OUT 184--SPOT BITZ (FEB 13-19)

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. 

George Coleman Poage (November 6, 1880–April 11, 1962) born in Hannibal, Mo, was the first African-American athlete to win a medal in the Olympic Games, winning two bronze medals at the 1904 games in St. Louis. Poage remained in St. Louis after the Olympics, working as a school principal  before becoming a teacher at segregated Charles Sumner High School. At Sumner, he was the head of the English department, teaching English composition, literature, and Latin, helped coach the school’s sports teams, and supervised various extracurricular activities such as debate and theater.^[1][2]  In 1920, Poage moved to Chicago. In 1924, Poage was hired by the United States Postal Service and worked as a postal clerk for nearly thirty years. After his retirement in the 1950s he remained in Chicago until his death in 1962

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 Feb 16, 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 

http://outstagin.blogspot.com/2015/02/seventh-annual-mista-couture-charity.html

IF YOU WANT TO DONATE TO THE MISTA COUTURE BUILDING FUND  go to 

http://www.gofundme.com/hvx3zc

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

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

HEY OUTSTAGRS check out the story that yours truly wrote involving The Kranzberg Arts Center's upcoming Black History Month program entitled "Perception Isnt Always Reality." Go tohttp://www.westendword.com/Articles-Features-c-2015-01-27-194416.114137-One-Stitch-At-A-Time-Saint-Louis-Story-Stitchers-Celebrate-Black-History-Month.html#123

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

THE TOP ILLI MO STORY THIS WEEK IS

Kanye West appeared on Ryan Seacrest‘s radio show on Wednesday, and had a lot to talk about following his Grammy stage stunt and backstage rant against Album of the Year winner Beck.

“You know what happened?” the rapper said during an “On Air” interview. “It’s because I sat there and I kind of let that [smolder] and I was asked my opinion and I was given a platform. And when given a platform, it’s very hard as we know — and I’m going to talk in third person like I’m a crazy person — but it’s very hard for Kanye West to not be very true and vocal to what he feels.”

“This is our Super Bowl,” West added, “and someone’s got to be mad that [Marshawn Lynch] didn’t get the ball.”

West said he was egged on to follow Beck to the stage by “voices in [his] head,” and explained he really did do it as a joke in reference to the time he crashed Taylor Swift‘s acceptance speech to praise Beyoncé at the 2009 MTV Video Music Awards.

“What I really wanted to do is just joke around about what had happened before, but I just really didn’t want to take away from Beck’s moment,” West explained. “So I just walked back down because you know, it was kind of a joke, like the Grammys themselves.”

S The outspoken artist, however, did straighten out what many considered a dig at Beck.

“When I said that thing about respect artistry, I think it came off the wrong way, and that was a mis-wording on my part because obviously Beck is one the most respected artists and respects artistry,” West said. “But I felt that even though the Grammys sometimes gives awards to people who you wouldn’t think should win in the category, as a respect to artists, we mention the other artist’s name in our speech. And that was the point I was making about it.”

West’s “mis-wording” has — not surprisingly — angered a lot of people, including the ladies on “The View,” Patriots cornerback Brandon Browner and Garbage singer Shirley Manson, who called West a “complete twat.”

“It is YOU who is so busy disrespecting artistry,” she wrote on Facebook. “You disrespect your own remarkable talents and more importantly you disrespect the talent, hard work and tenacity of all artists when you go so rudely and savagely after such an accomplished and humble artist like BECK.”

We should know that Ye is in a whole other universe when it comes to his beliefs. Was he wrong going up to the stage to swipe at Beck? Yes. Was he wrong in his opinion about questioning Grammy Awards' choices? Abosolutely not.

In other Ye newz,  he is in New York during Fashion Week and he just launched his new Adidas Yeezy 750 Boost at his New York fashion show. He also debuted  the very first track off his upcoming album: "Wolves," featuring Sia and Vic Mensa. 

Rolling Stone Magazine recently ranked the Top Cast Members from 40 years of the show, "Saturday Night Live" fro, No 147 to No.1 and the cast mate that came in first was the late Chicago native John Belushi. 

Here is what the mag had to say about Belushi:

Era: 1975-1979

Nobody embodied the highs and lows of Saturday Night Live like Belushi. He was the first rock & roll star of comedy — a touch of John Lennon soul behind all that Keith Richards pirate bravado. All the extremes were there in his weird physique — a wrestler's body with a dancer's feet, a palooka face with a showgirl's eyelashes. He was the first to make a cocaine joke on SNL (sixth episode — Beethoven takes a hit from the snuffbox and turns into Ray Charles), as well as the first to make the host (Buck Henry) gush blood after accidentally slashing him in the head with his samurai sword. There was always something boyishly vulnerable in his madness, whether he was doing the slow burn (Captain Kirk, George Wallace) or exploding (his horrifying Sam Peckinpah). Belushi was the "live" in Saturday Night Live, the one who made the show happen on the edge. We should have gotten a lot more years with him than we did. But no.

Greatest hit: "Samurai Hitman," where Belushi proves he doesn't need words — just a robe and a sword — to turn a one-joke premise into a savage comic ballet.

Do you agree that Belushi was the top cast mate from SNL? He comes close, but we think its No. 2 choice Eddie Murphy should have been No. 1. Mister Robinson's Neighborhood? Gumby? Buckwheat? James Brown in the Hot Tub? White Man Undercover? Stevie Wonder?  We just sayin.

Fox’s freshman offering “Empire” hat is filmed in Chicago, tcontinued to grow in the ratings this Wednesday night, notching modest gains over last week to score the night’s top ratings and largest audience. It also led Fox to an overall win for the evening.

Fox took first place in the advertiser-sought 18-49 demographic with a 3.7 rating /12 share and in total viewers with 11.2 million. That was thanks largely to “Empire” at 9 p.m., which was the night’s highest-rated program with a 4.7/14 and also the most-watched with 11.9 million. Those numbers represent a 2 percent and 4 percent growth over last week, respectively.

The Chicago-based little league team, Jackie Robinson

 West,  that last year became the first all-black contingent to

 win the U.S. Little League Baseball championship was

 stripped of the title on Wednesday for cheating by using

 players who lived outside the geographic area set for the

 squad.

Little League International Chief Executive Stephen Keener

 told Reuters the team “encroached on the neighboring

 territory of at least three neighboring LittleLeague programs”

 to secure players.

The 2014 U.S. championship has been awarded to the

 Mountain Ridge Little League team from Las Vegas, which

 lost to the Chicago squad in the title game, officials said.

“It’s a sad day for a bunch of great kids,” Keener said in a

 telephone interview. “We adults will deal with this. But today,

 our hearts are heavy for the kids that played on that Jackie

 Robinson team. They’re as much victims in this as anybody.”

Little League Baseball said Darold Butler, the Chicago team’s

 manager, has been suspended from Little League activity 

because of the violation and Illinois District 4 Administrator

 Michael Kelly also has been removed from his position.

Jackie Robinson West defeated the Las Vegas team 7-5 in

 the U.S. title game last August before losing in the global

 Little League championship game to a squad from Seoul,

 South Korea, 8-4.

This is very sad. And its not the youngsters fault for 

what happened but what about the parents of  the 

students who lived outside Chicago area? We wonder if 

they knew of the discrepancy or was told by the 

coaches that it was OK for them to play. Theres more to this story we are sure.

  

Chicago native and TV legend Marla Gibbs guest starred on an episode of the hit show Scandal last week. Titled, "Where's The Black Lady," Gibbs’s character, Rose (Hmmm wonder if  her name came from 227), helped tie up some loose ends from the previous week’s episode. In apartment R, where Olivia was held hostage as Jake ran outside of her building frantically searching for her,  it turned out, it belongs to Rose’s friend, Lois. Rose hasn’t heard from Lois and decides that Olivia Pope is the only one who can help find her.

And she quipped to the Gladiators:  “Where is the black lady? The one in charge.”

Let's hope she has more cameos in this show. 

Oprah Winfrey's film, Selma won big at the NAACP Image

 Awards last weekend taking Best Picture.

"This is more than a movie," Oprah Winfrey, who was a "Selma" producer and appeared in it, said last Friday in accepting the trophy for outstanding motion picture. "It's important that we all know who we are so we know where we're going, and claiming the glory."

"Selma," which dramatizes events surrounding the 1965 Alabama voting rights marches led by the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., also captured best actor honors for David Oyelowo, who played King.

"I want to take this opportunity to say I thank the Lord I was able to play one of the most transcendent human beings who ever walked the planet," Oyelowo said.

Chicago native rapper/actor Common added another award 

hardware to his mantel as he won an NAACP Image Award 

for Best Supporting Actor in a Mation Picture for “Selma,

. Also, actress Carmen Ejogo won Best Supporting Actress in

 a Motion Picture playing the role of  Coretta Scott King.

Speaking of Common, he is the voice of Microsoft. Microsoft, who  unveiled two ads during the  Super Bowl, hired the rapper to voice over their ads  reciting passages from speeches by Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella.

In the STL area, Missouri Gov. Jay Nixon  held an outdoor news conference this week  along with leaders of Ameren Missouri and Terminal Railroad Association at the proposed site on the Riverfront for the 64,000-seat, open-air stadium that would replace the Edward Jones Dome, n

"This is a historic opportunity to bring hundreds of millions of dollars in private investment to this area, build an iconic stadium and transform these deserted streets into a thriving destination," Nixon said.

The Rams  reportedly informed officials earlier this month that they were reportedly going to a year-to-year lease, clearing the way for a potential move. Team owner Stan Kroenke is part of a joint venture that reportedly announced plans earlier this month for an 80,000-seat stadium in the Los Angeles suburbs.

 The NFL reportedly  has said no moves would be made in time for next season, but Commissioner Roger Goodell has  reportedly established an internal committee to review stadium options in Los Angeles and coordinate any possible move to Southern California, according to a league memo obtained Monday by The Associated Press.

The memo emphasizes that the league, not a single team, controls when and where a move can take place. Any decision to bring an NFL team to Southern California would require multiple steps and approvals from NFL owners. The memo reportedly does not refer to the Rams, the San Diego Chargers or the Oakland Raiders, which have been considering a move.

Nixon said in his press conference that the planning of the stadium construction could begin in the fall.

Well we will see after the 2015 NFL season on whether the Rams will still be in St. Louis. It has been a topsy turvy rollercoaster ever since the Kroenke and the city;s Convention, that owns the Edward Jones Dome had to go to arbitration  two years ago regarding who was going to pay for what amount to build a new stadium and how much would the city pay for this infrastructure., Well now that the Rams signed a year by year lease last month, its likely the Rams could be gone and the city having two stadiums: The Edward Jones Dome and the new Riverfront Stadium and no team.

The St. Louis Symphony won the Best Orchestral Performance Grammy Award Sunday for its recording of John Adams' City Noir. The Nonesuch recording includes two recent compositions by American composer Adams, the symphonic work City Noir, and the Saxophone Concerto, featuring soloist Timothy McAllister. Both were recorded live at Powell Hall in 2013, with St. Louis Symphony Music DirectorDavid Robertson conducting. The orchestra has now won seven.

According to stltoday,com one St Louis area teacher is in the finals  on Jeoprady's Teachers Tourney that has been airing recently.  One of them is  Loyola Academy math teacher Adam Elkana-Hale who as of this writing won a total of $3,000 on Thursday, losing $10,000 on the final question.  The money won Thursday will be added to the amounts the players win Friday. The top prizes are $100,000, $50,000 and $25,000.'

Congrats to STL based  clinical therapist Tracie Berry-McGhee  (PICTURED ON RIGHT with guest and actress Taraji P Henson) )was recently honored by the NAACP at the Image Awards last weekend for her work with girls and women through the SistaKeeper Empowerment Center. She was also featured on Fox 2 St Louis this week talking about selfies and her organization, SistaKeeper Empowerment Center.

HEY OUTSTAGRS well we did fairly well in predictions of the Grammy Awards that were posted on OUTSTAGN BLOGSPOT last week. Of the 19 categories we posted we predicted 12 which is 63 percent. In parenthesis are the actual winners ‪#‎GrammyAwards‬

Record of the Year
WINNER:ALL ABOUT THAT BASS MEGAN TRAINOR (ACTUAL WINNER was STAY WITH ME)

Album of the Year
WINNER: x-ED SHEREEN (ACTUAL WINNER WAS BECK)

Song of the Year
WINNER:TAKE ME TO CHURCH-HOZIER (ACTUAL WINNER WAS STAY WITH ME)

Best New Artist
· WINNER: Sam Smith (WON)
·
Pop
Best Pop Solo Performance
· WINNER: ALL OF ME JOHN LEGEND (ACTUAL WINNER HAPPY by PHARELL)

Best Pop Duo/Group Performance
· WINNER:SAY SOMETHING A GREAT BIG WORLD and CHRISTINA AGUILERA (WON)

Best Pop Vocal Album
· WINNER:IN THE LONELY HOUR SAM SMITH (WON)
·
Best Traditional Pop Vocal Album
· WINNER: CHEEK TO CHEEK TONY BENNETT and LADY GAGA (WON)
R&B
Best R&B Performance
· WINNER:DRUNK IN LOVE BEYONCE feat JAY Z (WON)
·
Best Traditional R&B Performance
· WINNER:JESUS CHILDREN ROBERT GLASPER EXPERIMENT (WON)
·
Best R&B Song
· WINNER: DRUNK IN LOVE (WON)
·
Best Urban Contemporary Album
· WINNER:BEYONCE (ACTUAL WINNER WAS TO PHARRELL)
Best R&B Album
· WINNER:LOVE, MARRIAGE and DIVORCE—TONI BRAXTON and BABYFACE (WON)
·
Rap
Best Rap Performance
· WINNER: “RAP GOD” EMINEM (LOST TO KENDRICK LAMAR)
·
Best Rap/Sung Collaboration
· WINNER: THE MONSTER EMINEM feat RIHANNA (WON)
·
Best Rap Song
· WINNER: “I” KENDRICK LAMAR (WON)
Best Rap Album
WINNER:MARSHALL MATHERS LP 2- EMINEM (WON)
Music Video/Film
Best Music Video
· WINNER:HAPPY-PHARELL WILLIAMS (WON)
Best Music Film
WINNER:BEYONCE and JAY Z ON THE RUN TOUR (LOST TO 20 FEET FROM STARDOM)

 

This segment will highlight some of the events and news items that we covered/posted during our 10 years in existence as we begin the countdown of our anniversary on July 5. 

Below are some of the posted highlights from our blog.

THIS WEEK FEB 2006

Last Saturday afternoon, I checked out the local DVD, "Crunk"at the Tivoli Theater in the University Loop. It is a 60 minute "quasi-documentary" about the hottest new dance craze that's been been popping in the STL. It featured many local crunk "tween" dancers (including Little G, as in Ginuwine) and featured over 20 or so youngsters doing serious battling or "crumping" with each other. It was screened and produced by local music mover and shaker Sonny Metcalfe of Black Independent Film And Music.

http://maatspear.blogspot.com/2006/02/out-33.html

THIS WEEK FEB 2007

Acoustic soul artist David brings some ‘Red Clay’ to the STL
By Ma’at Atkins

About 200 neo-soul music lovers came out to hear the acoustic soul sounds of Atlanta based singer/songwriter Anthony David last Sunday at the new establishment, Gravity located at 1620 Delmar.

And he did not disappoint. During his 90 minute set, David came across as a male version of India.Arie (who he’s best friends with, did background vocals for and co-wrote her latest hit, “There’s Hope”) and a raspy liquid-voiced Bill Withers and you have the makings Anthony David. Manning just a guitar and his DJ (DJ Woodchuck), David sang most of the songs from his two CD’s “Three Chords and the Truth” and his latest, “Red Clay chronicles”

http://outtown.blogspot.com/2007/02/out-156.html

THIS WEEK FEB 2008

Congrats are also in store for St. Louis native comedian/actor Cedric The Entertainer, who had the No., 2 flick at the Box Office last weekend with Welcome Home Roscoe Jenkins. The film made Made $17 million (second to Fool s Gold that made 22 mil). This family comedy of a talk show host returning to its Deep South roots was surprisingly good. I was definitely expecting a color by numbers version of a Cookout ghetto flick, but the movie was entertaining. 

http://maatspear.blogspot.com/2008/02/stl-tidbitz-and-more.html

THIS WEEK FEB 2009

St. Louis rapper Nelly will fill in for singer Chris Brown at an NBA All-Star party this weekend in Scottsdale, AZ, according to TMZ. The teen superstar saw his world turn inside out this week after a felony criminal threat charge stemming from allegedly attacking girlfriend Rihanna after a Grammy pre-party last weekend. Since then, Brown has lost several endorsements, and radio stations have begun withdrawing his music from the airwaves. Rihanna is reportedly on to healing in her homeland of Barbados.

http://maatspear.blogspot.com/2009/02/out-554-stl-tibitz-and-more.html

THIS WEEK FEB 2010

Talk about unexpectedness, in unrelated Oprah newz, a first occurred on her long running show when a lady went into labor while she was taping her show last Friday. A Toronto woman who was 27-weeks pregnant was rushed to the hospital after her water broke as Oprah ran off set to the ambulance which was taking her to the hospital. The lady had a boy and phoned into the show during the taping. Oprah promised to fly McCrindle back to Chicago for another taping of the show.

This lady and her child are going to be famous. She will have stories to tell to him for sure!

http://maatology.blogspot.com/2010/02/out-780-illimo-bitz.html

THIS WEEK FEB 2011

In other Superbowl newz involving ILLIOians. About 150 people attended the business casual Super Bowl party thrown by the Obamas in the East Wing of the White House. The guests included people from Wisconsin and Pennsylvania to watch the Green Bay Packers and Pittsburgh Steelers battle it out. Pennsylvania's U.S. Senators, Democrat Bob Casey and Republican Pat Toomey, attended.Jennifer Lopez and her husband, Marc Anthony, were present, too.

http://maatology.blogspot.com/2011/02/out-962-illi-mo-arts-and-ent-bitz-feb.html

THIS WEEK FEB 2012

Oak Park, Ill native and 2012 Grammy nominee Betty White made newz this week with her featured spot on the promo commercial during the Super Bowl for NBC's 'The Voice' . She hands down upstaged the show’s stars Christina Aguilera, Blake Shelton, Adam Levine, and Cee-Lo Green who were in the 70s kung fu themed commercial, who battle each other in a hotel lobby after hearing a beautiful voice coming from one of the rooms upstairs.

https://www.facebook.com/groups/1593286134218130/members/

THIS WEEK FEB 2013

THE  ST LOUIS BASED REALITY SHOW, "WELCOME TO SWEETIE PIES "THAT WON BEST REALITY SERIES (AT NAACP IMAGE AWARDS).

http://outstagin.blogspot.com/2013/02/os-59-stage-bitz-feb-7-13.html

THIS WEEK FEB 2014

Congrats are also in store for Chicago Bears cornerback

Charles Tillman who was announced as the Walter Payton

NFL Man of the Year at "NFL Honors" on Saturday at a gala

in New York.  He was also honored prior to the Superbowl

game at Metlife  Stadium on Sunday. 

A finalist for the award in 2011 and  the winner of the NFL

Salute to Service Award in 2012, Tillman has impacted

countless people in the Chicago area  through his

Cornerstone Foundation.

http://outstagin.blogspot.com/2014/02/out-123-outstagin-bitz-feb-7-13_7.html

(VOICE-OFF, TALLY OR ELECT)

\The city of Chicago has been the setting of many sitcoms, two in particular "Good Times' (1974-79) and "Family Matters" (1989-1997). These shows were also spin offs from other shows ("Good Times" was a spin off of "Maude" and "Family Matters" was a spin off of "Perfect Strangers"). These shows also had breakout stars that had viewers tuning in to see and hear them say their famous catchphrases: Urkel's "Did I Do That?" and JJs, "Dynomite". Which character had the most popular catchphrase?

VOTE YOUR CHOICE AFTER THIS BLOG POST IN THE COMMENT BOXES!

\

This week we feature STL based clinician  Tracie Berry McGhee who was honored at the NAACP Image Awards for her work. Here she is wearing a dazzling red  one shoulder  gown with silver bracelet, ring and clutch. We also love her natural low cut  tresses and black rimmed glasses giving  some good  "scholared glam."

WORDZ

TO 

THE

WHYZ

AT THE GRAMMIES: Why were their so many performers this year? Why did AC/DC open the show? Why werent there any rap artists performing? Why didnt Ed Shereen win anything? Why was Kristen Wiig dancing during Sia's interpretive dance performance? Why  Why did Pharrell give Taylor Shift serious side eye when Swift was dancing in her seat? , And why was he shocked that he won  the Pop Solo award? 

OTHER WHYZ: Why are their so many conflicting stories about the health of Bobbi Kristina? Why was Birdman not admitted to a party Nicki Minaj threw recently? Why are people messin with Dwight Howard for wearing a checkered jacket on the sidelines of an NBA game? And, again, why is a man's penis called eggplant these days? 

 HEY!!! If you have some scoop, a fashion pic you want 

to be voted on or want to advertise on this blog email to

 snaphoney2011@gmail.com for more info!

FIN.