New Single Release I'll take you there

Bobby Hardy has release a new single (I'll take you there)previouly recorded by the staple singers. This guy really has something special. Why are we just hearing from him? The voice is very rich and you really understand every word sung, unlike many other artist. This song is sure to be a hit!

Linda Hopkins (Diva)

Linda Hopkins was born to be an entertainer...she comes alive on stage, her smile and spirit infectious as she rouses her audience to join her onthis blues journey. She's simply sensational. It was great seeing you last night at the Spotlight Bar Hollywood for karaoke!

Linda Hopkins: Deep in the night!

Deep in the Night, features the soulful vocals of Jazz and Blues singer Linda Hopkins. Hopkins fell in love with Blues music after seeing Bessie Smith perform. She has starred in Broadway musicals such as Jazz Train, which celebrated the success of African-American music, Black and Blue, a tribute to Harlem s famed Cotton Club, and Inner City, for which she won a Tony Award. Hopkins also created two famous tribute musicals; Wild Women Blues was performed alongside Maxine Weldon & Mortonette Jackson as a tribute to Billie Holiday, Ella Fitzgerald, and Bessie Smith, and more famously her one-woman show, entitled Me and Bessie, which she created in honor of her idol Bessie Smith. The Ad Lib Series, now available on DVD for the first time, is a collection of 46 concert TV programs presenting the best Jazz, Pop and Blues artists showcasing their skills with a Jazz flair. Seen on TV internationally, Ad Lib (filmed in 1980) was the first musical television series recorded in Stereo. Each DVD features 2 episodes of the acclaimed Ad Lib Series. Also featuring special guests Jazz Pianist Paul Smith, longtime pianist & Musical Director for Ella Fitzgerald, & acclaimed & versatile Jazz saxophone innovator Eddie Harris, Linda Hopkins: Deep in the Night, is the definitive DVD of Hopkins legendary voice!

Boston judge: Federal ban gay marriage unconstitutional

A Boston judge has fired the latest salvo in the battle for gay marriage, ruling Thursday that a federal ban on same-sex marriage is unconstitutional because it violates states' rights.

U.S. District Judge Joseph Tauro ruled in favor of gay couples' right to marry, the AP reports, challenging the 1996 Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) on the ground that it interferes with a state’s right to define marriage.

Same-sex unions have been legal in Massachusetts since 2004, but the state argued that DOMA discriminated against gay married couples by denying them access to the same benefits as heterosexual married couples.

Tauro agreed, ruling on two separate challenges to the law that the act forced Massachusetts to discriminate against its own citizens.

"The federal government, by enacting and enforcing DOMA, plainly encroaches upon the firmly entrenched province of the state, and in doing so, offends the Tenth Amendment," Tauro wrote in a ruling. "For that reason, the statute is invalid."

In a second case, filed by Gays & Lesbian Advocates & Defenders, Tauro ruled that DOMA also violates the Constitution's equal protection clause.

Advocacy groups embraced Tauro's ruling Thursday. "We've maintained from the very beginning that there was absolutely no basis for this law treating one class of married Massachusetts couples different from everybody else and the court has recognized that," said Gary Buseck, GLAD's legal director.

Supporters of same-sex marriage also took to Twitter to cheer on the ruling, posting tweets like "Yessssss!!!!!!!", "RIGHT ON!", and "Holiday, celebrate! So, U.S. Judge in Boston rules that a federal gay marriage ban is unconstitutional... Party in Boston!"

The Justice Department argued that the federal government has the right to set eligibility requirements for federal benefits such as Medicare - including requiring that those benefits only go to couples in marriages between a man and a woman, the AP reported.

The lawsuit challenges only the portion of the law that prevents the federal government from affording pension and other benefits to same-sex couples.

Congress put DOMA on the books in 1996 when it seemed that Hawaii was on the brink of legalizing gay marriage, and opponents feared that the movement would become a nationwide trend.

Police make arrest in 'Grim Sleeper' killings

Today's arrest in the "Grim Sleeper" serial-killing case demonstrates how the sins of the father can be found out through a son's DNA - and why the technique can be controversial.

A 57-year-old one-time LAPD garage attendant named Lonnie Franklin Jr. was arrested in Los Angeles in connection with the string of 10 murders, committed between 1985 and 2007. The killer was nicknamed the "Grim Sleeper" because there was a 14-year break within that string, from 1988 to 2002.

The case puts an unorthodox forensic tool known as familial DNA analysis at center stage. The method is specifically allowed only in two states - California and Colorado - and it's specifically banned in Maryland. New York is OK with using the method, but only if it's an "inadvertent" side effect of a more rigorous data search. The FBI currently has no firm policy on familial DNA matching but is willing to let states share their DNA data for use in the procedure.

Now that familial DNA analysis has come up with a high-profile match, you'll probably be hearing much more about whether it should be used more widely.

Not-quite-perfect match
Why is the technique so controversial? It's because investigators look for not-quite-perfect matches between the DNA left behind at a crime scene and DNA markers taken from a wide sampling of people who may or may not have committed a crime themselves. The goal isn't necessarily to find the suspects, but rather the potential relatives of suspects. If there's a close match, investigators could focus their search on close relatives of the person who matched up - in hopes that the trail will lead to suspects who haven't left a DNA trail themselves.

It's basically a crime-lab variant of the tests widely used to trace your genealogy, but these would be relatives you might not want to feature on your family tree.

Familial DNA searches have been done in Britain for years, and California Attorney General Jerry Brown gave investigators the go-ahead to do the same in the Grim Sleeper case two years ago. A database search came up with a partial but significant match between DNA collected during the investigation and a routine sample taken from Franklin's son. Brown said the son was given a cheek swab after his conviction on a felony weapons charge. LA Weekly reported that the results of the DNA analysis "lit up like a Christmas tree."

The investigators followed up by snagging DNA samples from Franklin himself. A relative of one of the Grim Sleeper victims who was briefed by police said that the sample was left on a restaurant cup, while the Los Angeles Times reported that the DNA was recovered from a discarded piece of pizza. The most likely scenario is that forensic sleuths tested the pizza, the cup and any other items that Franklin might have put to his lips while dining.

District Attorney Steve Cooley told the Times that the arrest "shows the legitimacy" of using partial DNA matches and promised to provide more details at a Thursday news conference.

If the arrest leads to a conviction, the feat will take forensic genetics to a whole new level. But it could raise a whole new crop of questions about genetic privacy as well.

Lifetime genetic surveillance?
In California, for example, the DNA samples are collected after every felony arrest, and may be retained even if the suspect later goes free. That has sparked a legal challenge from the American Civil Liberties Union. The ACLU noted that about a third of all those arrested for felonies in California are not convicted of any crime, and said that "thousands of innocent Californians will be subject to a lifetime of genetic surveillance because a single police officer suspected them of a crime."

The ACLU also said the system could have a "huge racial impact" because a disproportionate number of people of color are already represented in California's criminal justice system, which serves as the main channel for the state's DNA sampling flow (at a rate of roughly 25,000 samples per month). The latest figures show that California has the biggest statewide DNA database in the country, with more than 1.5 million samples. ACLU calls it the third-biggest forensic DNA database in the world, behind the FBI's nationwide CODIS system (which includes the California samples) and Britain's national data bank.

We're right in the midst of a massive crime-lab experiment in DNA collection. The federal government and all 50 states require those convicted of felonies to provide DNA samples, but California is just one of the 23 states that require DNA for felony arrests. Congress and several states, including New York and North Carolina, are currently talking about widening their DNA collection programs to cover arrests as well as convictions.

Proponents of wider DNA testing say that such measures will prevent crime, save lives and provide more protection to the innocent. Opponents say that such measures will put more of a burden on the innocent, and that familial DNA analysis could turn even distant relatives into "genetic informants." I say that the Grim Sleeper case will increase the pressure on lawmakers to bulk up DNA databases across the country, and will lead to wider use of familial DNA as well. Is that a good thing, or a bad thing?

Mel Gibson Rant Reportedly on Tape

NEW YORK (CBS) Mel Gibson reportedly was caught on tape using a string of racist and derogatory remarks in a profanity-laced argument with ex-girlfriend Oksana Grigorieva.

Internet reports state that the audiotapes were made by Grigorieva. She and the actor are currently in the midst of a custody battle over their 7-month-old daughter, Lucia.

Radaronline.com reports that Gibson is heard on the tape using the N-word and other derogatory phrases in the argument with Grigorieva, along with threatening to burn down her home.

According to TMZ.com, the tapes have been submitted to the judge in the couple's custody battle and are under seal. The website also reports that Grigorieva kept a number of "incendiary emails" that Gibson sent to her.

Grigorieva's attorneys declined to discuss the reports to People magazine on Thursday, while Gibson's rep said, "I have no comment on, and furthermore no knowledge of, the credibility or authenticity of any alleged audio tapes."

In 2006, Gibson unleashed a now-infamous anti-Semitic tirade to police following a drunk driving arrest. He later apologized for his "despicable" comments and "out of control" behavior.

Eclipse Review!

Summary (from the book jacket)
"BELLA?"

Edward's soft voice came from behind me. I turned to see him spring lightly up the porch steps, his hair windblown from running. He pulled me into his arms at once, just like he had in the parking lot, and kissed me again.

This kiss frightened me. There was too much tension, too strong an edge to the way his lips crushed mine—like he was afraid we had only so much time left to us.

As Seattle is ravaged by a string of mysterious killings and a malicious vampire continues her quest for revenge, Bella once again finds herself surrounded by danger. In the midst of it all, she is forced to choose between her love for Edward and her friendship with Jacob—knowing that her decision has the potential to ignite the ageless struggle between vampire and werewolf. With her graduation quickly approaching, Bella has one more decision to make: life or death. But which is which?

The Review
Eclipse is the third novel in Stephenie Meyer’s popular Twilight series. You really want to have read Twilight and New Moon (in that order) first before reading Eclipse, because the author doesn’t spend too much time expounding the story-lines of the previous novels but rather drops the reader straight in to the story. You also want to read Twilight and New Moon because they are both excellent novels and, trust me, you are missing out if you haven’t read them.

Eclipse carries on not long after New Moon left off. Bella’s high school graduation is approaching and she will soon be leaving Forks forever, ostensibly to go to college - but in reality she is planning to join her boyfriend in his vampire existence and will therefore be unable to return home, due to being dead and possessed by a terrible blood lust for the first few years. Not that the reader is actually taken that far in this story, we make it through graduation but then the dangerous vampires from Seattle come to Forks and dealing with them dominates the rest of the novel.

This is only one part of the story though. Eclipse is primarily a romantic saga, so Bella and Edward’s relationship is the primary focus of the novel. Or as I should say Bella, Edward and Jacob’s relationship - because there is a love triangle in the plot of this novel.

Bella and Jacob have always been friends, at least they were - right up until Jacob became a werewolf. Then the enmity between vampires and werewolves put a huge strain on their friendship. Besides which, Jacob is in love with Bella, who is in love with Edward so this is going to make things awkward between them.

At this point, Eclipse descends into soap opera territory – Bella has found her soul mate in Edward but Jacob is the soul mate she should have / could have / would have had if Edward didn’t exist. She loves him too but not as much as Edward. Why she loves Jacob is beyond me – he knows that she loves Edward but Jacob still tries to make her feel guilty that she can’t love him like he wants her too. Blatant emotional blackmail is unattractive whatever way you serve it up and it detracted from his otherwise fine character. Worse, it lead to a large proportion of this book being devoted to teenage angst and with this book being 628 pages long that a substantial amount of angst!

To be fair, Eclipse is written for the young adult market so I really shouldn’t complain about the teen angst and the drama but for me it meant that this book lacked the magical quality that made Twilight stand out from the crowd of vampire romances available in bookstores today. Don’t misunderstand me - Eclipse is still a really good read. The book didn’t feel like it was over 600 pages long, I literally flew through the pages and had to make a conscious effort to slow down my reading so I didn’t finish the whole book in a couple of sittings.

For teens already hooked on the series, Eclipse is another solid instalment of Forks goodness. Adult readers may be put off by the teenage relationship angst in this novel but if you have already enjoyed the author’s previous offerings I think there is still plenty here to entertain.

It will be intriguing to see where Stephenie Meyer takes the ideas and characters in this series next. Writing for the Young Adult market always means that there is some expectation for the author to set a good example for impressionable young minds yet criticisms that Bella’s character is too dependent and needs to set a better example for young women seem unfair. This is romantic fantasy

Beauty queen Carrie Prejean has tied the knot.

The former Miss California USA, 23, wed Oakland Raiders quarterback Kyle Boller, 28, Friday at The Grand Del Mar hotel in San Diego, her hometown.

The 25-minute ceremony was "beautiful," a witness tells E! News. "They had cocktails on the lawn right after. Everyone seemed really happy."

Prejean wore a gorgeous one-shoulder mermaid-style gown, according to E!, while Boller and his fellow

Carrie Prejean WedsUSMagazine, July 3, 2010
Related: News, Carrie Prejean
Controversial beauty queen Carrie Prejean has tied the knot.

The former Miss California USA, 23, wed Oakland Raiders quarterback Kyle Boller, 28, Friday at The Grand Del Mar hotel in San Diego, her hometown.

The 25-minute ceremony was "beautiful," a witness tells E! News. "They had cocktails on the lawn right after. Everyone seemed really happy."

Prejean wore a gorgeous one-shoulder mermaid-style gown, according to E!, while Boller and his fellow
groomsmen donned black tuxedos.

After bidding farewell to her six bridesmaids, she and Boller were whisked away in a white Rolls Royce Phantom, E! reports.

The two got engaged this past February.

Prejean made headlines last April when pageant judge Perez Hilton asked her if she supported gay marriage. "In my country, in my family, I think that I believe that a marriage should be between a man and a woman," she replied. "No offense to anybody there, but that's how I was raised and that's how I think it should be, between a man and a woman."
Her response outraged Hilton and others in the Miss California community. Hilton launched a crude attack against her. Organizer Keith Lewis even released a statement: "As co-director of the Miss California USA, I am personally saddened and hurt that Miss California believes marriage rights belong only to a man and a woman."

Prejean only continued to irk her enemies when she began working for the National Organization for Marriage.

Scandal returned a short time later when semi-nude photos of her began hitting the web.

She almost lost her crown, but Donald Trump, who owns the Miss USA and Miss Universe organizations, allowed her to keep her title because he said "the pictures taken were fine."

On June 10, however, Prejean was fired for violating her contract and "unwillingness to make appearances on behalf" of the organization, according to pageant officials.

But in an in interview with Access Hollywood, Prejean claimed otherwise: "None of this would be happening right now if I just said, 'Yeah, gays should get married. You're right, Perez Hilton.'"

First runner-up Tami Farrell replaced her as Miss California USA.

The Spotlight Bar Hollywood California!

Karaoke every Tuesday, Thursday and Friday night from 9pm to 1am, and man it is one of the best karaoke bars in Hollywood. The one and only Gay Bar in Hollywood Ca. Established in 1963 and still standing. The Spotlight Bar is owned and operated by the original owner Mr. Don Samuels. Since the beginning... Boys have been arriving in Tinsel Town. The Spotlight is Where they all wanna be. We get em all, The Straights, The Curious, The Bi's, The Queens, The Drag Queens, The Grand Queens, The Tattoo'd Rockers, The Mohawks, and yes, Show People

Girls rule Forbes Top 10

Women's-rights advocates can pack up and go home. The playing field is now level. In fact, it has been nuked and upended and now tilts in favor of powerful women -- if you believe Forbes magazine, that is. Forbes' release of its "Celebrity 100" list contains the names of more women than men. Six women dominate the list's top-ten celebrities in the world including Oprah Winfrey as No. 1. Forbes describes the list as the "ranking of the richest and most powerful actors, actresses, and musicians."
Oprah is followed in the top ten by:
Beyoncé Knowles (OK, I guess)
Lady Gaga (puh-leeze!!!)
Britney Spears (no comment)
Sandra Bullock (power via being cuckolded?)
Madonna

Before we wipe our brows and sigh, "Sheesh, that was easy," a bit deeper examination is called for here. For one thing, Forbes' definition of power, even in the bizarre world of celebrity, is somewhat skewed and reads more like a ranking of a star's ability to self-promote than anything else. Forbes' definition of the list is based on a weird agglomeration ". . . of a star's ability to generate five precious commodities: money, film and TV appearances, media coverage, web traffic, and friends or followers on social networking sites."
I agree with Forbes that money is power and self-promotion becomes both money and power in our material world. But I still cling to the notion that true power is more than just money -- it's influence, it's clout, it's the ability to lead and to make the world a better place. It is not just the ability to sell a bunch of DVDs, movie tickets or start a clothing line with nothing particularly new or different or better about it other than an extension of the already cluttered world of eponyms.
Still, Forbes calls the new list progress for women:
"In the entertainment industry, women are gaining ground. While most of the ladies on the list owe their fame to on-screen or on-stage personas, many have built their fortunes through smart brand extension."
"Smart brand extension." Now there's progress for women, eh? That's not exactly what the suffragists or the leaders of second-wave feminism had in mind when they fought for the right to vote or the right to work or the right to equal pay for that work, and so on. They were trying to make the world a better place for themselves and their sisters.
Granted, some of those on the list do good things for other women. Oprah is renowned for her philanthropy for African girls, for example. But if these women used the power Forbes vests in them, why isn't Hollywood a more female-friendly place?
According to San Diego State University's Institute for the Study of Women in Television and Film: "In 2009, women comprised 16% of all directors, executive producers, producers, writers, cinematographers, and editors working on the top 250 domestic grossing films. This represents a decline of 3 percentage points from 2001 and is even with 2008."

Is this what we call progress? It does not sound like progress to me. And if women now command so much clout in Hollywood, why aren't they using it to improve America's commercial entertainment product instead of extending their self-centered, self-promotional brands? Is that even a fair question to ask stars to take on the dual role of do-gooder in today's material-girl world?
I believe it is. But if it's a fair question, the answer is a disturbing no. Women are not using their entertainment muscle to improve the quality of American film and TV, because study after study shows sex, violence and violent sex are increasing in all media, not diminishing. This latest study by the Parents Council on TV on violence against women in TV released this year is typical:
"The Parents Television Council observed a significant increase in the incidence of female victimization; an increase in the depiction of teen girls as victims; an increase in the use of female victimization as a punch line in comedy series; and an increase in the depiction of intimate partner violence (i.e., violence committed by a current or former partner or spouse; a sexual relationship is not necessarily implied)."
So I return whence I began. Are women gaining power and clout in the entertainment industry? By some extremely superficial measures, yes. Does that translate to progress for women generally? I'm afraid that so far the answer is no.

Madonna & Lady Gaga Cat Fight!!!

MADONNA thinks Lady GaGa is a great big copy cat!

According to a report in the Chicago Sun-Times newspaper, the Holiday hitmaker gets irritated when she sees a clip of the Poker Face singer performing.

“It just bugs Madonna that Lady Gaga uses fashion and her performance style in a way that has so many people calling her ‘the new Madonna,” a source revealed.

“Madonna thinks she is unique and there cannot be a younger version of something that is unique.

“I know,” added the source with a laugh. “Ego, ego, ego.”

GaGa has previously revealed that she’d like to work with Madonna.

“Madonna is great. And I guess I could say we are friends,” she said last year. “I love her daughter Lourdes.

“She is such a lovely young girl. She came to my show with her mom and we got along famously. We got along fine and we did the skit together on SNL and helped the writers. So who knows?”

'Twilight' Eclipses

'Twilight' Eclipses Record with $68.5M Debut

The latest "Twilight" movie breaks another box office record with $68.5M, largest ever for Wednesday debut

LOS ANGELES (AP) -- Fans are over the moon for "The Twilight Saga: Eclipse," which pulled in $68.5 million in its first day to set a new record for a movie debuting on Wednesday.

The third installment in the vampire romance surpassed the previous Wednesday record of $62 million set last year by "Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen."

But "Eclipse" fell short of the all-time best opening day, a record held by its predecessor, last November's "The Twilight Saga: New Moon," which took in $72.7 million. "New Moon" opened on a Friday, typically a busier day at theaters than weekdays.

"Eclipse" opened in a record 4,416 theaters and expands to 4,468 cinemas Friday for the Fourth of July weekend, one of the biggest box-office weekends of the year.

With so much money already in the bank and a long holiday weekend ahead, distributor Summit Entertainment hopes "Eclipse" can top the $200 million haul for "Revenge of the Fallen" in its first five days, a record for a movie opening on Wednesday.

"It certainly is a target for us," said Richie Fay, head of distribution for Summit. "I'd be real hesitant to say that we will break that. We would love to and are striving to. We have the location and screen count that could get us there. But if the weather isn't in our favor, if people are out barbecuing and looking at fireworks Sunday night, we may not get there."

In a single day, "Eclipse" took in a fraction more than the $68 million the movie cost to produce.

Fay said "Eclipse" followed the pattern of "New Moon," whose audience was 80 percent female. With generally better reviews on "Eclipse" than its predecessors and a marketing campaign that played up the movie's action, Summit executives hope the latest sequel will draw in more males as the weekend progresses, he said.

"Eclipse" continues the story of brooding teen Bella Swan (Kristen Stewart), caught in a love triangle involving her vampire boyfriend (Robert Pattinson) and her werewolf pal (Taylor Lautner). The new movie forces vampires and werewolves to set aside old rivalries and unite against a band of ravenous newborn bloodsuckers.

The franchise concludes with a two-part adaptation of "Breaking Dawn," the final novel in Stephenie Meyer's best-selling series. Part one of "Breaking Dawn" is due in theaters Nov. 18, 2011.