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10-01-08 EUR ALL ON ONE PAGE
URBAN MEDIA OUTLETS TAP CELEBS FOR VOTE DRIVE: Underwood, Fox, Peete part of two hour live broadcast on Oct. 5.
*Urban radio stations and newspapers across America are joining forces with celebrities to launch a massive nationwide voter registration effort in urban areas.
Blair Underwood, Vivica A. Fox and Holly Robinson Peete are just some of the celebrities scheduled to participate in "Operation Voter Registration," a live two-hour radio broadcast this Sunday (Oct. 5) from 6 to 8 p.m. on the East coast and 3 to 5 p.m. on the West coast at Westwood One studios.
"'Operation Voter Registration' is intended to entertain, educate and inspire the nearly 8 million unregistered African American voters," says Marc Morial, President and CEO of the National Urban League, one of the broadcast sponsors. "This is a no-huddle operation, coming together in the final week before many important electoral deadlines."
In addition to the live program on October 5th, "Operation Voter Registration" will produce electronic press tours during the next two weeks with celebrities reaching out to urban radio stations in states where the deadlines are different than October 6th. Between now and Election Day, they will also conduct extensive Get-Out-The-Vote efforts, linking celebrity talent with electronic and print media.
Other celebrities scheduled to participate in the bipartisan outreach include: Armstrong Williams, D.L. Hughley, Hill Harper, LeVar Burton, Malcolm Jamal Warner, Mario Van Peebles, Nikki Giovanni, Patti Austin, Rosario Dawson, Sheryl Lee Ralph and Wendell Pierce.
Over 250 black newspapers with more than 15 million readers per week are also conducting voter registration and voter turnout drives in each of
their respective cities.
JANET CANCELS TONIGHT'S BOSTON SHOW: Singer released from hospital after becoming 'suddenly ill' before Monday's Montreal gig.
*Janet Jackson's scheduled Rock Witchu tour stop in Boston tonight has been cancelled in the wake of her reported sudden illness.
The singer was hospitalized for two hours late Monday after falling ill just hours before she was scheduled to perform at the Bell Centre in Montreal. A statement released by W&W Public Relations said she "got suddenly ill" during sound check.
"I can confirm that Janet Jackson was a patient at the Royal Victoria hospital yesterday evening. She was released after two hours," a hospital spokeswoman told AFP, without giving further details.
The Bell Centre concert will be rescheduled to a later date, show promoter Gillett Entertainment said in a statement.
While Janet was dealing with her illness Monday night, TMZ.com reported that her boyfriend, music mogul Jermaine Dupri, was posted up at Patron's Music In Motion Tour Party at Marquee in New York City.
"Spies inside tell us he partied it up with friends, caught a T.I. performance, and didn't leave until 1:30 a.m.," the Web site reported.
GWEN IFILL BREAKS HER ANKLE: But she'll still be front and center at Thursday night's debate in St. Louis.
*Veteran newswoman Gwen Ifill will be limping into Thursday night's vice presidential debate after suffering a broken ankle.
The PBS journalist was walking downstairs in her Washington area home Monday when she reportedly tripped while carrying prep material for the faceoff between Republican nominee Sarah Palin and Democratic candidate Joe Biden.
Despite the pain, doctors have given her the OK to travel to St. Louis, where the vice presidential debate is scheduled for Thursday.
"Another crazy twist in a crazy week," Ifill told the Associated Press, confirming her injury in an e-mail.
GAME'S FUNERAL FIGHT CASE DISMISSED: Criminal battery charges dropped after rapper agrees to anger management.
*The Game has escaped criminal battery charges in connection with a scuffle that went down at his cousin's memorial service in Los Angeles.
As previously reported, the rap star and his relative fought over who would pay for their late cousin's funeral expenses.
The judge dismissed the case after Game agreed to attend 36 anger management meetings by February 2009, reports TMZ.com.
The rapper would've faced prison time if found guilty at a trial.
KANYE PLANS BENEFIT CONCERT FOR HIS FOUNDATION: Rapper renames organization; plots Election Day event.
*Kanye West's philanthropic foundation, renamed this year in honor of his late mother, is partnering with the Live to Give Campaign for an Election Day rap concert that aims to promote community empowerment.
The Give Back Concert, to be held on Nov. 4 in Washington D.C., is specifically focused on inspiring young adults to vote in the presidential election.
Pre-sale purchasers will get to meet Washington Wizards player Antawn Jamison at a private meet and greet at the D.C. ESPN Zone, while the first 200 will attend a pre-concert meet and greet with the performers.
So far the organization has hinted that the first performer had his first two albums debut at No. 1 on Billboards Top 200 chart, and the second has won a Grammy, four BET awards, and a Teen Choice award.
All ticket proceeds will go to select charities. Pre-sale tickets are on sale until Oct. 9 through www.livetogiveback.org or by phone (301) 605-5324.
SPIKE LEE PRESSED ON 'ANNA' ACCURACY: Reporters question depiction of 1944 massacre of Italian civilians.
*Spike Lee came under fire from reporters at a press screening of his new WWII drama "Miracle at St. Anna" regarding a scene that links an antifascist Italian resistance group to the Nazi massacre of 560 Italian civilians.
Following Monday's press screening in Rome, Lee and "St. Anna" screenwriter James McBride were accused of misrepresenting facts surrounding the dynamics of the Nazi slaughter in the Tuscan village.
In the film, which spotlights the role of African-American soldiers in WWII, a resistance fighter named Rodolfo collaborates with the Nazis, indirectly sparking the slaughter. This aspect of Lee's "St. Anna" has incensed partisan veteran organizations, which fear it could fuel a "revisionist" backlash, as former partisan Moreno Costa told Corriere della Sera.
"This is a fictional story," McBride stressed to Variety. "The real question for me was how to make 'St. Anna' a reveal, because that is the craft of fiction.
"I am very sorry if I have offended the partisans. I have enormous respect for them. As a black American, we understand what it's like for someone to tell your history, and they are not you.
"But unfortunately, the history of World War II here in Italy is ours as well, and this was the best I could do," McBride added.
Lee, on the other hand, was not so remorseful.
"I am not apologizing for anything. I think these questions are evidence that there is still a lot about your history during the war that you (Italians) have got to come to grips with," he said. "This film is no clear picture of what happened. It is our interpretation, and I stand behind it."
RICKY WILLIAMS STILL JONESING FOR WEED: Miami Dolphin admits he was close to lighting up during bye weekend.
*Miami Dolphins running back Ricky Williams has admitted that he still struggles with his love for marijuana and was tempted to smoke during the team's bye weekend, reports the Miami Herald.
The athlete said that when players were given Friday off, "automatically your mind, which is so constrained since training camp began ... says, 'I'm free, what can I do?'"
"So there was definitely an urge," he said in Tuesday's Miami Herald. "But I just thought about what I have to lose, and it was easy. The urge didn't last very long."
Williams has been in the league's substance-abuse program since 2002 and has tested positive for marijuana. If he were to get caught with the herb in his system again, he would likely be out of the NFL for good because he has already violated the league drug policy four times.
"There's no space, no wiggle room for me," Williams said, adding that he fought the urge to smoke over the weekend by meditating instead, which gives him the same "feeling of being free."
"A lot of times when people have some kind of addiction, what happens is they make a mistake and trip up and afterward say, 'I don't know what I was thinking,'" he said. "If you always try to be aware of what is going on in your mind, you won't ever get to that point where it's too late."
Williams said he will not smoke marijuana again while he's in the NFL, but he's uncertain whether he'll abstain when his career ends.
"I'd be lying if I said I'm never going to do it again after I'm done," he said. "I don't know. I don't spend much time thinking about it."
LIL ROMEO ON LIFE AT SOUTHERN CAL: Rapper has had three bikes stolen after just five weeks on campus.
*Rapper-actor Lil Romeo, a freshman basketball player at the University of Southern California, has been on campus for five weeks and has already had three of his expensive bikes stolen.
"Lock your bike!" the 19-year-old says to People magazine. "Now I just have a little $5 bike that hopefully no one will want."
The famous son of rap entrepreneur P. Miller says he's much more protective when it comes to securing his pricey jewelry.
"I don't bring anything expensive to the dorms," says Romeo, who plans to major in film production. "I just sleep with my earrings on."
Despite the bike thefts, the Trojan point guard says he's appreciates his new independence.
"I love college life," he says. "It's like a vacation."
NEW JAY-Z ALBUM GETS A RELEASE DATE: 'Blueprint 3' reportedly due in stores before Christmas.
*Rapper Jay-Z is said to have chosen Dec. 2 as the release date for his new CD "The Blueprint 3," the last in a trilogy of albums that began in 2001.
According to reports, the set will include a sequel to the M.I.A.-sampled hit "Swagger Like Us," a track on rapper T.I.'s new album "Paper Trail."
Jay-Z's "Swagger Like Us: The Sequel" includes verses from Young Jeezy, Andre 3000 and Nas.
Kanye West is the main producer on "The Blueprint 3" alongside Timbaland.
TECH N9NE TAKES LABEL ROSTER ON TOUR: Artists signed to his Strange label to hit more than 40 cities.
*Underground rapper Tech N9ne will headline the first ever Strictly Strange tour, which will feature the entire roster of the record label, Strange, which he co-owns.
The artist and his labelmates--Krizz Kaliko, Kutt Calhoun, Prozak, Skatterman & Snug Brim and Grave Plott--will launch the trek Oct. 3 in Grand Junction, CO and hit more than 40 cities before winding down in late November.
The Kansas City-based rapper started his Strange Music label with businessman Travis O'Guin in 2001, with the pair initially signing a distribution deal with Jcor Entertainment to release Tech N9ne's major league debut, 2001's "Anghellic," with the backing of Interscope Records.
Tech N9ne, born Aaron Yates, released his latest album "Killer" in July. The 32-track, 2-CD album features guest shots from Paul Wall, Scarface, Kottonmouth Kings, Ice Cube and many others, along with production from David Sanders II, Matic Lee and Wyshmaster.
Here is the Strictly Strange tour schedule:
October 2008
3 - Grand Junction, CO - Mesa Theater
4 - Magna, UT - The Great Saltair
5 - Missoula, MT - The Wilma
6 - Spokane, WA - Knitting Factory
8 - Seattle, WA - Moore Theatre
9 - Bellingham, WA - Viking Union
10 - Portland, OR - Roseland Theatre
11 - Eugene, OR - McDonald Theatre
12- Bend, OR - Midtown Music Hall
14 - San Francisco, CA - DNA Lounge
15 - Sparks, NV - New Oasis
16 - Chico, CA - Senator Theatre
17 - Santa Cruz, CA - Catalyst
18 - Bakersfield, CA - Bakersfield Dome
19 - Santa Clara, CA - Avalon
20 - San Diego, CA - House of Blues
21 - Los Angeles, CA - Key Club
23 - Tempe, AZ - Marquee Theatre
24 - Tucson, AZ - Rialto Theatre
25 - Albuquerque, NM - Sunshine Theater
26 - Amarillo, TX - Azteca Music Hall
27 - Houston, TX, House of Blues
28 - New Orleans, LA - House of Blues
31 - Columbia, MO - Blue Note
November 2008
1 - Sauget, IL - Pop's
2 - Davenport, IA - River Center Ballroom
4 - Fargo, ND - Playmaker's Pavilion
5 - Brookings, SD - Swiftel Ballroom
6 - Omaha, NE - Sokol Auditoium
7 - Maplewood, MN - Myth
8 - Mokena, IL - The Pearl Room
9 - Detroit, MI - St. Andrews Hall
10 - Cleveland, OH - House of Blues
11 - Columbus, OH - Newport
12 - Grand Rapids, MI - Intersection Lounge
13 - Cincinnati, OH - Bogart's
15 - Nashville, TN - Wild Horse
18 - Oklahoma City, OK - Diamond Ballroom
19 - Tulsa, OK - Cain's Ballroom
20 - Wichita, KS - Cotillion
21 - Kansas City, MO - The Uptown Theatre
22 - Denver, CO - Fillmore Auditorium
LUDACRIS DESIGNS NEW ERA CAP: Rapper's limited edition version includes Atlanta Braves "A."
*Ludacris is the latest celebrity to design a cap for New Era's "Capture the Flag" limited-edition series, joining previous participants Fabolous, Cam'ron, Fat Joe, and The Game.
The actor-rapper designed the cap himself with such features as a large Atlanta Braves "A" style crest on the side-front left that is half clear crystals on the right and half black crystals on the left.
The Luda-designed cap is black with red piping and also features the "Disturbing Tha Peace" logo in the flocked lining and undervisor flip along with the "Just Getting Started" logo on the back.
The cap is due to hit retail on Oct. 17, and will be available exclusively at New Era Flagship stores and online at www.neweracap.com for $125.00. Only 200 units are available worldwide.
SPRINGSTEEN, JOEL ROCK FOR OBAMA: Democratic presidential nominee to attend fundraising concert in New York.
*Music icons Bruce Springsteen and Billy Joel will treat fans to a special performance in New York City this month to benefit Democratic presidential nominee Barack Obama.
The candidate is scheduled to make a personal appearance at the event, which will be held at the Hammerstein Ballroom on Oct. 16, one day after his final debate with Republican John McCain at Hofstra University in Hempstead, N.Y.
Tickets range from $500 to $10,000 a piece, reports the Huffington Post.
MTV SETS A DATE FOR DIDDY'S 'STARMAKER': Mogul adds yet another reality show to Viacom family.
*MTV has announced that "StarMaker," a new reality show from Sean "Diddy" Combs and "Survivor" producer Mark Burnett, will premiere its first season in January.
The competition series follows a group of wannabe solo singers living together and competing in a series of tasks designed to test their star power - including photo shoots, paparazzi drills and on-stage performances.
"It's a privilege to partner with Mark Burnett on my latest television venture. He is one of the industry's best," Diddy said in a statement. "I am confident that we will do great things together with 'StarMaker' and beyond."
MTV and Diddy began developing the series in the fall of 2007, while Burnett - who also produces 'The Apprentice," "The Contender" and "Are You Smarter Than A Fifth Grader?" - came aboard in the spring.
Diddy's reality show resume includes executive-producer roles on MTV's "Making The Band," "Run's House" and VH1's "I Want to Work For Diddy."
DMX SHOWS UP TO COURT IN PHOENIX: Rapper appears on a bench warrant following hospitalization last week.
*DMX made it to a courtroom in Phoenix on Monday after a bench warrant was issued for his arrest.
The rapper, born Earl Simmons, was initially due in court last week to face four counts of possession of drug paraphernalia and one count of marijuana possession. But he failed to appear because, according to his lawyer, he was being treated at a Florida hospital for symptoms associated with a stroke.
The artist's attorney, Charles Kozelka, said he was not at liberty to discuss DMX's medical condition. According to Phoenix's CBS affiliate KPHO news, Kozelka asked that the possession case be part of a scheduled Oct. 7 status conference, which also involves a case of animal cruelty charges and theft charges.
The judge reminded the rap artist to appear at all of his upcoming court hearings.
NBA'S ALONZO MOURNING RELEASES BOOK: 'Resilience' chronicles his life and fight against kidney disease.
*NBA star Alonzo Mourning can now add author to his resume following Tuesday's release of his book "Resilience," a 231-page account of his life story, including his battle with the life-threatening kidney disease, focal segmental glomerular sclerosis.
The athlete said he was encouraged to share his life story after following the resilience of cyclist Lance Armstrong, who survived testicular cancer that had metastasized to his brain and lungs.
"Lance was one of the people who inspired me to write this book," Mourning said in an interview with The Associated Press. "He played a big role in my overall approach to coming back and playing the game, reading both of his books, learning more about his life, his experiences and how he dealt with adversity. He motivated millions and millions of people in their lives, and I felt my story could have that same impact."
"Resilience" chronicles Mourning's years playing college basketball at Georgetown and his NBA stops in Charlotte, New Jersey and Miami, where he spent the bulk of his career and the team he'd like to return to at some point this season.
He's still waiting to determine if he can recover from major injuries to his knee and leg suffered in a fall at Atlanta on Dec. 19, 2007 -- the fourth anniversary of the kidney transplant that saved his life.
The book also touches on several other facets of his life, many of which he hasn't discussed at much length publicly before. Among the highlights:
. How Bill Cosby helped shape his life by paying for an education at Howard for the woman who would eventually become his wife, Tracy Wilson Mourning.
. The tribulations of the recruiting trail as a coveted high school player, when Maryland, Syracuse, Virginia and Georgia Tech all wanted him to sign and wooed him with clothes, shoes, fancy dinners, even a trip to a strip club. "Everyone understood I could have gotten money at any of these places.
The message was sent," Mourning wrote.
. How he was nearly too muscular to get a kidney transplant, because surgeons were having trouble finding a place in his body to put the new organ without cutting copious amounts of muscle. If they'd gone about the procedure that way, Mourning's career would have ended in the operating room.
CONGRESSMAN APOLOGIZES FOR PALIN REMARK: Rep. Alcee Hastings said she would be a bad president for blacks and Jews.
*African-American congressman Alcee Hastings released a statement apologizing for his comment to a Jewish group regarding Republican vice presidential nominee Sarah Palin.
The Florida lawmaker was speaking at a panel on the shared agenda of Jewish and African-American Democrats during the annual conference of the National Jewish Democratic Council last week when he intended to tell his Jewish constituents about the importance of supporting Sen. Barack Obama in November's presidential election.
"If Sarah Palin isn't enough of a reason for you to get over whatever your problem is with Barack Obama, then you damn well had better pay attention," Hastings said, according to reports. "Anybody toting guns and stripping moose don't care too much about what they do with Jews and blacks. So, you just think this through."
In his statement Monday, Hastings said "I regret the comments I made last Tuesday that were not smart and certainly not relevant to hunters or sportsmen."
However, he still backed the sentiment behind his initial remarks.
"The point I made, and will continue to make, is that the policies and priorities of a McCain-Palin administration would be anathema to most African Americans and Jews," he said in his statement. "I regret that I was not clearer and apologize to Governor Palin, my host where I was speaking, and those who my comments may have offended."
Last Friday, the NJDC announced the launch of a new campaign of pro-Obama ads that will appear in Jewish newspapers across the country. The first ad in the campaign is timed to coincide with the Rosh Hashanah issues of the publications, and focuses on Obama's support for Israel.
"Barack Obama is committed to a safe and secure Israel" and "believes that Israel must be preserved as a Jewish state," the ad reads.
EUR DVD REVIEW: What Black Men Think
Thought-Provoking DVD Discusses “What Black Men Think”
DVD Review by Kam Williams
*Harriet Tubman once reflected wistfully, “If I could have convinced more slaves that they were slaves, I could have freed thousands more.“
Director/narrator Janks Morton employs the same sage adage during his introduction to What Black Men Think, his thought-provoking documentary which paints an enlightening and empathetic portrait of African-American males by employing some rather surprising raw statistics to suggest that we all reconsider some commonly-held beliefs about brothers.
Merely relying on data readily available from government agencies, Morton, pointer in hand, uses graphs, charts and a chalkboard to debunk a litany of popular stereotypes like the idea that there are more black men in prison than in college, that most don’t graduate from high school and that most don’t pay child support.
Not only does director Morton expose all these widely-disseminated notions as fallacious, but he suggests that, left unchallenged, they have the ability to do an incalculable amount of damage to impressionable young minds.
When not busy busting such misleading myths, he devotes his time to a series of compelling tete-a-tetes with an array of leading public intellectuals like Shelby Steele, Reverend Jesse Lee Peterson, John McWhorter, Juan Williams, Steve Perry, Armstrong Williams and former Lieutenant Governor Michael Steele (R-MD). All it takes is a cursory glance at the above list to notice that most are known for being conservative. So excuse me for bracing myself to hear a lot of that blaming the victim nonsense that tends to come from their lips when they’re guests of right-wing TV talk show hosts.
However, I was pleasantly surprised to find that in this format they have been offered an opportunity to expound fully on their hopes and aspirations for black men, rather than being restricted to addressing only hot-button issues in ten-second sound bites. Consequently, each of these elders has some worthwhile advice to share, here, as they cover timely topics ranging from the AIDS epidemic to the N-word to black-on-black crime to conspicuous consumption to academic underachievement.
In sum, What Black Men Think is highly recommended as an excellent alternative to the mainstream propaganda which would have us internalize the worst beliefs about an unfairly maligned segment of society. Guaranteed to generate quality conversation about the direction of African-Americana.
Excellent (4 stars)
Unrated
Running time: 87 minutes
Studi iYAGO Entertainment Group
To see a trailer of What Black Men Think, visit: http://wbmt.wordpress.com/trailers/
EUR MOTIVATIONAL NOTE
“You must have courage to bet on your ideals, to take calculated risk, and act.. Everyday living requires courage if life is to be effective and bring happiness.” - by Maxwell Maltz
CELEBRITY BIRTHDAYS
Oct. 1: Saxophonist Jerry Martini of Sly and the Family Stone is 65. Singer Howard Hewett is 51. Singer Youssou N'Dour is 49. Actor Esai Morales ("NYPD Blue") is 46.
WEBSITE OF THE WEEK
They say Nworcs Radio out of Atlanta is hott to death! It’s a guy out of Atlanta, GA that plays nothing but the best hip hop and R&B online. Check it out at www.NworcsRadio.com.
Submit your favorite Web site to us along with a 15-20 word (or less) description to info@eurweb.com.
BLACK HISTORY
Oct. 1, 1868: John Mercer Langston founded and organized the Law Department of Howard University, the first in a black school. (Source: www.BlackFacts.com)
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