We’ve Moved!

We now have our own domain and a brand new design. Check us out over at:

www.feedtheidiotbox.com

Thank you for your continued support. We’ll see you there!

“It’s Been a F*** Khia Week!”

After a recent radio interview gone bad in Detroit with radio personality Cheron, Khia released this video blog* on her myspace page earlier this week. I have to admit I don’t really listen to Khia’s music, but her recent rants have been quite hilarious so I thought I’d share the laughs with you.

*Warning: This video may cause sudden loss of brain cells. If you are pregnant or breastfeeding please consult your doctor before watching.

Usher and Wife Tameka Still Going Strong

Usher’s reps are saying that the R&B star and his wife of nine months are still going strong and the recent rumors of a separation posted on another site are “100 percent not true.” According to Benny Medina “Usher and Tameka are currently traveling in Europe together as a family on his promotional tour…[t]his rumor is completely false.”

Well I’m happy for the couple since I’m all about black love. I thought the story was sus anyway since Usher’s album is scheduled to drop next Tuesday. That would have been very convenient unfortunate for Usher if that story was true right now.

Trina’s New Business Venture

So one of the tackiest chicks in the game is taking it upon herself to style the rest of America. Rapper Trina is coming out with her own clothing line that will be called Pink Diamond Couture. According to the press release:

When it comes to fashion and style Trina has always been a trend setter. With her unique style and an appreciation of what women want, Trina will debut her Pink Diamond Couture clothing line for Spring 2008. Her high quality jeans are emblazoned with her signature logo on the back pockets. Imagine jeans with details such as leather, python and crystals. To add a personal touch to her line the collection comes with a Tattoo that is uniquely Trina’s. No detail is overlooked in the fabric, as well as design. The fit and styling are a sexy new look in the world of fashion.

I can’t imagine what foolishness is about to be bestowed on the great lands of America due to Trina, and I really don’t want to. I just don’t understand why someone who looks a hot mess all the time thinks they can give fashion tips to everyone else. AND THEN she has the nerve to call it couture! If I recall my fashion vocab correctly “couture” refers to highly fashionable, usually custom-made clothing. If anybody out there on the world wide web can explain how clothes that will probably end up on the racks at Marshalls (next to the Fubu line) qualifies as “couture,” it would be greatly appreciated.

Top 5: Vice Presidents

Both Obama and McCain are said to be searching for their respective Vice Presidents this weekend. So we compiled our Top 5 list for both nominees. Here are Old Man McCain’s:

5. Bobby Jindal – He’s the new Governor of Louisiana and definitely much younger than McCain (but who isn’t?). He’s reportedly been invited to McCain’s barbecue this weekend, but he’s a baby to politics. On the plus side, he’s 36 years old and Indian (the red dot variety).

4. Condoleezza Rice – She’s definitely got foreign policy experience. But it’s not the good kind. Donald Trump famously noted, “I see Condoleezza Rice, she goes on a plane, she gets off a plane, she waves, she goes there to meet some dictator, they talk, she leaves, she waves, the plane takes off…nothing happens.” She’s got the double minority thing going, but if the racists wanted a black person in office, they might as well go with Obama.

3. Mike Huckabee – People like this guy for the most part. He’ll definitely get the Evangelical vote on lock, but they’d get destroyed on the East Coast.

2. Mitt Romney – He’s really not doing anything these days and I’m sure still has money to trick off trying to get in the White House. People kind of know the guy and respect how he bowed out of the race early (even though he lied about why). Problem is he’s Mormon and nobody knows what that is. And he completely switched his political views lately and they would be labeled as the all-flip-flopper ticket.

1. Charlie Crist – The Florida Governor who pushed for the Democratic primary to be moved up and started the ensuing controversy. Every Republican owes him some dap for that move. He’s pretty popular in Florida so that would be a lock for them. But he’s got a full head of white hair and it’s gonna look like old vs. young. But I guess it’s going to look like that regardless.

And here’s Obama’s list:

5. John Edwards – Respected guy in the party after running for President twice. Young guy who’s always looking out for the little guy. The guy can’t carry North Carolina though, which is a problem.

4. Bill Richardson – Great on foreign policy, has cabinet experience, locks up the Hispanic vote. Only problem is he’s overweight and 2 minorities on a ticket isn’t a great idea just yet.

3. Joe Biden – My early favorite for the VP position. He’s got foreign policy experience coming out of his ears and he’s an old white guy, which people seem to be comfortable with. Good choice, just not the best choice.

2. Jim Webb – War hero, father of war hero, middle aged white guy. I don’t see anything wrong with him so far. He just spoke out on bridging the race gap from the other side which is tremendously helpful to everybody. The guy wore his son’s combat boots while running for Senate, so I doubt any flag pin issues would ever come up.

1. Michael Bloomberg – If he’d take the offer, he’d be the best option. Popular semi-conservative Mayor of NYC and a billionaire. Never hurts to have a billionaire ridin shotgun. Probably the best guy to have next to you when gas hits 5 bucks.

That’s right, no Hillary. When he said she’s on the short list, he was just being nice. Sorry.

Wii Fit Review

I’d like to start off by saying that I’m glad I’m alive in 2008. The internet, GPS, wireless everything, and now Wii Fit. Nintendo’s Wii revolutionized video game play when it was released in September 2006 and introduced the wireless remote allowing players to swing the controller at the screen and have it actually respond. Which was great because video game controllers were beginning to get way too many buttons. For the first time video game consoles were being sold to people other than teenagers and loners. Senior bowling leagues even started up because of it…seriously.

But back to Wii Fit. First of all, it was supposed to come out yesterday and Nintendo pushed the date back because all of the stores didn’t get their shipments in. So we had to go to Toys R Us twice, but we’ll blame that on FedEx.

So you start the game up and it asks your age and height. Then it calculates your Body Mass Index (BMI) and lets you know your weight range. For those of you who have Mii’s already, you might notice a slight change in your figure. Your Wii Fitness Age is then calculated and marked on your chart. Along the way they give you a lot of good pointers and stress the need for good balance and posture. You can then choose a trainer  and begin to play the exercise games. The games are divided into 4 categories: Yoga, Aerobics, Balance Games, and Strength Training.

The trainers on the game do a very good job of explaining the exercises so you don’t feel completely lost the first time you step on the Balance Board.  As you get used to the games you will notice that not only are you are having fun and enjoying yourself, but you are also getting your heart rate up and possibly even breaking a sweat (the running challenge and the strength training exercises are no joke…don’t play yaself!)  The thing we really like about the Wii Fit is that you can get a different workout everyday and the more you workout the more games you unlock.

This system is amazing! After certain exercises it tells you about your exercise abilities and somehow it seems to know if you were not breathing properly, were too stiff, or if you plain ole just aren’t as strong as you should be.  This ish is crazy.  If you are ready to get fit and aren’t afraid to get your feelings hurt the first few days or weeks (It doesn’t have a problem telling you you’re obese), then definitely go snatch one.

Kells Is Fenna Go To Jail, Chapter 2

This trial seems to be moving pretty quickly. A young lady took the stand today who identified the girl on the sex tape as her best friend and said the two used to visit R. Kelly frequently. She said the pair rode bikes, rollerbladed, played basketball, went shopping together, and apparently did famous R&B stars…as most 13 year olds do. She said she also saw Kells give the girl between $100 and $500. She noted that she saw the sex tape at a friend’s house and immediately recognized the two individuals on the tape:

“I thought she looked just like my best friend … (and) her godfather R. Kelly.”

Her GODFATHER? Like her literal godfather? Like he was at her Christening and held her when she was 2 months, then knocked her when she was 13 type godfather? Even if that didn’t go down, that statement connotes that he at least knows the girl’s parents, which just makes it gross. I mean, not that it wasn’t gross before, but that just adds to it. Eww. I feel bad even putting this in the Sexy category.

Jim Webb Speaks Profoundly On Race

Vice President Sen. Jim Webb, in an interview this morning on Morning Joe, spoke out about Obama’s lack of support among Appalacian whites. He noted that they feel a sense of injustice about affirmative action, but that Obama will be able to get their minds right in time:

“This isn’t Selma, 1965. This is a result of how affirmative action, which was basically a justifiable concept when it applied to African Americans, expanded to every single ethnic group in America that was not white, and these were the people who had not received benefits and were not getting anything out of it. And they’re basically saying let’s pay attention to what has happened to this cultural group in terms of opportunities.”

Word, I feel him. Affirmative action wasn’t meant to be a free for all for any minority to gain an advantage over whites. Its original intent was to reverse the discriminative practices of Jim Crow by giving blacks a leg up on higher education. And it was never meant to be a permanent practice no matter who it covered.

Webb went on to draw comparisons between the two excluded groups:

“Black America and Scots-Irish America are like tortured siblings. They both have long history and they both missed the boat when it came to the larger benefits that a lot of other people were able to receive. There’s a saying in the Appalachian mountains that they say to one another, and it’s, ‘if you’re poor and white, you’re out of sight.’ If this cultural group could get at the same table as Black America you could rechange populist American politics. Because they have so much in common in terms of what they need out of government.”

Sen. Webb famously won his Virginia Senate seat over George Allen following the Macaca incident. Now, I seriously doubt if West Virginian whites will be holding hands with Mississippi blacks singing camp songs, but I do think they can agree to disagree on McCain if presented with the right argument. And Sen. Webb is just the person to draw this comparison. I see VP in his future.

Why Is Gas So High? And What Can Make It Go Down?

Oil executives were again called to Capitol Hill to testify about the ever-increasing price of gasoline. And again they came and left justifying their record profits and how helpless they are to do anything about the price. The Senate Judiciary Committee hearing follows President Bush’s trip to the Middle East to negotiate with the Saudis about the same problem. Today oil hit a record $132 a barrel and the average price for a gallon is now $3.81.

So why is it so high? Part of the reason is that India and China have been growing at an alarming rate this decade which increases demand and is always a good reason to increase the price. And they’ll tell you that it’s also due to security concerns in the Middle East.

This would be true if Iraq or Iran was the biggest producer of oil, but Saudi Arabia is. And contrary to popular belief, the Saudi Arabian peninsula is quite peaceful right now. Qatar and United Arab Emirates are 2 of the wealthiest countries in the world per capita and they are building mega resorts and artificial islands all over the place. Russia is 2nd and the US is 3rd. But of course we don’t actually use the oil we produce, we just keep it in reserves. Iran actually produces about half of the oil that we do.

And yes, China and India are growing, but we still consume 3 times the oil that China does and they hav 4 times the population that we do. But we can all admit we’re addicted to oil. But that’s no reason for the price to be high. Is it OPEC’s fault? Of the 13 countries that are members of OPEC, Iran and Iraq are in a pretty awkward position to be selling us oil reliably. Libya and Nigeria have uprisings every now and then, but I’m sure the pipeline is still flowing. And Venezuela…well Bush just doesn’t like Chavez, but there’s no supply problem there.

So WHY THEN? Why did I just pay 50 bucks to fill up when 10 bucks was a respectable trip to the pump 10 years ago? There hadn’t been a major oil reserve discovery since the 1970s, but major reserves have just been discovered in Brazil and China recently, which just increases the supply even further. But given the increased demand and problems in Iraq and Iran, the price was bound to go up…but not this much.

Ok, so you want to know the real reason? The first reason is the dollar is weakening. The price of oil is measured in dollars all over the world and that dollar is steadily going down. So oil really doesn’t cost much more than it did last year, we just pay more for it because we use the dollar.

The second reason, the one that’s going to make you mad, is the oil companies haven’t built a refinery in this country since 1976. They argue that they cannot afford to build any new refineries considering the new stricter environmental regualtions from the EPA. This coming from the industry that pumped in a staggering $100 billion in profit last year.

The third reason, the one that’s gonna make you IRATE, is that the price of gas goes up because you will pay for it. Whenever the price of a raw good goes up, retailers have to pay more for it and they pass that increase off to the customer. The retailer in effect makes more money, but their profit margin doesn’t necessarily have to go up. As a matter of fact, they can afford for their profit margin to go down because of the increase in revenue (think Wal-Mart). But Big Oil decided their profit margin would go up from 7% 10 years ago to 14% today. And that’s just not fair.

So how do we force the price back down? Regulation. I know they tell you that regulation puts a stranglehold on the free market and hinders advancements in technology. But considering they haven’t made a new refinery in 30 years they don’t seem to want to advance technologically. We regulate electricity, natural gas and water, all of which are just as vital as gasoline to our economy and way of life.

But we all know it’s not going to happen. And actually it’s ok. True we’re hurting right now, but the increased price in gas is inspiring the discovery of renewable energy sources and technologies. And as long as we support the new industries that are trying to clean the planet up and demonize the oil industry who is basically just punking us at this point, the better off we will be in the long run.

Beyonce Comes Clean…Kinda

So after keeping a serious tight lip and not talking about the private wedding that the entire world knew occurred last month, Beyonce finally talks about her marriage to rapper, Jay-Z. According to Entertainmentwise.com Beyonce is not denying her marriage, she just chooses not to put it on blast.

I don’t deny it (the wedding). I just don’t talk about it. We’ve never talked about us and it’s kind of protected our relationship. I think it’s kept us out of tabloid drama. A lot of actresses that have had successful relationships don’t talk about them, so neither do I.

I can’t really fault Bey for wanting to keep her relationship private; it has worked so far. Her and Jay have lasted way longer than most Hollywood couples parading around, but is it really too much to ask for them to wear wedding bands? I mean dayum! Give us something to cling on to. Please, I’m begging you.