HEY OUTSTAGRS!
ITS THAT TIME AGAIN!!
TIME TO GET ON STAGE!!!
This year this blog will be celebrating a milestone this year as this blogspot will turn 10 years old! Its hard to believe but it has come a long way from small paragraphs journal entries, to a mini news letter to entertainment highlighter to what it is today. The commemorative date is July 5. To reminisce we will do weekly RETRO BITZ of some of the highlights from this blogspot (SEE BELOW)
All this month OUTSTAGN will highlight African Americans from the ILLI-MO area based in the arts and entertainment fields who became "firsts" their respective fields.
Gwendolyn Elizabeth Brooks (June 7, 1917 – December 3, 2000) was an African-American poet raised in Chicago.. She was the first African American to win a Pulitzer prize winning the Pulitzer Prize for Poetry in 1950 and was appointed Poet Laurete of Illinois in 1968 and Poet Laurete Consultant in Poetry to the Library of Congress in 1985
Maatology is still looking for gents with style and a great personality for the Seventh Annual Mista Couture Charity Style Contest (slated for August 23 in Atlanta) is posted. WE'VE EXTENDED THE Deadline to submit to online poll is now MARCH 1, 2015. Go tohttp://outstagin.blogspot.com/2014/10/seventh-annual-mista-couture-style.html
WE HAVE THE LIST OF CONTESTANTS SO FAR WHO ARE COMPETING. TO VOTE GO TO
IF YOU WANT TO DONATE TO THE MISTA COUTURE FUND go to
Maatology is also looking for gents of color for its 2016 OBSDN Men of Color
Calendar. Must be comfortable in front of the camera and doing artistic nude poses.
If interested in shooting, the shoots are ONE DAY shoots THRU June 2015 . The shoots will be in St Louis, Mo. All models will receive a share of the sales and an opp to sale it as well. A small stipend will be given for travel. If interested email snaphoney2011@gmail.com with a selfie pic showing your chest and abs. To see video of 2015 calendar go to https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yXOCifGU-lY
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THE TOP ILLI MO STORY THIS WEEK IS
The ILLI MO rooted Oscar winners who made political statements during their speeches last Sunday and the flack from some social media people.
The first is Chicago native actress Patricia Arquette who got
everyone’s attention Sunday when she used her Best Supporting Actress
acceptance speech for her role in "Boyhood" at the Oscars to demand a solution.
Arquette issued a rousing speech as she accepted her
award,
calling for equal pay for women in America, saying
that older women were often
overlooked and
underpaid. Meryl Streep, who was in competition with
Arquette for the award, stood up from the audience to
applaud her.
However, talking
backstage, Arquette reportedly appeared to
urge oppressed groups to fight the corner of
older women
being underpaid
.
"It's time
for all the women in America and all the men who
love women and all the gay
people and all the people of
colour that we’ve fought for, to fight for us
now," Arquette
said off-stage.
Well her comments didnt go over well by some groups. Some
feminist,
LGBT and racism activists reportedly criticised
Arquette's off-stage speech.
Feminist
Roxane Gay led the charge
.
I like when people teach me about
my communities.
roxane gay (@rgay) February 23,
2015
The idea that queers & POC
have had their time in the
struggle spotlight long enough. Eek. Ma'am. Congrats
on yr
Oscar tho. You are talented
roxane gay (@rgay) February 23,
2015
On Wednesday,
Arquette fought her corner, saying that the
struggle she encountered as a young
woman meant she
was qualified to talk about poverty.
Don't talk to me about privilege.
As a kid I lived well below
the poverty line. No matter where I am I won't
forget
women's struggle
.
Patricia Arquette (@PattyArquette) February 24,
2015
I was a working single mom at 20.
I know how hard it is to
pay for diapers and food .Explain why women should be
paid less?
Patricia Arquette (@PattyArquette) February 24,
2015
The working poor women of this
country have been asking
for help for decades. If I have "privilege"
or a voice I will
shine a light on them
.
Patricia Arquette (@PattyArquette) February 24,
2015
A lot of activists shook their
heads and said yeah#Equalpay
. Yeah, that sucks. No. It's devastating 2
poor women. It is
DISCRIMINATION
.
Patricia Arquette (@PattyArquette) February 24,
2015
Our only problem with her speech on stage was when she said that people are focusing on equal rights of others but should now focus on women's equal pay. We gathered she meant the whole Black Lives Matter protests that were heightened after the Ferguson death of Mike Brown and the jury verdict. We think she should have said maybe we shouldnt forget womens rights instead of making it seem as though other peoples rights seemed unimportant. We just sayin.
The second was Chicago native Lonnie Lynn aka Common
who shared the stage with John Stephens (aka Legend)
during their Oscar speech after winning Best Original Song
for "Glory" the film, "Selma."
After ascending the stage to receive the Oscar was
dedicated to marches on Selma’s Edmund Pettus
bridge; the
“spirit of that bridge,” Common told assembled guests at
the Feb. 22 awards ceremony in Los Angeles, “connects the
kid
from the south side of Chicago dreaming of a better life,
to those in France
standing up for their freedom of
expression, to the people in Hong Kong
protesting for
democracy.”'
Residents in the former British
colony of Hong Kong were
reportedly listening, as were their neighbors in mainland
China, which now exerts sovereignty over the city.
On Weibo, a major
social media platform in mainland
China, criticism of Common’s speech
has been fierce. “You
sing some crappy song and then think you stand at the
moral heights and understand everything,” one popular
comment read. Another
user wrote, “His supporting Hong
Kong occupiers is free speech, and my calling him
an idiot is
also free speech.” Curse words and racial epithets were also
in
plentiful supply, prompting several to express disgust with
what one
called the lack of “public wisdom” online.
Wow, we dont think Common and John Legend was trying to take the moral high road of what was said (Legend said that their were more black men in prison in 2015 than during post slavery), he was mostly tying in how people of color's struggle for equal rights is worldwide. Of course the struggle isnt the same, but the tactic of pursuing freedom from oppressors is.
In unrelated "Glory" newz, the Oscar-winning song
notch its best
sales week to date after Oscar night. The
spike anchored a massive 184 percent sales gain for all
music featured on the87th
Academy Awards for the week
ending the day of the awards (February 22nd),
according
to The Hollywood Reporter. These already
impressive
numbers are expected to rise even more in the first post-
Oscars
sales week ending March 1st.
Michael
Sam
Mizzou alum Michael Sam, will participate in the 20th season of ABC’s “Dancing with the Stars”. After the roster of
constestants was announced on “Good Morning America” on Tuesday, Sam expressed his enthusiasm via
Twitter and made it clear that he is still actively pursuing an NFL career.
Very
excited to be a part of @DancingABC.
Football remains my unquestioned number 1 priority, however, while I continue
to train and (1/4)
— Michael Sam (@MichaelSamNFL) February
24, 2015
stay
ready, I am ecstatic to participate in a fun, athletic competition like so many
players before me have done. Filming this (2/4)
— Michael Sam (@MichaelSamNFL) February
24, 2015
offseason
is very flexible and allows me to be part of the veterans combine 3/22 if
accepted or any other workouts. (3/4)
— Michael Sam (@MichaelSamNFL) February
24, 2015
I?m
looking forward to getting started with @PetaMurgatroyd and winning! Thanks for the support! #TeamSambatroyd (4/4)
— Michael Sam (@MichaelSamNFL) February
24, 2015
In unrelated Sam newz, Outsports.com reported earlier this month that the Arizona Cardinals would be “looking at” the free agent during the offseason. In an
interview with The MMQB, Sam acknowledged he might have to play a season or two
in the Canadian Football League to attempt to raise his stock among NFL teams.
Kanye has been in the news this week. The latest was Thursday when he publicly apologizing to Beck for
rushing the stagewhen the indie-rock star was awarded the Grammy
for Album of the Year over Kanye pal Beyoncé earlier this month. Kanye later said backstage that
Beck should have given up the award to "respect artistry."
Kanye later admitted
that he hadn't actually even heard Beck's album before making such a claim. He took to Twitter to extend an olive branch to Beck... and then
to Bruno Mars, whom Kanye also has beefed with.
The tweets came after
Kanye sat down for a tearful interview with England's BBC Radio 1. While
discussing his fashion mentor, the late Louise Wilson, West became so
distraught that the host called a temporary time-out on the interview, offering
the rapper a few minutes to regain his composure before things proceeded.
In more Ye newz, he performed a new track, "All Day," at the Brit Awards, the British
equivalent to the Grammys, on Wednesday. The broadcast was available to live
stream in the U.S. via YouTube and you can watch the whole thing below.
A few hours before the show, rumors spread that West would debut a new song off his upcoming album, and he delivered with
a surprise performance. "All Day" has been circulating for months and a rough bootleg appeared online as early
as last April, but this was the first time West performed the track in full for
a live audience.
As far as the performance, the
star studded audience at Brit Awards were left shocked after West dropped the
N-word during his foul mouthed performance.
Although producers reportedly attempted to mute his song, which he famously said
was inspired by the London riots, they couldn't hide the faces of the audience.
Taylor
Swift and Lionel Richie reportedly looked dumbfounded at Kanye's expletive-ridden lyrics
and weren't quite sure how to behave in front of the cameras.
Speaking of Taylor Swift, she and Kanye West have reconciled, and the two have
reportedly hit the studio together. According to Noise 11 (through HipHop-N-More),
the first collaboration was rumored to be remix of Taylor Swift's 1989 song,
"Bad Blood," produced by former The Hippos lead singer and guitarist
Ariel Rechtshaid.
Two days after the 2015 Grammys on Feb. 8, West told Ryan Seacrest
that Swift and him would be "going into the studio together."
The original version of "Bad Blood" is widely assumed to
be about Katy Perry. Kanye and Katy both went to No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100
in 2011 with their "E.T." collaboration.
Representatives for Taylor Swift, Kanye West and Ariel Rechtshaid
did not respond to a request to comment at time of press.
Swift owes her superstardom to Ye after he Kaynyed her a few years back.
And lastly, BET Honors award show was aired this week and one of the honorees was Ye. He received the Visionary Award. Damon Dash introduced West with a speech about West's courage. Then, a video was shown outlining why West was among the night's honorees. It included interviews with West, Jay Z, Kendrick Lamar, Common, and others.
"Well seeing that, I think for maybe one of the first times in my life I understand how it is to feel humble," he said following the video. Throughout his speech, he talked about success, his family, racism, and much more. Watch it all below.
To see the speech go to
http://pitchfork.com/news/58593-kanye-west-honored-at-bet-honors-2015/
\
The No. 1 show on broadcast TV, "Empire," was on top of the TV ratings again, with "Empire" continuing
its growth streak for the seventh week in a row.
Fox's
freshman series, which premiered on Jan. 7, was No. 1 on Wednesday
night with 13.8-million viewers and a rating of 5.3 in the key
18-to-49-year-old demographic, according to Nielsen ratings.
The show has climbed
39% in viewers since its premiere, more than any other new broadcast drama
since "House" in 2004
The show
now also has the highest average number of tweets per episode during its
live airings of any broadcast drama this season, according to Nielsen Social
Guide and Twitter metrics. To date, "Empire" has averaged 381,770
tweets per episode, surpassing the roughly 355,012 tweet average for
"Scandal."
In unrelated Empire newz, Chitown's Jennifer Hudson will appear in the last three episodes as a music therapist who interacts with Andre (played by Trai Byers).
This show has become a phenomenon and it was unexpected. Its always good that Hollywood gets a curve ball every now and then so they can see that the usual, planned TV fare is not where its at these days. But our thing is after mid -March, the show's initial season will be over until next Fall. UGH!!
Kansas City, Mo native Columbus Short has joined the cast of the
TV ONE original horror film Fear Files, which co-stars Robin Givens and Clifton
Powell and premieres March 13th.
on
Oprah Winfrey Network will serve up new episodes of the NAACP Image Award-winning docu-series “Welcome to Sweetie Pie’s” based out of St. Louis, Mo on Saturday February 28. “Welcome to Sweetie Pie’s,” starring acclaimed soul food chef and Sweetie Pie’s restaurant owner Miss Robbie Montgomery will air
on an all-new season of “Welcome To Sweetie Pie’s,” viewers will rejoin the “first family of soul food,” following Miss Robbie and her son Tim through the ups and downs of running their rapidly expanding soul food empire, along with a few new faces getting schooled in the art of soul food.
With the fate of the Beale Street restaurant still undecided, Tim hustles to open the family’s first drive-thru location in St. Louis. Seeking to right a past wrong, Miss Robbie heads back in the studio to record a song she was forbidden to sing back in the ‘60s. Later, in an Unforgettable episode, the family faces the civil unrest in Ferguson following the shooting of Michael Brown, and Tim plays a key role in bringing the community together.
Missouri
reality show
A new
show set in Missouri is offering a glimpse into the struggle between cops and
crooks. WGN America premiered ‘Outlaw Country’ this past Tuesday . The
unscripted series is described as.. “a real life ride-along with a street crew
and the cops sworn to bring them down. When bad blood threatens a good town…
whose side are you on?”The show
is set in Buckner, Missouri. Chief of Police Mike Cook and his brother
Steve suspect that siblings John and Josh Monk are responsible for a surge in
crime. They give show producers complete access to the police force and the
“outlaws.” This presents an unblemished view from both sides of the law.
Adam
The big STL story this week is St Louis Cards pitcher Adam Wainwright left spring training this week and traveled to St. Louis to have an abdominal injury examined by
a specialist and today general manager John Mozeliak told reporters the result is the “best news we could have gotten.”
Wainwright has been diagnosed with an
abdominal strain and has been told to rest for a couple weeks, leaving him
plenty of time to get ready for Opening Day.
He can
continue to do some throwing, according to Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post Dispatch, but he’ll certainly be limited
overall as Wainwright tries to show that he’s healthy following elbow surgery.
St L
Selma
KTVI
(Channel 2) aired a half-hour special, “St. Louis to Selma,” this week.
"Nearly
50 years ago, demonstrators left Selma, Ala., headed for the state capital of
Montgomery, 54 miles away," the station says. "Their cause was clear;
bring an end to the roadblocks that made voter registration almost impossible
for African Americans living in the Deep South in 1965."
Reporter
Paul Schankman traveled to Selma for the special, reported along with Shirley
Washington.
He packed up a video camera and drove to
that small Alabama town to talk with people who participated in the civil
rights movement then. He wants to know what they think Ferguson might mean to
the civil rights movement now.
As we celebrate 10 years of blogging on July 5 we will highlight some of the stories reported and covered over the years each week.
THIS WEEK FEB 2006
I started
off my travels last Friday when I attended the Happy Hour at Formula Nightclub
on Washington in downtown ST. Louis. This was my first time checking it out. I
had promised manager Miss Kay that I was going to check it out, but never had
the energy after hustling and grinding trying to make a dolalr to even go. But
I made an effort to go this time and I liked it. I went at about 7 ish (It
started around 6) Although it wasnt a lot of people there, it was still a nice
hang out to wind down, They had free food there (chicken, meatballs, dirty
rice, fruit), $2 beer and two for one specials. Well, you all know me, I had to
par-take in what was offered. I chilled a little bit with Post Pop Critic Kevin
Johnson who was on his way to see comedian David Alan Grier at Touhill. We
chatted a bit and he was about to give me the scoop about some hot R&B
singer that is suppose to be blazin throgh teh Lou in two months. He was tight
lipped about it and said he would let me know before it hits the streets
THIS WEEK FEB 2007
STL-TIDBITZ...Funeral
services for Spc. Ryan C. Garbs, 20, are going to be held from 10 to 11 a.m.
Tuesday in the Morris University Center's Meridian Ballroom at
SIU-Edwradsville. Garbs was a member of Company B, 3rd Battalion in the 75th
Ranger Regiment stationed at Fort Benning, Ga. Garbs was serving in Afghanistan
when he was killed in a helicopter crash in Feb................. Theres rumors
that STL -bred mdoel mogul Kimora Lee Simmons is dating Oscar nominated
actor/model DJIMON Hounsou. Accrdoing to PAge Six of the New York Post, is Last
week, the "Blood Diamond" star was all over Cameron Diaz. This week,
he turned his attention on Kimora Lee Simmons. Hounsou and Simmons made out all
night at Boulevard 3 in L.A. Tuesday during a Dom Perignon dinner for Forest
Whitaker. The two, there to help celebrate Whitaker's Oscar win, ignored Oprah
Winfrey, Mary J. Blige, Chris Tucker and Quincy Jones to grope each other, and
left together.................Whats this I hear that Kevin Johnson and Jeff
Small are going to become Zoolanbder models on MArch 16?...............The MaTiff
Dancers are going to New York's Legendary Apollo Theater!!!!!!MaTiff Dancers
were chosen out of 180 acts that auditioned for the show. The taping of
Showtime at the Apollo will take place March 2-5, 2007.All donations made
payable to the West End Community Conference c/o MaTiff Dance Program. Feel
free to contact them directly regarding additional information at (314) 249
1194 or email at matiffdance@gmail.com.....Happy B-Day Mocha!......If you wanna
hear a radio interveiw of the book Hoodlum Preacher, go
tohttp://www.kobaltbooks.com/BurtonInterview1_102FM.mp3....On a regional level,
Chicago native Jennifer Hudson has another accolade to add to her Academy Award
for Best Supporting Actress. Governor Rod Blagojevich proclaimed today
"Jennifer Hudson Day" in Illinois. Blagojevich says Hudson's win is a
testament to her "amazing talent and determination." He says all of
Illinois is proud to honor the 25-year-old's achievements.....
http://outtown.blogspot.com/2007/02/out-160-regular-post.html
THIS WEEK FEB 2008
Speaking
of STL native athletes, Cory Spinks will fight in front of a hometown crowd
again when he defends his IBF junior middleweight title on March 27 at
Scottrade Center. The fight is Spinks' mandatory defense against the IBF's top
challenger, Verno Phillips, a 38-year-old journeyman from Belize who now fights
out of Denver. Phillips has a record of 41-10-1, with 21 knockouts. Spinks is
36-4-0, with 11 knockouts. This will be Spinks' third fight in St. Louis in his
past five, but his first since July 8, 2006, when he won his IBF title by
decision from Roman Karmazin.
THIS WEEK FEB 2009
Tony Scott
of the Tony Scott Show celebrated his 20th anniversary at Clear Channel last
Friday. As a surprise, his former radio colleague and friend Marc Clark—who was
a co-host with Scott from 1992 to 1999-- flew in from Baltimore(where he held
down the morning show , Big Phat Morning Show” at Radio One's until late 2008)
to be a guest on his afternoon show to celebrate with Scott and his co-host
Tammie Holland (who gave OUTTOWN the heads up 2 weeks ago). On his first day
back in St. Louis, Clarke said, “ I got lost downtown. It has changed so much
here. The Airport lost my luggage. I’m glad Levine’s (clothing) still here.
They had 6 X jeans. I’m just 3 X. On air he also told the famous Uncle earl
death rattle story among others reminisced. He also mentioned that he was
currently unemployed (radio One let him go November 2008)Former colleagues also
called in to wish Scott well including personalities JoJo and Eric Mychaels.
THIS WEEK FEB 2010
Facebook
fans of Oak Park, Ill, native Emmy Award winning actress Betty White may get
their wish to see the 88 year old host this season on "Saturday Night
Live." According
to reports, as of Tuesday, over 450, 000 people had become fans of the Betty
White to Host SNL (please?)! Facebook fan page. The bid for Betty's hosting gig
appears to be working. Ew.com
reported that White, is in talks with "Saturday Night Live" to
co-host an episode of the NBC late-night show in a special "Women of
Comedy" episode alongside some of her younger contemporaries.
THIS WEEK FEB 2011
Why did
the Oprah and Iyanla Van Zandt chew fest seem a bit staged? And why did it take
now on Oprah;s last season for them to reconcile? Why did radio host Rush
Limbaugh say that First Lady Michelle Obama's health programs are a joke? Why
are those Beyonce blackface pics causung so much of a stir? Why is Halle
Berry's half sis doggin her out for shunning the "black" side of the
family? Why is the Las vegas senator Harry Reid wants to ban prostitution in
the city? Why did rapper Foxy Brown show up at New York Fashion Week drunk and
toe up? Why was there a fight that broke out between Janie Foxx's male friend
and his ex-manager at Ushers Grammy party in Los Angeles? Why are half of
Detroit schools closing? Why were St Lousians caught off guard with black ice
that fell Wedensday morning? Why was Dr. Maya Angelou wearing shades during her
Medal of Freedom awards at the White House? Why did Justin Bieber cut off his
famous hair? why were media outlets joanin on Drake's leopard print shirt he
wore with a suit recently? Why is Stevie Wonder's hairline so far back on his
head these days? Why did Keyshia Cole take nude pics that were sent and leaked
online? Why was J Anthony Brown of the Tom Joyner Show absent for two days this
week on the show? and Why was BET Honors recipient Cicely Tyson overacting her
speech?
THIS WEEK FEB 2012
The Homegoing
Celebration of pop icon Whitney Houston which had taken place last Saturday
morning at New Hope Baptist Church in New Jersey, the church where she was
raised. The four hour funeral was presided by her cousin Dionne Warwick and was
webcast online where The Associated Press screened the funeral online and said
it had nearly two million unique viewers.
Of the
hundreds among hundreds of family, friends and celebrities who attended several
ILLIMOIans were spotted. Chicagoan singer R Kelly was one of the noted speakers
who also performed at the pulpit his rendition of "I Look to You"
that he penned for the late singer.
THIS WEEK FEB 2013
This week
it was reported that St Louis Rams wide
receiver
Steven Jackson will void the final year of his
contract
with the Rams, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch
reported.
The 29-year-old Jackson said back in January
that he
would consider retirement this offseason. He will
reportedly
be the top free agent running back available
come
March.Jackson has played his entire nine-year
career
with St. Louis, topping 1,000 yards rushing in
each of
the past eight seasons. He did so again in 2012
(1,042
yards).
THIS WEEK FEB 2014
Two
Chicago native film stars and recent Image Award nominees will be in two
anticipated TV projects. First is Keke Palmer who was nominated for her role in
CrazySexyCool:The TLC Story, stars in a
movie called “The Trip To Bountiful” based on the Broadway show by the same
name. The movie, set in the 1940s, tells the story of an elderly woman,
who wants to return home to the small town where she grew up, but is frequently stopped
from leaving Houston, Texas by her daughter-in-law and an overprotective son who will not let her travel
alone. The film is premiering on Lifetime on March 8....Next is double Image
Award award nominee Terrence Howard, who starred in an d was nominated for The Butler and The Best man Holiday, landed
the starring role in Empire, a family drama set in the world of a hip-hop
empire.
Howard
will play Lucious Lyon, the head of a record label, in the drama from The
Butler's Lee Daniels. No date has been set on its premiere but it will air on
Fox TV.
FIT BITZ
We are now debuting a segment called FIT BITZ where women and men (mainly in the ILLI MO area) who are extremely fit, have fitness model quality and have post their fitness pics on social media.
This week we feature St Louis based fitness trainers Shonda Bush and Fred Williams. Both of these them stay fit in the gym, have great bodies and have also the look to be fitness models.
OSCAR WHYZ
Why was Neil
Patrick Harris chosen to host? Why was Terrence
Howard's presentation of some of the movies nominated for Best Picture so dramatic? Why was John Travolta touching on Idina Menzil's face? Why was Joan Rivers not added to the Memoriam? Why does the Oscars have be so long in time (almost four hours)?
Why did Kanye go on the Breakfast Club radio show to go in about Amber Rose? Why did Guiliana Rancic say on Fashion Police that Zandaya's locked hair looked like it smelled like weed? Why did that lady anchor on Cleveland news show say that Lady Gaga usually sings under jigaboo music? And why didnt her co-anchor, who is a black guy, say anything when she said it? Why did Canada ban Chris Brown from coming to the country? Why did someone steal Lupita Nyguo'o's Oscar dress from her hotel room? Why is Donald Trump still trying to run for President? And why are most TV shows only have about 13 episodes these days?
If you have any feedback, scoop, or fashion/fitness pics to be featured email to snaphoney2011@gmail.com or comment below!
If you have a stor