The Michael Jackson Funeral: Race, Celebrity and How Far We've Come @3:22 PM
• "It was Michael Jackson that brought blacks and whites and Asians and Latinos together." Al Sharpton, today, at Michael Jackson's public memorial.
• "Chris Brown stunned onlookers with a giant pendant that spelled out the word 'OOPS!' in diamonds after the Sean Combs 'Malaria No More' White Party." July 7, 2009, The YBF.
• "Only 2 percent of the nation's 4.8 million teachers are black men." July 4, 2009, Washington Post.
• "Less than 18% of [African-American] adults 25 and over have a bachelor's degree, and 200 women graduate from college for every 100 men." March 25, 2009, Detroit Free Press.
• "The employment rate among African-American men aged 20 to 24 is now just 51 percent, as opposed to 68 percent during the late 1990s. For African-American teens, it's just 14 percent." March 16, 2009, Christian Science Monitor. 9
Study: Popular People Are Popular @11:26 AM
Science says: "Prominent people stay popular for longer than they ought to because they serve as conversational fodder, which in turn drives more media coverage." 1
Brand Management: The Golden Head Butt @3:34 PM
Picture it: Dressed to the nines (or, at least, the sevens) navigating the crowd—feeling important. A bump! Words. The nearly still atmosphere gives way to a short, powerful burst of moving air. Smash! An all-too-close thud, triggering a high-pitched buzz in the ears, silencing Lady Gaga's "Just Dance" (which was triumphantly playing on repeat). Yes, it's difficult to get behind the bridge of somebody's nose, milliseconds before being smashed by Kiefer Sutherland's forehead. As you probably know, only designer Jack McCollough wonders no longer what that experience is like. READ MORE 6
'Vanity Fair' Entirely Fails To Profile Jessica Simpson @12:15 PM
Finally! Vanity Fair has done the definitive, intelligent profile of Jessica Simpson! READ MORE 10
Jason Statham Finally Praised @2:08 PM
It's high-time there was a long appreciation written about Jason Statham. I do not care why particularly, I just love him. 6
The April Issue of 'Elle' @1:17 PM
Reports intrepid Elle reader Emily Gould, whilst at the pedicurist: "The Reese Witherspoon profiler, as per Reese Witherspoon usual, had to try to make a story out of how Witherspoon has become an expert at being completely opaque to reporters. They met in a courtyard outside Reese's production company, Reese was late, there was some confusion about salads, one assistant ushered the reporter in and another told Reese when it was time to leave, and in the meantime they talked about absolutely nothing." And more. 1
Who Knew Drea De Matteo Was A Bitch? @8:53 AM
Obviously everyone everywhere is turned inside out by this week's Us story on Lindsay Lohan. Particularly because—wait, what? "'Everyone's turned on me,' says the actress. She tells the magazine that the night of the Chateau showdown, Nicole Richie walked by her and said 'Uck,' and Drea De Matteo said, 'Come at me, bitch.'" Okay, for one thing, Drea De Matteo 1) doesn't work any more and 2) has like a 15-month-old baby, and what is she doing out? Oh and third of all: "Joey"? What the hell? 3
