HAYYYYY!!  OK …….. Today's post is a huge shout out to the ["new title"] DIVA OF PINK, formerly known as THE PINK PRINCESS!  I wanted to express my huge congrats on the DIVA officially becoming engaged.  Yes, my buddy who I used to gossip about Britney, J-Lo, and Justin for hours, is on her way to becoming a married woman.

I've known the DIVA for 7 years, ….. through concerts [Madonna's "Re-Invention Tour"]; plays [we saw MADEA GOES TO JAIL live with Tyler Perry]; interesting bosses, co-workers and demanding actresses; our latest obsession [Real Housewives of Atlanta]; and mountains of pizza ….. we have remained REAL FRIENDS.  Even though she'd say I annoy her 90% of the time [unless she wants a diet coke or Frosty from Wendy's].

So, I send a HUGE CONGRATS to Sammy and Vinnci, probably one of the best couples I know.

Meanwhile, back at the Hall of Justice …….. 

HAYYYYY!!  OK …….. After yours truly, Call Him Miss Ross, was harshly scolded by Hackberry Diva-In-Training, Miss Gina, for not posting more pictures of Mr. Roscoe, I decided to let Mr. Man [pictured above on the floor, with his buddy, Peabody, who is in the chair] give the birthday shout outs:

1.  A Huge HAPPY [and belated] BIRTHDAY to our Real Estate Diva Supreme, Miss Peggy!  I hope that you had a fantastic birthday, and enjoy the new tv!  Thanks for letting my dad be a part of your birthday celebration with Miss Anne and Miss Gina.  And remember, if you get an i-phone, Daddy will be glad to talk your ears off.

2.  Super Size with a chocolate milk HAPPY BIRTHDAY to my friend [and Doobie's Mama] Jennifer, whose birthday is actually on Tuesday!  Happy number #29, although you don't look older than 21!  My Dad says, "Thank you for the great dinner .. with red velvet cake [he loves, loves, loves some cream cheese icing]."

HAPPY BIRTHDAY LADIES!

Meanwhile, back at the Hall of Justice …….. 

HAYYYYY!!  OK …….. Two points of irony that I would like to share with you today, gentle readers:

1.  As some of you are experiencing, it has been rain, rain and more rain throughout most of middle and north Georgia.  Homes have been flooded, bridges are falling apart, and many businesses and schools have closed or let people leave early.  In addition to the potential property damage, most of my neighbors and co-workers are extremely tired of the rain.  Rain, rain go away ……..

PEOPLE!! [House of Dereon:  Where the catwalk meets the sidewalk!  Tina Knowles]

Are you not the same group that went on and on and on the last few summers about the lack of rain?  Lake Lanier was supposedly drying up, Six Flags was recycling water, and as I learned from Oprah last week, Whitney actually left Bobby and Atlanta in 2006!  This is rain you wanted, the rain you begged for and most importantly, THE RAIN THAT SONNY PRAYED FOR!!

Don't you remember, Sonny out there at the state capital praying for rain?  You asked GOD for rain, now don't complain!  Always remember to really think about your requests to GOD.

2.  I have a friend who works for one of Atlanta's local magazines.  She stated that the "living" section is constantly updating their restaurant listing guide, due to the number of establishments that have closed in the past few years.  Either due to funds, lack of interest or even bad timing, many restaurants are having trouble keeping their doors open 6 months to a year.

RESTAURANT OWNERS AND WAIT STAFF!!  [House of Dereon:  Where the catwalk meets the sidewalk!  Tina Knowles]

When possible customers have limited funds, but also several choices, it is not a good idea to provide poor service.  I went to a restaurant last night, where I have never experienced "great service."  In the past, I have had to ask if my table even had a waiter.  However, my dining companions enjoy the establishment and the food is quite good.  Until last night ……. cold soup that was returned to the kitchen twice; several requests for drink refills before anything happened; two of the three people received their meals while the third order was not even given to the kitchen; our original waiter approached the table once to say, "one minute," while his replacement took our order and disappeared, and finally a third waiter came to the table [maybe we were supposed to meet the entire staff] ……..

When we finally asked for a manager, he came out with this whole, "I'm soooooooo sorry" number.  Sorry does not cut it [although he excused the entire bill].  The restaurant was half full, with wait staff standing around.

In this economy …….. a little too ironic, yeah I really do think!

Meanwhile, back at the Hall of Justice …….. 

HAYYYYY!!  OK ……. Found the dvd of VALENTINO: THE LAST EMPEROR at Target [of all places] today.  Loved the movie!  And you know me, and how much I love anything to do with films about haute couture.

However, if you have an interest in VALENTINO, please know that it will be quite different from the legendary ISAAC MIZRAHI: UNZIPPED and MARC JACOBS & LOUIS VUITTON [both technically not haute couture houses].  UNZIPPED, which was released as the super model rage was beginning to wane, gave viewers a glimpse of the creation process, along with Mizrahi's adorable personality.

MARC JACOBS, which is actually the best of the three, dissected Marc's creative process from start to finish.  I loved that Jacobs was routinely inspired by modern art [and musicians such as Lil Kim and Madonna, who inspired the 2009 LV campaign].

But back to VALENTINO, …….. while the film is about his relationship with Giancarlo Giammetti, Valentino's life and business partner for 50+ years, it is also a commentary on how big "bottom line" business has invaded the world of high fashion.  The designer stages a celebration of his 45 years in fashion, while at the same time, trying to decide if he wants to continue.

Four of my favorite VALENTINO moments:

1.  Valentino and Giammetti host a lavish party for a guest list that includes Joan Collins, Anna Wintour [I'm still waiting to see THE SEPTEMBER ISSUE], Gwyneth Paltrow [she is all over this film, no wonder the girl is hardly in any movies, she's with Valentino everyday] and Martha Stewart.  Anyway, Martha starts snooping around the washing room and kitchen.  She walks right up to the chef and says, "Hi, I'm Martha Stewart.  I write cookbooks in America."  To which the chef coldly responds, "oh, I KNOW YOU."

2.  Love, love, love me some fashions [and hair] from the 60's.  This movie has plenty of 60's footage, including Valentino's designs for Elizabeth Taylor and Jackie O.

3.  Micheal, the major domo for Valentino's 6 homes [which include a villa in Rome, an apartment in New York, and a chalet in Gstaad].  This man obviously knows his job.  He was always trying to stay two steps ahead of a thankless man whose head is in the clouds.  Sounds like a director I know [and worked for].

4.  Valentino has 5 pugs that go everywhere .. Milton, Monty, Margot, Maude and Molly!

Meanwhile, back at the Hall of Justice …….. 

HAYYYYY!!  OK …….. Today, I continued to see the above video on all of my favorite blogs, including Joe.My.God and Americablog.  So, I finally took a few minutes and watched the whole thing.  Then I watched the video again.  And again with another person.  AND STILL, I can not completely understand what these "tea-baggers," are upset about and more importantly, what message are they are trying to send?  

Apparently, these men, women and children do not approve of Obama; spend a great deal of time shopping at Wal-Mart; and are completely terrified that the country is going socialist, communist and fascist all at the same time!  According to one gentleman in the video, these ideologies are inter-changeable, which would have been big news to Stalin, Hitler and Hirohito.

Now even though I have watched this video several times [and still do not understand "the message"], I firmly believe in the tea-bagger's right to speak and demonstrate — peacefully.  BUT YOU KNOW ME, I have some questions ……..  

1.  Did Wal-Mart have a sell on t-shirts with printed messages?  Everybody is wearing some type of "statement" t-shirt, which they then cover with buttons, stickers, and lanyards.

2.  One of their slogans is "Stop The Insanity!"  I thought that cheer/slogan/logo was trade marked by fitness guru Susan Powter!  Remember ol' Susan and her Sinead O'Connor bald head?

3.  Why is there someone protesting abortion?  How do you mix in Obama, Healthcare, and Kanye's apology to Taylor Swift with abortion?

4.  From the video, there appeared to be many people that attended this rally in DC.  Probably not as many who attended Diana Ross' rained out concert in Central Park, but still enough for there to be a heavy rental bill on Port-O-Potties.  Anyway, couldn't the interviewer [who actually is incredible and patient] find at least 10 people who knew what is actually stated in the healthcare proposals?  No one seemed to know – and admitted to this!  Besides an over-riding "anger" at Obama [and a dismay, I'm sure, that Toby Keith was not performing], what are these people protesting?

5.  However, I did like the woman who worked in health care for many years.  The reporter should have just interviewed her .. maybe then I could understand what is going on.

6.  I think that Nancy Reagan will be greatly, greatly hurt, that all of her hard work on the "Just Say No" Campaign was wasted on these protesters.  Why would Nancy feel this way?  Because no one knew Ronnie had appointed a Drug Czar!  Nancy was pressured into choosing some "cause" during her second term — she couldn't just lunch with Frank and wear Galanos everyday — and relunctantly agreed to champion kids away from drugs.  Does anyone remember her appearance on DIFFERENT STOKES, when she warned Arnold?  Meanwhile, Patti Reagan posed nude for Playboy.

7.  As I watched the video one last time, a key phrase became crystal clear, "You know this how?"

Meanwhile, back at the Hall of Justice …….. 

HAYYYYY!!  OK ……. After wrestling with a horrible cough and congestion that made me feel like Loretta Lynn's father in COAL MINER'S DAUGHTER, I finally dropped into one of those "Doc-In-A-Box" at my local grocery store.  Turns out that I have bronchitis!  No wonder I felt like crap over the weekend, and DID NOT GO TO THE PET SHOP BOYS CONCERT [therefore, no screaming review].  So, since I have thrown down over $185 on antibiotics, I hope to be feeling better soon!

But onto far more pressing matters, namely the 2009 VMA's and Madonna, MJ, Pink, and Lady Ga Ga .. because I could less about Kanye and Taylor [although you know that Beyonce can about occupy a room at the Vatican with how much people are loving her today]:

MADONNA, MADONNA, MADONNA ……… What was with that speech, what was with that outfit and most importantly, fire whoever touched your hair!  While I could not take my eyes off of Mo's hair which made her look bloated, I could not believe her speech!  "I failed Micheal, we all failed Micheal.  Micheal's childhood.  Micheal was the greatest, blah, blah."  What is going with this MJ revisionist history?

What really happened?  MJ and Madonna went on one date, as well as attended the 1991 Oscars together.  He was promoting DANGEROUS [and trying to "straighten his image"], and she was promoting TRUTH OR DARE.  After the Oscars, he sat with Miss Ross, she with Warren Beatty.  She tried to get her background dancers to change Micheal's look, he wanted her to duet on DANGEROUS.  End result?  He called her a heifer, she referred to him as a space alien drag queen.  18 years later and she's MJ's BFF.

And before I leave the subject of MJ, when did MTV suddenly become so Micheal friendly?  This is the same station that repeatedly made fun of his onstage kiss with Lisa Marie!  This is the same station that led MJ to believe that he was receiving some type of "icon" award, when Britney Spears was only calling him onstage so the audience could sing Happy Birthday!  That poor alien drag queen gave a 15 minute thank you speech about his career! 

PINK, PINK, PINK …….. You sang "Sober."  You sang live while performing on a trapeze.  Wow.

LADY GAGA, LADY GAGA, LADY GAGA …….. I just do not know what to think of you.  If you've read my blog in the past year, you know that I have not been all "GAGA."  It just seemed that the House of GAGA was trying a little too hard.  But after seeing her theatrical and LIVE [hear that Janet and NitWit Brit, the girl sang LIVE .. and proved she could really sing] performance, I kept thinking that miss hot mess is either the next Grace Jones or Lady Kier Kirby.  I'm not totally sold on GAGA, but I might walk through the door.

Meanwhile, back at the Hall of Justice …….. 

HAYYYYY!!  OK …….. I was going to blog about GOP California Assemblyman, Michael Duvall, who resigned today because he was RECORDED [RECORDED YALL!] bragging about his recent affairs with two young female lobbyists.  These same lobbyists worked for companies that had governmental contracts – and Mr. Duvall co-chaired the committee that presided over these contracts.  Conflict of interest anyone?

And then I was going to blog about THE REAL HOUSEWIVES OF ATLANTA, who could not even go on Ellen Degeneres' show without making a fool of themselves.  Still, I love me some Kandi, Ne Ne and Kim!

But these two subjects pale in comparison to the politicians of South Carolina!

For those who could care less, we first had Governor Mark Sanford and the visits to his lady love in Argentina.  Then lately, we have had Lt. Gov. Andre Bauer, who REALLY, REALLY wants to be Governor.  However, there might be a minor problems ……..

And then, thanks to Obama's speech to Congress tonight, I have been introduced to "YOU LIE" GOP South Carolina Representative, Joe Wilson.  PEOPLE, I was never the biggest fan of George and Laura, and I'm not that crazy about Barack and Michelle [although Michelle has a FANTASTIC eye for fashion], but there are some things you just DO NOT DO when the President is speaking .. and on national television!  Did anyone catch Pelosi's reaction?  It was pure, "Don't make a black woman take her earrings off!"

Just as a continual side note, remember the individual I WANTED for President is the current Secretary of State!

I have relatives who live in South Carolina, I love, love, love me some Myrtle Beach, but what a hot mess South Carolina has become!

Meanwhile, back at the Hall of Justice …….. 

HAYYYYY!!  OK …….. On September 29th, Madonna will release her "ultimate" [ie .. she's leaving Warner Bros Records to begin her new contract with Live Nation] greatest hits package, CELEBRATION, which contains over 35 [if you buy the "deluxe version" cd] of her top hits.  You can listen to Madonna grow from "Holiday" to "Four Minutes."

As I was watching the above commercial for CELEBRATION, I realized how much this woman and her music have been a part of my life, since I was 14 and through present day.  So, in the spirit of "celebrating" [you know I had to] my life with Madonna, a few of my September blog entries will reflect on those hot mess moments with Miss M!

SPRING SEMESTER OF MY FRESHMEN YEAR AT CHURCHILL HIGH SCHOOL [SHOUT OUT TO MY FRIEND KRISTI QUINN, WHO STILL LOOKS 16!] – I am sitting in Biology class [bored out of my mind], listening to the girls in front of me talk about the upcoming try outs for the dance and drill teams.  Not to be mean, but you know my inner monologue, one of these ladies had no business trying to fit into the drill team's skirt and blouse combo – but that is another story.  Anyway, one of the girls mentions that she just loves the new album by Madonna.  Loves that it sounds different, thought Madonna was actually black, etc.  The seed has been planted, and I eventually receive that first album, creatively called MADONNA, in the summer of '84.

CHRISTMAS MORNING 1985 – Santa thought the DIVA had been good, so I received a VCR, and a copy of Madonna's first concert video, THE VIRGIN TOUR.  Loved this show and can still "perform" M's dance steps at the beginning of "Dress You Up."  THE VIRGIN TOUR was filmed when "Madonna Mania" was at it's peak.  All the teenage girls and queens were trying to copy her bra outerwear / Maripol jewelry look.  Little did the teens and queens know that the lady had already left all that behind.

Jump ahead a few years to 1989.  Madonna has released MADONNA, LIKE A VIRGIN, and TRUE BLUE [as well as the remix collection, YOU CAN DANCE], but the "mania" is over and upstarts like Janet Jackson, Paula Abdul, Jody Watley and Whitney Houston are aiming to be the next pop princess, while the Material Girl was off performing in David Mamet's SPEED THE PLOW.  I remember PEOPLE magazine proclaiming that Paula was bigger than Madonna [as if!].  Was the girl from Detroit washed up? 

And then she released, LIKE A PRAYER, and the pop / dance world just was never the same …….. 

The above video is from M's STICKY AND SWEET TOUR, which I saw in Atlanta.  She shows pure genius by remixing the song with Felix's 'Don't You Want!"  I remember my boss and I were screaming and singing along when she performed [and sang live - Hello Britney!] this in November 2008.  

Part Two to follow!

** PET SHOP BOYS IN CONCERT COUNTDOWN – 6 DAYS!! **

Meanwhile, back at the Hall of Justice …….. 

HAYYYYY!!  OK …….. I have been "under the weather" for the past few days, even left work on Thursday morning since I was feeling a mess.  I apparently have this cold / congestion "thing" that is making it's way through Atlanta / Georgia.  It starts with the head, then the nose, to the throat and now the cough.  At any minute, I expect to hear the theme song for A LOVE STORY, followed by Ali McGraw telling me, "Love means never having to say you're sorry."

Onto other topics …….. I am still LOVING the REAL HOUSEWIVES OF ATLANTA!  Since my last post, I have found out that Kim Zolciak actually lives near my condo, and that she shops at my grocery store [this fact is from a neighbor who works at the store and has seen Kim in the produce section].  I am determined to meet this woman.  I have joined her Facebook page, etc.

But before you think I've gone all stalker, I did pass up one opportunity on Wednesday night, 9/2, when she made an appearance at Blake's to promote her t-shirts and dance single, "Tardy For The Party!" 

I like the fact that Kim is an entrepreneur!  She actively updates her website and blog, she is making the talk show circuit, etc.  You gotta work it and promote yourself, because nobody else will!

Finally, has anyone seen THE SEPTEMBER ISSUE, and when is it coming to Atlanta??  I have been hearing about this movie all summer long, but I can not find one theatre in Atlanta [or the surrounding suburbs] where it is being shown.  Now you know the diva loves himself some high fashion, Anna Wintour and THE DEVIL WEARS PRADA!  Besides, the movie is getting great reviews!

** PET SHOP BOYS IN CONCERT COUNTDOWN – 8 DAYS !! **

Meanwhile, back at the Hall of Justice …….. 

HAYYYYY!!  OK …….. A DIVA has returned, and I'm not just talking about my return to blogging, after a short break.  No my dear readers, Miss Whitney Houston has returned with her new cd, I LOOK TO YOU!

Now I have to be honest and say that I have not always been a huge fan of Miss Houston.  After 30 minutes of her vocal aerobics and sweating from one side of the stage to the other, I was hit hitting the cd changer.  I've asked it before, and I'll ask it again, what is with these singers who have to PROVE they have a voice?  Yes Miss LaBelle, you can shatter glass, but just sing the song.  Miss Ross has never had the greatest range, but at least you knew what she was singing about.

Anyway, back to Whitney, .. I LOOK TO YOU, and I did not expect to like this work.  By this cd grows on you .. FAST!  "Million Dollar Bill," "Nothing But Love," "A Song For You," "For The Lovers," and the ultimate I-Will-Survive anthem, "I Didn't Know My Own Strength," are songs that I kept on hitting REPEAT.  Yes, there are the ballads, but also mid tempo grooves, and with "A Song For You," pure euro disco.

On the negative side, I feel Whitney's enunciation is off, especially with the ballads, "I Look To You," and "I Didn't Know My Own Strength."  But this criticism is minor and only for those who are really listening to the words [and those drag queens who you know will start performing "I Didn't Know ...." as their big show stopper!].

Will this album be a success for the Whitney who now has to compete with Beyonce, Christina, and Mariah [whose new album comes out on September 29]?  Possibly with her appearances on Good Morning America and Oprah [and Oprah, please do not "chicken out,"  ....... ask her about Bobby].  However, if she wants to make this album a success like MY LOVE IS YOUR LOVE, **GIRL** you need to release some slamming remixes.

When MY LOVE IS YOUR LOVE was released in 1998, it was met with so-so commercial success.  But then Thunderpuss remixed a hot mess out of "It's Not Right, But It's Ok," while Hex Hector remade "Heartbreak Hotel," and faster than you can say, bring it to the runway, Miss Houston had a 4X Platinum album.

Moral of this blog?  Damn good work Miss Houston, but you need some hot remixes in order to move to the head of the class!

**PET SHOP BOYS IN CONCERT COUNTDOWN – 11 Days!!**

Meanwhile, back at the Hall of Justice ……..