** And just another blurb because this truly caught me off guard. I was pretty much over the Disney movie phase by the time Hunchback of Notre Dame out but after watching this clip I feel like this is one of the most inappropriate movies Disney put out. The overt sexual tension and the musical number by the Minister about his desire for Esmerelda really had me going “Seriously, not even going to try to hide it?”. And that’s all I have to say about that.**

Every Sunday night at 9 I watch Desperate Housewives faithfully. This past Sunday’s episode included not one but TWO suicide attempts. Although Desperate Housewives is known to kill off a character or two towards the end of the season, I was a little shocked at how they choose to portray the suicide attempts. The season’s newer character, Danny, ingests a bottle of pills and is discovered by his mother, Angie, laying face down on the bed. Danny is not shown ingesting the pills but the action is implied when Angie picks up the bottle that is next to his motionless body. By the end of the episode, Katherine, who has been having a mental breakdown the whole season, places a fake phone call to 911 saying she’s losing a lot of blood after Mike finally tells her that he never had feelings for her. The camera then stays on a knife on the table (that Mike placed there after Katherine asked him to kill her). The next shot is of Katherine picking up the knife followed by an off screen gasp and Katherine placing the now bloody knife back on the table.

Not even a whole 24 hours later, there was another suicide attempt on my other favorite show One Tree Hill. Much like the scenario with Katherine and Mike, the season’s new character Alex is finally told by Julian that he has no feelings for her whatsoever. Alex, a washed up actress and recovering addict later on leaves Julian a voicemail after he ignores he call saying that she’s sorry for the pain she’s caused and he won’t have to worry about her causing anyone pain anymore (all this takes place in a tight shot on her face). The following shots are of her dropping the cellphone in the tub and a wider shot of Alex sitting in a tub full of water in her underwear with her wrists bleeding.

I was more shocked with how One Tree Hill choose to convey the suicide attempt than I was with Desperate Housewives. Although it was obvious that the character’s inflicted some type of pain on themselves, the act is not shown. In the case of Katherine, her blood is shown on the knife rather than showing her bleeding from wherever she cut herself. With One Tree Hill, there was something about seeing Alex bleeding from the wrists that shocked me a little bit. Part of me only expected to see the water turn bloody after she dropped the phone as opposed to seeing her body sitting there with blood pouring from her wrists.

It is a little alarming that I’m so desensitized now. I truly was not bothered by what I saw however it did cause me to think. But it is more alarming that the writers and directors of these shows do not realize how powerful it is to convey these issues on television. I am interested in seeing how much further it will go before more people pick up on how inappropriate and explicit the images of primetime television are becoming.

**The end of this clip shows Katherine’s suicide attempt**

So I’m watching Wendy Williams last night and I hear a name that isn’t said much anymore, Toni Braxton. Now I absolutely love Toni Braxton but I have to admit I was a little disappointed to find out not only has she been tongue wrestling with Trey Songz (which hey I’m actually not too mad about lol) but she announced that she will be divorcing husband Keri Lewis, former;y of Mint Condition. Now here’s my take on the situation. I would hope that this whole thing isn’t just a publicity stunt. That would be low. But at the same time it’s definitely working. Toni and Trey have a song on her new album which is supposed to drop in February. With the internet age taking off the way it is, the best way to get exposure is to do it yourself. But at the same time, this can get up having a negative effect on her image. Since Toni became a mother and wife, she has been a spokeswoman for Autism Speaks and the American Heart Association. Throwing all of that away for some album says and the guy who invented sex just isn’t a good look. As a fan, I’ll give her the benefit of the doubt and say there’s two sides to every story and I’m sure it’ll be coming out soon. I just hope her album is worth it.

Without Brown’s side or version of the story, I really can’t decide how I feel about this whole thing. You learn before you even begin to walk or talk that you don’t hit people. And a man should definitely never hit a woman, there just isn’t any excuse. But I will say that everyone has a breaking point. And not everyone knows how to deal with certain emotions. Looking at two people who are the same age as me, I really can’t condemn either one of them. Rihanna described their relationship as obsessive and said they were equally destructive to each other. So I will say, 7 months later, the details of that night are irrelevant. Rihanna did not deserve the severe beating she received. And at this point, Chris Brown does not deserve that labels that are being placed on him by the media. Even if the only reason he’s getting help is because of a court mandate, he’s bound to take something away from it eventually. They are both young and have their lives and careers ahead of them. People make mistakes and they should be given a chance to learn from them.

I think this issue should no longer be public. It was brave of Rihanna to speak out. It is brave of Chris to not react to the things that people say. But it’s not fair that the media will make seem like in order for Rihanna to have a career she has to broadcast the fact she is a victim and create a villain of Chris Brown. He has time to change and with help she can learn to not carry this ordeal on her shoulders. I think the media should find something else to point their cameras at and let these two human beings retreat to their respective corners and deal with their lives.

So here’s my say on this. I think they are both right. You honestly can’t deny that Madea and Brown’s actions are just beyond over the top. Personally, it kills me that people think everyone knows someone like that because I surely do not. And even if you do, I don’t think that image needs to be perpetuated in every film that says Tyler Perry. Now Tyler Perry is accomplishing a lot by having two African American shows on TNT and it is a great thing to have such a strong presence in Hollywood. However, a true artist grows. A true artist realizes when the point has been made and it’s time to take a different approach. I think it’s time for Tyler Perry to realize the impact these images hold. Don’t underestimate your audience by thinking the only way you can address serious issues is by covering it with slapstick humor.

“Each artist should be allowed to pursue their artistic endeavors, but I still think there is a lot of stuff out today that is coonery and buffoonery. I know it’s making a lot of money and breaking records, but we can do better. … I am a huge basketball fan, and when I watch the games on TNT, I see these two ads for these two shows (Tyler Perry’s “Meet the Browns” and “House of Payne”), and I am scratching my head. We got a black president, and we going back to Mantan Moreland and Sleep ‘n’ Eat?” — Spike Lee on Tyler Perry

So apparently I have a new zodiac sign. Actually if I read the article (http://rah.posterous.com/new-zodiac-sign-2012) correctly I’ll have a new zodiac sign in 2012. I do not really follow these things and the fact that there is a new zodiac sign is a good reason why. So my new sign is called Ophiuchus the Serpent Holder and it throws everybody off so beware if you have already tattooed your zodiac sign on your body lol. It falls between Scorpio and Sagittarius. The explanation: because the cosmos are always changing. I will admit that the attributes of the Ophiuchus sign do fit me better than those of the Sagittarius. But I honestly think that whatever sign is close to your birthday probably fits you in a few ways. Maybe even signs no where near your birthday. Anyway I’m going to post the shift in the signs and you tell me what you think.

The New Zodiac (http://rah.posterous.com/new-zodiac-sign-2012)

ARIES = APRIL 19 – MAY 13
TAURUS = MAY 14 – JUNE 19
GEMINI = JUNE 20 – JULY 20
CANCER = JULY 21 – AUG 9
LEO = AUGUST 10 – SEPTEMBER 15
VIRGO = SEPTEMBER 16 – OCTOBER 30
LIBRA = OCTOBER 31 – NOVEMBER 22
SCORPIO = NOVEMBER 23 – NOVEMBER 29
OPHIUCHUS = NOVEMBER 30 – DECEMBER 17
SAGITTARIUS = DECEMBER 18 – JANUARY 18
CAPRICORN = JANUARY 19 – FEBRUARY 15
AQUARIUS = FEBRUARY 16 – MARCH 11
PISCES = MARCH 12 – APRIL 18

So I watched the premier of Monique’s talk show Monday night and I can’t say that I liked it. I plan to give it another try soon but at the moment I kept thinking about how it just wasn’t as good as Wendy Williams’ show. As a comedian and actress, I like Monique. She can be a bit much at times but she can also make a lot of sense. I was hoping that the more sensible side of her would be presented on the talk show. Instead there was a lot of scattered thoughts and rushed interviews (I couldn’t even tell you who the guests were). Now what I like about Wendy Williams isn’t necessarily the content but the delivery. Her show is mostly gossip and hearsay but at least I can follow her. She’s created a brand and even as a catch phrase that has stuck with people. So I’ve concluded that maybe Monique is just having a rough start out of the gate and that’s fine.  I’m pretty sure there are some people who enjoyed her show but maybe it won’t hurt to take some tips from Wendy Williams. I hope it gets better if I’m going to watch it as much as I watch Wendy Williams. Tell me what you think

** And poor Tyra, I need for you to come on while I’m not in class. I do still love your show. I promise I didn’t forget about you **

So recently David Letterman has issued an apology to his wife and staff for his inappropriate and potential unethical relationships with his female coworkers. This whole situation ties into a previous post of mine, The State of the “American” family. I honestly do wonder if men like David Letterman would apologize for their behavior if their jobs and reputations were not on the line. And how does something like this go on and there be no one with enough morality to say “this is wrong”? Now as this plays out David will probably get away with a slap on the wrist and slight decrease in ratings. But what about the humiliation he has caused the women involved, his wife and the woman in question. People need to start thinking about the consequences of their actions before the effects come to light. If David Letterman does not lose his job, we need to think about the kind of people we allow to provide us with information. There needs to be a new moral code among the media and other people of power.

So I’m up late and watching TeenNick (formerly known as The N). One show you can always count on catching is Degrassi. My best friend got me into this show maybe last year. Before that, I had seen one or two episodes but I wasn’t a fanatic or anything. But now that I’m all caught up on years of episodes, I have a lot of respect for Degrassi. Of course I am referring to Degrassi: The Next Generation for those who remember the original from back in the day.  This show brings a lot of the diversity that American shows lack. In this one high school, there is a fair mix of people from every ethnicity and economic background and yet they are brought together by those common adolescent issues. Plus. Degrassi has launched the careers of it’s Canadian actors in the US such as Drake, Shenae Grimes (90210), Lauren Collins (Take the Lead), and most recently Nina Dobrev of the CW’s Vampire Diaries. I’ll have to admit the new group of kids seem to be mild in comparison to the school shootings, rape, drugs, mental illness, lesbian love affairs, stabbings, STDs, and so on that the first New Generation kids went through. But the good news is new episodes start October 9 and apparently “It’s About To Get Real”. We’ll see Degrassi. Don’t let the legacy die with this new generation lol.

According to TMZ.com and myfoxatlanta.com, Kandi Burruss’ ex fiance A.J. Jewell died after getting into a fight outside of Atlanta club, Body Tap. AJ suffered severe head injuries and was rushed to the hospital where he died. If anyone watches this show, you know that there were a lot of people against AJ and Kandi being together. The thing that mostly came up was the fact he was the father of six children (she is currently the legal guardian of two). Kandi and AJ had also not known each other long before becoming engaged. I think if anything, we all need to realize life is too short. And when it all ends, it doesn’t matter in the least bit what people said about you. There are six kids out there who lost their father today. People should be more cognizant of the long term affects their short term confrontations have. Whatever the fight may have been about, there is no reason that can justify taking the life of a son and a father.  So as this story unravels itself, I hope the media and my fellow bloggers remember that there are people hurting because of what went down. Let’s not trash the man in his death.