Derrion Albert-Chicago Cries For You!

For the second day in a row-The City of Big Shoulders-The very Windy City, sheds tears and they are not tears of joy. We are crying out for the life of a young boy who is now dead! This Chicago Public High School boy joins a very sad statistical list. This one no one wants to be on-but now Derrion is on it!

Why? Why did Derrion have to loose his life? Two opposing groups within the Fenger HighSchool decided to fight. Derrion was not part of these groups-he was an innocent bystander- when he was severely and fatally attacked, and kicked and then finally hit continuously with  a wooden rail-road tie! Where in the world are these boys’ hearts!  Don’t they realize that they could kill a person by hitting them and kicking him and hitting him with a rail road tie? Has our society desensitized them? What can we do to change this? 

Many have marched, protested, and had memorials and vigils-what else can we do? These boys that have been arrested know that they have been identified by the taping of the fight. They know that they are facing life or perhaps the electric chair (even though the State of IL has suspended them, I think the crime would fit the punishment). Parents where are you?  Please try to keep tabs even on your high schooler-it is important for you to know their friends, to know where they are going, and to give them rules to live by.  Take them to church. Talk to your teenager, value them, and tell them you actually love them. Stake your claim to your child; take back your child! Let them know that the family is so much more important than any gang ever period!

Derrion Albert was only 16 years old!  He was only just beginning to live-he was an honor roll student who cared about life,God, his parents and family. A decent, loving, caring human being was being raised and all the right moves were being made. Now that CNN has brought the story to the world, witnesses are now coming forward to coobberate the video. At this point an 18 year old,a 17 year old, and a 16 year is being charged as an adult. And there may be as many as 7 young teens charged in all.

Chicago and now the world, says a silent prayer in their hearts for Derrion Albert-a young boy gone way too soon amid violence,mayhem and madness!

Stop the violence and hang on tightly to the ones you love.

Just my thoughts, just my opinions, and always in a conversationaltone.

Mary Caliendo

Thank you CNN for bringing the story to the world, but let’s cut the video now-we don’t need to see it any more!

Halle Berry A Better Dress Day!

In an attempt to follow-up on the other Halle Berry Bad Dress Day written months ago, and in answer to what the people are looking for: here’s a small, short post about the appearance of Halle Berry on Jay Leno’s new  Tonight Show.

Halle was one of Jay’s guests the other night and while they showed a montage of movies that Halle Berry was in, she talked about being a new mom again.And with this dress Halle disspelled the myth that she is prego.!  She isn’t!  This time Halle had a cute black party dress on.  To Show off her non-prego body, it was short and feminine with a small “tutu” fly-away skirt.  She had it paired with some black thigh-high boots. This only showed a tiny bit of leg but was far more sexy than the other “get-up” she had on, on the other show. Thankfully she hired someone to help her dress!  Halle’s hair was quite short, but little curls rose up here and there with a bit of gel. Her make-up looked great and natural. While Jay Leno gushed over Halle, an obvious show of affection, (similar to that of Conan and David Letterman)it seems that Jay Leno has his favorites and they reappear more often than some and Halle is on Jay’s good list!

Well Halle Berry had a great dress day this time!  Let’s hope on her next appearance she can take it down a notch and show up in some nice jeans or something! (unless of course you’re going out partying afterward) Sometimes less is so much more!

Just my thoughts, just my opinions, and always in a conversationalTone.

Mary Caliendo

Whitney Houston Resurrection!

Everytime I think that I have seen the last of the best of the feel good stories-here comes Oprah again! I hope you all caught the recent two-day interview of Whitney Houston on the Oprah show.

This interview was not only dramatic, it was sad and then finally glorious.  Now Whitney has not survived a fatal illness, or overcame a tragic accident that has left her maimed, no Whitney is surviving her life!  Now that’s big right? Well, yes it is when you are Whitney Houston and Bobbie Brown.   At one time Whitney was on top of the world with anything and everything she could want. Is part of Whitney and Bobbie Brown’s problem having too much too fast? Most likely that was a contributing factor in all of this!

Ms Houston went deep into her soul and revealed a lot of what took place within the marriage of the two. The excesses, the loves, and finally the realization that all of it was definitely not working! Whitney’s account shows what the taking and abusing the drugs and alcohol that the two were engaged in ravaged not only their marriages, their careers, and finally their lives. Ms Houston let us in on some awful insights of the garbage that was taking place in their home. Her conversation with Oprah was stunning. 

I’m glad to hear when a star or a singer wants to be clean, sober, and happy just like the rest of us. I hope that after the dramatization of Whitney’s life via the “Oprah Effect” is still going strong many years to come from now. I am hoping that she was not only sincere, but serious because Oprah put herself out there as Whitney’s friend. It was a wonderful thing that after finding out how terrible Whitney’s drug use was and the fact that she was so low- that simply a desire to raise her child and show her child that she could have much to be proud of in her mother.  Whitney claimed that Bobbie Brown had no knowledge of that interview and most likely she’d be hearing something as Bobbie Brown did not look so great!  In fact, he looked just like a typical abuser! The very fact that he spat into the face of Whitney is simply deplorable!  And it is something that is the lowest  thing that one can do to another. Sad. I hope that it was his drug/alcohol abuse that caused that!

Let’s hope the two of them will get on with their lives and Whitney will continue in the upward spiral back to the top of reining diva!!  It would be great to turn on the radio or see a movie and hear Whitney again!  She has given us some of the greats! Her new stuff is a different Whitney. She is older and wiser, and she exudes more throaty soul as she sings! Let her voice crack a bit, after all she’ll show character and the wrinkles of the past! To me, her short singing appearance on Oprah was great! She was vibrant, but appeared nervous for the first few seconds and then Whitney stepped back into the shoes she once wore! Whitney resurrected!

Just my thoughts, just my opinions, and always in a conversationalTone.

Mary Caliendo

Kanye West -Mr. Jacka$$

Well I have waited some days now to see if the Kanye West steam roller engine would exhaust itself and simply die down, but the locomotive has only picked up speed and is blowing out more steam than ever!

So I guess I would be remiss if I too did not vent my all too familiar writer feelings out in a small snippet of finely crafted paragraphs, and letting my readers chime in on their thoughts about my thoughts!  So I’ll just start here, and borrow a line from the leader of our free world- “Kayne is a Jackass”!  True enough I think that at this point Kayne knows for real, that Kayne is a true Jackass too!

Thank you Mr. President Obama for giving me yet another reason to love you again!  You are real and we all identify!

I’m just wondering what a sloppy, drunken rapper did to get past say security, back stage people and who ever else is backstage at an awards show, to actually get on to stage, and grab the microphone from any recipient! It was released widely that CNN got a hold of  words used by Kayne West himself that went, I had a bit too much sippy, sippy and got a little tipsy, tipsy—whoa!  Sounds like a new song?  Or was it already a song??  Anyway, a stroke of luck brought the scheduled performer to the Jay Leno stage, where Leno asked a couple of great questions -such as -what would your mother have thought of this behavior?  Any mother would not be proud of that display period!  I’m glad Kayne West felt sorry, ashamed, and embarrassed -he should have! It was unclassy, child-like behavior that little children are put into corners for.  Thank you Beyonce’ you are a class act in my opinion!  In my eyes there is not one thing you can do wrong, ya know that Jay-Z thing!   OH girl, yes I did!

Just my thoughts, just my opinions, and always in a conversationaltone!

Mary Caliendo

Remembering September 11th!

No matter what you do today, remember 9/11. Why? To keep this date on our minds and in our hearts. We can see a million ceremonies on TV today, but it will not touch you more than your personal family erecting a large American Flag in front of your house, or taking part in a small observance of silence, or perhaps bringing a plate of cookies,cupcakes, or brownies to your local firehouse.

Teaching our next generation about the mindset of hate and changing that. Teaching children that things like this do exist in other nations, but deflecting it and having the children experience honor and respect for others is paramount. And finally let the world know that we care for the next guy, that this country can/and has pulled together as a unit to encourage time for reflection and honor.

So like the old song says “Teach your children well”; show them the importance of remembering and end that cycle of hate and hopefully our vigilance will cause change to happen-even if it has to go far into the mountain caves of Afghanistan or just the streets of hometown USA!

Remembering September 11th! Just my thoughts, just my opinions, and always in a conversationaltone.

Mary Caliendo