So sad.  It's funny, but not funny. 

This is by far the best youtube video of the day.


At the buzzer, smh.

        

That's what they did.

BUENOS AIRES (Reuters) - Furious rail commuters in Argentina set fire to a train on Thursday in anger over delays during the morning rush hour.

Television images showed black smoke and flames engulfing the train at the station of Merlo, in the western suburbs of the capital, Buenos Aires. At nearby Castelar, passengers hurled stones at the ticket office and blocked the rails.

"We understand that people get angry when the service is delayed or canceled, but they absolutely can't attack a public service in this way," Gustavo Gago, a spokesman for rail company TBA, told local television.

Many passengers said the delays, caused by a broken down train, had cost them a day's work.

Argentina's dilapidated rail services are plagued by delays and travelers' anger sometimes erupts into violence.

Last year, commuters torched a carriage at a station south of the capital and rioting broke out at a main railway station when passengers clashed with police, causing dozens of injuries and arrests.

Oh how I'd looooove to take a match to one of the many crumbling MTA disasters we call trains.

        

Yeah it's now OFFICIALLY a wrap for Astroland. 
My friend and I knew this was coming so last weekend we took a trip to Astroland and rode damn near every ride that we could (Astroland is expensive!) and had the best time ever.  I'll post pics from our field trip later.  I'm glad we did it. Riding those rides with one of my oldest friends took me back, I mean way back to elementary school days when we used to race after school let out to Astroland.  Back then the people who ran the rides were people in the neighborhood so we basically knew all the people and rode the rides for free lol.  Good times.  Saturday is supposed to be extra shitty out here in NY but if you can take a ride down to CI and take in all that is Astroland for the last time.

Coney Island's Astroland owner calls it quits; park closing Sunday forever

BY JOTHAM SEDERSTROM
DAILY NEWS STAFF WRITER 



Coney Island's world-famous Astroland Amusement Park is set to shut down once and for all on Sunday - more than a month before the amusement park season officially ends.

After months of bickering with developer Thor Equities over the renewal of a lease, Astroland owner Carol Hill Albert announced she had no choice but to pull the plug.

"I have not given up on Coney Island as Thor Equities has stated," said Albert, who employs 75 year-round employees and 275 seasonal workers. "I have given up on trying to get Thor to negotiate, which I have attempted to do every month since June, and numerous times in August."

The park, which would normally close Oct. 13, had teetered dangerously close to shuttering ever since Thor purchased it in 2006, despite a public push to keep it open until a larger plan for the area was approved by the city.

Albert said the decision was based on a concern for her employees and the amount of time it takes to pack up the rides and games now operating at the 3.1-acre park.

"My employees cannot live in a state of limbo any longer," Albert said in a statement.

The brinksmanship between the two had been bubbled under the surface, but it exploded last week when Astroland lawyer Sid Davidoff sent a letter threatening to shut down the park unless Thor approved a two-year lease agreement.

Coney Island Development Corp. President Lynn Kelly said Astroland's closing illustrates the importance of wrapping up and approving an ambitious zoning plan by the city.

"This further underscores the need for the city's comprehensive rezoning plan as the only hope for preserving the amusement area and bringing the necessary jobs, infrastructure and affordable housing to the neighborhood," Kelly said.

Thor spokesman Stefan Friedman blasted Albert and suggested she was the one leaving Coney Island high and dry.

"We are extremely disappointed that Carol Albert has decided to give up on the future of Coney Island when her current lease isn't even up for a number of months," Friedman said. "However, Coney Island will be fully open for business in the Summer of 2009 with amusements, games, shopping and entertainment galore."

        

I like my job, I get free liquor lol. 

I tried some organic liquor today. What's organic liquor? Basically liquor that's made without artificial fertilizers, chemicals and pesticides.  Same concept as organic food.

This is Cucumber flavored organic Vodka from a company called Crop.

I'm not a drinker but I have to say this stuff is pretty good.  It's a lot smoother than regular Vodka.  It has a very light and clean taste.  It is a bit more expensive than the regular stuff because it takes more to make it but you get what you pay for right?  I have to say I think I'm a fan.

        

Give a listen here.

Pure comedy.


"Yeah Sandra, show some chest, we want to give them a good show here."
"Say hi to Arkansas..."

I have to read up on this chick over the weekend before I go in on her.

        

I love it.  This has to be one of my favorite movies, ever!  I know the entire movie by heart, word for word...seriously.



Carry on!

        

WOW.

How did this slip through the cracks?  Damn I miss Lauryn. smh.

LAURYN HILL "WORLD IS A HUSTLE"

        

If you ask, me the ladies held it down this summer.  Her are a few albums that kept me afloat.

Santogold Self titled

Stand outs: Starstruck, Creator, L.E.S Artistes, My Superman, Anne, I'm a Lady.
Seriously I knew from the moment I heard the Creator remix that this chick would be a problem.


Solange "Sol-Angel and the Hadley Street Band"
Stand outs: T.O.N.Y., Would've Been the One, Valentines Day, Ode To Marvin, I Decided, Champagne Chronik Night Cap

Solangel is the total opposite of her big sis and I love it!  A real breath of fresh air.


BTW I'M SOOOOOOO FEELING THE REMIX TO FUCK THE INDUSTRY, SIGNED Sincerely FT. WALE!!!!
"See sex sells so pussy niggas be going gold"...Wale for president!!


Janelle Monae "Metropolis :The Chase Suite"
Very different indeed but after I saw this chick performe, I was hooked.

Stand outs: Sincerely Jane, Many Moons, Mr. President, Letting Go (not on the Itunes EP) and my fav, Smile!


Jean Grae "Jeanius"

OMG this is hip hop.  I'm addicted to this album.  Classic, nuff said.

Standouts:  I can honestly listen to this album from start to finish with no problem but if I had to pick I'd say Don't Rush Me, Time is Now, My Story, American Pimp, This World and Love Thirst.

        

PHARCYDE PASSIN ME BY

        

You may not know his name, but you know his voice, just think of every movie trailer that you've ever seen.  That guy's voice that you always hear, yeah him.




 Don LaFontaine, the man who popularized the now loved-catch phrase, "in a world where..." and lent his voice to thousands of movie previews, has died. He was 68.

LaFontaine died Monday at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center from complications in the treatment of an ongoing illness, said Vanessa Gilbert, his agent.

LaFontaine made more than 5,000 previews, called trailers, in his 33-year career while working for the top studios and television networks.

In a rare on-screen appearance in 2006, he parodied himself on a series of U.S. television commercials for a car insurance company where he played himself telling a customer, "In a world where both of our cars were totally under water..."

In an interview last year, LaFontaine explained the strategy behind the phrase.

"We have to very rapidly establish the world we are transporting them to," he said of his viewers. "That's very easily done by saying, 'In a world where ... violence rules.' 'In a world where ... men are slaves and women are the conquerors.' You very rapidly set the scene."

LaFontaine insisted he never cared that no one knew his name or his face, though everyone knew his voice.

LaFontaine went on to work in the promo industry in the early 1960s. As an audio engineer, he produced radio spots for movies with producer Floyd Peterson.

When an announcer didn't show up for a recording session in 1965, LaFontaine voiced his first narration, a promo for the film, "Gunfighters of Casa Grande." The client, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, liked his performance.

LaFontaine remained active until recently, averaging seven to 10 voiceover sessions a day. He worked from a home studio his wife nicknamed "The Hole," where his fax machine delivered scripts.

LaFontaine is survived by his wife, the singer and actress Nita Whitaker, and three daughters.

His funeral arrangements were pending.

Here's a cool piece on him.

        

DON'T SLEEP!!!!
So what it's on the Family Channel, so what it's geared towards a teenage audience, so what I'm a big cornball for being so excited about the new season.  Kill yourself now, thank you.



Seriously this show is great, a lot better than the other stuff that's on and it's one of the few shows that I actually follow.  And oh yeah, it's comes on Tuesdays.

        

Me and my mom saw him at the garden a few years back, the funniest shit ever.
Can't wait.

        

Back to school bitches!!


I used to hate this commercial when I was in school, but I have a new appreciation for it.  This commercial is great lmao. 
Kids going back to school is like a gift and a curse, on the one hand all of these little bastards that have been roaming around aimlessly during random hours of the day will now be inside of a school building for at least a few hours, but then on the other hand they are back to school which means they now have to travel to school, which means my quiet bus/train ride in and out of the city everyday will now be disrupted by overactive, over sexual, over exaggerated, loud, arrogant, disrespectful...*sigh* little bastards.  There is nothing worse than getting on a train or bus full of rowdy ass kids on their way to or from school. 
This is reason 875 as to why I need to be on a small island by myself.

        

Dear Summer, I know you're gon miss me. 


It's a wrap for the summer, the kiddies are going back to school, summer Fridays @ work are over (they sent an email to remind us) and it's actually getting a bit nippy in the morning already.  Damn.  I hate this time of the year.  I love the summer months mainly because I hate being cold, but there's always so many things are going on in the city during the summer.  Once it's over it's like cabin fever for the next 8 months. Days are shorter, nights are colder.  People's attitudes tend to change as well.  They get a bit colder, lose that summer joy I guess. 

I had a pretty good summer.  I didn't get to go on my yearly summer getaway but I did a few cool things, saw a lot of amazing shows (check out a few @ My Experiences in the category archives to the left, to the left) met some really cool people, fell in love, with love all over again, finished my book (it's coming!), etc.

I wrote this poem a few summers ago, it was the best summer ever for many reasons and like every summer it sucked when it all came to an end.  Oh well, till next year. 

Farewell, Summer

I guess I’ll wash the summer away.
I’ll bath in the season’s last steamy waters.
I’ll wash away the sun’s rays and rinse the earth’s salt from in between my toes.
I’ll soak in children’s careless laughter, one last time.
I’ll tear down my soft summer skin along with amusement park rides and street fairs.
Tucked away while mother nature shows her coldest side.
I’ll let the water run freely down my back one last time, as I did on the warm sunny streets of the city.
I’ll lose time in the multi-colored soap filled ringlets the same way I gazed into the midnight sky with only rainbow colored fireworks to lead my trail.
I’ll let the gentle mist caress my face as the summer breeze has every early morning.
Let me swallow the season’s last sweetness.
Let my eyes wander through the ocean’s limitless boundaries once more.
Let me bask in the sunlight’s extra hours.
I’ll reluctantly soak away this summer season.
As the water rises and fills to my summer’s edge I’ll say farewell.
Farewell to a season I’ve truly seen. For the first time.

        

cause what I'm talking 'bout yall is hip hop

        

-can't sleep
-When it rains it fricking pours.  This unofficial last week of summer is kicking my ass smh.
-Did Superhead really just "retire" from being...a hoe?  Can you do that shit? lol
-Did Da Brat really get sentenced to like 3 years in prison?  Damn!! It's hard out here for a female rapper.
-I did stay up to watch history being made (Obama's speech)...and that's all I have to say about that...
-I'm feeling a bit "s" word.  Power of word is in play, if I don't say it, it wont happen, but I am starting to feel it. *sigh*
-Law and Order is that good old stand by, always there when you need it no matter the time.  Currently watching SVU episode "Poison", the mother killed her daughter by making her drink soapy water, wtf.
-Jean Grae=the truth!!! If you haven't do yourself a favor and BUY her album Jeanius.  I really JUST missed her show in NYC and I'm kind of tight about it because she seems like the type of person that rarely does shows. Next time.
-Lots of good movies coming out next month.  Ok like 3 but that's more than enough.
-I will not go to any Brooklyn parties this weekend.  I will not go to any Brooklyn parties this weekend.  I will not go to any Brooklyn parties this weekend.  I won't lol.
-Did Team Blackout (you know Rev Run's son's uhhh rap group) really only sell 210 units the first week?  Sheeeeeeeeeeeeeeet.
-BTW Charles Hamilton "Windows Media Player"...wow.  This dude really made a beat using the fricking computer clicks and sounds and uses his blog, website and his gf's blog as the chorus, gotta love it.
-I have always loved Pink:
"So What"

I didn't even know she divorced her husband until I saw this vid, sucksville.  The VOID across the arm, classic.

        

Just for kicks, a little Jeezy on this wonderful afternoon.  I think I'm a little excited about this new album dropping next week.  I'm predicting he'll sell a mil, maybe not in the first week, but he'll do damn good.  I can't fron't I've never been that big of a Jeezy fan, but ever since "I Put On" he's been tugging at my heart.  You know what it is, Jeezy has the hood appeal, I've pretty much heard the album already as I'm sure so many of you have and all the songs sound damn near the same.  You know, the same beats mixed with:
"arm and hammer on the table,
Grandma in the back,
I call her Patty cakes,
she keeps my cake stacked
HA HA...THAT'S RIGHT!!!" (I made that up folks, I need to be a rapper lmao).

It's like Young Jeezy is that ignorant shit you like, hood mentality, hug the block before my mama guilty pleasure that you can't deny and I won't.  Viva la Jeezy bitches!

Young Jeezy/Vacation

        

Damn they can get it lmao.

Check out the new vid from Common on www.thebsideshow.com

        

Saw an advance copy of this book on somebody's desk today.  Looks like a good read, to me anyway.  I like real life stories (I think I'm the only person that can watch a documentary about almost anything and find it fascinating).  I love being able to peak into the world of another person or situation.  This is something I'd def do.  Ride a bus for five years talking to different people about the way they deal with poverty and the economic crisis this state is in, then write a book about it.

How far can you get on two tacos, one Dr. Pepper, and a little bit of conversation? What happens when you're broke and you need to get to a new job, an ailing parent, a powwow, college, or a funeral on the other side of the country? And after decades of globalization, what kind of America will you glimpse through the window on your way? For five years, Kath Weston rode the bus to find out.
Weston's route takes her through northeastern cities buried under layoffs, an immigration raid in the Southwest, an antiwar rally in the capitol, and the path traced by Hurricane Katrina. Like any road story, this one has characters that linger in the imagination: the trucker who has to give up his rig to have an operation; the teenager who can turn any Hollywood movie into a rap song; the homeless veteran who dreams of running his own shrimp boat; the sketch artist who breathes life into African American history; the single mother scrambling for loose change. But Traveling Light is not just another book about people stuck in poverty. Rather, it's a book about how people move through poverty and their insights into the sweeping economic changes that affect us all.
The bus is a place where unexpected generosity coexists with pickup lines and scams, where civic debates thrive and injustice finds some of its most acute analysts. Hard-working people rub shoulders with others who rap, sketch, and story new worlds into being. Folded into these poignant narratives are headlines, studies, and statistics that track the intensification of poverty and inequality as the United States enters the twenty-first-century. If sharp-eyed observations and down-to-earth critique—of the health care system, imperialism, the state of the environment, or corporate downsizing—are what you're looking for, Weston suggests the bus is the place to find it. The result is a moving meditation on living poor in the world's wealthiest nation.




While I'm on the subject of poverty, I feel like I've been talking about it a lot lately.  Maybe it's all the election crap that's being tossed around but everyday I have a conversation with someone about poverty and the non existence of the middle class in this nation.  I feel like there is the wealthy upper class and poverty stricken lower class, there is no middle class.  You either have it or you don't.  That's what pisses me off with this whole election and politics in general (awww shit here I go).  No matter who runs for what or who wins what, black white purple or green, the president of the US will always and only represent the upper class.  Individuals like myself will never see the empty promises of whatever president is elected in office because their views and opinions only benefit those around them.  The president can't see me!!!!! Literally (more on that in another post).

        

Faith/You Used To Love Me


Awww man, 5-0.

        

See what happens when you take quality programing like "The Wire" away, I resort to Making The Band quotes
*sigh* btw my Wire recaps were classic, good shit.

Diddy gets the award for the night.  After watching this show for the past few years I've come to the conclusion that he is crazy.  Not psycho Players Club "Miron" following "Diamond" home from the club crazy (I always walk you home lmao), but the good borderline Ike Turner/Joe Jackson take you to the top crazy.  Anyhoo:

"You have 10 days for a miracle to happen".
"You better go to a club and get some black friends and learn how to bop".
Both from Puff to poor Donnie lol.

"Welcome to being the opening act, you don't get headsets you get handhelds.  Good Luck".

"That's the way to check a mic"- The only reason this stuck out in my mind is the way the Day26 guys did their mic check, they sang the Star Spangled Banner (don't quote me).  Being a studio engineer for live radio, I appreciate the little things in life like people being able to do a proper mic check. 

"BOOOOOOOOOOOOOO! BOOOOOOOOOOOO! GET THE FUCK OFF STAGE! I WANT MY MONEY BACK!" 

"Do ya'll deserve the blessing to have a number 1 album?" Reminded me of "Is Wayne Brady gonna have to choke a bitch?" lol

"Yall are gonna be the baddest chicks on this planet whether you like it or not" Eat the cake Anna Mae...smh

"Whenever ever there's a meeting in the back it's always about how we suck"- One of the DK broads

Aubrey-"Do I look like a princess?"
D Woods-"You look like an ice queen." *crickets* Awkward pause, nice.

I love that Diddy's update on his weight loss program was that he gained 2 pounds, as he ate a slice of pizza while wearing a "I am the Black American Dream" shirt (damn good concept btw, why didn't I think of that smh). This guy is made for tv I tell ya.  Wonder what his new album is going to sound like...


Carry on!

 

        

Wow, 7 years ago today Aaliyah passed in a horrible plane crash that also took the lives of 7 other passengers.  She was only 22 years old.  I'm 24, wow.  She was an amazing talent and a good person.  I remember meeting her at Fat Beats in Downtown Brooklyn.  It was around the time Romeo Must Die came out and she was doing an in store.  She was super late and her management team wanted her to wrap the in store early leaving tons of people on line without having said hi or getting an autograph or whatever (me and my friends included).  She absolutely refused to leave early and was willing to be late and penalized from whatever meeting or event she had to attend after this one.  The store made this huge announcement that she had to leave and she jumped up with the sweetest but stern voice and said "No!, These people have been waiting on line and I'm not leaving until I meet every one  of my fans."  and she did just that, I know because I was damn near at the end of the line. 
I'll never forget she had on a huge brown sweat suit and a brown bandanna.  She was GORGEOUS and so tiny.  But overall you could tell she had a good heart.  I get strong ass vibes from people (I'll tell you about it one day) but I got the best vibe from her.  I don't remember exactly what I said (this was back when I used to get nervous around celebs) but I know I thanked her for staying to see us.  She said something really sweet signed my Romeo Must Die poster (that I still have hanging on my wall to this day) and off I went.  She might have hugged me or shook my hand but I honestly don't remember. 
The industry is sorely lacking people with her grace and talent.  I loved the fact that she was herself, always.  She wore the baggy clothes, tims, hats, everything she shouldn't have in an indusrty where sex sells and her talent spoke for itself.  The Aaliyah album is still on heavy rotation in my ipod. We need a Resolution, Rock the Boat, Never No More, I Care 4 U, I Refuse, It's Whatever, I Can Be, What If, and Erica Kane just in case you were wondering.
RIP

        

Swag.

THE B SIDE SHOW
PO BOX 240-454
BROOKLYN NY 11224


I love free shit and I'm a size S in everything.


Carry on!

        

There's nothing like the beach in the morning, early morning.  Before the world has had a chance to wake.  Sea creatures are still roaming the sand, taking advantage of the emptiness.  Everything's so quiet and still and peace.  That's what I miss most about the beach as every summer season draws to a close.  Wrapping myself in the early morning mist of the sea.  Losing myself in the ocean's crash.  I hear it long after my exit and long for it during the winter and fall months.  My sign tends to pull me to the waters edge.  Who am I to fight the call?


Sea shells by the sea shore.

I'm getting pretty good with my cam...

        

Our nation was riveted as we watched thousands left to die when Katrina hit the Gulf Coast. As the national conversation turned to race and poverty, volunteerism shot way up. Folks noticed the huge disparities in our country and jumped up to do something.

Three years later, where are we? What happened to the promises to rebuild? Where do Katrina survivors live? Where are the jobs?

Trouble the Water explores these questions through the amazing story of Kim and Scott Roberts, two people from New Orleans who survived the worst of the storm, then began a long struggle to return home and rebuild their lives. The film takes audiences on a journey that is by turns heart stopping, infuriating, inspiring and empowering.

Trouble the Water won the prestigious Grand Jury prize for Best Documentary at the Sundance Film Festival, and was called "one of the best American documentaries in recent memory," by the New York Times.

Opens today in select theaters in NY and LA.

        

Yesssss!!!! lmao!



SARAJEVO (AFP) - Bosnian police have impounded a pigeon after discovering prisoners used it to smuggle drugs into one of the country's highest security jails, an official said Thursday.

"The guards suspected the animal might be involved in drug smuggling once they noticed four prisoners visibly intoxicated shortly after the pigeon landed on a prison window," Zenica prison official Josip Pojavnik told AFP.

All four inmates had tested positive for heroin, said Pojavnik, adding disciplinary proceedings had been launched against the inmates.

The drugs, he added, had probably been stuffed into tiny bags attached to the legs of the carrier pigeon, which one of the prisoners had previously been allowed to keep as a pet in his cell.

"We suspect that the pigeon carried the drugs from Tuzla," a town around 70 kilometres (more than 40 miles) northeast of Zenica in central Bosnia, he added.

The pigeon had been taken into custody by police, who have launched an investigation aimed at identifying those who had loaded it up with the drugs.

"We do not know what to do with the pigeon, but for the time being it will remain behind bars," Pojavnik said.

The incident had prompted the prison administration to consider closing down a prisoner pigeon-breeding project established in a ward of the jail as part of a rehabilitation programme, he added.

Pojavnik insisted those birds had not been involved in the incident.

A similar case of carrier pigeons being used by prisoners was reportedly uncovered earlier this year at a jail in Brazil, where the birds were being used to deliver drugs and even mobile telephones.

        

AAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!
That's how excited I am about this film



Props to CL.

        

These broads are wild for the night smh.

Officers beat guy bloody & fled: cops

BY ERIN DURKIN and ALISON GENDAR
DAILY NEWS WRITERS


Michele Anglin

Two off-duty female cops beat a man senseless, then fled and had to be tracked down and arrested like common criminals, authorities said Tuesday.

"I'm just happy to be alive right now," said Marlon Smith, who said he needed 25 staples in his head after the off-duty transit cops pistol-whipped him.

Police Commissioner Raymond Kelly said that if the charges were true, "it is a horrendous case, a horrendous situation."

Michelle Anglin, 37, and Koleen Robinson, 24, got into a shouting match with Smith when he blocked Robinson's SUV with his open car door Friday evening at E. 218th St. and White Plains Road in the Bronx.

The screaming match turned into a brawl, with Anglin spraying Smith with Mace, Robinson beating the prone man with her baton and Anglin bashing him in the head with her gun as he tried to push them away, a witness told cops.

Marlon Smith

During the fight, one of the two off-duty cops stuck her gun in his face, Smith said, but there was so much blood in his eyes by then he couldn't tell which one.

"Do you know who you are f------ with? We are the police!" one of the women yelled, Smith said.

A witness not only tried to break up the fight, but took down the license plate of Robinson's fleeing black Suburban. Cops tracked the plate to Robinson's home.

The women were arrested before they showed up for work Saturday, sources said.

"After they kicked his ass, they got back into the car and left," a source said. "Then they went to work the next day like nothing ever happened and were called into the office by [the Internal Affairs Bureau]," a source said.

The two were arraigned Sunday on criminal charges of gang assault, assault and criminal possession of a weapon.

Both have been suspended and stripped of their guns and badges. They worked at the NYPD's Transit District 12 in the Bronx.

Anglin, who joined the NYPD in January 2005, was released on $25,000 bail. Robinson, who joined the force in January 2006, was released on $10,000 bail.

"She is a very well-mannered young lady. Very beautiful," said Robinson's father, Lascelles Robinson.

"She finished her exams and did well in college. I pray for her and bless her."

        

TEVIN CAMPBELL "CAN WE TALK"

This is my song.

        

So Tuesday is officially the night to fuck with.  I almost forgot that the new season of MTB started !!  Screw yall I'm a huge fan of the Team Bad Boy drama.  We all know with every new season comes a bunch of show quotables (who can forget No Bitchassness?) so I've decided to point out a few of my favs from last night lol.

"Everybody grab your balls.  Do you feel them? Are they there?" Laurie Ann Gibson aka Boom Kat!!!
"What the crap is she doing here?" Big Mike
"Uh oh, boobies" One of the DK broads
"Come home with me and yes I'll put you to sleep, but I'll put you to sleep with a nice poem!" Boom Kat
"BOOM KAT, BOOM KAT BOOM!" (with the Michael Jackson hand move and all) who else would say this lol
""I know you're sick, you get a sick pass.  How long does it last...it's over." BOOM KAT (this chick has to win an award at the end of the season)

Carry on!

        

I swear I couldn't make this shit up if I tried.

SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico - A Puerto Rican man has been granted his wish to remain standing — even in death. A funeral home used a special embalming treatment to keep the corpse of 24-year-old Angel Pantoja Medina standing upright for his three-day wake.

Dressed in a Yankees baseball cap and sunglasses, Pantoja was mourned by relatives while propped upright in his mother's living room.

His brother Carlos told the El Nuevo Dia newspaper the victim had long said he wanted to be upright for his own wake: "He wanted to be happy, standing."

The owner of the Marin Funeral Home, Damaris Marin, told The Associated Press the mother asked him to fulfill her dead son's last wish.

Pantoja was found dead Friday underneath a bridge in San Juan and buried Monday. Police are investigating.

So many things to say aout this, so little time, smh.

        

That is a direct shot at BET lol.
IDK, when I read the title so many questions flooded my brain.  Seriously BET is trash but are we ready for a Master P cable network?  I mean this is the same man that brought us such classics as "Foolish" (which was on the other day and I had to change the damn channel), "Hot Boyz" starring every No Limit Solider and "I Got The Hook Up"...come to think about it, that movie was kinda funny lol.  ANYWAY, I'm all for positive and responsible tv content so hopefully this will work out because Lord knows we need something other than BET.



Master P launches cable network; Better Black Televsion set to debut in 2009.

Hip-hop entrepreneur Percy Miller, aka Master P, is launching a new family-friendly cable network.

Named Better Black Television, the network will provide "positive content for a black and brown culture," the company said.

BBTV, set to launch in 2009, will be a general entertainment channel running a wide range of scripted, unscripted and news programming, including drama and comedy series, movies, animation, reality, politics, sports and entertainment news, children's educational and teen programming, as well as "responsible hip-hop music and videos."

The BBTV advisory board members include Oscar winner Denzel Washington; Vault Load Films president Jim Finkl; NAACP executive director Vicangelo Bullock; NBA player Derek Anderson; cable industry veteran Prof. Sal Martino; hip-hop pioneer DJ Kool Herc; entrepreneur Olatokunbo Betiku; and real estate mogul Curtis Oakes.

BBTV's chairman and CEO Miller said he's had the vision for BBTV for several years.

"I believe that there is a market in our community for a new diverse network that provides a new brand of superior programming that caters to all aspects of television, from reality to original programming," he said.

The new channel is taking on the black-oriented cable channel BET.

Miller stressed he has "a great relationship with BET and MTV" and that he and his son, Lil' Romeo, "will continue to do work with them and support their networks."

He also acknowledged BET founder Bob Johnson.

"I remember him telling me back in the day that if you wanted to know real estate, you've got to hang out with real estate investors. If you wanted to know sports, you've got to hang out with athletes. I wanted to know TV, so I hung out with Bob and learned the TV game from one of the best in the business."

Production on BBTV's new programs has begun in California, New York, Louisiana and Florida.

The cable channel is in the process of purchasing local cable channel affiliates across the country.

"We believe TV content can be positive and responsible and still have good ratings with great content," Miller said.

BBTV's programming in the works:

-- "Sunset and Vine": Video show hosted by Vyshonn Miller and Brittany Phillips that will showcase the top hip-hop and R&B acts as well as play classic videos.

-- "One Shot Comedy Show": Comedy show hosted by Gary Johnson (a.k.a. G-Thing) featuring established and upcoming comedians.

-- "Gee Gee the Giraffe": Children's educational show. (Will air on BBTV Kids saturday morning show).

-- "Manage Your Money": Featuring financially successful people lending tips to promote financial literacy.

-- "Close to the Starz": A behind-the-scenes show that takes the viewers up close and personal to their favorite celebrities.

-- "Karma TV Show": Bilingual soap opera with an African-American and Latino cast.

-- "What's Cooking TV Show": Talk show that covers wide aspects of entertainment and current events while cooking healthy, budget-conscious meals.

-- "The Black List Movies": Film showcase featuring classic and contemporary movies, as well as original BBTV productions.

-- "Hip-Hop Garage Show": Saturday show that will play the hottest new and upcoming.