12-10-09 EUR ALL ON ONE PAGE
TYLER PERRY'S MOM DIES: Filmmaker announced news on his Web site; did not mention cause of death.
*Tyler Perry is thanking fans for their prayers following the death of his mother Tuesday at age 64.
"Willie Maxine Perry. February 12, 1945 to December 8, 2009. Thank you for all your prayers," read a message on Perry's Web site Tuesday. No further information was given regarding the circumstances of her death.
Maxine Perry was a preschool teacher who worked at the New Orleans Jewish Community Center for most of her life, according to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Tyler Perry, 40, has credited her as the inspiration for his most popular character, Madea.
Perry recently recounted details of his troubled childhood, including how his mother tried and failed to leave his abusive father.
He talked about the joy of spoiling his mom financially during last night's primetime interview with Barbara Walters for her "10 Most Fascinating People" special.
PLAYGIRL CLAIMS POSSIBLE NUDE TIGER PICS: Magazine says it will publish photos only after confirming authenticity. Plus, other tabloidy updates.
*Playgirl claims to have obtained nude photos of Tiger Woods from a source eager to sell, and will publish them once it's confirmed that the pictures are real.
"We were approached by a third party who wanted to know our interest level," Playgirl spokesman Daniel Nardicio claims in several published reports. "Our lawyers are currently going over them, the source, the entire package."
Meanwhile, a new Marist poll taken after the Woods scandal found that 91% say his "transgressions" make no difference when deciding whether or not to buy a product endorsed by him.
Regarding his "other women" count, porn actress Veronica Siwik-Daniels, who performs under the name Joslyn James, was outed by sports Web site Deadspin.com as the latest, and Woods' favorite.
According to Deadspin, several of the women identified as lovers of Woods in various media reports were actually working as Madams for the athlete. Their jobs, allegedly, were to seek out women who fit Woods’
specifications and arrange to have them flown to events where Woods would make an appearance. For the service, they would receive hefty tips.
The Deadspin report, which quotes people who work at Las Vegas casinos and clubs, says the women were on retainers of up to $15,000 a month to arrange for women to meet Woods. Apparently this is the role in which Rachel Uchitel and Kalika Moquin served.
Last month Uchitel travelled to Melbourne, Australia, while Woods was competing in the Australian Open. She was apparently followed by a National Enquirer reporter, leading to their Nov. 23 story that she was having an affair with the golfer. According to Deadspin, Uchitel was in Melbourne to do a very specific job, recruit slim blonde women who would sleep with Woods.
And finally, Star magazine is claiming that a broken tooth from a Thanksgiving night fight with wife Elin Nordegren and the subsequent car crash has kept Tiger Woods from showing his face.
Star reports:
"Elin confronted him about texting Rachel [Uchitel] and flew into a rage," a source close to Tiger tells Star. "She apparently threw the phone at his mouth and broke one of his teeth."
The incident didn't stop with the dental damage, either.
Elin then grabbed a golf club and chased him around the house, doing tens of thousands of dollars in damage," the source continues. "He ran out to the car barefoot to get away from her and was in such a state of panic that he crashed."
TERRELL OWENS SIGNS WITH A MODELING AGENCY: NFL receiver now under contract with Wilhelmina.
*Buffalo Bills receiver Terrell Owens is looking to get his GQ on after signing a deal this week with top modeling agency Wilhelmina.
"Well, I'm always putting my hands in and feeding into something,"
Owens said after practice Wednesday, noting Wilhelmina approached him with the offer. "When you've got some good looks like myself, you've got to take full advantage of it."
Wilhelmina issued a statement describing the partnership as natural, given T.O.'s popularity.
"Owens has achieved what most athletes can only dream of: record books highlighting his name, fans sporting his jersey and a nickname of just two letters that is recognized by sports enthusiasts nationwide," said Wilhelmina, according to the Associated Press.
The firm, which has offices in New York, Los Angeles and Miami, signed Owens to its sports division, which also promotes boxer Roy Jones Jr., NBA star Andrei Kirilenko and U.S. speedskater Allison Baver.
Wilhelmina will represent Owens in seeking endorsements and sponsorship deals in personal care and fashion industries.
STEELE HEATED BY 'YOU PEOPLE' REMARK ON 'MORNING JOE': RNC chairman was invited on to discuss Sen. Reid's slavery comment.
*Republican National Committee's first African American Chairman, Michael Steele, reached for something Wednesday morning that he accuses the Democrats of pulling whenever things get tough – the race card.
Steele appeared on MSNBC's "Morning Joe" on Wednesday to discuss his criticism of Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, who had compared opponents of health care reform to those who tried to slow down the abolition of slavery.
As previously reported, Steele said "it was an ignorant moment for Harry Reid." He said that when Democrats get in a fix, "they play that race card, that slavery card, that civil rights card."
CNBC commentator Donny Deutsch challenged Steele's reaction Wednesday, asking him, "Any great change throughout history, the naysayers say ‘it’s not time, it’s not time.’ So why is that not a relevant analogy?”
“I won’t even dignify that with a response,” Steele answered curtly . “Next question.”
A contentious back and forth took place briefly between the two before MSNBC's Mike Barnicle jumped in to discuss the root of Senator Reid's original accusation – that the GOP seems opposed to any attempt at health care reform. Barnicle asked, “What are you people for?
Steele chuckled, then responded: “You people? Who are you people?”
“The Republicans, what are you for?” Barnicle responded.
Steele laughed, “Okay… I just wanted you to define the pronoun baby, that’s all.”
“Oh, come on,” Barnicle groaned, along with co-host Mika Brzezinski and others on the panel.
SLY STONE SIGNS A RECORD DEAL: Funkster recording a new album for LA-based Cleopatra Records.
*R&B/funk legend Sly Stone has signed with Los Angeles-based Cleopatra Records, reports Billboard.com.
The former Sly & the Family Stone frontman is said to be working on an album for release in early summer 2010, featuring new original material and re-recorded versions of his greatest hits.
Cleopatra (cleopatrarecords.com), distributed in the U.S. and Canada by E1 Entertainment, is headed by founder/CEO Brian Perera.
PBS PREPS THREE HIP HOP DOCS: 'Independent Lens' to examine issues of music sampling, gender roles within genre and father/daughter duo.
*PBS series "Independent Lens," hosted this year by actress Maggie Gyllenhall, will roll out three films about hip hop in the coming months.
The first, "Copyright Criminals," examines the creative and commercial value of music sampling, featuring such acts as Public Enemy, De La Soul and George Clinton. The program airs on Jan. 19.
"Hip-Hop: Beyond Beats and Rhymes," premiering Jan. 26, will focus on gender roles in hip-hop and rap through the lens of college quarterback-turned-activist Byron Hurt.
"P-Star Rising," airing Feb. 2, follows a father-daughter duo as the pair pursues the young daughter¹s dream of becoming a successful rapper.
NINA SIMONE 'REIGNS' IN NEW BIOGRAPHY: Author Nadine Cohodas offers extensive look at singer's life and career.
*A new biography of singer/songwriter and civil rights activist Nina Simone hits the streets on Feb. 2.
"Princess Noire: The Tumultuous Reign of Nina Simone," from author Nadine Cohodas, is described by publisher Pantheon Books as "a definitive life of the brilliant and high-tempered singer whose unique voice and music occupy a singular place in the canon of American music."
Per Pantheon: Tapping into newly unearthed material–including family and musical stories never before told–Nadine Cohodas gives us a luminous portrait of the singer who was born Eunice Waymon in Tryon, North Carolina, in 1933. We see her as a prodigiously talented child who was trained in classical piano through the charitable auspices of a local white woman. We witness her devastating disappointment when she was rejected by the Curtis Institute of Music–a dream deferred that would forever shape her self-image as well as her music. Yet by 1959–now calling herself Nina Simone–she had sung at Town Hall in New York City and was on her way.
Cohodas documents Simone’s intense relationship with her audiences and with writers such as Lorraine Hansberry and James Baldwin; her contributions to the civil rights movement; her two marriages; and her decision to live abroad. And we see, too, how Simone struggled throughout her life to master her anger and to overcome the deep sense of personal injustice that persisted even as she became an international icon of American music.
Cohodas also wrote "Queen: The Life and Music of Dinah Washington"
and "Spinning Blues Into Gold: The Chess Brothers and the Legendary Chess Records."
RASHIDA JONES FRIENDS NEW 'SOCIAL NETWORK': Actress joins Justin Timberlake in film about Facebook founders.
*Rashida Jones has signed up for Columbia Pictures upcoming "Social Network," a film based on the founders of social-networking Web site Facebook.
Justin Timberlake and Jesse Eisenberg are already cast in the David Fincher-directed project, which was written by "West Wing" scribe Aaron Sorkin, reports Variety.
The film is currently shooting in Los Angeles.
Jones, who recently wrapped the bigscreen drama "Monogamy," sold her script "Frenemy of the State," which she co-wrote with Will McCormack, to Universal. In addition, she and McCormack's screenplay "Celeste and Jesse Forever" is in development at Overture, with Team Todd producing. Jones will also star in the comedy.
The actress, whose dad is music producer Quincy Jones, can currently be seen on NBC's "Parks and Recreation."
LISA LESLIE PREGNANT WITH SECOND CHILD: Retired WNBA star expecting a son in May.
*Lisa Leslie's 2 ½ year old daughter Lauren Jolie will soon have a little brother to care for.
"She’s thrilled; she says it's her baby and I'm just carrying him,"
the retired WNBA star tells People.com of her son-to-be with hubby Michael Lockwood. The boy, which she plans to name Michael Joseph Lockwood, Jr., is due in May.
"We are excited," says Leslie, who became pregnant in September, during her last month as a forward with the Los Angeles Sparks. "When we found out he was boy, Michael shouted, 'Yes, thank you Jesus!'"
The former USC star says she learned she was pregnant the day before Thanksgiving. The couple already has plans for their second child to follow in mom's footsteps.
"I imagine M.J. (Michael Jr.) won’t be shorter than 6'6"," says the 6'5" three-time WNBA MVP and four-time Olympic gold medalist. Husband Lockwood, a pilot for UPS and a former Air Force Academy basketball player, is 6'7".
"I'm feeling really good," adds the former forward, who retired from the Sparks in October and is currently working in broadcasting and promoting a line of CieAura health products.
Michael Sr. is also dad to kids from his previous marriage – Mikaela, 15, is a high school junior, while Gabrielle, 18, is a freshman at Baylor.
GATORADE SWEARS TIGER DECISION WAS PRE-SCANDAL: Plus, trade magazine reported of company's plan to dump golfer two days before crash.
*Gatorade has announced its decision to end its Tiger Woods drink but says the decision was made before the golfer's car accident led to a media firestorm surrounding his personal life.
The discontinuation of Tiger Focus was first reported by trade publication Beverage Digest in an issue dated Nov. 25, two days before the incident at Woods' home in Florida. The publication's editor, John Sicher, said he learned of the decision the week of Nov. 9, reports the Associated Press.
A spokesman for the brand — a unit of PepsiCo Inc. — says the decision to stop selling Tiger Focus came several months ago, nearly a year after its March 2008 launch.
Beverage Digest estimates it represents less than 5 percent of Gatorade's volume, and sales volume of the product was down 34 percent this year through October.
Meanwhile, there have been no advertisements in prime-time featuring Woods since Nov. 29, according to data from Nielsen Co. The research firm said the last prime-time ad to appear featuring the golfer was a 30-second ad that day for the Gillette Co. That commercial aired eight times during November, spokesman Aaron Lewis said.
There have been no other commercials since then on all broadcast networks and 19 cable networks during the evening news, prime-time, late-night and during weekend sports, he said.
RIHANNA, 50 CENT HELP LAUNCH VEVO: Web site looking to replace MTV as ultimate music video source.
*Vevo, the ad-supported music video streaming service that the major music labels hope will rival MTV's cultural influence, launched on Tuesday night in New York City with stars like 50 Cent, Rihanna and Ciara on hand.
U2's Bono gave the opening address, which began, "Friends, we are gathered here today to mourn the passing of the old model that was the music business," according to Billboard.com.
A joint venture between Sony Music Entertainment, Universal Music Group, and investor Abu Dhabi Media, Vevo launched with clips from three of the four major labels. EMI joined the service just this week, while negotiations with Warner, the sole holdout, are ongoing.
A number of independent labels, artists and digital aggregators are on board with Vevo as well.
Performers at the New York launch included Lady Gaga and Adam Lambert. John Mayer, Taylor Swift and Elvis Costello were also in attendance, as were industry titans like Google's Eric Schmidt, Clive Davis, Jimmy Iovine and Tommy Mottola.
"Its like the Grammys here," Billboard's Bill Werde Tweeted from the event. "The whole business in one room."
QUEST FOR TIGER CONGRESSIONAL MEDAL DROPPED: Rep says he won't pursue nation's highest civilian honor for golfer 'in light of recent developments.'
*A bid to give Tiger Woods the nation's highest Congressional award for a civilian has been abandoned in the wake of his adultery scandal.
"In light of the recent developments surrounding Tiger Woods and his family, I will not pursue legislation awarding him the Congressional Gold Medal this session," said Representative Joe Baca (D-Calif) in a statement.
Baca had previously submitted a bill to give Woods the award in recognition of his "service to the Nation in promoting excellence and good sportsmanship, and in breaking barriers with grace and dignity by showing that golf is a sport for all people."
According to TMZ.com, the bill never managed to gain a co-sponsor ... even before the Tiger drama began.
ALFRE WOODARD'S KID CROWNED MISS GOLDEN GLOBE: Mavis, 18, joins long line of celeb offspring to hold the title.
*Alfre Woodard's 18-year-old daughter, Mavis Spencer, was crowned Miss Golden Globe 2010 in a ceremony held Tuesday night in Los Angeles.
The annual title, awarded by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association, traditionally goes to the daughter (or son) of a celebrity.
Past recipients have included Anne Archer (1971), Melanie Griffith (1975) and Laura Dern (1982).
Duties under the crown include assisting in the Association's annual Golden Globe Awards.
Mavis, whose father is writer/producer Roderick Spencer, spoke to People.com at the Golden Globe Awards Party Honoring Young Hollywood.
"I'm very new to this, it's very surreal right now," she said.
Chimed in Woodard, 57: "I told Mavis, it's just like your Grandma's cocktail party, find someone who is interesting and have a chat."
"She really is a Renaissance woman," mom continued to gush. "She is a nationally ranked equestrian, she's a show jumper, she's a Shakespeare savant, and she's a beautiful actor."
The Miss Golden Globe title -- as well as its male counterpart, Mr.
Golden Globe, has afforded early exposure to a sizable number of future performers. Other past title holders include Freddie Prinze Jr. (1996), "L Word" star and Cybill Shepherd offspring Clementine Ford (1998), Susan Lucci's daughter Liza Huber (2000), Lorraine (daughter of Jack) Nicholson
(2007) and last year's winner, Rumer Willis.
MARSALIS HAS MASSIVE CASE OF THE 'BLUES': Trumpeter Wynton to pen epic symphony reflecting artform through American history.
*Jazz musician Wynton Marsalis, the artistic director of Jazz at Lincoln Center in New York, is composing an original symphony for orchestra that seeks to reflect American history from Revolution to the present.
"Blues Symphony," celebrating the blues through the prism of different moments of our nation's past, will be performed by the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra on Jan. 14 at 8 p.m. at Morehouse College's King Intl.
Chapel as part of annual events for Martin Luther King Day, according to Reuters. The group performed two of its movements in November.
Marsalis, 48, has previously produced two epic works: "All Rise" and "Blood on the Fields," which won the 1997 Pulitzer for music. He spoke to Reuters about composing "Blues Symphony."
Q: What got you excited about the Blues Symphony project?
A: "Ever since I started with music, I always wondered about the appropriation of actual things that jazz musicians play for orchestral musicians. I have had a fantastic time playing gigs with orchestras.
Orchestral musicians are the best trained musicians in the world."
Q: Was it tough to translate the ideas for a blues symphony into an orchestral form?
A: "It is difficult. You have to find what will sound good. The instruments are used in a different way. The whole process took four months of working straight and I'm still doing it in addition to all the other work I have to do and being on the road."
Q: What can young people learn about jazz greats such as Duke Ellington and Jelly Roll Morton on whom this symphony is based?
A: "I always encourage young people if they want to know something to check it out. The thing we all want to do, young or old, is we want to continue our education. In music you are always young."
Q: Were you nervous about writing a symphony with such a broad theme?
A: "I am never nervous about anything. I am only writing music. I would be nervous if we were in a war or something. Music works or doesn't work.
"I grow up playing a lot of (different types of) music. I did play in marching bands ... a funk band ... a community band ... a jazz band .... My concept of music is expansive. My concept of American history is expansive because being in New Orleans it is a historic city. You are always around history."
Q: Why has this symphony taken so long to come together?
A: "It's just difficult to write and difficult (for the orchestra) to play."
Q: How do you write?
A: "I do everything long hand ... I write out first the piano score ... I get the outlay of the entire composition. When I get the piano score, then I begin to orchestrate it.
"The composition takes kind of long but I am fortunate because I never really have a problem with ideas. I have difficulty with the technical part because I am not really trained in orchestration. It takes me much longer to figure out how it is going to sound."
ITTY BITTY BITS: Braugher's 'Men'; Kanye & Amber's massage; Village People lawsuit; Janet in Paris; Eminem rules decade.
*Andre Braugher's new TNT series "Men of a Certain Age" had a strong debut Monday night. The TNT drama drew 5.4 million viewers, becoming cable's most-watched series launch of 2009 among adults 25-54, per Nielsen. The Ray Romano dramedy received strong reviews from critics, and helps TNT conclude the year on a high note after the network's other new dramas, such as "Dark Blue" and Jada Pinkett Smith's "Hawthorne," had somewhat modest returns for a network of TNT's stature, according to the Hollywood Reporter.
*While in the Dominican Republic for Jay-Z's 40th birthday bash, Kanye West and girlfriend Amber Rose spent the weekend being pampered by two healing therapists with a couple's massage from the Cygalle Healing Spa in their villa, reports the New York Post. "They spent the weekend at luxurious Casa de Campo, where they enjoyed VIP services from the spa before attending Jay-Z's exclusive birthday party. Other guests included Oprah Winfrey, Alicia Keys and Beyoncé Knowles' family."
*The cop from Village People has settled a lawsuit he filed against the Sun Bowl after they allegedly used his voice and image to promote a halftime show at the 2009 game featuring the Village People ... even though Willis left the group back in 1984, reports TMZ.com. According to Willis, the Sun Bowl has agreed to run a disclaimer should they ever book the Village People again reading, "The original lead singer of the Village People, Victor Willis, is not performing."
*After arriving from London on the last Eurostar train of the evening, Janet Jackson was spotted walking around Paris the following day with a male security guard in tow in Les Halles, reports People. The singer took four friends to lunch at L'Epi d'Or, next door to the Christian Louboutin boutique. According to an eyewitness, Jackson and her group spent about two hours chatting animatedly at their table. Then she and her crew stopped by the Hermès flagship store where Jackson posed for pictures with staffers.
*Eminem is the top-selling artist of the past decade, with 32.2 million copies of his albums sold, according to USA Today. The Detroit rapper Eminem has two titles among the top 10 albums, 2000's "The Marshall Mathers LP" at No. 4 with 10.2 million and 2002's "The Eminem Show" at No. 5 with 9.8 million. Nelly's 2000 debut "Country Grammar" is the 10th best-selling album, with 8.5 million copies; and Norah Jones' 2002 debut, "Come Away With Me," lands at No. 3 with 10.5 million.
EUR DVD REVIEW: David & Layla
Jew Woos Muslim in Romeo & Juliet-Style Sitcom
DVD Review by Kam Williams
*David Fine (David Moscow), the nerdy and neurotic host of a public access TV show airing in NYC called "Sex and Happiness," is being pressured by his parents (Peter Van Wagner and Polly Adams) to marry Abby (Callie Thorne), a rich Jewish-American Princess with a nose job, breast implants and a Porsche.
Unfortunately, there's a major attitude that comes along with that attractive package, since the self-absorbed fitness freak refuses to go on the pill or to satisfy him orally, and she also wants him to have a vasectomy.
That doesn't sit well with David, who's been seeing a shrink for six years to deal with erectile issues due to his fear of condoms.
Therefore, it's no surprise when he falls in lust at first sight with an exotic beauty (Shiva Rose) who turns his head on the street one day.
Layla is a Kurdish refugee whose entire family was gassed by Saddam Hussein.
However, she wasn't granted permanent asylum in America and has just 45 days to marry a U.S. citizen or else face deportation. She lives with her Aunt Zina (Anna George) and Uncle Ali (Ed Chemaly) who have found her an eager suitor in Dr. Ahmed (Ali Rehza), a successful dentist originally from Kuwait. The fly in the ointment is that Layla is reluctant to tie the knot with a guy she has no feelings for.
Yet, she does sense a certain chemistry with David, the awkward stranger who has taken to stalking her while followed by his French cameraman (Alexander Blaise). Eventually, she entertains his overtures only to discover that he's a Jew, a potentially controversial combination when it comes time to win the approval of her Muslim relatives.
This incendiary formula sets in motion David & Layla, a cross-cultural comedy set in Brooklyn in 1990. The story is based on the real-life experiences of David Ruby and Alwand Jaff, both of whom make cameo appearances here in minor roles. The film's fundamental question is whether this latter-day Romeo and Juliet will follow their hearts or simply stick with the more appropriate mates.
My Big Fat Kurdish Wedding!
Very Good (2.5 stars)
Rated R for language and sexuality.
Running time: 106 minutes
Studi Vanguard Cinema
DVD Extras: Director's commentary, deleted scenes, "The Making of"
documentary, film clips, TV spot and a theatrical trailer.
To order a copy of David & Layla, visit:
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B002JTMNWI?ie=UTF8&tag=thslfofire-20&linkCode=as2&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=B002JTMNWI
To see a trailer for David & Layla, visit:
http://www.vanguardcinema.com/davidandlayla/davidandlayla_trailer.htm
EUR DVD REVIEW: The Exiles
Found Footage from Fifties Featuring Native Americans Released on DVD as Docudrama
DVD Review by Kam Williams
*The Exiles strikes me as less a convincing docudrama than an amusing amalgam of period footage from the Fifties overlaid with a trite soundtrack of dialogue that doesn't pass the smell or, should I say, the ear test.
The upshot is that because the movie never feels authentic, it's hard to invest emotionally in its slight storyline or in the plight of any of its characters.
The picture was shot in 1958 by Kent Mackenzie who wanted to capture on film a day in the lives of young Native Americans from the reservation who had settled in the Bunker Hill section of Los Angeles.
The late Mackenzie wrote the script which his well-rehearsed cast executed, although most of their lines were later lip-synched during post-production, and it shows.
Don't be surprised to find yourself wondering, "Is this it?" after about five minutes of watching this movie. "Is it ever going to become realistic?"
But it never does. I'm not sure what to make of it, or why it's supposed to be of interest. I can relate that it's little more than a very tame, dubbed home movie of partying Indians mugging for the camera, but never working up the nerve to do anything daring.
The most remarkable aspect about the annoying experience was that I managed to stay awake from beginning to end. I figured that there had to be a reason why it took a half century for The Exiles to be released. It must be that enough time has passed for it to attract an audience as a nostalgic curiosity rather than as a conventional flick offering a satisfying cinematic experience.
Fair (1 star)
Unrated
In black and white
Running time: 72 minutes
Studi Oscillioscope/Milestone Cinematheque
DVD Extras: 4 short films directed by Kent Mackenzie including Bunker Hill 1956, commentary track: Watching The Exiles with Sherman Alexie and Sean Axmaker, audio of the cast and crew at The Exiles' Opening Night at UCLA, 2008, Last Day of Angels Flight. A short film by Robert Kirste, Bunker Hill:
A Tale of Urban Renewal: a short film by Greg Kimble, White Fawn's Devotion
(1910): the first film directed by a Native American, Sherman Alexie and Sean Axmaker, a second Interview, WNYC Leonard Lopate Show with Sherman Alexie and Charles Burnett, and more.
To order a copy of The Exiles, visit:
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B002O34URU?ie=UTF8&tag=thslfofire-20&linkCode=as2&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=B002O34URU
To see a trailer of The Exiles, visit:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9VepP9Eyfp0
JOSEPH C. PHILLIPS: The Sarah Palin Thing
*If indeed former Alaska Governor and Vice-presidential candidate Sarah Palin is the joke the new left claims her to be, one wonders why they don’t simply ignore her. On the contrary, they devote an unusual amount of energy into making her the butt of their jokes and seeking every opportunity to discredit her and cover her with political dirt. The Associated Press for example assigned 11 reporters to fact-check her new book “Going Rogue.” The AP assigned exactly 2 reporters to read through the more than 4 thousand pages of the Obama healthcare bills. So much attention seems to belie the New Lefts claims that Palin is a light-weight-- not worthy of our respect or attention.
Such a focus of energies seems a tacit acknowledgement that Palin and the principles she represents are a force to be reckoned with.
The primary knock against Palin is that she is dumb, or what is more politely called an anti-intellectual. Of course, the new liberal narrative views all conservatives as not only evil, but downright stupid – not ill informed or teachable, but simply intellectually inferior. From Carter to Obama the new left has consistently claimed a superior intellect.
I can’t help but smile when I recall a conversation I had with a professional friend during the early part of last year’s presidential campaign. She was excited about her opportunity to meet then candidate Barack Obama. “What do you like about the candidate?” I queried. “He is brilliant,” she responded. “He understands the issues so clearly.” Fair enough. But would she, I wondered, be as excited if the candidate were a Republican? “Suppose you were preparing to meet candidate Condoleezza Rice?” I asked. There was a pause and then she responded, “Well, she is very bright.”
‘Nuff said.
Brilliant liberals and “bright” conservatives is the window through which leftists view the world because their vision of America is one that relies on appeals to authority and claims of moral and intellectual superiority. The administrative state posits that the cure for a world teeming with poverty and injustice is within our grasp. There exists a community of anointed intellectuals, trained in our finest universities that can solve all of society’s ills and bring our lives into moral order if only they had the power; if only the rest of us would conduct our lives as they wish.
Witness Democratic Party leader Howard Dean recently standing before a group of French journalists extolling the virtues of this president. According to Dean the battle between socialism and capitalism has been settled. (I will give you 3 guesses which side he believes won.) It is Dean’s belief that our current President and the party he represents understands that American benevolence demands socialist policy. The question therefore is no longer whether or not we will have socialism, but how much socialism we will have. Dean is proud of the Democrat party for its political clarity.
The problem for Dean and the rest of the new left is that Americans tend to have an independent streak that leads them to largely reject the idea of a centralized intelligentsia deciding how best they should live their lives. Palin represents the American individualist that says, “I know what is best for my family and what is in agreement with my faith. I would rather do things my way.” The administrative state is incompatible with such independence and can only thrive by stamping it out.
Palin and those that root for her may not have graduated from Harvard, but they are smart enough to know that Howard Dean is wrong and Ronald Reagan was correct when he said the question was one of moving “Up to man's age-old dream-the maximum of individual freedom consistent with order or down to the ant heap of totalitarianism.” We are indeed bright enough to know that just as there was no moral good in slavery, there is nothing benevolent about socialism. The barbed wire around socialist utopias is there to keep people in – to force them (in the name of liberty) to do what the intellectuals say to do.
It is not Palin’s grit, her good looks or her “you betcha” small town persona that drives the new left to distraction. Rather it is her elementary ability to recognize the danger in putting too much trust in the smart guys-- especially when their solutions require that we place our liberties at their disposal. “Palinism” is not a rejection of intellect; it is however, to say in no uncertain terms that some of us regular folk might just know a bit more about how to run our lives and this country than a room filled with Ivy educated czars.
Joseph C. Phillips is the author of "He Talk Like a White Boy" available where ever books are sold.
THE FILM STRIP: DISNEY’S FIRST BLACK PRINCESS ANIKA NONI ROSE GIVES RECECIPE FOR REAL LIFE PRINCE; In exclusive interviews with ‘The Lovely Bones’ stars Stanley Tucci and Susan Sarandon, they talk about filming this most difficult and emotional movie that they hope will raise awareness.
By Marie Moore
*Former Dreamgirl Anika Noni Rose is proof positive that dreams can come true—if you work hard at them. “I very much liked who Tiana was,” Rose told The Film Strip. “I really understood her journey, what she was doing and what she was trying to do. I mean I come from a very small town in Connecticut. When I walked around saying I wanted to be an actress, who supported that? Nobody, except my parents. A very few people believed in me the way my family believed in me. If you want to do something that’s bigger than your environment, when you see the walls come up, you have to say I’ll just go to the left or I’ll build some steps and climb over you. I got Tiana and I like her very much.”
It’s one thing to be involved with a fictional character, but I wanted to know what her real life prince would be like and she was quick to respond without hesitation. “He has to have intelligence and wit. It’s important to me that people treat the people around them with respect no matter what we think their station in life might be."
“It’s important to me that we be able to communicate clearly. I think it’s important for this person to be able to hold his own in a room because I don’t think that people need to be attached at the hip all the time. He would have to understand this crazy business I’m in somehow. It’s hard for people who aren’t in the business to understand it but he would have to be open to understand that it’s very demanding.
“He would have to be spontaneous and love to travel. I love to travel and when we travel he just can’t be content to be on the beach. He can be on the beach for a few days but then you must be willing to climb a tree and swing across on a wire to the other tree and then repel down. So adventure is a part of it. And I like to do Zen, in varying degrees.”
Tony winner Rose, who starred alongside Jennifer Hudson in the film version of “Dreamgirls,” never imagined the ultimate dream of being a historic character. Being the first Disney black princess is more than a dream, she says. “This is like above and beyond what my dream was,” she gushed. “I feel very blessed and very honored to be able to bring this young woman to life and how lucky that I’m here in this time to be able to do it. I feel very lucky.” A doll in her own image was the icing on the cake. When asked if she knew this was part of the deal, there was a loud, resounding, “No.”
“Let me tell you,” she began, “I was so blown away when they whipped out that doll. Firstly, I had no idea Tiana was going to look so much like me. At a toy fair when I saw a trailer and then the doll, I was a weeping mess. What an honor. She didn’t have to look like me. She could’ve looked like anybody. They had so many renditions of what they thought she might look like. I was blown away by that and had not thought of a doll, and the pajamas and the sheets. I was just like excited to make a noise on a Disney film, a noise. I didn’t care what the noise was. I just wanted to be there because it’s so much a part of our growing up as America.”
Far from the kind, giving and understanding husband in “Julia and Julia,” an unrecognizable Stanley Tucci is seen in his most powerful performance yet in “The Lovely Bones.” It’s a fictional story but it strikes at the heart and psyche of every parent who have or have not lost a child to a murderer. “I play George Harvey, who is the murderer in the film, which we find out at the very beginning of the film,” Tucci tells The Film Strip.
“The film is almost sort of like a deconstruction of the events that precipitate the whole story. He had to be the guy next door, just a normal sort of middle aged man, and kind of innocuous, quiet, that no one would ever suspect that would behave in this way and that’s often what these guys are, who these guys are. He’s based on a sort of combination of a whole bunch of different people that I researched. His look, and demeanor and it was a frustrating, hard, painful experience. It was very challenging, which is why I wanted to do it.” But ultimately, I’m very glad that I did it. I didn’t want to do it at first, I was very resistant, but I also wanted to work with Peter (‘The Lord of the Rings’ Peter Jackson), and it was something I’ve never done before.”
With so much written in the press about abductions and murders, Tucci feels this film will definitely strike a chord with the public. “I think it’s every parent’s greatest fear, every child’s greatest fear, even though they don’t know it, but the parents know it. And, these are abominable crimes and horrible people. Hopefully it will raise awareness. I mean, we’re much more aware of this stuff than we ever used to be, which is really, really good.”
Playing the sassy grandmother was a challenge for veteran actress Susan Sarandon because the role is so unlike herself, she told me. “I wish I could be that self-involved. That liberated that you just don’t care if you hurt people’s feelings, that’s what makes those characters so much fun to play, that you wouldn’t in a million years say that, the kind of things that come out of her mouth.
“But I would like to think that I’m somebody who if things fell apart could move in and put in the muscle to hold things together, to be someone of action, to say, okay, snap out of it now, we have to go on living. I hope that I could do that. And she’s pretty funny. I mean, I guess every time you play a character you bring a lot of who you are to the character, right? And I was very flattered when they wrote to me and asked me to do it, because I had loved the book, I read the book way before I thought about a movie or anything. And I thought that it was such an interesting statement about the energy of a person staying around.
“heaven isn’t something I’m necessarily banking on, but this idea that energy can’t be destroyed, so when a person passes on there’s something of them around, I found very comforting. I also think that this is an emotional thriller, and so there’s a lot of scary stuff in it, which Peter does really, really well, Peter builds certain scenes that are just, you can’t breathe.”
As we talked it was interesting to hear a Hollywood icon express the same everyday fears we non-celebs have daily:
“I think once you’re a parent, what they don’t tell you is everyone says your life becomes so much fuller, but it brings death into your life, which is what I didn’t anticipate when I had my first child. I mean I never thought about death, I never worried about death, once I had a kid, that’s all I thought about. What’s going to happen to her, what’s going to happen to me, so you become completely obsessed with impossible scenarios, especially if you are a single mom, and you’re in a house and like what will happen if there’s a fire, like if you let yourself worry about it, you could go crazy. So I think that that changes you. Your mortality is suddenly there.
“You want to live longer to take care of your kid, you certainly don’t want anything to happen to your child, that’s a scenario you can’t even imagine. So I think that changes you from the very beginning, your priorities change, your awareness changes, your idea of your vulnerability, your child’s vulnerability just changes everything in your life. So even if you’re not thinking about a scenario specific as this, I mean you can’t help but change it.
“I’m the oldest of nine children, so it wasn’t like I didn’t take care of kids my entire life. But having your own child is just a whole other trip right? You’re not (xxxx-laughs) and as a woman, I think you, I think as a mother, you experience this, because you’re really the day in, day out, interpreter of that child, for the first how many years. More than your husband or baby daddy or whoever it is. You are the one that’s got that kid connected to you, so you’re really aware of that and somebody was at the screening that I saw who was very pregnant and by the time of the end of the movie, I don’t know who in their right mind thought it would be a good idea for her to see this movie, she was distraught. And even though I think it’s an emotional thriller, and it’s all about kind of a whodunit and everything, but as a mom you just can’t entertain a very, very pregnant mom.
“Besides the emotional and artistic reasons for choosing to do a film, there’s also the practical says Sarandan. “I’ve done a lot of films that either don’t get distribution, or they get dumped if they are getting distribution, it’s always really scary, even if you make a film that gets good reviews and you don’t know how to, what you said, I mean there are so many films that people discover on video much later that they love and whatever, so that’s always disconcerting when that happens, to everybody. So if you’re doing a movie with Peter Jackson if it’s a failure, it’s going to be a really interesting one (laughs). It’s going to be something that he’ll fight for, because he is somebody that has found a way to have control over all his product.”
GLENN'S STRATEGIES FOR WELL-BEING: Difficulty in Losing Weight
*As we approach the end of another year, most of us are focused on another opportunity to resume our “battle of the bulge." Yes, the New Year brings with it renewed promises to get the weight loss thing right, once and for all.
Let me share a recent experience with one of my readers, which might make it easier for you to claim victory this time around.
A few days ago, a man who I was consulting in his treatment strategy to treat prostate cancer called me after his most recent visit to his doctor. He was noticeably shaken, after being told that as serious as his prostate cancer was, the greatest threat to his health was his obesity. In fact, he told him he was morbidly obese.
Now, this guy was baffled. After all, he thought, since he was diagnosed with prostate cancer, he had drastically changed his diet. Yet he had actually gained three (3) pounds.
I did my best to calm him, reassure him, and encouraged him to keep on this newly modified diet and lifestyle.
I am finding there are many men who find themselves in the same situation- making a strong determination to lose weight, but to no avail!
Here are some possible reasons why:
1. You could actually be Starving!
Slashing too many calories, particularly protein calories, pushes the body to conserve calories rather than burn them. It also forces your body to break down muscle tissue to fuel its vital operations. But that muscle is the key to your metabolism, or the speed at which you burn calories. More muscle means a faster metabolism and less body fat.
Solution: You do need to cut calories to lose weight. (Cut 500 today by eliminating one can of beer, 30 chips, and one Oreo from your diet.) But you need to make sure you're eating at least 1,600 to 1,800 calories each day to keep your metabolism from shutting down. And never cut protein during a diet. If you're a sedentary 200-pounder, you need about 75 grams of protein (about two chicken breasts) a day for muscle preservation. If you're lifting weights, aim for twice that much. Doing aerobics? Pick a number in between.
2. You’re “Inhaling” Food
You probably eat so fast that your stomach hardly has time to alert your brain to tell your mouth to quit chewing before your stomach explodes.
Solution: On every bite, chew, swallow, put down your fork, and take a sip of water. See how long it takes you to eat.
3. Your Food is too Refined
Most processed breads and cereals contain little fiber, the calorie-free component of plant foods that fills you up, not out. Plus, foods rich in fiber help control blood glucose and insulin levels.
Solution: I never thought I'd say this, but it may be a good idea to cut back on potatoes in any form (especially the fries, fellas). Experts say potatoes raise blood-glucose concentration quickly, as do snack chips, white bread, low-fiber breakfast cereals, and breakfast bars. Whole-grain cereals, nuts, and beans are blame-free, if not calorie-free.
4. You are Tired
Sleep deprivation decreases the odds of shedding blubber and keeping it off. Researchers found that healthy men who snoozed only 4 or 7 hours a night for 6 nights in a row had higher glucose and insulin levels in their blood. This is a terrible state of metabolism for a man who's trying to lose weight, because surplus insulin boosts body-fat storage.
Solution: Hit the sack for 8 hours each and every night. And try to hit it for the same 8 hours.
5. You Think Fitness “outweighs” Fatness
Exercise alone won't make you thin. A recent study of military personnel who increased their exercise during a 3-year period found that they gained weight despite their extra efforts. Why? Food, most likely. They simply ate more than they burned off.
Solution: Controlling portion size is absolutely essential to weight loss. And the best way to control portion size is to limit how often you eat out. According to the Tufts University Health & Nutrition Letter, a single restaurant meal often could feed an entire family
6. You Lack Basic Food-Preparations Skills
A man whose only kitchen skill involves the speed dial to Domino's is condemned to a diet of grease, salt, white bread, and sugar.
Solution: Step into the kitchen. (That's the room with the oven, sink, and refrigerator.) Open your freezer. You should see frozen berries and vegetables, which are as good as fresh but last many times longer. Look in your cupboards. You should see some canned vegetables, hearty low-fat soups, dried fruit, and slow-cooking oats. These foods help you lose weight because they're filling but low in calories
7. You're Dry
When you're trying to lose weight, water is your workout partner. You need it to flush the waste products your body makes when it breaks down fat for energy, or when it processes protein. You need it to transport nutrients to your muscles. You need it to help digest food and keep your metabolism clicking along. And water keeps you from overheating during intense exercise on hot days.
8. Macho Macho Man
I've seen it many times: Guy drops 10 or 20 pounds and starts thinking he's Joe Weight Loss. Next thing you know, he's back to beer and pizza—and his original weight.
Solution: With each 10 pounds you drop, sit down and reassess your diet and exercise program. If you calculated your food intake and exercise volume when you started, run a new set of numbers, based on your new weight and activity level.
This is just a few observations, but I’m sure you’ll find them useful.
By the way, the guy I mentioned at the beginning did realize that the culprit in him gaining three (3) pounds was his love of Brown Rice!
Remember, I’m not a doctor, I just sound like one.
Take good care of yourself and live the best life possible!
Glenn Ellis, author of Which Doctor?, is a syndicated health columnist and radio commentator who lectures around the world on health issues of particular interest to the African-American community.
E-mail me at info@glennellis.com
For good health information, visit: www.glennellis.com
PEOPLE OF NOTE: AUDELCO Looking Back and Moving Forward
By Deardra Shuler
Photo by Tanja Hayes
*The 37th Annual Vivian Robinson/AUDELCO Recognition Awards for Excellence in Black Theatre kicked off on Monday, November 16th at Harlem Stages/Aaron Davis Hall with the theme “Looking Back, Moving Forward.” This year's honorary co-chairs were award winning Tony nominated actress Starletta DuPois and Rajendra Ramoon Maharaj, artistic director of Rebel Theatre and a four time AUDELCO award winner. Co-hosts for the evening were Guiding Light and One Life to Live actress Kim Brockington and Ted Lange who made the character 'Issac' a household name on the popular television show “Love Boat.”
After a rousing rendition of “Sing Harlem Sing,” from Vi Higginsen's “Sing Harlem Sing” play, and a few words from Grace L. Jones, AUDELCO's illustrious president, the lengthy evening was off and running.
Ruined swept the Awards winning 7 AUDELCO Awards in the categories of set design, costume design, playwright award, lead actress, supporting actor, supporting actress and Dramatic Production of the Year.
Matthew Frey won for his ingenious lighting in the play “Zooman and the Sign.” Derek McLane's “Ruined”set was awarded. The Judy Dearing Costume Design Award went to Paul Tazwell for “Ruined.” and C. Andrew Mayer won for sound design in “Pure Confidence.”
Marion McClinton won for Director/Dramatic Production for the play “Pure Confidence.”
Keith Lee Grant (The Wiz) won in the categories Director/Musical Production and the Katherine Dunham Award for his choreography in The Wiz.
Lynn Nottage won the August Wilson Playwright Award for penning Ruined.
Russell G. Jones won in the Supporting Actor category for “Ruined.”
Quincy Tyler Bernstine won for Supporting Actress – Ruined
Musical Production of the Year was awarded to the play Archbishop Supreme Tartuffe
Outstanding Musical Director for Archbishop Supreme Tartuffe went to Kelvyn Bell
Outstanding Male Performance in a Musial went to veteran actor Andre De Shields for his role in Archbishop Supreme Tartuffe.
Outstanding Female Performance in a Musical - Archbishop Supreme Tartuffe went to Kim Brockington.
Outstanding Ensemble Performance went to Kevin Carroll, Tracey Bonner and January Lavoy (Home Signature Theatre).
Kahill Ashanti won for best solo performance for his one-man-show, Basic Training.
Gavin Lawrence won in the Lead Actor category for “Pure Confidence.”
Saiddah Arika Aekulona won as best Lead Actress in Ruined.
Best Rival Award went to Zooman and the Sign (Signature Theatre Company)
Ruined won for Dramatic Production of the Year (Manhattan Theatre Club).
Pioneer Awards were awarded t New Federal Theatre Company Manager and director Patricia White, Director Playwright Ray Aranha, Kojo Ade, and choreographer Robin Williams.
Michael Green, Lazette McCants, Dwayne Trotman, Veona Thomas won Board of Director awards.
Young 14 year old guitarist, Solomon Hicks, won the Rising Star Award.
Van Dirk Fisher snared the Special Achievement Award (Riant Theatre).
The evening performances consisted of Impact Repertory, John D. Thompson's rendition of Othello, an excerpt from King Lear by Trezana Beverley and Denise Dumaine and Michael Leonard James performed a dance tribute to Michael Jackson. However, it was CP Lacey who brought the house down when he brought Michael Jackson back to life with his outstanding performance of the King of Pop.
VERONICA'S VIEW: What Seemed Anomalous Suddenly is Not
Veronica Hendrix
*Five- year-old Shaniya Davis was laid to rest a few weeks ago.
Over 1,000 people are said to have attended her home going service held in Fayetteville, North Carolina.
The alleged details surrounding her death are heinous and disturbing.
According to media reports the youngster was reported missing by her mother from her mobile home park in Fayetteville. The tearful pleas from Bradley Lockhart, Shaniya’s father, on early morning and evening news shows were heart wrenching. If you recall, there was a sighting of the child on surveillance tape of a hotel in North Carolina. She was being carried by man who is alleged to have had some association with her mother.
Nearly a week after Shaniya was reported missing, her body was found on November 16, 2009, off a rural road, dumped into the woods 30 miles from her hometown in Fayetteville. The preliminary cause of death has been ruled as asphyxiation, and she was raped.
Officials have charged her mother Antoinette Davis, 25, with human trafficking and felony child abuse. They allege that she sold her child into prostitution knowing that she would be used for sex. Authorities also charged Mario Andrette McNeill, 29, with kidnapping after they confirmed he was the man seen carrying Shaniya on the hotel surveillance tape. Authorities said McNeill admitted taking her.
The story of little Shaniya has many alleged twists and turns from piecing together numerous reports. She was a bi-racial child. Her father was Anglo; her mother was African American. Her father stated in an interview that Shaniya was the product of “a one night stand” and he really didn’t know the mother well at all. It appears Shaniya had multiple caregivers during her abbreviated life. Her final caregiver was her mother whom her father had recently allowed his daughter to stay with because she had just got a job and place to stay.
The charges of human trafficking are sobering. And reports allege that Shaniya was sold because her mother was grappling with financial issues in this down economy and needed the money.
While the charges against Antoinette Davis are alleged, the toil that the economy is taking on Americans is real. Layoffs, people losing their homes, and not enough money at the end of the month are insurmountable realities.
There was a time when stories of human trafficking and slavery were those of families in places like Indonesia, India, Thailand, Japan, Germany, Mexico and Nigeria who were so poor that they sold their daughters or sons in human slavery so they could survive. When I worked with the Los Angeles City Commission on the Status of Women a few years ago, one of their initiatives was to work with various community based organizations to help victims of human trafficking come out of the shadows because Los Angeles was and remains one of the leading points of entry and distribution of human trafficking and slavery victims. Their stories of escape and rescue were harrowing.
The CIA estimates that many as 50,000 men, women and children are trafficked into the United States every year to work in underground brothels, domestic servitude, sweatshops or other informal industries. However, they are seeing more and more domestic children in the sex industry, many whom have left home or are thrown out as the pressures of the economy have damaged families bonds, opening up the doors for children to be preyed upon as they try to survive in the streets.
In fact last month the FBI rescued 52 children in a series of raids around the country including Miami, Las Vegas and Chicago. About six weeks ago a woman in Denver was charged with pimping and pandering of a child. For nine months she allegedly prostituted her 14-year-old daughter.
Given these facts, the story of Shaniya Davis doesn’t seem like conjecture or a plot line for the movie of the week. While this case didn’t happen in our community, it happened to one of the most vulnerable members of our collective community – a child. And it happened at time in our history when people have done the unthinkable and have resorted to the unspeakable as desperate times have elicited desperate measures.
Suddenly what seemed anomalous is not. It is a disturbing commentary. That is why we should care. (If you have comments about Veronica’s View, email them to vsview@yahoo.com.)###
THE PULSE OF ENTERTAINMENT: Warner Bros. Pictures presents Morgan Freeman and Matt Damon in 'Invictus,' a look into the mind of Nelson Mandela; Marques Houston releases a music video for each song on his current CD, 'Mr. Houston'
By Eunice Moseley
Warner Bros. Pictures presents Morgan Freeman and Matt Damon in 'Invictus,' a look into the mind of Nelson Mandela
*“I thank whatever gods may be for my unconquerable soul...I am the master of my fate: I am the captain of my soul,” are the words that ring throughout the Warner Bros. Picture presentation “Invictus,” a story about how the mind of South Africa's heroic icon Nelson Mandela works.
That quote is from a poem by William Ernest Henley which Mandela recited throughout his 27 year imprisonment (for his political views) and it gave him the passion to not give in. Nelson believes this poem gave him what he needed to survive so that he could one day walked away from the South African prison – still intact with his soul.
“Invictus” stars Academy Award winners Morgan Freeman as Mandela and Matt Damon as Francois Plenaar, the captain of the rugby team, Springboks. Mandela uses the team to unite a nation that was divided by race. The film gives the audience a look into the mind of a very very wise man.
The film shows how Nelson used what was in front of him to not only show South Africans that they are more powerful as one, but to also show the world that South Africa is worthy of their investment.
“Mandela was asked who he'd like to play him, he said Morgan Freeman,” said Morgan when asked if he received the blessing from Mandela to play him. “When he said he'd prefer I be the one to play him...I had to start then (p
