News Spotlight: Kim K Divorce

I refuse to take a big part in this shenanigan so I'm just gonna post one of the best quotes I've seen in a long time, found randomly via Twitter...

"So Kim Kardashian is single again and the McRib is back. Black men are having the best week of their lives."

Trick and Treat

News Spotlight: Non-Raptured

The world is still in tact again. At least at the time of this posting. Ok bye.

"Sexpot of the Week": Jessica Simpson

Did you ever think years ago when watching Jessica Simpson on her reality show (chicken vs. fish and all the other catastrophes caught on camera) that she would eventually become one of the smartest business women in entertainment? She's in the news this week because she's pregnant, but she's certainly been in the spotlight off and on the last couple of years--mostly being blamed for ruining football seasons and for her battle with weight. In the end, as new news and new targets arise, all of this stuff is irrelevant. But she never will be. Because of her business ventures and a $100 million net worth, she will always be set while many of her peers will soon be broke and cast members on Celebrity Rehab. So I salute her. Oh yeah, and she is really smoking hot!

News Spotlight: Heil Benedict?

It appears Susan Sarandon has balls. I mean, I'm sure the reference refers to the Pope's Hitler youth past, but celebrities are usually pretty PC when it comes to this kinda stuff. She has ruffled some angelic feathers. Oh, and the picture is just in the spirit of Halloween.

From MSNBC: "Actress and social activist Susan Sarandon was reported to have called Pope Benedict a Nazi during a public discussion at a film festival in New York, provoking criticism from both Catholic and Jewish groups.

The movie star, who won an Oscar for her role in the 1995 anti-death penalty film "Dead Man Walking" actress, said she had sent a copy of the book on which the movie is based to the pope.

"The last one. Not this Nazi one we have now," she was reported as saying by New York newspaper Newsday.

The remark was made on Saturday in an interview about Sarandon's career conducted by fellow actor Bob Balaban that was part of the Hamptons Film Festival.

Newsday said Balaban gently chided Sarandon for the remark but she repeated it.

Sarandon's Hollywood agent did not respond to calls for comment on Monday.

German born Pope Benedict, formerly Joseph Ratzinger, was briefly a member of the Hitler Youth in the early 1940s when membership was compulsory, the Vatican has said. He deserted the military during World War Two and has said that as devout Catholics, his parents rejected Nazi ideology.

Sarandon, 65, who was raised in New York as a Roman Catholic, is known for her support of causes ranging from hunger and AIDS to opposing the U.S.-led war in Iraq. The "Thelma and Louise" star was appointed a UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador in 1999.

The New York-based Catholic League for Religious and Civil Rights called Sarandon's remark "obscene" and said in a Monday statement that her "ignorance is willful."

The Anti-Defamation League (ADL), which fights anti-Semitism, called on Sarandon to apologize to the Catholic Community.

"Ms. Sarandon may have her differences with the Catholic Church, but that is no excuse for throwing around Nazi analogies. Such words are hateful, vindictive and only serve to diminish the true history and meaning of the Holocaust," the ADL said in a statement."

"Sexpot of the Week": Lindsay Lohan

Lindsay Lohan is in the news today for getting kicked out of a community service program. Oh, Lindsay. But if you can get pass the fact she is always and only making news when it comes to being in trouble and/or on drugs, she really is smoking. And somehow during all her legal woes, she still somehow has time to shoot movies. She hasn't been in a hit lately, but if you look at her discography, she has been steadily working between rehab, stealing jewels, and being ousted in public places. Gotta love her mutli-tasking abilities. Oh, and she's a blonde now--as if this one really needs to have more fun.

And...

Happy Thievery Day!

"Funny Pic": Organizing Heaven

"Bad (Not Bad Ass) Tattoo": RIP Steve Jobs

Ok so this tattoo is not actually bad at all, but I thought it was appropriate under the circumstances. RIP Steve Jobs. You were a genius and my iPhone brings me much joy.

"Funny Pic": Afternoon Tea

Facebook picture reposts are a great source for a blog about taboo subjects. I think Jesus, politics, skin color, and healthcare all pretty much qualify.
Source: Americans Against the Tea Party page.

News Spotlight: Justice Questioning

It looks like it really is the end of the line for Troy Davis. After much doubt by many people that he murdered a cop, his last apparent chance to delay the case has been denied. I'm not usually one to get too wrapped up in opinions about innocence vs. guilt, but this one does tug at the conscience a bit. There are not just some factors to suggest he may be innocent, but too many factors. If he is innocent, may he rest in peace. And may the truth eventually come out so our justice system can have yet another example of why it needs to get its shit together.

From CBS News: "ATLANTA - A defense attorney says Georgia prison officials have blocked inmate Troy Davis from taking a polygraph test before his scheduled execution.

Attorney Stephen Marsh told The Associated Press on Wednesday that the Georgia Department of Corrections has denied his request to allow Davis to take a polygraph test. Davis is scheduled to die at 7 p.m. EDT Wednesday.

Davis has long claimed he is innocent of killing Mark MacPhail, an off-duty police officer working as a security guard in Savannah, Ga. But state and federal courts have repeatedly upheld his conviction.

Prosecutors and MacPhail's relatives say they have no doubt the right man is being punished.

Marsh had said he hoped the polygraph test would convince the state pardons board to reconsider a decision against clemency.

On Wednesday, supporters planned vigils outside Georgia's death row prison in Jackson and protests at U.S. embassies in Europe. Davis' attorneys planned another late appeal, this one aimed at blocking the execution by convincing a judge that some of the original evidence was questionable.

After winning three delays since 2007, Davis lost his most realistic chance at last-minute clemency this week when the state pardons board denied his request.

Some witnesses who fingered him at trial as the shooter later recanted, and others who did not testify came forward to say another man did it. But a federal judge dismissed those changed and new accounts as "largely smoke and mirrors" after a hearing Davis was granted last year to argue for a new trial, which he did not win.

Davis didn't want a last meal. He planned to spend his final hours meeting with friends, family and supporters. According to an advocate who met with him late Tuesday, he was upbeat, prayerful and expected last-minute wrangling by attorneys."

"Sexpot of the Week": Leila Lopes

I'm not much of a pageant person, but I am obsessed, actually borderline OBSESSED, with Miss Universe 2011 Leila Lopes (Miss Angola). In my unhumble opinion, she is easily one of the most beautiful women I have seen in a long time. Miss Universe of course has the hottest contestants of all the pageants so, for sure, there were other women who would be considered more beautiful or at least as beautiful as she (I don't think so, but of course everyone has their favorites). But I love that she is African and that in a world not fascinated with black beauty that she came out on top. Love her.

News Spotlight: Roasting Sheen

So Comedy Central held a Charlie Sheen roast Saturday night. It will be airing next Monday, Septemer 19. I can't fucking wait.

"Monday Man Candy": Andy Whitfield

Sadly, Andy Whitfield passed away yesterday from his year and a half battle with cancer. The Spartacus star was only 39 and when reading the article I was saddened by the lack of time he had to prepare for the end. But I also couldn't ignore all the pictures of him being used and he really was stunning. There are few better ways to pay homage to someone (well at least that you don't know personally) than to point out how hot they were. And so I am. I hope his family finds solace and that he may rest in peace.

News Spotlight: More Mel and Jews News

The fact anyone gets mad at this guy anymore is amusing to me. Mel is cray cray. And honestly, at this point, I think he is doing these things just for shits and giggles.

From MSNBC: "Mel Gibson and Joe Ezsterhas will collaborate for an untitled drama about Jewish warrior Judah Maccabee, it was first reported late Thursday. Deadline Hollywood broke the news, saying that Gibson "had long wanted to make this film about heroic Jews, and it was discussed even when he was under fire after his drunken anti-Semitic rant during a 2006 Malibu arrest."

A decided departure from other Gibson films like "Lethal Weapon" or "The Passion of the Christ," Gibson will be a producer and direct the film (Eszterhas will write the script), which is being made by Warner Bros.

A certain level of outrage was anticipated when the news broke -- after all, Gibson has hardly been known as a bastion of tolerance and understanding in recent years. Now, Jewish leaders are speaking out about what they feel is hypocrisy in having Gibson involved. Rabbi Marvin Heir, founder and dean of Los Angeles's Simon Wiesenthal Center Museum of Tolerance, told The Hollywood Reporter, "He’s had a long history of antagonism with Jews. Casting him as a director or perhaps as the star of Judah Maccabee is like casting (Bernie) Madoff to be the head of the Securities and Exchange Commission, or a white supremacist as trying to portray Martin Luther King Jr. It's simply an insult to Jews."

Abraham Foxman, national director of the Anti Defamation League, also issued a statement to The Hollywood Reporter saying, “Judah Maccabee deserves better. He is a hero of the Jewish people and a universal hero in the struggle for religious liberty. It would be a travesty to have his story told by one who has no respect and sensitivity for other people’s religious views."

Maccabee, along with his father and brothers, led the Jewish revolt against the Greek-Syrian armies of the Seleucid Empire during the second century BC. Hanukkah is a celebration of the success of the revolt."

News Spotlight: Google & Rock N Roll

I'm a big fan of Google specialty homepages. Today, they have a tribute to Queen's Freddie Mercury. It's not just a cool image, though. It's a full-out musical. Go look. And hurry. I think it was posted yesterday and will expire any minute.

Bey Baby News

I loved Beyonce's pregnancy announcement last night at the VMA's so much I just wanted to repost it. Nothing really taboo about it. I just ♥ it.

News Spotlight: New Sex Tape Rumor

Another day, another celebrity sex tape. Or not. If this tape between Rihanna and J Cole really exists, for its own credibility Hustler should stop with the "we don't know what we're gonna do with it" crap and do what a magazine does--expose it. If it never comes to light, it's very likely they are full of shit.

From MTV News: "Rihanna has become the latest in a long line of celebrities to fall victim to sex tape rumors. But after adult entertainment company Hustler told Radar Online that it had obtained video of the "Man Down" singer and rapper J. Cole, both artists tweeted denials of the tape's existence.

"We don't believe U, U need more people...AND of course an actual sextape! #slownewsday," Rihanna posted on Wednesday night.

Cole, who opened for Rihanna's Loud tour, also used his Twitter to react to the report, writing early Thursday morning (August 25), "Gossip Gossip, n---a just stop it."

The denials came after a rep for Hustler delivered a statement to Radar, saying, "Hustler [is] in possession of the Rihanna and J. Cole tape. We have seen it and we do not know what we are going to do with it yet.""

News Spotlight: Winehouse Update

Looks like the overdose theory is out the window in Amy Winehouse's death--at least any of the hardhitting ones people automatically assumed were responsible. It seems we'll never know exactly what happened, but this at least should bring a little more respect to her legacy.

From E! Online: "Amy Winehouse had no illegal drugs in her system, but there was alcohol in her bloodstream when she died, her family is revealing.

Toxicology tests done on the British soul singer have come back, but it hasn't been determined yet if the alcohol that was found in her system played any part in her death...

"Toxicology results returned to the Winehouse family by authorities have confirmed that there were no illegal substances in Amy's system at the time of her death," read a statement released today by family spokesman Chris Goodman.

"Results indicate that alcohol was present, but it cannot be determined as yet if it played a role in her death," the statement continues. "The family would like to thank the police and coroner for their continuing thorough investigations and for keeping them informed throughout the process. They await the outcome of the inquest in October.""