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Lil Wayne Goes to Jail

LunchtimeTraffic — Tue, 09 Mar 2010 09:06:00 GMT

Who would think it could be so difficult to get in jail? After being rescheduled three times Lil Wayne finally began to serve his prison sentence at Rikers Island yesterday. The judge gave him a one year sentence for an illegal gun possession in New York City. He could be released after serving eight months.

The rapper was allowed to enter the court building through a public entrance and the hysteria was no different from a concert scene. Last week fans said they had taken off from work and come from out of town hoping to catch a glimpse of Lil Wayne. When his court date was postponed they said they would be back.

There's something about this guy. The NY Post said he pretty much upstaged Jay Z when he joined him in concert at MSG last week. Check the source link to read the NY Times account of the court scene. Source

Betty White to Appear on Saturday Night Live

LunchtimeTraffic — Tue, 09 Mar 2010 09:05:00 GMT

Actress Betty White, 88, has confirmed to People magazine that she will be a guest on Saturday Night Live. She doesn't know when she'll appear on the show but she said it will be in the near future. The former Golden Girl is having a resurgence of popularity since she appeared in a Super Bowl Snickers commercial. Source

Rae-Lewis Thornton Living with AIDS

LunchtimeTraffic — Tue, 09 Mar 2010 09:04:00 GMT

In the early nineties Rae-Lewis Thornton helped to debunk common myths about AIDS when she began to tell her story. She was a pretty young woman who dated successful Christian men. Yet, she was diagnosed with the HIV virus as a result of unprotected sex.

Many of us met Thornton when she appeared on the cover of Essence magazine in 1994. She believes she became infected with the HIV virus around 1983. By 1992 she had full-blown AIDS. She got married during the nineties but it did not work out.

Today Rae-Lewis Thornton, 47, continues her work as an AIDS activist. She is a successful motivational speaker and ordained minister. She is currently working on her Ph.D. Thornton recently launched a jewelry line. Check the source links to see what else she's been up to.

Source
Website
Essence

Puerto Rican Day Parade Bans Captain Morgan Rum

LunchtimeTraffic — Tue, 09 Mar 2010 09:03:00 GMT

Captain Morgan, your money is no good in NYC as far as the National Puerto Rican Day Parade is concerned. After thirty years as a corporate sponsor the parade chairwoman Madelyn Lugo announced that the Captain is no longer welcome.

Lugo made her decision after the rum maker decided to move their production from Puerto Rico to St. Croix. She said Johnny Walker and Jose Cuervo can take a hike too. Those are also the parent company's brands.

Not sure of the stats but the Puerto Rican Day Parade seems to be Manhattan's biggest annual parade. It must be nice to be able to tell your sponsors thanks-but-no-thanks. Source

Regents Exams Could be History

LunchtimeTraffic — Tue, 09 Mar 2010 09:02:00 GMT

Guess what kids. New York is so cash-strapped that state education officials are considering discontinuing thirteen of the state's sixteen Regents exams as a cost-saving measure. If that happens students would only be required to pass Regents in math, science and English.

Currently students must pass four Regents exams as part of the high school graduation requirements. Teachers say the change would lower education standards. They see it as one step backward.

The Deputy Commissioner released a statement to emphasize that this is merely in the discussion stage so don't get too happy. No proposal has been made to discontinue the standardized tests. Source

Yankee Stadium Demolition

LunchtimeTraffic — Tue, 09 Mar 2010 09:01:00 GMT

The House that Ruth Built is tumbling down. Demolition began last week on the original Yankee Stadium. Many fans were disappointed by the decision to destroy the landmark and build a new ball park directly across the street but we'll get over it.

The Yankees' new home has been duly christened now that they won the World Series last year so there's no need in hanging on to two stadiums. Check the source links for photos of the demolition.

Source
Demolition
Photos

82nd Annual Academy Awards: The Winners

LunchtimeTraffic — Mon, 08 Mar 2010 09:06:00 GMT

Last night's 82nd Annual Academy Awards red carpet broadcast started at 6 PM on some networks and the show ended at midnight. That's almost a full day's work and some Oscar party viewers said it felt like it.

Avatar did not sweep the awards as expected. Instead Hurt Locker was victorious with five awards, including Best Picture and Best Director. Kathryn Bigelow is the first woman to win in the director category. Winners in primary categories are posted below. The source link maps to the Oscar website for the full list of winners.

Best Picture
The Hurt Locker

Best Actor
Jeff Bridges
Crazy Heart

Best Actress
Sandra Bullock
The Blind Side

Best Supporting Actress
Mo'Nique
Precious

Best Supporting Actor
Christoph Waltz
Inglorious Basterds

Complete List of Winners
Oscar.com

Academy Awards 2010: What They Wore

LunchtimeTraffic — Mon, 08 Mar 2010 09:05:00 GMT

This year Danny Glover asked celebrities to boycott Hugo Boss at the Academy Awards ceremony because of their plans to shut down the Ohio plant and move production to Europe. The designer's apparel was conspicuously absent from the show.

Last night's red carpet was the usual mixed bag. It would not be complete without the fashion don'ts. We included that in our links below so you can see what celebrities wore to the 82nd Annual Academy Awards presentation.

Source
MTV
ETonline Hit or Miss
ETonline Glam Shots
Hugo Boss boycott

Unplugged Returns with Adam Lambert

LunchtimeTraffic — Mon, 08 Mar 2010 09:04:00 GMT

American Idol runner up Adam Lambert will kick off the Unplugged series when it returns to VH1 this week. Several different reports say it will come on this Wednesday, March 10 but finding the show in the online TV listings is a neat trick.

We posted a link to Adam Lambert's website which gives the time as 11:30 PM on March 10. A link to the official announcement is posted as well. Both are vague. Strange promotion.

Source
Adam Lambert website
BestWeekEver

Bobby Flay Agrees to $800,000 Settlement

LunchtimeTraffic — Mon, 08 Mar 2010 09:03:00 GMT

Celebrity chef Bobby Flay has agreed to pay $800,000 minus legal fees to his Manhattan restaurant workers in order to avoid a trial, after his restaurant staffers claimed they were cheated out of wages and tips.

A federal judge has scheduled a hearing on June 22 to consider whether to approve the deal. Source

Ron Banks of the Dramatics Dies at 58

LunchtimeTraffic — Mon, 08 Mar 2010 09:02:00 GMT

Dramatics singer Ron Banks died in his Detroit home last week at the age of 58. The cause of death is reported to be a heart attack.

Banks was one of the founding members of the Dramatics R&B group which was originally named the Dynamics. Their hits during the seventies include Whatcha See is Whatcha Get, In the Rain, Be My Girl and a cover of Me and Mrs. Jones.

Detroit native Ron Banks is the fourth member of the Dramatics to pass away. He is survived by his wife and six children. Source

ABC Returns to Cablevision in the Nick of Time

LunchtimeTraffic — Mon, 08 Mar 2010 09:01:00 GMT

ABC returned to Cablevision thirteen minutes into the Academy Awards broadcast last night, just in time for customers to see Penelope Cruz announce the first award. Using the Oscars as ransom, ABC ended a two-year stalemate by pulling its shows from Cablevision at midnight on Saturday.

The terms of the deal have not been disclosed but a Cablevision source says it is "fair to our customers." Doesn't that quote contain words with opposite meaning? Source