It's official,

My single "Little Black Dress" is now available for you to hear.  Come check it out.  Leave me a comment, let me know what you think.  Thanks so much for your support.  I really appreciate it. Talk to you soon.
Kiss, Kiss,
Bettinna

I'm Blonde n' Bitchin
with pretty brown skin.
Half pop, half punk
Your black Madonna of Rock.

I need your help on this friends.  This is very upsetting.  I just found out about this on Anderson Cooper show tonight on CNN.  All of you, please help, and send a letter to Governor Blanco, please visit www.colorofchange.org/jena.

Spread the word (Cut and Paste on your page)

Dear friend,

I just learned about a case of segregation-era oppression happening today in Jena, Louisiana. I signed onto ColorOfChange.org's campaign for justice in Jena, and wanted to invite you to do the same.

http://www.colorofchange.org/jena/?id=2344-300098

Last fall in Jena, the day after two Black high school students sat beneath the "white tree" on their campus, nooses were hung from the tree. When the superintendent dismissed the nooses as a "prank," more Black students sat under the tree in protest. The District Attorney then came to the school accompanied by the town's police and demanded that the students end their protest, telling them, "I can be your best friend or your worst enemy... I can take away your lives with a stroke of my pen."
 
A series of white-on-black incidents of violence followed, and the DA did nothing. But when a white student was beaten up in a schoolyard fight, the DA responded by charging six black students with attempted murder and conspiracy to commit murder.

It's a story that reads like one from the Jim Crow era, when judges, lawyers and all-white juries used the justice system to keep blacks in "their place." But it's happening today. The families of these young men are fighting back, but the story has gotten minimal press. Together, we can make sure their story is told and that the Governor of Louisiana intervenes and provides justice for the Jena 6. It starts now. Please join me:

http://www.colorofchange.org/jena/?id=2344-300098

The noose-hanging incident and the DA's visit to the school set the stage for everything that followed. Racial tension escalated over the next couple of months, and on November 30, the main academic building of Jena High School was burned down in an unsolved fire. Later the same weekend, a black student was beaten up by white students at a party. The next day, black students at a convenience store were threatened by a young white man with a shotgun. They wrestled the gun from him and ran away. While no charges were filed against the white man, the students were later arrested for the theft of the gun.

That Monday at school, a white student, who had been a vocal supporter of the students who hung the nooses, taunted the black student who was beaten up at the off-campus party and allegedly called several black students "nigger." After lunch, he was knocked down, punched and kicked by black students. He was taken to the hospital, but was released and was well enough to go to a social event that evening.

Six Black Jena High students, Robert Bailey (17), Theo Shaw (17), Carwin Jones (18), Bryant Purvis (17), Mychal Bell (16) and an unidentified minor, were expelled from school, arrested and charged with second-degree attempted murder. The first trial ended last month, and Mychal Bell, who has been in prison since December, was convicted of aggravated battery and conspiracy to commit aggravated battery (both felonies) by an all-white jury in a trial where his public defender called no witnesses. During his trial, Mychal's parents were ordered not to speak to the media and the court prohibited protests from taking place near the courtroom or where the judge could see them.

Mychal is scheduled to be sentenced on July 31st, and could go to jail for 22 years. Theo Shaw's trial is next. He will finally make bail this week.

The Jena Six are lucky to have parents and loved ones who are fighting tooth and nail to free them. They have been threatened but they are standing strong. We know that if the families have to go it alone, their sons will be a long time coming home. But if we act now, we can make a difference.

Join me in demanding that Louisiana Governor Kathleen Blanco get involved to make sure that justice is served for Mychal Bell, and that DA Reed Walters drop the charges against the 5 boys who have not yet gone to trial.

http://www.colorofchange.org/jena/?id=2344-300098

Thanks.

Hello all,

I've added new songs to my sonicbids epk at www.sonicbids.com/bettinna.  Check it out.  Let me know what you all think on my myspace comment box. 

I would like to say to some of you, thanks for the great feedbacks last time and the great tips from some of you on getting a band together.  I now have two amazing guitarists, Juan Hernandez and Dee Ginsberg, in my band and drum roll please, an amazing female drummer, Veronica Bellino.  Welcome them to the band.  Add them on to your friends list and say hi.  Everything is coming up roses and blooming on fast.  Thanks for the support.

Love you all.  Kiss, Kiss,

Bettinna

She's Blonde n' Bitchin
With pretty brown skin.
Half pop, half punk
Your black Madonna of Rock.

www.sonicbids.com/bettinna

Bettinna is seeking an experienced lead guitar player to her backup band.  She's an emerging solo female, glam rock/pop singer-songwriter.  Guitarist must be prepared to do recordings, local NYC gigs and New York/Boston/Jersey festivals or conferences.  Must be between the ages of 20 - 30 yrs.

Bettinna has complete materials and have built some buzz already with music industry contacts as well.

Influences - Gwen Stefani (No Doubt), Avril Lavigne, Fefe Dobson, Debbie Harry (Blondie), Shirley Manson (Garbage), Karen O (Yeah Yeah Yeahs)...

Also:
A major national band search music company is interested in Bettinna to perform a showcase with a band. If she's chosen the prize will be a full sponsorship that includes:

* Professionally produced Music Video
* CMJ Showcase
* SXSW Showcase
* National band status & gig swaps with bands from other territories
* Co-branded merchandise
* National promotion in an OriginalSessions CD compilation
* Photo spread & feature story on FMFB quarterly magazine & other media outlets.
* The winner of the annual competition will also be presented with a
production deal an independent recording label.

So if you become part of the band you'll be included in all of the above. No Egos please, be dedicated, and prepared. 

To be considered please email your name and contact information at: bitchinrockband@yahoo.com.  Please do not email Bettinna. 

Experienced only!

OMG. Sunday, May 20th was the best night of my life. I really mean that. It was so surreal. Gavin Rossdale. I met Gavin. I touched Gavin. I took countless pictures with Gavin and of Gavin. I gave Gavin my present to give to Kingston. OMG.

Let me tell you everything. Saturday afternoon, the day before the show, I went to my voice lesson, and afterwards I went to K-mart to shop for a gift for Kingston. I got him a Spiderman football and a thermometer pacifier that checks a baby's temperature. I bought a cute pink gift bag and a picture frame. I decided to do a drawing for Gwen. I bought a poster board at an art store nearby and went home to prepare my gifts. I made a drawing of Gwen and Gavin, Kingston and No Doubt. I stayed up till 3 am to finish the drawings. I framed it. Took lots of pictures and then I prepared my outfit for the show. I knew it would rain a little on Sunday, but I was determined to wear my small grey pinstriped booty shorts, with my favorite green Gwen you're my homegirl t-shirt and my favorite crop plaid small jacket. I was ready. I knew Gwen would love it.

On SUNDAY MORNING, (I played the song to commemorate that special day). I call Gwenabee on cel, spoke to Hollaback Girl briefly and chatted with them about the time when they would arrive at Jones Beach Stadium in New York. We were like all excited. I live in Manhattan, I knew it would take forever to get to the stadium. So, I began to do my poster for Gwen's show. I wanted to be bold, I wanted to standout. I wanted Gwen to see it. So I wrote up: GWEN SLEEP WITH ME. On the sides, it had, I'm just a girl. In the middle of the poster I drew up the same logo that's on my t-shirt of Gwen's cartoon face and a heart that surrounds her head with the HNDFFC written on it. OMG, the poster looked amazing. You'll see the pictures.

Time flew by so fast. It was like already 3pm. I started getting ready. Took a shower, got dress, put my makeup. I made sure my camera was ready. The batteries were full. I brought extra batteries just in case. I didn't make any dinner. So, I ordered a cheeseburger from a nearby deli. I rarely eat meat or anything fattening, I thought fuck it. I'll eat a burger. It's my day and I'm gonna see Gwen so why not. Gwen would have done the same. Anyway, quickly I scoffed down my burger, rolled up my poster, packup my Gwennie's gift, put on my fishnet stockings with my white polka dot pink platform shoes, and scurried my way down to the train.

Everybody was looking at me. I was so a Gwenabee. I called Gwenabee aka Erika and Hollaback Girl aka Janet to tell them I'm on my way. I arrived at Penn Station around 5:45 pm and missed the Babylon train to Freeport by a minute. I took the next one at around 6:00 pm. It was my first time to Jones Beach. Off I went. I arrived at Freeport at 7:15 pm. 15 minutes before the time on the ticket. I took a bus to the stadium. On the bus, everyone was staring at me. I couldn't understand why some of these people were heading to see Gwen and they don't look excited. I had a huge excited grin on my face. I felt like a kid in a candy store. I felt like I won a million dollars. These people who were on the bus looked miserable. Unbelievable.

Anyway, I arrived to the stadium and I immediately wanted to check out my seat. OMG, I had the best seat. I was like 4 steps away from the stage, literally, in section A row p, second seat from the aisle. It was very convenient since I would be going back in forth from the stage to my seat. So I called my girls from HNDFFC, Gwenabee aka Erika and Hollaback Girl aka Janet, to find out where they were. They arrived like at 3 pm at the stadium from Beantown. It was the first time I was to meet them face to face. I was so excited to meet them and the rest of the members of HNDFFC. When I met Gwenabee aka Erika and Hollaback Girl aka Janet, I expected them to be 6 feet tall. They look tall in pictures. Gwenabee is so tiny and cute, she's like shorter than me. Hollaback Girl, she's very pretty in person. Long Blonde golden locks, like the cool girl next door. Very approachable. I met a couple of the other members, but I can't remember all their names now. We all were standing in front of the gates where the tour buses were. We all talk about Gwen and HNDFFC, and Gavin, and Kingston. During that time an argument was going on. I'm not gonna say much, since I have no clue, but all I have to say about that is, I don't know what happen before or after. I have to say a True No Doubt fan should not be haters of other No Doubt fans. I've envied fans with their luck in meeting No Doubt countless times, but not hate and spread rumors with hate emails about each other. That's not cool. I'm a lover, not a hater, no doubt.

Anyway, I went to the merchandise stands and bought a Gwen T-shirt and a Gwen doll. I had no money, I spent $65.00, but it was worth it. All for Gwen. Went back to the gates, the girls saw Kingston being carried away by the nanny onto the tour bus. I missed that. Oh well, next time. We decided to just stay put and not see Lady Sovereign and Akon, in case we spotted Gwen. We waited until Akon finished. We spoke to a couple of other fans. I watched Gwenabee aka Erika show off her rad tattoos to fans. I'm thinking of getting a tattoo, but until I get over the humongous fear of needles. If I do get one it'll definitely be a No Doubt tattoo. No doubt.

Anyway, we decided it was time to head to our seats. I ended up sitting with an older gentleman on my left and an older woman on my right and right next to her was this kid name Nick who I met through the girls. The older woman intrigued me so much I struck up a conversation with her. She was like 60, beautiful. You wouldn't think she would be seen at a Gwen concert. It was so cool. The guy next to me was kind of creepy. He looked like a pedophile, so I didn't talk to him, but he was cool when I kept stepping out of my seat to take pictures of Gwen on stage.

I started talking to a couple of fans in front of me and in back of me. We all were discussing our favorite No Doubt cd. I tell you, Return to Saturn is definitely the best No Doubt cd. It's not like their big hit CD, but it's the best written and cool CD. I mean that's when you get to see Gwen really get mad and emotional over the breakup with Gavin. People who aren't No Doubt fans think it's in reference to Tony, which is not. I mean I can't understand why Gavin would go for the ugly lead singer of The Corrs. Where are they now? Gwen is so much better. Anyway, I struck up a friendship with this cool kid name Jason and exchanged numbers during the show.

Now, for what you all were waiting for. The show opens up; Gwen comes out shackled in a prison set. She's inside bars singing Sweet Escape. I get up and stand on top of my seat. The older woman was like oh my god. I was like, get up here. She got up. She was loving it. I put up my GWEN SLEEP WITH ME poster as high as I can. Took so many pictures. The set was amazing. The sound was amazing. Gwen was spectacular. Her voice powerful. Then security comes out and tells us to get down from the seats. I got off and put up my poster for like a minute. Then another freaking annoying security comes to me and tells me to put it down, that I'm blocking people's view. How rude. The people in the back just stood there watching. Majority of the audience didn't know the songs at all. I sang every song, loud and clear. I knew every word. I just don't get it. Why go to a concert where you spent a lot of money, and just stand there and watch. Get up and dance and sing. If you don't know the songs, try and catch the words. Enjoy the moment for goodness sake. It's a concert.

Anyway, like I was saying, I exited so many times from my seat toward the stage to take pictures of Gwen. The ultimate moment came when she sang Hollaback Girl. She wore a mini red disco glitter shorts and a plaid jacket just like mine. OMG, Gwen and I were dress alike. Everybody turned to me and said we were dressed alike. Yep, Gwen and I were dress alike. I went up to the stage and Gwen saw me, and saw that I was wearing the same thing. She pointed straight at me. During the show, every time I went up to her, she would gave me eye contact and point at me. I'm not crazy. Jason took pictures. Everyone was like OMG. I don't know Gwen and I were connecting. It was so special. She knew how much I was enjoying being there, being her fan. I was like dancing in the aisle. She saw how much I was having so much fun. When I would point my camera to her she would pose to sing right in front of me. She knew I need to get a great shot of her. I don't know if she recognizes me from 2005 on Halloween night at the Harajuku concert in Boston when I met her after the show. But I have to say, I have feeling she did. I just have that feeling she recognized me.

Later on toward the end of the concert, the greatest moment of my life happened. It took the cake. Gavin Rossdale walks down and walk down two rows ahead of me to watch his wife. He had bodyguards around him. Everyone ask me is that Gavin. I'm like YES. OMG Gavin. I decided to make my way behind him. I tapped his shoulder and told him how much I loved him and that I have a gift for his son. He's like, where is it? I told him it's back at my seat. I went back to my seat to get the gift. He started giving autographs to fans and taking pictures. I removed the picture frame I drew for Gwen. I wanted to give it to her personally. I went over to Gavin, tapped his shoulder again. He turned around and I told him I got his son a Spiderman football and a thermometer pacifier. Since his son was sick with an ear ache, I thought it was great timing. He said, Oh you're so sweet. That was his exact words. Oh you're so sweet, with his English accent. Jason, the kid I struck up a friendship with at the concert, took so many pics with me and Gavin. Gavin gave me a handshake and thanked me. I went out of the row towards my seat which was like 1 row behind. I could see him from my seat. I kept taking pictures of him. I decided to go back to him and take a close up. I asked him, will Bush come out with a record again. He looked at me with a look. It was a questionable look. Not a no look or a yes look. Then I change the question to, will you come out with a solo album and he said yes. I was like oh I can't wait. He was so gracious, a gentlemen. That's the kind of man I want to marry. He's exactly the kind of man I want. His aura was cool and collective, so gracious. Unbelievable.

Gwen ended and Gavin made his way out, he kept looking at me. He knew I was taking countless pics of him. I waived to him and he said thanks again to me. Unbelievable. My connection with The Rossdale family. Amazing night. I said my goodbyes to the woman who sat next to me. Jason, who I met, one seat in front of me, got together with me and we made our way to the gates where I was to meet Gwenabee and Hollaback Girl near the gates where the buses were. We all met. I got to meet more HNDFFC members and other No Doubt fans. We all didn't know if Gwen would come out, since Kingston was sick. We were hopeful. Then Security began to kick us out. We took more pictures then we made our way to the parking lot. I met more HNDFFC members, Starry Eyes and her friend. Also, another fan, name Jessica and Amanda. They were all awesome. We made our way to the parking lot where the entrance to the busses was. Gwenabee and Hollaback Girl left around 11pm and the rest of us stayed, all 5 of us, Jessica, Amanda, Starry Eyes, and her friend and I stood there for Gwen. Jessica befriended the security at the gates. So we can try to get in, but he wouldn't let us in. He found us amusing. It was so cold. I was in my shorts, but still I was excited. My blood was pumping hard. We traded stories about No Doubt and Gwen. It was so much fun. They were so cool. Then my camera went berserk on me. The zoom lens was stuck. I basically fiddled with it throughout the rest of night to fix it. I was so unhappy about that. I was like if I see Gwen, I'm not gonna be able to take a picture with her again. Last time when I met her she had her sunglasses on. So I was hoping I can get her eyes. Starry Eyes offered to take my picture if that happened. So we waited and waited. We sang and waited. Then around 1am, yes, we stayed till 1:00 am. I wait for a month if I have to for Gwen. A bus pulls out, a guy on the bus standing at the doorway of the bus turned to gesture at someone and it was Gwen. Gwen came toward the front of window and did a huge wave goodbye and kisses to us. We all ran after the bus, calling out to Gwen. Shouting Gwen, Gwen, like girls running after lost loves.

I didn't get a chance to meet Gwen again, since it would've been the icing on the cake, but I'm okay with the night. I finally met Gavin, connected with him. Gwen approve of my outfit since we wore the same thing and she pointed at me to confirm. Met great people and gained cool new friends with a passion for music and No Doubt.

Thank you GOD for one amazing night.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

Kiss, Kiss,
Bettinna

OMG! This is so funny, I had to share this with all of you.  This article was in Time magazine. 

When Your Spouse is Hotter than You

Marrying outside your religion is no big deal anymore. Neither is marrying someone of a completely different generation. And now that something like 4% of all marriages are interracial, not even your grandparents will get lathered up if you marry someone of another color. But as the old prohibitions fall away, a new one is rising to take their place. It's a discrimination that's widespread but largely unspoken, causing pain and stress to the affected couples, who often find it hard to talk about, even to each other. I'm talking, of course, about marrying outside your looks. Marrying a few degrees up or down the hotness scale. Refusing to stay within your cute-gory.

I've been in a mixed marriage for a decade and a half now and gotten used to the stares and nudges. I've even developed a couple of airy responses to the inevitable comments that arise from co-workers and friends along the lines of "Um, your husband is so hot..." Sometimes I go with "Oh, that's not my husband--that's my twin brother," and other times a dismissive "Yeah, but back in Australia I'm considered a great beauty. It's Nicole Kidman who's the hag." Each time, it hurts just a little less.

Like so many in my situation, I didn't mean to intermarry. It wasn't that I had ideas above my station; it was just that I was young and naive enough to think love would conquer all. Also, to be perfectly frank, I didn't think he was that hot. That's what makes this type of discrimination particularly insidious: it's not clear that couples have transgressed against hotness-equality laws until they're already married. Nobody minds if you date outside your tribe, and people applaud an ambitious play for the hubba-hubba human across the room, but--as my brothers and sisters in the gay community have found--there's a world of difference between what people will accept in the innocent suburbs of hooking up and the judgmental metropolis of marriage.

As in so many other areas of discrimination, women face double jeopardy. Guys who marry a few rungs up the looks ladder are rock stars or rich or have, I don't know, beautiful penmanship. Women who marry up, well, they're deluded. Their husbands must be gay or have really bad bacne to even look at them. And the standards are ridiculous. Deborra-Lee Furness is a charming, spirited, good-looking woman who happens to be married to Hugh Jackman, a freak of nature. Hence rumors circulate that Jackman is gay. Had there been an Internet in times gone by, they probably would have swirled around Queen Victoria's and Eleanor Roosevelt's husbands as well.

Shockingly few peer-reviewed studies have been done on our type of union. We don't yet have our own box to check on the Census, even though we've been around for years. I'm actually the product of a mixed marriage. My father has an unlined face and thick, curly salt-and-pepper hair in his 70s. My mother--well, let's just say that when she comes to visit, the kids hide the broomstick and the big cooking pot. She tells folks my dad married her for her legs and her fortune. Coincidentally, these are the only two of her attributes she did not pass along to me.

If you suspect that you might be in an interfacial marriage, don't be ashamed. Acceptance is the first step to recovery. Ask yourself these questions: Do you and your spouse disagree on how many mirrors should be in the home, what angle they're placed at and how well they're lit? Do you find yourself taking all the photographs at family gatherings and "forgetting" how to use the self-timer? If your spouse buys you some beauty products, do you take it as a kind of warning? Do you ever encourage your spouse to wear those pants that make him or her look beamy?

These are all challenges that scummy-yummy couples must deal with to survive. And that's before you get to the big questions: Do you raise the children as attractive or hideous? Or try to find a middle ground--you know, sorta cute? Do you celebrate beautiful-people holidays (Valentine's Day, Mardi Gras) or Oktoberfest? Very few mismatched pairs can work through these issues on their own.

What they--who am I kidding, we--desperately need is a celebrity spokescouple, a famous mixed-assortment pair willing to step into the limelight and explain the challenges specific to this unequal yoking. Maybe then people would have a little compassion for those of us who, through no fault of our own, have to wake up every single day to a drop-dead gorgeous human being on the other pillow, for the love of mercy! Donald and Melania Trump, are you reading this? Ric Ocasek and Paulina Porizkova? Sylvester Stallone and Jennifer Flavin? Larry King and whomever you're married to now? Your people need you!

First question: How did you score such a hottie?