THE ASSASINATION OF THE YEAR

So the assination of Benazir Bhutto probably comes as no news to the majority of you. The nes giants (CNN, BBC News) have all literally spent all their broadcasting hours on the reporting of the leader of the PPP (Pakistani People's Party). Benazir Bhutto needs little to introduction, we have all gotten accustomed to her highly public family tree - in the past century, her father and two brothers have all been victims of politically-conspired assinations.

I must confess, I had very limited knowledge on the trials and tribulations of this matyr, I only got involved in her message upon her return from Pakistan from the UAE (where her family had been protected by the Royal Family).

I'm very aware that CNN has the capacity to cloud its viewers minds (especially in the case of its blantant biasness for its favored figures) however, I began extremely drawn to this woman and what I thought she stood for.

I'm extremely keen on acting as the student and I would like your respective comments on this tragic figure and her 'stagnant' message.

2008: UPON US

It is the end of the year and as usual it comes with its fair share of doubts and inhabitions. We are all prone to self doubt and violent questioning of our progress path in the past year.

I must warn that if you are currently experiencing this rather low path, it is important to remember that you are not alone. It is perfectly normal to think about where one is and where one 'could' be.

The only piece of advise I can give to hundreds like myself is DON'T SWEAT IT. THERE IS ABSOLUTELY NOTHING WRONG WITH YOUR CURRENT STATE OF MIND. Like Roisin Murphy said

" We are animals
One unbroken chain

I need to get you out of your cave, man
I need to let you out of your cage and set you free
If tonight's the night
I'm gonna' show you I ain't got no game plan

Out from under a rock
From a prehistoric sea we crawl
We are animals
Animal one and all."

CHRISTMAS CAN BE A BITCH!

Now now now,

Christmas can be absolutely fabulous if you have someone to cuddle up to however, it can be a nightmare if you situation is the exact opposite. I have the perfect solution for all the lonely hearts out there.

This is an extract from LL Cool J's classic - 'I NEED LOVE'

When Im alone in my room sometimes I stare at the wall
And in the back of my mind I hear my conscience call
Telling me I need a girl whos as sweet as a dove
For the first time in my life, I see I need love
There I was giggling about the games
That I had played with many hearts, and Im not saying no names
Then the thought occured, tear drops made my eyes burn
As I said to myself look what youve done to her
I can feel it inside, I cant explain how it feels
All I know is that Ill never dish another raw deal
Playing make believe pretending that Im true
Holding in my laugh as I say that I love you
Saying amor kissing you on the ear
Whispering I love you and Ill always be here

2007 IN REVIEW: SINGLES OF THE YEAR

1 CRANK DAT - SOULJA BOY
2 STRONGER - KANYE WEST
3 GIVE IT.. - TIMBALAND
4 BED - BED
5 UMBRELLA - RIHANNA
6 REHAB - AMY WINEHOUSE
7 DRIVIN' ME WILD - COMMON
8 HOME - MICHEAL BUBLE
9 INTERNATIONAL PLAYERS ANTHEM - UGK ft. OUTKAST
10 BUY YOU A DRINK - T-PAIN

2007 IN REVIEW: FUCK UPS ON THE YEAR

It breaks our heart to do this but as usual the year wouldn't be complete with some anal celebrities doing damn ridiculous things with their careers. Some include -

BADGE OF HONOUR: LUPE FIASCO

It's been a bland few weeks in the Music world with nothing particularly inspiring tickling our fantasies. Last Night, we stumbled upon the new single by relatively underrated fly-boy LUPE FIASCO. The single is SUPERSTAR and we urge everyone to download the single. It's actually brilliant.

Fully endorsed by the Renaissance Man

2007 IN REVIEW: PHRASES OF THE YEAR

These are some memorable statements from our favouite ZOO culture - Celebrity land of course. Our top ridiculous catch prases are:

1) BRITNEY SPEARS -

"It's Britney Bitch"

2) VICTORIA BECKHAM - "That's Major"



3) RIHANNA 'Ella Ella he he'

BRITNEY'S SISTER IS PREGGIES

Yo,

This is as crushing as Muhammad Ali versus George Foreman in the jungle!

It has been revealed that Britney Spears' 16-year old sister (you know the one that had the outburst few weeks ago whilst someone was insulting brit at a mall in LA - yes her!) is pregnant.

Her mother is suppsedly "shocked" when it was revealed during the family's "thanksgiving" dinner. The father is her "longtime" partner who is no older than his child-girlfriend.

So we ask, how did he know where to stick it?

This is TRAILER TRASH for real. It's amazing how the real American trailer trash are trying to better themselves while the rich are trying so hard to be "normal".

Go figure!

2007 IN REVIEW: PEOPLE OF THE YEAR

Here's a list of some people "in the spotlight" that we have noticed whom have made huge waves in the past 12 months.

Please add to this impressive list - if you wish.

2007 IN REVIEW: ALBUMS OF THE YEAR

Hello Beautiful People,

It's that time of the year where I'm sure you've been bombarded with festive discounts, lists and gimmicks. At Renaissance Man, we understand these constraints hence we are starting our year wrap-up, a series of things that happened in the year - 2007.

We start with our favourite thing in the world of course, MUSIC! Here's our list of the great artists that have released some good music this year. These albums are in no particular order as we do not believe in hierarchy. All these albums have been the soundtrack to our year and we are very grateful to these great artists.

Let's look back peeps! Please feel free to add your favourite albums - we love to share!

THE "CANOE" STORY

Like every other person in Britain, I have been gripped by the irregularities of the "Canoe" Man and his wife. His wife finally returned to the UK two days ago, only to be escorted off the aircraft by armed policemen.

So let's rewind back to last week, when an "amnesia" suffering "canoe" man walked into a police station claiming absolutely no recollection of the past 5 years.

STOP......what the f***? I don't think he suffered amnesia, I think he's suffering from a bad dose of insanity. This man faked his own death and conspired with his wife to claim insurance worth over £400, 000 whilst agreeing to continue living his life as normal (except keeping his children in the dark)

I'm sorry, but this is f***ed up and what makes it all more anal is the fact that this is just another middle-aged couple in Britain scamming their way through the system.

The question now is why did he turn himself in? Well after extensive telephone conversations - the general census is as follows, something went horribly wrong. THE MOST LOGICAL, his wife started to wear the trousers as she had the money and he couldn't take it anyone as it wasn't what he had bargained for.

Interesting isn't it that he turned himself in without his wife's consent and while she was in Atlanta, USA.

All this hoop-la in the press makes me worry about the McCains. Does anyone still care about dear Madeline?

YOU ARE NEVER TOO YOUNG TO MAKE A CHANGE!

Everyday, someone inspirational can motivate you to do greater things. Usually, these individulas tend to be older and wiser with much more wisdom to share. Last night, during the annual CNN Heroes presentation. I stumbled upon Pat Pedraja, an amazing young man who has done some absolutely wonderful things to help raise money and awareness to help kids with Leukemia.

I would like us all to read his moving speech -

"Thank you, I'm so excited and first of all I'd like to thank all the heroes that were featured online with me,' he said during his acceptance speech. "They are all such amazing people doing amazing things and it's really an honor to be among them."

"With just a cheek swab you can be on the national bone marrow's registry in over 50 countries and doing something so simple, you could be the one to save a life like a kid like me,' he said. "All of us have the power to make a difference. You just can never give up and always believe. I just want to let everyone know, you are never too young to change the world."

I would like to help him by spreading the word about voting for him on CNN's website.


http://www.baynews9.com/content/36/2007/12/7/308414.html


May you live long, Pat!

DAVID JORDAN

We warned you months ago about an emerging record industry protege named David Jordan. We are pretty sure that by now most of you have heard of him and his rather 'distinct' talent - he recently performed on the Royal Variety Performance in front of the Royal Family wearing a cross-between Freddie Mercury's trademark jacket and a morning suit. And as for the performance.................NO NO NO NO NO NO NO!

We can't take any of this Jordan dude, we are desperately searching for his talent. Surely, we shouldn't have to work this hard to spot it.

myspacetv.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=vids.individual&videoid=23505629 - 37k -

OBAMA & WINFREY

So..............what do we think about the new power couple rocking the 2008 Presidential Race? Oprah 'dynamite' Winfrey ghas decided to endorse Democrats' candidate Sen. Barack Obama. She is currently on a 3-state campaign tour with him as they pack arenas of potential voters.

Without trying to be cynical, we ask, is this a really good move? Does celebrity endorsemnent enhance political profiling afterall Sen. Kerry was endorsed by everyone from Ben Affleck to Bruce Springsten yet he lost to George W. Bush.

Last night, a CNN guest described the OBAMA & WINFREY partnership as the ultimate "green card". Do we agree?

What we do agree in is the amount of black power that these two pack, while listening to their speeches last night - we thought DAMN, that's black intelligence!

Good luck Barack, in the words of brother Malcolm..... "By Any Means Neccessary"

I AM LEGEND

We know there are several sci-fi film buffs out there whom will be camping-outside cinema theatres to watch the upcoming Will Smith film 'I AM LEGEND'. But on a serious note, he's the only character in the movie - do we really like his face that much?

AMY GOT 6 NODS

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOHHHHHH! THIS IS DELICIOUS NEWS. Weeks ago, we predicted that Amy Winehouse was going to be a suprise nominee at the forthcoming Annual Grammy Awards - well, the nominations were annouced yesterday in Los Angeles and our star has scooped 6 nominations for her 'Back to Black' album including Record of the year and Song of the year. We are very proud of Amy and can only pray that her personal life will not cloud the voter's judgement. We can't have another India Arie situation happen to a classic album.

DEJA VU: OMAHA SHOOTING

We will not try and engage you on the growing number of gun-related teenage outrage that has dominated the American society for decades. We however will like to ask the question:

HAS AMERICA LOST THE GUN BATTLE?

Either it be Clinton, Obama, McCain, Thompson or Guiliani. The successor needs to address this. We are not American however this affects us all.

DECEMBER AND IT'S TAKINGS

Another sad black celebrity death hit us this morning. Pimp C (half of southern duo, UGK) was found dead in his Las Vegad Hotel Room. It is thought he died of natural causes.

We are no strangers to the often brutally cruel month of December. As most preoccupy themselves with Christmas shopping, an alarming number of ordinary people are coping with a loss. As we enjoy this festive season, please let us remember the thousands plagued with the feeling of emptiness.

May this Month bring us true joy!

Rest in Peace, Pimp C - we shall celebrate your life and work. Our hearts go out to the many UGK fans including ourselves.