Examples.

  Jessica Watkins will be the first of many black women be on the International Space Station. Jessica Watkins Instagram Post In April 2022, the 33-year-old will blast off to commence on a long-duration mission at the space station. Her official title is Mission Specialist for the SpaceX Crew-4. She is being launched up there with fellow astronauts Robert Hines, Kjell Lundgren and Samantha Christoforetti. The mission for her and the crew is to conduct research in the microgravity laboratory as it orbits Earth. What is Microgravity, you ask? Below is an excerpt from NASA's NASA Knows (Grades 5 - 8) series. "Microgravity is the condition in which people or objects appear to be weightless. The effects of microgravity can be seen when astronauts and objects float in space. Microgravity can be experienced in other ways, as well. "Micro-" means "very small," so microgravity refers to the condition where gravity seems to be very small. In microgravity, astronauts...

  Original Post:  https://classixphilly.com/486674/montgomery-mall-closed/ The Montgomery Mall of North Wales, Pennsylvania has a new owner. If you're thinking of going to the Montgomery Mall this holiday season, you might be seeing some changes. Maybe some extra, extra discounts. According to Philadelphia Business Journal , Kohan Retail Investment Group has bought the mall for $55 million dollars in a foreclosure sale. The Great Neck, New York based firm swiped away the 1.1 million square-foot property. Kohan went through Montgomery Mall Retail Holdings and a Montgomery County Court of Common Pleas judge for a signed order to purchase. The Kohan Retail Investment Group already owns 50 similar malls across the country including ones in Pennsylvania like the Wyoming Valley Mall, Washington Crown Center and Lycoming Mall. The sale price is 95% of the mall's appraised value of $57.5 million in August of this year. The previous owner, Simon Property Group, ran into trouble once C...

  The Norman Lear classic television show is returning to your screen but in a bit of a remix. 'Diff'Rent Strokes' will be the fourth out of five classic American TV show specials within ABC's "Live in Front of a Studio Audience" series. ABC's live series has been going on since 2019. The network has made re-creations of other classic shows like 'The Jeffersons', 'All In The Family' and 'Good Times'. 'The Jeffersons' - Jamie Foxx Breaks Character 'Good Times' - Original Cast Appearance   Diff'Rent Strokes will be part of a two part night for the "Live" program. The show will be airing with 'The Facts of Life' on December 7th at 9:30 PM EST. Executive producers Jimmy Kimmel and Kerry Washington will be bringing the likes of Kevin Hart, Damon Wayans, John Lithgow and Ann Dowd to the re-enactment. As you can guess, Kevin Hart and Damon Wayans are playing the roles of Arnold and Willis Jackson. Both...

  The two R&B legends "clashed" on Verzuz last night, and they did not disappoint to provide entertainment. As we at Classix have mentioned before , Chaka Khan was not expected to make an appearance on Verzuz due to her comments on VladTV a year prior. VladTV Interview The "hell naw" was all the confirmation needed to stop that idea from happening. BUT ALAS. Here we are. The "Night for the Queens!" broadcast lasted for about two hours and twenty minutes, even though there was an hour delay on the original start time of 8 PM EST. Stephanie Mills and Chaka Khan began the night by stepping out with matching red hair and black dresses. The immediately started belting songs from the 70s that included Mills' "Ease on Down the Road" and Chaka's "Once You Get Started". Right after that, people started to notice that something was wrong with Chaka's vocals during the songs. And that's where the comments began to flood in. C...

  The recent rally cry for the clemency or postponement of Julius Jones' execution has succeeded. The story of Julius Jones continues as Oklahoma governor, Kevin Stitt, issued Executive Order 2021-25 last last evening. Executive Order 2011-25 commutes Julius Jones' execution for his death sentence to life in prison. Jones was scheduled to be executed at 4 PM yesterday. Governor Stitt released the following statement regarding his decision: "After prayerful consideration and reviewing materials presented by all sides of this case, I have determined to commute Julius Jones’ sentence to life imprisonment without the possibility of parole." Jones was tried and convicted for the first-degree car-jacking, murder of a 45-year-old businessman, Paul Howell. Jones's sentence has been reduced to life imprisonment without the possibility of parole. The catch is that this life imprisonment is on the condition that he shall never again be eligible to apply for, be considered f...

  Whitney is headed to the digital space once more. An unreleased demo and several photos will be sold to the highest bidder as an Non Fungible Token, or NFT. Pieces of the late superstar's work will be handled by OneOf . OneOf is a music oriented NFT platform that has the backing from the likes of Quincy Jones and John Legend. The Whitney Houston collection, titled "Always Love You", has the backing of the Houston estate. An Evening with Whitney (Hologram Whitney) "Always Love You" will be auctioned in December with details revealed on Dec. 1 during Miami Art Week where OneOf will host a two-day immersive art, music, and NFT experience. The winner of the auction will get to collect a recording of a 17-year-old Whitney in their OneOf Vault. The winner will also gain a digital video created by up and coming artist, Diana Sinclair. Diana Sinclair is a 17-year-old artist out of New York who has been making waves in the art scene. This year she was selected for Fort...

Original Post:  https://classixphilly.com/481759/the-famed-staples-center-is-getting-a-name-change/ Source: MediaNews Group/Pasadena Star-News via Getty Images / Getty[/caption] Los Angeles' famed arena for sports and entertainment is about to get a name overhaul...or update. The STAPLES Center is going to change to the Crypto.com Arena. Say that out loud and then say it again in a boisterous commentator's voice. The change will be official on Christmas Day this year to coincide with the NBA's Christmas Day special rout of games. The STAPLES Center had been the home for the Los Angeles Lakers, Los Angeles Clippers, Los Angeles Sparks and Los Angeles Kings for 22 Years. According to Sam Dean of the Los Angeles Times , Crypto.com paid more than $700 million for the naming rights, according to sources familiar with the terms, making it one of the biggest naming deals in sports history. Anschutz Entertainment Group , or AEG, owns the property and they released the bombshell up...

It doesn't take a genius a to decipher what Adele's latest album, 30 , will be about. If you've haven't followed along though, the upcoming album will detail her life since the last record, 25 . Topics that will include her divorce to her former husband, life with her 9-year-old son, and believing in love again. It just so happens that, Genius.com has made it even easier for the folks who don't have "VIP" passes to get a sneak peek at the album early. The lyric providing website has posted the album's lyrics ahead of its official release on November 19th. If you are fan or just interested, you can go a check out the lyrics to twelve tracks. Those twelve tracks are a part of the standard release of the album. The Target edition of the album has three more bonus tracks. You can click the link here to check it out. Adele's album features contributions from a handful of collaborators like familiar producers, Greg Kurstin and Max Martin. Industry vets...

 Out of the mist of the dark evening sky, Maxwell appeared, singing a song to get you in the mood. "OFF" is the latest offering from the neo-soul legend. It is the first single off his upcoming album, blacksummers'NIGHT . The upcoming album will be last entry in the trilogy of the blacksummers'night series. The song features production from his alter-ego "MUSZE", and long time collaborator Hod David. By the way, you should look at Hod David's musical credits , they are astonishing. "OFF" presents Maxwell's sultry tenor voicings over slow moving synthesizers and bass plucks. Of course, it is difficult to not get movin' and groovin' once the hi-hats start to percolate and the song picks up. Check out the song below.   If you need your space I won't invade There's no need to rush this hastily Hope you receive me, aye   blacksummers'NIGHT , set to release in Spring of 2022, will be Maxwell's the last album under Columbi...

Planning for the National Museum of the American Latino is finally ready to get going. In late December of last year, Congress approved the legislation to start the process of creating a national museum for Latinos. Act H.R. 2420 , was a part of a bi-partisan effort for a $900 Billion Covid-19 relief bill  passed last year. The act was originally introduced by, former democratic representative of New York, Jose E. Serrano back in 2019. The museum would be established within the Smithsonian Institution. As the act describes, the purposes of the museum are to... Illuminate Latino contributions to the story of the United States. Provide for the collection, study, research, publication, and establishment of exhibitions and programs related to Latino life, art, history, and culture. Provide for collaboration with Smithsonian Institution museums and research centers and other museums and educational institutions in the United States and abroad to promote the study and appreciation...

  Original Post:  https://classixphilly.com/480732/ben-simmons-hold-out-continues/ Yes, it happened again Sixers fans. According to The Athletic's Shams Charania, The Philadelphia 76ers have fined Ben Simmons once more. Shams Tweet The 6'10", three-time NBA All-Star missed few games recently due to his adamant hold-out. Last week, Ben missed six road games. The Philadelphia 76ers took it upon themselves to fine him $1.8M. Yikes. That would be $300K per game. Kevin Negandhi Tweet Luckily for the Australian, he is being paid $33M this year by the team he adores. Its only a sign of respect and admiration from the Sixers organization to resume fining him because they want him back so badly. For "Brotherly Love" purposes, of course. Ben and his superstar agent Rich Paul, prior to the continuation of the fines, spoke with team officials stating that the fines were beginning to affect Ben's mental health. Ben also spoke to teammates and team staff explaining that he...

Original Post:  https://classixphilly.com/479762/chaka-khan-stephanie-mills-verzuz/ The online webcast music show, Verzuz, is back at it again. This time Chaka Khan and Stephanie Mills are ready to go into "battle" right before Thanksgiving.  I don't know how Timbaland and Swizz Beats convinced these two R&B legends to join in, but we at Classix are thankful to see it. Prior to signing on, Chaka refused to ever be on a Verzuz back in 2020.     The quick and stark, “hell to the naw!” from Chaka was all fans needed to hear to crush the idea of her doing a Verzuz. Chaka Khan never viewed her “God given gift” for competition. S tephanie Mills on the other hand, has expressed her excitement for the upcoming battle publicly on Twitter. My sister @ChakaKhan and I are spreading love and positive vibe, with amazing music🙏🏾❤️This is truly for the #Culture ✊🏾✊🏾🔥🔥 — Stephanie Mills (@PrettyMill1) November 14, 2021   These two amazing artists have...

One of Philly's greatest musicians has just added more hardware to the collection.  Last night, Ahmir "Questlove" Thompson and company showed up and showed out at the sixth annual Critics Choice Documentary Awards. Questlove's Summer of Soul went and collected 6 out the 14 awards presented. The music documentary won in the categories of Best Documentary Feature, Best Director (in a tie), Best First Documentary Feature, Best Editing, Best Archival Documentary and Best Music Documentary. Questlove shared the best director win with Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi and Jimmy Chin for their directorial duties in The Rescues . Questlove took to Insta right after the show to express his joy. View this post on Instagram A post shared by Questlove (@questlove) This isn't the first time the documentary has taken home trophies, and it won't be the last. Earlier this year, the soulful documentary won two awards at Sundance Film Festival. If you ha...

  The Chester County based snack company, Herr's, wants the city of Philadelphia to decide their next great potato chip flavor. Got an idea for Philly’s next favorite chip? Enter Herr’s Flavored by Philly Contest! You could win $10K and another $10K for a local nonprofit. NO PURCHASE NECESSARY. The Contest Entry Period runs 11/11/21-12/6/21. To enter & for Official Rules visit https://t.co/7JNsBZ1chv . pic.twitter.com/0BOeSCO8kp — Herr Foods Inc. (@herrfoods) November 11, 2021 On the contest rules website Herr's proclaims, "No one knows the flavors of Philly quite like the people who live there. That's why we're turning things over to our fans to help us decide which flavors should be on our chips next! We don't want just any flavors — we want to hear yours, Philly. After all, Philadelphians are no strangers to good food and making their voices heard loud and clear." They are definitely right about Philadelphians making their voices loud and c...

Walking On  is the latest film to showcase the talent and beauty of Philadelphia. The film focuses on the intricacies of a young woman named Sydney. Sydney has just been accepted by a university and begins to start her journey by trying to "walk on" the school's women's basketball team. Throughout the film Sydney, like most college students, has to navigate life within college. Sydney is tested in her commitments, love, motives, and passion for the game of basketball. A story about big hoop dreams, always encompasses something larger. A story about big hoop dreams, always encompasses something larger. Check the trailer below. p>   Lydia Peterson, who is a Delaware County and Temple University graduate, is at the helm of the project. View this post on Instagram A post shared by Lid (@young_lid2)   Lydia Peterson's life is reflected within the film. Lydia, or "Lid", was a walk-on for the Temple University Owls, but Lydi...

Original Posting:  https://classixphilly.com/475710/pretty-girls-cook/ Pretty Girls Cook is celebrating its 5 year anniversary of being an establishment. The Northern Liberties restaurant is run by Dominque Shields, she is a kindergarten teacher turned caterer. The restaurant features classic American style dishes but with twist of Philly soul.   At 1016 North Marshall Street you could find yourself savoring delectable dishes like...  The Sinful Salmon Grilled Cheese (Grilled Salmon, Caramelized Onions, Sautéed Spinach, Pepper Jack Cheese, on Texas Toast) View this post on Instagram A post shared by PRETTY GIRLS COOK™ (@yespgc)   No Slackin on Yo' Mackin' (Shredded BBQ Beef Short Ribs, Sweet Potato Purée, Mac & Cheese) View this post on Instagram A post shared by PRETTY GIRLS COOK™ (@yespgc)   Saucy Shrimp Scampi (Shrimp, Heirloom tomatoes, Spinach, In-House Scampi Sauces Over Angel Hair Pasta, To...