Lane Makers Documentary: 26 June 2011

Father's Day 2011 (June 19th-25th)

My father is my hero. The first thing he passed down to me and my brother was the skill to play basketball. Since birth I’ve had a basketball in my hands and since I could remember people have been telling me how good my father was in high school until this day! Hearing all those stories is what made me want to become a basketball player. But most importantly, in a time where majority of African-American and Hispanic children grow up without their fathers, I appreciate my father more than words can express for having the willpower to break that cycle as his father was not in his life. He taught me what it means to be a man and all I'm trying to do is follow in his footsteps while creating one for my younger brother and family members. You can break the cycle too. It won't be easy but think about and put your kids first. Happy Father's Day!

#MsLMstatus: Michelle Obama Addresses Women In South Africa (June 19th-25th)

#MsLMstatus Music: Mary J. Blige-Hero (June 19th-25th)

#MYOL News: Lupe Fiasco Debates Bill O'Reilly On Fox News (June 19th-25th)

RIP Michael Joseph Jackson (August 29, 1958 – June 25, 2009) #RIP #KingOfPop

Michael Joseph Jackson was an American recording artist, dancer, singer-songwriter, musician, and philanthropist. Referred to as the King of Pop, Jackson is recognized as the most successful entertainer of all time by Guinness World Records. His contribution to music, dance, and fashion, along with a much-publicized personal life, made him a global figure in popular culture for over four decades. The seventh child of the Jackson family, he debuted on the professional music scene along with his brothers as a member of The Jackson 5, then the Jacksons in 1964, and began his solo career in 1971.

In the early 1980s, Jackson became a dominant figure in popular music. The music videos for his songs, including those of "Beat It", "Billie Jean", and "Thriller", were credited with transforming the medium into an art form and a promotional tool, and the popularity of these videos helped to bring the relatively new television channel MTV to fame. Videos such as "Black or White" and "Scream" made him a staple on MTV in the 1990s. Through stage performances and music videos, Jackson popularized a number of dance techniques, such as the robot and the moonwalk, to which he gave the name. His distinctive musical sound and vocal style have influenced numerous hip hop, pop, contemporary R&B, and rock artists.

Jackson's 1982 album Thriller is the best-selling album of all time. His other records, including Off the Wall (1979), Bad (1987), Dangerous (1991), and HIStory (1995), also rank among the world's best-selling. Jackson is one of the few artists to have been inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame twice. He was also inducted into the Dance Hall of Fame as the first (and currently only) dancer from the world of pop and rock 'n' roll. Some of his other achievements include multiple Guinness World Records; 13 Grammy Awards (as well as the Grammy Legend Award and the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award); 26 American Music Awards (more than any other artist, including the "Artist of the Century"); 13 number-one singles in the United States in his solo career (more than any other male artist in the Hot 100 era); and the estimated sale of over 750 million records worldwide. Jackson won hundreds of awards, which have made him the most-awarded recording artists in the history of music. He was also a notable humanitarian and philanthropist, donating and raising hundreds of millions of dollars for beneficial causes and supporting more than 39 charities. According to David Winters, Jackson also donated tens of millions of dollars to many children’s charities anonymously, and spent a lot of his time visiting seriously ill children tirelessly going from hospital to hospital meeting these children just to brighten up their lives. When Jackson finished the visits he would ask the hospital nurses and the doctors what was needed at the hospital in terms of equipment for the children and would then make anonymous donations to the hospital to purchase expensive equipment or whatever else was needed.