The Title Alone Had Me Intrigued!!! - I can't wait to see "Drag Me To Hell"

I don't know anyone who is not a fan of the Evil Dead series or "Army of Darkness"...I mean Evil Dead II is just simply the shit. So when I heard that Sam Raimi was tapped to direct "Drag Me to Hell" my ears perked up and the cinemaphile in me started strapping up my bootstrings. I first was exposed to Raimi with "Darkman" a series im sure someone will jump on, remake and obliterate one day, but what attracted to me and other Raimi projects was the skilled use of comedy juxtaposed against suspense/action. "Drag Me To Hell" looks like it will not dissapoint (Unlike Spider Man 1 and 3). I will be front and center on Friday!!!

Synopsis: Director Sam Raimi (Spider-Man trilogy, Evil Dead series) returns to the horror genre with Drag Me To Hell, an original tale of a young woman's desperate quest to break an evil curse. Christine... Director Sam Raimi (Spider-Man trilogy, Evil Dead series) returns to the horror genre with Drag Me To Hell, an original tale of a young woman's desperate quest to break an evil curse.

Christine Brown (Alison Lohman) is an ambitious L.A. loan officer with a charming boyfriend, professor Clay Dalton (Justin Long). Life is good until the mysterious Mrs. Ganush (Lorna Raver) arrives at the bank to beg for an extension on her home loan. Should Christine follow her instincts and give the old woman a break? Or should she deny the extension to impress her boss, Mr. Jacks (David Paymer), and get a leg-up on a promotion? Christine fatefully chooses the latter, shaming Mrs. Ganush and dispossessing her of her home.

In retaliation, the old woman places the powerful curse of the Lamia on Christine, transforming her life into a living hell. Haunted by an evil spirit and misunderstood by a skeptical boyfriend, she seeks the aid of seer Rham Jas (Dileep Rao) to save her soul from eternal damnation. To help the shattered Christine return her life to normal, the psychic sets her on a frantic course to reverse the spell. As evil forces close in, Christine must face the unthinkable: how far will she go to break free of the curse?

So "M.A.R.T.A. Ride" is Selling THAT Well

I really hope that for Ciara's sake this is a sick joke......but don't blame me if I hop over to KFC at lunch and get my free copy with my Original Recipe Sandwich. Hey, we are in a recession! Lol

This is How Not To Sell a Product

I thought this was a straight Effin joke until I click on a blog link and it went to an entire Youtube Gillette page. "Trimming the bush makes the tree look taller" - folks sometimes real life is way way more funny than anything you can think up.

The Gr8 Debate: How Reality has Invaded our Lifestyles

So this week, President Obama appoints the first Hispanic justice, Sonia Sotomayor, who also is the second woman on the court and only the third female justice in history, The Supreme court upholds prop 8 insighting further civil protest, but most importantly we saw the season 5 premiere of Jon and Kate plus 8 - woot woot. Happy Belated Memorial Day folks!!!!

Now, I think I've come across the Learning Channell all of two times in my life. Home of such groundbreaking programs as "American Chopper", "Cake Boss", "18 kids and counting" (which I don't know how this is different than Jon and Kate plus 8 plus 10), and "Little People, Big World." However until last weekend, where I caught a potty training episode where baby turds were front and center, my life was drama free in that I had never seen a single episode of Jon and Kate plus 8. ohh how this show has taken up so much space on the web and in grocery store checkout ailes. I had to take notice. But does this beg the questions, is reality programming and therefore reality TV tearing apart the very moral fiber by which we operate and interact with one another.

Its really no big secret that there is very little reality to reality programing. As sound bites have demonstrated, statements and actions can be completely twisted by snipping here and there, thus changing the context. But what about a whole show devoted to documenting two sets of multiples and the parents who care for them. I write about Jon and Kate plus 8 half embarrassed, but they are the perfect subject in that what we are witnessing in season 5 is equivalent to season 5 of "the wire" where the microscope is hovering over the media's role in the families demise.

Before we touch on that though, there really must be something said for the public's interest in the "drama" between these two. I get that watching them bicker is far more interesting than watching Jon and Kate pack lunches for their 800 kids. But what about watching them bicker makes us feel better about ourselves and our lives. A while back I wrote about a film called "Not Easily Broken" which discussed several relevant topics today. Mainly how we are not armed in this day and age with the tools to keep us together in hard times and how there are so many forces that are designed to tear families apart that we didn't have to worry about 10 years ago. Namely reality TV. But it seems that when it comes to our programming choices, we love to be there when folks are on the up and up and we take a front row seat when that rocket lands flat on its face. At first this rise and fall was somewhat "authentic" but now its manufactured as a ploy to increase ratings. Somehow, I don't see this being the case with Jon & Kate plus 8.

So I watched the season premiere online of Jon and Kate plus 8 and I was even more confused by the naivete of this seemingly happy couple. He, a hopeless slacker, who appears to be a devoted father getting steamrollered by his 8 kids and wife and she, an overzealous novelist, devoted mom, and/or perfectionist who is desperatly trying to hold each brick in place while traveling the country doing a book tour. Their dynamic is nothing new to the American family, but just how they didn't understand that they are "public figures" is astounding. So in the premiere we have Kate blaming the media and the paparazzi for scrutinizing their lives, while TLC super hyps up the fact that their family is falling apart thus amplifying the attention even more and its like - does anybody get who the real enemy here is.....well its greed.

The problem with reality TV programming is that it basically is a platform to showcase the worst in human thought, action, and emotion. We crave drama, fighting, backstabbing in this format because why else would we watch "real" people on TV. But like the kids in Jon and Kate plus 8, we the viewer get tossed around, occassionally peering through the iron curtain to get a glimpse of the true nature and motivation behind these programs....money. Its reported that these two make an upward of $75,000 per episode and other reailty programs shelve out similar payments for their "contestants" or "stars". I have no problem with this, I mean promotion is the game - especially when everyone on a reality program is hawking a book, lip gloss, leggings, or shoelace line. Thus making the reality program the new pimp, think about it, if this is the case...who is the hoe.

I can't imagine that folks on reality programs are so unsavy to the inner working of their show. I mean if you watch more than two then you pretty much know how the editing works and that one format dominates them all. So when people on reality shows act ignorant to the media backlash their show befalls on them, its like a slap in the face to intelligence in general. I get that you would want to maximize the format, but how exactly does reality programing allow you to get to your long term objectives.

Its like the world is having its own reality who right now with the war, Swine Flu (where the hell did that go all of a sudden), recession, Proph8 debate - so I see how reality programming provides and escape. But an escape to what exactly. A fantasy based on a reailty so fractured that the actual "contestants" aren't even permitted to explain their actions in a real-time explanation for fear of giving the show away. And then ther is that issue, the "Show" of it all that seems like a direct conflict of interest. Its like, how can a show that has to worry about advertisers and rating actually benefit or enrich the lives of those that chose to be on one.

Frankly I miss the good old days where peope went to school for things like acting/writing/directing and then a committe of writers shelved out a nice little half hour script that was based on reality, but was tidied up with a nice silver bow by credits end. You still had people fulfilling their dreams and promoting their craft or er products, but you knew that when you turned the TV off that their actual lives and yours were not too different in that they would also be setting their alarms clocks to show up on set and report for work. And there was no way in hell you were gonna see their toddlers shit on tv.

Indie Spotlight: The Girlfriend Experience

"The Girlfriend Experience" marks the second film that 2929 Entertainment partners Mark Cuban and Todd Wagner financed, after "Bubble", in their six-picture deal with Steven Soderbergh to direct low-budges films that would be released simultaneously in theaters, on cable, and on DVD. However, I wish more studios could strike such deals to produce quality indie fair as Steven Soderbergh talents seems more suited for the arthouse than the mainstream. I enjoyed "TGE" immensely for what it had to say about relationships and pereception and the idea of how everything is a transaction of some kind. I have to admit that I have not seen any of Sasha Grey's "talents" but she pulls a good turn here in her first mainstream movie where oddly enough, the concept is sex but she is not required to engage in any onscreen. In fact, it is this casting choice that transcends "TGE" from stricly arthouse fair as life begins to immitate life and vice versa. A former porn star who is use to being naked who goes straight and portrays an escort who emotionally stands bare before the lense. I saw this film at the Landmark theatres on Pico and I would have to say, that its good to see that place thriving as a key destination for independent flicks. In fact, Sasha Grey even did a Q and A after the flick and it was fascinating hearing her talk about the duality of having a life and relationships while still in the porn industry and how the movie takes a stab at metaphorically visualizing this fact. The movie is by no means an autobiography of her life and I don't believe that Ms. Grey's performance is groundbreaking as much as introspective. But for a young actress she displays a keen amount of control and focus. Pulling off the puzzle expertly as she desperately holds on to the mask that shields her from the ugly realities of her own making.

Now This is How You Sell A Product

Between Iraq And A Hard Place

Fascinating Article, but a little long to post. Please click on link for article

"Between Iraq and a Hard Place" [Article Link]
==> Click Here <==

DVD Spotlight: FLOW

Now here is a documentary so good, that I sat up and took 4 pages of notes just so I could clearly convey the scope and impact the doc is attempting to illustrate. Water is something we pay little mind to (in a sense of our meddling in rerouting streams or building dams, or how the lack of would affect our states of humanity), but what would happen if our supply suddenly dried up (as the global warming argument purports) or become privatized to the point where indigenous people are left out of the loop. Can water really be a commodity to be owned and traded or is it a natural resource that should and always will be owned by the people.

I was surprised to find out by the doc that the United States does not keep accurate records of how many people get sick from the water supply. Due to this harrowing fact, each year about 500,000 to 7 million people get sick from the viruses, pathogens, and bacteria in the water. Most of these and other industrial toxins released into the system from corporations are not filtered out of the water supply thus leaving us exposed to chemicals that essentially change our biological makeup. In fact, our exposure to pollutants isn't necessarily exclusive to our consumption of water as a great percentage of exposure comes from the simple act of showering in the morning.

About 70% of water used in the world is by agriculture, 20% by Industry and 10% by us humans. It is due to agriculture that we find most industrial toxins in our drinking water. In fact, if you trace history back far enough, most all chemical components used in agriculture came out of the war system somehow and now reside in our drinking water. Humans aren't the only ones affected as industrial toxins have been found in seals, whales, polar bears, fish, and in the breast milk of Inuit mothers.

because most of our water supply is reserved for agriculture, we find that the most prevalent chemical found in drinking water and surface water is Atrazine, a pesticide (weed killer) manufactured by a Swiss company called Syngenta which happens to be one of the largest agrochemical businesses in the world. What's interesting about Atrazine is that it has been banned for use by the entire European union, with the United States using 80 million pounds in agricultural production. So a product we use that is key in our industries is banned in its own home country - makes sense. The problem with Atrazine is that for the 80 million pounds the United States uses each year, about half a million pounds of it comes back in our rainfall. As well, Atrazine had been found to function as an endocrine disruptor and has clinically been proven to emasculate male frogs and even change the sex of some species of fish from male to female. It is also associated with prostate cancer and breast cancer.

In the last 10 years or so, three major European water distributors have strongholded the market. These companies include, Thames Water, Vivendi, and Suez. Along with the direction of the World Bank, these institutions have egregiously taken over the water market over the entire world. In fact, in 1999 the World Bank forced privatization of the water supply in the township of Cochabamba in Bolivia that resulted in a bloody civil war. Citizens were left with no access to water and sewage systems promised by these big developers. It is estimated that billions upon billions of people have been displaced or disenfranchised over damn construction or the rerouting of rivers and streams. In parts of India and Africa, whole communities are uprooted or written out of the equation in constructing a "for profit" system of water distribution. And still, more than 30,000 people die everyday from water diseases.

As economist and scholars conclude, we are now upon one of the most frightening dilemmas of the 21st century as the supply is not only contaminated, but depleting. Water is a 400 billion dollar global industry only behind electricity and oil. In fact, water has become the world's "blue gold" and those that control it and its supply, inevitably control all of humanity. But is water to be owned and control or provided as a resource for the people?

There was an interesting case study presented in the doc where they investigated Nestle water (owner of such bottled water brands as Arrowhead and Perrier) and how they destroyed the local economy of a small town in Michigan. First of all, the bottled water industry is an even less regulated industry then the industrial water industry. If you didn't know, any bottled water brand that has a stream or pretends to come from a mountain top somewhere generally is filtered tap water. But these brands contain additional chemicals that are even that much more unregulated. Nestle basically went into an existed natural water ecosystem and started pumping and bottling the water for profit. Water that had existed and was free to the people long before they set up shop. It goes without saying that their production led to mud flats and lawsuit from locals who further investigate the fact that Nestle had received all sorts of tax breaks and were doing nothing for the local economy and agriculture. They were merely a siphon profiting off of the land and even when the rivers and streams were level to minimal levels, Nestle won court case after court case allowing them to profit and siphon off the last of the fledgling water ecosystem.

Doc like these always beg the question, what can I do as you quietly contemplate the apocalypse of the world. For California has about 20 something years before the water supply completely goes south, Arizona has 10 and are steadily building golf courses which means that they can slash that to about 5 years. The problem is real, but the core argument remains who has the right to profit from water. Clearly corporations who are solely interested in the interest of their investors cannot champion a change for equal access for humanity so basically it is up to us to lampoon against these powers that be. For one point the doc made that eerily echos the time we live in now is the fact that the level of terrorism and civil unrest skyrockets in times where people feel that there natural resources are being wrestled away from them. At this time, that resource would be oil, but water has a much more powerful affect on it all as without water, we cannot continue to live at all, without water we cannot set up agriculture and therefore industry. Water essentially is the be all and end all of humanity.....and its sadly guided by corporate interest, which are the furthest thing from the interest and will of the people and the development of future generations.

Texas Constructs U.S. Border Wall To Keep Out Unwanted Americans

by Onion Staff

WICHITA FALLS, TX—Calling it an essential step toward securing the Texas border and protecting his people's way of life, Gov. Rick Perry announced Tuesday the completion of a 1,953-mile wall designed to keep out millions of unwanted Americans.

According to Perry, the 75-foot-high barricade running along the northern boundary is the culmination of more than 160 years of escalating tensions between Texas and the United States.

Though a protective barrier has been under consideration for decades, the Texas Legislature voted unanimously to begin construction on the project immediately following the 2008 presidential election.

"As governor, it is my responsibility to do whatever's necessary to maintain the territorial integrity of Texas," Perry told reporters during a press conference held inside a sniper tower overlooking Oklahoma. "If you are a Texas citizen, you shouldn't have to worry about some American coming in here, using your goods and services, and taking away your job."

"Let the record show I have nothing personal against Americans," Perry added. "I just think they should stay in America, where they belong."

The wall is comprised of six security layers: a razor-wire fence equipped with motion sensors, surveillance cameras, and guard towers; a 70-foot-wide trench with expert marksmen stationed along its perimeter; a roadway patrolled by armed vehicles equipped with synchronized electromagnetic wave gradiometers to detect Americans attempting to tunnel their way into Texas; and a second, third, and fourth fence.

The final section of the barricade, a reinforced concrete enclosure containing the city of Austin, will be finished by August 2009.

"These Americans are destroying the moral and social fabric of our state," said Rep. Chris Turner, who added that he worries when he looks around Texas and sees people from places like Pennsylvania, Iowa, and Vermont. "The man who used to repair my truck was replaced by some mechanic who moved in here from Kansas. Lately I can't go to the store or the bank without running into all kinds of these foreigners. This wall is the only hope we have of keeping Texas safe."

"The truth is, Americans are just different from us," Turner added. "We don't even speak the same language."

According to Texas Army National Guard Brig. Gen. Tom Alford, Americans will only be permitted to cross the border if they have immediate family living in Texas, in which case they can apply for a 90-minute monitored visitation to be held inside a checkpoint detention facility.

However, Alford stressed that any American attempting to transport barbecue sauce, beef jerky, belt buckles, or longhorn cattle back to the United States will face the death penalty.

Thus far, a majority of Texas citizens support the border wall, with nearly 8 million signing up to join a coalition of Minutemen that will guard the fence.

"These good-for-nothing Americans want to come in here and wait in the same lines as me, watch the same movies, and eat at the same restaurants," El Paso resident and border patrol volunteer Larry Carlile told reporters. "Who do they think they are? I'd never dare waltz into America and act like I owned the place. That country's a godforsaken hellhole, anyway."

"Round 'em up and get 'em out," Carlile added. "Go back to Seattle or whatever you call it."

Since the wall's completion, there has been no official comment from Washington. However, sources close to President Obama said that upon being informed of Gov. Perry's announcement the commander in chief muttered, "Thank God."

OK JD - What is Up With This Pose

I don't even have the words. Ohh man, I can't.....its one thing to put a huge tacky Mother Teresa by way of Janet, Janet Jackson tattoo all over the side of your body when the woman you get to wake up to IS Janet Jackson, but its another thing entirely to strike a pose like this while taking a picture of said tattoo. WWJD

is anybody ever gonna HELP THESE DAMN KIDS

by By Shilpa Jamkhandikar - Reuters

Railway authorities in Mumbai tore down the shanty home of another "Slumdog Millionaire" child star on Wednesday, barely a week after a first child actor from the Oscar-winning film was forced into the streets.

Rubina Ali, 9, played the character of Latika as a child in the movie, a rags-to-riches romance about a poor Indian boy competing for love and money on a television game show.

Ali's one-room shack was among several illegal dwellings demolished in a slum adjacent to railway tracks overlooking the posh Bandra suburb, home to many Bollywood stars in India's financial capital.

"They can stay with me for now," said Moinuddin Qureshi, Ali's uncle, who stays in a nearby shack surrounded by open sewers. "But they will obviously have to rebuild it, they need a roof over their heads."

A despondent Ali was helping her mother pick up wooden planks and salvage household belongings from the site, a Reuters photographer at the scene said.

Authorities said Ali's shack was among 40 illegally built shanties removed as apart of a demolition drive.

"These structures were on railway land, which is for the benefit of commuters and to be used by the railways," said C. Nitin Kumar David, a spokesman for Western Railway.

Last week, "Slumdog" child star Azharuddin Ismail's tarpaulin-covered home, illegally built along a drain close to Ali's shack, was demolished by city authorities.

Earlier this year, there was an outcry after pictures emerged of "Slumdog Millionaire" child stars living in squalor despite the movie's box-office success and eight Academy Awards.

In February, the housing authority of Maharashtra state, of which Mumbai is the capital, said they would give Ismail and Ali new houses

"The Game" is Cancelled, Now we can return to our regularly scheduled program

I have never seen this show, but for months now, "The Game" or er, the fate of "The Game" has been sort of an internet phenomenon. Stars have made countless youtube videos petitioning to save the show from cancellation and there was even a message board petition campaign on the CW website that met the required signatures, but didn't much have an impact. Its good to see people rally behind something that most would perceive as filler for a ridiculously out of touch start up network. In fact, I have issues with the CW only because of what it represents, the decimalization of consumer choice and interest. So when these networks were the WB and UPN, respectively, and thriving, the studio Suits (the WB being owned by Warner Brothers and UPN by Paramount Studios) decided that they gave consumers too many programming options and instead they combined them into one gloriously shitty network called the CW. Well instead of the somewhat renaissance and nuanced programming of both separate networks we get nothing but teen fodder and not just any old teen fodder but rich kid, privileged teen fodder which in today's times, is like being homeless and watching someone eat a porterhouse in your face. I guess shows like "The Game" and the also canceled and thriving on that other network "Everybody Hates Chris" made it possible for people over 16 to watch the CW, but now they see their way humbly to the crapper and the unemployment line. Its good its canceled cause I could never figure out which twin from "Sister, Sister" this show even starred...talk about getting off to a rocky start...you should never split up those two...never!!!!

Cracks are Wack

Warning - this post comes via an emotionally embattled/bruised psyche. The opinions expressed here are a representation of frustrated vulgarity and do not reflect or impede upon sound mind and judgment.

Oh world, oh universe, we have so much to discuss. For lately, I wake up each morning not with a sense of ease, but with a sense of dread for what the day brings. I know times are tough for everyone, but for some reason I have been appointed as the Manager of the "My life sucks and/or I have so many issues that I can't breathe properly" customer service hotline. Each day I get a new grievance, or er crying - screeching rant that I have to translate into 45 different languages and then ship offshore as to not invade my ironclad serenity with the emotional fireballs of sobbing, yelling, and a generally defeatist mentality.

I guess what makes me perfect for this post is that I made a conscious decision some time ago to not let my issues/baggage get the best of me or those around me. Scratch that, I decided for myself that it was time that I cleaned house and got rid of my issues and baggage in order for me to live my life outside of the guise of a mental/emotional prison sentence. The choice wasn't easy, but I know for a fact I never called up anyone and exploded into a Niagara falls fireworks show. In fact, I don't even really know what that's like cause my poker face is so bankable that I will hold on to being "fine" for the longest time until I am in the comfort and privacy of my own insanity and assure the cracks that they can start showing now.

I know everyone isn't like this and everyone should not be like this. Hey, it works for me, but maybe I'm missing something here. Maybe I have special powers that allow the frequencies in my voice to coalesce into a cool symphonic breeze and heal all mental exhaustion. Maybe me staring at the receiver somehow sends neurons scurrying about and mixing with the residue of wires and cobalt to combat drama. Cause clearly, I'm missing whatever everyone else sees that makes me mentally capable of dealing with my own issue (quietly) and sixteen other peoples.

I know its bad of me to feel like I have no one to really talk to, but it would be even worse of me to make others feel like they couldn't talk to me. So just so we are clear, my issue isn't being the hotline manager as much as folks not taking the time to even figure out if they called the right number. I also take issue with the fact that should I star 69 for similar services, I would get nothing but a busy signal, but that's neither here nor there. Clearly there are times we are called to do certain things that inevitably don't ask for an invitation or take the time to do a QT check and make sure the equipment is up to par, but to this - only Dr. Kings words ring through my ear.

"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"

In times of challenge and controvery, I don't so much as stand as I am being "worked through" like some other force takes over and just does. Maybe that is what everyone else sees but me. So with that being said.....this is my niagara falls firework show and I hope the only crack you see is one of humanity. For I will keep answering the hotline, staring at the receiver with a gleefully and sarcastically poetic side eye and groan to boot as I take each callers name and assure them that everything will be okay.

Meanwhile in the peace and quiet of my own salvation, in the darkest recesses of my imagination where great roots hold their footing and towering evergreens reside I will sit quietly and meditate for the day that peace befalls upon myself and everyone around me. Maybe instead of an irrational, lifetime scripted, emotionally charged shock and awe session, I will be subject to a discussion or analysis on how one can look past the issue that blind them and see that there own salvation isn't but a walk down the strip and a left turn on the corner. And maybe, just maybe I will be able to better address each caller by not allowing myself to feel somehow like a dump truck.

Until then, I will continue to hate Friday and LA for that matter and the selfish, woe is me, video cameras following me and paparazi and shit mentality this place imposes on its people. For I don't define mature and immature by age or stature, as much as by what you do and do not expect other people to take care of in your life. Cause the last time I checked, we are all grown and nobody is incable of shitting in the pot and whiping their own ass. Everyone deals witht he consequences of their decisions and if you have made bad choices....the onus is on you and no one elses problem to fix. In fact, if people would open their eyes and see the effects their bad choices cause on themselves and those around them, then maybe they will finally get that its not something to be repeated. But I can't crack people over the head and get them to realize this. Well, not as long as people can't say the phrase "crack is wack" and not get the drugless irony of the whole thing.

Folks From 'The Wire" Spotlight: Idris Elba

Idris Elba: I’ll make sweet music
BY Joel Campbell

BRITISH BORN actor Idris Elba plans to take a break from acting to pursue a career in music. The US based star of hit TV show The Wire,, recently admitted that he’d always wanted to try his hand at singing and has already released a song entitled The Best I Can.

Elba told NME.com that he planned to use the rest of 2009 to hone his talents but wouldn’t be calling on his celebrity friends to help get his new project off the ground.

He said: “My personal agenda has always been about musical ambitions. Music's a jealous bitch - I want to take time out (from acting) to finish the album."

He added: “I know Beyonce, Jay-Z and Busta Rhymes, but I don't talk to them about my music. That'd be corny. Actors doing music is a cliche, so my plan is to tour small venues and festivals in Europe next year - along with my band the Trampions - the route musicians go down."

Elba hinted that his music would be a fusion of ‘everything from drum'n'bass to jazz’.

Perspectives: James Harrison

By LiveSteeze Staff

Pittsburgh Steelers claimed victory in the 2009 Super Bowl in February, thanks to James Harrison, who made the 100-yard interception return for the touchdown that won the game in its final moments. While it's customary for the winning team to make an honorary victory lap at the White House, Harrison refuses to join his teammates on their trip to Washington.

Harrison believes that the ritual practice is unnecessary and feels President Obama has no genuine desire to meet the Pittsburgh Steelers. In the linebacker's view, Obama is only interested in meeting with the Super Bowl's victors, which could've been any team.

Harrison told Pittsburgh's WTAE, "this is how I feel -- if you want to see the Pittsburgh Steelers, invite us when we don't win the Super Bowl. As far as I'm concerned, [Obama] would've invited Arizona if they had won."

Harrison makes painfully a legitimate point, the White House, by tradition, opens its doors to an an array of collegiate and professional championship teams each year. Just last week, the World Series champs visited the White House in addition to the recent appearance by the North Carolina Tar Heels Basketball team. Obama also shot hoops with UConn's women's squad, who are, of course, national champs. In 2006, former president Bush hosted a party for the Steelers on behalf of their Super Bowl XL win.

Harrison's agent, Bill Parise, confirmed the linebacker's decision to decline the invitation, added that he stands firm on his choice and insists Harrison's refusal is in no way politically driven, reports Sports Illustrated.com

"No, he won't. He didn't go the last time either," said Parise. "It absolutely is not political. He just doesn't want to go."

Jack of All Trades - Master of None

by LiveSteeze Staff

Upon surfing through various singer's profiles and bios, we noticed something. They all mentioned that the singer is a budding actor or actress. Now, the problem is that these folks probably had a cameo or two on some CW series. We hardly believe that this qualifies them to be considered an actor or actress. However, on the flip, actors have to fight tooth and nail to obtain the tiniest amount of credibility in the music world. Is this fair?

Let's look at the few folks that have been able to crossover seamlessly - Jamie Foxx, Jennifer Lopez, Jennifer Hudson, Tyrese...the verdict is still out on Beyonce, but she's well on her way. They are anomalies. The saying goes, 'Jack of all trades, master of none," so should these artists really be allowed to dip into the multi-talented pot if they're not really multi-talented?

Nope. Let me tell you why. Some students go to school for acting. (I know, crazy, huh?) They wait tables and they fight their way to the top, only to lose a part to someone who is considered more marketable. It's a business, yes, but why does true talent have to suffer in the face of the almighty dollar? We're slowly but surely moving towards a culture where everyone does everything. Say you start off as a mediocre, but popular singer. You hit the scene, and before you've even had time to perfect your craft, you star in a movie, release a clothing line, and start a blog. Shouldn't you be determined to be the best singer you can possibly be? Why crowd your life with all of these other facets simply because you can. Music wouldn't be going to hell in a hand basket if some of these folks truly focused on their craft rather than the top notes and dry down of their pending fragrances...to be released sometime this summer.

Folks From 'The Wire" Spotlight: Wood Harris

By Bossip Staff

Bossip kicked back with your favorite (insert thug, gangbanger character here) Wood Harris about raising the stakes with Kerry Washington, and why he’s about to stunt on you ho’s with a Phd. Yes, a Phd.

Bossip: You’ve been known to play those slick, criminal, gangster, thug-like characters. Do you ever feel typecast?
Wood: I am on the verge of feeling that way. I do like playing the bad guy but I do have to sometimes turn down stuff like that. Any real actor is looking for variety. If I do another bad guy film, I think I’ll do myself a disservice.

Bossip: Would you do a romantic comedy? If so, who would you want to be your female co-star?
Wood: Of course I would do a romantic comedy in a heartbeat. I’ve spoke with Malcolm Lee who directed The Best Man, and we went to college together. He has a romantic comedy project that we talked about doing. Hmm, my female lead? I’m into the talent. There are a lot of beauties out there and I just had to pick from them, it would be hard to narrow it down. If I had to go with talent, cream rises to the top. I’d go with Kerry Washington. I love the talents of those young actresses. I did a film with Zoe Saldana called “Heart Specialist” and they should come out sometime this year. My favorite actress that I’ve worked with has been Regina Hall from Paid in Full. She’s super talented. There were some scenes that we shot from the film that people have never even seen, but I will never forget.

Bossip: Man, you play some real gritty characters. Paid in Full is like every hood dude’s favorite film.
Wood: So far, in my short career, all the people I’ve played have been real people. Avon Barksdale (The Wire) is real. Ace (Paid in Full) is real. Jimmy Hendrix. I’m going to play Sweetwater Clifton, the first black guy in the NBA. There’s another film that’s on stall now with Oliver Stone. It’s another true story. I’m like damn, I’m like the true story man! I might work with Martin Scorcese on another HBO series. It’s a period piece about gangsters. I would love to do it, but I don’t know yet. I also have another movie coming out, that will be a great segue into the music game. I’ve been so fortunate to be able to do films with my friends –Mos Def, Donald Faison, Mehki Phifer.

Bossip: Speaking of music, we know that you received your Master’s degree from NYU and you were heavy in the spoken word and hip hop scene in NY. What’s going on with your music now?
Wood: It’s so funny that everybody knows, but I haven’t even done anything with it yet. It’s coming into fruition. I’m going to throw it against the wall and see what sticks. I’m just an artist in general, I guess. I never thought about it as a kid. I hear you mentioning me and I’m like I guess I’m no longer just a gangbanger, I’m an artist….with a Master’s degree. I’m getting my doctorate too in Metropathic medicine.

Bossip: For real?
Wood: I’m a science geek, yo! I’m not gonna front like I grew up in school and I was Mr. sharp with the books. You can’t look back in my past and see that. I’m from Chicago. Typical, sort of, ghetto coming up. Chicago is still the same way as it’s always been with gangs and all that type of stuff.

Bossip: What interested you in medicine?
Wood: I ended up getting involved in medicine indirectly. My father died of what’s called Iatrogenics, which relates to hospital-related death. I had another female friend of mine that was in college with me at the time who had a tragic yet curable, healable condition that she died from. My mother was diagnosed, but is a survivor of cancer. I evolved into a real thoughtful guy concerning health issues. I started surrounding myself around these different healers and doctors and ended up becoming an ambassador of health, a title given to me by a doctor in L.A. It is just a title, but I take it very seriously. It’s about putting information in the hood about what’s going on food-wise and health-wise. We’re leading the pack with issues of diabetes and diseases that are curable and healable food-wise. I’m sick of it. We are the greatest culture, let’s not do this to ourselves. Let’s not have anymore damn Popeyes. I know the ghettos are in bad shape, but cheetos for kids? If a kid had an apple in the morning and another kids had cheetos, who’s going to have a greater ability? I take my duty – informing and raising money- very seriously. And you know, acting folks also take you serious when you show up with a Phd. (he laughs)

Bossip: What do you do to kickback? Chill out?
Wood: I like to study. I’m an art fanatic. I try to keep myself busy with stuff like that rather than hitting up all these red carpets. I do that when there’s an event going on. You won’t see me out too much because it’s boring. If it was fresh, then you’d probably see me there. I like concerts. I like to see someone with a microphone.

Bossip: What’s your dream role?
Wood: Right now my dream role would be two different projects that I would like to do. One of them is a remake of the King of Comedy film which was done by Martin Scorsese and Robert Deniro. And Jerry Lewis was in it. We’ve spoken to some people about it. I also have my eyes set on doing August Wilson’s Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom, in which I’ve spoken to Charles Dutton about directing it. This whole thing is a dream come true – the ability to make films.

That’s one cool dude.

Why I Officially Hate Friday

Ahh Friday, oh how I use to love thee. Now, all that I can expect on Friday is a nice heaping of panic attack as I realize that the two days break isn't nearly enough time to get what I need to get done. And I never seem to get what I need to get done over the weekend anyhow, so inevitably that spills over into the week and rinse, cycle and repeat. Oh Friday, how I use to plan my week around the pleasures that this day brings......now, all I really want is a hot shower a nice book and some peace and quiet. Is it a sign of getting older or simply hibernation. I would take the humbling solace of either as my brain gets overwhelmed with the logistics of the day. Friday seems like the kind of day where nothing planed turns out exactly to plan and I'm usually tired from the hustle and bustle of the week that my patience level goes to nil.

Friday, I really don't have anything against you, but can't figure out where we went so wrong. Why can't anything ever be easy and effort free. Where is the peace of mind in knowing I have crossed the finish line? do you really hate me that much. I mean if you do its perfectly fine cause I'm not very fond of you either. But today I propose a truce of some kind. I mean we can't go on being mad at each other forever. I guess until then, we shall retreat into our corners until we can come to some type of arrangement, but I remember happier days when we use to hang out and play ball, go to the beach, or see a concert.

Oh Friday, I remember many a day knocking on Saturday's door in the wee hours of the morning still holding onto your memory. Reeling from the excitement and the wonder that you brought me. Basking in the bewilderment of the afterglow. But now, I couldn't be bothered with your demanding demeanor. And you have become a complete stranger to Saturday, who still to this day, has been the only day to provide me comfort and relaxation. Ohh well, as we live we shall learn and maybe one day we can find joy in each other once again. Until then, Friday, I officially hate your guts.

America's Top Minority Executives

by LiveSteeze Editor

Our editors have put together a list of the most powerful minority executives in North America. This group of executives commands presidential respect in the boardroom and have deep pockets. While some of them are household names that we all know well, some may surprise.

1. Oprah Winfrey
Oprah has come a long way since her education at Tennesse State University and the Color Purple. Oprah was able to parlay hard work, intelligence, and business savvy into a net worth reportedly valued at $2.7 billion.

2. Michael Lee Chin
With an estimated net worth at $1.8 billion according to Forbes, Chin ranks #2 on our list for obvious reasons. Sometimes called the "Tiger Woods of Finance," he moved to Canada from Jamaica and ambitiously created one of the largest mutual fund companies in the country. Chin also owns a stake in National Commercial Bank Jamaica, Total Finance in Trinidad & Tobago and Columbus Communications, a cable and communications company in Barbados.

3. Kenneth Chenault
The American Express CEO and Harvard Law graduate is one of the few finance CEO's who have held onto their job during the challenging recession. That says a lot about Wallstreet’s confidence in his leadership. He is currently co-chair of the Business Roundtable, a director at IBM, and a member at the Council of Foreign Relations. He earned close to $100 million dollars in total compensation during 2007 and 2008. It’s safe to say Kenneth’s situation is "recession proof."

4. David C. Drummond
Drummond joined Google in 2002, initially as vice president of corporate development. Today, as senior vice president and chief legal officer, he leads Google's global teams for legal, government relations, corporate development and new business development. David was first introduced to Google in 1998 as a partner in the corporate transactions group at Wilson Sonsini Goodrich and Rosati, one of the nation's leading law firms representing technology businesses. He served as Google's first outside counsel and worked with Larry Page and Sergey Brin to incorporate the company and secure its initial rounds of financing. Google has been losing some key talent and we could easily Drummond running his own company or investment firm within the next three years.

5. Charles E. Phillips, Jr.
Charles E. Phillips is President and a member of the Board of Directors for Oracle Corporation, a company with a market capitalization of $91 billion. Before joining Oracle in 2003, Phillips was with Morgan Stanley, a global investment bank. Prior to Wall Street, he served as a Captain in the United States Marine Corps in the 2nd Battalion, 10th Marines. Phillips holds a BS in Computer Science from the United States Air Force Academy, a JD from New York Law School, and an MBA from Hampton University. Mr. Phillips is on the boards of Jazz at Lincoln Center in New York City, The American Museum of Natural History, New York Law School, Viacom Inc., and Morgan Stanley. In February 2009, Phillips was appointed as a member to the President's Economic Recovery Advisory Board to provide President Barack Obama and his administration with advice and counsel regarding the economy.

6. Ronald A. Williams
Ronald A. Williams is Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Aetna Inc., a leading diversified health care benefits company, which had revenue of approximately $27.6 billion in 2007. Williams is a graduate of Roosevelt University and holds an M.S. in Management from the Sloan School of Management at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

7. Clarence Otis Jr.
Clarence Otis Jr. is the CEO of Darden Resturants, the largest casual dining operator in the nation with revenues of $6 billion. Otis earned a law degree at Stanford University before landomg on Wall Street as a merger and acquisitions attorney for J.P. Morgan Securities. He joined Darden Restaurants in 1995 as corporate treasurer and became CEO in 2004.

8. Richard Parsons
Parsons is the current Chairman of Citigroup and a former Time Warner CEO. He reflected in 2008: "I am not a particularly ambitious person, believe it or not, and I am certainly not a driven person. I am a hard worker —I was always told by my parents that luck was the residue of hard work." —Change Nation podcast, Mar. 18, 2008

9. John W. Thompson
John W. Thompson is chairman of the board of directors of Symantec Corporation which has a market capitalization of $12 billion. During his 10-year tenure as chief executive officer, he helped transform Symantec into a leader in security, storage and systems management solutions delivered to a broad base of customers, from individual consumers to the largest enterprises in the world. Thompson completed his undergraduate studies at Florida A&M University and holds a master's degree in Management Science from MIT's Sloan School of Management. In addition, in May 2008 he received an honorary doctorate degree from Notre Dame University.


10. Walter Massey
Walter Massey was recently elected to the powerful position of Chairman of Bank of America, replacing Ken Lewis. Massey graduated from Morehouse College in 1958 with a BS degree in Mathematics and Physics, where he also became a member of the Psi chapter of Omega Psi Phi Fraternity. Massey went on to receive his PhD in Physics from Washington University in St. Louis in 1966. He was the director of the National Science Foundation from 1991 to 1993, was the ninth president of Morehouse College from 1995 to 2007, and formerly the Senior Provost of the University of California System. Massey serves or has served as a board member to several American corporations, including Bank of America, BP Oil, Motorola, and McDonalds. If there was a such thing as a "Black Illuminati," Massey would be one of the leaders.

Screwed by Blue Note, Van Hunt Still Rocks and Funks With Soul

by Mikael Wood - LA Weekly

Van Hunt plays Zanzibar in Santa Monica on May 15 and May 22. 1301 Fifth St., Santa Monica. (310) 451-2221 or www.zansibarlive.com

In 2007, when his third studio album was nearing completion, soul-rock singer-songwriter Van Hunt relocated from his longtime home in Atlanta to Los Angeles, where the Morehouse College alum figured he’d be more likely to advance his career in the music industry. “I also had a relationship that I wanted to pursue,” Hunt says, munching an egg-on-bagel sandwich last week at a Stucio City café. Two years later, “Here I am, and the relationship has done much better than the career.”

A black guitar hero given to psychedelic musings on the metaphysics of desire, Hunt has never been any record company’s idea of an easy sell. “People at major labels think everyone wants to be a pop star,” says his manager, Randy Jackson (yep, the American Idol judge). “But Van’s a real career artist, and his artistry isn’t based on a hit single.” Even so, by the time he landed in L.A., Hunt felt confident that the two albums he’d released through Capitol Records earlier this decade — an eponymous debut in 2004 and On the Jungle Floor in 2006 — had held up his end of the deal with the company, garnering loads of critical acclaim and, in the case of his first, a Grammy nomination for Best Urban/Alternative Performance.

So it came as quite an unpleasant surprise, says Hunt, when executives at Blue Note — the venerable jazz label that took over Hunt’s Capitol contract after some corporate restructuring by the two labels’ parent company, EMI — decided early last year not to release Popular, the disc he finished once he was settled here. “It was probably so devastating that I haven’t really addressed the feeling,” Hunt says of the decision, which took place after Blue Note had already sent out advance CDs to media and radio types. “I remember I was in San Francisco, and as soon as I found out, I went to my favorite pizza place, ate some pizza and just tried to forget about it.”

You can understand Hunt’s devastation (if not his coping mechanism): An appealingly trippy fusion of funk grooves, punk guitar and soul vocals that still makes room for the occasional future-folk slow jam, Popular is a left-field stunner, the kind of record many a Target shopper might’ve been hoping to find after plunking down $11.98 for Prince’s recent LOtUSFLOW3R set. (“She could fill an hourglass with sex appeal” is one of several lines particularly worthy of the Purple One.) And now it sits collecting dust in EMI’s vault, awaiting the day, says Hunt, when he makes it big as a musician (or as anything else), at which point he reckons the company will finally put it out in the hopes of making a quick buck. “I asked them if I could buy back the masters, but they wanted twice as much as they put into it,” he adds. “I told ’em I couldn’t afford it and we left it at that.”

A Blue Note spokesperson declined to comment on the matter beyond saying that Hunt and the label “mutually agreed to part ways,” an opinion the singer doesn’t exactly share. “I think they were afraid,” he says. “They didn’t think they were gonna do well with sales, which is laughable coming from a jazz label. Norah Jones is the only one who’s ever sold any records over there!” (According to Nielsen SoundScan, Van Hunt has sold 158,000 copies, while On the Jungle Floor has sold 58,000 — far from blockbuster numbers, to be sure, but respectable by the label’s non-Norah standards.)

Former Capitol president Andy Slater, who oversaw the making of Hunt’s first two albums before he was dismissed during the EMI shakeup, acknowledges the challenge in marketing records as eclectic (and demographically diffuse) as Hunt’s. But he also says, “Van is one of the big disappointments for me. It’s such a shame that no one in the next [Capitol] regime saw the talent I saw in him and took it to the place it needed to go.”

These days Hunt has only himself to count on in that regard: Last week he issued a slyly titled rarities compilation, Use in Case of Emergency, through his Web site, and he’s currently at work on a new studio set that he plans to release the same way later this year. (True to genre-flitting form, Hunt says the fresh material pairs West African rhythms with classical European melodies.) The singer makes no bones about the challenges of running his own business in the Internet era. “To be honest, I didn’t even know what a widget was,” he says. “I’ve had to learn a lot.”

Still, total autonomy — even of the nickel-and-dime variety — seems like a good fit for Hunt, whom Jungle Floor producer Bill Bottrell remembers showing up for work “really hoping and wanting to do everything by himself.” The singer, Bottrell says, “has this thick shell of overdeveloped defiance. But then so do some of our greatest musicians.”

The A - A Picture Story

This is the outside of the Hyatt Hotel in Downtown Atlanta (you can also see it distantly in my thank you post to the A)

Once inside the Hyatt, there are a series of Elevators that extend upward into this breathtaking view

This is the view from the hotel room - sweet eh!!!

The Bellhop told us that they had just renovated the 20th floor so walking onto it was like walking right into the Standard Hotel

really, the only thing I was trying to get a pic of was the big ass plasma screen (I loved that TV...haha and to show yall the room, well part of it)


We were but a hop, skip, and a jump away from Centennial Olympic Park

While at Centennial Olympic Park, these Batter Blaster Folks were there frantically making pancakes trying to break into the Guiness Book of World Records

This is my "I'm not eating any of your stinking pancakes face"...haha....fyi....I'm not a huge fan of pancakes at all, but it was cool to be engulfed in butter, batter, and syrup

Kids at play at the Centennial Rings fountain/pool thingy....it was a lot of fun to watch

The Georgia Aquarium is right across the street from Centennial Olympic Park

Coca Cola pretty much owns Atlanta so they have this huge shrine to all things Coke

Mr. Coca Cola


We went to Fellini's later that night and the pizza there is str8 bomb!!! Kat clowned me for taking a photo of these unsuspecting folks


On Sunday we went to the Sweet Auburn Festival that runs along the street where Martin Luther King Jr. was Born.

This is the house that Martin Luther King Jr. was born

The Shotgun Houses

Went to Hannah's on Monday, bomb ass soul food!!!!

I had to take a picture of a Marta station cause there was no way we were getting on - ohh no, not after all the youtube videos I have seen of shit go down on the Marta. The acronym cracked me the hell up though (Moving Africans Rapidly Through Atlanta)

The Atlanta Sykline.....it's a beautiful thing

QT time....ahhhhhhhh