FORGIVE ME, FELLOW BLOGGERS ...

I've been slippin' on my posts & honestly, I don't think it's right to whoever's actually reading my blog (lol) ... The thing is, my computer's broken (smRYh) But don't you guys/gals worry, the blog'll be back running before the up & coming summer months. Just keep your patience, people ...

Got Sum Treats For Y'all! (Courtesy Of Rich Yung Boss)

Let's start thing off RIGHT, w/ this exclusive BMW 850 concept ... Nuff said

GET WELL SOON: Stephen Hawking

Famed mathematician Stephen Hawking has been rushed to a hospital & is seriously ill, Cambridge University said Monday. The university said Hawking has been fighting a chest infection for several weeks, & was being treated at Addenbrooke's Hospital in Cambridge, the university city north of London. "Professor Hawking is very ill," said Gregory Hayman, the university's head of communications. "He is undergoing tests. He has been unwell for a couple of weeks." Hawking, 67, gained renown for his work on black holes, & has remained active despite being diagnosed at 21 with ALS, (amyotrophic lateral sclerosis), an incurable degenerative disorder also known as Lou Gehrig's disease. For some years, Hawking has been almost entirely paralyzed, & he communicates through an electronic voice synthesizer activated by his fingers.
"Professor Hawking is a remarkable colleague. We all hope he will be amongst us again soon," said Professor Peter Haynes, head of the university's Department of Applied Mathematics & Theoretical Physics. Hawking had canceled an appearance at Arizona State University on April 6 because of his illness. He announced last year that he would step down from his post as Lucasian Professor of Mathematics, a title once held by the great 18th century physicist Isaac Newton, at the end of this academic year. However, the university said Hawking intended to continue working as Emeritus Lucasian Professor of Mathematics.

Her Mind Gets Better With Age, Like Wine

A Nobel Prize-winning scientist said Saturday that even though she is about to turn 100, her mind is sharper than it was she when she was 20. Rita Levi Montalcini (who also serves as a senator for life in Italy), celebrates her 100th birthday on Wednesday, & she spoke at a ceremony held in her honor by the European Brain Research Institute. She shared the 1986 Nobel Prize for Medicine with American Stanley Cohen for discovering mechanisms that regulate the growth of cells & organs. "At 100, I have a mind that is superior — thanks to experience — than when I was 20," she told the party, complete with a large cake for her. The Turin-born Levi Montalcini recounted how the anti-Jewish laws of the 1930s under Benito Mussolini's Fascist regime forced her to quit university & do research in an improvised laboratory in her bedroom at home. "Above all, don't fear difficult moments," she said. "The best comes from them."
"I should thank Mussolini for having declared me to be of an inferior race. This led me to the joy of working, not any more unfortunately, in university institutes but in a bedroom," the scientist said. Her white hair elegantly coifed & wearing a smart navy blue suit, she raised a glass of sparkling wine in a toast to her long life.

Best Concept Car Since The "Range Stormer"

With twin sequential turbochargers & a capacity of just 1.8 litres, the F700 DiesOtto generates 238hp. An electric motor adds another 20hp & boosts total torque to 295lb ft. As a result, the S-class-sized F700 has S350 performance. Thanks to the efficiency of the engine, plus an urban start/stop function & regenerative braking, it returns up to 53mpg. Highly impressive for a big limo like this. And Pre-Scan, what’s that about? Pulsed laser sensors scan the road surface up to 7m in front of the car, detecting bumps & feeding the information back to the F700’s Active Body Control suspension. As a bump approaches, ABC uses its hydraulics to raise the body slightly, then releases the hydraulic pressure to allow free wheel movement. In effect, it lengthens & softens the springs as a bump approaches, to provide what Mercedes likes to call a ‘flying carpet’ ride. Does it really ride like a flying carpet? Mostly, yes. Roll & pitch are all but eliminated, transverse ridges in the road surface are magically erased, & minor ripples are smoothed for a calmer, quieter ride. Speed bumps are more heard than felt: Mercedes says production versions of the system will need ‘environment detection’ so the car will know when it’s in an urban area, & won’t let you race over speed bumps … & does a 1.8-litre four-pot really work in a luxury saloon? That was one of the questions Mercedes aimed to answer by building DiesOtto as a four-cylinder engine: small, light fours are bound to be more environmentally friendly that hefty multi-cylinder motors, but can they provide the performance & refinement an S-class customer expects? Performance isn’t in doubt. At 1700kg, the F700 is no featherweight (though it is light for a full-size saloon) yet the combination of 1.8-litre DiesOtto engine & the electric motor deliver brisk performance. In some ways the engine is remarkably refined: the trickiest part of getting DiesOtto to work is to manage the transition between HCCI & spark-ignition modes, which Mercedes has done incredibly well. An almost imperceptible difference in engine note is the only indication, but ultimately this is still a four-cylinder engine: it needs to be smoother & quieter for a big, pampering luxury car.

The Eco-Friendly Christmas Tree

Like, seriously ... A Christmas BOOKtree ?!!! I was wab-surfin' when I found this on the IJM photography site (http://www.ijm.nl/) and thought to myself, "Either they're just bored, or they get very, Very, VERY fuckin' high !!!" I mean, it's in all way-shape-form eco-friendly to the enviroment, and costs absolutely NOTHING, which'll save alotta people money during the holiday season (and the recession if it's still here by Christmas), doesn't this shit look high ?.. Or is it just me ?.. Hmmmmm ...

Touchin' The Sky ... W/O Kanye !!!

Lupe Fiasco teams up w/ Justin Timberlake & Ethiopian-born Pop singer Kenna will climb Africa’s Mount Kilimanjaro to raise awareness about the global water crisis. Kenna speaks on his reasons of volunteering for the event. "My dad almost died as a child from waterborne diseases in Ethiopia, & he had talked to me about digging a well there, & I thought, ‘I have too many friends who would be concerned with the subject of clean water. Maybe I can help out." If the three artists make it to the summit they will have climbed Africa’s highest peak. The mountain, which is located in Tanzania, is nearly 20,000 feet high. "I’m an adventure junkie,” explained Lupe Fiasco. “Part of the motivation is beating Kenna to the top. Sabotaging his tent, taking the lining out of his coat, lacing it with ants or something like that." The lengthy climb is expected to take place some time during fall later this year. While we're speaking on Mr. Kick, Push ... Lupe Fiasco last month stated to the people (the public, that is) that he would be releasing his third studio album, entitled 'Lasers' later this year.

Asher Roth: Hip-Hop Is BLACK Music

Asher Roth may be the epitome of keeping it real. On the surface, there’s nothing inherently special about the 23-year-old rapper who’s set to drop his debut LP later this month. Roth is far from a wannabe & makes no attempt to hide his suburban upbringing. Recently, Roth dropped his thoughts on Hip Hop & all those comparisons to another famous white rapper. Ultimately, he blames the commercialization of Hip Hop & Hip Hop culture that brought him to where he is today. “Unlike Eminem, I'm classic white,” he says of his style & sound. “I'm talking about yoga & yogurt covered in fruit. I represent more of a suburban middle-class lifestyle.”While he believes Hip Hop is universal, he gives all of the credit to the original pioneers of the industry, many of whom are black. “Besides the white guys who sell it & push it, hip hop is black music,” he stated. But when that push extended to Roth’s suburban home, he caught the urge to step to the mic & tell his story. “But it got to the point where they were targeting us, the white people in the 'burbs. We got brought up on it, but suddenly when a 23-year-old white kid who's been inspired by Jay-Z starts rapping, it's a bad thing? C'mon, those rappers were talking to us the whole time. It's interesting to see what this is turning into. I was just this punk kid rapping to the laptop in my sophomore year in college. That's what hip-hop has turned into.”And then there’s that whole Eminem thing. Roth hopes his album track “As I Em” will sum everything up. “Now when I get asked, I can say, ‘Refer to song 8. Conversation over.’”

Biggest Pillow Fight That I've Seen Thus Far

Police in Detroit have ruffled some feathers after they cracked down on an organized pillow fight at a downtown park. The Detroit News reports that police at Campus Martius Park prevented the feathery fight Saturday by disarming pillow-toting participants. The bout was part of a worldwide event organized on social networking Web sites. Michael Davis of Hamtramck says police confiscated the 32-year-old man's pillows but returned their cases. He says he was told that he needed a permit. Scott Harris of Ferndale told the News that it's "not illegal to own a pillow." Detroit police spokesman James Tate says cleanup was the issue.

Citi Presents The MySpace Credit Card

MySpace has stamped its name on a new Citi credit card, in which users can earn rewards redeemable through MySpace such as free music downloads, concerts, movie premiere screenings, etc. The announcement has not been met with a tremendous amount of enthusiasm however. For example, Marshall Kirkpatrick at ReadWriteWeb says, "MySpace is a lot of things, and despite Facebook's formidable attack it remains wildly popular, but an institution of trust and responsibility MySpace is not!" From the purely financial standpoint as well, the card has had some shortcomings pointed out already. "Noticeably absent from the manifesto is a call to pay off your balance every month, which you'd better do since the card has a starting APR of 14.24% which is high even for a student with limited credit history," explains Josh Smith at Walletpop. "As a comparison, the same Citi FORWARD card without a MySpace logo carries an APR of 12.24% which is still high but a full 2% less than that of the MySpace card." To be fair, the move isn't being poorly received by everyone. "This is a no-brainer for MySpace, as all they really need to do is supply their brand & collect referral fees from Citi," says Mashable's Adam Ostrow who notes that MySpace continues to "run laps" around its competitors in terms of monetization. Furthermore, the rewards program might provide a little extra spark to MySpace Music, which the social network launched in the later part of last year. Citi spins the MySpace branding of the card as highlighting social responsibility since you can earn points for "completing socially responsible acts" like donating to food drives, going paperless, switching to energy efficient light bulbs, etc. More details can be found at the card's official site & its MySpace profile.

Crisis In Darfur "On Brink Of Deepening"

The humanitarian crisis in Darfur is "on the brink of deepening," US envoy Scott Gration said on Saturday of the war-ravaged Sudanese region, calling for renewed cooperation with the government & an end to hostilities. "I came away very concerned about what I saw & believe that we are on the brink of a deepening crisis in Darfur," he told journalists after a morning visit to the Zam Zam displaced persons camp in region's north. "We have to come up with a solution on the ground within the next few weeks." Gration was speaking a month to the day after the government expelled 13 international aid agencies in protest at an arrest warrant against President Omar al-Beshir for alleged war crimes in Dafur. He said it was imperative to get assistance into the country "so that these people don't die & they don't incur any more suffering," but also expressed confidence that "this crisis can be avoided." "What I see as immediate problems are water & health care," he said, arguing that the "crisis can be prevented & mitigated by coming up with a flexible, creative & workable plan to ensure these folks can have access to critical medical sanitation & nutrition assistance too." The expelled agencies had distributed food, offered medical care & provided access to water to some 2.7 million people displaced by civil war in Darfur. Gration reached out to local non-governmental organisations (NGOs) as an initial step with the hope of widening the scope for others eventually.
"We want to work with Sudanese NGOs. I believe they have the capability to fill some of the gaps in terms of food." "We need an environment where we can use all sources, NGO help, maybe NGOs that come in from Arab nations, additional NGOs from traditional donor countries & maybe a workable solution for some of the people that have been working in the area historically." The retired air force general said there also needed to be a political solution to the Darfur conflict. "We all have to embark on a very aggressive short-term process to bring peace to this region,"

Let's Pizza: The Pizza Vending Machine

An undated handout photo shows a man eating a pizza baked in a vending machine (at rear). A vending machine that bakes fresh pizza in minutes for a few euros has got Italian chefs in a whirl before it hits the streets in the coming weeks. The bright-red "Let's Pizza" machine uses infra-red rays & technology developed at the University of Bologna to knead flour and water into dough, spread it with tomato sauce and a choice of topping, and cook it --- all in less than three minutes. For all of the fat boys across the globe, get ready for MAYHEM !!!!!

No More Albino Extermination!

Burundi has arrested eight people found with human bones suspected of belonging to albinos, a government official said on Sunday. The tiny east African nation & neighbouring Tanzania have been convulsed by a spate of ritual albino murders fuelled by a body parts trade. Witchdoctors tell clients that albino parts will bring them luck in love, life & business. "Before arresting them, we did a search & found human bones in their houses," said Nicodeme Gahimbare, a public prosecutor in the eastern Ruyigi province. "The eight were denounced by two other detained people who have already confessed to killing two albinos," Gahimbare said. Albinism is a condition that causes a lack of pigment in the eyes, skin or hair, which makes patients especially vulnerable to skin cancer & burns, & makes life particularly difficult in sun-drenched Africa. Since last year, 11 albinos have been killed in Burundi. Forty others have been murdered in Tanzania since mid-2007. Kazungu Kassim, the head of a Burundi albino association, said: "Authorities have now realised that the killing of albinos is a serious matter which needs concrete action. We urge the government to double efforts in protecting albinos, because what we are witnessing here is a planned extermination of the albino community." There are about 200 albinos in the nation of 8 million people.

Twitter.com ... Need I Say More ?..

I hope nobody sues me for "logo-stealing" (lol) but it's actually promotion. For who, you say ?.. For Twitter, that's who. Speaking of such, follow me & millions of other people. Twitter.com/RichYungMello

The Rich Yung "Signature"

I'm really, Really, REALLY starting to think that this "Rich Yung" guy actually exists. Nigga doin' signatures now ?.. Like, seriously: WTF is goin' on, y'all ?.. If anyone knows otherwise, then let ME know !!! Nahhh, I'm just bustin' y'all bubbles (if that's how it's said) New Rich Yung Spring '09 collection in stores NOW ...

This The ONLY iPhone I'M Coppin' ...

Following the trend the Austrian designer & jeweller Peter Aloisson has rolled out the $176,400 Princess Plus iPhone & now ... it's turn for the new Apple iPhone 3G “Kings Button” that is constructed of 18 carat yellow gold, white gold & rose gold. The white gold line is encrusted with a total of 138 brilliant cut diamonds of the best quality, BUT: the most prominent feature of this one-of-a-kind phone is it's home button that features a rare 6.6 carat diamond. This stunning diamond-encrusted iPhone comes for a whopping €1,790,000 (US $2,517,345), For the price, it steals the crown of the world’s most expensive iPhone.

Reef Island Hilton Hotel: Lookin' Good

Hilton Hotels Corporation has announced that it has signed a management agreement with Diyar Al Bahrain, to open the first Conrad hotel in the Kingdom of Bahrain in 2011. The Conrad Bahrain, will be located in one of Bahrain's most luxurious developments, the newly-built Reef Island off Bahrain's capital city Manama & will feature 250 guest rooms & 50 apartments. The Conrad will also offer its business guests unparalleled meeting facilities, including a business centre incorporating the latest technology, six sizeable meeting rooms, two banquet rooms & an impressive ballroom. To wind down, guests will be able to enjoy the hotel's shopping arcade or utilise the fitness facilities, including a tennis court, squash court, swimming pool & health club. Reef Island's features will also include, among other attractions, open parks, an Aquarium, a luxury shopping mall, a marina & a Yacht club.

My Black Card Right Here ... Wit' The Diamonds !!!

A bank in Kazakhstan, an oil-rich Caspian nation, has unveiled a new VISA card encrusted with a shiny 0.02 carat diamond & laced with an elaborate gold pattern. "It's (designed) for a private club of VIP clients," said Dmitry Nikolin, executive director of Kazakhstan's mid-size Eurasian Bank which released the card on Tuesday. The card will be issued for clients with an annual income of at least $300,000, targeting a thin layer of affluent consumers in a vast nation where the average monthly wage is about $500. The diamond-encrusted credit card will be offered to clients beyond Kazakhstan as well.

Got My Black Card. Where's Urs ?..

In case you haven’t heard already, Visa has launched their own Black Card. This card will be made from carbon graphite, sport a $450 annual fee (much lower than centurion), offer a 24hr concierge like the Amex Platinum & Centurion, & has allows access to Travel Lounge Priority Pass. The Visa Black Card has a unique feel because it is made out of carbon graphite. This higher-end construction makes the card feel elite & distinct. The Visa Black Card will be limited to less than 1% of the US population, meaning that you will probably have to do over a million dollars in purchases per year, though the specific terms have not been released.

Houston: We've "Fixed" The Problem

Astronauts worked inside and out of the international space station on Thursday to install the last set of solar wings, considered the top job of shuttle Discovery's mission. The $300 million framework holding the folded-up wings still had to be hooked up, but getting the final set of wings in place was a significant milestone. Spacewalking astronauts Steven Swanson and Richard Arnold II helped their colleagues inside the shuttle-space station complex cautiously move the 31,000-pound, 45-foot-long girder into position with a robotic arm. "Keep coming," one of the space-walkers said. "It really looks good to me." The actual attachment occurred an hour into the spacewalk. With that, Swanson and Arnold immediately began securing the girder to the space station with a series of bolts. They also had to hook up lots of connections. Discovery delivered the new wings earlier this week. It's the final of solar wings to be installed at the 10-year-old space station and will bring it to full power. It's also the last major American-made piece of the space station. Before going back inside, Swanson and Arnold must release and remove the locks and cinches holding down the solar wings. That will allow the 115-foot wings to be unfurled Friday, an even more nerve-racking procedure than the one Thursday about 220 miles above Earth. The last time astronauts tried to unfurl a solar wing in 2007, it snagged on a guide wire and ripped. Emergency repairs were required. Six solar wings already are in place at the space station. The new ones will bring the number to eight, with four wings on each side. The space station "is almost symmetric, looking forward to that becoming permanent today," Mission Control said in a wake-up message to the astronauts. NASA needs the extra electrical power that the new wings will provide in order to boost the amount of research being conducted at the space station. The pace of science work will pick up once the number of station crew members doubles to six; that's supposed to happen in two more months. "Give us some more power," the space station's skipper, Mike Fincke, told the spacewalkers as they floated out. Swanson was making the third spacewalk of his career. Arnold, a former schoolteacher, was on his first.
Thursday's spacewalk was the first of three planned for Discovery's space station visit. There should have been four spacewalks, but delays in launching the shuttle cut the mission short.
Discovery needs to leave the space station Wednesday so that a Russian spacecraft can bring up a fresh crew.

Aye Weezy: Send Those Documents, Mang

Rapper Lil Wayne must turn over financial records for his latest album to a folk singer who has accused him of copyright infringement. On Wednesday, U.S. Magistrate Daniel Knowles III ordered the New Orleans rapper to hand over records about the sale of 2008's "Tha Carter III."
Karma-Ann Swanepoel claims in a federal lawsuit filed in May that Lil Wayne didn't have permission to sample her song "Once" in the track "I Feel Like Dying." The lawsuit says Lil Wayne's record label, Cash Money Records, failed to negotiate a license to use Swanepoel's song before millions of people downloaded "I Feel Like Dying."

For All My Gamers Out There ...

Soooooo ... they (as in Bill Gates & the entire Microsoft staff) Finally came out with a all red Xbox 360. Whoooooooo, Jesus !!! Now, what about that all red Playstation 3 ?.. Let's just see where this competition starts & ends ...

Pimpin' Curly: THE MOVIE

Like, for real ... A Pimpin' Curly MOVIE ?!!!! After Episode #6 that just premiered on WSHH (World Star Hip-Hop) he shouldn't have to make that hard of a decision. Go hed, Fif ... that shit'll sell out the box office in 2 DAYS !!! I bet anyone any amount of guap it do (hahaha) Werd ...

Jay-Z Lives The Best Life. Right, Best Life ?..

When Jay-Z told the world that he wasn’t “a business man, I’m a business, man,” the world seemed to take notice. After humble beginnings with a once independent Roc-A-Fella Records, Mr. Carter rode his success to the top of the charts & the top of the boardroom. In a new interview (shout-out to Best Life), Jay-Z dropped some gems on business, personal tastes, and the secrets to his success. On his personal tastes: "I've always wanted to stay true to myself, and I've managed to do that. People have to accept that. I collect art, and I drink wine...things that I like that I had never been exposed to. But I never said, 'I'm going to buy art to impress this crowd.' That's just ridiculous to me. I don't live my life like that, because how could you be happy with yourself?"On business: "My brands are an extension of me. They're close to me. It's not like running GM, where there's no emotional attachment.""The clothes are an extension of me. The music is an extension of me. All my businesses are part of the culture, so I have to stay true to whatever I'm feeling at the time, whatever direction I'm heading in. And hopefully, everyone follows."To read the full interview, click here.

Kanye West/Louis Vuitton Collabo: Poppin' or Floppin'

Since word broke a few months ago about a sneaker project done by Kanye West & Louis Vuitton, info was scarce and kept under wraps. Photos finally surfaced of (most) of the lineup recently, but pricing has still been a bit of a mystery and a guessing game - until now. I know I might be a couple of days behind everyone else, buut I found information about the upcoming Kanye West x Louis Vuitton shoes including the prices and the names of each model. The men’s collection consists of three models, the Louis Vuitton Don’s (most likely named after Ye, but also could be a shout to Don C, his manager), Jasper’s (named after Kanye’s barber), and the Mr. Hudson’s (named after the G.O.O.D Music artist and 808 collaborator of the same name).

The Cleveland Show Brings You: Kenny West !!!

According to the famed Chicago Hip Hop blog Fake Shore Drive, Chicago rapper Kanye West may possibly be lending his voice for a character on the Family Guy spin-off, "The Cleveland Show". Informed of the possible Kanye appearance by a “reliable source”, Fake Shore Drive was told that Kanye will be playing a character named Kenny West. Aside from appearing in "State Property 2" & possibly "The Cleveland Show", Kanye has rarely appeared in any movies or television shows. Created by Family Guy’s Seth MacFarlane, The Cleveland Show will revolve around the lives of Cleveland Brown & his family as they move from Rhode Island to Virginia. Aside from the possible Kanye appearance, The Cleveland Show already boasts an impressive list of actors which will include Sanaa Lathan & Nia Long as Cleveland’s wife & daughter. The Cleveland Show developers Seth MacFarlane & Mike Henry will also lend their voices for the show. The Cleveland Show is expected to air some time this Fall.

Album Sales, Blogs & MySpace: Hand In Hand

When Ghostface Killah professed his disappointment last year about the lack of sales for The Big Doe Rehab compared to the amount of friends he had listed on his MySpace page, questions on the real influence the giant networking site had already been raised. In a recent study titled, “Does Chatter Matter? The Impact of User-Generated Content on Music Sales,” New York University researchers looked to reveal this problem concerning online content & sales, & whether or not there was a way for music Web sites to increase sales inadvertently through independent content. With MySpace being one of the major resources for fans to check out their favorite artists, researchers hypothesized that, “On average, a band with thousands of friends on MySpace to be more popular with MySpace users than a band with a handful,” thus selling more albums in the first month. Using the rankings of Amazon.com, one of the world’s largest online retailers, researchers determined the outcome of their studies surprising to say the least. For one, they found that an increase in MySpace friends for an artist did not correlate to an increase in sales. Not only that, but the amount of MySpace friends did not serve as a strong indicator for album sales in general. On the other hand, blogs that posted content of artists repeatedly on their sites, termed “blog chatter,” resulted in relatively more sales for the artist. Through this study, it would seem that Ghostface’s concerns & artists expectations in general for sales should now be attributed to blogs rather than label-invested outlets.

Who U Tryna Fool, Uncle M ?..

Former Roc-A-Fella Records rapper Uncle Murda, who now goes by the moniker Uncle M, was convicted yesterday over an attempt to use a fraudulent California identification card, according to the Los Angeles Times. The charge, which happened in May of 2008 at the Los Angeles International Airport, occurred when an L.A.X. screener became suspicious as Uncle M, real name Leonard Grant, presented his ID card. While the photograph matched the name, police investigating the claim soon discovered that the ID number belonged to another person. Pleading “no contest,” Uncle M was found guilty for one count of possession of a counterfeit ID, with Uncle subsequently being sentenced to 50 hours of community service to go along with 18 months of probation. Frank Mateljan, spokesman for the city attorney’s office, explained the reasoning behind the city’s decision. “It was a legitimate ID. But it was the ID of another individual.” Added Mateljan, “He was trying to pass it off as his own. His motivation for doing so is unknown.”

Ickett ... 1 Helluva Name, M.I.A.

According to Latina, rapper M.I.A. has named her newborn baby boy "Ickett." The boy was born February 11th. Before giving birth, she blogged: "MY EARLY STAGE LABOUR KICKED IN AROUND 2 AM. MY BABY WAS BORN WEDNESDAY (FEBRUARY 11). HE IS HEALTHY, FINE, BEAUTIFUL & THE MOST AMAZING THING EVER ON THIS PLANET, OF COURSE IM HIS MUM!!!" The "Paper Planes" rapper famously performed "Swagga Like Us" with Jay-Z , T.I., Lil' Wayne & Kanye West at the Grammys Feb. 8 -- the same day she was due. Ickett is the first child for M.I.A, whose real name is Mathangi Maya Arulpragasam & her fiance, musician Benjamin Bronfman.

Stock Market Headed For Disaster ?!!!!

Stocks plunged today, with the Dow Jones industrials briefly falling as much as 331 points & ending at levels not seen since April 1997. The slump was built on steep declines in financial stocks -- Citigroup briefly fell to 97 cents, & the fear that General Motors might collapse. At the same time, many investors around the world were disappointed that China did not announce an expansion to its economic stimulus program. The expansion had been expected & was a major reason why stocks rallied on Wednesday. The Dow finished down 281 points, or 4.1%, to 6,594, wiping out all of its gains on Wednesday & dropping to its lowest close since April 15, 1997. The blue chips were off 300 points on Monday. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index was off 30 points, or 4.3%, to 683, its lowest close since September 1996. The Nasdaq Composite Index was off 54 points, or 4%, to 1,300, its first close below 1,300 since March 12, 2003. The sell-off sets Friday as potentially a very volatile day of trading. The government will report on U.S. unemployment & nonfarm payrolls before Friday's open. The consensus estimate is for the unemployment rate to hit 7.9%, up from 7.6% in January, & for payrolls to drop by 650,000.
So far this year, the Dow is down 25% & is off 53% since peaking in October 2007. The Dow, S&P 500 & the Nasdaq have fallen in 11 of the last 15 sessions. The sell-off in U.S. markets mirrored heavy selling in Europe & parts of Asia. The selling also sent many frightened investors to seek safety in U.S. government securities, gold & silver. Gold closed up $21.10 an ounce to $927.80; silver was up 21 cents to $13.12 an ounce. The yield on the 5-year Treasury note fell to 1.81% from 1.97% on Wednesday. The yield on the note has fallen more than one-tenth this week.
Crude oil fell in sympathy with the market, closing down $1.77, or 3.9%, to $43.61 a barrel. The drop pulled energy shares lower. Two of Tuesday's winners -- Caterpillar and Joy Global -- were down 7.7% to $23.49 & 4.9% to $16.69 after China disappointed investors by not announcing a second economic stimulus plan today.
Exxon Mobil (XOM, news, msgs) fell 5.3% to $62.22, subtracting nearly 28 points from the Dow. Chevron's (CVX, news, msgs) 4.8% decline to $56.46. pulled 22 points from the blue chips.

Build-A-Baby: Free Shipping & Handling

Do you want blue eyes with your baby? That's one of the questions a fertility clinic will be asking, when it begin offering custom-designed babies to would-be moms & dads. Dr. Jeff Steinberg, who operates clinics in Manhattan & Los Angeles, says that within six months he plans to let customers choose their baby's eye, hair, & even skin color. Steinberg, who helped produce the first test-tube baby, admits the technology is not 100 percent perfect, & says best results are couples with Scandinavian heritage, whose gene pools are least diluted. Critics, though, have blasted the idea of designer babies, likening it to the pursuit of a master race.

Awwwwz ... Look At The Cute Lil' Baby

This is my godson, Jahsil. Not much to say, actually ... I mean look at him. Isn't he adorable ?..

A "Diplomatic Homecoming" ?..

After a highly publicized falling out, there just might be a Dip Set reconciling on the way. In a recent interview with MTV, Cam said it happened thru a phone call to Freekey Zeekey, that led to a brief chat with Jim Jones. "Everybody has been reaching out. I've been the one kinda saying Cam is going to take time do Cam,” he said. “But Hell Rell and J.R. [Writer] definitely been reaching out. I called Zeke's phone four or five days ago and Jim picked up [Zeke's phone]. Me and him spoke for about 10 or 15 minutes, but me and Zeke speak all the time. I haven't spoken to Juelz [Santana]." The former leader of the pack that dominated the mix tape scene in the early part of the new millenium described the conversation with Jones as “cordial” and hinted at a possible reunion of sorts sometime down the line. "It was cordial. He knew it was me," Cam'ron said of the convo. "He said we was gonna holla — maybe we'll put something together. But in the immediate future, I'm just doing Cam. But you never know what can happen down the line. I called Zeke's phone and I guess Zeke gave Jim the phone to holla at me. We just talked, asked about each other's family. He said he's on a promo tour. He'd be back soon. That was that." Though Cam’ron hasn’t ruled out an on stage reunion with his former crew, he also revealed that for the time being, he’s just doing him. "You never could say never. Right now, I'm kinda like in Cam zone. They been doing what they been doing for the past two or three years, but I'm kinda in Cam zone. But you never could say what could happen [in the future.] Right now I'm kinda in the Cam mind frame."

No Post Today, People

Sorry bout that, y'all ... holla atcha tomorrow or sumthin' ... Shit, at least I let y'all know today, right ?..

Don't Ever Walk To A Nuggets Game, Lol

A good Samaritan who helped push three people out of the path of a pickup truck before being struck and injured has gotten a strange reward for his good deed: A jaywalking ticket.
Family members said 58-year-old bus driver Jim Moffett and another man were helping two elderly women cross a busy Denver street in a snowstorm when he was hit Friday night.
Moffett suffered bleeding in the brain, broken bones, a dislocated shoulder and a possible ruptured spleen. He was in serious but stable condition Wednesday. The Colorado State Patrol issued the citation. Trooper Ryan Sullivan said that despite Moffett's intentions, jaywalking contributed to the accident. Moffett had been driving his bus when the two women got off. In the interest of safety, he got out and, together with another passenger, helped the ladies cross.
Moffett's stepson, Ken McDonald, said the driver of the pickup plowed into his stepfather, but not before Moffett pushed the two women out of the way. When he awoke in intensive care, he learned of the ticket. "His reaction was dazed and confused. I was a little angry," said McDonald.
The other man also was cited for jaywalking, while the pickup driver was cited with careless driving that led to injury. Sullivan said the two elderly women haven't been cited but the investigation is ongoing.

Even 'Prisons' Feel The Recession ?..

The head of the nation's largest sheriff's department is warning that nearly 4,000 jail inmates might be released early & about 600 deputy & professional positions could be eliminated to meet budget cuts. Owing to the economic crisis (aka the recession), the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department faces a $71 million cut to its $2.5 billion budget in the coming fiscal year. Los Angeles County Sheriff Lee Baca told The Associated Press on Monday it looks as if he'll have to close two jails & eliminate the positions of the staff at those facilities. "There's no way around me cutting $71 million out of the budget that won't affect having to close a jail or two," Baca said. "I have to start cutting." Baca hasn't finalized plans, but said he was looking at closing two of the county's 10 jail facilities: the old central jail, which houses about 2,300 inmates; & part of another facility in Castaic in the north of the county that houses about 1,500 inmates. Violent offenders from the closed jails would be housed in other facilities.
Closing those facilities would eliminate positions for about 400 of the department's 10,000 deputies & another 200 or so civilian jobs would be lost too. The job cuts would come primarily through a hiring freeze.

Broke People ... You Have A Problem !!!

You DAMN right y'all do! I mean, whooooo ... that Bilionaire Boys Club Dollars & Diamonds gold-plated backpack is a killer in the streets. If someone you know purchases "this bookbag right here, ni**a", all I gotta say is 3 words: ROB THEY A$$ !!!!! Just kiddin' ... but for $1,650.00, I'd attempt to rob 'em.

Random Weekend(ing) Pic

I hope the Feds don't come tryna kill me after this shananagan (sorry, I didn't know any other word to use, lol) but I was surfing the web when I came across this strange picture that we have here today. I waited 3 days before I put this pic up, because I wasn't sure if it was Photoshopped or a regular pic, and I'm STILL NOT SURE !!! All I'm saying is, that if this is a "au-naturale" pic, straight off the presses from Afghanistan, or wherever Bush said he was from, then us black folk better hurry up & think of another plan to survive in these up-and-coming years ... cus this is plain 'ole ridiculous

The "Michael Vick" Comeback: Lookin' Good

Two teams with unsettled quarterback situations (the San Francisco 49ers and the Minnesota Vikings) might be interested in acquiring suspended Atlanta Falcons star Michael Vick. Vick is in federal prison on felony charges related to dogfighting and is scheduled to be released in July. The Falcons have said they will try to trade him, though they could cut him and make him a free agent. San Francisco coach Mike Singletary said Vick deserves the chance to play in the league, and believes he will be successful if he returns. He wouldn’t say if the 49ers would pursue him. “He’s still under contract, you can’t really talk to him or have any contact with him,” Singletary said. “Right now, we’re just going to look at the quarterbacks we have and go from there.” There might be questions about Vick’s sharpness and conditioning because he hasn’t played since 2006, but he’s a proven winner who led the Falcons to an NFC championship game and has been to three Pro Bowls. The dynamic athlete has the NFL single-season record for yards rushing by a quarterback with 1,039 in 2006, and is third all-time. He also has passed for 11,505 yards in six seasons, with 71 touchdowns and 52 interceptions.

Thank God It's Friday

Well, after that ... what else is there to say? (Like, seriously) Have a good weekend, y'all !!!

Charles Barkley's Return to "Inside the NBA"

"NBA on TNT" analyst Charles Barkley, on leave since January after a drunken driving arrest in Arizona, returned tonight.
Turner Sports said Tuesday that Barkley would be in the studio for "Inside the NBA," which features Barkley as well as host Ernie Johnson and analyst Kevin Smith ... and indeed he was.
"From the beginning, Charles recognized that he used poor judgment. He took full responsibility and apologized for his actions", Turner Sports president David Levy said in a statement. "We look forward to having him back in the studio."
Barkley's leave of absence meant that he missed TNT's coverage of the NBA All-Star Game, where he would have had a key role. TNT averaged 6.8 million viewers for Sunday night's All-Star game, up 8% from the year before. Earlier this week, Barkley picked up another TV appearance with the announcement that The Golf Channel would have Barkley as a guest on its new reality series "The Haney Project." Barkley will get his golf swing analyzed by Hank Haney, a noted golf instructor.

For Those Who Know Their Black History:

Sam Wilson, better known as The Falcon, was the first African American comic book superhero in mainstream comics in Captain America #117 (September 1969). A native of Harlem, New York, Wilson was a community leader until losing both of his parents to street violence. After a brief stint as a criminal, a “Cosmic Cube” gave Wilson the ability to telepathically communicate with birds and see through their eyes, turning him into The Falcon. The Falcon works closely with Captain America and later became a member of the Avengers.

Fix That Face, Miss Carter

I'm not no multi-millionaire or nothing like that, but if MY girl had this look on her face during NBA All-Star Weekend, then I'd fly her ass back to Brooklyn, or wherever the hell she'd rather be. I mean, c'mon ... she got the"sour stomach face" on right there (smh) And I love Beyonce` but, what the hell was her problem?

This is OFF THE HOOK, Literally

A South Carolina sheriff said Monday he was not going to charge swimmer Michael Phelps after a photo of the 14-time gold medalist showed him smoking from a marijuana pipe. Richland County Sheriff Leon Lott said during a news conference that he didn’t have enough physical evidence to charge the swimmer, but he defended his investigation. “Michael Phelps is truly an American hero … but even with his star status, he is still obligated to obey the laws of our state,” Lott said. Damn, that's how easy it is for athletes, huh?

Just A Empty Space ...

Sorry people. No post today (don't ask why) Catch me tomorrow or sumthin' ...

Happy Valentine's Day !!!

For all my couples out there, you see the caption in the picture ... Have a great Valentine's Day

Political Coincidence or Political Gangbangin'

Now let's not get offended out there, Bloods & Crips. It might actually be vice-versa. Just imagine, what if Barack was CRIP & Bush was BLOOD ?.. Something to think about, y'all ...

Killa Season ... Again? Cam'ron covers April '09 XXL Mag

With rumors of a new Dip Set line-up & his side of the infamous "break-up", Killa Cam is back on the scene! This time, he's goin' hard, and NOBODY wants no problems !!! With plans for an HBO-bound television pilot, he's not what most people would call a "couch potato". I could write about what he's saying in the XXL, but that's not really breaking news, now is it?

We Gettin' "Obama Money" ...

Well, we're not gettin' that "Obama Money" yet, but if the U.S. Treasury starts printin' these good 'ole Barack Obama-inspired $100 dollar bad boys, it wouldn't be a problem ... AT ALL !!!

WhoGotProblemz.com ... UP & RUNNIN' !!!

For all of my nationwide & international bloggers out there, ya boy Problemz FINALLY launched his very own blogspot, entitled "WhoGotProblemz.com" which is basically a site dedicated to anything pertaining to some sort of problems. Whether it be political, social, or about me (my rap alias IS Problemz, people) if it's a problem, it's here. Now don't get me wrong, this isn't on the verge of being some negative vibe/bad news sorta site, cus it'll have news on just about everything ... I just had to keep it in the right lane, as far as being associated with my music & all that. It's not actually done as of yet, but it's comin' along as of now, so we'll get there soon. Just keep your eyes & ears open, and your fingers busy, cus it's about to get crazyyy !!! Shout-out to The Rich Yung Report, Tha Lunchroom & all the other big-time bloggers doin' it big, ya heard ?..