Who needs “The View” when you got T-Pain’s mama, Lil Wayne’s mama, and Ne-Yo’s mama (l-r in above pic) to dish the goods for you?  These ladies have apparently gotten together to do a “dinner time talk show” of the sorts.  Here’s what this ish will be about:

Aliyah “Mama Pain” Najm (T-Pain‘s mother), Jacida Carter (Lil Wayne’s mother) and H. Loraine Smith (Ne-Yo’s mother) will serve as hosts of Dinner Table Discussions, which aims to present a quality and informative program.

According to the women, their aim is to create a show that will enhance their viewers “educationally, economically, socially and culturally,” by discussing current events, important topics, interviews and feature segments.

“Our vision is to be a premier talk show that delivers a creative and informative format that assists viewers in educating and solving challenging issues,” Najm said in a statement.

“There are situations in our communities, cities, states and even nationwide that people have made us aware of and they want to resolve the issues, but they just don’t know where to get help or how to properly handle certain issues,” Najm said.

In addition to discussing relevant topics, Dinner Table Discussions will also provide solutions for young people as well.

Dinner Table Discussions is scheduled to launch in 2010.

T-Pain Tweeted the above pic earlier.  This ought to be interesting…to say the least…

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There’s another First Lady we feel the need to spotlight. Her name is also Michelle, she’s also a lawyer, has fab kiddies, is well known for her fashion steps amongst the socialites in D.C., and her husband is a powerful politician. But her last name is Fenty. Essence did a featurette on the other First Lady of D.C. Michelle Fenty. And you know we love talking about fab chicks. So check it out here.

We were secretly hoping we’d see Michelle around D.C. filming “Real Housewives of D.C.” But y’all know Mayor Fenty probably wasn’t feeling that.

In other fab chick news, Halle Berry is receiving the prestigious Sherry Lansing Leadership Award at The Hollywood Reporter’s 18th Annual Women in Entertainment Breakfast Presented by Lifetime. The star studded event will go down December 4th at the Beverly Hills Hotel. Here’s a snippet from the press release:

Berry joins past recipients Barbara Walters, Meryl Streep, Jodie Foster and Glenn Close in receiving the Sherry Lansing Leadership Award for her trailblazing within the industry and for her generosity in giving back to the community at large.

“The complex role that Halle Berry plays in life as a successful, versatile entertainment professional who is committed to furthering the well-being of others, especially minorities, is as inspiring as are her film roles,” said Guider. “The recognition is also wonderfully fitting in a year in which diversity has been embraced and rewarded at the highest levels of our government and culture.”

Berry has worked consistently since Spike Lee’s “Jungle Fever” brought her national attention. In 2001, the world cheered when she became the first African American woman to take home the Best Actress Oscar® for “Monsters Ball.”

A pioneer as a performer, she is also the national spokesperson for the Jenesse Center , a non-profit organization that provides support to heal families victimized by domestic violence.

Congrats to Halle.

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Basketball legend Kareen Abdul-Jabbar has just made it public that he Cancer (CML, a rare form of leukemia). And he’s telling his story now, after a year of battling in private, because he wants everyone in his shoes to take care of themselves properly:

“Having lost one of my closest friends to a different, highly aggressive form of leukemia, I knew how serious my diagnosis was,” said Abdul-Jabbar, 62. “My own life expectancy became a question mark.”

Abdul-Jabbar, the NBA’s all-time leading scorer, won five championships with the Los Angeles Lakers before retiring in 1989. He was diagnosed with CML in December 2008 and is being treated with a medicine that targets the abnormal protein that causes his leukemia. With treatment, Abdul-Jabbar, who currently is a coach with the Lakers, is expected to live a full, active life.

“I’m telling my story to encourage fellow patients to take charge of their health,” he said. “Work closely with your doctor, monitor your disease and, above all, take your medicine.”

Source

Our hopes and prayers go out to Mr. Jabbar.

Sounds like Chris Brown has a whole team of men on his side. The National Coalition For Men has just put out a statement stating they stand by CB. And they are calling for Rihanna to fess up about her reported violence against Chris as well:

LOS ANGELES/EWORLDWIRE/Nov. 5, 2009 — Pop singer Rihanna recently made a widely publicized statement to Glamour Magazine that she wants to “shed light on the reality of domestic violence.” The National Coalition For Men (NCFM) calls on Rihanna to discuss her own reported violence against Brown as well if she wants to shed light on the problem honestly.

According to court records and other sources, Rihanna struck Brown in the face “numerous times” before Brown assaulted her (’http://news.ninemsn.com.au/entertainment/768865/rihanna-hit-chris-brow…’). NCFM purports although that would not justify his more severe assault, her violence should not be ignored, and if she does not “woman up” to it then her message will be the usual one-sided double standards that leave female perpetration covered up.

The saying, “There is no excuse for domestic violence,” applies to both sexes. Female violence in relationships is not rare but is often hypocritically deemed acceptable or humorous, such as in the film, Sideways. It is part of the cycle of domestic violence, which cannot be stopped without addressing the problem honestly. Children are damaged just by witnessing domestic violence, regardless of its severity.

A 32-nation study by the University of New Hampshire found women are as violent and as controlling as men in relationships worldwide (’http://www.unh.edu/news/cj_nr/2006/may/em_060519male.cfm?type=n’,
‘http://pubpages.unh.edu/~mas2/ID41E2.pdf’).

A major study funded by the Centers for Disease Control found one-fourth of heterosexual relationships had violence and: “half (49.7%) of those were reciprocally violent. In nonreciprocally violent relationships, women were the perpetrators in more than 70% of the cases.” (’http://www.ajph.org/cgi/content/abstract/97/5/941′)

The same study also found “while injury was more likely when violence was perpetrated by men, in relationships with reciprocal violence it was the men who were injured more often (25% of the time) than were women (20% of the time).” (’http://pn.psychiatryonline.org/cgi/content/full/42/15/31-a’)

Over 200 studies now confirm the same thing, that “women are as physically aggressive, or more aggressive, than men in their relationships with their spouses or male partners,” as California State University Professor Martin Fiebert shows in his online bibliography at ‘http://www.csulb.edu/~mfiebert/assault.htm’. This data is more reliable than criminal justice data because men are less likely to report the violence or to respond positively to crime surveys because society still does not consider female violence as much of a crime.

If Rihanna sincerely wants to raise awareness about domestic violence, NCFM calls on her to be forthcoming about her own violence and to address the problem honestly.

To learn more about the National Coalition of Free Men, contact Marc Angelucci at 626-319-3081

VERY interesting…

Well looky here. Alicia Keys just announced via a press release that she is kicks off “The Element of Freedom: The Lecture & Performance Series” at New York University’s Skirball Center for the Performing Arts on Wednesday, October 21. Named after her upcoming album THE ELEMENT OF FREEDOM, this unique lecture and performance series offers the opportunity for students studying music and other entertainment fields to obtain first-hand information from Keys on how she applies the element of freedom into her creative process and life in general. It’s not open to the public.

Alicia’s comments:

“For the first time in my recording career, I think I’ve finally found an understanding of the creative process by just allowing myself to be free. I took a totally different approach for this album and didn’t confine myself in a studio or allow myself to be negatively affected by deadlines, which can hinder any creative spirit. I’ve found a freedom and flow that I try to implement everyday. Hopefully the points discussed during these lectures will resonate with the students as they continue to find and define their creative process and style.”

Hmmm….

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UPDATE: Now there’s video that the FAMILY took of them releasing the balloon into the air “on accident”:

And the 911 call is here.

Former “ATL Housewife” Deshawn Snow had yet another failed charity event this week. And she never paid up for what she promised:

Now two groups supporting the education and socialization of young girls have gone without their promised payday.

Weak ticket sales and sponsorship bailouts dimmed the light on Snow’s “Night of A Thousand Stars Gala 2009” in August in the swank ballroom of Twelve Hotel in Atlantic Station. The special event, which featured VIP tables carrying a $6,500 price-tag, was supposed to benefit Snow’s foundation, Ivy Preparatory Academy, an all-girls charter school, and Girls Inc., a club empowering young ladies to achieve.

Two months after the fancy Atlantic Station gala, however, neither group received a dime from Snow, wife of former NBA player Eric Snow, or a call explaining why, officials said.

“I have not heard from Snow at all, I have not heard from the foundation,’’ said Nina Gilbert, head of school for Ivy Prep, which has 310 sixth and seventh graders. “At this point, I have been shocked by a lot less.’’

Source: AJC

Wow.

On a happier note, Balloon Boy (Falcon Heene) was found safe at his home–hiding in a box in his attic. Apparently he was never in the balloon. My mother would have her switch and hand READY for my ass had I pulled this stunt.

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