EURweb |
08-18-09 EUR ALL ON ONE PAGE
TYRA TO OPEN NEW SEASON WITHOUT WEAVE: Talk show host will return Sept. 8 with 'no fake hair at all!!'
*Stop the presses. The season premiere of "The Tyra Banks Show" will feature its host without her trusty weave.
. “Guess What! I’m rockin’ my REAL hair on my talk show September 8th,” the former supermodel posted on her Twitter feed. “No fake hair at all! Will be the hair coming out of my scalp! 4 all 2 C!”
She continued, “no ponytails, no ballet bun head. hair will be out and free!”
The day after Tyra's weave free talk show episode airs, her prime time gig, "America's Next Top Model," begins its 13th cycle on the CW with
14 new hopefuls – each standing 5'7" or shorter.
STEVE HARVEY JOINS 'GOOD MORNING AMERICA': Comic will contribute segments related to family and relationships.
*The recession has nothing on Steve Harvey. The veteran radio jock – who has often carried two or three jobs at a time – just got another new gig courtesy of ABC's "Good Morning America."
The comedian will contribute family and relationship-related segments to the morning program, with his first report scheduled to air tomorrow (Aug. 19).
The 52-year-old Harvey will continue to host his nationally-syndicated Steve Harvey Morning Show, heard in 60 markets around the nation. He also just finished hosting his annual Hoodie Awards, which honors local businesses, churches and high schools for their community contributions.
Harvey authored the best-selling book "Act Like a Lady, Think Like a Man," and he previously starred in his self-titled sitcom for seven seasons on the WB network.
MICHAEL JACKSON TO GET BIRTHDAY BURIAL: Singer will be laid to rest on Aug.
29, according to Papa Joe.
*In an interview with the New York Daily News, Joe Jackson stated that his son Michael will finally be laid to rest on Aug. 29, which would've been the singer's 51st birthday.
The family patriarch said the burial would take place at 10 a.m. at Forest Lawn Cemetery in Glendale, Calif., where he is currently being held in a crypt belonging to Motown founder Berry Gordy, according to reports.
Jackson, 80, told the Daily News that these arrangements had only been finalized recently.
MACY GRAY, MYA, MICHAEL IRVIN ON 'DWTS': New cast announced Monday for fall season.
*Sixteen celebrities will compete on next season's "Dancing With the Stars," including music artists Macy Gray, Mya and former Dallas Cowboys wide receiver Michael Irvin.
The rest of the crop includes singers Aaron Carter, Donnie Osmond and Kelly Osbourne; actors Melissa Joan Hart, Debi Mazar and Ashley Hamilton; models Kathy Ireland and Joanna Krupa; "Iron Chef America" star Mark Dacascos; Olympic swimmer Natalie Coughlin, ultimate fighting star Chuck Liddell, Olympic snowboarder Louie Vito and former House Majority Leader Tom DeLay.
Season nine, which begins Monday, Sept. 21, has the biggest in show history.
“When we increase the cast we find it makes the competition more interesting,” DWTS executive producer Conrad Green tells People.com. “It was about trying to make it as big as possible and try to get that sense of fun and excitement and real character come through on the show.”
BULLETS FLY ON SET OF LATIFAH FILM: Man in stable condition after hit in the torso and leg.
*Shots were fired Sunday on the Manhattan set of Queen Latifah's upcoming film "Just Wright," and it wasn't part of the script.
Workers dressing an area outside of a Chelsea housing project say the victim got out of a car and began arguing with two men, according to the New York Daily News. Then, they say, someone started shooting.
Feliberto Rivera said he was hanging "no parking" signs when he saw a man lying on the street outside, yelling for help. The victim, hit in the torso and the leg, was in stable condition at a nearby hospital at press time.
Despite the shooting, filming was to begin at the location on Monday.
"Just Wright" stars Latifah as a physical therapist who helps a New Jersey Nets basketball player (played by Common) rehab his knee. Filming at the team's arena in the Meadowlands last week, Latifah, who grew up in Newark, told the New York Post's Fred Kerber: "Darryl Dawkins used to get his hair cut at the barber shop over my house. So I've been a Nets fan since I was a kid."
'WHITE CHICKS' SEQUEL IN THE WORKS: Shawn and Marlon Wayans to reprise roles from 2004 comedy.
*The Wayans brothers and Sony Pictures are teaming for a sequel to the 2004 comedy "White Chicks," in which Marlon and Shawn Wayans will again star as sibling FBI agents posing as a pair of Caucasian women.
Their big brother Keenen Ivory Wayans will direct the sequel, which all three Wayans are penning, according to the Hollywood Reporter. The plot of the new entry is being kept under wraps.
The first film grossed nearly $70 million domestically; it was made for about $37 million.
The Wayans trio last worked together on "Dance Flick," which they acted in, produced and co-wrote with family members Craig Wayans and Damien Dante Wayans.
Keenan Ivory Wayans' last directing project was 2006's "Little Man."
Marlon Wayans is currently in theaters as Ripcord in the current release "G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra."
ICEBERG SLIM'S 'PIMP' CLOSER TO BIG SCREEN: Rights to Robert Beck's 1969 autobiography acquired by 'Entourage' exec producer.
*Robert "Iceberg Slim" Beck's 1969 autobiography, "Pimp: The Story of My Life," is closer than ever to becoming a feature film, according to the Hollywood Reporter.
A project was once set up at Fine Line as a starring vehicle for Ice Cube with Bill Duke directing, and Pras of the Fugees was trying to mount a film version as late as 2004.
One huge obstacle has been an ongoing lawsuit between the author's estate and the publisher (Beck died in 1992). With the suit recently settled, rights to the best-seller have been acquired outright by Rob Weiss, an executive producer of HBO's "Entourage," along with producers Mitch Davis, Ryan Drexler and Andrew Left.
Born in abject poverty, Beck became a pimp at 18 and eventually rose to kingpin status in the Chicago underworld. He had several stretches in prison, making one escape. After retiring from the business he became an insecticide salesman in Los Angeles.
During a phone conversation with a college professor, Beck mentioned that he had been a pimp, and the professor encouraged him to write an autobiography. Three months later, Beck had penned "Pimp."
The tome has sold more than 5 million copies and is the second-best-selling book by a black man, after Alex Haley's "Roots."
"The story is really the birth of the American inner city, and it's an incredible tale of overcoming oppression," said Weiss, according to the Hollywood Reporter. "It speaks of a very specific time in America and its street culture. The book is filled with broken souls but shows how, in the end, Iceberg found a way to heal himself."
The quartet is looking for actors, writers and a director before bringing the project to a studio.
SMOKEY ROBINSON PREPS NEW ALBUM: Watch video for set's first single 'Don't Know Why.'
*William "Smokey" Robinson is celebrating his 50th anniversary in music this year, and is marking the occasion with a new studio album due Aug. 25 titled "Time Flies When You're Having Fun."
The Robso/ASA release, featuring guests Carlos Santana, Joss Stone and India.Arie, is led by first single "Don't Know Why." [Watch the video
here: http://www.billboard.com?bcpid=1444170225&bctid=33553205001]
The crooner sat down with Billboard and gave the following interview:
What's the origin of the nickname "Smokey"?
My favorite uncle, who was also my godfather, gave it to me when I was 3 years old. I used to love cowboys; that was my thing--especially the ones who sang. And he would always take me to see cowboy movies. His cowboy name for me was "Smokey Joe." Whenever anybody asked me what my name was, I'd tell them "Smokey Joe." The Joe dropped off when I became 12.
When did you first know you wanted to be a singer/songwriter?
I have felt like that since I was 4 years old. At times it seemed like it was going to be my absolutely impossible dream given where I grew up in Detroit. But it was always my dream. Nobody in my family was a professional musically. My mother sang in church and played the piano; my dad sang in the shower [laughs]. However, I listened to everything that was being played at
home: from gospel to gut-bucket blues to jazz and classical. My two older sisters listened to bebop: Charlie Parker, Miles Davis and Dizzy Gillespie.
I formed my first group when I was 11. We went from being the Five Chimes to the Matadors and changed members until we got to be the Miracles.
How did the group come up with the Miracles name?
It was after we recorded our first record, before Motown was established.
The Matadors was a masculine name; we needed a name that would fit four guys and a girl. So we put a bunch of names in a hat and Miracles-the name I put in there-is the one we drew out.
Why did the Miracles click with fans?
It was the combination of the harmonies and the songs. We had a different sound from the other groups who were out then. We had a girl in the group and the harmonies were voiced high. It was that high-sounding harmonic sound that made us different.
You've said in previous interviews that Motown founder Berry Gordy was your mentor. What did he teach you about music?
When I met Berry, I had a loose-leaf notebook of about 100 songs. Back then, I had five songs in one song because the first verse had nothing to do with the second verse, and the second verse had nothing to do with the bridge. It was just a bunch of ideas all rhymed up because I always rhymed things.
Berry made me understand a song is like a short story, film or book with a beginning, middle and end that all ties together. And even if you don't give it a definite ending, you have to give people enough material to create their own ending.
What key elements comprise a timeless song?
First, a strong melody. Then it needs a good hook that's easy to remember.
People usually remember the hook first before they know what the rest of the song is about. And third, the writer's lyrical content must have a lasting message, no matter what the song is about.
One striking element of your songwriting is your skillful use of metaphors.
Bob Dylan drew attention to that when he called you "America's greatest living poet." Why are these important?
Once I learned how to write songs, I recognized the fact that there are no new words. There are also no new notes on the piano or guitar. And there are really no new ideas. So you have to work within the framework of what's been going on for thousands of years since language began. You have to work within that parameter. So the trick for me was to try and say the same thing differently.
'BREWSTERS MILLIONS' – ANOTHER SEQUEL?: 1985 film starring Richard Pryor and John Candy to be updated at Warner Bros.
*The 1902 George Barr McCutcheon novel "Brewster's Millions" is about to get its eighth career remake thanks to Warner Bros studios.
The book's most famous reincarnation took place in 1985 with Richard Pryor and John Candy starring in the story of a man who inherits $1 million from a rich grandfather.
When a rich uncle who hated the grandfather also passes away, the will leaves the young man $7 million -- but under the condition he spends the grandfather's million within a year and not end up with any assets from the spending spree.
Other remakes of the novel included a play in 1906 and a 1945 film starring Dennis O'Keefe, directed by Allan Dwan.
Screenwriters Michael Diliberti and Matthew Sullivan have been tapped to pen the upcoming Warner Bros. version. The pair got the gig coming off the buzz generated by their spec script "Comic Con." That buddy comedy revolves around two friends who form a justice league of comic geeks to plan and execute a daring heist at Comic-Con in order to save their beloved neighborhood comic shop from the clutches of an evil corporate takeover.
BOYZ II MEN ON THE ROAD THROUGH 2010: Tour starts Friday at the county fair in San Mateo, Calif.
*Boyz II Men have added more dates to their non-stop world tour, which now extends several months into 2010, reports Live Daily.
The Grammy-winning outfit, on the North American tour trail off-and-on since March, continues the lengthy excursion Aug. 21 in San Mateo, CA. Twenty-two new dates have been added to the 2009 portion of the itinerary, which focuses on fairs and casinos through a two-night stand Dec.
30-31 in Richmond, British Columbia.
The trio's concert schedule currently runs through next summer, with 10 performances already on the books for 2010. Details are shown below.
August 2009
21 - San Mateo, CA - San Mateo City Fair
22 - Las Vegas, NV - Mandalay Bay Beach
27 - Peekskill, NY - Paramount Center for the Arts
28 - Syracuse, NY - New York State Fair
29 - Chattanooga, TN - Chattanooga Convention Center
September 2009
4 - Virginia Beach, VA - 5th Street Stage
5 - Syracuse, NY - New York State Fair
18 - Salt Lake City, UT - Utah State Fair 20 - West Springfield, MA - Eastern States Exposition
25 - Oklahoma City, OK - Oklahoma State Fair
26 - Coachella, CA - Spotlight 29 Casino 30 - Yakima, WA - Central Washington State Fair
October 2009
2 - Lubbock, TX - South Plains Arena
10 - Jackson, MI - Potter Center
12 - Nashville, TN - IEBA Convention
16 - San Ramon, CA - Dougherty Valley Performing Arts Center
17 - Eureka, CA - Arkley Center for the Performing Arts
23 - Lincoln, RI - Twin River Events Center
24 - Rama, Ontario - Casino Rama Entertainment Centre
25-28 - Lake Buena Vista, FL - Epcot Center 30 - Sarasota, FL - Van Wezel Performing Arts Hall
November 2009
4 - San Diego, CA - House of Blues
5 - Anaheim, CA - House of Blues
6 - Lancaster, CA - Lancaster Performing Arts Center
7 - Agoura Hills, CA - Canyon Club
8 - San Bernardino, CA - California Theatre for the Performing Arts
December 2009
27 - Primm, NV - Star of the Desert Casino 30, 31 - Richmond, British Columbia - River Rock Casino Resort
January 2010
20 - Saint Catherines, Ontario - Brock Center for the Arts
21 - North Bay, Ontario - Capitol Centre
22 - Oakville, Ontario - Oakville Center
23 - Brampton, Ontario - Rose Theatre
February 2010
12 - Chandler, AZ - Wild Horse Pass Casino
14 - St. Louis, MO - Lumiere Place Casino
April 2010
Biloxi, MS - Imperial Palace
May 2010
15 - Naperville, IL - Pfeiffer Hall
21 - Hammond, LA - Columbia Theater
June 2010
5 - Bremerton, WA - Admiral Theatre
BLAXPLOITATION SPOOF OPENS OFF-BROADWAY: Dial 'N' for Negress to play 16 performances at Clurman Theatre in September.
*Casting is now complete for the new musical satire, Dial 'N' for Negress, a riff on "blaxploitation" pictures of the 1970s scheduled for a 16-performance run at Off-Broadway's Clurman Theatre Sept. 10-26.
Kevin Smith Kirkwood, the show's co-writer, stars as the Negress, a male character who dresses fabulously.
Kirkwood will be joined onstage by the newly announced Pilin Anice as Black Mama and Emily McNamara as White Mama, Tamala Baldwin as Taffy, James Solomon Benn as Rev. Preacherman/Don Finnochio, Katie Boren as Candy, Jimmy Brooks Jr. as Doodlebug, Bree Daniels as Fancy, James LaRosa as Mario, Nehemiah Luckett as Bumpy Ritz, Eric Roediger as Dick McGuffin and Julius Thomas III as Antonio.
The production is billed as "the sexy, soulful new musical comedy…[set in] 1974 in Soulsville, USA. An apathetic community lives from fix-to-fix, and pimps, thugs and crooked cops rule the streets. Fresh from jail, the Negress arrives home and has to choose: turn away from the corrosive street life of Soulsville or accept his destiny as the unlikely hero of the community?"
The "musical with its own attitude" is created by Travis Kramer (book and lyrics), Tom Oster and Kevin Smith Kirkwood (music and concept), with choreography by Jennifer L. Mudge. It is produced and directed by Jake Hirzel, reports Playbill News.
KEKE PALMER SERIES INSPIRES FASHION LINE: Nickelodeon's 'True Jackson, VP'
to offer clothing at Walmart stores.
*"Mad Style by True Jackson," a new apparel and accessories line inspired by Nickelodeon's "True Jackson, VP" starring Keke Palmer, offers every clothing item from sneakers to dresses – retailing at $14 or under and available exclusively at Walmart.
The line also features long sleeved henley t-shirts; layerable knit tees featuring graphics with positive messages like 'be true to you'; fashion leggings with novelty buttons; jumper dresses with removable straps; tunic dresses with pre-scrunched sleeves; Mary Jane shoes; ballet flats; and sneakers.
Additionally, a microsite -- http://www.nick.com/madstylefashions/ -- has been developed exclusively for consumers and will be the digital headquarters for the new line.
Kids can log on to view images of the line, get weekly style tips, play dress-up games, and more.
SOUNDS OF BLACKNESS BACK WITH NEW ALBUM: Set mixes classics with new material – including track inspired by the president and first lady.
*The Grammy award-winning group Sounds of Blackness returns with the Aug. 25 release of "The 3rd Gift: Story, Song & Spirit," offering music with messages of peace, love and hope.
Infusing their unique sound of gospel, R&B, jazz, spirituals, worldbeat and more, "The 3rd Gift" features arrangements of such classics as Marvin Gaye's "God Is Love," Billie Holiday's "God Bless The Child" and an updated version of their very own classic "Optimistic."
New tracks include "Everything's Gonna Be Alright," "The Path of Healing" and "Audacity of Hope (We Are One)," which is inspired by two of Sounds of Blackness' self-proclaimed fans, President Barack Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama.
To kick off the release, Sounds of Blackness will perform and sign autographs at the Best Buy Rotunda located inside the famed Mall of America in Bloomington, Minn. at 6:30 p.m. on Tuesday, Aug. 25.
ITTY BITTY BITS: Bey the ballerina; Obama margaritas; Lillias White at the Triad; Judge Leon Talley; ASCAP's Women Behind the Music.
*Beyoncé has been secretly taking ballet lessons at New York City's acclaimed Alvin Ailey School of Dance. A fellow dancer ran to Star magazine revealing that the singer "came in like a regular student. No entourage and no attitude."
*During his working vacation in Phoenix Sunday night, President Obama and the first family ate at Macayo's to celebrate his half-sister's birthday. TMZ.com found out that "in addition to having the triple fajitas, Michelle and Barack each had a Tres Margarita -- made with Sauza Tres Generaciones Plata Tequila, Presidente Brandy and Patron Citronge. His bill ran around $200 -- and he tipped each waitress 20% and an additional $100 each.
*Tony Award winner Lillias White, who will return to Broadway this fall in the new musical Fela!, will perform solo at the Triad in Manhattan
(158 W 72nd St.) Sept. 14, 21 and 28. Part of the Just a Piano concert series, the 9:30 p.m. concerts will feature Timothy Graphenreed on piano.
*Andre Leon Talley, Tamara Tunie and Keisha Whitaker are among the judges set for the 2009 Miss Universe Pageant on NBC Aug. 23. As previously reported, Flo Rida, Heidi Montag, David Guetta and Kelly Rowland will perform their hit songs during the live telecast from Atlantis, Paradise Island in the Bahamas.
*ASCAP Presents... Women Behind the Music, a new series of events produced by the women of ASCAP's Rhythm & Soul Team, will feature showcases and educational panels at cities around the country. The series kicks off in Atlanta on Aug. 25 with a showcase at 595 North Lounge (595 North Ave. NW) headlined by Kandi Burruss. The free event starts at 9 p.m. and is open to the public, 18 & over with ID. Please RSVP to kbrown.ascap@gmail.com.
Donations will be accepted for Susan G. Komen For The Cure - Greater Atlanta Area. Other events in the "Women Behind the Music" series include a panel in New York on Sept. 2, a showcase in Los Angeles on Sept. 8 and a special interview in New York on Sept. 9. More details to be announced.
EUR DVD REVIEW: Steppin': The Movie
Star-Studded Cast Can’t Save Straight-to-DVD Ghetto Greekest
DVD Review by Kam Williams
*What do Mo’Nique, Anthony Anderson, Fresh Prince alumnus James Avery, rapper Sticky Fingaz, political pundit Dick Gregory, Faizon Love, Clifton Powell, Urkel show alums Darius McCrary and Reginald VelJohnson and Miguel Nunez, Jr. have in common?
If you answered Steppin': The Movie, you’d be right. Directed by actor-turned-director Michael Taliferro, this straight-to-DVD production is just the latest in a long conga line of the genre of dance-driven productions mostly deservedly parodied by the Wayans Brothers in Dance Flick.
This variation on the theme is set on the campus of a historically-black college in Houston where apparently some of the shallowest human beings on the planet have matriculated. For instance, there’s Vicki (Monicka Allegeier), a student who gets ready to party by putting on what she refers to as her “get your freak on panties” in order to seduce Bryan (Chico Benymon), the funky frat boy of her dreams.
Consider this exchange of dialogue Vicki shares with her roommate Jennifer (Chrystee Pharris) right before she departs:
Vicki: “How do I look?”
Jennifer: “Like a ho!”
Vicki: “Street or uptown?”
Jennifer: “Street!”
Vicki: “Good, that’s what I like.”
Because these are presumably college coeds, it is extremely offensive that they are depicted as aspiring to little more than looking like common ghetto prostitutes. Sadly, their equally-pathetic male counterparts aren’t any better, disgusting misogynists employing jive pickup lines such as, “I never met a girl I couldn’t make come.”
I’m not going to bother to relate the plot which reads like a derivative rip-off of Stomp the Yard. Suffice to say that the black fraternities and sororities are more concerned with winning the $25,000 in prizes to be awarded at a Greek Show Step Competition than with their studies. While waiting with baited breath for the big showdown, we’re treated to a lowbrow brand of humor which runs the gamut from bodily function jokes to mean-spirited teasing coming at the expense of easy marks like a flamboyant transvestite and a deaf dude whose hearing aid is hidden from him for laughs. How tasteless!
A spiritually-debilitating descent into depravity.
Poor (0 stars)
Rated PG-13 for sexuality, profanity and crude humor.
Running time: 138 minutes
Studi Genius Products/The Weinstein Company
To order a copy of Steppin' on DVD, visit: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B001DJ7PXC?ie=UTF8&tag=thslfofire-20&linkCode=as2&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=B001DJ7PXC
To see a trailer for Steppin', visit:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KX28Pia-OdE
EUR FILM REVIEW: My Fuhrer: The Truly Truest Truth about Adolf Hitler
Hitler Takes It on the Chin in Holocaust Comedy
Film Review by Kam Williams
*Although bodaciously billed as a tale dispensing God’s honest truth about Adolf Hitler, this flick is actually more akin to an episode of Hogan Heroes than any World War II documentary you might find on the History Channel.
And it’s almost as funny as that classic TV sitcom, provided you don’t mind laughing out loud at events surrounding the Holocaust.
The story is set in December of 1944, at a time when the nefarious Nazi leaders are ostensibly aware that their cause is all but lost with their army in retreat and being defeated on practically every battlefront.
So, according to this fictionalized account of historical events, the country’s Minister of Propaganda Joseph Goebbels (Sylvester Groth) hatches a desperate plan to save the regime.
The idea is to have the Fuhrer (Helge Schneider) reignite the sagging spirits of the German people and to mobilize the masses by delivering an impassioned propaganda speech on New Year’s Day.
The trouble is that Jaanuary 1st is less than a week away and Adolf himself is an emotional basket case, being sick and depressed, and unwilling to appear in public.
Ironically, the Nazis last hope rests with finding Adolf Grunbaum (Ulrich Muhe), a Jew who has long since been deported to Sachsenhausen concentration camp. For he had served as Hitler’s acting coach and had helped launch the Fuhrer’s political career. Grunbaum agrees on the condition that his wife (Adriana Altaras) and four children are spared the ovens.
Under the watchful eyes of Hitler’s Henchmen Goebbels, Himmler (Ulrich Noethen), Bormann (Udo Kroschwald) and Speer (Stefan Kurt) via a one-way mirror, Grunbaum proceeds to whip his former student back into shape, literalluy, employing a combination of psychotherapy and a form of tough love involving increasingly humiliating forms of corporal punishment.
So unfolds My Fuhrer: The Truly Truest Truth about Adolf Hitler, a hilarious pack of lies written and directed by Dani Levy which by the closing credits suggest that Hitler was everything from a Jew to sexually-frustrated to a drug addict to an alcoholic who preferred blondes and turned people into Soylent Green-like sausages. The tension builds as the movie makes its inexorable march to the New Year’s Day address, although guffaws galore are in store when guess who is asked to deliver the critical speech after the Fuhrer suddenly develops a case of laryngitis.
The thought-provoking picture makes some subtle points along its merry way, for instance that while Hitler was big on blond hair and blue eyes, he himself had neither. Also, it shows that by the end of the war he and his master race had been reduced to “sauerkraut.” So much for an empire that would last for a thousand years.
The cleverest Holocaust humor since Mel Brooks’ “Springtime for Hitler” skit in The Producers.
Excellent (3.5 stars)
Unrated
In German, Hebrew and Yiddish with subtitles.
Running time: 89 minutes
Studi First Run Features
THE JOURNAL OF STEFFANIE RIVERS: Who's In Charge Here?
*The longer I live the more I realize common sense ain’t so common. The latest evidence to support my hypothesis is the Continental Airlines debacle that happened a week ago. It was flight 2816 on a regional jet that left Houston headed to Minneapolis. But it didn’t reach the twin cities area until fourteen hours later. What happened in between could have been an episode of the Twilight Zone.
Two hours into the flight the plane was diverted to Rochester, MN., 80 miles outside of Minneapolis due to thunderstorms: I get that part. What I don’t get is the part about the 47 passengers – including crying babies - being forced to spend six hours sitting on the airport tarmac in a plane smaller than two mobile homes put end to end. Can you say crowded?
News reports said because airport security had gone home for the night passengers were not allowed into the airport; Never mind the cramped quarters on the small plane with crying babies, overflowing bathrooms and little to no food.
And what did it matter if security was available? It was an unscheduled stop in the middle of the night in an unfamiliar city where it was thunder storming and lightening. They didn’t want to leave the airport to sight-see. They just wanted to use the bathroom and stretch their legs for goodness sakes.
Not to mention that when airplane passengers leave a secured airplane and go into the airport terminal that’s also secured to board another secured plane or even the same plane in this case…there is no need for additional screening because they never would have left the secured area.
Transportation and FAA officials have many of the same questions as I do. They want to know if anybody’s rights were violated. But no matter what guidelines are in place you can’t legislate common sense.
A spokesperson for Continental said the company had adopted a policy that said no passengers will have to spend more than three hours stuck in a plane on the ground without being allowed to get off the plane. So the policy wasn’t worth the paper it was written on.
Continental is still dealing with the public relations nightmare that happened one week prior when extreme turbulence on a flight from Brazil to Houston caused so many injuries the plane had to make an emergency landing in Miami.
If passengers are stuck on a grounded plane longer than 45 minutes they should be allowed to return to the airport because the whole scene starts to take on a feel of unlawful detainment. If going back to the gate causes more delays or cancellations it’s a consequence the airlines should be willing to take.
Send questions, comments or requests for speaking engagements to Steffanie Rivers at teamtcbadvertising@hotmail.com. And see the video version of her journal at youtube.com/steffanierivers.
PEOPLE OF NOTE: A What You See Is What You Get Via “Another Man's Poison" By Deardra Shuler
*It's too bad that playwright George O. Brome's play “Another Man's Poison” will end so soon. Since the play was only slated to run from August 12-23, its hardly had time to develop. Unlike the movie “Another's Man's Poison” which starred Bette Davis, the play showcasing at the Peter Jay Sharp Theater, located at 416 West 42nd Street in Manhattan, is about an African American comedian whose entire life's work is finally paying off as his pilot show is about to be picked up. Teetering on the precipice of success, Frankie Phillips, professionally known as Frankie Masters, is forced to pay a price for his success.
As one is slowly drawn into Frankie's life one realizes that all the pressures, glitter and entrapments of show business extracts a price in loneliness. In order to build his career, Frankie spent a lot of time away from his family and thus left the raising of his son Alan to his wife Pauline. It becomes clear that both his wife and his son resent Frankie's absence. So much so, his son barely speaks to him and his wife has never even gone to see any of Frankie's shows throughout their years together. When she finally does, it only serves to remind her how much she has given up of her own dreams to be Frankie Master's wife.
Set in the 1970s, Frankie (Leland Ganit) has developed a female character not unlike Flip Wilson's character Geraldine, except Frankie morphs into Wilhelmena, wherein he uses a lot of situations that happen within his family life as fodder for skits in his show. This is very upsetting to Pauline who feels that she and Alan should not be pawns to Frankie's art. Pauline Phillips (played by Penelope Lowder) dotes on her son portrayed by James Edward Shippy, a rebellious student, who has a secret of his own, one his father rails against once discovered, but which may be the key to a secret that his father unconsciously shares.
Dennis Hearn and Toni L Stanton bring slight humor to “Another Man's Poison,” via a variety of characters they play as foils to Frankie's Wilhelmena. Unfamiliar with having a black man as their boss, initially Hearn and Stanton find it difficult to give Frankie the performance he seeks. Mel Stein (Steve Greenstein) who plays Frankie's gay agent, is the buffer who secures Frankie his swank apartment using his charm and skills to pull off the manipulations required to balance out both Frankie's business and personal life, smoothing things over, at least for a short time.
Throughout the play which has a creative set designed by Kevin Lee Allen, we find there are many hidden tears behind Frankie's veneer of success. His family doesn't understand his passion for his work or all the hard work and humiliation he has had to suffer to get to the point where he could finally give his family the big payoff. Unfortunately, his family no longer cares to reap the spoils of Frankie's success since they only wanted him. By the time, Frankie gives his family a glimpse into the tragedies that have defined his life, its too late.
Frankie begins to lose himself in his work to mask his pain as more and more he identifies with his character Wilhelmena and the lines begin to blur. This was never so telling then at the plays end when the cast members take their bow and Ganit is missing. The play gets a little confusing at this juncture and leaves the viewer to interpret their own ending.
Playwright George O. Brome's other works include “Before Black was Beautiful,” Beyond Closed Doors, “Dream On,” Unconventional War Play, American Dreams,” “Plea Bargain” “Oh Hell,” and “Good God.”
Directed by Passion Hansome, produced by Sheila L. Speller and presented by Orielle Creative Productions and Broliver Productions, “Another Man's Poison” runs Wed. through Saturday at 7PM and on Sunday at 2PM. For ticket information call (212) 279-4200 or www.ticketcentral.com.
The play ends this Sunday, so if you intend to see it, you better hurry.
THE BRIDGE: Top Ten Funny Things Babies Do
By Darryl James
*Being a parent is very rewarding.
There is truly nothing like watching a small part of you grow and discover the world, complete with the stumbles and falls as well as the milestone accomplishments.
A child can make you cry. But more than that, a child can make you smile the broadest of smiles.
And, sometimes, a child can make you laugh your ass off.
My son makes me laugh.
There was a show in the golden era of television called “Kids Say The Darndest Things,” rehashed in the ‘90’s by Bill Cosby. It highlighted some of the uncensored things said and the unencumbered things done by kids.
Now that I am a father, the sentiment of that show hits home harder than ever before.
In another Top Ten List, here are my Top Ten Funny Things Babies D
Top Ten Funny Things Babies D
1. Waving to passengers on the plane and then announcing that he has just made pee-pee.
Proud little man, but zero discretion. He’s nearly fully potty trained and wants the world to know that he uses the potty like a big boy. I’m just not sure the whole world needs to know…
2. Waving to shoppers at the store and announcing that he’s just pooted.
Now, this is embarrassing when he didn’t actually pass gas, but oh boy, the embarrassment is exponential when he has just laid a fresh egg. It was cute when he was twelve months old, but now that God has allowed it to smell like grown folks’ gas, its not so cute, but still….funny…
3. Waving to shoppers at the store and announcing that Daddy’s just pooted.
Of course I don’t pass gas in public! But it’s funny as hell watching the expressions melt on people’s faces when they think he s telling the truth.
4. Pointing to Daddy’s bottom in public to announce: “That’s Daddy’s Boom-Boom.”
Nothing better than having your child show the entire world your ass.
5. Replacing the “tr” sound with the “f” sound and announcing in a crowded bank that he’s just
seen a big truck.
My best friend’s son did this when he was a baby and I remember thinking how embarrassing it could be. But I’m not as embarrassed as I am tickled, because it is a very innocent thing. You replace the “tr” sound…
6. Listening to music and dancing perfectly to the beat.
Junior has his own moves and he’s quite funky. He literally came here grooving, but it helped that we played a variety of music from classical to jazz and old school hip hop when he was still in the womb.
7. Putting on Daddy’s shoes and attempting to walk around.
I guess it’s a signal of times to come, when he will want to either borrow Daddy’s clothes or get clothes cooler than Daddy’s. Right now, it’s hilarious watching him navigate through the house with oversized shoes on.
8. Pointing to his belly button and calling it a “bunny.”
He has various names for everyday items that he decides should have a name of his own choosing, but this is the funniest to me.
9. Running through the park at lightning speed, dodging Daddy like a pro ball player.
I am probably in the best shape I’ve been in a long time now that Junior is walking and running. He loves to run and his favorite thing is to have me chase him—we both fall out when he turns on a dime and shakes Daddy.
10. Knowing he did something wrong, then asking for a hug and announcing: “I Love You, Daddy!”
I’m convinced that this two-year-old boy is smarter than he lets on. I watch him and I can see the little smile at the corner of his mouth start when he grabs something he knows he isn’t supposed to have and immediately charges out of the room. When I catch him, he will surrender the purloined object and ask for a hug.
My country Brother-in-law calls babies “do-funnies,” because they are always doing something funny. He has never had a more on-the-money description.
Darryl Jr. is the center of my universe and while the job of Fatherhood can be tough, it is the most rewarding job I’ve ever had.
It’s also the absolute funniest.
Darryl James is an award-winning author of the powerful new anthology “Notes From The Edge.” Now, listen to Darryl live on BlogTalkRadio.com/DarrylJames every Monday from 8-10pm, PST. View previous installments of this column at www.bridgecolumn.proboards36.com. Reach James at djames@theblackgendergap.com.
STEVEN IVORY: You Know Damn Well This Isn't about Health Care
*Last week in Hagerstown, Maryland, the Secret Service detained a man outside a town hall meeting. He was holding a sign that said death to President Obama, Michelle Obama and their kids. The man said he came to debate health care but couldn't get in because it was too crowded.
That same week, on the main drag of Hancock Park, a wealthy, decidedly liberal enclave of Los Angeles, in front of the Rite Aid, a young woman and man tended a table holding pamphlets and a clipboard for signatures. From three sides of the table hung high-quality color posters of President Obama as Adolph Hitler under a heading that read something like, “The Greatest Fascist of them all.”
Across these United States, in seemingly dissimilar cities and neighborhoods, people are up in arms. Proud Americans, with all the etiquette of patrons at a Friday night dog fight, are expressing stark anger and disappointment.
And all this vein-popping vexation is about health care in America.
Sure it is. What else would get folks' panties in such a vicious, unyielding bunch? What else could it be? After all, these people are of every cliché you can possibly babble: they've “had it up to here,” they think “a good debate is healthy for the country,” they're “sick and tired and they're not going to take it anymore.” Matters not that they took it, without the courtesy or dignity of lubricant, sedative or stiff drink, for two previous Presidential terms without so much as a whimper.
As usual, they've taken an issue of pressing and grave concern facing the nation--in this case, our calamitous health care system--and are exploiting the plight to express one thing, the thing that always gets expressed, one way or another.
How do you go from to wanting to “debate” health care to threatening to kill somebody? Are there no gears between “I beg to differ” and “I hope a Peterbilt truck runs you over and drags you for several miles on an unpaved road at a high rate of speed, after which hyenas come to devour what's left of your carcass”?
As Logic calmly said to Stupidity, You know damn well you can't get there from here.
What in the world does it say about us as a society that for every thing we do, there is an episode of "The Twilight Zone"? This health care fracas is what happens in "The Monsters Are Due on Maple Street," the 1960 TZ episode where a neighborhood's prejudice and paranoia creates a hysteria that causes inhabitants of the community to turn on one another.
This is not about health care. This is about ignorance. This is about hate. This is about fear. This is 'bout a damn shame.
With debates like these, who needs a public lynching? One can only hope those doing all the shouting have ample coverage. That kind of carrying on is anything but healthy.
Steven Ivory's book, FOOL IN LOVE (Touchstone/Simon & Schuster) is available at Amazon.com (www.Amazon.com). Respond to him via STEVRIVORY@AOL.COM
EUR MOTIVATIONAL NOTE
"You can’t wait for inspiration. You have to go after it with a club." — Jack London
CELEBRITY BIRTHDAYS
Aug. 18: Singer Sarah Dash of LaBelle is 66. Rapper Masta Killa of Wu-Tang Clan is 40. Actor Malcolm-Jamal Warner is 39. Actress Parker McKenna Posey ("My Wife and Kids") is 14.
WEBSITE OF THE WEEK
Channel Live TV brings you the best urban, black entertainment and Latino TV at its realest. Check it out here: www.channellivetv.com/
Submit your favorite Web site to us along with a 15-20 word (or less) description to info@eurweb.com.
BLACK HISTORY
Aug. 18, 1964: South Africa was banned from the Olympic Games because of its apartheid policies. (Source: www.BlackFacts.com)
Click for the latest Obama - Political headlines
Share and Bookmark |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
