Zolra's Corner: How Do You Handle Being A Public Person?

Ever since I decided to make my life an open book, I began to think about public relationships. When it comes to a couple being very public about their lives, it's very hard to find. Nowadays, couples are so private, it sometimes feel like you have to glue yourself to the wall, and still hear nothing. But for some couples that are not afraid to talk about their lives to others, I wonder if they can handle it.

Kendra and Hank Baskett are a good example. Now that the second season of Kendra has finally aired, I am happily enjoying this couple that are not afraid to be public with their life. I can't wait to see how Kendra handles motherhood. In the beginning, I knew that Kendra could handle the cameras since she did The Girls Next Door. But I just wondered how Hank dealt with it. I haven't seen a lot of athletes do reality shows before.

Hank is handling the camera like a true person. I applaud him for that. Having cameras in your face everyday is not easy at all if you think it is. I think Hank handles it very well.

This couple is good example of a public couple. Their in the spotlight everyday and their not letting people get in their ear. But I wonder how a single person handles it. A person who is not afraid of being a open book. A person who talks about 90% of his/her life. I guess it's all about how to balance. However, you can't let anyone get in your ear if you decide to a public figure professionally and personally.

Kandi and YoBoiNewNU: Real Houswives of ATL

Check out YoBoiNewNu as he sits down with Kandi from The Real Housewives of Atlanta... Support and RATE it ALL 5s it was is a GREAT interview!

Zolra's Corner: A Gay Reality Series and Documentary

This is something I talked about on my blog. But I felt like I should bring it here for my LGBT family.

I had this weird idea while I was at work. Everyone knows I'm a fan of reality tv. I love Keeping Up With The Kardashions, The Real Housewives, Jersey Shore, and the list continues on. But I am also a fan of scripted shows too like 30 Rock, Sex and the City, Law and Order: Special Victims Unit, and Melrose Place.

The only thing that I wish can happen is something that Noah's Arc inspired me to think of. Not only that show, but also something that Sex and the City and Jackass did with their tv series and movie sequels.

What would happen if there was a gay reality series surrounding the lives of four best friends. The show becomes a success and then it's canceled. Years later, the idea to bring the four of them back has been brought up. So they decided to make a documentary, which picks up the friends where they left off. You see where I'm going here?

I would love to see that happen one day. A reality show that spawned documentary sequels. I have had this in my head for a long time. I guess all we have to do is look for those four gay friends and someone might pick up this idea and history will be made.

The Cast of Model City Talk Egos and Whether TV Can Help Their Careers

By Text and Photos by Phil Smrek

While Jersey Shore introduced "gym, tanning, laundry" to America's pop culture lexicon, BET's new reality series, Model City, has an offering of its own: "don't get mad, get money."

Chronicling the lives of non-white male models from agency Red NYC, Model City offers an authentic look at the often discouraging professional lives of multicultural men in an industry dominated by women and white men. Only about 3 percent of all jobs for men go to black models and the competition for them is appreciable. Says Red co-owner Neil Mautone, "We're hoping to draw attention to an unheralded segment of the industry and look forward to the day when race and color are irrelevant."

The episodes center around four twenty-somethings: Nelson is a Bronx native discovered while working retail five years ago. He's a consistent money maker who's often late to the ring but always delivers a knock-out punch. His first booking was an international Levi's campaign. Zeric, openly gay, is an Afro-Cuban American hailing from Miami who's paid his dues to become a signed model. His panache is tempered by wisdom rare in youth and beauty. Dating Victoria Secret model Sessilee Lopez is Wendell. With his 2008 Summer Bleu Magazine cover, tearsheets in his portfolio from a Bruce Weber shot solo editorial in L'Uomo Vogue and a Hermes campaign, Wendell's under no disillusion of who he is: America's top ethnic male model. A Pratt Institute graduate, Ibrahim's passion is for his art. The veteran model uses his honed skills to flawlessly execute the creative visions of photographers, stylists and art directors.

I caught up with the fly four at Red's Tribeca headquarters the other night before they headed to Model City's premiere party.

Wendell, Tyson Beckford, who appears in an episode, says success in modeling taught him to be humble. Having a rep on the show as the model with the most swagger, does humility fit into your game?

Wendell: I'm humbled and blessed to be here but on the same token I've worked very hard for everything I've accomplished. If you're a confident person and you come across someone else who's very confident, confidence complements confidence. If you're insecure and you come across someone confident you're going mistake his confidence for arrogance.

Do you think it's better to want to aspire to be model or be discovered?

Zeric: For me, it has been a little bit of both. My passion and my drive led me in the right direction but at the same time opportunities presented themselves. For example, I've had the chance to do other reality shows but when Model City came up I realized it was the perfect fit because it's really a documentary of what my life's been like for the past five years.

As successful models you've gotten plenty of exposure. Why bother being on a reality show?

Nelson: What I envision for my future is acting. I feel that by being camera-friendly on a consistent bases you become immune to it as if it weren't actually in your face. So what better way to train yourself than to have a reality show?

Ibrahim, how has being an artist influenced your work as a model?

Ibrahim: Being exposed to photographers' visions gave me a greater respect for their creativity, which forced me to stop using other people's images as references for my art and to start photographing those images myself. As a model I always ask the photographer "where you want to go with this?". Being able to paint compositions, I can envision what he's describing and give the poses the way he needs to see them."

Model City airs Thursdays at 8 p.m. on BET's Centric

CBS Premiered 'Undercover Boss' after Superbowl

CBS previewed the show that aired in the coveted spot immediately following the Superbowl on Sunday, February 7, and it's not one of their top hit shows like The Big Bang Theory, The Mentalist, or even Survivor. This year they premiered a brand new reality series called Undercover Boss in the post-Superbowl slot.

It's certainly not the first time a network has put a brand new show on after the Superbowl (Fox did it in 2005 with American Dad's premiere and ABC did it in 1995 with Extreme) but it's far from common practice. And to utilize the space for a brand new reality series, in a time when reality series seem to come and go faster than the wind does seem a bit odd. Add to that the fact that this is coming from the network with some of the biggest ratings hits on television, and it almost seems ludicrous. But it's not as crazy as it may sound.

I'm far from a fan of reality television; in fact I despise it for the most part. However, I will say that there are a few good reality shows out there. The Amazing Race and The Biggest Loser definitely fall into that category of good shows that focus more on positive elements and don't drown viewers in massive amounts of obviously fake drama. Well, in that respect, Undercover Boss seems like it might just fall into the good side of reality programming (remember, I said might. I'm still skeptical of reality television).

The new reality show will take the CEO of a company and give him an undercover mission that will place him within the lowest ranks of his own company. He'll be given a position that is far separated from his standard, plush corner office and forced to see what his decisions and the actions he's taken as the CEO do to the rank and file of the company. Now that's a show almost anyone can watch, and enjoy, except maybe for the CEO's out there. It seems like it could definitely be a concept that would garner some ratings success and be enjoyable to watch. After premiering on February 7 it will move into its normal timeslot on Sunday, February 14 at 9 pm/c after The Amazing Race in a new 2-hour reality block. Cold Case will follow it at 10 pm/c. Check out the CEO of Hoosters:

Monica's "Still Standing" TV Is A Must-See; Album Is A Must-Have

R&B starlet Monica gave cable network BET one of its best original programming shows ever.  Monica's reality-TV "Still Standing" chronicles the life of this one-time top-charting diva making a comeback in the R&B/pop game.  Along with her quest to return to urban music dominance, she juggles life as a mother and a partner to popular Atlanta rapper Rocko.  

What sets "Standing" against other BET reality shows such as [fellow singer] Keyshia Cole's "The Way It Is" and "College Hill" is that the other shows exploit the negative characteristics of the cast members rather than addressing and solving them as responsible adults who care about their reputations would.  As viewers see that Monica tackles health problems within her immediate family, relationship issues within her inner circle and the pressures of making a great comeback album, they notice a young woman who owns her life and handles her pressure with sophistication while keeping things real with her fans as she performs her hits and tells stories about her journeys.

Watch this recent episode below.  Monica adds the finishing touches to her upcoming album Still Standing.  Hopefully, the song "Betcha," which heavily samples Evelyn King's 1982 R&B classic "Betcha She Don't Love You," becomes the album's first single.  Produced by rapper Missy Elliott, the song has the potentially to become Monica's first crossover hit since 1998's "Angel Of Mine."  Other songs played in the episode, "One In A Lifetime" and "Stay Or Go," may suggest that Ms. Arnold may engage in one of the greatest comeback in R&B music history. 

Are you anticipating the Still Standing album?