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Ms. Katrina Walker, entrepreneur, motivational speaker, and philanthropist

Katrina Walker Rising Up From Domestic Violence

Katrina Walker is an outstanding achiever and a survivor of domestic mental and physical abuse.

Almost 20 years ago, those who knew Katrina Walker probably would not have guessed that she would have developed to be the powerhouse that she is today.

Ms. Walker is an entrepreneur, philanthropist, and motivational speaker. She took being a target of domestic physical and mental abuse and a witness to cultural, domestic, and financial turmoil and converted what she learned into a motivational tool to fight victim-hood. Ms. Walker created a 24-hour day care center in Tennessee and is expanding her franchise to other regions of the country. Ms. Walker's philanthropic efforts include helping those who are suffering from drug and alcohol abuse.

Be on the look out for Ms. Walker's upcoming book, Down Home Truth.

YouTube sensation, James Wright, holding a Patti Pie

James Wright's Viral Video Gives Patti Pie Sales a Huge Boost

VIDEO: James Wright's funny and raucous video sends throngs of shoppers in search of Patti Pie

R&B diva Patti LaBelle's sweet potato pies have been sold exclusively at Walmart for weeks but this past weekend they were flying off the shelves after a video from Patti LaBelle fan James Wright Chanel went mega-viral!

The video snagged nearly 7 million online views because of its funny and raucous review of the pie.

After just one bite Chanel, who is also a singer, began singing a Patti song and said "I turned into Patti after eating this" and he continued eating and singing Patti songs in-between bites of pie.

If you want to snag a pie, you better call Walmart central because the sweet potato pie is sold out in Walmart stores across the country. Walmart is moving pies from low demand areas to those where the sweet potato pies are in high demand.

So what's Patti LaBelle's response?

LaBelle tweeted some love to Chanel. She later called the singer to say she loved him and to thank him for the Patti Pie review.

Now I want some Patti Pie!

Patti LaBelle

Patti LaBelle Inviting James Wright to her Home for Thanksgiving Dinner

Patti LaBelle Sings New Tune: Pie Sales Due to James Wright's Video

You've probably been living under a rock if haven't heard about Patti LaBelle's Patti Pie. The pies have been flying off the shelf after James Wright created a YouTube video singing Miss Patti's praises, as he unboxed a Patti Pie.

Initially, Ms. Patti attributed the spike in Patti Pie sales to her own marketing. However, a swift Internet backlash now has Patti LaBelle singing a new tune.

"You give love to people who give you love," Patti told FOX 29 Philadelphia's Quincy Harris Tuesday morning. "And you know, I didn't expect a viral video."

"This pie has been doing really, really well," Patti LaBelle said. "My new friend James Wright did this fierce video and it took the pie over the top and people were losing their minds."

To show her love and appreciation, Patti LaBelle has invited James Wright to her home for Thanksgiving dinner.

So, what is Patti LaBelle serving for Thanksgiving dinner?

On the dinner table will be four fried turkeys, fried turkey legs, fried turkey wings, briskets, macaroni with lobster and shrimp, a plain macaroni for those allergic to shellfish, potato salad, 20 bunches of kale greens, four heads of cabbage, a green salad with arugula and cilantro, candied yams, peach cobbler, chocolate cake, leg of lamb, roasted capons, ribs, and of course her now famous Patti Pie.

In case you're wondering, Patti LaBelle doesn't start cooking the night before; she wants her food as fresh as it can be, so Ms. Patti starts around 5:00 a.m. on Thanksgiving morning.

Check out the video below to see who else is coming to Thanksgiving dinner and how much time Ms. Patti is spending with the one and only Mr. James Wright.

 

Film Reel

SUNDANCE 2016 FILM CRITICISM FELLOWSHIP

RogerEbert.com and IndieWire team up to help aspiring film critics attend and cover the Sundance Film Festival

Have you ever thought about a career as a film critic working with some of the top names in the film industry? Have you ever dreamed of hanging out with movers and shakers at the Sundance Film Festival? If the answer is yes, then this opportunity might be right for you.

RogerEbert.com and Indiewire are partnering for the third edition of the Roger Ebert Fellowship for Film Criticism, for which four aspiring critics will be selected from North America to attend and cover the 2016 Sundance Film Festival.

The Sundance Institute commemorated a fellowship in 2014 to honor the memory of the late Roger Ebert, who passed away one year earlier. RogerEbert.com joined with Indiewire's Criticwire internship for aspiring film writers. The program was established by Sundance with generous support from Chaz Ebert and The Ebert Foundation.

Diversity in film criticism is desperately needed; but if the applicant pool is not diverse, things will remain the same.

Click here for more information about how to apply to the SUNDANCE 2016 FILM CRITICISM FELLOWSHIP program.

Don't delay, the deadline to apply is Friday, December 4, 2015.

If you apply and get selected, please let us know!

Chrissy Monroe, formerly with Love & Hip Hop New York, now hanging out with The Come Back Kings

Chrissy Monroe Reveals Regrets about Love & Hip Hop New York

VIDEO: Chrissy Monroe tells us what should be placed on her tombstone

Former VH1 reality TV personality, Chrissy Monroe, is quite a character. If you didn't know before, you know now that Chrissy Monroe is quite comfortable in her own skin. When talking about regrets, Chrissy Monroe cracks up about the wigs she wore on Love & Hip Hop New York. In fact, laughingly, she tells What's The 411 correspondent, Courtney Rashon, that "those wigs" should be placed on her tombstone.

 You can watch the full interview with Chrissy Monroe here.

Chrissy Monroe, formerly with Love & Hip Hop New York, now hanging out with the Come Back Kings

Chrissy Monroe Gets Real About Some People's Actions on Social Media

VIDEO: Chrissy Monroe says she's too busy to take time to worry about criticism

Former VH1 reality TV personality, Chrissy Monroe, gives What's The 411 correspondent, Courtney Rashon, an earful about how she feels about critics. Those that matter don't mind; those that mind don't matter. Chrissy says she is not a snob and does responds to positive people on social media. Chrissy further admits in the beginning some of the comments about her on social media were a bit unsettling and juvenile and that she "had to check a bitch."

Whoa; good for you Chrissy!

You can see Chrissy Monroe's full interview here.

 

Chrissy Monroe, formerly with Love & Hip Hop New York, now hanging out with The Come Back Kings

Chrissy Monroe Gives Inside Scoop on Reality TV: Scripted or Not

VIDEO: Chrissy Monroe tells us about her most uncomfortable moment on Love & Hip Hop: New York

Former VH1 reality TV personality, Chrissy Monroe, gives What's The 411 correspondent, Courtney Rashon a peek into how reality TV producers create episodes. Chrissy also tells us which episode was the most uncomfortable for her to endure.

You can watch Chrissy Monroe's full interview here.

 

Chrissy Monroe, formerly with Love & Hip Hop New York, now hanging out with the Come Back Kings

Chrissy Monroe Opens up about her Role on Love and Hip-Hop New York

VIDEO: Chrissy Monroe gives advice to others seeking a role on reality TV

Former VH1 reality TV personality, Chrissy Monroe, talks to What's The 411 correspondent, Courtney Rashon about how she landed her role on Love & Hip-Hop New York; how she feels about her reality TV experience; her relationship with Chink Santana; and advice to others seeking a role on reality TV.

You can watch the full interview with Chrissy Monroe, here.

TracFone-branded Prepaid Lucky LG16 Smartphone for $10.00 at Walmart

A $10.00 Smartphone from Walmart

The Walmart $10 Smartphone also has access to apps in Google Play Store

WalMart is selling a smartphone for $10.00. It doesn't have all the bells and whistles, but if you just need a basic phone with smart features, then this TracFone-branded Prepaid Lucky LG16 Smartphone might be right for you.

Who would have thought that today, you could buy a smartphone for $9.82, and it would have better features than the original iPhone. Now, don't get too excited because the original iPhone is almost 10- years-old. But, maybe you're still walking around with a flip phone or you want to buy a phone for your kid, so a TracFone-branded Prepaid Lucky LG16 Smartphone could be worth considering.

So, let's take a look at the basic specs for the TracFone-branded Prepaid Lucky LG16 Smartphone:

3.8-inch display
1.2GHz dual-core processor
3-megapixel rear camera
4GB of storage included on its microSD card
7.3 hours of talk time
9.9 days of battery life on standby

The TracFone-branded Prepaid Lucky LG16 Smartphone runs on the Android 4.4 (KitKat) operating system. By comparison, more sophisticated smartphones running on Android, have the Lollipop or Marshmallow operating system. Google loves to give candy names to its operating systems.

Beware, you won't get any 4G LTE coverage with your bargain phone, but 3G still works. After all, the cost of the phone is only $10.00. Also, an added benefit of the Android 4.4 Operating System is that you might be able to use Periscope, the new video social sharing app from Twitter. Periscope requires that the Android OS be 4.4 or better. You will also have access to other apps in the Google Play store.

Is this $10.00 getting good reviews?

Right now, there is only one review for the TracFone-branded Prepaid Lucky LG16 Smartphone on the Walmart website. So if you purchase the phone, be sure to post a review.

Photo: Left to Right: Sherrie Young, Director of Marketing and Special Projects,National Book Foundation; and Luvon Roberson, Book Editor, What's The 411TV

Sherrie Young: Standing at the Crossroads of Literacy and Literature

Sherrie Young promotes books, authors, the National Book Awards, and BookUp, the National Book Foundation's national literacy program

National Book Foundation Director of Marketing and Special Projects, Sherrie Young, joins What's The 411 Book Editor Luvon Roberson in a conversation about books, literacy, the National Book Foundation's National Book Awards and its literacy program, BookUp, geared towards middle school children.

BookUp serves over 300 students annually and is designed to create a new generation of readers and a new generation of confident and engaged citizens. Since its inception in 2007, BookUp through its network of independent bookstores has provided its students with over 25,000 books free of charge.

As the discussion moved to the upcoming National Book Awards scheduled for November 18, 2015, Luvon brought up the names of well-known authors that are among the 40 authors on the NBA long list. The authors included: Hanya Yanagihara, Ta-Nehisi Coates, and Ilyasah Shabazz.

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