Cause this is Thriller!!!!!

I saw Michael Jackson live in 1984 at the Jackson's Victory Tour. I was in awe of him and his brothers as they rocked a stadium of about 50 thousand people.

It's over 20 years later and I am still in awe of Michael's crazy ass!!! The picture above is of Michael this past weekend shopping in Beverly Hills. Does this look like and outfit of someone who doesn't want attention? Of course his attempt to be unseen was unsuccessful. He drew crowds of fans and paparazzi.

Who else can rock a blue tunic, a black fedora and scarf add a Zorro/R.Kelly mask?

Is This Modern Day Slavery?

I'm a little offended.....

Actually I'm a lot offended.... Well maybe I'm not.....
The more I think about this story my feelings do a complete see-saw. Here is the story:

This 40 year old guy named Michael Chambers is an avid runner... he is going to compete in the next New York City marathon, so obviously he has been training. For his 40th Birthday, his family chips in and gets him........ A Kenyan Runner (for the day). The family purchased the runner for $400 a day.

I know slavery is over, but........... Then the more I thought about it, would this be like hiring Whitney Houston to sing at your wedding, or Lil Wayne at a birthday party?

Pimp Down

I hate it when I see talented people with a world of potential get “caught up” and risk losing everything.

I said a week or two ago that comedian Katt Williams was going through a few things, but it really came to a head this week. Katt was ordered to undergo a psychiatric evaluation in South Carolina after he attempted to check into a hotel at 8:30am wearing a bathrobe and a towel over his head.

He also went to an attorney’s office and said he needed help because police were trying to "violate his rights."

This is just the latest in a string of events over the last few months….. He refused to host the BET awards for whatever reason. He was arrested for having a gun in New York. He didn’t show up for a appearance on Late Night with Conan O’Brien. Last night he cancelled a huge appearance at Caesar’s Palace in Vegas which was part of the TBS Comedy Festival.

I really thought that Katt was the next drum major for black comedy. The normal progression is stand up comedy then on to TV shows, then Movies. He has done them all, and still was out on the road doing stand up.

That usually doesn’t happen…. Comedians start doing movies and loose their timing for stand up. That’s why you don’t really see Eddie Murphy or Chris Tucker out on the road. Don’t get me wrong some guys can consistently do it all like Chris Rock, but not everyone.

In my mind Katt was next…….

Freshley Squeezed OJ

After two months in a small Las Vegas jail cell, O.J. Simpson learned that he will spend at least 10 years in a Nevada state prison.

I can honestly say that I don’t feel sorry for “The Juice”… He had the country on the edge of their seat with the famous white bronco chase. He was the star of the trial of the century, and again had everyone on the edge waiting for the verdict. Was found not guilty of murder, and should have lived the nice quite life in Florida………… But I guess that would have been way too easy.

O.J. was THE football star when I was growing up… I had a Buffalo Bills lunch box and book bag because of O.J. I wanted to rent a car form Hertz and run thru the airport and jump over luggage and other passengers just like O.J.

Now I wouldn’t trade a thing to be in his shoes…. He has been convicted of 11 felonies and a misdemeanor stemming from the “shakedown” last year of two sports collectors. This means that O.J. faces mandatory prison time and could be sentenced to up to life in prison.

Guess who won’t be having such a Merry Christmas?????

Is Reality TV............. REAL?

Now I have always been a fan of "Keepin it Real"...

Half of these rappers aren't as hard as they claim to be, and half the people on reality shows are.......... how do I say it... Fakin'? Frontin'? Lying?

I have written about The Real Housewives series since it came on... Not just the Atlanta wives, but the Orange County and New York wives as well.

I do know that TV creates characters... In saying that..... Who is the real Nene Leakes?

Nene Leakes, love her or hate her became the center of the housewives of Atlanta, and I was really entertained by her. Is it a issue that she is not "Keepin It Real?"

There has been so many rumors going around about her and her husband Greg being evicted, broke, and just plain living a huge lie...

Presently the Leakes family is in hiding, but I would like to hear their side of the story..... Wouldn't you?

Please click this link to watch this video that was done by an Atlanta TV on the Leakes...

MY FOX ATLANTA

I can't wait until season 2.

I'm Back!!!!!

It's been about a month since my last blog... I have been really all over the place, and it's not that I wasn't writing... I was just writing on my blackberry and I haven't figured out how to email the blog to the site...

YES HE DID

145 years after President Lincoln signed the Emancipation Proclamation which liberated slaves, the United States elected its first African American President last week.

President-elect Barack Obama won a total of 349 electoral votes compared to John McCain’s 147. He also received 62,806,760 popular votes to John McCain’s 55,650,160.

This family is bound to bring a different vibe to the nation’s capitol. The Obama family is the youngest family in the White House since the Kennedys.

"You must be the change you want to see in the world."
-Mahatma Gandhi

Please Pray for Lauryn

There was a Lauryn Hill sighting last week....... I know... Its's funny how I am acting like there was an alien or UFO sighting. OK it's not funny, but a little sad.

When I came across this picture all I could do is send a little prayer up for L-Boogie..... In my opinion, one of the best female MC's to ever touch the mic.

Lauryn came out with kids in tow to a William-Sonoma store in New Jersey to meet Martha Stewart. Martha was there to sign copies of her new cook book.

Her kids look nice and happy, but L looks...... unhappy.... unkept.... (insert your word here)

I have heard stories about L going thru some things... I know she has been working on a new album for the last few years, but she has done things like rent out a studio and hire various musicians but not show up.

Maybe she is doing the Anita Baker....... totally stop recording to raise the kids.

Maybe I'm just in need of some new music from her.. I will just have to settle for listening to The Score (The Fugees) or The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill albums.

Dooooooo-Vaallllllllll

When I was growing up it was a little confusing to me that Duval County = Jacksonville, Florida.

My father explained to me the process of a consolidated city, which basically made the entire county of Duval...... The city of Jacksonville.

To make it a bit easier to understand... Back in the day the City of Jacksonville city limits were basically a 3-5 mile ratio from downtown.

About 40 years ago... October 1, 1968 to be exact, Jacksonville's city and county governments merged. Of course things were a bit more primitive then and before the merger the majority vote belonged to black residents.

So lets take present day Jacksonville.... we have taken "Duval" county to a new high. Actually I better say it right it right "Dooooooo-Vaaaaallllll"
This call and response chant/saying/greeting has taken on a life of it's own. People scream it out in the club, on the street, Jaguar Mike Peterson, and Paul Spicer scream it along with mascot Jaxon DeVille holding up his "DEW-VALL" sign. Did you see the video of rock band Lynyrd Skynyrd yelling it at the Jag game?

You have to make sure to explain to the "outsider" how to say it right. Jay-Z couldn't quite get it and Barack Obama didn't really belt it out like I wanted him to. Needless to say my inspiration to write this was Michelle Obama really reppin "Doooooo-Vaaaaaaalll" at the rally on Wednesday.

About a year ago I had a pretty in depth conversation about the origins of "Dooooo-vaaaall". I hate to hurt some feeling's but it wasn't started by anyone on the radio, (Easy please stop taking credit), Bigga Rakin or Cool Runnings. After my conversation and a little research, I'm going to say the creator is Thrill da Playa from the 69boyz. He has been reppin duval, and screaming it for a long time.

I have even been to shows that he has done out side of Jacksonville, and he was still yelling "Doooooo-Vaaaaaaal". I'm sure I will get a few hate emails about it, but I am awarding him the creator title.

Keeping it REAL.....

I am addicted

Not to the pipe or that nickel bag but to reality TV. It started out as no big deal with The Real World on MTV…

Looking back I was a functioning addict then, with that once a week shot of reality.

Today I am pookie from New Jack City…… Strung out and craving for my next hit….

The Amazing Race, Top Chef, Project Runway, Wife Swap, The Osbournes, Intervention, Airline, The Apprentice, Celebrity Fit Club, I want to work for Diddy, Being Bobby Brown…. I could go on but this is just a short list of my drugs…

I’m sure from time to time you have taken a hit….. American Idol.. Dancing with the Stars… What about the ever popular train wreck Flavor Of Love?

Well my new drug of choice is The Real Housewives of Atlanta, which will follow a similar format of the OC and New York predecessors. The show debuted this week on Bravo and they got me already.

I’m well aware that most women in Atlanta are not like this group…… There are plenty that are, but MOST aren’t. I ain’t saying they are golddiggers, but they ain’t messing with no…… (You know the rest)

This show is just so totally wrong because these women are the shallowest, bitchiest, and most materialistic tricks I have seen in a long time... (And I have seen a lot) but I Love it!!!!

I mean these chicks are The Real Housewives of the OC, and NYC on speed. There is nothing wrong with designer labels, extravagant homes/birthday parties and fully loaded Escalades, but I guess it’s the way you get them.

Since only one episode has aired, I can’t really put my finger on who the villain of the show will be, but I have narrowed it down to NeNe or Sheree. Sheree is the ex of some athlete, and she is fighting him for money so that she can continue to maintain her lifestyle, which includes an extensive staff (personal assistant, chef, and publicist) and buying $3,500 handbags that look like you can get them for a tenth of the price at Gateway.

Well, here are a few more of my personal notes about the show. One of the ladies featured on the show named Lisa Wu-Hartwell is the ex-wife of Keith Sweat. The show will make it seem like she has just one child, because the 2 sons that she has with Keith will not be on the show. Keith wouldn’t give permission for the boys to be on the show…..

Enjoy the housewives……… believe me I will

Election Time

Well, the final debate is over...........

If you can believe it or not there is only about a week until the election.

As we learned in the last Presidential election, winning the state of Florida is MAJOR.

If you don’t think so, watch how many events/appearances the candidates will be doing in Florida until election day.

In fact McCain will be in Miami today and Obama will be in the state on Monday so no one is ignoring the state.

The deadline has passed to register, so at this point the focus needs to be getting to the polls. Call friends and family and make sure that they have a ride.

If you can vote early…. On election day I have a feeling that there will be more than a few lines.

Once again I am not telling you who to vote for…… Just to VOTE.

Do We Really All That Greese

I was a little upset earlier this week and I am going to share with you why.

I heard rumors that a local radio company was thinking bringing back “The Greaseman” who was a pretty well known radio DJ in the early 80's.

Some of you were not lucky enough to be born and raised in Jacksonville, but a few of us were and remember him. The best way to describe him is....

He was actually Howard Stern before there was Howard Stern…. If that makes any sense.

He was one of the first “Shock Jock” radio guys. He was entertaining, and constantly stayed right on the edge. Well after making a name for himself in Jax he moved onto bigger cities and made a bigger name for himself… Then he slipped and fell over the edge.

In 1985 while talking about the Martin Luther King holiday he said: "Why don't we plug four more and get the whole week off?"

Or in 1999 after playing a Lauryn Hill song that I guess he really didn't like he said: "and they wonder why we drag them behind trucks." Making reference to the murder of James Byrd who was murdered by being dragged behind a pickup truck by white supremacist.

Don Imus wasn’t the first to have a slip of the tongue, and I’m sure he is not going to be the last… But obviously if he can say those things… there is a bit of truth in there about the way he feels.

It's just such a double standard, and it seems like the african American community is so disconnected from a lot of the issues being thrown our way.

I emailed my complaints to the powers at said radio company, but on Wednesday 10/1 the Greaseman returned to Jacksonville….

Tropic Thunder and Rain

I’ve had a few conversations the last few weeks about the movie Tropic Thunder. Truth be told I had no idea that it would do as well at the box office as it has.

Box office numbers aside the issues have been the use of the word retard in the movie and the “blackface” acting of Robert Downey Jr.
My son and I went to preview the movie a few days before the actually release.
I personally had no problem with it and my son laughed throughout so I am assuming he had no problem with it either.

The friends I talked to had a problem with Downey playing a black man when obviously he is clearly white as they come.
I can take a joke with the best of them, and it wasn’t like Downey played the part spewing the N-word throughout the movie.
In fact I don’t remember him saying it at all...... His playing of a black man is one of the story lines of the film.

Critics are slamming the movie but how can you not see or understand tongue in cheek comedy, when most of the other cast (Ben Stiller and Jack Black) are masters at it….

Was Robert Downey’s part a little hambone and step and fetch it?… Yes it was, but I’m smart enough to know a goofy comedy when I see it.

RIP...... Bernie Mac

Last weekend, we were hit hard by the deaths of Bernie Mac and Isaac Hayes. I have been trying all week to find a way to write this, but honestly I am still numb by both of these deaths.

Remember how Dave Chappelle did the Charlie Murphy’s true hollywood stories? Well I’m sort of like Charlie because I have true stories about everyone. I am not going to go into details about Mac, but I will say that the first time I met him he cursed me out from A-Z…..
I won’t say why, but everytime I saw him after that he remembered cursing me out and we laughed about it....

Mac was a young 50 years old, and when my blackberry went off on Saturday morning, I said to myself that this has to be wrong….
I had just talked to someone a few days earlier and they said he was still in the hospital but getting better……

It is so ironic that Mac was last seen on the big screen in 2007 in the blockbuster hit Transformers, and Saturday night when I got home it was on HBO.

Mac started doing stand up in Chicago, and his performance on HBO's Def Comedy Jam thrust him into the spotlight. It also opened up doors for him to score minor roles in Friday, Booty Call, How to be a Player, and got him a talk show on HBO called Midnight Mac.

Being one of the original Kings of Comedy, he was also one of the few African American comedic actors to be able to break out of the traditional "black comedy" genre having roles in Ocean's Eleven, being Bosley in Charlie's Angels: Full Throttle and co-starring in Guess Who with Ashton Kutcher. Plus in 2004 having his first starring role as Mr. 3000.

Mac’s last completed film was Soul Men, which will also star Isaac Hayes along with Samuel L. Jackson. It is scheduled to be released on November 14, and the story is of two estranged soul-singing legends who agree to participate in a reunion performance at the Apollo Theater to honor their recently deceased band leader.

His voice will also be featured in the animated Madagascar II movie which will be out next year.

The world just got a little less funny... RIP - Bernie Mac

Fair Eastside High..... Sorry Mr. Clark!!!

I have always been a fan of 71-year old Oscar winning actor Morgan Freeman.

I mean ALWAYS…

When I was much much much younger I remember him being on The Electric Company TV show….

Am I the only one who remembers Easy Reader?

He has been in too many movies to name but who can forget Morgan as Joe Clark in Lean On Me? He plays “God” in Hollywood movies Bruce Almighty and Evan Almighty, plus he is also Batman’s right hand man.

Morgan was Driving miss Daisy this week and got in a pretty bad accident. He suffered a broken arm, broken elbow and minor shoulder damage. He had to have surgery to repair the damage. The woman in the car was not his wife, but a friend of hers…

Morgan’s wife of 24 years, Myrna, has long suspected her husband of carrying on with her friend and now the truth comes out with this accident. The marriage has been rocky for awhile, and now they’re headed for divorce…… This has soap opera written all over it!!!!

Morgan’s family members have been left stunned by the recent events. While they’re happy he survived the car accident, they can’t believe how he has humiliated his long suffering wife.

This Just Ain't Right

Whitney Houston and Ray J…….

Every time I see these two it makes my stomach hurt…

This shows that it is possible to go from bad to worse.

Queen Whitney at one time ruled the music charts. Countless songs and albums, movies like The Bodyguard, and Waiting to Exhale then who could forget her staring role in the reality show Being Bobby Brown?

As I watched that show I just knew it was the beginning of the end.

Well I will be the first to admit when I am wrong, and I was. Whitney has cleaned up with the help of music God Clive Davis, divorced Bobby and is set to release a new album within the next year. So with all the positive momentum how the hell does Ray J fit in the mix?

Well this week various cameras caught Whitney and Ray-J exiting Villa nightclub in Hollywood, climbing into a car and kissing. (Wait.. I just threw up in my mouth)

I am hearing that this is causing a few alarms to go off. Friends of Whitney feels she should be devoting her time to her unfinished album and her teenage daughter….. Ray J has just signed a deal for a new reality show, and they feel he is using her to get ratings….. You Think???

BET... Come on

The week of the BET awards I expressed my displeasure with the network. For me, it all stems from the network that it started out as to the network it is now.

When BET started the foundation was Bobby Jones on Sunday’s, and Video Soul during the week. The programming continued to expand with Video Vibrations, Rap City, BET news, BET Tonight with Ed Gordon, Teen Summit, Comic View, etc.

Today, most of the needed shows are gone (Teen Summit, BET News) and the talent is horrible. Remember when it was Donnie Simpson or Sherry Carter on Video Soul? What about how well Ananda Lewis and Prince Dajour delt with teens and their issues on Teen Summit?

I said that all that to address the recent foolishness that is happening on BET’s 106th and Park.

The two very young acting hosts (Rocsi and Terrance) had their usual ignorant banter back and forth, then Rocsi acted like she got upset and stormed off the set…

Now people this is what in entertainment a “Bit”… She acts mad at him walks off the set then take s a vacation while people speculate if she is coming back. Is “Bit” was done for ratings.

106’s ratings have not really been that good lately, and they already did this when AJ and Free were the host.

Check the video below to see exactly what I am talking about. This is such a poor acting job by Terrance and Rocsi..

BET please step your game up….. PLEASE!!!!

My open letter to Jesse

Dear Jesse

I have given you a pass because you walked with and supported Dr. King, ran for president of this great country, went overseas and got American hostages released and a few other warm and fuzzy things. You even came to my church in Jacksonville and preached a few years ago…… but I am really disappointed at the moment.

How could you get on national TV and say unsavory comments about ANY presidential candidate? Sure, you didn’t mean for these comments to be heard, by anyone but the guy you were talking to, but you had a mic on.

Of course I know you are not camera shy so I don’t fault you for going on FOX news. But for you to make comments when you were wearing a mic… COME ON!!!!! You are no novice to doing live radio or TV interviews.
RULE #1….Always treat a mic as it is on!!! Then the audio just happen to be leaked…. (Thanks Fox news)

Maybe you are feeling the need to inject yourself into this presidential race. Maybe you are feeling unloved since you are not being interviewed on a weekly basis about…… something.

Well did you get what you wanted? You are in the middle of a media circus and the attention is back on you for awhile.

Thanks Jesse

BET Awards

The BET awards was a few weeks ago and I subjected myself to random acts of ignorance by watching it.

It’s nothing new.. I am presently just so disappointed with the network… After being purchased by Viacom (MTV, VH1, Comedy Central) I just knew the productions and the station as a whole would step up to the level of MTV or VH1…. Boy was I wrong…

Of course this is just my opinion….. but the highlights of the night were….. Alicia Keys performing and bringing out EnVogue, SWV and TLC. The return of Maxwell…. Yes, he had been missing in action, but he returned and paid tribute to Al Green along with Jill Scott and Anthony Hamilton. Keyshia Cole’s Mother and sister should never be in front of any camera…. ANYWHERE!!!

Usher was like watching paint dry, DL Hughley wasn’t really funny, Michael Jackson…. I mean Ne-yo was boring. T-Pain…. was T-pain (I have no words to describe)….
Also there were way too many award winner no-shows… The Dream, Missy, Mary J, Halle, Denzel and Mariah. I was honestly waiting for R. Kelly to pop out ant any moment…. BET you just gotta do better…… PLEASE!!!!

Speaking of R. Kelly, The NBC crime drama Law And Order will be featuring a fall episode featuring a reenactment of the R Kelly Child pornography trial…. Can’t wait for that!!!!!

Wimbledon 2008

I’m watching TV, and I gotta say, there is nothing better than Venus and Serena in a Wimbledon final.

Now I’m not just talking about he outfits either… LOL

Venus just beat Serena 7-5, 6-4 to win her fifth Wimbledon title, but it wasn’t easy. Hell I don’t think I could return a serve from either one of the Williams sisters. The most ironic thing is that they have to play in the doubles final later today….