2005 Most Anticipated Movies

Rather than look back on 2004 I'd rather look ahead. Happy New Year folks. Enjoy.

Here is my list of the most anticipated movies of 2005.

Star Wars: Episode III: Revenge of the Sith: The final installment to the trilogy. No happy ending in this one folks. There will be a lot of death and destruction to go around.

Batman Begins: Warner Bros. reboots the Dark Knight with Christian Bale as Bruce Wayne.

Mr. and Mrs. Smith: Doug Liman serves us up some eye candy in the form of Brad Pitt and Angela Jolie. They play a pair of assassins who are married to each other but one doesn't know what the other one does for a living. They end up being each other's assignment.

Sin City: Robert Rodriguez brings Frank Miller's graphic novel to life. Here's the cast: Jessica Alba, Rosario Dawson, Elijah Wood, Bruce Willis, Benicio Del Toro, Michael Clarke Duncan, Josh Hartnett, Michael Madsen, Jaime King, Brittany Murphy, Clive Owen, Mickey Rourke. I don't think they have enough stars in this movie.

Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire: As Harry grows older the stories get darker.

The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: They blow up Earth in the first 10 minutes of the movie, and then things get funny after that.

Fantastic Four: Avi Arad and Tim Story bring Marvel's first family to life. They went with a younger cast this time around.

Be Cool: Chili Palmer leaves movies and goes into the music business in this follow up to Get Shorty.

The Ring 2: The story picks up six months after the horrifying events that terrorized Rachel Keller and her son Aidan in Seattle. To escape her haunting memories, Rachel takes Aidan and moves to the small coastal community of Astoria, Oregon, to start fresh. However, Rachel’s resolve quickly turns to dread when evidence at a local crime scene—including an unmarked videotape—seems eerily familiar. Rachel realizes that the vengeful Samara is back and more determined than ever to continue her relentless cycle of terror and death..

Ice Harvest: A dim lawyer attempts a Christmas Eve crime, hoping to swindle the local mob out of some money. But his partner, a strip club owner, might have different plans for the cash. directed by Harold Ramis.

Honorable mention: Spy Hunter - It's the Rock for goodness sakes. Come on you know you smell what he's cookin.

Fringe Thursday 12-30-04

Marvel's What If Series is making a comeback. Here are some titles that Marvel has decided to explore.

What If Aunt May Had Died Instead Of Uncle Ben


What If Dr Doom Had Become The Thing


What If General Ross Had Become The Hulk


What If Jessica Jones Had Joined The Avengers


What If Karen Page Had Lived


What If Magneto Had Formed The X-Men With Professor X


Speaking of Marvel Avi Arad is just too busy these days. Here are just a couple of films he's working on.

Iron Fist, The Black Widow, Deathlok, Sub-Mariner, The Hands of Shang-Chi, Iron Man, X-Men 3, Ghost Rider, Luke Cage, Fantastic Four, Man-Thing.

He's really trying to bring the Marvel Universe to life. Now only if I could introduce him to J. Michael Straczynski.

Hip Hop Wednesday 12-29-04

Over 30 and still relevant


DeLaSoul are over 30 years old. Can you believe they are 30 years old and still making hip hop?

Big ups to Panama Jackson for hitting the nail on the head.

I am over 30 and I still listen to hip hop. I always thought I would be more into jazz as I got older cause that's what I thought grown folks did. But turns out that is not the case. Granted I am disappointed by the state of the music but I still find myself looking for the artists that I can relate to. No one thirty years old is going to relate to Chingy and if you do there's something wrong with you. But if you're listening to artists like Mos Def or The Roots there's something you can still appreciate about hip hop. I use those two as prime examples but there are countless others out there who are still keeping the Spirit of 88' alive.

2004 Best and Worst Movies

Top Ten best



Garden State - A really good debut film for Zach Braff. Great script and good soundtrack. He won't get an Oscar nod but he deserves one. One of the best love stories I've seen since Lost in Translation.

Sideways - Real characters and good script. Paul Giamatti deserves an Oscar nod.

Kill Bill Vol. 2 - More talk less action. The result...What do you think it's QT fool.

Primer - You have to watch this movie at least three times before some things sink in.

Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind - From the mind of Charlie Kaufman comes a new age love story. A good date movie.

Closer - I've got two words that describe this movie. Emotional Violence. This movie convinced me that Julia Roberts can act.

Hero - Visually stunning. Kickass action scenes.

The Incredibles - Best animated movie of the year.

Spartan - It's David Mamet. Need I say more?

Dogville - The most violent movie of the year. You will feel something after seeing this movie. Whether it be good or bad really depends on what you think of America.

Top Five Worst:

Torque - Icecube on a bike? Nah.
Twisted - I saw the ending coming a mile away..
Scooby-Doo 2 - Why lord why?
Van Helsing - Big budget, Big disappointment.
Troy - David Benioff left the Gods out of his screenplay. Big mistake.

Honorable Mentions: Spider-Man 2, Hellboy, The Punisher, Man on Fire, Dodgeball, Fahrenheit 9/11, METALLICA: Some Kind of Monster, Anchorman, Collateral, Ray, Shaun of the Dead, Infernal Affairs, Team America: World Police, Ocean's Twelve, The Motorcycle Diaries.

Oh sweet Amber

Ooh then she holds my hand
And I lie to get a smile
And she squeezes tighter
I still lie to get a smile

-Sweet Amber
by Metallica

Amber Frey has a book deal. It should be titled "How I banged a killer."

Is it me or is this just wrong. This woman slept with a married man who turned out to be a killer and now she's cashing in by writing a book? How much you want to bet that this book will be a best seller with the Walmart crew?

Ok she says she didn't know he was married and he probably lied to her. They met in November 20, 2002 but stopped seeing each other in January of 2003.

Frey's attorney says her book is a "story of courage in crisis" that "will inspire others who have been betrayed to fight back for truth and justice."

Heh.

More Red State Madness

Before I bid you guys a Happy X-Mas and a Merry New Year I wanted to leave you guys with a little RED STATE MADNESS.

Jacqueline Duty is suing Russell High School in Lexington, KY for damages resulting in the amount of $50,000. She was told to leave her prom because of her dress.

I think she should have been allowed to wear the dress to her prom. And I also think that if anyone was offended by her expression of her Southern heritage, they should feel free to point out to her that her ancestors lost the Civil War.

Her lawyer said Duty lost many scholarships because she was portrayed as a racist after the incident. Duty's mother added that her daughter graduated near the top of her class in May.

Good for her she graduated at the top of her class but here's the thing. If she was so smart she would understand that the confederate flag symbolizes an society that favored slavery and degredation of black people. That's sounds pretty racist to me.

She should have went to Cary Christian Academy.

William Jelani Cobb wrote a great article one what Cary Christian Academy is doing to history.

Happy Holiday's folks, drink em if ya got em.

Fringe Thursday 12/23/04

Here are a couple of movies that will be getting an American "touch up".


Oldboy is a film that has already been released in South Korea. It will be released in the States in 2005. The premise goes as follows:

An average man is kidnapped and imprisoned in a hotel room for 15 years without explanation. He then is released, equipped with money, a cellphone and expensive clothes. As he strives to explain his imprisonment and get his revenge, he soon finds out that not only his kidnapper has still plans for him, but that those plans will serve as the even worse finale to 15 years of imprisonment.

The premise alone is interesting to me. Based on what I've read on the web this is probably one of the most violent movies to come out of South Korea. Check out the trailer here.


Infernal Affairs was released last year by Miramax and will be remade by Martin Scorsese under the title The Departed. The movie will star Matt Damon and Leonardo DiCaprio. I got a chance to see the original last year and it was just incredible. The premise goes as follows:

The film follows the parallel lives a cop who secretly reports to ruthless Triad crime boss; and an undercover police officer who poses as a Triad member in the crime boss's gang. These two sleeper agents live underground for a decade before a series of mistakes clues in all the wrong people as to what's going on and each mole is ordered to root out the double agent--which in both cases happens to be themselves.

Check out the trailer here.

Hip Hop Wednesday 12/22/04

"What's beef? Beef is when you make your enemies start your Jeep, Beef is when you roll no less than thirty deep, Beef is when I see you, Guaranteed to be an ICU."

-Biggie Smalls

Donricardo Sebastian was shot over some beef in the parking lot of Barry’s nightclub in Rhode Island, on December 3rd 2004. This was the beginning of the end for Hip Hop night at Barry's Club. Police have been sent to Barry's at least 66 times on Thursdays alone, resulting in 30 arrests. Thursday is hip hop night.

The Warwick Board of Public Safety wants to ban Hip Hop and rap music events at Barry's Club. Hip-Hop seems to draw a very violent crowd. We're just not going to put up with it," said Michael F. Ryan, chairman of the Warwick Board of Public Safety.

Donricardo Sebastian has a criminal record going back to 1999 (for shooting someone), and he is a resident of Connecticut. According to the police the shooter is from Massachusetts, the shooter is still at large.

Is it really the music? Then what about what happened in Ohio last week? It wasn't hip hop music they were listening to when Dimebag Darrell got shot.

The ACLU has a problem with this situation . I guess their beef has something to do with free speech. This isn't really about the music, this about outsiders coming into this community and disrupting it. The people involved in the December 3rd incident were not from Rhode Island.

This isn't about the music as much as it is about club security. This should be more about the police keeping tabs on who comes into their jurisdiction and that means not just on Hip Hop night. Getting rid of Hip Hop night is a quick fix. Do these people think that if they ban these type of events it will stop people from coming in and acting the fool?

I understand that the people within this community want peace but censoring a certain type of music is not going to solve the problem.

Red State madness

Normally I would post a picture of Lisa Montgomery (36), but this woman is just too damn ugly and I just don't feel the need to do it.

If you haven't heard by now Lisa Montgomery is accused of strangling Bobbie Jo Stinnett (23) and cutting the fetus out of her womb. Recently she was caught in Kansas.

It's amazing that this all started on a message boards.

Revisionist History

There has been talk about about President Lincoln's sexuality.

C.A. Tripp has written a book. "The Intimate World of Abraham Lincoln," In this new book, Tripp says early biographers of Lincoln, including Carl Sandburg, sensed Lincoln's homosexuality.

In the preface to the original multi-volume edition of his acclaimed 1926 biography, Sandburg wrote: "Month by month in stacks and bundles of fact and legend, I found invisible companionship that surprised me. Perhaps a few of these presences lurk and murmur in this book."

Sandburg also wrote that Lincoln and Joshua Speed had "streaks of lavender, spots soft as May violets." Mr. Tripp said that references to Lincoln possible homosexuality were cut in the 1954 abridged version of the biography. Mr. Tripp maintains that other writers, including Ida Tarbell and Margaret Leech, also found evidence of Lincoln homosexuality but shied away from defining it as such or omitted crucial details.

It is a known fact that Lincoln slept with a man by the name of Joshua Speed for four years. Lincoln and Speed wrote to each other for many years you can read some of their letters here. During frontier times men had to share beds. But come on folks FOUR YEARS? They couldn't find another bed during four years? Sounds fishy to me.

Thomas Jefferson fathered black children with a woman by the name of Sally Hemings but was still a slave owner. Hard concept to accept huh? For many years this was disputed but based on DNA evidence gathered in 1998 the claim was given some credence. The Thomas Jefferson Memorial Foundation issued a report in January 2000 concluding that there is a strong likelihood that Thomas Jefferson was the father of at least one and perhaps all the children of Sally Hemings.

In May 2002 the Monticello Association (descendants of Thomas Jefferson) voted to not admit descendants of Sally Hemings into their organization. The decision came after their careful review of all available information resulting in the conclusion that there was not sufficient evidence to prove Jefferson fathered Hemings' children.

Now keep in mind the decendants of Sally Hemings and President Jefferson's union fought for many years to be accepted into this club and in the end they got what they wanted sort of.

Fringe Thursday 12/16/04

Batman Begins comes out June 17, 2005 but you can see the new trailer here. The trailer looks good, it has a darker tone similar to the first two Tim Burton films.




Marvel Comics has just released "What If Classic Vol. 1 TPB." On sale now at Midtown Comics. For years I've been calling Marvel asking them to put this out in TPB (trade paperback) I'm glad all my phone calls to Marvel paid off.

Speaking of What If's AllHipHop.com has an interesting What If story What If Suge Knight never started Death Row records.

Hip Hop Wednesday 12/15/04

Allhiphop.com does some Q&A with Nelly

Loon leaves Bad Boy. Y'all remember Loon. Back in Feburary he got out on bail for attempted murder. But then the charges were dropped in September.

Grandmaster Flash & the Furious Five get snubbed. By the Rock N Roll hall of fame. This kind of sucks if you ask me. I mean U2 is great in their own right but they are not the innovators that Grandmaster Flash & Co. are, just think about it Grandmaster Flash is credited with developing a series of techniques: "cutting" (moving between tracks exactly on the beat), "back-spinning" (manually turning records to repeat brief snippets of sound), and "phasing" (manipulating turntable speeds) — in short, creating the basic vocabulary which DJs continue to follow even today.

Maybe this is the reason why there should be two different Hall of Fame's. One for Hip Hop the other for Rock.

NAACP Where do we go from here?

In order to provide some perspective on Kweisi Mfume recent resignation from the NAACP I decided to provide some background history.

Combining the white philanthropic support that characterized Booker T. Washington's accommodationist organizations with the call for racial justice delivered by W. E. B. Du Bois's militant Niagara Movement, the NAACP forged a middle road of interracial cooperation.

The Niagara Movement was the pre-cursor to the NAACP

After the Niagara Movement disbanded in 1910.

Ida Wells-Barnett, W.E.B. DuBois, Henry Moscowitz, Mary White Ovington, Oswald Garrison Villiard, William English Walling led the "Call" to renew the struggle for civil and political liberty

The first president of the NAACP was a white man by the name of Moorfield Storey, a white constitutional lawyer and former president of the American Bar Association. The writer and diplomat James Weldon Johnson became the association's first black secretary in 1920. Louis T. Wright, a surgeon, was named the first black chairman of its board of directors in 1934.

And now we jump to 2004 and Kweisi Mfume stepping down as President of the NAACP. So where does the organization go from here?

Personally I feel the NAACP needs an over haul and a name change. The NAACP needs to make a lot of decisions as far as its direction is concerned. The NAACP must prove it's relevance to today's youth. There must be a bridge built between lower-income minorities and the middle-class. To quote Lester Kenyatta Spence "The NAACP is using mid 20th Century methods to deal with 21st Century problems."

Re: Preaching God, With Profanity

My colleague Nominal Me posted an article about Spirituality in Hip-Hop.

He should have consulted me on this topic before he singled out Kanye West. I would have informed him that spirituality has always been apart of hip hop going back as far artists like DMX, PM Dawn, Me Phi Me, KRS-One, Nas, Tupac, Bone Thugs-N-Harmony (remember the Crossroads).

Hip hop has always had a spiritual element to it check out these lyrics. And judge for yourself.



DMX - The Prayer IV

"Father God I am just learning how to pray, so bear with me First I thank you for the life of everyone that's here with me. Then I thank you for the love you give me, why? I don't know; I don't deserve it, and it hurts inside Many a nights I cried, and called your name out loud But didn't call you when I was doin good, I was too proud. And STILL you gave me love, I wasn't used to that, most of the people that gave me love, they ended up takin it back. That's somethin new to me, so I'm askin you for time to adjust. Let me make it there, I will be one you can trust What I stand for, I put my life on, I DO!
I guess what I'm askin is - show me how to stand for you.




Nas - Heaven

If Heaven was a mile away, And you could ride by the gates. Would you try to run inside when it opens would you try to die today? Would you pray louder finally believing His power? Even if you couldn't see, but you could feel would you still doubt him? How would you start acting?



Tupac - Only God can judge me

Oh my lord. Tell me what I'm livin' for
Everybodies droppin' Got me knockin' on heaven's door
And all my memories Of seeing brothas bleed
And everybody grieves. But still nobody sees. Recollect your thoughts. Don't get caught up in tha mix. Cause the media is full of dirty tricks. Only God can Judge me....

Those are just several examples.

Dirty Debi update.

The Tampa temptress "Dirty" Debi Lafave is using the insanity defense and pleading not guilty to the charge that she had sex with a 14 year old boy.

Star Banner's Rick Cundiff breaks it down perfectly in this article.

This was my favorite part:

"The boy, Kayan told investigators, “could be very arrogant and rude to me and to other students. He could be very annoying, but he is very intelligent.”

Just goes to show ya that women fall for that type no matter what age they are.

"Lafave and the boy got caught when the cousin's mother became suspicious about seeing the boy in Ocala with an unknown woman. She called the boy's mother, who complained to Temple Terrace police."

See this is why I don't involve family in my business cause family always tells and it always gets back to your mom.

21 Baltimore cops file lawsuit

21 current and former African-American Baltimore police officers have filed a federal class-action suit alleging discrimination in Baltimore, Maryland. The 21 officers allege the department condoned a hostile workplace, blocking black officers from promotion, providing uneven discipline and retaliating against officers who speak out against discrimination.

It's interesting that African-Americans have to still deal with this type of thing til this day.

If you want to ask this question to the acting police commissioner Leonard Hamm please feel free to call his office the number is:
410-396-2020.

While you are at it please feel free to ask him why they fired the black commissioner Kevin Clark?

Hip-Hop Wednesday 12/8/04

Queensbridge's own Street Disciple Nas has released a double album.


Some say it is not his best work but it is good. I've always felt that Nas as an artist never really reached his full potential. Instead he went mainstream and put out work that reinforced thug life all in the name of keeping it real. What people don't understand is that Escobar was a character and not who Nas really is. He's always had a positive element to his music hopefully this double album will deliever more of a message that takes us back to his debut Illmatic.




Also in other news Kanye West was nominated for 10 grammys. It seems as though Hip Hop music has reached a new height. Although while the genre has gotten a tad bit bloated like rock in the late eighties there are always bright spots. Kanye West is one of those rare MCs (note the use of the term MC and not rapper yes there is a difference) that takes the genre to a new level. Last year Outkast won album of the year with the Speakerboxxx/The Love Below. I wonder if Kanye West can pull it off. He's only up against: Ray Charles, Alicia Keys, Usher and Greenday. Stiff competition indeed.

Interracial couple harassment

Taye Diggs and his Tony award winning wife Idina Menzel have been getting harassed lately.

Diggs, 34, swapped vows with Menzel, 33, in January 2003. The native New Yorkers first met in 1996 when they costarred together in the Broadway smash Rent.

Authorities do not yet have a suspect, but it's believed that more than one person was responsible for the notes. Investigators are trying to trace the letters, which were postmarked from three different locations: New York City, Philadelphia and a town in Ohio.

This is the line that makes me think it's a black woman at the bottom of this:

Diggs, meanwhile, is in Canada shooting a movie.

Or maybe it's the people that were behind this.

Why does do interracial couples offend people? Afterall aren't we in the year 2004? It's not like getting married to person of another race is against the law.

The New Avengers

Marvel comics has decided to revamp the Avengers. Here's the new lineup: Captain America, Wolverine, Spiderman, Spiderwoman, Luke Cage, Sentry, Iron Man. And a mystery character to be announced.

New Avengers #1 is available at newsstands right now.

Congratulations TJ.

Sometimes in this life dreams come true. And if you're lucky you get to see it happen. Yesterday TJ Allard won job on "Good Day Live" to be a New York correspondent for the show.

Nominal Me has posted a more in depth interview with him on his blog.

Congrats TJ. You took this victory in stride with a humilty and dignity. We are all proud of you.

My interview with Kevin Allison

Remember MTV's the State? Well back in the early 90's a bunch of NYU students got together and decided to put on a show. The cast: Kevin Allison, Michael Ian Black, Ben Garant, Michael Patrick Jann, Kerri Kenney, Thomas Lennon, Joe Lo Truglio, Ken Marino, Michael Showalter, David Wain, Todd Holoubek.

The MTV show premiered in January of 1994, at which time it received some extremely bad reviews, which were proudly displayed in the highly talked about "more miserable crap" promo on MTV. Since then, the series was renewed twice, garnering increasingly good ratings, reviews and feedback as the critics and audiences caught on. (including being one of the top 10 shows of the year in the Wall Street Journal and highest rated sketch show in Entertainment Weekly and Rolling Stone.)


While riding the subway I managed to run into former cast member Kevin Allison. He was extremely nice and open. So I bring to you my interview with Kevin Allison.

What are you up to now?

There's two things I'm really excited about.

First, my brand new sketch comedy group, Big Flux. Normally when you put on any sort of show, you get people saying, "Hey, nice job." But at Big Flux shows recently, people have been coming up to us afterwards and saying, "Whoa. You've really got something here. This is the beginning of something." People are walking away pretty invigorated because the stuff is surprising and daring and pretty insane.

It occurred to me the other day that I'm the only member of The State who is now doing what The State was so devoted to, sketch comedy. Everyone else is doing hybrid forms of comedy now, and a lot of it is great. But I feel like Big Flux is pushing the envelope in the classic sketch form like Python and Mr. Show and The State. We're going from genre to genre, telling miniature stories and taking people completely off guard with most of it. It's a great challenge.

I met all the guys in Big Flux by teaching sketch comedy classes. New classes start in January, so if any of your readers are in the New York area, they should check out www.bigfluxcomedy.com to find out how to apply for the class. The web site is brand new, so there's not a lot of material there yet. But you can check out a few video sketches that Big Flux has done. We're going to keep uploading content--comics, funny stuff to read, merchandise and so on.

Also, Big Flux has two shows coming up at The Pit on December 16 at 7 pm and December 18 at 11 pm. There will be free booze at both shows, so people should definitely come out for a good time. You can make reservations by going to The Pit's site at www.thepit-nyc.com.

The other thing I'm really excited about is film reviewing. I'm getting published by magazines like Premiere and Giant. I love writing about movies and want to keep at it no matter where the rest of my career takes me. There aren't enough people writing really passionate, eloquent, mind-bending analysis out there.

How did you get started in comedy?

Before The State was The State, they were called The New Group. I saw their first show at NYU as a freshman. I was blown away. There was a palpable energy to the group. So in my sophomore year, I started deliberately signing up to take classes that I knew other members of the group were in. After classes, we'd go out drinking and I'd take off all my clothes and hop around singing whaling tunes. Eventually they thought, "Okay, Kevin is some kind of madman. Let's put him in shows."

We put shows together every few months the same way that Big Flux is doing now and eventually got some MTV folks to see us. That's how it all got rolling.

Do you find it harder to do political comedy giving the current climate in this country?

Our material gets extremely offensive, but in ways that are so absurd, you'd be an asshole to be offended.

Just like The State used to do, Big Flux steers clear of direct references to pop culture, because it's so common and so cheap feeling. So I'd never appear onstage as George W. Bush like SNL or Mad TV would do. But I have appeared onstage as a generic Bush-like jackass and people appreciate it as an archetype. Keep in mind, we've never performed outside of New York City yet. But no, I've never paid any attention to the cultural or political climate of the day in creating comedy. I prefer doing stuff that's not so specific to the news and thus more timeless.

I will say I hope the arts just get smarter and more inspired and more revolutionary now. This is the most corrupt, deceptive, heartless and incompetent presidential administration in our history.

What do you like better West coast or East?

What I remember about LA from the last time I was there was that everyone loved Elton John's latest hit, "Bennie and the Jets." Also, I shat on my dad's lap.

Have you ever considered trying out for SNL?

I have considered it. The thing is, I watch that show and have no clue as to what the sensibility is. Every now and then, a sketch is pretty odd and tight and smart. Then the next one lasts seven minutes and hits you over the head with the same joke 30 times. Then the next one seems like a paint-by-numbers deal where they literally just jotted down a few lines from some TV show that no one takes seriously in the first place and they re-deliver the lines but change a word here or there so that it's like parody Mad Libs-style.

I just don't get the impression I'd work well there. I have such a bizarre sensibility. What SNL is good for is that every now and then a dynamic performer like Will Ferrell or Molly Shannon is able to shine. But I much prefer the sort of set up that Python and the Kids in the Hall and The State had, where the writers are also the actors. That way, a group can really develop a voice.

What do you like better, writing comedy or performing comedy?

Writing. I love writing of damn near any kind. I'm just one of those people who finds putting ideas into words really gratifying. But one thing that's also really rewarding about Big Flux is that the group is more into group writing than The State was. It's only natural, because The State was 11 people, so it broke into cliques. Big Flux is just five guys, so it's easier to hash out a sketch idea all as one creative head. My own writing benefits from that collaboration. We revise and revise things until something one guy wrote may very well have changed into a different animal by the time we perform it.

Has there been talk of a State reunion? (I know you've heard that one a thousand times but I just had to ask.)

Yeah, we were all on the phone together about maybe doing a few TV specials for Comedy Central a couple years back. But then Reno 911 kicked into gear and I guess it was just too much to take on. Honestly, I have no idea if we ever will do something. The State was a pretty dysfunctional family--lots of love but lots of tension too. It would surprise me if we could all find time in our lives to get back together and then find ourselves on the same page creatively. But if everyone else was up for it, I'd certainly give it a shot.

What was the title of the book you were reading when we met?

"For Keeps." It's the best of the film criticism by Pauline Kael. She wrote for The New Yorker from 1967 to 1990. One tough cookie but an absolutely brilliant writer.

Vote for TJ Allard

Handsome isn't he? TJ Allard is a good friend of mine. He's in the running for a spot on Good Day Live.

Please click to his website for any updates on this situation

Vote using this number: 1-866-613-0004

More Red State Madness

Ok this woman was just simply psycho.

How could this woman do this to her kids? The reason, she wanted to give her baby to God.

I guess no one told her that God gave her the baby in the first place.

Hip Hop Wednesday 11/24/04

Well DMX has a lot to be thankful for this Thanksgiving. Our last update. It didn't look good for Mr. Simmons.

But it looks like money won out on this one and DMX will not be serving any time.

You got lucky this time Earl. I think you should take some time out and figure your life out. Seriously you don't want to end up like ODB.

Red State Madness

Six hunters are dead

Why are they dead? Well here's what supposedly happened.

"The shootings occurred after hunters returning to a rural cabin saw a man in a deer stand, a platform built in a tree to give hunters a better view, on private property. The hunter radioed someone to ask about the man's presence there. Meier said the man had apparently been hunting and had gotten lost. He wandered onto 400 acres of private land.

One of the hunters "approached the person and asked him to leave, at which time the landowners and the occupants of the cabin came on the scene. The suspect got down from the deer stand, walked approximately 40 yards, fiddled with his rifle in some way ... turned and opened fire on the group," Meier said. He said it appeared some of the targeted hunters tried to fire back."

Of course the relatives of the alledged killer are shocked

The best NBA fight ever

What did I do?


Ron Artest is suspended for the rest of the season. This was the NBA's response to one of the greatest NBA fights ever.

Of course this is a terrible and awful and terrible but damn was it interesting to watch.

My Interview with Harold Ramis

Only in New York can you run into the director of Caddyshack and Groundhog's Day, the writer of Ghostbusters Mr. Harold Ramis. Ladies and Gentlemen I give you my first celebrity interview.

What do you think of the various improv groups out there today as compared to the "Second City"?

I don't see much live improv or sketch comedy, but most of the groups working today employ techniques developed at Second City and/or one of its many offspring like ImprovOlympic. But beyond technique, the secret of successful improv (besides talent, timing, wit, insight, culture, compassion and intelligence) is the capacity to work collaboratively and supportively with a group. It's not like stand-up comedy. Del Close, one of the great improv mentors always said that if you focussed on making other people on stage look good, as opposed to always selfishly worrying about how you yourself were doing, then everybody looks good, even though the particular scene may be less than perfect. He thought it sent a subliminal message about cooperation to the audience that was an important complement to the entertainment value of the scene.


What are you working on now?

I just finished a film called The Ice Harvest with John Cusack, Billy Bob Thornton, Oliver Platt, Randy Quaid and Connie Neilsen. It's based on a novel by Scott Phillips, screenplay by Richard Russo (Pulitzer Prize winner for his novel Empire Falls) and Robert Benton (Oscar winner for his screenplays Kramer vs. Kramer and Places in the Heart.) It's a darkly funny, lurid, and violent film noir; great performances, a terrific look and I'm very proud of it.


What is your best memory of Caddyshack?

Caddyshack was a lot of fun to make. Almost too much fun. I had great partners who were also great friends, Doug Kenney and Brian Doyle-Murray; we all lived for three months in a hotel with the cast right on the golf course in Florida; we had the funniest people we knew in all the key roles and every day was an adventure in madness.


What made you stay at "Second City" rather than going to "SNL"?

I was asked to join the writing staff of SNL at the start of its second year, but I was already headwriter and a full-time performer on SCTV, and even though the show wasn't nearly as successful, I loved the cast-- Joe Flaherty, John Candy, Eugene Levy, Dave Thomas, Andrea Martin and Catherine O'Hara. We had total freedom to do whatever we wanted, and the atmosphere was considerably more "wholesome" than at SNL. At SNL writers had to fight to get pieces on the show which created lots of competition and tension. I didn't think it would do me any good to work there and I was already working on the screenplay of what would become Animal House, so TV in general just seemed like a stop along the way to something I'd always wanted to do-- make movies-- and even though I envied the mainstream success and visibility of SNL, I like it just fine where I was.


What do you think about the current state of comedy today?

I think it's hard to generalize about comedy. There's great stuff being done today in films, on TV and in the clubs. Chris Rock is just as funny and edgy as Richard Pryor was, shows like Curb Your Enthusiasm, The Office and Ali G are pushing the envelope in form and content, and new talent is developing constantly. Of course there's lots of crap too, but that's true in any creative medium; whether its theater, fiction, movies, TV, music, painting, etc., only about 10% of it is really worthy.


What is the question that most interviewers ask you that gets on your nerves?

It would be too easy to say "This question," so I won't. In fact, no one's ever asked me this before. What generally gets on my nerves in interviews (and I've done hundreds, probably over a thousand) is the short interview for local TV stations with the on-air personality who covers entertainment for them, which usually comes down to "tell me something funny that happened while youwere shooting" or "tell me something about a big star I can use on my five-minute segment on the 11 o'clock." What I like are longer interviews with thoughtful journalists or critics who actually want to talk about process, content, context, culture, history, religion, politics or anything other than, "I bet it's hilarious working with Billy Crystal. Tell me some of the funny things that happened on the set."

It's always the religious ones

Gary Sheffield is a big man.

Is it me or has R.Kelly put out more sex tapes than actual records this year?

I found this to be very interesting; In seven months of dating, Richards never allowed Sheffield to kiss her on the lips.

Feel free to laugh at will on that one.

Monday Night Footall Madness

I missed the opening to Monday Night Football. Apparently the FCC didn't.

Tony Dungy thinks it's racist.

I think he's reasoning is a little too deep for America. IMO if this was Tom Brady and Nicollette Sheridan. It wouldn't be an issue. But Hey that's just me.

Rest in Peace Mr. Jones

RIP


I really didn't see this coming.

So Long Mr. Ashcroft.

Good bye Mr. Ashcroft. One of the most polarizing members of the Bush administration is set to resign and he has named his successor. I really can't say I'll miss the guy.



Alberto Gonzales

Sparks are already flying

"As a member of the court, Gonzales ruled with the majority that some teenage girls should not be required to get parental permission for an abortion."

The Pro-life people will most likely see this as a slap in the face. I see it as a step in the right direction.

Friday Cinema

To cheer myself up I went to the movies this week and I saw two interesting movies, Saw and The Incredibles.



SAW
Saw is a combination of Seven and Silence of the Lambs. The only thing is though it really isn't. Forget what the critics say. The only thing this movie has in common with Seven is that both movies were graphic. This movie is a simple murder mystery. At times it was very suspenseful and you can best bet there are plenty of few plot twists. But if you are really smart you will be able to know who the killer is before he reveals himself. It really wasn't that much of a shock to me. Cary Elwes over acts and Danny Glover talents are under used. I think Mr. Glover just needed to pick up a check for this one. Cary Elwes looks like he's gained a bunch of weight. Yes this is an entertaining movie but don't fall into the hype.



The Incredibles
I first saw the premise for this movie about 2 years ago and I've been looking forward to it ever since. I've never seen any Pixar movie in the theater because I hate screaming kids. But last night I had the chance to go to a midnight showing in the city and I got to see it without any brats running up and down the isle causing havoc. This movie is incredible (I know you SAW that coming a mile away).

My view on 2004 Election

In this entry I will not be posting any links to any articles to back up my POV. The following is just a general opinion (read venting).

I woke up today to find that GW Bush has won the popular vote. 51% to Kerry's 49%. The votes in OHIO need to be counted but it doesn't look good for Kerry. Most of my friends think he should hang it up and call it a day. I was actually surprised to find them distressed at the fact that Bush won the popular vote.

One of them was quoted saying:

"I am apparently so far off the mark from the average American. Republicans control more House, Senate seats, Presidency remains (I hope we are ready for fundamentalism. I am actually afraid.)However, what I will say with confidence is, this too, shall pass. It just may take a long time to do so."

He still remains a little hopeful. Another friend was a little more distressed:

"I am just realizing that I am living in a very conservative
country where the majority of people want the government to tell them how to think on moral issues, where they accept racism, and like the separation of the economic classes. They also like some god with their government. This is scary, but I feel so trapped."

I don't feel trapped or distressed. I feel sad and angry. This election was a reminder that I am in the minority. It was a reminder that Americans want a war mongering conservative president. I have to make peace with that because if I don't I will not be able to survive.

I have to remind myself that I live in one of the most beautiful cities in the world (NYC) in one of the most cultural rich neighborhoods (Harlem). I am gainfully employed (for now) and I am not of draft age. I am isolated from the ignorance of other states. There is no need to panic. I have to keep telling myself this. I can only hope that things will not get worse.

This election served as a wake up call to many of my friends. But it only underlined what I knew already. This country is scared and afraid of change. This country is as great as it is blind.

New Star Wars poster

Return of the Sith is scheduled for release on May 19, 2005.


I hope it is better than the other three. Poster courtesy of Star Wars.com

Now that's something you don't get to see everyday. They're just doing their job.

Congrats to the Red Sox

My hat goes off to Pedro Martínez, Curt Schilling and yes even David Ortiz and Co.

But why didn't they sign Willie Mays and Jackie Robinson?

Howard Bryant explains in his book Shut Out.

If they had signed those guys they probably wouldn't have had to wait 86 years for a championship.

Always remember folks if you ever want to kill your wife and blame a black man Boston is the place to go.



Good for you Manny

Prison guard update

A while back I did a post titled "Desperate women do Desperate things". Well I'm glad to report they caught the b*tch and her jail bird lover in TX.

The thing I want to know is why is this woman complaining?

Fields said she realizes she made a mistake by counting the dummy, although she thought the arranged pile of clothes on a cell bed was the sleeping body of inmate Edward R. McDaniel.

''It looked like a person,'' Fields said. ''A blanket covered it.''

No excuses. You work in a prison lady! Remember it's the place we put the bad people! If a prisoner has covers over their head you check to see if there is a person under them.

Tuesday Gripes

It amazes me that this country is caught up in the murder of Laci Peterson, but don't give a damn about 40,000 women raped in the Congo.

Maybe it's cause of the number of women or maybe it could be because everyone knows a Laci Peterson type and these women in the Congo are foreign to us. Whatever the excuses are it don't matter the fact remains that people in this country don't give a damn about what happens outside of America unless it effects us.

Moving right along. Jay-Z and R. Kelly have a new album out. And Lindsay Lohan is sick. I think she might be having implant problems. Any way you cut it she's hot. Just call me Humbert.

Clinton campaigns with Kerry

Kerry pulls out the big guns.

Well at least he's not making the same mistake Gore did in 2000.

I just hope Clinton doesn't get another heart attack.

The Democrats are also going after the African-American vote.

So much has been said about how the democrats are taking the black vote for granted. Personally both parties could give a damn about black people. This letter illustrates my feelings perfectly.

RE: God, Gays, and Getting Votes

My colleague NominalMe is at it again tackling the three G's God,Gays, and Getting votes.

This administration has shown itself to be out of touch time and time again. Homosexuality isn't a choice and GW Bush should have a better answer than "I just don't know Bob". Why would anyone choose to be something that is persecuted in society? It makes no sense. And as far as the issue of it being a sin goes. God wouldn't create something that wasn't worthy of his love.

NominalMe thinks attitudes toward homosexuality in this country are changing. They are slowly changing. But what's the reasoning behind the change? Could it be money?

Who knew...

Is he a revolutionary?

Who knew that a movie could be used so well to change the way people think.

This actually speaks to a greater problem. That I mentioned in an entry called "Why do we care?"

Here's the bottomline. Americans want to be entertained. They want entertainment with no substance because if there was substance we would have to think. And no one wants to do that. Fahrenheit 9/11 while being a solid documentary that scratches the surface but it is still entertainment. Let us not be fooled into thinking that this movie is gospel. The facts are presented in a way to bring about a reaction of anger as if to say "How did we let this happen?" The truth is we never had any control to begin with.

Michael Moore and others are using their cameras because books, teachers and general discourse have failed in this country. The average American doesn't read they watch TV and believe what they hear on the news without looking into the facts.

Hip Hop Critique #2

When KRS-One spoke about 9/11 in the Daily News last week it made me ask myself. Is this man crazy? Then I took a deep breath and read what he had to say in his own words.

After reading his response I realized that everyone in this country has freedom of speech but the volume of your voice is regulated.

Whoever says something first is the one more believed. KRS-One to the best of my knowledge has never been violent nor has he ever advocated violence. Yet the Daily News calls him out to be a terrorist for saying the following "Because when we were down at the trade center we were getting hit over the head by cops, told that we can’t come in this building, hustled down to the train station because of the way we dressed and talked, and so on, we were racially profiled. So, when the planes hit the building we were like; mmmm justice."

Is that comment irresponsible? It probably is to some, but I get it. As a black man living in America in the aftermath of the WTC tragedy I couldn't help but wonder secretly to myself "Why didn't we think of that?". The answer was simple. Black people love America and we don't believe in killing ourselves and others to make a statement. Bob Marley said it best when he sang "Build your penitentiary, we build your schools, Brainwash education to make us the fools. Hate is your reward for our love, Telling us of your God above."

KRS-One doesn't speak for me personally, but his comments are reflective of what a lot of people think but won't say at the water cooler with their friend Bob, but will probably say at the family reunion. There used to be a time when hip hop was political and culturally aware but then people stopped listening to the words and started paying more attention to the beats. A majority of today's rappers are afraid to speak out because they feel they will either go out like 2Pac or their records sales will go the way of KRS-One. Either way ya dead. The money pacifies the artists and at the same time pacifies the art form thereby limiting it to become one big commercial for diamonds, vodka, clothes and cars. No substance just bling bling. Hip Hop is a like a well furnished home with no library. It's like a beautiful woman that has no brain. Looks good but no substance.

Re: I'm undecided

My colleague NominalMe is undecided.

Let's be honest for a moment. Michael Badnarik, Roger Calero and Ralph Nader don't have a chance of winning the election.

If you choose to vote for either one of those candidates it's a wasted vote. It's a feel good/protest vote. Does it really matter in the end? Of course not but you can walk away from the polls with a clear conscious knowing that you did your civic duty.

It basically comes down to the lesser of two evils. Bush or Kerry. Both will continue to send troops to Iraq and both are whores for their respective parties.

Frankly it looks like a waste either way.

A new contributor

I would like to take this time out to acknowledge a new contributor. NominalMe (aka Mike C)

Welcome to my blog.

Jon Stewart and the media.

There is a lot of talk on the web about what Jon Stewart did on Crossfire. You can see it here for yourself. Personally he's right but is he qualified to be the spokesperson?



Let's be honest here for a minute. Jon Stewart makes his money off of delivering the fake news every night. Why now is he biting the hand that feeds him? He should know that when a comic tries to be serious it can backfire. Just look at what happened to Bill Cosby.

In my humble opinion he's not qualified to go off on the media. But now that the die has been cast he should run with it and speak out more. Jon Stewart put into words what most Americans feel. He may not be qualified but he should be heard.

Imagine a Chinese Eminem.

The next Eminem?


The first Asian rapper has arrived. "Jin - The Rest Is History (Ruff Ryders/Virgin)" is in stores.
How did he get his record deal? Here's his answer in his own words.

"I wanted to get a record deal. No one would give it to me. So I went on [BET's] '106th and Park' [where he won the freestyle competition on Freestyle Fridays for seven straight weeks]. And I got a deal through Ruff Ryders. It's the good old-fashioned American way."

He doesn't want to be ghettoized as Asian

This could be a good thing for hip hop.

Bob Dylan is a d*ck. There I said it.

Bob you're a d*ck


Bob Dylan is a d*ck WAAAA being the voice of a generation is a drag WAAAA I hate being so great WAAAA.

If you have the honor of being a voice of a generation. Don't fucking whine about it like a bitch. There's a big difference between being humble and being a drag.