TheLoop21.com

By: Crystal P. Smith (Add to your loop)
Fri, 01/29/2010 - 01:00

Here Kobe Bryant and Derek Fisher with Obama and his Laker jersey.

Things happen each week that baffle us, amuse us, or just make us angry. Unfortunately, we can't respond to everything, so here's a quick roundup of five things that caught our attention this week.

1. Author of The Catcher in the Rye, J.D. Salinger, died Thursday according to his literary agent. He was 91. His brilliant only and first novel, was controversial and banned in many schools because of its language. Still, the book is well worth a read and should be a staple on everyone's bookshelf.

2. The Lakers met President Obama this week to celebrate their 2009 NBA Championship. Kobe Bryant brought his entire family and Lamar had his wife Khloe on board to snap some pics as well.

3. Apparently Tiger's wife, Elin, has decided to back down from the divorce talk. According to People, Elin comes from divorce and doesn't want to take her children through the same trauma she experienced. Tiger is in sex rehab and Elin has been to see him. We will see how this story progresses.

4. The GRAMMY Awards come on this Sunday at 8 pm ET/PT. Among the performers? I bet you can guess: Beyonce, Lady Gaga, Maxwell, Taylor Swift and Usher among others. The awards show will also feature a special 3D tribute to Michael Jackson and a special fund raising segment for Haitian relief.

5. ABC announced they're cancelling Ugly Betty after its premiere in the fall of 2006. The show has eight episodes left. This puts not only America Ferrera but Vanessa Williams out of work. I'm sure they'll rebound. According, to ABC the show has been struggling for viewership for quite some time.

Bonus: Mariah Carey's new video for Up Out My Face. She plays a Barbie and a sexy nurse... leave it to Carey to have a video with a Valentine's Day theme.

Crystal P. Smith is senior editor and writer at TheLoop21.com, where she focuses on pop culture, gender, social issues and race. She also writes the Culture Voice blog and is working on her first novel.