okay. first of all, i have to say that it takes a lot of makeup in real life -- carefully and strategically applied -- to look like you're not wearing any makeup at all on camera. after all this time, i think i've finally got it down. the contouring. the shadowing. the highlighting. the layering. i can finally leave home and look made up but not really and take a photo at the audition that has me looking dewy and glowy and fresh. not powdery and caked on and fake.
truthfully, i owe it all to way bandy, that extrordinarily gifted makeup artist from the 70s. i found his book in the half-price pile at a local bookstore when i was in college in austin and read it on a lark. it's such a classic. when everyone was running to MAC counters and grabbing overpriced kevin aucoin tomes, i have clutched mr. bandy's book to my chest like a breastplate. he taught me the basics about makeup and skin care. if he only knew how much i loved him, how much his book has helped me.
i zipped over to donna deseta casting at broadway and spring for this one. they had 3 commercials going so it was a little crowded. i filled out my card, took a polaroid and settled in. as soon as i decided that i didn't know anyone there, i realized i knew someone there -- it was grace savage, the fun-lovin' nutroll i worked with on ed durante's movie jake gets paid. she was zipping around from one audition to the other and of course, she looked totally beautiful and happy. and then she was gone.
as soon as i walked in, i knew which actors belonged with which audition. there was a chase commercial that paired up chatty little black girls as sisters and a mom type, so there were all of these very-pretty-but-somewhat-thick-and-therefore-middle-aged-looking-but-
still-youngishly-attractive-in-a-weird-way black women set up with these girls who were basically grown and pretending to be children, and in so doing getting one over on the adults that were wrangling them. a little too perky and polite and knowing and smart and hip. i mean, how hip can you be if you're only 7 or 8 years old? nothing is more disconcerting or annoying or scary than a child that isn't a child.
there was a hardee's commercial. lots of attractive, generic-looking "middle america" white people. like they opened a portal to the country's breadbasket and let it out somewhere in soho.
and then there was my commercial. a good mix of young and old, supposedly everyday folk. the idea was that we were all standing around at a taxi stand (huh?) listening to someone talk about the entrees at outback steakhouse. sort of a riff on that "lean cuisine" from stouffers commercial where everyone is salivating over a description of the food. we went into the room in groups, depending on who had been seen and when they had been called and we reacted to what the speaker was saying or whatever. easy, right?
just when i was comfortable readjusting and reacting in oh-so-small ways to what was being said, the casting person asked me if i wanted to read it. i couldn't say no to that one but i'm not so sure i was ready to say yes. and of course, the next thing i knew, it was over and i was walking up broadway towards the N/R and wondering what really happened...
Monday, May 12, 2008
Friday, May 09, 2008
racial profiling, leonardo blair and the NYPD
i don't understand how any thinking american can possibly believe that we live in a democracy, that the system in place is fair and just (if we have the same level of education and experience, shouldn't we all get paid equally?) or that white privilege and racial profiling don't exist. i don't think there's any way that we can fix the problems in this country if we aren't willing to acknowledge them.
i know plenty of black men that have had this happen to them. for the sake of the entire NYPD, they'd better hope and pray that it never happens to me.
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By Joe Strupp
Published: May 07, 2008 3:32 PM ET NEW YORK
On the same day that a New York Post editorial claimed racial profiling was not a growing problem, one of the Post's own reporters filed suit against the city claiming to be a victim of such profiling. Leonardo Blair, 28, a Post staffer since May 2007, filed the lawsuit in U.S District Court in Manhattan, according to a copy provided by the New York Civil Liberties Union. The complaint claims Blair was subjected to racial profiling while walking from his car to his home in the Bronx on Nov. 28, 2007.
A Jamaican immigrant and graduate of the Graduate School of Journalism at Columbia University, Blair claims he was harassed by police while walking along the street with his then-fiancee. In the lawsuit, he alleges that Officer William Castillo, one of several defendants the reporter names, stopped him due to his dark skin color and without cause. "Officer Castillo angrily demanded of Mr. Blair whether he spoke English," the suit stated. "Mr. Blair, surprised by Officer Castillo's mocking tone, replied under his breath in Spanish that he did not."
Eventually, after being frisked, Blair was arrested, the complaint states. "Mr. Blair was not engaged in any illegal or improper activity, and nothing in his behavior or conduct would provide the basis for reasonable suspicion that he was engaging in any wrongdoing," the lawsuit contends. “Leo Blair was handcuffed and hauled to a precinct house for simply walking down the street,” said Donna Lieberman, NYCLU executive director. “Walking while black is not a crime, and yet every year hundreds of thousands of innocent New Yorkers are stopped, searched and interrogated by the police for doing just that. For justice in our city to be truly just, the NYPD needs to start treating all New Yorkers fairly, regardless of the color of their skin.”
Blair said in a statement: “The only reason why I declared to these officers that I was a reporter for the New York Post, that I was a graduate of Columbia University, is because I wanted it to end. I should not have to pull on cards to be respected as an individual.” Blair was issued two summonses, one alleging he disobeyed a lawful order and the other alleging he made “unreasonable noise.” A judge dismissed both summonses on Feb. 8, NYCLU stated. The NYCLU, in a statement, said it "is asking the court to issue a declaratory judgment that the defendants violated Blair’s constitutional rights under the Fourth and Fourteenth Amendments. It also is asking that all records of Blair’s arrest, including those entered in the NYPD’s massive stop-and-frisk database, be sealed or expunged."
A New York Police Department Public Affairs spokesperson said the department does not comment on lawsuits. Ironically, the lawsuit was filed the same day that the Post editorialized in defense of police who have come under fire for alleged racial profiling. The issue was recently raised again after statistics released earlier this week revealed that New York City police stopped more people on the streets during the first three months of 2008 than during any quarter in the six years the police department has reported such data.
"Police overreach? Well, consider this: Last week, a killer said to be wearing a 'Team Fresh' gang T-shirt fatally stabbed an 18-year-old who was standing his own front porch. Isn't it a pity that the killer didn't encounter a stop-and-frisk team on his way to the scene of the crime?" the Post editorial said, in part. "Taken another way: How many young men didn't fall victim to weapons confiscated by the teams? A lot, we'd guess. If cops stand down, as critics demand, it'll be welcome back crime and chaos. And good-bye, peaceful New York."
Editor Col Allan and Editorial Page Editor Bob McManus did not immediately return calls from E&P seeking comment.
Joe Strupp (jstrupp@editorandpublisher.com) is a senior editor at E&P.
i know plenty of black men that have had this happen to them. for the sake of the entire NYPD, they'd better hope and pray that it never happens to me.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
By Joe Strupp
Published: May 07, 2008 3:32 PM ET NEW YORK
On the same day that a New York Post editorial claimed racial profiling was not a growing problem, one of the Post's own reporters filed suit against the city claiming to be a victim of such profiling. Leonardo Blair, 28, a Post staffer since May 2007, filed the lawsuit in U.S District Court in Manhattan, according to a copy provided by the New York Civil Liberties Union. The complaint claims Blair was subjected to racial profiling while walking from his car to his home in the Bronx on Nov. 28, 2007.
A Jamaican immigrant and graduate of the Graduate School of Journalism at Columbia University, Blair claims he was harassed by police while walking along the street with his then-fiancee. In the lawsuit, he alleges that Officer William Castillo, one of several defendants the reporter names, stopped him due to his dark skin color and without cause. "Officer Castillo angrily demanded of Mr. Blair whether he spoke English," the suit stated. "Mr. Blair, surprised by Officer Castillo's mocking tone, replied under his breath in Spanish that he did not."
Eventually, after being frisked, Blair was arrested, the complaint states. "Mr. Blair was not engaged in any illegal or improper activity, and nothing in his behavior or conduct would provide the basis for reasonable suspicion that he was engaging in any wrongdoing," the lawsuit contends. “Leo Blair was handcuffed and hauled to a precinct house for simply walking down the street,” said Donna Lieberman, NYCLU executive director. “Walking while black is not a crime, and yet every year hundreds of thousands of innocent New Yorkers are stopped, searched and interrogated by the police for doing just that. For justice in our city to be truly just, the NYPD needs to start treating all New Yorkers fairly, regardless of the color of their skin.”
Blair said in a statement: “The only reason why I declared to these officers that I was a reporter for the New York Post, that I was a graduate of Columbia University, is because I wanted it to end. I should not have to pull on cards to be respected as an individual.” Blair was issued two summonses, one alleging he disobeyed a lawful order and the other alleging he made “unreasonable noise.” A judge dismissed both summonses on Feb. 8, NYCLU stated. The NYCLU, in a statement, said it "is asking the court to issue a declaratory judgment that the defendants violated Blair’s constitutional rights under the Fourth and Fourteenth Amendments. It also is asking that all records of Blair’s arrest, including those entered in the NYPD’s massive stop-and-frisk database, be sealed or expunged."
A New York Police Department Public Affairs spokesperson said the department does not comment on lawsuits. Ironically, the lawsuit was filed the same day that the Post editorialized in defense of police who have come under fire for alleged racial profiling. The issue was recently raised again after statistics released earlier this week revealed that New York City police stopped more people on the streets during the first three months of 2008 than during any quarter in the six years the police department has reported such data.
"Police overreach? Well, consider this: Last week, a killer said to be wearing a 'Team Fresh' gang T-shirt fatally stabbed an 18-year-old who was standing his own front porch. Isn't it a pity that the killer didn't encounter a stop-and-frisk team on his way to the scene of the crime?" the Post editorial said, in part. "Taken another way: How many young men didn't fall victim to weapons confiscated by the teams? A lot, we'd guess. If cops stand down, as critics demand, it'll be welcome back crime and chaos. And good-bye, peaceful New York."
Editor Col Allan and Editorial Page Editor Bob McManus did not immediately return calls from E&P seeking comment.
Joe Strupp (jstrupp@editorandpublisher.com) is a senior editor at E&P.
Thursday, May 08, 2008
no, i'm not kidding...
i am one of 12 finalists in the jazzmobile jazz vocalist competition. read all about it here.
Wednesday, May 07, 2008
sean bell protests start at 3pm today!
for interactive map, click here!
i don't know if you're aware of it or not, but there are pray-in protests scheduled at 3pm today in 6 strategic pockets in the city, led by al sharpton and sean bell supporters, as well as mr. bell's friends and family. the intent is to create enough of a furor peacefully to get the federal government to prosecute the police for violating sean bell's civil rights. ideally, the streets will be flooded with people in prayer from harlem to brooklyn -- but i'm not sure how viable that is when the police can arrest you if you are in a group without a permit or if you do not disperse when you are told to do so.
after the nonviolent protests of the 60s and 70s, the state, federal and local authorities know how to deal with this kind of outrage. they know how to process it through the jails and the court systems. and they have laws in place to prosecute them -- for nonviolent protesting. people who aren't involved and who could care less will inevitably feel beset upon -- because if people gather anywhere near the numbers that they're anticipating, it will bring rush hour traffic to a screeching halt.
i think the only way left to protest something like this is to write a song about it that everyone will want to hear and sing along to -- something that is so innocuous, they won't even know what they are singing about, until it's too late.
still and all, i think a pray-in protest is a noble gesture. and at least someone somewhere is doing something -- because dying in a hail of bullets is the last thing that sean bell deserved.
Tuesday, May 06, 2008
jimi hendrix sex tape?
here's the question of the moment: does the-one-and-only guitarist/rock and roll icon jimi hendrix have a sex tape?
evidently, we'll find out today. porn giant vivid entertainment is releasing 45 minutes of grainy 40 year old footage that contains what they're describing as jimi hendrix having his way with not one but two brunettes, on a special website. the jimi hendrix estate says its a hoax. (and why wouldn't they?) so does jimi's longtime girlfriend kathy etchingham, whose remark about the man in question on the video -- "his nose is too broad" -- made one friend of mine say, maybe she doesn't remember how black jimi actually looked. heh.
she also said he was "too shy" to do something like this. well, maybe he had those moments with her -- but he certainly wasn't "too shy" to let two girls backstage inbetween shows to work him up enough to make a plaster of his junk.
clearly, cynthia plaster caster says it is jimi. and truth be told, so does the plaster cast mold that she and her assistant made of his erect, um, instrument. interestingly enough, pamela des barres, who romped around with everyone back in the day, says that's jimi.
what's disturbing is how much money this company is probably going to make from this video. what could be more exploitative than taking advantage of a famous dead person and wrecking a name and a reputation that they can't defend?
here's the real kicker: what if those brunettes step forward and authenticate the video? where are they? i wonder what they'll look like, if they're still alive? they're probably church-going grandmas by now.
can you imagine, sitting down and explaining what you were doing in that video to your kids and your grandkids?
i don't know if there's lots of porn out there of famous people. but i know for sure that there will never be an end to the people who will stand up and say that they have access to that porn, and for X amount of money, they'll gladly let you see it. the porn that marilyn monroe supposedly did as a starlet was a total hoax -- but now that the information has circled the globe that she's a porn star, who's going to believe that she's not?
and that's the real harm that's being done to mr. hendrix.
evidently, we'll find out today. porn giant vivid entertainment is releasing 45 minutes of grainy 40 year old footage that contains what they're describing as jimi hendrix having his way with not one but two brunettes, on a special website. the jimi hendrix estate says its a hoax. (and why wouldn't they?) so does jimi's longtime girlfriend kathy etchingham, whose remark about the man in question on the video -- "his nose is too broad" -- made one friend of mine say, maybe she doesn't remember how black jimi actually looked. heh.
she also said he was "too shy" to do something like this. well, maybe he had those moments with her -- but he certainly wasn't "too shy" to let two girls backstage inbetween shows to work him up enough to make a plaster of his junk.
clearly, cynthia plaster caster says it is jimi. and truth be told, so does the plaster cast mold that she and her assistant made of his erect, um, instrument. interestingly enough, pamela des barres, who romped around with everyone back in the day, says that's jimi.
what's disturbing is how much money this company is probably going to make from this video. what could be more exploitative than taking advantage of a famous dead person and wrecking a name and a reputation that they can't defend?
here's the real kicker: what if those brunettes step forward and authenticate the video? where are they? i wonder what they'll look like, if they're still alive? they're probably church-going grandmas by now.
can you imagine, sitting down and explaining what you were doing in that video to your kids and your grandkids?
i don't know if there's lots of porn out there of famous people. but i know for sure that there will never be an end to the people who will stand up and say that they have access to that porn, and for X amount of money, they'll gladly let you see it. the porn that marilyn monroe supposedly did as a starlet was a total hoax -- but now that the information has circled the globe that she's a porn star, who's going to believe that she's not?
and that's the real harm that's being done to mr. hendrix.
Monday, May 05, 2008
did "Sex and the City" ruin New York City?
in a word: YES!
how any thinking person that resides in any borough of the city can seriously imagine otherwise is laughable.
i grew up on a steady diet of scorsese films and gritty urban cop tv shows on one hand and a father who survived the great migration north as a resident of brooklyn in the early part of the 20th century on the other -- so when i decided that i would move to new york city from the south, i had absolutely no illusions of grandeur. i knew that the rats and roaches would meet me at the airport, that it would be a filth hole beyond anything i could possibly imagine -- with crime everywhere, a rude sullen embittered poverty-stricken populace and an unholy stench that would rise to meet me every single day. i knew this because my father promised me that it was all one gigantic toilet, a cesspool of idiocy, because why would anyone pay what amounts to the cost of a home mortgage every month to live in a tiny apartment?
was it that bad when i got here? almost.
i lived in the ghetto of west harlem before this latest wave of gentrification, the one that's got hipster white people leaving the lower east side and moving uptown to buy and rent property because this area feels a lot like their old neighborhood did in the 90s: a strong mix of latin cultures, working class black folk and artists. mostly, there's an element of danger, set firmly in place to remind them that they're in new york city -- not the suburbs.
more and more, the city feels like surburbia. it's cleaner and quieter than ever, with more of a police presence on the streets, to make white people and tourists feel safe (because blacks and hispanics certainly don't).
do people believe that new york city is just like an episode of "sex and the city"? truth be told, there is a steady stream of white people from God knows where who are basically hipsters in training -- dilletantes for the most part who are willing to sacrifice their youth to affect a trendy urban lifestyle for the sake of cool and some semblance of culture that they probably never had. in the meantime, the things that really are cool about the city -- mom and pop stores and shops and eateries and the like, and the ethnic diversity of the populace that made this city what it is -- are vanishing. there's a starbucks on every corner. there's a crate and barrel in every neighborhood. african americans are moving south in droves. it's over.
the problem is, it's still new york city -- it's just as foul as it ever was. maybe even more so, because people aren't taking it as seriously as they should.
don't believe me? wander down ludlow street on any given saturday night after 1 am. i haven't seen that many fully trashed expensively well-dressed white people staggering down sidewalks since i went to the university of texas at austin and lived in west campus, surrounded by frat houses. is it really smart to get drunk and bar hop in new york?
lest we forget, there have been several high-profile murders of white females lately who were at play in the city: imette st. guillen from boston, whose friends left her drunk at the pioneer bar because she wanted to barhop through soho; jennifer moore from harrington park nj who, along with her best friend, went barhopping in chelsea (both of them were minors); and last but not least nicole du fresne from minnesota, who was drunk enough (at 3:15am in the lower east side) to berate a mugger with a gun pointed at her by saying, "what are you going to do, shoot us?"
the bottom line is, people believe what they see in the movies and on tv. as an artist, i want to make art that's impactful but it's fairly obvious at this point that if i want to change the world, making music or taking broadway by storm isn't the way to go about it. everyone watches television. you wanna change the world? write/produce a sit-com.
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The city now teems with glass tower condos and swank shops that have displaced affordable apartments as well as small businesses that cater to longtime New Yorkers.
So is it the show's fault that your corner diner was knocked down for a condo and places like Third Avenue in Murray Hill are overrun with Samantha clones? No way, says the actor Chris Noth, who plays Mr. Big on the show and in its big-screen treatment, which premieres May 30.
"Look, there's always been plenty of fashion in New York, and it's never going to die," Noth said yesterday at a roundtable discussion with the film's cast and director at the Mandarin Oriental Hotel. "But this show didn't create 40-story tall buildings and it doesn't negate [that] either."
Cast members yesterday conceded that they were familiar with the critique that "Sex and the City" helped launch these changes by drawing out-of-towners hell bent on living the life at all cost.
High-priced designer labels and extravagant lifestyles have been as much a part of the series as its four female stars -- Sarah Jessica Parker, Kim Cattrall, Kristin Davis and Cynthia Nixon.
Nixon, for her part, is all too familiar with these bright-eyed girls.
"When people come up to me on the street and say, 'I just got here from Iowa two weeks ago. Your show made me come. I'm like, 'Oh no,'" said Nixon, who plays reprising Miranda Hobbes. "People do come here looking for love, but what do they find?"
Quite possibly bad luck in love, cramped apartments, shopping trips that don't include Fifth Avenue and life in a borough other than Manhattan.
In contrast to Miranda's experience where a cab driver wouldn't even cross the Brooklyn Bridge, that is not the case any more. And what was Miranda's unthinkable move to that "other" borough is now the norm for many 20- and 30-somethings.
In a city facing relentless neighborhood gentrification, Noth says he is a strong advocate of old New York. The actor mentioned his support of a movement to keep the 13th Street Repertory Theater and other city mainstays alive.
"We're losing a lot of our stoops and coffee shops and things like that," Noth said. "These are places to come together. It's hard to get together under the shadow of a 40-story building."
Michael Patrick King, writer and director of the film, said fans should keep in mind that the series and film don't exactly reflect reality. They should, in a sense, watch with a shaded view -- even if those shades are Gucci.
"I think the movie reflects your life but with a really big budget," King said. "It is a fantastical reflection of the lives of women around the world."
how any thinking person that resides in any borough of the city can seriously imagine otherwise is laughable.
i grew up on a steady diet of scorsese films and gritty urban cop tv shows on one hand and a father who survived the great migration north as a resident of brooklyn in the early part of the 20th century on the other -- so when i decided that i would move to new york city from the south, i had absolutely no illusions of grandeur. i knew that the rats and roaches would meet me at the airport, that it would be a filth hole beyond anything i could possibly imagine -- with crime everywhere, a rude sullen embittered poverty-stricken populace and an unholy stench that would rise to meet me every single day. i knew this because my father promised me that it was all one gigantic toilet, a cesspool of idiocy, because why would anyone pay what amounts to the cost of a home mortgage every month to live in a tiny apartment?
was it that bad when i got here? almost.
i lived in the ghetto of west harlem before this latest wave of gentrification, the one that's got hipster white people leaving the lower east side and moving uptown to buy and rent property because this area feels a lot like their old neighborhood did in the 90s: a strong mix of latin cultures, working class black folk and artists. mostly, there's an element of danger, set firmly in place to remind them that they're in new york city -- not the suburbs.
more and more, the city feels like surburbia. it's cleaner and quieter than ever, with more of a police presence on the streets, to make white people and tourists feel safe (because blacks and hispanics certainly don't).
do people believe that new york city is just like an episode of "sex and the city"? truth be told, there is a steady stream of white people from God knows where who are basically hipsters in training -- dilletantes for the most part who are willing to sacrifice their youth to affect a trendy urban lifestyle for the sake of cool and some semblance of culture that they probably never had. in the meantime, the things that really are cool about the city -- mom and pop stores and shops and eateries and the like, and the ethnic diversity of the populace that made this city what it is -- are vanishing. there's a starbucks on every corner. there's a crate and barrel in every neighborhood. african americans are moving south in droves. it's over.
the problem is, it's still new york city -- it's just as foul as it ever was. maybe even more so, because people aren't taking it as seriously as they should.
don't believe me? wander down ludlow street on any given saturday night after 1 am. i haven't seen that many fully trashed expensively well-dressed white people staggering down sidewalks since i went to the university of texas at austin and lived in west campus, surrounded by frat houses. is it really smart to get drunk and bar hop in new york?
lest we forget, there have been several high-profile murders of white females lately who were at play in the city: imette st. guillen from boston, whose friends left her drunk at the pioneer bar because she wanted to barhop through soho; jennifer moore from harrington park nj who, along with her best friend, went barhopping in chelsea (both of them were minors); and last but not least nicole du fresne from minnesota, who was drunk enough (at 3:15am in the lower east side) to berate a mugger with a gun pointed at her by saying, "what are you going to do, shoot us?"
the bottom line is, people believe what they see in the movies and on tv. as an artist, i want to make art that's impactful but it's fairly obvious at this point that if i want to change the world, making music or taking broadway by storm isn't the way to go about it. everyone watches television. you wanna change the world? write/produce a sit-com.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
'Sex and the City' cast: Not our fault
Cynthia Nixon, Kristen Davis and Sarah Jessica Parker star in 'Sex in the City.' (handout)
The decade since "Sex and the City" premiered saw the transformation of New York into a real-life set for the show, with gaggles of cosmo-swigging young women chasing the lifestyle it depicts.The city now teems with glass tower condos and swank shops that have displaced affordable apartments as well as small businesses that cater to longtime New Yorkers.
So is it the show's fault that your corner diner was knocked down for a condo and places like Third Avenue in Murray Hill are overrun with Samantha clones? No way, says the actor Chris Noth, who plays Mr. Big on the show and in its big-screen treatment, which premieres May 30.
"Look, there's always been plenty of fashion in New York, and it's never going to die," Noth said yesterday at a roundtable discussion with the film's cast and director at the Mandarin Oriental Hotel. "But this show didn't create 40-story tall buildings and it doesn't negate [that] either."
Cast members yesterday conceded that they were familiar with the critique that "Sex and the City" helped launch these changes by drawing out-of-towners hell bent on living the life at all cost.
High-priced designer labels and extravagant lifestyles have been as much a part of the series as its four female stars -- Sarah Jessica Parker, Kim Cattrall, Kristin Davis and Cynthia Nixon.
Nixon, for her part, is all too familiar with these bright-eyed girls.
"When people come up to me on the street and say, 'I just got here from Iowa two weeks ago. Your show made me come. I'm like, 'Oh no,'" said Nixon, who plays reprising Miranda Hobbes. "People do come here looking for love, but what do they find?"
Quite possibly bad luck in love, cramped apartments, shopping trips that don't include Fifth Avenue and life in a borough other than Manhattan.
In contrast to Miranda's experience where a cab driver wouldn't even cross the Brooklyn Bridge, that is not the case any more. And what was Miranda's unthinkable move to that "other" borough is now the norm for many 20- and 30-somethings.
In a city facing relentless neighborhood gentrification, Noth says he is a strong advocate of old New York. The actor mentioned his support of a movement to keep the 13th Street Repertory Theater and other city mainstays alive.
"We're losing a lot of our stoops and coffee shops and things like that," Noth said. "These are places to come together. It's hard to get together under the shadow of a 40-story building."
Michael Patrick King, writer and director of the film, said fans should keep in mind that the series and film don't exactly reflect reality. They should, in a sense, watch with a shaded view -- even if those shades are Gucci.
"I think the movie reflects your life but with a really big budget," King said. "It is a fantastical reflection of the lives of women around the world."
Friday, May 02, 2008
a national boycott
i got this email a few days ago. it seriously piqued my interest. after i sent it to all the black folk i know, i thought about it for a long time.
when it comes to buying power (also referred to as disposable income), we have a lot more financial muscle than we think. current stats say $892 billion, projected at more than $1.1 trillion by 2012. our total income after taxes increased from $318 billion in 1990 to $688 billion in 2002. in 18 years, we have increased our buying power by 189% -- as opposed to 128% for the buying power of white people. if you combine this with the buying power of hispanics (frankly, i thought they were black like me -- but that's another conversation), we are formidable.
here's the kicker: affluent (with an average income of $122K) african-americans make up only 17% of all black households but account for 45% of the buying power. the marketing pundits are stymied by us -- they are scrambling to figure out how to sell us things. in the meantime, we are making our great migration back to the south, we refuse to shop online for the most part, we shop at beauty supply stores 3x more than anyone else, and we buy/collect black art.
i wonder how many african-americans know these stats?
when i got this email notice, i couldn't stop thinking about the montgomery bus boycott -- 42,000 black folk simply refusing to take the bus. this happened four days after rosa parks refused to give up her seat on the front of a bus and was summarily arrested. the entire black community convened in their churches, strategized, decided on a plan of action, spread the word amongst themselves and that was it. they walked some pretty vicious hostile streets. they carpooled. they rode bicycles. they took taxis. whatever it took to stay off of that bus, that's what they did. it took more than a year -- 381 days! -- but it broke the system, not just in montgomery but nationwide.
think of it: each one of those 42,000 participants changed national policy, changed the law, changed the world -- by refusing a bus ride. they are all civil rights heroes. what a beautiful legacy to give to your children.
if my not spending any money for a week can in some small way contribute to encouraging some sort of conversation on a national level about police brutality against black and hispanic people, then whatever sacrifice i make will be worth it. i can go a week and not spend money. i'll ride my bike everywhere. i'll pack a sack lunch. it's the folks out there that gas up every other day to commute to work or get around their cities that are going to struggle with this.
looks like i'll be shopping for groceries sooner rather than later.
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There are approximately 23 days left to the NATIONAL BOYCOTT (May 19 - 23). As many of you may know, the NYPD detectives in the Sean Bell murder trial were acquitted on all charges. The judge in the case had made his decision based on the fact that the demeanor and background of Mr. Bell and his friends had warranted the detectives to shoot over 50 times. This judicial decision cannot go unanswered. Go back to the 80's with the death of Micheal Stewart and Eleanor Bumpers to name a few. Go back even further to a time when it was legal to lynch African Americans. For too long we have sat idlely by while we let the 'establishment' shoot our leaders (Malcolm/Martin/Medgar) and our young black/hispanic men (Stewart/Baez/Bell) and have done NOTHING about it.
Now is the time to move to action. We must make this stand because if we do not, they will continue to just kill our leaders and young men when it suits them knowing they will not be held to the same judicial consequences as the average citizens. We can no longer turn a blind eye, because it may happen to us. The only thing that the establishment understands is the almighty dollar.
So remember, do all necessary shopping prior to the MAY 19th (May 17 & 18). Buy no gas; fill up before. Do grocery shopping before. Carpool to work, if possible ride a bike or walk to work. Bring bagged lunch to work or leftovers. Spend not one penny that week. Make a donation of at least $5.00 to a Black/Hispanic organization. God Bless.
PLEASE PASS THIS ON.
when it comes to buying power (also referred to as disposable income), we have a lot more financial muscle than we think. current stats say $892 billion, projected at more than $1.1 trillion by 2012. our total income after taxes increased from $318 billion in 1990 to $688 billion in 2002. in 18 years, we have increased our buying power by 189% -- as opposed to 128% for the buying power of white people. if you combine this with the buying power of hispanics (frankly, i thought they were black like me -- but that's another conversation), we are formidable.
here's the kicker: affluent (with an average income of $122K) african-americans make up only 17% of all black households but account for 45% of the buying power. the marketing pundits are stymied by us -- they are scrambling to figure out how to sell us things. in the meantime, we are making our great migration back to the south, we refuse to shop online for the most part, we shop at beauty supply stores 3x more than anyone else, and we buy/collect black art.
i wonder how many african-americans know these stats?
when i got this email notice, i couldn't stop thinking about the montgomery bus boycott -- 42,000 black folk simply refusing to take the bus. this happened four days after rosa parks refused to give up her seat on the front of a bus and was summarily arrested. the entire black community convened in their churches, strategized, decided on a plan of action, spread the word amongst themselves and that was it. they walked some pretty vicious hostile streets. they carpooled. they rode bicycles. they took taxis. whatever it took to stay off of that bus, that's what they did. it took more than a year -- 381 days! -- but it broke the system, not just in montgomery but nationwide.
think of it: each one of those 42,000 participants changed national policy, changed the law, changed the world -- by refusing a bus ride. they are all civil rights heroes. what a beautiful legacy to give to your children.
if my not spending any money for a week can in some small way contribute to encouraging some sort of conversation on a national level about police brutality against black and hispanic people, then whatever sacrifice i make will be worth it. i can go a week and not spend money. i'll ride my bike everywhere. i'll pack a sack lunch. it's the folks out there that gas up every other day to commute to work or get around their cities that are going to struggle with this.
looks like i'll be shopping for groceries sooner rather than later.
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There are approximately 23 days left to the NATIONAL BOYCOTT (May 19 - 23). As many of you may know, the NYPD detectives in the Sean Bell murder trial were acquitted on all charges. The judge in the case had made his decision based on the fact that the demeanor and background of Mr. Bell and his friends had warranted the detectives to shoot over 50 times. This judicial decision cannot go unanswered. Go back to the 80's with the death of Micheal Stewart and Eleanor Bumpers to name a few. Go back even further to a time when it was legal to lynch African Americans. For too long we have sat idlely by while we let the 'establishment' shoot our leaders (Malcolm/Martin/Medgar) and our young black/hispanic men (Stewart/Baez/Bell) and have done NOTHING about it.
Now is the time to move to action. We must make this stand because if we do not, they will continue to just kill our leaders and young men when it suits them knowing they will not be held to the same judicial consequences as the average citizens. We can no longer turn a blind eye, because it may happen to us. The only thing that the establishment understands is the almighty dollar.
So remember, do all necessary shopping prior to the MAY 19th (May 17 & 18). Buy no gas; fill up before. Do grocery shopping before. Carpool to work, if possible ride a bike or walk to work. Bring bagged lunch to work or leftovers. Spend not one penny that week. Make a donation of at least $5.00 to a Black/Hispanic organization. God Bless.
PLEASE PASS THIS ON.
Thursday, May 01, 2008
Rezoning Harlem
it's all over -- but as a friend told me recently, this war was fought and lost a long time ago.
the city council has opened the floodgates to real estate developers and retailers to turn 125th street into a strip mall, complete with hotels and the like. they've already got east harlem. and they've already got a 17 acre chunk of my neighborhood, thanks to columbia university's campus expansion. (can you say eminent domain? evidently, if it involves black folks and our neighborhoods, the local and state government can say it very easily.) harlem's main street -- a thoroughfare that was named one of the nation's top 10 last year -- will lose all of its character, just like almost every other neighborhood in the city. in a few years, it will be virtually unrecognizable and poor people won't have affordable housing. this, coupled with the fact that according to the latest pre-census records, african-americans are leaving the city in record numbers for the south means that soon enough, the historic capitol of black america will be no more.
you know what? they'll never take chinatown.
san francisco's chinatown was the first, but new york city has the biggest one in the world -- and in fact, it's growing. and why shouldn't it? chinese people live, work and shop in chinatown, and they also raise children there -- just as we do in all parts of harlem. the big fear is that chinatown will overtake what's left of little italy eventually, in part because very few italians are there anymore. let's face it: if you want to go to the real "little italy," try bensonhurst.
there are a myriad of reasons as to why chinatown won't fall the way harlem has collapsed. there is the language barrier, of course. but you can't underestimate the fact that the chinese have always looked out for their own, in part because assimilation is not an option.
here's a question: why do you suppose white middle americans love to come to the city and traipse through ethnic ghettos -- ghettos that are there because of a history of racism and bigotry and white privilege, all of which are still intact and in place and very much alive in our american way of life?
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The boos and cries of “sellout” and “liar” came so loudly and persistently that the entire audience was removed. But in the end, the City Council overwhelmingly approved a plan on Wednesday to rezone 125th Street in Harlem.
the city council has opened the floodgates to real estate developers and retailers to turn 125th street into a strip mall, complete with hotels and the like. they've already got east harlem. and they've already got a 17 acre chunk of my neighborhood, thanks to columbia university's campus expansion. (can you say eminent domain? evidently, if it involves black folks and our neighborhoods, the local and state government can say it very easily.) harlem's main street -- a thoroughfare that was named one of the nation's top 10 last year -- will lose all of its character, just like almost every other neighborhood in the city. in a few years, it will be virtually unrecognizable and poor people won't have affordable housing. this, coupled with the fact that according to the latest pre-census records, african-americans are leaving the city in record numbers for the south means that soon enough, the historic capitol of black america will be no more.
you know what? they'll never take chinatown.
san francisco's chinatown was the first, but new york city has the biggest one in the world -- and in fact, it's growing. and why shouldn't it? chinese people live, work and shop in chinatown, and they also raise children there -- just as we do in all parts of harlem. the big fear is that chinatown will overtake what's left of little italy eventually, in part because very few italians are there anymore. let's face it: if you want to go to the real "little italy," try bensonhurst.
there are a myriad of reasons as to why chinatown won't fall the way harlem has collapsed. there is the language barrier, of course. but you can't underestimate the fact that the chinese have always looked out for their own, in part because assimilation is not an option.
here's a question: why do you suppose white middle americans love to come to the city and traipse through ethnic ghettos -- ghettos that are there because of a history of racism and bigotry and white privilege, all of which are still intact and in place and very much alive in our american way of life?
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Council Approves Rezoning of 125th Street, Over Loud Protests of Some Spectators
The boos and cries of “sellout” and “liar” came so loudly and persistently that the entire audience was removed. But in the end, the City Council overwhelmingly approved a plan on Wednesday to rezone 125th Street in Harlem.
The Council approval augurs the most significant change to the avenue in nearly half a century, one that supporters say will bring new businesses and housing, and that opponents say will forever alter Harlem’s character for the worse by ushering in a new wave of gentrification.
“When I came into office, we promised to stimulate economic growth and strengthen neighborhoods across the city, and our plan for the area around Harlem’s famed 125th Street is the latest example of how were doing it,” Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg said in a statement. “Not only does the plan lay the foundation for economic growth on Harlem’s Main Street, but also it preserves its noted brownstones and reinforces its arts and culture heritage.”
The 47-to-2 vote came after months of political and legal squabbling that has divided Harlem among those who believe the rezoning will lead to an improvement in the quality of stores and the availability of services in the neighborhood, and those who believe the changes will turn 125th Street into a generic Manhattan thoroughfare lined with skyscrapers, chain stores and a new set of wealthy residents.
On Wednesday, members of those two groups sat side by side in the City Council chambers, some clapping politely in support of the plan, the others angrily denouncing Harlem’s three Council representatives — Inez E. Dickens, Robert Jackson and Melissa Mark-Viverito — who all supported the rezoning.
After a series of disruptions, in which audience members shouted “sellout” and “liar” and booed loudly as Ms. Dickens tried to explain why the rezoning was an important step forward for Harlem, the Council speaker, Christine C. Quinn, and the city’s public advocate, Betsy Gotbaum, asked that the chamber’s balcony, where the audience was sitting, be cleared of spectators by police officers.
But Councilman Charles Barron brokered an agreement with the officers and City Council security, and only a few of the 100 spectators were ejected.
Once the meeting was back in session, however, the shouting and catcalls resumed during remarks by Mr. Jackson. After Ms. Quinn and Ms. Gotbaum, who was presiding, asked again for the room to be cleared, police officers and City Council security escorted everyone outside the building. As they left, they sang, “We Shall Overcome.”
The meeting was interrupted for about 30 minutes, and the vote was eventually held in the Council chambers with only council members, council staff members, law enforcement personnel and reporters present. Council and administration officials said they could not recall another meeting in which the chambers were cleared of spectators.
Councilwoman Helen Diane Foster, who voted for the rezoning, said she was concerned that the audience was treated harshly because its members were predominantly black and Latino.
“We had more officers in here than we’ve had in the chambers ever before,” she said. “I hope we did it across the board and not based on color.”
Ms. Dickens said that her recent discussions with the Bloomberg administration had vastly improved the proposal, and she said the rezoning was supported by a broad cross-section of Harlem. “I need no one to document my commitment to my community,” she said. “I was born in Harlem.”
The vote itself had become a formality after Ms. Dickens, Mr. Jackson and Ms. Mark-Viverito agreed to the rezoning last month in exchange for pledges from the Bloomberg administration that included additional units of moderately priced housing, government loans for 71 businesses that may be displaced, and about $5.8 million in improvements for Marcus Garvey Park.
Including the 125th Street plan, the Bloomberg administration has now rezoned more than 6,000 blocks since 2002 as part of its effort to revamp the city’s zoning laws, many of which had not changed since 1961.
City officials said none of the other plans had been as hotly contested as the rezoning of 125th Street, which is far more modest in size than previous rezonings, but which threatens to transform what has long been the symbolic center of African-American cultural life.
The plan calls for 24 blocks of Harlem to be rezoned, stretching from Broadway east to Second Avenue, and from 124th to 126th Street. The Bloomberg administration said its intent was to remake 125th Street, now dominated by four- and five-story buildings with small businesses on the first floors, into a regional business hub with 19-story office towers and more than 2,000 new market-rate condominiums. The plan includes incentives for arts- and entertainment-related businesses.
The Bloomberg administration and Ms. Dickens have said that an agreement they negotiated reserves 46 percent, or 1,758, of the 3,858 total new residential units that would be permitted to be built in the rezoned area as moderately priced housing.
But according to the formal agreement, signed on April 15 by Deputy Mayor Robert C. Lieber, only about 5 percent of the housing — or about 200 units — would be affordable for families earning $30,750 or less.
Wednesday, April 30, 2008
"White people, get over yourselves..."
This is a cool vlog response to obama's speech about race in america by Dantrification, who's apparently "pretty fly for a white guy." Frankly, I can't believe that there are white people in this country nowadays (or anywhere, for that matter) who don't believe that white privilege exists -- but it's in their best interests to not dismantle a system that is tilted in their favor, so why would they?
Enjoy.
White People, Get Over Yourselves from Dantrification on Vimeo.
Enjoy.
White People, Get Over Yourselves from Dantrification on Vimeo.
Tuesday, April 29, 2008
Rev. Dr. Jeremiah Wright's NAACP Speech
I don't know about you, but i'm sick of conservatives and their scary controversial soundbites. i'm already seeing bits and pieces of Rev. Dr. Wright's interviews that are being distorted for the sake of summing it all up in a negative way for a 30 second blurb. after i saw his NAACP speech in its entirety (he's a tremendous orator), i wondered who else had bothered to do the same thing. So i thought i'd post the whole thing in sequence to make it easy for you, whoever you are -- and you can make up your own mind: is he right or wrong? is he nuts? or is he telling the truth?
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Part One -- The Introduction
Part Two -- Rev. Dr. Jeremiah Wright's Speech
Part Three
Part Four
Part Five
Part Six
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Part One -- The Introduction
Part Two -- Rev. Dr. Jeremiah Wright's Speech
Part Three
Part Four
Part Five
Part Six
Monday, April 28, 2008
Q&A with rev. jeremiah wright at the national press club
i'm soooooo glad that rev. wright has decided to come out of retirement and defend himself -- now, while there is still so much controversy swirling around his name and what he said, which was not inflammatory in context. i always thought the problem with the sermon was that no one who was criticizing it had actually heard the whole thing. now that they have, everyone is backpedaling because what he said was true.
of course, there were many white nationally known well-respected preachers who said outrageous things about 9/11 in the name of God and country and none of their remarks got anywhere near this much heat.
of course, there were many white nationally known well-respected preachers who said outrageous things about 9/11 in the name of God and country and none of their remarks got anywhere near this much heat.
Friday, April 25, 2008
that's right. acquittal!
exactly 17 months to the day that sean bell was killed on the eve of his wedding day at his bachelor party, a judge hands down a verdict of not guilty on all counts for all three of the policemen involved in his brutal murder. they thought that he had a gun. they heard someone say, i'm gonna go get my gun. and that was enough. it was a 50 bullet barrage (50 bullets!) and -- surprise! -- a gun was never recovered on the scene. what's really surprising is that they didn't kill all of them.
the bottom line is, another innocent black man dies and no one is punished.
i understand that the police involved have supposedly proven that they didn't intend to kill mr. bell, but people go to jail every day for the rest of their lives for way less than this. we've all watched enough CSI and Cold Case Files (my personal favorite) to know that intent isn't enough to justify murder in the real world even if "i didn't mean to kill him" is all you have to stand on. there should be some sort of retribution in store for you if you take someone's life -- even if it is an accident, and especially if you're a cop.
white men rob, steal, murder. why don't we see more of this stuff happening to them? why are black men constantly in the crosshairs of some cop's gun in this city? why don't white men get shot at 41 times?
of course, now would be a wonderful moment for alicia keys (or any other hip-hop/r&b megastar) to write a powerful protest song about this, a la CSNY/neil young's "ohio" -- you know: something to get us thinking, something to unify us and start that pesky revolution she keeps going on about. after all, her latest media misstep says that's her intent, right?
where is public enemy when you really need them?
the bottom line is, another innocent black man dies and no one is punished.
i understand that the police involved have supposedly proven that they didn't intend to kill mr. bell, but people go to jail every day for the rest of their lives for way less than this. we've all watched enough CSI and Cold Case Files (my personal favorite) to know that intent isn't enough to justify murder in the real world even if "i didn't mean to kill him" is all you have to stand on. there should be some sort of retribution in store for you if you take someone's life -- even if it is an accident, and especially if you're a cop.
white men rob, steal, murder. why don't we see more of this stuff happening to them? why are black men constantly in the crosshairs of some cop's gun in this city? why don't white men get shot at 41 times?
of course, now would be a wonderful moment for alicia keys (or any other hip-hop/r&b megastar) to write a powerful protest song about this, a la CSNY/neil young's "ohio" -- you know: something to get us thinking, something to unify us and start that pesky revolution she keeps going on about. after all, her latest media misstep says that's her intent, right?
where is public enemy when you really need them?
Thursday, April 24, 2008
what they're not showing you...
frankly, i was pretty shocked when i saw this: father michael pfleger, a long-time chicago activist and catholic priest defending rev. jeremiah wright and minister louis farrakhan. on second thought, it only makes sense. father pfleger knows both of these men and their work and history in the community very well, and considers them friends and colleagues. even on video, his righteous indignation is almost tangible. what shocked me was that any white anyone was coming to their defense in public.
it's way more than that, though. anyone that's really been paying attention knows that certain members of the religious right have said things that were way more inflammatory than anything that's ever come out of rev. wright's mouth. according to pat robertson and jerry falwell, it was the gays, the feminists, the ACLU, the 40 million abortions and more that have infuriated God and brought his wrath against us via the 9/11 terrorist attacks and hurricane katrina. it wasn't our foreign policy or our political involvement and nefarious goings on in the middle east and in other parts of the world. it wasn't COINTEL-PRO. or the FBI. and it definitely wasn't the CIA. oh, no. it was gloria steinem.
why haven't you seen any 30 second clips in the media of this father on fire in his pulpit defending rev. wright, with the white people in his congregation standing up and cheering him on? why won't the media show this over and over again?
what's clear is this: when white people in positions of authority speak against the government, they're being critical and are lauded as heroes; when black people criticize the government, it's considered treason and they are dangerous and subversive.
ps: sorry you've got to sit through the oh-so "fair and balanced" FOX News if you watch this clip -- but how one-sided they are only underscores my point.
it's way more than that, though. anyone that's really been paying attention knows that certain members of the religious right have said things that were way more inflammatory than anything that's ever come out of rev. wright's mouth. according to pat robertson and jerry falwell, it was the gays, the feminists, the ACLU, the 40 million abortions and more that have infuriated God and brought his wrath against us via the 9/11 terrorist attacks and hurricane katrina. it wasn't our foreign policy or our political involvement and nefarious goings on in the middle east and in other parts of the world. it wasn't COINTEL-PRO. or the FBI. and it definitely wasn't the CIA. oh, no. it was gloria steinem.
why haven't you seen any 30 second clips in the media of this father on fire in his pulpit defending rev. wright, with the white people in his congregation standing up and cheering him on? why won't the media show this over and over again?
what's clear is this: when white people in positions of authority speak against the government, they're being critical and are lauded as heroes; when black people criticize the government, it's considered treason and they are dangerous and subversive.
ps: sorry you've got to sit through the oh-so "fair and balanced" FOX News if you watch this clip -- but how one-sided they are only underscores my point.
Wednesday, April 23, 2008
how do you "go green" in the ghetto?
i don't live in a house that i can trick out with the latest energy saving ideas. stuff like, if you lower the temperature of your water heater from 140 to 120 degrees, you can save 6 to 10% on your heating costs annually. none of that applies to me. my super regulates that stuff and the water is included in the rent bill anyway, so whatever. the refrigerator and the stove came with this apartment; i don't know how efficient they are. as far as i'm concerned, i'm lucky that they were relatively new when i moved in. i don't have a dishwasher or a washer/dryer. when it's time to get my clothes clean, i drop them off at the 24 hour laundromat up the street. stop driving that SUV? i don't even know how to drive.
i want to find the supergenius who's shoving all this green goodness down our collective throats and stick my carbon footprint where the sun don't shine. don't they know that they aren't talking to me? i live in the ghetto! what about us?
in this neck of the woods, everyone is just trying to make it from one day to the next. nobody is thinking about changing their light bulbs. they're thinking about what to do to keep the lights on. and you know what? organic fruits and vegetables are extremely expensive. when you're broke or just plain ol' poor, organic is not an option. they don't call whole foods "whole paycheck" for nothing. i think i'm batting a thousand by choosing healthy options but the ghetto doesn't make it easy for me.
when it's time to eat around here in west harlem, there's that smart black contingent that insists on vegetarianism/veganism and healthy life choices, with delicious hot spots popping up all over harlem, like Raw Soul. and then on the other hand, there are three McDonald's restaurants within a 10 block radius of my apartment in either direction. one of them is two blocks away. they're all bilingual, they're all open 24 hours a day and they all do a brisk business. somewhere inbetween those choices are all the "soul food" options that everyone loves to complain about: fried, greasy chicken or fried greasy fish, overcooked vegetables and nary a salad in sight. lifestyle choices abound.
not only does this stuff not apply to me, but i can't really afford to make the switch because everything that's green -- from the houses to the organic food and everything inbetween -- is so expensive.
you know what? ed begley jr. should come to the ghetto and give a tutorial to explain why we should all embrace his green way of life, so some single black mother with two kids and three jobs that's barely making ends meet can kick his wealthy, privileged pasty rump all the way back to mali-boo-boo. she lives in the projects. what does she need a vertical axis wind turbine for?
the question persists: how do you go green in the ghetto? here are my top ten suggestions.
i wish i could live in a green house. the only ones who can afford them are rock stars and movie stars-turned enviornmentalists: people with millions to blow on bamboo flooring and proper insulation. anytime i hear these people going on about what i should be doing to save the enviornment, i start yawning because it's so obvious that they don't live in the real world, with real people's problems. believe me -- if i could, i'd live in one of buckminster fuller's dymaxion houses. oh, well. maybe i will get one someday, if i ever get loaded.
here's the question we should really be asking ourselves: who killed the electric car?
still and all, it would be nice to see the media address what the poor and lower middle class folk that can't afford to make this green move are supposed to do. that's what i want: more suggestions for the rest of us.
i want to find the supergenius who's shoving all this green goodness down our collective throats and stick my carbon footprint where the sun don't shine. don't they know that they aren't talking to me? i live in the ghetto! what about us?
in this neck of the woods, everyone is just trying to make it from one day to the next. nobody is thinking about changing their light bulbs. they're thinking about what to do to keep the lights on. and you know what? organic fruits and vegetables are extremely expensive. when you're broke or just plain ol' poor, organic is not an option. they don't call whole foods "whole paycheck" for nothing. i think i'm batting a thousand by choosing healthy options but the ghetto doesn't make it easy for me.
when it's time to eat around here in west harlem, there's that smart black contingent that insists on vegetarianism/veganism and healthy life choices, with delicious hot spots popping up all over harlem, like Raw Soul. and then on the other hand, there are three McDonald's restaurants within a 10 block radius of my apartment in either direction. one of them is two blocks away. they're all bilingual, they're all open 24 hours a day and they all do a brisk business. somewhere inbetween those choices are all the "soul food" options that everyone loves to complain about: fried, greasy chicken or fried greasy fish, overcooked vegetables and nary a salad in sight. lifestyle choices abound.
not only does this stuff not apply to me, but i can't really afford to make the switch because everything that's green -- from the houses to the organic food and everything inbetween -- is so expensive.
you know what? ed begley jr. should come to the ghetto and give a tutorial to explain why we should all embrace his green way of life, so some single black mother with two kids and three jobs that's barely making ends meet can kick his wealthy, privileged pasty rump all the way back to mali-boo-boo. she lives in the projects. what does she need a vertical axis wind turbine for?
the question persists: how do you go green in the ghetto? here are my top ten suggestions.
- take a tote bag to the grocery store. yeah, i know. this is an easy one. that's why hardly anyone does it.
- ride your bike to work. actually, ride it everywhere. that's kind of a big deal in the city because the roads aren't as bike friendly as they should be. but they are more bike friendly than they used to be, nonetheless -- many avenues have bike lanes and zipping up the west side highway in a straight shot is dreamy, especially at night. the problem is, employers don't always accommodate the bikes. fortunately there are lots of parking lots in the city that do -- for free.
- stop taking cabs everywhere. the subway is way cheaper and usually it's faster. and yes, it's clean. usually the people who complain about how filthy the subway is are the ones who are turning it into a sty.
- change those filters in your AC units. i've actually got AC now! go figure.
- change the lightbulbs. until they figure out how enviornmentally sound those mercury-encrusted lightbulbs are (hint: they're not!) make do with a lower wattage.
- use rechargeable batteries.
- recycle everything. when i say everything, i mean anything that isn't biodegradable. sort through your garbage and stack/bind newspapers/magazines. sort through your clothes and donate them to the salvation army. toss out your old computer and other electronic goods in a properly designated area -- like your hallway. (that's how i got rid of my old tv/vcr.) here's a great idea: donate your old cell phone so a soldier in iraq can call home.
- shop at the new york city farmer's markets. that's right: you don't have to go all the way to union square for organic greengrocers' fare -- thanks to an initiative by the new york city health department that wants to get all urban dwellers eating healthier, you can shop in harlem, the bronx and brooklyn for fresh fruits and vegetables. and they take food stamps.
- get oxygen friendly houseplants. this is a big one, because it can detox your home enviorns and add a lot of life to them. who knows? i may make a pit stop to the plant district at the end of the month, to see if i can find a little tree of some sort.
- and last but not least...go organic -- or at least all natural -- if you can afford it. when it's time to eat, my motto is this: check the list of ingredients and don't eat anything you can't pronounce. there's lots of other everyday things to do, too. clean your hardwood floors with white vinegar. (my grandmother taught me that one years ago.) brush your teeth with baking soda -- because most of the toothpaste out there has a ton of sugar in it, anyway. (hey! she taught me that one, too.) leave off with the polyester and wear natural fibers like silk, cotton, wool. wear vintage clothing -- now that's recycling!
i wish i could live in a green house. the only ones who can afford them are rock stars and movie stars-turned enviornmentalists: people with millions to blow on bamboo flooring and proper insulation. anytime i hear these people going on about what i should be doing to save the enviornment, i start yawning because it's so obvious that they don't live in the real world, with real people's problems. believe me -- if i could, i'd live in one of buckminster fuller's dymaxion houses. oh, well. maybe i will get one someday, if i ever get loaded.
here's the question we should really be asking ourselves: who killed the electric car?
still and all, it would be nice to see the media address what the poor and lower middle class folk that can't afford to make this green move are supposed to do. that's what i want: more suggestions for the rest of us.
Tuesday, April 22, 2008
well...
i haven’t won a photography contest yet but i did get one published, of harriet tubman’s home for the aged for a children’s book about her. and i’m waiting to hear back about another one that may get published in an online guide to new york city, of morris-jumel mansion. cool.
they both found my photos on flickr.com which got me to thinking about registering some photos at getty images and a few other places with stock photos at the ready. if i get organized and do this the right way, maybe this could turn into another stream of income.
we’ll see. in the meantime, i’m getting back into the habit of taking my camera with me everywhere—especially now that the weather is great. there is so much beautiful architecture all over harlem, so many beautiful sights everywhere i turn, and no one seems to know it…
See more progress on: win a photography contest
Monday, April 21, 2008
dim sum in chinatown
yesterday i went to have dim sum at grand harmony palace in the heart of chinatown with two friends who happen to be chinese and native new yorkers—miona is from the bronx and evan was born and raised on mott street. they both speak chinese as well, which isn’t always the case with the children of immigrants. usually, the push is to make their children and themselves as american as possible. by the time they realize that what they are is american enough, it’s usually too late. but that’s not the case with miona’s parents, who still don’t speak english. as i walked to our table in the restaurant, i could fully understand why.
the room was awash in red fabric on the walls, with chandeliers and gold touches all over the place and bright yellow seat covers and tablecloths that made everything look elegant and drab all at once. everywhere was a flurry of activity: babies crying, children laughing, old people chatting, everyone eating, and starchly uniformed servers with these huge layered trays on sturdy wheels moving slowly through the room like metal oxen, pausing for a moment at the hint of a signal that anyone wants anything at all. it was easy to make them stop where we were because miona loves food and evan was starving.
i found it especially amusing that no one was speaking any english whatsoever. the effect was not unlike a pane of glass breaking over and over again, at different pitches, and different angles, from different directions.i followed their lead, pointing at things, then asking them to tell me the names of the things that i liked, then pronouncing them badly until they stopped cringing and i won their tentative approval. white teapots filled with crysanthemum tea were constantly refilled. if i wanted my tiny cup refilled, i tapped my finger next to the cup and kept tapping until i wanted them to stop pouring.
dim sum is the asian equivalent of english high tea but much, much tastier. it’s like a heavy snack (yes, i know—that’s oxymoronic, but it’s true). i love dim sum and i’ve certainly had it before but not in a place where that’s all they served at that time of day. and the experience of being the only black person in a gigantic roomful of chinese people was more than a notion. if you are of color, you are black as far as i'm concerned. that would include everyone except the white people -- and quite a few of them ain't telling it.
frieda kahlo was right: chinese babies are the most beautiful babies in the world.one of the things that miona and evan couldn’t stop talking about was my impending nuptials in charleston, south carolina that are happening approximately a year from now. interesting but true: they have never lived outside of new york city. they both went to college in the area. miona travelled to southeast asia recently for some months and had great adventures but before that, she’d never really left home. so the south is this great mystery and they’re both wondering about the asian presence there.
what i’m trying to show them is that there has been a strong chinese presence in the south since reconstruction but they don’t seem to know a lot about chinese-american history in general. so i’ve promised them a reading list, documentaries, and welcome packages filled with maps and things to do when they get there. clearly, they want and need to be primed.
we’re already planning to have lunch in harlem somewhere soon. maybe the new italian restaurant up the street from me. i’m not sure. next weekend is already earmarked for english cuisine at my favorite anglo spot: tea and sympathy on greenwich.
all in all, a new and exciting experience. next month: i’m getting my learner’s permit!
Saturday, April 19, 2008
Meet the Mandingos
my, my, my. such colorful times we live in.
what someone's sexual fetish is says more about them than just about anything else -- probably because sex isn't something that we learn by group behavior. whatever you're into is you. with sex tourism on the rise, it seems that people everywhere are becoming more open and deliberate about persuing that obscure object of desire. and the love/hate relationship that the world has with black people/black culture need hardly be stressed. with all of this in mind, here's an interesting article that some would hardly consider surprising.
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They're gentlemen in the street, thugs in the bedroom, and your wife's steamiest fantasy.
-By Sanjiv Bhattacharya
what someone's sexual fetish is says more about them than just about anything else -- probably because sex isn't something that we learn by group behavior. whatever you're into is you. with sex tourism on the rise, it seems that people everywhere are becoming more open and deliberate about persuing that obscure object of desire. and the love/hate relationship that the world has with black people/black culture need hardly be stressed. with all of this in mind, here's an interesting article that some would hardly consider surprising.
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They're gentlemen in the street, thugs in the bedroom, and your wife's steamiest fantasy.
-By Sanjiv Bhattacharya
Jeff didn't always like black guys. He was prejudiced—he admits it. As one of the few white kids at his school in the southeast of Washington, D.C., he fought a lot with black kids and was occasionally beaten up. When he later ran a string of gas stations, he was robbed: A black guy held a gun to his head and pulled the trigger—but the gun didn't go off.
"Honestly, that experience helped me a lot," he says. "I used to be very conservative. I didn't spend much money. Now I enjoy life. I'm much more open. Especially sexually."
It's a measure of how far he's come that Jeff (not his real name), now 40, is telling me this while we're watching a black guy have sex with his wife, Amber (not her real name), 37, at an interracial orgy. In Jeff's house. On his bed. The man screwing Jeff's wife is Branford (not his real name), a 30-year-old massage therapist who's not holding back—this isn't lovemaking, this is a proper pounding. Forget Amber—that's just how Jeff likes it.
In some ways, Jeff hasn't changed at all—he's the same football jock with small eyes, a wide head, and a big man's shyness; he's still a staunch Republican with a firm handshake and a solid golf game. But after surviving the holdup and two failed marriages, he set off in search of a new life. He moved from D.C. to Clearwater, Florida, where he sells mortgages, not gas. He bought a $700,000 home on a fairway of a country club, where he's yet to see a single black member. And he met Amber, a divorcée with a sag of victimhood on her face. Jeff and Amber have been married for three years and in "the lifestyle"—as swingers like to call it—for two. At one point Amber started talking about black guys. "I wasn't thrilled," says Jeff. "Nope, wasn't a fan." But she persisted, and he decided to go along. "I like seeing Amber get off," he says with a shrug. "It excites the hell out of me. And it's better if they're black. All Amber wants is sex. Black guys get that. And I know that Amber would never date a black man."
Jeff's casual bigotry aside, tonight's orgy is fairly typical. Amber's two boys, 11 and 13, have been shipped off to their grandparents' house, and their rooms have been suitably modified—the posters are off the walls, the clothes have been put away, and the lightbulbs have been changed to red. By 8 p.m., the incense is lit, the Jacuzzi's bubbling, and the DJ is spinning Sean Paul and Jay-Z by the swimming pool. Within an hour or so, the guests—23 white couples and 3 black couples—have arrived, all of them here specifically to have sex with single black men often a decade or two their junior. There are 12 such men in the house tonight. They call themselves Mandingos. And this is a Mandingo party.
In the wake of the Hurricane Katrina fiasco and the killing of Sean Bell, an unarmed black man, by police officers in New York last November, America's relationship with race—notwithstanding the enthusiasm surrounding Barack Obama's bid for the presidency—remains troubled. For the Mandingos, meanwhile, the parties continue. The man who arranged tonight's event, Art Hammer (a name he uses solely for Mandingo parties), started the Florida Mandingo group four years ago, just after his divorce. An enterprising 42-year-old black swinger from Tampa Bay, he has since become the go-to guy when it comes to organizing gang bangs and orgies for couples—the vast majority of whom are white—with a fetish for black men. So it was Hammer who sent the Evites for this "pajamas and lingerie" party and secured the attendance of the guests; it was also Hammer who booked the DJ, paid for the finger food, and brought the "courtesy condoms." Amber and Jeff just had to open their home. An advertising-sales guy by day, Hammer has done a bang-up job of marketing the Mandingos among the swinger set. The name Mandingo comes from Mandinka, a West African tribe that, in the antebellum South, was prized and bred for strength and virility. (Not that Hammer necessarily has Mandinka roots; he has no idea—"I'm Art Hammer," he says. "Not Art Haley.") Mandingo is now a byword for black male sexual prowess. When Hammer established the Florida Mandingos, two other (unaffiliated) groups—the So Cal Mandingos and the NYC Mandingos—were already up and running. Today new groups keep sprouting—in Atlanta, Chicago, Oakland—but Hammer's is the most prominent, the only Mandingo group invited to host a "Chocolate Fantasy Suite" at N'awlins in November, the second-biggest swinger convention in the country."The fantasy goes both ways," he explains. "The women get to fuck our guys while their husbands watch, and we get to fuck rich white women, really mutt 'em out. It works! But people in this lifestyle are affluent—I'm talking judges, CEOs, FBI agents, important people—so before they invite a bunch of black men into their homes, they want to know they're safe, they're not going to get robbed, and everyone is discreet. So that's what I provide—a gentleman in the street and a thug in the bedroom."
Hammer's "A-team" comprises 20 of the more than 100 single black men on his books; many of them are here tonight. "They have to have at least eight inches, and most have a college degree. They have to be able to role-play, and most important of all, they have to be gentlemen. It's the difference between Notre Dame, where you're a student-athlete, and the University of Oklahoma, where you're an athlete-student. We don't just take jocks."
Hammer is a model Mandingo, if a little old. Chipper and Ivy League-educated, he was raised on Long Island and served with the Special Forces. Almost half of the Mandingos at the party are ex-military men. There's also an accountant, an engineer, and a software developer, all in their early thirties. The youngest, Charles (not his real name), is 25 and a second-year law student. While they all uphold a strict standard of behavior, their individual opinions of these parties vary widely. Oddly, the crassest among them is the oldest, John, 47 (ex-Air Force, now a software salesman). Ever since his divorce went through in 2003, after some 20 years of marriage, he has been relishing his opportunity to "sling dick" without any responsibility. "Couples, for me, are perfect," he says. "There's no girlfriend-boyfriend shit. You keep her when I'm done—thank you very much. No valentines, no birthday. I'm a pig."
By contrast, Jared (not his real name), 36 (a car and pet-cleaning-equipment salesman who's in the Army Reserve), likes to write poetry and refrains from using words like pussy and fuck. He describes interracial orgies as a "heightening experience," proof that prejudice may be on the wane. "I find the yin and yang of the two colors mixing very erotic," he says. "I believe the world is looking beyond color now more than ever. And people are getting more attractive. Sexier people are having more babies. Look around!"
It's not clear where Jared is looking. These women resemble Kathy Bates more than they do Kathy Ireland. As they hover around the snacks on the kitchen island, the Mandingos mill among them in silk pajamas. And almost instantly, while the women's mild-mannered husbands chat about real estate and the PGA, the games begin. Hands rove from chicken wings to breasts, from chips to hips, from guac to cock. One couple grind by the sink and feed each other meatballs. Husbands and wives start slinking off with their chosen Mandingos. The party has begun its carnal ebb and flow, between nookie in the bedrooms and foreplay in the kitchen.
Hammer himself won't have sex tonight out of principle—the swinger equivalent of "don't get high on your own supply." He's the host here and a diligent one, always circulating and making introductions—he's the one who knows everyone's sexual predilections. Meanwhile, Jeff will manage to squeeze in two brief blow jobs before the night is over. The rest of the time he seems to be cleaning up empties and replacing trash bags. He's an obsessively tidy man—"my OCD husband," Amber calls him affectionately.
"No one's having sex on the sofas," he says, looking pleased. "I left the throw cushions on to encourage people to use the bedrooms—a little something I learned at the last party. Especially because we've got a couple of squirters here tonight. You don't want that on the microfiber. Not good."
Watching the Mandingos in action, one immediately notices two things: that most of them are packing more than eight inches, and that they're better-looking than the women they're pleasuring. Jared, for instance, is a chiseled and muscular six feet, probably the best-looking of the men. His first encounter is a ménage à trois with Maryam (not her real name), a pudding of cellulite, and her chiropractor husband, Rick (not his real name), who's all back fuzz and belly. Rick adopts a lavatorial squat near Maryam's face and thrusts his penis at her. Jared's presence seems like an act of charity, not that he'd say so himself. "No, no, there was attraction," he insists. "They're very nice, polite people. It's an inner attraction."
"Listen, black guys like bigger women because they can tear it up," says Branford, the masseur who had sex with Amber earlier in the evening. "They might look like librarians, but look at them go from room to room, taking double-digit dicks all night. It's awesome." In comparison, he finds that younger, hotter girls are scarcely worth the effort. "They think lightning shoots out of their pussy—'Oh, you want sex, what are you going to give me?' Here you get the soccer mom who's like, 'I just want you to fuck the living shit out of me.' That alone is hot."
Branford is an evangelist for the Mandingos. At the last 70 or so parties, he's brought his table and given free massages. "I make great contacts here," he says. "This gets my name out there; that's why I don't charge." The way he sees it, interracial orgies are the new golf—a way to interact with rich folks. Charles, the law student, also sees the benefits. "When you network with someone, it's because you have something in common. Whether it's golf or tennis or . . . .interracial sex," he says. "I haven't used it to my advantage, but I'm not opposed—I've definitely had sex with lawyers in the past."
According to Charles, both black and white friends he has told are usually intrigued, even impressed, by the Mandingo party scene. Shelby (not his real name), Jared's ripped 29-year-old cousin (ex-Navy, now a firefighter), tells me that those who are repulsed tend to be for sexual rather than racial reasons—men by the thought of having sex around other men, women by the wanton promiscuity. This isn't to say that they chatter about it at the watercooler—most of the Mandingos keep their weekend activities a secret from their co-workers.
But the Mandingos themselves have their own issues with the lifestyle. For example, there's seldom kissing or going down. It's a rule for some—Jared won't kiss or come unless he's with someone "special." Of course, the no-kissing rule is a prostitute's code. Not that the Mandingos get paid for sex—it's against the rules. Each guest at Hammer's parties pays an annual membership—couples pay $30 and Mandingos $75. Everyone pays an additional fee of $30 for each party.
But occasionally the rules are bent. Some Mandingos confessed to receiving tips of $100 and more after private sessions with couples at last year's N'awlins in November swinger convention. Others brag about the vacations they've been taken on. "I've been to Vegas twice, all expenses paid," says John, the software salesman. "The Bahamas, Miami. One couple took me twice. After a while, you feel like a piece of meat. But hey, they're not using me to mow their damn lawn. They're using me to fuck the wife."
Jared, too, for all his idealism, has felt used in the past. Once, when he was with a couple from Sarasota, the husband directed all the action and the woman didn't say a word. "I felt like I was just—excuse my language—'a dick' for his wife," he says. Unfortunately, a similar thing happens tonight—a heavily medicated husband starts belching out commands—and Jared just walks out, leaving the wife frustrated and embarrassed.
Jared believes that, the stereotype of black male potency notwithstanding, the fundamental dynamic in the interracial swing scene—that of black men dominating white women—is fueled by a combination of white guilt and female sympathy. But Hammer, who is an impresario of these fantasies, sees another potent element at play: the humiliation of the white husband. Up to four times a week, Hammer is asked to arrange cuckold scenes in which the husband is submissive to his wife, who is, in turn, dominated by a Mandingo. "He can't participate, he can only watch," he says. "And afterward, he has to clean her up." Then there are the public-humiliation fantasies, in which a white man asks a Mandingo to kiss and grope his partner in public while he watches. Even here at the party, there's an air of humiliation. Some of the husbands I speak with confess that they're no longer able to satisfy their wives. And while others say they get off on watching, they're never fully committed. "It kinda kills me sometimes," says one partygoer, Kevin (not his real name), listening to the submission fantasies of his girlfriend, Gail (not her real name). "Because I'm not dominant. I'm really an easygoing guy."
What all this means for race relations in the age of Obama is difficult to say. Though he's had a disappointing night, an optimistic Jared still likes to think that the more the races share fluids, "the more these taboos will disappear and we'll all realize we're not that different." But as the clock strikes three and only the stragglers remain, you see the races pulling apart. The Mandingos are hanging out by the pool table, talking reverentially about the white women they've had—"Dude, she took, like, 12 guys; her husband has to let her go, there's no way one man can satisfy her . . ." The only white people still there are out by the pool. Neither Amber nor Jeff will be seeing any of the black men they've invited to their home tonight until the next party, to be held in a month's time. Though Jeff has allowed Branford to be intimate with his wife, he won't be calling him for a beer after work. And if they should see each other at the mall, they'll usually look the other way—it's all part of the swingers' pact.
I find Jeff at the end of the night, busy cleaning up the kids' bedrooms—their grandparents will be returning them in a few hours, and the sheets need to be changed, the lightbulbs switched, the evidence removed. Shining a flashlight underneath the 11-year-old's bed, he tuts and tsks. "There, look, a condom wrapper! I missed one of these once, and the kids found it. You know, I leave a trash can in every room, but still, some people . . ."
Thursday, April 17, 2008
..."do some ho' sh*t"...
Tuesday, April 15, 2008
enough, already
when i read this, i thought, okay -- this really cuts it.alicia keys' remarks are proof positive that pop stars, while exposed to so much information and culture in the world, are quite often clever on cue but as it turns out, aren't necessarily intelligent or even smart.
in all likelihood, a standard issue liberal arts BA from any state college could have fixed that, but oh well. now that she's read a few books and found her "political voice," we'll be subjected to more of these spontaneous outbursts of gut-churning "brilliance" from her. what's obvious is that she's a corporate tool with no room for political anything. why she doesn't see that is even more bizarre than what she said about tupac and biggie. the nanosecond she releases something political that doesn't sell, the label will make her release something else that does. when you're a corporate tool, that's the way it works.
what really cuts it for me is that every insipid little thing she says reverberates around the world a thousandfold, for anyone to edit and misinterpret as they please. that's why some artists don't do interviews. no one likes a pretty girl with a strong opinion but when what she says is this bent, everyone has a field day.
yes, there are a lot of artists who started their careers singing sappy love songs and matured to ultimately create political life-changing music. marvin gaye is a personal favorite. but that was the 70s, when the times made room for, and in many ways demanded such material. do you really think that Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young could release ohio in this day and age? when the kent state campus shootings happened in ohio, those rich, famous, drug-addled rock stars were outraged enough to do something. in a matter of days, neil young wrote the song, they recorded it -- and it was flooding the airwaves within two weeks. (that's right: a protest song reached all the way up to #14 on the billboard hot 100. so there.)
nowadays, so-called artists are way more concerned with bling-bling and making money to write a real protest song. i know, i know -- everybody has their charities nowadays, their benevolent funds and organizations and whatnot. and i'm sure that those organizations do good things worldwide. but the upshot really is that their insipid yet danceable music is what's floating through everyone's consciousness. not information, not political awareness.
at this juncture, with our country in the state that it's in and now that she's filled our ears with audible well-produced fluffernutter, which would she rather have, as an artist: music that protests, teaches, inspires -- or songs that collectively numb us out? according to that pesky interview/article in blender magazine, apparently ms. keys would prefer the former.
hm. let's see what her next cd sounds like.
okay, so here's two sides of the same coin: the promo blip for the interview in blender and the clean up that ms. keys and her publicist attempted, to clear the air. interesting that she didn't correct any of that black panther stuff, or the tupac/biggie conspiracy theory. enjoy.
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Alicia Keys has theory on Tupac-Biggie feud
Thinks the government and media fueled fued between the slain rappers
updated 6:21 p.m. ET, Tues., April. 15, 2008
There’s another side to Alicia Keys: conspiracy theorist.
The Grammy-winning singer-songwriter tells Blender magazine: “‘Gangsta rap’ was a ploy to convince black people to kill each other. ‘Gangsta rap’ didn’t exist.”
Keys, 27, said she’s read several Black Panther autobiographies and wears a gold AK-47 pendant around her neck “to symbolize strength, power and killing ’em dead,” according to an interview in the magazine’s May issue, on newsstands Tuesday.
Another of her theories: That the bicoastal feud between slain rappers Tupac Shakur and Notorious B.I.G. was fueled “by the government and the media, to stop another great black leader from existing.”Keys’ AK-47 jewelry came as a surprise to her mother, who is quoted as telling Blender: “She wears what? That doesn’t sound like Alicia.” Keys’ publicist, Theola Borden, said Keys was on vacation and unavailable for comment.
Though she’s known for her romantic tunes, she told Blender that she wants to write more political songs. If black leaders such as the late Black Panther Huey Newton “had the outlets our musicians have today, it’d be global. I have to figure out a way to do it myself,” she said.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------Alicia Keys says comments to magazine were 'misrepresented'
NEW YORK (AP) — Alicia Keys says she's not a conspiracy theorist. In a statement issued Tuesday, Keys said she was clarifying "comments that were made during my recent Blender magazine interview since they have been misrepresented."
According to an interview in the magazine's May issue, the 27-year-old singer says: "`Gangsta rap' was a ploy to convince black people to kill each other. `Gangsta rap' didn't exist." She also is quoted as saying that she wears a gold AK-47 pendant around her neck "to symbolize strength, power and killing 'em dead."
"We stand by our story," Blender spokeswoman Kate Cafaro told The Associated Press on Tuesday.
"My comments about `gangsta rap' were in no way trying to suggest that the government is responsible for creating this genre of rap music," Keys said in a statement issued by J Records. "The point that I was trying to make was that the term was oversloganized by some of the media causing reactions that were not always positive. Many of the `gangsta rap' lyrics articulate the problems of the artists' experiences and I think all of us, including our leaders, could be doing more to address these problems including drugs, gang violence, crime, and other related social issues."
As for the AK-47 remark, Keys said Tuesday that AK-47 is a nickname given to her by friends "as an acronym for Alicia Keys and a metaphor for wowing people with my music and performances, `killing 'em dead' on stage. The reference was in no way meant to have a literal, political or negative connotation."
When AP attempted to reach Keys last week about the Blender interview, her publicist, Theola Borden, said the singer was on vacation and unavailable for comment.
The multiplatinum star behind the hits "Fallin'" and "No One" most recently had success with her latest CD, "As I Am," which has sold 3.4 million copies, according to Nielsen Soundscan.
another tv star starts his theater career on broadway
the latest famous person to join the "i-don't-do-theater-but-i'm-going-to-be-on-broadway" category is mario lopez, star of saved by the bell. he's also known for guest stints on soap operas and tv shows like nip/tuck that allow him to show off that rock-solid backside of his, and of course dancing with the stars. most recently, he hosted last season's randy jackson presents america's best dance crew on vh-1 and the entertainment news magazine extra. busy guy.
they're picking him up today in a chorus line. he'll be there all summer -- just in time for the tourist season. i saw a chorus line when it was in previews and i thought it was so cool that there weren't any famous people in it -- just really talented musical theater performers. oh, well. when ticket sales sag, getting a name in there that middle america recognizes (because seemingly enough, that's who goes to see broadway shows in this town) is what raises revenue. and sometimes, it's getting that name in there when the show is cast initially is what allows it to open in the first place.
they're picking him up today in a chorus line. he'll be there all summer -- just in time for the tourist season. i saw a chorus line when it was in previews and i thought it was so cool that there weren't any famous people in it -- just really talented musical theater performers. oh, well. when ticket sales sag, getting a name in there that middle america recognizes (because seemingly enough, that's who goes to see broadway shows in this town) is what raises revenue. and sometimes, it's getting that name in there when the show is cast initially is what allows it to open in the first place.
Monday, April 14, 2008
Miss Texas has been crowned Miss USA!
because of my bibical namesake, i take beauty contests very seriously.that's right: ms. crystle stewart of missouri city, texas -- a teensy little rinky-dink town right outside of houston -- beat out fifty other beauty queens to be crowned miss usa on friday in las vegas, nevada. how cool.
here's the kicker, for me: she was chosen as 3rd runner up for miss texas twice and then first runner up for miss texas twice before she won the title of miss texas. she's 26, so she's been at it every year for quite awhile. i think that's a huge deal, that she kept trying until she won. it shows a remarkable sense of focus and diligence and determination. in an interview i saw this morning, she went on about how every loss was a chance to learn what not to do and what to improve. i love that.
i know this sounds cheesy, but it takes a lot of work to look good. nevermind all the workouts, the beauty treatments and having to figure out what looks good on you and what doesn't. if you're a modern girl, that's your gig anyway. it's the dental work that kills you. that alone is enough to cave most people in, because it's crazy expensive and it usually takes a lot of time to fix whatever is wrong. shifting teeth around and pulling teeth and stuff like that. you have to take out loans and work a second job and all this. i know my teeth are going to look great next spring, but right now i'm going through hell and high water and there's nothing pretty about it.
and yes, i'm sure that they're capped to perfection but miss usa has perfect-looking teeth.
i think it's very important when women of color win these beauty competitions -- especially in light of the fact that once upon a time not too long ago, it was unthinkable to include us. it tells the world -- and us too, because frankly some of us really need to hear it -- that we are beautiful, too.
but okay, so here's the real kicker in all this: i really do believe that you can use whatever you've got to glorify God, even if all you've got is pretty. think about it: queen esther was basically a beauty queen. she saved an entire nation, and how did she pull that off? it happened because the king thought she was more beautiful than any of the others. and once he realized that killing all the jews meant killing her too, everyone's life was spared.
what on earth did she look like? she must have been a real hot tomato. the bible says that queen esther "was lovely in form and features."
God, as it turns out, can use anyone, with whatever they've got.
Sunday, April 13, 2008
this is how they get down in the balkans...
a little perspective is always a good thing.
in this case, its a song we've all heard before: i will always love you, forever associated with whitney houston and her vocal powerhouse pipe-age, was originally a country song written by dolly parton to her mentor porter waggoner as a way of saying goodbye to him as she moved on from nashville to hollywood.
black country music, indeed.
this version is straight out of the balkans via their version of "american idol" -- this particular singer (with a warble that's so bizarre and so full of tremolo i thought she was middle eastern or something), is the popular favorite.
in this case, its a song we've all heard before: i will always love you, forever associated with whitney houston and her vocal powerhouse pipe-age, was originally a country song written by dolly parton to her mentor porter waggoner as a way of saying goodbye to him as she moved on from nashville to hollywood.
black country music, indeed.
this version is straight out of the balkans via their version of "american idol" -- this particular singer (with a warble that's so bizarre and so full of tremolo i thought she was middle eastern or something), is the popular favorite.
Saturday, April 12, 2008
it's all about "quality of life"...
when i don't have a day job, my life is so together.
i throw things away and i sort through reciepts and i streamline everything. i get really, really, really organized. i stick to a budget that's realistic and sensible. i keep a really clean apartment, because coming home to a clean place just plain ol' feels good. i have no idea why. it just does. (try it.) when a situation turns foul, home becomes a beautiful sanctuary. and there are other perks, too. i practice the piano when i wake up in the morning. i download a movie via netflix in the middle of the day. i work on my songs. i audition like crazy.
what's really bizarre is, i look great because i start almost every day with a solid work out -- and when the weather turns nice, i ride my bike everywhere. that means i stay lanky in this really righteous healthy vibrant way that makes everyone think that i'm in love or something. and i am. but that's not it, that's not why i'm glowing. i'm glowing because after the work out, i sit in that steam room until my skin turns to butter and my muscles stop going boing! i'm glowing because i always moisturize. i'm glowing because i have pre-paid facials in k-town. i'm glowing because i exfoliate every week. the kicker is, i end up wearing all the cool clothes in my closet -- fat, skinny and otherwise. every season, i tell myself wow -- i don't need new clothes. i need to stay a size 4/6.
i'm not lanky yet. i'm still shedding that desk job lard. but it is coming off, finally. and as i'm watching my midsection disappear, i realize three things:
okay. back to my guitar, another pot of lapsang souchong and adult swim.
i throw things away and i sort through reciepts and i streamline everything. i get really, really, really organized. i stick to a budget that's realistic and sensible. i keep a really clean apartment, because coming home to a clean place just plain ol' feels good. i have no idea why. it just does. (try it.) when a situation turns foul, home becomes a beautiful sanctuary. and there are other perks, too. i practice the piano when i wake up in the morning. i download a movie via netflix in the middle of the day. i work on my songs. i audition like crazy.
what's really bizarre is, i look great because i start almost every day with a solid work out -- and when the weather turns nice, i ride my bike everywhere. that means i stay lanky in this really righteous healthy vibrant way that makes everyone think that i'm in love or something. and i am. but that's not it, that's not why i'm glowing. i'm glowing because after the work out, i sit in that steam room until my skin turns to butter and my muscles stop going boing! i'm glowing because i always moisturize. i'm glowing because i have pre-paid facials in k-town. i'm glowing because i exfoliate every week. the kicker is, i end up wearing all the cool clothes in my closet -- fat, skinny and otherwise. every season, i tell myself wow -- i don't need new clothes. i need to stay a size 4/6.
i'm not lanky yet. i'm still shedding that desk job lard. but it is coming off, finally. and as i'm watching my midsection disappear, i realize three things:
- why should i strap myself to a desk job? i've already got health insurance with SAG and AEA says i'm vested with a pension. let's face it -- those stats make me a working actor in anybody's book. the freelance income is just another hustle. and as i've stated previously, everyday i really am hustling...
- surprise! if you're a medical copy editor, freelance work pays better than a staff position. funny thing: when i had a job, all the freelancers that would come in told me so. even my supervisor told me so! eventually, i got the hint.
- sure, i miss the steady paycheck -- but losing this weight is a good thing. when i had a day job, there was no time for the gym. and if there was time, i was too tired to go.
okay. back to my guitar, another pot of lapsang souchong and adult swim.
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