BEYOND THA BASICS: August 2008

Sunday, August 31, 2008

Awww...Introducing Nahla

The beauty continues with little Miss Nahla

Thursday, August 28, 2008

History in the Making!

Tune in this evening to the Democratic National Covention to hear Barack Obama accept the nomination!!! There are so many people in my family I wish was alive to see this moment!

Can someone please tell me why is Micheal Jackson walking around in his pajamas in public? I do not believe this is acceptable behavior for someone who is about to be 50...Then again does Micheal ever do anything that is acceptable??

Spotted: Sanaa Lathan

Sanaa was spotted at a Blackberry Pink Curve party in L.A.

Ashanti Performs in L.A.

Ashanti performs at a free concert in L.A... I must say she is looking good these day for someone who's latest album just bombed!

Wednesday, August 27, 2008

Spotted:Chris Brown & Rihanna AGAIN!!!!

I am really getting tired of these two but, they are so cute!

Mo' Money ..Mo' Money..

Bossip.com Reports:
"Hip-hop artist and businessman Shawn “Jay-Z” Carter and his partners said Wednesday they are selling their 40/40 Club in Las Vegas for an undisclosed amount. The 24,000-square-foot sports bar and lounge in The Palazzo and Casino will not operate under the 40/40 brand, as the sale is for the lease and not the naming rights, the partners said. No reason was given for the sale of the Vegas branch of the club franchise.
“The sale is a great business decision; we are delighted. We look forward to expanding the brand even further to Chicago and Tokyo,” Carter said in a statement. Carter and his partners said they plan to open 40/40 clubs in Chicago, Tokyo and Macau in the next 12 months".

Tuesday, August 26, 2008

Solange looks Nice....Then Again...

Solange outfit is cute until you get to her tights! She is trying so hard to create her own lane but her stylist should have put her on..Then again Mama Knowles is her stylist right?? Don't we all Love the House of Dereon!! :-(

Dr Dre Son Found Dead at the Age of 20

AllHipHop Reports: "Dr. Dre’s son has reportedly died, according to the Los Angeles County Coroner.

The body of Andre Young Jr. was found in his Woodland Hills home on Saturday morning, says a report in the L.A Weekly.

Andre Young Jr. was only 20".
http://allhiphop.com/stories/news/archive/2008/08/26/20446619.aspx

You Are Cordially Invited to View the Wedding Pics of Melinda Williams & Derrick "D-Nice" Jones

Melinda's bridesmaids includes her two sisters, Derrick's daughter Ashli as well as actress' Vanessa Williams, Nicole Ari-Park and Terri J. Vaughn

Derrick and his groomsmen appauld the Bride as she walks down the aisle.

Bride and father

Congrats Mr & Mrs Jones

Full Story: http://www.essence.com/essence/photogallery/0,14168,1835714,00.html

Its Party Time!

Simmons Girls Party in Vegas

The two beauties showed up for a GIANT magazine party in Vegas last night.

Monday, August 25, 2008

Dancing with the Stars

Susan Lucci, Toni Braxton set for ABC's `Dancing'

NEW YORK — Susan Lucci, Toni Braxton and Lance Bass will hit the floor on ABC's "Dancing With the Stars."
They are among 13 celebrities slated to compete on the new season of the top-rated dance contest, premiering Sept. 22.

The other contestants are Cloris Leachman, Kim Kardashian, Ted McGinley, Brooke Burke, NFL champ Warren Sapp and two Olympic athletes: Misty May-Treanor, who won her second gold medal for beach volleyball at this year's summer games in Beijing, and Maurice Greene, who won two gold medals in track at the 2000 games in Sydney.
Rounding out the cast are chef Rocco DiSpirito, Cody Linley of "Hannah Montana" and comedian Jeffrey Ross.
The names were announced Monday on ABC News' "Good Morning America."
Kardashian, who co-stars with her family on the E! reality series "Keeping Up With the Kardashians," checked into a New York City hospital Sunday after cutting her foot on a glass table in her hotel room.
"I will be able to dance. I went to the hospital. I'll be fine," she said in a phone call to "GMA."
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ABC is owned by The Walt Disney Co.
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On the Net:
http://abc.go.com/

Friday, August 22, 2008

Another One Bites the Dust!

TMZ Reports:

"Da Brat will go where a lot of rich white criminals don't -- prison...over rum.She was just sentenced to three years for hitting a woman with a rum bottle last October. She'll get an additional seven years probation".

So it seems like going to jail is the thing to do for washed up female rap artist. So Eve I guess you are next or maybe Latifah, shoot anything is possible..

Story: http://http://www.tmz.com/2008/08/22/da-brat-rum-and-soap/

Out & About: Chris Brown & Rihanna

The two young love birds were spotted while shopping on Melrose. They tried to walk apart but please everybody know they are together.....

Nike Sportswear Block Party

Larenz Tate was there....Does he ever age????

Bill Bellamy was in the house

Spike Lee and Serena hung out.

Q-Tip and Solange

Spike and the kids..

Solange Performs

Beyonce's baby sis performed at the J&R Music Festival yesterday in NYC

And guess who was in attendance sporting her very favorite bag..

CAN SOMEONE TELL ME WHY IS SHE STILL RELEVANT?

Cassie was on the season finale of FNMTV.

Thursday, August 21, 2008

Is It Just Me??

David Banner 2008

David Banner Early in his Career

Has David Banner changed drastically through the years??

You be the judge...

Finance Tips by G. Hogan

Don’t Lose Your Home; It’s one of the MOST Important Assets you can OWN
1. Do NOT Ignore the PROBLEM: Contact your lender IMMEDIATELY
2. PRIORITIZE your Debts:
Is your LUXUXRY CAR more important than your home?
Down Grade your CAR! Instead of having a $700 car note, TRADE and get something with a $350 car note! You can always get that STATUS QUO car back LATER!
3. Have you thought about taking a SECOND JOB?
Let the PRIDE GO! A few extra dollars a month can help you save your HOME!
IT”S ALL ABOUT SACRAFICE! This will all blow over soon!

Speak with a HUD Approved Counselor
HUD Approved Housing Counseling Agencies
Call – 1-800-569-4287 or click link below to search for counselors in your state:
http://www.hud.gov/offices/hsg/sfh/hcc/hcs.cfm.

Credit: When was the last time you checked your credit? Did you know you can do it for FREE?
Most States allow you a free report from all 3 major credit agencies;
Equifax, Experian and Trans Union
Click on link below for Annual Credit Report. You will have to put in personal information, it will also ask for a credit or debit card, YOU WILL NOT BE CHARGED if you are in a state that allows free annual reports. You will be asked several security questions related to past employment, past addresses, past or current debts.
AnnualCreditReport.com - https://www.annualcreditreport.com/cra/index.jsp

You are also entitled to a free credit report if you are denied credit from someone. So if you apply for a credit card, car or loan and you are declined, you are entitled to a free credit report.

DON’T be surprised about your credit, know what is on there. You should check your credit at least once per year (for free), if not every six months.
You can also request a report by mail:
Equifax
P.O. Box 740256
Atlanta, GA 30374

Experien
P.O. Box 9532
Allen, TX 75013

TransUnion
P.O.Box 6790
Fullerton, CA 92834

If you are a victim of FRAUD, you can place a fraud alert on your credit file:
Lenders will be required to contact you to verify if you have applied for a loan before the loan or account is opened.
Equifax: 1-877-576-5734; http://www.equifax.com/
Experian: 1-888-397-3742; www.experian.com/fraud
TransUnion: 1-800-680-7289; http://www.transunion.com/

Your credit will allow to get almost anything you want! Buy a home, start a business

Career Advice by G. Hogan

JOB SEEKERS
Times are TOUGH, people are losing their jobs left and right.
There are many online job sites like MONSTER, CAREER BUILBER, etc. these sites have resume filters that looks for certain key words contained in your resume. Another GOOD source for Job Seekers is your State Department of Labor.
I just did a search for my state and found PLENTY of available jobs ranging from minimum wage to $50.00 per hour!
Jobs requiring little to no experience – professional jobs requiring College Degrees.
Keep an open mind, when you don’t have a job almost anything beats a BLANK. Sometime you have to START OVER and WORK your way UP AGAIN. Get your foot in the DOOR. Times and jobs are too hard to come by now in the CRAZY, UNCERYTAIN ECONOMY!

Here is the link for you to find your state office.
http://www.dol.gov/esa/contacts/state_of.htm
Once your there then you click find a job or search jobs.
Also, many state department of labor agencies have job fairs once a month. You can find that information on your states department of labor site.

Here are some other job searching websites:
http://www.usajobs.opm.gov/

http://www.craigslist.org/about/sites.html - YES, Craigs List has jobs posted on there as well.

Personal Finance by G. Hogan

Another One Bites The Dust – How this affects your 401K Another Bank goes under; MEGA Bank Wachovia acquired by CITI GROUP. Now why is this important, many employees are now BROKE since many have a large portions of their 401K in company stock. This is not a good idea whether you work for a financial institution or not. If you have most of your allocations in the company stock and the company goes under then you lose most of your hard earned retirement money. You shouldn’t have any more than 10% – 15% in your company stock. You should also review your 401k allocations at lest once a year. Most of us don’t even pay it any attention or even know what we are looking at in our 401K. If you work for a financial institution you have a many advisors at your leisure to call and ask them to review it with you. You can also ask someone in your human resources; benefits plan administrator for the company that manages your 401k and they can go over your accounts with you for FREE. If you do not participate in your 401k at all, you are losing money since most companies match a percentage of your contributions dollar for dollar. FREE Money but don’t have it all in one basket!

Credit Advice By G. Hogan

Re-Establishing Credit after a BANKRUPTCY:
No matter what the reason was for filling bankruptcy, you got a PASS and need to START OVER and re-establish your credit.
It seems like before the ink is dry credit card companies and auto dealers start sending you applications and pre-approved notices in the mail. This is NOT a Bad thing. You have to get back into managing your debt and credit responsibly and one of the ways to do it is by getting 2 new credit accounts, typically 2 credit cards or 1 credit card and one car loan. Now, the rates on some of those offers may be EXTREMLY HIGH anywhere from 18% -24%, you may even get some lower. The key is to read the FINE PRINT. These types of offers will also have an annual fee. You will have to pay a little bit more to get back in the CREDIT GAME. You may also get a low limit $200-$500, AGAIN its ok. BABY STEPS! You have to build TRUST again. Review all offers, interest rate vs. annual fees and pick the one with the lowest rate and or annual fee. If you find that you applied for 2 credit cards even though they say pre-approved for bad credit and previous bankruptcy and get DECLINED, you may have to apply for a Secured Credit Card. This is where you send the company a check say for $500, then they issue you a credit card with a $500 limit. They will hold onto your deposit until they feel that you have used and paid back the account in a responsible manner. Most companies will send back your money anywhere from 18 – 24 months.
If you decide to re-establish your credit and you should, you have to make sure you don’t fall into a lot of debt again. You should only charge small amounts, maybe for some gas, dinner, rental car, etc BUT make sure you can pay if off when your statement arrives. You want to only use about 30% of your available credit. So this means if you have a limit of $1000, you should only have a balance of $300. Banks and lenders consider this an acceptable amount of usage. You are penalized for carrying large balances on your credit cards. It HURTS your Credit Score!
As far as the car offers, if you need a car and can get a loan get one BUT make sure the finance company or any company you borrow money from, report monthly to one of, if not all the credit agencies. Stay away from BUY HERE, PAY HERE places. They typically have shotty cars, excessively high interest rates and do not report to any of the 3 major credit agencies.
If you can get 2 credit cards and use them responsibly, this can increase your credit score dramatically over the next 12 months. You will be working your way up to getting back in the GAME and will soon be able to get credit from a traditional source (like your bank) after 2 – 3 years following a bankruptcy. Remember BABY STEPS!

BEYOND THA BASICS

The Atlanta Housewives are Coming...