Oldfashion: January 2011

Monday, January 3, 2011

Celebs Ring in the 2011 New Year: Monica, Rihanna, Kim Kardashian, Angela Simmons, Demi Moore

Saturday, January 1, 2011

Our favorite R&B singer Monica spent New Year’s Eve rockin’ with her kids, Melo and Lil Rocko, at the #LAKESHOW at the Staples Center last night. Her man, Shannon Brown, helped lead the Lakers to a 102-98 win over the Philadelphia 76ers.

Afterwards, Lakers reserve forward Matt Barnes posed with his teammate Shannon Brown’s stepsons, Melo and Lil Rocko! Even though Monica and the kids have all but moved in with Shannon on the west coast, she still spends time in Atlanta with her family and friends. And Lil Rocko will finish up the 2nd grade in an Atlanta private school, where he prefers to be known as “Rod” – short for Rodney. I think it’s great that Monica (who is an exceptional mommy) allows Lil Rocko the autonomy to call himself whatever he wants. He’s at that age (5) where most children begin the lifelong journey to discover themselves.

Everyone’s favorite pop singer Rihanna rang in the New Year with her bestie Melissa Forde, right, at Pure night club inside the Ceasars Hotel in Las Vegas, last night.

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By the end of the night, Rihanna — who reportedly took home over $100,000 for her appearance — was a little tipsy. But her bestie, Melissa, kept an eye on her all night – and besides that, RiRi wasn’t driving.

Good news kiddies: I have been promised an interview with Rihanna in 2011! RiRi loves Sandrarose.com and she knows how much you LOVE her! My best interview of 2010 was with music producer Polow Da Don. Normally, I avoid interviewing celebs. But Polow made it so easy! I didn’t even have to ask any questions. He told me everything I wanted to know. Let’s hope Rihanna is as forthcoming!

The most despised female rapper in the world, Trinidadian-born Nicki Minaj, rang in the New Year at an “All Pink Everything” party at Mansion in South Beach Miami. The singer showed up wearing a rainbow wig and quilted leather dress.

One day after she was photographed sporting braids extensions in LA, socialite Kim Kardashian went back to wearing her glorious straight extensions. Kim realized quickly that the braids extensions weren’t working for her. With her hair back to normal, she was picked up by a limo and taken to the airport in Los Angeles where she flew out to Las Vegas to host a New Year’s Eve party at Tao in the Venetian Hotel in Las Vegas.

Rev. Run’s buxom daughter, Angela Simmons, showed off her ample curves for the paparazzi and other beachcombers. She spent New Year’s Eve with friends on a beach in Miami.

Don’t you wish your grandmother looked this hawt?! Actress Demi Moore celebrated the New Year with her husband Ashton Kutcher (not pictured) on board a multimillion dollar yacht off the shore of St. Barts yesterday. The 48-year-old looked stunning in a skimpy string bikini while her 32-year-old hubby was decked out in white shorts and a white tee.

Photos: Splash News Online and Wireimage/Getty

Posted By Sandra Rose In

?Celeb Candids, Celeb Kids, Celeb News, Celebrity Baby, Celebrity Seed, Cute Kids, Fashion, Holiday Fun, Monica, Photos of the Day, Rihanna, Sports ?

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The Best of Open Culture 2010

in Most Popular, Random | December 29th, 2010 Leave a Comment

That’s it. We’re putting a wrap on 2010. We’ll hit the ground running again on Monday. But, until then, we leave you with a handy list of our favorite and most popular posts from 2010, all ordered in a rather random way. If you crave a little more Open Culture goodies, you can always browse through?our complete archive here, and follow us on Twitter,?Facebook, and RSS. Hope you have a safe, happy and prosperous New Year!

More to come Monday…

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Sandrarose.com’s Best photoshopped Photos of 2010

Saturday, January 1, 2011

It’s the New Year, which means it’s time for another one of my Best Photoshopped Photos of the Year posts!

Initially, I began merging photos together as a way of illustrating my posts — and because I couldn’t find decent photos of those artists together.

My Best Photoshopped photos became an end-of-year tradition when my loyal readers asked me to repost some of my best work. It became a challenge for my sharp-eyed readers to see if they could guess which photos were Photoshopped.

Some of these pictures are from posts I made in 2009 (I skipped that year).

The above pic of Rihanna and her ex-boyfriend Matt Kemp, are 2 separate photos that I seamlessly spliced together. This photo was very telling; it shows how much Matt hated being led around on a leash. It’s in his Nature to cheat – and he couldn’t answer Nature’s call with Rihanna’s ball and chain around his neck.

Cassie, left, and her longtime boyfriend Sean “Puffy” Combs, gazed lovingly into each other’s eyes at the Velvet Room in November. But the club was packed to capacity and the photographer had limited room to maneuver. As a result, Puffy was cut out of this picture (all you could see was his hands and the mic he was holding). But through the wonders of Photoshop, I was able to bring more of him into the picture.

I got a big kick out of seeing this photo of Monica and Trey Songz on every blog in the blogosphere, but it is 2 pictures Photoshopped together. Here’s a tip: my captions always indicate if the photo is Photoshopped.

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This image of Rihanna and Drake also fooled bloggers who didn’t read the caption.

No one guessed that these photos of Rihanna and Matt were manipulated. I saw this photo republished on a number of Rihanna fansites. In the photo on the right, Rihanna is still in the van behind Matt.

I could have done a better job putting together these paparazzi images of Rihanna and Matt Kemp, which were taken right before they broke up.

This is one of my favorites. I saw this pic of Halle Berry and Olivier Martinez reprinted on several mainstream blogs. No one guessed that the lovers weren’t really gazing into each other’s eyes. These are two separate images.

Queen Latifah, right, and her longtime love, trainer Jeanette Jenkins, always refuse to pose together on red carpets — as if they think everyone is totally oblivious to their relationship.

I don’t know if singers Ne-Yo and Jamie Foxx have beef, but they refused to pose together at the Velvet Room last year. That was no problem for my Photoshop skills.

Ditto with Mya and her former boyfriend, rapper Gucci Mane, who both partied at the same event at the Velvet Room in 2009 — but not together.

Everyone guessed this photo of Kim Kardashian kissing Kanye West was fake.

No one guessed that R&B crooners Usher, left, and Jimmy Cozier weren’t really this close at a party in NYC.

This image of Common and his former lover Erykah Badu, is another one of my favorites. Even though many of you guessed that it was manufactured.

Not everyone was fooled by this terrible pic of rappers Drake and Kanye West.

There was a man posing between rapper Yo Yo, left, and singer Tweet at the Bronner Brothers show in 2009. That’s his hand on Yo Yo’s back and you can see his shadow between them near their feet.

Surprisingly, no one guessed that this image was a compilation of rapper Bow Wow and RHOA’s Kim Zolciak’s wig. I guess I’m really that good!

Photos by: Splash News, Wireimage/Getty Images, ATLPics.net, INF Photo and Zimbio.com

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A New Year’s Benediction from Neil Gaiman

in Life, Literature | December 31st, 2010 Leave a Comment

A few days ago, we gave you Neil Gaiman’s dark animated Christmas poem. Now, it’s time for his entirely upbeat New Year’s Benediction, which has some perfect words for anyone with a creative urging. This short video was recorded last year at Symphony Hall in Boston. Best wishes to all…

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Shel Silverstein’s The Giving Tree: The Animated Movie

in Film, Literature | January 1st, 2011 Leave a Comment

Back in 1964, Shel Silverstein wrote The Giving Tree, a widely loved children’s book written now translated into more than 30 languages. It’s a story about the human condition, about giving and receiving, using and getting used, neediness and greediness, although many finer points of the story are open to interpretation. Today, we’re rewinding the videotape to 1973, when Silverstein’s little book was turned into a 10 minute animated film (now added to our free movie collection). Silverstein narrates the story himself and also plays the harmonica…. which brings us to his musical talents. Don’t miss Silverstein, also a well known songwriter,?appearing on The Johnny Cash Show in 1970, and the two singing “A Boy Named Sue.” Silverstein wrote the song, and Cash made it famous. Thanks to Mark, co-editor of the philosophy blog/podcast?The Partially Examined Life for sending these along…

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Exclusive: Polow Da Don Speaks On Rumored Keri, Ciara Collabo

Friday, December 31, 2010

Yesterday, I spoke with Atlanta music mogul Polow Da Don about a rumor he started on Twitter.com that female R&B singers Keri Hilson and Ciara were collaborating on a single slated for Keri’s next album, due to drop next Summer.

Polow told Sandrarose.com exclusively that he had a long talk with Keri, whose CD, No Boys Allowed, sold 102k in the first week. He said that as soon as the holidays are over they will head back into the studio to start working on her new album.

“As soon as [Keri's] album came out, I was like, ‘yo, we did good, you know, we survived the sophomore jinx or whatever,’” said Polow. “But now it’s time to go in and make the best music we ever made and just like, all the way connect with the people, and just take it to another level.”

Polow got the rumor mill working overtime when he took to his new Twitter page 2 days ago and tweeted: “KERI/CIARA COLABO IN 2011.”

A collabo between the gorgeous studio singers is still up in the air at this point. But Polow makes it clear that the track could become a reality after the New Year.

Polow was quick to tell me that the much-hyped animosity between Ciara and Keri was a “pretend beef.” Alluding to Ciara’s disappointing 37K in sales of her latest CD, Basic Instinct, Polow vowed to “do everything I can to help [Ciara] turn it around.”.

“Me and Ciara, we’ve always been cool through everything,” he said. “And then Monica, of course, we’re family — and her and Keri are real close.”

Polow described his artist Keri as “humble.” He said Keri still hasn’t lived down the flack she received from Ciara fans about the remix that featured lyrics supposedly dissing Ciara.

“Ciara thought she was talking about her when she wasn’t talking about her in particular,” he said. “I had a lot to do with it. I told Ciara, ‘yo, Keri didn’t even want to say half the sh*t she said in that remix.’ I just kept pushing it and pushing it, and then it leaked.

“Now it’s a whole year and a half later, and [Keri] still has to face that remix. She still hasn’t lived that down,” he said.

He continued: “I could never get Keri and Ciara on the same page. Every chance I would get – every time Ciara would want something – I would say, ‘well, you know, you need to do something with Keri. Talk to Keri,’ and she said, ‘nah, I ain’t fooling with that’ and then Keri would say the same thing.”

Polow said he slipped into his big brother role to finally bring about a positive resolution:

“Eventually, I talked to Keri, ’cause, you know, we have a good working relationship – she’s signed to my label – I said, ‘yo, you have to stop being retarded and really nip this Ciara thing in the bud.’ I said to the both of them, ‘yo, it’s somebody out there waiting on both of y’all spots,” he said.

As for the rumored collabo, Polow said Keri actually laid down a verse for a demo on Usher’s track “Hot Toddy” featuring Ciara and Jay Z, but it was never released.

Polow also discussed using his influence to help revive Atlanta’s stale music industry and the sluggish nightclub scene with the formation of a new record label, similar to LaFace Records of the 90s.

The planned venture, with producer Timberland, will infuse capital into the local economy and create new jobs. Polow has already signed a number of young talent to his Zone 4 Inc. record label.

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“It’s like the spirit and the morale of Atlanta is down,” he said. “It’s wack! We’ve fallen apart just like New York did. Atlanta was so powerful. If you look at everything that once was just 2 years ago, it’s pretty much all self-inflicted. It’s just like we destroyed ourselves. The streets are empty at 9:0′clock. Atlanta has never been this wack!”

Polow, who has always been something of a chick magnet, described the type of women he likes:

“I like pretty girls,” he said. “A pretty girl to me is classy, somebody who takes care of themselves. Somebody who goes to the clubs, is free to do what they want to do. I was never the one to glorify strippers as being the quote/unquote model. I grew up at a time when a girl used to be ashamed to be a stripper. Now strippers are bigger celebrities than the celebrities,” he said.

“I like all kinds of women,” he continued. “I do like good hair, I will tell you that,” he laughed. “If your sh*t is nappy, be creative with it, you know what I’m saying? Make it look fly some kind of way… with a short cut. I don’t know, but figure it out. Do something with it.

Polow said he would lead by example by losing “50-60 pounds minimum” and cutting his beard. “I’mma make classier music, I’m about to do this whole thing. I’m just going to cut my braids, cut my beard off, clean myself up. Every event I do is going to be so fly. If you ain’t fly, you can’t even get in!”

Photos: Wireimage/Getty

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