Philadelphia Man Forecloses On Wells Fargo

A Philadelphia homeowner started foreclosure proceedings on a Wells Fargo mortgage office after winning a rather strange legal judgement against the bank.

After Patrick Rodgers got no reply to three letters asking why he was being forced to pay a home insurance premium for a $1 million house when he bought his 3-story Victorian home for $180,000, he decided to force his mortgage company to pay attention, ABC News reported.

According to the Philadelphia Inquirer, Rodgers discovered the Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act, which requires mortgage companies to acknowledge written requests within 20 business days or face penalties. He took Wells Fargo to court, winning a default judgement because the bank didn't show up in court.

Passed in 1974 to protect borrowers, RESPA stipulates a standard complain letter that can be sent to lenders. (For more information on RESPA, check out the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development's website.)

Rodgers won a $1,173 judgment against the bank, and when they still failed to reply to his letters, he started foreclosure proceedings.

The contents of Wells Fargo Home Mortgage's offices at 1341 North Delaware Avenue are reportedly still scheduled for a March 4 sherif's sale.

The homeowner placed a sheriffs levy against Well's Fargo's local mortgage office, to cover the $1,173 judgment, plus tax. The bank paid up in January, but still had not responded to his letters, so he started a foreclosure sale on the Wells Fargo office.

Source: Huffington Post

The Kardashians Made $65 Million In 2010

The ubiquitous Kardashian family (Kris, Kourtney, Kim, Khloe, Robert, Kendall, Kylie and Olympian Bruce Jenner) has taken reality fame to a new level, translating one television show into a veritable branding empire. The Hollywood Reporter, which works to unlock the secrets of the clan in their issue, reports that, in all, the family took in a whopping $65 million in 2010.

Their faces -- and names -- are everywhere, but many don't quite know what the Kardashians do, exactly. That's easy: they just live their lives. It's just that they let everyone else watch in. And then buy.

After their first show, "Keeping Up With The Kardashians," debuted on E! in 2007, the family's fame soon exploded. Up to that point, the name Kardashian was best associated with OJ Simpson's defense team (Robert Kardashian, matriarch Kris' latehusband, defended the ex-football star in his murder trial, much to her dismay) and a sex tape (middle sister Kim's self-made sex video with Brandy's brother Ray J nearly exploded the internet in 2004). Now, the name is on everything. Almost literally.

Their television empire has expanded to three -- and soon four -- TV shows, with "Kourtney and Kim Take New York" currently running and Khloe's show with husband, NBA star Lamar Odom, set to premiere soon. They have a best selling book, perfumes, a clothing line for Sears and a bevy of other products (listed, in part, below). And it's all thanks to "momager" Kris, who has worked to expose her six children -- and sell them -- to a staggering degree.

"I have a blog that has 40 million hits a month," Kim told the magazine (the sisters have built up their blogs and brand through Twitter, where Kim has over six million followers). "People leave comments: What shoes do you wear, and what lip gloss do you use? My mom told us, 'So why not be a brand for our fans and give them what they want?' Many of our ideas [about what to endorse] come from our fans and then our mother makes it happen."

Make it happen, indeed. Here's a list of some of their biggest endorsement deals, though, with Twitter advertising and party appearances, it's nearly impossible to corral them all. Unless your name is Kris.

Television shows: "Keeping Up With The Kardashians," "Kourtney & Kim Take New York," "Khttp://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gifourtney & Khloe Take Miami," "Khloe & Lamar"
Best selling book: Kardashian Konfidential
Perfumes: 2 (Kim's eponymous perfume, Khloe and Odom's "Unbreakable")
Fashion lines: Lines for Sears, Dash Boutique, K-Dash for QVC, Kim's Skechers Shoe, Kim's Jewelry Line for Bebe
Music: Kim has released a single
Magazines: Kourtney's baby & Khloe's wedding each sold for $300,000 to tabloids. They also make near weekly appearances on the covers of tabloids, for which they are paid.
Endorsements: Among many deals, Khloe is the face of weight loss product QuickTrim.
Personal Appearances: Kim commands upwards of $100,000 per appearance; sometimes $1 million internationally
Tweets: Kim can command $25,000 or more for an endorsing tweet.

For all the details, check out the amazingly detailed story at The Hollywood Reporter

Source: Huffington Post

Paul Mooney on ABC Nightline Upclose

Paul Mooney is one of the funniest comedians to ever walk the face of the Earth. His brilliance lies in his uncannily delivery of the truth and all things unspoken in day to day conversations. Paul Mooney was also the man behind many of Richard Pryor's jokes and continues to raise the funny bar in his own jokes today.

Why does everyone think you're an athlete because you're black & workout? Maybe I'm a physician.

Onion SportsDome

Not every tall black man plays basketball, nor does every black man dream of being a successful athlete. So the next time you see me in the gym, walking down the street, or in the sporting goods store don't assume I'm preparing for the next game. Just maybe I'm preparing to whip yo ass for assuming I hoop because I'm black or athletic looking to you.

Know your cholesterol intake, the ish can kill you

Baldness Cure A Step Closer?

Gone could be the days of toupees, combovers and hair plugs. For mice, at least.

Researchers at UCLA who set out to study a stress-blocking chemical compound have instead struck gold: a potential cure for baldness.

The scientists discovered bald mice who were treated with the compound for five days grew back full heads of hair in just three months, according to the study published Wednesday in PLoS One.

The likely giddy research team repeated the experiment several more times to confirm. Sure enough, the mice's hair grew back each time, and the compound also showed promise in preventing hair loss.

"This could open new venues to treat hair loss in humans through the modulation of the stress hormone receptors, particularly hair loss related to chronic stress and aging," Million Mulugeta, an adjunct professor of medicine at the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA, told Popular Science.

So how legit is this? Well, it's unknown whether the treatment could actually work for humans. But the researchers were hopeful enough to apply for a patent to use the compound for hair growth.

According to The New York Times, the reaction from the dermatology and hair loss community is mixed. The Times writes:

Dr. George Cotsarelis, chairman of the dermatology department at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine, said any treatment developed from the research would probably be useful only for hair loss related to stress, likes that caused by one-time events, rather than as a treatment for genetic baldness.

Even if you're skeptical about this week's news, there's still cause to hope for a baldness cure. In December, German researchers (also studying mice) discovered stem cells could be used to regrow hair follicles. Again, it remains to be seen if the treatment is also effective in humans.

Source: Huffington Post

Notorious B.I.G. KILLED by LAPD cops linked to Death Row Records ...

Did the cops shoot and kill Notorious B.I.G.? It has been reported in documentaries that a cop working for Suga Knight at Death Row was responsible for the murder. See this ish for your self: