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Its difficult to describe Split/Second without using wit.
You could say its Michael Bay’s remake of Ridge Racer. Or you could say that its almost like playing a Saturday Night Live parody of an actual racing game.
It’s difficult because almost everything that you could say is true.
I’ve had a quiet anger just under my surface ever since ABC’s LOST took 2.5 hours of my life and crapped on my intelligence. I know, I know “It’s about the characters!” And to that I say “burn in hell.” If I wanted “characters” I’d watch Grey’s Anatomy. I watched #Lost because there was a magical island with smoker monsters and evil scientists. Oh, there were some characters that I found very entertaining while they were fighting the smoke monster and evil scientists, but that wasn’t what I signed up for. Check this awesome video that I reenacted almost verbatim at 11:37pm Sunday night. (H/T Fahnon Bennett )
Rationalizing White Supremacy : Racism, Free Markets and the Morally Obtuse Rand Paul By Tim Wise (via Facebook)
Although he insists he wasn’t named for the emotionally deranged, greed-loving, altruism-bashing author, Ayn Rand, U.S. Senate candidate Rand Paul’s views are just a little too similar to those of the mother of Objectivism–as are the views of his father, libertarian Congressman Ron Paul–to take seriously his denials. Either he is lying about the origins of his name, or else his chosen nickname is the biggest coincidence in the history of chaos theory.
John McCain’s Senate re-election campaign is taking shots at his primary opponent Congressman J.D. Hayworth who obviously doesn’t know anything about history. Yes, it is a huge gaffe, when you confidently declare that the United States never declared war on Nazi Germany. And yes, you are supposed to hit back if you’re in the McCain camp. But do you have to call him one of the “dumbest members of Congress?” For me to say that Sarah Palin is the dumbest, half term Governor in the history of America is cool because I’m a private citizen and not a sitting senator.
Seriously, this is what our political discourse has come to. John McCain was the Republican nominee for President for goodness sake. It’s like ever since you picked Sarah Palin as your running mate, you became as mature as a 12 year old.
Grow up..
What’s most intriguing about Android 2.2 (The Artist Also Known As “Froyo”)? After reading numerous articles on all things relating Android, new API’s, new features, and new updates, let’s just say this super nerd was excited.
I will fully admit I hadn’t heard of Les Phillip.
Perhaps I haven’t been paying attention to my news feeds enough (Come on, Lost & 24 just ended! I had to give my full attention so that both could terribly disappoint me.) Maybe it got past me on Twitter. But my current working theory is that my brain wouldn’t allow me to have any knowledge of this douche…er…dude. Much like a a person who blocks out trauma because they can’t handle it, I think my brain knows that folks like Les will eventually have me standing on street corners preaching–Black Israelite style–about the end of things as we know it.
Last week has been an eventful week to say the least for the newly nominated Senate candidate Rand Paul. On Tuesday he handily won his primary. On Wednesday he tripped up. On Thursday he fumbled. And finally on Friday, he fell flat on his face.
The first day after his primary, he had that grueling interview with Rachel Maddow where she could not exactly get a clear answer on what he meant by his previous comments on the Civil Rights Act of 1964. Then for the next couple of days he managed to stick his foot in it more by literally asking the media where’s his “honeymoon?” Proceeded by him calling the Obama administration’s criticism of BP “un-American”.
I am on a one man mission to save black cinema.
Ambitious, I know, but I feel it is my duty as a black person of conscience to tackle the big issues. For far too long, Hollywood has, at best, misrepresented and, at worst, neglected portrayals of black life on the big screen. I’ve complained. I’ve tweeted. I’ve sent dead fish to Paul Haggis’ house (allegedly). It hasn’t worked. It’s time for a new course of action.
My plan: to pay (legally!) to see as many films featuring majority black casts as humanly possible. But no Tyler Perry flicks. I have standards.
My intent: to show Hollywood that, yes, movies with black people in them are indeed commercially viable and they should invest more in them. Just not Tyler Perry flicks. Seriously.
My hope: that if films with black casts are successful financially, big studios will be more apt to shell out cash for films that offer more varied representations of black film.
The bottom line is that money talks and it’s the only language Hollywood responds to. Look at Judd Apatow. If he wanted to, he could get the green light to shoot a 3D animated biopic about the life of Jim Carrey. Why? Because his movies make money. His audience goes to the theater, faithfully, regardless of how bad his last movie may have been. He’s bankable. Black people aren’t.
The problem, as I’ve come to understand it, is that when a film that does feature black people at the helm is released, those of us with the disposable income to partake simply don’t. We complain about the reliance on damaging stereotypes for entertainment purposes and the effect that will have on the collective psyche. This is a legitimate concern. In turn, however, Hollywood, responds to our lack of support by not backing any movies featuring black people at all.
So my thinking is, if I spend enough money to see Our Family Wedding style movies, in the future, studios will be more open to greenlighting films like Medicine for Melancholy or Something is Killing Tate. Then these films will no longer be relegated to indie obscurity, only to be mentioned in conversation by people trying to prove how much cooler they are than everyone else; they’ll get the budget and audience they deserve.
Essentially what I’m saying is that in order to get more quality black films made, we’re going have to sit through a lot of mediocre bullshit. And not just sit through, but actually pay for.
That is, unless we finance the production of our own films. Seeing as how I don’t have $30 million in my sock drawer begging to be turned into an Ida B. Wells picture, though, it looks as if I’m stuck watching less than thrilling fare such as Chris Rock’s Death at a Funeral remake or Common’s less than stellar acting chops in Just Wright.
And if that’s what it’s going to take, dammit, I’m going to try. Will it work? I have no idea. It’s only a theory and I’m only one man who refuses to pay anything over matinee prices. For the sake of black cinema, this is a risk I’m willing to take.
But seriously, no Tyler Perry flicks. I have standards.
Strong statement, right? Follow me with this……
I’m going on the assumption that you are somewhat familiar with the plight of R Kelly. If not, I won’t go into any great detail, seeing that you must live in some outer reaches of space. To catch up, go here.
This situation has fascinated me the whole time it’s been going on. As most cases where black people are fucking up and making things difficult for me do. “Difficult for you?” you may be asking yourself. “How?” Well, when you live in a mid-western state like I do and you’re a somewhat approachable black person, also such as myself, it seems that people tend to ask you questions about things involving famous black people in the news. If it’s not Kobe, it’s Tiger. If it’s not Tiger, it’s Lil Wayne. Or T.I. Or Kanye. Or Obama. Or whoever. I still get asked about OJ every now and then. Which led me to the above statement.
The title “The New OJ” is something I found myself saying when a black person with some kind of level of fame does or says something absolutely ridiculous that makes black people, like myself, just shake their heads. Knowing that people are, in fact, going to ask me “What in the hell is wrong with that crazy nergo?!?” I first said it when Kanye West bum rushed the show on Taylor Swift at the MTV Video Music Awards, making black people everywhere breathe a huge sigh in preparation for the questions. However, he did give the world the phrase “Kanye Shrug“, so I’m almost willing to forgive. (Just ease up on the Auto-Tune next record….like don’t use it at all.)
But this….this is it. Mr. Kelly has, by all intents and purposes, gotten away with having urinal relations with an underage girl. (Golf clap.) It’s the American dream to get away with a major crime. BUT….most people that get away with a major crime don’t keep talking about it. Unless it’s some kind of book deal. People love talking about what they did wrong in books and reality shows. Gotta keep the lights on somehow, I suppose.
This leads me to my comparison….
OJ Simpson, after being acquitted of killing his wife and her lover, wrote a book called “If I Did It“, where he talks about “if” he killed his wife, this is how he thinks it would have went down. Yeah. That’s right. He took it there. Fox News had a whole hour lined up just to talk to OJ about this book of hypothetical events. It didn’t go over very well. Sponsors pulled ads, affiliates refused to air the interview and people involved with the case hit the roof. Fox News ended up pulling the interview and the publisher pulled the book from shelves. It wasn’t a good look and put OJ back in the spotlight as “that guy that got away with murder whom we almost forgot about”. Later, OJ tempted fate again, and it didn’t end as well as he would have liked.
And I can see this happening to R. Kelly. After getting off on child porn charges, Mr. Kelly put out “Untitled”, an album that has a song called “Number 1″ AND a song called “Be my Number 2“……just think about that for a second. Don’t believe me? Hit the links….I’ll wait.
Wow….sounds like subject matter that you should be exploring after allegedly laying up with a little girl? I can only think that R. Kelly knows he has a problem and really, REALLY wants to get caught. Either that or he really is oblivious to how something like this looks to people. He might tempt the fates again, thinking that he’s untouchable and end up like OJ. I don’t know. I will say that it’s more likely the latter.
Strive to be number 1, Kells……
This has got to be the worst theme song ever. They should stop letting Ray J write songs… they should stop letting Ray J sing songs… you know what, actually, Ray J should be stopped.
So apparently it’s Brandy’s birthday and Ray J took time out of his busy schedule as West Cost Party King (401K… is a drink) to plan a lavish 31st birthday in Miami. And by plan, I mean, he made two phone calls and requested half naked men. Wait… I think I skipped a part. No matter.
If you were a geometry teacher how would you go about teaching angles? Oh, by giving an example of calculating angles to kill the President? Well then then congratulations; you just found a new douchetastic™ best friend.
The Birmingham News
A Jefferson County teacher picked the wrong example when he used assassinating President Bar ack Obama as a way to teach angles to his geome try students.Someone alerted authorities and the Corner High School math teacher was questioned by the Secret Service, but was not taken into custody or charged with any crime.
“We did not find a credible threat,” said Roy Sex ton, special agent in charge of Birmingham’s Secret Service office. “As far as the Secret Service is concerned, we looked into it, we talked to the gentleman and we have closed our investigation.”
I didn’t believe this when I first heard about it on BIll Maher. I assumed Bill was being Crazy McLiberalCrazy-Guy. But no, IT’S REAL. The levels of ignorance that it takes to use this as a teaching tool is spectacular. Forget the whole “killing the PRESIDENT” part. Why would you use assassination as a teaching tool? If you wanted to use murder to enlighten the youth, why wouldn’t you defer to a Jack Bauer scenario? I’m sure crazy a-holes who use Presidential death plots for day to day teaching HAVE to watch 24, right?
One of the students in his class, while explaining why she believed everyone is overreacting, clarified the situation. It seems that ANOTHER student asked “What if you were going to shoot the President?” and Mr. geometry teacher guy (Gregory Harrison) just took the example and explained.I get the vibe that she thought this explanation would make it better.
Amazingly enough, no.
Why wouldn’t the teacher say “Um, first of all, you need to go to the guidance counselor immediately. Why in hell would you use that as an example? Do you have guns in your house? Black trench coat?” There ‘s a list of things that get you red-flagged in school. I’d like to go on record that requesting angles for assassination–of ANYONE–might be on that list. Seriously Alabama, WTF?
Wale, the oft-described savior of “real” hip-hop is in all sorts of hot water right now. After being booked and then cancelling an appearance at the DC Black Pride event.
MetroWeekly
Earl Fowlkes, the DC Black Pride board member acting as spokesperson for the nonprofit organization, cited homophobia for the rapper’s decision.”Basically we had an agreement, and we were very clear to the different parties and agents involved that this was an LGBT event,” Fowlkes says.
”What happened is that when the first blast went out that Wale was going to be at Black Pride he got cold feet, and his agent first said Wale wasn’t available because he had to do family stuff. Then we got another e-mail saying he didn’t know what kind of event this was when he agreed to it.”
But Wale sounded off on his Twitter account…
Kentucky Republican Senate nominee Rand Paul continued his “how can I offend everybody tour” this morning on Good Morning America, where he called President Obama un-American for criticizing BP too harshly. Makes sense.
“Sometimes accidents happen.” — Rand Paul
We’re all still reeling and unpacking the Tao of Candidate Rand Paul. Here’s Jay Smooth of Ill Doctrine’s take:
Or was that a gunshot or three? Is the body even cold yet?
Let me back track just a bit. Last night, Thomas Wortham IV an off-duty police officer and veteran, was killed in an attempted robbery. Thomas’ father, who is a retired officer was able to return fire. Killing one robber and critically injuring the other.
Chicago Breaking News: Off-duty Chicago police officer killed in robbery attempt
Just another senseless loss of black life in the streets of Chi-city. But that’s not what this entry is about. Enterthe Good Reverend Isaac Hayes. He’s running for Congress under the GOP banner. Now that’s fine and dandy, I’m totally against name calling exclusively for political affiliation (calling someone a libtard -conservatard or whatever variations was never funny cut it out!) I will however call you an idiot for saying something like this:
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