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Tuesday, May 6, 2014

Romance Meets Life

Romance Meets Life

Short Film - Brave by LowlaDee

Posted: 06 May 2014 09:02 PM PDT


The short film BRAVE is one of the best movies I have watched with Atala in recent times, we saw it last weekend on Dobox when we took a cinema break. The film is a 30 minutes inspirational drama starring Wole Ojo, Adesua Etomi, Diana Yekini, Pat Mohie and Funmi Sobayo. The film is written, produced and directed by Dolapo Adeleke aka Lowladee. See synopsis and watch below...



BRAVE is an inspirational short film inspired (but not based) by a true story on page 88 of T.D Jakes 'The Lady, Her Lover & Her Lord'. It is a heartfelt story based on the lives of a young couple, Nathan (Wole Ojo) and Layo (Adesua Etomi) who seem to have happiness, love and comfort. Though married for two years, Layo is beginning to worry about her failure in getting pregnant. When eventually she does get pregnant, she hides the news from Nathan, preparing to break the good news on their anniversary dinner outing in two days. Unfortunately, that night will mark the beginning of a nightmare both may not wake from, and suddenly, love is not enough
.

Enjoy and keep a tissue close!

Half of a Yellow Sun Movie Comes To The US Cinemas

Posted: 06 May 2014 07:04 PM PDT


Yay! The Half Of A Yellow Sun movie is opening in US theaters on May 16th. It will also screen at the upcoming New York African  Film Festival which opens May 7 - 13. Meanwhile, the Nigerian Film and Video Censors Board has continued to delay the showing of the movie in Nigerian cinemas, with the producers given no date for a planned classification and release.

For dates and locations where the film will be released in the US, visit the distributors website HERE.


See the new trailer below:

Monica Lewinsky Opens up on Affair With Bill Clinton to Vanity Fair

Posted: 06 May 2014 02:16 PM PDT


Monica Lewinsky writes about her affair with former President Bill Clinton in an upcoming issue of Vanity Fair for the first time in more than 10 years. She says, "It's time to burn the beret and bury the blue dress." She also says: "I, myself, deeply regret what happened between me and President Clinton. Let me say it again: I. Myself. Deeply. Regret. What. Happened."


Monica Lewinsky writes of her decade long silence, "that the buzz in some circles has been that the Clintons must have paid me off; why else would I have refrained from speaking out? I can assure you that nothing could be further from the truth"), Lewinsky, 40, says it is time to stop "tiptoeing around my past—and other people's futures. I am determined to have a different ending to my story. I've decided, finally, to stick my head above the parapet so that I can take back my narrative and give a purpose to my past. (What this will cost me, I will soon find out.)"

Clearing the Air

Maintaining that her affair with Clinton was one between two consenting adults, Lewinsky writes that it was the public humiliation she suffered in the wake of the scandal that permanently altered the direction of her life: "Sure, my boss took advantage of me, but I will always remain firm on this point: it was a consensual relationship. Any 'abuse' came in the aftermath, when I was made a scapegoat in order to protect his powerful position. . . . The Clinton administration, the special prosecutor's minions, the political operatives on both sides of the aisle, and the media were able to brand me. And that brand stuck, in part because it was imbued with power."

Job Hunting

After the scandal, writes Lewinsky, "I turned down offers that would have earned me more than $10 million, because they didn't feel like the right thing to do." After moving between London (where she got her master's degree in social psychology at the London School of Economics), Los Angeles, New York, and Portland, Oregon, she interviewed for numerous jobs in communications and branding with an emphasis on charity campaigns, but, "because of what potential employers so tactfully referred to as my 'history,'" she writes, "I was never 'quite right' for the position. In some cases, I was right for all the wrong reasons, as in 'Of course, your job would require you to attend our events.' And, of course, these would be events at which press would be in attendance."

Correcting the Record

Lewinsky writes that she is still recognized every day, and her name shows up daily in press clips and pop-culture references. She admits that she used to refer to Maureen Dowd as "Moremean Dowdy," but "today, I'd meet her for a drink." And she requests one correction of Beyoncé, regarding the lyrics to her recent hit "Partition": "Thanks, Beyoncé, but if we're verbing, I think you meant 'Bill Clinton'd all on my gown,' not 'Monica Lewinsky'd.'"

Lewinsky responds to reports made public in February that Hillary Clinton, during the 1990s, had characterized her as a "narcissistic loony toon" in correspondence with close friend Diane Blair. "My first thought," Lewinsky writes, "as I was getting up to speed: If that's the worst thing she said, I should be so lucky. Mrs. Clinton, I read, had supposedly confided to Blair that, in part, she blamed herself for her husband's affair (by being emotionally neglectful) and seemed to forgive him. Although she regarded Bill as having engaged in 'gross inappropriate behavior,' the affair was, nonetheless, 'consensual (was not a power relationship).'"

Why She's Going Public

When Tyler Clementi, the 18-year-old Rutgers freshman who was secretly streamed via Webcam kissing another man, committed suicide in September 2010, Lewinsky writes, she was brought to tears, but her mother was especially distraught: "She was reliving 1998, when she wouldn't let me out of her sight. She was replaying those weeks when she stayed by my bed, night after night, because I, too, was suicidal. The shame, the scorn, and the fear that had been thrown at her daughter left her afraid that I would take my own life—a fear that I would be literally humiliated to death." Lewinsky clarifies that she has never actually attempted suicide, but had strong suicidal temptations several times during the investigations and during one or two periods after.

Lewinsky writes that following Clementi's tragedy "my own suffering took on a different meaning. Perhaps by sharing my story, I reasoned, I might be able to help others in their darkest moments of humiliation. The question became: How do I find and give a purpose to my past?" She also says that, when news of her affair with Clinton broke in 1998, not only was she arguably the most humiliated person in the world, but, "thanks to the Drudge Report, I was also possibly the first person whose global humiliation was driven by the Internet." Her current goal, she says, "is to get involved with efforts on behalf of victims of online humiliation and harassment and to start speaking on this topic in public forums."

Source - Vanity Fair

President Goodluck Jonathan Accepts US Offer to #BringBackOurGirls

Posted: 06 May 2014 12:35 PM PDT


President Goodluck Jonathan has today accepted an offer from the United States for help in searching for the schoolgirls abducted from Chibok and all other kidnapped women and girls. It was reported that some gunmen had kidnapped eight more girls from another Borno village last night.

According to MSNBC,

"U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry spoke with Jonathan on Tuesday morning and offered to send a team to help find the abducted girls. The president welcomed Kerry's offer, said Jen Psaki, State Department spokesperson. President Barack Obama issued orders "to do everything we can to help the Nigerian government find and free these young women," Psaki added."

Boko Haram had earlier this week claimed responsibility for the abduction of the schoolgirls in Nigeria on April 14 and threatened to "sell" the young women on a human market.

Gabrielle Union Talks About Getting Married, Her New Family and Her Work

Posted: 06 May 2014 12:37 PM PDT


Actress and activist Gabrielle Union is engaged [read here] and planning a lavish wedding to Miami Heat all-star Dwyane Wade, whom she calls D. Gabrielle is 41 years old and her fiance is 9 years younger but she is very happy and looking forward to life with him and his children from a previous marriage. She spoke with Vegas Magazine about her love, life, and career.

On "Groomzilla" Dwyane Wade and Saying Yes to Multiple Dresses 

"Well, it will be smaller than the one in the movie, but it's definitely not toned down, per the wishes of my groomzilla. D's very involved in every detail. My dude is having a princess moment. Me? I did the wine tasting, and I've said yes to the dress. In fact, I've said yes to a few of them. That's the joy of getting married to a man who loves clothes and wardrobe changes: You can have more than one dress."

Being Mary Jane on TV

"She is a complicated character," Union says, "and I think what makes her so relatable is that women—at least the ones I meet—never feel they can get it right. We're so freaking hard on ourselves, setting this impossible bar." Is it even possible to have it all? "No! No! No!" she says, opening those topaz-colored eyes wide and waving her manicured finger at me. "You can't have everything."

On Feeling Like an Outsider and Hitting Rock Bottom 

"My dad told me, 'You gotta be bigger and badder and better than the next woman, just to be considered even.'" As one of just a handful of African American girls at her high school in Pleasanton, California, she grew up feeling isolated. "I felt like I had to become a chameleon," she says, acting one way with her white friends and another for people in her community. "Even as a popular girl, I was always looking through the window and very afraid of being exposed. I just wanted to assimilate and fit in."

But as Union was making her way in Hollywood, winning parts in movies such as Bring It On and Ten Things I Hate About You, her self-described "slick mouth" and penchant for "bagging on others" were earning her few friends in the business. Her outspokenness damaged her reputation, which was further compromised by a perfect Tinseltown storm. In 2005, her first marriage, to NFL star Chris Howard, began its descent into divorce; her network series Night Stalker was canceled; her agent's phone was no longer ringing off the hook; and she felt she had hit rock bottom. "I felt destroyed," she says. "I literally went under the bed with my dog and just stayed there."

On Finding Her Voice and Standing Up for Victims of Sexual Violence 

In 2013, in a courageous speech before a crowd of prominent African American women—including her hero, Oprah Winfrey—at the Essence Black Women in Hollywood pre-Oscars luncheon (where Union received the Fierce and Fearless Award), she talked honestly about her mean-girl treatment of other women.

After decrying Hollywood's lack of roles for African American women and stressing the need to strengthen, not weaken, each other, Union left the stage to a thunderous standing ovation. Her public commitment to support other women and to become a voice for those who can't speak for themselves relaunched her career and revitalized her life. She began speaking about the women who had influenced her—women who had provided a positive role model when she was struggling.

Crediting Winfrey with saving her life, Union talks openly about having been raped at age 19, when she was closing up the shoe store where she was working. She had seen a show that Winfrey had moderated on what to do if you're the victim of a violent crime. Channeling the talk-show host's voice, Union verbally engaged her attacker and was able to grab his gun. He ran and was later arrested and incarcerated. To this day she continues to lobby for victims of sexual violence, to advocate for rape crisis centers across the country, and to publicly give thanks to Winfrey.

The Strong Women Who've Shaped Her 

Union also has high praise for Viola Davis, an actress who mentored her, teaching her that she had a voice—and how to steal a scene: "We were on this medical series together, City of Angels. She played a nurse, and I would watch her file papers. And she was mesmerizing. Her filing papers was pulling focus from Blair Underwood doing surgery. She is incredible."

Union's transition to activism was fully realized when her best friend from high school, Kristin Martinez (aka Sookie), died at 32 from metastatic breast cancer. "At the end, Sook turned to me and whispered, 'Don't let my death be in vain. I'm passing the baton. Don't drop it, bitch.'" Union promised her BFF that she wouldn't and, true to her word, she became a Circle of Promise national ambassador for Susan G. Komen for the Cure, speaking up all over the world for women living with breast cancer.

Mention her mother, Theresa, and Union's voice gets soft, her eyes teary. "For years I didn't get her," she says. "But it was my mom who got up the courage to walk away after 30 years of an unhappy marriage. She handled her divorce with dignity, and she never asked my father for a dime. As her daughter, I asked, 'Why? You're gonna start over?' And she said, 'I went from my father's house to your father's house. I want to get my own house.' I learned a valuable lesson: Take the high road and move on." And that is exactly what Union has done.

The Family She Didn't Plan For But Can't Imagine Living Without  

"We were at the construction site in Miami where we're building our dream home—aka the money pit," she says. "I was wearing my Prada combat boots, no makeup, and D had a videographer recording the whole thing. I went from no kids to D getting full custody, and the next day we had a full house. So it was instant. Our lives never skipped a beat. When you're someone who goes from never having thought about birthing her own babies to a ready-made family that has immediate needs and wants and desires, your life takes a back burner. If I were lucky enough to have one come out of my body, then great, I'd be totally open to that. But D's kids are more than just part of the wedding. They are part of my life. They're a package deal."

What's the biggest challenge in marrying a younger man? 

"Music. It's tragic. I was in my Jersey Boys fixation, listening to Frankie Valli. And he says, 'Who's this?' I love Shania Twain. 'Who's that?' We're planning the music for the wedding and who we want to perform. I'm like, 'Patti LaBelle.' He's like, 'Ariana Grande.' Our compromise is Beyoncé. Just a lot of Beyoncé and Jay Z. They're the middle ground in our household," she says with a sigh.

How She's Writing Her Own Happily Ever After 

"Still, I make mistakes," she admits. "And my life is in process. But I know certain things. I feel a responsibility to the people I work with. So I don't do late. I don't do bad attitude. I don't do 'Those eggs aren't right.' You don't fall out. Come prepared. You be a decent human being. And it's like Will Smith told me: 'Family first.' Nothing comes before family."

"When I first came out from under the bed, my coach had me write down 10 things that made me happy. All I came up with was ground meat, imitation crab, and a cold beer. And A.J. said to me, 'Gabby, if you don't know what makes you happy, how can someone else know?' So now I finally know: a warm environment with my dude. Our family. Our friends. Our dogs. I still like a cold beer. I love my girlfriends. They all came to Vegas last year for Memorial Day weekend. I think we got through one day being reasonably respectful. It was like The Hangover, Part 6. We had a ball. 'Is that a chicken? Who brought the chicken?' We've all lived so much, you get to a place where you can let someone else be the appropriate one. I want to drink Champagne out of the bottle. Everybody should dance on the table once in a while. Life is too short."

"I'm finally good. Regardless of whatever happens, whatever comes and goes. I'm good."


Read more at Vegas Magazine

Real Housewives Shows, Blogs and Social Media To Blame For Breaking Marriages?

Posted: 06 May 2014 10:13 AM PDT


Singer Tyrese Gibson has spoken out against reality TV shows, bloggers and and social media for breaking up marriages. In a recently released personal video, the "Manology" co-author said that the media should do a better job of celebrating healthy relationships as opposed to exploiting those that are deteriorating.". Tyrese shares regular videos of his thoughts on various issues, but this is timely and very relevant in my opinion. Read him and see the video below. What do you think?


"Blogs and websites, press and media, they got a job to do. They do. But unfortunately, a lot of married couples don't end up on the cover of some of our favorite magazines until they file for divorce, which makes getting a divorce way more popular than the marriages that are actually working, that are still functioning, that are happy and beautiful,"

"There should be more magazines and more media and press attention around husbands and wives and marriages and families that are functioning and doing well. Happy, beautiful and amazing. We should highlight love and beauty and things that are working versus just being so focused on the things that aren't working. That's how I feel."

"What ends up happening is you're at home and you're looking at shows like 'The Housewives' and all of these different reality TV shows and in your mind, this reality becomes reality," he expressed. "You find yourself arguing and having issues at your house and in your marriage and in your family that are directly influenced from the sh*t that you're seeing on TV. You don't even know it."

"You, as a woman, you're sitting there watching TV and you're witnessing in which women complain and have issues and conflicts in their marriages that are filmed on a reality show. And they're directly influencing issues and conflicts that are being created in your house."

"That is not your f**ing marriage. Those are not your issues. That is not your situation. You have what you have with your husband. That is your family. Those are your kids. That is your situation that you created. So, the fact that you're allowing these outside images and reality TV shows and blogs and websites and all of this negative stuff that is being constantly fed on all social media [and] all over television everywhere to influence how you feel about your husband, your own family, or your wife is wrong."

"I believe it is a direct orchestration of the devil's work. That's how I feel. That's my opinion."
"Think of how many arguments were sparked and created from some sh*t you seen on TV."

Couple Love at the Met Gala Red Carpet

Posted: 06 May 2014 08:24 AM PDT


The Metropolitan Museum of Art holds an annual Costume Institute Benefit known as the Met Gala, and last night's event was themed, White tie and Decorations. Check out some of the couples who walked the red carpet together.
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