Is your favorite show on the chopping block

I don’t know what favorite series shows you’re into,
but a few are in trouble – so says ol’ YAHOO:

airly safe shows like singing competitions and sitcoms were the biggest hits. Fantasy series – like ABC’s “Once Upon a Time” and NBC’s “Grimm” – fared surprisingly well. But shows set in the past – from the 1960s to the Mesozoic era – didn’t succeed. Neither did high-concept science fiction like Fox’s “Alcatraz” or NBC’s “Awake.” They were canceled last week, joining “Terra Nova” and “The Playboy Club.”

The networks’ most successful gambles this season were with existing shows, not new ones. CBS successfully revamped “Two and a Half Men” with Ashton Kutcher in place of Charlie Sheen. NBC ran “The Voice” in midseason against a CBS Monday night lineup, anchored by “Men,” that had looked bulletproof in the fall. “The Voice” ended up briefly surpassing Fox’s “American Idol” as the top-rated non-NFL programming on television, though “Idol” eventually retook the lead.

For the sake of full disclosure, an aside: We like risky shows. They keep TV fresh and interesting, and without some rolls of the dice, we would never have gotten “Seinfeld,” “Modern Family” or “Lost.” But for every risk that pays off, there are many more that make average viewers shake their heads and wonder what those network executives were thinking.

This was a season that seemed to depressingly reinforce stereotypes about the TV landscape: Networks remain the main home for mass-market reality shows, broad comedies and procedurals, while cable is the domain of novelistic period shows like “Mad Men” and “Boardwalk Empire” and hit genre series like “Game of Thrones” and “Walking Dead.”

Whatever is happening doesn’t seem to be good for TV: Overall, according to Nielsen, viewing was down 0.5 percent, or about 46 minutes per viewer per month in the fourth quarter of 2011 that included the start of the season. The decline came after years of consistent year-over-year growth.

Every show is a huge potential risk, and getting one on the air requires beating the odds again and again. But some shows are bigger gambles than others because of their setting, subject matter, complexity or flat-out weirdness. The flip side? Dark, complex, jarring shows are often the best ones, from “Lost” to “Breaking Bad.”

Networks have already taken some gambles for the upcoming season — but none that seem as risky as the ones from this one.

NBC’s midseason “Hannibal,” about the cannibalistic “Silence of the Lambs” villain, would sound insane if not for the success of the Hannibal Lecter film franchise.

NBC’s “The New Normal,” from “Glee” veterans Ryan Murphy and Allison Adler, features an extended family consisting of a gay couple and the surrogate mother of their child. That might be more challenging to traditional notions of family if not for the fact that “Modern Family,” which is tied for the top-rated sitcom on TV, hadn’t featured a gay couple with an adopted daughter for the last three seasons. NBC winkingly says the show features a “post-modern family.”

One of the most ambitious shows of the upcoming season is NBC’s “Revolution,” produced by “Lost” co-creator J.J. Abrams, which imagines a world in which all power suddenly disappears. Past “Lost”-influenced network shows in which a bizarre occurrence suddenly changes the world – from ABC’s “Flash Forward” to NBC’s “The Event” – haven’t fared well. But NBC is giving the show a plum timeslot after “The Voice,” its biggest hit.

Fox’s upcoming series — including “The Following,” a serial-killer drama led by Kevin Bacon, and a comedy starring “Office” vet Mindy Kaling, sound fairly straightforward — especially compared to last season’s Fox slate.

CBS is rolling the dice with another ’60s set show, “Vegas,” about a rodeo cowboy-turned-sheriff. Star power should help the show’s odds: It stars Dennis Quaid in the lead, and it also features Michael Chiklis, Carrie-Anne Moss, and “Terra Nova” vet Jason O’Mara. CBS’s “Elementary,” a Sherlock Holmes update set in modern-day New York, finds Jonny Lee Miller saying the magic word to a female Watson played by Lucy Liu.

ABC’s edgier offerings, meanwhile, include “666 Park Avenue,” about a young couple managing a historic apartment building that is home to dangerous supernatural happenings, and “Last Resort,” about a nuclear submarine crew that goes rogue after getting a sketchy order to deploy their weapons.

Here’s a look at some of the current season’s swing-and-a-misses, God rest their souls, and what lessons can be learned from them:

Terra Nova

The story of a family catapulted from the near future to the distance past died from a thousand cuts, administered by too many cooks. Too mixed metaphorical? Okay: It had a dozen executive producers, to go along with a massive budget, and tried to hedge by offering something for everyone. There was sci-fi. Family drama. Teenage romance. Action. A dystopian future. But in trying to please everyone – you know how this one goes, right? – it ended up pleasing very few. Fox canceled it amid low ratings. Still, good for Fox for giving it a shot. It’s impressive whenever a top-rated network strays from what’s safe, and this was the season’s biggest gamble by far.

The Playboy Club

Some people will take it as a good sign that the fastest-canceled show of the season was also the one with the most T&A. “The Playboy Club” was beautiful to visit, and not just because of its cast. The set design was lovely, the music was hot. The idea to include musical numbers in every episode was a lot of fun, like when country stars used to drop in at the Boar’s Nest on the Dukes of Hazzard. But “The Playboy Club,” like “Terra Nova,” didn’t seem to have a soul. Like “Terra Nova,” it was all over the place with subplots, none of them very original. You’ll keep watching a good-looking but dumb show, the way you’ll keep dating a dim bulb because of their physical attributes. But if they don’t have a soul, you can’t keep time with a person or a show.

ABC’s “Pan Am,” had lots of similarities with “The Playboy Club”: Good looks, a swinging ’60 setting, and, unfortunately, storylines that didn’t really grab you by the throat. It was canceled last week.

Alcatraz

This one didn’t look like much of a gamble at all, at least to “Lost” fans: It starred endearing Lostie Jorge Garcia, was produced by Abrams and other “Lost” veterans, and was co-created by “Lost” writer Elizabeth Sarnoff. It was set partly on an island, for gosh sakes.

But since the rather open-ended conclusion of “Lost,” viewers have been awfully careful about mythology-filled shows that may or may not go anywhere. “Alcatraz” had one big central mystery – how did the former prisoners disappear in 1963, and why do they keep reappearing in modern times? “Alcatraz” hedged its bets, doling out clues as it kept viewers occupied from episode to episode with an escaped criminal of the week. The half-and-half approach didn’t engage enough of them.

Awake

The NBC drama was your humble correspondent’s favorite network show of the year. But it took some of the same have-it-both-ways approach as “Alcatraz.” The LAPD detective lead character was split between two realities – one in which his wife is alive and his son is dead, and another where the reverse his true. He also solved crimes in both worlds. The idea was that viewers would be entertained by the procedural within each episode, even as all the crimes – which may or may not be in the lead characters dreams – brought him closer to deciding which reality was real. If either one was real. Yes, it’s complicated. And attention spans are short. We really don’t know what “Awake” could have done differently. Its setup either fascinated or repelled viewers, and seems mostly to have repelled them. We’d like to wake up in a world where a show as strange as it “Awake” could survive on a major network.

Some of the forementioned shows are on fire and some of them lack,
I’m Qui50/50 on the call, even though my “MISSING” isn’t coming back.
Rats!

Sure some shows are destined to give-in to the grim reaper,
however I’m ecstatic that ABC’s SCANDAL is a keeper!

9 Habits That Lift the Soul

Want to breath new life into your spiritual journey? The Rev. A.R. Bernard, Founder and Senior pastor of Christian Cultural Center in Brooklyn, N.Y., and Author of Happiness Is… Simple Steps to a Life of Joy offers a starting point::

Over The Years I’ve taught the members of my congregation, I’ve often shared nine spiritual disciplines, habits that can reinvigorate you and keep stress and chaos at bay. Although these principles are God-centered and Biblical they apply in general, no matter what your belief system is. And these aren’t just principles that I talk about from the pulpit: I actually put them in practice in my own life.

Why do we need these tools? Because in our harried and hurried world, they keep us centered and aware of the bigger picture. They restore our perspective. They remind us that we have a place in teh larger community of humankind. And when we practice them consistently, they have the power to restore us not just spiritually, but emotionally and physically as well. Just carving out the time for these habits is itself a kind of discipline — one that leads us to refocus on what’s most important in life.

Prayer. Daily prayer is a way to practice an awareness of God — His providential care, protection, provision and direction in your life. Jesus said, “Watch and pray.” So prayer isn’t just communicating with God; it also includes paying attention to what you hear and the things that you allow into your mind. Your hearing is a gate that information comes through, and that information influences the way you think and believe, as well as what you say. The words you say have creative power– they become your actions, which are an expression of your character. So in a sense, that whole process begins with paying attention to what you listen to. The quality of your hearing determines the quality of your life.

Spiritual Study. Every religion is based on its writings. Whichever faith you subscribe to, become intimately acquainted with the writings that inspire it. Doing so will deepen your understanding of what you believe and renew your connection to the principles you use as a guide in your life.

Worship. This means practicing that sovereignty of God over your life. It’s a reminder that you’re part of something much greater than yourself. Even if you don’t believe in God or a higher power, you believe in something. If you’re an atheist, for instance, you believe in the universal moral principles that govern humankind. We all believe in something. We all have some kind of faith that can become an anchor for our souls. Worship is about acknowledging the power of that which rules your life. It’s also about experiencing community; when we gather with those who share our beliefs, we strengthen our commonality of faith and hope. Studies have shown that those who subscribe consistently to a particular faith– and then consistently connect with those also of that faith — tend to be less stressed.

Solitude. Getting away from the busyness and distractions of life is a way to reconnect with and hear your own voice. It’s a way of communing with your own heart. And what is the fruit of solitude? An increased compassion and sensitivity to others. In his book, Celebration of Discipline: The path to Spiritual Growth, Richard J. Foster says that solitude is what gives us the freedom to be with people. Solitude is not being alone — it’s being with God and your inner voice.

Giving and service. A spirit of generosity frees us from poverty and covetousness. It’s understanding that part of life is being responsible for someone other than yourself. When you serve, you become God’s channel of love and compassion. There’s also wisdom in the law of reciprocity: Give and it shall be given unto you. I’ve seen this principle at work in my own life: Because I practice a spirit of generosity, countless opportunities come my way.

6 Fasting. This is about practicing self-control, and that’s important because unbridled words and actions can undermine your success in life. the length of time you stop eating doesn’t matter; you have to determine what’s best for you. Fasting also allows you to identify with the hungry and impoverished who live among us. It raises your consciousness that you’re not alone in this world– you’re part of a greater humanity.

7 Reflection. Every day, take the time to observe your actions, your words and your choices. Write them down in a journal, if you’d like. Question and consider those things that might have been inconsistent with the person you want to be. Through reflection, you can discover that there may be a need in your life you’re trying to satisfy in the wrong way.

8 Discernment is learning to distinguish between right and wrong, good and bad, pure and evil. There’s a natural discernment that we all get through experience; when you do anything habitually, you discover what to look for. Discernment is about exercising your spiritual senses, and creates a deep awareness of others’ motives. It’s about recognizing the hand of God at work in everyday life; doing so keeps us conscious that there’s a higher realm of existence. Discernment also involves sharpening your judgment about, for instance, the hpeople who loveyou versus the ones who really love you. Lust is a desire to benefit self at the expense of others; love is a desire to benefit others at the expense of self. Surround yourself with people who are out for your good: those who are willing to contribute to your growth development as a person.

9 Sharing your story. In the church, we call this “testifying.” When you tell others what you’ve lived through and how you’ve failed and succeeded, it reinforces your strength, gratitude and resilience. It also inspires those who hear it– and spreads hope to those with whom we hare this planet.

_________________________________________________________________________

Life has been good to me. Life has been kind.
My journey has lead me to this in-depth find.

I had to share it with you, before the trail goes cold.
I’m Qui
Happily exposing 9 Habits that Lift the Soul.

The quality of your life is the real and pure gold.
Partake and Behold.

Go. See. Do.

So Mothers Day is Sunday, what have you got planned? I’m a Mom and so far these folks that live with me have been ‘tight lipped’ regarding any type of planned celebration. Fortunately there’s my handy EBONY MAGAZINE and thier Monthly Agenda. Here’s what they have penciled in as recommended things we should consider to Go. See. and Do. for the remainder of The Month of May::

10th The UniverSoul Circus stops through Washington D.C.’s Capital Plaza Mall through the 27th.

16-27 Then Cannes Film Festival annually attracts our biggest and brightest stars to showcase and judge the best films the world has to offer.

18th The Brooklyn Museum is showing Question Bride: Black Males, a video installation featuring dialogue of some 150 Black men from 11 cities, including Birmingham, Chicago, Oakland, Calif., San Francisco, Atlanta and New Orleans. The artists Hank Willis Thomas and Chris Johnson, ,hope the varied conversations will help “deconstruct” Black stereotypes. Go to Brooklynmuseum.org for more info.

Which movie will be more popular, What to Expect When You’re Expecting, starring Chris Rock, Jennifer Lopez and Cameron Diaz, or uberfight drama Battleship, starring Liam Neeson, whom we’re sure will be kicking major butt, and features Rihanna in her big movie debut?

19th The Black Rodeo held at the Arkansas State Fair Complex. You know I’m a horse riding chick raised in the Fort Worth stockyards, so this sounds like a heck of a lot of fun to me. Yahhh! (that’s the noise I make when I’m trying to get my horse to pick up the pace, while agitating his side with my spurless boots).

25th Men In Black III starring Will Smith. — Mmph! I’ll see you there.

25-27 Jamaica’s Calabash international Literary Festival, held in Treasure Beach, celebrates Caribbean and Diaspora writers. For more info go to calabashfestival.org BOMBA!

25-28 Annual Urban Beach Week What would Memorial Day weekend be without the 13th Annual Urban Beach Week soiree in Miami’s South Beach? Or, if you’re a biker or a biker wannabe, skip Miami and head to Myrtle Beach, S.C. for Black Bike Week.

That’s a pretty good layout. So what will you be getting into?
I’m Qui
A high social she – and I can’t wait to Go. See. Do. Ooo!

Gotta Use Protection

Always PROTECT & forgo the stress

Whatever your lifestyle — protect yourself, especially if you’re packing an iPhone 4S or any other smartphone. Because if you drop it you will be crushed… absolutely shattered. And like a hormone riddled teenager you’ll be standing there with an untimely incident on your hands.

Me? Before engaging in a purchase, I’m quick to ask, “Got an Otterbox?”. Don’t be shy to ask for protection.

Fashion is fad & protection is to be had, so I thought I’d post a few quick picks on the best cell cases to take cover with:

Sena Walletbook is perfect for whenyou must leave your iPhone on the table during a business lunch but don’t want others to see your scrolling text messages. The soft leather case, which folds over and snaps, has space for 3 credit cards and a couple of dead presidents. It’ll cost ya’ around $52.

OtterBox Impact series shell is the answer if you’re a ‘chronic dopper’. OtterBox is among the toughest in the business. There are harder shells out there, but these silicone cases feel good, come with a screen protector and fit in your pocket and it’ll only set you back about $19.95.

I own an OtterBox Impact and nothing protects my iPhone4S more from the rectified tile that is my home flooring. I’ve dropped my phone more than a few times and (Thank God – while knocking on wood), there’s been no damage to my cell phone device at all.

Ballistic’s Universal Sport Rugged Pouch is for the biker, blader, or ATVer in you.

It attaches to your clothing and offers heavy-duty protection; spot on for an active lifestyle.

It’s price is universally attractive too – it’ll cost ya around $19.99.

OtterBox Defender Sometimes an extremely hard case is what’s needed. The Defender series comes complete with fail-safes that virtually guarantee your phone will never crack upon contact with asphalt.

The cost of the Defender series is around $49.99.

Sena UltraSlim pouch case is a good bet for the fashionista who prefers a look-at-me cell case and doesn’t fret about dropping her phone. It’ll only cost ya about $29.99. You’ll certainly look stunning with this case, but if you drop it, you’ll just look stunned.

I’m an iPhone packing sister, trying to make a safe connection,
I’m Qui
and if you’re packing like me, you’ve: Gotta Use Protection.

Wrap it up
or
Scrap it up
_____________________
The choice is yours.

He’s a bad mother… [Pt.2]

(Continued from Pt.1) Perhaps that is why Jackson speaks his mind so freely and could give an ish what you think. Like many Black males conditioned by the harshness of American racism and poverty, there was nothing, except for his vivid imagination, that told Jackson who he has become was remotely possible. Or that a Barack Obama could be president.

Yes, like much of Hollywood’s A-list, Jackson supported Obama for president in 2008, but don’t expect any over-intellectualized rationale about his decision: “I voted for Barack because he was Black. ‘Cuz that’s why other folks vote for other people — because they look like them. That’s American politics, pure and simple. His message didn’t mean to shit to me. In the end, he’s a politician. I just hoped he would do some of what he said he was gonna do. I know politicians say shit; they lie. ‘Cuz they want to get elected.”

But what does Samuel L. Jackson think about the President now? Jackson blinks off into space, to the photos on his dressing room wall of different periods of his acting journey. Yup, he is just getting warmed up — and very clear about what he wants to say on the record: “When it comes down to it, they wouldn’t have elected a nigga. Because, what’s a nigga? A nigga is scary. Obama ain’t scary at all. Niggas don’t have beers at the White House. Niggas don’t let some White dude, while you in the middle of a speech, call [him] a liar. A nigga would have stopped the meeting right there and said, ‘Who the f*#! said that?’ I hope Obama gets scary in the next four years, ‘cuz he ain’t gotta worry about getting re-elected.”

In many ways Samuel L. Jackson is in Hollywood but not of Hollywood. He is really of the older Black men who sit on milk crates on America’s street corners, unfiltered observers and commentators of their world, their anger muted by a natural-born comedic timing that frames a history of pain and suffering.

“I’ve said to White Hollywood folks, ‘First thing you need to understand is, I am a nigga. I’m a nice guy, but there are certain things that go ‘click,’ and I become that guy y’all really worry about at night. ‘Cuz that’s really who I am.’ I learned how to live in two worlds. That’s my whole life. that’s why y’all hire me. I am genuine. I bring something genuine about that type of guy who scares White people they can safely watch on-screen.”

Those two worlds for Jackson, mean we know him as a bad dude, but he acknowledges he was a bookworm as a kid, one who played trumpet and flute in his high school band, was an A student and, by his college years, equally digested the sounds of Motwon and rock ‘n’ roll rumblings of Cream and Jimi Hendrix. Jackson has been everything from a nerd to a hippie to a radical to a beloved pop-culture icon who everyone wants to get next to.

It was that kind of cultural diversity and real Black man poise that won him the role of Jules Winnfield in Quentin Tarantino’s now classic 1994 film Pulp Fiction. It is Sam’s signature role on-screen, and it redefined what a bad Black man was in the tradition of Stagger Lee and Bad Leroy Brown. In the Jules character, Jackson was a swashbuckler, hero, villain and all the personas he pretended to be as the only child in love with motion pictures in Tennessee. And he hasn’t slowed since.

But I do need him to slow down enough to explain his excessive use of the word “nigga”:
“Nigga became a part of my vocabulary when I was born. How so? Because it was used on me in my house, often, ‘Nigga, you crazy?’ My mom, my grandmom, my granddad, my relatives, my neighbors. I know the word nigga as an admonishment, and endearment, a criticism and an invective. So I use it; I don’t run from it. I don’t have an issue with it or who says it. I always put it in the context of how it was used on me.”

An aside: I was hesitant to bring up his father because, when mentioned at the beginning of the interview, Jackson looked a bit uncomfortable. Like far too many Black boys, Sam had no real relationship with his dad. Saw him once, briefly, as a child, then not again until he was a grown man and a father himself while with his little girl, Zoe, in the early 1980′s. He was on the road doing a theater piece and happened to be in the Kansas-Missouri area where his dad was living. “And there was my father, back home living with his mother…

————————————————————————————————

So many Black men don’t know their fathers and have grown up to be just swell.
They drew knowledge from the village that loved them & from watching Uncle Samuel L.

Mr. Jackson is indeed a bad mother and he makes cultural waves without stall.
It seems those Jacksons are into being “BAD” and knocking stereotypes “OFF THE WALL”.

There’s nothing like living life as a for real’a,
and finding comfortability with that dubious word “nigga”.

I’m comfortable. Always have been. I didn’t make the word up.
I also didn’t participate in its burial or societal cover up.

Samuel L. Jackson is indeed a filmmakers asset,
I’m Qui
Tho if you really want to see him step it up – put LaTanya in script on set.

He’s a bad mother…

LaTanya calls him Sam.

Samuel L. Jackson is a bad mother — and he will never shut his mouth. The multibillion dollar man takes aim at President Obama and Hollywood, and dares you to say something. Kevin Powell [Ebony Magazine] reports:

“Say, man, my wife said you called her. What’s up with that?”

Samuel L. Jackson barks at me, sternly, his almond-colored deep set eyes weighted with history, mythology and Black folktales, scanning me quickly, methodically, as I respond, feebly, “Uh, my friend, the visual artist Radcliffe Bailey said to call…”

Before I could finish, Jackson strips the tension with a devilish smile, shakes my hand and returns to posing for the photo shoot

As Pandora spits a soul medley of James Brown, Curtis Mayfield, The Isley Brothers and Sly and the Family Stone, there is Sam, forever in his beloved Armani, firing up smoke, flames dancing from the cigar and the match thisclose to burning his finger. There is Sam tossing hats at the photographer’s lens, his bald head bobbing and weaving with each flick. There is Sam, much taller than I expected — about 6-feet-2 — so at home in his 64-year-old lean and battle tested body that he nonchalantly peels off one set of clothes, down to his white boxers, before changing into a new outfit. With no one batting an eye because this is Sam’s world.

Yes, it is mad corny, at this stage, to call Jackson “cool.” He is way past cool. he is chill, like the chilled ice in a sweet tea on that steamy Chattanooga, Tenn., porch where he inhaled the words and wisdom of his mama, his auntie, his grandmama, his granddaddy, his uncles, the men of his ‘hood. So chill, in fact, that even Sam’s being proclaimed by The Guinness World Records the top-grossing movie actor of all time, with nearly $7.5 billion in ticket sales, leads to a yawning response: “Yeah, I’ve done a couple of popular movies.”

An understatement, clearly a box office total that will balloon with his and Robert Downey Jr.’s star in the wake of Marvel Studios-produced The Avengers (which grossed $204 million dollars in its opening weekend). WOW! But Samuel L. is not just in this game for money or fame, although he readily admits, “The coolest thing about being famous is the free shit.”

This is Samuel L. Jackson’s version of the American Dream, remixed to include everything from his current role of Martin Luther King Jr. on Broadway (with Angela Bassett) in Katori Hall’s play The Mountaintop; to his (crack) smoking away his first shot at Broadway in August Wilson’s masterpiece The Piano Lesson (Charles S. Dutton got the part instead and Jackson was relegated to understudy), to his boyhood Saturday morning trips to the movies and roles in the plays of his schoolteacher auntie; to his lifelong love affair with books that lead him, initially, to oceanography, then to the revolutionary politics of the Black Power era, then to street theater and the power of the spoken word.

No doubt Jackson is the kind of man, the kind of Black man, who is relishing all he has witnessed since the days of Dr. King and the Civil Rights Movement. As a student at Atlanta’s famed Moorehouse College, Sam was an usher at Dr. Kings funeral. Today he gets to freely portray King, very human faults and all, in a play at the same time a Black president is sitting in the White House, no less.

If there is one American Actor who embodies the seismic changes in American politics and popular culture in the years between Dr. King’s death and Barack Obama’s election and has also been a full participant along the way in the best and worst of who we have been — and are — it is Samuel L. Jackson.

“Life is,”
he says inside his tiny Mountaintop dressing room during a quieter moment,
“longer than I thought it would be.”

Especially when, in one lifetime, you’ve survived a ghetto filled with alcohol, drugs, violence and houses of prostitution on both corners of your block; Vietnam War and an extended Black militant period with friends name Stokely Carmichael and H. Rap Brown; getting suspended from college for holding the White trustees of Moorehouse College hostage (along with Black advisors including Dr. King’s father) a year after King’s assassination; and a massive addiction to crack cocaine that not only nearly killed you, but also became the source of your role as Gator in Spike Lee’s Jungle Fever, (he remains the only performer ever given a special supporting actor award at the Cannes Film Festival for that portrayal).

Jackson smiles a mischievous grin as he reflects upon Jungle Fever and his sudden fame after years of watching peers such as Denzel Washington, Morgan Freeman, Alfre Woodard and Wesley Snipes achieve success: “People in Hollywood were suddenly like, ‘Hmmm, whoa! Oh, who’s that nigga?’” …
(Click here to continue reading this column)

The Van Peebles Steeple

ere’s a first look at ‘WE THE PARTY’ -
A Coming-Of-Age Film for today’s generation.

Remember that feeling you got from watching perhaps relating to — Tom Cruise’s sexy dance in Risky Business or Kid ‘n Play wrecking havoc on the ‘hood in House Party? Mario Van Peebles is bringing back that loving feeling with We the Party, a movie largely inspired by his going “undercover” to the club with his teenaged brood and walking away with a movie script.

It quite possibly could be this generation’s next big teen thing. The movie begins the way all teenaged-angst films do: with a pretty girl, a really smart boy and a an impossible event. The boy in question is played perfectly by Van Peebles’ son Mandela, supported by a cast of all his siblings, plus some pretty popular people including Snoop Dogg. Quincy Brown (Kim Porter’s son), Moises Aria (Hannah Montana) and Orlando brown (That’s So Raven). Drug dealers, sex, grades, the senior prom, the basketball team, underground music, skinny dipping, a house party, a class project gone wrong, a misunderstood attempt to do the right thing and a few cops mash together to form a story a bit too steamy to be an after school special but just perfect for the soon-to-be adults among us.

“When the teenagers see it, they’re like, ‘Man, this is authentic,’” says the elder Van Peebles, laughing. “One of the things Ice-T kept saying to me while we were making New Jack City was, ‘Make a movie about how things are.’ We decided early on we were gonna do it real. [In We the Party, the kids] were like, ‘Yo this is how we hear our music,’ and yet, you still have that heart and some cinematic nutritional value.’

Mandela, who plays the main character, provided his dad with a lot of insight for the movie, including introducing him to hot groups like the New Boyz and Rj3ctz.

“Last summer, me and my brothers and my sisters wanted to start going out to parties on the weekend,” says Mandela, 17. “We said, ‘Dad can we go out, and we’ll be back at 1 or 2 a.m.?’ And he was like, ‘Hell no, you can’t. ‘We pretty much came up with a deal that if we got to go to the club , he had to come with us, but he had to wear what ever we wanted. we put him in skinny jeans. He just looked like a really old person; like he was our bodyguard.”

Mario saw possibilities and a movie script.

There was one club [where people were having] safe sex on the dance floor,” he says. “it was a trip. While we were at different clubs, they were playing songs by the New Boyz, music I hadn’t heard before, and doing all these new dances. The Breakfast Club was smart and rated R. it’s been [almost] 20 years since we had our definitive, sexy, coming-of-age movie.

[Story by Adrienne Samuels Gibbs - Source Reference: Ebony Magazine]

The talent in this family says ‘the genes aren’t playin’.
They’ve got the same ‘good thing going’ as all of them Wayans.

I look forward to supporting the film,
I’m Qui
A fan of that Van Peebles reel.

The RADAR

Politics – Film – Television – Music – Books – Art – Technology

The Advocate

I subscribe to EBONY Magazine because… well… I’m EBONY and the information in their publications are highly relatable. While reading the HOLLYWOOD ISSUE I came up on page 29 and an awesome column titled::

FIGHT THE POWER
Occupy The Hood is gaining steam among Blacks

Kevin Chappell reports –
As the Occupy Wall Street movement continues to grow across the country, African-Americans are increasingly showing their disapproval with a protest movement of their own.

It’s called Occupy the Hood. it started online and has already spread from New York City across the country. It now has some 15,000 followers on Twitter and chapters in cities including Detroit, Pittsburgh, Boston, Seattle, Philadelphia, Atlanta, Dallas, New Orleans, Cincinnati, St. Louis, Cleveland, Chicago, Washington, D.C. and Los Angeles.

The Occupy the Hood motto: “We are the most affected of the 99 percent.” It’s a spin-off of Occupy Wall Street’s “99 percent” mantra against America’s increasing wealth gap, where Occupiers state that one percent of the population has the majority of the nation’s wealth. Occupy the Hood protesters believe Blacks should be even angrier than Whites in the 99 percent because people of color, particularly in low income areas, have been disproportionately affected by high unemployment, incarceration and fallout from the housing bust.

The facts support their claims: According to an analysis of new U.S. Census data, the wealth gap between Whites and minorities has grown to its widest level in a quarter-century. In 2010, 27 percent of Blacks were living in poverty, compared to 10 percent of Whites. The recession and uneven recovery — which have left nearly twice as many Blacks out of work as Whites — have also erased decades of gains, leaving Whites on average with 20 times the net worth of Blacks.

In recent protests in Dudley Square in the Roxbury neighborhood of Boston some 400 protesters gathered for an Occupy the Hood rally. All ages and socio-economic levels got in on the activism. Preteens spoke about wanting to feel safe at school while university professors spoke out about unjust laws aimed at keeping minorities disheartened and disenfranchised. They marched from the square to Boston’s Financial District, many chanting

“Occupy the Hood!
We’re spreading something good!”

While focused on problems facing African-Americans, Occupy the Hood has the clear goal of bringing more Blacks into the larger Occupy Wall Street movement, a faction that, to date, has been mostly White. Movement leaders hope to galvanize more Blacks by bringing up issues including the heartless ways some big banks have foreclosed on homes after tricking Blacks into getting subprime mortgages. They also want to clearly connect the effects of capitalism with the advent of racism.

Leaders promise that the protest tactics will be nonviolent and similar to other movements including the Civil Rights Movement, Black Power Movement, Poor Peoples Campaign, March on Washington, Million Man March and even Arab Spring.

Organization will be key to Occupy the Hood’s future success. Right now, local groups take part in national organizing calls to plan rallies and protests. They reportedly have been given advice from Black leaders such as Cornel West, and may have received a phone call of support from U.S. Congresswoman Maxine Waters of California’s 35th District.

Want to donate or volunteer, go to officialoccupythehood.org.

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Wow and okay – We understand the 411 but all is not to-the-good.
We don’t like the percentages so we’ll “OCCUPY THE HOOD”.

Now if we’re going to occupy the hood, let’s do a better job
than running off franchises and mimicking the mob.

Let’s raise our standards, pull together and support our own.
Be a customer to that small business down the street from your home.

Patronize the quaint farmers market. They’ve got big plans.
Eat like a warrior while supporting the brown man.

In doing so you won’t hurt Wal Mart or cause big grocery stores to stall.
In fact so many others support big grocery chains – that they won’t miss you & I at all.

Occupy Wall Street if you want then Occupy the Hood,
I’m Qui
concerned about our percentages – and how to make them favor our good.

LIVE Well and PLAY Hard
while keeping your eye on The RADAR.