Bey’s Baby Bump: Now You See It, Now You Don’t?

Like she does every now and again, one of my best sister-friends texted me this evening to shoot the breeze.  Not about the weather, or Herman Cain’s 9-9-9 plan though, but to chat it up about Beyonce’s pregnancy and if I thought she has been wearing a prosthetic baby bump for the past several weeks after revealing her first trimester to the world.  Now while we thirty-something grown women actually do have other things to do with our lives than mull over Beyonce and her celebufetus, the topic only came up after my girlfriend sent me a video where Beyonce was interviewed on Australia’s “Sunday Night” news show, and in the midst of taking her seat on the set, the bun in her oven appeared to have deflated right before our eyes.

Now, Beyonce has the world in a tizzy wondering if she has been faking her pregnancy, are she and Jigga planning to adopt or if they have a surrogate to actually perform the manual labor (pun intended) come February.  Personally, I can’t imagine Bey and Jay feigning a pregnancy for the sake of superior media coverage or at the risk of multimedia whoredom, but after having seen this video, her wide-eyed reaction to the alleged belly flop (right around the 59 second mark) and then her hutched-over posture throughout the remainder of the interview, I do think that Mrs. Carter is preggers, but has been embellyishing a bit.

Hot or Hmmm…The Dress

While this site is more of a personal blog than a “fashion” blog, let me just go on the record for those who are unaware, and say that I LOVE celebrating, critiquing and creating fashion.  And although many would consider me to be mildly conservative by most standards, I do on occasion like to push the envelope, and I respect those with the courage and creativity to do the same (and although I’m several weeks late posting it, here I am pushing the envelope with Vivica Fox at the Diamond Scholarship Gala this past April, as promised).

There have been instances however, when I’ve looked at a picture of myself or some media starlet and have wondered, what in the world possessed me/her to wear THAT?! Sort of like Exhibit A and B below:

Attending the Metropolitan Museum of Art Costume Institute gala last week, both Beyonce and Serena looked as though they should have been competing for first place in a celebrity costume contest (The Little Mermaid and Bjork’s Ostrich Offspring respectively) instead of honoring Alexander McQueen with their take on haute couture.  But as over the top as both ensembles were, neither woman passed out due to airway constriction or spontaneous combustion, so that in itself was a fashion win-win for everybody!

Move Your Body…To Combat Childhood Obesity

Gas prices are high, people are defaulting on their home loans, the cost of food is through the roof and the nation is suffering through a belt-tightening recession.  Even our children are feeling the pinch of these difficult economic times. Teachers are being laid off, schools are closing, and those that are fortunate enough to stay open lack essential funding to keep critical music, physical education and academic programs in place.

Enter Beyonce.

No, she did not donate 2/3rds of her wealth to the U.S. Department of Education, but she has utilized her talents to endorse a cause that she seems to be very passionate about. Teaming up with First Lady Michelle Obama in support of her Let’s Move Campaign, Mrs. Carter remade her 2007 hit single, “Get Me Bodied” with an even more energetic, kid-friendly flare.

The self-deprecating humor in her failure to distinguish between left and right, the obligatory flag waving and her batty-riders notwithstanding (hey, I couldn’t wear mine in high school, she shouldn’t be able to wear hers either), I found the “Move Your Body” song and video to be incredibly cute and to have the making of an amazingly vigorous 4 minute workout for kids and adults alike.

Take a peek at Bey and her body-rocking teens (most notably the little fella on the right with the fitted white cap *classic*) to see what I mean!

Oh, Oh, Oh Emm Gee Liza!

So, where the heck was I when one of the greatest showbiz divas decided to pay homage to a once-country gal from Houston?!?!

I mean obviously, when Sex and The City 2 came out, it registered rather low on my “compelling movies to view that will change my life” list, even with talk from reviewers that Liza Minnelli made an unforgettable cameo in the flick.  But thanks to the monopolistic rates charged by Time Warner Cable for premium channels like HBO, I was finally able to see what all the fuss was about for myself.

Channel surfing on Saturday after the disappointing VCU loss to Butler, and the lackluster game between UConn and Kentucky, the honey and I stumbled upon Liza working Stanford and Anthony’s guest list of homo and hetero friends into a complete frenzy ala Beyonce’s “Single Ladies”.  And while I’ve tirelessly campaigned to have that heavily rotated, oversaturated ode to the women sans male companionship retired from the airwaves, Ms. Minnelli’s rendition certainly made me into a new fan of the song (c’mon, don’t judge me; geriatric gyrating and ring flashing at a gay wedding…that’s genius).

Beyonce Wears, Swears and Can Now Create a Mean Lacefront!

Some call it independence, others maturation, but no matter how you label it, the common denominator is that there has been a subtle but definite change in Beyonce Knowles over the past couple of years.  Although on occasion we can still hear her southern-twanged thanks to God for her (countless) award wins, long gone is the “Jesus Loves Me, Ooooh Yes He Does” songstress, and in her place a fiery and diva-esque woman has emerged.

This edgy diva reared her pretty little Boy George styled fedora donning head over the weekend when she joined her husband onstage to perform “Forever Young” at California’s Coachella Music Festival. But it wasn’t her surprise appearance or funky headwear and batty riders that shocked the audience though.  Fans were taken aback by Queen Bey’s lack of clean-cut pop appeal which she instead exchanged for a flirty hardcore look, with an obscenity laced tee-shirt.

I know that we can sometimes forget that stars are individuals, who oftentimes like to live their lives without the pressure of being a role model or the face of this-or-that, but I can’t help but to wonder if she thought about all the little girls who look up to her before she threw on her swear-word tinged top.  I’m guessing no, but let’s just hope that when she heads home to Houston and visits her home church, this isn’t her idea of mid-evening casual for Wednesday Night Bible Study.

In a little more flattering Mrs. Carter news, she and her designer mother Tina Knowles joined forces with Phoenix House (a non-profit substance abuse treatment center) last month for the grand opening of The Beyonce Cosmetology Center at the Phoenix House Career Academy in Brooklyn, NY. 

In 2008, After having met with many women at the facility while researching for the role of Etta James in the film Cadillac Records (who was at one time addicted to heroine), Beyonce left the experience inspired and wanting to help enrich the lives of the resilient women she met.  Donating her salary from the film, Bey and Tina came up with the idea and the funds for the cosmetology program.  The new center offers a seven-month cosmetology training course that will help Phoenix House clients to gain the career skills necessary to lead productive and rewarding lives.  Just think, before too long we will be seeing the summer ready, duo-toned, center parted, spiral curled Beyonce inspired coifs all over the city.  Yay! (Not so much).

Snarkiness aside, this is a VERY commendable initiative that Beyonce has adopted, and it does so much to prove that in her case, there are certainly two sides to every coin.