Friday, January 17, 2014

OUT 119--OUTSTAGIN BITZ (JAN 17-23)


HEY OUTSTAGRS!

ITS TIME!!

TO GET ON STAGE!!






We will commemorate the life of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr on Monday Jan 20.


FACT: Did you know that his real name was not Martin? His birth name was Michael.


His father changed his name in honor of German 

reformer Martin Luther. 






Have you purchased your OBSDN Men of Color Calendar? Its not too late. The calendar retails at $15 and extra copies will be discounted at $5 each copy. The calendar spotlights 12 gents from across various parts of the country.  To purchase email snaphoney2011@gmail.com.

AND

THE FIRST PERSON

WHO
EMAILS US THE NAMES
OF 
ALL THE GENTS
IN THE
CALENDAR
WILL RECEIVE
A FREE COPY
OF THE 
CALENDAR!!!

To watch the calendar video go to 






GENTS do you have a sense of style and a winning personality? Maatology Productions is 
seeking gents for its online poll for the possibility to be chosen for its upcoming contest in August.
For more info, check out our promo
at




ILLI MO SPOTLIGHT


On Friday, the First Lady and Chicagoan Michelle Obama, will be celebrating her 50th birthday.
She got an early start earlier this month when she stayed in Hawaii after her husband and her children left after the holidays to give her some time to celebrate on her own. This Saturday there will be planned a big celebration at the White House with an all night disco theme planned by POTUS. It was rumored that major clebs will be attending including Oprah, Jay Z and Beyonce....but we are sure we will get the dibbs  of who attended before the MLK weekend is over.

UPDATE:WASHINGTON — Beyonce and Stevie Wonder rocked the White House at a star-studded, late-night dance party celebrating first lady Michelle 
Obama's 50th birthday, two guests told the Tribune on Sunday.
President Barack Obama and daughters Malia and Sasha joined family friends, elected officials, entertainers, athletes, business executives and big donors at the gala, which kicked off Saturday and lasted until the wee hours Sunday morning, the sources said. The event was closed to the press.  But two guests spoke to the Tribune on condition of anonymity, describing a bash at which a deejay kept people on the dance floor in the East Room until after 3 a.m. Washington time.
VIP guests, according to sources, included political luminaries Bill and Hillary Clinton, Vice President Joe Biden, House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, White House senior adviser Valerie Jarrett, national security adviser Susan Rice, U.S. Attorney GeneralAttorney  Eric Holder. High-profile guests included Sir Paul McCartney, Magic Johnson, Chicago-born actress/singer Jennifer Hudson, singer Janelle Monae, actor Kal Penn, TV personality Al Roker, actress Ashley Judd, tennis great Billie Jean King, 
retired Olympic figure-skater Michelle Kwan and Facebook Chief Operating Officer Sheryl Sandberg, the sources said.
The president, who was spotted with a martini glass, spoke about his Chicago-born wife at the gala, saying she was great mother and wife and that she had made him a better man, the sources said. His mother-in-law, Marian Robinson, also turned out, they said.
The guest of honor wore a flowing red blouse and pants and was often dancing, the sources said.
The East Room was loaded with dancers and “most people were in there dancing all night long,” one source said. The music was a mix of rhythm and blues and contemporary club music, the source said.
The first lady “seemed very comfortable and happy. Very celebratory,” said the other source. “It was such a fun, fun party.”
Singer John Legend sang the happy birthday song to Michelle Obama, according to the sources.
They said Beyonce, who is a close friend of the Obamas, sang hits including “Single Ladies (Put a Ring on It)“ and “Irreplaceable,” and Wonder gave a more impromptu performance that included “Signed, Sealed, Delivered I’m Yours” and “Do I Do.”
Also on hand were Chicago-area friends: Kaye and Wellington Wilson, Marty Nesbitt, Eric Whitaker, Laura Ricketts and Paula and Jim Crown, the sources said.
Before Christmas, invitees got save-the-date notices telling them to come for “Snacks & Sips & Dancing & Dessert.” They were urged to wear comfortable shoes, practice their dance moves and eat before the party, scheduled to begin at 9 p.m. Washington time.
The buffet table offered finger food, including mini-sliders featuring beef brisket, the sources said, and an open bar had hard liquor, champagne, beer and wine, the sources said.
Guests were told not tp bring cell phones and there was a cell phone check in before entering the party.
But J Hud released an Instagram photo of herself wearing a body-hugging electric blue mini-dress while posing with her fiance. and sent a tweet about her being at the party
Hudson did not perform Saturday, the sources said. She headlined a concert when President Obama celebrated his 50th birthday in Chicago, in 2011.
So great was the secrecy surrounding the party that guests were handed an invitation — on their way out, the sources said.

Now according to radio personality Tom Joyner, who attended said people didnt do that much dancing as was expected and performer Beyonce was just OK and didnt cause much  dancing quoted Monday on his syndicated morning radio show.



STL SPOTLIGHT

St Louis native fashion designer Shan Keith is the latest from the city to get his big break on 
a reality based competition show (Tijuana Bradley, Nikko Smith, Curtis Finch to name a few). He can be seen on Project Runway star Tim Gunn's spinoff series Under The Gunn.

Here is the first episode
Go to 



ARTIST SPOTLIGHT


Singer. Songwriter. Choreographer. Hairstylist. Entreprenuer. These are some of the words 
to describe St Louis native and current ATLian Jennices Omega who is about to release
her upcoming music project. ARCH IN MY BACK (and the album cover is uber-hot!!!)
The first release is an early1980s Prince influenced single
"LAMBORGHINI"-


TO DOWNLOAD HER SINGLE GO TO


SELFIE PIX



This week we feature vlogger Fabled Verse who has made a huge physical transformation of recent months and chronicled it on his YOUTUBE site. Here, he took the time from his gym regimen and took this selfie.
As you see, his frame is very Herculean and if you go on his page and see how he used to look, the "after" is quite impressive. 

To go on his YOUTUBE page go to https://www.youtube.com/user/FabledVerse



MAAT TIMED



OUTTOWN Blogspot will be celebrating nine years of existence in July. And we must say, we have been to many events over those years and have documented quite a bit. What we would like to do is spotlight blog posts that were memorable that made our blog what it is. ABOVE is  YOURS TRULY, Maat Atkins, with singer Fantasia when she came to St Louis to promote her album BACK TO ME and her reality show in the summer of 2010. Here is the blogsite of that appearance. 



FOOD BITEZ

This week we feature strawberries. 

It is a widely grown hybrid species of the genus Fragaria (collectively known as the strawberries). It is cultivated worldwide for its fruit. The fruit  is widely appreciated for its characteristic aroma, bright red color, juicy texture, and sweetness. It is consumed in large quantities, either fresh or in such prepared foods as preservesfruit juicepiesice creamsmilkshakes, and chocolates.

So how do you like to eat strawberries?



This week we feature STL event promoter Phil Assets. He has been grinding on promoting parties and events for a few years now in the STL nightlife arena. As CEO of Liquid Assets he has made a name for himself as one of the top movers and shakers in the city. Also, he has been sporting a well kempt full beard  that has given him a sense of distinction these days. This recent pic has him also sporting a black and silver glitter 70s retro disco style short sleeve shirt and shades that was quite eye catching (and daring we must say!).

Why wasnt The Butler nominated? Why was the walkway so maze-like
for the winners to walk up on stage? Why did Drew Barrymore wear a moo-moo with red polka dots? Why did P Diddy have to show off on stage of his partying? And Why did it take so long for winner Jaqueline Bisset to say her speech? 







Why does it seem as though the trend on TV now is showing black actresses as side pieces? Why are people trying to make Dennis Rodman play rescuer of american prisoners in North Korea? Why did Beyonce say in her song "Drunk In Love" that she was drinking watermelon? Why was The Butler Oscar snubbed?  Why do people on Facebook send game invites? And why dont people realize that                                                                     

computer hackers are terrorists?











If you have or someone you know who has a selfie pic, an artist that you would like to spotlight or an event you want promoted send a comment in the comment box below or email snaphoney2011@gmail.com



Sunday, December 29, 2013

MAATOLOGY PRODUCTIONS PRESENTS the 2014 OBSDN MEN OF COLOR CALENDAR

 HEY OUTSTAGRS!

ITS TIME TO PURCHASE A CALENDAR !!!







The 2014 OBSDN MEN OF COLOR  CALENDAR is  released.  Pictured above is the front and back covers.


To see the promo video ad go to



There's YOURS TRULY (left) posed with radio hosts  Cassandra Walker and Kelley Lamm and music producer Tonjo after my interview on the Kelley and Cassandra radio show recently  on 1380 The Woman in St Louis, Mo. To see the interview go to 
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2TbWQM3xo9w&feature=youtu.be



HEY OUTSTAGRS here's a comment from a OBSDN MEN OF COLOR calendar buyer about the calendar...it's Vicky Hall from Palm Coast, Fla... She wrote: "I love it (especially March, May, July, November and December). Can't wait to see what 2015 (will) look like!


BELOW ARE SOME OF THE GENTS WHO WILL BE FEATURED IN THE

UPCOMING DOCUMENTARY VIDEO FOR THE CALENDAR








































CALENDARS ARE $15.....THERE WILL BE A $5  DISCOUNT FOR EACH ADDITIONAL
COPY....TO ORDER EMAIL SNAPHONEY2011@GMAIL.COM AND WE WILL SEND YOU A PAYPAL INVOICE OR TEXT 314.243.9728.

Friday, December 27, 2013

STAGE BITZ STORIES of 2013

HEY OUTSTAGRS!

ITS THAT TIME!!

RANKIN THE TOP  ILLI MO STORIES of 2013!!!



The year 2013 is just about over, but as with any year, it is filled with memorable entertainment based events that will go down in the annals of time. From the Second Inauguration Ball of President Barack Obama to Dr. Maya Angelou's commemorating the passing of Nelson Mandela (with doses of Kanye rantings in the middle of things), to the passing of St Louis Cardinals baseball legend Stan Musial to the ongoing court battles of former STL news anchor Larry Conners, the year 2013 was definitely a year of reckoning.

OUTSTAGN will rank the Top 10 National Entertainment News Stories of 2013 that were Illinois and/or Missouri based as well as the Top 10 St Louis based entertainment news stories of 2013 that had some national notoriety or was an ongoing news bit in the city.


BELOW ARE THE TOP 10 NATIONAL ENTERTAINMENT NEWS STORIES with an ILLI MO base.




#10 MAYA ON MANDELA

St Louis born  educator/poet Dr Maya Angelou wrote a poem for the passing of African leader and former President of South Africa Nelson Mandela in early December entitled, “His Day is Done” that was posted on YouTube and commemorated by the State Department.






#9 BOB NEWHART WINS FIRST EMMY

In September, Oak Park, Ill native Bob Newhart won his very first Primetime Emmy Award  for Outstanding Guest Actor in a Comedy for his work on the CBS sitcom on “Big Bang Theory.” Newhart, 84, has been nominated seven times throughout  his 52-year career.






#8 EMINEM MAKES MUSIC  HISTORY

In  November,  St. Joseph, Mo native rapper Eminem charted 10 concurrent songs on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart, a first in the charts history, including “The Monster” that at years end was No. 1 on the Rap, Hip hop and Hot 100 charts on Billboard. All songs came from his comeback album, Marshall Mathers 2” which debuted on Billboard Album 200 with over 700 thousand copies sold its first week released.



#7CRAZY SEXY COOL DRAWS BIG RATINGS
The tele-film  CrazySexyCool: The TLC Story  raked in big numbers for VH-1 when it aired in October.  Pulling in 4.5 million viewers, VH1 scored the highest-rated original cable movie of 2013. The biopic chronicles the R&B group’s rise to fame, was VH1’s highest-rated original movie ever. Two of its stars were from Illinois. Keke Palmer, who played Chilli,  who's from Robbins, Ill and Drew Sidora, who played T-Boz, who is from Chicago. The movie also caused controversy over the validity of the facts and depictions the film mainly through TLC's ex manager, Pebbles.




#6JENNY MCCARTHY JOINS THE VIEW

In September, Chicago native and comedic actress Jenny McCarthy was hired to  fill one of the empty seats around the table on  ABC’s "The View" vacated by Joy Behar and Elisabeth Hasselbeck,  McCarthy, who has been on the daytime talk show 17 times -- eight as a co-host -- joined the remaining ladies in its 17th season this fall. 





#5TINA TURNER IN VOGUE, GETS MARRIED, REVOKES USA

Music legend Tina Turner made news all of 2013….first, she made history becoming the oldest person to be on the cover of German Vogue Magazine at aged 73…then she got married cover of the April issue of German Vogue. This summer, she married her longtime love, record executive Erwin Bach, 57, with a lavish  Buddhist ceremony(Oprah was one of the guests),  and she made Switzerland  officially when she renounced her citizenship in the United States. For a spell, she lived in St Louis and East St Louis, Ill attended Sumner High School and joined Ike Turner’s Kings of Rhythm in the 1950s and early sixties.






#4 NELLY CRUISIN ON THE CHARTS, WINS OVER ARSENIO

It was a good year for the St Louis bred rap superstar. Although his latest album, “M.O” came and went on the charts, he made it up with his collaboration on the remix to country duo Florida Georgia Line’s hit, “Cruise” which peaked at No. 4 on the Hot 100 of the Billboard charts. The song also won Single of the Year at this years American Music Awards, became the longest reigning No. 1 on the Billboard Country charts (22 weeks) and was the No. 1 Country Song of 2013. The rapper also made headlines when he made two appearances on Arsenio’s new talk show waging a bet with its host Arsenio Hall on whether the St Louis Cardinals or L.A> Dodgers will take a spot in the World Series and what each would do if one lost the bet (Arsenio would rap Country Grammar in Cards gear if Dodgers lost and Nelly would  rap the same song in Dodgers gear): Arsenio ended up losing the bet.






#3OPRAH’s OWN PULLS NUMBERS, WIGS OUT, RETURNS TO FILM, WINS FREEDOM MEDAL

Former Chicago resident  and TV mogul Oprah Winfrey had a big year (one hiccup on that Switzerland boutique profiling)  as her network OWN finally pulled in its highest numbers since its inception in 2011 mainly die to shows produced by Tyler Perry (who's a shareholder) including The Haves and Have Nots, Love Thy Neighbor and the former TBS stationed For Better of Worse. In September, the cover of her O Magazine had her spouting a huge Afro wig…  In October she placed her Chicago based Harpo Studios and condo up for sale.  She also returned to acting in film when she was seen in the box office success Lee Daniels’ The Butler in August and  receiving a Supporting Actress nomination when the Screen Actors Guild nominations were announced later in the year. She closed out the year receiving the National Medal of Freedom by President Barack Obama at the White House. 



#2.THE MANY FITS OF KANYE

The year 2013 would not be 2013 without the news that Chicago bred rap superstar Kanye West made sans Kimye. Three of big news items that Kanye made headlines by himself after the summer hit. First, in September was his Twitter fit with talk show host Jimmy Kimmel. He launched it, after Kimmel poked fun of a  BBC Radio interview on "Live!" with a kid-Kanye spoof interview. Soon afterwards, Kimmel invited Ye on his show to make amends which ended up in more self aggrandizing. Then, he made news when his Yeezus tour started and he had an actor to portray Jesus during one of his moments of his tour that caused controversy over the depiction. Next, he started sporting Confederate flag jackets, got into an now infamous verbal fight with MTV news anchor and radio personality Sway on his SiriusXM station Shade 45. And in December he cursed the Grammy Awards at a concert for not nominating his album in the Album of Year category.





#1 KIMYE

 You had to be under a rock to not know that Kanye West and Kim Kardashian became a hot item in 2013 and became a phenomenon in amalgrammed couples since Bradjolina.With the birth and naming of their first child, North, in August their relationship in media went into the zenithsphere….Kanye also claimed that he and Kim were more fashionable and popular than President Barack and Michelle Obama that had people scratching their heads. Then, he staged a pop the question the moment at San Francisco Giants AT and T Ballpark in front of friends and family. It was speculated that it was staged for Keeping Up with the Kardashians upcoming season, but the couple took matters in their own hands when they sued YouTube for leaking their proposal on the interactive video channel…they ended the year when Ye released a parody ready music video for the song, “Bound 2” from his Grammy Award nominated CD, “Yeezus” depicting Kim topless riding a motorcycle in front of with Kanye in the opposite direction .

BELOW ARE THE TOP 10 STL STORIES of 2013



#10 BLACK REP HOME CLOSES

This summer, The St Louis Black repertory Company received a notice from the owners of the Grandel Square Theatre, Grand Center Organization,that the venue was sold  and  leaving the seminal theater troupe without a home for its upcoming 37th season. After a vigorous search, the landed with Emerson Theatre at Harris Stowe University



#9 BRETT HULL RETURNS TO BLUE

St. Louis Blues organization announced this summer that Hall of Famer Brett Hull would return to the franchise as the club's new executive vice during a press conference at Scottrade Center on Monday. Hull was acquired from Calgary late in the 1987-88 season and over the next 10-plus campaigns rewrote the franchise record books. 




#8 LARRY CONNERS FILES AGAINST KMOV

Former KMOV anchor Larry Conners spent most of 2013 in court than on air fighting his former bosses for their part in his getting fired.. Late late year. Conners was fired from KMOV after a Facebook post inquitring if his URS troubles escalating after his Obama interview. Connors filed suit forallegedly  being unfairly terminated and later on in the year filed another suit alleging race and age discrimination an an African American co anchor and younger, less experienced staff with less seniority were given major, breaking news stories that. He was seeking at least $50,000 in damages, His suits were still pending as of press time.





#7LARUSSA GOES INTO THE HALL


In December, it was announced that Former St Louis Cardinals manager Tony Larussa (LEFT) along with baseball coaches and former players Joe Torre, and Bobby Cox, were unanimously elected to the Hall of Fame  La Russa who won World Series titles with Oakland in 1989 and St. Louis in 2006 and 2011, finished with the third most wins by a manager in a career that began with the Chicago White Sox in 1979 and ended with a record of 2,728-2,365.



#6 LUCY GOES VIRAL 


Early this year, St Peters, Mo. resident Lucy is the latest in many who has gone viral in 2013.  Lucy became an Internet sensation when the little girl laughs hysterically when Lucy’s father pulled out his video camera to record her hysterical attempt to walk the family dog. put the video on his Facebook page then to YouTube. Thus, the video gotten nearly 2 million YouTube views and was shown on news programs across the U.S. as well as in Belgium and London.




#5PUJOLS SUES CLARK

Former St Louis Cardinals slugger and current Angels slugger  Albert Pujols followed through on his threat of legal action in St Louis County against former St Louis Cardinals player and radio host Jack Clark  filing a defamation lawsuit for his accusation that Pujols used performance-enhancing drugs. Clark  said the accusations this summer on his radio show that was aired on the now defunct WGNU 920 AM station. After Pujols; filed suit, Clark aired an apology but was eventually fired. The suit is currently pending as of press time.



#4CARDS LOSE WORLD SERIES

In October, the boys of summer were not able to pull off a return to the championships  when the St Louis Cardinals lost to the Boston Red Sox in Game 6, 6-1, at the World Series  at Fenway Park. The Series also had its share of controversy as well with the now infamous third base obstruction call that gave St Louis Cardinals the win in Game 3 at Busch Stadium.



#3 SOCCER IN ST LOUIS

The city of St Louis was introduced to three 

international soccer games , a first for the city. The first

 was Manchester City vs Chelsea in front of a sold-out 

crowd May 23 at Busch Stadium. The second game was

 played in September at Edward Jones Dome with Real 

Madrid and Inter Milan and Busch Stadium was the 

venue again for the third international soccer game 

between Argentina  and  Bosnia 2 city. Of the three 

games, the first one was the most attended.



#2 STAN THE MAN DIES, LAST GAME RECOGNIZED

In St. Louis, the big entertainment news story was the passing of St Louis Cardinals legend Stan Musial over 
the Martin Luther King Jr weekend.  He was 92. In
memoriam, there was a public viewing of Musial
Thursday where hundreds attended at the Cathedral
Basilica of St Louis. A tribute was given to him during opening day of the St Louis Cardinals season opener in April in Busch Stadium. Also on Sept. 29, the 50th anniversary of Stan Musial’s last game at Busch Stadium was also recognized. The St. Louis Cardinals legend ranked at or is near the top of baseball’s all-time lists in almost every batting category.





#1 BATTLE OF THE TIGERS

The Battle of the Tigers, Mizzou and Auburn was a game
 for the annals of time especially after Mizzou big 
winning streak leading up to the championships and its
 debut in the Southeastern Conference division and 
accolades for its coach Gary Pinkel. The Tigers game
 had taken place in the ATL in November and aired on
 CBS., Although Mizzou (11-2) ended up losing 59 to 42, 
they were invited to play in the 2014 AT&T Cotton Bowl
 Classic, set for Jan. 3rd in Arlington, Texas at the world-
renowned AT&T Stadium. Kickoff for the game, which
 will pit the Tigers against former conference foe 
Oklahoma State (10-2, 2nd place in Big 12), It will 
be MU's 30th all time bowl appearance.



Well those are our pick of 2013....see you all with a new 

STAGE BITZ on Jan 10, 2014!