Bobby Brown, the ex-husband of the recently deceased star Whitney Houston, is said to be shopping around a tell all book on his life and relationship.  He originally tried to sell the book in 2008 but his attempts were squashed due to lack of interest at that time and an alleged confidentiality agreement which was said to be part of the divorce settlement.  The book might now find a home with a publisher due to the unfortunate and tragic death of Whitney.  For all of the couple’s public struggles, their life was mainly private.  Tragedy brings about morbid curiosity.  It is sad that Bobby is stooping to release a book this soon.  The family, especially his daughter, deserves to have some time to properly grieve their loss.  I hope he will change his mind and put the best interest of his daughter first.  I also think it is too soon to be auctioning off Whitney’s belongings.    I am not sure who was behind that, but it is not an appropriate time to do such a thing.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/02/21/bobby-brown-whitney-houston-tell-all-book_n_1291434.html

Now, we move on a few more hours down the line to the “Peachtree City” of Atlanta, GA to hear about the nominations for the 2012 43rd annual GMA Dove Awards.

Want to see which artists got nominated?

Check it out right here…….

The gospel music stars will be in Atlanta, GA on the third Thursday of April to see live the 43rd annual GMA Dove Awards.

Here is a list of this year’s nominees; they are listed as follows:

Song of the Year
Alive; Natalie Grant; Bernie Herms and Nichole Nordeman; Wow Partners; Wow Partners
Blessings; Laura Story; Laura Story; New Spring Publishing (ASCAP), Laura Stories (ASCAP); Fair Trade
Celebrate Me Home; Perrys; Joel Lindsey & Wayne Haun; PsalmSinger Music; Daywind Records
Glorious Day (Living He Loved Me); Casting Crowns; Michael Bleecker, Mark Hall; Word Music/SWECS; Beach Street
Hold Me; Jamie Grace; Jamie Grace Harper Toby McKeehan Christopher Steve; Universal Music-BrentwoodBenson Tunes, Songs of Th; Gotee Records
I Smile; Kirk Franklin; Kirk Franklin, James Harris, Terry Lewis, Frederic; Bridge Building Music (BMI), Aunt Gertrude Music P; Gospocentric
I’ve Been Here Before; Ernie Haase & Signature Sound; Ernie Haase, Joel Lindsey, Wayne Haun; PsalmSinger Music; StowTown Records
Please Forgive Me; Gaither Vocal Band; Gerald Crabb; Chestnut Mound Music; Gaither Music Group
Who Am I; Jason Crabb; Rusty Goodman; Playin’ TAG Music; Gaither Music Group
Your Great Name; Natalie Grant; Krissy Nordhoff, Michael Neale; Tow Nords Music (ASCAP), Integrity’s Praise Music (BMI); Curb Records

Male Vocalist of the Year
Chris August
Chris Tomlin
Jason Crabb
Kirk Franklin
Steven Curtis Chapman

Female Vocalist of the Year
Francesca Battistelli
Kari Jobe
Laura Story
Mandisa
Natalie Grant

Group of the Year
Casting Crowns
David Crowder*Band
Gaither Vocal Band
NEEDTOBREATHE
The Isaacs
Casting Crowns

Artist of the Year
Jason Crabb
Laura Story
LeCrae
The Isaacs

New Artist of the Year
Beyond The Ashes
Dara Maclean
Jamie-Grace
Royal Tailor
The City Harmonic

Producer of the Year
Bernie Herms, Brown Bannister
Ed Cash
Ian Eskelin
Michael Sykes
Wayne Haun

Rap/Hip Hop Recorded Song of the Year
Hallelujah; ; LeCrae; ; ; Reach
INTOXICATED; GENESIS SNAPSHOTS; JAYESS; ; ; ZOE RECORDS
Please Don’t Let Me Go; Outta Space Love; Group 1 Crew; Manwell Reyes, Pablo Villatoro, Andy Anderson, David Garcia; ; Fervent
Riot; Backlight; Tedashi; ; ; Reach Records
The Overdose; Rehab Deluxe; LeCrae; ; ; Reach Records

Rock/Contemporary Recorded Song of the Year
Dark Horses; Vice Verses; Switchfoot; Jonathan Foreman, Tim Foreman; ; Credential Recordings/lowercasepeople/Atlantic
Faceless; Until We Have Faces; Red; Anthony Armstrong, Rob Graves, Jasen Rauch, Mark Holman; ; Essential Records
Invisible; Horseshoes and Handgrenades; Disciple; Kevin Young, Ben Glover, Rob Hawkins; ; Fair Trade Services, LLC
One Day Too Late; Awake; Skillet; John L. Cooper, Brian Howes; ; Ardent
Your Love Is A Mystery; Crazy Love; Hawk Nelson; Jason Dunn & Daniel Biro; ; BEC Recordings
Born Again; Born Again (Miracle Edition); Newsboys; Seth Mosely, Juan Otero,michael Tate, Wes Campbell; ; InPop
Crazy Love; Crazy Love; Hawk Nelson; Jason Dunn, Daniel Biro, Ian Eskelin, & Tony Wood; ; BEC Recordings
Drifting; TBA; Plumb with Dan Haseltine; Tiffany Arbuckle Lee, Matt Bronleewe, Dan Haseltine; ; Curb Records
Lucy; Awake; Skillet; John L. Cooper; ; Atlantic/Ardent/Fair Trade
Slumber; The Reckoning; NEEDTOBREATHE; Bear Rinehart, Bo Rinehart; ; Atlantic Records

Pop/Contemporary Recorded Song of the Year
Alive (MARY MAGDALENE); Music Inspired By THE STORY; Natalie Grant; Nichole Nordeman, Bernie Herms; ; WOW Joint Venture
Blessings; Blessings; Laura Story; Laura Story; ; Fair Trade Services, LLC
Hold Me; One Song at a Time; Jamie Grace; Jamie Grace Harper, Toby McKeehan, Chris Stevens; ; Gotee Records
Someone Worth Dying For; A Beautiful Life; MIKESCHAIR; Benjamin Glover, Michael Alan Grayson, Samuel Anton Tinnesz; ; Curb Records
Your Great Name; Love Revolution; Natalie Grant; Michael Neale, Krissy Nordhoff; ; Curb Records

Inspirational Recorded Song of the Year
All Things New; On Our Way Home; Nicol Sponberg; Carl Cartee, Jeromy Deibler, Ronnie Freeman, Jason Ingram; ; Curb Records
Hope Of The Broken World; Hope Of The Broken World; Selah; Carl Cartee, Jennie Riddle; ; Curb
I Surrender; New Day; The Martins; Chris Eaton, Joyce Sanders; ; Gaither Music Group
I’ll Take What’s Left; Dreamin’ Wide Awake; Doug Anderson; Joel Lindsey, Wayne Haun; ; StowTown
Love Is a Cross; Faroe Islands; Russ Taff; Jesse Butterworth, Joy Williams, Regie Hamm; ; Spring Hill Music

Southern Gospel Recorded Song of the Year
Celebrate Me Home; Blue Skies Coming; Perrys; Joel Lindsey & Wayne Haun; ; Daywind
If There Ever Was A Time; Together Again; The Crabb Family; Caleb Collins, Sue Smith; Jason Crabb; Gaither
I’ve Been Here Before; Here We Are Again; Ernie Haase & Signature Sound; Joel Lindsey, Wayne Haun, Ernie Haase; ; StowTown
Please Forgive Me; Greatly Blessed; Gaither Vocal Band; Gerald Crabb; ; Gaither Music Group
Victory In Jesus; A Life Time of Music; John Hagee; ; ; Difference Media

Bluegrass Recorded Song of the Year
Indescribable; Indescribable: Bluegrass Meets Worship; Chigger Hill Boys & Terri; Jesse Reeves & Laura Story; ; Daywind
Let It Go; A Mother’s Prayer; Ralph Stanley; Sara Evans, Billy Smith, Terry Smith; ; Rebel Records
Mama’s Teaching Angels How to Sing; Naturally; The Isaacs; Dottie Rambo; ; Gaither Music Group
Precious Memories; Drive Time; Doyle Lawson & Quicksilver; ; ; Crossroads Records
The Water is Calling; Already Home; Marcy Each; Marcy Each, Lyn Rowel; ; Vine

Country Recorded Song of the Year
Dreamin’ Wide Awake; Dreamin’ Wide Awake; Doug Anderson; Joel Lindsey, Wayne Haun; ; StowTown
Good Things Are Happening; Reach Out; Karen Peck & New River; Wayne Haun & Sonya Isaacs; ; Daywind
I Get To; Expecting Good Things; Jeff & Sheri Easter; Wil Nance, Sherrie Austin, Steve Williams; ; Spring Hill Music Group, She Loved Music
Pray About Everything; Breathe Deep; Guy Penrod; Bob Regan, Jeff Stevens; ; Gaither Music Group, Servant Records
Why Me; The Song Lives On; Jason Crabb (feat. William Lee Golden and Bill Gaither); Kris Kristofferson; ; Gaither Music Group

Urban Recorded Song of the Year
All I Need feat. Chris Lee; Captured; FLAME; Marcus Gray, Chris Lee Cobbins, Abraham Olaleye; ; Clear Sight Music
Make It Loud; Make It Loud; Martha Munizzi; Martha Munizzi, Danielle Munizzi, Khristian Dentley, Pablo Villatoro; ; Martha Munizzi Music
SOVEREIGN KING; FROM THE HEART; DEBORAH; ; ; ZOE RECORDS
Sweeter; The Love Album; Kim Burrell; ; ;
Windows; ; Canton Jones; ; ; CAJO International

Traditional Gospel Recorded Song of the Year
God Is Great; Keep Living; Ricky Dillard & New G; John Lakin; ; Light Records
Here Comes Jesus; Faroe Islands; Russ Taff; Chuck Cannon, Russ Taff; ; Spring Hill Music
Hold On; Change The Atmosphere; Christ Tabernacle Choir; Wayne Haun, Steve Carey, Matthew Garinger; ; Vine
I Saw the Light; The Song Lives On; Jason Crabb; Hank Williams; ; Gaither Music Group
Let the Church Say Amen; The Journey; Andrae Crouch; Andrae Crouch; ; Riverphlo Entertainment

Contemporary Gospel Recorded Song of the Year
He Has His Hands On You; Here I Am; Marvin Sapp; Marvin Sapp, Stan Jones; ; Verity
I Smile; Hello Fear; Kirk Franklin; Kirk Franklin, James Harris, Terry Lewis, Frederick Tackett; ; Verity
I’d Rather Have Jesus; The Song Lives On; Jason Crabb; George Beverly Shea, Rhea F. Miller; ; Gaither Music Group
The Promise; The Journey; Andrae Crouch; Andrae Crouch, Luther Mano Hanes; ; Riverphlo Entertainment
What I Have I Give; Treasures Unseen; Beyond The Ashes; Wayne Haun, Joel Lindsey, Depp Britt; ; Vine

Worship Song of the Year
Beautiful Things; Beautiful Things; Gungor; Michael Gungor, Lisa Gungor; ; EMI CMG Publishing
Glorious Day (Living He Loved Me); Mark Hall, Michael Bleecker; Mark Hall,Sony/ATV Tree Publishing/My Refuge Music (BMI) Michael Bleecker,Word Music (ASCAP); Come To The Well; Casting Crowns; Provident Label Group
Hosanna; ; Brooke Fraser; ; ; Hillsong Publishing
I Give Myself Away; William McDowell, Sam Hinn; Delivery Room Publishing; As We Worship Live; William McDowell; Light Records/Entertainment One
When the Stars Burn Down; Jonathan Lee and Jennie Riddle; UNIVERSAL MUSIC- BRENTWOOD BENSON TUNES (SESAC)/ JLEE PUBLSIHING (SESAC). ADMIN BY UNIVERSAL MUSIC/ INTEGRITY PRAISE! MUSIC; When the Stars Burn Down; Travis Cottrell; Inciite Media
Your Great Name; Michael Neale, Krissy Nordhoff; Integrity’s Praise Music; Love Revolution; Natalie Grant; Integrity Music

Rap/Hip Hop Album of the Year
Backlight; Tedashi; ; Reach Records
Captured; FLAME; Lamontt Blackshire, Courtney Peebles, Stephen Towns, Abraham Olaleye, Derek Johnson, Alex Hitchens, Brandon Shockley, Dion, Burroughs, Alex Medina; Clear Sight Music
Culture Shock; Jai; ;
Rehab: The Overdose; LeCrae; ; Reach Records
The Whole Truth; D.A. Truth; ; Universal

Rock Album of the Year
Control; Abandon; Christpher Stevens, Paul Moak, Josh Silverberg; EMI CMG
Until We Have Faces; Red; Rob Graves; Essential Records
Vice Verses; Switchfoot; Neal Avron; EMI CMG
What I’ve Become; Ashes Remain; ; Fair Trade
With Shivering Hearts We Wait; Blindside; Mike Plotnikoff and Igor Khoroshev for Howard Benson Productions, LLC; Fair Trade Services, LLC

Rock/Contemporary Album of the Year
Ad Astra Per Aspera; Abandon Kansas; Mark Lee Townsend; Gotee Records
Come Home; Luminate; Ed Cash, Paul Moak, Ben Glover; EMI CMG
Crazy Love; Hawk Nelson; ian Eskelin; BEC Recordings
Mountains Move; Kristian Stanfill; Jason Ingram, Rusty Varenkamp; EMI CMG
The Reckoning; NEEDTOBREATHE; ; Atlantic Records

Pop/Contemporary Album of the Year
A Beautiful Life; MIKESCHAIR; Matt Brownlewee; Curb Records
Blessings; Laura Story; Nathan Nockels; Fair Trade Services, LLC
Hundred More Years; Francesca Battistelli; ; Fervent
One Song at a Time; Jamie Grace; Chris Stevens, David Garcia, Arch Nemesiz; Gotee Records
What If We Were Real; Mandisa; Christopher Stevens, David Garcia, Dan Muckala; EMI CMG

Inspirational Album of the Year
A Man Like Me; Wes Hampton; Gordon Mote, Michael English, Nathan Zwald, Wes Hampton; Gaither Music Group
Captivated; Nicole C. Mullen; Ed Cash; Maranatha! Music
Faroe Islands; Russ Taff; Jakup Zachariassen; Spring Hill Music
God is Able; HILLSONG; Joel Houston, Reuben Morgan, Ben Fielding; Hillsong Music Australia
Hope Of The Broken World; Selah; Jason Kyle, Todd Smith, Allan Hall; Curb Records

Southern Gospel Album of the Year
A LIFETIME OF MUSIC; JOHN HAGEE; MICHAEL SYKES, DAVID HUNTSINGER; DIFFERENCE MEDIA
Miracles & Memories; Bowling Family; Mike & Kelly Bowling, Terah Penhollow and Kathy Crabb Hannah; Big Ten House of Music
Part of the Family; Collingsworth Family; Wayne Haun; StowTown
Reach Out; Karen Peck & New River; Wayne Haun; Daywind
The Song Lives On; Jason Crabb; Bill Gaither; Gaither Music Group

Bluegrass Album of the Year
A Mother’s Prayer; Ralph Stanley; Ralph Stanley II; Rebel Records
Family Chain; John Bowman; John Bowman, Ben Issacs, Jimmy Edmonds; Pisgah Ridge
Grassroots Rambos; Rambo McGuire; Dony McGuire; Rambo McGuire Records
Indescribable: Bluegrass Meets Worship; Chigger Hill Boys & Terri; Mark Dunham; Daywind
Satisfied; Paul Williams & The Victory Trio; Paul Williams; Rebel Records

Country Album of the Year
Brighter One; Marshall Hall; Marshall Hall, Jay DeMarcus, Michael English; Daywind
Dreamin’ Wide Awake; Doug Anderson; Wayne Haun; StowTown
Family Ties; Wilburn & Wilburn; Ben Isaacs; Daywind
Going Places; Crabb Revival; Michael Sykes; Daywind
New Day; The Martins; Jay DeMarcus; Gaither Music Group

Urban Album of the Year
Angel & Chanelle; Trin-i-tee 5:7; PJ Morton, Rockwilder, Fred Jerkins, Surefire Music Group, Andrew Scott, Tito Ali, Stan Jones, David Mullen; Music World Gospel
Church on the Moon; Deitrick Haddon; Deitrick Haddon; Verity Gospel Music Group
From Now On; Dawkins & Dawkins; Executive Producers: James Robinson Co-Executive Producer: Dawkins & Dawkins; Light Records
Something Big; Mary Mary; ; Sony
The Next Dimension; GI; Lamonte Harris, Curtis Langley, Marlon Anderson, Levi King, Tavis Simmons , Michael Clemmons, Derek Clark, Teraike Crawford, Joeworn Martin); BGA Music Group
How I Got Over; Smokie Norful; Jason Lyson; EMI Gospel

Traditional Gospel Album of the Year
If you didn’t know Now you Know; Norman Hutchins; Michael Bereal; co-producer Vicki Lataillade; Sueekey Entertainment/IR Music Group
Promises; Richard Smallwood; Steven Ford; Verity Gospel Music Group
The Legacy Project; John P. Kee; ; Verity
XV Live; Chicago Mass Choir; Percy Gray, Jr.; Jeral Gray, Sr.; New Haven Records

Contemporary Gospel Album of the Year
Becoming; Yolanda Adams; ; N House Music
Change The Atmosphere; Christ Tabernacle Choir; Wayne Haun, Kevin Ward, Steve Carey; Vine
Committed; Committed; ; Epic
Hello Fear; Kirk Franklin; Kirk Franklin, Shaun Martin; Verity Gospel Music Group
Make It Loud; Martha Munizzi; Martha Munizzi; Martha Munizzi Muisic

Inspirational Album of the Year
A Moments Peace, Vol. 3; Great Worship Songs Players; Christopher Phillips, Luke Gambill; Great Worship Songs
Feedback; Derek Webb; Derek Webb; Fair Trade Services, LLC
Inspirational Moods: Inspiring Hymns featuring Piano and Orchestra; Michael Omartian; Michael Omartian; Green Hill Productions
Jesus Calling: Instrumental Songs For Devotion; Various Artists; Steve Ivey; EMI CMG
Unfailing Love: 20 Worship Songs of Comfort and Peace; Stan Whitmire; Stan Whitmire; Green Hill Productions

Children’s Music Album of the Year
From The Inside out For Kids; Kids Choir; Matt Huesmann & Steve Ivey; EMI CMG
Great Worship Songs For Kids, Vol. 5; Great Worship Songs Kids Praise Band; Dale Mathews, Luke Gambill, Johnathan Crumpton, Stacey Willbur, Daniel Deffenbaugh, John Andrade; Great Worship Songs
Groovy; Denver and the Mile High Orchestra; Jamie Statema, Denver Bierman and Darren Rust; Go Fish Kids Records
Hosanna! Today’s Top Worship Songs for Kids; VeggieTales feat. Mark Hall from Casting Crowns and Amy Grant; Scott Williamson; Big Idea Entertainment
I Am A Promise; Gaither Vocal Band; Bill Gaither, Ben Isaacs; Gaither Music Group

Spanish Language Album of the Year
25 Concierto Conmemorativo; Marcos Witt; Marcos Witt, Sergio González & Roberto Prado; CanZion
De Vuelta Al Jardin; Christine D’Clario; Integrity Music
Dile Al Corazon Que Camine; Jacobo Ramos; Integrity Music
Más fuerte que nunca; Coalo Zamorano; Coalo Zamorano, Chris Rocha & Mike X Zúñinga; CanZion
Somos uno; Generación 12; Lorena Castellanos & Iván Contreras; CanZion
Top 25 Cantos de Alabanza 2012; Various; Phil Sillas; Maranatha! Music

Special Event Album of the Year
Ashes To Fire: Songs of Remembrance and Celebration of the Passion; Consuming Worship; Dave Clark; Maranatha! Music
Medicine: Live At The Black Academy; Ruben Studdard and Various Artists; Sam “Shake” Anderson and Curtis King; MCG Records
Passion: Here For You; Passion; Nathan Nockels; EMI CMG
The Journey; Andrae Crouch; Luther “Mano” Hanes; Riverphlo Entertainment
The Story; Matthew West, Leigh Nash from Sixpence None the Richer, Mark Hall & Megan Garret from Casting Crowns, Brandon Heath, Bart Millard from Mercy Me, Michael Tait From Newsboys, Blanca Callahan from Group 1 Crew, Lecrae, Chris Tomlin, Peter Furler, Mandisa, Tod; Bernie Herms, Brown Bannister; EMI Provident, Word

Christmas Album of the Year
A Skaggs Family Christmas Volume 2; Ricky Skaggs, The Whites, Molly Skaggs, Luke Skaggs, and Rachel Leftwich; Ricky Skaggs; Skaggs Family Records
Christmas Hope; Benjamin Utecht; David Grow, Brian Siewart, David Hamilton; Green Hill Productions
Christmas in Diverse City; TobyMac; Toby McKeehan, Christopher Stevens, Mike Woods, David Garcia, Victor Oquendo, SUPERHEROSE, Tre Corley, Arch Nemeciz, Tim Rosenau, Matthew Edwards, DOA Allen for the DESIGNATED HITTERS, Todde (toddiefunk) Lawton, Byron Mr. Talkbox” Chambers; EMI CMG”
Irish Country Christmas; Craig Duncan; Craig Duncan; Green Hill Productions
Oh For Joy; David Crowder*Band; David Crowder*Band; EMI CMG

Praise & Worship Album of the Year
10,000 Reasons; Matt Redman; Nathan Nockels; EMI CMG
Aftermath; Hillsong UNITED; Michael Guy Chislett, Joel Houston, James Rudder, Christopher Stevens; EMI CMG
And If Our God is For Us..; Chris Tomlin; Ed Cash, Dan Muckala; EMI CMG
Ghosts Upon The Earth; Gungor; Michael Gungor; Brash Music
Make It Loud; Martha Munizzi; Martha Munizzi; Martha Munizzi Music

Musical of the Year
Come and Adore Him; Dave Clark, Steve W. Mauldin; ; ; ; Lillenas Publishing Company
Down From His Glory; Mike Speck; ; ; ; Lillenas Publishing Company
Gone; Geron Davis; ; ; ; SpiritSound Music Group
Love Won; Kenna Turner West; ; ; ; Daywind
Mary, Did You Know? A Ready to Sing Christmas; Russell Mauldin, Sue C. Smith and Johnathan Crumpton; ; ; ; Brentwood-Benson Music Publishing

Youth/Children’s Musical of the Year
Extreme, Songs for Modern Youth Choir; Cliff Duren and Johnathan Crumpton; ; ; ; Brentwood-Benson Music Publishing
God of This City; Susie Williams, David Ebensberger & Luke Gambill; ; ; ; Brentwood-Benson Music Publishing
Help! My Kids Have to Sing at Christmas!; Cherry Garasi; ; ; ; Lillenas Publishing Company
The Amazing Grace Race; ; ; ; Celeste Clydesdale, David T. Clydesdale; Word Music
The Great Christmas Giveaway; ; ; ; Celeste Clydesdale, David T. Clydesdale; Word Music

Choral Collection of the Year
A Brooklyn Tabernacle Christmas; ; ; ; Carol Cymbala, Jason Webb; Word Music
Everlasting Praise 3; Mike Speck, Stan Whitmire; ; ; ; Lillenas Publishing Company
O What A Savior; Dave Clark, Steve W. Mauldin; ; ; ; Lillenas Publishing Company
Ready to Sing the Songs of Bill and Gloria Gaither; Russell Mauldin and Johnathan Crumpton; ; ; ; Brentwood-Benson Music Publishing
When the Stars Burn Down; Travis Cottrell; ; ; ; Brentwood-Benson Music Publishing

Recorded Music Packaging
A Way To See In The Dark/Sp Ed.; Jason Gray; Joanna Dee; Joanna Dee; Centricity
Burlap To Cashmere; Burlap To Cashmere; Theodore Pagano; Sean Mosher Smith; Chris Phelps; Essential Records, Jive Records
Christmas In Diverse City; TobyMac; Jan Cook; Eddy Boer for Boerhaus; Lee Stephen, Ryan Lampa, Nick West
Leveller – Deluxe Box; August Burns Red; Ryan Clark; Jordan Crane; Cory Morton; Solid State Records
This Is What We Believe/Deluxe; Aaron Shust; Joanna Dee; Joanna Dee; Centricity

Short Form Music Video of the Year
7&70; Chris August; Evan Kaufmann, Randy Peterson; Detail Film; Fervent
A Thousand Generations; Sean Spicer with Tilly Cryar; Dustin Marcellino; Yochanan Marcellino; City of Peace Films; City of Peace Media
As For Me And My House; John Waller; Dustin Marcellino; Yochanan Marcellino; City of Peace Films; City of Peac Media
Crazy Love; Hawk Nelson; John Reuben; BEC Recordings
Feed The Machine; Red; Erwin Brothers; Dan Atchison; Alabama Production Group; Essential Records
I Lift My Hands; Chris Tomlin; Nathan Corrona; Nathan Corrona; Dustbrand Films; EMI CMG
Miracles; Newsboys; TK McKamy; TK McKamy; Revolution Pictures; inpop Records
You Are More; Tenth Avenue North; Wes Edwards; Drew Langer; Ruckus Films; Reunion Records

Long Form Video of the Year
A Skaggs Family Christmas LIVE; Ricky Skaggs, The Whites, Molly Skaggs, Luke Skaggs, and Rachel Leftwich; Matt Coale; Ricky Skaggs,Billy Paul Jones, and Charlotte Scott; RS Entertainment Inc.; Skaggs Family Records
Fear Not Tomorrow; The Collingsworth Family; Curt Casassa; Jim Hammond; P&KC Music; P&KC Music
Tent Revival Homecoming; Bill & Gloria Gaither and Homecoming Friends; Doug Stuckey; Bill Gaither, Barry Jennings, Bill Carter; Gaither Television Productions; Gaither Music Group
The Song Lives On; Jason Crabb; Doug Stuckey; Bill Gaither; Gaither Television Productions; Gaither Music Group
Yahweh; Hillsong Chapel; Luke Irvine; Executive Producer: Joel Houston; Producers: Reuben Morgan, Ben Fielding; ; EMI CMG

The 43rd Annual GMA Dove Awards will take place on Thursday, April 19, 2012 at the Fox Theater in Atlanta, GA.

For more information or maybe plan on attending this event, log online at www.doveawards.com right now for further details.

Thinkstock

Want to boost your brain power and a live a few years longer to boot? Scientists say the answer could be as simple as occasionally depriving yourself of food.

Research from the National Institutes for Aging shows when animals are given just enough calories to keep them alive, they can live up to twice as long. And when the same diet was tested on humans, it appeared to protect the heart, circulatory system and brain against age-related diseases like Alzheimer’s disease.

Mark Mattson, head of the laboratory of neurosciences at the NIA and professor of neuroscience at John Hopkins University in Baltimore, MD, said, “We have found that dietary energy restriction, particularly when administered in intermittent bouts of major caloric restriction, such as alternative day fasting, activates cellular stress response pathways in neurones.”

In the experiments, some mice were fed only on alternate days, while others ate daily. Both groups had unlimited access to food on the days they ate, and both groups’ overall caloric intake was the same.

However, Mattson said the mice fed on alternate days were more sensitive to insulin and therefore needed to make less of it. High levels of the hormone, which the body produces to control sugar levels after eating, are often associated with lower brain power and an elevated risk of diabetes.

This isn’t the only medical research showing intermittent food deprivation could have health benefits. Previous research has found that it can be good for cancer patients, since starving healthy cells of the food they need sends them into a survival mode and makes them highly resistant to the stress and damage caused from chemotherapy.

Source: TheCheckup.com

Thinkstock

Federal health officials are warning that deaths from the liver-destroying hepatitis C virus are on the rise, and that baby boomers are especially at risk.

It is estimated that two-thirds of those with hepatitis C were born between 1945 and 1965. So some experts are recommending boomers get a one-time blood test to check for the virus — one that can otherwise go undetected and cause damage for decades.

Needle-sharing during illegal drug use is the biggest risk factor for becoming infected with the blood-borne hepatitis C virus, but before 1992, when widespread testing of the blood supply began, it was often spread through blood transfusions.

“One of every 33 baby boomers are living with hepatitis C infection,” Dr. John Ward, hepatitis chief at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, told the Associated Press. “Most people will be surprised, because it’s a silent epidemic.”

Officials are urging testing in light of two new drugs that have the potential to provide a cure. Research published Monday by the CDC indicates the cost of testing millions of middle-aged people would be worth it, since thousands of lives could be saved in the process.

The CDC study analyzed a decade of death records and found the 15,000 deaths related to hepatitis C in 2007 were higher than previous estimates. What’s more, they even surpassed the nearly 13,000 deaths caused by HIV/AIDS virus.

“Mortality will continue to grow for the next 10 to 15 years at least unless we do something different” to find and treat the silent sufferers, Dr. Ward said.

Source: TheCheckup.com

Do you want to see the game plan for his new network?

Click on here for more on this story…….

Earvin “Magic” Johnson, who is a pro basketball Hall of Famer, also has become a successful entrepreneur mogul, is preparing to launch Aspire, a 24-hour channel with a focus on what Johnson called positive, uplifting images of African-Americans. The basic cable outlet will join other channels targeting black viewers, such as BET and TV One, and will offer opportunities for blacks who have struggled to find work in mainstream Hollywood.

“This is so exciting for me, I’m pinching myself,” Johnson said in a phone interview. “This is big for myself, for the African-American community and the African-American creative community. I wanted a vehicle to show positive images and to have stories written, produced and directed by African-Americans for our community. Aspire — that’s how I’ve been leading my life.”

Aspire’s mix will include film, TV, music and comedy, with a combination of acquired projects and original programming. “There will some performing arts and shows about faith,” Johnson also said.

Johnson’s entry into the television arena comes courtesy of communications giant Comcast Corp. as part of its agreement with the FCC and Department of Justice to diversify the cable landscape. Comcast agreed last year to launch 10 new independently owned cable channels, with most backed by African-Americans and Latinos, by 2018. Johnson’s channel is scheduled to be the first.

Comcast’s obligation to support minority-owned channels came after a bruising yearlong federal review of the Philadelphia cable company’s acquisition of NBCUniversal, which includes the NBC broadcast network, NBC television stations, Universal Studios, Universal Pictures, cable channels USA, Bravo, Syfy, MSNBC and CNBC and Spanish-language broadcaster Telemundo.

With Aspire, which is scheduled for a June 30 launch, Johnson becomes the second A-list celebrity to launch a network in the last two years. Oprah Winfrey established OWN: The Oprah Winfrey Network as a vehicle for her philosophy of inspiration and personal empowerment. But OWN has struggled ever since its January 2011 launch, failing to develop any shows or projects that have attracted large audiences.

Aspire will have headquarters in Atlanta and will partner with Gospel Music Channel (GMC), a regional cable channel that offers uplifting programming. The channel Aspire initially will be available in 11 million of Comcast Cable customers’ homes. Johnson hopes to expand the network to other cable providers to reach about 50 million homes within a few years.

Johnson will be the chief executive of Aspire, while Eric Holoman, the president of Magic Johnson Enterprises, will be chief operating officer.

Justin Sullivan, Getty Images

Facing huge budget shortfalls, the United States Postal Service has proposed solutions including closing hundreds of post offices and eliminating Saturday deliveries. Now it may be considering jacking up the price of stamps, too.

The popularity of internet services like online bill pay have led in part to a 1.7 percent decline in mail volume, causing the USPS to anticipate losing $14.1 billion in 2012 — with bigger losses expected in the years to come.

In response, postal officials sent a letter to Congress last Thursday in which they recommended several changes, including the possibility of increasing the price of a stamp from its current 45 cents up to 50 cents. While stamp prices have gone up four times since 2006, chief financial officer Joe Corbett said, “Clearly, we’re [still] underpriced [and] would like the ability to move that price up.”

The USPS says the extra nickel, which would likely be added in one or two-cent increments until 2015, would raise revenues by $1 billion annually. Although taxpayers don’t foot the bill to keep the postal service running, Postmaster General Patrick Donahoe told Congress that failing to help the organization limit its losses would result in a “long-term burden to the American taxpayer.”

[Time]

His electrical device invention was used in all guided missiles, computers, and pacemakers.

Read more about this invention right here…….

On this date, February 21, 1961, 51 years ago on today, Inventor Otis Boykin,  patented the Electrical Resistor (U.S. patent # 2,972,726). Boykin is responsible for inventing the electrical device used in all guided missiles, computers, plus 26 other electronic devices including a control unit for an artificial heart stimulator (pacemaker). He began his career as a laboratory assistant testing automatic controls for aircraft. One of Boykin’s first achievements was a type of resistor used in computers, radios, television sets, and a variety of electronic devices. Some of his other inventions included a variable resistor used in guided missiles, small component thick-film resistors for computers. The innovations in resistor design reduced the cost of producing electronic controls for radio and television, for both military and commercial applications. Other inventions by Otis Boykin also included a burglarproof cash register and chemical air filter. Mr. Otis, we thank you!

For more black history information, log on to blackfacts.com or africanamericanhistory.gov.

Whitney Houston’s funeral was absolutely star studded, and the stars that were there actually knew and loved her.  There were so many poignant moments to the funeral service that I can’t really say which one touched me most.  In case you missed it, there are several websites where you can still view video of the program.  What did you think of the funeral? Was it a fitting tribute to a legend of Whitney’s status?

http://elev8.com/elev8-original/orethawinston/pastor-marvin-winans-sermon-at-whitneys-homegoing-ceremony/?omcamp=EMC-CVNL

“Do you have what it takes to be Sunday’s Best?”

This question will be asked when the auditions will be taking  place very soon.

From the southwest to southeast, Sunday Best Season 5 auditions will be in effect and coming to your area.

More details right here……

Sunday Best, The hit gospel singing competition is back and here’s your chance to audition.

Do you have the grace of Crystal Aikin, the passion of Y’Anna Crawley, the power of Le’Andria Johnson, or maybe the style of Amber Bullock? If you think so, get your voices ready and save the date for the upcoming auditions!

The Sunday Best 5 audition locations are as follows:

Dallas, TX (7am-1pm)
Saturday, March 24

The Potter’s House
6777 W. Kiest Boulevard
Dallas, TX

Washington, DC (7am-1pm)
Saturday, March 31, 2012

Reid Temple AME Church
11400 Glenn Dale Boulevard
Glenn Dale, MD

Atlanta, GA (7am-1pm)
Saturday, April 14, 2012

Greater Traveler’s Rest Baptist Church
4650 Flat Shoals Parkway
Decatur, GA

St. Louis, MO (7am-1pm)
Saturday, April 21, 2012

Friendly Temple Missionary Baptist Church
5525 Dr. Martin Luther King Drive
Saint Louis, MO

For more details on Sunday Best, call the Sunday Best crew at 1-855-879-5978, ext.101; or check back for more updates.

The long-running police procedural show is named Outstanding Drama Series, while Nick Cannon takes a supporting actor prize through his acting on a comedy series.

If you want to see who were the big winners of this year’s NAACP Image Awards, look on the next page to find out for yourself…..

The 43rd annual NAACP Image Awards were held on last Friday (February 17th on NBC); and the big winners included “The Help,”  “Jumping the Broom,” along with television shows “Law & Order: SVU” and “Tyler Perry’s House of Payne” won Outstanding Dramatic and Comedic Series categories, respectively.

The 43rd annual NAACP Image Awards winners are as follows:

(winners are in bold print)

Movies

Outstanding Motion Picture
“Jumping the Broom”
“Pariah”
“The First Grader”
“The Help”
“Tower Heist”

Outstanding Actor in a Motion Picture
Eddie Murphy – “Tower Heist”
Laurence Fishburne – “Contagion”
Laz Alonso -”Jumping the Broom”
Oliver Litondo – “The First Grader”
Vin Diesel – “Fast Five”

Outstanding Actress in a Motion Picture
Adepero Oduye – “Pariah”
Emma Stone -” The Help”
Paula Patton – “Jumping the Broom”
Viola Davis – “The Help”
Zoe Saldana – “Colombiana”

Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Motion Picture
Anthony Mackie – “The Adjustment Bureau”
Charles Parnell – “Pariah”
Don Cheadle – “The Guard”
Jeffrey Wright – “The Ides of March”
Mike Epps – “Jumping the Broom”

Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Motion Picture
Bryce Dallas Howard – “The Help”
Cicely Tyson – “The Help”
Kim Wayans – “Pariah”
Maya Rudolph – “Bridesmaids”
Octavia Spencer – “The Help”

Outstanding Independent Motion Picture
“I Will Follow”
“Kinyarwanda”
“MOOZ-lum”
“Pariah”
“The First Grader”

Outstanding Foreign Motion Picture
“A Separation”
“Attack the Block”
“In the Land of Blood and Honey”
“Le Havre”
“Life, Above All”

Outstanding Documentary (Theatrical or Television)
“Beats, Rhymes & Life: The Travels of A Tribe Called Quest”
“Being Elmo: A Puppeteer’s Journey”
“Sing Your Song”
“The Rescuers”
“Thunder Soul”

TV

Outstanding Comedy Series
“Love That Girl! ”
“Modern Family”
“Reed Between the Lines”
“The Game”
“Tyler Perry’s House of Payne”

Outstanding Actor in a Comedy Series
Dule Hill – “Psych”
Malcolm-Jamal Warner – “Reed Between the Lines”
Phil Morris – “Love That Girl! ”
Pooch Hall – “The Game”
Terry Crews – “Are We There Yet? ”

Outstanding Actress in a Comedy Series
Tatyana Ali – “Love That Girl! ”
Tia Mowry-Hardrict – “The Game”
Tracee Ellis Ross – “Reed Between the Lines”
Vanessa Williams – “Desperate Housewives”
Wendy Raquel Robinson – “The Game”

Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series
Craig Robinson – “The Office”
Damon Wayans, Jr. – “Happy Endings”
J.B. Smoove – “Curb Your Enthusiasm”
Nick Cannon – “Up All Night”
Tracy Morgan – “30 Rock”

Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series
Amber Riley – “Glee”
Gabourey Sidibe – “The Big C”
Keshia Knight Pulliam – “Tyler Perry’s House of Payne”
Maya Rudolph – “Up All Night”
Sofia Vergara – “Modern Family”

Outstanding Drama Series
“Boardwalk Empire”
“Grey’s Anatomy”
“Law & Order: Special Victims Unit”
“The Good Wife”
“Treme”

Outstanding Actor in a Drama Series
Andre Braugher – “Men of a Certain Age”
Hill Harper – “CSI: NY”
L.L. Cool J – “NCIS: Los Angeles”
Taye Diggs – “Private Practice”
Wendell Pierce – “Treme”

Outstanding Actress in a Drama Series
Chandra Wilson – “Grey’s Anatomy”
Khandi Alexander – “Treme”
Regina King – “SouthLAnd”
Sandra Oh – “Grey’s Anatomy”
Taraji P. Henson – “Person of Interest”

Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series
Corey Reynolds – “The Closer”
Ice T – “Law & Order: Special Victims Unit”
James Pickens, Jr. – “Grey’s Anatomy”
Nelsan Ellis – “True Blood”
Omar Epps – “House M.D.”

Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series
Alfre Woodard – “Memphis Beat”
Anika Noni Rose – “Law & Order Special Victims Unit”
Archie Panjabi – “The Good Wife”
Diahann Carroll – “White Collar”
Loretta Devine – “Grey’s Anatomy”

Outstanding Television Movie, Mini-Series or Dramatic Special
“Five”
“Hallmark Hall of Fame, Mitch Albom’s Have a Little Faith”
“Luther”
“The Least Among You”
“Thurgood”

Outstanding Actor in a Television Movie, Mini-Series or Dramatic Special
Esai Morales – “We Have Your Husband”
Idris Elba – “Luther”
Laurence Fishburne – “Thurgood”
Louis Gossett, Jr. – “The Least Among You”
Samuel L. Jackson – “The Sunset Limited”

Outstanding Actress in a Television Movie, Mini-Series or Dramatic Special
Anika Noni Rose – “Hallmark Hall of Fame, Mitch Albom’s Have a Little Faith” Jenifer Lewis – “Five”
Rosario Dawson – “Five”
Taraji P. Henson – “Taken From Me: The Tiffany Rubin Story”
Tracee Ellis Ross – “Five”

Outstanding Actor in a Daytime Drama Series
Aaron D. Spears – “The Bold and the Beautiful”
Bryton James -” The Young and the Restless”
Emerson Brooks – “All My Children”
James Reynolds – “Days of Our Lives”
Texas Battle – “The Bold and the Beautiful”

Outstanding Actress in a Daytime Drama Series
Christel Khalil – “The Young and the Restless”
Julia Pace Mitchell – “The Young and the Restless”
Tatyana Ali – “The Young and the Restless”
Tonya Lee Williams – “The Young and the Restless”
Yvette Freeman – “The Bold and the Beautiful”

Outstanding News/Information (Series or Special)
“BET News Exclusive: The President Answers Black America”
“Judge Mathis”
“Real Sports with Bryant Gumbel”
“Unsung” – Winner
“Washington Watch with Roland Martin”

Outstanding Talk Series
“Anderson ”
“Oprah’s Lifeclass”
“The Doctors”
“The View”
“The Wendy Williams Show”

Outstanding Reality Series
“All-American Muslim”
“American Idol”
“Dancing with the Stars”
“Sunday Best”
“Tia & Tamera”

Outstanding Variety Series or Special
“2011 BET Awards”
“Black Girls Rock! ”
“Oprah Presents: Master Class” “Prince! Behind the Symbol”
“UNCF An Evening of Stars Tribute to Chaka Khan”

Outstanding Children’s Program
“A.N.T. Farm”
“Dora the Explorer”
“Go, Diego! Go! ”
“I Can Be President: A Kid’s-Eye View”
“My Family Tree”

Outstanding Performance in a Youth/Children’s Program (Series or Special)
China Anne McClain – “A.N.T. Farm”
Keke Palmer – “True Jackson, VP”
Lance Robertson – “Yo Gabba Gabba”
Leon Thomas III – “Victorious”
Zendaya Coleman – “Shake It Up”

Recording

Outstanding New Artist
Committed
Diggy Simmons
Landau Eugene Murphy, Jr.
Mindless Behavior
Wynter Gordon

Outstanding Male Artist
Anthony Hamilton
Bruno Mars
Cee Lo Green
Chris Brown
Common

Outstanding Female Artist
Beyonce
Jennifer Hudson
Jill Scott
Ledisi
Mary J. Blige

Outstanding Duo, Group or Collaboration
Boyz II Men
Cee Lo Green feat. Melanie Fiona
Mary J. Blige feat. Drake
Sounds of Blackness
The Roots

Outstanding Jazz Album
“Chano y Dizzy” – Terence Blanchard and Poncho Sanchez
“Friends” – Stanley Jordan
“Guitar Man” – George Benson
“Legacy” – Gerald Wilson
“Road Show Vol. 2″ – Sonny Rollins

Outstanding Gospel Album (Traditional or Contemporary)
“Becoming” – Yolanda Adams
“Church on the Moon” – Deitrick Haddon
“Hello Fear” – Kirk Franklin
“Something Big” – Mary Mary
“The Journey” – Andrae Crouch

Outstanding World Music Album
“Afrodiaspora” – Susana Baca
“Carnival Fever” – Brother B
“Live at 2011 New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival” – Boukman Eksperyans
“Sounds of Blackness” – Sounds of Blackness
“The First Grader” – Alex Heffes

Outstanding Music Video
“25/8″ – Mary J. Blige
“Hear My Call” – Jill Scott
“I Was Here” – Beyoncé
“Someone Like You” – Adele
“Where You At” – Jennifer Hudson

Outstanding Song
“Best Thing I Never Had” – Beyonce
“Fool for You” feat. Melanie Fiona – Cee Lo Green
“I Smile” – Kirk Franklin
“So In Love” feat. Anthony Hamilton – Jill Scott
“Someone Like You” – Adele

Outstanding Album
“4″ – Beyonce
“F.A.M.E. ” – Chris Brown
“I Remember Me” – Jennifer Hudson
“Lasers” – Lupe Fiasco
“The Light of the Sun” – Jill Scott

Literature

Outstanding Literary Work – Fiction
“A Silken Thread” – Brenda Jackson
“Boundaries” – Elizabeth Nunez
“Say Amen, Again” – Reshonda Tate Billingsley
“Silver Sparrow” – Tayari Jones
“The Plot Against Hip Hop: A Novel” – Nelson George

Outstanding Literary Work – Non-Fiction
“Sister Citizen: Shame, Stereotypes, and Black Women in America” – Melissa Harris-Perry
“Super Rich” – Russell Simmons
“The Cosmopolitan Canopy” – Elijah Anderson
“The Wealth Cure: Putting Money in Its Place” – Hill Harper
“Who’s Afraid of Post-Blackness?: What It Means to Be Black Now” – Toure

Outstanding Literary Work – Debut Author
“2Grieve 2Gether: A Journal from the Heart Helping Survivors & Supporters Navigate the Healing Process” – Denise Hall Brown
“A Defining Moment”- Patricia Duncan
“The Loom” – Shella Gillus
“The Strawberry Letter” – Lyah Le Flore
“We the Animals” – Justin Torres

Outstanding Literary Work – Biography/Auto-Biography
“A Singular Woman: The Untold Story of Barack Obama’s Mother” – Janny Scott
“Malcolm X: A Life of Reinvention” – Manning Marable
“My Song” – Harry Belafonte
“No Higher Honor: A Memoir of My Years in Washington” – Condoleezza Rice
“The John Carlos Story” – John Carlos, Dave Zirin

Outstanding Literary Work – Instructional
“A Year to Wellness and Other Weight Loss Secrets” – Bertice Berry
“Living My Dream: An Artistic Approach to Marketing” – Synthia Saint James
“Our Difficult Sunlight: A Guide to Poetry, Literacy, & Social Justice in Classroom & Community” – Quraysh Ali Lansana
“The T.D. Jakes Relationship Bible: Life Lessons on Relationships from the Inspired Word of God” – T.D. Jakes
“Too Important to Fail: Saving America’s Boys” – Tavis Smiley (Author), Juan Roberts (Illustrator)

Outstanding Literary Work – Poetry
“Afro Clouds & Nappy Rain: The Curtis Brown Poems” – James Golden
“Head Off & Split” – Nikky Finney
“Honoring Genius: The Narrative of Craft, Art, Kindness and Justice” – Haki Madhubuti
“Intimate Thoughts” – Darrin Henson (Author), Anna Saunders (Illustrator)
“Last Seen” – Jacqueline Jones Lamon

Outstanding Literary Work – Children
“Acoustic Rooster and His Barnyard Band” – Kwame Alexander (Author), Tim Bowers (Illustrator)
“Before There Was Mozart” – Lesa Cline-Ransome (Author), James Ransome (Illustrator)
“Heart and Soul” – Kadir Nelson (Author/Illustrator)
“White Water” – Michael S. Bandy (Author), Shadra Strickland (Illustrator)
“You Can Be A Friend” – Tony Dungy (Author), Ron Mazellan (Illustrator)

Outstanding Literary Work – Youth/Teens
“Camo Girl” – Kekla Magoon
“Eliza’s Freedom Road: An Underground Railroad Diary” – Jerdine Nolan (Author), Sadra Strickland (Illustrator)
“Jesse Owens: I Always Loved Running” – Jeff Burlingame
“Kick” – Walter Dean
“Planet Middle School” – Nikki Grimes

During the NAACP Image Awards, a tribute was held for the late Whitney Houston, who won the 1997 Image Award for Outstanding Lead Actress for her role in “The Preacher’s Wife” and the 1995 Image Award for Entertainer of the Year.

The late Don Cornelius was also honored for “Soul Train’s” contribution to music.

Congratulations to this year’s NAACP Image Award winners; for more on the awards, log on to naacpimageawards.net.

Family, friends and fans will say goodbye to Whitney Houston today.  In just a few hours the iconic singer’s “home going” service will take place at her childhood church in Newark, New Jersey.  Although the funeral is by invitation only, the family has allowed the service to be streamed online.  Beginning at 10:00 am CST log on to www.cnn.com/live to view the funeral.

http://omg.yahoo.com/blogs/now/nick-cannon-quits-morning-radio-show-being-hospitalized-185718594.html

We all know that our body is a temple and we want to take care of the body God has blessed us with.

Read more about this on the next page right here……

The percentage of adults who had been advised to exercise increased from 22.6% in 2000 to 32.4% in 2010, researchers at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s National Center for Health Statistics found.

In 2000, 10.4% of U.S. adults ages 18-24 received a recommendation from a healthcare professional to exercise; but by 2010, this had increased to 16%. For those age 85 and older, the percentage receiving advice to exercise nearly doubled between 2000 at 15.3% and 2010 at 28.9%, the report said.

The researchers arrived at the percentages using data from the National Health Interview Survey for 2000, 2005 and 2010.

Receiving advice to exercise increased for adults with hypertension, cardiovascular disease, cancer, and diabetes; but adults who were overweight or obese had the largest percentage point increases over the decade 2000 to 2010 in being urged to work out.

Research points to the benefits of physical activity for reducing the risk of chronic health conditions and engaging in regular physical activity, can reduce medication dependence, help maintain functional independence and improve the quality of life for older adults.

Physicians and other health professionals can be influential sources of health information, and exercise counseling by primary care physicians has been shown to increase patients’ participation in physical activity, the researchers said.

We are taking a trek back to see what happened in Black History on this day.

What was President Obama’s first major legislative victory?

Find out more right here……..

Today on this date in Black History, February 17th:

2009- President Barack Obama earned his first major legislative victory by signing a law; $787 billion Economic Stimulus Package

1997- Virginia House of Delegates votes unanimously to retire the state song, “Carry me back to old virginia” , a tune which glorifies slavery.

1982- Famed Jazz Pianist Thelonious Sphere Monk dies in Englewood, NJ.

1973- The Navy frigate USS Jesse L. Brown was commissioned. The ship was named for Ensign Jesse L. Brown; Brown was  the first African American naval aviator killed in combat over Korea.

1963- “His Airness” Michael Jeffrey Jordan, former pro basketball and minor league baseball player, was born in Brooklyn, New York.

1938- Mary Frances Berry (who became the first woman to serve as a chancellor of a major research university), is born in Nashville, TN.

1936- James Nathaniel Brown, Pro Football Hall of Fame Fullback,was born  in St. Simons Island, GA.

1870- Congress passed resolution readmitting Mississippi on condition that it would never change its constitution to disenfranchise Blacks.

For more black history information, log on to blackfacts.com or africanamericanhistory.gov.

DoctorWho, Flickr

After Hurricane Katrina devastated the Atlantic Coast in 2005, New Orleans, and the region as a whole, gained more prominence in the national and international news, and rightly so.

Although the folks living there have been through a great deal recently, their spirit still shines through. Nowhere is that more evident than in the riotous party known as Mardi Gras.

The origins of Mardi Gras stretch way back into time, thousands of year before the advent of Christianity. It was a wild festival in honor of fertility and the arrival of spring. As Christian emperors began to rule in Rome, the celebrations were integrated into the new faith. ‘Carnival’ became one last crazy party before the austerities of Lent, when people had to give up some, if not all, of the vices they so cherished.

The French were the first European settlers of New Orleans. They brought with them the tradition of carnival, and held Mardi Gras on the North American continent as early as 1699. When the Spanish took over the region later, they promptly outlawed the parties. The festivities were only reinstated after Louisiana was acquired by the United States in 1812.

Many of the costumes and ideas of Mardi Gras come from traditional Catholic carnivals celebrated all over the world, plus a few innovations unique to New Orleans. The krewes, or organizations that host balls and parades as part of the celebrations, were first created in the American South — Southern culture at its finest. The music, marching bands, beads, King Cake and colorful floats evolved over time, making Mardi Gras the grand party that it is today.

[History]

Source: TheFW.com

Infrogmation, Flickr

The king cake is a traditional Mardi Gras food. It is usually a ring-shaped pastry, sometimes filled with cheese or jelly and sprinkled with the colors of Mardi Gras. It began as an Epiphany treat, celebrating the arrival of the Three Wise Men to the stable where Jesus was born. Oh, and it’s delicious.

The king cake tradition was brought to New Orleans by French and Spanish settlers who associated it with the Mardi Gras carnival. A dessert synonymous with celebrations definitely belonged with Mardi Gras and has been shared during the festive season ever since.

The secret of the king cake is that there is always a small trinket, often a plastic baby representing the Baby Jesus, baked inside that one lucky eater is bound to bite into. Of course, the lucky person who gets the baby in the cake gets special privileges, but is also usually responsible for bringing the next cake.

To get into the spirit of the impending Mardi Gras celebration, and to make your mouth water a bit, here are some delicious looking king cakes we found.

The Drizzled King Cake

niseag03, Flickr

The Beaded King Cake

all of olive, Flickr

The Discus King Cake

syvwlc, Flickr

The Mickey Mouse King Cake

Loren Javier, Flickr

The Go Big or Go Home King Cake

Aldon, Flickr

The King Cupcake

kristen_a (Meringue Bake Shop), Flickr

Double King Cake All the Way

HorizonsSC, Flickr

The Doing It Wrong King Cake

lesteph, Flickr

The Baby in the King Cake

mikebdoss, Flickr

The Eaten King Cake

mikebdoss, Flickr

An Amazing Rap About King Cakes

Want to Make One? Here’s How

Source: TheFW.com

Thinkstock

A new study shows that when men with prostate cancer were diagnosed after developing symptoms rather than after screening tests, they had a higher risk of dying from heart problems or other cancers rather than the prostate cancer itself.

The findings, published in the British Journal of Urology International, are based on a subgroup of men aged 55 to 74 who participated in a European clinical trial on prostate cancer screening. The men were randomly assigned to either undergo periodic prostate cancer screening or be part of a control group that had standard health care.

The researchers followed death rates among 372 men who were diagnosed with prostate cancer through screening, comparing them with 1,488 men who were screened but found to be cancer-free. In addition, they tracked 221 men in the standard-care group who’d been diagnosed with prostate cancer after developing symptoms, and 884 men from the control group who had not been diagnosed with the cancer.

In the latter group, the researchers found that men with prostate cancer were more likely to die from cardiovascular disease or other types of cancer over the next six years, while the men whose prostate cancer had been diagnosed after screening showed no increased risk of death compared with men free of prostate cancer.

Dr. Anthony D’Amico of the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and Harvard Medical School in Boston, who wasn’t involved in the research, isn’t quite sure what to make of the findings, but says they raise questions for future studies.

“This is not something that would change clinical practice,” he told Reuters Health. “[It's] a study of associations, and does not prove cause-and-effect.”

Source: TheCheckup.com

Thinkstock

New research reveals the amount and quality of sleep you get may actually affect your memory as you get older.

Yo-El Ju, MD, from Washington University School of Medicine and his colleagues tested the sleep patterns of 100 dementia-free people between the ages of 45 and 80, half of whom had a family history of Alzheimer’s disease. A device was used to measure sleep for two weeks, and the participants also kept sleep diaries and filled out questionnaires.

The average time a person spent in bed during the study was about eight hours, but the average sleep time was 6.5 hours due to short periods of wakefulness during the night.

After the study period, researchers learned that 25 percent of the volunteers had evidence of amyloid plaques, a precursor of Alzheimer’s disease. What’s more, people who woke up more than five times per hour were more likely to have amyloid plaque build-up compared to people who didn’t wake up as much.

The study also found those people who slept “less efficiently” were more likely to have the markers of early stage Alzheimer’s disease than those who slept more soundly.

“The association between disrupted sleep and amyloid plaques is intriguing, but the information from this study can’t determine a cause-effect relationship or the direction of this relationship,” Ju said in a press release. “We need longer-term studies, following individuals’ sleep over years, to determine whether disrupted sleep leads to amyloid plaques, or whether brain changes in early Alzheimer’s disease lead to changes in sleep.”

He added, “Our study lays the groundwork for investigating whether manipulating sleep is a possible strategy in the prevention or slowing of Alzheimer disease.”

Source: TheCheckup.com

Thinkstock

A new study finds that how fast you can walk and the strength of your hand grip may predict the odds of having a stroke or memory problems later in life.

“These are basic office tests which can provide insight into risk of dementia and stroke and can be easily performed by a neurologist or general practitioner,” Boston Medical Center neurologist Erica C. Camargo said in a press release.

Researchers at the American Academy of Neurology followed 2,400 volunteers with an average age of 62 over an 11-year period. The participants had no history of stroke or mental decline at the outset of the study.  Hand grip and walking speed of the participants was measured, along with brain scans and memory tests at the start of the study.

During the follow-up period, 70 people suffered a stroke or transient ischemic attack (“mini-stroke”) and 34 people developed dementia.

The study found that those with slower walking speeds in middle age were 1.5 times more likely to develop dementia than those who walked fast. Walking slowly was also linked with lower brain volume and diminished performance on various tests of memory, language and decision making.

Stronger hand grip was associated with 42 percent lower risk of stroke or mini-stroke than those with weaker grips. People with stronger hand grips were also found to have larger brain volume and they scored better on tests in which they had to find similarities among objects.

“While frailty and lower physical performance in elderly people have been associated with an increased risk of dementia, we weren’t sure until now how it impacted people of middle age,” said Camargo. “Further research is needed to understand why this is happening and whether preclinical disease could cause slow walking and decreased strength.”

Source: TheCheckup.com