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10-09-07 EUR ALL ON ONE PAGE
DIDDY ACKNOWLEDGES HIS ATLANTA CHILD: Mogul says he's taking legal responsibility now that DNA tests confirm paternity.
*Sean "Diddy" Combs says he is ready to be a "committed father" to his fifth child after DNA tests were conducted that prove his paternity, reports the New York Daily News.
"At first, I wasn't sure if this was my child," he said of his 15-month-old daughter Chance, who lives with her mother in Atlanta. "Now that it has become clear she is, I will take care of her for the rest of her life."
Over the past year, Diddy repeatedly denied that he had fathered a baby with Atlanta woman Sarah Chapman. The Bad Boy founder says he was merely waiting until DNA tests on the child were completed before admitting to anything.
According to sources, Diddy has worked out visitation and child support terms with Chapman, and has also been trying to get back with his ex-girlfriend Kim Porter, who left him in part because Diddy had tried to keep the Atlanta baby a secret.
Diddy, 37, and Porter, 36, welcomed daughters Jessie James and D'Lila Star last December. They also have a son, Christian, 8. Diddy has a 13-year-old son, Justin, with ex-girlfriend Misa Hylton-Brim.
MARION JONES RETURNS HER OLYMPIC MEDALS: Track's governing body says she is 'one of the biggest frauds in sporting history.'
*Disgraced track star Marion Jones has returned the five medals she won at the 2000 Olympics, just days after the International Olympic Committee said it would move quickly to strip her of the medals after she pleaded guilty Friday to using steroids.
Her lawyer, Henry DePippo, said Monday that Jones had turned in the three gold and two bronze medals won at the Sydney games, but declined to say where they are now.
"She apologizes to her competitors and hopes the record books will be amended to accurately reflect their achievements," a source, who did not wish to be identified, told Reuters.
Meanwhile, track-and-field's governing body has expressed "disappointed" in Jones' admitted use of performance-enhancing drugs.
"If she had trusted to her own natural gifts and allied them to self sacrifice and hard work I sincerely believe that she could have been an honest champion at the Sydney Games," said Lamine Diack, president of the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF), in a statement.
"Now, instead, Marion Jones will be remembered as one of the biggest frauds in sporting history."
In addition to her Olympic medals, Jones also won a gold (100 meters) and bronze (long jump) at the 1999 worlds in Seville, Spain, and two gold (200 and 4x100) and a silver (100) at the 2001 world championships in Edmonton, Alberta.
LIL' WAYNE'S LAWYER CALLS IDAHO ARREST 'MISUNDERSTANDING': Rapper was briefly jailed on arrest warrant from Georgia.
*A lawyer for Lil' Wayne says his arrest early Saturday morning in Boise, Idaho on a Georgia warrant was a big "misunderstanding."
The rapper was freed from the local jail Saturday evening (Oct. 6) on $20,000 bail and traveled back to Georgia, where he is due in court today in Fulton County. Authorities there had issued a felony warrant for his arrest after he missed two scheduled court dates to answer a charge of felony drug possession.
His lawyer, William Head, filed for an emergency release order on grounds that his client may not have been aware of the court dates.
"When someone's this successful, there are chances things will fall through the cracks," Head told Atlanta's Fox Channel 5. "They were under the impression that those charges had either been resolved or dismissed."
The Georgia warrant was in connection with an August 2006 incident in which Lil' Wayne was arrested on felony drug possession charges in Atlanta after a maid found marijuana in his hotel room. During a search, police also recovered 60 pills of Alprazolam and 59 pills of hydrocodone.
Meanwhile, Lil Wayne's court trouble caused him to miss a scheduled concert in Eugene, Oregon on Saturday – and ticket holders were not happy.
According to Allhiphop.com, the crowd was "crude" to other performers at the Gods of Hip-Hop and Comedy Tour at McArthur Court, including opening acts, as well as host Charlie Murphy and rapper Fat Joe.
Murphy reportedly threw his microphone down and angrily exited the stage after 20 minutes of heckling, while Fat Joe was subjected to cries of "Weezy" during his set, which lasted a little longer than Murphy's performance, the Web site reported.
QUEEN LATIFAH HEADS TO SIN CITY: Singer-actress to make cameo appearance in Ashton Kutcher film.
*Entertainer Queen Latifah is set to make a cameo appearance in "What Happens in Vegas…,"a comedy feature starring Ashton Kutcher and Cameron Diaz.
The nature of Latifah's cameo is being kept on the low, but Kutcher and Diaz play people who wake up after a night of wild partying to find out they are married. Making matters worse, one of them hit a jackpot after using the other's quarter.
Latifah, meanwhile, just launched a tour to support her new jazz album, "Trav'lin Light," which debuted at No. 11 last month on the Billboard 200.
She'll return to movie theaters in January opposite Diane Keaton and Katie Holmes in "Mad Money," which follows three cleaning women at the Treasury who skim old money from the incinerator and use it for charity.
LA JUDGE HAD NO IDEA WHO CALVIN BROADUS WAS: Woman presiding over Snoop's lawsuit against former label found out at the hearing.
*The Los Angeles judge presiding over Snoop Dogg's $2 million lawsuit against his former label Priority Records says she had no idea that the name Calvin Broadus listed in her court documents was the famous rapper.
"Now I realize who we're talking about here. I didn't recognize the nonprofessional name, so to speak," said Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Helen I. Bendix in the case's first hearing on Thursday (Oct. 4).
According to E! Online, Bendix took over the case after lawyers for Priority successfully petitioned in July to have Judge Robert L. Hess replaced.
Snoop filed suit last November claiming Priority violated the terms of his 1998 deal by issuing a greatest-hits compilation without his consent.
Snoop also accused the label of failing to pay a $950,000 advance following 2000's triple-platinum-selling CD, "The Last Meal."
In court documents, Priority has argued that the artist waited too long to pursue his grievances, and therefore, the suit should be dismissed.
During Thursday's brief proceeding, the two parties informed Bendix that they had unsuccessfully attempted to settle the case. The judge suggested Snoop and Priority bring their arguments before the court's evaluation service, which offers an objective analysis of both sides'
strengths and weaknesses.
But Snoop's lawyers, Joseph Schleimer and Kenneth Freundlich, said that Priority has held up turning over paperwork they requested to help prove the rapper's case. According to E!, that prompted a sharp rebuke from the label's counsel, David Steinberg, who told Bendix that his client has already given Snoop some 20,000 documents and accused them of going on a fishing expedition.
The judge scheduled another status hearing for Oct. 23, three days after Snoop's 36th birthday.
VING RHAMES IS ALL 'GOODS': Actor books role opposite Jeremy Piven in film set at car-dealership.
*Ving Rhames has scored a role in the upcoming comedy feature "The
Goods: The Don Ready Story."
The actor joins Jeremy Piven of HBO's "Entourage" in the film about a used car liquidator who is hired to save a struggling dealership during a big Fourth of July blowout sale.
Actor Will Ferrell is producing the feature, which is to begin production in December in Los Angeles under director Neal Brenman.
Rhames, meanwhile, has five films on deck for 2008: "Evil Angel,"
"Day of the Dead," "The Bridge to Nowhere," "The Tournament" and "Glad All Over."
FOREST WHITAKER RETURNS TO FX: Actor reteams with 'Shield' producer to direct new drama series.
*Forest Whitaker will follow up his critically-acclaimed run on FX's "The Shield" with a drama project for the cable channel that he will direct and executive produce.
The untitled pilot, currently in development, is described as "The Sopranos" set in the world of arms dealers.
Whitaker, a best actor Oscar winner for his portrayal of Ugandan dictator Idi Amin in "The Last King of Scotland," will co-executive produce with Emmy-winning longform producer Cary Brokaw and veteran drama writer-producer Eric Overmyer, reports Variety.
The project marks Whitaker's first major TV commitment since his recurring role on "The Shield" as the intense internal affairs Detective Jon Kavanaugh. In the meantime, his upcoming film roles include "Vintage Point," "Winged Creatures" and "The Night Watchman."
RAY CHARLES' EX-MANAGER SUED: Late singer's son wants $10 million from Joe Adams for allegedly cheating him out of company shares.
*Ray Charles Robinson Jr., son of the late, legendary Ray Charles, is accusing his father's former manager, Joe Adams, of cheating him out of family company shares following his father's death.
He is suing for $10 million in damages from Adams, who was Charles'
manager for 45 years and was named by the singer in his will as executor of his estate, according to court papers.
According to Agence France Presse, Robinson says Adams coerced him into relinquishing shares in a family-owned production company. Robinson says he himself was not in a state to make such an agreement since he was having drug problems.
Robinson's lawsuit, filed Friday at a Los Angeles court, also accuses Adams of seeking control of the company to profit from Ray Charles' name.
MONK INSTITUTE READIES HANCOCK TRIBUTE: Chaka Khan, Al Jarreau among performers in all-star tribute.
*The Thelonious Monk Institute of Jazz is hosting an all-star tribute concert for musician Herbie Hancock in honor of his contributions to the genre and the music industry.
Chaka Khan, Al Jarreau, Joni Mitchell, Sting and others are tapped to perform at the event, to be held Oct. 28 at the Kodak Theater in Hollywood.
The concert is part of the Thelonious Monk International Jazz Trumpet Competition, which features young talent competing for a series of scholarships.
The competition takes place Oct. 27 at UCLA, and the top three finalists will face off the following night at the Kodak Theater, just prior to the tribute concert. The competition winner takes home a $20,000 scholarship, the second place finalist receives a $10,000 scholarship and the third receives a scholarship for $5,000.
The judges for the competition include Quincy Jones, Herb Alpert, Terence Blanchard, Hugh Masekela, Clark Terry and Roy Hargrove.
The competition and the tribute concert will air on BET at a date to be determined.
HAS SNIPES BEEN SECRETLY FILMING 'ART OF WAR 2?': Rumor has it the actor has been shooting this month in British Columbia.
*Moviehole.com is reporting rumors that Wesley Snipes began work on a sequel to his 2000 action film "Art of War" this month in British Columbia.
The actor had to leave Spike Lee's World War II drama "Miracle at St. Anna" because of issues surrounding his tax fraud case. Now, word has it that he has stepped back into his "Art of War" role of operative Neil Shaw.
According to IMDB, a film that was originally going to be titled “Art of War 2” is now being retitled “Intervention,” with Naughty by Nature's Anthony ‘Treach’ Criss in the lead.
As previously reported, a judge has denied Snipes' request to postpone his upcoming tax evasion trial, accusing the star of deliberately trying to avoid facing the charges, reports the San Francisco Chronicle.
Last year, the actor was charged with claiming refunds totaling nearly $12 million for income taxes already paid between 1996 and 1997. He was further charged with failure to file returns from 1999 through 2004.
BOB JOHNSON IS NOW SELLING CARS: BET founder opens dealerships under new automotive partnership.
*BET founder Bob Johnson is now in the car selling business after forging a new automotive partnership to run car dealerships.
Further expanding his portfolio, the billionaire is combining resources with Mack McLarty, who served as chief of staff for President Clinton, and Steve Landers, an experienced automotive dealer, reports Black Enterprise.
Both McLarty and Landers combined their resources and automotive expertise in 2004, forming the Arkansas-based McLarty-Landers Automotive Group. With Johnson, the partnership is expected to invest about 60 percent of the capital needed to fund RLJ-McLarty-Landers Automotive Partnership, while the remaining 40 percent will come from his new partners.
The joint entity will carry Chrysler, Dodge, Ford, Jeep, Scion and Toyota. Johnson projects revenues of over $1 billion in the next three to five years.
ITTY BITTY BITS: MiJac on 'X-Factor?'; J.Lo mum on baby rumor and stumbles in CT; Beyonce's phone.
*If current rumors are true, another Jackson will join Simon Cowell in judgment of hopefuls looking to be the next pop star. According to British newspaper The Sun, Michael Jackson will make a guest appearance on Cowell's "X-Factor" in early December as a mentor for contestants. On "American Idol," Cowell judges singing talent alongside industry veteran Randy Jackson and former pop star/choreographer Paula Abdul.
*Jennifer Lopez performed at New York's Madison Square Garden Sunday night with no mention of the reported twin babies in her belly, but one fan who had seats in the front row says the rumors appear to be true. "I'm very disappointed," 21-year-old Jessica Polter of Staten Island told the New York Daily News. "I wanted her to say something. But I was in the first row, and I can tell you she's definitely pregnant." Meanwhile, TMZ.com has footage of her little stumble while performing at the Mohegan Sun Casino in Connecticut. (View here:
http://www.tmz.com/tmz_main_video?titleid=1233427434)
*The New York Daily News is reporting that Beyoncé will make an appearance at New York's Time Warner Center Thursday morning to unveil a new Samsung phone that the singer has personally designed.
EUR DVD REVIEW: You Kill Me
Mediocre Mob Dramedy Comes to DVD
DVD Review by Kam Williams
*Directed by John Dahl, this disappointing mafia comedy is a frustrating mix of humor and drama which never quite decides whether it wants to be taken seriously or just for the jokes.
The film stars Sir Ben Kingsley as Frank Falenczyk, a mobster ostensibly-inspired by Robert De Niro's nonpareil performance in Analyze This.
But where De Niro played a head case on the verge of a nervous breakdown, this assassin is an alcoholic who relies on a 12-step program. After he botches an assignment to execute the don (Dennis Farina) of a competing crime family, Frank is sent by his boss (Philip Baker Hall) from Buffalo to San Francisco to dry out.
Trusting that everyone in his AA group will keep his confidences, he admits not only to being an alcoholic but a murderer, too. In spite of owning up to his grisly line of work, Frank is befriended by his gay sponsor (Luke Wilson), a toll taker on the Golden Gate Bridge.
He also takes a job at a mortuary, and starts to date Laurel (Tea Leoni), a brassy businesswoman with boundary issues. She opts to abandon her
own career to accompany her new beau back to Buffalo when he is called back to deal with an Irish gang muscling in on his syndicate's turf.
Unfortunately, Tea, a gifted actress who has been hilarious in Spanglish (2004) and Hollywood Ending (2002), is simply abandoned by a script which is never very funny, yet too preposterous on its face to be taken seriously.
The same is the case for Sir Ben, who gives only a few flashes of the form of a four-time Oscar-nominee here.
An unsatisfying compromise flick on the fence which might have worked had it either been played straight or purely for laughs.
Fair (1 star)
Rated R for profanity and violence.
Running time: 92 minutes
Studi Genius Productions
DVD Extras: "Behind the scenes" featurette, optional commentary by the director scriptwriters, a before and after visual effects comparison, and a theatrical trailer.
EUR DVD REVIEW: Reign over Me
Sandler and Cheadle's Bittersweet Buddy Flick on DVD
DVD Review by Kam Williams
*Relentlessly depressing in tone, this bittersweet buddy flick focuses on the toll the 9/11 tragedy has taken on Charlie Fineman (Adam Sandler), a defrocked dentist whose wife and three daughters were passengers on one of the planes commandeered by hijackers that fateful day.
Not surprisingly, since his life was ripped apart, Charlie's been paranoid, emotionally fragile and generally unable to function.
The picture's point of departure is five years after the attack, which is where we find the grieving widower unemployed, in deep denial, and avoiding anyone who might remind him of his loss, including his wife's parents, Jonathan (Robert Klein) and Ginger (Melinda Dillon).
Disheveled, unshaven, and looking like a young Bob Dylan, he squanders his days aimlessly zigzagging around Manhattan on a motorized scooter, mumbling to himself in an introspective haze.
Evenings, he retreats to his darkened apartment to listen to obscure rock tunes on vinyl records while playing the same video game over and over. Hope for Charlie finally arrives after a chance encounter with Alan (Don Cheadle) his old roommate from dental school. Despite the fact that he is currently dealing with his own midlife and marital crises, Dr. Johnson altruistically decides to take a personal interest in his friend's well-being.
Reign over Me begs to be appreciated as a cerebral, character-driven meditation on the psyche of America in the aftermath of the terror attacks, but it resorts far too frequently to standard Adam Sandler fare to be of any more substance than the rest of his familiar lowbrow brand of humor.
Here, Sandler simply exploits 9/11 to free his character to launch politically-incorrect bile in the direction of Latinos, gays and any other easy targets unfortunate enough to cross his path.
A meanspirited, frivolous, brutally-dull, pretentious indulgence in bigotry and sophomoric behavior in the name of Al-Qaeda.
Fair (1 star)
Rated R for profanity, sexuality and homophobic slurs.
Running time: 124 minutes
Studi Sony Pictures Home Entertainment
THE BRIDGE: Female Sexists
By Darryl James
sex • ism (n) attitudes or behavior based on traditional stereotypes of sexual roles.
*People toss words around without really understanding their meaning.
And, sometimes, people refuse to use labels that would fit very well.
Take sexism, for example.
Popular thought is that only men can be sexist.
We hear that sexism is a product of power wielded exclusively by men, but those of us with working brains who also have our eyes and ears open know that women can be just as sexist as men.
For example, women have made great strides towards closing the pay gap in employment and more of them have entered professional avocations, yet, there is still a trend toward defining men in financial terms.
Few men will define a good mate based on a woman’s earned income, yet the reverse is often seen in an environment that is supposed to be growing in equality.
That’s sexist.
Add the attitudes of the female sexists who appear to be prejudiced against men just for being men--women who view ALL men as dogs, cheats, liars and “allergic to marriage.” These are female sexists who imagine that only women are having a hard time finding what they want, because men are just not up to the task.
The reality is that there has been a breakdown in society and men are having the same problems in dating. It's just not as bad because there are more women than men to begin with.
As a Black man who loves Black women, I am urging Black women to be careful about embracing sexist thoughts and ideas, because some of the messages that are being passed off as "feminist" are damaging and irresponsible as well as erroneous. They are also sexist.
The intrinsic problem with female sexism is that it misrepresents how men think and why we do the things some of us do.
For example, female sexists claim that men who treat one woman in a certain manner are really doing it to all of the women in their family. That makes no sense. If a man has no respect for a specific woman, it is more likely that he simply does not respect that specific woman.
Now, it may be true that a man doesn't respect the women in his family, and as a result, can not respect other women, but to reverse it is tantamount to saying that women who sell their bodies to men for money really want to sell it to their fathers.
Misinterpretation of male behavior can be sexist.
Men are now rebelling against the attempt to label looking at a woman's body as sexist and disrespectful, because as men, we know what we are thinking and its not always disrespectful or sexist. We also reject the contradictory silliness, because we know that women look too. Women look at men who walk down the street, women go to male strip clubs and women like to see male beauty pageants, i.e. Mr. Universe.
Female sexists also confuse the issue of rape, saying that looking at a woman in a sexual manner is tantamount to rape. They also say that rape has nothing to do with sex. They say it is all about power. This is ignorant, wrong and dangerous. Rape is a sexual act, no matter what is going on in a person's head. Even if a desire to dominate is present, the act is a sexual act.
This lie is dangerous because if a young woman is only looking for signs of a controlling person, she may miss the signs of a rapist. She may miss the signs of sexual aggression and lack of self-control and so place herself in a dangerous situation.
Men can do the same and end up raped as well.
The rape of men by women is hard for female sexists to accept, based on their view of men as sexual predators. Female sexists espouse that promiscuous men are sexual predators while promiscuous women are merely exercising their sexual freedom. Wrong is wrong and applies to both men and women.
Female sexists are also spreading misinformation about single parent homes. They spread the idea that there are single parent homes only because of the deadbeat men who get women pregnant and scamper away. The reality is that sometimes two people have sex, a child is born and a struggle ensues over child support, custody and a number of issues that are complicated, especially if the two parents can’t get along….outside of bed.
Quite frankly, I have seen no study where Black fathers are saying that they decided to get a woman pregnant so that they could abandon them. If you only blame men, then that is sexist. Human nature is so much more complicated than that and not every single mother is an innocent victim.
The sexist view of this issue ignores the fact that some women actually choose to have a child and not involve the father. Some women also take each breath to prevent the father from seeing the child simply because the mother hates the father. Finally, there is birth control, abstinence and a myriad other options.
Some sexists are also racists, even though they are Black and female.
For example, some Black women are claiming that there are “more” Black men becoming secret homosexuals, knowingly infecting their wives and girlfriends with AIDS. This is hateful, wrong and dangerous. There are men AND women with dangerous behavior and safe sex and/or abstinence abates them all.
New propaganda from female sexists includes the notion that men are “intimidated” by women who are successful. The real problem with this silliness is that men don't say this about themselves. Women (and some weak, silly men) are being taught that men fear them, but in many cases, a man may be simply turned off by a focus on materialism, personal wealth as a measurement of humanity or a haughty attitude.
The things that are being said by female sexists appear to be empowering but they bring power from the wrong place and can not garner a good result.
I rage against the anti-Black man machine, especially when the cogs and wheels are Black females.
I had to denounce these things, not only for myself, but for men everywhere who are just sick and tired of hearing how we represent everything bad in the race, yet are simultaneously absent from everything good. That's sexist and hateful and it has to stop.
I'm not certain what female sexists expect with their negativity campaign. You won't change the minds of men, because we know what we feel and how we think. The only movement you stand to gain is more movement of the sexes from each other. If you are serious about bridging the gap and making things better for both sides, then come at us with open minds to learn how we think, listen and respect what we tell you and work with us to make things better.
If you think Black men are horrible, at least do some research before spreading your propaganda.
I am weary of the negativity that has no purpose and after speaking to some of this world's mean and hateful female sexists, I feel dirty. However, after purging the crap you've left me with and after having refreshing conversations with Black women who still love Black men, I feel renewed.
Sexism is bad.
Female sexism is worse.
Darryl James is an award-winning author who is now a filmmaker. His first mini-movie, "Crack," was released in March of 2006. He is currently filming a full length documentary. James’ latest book, "Bridging The Black Gender Gap," is the basis of his lectures and seminars. Previous installments of this column can now be viewed at www.bridgecolumn.com. James can be reached at djames@theblackgendergap.com.
ASK ADVICE CHICK: Answers to YOUR Dating, Sex, Life, & Love Questions!
By - AdviceChick@ameritech.net – (312) 205-0850
Sponsored by: http://www.ChicagoBlackBrides.com
Dear Advice Chick,
*I am an African American female about 220 lbs. My issue is my husband likes for me to be on top and ride. I never have liked to do it, but I want to please him. I don't have the stamina. I want to please him in all aspects. This is the only one area that we, or I should say I have a problem with. He has brought it up a few times since we have been together. We have been together 9 years, married for 3. Any suggestions?
Advice Chick replies,
Put a high-back chair at the foot of the bed. Have your man slide his body down towards the foot of the bed. Mount him backwards (your back facing him). Grab onto the chair. Using the chair for leverage, go up 2,3,4. Down 2,3,4. Up 2,3,4. Down 2,3,4. Make sure you’re clenching Ms. Na Na in unison with your up and down movements.
Lose yourself as you buck that pony and watch your man go wild! You’ll be tired, but not as tired as you would be without the chair for support. Also, practice makes perfect. When I first started using the chair trick with my man I could barely ride either. Now? Sheeeeeeeeeeeit! I don’t event need the chair! Girl, I be squatting like an aerobics instructor and I weigh 200 pounds too!
Party like a Rock Star? Nooooooo baby! Wanna keep your man happy as hell? Fuhk him like a porn star!
Sponsored by: http://www.ChicagoBlackBrides.com
Send YOUR questions and comments to Advice Chick right NOW! Please put “Dear Advice Chick” in the subject line so your email isn’t deleted as spam. Thanks! advicechick@ameritech.net.
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Ask Advice Chick about ANYTHING and EVERYTHING related to dating, sex, love, and life! She is THE resident dating expert at EURweb.com, and calls on over 11 years of dating and relationship industry experience.
THE JOURNAL OF STEFFANIE RIVERS: The Master Plan
*A former coworker of mine had a personalized license tag that read "NALPEHT." It’s "THE PLAN" spelled backwards. It begs the question: Are you living your life by a plan? If you live without a plan chances are you will end up a pawn in someone else’s plan.
I’m convinced that most people are following someone else’s plan for their lives. Here’s why: We’re born into an economic class of which eighty percent remain until death. Most of a person’s habits and decisions are based upon what he or she is nurtured, conditioned or trained to do even though oftentimes it’s not in his or her best interest.
I’m reminded of the Truman Show, a movie starring Jim Carey. Cary’s character, Truman, was the star of a 24-hour reality show. The trouble is Truman didn’t know it. Whenever Truman, the boy, the teenager and the man wanted to do something other than what show producers had scripted for his life, the people around him would steer him towards his pre-planned reality. Truman’s parents, wife, co-workers and best friend really were paid actors. He was living a lie.
Without revealing the end of the storyline, ultimately Truman stopped listening to his "friends and family members" and started to listen to his heart. His free-will led Truman to take a risk by breaking out of his comfort zone. The reality show had to end, but his real life was just beginning.
I challenge myself almost everyday to break free from my comfort zone and I encourage you to do the same. You never know how far you can go until you risk going too far.
Steffanie Rivers is a free-lance journalist living in the Washington, DC metro area. Send your comments and questions to teamtcbadvertising@hotmail.com .
PEOPLE OF NOTE: “Cruzing It,” “Shouting It” via “Three Mo’” Is No “Rude Awakening”
By Deardra Shuler
Photo by Erica Rojas
*This journalist has been on a theatrical whirl and in doing so had the opportunity to view “Celia: The Life and Music of Celia Cruz.” I highly recommend this musical, featured in both English and Spanish. The play is entertaining, poignant, and engaging. Via this production the audience is introduced to the famed singer through the eyes and narration of Cruz’s husband, Pedro Knight (Modesto Lacen). It’s a love story that takes you through Cuban born Celia’s humble beginnings and triumphant rise to fame ended only by her death in July 2003.
Written by Carmen Rivera and Candido Tirado, directed by Jaime Azpilicueta, produced by Henry Cardenas and David Maldonado, Celia: The Life and Music of Celica Cruz is currently running at New World Stages, 340 West 50th Street (between 8th and 9th Avenue) in Manhattan. Tickets must be purchased directly from the World Stage Box Office or by calling Telecharge, and/or on line via www.broadwayworld.com. The Box Office is open from noon to 9:00 p.m. Mondays–Thursdays; on Fridays 1:00 -11:00 pm; Saturdays at noon-11:00 pm, and on Sundays from 1:00-7:00 pm. The Spanish version runs Monday through Friday with the English version on Saturdays at 5:00 p.m., and Sundays at 7:00 p.m.
Xiomara Laugart Sanchez who stars as Celia Cruz does an excellent job at capturing the facial expressions, mannerisms, and vocal acumen of the late Salsa Queen. Sanchez floats through each scene regaled in brilliant costumes that are reminiscent of the outfits Ms. Cruz wore during her performances. So adept is Xiomara at portraying Celia, if one closed their eyes they would think that they were being serenaded by the genuine article as she belts out songs like “Caramelos,” “Tu Voz,” “La Guarachera,” “Yo Vivire,” “El Guaba,” “Gucula,” “Quimbara,” Mexico Lindo,” and “Cao Cao Mani Picao.” Kudos go to costume designer Haydee Morales who designed stunning and colorful costumes that were meretriciously ostentatious yet tasteful at the same time. The costumes, band (consisting of Isidro Infante, Diomedes Matos, Luisito Quintero, Robert Quintero, Nelson Gonzlez, Nelson Jaime and Raul Agraz), and dance numbers, provide glitz and glamour to an otherwise modest set. How else could one produce a show on Celia if not by displaying her humility and modesty; after all, it was those qualities that made her the grand dame she was - therefore, while the show is not a Broadway spectacular it is spectacular nonetheless.
Born Úrsula Hilaria Celia Caridad Cruz Alfonso in Havana, Cuba, Celia’s life, career, and marriage to Pedro Knight Caraballo, is sensitively portrayed by an outstanding cast. Knight sacrificed his career playing trumpet with the Sonoro Matancera band to help guide Celia’s career whom he married in 1962 after fleeing Cuba in 1960. The couple moved to Miami, Florida never returning to their homeland again except for a brief visit to Guantanamo Bay. Cast include: Pedro Capo, Selenis Leyva, Anissa Gathers, Sunilda Caraballo, Elvis Nolasco, Joselyn Reyes, Rogelio Douglas Jr., Lai-Si Fernández, Wilson Mendieta, Grizel “Chachi” Del Valle, and Sekou McMiller. Go see this play not once, but twice.
Three Mo’ Tenors are presently performing at the Little Shubert Theatre, located at 422 West 42nd Street, (bet. 9th Avenue and Dyer). The 2 sets of exceptional singers are a real stylistic tour de force. Classically trainned, the two sets of 3 tenors move fluently and with panache through several musical genres. Unlike the reviewer from the New York Times who used the catch phrase “slum” when he referred to Three Mo’s transitioning from one musical genre to another, this reviewer can appreciate how difficult it is to reach all the highs and lows, trills, vibratos, and notes demanded of this force musicale dynamique de trois. These African American tenors are hardly slumming as they move with fluidity through classical, Broadway show tunes, R&B, Pop, Blues, Spirituals and even rap music.
Depending on what evening you attend, you can either see James Berger, Jr, Duane A. Moody and Victor Robertson performing or witness the vocal prowess of Kenneth D. Alston, Jr, Ramone Diggs and South African Phumzile Sojola. The production has toured parts of Europe and the United States, changing numbers and redefining itself as it seeks to produce the best show possible. It succeeded. Some of the numbers are amusing and call for audience participation such as Cab Calloway’s “Minnie the Moocher.” Other songs include: “Let the Good Times Roll,” “Georgia On My Mind,” “Make Them Hear You,” “Ordinary People,” “If I Ain’t Got You,” “Midnight Train to Georgia” and a host of others.
Produced by Willette Murphy Klausner and directed and choreographed by Marion J. Caffey, the show promises an evening of entertainment, fun and pure musical magic at reasonable prices. Go support “Three Mo’ Tenors.” You will be glad you did.
Forbidden Broadway: Rude Awakening featured at the 47th Street Theatre (304 West 47th Street), is celebrating its 25th year of lampooning the Great White Way with parodies of Spring Awakening, Grease, Legally Blonde, Mary Poppins, Grey Gardens, Curtains, et al. Written and directed by Gerard Alessandrini, Rude Awakening features Jared Bradshaw, Janet Dickinson, James Donegan, and Valerie Fagen who have an uproarious time spoofing Broadway’s current offerings. A recipient of a Tony for Excellence in Theatre in 2006, the show runs Mondays, Tuesdays, Fridays and Saturdays at 8:15 pm and Sundays at 7:30 pm, with matinees on Wednesdays at 2:30 pm, Saturdays at 4:00 pm, and Sundays at 3:30 pm. For tickets call Telecharge at (212) 239-6200. For Group Sales call (212) 840-5564.
Uptown theatre goers can “Tell-It, Sing-It, Shout-It”, at The National Black Theatre, located on 125th Street and Fifth Ave, October 5 – 14th, via Hazel Smith’s uproarious gospel musical. Smith wrote, directed, and stars in this amusing offering which witnesses the shenanigans between 6 sanctimonious church ladies whose testimonials are sure to elicit a giggle, warm the heart, and define the human spirit. Don’t miss it! Performances are Fridays 7:30 p.m., Saturdays 2 & 7:30 p.m., Sundays 3 p.m.). For tickets call (212) 722-3800.
BETWEEN THE LINES: Mayor Villaraigosa, It's Time To Ask The Question:
Are You Friend Or Foe To The Black Community?
Anthony Asadullah Samad
*It's time for us to find out what's going on with the black community's relationship with "Mayor V." As a supporter (in 2001 and 2005), I don't like the things I'm hearing. And it's not from dissenters either. It's from other supporters who are now concerned that "the Mayor is trippin. Hard."
One supporter who cooled significantly on the Mayor, asserted that the Mayor only deals in "politics of subjugation" and they're not with that. It's easy to get caught up in what the Mayor is, or isn't, given his personal politics lately, but I'm not caught up in that. I'm more concerned about his day job and how our community benefits-and therein lies the problem. I don't see any economic development going on. Any real "new" housing. The Expo Rail has its controversies.
Then there's the shell game of people appointments and hires. I have noticed how the Mayor likes to tout the diversity of his administration with the disproportionality of black appointments. We should have a disproportionate amount of appointments. We disproportionately supported him for Mayor-and the African American community was the difference. Why should our community not share in the spoils of victory? The concern, however, is that there has been a delusion of power by African Americans in City Hall.
The politics of political appointments, in any city, is one of trying to balance constituencies, interests (usually rewarding political contributors) and matching talents with tasks that will bring expertise to local government. In Los Angeles, it's about the powershare, where the Mayor doesn't just have to keep up with the white dots, black dots, brown dots and yellow dots on his multi-ethnic checkboard. He has to also honor the promise to insure the politics of inclusion are significant, not just representatives.
Villaraigosa likes to tout how African American commissioners are over-represented in his administration. Commissioners are volunteer slots (for the most part). A lot of work for a title and a little recognition.
Department heads cannot be equated with commissioners. Departments heads yield great power in hiring, they run multi-million dollar budgets and they play important roles in ensuring that the city maintain diversity in the work force, in a day where colorblindness is returning public service jobs to "white only" in management positions.
The firing of Gloria Jeff at the Department of Transportation is a troubling move. Particularly, since a previous fired "Riordan bulldog," who was once fired for doing the exact same thing to another department head she did to Jeff. It appears that the City Hall culture has become more abusive toward African Americans in the Villaraigosa administration. You know black people don't take kindly to being fronted off-especially by somebody they helped get in office. And it seems like every time the Mayor appoints one department head (thanks for Doug Barry), we lose two. African American department heads are down more than 50% since Villaraigosa has been in office. Yeah, commissioner appointments are up, but please - don't insult our intelligence here by equating apples with grapes. They're not the same. The Mayor does some pretty convenient math when it comes to us on the appointment tip, but it doesn't add up in the powersharing management column. It's making the Mayor a pretty lonely guy in South L.A.
The mayor walked "hand in hand" with black elected officials and church leaders, swearing that he'd never make the mistake former Mayor Jim Hahn made, in betraying the political trust of the black community. Well, I don't see that anymore. The Mayor has no black deputy Mayor and the black ranks are thin on his staff. Mayor Villaraigosa appeared at the Urban Issues Forum a few months back, and received a respectful applause-one that even surprised him. He, himself, stated he didn't expect this type of reception. Afterward, he told someone that he was appalled I gave him a grade of C on the report card grading his first two years, and "that the people love him." That statement let me know he has it twisted. He got the applause because I told the audience not to boo, and be respectful before he got there. So, it wasn't "about him" like he thinks it is. I don't think the Mayor understands his growing level of alienation. Well, consider this a hint from a supporter who has asked for nothing, and wants nothing for himself-but wants much for his community. The community ain't feelin' you, man. Time to reach back out.
We have a saying in the black community that "Every black ain't brotha, and every smile ain't friendly. Every time I see you, you're smiling but I don't exactly know how to take that anymore. So tell me, are you still an ally to the constituency in which you owe your election? If so, quit the shell games with political slots. You're making the very mistakes you swore you'd never make-and you about to get "Hahned."
Anthony Asadullah Samad, Ph.D., is a national columnist, managing director of the Urban Issues Forum (www.urbanissuesforum.com) and author of the new book, Saving The Race: Empowerment Through Wisdom. He can be reached at www.AnthonySamad.com.
