If you wear a piece of jewelry by Atlanta designer Ali Howell, you’ll be the only one.

All of the pieces in her line, ali and bird, are one-of-a-kind.

“No two pieces are ever the same and all materials are real, unique, and sometimes unbelievably rare,” she says on her Web site.

Howell sells through a select number of retailers and takes custom orders. Her company is named for herself and her daughter Lindsay, nicknamed “Bird,” and stresses individuality.

“I don’t work from patterns,” Howell says. “I don’t buy stones in bulk. Every single piece is as individual as the person who buys it.”

Does that sound like someone you know? If so, here’s your shot at giving her an ali&bird original. Howell sent us a necklace that looks like the one pictured here, and we’ve decided to give it away.

Here’s where you come in. Tell us about the most unique individual you know and why she ought to wear this gorgeous necklace. The best story wins, and we’ll put this lovely piece in the mail to …

Continue reading Updated with winner! Let’s trade: your story for this fabulous necklace »

Ludacris might be stopping by to make sure you've filled out your Census form.

Atlanta rapper Chris “Ludacris” Bridges has teamed up with the U.S. Census.

The collaboration could mean that the artist, who has teamed up on numerous projects – rhyming with Usher on the hit “Yeah” or opening for The Black Eyed Peas during their concert tour, for example – might be paying you a visit.

In a statement, Ludacris explained why he’s gotten on board with the Census, a partnership meant to encourage people to fill out their forms. Census data help direct federal dollars to various communities.

“I look at our communities now and I see many empty lots, closed clinics, dilapidated schools and an overall breakdown of social services for the poor and elderly,” he said. “Today is a day for change.”

He plans appearances in a number of cities including Dallas, New Orleans, Orlando, New York and Washington as well as Atlanta, where he’ll be pounding the pavement on April …

Continue reading Ludacris could be coming to your door »

By Nedra Rhone

Spotted among the crowd at the Thursday night cast and crew screening of Tyler Perry’s latest flick, “Why Did I Get Married Too?” were a number of celebrities including cast member Michael Jai White who plays Marcus, a downtrodden husband in the film, a sequel to Perry’s 2007 movie “Why Did I Get Married?”  The event, which took place at the Regal Atlantic Station, also drew the likes of Alfonso Ribeiro, Terri J. Vaughn, Robert Ri’chard, and Atlanta housewives cast members, Ed and Lisa Wu Hartwell and Kandi Burruss.

Continue reading Overscene: Celebs at Perry film screening »

Teen pop sensation Justin Bieber’s Atlanta-based manager Scott “Scooter” Braun surrendered to police today and will be arraigned on charges of reckless endangerment and criminal nuisance.

He pleaded not guilty, AP reported this evening.

Last November, at a mall on Long Island, five people ended up in the hospital after a fracas  started after a bigger-than-expected crowd showed up for a Bieber appearance. Estimates had the crowd at 1,000 plus. Bieber ended up not showing up.

The cops accused Braun of delaying the dissemination of information that the event had been canceled until it became unruly. His lawyer had claimed the delay had been only seven minutes, not 90 minutes, according to an AP story. The cops say Braun deliberately kept up a Tweet on Bieber’s Twitter page saying the event was still going on until he was first taken to custody last November 20.

Braun’s cel phone voice mail is (not surprisingly) full so I could not leave a message.

The AP story says Braun faces …

Continue reading Justin Bieber’s Atlanta manager arrested over Long Island mall fracas »

Warren Sapp, shown with dance partner Kym Johnson in this AP photo, may be footloose and fancy free

NFL star turned “Dancing With the Stars” contender Warren Sapp will not face criminal charges for allegedly beating a woman during Super Bowl weekend in Miami this year, the celeb site TMZ reports.

As the AJC reported in February, he was released from jail on $1,500 bond, a day after being arrested for allegedly choking a woman in his hotel room.

The alleged incident occurred just as the NFL Network analyst would have been helping with Super Bowl coverage. The network decided to pull Sapp off the air pending an investigation.

It looks like the matter is not moving forward.

The Florida State Attorney’s Office has just announced that “the State cannot file charges … due to the totality of the evidence and inconsistencies with the victim testimony and the physical evidence gathered during the investigation,” the TMZ report said.

Continue reading Warren Sapp beats the rap »

Tyler Perry has assembled an all-star cast for the production of “For Colored Girls Who Have Considered Suicide When the Rainbow is Enuf” that he is set to direct, Clutch magazine reports.

The cast will include Janet Jackson, Mariah Carey, Whoopi Goldberg, Phylicia Rashad, Jurnee Smollett, Kimberly Elise, Kerry Washington and Macy Gray, the mag says.

Shooting for the film inspired by Ntozake Shange’s 1975 play starts  in New York early this summer, and it should be released by early 2011.

In other Tyler Perry news, a red carpet premiere is being held next week in The Bahamas for “Why Did I Get Married Too,” which was shot there. If you happen to be vacationing at the Atlantis Resort in Nassau on March 29, you might notice the festivities.

Continue reading Tyler Perry’s next project involves all-star cast »

NeNe Leakes of “The Real Housewives of Atlanta” either is having trouble at home or is working hard at boosting her brand.

Maybe both.

A RadarOnline.com story says that ever since her son, Bryson Bryant, was arrested on a drug charge in Gwinnett County, things have been icy at Chez Leakes.

“The arrest really upset NeNe as she knows her son is hanging out with a bad crowd,” said the report, which says young Bryant has dropped out of college and is now working as a club promoter. “It has put pressure on her relationship with her husband, Greg Leakes, who is not Bryson’s real father as they both know that he’s still drinking and smoking with his buddies.”

The quote most likely to get the side-eyes rolling in Atlanta: “NeNe perceives herself as a real socialite in Atlanta and she does not like the fact that Bryson’s arrest generated bad publicity for her and she is worried that he might get into more trouble in the future.”

And here’s the money shot: “It might make …

Continue reading Has NeNe the Housewife hit a rough patch? »

Celebrity hunting in Atlanta? Hie thee over to Kyma.

Executive chef Pano I. Karatassos called over the weekend to report that actor Owen Wilson, in town for the filming of “Hall Pass,” has taken such a shine to one of the cocktails that he asked for the recipe.

But that’s not even the coolest Kyma story the chef told us.

Seems Bill Cosby was in town recently and sent one of his folks over to fetch a to-go order of lamb chops, stuffed grape leaves and Greek fries.

The legendary comedian returned home with Georgia on his mind. Specifically, those Greek fries. Soon Karatassos was given his home phone number with instructions to call, and Cosby grilled him about the menu, even getting his own private chef on the line to get recipes.

“He really is a foodie,” Karatassos said of Cosby, who apparently likes ferreting out intel after enjoyable meals, but doesn’t always get the dish on the dishes. A vexatious woman in Pennsylvania refused to give up the goods after Cosby …

Continue reading Owen Wilson, Bill Cosby have a thing for Kyma »

A week after an entertainment lawyer said his client had filed suit against Larry Platt of “Pants on the Ground” fame, the overnight celebrity’s lawyer says he has yet to actually see the lawsuit.

“I don’t know if this was a publicity stunt,” said Phaedra Parks, who represents Platt and calls the lawsuit frivolous, baseless and without merit. “My client hasn’t been served. The appropriate way to serve a lawsuit is through a process server, not the press. I don’t know if they know that rule.”

Leron Rogers of the firm Hewitt and Rogers said he filed suit on behalf of his client, American King Music, and is attempting to serve the papers.

He said the two sides met recently to try to work things out but “in the meantime, the legal process continues.”

Rogers’ publicist e-mailed a copy of the lawsuit, which bears a time stamp and a case number. Rogers said his client funded a recording session with Platt and rapper Mims at Mims’ studio. The session produced a full-length …

Continue reading New wrinkle in “Pants on the Ground” lawsuit »

Actor Corey Haim’s death certificate is out. The official cause of death isn’t.

TMZ, which traffics in celeb deaths like no other news source (they broke the news of Michael Jackson’s death, remember?) quotes sources saying “the L.A. County Coroner’s Office is waiting for toxicology results, and they could prove revealing on two counts.”

The Coroner’s Office has indicated that Haim, a who became a teen idol in the 1980s with roles in films including “The Lost Boys,”  had pneumonia. But a number of medications including Valium, Vicodin, Soma and Haloperidol were discovered when his body was found last week. For now the death certificate lists the cause as “deferred” while authorities continue to investigate.

Haim was 38.

Meanwhile, E! reports that Corey Feldman won’t be attending his friend’s memorial.

“In the days following my best friend Corey Haim’s death, I have spent much time with his mother Judy, who has always been like a mother to me,” the actor explains in a …

Continue reading Corey Haim’s death certificate: no official cause yet »