JOURNALICIOUS! QUOTES

– Singer Brandy Norwood on romance

 

“I want to be with a man. A man. Like seriously, someone I can learn from, somebody that I can be inspired by and just look up to and just be in awe. He’s a good example for my daughter, all of these things. It has to be that or I’m going to be single forever.” (Jet Magazine)

– Media mogul Oprah Winfrey on accepting a position in President Elect Barack Obama’s new administration.

“if I was offered, I still have contractual commitments and what could I do? I do what I do best on TV every day.”
 (Associated Press)

– Motown Records legend Smokey Robinson on Michael Jackson.

 

“He is the best who ever did it. The singing and the dancing and the records-the whole package. But somewhere … he just got lost. It’s easy to do.” (Vanity Fair)

– Platinum-selling rapper 50 Cent revealing details of his tumultuous child support case with his ex-girlfriend Shaniqua Tomkins.

“She took bad information to heart. At one point I was providing her a half a million dollars a year with out any court being involved…I’m really only responsible for him and that is what she found out after I was taken to court. Her friend told her in New York state law you’re entitled to 17% but that’s up until $80,000…She looked at the Forbes and goes, ‘You robbing me.’” (‘The Tyra Banks Show’)

Singer Estelle on Grammys… and

“I don’t like pain… I’m such a wuss. I’ve decided to get them (braces) because I figure that I’ll try and get some Grammys next year, and I want to smile and not be like, ‘Oh God, my teeth!’” — Singer Estelle tells British talk show GMTV.

Prince on Politics and Religion

“Here’s how it is: you’ve got the Republicans, and basically they want to live according to this (the Bible). But there’s the problem of interpretation, and you’ve got some churches, some people, basically doing things and saying it comes from here, but it doesn’t. And then on the opposite end of the spectrum you’ve got blue, you’ve got the Democrats, and they’re, like, ‘You can do whatever you want’. Gay marriage, whatever. But neither of them is right.” — Prince shares his views on politics and religion with the New Yorker magazine.

Snoop on the Paparazzi

“I go to the areas where the paparazzi are kind of scared to go in. I’ve got some security guards (who are) kind of big so those little cameras – they just scoop them up with one hand.” — Snoop Dogg, on his clever way to outrun the paparazzi – he ducks into unsavory neighborhoods.

President-Elect Barack Obama on his new Life

 

“There seem to be more people hovering around me. On the other hand, I’m sleeping in my own bed.”

 

“NOTORIOUS” SOUNDTRACK RELEASING SOON

 

With The Notorious B.I.G.’s biopic slated to hit theaters on Jan. 16, particulars concerning the film’s soundtrack have  surfaced. According to MTV News, the soundtrack will include songs from Jay-Z, Faith Evans, Jadakiss, and Bone Thugs-N-Harmony. Bad Boy / Atlantic Records also confirmed Biggie’s son, Christopher “CJ” Wallace Jr., will be performing on a new version of One More Chance, which the label has call a “a duet.” The soundtrack hits stores Jan. 13.

ARETHA GETS DOWN FOR THE TROOPS

 Queen of Soul Aretha Franklin performed yesterday at ’The Torch of Freedom: A Holiday Tribute to Our Troops’” concert, at New York City’s Nokia Theatre. The benefit holiday concert  featured the 20-time Grammy Award winning diva performing songs from her debut Christmas album This Christmas Aretha.   Opening performances were by Kevon Edmonds of After 7.

OJ SIMPSON SENTENCED TO 33 YEARS

 

The 61-year-old Hall of Famer paid attention stone-faced, his wrists in shackles, as Judge Jackie Glass pronounced the sentence — 33 years behind bars with eligibility for parole after less than a third of that.

Seconds before, Simpson made a rambling, five-minute plea for leniency, simultaneouslng expressing regret for the robbery and trying to justify his actions.

He choked back tears as he told her: “I didn’t want to steal anything from anyone. … I’m sorry, sorry.”

The judge has continuously stated that her sentence in the Las Vegas case had nothing to do with Simpson’s 1995 acquittal in the homicide of his ex-wife Nicole Brown Simpson and her friend Ronald Goldman.

“I’m not here to try and cause any retribution or any payback for anything else,” Glass said.

ANOTHER FORECLOSURE?

 

The Real Housewives of Atlanta’s NeNe Leakes says a report that she and her husband have been evicted is “a huge misunderstanding and grossly inaccurate.”

“I am truly blessed to enjoy a wonderful life and lifestyle,” she says in a post on a Bravo blog. “We have indeed moved to another home, but we did so on our own free will. We live in an absolutely beautiful home, and we are fortunate to be able to live in the place of our choice.”

Although The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported that an eviction notice was filed Sept. 24 against NeNe’s husband, real estate investor Gregory Leakes, because he owed $6,240 in past rent on their five-bedroom home (featured on their hit Bravo show).

“Unfortunately, there are many families who are facing real foreclosures and real evictions. That is not and never was the case with us,” NeNe claims. “I know where we live and how we live, and for those blessings, I am humbly thankful.

“Without wasting time on the details, the only thing I will say is that we were NOT evicted,” she goes on. “Everybody knows that I like to be honest, real and upfront. If something was wrong, I would tell you!”
YEAH, RIGHT

COMMON AND CEE-LO ON “ELLEN”

USHER’S NEW BABY

 

Usher and wife Tameka welcomed a new son into the world on Wednesday, December 10 at 2:23a.m. Naviyd Ely Raymond  was born weighing 5lbs and 13oz.  He is the second child for the couple. Their first son Usher Raymond V was born last November.

Usher was by his wife’s side during the delivery and a rep for the singer says that both Tameka and the baby are doing fine.

In a recent interview, Usher said that the new baby would be one of the best Christmas gifts he could ever have.

 “I’m so proud to be a father by the time I’m 30. I’d hate to be 80 years old and not be able to run with my kids,” the singer told People magazine. “I need to still be able to do flips when they’re in high school!”

MAN THROWS SHOES AT BUSH DURING PRESS CONFERENCE

 

“This is a farewell kiss, you dog!” yelled the protester in Arabic, later recognized as Muntadar al-Zeidi, a reporter for Al-Baghdadia television, an Iraqi-owned station based in Cairo, Egypt.
Bush ducked both shoes as they  hurtled past his head and landed with a thud against the wall behind him.

“It was a size 10,” Bush joked later.
 
The U.S. president visited the Iraqi capital just 37 days before he hands over the war to his successor, Barack Obama, who has vowed to end it. The president wanted to emphasize a drop in violence in a nation still riven by cultural conflicts and to rejoice a recent current U.S.-Iraq security agreement, which calls for U.S. troops to extract from Iraq by the end of 2011.

“The war is not over,” Bush said, adding that “it is decisively on it’s way to being won.”