Source: stacksmag.net

Investigators may not have been able to determine what caused Tyler Perry’s Atlanta studio to burst into flames in May, but they have alreayd figured out what led to the blaze that broke out at the compound yesterday morning. According to the Associated Press:

“Investigators have determined that a fire at filmmaker Tyler Perry’s Atlanta studios was caused by careless smoking.

Capt. Marian McDaniel is with the Atlanta Fire Rescue Department. McDaniel said Tuesday that no criminal charges were pending.

The fire broke out Monday morning on the roof of a building undergoing repairs. It took firefighters about an hour to get the fire under control. The structural integrity of the building was not compromised.”

So much for the Spike Lee/hater/enemy theory. TP needs to enforce a non-smoking policy ASAP though, and start docking someone’s paycheck.

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Source: Poptower.com

After “Basketball Wives” creator and executive producer Shaunie O’ Neal announced that she wouldn’t return to “Basketball Wives” for Season 5 unless three castmembers were cut, Kesha Nichols, Royce Reed, and Jennifer Williams all received pink slips. Now all of a sudden Shaunie is saying she was totally “blindsided” by the cut.

TMZ reports:

“Basketball Wives” star Shaunie O’Neal says it’s not her fault three cast members were axed … telling people she learned the news when everyone else did …

But Shaunie is telling friends, despite the accusations, the cuts were NOT made by her. Sources close to Shaunie tell TMZ she was blindsided by the news. Shaunie says the production company leaves her in the dark about everything after she butted heads with them over the violent direction the show was headed (i.e on-air brawls and cat-fights).

According to our sources, Shaunie is upset over the current situation and wants Shed Media (the production company) to know she is willing to walk away from the series if it becomes something she no longer believes in.

So, Shaunie expects us to believe that she had nothing to do with the cuts? Is Shaunie redefining the word “blindsided” to mean “not blindsided at all” the way her show has redefined “wife” to mean “not married to anyone”? Maybe Shaunie is saying that she was blindsided by who got cut — especially since many thought it would be Tami and Evelyn. Still, it is hard to believe that she isn’t exerting control over who is in and who is out.

Further, her threats about walking away from the show if it becomes something she no longer believes in doesn’t make sense. What could possibly happen now that would make her walk away considering she has stayed put despite what happened last season?

Shaunie trying to distance herself from the problems on that show is ridiculous considering she is the creator and executive producer. But I guess the reality show star’s finger pointing isn’t surprising considering she has already said: “I won’t take responsibility for what [the show] has turned into.” Clearly, she will place the responsibility on any and everyone else instead. Shaunie is hard to believe though because, like with this most recent backpedaling, it is evident she is all about the drama both on-screen and off.

Do you think Shaunie is really in the dark about “Basketball Wives?”

Alissa Henry is a freelance writer living in Columbus, OH. Follow her on Twitter @AlissaInPink or check out her blog This Cannot Be My Life

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This morning, one of  my co-workers said, “Does Cory Booker think he’s Batman?” Well, when you spend your evening saving someone’s life, there’s no think to it. You are a super hero.

Last night, the Newark, New Jersey mayor was returning home from an interview when he saw that his neighbor’s house was on fire.

According to the Star Ledger, the 42 year old Democratic mayor fought off his own security detail to get into the burning building. By the time he reached the second floor, Booker said he was engulfed in flames and smoke.

“I suddenly had the realization that I can’t find this woman.” Booker said. “I look behind me and see the flames and I think “I’m not going to get out of here. Suddenly I was at peace with the fact that I was going to jump out the window.”

Then he heard her cries in a back bedroom.

“I just grabbed her and whipped her out of the bed,” Booker said. The two made their way downstairs, where they both collapsed, Booker said.

The mayor, the woman he rescued and three other people were taken to the hospital and treated for smoke inhalation and burns.

As if his actions weren’t enough, the mayor is still very humble about his heroics. This morning he told reporters:

“I’m a neighbor and did what most neighbors would do, which is jump into action to help a friend.”

Hmmm. For the record Mr. Mayor, people would like to think they could and would do something like this if the situation ever arose; but in actuality, most people wouldn’t.

The mayor, who sustained second-degree burns, is back at home now, with a bandaged hand.

Much respect to the him.

Considering Cory Booker is a bit of a cutie, I have just three words: We.go.together.

Do you think you could have done what Mayor Cory Booker did?

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Source: nbc33tv.com

Her name is Sweet Brown and she is either your worst nightmare realized or a funny anecdote to a story that could have been tragic.

Last Saturday, Brown narrowly escaped a three-alarm blaze that engulfed the Chateau DeVille apartment complex in Oklahoma City. The fire, which apparently started in the apartment of a wheelchair-bound woman, sent one resident to the hospital, destroyed five other homes and left as many as 44 apartments without electricity. Most of them will probably end up in shelters provided by the Red Cross until the complex is repaired or a permanent living situation can be found.

After the early morning fire had cleared, local news channel KFOR descended upon the scene to scope out residents for a first-hand account of how it felt to escape the fire. That’s when they found Sweet Brown. Donned in a carefully knotted mutli-colored head scarf and fronting a thick backwoods drawl, Brown described in the most dramatic fashion her horrifying experience, when she realized her apartment complex was on fire.

Said Brown, “Well, I woke up to get me a cold pop and I thought somebody was bar-b-quein’, I said oh Lawd Jesus, it’s a fare. Then I ran out, I didn’t grab no shoes or nuthin’ Jesus. I rr-ran for my life. Then the smoke got me – I got bronchitis. Ain’t nobody got time for that.”

Have you started face palming yet? Well, you wouldn’t be alone. If you watch the actual video, you will see a young man lurking back and forth in the background, shaking his head and palming his face as well. But the story of Ms. Brown doesn’t end there. You see, yesterday, the video went viral with over 350,000 views.  Pop culture blogs like Gawker proclaimed Sweet Brown as the next big viral star and Hip Hop Wired has said that she is coming for Antoine Dodson’s crown. And with that, six million black folks in the US collectively face palmed again. I can almost hear the chorus of many of them cursing her name and decrying how “she has set us back about 50 years.”

But me, I love everything about this clip. What’s not to love? First, who really does have time for bronchitis? Secondly, there is her name. That’s the kind of name you associate with somebody who makes sweet potato pies for a living or a Ray Charles song, not someone chilling at home, drinking pop (or soda, whatever you want to call it). Thirdly, who knew that Jesus was part timing it up as a television news reporter in Oklahoma? You would think that being the Son of God would garner him some cool perks like working in one of the top television markets. Must be the recession. And finally, she wakes up in the middle of the night, smells smoke and instantly thinks there’s a barbecue going on. Well played Ms. Brown, well played indeed.

Remember when the video of Antonine Dodson warning people to hide their loved ones was all the rage on the internet? Well, Oklahoma’s Sweet Brown might be coming for that coveted crown. It just so happened that a fire broke out in Sweet’s neighborhood and she was the person the news team wanted to speak with for their 40-something second package. I could describe how the interview went down, but it’s probably best if you just watch Sweet tell it in her own words.

Now for the analysis. We all know that network television is a business and there is certainly money to be made by featuring subjects who play into stereotypes. Sweet fits that bill to a tee. She’s wearing a headwrap, smiling to expose gold teeth and speaking in the type of ebonics one wouldn’t typically associate with Oklahoma. Those stereotypes aside though, I cannot help watching this video, over and over again. The light in her eyes, the cackle at the end as she describes her ailment and the way she pronounces “fire,” fahhhr absolutely slays me. In the past few hours,  I’ve watched Sweet’s video more than I ever watched Antoine. Am I wrong? Perhaps, but it still doesn’t take away from the fact that I find this video nothing short of hilarious.

What do you think, is Sweet more embarrassing than entertaining?

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