PEACE JEWELRY

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About PI
What matters to you the most as a designer?
What matters most is that my creations are aligned with my visions and my values.

What inspires Peace Images?
I’m inspired by my cultural legacy, and what it means to be Black in this world; songs, fabrics, and individuals also inspire me. I try my hardest to remain open because inspiration can visit anytime.

I notice that your work is based around an Afrocentric theme. What message are you trying to portray through your pieces?
My message is simple. Remember the rich legacy our ancestors have left for us, and honor it in all we do!

How do you set the mood for creating new designs; what is the brainstorming process like for you?
It’s not really something I actively do. I simply live my life, surround myself with inspiring things that will serve as catalysts, and allow the vision to visit me when they will. It’s all very natural, and no designs ever feel forced.

Since this is Afro-punk I have to ask, what do you enjoy listening to?
I’ll listen to anything that raises my vibratory frequency and makes me smile. Currently vibin’ out to Nneka, Still Dreamin’ vol. 7 by Trackstar the DJ, The Doors, Big KRIT, Jigmastas and Jaspects.

THE GQ CANDIDATE BY KELLI GOFF

The GQ Candidate is a novel about the presidential campaign of an African-American politician with a mixed cultural background from the Midwest. You will expect to read this book and constantly be reminded of another African-American presidential politician, but trust me, you seldom will.


Luke Cooper, who was adopted and raised by a Jewish family is the current Governor of Michigan and his recent favorable national press convinces those around him that he's ready to make a run for the White House. While the book is about the adjustments that Cooper and his family must make under the constant scrutiny that is a Presidential campaign, the real story to me was how it affects long-term friendships and the motives of extended family.


It was fun to read about the backroom machinations of a campaign, and all of the personal and profession decisions made, without having to read a boring history book.

LENNY KRAVITZ SPREAD IN BLOCK MAGAZINE

HAPPY CUPCAKE DAY

FIRST LADY MICHELLE OBAMA SHOPS AT TARGET

WHO KNEW FIRST LADY LOVES TARGET. WELL THAT'S THE TARGET ON ROUTE 1 THE ONE THAT'S 8 MINUTES FROM ME AND THE ONE I SHOP AT AS WELL. GLAD FIRST LADY KEEPS IT REGULAR. I WOULD HAVE NEVER GUESSED IT WAS HER GLAD SHE WAS ABLE TO SHOP FREELY.

CHRIS TUCKER ON TOUR

Tucker's 2011 stand-up comedy showcase will make 18-stops, kicking off at the Terrace Theater in Long Beach, California, on August 19th and concluding at the Paramount Theatre in Oakland, California, on November 26th.

The often exuberant and wild Tucker, who has had various roles in films such as Friday, Money Talks and The Fifth Element, announced Monday that he will embark on a comedy tour that will take him to various parts of the United States.

Perhaps Tucker's biggest claim to fame and biggest payday(s) were the trilogy of Rush Hour flicks, in which the comedian co-starred with martial artist extraordinaire Jackie Chan.

The original film, Rush Hour, was a huge commercial success and the 7th top earning film for 1998, with a gross of more than $140 million from box offices across the United States. Tucker was able to parlay the success of the first film into $20 and $25 million salaries for Rush Hour 2 and Rush Hour 3, respectively.

Though he has not done much since the final installment of Rush Hour, Tucker is rumored to be considering a reprisal of his role as “Smokey,” the character he played in the 1995 comedy Friday that starred Ice Cube.

Ice Cube said in 2010 that he would like Tucker to rejoin the cast as Smokey in the fourth and final 'Friday' flick, tentatively titled Last Friday. It remains to be seen whether the comedian will agree to participate in the film, having turned down previous overtures to appear in Next Friday and Friday After Next after becoming a born-again Christian.

Ticket's for Tucker's stand-up comedy tour are slated to go on sale on July 15th at 10:00 a.m. and can be purchased at either Tickemaster.com or LiveNation.com.
Chris Tucker Tour Dates - 2011

* August 19 Terrace Theater Long Beach, CA
* August 20 Comerica Theatre Phoenix, AZ
* September 2 Borgata Events Center Atlantic City, NJ
* September 3 Palace Theatre Albany Albany, NY
* September 4 NYCB Theatre at Westbury Westbury, NY
* September 9 Shea’s Performing Arts Center Buffalo, NY
* September 10 Citi Wang Theatre Boston, MA
* September 16 Chicago Theatre Chicago, IL
* September 23 UNO Lakefront Arena New Orleans, LA
* September 24 The Fillmore Miami Beach
* at Jackie Gleason Theater Miami, FL
* September 30 Murat Theatre at Old National Center Indianapolis, IN
* October 1 Fox Theatre Detroit, MI
* October 7 DAR Constitution Hall Washington, DC
* October 14 Verizon Wireless Theater Houston, TX
* October 21 Paramount Theatre Seattle, WA
* October 22 Sacramento Memorial Auditorium Sacramento, CA
* November 25 Civic Theatre San Diego, CA
* November 26 Paramount Theatre Oakland, CA
CHECK OUT CHRIS TUCKER AT DAR CONSTITUTION HALL ON OCTOBER 7TH AT 7:30 PM AND 10:30 PM.

MY MLK MEMORIAL VISIT

ME AND MARTIN LUTHER KING MEMORIAL

I HAD TICKETS TO THE OFFICIAL MARTIN LUTHER KING MEMORIAL EVENT THAT WAS TO TAKE PLACE ON SEPTEMBER 28TH BUT BETWEEN THE EARTHQUAKE AND HURRICANE THE EVENT WAS CANCELLED. SO MY GIRLFRIEND WHO WAS VISITING FROM NEW YORK CITY REALLY WANTED TO GO BEFORE SHE LEFT TOWN. THIS STATUE WAS QUITE IMPOSING AND THE AREA SURROUNDING IT IS VERY PEACEFUL. WE GOT THERE AT 10:00 AT NIGHT RIGHT AFTER THE CONGRESSIONAL BLACK CAUCUS EVENT AND THERE WERE TONS OF PEOPLE THERE AT THIS TIME IN TUXEDOS AND GOWNS. CAN'T WAIT TO GO BACK IN THE DAY TIME WITH MY FAMILY

CELEBRITY KIDS

TIA AND BABY CREE
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NIECY NASH AND DAUGHTER DIA 11

MELB OTHER CHILDREN PHOENIX CHI 12, GISELLE 7 AND ANGEL IRIS 4, AND MADISON

MEL B AND STEPHEN BELAFONTE WITH DAUGHTER MADISON BELAFONTE

TAYE DIGGS AND SON WALKER DIGGS

SKYE TOWNSEND WITH DAD ROBERT TOWNSEND

BOW WOW AND DAUGTHER SHAI

COURAGEOUS

THIS CHRISTIAN FILM OPENS IN ONLY 2,000 SCREENS SEPTEMBER 30, 2011. THE COP DRAMA PROMISES BIG ACTION BUT FOCUSES ON FATHERHOOD, RELIGION AND FAITH.
From the wild opening scene through the heart of this story, Courageous, reveals the story of five fathers, all in law enforcement. One is a bit protective of his kids, yet has a healthy family relationship. Another has abandoned his girlfriend and their child before the little girl's birth. A third is a Hispanic worker struggling to find his role in a country where his work permit doesn't necessarily allow him to earn a living. A fourth is divorced, with visitation rights. The final father is the lead in the film - a dad disconnected from son and daughter because he prioritizes his job above his family. When tragedy tears into the circle of five friends with the death of a loved one, the men begin a journey to connect and build into their kids and wives. In stark contrast to these family men, the plot intersects the police officers encounters with a gang. The story weaves in information about the role and influence of fathers in our society. It identifies hard facts about the correlation between "missing" fathers (those who've left the home and those still in it) and kids who turn to crime. The movie is a call to accountability. It speaks to the role of men and their responsibility in raising strong, healthy kids. Courageous offers great action, plenty of humorous moments and some very difficult scenes which will evoke a variety of emotion responses from the viewer.

BEACHY

IT'S BEEN VERY CLOUDY AND RAINY LATELY THIS IS WHERE MY MIND IS AT.

ANGELA SIMMONS POSES NUDE FOR PETA

ANGELA SIMMONS DAUGHTER OF REV RUN OF RUN DMC AND NEICE OF RUSSELL SIMMONS POSES NUDE FOR PETA. SHE PROMOTES BEING A VEGETARIAN AND HEALTHY EATING.

NATURAL HIGH

ESPERENZA SPAULDING MADE THE WORLD TAKE NOTICE WHEN SHE WON A GRAMMY FOR BEST NEW ARTIST OF THE YEAR BEATING OUT JUSTIN BEIBER NOT MANY PEOPLE KNEW WHO SHE WAS, BUT HER TALENT IS VERY EXTRAORDINARY AND I LOVE HER FRO.

TRACEE ELLIS ROSS COVERS JET MAGAZINE

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TRACEE ELLIS ROSS

TRACEE AND MOM DIANA ROSS

On the end of “Girlfriends”:

“I felt like we really did it. And I was always so present and aware of what a gift it was.” Plus, girlfriend was tired. “I don’t think you realize when you’re in the grind, how in the grind you really are. I felt like a basketball player retiring from the NBA.”

“I still laugh out loud as if I’ve never seen it before. The other day I was watching an episode and I tweeted Jill [Marie Jones] and Persia [White] and said, ‘We were amazing!’”

On her role as therapist Carla Reed in BET’s new show “Reed Between The Lines”

“The world of self-help and self-awareness has always been of great interest to me,” she says. “I welcomed the opportunity to introduce, through comedy, this idea of therapy, which has been this ‘hush hush’ thing in our culture.” The fact that Dr. Carla Reed would also be a happily married mother of three made the role more appealing to Ross

On keeping that bangin’ body together at almost 40

Ross credits the Tracy Anderson workout for completely resculpting her body, which she likes better now than when she was in her 20s. “At first I was like hell no,” she says of the exercise regimen favored by A-list stars. “It was too expensive, and Gwyneth Paltrow and Madonna don’t have the same shape as me. But I gave it a try and my body started snapping into place immediately.” The workout kicked her ass, but she says, “While doing the exercises, I feel sexy, I feel beautiful, I am laughing my ass off and I have a ball.” And the results made her a believer. “I was not a girl who liked to show my upper thighs,” she says. “I liked a skirt that went right to the knee. But let me tell you, I’m so happy in a short skirt right now.”

Congressional Black Caucus

PRESIDENT OBAMA AND FIRST LADY MICHELLE OBAMA

PRESIDENT OBAMA AND FIRST LADY MICHELLE OBAMA

KEYNOTE SPEAKER PRESIDENT OBAMA

PRESIDENT OBAMA AND FIRST LADY MICHELLE OBAMA

Monica and husband Shannon Brown

GABRIELLE UNION

Jessie Jackson and Cuba Gooding Jr.

President Obama and Cuba Gooding Jr.

George Forman

Regroup

Book Review: One Day It'll All Make Sense by Common
Book Review: One Day It'll All Make Sense by Common

by Slav Kandyba

posted September 13, 2011 at 12:08PM EDT | *

Book Review: One Day It'll All Make Sense by Common

With anecdotes about "Retrospect For Life" and working and living with J Dilla, Common's memoir has some intimate moments, but sheds light on an emcee/actor with an unblemished reputation.

As far as rappers with unblemished reputations go, Common is right up there at the top. No baby-mama drama playing out on the gossip blogs, no tax liens (at least that we know of). About the only recent controversy (the beef with Ice Cube is older than the average Odd Future fan) that the man born Lonnie Rashid Lynn was involved in, wasn't even his fault at all. Fox News has an anti-rap tendency, so for Com to be invited to the White House to perform in front of the First Family in May didn't sit too well.

Perhaps it was the infamy that publicity from the Fox News episode generated in the mainstream, or just coincidence, but a division of Harper Collins, a major publishing house, green-lighted Common's autobiography, the aptly titled One Day It'll All Make Sense. The tome reaches stores this week and sheds more light into the Chicago emcee-turned-actor who is quintessentially the definition of “conscious rapper.”

The book is relatively safe reading material – it's not exactly a tell-all along the lines of Superhead's – but it has its moments that capture Common's essence and voice. That essence is genuine – this writer can attest, having had the pleasure of interacting with Common on several occasions. Few celebrities, much less rappers, carry themselves with as much humility and genuineness as Rashid, or “Rash,” as you will be able to call him if your read his memoir, co-written by writer Adam Bradley.

The book begins a little slow, with Common in full "positive rapper" mode, using the word “love” seemingly in every other sentence, even while describing interaction with an absentee father, a 6'8" “Chicago hoop legend” with NBA aspirations. Family is at the center of Common's life and art – that's established early. Him mom, who appeared on the cover of the acclaimed One Day It'll All Make Sense album, appears in the book more extensively in the form of passages that intercede with Common's narrative. They offer a unique perspective, a different point-of-view, one that sometimes contradicts Com's.

Common takes the reader into the streets and landmarks across Chicago's South Side with vivid detail, and provides ample anecdotes of his pre-stardom days, making music as part of CDR, a group he formed with a friend from middle school introduced as Dion – whose name Hip Hop fans know backwards, No I.D. We find out exactly how he landed his first deal at Relativity Records and how his pops had to intervene in order to get him out of it. He tells the story of how “Retrospect For Life,” a haunting masterpiece about abortion that features a chorus from Lauryn Hill, came to be. If that doesn't move a reader emotionally, Com's poignant words about the late Jay Dee certainly will (J Dilla came to live with Common in L.A. before Lupus took his life).

The deeper you delve into the book, the more you will feel that Common doesn't mind shattering the “conscious artist” stereotype that has shadowed his career. He is so candid at times it's refreshingly hilarious, with perhaps no better example of that as to when he describes the women that he began attracting as his fame grew. “They'd want to talk about spirituality and politics and literature,” Com writes. “We'd talk, but they'd still end up with their legs over their head.”

There isn't much to knock about One Day It'll All Makes Sense. It's a well-written narrative about an unassuming Hip Hop icon who has managed to keep a relatively low profile. Even for it's at-times saccharine positivity, it offers up juicy anecdotes and stories that will be of interest even to the Basketball Wives set.

LAST WEEKEND

IHANA AND GIRLFRIEND YASMINE POSING AFTER THE FASHION SHOW WITH NILES BARKER

NILES BARKER AT THE FASHION AND BEAUTY EXPO

EVERYTIME IM NEAR WATER I HAVE TO PUT MY FEET IN AT REFLECT I'M AT THE MALL NEAR THE MONUMENT. ENJOYING A MOMENT OF PEACE

MADE IT TO THE BLACK FAMILY REUNION

HOPING THAT THIS WEEKEND WILL BE QUIET SPENT LAST WEEKEND AT THE FASHION AND BEAUTY EXPO AND AT THE BLACK FAMILY REUNION AS WELL.