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EDDIE MURPHY EARNS MULTIPLE RAZZIE NODS: "Norbit" singled out by annual celebration of year's worst films and performances.
*Eddie Murphy has joined Halle Berry in the rare class of actors who have received nominations for both an Academy Award, honoring the best in film, and a Razzie Award, which "rewards" the year's worst.
Berry was a winner at both ceremonies – earning a best actress Oscar for "Monster's Ball" in 2002 and a worst actress Razzie three years later for "Catwoman."
While Murphy was unable to bag the supporting actor Oscar for "Dreamgirls" last year, chances are good that he'll take home at least one of eight Razzie nominations for his 2007 fiasco "Norbit."
Murphy alone received five Razzie nods, more than anyone has ever gotten in a single year. Besides worst picture, "Norbit" had nominations for Murphy as worst actor in the title role, supporting actress as Norbit's morbidly-obese wife, supporting actor as an Asian man and worst screen couple for Norbit opposite either of Murphy's other characters.
"We decided that each of his characters was so offensive that he deserved individual nominations," said Razzies founder John Wilson. Murphy also shared a screenplay nomination for co-writing the film.
"Norbit's" biggest competition comes from Lindsay Lohan's thriller "I Know Who Killed Me," which received a leading nine Razzie nominations, including worst picture.
The other worst picture nominees were "Bratz," a live-action take on the cartoon about four chic young girls; "Daddy Day Camp," with Cuba Gooding Jr. starring in a sequel to Murphy's "Daddy Day Care"; and "I Now Pronounce You Chuck & Larry," Adam Sandler and Kevin James' comedy about firefighters posing as a gay couple.
Sandler and Gooding joined Murphy in the worst-actor category, along with Nicolas Cage for "Ghost Rider" and Jim Carrey for "The Number 23."
Razzie "winners" will be announced Feb. 23, a day before the Oscars.
USHER'S FATHER DIES IN ATLANTA: Funeral for Usher Raymond III scheduled for Wednesday.
*The father of R&B superstar Usher has died, reports the Chattanooga Times Free Press.
Usher Raymond III passed away Friday at a hospital in Atlanta, according to reports. His age and cause of death were not immediately known.
Usher and his dad were reportedly close, even following his father's split with his mother when the singer was young, reports gossip site MediaTakeOut.com. The Web site also says Usher, his wife Tameka and his mother Jonetta were at the elder Usher's side when he died.
A funeral is scheduled to be held on Wednesday at 1 p.m. in the chapel of Atlanta's Taylor Funeral Home.
BEYONCE BACKLASH OVER GRAMMY DECISION?: Mathew's picket line talk not going over well.
*The New York Daily News is reporting that Beyonce may run into static from her industry peers if she goes through with plans to cross a potential picket line to perform at the Grammy's.
"Hours after her dad promised she'd be at the Feb. 10 event, people were ready to call the R&B superstar a scab," columnists Rush & Malloy wrote for Monday's paper.
"Beyoncé was not aware her name was going to be used," one insider told the column regarding the announcement last week from Mathew Knowles that his daughter was planning an "incredible performance" for the telecast.
"Beyoncé, as well as my other artists Solange and Trinitee 5:7, have been asked to participate and will do so," Papa Knowles said in the statement.
TERRENCE HOWARD'S DAUGHTER READY FOR CLOSEUP: Twelve-year-old to star with Dad in Broadway's 'Cat on a Hot Tin Roof.'
*Terrence Howard will be joined in the Broadway revival "Cat on a Hot Tin Roof" by his 12-year-old daughter Heaven, who was cast in the Tennessee Williams play as one of the "no-neck monsters," a.k.a. the five obnoxious nieces and nephews of Howard's character Brick.
The Debbie Allen-directed play will be Heaven's acting debut, reports the New York Post's Page Six. The cast also includes James Earl Jones, Phylicia Rashad, Anika Noni Rose, Giancarlo Esposito and Lisa Arrindell Anderson.
The limited engagement of the Pulitzer Prize-honored classic will begin Feb. 12 and open March 6 at the Broadhurst Theatre. Tickets are on sale through April 13.
Meanwhile, Page Six also reports that "Cat on a Hot Tin Roof"
producer Stephen Byrd was spotted "canoodling" with actress Lynn Whitfield at Tillman's on West 27th St. in New York. Whitfield's next project is a big screen version of "Mama, I Want To Sing."
50 CENT LAUNCHES OWN PRODUCTION COMPANY: Rapper makes announcement during Sundance in Park City, Utah.
*Rapper/actor 50 Cent has announced plans to begin producing independent films under his newly-launched production company reports the Los Angeles Times.
Fitty, born Curtis Jackson, announced the venture during a press conference held Saturday (Jan. 19) at the House of Hype in Park City, Utah, where the Sundance Film Festival is currently taking place.
The unnamed company is a joint venture with business partners Chris Lighty of Violator Management and movie executive Randell Emmett, who produced 50's film "Home of the Brave " and the rapper's upcoming movie, "Righteous Kill."
Co-starring Robert DeNiro and Al Pacino, "Righteous Kill" is due in theaters on April. 18.
SMITHSONIAN TO HOST EXHIBIT ON HIP HOP CULTURE: Grandmaster Flash, Common, Badu in collection headed for National Portrait Gallery.
*Hip Hop and its influence on popular culture will be the focus of a new Smithsonian exhibit to debut next month at the National Portrait Gallery in Washington D.C.
LL Cool J, Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five, Common and Erykah Badu are among the artists featured in Recognize! Hip-Hop and Contemporary Portraiture, which will be on display from Feb. 8 through Oct. 26.
Photographs by David Scheinbaum will be available for viewing, as well as paintings by Kehinde Wiley, video self-portraits by Jefferson Pinder and several works commissioned specifically for the show. Poetry, spoken word and graffiti will also be included.
"Recognize! Hip-Hop and Contemporary Portraiture shows that much of the art inspired by the Hip-Hop movement is a form of portrayal," said Gallery director Marc Pachter. "Music, photography, painting, poetry and even graffiti provide a medium for self-expression and establishing identity."
Award-winning poet Nikki Giovanni wrote an ode to hip hop, titled "It's Not a Just Situation," that will be published in an accompanying booklet for the exhibition as well as displayed in the gallery. Brooklyn, N.Y.-based artist Shinique Smith will interpret the poem and create an installation in the same gallery that will include an audio component.
BONE THUGS RECORD SONG FOR NEGRO LEAGUE MUSEUM: Rap group contributes to compilation celebrating historic athletes.
*Bone Thugs-N-Harmony has written a song in memory of the great African American baseball players who competed in the segregated Negro Leagues.
Group member Layzie Bone tells Allhiphop.com they've recorded a song titled "League of Our Own" as a tribute to the athletes and in celebration of the sport's diversity since Jackie Robinson broke the color barrier in 1947.
"I felt honored to be a part of the Negro League compilation, because it represents originality, it represents trendsetting and taking your destiny into your own hands," Layzie Bone told the Web site. "[The song represents] diversity and having a dream like Martin Luther King to one day change the world."
"League of Our Own," also featuring Bizzy Bone and Big Sloan, was produced by Thin C. for Make Hot Entertainment.
LATIFAH SOUGHT ADVICE FROM SIDNEY POITIER: Actress needed veteran to pull her coat to the Hollywood madness.
*After scoring an Oscar nomination in 2003 for the musical "Chicago," Queen Latifah said she ran straight to Hollywood legend Sidney Poitier to get advice on how to handle the Hollywood rush that comes along with it.
"When I got nominated and all this stuff was happening I needed to talk to somebody, so I reached out to Sidney Poitier," she said, according to Contact Music. "I took him to lunch at the Four Seasons in L.A. and we just talked for hours.
"I needed somebody to tell me how this works and what to do because I didn't want to get lost in it all and get caught up too much in it either. I wanted to ride the line the way it's supposed to be.
"If you reach out to them they will help you along. He told me to enjoy those moments but don't get too caught up with people telling you, `You're great.' As a result I've always made sure that I've had people around me who'll tell me the real truth. That gives me a way of keeping my feet on the ground and not getting too big-headed."
OPRAH ADDS GIULIANI BOOSTER TO XM FAM: Fans wonder why Obama supporter would hire famous Republican Rabbi.
*A contingent of Oprah Winfrey fans are trying to figure out why the talk show host – a huge supporter of Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama – could give a slot on her XM satellite radio channel to Rabbi Shmuley Boteach, a huge cheerleader for Republican candidate Rudolph Giuliani.
"I don't understand why someone like Oprah, who ostensibly supports the causes of women and people of color, would hire a host who raised money for Giuliani," said Randy Credico, director of the William Moses Kunstler Fund for Racial Justice, according to the New York Daily News.
"Giuliani has a history of treating women like dirt, including the mother of his children. And he's never distanced himself from racist supporters like radio host Bob Grant, who called Martin Luther King a scumbag," said Kunstler. "Oprah has a lot of explaining to do."
Just as Winfrey held a fundraiser for Obama's presidential campaign at her estate in California last year, Boteach held a 2007 fundraiser for Giuliani's presidential bid at his mansion in Englewood, N.J.
A spokeswoman at Oprah's Harpo Productions told the Daily News of Boteach's addition to XM: "It's a nonissue. The political affiliations of our hosts are their personal choice."
Boteach stated: "I agreed to host a fundraiser for Rudy Giuliani based on his staunch support for the state of Israel, and based on my suggestion and subsequent conversations with his senior staff concerning tax-deductible marital counseling becoming an essential platform of his campaign. ... My commitment is ... to the security of the only democracy within the Middle East, America's staunch ally, Israel, and the viability and unity of the American people through strong American families. I will gladly agree to host Barack Obama, Hillary Clinton, or any other candidate who embraces those important values."
Boteach's show on XM radio's Oprah and Friends (Ch.156) is scheduled to begin on Monday (Jan. 28).
TIGER RESPONDS TO CONTROVERSY THAT LED TO GOLFWEEK'S NOOSE COVER: Golfer comments on editor's pink slip for using racist symbol to illustrate Golf Channel controversy.
*Tiger Woods has made his first comments regarding the controversy that led to the firing of Golfweek magazine editor Dave Seanor, who decided to feature a noose as cover art to illustrate an article about suspended Golf Channel anchor Kelly Tilghman.
During a Jan. 4 telecast of the season-opening Mercedes-Benz Championship, Tilghman and analyst Nick Faldo were discussing possible challengers to Woods when Tilghman said laughing, "Lynch him in a back alley."
"It was unfortunate," Woods said in a statement Monday. "Kelly and I did speak. There was no ill intent. She regrets saying it. In my eyes it's all said and done."
After Tilghman's comments two weeks ago, Woods' agent immediately released a statement through the Golf Channel stating that Woods and Tilghman are friends, and "we know unequivocally that there was no ill intent in her comments." Still, the Golf Channel suspended Tilghman for two weeks.
The Jan. 19 issue of Golfweek magazine featured an article on the suspension and a noose on the cover set against a purple sky with the title, "Caught in a Noose." The subtitle said, "Tilghman slips up, and Golf Channel can't wriggle free."
Seanor, Golfweek's vice president and editor who took responsibility for the noose cover, was fired last week and replaced by Jeff Babineau.
"We apologize for creating this graphic cover that received extreme negative reaction from consumers, subscribers and advertisers across the country," said William J. Kupper Jr., president of Golfweek's parent company Turnstile Publishing Co. "We were trying to convey the controversial issue with a strong and provocative graphic image. It is now obvious that the overall reaction to our cover deeply offended many people. For that, we are deeply apologetic."
PGA Tour commissioner Tim Finchem called the Golfweek cover "outrageous and irresponsible" and accused the magazine of tabloid journalism.
Tilghman's suspension end this week with her return to anchor the PGA Tour at the 2008 Buick Invitational.
LENNY KRAVITZ'S 'BUS' HITS THE ROAD: Rocker's 'Love Revolution' tour kicked off last week and runs through Feb. 1.
*It's now full steam ahead for Lenny Kravitz and his "Get on the Bus with the Love Revolution" club tour, which launched last week in Santa Monica and is scheduled to roll through nine markets across the U.S. until its Feb. 1 wrap in New York. [See full schedule below.]
The tour will be followed by a slew of high profile television performances and interviews on "Good Morning America," "The Late Show With David Letterman," "Live With Regis and Kelly," MTV's "TRL" and BET's "106th & Park" to kick off the release of his 8th studio album "It Is Time For A Love Revolution."
As previously reported, Virgin Records teamed with MySpace to launch the tour via an exclusive contest in November. Fans were given the chance to win a seat on the Kravitz-designed custom Love Revolution tour bus and become part of the artist's tour family on the road with full backstage access to the live concert event. The 10 lucky winners and their guests were selected to join him on the road and will participate in a photo shoot that will appear in the February issue of YRB with Kravitz on the cover.
The remaining tour dates for the "Get on the Bus with the Love Revolution Tour" are as follows:
DATE CITY VENUE
January 22nd Denver, CO Paramount Theater
January 24th Minneapolis, MN Myth
January 26th Chicago, IL Riviera
January 27th Detroit, MI The Fillmore
January 29th Philadelphia, PA Electric Factory
January 31st Boston, MA The Orpheum
February 1st New York City Hammerstein Ballroom
Lenny Kravitz Television Airdates (check local listings for times):
February 7th MTV's TRL
February 6th Good Morning America
February 6th BET's 106th & Park
February 7th Live With Regis & Kelly
February 8th The Late Show with David Letterman
PAFF TO HOST TOWNSEND'S 'OF BOYS AND MEN': World premiere part of event's Centerpiece Program on Feb. 13.
*The Pan African Film & Arts Festival (PAFF) will host the world premiere of acclaimed director Robert Townsend’s "Of Boys and Men," starring Townsend, Angela Bassett, Victoria Rowell, Dante Boens, Faizon Love, Vince Green, and Bobb'e J. Thompson.
The film follows family man Holden Cole who loses his wife in a fatal accident. With the help of his younger sister, he leads his three children on a journey of healing and self-discovery while battling his own demons of pain and regret. The story is seen through the eyes of the youngest son, who discovers through the loss of his mother what it means to be a man.
The star-studded premiere will take place on Feb. 13 at 7 p.m. as part of the PAFF’s Centerpiece Program at the AMC Magic Johnson Crenshaw 15 Theaters (4020 Marlton Avenue, Los Angeles). Tickets are $25 and can be purchased in advance online at www.PAFF.org. For more information, please call (323) 295-1706.
The PAFF will take place in Los Angeles Feb. 7-18 and is expected to draw over 40,000 attendees during its 12-day run. Another 200,000 will attend the art show and other events. For more information, please visit www.PAFF.org.
MUSIC/MAGAZINE BITS: CD releases; Raekwon vents; Ja Rule cringes; Remy Ma's hearing; Air Legend; Seal works benefit; Michelle Obama in Newsweek.
*Universal Motown has announced a release schedule for a number of highly-anticipated albums. On deck for the label in 2008 are Lil Wayne's "Tha Carter III" (March 18), David Banner's "The Greatest Story Ever Told"
(March 25), Q-Tip's "The Renaissance" (March 11), Ashanti's "The Declaration" (March 25), Erykah Badu's "New Amerykah" (February 26) and Nelly's "Brass Knuckles" (June 24).
*Wu-Tang Clan member Raekwon has a bone to pick with Kanye West and Jay-Z, stating neither has any real street cred. "A lot of street people don't put stock in them anymore because they aren't doing enough to excite anyone," he tells the New York Daily News. He says both should "come back to the hood and drop $100,000." When asked why he won't do the same, Raekwon
said: "I don't have money on that level. And I don't know where to drop it."
*Spies at a Clippers game in Los Angeles saw rapper Ja Rule actually cringe and cover his ears when the PA system at the Staples Center began playing his duet with Jennifer Lopez, "I'm Real," reports the New York Daily News.
*A New York judge on Thursday (Jan. 17) again postponed Remy Ma's gang assault and witness tampering case because the rapper's lawyer has fallen ill. The is the second time since Jan. 10 that the hearing has been postponed.
*John Legend is scheduled to play an acoustic set mid-flight onboard Delta Air Lines' new Grammy plane, a joint promotional venture with the Recording Academy and CBS. Lucky winners of a sweepstakes will fly with Legend from New York to Los Angeles for the Feb. 10 Grammy ceremony, to air live on CBS. To enter the sweepstakes, which ends Jan. 29, visit the Web site of your local CBS TV affiliate and see if it is one of the 16-plus participating stations.
*Seal is scheduled to headline Musicians on Call's fourth annual Benefit Concert & Auction, to be held Jan 29 at the Hard Rock Cafe in New York's Times Square. Among the items up for bid from the organization, which brings music to patients in health-care facilities, are two front-row concert tickets and a one-on-one piano lesson from Gavin DeGraw, a Fender bass signed by Sting, an acoustic guitar signed by Bon Jovi, and a meet-and-greet and two tickets for a Daughtry or Carrie Underwood/ Keith Urban show, reports MTV.
*Michelle Obama talks about her husband Barack's presidential campaign, her role and concern over his safety in the new issue of Newsweek magazine. Read the complete story at: http://www.newsweek.com/id/96446
FILM/TV BITS: Mark McEwen's book; Tim Meadows goes 'Upstairs'; African sister for Zahara?; Ice Cube wants Tucker for 'Friday.'
*In his new memoir about the massive stroke he suffered in 2005, former CBS "Early Show" host Mark McEwen describes his experience in vivid detail. "When I woke up from a coma days later, the room was filled with next of kin . . . gathered to say goodbye," McEwen writes in "Change in the Weather," due in May. "I couldn't walk or swallow. I could hardly speak. I could hardly move." His wife, Denise, "went to sleep at night not knowing if I would ever again be the man she married," he writes. McEwen eventually recovered after a long period of rehabilitation.
*"Saturday Night Live" alum Tim Meadows has been cast in Fox's adventure comedy "They Came From Upstairs," reports Reuters. The story follows a crew of teenagers who join forces to defend their Maine vacation home from an alien invasion upstairs. Meadows will play Sheriff Doug Armstrong in the project, to be directed by John Schultz. Gillian Vigman also joins the cast as Nina Pearson, mother of the lead female (Ashley Tisdale).
*Angelina Jolie's brother James Haven says the actress and her man Brad Pitt are planning to adopt another child from Africa, reports UK's Daily Mirror. The couple will reportedly begin looking at orphanages over the Easter holiday to adopt a little sister for Maddox, 6; Pax, 4; Zahara, 2 and biological child Shiloh, 1. Jolie adopted Zahara from Ethiopia in July 2005.
*Ice Cube tells Chicago radio personality Kendra G. that he'd love to film another "Friday" sequel with original co-star Chris Tucker. "It depends on whether or not Chris wants to be a part of it," he tells Kendra, co-host of Power 92's "Trey the Chocolate Jock Morning Jump-off" show in Chicago.
"If he wants to be a part of it, I will do it. If not, I won't do it because I think that's what the people really want and we have to give the people what they want." Cube also denied rumors that Tucker's return was stalled by unreasonable money demands, stating, "He is not too expensive. I have deep pockets."
SPORTS BITS: Tony Dungy stays; Aussie Open update; Stubblefield lies about steroids.
*Tony Dungy announced Monday that he will stay on as coach of the Indianapolis Colts for another season before turning over the team to his hand-picked successor Jim Caldwell. Dungy, the first black coach to win a Super Bowl, spent a week meeting with his family, close friends and colleagues while deciding whether to return for a seventh season with the team. "It was a family decision," Dungy said, according to AP. "We're on board, and we look forward to '08, look forward to putting together a winner." Team owner Jim Irsay said Dungy would stay at least one year, but could stay longer. "This isn't a victory lap for Tony," Irsay said.
*Eighth seed Venus Williams inched a little closer to the Australian Open title that has eluded her with Monday's 6-4, 6-4 win over Poland's Marta Domachowska. The victory puts her in the final eight where she'll meet fourth seed Ana Ivanovic. Meanwhile, James Blake is set for a quarter-final match against world No. 1 Roger Federer. "I'll give my best shot against Roger. Janko (Tipsarevic) took him to 10-8 in the fifth and no matter who you are he has showed you can take Roger to the limit, and I plan to cause him some trouble," said Blake. Serena Williams, who beat her sister in 2003 to win the Australian Open, was to play a quarter-final round against Jelena Jankovic last night at 9 p.m. (EST)/Tuesday morning (Aussie Time).
*Former NFL defensive lineman Dana Stubblefield pleaded guilty Friday to lying to investigators in the BALCO steroids case, making him the first football player charged in the long-running federal investigation. The plea deal calls for the 37-year-old to spend zero to six months in prison, though U.S. District Judge Susan Illston said she is not bound by that agreement and can sentence him to up to five years. He is to be sentenced April 25.
Stubblefield, a three-time Pro Bowl player who testified before the BALCO grand jury in November 2003, was charged with making false statements to federal agents about his use of performance-enhancing drugs.
*NFL vet Herschel Walker reveals in a new book that he suffers from a multiple personality disorder. "Breaking Free," due in August from publisher Simon & Schuster, chronicles the former running back's life with the disorder. No further details were announced and the publisher declined to provide excerpts. Pre-orders for the book, which will retail for $24.95, are now available at Amazon.com, and other online bookstores.
EUR FILM REVIEW: Cloverfield
Man-Eating Monster Triggers Mayhem in Hair-Raising Horror Flick
Film Review by Kam Williams
*Ordinarily, the most memorable horror flicks arrive in theaters either around Halloween or during the summer blockbuster season, so excuse me for having low expectations of Cloverfield.
But for some reason Paramount has ignored industry convention by releasing an exceptional example of the genre during January, a month used by most studios to bury their worst movies.
Reminiscent of The Blair Witch Project (1999), this cleverly-conceived screamfest was shot entirely with a shaky hand-held camera being operated by one of the film's central characters.
A similarly limited-perspective proved compelling in Blair, which had been billed as based on a videotape supposedly found at the site of a slaughter.
But by the time that "documentary" had belatedly been exposed as a fraud, the hoax had already benefited immeasurably from the hype of intense, internet-driven word-of-mouth.
While Cloverfield, by contrast, is clearly fictional, it has relied on a viral marketing campaign deliberately designed to generate Blair-like cyber-buzz, in this case, heightening audience anticipation by spoon-feeding only selected elements of the hair-raising adventure. Thus, its ads leave much to the imagination, such as exactly what the monster looks like, a manipulative device likely to pique considerable curiosity.
Cloverfield starts with a cryptic statement that the top-secret tape you are about to watch is the property of the Department of the Defense. However, the initial half-hour looks more like a soap opera than a spine-tingling thriller. The fun starts on May 22nd, in Jason Hawkins' (Mike Vogel) spacious Manhattan apartment with a bird's eye view of the New York City skyline. With the help of his girlfriend, Lily (Jessica Lucas) Jason is greeting the fifty or so guests arriving for the surprise going away party he's throwing for his brother, Rob (Michael Stahl-David) who'll soon be leaving for Japan.
Jason directs their buddy, Hud (T.J. Miller), to film the festivities, and to record individual farewells as a keepsake. The plot thickens as Hud makes his way around the soiree, when we learn that Beth (Odette Yustman) is angry at Rob. Seems that the two recently slept together for the first time, but then he never called her again. So, she has shown up still miffed and hoping to make him jealous of her handsome date, Travis (Ben Feldman).
Comic relief comes courtesy of chubby Hud, who has a thing for Marlena (Lizzy Caplan), an elusive cutie pie who won't give him the time of day.
Yet, he keeps flirting, pointing the lens in her direction every chance he gets. Then, just when you've forgotten that this is supposed to be a horror movie, the building shakes and the power goes out.
The partygoers rush to the window to witness chaos and devastation unfolding as far as the eyes, or should I say camcorder, can see: from flattened cars to flying projectiles to crumbling skyscrapers to fleeing pedestrians unleashing bloodcurdling screams while looking over their shoulders. At this juncture, the movie morphs into a harrowing tale of survival featuring seasick cinematography, and it becomes pretty clear that some destructive unseen force has been released and is causing major mayhem.
Rob, Jason, Lily, Marlena and Hud descend to the street together where the Statue of Liberty's decapitated head comes tumbling up the block at them.
Hud keeps the camera rolling as they make a break for the Brooklyn Bridge when they get word that it's safe on the other side of the East River.
But on the bridge, Rob's cell phone rings. It's Beth. She's pinned and needs help. The group makes the fateful decision to go back to try to save her.
And all that remains of that noble rescue effort is a chilling videotape, a spellbinding masterpiece also known as Cloverfield.
Excellent (4 stars)
Rated PG-13 for violence, terror and disturbing images.
Running time: 90 minutes
Studi Paramount Pictures
STEVEN IVORY: When God Speaks
*I believe God talks to us. Of course, He does, you say. Yeah, well, I don't think He bellows in the hokey manner that preachers and televangelists describe (“And then GOID said to me,” , etc.), or that He chooses to speak only during occasions deemed momentous, from behind bushes, huge rocks or whatever.
I believe His dialogue is casual and ongoing, and I don't think He always sounds like James Earl Jones. His is also the tangy voice belonging to the child in the front row of the preschool musical who sings off key with joyous abandon.
Quite often, I believe His voice isn't a voice at all, but rather, the ominous thunder during a storm; the vital message within a deafening silence, or the terrifying screech of tires that halts the car missing a horrified pedestrian by inches.
Nevertheless, I do believe it was God doing business as Susan on the phone the evening I mentioned that the epicenter of an ache nagging me two days into 2008 was located at my lower right abdomen.
At the risk of my poohing her opinion, she forcefully advised that the area I described was the appendix, and that assorted pangs from that region weren't to be fooled with.
I conceded concern and said that if I didn't feel any better tomorrow, I'd see a doctor. Really? Asked my stomach. Thus, a little before midnight I nervously showered and drove myself to Cedars Sinai Hospital, braving police and paparazzi camped outside the emergency room for Britney Spears, who'd just arrived by ambulance.
Cedars may be known for its famous patients--a nurse told me the VIP level features suites with hardwood floors and flat screen TVs--but in the waiting room, where all walks of life gather, pain is the great equalizer.
Never having been seriously ill in my life, I was a neophyte whose virginity ER veterans easily detected. “Next time, soon as you hit the door, collapse,” advised Ed, an older black man who sat next to me and took his suffering in stride. “Be in enough pain and they'll take you immediately.”
By the time my name was called--at 7 AM--I didn't have to fake it. Whatever was happening in my stomach had worsened to the point that I could hardly walk. X-rays and scans confirmed what Dr. Braunstein had surmised when he first put me on the tissue-lined table: “You've got a perforated appendix. It's bursting and has got to come out. Now. Phone your next of kin. We're operating within the hour.”
As I feigned calm, he assured me that an appendectomy was one of the most common surgeries performed in American hospitals.
Thanks to the morphine, I didn't really worry--until the anesthesiologist explained her routine: First, she'd give me something else to “relax," she said, and then she'd literally paralyze my body.
I asked her if she'd heard about that recent horror flick where insufficiently sedated patients actually feel the knife. I was trying to be funny. She was funnier: “Well, if that happens, just yell,” she winked.
Okay, none of this was funny. Her mischievous grin was the last thing I remembered as I privately fought the intravenous drugs to stay awake. You know, in case I had to yell.
Sleep during surgery was the best I've had in months. In recovery, my own snoring awakened me. I wondered if I'd snored through the procedure, but was too embarrassed to ask.
But then, during my hospital stay, I quickly learned that human need trumps vanity. Depending on your condition, you don't give a rat's ass who sees yours, which is why no one has made a million dollars designing a better hospital gown; ultimately, no one cares.
I learned that no matter how sparkling the bathroom is in your room, you feel, as Mama used to say, a little “ticky” about using it--until you initiate it in pain. Then, it becomes yours and you don't care what went on in there before you.
I learned that what I endured is nothing. There are people in hospitals going through life-altering experiences, staring down death everyday.
I discovered that what Motown was to Detroit is what nursing is to the Philippines. Seriously. They've got it covered. Mine were beautiful, efficient, coy and delicate. Those were the male nurses.
And I learned doctorspeak. Dr. Matthew Wilson, the polite, handsome 40-something Brother and Assistant Director of Trauma who actually performed my surgery, visited me in my room the next day. “Stay here until you're ready to leave,” he urged. “Hole up in here for a month, for all I care. I don't care WHEN you leave. Heal at YOUR pace. Stay here and let your body do what it needs to do. Eat and gain strength and get better on your own time.” Translation: Have your ass out of here by tomorrow.
Indeed, four days after I arrived at Cedars, I drove myself home under the influence of something called vicodin. It was while recuperating alone that I'd get my most valuable lesson: learning to LET. Stubbornly independent for much of my life, I didn't actually think people cared.
People do care, however, and that, too, is God talking: telling me that the only thing we truly do alone in this world is die, and that people who need people--people who can allow themselves to be cared for by those willing to help--are the luckiest, most blessed people in the world.
Steven Ivory's book, FOOL IN LOVE (Touchstone/Simon & Schuster) is in stores now or at Amazon.com (www.Amazon.com) Respond to him via STEVRIVORY@AOL.COM or MYfeedback@eurweb.com
THE BRIDGE: In Your Shadow
By Darryl James
*You were already three years old when we first met.
I had no idea that you would be around me for so long and while we fought like cats and dogs, I would not have known what to do if you weren’t there.
It seemed like such a pain to have someone always acting like they knew everything (and proving most of the damned time that they did), and like I knew nothing (I mostly knew what you taught me).
As much as I claimed not to like being in your shadow, I followed you for the longest time. I went to the same elementary school, the same high school and the same college you went to. And when I got to college, I pledged the same fraternity that you did.
By the time we were teenagers, I began to discover my own identity and I discovered that identity was a lot like your own. We saw the world through the same lenses in many ways—both of us were growing up to hold many of the values our mother held near and dear.
Though we sometimes fought like cats and dogs as children, I can only recall one argument beyond my seventeenth birthday. You were rude to me when I stopped by your dorm room unannounced and ran through the bottom floor ten minutes later looking for me so that you could apologize.
After that, we had disagreements, which were merely divergences, but we never allowed anything to make us so mad that we couldn’t still be friends. Eventually, we taught each other that no disagreement was worth harsh words or showing sour temperament to the other, so we simply learned to let things go.
I just wrote the words “taught each other.” And, I realize that I say that because you began to tell people how smart you thought I was once we were adults. You never hesitated to tell me how proud you were of me and brag to people about how talented I was and how much potential you thought I had.
You have no idea how much that meant to me or how high your compliments buoyed my self esteem. Especially since you and I know that you have always been the smarter brother.
I followed you to Washington, DC and left before you did. When you moved to California, it didn’t take too long for me to follow you there as well. But as we grew older, I discovered that I wasn’t doing the things you were doing simply to mimic you—I was doing those things because they made sense. In many ways, we were a great deal alike.
Everything I have done after you did those things were things I would have been lead to anyway.
And now you live on one coast and I live on the other. That makes sense right now, but neither of us will visit our hometown in the center of the nation without the other.
I remember how our mother would force you to take me places with you and how you would complain. I didn’t like it either. But I also remember in retrospect that you took me many other places without her having to ask. And I liked that a lot.
I learned a lot from being in your shadow.
From you I learned about Kwanzaa. Your high school sweetheart’s family had a Kwanzaa celebration and you took me along.
I learned much more from you about our people. You took me to buy Dashikis and we wore them proudly with our Afros everywhere, even when some confused Negroes would make fun of us.
You were the one who taught me chivalry—women walk on the inside, doors are to be held for them and even women the same age like it when a man says “yes ma’am.”
You taught me how important education was.
You taught me so much more and many of the things you taught me helped me even when you weren’t around.
Life is changing now. I am a father and I became a father before you did. But even though this is a path I will walk ahead of you, I am still looking to the lessons I learned from you about life in general and about how to treat people.
I remember that you and I were babysitters when we were scarcely more than babies ourselves and I remember the lessons I learned from you as I sit with my own son. Secretly, I hoped for twin boys so that I could name them after us both.
When I started writing this, I promised I wouldn’t quote the lyrics to “Wind Beneath My Wings,” but you really were that and yes, you were my hero and still are.
When I first grew taller than you, I used to joke about how you were now my little brother. But, really, I am proud to proclaim that the shorter brother is my big brother.
At the beginning of our journey, I thought I disliked having a big brother always around. Now, in the middle of that journey, I can’t imagine how empty my life would have been without you--my best friend, my fraternity brother and my big brother.
Even though we were poor, our mother always kept the love shining on us to keep us warm. You and I kept that going.
It was never really cold in your shadow.
Did you ever know that you're my hero? You're everything I wish I could be. I could fly higher than an eagle, for you are the wind beneath my wings.
--Bette Midler, Wind Beneath My Wings
Darryl James is an award-winning author who is now a filmmaker. He released his first mini-movie, “Crack,” and in Spring of this year, will release his first 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.
THE JOURNAL OF STEFFANIE RIVERS: Just Say No
*The reduction in sub-prime mortgage lending means some people must defer the fulfillment of what many call the American dream – home ownership.
Federal regulations are forcing mortgage brokers to act more discerning when it comes to their lending habits. Commission real estate professionals might view this as a negative situation. But higher points and larger down payments homeowners were forced to pay lead me to believe stricter qualifications will save people billions of dollars they never should have agreed to pay.
Mortgage defaults nationwide partly are to blame for the sluggish economy, because when consumers don’t pay their monthly bills Uncle Sam can’t use that money to re-circulate into the financial system.
That means the feds might look to keep consumers on the financial hook by offering more student loans in amounts as large as $40,000 – more than the cost of a public college education. So be careful your education loan doesn’t turn into a thirty-year payment plan that could keep you in the red.
I attended undergrad and graduate school with the assistance of student loans, so I’m not against their use. But if you borrow more money than it takes to pay your tuition your debt-to-income ratio could disqualify you for future financial opportunities. Not to mention that six months after graduation you are due to start repaying the loan regardless of how little your new job pays.
Sure the interest rate on current student loans likely is less than any other loan you might acquire, but $40,000 amortized over 30 years, when you didn’t need to borrow the money, still is coming out of your pocket.
Some of my former classmates accepted more grant and loan dollars than needed to pay their tuition and used the leftover money for whatever. Had they known back then a new company called Microsoft would grow to be worth billions of dollars they might have invested that extra money in Microsoft stock. But I digress.
The fact is everybody can use more money, but we know everything that’s good to you isn’t good for you. So when somebody offers you more money than you need – even a student loan – it doesn’t mean you have to take it.
Build assets, not liabilities.
Steffanie Rivers is a free-lance journalist living in the Washington, DC metro area. Send your comments and questions to teamtcbadvertising@hotmail.com .
JASMYNE CANNICK: Excuse Me But I Didn’t Mean to Turn You On
*I never cease to be amazed at the excuses we make for our behavior.
For example, in the case of R. Kelly…“yeah the girl was underage and he was a grown ass man but she was asking for it.”
Last week on my blog JasmyneCannick.com, I posted a story about Venus Williams and tennis commentator Roger Rasheed of Australia's Channel Seven’s remarks about Williams' rear end during a slow motion replay of her match against China's Yan Zi.
He told co-commentators Tracy Austin and Nicole Bradtke as Venus' backside filled the TV screen, "take a look at this now. Make or think as you will, ladies, but for me, that's a pretty good sight."
This resulted in a myriad of comments from both females and males justifying the commentator’s statements.
The comments ranged from “she’s got a fantastic a***” to “I'm sure Venus wasn't offended, she loves her some white men and is engaged to one,” and of course my favorite “all you have to do is look at the white girls who play tennis with no butts and no breasts and look like teen boys to see why a man might find Venus' rear to be, what did he call it, attractive.”
I’m sorry, did I miss something? Just because a woman has a nice bottom doesn’t mean that in the middle of a tennis match she should be objectified on live television.
First of all, it’s a tennis match where the majority of the women that compete wear short form fitting clothing. Hello? Venus and her sister Serena certainly are not the exception, they just wear it better. And just because they were blessed to be born Black doesn’t mean that they should have their butts viewed in slow motion and commented on every time they take to the court for a match. You and I both know that nobody is zooming in on Maria Sharapova’s rear end.
Now to bring it home, because all politics are local.
Let me tell you why I don’t like to walk in certain parts of Los Angeles on the street, and it has nothing to do with the crime. It has to do with fathers, uncles, brothers, cousins, and yes----grandfathers driving by honking and hollering some obscenity out of their car window at me about my butt and what they’d like to do with said butt. Some of the perverts are even bold enough to pull over. Mind you, I’m not dressed like a prostitute. It could just be jeans and shirt. It doesn’t matter because they see a big butt and like white on rice are immediately drawn to it. It happens every single day in the hood to some Black woman. And granted, there are some females that want it and are working for it, but most of us aren’t and don’t appreciate it.
The disrespect of women has been going on for so long that we have learned to accept it as the norm and then attempt to rationalize it.
True story. When we did the R. Kelly protest, I arrived a bit early. I parked my car, walked to the intersection of Prairie and Manchester, and stood in front of the Coliseum to wait for the others to arrive. It wasn’t even five minutes before a car drove by with some tired ass brotha in it honking, talking about “hey baby.” This went on for about ten minutes before I walked back to my car. I couldn’t handle it. It made me extremely nervous to be out there and to have to deal with all of that. I remember talking to a girlfriend of mine on the phone while I was walking back to the car because I was so nervous.
Now brothas will cop an attitude if you do that to their moms or sister, but when it comes to women that are of no relation to them, suddenly it’s cool. But we’re someone’s sister, daughter, or mother too. Where’s our respect?
I was just waiting on the corner for my folks to come, so are you going to tell me that I was asking for it too? I wore my jeans too tight so I should expect it. You can miss me with that.
This issue of respect for women is larger than the commentator’s remarks about Venus’ buttocks. It’s about our daily interactions and the lack of respect shown towards women and then us women attempting to make excuses for the behavior.
Plainly put, it’s degrading and disgusting and in some ways can be debilitating for the sistas out there on the bus that have to put up with it every day, as if we don’t already have enough issues to deal with.
So before you make excuses to try to rationalize why it’s ok for sports commentators to make remarks about the butts of Black women on international television, stop for a moment, and put yourself in her shoes. I don’t recall Venus ever saying that she liked it or that she wanted it. Would you use the same rationale regarding a female rape victim? Would you say that she asked for it because she wore a short tight dress? I don’t think so.
No one is arguing whether or not Venus’ rear end is beautiful, the answer to that is obvious, but just because someone finds it beautiful doesn’t give them the right to say whatever is on their minds about it and especially not on live television. It was wrong and foul and just exemplifies the constant disrespect and objectification that Black women in particular face on an everyday basis from men, all over the globe.
At 30, Jasmyne Cannick is a critic and commentator based in Los Angeles who writes about the worlds of pop culture, race, class, and politics as it relates to the African-American community. She can be reached at www.jasmynecannick.com or www.myspace.com/jasmynecannick.
TURNER’S TWO CENTS: Civil rights heroes call today’s youth; Truth crushed to earth will rise again
By Cameron Turner
CIVIL RIGHTS HEROES CALL TODAY'S YOUTH!
*In celebrating Martin Luther King Day this week, I was reminded of the crucial role played that young people played in America's liberation struggle.
Dr. King was himself only 26 years old when he entered the movement as spokesman for the Montgomery Bus Boycott. School-age kids faced Bull Connor's attack dogs and fire hoses in Birmingham, Alabama.
College students led the lunch counter sit-ins, Freedom Rides and the 1964 voter registration campaign of Freedom Summer. High school students led the Chicano student walkouts of 1968.
The Student Non-Violent Coordinating Committee, the Congress of Racial Equality, the Black Panther Party, the Brown Berets, etc. were all formed by folks in their teens and 20s. These heroes stand as powerful examples of what young people can accomplish when they commit to a righteous cause.
The flames of social awareness and activism have not been snuffed out among today's youth but they seem little more than glowing embers compared to the wildfires of yesteryear. So, as we move ahead from King Day 2008, I hope that youth - especially black and brown youth - will look beyond the distractions and trivialities of our entertainment-obsessed culture and put new energy into efforts to make our world better: becoming educated, building up our communities (physically, socially, economically), empowering the poor, bridging racial and economic divides, holding politicians accountable, providing fun and inspiring outlets for our children, building businesses, creating jobs, ending the scourge of drugs and gang violence which is destroying our neighborhoods and stealing away our best and brightest young men, ending the war which is doing the same thing.
There is so much work to be done! But history shows us that nothing is impossible when brave, dedicated people stand up together. Cesar Chavez, the Mexican-American labor leader who was inspired by Dr. King, spoke a simple truth nearly four decades ag "si se puede" -- it can be done!
(CLICK BELOW FOR DR. KING'S SPEECH IN BIRMINGHAM ABOUT YOUNG ACTIVSTS)
"TRUTH CRUSHED TO EARTH WILL RISE AGAIN!"
Martin Luther King, Jr. often punctuated his speeches and writings with quotes from great philosophers, poets, theologians and historical figures. Two of his favorites were "No lie can live forever" (Carlyle) and "Truth crushed to earth will rise again" (William Cullen Bryant). Dr. King used those phrases to great effect as he denounced the hypocrisy, criminality and sin of racial injustice in the "land of the free."
I often hear Dr. King quoting Carlisle and Bryant as I read news of President Bush's efforts in the Middle East.
President Bush has built his entire Mideast foreign policy on lies and deception. He told us that we had to attack Iraq because Saddam Hussein had weapons of mass destruction, had tried to acquire uranium from Nigeria and had aided al Qaida in the September 11 attacks. Those were all lies.
Throughout the disastrous and fruitless occupation, Mr. Bush has repeatedly told us that having U.S. troops in Iraq would make us safer from terrorism.
Another lie. Al Qaida has actually grown and is now active in more parts of the world than before the invasion. In 2006, our own National Intelligence Estimate confirmed that the presence of U.S. military forces in Iraq had inflamed anti-American rage throughout the Middle East, making the occupation a "cause celebre" that swelled the ranks of terrorist groups.
The London Tube bombings and the foiled attack on Fort Bragg (launched by al Qaida sympathizers living inside the United States) were proof of this.
The Bush Administration told us that Blackwater security forces acted properly when they shot Iraqi citizens to death. They told us that terror suspects were not tortured in U.S. custody. Boldface lies. Why else would Jose Rodriguez, head of the CIA's National Clandestine Service, destroy videotapes of suspects being waterboarded? Ironically, Rodriguez did this even though his superiors at the CIA told him not to. Talk about crushing truth to earth!
Now, Iran has become the focus in President Bush's continuing campaign to crush the truth and to make lies live. Even though a recent National Intelligence Estimate found that Iran dropped its nuclear weapons program four years ago, Mr. Bush continues to blast Iran as a threat to world peace.
The President pushed that message last week in saber-rattling speeches across the Middle East.
By refusing to negotiate with the Iranians, Mr. Bush is being as foolish and arrogant as rappers who sit back in their respective camps talking smack about their rivals and issuing threats. Hip hop beefs usually end in violence unless the artists put their egos in check and meet to squash their differences. Unless President Bush chills on the antagonistic rhetoric, his beef with Iran will lead to war.
That's probably what Mr. Bush wants.
Let's face it, the so-called "War on Terror" is the only issue on which Bush has ever enjoyed broad public support. It's also the only issue that could get a Republican elected President in November. So, as the American people express continued frustration over Iraq, the President is inflating another mythical, Saddam-esque bad guy. Bush isn't selling woof tickets about Iran in order to make us safe. (The Cold War proved that diplomacy is the key to
peace.) He's doing it to set the stage for a new war which would be the Republicans' best hope of staying in power.
So, the President keeps playing with the facts and keeps trying to trick us.
But I'm comforted to see that the truth, which the Bush Administration has worked so hard to crush to earth, is rising again.
Thanks for listening. I'm Cameron Turner and that's my two cents. I'd love to hear yours, so hit me up at TurnersTwoCents@aol.com.
THINK! IT AIN'T ILLEGAL ... YET!
PEOPLE OF NOTE: Melanie Nicholls-King: Making Her Move in ‘How She Move’
by Deardra Shuler
*Melanie Nicholls-King portrays the role of Mrs. Green in the upcoming movie HOW SHE MOVE, a Paramount Vantage release, due out in theatres on Friday, January 25th. Nicholls-King plays the mother of Raya Green (Rutina Wesley) a young medical student who cannot withstand the pressures of family, and studying to be a doctor, after her sister’s untimely death due to a drug overdose. The finances of the family collapse and Raya no longer has the funds to attend her posh private school. Due to these personal pressures, Raya blows her scholarship exam. Knowing that the hopes of the family lie on her, Raya cannot bring herself to tell her family of her inability to win a scholarship.
Without private school funds, Raya must return to her old neighborhood school where she endures the taunts of her former friends who see Raya’s quest to rise above her circumstances in life, as a denial of them. Desperate to get the money she needs to return to her private school, Raya learns of a step-dance competition that is offering a $50,000.00 prize. Knowing how both her parents are working hard to keep her out of the streets, Raya hides the fact that she has returned to the streets in order to secret
