Bamelot' 08 and SB Rant

There’s a lot I want to get to but first off. How bout that Barack Obama huh? Winning S. Carolina Getting and endorsed by the Kennedy’s. I think I’ll call it Bamelot it’s like Camelot but different. This past Sunday Caroline Kennedy wrote a great op-ed piece in the times comparing Obama to JFK. And on Monday Ted Crash Kennedy endorsed the good senator from Illinois. She put into words what a lot of Obama’s supporters feel:

Sometimes it takes a while to recognize that someone has a special ability to get us to believe in ourselves, to tie that belief to our highest ideals and imagine that together we can do great things. In those rare moments, when such a person comes along, we need to put aside our plans and reach for what we know is possible.
We have that kind of opportunity with Senator Obama.

That pretty much sums up how a lot of Obama’s supporters feel about his candidacy. I include myself in that number.

The endorsement is symbolic at best, and probably doesn’t mean a lot in the grand scheme of things, that being said you can’t deny that there is just something about him that is inspiring.

In other news, John Edwards dropped out of the race today. Let it be known that if Obama wasn’t running for president I would be backing John Edwards. This man is a class act. Yes he’s playing both sides of the fence but that should not take away from him being a man of integrity and passion. “It is time for me to step aside so that history can blaze its’ path.” He’s the only white man talking about “We should never forget about New Orleans.” He has my respect, but we want that endorsement and those delegates nukka, hand em over NOW!

I know I’m a little all over the place today but I have to talk about the Dean of Harlem and Chair of the House Ways and Means committee, that’s right the Kingfish himself the one the only Charles “don’t call me Carlos” Rangel. Hey brotha do you know where you wife is?? It appears that Mrs. Rangel has more sense than her husband. It amazes me that Rep. Rangel encouraged Obama to run back in January of 2007.

Here's a little secret. Rep. Rangel is supporting Hillary as part of a deal that will make Lt Gov. David Patterson Senator when Hillary has to give up her seat. Gov. Spitzer is down with the plan so if Hillary becomes president expect David Patterson to be on the short list of contenders. Hell the list is so short that it just has his name on it. Ahh politics.

And now I just want to get some sjit off my chest. The Super Bowl is this Sunday. The Pats vs. the Giants. Personally I am not a fan of either team. That being said I will have a smirk on my face when the Pats win the Super Bowl. Oh yes that's not a prediction that's just me stating the enviable. Why will I have a smirk on my face you ask? Well let me tell ya. I got two words for ya RANDY MOSS.

Let me give ya some back story on this before I go into my rant. Ya see I had a conversation with one of my melanin challenged friends today and I happened to tell him that while I'm not rooting for the Pats but I will have a smirk on my face because of Randy Moss. My friend (let's call him Tony) let me have it. Rany Moss doesn't deserve a ring he's a criminal, blah blah blah. Taking his comments in stride I asked him the following: What does that have to do with what he does on the field? NOTHING. Tony then in turn played the role of Bill Clinton and said I'm only defending Randy Moss cause he's black. Tony couldn't have been more wrong. And that leads me to my following Super Bowl rant.

The Pats are the best team in the NFL period. They are the first team to go undefeated in over 30 years. That being said they are not as sweaky clean as they would like EVERYONE to believe. This team was accused earlier this year of cheating, Tom Brady has baby momma drama and Randy Moss is slapping women. I do not like the Pats. But I respect their collective gangsta. And I love the fact that Randy Moss will get a ring with this team. There's just something so poetic about this All American team working with Randy Moss. Y'all remember that Afro he used to rock back in Minnesota? I want to see that sjit when they win Sunday I hope he takes those corn rose out his hair and let his Afro loose. If we gonna have a show then let's have a show. Ya dig?

Thank you, Toni Morrison

Who knew that when Toni Morrison wrote this, it would come back to haunt us to this day?

Enough is enough. Bill Clinton was not this country's first black president. This joke has gotten way out of hand, so much so that Barack Obama had to answer the question: "Do you think Bill Clinton was the first black president?" in the last Democratic presidential debate.

This is probably one of the dumbest questions ever asked in a presidential election. To his credit, Obama laughed it off and came back with a tongue-and-cheek answer, but that's not the point. It's the audacity that a reporter would ask such a question. And don't get me started about Andrew Young saying that Clinton is as black as Obama.

Let's clear some things up. No one remembers the context of Toni Morrison's article about Bill Clinton being the first black president. "After all, Clinton displays almost every trope of blackness: single-parent household, born poor, working-class, saxophone-playing, McDonald's-and-junk-food-loving boy from Arkansas." Basically he's a cliche or a caricature of what blackness is.

What pisses me off about this whole situation is that the Clintons, for as much good as they did when they were in office, have convinced black people that they know what's good for black people better than what we know for ourselves. That's why so many notable black leaders (i.e. Charles Rangel, Bob Johnson, and Andrew Young) believe that Hillary will be a better president. They refuse to believe that Obama is qualified for the White House.

We sick boss. Yeah we sick alright.

2008 Most Anticipated Movies

As some of you may have guessed by now I’m what they call a Fanboy. For those of you who don’t know what a Fanboy is it is defined as a person who is a passionate fan of various elements of geek culture (e.g. sci-fi, comics, video games, anime pop-culture etc.). This year is a big year for us fanboys. Half the movies on my “Most Anticipated Movies of 2008” are movies based on comics. While this makes the fanboy side of me quite happy, the grown up side of me that craves originality and creativity is rather bitter. Hopefully there will be some independent films like Teeth that will become sleeper hits. Now on to the list:

Iron Man –Another Marvel icon comes to the big screen. Robert Downey Jr. plays Tony Stark in this comic adaptation. Release Date: May 2nd, 2008.

Speed Racer – From the people who brought you the Matrix the Wachowski Brothers bring to life one of my favorite Japanese anime cartoons. Release Date: May 9th, 2008

The Dark Knight – This summer the sequel to Batman Returns with Heath Leager as the Joker. Release Date: July 18th, 2008

Vantage Point – Looks like has a great cast. Mathew Fox, Forest Whitker, and Randy Quaid to name a few. Release Date: February 22nd, 2008

Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull – Harrison Ford may be in his 60’s but that’s not going to stop me from going to see this movie. Release Date: May 22nd, 2008

The Incredible Hulk – Ed Norton replaces Eric Bana as Bruce Banner. Maybe they will get it right this time around. Release Date: June 13th, 2008

Get Smart – Steve Carell as Maxwell Smart. Need I say more? Release Date: June 20th, 2008

Wanted – Mark Millar’s dark graphic novel comes to life. Release Date: June 27th, 2008

Hellboy 2: The Golden Army – Yes another comic sequel. But I can’t resist. Release Date: July 11th, 2008

Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince – It is Harry's sixth year at Hogwarts. Harry begins to lean that he has more in common with his enemy Voldemort than he ever thought. Release Date: November 21, 2008.

Honorable Mentions: Cloverfield, George A. Romero's Diary of the Dead, Charlie Bartlett, 88 Minutes, M. Night Shyamalan's The Happening, Harold and Kumar Escape From Guantanamo, Bond 22 (they have not come up with a new title for it yet), J.J. Abrams's Star Trek.

I'm back.

Happy New Year people. You know how everyone has a New Year’s Resolution? Well my NYR is to start this blog up again. Yes I know I’ve made my share of excuses but this year is different. Why is this year different? Gald you asked. Well for one it’s an election year so I will have plenty to bitch about. Also I am married so you know a brotha will need to vent from time to time.

Would you believe that my wife and my shrink have just discovered my blog? But I am not going to let that censor me in any way shape or form. So let’s get right to it.
OBAMA!!!!!!.....Lost. Because Hillary cried. Who knew tears could win you a primary. It’s funny how Obama’s campaign revolves around change and now all of a sudden Hillary’s campaign revolves around change. In a werid way this reminds me of the early days of rock-n-roll in where the black artists would have their songs covered by white artists. So now Hillary has found her voice, a cracked one at that.

Can I be honest with y’all? I don’t know if I am ready for a black president or a woman president. There’s a selfish part of me that wants John Edwards to be president, maybe cause his wife doesn’t really have that much time left to live and by the inauguration he’ll be our first single president since Grover Cleveland (I had to look that one up). Imagine, John Edwards single in the White House? You just know Britney will find her way over there to comfort Johnny boy. But seriously folks…..I’m voting for Obama even if I have to write him in. So just in case Obama wins the whole thing, here are some tips for us black folk. Yes I know it’s too early to do this, but I don’t care.

Things BLACK PEOPLE SHOULD NOT DO when Obama becomes President:

• Do not gloat. White people voted for him too.
• Don’t quit your jobs. There will not be any reparations
• Do not start naming your kids Barack or Obama unless you plan on sending them to Harvard.
• Do not expect Michael Vick to get a presidential pardon.
• Do not expect the national anthem to change. Hip-Hop has come far but not that far.
• Do not expect Oprah to be Vice President. The best she’ll get is a cabinet post.
• Do not expect Jesse Jackson and Al Sharpton to shut the fuck up. That one was more for the white folks but you get my drift.

This country needs change. The question is are we ready for it?

The Wedding Post

So on October 20th I got married. To be perfectly honest with you I don't feel different. It does feel strange to look at my left ring finger and see my wedding band but outside of that not much has changed yet.

The ceremony was perfect. We started a half hour late because the zipper on my wife's dress came off and had to be sown back on. I know women reading this will be like "WHAT!?". Yes it's true the zipper came off the dress at 6:15pm. Anyway the ceremony was a dual denominational ceremony, (Jewish and Christian). Most of our guests didn't know what to make of it.

I started this post out saying that the ceremony was perfect. But to be honest there was something that kinda put a stain on it. My mother.

Now I know what y'all are saying, Doc aren't you being a little harsh. Well...No I'm not. See my mother attempted to sing along with our rabbi. It really was annoying. Little did I know this was only of the beginning. See when I look back on my wedding I don't think I'm going to remember all the good things that happened. I fear that I will remember all the negative things that took place. For example, my mother bursting into the kitchen to demand that her table get served first, my mother yelling at my best man, people fighting to get a chair and table, family that decided to invite themselves at the last minute only to give $50 as a gift, my mother commandeering the microphone and telling everyone my full name (something I usually keep hidden).

Before I go any further I want to say that there were a lot of positive things that happened at my wedding. But because of the type of person I am, I will remember the negative things before the positive, (yes I am seeking help for this). The overall experience of getting married is one of the most surreal moments of my life. The reception was a blur. A fun blur but a blur nonetheless.

The wife was unable to move because so many people wanted to say hi and take a picture with her, she looked beautiful and elegant. On the other hand I was able to move around and meet and greet people. I didn't stop moving until the after party. Oh yes there was an after party. Frankly that was the best part of the evening aside from the ceremony. I just wish we took more food home with us.

I am still dealing with my feelings on what my mother did. Not only was it embarrassing but it was uncalled for. I've always been able to forgive her for her outbursts but this time I find it really hard to forgive her. I keep asking myself "Am I a bad person for feeling this way?"

I got issues.....

So where do I begin.....Let's start with OJ. This guy should have moved out of the country as soon as he got acquitted 12 years ago. I'm just amazed that this guy is still around. And the messed up part is HE JUST GOT OUT ON BAIL. And guess who was there....Marcia Clark. For those of you who don't know Marcia Clark was one of the district attorneys who assigned to the OJ murder trial. Talk about grudges....Seriously doesn't this woman have anything else better to do than to follow the Juice around. I bet she was just WAITING for the day that he'd fuck up. OJ is gonna go to jail this time and if that's what we need in order for Barack Obama to have a chance at becoming president then so be it.

And while we're on the topic of Barack Obama....What the hell is wrong with Jesse Jackson???? I thought he endorsed Barack Obama, so what's with this whole Obama needs to stop acting white bit??? Of course he's back tracked (in record time), but the story is already out there. Now how did this all get started??? Well, Jesse has a new cause y'all...Some of you may have heard of the Jena 6. The NY Times wrote an interesting article about this case click here for the link to the story. Apparently Jesse seems to think that Obama needs to speak up about his case and make it a campaign issue.

To quote Dennis Miller but I don't mean to get off on a rant here but.....Who the fuck is Jesse Jackson to tell Barack Obama what he should talk about. Yes the case of the Jena 6 is a civil rights atrocity, and yes this is a case that deserves national attention. That being said Barack Obama does not need to make this case a CAMPAIGN ISSUE. It's enough that he's finally convinced White America that he can be taken seriously and he's actually got a chance. And for the record Obama made a statement Friday after one of the teen's charges was thrown out, saying, "I am pleased that the Louisiana state appeals court recognized that the aggravated battery charge brought in this case was inappropriate."
"I hope that today's decision will lead the prosecutor to reconsider the excessive charges brought against all the teenagers in this case," he added. "And I hope that the judicial process will move deliberately to ensure that all of the defendants will receive a fair trial and equal justice under the law."

Where's Hillary's statement? Why isn't Jesse asking for that? See the problem is that Jesse wants Obama to fall into the trap of running as the black candidate and Obama ain't having it. And for the record Obama's camp is right, that was the problem when Jesse ran in '84 and in '88. If he's to win the nomination he has to run as the candidate that just happens to be black and not the black candidate. That's the problem with some of our leaders they're like crabs in a barrel. Shame on Jesse for using this case to suck Obama into a racial quagmire. Please don't get me wrong the Jena 6 case is a very important case but it not not worthy of being something that should come up as a topic of discussion during a presidential campaign. There are more broader topics like Health Care, the war in Iraq and Education, that must be discussed first before we go into how small towns in America are still backward and racist. Yeah I said it. If you think Jena, LA is the only town in America that has a problem like this you're sadly mistaken.

And on a totally unrelated note....I just want to give a big shout out to Dan Rather. Get yo money playa.

Blog from a treo.

I'm in a dinner waiting for my check and I realize that this is the first time I've had a moment to myself. My days are numbered. 10-20-07 is the big day. Every thing will change for me. I'm forced to ask myself. Are you ready kid, are ya?

Smear.

This, pisses me off. What does that have to do with what happened last year November? I can see if Sean Bell was found with a gun in his car but they didn't find one. This is the kind of thing that distracts people from the real issue at hand. A innocent man gets shot dead, and what comes out in the press? Oh he may have shot some one in the past. Let's say he did shoot someone in the past. What does that incident have to do with what the cops did? ABSOLUTELY NOTHING. At the time of the shooting the cops didn't know Sean Bell had any priors. And if they say that they did they are LYING.

I don't think that Sean Bell was a saint. I don't think he was some martyr for police brutality. All I know is that he was a human being. And he was killed for nothing. Why is it that whenever a black man gets killed by the cops the victims past comes in to question? Why can't the cops just take responsibility for their actions? There were FIVE cops on the scene but only THREE are in court and out of those THREE, ONE is going to probably end up in jail?

What kind of country are we living in, where the we blame the victim for getting shot? Seriously this is bullshit.

Oscars 2007 Part II: The winners

And now the winners...

Best Picture: The Departed: I really can't believe this won best picture. I still say the original is better

Best Director: Martin Scorsese for The Departed: Just think after all those years of making Italian mob movies he wins an Oscar for making a movie about Irish gangsters. The cherry on top of the cake was Lucas, Spielberg and Coppola presenting it to him.

Best Actor: Forest Whitaker for The Last King of Scotland: He gave one of the best speeches in the history of the Oscars. I love the fact that a humble genuine nice guy won. Sorry Peter O'Toole.

Best Actress: Helen Mirren for The Queen: Did I call it or what? I knew she was gonna win.

Best Supporting Actor: Alan Arkin for Little Miss Sunshine: Glad to see Arkin win. I wonder if Peter O'Toole tried to jack him for his Oscar at the after party.

Best Supporting Actress: Jennifer Hudson for Dreamgirls: Just goes to show you; you can lose on American Idol and go on to win an Oscar. Good for her.

Best Original screenplay: Michael Arndt for Little Miss Sunshine: A smart witty and funny movie, won an Oscar. What is this world coming to?

Best Adapted screenplay: William Monahan for The Departed: He didn't thank one Chinese person. I mean seriously that's just bad form in my book.

Black Greeks Part 2

I know I've been slackin'. In part one I presented a brief outline of the nine black Greek letter organizations. In part two we will get into pledging, elitism, and why would I want to join a black Greek letter organization.

Pledging: Pledging is the period of time in where the recruit (the pledge) goes through a series of challenges which eventually lead to initiation in to the group. Hazing is the ritualistic harassment, abuse, or persecution of prospective members of a group as a means of initiation. Hazing is something that has become a huge problem among black fraternities and sororities. There have been numerous deaths as a result of initiates being hazed. When ritual reaches the point where it endangers the life and limb of an individual, it needs to be discontinued. The pledge process is not about beating someone down. It’s not about degrading someone just so you can feel good about yourself. Basically you don’t put a person online to drop (make them quit) them. So then what is the process about? The answer is simple it is meant for: team building, leadership experience, organizational skills, time management, and learning the history of said organization. It is a shame that people have lost sight of that over the years.

Elitism: This always seems to come up in one of these conversations. Please someone help me out here, because I’ve never been able to put my finger on what people mean by that. I’ve always assumed that these organizations are highly selective and thereby exclusive to people who qualify for membership. There has been a history of these organizations being HIGHLY selective, whether it was expressed through excluding people based on degree of skin tone, or socio-economic back ground. That being said in my humble opinion I think the days of the brown paper bag test are over. Frankly this wasn’t my experience. Most of the Alphas in my chapter come from similar backgrounds. Most of us grew up working class. The one thing I respected about the Alphas on my campus before I pledged was that they were some of the most REAL brothers on campus. Now this varies from chapter to chapter and organization to organization but in my case I was lucky enough to be in the company of some of men of true integrity and intelligence.

Why would I want to join a Black Greek letter organization?
Now this is the big question. Many people join just so they can wear a t-shirt and go to parties, others join because they are legacies and it’s expected of them, then there are others that really want to do some good and see this as a step in the right direction. It all depends on what kind of person you are.

Black Greeks Part 1

*Note to all my white readers. Some of you are not going to understand this whole black greek thing some of you are going to sit there and scratching your head all the while saying "Why is he talking about fraternities and sororities? That crap is for college kids." Well my melanin challenged friend black greek life does not end upon graduation for some of us. Some of us choose continue serving our community through being active in a graduate chapter (speaking of which I gotta pay my dues)....Any who please just sit back and read and maybe ya might learn something.

*Please note that the links will not lead you to the fraternity or the sorority site but instead it will lead you to their Wikipedia site. If you are interested in learning more about these fraternities and sororities you can click on the links provided on the their respective Wikipedia site.

A couple of months ago I opened my big fat mouth while visiting the After Party and said I would do a post about black greeks. Well I was given a deadline and my time is up so here goes. Please keep in mind that I am not going to get into a deep history debate. Basically what I'm going to do is give you founding dates (in chronological order) and prominent members. Feel free to click on the hyperlink to their respective sites.

Let's start with the first of all black greeks Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity Incorporated. A Phi A is the first national intercollegiate fraternity established by African Americans. Founded on December 4, 1906, on the campus of Cornell University. The Prominent members of this fraternity are a various who's who of Black intelligentsia. Martin Luther King, Cornel West, Thurgood Marshall, Jeese Owens, Congressman Charles B. Rangel, and Paul Robeson; I could go on but you get the idea. This fraternity is very near and dear to my heart because well if you haven't guessed by now I am also a member. Now I could big up my frat all day but that is for another time.

Next up are my sisters the lovely ladies of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority Incorporated. AKA was formed in January 15, 1908 at Howard University, it is America's first Greek-letter organization established by Black college women. Prominent members include Maya Angelou, Diahann Carroll, Ella Fitzgerald, Alicia Keys, Coretta Scott King, Jada Pinkett Smith, Toni Morrison, and Alice Walker. Well you get the idea.

Next up are the gentlemen of the crimson and cream the brothers of Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity Incorporated. Kappa Alpha Psi is the second oldest collegiate Greek-letter fraternity with a predominantly African American membership, founded January 5, 1911 at Indiana University. Here is a short list of members of note: Arthur Ashe, Calvin O. Butts, Bill Russell, John Singleton, Tavis Smiley, C. Vernon Mason, Johnnie Cochran, Percy Sutton, Stan Lathan, and Congressman John Conyers.

Next up are the brothers of Omega Psi Phi also known as the Ques. Omega Psi Phi Fraternity Incorporated was founded on Friday, November 17, 1911, at Howard University in Washington, D.C. Prominent members include Bill Cosby, Alonzo Mourning, Carter G. Woodson (black historian), Vernon Jordan, Jr., Michael Jordan, Shaquille O'Neal, Ozzie Newsome, Jesse Jackson, Charlie Ward and the great poet Langston Hughes.

Next up we have Professor Angry's sisters the lovely ladies of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority Incorporated. Delta Sigma Theta was founded at Howard University January 13, 1913. Let me drop some names for you: Octavia E. Butler, Carol Moseley Braun, Poet Nikki Giovanni, Fannie Lou Hamer, Shirley Chisholm, Ruby Dee, Roberta Flack, Aretha Franklin, Cicely Tyson, Lena Horne, and the late great Betty Shabazz.

Now we move along to the fourth fraternity, Phi Beta Sigma Fraternity, Inc. Phi Beta Sigma was founded at Howard University in Washington, D.C., January 9, 1914. Here's a short list of famous members, A. Philip Randolph, Willis Reed, Jerry Rice, David Ruffin, Emmitt Smith, Eddie Kendricks, Huey P. Newton, Kwame Nkrumah, Benjamin Chavis Muhammad, writer James Weldon Johnson, Blair Underwood, Morris Chestnut, and George Washington Carver.

Moving right along we have their sisters of Zeta Phi Beta Sorority Inc. Zeta Phi Beta Inc. was founded January 16, 1920, on the campus of Howard University in Washington, D.C. Famous memebers Jayne Kennedy, Zora Neale Hurston, Dionne Warwick, Sarah Vaughan, Minnie Riperton, Esther Rolle, and Melba Moore to name a few.

Next up we have the ladies of Sigma Gamma Rho. Sigma Gamma Rho Sorority, Incorporated was founded on November 12, 1922 by seven educators in Indianapolis, Indiana. The group became an incorporated national collegiate sorority on December 30, 1929, when a charter was granted to Alpha chapter at Butler University in Indianapolis, Indiana. Here are some notable members: Hattie McDaniel, MC Lyte, Marilyn McCoo, Victoria Rowell and Lindy Boggs

Last but surely not least we have the brothers of Iota Phi Theta. Iota Phi Theta Fraternity Incorporated was founded on September 19, 1963 at Morgan State University in Baltimore, Maryland. Here's a short list of prominent members: Bobby Rush (former Black Panther turned US Congressman), Terrence "T.C." Carson, Kirby Wilson and Earl King.

In part two we will get into pledging, elitism, and why would I want to join a black greek letter organization.

Oscars 2007 Part I: The nominees

Yes it's that time of year again. So here are the nominees.

Best Picture:

Babel – Another interconnecting story with interesting characters.
The Departed– This is a remake of a Hong Kong classic Infernal Affairs.
Letters from Iwo Jima – This is the flipside to Flags of Our Fathers.
Little Miss Sunshine - The little indy movie that could. Comedies don’t normally get nominated so I’m kinda pulling for this one.
The Queen – Really spectacular. This is one of the best movies of the year.

Best Director:

Alejandro González Iñárritu for Babel – Who is this guy?
Martin Scorsese for The Departed – Oh give it to him already.
Clint Eastwood for Letters from Iwo Jima – NO EASTWOOD NOT THIS YEAR DAMNIT! Damn you EASTWOOD!
Stephen Frears for The Queen, – He did a really but it's Scorsese’s year.
Paul Greengrass for United 93 – It must’ve been real hard to direct this movie. But I don’t think it’s his year.

Best Actor:

Leonardo DiCaprio for Blood Diamond – Sorry I’m not feeling him this time around.
Ryan Gosling for Half Nelson – Hmm Gosling’s playing a recovering drug addict. Ok next.
Peter O’Toole for Venus – He’s playing an old English actor. Damn what a stretch.
Will Smith for The Pursuit of Happiness – This is his second nomination. Maybe he might get it this time around.
Forest Whitaker for The Last King of Scotland – He had to get extra dark to play this role. And I ain't talking about his personality. They did a good make up job on him.

Best Actress:

Penélope Cruz for Volver – Why does she look like a moth?
Judi Dench for Notes on a Scandal – I think they do her make up better when she does the Bond movies.
Helen Mirren for The Queen – She just nailed this role so I don’t see her losing to anyone.
Meryl Streep for The Devil Wears Prada – I can’t believe she got nominated for a comedy.
Kate Winslet for Little Children – This role gave me a new respect for Winslet but, didn’t she win for that movie about that boat hitting that iceberg.

Best Supporting Actor:

Alan Arkin for Little Miss Sunshine – Arkin plays a grandfather that shoots H and ODs on a road trip. Yeah he should win.
Jackie Earle Haley for Little Chidren – Wasn’t this guy in the Bad New Bears?
Djimon Hounsou for Blood Diamond – Did he get to hold a gun at least once in this movie?
Eddie Murphy for Dreamgirls - Glad to see him nominated. I really hope he wins.
Mark Wahlberg for The Departed – Wahlberg plays an asshole in this movie. Yep I’m sure it was a stretch.

Best Supporting Actress:

Adriana Barraza for Babel – Never heard of her.
Cate Blanchett for Notes on a Scandal – Wasn’t she nominated last year?
Abigail Breslin for Little Miss Sunshine – Too young in my opinion.
Jennifer Hudson for Dreamgirls – Wasn’t she on American Idol? She didn’t win on that what makes her think she can win here?
Rinko Kikuchi for Babel – I know her as well as I know Adriana Barraza.

Best Original screenplay:

Guillermo Arriaga for Babel – Haven’t seen it.
Iris Yamashita and Paul Haggis for Letters from Iwo Jima – Ahh it's the The return of Haggis.
Michael Arndt for Little Miss Sunshine – A smart witty and funny movie. It doesn't stand a chance.
Guillermo del Toro for Pan's Labyrinth – I didn’t see it.
Peter Morgan for The Queen - I saw it and liked it.

Best Adapted screenplay:

Sacha Baron Cohen, Anthony Hines, Peter Baynham, and Dan Mazer for Borat: Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan – You mean to tell me this movie had FOUR writers? I thought most of that sh*t was improve.

Alfonso Cuarón & Timothy J. Sexton and David Arata and Mark Fergus & Hawk Ostby for Children of Men – One of the most Kubrickian movies I’ve seen in a long time.

William Monahan for The Departed – The guy who adapted this screenplay has also written Kingdom of Heaven and we all know how good that was.

Todd Field & Tom Perrotta for Little Children – You might remember them from a movie called In the Bedroom.

Patrick Marber for Notes on a Scandal – This is his first nomination. From what I found he used to write for Steve Coogan’s old Alan Partridge show. Well I guess he can’t be all bad.

Most Anticipated Movies for 2007

Well it's that time of year again where I give my list of most anticipated movies for this year. Looks like this is the year for sequels.

Ghost Rider - Nicholas Cage plays stunt motorcyclist Johnny Blaze who gives up his soul to protect the ones he loves, based on the Marvel Comic release date: February 16, 2007

The Kingdom - Jamie Foxx, Jennifer Garner, Chris Cooper, and Jason Bateman star in this thriller set in the Middle-East. Directed by Peter Berg. Release date: April 20, 2007 .

Spider-Man 3 - Sandman, Green Goblin, and Venom battle Spidey in the thrid installment of this Marvel franchise. Release date: May 4, 2007

28 Weeks Later - This is the sequel to the 2002 film 28 Days later. Release date: May 11, 2007

Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End - This is the follow-up to the record-breaking smash 2006 hit "Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest. Release date: May 25, 2007.

Ocean's 13 - I'm guessing there is some kind of heist involved in this one. The best thing about this movie is no Julia Roberts. Release date: June 8, 2007.

Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer - The first family of Marvel returns to battle the Silver Surfer. Release date: June 15, 2007

Transformers - Michael Bay finally brings a live action Transformers movie to the big screen. Release date: July 4, 2007.

Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix - This is the fifth installment in the series. And it just keeps getting darker. Voldemort has returned and no one believes Harry. Release date: July 13, 2007

The Bourne Ultimatum - Matt Damon returns as Jason Bourne in the thrid installment of this series. Release Date: August 3, 2007.

So there you have it folks my list of most anticipated movies of 2007. This is what they in the industry call a tentpole year. Honorable mentions: Frank Miller's 300, Hannibal Rising, Reno 911!: Miami, The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford, Zodiac, TMNT, Live Free or Die Hard, The Simpsons Movie, Rush Hour 3, The Invasion, American Gangster, I Am Legend.

Made some changes

I've made some changes. I'm Still updating. So please forgive me if your link isn't there.

New Respect for JT

I have no problem with JT after seeing this.

The Challenge

A couple of weeks ago I was challenged by Jackie Chiles of the Airing of Grievances blog.

He challenged me to prove that the Republican party does not have the interests of black Americans at heart.

Here is the annual Civil Rights Legislative Report Card for the 109th Congress for the year 2005. This resource is designed to provide NAACP members with insight into the general voting patterns of their congressional representatives (Senators and members of the House of Representatives) over the course of the year. The NAACP Civil Rights Legislative Report Card demonstrates how every Member of Congress voted on the bread and butter civil rights issues important to the NAACP.

You be the judge (make sure to scroll down when you hit the link). You won't be too surprised who gets F's.

Long time ago black Americans supported the Republican party but some where along the line there was a shift. I'll sum it up for you in two words. "Southern strategy"

What was the "Southern Strategy" ?

The phrase, Southern strategy, was coined by Nixon strategist Kevin Phillips. Southern states, were traditionally a stronghold for the Democratic Party became key swing states, providing the popular vote margins in the Presidential elections 1960, 1968 and 1976. During this era, several Republican candidates expressed support for states' rights, which critics have argued was intended as a signal of opposition to federal civil rights legislation for blacks. This strategy was largely a success, and the South is now considered a Republican stronghold in national elections.

I blame Lydon Johnson. Now check out this quote.

Bob Herbert, a New York Times columnist, reported in the October 6, 2005 edition of the New York Times of a 1981 interview with Lee Atwater, published in Southern Politics in the 1990s by Prof. Alexander P. Lamis, in which Lee Atwater discusses politics in the South: You start out in 1954 by saying, "N*gger, n*gger, n*gger." By 1968 you can't say 'nigger'—that hurts you. Backfires. So you say stuff like forced busing, states' rights and all that stuff. You're getting so abstract now [that] you're talking about cutting taxes, and all these things you're talking about are totally economic things and a byproduct of them is [that] blacks get hurt worse than whites.

Deep huh??

So here's my theory. It's very indirect. The Republican party doesn't want to keep the black man down they just want to keep him in his place, which in my opinion is much more dangerous. Black Americans aren't a priority. Honestly where is the money in ending racial profiling?

Also I suggest Jackie read White Nationalism, Black Interests: Conservative Public Policy and the Black Community (African American Life Series) by Ronald W. Walters.

Witness to the end of an era.

Recently I went to see a couple of shows at CBGBs in NYC. Two weeks ago I saw Fishbone's last show at CBGBs. Overall it was a entertaining show. After the show people outside mentioned that Bad Brains were going to play in two weeks. I raced home to my PC and looked for tickets. To my dismay the show had already been sold out. Luckily they added a third show. I managed to get tickets to that one. Let me tell ya about it.

Got there early the weather outside was in a word wet. It was pouring down hard but I we were patient. Once I got this feeling of anxiousness. What would they open with would HR act up? They opened up with I Against I after that it was all a blur. I do remember being at the pit toward the end of their set. Yeah I'm guilty of reliving my youth. I had to do it.

CBGBs closes it's doors this month. It was the birth place of punk rock music. On a purely superficial level it's a small venue. But the history is undeniable. I'm sure there will be another CBGBs but it won't be the same.

Hip-Hop reminds me of....

I just finished watching the Decline of Western Civilization: The Heavy Metal years. And in a odd way it reminded me of the state of hip-hop today.

I know it may be painful for some of you but let's go back, way back into time to the days of bands with names like Faster Pussycat, Trixter, Firehouse, Cinderella, Whitesnake, White Lion, Warrant, W.A.S.P., L.A. Guns, Skid Row, Extreme, Poison, Motley Crue, and of course the grand daddy of them all Guns and Roses.

What did all of these bands have in common? (Besides having big freaking hair.) They basically talked about the same damn things; sex, women, and partying. Do you see where I'm going with this? Basically (mainstream) hip-hop is doing the same damn thing. All they're talking about is sex, women, and partying. Compare the way women are portrayed in videos today to how they were portrayed in the mid to late 80's. It's the same damn thing.

So here's my theory, once things become so bloated and blinged out people will eventually start listening to bands that matter. For example when people got tired of Warrent they started listening to Soundgarden and Nirvana. Eventually the mainstream catches up, this usually takes some time but it does happen.

It's already changing when you consider the current landscape of artists out there. Kayne West has, and hopefully will continue to make an impact. Common, Mos Def, Talib Kweli and the Roots have broken out of the underground (to a certain extent). I'm sure in the coming years artists like Planet Asia, Rhymefest, and Jedi Mind Tricks will rise from the underground.

One can only hope.

All apologies...To the brothers who couldn't make it.

I am so sorry for not updating. I've been really busy with work and I've really had nothing to say. But I have been commenting, mostly at the After Party.

Where do I begin? Last week I went to the Alpha Phi Alpha centennial convention, Alpha Phi Alpha is the oldest college fraternities in the country, founded in 1906 at Cornell University by seven brave men.

It's hard to put into words the feelings I had entering the lobby of the hotel that was hosting the convention. The best way I can put it is I had a overwhelming feeling of brotherhood. I met brothers from all over the country but I have to say that being with my brothers from my chapter (Omicron Zeta) and my other New Jersey brothers was the highlight of the convention. I got to meet brothers I had only heard stories about and others that I hadn't seen in years. It's a shame that more brothers couldn't come through. This was a once in life time celebration and I don't think we will live another hundreds years to see it again.

Becoming an Alpha was a defining moment for me in college. First off I'm not really a joiner or a follower. I'm an only child and I like being an individual. So how do I explain joining a fraternity? Easy, I pledged by myself. If you are reading this and you're confused I'll repeat myself. I pledged by myself. Yeah I know I always have to do things the hard way. It changed the way I looked at myself and the way others looked at me. The process alone made me a stronger man and helped me to understand that no matter how hard things are in college the real world is much more harder and challenging. I want to take this moment to thank the brothers that came before me and the ones that followed me. Hold the light high.

Ghetto Saints

First off I just like to say that I've been really busy. Still adjusting to the new apartment post renovations and still adjusting to the new job. Also therapy has really made me less bitter (That usually lasts until I see the bill). But I'll get into that at another time (or maybe not.)

The title of this post is Ghetto Saints. Now what is a "Ghetto Saint"? Glad you asked. Basically a Ghetto Saint is an icon who is celebrated within the ghetto and who's image is often worn on tee shirts. Some ghetto saints are alive (50 Cent) but the most popular ones are either dead (Tupac) or made up characters who are dead (Scarface).

I normally don't pay attention to fashion, I like what I like, and I try not to judge others for their fashion choices (it's something me and the shrink are working on.), but I've just about had it up to here with all this Tupac and Scarface paraphernalia. Seriously. I know I'm preaching to the choir on this one because people who wear Ghetto Saint paraphernalia don't come to my site but, I just had to get this off my chest.

Ok I've seen Scarface (maybe a dozen times) I GET IT, his story is a classic tale of a man who wants his part of the American dream, and he's prepared to kill for it. OK I GOT IT. But why do we insist on glorifying a character who epitomize almost everything wrong with our community? This is a character that wasn't even made up by us. Oliver Stone wrote the screenplay to Scarface and I got news for ya IT'S A REMAKE of a movie that was made in 1932.

The Tupac thing I understand (even though Tupac wasn't really a thug until he got into music, but that's another story.), but this Scarface thing doesn't make sense to me. It's as if some white guy (who never lived in the hood) made up a story about the hardest gangster that ever lived and we all bought into it and said YEAH that's how it is. Wait that's exactly what happened. Why do we feed into sjit that somebody else made up? Why do we glorify sjit that we don't even own. And when I say "own" I mean we had no part in the writing, directing or producing that movie so why do we choose to identify with some exploitation sh*t that was made up.

Now please don't get me wrong I have no problem with an Italian-American playing a Cuban refugee or a white guy writing a screenplay about a Cuban refugee who goes on to become a druglord. My beef is not with the creators of the movie my beef is with the people who buy into that image and think that is something to aspire to. It's cause of sh*t like this that we can't get our act together and why hip-hop culture is looked down upon as something that lacks morality.

Someone help me out here. Comments are welcome.