Hey Cybernistas.  Welcome back!

 Today is a rainy cool alternative to the sweltering St. Louis heat I’ve had to endure the past couple of weeks.  And through it all, my next door neighbor’s dog, Panda, survived.  I know he is in doggie heaven right now, as the raindrops sprinkle on his dingy mane (that’s’ in dire need of a haircut).  This dog never gets off it’s leash.  It never gets in the house.  I’m not even a dog person but I like Panda because he lets me know when an unfamiliar car pulls up in front of the house.  My sister says, most would think he is protective of his territory and is trying to warn his owners that an intruder is coming.  But the truth is, if we could translate those barks into English, Panda is really asking for a dayum ride up out of that piece.  He is trying to catch the first thing smoking, to get away from that house.  

My family came to visit this past weekend.  My daughter got the opportunity to go to the Science Center with her 9-year-old cousin.  Both of them went to Build-A-Dino (build-a-bear…but dinos only at the dinosaur exhibit in the science center.)  They spent $60 each on stuffed dinosaurs with outfits, accessories, cell phones, dog tags and a lot of other crap.  I could have fainted when I found out the cute little pink T-Rex was wearing a $30 cheerleading uniform.  Now talk about a rip-off. 

 Yes, I said Rent-A-Center.  So needless to say it wasn’t hard tracking him down, when the lady wanted to know who stole her identity.  They went to Rent-A-Center and asked who purchased something with the card in question, and bam….it was as simple as that.  Talk about a dumb criminal.  Well anyway, his aliby is that he did not steal the woman’s card number.  He indeed used his own card but the cashier got his digits off by one number, which coincidently happened to be his co-workers card number.  Now he never addressed how his expiration date worked on her card number.  I’m sure the cops said tell it to the judge, when they took him down to the station.  Needless to say he got fired.   

My other co-worker friend also got busted too.  But not by the cops.  She got busted by her boss, smoking.  I know what you are thinking.  It was not wacky tobaccy.  It was Malboro Lights.  But her boss is a huge anti-smoker.  My friend used to smoke but started wearing the patch and just fell off the wagon for a day or two.  Well I’ll be dayumed if her boss didn’t walk pass the courtyard (where everyone smokes) as soon as she lit up.  She came out to the courtyard and made a big scene telling her how heartbroken she was and why was she smoking.  She went on to ask her how long had she been smoking and a lot of embarrassing other questions.  The funny thing was, all the other smokers out there were looking at her like, who are you and if you don’t have a cigarette in your hand you are not welcome in this area.  How dare you come out here, let alone try to chastise someone for smoking.  It reminded me of the episode from Friends, when Rachel is the only one at her job that doesn’t smoke so she feels like an outside.  I swear my job is an entire season of the office.  I should see if I can write a treatment or two, for real.

 This week is St. Louis Fashion Week.

Alive Magazine has the entire week jam packed with all things fashionable.  The kickoff was Monday, August 20^th.  Tomorrow at Neiman Marcus you can peep the Trunk Show from 1-3p.m.  If you watched Project Runway, you may remember Nick Verreos (did you know he was born in St. Louis) amd Kara Janx,  they will host Forbidden Fashion show on Wahsington Avenue’s Skyhouse on Thursday at 7 p.m.  The much anticipated Liquid Style Fashion Show will be held Friday at the Chase Park Plaza at 7 p.m.  You can purchase week long passes to all the events at ticketmaster.com.  

He will definitely do some time, a little.  He appears before the judge for sentencing next week.  

Of course this is not a good look in regards to his NFL career.  I think the NFL is more upset about the gambling than the animal cruelty portion.   In lieu of the recent NBA referee gambling case, I know they are going to try to crack down hard on anyone who is even standing next to the man that’s standing next to the man gambling.  To date, it is reported that Vick has made more than $60 million dollars in salary and endorsements during his 6 years in the NFL.

I must admit, I was one of the 17.2 million viewers who tuned in to Disney Channel’s High School Musical 2 last Friday night.  Me and my family were at home depot and my daughter and I were rushing my husband because we had to get home before 7 p.m.  Now I knew it would be on again within 48 hours, but I didn’t feel like hearing my daughter ask me, “Is it Sunday night yet?” every 5 minutes throughout the entire weekend.  The show was really cute.  But the money they raked in was more than juvenile.  They topped Monday night football numbers by a long shot.  I guess it really is the start of something new.

If you haven’t checked out the cover of the September issue of Essence Magazine, you are tripping.  My favorite singer, Jill Scott, is donning the cover like she owns the joint, okay!  I saw her live in concert when her “Beautifully Human” album came out.  I was 2^nd row…center seat.  I know she heard me trying to out-sing her.  I yelled out….”I Love You Jill” and blew a kiss….and she blew one back and mouthed love you too…wasn’t that sweet.   So she has a new album coming out, “The Real Thing” which drops next month, Sept. 25, 2007.  And she is going through a divorce (pray for her.)  Terry McMillan graces Essence by interviewing Jill Scott and writing the cover story.  Her writing style was kind of awkward for a glossy mag, but hey she’s a novelist…so with that considered she did her thing.  Obviously still mad as hell from her own divorce, McMillan is able to identify with Jill’s experiences which make for an interesting read.  Check it out.

Also on Sept. 25, 2007 is the season premier of HEROES!   And I can’t wait.  I love that show.  And on that note.  I gotta go home.  I’m  still in the matrix.  Weeds comes on Showtime tonight (Monday) at 9 p.m. Centeral.  This is the second episode of the season.  It premiered last week.  Love that show as well.  Althoug, they have one more time to drop the N-bomb and I’m gonna have a problem with them.  You watch it tonight too, so we can have something to talk about tomorrow!

Smooches!