You’ve heard of top-notch bedding and lingerie brands, but is there room in bed for another designer?

One artist seems to think so.

Georgia Republic architect Irakli Kiziria has designed a Louis Vuitton condom, enveloped in the label’s notorious brown packaging and adorned with what looks like raised lettering (for enhanced pleasure, we can only assume). The luxury rubbers are priced at $68 each, according to the “official” website.

To put the price in perspective, $68 could buy you about six 12-packs of regular condoms.

But before you head to your nearest Louis Vuitton retailer, you should know the condoms aren’t available in stores. (Bummer, right?)

In fact, Kiziria has no affiliation with the Louis Vuitton company and drafted the condoms in collaboration with Design Provocation as a design-project, according to the website. The team hoped to launch the product on World AIDS Day and donate the proceeds to amfAR, The Foundation For AIDS Research.

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Al Sharpton responded to “Saturday Night Live’s” epic parody of his MSNBC show “PoliticsNation,” on Monday.

Sharpton seemed to take the spoof in stride, by replaying highlights of Kenan Thompson’s impersonation of him. Sharpton said “SNL” “got [him] pretty good,” and that he thought the skit was “hilarious.” However, Sharpton pointed out that “SNL” went after “something near and dear to the beating heart of ‘PoliticsNation.’” Referring to Thompson’s mocking of Sharpton’s Lean Forward commercial , he said, “They went after my blueberry pie!”

Sharpton added that his show loves “a good joke,” and admitted that “SNL” was right about a few things. “I’m not a fan of teleprompters,” Sharpton said, referring to his infamous teleprompter flub.

Sharpton had just one critique for Thompson. “If you’re going to do me, you got to lose a little weight. Leave the blueberry pie alone,” Sharpton said. Sharpton has lost over 100 pounds, and has discussed his strict diet on many occasions (even with President Obama ).

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In a unique celebration of heritage and um, hair, about 40 African-American Barbie dolls are being transformed into curly-top beauties this holiday season.

Although Barbie has been around since 1959 and comes in 50 different nationalities it’s rare to find a black doll with textured hair.

So, in an attempt to create dolls that reflect the image of little black girls with natural hair, the Ledger-Enquirer reports that members of an African-American natural hair group in Columbus, GA., have decided to give Barbie a DIY natural hair makeover.

With a few pipe cleaners here and some boiling water there the ladies, who followed an online tutorial, are turning the silky straight manes of donated black Barbies into fabulous kinky curls.

The best part? These au natural dolls will become one-of-a-kind Christmas gifts for girls living at the Booker T. Washington public housing complex in Columbus.

“We wanted to show the girls that basically, it’s okay the way God made you,” Jennifer Henderson, a member of the group, told the Ledger-Enquirer.

Lovely sentiment and fabulous gift. Definitely wishing we were six years old again!

It looks like a number of people have been busy giving Barbie natural ‘dos–here are a few we found on Tumblr.

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Rappers turned actors are a dime a dozen these days, but there’s a new subculture of sorts cropping up in the hip-hop world — doting dads.

Ludacris (whose real name is Chris Bridges) is the latest to join the ranks, announcing the launch of his newest “and most personal” project, KarmasWorld.com , an educational website for kids.

Bridges says the site is dedicated to his 10-year-old daughter, Karma, who inspired the idea after visiting him in the studio and expressing her dreams of one day entering the music business like him.

“She kept telling me how she waned to be a singer, so I thought ‘this is perfect, but it needs to be about what’s going on in your life’ and her life right now is pretty much school,” Bridges says.

The site features original pop songs with clever educational lyrics that teach kids lessons in math, seasons and weather, gravity and space, and planets and the solar system, as well as ethical and social responsibilities like manners, honesty and not bullying.

Bridges also saw the venture as an opportunity to nurture his daughter’s entrepreneurial spirit and business savvy.

“She’s the CEO and I’m the VP,” he jokes, describing her role in creating the site as very hands on with input on character names, such as “Smartacus” and “L’il Luda.”

“My mother taught me [about entrepreneurship] at an early age and I’d like to pass on the same thing to my daughter,” he says. “It’s about creating wealth, it’s about putting her in a position where she can be her own boss and learn early about business, and I think that’s the greatest way to do it. It’s a crash course.”

For the kids KarmasWorld caters to, it’s also a crash course in subjects like science and geography that Bridges says is being taught in a totally new way, over original songs that he, Karma and his creative team produced. “We’re talking about a revolution in my opinion,” he says.

The site is designed for children in grades 1 through 6 and also includes lesson plans for teachers and parents, groups who Bridges says consulted with him throughout the year it took to create the site.

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Guillory, a 20-year-old who joined the Crips at age 14 met Britton, a 29-year-old Blood member, during an impromptu freestyle rap session at Occupy Atlanta.

“I saw him in the park, saw his colors.,” Guillory told Franzen. “There was no mean mug or rivalry because we realized that what’s happening here is so much bigger then gang rivalry.”

Both men were attracted to the protest and its purpose. Guillory joined the movement after hearing about it on the news. Britton, who was passing the demonstration one day, said he stopped to get more information and never left.

“I stayed for the common cause, speaking for the people,” Britton said. “I feel strongly that we have the right to jobs, health care, and affordable higher education.”

This isn’t the first time the rival gangs have put their problems aside to fight for a common cause. In August 2010, both active and former members of the gangs came together for the Heal the Hood Peace March in Denver.

The groups also showcased their solidarity during a rally for Sean Bell, the New York man who was killed by police leaving a strip club after his bachelor party.

Now these two members have forgotten their differences in support of a cause that has swept the nation. At one point favoring violence bloodshed for rivals who crossed into enemy turf, Britton said the two now share a tent at the Occupy Atlanta base.

“We are connected through music, faith, and Occupy Atlanta.”

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Today, Sly Stone — one of the greatest figures in soul-music history — is homeless, his fortune stolen by a lethal combination of excess, substance abuse and financial mismanagement. He lays his head inside a white camper van ironically stamped with the words “Pleasure Way” on the side. The van is parked on a residential street in Crenshaw, the rough Los Angeles neighborhood where “Boyz n the Hood” was set. A retired couple makes sure he eats once a day, and Stone showers at their house. The couple’s son serves as his assistant and driver.

Inside the van, the former mastermind of Sly & the Family Stone, now 68, continues to record music with the help of a laptop computer.

“I like my small camper,” he says, his voice raspy with age and years of hard living. “I just do not want to return to a fixed home. I cannot stand being in one place. I must keep moving.”

Stone has been difficult to pin down for years. In the last two decades, he’s become one of music’s most enigmatic figures, bordering on reclusive. You’d be forgiven for assuming he’s dead. He rarely appears in public, and just getting him in a room requires hours or years of detective work, middlemen and, of course, making peace with the likelihood that he just won’t show up.

There was a time when Sly was difficult to escape. Stone, whose real name is Sylvester Stewart, was one of the most visible, flamboyant figures of the late 1960s and early 1970s.

The multiracial, multi-gender band that Stone assembled fused funk, soul and psychedelic rock and became one of the most influential acts ever. The San Fran-based group released a string of hits beginning with the 1968 album “Dance to the Music,” followed by “Everyday People,” “Family Affair,” “Thank You (Falettinme Be Mice Elf Agin)” and “Stand!”

The group’s costumes and showmanship were just as memorable. The members favored giant afros, flashy capes, Beatle boots, neon vests and leopard-print jumpsuits.

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The former CEO of Godfather’s Pizza said, “I have received some of that same vitriol simply because I am running for the Republican nomination as a conservative.” He added, “So it’s just brainwashing and people not being open-minded, pure and simple.”

Despite the comments, Cain signaled he sees “good news” in the situation in that he believes one-third to 50 percent of black Americans are “open-minded.” He explained, “I meet them every day. They stop me in the airport. And so this whole notion that all black Americans are necessarily going to stay and vote Democrat and vote for Obama, that’s simply not true. More and more black Americans are thinking for themselves. And that’s a good thing.”

The remarks from Cain come on the heels of his surprise win in the Florida straw poll. It’s not the first time the GOP presidential contender has made provocative remarks on issues related to race.

Over the summer, Cain suggested Comedy Central’s Jon Stewart mocked him during an episode of “The Daily Show” because he’s a “black conservative.”

According to a Fox News poll released on Wednesday, Cain is running in third place in the race for the Republican presidential nomination. The survey shows former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney leading the GOP primary pack and Texas Governor Rick Perry running in second place.

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Comedy is no laughing matter to comedian Kevin Hart—it pays well—and Hart, who has paid his dues on the comedy circuit for years, is finally starting to see the spotlight at the end of the tunnel.

After embarking on his 90-city Laugh at My Pain Comedy Tour (movie in theaters Sept. 9), the Philadelphia native has broken records (grossing about $15 million in ticket sales in two days, exceeding Eddie Murphy’s “Raw” tour), won the hearts of fans (as evidenced by sold-out venues nationwide), signed an exclusive deal with AMC to release his movie, launched an app (Little Jumpman) and landed big endorsements (Ford and Jordan, who hasn’t teamed with any personality since Spike Lee, remember those commercials?).

But the jokester takes it all in stride as he chats with BlackEnterprise.com about poking fun at himself, what his new wealth now affords him, and why, despite his divorce, he’ll never disrespect his ex.

Your live comedy concert film, Laugh at My Pain, is hilarious. Yet people think you’re an overnight success. How did you get your start?

My actual break came from Damon Dash and Jay-Z, who saw me perform live and told me they were working on an indie film called Paper Soldiers that they thought I’d be great for. So that was my first film and leading role where I played Shaun, a [brother] whose life is falling apart. He’s in jeopardy of losing everything and he starts robbing houses, but he was terrible at it. It was pretty funny (Laughs).

We bet! One of the things that endears you to millions is your self-deprecating humor. Is that pure comedy or a defense mechanism?

Well, I’ve always been that way and have never forced it and thought, This is how I’m going to say or do this. It’s just a natural instinct of mine. But to some degree, yes, it is a defense mechanism because, in a way, it’s disarming others before they can criticize me.

What would people be surprised to know about you?

I’m pretty much an open book. I try not to hide anything and remain front and center on purpose. That way there aren’t any surprises.

Reportedly, you’ve surpassed Eddie Murphy’s live concert record sales by grossing more than $15 million in two days. How have you digested that milestone?

Honestly, I try not to celebrate those numbers because I don’t want to get content and think, I made it. I’m successful! When you start to think that way, you think you don’t need to go any further—so I don’t address it. And Eddie and I are cool, he’s a cool dude. He told me to keep doing what I’m doing, and that I’m on the right track.

Who are you mentors?

Chris Rock has given me great advice.

How has or will money change you?

It hasn’t. If it does, it should only change you for the better. The only difference now is that I get to see things I couldn’t before because I can pay for it (Laughs). Like taking my kids on elaborate trips and have everything taken care of, or the convenience of taking a private jet back and forth now that I have access. But again, I don’t let any of this get to my head too much.

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In 2006, the Chinese Association of South Africa sued the government, claiming that its members were being discriminated against because they were being treated as whites and thus failed to qualify for business contracts and job promotions reserved for victims of apartheid. The association successfully argued that, since Chinese-South Africans had been treated unequally under apartheid, they should be reclassified in order to redress wrongs of the past.

Jacob Zuma, President of the African National Congress, with Hu Jintao in Beijing last week (Reuters)
This is not the first time the classification of Chinese in South Africa has changed. In fact, the racial status of Chinese-South Africans has often shifted with the nation’s political climate and its international relations.

The first significant group of Chinese came to South Africa in the early 20th century, before a formal system of apartheid existed, to work in the gold mines. They were not encouraged to settle permanently and by 1910 almost all the mine workers had been repatriated. Those who remained struggled with racism and lived in separate communities based on language, culture and socio-economic status.

As apartheid became enshrined in law with the ascendancy of the Afrikaner government in the late 1940s, the Chinese were classified as “colored,” forced to live apart from whites, and were denied educational and business opportunities along with the right to vote. But after South Africa established an economic alliance with Taiwan in the 1970s, Taiwanese immigrants were welcomed as “honorary whites,” and other Chinese in South Africa began to be treated more like whites. Although they never attained the formal “honorary white” status of Taiwanese, Koreans and Japanese in South Africa and couldn’t vote, Chinese-South Africans were no longer required to use segregated facilities, and in the early 1980s they were exempted from some of the discriminatory laws that applied to other non-whites.

After apartheid ended in the early 1990s, the legal status of Chinese has remained in a gray area, though they’ve generally been lumped together with whites and denied the post-apartheid benefits available to other non-white groups.

South Africa has seen waves of immigrants and investment from China since 1994, and today there are as many as 300,000 Chinese living in the South Africa. But the new court decision is unlikely to benefit most of them or trigger another mass migration– it applies only to those Chinese who were South African citizens before 1994 (and their descendants), a much smaller number of around 10,000 to 12,000.

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