George Zimmerman has fled Miami with a bounty on his head.

The 30 year old, who killed unarmed teenager Trayvon Martin in 2012 only to be cleared of all charges last summer as a result of Florida’s “stand your ground” law, is reportedly fearing for his own safety. Zimmerman taped an interview last Tuesday with networks Univision and Fusion in Miami Beach. While enjoying time luxuriating on the beach with his girlfriend and a couple of her relatives, Zimmerman was recognized and alerted to danger in the form of a $10,000 bounty on his head. Zimmerman and his companions retreated to their hotel, but were followed by a crowd. Security swept their room to make sure no one tampered with their belongings and even stood guard through the night to protect them. The following morning, after wrapping a CNN interview, Zimmerman left Miami, altogether.

Who would ever think gun-toting George Zimmerman would need protection? New video uploaded to YouTube shows there may be some truth to the claims of a bounty on the head of the vocal Second Amendment supporter. Watch video below of the Black Panthers placing a whopping $1 million bounty on Georgie.

On Valentine’s Day, Pope Francis offered love advice for lasting love and a successful marriage to over 10,000 young couples.

An event originally scheduled to be held in the Vatican’s auditorium had to be moved outside to the beautiful St. Peter’s Square, due to an overwhelming attendance. Ten thousand engaged couples from over 30 countries converged on the piazza for a Valentine’s Day event that included singing, comedy, and commentary from Pope Francis.

The Pope, who is dedicated to a life of celibacy, encouraged those in love to marry, despite living in a “provisional culture” where people are hesitant and afraid to make lifelong commitments:

“Dear engaged people, you are getting ready to grow together, to build a home, to live together for good. Do not just base it on those feelings that come and go, but on the rock of true love that comes from God.”

“Do not end any day without asking each other for forgiveness, having peace back in your house and family. Never end a single day without being at peace with each other. This is the secret in order to preserve love.”

Pope Francis told the adoring audience that although the celebration of marriage is important, in reference to a wedding ceremony, the key is to feel the presence of Jesus. The dress and flowers are only important if the couple operates in a true spirit of love.

Included in the Pope’s recipe for marriage is saying three simple phrases — “please, thank you, and sorry.”

This past weekend, Melissa Harris-Perry shared the news that she and her husband welcomed a new baby girl born on Valentine’s Day. It was reported that the couple had adopted the child. On Tuesday, she shared that her daughter was borne through surrogacy.

The MSNBC host explained in a letter on their site that she’d had a hysterectomy in 2008 as a result of painful uterine fibroids. She’d had one child, daughter Parker, at the time, but had intended to have more. “I wept for the children I would never have and made peace with the idea that one is enough.”

However, she met current husband James Perry shortly after the procedure. The couple wanted to have children, but Harris-Perry was dubious about adding to their family since she couldn’t carry the child.

She explained that it wasn’t until she’d confided in a friend who’d gone through the process that she considered surrogacy.

[Image: Twitter]

“Then I learned a dear friend and his husband were expecting their second child via surrogacy. He is a feminist scholar and a politically progressive intellectual. When I discussed my concerns with the ethics of surrogacy, he understood. He repeatedly talked with James and me, introduced us to a thoughtful attorney, and shared the good and bad of his own surrogacy story. I read everything I could find, consulted everyone I could, and prayed a lot. In 2012, James and I began our journey with enormous faith and more than a little trepidation.”

Harris-Perry had retained her ovaries, so the couple was able to create biological embryos. She described the IVF process as “a physically taxing and emotionally brutal process,” but now she and her husband have happily added to their family. They are keeping the identity of the surrogate hidden at her request.

“I am shocked and thrilled to find myself at 40, raising a tween and a tot. I will be taking a bit of time off from hosting MHP Show, but during my maternity leave, you can still join me in a special MSNBC Community Challenge called “The Mother of All Politics.” And beginning in May, I will pen a monthly column for Essence magazine chronicling my parenting adventures.”

Congratulations to the happy family!

Source

[Image: Twitter]

Rosie Perez is letting the world in on the story behind her longstanding beef with Jennifer Lopez. Her new memoir, Handbook for an Unpredictable Life, is due February 25 and the actress and former choreographer for “In Living Color”‘s Fly Girls says that their friction began during their time together on that show.

In an excerpt published by the NY Post, Perez explains that she actually had to fight for J.Lo to be hired because the show’s creator, Keenan Ivory Wayans, found Lopez to be “chubby and corny.” In order to convince Wayans, Lopez was made to lose 20 pounds and cut her hair.

Apparently, once hired, J.Lo’s diva antics emerged. “All of the girls were coming into my office complaining how she was manipulating wardrobe, makeup, and me, all to her advantage,” Perez writes. Lopez allegedly took it a step further and attacked Perez one day “like some ghetto biatch, screaming and pounding her chest,” she writes.

“You pick on me, me and only me, every f–king day! Every f–king day! I work my ass off, deliver and you keep pushing me aside, treating me like sh-t! I know I’m good! I’m better than any of these girls, and you know it,” Lopez roared.

After Lopez left the show, Perez thought everything was fine, but she made negative remarks about it in a television interview once she became famous.

“I was blindsided,” writes Perez. “I’d thought we were cool. I called her up. She wouldn’t pick up. Frustrated, I left her an irate message on her answering machine. Instead of calling me back and hashing it out like friends do, she went on a major talk show and reiterated my lashing,” Perez writes.

Months later, the two bumped into each other at a club. “Jennifer came over to me, smiling, saying hello as if nothing had happened. I should’ve let it go, played it off, too. Instead, I killed her with my biting tongue.”

Yikes! It seems as if this is one feud that won’t end in Kumbayas anytime soon. I have a feeling that this public revelation will only fan the fumes. However, it seems Perez recognizes that this isn’t what it should be: “We ladies of color all know how hard it is for us in the entertainment business. This kind of sh-t hurts us all and those that follow in our footsteps.”

RELATED: 15 Outrageous Celebrity Social Media Moments

By Ayuko Babu

We have all heard that 2013 was a breakout year for black films, and indeed it was. What isn’t talked about is the role those off-screen and behind the scenes have played in evolving conversations about race in Hollywood, and, most importantly, the representation of African people on film worldwide.

Today, I serve as executive director of the Pan African Film Festival (PAFF), the largest film festival of its kind in the United States. But my background is very rooted in the Civil Rights/Black Power Movements of the 1950s and 1960s. As a student in Los Angeles, I got involved in the Afro-American Association, an offshoot of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee that focused on raising black consciousness, specifically on college campuses. Through the Afro-American Association, I met Bobby Seale; Huey Newton; Dr. Maulana Karenga, who created Kwanzaa; and many other noted community leaders who helped me understand the reality of our condition as African people. What we could do to change it through the popular medium of film became my focus.

Back then, movies like Black Orpheus and Nothing But a Man had a powerful impact on us. I grew up in Cheyenne, Wyoming and with only a mere 2,000 black people in the metro area, like Ralph Ellison’s Invisible Man, people of color were rarely seen. So, I knew firsthand what a lifeline entertainment, particularly cinema, was becoming to us as a community. So, when the idea of PAFF sprung from Festival Panafricain du Cinéma de Ouagadougou (Pan African Film Festival of Ouagadougou or FESPACO), I was all in. FESPACO, started in 1969 and validated with a government decree in 1972, is the continent’s largest consistent cultural event, held biennially in Burkina Faso, and welcomes films from all over Africa. It is the most important Diaspora film festival in the world. Top officials there suggested we create a similar festival in America. From the movement, we learned timing is everything. And the time came in 1992 after the L.A. Riots. Using that momentum, we launched our first PAFF in October 1992 at the Laemmle Sunset 5 in Los Angeles, which had been receptive to showcasing independent African cinema. We also got great support from our cofounders, award-winning —that is, award-winning actors Danny Glover and Ja’net DuBois [best known as Willona from Good Times]—who continue to support us to this day.

From the onset of PAFF, African filmmakers adamantly advised us to make sure these films played to the community and not be tucked away in libraries and museums. In February 1996, the festival settled into the first theatre in Baldwin Hills near Crenshaw Boulevard, our longtime home. The Magic Johnson Theatre’s location within the Baldwin Hills Crenshaw Plaza allowed great access to the community. Our ability to engage people is one of the most important contributions we have made in helping to bring about change in Hollywood.

Typically, when independent filmmakers need money to put behind their films, they look to film festivals to show distributors that there is an audience for their work. The problem with Sundance, Tribeca and the New York Film Festival is that there is no significant black audience there; so a distributor can’t get a good sense of how black folks feel about certain films. At Sundance and other more mainstream festivals, we are the periphery not the center. At film festivals like PAFF, we make our stories the center. So when distributors and other Hollywood decision makers attend PAFF, the American Black Film Festival, the African Diaspora Film Festival and others like us, they get to see what a broad spectrum of black folks, from seniors to young people, think about the film. And that’s how we’ve influenced that process.

When the South African film Tsotsi won the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film in 2006, we were credited for part of its success because we generated interest in it. Over the years, we’ve been one of the first outlets for young filmmakers like Kasi Lemmons, Malcolm D. Lee and Gina Prince-Bythewood by showcasing their short films long before they even made successful feature films like Eve’s Bayou, The Best Man and Love & Basketball.

We’ve also recognized rising stars like Idris Elba, who won our Canada Lee Rising Star Award—named for the pioneering Hollywood actor who starred in a variety of films, including Alfred Hitchcock’s Lifeboat in 1944 and his last film in 1951, Cry, the Beloved Country, also starring Sidney Poitier—long before his acclaimed 2013 role as the great South African leader in Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom.

From the very beginning, we’ve been committed to showcasing all the voices in the black community, in the black world, that have something to say about experiences that speak to us. When we pick films, we ask: Does it speak to us as a people? Does the film move us? Does it enrich us? Does it entertain us? Does it enlighten us? Does it inform us? We are not interested in the films that try to tell other people about us.

The theme of this year’s festival was: Sharing Our World. And we did that with 172 films, representing 46 countries around the globe—including Argentina, Brazil, Bahamas, Canada, Egypt, Ethiopia, France, Germany, Italy, Jamaica, Kenya, Morocco, Nigeria, South Africa, and of course, the United States. At this year’s festival we had Stanley Nelson’s Freedom Summer, which takes us back to Mississippi in 1964 during a pivotal moment of the Civil Rights Movement. Also, we had the Nollywood comedies The Meeting and Confusion Na Wa. There’s also the powerful documentary Cuba: An African Odyssey, which shows why, when Nelson Mandela was released from prison, Fidel Castro was the first person he visited outside the continent.

Plus, we spotlight About Last Night, produced by Will Packer, which stars Kevin Hart and Michael Ealy in a Hollywood remake of a Rob Lowe and Demi Moore film. Our closing film was Blackbird, directed by Patrik-Ian Polk, which tells the story of a young gay boy coming of age in Mississippi, and stars Mo’Nique and Isaiah Washington.

No one group of black people anywhere has a monopoly on information and knowledge about us. Everybody’s got a piece of the puzzle. We have to listen to all of it. It’s not just in New York or in Lagos. When we listen to all the stories, we begin to put the puzzle of understanding together. Hollywood doesn’t get it, but we do. We know that film has the power to change how we see ourselves and maybe even how we treat each other.

So every year, not just 2013, is a breakout black film year for us.

In this edition of UPTOWN ProFile, host Chitra Nawbatt speaks with Ericka Pittman, VP of Marketing for P.Diddy’s Blue Flame Agency about the strategies that propelled Cîroc Vodka to being one of the top premium vodkas in the country and her own personal success.

Pittman also talks about the importance of having a personal Board of Directors, the challenge of finding female mentors and a trait she has picked up as a successful, driven woman that she’s working hard to leave behind.

Lamar Odom will attempt to revive his career in Spain by playing for the basketball team Saski Baskonia, aka Laboral Kutxa for sponsorship reasons.

Odom was spotted in Los Angeles, today, Feb. 19, preparing to leave the U.S. for Europe. He has signed a two-month contract with the professional basketball club from the Basque city of Vitoria-Gasteiz, Spain and has the option to extend the contract after the two months.

Odom has been tabloid fodder for the past two years. There have been allegations of drug addiction and cheating on estranged wife Khloe Kardashian. Once his addiction woes became public knowledge, Odom’s troubles on the basketball court while playing for the Los Angeles Clippers became more pronounced. He became a free agent at the end of the 2012-13 NBA season.

[Image: Karl Larsen/INFphoto.com]

While Odom is loosening his ties to the U.S., Kardashian has cut her ties to him, filing for divorce in December 2013. But he is having a difficult time realizing his marriage is over. Odom still wears his wedding ring to this day and continues to refer to Kardashian as his wife. He even counts Kardashian’s mom Kris Jenner and stepfather Bruce Jenner as his biggest supporters.

Odom is currently serving three years probation after pleading no contest to a series of DUI charges in December. He also has been ordered to complete an alcohol education class before June 2014. Depending on the length of the class and whether he extends his contract with the Saski Baskonia, Odom should have enough time to complete the class after his two-month contract is fulfilled.

Although this is a big move for Odom, he will only revive his career if he stays away from the drugs and his entourage and if the NBA takes notice of the new leaf he’s trying to turn over.

Do you think playing for the Saski Baskonia basketball team is a good move for Lamar Odom?

By Jaia A. Thomas

The United States has the world’s largest prison population, with more than 2 million people behind bars. Real Housewives of Atlanta cast member Apollo Nida may soon add to that statistic.

The reality star, who is married to attorney Phaedra Parks, surrendered to Atlanta authorities last month after being charged with bank fraud and identity theft. As you may remember, this isn’t Nida’s first brush with the law. He was previously imprisoned from 2004 to 2009 for breaking federal racketeering laws related to auto title fraud.

According to a US Secret Service Agent in the Counterfeit and US Treasury Check Squad, Nida recently created several fake companies, enabling him to access databases to find individuals to rip off. In between creating and marketing the “Phine Body by Phaedra and Apollo Donkey Booty” workout video, Nida still apparently had a lot of free time on his hands to orchestrate this complex illegal scheme. And apparently Nida wasn’t working alone. Federal authorities had been investigating his co-conspirator Gayla St. Julien since 2012 (St. Julien is currently in custody). According to St. Julien, she and Nida had been working together since 2009.

Under Nida and St. Julien’s elaborate scheme, Nida would allegedly steal real people’s identities and have St. Julien pretend to be them to open bank accounts. She would then deposit fraudulent auto loan checks, stolen US treasury checks, stolen retirement checks, and checks in the name of real people that were owed unclaimed property from various state and government agencies. Authorities have located over 40 bank accounts tied between St. Julien and Nida, one account totaling $3 million. Authorities also recently confiscated Nida’s laptop computer and found more than 1,000 items of evidentiary interest, including fake driver’s licenses.

So, where do things currently stand with this case? Nida is currently out on bail (while out on bail he is also prohibited from consuming alcohol). Last week Nida appeared in court to waive his right to a preliminary hearing. A preliminary hearing is designed to determine whether or not the government has enough evidence for the case to move forward. During a preliminary hearing, the government must come forward with witnesses and information to convince a judge that there is sufficient evidence to demonstrate a crime occurred. If a defendant waives his or her preliminary hearing, they will never force the government to come forward with such evidence.

A defendant can waive the right to a preliminary hearing for a myriad of reasons. Nida could’ve waived the right to his preliminary hearing because he intends to plead guilty and wants to avoid publicity. Or, the government could’ve offered something in exchange for his waiver. It is uncertain what the motives were behind Nida’s decision to waive his right to a preliminary hearing but the case has been continued until March 25^th, at which point we will have more updates.

Jaia A. Thomas is a bi-coastal sports and entertainment attorney, specializing in transactional and intellectual property matters. For more information: www.jathomaslaw.com or @jaiathomaslaw. 

By Colby Carrington

There’s a scary new side of Jada Pinkett Smith coming to FOX.

Smith was just cast in drama series Gotham, a Batman prequel that tells the story of future Commissioner James Gordon (played by Ben McKenzie) and his start as a rookie officer fighting the bad guys threatening Gotham City.

Her character is described as a vicious club owner and gangster boss Fish Mooney, who has ” the street smarts and almost extra-sensory abilities to read people like an open book. Imposing and hotheaded, she’s not one to be crossed.”

She took to Facebook today writing:

“I’ve committed to a year to work alongside a very talented cast, a super cool, creative and talented head writer and an extraordinary director. This one…is going to be funnnnnn!”

 

Production is set to begin in NYC starting  in March 2014.

Smith‘s last major TV role was that of nurse Christina Hawthorne in TNT’s HawthoRNe, which was cancelled in 2011.

By Colby Carrington

Beyonce kicked off the 2014 BRIT Awards Wednesday night.

She dazzled in a viridian sequined dress by Vrettos Vrettakos during her performance of love anthem XO.  The show marks the first time she’s performed the song on television. Watch the video here:

The lead up to the performance was documented in a series of behind the scenes photographs, and includes pics from her private plane and a special pre-show moment with Jay Z.  Check them out after the jump.

Beyonce boards the plane in footwear to kick back in.

London-town bound.

Beyonce and husband Jay Z do a pre-show two-step.

Oh don’t mind her….or that waist.

Beyonce singing XO onstage at the BRIT Awards, wearing Vrettos Vrettakos.

Photo credits: Beyonce/Tumblr, EOnline

Sister, sister! How amazing would it be to find out Oprah Winfrey was your half-sister? That was the case for Patricia Lofton when she met Oprah in 2010 and was a guest, along with her family, on the Oprah Winfrey Show in 2011. It was discovered by Lofton that Oprah was her half-sister when Vernita Lee, the mother of now 60-year-old Winfrey, gave an interview discussing her three acknowledged children. She admits it took her several years to get in touch with Oprah and that she was fearful of going public because didn’t want to “sell out” her famous sibling, who is worth an estimated $2.9 Billion.

The multimedia mogul is giving Lofton a monthly allowance so she can quit her job to go back to college and realize her dream of becoming a social worker. The media titan also bought her long lost sister a four bedroom home in Wisconsin, estimated at half a million dollars. Oprah never ceases to amaze us with her acts of generosity.

View more snaps of the lovely home below.

Georgia teen Christopher Roupe was shot by a Euharlee police officer on Feb. 14, 2014 after he answered the door, holding what police thought to be a handgun. According to family members, Roupe, 17, was an aspiring Marine. According to NY Daily News, police assert that the teen pointed a gun directly at the female officer, prompting her to blast the boy in the chest. The circumstances of the shooting are under review by the Georgia Bureau of Investigation, according to reports.

According to witnesses, the officer, who is now on administrative leave, broke down emotionally when she realized that she had shot the teenage boy at point-blank range. Roupe was transported to a hospital in Cartersville where he was pronounced dead. The result of the investigation will be forwarded to the district attorney’s office, according to police.

“It just doesn’t add up,” family attorney Cole Law told Atlanta’s WSBTV. “He heard a knock at the door. He asked who it was, there was no response so he opened the door and upon opening the door he was immediately shot in the chest.”

Roupe was a member of the ROTC at his high school and was planning to sign up for the Marines, his friends said.

By Derryck “Nes” Johnson

I  recently chopped it up with seasoned actor Harold Perrineau to discuss his role as Julian Murch from The Best Man (which he was nominated for an NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Motion Picture in 1999) and his reprisal of the role in the sequel The Best Man Holiday, which was released on Blu-Ray/DVD Feb. 11.

We discussed the experience he shared working with a tremendous ensemble cast, how far Black cinema has come, and his upcoming MLK project.  Here’s what Perrineau had to say:

Looking back at the start of your career, do you feel you’re much more driven now to succeed than you were when your acting journey began?

I’m a lot more driven now, though not in the same way.  Before, I was actually trying to prove that I could act and I worked very hard to achieve that in my craft.  The truth was that sometimes I didn’t really know what I was doing (laughs).  I was so driven to execute as a young actor and I was really just trying to figure the whole thing out at that time in my life.  Now that I’m more experienced, I’m really driven towards telling stories that I firmly believe in and stories my kids would be proud to see.  I also want to be a part of roles that help our country move forward in the way we think about people, race, choices of sexuality and various other issues that keep swirling around us as individuals.  Believe me, at the end of the day we’re all people just trying to figure out how to live together.  The more images we see in films, the better off we’ll be at dealing with them.  I’m much more driven now because there are more issues to tackle with society.

Who are your top three acting influences?

There’s Sidney Poitier, Denzel Washington, and even though he’s a good friend of mine and one of my acting peers, Laurence Fishburne.

How different emotionally was making The Best Man Holiday than the original The Best Man feature film?

You know, I feel with both of them I found a way to connect with the character (Julian Murch) and thus the storyline.  I really found both stories credible.  I really believed in these people, you know?  I believed where they were coming from and it didn’t seem fake or weak.  The circumstances were real.  In the sequel, you have my character Julian Murch dealing with the same types of issues as an older man with a family.  Now you start to deal with life and death plus how your relationship moves on from here?  Those questions I find really real and credible.  While the first film centered on getting this wedding done, this one was equally divided as all the characters had their own individual emotional issues, making the sequel a little more personal.  Murch not only had to deal with his family problems, but they all had to deal with losing Mia which trumped everything else.  There are a lot more grown up scenes in The Best Man Holiday because we’re all more grown now.

With all of these great talented actors in the movie, how focused were you all on the set?

Well you know we did a lot of the work off the set, parking-lot-talking about all our characters and what we wanted to accomplish.  So what we really had to focus on was making sure while we were having a lot of fun, we had to make certain that we were doing the job.  Because we were having so much fun, we would complete a scene and be like, “Yo…did we just do the scene?” (laughs).  It was really nice to work with people that are selfless, giving, caring, funny and smart.

With regards to Black cinema, how far have we come ?

I think we’ve come a bit further than we were 20 years ago.  But I think this past year was a pretty special year for the amount of films with African-American actors or Black actors from the U.S. and different countries as well.  This year had a lot of big pictures centered on the Black experience that broke through.  However, there were a lot of years that had that same effect.  While I feel we came far, we really haven’t come that far or convince people the films we star in have universal themes and they’re not just for Black people.  They’re for all American people who have families, so we still have a ways to go to convince people of that.  But I feel with movies such as The Best Man Holiday, we’re doing a better job at achieving that goal.  Films like this don’t focus on so much of the tragedy of being Black, but focused on life experience on a universal level.  It’s a pretty revolutionary film in the sense of hey, we’re just people living our lives. We’re coming through though!

What’s next for Harold Perrineau?

I’m about to start working on this film right now called The Dancing Gould about a young boxer coming up and getting a shot at the title.  I’m not the boxer, I’m actually his trainer.  I’m also working on a film that with be out in theaters soon called Sabotage, which stars Arnold Schwarzenegger and a great actress Olivia Williams, Terrence Howard, and a ton of other great acting talents.  I’m producing a film that’s loosely based on the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr.  It’s called Slay the Dreamer and focuses on the events around the assassination and things  people didn’t talk about because the FBI sealed the files years ago. You know, just trying to stay busy and creative plus raise my family as well.

Kimora Lee Simmons is secretly married to Tim Leissner, so revealed her ex-husband Russell Simmons.

Russell was trying to dispel rumors that Kimora was dating fellow hip hop mogul Birdman. The New Orleans native posted a photo of him and Kimora on Instagram, on Feb. 17, and many assumed the two were dating. The caption read: “S/O @officialkimora luv of my life Thanku 4everythang u did and do 4′me RICHGIRL RICHGANG.” Cool as a cucumber, Russell put the gossip mill to bed by tweeting:

All of us love @OfficialKimora but the fact is she is happily married. . Tim is has been family for a while now. #gossipcop….

— Russell Simmons (@UncleRUSH) February 19, 2014

Leissner is an investment banker. (You know Kimora doesn’t date or marry any broke men.) And we spotted the couple on a beach in St. Barts, along with her three children and Russell. (Now that’s how a blended family vacations.) Leissner was rather comfortable with kids Ming Lee, Aoki Lee, and Kenzo Lee Hounsou. Even though his romance with Kimora moved very quickly, the love for her and her children seems genuine.

Best wishes to the new married couple!

[Image: INFPhoto.com]

Sometimes being single friggin’ sucks. Before you roll your eyes at me, let me also state that if you are a regular reader of my blog, you know that I in no way feel you need a man to complete you, be happy, or live a fulfilled life. I have been happily single for over four years now and have written over 50 blog posts demonstrating that. Now with that disclaimer being said … well typed … let me also state that there are definite times when being single does in fact suck:

[Image: Shutterstock]

1) When my 82 year old grandmother tells me to use up my eggs before they dry up. Yup, this happened, in a store, in public, because when you’re 82, you can literally say anything you want and get away with it. It happened like this:

Me: “Nanny, I don’t really care about getting married.”

Nanny: “How old are you now?”

Me: “33.”

Nanny: “You better use those eggs up before they dry up.”

Here’s why this sucks: A) Who wants to disappoint their grandma? B) I’m 33-years-old and yes, my eggs are drying up. C) I am literally in no rush to be married or have kids. D) There is no D actually, I just like even numbers. OK, so yes I am single, I am not in a rush to be married nor am I purposely looking for a man to procreate with. This is an instance when being single sucks, because I do think about the fact that both of my grandmothers are up in age, and if I were to find someone to spend my life with, I would like both of them to be here for it.

[Image: Shutterstock]

2)  When I’m sick. Being that I am a 33-year-old adult woman … I have my own place and do not live with my parents anymore. One of the worst times to live alone is when you are sick, and I don’t mean have a cold sick. I mean the flu, pneumonia, bronchitis, cannot go to work, drive yourself to urgent care, can’t talk, getting out of bed is impossible, even my eyelashes hurt kind of sick. I have been all of those things and have had to take care of myself by myself.

Taking care of myself is not the issue, and luckily I have amazing parents who have dropped off medicine and juice, and check up on me when I am sick (blessed beyond measure with those two), it’s the fact that I have to do it all — by my damn self. Once, just once, I’d like someone to make my soup for me, go to the pharmacy and pick up my medication for me, pour my glass of juice, and drive me to urgent care. Do you know how hard it is to drive yourself to urgent care when you have bronchitis, pulled muscles from coughing so hard because of the bronchitis, with pneumonia, on top of asthma? Well I do because that just happened to me! Damn, that is a time when being single surely sucked, like sucked really, really, hard.

[Image: Shutterstock]

3)  Carrying groceries into my apartment. Now I have stated the disdain I have for this in previous posts, but let me just touch on this subject in detail. I cook 80 percent of everything I eat, therefore when I buy groceries I am buying a great deal of groceries. Sometimes, when I go in for one or two things, I think of a recipe I can make and end up buying more at the time. Don’t even get me started on a trip to Target … You know what, I am going to get started on what happens at Target. I buy a particular bread that is literally, only sold at Target.

Now I know I am not the only one who walks into Target for one item and ends up with a conveyor belt full of crap you don’t even need, right? It has happened to the best of us. Needless to say there are shopping trips whether they be for groceries, hair supplies, or random items from Target I never needed in the first damn place, I have to carry all of that crap into my apartment myself. Here’s why this sucks, because parking for my apartment is not super close to the entrance of my building. Also, because I live upstairs. How about when it’s 10 at night and there’s a creepy guy walking down the street and you have two arms full of bags and you get scared? What am I going to fight him with? Bread, those cheap pair of sweats I bought? Or maybe that deodorant stick I found on sale. I would love to be able to call my boo and have him come downstairs and around the corner to help me carry all of these bags in, or open the door to my building so I don’t struggle, or meet me downstairs at 10 p.m. so I don’t feel so scared of Mr. Creepy.

[Image: Shutterstock]

4)  When that new scary movie comes out. I am a horror movie enthusiast. As a kid, my mom and I watched every scary movie or television show that would air. Seriously, I was the only kid at school who watched “Tales From the Crypt,” “The Alfred Hitchcock Hour” and “The Twilight Zone.” Every Friday my family and I would go to the video store and rent tapes. (That’s VHS to you young bucks, maybe you need to Google it.) Anyway, my brother, sister, and dad would all pick out comedies and cartoons, but my mom and I would pick out all of the horror films. We’d have to watch them after they all went to sleep because they were so scared!

Every time a new scary movie comes out I try and find someone to go and see it with me, but no one will go. My mom hates the theater, she thinks it’s too loud and does not like the crowds. Basically my horror partner has deserted me, unless I watch the movies at my parents’ house with her. I know I can just go to the movies by myself, but there is something about horror films that make you want to go with someone. It’s kind of like when you go to the Halloween mazes or fright nights, it makes it even more fun when you have someone to grab onto to when you’re scared. Listen I watch ghost stories and scary movies by myself a lot, but I would not mind having some nice sexy arms around me when I jump from fright. Judge me.

[Image: Shutterstock]

5)  When I see an elderly couple together. Here’s the thing, like I have said not only in this post, but posts past, being a married woman and having kids is not something I aspire to. I am fulfilled spiritually and emotionally, and having someone to spend my life with is just a bonus. Meaning that yes I am independent, I am making my dreams come true, I take care of myself financially and have family and friends … but having a man to share all of this with would be absolutely wonderful.

Having a partner to share in my success, have Sunday dinner with my parents, meet my grandmothers and sister … that’s the icing on the cake for me. For me it’s about having the type of love that you can’t necessarily receive from your family and friends. Your family can of course love and support you, but romantic love and partnership are totally different as we all know. As I approach my 34th birthday this is something I have been thinking a lot about. I feel I am now ready to share my life with someone and not because I feel I need a man, but because I am truly excited to give my heart to someone. When I see an elderly couple together holding hands, or laughing, etc. it definitely makes me feel hopeful for my future.

[Image: Shutterstock]

The Oscars are to film what the James Beard Awards are to food.  You know the drill – grand announcements, over the top celebrations, peer-group recognition, game-changing cache and all that jazz.

Yesterday in Orlando, the 2014 James Beard Foundation Awards Semifinalists were announced.

Of the 400-plus culinary elites named, I was especially happy that Malcolm Livingston II was included.  The African American pastry chef at New York’s wd~50 made the list for Rising Star Chef of the Year.

I’m pulling for him to join the likes of Marcus Samuelsson – who won the category in 1999.  Samuelsson is a four-time James Beard Award champion, also winning  Best Chef: New York City (2003), Best International Cookbook (2007), and 2013′s Writing and Literature award for Yes Chef: A Memoir.

The awards ceremony takes place May 2 and May 5 in New York.

Check out the full list of chefs, bars and restaurants below and hats off to all.

The 2014 James Beard Foundation Awards Restaurant and Chef Semifinalists

Best New Restaurant
The 404 Kitchen, Nashville
Aragona, Seattle
Ardent, Milwaukee
Asta, Boston
Bar Sajor, Seattle
Betony, NYC
Brindille, Chicago
Carbone, NYC
Casa Rubia, Dallas
The Cavalier, San Francisco
Chi Spacca, Los Angeles
Connie and Ted’s, West Hollywood, CA
Coqueta, San Francisco
The Elm, Brooklyn, NY
Estela, NYC
Fish & Game, Hudson, NY
Izanami at Ten Thousand Waves, Santa Fe
Laurel, Philadelphia
MilkWood, Louisville, KY
MW, Honolulu
Nico Osteria, Chicago
Pêche, New Orleans
Pinewood Social, Nashville
Ribelle, Brookline, MA
Rose’s Luxury, Washington, D.C.
Serpico, Philadelphia
Tosca Cafe, San Francisco
Trois Mec, Los Angeles
Uncle Boons, NYC
Virtù, Scottsdale, AZ

Outstanding Bar Program
Anvil Bar & Refuge, Houston
Arnaud’s French 75 Bar, New Orleans
Bar Agricole, San Francisco
The Bar at the NoMad Hotel, NYC
The Broken Shaker, Miami Beach, FL
Butcher and the Rye, Pittsburgh
Canon, Seattle
Clyde Common, Portland, OR
Columbia Room inside the Passenger, Washington, D.C.
Cure, New Orleans
The Dead Rabbit, NYC
The Franklin Mortgage & Investment Co., Philadelphia
Hard Water, San Francisco
The Hawthorne, Boston
Kimball House, Decatur, GA
Maison Premiere, Brooklyn, NY
Marvel Bar, Minneapolis
The Porter Beer Bar, Atlanta
Rivera, Los Angeles
Rogue 24, Washington, D.C.
Taste, St. Louis
Trick Dog, San Francisco
The Varnish, Los Angeles
The Violet Hour, Chicago
Williams & Graham, Denver

Outstanding Chef
Michael Anthony, Gramercy Tavern, NYC
Isaac Becker, 112 Eatery, Minneapolis
Sean Brock, McCrady’s, Charleston, SC
Andrew Carmellini, Locanda Verde, NYC
Gary Danko, Restaurant Gary Danko, San Francisco
Suzanne Goin, Lucques, West Hollywood, CA
Gabrielle Hamilton, Prune, NYC
David Kinch, Manresa, Los Gatos, CA
Donald Link, Herbsaint, New Orleans
Carrie Nahabedian, Naha, Chicago
Nancy Oakes, Boulevard, San Francisco
Maricel Presilla, Cucharamama, Hoboken, NJ
Anne Quatrano, Bacchanalia, Atlanta
Michael Schwartz, Michael’s Genuine Food & Drink, Miami
Julian Serrano, Picasso at Bellagio, Las Vegas
Nancy Silverton, Pizzeria Mozza, Los Angeles
Ana Sortun, Oleana, Cambridge, MA
John Sundstrom, Lark, Seattle
Michael Tusk, Quince, San Francisco
Marc Vetri, Vetri, Philadelphia

Outstanding Pastry Chef
Dominique Ansel, Dominique Ansel Bakery, NYC
Melissa Chou, Aziza, San Francisco
Dana Cree, Blackbird, Chicago
Steve Horton, Rustica Bakery, Minneapolis
Kate Jacoby, Vedge, Philadelphia
Michelle Karr-Ueoka, MW, Honolulu
Maura Kilpatrick, Oleana, Cambridge, MA
Phoebe Lawless, Scratch, Durham, NC
Belinda Leong, b. patisserie, San Francisco
Matt Lewis and Renato Poliafito, Baked, Brooklyn, NY
Yasmin Lozada-Hissom, Spuntino, Denver
Tiffany MacIsaac, Birch & Barley, Washington, D.C.
Dolester Miles, Highlands Bar and Grill, Birmingham, AL
Dahlia Narvaez, Osteria Mozza, Los Angeles
Neil Robertson, Crumble & Flake, Seattle
Philip Speer, Uchi, Austin and Houston
Jonathan Stevens and Cheryl Maffei, Hungry Ghost, Northampton, MA
Christina Tosi, Momofuku, NYC
Nick Wesemann, The American Restaurant, Kansas City, MO
Jennifer Yee, Lafayette, NYC

Outstanding Restaurant
Bern’s Steak House, Tampa, FL
Canlis, Seattle
The Fearrington House Restaurant, Pittsboro, NC
Fore Street, Portland, ME
Foreign Cinema, San Francisco
Fork, Philadelphia
Greens, San Francisco
Hamersley’s Bistro, Boston
Hearth, NYC
Highlands Bar and Grill, Birmingham, AL
Jaleo, Washington, D.C.
Mélisse, Santa Monica, CA
Pearl Oyster Bar, NYC
Pizzeria Bianco, Phoenix
Primo, Rockland, ME
The Slanted Door, San Francisco
Spiaggia, Chicago
Terra, St. Helena, CA
Vidalia, Washington, D.C.
wd~50, NYC

Outstanding Restaurateur
Ashok Bajaj, Knightsbridge Restaurant Group, Washington, D.C. (The Bombay Club, The Oval Room, Rasika, and others)
Giorgios Bakatsias, Giorgios Hospitality Group, Durham, NC (Kipos, Parizäde, Village Burgers, and others)
Frank Bonanno, Bonanno Concepts, Denver (Mizuna, Osteria Marco, Bones, and others)
JoAnn Clevenger, Upperline, New Orleans
George Formaro, Des Moines, IA (Centro, Django, South Union Bread Café, and others)
Sam Fox, Fox Restaurant Concepts, Phoenix (Olive & Ivy, True Food, Little Cleo’s Seafood Legend, and others)
Ford Fry, Ford Fry Restaurant Company, Atlanta (The Optimist, JCT Kitchen, No. 246, and others)
Garrett Harker, Boston (Eastern Standard, Island Creek Oyster Bar, The Hawthorne, and others)
Mike Klank and Eddie Hernandez, Taqueria del Sol, Atlanta
Barbara Lynch, Barbara Lynch Gruppo, Boston (No. 9 Park, Menton, B&G Oysters, and others)
Donnie Madia, One Off Hospitality Group, Chicago (Blackbird, Avec, The Publican, and others)
Larry Mindel, Poggio and Copita, Sausalito, CA
Cindy Pawlcyn, Napa Valley, CA (Mustards Grill and Cindy’s Back Street Kitchen)
Nick Pihakis, Jim ‘N Nick’s Bar-B-Q, Birmingham, AL
Stephen Starr, Starr Restaurants, Philadelphia (The Dandelion, Talula’s Garden, Serpico, and others)
Caroline Styne, West Hollywood, CA (Lucques, A.O.C., Tavern, and others)
Phil Suarez, Suarez Restaurant Group, NYC (ABC Kitchen, Jean-Georges, wd~50, and others)
Andrew Tarlow, NYC (Diner, Marlow & Sons, Reynard, and others)
Marcie Turney and Valerie Safran, Philadelphia (Little Nonna’s, Jamonera, Barbuzzo, and others)
Rick and Ann Yoder, Wild Ginger, Seattle

Outstanding Service
Abacus, Dallas
Bacchanalia, Atlanta
Blue Hill, NYC
Brigtsen’s, New Orleans
Cafe Juanita, Kirkland, WA
L’Espalier, Boston
Komi, Washington, D.C.
L2O, Chicago
Lucques, West Hollywood, CA
Mansion Restaurant at Rosewood Mansion on Turtle Creek, Dallas
Marcel’s, Washington, D.C.
McCrady’s, Charleston, SC
One Flew South, Atlanta
Persimmon, Bristol, RI
Providence, Los Angeles
Quince, San Francisco
Restaurant Alma, Minneapolis
The Restaurant at Meadowood, St. Helena, CA
Topolobampo, Chicago
Vetri, Philadelphia

Outstanding Wine Program
5 & 10, Athens, GA
A16, San Francisco
Addison at the Grand Del Mar, San Diego
Archie’s Waeside, Le Mars, IA
Bar Boulud, NYC
The Barn at Blackberry Farm, Walland, TN
Café on the Green at Four Seasons Resort and Club Dallas at Las Colinas, Irving, TX
CityZen at Mandarin Oriental, Washington, D.C.
FIG, Charleston, SC
The Grill Room at Windsor Court Hotel, New Orleans
The Little Nell, Aspen, CO
Marcel’s, Washington, D.C.
Momofuku Ssäm Bar, NYC
Picasso at Bellagio, Las Vegas
Press, St. Helena, CA
Rouge Tomate, NYC
Sepia, Chicago
Spago, Beverly Hills, CA
Troquet, Boston
Yono’s Restaurant, Albany, NY

Outstanding Wine, Spirits, or Beer Professional
Sam Calagione, Dogfish Head Craft Brewery, Milton, DE
Ron Cooper, Del Maguey Single Village Mezcal, Ranchos de Taos, NM
Don Feinberg and Wendy Littlefield, Vanberg & DeWulf, Cooperstown, NY
Mike Floyd, Nick Floyd, and Simon Floyd, Three Floyds Brewing, Munster, IN
Ted Lemon, Littorai Wines, Sebastopol, CA
Steve Matthiasson, Matthiasson Wine, Napa, CA
Stephen McCarthy, Clear Creek Distillery, Portland, OR
Garrett Oliver, Brooklyn Brewery, Brooklyn, NY
Luca Paschina, Barboursville Vineyards, Barboursville, VA
David Perkins, High West Distillery & Saloon, Park City, UT
Tom Peters, Monk’s Cafe, Philadelphia
Joey Redner, Cigar City Brewing, Tampa, FL
Jörg Rupf, St. George Spirits, Alameda, CA
Eric Seed, Haus Alpenz, Edina, MN
Rob Tod, Allagash Brewing Company, Portland, ME
Ann Tuennerman, Tales of the Cocktail, New Orleans
Harlen Wheatley, Buffalo Trace Distillery, Frankfort, KY
Burt Williams, founder of Williams Selyem Winery, Healdsburg, CA
David Wondrich, spirits educator, Brooklyn, NY
Stephen M. Wood, Farnum Hill Cider, Lebanon, NH

Rising Star Chef of the Year
Jimmy Bannos Jr., The Purple Pig, Chicago
Katie Button, Cúrate, Asheville, NC
Daniel Delaney, Delaney Barbecue, Brooklyn, NY
Chris Kajioka, Vintage Cave, Honolulu
Christopher Kearse, Will, Philadelphia
Matthew Kirkley, L2O, Chicago
Casey Lane, Tasting Kitchen, Venice, CA
Jessica Largey, Manresa, Los Gatos
Andrew Le, The Pig and the Lady, Honolulu
Rick Lewis, Quincy Street Bistro, St. Louis
Malcolm Livingston II, wd~50, NYC
Tim Maslow, Ribelle, Brookline, MA
Matt McNamara and Teague Moriarty, Sons & Daughters, San Francisco
Marjorie Meek-Bradley, Ripple, Washington, D.C.
Ben Nerenhausen, Mistral, Princeton, NJ
Jorel Pierce, Euclid Hall, Denver
David Posey, Blackbird, Chicago
Ben Puchowitz, CHeU Noodle Bar, Philadelphia
Eduardo Ruiz, Corazón y Miel, Bell, CA
Cara Stadler, Tao Yuan, Brunswick, ME
Eli Sussman, Mile End, Brooklyn, NY
Ari Taymor, Alma, Los Angeles
Michael Toscano, Perla, NYC
Chris Weber, The Herbfarm, Woodinville, WA
Blaine Wetzel, The Willows Inn on Lummi Island, Lummi Island, WA

Best Chef: Great Lakes
Myles Anton, Trattoria Stella, Traverse City, MI
Dave Beran, Next, Chicago
Neal Brown, The Libertine Liquor Bar, Indianapolis
Abraham Conlon and Adrienne Lo, Fat Rice, Chicago
Curtis Duffy, Grace, Chicago
Paul Fehribach, Big Jones, Chicago
Phillip Foss, EL Ideas, Chicago
Greg Hardesty, Recess, Indianapolis
Douglas Katz, Fire Food & Drink, Cleveland
Anne Kearney, Rue Dumaine, Dayton, OH
Ryan McCaskey, Acadia, Chicago
Regina Mehallick, R Bistro, Indianapolis
Brian Polcyn, Forest Grill, Birmingham, MI
Iliana Regan, Elizabeth, Chicago
Jonathon Sawyer, The Greenhouse Tavern, Cleveland
David Tallent, Restaurant Tallent, Bloomington, IN
Jason Vincent, Nightwood, Chicago
Paul Virant, Vie Restaurant, Western Springs, IL
Erling Wu-Bower, Nico Osteria, Chicago
Andrew Zimmerman, Sepia, Chicago

Best Chef: Mid-Atlantic
Scott Anderson, Elements, Princeton, NJ
Cathal Armstrong, Restaurant Eve, Alexandria, VA
Joey Baldino, Zeppoli, Collingswood, NJ
Pierre Calmels, Bibou, Philadelphia
Anthony Chittum, Iron Gate, Washington, D.C.
Joe Cicala, Le Virtù, Philadelphia
Spike Gjerde, Woodberry Kitchen, Baltimore
Lee Gregory, The Roosevelt, Richmond, VA
Haidar Karoum, Proof, Washington, D.C.
Tarver King, The Restaurant at Patowmack Farm, Lovettsville, VA
Rich Landau, Vedge, Philadelphia
Lucas Manteca, The Red Store, Cape May Point, NJ
Cedric Maupillier, Mintwood Place, Washington, D.C.
Justin Severino, Cure, Pittsburgh
Bryan Sikora, La Fia, Wilmington, DE
Brad Spence, Amis, Philadelphia
Lee Styer, Fond, Philadelphia
Vikram Sunderam, Rasika, Washington, D.C.
Angelo Vangelopoulos, The Ivy Inn Restaurant, Charlottesville, VA
Cindy Wolf, Charleston, Baltimore

Best Chef: Midwest
Justin Aprahamian, Sanford, Milwaukee
Paul Berglund, The Bachelor Farmer, Minneapolis
Steven Brown, Tilia, Minneapolis
Clayton Chapman, The Grey Plume, Omaha, NE
Gerard Craft, Niche, Clayton, MO
Doug Flicker, Piccolo, Minneapolis
Josh Galliano, The Libertine, Clayton, MO
Michelle Gayer, Salty Tart, Minneapolis
Ted Habiger, Room 39, Kansas City, MO
Howard Hanna, The Rieger Hotel Grill & Exchange, Kansas City, MO
Jamie Malone, Sea Change, Minneapolis
Kevin Nashan, Sidney Street Cafe, St. Louis
Ryan Nitschke and Nick Weinhandl, HoDo Restaurant at the Hotel Donaldson, Fargo, ND
Ben Poremba, Elaia, St. Louis
Lenny Russo, Heartland Restaurant & Farm Direct Market, St. Paul, MN
Phil Shires, Cafe di Scala, Des Moines, IA
David Swanson, Braise, Milwaukee
Jim Webster, Wild Rice, Bayfield, WI
Kevin Willmann, Farmhaus, St. Louis
Sean Wilson, Proof, Des Moines, IA

Best Chef: Northeast
Tyler Anderson, Millwright’s, Simsbury, CT
Jamie Bissonnette, Coppa, Boston
Joanne Chang, Flour Bakery + Cafe, Boston
Eric Gabrynowicz, Restaurant North, Armonk, NY
Wesley Genovart, SoLo Farm & Table, South Londonderry, VT
Gerry Hayden, The North Fork Table & Inn, Southold, NY
Evan Hennessey, Stages at One Washington, Dover, NH
Brian Hill, Francine Bistro, Camden, ME
Dano Hutnik, Dano’s Heuriger on Seneca, Lodi, NY
Matt Jennings, Farmstead Inc., Providence, RI
Michael Leviton, Lumière, Newton, MA
Barry Maiden, Hungry Mother, Cambridge, MA
Evan Mallett, Black Trumpet Bistro, Portsmouth, NH
Masa Miyake, Miyake, Portland, ME
Ravin Nakjaroen, Long Grain, Camden, ME
Guy Reuge, Mirabelle, Stony Brook, NY
Champe Speidel, Persimmon, Bristol, RI
Benjamin Sukle, Birch, Providence, RI
Joel Viehland, Community Table, Washington, CT
Eric Warnstedt, Hen of the Wood, Burlington and Waterbury, VT

Best Chef: Northwest
Chris Ainsworth, Saffron Mediterranean Kitchen, Walla Walla, WA
Andy Blanton, Cafe Kandahar, Whitefish, MT
Greg Denton & Gabrielle Quiñónez Denton, Ox, Portland, OR
Eric Donnelly, RockCreek, Seattle
Renee Erickson, The Whale Wins, Seattle
Jason Franey, Canlis, Seattle
James Honaker, Bistro Enzo, Billings, MT
Joe Kim, 5 Fusion and Sushi Bar, Bend, OR
Richard Langston, Café Vicino, Boise, ID
Nathan Lockwood, Altura, Seattle
Brendan McGill, Hitchcock, Bainbridge Island, WA
Trent Pierce, Roe, Portland, OR
Naomi Pomeroy, Beast, Portland, OR
Dustin Ronspies, Art of the Table, Seattle
Adam Sappington, The Country Cat, Portland, OR
Ethan Stowell, Staple & Fancy, Seattle
Jason Stratton, Spinasse, Seattle
Cathy Whims, Nostrana, Portland, OR
Justin Woodward, Castagna, Portland, OR
Rachel Yang and Seif Chirchi, Joule, Seattle

Best Chef: NYC
Jonathan Benno, Lincoln Ristorante
Fredrik Berselius, Aska
April Bloomfield, The Spotted Pig
Paul Carmichael, Má Pêche
Amanda Cohen, Dirt Candy
Dan Kluger, ABC Kitchen
Mark Ladner, Del Posto
Paul Liebrandt, The Elm
Anita Lo, Annisa
Carlo Mirarchi, Roberta’s
Seamus Mullen, Tertulia
Joe Ng, RedFarm
Alex Raij and Eder Montero, Txikito
César Ramirez, Chef’s Table at Brooklyn Fare
Masato Shimizu, 15 East
Justin Smillie, Il Buco Alimentari & Vineria
Alex Stupak, Empellón Cocina
Rich Torrisi and Mario Carbone, Carbone
Jonathan Waxman, Barbuto
Michael White, Marea

Best Chef: South
Greg Baker, The Refinery, Tampa, FL
Vishwesh Bhatt, Snackbar, Oxford, MS
Justin Devillier, La Petite Grocery, New Orleans
Derek Emerson, Walker’s Drive-In, Jackson, MS
José Enrique, José Enrique, San Juan, PR
Justin Girouard, The French Press, Lafayette, LA
Chad Johnson, SideBern’s, Tampa, FL
Matthew McClure, The Hive, Bentonville, AR
Rob McDaniel, SpringHouse, Alexander City, AL
Jose Mendin, Pubbelly, Miami Beach, FL
James and Julie Petrakis, The Ravenous Pig, Winter Park, FL
Steve Phelps, Indigenous, Sarasota, FL
Ryan Prewitt, Pêche Seafood Grill, New Orleans
Hari Pulapaka, Cress, DeLand, FL
Horacio Rivadero, The District Miami
Henry Salgado, Spanish River Grill, New Smyrna Beach, FL
Alon Shaya, Domenica, New Orleans
Michael Stoltzfus, Coquette, New Orleans
Isaac Toups, Toups’ Meatery, New Orleans
Sue Zemanick, Gautreau’s, New Orleans

Best Chef: Southeast
Billy Allin, Cakes & Ale, Decatur, GA
Jeremiah Bacon, The Macintosh, Charleston, SC
Colin Bedford, The Fearrington House Restaurant, Pittsboro, NC
Kathy Cary, Lilly’s, Louisville, KY
Ashley Christensen, Poole’s Downtown Diner, Raleigh, NC
Scott Crawford, Herons at the Umstead Hotel and Spa, Cary, NC
Todd Ginsberg, The General Muir, Atlanta
Damian Heath, Lot 12 Public House, Berkeley Springs, WV
Vivian Howard, Chef & the Farmer, Kinston, NC
Scott Howell, Nana’s, Durham, NC
Meherwan Irani, Chai Pani, Asheville, NC
Kevin Johnson, The Grocery, Charleston, SC
Josh Keeler, Two Boroughs Larder, Charleston, SC
Matt Kelly, Mateo, Durham, NC
Edward Lee, 610 Magnolia, Louisville, KY
Daniel Lindley, St John’s Restaurant, Chattanooga, TN
Steven Satterfield, Miller Union, Atlanta
Andrew Ticer and Michael Hudman, Andrew Michael Italian Kitchen, Memphis
Aaron Vandemark, Panciuto, Hillsborough, NC
Tandy Wilson, City House, Nashville

Best Chef: Southwest
Charleen Badman, FnB, Scottsdale, AZ
Kevin Binkley, Binkley’s, Cave Creek, AZ
Bowman Brown, Forage, Salt Lake City
David Bull, Congress, Austin
James Campbell Caruso, La Boca, Santa Fe
Rob Connoley, The Curious Kumquat, Silver City, NM
Bryce Gilmore, Barley Swine, Austin
Jennifer James, Jennifer James 101, Albuquerque, NM
Matt McCallister, FT33, Dallas
Frederick Muller, El Meze, Taos, NM
Hugo Ortega, Hugo’s, Houston
Jeff Osaka, Twelve, Denver
Jonathan Perno, La Merienda at Los Poblanos Inn, Los Ranchos de Albuquerque, NM
Martín Rios, Restaurant Martín, Santa Fe
Silvana Salcido, Barrio Café, Phoenix
Alex Seidel, Fruition, Denver
Chris Shepherd, Underbelly, Houston
John Tesar, Spoon Bar & Kitchen, Dallas
David Uygur, Lucia, Dallas
Justin Yu, Oxheart, Houston

Best Chef: West
Matthew Accarrino, SPQR, San Francisco
Stuart Brioza and Nicole Krasinski, State Bird Provisions, San Francisco
Josef Centeno, Bäco Mercat, Los Angeles
Michael Chiarello, Bottega, Yountville, CA
Michael Cimarusti, Providence, Los Angeles
Justin Cogley, Aubergine at L’Auberge Carmel, Carmel, CA
Mitsuo Endo, Aburiya Raku, Las Vegas
Tyler Florence, Wayfare Tavern, San Francisco
Ed Kenney, Town, Honolulu
Mourad Lahlou, Aziza, San Francisco
Corey Lee, Benu, San Francisco
Ludo Lefebvre, Trois Mec, Los Angeles
David LeFevre, MB Post, Manhattan Beach, CA
Niki Nakayama, n/naka, Los Angeles
Daniel Patterson, Coi, San Francisco
John Rivera Sedlar, Rivera, Los Angeles
Jon Shook and Vinny Dotolo, Animal, Los Angeles
Joshua Skenes, Saison, San Francisco
James Syhabout, Commis, Oakland, CA
Ricardo Zarate, Picca, Los Angeles

An Englishman faces up to two years in prison for having sex with a dog.

Wayne Bryson, of Louth, Lincolnshire, had no explanation for police when arrested, probably because he was embarrassed. You see, police had physical evidence of the pervert engaging in bestiality. After looking through 19-year-old Bryson’s old mobile phone, his girlfriend stumbled across a video of him having sex with her Staffordshire Bull Terrier. She submitted the phone to authorities.

Bryson pled guilty to a charge of performing an act of sexual penetration with a dog. Upon arrest, he was also found in possession of marijuana. After confessing, Bryson explained to prosecutors it was his first time, with no further details. Bryson is currently out on bond, provided he steer clear of animals. He’s not allowed to be alone with any animal. He will be sentenced on March 5.

Bestiality has quadrupled over the last six years. Most recently, sex offender James Lee Lyons in St. Augustine, Florida was sentenced to eight years in prison in January for sex with dogs. Lyons, 53, was charged twice in 2013 for sexual activity involving an animal and felony cruelty to animals.

[Image: Shutterstock]

On Wednesday’s The Ellen Show, pop singer CeeLo Green revealed he won’t be returning to NBC’s The Voice after 4 seasons.

Green served as a mentor in the rotating chair along side pop powerhouse Christina Aguilera, country star Blake Shelton and People’s Most Sexiest Man, Adam Levine. The show debuted in April 2011, where blind auditions were the key to being chosen by music’s heavyweights. The contestants would then sing their hearts out for America’s vote to the next round.

“I just want to … I don’t want to wear out my welcome there,” Green said in the interview. “You know what I’m saying? I have so many other things that I want to do. I haven’t released an album in four years. I’m almost done with my album.” Green appeared alongside Lionel Richie during the interview, his future tour mate on their All The Hits, All Night Long tour.  

After season 3, two of the mentors were swapped. R&B singer Usher replaced Green and the sultry singer and dancer Shakira replaced Aguilera. The original mentors returned for season 5.

“I’m going to continue my relationship with NBC. I have a television show development deal with them as well and hopefully some other talk show opportunities for later in the year,” Green said in the interview. “But yeah, I’m going to miss The Voice, too.”

Season 7 of The Voice premieres Monday, February 24.

Kevin Hart has cast Romany Malco (“Weeds,” The 40-Year-Old Virgin) as the lead in a comedy based on Hart’s stand-up comedy.

The ABC pilot will be loosely based on Hart’s life, including his post-divorce dilemmas and co-parenting woes. Malco will portray Derek, a fit salesman living life after a failed marriage. The comedy takes a candid look at the life of a couple attempting to build a friendship for the sake of their kids, despite their differences. Hart will have a re-occurring role if the pilot is picked up. Neil Goldman and Garrett Donovan, both of “Community,” will executive produce.

Malco and Hart are reuniting after their starring roles in the theater hit Think Like A Man. The sequel to the film adaptation of the Steve Harvey book Think Like A Man Too hits theater in June. Malco also made special appearances on Hart’s “Real Househusbands Of Hollywood” on BET.

 (New York NY) – Uptown Ventures Group, the parent company of UPTOWN Magazine today announced that they will be honoring award winning writer, producer and director, Malcolm D. Lee at the 2014 Annual UPTOWN Pre-Oscar Gala.

The Gala will take place on Thursday, February 27^th at one of Hollywood’s classics, Sadie Supper Club. The evening will celebrate the outstanding achievements as a Writer, Producer and Director of such memorable films as “Roll Bounce”, “Undercover Brother”, “Best Man” and his most recent box office hit “Best Man Holiday”.  The exclusive invitation only event will bring together 100 of the industry’s brightest executives and true celebrities both in front of and behind the camera for a dinner followed by an private reception for additional guests afterwards.

“I am honored to be recognized by Uptown magazine for my body of work. The publication, like the stories I am so passionate about telling, represents the complexity that is us. I am gratified and humbled to join the likes of previous recipients of this honor, and truly looking forward to a wonderful evening.” said Malcolm D. Lee.

This year’s event is presented by Lexus. Other sponsors include Credit Suisse, Tanqueray Ten and NBC-Universal. Past honorees have included Lee Daniels, Will Packer, Salim Akil, Ava Duvernay, as well as Reggie and Warrington Hudlin.“We are extremely excited to honor Malcolm D. Lee this year. His films have entertained and inspired so many. His thoughtful and colorful approach to everyday life events enable our audience to relate, laugh and reflect upon ourselves in a way that we often don’t have the opportunity to on the silver screen.” said Len Burnett, Co-CEO and Chief Revenue Officer.