JAY Z ALICIA KEYS NEW YORK REMIXED BY BOBO OMOTAYO...Hilarious!!!

Yeah I’m out that Ilupeju
Now I’m down in Gbagada
Right next to Charly Boy
But I’ll be hood forever
I’m the new Pasuma Wonder
And since I made it here
I can make it anywhere
(Yeah they love me everywhere)
I used to chop in Ghana High
All of my Ghanians (Hey yo)
Right there off Onikan’s National Galleria
Brought me back to that Kingsway suya spot
Took it to my stash spot
Documents along Bar Beach
Catch me in the kitchen practising NTA’s Maggi Kitchen
Cruising down Bourdillion
Off-white Honda’s End of Discussion
Driving so slow
(cause it’s a tokunbo-shipped in from Texas!!)
Me friends are out that Ajegunle
Home of that boy Daddy Showkey
now I live in City People
and I brought my boys with me
Say what’s up to gbogbo awon big boyz in computer village & surulere
Still sipping Gulder
Urinating over “Please don’t urinate here” signs
Okada and Keke maruwa riders give me high-5
Egbon, I be Spiked out
I could slap a LASTMA
…and you can tell by my attitude that I’m MOST DEFINITELY FROM…

LAGOS!!!
Concrete jungle where dreams are made of,
There’s nothing you can’t do,
Now you’re in LAGOS!!!
These streets will make you feel brand new,
the traffic horns will deafen you, the olopas will harass you
Let’s hear it for Lagos, Lagos, Lagos

[Bridge]:

One hand in the air for eko oni baje,
third Mainland, Carter lights, egunje dreams all looking pretty,
no place in your abule that can compare,
Put your ogogoro in the air, everybody say yeaaahh
come on, come,
yeah,

BIG BROTHER FRIDAY NIGHT ACTION 27 AUGUST 2010

I have been glued to my TV for the last three hours.. yeah yeah.. no action for me im afraid this friday night.
so as usual i sit in front of my dstv and tune into CH 198
It took my about twenty minutes to fully comprehend what was going on. I see paloma in the jacuzzi with Mwisho and Uti. It is clear everyone is drunk. It seemed like paloma was flirting with Mwisho until after what it seemed like a Nigerian movie gone bad she flipped the Script on him saying he had always wanted her and he can never handle a big real african woman like her. That he s always wanted her but he will never as she graphically put it "Get to be inside of her".. My jaw was open... half her butt crack was showing she was ofcourse unaware...
Next i catch a glimpse of sheila and meryl. These two have been flirting with each other from Day 1. I have always known and thought this about Butch lesbians and Trisexuals (They ll try anything) like Meryl. And behold.. they were alone in the bedroom. Lights are on. They are under the blanket. It is clear they are kissing, fondling.. soon i hear Sheila asking Meryl if she wants to come.. She goes  down on her and Meryl later returns the gesture..
my mouth dropped open. The moaning, the finger and under the blanket movements.. the fact that nobody noticed cos they were all in other parts of the house. Mwisho who has been shagging meryl for the past three weeks walked into the fully lit bedroom, oblivious of the action that was going down. they sense he is near and they pretend they are gisting and chatting away. Once he leaves, they continue
They highlight of everything is that the barnmates (Lerato, Yacob Tatiana and Hannington) watched everything Live from the barn. Big brother gave them that special treat. The look on their faces when sheila came out of the covers was priceless. They had thought all along it was Mwisho and meryl getting it on.

Im still watching Ch 198, Neither Meryl or sheila has taken a bath or washed their hands. Meryl is back in Mwisho s bed and sheila is trying to pick a fight with Kaone

Tragic..
I was actually routing for sheila but she just lost my vote
Meryl will be the next one to go
I don t care what and who you decide to shag but once you put your business out there
Be prepared to deal with the backlash. Africa is not ready for lesbian  sex on TV

KANYE 'S "Rosewood Movement"

Kanye and His Crew Are Wearing Dior Homme and Following a New ‘Rosewood Movement’

The rapper gets dapper.

Have you noticed Kanye’s obsession with suits lately?  It’s no coincidence, it’s a part of a new “Rosewood Movement” that the fashion-forward rapper has implemented for himself and his crew that starts with the  mandate that they all must wear ”sharply tailored, designer suits” (I’mma let Kanye finish, but Janelle Monae’s been killing the game wearing tuxes every day for a minute now).  For the past few weeks ‘Ye and his posse have been spotted, suited up in Dior Homme–the label that will designing for his upcoming tour–and have been described as looking like everything from “The New Rat Pack” to the let out after a deacon board meeting (ha!).  

 

The Rosewood movement was in full effect at Kanye’s secret show in New York earlier this month and guests were not permitted attendance unless they were wearing a suit.  Amber Rose has even caught on, even though her and Kanye have called it quits. The model updated her Twitter page with this picture:

The movement is said to be inspired by the 1923 Rosewood massacre in Florida. Rosewood was a prominent Black city in Florida that was destroyed when residents were murdered and the city was burned down by a white mob who was furious when a White woman claimed to be raped by a Black man.  Is Kanye trying to draw a correlation between that historic event and his tattered image following the backlash that ensued when he grabbed that mike from America’s country crooning  sweetheart, Taylor Swift, at last year’s MTV VMAs?  That would be as eye-roll worthy as Beyonce singing “I can do for you what Martin did for the people” in “Upgrade You” but, I digress…. It actually seems like he’s trying to do some good here. More than just a way of dress, Kanye told DJ Clue on Power 105.1 that the “Rosewood mentality” is a lifestyle and includes other rules like “not cursing loud in public, pulling out chairs for your lady, opening up doors” as well as other requirements like “calling your grandmother” and “taking care of your kids.”

R.I.P AALIYAH

Its been 9 Years.....

Young girl dies at Former governor s mansion in Potomac, MD

I came across this article and thought to myself.. What and how will you explain how this young lady died suddenly at a former governors house to the parents?  The facts sound similar . A dignitary meets a fellow native speaker outside the shores of the country, and they become friends...Rest is history..

God forgive us all

Fresh facts emerged yesterday on how a woman, Ms. Chinwe Masi, died on Thursday August 19, 2010 at the Potomac, United States residence of fomer Governor of Abia State, Chief Orji Uzor Kalu.

The fresh facts emerged as the Homicide Section of the Montgomery County Police Department told THISDAY yesterday that the case is being treated as an undetermined death and that they were waiting for the result of the autopsy for a final conclusion.
"It is an undetermined death and we are waiting for the results from the autopsy from the chief medical officer. The result usually take several weeks, but there were no signs of foul play," Blanca Kling, an officer at the Homicide Section, told THISDAY.

When THISDAY sought to find out how the tragic incident occurred, a source at Kalu's Potomac residence on that fateful night, who spoke with THISDAY yesterday, said not less than five of them were at the residence on that night. The source said the late Chinwe arrived at the residence at about 8:30pm "and all this happened just within 30 minutes."

The source, who pleaded not to be named, said: "We asked her to join us as we were drinking red wine. She said no, she would not drink red wine, that she was going for soda or Guinness. Luckily we had Guinness in the fridge. She took the small guinness and we were drinking red wine. After about fifteen minutes, I heard her shouting, my chest, my chest.

"The next thing, she started vomiting blood. We rushed to her and asked if she was asthmatic, but she said no, she had high-blood pressure. Immediately, the (ex) governor rushed to the phone and called ambulance and the police. And they came immediately. The ambulance arrived first and the paramedics were trying to take her into the ambulance when she gave up the ghost.

"At that point, the ambulance people said they would not be able to take her away until the police arrived. When the police came, they told us to come outside and wait. They were in the house for eight hours searching everywhere. And the police came in with all their equipment. They took the former governor's blood, his fingerprint and his statement.

"He told them that he met her at Montegory County Mall in June when he went to shop and forgot two bottles of perfume at the store. He told the Police that when he returned to US upper weekend, Chinwe, who was a senior staff of the high flying fashion store, called him last Tuesday that he would be bringing the perfume on Thursday and that was why she came to his residence.
"They gave him paper to sign and said they needed to search his house. First, they asked him whether the lady used cocaine, but the (ex)governor told them that she didn't use cocaine and he does not use cocaine. We were also told to write our statement, which we did.

"They checked the phone to see the last people she made contact with. She made contact with one of her cousins in Las Vegas... her name is Nonye, and she made contact with one of her friends when she missed her way while looking for the house that night."

When asked when next they would be reporting at the Police station, the source said  apart from the statement the police obtained from them, they did not give them any appointment. THISDAY also also sought to know whether they had got in touch with the families of the deceased.

The source, who said the former governor flew to Charlotte, North Carolina, on Monday by United Airlines and would be back in Washington DC on Wednesday, said they had not been able to do that because they do not have their contact address or phone number, and the Police also refused to give the number on the deceased’s call log to them.
THISDAY could however not get in touch with any of the members of Chinwe's family at the time of filing this report

Unknown Tourist Attraction in Northern Nigeria Farin Ruwa, Nassarawa State

Victoria Falls at a drop of 105 metres. Farin Ruwa a 150 metres
Since 1999, there have been an appalling 1000 visitors at this
site. Its a three hour drive from Abuja. Farin Ruwa is also
known as the Sha falls or Munjai falls as there has been an ongoing dispute
as to whether the falls is in Nassarawa state or Plateau State.

Just found an interesting write up on the history of the falls.

The Sha falls or the fall of Sha?

Did you ever hear about the Munjai falls? It is there that the water of the river Yar falls down from the Munjai hills, flowing on to Wamba, in Akwanga L.G.A. This fall is called “Farin Ruwa” in Hausa, which means “White water”.

The water falling down from the hills and splashing up at the ground is a great spectacle. It is said to rise in big clouds. The water falling down from the hills is steaming as if it was boiling. After touching the ground, the water enters into a big cave and comes out from another place again as a river. There are many stories told about the Munjai falls, e.g. that the water gathers at Tiryau (a mythical meeting place of all the water). The cave into which the water enters is said to be the house of a mighty water-spirit. Others say that a powerful Lwa’ (Alter Ego) resides there. According to the white-men it is also a good place for winning hydro-electric power.

People from Daffo, Sha and Tof, going down to the lowlands have to pass the Munjai falls. It is an important trading route. The road passing the falls on the way to Munjai isn’t good at all. Nevertheless many people like the Daffo dare to take it to buy oil at Munjai. The oil of Munjai is said to be the best oil in the whole area.

To men, the Munjai falls are also a way to show their courage. A man how doesn’t dare to pass the Munjai falls is said to be a coward. And indeed, it is true. Many a man on reaching the place and seeing the steaming water has turned back in fear. Formerly, all the traders who wanted to pass there used to take along a sacrifice for the Lwa’ of the fall to get permission to pass. There is a belief among the traders that if a person is seeking wealth and passes the Munjai falls, he will certainly get it. But many who have taken this way have perished on it. The number of people who have lost their lives is impossible to tell.

The people living beneath the Munjai falls started to claim that it is their second self. That it was them who killed and still kill the people who perish at the falls. The fixed a fee which every trader who wanted to go down or up past the falls had to pay. Only those who paid it were allowed to go down or climb up. Every person who refused to pay the fee would perish on passing the falls. But indeed it was them who would ambush the traders passing the falls, kill them and take away their goods and money.

When the Sha people heard this they said that no-one should pay the fee anymore. They abused the Munjai people, saying that they were great evildoers. They said that the Munjai people ate human flesh and that no-one should have contact with them anymore. That people should fight against them and do away with those bandits.

Then the people living at the bottom of the Munjai falls joined with the Munjai, the Masingar, the Yiw, the Mama, the Marhai and the Kamtu people. They prepared local beer all over their country. They invited the Sha people to a beer drinking party. They should come and see for themselves that those stories about the Munjai falls were not true. The Sha people rushed down to the lowlands for the beer.

However, those people had prepared the beer as a trap for the Sha people. The Sha people came and drank a lot of beer. They got drunk and started dancing and falling about. Their hosts put on their war dresses. Then they started singing a song, asking the Sha people: “So you say we have eaten people, we are devils, or what? Now you have come to do away with us, have you? Or were you drunk when you said that?” The challenged the Sha to repeat what they had earlier said. The Sha people became very afraid and started running away. They said: “These people want to kill us. We are lost!”

They started climbing the hills in their drunken state, when the sun had already set. While climbing, they kept falling. Their hosts shouted: “See them there, let’s chase them.” They had earlier put a slippery matter on the way. Now the Sha people began to glide on it. They broke their heads and died in great numbers. Due to drunkenness, many fell down on the rocks and their blood was pouring to the ground.

When the sun rose the following day, the hosts saw the Sha people lying dead on the ground and were very contented. They continued with their drinking party and sang a song about their victory over the Sha people. They abused them, calling them stupid and fools. Those few who could escape came to Sha mourning and said: “this is the end of Sha”. People asked them why. They told them that the people who had invited them had wanted to kill them in cold blood. That they had wanted to climb the hills, but the people had put a slippery matter. That this combined with their being drunk had made them fall down, break their bones and heads and that many had died.

Then the Sha people put on their mourning shrouds. The Sha spies claimed that those people had not only put the slippery matter on the way. That they had actually made them drunk and then turned on them and beaten them to death. But those people denied the charges. They also denied having put a slippery matter on the path. They claimed that it had been the Sha people who, after getting drunk, had looked for trouble. They had said that they were devils and that they would finish them this very night. But then suddenly they had started to run away. Then, climbing the hills in the middle of the night, being drunk, of course they had fallen down and broken their necks.

Until now, the Sha people haven’t forgotten how they perished at the Munjai falls. The Daffo people like to tease the Sha people by reminding them of that story. They use to tell the Sha people: “Hey you, you must have been fools to go to that drinking party and climb the hills being drunk. If those people are not as strong as you, how is it that up to now you haven’t taken revenge?” They tell them that perhaps it was them who used to kill people on the way until finally they got punished at the Munjai falls. In a very rude manner, they even swear “by the fall of the Sha people”. Then the Sha people become very angry and tell the whole story all over again and people laugh even more.

Allegedly, the Sha themselves are partly related to those people who invited them to the drinking party.They are said to have a common origin.

The Munjai fall is a place that has now become very famous. Nowadays, people like to go there and take pictures. The Federal Government is even planning to build a road from Sha down to the place where they went for the beer. Allegedly, due to the perishing of the Sha at the falls, the falls are now no longer called Munjai falls, but Sha falls.

Timeless Must Haves

Hi Guys ...
I will be updating my timeless must have list weekly. This is a compilation of  items of clothing and accessories on my Wishlist. Due to my current state of unemployment, i can only dream on..
Dreams come true though...
Enjoy your week guys
xoxo


         A Colorful skirt  Ungaro




                             LOVER  Lace Mini Dress




       Alexander Mcqueen  Pencil Skirt




Black Leather Pumps Giuseppe Zanotti


                  Maxi Skirt by L'Agence

                 Cashmere Scarf YSL

i want this Now!!!!!!!!!!!

Pyramid story necklace by Temperley London

Now that he s OFFICIALLY OFF THE MARKET........ Would you Date him?

Tiger Woods divorce is finalised and could cost him up to $750million

Tiger Woods paid a heavy price for his cheating yesterday when he was divorced from his betrayed wife Elin Nordegren. 

The Swedish former model and children's nanny is understood to have been paid more than $100million  -  £64million  -  as part of the settlement. 

Although she could have pushed for a half share in the disgraced golfer's £650million fortune, 30-year-old Elin reportedly agreed on the lower sum to avoid a messy, drawn-out court battle. 

It's over: Tiger Woods with his wife Elin before the scandal of his affairs broke

She signed a prenuptial agreement when they wed in 2006, but it was renegotiated in the wake of the sex scandal as Woods tried desperately to save his marriage following his affairs with up to 19 women. 

The couple were both at Bay County Circuit Court in Panama City, Florida yesterday as the marriage was described during a ten-minute hearing as 'irretrievably broken'.

Woods, 34, will share custody of their two children, Sam, three, and one-year-old Charlie. He and Elin have completed a four-hour parenting course each. 

The divorce comes nine months after the golfer crashed his car outside their home in Orlando, setting off an explosive flurry of lurid revelations about his cheating with a string of mistresses. 

The scandal led to Woods taking a five-month sabbatical from golf to seek rehabilitation treatment for sex addiction and cost him millions in lost endorsements.

Beach babe: Woods' 'mistress number one' Rachel Uchitel looked to be on the road to recovery as she wandered on the beach in Malibu this morning with a mystery man following a stint on U.S. show Celebrity Rehab

Friends said the couple are back on speaking terms because they are determined to raise their children together without living under the shadow of his misbehaviour. 

They reportedly travelled together to court yesterday in a private jet for the half-hour flight from Orlando, where they both still live in separate mansions. 

Elin will get to keep the waterfront estate where the family lived before the scandal.

She has also bought a £1.5million hideaway on a Swedish island to use as a holiday home. 

In return for the massive financial payout, Miss Nordegren has allegedly agreed to stay silent about her marriage. 

In return, she has barred Woods from exposing their children to any of his girlfriends.

Only in the event of him marrying again would the woman be allowed around the children, according to reports. 

End of the affair: The couple's signatures on court papers finalised the end of their marriage

The couple also completed a parenting course as part of their separation

Between 11 and 19 women are said to have come forward claiming to have had an affair with the golfer, referred to on court documents by his real name Eldrick Tont Woods. 

The first, Rachel Uchitel, was said to have been paid more than £6million in return for a confidentiality agreement. 

After the divorce hearing, lawyer Gloria Allred, who represented several of the golfer's alleged mistresses, said: ' Tiger Woods's marriage appeared to be over long before it became final today. 

'He has broken his wife's heart and the hearts of many others.

'His apparent lack of honesty in his relationships doomed his marriage and caused a break that could not be repaired. 

'Tiger can begin again but he should never forget the human wreckage that he has left behind.' 

End of an era: Both Woods and Nordegren appeared in person at the Bay County Court House in Panama, Florida

Gay vicar, 65, to 'marry' Nigerian male model half his age

To former vicar Colin Coward, it is nothing short of a marriage made in heaven. But the 65-year-old is expected to raise a few traditional eyebrows when he walks down the aisle with the man in his life – a 25-year-old Nigerian model called Bobby. 

Mr Coward and his African partner are due to hold a civil partnership later this year, followed by a service at the vicar’s church, St John the Baptist church in Devizes, Wiltshire. 

The couple met at a Christian conference three years ago, and are planning to make their relationship official in a few weeks’ time.

Reverend Colin Coward fell in love with Nigerian model Bobby Egbele after they met at a Christian conference in Togo in 2007. The pair plan to tie the knot in October 

Bobby Ikekhuame Egbele, a fashion designer and model, grew up in Nigeria and runs an online clothes shop. Currently in the UK on a holiday visa, he and his ‘husband-to-be’ are waiting for the green light from the Borders Agency, which has requested details of their relationship and residency. 

This is expected to be a formality but the ‘marriage’ cannot go ahead until permission is granted. Mr Egbele, who will then become a British citizen, said yesterday: ‘I’m excited about the wedding and that people are interested in it. 

 

More...

• Catholic charity faces closure after losing appeal over gay adoption

‘We want it to be a public thing to inspire other people, but a marriage is also private so that feels a bit strange.’ 

Mr Coward, who is no longer employed by the Church but still has permission to preach, added that he hopes their public commitment will set an example to other gay people within the Anglican community. 

Rev Coward plans to refuse the request that he remain celibate

Mr Coward, who lives with Mr Egbele in the Wiltshire village of Marston, said: ‘My goal is for everyone within the Church to feel comfortable with the situation because at the moment the majority of gay Christians marry secretly. 

‘It is a taboo subject but the Church is now under huge pressure to change its stance and that pressure will only increase in the future. '

‘Clearly the blessing is going to be quite a sensitive issue. I know that many people will see it and view it with horror. But we are both deeply committed Christians so it would be unthinkable for me not to do it in church and not to do it with the congregation and with all of our friends.‘

'I hope my wedding will inspire others and set a visible example to the church that we are not afraid.’ 

The pair describe themselves as 'deeply committed Christians' and say they are determined to have the church service

Mr Coward, a former architect and now a gay campaigner, met Mr Egbele in 2007 at a Christian conference in Togo, West Africa, and the pair got engaged earlier this year. 

The men are due to ‘marry’ on October 9 at the Register Office in Devizes before having a service at St John the Baptist church. 

However, the service will not be a blessing, which is forbidden by the Anglican hierarchy for homosexual couples. But Stephen Green, director of campaign group Christian Voice, yesterday described Mr Coward’s marriage ‘an abomination before God’. 

Mr Green added: ‘Mr Coward is just an emotionally disturbed man trying to inflict his predilections on the rest of the Church I fail to recognise him as a Christian because he doesn’t keep the commandments of Lord Jesus.’ A spokesman for the Diocese of Salisbury confirmed it has permitted the service to go ahead but described it as ‘separate’ from the civil ceremony.

 

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1304674/Gay-vicar-65-marry-Nigerian-male-model-half-age.html#ixzz0xRdEiG4w

I MISS L.A....

IN-N-OUT Burger! YUM!

PINKBERRY.....(Yeah i know they have opened in NYC and DC but LA s still the hotspot)

THE GROVE

Science News

Childhood Memories of Father Have Lasting Impact on Men's Ability to Handle Stress

Sons who have fond childhood memories of their fathers are more likely to be emotionally stable in the face of day-to-day stresses, according to psychologists who studied hundreds of adults of all ages.

Psychology professor Melanie Mallers, PhD, of California State University-Fullerton presented the findings August 12 at the 118th Annual Convention of the American Psychological Association. "Most studies on parenting focus on the relationship with the mother. But, as our study shows, fathers do play a unique and important role in the mental health of their children much later in life," Mallers said during a symposium focusing on social relationships and well-being.

For this study, 912 adult men and women completed short daily telephone interviews about that day's experiences over an eight-day period. The interviews focused on the participants' psychological and emotional distress (i.e., whether they were depressed, nervous, sad, etc.) and if they had experienced any stressful events that day. These events were described as arguments, disagreements, work-related and family-related tensions and discrimination.The participants, who were between the ages of 25 and 74, also reported on the quality of their childhood relationships with their mother and father. For example, they answered questions such as, "How would you rate your relationship with your mother during the years when you were growing up?" and "How much time and attention did your mother give you when you needed it?" The same questions were asked about fathers. 

The research controlled for age, childhood and current family income, neuroticism and whether or not their parents were still alive.Participants were more likely to say their childhood relationship with their mother was better than with their father, with more men reporting a better mother-child relationship than women, according to Mallers. People who reported they had a good mother-child relationship reported 3 percent less psychological distress compared to those who reported a poor relationship."I don't think these results are surprising, given that past research has shown mothers are often the primary caregiver and often the primary source of comfort," said Mallers. "It got interesting when we examined the participants' relationship with their fathers and their daily emotional reaction to stress."Men who reported having a good relationship with their father during childhood were more likely to be less emotional when reacting to stressful events in their current daily lives than those who had a poor relationship, according to her findings. 

This was not found to be as common for the women in the study.Also, the quality of mother and father relationships was significantly associated with how many stressful events the participants confronted on a daily basis. In other words, if they had a poor childhood relationship with both parents, they reported more stressful incidents over the eight-day study when compared to those who had a good relationship with their parents.Mallers theorized why healthy or unhealthy relationships may have an effect on how people handle stress as adults. 

"Perhaps having attentive and caring parents equips children with the experiences and skills necessary to more successfully navigate their relationships with other people throughout childhood and into adulthood," she said.She added it was difficult to come up with a concrete theory as to why men's relationship with their father had such an influence on their emotional reaction to stress, especially since this study included adults of all ages who were raised during very different eras in the United States."The role of fathers has changed dramatically from the time the oldest participants were children," added Mallers. "We do know that fathers have a unique style of interacting with their children, especially their sons. We need more research to help us uncover further influences of both mothers and fathers on the enduring emotional experiences of their children."

Culled from ScienceDaily (Aug. 13, 2010)

SOLARA KNIGHT S CRUSH OF THE MONTH - TREY SONGZ

All this 6 feet 2 box of goodies is the latest R&B Sensation rocking Solara 's world.
Enjoy xxx























He s Currently the Face of Jay Z s clothing line RocAwear

Pheww........

VOGUE SEPTEMBER 2010 FALL ISSUE

Halle Berry is Vogue’s September Cover Girl

September just got more gorgeous!

It’s been years since Halle Berry has done an interview or shoot for a magazine and although she told her publicist “I’m not going to talk any more. I’m just going to live my life and be who I am” when Vogue came knocking and asked the Oscar-winning beauty to grace the cover of its September Issue, she couldn’t resist. “What that means for a woman of colour and what that means in the fashion world, what that means to pop culture….there was no way I could say, ‘No I’m not going to be on the biggest issue of the year’,” she said. Halle is the first Black woman to grace the cover of the iconic issue since Naomi Campbell in 1989.

 In an accompanying article, Halle is as sassy as she looks in the cover shoot (get it hair!) as she talks about breaking up with her boyfriend Gabriel Aubry and her daughter Nahla amongst other topics. One random fashion revelation: Halle loves to be in the buff! “If the world wouldn’t persecute me, I’d take nude pictures every day of the week,” she said. There’s a lot of people who would be just fine with that! But she looked amazing–fully clothed–in beautiful gowns like the Giorgio Armani black velvet cocktail dress below.

The Oscar-winning actress also shared that she’ll be shooting a film , Shoe Addicts Anonymous, which she describes the  The First Wives Club—but about shoes. “Shoes are sort of a metaphor for these women all coming together and dealing with who they are—in their 30s and 40s.” Halle + fab shoes? We die! Take a look at the heels she’s wearing underneath the Escada dress below! 

Ms. Bery is picture perfect in this Vera Wang amber draped velvet corset top and skirt and  Lorraine Schwartz diamond-and-black jade earrings. How has she managed to look practically the same as when she first started her career?

More Black Models featured inside a 6 page editorial titled 'We Are The World'. The first images of a wide group of models including Joan Smalls, Jourdan Dunn, and Lais Ribeiro.

The girls were photographed by Steven Meisel for and styled by Edward Enninful in plush furs and florals fashioned into ensembles that mirror the nomadic trend from this fall’s runways. 

IF YOU NEED A GOOD CRY................... READ THIS

The Mohammed Lawal Story

Posted on Wednesday, August 11th, 2010 at 9:51 AM

By Tari Ekiyor

About 2 years ago, I wrote an article about Mohammed Lawal, which was published on Nigeria Village Square.

I described him in that article, but I didn’t share the full story of my experience with him. I saw Mohammed again yesterday, and felt inspired to share everything with you here.

Mohammed Lawal stands on the curb of the service lane around the Town Planning junction of Ikorodu Road, and sometimes at the busy Maryland intersection, here in Lagos.

You might know him; he is an albino with a terrible skin condition. He squints at the road users as they pass by, using his towel or his hand as a shield to protect himself from the penetrating rays of sunlight which most likely,  is responsible for his condition in the first place.

Mohammed has pus oozing out of the breakages on his face, some hard and dried up after hours of building up. His eyes are watery pools of yellow liquid and his skin is red from the harshness of the sun’s effect on it.

With his hands held out, he shuffles toward the cars waiting at the intersection for the traffic light to turn green. And what a wait it is, where three minutes becomes like thirty to the driver and passengers of the vehicles, as they dread the moment when Mohammed will get to their own car.

By the force of my will, I command the traffic lights to change quickly because in all sincerity, Mohammed Lawal is definitely not a pretty sight to behold, or worse still to have hovering over your vehicle window.

Day after day, road users taking that route have to steel themselves for the short period that they will be confronted by Mohammed as he begs for alms.

As an observer of Mohammed’s routine, and people’s reactions to him, I have come to the conclusion that the hands he stretches out in front of passers-by to receive alms, is indicative of his primary desire; to receive acceptance from the world around him.

The need for acceptance is a legitimate need that we are all born with; our entire socialisation process is simply a machinery to serve the communal need of a people who need to be accepted.

Satisfying that need is harder for some than others; rejection, especially in childhood, creates a deep void which will take an almost impossible level of acceptance to fill.

This spurs us to search for newer and most times illegitimate means to satisfy this need.

For someone like Mohammed Lawal, who has such a condition that makes him repulsive to even the most tender-hearted of individuals, finding acceptance from people has most likely been his lifelong quest; the irony is that like a lot of us, he may not even know it.

That is one of the harshest tricks that life plays on us. The truth of our situation is often within us, but we are conditioned to believe that the answer to the question we don’t even know is somewhere out there, so we embark on a search in futility.

Rejection, in Mohammed Lawal’s experience, is possibly as normal to him as the sensation of pus dripping down his face.

It is the story of his life.

Daily he comes out reaching out again to a world that rejected him yesterday. With hands outstretched, he resembles an apparition from a bad horror movie, seeking acceptance from people who shrink back in fear and disgust as he approaches them.

Nonetheless, Mohammed is there the next day, and the day after, hoping that one day someone reaches out and takes his hand, validating him as a fellow human being sharing in the suffering that we all experience.

However, unlike you and I who may have either built a wall of defence around ourselves to protect us from the world’s rejection, or betrayed our own selves just to find acceptance, Mohammed comes out everyday just as he is; repulsive as even he knows he looks, and stretches out his hand.

For that reason, Mohammed Lawal is my hero.

People ask me all the time from where I get the ‘strength’ to allow myself be so vulnerable in my writing. I laugh; if only they know the way I shiver in fear when I’m writing about my weaknesses, my experiences, my pain, my shame, and every other thing that makes me a candidate for Mass Rejection.

God gives me the Strength.

His total acceptance of me in spite of me, gives me confidence that no level of affirmation or acceptance from people can contend with.

In Mohammed Lawal, I recognised a Brother; a Comrade; a potential Friend.

So I decided that I was going to be that person who would hold his hand. And I did.

I walked up to Mohammed, my heart pounding in the fear that up-close, I would see his face in its full repulsive state, or be infected by the pus from his face, which he touches, when holding his hand.

Every heart-pound of fear inspired my next footstep and soon, I stood right in front of my Hero.

I reached out and I held his hand. I squeezed his hand…it was soft.

I looked into his eyes, and he lifted them and looked right back at me. Then Mohammed smiled at me.

In that precise moment, I saw HIM. I saw his beauty; I saw the person the veil covered; I saw the child of God his skin condition and a lifetime of Rejection had masked.

Mohammed Lawal is a beautiful sight to behold.

We talked…I introduced myself. He told me his name and thanked me for the lunch I had brought him. I thanked him for something he may never understand.

I will visit Mohammed again soon. I hope he remembers me. I know I can never forget him.

He is my Hero.

Photo Credit: www.marketplace.veer.com


Culled from bellanaija.com