Sanspiracy

The Narrative Gem of "Chronicle"

2012-02-14T12:00:00.000-08:00

Typically this part of the year brings little pleasure by way of cinema. It is widely known that the first couple of months of the year is but a dumping ground for films that studios thought would not be successful amongst the more high profile offerings of the yesteryear. However, every now and again you will sit through something that will surprise you and entertain you in a refreshingly striking way that somehow subverted your expectations entirely. I live for movie experiences like this....in fact...this is why i proudly call myself a cinemaphile....because every now and again....you'll see something and regard it as a real gem.

When I first saw the ads for "Chronicle" (a chronically mismarketed and missold film) i had an "eh wan" sorta reaction. The special effects looked kinda cool...but I thought, surely they will mess this up somehow with its Heroes meets Cloverfield "found footage" premise. When my boys saw the movie and panned it, then I thought for sure that this movie would get quickly shuffled down to my "wait until netflix" list. But something about it kept at me.....and as I unknowingly found my way into the Arclight, taking my seat for what I thought would surely be a rote experience at the movies......I was surprised when the lights came up and I sat firmly planted in my seat.....letting the experience of the closing title sequence wash over me with this awesome M83 song playing in the background (see above).

To back it up a bit, I now judge the merits of a movie on how quickly I want to leave the movie theater. If the movie end, the house lights come up, and I bolt for the door....then I consider the experience utterly forgettable....but if I have a strong desire to stay in my seat and actually read about all the players involved in the production, then I know that what i have seen is certified good. I struggled with calling "Chronicle" necessarily "good" but when I thought about it....something is in fact more appealing about it....that crosses it into sorta "brilliant".

at 84 minutes, it would be pretty easy for "Chronicle" to fly off the rails without any fault of its own. But it manages to tell a very simple and effective story and wrap it all in a decidedly tired and overused medium while at the same time producing something fresh and exciting. There is really nothing terribly original about "Chronicle", but I loved how it took sorta old conventions and made them new. The script is nothing to write home about, but a funny thing happened sorta 15 minutes into the movie, I became far less concerned about what the characters were saying and rather, enjoy the subtleties of the performances. The actors here are soo effective at what they are doing and come alive so much on screen that they totally and completely sell the friendship until the very end of the film. Its is this exemplified friendship that is the heart of the film.

in short, "Chronicle" takes us through a slice of life through the eyes of Andrew Detmer (Dane DeHann) a socially awkward high school kid whose homelife is hell and social life even more disparaging. His only friend seems to be his much cooler cousin Matt Garetty (Alex Russell) who (as suggested) only seems to be around because he's family and to provide the much needed lift to school. Andrew and Matt are joined one day by Steven Montgomery (an excellent Michael B. Jordan) the most popular kid at school whose mannerisms and personality seemed to remind me a lot of myself (on a side note, how many films have you seen where the most popular kid in school is black and he or she is not treated like "the token" in the story). The three discover an underground cave one evening, get adventurous, and then wake up the next day with what can best be described as superpowers. As their superpowers grow, so do the bonds of their friendship....three unlikely people who are connected through incredible circumstance.

as "Chronicle" unfolds, we learn that Andrew family life is growing increasingly more taxing and damaging....and his powers act as a way for him to enable himself and cope with the misery at home. I want give too much more away other than to say that "Chronicle" gradually slides into darker waters, but the narrative is handled so effectively, by the time you get there you completely understand how you got there. You understand where the anger is coming from and why its being unleashed in such a way.

I still really can't put my finger on it, but something really grabbed me about the story being told here. And it def helps that the special effects lend themselves completely to the storytelling and are not delivered in "look at me" sorta spectacle. By the time you get to the end.......the story felt like it unfolded in a completely natural way and I was surprised by how it all ends on such an emotional, sentimental, striking note. Needless to say, the movie stayed with me and still has....a chronicle for a thouroghly enjoyable movie going experience.

The Greatest Love Of All: Happy Valentines Day

2012-02-14T09:27:00.002-08:00

like many a celebrity battling demons...you often hear about their untimely demise in the context of a hoax. I would have to admit, when I first heard that Whitney Houston had passed my initial reaction was "is this a joke" and then, like everyone else, your heart kinda drops with the realization that one of the greats has been called home.

I would have to say that the death of Whitney Houston is shocking for several reasons. Not only, once again, do we have an "E True Hollywood Story" ending to one of the biggest and brightest stars that we will ever see, but it was so abrupt.....so "here one moment, gone the next" that you can't help but reflect on your own life and journey and just be thankful for the time you have on this earth to fulfill your destiny.

I very much believe all that i have heard about Whitney in interviews from some of her closest cohorts.....that she was like your favorite auntie....warm, inviting, loving...and full of life. She definitely was a star, unlike most celebrities we adorn today. Whitney's death is not only a signal of an enormous talent called back way too soon...but essentially the end of an era in music. I don't care who comes along or how good they can sing.....we will never see or hear another talent like Whitney in this lifetime and that is a hard pill to swallow.

I guess what i liked most about Whitney is that even though she was a diva....she was just like you and me and unfortunately "Being Bobby Brown" proved just how just like you and me she really was (whether good or bad). But that was essentially part of her charm. And the love she had for her family and those around her was very palpable. I just feel sorry for her daughter...because losing a parent...especially a parent you have such a strong bond with...is devastating....but God has got her in his care.

I will have to admit, that hearing about such a loss has made me even more grateful for those in my life whose love serves as a constant, daily inspiration. If you love someone, you should protect that at all cost because, like most all things in life, they can be here one moment and gone the next (either physically or figuratively). So on this valentines day and in memory of Whitney i would have to be cheesy and say yeah, "The Greatest Love of All is Easy to Achieve", but you have to love yourself number one in order to know what love is to give. Yeah, we face problems, have our demons, and get "caught up" with the best of them....but the love you have for yourself serves as a guide through the darkness and a reference point for those around you. The Greatest love of all should come from inside you, it should shine through you, and speak to the essence of you. Like most all things, its comes with great responsibility, and its power is transformative.

For love's sake, cherish every moment people and never take anything for granted. For "God giveth and God taketh away" and you never know when, in a lightening bolt moment, you could casually be waiting for the party.......never to arrive. Life is precious, life is beautiful.....and life at the end of the day is very fragile.......be thankful for it all....good and bad.....and life live with a higher purpose in mind. Tell those you love that you love them everyday....for Valentines is only but a blip on the map, an occasion to encapsulate the year long celebration. Happy Valentine's day folks.

Soderbergh's "Haywire" Misfire

2012-02-06T12:01:00.000-08:00

Minus the "Ocean's 11" nonsense....Ive really enjoyed most all Soderbergh's big screen offerings and even developed a fond appreciate for his particular viewpoint. However, "Haywire" has me scratching my head for several reasons. Im sure out in cyberspace somewhere are some really great highlights of Gina Carano in action. Personally, ive never heard of her, but she is soo good supposedly, that she seems to have received muse status from Soderbergh who somehow saw Carano at an MMA exhibition and committed her to celluloid as cinema's new break out star. The inspiration seems foggy at best as what Carano has delivered is a stilted, wooden performance, and paint by the numbers action sequences that would have seemed just as capable say in the hands of Charlize Theron. What "Haywire" really needed was an actress....and what it got was a Burger King cardboard cutout of an action star.

Whats so frustrating about Soderbergh's work here is that all the elements are here for a killer film. Great title, and a handful of marquee supporting actors in it boy, Michael Fassbender, Michael Douglas, Channing Tatum, Bill Paxton, and Antonio Banderas. The actors are inevitably on loan here......lending more of their star wattage than acting chops. But I count this as a fault of Soderbergh whose use of fartsy artsy techniques and background use of credible actors have you going "haywire" for just how lackluster they are for smoothing out the jagged edges of the screenplay...mainly the acting by Carano. I imagine that they guys take the back seat here, so to speak, to not bring any more attention to how bad her acting is....but since these actors are soo good...even in lame roles.....a lot of the film comes across as line reading.

overall, what you crave is a dragged out, knocked out, action stunner a la Kill Bill....but what you get is "Drive".....a virtually action free action movie. And at 90 minues, this couldn't be more painful to sit through or follow. The plot, told in extended flash back, is sooooo overly convoluted that you'll totally stop caring halfway through and the use of locals is soo excessive....its almost bastardy. There is nothing to speak of in terms of tension, suspense, or plot twist (which there are many). And to boot, the movie seems to fetishize Carano in a way that her bravado shuns off instantly.......thus culminating in a juvenile wish fulfillment fantasy where a lot of tough guys get their asses kicked by a tough gal. Ultimately we've seen it all done before, only phoned in by Soderbergh...........we get the added back slap of high art purely for a genre exercise in consumption and ego tripping......frankly Soderbergh, that planned retirement may not be such a bad thing after all....if only to put a spark back in your creative voice.

STL Spotlight: Let Miguel "Adorn" You

2012-02-06T11:02:00.000-08:00

Miguel is an artist that has slowly been creeping his way on my radar. Wasn't a fan of his debut, but the dude showed that somehow, someway.........given the right direction...that he could really place his thumbprint on the current state of music and carve out his own niche. "Lotus Flower Bomb" gave hints of this, however, when in a haze of weekend afterglow, i stumbled upon his video for "Adorn".....i was more than a bit impressed to say the least. Its funny how Miguel almost becomes a whole different, more interesting artist when his music is catered more towards R&B than pop and "Adorn" brings out a cool sensualness and an organic vibe that has been wholly missing from Miguel's music. The track is laid back, effortless, and dare I say.....bold in how it tinkers with the electro soul toolbox. If this is the direction his music is to take.....then I will def be keeping an eye and ear out. Check out his three song upcoming EP, "Art Dealer Chic Vol. 1" when it drops on February 27th. Enjoy :)

STL Pause: Another one McBites the Dust

2012-02-02T17:20:00.000-08:00

Enough of the trivial, pointless, silly topics folks.....its time to get serious people. I mean i was ready to start my own "Occupy McDonald's" movement for punishing the public by slathering the McRib all over town over and over again and then yanking it right when the heroin addiction kicks in. I was even ready to march up to their front doors demanding answers after watching tireless youtube videos on mechanically separated meats and poultry to confirm that its is the means by which their Chicken McNuggets and Big Macs were made. Needless to say.......i had retired my McDonald's jersey and vowed never to eat there again (well, only to maybe have a vanilla ice coffee from time to time). But then that had to go and do the unspeakable......create something yummy that brought me right back to their doors (tail between my legs and all and head held in shame).

Before you take this statment (and therefore stereotype) a bit too far......I LOVE CHICKEN!! but not in say, the conventional ways that most folks like chicken. Not a fan of buffalo wings....yeah I know......or drumsticks (although I do love me some chicken breast...lol)...and ive recently become a Chick-Fil-A addict....no...its not funny....I have bad withdrawals from that place (mmmmmmm.....spicy chicken sandwich). But if you take some leftover crumbs from the chicken......overly coat them in batter and seasoning salt.....then i come with tongue wagging. Until recently, KFC was the only place to get such a thing with their "Popcorn Chicken". The "Popcorn Chicken" is still more bomb than the McBites.....and it has the added benefits of being served with potatoe wedges...mmmm, but McDonald's has the advantage with more locations......so its more convenient to get to.

Sad to say....but I remember before the advertisements....driving past a McDonald's and noticing that they had new signage up and reading the words McBites and having my eyes light up like a 2 year old that just realized they had a playground ..lol. I mean......the advantage that they do have is that they have a million and one different sauces you can dip those bad boys in and i particularly like the chipotle bbq. The only downer really is you sound like a fucking idiot trying to order that shit through the drive thru. I remember the first time i ordered these shits.....halfway through uttering the words (in my mind) i thought I had reverted back to 4th grade and developed a speech impediment.

DAMN YOU MCDONALD's.....just when I was good and done....look what you had to do. AND I eat one of those shareable ones by my damn self. On a side note, im counting down the days until McDonald's corporate discovers the drive through singing video from world star (video above) and have him do a McBites promo spot.

i mean....you do remember this don't you

The STL Project: The Test

2012-02-01T12:34:00.000-08:00

what im listening to right now: JoiStaRR "Im Trying"

HAAAAPPPYYYYY NEEEEEWWWWW YEAAAAAARRRR Folks!!!! (im cheesin). And man, does it feel good to write again lol. Sorry for the absence folks.....life over the past year has taken me to many hills and valleys...but in 2012 im soaring (Yuuuuuuuppp!!!). i wanted to open up the relaunch of the blog with something that touched my heart the other day and give my personal testimony of growth and evolution.

Ohh what a mad mad world we live in....and if i was defining myself by the condition and terms defined by the ills of this society, then I would be playing myself pretty hardcore right now. This is not to say that i have succeeded exceedingly in every area of life....but the reality is that the greatest lessons in success come from our failures. I call this "The Test" and what it inevitably is is God's cumulative exam for growth. Almost a litmus test, as you will, for our place and purpose in the world. Being Black History Month and all, I think Dr. Martin Luther King said it best with his famous quote " The ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in moments of comfort and convenience, but where he stands at times of challenge and controversy" This is to say that these test usually involve to specific areas of our being......our character and our attitude and man.....I know what its like to fail on both levels.

A while back I was involved in a situation that now I know was a big mistake (hey, you chalk it up to growing pains....lol), but I am thankful for whatever lessons I came out learning from it.....but it inevitable made me a much better, more grounded, more mature man and I am thankful to God that through his purpose.....i stand here at this time a completely more fulfilled and renewed individual. However, it taught me an important lesson in life....never settle for the okie doke and no matter what situation arises and how it temps to unleash the worst in you......never lose your cool . To be honest, I use to be a hardcore justice kinda guy....eye for an eye!!!!...fuck it.....if you do dirt, then you wholly deserve to have dirt smacked right back in your face....but the small pleasures derived from seeing "justice delievered" was little in comparison to how it all stilted my evolution. And I had to ask myself, what growth am i obtaining through a series of knee jerk reactions in which anger leads and all sense of rationality falls by the waist side...blinding red, a total blackout of thought and emotion.

The short answer, nada, nilch, nothing........and i was embarrassed by what it spoke of my character and attitude. I know its not popular for a man to be about anything or have integrity these days....but this assertion just make me want to stan for these principles even more because I feel like "somebody has to" I mean.....as men....we can't all just walk around like total idiots. Plus, in my situation, I feel a real historical responsibility to keep things moving in an upwardly mobile direction. My mom and dad worked tirelessly to see me reach success and they afforded me opportunities that were never available to them. To give some perspective....my dad was born in 1926 and endured a shitload of racism and prejudice.....doing the math...I would have to say that that would either make my grandfather or greatgrandfather a slave in this country. Having such a close connection to this history has generally been the motivation for my how I carry myself.....with class, candor, and a sense of responsibility of self. I know it may sound cheesy, but I trully feel most of the time that I am carrying a torch and one day I will be measured by how far I have carried that torch before passing it on to the next generation.

But im human...and I fall on my face and FAIL at times......sometimes the test is too damn hard or I don't feel like taking it or I think its unfair. Like why do I have to take this test when it doesn't look like anyone else is even in the damn exam room. I want justice damnit!! lol. Well, my journey is not your journey and your journey is not mine (for some reason I thought of Whitney's "my love" when writing that out...lol)......but what my journey was telling me was that I had to check my attitude and stop listening to all the discouraging voices in my head. Yeah, we like to give ourselves a hard time......but its all a mental trick and I learned to be humbled in times that threatened to lose my cool instead of combative or bull headed (granted, this has taken a long time). Sometimes all you truly need is a change of perspective.......sometimes you interpret things in the wrong way and need to check yourself...that is to say....that in most cases......its not always a "me against the world" kinda thing and you go through things....good or bad....for the betterment of self. If you can't absorb the lesson.....then you have to start all the way at the beginning of the game again......*press play* inevitably repeating the same level over and over again.

Seriously folks, anything and everything can and is more than likely a test of some part of you that needs to either be addressed or tuned up. Allow yourself to fail, yeah, but know that there will be a time where you're being will transcend the parameters of the test taking altogether. God will set you on a plane in first class, with a nice bottle of chianti, and a note. And on that note will be coordinates for your destination. In your heart, you will know what it took to get on board....the turbulence you faced in taking flight.......the cramped quarters you endured in taxiing along the ride......but it is the destination that gives you hope, faith, and light. It is the destination that defines you, not society, or other people, reality TV, or even the voices in your head that tell you otherwise. The true measure of a man, sitting handsomely and living free..........without threat of karma or retribution.........without threat to character and attitude.....humbling.....peaceful........and all through God's will. Lord knows i'm trying :)

J Davey New Album Coming Nov. 22 - Me Returning to Real Life - Imminent

2011-11-09T15:25:00.000-08:00

You may be asking...what the hell do these two things have in common. Well, I would say we are both about to shut the game down lol. Stay put folks, because Sanspiracy is coming back in a big way with the STL Project and plenty of the stories and humor that will have your sides splitting (hopefully not literally). Still in a bit of a fog from wrapping up my major event of the year. But my fingertips have been itching to bring you all the latest and greatest in news, politics, and entertainment. Stay tuned folks...it will be more than worth the wait and thanks to all my loyal readers.

A Message of Hope for Humanity

2011-10-18T13:38:00.000-07:00

The STL Project: The Story of STL

2011-10-14T10:29:00.000-07:00

ahhh...so many projects....so little time. Well this is my season folks (its AFM time), but I had to send out a little teaser for a project that will be appearing on Sanspiracy in the coming weeks titled "The STL Project" - an in depth look at the history of STL (Soundtrack to Life) and my current project "STL 11: The Best of Me" (check check it OUUUUUTTTTTTT)

If you didn't know, or couldn't tell by the blog, im a Huuuugeee music lover and I was a bit tired of listening to album after album of mostly shitting songs and then 1 or 2 songs that sorta stood out as real bangers. So the idea of STL was really born out of creating an orphanage for these songs - my virtual mixtape that inevitably served two purposes....one, it made it convenient to listen to all the songs I thought were hot on one album and two, it really captured a history of what types of music I was listening to at the time and what i was into. Early inclination of STL ranged from alternative, to rock, to house, to dub step, to R&B and beyond. But as the years past, my STL's became more of statements and I thought a lot about creating vibes and moods and really picking songs that worked well together instead of just randomly assorting a bunch of songs on an album. "STL 11: The Best of Me" is the epitome of this effort and that is why I am so proud of it. Its is essentially, the culmination of years of evolution in my musical taste as well as a bold statement for the direction that future STL's will take and most of all a celebration of the amazing new plateau that life has taken me to. I really hope you enjoy it and I can't wait to delve deeper into "STL 11: The Best of Me" and give you not only a closer look at the music, but a closer look at yours truly.

20 Years Later Boyz II Men Prove they still have that "IT" Factor

2011-10-14T09:51:00.000-07:00

Its hard to believe that Boyz II Men have been in the game for 20 Years but its even harder to fathom for about half of that....Boyz II men have been somewhat dormant on the musical landscape. The "Motown Philly" crooners had a well documented line up shake up when original member Michael McCary left the group in 2003 for health issues. But even so, its seemed like the group could never ever reached the heights that their musical career took them in the 90's as the premiere R&B quartet.

for most of the 00's it seemed that Boyz II men had been reduced to a cover band. Creating album after album of songs about seasons and trite, uninspired remakes of classics with the bands typical croonings and spot on harmonies. Their talent was simply not enough to elevate their material. So when I came across "20" - the bands double CD homage to their 20 year in the game, the acknowledgment came with a side eye and a passing iota of interest. When I discovered that the Album contained 12 tracks of brand new music, my soul perked up in the hopes of receiving something in the vein of say "II" - arguable the bands most commercially embraced album and most classic.

Listening to "20" i had a sort of revelation about the group. Exactly why are they not as popular now as when the were in the 90's. "20" seems to pick up exactly where "II" left off and its amazing that, vocally, the group sounds as fresh and polished as they did back then. Its also a testament to the integrity of the group that 20 years later, none have appeared on "Celebrity Rebab" have had extensive run ins with the law, had their financial dealings aired out in the media, developed coke habits, or had public baby mama drama. So I guess that answers my question...lol. Even still "20" is a solid collection of tracks and to boot, the CD contains a second disc of classics that I could have done without, but that many Boyz II Men fans will appreciate.

Stands outs on the album include "Put Some Music On" an airy, moody, sexy midtempo romantic jawn, "Slowly" a slightly kinkier version of "I'll make love to you" and "Will You be There" a vocally bombastic, midtempo stunner. All in all, its good though to see that Boyz II Men have a lot of music still left in them - this is pure R&B. No gimmicks, no autotune, in fact, listening to "20" is a painful reminder of how far music has fallen off. Gone are the days when artist were required to have talent, gone are the days when a specific sound was created for artist, gone are the days when artist actually brought something to the table. Which inevitably answers my original question. Boyz II Men will probably never be as big as they once were because the machine is no longer in place to elevate them to those heights. The industry, at best, has a passing interest in populating the landscape with R&B groups and of the new ones, none could still light a candle to the talent and success of Boyz II Men. In essence, these cats just haven't had their just due as musical legends who have pioneered a long track in music and influenced generations of new and up and coming artist.

But the music just hasn't died and if anything "20" makes a bold statement about the group and their potential for future greatness. If at any time, music returns to the integrity and inspiration it held dear in the 90's, then Boyz II Men is surely waiting in the wings to dust off their crowns and claim their former glory. Past, present and future.

J*Dave is the "Queen of Wonderland" but Where the Hell is "New Designer Drug" Yo

2011-09-30T17:03:00.000-07:00

J Davey sure know how to drop a dope beat and lyric every now and again....and i for one am tired of the mixtapes and randon "exclusive" single here and there (not really, id take it all gladly). I need a damn meal from these cats and not an appetizer...lol. Well until "New Designer Drug" get a release date, which we hope happens in the next 7 years, then Let Ms. Davey's act as the mistress of ceremonies for your eyeballs in the above clip.

No Presenting STL 11: The Best of Me

2011-09-30T09:28:00.000-07:00

"Soundtrack to Life 11 - The Best of Me" [thanks for being patient folks....once you take a gander you will understand that it was well worth the wait...enjoy]
==> DOWNLOAD<==

Tracklisting
1. Range - True Love
2. Eric Roberson feat Chubb Rock - Summertime Anthem
3. Mark de Clive-Lowe Feat Nia Andrews - The Why
4. Theophilus London & Jesse Boykins III - Ooos and Ahhs
5. Timbaland Ft. Chris Brown - Naked
6. Britney Spears - Trip to Your Heart
7. Theophilus London feat Devonte Hynes - Century Girl
8. 1-O.A.K. - Rewind
9. Usher - You're So Fire
10. Chris Brown (Feat. Parlay Starr and Tyga) - Like You
11. Dezaray Dawn - Chameleon (Applejac's Sounds Of Mecca remix)
12. Tiron & Ayomari - If I Had You
13. Deborah Bond - 5:35
14. Jesse Boykins III - Sexy
15. Jazmine Sullivan - Take Over You
16. Electric Empire - Baby Your Lovin
17. ReneeDion - Nothing
18. Theophilus London - TNT

Taking the Time To Smile (You may think its silly article...but there is some real talk here)

2011-09-29T15:18:00.001-07:00

It's amazing how Smiling (sincerely) can make you feel better. And Smiling often leads to laughing, which can create a sense of JOY, which results in a natural relief from stress. In fact, that IS a simple, effective Stress Relief formula - Smile More, and really mean it.

But what makes you Smile? What makes you Laugh?
What makes you feel JOY?

Even if you don’t know the answer to any of those questions, think about this for a minute - There's a lot of medical documentation today that confirms how smiling, laughing and feeling Joy definitely relieves stress, makes you healthier, and can help you live a longer, happier life.

For example, when you smile and laugh, the brain produces endorphins which are chemicals inside your body that (when released) help relieve physical and emotional stress, and thus, create a feeling of well-being. Since stress is attributed to a host of illnesses (cardiovascular diseases, cancer, and many more), this "smiling often" stress-relief process can greatly enhance your health. But....that works ONLY if your Smile is real and comes from inside you, not just on the surface.

So, what does it take to make you Really Smile and feel some Joy?

A Real, Genuine Smile is an involuntary response. You can't fake a Real Smile that comes from inside you. A real smile is created by certain stimuli such as a genuinely happy thought, memory or sound, or from seeing something funny/inspiring or from touching something that makes you feel good. If such a stimulus affects you in a special way, that smile and sense of well-being happens automatically - and it Feels Good.

Have you ever noticed how incredibly easy it is for little kids to smile and laugh? It just naturally comes from the depths of their being. Little kids have hair triggers when it comes to smiling and laughing. And – Oh My God – we adults were once like that. Yes, we were! We smiled and laughed very easily and felt JOY, and had little or no stress in our lives. So, what happened? Why is growing up often the ticket to smiling Less, laughing Less, feeling little or no JOY in your life, and feeling More Stress?

Now, you may be an adult who finds that smiling, laughing and feeling Joyful is easy for you. And as a result, you may not feel very much stress in your life. If so, you are very blessed. Congratulations! But what about the many millions of people who don’t find it so easy to smile, laugh, and feel Joy, but instead, feel lots of stress? Well, the Question to them is:

Do you actually ALLOW yourself to Smile and feel Joy?

Are you so caught up with the In's and Out's, the trials and tribulations of your daily life, that you leave no room for Smiling and feeling Joy? To feel those things, you have to give yourself permisson to do so. Otherwise, you build a hard shell around you, and you become indifferent to the wonderful stimuli that usually create Smiles and Joy.

As mentioned, a true Smile is a triggered response that can be induced by such things as a pleasant thought, a yogic or meditative experience, hiking in nature, watching birds, kayaking, running, inspiring music or art, and quite a number of other things. And these things that make us smile will often lead to a feeling of sweet JOY, and be a great relief from Stress. Ahhhhh! . . .

But you have to Open yourself to that stimuli, and let yourself Feel it. Then, you will be able to experience Joy and understand The Importance of a Smile.

"What Were You Hoping For?" Well Not a New Van Hunt Album

2011-09-28T09:38:00.000-07:00

I've been a stan of Van Hunt's ever since his self titled debut in 2004 and his music has taken quite the trajectory from conventional R&B, to neo soul to rock to funk. Quite the genre Rebel, I liken Van Hunt to the R&B equivalent of Bjork (the very title I would categorize myself in had I explored my musical inclinations) in that his music tends to take you to the left and out of your audible comfort zone. This statement couldn't be more true about Hunt's latest offering "What Were You Hoping For", a hodgepodge of rock, punk, and funk that upon first listen can leave the listener feeling a little bit "hung out to dry" but once you get past your expectations of Hunt music, what you find here is a treasure chest of gems that fly happily and subtly under the radar.

Hunt's latest offering is truly a surprise for me. Off my radar for quite some time, Hunt has been dropping buzz singles here and there for the better part of a month or so, but it wasn't until last week that I thought to dig a little deeper and see what this cat has been up to an low and behold, the "buzz" was not all for not. Hunt's labels woes have been well documented as his move from Capital to Blue Note wielded the ominous "Popular" - an album that was shelved and later rediscovered as an underground relic for true Hunt vans. Hunt has been on record as being "devastated" by the shelving of "Popular" and seems to disappear from the landscape all together after that fallout. But the music in him has not died and it appears that Hunt has come back with a vengeance with his latest offering "What Were You Hoping For" - his clever, trippy, rebel song and middle finger to the recording industry.

If you are a fan of Hunt, then you are also a fan of the personality and wit that exist in his music. And "Hoping For" brings this trend to a rousing new level. Hunt's latest has been categorized as "darker" than his previous offerings (and it is) but in providing the proverbial middle finger to all his haters, Hunt has pulled a rabbit out of his hat and completed a nice bit of magic in subverting his audiences expectations. Song titles like "Cross Dresser, " "Watching you Go Crazy is Driving Me Insane," and "A Time Machine is My New Girlfriend" have you looking at Hunt a bit sideways, but once you dive into these offerings and get immersed in Hunts fusion of punk, rock, and country (yes country), then the offering start to border on brilliant.

"What Were You Hoping For" admittedly take a while to get use to. I have to admit, when I first heard the album a couple of days before its initial release I gave it a passing listen and then a swift dismissal as a "humph" album. But once you take the time to see what Hunt was going for, and you let the production wash over you and his lush, rich vocal arrangements, then its hard to resist "Hoping For's" charms. Van Hunt's growth as an artist is admirable, the way he challenges his audience is greatly appreciated, and I can't wait to see where this chapter takes us on his musical voyage.

The Soundtrack You Thought Was A Myth Makes Its Cover Debut

2011-09-16T17:30:00.000-07:00

and as far as the music goes, if im able to upload the damn thing then the blog-sphere will get a nice surprise in a weeks time lol. Have a great weekend folks

I'll Turn You Into a Tree Motherf*&%$#

2011-09-15T09:49:00.000-07:00

this is why Don Cheadle is the shit!!! laughed so hard I cried :)

Basketball Lies and the Viewers Who Love Them

2011-09-13T15:18:00.000-07:00

Look, I was one to stan for VH1's particular bran of ratchetness because honestly, any network that can air a dating show starring Flavor Flav and employ a bunch of stripper actresses is king in my book. However, the novelty is over, the DJ has left the booth, and the newport fumes have long dissipated and what we ultimately have left is a network keen on showing the bickering wives, girlfriends, and jumpoffs of professional athletes fighting like rabid dogs for camera time. It all leaves me asking....is the desire to be famous really that serious.

well it certainly is entertaining, even though its morally bankrupt and socially irresponsible to show predominately minority women clawing at each other for kudos if not a steady paycheck. But that's the thing.....there are two matriculations of this formula now floating about tvspace and neither seems to make good on the shows titular promise. The LA version certainly does try to throw us a few more bones as the show thus far has become all about Doug Cristie's paramour Jackie Christie and the elusive industry jump off Draya. Last nights episode was all up in Jackie's ass as she showcased her impeding wedding plans (she plans a wedding every year and thus far has married Doug 16 times), her bachelorette party, and her mothers flailing health. Why you would want cameras in either are of your business is beyond me....but Jackie seems personable enough to warrant an audience favorite award. Draya on the other hand is trying to get her "hand that rocks the cradle" skeeze on as she quite ignorantly tries to lull the other girls into believing she's something she never even convinced TV cameras she was...a morally sound individual.

not that morals have anything to do with the whole shebang. Even though you have your high and mighty cast members (Imani whatever her name is) you can't be naive as to not stare at the screen and go, well.....you had to so something to get remotely as close to the baller you almost had. But overall......this show is a sad sad mess........and sadly....ill be tuning in next week to see just how far the cookie crumbles........Up with hope....down with dope. Lets see Evelyn put that on a T-shirt.

"The Contagion Review" Presented by Purell Hand Sanitizer in 4D!!!

2011-09-13T10:19:00.000-07:00

Ohh, the cough heard around the world can sometimes be as close as the guy sitting next to you while watching a movie like "Contagion", Steven Soderbergh's latest opus on the devise of humanity in the face of an aggressive pandemic. However, I would say that its distributor, Warner Bros Pictures, missed a golden marketing opportunity in scattering about various audience members to cough incessantly through the movie to add an extra layer of reality to the spectacle. I know the gimmick surely worked on me as, being a germaphobe, watching the opening images of "Contagion" unfold as i'm contorting my body away from the guy next to me who is coughing, touching his soda constantly, and manically looking for a place to wipe his hands, gave me almost as much pause as watching pretty little Gweneth Paltrow's face contort into a startling kodak image of her final destination (lol). But then a funny thing happened, when the guy stopped coughing next to me...........so did the movie's urgency or credibility.

Don't get me wrong, I am a huge Soderbergh fan and he is no stranger to weaving intricate plot details into a comprehensive and expressive thesis (see "Traffic" for reference). However, there is something slightly off about "Contagion" that plays in direct opposition to its dire subject matter. Hopscotching over multiple locals and with enough star power to light up time square, there are few filmmakers who could achieve what Soderbergh display on film here. However, the casting itself at times tends to be a distraction as A-list actors, who have long laid bit playing to waste, are playing essentially stock characters and archetypes worthy of a lifetime movie (cough....Sanaa Latham) . Of these, its is Kate Winslet as Dr. Erin Mears who truly sparkles beyond her tacked on veneer. There is a sense of urgency to her character that the others seem oblivious to. And whenever she is on screen she adds not only heart to the proceedings, but credibility and a soul. That is not to say that we don't get to see the other characters in their humane "moments", its just that they don't convey as much as she does in her brief moments on screen...the complexity of trying to react to a pandemic while also being the one employed to solve it.

we get it all here in Soderbergh's vision; scouting locations for triage, the breakdown of society, looting, xenophobia, control and flow of information. However, what bothered me most about these details was that what Soderbergh chose to show wasn't remotely as interesting as the ideas he has held up in front of you. We see that Matt Damon character is immune to the virus, but are there others, and if they are could their DNA provide clues on how to treat the virus. Post mass infection, we see that a cure has been devised, but how does society pull itself back together after a virus nearly signals the apocalypse. On that note, how do you dispose of the tens of millions who have died of the infection especially when you mention that there are no more body bags. in my opinion, a lot of the most compelling parts of "Contagion" are delivered in shorthand with a great deal of attention being paid to Jude Law's blogger character even though its doesn't necessarily provide an interesting angle to the story or provide any more perspective other than the motivations of greed. Also, similarly with 2012 and a slew of other disaster mass death movies, the deaths of hundred of thousands of people feels wholly inconsequential and for all of its cerebral banter on how long it would take to test and mass produce a cure, the way we get to the "cure" seems maddeningly simple and is played in a very "Meh" matter of fact way.

So is the idea of time as we are constantly reminded about how many days in we are or have passed while the movie seems to loose steam with every turning title card. Its as if, the more infected and the more fatalities there are on screen, the less the movie becomes concerned with these fatalities and human lives. Not that the virus discriminates in any form. We see those on the front lines affected as well as your every day lay man. However, it never really ads up to much. Especially since the movie set up an interesting parallel of the virus survival vs our own.

The script is maddening all on its own. If it weren't for the gravitas of the actor on screen and the vision of Soderbergh at play what we would ultimately have here is a glorified movie of the week ala "the first 48". Characters are introduced, play around a little, and totally disappear and/or are killed off. Some come back later in the story, but we learn absolutely nothing about these people and there motivations other than the framed moments meant to feign compassion. Cough, Cough

by the time we reach movie's conclusion and circle around back to day 1 (the movie starts off on day 2 of the virus) its as if the movie has completely undermined itself. Setting up a scenario that looks simple enough that in my mind I went, "okay, all I have to do is never take a trip to Hong Kong, eat at fancy restaurant, and shake hands with the head chef" and if I do.......at least Ill bring plenty of hand sanitizer. I mean, instead of charging a premium for shitty 3D glasses, maybe cinemas can now charge for those nifty little bottled of Purell and sale the spectacle in 4D....at least then you can leave knowing that if you managed to touch the armrest that said coughing guy next to you was wiping his hands on, then you wouldn't have to worry about a nasty soar throat later....or an all out brawl.

Hitlers Heated Rant about Carmageddon

2011-07-14T11:00:00.000-07:00

Jesse Boykins III Is Anything But 'Plain'

2011-06-22T12:59:00.000-07:00

from Soulbounce.com

It occurred to me the other day that it's been a good minute since we've heard new, original material from Jesse Boykins III. Sure, he's delivered us some banging covers accompanied by intriguing videos (and even gotten behind the camera himself), which is all fine and dandy but it's no Love Apparatus, his new album that he's been promising us since last year. According to JBIII that album is still on the way, and here's video of him performing a song that will be found on that set to prove it. Filmed for Live at the Loft, "Plain" is an electro groove that finds Jesse kicking the tempo up a notch. He's known for his romantic slow jams, but this track coupled with the dance floor ready first single "B4 the Night is Thru" are a very good look to show his range. Although we have to wait an unspecified amount of time to get Jesse's Love Apparatus in our hands, he has the free EP Way of a Wayfarer dropping on June 21st -- yes, tomorrow -- to satisfy us until then. The first day of summer just got that much hotter.

There are Few Words for This

2011-06-13T13:01:00.000-07:00

I don't make fun of the physically or mentally disabled, but this here...had me staring at the screen like......huh....whaaaaa. I guess if Lady can come on the scene with "pussy be yankin" then there is a lane for everyone. Share your thoughts if you dare.

In Love With Nikko Gray's "Rollercoaster" (STL 11 Preview)

2011-06-08T15:38:00.000-07:00

Nikko Gray is an artist I had no idea existed until today parousing soulbounce.com and man, i'm very happy to be acquainted with the talented UK native as "rollercoaster" has been a ride i've been strapped in for all day. What struck me about the song is the atmospheric sexiness that ensues with the subtleties in Nikko's harmonies and voice and the bold delicacy of her pitch and tone. I also love how sexy she and the song is without really trying very hard to be. in fact, Nikko is so cute in the clip, that it was this (and my desire to share a bit of whats been cooking with the new STL project), that broke me out of my blogging slumber and share some goodies with the masses. She is also a Capricorn so enough said...lol

Fun With Stereotypes: The Olsen Twins Edition

2011-04-01T17:41:00.000-07:00

from Dlisted

Long before the Olsens were wearing black veils made of the frozen nightmares of their victims, they were just little tiny trollings committing acts of accidental racism in family friendly direct-to-DVD movies like To Grandmother's House We Go. You know, full on fuckery aside, where did they get those fried chicken drumsticks? Who knew that the pre-KKK playgroups served fried chicken during snack time. But more importantly, what human being with at least half a working brain cell throws a chewed up drumstick into a dude's money case?! I know some people who will get hit upside the head with a spoon if they bring their grandma a plate of dark meat instead of white meat. And the Olsens think this is okay?!

If you're bold enough to throw a chicken bone into a street performer's money bin, you're strong enough to take an ass whoopin' from said street performer. To quote what a wise homeless man said after my friend handed him a bag of her leftovers: How the FUCK am I supposed to get drunk off of leftovers?

"Nothing Comes Easily" - The Best of Grey's Musical Event

2011-04-01T10:06:00.001-07:00

Music can be so haunting when executed in the right manner and it can punctuate poignancy in the smallest of places. The Grey's Musical event in a nutshell was bizarre and odd, but I was surprised by the pipes some of the cast members have on them. Especially Sara Ramirez who does the bulk of the singing on the latest episode as the event revolve around her trauma. The above clip, in my opinion, was the best of the lot last night and the most moving and touching scene of the whole endeavor. Take a gander and let the moment wash over you.

Get to Know Kutiman's Fascinating Innovations

2011-03-29T10:23:00.000-07:00

from Soulbounce.com

Ophir Kutiel, widely known as Kutiman, has upped the ante once again with his virtual arranging and composing. The Israeli musician/composer/producer/YouTube conductor brings us a new installment of his Thru-You series, where he combines music footage found on YouTube and finds the perfect moment in each video that has the right chord, sound, and/or note to sample and loop to fit with pieces from other videos. In his most recent project, his "My Favorite Color" video, Kutiman blends a founding piano riff, French horns, a saxophone, a triangle, cellos, various drum beats, and other instruments (the complete list can be viewed here). For the vocals, he chooses a video of a young girl singing an original song in her bedroom to lay atop it all. The end result is a melting pot of musical genius. Through the massive following that Kutiman has built for himself, he takes some great musical talent out of virtual obscurity and puts them into the viral forefront. Hopefully his Thru-You project will keep producing more of these fascinating and innovative creations.

Bobb V Brings Beautiful "Words" to Life, If not a Typical Album to Form

2011-03-29T09:37:00.000-07:00

I have to admit, im having a hard time getting into Bobby V's latest offering, but the more i try to dismiss it, the more little pieces of the album keep popping up on my landscape. Recently caught the video treatment for "Words" and it made me appreciate the song soo much more. At once sexy, classy, and classic, Bobby V sure knows how to churn out an effective R&B song when he has the right elements. But his typical "if it aint broke don't fix it" approach to music is maddening on "Fly On The Wall", now available from Capital Records.

"Fly on the Wall" is Bobby Vs 4th or 5th album and although he has made a big splash on the musical landscape a couple of times with some significant hits, he has yet to hit the commercial mainstream he so desires. And "Fly on the Wall" will not do much to strengthen that cause. Standouts on the album include "Words" as well as "If I Can't Have You", "Would You Be", and "L.O.V.E." but at 18 tracks deep, the music becomes repetitive and because Bobby V sticks to a specific style, the songs feel redundant at best. Its as if, "once you've heard one Bobby V songs you've heard them all" which is, in essence, a catch 22 for Bobby V specifically because in order to be iconic, Bobby V needs to hone a specific style and drive a lane he can call his own (which he essentially has) but at the same time, this lane limits and boxes in his musical growth.

There are plenty of mediocre R&B artist that have and/or are following the same blueprint that Bobby V has mapped out with "Fly on the Wall". But I wouldn't call Bobby V necessarily mediocre or generic, just stuck. Although im glad he sticks to a general R&B format and purports to be a true R&B artist, Bobby V could really benefits from switching up his style a bit. Im glad he isn't hopping on the pop or techno trend, but he needs a new production team to keep his sound fresh. Cause as its is...the flies on the wall are eyeballing the stale bread on the table. By the way, "Fly on the Wall" is such a terrible title for an album.....and especially an R&B album. It sounds bored with itself already.....need i say more.

"The Game" and Truths about Life

2011-03-17T13:23:00.000-07:00

Alright...alright.....yeah, I know i talked a lot of shit about "The Game" and now im eating my words. For the life of me, I couldn't figure out this show's appeal, but catching all the new episodes and then watching the old ones has shed new light on what its creators were going for and man...can I tell ya..I watch "The Game" and see very interesting truths about life, love, and dating.

First of all, im totally in love with this girl Lisa Tucker (who apparently was on some season of American Idol and LOOKS EXACTLY LIKE Aaliyah - no really, im going to track her down) but what's important to note about the clip is the way in which males and females respond in such predicaments. This one is a divorce, but man....why did I have a similar reaction with my situation to the one Jason Pitt has in the clip. Life is so funny!!

STL 11 Preview: "Everybody Needs Love"

2011-03-17T11:17:00.000-07:00

"everybody, everybody is somebody who needs love.....if you want it you can get it, just trust and believe love". Its funny how life usually takes you back full circle (primarily why I am obsessed with rings and wearing circles) and in my journey i am happy to report that the destination I have found my way back to is home. Homecoming of mind, body, spirit, and soul.

When these elements are in tune, wonderful things start to matriculate. And music has been the catalyst that has calibrated it together. So what better way to say welcome back and welcome home (to Sanspiracy) than with the promise of good music. Its been a journey folks....a virtual roller coaster of epic proportions........but when you find yourself in the eye of a hurricane and can still come out of the other end doing the crip walk....then I say.....GOD is bigger and more amazing than it all. And the joy we fill our pain with can be our redemption and hope for a more promising destiny.

Its weird and sorta odd to be at this place in my life and be on such a love high. But im reaping the promise, and I can sense its surge coming closer while managing to collect some great music in the process. The above J Hud offering is one of many songs that has been on heavy rotation in my life. Mainly because I have done just that....thrown my hands in the air and proclaimed to the universe that I Need Love. so with that said, i will soon be presenting to you STL 11: I Need Love (i bet you didn't see that title coming...lol...but knowing me the title will probably change when finally dropped lol). This collection (as suggested by the acronym STL) is the soundtrack to the movie Ive been filming in my head lately (correction, that reality has framed me in). A virtual Alfie, meets James Bond (minus the cool car and gadgets), meets GQ magazine. Yeah....its a hard job, but im the only man with the perfect amount of handsome to pull it off...lol

On a real note, im so thankful for music, for friends and family and everyone that has thrown love my way. And it really is a testament to how you can overcome any obstacle in your life. People and things are only in our lives for a season, sometimes a lifetime if the circumstances are right and we are lucky. But the gifts we exchange can sometimes be priceless. So here i sit on cloud 9 alone........but happy and ecstatic for what the future will bring...and most of all joyously content. I seek refuge in the thought of my queen being out there, both the receptor and giver of love.......the yin to my yang.....the notes to the harmony....the melody to my heart. and until that moment of "meet-cute" subsides....then im gonna dance, be free, and throw my hands in the air. You will too when you get a load of the mix (get your minds out the gutter)

Welcome back folks.

Relaunch Coming Soon - Until then...Let the Video be a taste of things to come

2011-02-03T16:42:00.001-08:00

Prank Call Hall of Fame: Meet Me Somewhere!!!!

2010-12-01T17:53:00.000-08:00

I was a bit hesitant to post this cause there is strong language throughout but this shit is just too funny. Question, what happens when a caller gets prank called by his own voice. Whats eve more hilarious is that the caller identifies his own voice over the phone initially but continues to go hard with the heat. Lol, hit play and enjoy.

Keri Hilson's "The Way You Love Me" Is the new "Spectacular"

2010-11-29T15:09:00.000-08:00

Doesn't this broad read my blog!!! When is she gonna GTFO. So Keri Hilson is coming after Ciara's lacefront in her latest offering that whiffs of desperation. Dropping F-bombs and P-bombs, rocking a swimsuit, and doing the matrix, Ms. Hilson looks at acts like the label executives pulled her to the side and said "you'd better ho it up for album sales" hence the gyrating on the bank vault door. She's so clueless though that the song is an afterthought and is barely coherent amongst the clanking and Hilson's paper thin vocals. This is almost as bad as Ms. Kiely Williams "Spectacular" video except we can't blame Ms. Williams for being sorta naive. FYI, this song is excruciatingly bad...but so is most music nowadays [maybe that is why Jojo, Dawn from Danity Kane (yeah, she will always be Dawn from Danity Kane), and Faith Evans appear in the clip]

The Pink Friday Debate: When Female MC's go Wrong - Nicki Minaj Edition

2010-11-23T17:45:00.001-08:00

Rap is her game, but chatter is Nicki Minaj’s medium. It surrounds her (has there ever been a more talked-about female rapper?) and fuels her creativity (Nicki Minaj, Nicki Lewinsky, Roman Zolanski, and Onika Maraj are just a few of the voices in her head that she organizes into verse). In the week that her long-awaited debut, Pink Friday, finally sees release, adding to the din seems only appropriate. Below, Nicki fan Zach Baron and Nicki non-fan Rich Juzwiak hash (...tag) it out.

Zach: Will it ruin the suspense/debate if I admit right at the top here that Nicki Minaj made a bad record? Because, jeez, Pink Friday really is sort of difficult to listen to—the sound of one of rap’s world-class personalities having all her clever foibles and idiosyncrasies blasted away and replaced with . . . platitudes about the power of women? Worse, actually: badly sung platitudes about the power of women. But the question I want to ask you is this: In the grand scheme of rap in 2010, does the failure of this album even matter? Ultimately, at the end of the year, I’m rating Nicki like I rate one of her biggest fans, Kanye West: as a fascinating, exceedingly bonkers, total personality. The record to me is almost beside the point.

Rich: This, indeed, is pink garbage. I wouldn’t even give it as much credit as you—I don’t hear platitudes about the power of women so much as self-aggrandizement masquerading as empowerment via a few bones thrown to Nicki’s imaginary sisters. I mean, this woman doesn’t even quote Helen Reddy properly! Where’s the “U.N.I.T.Y.”? Regarding your question, I’ll answer with another question: Why are so many people so bent on defending Nicki Minaj at each underwhelming turn? She flubs a freestyle when put on the spot, and it’s, “Girls don’t freestyle!” She botches performances left and right with blatantly relied-on backing tracks, embarrassing dancing, and missed notes, and it’s, “Well, she’s just not a seasoned performer yet.” She releases weak pop single after weak pop single and it’s, “Well, she’s just trying to get her name out there.” She cuts an embarrassingly cheap-sounding, lazily hooked album and it’s, “Well, it doesn’t matter.” So why, Zach, why? Why can’t people face the fact that they were probably wrong about this girl? She’s given ample evidence. By the way, I’m not sure that her exceeding weirdness is anything beyond scowl-deep. Pink Friday is proof.

Zach: Well, yeah, let’s talk weirdness for a second: Nicki at her best really is weird! Her verse on “Monster,” which I will concede is not on Pink Friday, is maybe the most dazzlingly zany minute and a half of music I’ve heard in 2010. That song presents a fake Jamaican, '50s-era B-movie villain, big-blinking ingénue, gum-and-neck-snapping Valley Girl, and, of course, fire-breathing, dizzyingly technical rapper, all within a handful of bars. Her performance there—which also manages to humble, among others, a guy named Jay-Z—consists of way more than just a mere scowl. As for Pink Friday, I wonder mostly where that person went. Surely even you can enjoy the way she flat-foots Eminem on the track they share here, “Roman’s Revenge”—not just because he deserves to be shown up by someone like Nicki, but because she does it so deftly that she still has time to have a intra-persona, English-accented debate with herself on the track’s hallucinatory outro. If only Roman Zolanski, Nicki the Harajuku Barbie, and all her other demonstrably distinct incarnations were present pretty much anywhere else on this record!

Rich: I think there’s a difference between inherent weirdness and showmanship, and Nicki falls clearly on the side of the latter. What has she said that’s bested her scowls? How weird are her words, actually? And since you bring it up, “Roman’s Revenge,” while boasting the best Pink Friday production (Swizz’s snares are hypnotic, and the keys bringing the mood are a fucking trip), is extremely problematic—Nicki’s gay male character goes toe-to-toe with a homophobe (and not just a passive, anti-gay-epithet-using one, but someone who’s actually said on record, “Hate fags? The answer’s yes”) and doesn’t even broach the subject? What kind of a gay dude is she? None that I’d fuck. That’s to say nothing to her playing host to Eminem’s “faggot” on this very record, as well as his piss-on-women misogyny. They say Nicki supports her gay fans and is pro-woman, and I say, “Surely, it gets better.”

Truth be told, I’ve never been very taken by this person. Nicki Minaj has regularly put on elaborate shows of not saying very much, but Pink Friday actually makes me appreciate her guest work a lot more—I see that even when she’s been random without much reason, when she’s selling nonsense not out of cleverness but out of no other choice, at least part of the reason is because she’s trying to pack in as much entertainment as possible, by hook or by British accent or by free association. One thing I never expected from Nicki Minaj is boring. And Pink Friday is full of boring. Like, if you’re going to do r&b, you best bring the hooks and make sure they’re catchy. She doesn’t. Is repeating two or three words ad nauseum entitlement or laziness? Or does she actually think this is how pop music works? Is the chorus of “Right Thru Me” that sounds like vaguely melodic snoring supposed to be impressive? The mind reels.

Zach: Now now, let’s give her some credit for her pneumatic asexuality—she is not a very convincing gay dude, sure, but she ain’t exactly heteronormative, either, Barbie doll on the cover notwithstanding. (You get the sense that Drake is going to have to wait an awful long while to get that marriage proposal accepted.) She’s clearly gotten some bad advice here, though: Rather than do what’s gotten her to this point—rapping on tracks with her betters, then besting them; rattling off the names of reindeer on Usher singles—she’s singing bad hooks on bad drum ’n’ bass records. (By my count, she handles a full half the sung choruses on this album—an awful ratio clearly inspired by her frequently crooning Young Money compatriots Drake and Lil Wayne, though even Wayne is a more versatile hookman than she is.)

Not for nothing, I think, does Minaj sound most comfortable on the rap songs here—“Roman’s Revenge,” “Did It on ’Em,” and especially “Blazin’,” featuring Kanye West, a man who not coincidentally recently told Funkmaster Flex that he forbid Minaj the use metaphors while working with him. “This album, we not even doing similes,” West bragged, and she seems to have heeded this advice: “Your game over, bitch—Gatorade, wet towel.” Do you agree with West that hashtag rap is the future of hip-hop, Rich Juzwiak?
Howard Huang

Rich: I don’t know, I’ve heard her be plenty sexual (“Get more head than a ponytail,” “Maybe it’s time to put this pussy on your sideburns,” “How ’bout I come all on your dick and I lick it off”)—more so than, say Queen Latifah, Yo Yo, Monie Love, Lyte, and Missy were by this point in their careers. I’m not giving Minaj a cookie because she’s not as sexual as she could be. For one thing, I like sluts. And while this may make her unique, I still don’t think it’s weird per se—there have been a relatively small amount of girls playing pianos in pop music, but there is only one Kate Bush (no matter how hard others try to be her). You know, Rah Digga released an album this year devoid of sung choruses, which may be the first of its kind from a female rapper. That is weird. Why aren’t we rhapsodizing her? Because her weirdness is acting like actual weirdness—it’s repellant, not a marketing scheme.

I agree that the non-soft (would be inaccurate to call them “hard”) Nicki songs are so much better than anything else here. And “comfortable” is a great way to describe her on them, if only because it speaks to the warble on her voice in the several soft tracks. It may be intentional, but it’s so appropriate that Auto-Tune finds her shaky. She sounds like she’s uncertain she can pull this off, as well she should be. She’s not very good at faking it till she makes it (worst of all is ”Save Me,” on which she’s not supposed to sound Auto-Tuned, but does anyway).

If the album followed through with the setup of its first three songs (all of varying roughness, all investing in MCing, all boasting production that doesn’t sound too-dimestore-even-for-M.I.A.), it could have been a nice surprise. I even like “Here I Am,” Nicki-sung chorus and all. It reminds me of mid-’90s New York hip-hop. I can’t help but be nostalgic regarding female rappers because they were a big part of my childhood. And that’s another reason why Pink Friday sounds wrong to me—it’s the r&b crossover as the first album of her career. It makes me long for the days when selling out was something you resisted, not something you jumped to do. This is like Act Like You Know coming before Lyte as a Rock, like Nature of a Sista before All Hail the Queen, and Black Pearl before Make Way for the Motherlode. So to answer your question: I can’t worry so much about the future of rap when history isn’t being served. I know that hashtag rap already sounds stale, like everyone’s just copying each other. Smells like a fad to me. Hashtag rap is the future of hip-hop in that it is the new Auto-Tune.

That brings up the point of how underwhelming this album is lyrically. I can’t really wrap my head around “Go against me now/I dare you—Bambi,” provided that I’m hearing it right. A Bambi reference really shouldn’t be that ambiguous. “I am not fly, I am levitation?” Like just floating there is more impressive? Rihanna bleats a reality-show cliché (“I came to win”); Nicki lies (“Shout out to my haters, sorry you couldn’t faze me”) and explains needlessly (“Exclamation just for emphasis”). It’s just really, really lame.

Zach: Ah, but quoting her “Bambi” line without noting the inflection (“Go against me now-OW...”) is to deprive Minaj of her main asset, which is her outlandish voice. Is there a better pure enunciator in rap? One who has more variable and interlocking speeds? The sound alone of some of these “Did It on ’Em” couplets—“More talent in my motherfucking left thumb/She ain’t a Nicki fan that bitch deaf dumb,” or the delightful bit of microsurgery that is “All these bitches is my sons and I’mma go and get some bibs for ’em/A couple formulas, little pretty lids on 'em”—belies the underwhelming lyricist slander.

But let’s play psychologist for a second: Is it possible that Nicki Minaj, contrary to all public indications, is having kind of a bad year? After the “I won!” bombast of the first three tracks here, the thing that strikes me about Pink Friday is that it’s a depressive’s record. I detect heavy melancholy even on the singles, “Right Thru Me” and “Your Love,” to say nothing of the weird wrist-cutting quintet that is “Fly” (“I wish today it would rain all day”), “Save Me” (“All these screams, all these voices in my head”), “Moment 4 Life” (“To live doesn’t mean you’re alive”), “Here I Am” (“Why is it you can only see the worst in me?”), and “Dear Nicki” (“Maybe you died because everyone asking where you at”). Maybe the problem is that she’s just fundamentally bummed out. Wayne was in jail when she made this record. Drake was on tour. She was getting big checks for guest verses and then having to go back to a deserted studio and try and figure out on her own what a debut rap record from an up-and-coming young female star was supposed to sound like, without the people who’d been helping her sort through fame and the game. Wild speculation, obviously, but can you deny that she sounds oddly downbeat, given the winning streak she’s otherwise been on?

Rich: But including her inflection doesn’t make that line make any more sense! I guess my point about Nicki, to map it out and sound completely trite in the process, is that style is chosen over substance at every turn. OK, she’s capable of wordsmithing, but playing with rhyme and meter is only part of her public-speaking job. I don’t expect pseudo-CNN commentary from today’s rappers, but even at his most scattered, Wayne has flashes of insight on how the world works (“Repetition is the father of insight”) and how hip-hop operates, too (“Fuck the Police” twisted into a song about fucking a female police officer). Contrast the genre mastery within the latter example with “Roman’s Revenge,” with “I’m startin’ to feel like a Dungeon Dragon,” which exists only so she can go on to reference “Scenario,” no more no less. Maybe she was wearing a green wig when she spit that. MAYBE. The best nonsense is based on reality. Wayne is no Lewis Carroll, but Nicki isn’t even Sifl & Olly. You can marvel at the precision with which Nicki spits her blah, blah, blahs, but at the end of the day, blah, blah, blah is just blah, blah, blah.

And that’s not to say she doesn’t have decent lines. I like “Tell ’em bitches get a stick/I’m done leading the blind,” but her bad ones stick out much farther. “You ain’t my son, you my motherfuckin’ stepson?” “If you could turn back time—Cher/You used to be here now you’re gone—Nair”? “And yes I call the shots, I am the umpire/I sprinkle holy water upon the vampire.” And that’s not even mentioning the extreme tedium of “Right Thru Me”: “And you say, ‘Nicki?’ And I say, ‘Who, me?’ And you say, ‘No, you.’ And I say, ‘Screw you.’“ Petty bickering is insufferable, it turns out! (In addition to not being Sifl or Olly, she’s no Edward Albee, either.) Without any investment in her success (not even for my own enjoyment), I’m embarrassed for her. She sounds truly labored, her rhymes too often forced. I wonder if this is a result of the sheer amount of material she’s released this year—it sounds like her sass is running on fumes.

Many of the depressive songs that you named are full of bravado, as well. A lot of the lyrics you mentioned are flashes of pathos (she can “Dear Old Nicki” herself all she wants, but she’s responsible for the choices that she’s made to allow her to cut that song in the first place). Does this make her complicated? Perhaps! I’ll concede that she’s a multidimensional character. But I’m not sure how much of that is calculated and how much is a result of chronic inconsistency (look at the conflicting statements she’s made on record and in public about getting along with other female rappers, and I hate to sound like Queen Crybaby, but her stance on her own sexuality, as well as other people’s, has flip-flopped all over the place like a flamboyant wrist). For better or worse, she’s turned this into an ADHD aesthetic on her guest verses. It’s much harder to give ’em whiplash when you’re rolling that out slowly in a long-form format.

Zach: And yet style is a form of substance. Form is its own kind of content. One thing we probably agree on here is that the most confounding thing about Pink Friday is that it lacks style, lacks weirdness, whatever your opinions of how deeply that weirdness goes. Without a foil, be it Trey Songz, Robin Thicke, Mariah Carey, Ludacris, or whoever, she’s forced to play her own straight woman—not a look. My guess is she’s about to be absolutely clobbered by Kanye West in the upcoming sales week. But since we’re talking about it, allow me to ask you to imagine your own best Nicki Minaj, untethered by Pink Friday’s humdrum realities and bleary lack of focus.

In my critical dreams, Nicki Minaj is standing onstage—any stage, really, but for fun, let’s put her on Letterman’s Late Show, site of triumphs recent and otherwise—blinking big, channeling the Queens girl she is by birth, the Valley Girl she is by ironic comment, the rap monster she is by ambition, the theater student she is by inclination, all these contradictory and self-contained identities trading one-liners and barbs, ambiguous sexual overtures and vehemently hilarious rejections of the same. And, all the while, there’s David Letterman standing off to the side, cackling in amazement, watching as would-be collaborator after would-be collaborator steps up to challenge her, only to sit back down, utterly humbled. It didn’t happen that way on Pink Friday, sure. But I’m not giving up hope yet.

Rich: I think you’re right on about the straight-woman thing. I’ve always examined Nicki Minaj in the context of female rap and winced at her solitude. That’s so much more apparent here, where she’s mostly alone. She’d be a lot easier for me to accept and maybe even frivolously enjoy if she weren’t the only relevant female rapper in the game. She’s a jester and we need a queen.

...And not the one of multiple media that she’s trying to be! I don’t have a best-Nicki scenario, but one thing she should learn from the Pink Friday debacle (which she’ll probably only see as such if it flops) is that long-form isn’t her thing (at least for now). Obviously, the general career model is to build buzz, start showing up in pop culture, and then move in to make your solo killing. But that’s so standard for someone who clearly prides herself on weirdness, whatever your opinions of how deep that weirdness goes. It’s OK to have your gift be that of guest verse. It’s OK to just do short-form. It’s OK to be the O. Henry of rap, especially since we’ve never had one of those before.

DVD Spotlight: Scott Pilgram Vs. The World

2010-11-09T11:35:00.000-08:00

"Scott Pilgram Vs. the World" was honestly my favorite movie of the year and I believe custom made for Nerds like myself. Why this movie went slept on is beyond me, but its sure to receive a cult following on DVD (now available). Michael Cera, playing right into type, excels as the titular character in a movie that manages to be edgy, sweet, and innovative. Game changer indeed!!!!

For Stuffed Girls Who Have Considered Suicide When The Rainbow Is Enuff

2010-11-08T15:01:00.000-08:00

On Hiatus: But Will Be Returning Soon

2010-09-21T12:21:00.001-07:00

The truth is i have writers block and haven't been in the greatest of mental spaces. But hold tight because you will see more original content on Sanspiracy when we gear back up, plus all the latest news, and world ridiculousness you can handle .

Its Just The Internet!!! People Always Talk Smack on the Internet

2010-08-24T13:16:00.000-07:00

Yo..people are Caraaaazeee and I need things to laugh at so I bring you this little tidbit from the ohh so classy world of world star hip hop. So the setup is that homie is a hip hop artist that was none too pleased with his "audience's" critiques of his music and thought to take matters into his own hands. The real magic starts when he goes to get a baseball bat out the car and the "requiem for a dream" music kicks in...heightened drama. Really people, is is that serious....ITS JUST THE INTERNET!!!

PS: This video is like the gift that keeps on giving.....I posted it before finishing the whole thing and dude got me when he said "Im not even this type of dude...normally Im real spiritual...lol.....LOL....I totally feel you bro!!!" And the music video at the end....this is brilliant...lol

Woah Which Oneyall......Wants to Sing Like Trey Songz (Record Deal Not Included)

2010-08-19T15:26:00.000-07:00

If you like R. Kelly Lite, then please forgive me, but here at Sanspiracy we believe in true talent and Trey just ain't it. If your sound is so easy to copy (as expressed in the above hilarious clip) then count your coins and invest wisely.

Why I Don't Want Daughters: Montana Fishburne Edition

2010-08-04T12:08:00.000-07:00

All I have to say is that my heart breaks for Morpheus. But in situations like this, its ultimately results from some type of disparity between the father/daughter relationship. Why so many females have daddy issues is beyond me. But the sad reality is that sex seems to swallow some girls whole and their awakenings become dark and dank prisons that once the physical bars start to fade, the mental ones come into focus.

Montana Fishburne is only 19 years old, and i'm not sure if she sincerely believes this, but she looked to Kim Kardashian and Kendra (yep folks, the ramifications of our obsessions with fame and the "by any means necessary" route of achieving it is going to induce heavy and hard scars on society) as inspiration because their sex tapes took them to the fast track. Lets point out the obvious, of how stupid this all sounds coming from someone with the last name Fishburne. But what it really points out is a pandemic with girls that I feel no one is willing to address. Why do so many girls who know better find themselves either being pimp or who pimp themselves for a bit of attention or notoriety.

Putting the double standard to rest, I don't feel that girls should be any more or less sexually responsible than males. And a healthy sexual appetite is key through education. But there is something else going on with a number of females. It would be easy to point to abuse, to say that some type of physical or mental abuse is the catalyst for most young girls seeking some type of escape through their promiscuity. But I would like to think that all cases don't stem from the pandemic. And if that is the case, then the hard question to ask is why?? Why do so few people have enough self respect to see how damaging these actions can be in the long haul.

Are these girls brainwashed, do they just not know any better. I refuse to believe that. But for girls, its what they know all men want and once the mentality gets enacted, its just as easy for most girls to detach themselves from the actual act and see it as merely commerce. I forgot to mention that sad little girl lost Montana was also a prostitute. Cut off from daddy's money, she took to the street to make ends meet. But the difference here is that Montana comes from a world of influence that your average girl doesn't come from. So her decision has to be primal and her ambitions lost missiles that are miles and miles away from hitting its target.

Whats sad to me is how so many girls Identify themselves through sex. Its not just that the act can be transcending in some form. Its that their disillusioned ideas often compromise their integrity and safety resulting in actions that are physically and psychologically damaging. Its impossible for me to understand what moral code is missing in their psyche that allows for such free activity. What makes people give up their body with so much abandon, with so much trust, turning trick on film, a selfish act that will haunt all those that love her for eternity.

To be free is to know yourself. And know what you wont' tolerate and what you wont accept in your life, even if the world tells you its okay. I know we live in an era where its popular to see Rappers boo'ing up strippers. But the truth of the matter is that "You can't turn a ho into a housewife". Its just not possible. And no one has accomplished it. Ask Reggie Bush, for its Kim's past that got in the way of their future.

Not to say that people can't change or that their fates can't be altered by their determination. But people, WAKE THE FUCK UP. I'm so tired of the "little girl lost" phenomenon. Its like, life is too short for you to sit and twirl your hair and wine and cry about how your nail broke. Grow the fuck up and be a woman. Be a leader for yourself and for those who care about you that want you to achieve more. I'm not perfect, but I'll be damned if I don't stand up and be a man. For there are too many young men in my position who take the "little boy lost" stance and fail their homes and communities by skating through life on lies and half assed intentions.

But seriously, I can't have any daughters. Cause my greatest fear would be for them to get swallowed up in a world I feel like I can't protect them from. First of all, if I did have daughters, they would be able to kick any dudes ass cause they would be military trained and able to take care of themselves. I know not every girl falls into this category. But when you are constantly told that your worth is not the sum of your parts, but just your parts.....its easy to let the Koolaid give you a sugar high. God help us all.

9 More Brands that Will Dissapear in 2011

2010-07-16T17:09:00.000-07:00

Reader’s Digest was once the most widely read magazine in the world. According to the company, it still may be when its overseas editions are taken into account. Last August, the company took its US operations into Chapter 11 to decrease debt. It emerged from bankruptcy in February with $525 million in exit financing. The company cut the number of issues it publishes a year from twelve to ten last year. It also cut its circulation guarantee for advertisers to 5.5 million copies from 8 million. It would have been unthinkable just a few years ago that a magazine as old and famous as Reader’s Digest would be shuttered. Iconic titles like House & Garden have been closed, Newsweek is for sale. BusinessWeek might have been closed if Bloomberg had not bought it for next to nothing. The parent of Reader’s Digest has a number of niche magazines, such as Every Day with Rachael Ray and Taste of Home. The company’s book and music businesses reportedly also do well. Reader’s Digest also has 50 editions of its flagship magazine published around the world. But, if the trends in the US publishing industry have show anything, it is that large, widely circulated magazines like Newsweek, US News, and TV Guide have no future in America in their current form. Reader’s Digest may live on outside the US and its parent company may survive. However, Reader’s Digest as it is known in the US will be gone.

Dollar Thrifty Automotive Group (NYSE: DTG), the car rental company, is for sale. Hertz (NYSE: HTZ) is a potential buyer as is Avis Budget (NYSE: CAR). Each of the larger car rental firms would use the Dollar Thrifty business to expand their market share. That does not mean that they would keep the brand. The current company is not much of a business. It made only $27 million last quarter on revenue of $348 million. It has more than $1.5 billion in “debt and other obligations.” The number of vehicles that Dollar Thrifty operates at any one time is only 95,000 compared to 420,000 for Hertz. The firm’s customer base and some of its locations may be valuable, but Dollar Thrifty can’t compete with Avis and Hertz. A decade ago, the car rental industry was able to support six independent brands. A significant drop in business and leisure travel and sharp competition among the companies has already caused the creation of Avis Budget. Dollar Thrifty will be the next casualty of the industry’s consolidation.

T-Mobile the US wireless provider, is owned by telecom giant Deutsche Telekom. It is the No.4 cellular company in an American market that only supports two really successful firms—AT&T Wireless and Verizon Wireless. Even the third largest company in the market—Sprint—has 50 million customers. T-Mobile had 34 million customers at the end of last year. T-Mobile only had a profit of $306 million in 2009. That was down from $483 million in 2008. T-Mobile not only faces three larger competitors, it also has to begin to offer 4G service to compete with Sprint’s new WiMax service and LTE-based products from AT&T and Verizon. T-Mobile may seek a partner to offer a 4G network, but there are no super-fast broadband networks likely to be finished before its three rivals offer the service. As it now stands, T-Mobile has no future in the US.

A merger with Sprint-Nextel has been mentioned several times. The combined company would have a customer base about the same size as AT&T or Verizon. And the transaction would probably make Deutsche Telekom a large owner of the combined operation. Another alternative would be a merger with Virgin Mobile. Virgin Mobil is smaller than T-Mobile, but the Virgin brand is very highly regarded and already extends across a large number of successful businesses. Virgin Group is involved in 200 businesses around the world. Another potential buyer of T-Mobile’s customer base is Telcel, which has 60 million subscribers in Mexico, is owned by billionaire Carlos Slim, who has already began to expand his business interests of the US. T-Mobile has little brand equity in the US. Maybe Deutsche Telekom will just change the firm’s name.

Moody’s Corp.(NYSE: MCO) may have the name with the largest negative brand equity in the US. Scandals about the company’s rating of mortgage-backed securities and allegations that the firm compromised it ratings process to get business have ruined the company’s image. Moody’s is more than 100 years old, but the reputation it built over those years is irretrievably lost. There is a chance Moody’s could be ruined by civil actions, four of which are pending, and by charges brought by the US government. Overseas authorities may bring a number of actions against the company as well. Moody’s activities are almost certainly to be more regulated, which will squeeze margins and hurt sales. Moody’s may end up selling its accounts to a new rating company, which would probably hire many of its employees. Pacific Investment Management Co. and other institutional investors have talked about taking on some if not all the roles that the current rating firms play. Research houses like Alliance Bernstein could also take on some of those rolls. Part of Moody’s operation may stay alive, but there is not much left to salvage in the brand.

BP p.l.c. The case against the BP p.l.c. ( NYSE: BP) brand is not so much that the company will enter bankruptcy. It is that BP may end up breaking into pieces for its own sake. This may be to put the liabilities for the Deepwater Horizon spill into a company that also holds escrow capital to cover the huge costs of clean-up and suits. BP may also want to separate its successful refining operations from its exploration business, or recreate an American- based company similar to BP America, which existed for two decades. A restructuring of BP would also allow the firm to take a badly crippled brand and give the oil operation a new name—much as it did when it changed its name from British Petroleum. The second time may be the charm.

RadioShack (NYSE: RSH) is one of the oldest retailers in the US. It was founded in 1921 and in the early 1960s was purchased by Tandy Corp. The Tandy name was used for some of Radio Shack’s retail stores. RadioShack is currently a takeover target. There have been rumors that the company may be taken private via a leveraged buyout or purchased by Best Buy, probably for its locations. Best Buy (NYSE: BBY) would certainly not keep the RadioShack brand because it is considered downscale and does not have the reputation for quality products and service that Best Buy enjoys. RadioShack has already began to rebrand itself as “The Shack,” an indication that it knows the older brand is a burden.

Zale Corporation (NYSE: ZLC) was founded in 1924 by the Zale brothers. It was one of the earliest retailers to offer the ability to buy items on credit. By 1980, Zale had revenue of over $1 billion. In 1992, Zale filed for bankruptcy and by the end of that decade, its revenue was $1.3 billion – about the same as it is today. Zale has been at death’s door for some time. Its market value is down to $78 million. The company is trying to turn itself around, but most experts are not convinced. The company recently made the Forbes list for firms with extreme financial risk. In the last quarter, the retailer lost $12 million on revenue of $360 million. Zale is also in a very crowded market that includes retailers as large as Wal-Mart. Golden Gate Capital recently put money into Zale to buy it time. New money may defer the point at which Zale goes under, but it won’t prevent it.

Merrill Lynch may have been acquired, but that will not keep it safe. In fact, quite the opposite is true. Banks and other large financial services firms have a habit of buying large retail brokerage houses and then changing their names. Shearson is gone. So is EF Hutton and Prudential. In most cases the parent company wants to put their own names on the door. That is very likely to happen to Merrill Lynch, which was at one point the largest full-service broker in the US. Merrill is now owned by Bank of America Corporation, and the buyout spawned a number of scandals that kept Merrill’s name in the paper for weeks and did a great deal to harm its name with customers. Bank of America will follow a time honored tradition and Merrill Lynch will become B of A Investment Management.

Kia Motors Corporation is one of the two car brands of Hyundai of South Korea. It has always been a marginal brand. Its stable mate, Hyundai USA, has a reputation for high quality cars like the Sonata and Genesis. Kia sells “low rent” cars and SUV nameplates like the Sorento and Rio. As GM and Ford have already discovered, it is expensive to maintain multiple brands and storied car names, including Pontiac, Saturn, and Mercury, are disappearing. Most Kia cars sell for $14,000 to $25,000. Hyundai has several cars in the same price range (LINK). Hyundai’s Sonata has quickly become one of the best-selling cars in America, and its Genesis flagship model competes with mid-sized BMWs and Mercedes. The parent company will take a page from several other global car companies and dump its weakest brand.

Say Goodybe to Blockbuster In 2011

2010-07-13T15:21:00.001-07:00

Blockbuster was once the mecca of rentals. While indie metropolitan stores may have always reigned supreme in terms of stock and scope, Blockbuster was the "it" locale for the rest of the country. It wasn't so long ago when stores would be packed on a Friday evening as people rushed to grab the new releases, and shelves stocked sure-to-be-there bets -- films that weren't guaranteed because no one was going to the store, but because they'd have huge piles of discs.

Now Blockbuster is a movie ghost town. After the onslaught of Netflix and Redbox, the end has been near for a while. The company has managed to hold on, just barely, but financial types are now expecting the end to come in 2011.

Blockbuster is near the top of 24/7 Wall St's new list of brands expected to disappear by the end of 2011. The company is currently considering Chapter 11, and it lost another $65 million last quarter. 6,000 stores are still left, but 24/7 believes that the only life left in the company is the kiosk/delivery rental methods. "Its brick-and-mortar business is dead."

It just goes to show you how much of any movie business relies on the casual moviegoer, not the eager-to-watch-everything cinephile. I always, and wrongly, thought that video stores would stay around for the increased options, the older films, and the immediacy the system awarded. You wouldn't have to plan a night in with friends, they could just head to the local store with you and decide between the old and the new.

With streaming, members were offered the immediacy mail could never provide, popping the last piece into Blockbuster's death puzzle. Netflix-free Canada might have to wait for Blockbuster's death knell to prod zip.ca to rival the 'flix in title options and streaming, but chances are that in the U.S., most folks won't really feel the impact of Blockbuster's death. All the company can hope for is a nice influx of buyers when all of their dvds hit the 5-for-$20 bin.

The iPhone 4G Gets a Snub by Consumer Reports

2010-07-13T10:18:00.000-07:00

On Monday, Consumer Reports, America’s trusted source of product reviews, said it would not recommend the iPhone 4 because of a hardware flaw with its antenna that sometimes resulted in dropped calls. The independent consumer magazine also cast doubt on Apple’s recent explanation that a software bug had caused the widely reported problem. Apple did not return requests for comment.

Consumer Reports did not slap the iPhone 4 with a “don’t buy” warning, which it sometimes issues for shoddy or unsafe products. But it said that because of the design flaw, it would not recommend it as it did the previous version of the iPhone, the 3GS.

The next question is, Will any of Apple’s customers even care?

The various versions of the iPhone have been panned a number of times for myriad problems, real or perceived: slow network, cracked screens, dropped calls and no support for a popular Web video format. But iPhone sales have surpassed even the most optimistic forecasts and helped make Apple the most valuable company in the technology industry.

And despite early reports of problems with the iPhone 4 antenna, Apple sold 1.7 million units in just three days, making it the best-selling new technology gadget in Apple’s history.

“It’s iconic, it’s cool, it’s the ‘it’ device and people want it,” said A. M. Sacconaghi Jr., an analyst with Sanford C. Bernstein & Company.

Still Mr. Sacconaghi and other analysts said Apple could eventually suffer from the bad publicity it had received over the antenna problems and for its seemingly contradictory responses.

Apple has promoted the iPhone 4’s innovative design, including its antenna, which is built into a steel band that encases the phone.

After users reported problems with signal strength and dropped calls when they touched the lower-left portion of the phone, however, Apple suggested that consumers hold the phone differently or use one of many bumpers to insulate the antenna. It also said that all phones suffered from similar problems when they were cradled a certain way.

These comments were widely laughed at in gadget blogs.

A week later, Apple said it had found that because of a longstanding software bug, the iPhone 4, and its predecessors, often overstated signal strength. The company promised a fix soon.

In a blog post on Monday, Consumer Reports challenged those explanations.

Michael Gikas, a senior editor for electronics, said engineers performed a series of tests on three iPhone 4 handsets in a lab. They found that when a person touched the lower left portion of the antenna, signal strength “can significantly degrade enough to cause you to lose your connection altogether if you’re in an area with a weak signal,” Mr. Gikas wrote.

Consumer Reports also said that it had tested other smartphones that ran on AT&T's network, including the Palm Pre and the iPhone 3GS, and that none had the same problem.

Mr. Gikas also wrote, “Our findings call into question the recent claim by Apple that the iPhone 4’s signal-strength issues were largely an optical illusion caused by faulty software.”

The review from Consumer Reports, which has eight million paying subscribers, comes 10 days after the magazine played down the problems with the iPhone 4 antenna. But in an interview, Mr. Gikas said the earlier report had been based on first impressions, not thorough testing.

Mr. Gikas said the problem with signal strength could be fixed by insulating the antenna with a bumper or even a piece of duct tape. And he said that the phone, as many happy users have reported, is better than earlier iPhones on multiple levels.

“The iPhone 3GS was always recommended. The iPhone 4 isn’t, even though it scores higher on a number of areas,” he said. “We think either Apple should supply free cases for the phone or come up with another solution. That’s why we are not recommending the iPhone 4.”

In comments posted on sites across the Web, dozens of iPhone 4 users dismissed the findings as unimportant.

But other consumers said the problems with the iPhone 4 and Apple’s response gave them pause.

“I’ll buy it the day Apple fixes it,” said Bruce Namerow, the owner of a Web consulting company based in Washington. “I don’t see how they can sell a phone that you can’t hold any which way you want. That to me is unbelievable.”

Haiti Earthquake Victims Frustrated by Trickling Aid

2010-07-12T09:35:00.000-07:00

PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti (AFP) -- Six months after a violent earthquake left a trail of destruction and misery in their country, Haitians are growing impatient at the slow trickle of aid and the crawling pace of reconstruction.

"There are no prospects, no means to rebuild. The international community promised us money, but will it ever come?" asked a baffled Franck Paul, a former mayor of Port-au-Prince.

In the capital's streets and under tents that still house hundreds of thousands of Haitians left homeless by the disaster, frustration is building.

"When we were asked to come to this camp, we were promised houses. Where are they?" asked Jean-Auguste Petit-Frere as he pointed to a model of a home set up on the site by a Jamaican firm and set to be valued at 15,000 dollars a piece.

According to the United Nations office in Haiti, nearly 4,000 homes of 18 square meters (194 square feet) each have been built in a project that anticipates building some 10,000 houses.

The UN humanitarian coordinator in Haiti, Nigel Fischer, acknowledged there were "many challenges" in putting Haiti back on its feet and coordinating aid, including making sure the affected population has access to essential care.

He also warned that 130 tent cities have been identified as at risk from the hurricane season that could add insult to injury in a country that was already the poorest in the Western hemisphere even before the quake.

The French Red Cross, which has promised to build 30,000 transitional homes in collaboration with the US Red Cross, has just begun construction of 500 in a village east of the capital, Port-au-Prince.

But the figures pale in comparison to the 1.5 million people left homeless by the January 12 quake that measured 7.0 on the moment magnitude scale killed 250,000 people.

Among those still living in squalid temporary plastic tents under sweltering temperatures are half a million children at risk of crime, exploitation and abuse.

They often lack decent sanitation and proper protection against an imminent risk of hurricanes.

"Children in Haiti are among those having the hardest time recovering from the earthquake," Save the Children's director of emergencies Gareth Owen said in a statement.

"Many are still trying to cope with the grief of losing loved ones, their homes, their toys -- everything that gave them their sense of identity.

"It's hard for an adult to cope, let alone a child."

Some of the kids were so scarred, they fear stepping into any concrete building. Others left orphaned are hired by families in camps as workers in exchange for food, according to Save the Children.

"I cannot keep on living under a tent where it is hot day and night. Who will pay for my home? Who will help me?" asked Maxene Gabriel, whose home was left inhabitable by the quake.

Novelist Gary Victor expressed disappointment the Haitian government has made few concrete proposals.

"It seems to me that the international community is taking us for a ride. There have been many promises, but nothing has been done," he said.

The massive aid effort is moving from emergency assistance into the long-term recovery stage for the UN World Food Program (WFP), which has launched temporary job initiatives employing some 35,000 women and men.

The number of employed workers under the program, which typically pays them with a mixture of food and cash, is expected to reach 140,000 before the end of the year.

"We're supporting huge numbers of people who would otherwise struggle to put food on their tables," WFP country director Myrta Kaulard said in a statement.

WFP is also helping provide hot meals to 655,000 school-aged children each day, a figure expected to reach 800,000 by the end of the year.

And in another glimmer of hope, viewers of the hit reality television competition "American Idol" donated over 250,000 dollars to provide solar street lights for the camps and emergency health kits for pregnant women to deliver their babies safely.

But Haitians are angered their leaders seem overwhelmed by the scope of the catastrophe that shattered this tiny Caribbean country.

"The president and the government are absent, while foreigners and non-governmental groups have taken up the reins," said a public transit driver caught in one of the many traffic jams now synonymous with Port-au-Prince, where huge piles of debris still litter the roadside.

Three months after an international conference in New York where world powers promised more than 10 billion dollars in aid over five years, the funds are only trickling in.

To Hell in a Handbasket: Candwich

2010-07-09T16:40:00.000-07:00

Of all the shiz that comes in a can that is bad for you…this is the shittiest!

Watch your ass Lunchables, because there is a new processed lunch in town and it offers not only the obstruction of bowels, but the dangerous sharp edges of a can! What fun for the kiddies!

Introducing the Candwich, the latest snack for obese kids with lazy parents and college students. The promotion on the can promises the tiny sammy will be "Quick & Tasty," so naturally we imagine there is enough salt to impair your vision and corn syrup to bathe in.

The Candwich comes in three flavors: peanut butter and strawberry jam, peanut butter and grape jam, and, brace yourself, BBQ Chicken! Now, as you shouldn't put metal in microwave, we imagine this nifty sandwich is best served cold.

Are you grossed out yet? Wait, there's more!

There's a yellow circle on the left side of the can says "Candy Surprise Inside."

Hooray! So not only are you ingesting 300 calories, but there is a bonus choking hazard! Can you stand it!

And just in case you need a little more of a push to avoid this shiz:

There are plans for the Pepperoni Pizza and French Toast Candwiches.

Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner, Death - all from a can!

PS. Im kinda glad they tried to hide the BBQ Chicken can cause that looks like the epitome of grossness and my stomach is bubbling just thinking about how wrong all of these are.

The Health Benefits of Coconut Oil

2010-07-09T12:13:00.001-07:00

The health benefits of coconut oil include hair care, skin care, stress relief, maintaining cholesterol levels, weight loss, increased immunity, proper digestion and metabolism, relief from kidney problems, heart diseases, high blood pressure, diabetes, HIV and cancer, dental care, and bone strength. These benefits of coconut oil can be attributed to the presence of lauric acid, capric acid and caprylic acid, and its properties such as antimicrobial, antioxidant, antifungal, antibacterial, soothing, etc.

How is Lauric Acid Used by our body?
The human body converts lauric acid into monolaurin which is claimed to help in dealing with viruses and bacteria causing diseases such as herpes, influenza, cytomegalovirus, and even HIV. It helps in fighting harmful bacteria such as listeria monocytogenes and heliobacter pylori, and harmful protozoa such as giardia lamblia. As a result of these various health benefits of coconut oil, though its exact mechanism of action was unknown, it has been extensively used in Ayurveda, the traditional Indian medicinal system.

Before we move on to the benefits of coconut oil in detail, let us understand its composition.

Composition of Coconut Oil: Coconut oil consists of more than ninety percent of saturated fats (Don’t panic! First read to the last word. Your opinion may change), with traces of few unsaturated fatty acids, such as monounsaturated fatty acids and polyunsaturated fatty acids. Virgin Coconut Oil is no different from this. Let us have a bit detailed study of this.

* The Saturated Fatty Acids: Most of them are Medium Chain Triglycerides, which are supposed to assimilate well. Lauric Acid is the chief contributor, with more than forty percent of the share, followed by Capric Acid, Caprylic Acid, Myristic Acid and Palmitic.
* The Polyunsaturated Fatty Acids: Linoleic Acid.
* The Monounsaturated Fatty Acids: Oleic Acid.
* The Poly-phenols: Gallic Acid, which is phenolic acid. These poly-phenols are supposed to be responsible for the fragrance and the taste of Coconut Oil and Virgin Coconut Oil is rich in these poly-phenols.
* Certain derivatives of fatty acid like Betaines, Ethanolamide, Ethoxylates, Fatty Esters, Fatty Polysorbates, Monoglycerides and Polyol Esters.
* Fatty Chlorides, Fatty Alcohol Sulphate and Fatty Alcohol Ether Sulphate, all of which are derivatives of Fatty Alcohols.
* Vitamin-E and Vitamin K and minerals such as Iron.

Let us now explore the benefits of coconut oil in detail:

Hair Care: Coconut oil is one of the best natural nutrition for hair. It helps in healthy growth of hair providing them a shiny complexion. Regular massage of the head with coconut oil ensures that your scalp is free of dandruff, lice, and lice eggs, even if your scalp is dry. Coconut oil is extensively used in the Indian sub-continent for hair care. It is an excellent conditioner and helps in the re-growth of damaged hair. It also provides the essential proteins required for nourishing damaged hair. It is therefore used as hair care oil and used in manufacturing various conditioners, and dandruff relief creams. Coconut oil is normally applied topically for hair care.

Stress Relief: Coconut oil is very soothing and hence it helps in removing stress. Applying coconut oil to the head followed with a gentle massage helps in removing mental fatigue.

Skin Care: Coconut oil is excellent massage oil for the skin as well. It acts as an effective moisturizer on all types of skins including dry skin. The benefit of coconut oil on the skin is comparable to that of mineral oil. Further, unlike mineral oil, there is no chance of having any adverse side effects on the skin with the application of coconut oil. Coconut oil therefore is a safe solution for preventing dryness and flaking of skin. It also delays wrinkles, and sagging of skin which normally become prominent with age. Coconut oil also helps in treating various skin problems including psoriasis, dermatitis, eczema and other skin infections. Therefore coconut oil forms the basic ingredient of various body care products such as soaps, lotions, creams, etc., used for skin care.

Premature Aging: Coconut oil helps in preventing premature aging and degenerative diseases due to its antioxidant properties.

Heart Diseases: There is a misconception spread among many people that coconut oil is not good for the heart. This is because it contains a large quantity of saturated fats. However, coconut oil is beneficial for the heart. It contains about 50% lauric acid, which helps in preventing various heart problems including high cholesterol levels and high blood pressure. The saturated fats present in coconut oil are not harmful as it happens in case of other vegetables oils. It does not lead to increase in LDL levels. It also reduces the incidence of injury in arteries and therefore helps in preventing atherosclerosis.

Weight Loss: Coconut oil is very useful in reducing weight. It contains short and medium-chain fatty acids that help in taking off excessive weight. It is also easy to digest and it helps in healthy functioning of the thyroid and enzymes systems. Further, it increases the body metabolism by removing stress on pancreases, thereby burning out more energy and helping obese and overweight people reduce their weight. Hence, people living in tropical coastal areas, who eat coconut oil daily as their primary cooking oil, are normally not fat, obese or overweight.

Pancreatitis: Coconut oil is also believed to be useful in treating pancreatitis.

Digestion: Internal use of coconut oil occurs primarily as cooking oil. Coconut oil helps in improving the digestive system and thus prevents various stomach and digestion related problems including irritable bowel syndrome. The saturated fats present in coconut oil have anti microbial properties and help in dealing with various bacteria, fungi, parasites, etc., that cause indigestion. Coconut oil also helps in absorption of other nutrients such as vitamins, minerals and amino acids.

Immunity: Coconut oil is also good for the immune system. It strengthens the immune system as it contains antimicrobial lipids, lauric acid, capric acid and caprylic acid which have antifungal, antibacterial and antiviral properties. The human body converts lauric acid into monolaurin which is claimed to help in dealing with viruses and bacteria causing diseases such as herpes, influenza, cytomegalovirus, and even HIV. It helps in fighting harmful bacteria such as listeria monocytogenes and heliobacter pylori, and harmful protozoa such as giardia lamblia.

Healing: When applied on infections, it forms a chemical layer which protects the infected body part from external dust, air, fungi, bacteria and virus. Coconut oil is most effective on bruises as it speeds up the healing process by repairing damaged tissues.

Infections: Coconut oil is very effective against a variety of infections due to its antifungal, antiviral, and antibacterial properties. According to the Coconut Research Center, coconut oil kills viruses that cause influenza, measles, hepatitis, herpes, SARS, etc. It also kills bacteria that cause ulcers, throat infections, urinary tract infections, pneumonia, and gonorrhea, etc. Coconut oil is also effective on fungi and yeast that cause candidiasis, ringworm, athlete's foot, thrush, diaper rash, etc.

Liver: The presence of medium chain triglycerides and fatty acids helps in preventing liver diseases as they substances are easily converted into energy when they reach the liver, thus reducing work load on the liver and also preventing accumulation of fat.

Kidney: Coconut oil helps in preventing kidney and gall bladder diseases. It also helps in dissolving kidney stones.

Diabetes: Coconut oil helps in controlling blood sugar, and improves the secretion of insulin. It also helps in effective utilization of blood glucose, thereby preventing and treating diabetes.

Bones: As mentioned earlier, coconut oil improves the ability of our body to absorb important minerals. These include calcium and magnesium which are necessary for development of bones. Thus coconut oil is very useful to women who are prone to osteoporosis after middle age.

Dental Care: Calcium is an important element present in teeth. Since coconut oil facilitates absorption of calcium by the body, it helps in getting strong teeth. Coconut oil also stops tooth decay.

HIV and Cancer: It is believed that coconut oil plays an instrumental role in reducing viral susceptibility of HIV and cancer patients.

Finally, coconut oil is often preferred by athletes and body builders and by those who are dieting. The reason behind this being that coconut oil contains lesser calories than other oils, its fat content is easily converted into energy and it does not lead to accumulation of fat in the heart and arteries. Coconut oil helps in boosting energy and endurance, and enhances the performance of athletes.

20 Worst Drinks in America Part 4

2010-07-09T09:18:00.000-07:00

4. Worst Frozen Fruit Drink

Krispy Kreme Lemon Sherbet Chiller (20 fl oz)

980 calories
40 g fat (36 g saturated)
115 g sugars

Sugar Equivalent: 16 medium-size chocolate eclairs

Imagine taking a regular can of soda, pouring in 18 extra teaspoons of sugar, and then swirling in half a cup of heavy cream. Nutritionally speaking, that’s exactly what this is, which is how it manages to marry nearly 2 days’ worth of saturated fat with enough sugar to leave you with a serious sucrose hangover. Do your heart a favor and avoid any of Krispy Kreme’s “Kremey” beverages. The basic Chillers aren’t the safest of sippables either, but they’ll save you up to 880 calories.

Drink This Instead!

Very Berry Chiller (20 fl oz)

290 calories
0 g fat
71 g sugars

3. Worst Drive-Thru Shake

McDonald’s Triple Thick Chocolate Shake (large, 32 fl oz)

1,160 calories
27 g fat (16 g saturated, 2 g trans)
168 g sugars

Sugar Equivalent: 13 McDonald’s Baked Hot Apple Pies

There are very few milk shakes in America worthy of your hard-earned calories, but few will punish you as thoroughly as this Mickey D’s drive-thru disaster. Not only does it have more than half your day’s caloric and saturated fat allotment and more sugar than you’d find in Willy Wonka’s candy lab, but Ronald even finds a way to sneak in a full day of cholesterol-spiking trans fat. The scariest part about this drink is that it’s most likely America’s most popular milk shake.

Drink This Instead!

Hot Fudge Sundae (small, 6.3 oz)

330 calories
10 g fat (7 g saturated)
48 g sugars

2. Worst Smoothie

Smoothie King Peanut Power Plus Grape (large, 40 fl oz)

1,498 calories
44 g fat (8 g saturated)
214 g sugars

Sugar Equivalent: 20 Reese's Peanut Butter Cups

If Smoothie King wants someone to blame for landing this high on our worst beverages roundup (and truth be told, its entire menu is riddled with contenders), the chain should point the smoothie straw at whichever executive came up with the cup-sizing structure. Sending someone out the door with a 40-ounce cup should be a criminal offense. Who really needs a third of a gallon of sweetened peanut butter blended with grape juice, milk, and bananas? Sugar-and-fat-loaded smoothies like this should be served from 12-ounce cups, not mini kegs.

Drink This Instead!

High Protein Banana (small, 20 fl oz)

322 calories
9 g fat (1 g saturated)
23 g sugars

1. Worst Beverage in America

Cold Stone PB&C (Gotta Have It size, 24 fl oz)

2,010 calories
131 g fat (68 g saturated)
153 g sugars

Sugar Equivalent: 30 Chewy Chips Ahoy Cookies

In terms of saturated fat, drinking this Cold Stone catastrophe is like slurping up 68 strips of bacon. Health experts recommend capping your saturated fat intake at about 20 grams per day, yet this beverage packs more than three times that into a cup the size of a Chipotle burrito. But here’s what’s worse: No regular shake at Cold Stone, no matter what the size, has fewer than 1,000 calories. If you must drink your ice cream, make it one of the creamery’s “Sinless” options. Otherwise you’d better plan on buying some bigger pants on the way home.

Drink This Instead!

Sinless Oh Fudge Shake (Like It size, 16 fl oz)

490 calories
2 g fat (2 g saturated)
44 g sugars

Are you Dating a Sociopath

2010-07-08T14:46:00.001-07:00

Sociopaths (also known as psychopaths) live among us. It's an ugly truth. Antisocial personality disorders do not discriminate--young, old, male, female--anyone can become a sociopath.

It may seem difficult to identify a sociopath, especially if he or she happens to be your partner. Nevertheless, there are several steps that you can take to identify the early warning signs of antisocial personality disorder.

10 Ways to Identify a Sociopath

Listen to the way your partner speaks. Most sociopaths put themselves on pedestals. Their grandiose sense of self makes them feel entitled to certain things. They see these things as "their right."
Pay attention to the way the person treats you. A sociopath is manipulative, domineering, controlling, and takes pleasure in humiliating his victim(s). Sociopaths have self-serving behaviors.
Count the lies. Sociopaths are notorious liars. It's almost impossible for a sociopath to tell the truth.
Observe the way the person expresses his or her emotions. A sociopath has an incapacity for love. Promiscuity, addictions, verbal outbursts and physical punishments are the sociopath's way of stimulating himself.
Wait until he or she says or does something wrong. The sociopath shows no remorse, shame or guilt. Although a sociopath may be outraged by insignifican matters, he or she will remain unmoved by serious matters.
Count his or her friends. A sociopath has trouble making and keeping friends. He will make up an excuse for this, too.
Listen to other people. Sociopaths do not become sociopaths overnight. They have a history. Sometimes these histories include aberrant behaviors, including: stealing, lying, promiscuity, and cruelty to people or animals.
Observe the way she blames others. The sociopath does not take responsibility for her actions. Instead, she blames others, even for acts she obviously committed.
Listen to his plans for the future. The sociopath makes unrealistic plans for the future. He does not fulfill his promises and exploits those that try to help him achieve his goals.
Take a step back. It may be hard to recognize a sociopath, especially when you're in a relationship with this person. A sociopath can become very abusive. Unfortunately, the abuse will not stop. The sociopath "gets by" by promising, lying, and manipulating. This will create a sense of hoplessness in the victim, thus producing an addictive cycle for abuser and abused

Could this Summer Quite Possibly Be the Worst Summer Ever For Movies

2010-07-01T13:05:00.000-07:00

I keep wondering when Hollywood will wake up and realize that people are starting to catch on to the gimmicks and are tired of seeing the 15th part of the same movie, a movie based off a tv show or studio attraction, and movies based off obscure comic books or anime series (yeah, Im talking to you "The Last Airbender"). I guess this is the reason that I skipped "Iron Man 2" and "Shrek", couldn't stomach to see the "A-Team", didn't so much as bat an eye at "Jonah Hex"and "The Prince of Persia" and groaned at "The Karate Kid." But besides all of that, it just feels like the 2010 summer movie season was over before it ever began.

June gloom set it and, at least in terms of entertainment, the box office seems to be running on fumes as folks have proven that the over saturation of 3D is no longer a gimmick that guarantees and audience. And filmmakers seem content with churning out film after film after film that essentially tells the same story and does little to challenge the audiences sense of excitement and wonder. What happened to the tentpole movies?? What happened to the buzz?? What happened to summer movies???

The last great summer for movies I can remember is when "The Nutty Professor" came out back in 1996 (yeah, that long ago) where every week, something new and interesting came out that you and everyone you knew was talking about. Back then, movies knew their lane and focused on telling and selling a narrative, built around a central construct and interesting characters. Now, with the allure of 3D, movies have become a mere means to an end.....a fund raising tool where every week a lucky loser gets to brag about how many people it duped into seeing its wares. Now it appears that it doesn't matter how good or bad a movie is ("Twilight") as long as it has a ton of special effects, car crashes and chase scenes and is effectively marketed to its target.

There is nothing wrong with mindless action and inane character development/dialogue if you like your meals calorie free. But when did the people in the films become....so unlike real people. They don't really operate under the moniker of "Movie Stars" anymore either since our idea of "Celebrity" and who it applies to is vastly different than say, the golden era in Hollywood when people had real jobs to do and just didn't show up to have their pictures taken.

And likewise, directors used to you celluloid as a way of showing how big their balls were. Several names come into mind like Martin Scorsese, Clint Eastwood, Spike Lee, John Water, Jonathan Demme, John Singleton the list goes on and on. But at least they had a desire to elicit something else out of their audience than a "meh" and single file line out to the exits once the credits close.

Im not sure why we have reached this point in cinema, but cinema surely needs an intervention or a reboot of its own. And maybe this will come by way of Christopher Nolan's "Intervention" a movie that really looks too smart for summer and way too intelligent for the lobotomized movie going audience as a whole. But that can all be perception as this summer has proven that you can't judge a book by its cover, but you can judge a movie by its cover art. The glossier and slicker it looks, the harder the filmmakers are trying to dupe you into buying a ticket and filling a seat. This couldn't have been more true with this years "Splice"...a movie I was eagerly anticipating that was totally misrepresented by its advertising and marketing campaign. it was basically the bait and switch, you want horror, we will give you drama. And judging by "Inception" it could be the allure of traces of the "Matrix" that has got me waiting in anticipation.

Either way, Christopher Nolan is a very competent director and although he (In my eyes at least) messed up with "The Dark Knight", "Inception" seems like return to the things about the director that made "Memento" so great. The other last hope is "Predators" and yeah, the "Predator Vs. Alien" movies were a joke without a punchline, but the original two movies, to this day, are still compelling so "Predators" would have to be pretty damn shitty to beat the realms of awful that was "P Vs. A."

So im just gonna go ahead and say it, YES, this summer is in fact the Worst Summer Movie Season anyone has ever possibly experienced. Now it kinda makes more sense why the overdue "Tron" remake opted for a fall release instead of a summer one....maybe they knew what a shitty dumping ground 2010 would be. And the worst part is that its not even that hot due to June gloom so the allure of pristine air conditioning isn't even a factor anymore......maybe they should make 3D glasses with little heaters on the side. You laugh, but Im sure someone is drafting it up as we speak.

Microsoft Kills the Kin

2010-06-30T16:33:00.000-07:00

Microsoft is killing its Kin "social phones" after less than seven weeks on the market.

The news comes after two weeks of suspicious reports on abysmal Kin sales and just three days after Verizon slashed Kin prices nearly in half. Microsoft, which launched the Kin One and Kin Two in May, did not explicitly confirm the discontinuation but sent seattlepi.com the following statement.

"We have made the decision to focus on our Windows Phone 7 launch and we will not ship KIN in Europe this fall as planned. Additionally, we are integrating our KIN team with the Windows Phone 7 team, incorporating valuable ideas and technologies from KIN into future Windows Phone releases. We will continue to work with Verizon in the U.S. to sell current KIN phones."

The news also comes one month after Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer ousted two high-profile lieutenants from the company's consumer-devices division, and further illustrates Microsoft's ongoing struggle to remain relevant in the age of mobile computing.

The phones, targeted at "generation upload," were the result of months of product development that generated some unusual buzz among tech enthusiasts. Known for some time as"Project Pink," the Kin program was largely seen as Microsoft's first attempt at reinvigorating the Sidekick technology the company inherited when it acquired Danger in 2008.

Microsoft unveiled the two Kin devices -- the first phones to feature bits of Windows Phone 7 -- in April and released them with Verizon in May. Though Microsoft called them "smart phones," they were not; the user interface was geared entirely toward social networking and lacked support for third-party applications.

The software superpower marketed them at teens to 25-year-olds whose lives revolve around Facebook, Twitter, instant messaging and other social media. Redmond launched a daring new media campaign that included social-media scavenger hunts and a series of videos that followed a young woman as she explored the fringes of her social network.

It all seemed like overkill. And most of the tech press wasn't exposed to the targeted marketing enough -- if there even was a lot -- to sense whether it was working. Except when Microsoft was pressured to pull an advertisement because critics felt it promoted "sexting"

"The thing about niche marketing is, if you don't hit your niche," IDC mobile analyst William Stofega told seattlepi.com, "you're kind of stuck between a rock and a hard place."

Two weeks ago, a rumor bubbled up that Microsoft and Verizon had sold only 500 Kin phones. Most of the tech media dismissed it as ridiculous (Microsoft never denied or confirmed it), but the writing on the wall was clear: Kin was struggling.

Best Buy had already slashed its Kin retail prices; the lower-end Kin One went from $50 to free and the higher-end Kin Two dropped from $100 to $50. Then, this past Sunday, Verizon quietly cut the Kin One to $30 and the Kin Two to $50.

The price-gouge was likely in response to Microsoft's killing the Kin program.

"It's not surprising, given the things we've heard," Stofega said. "I think (it was) the aggressive pricing in terms of other options on the market. For a little extra, you could go out and get a high-end device from, maybe, HTC."

The phones -- a small vertical-sliding handset and a larger landscape-oriented slider -- got lukewarm reviews and received the most criticism for their price. Many believed Microsoft oversold, and perhaps misrepresented, the Kin phones as smart phones when, really, they were just fancy feature phones.

Arguably the most promising product of the Kin program is an online service called Kin Studio, where a user's media are stored. Kin users can browse or surf their photos by time or location, share photos and videos with their friends, and just surf social networks from within the Silverlight-powered Kin Studio interface.

If Microsoft is "incorporating valuable ideas and technologies from KIN into future Windows Phone releases," as the company said, it might behoove Redmond to incorporate the Kin Studio technology.

Kin's discontinuation doesn't bode well for Microsoft's mobile reputation, which has been foundering while the Apple iPhone, Google Android operating system and Research in Motion BlackBerry brand have been surging ahead in terms of sales. Microsoft's last full mobile-OS release, Windows Mobile 6.5, launched in October to lukewarm reviews and has been most successful with HTC's own interface slapped on top.

Microsoft plans to bring Windows Phone 7 to market by the holidays. Like the Kin OS, Windows Phone 7 incorporates the look and feel of the Zune HD's "Metro" interface. The Kin phones were also the first to include Zune software.

The Kin woes should not necessarily put Windows Phone 7 in a bad light. Though the Kin devices did incorporate some WP7 technology, they were not representative of the full-featured operating system.

But the Kin woes do highlight Microsoft's ongoing struggle in mobile. Once again, Microsoft has misidentified a mobile opportunity, misfired in its execution and failed introduce a "cool" device into a world full of iPhones and Droids.

"Overall," Stofega said, "it's a tough, tough, tough market."

20 Worst Drinks in America Part 3

2010-06-29T17:48:00.000-07:00

9. Worst Hot Chocolate

Starbucks White Hot Chocolate with Whipped Cream (venti, 20 fl oz)

520 calories
16 g fat (11 g saturated)
75 g sugars

Sugar Equivalent: 9 Strawberry Rice Krispie Treats

See that stack of Rice Krispie Treats? It’s just three treats shy of two full boxes. Unless you were a contestant on Fear Factor—and there was a sizeable monetary prize on the line—you’d never even consider noshing down that much sugar at once. But here’s what’s interesting: While that stack is the sugar counterpart to this atrocity from Starbucks, it still has 40 percent less saturated fat. Makes us wonder what’s going on in the hot chocolate. Stick to beverages with single-flavor profiles instead of pile-on recipes like this and you’ll fare better every time.

Drink This Instead!

Hot Chocolate with Nonfat Milk (grande, 16 fl oz)

240 calories
2.5 g fat (0.5 g saturated)
40 g sugars

8. Worst Frozen Mocha

Così Double Oh! Arctic Mocha (gigante, 23 fl oz)

662 calories
26 g fat (15 g saturated)
88 g sugars

Sugar Equivalent: 19 Oreo Cookies

The good news here is that this drink used to be twice as bad - and used to contain as much sugar as in 41 Oreo Cookies (pictured). The bad news is that even though it's halved the calories, it's still a piece of work. A frozen mocha will never be a stellar option, but we’ve still never come across anything that competes with this cookie-coffee-milkshake hybrid from Così. Essentially it’s a mocha Blizzard made with Oreo cookies and topped with whipped cream and an oversize Oreo. The result is a beverage with more calories than two Big Macs and more sugar than any other drink in America.

Drink This Instead!

Chocolate Covered Strawberry Smoothie (12 oz)

316 calories
12 g fat (8 g saturated)
37 g sugars

7. Worst Frozen Coffee Drink

Dairy Queen Caramel MooLatte (24 fl oz)

870 calories
24 g fat (19 g saturated, 1 g trans)
112 g sugars

Sugar Equivalent: 12 Dunkin’ Donuts Bavarian Kreme Doughnuts

Coffee-dessert hybrids are among the worst breed of beverages. This one delivers 1 gram of fat and 4.6 grams of sugar in every ounce, making even Starbucks’ over-the-top line of Frappuccinos look like decent options. Maybe that’s why DQ decided to give it a name that alludes to the animal it promises to turn you into. If you can bring yourself to skip DQ and head to a coffee shop instead, order a large iced latte with a couple shots of flavored syrup and save some 600 calories. But if you’re stuck where you are, you’re better off pairing a small treat with a regular cup of joe.

Drink This Instead!

Small Chocolate Ice Cream Cone with a Medium Cup of Coffee

240 calories
7 g fat (5 g saturated)
25 g sugars

6. Worst Margarita

Traditional Red Lobster Lobsterita (24 fl oz)

890 calories
0 g fat
183 g carbohydrates

Carbohydrate Equivalent: 7 Almond Joy candy bars

Of all the egregious beverages we’ve analyzed, the Lobsterita surprised us the most. The nation’s biggest fish purveyor is one of the few big players in the restaurant biz to provide its customers with a wide selection of truly healthy food options. We would hope they’d do the same with the beverages, but obviously not. Drink one of these every Friday night and you’ll put on more than a pound of flab each month. Downgrade to a regular margarita on the rocks and pocket the remaining 640 calories.

Drink This Instead!

Red Lobster Classic Margarita on the Rocks

250 calories
0 g fat
22 g carbohydrates

5. Worst Float

Baskin-Robbins Ice Cream Soda (vanilla ice cream and cola) (large, 28.6 fl oz)

960 calories
40 g fat (25 g saturated, 1.5 g trans)
136 g sugars

Sugar Equivalent: 9.7 Fudgsicle fudge bars

Done right, an ice cream float can be a decent route to indulgence. Go to A&W and you’ll land a medium for fewer than 400 calories. Order it with diet soda and you’ve dropped below 200 calories. So why can’t Baskin-Robbins make even a small float with fewer than 470 calories? Because apparently the chain approaches the art of beverage-crafting as a challenge to squeeze in as much fat and sugar as possible. Whatever you order, plan on splitting it with a friend.

Drink This Instead!

Ice Cream Float (vanilla ice cream and root beer) (small, 16.9 fl oz)

470 calories
20 g fat (13 g saturated, 0.5 g trans)
68 g sugars

Movies to Own: "The Crazies"

2010-06-29T17:37:00.000-07:00

There isn't much to say about this one folks other than ITS ON DVD!!!! If you are a horror head like I am then you know that "The Crazies" is the best zombie/horror/sociopolitical flick to come out in the past 10 years. You can thank me in the comments later.

Moment of the Week: Willie Norwood

2010-06-28T17:31:00.000-07:00

VH1 TV Shows | Music Videos | Celebrity Photos | News & Gossip

So im really not a fan of "Brandy and Ray J: A Family Mess", but when there is nothing on, this colorful eschewing of facts and blatant self promotion somehow makes it on to my radar. Actually I caught the episode at the clip above and became curious enough to catch other parts of the show. Well that and VH1 was rerunning it like every hour since they don't have any other programs on air. Anyhow, I think love is or can be a beautiful thing....especially when you chose to charter a path with someone and you come out on the other end smiling......so this clip above warmed my heart in song for the prospect of one day having a song to sing like this for my lady. Enjoy

Another WTF From McDonald's: The McGangBang

2010-06-18T13:12:00.000-07:00

The McGangBang ranks up there in the holy pantheon of WTF. It's a sandwich made from a double cheeseburger and a McChicken sandwich — where you put an entire McChicken sandwich inside a double cheeseburger. It's a creative manipulation of existing menu items, and an exercise in frugality: taking two items off of the Dollar Menu and creating an entirely new sandwich for a total of $2.16. Truly, it's a sandwich that's more than the sum of its parts.

The naming, of course, is somewhat obscene — "gangbang" is defined as "sexual intercourse with multiple partners in turn or at the same time." It's illicit in more ways than one — chicken and beef most definitely make for an unnatural pairing.

In addition, it's sort of a subversive act for people to order it by name, as well as a thrill to confound the McDonald's employee with an order for a McGangBang — so much so that people are documenting their experiences at drive-thrus and counters on YouTube.

In some locations, the McGangBang appears to have become part of the McDonald's employee lexicon — explanation is unnecessary — they know how to make it, much like the off-the-menu items at In-N-Out.

An oft-repeated quote from user DasKosmischeVonUT on the VWVortex forums sums it up:

It's kind of like having a threesome with two ugly chicks. While it's happening you're stoked, because hey threesome!!! But once you're finished it kinda sinks in about what you've done.

20 Worst Drinks in America Part 2

2010-06-18T12:59:00.000-07:00

14. Worst Kids' Drink

Tropicana Tropical Fruit Fury Twister (1 bottle, 20 fl oz)

340 calories
0 g fat
60 g sugars

Sugar Equivalent: Two 7-ounce canisters Reddi-wip

Don’t let Tropicana’s reputation for unadulterated OJ lead you to believe that the company is capable of doing no wrong. As a Pepsi subsidiary, it’s inevitable that they’ll occasionally delve into soda-like territory. The Twister line is just that: a drink with 10 percent juice and 90 percent sugar laced with a glut of artificial flavors and coloring. You could actually save 200 calories by choosing a can of Pepsi instead.

Drink This Instead!

Honest Kids Tropical Tango Punch (1 pouch, 6.75 fl oz)

40 calories
0 g fat
10 g sugars

13. Worst Functional Beverage

Arizona Rx Energy (1 can, 23 fl oz)

345 calories
0 g fat
83 g sugars

Sugar Equivalent: 6 Cinnamon Roll Pop-Tarts

Obviously Arizona took great pains in making sure this can came out looking like something you’d find in a pharmacy. But if your pharmacist ever tries to sell you this much sugar, he should have his license revoked. And if it’s energy you’re after, this isn’t your best vehicle. Caffeine is the only compound in the bottle that’s been proven to provide energy, and the amount found within is about what you'd get from a weak cup of coffee.

Drink This Instead!

Glaceau Vitamin Water 10 Revitalize Green Tea (1 bottle, 20 fl oz)

25 calories
0 g fat
8 g sugars

12. Worst Juice Imposter

Arizona Kiwi Strawberry (1 can, 23 fl oz)

345 calories
0 g fat
81 g sugars

Sugar Equivalent: 7 bowls of Froot Loops

The twisted minds at the Arizona factory outdid themselves with this nefarious concoction, a can the size of a bazooka loaded with enough of the sweet stuff to blast your belly with 42 sugar cubes. The most disturbing part isn’t that it masks itself as some sort of healthy juice product (after all, hundreds of products are guilty of the same crime), but that this behemoth serving size costs just $.99, making its contents some of the cheapest calories we’ve ever stumbled across.

Drink This Instead!

Fuze Slenderize Strawberry Melon (1 bottle, 18.5 fl oz)

20 calories
0 g fat
2 g sugars

11. Worst Espresso Drink

Starbucks Peppermint White Chocolate Mocha with Whipped Cream (venti, 20 fl oz)

660 calories
22 g fat (15 g saturated)
95 g sugars

Sugar Equivalent: 8½ scoops Edy’s Slow Churned Rich and Creamy Coffee Ice Cream

Hopefully this will dispel any lingering fragments of the “health halo” that still exists in coffee shops—that misguided belief that espresso-based beverages can’t do much damage. In this 20-ounce cup, Starbucks manages to pack in more calories and saturated fat than two slices of deep-dish sausage and pepperoni pizza from Domino’s. That makes it the equivalent of dinner and dessert disguised as a cup of coffee. If you want a treat, look to Starbucks’ supply of sugar-free syrups; if you want a caffeine buzz, stick to the regular joe, an Americano, or a cappuccino.

Drink This Instead!

Cinnamon Dolce Latte with Sugar-Free Syrup (grande, 16 fl oz)

260 calories
6 g fat (4 g saturated)
38 g sugars

10. Worst Lemonade

Auntie Anne’s Wild Cherry Lemonade Mixer (32 fl oz)

470 calories
0 g fat
110 g sugars

Sugar Equivalent: 11 bowls of Cookie Crisp cereal

There is no such thing as healthy lemonade, but Auntie’s line of Lemonade Mixers takes the concept of hyper-sweetened juice and stretches it to dangerous new levels. See, sugar digests faster than good-for-you nutrients like protein and fiber, which means it’s in your blood almost immediately after you swallow it. Drinking the 3 or 4 days’ worth of added sugar found here jacks your blood sugar and results in strain to your kidneys, the creation of new fat molecules, and the desire to eat more. Ouch.

Drink This Instead!

Diet Lemonade (21 fl oz)

15 calories
0 g fat
0 g sugars

STL 10 Preview: Quadron

2010-06-18T12:43:00.001-07:00

Quadron - Average Fruit by theyounglion

Quadron is an act I have a lot of affection for. I recently saw them at the UCLA Reggae and Jazz Festival (I think I was the only one jamming out to their music)and they were fantastic. "Average Fruit" is a cut that will be included on my eagerly awaited "STL 10" and upon initial spin, you will see how lead singer Coco's voice envelopes and transcends you. If you like the cut, then STL 10 is sure to be a sweet and salty treat to go with your summer breeze.

STL 10 Is On The Way

2010-06-18T12:36:00.000-07:00

Its been a long time coming, but I am finalizing the track listing and awaiting new tracks to include on my mixtape series STL. Didn't think I would have one for this year since music is soo shitty...but I have pulled together some stellar tracks that deserve to be heard and set a mood. Keep ya ear here to Sanspiracy as I will post the album and track listing in the coming weeks.

For the Few, The Proud, The Brave: "Inside"

2010-06-11T11:33:00.000-07:00

There is not much I need to say here beyond what is inferred by the key art above, but if you are a true horror head like I am then you are constantly looking for cinema that pushes the boundaries of the genre. "Inside" really should have a giant Warning sticker over it because if you are of the faint of heart, then this is not the film for you cause the relatively simple premise takes it to some wicked, bloody, and often disgusting places that serve the story in a startlingly realistic way. The ending of "Inside" has officially replaced "The Passion of the Christ" as being the most realistically bloody thing I have ever seen on screen. This one has to bee seen to be believed but remember to pick your jaw back off the floor once you hit credits end.

Was It Ever About Science: "Splice" in Review

2010-06-11T10:16:00.000-07:00

Lets keep it short, sharp, and to the point. "Splice" is a movie I wanted to adore for its sci-fi trappings are the things my cinematic dreams are made of. But how do you squander an interesting premise and try your audiences patience to the point that you then ask yourself at credits close "Was it ever about science". Not that anyone wants to get caught up in the particular details of the central conceit, but "Splice" like 2009's "Daybreakers" takes a sort of topical, white knuckle premise and then drowns it in rote, tepid, and unnecessary drama.

Meet Clive (Adrien Brody) and Elsa (Sarah Polley). If there names somehow strike a cue in the back of your brain its because there names are a wink to the central characters of the "Frankenstein" saga. Clive and Elsa prance about their domain as if they are pop stars of the biochemical world proudly referencing their feature in Wired magazine as if its some kind of Academy Award or Pulitzer prize. Not content with being scientist for hire, Clive and Elsa are continuously pushing the boundaries of science, all the while giving pointless exposition about how it all works toward the good of humanity. They work for a faceless corporation that is trying to splice genes from several different animals to create some type of protein that said corporation can patent and mass produce. At films start, we see Clive and Elsa in action as they are "delivering" one of two blobby worm looking specimens they playfully name Fred and Ginger. Fred and Ginger are the spliced up hosts to which to derive the protein.

Again, Blah blah blah, all is well until the two decidedly place ego on display and toss human DNA into the mix creating what later is know as "Dren". Until this point, "Splice" remains a highly intriguing endeavor. However, this movie presents the biggest bait and switch by promising a dive off the edge of the cliff into horror, but then delivering a shameless and unnecessary drama centered around the abuse endured during Elsa's childhood. Clive and Elsa are a couple, and Clive has expressed interest in having a child, to which Elsa opposes. But then when "Dren" starts to take on more human characteristic, Elsa treats her like a toy/pet/child dressing her up in baby doll dresses and giving her barbie dolls to play with all with motherly attention. This, for me, was the first WTF as Clive and Elsa's character motivations are so muddled that it hard to care about their outcomes.

Their is a sleigh of hand sexual element to the movie that ultimately takes over and ruins the proceedings. Warning - Spoiler alert, so if you do not want to know what happens then stop reading from this point on. Lets just first say that "Splice" is not a sexy movie whatsoever and because Polley and Brody have zero chemistry, when they do get intimate its very awkward and uncomfortable to watch. Somehow believing that it needs to shock instead of titillate and intrigue, "Splice" goes to places that I had rather not seen on celluloid and that says a lot considering that i quite enjoyed the likes of "The Human Centipede". Still not sure why it felt the need to be, but "Splice" is the first movie where we get both an inter-species sex scene and an inter-species rape scenes....yeah, I said INTERSPECIES. Both are played out so foolishly that you wonder at some point if you have stumbled into the wrong theater. What it ultimately boils down to is perversion, as with the films final reel we get a more menacing version of Dren who has a sex change (it starts out female and then becomes male), and flies around with his moth wings picking people off and then, I guess, gets horny enough to grunt out something stupid to Polley (when he corners her) like "me want to be inside you" (mind you, the thing says nothing the whole film and only makes clicking sounds). I wish I was making this up.

Also, what didn't really make much sense to me was the evolution of "Dren" (nerd backwards in a narrative threat that is supposed to read more clever than it is). Dren has the top half of a human and the legs of a chicken and like a long pig tail. When she reaches full maturity you realize that she has these weird moth wing things attached to her arms and odd fish gill looking things attached to the back of her neck. The trailer spot do so much to hide what Dren ultimately becomes that when you see it, it looks like a creature that stumbled out of "The Chronicles of Narnia". Since the thing supposedly ages so rapidly, it would have been nice to see it take on something far less human and far more animal for the finale.

But no, we get nothing but drama in the third act. A drama about Clive and Elsa's fractured relationship, a drama about Elsa and her childhood and how she has to "face her demons", a drama about parenthood, a drama about how pointless Clive actually is to the story, and a whole lot of stupid actions conducted by people we are to believe to be so smart they they create an entirely new species, but too dumb not to realize that maybe you shouldn't have sex with it.

Again, if "Splice" was the kind of movie that you could only catch at the Landmark on pico or the Laemmle theater on Sunset (both arthouse staples new and old) then the cult nature of the context would give "Splice" some novelty as pure arthouse fare. But as presented as mass consumption, it seems totally mismanaged by entities that have no idea what it actually is. How Warner Brothers came to acquire and then get behind such a thing with so much push seems baffling, especially since its the very kind of movie that major distributors shy away from.

I don't want to write Vincenzo Natali off just yet, for he is not the first or last director that has had to water down all the things that made them great and interesting in the first place for big box office esteem. For the "Cube" series shows an assured and confident filmmaker who had a specific vision and an eye for interesting visuals sometimes at the expense of the acting. But he is a good storyteller. With "Splice" not so much. I will be anxiously awaiting his exit from stage left and his return to the underground. Maybe then Natali can make a real film.

Conspiracy Theories: Could This Video Be the Reason MJ was Offed

2010-06-04T17:20:00.000-07:00

So a bit earlier I was reading this fascinating article where they have folks like Dave Chappelle, Melissa Ford, Tupac, Bob Dylan, and Katy Perry all talking about the evils of the entertainment industry or apropos the "sign on the bottom line in blood" type of deals you have to make in order to achieve a certain amount of success. In this article was an interesting video from the master, Michael Jackson, himself discussing his leave of Sony in 2002 and how he would be walking away owning 50% of their publishing. Fast forward to 2009 and as you will remember, Sony made a huge push to collect all the concert footage MJ had requested as part of his private journal to produce "This is It". Its pretty common knowledge that someone though MJ would be more profitable and therefore more valuable dead than alive.........Just saying.

Musiq Brings Us that "Silky Soul"

2010-06-02T09:33:00.000-07:00

Musiq Soulchild is an artist I have been fond of for some years now and "Silky Soul" lifted from last years "Silky Soul Music: An All-Star Tribute to Maze Featuring Frankie Beverly" exhibits what makes him a standout in the musical landscape. I love the video treatment and Musiq and his tuxedoed for piece band looks at home in a clip that pays homage to musical greats. If only Musiq could capture this kind of magic on his albums, then surely he could take his place as a true R&B great.

UCLA's Jam Day Was the Ish

2010-06-01T10:38:00.001-07:00

Its very rare that I go to a concert and know everyone on the lineup, but UCLA's "Jam" day was truly the shit and custom made for yours truly. I usually visit this outing on their "Reggae" day, but when I saw the show bill, there was no way I could miss the opportunity of seeing these folks live. And what a treat it was. The eventing started out with "Quadron" who I love and from there the show just kept getting better. Georgia Ann Muldrow did her thing with Declaime, The Foreign Exchange (who I was soo glad to finally see live) rocked it out with the lovely Sy Smith in tow, and Bilal was surprisingly blah even though he gave it a good effort. The big joke with him is that I couldn't understand two words that came out of his mouth and the whole thing took on the look and feel of a bad Vegas lounge act. I was surprised to see that Q-tip still has a rather large following as most of the folks seemed clueless to acts other than Bilal and Q-tip. Tip did his thing though and I really appreciated that he took it back to the "Tribe Called Quest" Days....if Phife Dawg and Ali Shaheed Muhammad pop on stage with Q-Tip then I could have died a happy man on Sunday. I love the generally low key-ness about the event and everything was far more organized that i remember making it a great day for sun and live music in LA.

20 Worst Drinks in America Part 1

2010-06-01T10:00:00.000-07:00

20. Worst Water

Snapple Agave Melon Antioxidant Water (1 bottle, 20 fl oz)

150 calories
0 g fat
33 g sugars

Sugar Equivalent: 2 Good Humor Chocolate Éclair Bars

While “Worst Water” may sound like an oxymoron, the devious minds in the bottled beverage industry have even found a way to besmirch the sterling reputation of the world’s most essential compound. Sure, you may get a few extra vitamins, but ultimately, you’re paying a premium price for gussied-up sugar water. Next time you buy a bottle of water, check the recipe: You want two parts hydrogen, one part oxygen, and very little else.

Bonus tip:
Get the latest book in the best-selling diet series: Drink This, Not That!

Drink This Instead!

Smartwater

0 calories
0 g sugars

19. Worst Bottled Tea

SoBe Green Tea (1 bottle, 20 fl oz)

240 calories
0 g fat
61 g sugars

Sugar Equivalent: 4 slices Sara Lee Cherry Pie

Leave it to SoBe to take an otherwise healthy bottle of tea and inject it with enough sugar to turn it into dessert. The Pepsi-owned company’s flagship line, composed of 11 flavors with names like “Nirvana” and “Cranberry Grapefruit Elixir,” is marketed to give consumers the impression that it can cleanse the body, mind, and spirit. Don’t be fooled. Just like this bottle of green tea, all of these beverages are made with two primary ingredients: water and sugar.

Bonus tip:
See our updated list of the 20 Worst Foods in America!

Drink This Instead!

Honest Tea Green Dragon Tea (1 bottle, 16 fl oz)

60 calories
0 g fat
16 g sugars

18. Worst Energy Drink

Rockstar Energy Drink (1 can, 16 fl oz)

280 calories
0 g fat
62 g sugars

Sugar Equivalent: 6 Krispy Kreme Original Glazed Doughnuts

None of the energy provided by these full-sugar drinks could ever justify the caloric load, but Rockstar’s take is especially frightening. One can provides nearly as much sugar as half a box of Nilla Wafers. In fact, it has 60 more calories than the same amount of Red Bull and 80 more than a can of Monster. If you’re going to guzzle, better choose one of the low-cal options. We like Monster; it offers all the caffeine and B vitamins with just enough sugar to cut through the funky extracts.

Bonus tip:
Another great way to lose weight and look your best: Read the Men's Health 100 Best Fitness Tips!

Drink This Instead!

Monster Lo-Carb (1 can, 16 fl oz)

20 calories
0 g fat
6 g sugars

17. Worst Bottled Coffee

Starbucks Vanilla Frappuccino (1 bottle, 13.7 fl oz)

290 calories
4.5 g fat (2.5 g saturated)
45 g sugars

Sugar Equivalent: 32 Nilla Wafers

With an unreasonable number of calorie landmines peppered across Starbucks’ in-store menu, you’d think the company would want to use its grocery line to restore faith in its ability to provide caffeine without testing the limits of your belt buckle. Guess not. This drink has been on our radar for years, and we still haven’t managed to find a bottled coffee with more sugar. Consider this—along with Starbucks’ miniature Espresso and Cream Doubleshot—your worst option for a morning pickup.

Bonus tip:
Coffee is supposed to be good for you, right? See what other "healthy" foods and drinks turned out to be bad news--read about the 30 "Health" Foods That Aren't

Drink This Instead!

Illy Issimo Caffè (1 can, 6.8 fl oz)

50 calories
0 g fat
11 g sugars

16. Worst Soda

Sunkist (1 bottle, 20 fl oz)

320 calories
0 g fat
84 g sugars

Sugar Equivalent: 6 Breyers Oreo Ice Cream Sandwiches

Wait . . . but aren’t all sodas equally terrible? It’s true they all earn 100 percent of their calories from sugar, but that doesn’t mean there aren’t still varying levels of atrocity. Despite the perception of healthfulness, fruity sodas tend to carry more sugar than their cola counterparts, and none make that more apparent than the tooth-achingly sweet Sunkist. But what seals the orange soda’s fate on our list of worsts is its reliance on the artificial colors yellow 6 and red 40—two chemicals that may be linked to behavioral and concentration problems in children.

Bonus tip:
Just because this soda's orange doesn't make it as healthy as orange juice. And just because these dishes have chicken in them don't make them worthy of the lean poultry's reputation: Stear clear of these 30 Terrible Chicken Dishes.

Drink This Instead!

Izze Sparkling Clementine (1 bottle, 12 fl oz)

120 calories
0 g fat
27 g sugars

15. Worst Beer

Sierra Nevada Bigfoot (1 bottle, 12 fl oz)

330 calories
0 g fat
32.1 g carbohydrates
9.6% alcohol

Carbohydrate Equivalent: 12-pack of Michelob Ultra

Most beers carry fewer than 175 calories, but even your average extra-heady brew rarely eclipses 250. That makes Sierra’s Bigfoot the undisputed beast of the beer jungle. Granted, the alcohol itself provides most of the calories, but it’s the extra heft of carbohydrates that helps stuff nearly 2,000 calories into each six-pack. For comparison, Budweiser has 10.6 grams of carbs, Blue Moon has 13, and Guinness Draught has 10. Let’s hope the appearance of this gut-inducing guzzler in your fridge is as rare as encounters with the fabled beast himself.

Bonus tip:
Want to lose weight when you eat out? Try these 10 NEW Top Swaps for Weight Loss!

Drink This Instead!

Leinenkugel’s Fireside Nut Brown Ale (1 bottle, 12 fl oz)

155 calories
13.4 g carbohydrates
4.9% alcohol

Sales for the iMaxi are Booming

2010-06-01T09:55:00.000-07:00

Chuck Pretto couldn't figure out how to carry around his new iPad. So he decided to wear it.

From the iMaxi to a C3P0 backpack, accessories for your iPad are a hot commodity, and more businesses are stepping up to meet demand. WSJ talks to online store Etsy.com about the phenomenon and takes a look at some of the more interesting products on the market.

After ordering Apple Inc.'s new multimedia tablet last month, the 52-year-old property manager realized it might weigh down his briefcase. He didn't have another bag or carrier to cradle the 9.7-inch, 1.5-pound device. For a time, Mr. Pretto considered getting a "man purse" for it. Then he learned about iPad-compatible vests on a blog and immediately bought one.

"People can't believe this darn thing will fit inside my pocket," says Mr. Pretto, who now wears the $100 vest every day. The San Diego resident has since bought other iPad-friendly apparel, including a second vest and a windbreaker from travel-clothing maker Scottevest Inc.

Mr. Pretto's carrying conundrum isn't unique. After Apple started selling its tablet in April, early adapters were stumped on how to easily hold and transport the glass-screen gadget.

See some of the cases designed to hold, use and transport the iPad.

Scottevest's vest fits the 1.5-pound device in an inner pocket.

IPad's unusual size—far bigger than a 3.5-inch iPhone but much smaller than most laptops—has ramped up opportunities for enterprising individuals and companies.

In Fairbanks, Alaska, stay-at-home mom Kate Clark created a white, feminine-hygiene-product-shaped iPad case called iMaxi as a play on the jokes that were made about the iPad name when it was first revealed in January. Orders flew in. Other companies are marketing backpacks shaped like Star Wars robot C-3PO as iPad bags, while still others are developing industrial-strength iron-on pockets to hold the gadget.

Ms. Clark, 33, the creator of the iMaxi, fashioned the $30 quilted cotton case with wings for a laugh and put it up on Etsy Inc.'s online handicraft marketplace in February. Then she started getting thousands of hits from curious buyers. The attention, she says, caused her "major anxiety" because she hadn't kept track of how she made the first one and couldn't duplicate it. She eventually figured it out.

Now "we're super crazy busy just by sewing," says Ms. Clark, who has sold more than 100 of the bags and is now looking for a production firm to help her keep up with orders. "We're trying to stay ahead of the wave."

This iPad-sized pocket, the iBap, was produced as a spoof.

One iMaxi customer is Matthew Crowley, a 25-year-old aspiring writer. The Dedham, Mass., resident bought the iMaxi in March because he says he was impressed by the care and attention that was put into making the bag—and he actually uses it. While his father is a fan of the bag, his fiancée isn't. Does he worry about gawkers? "I'm quite immune in fact."

Although Apple has largely ceded the market for accessories for its laptops and phones, the company does sell a $39 black iPad case that can be used to protect the device on the go and prop up it up on a tabletop. Still, the company says it is thrilled to see the bag industry that has popped up around the gadget. The marketplace for iPod and iPhone cases "has been a great opportunity for developers, and we're excited to see the same enthusiasm for the iPad," says an Apple spokeswoman.

In some instances, entrepreneurs are rebranding existing products to suit the iPad. In January, Scottevest, the travel-clothing maker, began touting some of its existing multi-pocketed travel vests that can hold magazines, water bottles and a myriad of gadgets as iPad compatible.

The Sun Valley, Idaho, company—which counts Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak as a member of its advisory board—markets iPad wear starting from $75, and has since hired additional employees and more than doubled production.

Scott Jordan, Scottevest's chief executive, says the company is now working on an iPad-compatible trench coat that can be wrapped into itself to become an overnight bag.

Luxury luggage brands are keen to land iPad's more stylish fans. Tumi Luggage Inc. and Liz Claiborne Inc.'s Jack Spade and Kate Spade accessory lines have iPad bags in the works. Gucci NV says it is also considering iPad-specific cases.

LVMH Moet Hennessy Louis Vuitton SA jumped on the concept early. "Louis Vuitton is all about nomadism—chic nomadism, explains Yves Carcelle, chief executive of the company's namesake brand. "As soon as we read about it [the iPad], we contacted Apple—to get the dimensions, not the functionalities."

It began selling two iPad-specific cases earlier this month, both with the iconic LV logo, for $320. "In a few weeks we'll have a crocodile version," says Mr. Carcelle. "I remember the surprise Steve [Jobs] had when he found out the crocodile case cost more than the iPad." The price to be stylishly exotic: $1,850.

MZ Services Inc. of Auburndale, Mass. developed a waterproof cover with a transparent surface that lets users operate the touchscreen so they could take their iPads to pools, beaches and even the bathroom. It comes with an adjustable strap so they can hang the iPad from their neck or shoulder. The company says its $26.99 cover, which it sells under the brand name TrendyDigital, is so popular that it has sold out on Amazon.com Inc.'s online store.

The interest in iPad-related carrying accessories is so high that even spoofs are taken seriously. Jordan Owen, member of a Chicago design collective, created a digital prototype of a pair of jeans with an iPad-sized pocket called iBap (iGotaBigAssPocket). Mr. Owen says he received as many as 50 emails from people wanting to buy a pair. Still, he doesn't intend to produce any.

"Splice of Life" The Indie Graduate that Could

2010-06-01T09:42:00.000-07:00

I have to admit, I liked the idea of "Splice" much better when it seemed relegated to arthouse showings. Normally, I am not opposed to indie movies that get the star treatment, but with this type of nuanced movie, it seems to do little justice to the art of it all to position it as high consumption. Vincenzo Natali is not a director who would register on anyone's map, but if you are familiar with the "Cube" series, then you know his work is brilliant in that he is able to take very simple elements and make a very complex story out of it. "Splice" promises to maximize on this formula, but their is something about the whole "tentpole" treatment that is rubbing me the wrong way. Warner Brothers, who achieved a studio high and low with the "Matrix" series, hasn't released anything remotely memorable in the last few years and are struggling to make it back on the map in terms of studio superpowers. In a way, Warner Brothers acquiring "Splice" is charming in that they have plucked something that looked like it was doomed for obscurity and given it new life. Whatever the case though, I will be front and center on Friday as "Splice" is the movie I have been waiting to see all year. Full review to appear soon.

College Humor Spoofs Kesha with "Sing Talk"

2010-05-18T16:00:00.000-07:00

Ke$ha hasn't been around very long but people are already starting to ask why she's famous. She claims not to use autotune, but her combination of talking and singing in the song "Tik Tok" seem to say otherwise. Well, the jig is up. College Humor is on to her half-singing, half-rapping ways, bringing us this "Tik Tok" parody. "Sing Talk" details her plans to become a singer without any musical talent. Just by speaking whiny pop lyrics into her MacBook Pro, she made it to the top of the charts sounding "like a bitchy, gay robot."

Jack of all Trades: Casino Jack in Reveiw

2010-05-10T17:21:00.000-07:00

I know when you mention politics most of the time, people's eyes kinda glaze over, but Casino Jack is less a lesson in government corruption and more of a timely and wondrously educational/entertaining look at how true capitalism works. Meet Jack Abramoff, regarded as one of the top lobbyist in washington and a character too smart for his own good. The movie is less of a portrait about the man and more of a case study on how one man was able to find a niche and create a sort of new market out of it, all while being handsomely compensated. This is the new democracy, where policy is for sale and senators can be bought and sold based on the special interests of Abramoff's client list.

Harrowing and stark, "Casino Jack" comes with us by way of the fine folks who brought us "Enron, The Smartest Guys in the Room" and that too was a documentary of firecracker appeal. "Jack" however, finds us in both, familiar waters and international policy as Abramoff rose to the levels that he did because he was able to acknowledge one simple truth about Washington; the symbiotic relationship between those who desire to stay in office and those who need changes in policy in order to stay in business. Both equate to money matters and this rich doc gives us glimpses into some of Abramoff's craftier schemes and swindles that paint a dense but blurred moral picture, decidedly painted in by greed.

Never fret, the man at the center of this doc, is going to be getting the big screen treatment as Kevin Spacey has been pegged to play Abramoff in an upcoming project. But I would advise you to see this doc first and let the shock of it all wash over you as I did at a late evening screening that had my jaw on the floor. The most shocking part of the doc is that Abramoff only managed to serve 4 years for such heinous crimes.....but do you blame the man or the system put in place that allows for such capitalistic treasures.

Sanctify Them Hits: Say Ahhh

2010-04-30T11:00:00.000-07:00

If you have ever been to a black church then you know that the musical directors (who are usually young cats) always manage to sneak in instrumentals and songs that are slight variations of "secular" hits to the unsuspecting older church members who if aware would not approve. Its one of the most clever things about black churches....at some point you get an instrumental of "Get Me Bodied" as the collection plate is getting past around or "Bedrock" as the minister takes the post. But this clip here, Jesus would not approve of.

Blunty Breaks Down Fetus' (A.k.a Dani From A Shot At Love) Fandom

2010-04-29T17:04:00.000-07:00

The truth is out there...and I am on a mission to find the folks willing to tell it.

Indie Soulers Don't Need To Try To Be Rihanna

2010-04-22T10:48:00.000-07:00

by Chris Rizik

If you've been following independent soul for awhile, you're probably scratching your head about some recent trends. And if you're in your 40s or 50s, you may be beginning to draw blood from all that scratching.

Over the course of the last decade, a new generation of independent soul singers arrived. Proclaiming that they were carrying the torch of Donny and Marvin and Roberta, many of them captured the sense of purpose and melody of those classic soul artists of the 70s - for my money the high point of soul music - while bringing forward the sound with 21^st century sensibilities.

But a funny thing is happening to some of this newer generation of soul music torch bearers. They're now ten years older than when the movement began, and they appear to be suffering an identity crisis that is a corollary to what their major label counterparts are experiencing, as beautifully summarized in a recent piece from our Music Editor, L. Michael Gipson, about Toni Braxton:

No matter how big an act they are there is something mysterious that happens to artists and their labels once a talent turns thirty, or at least is forced to admit it, and the curiosity lasts until the artist hits their forties, when they are considered a vet and jazz, gospel, covers and a new comeback adventurism is allowed... It happened to multi-Grammy Award-winning Toni Braxton after the double-platinum The Heat (some might argue it happened after the 20 million-seller Secrets). Back then, Braxton's record label suddenly had no idea how to market her and the material began to suffer from trend chasing, a nearly always disastrous decision.

A somewhat similar malady now appears to be rearing its head in the world of independent soul. I say this because we receive advance cuts from upcoming albums of many independent artists, and I'm shocked at how many appear to have decided that they are going to enter their late 30s kicking and screaming, afraid of skewing "too old" with their audience (the same audience that became the mainstay of their fanbase for the past decade), or maybe even more afraid that, despite their indie credentials and a solid body of work, they are approaching 40 still not having achieved the level of commercial acclaim they wanted. So they are awkwardly reinventing their music to try to reach those elusive 20-somethings (who have never been their audience in the first place). Song after song I receive now features a talented adult soul artist adopting hip-hop elements and heavy electronics (boasting that their new, young producer also worked with this or that top 40 R&B performer), trying to proclaim its hipness at the expense of anything resembling the sense of melody and maturity that brought that artist to the show and won his or her existing fans. And what I'm hearing is not a creative step forward. It appears more like desperation from artists who neither appear comfortable nor all that interesting with their new autotuned electronic production that sounds like, well, everything else on the radio.

Part of delusion behind all this is the mistaken logic that the major record companies were singing for years: young people buy music and people over 30 don't. That was the music Gospel, until they found out it was completely false. Aside from teen artist Taylor Swift, the biggest selling albums of the past 3 years have been from artists like Michael Buble, Josh Groban, Carrie Underwood and Susan Boyle - artists who draw substantially from older audiences. The over 30 crowd buys more CDs, illegally downloads less and, frankly, has more money to spend on concerts and recorded music. And nowhere has that been more evident than in the new soul movement.

All that being said, not all the major indie soul artists are pandering to get a younger audience. Take the new album by P.J. Morton, Walk Alone, or Angela Johnson's upcoming It's Personal. In both cases these talented artists have created albums that are distinct from their earlier work and show them to be continuing to develop as musicians and lyricists. But both artists appear comfortable enough in their musical skins that they're not trying to mimic Rihanna or Jason Derulo in order to bring in younger fans. They are who they are, and if the history of music shows anything, it is that audiences find great music and that great careers invariably come from artists who are true to themselves. Indie soul king Eric Roberson received both praise and some criticism for his most recent album, Music Fan First, with it's increased hip-hop influences. But longtime Erro fans know that this was not youth pandering: those influences have always been in his music, and his incorporation of varied beats along with jazz and rock elements were part of an artistic explosion, resulting in his most complex and ambitious album to date. He was rewarded for his risk-taking with his most successful album ever (which, yes, brought in some younger audiences for the right reasons), as well as a Grammy nomination.

Even on the major label side of soul, mature artists like Jaheim and Monica are finding both a creative and commercial groove by embracing their maturity, as recently they've each issued arguably the best album of their careers while achieving great sales - mostly to 30 and 40-somethings.

Unfortunately, much of what is hitting my desk - and what it appears we'll continue to experience as the year goes on - doesn't sound like indie artists stretching themselves to reach their creative potential or to embrace who they really are. It sounds instead like artistic confusion, an attempt to capture their own youth and to "finally make it" by grabbing a phantom larger, younger audience, even at the expense of their true muse and their longtime fans. It is a story that has played out hundreds of times over the past several decades, so I don't know why I should have expected something different from these artists who I've come to know and personally admire over the seven years of SoulTracks. But it feels like they're chasing shadows and stunting rather than enhancing their artistic development. And it will be sad to see some good people making a really bad mistake.

Allow Your Inner Light To Guide You

2010-04-15T10:30:00.000-07:00

There comes a time when you must stand alone.

You must feel confident enough within yourself to follow your own dreams.

You must be willing to make sacrifices.

You must be capable of changing and rearranging your priorities so that your final goal can be achieved.

Sometimes, familiarity and comfort need to be challenged.

There are times when you must take a few extra chances and create your own realities.

Be strong enough to at least try to make your life better.

Be confident enough that you won't settle for a compromise just to get by.

Appreciate yourself by allowing yourself the opportunities to grow, develop, and find your true sense of purpose in this life.

Don't stand in someone else's shadow when it's your sunlight that should lead the way.

Janelle Monae Finally Gets a Release Date

2010-04-14T17:46:00.000-07:00

Looks like May is shaping up to be a really good music month. "The ArchAndroid" drops on May 18th.

"Capitalism" Is a Love Story I Can't Wait To See Again

2010-04-14T11:53:00.000-07:00

I have a big thirst for knowledge and information so its no wonder to me that my movie choices these days tend to gear more-so to documentaries (how times have changed..lol). I have seen all of Michael Moore's films, but until "Capitalism" none had really presented an argument that wasn't marred by some sort of emotional manipulation or some pointed presentation of the information designed to illicitly garner some kind of reaction out of me. You cannot deny Moore's passion with his presentations, but I felt "Capitalism" is a particular film to note from his filmography because it serves as a beautiful retrospective to his entire film career while being timely, relevant, and earnest with its message.

I have often had discussion with folks who are of the same generation and note how we are at a significant disadvantage than our parents in terms of obtaining the same kind of success and financial security that they had. Houses then costs about the same amount as a Toyota now and people were conditioned to save and to spend frugally rather than be beasts of consumerism. Jobs then allowed for a single income family to live comfortably and inflation hadn't made it nearly impossible to afford rent, a car note and groceries. Moore notes as much in "Capitalism" by taking us back to the very place where his journey first begun with "Roger and Me" Flint, Michigan. Moore recounts a time where his father worked at General Motors where life was ever bit the picture perfect utopia that Mid Century living made it out to be. This was the 50's and Moore's family enjoyed lavish vacations, all the amenities you could ask for and a comfortable lifestyle all on a single income. Flash forward a couple of decades and Flint, Michigan is not only a shell of its former self, but a veritable ground zero as the closing of the GM plant economically devastated the town and its people. Now, poverty is the new regime as Moore takes us on a quest to peek behind the iron curtain and see how the world really works. Needless to say, the little guy always gets shit on.

Moore starts off "Capitalism" of course with the controversial bank bail out and the collapse of the housing market. Giving us a glimpse of the cold and calculated task of kicking former homeowners out of their homes. All the while, framing his documentary in a way that makes it clear that its the common, every day, working people that are getting the short end of the stick. Of course, time is payed to the big discrepancy between the rich and poor, the absence of the middle class, and what this really means for a balance society. Corporatism and how we create enormous industries out of reaping benefits from others pain and tragedy and how the government is doing less and less for the people as corporations are ensuring that government intervenes as little as possible for the sake of the people. Yes, folks its a mad mad world and I have to admit, that sitting through Moore's "Capitalism" kind of made me feel helpless to the powers that be, but ohh how their is a silver lining because we still have the power to vote and this power is precisely what could bring the whole house of cards tumbling down.

This was perhaps the first time I walked away from a Moore film and saw him for the man he is rather than the ego he purports. For "Capitalism" isn't showy in the least bit and that may be because the reality of the film is that it suggest that we hav been fed the most intricate and deceptive of lies, that you can work for and therefore obtain the "American Dream". But the truth is, if you are not the President of your company, a CEO, or rank in the top %1 of the population (which has more wealth combined than 99 percent of the population) then this country does little to work in your favor. As America has been managed very much like a corporation and its this corporate thought that threatens to tear us away from our humanity.

It was obvious to me that "Capitalism" is a love story to America and a time in this country where we were the key producers of industry, where we didn't demonize the Unions, and were prosperity was blanketed over several segments of the population and not just those that hold all the cards. It also made me realize that as voters, we need to be more keen to the issues we are voting on in order to insight real change. As consumers, we still have buying power and the real deception, to me at least, is how corporations have made you, the folks of this country, feel slave to their products. But the truth is that these corporation can't survive without you as their customer. Something tells me that we would figure out a way to survive without them.

Yahzarah Gears Up to Debut "The Ballad of Purple Saint James"

2010-04-14T11:47:00.000-07:00

Critically acclaimed R&B vocalist YahZarah returns with her long-awaited album "The Ballad of Purple Saint James," dropping May 4 on The Foreign Exchange Music. The 13-track set, overseen by Grammy-nominated production duo Nicolay and Phonte of The Foreign Exchange, represents her brightest, most complete work to date.

"It feels good to put our combined talents, efforts, and resources behind an artist that so deserves to be heard," says Nicolay. "I couldn't be more proud of The Ballad..."

YahZarah, a singer-songwriter who first made her mark as a background singer for Erykah Badu, has spent the past few years touring in support of her albums "Hear Me" (2001), "Blackstar" (2003), and 2008's "The Prelude." She worked on "The Ballad..." independently for a number of years before reaching out to Phonte (a longtime friend and fellow NC Central music student), and finally selecting +FE Music as her label home.

"YahZarah is the best singer I personally know, and for years it's been my dream to produce her, " says Phonte. "My goal was to take her vast repertoire of melodic influences, and combine it with material that allowed her voice to really shine."

Clocking in at under an hour, "The Ballad..." showcases YahZarah's rich soprano in a variety of musical settings. The new wave bounce of the first single "Why Dontcha Call Me No More" evokes Pat Benatar, while the throwback synth funk of "Change Your Mind" suggests Solar Records in its heyday. Highlighting YahZarah's classical jazz training is "Shadow," a stunning Zo!-produced piece that features her backed solely by piano and a haunting orchestral arrangement.

In addition to production by The Foreign Exchange, "The Ballad..." also includes contributions from TheRealFocus...(Marsha Ambrosius, Raphael Saddiq), Nate Smith (Michael Jackson), Steve McKie (Jill Scott, Bilal), and guest appearances from Jaspects, drummer Lil' John Roberts, and singer Darien Brockington.

"Completing 'The Ballad...' with Phonte and Nicolay allowed me an opportunity to return back to the joy of making music and to create a project that is sexy, fearless, beautiful and sincere," says YahZarah. "This work is a true reflection of me."

Tracklisting

01. Strike Up The Band
02. Why Dontcha Call Me No More
03. Cry Over You feat. Phonte
04. All My Days feat. Darien Brockington
05. Come Back As A Flower
06. Dedicated To You
07. The Lie
08. Last To Leave
09. Have A Heart
10. Change Your Mind
11. Starship
12. Shadow
13. Love, Come Save The Day

Splice Finally Gets a Release Date

2010-04-13T09:54:00.000-07:00

I am a huge huge fan of the "Cube" series so when I heard that director Vincenzo Natali was directing a new sci-fi flick i instantly started salivating with excitement. Slated for a October 2009 release which then was pushed back to November, "Splice" seem destined not to be released at all until I did a little investigating to find that Indeed "Splice" had a distributor and a release date. This one promises to be a real treat for Sci fi/Horror fans so if you have a twisted sense of humor and an eye for mayhem, then I will see you on June 4th.

iMaxi for your iPad

2010-04-12T13:36:00.001-07:00

Not sure if this is real, but it looks just as pointless as the iPad.

It Would Be Funnier If She Was Watching a Tyler Perry Movie!!!

2010-04-12T13:07:00.000-07:00

This has got to be hands down, one of the funniest scenes I have ever seen in a movie. Its so funny how art imitates life and vice versa.

10 Depressingly Annoying Things About Modern Rap

2010-04-12T09:40:00.000-07:00

Written by Phillip Mlynar

Phillip Mlynar isn’t Australian, doesn’t roam a post-apocalyptic wasteland searching for fuel and may not even own a dog. But ask him the timeless question, ‘U mad, doggie?’ and he’ll reply, ‘Yes, I am.’ Fresh from his stint of yelling ‘Eff you and Your Heroes‘ like this was a listening session for the first Lench Mob tape, Phillip is back to vent his frustrations about the current state of the rap game.

10. Branding

“I like Nike but wait a minute/The neighborhood supports so put some money in it…” So proclaimed the great Chuck D. Sadly, these days his words sound like a relic from an altogether punchier era, such is the enthusiasm rappers show towards basically agreeing to rhyme for a free baseball cap that won’t really protect them against the global-warming era elements anyway. Corporate sponsorship of artists could have been a philanthropic solution to declining record sales. Instead, thanks to the myopic desperation of most rappers, it’s become nothing but a pass for large corporations to rejoice in a cost-cutting 99% decrease in their promotional budgets. Note to rappers: Aligning yourself with companies who don’t give a damn about hip-hop isn’t healthy for any aspect of the scene. And when you get too fat and old for them to care about giving you free jeans, that ol’ box of Newports and some Puma sweats is going to seem like the financial nest egg you never quite could attain.

9. The Non-Retirement Of Shawn Carter Vol. 3

It’s easy to criticize the recent edition of Uncle Shawn: He’s basically re-made the same album five times over since The Blueprint; he insists on trying to name drop hip bands like some out-of-touch uncle gesticulating “Yo!” while wearing a chunky-knit cardigan; creatively he’s given up the idea of progressing as a writer; and his recent hits sound peculiarly like Shirley Bassey numbers. More strikingly, it’s arguable that hip-hop would be in better creative shape if he’d held good on his promise to put down the mic.

Jay-Z’s not just a rapper considered the GOAT by a whole generation – he also holds a gate-keeper position in the industry that few, if any, artists have ever attained. And it’s a position he seems intent on milking solely for his own pockets. Jay’s presidency at Def Jam could have been a cue to bring through a hungry new wave of rap talent – or an opportunity to give deserving acts like The Roots and Ghostface real financial promotional support – but instead he kinda kept all the kitty money for his own shenanigans. And while his Live Nation deal probably meant that he could finally add one of those fancy Viking stoves to his kitchen, that’s a whopping $150 million that’s never going to be invested in new talent. Throw in Jigga’s woeful record in talent spotting (see: overlooking Kanye for so long; putting on a stream of rubbish Roc-A-Fella oiks), and it’s a sad truth that while Jay-Z’s still at the top as both a recording artist and a man who does business (as I think he once so wittily quipped), it’s gonna be hard for a fresh batch of faces to scale to similar heights.

8. Public Image

Back in the era when signing to a major label was a common goal for hip-hop artists, a new rapper’s attempt to make a name for themselves was an earnest and simple thing. First, they’d likely co-star as a featured guest or on a posse cut with a more famous rapping friend. Then, if people warmed enough to their verse, they’d be given a shot with a solo single (often produced by a popular beatsmith of the day). Some showed and proved, others were Preacher Earl. But the nuts and bolts of the come-up process was largely done with dignity and behind closed doors.

Not any more. Now we’re exposed to the turgid sight of an upcoming rapper’s every excruciating industry move. It’s hard to drum up excitement for someone like B.o.B. when you’ve already been bombarded with umpteen YouTube videos and failed single attempts and viral video shots and shoe-horned collabos that are never going to work and a billion email blasts. And B.o.B’s one of the better new wave rappers. There’s come to prominence this horrid belief that it’s best to put it all out there in the hope that something somehow will stick – but most cases it only shows how false and calculated a rapper’s image is. How many changes has the perennially-not-gonna-blow Wiz Khalifa been though? I remember interviewing him back when he was making Kanye-esque music full of soul samples. Then he started being a techno-happy club kid. Then a T.I.-lite. If Yelawolf takes off he’ll probably discover some white trash roots next.

7. Premature Rap Ejaculation

Having no knowledge of any music scene other than hip-hop that’s made by artists who reached their peak back in August of 1995, I have no idea how prolific guitar bands and classical pianists are, but I’d blindly bet that no other genre comes close to releasing ‘new’ music with the unfiltered gusto of hip-hop. Charles Hamilton’s run of releasing seven or eight mixtapes over seven or eight months in the run-up to his supposed debut album now seems like a model of restraint compared to cats like Gorilla Zoe dropping a mixtape a day. The insane frequency of new music unfortunately means that its hype-life is next to zero: When Joell Ortiz put together his Covers The Classics tape it was the buzz of the blogs for about six hours. Then it all but disappeared. Before ‘leaking’ their latest barrage of non-stop music, hip-hop artists would do well to consider this: If you’re releasing more albums a year than Jimi Hendrix, Miles Davis or Chas & Dave, then you’re very obviously not taking enough time to master your art.

6. Faith In Live Music Saving Rap

As they used to say: “Mwa-ha-ha-ha-ha!” As anyone who’s suffered through the horrors of a live rap gig can attest, there are only three NME-accredited hip-hop groups that can put on a good live show, and those are Public Enemy, The Roots and Michael Franti’s Spearhead. Everyone else still sucks mega donkey dick live on stage.

5. Oh, Snap!

An album cover or a photograph of a rapper in a magazine used to help take you inside their world, add to their mystique, and ultimately enhance the listening experience. Think the Ultramagnetic MC’s in all their shiny-tracksuit glory standing around in the rubble of the Bronx, making them look like four space cats roaming across an undiscovered world. Think Redman alternately on the cover of The Source with tissue up his nose or buried neck deep in mud for Dare Iz A Darkside. Love ‘em or mock ‘em, even the Pen-N-Pixel covers caught the eye and made you wonder about the music contained inside. Now, instead, we have Google image search. It’s a quick and direct link to lots of rubbish, low-res pictures of rappers looking entirely ordinary. So, manna to the undiscerning blog aggregator kids. Handily, with web-publishing the norm and downloads replacing physical releases, it’s all but obliterated the idea of a label or artist commissioning a decent photo shoot. You’ve probably bought some amazing records in the past on the basis of the cover art alone. That ain’t gonna happen any more.

4. Em Pee Frees!!!

Talk about using it to drum up hype and get your name around, but there’s no doubt about it: free music is synonymous with worthless music. It usually holds no value, and with no investment from the listener it normally forms no lasting bond. (At this point I should insert an anecdote about buying a record from my local store and reading the liner notes on the bus on the way home. Which might be a bit of a cliched reminisce, but it’s a sure bet that any record you read on the bus home is one you still treasure.)

Frustratingly, giving away music for free is more and more becoming the norm – and in more and more inexplicable ways. Roc Marciano just dropped a very good record that obviously has a very niche market (er, largely people reading this website). But ahoy there! Now he’s going to ruin it by quickly following up an album he presumably wants people to buy with one that he’s giving out for free (Marcberg Reloaded)! All it’s likely to do is decrease his sales due to people downloading the presumably inferior songs that didn’t make the album cut and deciding it’s not worth paying for.

And there’s more! Increasingly, labels are starting to release an album in digital form first and physical form later – and not even in particularly lust-worthy packaging (see: the Diamond District CD debacle). This is pretty much penalizing those people left who still want to pay for their music and own something tangible. It’s like saying, “Hey, we know you used to hold us down but now we’d prefer to put something out there for the thrifty right-click hawks and then if we luck out and make enough money from those seven legit iTunes downloads we’ll let you buy it on vinyl.” Cheers.

(Stating The Bloody Obvious Note: The only people really using free music as an effective promotional tool, whether for their albums proper or live shows, are already established cats on majors like Jay-Z or Lil Wayne, the latter of whom most people seem to have handily forgot had a very successful ten-plus year career as a platinum-selling rapper with The Hot Boys before using a few mixtapes to help him achieve ubiquity.)

3. The “Support” Movement

There has never been a more self-pitying piece of hip-hop slang than the current trend of people asking you to “support” a rapper. You support a football team through their ups and downs because you have an emotional and visceral attachment to them. You support a family through thick and thin because it’s what you do. You shouldn’t, however, feel any pressure to “support” a rapper – and especially not one whose entire contribution to the artform is little more than one hastily cobbled-together mixtape attached to a badly-phrased promotional email (likely not BCC’d to boot). Supporting people without talent only helps to lower the threshold for the tolerance of wackness – which only results in inferior music. Unless rappers are suddenly able to claim charitable status from their local municipal office – and produce an authenticated certificate – then the sad pleas for “support” need to stop.

2. The Minajian Philosophy

On her own demerits, there’s nothing much wrong with Young Money rapstress Nicki Minaj. She’s a terrible rapper who spits worse than Lil Mama and makes music that’s perfect for 12-year-old girls to listen to. As such, she’s unlikely to register on the radar of anyone who’s interested to hear that Tribeca’s still making music. So taking time to get annoyed at her is a waste of energy. Unfortunately, people won’t leave it at that – especially ‘cos there’s little that excites writers more than the novelty of a female rapper (a trait only pipped by the socio-eco-anthro-political potential of writing about a white rapper).

So as Ms Minaj gears up to release her album (early prediction shocker: It won’t be very good), we’re going to be swamped by a stream of articles and blog posts attempting to contextualize her. Because that’s what people like to do. Someone will run a profile calling her the sassy new face of a generation. Someone will analogize her to a real-life black Barbie doll; they might even attempt to pitch an urban re-make of Mannequin (another prediction: It also won’t be very good, but Lil Wayne will make a cameo). People will try and contextualize her whole Japanese Harajuku obsession, instead of making cheap jokes asking why she couldn’t just have gone and gotten a tattoo of some Kanji symbols that really translates as “Whore For Hire” like everyone else. Someone will pay a poncy stylist to make her look like a futuristic female assassin and slap her on the cover of a style magazine. Come Christmas, you’ll probably be able to buy The Minajian Theory in your local Urban Outfitters, next to those books full of photos of cats dressed up in hats. Enough already. Please.

1. Cheap-Ass Rap Fans

Yup, we can all pat ourselves on the back with this one. You don’t need to read any of these 3,000 word articles attempting to decipher the state of the music industry to settle on one sad truth: Without fans stumping up to pay for music, we’re pretty much sailing full-steam up shit creek. The easiest way of letting an artist know that you value their music is to buy it. But that’s clearly not happening any more. Speaking to DJ Spinna last year, he stated that back in ye glory indie rap days an artist would view 10,000 sales of a 12-inch single as the benchmark for a successful release. Now, he said, it was 1,000 CD sales. Which is a number so low it’s a wonder anyone bothers.

Accepted, often the labels and artists don’t seem to be helping themselves (i.e. not releasing vinyl versions of albums when aging vinyl collectors might be the one demographic left who’ll still stump up money for an album). But none of the much-ballyhooed alternative revenue streams seem to have effectively taken up the slack. And it’s telling that more and more of the dialogue in hip-hop these days is about ‘the industry’, whether it’s rappers moaning about their labels via Twitter or fans wittering about first-week sales. (Aside: Why do people who never buy music use first-week sales to judge the quality or success of an album?) If the commentary reflects the health of the scene, then we’re sadly teetering on the edge of a panic. But it’s one that could be quite easily solved by simply – ahem – manning up and paying a small amount for some music you like. A few years back, if everyone who clamored to claim they were a Clipse fan actually bought Hell Hath No Fury then the brothers Thornton would be multi-platinum. They’re not, ‘cos it’s a lot easier to just download the album than pay for it. But consider this: If you download all your music for free, you can’t then legitimately complain when your favorite rapper decides that it’s just not worth it any more.

Ho Shit is the New Come Up for 2010: Tiger Woods Edition

2010-04-08T17:28:00.000-07:00

I really didn't want to address this Nike commercial at all, but then I started to feel bad about how hard I was going in on Kiely Williams when this shit trumps all of that. Forget about the infidelity and the scandal...this brings Tiger to a new low for me folks. Its one thing to whore yourself out to a corporation for ends, but having a deceased dad myself, there is no way I would allow a corporation to use my dad's voice so egregiously in a campaign designed both to clean up my image and turn a profit. Ohh look at Tiger in all his sad black and white glory, looking like a kid who stole a pack of gum from the convenience store and now has to sit and receive a lecture from his dad. This is flat out disgusting!!!

Kiely Williams Responds to Her Own Nonsense

2010-04-08T17:07:00.001-07:00

what planet does this girl live on. She looks thrilled to be getting so much attention. Using her dumb ass logic, does this mean that the next video will show her at a crack house, dancing around used needles on the floor and then overdosing on heroin.....you know...to bring attention to drug abuse....I mean, it happens to a lot of twenty somethings and its an issue that needs to be addressed.

Kiely Williams says "Sex could very quickly change the rest of your life" - Well So Can a HO -TASTIC Video

2010-04-08T13:19:00.000-07:00

This Shizz is like the most fascinating stuff on earth right now and I can't stop it with this girl, cause as you will see...she really is rather intelligent. I guess not intelligent enough to understand that maybe she should have just wrote herself a Dear Keily letter instead of singing and making a video out of getting shit faced drunk and having unprotected sex with random dudes. In fact I'll write the letter for her.

Dear Keily,
I have been singing and dancing my whole life. In fact, my parents come from an entertainment background so I have always been engulfed in film and music. I recently turned legal age and therefore my former bosses think I am too old to appeal to the tween market by which I have achieved much success. With the recession and the music business turning to shit, I have been forced to fuck for tracks and get my name out there any way possible. Desperate to break from my good girl image, my handlers and myself thought it would raise my profile and create a bit of buzz for myself to sing and act like a total ho. My first single, "Spectacular" really allowed folks to see my bad girl side, plus there aren't many good tracks you can play in the strip club so I really wanted to tap into this market. The aim was to bring awareness to binge drinking and unprotected sex, but when I made the video, everyone thought I was being a slut bucket. Lady Gaga and Beyonce aren't being accused of promoting murder in the "Telephone" video so why does my booty tootin and walk of shame dramatizations make me a tramp. It is clear to me that I am playing a character, but sometimes my life imitates my art and my jaw is getting soar from fighting with executives about the direction of my music. Keily, I love music so much....do you think I should go FULL HO and use my sexuality to overshadow any bit of talent that I have - achieving the very same success as artist like Rihanna, Nicki Minaj, and Khia or should I continue to investigate the darker recesses of the world and bring light to important modern day issues like groupieizm while perpetuating the very thing I claim to stand against. Keily I need your help....thanks so much for taking the time to read my letter.

Keily from the Spectacular Video

The Dream Surprises with "Love King"

2010-04-08T12:26:00.000-07:00

The Dream is one of those artist that always has me on the fence. Loved the "Love Vs. Hate" album but hated the "Love Vs. Money" album. But he always manages to release a cut that gets my attention and "Love King" just happens to be one of those cuts where the video treatment has completely hooked me. For it being so simple, there is something very charming about the video. The Dream's latest album "Love King" drops on May 18th and only then, we shall see which side of the fence that offering lands on.

Whitney Houston Has some Unlikely Competition

2010-04-08T11:56:00.000-07:00

When a young Taiwanese boy sings your signature song better than you, you need to step your game up.

Perry Proves that he is "Married Too" his Formula

2010-04-08T10:33:00.000-07:00

I can't even hate on Tyler Perry anymore cause I have long given up hope that he will one day turn into some sort of veritable Spike Lee and actually hone his craft as a filmmaker. I would say that "Why Did I get Married" was Perry shining opus in this department, until he made this sequel and everything that seemed so sure footed about his storytelling and character development from the first movie, seem squandered for twist and turns designed more for audience gasps than for cinematic impact.

I wish I could say that "Too" was a good Perry movie, for it gives the audience exactly what it wants and is never for a second boring. But this may be because the movie is so over plotted that you have hardly a moment to breath amidst the changing locals, credited and uncredited star cameos, tacked on back stories, and subplots that have you scratching your head as to what is the character motivation for these actions.

"Too" is technically the first time that Perry has crafted a sequel, but truthfully all of his movies are sequels as they all follow a distinct formula and rhythm that has become Perry's Signature, almost to a fault. "Too" essentially is the same movie as the original as the basic plot is the exact same, a group of college friends go on a retreat every year to talk about why they got married. Tensions flare, drama ensues, everyone returns to their normal lives to find more turmoil, resolution, happy ending. Too often "Too" plays out like its trying to one up the dinner scene from the first movie where Angela's character lets that cat out of the bag about Mike's infidelity. But that scene was preceded by a clear, crisp set up and was expertly written in a way where it sent several storylines crashing into one another at precisely the right moment in the story. It was akin to seeing the characters carry a bomb around for most of the first act, hearing it tick, then explode at the most tense moment. "Too" is merely an extended train wreck which seems content with the audience rubbernecking it on the highway as we go on our merry way. We learn far less about the characters this time around, but the ironic thing is that we are giving more information about them. A lot of it adds texture to the first film, a lot of it completely betrays the characters. All of it, soap opera fodder.

I'm convinced that you can't sit through one of Perry's movies without someone talking back at the screen (his movies seem to invite such activity). Because I saw this in Glendora and the same ensued, but I had a bit more appreciation for this activity here, at least the comments made back to the screen were insightful and intelligent and gave me a chuckle. Hearing these comments was almost more entertaining that the actual film. But then on second thought, that is sorts the grand byproduct of Perry's movies, is that they become experiences in themselves despite the material. There are times when you have to look harder than others, but his movies always hold a bit of truth about people and how they operate.

So I'm going to cut Mr. Perry a break. I wish "Too" would have been the handsomely crafted, intelligent, insightful take on Urban romance and life that the original was, but at least he is employing actors that would normally have trouble getting work (this is especially true of the criminally underrated Tasha Smith and Michael Jai White). And who could ever get tired of seeing Janet Jackson on screen. I feel that her turn in "Too" gave her more to do, but little to actually display in the way of acting chops, but Janet turns a confusing character outline into a somewhat believable avatar in Patricia. Even if Perry refuses to let us know what actually makes her tick, Janet has a startling emotional arch in the film that will have many surprised.

Perry is the modern day renaissance man and a veritable one man cinematic army. But I keep wondering what his material could be in the hands of other directors like say Lee Daniels, Forest Whittaker, or Malcolm D. Lee. Or anybody for that matter that has a stronger grip on the art of film making. I can't yet say that Perry makes movies for receipts - he seems to have some genuine interest in bringing other African American tales to the screen which is admirable. But so far, he has been the pioneer of this movement and I think Hollywood is catching on. For "Just Wright" and "Death at a Funeral" are looming just around the horizon and if successful, will force Hollywood to acknowlege that thier is a market for urban cinema. Until that day arrives, we can always take comfort in Perry's down home sentiments. for if nothing, they offer a quaint and comfortable familiarity, a stepping stone per se for an era in film making that takes a more progressive approach. His movies are not designed to save the world, just entertain your socks off. At least that is a formula he gets right with "Too".

Side Eye: Ohh so Kiely Williams "Spectacular" is Supposed to Be Bringing Light to Women's Health and Safety Issues

2010-04-07T17:17:00.000-07:00

Keily Williams has added this message in the description for new new music video, after receiving hate comments on her official Youtube page.

"ATTENTION: I am an actor and performer. I have been so since my first role in a television pilot at five years old. I played a character when I was a Cheetah Girl. I am playing a character in the music video for the song Spectacular, as I did in the Cheetah Girl movies. Young women across the country get intoxicated and have unprotected sex. That's a fact. I recorded the song to bring attention to this frighteningly prevalent activity. It is absurd to infer or suggest that I am condoning this behavior.

Are Lady Gaga and Beyonce advocating murder with the Telephone video? Of, course not. Was Rihanna encouraging suicide with Russian Roulette? No. Was Madonna suggesting that young unmarried girls get pregnant with Papa Dont Preach? I dont think so. Is Academy Award winner Monique a proponent of incest because of her portrayal of Mary in the movie Precious. Clearly, the answer is no.

I wrote Spectacular and made the video to bring attention to a serious womens health and safety issue. Please dont shoot the messenger."

Side Eye Continued: This poor ho....there is also a video of her during the Disney gravy train days were she is talking about how young girls should not feel the need to sell sex in order to garner attention. Bitch needs to shut the fuck up and go sit her ass in media training 101

Kiely Williams "Spectacular" Blunder

2010-04-06T15:29:00.000-07:00

For those of you that can't place the face to name - then I don't blame you. This triple F artist, if you can believe it, was once part of the semi popular girl group 3LW that somehow gravitated into the Cheetah Girls which became a Disney Staple. Man, does Disney know how to pick em. When I first heard this mess, I thought it was a complete joke as it seemed Ms. Williams was doing THE MOST to not only squander, but place in an induced coma then euthanize, her good girl squeaky clean image. But then came the video and I'm not sure how anyone involved with this was able to keep a straight face. For a super low budget video, Ms. Williams almost elevates this mess to Beyonce status....but then you listen to the words and your soul just DIES, THEN TURNS TO DUST!!!. Is she really this insecure. I cringe at the lyrical content as Ms. Williams seems to have no problem promoting unprotected random sex (while blacked out from alcohol) with someone whose name she doesn't know and proudly proclaims how she would do it again, and again, and again. Its really a shame that you have to totally trick yourself out in order to get any kind of attention in the music game. Truthfully, this is no different than say Rihanna's "Rude Boy" only "Rude Boy" had the decency to use a little subtly. I mean, they both have no talent, but this video obviously had some type of budget so the real blunder is in whoever is enabling such actions. Don't you just want to give her a hug.

"You Smoke Crack....Don'tcha!!!"

2010-03-31T12:12:00.000-07:00

Celebrity truly is a sad sad reality sometimes and what these young hollywood famewhores fail to realize is that its only a matter of time before the pimp comes to collect his due...whether it be substance abuse, deteriorating health, or a life that completely spirals out of control. In a way, I feel bad for Ms. Lohan because at one point she showed so much promise as an actress. This picture, is truly the saddest cry I have ever seen for some type of intervention. I guess she was exercising foresight in putting her coke in her shoes for a night out a the club, but the point couldn't be more apropos as the image suggest Ms. Lohan's life and career going up in a puff of smoke. If only she had Morgan Freeman to set her straight. "Lean on Me" to this day is STILL THE SHIT!!! - THEY DON'T MAKE MOVIES LIKE THAT ANYMORE.

10 Tax Tips for Last Minute Filers

2010-03-31T10:47:00.000-07:00

If you haven’t filed your taxes yet, then you might want to get on the ball. We did a little research and found 10 Tax Tips for Last Minute Filers. In case you didn’t know, the 1st Time Home Buyers $8,000 Tax Credit was extended to April 30th.

Pop the Top for Details

1. E-File Your Return: Your tax return will get processed quickly if you use e-file. If there is an error on your return, it will typically be identified and can be corrected right away. Choose Direct Deposit to receive your refund quicker.

2. Review Tax ID numbers: Remember to carefully check all identification numbers on your return. Incorrect or illegible Social Security Numbers can delay or reduce a tax refund.

3. Double-Check Your Figures: Whether you are filing electronically or by paper, review all the amounts you transferred over from your Forms W-2 or 1099. Also, make sure you have all your W-2s and 1099s from the companies you worked for.

4. College Students Federal Tuition Deduction (amount is a total, not per student)
• $4,000 tuition/books deduction if income is $130k or less ($65k or less for single filers)
• $2,000 tuition/books deduction if income is $130,001-$160,000 ($65,001-80,000 for single)
• Available for all undergraduate and graduate levels; no limit on number of years claimed
• Cannot also claim an American Opportunities, Hope or Lifetime Learning Credit for the student

5. Earned Income Tax Credit (EIC/EITC): Federal income-tax credit for working families with low to moderate incomes (Single Income up to $35k/ Married Income Up to $45k). Married and single parents or caregivers can receive anywhere from $2,000 to $4,000.

6. Home Office Deductions: If you have a home business or work from home for your current employer, check to see what deductions are available.

7. File an Extension: Taxpayers who will not be able to file a return by the April 15th deadline should request the IRS Form 4868, which gives you an extension of time to file by October 15th, 2010. Remember, the extension of time to file is not an extension of time to pay.

8. Review Your Math: Taxpayers filing paper returns should also double-check that they have correctly figured the refund or balance due and have used the right figure from the tax table.

9. PLEASE MAKE SURE YOU SIGN AND DATE YOUR RETURN!!! ALSO When filing a joint return BOTH spouses must sign a joint return, even if only ONE had income. Anyone paid to prepare a return must also sign it.

10. 1st Time Home Buyer Tax Credit was EXTENDED to April 30th, 2010: If the buyer enters into a binding contract by April 30, they have until June 30, 2010 to settle on the purchase. No credit is available if the purchase price of the home exceeds $800,000. The maximum credit for first-time homeowners is $8,000 (up to $4,000 for married filing separately). If you are NOT a 1st time buyer but purchased a residence you can receive a credit of up to $6,500.

**Bonus** Check to See if You are Eligible to Received the The Making Work Pay Tax Credit, which normally gives a maximum of $400 for working individuals and $800 for working married couples

For any more question, concerns and forms, contact the IRS: 1-800-829-1040 or go to their website: www.irs.gov

The Label Loosens the "Tightrope" and finally Gives Ms Monáe a Release Date

2010-03-31T09:18:00.000-07:00

Janelle Monae - New Music - More Music Videos

Well it looks like Ms. Janelle Monáe may escape the Bad Boy curse (yes, she is still signed to the label but is perhaps the only artist who still is as Cassie, Diddy, and Day 26 have all moved to Atlantic) as she has been garnered with a release date for her upcoming May 18th release of her new CD The ArchAndroid. I can't begin to tell you how excited I am as acts like Ms Monae are exactly what the musical landscape is desperate for. Take a gander at her video for "Tightrope" and let life wash all over you.

SWV Stages a Comeback and Ponders - Where Did All the Real R&B Music Go

2010-03-30T12:56:00.001-07:00

When you think of the 90’s music era you can’t help but to notice it gave birth to some of the hottest platinum artists in the game (SWV, Jade, Jodeci, Faith Evans, etc). Artists who are struggling to get the attention of the listening public now, were heavy spinners on radio, some selling 20,000 plus records a week in the stores. But what the hell happened? Where did that real R&B music go? In my opinion, and I’m sure millions will agree with me, is that the best thing that could have happened with music was the freedom to be able to pick and chose what genre of music you want to listen to. Radio now is fluttered with what I consider “Kindergarten snacks”, where the artist just gives you a lollipop and some bubble gum, but the real music fans are still left waiting for a real meal. Now don’t get me wrong, there are some new school artists that I can appreciate, but it’s for the moment, they are not artists that I would wanna hear years from now. Something is really wrong with that picture. I refuse to believe that real music is dead and there is no solid place for those “real” artists, songwriters and producers. We as the listening and buying public are responsible for what we want to hear, and the artists we want to see. It’s important that we keep the 90’s music alive and support our local underground artists who are getting lost in the shuffle. We are not going to the stores buying real music, but rather sit our asses in the hair salons and barber shops waiting for the bootleg copy. Come on guys lets request, “Weak”, “Forever my Lady” and all of those great 90’s songs that “YOU” made number one.

Love Always,
Lelee

'What's Not To Love' About Dwele

2010-03-30T12:08:00.001-07:00

From Soulbounce.com

It's always refreshing to hear men sing lovingly about women. With so much negativity in the mainstream urban music marketplace and the world in general, it's a joy to listen to a track that praises the fairer sex in all our glory. Enter the latest from Dwele. In "What's Not To Love," he goes in about the young lady who has his undivided attention. He marvels that she's more than a pretty face and that she has substance for days--on top of wanting to put a ring on it. Dwele's signature smooth vocals are in place and the laid-back groove fits nicely into his discography, which will expand when he releases his next album, W.W.W. (W.ants W.orld W.omen), on June 29th. Black Music Month will clearly be ending on a high note.

Lil Freak or Career Fail: The Demise of Usher

2010-03-25T14:53:00.000-07:00

Its funny to me how when a performer is young he or she is always trying to prove their musical prowess by asserting a sense of maturity they are essentially too young to embody. But when they get older (over 30) the exact opposite plays out, which is they are trying to prove just how immature they and thus how viable they are to the overly courted teenage market. Usher is an artist who embodies this exact trend. From a young age, his music always seemed to project a maturity that exceeded his years. But as artist like Trey Songs, Chris Brown, Omarion, and Ne-Yo have popped up to take over the very lane Usher use to operate on cruise control....Usher seems like he is incapable of providing a bit of competition.

I have heard Raymond Vs. Raymond and although it is leaps and bounds better than "Here I Stand" it presents a fundamental problem with Usher which is that his brand is experiencing the inevitable "law of diminishing returns". Usher, as a brand, is completely fucked for not only has Trey Songs totally snatched Usher's Mojo, but the marriage and fatherdom have isolated Usher from his bread and butter, which was his huge female fan base. Also, with this album being leaked over a year ago, and subsequent versions of the album popping up from when it was called "Monster" all the way to the "Raymond Vs. Raymond" mess, Usher and his people couldn't even manage to leverage his personal life with his music. A gimmick that almost all people saw through instantly.

If you are not in the know, then "Confessions" (Usher's most successful disc) was about producer Jermaine Dupree's life and not Usher's at all. But the album benefited from the fall out with TLC's Chili and translated that into big album sales. "Raymond Vs. Raymond" tried to use the same formula, but fails on all levels...particularly in management. Usher has been experiencing a lot of turn around in his camp and that is more than likely responsible for how sloppy this project has come off in general.

But at the root of everything you have to blame the man, for Usher appears completely content with just playing Usher. The above video for "lil Freak" couldn't drive this point home more as Usher just kind of stands around (like a pole at a strip club)and looks more than content to be an object by which all the ladies are throwing their sexy at. I mean, c'mon when you have to have features sensation Niki Minaj (the correct spelling of her name is unimportant) come out and lesbo it up for 5 minute to garner any interest in your music then you know you have a problem.

The same hold true for the album where track after track after track has usher phoning it in on wax. He sounds bored with his own material, jaded by his own image, and at a loss to regain what made him a sex symbol in the first place. Lead single "Hey Daddy (Daddy's Home)" has to be the tackiest, most egregious piece of fame whoring as any song that instantly makes you think of Usher's two kids can't possibly foster a playboy image. I heard an interview with usher where he was explaining how on this album he needed to shed his "old man" image. I didn't know old and 30 were synonymous, but this can't possibly be the direction he had in mind as Usher looks and kinda acts like a sex obsessed juvenile who woke up and was inspired by his first wet dream.

I'm really rooting for Usher, but this project is as dead in the water as this first video. I mean, Usher is a great dancer and performer, but none of that is evident in the above video. He is also a great vocalist, but you would be hard pressed to find evidence of this on "Raymond Vs. Raymond" - a collection of generic R&B songs that Trey Songs, Chris Brown, and even Justin Bieber would probably pass on.

So its safe to say that Usher is living in his last days. For if he keeps this up, then all the fame and success he can expect to have will come from greatest hits collections and Christmas Albums. I mean, really....if you are gonna parlay your personal squabbles with your fame whoring ambitions, then at least release the damn album on the date your divorce is final and make sure that on that day you perform on Good Morning America or whatever wearing a button down, jacket, slacks and tie made completely out of your divorce papers with giant pens dancing in the background singing "Papers". If his management had been this clever, then maybe I could respect Usher a little more as an artist.

Blinded by The Blind Side: How Feel Good Gives Way to Perpetuation

2010-03-25T12:14:00.000-07:00

I think I'm going to end up going way hard on "The Blindside" because although it is a well executed, finely acted, and emotionally rewarding film i feel that there is a sort of evil magic at play that totally bypassed the subconscious. Perpetuating a lot of things that the movie feels like it goes out of its way to sidestep.

What I instantly loved about "The Blind Side" was how it takes the time to not only create, but observe and allow to play out the small but meaningful moments that expose character. Inevitably, these small moments we observe with Michael sort of reaffirm a sense of structure and order that may have been missing from the Tuohy household before his arrival. And likewise, the small moments Bullock's character get to have inevitably make Michael a more fulfilled, less guarded human being. However, the major problem I have with "The Blind Side" is a fundamental one; if you are going to proudly proclaim "Based on the Extraordinary True Story" at the top of the key art, then shouldn't you make the movie about the person at the center of said story.

This would be Michael Oher, an All-American who later went on to be the offensive tackle for the Baltimore Ravens. The movie kicks starts at a point in Michael's life where he is coasting on the fumes of the goodwill of others as a stranger Michael is living with convinces a coach at the private shool at the center of "The Blind Side" that Michael's athleticism would be a great barter for admission. From this point on, Michael is treated less than a human being (by the conventions of the story) and more like a prop that gets pulled from one point in the story to another. We get flashed of his past, of the disparity this young man witness at a young age and the poverty he was born from, but never any kind of proper exposition or examination of how it has all affected Michael. Instead of this, we get some lip service in the beginning of the story about how he scored 98 percent on protective instincts or whatever that plays way too much into the rest of the story and lazily is used as a device to explain his general demeanor to the audience. Its basically a way for everyone to like Michael without him having to say very much.

And why doesn't he say much. Its important to note that Michael was born in 1986 so at the time the movie takes place, what we are watching is a snapshot of 2003, but if feels like the 50's. The Tuohy's are filthy rich people and there is never a moment the film doesn't remind you about all the Taco Bells they own (how is that for product placement). But on the flip side, the only people of color in the film reside in "the Ghetto" and they paint it as a place to exist in complete opposition to the grand sweeping halls, shiny cars, and expensive salads that signpost the extravagant lifestyle of the Tuohy's. The movie plays out this particular bit of racial politics as if the civil rights movement hasn't happened at all and that post modern apartheid instead is the model of modern living.

And maybe this is the other problem I had with "The Blind Side" is that it plays to be a bit of poverty porn. Many accused "Precious" of the same thing, but where that film differs is that it didn't use poverty as a device for sympathy. Yes, Precious was poor and abused, but she didn't let those things define her spirit and who she was as a person and instead used EDUCATION as a means of bettering herself and her situation. The conditions she had to endure explained the battles that she faced and overcome - not to be used as just a backdrop. In "The Blind Side" this is exactly the case, Michael's poverty is expressly used as a device to make Leigh Anne Tuohy more saintly and your heart goes, "look at this well meaning well off white lady helping out this poor black prop...i mean boy." But a prop he is as Michael's size leads him to a natural affinity for football and a desire for education or just enough education to get him to the big leagues. If you think about that too hard....its insulting on its own terms.

Again, there is a great deal of attention payed to how everyone else deals with Michael, but no real understanding of how he must be interpreting the whole thing. SJ, the youngest of the Tuohy clan, takes to Michael instantly and they have a very natural, very fitting relationship in the film. However, even Bullocks character initially is uneasy just over not knowing him and having him spend the night for the first time (something she comes to grips with) as does the patriarch (an understated Tim McGraw). There is a great deal of time played to how Michael's teachers learn to help him, how the coach must learn to communicate with him, and how Collins (the daughter) learns to live with him. The whole Collins thing was very awkward in the story because it subversively paints an incorrect picture of Michael's intentions, then doesn't even bother to allow him to voice any difference. To cut to the chase, its not just that Michael doesn't have a voice in the story, its that the story vehemently refuses to even give him the time and consideration to have one. As if its trying to make a life story from someone life they don't have the rights to...so they tell it from everyone Else's perspective. With Michael just looking happy to be there most of the time.

Its funny to me that Michael really doesn't get a voice until the whole bit with the NCAA happens and then the questioning is oddly done by the only other African American you see in the story that doesn't stay in the projects. Which leads to yet another racial snafu - now you are essentially turning your movie on its ear asking if these good meaning white folks were taking advantage of a situation for personal and/or financial gain. Something that I didn't really think about until then. But then again, This is the point in the movie that the catharsis takes place and the movie itself admits to making Michael just a prop. Michael isn't asked for his input or opinion on anything involving him in the story. The decision to adopt Michael seems to be something that happened independent of his knowledge, its not clear (by the story) if Michael had any real interest in football (at the beginning of the film, his passion seems more basketball than anything) the decision to have a car felt like it wasn't his at all (I mean he mentions wanting a drivers license because from what i understand, any kid that didn't grow up having a bed would just love to have something to identify their place in society). But it seems like the car thing came into play to perfectly set up the scenario in which Michael proves his loyalty to SJ and the Tuohy family.

So when Michael is shown a mirror essentially by the NCAA big wig and actually questions Leigh Anne's intentions (of which we know are good) then it feels a little late in the game. Its as if the prop suddenly woke up, looked around, acknowledge that it was a prop and then went "Okay, I have something to say now". This is the first time that we hear Leigh Anne ask Michael if he even wanted to play football. Glad we got the basics out in the third act.

Like I said, this story is a great great testament to the power and meaning of family. I really really wish it didn't play the racial politics as two extremes on a page....especially since what we are looking at is 2003!! But hey, this wouldn't be the first or last film that had negative things to say about a particular group of people. If you grew up in the 80's and 90's then you know good and the hell well that movies like "Colors," "South Central," "Dangerous Minds," "Boyz N the Hood,"Higher Learning" and a slew of others committed way worse or way less offenses (really depends on how you look at it). I guess with this case, I didn't expect to get so Blind Sided by something so heart warming.

PS. Bullock gives a very good performance, but I kept scratching my head as to how this translated into a Best Actress Nod at the academy awards. Its her best acting to date, but its standard Bullock all the way.

Red Ribbon Backlash: Where's The $354 Million In U.S. Red Cross Donations for Haiti????

2010-03-25T12:11:00.001-07:00

“We want our money! We want our shelter!”, “Who's the real criminals?

Red Cross, double cross!” & “Red Cross where's the money? That's our blood down in Haiti!”

These repeated chants were shouted by upset demonstrators who withstood the drizzling rain this past Monday evening while gathering in front of the Headquarters of the American Red Cross at 429 W49^th St. in mid-town Manhattan.

They were publicly protesting the whereabouts of hundreds of millions of dollars in public donations that was supposed to go towards relief efforts in Haiti.

“Everybody who went into their pockets and pulled out $5, $10, some pulled out thousands of dollars - because they saw the suffering in Haiti. People donated money to the Red Cross thinking that it was going to Haiti - we call that a double cross!” - shouted Omawale Clay of the December 12^th Movement

Omawale Clay

He added,

“Suffering took place because the U.S. & France are the biggest criminal enterprises in the world! Haiti's underdevelopment is directly because of the U.S. & France! The people saw the misery and heartbreak and gave their money to this criminal enterprise!”

The financial contributions from across the U.S. were supposed to be utilized for clean clothes, food and water and also to set up new shelters for many of the residents who were devastated and displaced by the 7.0 magnitude killer quake which struck the peninsula-country's capita of Port-Au-Prince this past January 12^th.

Yet, many individuals working with the relief efforts are saying that the executives at the Red Cross are using the funds for their own personal gains and also that the U.S. is using the disaster as an excuse to deploy over 100,000 military personnel there as they plan to re-colonize the nation.

“They sent Clinton and Bush down there to continue the robbery of Haiti!” -Clay suggested.

“There's no difference between the Red Cross and Wall street. They're not in the business of crisis - they're in the business of making a profit. They make a profit off the crisis, heartache and humanitarian needs of the people.

“The people gave money because they want to help… out of the love for their people - but this Red Cross is nothing but American double cross. They make a profit off of people's misery… don't be fooled by them!”

According to certain reports the American Red Cross has collected over $354 million for relief aid in Haiti, yet only approximately 1/3^rd of that has been accounted for.

“People all over the U.S.; your friends, relatives, everybody in solidarity with Haiti; gave money to the Red Cross, thinking that they weren't the good old American gangster entrepreneurial, seditious double crossers. Red Cross has only allocated $106 million out of $354 million,” claimed Clay.

Omawale Clay & Supporter

He went on to warn:

“You know how they do, once they collect the money, they take Haiti off the television - they did it with Katrina. They think that we're going to forget... but we're not going to forget Haiti because that's our blood down there!”

Also of significance is the upcoming rain season in that region of the Caribbean, which is expected to strike Haiti with torrential floods and mud slides within a month. Without proper shelter and necessary supplies for survival, the small nation is sure to suffer more casualties and is still in dire need of more financial and moral support, rather than more armed soldiers.

“It is very unfortunate for the suffering people in Haiti to be deprived of the resources that good people intended for them because the Red Cross has not allowed the free flow of those resources. Evil takes no holidays!” -assessed Brother Tarik.

Clay concluded:

“The Red Cross is a criminal enterprise and they are carrying out crimes all around the world! Haiti stood up for us and we're going to stand up for Haiti. Haiti stood up for Africa and Africa is going to stand up for Haiti. Haiti stood up for all freedom loving people. Haiti is going to rise again. All we have to do is get these imperialist off your back. Rise up Haiti. In the name of the spirits of Toussaint, Dessalines and Christophe - Haiti rise!”

To make donations towards relief aid for Haiti you can contact Friday Haitian Relief Coalition: 718-398-1766.

Manufactured Demand: The Story of Bottled Water

2010-03-23T15:01:00.000-07:00

10 Ways to Avoid a Lover's Spat

2010-03-18T14:55:00.001-07:00

How many times have we started a conversation off with a “I don’t want to argue with you,” and then it turns into a knock down drag out? While fighting with your significant other is a given it’s also necessary for a relationship to grow – or par for the course, right? But some, if not most, arguments are useless and can be avoided. Going to bed angry with your spouse or loved one is the worst and further propels the anger when you wake up the next morning not having resolved the issue. Why go to work piping hot and one irked nerve away from boiling over when you can talk it out? How long do the silent treatments have to last? Surely, this is no way to get your point across so why not stop adding fuel, and fight fire with water? That’s the beauty of communication. What’s even more beautiful is knowing how to stop a tiff before it starts, regardless of the severity of the issue. At the end of the day, beefin’ with your boo is trivial since tomorrow is promised to no one and that’s why it’s so important to part ways for the day in peace. Take a look at these tips to avoid the loathsome lover’s spat!

1.) Soften Your Approach - who hates that already aggressive toned “we need to talk.” Ugh. The other person is already gearing up for battle … not a good starting point. Pose a question, “hey babe, can we talk?” Or, “I’ve got a few things I’ve been wanting to talk to you about, you got a minute?” This is setting the stage for equal engagement and the likelihood of getting a productive response is greater.

2.) Don’t Devalue - patience is key! When you’re pouring your heart out, expressing your feelings or stating your position, the last thing you want to hear is, “that is SO stupid,” or “what you’re saying makes NO sense,” or “what are you talking about?” Phrases like these make for an immediate shut down. Never make your loved one feel as though their thoughts and feelings are trivial and invalid. Try this instead, “help me understand where you’re coming from,” or “please explain further.” Yea, it’s like pulling teeth, but you want your loved one to feel comfortable expressing themselves to you. Again, patience.

3.) Take a Breather - in the heat of the moment it is so easy to be combative, fly off at the mouth and say mean-spirited things you don’t mean. It’s okay to have a problem and it’s okay to let it be known, but hollering with your arms folded, eye-rolling and not letting your partner get a word in edgewise is not communicating! It’s a turn off … a COMPLETE turn off. Back off and breathe for a few, let your loved one know, “I’m hot right now. Give me moment to collect my thoughts.” What you’re displaying without saying it is, “I don’t want to fight.”

4.) Listen – when your partner says, “can I finish? Will you let me finish please?” This is no bueno. Let your lady/man speak his/her mind. Who cares how long it takes! Allow the venting process to take place and perhaps when he/she is finished you won’t have to say much at all. Listening to your partner is just as much a part of the communication process as speaking. Sometimes just hearing him/her out is all it takes to quell a dispute.

5.) Drop the Defense -Team Us is ideal but when there’s a dispute, there are two teams: Team Me and Team You. The both of you cannot be in defense mode if you want resolution. Somebody has to play offense. Somebody has to be “the bigger person.” It’s easy to react and take part in the emotional whirlwind that suddenly came sweeping through the room, what sense does it make to go a-whirling with it? Try for this in a soothing tone “hey, whoa! Baby, calm down. Relax, have a seat. Let’s talk about this.”

6.) Find the Root of the Problem - the fact that you left your socks in the middle of the floor or forgot to flush the toilet is not the real reason that you’re in the throws of a battle. Get to the root of the issue by refusing to participate in the trivial bickering. It’s not the socks or the gift in the toilet that’s got him/her on tilt! Ask your partner or yourself, “what’s the real problem?” “Is there a deeper issue that needs to be confronted?” Once you figure it out, apply the measures listed above.

7.) Agree to Disagree Respectfully - in a perfect world we would see eye to eye all the time, but we all know that’s not the case. Instead of approaching the situation expecting compliance, just shoot for understanding. You simply cannot convince someone to see it your way. It’s okay to disagree, explain why you do and find a happy medium. You can save yourself the exhaustion by looking for ways to work together to reach a hub of solid communication. After a while it becomes effortless.

8.) Take Ownership - if you’re wrong, admit it. Don’t blame your partner or his or her actions for your behaving like a child or being irrational and immature. “I did that because you do xyz.” Why do we have to duck and dodge the b.s. BEFORE addressing the real issue? Be responsible and say, ” hey, you know what? I was wrong for that. This is why I did it. I understand why you’re mad right now. I’m listening.” If it’s warranted, take that verbal lashing! If you effed up, you effed up! And now, by default, you have to listen to your lady/man fuss about it. It happens to the best of us, we all have to sit in the hot seat from time to time. It’s okay.

9.) Ask Questions - a good Q & A can be really helpful and eye-opening. Ask simple and candid questions. As corny as it sounds ask your partner, “how did that make you feel?” “Why are you crying?” “What can I do to help us move past this?” This will give him/her a chance to verbalize specific needs and wants and it gives you a chance to make it clear how you plan to deliver.

10.) Sex - self explanatory. Nothing like some good lovin’ to quiet a storm in the making. But here’s the deal, just because you had a good session doesn’t mean the problem is fixed! Sex is just a leeway to better communication! Sex is a stress reliever and once you’ve relieved some tension, talking things out is all but effortless!

Things to Do and People To See Part 2: Jazz at LACMA

2010-03-12T16:30:00.000-08:00

Beginning April 16 and continuing to November - LACMA will present "Jazz at LACMA" every friday from 6-9pm. Jazz at LACMA is made possible by the Johnny Mercer Foundation and is bound to be a real treat for all live music lovers. Admission is free so plan to get there early. I believe the Getty Center also does a similar Jazz on Fridays set up in the summer. I have had the pleasure of attending one of these events and if you work on the westside. It is the perfect complement to a long week.

Cheers folks!!!

Things to Do and People To See: LA Art Walk

2010-03-12T16:01:00.001-08:00

On any given day, my cultural enrichment is pretty much reduced to noticing how much the demographics change from one end of Pico to the other, but every once in a while I'll be heading home from my usual route on Pico or Olympic going east and end up in Downtown LA to witness a flurry of sound and excitement. This is the LA Art Walk and sadly, I have only been able to witness as a spectator on my journey south to more familiar parishes. But what an excitement it is as hordes of people cram into small galleries and journey on foot (gasp!!) to check out all that the LA Art Walk has to offer.

The Downtown Art Walk began in September 2004 and has grown enormously since, with many thousands of people attending every month. Participants in the Downtown Art Walk are the more than 40 galleries and museums located throughout the central downtown area, within the walkable districts between the Grand Avenue / Disney Hall / MOCA, Little Tokyo, the Financial District, and centered around Gallery Row on Main and Spring Streets in the Historic Core. Most venues are open at least 12-9PM, but some may open later than 12PM or close earlier than 9PM; specific exceptions are listed next to each venue on the map (I stole this from their website).

The Art Walk takes place every 2nd Thursday of the Month and I'm mad I didn't create this post yesterday, because then I would have made a point of going. As a creative individual, I am a big lover of art or really just being able to appreciate how other people express themselves artistically. Visiting places as such use to be a staple in my life. Somehow, I believe this is an area I need to revisit. But for the time being, put it on the calendar as a LA To do. More post like this to come!!!!

for more information on the LA Art Walk please visit www.downtownartwalk.org

"Just Wright" Looks Like a True Return to Form

2010-03-11T12:03:00.000-08:00

Ahh...remember movies like "Love Jones" or "Brown Sugar" (whose director, Rick Famuyiwa, is serving up some real bullshit with this weeks "Our Family Wedding") and Eddie Murphy classics such as "Boomerang," "Coming to America," and "The Distinguished Gentleman." Yeah, seems like forever ago, especially in light of Tyler Perry monopolizing the urban cinema market. However, what these films all have in common is that they all exhibit some level of class and intelligence in a vehicle targeted directly to the African American market. Sadly, this doesn't exist anymore as Tyler Perry, whose only film that displays such qualities is "Why Did I Get Married", goes about the route of buffoonery for profit as each offering seems to creep closer and closer to the very stereotypes he is so desperately trying to avoid.

The urban romantic comedy format appeared to be a fossil until I caught wind of "Just Wright" a film directed by "Something New" scribe Sanaa Hamri (I'm just glad Perry's name doesn't appear anywhere)and my faith was restored in telling tales of African Americans that didn't extend wildly from a Perry offering to something like Lee Daniel's "Precious". In layman's terms, its just nice to see a movie that happens to star two attractive African American leads who do not live in the projects, ghetto, have careers and jobs, and whose overall cinematic goal is not to sermonize but entertain.

Aside from looking like another winner from Hamri (whose "New" i immensely enjoyed)this would be the first time that Queen Latifah doesn't looked awkwardly shoehorned with a male costar in a romantic lead (the only other time Latifah has looked at ease was in "Bringing Down the House" where she was paired with Steve Martin and obnoxiously, the movie never explored the romantic part between those too for the sake of the audience I would imagine). Common doesn't really register on my radar for acting, but its good to see that he gets to exercise his chops with a much meatier role in "Wright". The fact that they casted him in the lead instead of an actual NBA star or any other "actor" is a bit of genius casting in my opinion. And who would have known that him and Queen Latifah would have such natural chemistry together. I certainly would have not thought to make them the leads in a vehicle such as this.

Which brings up that other offering this week "Our Family Wedding" which is Fox's latest exercise in stunt marketing (and way late at that I might add as a cross cultural movie involving African Americans and Hispanics would seem like something thought of eons ago). But then again, maybe "Precious" making a million dollars in 11 theaters opened up the studio systems eyes to how profitable this market could be and how gravely overlooked it is. Where "Wedding" falters is that its leads look like they have zero chemistry, are primarily TV actors, and whose union looks like an egregious attempt at cashing in on the liquidity of this overlooked market. Instead of finally being a much needed bridge between the audiences, "Wedding" just seems like a fiscally logical excuse to get a lot of black folks and Hispanics in the same theater - thus increasing receipts. The names boasted on the Marquee pretty much ensure this (namely Forest Whitaker and Carlos Mencia)

Sadly, its been 13 years since "love Jones" was released and i pinpoint that movie because it is perhaps the only film that i can remember that had a great respect for its subject matter, its actors, and its audience and their intelligence. Not saying that "Just Wright" is a reprise of this kind of cinematic thought, but maybe, just maybe the new black cinema (as I am dubbing it since we get two non Tyler Perry movies this year - woot woot)can lead us away from caricature to just plain and simple storytelling about people living their lives. Because at the end of the day, we are all no different. Movies like "Precious" and "The Blindside" are variations on the black experience, but they don't define it. Maybe one day, just maybe, Hollywood will understand that and get it...just right.

Congratulations To Englewood Urban Prep’s Class Of 2010!!! Chicago Boys Break Stereotypes By Being Model Students

2010-03-11T11:25:00.000-08:00

Four years ago, Bryant Alexander watched his mother weep.

She stared down at a muddle of D’s and F’s on his eighth-grade report card and threatened to kick him out. He had barely passed elementary school, and high school wasn’t even on his radar.

“Something just clicked,” Alexander, now 18, said. “I knew I had to do something.”

On Friday, Alexander proudly swapped his high school’s red uniform tie for a striped red and gold one — the ritual at Englewood’s Urban Prep Academy for Young Men that signifies a student has been accepted into college.

As the Roseland resident and 12 others tied their knots, Chicago’s only public all-male, all-African-American high school fulfilled its mission: 100 percent of its first senior class had been accepted to four-year colleges.

Mayor Richard Daley and city schools chief Ron Huberman surprised students at the all-school assembly Friday morning with congratulations, and school leaders announced that as a reward, prom would be free.

The achievement might not merit a visit from top brass if it happened at one of the city’s elite, selective enrollment high schools. But Urban Prep, a charter school that enrolls all comers in one of Chicago’s most beleaguered neighborhoods, faced much more difficult odds.

Only 4 percent of this year’s senior class read at grade level as freshmen, said Tim King, the school’s founder and CEO.

“There were those who told me that you can’t defy the data,” King said. “Black boys are killed. Black boys drop out of high school. Black boys go to jail. Black boys don’t go to college. Black boys don’t graduate from college.

“They were wrong,” he said.

Every day, before attending advanced placement biology classes and lectures on changing the world, students must first pass through the neighborhood, then metal detectors.

“Poverty, gangs, drugs, crime, low graduation rates, teen pregnancy — you name it, Englewood has it,” said Kenneth Hutchinson, the school’s director of college counseling, who was born and raised in Englewood.

He met the students the summer before they began their freshman year during a field trip to Northwestern University, the first time many of them had ever stepped foot on a college campus. At the time, Hutchinson was Northwestern’s assistant director of undergraduate admissions. Inspired by what he’d seen, he started working for Urban Prep two months later.

“I’m them,” he said Friday as he fought back tears. “Being accepted to college is the first step to changing their lives and their communities.”

Hutchinson plays a major role in the school, where college is omnipresent. Students are assigned college counselors from day one. To prepare students for the next level, the school offers a longer than typical day — about 170,000 minutes longer, over four years, than other city schools — and more than double the usual number of English credits, King said

Even the school’s voice-mail system has a student declaring “I am college-bound” before asking callers to dial an extension.

The rigorous academic environment and strict uniform policy of black blazers, red ties and khakis isn’t for everyone. The first senior class began with 150 students. Of those who left, many moved out of the area and some moved into neighborhoods that were too dangerous to cross to get to the school, King said. Fewer than 10 were expelled or dropped out, he said.

At last count, the 107 seniors gained acceptance to a total of 72 different colleges, including Northwestern University, Morehouse College, Howard University, Rutgers University and University of Illinois at Champaign-Urbana. Alexander was accepted to DePaul University.

While college acceptance is an enormous hurdle to jump, school leaders said they know their job isn’t done; they want to make sure the students actually attend.

To that aim, King said, staff made sure that every student has completed the dreaded Free Application for Federal Student Aid, lest the red tape deter them.

Later in the year, the school plans to hold a college signing day where every student is to sign a promise to go to college, he said. Staff will stay in touch through the summer and hopefully in the first years of school.

“We don’t want to send them off and say, ‘Call us when you’re ready to make a donation to your alma mater,’ ” King said. “If we fulfill our mission, that means they not only are accepted to college, but graduate from it.”

For now, students are enjoying the glow of reaching their immediate goal.

Normally, it takes 18-year-old Jerry Hinds two buses and 45 minutes to get home from school. On the day the University of Illinois at Champaign-Urbana was to post his admission decision online at 5 p.m., he asked a friend to drive him to his home in the Auburn Gresham neighborhood.

He went into his bedroom, told his well-wishing mother this was something he had to do alone, closed the door and logged in.

“Yes! Yes! Yes!” he remembers screaming. His mother burst in and began crying.
That night he made more than 30 phone calls, at times shouting “I got in” on his cell phone and home phone at the same time.

“We’re breaking barriers,” he said. “And that feels great.”

7 Reasons Why Sex Is Good For Your Health

2010-03-11T11:10:00.001-08:00

Did you know that 400 million people around the world will end up having sex today? Did you know that roughly 4,000 people are doing right now? Did you know that 30 percent of women over the age of 80 still engage in sexual activities? Why? Because it’s beneficial to your health! If having and enjoying sex regularly can almost double human life expectancy, then we should all make it practice, right? Having regular orgasms has been scientifically proven to improve one’s overall mental and physical well being. But some of the scientific research that has been conducted and reviewed is phenomenal! Who knew sex fights some cancers or that semen prevents tooth decay? Here’s to changing our perspective on why we really have sex! Take a look at why sex is good for your health!

Strengthens Immunity - regular sexual activity has been scientifically proven to boost your immune system. Researchers at Wilkes University have concluded that having sex just twice a week increases your antibody levels, which helps fight the common cold and infections.

Healthy Sex Life = Healthy Heart - no doubt sex is a stress reliever, but true story: men and women who engage in sexual activity on a consistent basis, as opposed to those who abstain, have healthier stress levels and lower blood pressure. Regular sex has been proven to improve circulation, combat heart disease and improve cholesterol levels.

Natural Analgesic - sex is a pain reliever? Yes, it is! Did you know that just before an orgasm the human body releases up to six times its normal amount of a hormone called oxytocin? As a result of the hormonal rush, the body releases endorphins that soothe headaches, muscle aches and everyday aches and pains.

Fights Prostate Cancer - in order to climax, a man’s prostate is responsible for producing the ejaculatory fluids. Some urologists argue the notion that men who don’t ejaculate often are more likely to develop cancer of the prostate. A study conducted by the British Journal of Urology International believes that men in their 20’s can potentially lessen their chances of developing cancer by a third, provided they ejaculate at least five times a week.

Fun Fitness - you can burn up to 200 calories having sex for 30 minutes. So let’s do some quick math: 30 minutes of sex, 5 times a week, 200 calories. That’s 1000 calories burned in two and a half hours. But if you’re the type to go a little longer … okay let’s do some more math: 45 minutes, 6 times a week, 300 calories. That’s a total of 1,800 calories in four and a half hours. Not bad, right? But let’s not forget the muscle toning that comes along with those positions that keep you working.

Improves Pelvic Floor Muscles - women have long heard of Kegel exercises but lots are skeptic. The theory is by trying to stop the flow urine for three seconds it keeps vaginal and pelvic muscles tight and toned. Here’s the deal, if women did a few Kegel squeezes during sex and randomly through the day, not only will the pelvic floor become stronger, sex will be more pleasurable for her and him!

Organic Sleep Agent - okay, so men should not be the only ones falling asleep after a good seductive session, women should too! According to many sexual research studies, the oxytocin the body releases during the climax is known to induce deep sleep! Good sleep and body rest is absolutely vital for good health! Orgasms promote complete relaxation! So fellas, if your lady is wide awake while you’re snoozing, she might have faked it!

And there it is! Moral of the story: Sex does a body good so have more of it!