Fierce Friday!!! Random Friday!!! Kelly Rowland at Brit Awards; McDreamy at Versace Show; JLo Gives Birth to Twins; Will and Jada; Tom and Katie

I actually LOVE this look!!! What do you think of Kelly Rowland's outfit?

Cute Couples of the Week!!! - Will Smith and Jada Pinkett-Smith & Tom and Katie Cruise at the First Annual Essence Black Women In Hollywood Luncheon.






McDreamy and Mrs McDreamy at the Versace Fashion Show in Milan.


Congratulations!!!!! JLo and Marc Anthony Welcomed their twin bundles of joy this morning.


The babies were born early Friday in Long Island, N.Y. The girl was born at 12:12 a.m. and weighed 5 lbs. 7 oz., and the boy followed at 12:23 a.m., weighing 6 lbs.

Cute Family Photo - Demi, Ashton and Rumer attend the First Hollywood Domino Tournament.


David Beckham and his team lost lost 1-0 in the Pan Pacific Championship ......



And then, there's LiL Kim...........who is rapidly morphing into a tiger, courtesy of her plastic surgeon... Self-hatred sucks!!!




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David Beckham and Galaxy Team lose
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McCain's Type...

I don't know if Republican Presidential hopeful John McCain had any romantic connection with Vicki Iseman or gave her political favors, but she certainly looks like his type (See e.g. pic of current wife). I'm just saying....

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Joker of the WEEK Nominations

Congrats to Nas, Kelis and their entourage for an overwhelming Joker of the Week victory last week for their "N" word fashion sense. Who can dethrone them? Here are the nominees....

• Hillary Clinton - For 10 straight losses since super Tuesday, loaning her campaign money, going negative in her attacks, and dissension among her advisors....She better generate some tears quick, fast and in a hurry!

• Britney Spears - For having the audacity to make snarky remarks about Beyonce's dancing and Amy Winehouse being high on the Grammy's. Brit reportedly told a "source." "[Beyonce] sure knows how to toss her hair. Too bad she can't dance as good as Tina -- who's old enough to be her grandmother!" She also commented on Winehouse, "Look at her! Look how stoned she is! She is so obviously stoned!" (insert blank stare). Was Brit Brit high when she made the statements or does she not remember the VMAs in 2007 or the last 2 years of her life?
  
  
• Britney Spears' "source" - For repeating Britney's comments to the press. Not cool.
  
  
• Singer Mario - For becoming a contestant on Dancing With The Stars. How can you stay current if you're competing against Steve Guttenberg? Police Academy's Steve Guttenberg? Come on Mario.

• Steve Guttenberg - On GP.

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Tips for Creating a Fabulous Business Logo

Your business logo is an extension of your business - your ideas, your business dreams and your brand. Below are a few tips by John Williams - Excerpted from Entrepreneur.com.


1. Your branding efforts not only start with your logo but are dictated by it. Your logo appears on all your sales tools, from your business cards and stationary to your website. As a result, your logo design influences the design of all your sales tools--for better or worse. A professional-looking logo can be leveraged to create professional-looking materials. A poorly designed logo can't. In other words, you need a "brandable" logo--one you can make use of when designing other materials to brand your company.

Brandable logos are scalable, memorable and meaningful. If people can't remember what your logo looks like, they won't remember your brand. Think of the logos of some of the popular brands today. Do you think of M-shaped arches, a shell or a swoosh? All are simple concepts, effectively employed by McDonalds, Shell and Nike. How can you tell if a logo's going to be memorable? If you can't look at a logo for fewer than 10 seconds and re-draw it with decent accuracy, it's probably too complex to be easily remembered. (Besides being difficult to remember, most complex logos can't effectively be reduced in size or rendered in black and white, making them useless for such elements as fax cover sheets and other business forms.)


2. Your logo is a quick visual cue that conveys the essence of your brand in an age when image is everything and time is short. Perhaps you've heard the writer's lament that "nobody reads anymore." In today's markets, not only do you face ever-increasing competition, you also face an audience accustomed to visually stimulating media, convenience and instant gratification. Sure, a few people may read your entire ad, more may read some of it--but everyone will SEE it. The overwhelming amount of choices faced by time-crunched consumers forces them to identify shortcuts. Your logo is such a shortcut: it instantly conveys your brand message and emotional appeal.

3. Awareness and familiarity are keys to growing your business, and your logo is instrumental in both areas. Your logo is your brand's most basic graphic element. It ties together all your sales materials--in fact, your logo may be the only visual element your materials have in common. The right logo helps solidify customer loyalty while differentiating you from the competition.


4. Your logo may be the only thing by which a potential customer can judge your business. Think of small newspaper or Yellow Pages ads. Often all that fits in these small spaces is your contact information and your logo. If your logo projects the right image, it may be the sole reason someone decides to try your company. Conversely, if it looks unprofessional or unclear, it alone may be the reason they choose to look somewhere else.


5. Your logo affords a unique opportunity for you to look like a bigger (that is, more established) business than what you are. With the right logo, you can look like a larger company that's been around for awhile even if you have only one employee and just opened your doors last month. People who see it will associate the positive attributes of big companies--like security and financial stability--with your company. And you can still deliver the entrepreneurial qualities--like personal attention and superior customer service--that you're known for.

Building a solid brand identity is pivotal to success in business today. Lay the right foundation with a professional, brandable logo.


John Williams is Entrepreneur.com's "Image & Branding" columnist and the founder and president of LogoYes.com, the world's first do-it-yourself logo design website. During John's 25 years in advertising, he's created brand standards for Fortune 100 companies like Mitsubishi and won numerous awards for his design work.

Tips for Turning Shoppers into Buyers

Brad Sugars' 6 Tips for Turning Shoppers into Buyers - Excerpted from Entrepreneur.com.

There's nothing more painful for a new business owner than seeing a shopper walk in the door and walk out empty-handed.

1. Stress your unique selling proposition. Figure out what makes you different from the competition and deliver that message loud and clear. For example, one wedding/event facility touted the credentials of a new head chef they had hired from the best restaurant in town, pushing its conversion rate from 60 to 73 percent.


2. Identify bottlenecks in your sales process. Analyze the steps required to get customers to buy from you and determine your weak spots. Let's say you're in the deck building business. To make a sale, you need to schedule an appointment, show photos of your work, take measurements, propose a design, price the job, provide references and so on. Do you need new photos for your portfolio? Does your proposal package need sprucing up? Are you failing to make follow-up phone calls? Fix the flaws, and sales will follow.


3. Use the magic question for telephone inquiries. Never let a caller get away with simply asking for price information. Train your staff to say, "Thanks for your call. So that I can be of the biggest help to you, can I ask you a couple of questions?" This opens the door to engaging the customer. One tire retailer I know doubled his business by adopting this technique and coaching salespeople to ask about callers' driving patterns, typical number of passengers and preference for low-priced versus longer-lasting tires.


4. Outlaw "Can I help you?" on the retail floor. Inevitably, the customer will answer "No thanks, I'm just looking" and end the conversation. Instead, instruct salespeople to ask, "Hi, have you been in our store before?" If they say no, the answer should be "Let me show you around." If they say yes, the response should be, "Welcome back, let me show you a couple of new things we just got in." That way, you don't give them an opportunity to say they want to be left alone.


5. Rewrite your sales script. A lot of what goes wrong in selling can be traced to sending the wrong message. Consider the home security firm whose telemarketers introduced themselves by saying, "We heard there have been break-ins in your neighborhood, and we'd like to talk to you about installing a security system." After a business coach determined that approach was a turnoff and changed the script, the firm's conversion rates doubled overall and quadrupled for the strongest team members.


6. Adjust your sales pitch to the customer. It sounds basic, but most people don't do it. Train your sales team to ask questions to flesh out the customer's needs and to cater to different buying styles. One method called DISC divides the public into dominant, influencer, stability and compliance buyers. This applies to sales scripts as well as face-to-face selling. One jewelry store boosted its conversion rate from 26 to 65 percent by using role-playing and other training methods to help the staff adapt to different customer scenarios.

Remember, marketing can help make the phone ring or bring people in the door, but you can't win the war unless you turn a high percentage of your "live" prospects into paying customers. Give your sales team the right tools, and you'll have a lot fewer shoppers getting away.

Brad Sugars is Entrepreneur.com's Startup Basics columnist and the writer of 14 business books including The Business Coach, Instant Cashflow, Successful Franchising and Billionaire in Training.

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Tavis Smiley vs. Barack Obama

I have long since stopped listening to Tavis Smiley. I respect some of what he does, but I find him arrogant and overbearing. I tolerated him on the Tom Joyner Morning Show, up until he went on a rampage against Carol Moseley Braun because she announced that she was quitting the presidential race in 2004 on another network instead of when she was on his show; and Tavis said that just proved the old saying that "n*ggas ain't sh**." That was more than I could stomach from Mr. Uplifting Black people.

Now, Barack Obama is his new target because Obama declined an invitation to attend the State of the Black Union forum this year due to his schedule on the campaign trail. Senator Clinton will be in attendance (likely because she has seen her support in the black community plummet after her campaign's race baiting tactics). Tavis has been on a tirade the last couple of weeks because presidential candidates would dare decline his invitation. Tavis even pulled out his "Covenant with Black America" and started reading from it as if it were the Constitution for African Americans. He's so friggin' arrogant! Tavis is not my elected leader and he does not speak for me!

I believe Obama has to address African American issues, as we comprise a significant part of his base. But he also has to address issues applicable to all Americans. So the fact that he's not making a Tavis' sponsored event does not make me believe Obama is turning his back on "us." Tavis needs to get off that particular soapbox. Thoughts?

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TGIF - Happy President's Day Weekend!

My job has actually been making me earn my keep this week--just call me Kizzy. That is why my blogging has been limited. The funny thing is, blogging is so addictive that I keep checking this blog like something will have changed. HAAAAA!

So happy 3 day weekend folks, I know I need it!

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Joker of the WEEK Nominations

• Nas, Kelis and their entourage - For rocking "N*gger" jackets to the Grammy's. Way to make our ancestors proud during Black History Month. (Sassy also would like to nominate them for Joker of the Month. HAAAA!)

• Barron Hilton (Paris and Nicki's little brother) - For being arrested for a DUI. Aren't they rich enough to have drivers when they are going to get drunk? I mean really.

• David Shuster (MSNBC correspondent) - For being suspended for saying Hillary Clinton "pimped out" her daughter Chelsea during the campaign by having her call superdelegates and celebrities for support. (Funny comment, until he got slammed).

• Flavor Flavor and Flavor of Love 3 Contestants - No explanation necessary.

• Mitt Romney (former Republican Presidential candidate) - For dropping out of the race so that democrats won't win and the country won't surrender to terrorism. Yeah right--I'm sure the 30 or so million dollars of his own money that he spent on the campaign and his sluggish delegate count had nothing to do with his decision to quit.

Happy Voting!

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The Potomac, Chesapeake, Capital Beltway, DMV Primary Is Today!

FINALLY! Maryland, D.C. and Virginia vote today. WOOHOO! I took a great deal of pleasure in voting this morning. And unlike previous years, our primary votes actually matter!

Hopefully pledge delegates (the people) will actually decide this election and not superdelegates, but it's not looking good. The superdelegates idea does not seem very democratic to me, especially coming from the "democratic" party. My understanding is that the superdelegates are basically there as a check to make sure the "people" elect the right person to represent the democrats in the general election. The people know who they want to vote for and they should not be overriden by superdelegates.

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REHAB to the GRAMMYs

Rehab was very good to Amy Winehouse. Her performance last night on the Grammy's (via satelite from London since USCIS denied her visa because she hadn't done enough rehab and you can't just roll up in the US all drug addicted and think US tax dollars will pay for it - check the INS code) WAS EXCELLENT - no stumbling, no falling. She was coherent. A very spirited peformance indeed! You see what happens when you say YES YES YES TO REHAB! Nice shot out to momes who had to drag you to rehab too. Good jolly job Ames!! Right O! (And shout out to the fine back up singer on the left he was working it).

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Grammy Winners and Losers

1. Winner - Carrie Underwood - she was my least favorite idol winner--too dull. But I thoroughly enjoyed the vocals and attitude in her rendition of "Before he cheats."

2. Loser - Aretha Franklin's arms in that spaghetti strap dress....

3. Winner - A. Keys - she looked and sounded great! And the addition of John Mayer during her performance of "No One" = the hotness.

4. Loser - Tina Turner. I know I may be booed on this one. And I enjoyed her overall performance, but I think Tina's age is finally starting to show. When she was 62, she was still shaking it with the best of them. But now, pushing 70, she didn't have the same moves and while enthused, didn't seem quite to know the dance steps. I love you Ida Mae, but not the performance. Beyonce, on the other hand, seemed to respect that Tina was long in the tooth, and bey substantially tamped down her energy. Nice show of respect.

5. Winner - Rihanna's stylist. Her blue Zac Posen dress on the red carpet and her dress while she performed with the Time--on point!!!!!!!!!! Say what you will about her vocals, but girlfriend can dress.

6. Loser - Bebe Winan's stylist. What in the sam hell kind of jacket was he wearing? I couldn't decide whether I was angrier at him for the jacket or ReRe for wearing spaghetti straps during the gospel duet...

7. Winner - The gospel medley--The Clark Sisters, Israel and New Breed and Trinity 5:7. Good stuff.

8. Loser - Amy Winehouse's crack knees. I'm sorry, she should not have worn that dress when she knew she had skinny crack legs. NOOOOOO!

9. Herbie Hancock - Not only for winning album of the year, but for wailing on the piano during the rendition of a George Gershwin classic. Go Herbie!

10. Loser - Beyonce - for having to sit there while Jay won that award with Rih Rih and watch their playful banter.

P.S. Chris Brown's red and white suit - also makes him a loser.

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Nas & Kellis decide to Rock the Grammys

Pubilicity Stunt or plain Stupidity? During Black History Month?



Fantasia and Beyonce both brought their new hair - what do you think?? Let's just leave Beyonce's outfit for another post........





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Side Hustle - Hollywood Stylists - 50th Annual Grammy Awards

It's Grammy night in Tinseltown and I don't know what to say about Beyonce and Fantasia's stylists - hair and clothing. If you were their stylists, would you let them leave the house like this? Well, Beyonce is wearing her usual glittery costume, so no surprise there............ I'm assuming Fantasia is going for the classy-elegant-edgy-i'm-confused-look..... What do you think?

After seeing these photos, would you hire or fire the stylists responsible for all the looks below?

Click HERE and HERE to learn how you can become an image consultant or fashion stylist.

Rihanna's outfit is ........ you decide......[i guess she's probably one of few that can pull that one off]


Alicia Keys looks regal........

Miley and Carrie Underwood look good. I like Miley's classy Celine dress, but I don't know if its age appropriate for her though. ......... Is Miley starting to look a lot older? Is it the makeup? Fergie has the Josh-Duhamel-loves-me-eat-your-heart-out-glow.........and as for Nas & Kellis, I have no words.....

and for those of you saying ......."there's no way she can weave a Beckham story into this post." You're wrong. At a pre-Grammy party, Dave made one fan faint. Literally......... Here's an excerpt of the story from People Magazine with the headline "A Kiss from David Beckham Makes Fan Faint"-

While Victoria Beckham was checking out all the latest in fashion at New York Fashion Week, across the country plenty of women were checking out her husband, David Beckham, during Jermaine Dupri's pre-Grammy party at Hollywood's Club Central.

"Beckham rolled in at about 1 a.m.," a fellow party-goer tells PEOPLE. "He looked like he was having a great time hanging with Jermaine and talking to Janet [Jackson]."

While Beckham played it cool with the party's hosts, it's safe to say he was heating things up among the women at the party. In fact, when one young female fan approached the soccer star and got a quick kiss on the cheek, she literally went weak in the knees – and fainted!

Beckham's reaction: "He looked like it was an ordinary everyday thing," an observer tells PEOPLE. "He just said 'Get her some water. She'll be ok.'"

In other Beckham news, during Madonna's charity event (raising funds for Malawi Orphans) Salma Hayek outbid Vogue Editor, Anna Wintour, coughing up $350,000 to spend an hour alone with Beckham. Go Salma...... and its for a great cause!!!

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