THE ALEXTHEARTISTE JAM OF THE WEEK: "WHAT'S LOVE GOT TO DO WITH IT"

TINA TURNER "WHAT'S LOVE GOT TO DO WITH IT"

I absolutely love Tina Turner, and have a great memory tied to this song. When I was five years old, I would belt out the words to "What's Love Got To Do With It" at the top of my lungs in my grandma's station wagon. It's probably the earliest memory of a lifelong passion--singing--and a funny one for my family and I. The song itself is awesome, as is the great diva, Ms. Turner. Just try to hear this song and not feel the urge to strut down the street like she does in this video!!! Feisty song from a strong woman.

"SOUL II SOUL" = YOUR CURE FOR THE MIDWEEK BLUES

Wednesdays suck. It's far enough in the week to start anticipating the weekend, but only two days after Monday. Ugh. What's worse is that those of us who know that real socialites party during the week usually find nothing to do on this drab day. Thanks to Mind Motion (Pirate DJs), Jeno, and Sip Bar & Lounge, that has all changed. "Soul II Soul" is their new event, happening every Wednesday and showcasing R&B and soul, from the 80s to today. If you've been to Mind Motion's parties on the weekends, you're sure to jam to the latest rap and hip-hop jams, but at "Soul II Soul," he really switches it up, playing everything from Prince (yes!!!) to old-school New Edition. Added bonus to this event??? Only $5 to get in all night and a casual dress code for those who don't feel like getting all glammed up. Now who says you have to wait until the weekend to have fun?!?!?!

*Here's all the info, including this week's special guest.

"Soul II Soul" @ SIP BAR & LOUNGE

THE R&B / SOUL PARTY FOR ALL THOSE THAT LIKE TO GROOVE!!!

Join us EVERY WEDNESDAY NIGHT and enjoy your favorite R&B / SOUL music of today, plus the classics of the 80's & 90's as we blend them all together to create one exciting middle of the week party.

SIP BAR & LOUNGE

787 Broadway St. SF(Btwn. Powell St. & The Tunnel) www.siploungesf.com

DJ MIND MOTION & JENO

Featuring This Week's Special Guest

-DJ JPRO-10pm-2am

21+ Casual

Weekly Drink Specials

Complimentary music giveaways sponsored by UNIVERSAL/MOTOWN RECORDS

Hosted & Brought To You By:

Sip Bar & Lounge/ Universal/Motown Records/ Empire WorldWide/ Pirate DJs

$5 ALL NIGHT!!! (NO GUEST PASSES NEEDED)

SF GIANTS- THE ORANGE & BLACK ATTACK: CELL PHONES

My mom, very stylish when it comes to fashion and home decor, can care less about the appearance of her cellphone, stating that she only needs it to make calls. I, on the other hand, see the cellphone as an extension of my style, and another random thing to customize the hell out of. I'm sure there are more than a few Giants fans that agree with me on this, so I have found the latest phones that are not only modern and full of gadget goodness, but also emblazoned in the iconic orange and black.



SAMSUNG A737 (AT&T)



Features include:


- 1.3 megapixel camera with 2.6 x zoom
- MP3 music player
- Cellular Video capable - watch streaming clips
- AOL®, Windows Live® and Yahoo® Instant Messenger
- Video Share capable - Share video while calling
- Rated for Hearing Aids: M3, T3




NOKIA 5310 (TMOBILE)




Features include:


- 2.0 megapixel camera
- AOL®, Yahoo!®, MSN®, and ICQ® Instant Messenger®*
- Music player with External Controls
- FM radio



MOTOROLA PBEL (TMOBILE)






Features include:


- 4x digital zoom camera
- Instant messaging: AOL®, Yahoo!® and ICQ®*
- Games included
- Quad band world phone (850/900/1800/1900 MHz)
- Bluetooth® wireless technology
- Voice-activated functions
- External caller ID
- T-Mobile Internet ready (GPRS)*

And--in my personal opinion--the holy grail of orange and black phones...the

BLACKBERRY CURVE SUNSET(TMOBILE)





Features include:

- Voice activated dialing
- Bluetooth
- Picture messaging
- Multimedia player
- Sync with PC

*Since almost all these phones are available through TMobile, it is worth mentioning that my friend T.J. works at the TMobile store on 3rd Street in San Francisco and can give you a good deal on your phone and/or service.*

And finally, for those of you who love your current phone...and the Giants... there's skinit.com, which has three great Giants "skins" for your phone. There's also tego.com, where you can add colors, text, and more to the outside of your celly cell. Hard core fan??? Both companies also pimp everything from iPods to laptops.

DEAL OF THE DAY: NEWPORT-NEWS CHARMEUSE SURPLICE DRESS

Newport News' charmeuse surplice dress is so romantic, effortless...and inexpensive!!! Originally priced at $64 and now only $19.99, this great find would look awesome with some layered or chunky metal jewelry, to play up the vintage flair. It is shown in an icy aquamarine, but also comes in basic black. I want one!!!

NEW NAME, SAME GREAT BLOG

As Britney would say, "Hi, y'all!!!" After much thought and consideration, I've decided to change the name of the "ALEXTHEARTISTE SAYS..." blog to "PEEP THE POP." I'm getting good traffic with the previous name, but feel the new one gets to the nitty gritty of what I'm writing about and will make it easier for everyone to know where to go to peep the pop. (Everything else will remain the same.) Don't forget to note the url change (from http://alextheartiste.blogspot.com/ to http://peepthepop.blogspot.com/)!!!

THE ALEXTHEARTISTE JAM OF THE WEEK: "SUPERMODEL (YOU BETTER WORK!)"

RUPAUL "SUPERMODEL (YOU BETTER WORK!)"

There are times when you need someone to tell you to get to work. No other song does it in such a fabulous manner. RuPaul gives people everywhere the soundtrack they need to sashay it to the top. "I have one thing to say, sashay shante, shante, shante, shante...you better work!"

HAPPY BELATED COLOMBIAN INDEPENDENCE DAY!!!

Yesterday was Colombian Independence Day, so felicidades para todos los Colombianos!!! QUE VIVA COLOMBIA!!!

THE ALEXTHEARTISTE JAM OF THE WEEK "PUT THE BLAME ON MAME"

RITA HAYWORTH (SUNG BY ANITA ELLIS) "PUT THE BLAME ON MAME"

I recently watched the movie Gilda, and Rita Hayworth was absolutely mesmerizing (she truly owns the screen). This is the main song of the movie, called "Put the Blame on Mame." Although she doesn't really sing the song (Anita Ellis does), Rita guarantees that you won't be able to take your eyes off of her, with her screen presence and sultry dancing. (I'm going to start flipping my hair more!!!) Her moves were probably considered racy back in the 1940s and still remain sexy to this day. I love the reference to San Francisco, love Rita Hayworth (and want to steal her look) and seriously cannot get this song out of my head. Enjoy!!!

MISS COLOMBIA IS FIRST RUNNER UP FOR MISS UNIVERSE

Colombia is on a roll!!! First, we freed 15 FARC hostages (who had been held captive for almost six years) in the slickest operation ever, and now, our beautiful Miss Colombia, Taliana Vargas, has won first runner up in this year's Miss Universe pageant!!!

She would have won it all, scoring the highest in both the evening gown and swimsuit parts of the competition, but Taliana's answer to her final question sealed her fate. (We are still very proud of her, though!!!)

Adding to the sense of pride, four out of the five finalists were Latina: Miss Mexico, Elisa Najera (5th); Miss Dominican Republic, Marianne Cruz Gonzalez (2nd runner up); Miss Colombia, Taliana Vargas (1st runner up); and the winner, Miss Venezuela, Dayana Mendoza.

Even the person who won Miss Congeniality Universe was Latina (Miss El Salvador, Rebeca Moreno)!!!

Here is the stunningly beautiful winner, Dayana Mendoza, who I truly can't hate on.

What I can hate on is Miss USA's inability to stay standing up. Is knowing how to walk not a requirement for being chosen??? This is the second year that a Miss USA has biffed during the evening gown competition. This year it was Miss USA Crystle Stewart...

and last year it was Rachel Smith. I think we need to get our act together, because both women were beautiful and may have placed high, had they not fallen down.

DEAL OF THE DAY: MILANI "ELECTRIC PINK" NAIL POLISH

Almost every nail polish company has a neon pink shade. Not many get this bright. Milani's "Electric Pink" gets the 1980s thumbs up. The color is insane, and it has a slight matte finish, which makes it all the more cool. Best part??? It only costs $3.29 at Walgreens (God, I love that store!!!) Once you're hooked and can't stop staring at your nails, visit the Milani website to discover their 45 other nail colors.

I WANT, I WANT, I WANT!!! COLIN STUART OMBRE STILETTO

I absolutely love my BCBG Katchen pumps, that fade from black to white (ombre) and make me much taller than my 5 feet, 6 and a half inches. (I really should have bought two pairs.) Frustrated at not being able to find a replacement pair, imagine my excitement at coming across these lovely ombre stilettos from Colin Stuart on the Victoria's Secret website. I love the color fade, the badass 4 1/2 inch heels, and the less witchy, rounded toe. The $70 price tag is equally impressive.

THE ALEXTHEARTISTE JAM OF THE WEEK: "IT'S GONNA BE ME"

'NSYNC "IT'S GONNA BE ME"

Yes, you read right. 'Nsync--and what?!?! I started downloading a lot of 'Nsync onto my iPod last night and remembered how much I loved them. They had great songs, great dance moves and groomed Justin Timberlake to be the mega-superstar that he is today. I just don't understand, looking back, why JC Chasez didn't get big as a solo artist--he has an amazing voice. 'Nsync blew the Backstreet Boys and 98 Degrees out of the water, and I found myself jamming to their hits like it was 2000 again, so here's one of their many hits. P.S. Don't blame me if you get this song stuck in your head and you start rememorizing the dance moves, 'kay??? (P.S. Kudos to the guy who made this kick-ass performance montage!!!)

BRITNEY'S BACK, BITCHES!!! A LOOK FORWARD, A LOOK BACK

Many of you have probably heard that Britney Spears is recording a special video that will be a part of Madonna's Sticky and Sweet Tour. Madge is giving Britney a hand, and helping her launch the real comeback she deserves. I can't wait to see Britney back in full form. You almost forget how talented and hot she used to be, with all the things that have happened to her recently, so I decided to remind you with a trio of her greatest VMA performances. This is the Brit Brit we all know and love!!!

1999 VMAS


2000 VMAS


2001 VMAS

SF GIANTS COLOR MATCH

Ever wonder what the exact colors of the San Francisco Giants are??? Afraid that T-shirt isn't orange enough??? Well, thanks to color master Pantone, you don't have to wonder anymore. An online member created a Pantone member palette for the Giants, where you can see samples of all their colors, from "Licorice" black and "Flame" orange, to the other colors used on uniforms and in ads.

Here is the "Palette Description":
"The current Textile color palette of the San Francisco Giants of Major League Baseball (National League). Using Pantone Textile color descriptions, the colors are as follows: Primary colors - 'Licorice', 'Flame' and 'Bright White'. Additional colors - 'Chipmunk' (used in logos, and home uniform dropshadow only) and 'Italian Straw' (used only in logos). Home uniforms are 'Whisper White', while road uniforms are 'Storm Gray'.

Click on the link above to see for yourself if you've been rocking the right colors!!!

LIBERTAD FOR INGRID BETANCOURT AND 14 OTHER FARC HOSTAGES HELD IN COLOMBIA

Libertad!!! As a Colombian and just as a human being, I am thrilled and so proud that the Colombian government was able to free former Colombian presidential nominee Ingrid Betancourt and 14 other hostages, including three Americans, that were held in captivity for almost six years by the FARC. In the slickest 007-like move ever, the Colombian army infiltrated the FARC, making them think that they were transporting the hostages to another location, instead granting them their freedom. In the words of El Chapulin Colorado, "no contaban con mi astucia!!!" The entire operation was done without one person getting hurt. It's about time Colombia gets merit for something done right. QUE VIVA COLOMBIA AND CONGRATS TO ALL THOSE WHO WERE LIBERATED!!! Let's get all the hostages freed!!!

PISSED OFF AT BARON DAVIS

Are you serious???!!! Baron Davis was my favorite Warrior and now he has decided to ditch his team to play for--get this--the Clippers. This is after he told Don Nelson that he was staying (per Nelson in the SF Chronicle). This is after he helped lead his team to the playoffs last year, after he wore matching headbands with his fellow players, and before I got to take a picture with him to add to my "Warriors and Me" photo collection. I am so upset about this, as I hope you can tell by the extensive use of italics. Davis, Monta Ellis, Stephen Jackson and Matt Barnes were, as a group, the renegade badasses of the Warriors and the NBA, and now Davis has left his teammates to do his own thing. Part of me isn't mad at him because you always have to look out for number 1, but I know it was a slap in the face to Warriors fans, the Warriors themselves and coach Don Nelson. Well, at least he'll get to work on his acting skills in L.A. ...do your thing, bro. (Speaking of bros, I assume your look-alike brother with matching beard and Warriors hat will have to follow you to L.A. to try to score with the ladies.)

THE ALEXTHEARTISTE JAM OF THE WEEK: "THE STAR SPANGLED BANNER"

3-FOR-1 DEAL!!!

It's a battle of the divas!!! I wanted the Jam of the Week to be patriotic, in honor of the Fourth of July (Go America!!!), and the number one obvious choice is "The Star Spangled Banner." My problem was picking just one interpretation, so I decided to show the best of the best. All three performances--by Whitney, Mariah and Christina--were amazing (c'mon, they released Whitney's as a single!!!), and Christina Aguilera proves that she's been hitting it out of the park since he was just a little patriot.

WHITNEY HOUSTON


MARIAH CAREY


CHRISTINA AGUILERA


CHRISTINA AT 11 YEARS OLD