"Flashing Lights" -Paparazzi Pics (Pt.221)

You gotta LOVE Brooklyn yo! After riding around aimlessly on my "Minority Mobile" I just happened upon not only a block party that Danny Simmons was throwing but why my boy Kareem Anglin was having a soriee' at that community garden that Target owns in the Bed-Stuy (go figure). He was having a early b'day with a "Great Gatsby" theme that brought out some of the cities most fashionable folks. He himself is a fashion icon at the ripe old age of 25 so the look of the crowd was to be expected. It was FREE admission AND open bar while supplies lasted, PLUS a surprise performance. WHOA! As I was leaving it was a gang cops & Hasidic Jews scratching their collective chins wondering "WTF is going on?" behind the gates! But he had has papers in order so "Blow off!"

"And The Award Goes To..." The American Music Awards In Review

Did you happen to catch the American Music Awards (AMA's) last night? If NO, then I'll bring you up to speed so you won't feel like an outcast around the ol' water cooler today. In my opinion the BIGGEST winner of the whole night was...Disney!
The parent company of ABC made sure that this year's award show promote basically all the talent they run. The show opened up with a medley (?) from Christina Aggie-whatever. A former Mouseketeer btw. Why a medley you ask? Who knows, it's not like she was receiving a life -time achievement award or anything! Oh, but she DOES have a greatest hits CD to promote right (exclusively at Target, a sponsor for the show. hmmm). Awkward moment of the night; Some dude walks out high/drunk or something to announce a song called "Sober." Loved the irony. Best performances top three (not in any order); Cold Play, Beyonce', and Ne-Yo. Hot! Top Head Scratches; Flo Rida up for ANYTHING! Kanye GIVING an award away (to Lil' Wanye). Chris Brown winning Artist of the Year(?) over Cold Play, Alicia (I wanna lick you) Keys, and Lil' Wayne! Even he was shocked! Other Disney plugs; Miley (freakin' Hanna Mon-freakin' -tana) Cyrus and the Jonas Brothers performing, plus another former Mouseketeer Justin Timberlake as a surprise host. Other highlights (or rather low points) were the (stray) Pussycat Dolls set singing "When I Grow Up." Ummm, like grow up already! And ya'll remember when Jamie Foxx use to be funny? I miss the funny Foxx (no homo)! Two of the biggest acts had the biggest yawns, Kanye West & Rihanna (dude, where'd my accent go)...Dope haircut BTW. The Dream brings out Beyonce' ? Man I could've done that! New Kids On the Block looked like "Ol' Men Off That Rock!" Stiff, but happy to still be moving. Long story short. I missed the 24 season premiere for THIS!?! And P.S. Jimmy Kimmel sucked...So not funny!

"Hook(ed) On Ikea"- BK Ikea Opens In Red Hook

You, my friend, are bearing witness to the commercialization of my beloved Brooklyn. Now don't get me wrong, I've always been an advocate for progress, but SHEESH! It seems like every other week a new announcement for some major chain is popping up that's opening in BK. Let's run it down now, shall we? There's Target, Home Depot, Applebee's & Papa John's (in Bed-Stuy), Subways, IHop, Dunkin Donuts, the new Nets stadium going up, and now the largest East coast Ikea in Red Hook. Throw in a Costco, an Apple store and a Wal-Mart, and Brooklyn will be the new suburbs for Mahattanites. No, seriously that's what the booming saturation of these chains are gearing toward. "We" have a tendence to think that the " 'hood" improvements are for "us." No sir, it's simply to make folks who are forced out of the ever rising rent prices in the city, more comfortable about moving into the outer boroughs, period. Trust me, it will be a welcome change of convenience, being able to not have to catch an early morning shuttle to Elizabeth (NJ) just to purchase a much need "Jaskler" or that bedroom "Lanjackt" I saw in the catalogue. But how much "convenience" will it be once my local bodega is bought out by Starbuck's and my rent goes north?