Off to Morocco

For the next ten days I will be in Morocco.

When I get back there will be stories and observations about my trip. Why Morocco you ask? Well folks let's just say that a woman is involved in this decision. A very special woman.

Take care all and please stay tuned because I have Nominal Me filling in for me.

Farewell Mr. Cochran

My best memory of Johnny Cochran will always be the OJ trial. Like many African-Americans I was glued to the TV set to see if OJ would go to jail. I was stunned by Johnny Cochran's arrogance, and charisma. I can remember actually being proud at one point. I know what my white readers are saying, "How can you be proud of a man who got a murderer off?" My answer is simple. I just was. Before the OJ trial Johnny Cochran had a host of celebrities as clients: Michael Jackson and Snoop Dogg to name a few.

What people don't know is that he also was counsel for, Reginald Denny, the white truck driver, that was beaten in 1992 in the LA riots.

Cochran also represented Abner Louima, who was sexually assaulted by New York City police. Two officers were found guilty of the assault and four others were convicted of lying to authorities about the incident. Louima won $8.75 million in a civil suit.

A lot gets lost in the shuffle when a celebrity dies. People always bring up the question of his legacy and and ask "What did he contribute?" Well for some he was a slick lawyer that got murderers and child molesters off. For me (and I don't think I'm alone in this) he was a great leagal mind, who was able to find justice for a few in a system in where it is few and far between. Some people will think of him as a hired gun, but I will remember him as a man who worked for nothing to help the poor. Say what you want about him but at the end of the day you have to repect the man for knowing the law.

Good bye sir, there will not be any like you for a long time.

What if Terry Schiavo was black?

There's been a lot of blogging and a lot of ranting over the Terry Schiavo case these past few months.

At this time I'm going to throw my two cents out there and rant my a** off. Why? Because I'm just sick and tired of hearing about this woman.

First off this woman is no longer a person she's become a political cause. It's so hypocritical that in the efforts to restore her dignity the conservatives have done just the oppostie. And it's a damn shame. Personally I think they should have pulled the tube a while ago and let the woman die in peace. But now there's national debate over what we should do in this kind of situation. But what if Terry Schiavo was black or native American? Would we give a damn? Would GW Bush actually care?

No. There wouldn't be one camera on her if she was black. This country has a long legacy of doing worse things to black women.

Lets take for example forced sterilization.

Of course there are those that say "But those laws are off the books." Yes those laws that were made in the early 1900's are off the books but their spirit remains.

That's how deep race is in this country. Instead of taking your life they take away your ability to create it.

Fringe Thursday 3-24-05: Oldboy and Layer Cake

I think I mentioned this movie in last December. It comes out tomorrow (Friday 3-25-05) in selected theaters in New York and Los Angles.

It's the story of a man who is captured and inprisoned for 15 years without reason. One day he is released with a wallet filled with cash and a mobile phone. While he eats in a Japanese restaurant, a strange man calls Dae-su and asks him to figure out why he was imprisoned. I'm not going to give anymore away after that.

Check out the trailer here.




Based upon the JJ Connelly's London crime novel, "LAYER CAKE" is about a successful cocaine dealer (layed by Daniel Craig) who has earned a respected place among England's Mafia elite and plans an early retirement from the business. Things get complicated when he's asked to do one last favor for the Big Boss.

Layer Cake is produced by the same people who brought us 1998's Lock Stock and Two Loaded Barrels and Snatch (2000). Matthew Vaughn is director on this one, frankly I think they should have tried to get Guy Ritchie. Vaughn is one to watch in the upcoming months, recently he has been recently tapped to direct the new X-Men movie.

Layer Cake is set for release May 13th, 2005. You can check out the trailer here.

Hip Hop Wednesday 3-23-05: Minor notes and random stuff

• Damn it seems like they're giving time out like it's gov't cheese. First Martha Stewart had to do some time now Lil Kim's bracing herself for a stay in the big house.

• I'm glad that 50 Cent is taking responsibility and stepping up and saying he's a role model. Personally I wouldn't want my children to fashion their lives after 50 Cent but at the same time I would like them to see that he serves for an example of someone who overcame the odds to get ahead.

• They shootin!. I thought guns were banned in England. Where the hell was security? I love this quote from him: "Hip Hop is not Vote or Die."

Fringe Thursday 3-17-05 Top Ten Romantic Comedies 1-5

5. Love and Sex (2000)

Famke Janssen plays Kate a journalist who looks back on her romantic past while trying to meet a deadline on an article concerning romance. Jon Favreau plays Adam a struggling artist who plays Kate's love interest. There's a weird chemistry between the two principals in this movie, that works. The only flaw is that it gets a little formulaic toward the end.


4. Hav Plenty (1997)

The title is a play on the two lead characters names, Havilland Savage (Chenoa Maxwell) and Lee Plenty (writer/director Chris Scott Cherot). She's rich, haughty, and cursed with a mercurial temperament. He's broke, humble to the point of self- deprecation, and affable. It all starts New Year's Eve when a dateless Havilland (after breaking up with her cheating boyfriend), invites Lee to make the drive from New York to Washington D.C. to act as her companion for the evening. Lee's one-night stay in D.C. lengthens into a several-days vacation, and, during the course of his time there, he is hit on by both the unattached Caroline (Havilland's best friend) and the newly-married Leigh (Havilland's sister). Regardless of how attracted he is to the women, Lee rebuffs their advances, because he's in love with Havilland but he really doesn't know it. This movie acts on the old formula of opposites attract. It's disappointing that Chris Cherot hasn't done anything worthy of note since.



3. Loving Jezebel (1999)

This movie is the story of my life (more or less). It's the story of a guy who always ends up falling for the wrong woman. Hill Harper plays the charmingly dorky Theodorous Melville. Theo has a problem, he keeps falling in love with the wrong women--most often, his friends' girlfriends. Barely surviving college, where he slept with the girlfriend of the football team's star running back, Theodorus eventually settles in New York City with his best friend, whose gorgeous Trinidadian girlfriend, Mona (Sandrine Holt), can't hide her attraction for him. Meanwhile, Theodorus is in the midst of a passionate affair with Frances (Nicole Ari Parker),whose mental stability is questionable. Working as a waiter in a coffee shop, Theodorus befriends the bumbling Samantha (Laurel Holloman), a sweet-natured woman who is married to Gabe (David Moscow), a walking time bomb.



2. Grosse Pointe Blank (1997)

John Cusack plays a contract killer who's going through the 30-something mid-life crisis. After botching up a hit in Florida his secretary (played by his sister Joan) gives him the message that his 10 year HS reunion is coming up. At first he doesn't want to go but then he gets an job (to make up for the botched hit) in his hometown. He makes the pilgramige back to Grosse Pointe and catches up with his former girlfriend (Minne Driver) whom he stood up at the prom. Somewhere in there he gains a new respect for human life.

1. Lost in Translation (2003)


Bill Murray is brilliant in this movie. The story of two ships passing in the night has been done many times in cinema but there's something about this movie that takes it to another level. You can see that these two people love each other and you know both are aware of the obvious unspoken obstacles in their way. But regardless of the obvious age difference they "get" each other. You can tell by a look he gives her or a glance she gives him.

Hip Hop Wednesday 3-16-05: Jada Kiss and Fat Joe respond

Ahh the beef between 50 Cent and The Game maybe be over but that doesn't mean the beef between Jada Kiss, Fat Joe and Nas isn't.


"Checkmate" uses the beat from a 50 Cent a dis record called Animal; aimed at Murder Inc. on 50's 2050: Before the Massacre mixtape. Here's an excerpt:

"Most likely your CD is ... / Bunch of love songs, 100 percent pure garbage ... / You should just sell clothes and sneakers/ 'Cause out of the whole camp, your flow's the weakest ... / It'll take a lifetime to see Kiss/ You had to get shot nine times to be rich/ Rat ass nigga, you's an animal,you's a muthaf*ckin' animal."




Meanwhile Fat Joe just cuts to the chase with a track called "F*ck 50"

"I see MJ in the hood more than Curtis, hate it or Love it the Game's on top/Now you jealous of him/When your sh*t gonna stop!? Oh yea you got 65 niggas on your team/And they're not from Southside Jamaica, Queens/They're the boys in blue/I'm just speaking the truth/Now we all see the bitch in you."

Nas has yet to respond. But I'm sure when he drops his response it will be hot.

On a side note Brian 'Head' Welch formally of the band Korn says he has a song for 50. For those of you who don't know Welch quit Korn because he wanted to band to rededicate his life to Christianity. Good luck with that Brian.

My new side gig

In the words of the HNIC Panama Jackson:

"We The Voices is a collective of individuals with nothing better to do than make your life better. Intended to shock and awe, as well as inform. The sole goal of this project is to provide edutainment. What is edutainment you ask? Good question. Edutainment is the knowledge you actually seek out. The knowledge that makes learning worth doing. It’s the kind of information that doesn’t turn books into kryptonite. Basically, it’s that ignorant shit you like, only with facts to back it up."

I'm proud to say that I am one of the many contributors to this site. I'd like to thank the HNIC (Panama) and the NMIC (Black Martha) for this opportunity.

So please feel free to check out my article in the movie section on the site.

Conspiracy Theories: COINTELPRO

Last week we covered the Tuskegee Experiment, this week we attempt to cover another conspiracy that was perpetrated against the black community.

COINTELPRO

COINTELPRO is an acronym for a series of FBI counterintelligence programs designed to neutralize political dissidents. Although covert operations have been employed throughout FBI history, the formal COINTELPRO's of 1956-1971 were broadly targeted against radical political organizations.

The program was initially targeted at the Communist Party, USA (CPUSA). After its initial success, it was expanded to include many other organizations. Some of the largest COINTELPROs targeted the Socialist Worker's Party, the "New Left" (including several anti-war groups such as the Students for a Democratic Society and the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (aka SNCC)), Black Liberation groups such as the Black Panthers, Puerto Rican independence groups, and the American Indian Movement.

In early 1971, COINTELPRO was brought to light when a "Citizens Committee to Investigate the FBI" removed secret files from an FBI office in Media, PA and released them to the press. Agents began to resign from the Bureau and blow the whistle on covert operations. That same year, publication of the Pentagon Papers, the Pentagon's top-secret history of the Vietnam War, exposed years of systematic official lies about the war.

COINTELPRO's effect on the black civil rights movement was vast.

In addition to Marin Luther King the, Black Panthers were also a target.

For those of you who are interested in looking up some of the declassified info please go to www.cointel.org.

Fringe Thursday: 3-10-05 Top Ten Romantic comedies 10 to 6

I love romantic comedies. But I don't really like standard Hollywood romantic comedies. I like movies that are off the beaten track so to speak. The following list is my top ten romantic comedies. Not all of them have happy endings where the guy gets the girl some of them have actual real endings in where the guy for whatever reason losses the girl.

10. She's Gotta Have It (1986)
Spike Lee's first film about an independent woman and her three lovers. I don't think up until that point I had ever seen a movie in where the female lead had a problem with commitment. Nola Darling played by Tracy Camilla Johns is bright, sexy and just blunt. The dinner scene in where all three men she's sleeping with is probably one of the funniest things Spike Lee has ever put on film.

9. High Fidelity (2000)
You can't have a romantic comedy list without at least one John Cusack movie. High Fidelity is based on the novel by Nick Hornby. It's about a guy who's going through the "what's it all about" phase. If you're over 30 you know exactly what I mean. Cusack plays Rob Gordon a manager of a small record store in Chicago. As the movie opens his girlfriend Laura (played by Iben Hjejle) leaves him and moves in with the upstairs neighbor (played by Tim Robbins). Throughout the movie he recalls his past breakups and goes on a emotional journey in an effort to try to put the past breakups behind him. I highly recommend this flick.

8. Chasing Amy (1997)
This is probably one of the best scripts Kevin Smith (post Clerks) has ever written. Granted I'm not the biggest Ben Afleck fan out there, but this movie convinced me that he can actually deliver great dialogue when need be. The scene between Afleck and Joey Lauren Adams in the rain will always stand out as one of the best romantic exchanges in film.

7. Fall (1997)
Writer/director Eric Schaeffer plays a New York cab driver that falls in love with a super model. This is one of those few movies that whenever it comes on cable I have to watch. You have to suspend disbelief to really enjoy this movie. It doesn't end the way you think it does.

6. Love Jones (1997)
Writer/director Theodore Witcher gives us an urban setting in where we find a characters mostly young, African-American, and middle class now keep in mind romantic comedies like this were still rare. In addition to being a very good film the soundtrack is probably one of the most underrated soundtracks ever.

Next week on Fringe Thursday we'll finish the list.

Late day rant: Women and Hip Hop

Saturday night I saw a rerun of SNL with Dana Owens (aka Queen Latifah) as guest host. Let's just say it was a display of coonery that I've never seen before. It kinda puts this kind of thing in perspective when it comes to hip hop music and women's role in it.

Why are these women bitching? Where were they when Dana Owens (aka Queen Latifah) made Bringing Down the House and Taxi?

Saturday night made me realize that Ms. Owens isn't hip hop anymore. She used her music to get her foot in the door to become an entertainer. Somewhere along the line she stopped being the Queen of hip hop and became a singer/actress. Now I know you must be asking yourself what does this have to do with how women are portrayed in the world of hip hop. Well it's simple. Asha Jennings and the women of Spelman who are protesting hip hop music should understand that when a rapper (or MC) makes a video in a woman's image is that of a bitch and hoe it doesn't necessarily mean that all women are bitches and hoes.

Come on let's be real here. There are women out there who are hoes, and there's nothing wrong with that pimps gotta get their money ya know. And we all know there are some bitches in this world. In fact I think it is to a woman's advantage to be perceived as a bitch.

If you are a black woman and you listen to Nelly you should first off ask yourself why? Why am I listening to this guy? We all know why women listen to artists like Nelly. The music has a nice beat and I'm not afraid to say that his type ain't too hard on the eyes (if ya like that sort of thing).

So what does that tell you? His looks excuse his lyrics.

If you are nodding your head to what I'm saying continue reading but if you can't follow what I'm leading you to then you might as well close out of this browser and pick up a Nelly CD or some other form of ignorant entertainment.

Point 1:
If a man (or woman) is cute they can get away with a lot of stupid things.

Point 2:
The women who are being exploited in these videos auditioned to be in them and they work very hard with one goal in mind, and that goal is to be featured in a video. And trust me some of them haven't paid for a meal since they were 13.

Point 3:
Bitches and hoes do exist but they do not make up the majority of real women out there. But they do make up the majority of women that these rappers have been exposed to. So if you are a woman who doesn't consider herself a bitch or a hoe, don't take it so personally cause he ain't talking about you.

Conspiracy Theories: The Tuskegee Experiment

Some of you thought that Black History Month ended on Feb. 28. Well in the words of P.Diddy "I thought I told you, that we won't stop, I thought I told you, we won't stop."

Why do black people think there is someone out to get them? Well maybe cause someone is out to get them.

There are a lot of conspiracy theories within the black community. Some of them are true and some aren't. This entry is part of a series of entries on conspiracy theories.

The Tuskegee Experiment

The most egregious of all the conspiracies commited against the black community is the Tuskegee experiment. For forty years between 1932 and 1972, the U.S. Public Health Service (PHS) conducted an experiment on 399 black men in the late stages of syphilis. These men, for the most part illiterate sharecroppers from one of the poorest counties in Alabama, were never told what disease they were suffering from or of its seriousness. Informed that they were being treated for “bad blood,” their doctors had no intention of curing them of syphilis at all. The data for the experiment was to be collected from autopsies of the men, and they were thus deliberately left to degenerate under the ravages of tertiary syphilis—which can include tumors, heart disease, paralysis, blindness, insanity, and death. “As I see it,” one of the doctors involved explained, “we have no further interest in these patients until they die.”

President Bill Clinton apologized in 1997. What amazes me is that most white people didn't even believe this actually happened. What's good about his apology (be it late) is that he acknowledged the crime and took responsibility.

Hip Hop Wednesday 3/2/05: Breaking News Game vs. 50 Cent

There are too many carnivorous in hip hop. Everyone loves BEEF way too much. Who didn't see this coming?

50 Cent booted The Game out of G-Unit Monday night.

And just as he's kicking Game out his clique some one gets shot outside of Hot 97. Coincidence? I think not. The authorities now say the victim is not affiliated with G-Unit but now the authorities have stated that the victim is a native of Compton, the hometown of The Game.

Hot 97 has identified the victim as Kevin Reed an associate of Game, police said. Reed, 20, of Compton was shot once in the upper leg-groin area and grazed twice – once in the leg and shoulder, police said. He was treated and released from St. Vincent's Medical Center yesterday.

I really hope this doesn't go the way of Bigge and Pac. Game just wants to make music and feed his family he didn't want any trouble. The beef that 50 has with Jada Kiss, Fat Joe and Nas is his own beef. Game isn't 50's boy (as Interscope would like you to believe)

This is all Jimmy Iovine's (the founder of Interscope records) fault.

Game was originally signed solely to Dr. Dre's Aftermath imprint, working on his album for a couple of years before Interscope Chairman Jimmy Iovine proposed bringing Game into the G-Unit fold. Iovine talked to Dre, who called in 50.

"They came up with the idea that I should roll with G-Unit because they already have a crazy buzz and they selling albums," Game told MTV last spring. "They got the East and they got the South; I'm from the West, obviously. I'm young and I'm hungry just like them. 50 is still in the streets, he's still hungry, still blowing up, and [Lloyd] Banks and [Young] Buck are doing their thing, so why not put the kid from Compton with these cats since they already out there? All they missing is the West Coast, and then you have a universal group."

"Game had actually been on Aftermath for two years before they gave me the opportunity to do the project with Dre," 50 told MTV in January. "I think creatively they were stuck a little, but then when I was brought in we were able to add new energy. They got excited about the project, brought him out, we recorded like nine records at the house in Farmington, [Connecticut]. He went back to Los Angeles with the records, Dre liked them, and I just got him re-motivated and he went in and finished up the album."

With Dre and the rest of Interscope fully behind Game's The Documentary, 50 said he felt neglected when it was time for his The Massacre LP to get it's proper attention.

So again I ask why should Game be loyal to 50? 50 started a beef with Far Joe and Jada Kiss months ago when he released a mixtape song called Piggy Bank what business is it of Game's to get involved with this? I really hope no one else gets hurt as a result of this. This whole thing reminds me of what Pat Reily once said.

"When elephants fight it is the grass that suffers."
Special thanks to MTV.com for providing some insight on this matter.

Oscar recap

C.F. Kane here in for Doc Strangejazz. Doc Strangejazz didn't have the heart to do a recap so he asked me. Apparently when Clint Eastwood was annouced as best director Strangejazz lost his mind and decided to destroy his TV. Also he was kinda disappointed in Chris Rock.

And the winners are:

BEST PICTURE
Million Dollar Baby - Seriously WTF? WHY GAWD WHY! The girl falls on a stool and the movie gets an Oscar? This is BS.

BEST DIRECTOR
Clint Eastwood (Million Dollar Baby) - DAMN YOU EASTWOOD! Scorsese got robbed. This is the 5th time he's gotten robbed.

BEST ACTOR
Jammie Foxx (Ray) - We all had a feeling this would happen. I for one had a tear in my eye. Do you realize that it took Jammie Foxx less time to win an Oscar than Tom Hanks, Kevin Spacey, and Denzel Washington? It is great that an icon could be honored by such a performance. Whatever you do from here on out please don't f*ck up by doing something stupid.

BEST ACTRESS
Hilary Swank (Million Dollar Baby) - I gotta give it to her. She was great in that movie. And ya know what her husband didn't cry like a little bitch. I'm sure her people from the trailer park are lighting the grill up tonight.

BEST ACTOR IN A SUPPORTING ROLE
Morgan Freeman (Million Dollar Baby) - You truly have come a long way from the days of Easy Reader. You are the ultimate magical negro. You sir are an inspiration.

BEST ACTRESS IN A SUPPORTING ROLE
Cate Blanchett (The Aviator) - You should give your Oscar to Scorsese. Come on Cate it'll cheer him up.

BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY
Charlie Kaufman, Michel Gondry and Pierre Bismuth, for "Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind" - Good job Charlie. Your speech sucked but you get a pass cause you were nervous.

BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY
Alexander Payne and Jim Taylor, for "Sideways" - Well at least you don't leave the party empty handed.

BEST DOCUMENTARY FEATURE
Born Into Brothels - I loved Zana Briski's speech thanking the kids that are still in the slums of Calcutta I'm sure they were watching, yeah right.

Minor Notes:

• Chris Rock really played it safe. I'm sure he's going to come under fire for not being as edgy as he could be.
• Is it me or is Clint Eastwood's wife not white?
• P. Diddy was wearing a Sean John original tux, now that's smart, think about it he uses the Oscars as a way to promote his stuff.
• Beyonce sang like 3 out of the five nominated songs, WHY? Is it me or does she have some kind of Dina Ross complex?
• Why did Chris Rock have to yell BROOKLYN at the end of the evening?
• Is it me or does Sean Penn have no sense of humor? It was a joke Sean everyone knows who Jude Law is. He's just a tad bit over exposed.

My interview with Stacy J from the Apprentice.

A couple of weeks ago I was walking around Harlem on 125th Street and I bumped into Stacy J. Well that's not really true I saw her crossing the street and I saw her going into a grocery store and I followed her around until I found an opening in a conversation she was having about carrots. So I asked her for an interview and she put me in touch with her publicist. Normally the way I conduct interviews is that I email the questions and the subject emails them back to me. This time around would be a little different. Stacy reviewed the question and decided to call me. We spoke for at least an hour about her time the Apprentice and what her future plans are.

My first impression with Stacy was that she was very down to earth but very intense and serious about what she does. I started the interview by asking her if she was planning on writing a book and if so what is it about? She said yes she is but she couldn't get into details about it. But she is fielding offers from different publishers.

You've got one Subway franchise in Harlem are you working on acquiring another?
My inspiration for having a store is my family, some of my relatives work there. The business is about 2 years old. No, I don't plan on it I've got a lot of other things going on.

What do you think your experience on the Apprentice has taught America about race?
I think this type of thing happens everyday in corporate America to minorities. What I went through no one should have to go through. I realized that there is a ceiling, the show exposes their hand to what their about.
*Note. We talked extensively about race in corporate America but I really didn't take good notes in our conversation. I could tell that Stacy and I are pretty much on the same page when it comes to race in corporate America. What happened to her on that show was just terrible the editors should be ashamed, yeah I know they were just doing their job but they leave a lot out of that show.

What have you been doing since the Apprentice?
I'm on WBLS Show 8:05AM Fridays with Paul Mooney. I'm still modeling, and I am in the works of doing an endorsement for Seven7 Jeans.

What is the most asked question you often get?
Are you crazy?
*Note I couldn't believe people still ask her this. It's amazing that people believe what they see on TV. For the record SHE AIN'T CRAZY folks.

What do you do when you have free time?
Travel, go to South Beach, I love LA, Running, I believe in staying in shape. I love Vikrum Yoga.

You once said "Success should be measured by what you had to give up to achieve it." Do you find that you've had to make a lot of sacrifices to get to where you are today? And were those sacrifices worth it?
Yes, I could have taken the easy way out by just traveling around and modeling. But I don't regret any of the choices I've made and all of the sacrifices were worth it.

I really want to thank Stacy and Michelle (Stacy's publicist) for finding the time for me. I really greatly appreciate it.

Fringe Thursday 2/24/05: Must see black films

The first question I asked myself when I first started writing this is: What makes a black movie "black". The criteria for a black movie is the following (now keep in mind this is my site so we are playing by my rules) A black film should have the combination of the following:

• Black director
• Black producer
• Black screenwriter
• Black actors
• Last but not least the subject matter in which black culture is portrayed in a positive light.

Everything else is just n*gga nonsense.

I intentionally left out Boyz in the Hood, Menace II Society, Do the Right Thing (and a couple of others you may heard of), because those movies were no brainers. Although the list I put together has some no brainers I also mixed in some movies that you've probably haven't heard before. The list was designed to reflect various points of view within black culture.

All of this would not have been possible if it wasn't for Oscar Micheaux to lead the way. He's the inspiration for any black person who aspires to become involved in the film industry.

In the Heat of the Night (1967) - Sidney Poitier already had over 20 movies under his belt before staring in this and he was a moderate box office draw. He paid his dues and this was part was a reward of sorts. Poitier's performance is brilliant. When you get a chance watch the movie carefully. Notice how his character gains the respect of the reluctant Chief Gillespie (Rod Steiger). Detective Tibbs does it by just being better at his job than Gillespie.

Watermelon Man (1970) - Mario Van Peebles did this movie a year before he made Sweet Sweetback's Badd Ass Song. It is the story of how a white bigot wakes up one morning to discover he's become a black man. Godfrey Cambridge is great in this movie. Would you believe the producers wanted to cast a white man in the lead?

Cotton Comes to Harlem (1970) - Ossie Davis wrote and directed this adaptation of the Chester Himes classic. The first black buddy cop movie I can remember enjoying. How many movies made pre-1970 (not including the Micheaux race movies) that are directed and written by a black man based on material written by a black man? Ossie Davis was a trailblazer for a reason folks.

Shaft (1971) - This movie was the cash cow of the 70's. It proved that black heroes were marketable (at least til they got tired of us). Shaft was originally supposed to be a white guy. But with the studio hiring Gordon Parks Sr to direct and the success of Mario Van Peebles Sweetback's success the studio decided to rewrite the movie for a black audience.

Three the Hard Way (1974) - The premise alone was enough to make me see this movie many times over as a kid. The story involves a white supremacist plot to taint the United States water supply with a toxin that is harmless to whites but lethal to blacks. The only obstacles that stand in the way of this dastardly plan are Jim Brown, Fred Williamson and Jim Kelly, who shoot, kick and karate chop their way to final victory. Of course we win in the end. This movie probably has one of the highest body counts of white people in that era.

A Soldier's Story (1984) - The cast alone is incredible. The ending telling. Adolph Caesar should have gotten an Oscar for what he did in this movie.

Hollywood Shuffle (1987) - If you plan on being a black actor in Hollywood, you must see this movie. The activator scene is one of the funniest things put of film. The most disappointing thing is that Robert Townsend isn't doing stuff like that today.

Raw (1987) - See what happens when enough power players in Hollywood get on the same page? Directed by Robert Townsend. This is when Eddie Murphy was funny and before he started taking money to do sh*t. The opening sketch was written by Keenen Ivory Wayans (who also was one of the producers) and the director of cinematography was Ernest R. Dickerson (director of Juice). They have not worked with each other since and it's a damn shame. Look for Sam Jackson in the opening he plays Eddie's uncle who's the only one laughing at Eddie's joke.

School Daze (1988) - If you plan on pledging a black frat see this movie. This movie also deals with a lot of boughy stereotypes. And talks about that little secret we've had among each other concerning light and dark skin.

Glory (1989) - The story that every young black American child should know. And not forget.

Daughters of the Dust (1991) - This is a work of passion by director Julie Dash. This movie will make you want to read about the Gullah culture in the Carolinas.

One False Move (1992) - Afro-Noir at its finest. Carl Franklin's debut is a brilliant work that contains a few twists that take the viewer for a loop. Side note: When this movie first came out no one realized that the director was black.

Dead Presidents (1995) - Great heist movie. One of the best soundtracks ever.

Hav Plenty (1997) - Boughy comedy. I put this in there because it's just so damn funny. Lee Plenty is an almost broke would-be novelist and Havilland Savage is rich and very beautiful woman and his friend. When she invites him to her home for New Year's Eve, and from there it gets funny. In this movie you have various "Boughy" stereotypes. The broke (but educated) black man, the sista that has it all together, the golddigging best friend, etc.

Rosewood (1997) - The story of a forgotten town. Again if you are a black person living in America you should see this movie. It presents an ugly side of America that people have forgotten about, but a side we should always remember.

Bamboozled (2000) - Spike Lee's angriest movie. It gets muddled toward the end but I still think it is a very important film.

Boycott (2001) - In his portrayal of MLK I feel Jeffrey Wright got it down in this one.

Paid in Full (2002) - Of all the "hood" movies that have been made. This one closes the book on them perfectly.

Notable mention: Birth of a Nation (1915) - This movie is on the list because it provides us with perspective on how far we've come. It is a must see if you are African-American. Please keep in mind there were no black people in this movie. All the actors playing black roles had to wear black face. It caused riots nationwide and was a favorite at the White House.

Bill's in the clear!

This kind of news always comes just before the weekend.

Personally I'm kinda happy that this has come to an end. Now Bill can get back to business of uplifting the people.

Fringe Thrusday 2-17-05

This week I want to give it up to someone who I consider to be one of the most underrated directors in Hollywood. This brotha is truely on the fringe.

Carl Franklin is one of those directors that flies under Hollywood's radar. He really doesn't make what people consider "black movies" he just makes good movies. In 1992 he colaborated with a the then little known writer Billy Bob Thornton on a movie called One False Move. When the film was completed, the original plan was to release it straight to video. Stronger than expected word of mouth convinced the distributor to send it to theaters. It ended up being one of the best sleepers of that year and director Carl Franklin ended up winning an Independent Spirit Award.

But what most people don't know is that he started out his career on the A- Team as Capt. Crane.

Daddy I've got a secret.....

and I want to tell it in front of a whole bunch of people.

This couldn't have happened to a better guy.

The thing you hate will always end up in your family. Good for your girl.

The top five secrets black people keep from white people.

DISCLAIMER

The following rant is my opinion and there will be generalizations so please in your replies keep that in mind.

#5 - We really do like John Mayer and a whole bunch of people you would think we never really listen to.

Seriously we really do like him. There's just something about his music that we can't deny. We won't admit it to you but we really do like him. In addition to John Mayer we also like. Steely Dan, Fleetwood Mack, Eric Clapton, Sting (OH WE LOVE US SOME STING), U2 and Joni Mitchell to name a few.

#4 - We really like freaking white folks out.

We like freaking you out in different ways. I know you always hear the stories about how the little old lady on the elevator grabbed her purse in response to a black man getting in behind her. Hell, it's happened to me. But deep down we kinda like the fact that some of you feel we are going to do something to you. Another way black people freak white folks out is by knowing more about their sh*t than they do be it music or politics or anything. A classic example is the black person with an English accent or any accent for that matter. White people always are shocked when they find out that a black person can speak a whole other language besides English. Basically we like it when you under estimate us.

#3 - We are just as conservative as you are (sometimes even more so).

The black church may let a gay man be choir director but he can't get married in the black church. The black church was one of the many supporters of George W. Bush in this past election. In fact this is where the GOP sees it's future. I know it sounds crazy but as I said before this is the stuff that black people would not admit to white America.

#2 - We date outside our race because we are afraid of commitment.

Very few black men (or women) set out to marry a person of another race. I know that back in the day we used to aspire to that kind of thing, but those days have changed, don't twisted. Now please keep in mind this is a generalization and this does not go for everyone. For those of you who are in a interracial relationship reading this, just breathe and relax. This doesn't mean that there is something wrong with you just means he (or she) is having fun. It's not that he (or she) doesn't love you. It's just that you may not be his (or her) first choice.

#1 - We really want to be accepted by white folks. We really care what you think.

Yeah this is a big one. I know in spite of all the bitching and whining that we do about equality and civil rights it really just comes down to being accepted by you. We care what white people think deep down. And this manifests itself in strange ways throughout our culture. Why do you think gangsta rappers move to the suburbs? Of course there are factors like low crime rate but the truth of the matter is they want their kids to grow up near you.

RIP Ossie Davis

Ossie Davis one of the most distinguished and honored black actors died Feb. 4, 2005. He is best known for his various roles in Spike Lee's movies (School Daze, Do the Right Thing and Jungle Fever). But before those movies there was a career that spanned stage, radio and television.

Raiford Chatman Davis was born in Cogdell, GA, on December 18, 1917. After earning a degree at Washington, D.C.'s Howard University, he moved to New York to attempt a writing career and to study drama with Harlem's Rose McClendon Players. Despite his college diploma, Davis found work on the side in various menial jobs. He then spent a couple years in the military, where he penned and performed a few shows for the troops. After the war, he made his Broadway debut in 1946 appearing in Jeb Turner. It was a short-lived show, but it did serve to introduce him to his future wife, Ruby Dee, with whom he later hosted a radio and television show. By the 1950s, Davis had become a well-respected supporting actor.

-Sandra Brennan

Bill Clinton had this to say about Ossie. "He would have been a very good president of the United States."

I feel very lucky to have been able to see him perform. My heart goes out to his wife and soul mate Ruby Dee and the family. 87 years is a long time but for some it is not enough. Good bye Ossie thank you.

Top 5 Dangerous black people in America #1

And now we come to number one. Madam Secretary Dr. Condoleezza Rice. What can I say about her. I think she's my new crush. This woman is a mutant. Enrolled in college by 15, a classically trained pianist, and she loves football. Now just imagine if she stopped playing classical music and started playing jazz..... Recently Dick Morris thinks she should run in 2008 against Hillary. I say she should do it. Damnit I think she can change the world. Cut that perm girl and grow some locks.



Origin: Born November 14, 1954 in Birmingham, Alabama, the only child of Angelena Rice and the Reverend John Wesley Rice, Jr. Her father became a minister at Westminster Presbyterian Church and her mother was a music teacher. She was born the same year as the landmark Brown v. Board of Education decision. Rice was eight when her schoolmate Denise McNair was killed in the bombing of the primarily African-American Sixteenth Street Baptist Church by white supremacists on September 15, 1963. Rice states that growing up during segregation taught her determination against adversity, and the need to be "twice as good" as non-minorities. She earned her bachelor's degree in political science, cum laude and Phi Beta Kappa, from the University of Denver in 1974 (where she enrolled at the age of 15); her master's degree from the University of Notre Dame in 1975; and her Ph.D. from the Graduate School of International Studies at the University of Denver in 1981. While in Denver, Dr. Rice attended a course on international politics taught by Josef Korbel. The course sparked her interest in the Soviet Union and international relations, leading her to call Korbel "one of the most central figures in my life." Rice joined the faculty of Stanford University in 1981 and became a tenured professor of political science. At Stanford, she was a member of the Center for International Security and Arms Control, Senior Fellow of the Institute for International Studies and and between 1985 and 1986 a national fellow at the Hoover Institution. In 1986, while an international affairs fellow of the Council on Foreign Relations, Rice served as Special Assistant to the Director of the Joint Chiefs of Staff where she worked on nuclear strategic planning.

From 1989 through March 1991 (the period of the fall of Berlin wall and the final days of the Soviet Union), she served in the George Herbert Walker Bush Administration as Director, and then Senior Director, of Soviet and East European Affairs in the National Security Council, and as a Special Assistant to the President for National Security Affairs. In May 1991 she was named a director, of the Chevron Corporation.

In this position, she helped formulate the strategy of President Bush and Secretary James A. Baker III in favour of German reunificatiom. She so impressed President Bush that he introduced her to Mikhail Gorbachev as the one who "tells me everything I know about the Soviet Union."

After working for Bush senior she returned to Stanford in 1991. In 1993 she was appointed Stanford Provost, becoming the youngest person in the position as well as first woman and first non-white. She held the position until 1999. In 1999 she resigns her provostship at Stanford University to help with George HW Bush's campaign. In July of the same year she is appointed senior fellow, Hoover Institute. In January 2001 she resigned as a director of Chevron, and was appointed National Security Advisor for GW Bush.

First Appearance: While an international affairs fellow of the Council on Foreign Relations. Rice served as Special Assistant to the Director of the Joint Chiefs of Staff where she worked on nuclear strategic planning. (1986) When her fellowship ended she returned to Stanford.

Powers: She has the power to send young men and women off to their death. The Secretary serves as principal adviser to the President in the determination and execution of U.S. foreign policy and in recent decades has become responsible for overall direction, coordination, and supervision of interdepartmental activities of the U.S. Government overseas, except for certain military activities. She speaks speaks Russian, French, and Spanish also. Rumor has it her pussy is made out of Kryptonite.

Potential for Danger: She's FOURTH IN LINE to succeed the Presidency. Meaning she's basically two bad plane crashes and a heart attack away from the Presidency of the United States. She is America's face overseas. In every US embassy of in the world there is a picture of the President and a picture of the Secretary of State. Imagine if she started giving GW Bush advice that would help black people and he listened. Imagine if she came up with a plan to get the continent of Africa out of debt. And even more so than Oprah she can convince women that they can run the world. Now how scary is that.

Weaknesses: Her crush on GW Bush, fibroids, and football .

Group Affiliations: Former director of the Chevron Corporationthe Charles Schwab Corporation, the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation, the University of Notre Dame, the International Advisory Council of J.P. Morgan and the San Francisco Symphony Board of Governors. She was a Founding Board member of the Center for a New Generation, an educational support fund for schools in East Palo Alto and East Menlo Park, California and was Vice President of the Boys and Girls Club of the Peninsula . In addition, her past board service has encompassed such organizations as Transamerica Corporation, Hewlett Packard, the Carnegie Corporation, Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, The Rand Corporation, the National Council for Soviet and East European Studies, the Mid-Peninsula Urban Coalition and KQED, public broadcasting for San Francisco.

Top 5 Dangerous black people in America #2

Coming in at number two. Richard D. Parsons. I know you're asking yourself; WHO the hell is Richard D. Parsons? He's the CEO of AOL-Time Warner. He's flown under the radar for about thirty years but now we're gonna put him on blast.

Richard D. Parsons


Origin: Born April 4, 1948. A native of Brooklyn, New York, Parsons graduated from the University of Hawaii, where he played varsity basketball. He earned a law degree from Albany Law School. He caught the eye of the late Nelson A. Rockefeller out of law school, after he nailed the top score (1971) on the New York State bar exam. Parsons even lived in Rockefeller's compound for a time and became a trustee of his assets after the former vice president's death (1979). Parsons served as a lawyer for New York governor Nelson Rockefeller and followed Rockefeller to Washington when he became vice president in 1974. In 1977 Parsons returned to New York and joined Wall Street law firm Patterson, Belknap. A former law partner of Rudolph W. Giuliani, Parsons managed Giuliani's transition into the New York mayor's office. He was appointed to the Time Warner board in 1991 and was offered the chief executive job by Levin. He left the firm to become president of Dime Savings Bank. He became the bank's CEO, seeing it through a merger with Anchor Savings Bank. In 1995 he became president of Time Warner, helping negotiate its merger with America Online, which created a $165-billion media empire in 2000. In December 2001 AOL Time Warner CEO Gerald Levin announced plans to retire in May 2002 and declared that Parsons would succeed him. The move surprised many media watchers who assumed that AOL Time Warner chief operating officer Robert Pittman would take the helm. Also in 2001, President Bush selected Parson to cochair a commission on Social Security. In addition, Parsons worked on the transition team for Michael Bloomberg, who was elected mayor of New York City in 2001.

First Appearance: Served as a lawyer for New York governor Nelson Rockefeller (1972)

Powers: Great business sense. Has a the power to fly under the radar and avoid the glass ceiling that most African-Americans face in corporate America.

Potential for Danger: If Richard D. Parsons turned militant it would probably solve the black unemployment problem in America and hook black people up with cable for life. Rumor has it he's working on a mind control device that will be placed in Time Warner cable boxes, that will send out subliminal messages to white America to hire more African-Americans.

Weaknesses: None that we know of.

Group Affiliations: Chairman of the Apollo Theatre Foundation, and also serves on the boards of Citigroup, Estee Lauder, the Colonial Williamsburg Foundation, the Museum of Modern Art, Howard University and the Committee to Encourage Corporate Philanthropy.

Please stay tuned because Friday we reveal number one.

Top 5 Dangerous black people in America #3

Coming in at number three....Oprah Winfrey. What can I say about Oprah she is one of the most powerful people in the media today. Oprah is scary now but imagine her as an angry black nationalist feminist.

Oprah Winfrey


Origin: Oprah Gail Winfrey (born 29 January 1954 in Kosciusko, Mississippi) was born to humble beginnings -- her unmarried teenage parents were a housemaid, Vernita Lee, and a soldier, Vernon Winfrey. Oprah began her broadcasting career at WVOL radio in Nashville while still in high school. At the age of 19, she became the youngest person and the first African-American woman to anchor the news at Nashville's WTVF-TV. She then relocated to Baltimore's WJZ-TV to co-anchor the Six O'Clock News and later went on to become co-host of its local talk show, People Are Talking. In 1986, her local Chicago daytime talk show, called The Oprah Winfrey Show (and later abbreviated to Oprah), debuted nationally. Originally, the show followed traditional talk show formats. By the mid 1990s, however, the format became more serious, addressing issues that Winfrey thought were of direct importance and of crucial consequence to women. Winfrey began to do a lot of charity work, and her show featured people suffering from poverty or the victims of unfortunate accidents.

The Oprah Winfrey Show has remained the number one talk show for 18 consecutive seasons*. Produced by her own production company, Harpo Productions, Inc., the show is seen by an estimated 30 million viewers a week in the United States** and is broadcast internationally in 111 countries.

First Appearance: WVOL radio in Nashville.

Powers: Co-owner of the Oxygen cable network, Owner of O magazine (one of the most lucrative magazines in terms of advertising), Host of one of the highest rated talk shows in America. Oprah has a Jim Jones esque quality in where she has a cult like following among women. Every book Oprah has chosen for her book of the month club has gone on to become a bestseller. She could virtually shut down all the pussy in America without any trouble.

Potential for Danger: If Oprah became militant her potential for danger would be incredible. Imagine if she told her followers to start reading books like Soul on Ice, The Fire Next Time, and The Coldest Winter Ever. The results would be astounding. She could use the Oxygen network forward an agenda of upliftment and nationalism if she so choose. She could use O magazine to push forward a program of self awareness instead of recipes and home and garden tips.

Weaknesses: It takes her three hours to put on her make up and Stedman Graham.

Group Affiliations: King World Entertainment, HARPO Productions and Oxygen Media, Inc.

Top 5 Dangerous black people in America #4

And now we move on to number four. Imgaine if you will a militant Jay-Z.



Origin: Shawn Carey Carter was born on December 4, 1969 in Brooklyn, raised in Marcy Housing Development, Jay-Z underwent some tough times after his father left his mother before the young rapper was even a teen. Without a man in the house, he became a self-supportive youth, turning to the streets, where he soon made a name for himself as a fledging rapper. Known as "Jazzy" in his neighborhood, he soon shortened his nickname to Jay-Z and did all he could to break into the rap game. Of course, as he vividly discusses in his lyrics, Jay-Z also became a street hustler at this time, doing what needed to be done to make money. For a while, he ran around with Jaz-O, aka Big Jaz, a small-time New York rapper with a record deal but few sales. From Jaz he learned how to navigate through the rap industry and what moves to make. He also participated in a forgotten group called Original Flavor for a short time. Jay-Z subsequently decided to make an untraditional decision and start his own label rather than sign with an established label like Jaz had done. Together with friends Damon Dash and Kareem "Biggs" Burke, he created Roc-a-Fella Records, a risky strategy for cutting out the middleman and making money for himself. Of course, he needed a quality distributor, and when he scored a deal with Priority Records (and then later Def Jam), Jay-Z finally had everything in place, including a debut album, Reasonable Doubt (1996).

First Appearance: This Is How It Is by Original Flavor (1992)

Powers: Incredible rhyming skills, great business sense, owns his own clothing line.

Potential for Danger: Jay-Z's potential for danger is very great. He has the power to make young suburban white kids to dress like thugs and get stopped by the cops. He has the business sense of a wall street mogul and a street hustler. If militant he would be able to use his rhyming skills and business sense to uplift the community and promote education instead of vodka and cars.

Weaknesses: Baby mama drama, and I got two letters for ya Jigga DL (we all know Beyonce has a dick.)

Group Affiliations: Island Def Jam and Roc-A-Fella records

Top 5 Dangerous black people in America #5

What if Bill Cosby became militant? How dangerous would he be? Imagine.
Coming in at number five we have none other than:

Bill Cosby



Origin: William Henry Cosby, Jr. (born July 12, 1937 Philadelphia, PA.) Left high school without earning his diploma and joined the U.S. Navy in 1956. While enlisted he passed a high school equivalency exam, and after his discharge he received an athletic scholarship to Temple University in Philadelphia in 1961. During his sophomore year he left Temple to entertain at the Gaslight Cafe in Greenwich Village, New York City, where he began to establish a trademark comedic style characterized by a friendly and accessible stage persona and a relaxed, carefully timed delivery that put white people at ease. During the 1960s Cosby toured major U.S. and Canadian cities, as he gained popularity he commanded higher performance fees. In 1965 he stared in the espionage series I Spy (1965-68) playing the black sidekick to Robert Culp, making him the first black actor to perform in a starring dramatic role on network television.

Cosby's subsequent projects for television included the series of Bill Cosby Specials (1968-71, 1975), the situation comedy The Bill Cosby Show (1969-71), the variety show The New Bill Cosby Show (1972-73), and the successful cartoon Fat Albert and the Cosby Kids (1972-84, 1989). By 1984 Cosby had infiltrated the system to a such an extent that he the power to produce a show in where a successful black doctor was married to a equally successful black woman lawyer and support a family of 5 in Brooklyn. The Cosby Show convinced white people that black folks could be just as normal as they could.

First Appearance: The Tonight Show with Johnny Carson (1963)

Powers: Lots and lots of money, and good public speaking skills.

Potential for Danger: If Cosby became more militant he would not be the most dangerous, but he would certainly make more of a dent in the system. Bill Cosby is one of the few wealthy black men in America who actively gives back to the community, by sending countless young men and women to college. In the 1990's he made an attempt to buy NBC. If that deal went through Arsenio Hall would still be on late night TV til today. Imagine what the progaming would have been like. I'll tell you one thing the casts of Friends and Seinfeld would have been a little more colorful. Today Cosby's message is one of self improvement and reinforcing education. Imagine if black people actually listened to what he's saying and acted upon it? The results would be astounding.

Weaknesses: Loose women and jello pudding, in that order.

Group Affiliations: Omega Psi Phi Fraternity Incorporated.

Fringe Thursday 2-3-05

If there is any man who is on the fringe it's Saul Williams. His groundbreaking work as a writer and actor in the critically accliamed film, Slam (Sundance's Grand Jury Prize '98) placed him as a figurehead of the spoken word/poetry slam movement. Since staring in Slam he's made several film appearances in addition to being an author of three collections of poetry: The Seventh Octave: The early writings of Saul Williams (1997), She (1999), ,said the shotgun to the head (2003) .

He's also a alternative hip hop recording artist: Amethyst Rock Star (2001) and Saul Williams (2004).

Born in Newburgh, N.Y. (1972) this son of a preacher and and school teacher mother graduated from Morehouse College with a B.A. in philosophy, then moved to New York City to take a Master's Degree at New York University in Acting.

I've had the chance to see him live and he's an incredible performer if he ever comes to your town I suggest you see him. CNN recently caught up to him and this is what he had to say about the state of hip hop.

CNN: What's wrong with hip-hop?

SAUL WILLIAMS: The only reason I've been so critical of hip-hop is because I've always been aware of the effect that it has, and the reflection that it gives of the African-American community. I remember back in the day when Chuck D called hip-hop the "black people's CNN." Well now, hip-hop is more like Fox News. It's biased, and highly suspect. Hip-hop is still cool at a party. But to me, hip-hop has never been strictly a party; it is also there to elevate consciousness. What's wrong with hip-hop is the system that controls the definition of it. There needs to be more balance on the airwaves. I mean look at Eminem, getting airplay on rock radio. Does he get airplay on rock radio because he's a rock musician? No, it's because rock radio pictures itself as white radio. We just need to broaden our definitions of ourselves and then about the music. Hip-hop is too young to put a definition on it.

Hip Hop Wednesday 2-2-05

What is the difference between a rapper and an MC?

A rapper rhymes but an MC moves the crowd. Simple isn't it? Well it isn't.
Anyone can rhyme, but who's controlling the crowd? Ja Rule? No offense Ja but, I don't think so.
The consensus in the hip hop community is that rappers do it for the money and MC's (Emcees) do it for the love of the game. Here's one differnce Rappers don't battle. MC's battle. An MC is familar with all the five elements of hip hop. A rapper wouldn't be able to name one.

Next Week: When did hip hop start?

Black History Month (Warning)

Carter G. Woodson the Father of Black History Month


Today America's descendants of slaves begin to commemorate what is known as Black History Month.

Carter G. Woodson is credited for it's existence. I'm sure he would be rolling over in his grave if he saw what it has been reduced to. Please don't be fooled by the picture, he was a black man. Woodson chose February because even though the 13th Amendment (y'all know this amendment it's the one that abolished slavery) was signed in January, slaves did not start to hear of the news until February.

This month in honor of Black History Month, or as I like to call it. "28 days of white guilt." I will be exposing a lot of hypocritical sh*t. Hypocritical sh*t that Black people do and Hypocritical sjit that White people do. And everyone else in between. Some of what I'm going to say is going to offend a lot of people and some of what I say this month will (hopefully) enlighten you. I hope that what I say doesn't ruin any friendships and I hope some comments posted here don't offend anyone.

So what do I have planned? Glad you asked. First off there will be a lot of ranting and not that many hyperlinks. And there will be plenty of lists. For example, I will be listing the following:

• America's most dangerous Black people (It's not what you think.)
• The top five reasons why black people think there is a conspiracy against them.
• The top five secrets black people keep from white people.

These are just a few of the topics that we will be tackling this month. Remember this is all in good fun with a hint of truth to it.

The Oscars Part II: Who got screwed?

So, let's just cut to the chase. The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences has a long history of screwing people over when it comes to the honor of being nominated. This year was no different than others. The following is short list of who got screwed.

Paul Giamatti (Sideways) - Tops the list this year. There is no one who deserves an Oscar nomination more than Paul Giamatti. In the role of Miles Raymond, a thirty something divorcee/struggling writer, Giamatti embodied the lost hope and confusion that most 30 something males feel.

James Caviezel (The Passion of the Christ) - Jim is credited for doing the best portrayal of Jesus since Jeffrey Hunter in King of Kings. Passion of the Christ was one of last years most controversial movies it didn't get nominated for any major awards unless you count BEST MAKEUP, BEST ORIGINAL SCORE, and BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY as major.

Mel Gibson (The Passion of the Christ) - I actually feel for Mel on this one. The man put his heart and soul into this movie and what happens his anti-Semitic father comes out the wood work and says something smart.

Quentin Tarintino (Kill Bill Vol. 2) - QT got screwed big time in my opinion because Vol. 1 was just too violent and Vol. 2 was too wordy and too tongue and cheek for the academy's taste.

Walter Salles (The Motorcycle Diaries) - Walter Salles did a fantasic job and for the Academy not to notice is a crime. I've never seen a director use a continent as a character for a film.

The Ocsars Part I: The nominees

The Nominees for Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences where announced Tuesday January 25, 2005. Here are the nominees.

BEST PICTURE

"The Aviator" - Martin Scorsese and Leonardo DiCaprio's epic tale of the early days of Howard Hughes. This movie didn't really impress me too much but based on the scale, size and the execution it does deserve to be nominated.

"Finding Neverland" - I don't know why this movie is nominated. In this drama, we are told the story of how James M. Barrie came up with the play Peter Pan. Johnny Depp plays the role of author James M. Barrie.

"Million Dollar Baby" - I personally haven't seen this movie nor do I intend to. There is a ton of hype surrounding this movie. The plot is about a boxing trainer who's burnt out and a female boxer who needs someone to believe in her. To be blunt this is some white trash melodrama BS with Morgan Freeman thrown in as the magical negro who helps Eastwood and Swank figure it all out.

"Ray" - The story of Ray Charles. This is movie didn't make my list of the year's best, but this movie does deserve the nomination. Jamie Foxx plays the role of Ray Charles to perfection.

"Sideways" - A funny movie about two friends on a wine tasting road trip. Paul Giamatti got screwed by the Academy on this one, but I'll get to that later.


DIRECTOR

Martin Scorsese, "The Aviator" - They should just give it to him already. How many times has Scorsese been passed over. Just give it to him already.

Clint Eastwood, "Million Dollar Baby" - You sir are a relic. You have enough awards and you need to just take a break for a while.

Taylor Hackford, "Ray" - Good job sir. But you're in stiff competition.

Alexander Payne, "Sideways" - See what I said to Taylor Hackford. It goes double for you.

Mike Leigh, "Vera Drake" - Could you just lighten up? Seriously can you just make a f*cking comedy just once? For those of you who don't know Mike Leigh just see Leaving Las Vegas. Vera Drake is a story of a old woman who used to "help" women in "trouble" out. Basically she induced miscarrages in the days in where abortion was illegal. I guess Mike Leigh's job on the set was to pass out wire hangers.


ACTOR IN A LEADING ROLE

Don Cheadle, "Hotel Rwanda" - Thanks Don you just canceled out Jamie Foxx. I'm sure you deserve this nomination but you just handicaped Foxx.

Johnny Depp, "Finding Neverland" - Weren't you nominated last year? What is it with you?

Leonardo DiCaprio, "The Aviator" - Good job Leo. For a minute when I was watching you play Howard Hughs I found myself feeling sorry for a millionare. Now that's some acting fo yo ass right there.

Clint Eastwood, "Million Dollar Baby" - Clint, what the fuck? Seriously you know that you're there only because the Academy didn't have the balls to nominate James Caviezel right? You're in Jesus's spot. I hope you can sleep well at night knowing that you're in Jesus's spot.

Jamie Foxx, "Ray" - Thanks Jamie you just handicaped Don Cheadle. Just kidding dawg. You'll probably get it for Colatteral. Smart move by the way. Just one question...Why are you going to be Tubbs in the Miami Vice movie?


ACTRESS IN A LEADING ROLE

Annette Bening, "Being Julia" - Wow you got nominated for playing a washed up actress. The jokes just write themselves there don't they.

Catalina Sandino Moreno, "Maria Full of Grace" - You got nominated for playing drug "mule". Heh and they say there are no roles with integrity for women in Hollywood.

Imelda Staunton, "Vera Drake" - I'm so glad that the red states don't have a say in who gets nominated for an Oscar.

Hilary Swank, "Million Dollar Baby" - Didn't you win already? Look if you win could you stop your husband from crying like a little bitch?

Kate Winslet, "Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind" - You're my favorite to win. How many times did you change your hair color during the shoot?


ACTOR IN A SUPPORTING ROLE

Alan Alda, "The Aviator" - Glad to see you working again Hawkeye.

Thomas Haden Church, "Sideways" - Weren't you on Wings? Damn boy you done come up. YOU BETTER THANK Paul Giamatti in your acceptance speech.

Jamie Foxx, "Collateral" - Good job. Don't do any cart wheels when you win ok?

Morgan Freeman, "Million Dollar Baby" - Do you have any magical powers? You always seem to be playing the magical negro. Why is that?

Clive Owen, "Closer" - Just become the new James Bond already. JEEZ. By the way what do Natalie Portman's boobs look like?


ACTRESS IN A SUPPORTING ROLE

Cate Blanchett, "The Aviator" - Good impression of Katharine Hepburn.

Laura Linney, "Kinsey" - Sorry I didn't get to see your movie.

Virginia Madsen, "Sideways" - Good luck. How much wine did you drink on the set?

Sophie Okendo, "Hotel Rwanda" - See what I said to Laura Linney.

Natalie Portman, "Closer" - Ahhh you played a lying stripper. What was that I said about good roles for women in Hollywood?


ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY

John Logan, "The Aviator" - Eh you did ok.

Charlie Kaufman, Michel Gondry and Pierre Bismuth, "Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind" - Charlie you are a genius and everyone who shares this nomination with you is just riding your coat tails.

Keir Pearson and Terry George, "Hotel Rwanda" - You guys tried to tell a good story about a country no one in America actually cares about. There is something to be said for that, but I just don't know what it is.

Brad Bird, "The Incredibles" - Good stuff sir.

Mike Leigh, "Vera Drake" - CHEER UP JEEZ!


ADAPTED SCREENPLAY

Richard Linklater, Julie Delpy, Ethan Hawke and Kim Krizan, "Before Sunset" - Rich, where have you been? I haven't seen you since Slackers.

David Magee, "Finding Neverland" - BOOO!

Paul Haggis, "Million Dollar Baby" - WHY? Seriously WHY?

José Rivera, "The Motorcycle Diaries" - Good stuff.

Alexander Payne and Jim Taylor, "Sideways" - Good job guys I'm pulling for ya.


DOCUMENTARY FEATURE

"Born Into Brothels" - Nice title.

"The Story of the Weeping Camel" - Bad title.

"Super Size Me" - You are my favorite to win.

"Tupac: Resurrection" - Dead men don't win Oscars. Sorry Pac.

"Twist of Faith" - Sorry didn't see your movie. A man confronts the trauma of past sexual abuse as a boy by a Catholic priest only to find his decision shatters his relationships with his family, community and faith. Damn no wonder the Academy didn't nominate the Passion of the Christ.

Tomorrow - The Oscars Part II: Who got screwed?

Hip Hop Wednesday 1-26-05

What ever happened to Lauryn Hill?

Remember Lauryn Hill? She won five out of ten grammys in one night. And followed that up by releasing an unplugged album that sounded like a therapy session.

Recently she's been working with Kanye West (Kanye's has been nominated for 10 grammy's this year)

It's good to see that she's finally gotten over herself and got her her butt back in the studio.

Jimi Izrael has an interesting take on Mr. West and Ms. Hill's place in the mainstream.

Next Week: What is the difference between a rapper and an MC?

My Interview with Sabina from Brazilian Girls

Brazilian Girls are a underground downtown group that's been stuggling for a while now. Recently they've been getting some serious exposure on iTunes. I recently just got a chance to sit down and chat with the internationally known Diva front woman of the group Sabina.

Brazilian Girls will be playing a tsunami benifit this Wednesday at Canal Room located at 295 West Broadway.

How would you describe your sound?:
-post-wave meta-electro glam

What instruments do you play?
-piano, laptop, very very little guitar

How long have you been singing?
-since i was three

The outfits you wear in concert are hot where do you shop?
-mostly it's put together from no-budget things, some stuff friends gave/made for me.

Lazy Lover who is that about? (you don't have to answer that one if you don't want to)
- about you!!and many others. about the american people right this moment.

How was the tour in Europe? Did you get to go back home?
- t'was lovely. yes, i visited my mom in germland and saw lots of friends in france and italy.

How many languages do you speak and sing in?
- 5.5 ( my portugues isn;t as fluent)

What was the last CD you bought in a store?
-tom waits : real gone

What was the last book your read?
-franz kafka's: amerika (******),
paul watzlawik's :' the situation is hopeless, but not serious -
the pursuit of unhappiness (*******)
and now bob dylans 'chronicles'. (*******) very very recommended

What are you plans for the future?
- make love, music and babys (as me'shell so appropriately would put it)

Do you plan to release previous recorded music (e.g. A thin line)?
- who knows, don;t really think so.

Fringe Thursday 1-20-05

C.S. Lewis' "The Chronicles of Narnia." is the next big thing this year.

I guess this is Disney's answer to Lord of the Rings.

The movie is based on a series of books by C.S. Lewis. The Chronicles of Narnia (better known as The Lion The Witch and the Wardrobe) tells the story of Peter, Susan, Edmund, and Lucy, who are separated from their parents in London during the German air raids of World War II. They are sent to the country for safety and find a magic wardrobe that transports them to the mystical world of Narnia, a once peaceful land of talking beasts, dwarfs and giants. However, Narnia has been frozen by the evil White Witch, and the kids must help the lion Aslan break her spell.

Apple has a behind the scenes trailer here

Hip Hop Wednesday 1-19-05

The future = The Game


In last week's rant I talked about Who is Old School. This week I want to discuss the Future and Giving Props and Name Dropping. Which brings me to Compton's own The Game (aka Jayceon Taylor). In his album titled the Documentary he manages to give props to the likes of the late Eazy-E, (when's the last time you've heard Eazy-E mentioned on a record), Tupac (saw that one coming), and Bigge Smalls (showing love for the east coast).

Compton's own The Game got his name from his grandmother "because he was game for anything" as a kid but when he went to high school things changed.

"But once I got to high school that shit was out. My brothers were gangbangin and I just followed in their footsteps."

In 2001 he was shot seven times and left for dead while in the hospital he reevaluated his life and listened intently to music by N.W.A. and Kool G Rap and to classic hip-hop albums like Biggie Smalls's "Ready to Die," Jay-Z's "Reasonable Doubt," Snoop's "Doggystyle" and Tupac Shakur's "All Eyez on Me." And he taught himself to rap. Eventually he got on the mixtape circuit and built up an underground following. He was passed over by some of the top record companies in the industry (DefJam, Bad Boy, and The Inc.) Until he was discovered by Dr. Dre and Co. And the rest is history.

From what I've heard in his music and read in interviews about him he seems like he's had a troubled past. "It all started the day that my dad decided to molest my sisters, his own daughters.

His music tells the story of a troubled man trying to make sense of it all. The bottomline is that this album is good; the production is flawless but he does tend to sound like a cross between Kool G. Rap and Shyne from time to time. This shows that the 25 year old man has studied the greats. His delivery is the most clear out of any West Coast rapper to date.

I have to admit that I really didn't like him when I heard about his battles with Joe Budden and other rappers but you cannot deny talent. The Game is for real and his skill is just what the West Coast needs to be put back on the map. He's got a big mouth but he can back it up

Next week: What ever happened to Lauryn Hill?