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The website TheVcard.net aims to educate teens about sexuality through peer mediation. The site was created by Shannon Boodram when she was 19 years old. Shannon, now 21 years old, uses the website not only to inform and educate, but also as a platform for the upcoming book , The V-Card & other first hands.

According to a June 29, 2006 CNN.Com story about the HPV vaccine, 7 percent of children have had sexual intercourse before the age of 13 and about 25% of boys and girls have had sex before the age of 15.

Shannon Boodram created a wonderful website named www.thevcard.net. At the website, she shares her personal story as to why she created the website. She created the website because she wanted to help her younger cousins avoid the mistakes that she made in her early sex life. She soon discovered that she wasn’t alone and other women wanted to share stories of their sexual past to educate young women. , The V-Card & other first hands was soon born.

The V-Card & other first hands is a book waiting to be published. Until the book hits book stores you can visit the website Thevcard.net. In the “My Story” section of the website Shannon shares her own stories of irrisponsible young sexual experiences. In addition to reading Shannon’s painful past experiences visitors can share their own experiences and read experiences from other young women and men in the “Their Story” and “Your Story” sections.

The website also features interviews from experts, quizzes, links and much more. It’s a really great website. Teens will learn from the women who share their very honest first hand accounts about sex. Surely after reading these stories some young women will have second thoughts about going all the way. Additionally, those who do decide to have sex (or continue having sex) can be educated on how to have sex responsibly.

You can visit The V-Card on-line at www.thevcard.net

Wassup Rockers is the latest youth oriented film by critically acclaimed film director Larry Clark. Clarks 1995 film Kids provided America with a wake up call about teens and AIDS. Wassup Rockers is a film more so about race than sexual related topics. A group of South Central Hispanic youths spend their time skating and listening to hard metal music. The majority of the film takes place over a very, very long day in the life of these teens. The film drags on at times as the viewer gets to watch them sit around at peoples houses, walk around the street, ride in cars, interact with people on the street the standard “day in the life of a teenager” fare.

They get the idea that they want to skate in Beverly Hills. At Beverly Hills High, they meet a white girl who gives them an open invitation to her house. After clashing with the police who basically tell them they don’t belong in Beverly Hills they retreat to this young girl’s mansion. It doesn’t take long before the girls are nearly naked with the strangers they met minutes ago.

While in Beverly Hills, the storyline picks up considerably. And they find out the hard way that life in Beverly Hills can be just as dangerous as it is in South Central.

Wassup Rockers attempts to make a social commentary on race and class in Southern California. The pace of the movie is slow but in the end the message of the film is a bit construed. Were the Rockers a victim of their own curiosity and failure to respect others or is society to blame?

Be sure to check out the film’s website http://www.wassuprockers.net/

NYC release of Wassup Rockers was June 23rd and LA is June 30.
Wassup Rockers opens nationwide July 2006.

“Testimony: Vol. 1 Life & Relationships” is a very strong, life affirming album and women (and men) who listen to this album will find strength. Musically, the album is dynamic and refreshing. Lyrically, the album is soulful, honest, and thought provoking. The album opens with India singing a prayer in a strong voice. Track to track the album is awe inspiring. India puts a classic and personal spin on the Don Henley song “The Heart of The Matter.” On the song “Private Party,” India sings about finding happiness and joy with one’s self when other’s don’t neccessarily say the right things or have the time. Another great song on the album is “Better People,” about how the younger generation and the older generation can actually benefit from one another if given the chance. Radio listeners will rejoince in the fact that the “I Am Not My Hair” remix featuring Akon is included on the album.

Track to track “Testimony: vol. 1, Life & Relationships” is an excellent album. India took her time and crafted a modern masterpiece.

When you are discussing cartoons from the 1980’s that were geared primarily towards girls Jem & The Holograms and She-Ra are certain to come up in discussion. She-Ra was a spin off series from the popular syndicated cartoon series “He Man and the Masters of the Universe.” She-Ra premiered on television in 1985. The show was very popular with girls–and boys. She-Ra was a tough girl and she could hang with the bad guys. Although she was He-Man’s twin sister she lived in her own world and had her own set of characters. Whereas He Man’s primary nemesis was Skeletor She-Ra had to fight Hordak and his realm. Similar to the He-Man character, She-Ra had an alter less dynamic side. When she wasn’t She-Ra she was a more human woman named Adora.

On July 18th, The Best Of She-Ra-The Princess of Power arrives on DVD. Fans of the He-Man/She-Ra franchise will recall that BCI Eclipse released a He-Man “best of” last summer as a pre-curser to releasing season sets of the show. The Best of She-Ra Princess of Power includes the feature film “The Secret of The Sword.” This film introduced the She-Ra character and her connected to Prince Adam/He-Man. This film is featured on disc one of the set.

Disc 2 includes five fan voted favorite episodes. The episodes included with the set are as follows:
Of Shadows and Skulls-Episode #56
Sweet Bee’s Home-Episode #85
Horde Prime Takes a Holiday-Episode #18
The Stone In The Sword-Episode #21
The Price of Freedom-Episode #29

Of the favorite chosen episodes He-Man is featured in three of the episodes. This says that fans enjoyed when the two shows crossed paths. In addition to the episodes the second disc includes a documentary and other bonus features. The documentary features new interviews with people who were very important to the She-Ra show. Director Gwen Wetlzer, Producer Lou Sceimer, writer Franci Moss, key coordinator Dori Littel-Herrick and She-Ra voice actress Erica Scheimer are among the show crew members who appear in the documentary. Also included in the bonus features are a music video featurette, audio commentary, trivia, fun facts, scripts, and a Spanish language audio track. The set also includes two collectible cards. It’s really great to finally have She-Ra on DVD after all of these years and BCI/Ink Paint did a great job with the box set.

She-Ra was very popular with young girls in the mid 1980’s. The toys were very popular. The figurines were much smaller than Barbie dolls. The small plastic dolls had synthetic hair that could be combed and styled. Their clothes were a part of the design, meaning the clothes were sort of painted on to say. There were accessories but not clothes that could be changed.

Step Up Soundtrack Hits Stores August 8;

Album Features New Tracks By Ciara, Kelis,

Anthony Hamilton, Petey Pablo, Youngbloodz

June 26, 2006 – New York, NY – On August 8, Jive Records is set to release the soundtrack to the upcoming Touchstone Pictures/Summit Entertainment movie Step Up. The first single off of the album “Get Up,” is a new track by multi-platinum artist Ciara and features Houston rapper Chamillionaire. “Get Up” impacts at rhythm radio on June 27.

Other new tracks written for the film include Petey Pablo “Show Me The Money,” Anthony Hamilton “Dear Life,” Kelis “80’s Joint,” Youngbloodz “Imma Shine,” and newcomer Samantha Jade’s “Step Up” produced by Wyclef Jean.

Step Up tells the story of Tyler Gage (Channing Tatum) a rebel from the wrong side of Baltimore’s tracks and Nora (Jenna Dewan) a privileged ballet dancer attending Baltimore’s ultra-elite Maryland School of the Arts. When trouble with the law lands Tyler with a community service gig at Maryland School of the Arts, he arrives as an angry outsider, until his skills as a gifted street dancer draw Nora’s attention. As sparks fly between them, both on and off stage, Tyler realizes he has just one performance to prove that he can step up to a life far larger than he ever imagined. The film also stars R&B superstar Mario and rap legend Heavy D.

Step Up opens in theaters August 11th.

The full track listing for the “Step Up” soundtrack is:

Ciara f/ Chamillionaire “Get Up”

Sean Paul f/ Keyshia Cole “Give It Up To Me”

Yung Joc f/ 3LW “Bout It”

Petey Pablo “Show Me The Money”

Samantha Jade “Step Up”

Kelis “80’s Joint”

Chris Brown “Say Goodbye”

Drew Sidora f/ Mario “For The Love”

Anthony Hamilton “Dear Life”

Clipse “A’in’t Cha”

Youngbloodz “Imma Shine”

Dolla “Feelin’ Myself”

Deepside “Lovely”

Gina Rene “U Must Be”

Drew Sidora “Til The Dawn”

Jamie Scott “Made”

Koch Records has released S.M.A.C.K.The Album: Volume 1. The S.M.A.C.K. DVD series is hugely popular and this is the first companion album. True to S.M.A.C.K. form the CD also includes a DVD with exclusive interviews, battles and music videos.

Well known artists featured on the CD portion include DMX, Redman, Keith Murray, Erick Sermon, BG. The CD also highlights up and coming and underground talent such as Stack Bundles, Pulla & 2 Eleven, Sandman, Shea Davis, and Bleu Davinci among others.

The interviews are raw and real. You won’t see your favorite hip-hop artists sitting in a studio with bright studio lights. S.M.A.C.K. catches the artists in their element. E-40 is interviewed on the streets of Vallejo. The E-40 interviews captures the hyphy movement in it’s rawest form. Viewers get a chance to see Mannie Fresh hard at work in the studio making beats and he also discusses why he left Cash Money. DMX is seen behind the scenes shooting a music video and drinking some liquor. It’s all about seeing the artists as they actually are.

The S.M.A.C.K.The Album: Volume 1 is a good purchase for the hip-hop fan who likes hip-hop in the purest form. No curse words edited out, artists being themselves, nothing blurred or beeped. It’s a good purchase.

Listen to “Don’t Make No Sense” feat. Redman, Keith Murray, and Erick Sermon - from S.M.A.C.K. The Album: Volume 1

www.kochrecords.com
www.smackdvdonline.com

The Tyler Perry movie Madea’s Family Reunion-The Movie is now available on DVD for the first time. The film is an adaptation of the stage play of the same name. Madea’s Family Reunion hit theaters in early 2006 on the heels of Perry’s successful 2005 movie Diary of a Mad Black Woman. Madea’s Family Reunion opened at #1 in the US box office and held that spot for two consecutive weekends. The film was written and directed by Tyler Perry.

Perry stars in the film as Madea and as several other supportin characters . Consider yourself warned, there is far less Madea in this film than in the previous film. In the early scenes of the movie Madea is awarded a foster daughter (Ke Ke Palmer) by the courts. The girl has a bad mouth and is unruly. Naturally Madea “whips” her into shape. Although this storyline was mentioned heavily in the promotion of the film this storyline is actually the least developed in the film.

The primary storylines are those of Madea’s Lisa and Vanessa. Lisa is a refined beautiful woman engaged to a wealthy Atlanta businessman named Carlos (Blair Underwood). He is very abusive. Despite the abuse her mother Victoria (Lynn Whittfield) encourages her to stay in the relationship. Lisa’s sister Vanessa is emotionally battered and bruised single mother of two. When she meets a handsome bus driver named Brian (Boris Kodjoe), she is afraid to open her heart and love and be loved.

Madea’s Family Reunion-The Movie is an excellent film with an all star black cast. Maya Angelou, Cicely Tyson, and Jennifer Lewis are just a few of the talents rounding out the cast. Some of the most impressive acting came from Lisa Arrindell Anderson who portrayed Vanessa in the film.

Madea’s mannerism’s and one liner’s bring needed laughs to a film with a strong and powerful message.

If you are a fan of Pet Shop Boys Fundamental is an album that you absolutely cannot pass up. Fundamental is the first Pet Shop Boys album since the 2003 release of their album titled Release. Release was a solid album. Popular singles from that album include “E-mail,” “Home & Dry,” “London,” and “I Get Along.” As solid as the album was, it didn’t quite capture that electronica/techno sound that Pet Shop popularized outside of the album track “Samurai In Autumn.”

With Fundamental Pet Shop Boys have reteamed with producer Trevor Horn to release one of their best albums in years. The first single “I’m With Stupid” is a sold dance joint. Other awesome uptempo songs on the album include “Minimal,” “Integral,” and “The Sodom and Gomorrah Show.” The intro to “The Sodom and Gomorrah Show,” will surely put a smile on your face.

As with most Pet Shop Boys albums their are several slow tempo songs with thought provoking lyrics. “Indefinite Leave To Remain” is one of the most beautiful Pet Shop Boys songs ever.

Fundamental is a solid, great Pet Shop Boys album that you must add to your collection.

Below are listening party audio streams to hear the entire record online for free before the release date!

E-Card:
http://www.rhino.com/flashcards/petshopboys

Listening Party Audio Streams:
http://www.rhino.com/fun/listeningparties/79525_partyplayer.lasso

http://boss.streamos.com/wmedia/rhino/listeningparties/79525/79525_album_100.wax

Product Page:
http://www.rhino.com/store/ProductDetail.lasso?Number=79525

Pet Shop Boys’ Official Site:

http://www.petshopboys.co.uk