Some people accuse me of being a morbid person just because I look forward to the Memoriam portion of the Oscar, SAG, and other award show telecasts. I'm hardly morbid, as demonstrated by my avoidance of the obituary section of my local newspaper. I just believe that you should give those who passed away their props.
In line with that belief, I tuned into CBS's Sunday Morning for their yearly Hail and Farewell segment. Per usual, I recorded the segment and I have to say that I appreciated how they handled this year's segment. Sure, Brittany Murphy was missing from the reel, which is somewhat bothersome, but Sunday Morning is pretty good about showing deaths of significant people from various segments of American life and culture, so I won't quibble too much.
Michael Jackson led the retrospective, but the curious thing is that they never mentioned his name. And I'm pretty sure that his segment was the longest, with more clips of him in his glory, from childhood to pre-accusations. They just showed clips of him performing at various ages. And Charles Osgood touched on all aspects of his public life, without getting vulgar or snarky. And his comment 'But when he was gone, we were reminded, once again, at how it all began - with that extraordinary talent', it was absolutely appropriate and consistent with the way Sunday Morning handles their stories and segments.
This is not to say that MJ was singled out for his downturns. During Ted Kennedy's segment, Osgood didn't mention the accident - they used front pages of newspapers/old news clips, and old footage of Kennedy himself addressing the accident. And like with the MJ segment, the description of Kennedy's life and accomplishments ended on a somewhat upbeat note.
Now, they didn't address the embarrassing Oral Roberts incident in which he told his TV viewing audience to send money or God would kill him - and that was fine with me. It was a grotesque thing to do, but like the others, his accomplishments were at the forefront.
And I do think that Paul Harvey had some cringe-worthy moments too, but I think that Sunday Morning wanted to maintain their usual elegance instead of being obnoxious finger pointers.
But back to MJ - they didn't even have to say his name. I'm pretty sure that they said James Brown's name when he passed. And Marvin Gaye. And Gene Kelly. And Fred Astaire. And Sammy Davis Jr. And both Harold and Fayard Nicholas. The not having to say his name treatment is reserved for the higher tier of legends like Chaplin. If it's within his ability, I bet that thought made MJ smile.
Sunday, December 27, 2009
Friday, December 25, 2009
Merry Christmas, Michael!
I realize that, for many years, MJ was conflicted about celebrating Christmas, given that he was raised as a Jehovah Witness, but there were instances when he did celebrate the day. Personally, I'm not a huge celebrator of Christmas either, unless I'm hanging out with my niece or my friends' kids. Children always make Christmas and since I will have to wait another day to see the niece, I wanted to post these MJ videos, mainly because I suspect that he will be on many people's minds today.
First...a cameo appearance in Why, a music video with his nephews, aka 3T. A few weeks ago on Jacksons: A Family Dynasty, 3T, specifically, TJ and Taj were discussing their hesitance to return to the recording studio for their project because that was where they learned of their uncle's death. After seeing how much their uncle's death is immobilizing them, I sought out their music video and I have to say that it's becoming a favorite. Not only were these boys talented, it was evident the affection they had towards their uncle and him them. MJ was totally beaming with pride and it's a beautiful thing to see.
And obviously, while the nieces and nephews are likely having a hard time today, I'm sure that it's worse for Prince, Paris and Blanket. Here's a clip of the final installment of MJ's Private Home Movies, featuring Prince and Paris. Right now, I can't watch it because it makes me too sad.
Here's hoping that those who loved MJ will have more joy and peace than sorrow on this day.
First...a cameo appearance in Why, a music video with his nephews, aka 3T. A few weeks ago on Jacksons: A Family Dynasty, 3T, specifically, TJ and Taj were discussing their hesitance to return to the recording studio for their project because that was where they learned of their uncle's death. After seeing how much their uncle's death is immobilizing them, I sought out their music video and I have to say that it's becoming a favorite. Not only were these boys talented, it was evident the affection they had towards their uncle and him them. MJ was totally beaming with pride and it's a beautiful thing to see.
And obviously, while the nieces and nephews are likely having a hard time today, I'm sure that it's worse for Prince, Paris and Blanket. Here's a clip of the final installment of MJ's Private Home Movies, featuring Prince and Paris. Right now, I can't watch it because it makes me too sad.
Here's hoping that those who loved MJ will have more joy and peace than sorrow on this day.
Thursday, December 24, 2009
An early Christmas gift... from the FBI
So a couple of days ago, the FBI released Michael Jackson's FBI files. Apparently, there were so many requests for copies that the FBI decided to post 300+ pages on their website.
Lucky us... lucky public.
Because, instead of depending on the media to 'interprete' the results, the public can pour through the pages themselves and reach their own conclusions. I did, on Tuesday and Wednesday, and reached this conclusion - MICHAEL JACKSON WAS INNOCENT!!!!!
The FBI found NOTHING!!!!
No kiddie porn was found on any of his 16 computers.
The FBI had to investigate allegations of abuse that weren't made through law enforcement agencies, but through tabloids and overzealous ambitious 'journalists'.
When Jordan Chandler was asked to testify in the Arvizo case, he threatened legal action against Tom Sneddon if he pressed the matter.
Mind you, the thing that killed me about the Chandler part was that he cited that he 'did enough' for the shady DA already. Yeah... 'did enough' as in let Daddy make the allegations and collect a huge paycheck for it'... yeah... that's 'doing enough'.
There were threats made by a Janet Jackson stalker promising to kill MJ if he didn't shell out some cash; dude eventually showed up at the Havenhurst estate and was prompted arrested and jailed.
The two witnesses, MJ's former employees, were pursued for questioning in the Philippines - nothing could be made of their testimonies because with every check they received from the tabloids/tabloid television shows, their stories escalated (read: the lies grew bigger than Babe the Blue Ox).
There were several documents that were duplicated; some were redacted in order to protect the identities of the witnesses, but they were still worth reading, especially if you were a longtime MJ fan. Longtime fans can fill in the redacted spaces for themselves.
As for the media coverage of these files, I am not the least bit surprised that they took a salacious approach to the relevations, although I do marvel at their convenient memories. For example, the Terry George angle. A lot of the media outlets are implying that Terry George had to endure a phone sex call from MJ back in the 70s; but they fail to mention that this dude's account, much like most of the so-called witnesses in the '04 trial, changed, depending on whom he was talking to at the time. Upon MJ's death, he even went as far as making a tribute website to MJ, which is absolutely consistent with someone who was 'violated' by said decedent. And apparently, after the so-called unpleasantness, George continued to call MJ until his parents cut him off because he ran up a huge phone bill. And when he called MJ numerous times collect, MJ didn't accept the calls. Much like Gavin Arvizo, George apparently couldn't quit MJ, even after MJ 'violated' him. Like Arvizo, George acted like a jealous b*tch when MJ distanced himself from him. And like Arvizo, he turned not to law enforcement, but to an outside party (read: the press) to get some sort of satisfaction and maybe even MJ's attention.
Seriously... what is it about MJ that brought out the Alex Forrest b*tch out of men?
At any rate, please, read the FBI files yourselves and don't depend on Inside Edition or Entertainment Tonight to tell you the straight dope. After all, Entertainment Tonight is produced by a former Hard Copy producer - hence, the re-emergence of hackjob whackjob Diane Dimond. An outfit that had no qualms propping up an obviously grief-stricken and thoroughly chemically impaired Anna Nicole Smith in front the cameras months following her son's death, through her attempts to lie about her child's paternity, her death, the Daniellyn paternity/custody fight, etc. This outfit that very nearly aired an alleged Heath Ledger drug tape mere days after his death - until TPTB felt the full measure of HW's wrath aka dozens of high profiled stars/agents threatened to boycott their show and cut off their access to the A-list. And let's not forget about their refusal to recant their 'Angelina gives birth to twin daughters Amelie and Isla' story, in which Mary Hart subsequently challenged Angelina to emerge from doctor-instructed bed rest in order to prove that she hadn't delivered the girls.
Entertainment Tonight, while glossier than Hard Copy, is just Hard Copy in drag. Count on them for glossy interviews; count on them for weekend box office numbers; but DO NOT count on them to interprete legal documents. Read them yourself.
And BTW, ET, the so-called tape that was found by customs... the report didn't say that they wouldn't disclose what was on the tape; the report said that due to it being a fifth generation reproduction, they couldn't definitively determine the contents of the tape. Big fcuking difference, @$$hats!!!!!
MJ was innocent.
And another BTW... isn't it scary how easily your FBI file could be padded, if tabloids were so inclined?
Lucky us... lucky public.
Because, instead of depending on the media to 'interprete' the results, the public can pour through the pages themselves and reach their own conclusions. I did, on Tuesday and Wednesday, and reached this conclusion - MICHAEL JACKSON WAS INNOCENT!!!!!
The FBI found NOTHING!!!!
No kiddie porn was found on any of his 16 computers.
The FBI had to investigate allegations of abuse that weren't made through law enforcement agencies, but through tabloids and overzealous ambitious 'journalists'.
When Jordan Chandler was asked to testify in the Arvizo case, he threatened legal action against Tom Sneddon if he pressed the matter.
Mind you, the thing that killed me about the Chandler part was that he cited that he 'did enough' for the shady DA already. Yeah... 'did enough' as in let Daddy make the allegations and collect a huge paycheck for it'... yeah... that's 'doing enough'.
There were threats made by a Janet Jackson stalker promising to kill MJ if he didn't shell out some cash; dude eventually showed up at the Havenhurst estate and was prompted arrested and jailed.
The two witnesses, MJ's former employees, were pursued for questioning in the Philippines - nothing could be made of their testimonies because with every check they received from the tabloids/tabloid television shows, their stories escalated (read: the lies grew bigger than Babe the Blue Ox).
There were several documents that were duplicated; some were redacted in order to protect the identities of the witnesses, but they were still worth reading, especially if you were a longtime MJ fan. Longtime fans can fill in the redacted spaces for themselves.
As for the media coverage of these files, I am not the least bit surprised that they took a salacious approach to the relevations, although I do marvel at their convenient memories. For example, the Terry George angle. A lot of the media outlets are implying that Terry George had to endure a phone sex call from MJ back in the 70s; but they fail to mention that this dude's account, much like most of the so-called witnesses in the '04 trial, changed, depending on whom he was talking to at the time. Upon MJ's death, he even went as far as making a tribute website to MJ, which is absolutely consistent with someone who was 'violated' by said decedent. And apparently, after the so-called unpleasantness, George continued to call MJ until his parents cut him off because he ran up a huge phone bill. And when he called MJ numerous times collect, MJ didn't accept the calls. Much like Gavin Arvizo, George apparently couldn't quit MJ, even after MJ 'violated' him. Like Arvizo, George acted like a jealous b*tch when MJ distanced himself from him. And like Arvizo, he turned not to law enforcement, but to an outside party (read: the press) to get some sort of satisfaction and maybe even MJ's attention.
Seriously... what is it about MJ that brought out the Alex Forrest b*tch out of men?
At any rate, please, read the FBI files yourselves and don't depend on Inside Edition or Entertainment Tonight to tell you the straight dope. After all, Entertainment Tonight is produced by a former Hard Copy producer - hence, the re-emergence of hackjob whackjob Diane Dimond. An outfit that had no qualms propping up an obviously grief-stricken and thoroughly chemically impaired Anna Nicole Smith in front the cameras months following her son's death, through her attempts to lie about her child's paternity, her death, the Daniellyn paternity/custody fight, etc. This outfit that very nearly aired an alleged Heath Ledger drug tape mere days after his death - until TPTB felt the full measure of HW's wrath aka dozens of high profiled stars/agents threatened to boycott their show and cut off their access to the A-list. And let's not forget about their refusal to recant their 'Angelina gives birth to twin daughters Amelie and Isla' story, in which Mary Hart subsequently challenged Angelina to emerge from doctor-instructed bed rest in order to prove that she hadn't delivered the girls.
Entertainment Tonight, while glossier than Hard Copy, is just Hard Copy in drag. Count on them for glossy interviews; count on them for weekend box office numbers; but DO NOT count on them to interprete legal documents. Read them yourself.
And BTW, ET, the so-called tape that was found by customs... the report didn't say that they wouldn't disclose what was on the tape; the report said that due to it being a fifth generation reproduction, they couldn't definitively determine the contents of the tape. Big fcuking difference, @$$hats!!!!!
MJ was innocent.
And another BTW... isn't it scary how easily your FBI file could be padded, if tabloids were so inclined?
Thursday, December 17, 2009
People Magazine is really pressing its luck!!!
First, they did that ridiculous '6 page spread' regarding the state of the Brad and Angelina's relationship - 6 pages that consisted of 6 pages of photos and six paragraphs of story, which apparently, was put together by 6 or 7 people. Now, they did this.
Bought the year end edition of People Magazine, featuring a lovely picture of Taylor Swift on the cover, along with MJ's pic for the farewell section. I typically buy this issue because of the tributes section - you have to give props to those who have passed.
As I was ringing up the mag, I got a snootful of grinning, preening butterfaced Jennifer Aniston on the back cover. Apparently, People decided to create a section highlighting the best of the decade, and apparently, Jennifer Aniston epitomed 'the best' of the 00's.
Puh-leeze!!!!
Probably the best at milking a nearly five year old breakup/divorce.
The best at milking a B-plus ensemble sitcom, which, again, saw its day five years ago.
The best at fooling princesses into believing that she's actively seeing good husband/father material, with the likes of Vince Vaughn and John Mayer.
She was deemed 'Friend Forever', which could be read as her being considered America's friend - myself, I read it as the b*tch can't play anything except her Friends part. And yet, People had the nerve to say that she's a 'full-blown movie star'.
Come on!!!
Tell me, People... are you all doing this because the b*tch, rightfully so, was omitted from the Most Beautiful list? Or did you make some deal with her camp to exchange her with another horseface, Chelsea Handler, who, strangely enough, decided to be the mouthpiece for the chronicly discontented princesses who are facing year five of the Brad and Angelina relationship, despite their incessant insistence that the relationship is on its last legs?
Crony-ism is pathetic, but People made it all the more pathetic by having Aniston helming a Bonus Section which only spanned 19 pages!!!!
Pretty lame, People, made all the more lame by the fact that this is the b*tch's second time in two years, being the cover for the year end issue. Mind you, I prefer to think of Taylor Swift as the legitimate cover girl of the issue - hell, she even dressed up in ravishing red for the party, whereas People used a typical Aniston in black stock pic.
Because, really, I like thinking that the promise of a new decade is exemplified by Aniston's smiling puss. I mean, we haven't had enough crappy, contrived romantic comedies yet, have we?
Bought the year end edition of People Magazine, featuring a lovely picture of Taylor Swift on the cover, along with MJ's pic for the farewell section. I typically buy this issue because of the tributes section - you have to give props to those who have passed.
As I was ringing up the mag, I got a snootful of grinning, preening butterfaced Jennifer Aniston on the back cover. Apparently, People decided to create a section highlighting the best of the decade, and apparently, Jennifer Aniston epitomed 'the best' of the 00's.
Puh-leeze!!!!
Probably the best at milking a nearly five year old breakup/divorce.
The best at milking a B-plus ensemble sitcom, which, again, saw its day five years ago.
The best at fooling princesses into believing that she's actively seeing good husband/father material, with the likes of Vince Vaughn and John Mayer.
She was deemed 'Friend Forever', which could be read as her being considered America's friend - myself, I read it as the b*tch can't play anything except her Friends part. And yet, People had the nerve to say that she's a 'full-blown movie star'.
Come on!!!
Tell me, People... are you all doing this because the b*tch, rightfully so, was omitted from the Most Beautiful list? Or did you make some deal with her camp to exchange her with another horseface, Chelsea Handler, who, strangely enough, decided to be the mouthpiece for the chronicly discontented princesses who are facing year five of the Brad and Angelina relationship, despite their incessant insistence that the relationship is on its last legs?
Crony-ism is pathetic, but People made it all the more pathetic by having Aniston helming a Bonus Section which only spanned 19 pages!!!!
Pretty lame, People, made all the more lame by the fact that this is the b*tch's second time in two years, being the cover for the year end issue. Mind you, I prefer to think of Taylor Swift as the legitimate cover girl of the issue - hell, she even dressed up in ravishing red for the party, whereas People used a typical Aniston in black stock pic.
Because, really, I like thinking that the promise of a new decade is exemplified by Aniston's smiling puss. I mean, we haven't had enough crappy, contrived romantic comedies yet, have we?
Tuesday, December 15, 2009
Joy Behar apologizes... for why?
Supposedly, The View is a female-oriented show, although it doesn't stop them from dissing and judging other women. Of course, they do hold their tongue when pressed by the higher ups (read: Barbara Walters) as evidenced by their 'cheering on' Barbara Walters after she revealed her 2 year affair with a married Black congressman back in the 70s, and yet, they made a meal out of Angelina Jolie, who was never proven to have had an affair with Brad Pitt. But that's neither here or there - consideration happens. But why is Gloria Allred, of all people, subject to consideration?
Joy Behar made a lame play on words using Rachel Uchitel's name which implied that she was a hooker and Joy was made to apologize.
For why?
Didn't she hire the biggest famewhore lawyer on Earth, Gloria Allred, to broker a deal to receive compensation from a dude who, possibly, occupied the space between her thighs? Because that sounds like something a pimp would do for a ho. And pimps usually get a cut of the take. So why did Joy Behar have to apologize?
And personally, while I would love nothing more than to drop kick that Allred b*tch, I am dying to hear Allred's feminist-tinged spin about this whole issue. I know that there are some feminists who believe that prostitution can be taken back from its misogynist roots and reinterpreted in a feminist way - I want to hear Allred spin this crap, assuming she sticks around. She tends to jump ship about certain issues like the Octomom, when she doesn't stand to profit from it financially or PR wise. And she always seems to back lame horses like Mel B, Hunter Tylo, those Rob Lowe nannies, although the Hunter Tylo case still bugs the hell out of me - that b*tch knew that she couldn't pull off the role that Lisa Rinna eventually got - her pregnancy had nothing to do with anything.
Still, Allred tends to win cases, damn her. And obviously, she used her clout to spay Joy. This b*tch needs to be stopped. She is not GrandMama brokering a deal for Gigi. She's a pimp with a growing stable of skanky b*tches. Yeah... I heard about 40-something #14.
And on that note, I'm going to let Suzanne Sugarbaker voice mine and many other people's sentiments about these big-mouthed skanks who are profiting from being Tiger's hookers.
Joy Behar made a lame play on words using Rachel Uchitel's name which implied that she was a hooker and Joy was made to apologize.
For why?
Didn't she hire the biggest famewhore lawyer on Earth, Gloria Allred, to broker a deal to receive compensation from a dude who, possibly, occupied the space between her thighs? Because that sounds like something a pimp would do for a ho. And pimps usually get a cut of the take. So why did Joy Behar have to apologize?
And personally, while I would love nothing more than to drop kick that Allred b*tch, I am dying to hear Allred's feminist-tinged spin about this whole issue. I know that there are some feminists who believe that prostitution can be taken back from its misogynist roots and reinterpreted in a feminist way - I want to hear Allred spin this crap, assuming she sticks around. She tends to jump ship about certain issues like the Octomom, when she doesn't stand to profit from it financially or PR wise. And she always seems to back lame horses like Mel B, Hunter Tylo, those Rob Lowe nannies, although the Hunter Tylo case still bugs the hell out of me - that b*tch knew that she couldn't pull off the role that Lisa Rinna eventually got - her pregnancy had nothing to do with anything.
Still, Allred tends to win cases, damn her. And obviously, she used her clout to spay Joy. This b*tch needs to be stopped. She is not GrandMama brokering a deal for Gigi. She's a pimp with a growing stable of skanky b*tches. Yeah... I heard about 40-something #14.
And on that note, I'm going to let Suzanne Sugarbaker voice mine and many other people's sentiments about these big-mouthed skanks who are profiting from being Tiger's hookers.
And one more thing...
Jackson 4 and I do realize that you were Michael's brothers, but who the fcuk are you to include his songs on your setlist? And pray tell... who's going to sing MJ's songs - Jermaine?!!!
Of course Jermaine - the one who groused ever single time Michael's songs received any sort of attention and acclaim?!!!
It's already bad enough that the Jackson 4 will be performing J5 songs, which was mainly performed by Michael; now they want to bite from Michael's solo efforts?
And Jermaine possibly performing them? Like he performed Smile at the memorial? I was trying to be respectful but not saying $hit, given that he was performing at his brother's funeral, but some months have passed, so I can say this - Jermaine sucked!
Sucked hard!
Sucked profoundly!
Sucked even worse than his hair!
SUCKED!!!!
So the brothers to take leave of that idea, or possibly face the Michael Jackson curse. Because there really is a Michael Jackson curse going on. We already saw it with the tribute concert getting no bites. We saw how horribly Jermaine's career tanked after the Word to the Badd bull$h*t! Jackie, Tito and Marlon seem cool enough and don't seem to deserve the wrath of the curse - Jermaine, on the other hand, seems to be begging for it.
If the curse obliges, I hope I don't miss it.
Of course Jermaine - the one who groused ever single time Michael's songs received any sort of attention and acclaim?!!!
It's already bad enough that the Jackson 4 will be performing J5 songs, which was mainly performed by Michael; now they want to bite from Michael's solo efforts?
And Jermaine possibly performing them? Like he performed Smile at the memorial? I was trying to be respectful but not saying $hit, given that he was performing at his brother's funeral, but some months have passed, so I can say this - Jermaine sucked!
Sucked hard!
Sucked profoundly!
Sucked even worse than his hair!
SUCKED!!!!
So the brothers to take leave of that idea, or possibly face the Michael Jackson curse. Because there really is a Michael Jackson curse going on. We already saw it with the tribute concert getting no bites. We saw how horribly Jermaine's career tanked after the Word to the Badd bull$h*t! Jackie, Tito and Marlon seem cool enough and don't seem to deserve the wrath of the curse - Jermaine, on the other hand, seems to be begging for it.
If the curse obliges, I hope I don't miss it.
Monday, December 14, 2009
The Jacksons: A Family Dynasty - not quite a review
So I watched some of The Jacksons: A Family Dynasty last night - not because I forgot that it was coming on, but because A & E failed to advertise when the premiere was supposed to start. I knew that it's usual time would be at 10 p.m. Sunday, so that was when I planned to watch. Unfortunately, when I was merely channel-surfing, I realized that A & E started the party early. I didn't see the first episode in full, so I really can't comment too much on it. I did see the part when Jackie's (?) son, Siggy, threw a hissy because his dad and uncles kept bickering while playing B-ball. For me, that was worth seeing and personally, if the show emphasizes on the brothers' relationship with their children, especially if said children shock these mugs out of their tunnel-visioned narcissism, then this show will be worth seeing.
Mind you, the second episode was mainly about the surviving Jackson 5, and frankly, Jackie, Tito and Marlon came across pretty good. Pretty good, only because it is obvious that to them, returning to J5 glory is a quick way to make relatively easy cash. I don't mind the money grab, since it's tempered with the vibe that they aren't that fame-hungry. Jermaine, of course, wants both, or rather, he thinks that he deserves both, despite not putting forth anything resembling a legitimate effort. The best example of this was when he and Tito met with Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis, the two powerhouses responsible for Janet's early music successes. When Jam and Lewis asked Jermaine about what he wanted, in terms of material for the brothers, Jermaine just said 'Hits'!
Hits!
Really?
For me, it reaffirmed several things about Jermaine. First, dude is not interested, whatsoever, in creating anything personal - just profitable. Second, it reminded me of the Word to the Badd debacle, when Jermaine got bent out of shape when the LaFace writers and producers ditched him in order to work with Michael. Yes, writing and producing for Michael would've been a huge feather in their cap, but there was also the fact that Michael was very hands on in the creative process, which was probably why he eventually ditched LaFace when neither he or the writers yielded anything satisfactory. Third, Jermaine is willing to forego a golden opportunity to create something personal and distinctive in favor of expediancy and quick cash and fame. Forth, despite assuming the position as leader of the surviving Jackson 5, he doesn't do anything to facilitate a creative environment for his three brothers, who could fill in the slack while he's showboating.
But enough about Jermaine, although I guffawed when he was crying like a b*tch when 'the brothers left him at Motown' - but again, this is the same dude who had a solo career while with the J5 but threw a hissy fit when Michael eventually left the brothers for his own incomprehensibly successful career. But again, I hope that the show will focus on the so-called future Jackson entertainers, especially if there are some who will deliver some home truths to their fathers. Siggy did it, and surprisingly, Tito's sons, provided some much needed honesty about some issues. Like when they indicated that they wanted to take a rest from making music because they are still grappling with their Uncle Mike's death. Tito heard that they wanted to break up 3T, which wasn't what they said. One of the saddest moments was when Taj said that he heard about his Uncle Mike's death on the news versus getting a call from the family. And clearly, his and his brothers' relationship with their Uncle Mike went beyond him helping them with their debut album. More moments like this will make the show a must see.
Unfortunately, the brothers have a firm vision in mind, but like many things about J5, their ideas are pretty outdated and played out. But I will keep my fingers crossed for surprise nuggets from the grandchildren and great grandchildren.
Mind you, the second episode was mainly about the surviving Jackson 5, and frankly, Jackie, Tito and Marlon came across pretty good. Pretty good, only because it is obvious that to them, returning to J5 glory is a quick way to make relatively easy cash. I don't mind the money grab, since it's tempered with the vibe that they aren't that fame-hungry. Jermaine, of course, wants both, or rather, he thinks that he deserves both, despite not putting forth anything resembling a legitimate effort. The best example of this was when he and Tito met with Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis, the two powerhouses responsible for Janet's early music successes. When Jam and Lewis asked Jermaine about what he wanted, in terms of material for the brothers, Jermaine just said 'Hits'!
Hits!
Really?
For me, it reaffirmed several things about Jermaine. First, dude is not interested, whatsoever, in creating anything personal - just profitable. Second, it reminded me of the Word to the Badd debacle, when Jermaine got bent out of shape when the LaFace writers and producers ditched him in order to work with Michael. Yes, writing and producing for Michael would've been a huge feather in their cap, but there was also the fact that Michael was very hands on in the creative process, which was probably why he eventually ditched LaFace when neither he or the writers yielded anything satisfactory. Third, Jermaine is willing to forego a golden opportunity to create something personal and distinctive in favor of expediancy and quick cash and fame. Forth, despite assuming the position as leader of the surviving Jackson 5, he doesn't do anything to facilitate a creative environment for his three brothers, who could fill in the slack while he's showboating.
But enough about Jermaine, although I guffawed when he was crying like a b*tch when 'the brothers left him at Motown' - but again, this is the same dude who had a solo career while with the J5 but threw a hissy fit when Michael eventually left the brothers for his own incomprehensibly successful career. But again, I hope that the show will focus on the so-called future Jackson entertainers, especially if there are some who will deliver some home truths to their fathers. Siggy did it, and surprisingly, Tito's sons, provided some much needed honesty about some issues. Like when they indicated that they wanted to take a rest from making music because they are still grappling with their Uncle Mike's death. Tito heard that they wanted to break up 3T, which wasn't what they said. One of the saddest moments was when Taj said that he heard about his Uncle Mike's death on the news versus getting a call from the family. And clearly, his and his brothers' relationship with their Uncle Mike went beyond him helping them with their debut album. More moments like this will make the show a must see.
Unfortunately, the brothers have a firm vision in mind, but like many things about J5, their ideas are pretty outdated and played out. But I will keep my fingers crossed for surprise nuggets from the grandchildren and great grandchildren.
Saturday, December 12, 2009
Was Ryan White the reason why?
The Michael Jackson story continues to grip me and refuse to let me go, or rather, I refuse to let it go. I think I can't let it go out of guilt. As a kid, I loved Michael Jackson wholeheartedly and unapologetic, despite the rampant verbal insults towards him and his possible sexual orientation. Those barrages bounced off of me so easily. However, when I became an adult, I seemed to become more cowardly and less intuitive, allowing my opinions to be tainted. It is not to say that I believed the accusations, but I believed that something had to be there in order to warrant the seemingly endless onslaught. And I was well into my feeling sorry for myself because I was molested phase, which was not a fun phase to go through. It was fine that I went through it, especially since I, for the most part, have come through it feeling like my old intuitive self, but it did come at the cost of MJ. I have never met him and was never in a position to meet him, let alone see him in a concert, but good vibes can be felt, especially when it's contrary to the tsunami of negativity he experienced. I regret that I wasn't there to cheer him through his darkest moments, although I'm well-aware that it may have been possible that he would've never felt or knew about it.
Now to the 'journalists' and pundits who made their careers out of MJ's misfortunes, yes, racism could've been a factor in the voraciousness of their stories. Jealousy and envy could be a factor. But I think that looking at what these 'journalists' zero in on can reveal the real story, specifically, they zero in on the Jordan Chandler case of 1993. For these people, that was when Michael Jackson's life began and ended, at least that is what they think. But as an 80s child who watched him during the Thriller/Bad/Dangerous period, there was more going on with him than him counting his money or collecting gold and platinum albums, or receiving humanitarian awards from presidents and other dignitaries. Ryan White happened to him.
Ryan White, for those who wasn't alive during the 80s, was a 12 year old hemophiliac who was given tainted blood, which resulted in him getting AIDS. A Kokomo, Indiana native, he was harassed when he attempted to return to school. Some loving parents decided to pull their children out of school because they feared the danger this boy's condition could pose for their own. Mind you, this was the 80s and a lot was not known about HIV/AIDS, but this disease gave a lot of people permission to act ignorantly. I even remember towns blocking the burials of those who succumbed to the disease, citing that they believed that the disease would seep into the groundwater. The hysteria back then was very reminiscent of the hysteria associated with Obama's attempt at reforming America's health care system, but back then, so-called 'good parents' didn't think twice about stepping all over the rights of a 12 year boy who was trying to return to some normalcy, despite his dire diagnosis.
Many celebrities stepped into the White family's fight, but when Michael Jackson entered into it, it was a game changer. While it wasn't like Michael Jackson was wagging his fingers at the parents who mobilized and tried to re-establish segregation, the fact that Michael Jackson, a Black man who always had his sexuality questioned, publicly befriended a child who had 'the gay disease', I would think that this action made these parents look like bigger fools. Michael Jackson was at the top of his game, and yet, he wasn't scared of being felled by this disease. Not only did he establish a friendship with Ryan and his family, he opened his home to them often and when they invited him into their home, he readily accepted it. Imagine that... a California liberal behaving like the stereotypical Midwesterners, while legitimate Midwesterners acted like cowardly fascists.
When Ryan died, Michael attended the funeral and continued to follow up with Ryan's survivors, especially his mother. He also wrote a tribute song for Ryan, Gone Too Soon, and included it on his Dangerous album. While some would've closed this enlightening, yet emotionally draining chapter of one's life, MJ seemed to be motivated by what happened to Ryan and the Whites and made a concerted effort to make sure that children and families who could feel isolated and ostracized by a paranoid and often ignorant community not feel isolated. So he opened Neverland Ranch wide and allowed various types of children with various kinds of life circumstances to have a temporary escape. And for several years, Neverland Ranch fulfilled Michael's purpose; unfortunately for Michael, he never considered that all families weren't like the White family. It was likely that before Ryan's illness, the Whites were good people, therefore post-diagnosis/prognosis, they remained good people. In addition, they experienced adversity and knew the sting of being let down by their greater community, therefore, an added sense of humanity and empathy may have colored them. Unfortunately for Michael, not every human being is capable of accepting kindnesses and possibly, paying it forward. There are those who are so empty that the accumulation of too much is still not enough. And the same people can't grasp the concept of reciprocity.
Just look at the Chandlers - neither children were sick. Their fathers were self-made men... and yet, nothing MJ did for them was ever enough. Jeanne White invited Michael to stay at her house; Evan Chandler invited Michael to stay at his house - but eventually asked Michael to pony up some dough to build a new wing. Michael hung out with the single parent family headed by Jeanne White at his home or their home; while he hung out at both the Schwartzes and Chandler home, he also footed the bill when still-married June, along with her two children, traveled with him to Monaco. Initially, I'm sure that MJ felt a sense of satisfaction in helping and befriending these people, but what did they ever really give him in return? Lawsuits, negative publicity, and quite likely, a serious case of self-doubt about acts that were supposed to be giving, supportive and loving.
By some miracle, MJ rebounded emotionally, when he decided to help the Arvizos. This time, the family was working class and one of their children was legitimately ill, therefore they would accept his help and support without a nefarious agenda, right? Mind you, the family was a two-parent household -- although later, the father was shoved out due to alleged domestic violence. The family eventually stayed at Neverland; however, Michael was never invited to their home, mainly because the house/apartment was struned with big ticket items conned out of other celebrities. While Michael wasn't present during Ryan's subsequent treatments, he was available or reasonably accessible during Gavin's treatments. Like with Ryan, Michael lavished Gavin and his family with luxuries in hopes of bolstering their spirits. But unlike Ryan, Gavin did recover and returned to his lying larcenous self and got major backup from his family, the DA's office, and the ever-ready band of liars posing as journalists. From there, the perception that Michael Jackson trolled for unsuspecting child meat after sampling Jordan Chandler's began.
For those who lived through the 80s, they know that so-called journalists' time lines regarding MJ's associations with children is shaky at best; however, these journalists and their made up propaganda served another possible purpose - redemption for the American parent. Immediately after MJ's death, many pundit posed the rhetorical question 'Would you allow MJ around your children?' in which they would automatically answer 'No.' And while this exchange totally obliterate the point of rhetorical questions, it does reaffirm the American parent's position that they are good parents because of this particular stance. Maybe taking this stance against MJ now will erase the ignorance that they readily engaged in when it came to Ryan White... right?
Wrong!
Because these journalists, on behalf of these American parents, are setting up more children to be ostracized due to parental ignorance - the Jackson children. Will they get the gentle kid-glove treatment that the reputed Jordan Chandler/Gavin Arvizo liars got? I don't think so. Just look at the 'tact' they demonstrated towards these mourning children - incessant molestation talk, questions about their true paternity, their on-air pleas for possible egg/sperm donors and surrogates to come out of hiding? If this was anyone else besides Michael Jackson, these journalists wouldn't have the cheek to go there and essentially put the whole system of surrogacy and alternative reproductive practices in jeopardy.
Michael Jackson was a rare bird - he was an adult who actually learned something and tried to apply that lesson to the way he lived his life. He learned from Ryan that all children wanted was to be treated fairly and equally - something that Michael was continuously denied during his life and after his passing.
However, there is always hope if astute, free thinking people do some independent investigations instead of depending on the Nancy Graces/Diane Dimonds of the world. These people aren't receptive or intuitive; therefore, they work hard to add more people to their ranks and already, the world is becoming a louder, more detached place.
On the flip side, here's a clip of two dudes who were obviously receptive to MJ's brilliance and created something pretty fabulous in its wake.
Now to the 'journalists' and pundits who made their careers out of MJ's misfortunes, yes, racism could've been a factor in the voraciousness of their stories. Jealousy and envy could be a factor. But I think that looking at what these 'journalists' zero in on can reveal the real story, specifically, they zero in on the Jordan Chandler case of 1993. For these people, that was when Michael Jackson's life began and ended, at least that is what they think. But as an 80s child who watched him during the Thriller/Bad/Dangerous period, there was more going on with him than him counting his money or collecting gold and platinum albums, or receiving humanitarian awards from presidents and other dignitaries. Ryan White happened to him.
Ryan White, for those who wasn't alive during the 80s, was a 12 year old hemophiliac who was given tainted blood, which resulted in him getting AIDS. A Kokomo, Indiana native, he was harassed when he attempted to return to school. Some loving parents decided to pull their children out of school because they feared the danger this boy's condition could pose for their own. Mind you, this was the 80s and a lot was not known about HIV/AIDS, but this disease gave a lot of people permission to act ignorantly. I even remember towns blocking the burials of those who succumbed to the disease, citing that they believed that the disease would seep into the groundwater. The hysteria back then was very reminiscent of the hysteria associated with Obama's attempt at reforming America's health care system, but back then, so-called 'good parents' didn't think twice about stepping all over the rights of a 12 year boy who was trying to return to some normalcy, despite his dire diagnosis.
Many celebrities stepped into the White family's fight, but when Michael Jackson entered into it, it was a game changer. While it wasn't like Michael Jackson was wagging his fingers at the parents who mobilized and tried to re-establish segregation, the fact that Michael Jackson, a Black man who always had his sexuality questioned, publicly befriended a child who had 'the gay disease', I would think that this action made these parents look like bigger fools. Michael Jackson was at the top of his game, and yet, he wasn't scared of being felled by this disease. Not only did he establish a friendship with Ryan and his family, he opened his home to them often and when they invited him into their home, he readily accepted it. Imagine that... a California liberal behaving like the stereotypical Midwesterners, while legitimate Midwesterners acted like cowardly fascists.
When Ryan died, Michael attended the funeral and continued to follow up with Ryan's survivors, especially his mother. He also wrote a tribute song for Ryan, Gone Too Soon, and included it on his Dangerous album. While some would've closed this enlightening, yet emotionally draining chapter of one's life, MJ seemed to be motivated by what happened to Ryan and the Whites and made a concerted effort to make sure that children and families who could feel isolated and ostracized by a paranoid and often ignorant community not feel isolated. So he opened Neverland Ranch wide and allowed various types of children with various kinds of life circumstances to have a temporary escape. And for several years, Neverland Ranch fulfilled Michael's purpose; unfortunately for Michael, he never considered that all families weren't like the White family. It was likely that before Ryan's illness, the Whites were good people, therefore post-diagnosis/prognosis, they remained good people. In addition, they experienced adversity and knew the sting of being let down by their greater community, therefore, an added sense of humanity and empathy may have colored them. Unfortunately for Michael, not every human being is capable of accepting kindnesses and possibly, paying it forward. There are those who are so empty that the accumulation of too much is still not enough. And the same people can't grasp the concept of reciprocity.
Just look at the Chandlers - neither children were sick. Their fathers were self-made men... and yet, nothing MJ did for them was ever enough. Jeanne White invited Michael to stay at her house; Evan Chandler invited Michael to stay at his house - but eventually asked Michael to pony up some dough to build a new wing. Michael hung out with the single parent family headed by Jeanne White at his home or their home; while he hung out at both the Schwartzes and Chandler home, he also footed the bill when still-married June, along with her two children, traveled with him to Monaco. Initially, I'm sure that MJ felt a sense of satisfaction in helping and befriending these people, but what did they ever really give him in return? Lawsuits, negative publicity, and quite likely, a serious case of self-doubt about acts that were supposed to be giving, supportive and loving.
By some miracle, MJ rebounded emotionally, when he decided to help the Arvizos. This time, the family was working class and one of their children was legitimately ill, therefore they would accept his help and support without a nefarious agenda, right? Mind you, the family was a two-parent household -- although later, the father was shoved out due to alleged domestic violence. The family eventually stayed at Neverland; however, Michael was never invited to their home, mainly because the house/apartment was struned with big ticket items conned out of other celebrities. While Michael wasn't present during Ryan's subsequent treatments, he was available or reasonably accessible during Gavin's treatments. Like with Ryan, Michael lavished Gavin and his family with luxuries in hopes of bolstering their spirits. But unlike Ryan, Gavin did recover and returned to his lying larcenous self and got major backup from his family, the DA's office, and the ever-ready band of liars posing as journalists. From there, the perception that Michael Jackson trolled for unsuspecting child meat after sampling Jordan Chandler's began.
For those who lived through the 80s, they know that so-called journalists' time lines regarding MJ's associations with children is shaky at best; however, these journalists and their made up propaganda served another possible purpose - redemption for the American parent. Immediately after MJ's death, many pundit posed the rhetorical question 'Would you allow MJ around your children?' in which they would automatically answer 'No.' And while this exchange totally obliterate the point of rhetorical questions, it does reaffirm the American parent's position that they are good parents because of this particular stance. Maybe taking this stance against MJ now will erase the ignorance that they readily engaged in when it came to Ryan White... right?
Wrong!
Because these journalists, on behalf of these American parents, are setting up more children to be ostracized due to parental ignorance - the Jackson children. Will they get the gentle kid-glove treatment that the reputed Jordan Chandler/Gavin Arvizo liars got? I don't think so. Just look at the 'tact' they demonstrated towards these mourning children - incessant molestation talk, questions about their true paternity, their on-air pleas for possible egg/sperm donors and surrogates to come out of hiding? If this was anyone else besides Michael Jackson, these journalists wouldn't have the cheek to go there and essentially put the whole system of surrogacy and alternative reproductive practices in jeopardy.
Michael Jackson was a rare bird - he was an adult who actually learned something and tried to apply that lesson to the way he lived his life. He learned from Ryan that all children wanted was to be treated fairly and equally - something that Michael was continuously denied during his life and after his passing.
However, there is always hope if astute, free thinking people do some independent investigations instead of depending on the Nancy Graces/Diane Dimonds of the world. These people aren't receptive or intuitive; therefore, they work hard to add more people to their ranks and already, the world is becoming a louder, more detached place.
On the flip side, here's a clip of two dudes who were obviously receptive to MJ's brilliance and created something pretty fabulous in its wake.
Friday, December 11, 2009
The Princess and the Frog - not quite a review
I liked The Princess and the Frog; unfortunately, there are several things that caused me not to love it.
Anika Noni Rose - loved her as Tiana.
Loved the beginning of the film, establishing Tiana's background, especially her relationship with her father.
Loved a couple of the songs.
Loved Louis the alligator.
Loved Loved LOVED Ray the lightning bug. For me, Ray's love for Evangeline saved the movie for me.
However...
Didn't like the majority of Randy Newman's songs. They sounded like his previous efforts from the Toy Story movies, Parenthood, etc. For me, Randy Newman seems incapable (or unwilling) to immerse himself into a film's source material and producing music that enhances it. Quincy Jones can - kinda wished that Disney asked Quincy to lend a hand to this enterprise.
Also, there was a lack of commitment to the story, or rather, the story never seemed to get off the ground. The dialogue between Tiana and Naveen was typical romantic comedy banter, which is not a compliment. I think that Tiana deserved better, in terms of a love interest. The writers did very little to flesh out the Naveen character. He was just handsome and fun-loving - allegedly.
But the biggest crime, IMO, is that despite the animation medium, the writers, producers and TPTB still shrank from depicting interracial romance in an authentic way. Yes, this film took place in the early 20th century Louisiana where miscegnation was illegal, but Disney decided to skim over that historical fact and pressed ahead with a Tiana/Naveen romance. And yes, this is a G-rated movie, but still - where was the heat? Where was the chemistry? Where was the intimacy and mutual understanding? In Up, there was precious little time to establish Ellie and Carl's bond, but it was accomplished rather brilliantly. You mean to tell me that Disney, a studio that reverted back to the time-consuming hand-drawn process, didn't have the time to flesh out these characters' connection?
Again, it's awesome that Disney finally got off the stick regarding representing people of color, but they still have a long way to go. Good story is good story and seriously, being afraid to depict sparks between characters of color is becoming a played out excuse.
Mind you, the film is absolutely gorgeous to look at and that alone makes the film worth seeing.
Anika Noni Rose - loved her as Tiana.
Loved the beginning of the film, establishing Tiana's background, especially her relationship with her father.
Loved a couple of the songs.
Loved Louis the alligator.
Loved Loved LOVED Ray the lightning bug. For me, Ray's love for Evangeline saved the movie for me.
However...
Didn't like the majority of Randy Newman's songs. They sounded like his previous efforts from the Toy Story movies, Parenthood, etc. For me, Randy Newman seems incapable (or unwilling) to immerse himself into a film's source material and producing music that enhances it. Quincy Jones can - kinda wished that Disney asked Quincy to lend a hand to this enterprise.
Also, there was a lack of commitment to the story, or rather, the story never seemed to get off the ground. The dialogue between Tiana and Naveen was typical romantic comedy banter, which is not a compliment. I think that Tiana deserved better, in terms of a love interest. The writers did very little to flesh out the Naveen character. He was just handsome and fun-loving - allegedly.
But the biggest crime, IMO, is that despite the animation medium, the writers, producers and TPTB still shrank from depicting interracial romance in an authentic way. Yes, this film took place in the early 20th century Louisiana where miscegnation was illegal, but Disney decided to skim over that historical fact and pressed ahead with a Tiana/Naveen romance. And yes, this is a G-rated movie, but still - where was the heat? Where was the chemistry? Where was the intimacy and mutual understanding? In Up, there was precious little time to establish Ellie and Carl's bond, but it was accomplished rather brilliantly. You mean to tell me that Disney, a studio that reverted back to the time-consuming hand-drawn process, didn't have the time to flesh out these characters' connection?
Again, it's awesome that Disney finally got off the stick regarding representing people of color, but they still have a long way to go. Good story is good story and seriously, being afraid to depict sparks between characters of color is becoming a played out excuse.
Mind you, the film is absolutely gorgeous to look at and that alone makes the film worth seeing.
Wednesday, December 9, 2009
CBS is getting their NBC on
So now, CBS is getting rid of As The World Turns.
The ax will come down nearly a year to the day that they killed Guiding Light.
So in September 2010, CBS's daytime line up will consist of two Bell soaps - The Young and the Restless and Bold and the Beautiful. While the thought of these two soaps surviving is reassuring, given that they are pretty good, at times, it's still disheartening that CBS can clip two shows that were on-air for a sum total of 120+ years. It just seems cruel and shortsighted, especially when there is a network (NBC) who pulled the same crap back in the 90s and they are still suffering.
Mind you, I haven't watched As The World Turns in years, mainly because I got sick of the incessant Carly and Lily whining. How many times can Jack and Carly and Lily and Holden break up and make up before it becomes contrived? But I have to say that one of my favorite ATWT storyline was when young Will Munson bumped off the biggest whiner, Rose, using antifreeze. I really enjoyed that storyline. I also dug the Emily screwing around with Chris, her sister/daughter's fiance and everything came to a head at the altar. But that whole story was topped off when Hal forgave Emily for the transgression. I also like the storyline involving Jack having amnesia and hooking up with a different Julia than the bat$h*t one of yore; unfortunately, she was whiny too. But for me, the most pointless storyline ever was when Margo and Jessica were at each other's throats over that football player.
I remember watching this show back in the day, specifically, during the day when Meg Ryan portrayed Betsy. You could see her potential even back then. I vaguely remember Marisa Tomei and Julianne Moore, but barely. I think that this was during the time when I went over to NBC, but who knows. I think that ATWT was a little too sophisticated for my childlike mind, although, again, I found Meg Ryan absolutely appealing as an actress.
With the end of ATWT, the ranks among NYC-based soap operas continue to shrink. It's wrong to generalize, but you can definitely tell the NY soaps from the West Coast soaps, in terms of acting. The late Benjamin Hendrickson aka Hal Munson comes to mind. Fantastic character actor whose loss severely damaged the show. I have no idea what else contributed to ATWT's demise; however, yet again, TPTB aren't leading by example. If they don't care about their shows, why should potential audiences invest their time and sentiment to them?
The ax will come down nearly a year to the day that they killed Guiding Light.
So in September 2010, CBS's daytime line up will consist of two Bell soaps - The Young and the Restless and Bold and the Beautiful. While the thought of these two soaps surviving is reassuring, given that they are pretty good, at times, it's still disheartening that CBS can clip two shows that were on-air for a sum total of 120+ years. It just seems cruel and shortsighted, especially when there is a network (NBC) who pulled the same crap back in the 90s and they are still suffering.
Mind you, I haven't watched As The World Turns in years, mainly because I got sick of the incessant Carly and Lily whining. How many times can Jack and Carly and Lily and Holden break up and make up before it becomes contrived? But I have to say that one of my favorite ATWT storyline was when young Will Munson bumped off the biggest whiner, Rose, using antifreeze. I really enjoyed that storyline. I also dug the Emily screwing around with Chris, her sister/daughter's fiance and everything came to a head at the altar. But that whole story was topped off when Hal forgave Emily for the transgression. I also like the storyline involving Jack having amnesia and hooking up with a different Julia than the bat$h*t one of yore; unfortunately, she was whiny too. But for me, the most pointless storyline ever was when Margo and Jessica were at each other's throats over that football player.
I remember watching this show back in the day, specifically, during the day when Meg Ryan portrayed Betsy. You could see her potential even back then. I vaguely remember Marisa Tomei and Julianne Moore, but barely. I think that this was during the time when I went over to NBC, but who knows. I think that ATWT was a little too sophisticated for my childlike mind, although, again, I found Meg Ryan absolutely appealing as an actress.
With the end of ATWT, the ranks among NYC-based soap operas continue to shrink. It's wrong to generalize, but you can definitely tell the NY soaps from the West Coast soaps, in terms of acting. The late Benjamin Hendrickson aka Hal Munson comes to mind. Fantastic character actor whose loss severely damaged the show. I have no idea what else contributed to ATWT's demise; however, yet again, TPTB aren't leading by example. If they don't care about their shows, why should potential audiences invest their time and sentiment to them?
Monday, December 7, 2009
Oh... my... lady parts!!!! - December edition
There are certain circles on the internet who relish in using Michael Jackson as their personal sex toy. Myself, I think it's kinda creepy, not because he is gone, but because of how he would've felt about the graphic details that some women are going into online.
I am a romantic to the core. And I readily admit that I was totally in love with Michael Jackson ever since Rock With You. But my love remained pure - plus my mother didn't explain sex to me, so I had to rely on soap opera sex to fill in some holes and eventually, the Adam and Eve catalogs that practically came through my college dormitory walls. Even then, I couldn't bear using MJ in that way. Even while trolling through You Tube and finding tribute videos centering on the gold pants he rocked during the HIStory tour, I couldn't go there, although seeing him move around in those gold pants looked all kinds of right. Anyway, while looking at old clips of him in concert can be stimulating, there is something about MJ in the short film "Ghosts".
The super white T-shirt... check.
The somewhat baggy pants that accentuated his long lean legs and pert dancer's butt... check.
The spats... check.
The flowing hair... check.
The beautiful dark brown eyes... check.
And most importantly, that phenomenal mouth of his. For me, MJ had the sexiest mouth in rock and roll. Fcuk Elvis, Mick Jaggar, Stephen Tyler, and Dave Grohl. Watching MJ sing, or talk, or emote, or scream, or whatever his dear heart wanted his mouth to do. I'm telling ya... that mouth does more for me than seeing bare naked male junk.
Here's a piece of Ghosts featuring the song 2Bad. His mouth, along with his dancing, and dude was pushing 40...
Oh...
my...
lady parts!!!!
I am a romantic to the core. And I readily admit that I was totally in love with Michael Jackson ever since Rock With You. But my love remained pure - plus my mother didn't explain sex to me, so I had to rely on soap opera sex to fill in some holes and eventually, the Adam and Eve catalogs that practically came through my college dormitory walls. Even then, I couldn't bear using MJ in that way. Even while trolling through You Tube and finding tribute videos centering on the gold pants he rocked during the HIStory tour, I couldn't go there, although seeing him move around in those gold pants looked all kinds of right. Anyway, while looking at old clips of him in concert can be stimulating, there is something about MJ in the short film "Ghosts".
The super white T-shirt... check.
The somewhat baggy pants that accentuated his long lean legs and pert dancer's butt... check.
The spats... check.
The flowing hair... check.
The beautiful dark brown eyes... check.
And most importantly, that phenomenal mouth of his. For me, MJ had the sexiest mouth in rock and roll. Fcuk Elvis, Mick Jaggar, Stephen Tyler, and Dave Grohl. Watching MJ sing, or talk, or emote, or scream, or whatever his dear heart wanted his mouth to do. I'm telling ya... that mouth does more for me than seeing bare naked male junk.
Here's a piece of Ghosts featuring the song 2Bad. His mouth, along with his dancing, and dude was pushing 40...
Oh...
my...
lady parts!!!!
Sunday, December 6, 2009
Clowning crosses the color line
By now, everyone knows that Tiger Woods is a big fat cheater. And while adultery should be a big deal, unilaterally, it seems that Tiger's infidelity has taken on global proportions, not because of the number of women he screwed around with (although the number continues to grow), but because, yet again, the majority population is disappointed whenever the anointed Negro of the moment reveals himself to be human. Mind you, the level of Tiger's proliferance when it came to banging cheap, loose-lipped skanks within a relatively brief period of time can be characterized by some as superhuman and subhuman at the same time. However, the focus of this post will not be Tiger, or gloating about how the squeaky clean image that the majority loves minorities to emulate is just in the crap heap, or whether, yet again, the press is in love with reporting and encouraging the self-indulgent meanderings about 'how disappointed' some people are with Tiger; my focus will be on Elin... you know, the wife of Tiger and the mother of his two toddler-aged children.
This will not be a poor Elin post because seriously, the last thing that celebrity pop culture needs is another wronged wife role model, which Jennifer Aniston has milked to great effect over the last five years. Elin doesn't need to be saddled with that tired, passive label. Elin doesn't need the princesses to pile on their self-perceived persecution complexes onto her situation.
Why?
Because she acted like any other woman who cranked out her husband's kids only to find out he's been fcuking other women and paying them - with gifts - during her pregnancies and before and after.
She clowned.
She clowned like a muthafcuka!
As well she should have.
As I explained in the Brandi Cibrian posts, once a wife becomes a mother, the game changes completely. She will not take her husband's infidelities in stride. Actually, only in Hollywood and in various monarchies are women expected to look the other way. Fortunately, Elin didn't get that memo and really fortunately, for Tiger, Elin is sending him a very clear message. It's ridiculous that he didn't know not to fcuk around with his wife's feelings like that, but I suspect that his lessons regarding disrespecting the mother of his childrens are not over. Clearly, he is not used to dealing with women - banging partners with breasts are more likely the type he's used to dealing with. Judging her modeling pics, Elin certainly looked the part. And most certainly, the fact that she was from Sweden, the world capital of buxom blonde bombshells, as evidenced by the totally contrived Swedish Bikini Team of the late 90s, added to the Tiger lore.
However, Tiger neglected to consider that this Swedish buxom blonde bombshell's heart beats much like every other woman on planet Earth who don't live in HW or within a monarchy. The only real difference between women of different races and economic circumstances is the length of their fuse. IMO, I think that male athletes, especially those of color, stupidly assumed that White women didn't have any fuses at all or rather that women of their own race have fuses that are too short.
Male athletes of color will continue to compartmentalize women based on race, but we women need to smarten up. As proven by Brandi Cibrian, those women who glued their cheating boyfriend's penis to his stomach, and now Elin Woods, the race of the cheated on is a variable, whereas the arrogance and ignorance of the cheater is fixed. Unfortunately, athletes have the arrogance and ignorance instilled in them by all who stand to profit from their successes. The wives, usually among their top enablers, are getting wise to the fact that no amount of money and fame can guarantee mental and emotional security. The act of clowning, however undignified, releases pent up frustrations and quite frankly, scares the $h*t out of the chronic cheater... if the woman does it right.
Swinging a golf club at a moving SUV, with hubby at the wheel, was the right way.
This will not be a poor Elin post because seriously, the last thing that celebrity pop culture needs is another wronged wife role model, which Jennifer Aniston has milked to great effect over the last five years. Elin doesn't need to be saddled with that tired, passive label. Elin doesn't need the princesses to pile on their self-perceived persecution complexes onto her situation.
Why?
Because she acted like any other woman who cranked out her husband's kids only to find out he's been fcuking other women and paying them - with gifts - during her pregnancies and before and after.
She clowned.
She clowned like a muthafcuka!
As well she should have.
As I explained in the Brandi Cibrian posts, once a wife becomes a mother, the game changes completely. She will not take her husband's infidelities in stride. Actually, only in Hollywood and in various monarchies are women expected to look the other way. Fortunately, Elin didn't get that memo and really fortunately, for Tiger, Elin is sending him a very clear message. It's ridiculous that he didn't know not to fcuk around with his wife's feelings like that, but I suspect that his lessons regarding disrespecting the mother of his childrens are not over. Clearly, he is not used to dealing with women - banging partners with breasts are more likely the type he's used to dealing with. Judging her modeling pics, Elin certainly looked the part. And most certainly, the fact that she was from Sweden, the world capital of buxom blonde bombshells, as evidenced by the totally contrived Swedish Bikini Team of the late 90s, added to the Tiger lore.
However, Tiger neglected to consider that this Swedish buxom blonde bombshell's heart beats much like every other woman on planet Earth who don't live in HW or within a monarchy. The only real difference between women of different races and economic circumstances is the length of their fuse. IMO, I think that male athletes, especially those of color, stupidly assumed that White women didn't have any fuses at all or rather that women of their own race have fuses that are too short.
Male athletes of color will continue to compartmentalize women based on race, but we women need to smarten up. As proven by Brandi Cibrian, those women who glued their cheating boyfriend's penis to his stomach, and now Elin Woods, the race of the cheated on is a variable, whereas the arrogance and ignorance of the cheater is fixed. Unfortunately, athletes have the arrogance and ignorance instilled in them by all who stand to profit from their successes. The wives, usually among their top enablers, are getting wise to the fact that no amount of money and fame can guarantee mental and emotional security. The act of clowning, however undignified, releases pent up frustrations and quite frankly, scares the $h*t out of the chronic cheater... if the woman does it right.
Swinging a golf club at a moving SUV, with hubby at the wheel, was the right way.
Tuesday, December 1, 2009
I hope Tiger keeps it closed!!!
Not just his zipper (allegedly), but his mouth.
Don't know if Tiger cheated. Don't know if Elin swung that club out of anger or out of necessity, in order to 'rescue' Tiger, although knocking out the back window in order to rescue someone in the driver's seat seems off. But what I do know is that the gathering press outside of Tiger's estate isn't interested in an explanation; they want an apology, or as they see it, an 'in' into Tiger's personal life.
Maybe I'm being hypersensitive, given that I spent the majority of my Thanksgiving vacation on Jetzi-MJVideo, reading MJ books about both molestation allegations (BTW, dude got hosed big time!), but in many ways, Tiger is in the same spot MJ was in '93. A lot of people are depending on him to protect his brand and there are even more waiting to profit from his downfall. So despite the likes of Ken Sunshine saying that he needs to spill more, I hope he doesn't. Seriously, why should he? This accident happened on his property. The hydrant may be munipal property, but given that he wasn't legally drunk when he damaged it, he should just get a ticket.
And talking to the cops... please. I'm sure that the Rhianna assault pics ring a bell to many - sold to TMZ by a pair of cops. Or the Sarah Jessica Parker surrogate scandal, where police chiefs crossed the line trying to dig up dirt for the tabs. Or MJ, who was dealt the full measure of the LA cops, who inevitably came up with nothing regarding molestations. They were hardly Benson and Stabler, but since the majority population are too scared to diss the cops, they continue to possess undeserved credibility.
So keep it shut, Tiger. It's been 16 years since MJ's initial dealings with the cops and the cops have gotten worse. Know your rights and exercise them to the hilt!!!
Don't know if Tiger cheated. Don't know if Elin swung that club out of anger or out of necessity, in order to 'rescue' Tiger, although knocking out the back window in order to rescue someone in the driver's seat seems off. But what I do know is that the gathering press outside of Tiger's estate isn't interested in an explanation; they want an apology, or as they see it, an 'in' into Tiger's personal life.
Maybe I'm being hypersensitive, given that I spent the majority of my Thanksgiving vacation on Jetzi-MJVideo, reading MJ books about both molestation allegations (BTW, dude got hosed big time!), but in many ways, Tiger is in the same spot MJ was in '93. A lot of people are depending on him to protect his brand and there are even more waiting to profit from his downfall. So despite the likes of Ken Sunshine saying that he needs to spill more, I hope he doesn't. Seriously, why should he? This accident happened on his property. The hydrant may be munipal property, but given that he wasn't legally drunk when he damaged it, he should just get a ticket.
And talking to the cops... please. I'm sure that the Rhianna assault pics ring a bell to many - sold to TMZ by a pair of cops. Or the Sarah Jessica Parker surrogate scandal, where police chiefs crossed the line trying to dig up dirt for the tabs. Or MJ, who was dealt the full measure of the LA cops, who inevitably came up with nothing regarding molestations. They were hardly Benson and Stabler, but since the majority population are too scared to diss the cops, they continue to possess undeserved credibility.
So keep it shut, Tiger. It's been 16 years since MJ's initial dealings with the cops and the cops have gotten worse. Know your rights and exercise them to the hilt!!!
Monday, November 23, 2009
Evan's dead!!! Yeah... that's what I said!
Don't misconstrue the title as a gloat, because I am honestly not. The fact remains that the news of his death made barely a splash, especially compared to the splash he made back in the early 90s. But the tabloid press tried its best to elicit tears for this man... lamenting about how 'tortured and harassed' he was by Michael Jackson fans. Some tabloids tried to paint a smile on Chandler's so-called plight, stating that despite his numerous plastic surgeries, he looked like a more gorgeous Rob Lowe.
So looking like Rob Lowe is compensation for a tortured life... of luxury, huh?
And BTW, if dude felt that hunted, then why the hell would he get plastic surgery to look like a famous dude? And not only an average famous dude, but Rob Lowe, who had a bit of underaged sex controversy back in the late 80s. Little things like complete obliviousness towards the far-reaching ramifications of sexual abuse, whether it's male/female, female/female, or male/male, is why I don't but the allegations. When something like that happens to you or a close loved one, one becomes hypersensitive towards anything that could make all involved revisit those memories.
Hence... why was it necessary for the Chandlers, who experienced luxury when they were involved with MJ, opt to use settlement money to ensconce themselves in similar surroundings where their child was allegedly sexually exploited?
This, along with the 2006 restraining order requested by Jordan, just smells.
So looking like Rob Lowe is compensation for a tortured life... of luxury, huh?
And BTW, if dude felt that hunted, then why the hell would he get plastic surgery to look like a famous dude? And not only an average famous dude, but Rob Lowe, who had a bit of underaged sex controversy back in the late 80s. Little things like complete obliviousness towards the far-reaching ramifications of sexual abuse, whether it's male/female, female/female, or male/male, is why I don't but the allegations. When something like that happens to you or a close loved one, one becomes hypersensitive towards anything that could make all involved revisit those memories.
Hence... why was it necessary for the Chandlers, who experienced luxury when they were involved with MJ, opt to use settlement money to ensconce themselves in similar surroundings where their child was allegedly sexually exploited?
This, along with the 2006 restraining order requested by Jordan, just smells.
Sunday, November 22, 2009
Speaking of receptive audiences...
Last Sunday, I saw MJ's TII for the fourth time. I figured that I would get one more viewing out of it before the New Moon crowds invade the theaters. I enjoyed it, like I knew I would. What I didn't expect was for one of my buds to suggest that we should see TII.
For the last few months or so, me and my friend, K, would go to the local theater to watch classic movies. When TII came out, I saw it on Wednesday and me and K planned to see The Birds on the following Thursday. After The Birds, she asked me how TII was and I was pretty honest with her - I told her that I was profoundly sad because the movie reminded me of what a life force MJ was and now, he's gone. I also told her that, despite feeling profoundly sad, I was likely to see it again. And I did... on that Friday, and on the following Sunday.
Three times, during a five day period. As I mentioned before, I felt happier with each additional screening because I realized how blessed I was to be alive to see MJ's unquestionable greatness. So last Sunday... saw it for the fourth time and thought I saw if for the last time... until I talked to K about the upcoming classic holiday movies festival. But she sort of surprised me by suggesting that we see TII later that week. Apparently, she wasn't a MJ fan, in that she never bought any of his albums, although she readily admitted that she enjoyed his music whenever it was on the radio. Apparently, she bought the TII album and was impressed by it and wanted to see the movie.
So we ended up seeing it last Wednesday and I have to say, it was a much funner time than before. K is slightly older than me - she was likely in her 20s when MJ broke huge with Thriller - but she didn't have that youthful obsessiveness that my 10 year old behind had, so she missed out on the videos, the commercials, and the short films. So she was awestruck by the re-imagining of some of his best videos like Thriller and Smooth Criminal. But most importantly, she was kinda charmed and touched by him, a feeling that came over me during my first viewing of TII, which was one of the reasons why I became pretty depressed.
We had a pretty good time, but beyond seeing MJ's amazingness during the last weeks/months of his life, I saw the amazingness of my friend, K. While I shouldn't have been surprised by her, given that she's one of the most giving, helpful, loving and open people I have ever met, I guess that I just needed a reminder of that.
In a few weeks, we're going to see Meet Me In St. Louis, one of my all-time favorite movies. K has never seen it before - what a treat it will be for the both of us, especially if K continues to be receptive and enthusiastic towards new experiences, which seems to be a given.
For the last few months or so, me and my friend, K, would go to the local theater to watch classic movies. When TII came out, I saw it on Wednesday and me and K planned to see The Birds on the following Thursday. After The Birds, she asked me how TII was and I was pretty honest with her - I told her that I was profoundly sad because the movie reminded me of what a life force MJ was and now, he's gone. I also told her that, despite feeling profoundly sad, I was likely to see it again. And I did... on that Friday, and on the following Sunday.
Three times, during a five day period. As I mentioned before, I felt happier with each additional screening because I realized how blessed I was to be alive to see MJ's unquestionable greatness. So last Sunday... saw it for the fourth time and thought I saw if for the last time... until I talked to K about the upcoming classic holiday movies festival. But she sort of surprised me by suggesting that we see TII later that week. Apparently, she wasn't a MJ fan, in that she never bought any of his albums, although she readily admitted that she enjoyed his music whenever it was on the radio. Apparently, she bought the TII album and was impressed by it and wanted to see the movie.
So we ended up seeing it last Wednesday and I have to say, it was a much funner time than before. K is slightly older than me - she was likely in her 20s when MJ broke huge with Thriller - but she didn't have that youthful obsessiveness that my 10 year old behind had, so she missed out on the videos, the commercials, and the short films. So she was awestruck by the re-imagining of some of his best videos like Thriller and Smooth Criminal. But most importantly, she was kinda charmed and touched by him, a feeling that came over me during my first viewing of TII, which was one of the reasons why I became pretty depressed.
We had a pretty good time, but beyond seeing MJ's amazingness during the last weeks/months of his life, I saw the amazingness of my friend, K. While I shouldn't have been surprised by her, given that she's one of the most giving, helpful, loving and open people I have ever met, I guess that I just needed a reminder of that.
In a few weeks, we're going to see Meet Me In St. Louis, one of my all-time favorite movies. K has never seen it before - what a treat it will be for the both of us, especially if K continues to be receptive and enthusiastic towards new experiences, which seems to be a given.
My grousing cubicle neighbor
My job doesn't suck - it's just boring as hell. And add to it that I am sat at my desk for damn near 9 hours, looking at my computer monitor, collating piles upon piles of paper and, occasionally, getting up and filing said piles of the collated papers in vinyl folders. It's really, really boring, although I am grateful to have the gig. However, I got some unexpected entertainment on Friday from my cubicle neighbor.
He's 20-something, rather nice-looking, and kinda quiet... well, he was quiet until the New Moon frenzy hit a fever pitch here. Actually, the fever pitch is everywhere and although there were some women at work who talked about seeing it, their enthusiasm was hardly typical Twihardian. Which makes me wonder why dude was so annoyed. While filing the vinyls, I heard him talking to my other cube neighbor, a 30-something dude, about how he had a bud who works at a movie theater and gets him in to see preview screenings of movies. Apparently, he refused to see a prescreening of New Moon and was apparently offended that said bud even suggested it. Then they lamented about The Dark Knight and I prompted returned to my desk and to my waiting headphones.
Then on Friday, despite wearing my headphones and being deep in concentration, I heard him proclaim 'I HATE TWILIGHT!!!!' Maybe he wasn't talking to himself; maybe he was on his cell, or the person he was talking to made a quiet and hasty exit down the windowed aisleway next to his cube, but IMO, I think he was all alone. And I ended up laughing my @$$ off. Because it was so random.
But I do get what he was saying. He's 20-something; he will probably have to see this movie. Whether it's with female members of his family during the Thanksgiving weekend, or whether he has a girlfriend who is dying to see, he will likely have to see it too. Or worse... he may be a playa and know his demographic and will have to see it many, many times... dude will have to see it.
Myself... I don't have to see it. Why? Because I'm not a Twihard. And even better, I'm not a Twihard mom, although I'm around their age. I get the vampire thing, to a degree - the danger, the tension of whether you're going to feel either a hot dude's breath or fangs on your neck. I understand that; however, that doesn't compel me to see New Moon. The reason why I refuse to give the Twilight franchise a chance is the triangle. I HATE LOVE TRIANGLES!!!! I hate them because usually, the person in the middle, is totally not worth all of the trouble. And he/she already knows who she wants but he, but mainly, she, is too much of a chicken$h*t to close the deal. Already, I feel sorry for Jacob because he is the neutered, eunich friend who has his cap set for a chick obsessed with Broody McBroodenstein. I'm sorry, but life is already full of romantic disappointments, especially for those who, for the most part, have their $h*t together; why the hell would I want to see some good dude get his heart stomped on? And seeing that $h*t get stretched out for 4 movies? Ah... hell naw!!!
My hope is that my cube neighbor will manage to navigate out of the New Moon waters; however, with New Moon making 72M on it's opening day, it looks like this flick will be in the theaters for a while and more sequels will be on the way. And my most ardent hope is that Twilight haters will stay out these movies and not ruin it for the fans. There's nothing worse than seeing a movie among a non-receptive audience - they chase the fun out of it.
He's 20-something, rather nice-looking, and kinda quiet... well, he was quiet until the New Moon frenzy hit a fever pitch here. Actually, the fever pitch is everywhere and although there were some women at work who talked about seeing it, their enthusiasm was hardly typical Twihardian. Which makes me wonder why dude was so annoyed. While filing the vinyls, I heard him talking to my other cube neighbor, a 30-something dude, about how he had a bud who works at a movie theater and gets him in to see preview screenings of movies. Apparently, he refused to see a prescreening of New Moon and was apparently offended that said bud even suggested it. Then they lamented about The Dark Knight and I prompted returned to my desk and to my waiting headphones.
Then on Friday, despite wearing my headphones and being deep in concentration, I heard him proclaim 'I HATE TWILIGHT!!!!' Maybe he wasn't talking to himself; maybe he was on his cell, or the person he was talking to made a quiet and hasty exit down the windowed aisleway next to his cube, but IMO, I think he was all alone. And I ended up laughing my @$$ off. Because it was so random.
But I do get what he was saying. He's 20-something; he will probably have to see this movie. Whether it's with female members of his family during the Thanksgiving weekend, or whether he has a girlfriend who is dying to see, he will likely have to see it too. Or worse... he may be a playa and know his demographic and will have to see it many, many times... dude will have to see it.
Myself... I don't have to see it. Why? Because I'm not a Twihard. And even better, I'm not a Twihard mom, although I'm around their age. I get the vampire thing, to a degree - the danger, the tension of whether you're going to feel either a hot dude's breath or fangs on your neck. I understand that; however, that doesn't compel me to see New Moon. The reason why I refuse to give the Twilight franchise a chance is the triangle. I HATE LOVE TRIANGLES!!!! I hate them because usually, the person in the middle, is totally not worth all of the trouble. And he/she already knows who she wants but he, but mainly, she, is too much of a chicken$h*t to close the deal. Already, I feel sorry for Jacob because he is the neutered, eunich friend who has his cap set for a chick obsessed with Broody McBroodenstein. I'm sorry, but life is already full of romantic disappointments, especially for those who, for the most part, have their $h*t together; why the hell would I want to see some good dude get his heart stomped on? And seeing that $h*t get stretched out for 4 movies? Ah... hell naw!!!
My hope is that my cube neighbor will manage to navigate out of the New Moon waters; however, with New Moon making 72M on it's opening day, it looks like this flick will be in the theaters for a while and more sequels will be on the way. And my most ardent hope is that Twilight haters will stay out these movies and not ruin it for the fans. There's nothing worse than seeing a movie among a non-receptive audience - they chase the fun out of it.
Sunday, November 15, 2009
Reflections on Michael Jackson's This Is It
Just returned from my fourth viewing of This Is It. For some reason, I can't stop myself from watching this movie, much less discussing it on IMDB. It's becoming a fixation much like my obsession with Benjamin Button earlier this year, although, surprisingly, the TII discussions are less combatitive than TCCOBB. Maybe it's the fact that the vast majority of the IMDB posters could see that MJ's talents were indisputable and not subject to interpretation.
I know that whenever I watch TII, I am struck by the fact that I am watching someone who was destined to be on stage, unlike some who manage to marry, plastic surgery or Superhead themselves into the public discourse. Michael Jackson, more than anyone, proved that he was more than deserving of the attention and love his fans lavished on him. In this film, although it was rehearsal footage, he took the process and the results very seriously. You think of all of the efforts that tabloid reporters and correspondents made during the wake of his death to resurrect the molestation accusations, despite his acquittal, and his prescription drug abuse history and doctor shopping accusations and you watch TII and wonder WTF!
Given how the tabloid press laid out his drug issues, lung problems, money problems, etc., you would've thought that he would've been a feening, desperate, testy mess, but dude was an absolute professional. And he seemed to thrive on the possibilities of making an excellent show for his fans. He derived joy from the creative collaborative process and it was satisfying, as a fan, to know this, given how many, including shady members of his family, attempted to persuade the public that he was a hostage to the TII concerts.
I think that a lot of MJ fans, including myself, feel some sense of vindication because, for years, the entertainment media has opted to insert themselves into the stories instead of merely reporting them. Some of these 'journalists' or 'editors' were failed entertainers, although their pasts are never mentioned, despite the possibility that their perspectives may be biased due to these failures. Lately, a lot of the inaccurate information that these 'journalists' relayed to an oblivious public has come back to bite them in the butt; unfortunately, their comeuppances aren't as grand and splashy as their initial, inaccurate, and downright vindictive special reports and scoops. However, it was gratifying to see that Tom O'Neil's gloating about the opening box office being low due to the lack of trainwreck behavior was wrong, when the intial b.o. take was off by nearly $5M. It's gratifying seeing the usual peanut gallery on Issues with Jane Velez Mitchell gob-smacked about how energetic and engaged MJ seemed - kinda put a kibosh on JVM's incessant shilling of her addictions memoir. And most importantly, Diane Dimond seemed to have been reassigned to living up the cracks of the likes of Jon Gosselin and Levi Johnston - quite a comedown for an 'investigative reporter' who had the most spotlight of her whole pathetic career during her MJ torpedoing days.
My hopes for MJ's legacy remains the same - his kids should get the majority of his fortune; his name will be cleared, unequivocally; and those who knowingly participated in defaming him and defrauding the public by relaying very bad and slanderous misinformation will experience the same kind of public humiliation as he did. It continues to make no sense that these people continue to get gigs when there is no attempt to do a good job or honor any journalistic standards. It's ridiculous that a deceased pop star's concert rehearsals are expected to be precise and clean, and yet, those in charge of informing the public are allowed to be routinely sloppy.
I know that whenever I watch TII, I am struck by the fact that I am watching someone who was destined to be on stage, unlike some who manage to marry, plastic surgery or Superhead themselves into the public discourse. Michael Jackson, more than anyone, proved that he was more than deserving of the attention and love his fans lavished on him. In this film, although it was rehearsal footage, he took the process and the results very seriously. You think of all of the efforts that tabloid reporters and correspondents made during the wake of his death to resurrect the molestation accusations, despite his acquittal, and his prescription drug abuse history and doctor shopping accusations and you watch TII and wonder WTF!
Given how the tabloid press laid out his drug issues, lung problems, money problems, etc., you would've thought that he would've been a feening, desperate, testy mess, but dude was an absolute professional. And he seemed to thrive on the possibilities of making an excellent show for his fans. He derived joy from the creative collaborative process and it was satisfying, as a fan, to know this, given how many, including shady members of his family, attempted to persuade the public that he was a hostage to the TII concerts.
I think that a lot of MJ fans, including myself, feel some sense of vindication because, for years, the entertainment media has opted to insert themselves into the stories instead of merely reporting them. Some of these 'journalists' or 'editors' were failed entertainers, although their pasts are never mentioned, despite the possibility that their perspectives may be biased due to these failures. Lately, a lot of the inaccurate information that these 'journalists' relayed to an oblivious public has come back to bite them in the butt; unfortunately, their comeuppances aren't as grand and splashy as their initial, inaccurate, and downright vindictive special reports and scoops. However, it was gratifying to see that Tom O'Neil's gloating about the opening box office being low due to the lack of trainwreck behavior was wrong, when the intial b.o. take was off by nearly $5M. It's gratifying seeing the usual peanut gallery on Issues with Jane Velez Mitchell gob-smacked about how energetic and engaged MJ seemed - kinda put a kibosh on JVM's incessant shilling of her addictions memoir. And most importantly, Diane Dimond seemed to have been reassigned to living up the cracks of the likes of Jon Gosselin and Levi Johnston - quite a comedown for an 'investigative reporter' who had the most spotlight of her whole pathetic career during her MJ torpedoing days.
My hopes for MJ's legacy remains the same - his kids should get the majority of his fortune; his name will be cleared, unequivocally; and those who knowingly participated in defaming him and defrauding the public by relaying very bad and slanderous misinformation will experience the same kind of public humiliation as he did. It continues to make no sense that these people continue to get gigs when there is no attempt to do a good job or honor any journalistic standards. It's ridiculous that a deceased pop star's concert rehearsals are expected to be precise and clean, and yet, those in charge of informing the public are allowed to be routinely sloppy.
Wednesday, November 11, 2009
Some MJ funniness
After Dr. Arnie Klein's attempt to deflect attention from his possibly illegal and unethical medical practices, I decided to calm the h*ll down by lurking on You Tube; and fortunately, not only was I cheered up, I found some comic gold. The following are funny bits straight from MJ himself. Most of them were personal home movies, outtakes from the Bashir interview, or behind the scenes clips from his video shoots. For me, these bits are not only funny, but very revealing of the man whom many have taken great pains to disparage and trash just so they could save their own @$$es. What was revealed was a guileless person who didn't mind being the butt of a joke, as long as it was only a joke, not a character assassination.
Also, it should be noted that there is an absence of an alpha dog mentality - if anything, while off-stage, MJ seemed to defer to others like Chris Tucker and Macauley Culkin. More than anything, MJ's disposition reminded me of that kid in elementary school who wasn't the class clown, but had the whole class laughing nonetheless because he was completely clueless about how he came across, especially when it came to the things he said. Childlike honesty and complete obliviousness in the wake of it is always funny; essentially, MJ had a Ralph Wiggum quality to him, except that he was older, smarter, and thinner.
So here goes...
Part 1
Personally, I found MJ's enjoyment and amusement towards small things very funny, especially towards the end when a fan tried to get his attention during a motorcade.
Part 2
Among the funniest parts was the bit when the director/videographer 'encouraged' MJ to be more tactful when it came to discussing touring, despite the fact the MJ, very articulately, outlined his feelings about touring. Unfortunately, MJ interpreted the request as ' please lie' which he did to humorous effect. The hand gesture was what put me over the top - it was like an exclamation point or something.
Part 3
A trip to the grocery store was among my favorite part of this clip. It must've been surreal for the customer to see MJ there. And the musak version of Billie Jean - OMG!
There are other fantastic highlights among these clips; unfortunately, I can't remember which clips contains the specific bits. But the Salvation Army discussion was a Ralph Wiggum moment if ever I saw one. And Prince Michael exemplified the childlike honesty and complete obliviousness that characterized his father. More than anything, it was enjoyable to see that MJ had some fun and a sense of humor about himself.
Also, it should be noted that there is an absence of an alpha dog mentality - if anything, while off-stage, MJ seemed to defer to others like Chris Tucker and Macauley Culkin. More than anything, MJ's disposition reminded me of that kid in elementary school who wasn't the class clown, but had the whole class laughing nonetheless because he was completely clueless about how he came across, especially when it came to the things he said. Childlike honesty and complete obliviousness in the wake of it is always funny; essentially, MJ had a Ralph Wiggum quality to him, except that he was older, smarter, and thinner.
So here goes...
Part 1
Personally, I found MJ's enjoyment and amusement towards small things very funny, especially towards the end when a fan tried to get his attention during a motorcade.
Part 2
Among the funniest parts was the bit when the director/videographer 'encouraged' MJ to be more tactful when it came to discussing touring, despite the fact the MJ, very articulately, outlined his feelings about touring. Unfortunately, MJ interpreted the request as ' please lie' which he did to humorous effect. The hand gesture was what put me over the top - it was like an exclamation point or something.
Part 3
A trip to the grocery store was among my favorite part of this clip. It must've been surreal for the customer to see MJ there. And the musak version of Billie Jean - OMG!
There are other fantastic highlights among these clips; unfortunately, I can't remember which clips contains the specific bits. But the Salvation Army discussion was a Ralph Wiggum moment if ever I saw one. And Prince Michael exemplified the childlike honesty and complete obliviousness that characterized his father. More than anything, it was enjoyable to see that MJ had some fun and a sense of humor about himself.
Saturday, November 7, 2009
So let me see if I have this right... November edition
Michael Jackson... a man who spent the majority of his adult life hiding behind thick makeup to hide his acne scars, both in public and private; a man who, again, both in public and private, wore wigs to hide the burn scars on his scalp; a man who kept his romantic life so private that no one knows, definitively, whether he was gay or straight (although I suspect that he was straight); a man who went through such lengths to keep the births of his children completely private; a man who wore disguises routinely and bemasked/bescarf his children to maintain his and their privacy... would whip out his Waylon and take a piss in a cup in front of guests at a social gathering?
Really?
Really, Dr. Arnie Klein?
Of course, TMZ ran with the story, along with a subsequent interview with Dr. Klein. Nevermind the possibility that Dr. Klein's practice is likely suffering due to his involvement with the last few drug-fueled years of MJ's life; the investigations into whether he did assist an addict in getting drugs; his attempts to imply his biological link to two of MJ's kids, while, sort of, denying it, yet trying to exert legal muscle when the custody issues between Katherine and Debbie Rowe went to court and failing miserably. And let's not forget the Larry King interviews which magnified Klein's creepiness, shadiness, and lack of credibility.
But that's how if works, you know... anyone, no matter their lackluster background and reputations, receive a reprieve or redemption if they disparage/defame MJ. Just look at all of the 'witnesses' to MJ's molestation. None of them were charged for, hello!, not intervening during a commission of a crime, and yet, they were treated as if their words and actions were gold. The idea that a grown man, who was accused of child molestation, being allowed, by a 'friend', to whip out Waylon, in the 'friend's' home and at the 'friend's' dermatologist's practice, in front of parents and their children, is probably the most ridiculous thing that I have ever heard. And yet again, someone who, pretty much, witnessed an alleged crime, and not only did not put a stop to it, for the sake of innocent bystanders (including children), but encouraged it because MJ, allegedly, 'thought it was funny', is taken seriously.
Not only does this reflect poorly on Dr. Klein, because he is an obvious liar, but on Harvey Levin, who doesn't question the validity of the story or the judgment of a man who allowed these alleged incidents to happen. Plus, you would think that witnesses to these alleged incidents would've come forward with this a long time ago. Not so much Dr. Klein's staff, because their money could've been affected, if this $h*t hit the fan, but the patients and parents remaining silent - I call complete and utter bull$h*t. Dr. Klein is just a dermatologist - not an oncologist or other practitioner who is responsible for life or death treatment. And patients and parents aren't subject to confidentiality/HIPAA, as proven by numerous patients telling the tabloids that Brad and Angelina took their twins to the pediatrician.
So, essentially, a routine pediatric checkup for twin babies get exposed to the press but years of junk exposure and pissing into cups in front of women and children don't? GIMME A FCUKING BREAK!!!
The judgers will believe this story; fortunately, the intuative will not buy this at all, especially if they saw This Is It. MJ, if anything, was exceedingly polite and often felt compelled to explain himself when he felt that he was adhering to an unspoken understanding. Whipping it out is not polite; taking a piss publicly requires explanation. And plus, the dude sported a big, black belt while wearing gold-sequined covered slacks. Maybe he wore it because the pants were really baggy on his thin frame, but the pants could easily have been taken it, given that seamstresses and tailors were readily available on the set. That belt was for MJ's piece of mind.
Not a Waylon whipper, public pissing pervert.
Dr. Klein, on the other hand...
Really?
Really, Dr. Arnie Klein?
Of course, TMZ ran with the story, along with a subsequent interview with Dr. Klein. Nevermind the possibility that Dr. Klein's practice is likely suffering due to his involvement with the last few drug-fueled years of MJ's life; the investigations into whether he did assist an addict in getting drugs; his attempts to imply his biological link to two of MJ's kids, while, sort of, denying it, yet trying to exert legal muscle when the custody issues between Katherine and Debbie Rowe went to court and failing miserably. And let's not forget the Larry King interviews which magnified Klein's creepiness, shadiness, and lack of credibility.
But that's how if works, you know... anyone, no matter their lackluster background and reputations, receive a reprieve or redemption if they disparage/defame MJ. Just look at all of the 'witnesses' to MJ's molestation. None of them were charged for, hello!, not intervening during a commission of a crime, and yet, they were treated as if their words and actions were gold. The idea that a grown man, who was accused of child molestation, being allowed, by a 'friend', to whip out Waylon, in the 'friend's' home and at the 'friend's' dermatologist's practice, in front of parents and their children, is probably the most ridiculous thing that I have ever heard. And yet again, someone who, pretty much, witnessed an alleged crime, and not only did not put a stop to it, for the sake of innocent bystanders (including children), but encouraged it because MJ, allegedly, 'thought it was funny', is taken seriously.
Not only does this reflect poorly on Dr. Klein, because he is an obvious liar, but on Harvey Levin, who doesn't question the validity of the story or the judgment of a man who allowed these alleged incidents to happen. Plus, you would think that witnesses to these alleged incidents would've come forward with this a long time ago. Not so much Dr. Klein's staff, because their money could've been affected, if this $h*t hit the fan, but the patients and parents remaining silent - I call complete and utter bull$h*t. Dr. Klein is just a dermatologist - not an oncologist or other practitioner who is responsible for life or death treatment. And patients and parents aren't subject to confidentiality/HIPAA, as proven by numerous patients telling the tabloids that Brad and Angelina took their twins to the pediatrician.
So, essentially, a routine pediatric checkup for twin babies get exposed to the press but years of junk exposure and pissing into cups in front of women and children don't? GIMME A FCUKING BREAK!!!
The judgers will believe this story; fortunately, the intuative will not buy this at all, especially if they saw This Is It. MJ, if anything, was exceedingly polite and often felt compelled to explain himself when he felt that he was adhering to an unspoken understanding. Whipping it out is not polite; taking a piss publicly requires explanation. And plus, the dude sported a big, black belt while wearing gold-sequined covered slacks. Maybe he wore it because the pants were really baggy on his thin frame, but the pants could easily have been taken it, given that seamstresses and tailors were readily available on the set. That belt was for MJ's piece of mind.
Not a Waylon whipper, public pissing pervert.
Dr. Klein, on the other hand...
Wednesday, October 28, 2009
This Is It... not a review
His spark was still there.
But, during parts, he seemed very frail and ill.
But then again, there were instances when he looked so young and vibrant. Like during Earth Song.
For me, the best parts of the movie wasn't the fast tempo songs, although I was grooving to Wanna Be Startin' Somethin' and The Way You Make Me Feel. It was the ballads. Human Nature, Earth Song, and I'll Be There. I'll Be There nearly brought some tears, especially when he gave his brothers, including Randy, a shout out.
The politeness towards his backup musicians and vocalists. Although my favorite part was his duet with Judith Hill. I wouldn't count I Just Can't Stop Loving You as one of my all-time favorite MJ songs, but for some reason, I really loved MJ and Judith's take on it, especially since you could see Michael relishing Judith's performance and his hunger to give out with her. That was the best thing about the movie - there was a genuine feeling that Michael didn't anyone to hold back their talent for any reason. And Judith didn't.
So I had to find the song; fortunately, I found a clip of Michael performing it live with Siedah Garrett. Please enjoy.
But, during parts, he seemed very frail and ill.
But then again, there were instances when he looked so young and vibrant. Like during Earth Song.
For me, the best parts of the movie wasn't the fast tempo songs, although I was grooving to Wanna Be Startin' Somethin' and The Way You Make Me Feel. It was the ballads. Human Nature, Earth Song, and I'll Be There. I'll Be There nearly brought some tears, especially when he gave his brothers, including Randy, a shout out.
The politeness towards his backup musicians and vocalists. Although my favorite part was his duet with Judith Hill. I wouldn't count I Just Can't Stop Loving You as one of my all-time favorite MJ songs, but for some reason, I really loved MJ and Judith's take on it, especially since you could see Michael relishing Judith's performance and his hunger to give out with her. That was the best thing about the movie - there was a genuine feeling that Michael didn't anyone to hold back their talent for any reason. And Judith didn't.
So I had to find the song; fortunately, I found a clip of Michael performing it live with Siedah Garrett. Please enjoy.
Tuesday, October 27, 2009
Rosie O'Donnell and Angelina: It would've never worked!
Recently, Rosie O'Donnell revealed that she very nearly, did something, with Angelina Jolie. Rosie's implication was that she and Angelina nearly dated. Or rather, Angelina gave Rosie her phone number and they had several phone conversations. But per usual, if Angelina Jolie's name is mentioned, the story takes on a bigger life, which may have been Rosie's intention, since she's launching a new radio show next month.
At any rate, this 'revelation' got me to thinking, which is likely the opposite of what most men are doing today. Rosie O'Donnell and Angelina Jolie is not the sapphic combination they were banking on, and for that matter, it's not particularly appetizing to the 'would go gay for Angie' crowd either. But it's interesting to come up with reasons why this coupling would not work. Here's a brief list:
Actually, I think that gay/straight factor is what sticks in Madonna's craw. Madonna was probably the first female star to openly admit to her bisexuality, but that admission kinda fell flat. It always felt like a tactic to titillate the masses. Her Sex book became the symbol of Madonna's detached, clinical take on sexuality. Angelina, on the other hand, generated a lot of buzz when she revealed her bisexuality. In fact, that admission made the 'will go gay/straight for' phenomenon possible. People can picture Angelina having sex and having a hella good time at it. In terms of the sexual revolution, Angelina did more by just being than Madonna who was just doing. Certain things should come easily - Madonna apparently doesn't.
Ultimately, an ultimatum, from Madonna, would've come down. Would Rosie have been strong enough to say no to Madonna?
So many questions and possibilities. Fortunately, the pairing didn't happen; therefore my high opinion of Angelina continues.
At any rate, this 'revelation' got me to thinking, which is likely the opposite of what most men are doing today. Rosie O'Donnell and Angelina Jolie is not the sapphic combination they were banking on, and for that matter, it's not particularly appetizing to the 'would go gay for Angie' crowd either. But it's interesting to come up with reasons why this coupling would not work. Here's a brief list:
- The age difference - Thirteen years separate Rosie and Angelina versus the twelve that separate Brad and Angelina; however, the decades make a difference. Assuming that the phone number was given to Rosie in the late 90s, Angelina was around 21-22 years old, while Rosie was in her mid thirties. It was well-documented that Angelina was going through her wild child phase, while Rosie was taking care of her son, Parker, and very closeted. Could Rosie have handled Angelina's youthful impetuousness? Possibly, but then again, Rosie has a strong personality, bordering on bullying. Would Angelina interpret Rosie's strength as strength or rebel against, as she did nearly everything. Versus, 30-something Angelina, who is more comfortable in her skin and is with 40-something Brad Pitt, who seems pretty mellow about everything.
- Rosie was closeted - Brad Pitt, seemingly, broke his neck getting the hell away from Jennifer Aniston in order to be with Angelina; would Rosie have crashed through the closet door? I think... no, given how invested she was in her talk show. This woman waited until the tail end of her show's run to tell her audience the truth. Would Angelina have been willing to be kept in the shadows in order for Rosie's career to flourish? And for that matter, would that have even been possible, given that she was a lightening rod of controversy even then?
- Personality clashes - Angelina claimed that she and Colin Farrell were too much alike to be together. While Rosie and Angelina aren't alike, on paper, they are both polarizing figures. As I mentioned before, Rosie is a bit of a bully, whereas Angelina, though provocative in her interviews, doesn't attack other people. When Rosie have public feuds, she's usually the person who starts them. When people feud with Angelina, it's usually one-sided, since she rarely participates. Would Rosie stand for this? Would she perceive Angelina's silences as weakness? Or would she escalates the feuds, in defense of her love?
- Rosie's anti-gun stance - In recent years, Angelina has starred in a lot of high-octane, gun brandishing, action flicks - films which Rosie usually wags her finger at. If this coupling happened in the late 90s, would Rosie have tried to dissuade Angelina from tackling action flicks? Would Rosie have gone on tirades similar to the Tom Selleck ambush and anti- Fight Club rants for Angelina's films? If not, wouldn't that have emphasized Rosie's selective outrage?
- The intimidation factor - Angelina is considered the sexiest woman on planet Earth. Ten years ago, she was considered the sexiest woman on planet Earth, but she was also kinda kinky and dark. Rosie, at best, is stocky. Could Rosie have handled the eyefcuking that Angelina, undoubtedly gets? And one on one, would Rosie have been confident enough to be intimate with Angelina. Would Angelina have been sexually satisfied?
- The showtunes - Who knows if Rosie bursts into showtunes at home like she did on her talk show, but could you imagine the looks she would get from Angelina?
- The chin hair - It's widely known that when Angelina goes on her UNHCR trips, she goes hard core - meaning no baths, makeup, etc. So B.O. wouldn't scare Angelina off; but would Rosie's fascination with bodily functions? I refer to Rosie's past obsession with her chin hair. An obsession with resulted in her growing it out and putting beads on it. Now every woman has that strange chin hair that is too thick and too dark to ignore. Most of us pluck it out - Rosie... not so much! Much has been made about Brad's chin hairs, but they're hairs, not a single strand. Angelina has seen a lot of sights, but would little experiments like that make her stomach bubble?
- Rosie's friendship with Madonna - Much has been made about the supposed feud between Madonna and Angelina, but the emphasis has been on the African adoptions and charitable projects in specific regions in Africa. But Madonna is an alpha female of the highest order. Angelina is perceived as an alpha female, but she doesn't work as hard as Madonna to earn that rep. But there is a competition going on, even if it is one sided.
- Acting - game to Angelina
- Sex appeal - game to Angelina
- Will go gay/straight for factor - game to Angelina
Actually, I think that gay/straight factor is what sticks in Madonna's craw. Madonna was probably the first female star to openly admit to her bisexuality, but that admission kinda fell flat. It always felt like a tactic to titillate the masses. Her Sex book became the symbol of Madonna's detached, clinical take on sexuality. Angelina, on the other hand, generated a lot of buzz when she revealed her bisexuality. In fact, that admission made the 'will go gay/straight for' phenomenon possible. People can picture Angelina having sex and having a hella good time at it. In terms of the sexual revolution, Angelina did more by just being than Madonna who was just doing. Certain things should come easily - Madonna apparently doesn't.
Ultimately, an ultimatum, from Madonna, would've come down. Would Rosie have been strong enough to say no to Madonna?
So many questions and possibilities. Fortunately, the pairing didn't happen; therefore my high opinion of Angelina continues.
Monday, October 26, 2009
A body double, huh?
The wingnuttery begins.
So according to Joe and LaToya Jackson, a MJ body double was used throughout the upcoming This Is It concert.
A la the body double used in Saratoga after Jean Harlow died.
A la the body double used in Plan 9 From Outer Space after Bela Lugosi died.
Mind you, this is coming from two of the biggest whores within the Jackson family. Joe, who insisted that the Omar kid is Michael, despite no proof. Joe, who insisted that Michael was tricked into doing 50 shows. Joe, who insisted that Michael was not in shape to do the This Is It tour, and yet, believed that he had the energy reserves to carry the Jackson family shows.
And LaToya... well, we know that she's a hooker and hookers can't be trusted at all.
And nevermind that neither of these @$$holes have seen This Is It. Hell, LaToya said that she wouldn't watch the movie - so what is the basis for her claim, since her declaration of not wanting to see it was made in front of paps? And fcuking Joe... he sold seats for a Vegas screening at $3,000 a pop. Does that mean that Joe will refund the money back to those fans, since he declared that a body double was used?
Or maybe, this is yet another attempt to stir sh*t up to spur more ticket sales. Or maybe, they just can't stand the thought that their accounts of MJ's physical condition being refuted on Wednesday. Because their 'insider information' is their only consistent source of income.
So according to Joe and LaToya Jackson, a MJ body double was used throughout the upcoming This Is It concert.
A la the body double used in Saratoga after Jean Harlow died.
A la the body double used in Plan 9 From Outer Space after Bela Lugosi died.
Mind you, this is coming from two of the biggest whores within the Jackson family. Joe, who insisted that the Omar kid is Michael, despite no proof. Joe, who insisted that Michael was tricked into doing 50 shows. Joe, who insisted that Michael was not in shape to do the This Is It tour, and yet, believed that he had the energy reserves to carry the Jackson family shows.
And LaToya... well, we know that she's a hooker and hookers can't be trusted at all.
And nevermind that neither of these @$$holes have seen This Is It. Hell, LaToya said that she wouldn't watch the movie - so what is the basis for her claim, since her declaration of not wanting to see it was made in front of paps? And fcuking Joe... he sold seats for a Vegas screening at $3,000 a pop. Does that mean that Joe will refund the money back to those fans, since he declared that a body double was used?
Or maybe, this is yet another attempt to stir sh*t up to spur more ticket sales. Or maybe, they just can't stand the thought that their accounts of MJ's physical condition being refuted on Wednesday. Because their 'insider information' is their only consistent source of income.
So let me see if I have this right...
On Rickey Smiley Morning Show, there was a discussion about Spike Lee calling out Tyler Perry on his reliance on using coonish characters in his films and on his television shows. Many hypothesized that Spike is coming from a jealous place and should've broached such matters on the q.t.
On the q.t.?
Really?
Was this the consensus of opinion when Spike called out Clint Eastwood about his myopic takes on WWII? Or is this desire for privacy only applicable when the person on the receiving end is a male person of color?
Rickey Smiley is a pretty schizophrenic figure/wannabe leader of the Black community. He takes umbrage to discourse between two grown men, but continues to pick on African children who are adopted by White people. Actually, he picks on the children's hair. Actually, he picks on the female children's hair, since he believes that all little Black girls should wear yellow barrettes at all times. It continues to boggle my mind that young Black male children can wear their hair in afros, but when female Black children do, they are accused of having uncombed hair that looks like a sheep's @$$.
Dude has a serious issue with females. He stopped short of blaming Rihanna for Chris Brown's self-inflicted legal woes. He insulted Jennifer Hudson's sister when news broke that she was pregnant. Instead of offering congratulations, especially since this woman lost her son, mother, and brother less than a year ago, he insulted her appearance, questioning, out loud, what kind of man would sleep with her. He insulted Beyonce just this morning, saying that the moment Beyonce gets pregnant, her career will be over, blaming her hips and build. And let's not get into his incessant compulsion to interrupt Ebony whenever she does her news segment with his riffs and unfunny platitudes. Rock T and Headcrack don't get interrupted nearly as often as Ebony.
Rickey's persistence in carrying on antequated attitudes about women and what should be the focus of the current civil rights movement (read: the continued powdering of Black male @$$) make me tune out whenever he tries to be Tom Joyner. When Rickey does the comedy bits, his show is absolutely worth listening to; but when he weighs in on matters of self-image, especially those of Black women, he doesn't help anything. He just makes things significantly worse.
And for the record... Tyler Perry absolutely resorts to coonery to distract from his storytelling shortcomings. But Perry's biggest offense is that despite all of the opportunities he was given, his writing hasn't improved a jot, nor does Perry seem interested in stepping up his game as long as he gets steady checks and prestige due to his box office results.
On the q.t.?
Really?
Was this the consensus of opinion when Spike called out Clint Eastwood about his myopic takes on WWII? Or is this desire for privacy only applicable when the person on the receiving end is a male person of color?
Rickey Smiley is a pretty schizophrenic figure/wannabe leader of the Black community. He takes umbrage to discourse between two grown men, but continues to pick on African children who are adopted by White people. Actually, he picks on the children's hair. Actually, he picks on the female children's hair, since he believes that all little Black girls should wear yellow barrettes at all times. It continues to boggle my mind that young Black male children can wear their hair in afros, but when female Black children do, they are accused of having uncombed hair that looks like a sheep's @$$.
Dude has a serious issue with females. He stopped short of blaming Rihanna for Chris Brown's self-inflicted legal woes. He insulted Jennifer Hudson's sister when news broke that she was pregnant. Instead of offering congratulations, especially since this woman lost her son, mother, and brother less than a year ago, he insulted her appearance, questioning, out loud, what kind of man would sleep with her. He insulted Beyonce just this morning, saying that the moment Beyonce gets pregnant, her career will be over, blaming her hips and build. And let's not get into his incessant compulsion to interrupt Ebony whenever she does her news segment with his riffs and unfunny platitudes. Rock T and Headcrack don't get interrupted nearly as often as Ebony.
Rickey's persistence in carrying on antequated attitudes about women and what should be the focus of the current civil rights movement (read: the continued powdering of Black male @$$) make me tune out whenever he tries to be Tom Joyner. When Rickey does the comedy bits, his show is absolutely worth listening to; but when he weighs in on matters of self-image, especially those of Black women, he doesn't help anything. He just makes things significantly worse.
And for the record... Tyler Perry absolutely resorts to coonery to distract from his storytelling shortcomings. But Perry's biggest offense is that despite all of the opportunities he was given, his writing hasn't improved a jot, nor does Perry seem interested in stepping up his game as long as he gets steady checks and prestige due to his box office results.
Saturday, October 24, 2009
So the whole thing was a hoax?
So much for giving people the benefit of the doubt. Or rather, giving parents of small children that room. Lesson learned... although the Gosselins and Octomom schooled me on that particular compulsion already.
According to CNN, the Balloon Boy's mom, Mayumi, admitted, via an affidavit, that the whole thing was a hoax, from start to finish.
So no adrenaline filled panic due to the other son's claim?
So no redeeming qualities to be seen within the Heene family?
And no, Mayumi copping to the lie isn't redemptive in any way. She's saving her butt, which is entirely understandable, but where was this survival instinct years ago when she allowed herself and her small children to live in squalor for her husband's pleasure? His pleasure, since he was oh so sure about his scientific skills and charisma that roughing it would seem justified down the line.
It didn't - now, these @$$hats have upped the ante on how low parents will stoop to get their children and themselves on television.
This whole phenomenon promises to get worse before it gets better... if it's even possible.
According to CNN, the Balloon Boy's mom, Mayumi, admitted, via an affidavit, that the whole thing was a hoax, from start to finish.
So no adrenaline filled panic due to the other son's claim?
So no redeeming qualities to be seen within the Heene family?
And no, Mayumi copping to the lie isn't redemptive in any way. She's saving her butt, which is entirely understandable, but where was this survival instinct years ago when she allowed herself and her small children to live in squalor for her husband's pleasure? His pleasure, since he was oh so sure about his scientific skills and charisma that roughing it would seem justified down the line.
It didn't - now, these @$$hats have upped the ante on how low parents will stoop to get their children and themselves on television.
This whole phenomenon promises to get worse before it gets better... if it's even possible.
Thursday, October 22, 2009
Fingers crossed that Hot Chance is leading a trend
I haven't written about Y & R for about a week, despite some promising developments regarding current story arcs. I still hate that Adam will continue to skate on all of his misdeeds; I hate that, ultimately, Ashley will be devastated when she loses Sharon's Faith. I hate that Traci will be leaving Genoa City, especially since Beth Maitland has been responsible for the heart, which has been sorely lacking.
However, there has been much to love, despite receiving them in small doses. A good example is Ashley. Despite her blindspot regarding Adam, I absolutely love how cold and ruthless she is towards Victor. Despite Colleen's heart beating inside his chest, Victor isn't being handled with kid gloves by Ashley; finally, Ashley is smart again. Although she will not likely succeed in limiting Victor's access to Faith, the fact that she recognizes that being overly accommodating is dangerous, shows that sentiment has colored her perception. Unlike Nikki, who is enthusiastically returning to the rich b*tch/lady of the manor pose she wore during her many on-again off-again years with Victor. Nikki is a sap and a buttinsky. Much like when she interrupted the Abbotts' grieving for a crack at Colleen's heart, she 'decided' to remind Ashley that Faith was a Newman. I was thinking 'Cow... stay the fcuk out of this!'
Another great surprise is that TPTB aren't letting the actress who portrayed Patty/Mary Jane go... just yet. For me, this actress is a keeper. There were times when I hated Patty/Mary Jane (i.e. when she injured Summer, killed the Newman dog, prevented emergency response from helping Colleen, etc.), but when she, with Paul by her side, surrendered herself to the authorities. Her performance was heartbreaking, especially when one thinks back on all of the awful things she did. Unfortunately, this actress will be playing a dual role, which can be tricky, but the therapist remains as scrappy as she was on Thursday's episode, this could prove promising.
But for me, most of my hopes rest on the males on the show; specifically, the 'nice guys'. I continue to be impressed, and quite frankly, majorly attracted to Paul. Seriously... he is the best big brother ever! And just a fantastic guy altogether. It's a week too late, but I really have to compliment Doug Davidson's performance in the scene after Colleen's memorial. His Paul was uncomfortable, guilt-ridden, ashamed - pretty refreshing compared to, say, Victoria, who made Colleen's life hell while she was alive and profited from her death via her father getting a second chance. Victoria was glacial and bratty throughout this whole thing; it was fantastic to see someone carrying guilt right out in the open, although Paul really didn't have a hand in Colleen's death.
Another promising male is JT. I am glad that he's not handholding Victoria. That chick is a freaking coward. Instead of accepting culpability in the disintergration of her marriage, she goes to work and avoids everything. I would so not be mad at JT if he gets that job in New York, takes Reid and get the hell out of GC. And BTW... what the hell is the deal with the writers trying to make Deacon sympathetic? Interjecting that little D may be in danger and that Deacon is merely a puppet is just too little, too late. After all, this is a dude who relished in blackmailing Amber, arranging it so that Daniel could hear them having sex, and he bedded down Victoria. That fcuker was having way too much fun screwing all of these people over, so don't try to paint him as some desperate case now.
And finally... Hot Chance. I loved it when he broke things down to Billy about his virginity. And although I would love for him to be with Chloe, I looooooovvvvvvvvvveeeeeeeeeedddd how he Rhett Butler-ed her @$$ today. Why should he waste time with someone whose mind is on someone else... an unworthy someone else? Although I do worry that he will fall into bed with Mac - I simply don't like Mac. Now if it was scrappy Heather, then I'm all for it. But naturally, I would love it if Chance maintains his purity until it's absolutely right for him; but again, I find him unbelievably attractive. I just want somebody - a female somebody - to kiss him and mean it.
However, there has been much to love, despite receiving them in small doses. A good example is Ashley. Despite her blindspot regarding Adam, I absolutely love how cold and ruthless she is towards Victor. Despite Colleen's heart beating inside his chest, Victor isn't being handled with kid gloves by Ashley; finally, Ashley is smart again. Although she will not likely succeed in limiting Victor's access to Faith, the fact that she recognizes that being overly accommodating is dangerous, shows that sentiment has colored her perception. Unlike Nikki, who is enthusiastically returning to the rich b*tch/lady of the manor pose she wore during her many on-again off-again years with Victor. Nikki is a sap and a buttinsky. Much like when she interrupted the Abbotts' grieving for a crack at Colleen's heart, she 'decided' to remind Ashley that Faith was a Newman. I was thinking 'Cow... stay the fcuk out of this!'
Another great surprise is that TPTB aren't letting the actress who portrayed Patty/Mary Jane go... just yet. For me, this actress is a keeper. There were times when I hated Patty/Mary Jane (i.e. when she injured Summer, killed the Newman dog, prevented emergency response from helping Colleen, etc.), but when she, with Paul by her side, surrendered herself to the authorities. Her performance was heartbreaking, especially when one thinks back on all of the awful things she did. Unfortunately, this actress will be playing a dual role, which can be tricky, but the therapist remains as scrappy as she was on Thursday's episode, this could prove promising.
But for me, most of my hopes rest on the males on the show; specifically, the 'nice guys'. I continue to be impressed, and quite frankly, majorly attracted to Paul. Seriously... he is the best big brother ever! And just a fantastic guy altogether. It's a week too late, but I really have to compliment Doug Davidson's performance in the scene after Colleen's memorial. His Paul was uncomfortable, guilt-ridden, ashamed - pretty refreshing compared to, say, Victoria, who made Colleen's life hell while she was alive and profited from her death via her father getting a second chance. Victoria was glacial and bratty throughout this whole thing; it was fantastic to see someone carrying guilt right out in the open, although Paul really didn't have a hand in Colleen's death.
Another promising male is JT. I am glad that he's not handholding Victoria. That chick is a freaking coward. Instead of accepting culpability in the disintergration of her marriage, she goes to work and avoids everything. I would so not be mad at JT if he gets that job in New York, takes Reid and get the hell out of GC. And BTW... what the hell is the deal with the writers trying to make Deacon sympathetic? Interjecting that little D may be in danger and that Deacon is merely a puppet is just too little, too late. After all, this is a dude who relished in blackmailing Amber, arranging it so that Daniel could hear them having sex, and he bedded down Victoria. That fcuker was having way too much fun screwing all of these people over, so don't try to paint him as some desperate case now.
And finally... Hot Chance. I loved it when he broke things down to Billy about his virginity. And although I would love for him to be with Chloe, I looooooovvvvvvvvvveeeeeeeeeedddd how he Rhett Butler-ed her @$$ today. Why should he waste time with someone whose mind is on someone else... an unworthy someone else? Although I do worry that he will fall into bed with Mac - I simply don't like Mac. Now if it was scrappy Heather, then I'm all for it. But naturally, I would love it if Chance maintains his purity until it's absolutely right for him; but again, I find him unbelievably attractive. I just want somebody - a female somebody - to kiss him and mean it.
DWTS pays tribute to MJ? Really?
I heard that Dancing with the Stars' ratings have been dropping markedly this season - maybe it has something to do with the low rent participants who are supposedly 'stars'. So TPTB, picking up on the Jackson family's cue, decided to pay tribute to the late Michael Jackson for his contributions to dance or rather, grab some undeserved spotlight for themselves.
Huh?
If it was So You Think You Can Dance, it would make absolute sense. Freestyle dance, with some deference to traditional forms, was what MJ exemplified, whereas, DWTS is about observing and respecting the various forms of ballroom pair dancing. Even if you counted his foray with couple dancing in The Wiz and in Smooth Criminal, MJ engaging in couples dancing was pretty sparse. And frankly, the MJ tributes are becoming wearing, especially when Janet's tribute at the VMAs should've been the last word, tribute-wise.
I don't know if it was the Jacksons' attempt to create buzz for the Jacksons, given that AIG/Sony are seemingly being wise about the limited amount of participation these loose cannon fcuks will have for This Is It; personally, I would be absolutely happy not to see the majority of fame hungry Jackson puss involved in the whole matter. It's bad enough hearing that Joe Jackson is auctioning seats and extras to the Vegas premiere for $3,000 a pop. And again, this is the same Jackson who argued continuously that AIG was taking advantage of MJ. Naturally, there's no word whether Joe will be donating the proceeds to a favorite MJ charity or to MJ's children.
I have a feeling that I will need to keep the TV off or not watch entertainment shows leading up to the premiere.
Huh?
If it was So You Think You Can Dance, it would make absolute sense. Freestyle dance, with some deference to traditional forms, was what MJ exemplified, whereas, DWTS is about observing and respecting the various forms of ballroom pair dancing. Even if you counted his foray with couple dancing in The Wiz and in Smooth Criminal, MJ engaging in couples dancing was pretty sparse. And frankly, the MJ tributes are becoming wearing, especially when Janet's tribute at the VMAs should've been the last word, tribute-wise.
I don't know if it was the Jacksons' attempt to create buzz for the Jacksons, given that AIG/Sony are seemingly being wise about the limited amount of participation these loose cannon fcuks will have for This Is It; personally, I would be absolutely happy not to see the majority of fame hungry Jackson puss involved in the whole matter. It's bad enough hearing that Joe Jackson is auctioning seats and extras to the Vegas premiere for $3,000 a pop. And again, this is the same Jackson who argued continuously that AIG was taking advantage of MJ. Naturally, there's no word whether Joe will be donating the proceeds to a favorite MJ charity or to MJ's children.
I have a feeling that I will need to keep the TV off or not watch entertainment shows leading up to the premiere.
Wednesday, October 21, 2009
In a weird mood today
In a throwback, cartoony mood today.
No Santa Barbara; but how about these:
Although I find the father's lack of attachment to Mot disturbing and not PC, Martian baby Mot is too damn cute!
And...
Dixieland Droopy is one of my all-time favorite Droopy/Tex Avery cartoons. And it introduced me to Dixieland music, which is pretty awesome!
No Santa Barbara; but how about these:
Although I find the father's lack of attachment to Mot disturbing and not PC, Martian baby Mot is too damn cute!
And...
Dixieland Droopy is one of my all-time favorite Droopy/Tex Avery cartoons. And it introduced me to Dixieland music, which is pretty awesome!
Monday, October 19, 2009
The Rickey Smiley Morning Show - on fire!
I still have a beef against Rickey Smiley for that 'sheep's @$$' crack and I'm not too happy with him trying to start a movement to remove the term 'Bamma' from the lexicon, especially since Tom Joyner's Huggy Lowdown has used the term to great effect for the last few years. Anyone who has 'sheep's @$$ on the tip of his tongue shouldn't try to hinder someone like Huggy who uses vocabulary in such an innovative and hilarious way.
Nevertheless, Rickey's show has been beyond funny lately. Sure, the Friday shows seem to be packed with interviews with celebrities, but the show's at its strongest when it just Rickey, Ebony, Headcrack, Gary and Rock T. For me, the bit I most look forward to is the Cora in the upper room, featuring celebs who have passed on. The bit has always been pretty funny, but since MJ joined the fold, it's been ridiculously funny. The crew is reconfiguring as they go along, realizing that MJ has to be the closer, since Rickey can't keep it together whenever 'Bernice' talks to him. Rickey's been getting better, but he has to work on keeping it together longer. His Harvey Korman-ing adds to it, but at a certain point, it will start taking away from it. And I'm not sure about their moving the bit to Tuesday, but not knowing when the skit will pop up keeps me listening to the show. Hopefully, the crew will continue to build on this comedy gold.
However, I am writing about their recent bit involving former Panera Bread employee, T, who is in a jam because he took dozens of bread as part of his severance package. I think it's a prank, but it's all the more funny because it could be absolutely true. The way T pronounced the world 'pumpernickel' has added to the hilarity, prompting me to dig this gem up. This Looney Tunes short 'The Scarlet Pumpernickel' is a favorite - actually, any Daffy Duck cartoon is a favorite.
Enjoy!
Nevertheless, Rickey's show has been beyond funny lately. Sure, the Friday shows seem to be packed with interviews with celebrities, but the show's at its strongest when it just Rickey, Ebony, Headcrack, Gary and Rock T. For me, the bit I most look forward to is the Cora in the upper room, featuring celebs who have passed on. The bit has always been pretty funny, but since MJ joined the fold, it's been ridiculously funny. The crew is reconfiguring as they go along, realizing that MJ has to be the closer, since Rickey can't keep it together whenever 'Bernice' talks to him. Rickey's been getting better, but he has to work on keeping it together longer. His Harvey Korman-ing adds to it, but at a certain point, it will start taking away from it. And I'm not sure about their moving the bit to Tuesday, but not knowing when the skit will pop up keeps me listening to the show. Hopefully, the crew will continue to build on this comedy gold.
However, I am writing about their recent bit involving former Panera Bread employee, T, who is in a jam because he took dozens of bread as part of his severance package. I think it's a prank, but it's all the more funny because it could be absolutely true. The way T pronounced the world 'pumpernickel' has added to the hilarity, prompting me to dig this gem up. This Looney Tunes short 'The Scarlet Pumpernickel' is a favorite - actually, any Daffy Duck cartoon is a favorite.
Enjoy!
Sunday, October 18, 2009
Woo hoo!! The Balloon Boy's parents were charged
I have to reiterate... I don't think that Papa Heene would deliberately place his child in danger; however, I do think that he was trying to parlay his so-called misfortune into some much desired spotlight. He knew the limitations of his aircraft better than anyone; therefore it's absolutely ridiculous that the 'child in the balloon' scenario was something that he and his wife legitimately believed.
Personally, I think that this attempt at a spotlight grab is beyond cruel. For the last few years, children in jeopardy stories have been the more widely covered 24/7 news network stories; unfortunately, the majority of the stories like Caylee Anthony, Julian King, etc. ended tragically. For someone, especially a parent, to attempt to tweak or manipulate every adult person's sensitive spot (including non-parents like myself), there is a narcissism and total disconnect towards others' emotions. And the wife/mother just sat there, passively, and allowed this to happen; therefore she should be subject to the same charges, since her passivity contributed to this situation.
Make no mistake... I have doubts that the Colorado cops will make this stick and if they do a sloppy job, that could lead to the Heenes suing them and grabbing even more airtime. So my honest hope is that the Colorado cops have substantial proof of their charges.
Personally, I think that this attempt at a spotlight grab is beyond cruel. For the last few years, children in jeopardy stories have been the more widely covered 24/7 news network stories; unfortunately, the majority of the stories like Caylee Anthony, Julian King, etc. ended tragically. For someone, especially a parent, to attempt to tweak or manipulate every adult person's sensitive spot (including non-parents like myself), there is a narcissism and total disconnect towards others' emotions. And the wife/mother just sat there, passively, and allowed this to happen; therefore she should be subject to the same charges, since her passivity contributed to this situation.
Make no mistake... I have doubts that the Colorado cops will make this stick and if they do a sloppy job, that could lead to the Heenes suing them and grabbing even more airtime. So my honest hope is that the Colorado cops have substantial proof of their charges.
Saturday, October 17, 2009
Speaking of exploitation...
In my defense, I didn't get the whole story - just a tidbit.
According to Entertainment Tonight, the Jackson family's nose(s) are all out of joint because AIG seems to be cutting them out of the This Is It premiere.
AIG's response - are not!
Personally, I wouldn't be mad if AIG ban them from the red carpet, given how they badmouthed, and likely, will continue to badmouth, this whole enterprise. I still scratch my head at the thought of the Jacksons claiming that MJ wasn't in condition to do this tour, and yet, they fully expected him to do their tour; at least with the This Is It tour, MJ would've done all of the heavy lifting for himself, by himself.
My hope is that AIG will not play nice with the Jacksons; they are a multi-headed monster incapable of thinking logically. And they have brought the tacky with them at every turn, save Janet, Rebbie and MJ's children.How else could you explain why they continue to badmouth this project when the Jackson Family Trust stands to get 90% of the profits earned?
Oh, wait... it's likely that the ones badmouthing it aren't included in the Family Trust.
We are a family... unless I don't stand to get any cash out of the deal.
Yep... that makes total sense!
According to Entertainment Tonight, the Jackson family's nose(s) are all out of joint because AIG seems to be cutting them out of the This Is It premiere.
AIG's response - are not!
Personally, I wouldn't be mad if AIG ban them from the red carpet, given how they badmouthed, and likely, will continue to badmouth, this whole enterprise. I still scratch my head at the thought of the Jacksons claiming that MJ wasn't in condition to do this tour, and yet, they fully expected him to do their tour; at least with the This Is It tour, MJ would've done all of the heavy lifting for himself, by himself.
My hope is that AIG will not play nice with the Jacksons; they are a multi-headed monster incapable of thinking logically. And they have brought the tacky with them at every turn, save Janet, Rebbie and MJ's children.How else could you explain why they continue to badmouth this project when the Jackson Family Trust stands to get 90% of the profits earned?
Oh, wait... it's likely that the ones badmouthing it aren't included in the Family Trust.
We are a family... unless I don't stand to get any cash out of the deal.
Yep... that makes total sense!
'Balloon boy' yarn: Thank you, media, for making this story possible
I thank heavens that I didn't watch CNN, HLN, or any other 24/7 news network on Thursday. I'm glad that I didn't get invested in the safe return of the child who was, allegedly, inside a runaway makeshift weather balloon/aircraft.
The boy was hiding from his parents.
The parents will not ground him.
The parents took him on every news/morning show that would have them.
And Dad decided to get indignant when questioned about his son's answer - I was going it for the show - or words to that effect.
No, I don't think this whole thing is a hoax - per se.
I do question whether the father actually entertained the notion that his 6 year old son was really in the balloon. This dude pretends to be an invention and yet, he lead the authorities and the world to believe that his 'aircraft' was durable enough to carry a 6 year old to such heights? It looked like any Mylar balloon you can buy at the Dollar Castle.
Now, assuming that the 'aircraft' was powered by helium, you would think that the prospect of his 6 year old having prolonged exposure to helium, in a confined capsule, would be the biggest concern, second only to the thought of the boy falling through the flimsy material of the capsule. I saw it on Spike TV's 1000 Ways to Die - helium kills! I have an issue with this father, allegedly and repeatedly, telling his son to stay away from the balloon when there were significant hazards involved with this 'project'.
The camera didn't lie - the father was ridiculously upset that his balloon floated away before he was ready. His son (the cameraman) told him that the little boy was inside the balloon. Personally, I think the parents, pumped with adrenaline, called the authorities, as they should; however, as the adrenaline levels decreased, I seriously doubt that the parents honestly believed that the boy was really in it, unless the father was completely convinced that his construction acumen could construct an aircraft that could support that kid's weight. This is completely possible, given that the douche held a news conference outside of his home, which consisted of him collecting journalists' questions in a box and telling them to return later for another news conferences where actual answers would be provided.
There is some definite narcissism at play, here, and the wife/mother isn't doing anything to put it back in check. She is a passive piece of $h*t, stuck with a mentally impaired fcuktard, raising a bunch of out of control, bold-faced liars.
How soon before they get their reality show?
The boy was hiding from his parents.
The parents will not ground him.
The parents took him on every news/morning show that would have them.
And Dad decided to get indignant when questioned about his son's answer - I was going it for the show - or words to that effect.
No, I don't think this whole thing is a hoax - per se.
I do question whether the father actually entertained the notion that his 6 year old son was really in the balloon. This dude pretends to be an invention and yet, he lead the authorities and the world to believe that his 'aircraft' was durable enough to carry a 6 year old to such heights? It looked like any Mylar balloon you can buy at the Dollar Castle.
Now, assuming that the 'aircraft' was powered by helium, you would think that the prospect of his 6 year old having prolonged exposure to helium, in a confined capsule, would be the biggest concern, second only to the thought of the boy falling through the flimsy material of the capsule. I saw it on Spike TV's 1000 Ways to Die - helium kills! I have an issue with this father, allegedly and repeatedly, telling his son to stay away from the balloon when there were significant hazards involved with this 'project'.
The camera didn't lie - the father was ridiculously upset that his balloon floated away before he was ready. His son (the cameraman) told him that the little boy was inside the balloon. Personally, I think the parents, pumped with adrenaline, called the authorities, as they should; however, as the adrenaline levels decreased, I seriously doubt that the parents honestly believed that the boy was really in it, unless the father was completely convinced that his construction acumen could construct an aircraft that could support that kid's weight. This is completely possible, given that the douche held a news conference outside of his home, which consisted of him collecting journalists' questions in a box and telling them to return later for another news conferences where actual answers would be provided.
There is some definite narcissism at play, here, and the wife/mother isn't doing anything to put it back in check. She is a passive piece of $h*t, stuck with a mentally impaired fcuktard, raising a bunch of out of control, bold-faced liars.
How soon before they get their reality show?
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