Service firms led hiring companies as IBM, Deloitte, Booz Allen and CSC were actively staffing. Hospitality companies remained top hiring firms as Pizza Hut, Marriott, Applebee’s and Cracker Barrel continued heavy job advertisements.

Telecommunications was next with AT&T and Verizon still staffing actively. Banking stayed in the top employer list as Bank of America, Wells Fargo and JPMorganChase were heavily hiring.

Health care continues in a strong recruiting mode as Kaiser Permanente, HCR ManorCare, UnitedHealth, Gentiva Healthcare, Community Health Systems, Genesis Healthcare, HCA Healthcare, DaVita and Amedisys were top job advertisers.

Based on surveys of US job advertisements in the top job board aggregators, the following companies searched for the most job openings as of 9/13/10:

Total Job Openings by direct advertisers (Recruiters & Staffing Companies not included):
  1. IBM
  2. Pizza Hut
  3. AT&T
  4. Bank of America
  5. Verizon Wireless
  6. Kaiser Permanente
  7. Wells Fargo
  8. HCR ManorCare
  9. H&R Block
  10. General Dynamics
  11. Macy's
  12. Deloitte
  13. Sears
  14. JPMorgan Chase
  15. UnitedHealth Group
  16. Gentiva
  17. Kmart
  18. Northrup Grumman
  19. Booz Allen Hamilton
  20. HP
  21. Marriott
  22. JCPenney
  23. Community Health Systems
  24. Lowe's
  25. Genesis Healthcare
  26. HCA Healthcare
  27. DaVita
  28. Computer Sciences Corporation (CSC)
  29. Murphy USA
  30. U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs
  31. Toys "R" Us
  32. Amedisys
  33. Applebee's
  34. Cracker Barrel Old Country Store
  35. Microsoft
  36. HP
  37. Pilot Travel Centers
  38. U.S. Army
  39. Snap-on Tools
  40. PDS Technical Services
Sources: CareerBuilder, Monster, Indeed, SimplyHired, HotJobs, Google. Excluded: Recruiters, Staffing firms, Training, Franchise, and Work-from-home opportunities.

So, in between all of your calls to Washington D.C., check out these 40 companies above and possibly get hired!

Shock G of Digital Underground Remembers Tupac Shakur - by Davey D


Shock G of Digital Underground speaks on his time with 2Pac photo credit: ani yapundzhyan
As we look back on the life and times of Tupac Amaru Shakur we decided to dig in the crates and pull out an old interview we did with Shock G of Digital Underground. Here Shock G says his proudest moment was hearing 2 Pac talk about how his fondest years were spent being a part of the DU camp.
In this interview Shock G talks about the importance of 2Pac in Hip Hop culture and why he and his band mates would drop everything to accommodate 2Pac’s needs.
“There’s a time for comedy and being funny and there’s a time to be serious. When it came to 2Pac his message was too important to play around” , Shock G noted “He got the best we had.”
In this interview Shock G loans some keen insight into who 2Pac really was and they complimented each other. It’s a fitting tribute for someone who meant so much for so many.
Shock G of Digital Underground speaks about the first time him and 2Pac met up. He explains why Pac became a member of the group and who was the person most responsible for putting him on..
Shock G talks about the influence Digital Underground had on 2Pac and the influence Pac had on DU. In particular they focus on the way both had multiple personas i.e. Humpty Hump & Makavelli that they build their albums around.
Here Shock G goes in and talks about the influence of the Black Panthers. What many people don’t realize is that DU started out being a militant, Public Enemy type group that was an off shoot of the Black Panthers. The only reason, why they didn’t continue in that vein was because Public Enemy hit the scene first. Shock talks about the ways the Black Panthers shaped 2Pac as both a freedom fighter and a rapper.
We conclude our interview with Shock Gtalking about why Digital Undergroundsaved their best tracks and hardest efforts for 2Pac. Shock said Pac’s message was too serious to be playing around and so whenever he needed top shelf material he got it.. We talked about 2Pac and political prisoners and what he would be doing to help out his ‘aunt’ exiled political prisoner Assataa Shakur. Shock also goes in and explains what it means to be a revolutionary.
written by Davey D

Monday Night Football Recipes: Layered Mexican Dip




This dip can be made during the day or even the night before, so you can come home, sit down and eat during the game.

8 oz cream cheese, softened
16 oz sour cream
1 pkg taco seasoning
1 c shredded cheese
chopped lettuce
diced onion
diced tomato
sliced olives


Mix all ingredients together and spread over a shallow dish. Layer with chopped lettuce, shredded cheese, shredded cheese, diced tomatoes, olives and onions.

Serve with nacho chips.

Fall Recipes: Microwave Caramel Popcorn by Tina





This is a great snack for any fall night, during the football game or for work.


16 cups of popped popcorn
1 stick of butter
1 c brown sugar
1/4 c white corn syrup
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp baking soda

Spray the paper bag with spray butter until coated. Measure 16 cups of popped corn - microwave or air popped - and place inside bag. In a separate microwaveable bowl, add butter, brown sugar, corn syrup and salt.

Mix and put in the microwave for two minutes. Stir and place in microwave for one more minute. Remove and pour in baking soda. Stir quickly and pour over popcorn. Close bag and shake well.

Place bag in microwave for 1 1/2 minutes. Remove and shake well. Cook for another 1 1/2 minutes. Remove, shake and place on cookie sheets or waxed paper to dry. When dry, place in an air tight storage container.

If you want more chewy corn, only cook in microwave for the first minute and a half, then place on waxed paper.

Chocolate Pudding Shots Recipe by Tina





Chocolate pudding shots - a sweet adult treat great for anytime of the year.

Recipe Ingredients:
•1 small box of INSTANT chocolate pudding
•¾ c milk (2% tastes best, but any kind will work)
•¼ c vodka
•½ c Irish cream
•8 oz extra creamy whipped topping, thawed until soft.

1.In a large bowl, combine milk and box of chocolate pudding. Slowly stir in the vodka and the Irish cream, mixing thoroughly. Fold in the whipped topping until it is slightly mixed. Whip it until smooth.

2.Pour in to 2 oz cups immediately and snap lids. Stack on the cookie sheet or in the 9 x 13 pan for easy transport in to the freezer.

3. Shots require at least six hours to become firm. Allow for longer if you will be transporting them to an event using a cooler.

Chocolate pudding shots can be stored in the freezer for up to three months, but they will probably never last that long once you get a taste of them.