If you think you have what it takes, or could actually stomach working for Kanye West, here’s your chance.

Last night the rapper/fashion designer/inventor? announced plans to launch a design company named DONDA to develop products and services that “marry our wants and needs.”

“DONDA is a design company which will galvanize amazing thinkers and put them in a creative space to bounce their dreams and ideas,” he wrote.

“I am assembling a team of architects, graphic designers, directors musicians, producers, AnRs, writers, publicist, social media experts, app guys, managers, car designers, clothing designers, DJs, video game designers, publishers, tech guys, lawyers, bankers, nutritionist, doctors, scientist, teachers.

“DONDA will be comprised of over 22 divisions with a goal to make products and experiences that people want and can afford,” he said. “We want to help simplify and aesthetically improve everything we see hear, touch, taste and feel. To dream of, create, advertise and produce products driven equally by emotional want and utilitarian need.”

Kanye’s passion for his new idea is undeniable and he’s also pretty proud of the company’s name.

“I’m so excited about the name…. it’s got the best name ever of all companies of all time!!!” he wrote. “The name of the company is DONDA.”

Just be warned. Kanye revealed the details of the new company amidst a three-hour twitter rant on missed opportunities, closed doors, and fronting his owm money to pursue his passions, so he’s still the same old Ye. Nevertheless it’s cool to see him thinking outside the box like this and honoring his mother’s memory at the same time. He also told anybody who wants in on the team to drop a line to contactDONDA@gmail.com.

What do you think about Kanye’s idea? Can he pull it off?

Brande Victorian is a blogger and culture writer in New York City. Follower her on Twitter at @be_vic.

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Do you want to know why so many women stay single in today’s dating market place? One of the culprits keeping women in the lonely hearts club is that they’re setting unrealistic standards. A lot of women today have taken the philosophy that if a man is not making Lebron James money or have stocks like Donald Trump, then that man is not worthy of a their time. Sadly this mindset is heavily prevalent in the black and minority community. You see so many black women pass up great husband candidates because he doesn’t “make enough.” Well that’s her preference and prerogative, but meanwhile these same women wind up spending another birthday with her girls, another lonely Christmas watching Rudolph the Reindeer on TV with her dog because of this so-called prerogative.

Sure there are lots of successful black athletes, male singers and entertainment figures that we see everyday on every screen who have achieved dizzying heights of success that should be celebrated and applauded. But, I believe the mindset of, this is the ONLY kind of man that’s datable is damaging for our chances at love connections. This mindset makes it appear that its the only ideal for black love to aspire to. Not true at all.

There are many successful men behind the scenes that yearn for love, loyalty and commitment just like women do, but because our culture has bombarded us with what their image of the “perfect man,”  some of us have lost sight of the most important things we should be seeking in a mate. The men that have occupations outside of the football field, stage or recording studio get labeled as “regular” or “ordinary” with not as much to offer as the men who spend 90% of their time in the spotlight. So a lot of times, the ordinary men get written off before they’ve even been given a shot to prove their worth to some women.

I once was having a conversation with a good friend of mine and we were discussing her serial single-ness. I was offering up some options of how we could maybe break this drought in her love life. She, being a successful young woman approaching her mid 30′s had conquered all other aspects of her life with flying colors, but when it came to dating and relationships, something was obviously holding her back. It was during that conversation on a sunny, Saturday afternoon that I realized what it was. She described to me that all the guys she was interested in were too busy chasing paper, chasing hits and chasing their goals. Not chasing her! And the ones that were interested in her, she was turned off by because they weren’t exciting enough. She exclaimed to me, “what am I gonna talk about over dinner with a dentist,” or “he’s the manager at a real estate office, how boring” and my favorite one,  “I have nothing in common with a graphic artist…” And I said to her, “only thing you two have in common is that he’s single and looking for a solid relationship and so are you; if that’s not a common interest, I don’t know what is.” I explained to her that there is nothing wrong with dating an “ordinary guy.” All ordinary guys are not users and scam artists. And a lot of times it’s the ordinary ones that have a clearer vision of what they want for their lives in terms of love and commitment and sooner than a man that lives for the spotlight. Not always, but more often than not.

(Crain’s) — The parent of Carver Federal Savings Bank holds its annual stockholders meeting April 4 at The Studio Museum in Harlem, near the bank’s 125th Street headquarters. It could be the last.  Time may be running out for Carver, the nation’s largest bank founded and run by African-Americans and an integral part of the city for 63 years. Staggering under a load of delinquent real estate loans, the bank is under orders from the U.S. Office of Thrift Supervision to raise $20 million in fresh capital by the end of this month. That’s a steep climb for a bank that at best posts annual profits of $5 million. Yet if Carver can’t raise the cash, regulators can either seize the institution and sell it to another bank, or dissolve it.

Longtime Chief Executive Deborah Wright has pulled Carver back from the brink before and has many high-level business and political connections who could help the bank get the needed funds.  But backers would be buying into an institution where 12.3% of the loan portfolio is more than 90 days delinquent. The industry average is 4.9%, according to Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. data. In addition, although $74 million of its loans are well overdue, Carver has just $21 million in reserves to cover loan losses.  “It’s worrisome,” said William Michael Cunningham, founder of Creative Investment Research, a Washington firm that tracks minority-operated banks. “Carver faces real challenges, because the impact of the financial crisis has hit the communities that it serves especially hard.”

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