According to the NY Daily News,the comedienne/actress recently sat down with ABC’s Barbara Walters and revealed the key to her happy marrige. Despite her constant claims of an open union with hubby Sidney Hicks, Mo’Nique reveals that she doesn’t stray – but she may not be able to say the same about her better half.

“Let me say this: I have not had sex outside my marriage with Sidney,” the Academy Award nominee says in this year’s 29th – and final – Barbara Walters Oscar special.

“Could Sid have sex outside of his marriage with me? Yes. That’s not a deal-breaker. That’s not something that would make us say, ‘Pack your things and let’s end the marriage.’”

And what if the “Precious” star discovered that Hicks had, well, stepped out more than once? No sweat.

Mo’Nique has a few tricks to keep her hubby from straying – and that includes her infamously unshaven legs.

“He loves the hairy legs,” Mo says, “and if Sid likes the hairy legs, there you go.”

She even explains to Walters why she chooses to go au naturel: “I tried shaving one time, and it was so uncomfortable and painful. I said never again would I do that to myself.” Besides, says Mo’Nique, “I’m 42 and I’m very hairy.”

CLICK HERE TO READ MORE OF THIS STORY

Mo’Nique wins Golden Globe for “Precious”

WTF: Mo’Nique’s Golden Globes Hairy Legs

This is not the first time an inmate set for execution has been found to be wrongfully convicted. With the advent of DNA technology, among other things, it seems the justice system has been able to correct itself somewhat. Still, the prison industrial complex keeps a disproportionate amount of Black men and women behind bars, unable to contribute to society or build lasting 

From ChicagoTribune.com:

The Cook County Board today agreed to pay $525,000 to a former Death Row inmate already given $5.5 million by the city to settle a wrongful conviction lawsuit. The money due under the settlement approved by the board will be paid to Leroy Orange in five equal installments, the last of which is due in January 2014. He spent 19 years behind bars until former Gov. George Ryan pardoned him in 2003. Like several other former murder defendants, Orange alleged that former Chicago Police Cmdr. Jon Burge used torture to force his murder confession. Neither the city nor the county admitted wrongdoing in settling the cases.

http://newsblogs.chicagotribune.com/clout_st/2010/03/county-pays-525000-to-former-death-row-inmate-in-wrongful-prosecution-case.html”>Click here to read more.

From TheTowerLight.com:

A Towson adjunct faculty member was recently fired after using a racial slur in a class.

Allen Zaruba was teaching his Visual Concepts class on Monday, Feb. 22, and discussing “Themes of Contemporary Art,” a textbook by Jean Robertson and Craig McDaniel, which Zaruba described as “very politically incorrect.”

While reviewing a chapter about identity and the body, Zaruba referred to himself as “a nigger on the corporate plantation.”

Text continues after gallery…

Zaruba said the phrase was not meant to be racist, but that he regretted it as soon as he said it.

“I am not a racist. I never have been. I’ve been raised overseas and in other cultures. It just absolutely kills me,” he said, later adding that he serves in the prison ministry, teaches Sunday school and that his stepfather was a black man and he “loved him dearly.”

Click here to read more.

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5. I love my son more than anyone else in this world, but if I spend one more weekend watching Disney movies and playing Chutes and Ladders, I will probably lose my mind! Let’s face it, there’s something not quite right about a grown woman who freaks out when she can’t figure out where she put the Disney movie “Cars”. It’s even worse when she can quote all of the character Lightening McQueen’s lines.

4. I think it’s time for someone else to pay for my weekend dinners other than me. Now look before some of you get all deep and call me materialistic, I’ve been known to foot the bill. And for those who know me, know that I have no problem doing so. I just want a little chilvary in my life. Is that too much to ask? I’m not expecting a new car or diamonds. I can wait for that. LOL! Just kidding!

3. I don’t want anyone to think I can’t like, you know…get a date. Okay so what things have been slow going. I’m just in a bit of a drought right now. I’d better fix this quick because my co-worker has literally decided she’s going to set me up on a date and she wants to do it all as a reality show. I was okay with being set up until she decided she wanted to bring cameras into the mix. But she didn’t stop there she started showing me pictures of some of the candidates and well ur ra ta…Let’s just say some of them looked awfully pimp like. Guess I can’t be too choosey. Shucks…Yes I can!

2. I have to do more than work like a Hebrew slave and take care of my son. Those two are very important…my work and my son but dang…there absolutely must be more to life. I don’t think I’ll really know how to behave on a date after so much time but I will definitely have fun blogging about it and sharing it with all of you once I do actually go out.

1. Deacon such and such at the church wants to talk to me a little too often after church. I can’t really tell what the constant smile on his face is about. Nor can I really tell why he pats his stomach every time he sees me. No offense but I’m really not into men with processed hair. Well let’s go ahead and call it a Jheri curl. I’m also not into men who are like twenty years older than I am and drive a burgundy Cadilac with an 8 track tape system in it. How do I know this? Deacon such and such told me after church once. Yeah….I think I’d better start dating before he’s my only option…Chile Please!

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I hear all the time from busy moms, executives, and students, “I just don’t have time to eat right and exercise!” No one seems to be able to find the time to lose weight. With all of the responsibilities and events packed into our busy days, how are we to keep ourselves healthy and maintain an optimal weight?

When people think weight loss, they think diet and exercise, both of which already sound time consuming. You can lose weight by proper nutrition alone. Anyone who has ever attempted to lose weight without changing to healthier eating alternatives knows this is true. Trust me, I’ll be the first one to tell you all the reasons why exercise is so important but following a healthy eating regimen must be priority number 1!

<<For more weight loss tips, click here>>

So if nothing else, following easy adjustments in your nutrition plan will help to take off the fat, at the very least, an initial 5-10 lbs to get you well on your way to your health and weight loss goals:

1. Only drink water as your beverage (with the occasional unsweetened tea or black coffee).

Eliminating all sugar drinks, “diet” drinks and sodas will automatically cause a dramatic weight loss. Studies have shown, when all else is kept constant, people lose up to 10lbs just by giving up diet coke. But it has no calories you say? Equal (Aspartame) and all other artificial sweeteners like Splenda and Sweet and Low are toxins to your body and cause weight gain, even more so than sugar!

Squeeze fresh lemon in your water or make flavored herbal teas and cool them to make ice tea to make water drinking much easier. Always consume ½ of your body weight in ounces of water per day to experience adequate hydration and weight loss (ex. If you weigh 150lbs, you must drink 75 ounces of water each day).

2. Eliminate the 4 white devils

White Flour, Refined Salt, White Sugar, and Dairy. If you just stay away from these 4 things, you will automatically see a drastic drop in weight and will instantly feel more energetic throughout the day. Most people are well aware of the harmful effects of flour, refined salt and sugar but dairy? Doesn’t it do a body good? Definitely not! Dairy is one of the number 1 reason people have such a hard time losing weight. It causes inflammation in the body, digestive problems, clogged arteries, and weight gain. Get your calcium from leafy greens and avoid dairy at all costs.

3. Know exactly where to find the healthy food!

It is honestly just as easy to run in to the local supermarket and get a bag of carrots and some almonds as it is to run into a Quickie-Mart and buy some harmful processed food. You can go absolutely anywhere now and find healthy meal options but you must know what you are looking for. Stay away from most packaged foods as the label indicates more of a science experiment than anything that would be close to food. No one needs all of those toxins in their body. Labels should have 2 – 3 items, at most. And the best foods don’t have labels.

Don’t let time be your excuse. If you stop to eat 2-3 times per day and snack in between it is just as easy to find something healthy as it is to find something harmful. Don’t let your body come to a shrieking halt before you decide to do anything about your weight and your health. You know what will be a huge impediment on your time? If you or a family member becomes ill due to poor nutrition and lifestyle habits. So tackle the problem now before it really does begin to affect your time and your life! You can replace cars, homes and all material items, but you only get one body! Take good care of it.

For more from Latwanas, read her personal blog and follow her on twitter

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Chileans near the epicenter were tossed about as if shaken by a giant.

HAWAII: Sirens blasted; tourists evacuated

GRAPHIC: Track tsunami’s path

INTERACTIVE MAP: See strength, location of aftershocks

OLYMPICS: Chilean team to skip closing ceremony

It was the strongest earthquake to hit Chile in 50 years. President-elect Sebastian Pinera said more than 120 people died, a number that was rising quickly.

The quake shook buildings in Argentina’s capital of Buenos Aires, and was felt as far away as Sao Paulo in Brazil — 1,800 miles to the east.

(READ MORE AT www.USATODAY.COM)

VIA:  SmokeyRobinson.Com

The dictionary defines the popular term “comfort food” as “food prepared in a traditional style having a usually nostalgic or sentimental appeal.” It has been known to have a buffering effect as it soothes the soul and spurs memories of more “comforting” times. If that concept holds up in the kitchen, then it makes perfect sense that it should hold true in the living room with its aural equivalent. While it’s already a known fact that popular songs often connect with listeners in a highly personal way, often recalled alongside life’s more personal moments, only a few distinctive voices in popular music can achieve that same effect with instantaneous familiarity. With his eternally smooth and instantly recognizable falsetto alone – without the strings, bass, guitar or drums – legendary singer/songwriter/producer SMOKEY ROBINSON’s honey-coated voice absolutely is the audio equivalent of comfort food…comfort food for the soul…with soul. In following with the aforementioned definition, the Motown legend’s forthcoming ROBSO Records CD, Time Flies When You’re Having Fun has certainly been “prepared in a traditional style,” while that oh-so-familiar, highly identifiable crooning has an indisputable “nostalgic or sentimental appeal.”

Indeed, the “traditional” element of Time Flies When You’re Having Fun had already been determined while Robinson was recording his last CD, 2006’s pop/jazz standards collection Timeless Love. Just as that particular project had been recorded live in the studio with musicians – the first time he had recorded a full LP that way in years – Smokey knew he wanted to record his newly-written contemporary R&B songs in the very same fashion. In fact, he was so inspired by recording the “old school way” that the recording schedule for both projects actually overlapped. “I was having such a ball making that project (Timeless Love),” he explains. “I hadn’t intended on doing them simultaneously because I knew that Timeless Love was the one I was going to come out with. But things were going so well with that project that I said, ‘I’m gonna start putting in some of the original material I’d written for my new CD (Time Flies When You’re Having Fun) and record it this way too.’ I knew I was going to do these particular songs, but I didn’t realize I was going to wind up recording them live like I did with Timeless Love. So I did and we had a ball.” Though he’s the first to acknowledge and appreciate the technologically advanced way that recording for most releases are done today, like the cleaner sound and creative lee-way afforded by ProTools, Robinson was steadfast in his penchant for live instrumentation for this CD. “I think that you still don’t get that feeling that you used to get in the old days when everybody was in the studio together,” says Robinson, whose early Motown classics were recorded in this fashion. “That way was like doing a concert, because everybody was feeding off of each other. It’s just that live vibe.”

Click here to read more on Smokey Robinson…

Check out “Ebony Eyes” by Smokey Robinson and Rick James:

On January 18, 1958, hockey player Willie O’Ree of the Boston Bruins takes to the ice for a game against the Montreal Canadiens, becoming the first black to play in the National Hockey League (NHL).

Born in 1935 in Fredericton, New Brunswick, Canada, O’Ree was the son of a civil engineer, in one of Fredericton’s only two black families. He began skating at the age of three, and joined a nearby hockey league when he was only five. During five years playing with his older brother on teams in Fredericton, O’Ree became known as one of the best players in New Brunswick. After one season with the Quebec Frontenacs of the Quebec Junior Hockey League, he joined the Kitchener Canucks of the Ontario Hockey Association Junior “A” Hockey League, setting a career-high mark of 30 goals during the 1955-56 season. That year, a puck struck O’Ree in the right eye during a game, robbing him of 95 percent of the vision in that eye.

O’Ree managed to conceal the injury and continue his hockey career, joining the Quebec Aces of the prestigious Quebec Hockey League in 1956. During his second season with Quebec, the Boston Bruins of the NHL called up the 22-year-old O’Ree to replace an injured player. On January 18, 1958, the Bruins were playing the two-time Stanley Cup champion Montreal Canadiens at Quebec’s Montreal Forum. O’Ree took to the ice as a forward with the Bruins’ third line, as the Bruins pulled off an upset 3-0 victory. He didn’t score, or record a penalty, and the historic event took place amid little fanfare.

Click here to read more…

The NAACP elected a health care executive as its youngest board chairman Saturday, continuing a youth movement for the nation’s oldest civil rights organization.  Roslyn M. Brock, 44, was chosen to succeed Julian Bond. She had been vice chairman since 2001 and a member of the NAACP for 25 years.

Brock works for Bon Secours Health Systems in Maryland as vice president for advocacy and government relations, and spent 10 years working on health issues for the W.K. Kellogg Foundation. She joins Benjamin Todd Jealous, the 37-year-old CEO of the NAACP, as leader of the 500,000-member organization.

Brock said she plans to focus on pushing for policy changes to eliminate inequality, strengthening the relationship between the national and local NAACP branches and holding people accountable.

“It’s not always what someone is doing to us, but what we are doing for ourselves,” Brock said in an interview.

The departure of Bond, 70, after 10 years as board chairman marks a turning point for the National Association for the Advancement of Colored Pepole.

Bond came of age in the segregated South, helped found the Student Non-Violent Coordinating Committee and was on the front lines of the protests that led to the nation’s landmark civil rights laws. He is a symbol and icon of “the movement,” which was a defining experience for older generations.

Click here to read more…

VIA:  AltheaGibson.Com

Born August 25, 1927 in Silver, SC, A right-hander, grew up in Harlem. Her family was poor, but she was fortunate in coming to the attention of Dr. Walter Johnson,
a Lynchburg VA physician who was active in the black tennis community. He became her patron as he would later for Arthur Ashe, the black champion at Forest Hills (1968) and Wimbledon (1975). Through Dr. Johnson, Gibson received better instruction and competition, and contacts were set up with the USTA to inject her into the recognized tennis scene.

A trailblazing athlete who become the first African American to win championships at Grand Slam tournaments such as Wimbledon, the French Open, the Australian Doubles and the United States Open in the late 1950s. Gibson had a scintillating amateur career in spite of segregated offerings earlier in the decade.

She won 56 singles and doubles titles during her amateur career in the 1950s before gaining international and national acclaim for her athletic prowess on the professional level in tennis.

Gibson won 11 major titles in the late 1950s, including singles titles at the French Open (1956), Wimbledon (1957, 1958) and the U. S. Open (1957, 1958), as well as three straight doubles crowns at the French Open (1956, 1957, 1958).

Check out this tribute to Althea Gibson:

Watch Althea win @ Forest Hills 1957: