The Daily Roundup for Nov 21

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It's HAPPY BIRTHDAY Time Chroniclers. And I want to take this time to wish Happy Birthday to one of my most LOYAL readers,

So let us all give a great BIG HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO:

MISS MONICA GASKIN of Washington D.C

On the behalf of me and everyone in Chronicleland I want to wish you a fun filled and Blessed 

Happy Birthday!...LOVE YOU!

And now The Chronicles!

EAGLES ROCKS GIANTS!

Eagles defense finally holds a lead Eagles 17, Giants 10.

 

Another fourth quarter lead. Two minutes, 45 seconds left. After the kickoff, 91 yards to protect.
This time, finally, the lead held.

The Eagles did give up 70 of those 91 yards, including a 47-yard pass to Victor Cruz. But in the end, they made the play that mattered: Jason Babin sacked Giants quarterback Eli Manning and stripped him of the ball, and Derek Landri recovered the fumble.
With their margin for error exhausted and their nearest and greatest foe on the other side of the field, the Eagles’ defense arrived last night at MetLife Stadium in poor humor and stayed that way until the end. It was about time.
They began the night with an extra-curricular roughing up of Manning after an interception, with defensive tackle Trevor Laws and linebacker Brian Rolle doing the honors and setting an ornery tone. Later, after another big play, it was Rolle spraying the surroundings with imaginary machine-gun fire in a celebration that the league office will undoubtedly find to be cute.

Play after play in the first quarter ended with the two teams scuffling after the whistle; on one, safety Kurt Coleman emerged from the pile without his helmet. For the first time in a long time, the Eagles arrived with an edge to their game -- one that the defensive line maintained throughout the long night, dominating physically both against the run and in their mission to bang around Manning whenever possible.

But would it matter?

The answer came late.
The game came down to what every Eagles came has seemed to come down to in 2011 -- the fourth quarter, and the question of whether or not the Eagles would be able to preserve their lead.
This time, it was a 10-3 lead. And, just like five other times this season, that lead did evaporate with 11:36 left in the quarter when Cruz beat Nnamdi Asomugha in the left corner of the end zone for a touchdown pass from Manning. Asomugha, for some reason, stopped for a second, allowing Cruz to beat him cleanly. It was a different play, but it was the same two players, Cruz and Asomugha, in the first Eagles-Giants game this season -- and the same result.
So it was 10-10. The fourth quarter lead was gone again. This time, with Vince Young playing quarterback all night in place of Michael Vick and his broken ribs, playing and throwing three interceptions, the offense managed to convert on five different third downs on an 18-play drive that ate almost 9 minutes off of the clock and resulted in an 8-yard touchdown pass to Riley Cooper in the back of the end zone.

Which left 91 yards for the Giants.

And 2 minutes, 45 seconds.
Trying to figure out this bunch has become a municipal obsession. The talk for the last week has been about a lack of identity, and the discussion has been fair. For whatever reason, these Eagles have not been able to put a recognizable imprint on this season. Their offense has been either very hot or very cold -- and last night, with Young at quarterback, very interception -- but that hasn’t been the biggest issue. It has been a defense that was terrible early in the season, much better lately, but still unable to make a play in the fourth quarter when it mattered.

 

This defense has been maddening. This defense also has had far too many soft moments. And in the fourth quarter, week after week, it has been as if one bad moment or one bad play would beget another, and then another, in an unstoppable chain of horror.

Last night, finally, the chain was broken.

GO EAGLES!!

The 2011 Soul Train Music Awards Red Carpet

The celebs hit the Soul Train Music Awards in Atlanta at the Fox Theater.
Come along and see who was there

Tamar Braxton was on hand in an interesting dress to sing the Gladys Knight tribute. What????

She said on the carpet, "I'm performing tonight in the tribute, by myself, and I have my OWN backup singers! BOOM!" I guess Toni must be out of the country. I see her husband is really hard at work.

"Real Housewives of Atlanta" star Cynthia Bailey was corresponding for BET.com and she was spotted posing it up with Marsha Ambrosius.

Phaedra and Apollo were also there.

Jasmine Guy and her cropped fur made their way to the carpet.

The ladies of Mary Mary stopped on the carpet for some pics. Erica Campbell (right) showed off her baby belly as she's preggers with her 3rd child!

Common was on hand for the awards.

Amber Rose was in the house

Lance Gross, co-star of the upcoming Tyler Perry movie The Marriage Counselor, walked the carpet without his girlfriend.

Hey Kel!

Wow. It's been a minute Bushwick Bill.

Anthony Hamilton kept it dapper.

Keri looks great in this long grey dress and leopard heel-less shoes.

Tom Joyner--whose foot is in a cast--offered up kisses to Debra Lee.

BET's Stephen Hill was there.

So was Raheem Davaughn.

The boys all the little girls are loving--Mindless Behavior--hit the carpet.

Cynthia caught up with Naughty By Nature's Treach and Vinnie.

Morris Day…UMMMM!..Really this mirror?

Montell Jordan hit the carpet with his daughter Sydney

Kenny Lattimore hit the carpet.

BET's "Reed Between The Lines" star Malcolm Jamal Warner was there.

And CNN's Wolf Blitzer was flanked by all the ladies--Suzanne Malveaux, Lalah Hathaway, Brooke Baldwin, and Fredricka Whitfield.

Looks Like FUN!...

The details on the show; It was an emotional night at the taping of BET/Centric’s third annual Soul Train Awards on Thursday.

Tributes to Gladys Knight and Earth, Wind & Fire conjured up feelings of happiness and nostalgia. A tribute to the late rapper Heavy D had everyone at the Fox Theater in Atlanta waving glow sticks in the air and muttering, “It’s such a shame.” Gladys Knight was also honored while Kenny Lattimore, Dave Hollister and Freddy Jackson filled in as the Pips. In her 64 years in the business, Gladys Knight and the Pips have won numerous awards and accolades, but nothing has touched her like being honored by Soul Train. “This is the closest to my heart because it comes from my people. You know the roads we’ve traveled,” Gladys gushed. “Everything we did, we did it together.”

From the show’s opening with The Original 7ven, formerly known as The Time, to the establishment of the Ashford and Simpson Writer of the Year Award, to the incredible performance by Cee Lo Green and Melanie Fiona, BET and Centric definitely put it down.

You can catch all the performances and special surprises when the show airs on November 29 on both Centric and BET. You won’t want to miss this one!

HE REALLY IS SORRY 2011 Ruben Studdard and Wife have went their own Ways (DIVORCED)!

Ruben Studdard has filed for divorce after four years. The 2003 American Idol winner filed the papers in Alabama citing “irreconcilable differences,” reports TMZ. Ruben married Surata Zuri McCants in 2008 after dating for three years. His rep says, “Ruben and Zuri have gone their separate ways.”

They have no kids….Well thankful for that kids need to be raised in a 2 parent home!

SAY WHAT? Drake Dismisses Reports That Chris Brown Beat Him Up…

Drake recently dismissed claims that he caught an elbow in the face from Chris Brown for his rendezvous with Rihanna. DJ Whoo Kid alleged that he saw the fight first hand and even went as far to say that Chris Brown won the show down. Whoo Kid gave broke the news to Thisis50.com:

“”He [Drake] has at least eight songs on the radio that’s killing it,” Whoo Kid said. “Not to mention features and his on singles. And him and Rihanna are supposedly fooling around. I think he got elbowed too by Chris Brown, but that never came out…In the chin, like the corner left part. Man down, simple as that”. Read inside to see how Drake feels about if Breezy was to ever hit him!
Now we all know that Drake is no stranger to sharing his feelings, often baring his heart on most of songs, but he had strong thoughts on what would happen if he was to get elbowed in the face:

“I respect Chris Brown. I’d like to call myself a friend — I don’t know if I’m allowed to do that,” said Drake. “But I definitely didn’t get elbowed in my face. Somebody would’ve got knocked the f–k out.”
Well then. Tell us how you really feel Drake. DJ Whoo Kid later said that his story was just a joke but what do you think? Do you think Chris Brown even cares that Drake is a Rihanna stan?

Usher's Brother J-Lack ARRESTED For Domestic Violence Against Baby Mama & Child

Usher's producer brother James Antwon Lackey (who goes by J-Lack) was arrested last month for doing physical harm to his child's mother as well as his child.

The Fulton County Sheriff's Department posted some interesting info recently. Usher's brother J-Lack, who has produced some of Ursh's music, was arrested on October 26th for putting his hands on his baby moms and kid.

He was released on $5,500 bail 2 days later. No statement from J-Lack or his mama Jonetta Patton yet.

The victim was unnamed:

Interesting...to say the least!

Rahsaan Patterson Joined by Jody Watley, Faith Evans, Lalah Hathaway & Shanice for Live DVD Shoot

Soul innovator Rahsaan Patterson recently taped a live concert DVD for his latest CD “Bleuphoria” on Mack Avenue Records.
The live concert taping featured appearances by R&B veteran Jody Watley (who appears on “Bleuphoria” track “Ghost”); soul diva Lalah Hathaway (who appears on “Bleuphoria” track “6AM”) and Shanice, who’s featured on the CD’s new single “Crazy” alongside Faith Evans.

“Crazy,” by the way, is the second single from Patterson’s critically acclaimed new CD and is already receiving radio play at Urban Radio, Urban Adult Contemporary and XM/Sirius Satellite radio stations.

Here video of Rahsaan performing 6AM featuring the fabulous Lalah Hathaway.

Also worthy of attention are the house mixes of “6 a.m.” produced by multiple Grammy-award winning producer and DJ Steve “Silk” Hurley. 

Rahsaan's CD "Bluephoria" is in stores and on itunes, and Amazon right now

Ice Cube, Chris Tucker in Talks for Another ‘Friday’ Film

*New Line Cinema is in talks with Ice Cube to write, produce and star in another installment of the “Friday” movies, reports Deadline.

Cube could be in line to direct it as well, but all that is still being negotiated.
TMZ is reporting that Chris Tucker is in “serious talks” to reprise his role in the franchise, which includes three films: ”Friday,” “Next Friday” and “Friday After Next.”

Deadline’s Mike Fleming writes:
They have had discussions and Cube wants him, I’m told, but it’s unclear whether that part is a reality. For one thing, when I interviewed Tucker several years ago for Playboy, he told me that because of his religion, he was reticent to be depicted in the pot smoking mode as his character Smokey was in the original film.

He went as far as to say that he probably now wouldn’t have taken that memorable stint in Quentin Tarantino’s “Jackie Brown,” because of the verbal explosion of profanity and liberal use of the “N” word.

Kris Humphries Ready To Expose Kim's Fake Butt

Kris Humphries plans to expose Kim Kardashian's fake booty secrets.
KIM KARDASHIAN’s big booty is a big, fat fake, sources say – and her estranged hubby KRIS HUMPHRIES is threatening to expose the truth!
The reality TV sexpot insists her bubble butt is all natural and even displayed an X-ray of what she claimed was her backside on her show to use as proof.
But some insiders claim the curvy 31-year-old beauty uses butt pads and say Kris filmed a video that proves his estranged wife’s prized posterior is phony!

Kris remarked to pals that, while he loves Kim’s shapely butt, it’s not the same as what you see on the red carpet…or TV.
“Kris told his buddies that it takes a lot of work for Kim to make her bottom look as good as it does,” said a source. “He revealed all her secrets – how she uses ‘booty pads,’ Spanx and other things to enhance it. When she takes off the Spanx, the pads and everything else, it’s not the same.

“He knows what the real thing looks like – because he’s recorded it on his cell phone camera!”
But Kim – who filed for divorce 72 days after she married NBA pro Kris in a lavish Aug. 20 wedding filmed for the E! network – swears that she’s never had implants or fat injections in her rear.
“The butt implant rumors are so not true,”she insisted in an interview.
To prove her point, Kim flaunted a “butt X-ray” during an episode of “Keeping Up with the Kardashians.”
“Despite what Kim said on her show, I think she has definitely had fat injections in her butt,” the source said.

“Kim would never call it a Brazilian butt-lift, but that’s essentially what it was.”
Kim works very hard to look her best, but even before they split, Kris taunted her about her weight, sources say. At 5-foot-3, Kim claims to weigh 115 pounds, but Kris told pals that she’s closer to 130.
“Kris would pat Kim’s bottom and say, ‘You sure have a lot of junk in your trunk,’” divulged a close source.'

“Then Kris actually began calling Kim fat! He said the undersides of her arms were flabby and she was getting a pooch in her belly. Kim was furious!”
The first source added: “Kim is all about creating illusion. Having Kris spill the beans about how she really maintains her world-famous butt would be devastating to her.”

Perhaps Kim’s concerns explain why she cut short an Australian business trip in early November and flew back to L.A.
“She frantically called Kris but that didn’t work,” said the source. “So she hopped a red-eye flight to his parents’ home in Minnesota to talk to him in person.
“I think Kim wants to make sure Kris keeps the secrets about her body to himself – and NEVER, ever releases the film footage he has of her.”

SPOTTED OUT Chris and Carmelo

"Locked out" ballers Chris Paul and Carmelo Anthony were among the celebs at the State Farm Champions Classic - Duke vs. Michigan State & Kentucky vs. Kansas games at Madison Square Garden.

And the fellas kicked it courtside and laughed it up:

NFL star Plaxico Burress and his son Elijah were also in the audience.

And Spike Lee was sitting courtside too....being loud as usual.

Fun Times!

Common’s Listening Party With Special Guess Keri Hilson, Neyo, Jeezy, & More

Common’s private listening session held in Atlanta at Jermaine Dupri’s studio. The industry’s top movers and shakers were there including Ne-Yo, Jeezy, Keri Hilson, BET Executive Kelly G, Def Jam Executive Bu and many more. Common,a Chi-town native, just finished his ninth album “The Dreamer, The Believer” which will be arriving just in time for Christmas.

The album, which features the single “Blue Sky,” was delayed from its November 22 date. Common told us that he “just wanted to get all the singles out that we wanted to get out before the album comes, giving it the right preparation time”. Common stays true to who you have grown to love and continues to show his range and ability as a lyricist and storyteller. The Album has 3 Features- Nas, Maya Angelou, and John Legend.

I was told that Common had songs for the ladies as well as songs for the streets. The crowd favorite seemed to be the Nas single.

He also addressed his departure from Kanye West’s G.O.O.D. Music label. “We good people on good terms. Really, in all truth, it’s family. It just was a business thing where releasing this album wouldn’t as been as beneficial to release it on a G.O.O.D. Music label, but I’m still G.O.O.D. Music family.”

While he’s no longer signed to Kanye’s label, he will be contributing to the G.O.O.D. Music compilation, due next spring. “I’m planning on going in the studio soon to work on that.”

Make sure you get his album December 20th!

Report: Ex Red Sox Clubhouse Manager ‘Preyed on Black Boys’
Retired Boston Red Sox spring training clubhouse manager Donald Fitzpatrick, 72, of Boston, takes an oath during his court hearing at the Polk County Courthouse in Bartow, Fla. Fitzpatrick admitted sexually abusing four boys during spring training while serving as clubhouse manager from 1970-1992.

*Long before revelations that former Penn State football coach Jerry Sandusky had allegedly sexually abused a number of at-risk youth, another high-profile predator used the cover of athletics to molest young boys.
Reporter Trymaine Lee of the Huffington Post posted the following on Tuesday:
Between 1971 and 1991, Donald Fitzpatrick, a long-time Red Sox clubhouse manager, systematically molested and abused nearly a dozen African-American boys in their hometown of Winter Haven, Florida, where the baseball team held their Spring training.
“He grabbed me and told me to take my clothes off,” Leeronnie Ogletree, who said Fitzpatrick lured him into years of molestation when he was just 10, told thepostgame.com. “I’ll never forget him putting his mouth on my penis. I don’t mind telling it now because I’m over it. But that stands out. And I’ll never forget it.”

It took decades for the truth to come out about Fitzpatrick, who is white, and his criminal desire for young black boys. In 2003 the Boston Red Sox settled a $3.15 million federal lawsuit brought against them by Ogletree and seven other men from Winter Haven who said Fitzpatrick repeatedly molested them as boys.
Benjamin Crump, the lawyer who handled Ogletree’s case against Fitzpatrick and the Boston Red Sox, said the similarities between the Penn State and Red Sox scandals are startlingly similar. There were cover-ups, denials and the enabling of pedophiles to use the power of their institutions to prey on the weak, in the Red Sox case, “poor black boys,” he said. The kinds of youth often considered society’s “throwaways.” “You have these sports institutions; you have all these people of authority; you have all this public support for these institutions and hear talk about what great institutions they are, but then when you ask them to do the right thing and have compassion for these young people, the institutions deny, deny, deny,” said Crump, of Parks & Crump. “They sweep it under the rug and they look the other way.”

According to reports, former Red Sox players such as Jim Rice and Sammy Stewart got wind of Fitzpatrick’s deeds and would warn kids in the clubhouse to avoid him. In 1971, one of Fitzpatrick’s victims came forward to the team, and in a manner similar to Penn State’s handling of the Sandusky allegations, the team did not alert authorities or fire Fitzpatrick.

But supporters for Ogletree and the other men who settled in the case, who have become known as the Winter Haven seven, wonder how race and class might have played in the team’s inaction once they got a whiff of what Fitzpatrick might have been up to.
“These kids came from impoverished backgrounds and many times, no father. Fitzpatrick used that to his advantage and preyed on these kids that were poor,” Crump said. “The one thing that I do think is not similar to the Penn State situation is that with the Boston Red Sox case, they had 11 kids and they were all black, almost as if they wouldn’t let this happen to little white boys.”
It wasn’t until 1991, two decades later, that wheels of justice began to turn. Howard Bryant of ESPN.com, wrote that in ’91, a young aide whom Fitzpatrick was suspected of recruiting showed up at a nationally televised Red Sox game with a sign that read “Don Fitzpatrick sexually assaulted me.” The Red Sox paid out a $100,000 settlement, Bryant wrote. The $3.5 million settlement came years later.

The seven men who settled with the team and Fitzpatrick include Myron Birdsong, Terrance D. Birdsong, Walter Covington III, Eric Frazier Jr., Willie Earl Hollis, James A. Jackson and Ogletree.

In a recent story published on the website thepostgame.com, Ogletree recounted those days of his stolen youth. He remembers hearing the sounds of pitched baseballs smacking into gloves and the sounds of balls cracking off of bats. And eventually being lured in by Fitzpatrick.
“If you’re a kid, you fall in love with the game of baseball,” Ogletree said. “There’s one-in-a-million chance of meeting a professional ballplayer, let alone working with them. If kids like something, and if you say you’re going to take that away, they’ll do anything to keep what’s good to them. I know what happened to me at 10 years old.”
“I was a good kid,” Ogletree said. “I was raised right. The sentence I really got was a life sentence because of what I went through with the Red Sox.”

Sometimes, Ogletree said, “I’m not sure who I am.”

Crump, who has kept in touch with Ogletree’s family, said that Ogletree and many of the others victimized by Fitzpatrick have never shaken the trauma of their assaults. Some have turned to drugs, he said. Others, like Ogletree, have battled with addiction and have had numerous stints in jail.
“It’s one of those situations where once you steal a kid’s innocence, they never ever get it back. And the question is, are they ever really going to be normal when something like that happens so traumatically at such an early age?” Crump said. “Their assaults color their feelings on mostly every issue in their lives, that’s what we were dealing with. These guys never got right after that.”

In 2002 Fitzpatrick accepted a plea deal. He would serve no jail time, get a 10-year suspended sentence and 15 years of probation, according to reports.

Ogletree, who has battled the trauma brought on by the boyhood assaults, was in a mental institution when the multimillion dollar settlement was reached. He called Fitzpatrick’s deal a “sweetheart deal.”
But he has vowed never to let people forget what Fitzpatrick and others like him have stolen from innocent, vulnerable young people.

“I need to tell people my story,” he said.

Below is statement reportedly released by the Boston Red Sox and reprinted on thepostgame.com:

Mr. Fitzpatrick served as the team’s clubhouse manager from the 1960s until 1991, and the actions you have inquired about occurred between 1971 and 1991. When the team, then under a previous ownership group, became aware of the allegations against Mr. Fitzpatrick in 1991, he was promptly relieved of his duties. Civil litigation was filed in 2001 by victims of Mr. Fitzpatrick for actions that had occurred more than 20 years earlier. The team, which was acquired by the current ownership group after the lawsuit was filed, reached a settlement in 2002. Mr. Fitzpatrick has since passed away. The Red Sox have always viewed the actions of Mr. Fitzpatrick to be abhorrent.

Nicole Ari Parker in DENIM Magazine

Nicole Ari Parker is looking Holiday-hot for the December 2011 issue of DENIM Magazine.
41-year-old actress and mom of Sophie & Nicolas rocked a cute conservative chic white button down and flower inspired folded skirt with a tuxedo bowtie for the cover. And a long sleeved off-the-shoulder white gown and killer heels for an inside shot.

rel

She gushed about falling instantly for her husband Boris Kodjoe when they met on the set of "Soul Food" years ago...or how he fell for her rather:

DENIM: Speaking of built relationships…what was your first reaction to meeting Boris Kodjoe?! Was it on set of Soul Food or before?!

NICOLE: When Boris walked into our first rehearsal i thought of him as the really hot guy that got to play my boyfriend in the first couple of episodes. But for some reason we connected and found it easy to talk to each other and laugh and be comfortable...and then i married him. Vanessa called it from the beginning, just like a real sister would, "you know he's feeling you right?' instigating.."nuh-uh" I said. "Yuh-huh, watch.. that's your man right there." and the rest is history.

FAB! The issue hits stands on Thanksgiving Day.

First Kim now it’s Kourtney MORE KARDASHIAN Drama!
It seems that Kim is not the only Kardashian sibling going through drama.
Her sister Kourtney put on a brave face today as reports emerged that her partner Scott Disick had an fling with another reality TV star while the couple were on a break.
The 32-year-old smiled as she posed with younger sister Khloe at a signing for their new book, Dollhouse, in New York City.
The reality star looked chic in a leopard print trouser suit, which she paired with a black pussy bow shirt.
Khloe went equally conservative in some wide-leg navy trousers and a black long sleeve top.
She made no mention of the latest family scandal to hit the headlines.
Kourtney's current boyfriend and father of her one-year-old son Mason was today accused of 'hooking up' Kristin Cavallari in 2009 in a report published by American magazine Life&Style.

The fling is said to have occurred just before Kourtney fell pregnant.
'While Kourtney and Scott were on a break, Scott hooked up with Kristin,' a source is quoted as telling the magazine.
According to the insider, they first met up during a trip to Las Vegas.
'Scott and Kristin hooked up in Las Vegas during a time [February 2009] that he was on a break from Kourtney,' the source said.
But another friend told the publication that it wasn't just a one time thing, and that the pair were seeing each other 'on and off' for quite some time.

'Actually, Scott and Kristin were hooking up on and off for a year, maybe even two,' the second source claimed.
'When Kourt and Scott would fight, he'd party with Kristin and hook up.'
Other woman? Scott was apparently involved with Kristin Cavallari, Rob Kardashian's co-star on Dancing With The Stars and Kourtney's former friend
Before the alleged flight, the two reality women were pals, after Kristin dated Kourtney's stepbrother Brody Jenner.
Kourtney and Scott reportedly used to party with Kristin at various hotspots in Miami and New York.
But in 2009, Kourtney apparently caught the pair on a date in L.A., which subsequently ended the women's friendship.
'Kourtney was furious,' the friend said. 'She and her sisters have called Kristin "the whore bag" ever since.'

And when she found out that Kristin would be appearing with her brother Rob on this season's DWTS, she took action.

She banned Scott from going to the shows, which she regularly attended with her family to cheer Rob on.

'Scott and Kourtney argued about Kristin,' the source said. 'Kourtney can't stand her now and didn't want Scott at show tapings.'

Paula Patton DISHES To "Complex" About On-Screen Catfights, Toting A Gun & Female Action Stars

Don't let the good looks fool you! In the latest issue of "COMPLEX" Magazine, Paula Patton dishes on how "good" it felt to beat someone up on camera, how well she handles a gun, and her thoughts on female action stars. Get the deets and hot pics of "bad ass" Paula inside....

In the December 011 / January 2012 issue of Complex, Paula Patton shows that beneath her good-girl image, she's a real (sexy) bad ass.

Starring with Tom Cruise in the 4th installment of Mission Impossible, she dishes on her hubby helping her confidence, guns, and female action stars.

Here are the highlights.

It’s safe to say that Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol is the biggest film of your career so far. 

Not every actress gets to be in a franchise that’s earned over $4 billion worldwide.

Making Mission: Impossible was a dream come true. It challenged me as an actor because it’s so technical. Any time you’re challenged you get better. I learned so much from working with Tom Cruise—it was remarkable. Also, I got to do my own stunts, and that felt more freeing than anything I’ve ever done. To be able to be that physical was exciting.

There’s a scene in the movie where you come to blows with another actress. Did you have any real-life fighting experience?
Not at all. I’d never physically hit anybody until I was doing the rehearsal. They had a stunt man, and we were getting ready, and the timing got screwed up and I really connected with this guy’s chin. And, I have to say, it was gnarly! [Laughs.] But, also, I’ve never felt worse. It’s a whole other thing to hit skin. It didn’t feel good at all, and yet it was like, “Wow, that worked! I can really hurt someone.” It just goes to show you that the smallest person can inflict the most damage if they know what they’re doing, and it’s good for women to know that.

But it’s always good to know that you’re capable of knocking someone out.
Definitely. Listen, I’m not someone to be played with! [Laughs.] If need be, I can hurt someone. I don’t think there’s a problem with that. I just try not to be like, “Oh, I really want to sock this person in the face.” That’s not saying that I’m perfect. Ideally, I want to be a person who tries to have some compassion. But I have said things, like, “I’m going to strangle this person,” or, “I want to murder them!” [Laughs.] Which is horrible. I’m such a.... What’s the word for it? I waver back and forth; I’m many things at once.

Hollywood is definitely lacking in female action heroes. Is that something you’d be game for?
Hell yeah. I’d love to do more action films. I was always athletic as a child, so for me it’s fun to run and jump and get physical. I love all of that. It would be amazing to keep kicking ass in other films, or in more Mission: Impossible films—whatever comes my way. I’m just open to wherever life takes me. I try to put up light guardrails in my life, and leave room for things to come my way and surprise me. If you’re too rigid in your quest for something, you might not see the other amazing possibilities that are thrown at you.

What brought about your newfound sense of confidence?
Being honest with yourself as you get older, and after you live life longer. I’m more comfortable with my flaws now, and with that, you start to feel more confident. When you’re trying to hide all of your flaws, and you’re embarrassed by them, it can be so uncomfortable—very, very uncomfortable. You don’t know who you’re supposed to be. I just hit a certain point when I started to think, “You know what? These are my flaws, and I’m OK with them.” I love me! I’m doing the best I can with what I have. I’m not afraid to say that anymore. I feel comfortable in my own skin now.

How big of a factor is your husband in this new confidence?
He is my greatest supporter. He’s never stopped me from doing a single thing; he only encourages me to go for it. He tells me to do things before I even think I’m ready myself.

And more of the new mom's ridiculously hot pics:

Ovahness!

Alicia Keys Mingles with Fans at ‘Stick Fly’ Meet and Greet

Alicia Keys was cute in curls at a meet and greet for Stick Fly in New York City earlier today. The Grammy-winning singer, who produced and composed music for the Broadway play, joined the cast while mingling with ticket buyers and signing autographs at Cort Theatre.

“It’s about the human experience, so it doesn’t matter how you look, where you’re from, where you grew up,” explained Alicia of the family-oriented production. “Life is hilarious, life is serious, life is outrageous, and that’s what this play is.”

Stick Fly opens December 8 on Broadway, with limited previews beginning this Friday.

Conner Cruise Rebelling Against Scientology

Conner Cruise is rebelling against his father Tom Cruise's views on religion.
Most kids spend their childhood under their parents’ thumbs — it kind of goes with the territory. But a family friend says that Tom has been unusually strict, and that Connor is finally getting sick of it. “He’s starting to rebel against his father and the other components in their life, maybe even Scientology,” the friend says. Connor was raised in Tom’s controversial religion, but he has recently been seen wearing Christian symbols, like crosses and a Jesus pendant. “He wants to be independent,” the friend says, “but Tom doesn’t want to give up control over his son.”

From the outside, Connor Cruise looks like one of the luckiest kids on the planet: His parents and stepparents are world-famous entertainers and — materially, at least — he wants for nothing. But the truth is tragically more complicated. As a source close to him tells In Touch, “Connor has always had a difficult relationship with his parents, and it has definitely affected him. He has broken down crying about it.”
The 16-year-old (as well as his sister, Isabella, 18) was adopted by Tom Cruise and Nicole Kidman when he was a newborn. And he has long strugged with insecurity about his place in the family. “When he was young,” the source says, “Tom was always off doing his thing, working like a mandman. He traveled all the time, and was totally focused on his career. When he came home, he didn’t always have much left to give.” While Tom’s rep unsurprisingly denies the story, as a result, the source claims Tom, 49, and Connor’s relationship became strange and cold. “Tom is a very difficult man to get to know on a deep level. It’s almost like he treats Connor like a business associate rather than a son.”

Unfortuantely, Connor’s relationship with Nicole isn’t any better. “She wasn’t the best mom to him and Isabella,” the source says. His parents divorced in 2001, when Connor was just 6. And though, for a time, Nicole made an effort to stay involved in her kids’ lives, she had a miscarriage after Tom started the divorce proceedings, and it was hard for her to cope. “She forgot so many things, like school pickups and projects; she was a wreck, and probably had trouble giving them the affection they needed from her,” the source says.
Eventually, Nicole moved back to Australia. The source thinks Connor had been dealing with abandonment issues as a result o being adopted, and it was possibly the worst thing that could have happened. Until, that is, his half-siblings were born and he saw how differently their lives are from his. 

On one hand, yes, Suri — Tom’s daughter with Katie Holmes — has a strange, sheltered life. But her parents also unabashedly lavish the 5-year-old with attention, fancy family trips and essentially whateve her heart desires materially. And Connor has had to watch jealously from the wings as his icy father grows warmer and warmer to his half-sister. “Connor loves Suri,” the source says. “But he also thinks she gets a lot more of Tom’s time and attention than they ever got.” The same goes for Nicole’s daughters with her husband, Keith Urban.
Now, the family friend says, “Connor is at a crossroads in his life. He’s been pushing for more freedom — he wants to drive a car and date whomever he chooses.” And this could spark a major war at home with his control-freak dad, who’s so notoriously stubborn about his beliefs. But ultimately, Connor’s move to separate himself from the family could be a good thing. And ironically, it may just be the best way to finally get Tom’s attention.

And finally from “THE CRAZY PEOPLE SHOPPING AT WALMART” FILES
“Shoe & Tell”

Whoa! Quite a pair of shit-kickers you got going on there amigo. They sorta have this rodeo-witch feel to them but I really can’t be sure. Maybe you guys can tell me what these boots are made for, because I can see they aren’t made for walking.

MAY YOU AND YOURS HAVE A GREAT WEEK AHEAD!!!!
EFREM