Deirdre Childress Hopkins explores the world, entertainment and sports

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The Game’s Girl has a Guy!

lolo
All this time everyone thought Game’s assistant LoLo aka @LeauxSteez was single.
Well, that looks false!!!
Sources are telling me that Lo Lo may have something we don’t know, a boyfriend. And he’s kinda cute.
Check him out on Instagram @mraustin2u. Her post today let’s the world know he is hers.
Ain’t nothing wrong with having a good man and showing the world!

Read more on The Game and Lolo here: http://www.theybf.com/2014/01/12/rapper-the-game-his-hot-assistant-lolo-gearing-up-for-love-hip-hop-la

Syracuse plus a few years

Dinosaur BBQ in Syracuse is a must do. You can skip the one in NYC.

Dinosaur BBQ in Syracuse is a must do. You can skip the one in NYC.


Syracuse was the mecca for a period of my life that started when I attended Colgate University and continued for about three years until I fell on the ice twice. But the springtime and summer in Syracuse are a different story.
Syracuse is where I had my first apartment – unsupervised by parents or school authorities – you can read between the lines on that!
It’s also one of the friendliest places, maybe the friendliest place, I have ever lived.
Once when I moved within the Westcott community, I recall that almost every sports writer at the Post-Standard assisted my sister, nephew and I with hauling our boxes, assorted furniture and beds. And they did all of the work and they did it for just a thank you and a six-pack. Yup, it is hard to have those kinds of friends in many cities. I thank Syracuse for letting me experience these folks. You know the ones, if you need them, they are there.
It was a college graduation that brought me back to the area in May. My sister graduated from Syracuse University and it was party time.
And this is where the BBQ at Dino comes into play. Sitting down and enjoying a sweetheart meal for two is a unique experience. I have no problem convincing my husband to indulge in ‘Q as he and my daughter would eat BBQ in some form every day. Give her a burger, hand him a rib.
And while you are there, pop into the legendary Carrier Dome, home of the Orangemen. If you love roundball, it is the place to see Carmelo Anthony’s jersey. (Love him!)
And if you like the Eagles you can recall the career of the man who is still in the team’s top five best quarterbacks, Donovan McNabb, who contributes to his alma mater – now my sister’s alma mater as well.

Ocean City, Md – The Offseason is On for dog lovers!

Dogs running through waves and catching Frisbees are a classic beach movie scene.

But if you own a dog in the mid-Atlantic region, I am sure you have encountered the same issue we have: No Dogs on the Beach!

We found a welcome mat for our sixth family member, Gizmo, in late April during a family trip to Ocean City, Md. We stayed at the Clarion Resort Fontainebleau Hotel where everyone treated Gizmo like royalty. The hotel had a floor reserved for pets and he was welcome up and down the Boardwalk.

Gizmo on vacation

Dogs are allowed on the beach from Oct. 1 through April 30 in Ocean City. Go here for more info: http://ococean.com/helpful-info/town-ordinances

Our solution: Travel with pets in the offseason. It saves money as hotel room rates are lower than in the summer and it lets the “whole” family enjoy the trip.

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Django Unchained – Part 2

Deirdre C. Hopkins, Dr. Ahati Toure, Dr. Candice Love Jackson, Dr. Jerry Ward Jr. and actress Tiffany.

Deirdre C. Hopkins, Dr. Ahati Toure, Dr. Candice Love Jackson, Dr. Jerry Ward Jr. and actress Tiffany.

Whether Quentin Tarantino’s film, Django Unchained, should be viewed as a realistic or mythological portrayal of slavery in the U.S. dominated a panel discussion Thursday at Delaware State University.

Dr. Jerry Ward, known for his study of the work of Richard Wright, described the film as a very American film, a richly satiric cartoon. He said the filmmaker created a collage to shock the audience, offered moments to glorify in revenge and in some ways added to the romance of slavery.

Dr. Candice Love Jackson described the character of Kerry Washington as Broomhilda von Shaft as connected to the blaxploitation film legend John Shaft andshe  looked at the film in the context of Tarantino’s handling of other heroines played by Uma Thurman and Pam Grier in such films as Pulp Fiction.

Several actresses, one on the panel and others in the audience of more than 100 people, debated their conflicts about roles that are offered but fall outside of the acceptable characters that might uplift or improve perceptions of African Americans. I was able to tie this point back to The Help and the difficulties Viola Davis faced first in accepting the role and finally in the Academy of Motion Pictures inability to reward her for that performance.

My presentation focused on the history of film as studied by Tarantino, his focus on spaghetti Westerns, blood, gore and language. The N-word is inescapable in this film. I distributed a quiz on African American film quotes and again, language is part of our relationship to film.

Dr. Marshall Stevenson of Del State set the tone for the discussion along the themes of sex and violence and how they are intertwined with American history. To them, I would add RACE.

Racheal Ray and The Book of Burgers

I love food, I love reporting about celebrities.

But getting this Q and A done was a bit tougher than I imagined. Call it image control.

Anyway, here are her answers about burgers. One reader said that at the calorie intake some of the recipes are not that healthy. But I still think a meal made at home is better than a fast-food meal.

http://www.philly.com/philly/restaurants/20120607_Q_and_A_with_Rachael_Ray_on_her_new_burger_cookbook.html

Deirdreone's Blog

So my friend Monica Peters sat down with actor Michael Ealy this week and asked some questions you might not expect. She stayed away from ‘who are you dating?’ But she got him to talk about relationships – clue: He likes honesty.

See it on youtube:

 

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Wanderlust

I have a compelling desire to travel. I get it from my Dad.

Today he has been gone 10 long years.

It seems like today as the pain is there.

But because of him, I love movies and travel. His last trip was to Beijing and I am thanking my sister for posting those pics today. I am thanking him for my wanderlust that allows me to help many people.

Because of my travels, I have speaking engagements Friday and next Tuesday. I am driven to help others understand the world as I search to improve my own knowledge.

 

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My Dad

My Dad

The handsome president of the LA Konclave of the Kappas. He inspires me to travel. Some of my earliest memories are looping my phycist Dad to the airport for his trips. He sent me to London to study and then went himself. He was bitten by wanderlust the rest of his life.

He went to Beijing, a dream trip his own father wanted.

In Africa, pondering its history and culture

Today we published an essay on my recent return trip to Dakar.

My goal was to really show a global view of Black History Month, not this one-month, I love the USA fest. When you travel, you realize the larger landscape. Nothing has educated me more than the semester my Father sent me to live in London, the trip to France with my mother about 15 years ago, all of my travels to Canada, Jamaica and the Bahamas – and the two trips I have made to Africa since December 2010.

http://www.philly.com/philly/entertainment/20120208_In_Africa__pondering_its_history_and_future.html

Type A vs. Gotta Split

As an entertainment/film editor, I love the chance to see and experience new films. Today we published a piece on an aspiring Philadelphia screenwriter Jameel Saleem and his new film, Exit Strategy.

It’s about a Type A girl who can’t see that her guy has to split on her. It’s not a romantic comedy.

The film as a low budget of about $100,000, which reminded me of Spike Lee’s first film and his shoestring budget.

Check out Saleem’s story here: http://www.philly.com/philly/entertainment/20120207_Type_A_vs__Gotta_Split.html