Altho I had planned on posting no Michael Jackson stories today (in the hopes that I could move on from his death after attending his memorial service at the Staples Center here in Los Angeles, CA earlier this week), I ended up posting the coverphoto of the new issue of Q magazine (which, it seems, is the last magazine photoshoot that MJ did before his death) earlier today because I felt it was worth sharing. But, since I already posted one MJ story, I figured it’d be appropriate to post another more positive blogpost. A few Pink readers asked me for the text of the Maya Angelou poem that Queen Latifah read aloud at the Michael Jackson Memorial Service so I will pass that along now, in full, here:

We Had Him

Beloveds, now we know that we know nothing, now that our bright and shining star can slip away from our fingertips like a puff of summer wind.

Without notice, our dear love can escape our doting embrace. Sing our songs among the stars and walk our dances across the face of the moon.

In the instant that Michael is gone, we know nothing. No clocks can tell time. No oceans can rush our tides with the abrupt absence of our treasure.

Though we are many, each of us is achingly alone, piercingly alone.

Only when we confess our confusion can we remember that he was a gift to us and we did have him.

He came to us from the creator, trailing creativity in abundance.

Despite the anguish, his life was sheathed in mother love, family love, and survived and did more than that.

He thrived with passion and compassion, humor and style. We had him whether we know who he was or did not know, he was ours and we were his.

We had him, beautiful, delighting our eyes.

His hat, aslant over his brow, and took a pose on his toes for all of us.

And we laughed and stomped our feet for him.

We were enchanted with his passion because he held nothing. He gave us all he had been given.

Today in Tokyo, beneath the Eiffel Tower, in Ghana’s Black Star Square.

In Johannesburg and Pittsburgh, in Birmingham, Alabama, and Birmingham, England

We are missing Michael.

But we do know we had him, and we are the world.

What a beautiful, touching and very fitting tribute. I do love this poem, as I love all of Dr. Angelou’s poetry. After the jump, watch video of Queen Latifah reading the last portion of this poem on stage at the Staples Center during the Michael Jackson Memorial Service earlier this week …

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So … what do Zac Efron, Vanessa Hudgens, Thomas Lennon (Reno 911), Nicole Ritchie, Joel Madden, Lance Bass, Justin Long, Carmen Electra, Queen Latifah, Brittany Snow, Jessica Stroup, Brody Jenner, Nicole Sullivan and Jessica Rose (lonelygirl15) all have in common? Why, they are all featured in the latest video offering from FunnyorDie.com … which you can watch below:

I mean, I get what they are going for with this vid (the funny) but in the end, I think they missed the mark (hence, they all must die?). I must admit that I did laugh out loud when Lance Bass got confused for Lance Armstrong … that was kinda funny. And to be totally honest, there were a few LOL-worthy jokes but I’m afraid the vid is just way too corny overall. What do y’all think … do you dig it?

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Queen Latifah, née Dana Elaine Owens, may have turned 39 back on March 18 but she decided to celebrate her birthday this past Saturday March 28 … with a few close personal friends. Here are a few photos of the Queen whooping it up at her belated birthday party at Club Light here in LA:

Queen Latifah celebrated her birthday by putting on a special live performance of tracks off her new album Persona which is due in stores this July. Latifah was joined on stage by Lady of Rage, Lil Kim, MC Lyte, Missy Elliott and Yo-Yo for parts of the performance … which sounds too damn cool for words. Ladies First, indeed. Queen Latifah has been killing it for decades now. As much as I like her acting, I really love her for her music. It sounds like it was Queen Latifah’s guests who got the best present of all. Happy Birthday, Dana!! You’ve never looked better :)

[Photo credit: Splash News]

Saturday Night Live opened last night’s episode with a skit parodying the Vice Presidential debate that took place between Senator Joe Biden and Governor Sarah Palin at Washington University in St. Louis, MO earlier this week. Here, for your viewing pleasure, is the SNL skit in full which featured Jason Sudeikis as Biden and the AMAZING Tina Fey as Palin. Do try and keep from LOLing yourself to death:

I mean, Tina Fey killed it — again! At this point, she doesn’t even have to try anymore … she just … is. Hahahahhaha. This is an absolutely hilarious skit, hitting all the high (and low) points of the debate that we got to see earlier this week (and Queen Latifah really held her own as Gwen Ifill, well done). If Fey does not win some sort of award for her Palin portrayal, then there is really no justice in the world. I absolutely loved this skit, what did y’all think?

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BET took over the Shrine Auditorium in LA last night to throw their biggest party of the year … The BET Awards. Covering a range of categories — from music to athletics to comedy to acting — the BET Awards honors the folks who gave us the best performances over the last year … you know, just like pretty much everyone else (from MTV to TV Land) does. Here are a few pics of some of the lovely ladies who made their way down the red carpet last night:

For the most part, all of the ladies who showed up for the BET Awards were lookin’ pretty hot … only Lil’ Kim looked a little peeved at something. She was throwin’ dagger with her eyes all over the place … dunno what her deal was. Nonetheless, there was a whole lotta pretty on the red carpet. Only the guys wore the ridiculous outfits (Chris Brown shopping with Michael Jackson? T-Pain shopping with a blind assistant?). But the BET Awards aren’t only about the fashions … they also had a few awards to hand out to some deserving folks …

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