TheLoop21.com

By: Crystal P. Smith (Add to your loop)
Fri, 11/06/2009 - 09:45

Mother and daughter in the film 'Precious,' Mo'Nique and Gabourey Sidibe, pose at the screening.

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. Rihanna's sudden flood of words about domestic violence this week will do nicely for the release of her new album on Nov. 23. She's proven that she is strong, and I applaud her for being so real. People will be snatching that album off the shelves to hear more. She's being featured as one of Glamour's Women of the Year as well.

2. The highly anticipated Precious, based on Sapphire's book Push, hits theaters for a limited engagement today. The rumor is that Mo'Nique's likely to be nominated for an Oscar for her role as an abusive welfare mother. All I know is that the movie looks amazing, and I can't wait to see it.

3. Essence magazine laid off its entire digital team. They say it's due to budget concerns, but firing the Web site team totally goes against the direction of the media world right now. Black Americans are already somewhat behind in our use of the Web, and this move tells us that Essence doesn't really care. Black magazines already have a problem with being timely and relevant and having a great team working behind the Web site is necessary if you want to compete.

4. Beanie Sigel and 50 Cent aired all of Jay-Z dirty doings on the radio this week. They basically said that Jay-Z is quite dirty for taking everything away from Damon Dash and then rapping about it and for his recent divorce from Rachel Roy. Beanie also talked about how Jay-Z left him out in the cold during his legal troubles. As a result, Beanie is now with G-Unit.

5. A certain trio of sisters continues putting all of its energy into relationships. Actually, I'm beginning to think that's why their famous or why they became famous. First, Kourtney got pregnant, then Khloe got married and now the third, Kim, is looking to move in with Reggie Bush. Interesting that women who seemingly have a lot going for them only care about finding someone to love them.

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 Inside The Loop blog.

Were you satisfied with the winners of the 2010 Academy Awards?

Yes, Mo'Nique won

Maybe, it could always be better

No, a lot of people were robbed

I didn't watch