The First Lady taking questions on Twitter. via @FLOTUS

Michelle Obama took to Twitter yesterday to take questions about her anti-obesity initiative “Let’s Move,” just one more way the First Lady has been out there promoting the program in recent weeks. Although some people used it as an opportunity to take shots at the President and the program, it was effective for getting the word out.

“Since 2009, Mrs. O has effectively used social media, especially Twitter, to promote her causes and reach people she might otherwise miss. But her husband’s opponents know how to use social media, too, to promote their causes and to bash the president through the first lady,” writes USA Today.

Still on tour to promote “Let’s Move! Active Schools,” which the White House hopes will be adopted by 50,000 U.S. schools, Michelle Obama held her first Google+ hangout last week.  And while the First Lady may appear to be having a lot of fun, dancing with kids and even “mom dancing” with NBC late night host Jimmy Fallon, it is also about business, reports TheGrio.  For the fitness movement, FLOTUS has partnered with a long list of corporate partners such as  Wal-Mart, Walgreens, Darden Restaurants, and Nike, which put up $50 million to support fitness programs including “Let’s Move! Active Schools,” which will be administered outside the White House.

Wenn

Remember how we told you last week that English fashion designer Vivienne Westwood wasn’t a fan of our First Lady’s fashion sense? Well it seems that many others DO NOT share in such a sentiment (including her own people), because Michelle Obama was pegged as the Best Dressed Woman by English publication, the Sunday Times. It was their first Best Dressed List, so it’s clear they’ve started on a good note. This wouldn’t be the First Lady’s first time on such a list, as her style moves have put her front and center on Best Dressed lists for Vanity Fair and People. The FLOTUS was placed on the list amongst many other famous political figures, including the Queen Elizabeth II and many others. In an interview with the Daily Mail, Style Magazine said Michelle Obama was probably picked as the Best Dressed Woman around because she inspires the style of many other women with her love of mixing affordable pieces with high-end joints and showing off some of the best looking arms the world has to offer. They say she’s a style maven because she understands that “her primary role as first lady is visual, fashion can be a force for good used to inspire and entertain.” I mean really, she’s made Jason Wu’s designs a must-have, managed to put J.Crew clothing in the spotlight and made kitten heels cool. She’s a baaaaaad bad lady. Congrats dear!

Aside from Michelle Obama and many of the other women from abroad who made the list (including the youngest Best Dressed “woman”–Shiloh Jolie Pitt), Lady Gaga unfortunately got put on the Worst Dressed List. If you’re wondering why, just remember her in that meat dress…

What do you think of Michelle Obama getting picked as Best Dressed?

Source(s): WENN, Telegraph

It seems that almost everyone has an opinion about the eye-catching clothing worn by First Lady Michelle Obama. Whether she selected her garbs from the local Target or had her dress custom designed by Naeem Khan, one thing is for sure: whatever the FLOTUS puts on is sure to be the topic of conversations. Eric Wilson of the New York Times recently caught up with famed fashion designer, Vivienne Westwood. The 71-year-old designer, who just a few weeks ago publicly criticized Duchess of Cambridge, Kate Middleton for not recycling her outfits enough, also had a few negative things to say about Mrs. Obama’s sense of style.

When asked by Wilson during the Q&A session whether or not she loved Michelle Obama for making a conscious effort to recycle her clothing, Westwood surprisingly responded:

“Don’t talk about her. It’s dreadful what she wears.”

Clearly thrown off by Vivienne’s statement, Wilson replied, “What?” attempting to gain clarity.

“I don’t want to talk about it. Really, I can’t. She’s a very nice looking lady, but it’s a nonstarter regarding clothes that suit her. Jackie Kennedy was a different matter altogether. It just has to suit her and be something that makes a human being more glamorous. That’s what fashion is there for. It’s there to help, not just to make you look more conservative,” Vivienne explained.

While I’m sure there are many who wouldn’t agree with Westwood’s statement, everyone is entitled to their opinions.

What do you think of Vivienne’s take on Michelle Obama’s clothing choices?

Source: AP

From StyleBlazer

One of the many reason we adore First Lady Michelle Obama is that she is a champion for fitness! In her words and in her actions, she makes the nation’s health her main priority. And to prove that she’s totally in the know when it comes to hip technology, she hosted her own Fireside Chat on Google + Hangout to talk about her Let’s Move! initiative. Hosted by Kelly Ripa, the chat focused on the First Lady’s mission to get children fit and active in the classroom, which encourages at least 60 minutes of physical activity every day.

The First Lady also shared the healthy snacks that are favorites in the White House kitchen. The fit family enjoys  apples and vegetables with hummus: “We’re just like everybody else — anything that’s a fruit or vegetable that gives us the energy we need before a workout, it does the body good.”

Watch the Google + Chat on StyleBlazer.com.

First Lady Michelle Obama speaking in Missouri last Thursday. (AP Photo/Orlin Wagner)

Although the First Lady’s anti-obesity campaign, Let’s Move, has prompted awareness of healthy eating issues, some are criticizing her approach. The campaign, which has celebrated its third anniversary, is the White House’s effort to fight obesity, especially in children. The latest stats indicate that about one-third of U.S. children are overweight or obese.

According to a recent op-ed Michelle Obama wrote for the Wall Street Journal making the business case for healthy food, companies are making money off of health food. But some in the food industry have criticized the campaign as government intrusion, according to the Huffington Post.

“Conservatives accused Mrs. Obama of going too far and dictating what people should — and shouldn’t — eat after she played a major behind-the-scenes role in the passage in 2010 of a child nutrition law that required schools to make foods healthier,” reports HuffPo.  And some companies are complaining that healthier food costs more and thus doesn’t sell as well.

In her editorial, FLOTUS wrote, “Every day, great American companies are achieving greater and greater success by creating and selling healthy products. In doing so, they are showing that what’s good for kids and good for family budgets can also be good for business.”

Whole Foods, which sells  healthy offerings, has increased its sales at an annual average rate of 13 percent over the past five years, according to financial site, The Motley Fool. And, sales of organic foods grew by 9.5 percent in 2001, outpacing the traditional grocery industry, according to Business News Daily.

However, according to a New York Times investigation, major food companies boost their bottom line by making addictive and extremely unhealthy products.

Still, nutritionists applaud the effort. Larry Soler, president and chief executive of the Partnership for a Healthier America, told the news site that Mrs. Obama has “been the leader in making the case for the time is now in childhood obesity and everyone has a role to play in overcoming the problem.”

And the general public seems to welcome the influence. According to a recent Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research poll, more than eight in 10 of those surveyed, 84 percent, support requiring more physical activity in schools, and 83 percent favor government providing people with nutritional guidelines and information about diet and exercise. Seventy percent are in favor of restaurants putting calorie counts on menus, and 75 percent consider being overweight or obese a serious problem in this country, according to the telephone survey of 1,011 adults.

More than that, Michelle Obama is a great spokesperson for the issue. Ever since her video with Jimmy Fallon went up a little over a week ago, “The Evolution of Mom Dance,” it has gotten over 14 million views. That video was to promote the Let’s Move campaign.

Adding criticism upon criticism, there are some that say the First Lady is making too many public appearances. Even if her Let’s Move work is justified, some were put off by her video appearance on the Oscars. She responded to that on the Today show on Friday.

“That’s just the nature of life,” the First Lady said about the criticism. Of course, she’s also gotten a lot of attention she didn’t ask for over her new bangs, an issue brought up during the interview as well.

According to HuffPo, Wal-Mart, the world’s largest retailer and the site of that Today show interview, now not only includes nutritional labeling on its store brands  but has also pledged to cut sodium and added sugars by 25 percent and 10 percent, respectively, by 2015, and remove industrially produced trans fats. Leslie Dach, a Wal-Mart executive vice president, told HuffPo that sodium in packaged bread has been cut by 13 percent, and added sugar in refrigerated flavored milk, popular among kids, has been cut by more than 17 percent.

How successful do you think the Let’s Move program has been?

WENN.com

Even though the Academy Awards were last Sunday, we’ve learned quite a bit throughout the week about the people nominated, involved with the show and who just happened to show up. For instance, who knew that there was all this Anne Hathaway hate? Seriously, what’s up with a “Hathahater”?? Also we learned that Jack Nicholson is a bit creepy when it comes to the young gyals (just ask new Oscar winner Jennifer Lawrence). And of course, some people weren’t too pleased with seeing Michelle Obama at the show, presenting the Best Picture award at the end of the night for the Ben Affleck directed movie Argo.

An Iranian news agency wasn’t feeling her gorgeous gown, so they Photoshopped her dress to make her look more covered, but mostly, the usual bitter suspects didn’t think she should have presented at all (even if she wasn’t physically at the show) because she has nothing to do with Hollywood. One Conservative we saw on a morning show this week said her appearance made the White House look “small.”

Haters. All of them.

Anywho, while making press stops to get people enthusiastic about her Let’s Move Campaign, an initiative to combat childhood obesity, on Today she commented on all the critics who always seem to have something to say about every move she makes.

“That’s just the nature of life. I mean, we live in a time when there are bloggers and tweeters and 24-hour news and everyone has a voice in this town square, and it’s a big one. That means at any point at a given time, somebody’s not going to like what you do. That’s the nature of things. It’s not really about me. I just happen to be in the public eye and along with everybody else in the public eye, you’re subject to conversation, opinion and all that sort of stuff. There’s nothing new about that.”

That Michelle, always keeping it cool as a cucumber. And from checking out the comments to her response via E! News, I can tell most of the people griping about her showing up at the Oscars are the same people who gripe about her doing everything else. From the clothes she wears to the places she goes and just being fabulous and chilling in the White House with her husband for a second term that they clearly didn’t want to see happen. I’m glad that the FLOTUS realizes that somebody is ALWAYS going to have something to say, but while they waste time doing that, you just have to continue to do you. Boom! Take that “critics.”

From Pitchfork:

“Last night, “Late Night With Jimmy Fallon” welcomed First Lady Michelle Obama, who talked about the listening habits of the First Family. Obviously, they’re all into Beyoncé, but she also noted that Sasha and Malia are Frank Ocean fans (via Consequence of Sound).

And First Lady Michelle Obama is okay with that?

Okay, so what’s the big deal about Sasha and Malia listening to Frank Ocean? Nothing actually. Despite thinking he was hyped for the wrong reasons, I like Frank Ocean, and I particularly appreciate the way in which he maneuvers in and out of traditional R&B to create a somewhat different sound than what’s out today. However, Ocean is not what I typically think of as a young adult-friendly artist, and especially not safe for the daughters of the first black president. While Ocean has a way with words, his words do mostly revolve around excess, sex, wholehearted love, and drugs. For instance, “Pilot Jones” may be cleverly prosed, but it also speaks rather bluntly about being in a relationship with a strung-out woman. Another example is “Pyramids,” which starts out painting a beautiful picture of Queen Cleopatra, the last pharaoh of Ancient Egypt, but after about three minutes, morphs into a slow whine about a much different Cleopatra, who it seems works at an actual club called the Pyramids. So yeah, while there are some musical differences between Frank Ocean and the rest of his R&B contemporaries, clearly, in some ways they are the same.

So don’t nobody go think I’m saying that Ocean is setting a bad example to the youth of our generation. To the contrary, I think children can learn from his use of metaphors and imagery. However, can someone explain to me how did Frank Ocean get passed White House clearance to be deemed safe enough to mention in a national interview? I’m thinking that some of his themes alone would be enough fodder for some crazed Republican to claim that the Obamas were secretly trying to corrupt the mind of the nation’s children. Also, I just can’t imagine the Obama girls jamming to the following: “Novacane Baby, Baby/Novacane baby I want you/F**k me good, f**k me long, f**k me numb/Love me now when I’m gone love me none/Love me none, love me none/Numb numb, numb numb…”

That song, if you quite haven’t figured it out yet, is called “Novacane” and it is about falling in love (OR, not being able to) with an Adult Video star, who also wants to be a dentist. Although I like the song, I’m sure that there is some metaphorical deeper meaning that I have not fully understood. But the song is pretty graphic in content. And since the late ’80s, similar themed songs, particularly those coming from the hip-hop and R&B community, have faced scrutiny for graphic content and themes, many of which are similar to this Ocean track. Most particularly, both genres of music have been blamed for some pretty damning stuff in the black community – from the over-sexualization of our young black girls to even the mass incarceration of young black men. So I wonder how does the First Family reconcile with the girls’ taste in music and the sexual themes and messages, which might exist in a song?

Well, according to an article in Glamour, President Obama once stated the following about Malia:

“You know, we actually don’t constrain what she listens to. We expect her to show some good judgment. She listens to my iPod and has gotten hip to stuff that was made well before she was born like Motown, jazz, classic rock. There’s a whole bunch of stuff that she’s picking up on. We actually share tastes in hip-hop and rap music but we don’t listen to it together, because some of the language in there would embarrass me—at least while I’m listening to it with her. Folks like Jay-Z, Nas, we both like them, but when it comes on and I’m sitting with her and Sasha, then I fast-forward because it would make me blush…. It’s interesting, both Malia and Sasha, they’re very much up on pop culture, but what I’m pleased to see is that they’re interested in making culture too. They both play the piano, and Sasha’s dancing, and Malia’s interested in filmmaking.”

I don’t think that President Obama, the First Lady, and more specifically Sasha and Malia’s open adulation of Frank Ocean – or any other Hip-Hop or R&B musician- sends the wrong messages. Heck, I’m not sure it sends out any message other than stating that the kids have pretty decent taste in music. And clearly we are talking about the Obama girls and there is no doubt that they are getting the best education and guidance that being the children of a president and first lady of the United States can afford them. However, if rap music and sexually explicit R&B does not mean that one is destined to be anti-social and basically a degenerate to society, as in the case of the Obama girls, perhaps we might be overstating its importance or relevance in addressing the problems in our community?

Source: ABC

In her first sit-down interview since President Obama’s inauguration, First Lady Michelle Obama chatted with the wonderful Robin Roberts of ABC to discuss the latest addition to her childhood obesity efforts, the Hadiya Pendleton tragedy that shook the nation and why America’s children have been one of her biggest priorities since her husband’s 2008 presidential election.

On gun violence and the Hadiya Pendleton tragedy:

“Hadiya was an honor student. One of the things that her mother said at the funeral was ‘I did everything I was supposed to do,’ and she was absolutely right. She did everything she was supposed to do. She was standing out in a park with her friends a few blocks away from where my kids grew up, where our house is and she was caught in the line of fire. I just don’t want to keep disappointing our kids in this country. I want them to know that we put them first.”

On her fight against childhood obesity with the “Let’s Move” campaign: 

“When we started, there were a lot of people in this country who would’ve never thought that childhood obesity was a health crisis. But now we’re starting to see rates of obesity coming down like never before. This new initiative that we’re announcing, the ‘My Plate Recipes’ partnership, we’re collaborating with some of the top media companies in this country and they are compiling and labeling and promoting recipes that meet the ‘My Plate’ guidelines.”

On a lighter note, the FLOTUS also humorously discussed how President Obama is handling raising a teenager in the White House and the possibility of Malia dating.

“Fathers in particular, I don’t think they really know how they’re going to feel until it happens. There’s nothing like the look on his face when Malia dresses up for a party and she’s heading out. She walks past and you can see his face sort of just … drop a little bit. He’s a little gray. People think the gray is from his job, it’s from his children. So, we’ll see how that goes.”

Check out the video of Mrs. Obama’s interview on the next page.

FLOTUS is making big news on the Internet after a surprise appearance on last night’s Oscar broadcast that’s getting as much discussion as the Academy Award winners themselves.

After being introduced by Jack Nicholson, Michelle Obama, who made the unannounced appearance live from the Diplomatic Room of the White House, paid tribute to Hollywood, celebrating movies “that lift spirits, broaden our minds and transport us to places we never imagined,” reports The Hollywood Reporter.

“These nine movies took us back in time and all around the world,” she said. “They made us laugh, made us weep, and they made us grip our armrests just a little tighter. They taught us that love can endure against all odds and transform our lives in the most surprising ways. And they reminded us that we can overcome any obstacle if we dig deep enough and fight hard enough and find the courage to believe in ourselves.”

The First Lady even made a fashion statement with a Naeem Khan dress, which she wore to the White House Governors’ dinner earlier in the evening.

White House communications director, Kristina Schake, told THR,  “The Academy Awards approached the First Lady about being a part of the ceremony. As a movie lover, she was honored to present the award and celebrate the artists who inspire us all – especially our young people – with their passion, skill and imagination.”

Besides the Oscars, a video of her “mom dancing” with Jimmy Fallon during her recent appearance on his show has gone viral. She had visited his show to promote her “Let’s Move” fitness campaign. In a sketch she did before a sit-down interview with Fallon, the pair struck many an awkward pose during a performance entitled “The Evolution of Mom Dancing,” reports the Global Post newspaper. So far, the video on YouTube has 4,153,252 views. Check it out below if you haven’t already.

The skit was a spoof on the wildly popular “Evolution of Dance,” which went viral and has been viewed more than 200 million times on YouTube, according to MSNBC.

Some are saying that the First Lady might be making too many appearances. Is it possible for her to become overexposed?

Getty Images

Where were you the night First Lady Michelle Obama broke out into the dougie on national television?

On Friday night, Michelle Obama took to the talk show scene when she made her first appearance on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon. She was there to promote her “Let’s Move” initiative and before they sat down to talk, Mrs. Obama and Fallon (as a woman) performed a nifty number described as “The Evolution of Mom Dancing.” The dances ranged from “The Hip Bump to the “Just the hands part of the Single Ladies Dance” and finally, “the Dougie,” which “Mama Fallon” sat out because it was a bit too advanced for “her.”

After the dance performance, Mrs. Obama sat down with Fallon to discuss the strides they’ve made with the “Let’s Move” initiative, including Wal-Mart lowering prices on fruits and vegetables as well as the obesity rate of children in Mississippi being lowered by 13 percent since “Let’s Move” kicked off three years ago.

While Jimmy Fallon shared with Mrs. Obama his wishes to see a Clinton/Obama (Michelle, that is) presidential ticket in 2016, the First Lady said she has her own plans: to possibly take over as host of Jay Leno’s show whenever he decided it was time to retire.

For whatever some may think of President Obama, you’ve got to work really hard to dislike the First Lady – she’s just so likeable!

Check out “The Evolution of Mom Dancing” below!