Essence

Do you make an effort to make your man feel necessary? Does he feel needed in your relationship?

Some women balk at the idea of “needing” a man to do anything or the idea that they should “help a man feel like a man.” However, there are other women who feel loved and appreciated and want to reciprocate that feeling. These women know a good, spontaneous, well-timed ego stroke goes a long way to mutual happiness in a relationship. Of course, that doesn’t mean a self-sufficient woman should morph into a helpless toddler. That would be disingenuous, but there are times when a woman should consider taking a break from running the relationship and allow her man to handle business.

Ask Men

Let him change your tire/Jump A Dead Battery/Check and refill the oil

When I was 16, my dad taught me how to change a tire. “I will never have to do this,” I told him. “I will always have my phone and therefore, always be able to call someone.” He customarily responded, “You can’t rely on people.” So there, in the middle of a parking lot on a bitterly cold, snowy winter evening, at the direction of my dad, I changed a tire. My dad also taught me how to use jumper cables to jump a dead car battery and how to check/fill my oil if the light came on.

Many women are capable of taking care of their own car troubles, but it doesn’t hurt to let your man feel like the hero while you chill in the car. Especially when it’s cold outside!

Beyonce’s talented but I don’t think she can be in two places at one time. Amidst reports that the singer has checked in to St. Luke’s Hospital and is ready to give birth to a baby girl Twitter followers have named Tiana May Carter (SMH), Ryan Seacrest has let it be known that “you will see Beyonce” on the Rockin’ New Year’s Eve special this year.

With Beyonce you never know what to expect.This could be a teleprompter appearance, she could reveal a new music video, she might even dance in pumps 6-9 months pregnant. Maybe she’ll give us the first glimpse of the baby, if she really already gave birth. The possibilities are truly endless.

With or without Beyonce, the 40th new year’s eve special promises not to disappoint with performances by Lady Gaga and Justin Bieber. Guess we’ll just have to tune in to catch the big “midnight surprise.”

Do you plan on watching the new year’s eve special this year? What do you think Beyonce has planned?

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

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If you couldn’t get enough of watching Kandi Burruss on the “Real Housewives of Atlanta,” (new season starts on November 6) you’ll be glad to know that homegirl is about to get her own special on Bravo. She’s just going back to her musical roots on-screen, thankfully without Kim Zolciak’s involvement.

The former Xscape singer will have the chance to turn up-and-coming musicians into pop stars with her new special series, The Kandi Factory. On it, she will choose two performers to come to Atlanta and school them on how to succeed in the music industry.

If you didn’t know, Kandi, aka, Kandi Girl, is a pretty big songwriter outside of Xscape. She penned “No Scrubs” for TLC, “Bills, Bills, Bills” for Destiny’s Child, and numerous other hits bangers for artists like Usher and Alicia Keys. I don’t know if she’s necessarily the go-to chick for making someone into a pop star (“Tardy for the Party” didn’t get Kim too far…), but I’m glad to see her work with that blasted “Real Housewives of Atlanta” is opening up more and more doors. As my friend and hundreds of other people like to say, “You Better Work!”