Friday, October 27, 2006
Wednesday, September 13, 2006
Wednesday, August 02, 2006
Think a stroke is sexy?
Think a stroke is sexy?
Those promoting the idea `big is beautiful' endanger the health of black women
By Kayce T. Ataiyero
a Tribune staff reporter
Published July 23, 2006
80 percent of black women older than 40 are OVERWEIGHT, according to a study released this month by The Cleveland Clinic.
53 percent of black women over 40 are OBESE, according to the study.
Last weekend, black comedian Mo'Nique held her second "Mo'Nique's F.A.T. Chance," a beauty pageant for full-figured women who are "fabulous and thick." The popular show, on the Oxygen network, encourages fat women--and the world--to believe they are beautiful by shattering myths about big girls. Fat girls can look sexy in lingerie. Fat girls can ride horses. Fat girls can do choreographed dance numbers.
But what Mo'Nique doesn't tell you is that big girls also have big health problems, such as heart disease and diabetes. Ain't nothing sexy about a stroke.
Obesity in women is one of the most serious public health threats in the country. Of women ages 20 to 74, 62 percent are overweight, according to the American Obesity Association. And 34 percent are obese, which is defined as having a body mass index of 30 or higher. Body mass index is a measure of body fat based on height and weight.
The situation is particularly dire in the black community. More than 80 percent of black women older than 40 are overweight, according to a study released this month by The Cleveland Clinic. More than 53 percent are obese. And the incidences of heart disease, high blood pressure, hypertension and diabetes among black women are at epidemic levels.
These women are the ones Mo'Nique is targeting. She has made a career out of being an overweight woman. And she is at the forefront of one of the more socially irresponsible movements of our time.
For generations, obesity among black women has been deeply rooted in our cultural heritage. African women's wide hips and thick bodies were viewed as well-endowed, affluent, sturdy enough to bear many children. These women ate high-calorie, fatty foods to get the energy they needed to work in the fields.
On a subtle level, African girls learned that African men and families valued large women, said Ruth Johnson, an associate professor of nursing at Fayetteville State University in North Carolina. Those cultural values were transmitted to the United States during slavery, Johnson said in an article analyzing obesity trends in African-American women.
These early ideals have lingered among black women, despite mainstream society's emphasis on thinness. A 2004 Boston College study of body-image issues among African-American adolescent girls found that they have high self-esteem about their bodies and, by and large, do not accept white notions of weight.
Many black women have a distorted view of their weight, and that view is reinforced by their cultural aesthetic, said Dr. Cheryl Rucker-Whitaker, assistant professor of preventive medicine at Rush University Medical Center.
"I had a woman in a workshop whose [body mass index] was higher than 30 say to me, `I am not obese, look at me,'" Rucker-Whitaker said. "They might look good in their clothes or be attractive to their boyfriends, and you have these cultural icons saying it's OK. That is really the wrong message to send."
To be certain, notions of beauty are not the only culprits. Many factors are converging in this epidemic.
Some researchers point to diet, saying the eating habits of black women have long been influenced by cultural tradition. A LaSalle Bank study released last week said blacks who live in "food deserts"--neighborhoods where there are more fast-food restaurants than grocery stores--tend to make poor food choices.
Other studies suggest that black women, particularly those with low income, might be using food to cope with "psychosocial stress." High rates of single motherhood have many black women assuming sole responsibility for sustaining their families, pressure that can prompt compulsive overeating. But higher rates of obesity in black women are seen at all socioeconomic levels.
Though the medical community has mixed opinions on what is hurting black women, it's clear that encouraging them to be overweight is not helping.
Persuading women to love themselves is a good thing. Far too few women of any size have a positive self-image. But too many black women are using our culture's affinity for thicker bodies as a license to carry too much weight. And Mo'Nique's celebration of obesity sets a dangerous example for women who wrongly equate loving themselves with accepting a size that is unhealthy.
It's a mistake I've made myself. As a woman who has struggled all my life with being overweight, I thought that my size was an aesthetic issue. That was until my mother, who also has been overweight her whole life, suffered congestive heart failure earlier this year. At age 50, she was near death. Only 25 percent of her heart functioned properly. My mom has been forced to lose the weight, and so have I.
My wanting to lose weight isn't about buying into societal beauty standards or about hating myself. And it has nothing to do with whether I think I am cute.
It's about self-preservation. A beautiful corpse is still a corpse.
Those promoting the idea `big is beautiful' endanger the health of black women
By Kayce T. Ataiyero
a Tribune staff reporter
Published July 23, 2006
80 percent of black women older than 40 are OVERWEIGHT, according to a study released this month by The Cleveland Clinic.
53 percent of black women over 40 are OBESE, according to the study.
Last weekend, black comedian Mo'Nique held her second "Mo'Nique's F.A.T. Chance," a beauty pageant for full-figured women who are "fabulous and thick." The popular show, on the Oxygen network, encourages fat women--and the world--to believe they are beautiful by shattering myths about big girls. Fat girls can look sexy in lingerie. Fat girls can ride horses. Fat girls can do choreographed dance numbers.
But what Mo'Nique doesn't tell you is that big girls also have big health problems, such as heart disease and diabetes. Ain't nothing sexy about a stroke.
Obesity in women is one of the most serious public health threats in the country. Of women ages 20 to 74, 62 percent are overweight, according to the American Obesity Association. And 34 percent are obese, which is defined as having a body mass index of 30 or higher. Body mass index is a measure of body fat based on height and weight.
The situation is particularly dire in the black community. More than 80 percent of black women older than 40 are overweight, according to a study released this month by The Cleveland Clinic. More than 53 percent are obese. And the incidences of heart disease, high blood pressure, hypertension and diabetes among black women are at epidemic levels.
These women are the ones Mo'Nique is targeting. She has made a career out of being an overweight woman. And she is at the forefront of one of the more socially irresponsible movements of our time.
For generations, obesity among black women has been deeply rooted in our cultural heritage. African women's wide hips and thick bodies were viewed as well-endowed, affluent, sturdy enough to bear many children. These women ate high-calorie, fatty foods to get the energy they needed to work in the fields.
On a subtle level, African girls learned that African men and families valued large women, said Ruth Johnson, an associate professor of nursing at Fayetteville State University in North Carolina. Those cultural values were transmitted to the United States during slavery, Johnson said in an article analyzing obesity trends in African-American women.
These early ideals have lingered among black women, despite mainstream society's emphasis on thinness. A 2004 Boston College study of body-image issues among African-American adolescent girls found that they have high self-esteem about their bodies and, by and large, do not accept white notions of weight.
Many black women have a distorted view of their weight, and that view is reinforced by their cultural aesthetic, said Dr. Cheryl Rucker-Whitaker, assistant professor of preventive medicine at Rush University Medical Center.
"I had a woman in a workshop whose [body mass index] was higher than 30 say to me, `I am not obese, look at me,'" Rucker-Whitaker said. "They might look good in their clothes or be attractive to their boyfriends, and you have these cultural icons saying it's OK. That is really the wrong message to send."
To be certain, notions of beauty are not the only culprits. Many factors are converging in this epidemic.
Some researchers point to diet, saying the eating habits of black women have long been influenced by cultural tradition. A LaSalle Bank study released last week said blacks who live in "food deserts"--neighborhoods where there are more fast-food restaurants than grocery stores--tend to make poor food choices.
Other studies suggest that black women, particularly those with low income, might be using food to cope with "psychosocial stress." High rates of single motherhood have many black women assuming sole responsibility for sustaining their families, pressure that can prompt compulsive overeating. But higher rates of obesity in black women are seen at all socioeconomic levels.
Though the medical community has mixed opinions on what is hurting black women, it's clear that encouraging them to be overweight is not helping.
Persuading women to love themselves is a good thing. Far too few women of any size have a positive self-image. But too many black women are using our culture's affinity for thicker bodies as a license to carry too much weight. And Mo'Nique's celebration of obesity sets a dangerous example for women who wrongly equate loving themselves with accepting a size that is unhealthy.
It's a mistake I've made myself. As a woman who has struggled all my life with being overweight, I thought that my size was an aesthetic issue. That was until my mother, who also has been overweight her whole life, suffered congestive heart failure earlier this year. At age 50, she was near death. Only 25 percent of her heart functioned properly. My mom has been forced to lose the weight, and so have I.
My wanting to lose weight isn't about buying into societal beauty standards or about hating myself. And it has nothing to do with whether I think I am cute.
It's about self-preservation. A beautiful corpse is still a corpse.
The Infamous N Word
From The Chicago Tribune…
---------------------------------------------------
THE N-WORD
Does anyone have the right to say it?
By Kayce T. Ataiyero, a Tribune staff reporter
FOR GENERATIONS, THE N-WORD has possessed a terrible power to divide, deride and dehumanize. As steeped as it is in this country’s ugly history of slavery and racial oppression, this slur also is a remarkably malleable contemporary concept.
It can stretch from being a symbol of white bigotry to a tool of black empowerment to a latter-day non sequitur used by young whites looking for a cachet of cool.
Though the n-word has been controversial for some time, its most recent metamorphosis is particularly troubling. It has become such a popularly traded form of cultural currency in mainstream America that a black comedian, Damon Wayans, wants to trademark the word for a clothing line.
And as more black entertainers use the word to bolster their street cred, its attractiveness to outsiders grows, as does the confusion over its use.
This quandary was at the heart of a hate-crime case in which a white man was on trial in New York on charges of beating a black man with a baseball bat. His defense: His use of the word did not necessarily indicate racism, since black people sometimes use it as a term of endearment. He was convicted of a hate crime Friday.
If the word, then, has come full circle, what hasn’t evolved is the visceral disgust many black people feel at hearing others use it. Some of them are looking to break the cycle.
This spring, Brooklyn friends Jill Merritt and Kovan Flowers were listening to a radio discussion in which young people from all races were saying it’s OK to use the n-word, arguing that rappers use it all the time and it doesn’t mean anything.
In response, Merritt and Flowers launched the Web site www.abolishthenword.com to spread information about the word’s hateful history and to encourage blacks to stop using it. Through word of mouth and e-mail chains, news of the site has circled the globe and revived a centuries-old debate.
The founders have appeared on news programs on CNN and elsewhere, and black message boards and blogs have been abuzz with debate about the site.
Merritt, 38, a costumer, and Flowers, 36, a stage manager, are targeting young people, hoping to educate them about the word and offer them other vocabulary options. They believe the first step in deleting the word from pop culture is to remove it from the lips of blacks.
“I feel like there is a lack of self-respect when someone uses any word that is derogatory when referring to themselves,” Merritt said. “It is such a crazy word that causes so much pain and controversy. It should just be abolished for that.”
The n-word may be crazy, but it also is resilient, having survived numerous attempts by civil rights groups to eradicate it in the three decades since black entertainers such as Richard Pryor ushered it into the mainstream.
Pryor offered America a new n-word punch line, one in which white people often were the butt of the joke. He was brilliant, and he tackled racism head-on and with a piercing humor that disarmed blacks and whites.
But now, as black entertainers try to cash in on the word, selling appropriation rights to the mainstream, everyday black people are growing more conflicted about the word’s use.
Some black people are deeply disturbed by the use of the n-word and by its growing popularity in mainstream culture. Others think the word no longer carries as much historical weight and therefore is acceptable to use in certain situations. Few blacks, however, think it is ever acceptable for white people to use.
The divide is largely generational, with older blacks typically being most opposed to popular use of the n-word. Many carry with them vivid, ugly memories of when the word was used against them and fail to see anything positive in it.
As an English teacher at Sojourner Truth Continuation High School in Los Angeles, Olivia Hilburn hears students using the word often and is working to get them to make different word choices, she said. The school held “Abolish the N-word” day on Friday.
“It disturbs me that we are using that word as a term of endearment. There is nothing endearing about it,” she said. “Sista and brotha, those are terms of endearment.”
Later in his career, after a life-changing trip to Africa, Pryor denounced use of the word, but it was too late. Once you let the n-word out, it can’t be controlled. It can grow into an unwieldy, destructive force that becomes larger than the person who utters it. That’s why I have deliberately avoided using the word in this article. I didn’t want the distraction.
Many scholars trace the etymology of the n-word to the Latin word niger, meaning black. The Latin niger morphed into Negro in English, and the n-word likely sprang from the mispronunciation of Negro by white Southerners. Later, the “n-word” euphemism was popularized by the media during coverage of the racially charged O.J. Simpson murder trial.
The n-word’s place in American discourse was sealed by the early 1800s.
John Rickford, a linguistics professor at Stanford University, said the more recent trend of black people’s using the word is the result of what is called semantic inversion, the positive twisting of negative words by their victims as a form of empowerment. It’s what gays did with queer and what women have done with the b-word.
The subversion of the n-word was followed by semantic bleaching, the process in which non-blacks adopted the positive characteristics of the word while discarding the racial meaning, rendering it generic.
But, Rickford said, many blacks think they alone have proprietary license over the n-word.
Rickford said blacks have been complaining about white use of black language since Claude Brown, author of “Manchild in the Promised Land,” wrote about the topic in “The Language of Soul,” an Esquire article published in 1968. But blacks have been historically powerless to fight it, he said.
“A lot of language is natural and subconscious, and it doesn’t respond well to dictates from above,” he said. “You can try to teach and preach and shape, but ultimately, you can’t stop it from going where it will.”
David Pilgrim, curator of the Jim Crow Museum of Racist Memorabilia in Big Rapids, Mich., agrees that you can’t stop the n-word. He doesn’t buy into the notion of blacks’ reclaiming the word as a method of empowerment.
“Black people did not create the word and the venom behind it. I think [the n-word] is [white people’s] word,” Pilgrim said.
But Todd Boyd, a professor of critical studies at the University of Southern California, said that black people are taking the n-word too seriously and giving the debate too much fuel.
For him, Boyd said, the n-word is just a word, and he has never been offended by it. He said he frequently uses it in conversation and writing because it distills the reality of the black urban experience.
“I love the word myself,” he said. “It is a commentary on what black people have endured … a history this country has not fully addressed. It reflects that when it is not cleaned up by the PC police. More often than not, I consider myself [an n-word]. I’m [an n-word] with a PhD, but I am [an n-word] nonetheless.”
---------------------------------------------------
THE N-WORD
Does anyone have the right to say it?
By Kayce T. Ataiyero, a Tribune staff reporter
FOR GENERATIONS, THE N-WORD has possessed a terrible power to divide, deride and dehumanize. As steeped as it is in this country’s ugly history of slavery and racial oppression, this slur also is a remarkably malleable contemporary concept.
It can stretch from being a symbol of white bigotry to a tool of black empowerment to a latter-day non sequitur used by young whites looking for a cachet of cool.
Though the n-word has been controversial for some time, its most recent metamorphosis is particularly troubling. It has become such a popularly traded form of cultural currency in mainstream America that a black comedian, Damon Wayans, wants to trademark the word for a clothing line.
And as more black entertainers use the word to bolster their street cred, its attractiveness to outsiders grows, as does the confusion over its use.
This quandary was at the heart of a hate-crime case in which a white man was on trial in New York on charges of beating a black man with a baseball bat. His defense: His use of the word did not necessarily indicate racism, since black people sometimes use it as a term of endearment. He was convicted of a hate crime Friday.
If the word, then, has come full circle, what hasn’t evolved is the visceral disgust many black people feel at hearing others use it. Some of them are looking to break the cycle.
This spring, Brooklyn friends Jill Merritt and Kovan Flowers were listening to a radio discussion in which young people from all races were saying it’s OK to use the n-word, arguing that rappers use it all the time and it doesn’t mean anything.
In response, Merritt and Flowers launched the Web site www.abolishthenword.com to spread information about the word’s hateful history and to encourage blacks to stop using it. Through word of mouth and e-mail chains, news of the site has circled the globe and revived a centuries-old debate.
The founders have appeared on news programs on CNN and elsewhere, and black message boards and blogs have been abuzz with debate about the site.
Merritt, 38, a costumer, and Flowers, 36, a stage manager, are targeting young people, hoping to educate them about the word and offer them other vocabulary options. They believe the first step in deleting the word from pop culture is to remove it from the lips of blacks.
“I feel like there is a lack of self-respect when someone uses any word that is derogatory when referring to themselves,” Merritt said. “It is such a crazy word that causes so much pain and controversy. It should just be abolished for that.”
The n-word may be crazy, but it also is resilient, having survived numerous attempts by civil rights groups to eradicate it in the three decades since black entertainers such as Richard Pryor ushered it into the mainstream.
Pryor offered America a new n-word punch line, one in which white people often were the butt of the joke. He was brilliant, and he tackled racism head-on and with a piercing humor that disarmed blacks and whites.
But now, as black entertainers try to cash in on the word, selling appropriation rights to the mainstream, everyday black people are growing more conflicted about the word’s use.
Some black people are deeply disturbed by the use of the n-word and by its growing popularity in mainstream culture. Others think the word no longer carries as much historical weight and therefore is acceptable to use in certain situations. Few blacks, however, think it is ever acceptable for white people to use.
The divide is largely generational, with older blacks typically being most opposed to popular use of the n-word. Many carry with them vivid, ugly memories of when the word was used against them and fail to see anything positive in it.
As an English teacher at Sojourner Truth Continuation High School in Los Angeles, Olivia Hilburn hears students using the word often and is working to get them to make different word choices, she said. The school held “Abolish the N-word” day on Friday.
“It disturbs me that we are using that word as a term of endearment. There is nothing endearing about it,” she said. “Sista and brotha, those are terms of endearment.”
Later in his career, after a life-changing trip to Africa, Pryor denounced use of the word, but it was too late. Once you let the n-word out, it can’t be controlled. It can grow into an unwieldy, destructive force that becomes larger than the person who utters it. That’s why I have deliberately avoided using the word in this article. I didn’t want the distraction.
Many scholars trace the etymology of the n-word to the Latin word niger, meaning black. The Latin niger morphed into Negro in English, and the n-word likely sprang from the mispronunciation of Negro by white Southerners. Later, the “n-word” euphemism was popularized by the media during coverage of the racially charged O.J. Simpson murder trial.
The n-word’s place in American discourse was sealed by the early 1800s.
John Rickford, a linguistics professor at Stanford University, said the more recent trend of black people’s using the word is the result of what is called semantic inversion, the positive twisting of negative words by their victims as a form of empowerment. It’s what gays did with queer and what women have done with the b-word.
The subversion of the n-word was followed by semantic bleaching, the process in which non-blacks adopted the positive characteristics of the word while discarding the racial meaning, rendering it generic.
But, Rickford said, many blacks think they alone have proprietary license over the n-word.
Rickford said blacks have been complaining about white use of black language since Claude Brown, author of “Manchild in the Promised Land,” wrote about the topic in “The Language of Soul,” an Esquire article published in 1968. But blacks have been historically powerless to fight it, he said.
“A lot of language is natural and subconscious, and it doesn’t respond well to dictates from above,” he said. “You can try to teach and preach and shape, but ultimately, you can’t stop it from going where it will.”
David Pilgrim, curator of the Jim Crow Museum of Racist Memorabilia in Big Rapids, Mich., agrees that you can’t stop the n-word. He doesn’t buy into the notion of blacks’ reclaiming the word as a method of empowerment.
“Black people did not create the word and the venom behind it. I think [the n-word] is [white people’s] word,” Pilgrim said.
But Todd Boyd, a professor of critical studies at the University of Southern California, said that black people are taking the n-word too seriously and giving the debate too much fuel.
For him, Boyd said, the n-word is just a word, and he has never been offended by it. He said he frequently uses it in conversation and writing because it distills the reality of the black urban experience.
“I love the word myself,” he said. “It is a commentary on what black people have endured … a history this country has not fully addressed. It reflects that when it is not cleaned up by the PC police. More often than not, I consider myself [an n-word]. I’m [an n-word] with a PhD, but I am [an n-word] nonetheless.”
Ny Times Article
Here's a great link from an article I read in the New York Times, about the image of large black women in commercials. Funny they didn't mention the commercial where the guy gets on the bus and has the woman "drop it like its hot".
Sunday, July 30, 2006
Mary J. Blige Concert
I know I haven't posted in a minute, but I been kind of busy. Anyway, I went to check out Mary J. Blige. Now I have on good authority that in ATL, Mary didn't do her thing. Well in Cleveland, she definitely did. After Letoya opened up with a short set, Mary came out and brought the house down to Real Love. Even though it was EXTREMELY HOT outside at the Plain Dealer Pavilion. She played for over two hours and did all of her hits including my personal favorite My Life. She closed with her verse from "Touch It" and "Family Affair".
Monday, May 22, 2006
Funny Video Clip
Drinking and driving is something that should be taken seriously....blah blah blah but this is funny. Clip
Friday, May 19, 2006
Kobe Article
A great commentary by the excellent writer Scoop Jackson from ESPN about my favorite NBA player - Kobe Bryant, (yes Lebron is #2 - what u think just cuz I'm from Akron he has to be my favorite!?!?!) Story
Saturday, May 13, 2006
Van Hunt/Heather Headley/Anthony Hamilton
Went to a great show last night. Van Hunt, Heather Headley, and Anthony Hamilton came to town. I've heard Van Hunt before, but unfortunately he didn't perform any of the songs I know. He did more of a bluesy/rock set, but he was cool as an opening act. Heather Headley came on next and just blew me away. You can tell the girl performed on Broadway and definitely showed her Trinidadian roots with a couple of songs. It was the first time I've gotten to see her and I definitely hope its not the last. Hopefully I will get a chance to see her on stage sometime (although I'm not complaining because when I saw Aida in New York, I got to see Toni Braxton!).
I thought for sure she was going to steal the show, until Mr. Hamilton came to stage and did his thing. He kept his show more uptempo although he slowed it down a couple of times for the ladies, then he straight took everybody to church. It was a great show, and just to show you how lame Cleveland is, I bought my ticket an hour before the show and still got a great seat.
Wednesday, May 10, 2006
Interview with Nas and Rakim
In case you missed it, MTV did an interview with two of the greatest MC's ever Nas and Rakim. They discuss their favorite songs of the other, and discuss the influence that each of them had on each other. Check it out here
Tuesday, May 09, 2006
MI:3 Review
Went to check out MI:3 this weekend. Pretty good action flick. It's a Mission Impossible movie so of course some of the gadgets were a little over the top. But as a pure action movie, its great and keeps you constantly pulled in with very little drag time. The action sequences are excellent, as is the photography. Ving Rhames does a good job as sidekick and Maggie Q as Zen provides the requisite eye candy. But overall this a good movie for a summer afternoon.
Weekend in Sports
Ok this past weekend in sports had its ups and downs. Ok more like 1 up and 2 very, very, bad downs. First the Cavs won a great game Friday night over the Wizards in overtime. Although most people had had one too many shots of Patron, or Coronas to enjoy it. Damon Jones actually hit a shot!! Unbelievable!! Next there will be an Ira Newble sighting, wait that's asking for a bit much. Saturday was terrible letdown. How did the Lakers go from being up 3-1 to losing to the Suns?! Besides Smush Parker, and Kwame Brown forgetting how to make a shot. And the entire Laker team forgetting what defense looked like!! And Lamar decided to be his normal enigmatic self. And Kobe, after 23 points in the 1st half, how does he score 1 in the 2nd. He totally looked defeated, I think he just finally realized he can't do it all by himself. And I love Charles Barkley and Kenny Smith but his game Thursday night was great - I mean he shot 20-35!! The Lakers were a rebound away from having an all LA second round. So what else was he supposed to do?!?!? And then the Cavs on Sunday - I mean what can I say? They just looked totally and completely out of sync. And it doesn't help that 3 people very close to me are from Detroit. I'm going to have to hear about this one for about a year.
Tuesday, May 02, 2006
Jaguar Wright Concert Review
Got a chance to see Jaguar Wright the other night at the House of Blues. I have wanted to see her ever since Jay-Z's Unplugged when she stole the show from Jigga Man with her rendition of "Ain't no love" plus I loved her first album Denials, Delusions, and Decisions. I also have the second one Divorcing Neo to Marry Soul. Well the show kind of got of to a bad start because she had never worked with the band, and it took her awhile to get them in shape. And a couple of times during her performance she actually had to stop them and make them restart a couple of songs. But her voice is so powerful, she could have done the whole show without them! She was great, and I got the chance to meet her after the show when she sang "I can't wait" for me acapella. Hopefully one day I get to see her perform with the Roots to see how she really puts it down. Check out her websites at www.jaguarwright.com and myspace.com/jaguarwright.
Tuesday, April 25, 2006
ABC
Ok what's going on with ABC and them getting lazy and doing these little recap episodes? I mean come on - It is one thing for Lost but do we really need them for Desperate Housewives and Grey's Anatomy too?!?!? I mean if any show needs it, its 24!!!!
My Company
As most of you know I work for a company called Sun Microsystems and we got a new CEO today I am very excited to see where this leads.
Thursday, April 20, 2006
Worst President Ever?
An interesting article from Rolling Stone on the worst President ever, also if you read Esquire there is a great article about Dave Chappelle.
Thursday, April 13, 2006
Paul the Musical
My stepdad Phil Myricks is in a musical that his brother wrote and directed. It's about the life of Paul, check out the story here. It's very good and if you go you will probably see my mom hanging out in the audience.
Friday, March 31, 2006
Inside Man Movie Review
Got a chance to check out Inside Man, this is an excellent movie, that keeps you guessing from the very beginning. It's nice to see Spike step outside his norm and do some different stuff like this and 25th Hour another of my favorites. Of course he adds in his signatures here and there as only Spike can. But the camera work and the acting is excellent. I mean Denzel is Denzel, and Jodie Foster has a small but rather important role. Clive Owen is also great as the protagonist. And the end will catch you a little off guard. It definitely isn't your formulaic heist movie.
Wednesday, March 29, 2006
Special Congratulations
I'd like to send a special congratulations to my girl Monisha Hogan aka Marsha Hogan and her girl Tanisha Grimes who finished their first 5K run over the weekend in the ATL. They completed the course in 30 minutes and 41 seconds.
Tuesday, March 28, 2006
Sean Paul Concert @ HOB 3/27
Got a chance to check out Sean Paul this past Monday at the House of Blues. That is a show that shouldn't be missed. After a preset by one of my favorite local DJ's Noel, Sean Paul hit the stage about 9:30 and didn't let up for the next hour and a half. He claimed he had a broken knee but I've never seen anyone with a broken knee with so much energy!. He performed all his hits from Dutty Rock and Trinity and even went back to some older stuff from Stage One. He kept everyone moving for his entire set and is definitely a show you should check out.
Anthony David @ HOB
The Good Music Series brought an excellent performer out this past weekend, Anthony David . If you haven't heard of him, he writes a lot for Ms. India Arie. And if you haven't heard of him that's unfortunate. Luckily for me through the beauty that is XM Satellite I have heard a few songs from him. Playing an acoustic set reminiscent of Ms. Arie, he played a soulful blues set that I truly enjoyed. In fact I liked it so much I had to go pick up his cd, 3 Chords & The Truth, and I haven't stopped playing it on my IPOD since. Song like Cheatin' Man, Cold Turkey, and Spittin Game are my favorite, but I like the whole vibe of the set. So Pick it up, and better yet, stop in and see this ATLien perform.
Monday, March 13, 2006
Ne-Yo "In My Own Words"
Ne-Yo's album "In My Own Words" is rather impressive, its not that surprising considering he's been in the game for a while, writing for some big name folks, like Mary, Mario, and Faith among others. This is defintely a CD to play when relaxing, especially with your significant other. My favorite tracks are Time, Mirror, and Let Go, the first release "So Sick" is a nice cut also. But this CD is defintely worth picking up. As a surprise he doesn't have too many guest appearances, only Peedi Peedi and Ghostface on the Bonus Cut.
Friday, March 10, 2006
16 Blocks Review
Got a chance to see 16 Blocks this week, starring Bruce Willis and Mos Def . First of all I'm firmly convinced the only hip-hop stars that need to act are Mos, Ice Cube, Will Smith, Latifah, Erykah Badu, and LL. Anyway I thought this was a pretty good movie, but I'd probably rate it a matinee catch. This is how I rate 'em
-Gotta see it the day it comes out
-Matinee Catch
-Wait for the DVD
-Wait for it on Cable
-Wait for it on the USA Network
But the movie moved along very well, Mos Def's voice and incessant talking were a little annoying but I enjoyed the movie and its worth seeing.
Wednesday, March 08, 2006
Common Concert Review
This past weekend (3/4) Cleveland was blessed to have one of the greatest MC's in the game stop through town and perform. After agonizing through 2 plus hours of local acts (the only respite being Mick Boogie DJing in between sets), Common hit the stage around 11:15. As usual Common did his thing, he is definitely a show worth seeing. Holding it down with a drummer, a keyboardist, and of course a DJ he performed a number of hits from Be, the classic I used to love her, and a slick freestyle over "Electric Relaxation" by A Tribe Called Quest. He closed with a dedication to J-Dilla the producer of "The Light". As I've said before there are certain live acts in hip-hop one shouldn't miss and Comm is definitely one of them.
Tuesday, January 17, 2006
Detroit Auto-Show
Went to the Detroit Auto-Show this weekend, it definitely is the nicest of the Auto Shows (like I have been to that many besides Cleveland's). Nothing that new or exciting really. I did get to gaze at my personal two favorites luxury cars - Maybach and Aston Martin. And what's going on with Chrysler. The 300C is commonly called the Baby Bentley, now they have a new concept car which looks like they stole it right off the Bently floor!!
Wednesday, January 04, 2006
Mary J. Blige - The Breakthrough
Mary ain't sad no more, and I'm happy for her. Although My Life is still by far my favorite Mary album, I'm liking this one alot. Baggage is real and I can relate to that one myself. I think Be Without You is my other favorite, but its a great album from the Queen herself......
Happy New Year
Happy New Year Everyone!!
I figured I would list my favorite albums of 2005 (In no particular order)
The Documentary - The Game (Gritty)
Emancipation of Mimi - Mariah Carey (She's baaaack)
Be - Common (The only thing that sucked about this album was it was too short)
Late Registration - Kanye West (Brilliant from start to finish)
The Massacre - 50 Cent (actually the remix edition was better just because of the Outta Control remix)
Unplugged - Alicia Keys (Closest thing to seeing her live)
The Breakthrough - Mary J. Blige (She's the Queen what more can I say)
I figured I would list my favorite albums of 2005 (In no particular order)
The Documentary - The Game (Gritty)
Emancipation of Mimi - Mariah Carey (She's baaaack)
Be - Common (The only thing that sucked about this album was it was too short)
Late Registration - Kanye West (Brilliant from start to finish)
The Massacre - 50 Cent (actually the remix edition was better just because of the Outta Control remix)
Unplugged - Alicia Keys (Closest thing to seeing her live)
The Breakthrough - Mary J. Blige (She's the Queen what more can I say)
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