Black Magic

I am so happy that on Sunday night I was able to catch part one of ESPN’s documentary Black Magic, which gives an in depth absolutely mesmerizing account of how historically black college basketball players struggled to get respect, recognition and dang how they struggled just for the chance to compete. I mean the doc starts by giving the details of a secret match between North Carolina’s College for Negroes and some random cats from Duke’s Medical School. The game was done behind close doors in secret with nary a seat filled. It had to be this way b/c in 1944 Blacks, err Negroes were not allowed to play with whites. Later to hear cats like Earl "The Pearl" Monroe tell it, you really get an idea of the isolation and the frustration they experienced. Earl’s story of how he went away to college and how the coach (the phenomenal Clarence Gaines) would work him so hard on the court but didn’t give him the play he felt he deserved was humorous, heartfelt and crazy poignant. Of course he went on to play for the NBA and became a legend. (Earl, I know you read this here blog and I have to say it publicly how grateful I am to now know your story!)

If you can, please check this documentary. As a matter of fact buy it if it ever goes to market. It will definitely educate you about civil rights and professional sports (The Negro Baseball League wasn’t the only entity that was affected). It is simply remarkable how these brothers changed the game, which shouldn’t come as a surprise after seeing how Tiger has rocked golf and even Venus and Serena in Tennis. Before Blacks b-balled white boys would just stroll up and down the court with a slow dribble and pass three-step. When brothers were allowed to compete they were running up and down the court like the Klan was on their as*. I really hope every current slick talkin, blinged-out NBA player sees Black Magic. Maybe they will be inspired to play harder, hit the hardwood and fight for the ball and play like it’s an opportunity of a lifetime. Because it is really is.

Weekend Washout: The Wire

As if the rain wasn't bad enough, it was so, so sad to see The Wire go bye-bye. As I mentioned here before The Wire was one of those shows that had that crunky trifecta for great tv —superb writing, outstanding, gritty acting and some serious directing. Personally I loved seeing so many of my homies from round the way make their mark and give HBO some more color, some more shine and some more edge, and of course it was gratifying knowing their hard work was finally paying off and they were getting paid. Andre Royo, who deserves an Emmy for his work this season, has paid mad dues (he played a dude named Fruity Pebblez in Big Bank Take Little Bank-- need I say more). I met him while working with Mums in this wonderful production he did for the Hip Hop Theater festival many moons ago and always thought he was as intriguing on screen as off. And of course Sonia Sohn, who I met sometime in the 90's when she was down with the amazingly tight spoken word cipher of the time. She always had that thing and would hit us with her crazy sexy cerebral flow. I remember one of her most popular poems was about sex and I can’t even remember anything more specific other than the reaction of deep guttural whoas and frenzied screams she would get every time by everyone within earshot. It was seductive, heart stabbing hard, and full of passionate angst. Now that I think about it, that poem sounds a lot like her Detective Shakima Greggs. I bet Sonia laced David Simon's eardrums with that joint and got the part just like that. I wouldn’t be surprised. Anyway I loved so many of the characters on the Wire especially the ladies and thanks to Maxwell (yep that one, now that The Wire is done he promises to finish his album... lol) he's posted all of their pics in an homage of sorts.

Mid-week Musings: Biggie, Project Runway, & Mediabistro

So it seems like the screenplay written by Cheo Hodari Coker for the much hyped Notorious BIG movie is a BIG bore (NY Mag's Vulture).


Mediabistro, a site that I check damn near everyday for freelance gigs and cool media news is a having their first media conference (Mediabistro Circus) to discuss and mull over the latest interactive strategies and tech platforms. Too bad in 2008 we are voting for what could be the first Black prez of the US but for their first conference MB can't find any Black bloggers or tech heads to discuss online media. What the hell?

Next week Project Runway may actually have a real contest between the three final designers. Christian, who I initially thought was going to just kill it at the end, was very disappointing last night. His looks definitely need to be edited as Tim so politely declared, when we all know he wanted to say Christian get a grip on reality and make something that a buyer Michael Kors can realistically consider assimilating. You are not in England anymore! Rami and especially Jillian's clothing looked great!

The Best Thing About The Grammys

Ironically, the best thing about the Grammies last night didn't even happen in the Staples Center. It was over the pond and through the woods to Amy's (Wine)house. Amy's performance at, the otherwise mega yawn of an award show, was everything we held out for-- unpredictable, uneasy, spontaneous and authentic. All the qualities diluted in today's bling-blonde-bland music industry. Her phrasing was off the cuff and very often reminiscent of Ella. And her melodies were off the chain-- reminiscent of Lauryn. The 50th anniversary of "the biggest night in music" was quite reflective of these post-iPod times. There were a lot of pyrotechnics and very, very dark performances (Kanye); a ton of collabos, but nothing that sparked (Tina should have performed solo and Morris Day & The Time didn't need Rihanna up in their mix! Janet maybe? Prince definitely? Umbrella –ella-ella... not!) Oh well, thank God for You Tube. Check Amy's performance out below:

A Raisin In The Sun

Last night I took my spiritual god mama out to the screening/ panel discussion of the upcoming made for TV movie version of A Raisin In The Sun at the new Times Center building. With Phylicia Rashad, Diddy, Audra McDonald and Kenny Leon all on the panel it was, of course, a sold out affair. The movie itself is quite good. I really, really liked being able to see and to get a wonderful sense for what it was like living on the south side of Chicago in the 1950's from a Black perspective. The backdrop of the landscape and the people and seeing Mama Lena and Walter Lee's work environments just gave the play that much more body and soul.

Not to give anything away but the ending is slightly different from the book and the play, which gives the overall theme of this historic play a slightly new twist or nuance if you will. Just as I was about to ask Kenny and company about this change the dang host announced the event was over and the lights came up and my mic was silenced. Let me tell you they run this Times Center stage like a unioned Broadway production—started right on time and ended exactly when they said they would. Sucks for me though! This is like the third time this has happened to me recently. I've got a really strong question and I don't get to ask it because the Ashlee Simpson looking chick in front of me is talking about how she is a revolutionary for change and voting, yada, yada, yada. Ugh! And the chick in front of her in her red satin spaghetti strapped cocktail dress gushed about her new book of poetry and how she dedicated it to Ms. Rashad blah, blah, blah. That kind of crap should have happened after the show in the waiting wings by the exit door. Oh well. It is what it is. I'll get my Q&A moment eventually!

I'm a fan and wannabe student of theatre. I go every year and sometimes two and three times a year depending on what's out and how phat my pockets may be. I'm looking forward to Cat On a Hot Tin Roof. What about you? How many of you go to see theater and do you think adding pop celebs like Diddy, Fantasia and now Terrence Howard (in Cat) to the cast make a production more popular and therefore more successful? Check the trailer for Raisin below and check it out when it hits your boob tube on February 25th at 8pm on ABC.

Raisin>
In The Sun

Media Madness: The Wire, The Voice & Essence Mag

Last night as I was preparing for bed, I decided to flip to HBO to see what was popping and ended up catching the First Look for the upcoming last season of The Wire. Whoa, that joint was so fascinating that I ended up watching the entire segment! Featuring interviews with cast members about their roles and intertwining that with interviews with real life folk on whose lives these cast members base their characters and then juxtaposing all that against the real-city life of Baltimore it was very insightful and even a tad bit riveting. It totally resonated with me because this upcoming season, if you haven't heard, revolves around the media, The Baltimore Sun, in particular and how the media can distort, challenge and define what is considered factual, especially in criminal investigations and most especially when they involve Black folk, specifically Black men. Catch my drift?

Never mind that it's edgy plots, hard core portrayal of drug slinging and raw characterizations rendered Denzel's American Gangster into nothing more than Ken Burns fodder for me, The Wire ironically and simply is a testament to great screenwriting and amazing journalistic depth.

And I had no idea who or what would be exacted in executive producer David Simon's scope this season so this was a pleasant surprise especially after just griping that afternoon about the absolute booty crust attempt at writing record reviews in this week's Village Voice. Print advertising is down and newspapers are especially shook with corporate buyouts left and right and so I'm guessing editors just don't give a fluck about dope styles, personal voice, description, knowledge of subject matter and general literacy because what I read about Cassidy and Gucci Mane and the rest of dem rappers was most definitely fluckless. I felt like I was reading someone's blog, a scraggly one at that-- run on thoughts tapped out in the middle of the night in a drunken haze of overambition and idiocy. I can't believe this is the same paper that has published gems by writers like Greg Tate, Michael Gonzales, Joan Morgan and Nelson George. Not only did /do I value my work experience at The Voice, but I give soooo much credit to becoming a good writer from reading, writing and inhaling The Voice back in the 90's! Reading that review really hurt me and my sensibilities.

My other beef, no I'll say, utter confoundment, is with Essence Magazine. Can someone (and I know there are folks reading this that know) please explain to me why the January issue was only 170 pages? Either do a year-end double issue like most mags or publish a real full-bodied issue. That joint was so thin... my Pathmark circular is thicker. I knew it had to be a joke especially since Juanita Bynum is on the cover, especially since she was just featured in the previous issue, especially since the feature is based on the same interview from the previous issue. I could not believe they recycled info that was just used. Like I would have forgotten that I just read that mofo four weeks ago. Huh? Before I could even ask what da hell is going on over there, I get hit up by Miles Marshall Lewis about Susan Taylor leaving Essence. What?!? But she is Essence. Yeah something is going on over there. First of all she exits during the holiday break when everything is quiet and closed and then the Times article doesn't even feature quotes from current staff members about her exit. Can someone please hit me up about what’s really going on. You can post anonymously.

And even though this is kinda old, since I'm on the topic of exits and publishing mayhem. Here's some news about Len Burnett and other folk bouncing from Vibe.

African American Women: Where They Stand

On Monday, NBC Nightly News with Brian Williams kicked off their series African American Women: Where They Stand, a five-part series exploring some of the issues facing African American women. Veteran reporter, Brian Williams opened the segment by introducing the critical issue of education and the large disparity in achievement between African-American men and women graduating from college. Knowing that I was not going to catch the first segment, I asked my friend and fellow writer Renee Cole to check it out and let me know what she thought. Below is her review:

Rehema Ellis, an African American NBC General News Correspondent began by featuring Mia Jackson, a 39-year old single mother from Maryland, who graduated from Stanford University and currently owns a successful marketing business.

A Black woman that graduated from one of the top schools in the U.S. and owns a successful business is hardly stereotypical, but when Ellis comments that Jackson "likes being in charge," and then adds, "it is the reason she left the corporate world,” one can’t help but wonder if she is suggesting that that is the same reason Ms. Jackson is single. And therein lies the stereotype: Black women want to run stuff. They like to be in charge and society (read white people) can’t deal with an assertive Black woman.

The report continued by highlighting the huge disparity between Black women and Black men as being 'rooted in education.' Ellis stated 64% of college graduates are women outnumbering men at college campuses 7:1. She mentions the reasons for the disparities are complicated alluding to the fact that there are other implications regarding the social status of African American men. She goes on to say, "Some people blame schools that often give up on African American males at the elementary level."

After a short portion of the video for the rap song, In Da Club by 50-Cent plays in the background, Ellis says, "In a society that celebrates bad boy images Black males get the idea that dropping out of school is better than staying in."

Without going into too many details the subliminal message here is young Black men are too busy getting caught up thinking that living a thug life and surviving long enough to rap about it can lead to success faster and easier than attending school and graduating.

The segment was short-- about 2 minutes in length, but unlike other mainstream features about African Americans, I feel it was fair, balanced and consistent. Ellis presented the reality that Black women like Mia Jackson are using education to make great economic strides controlling their own destiny and yes, in charge! Ms. Jackson hopes that her daughter, a sophomore at Stanford, continues to promote the advancement of African American women.

The point is Black women are using education to make power moves, do the damn thing and make it happen. You can believe Black women stand high and mighty when it comes to education and economic achievement, but Black women often stand alone. If Black women are excelling while Black men are lagging behind, falling prey to social injustices and a pervasive subculture called hip hop, what will be the overall impact on African Americans? That is something that should be addressed, but in all fairness to Ms. Ellis, the segment was about Black women.

VH1's Hip Hop Honors

Well last night VH1 unfurled and hurled at us one of their most notorious, most popular and probably most successful shows, their "VH1's Hip Hop Honors." It was something that I was actually looking forward to especially after not participating or attending one of the many events held in NYC in conjunction with this highly feted event.

I heard that Dougie Fresh performed at Plumm last Thursday night. On Friday there was some panel with the unfortunate, lame as$, oh so tired title "Does Hip Hop Hate Women" (hip hop is a culture first of all; and can we stop just looking at rap and look at our communities, at education, at family life... shoot the more interesting topic would be does the public educational system hate black children or does US Healthcare hate Black women and if so how do these dilemmas affect the shape and contours of Black (self) love). This panel was produced ironically by this hip organization with the crazy cool name Black Girls Rock! that on the following night, kicked it up 50 notches with an awards ceremony that honored women of color in the hip hop game like Missy Elliott, music industry prez Sylvia Rhone and designer Tracy Reese. If the weather wasn't so dang amazing this past weekend I would've love to have attended the awards ceremony, which I think is an absolutely wonderful and most needed exercise in these days when sisters are still overlooked for their many accomplishments. I was also invited to my very first 'gifting lounge' like the kind they have at the Oscars but alas the ocean was calling my name and I couldn't resist Her sweet whisper and so I headed to Sag where I went swimming, sunning and even attempted to fish with a rickety rod. I was totally, incredibly blissed out!

So last night back in the city I wanted to get my taste of Hip Hop Honors and see what I had missed. These are my thoughts. Please tell me what you thought:

The Best:
The tributes to Tribe and Wild Style (seeing Grandmaster Caz, KRS-One and Busy Bee, backed by Grandwizard Theodore on one stage gave me goosebumps) were top-notch but the best moment of the night for me was seeing Whodini on stage. They looked like they were having fun and when the guys started battle dancing and freestyling it instantly took me back to the days when rap music was pure fun and brothas used to dance and act silly all the while keepin it funky fresh. The fact they ended their set by literally pulling Grandmaster Dee of of the turntables was also special because everyone knows hip hop, back in the day, was all about the dj and so that was a very symbolic end to a hot performance.

The Worse:
There's nothing more excruciating than T-Pain w/o his vocoder or voice synthesizer. He can't sing a lick and tarnished the entire New Jack swing set. I know Andre Harrell was pissed!

The Most Inexplicable Guest:
Harvey Keitel

The Least Recognizable Guest:
Phife - man has he aged but he's been sick struggling with diabetes and from I've heard needs a kidney transplant so that I guess would also explain the bloating

Pepa – what's up with her Latoya Jackson nose job. And you can tell she obviously had the surgery after her VH1 loot came through because in previews of her and Salt's show she's got, what Paul Mooney would call, her Black nose. She unlike Phife has NO excuse!

Most Fun Moments:
Hearing the honorees talk about their genesis and evolution especially Snoop, Andre & Whodini!

Dead Air:
After awhile Tracy Morgan's taxi hip hop escapades got a bit redundant and stupid.

Overall it was cool. I am a big fan of Tribe and Snoop; I've had Wild Style on VHS since the early 90's; used to sweat out my press & curl dancing to Whodini's Friends and The Freaks Come out at Night; and I still have my Teddy Riley – Marley Marl 'New Jack Swing' mix tape that I recorded straight off the radio waaaay back in the day.

I'm not sure how it is that Missy who I LOVE got inducted before Queen Latifah. I just don't feel like she has the history or is a legend like that quite yet. Her all grrrl tribute though was nice and I must say I was most impressed by Nelly Furtado. Her tone, cadence and inflection of melody is stupid fresh never mind that fly Black dress she rocked. Does anyone know if she wrote her verse in the remix to Get Ur Freak ON? Yo she may need to start rhyming and if she can flow as tightly in Spanish and sing.. she could really do some damage.
It was good to see Tweet although I couldn't really see her for the mop on her head but you know what I mean. And after last night performance I look forward to finally hearing Tip's solo record. Has anyone seen him on tour with Common? It seems like he still has a lot of fire up in those bones and his vocal chords are still nice and chiseled with that quirky uniquely cute voice of his. What did you think of the show?

And what is up with women in hip hop? We weren't well represented last night but then again half of the ladies are going to jail or just got out-- Foxy, Remy, Lil Kim and Eve. A couple are alleged looney tunes Lauryn Hill and Da Brat. And the rest are simply MIA—Rage, Miss Melody, Rah Digga, Yo-Yo.

What other women in hip hop could/ should VH1 honor? Check out one of my faves> And someone please tell me where I can get a Wild Style t-shirt? Holllaaaa!

A President's Day Quickie

Okay so I'm running out the door but I just stumbled on this editorial by author Trey Ellis. He's commenting on Blackness and politics and therefore on Obama:
I bit my tongue for as long as I could, reading essay after essay about Obama and his "blackness" that were about as insightful as if they'd been written in the era of Flip Wilson. Geez! Doesn't anybody watch the Disney Channel these days? The complexion of America has changed in the last thirty years.

His comments are interesting if not controversial as he takes his 1989 theory on The New Black Aesthetic and remixes it for a discussion on what he calls cultural mulattos:

A genetic mulatto is a black person of mixed parents who often can get along fine with his white grandparents, a cultural mulatto, educated by a multi-racial mix of cultures, can also navigate easily in the white world.

I hear Trey on the prevalence of cultural mulatto-ing. I mean my girl Nae and I have a whole run down on the pros and cons of attending Hunter High School for six years and how our real education came not so much from the literature we studied or the mathematical equations we solved but from our social interactions with boys and girls of all ethnicities, shades and financial backgrounds. We learned things about race that no book can teach and use those same lessons to this day in Corporate America. The whole theory on why do all the Black kids eat at the same lunch table just gets flipped to why do all the Black girls go out for drinks together after work? Do we straddle the fence of being in a Black and White world yeah I guess so. But does that straddling come into conflict with our Blackness. Nope not for us personally and not really for the white or Black folks we deal with. A few things about Trey editorial that I don't understand or agree with:

About Colin Powell-- truth is all my peeps whether they are born in Jamaica or born in England or born here will still say they are Jamaican because that is their culture and their family’s homeland. I don't ever hear any of them say they are Black American and furthermore I don't see what’s the big deal. Maybe I'm missing something here. Please y’all help me out!

This sentence here about Denise, Sandra, Vanessa and Rudy Huxtable:

The culturally mulatto Cosby girls are equally as black as a black teenage welfare mother.

I kinda disagree with him here because of the role class plays in how they rolled in their Blackness and therefore what they were exposed to and how that was played out. I mean the girls never talked about their hair and how different that was from their white friends. What Black girl in all white or in mixed environments never thinks about their hair or their skin complexion especially in the 80’s? (Of course this gets really complicated when we look at Sandra and Denise who in real life are both biracial and looked very much like the genetic mulattas they really were in spite of being cast as the children of two very brown-skinned parents!) In terms of Black culture it is still hard for me to say that the Huxtables were the quintessential Black fam. Just as I have a hard time swallowing that James, Florida and the rest of the Evans crew were the ultimate Black family. I know Trey would ask me was one fam more Black than the other and I guess in theory I would have to say no. It’s just in 2007 it still seems like these types of conversations in the first place do so much to stifle, contort and constrict definitions of all that Black folks are. Do Asians have these same conversations?

And then although I think Trey’s essay is engaging and definitely a good convo for the water cooler I do feel like his last sentence just simplifies everything. But maybe like me he was tight on time and didn't have a chance to say more so I won’t be mad. Alright I gotta bounce there's some President's Day sales I need to check out.

Later.

Grammy Night

I missed the first 40 minutes but here's my run-down on last night's show:
1: Mary J. Blige's performance was outstanding! She looked stunning and sophisticated in her silver-white gown (got rid of that diamond tooth). And the whole opera-inspired set was one bit over the top cause MJB was giving us mad royal-flav, divaesque divinations and Kathleen Battle hair. I'm not even one of those chicks that's just crazy about Mary just cause. Honestly I think half the time when she sings her off pitch shrill is not cool. But last night her vocals were strong and sweet like Jamaican coffee on a breezy morning. When she came out later in that red jumpsuit I was floored. Mary looked and sounded better than ever! Last night was ladies night and our grrrl just made us all so proud!

2. On the flip side what the heck was Corinne Bailey Rae doing on stage last night? I kinda like her and her boheme booty but she sat there and strummed all of three notes last night and sang like she was in her bathtub. Does she even know how to play the guitar? Or better yet does she have a pulse?

3. Cee-lo has got the most beautifullest teeth and smile!

4. The audience gave Justin Timberlake a standing ovation, but not Ornette Coleman What the frack?

5. Common is too cute. Is he still single?

6. Was Smokey wearing a Black lace shirt or was my cable just screwed up and didn't he look bug-eyed like he had just seen a ghost or maybe he just made eye contact with Imogen Heap?

7. And why is Lionel Ritchie still the ishniz! I mean I was singing Hello and thinking about that song and how in 2007 it's still fresh and hot like cornbread and warm maple syrup.

8. Christina Aguillera singing It's a Man's World?!? Damn I really wanted to be mad at this Latina/Europhile for thinking she can sing a song so connected to Black Male Power and Identity, but she kinda killed it. Okay she murdered it! Did you see Jamie Foxx's expression afterwards? Honestly I don't think he would have been able to pull it off (I think he knows it too and so that's why he had to give CA a nod up). The same holds true for R. Kelly and Prince although I think their versions would be interesting, they may not really be fitting tributes to the Godfather of Soul. And I'm so glad they didn’t have what seems like the new progenitors of soul and R&B—Justin Timberlake or Robin Thicke—perform it. Grrrls like Alicia Keys and even MJB would have given it a nice try, but that’s about it. Yeah Christina did JB justice, but I still wish a brother sang that joint. Corey Glover, D'Angelo or even Anthony Hamilton would have surely turned that mutha out.


9. Okay I didn't realize how many legends in music we had lost in the past year-- Ahmet Ertegun, James Brown, Billy Preston, Ruth Brown, Arif Mardin, Gerald Levert...

10. Did Tony Bennett's "I Left My Heart in San Francisco" somehow inspire Tribe’s "I Left My Wallet in El Segundo"?

11. I don't care what anybody says Gnarls Barkley's "Crazy" was the song of the year. That joint was played everywhere and loved by so many and the thought that they may have been snuffed because they turned down an offer by McDonalds which would have made "Crazy" soar into Golden Arch ubiquity should be counted as a win and not a loss.

12. The end of the show couldn't have been more anti-climatic. I like the Chili Peppers but they didn't get it up. Maybe that's what happens when they don't rock in their socks.

theHotness Grrrl Thinks Very Deeply... Sorta

How fly is Oprah? The Academy she opened in South Africa is amazing? And what's up with all the backlash she's getting about spending HER money in Africa. Some haters are wondering why she didn't give it to public schools here in America? Or my favorite quip: how the school is "too lavish and grand" for such a small number of attendees (152 to start and 450 when all grades are fully enrolled). If it was Barbara Walters opening a school in Milan for aspiring artists and it featured art studios and spas no one would say anything. But a Black woman can't open a 40 million dollar school in rural Africa without folks thinking it's too much. Yeah it's always too much for Black girls to be taking yoga and violin lessons when they should be focusing on their fundamentals like double-dutch and domesticity. Just give them darkies a jump rope and a mop and they'll be aight, seems to be what this backlash is implying. Well now I hope folks like Bill Cosby, Bob Johnson and Jennifer Lopez will show their support and their middle finger by opening up other similar institutions in places like Ghana and Puerto Rico. You rock Oprah! And if you are looking for instructors? I'm so down!

Why are all the guys on I Love New York gay? Is this some down-low reality love ish? And how flavorless is New York? Where is Flavor Flav when you need some really god-awful ebonics and craziness to watch?

What's PM Dawn up to these days? And how good does it feel to know that at one time urban radio (and MTV) was not so caught up in image and payola to spin a song like Set Adrift on Memory Bliss?

Black folks and Mexicans really did their thing last year in film and television (as seen by the noms and wins at this year's Golden Globes). Forest Whittaker as Idi Amin in Last King of Scotland was spectacular. He truly absorbed his character. He's actually now acting as the voice for Where The Wild Things Are (one of my most memorable children's books), which is supposed to be released sometime 2008. Then there's our Dream Girls cast where Eddie, Jennifer and Anika acted their ashes off. And finally Alejandro González Iñárritu and Guillermo Arriaga got recognized for their wonderful contributions to film (for Babel specifically; they also did 21 Grams and one of my absolute most favorite films Amores Perros). Salma Hayek and America Ferrara showed that Ugly is the new hotness and I'm sure Salma had to freaking stand her ground and take a lot of basura for creating a show based on a telenovella. I haven't seen Pursuit of Happyness yet but I hear from everyone including Karen Good who is not a big Will Smith fan that he is totally believable and so worth the $10.75 ticket. I really hope to get a chance to see Volver this weekend because I hear that Penelope Cruz is fantastic in this comedy and I really want to see her in something that shops me she's got all around acting skills.

Why can't magazines created for Black women (and women of color in general) survive in the publishing marketplace (i.e. Honey, Suede, Rebelle, Wink, err maybe even... Vibe Vixen?) Latina is a great mag that is doing well, so why can't the other joints get it together and compete?

Latina as a mag is doing well but why does seem like there is dearth of Latina women out here making (good) music? J. Lo can't be the only Boriqua who can sing? (Big-up to Carol C., Vinia Mojica, La Bruja, Sophia Ramos and Maya Azucena for doing their thing on the underground but dang why can't they get a deal!)

Was I the only one cringing when reading this article in last month's Esquire?

And are Black, umm... urban folks afraid of posting comments on blogs? I've talked to other Black bloggers and we know we have mad traffic but for some reason heads rarely post comments (BitterVibes' blog excluded)? Is this a cultural difference that needs to be analyzed? Like when the Web first came about and White folks would surf the Web while Black said we cruised it?

Hummph, just some thoughts I had today.

Thanks to KJ for using his subtle jedi hijinks to inspire the competitive spirit in me to blog more frequently. His blog is quite nice and surely something worth checking out!

Wedge Fund

Okay so you may think theHotness grrrl is all rant, no style. No, no, no. Although I hate these Pucci sandals, I do love clothes, shoes, and cute lil' accessories I just hate shopping for them. But now that the Web is all so blowed up, I must say shopping has become a bit more fun, well maybe not fun, but less stressful. Now I can at least scope out what I want first online and sometimes I'll just buy whatever right there on the site.

Anyway, flipping through my new Elle and Jane mags it's clear the classic wedge sandal is back in full effect. When I think of wedge clodhoppers from back in the day, I think about Thelma (BernNadette Stanis) from Good Times and Farrah Fawcett's Jill from Charlie' Angels. It's weird, but I do associate this very classic style with two icons of the 70's & 80's that somehow embodied humor, crass, sexiness, athleticism and independence all while having THE best smiles on network television! Wedges also remind me of Soul Train dancers jamming to Shalamar on Saturday mornings. That's probably why I'm still so fond of these joints even today-- cause nostalgically for me these kicks are totally linked to bad a$s women and soul! Needless to say I'm happy their back in style. Frankly I was wedge and platform sandal crazy in '99 and b/c I never throw anything away, I will be rocking my Steve Maddens and Luichiny's this summer cause they are thehotness. The SM's are pretty standard w/ tan leather straps crisscrossing the top. The Luichi's though are totally unique, black leather peep toes with a 4-inch dark brown wooden wedge platformed heel. They are crazy fly and being that I'm almost 5'10" without them, can you imagine how fiercely Amazonian I look with them! I wish I could've found pictures of them to post (yeah I really need to get a digital camera) but you'll have to take my word. And now that everything old is considered vintage I guess being a pack rat has its advantages.

And loving shoes doesn't mean being a fool for shoes (kinda like the rule I have about loving men). So you won't catch this hotgrrrl spending 5 or 6 bills on a pair of heels. Like I think these shoes are fiya, and these have my name, and in this specific case, shoe-size, written all over them, but instead I'll probably get these for the summer. I just can't break the piggy bank for kicks. And I love, love to walk around a lot, so I definitely can't be shelling out crazy loot for shoes that I can only walk from the front door to a taxi in. That's why this year I'm mostly excited about this place just for us grrrls who like to keep it real and tight laced.