This week, we’re exploring the films of Spike Lee.
1996 Get on the Bus
Get on the Bus is a 1996 film about a group of African-American men who are taking a cross-country bus trip in order to participate in the Million Man March. The film was directed by Spike Lee and premiered on the one-year anniversary of the march.[1][2]
Plot
Fifteen disparate African American men board a bus in L.A. bound for Washington, D.C., where they plan on attending the Million Man March. Other than their race, destination, and gender, the men have nothing in common: Xavier is an aspiring filmmaker hoping to make a documentary of the March; Flip is an openly racist and sexist actor; Kyle and Randall are a homosexual couple; Gary, a police officer, is the sole biracial man on the bus; Jamal is a former gang banger turned devout Muslim who has evaded prosecution for the rapes and murders he committed; Evan Jr., is a petty criminal who has been permitted to break probation to attend the march on the condition that he remain handcuffed to his father, Evan Sr.
As the bus travels across country, Xavier conducts interviews with the various attendees, allowing them to express their views on race, religion, and politics. The interviews often provoke outbursts from other men on the bus, invariably leading to confrontations; the only topic of unity is the O.J. Simpson trial, with the men agreeing that, while Simpson is probably guilty, his acquittal is justified as his victims were a white woman and a Jew. Peace is kept through the various arguments and physical altercations that occur by Jeremiah, the eldest member of the group. A former alcoholic who lost his job and family, Jeremiah has found new meaning in life by embracing his African heritage; his philosophies on the black experience and stories of precolonial Africa serve to unite the men and ease tensions.
En route the bus breaks down and the men are forced to board another bus, driven by an ethnically Jewish man named Rick. Several of the passengers harass Rick with antisemitic remarks and jokes; Rick ultimately refuses to drive any further, citing the group’s prejudice and his opposition to antisemitic remarks made by the leader of the march, Louis Farrakhan. George, himself a bus driver, accuses Rick of racism, but begrudgingly agrees to let Rick resign without incident. George takes over driving for the remainder of the trip, with help from Evan Sr.
As the bus passes through the American south, the men are surprised to find that they are greeted hospitably by several white southerners at various restaurants and rest stops. At one stop, the men pick up Wendell, a wealthy African American Lexus salesman who sees attending the march as a way to make business connections. After Wendell makes disparaging remarks about lower-class African Americans, the rest of the men forcibly eject him from the bus and abandon him on the side of the road.
In Knoxville, Tennessee, the bus is pulled over by a pair of racist state troopers, who accuse the men of using the bus to smuggle drugs. The bus and its passengers are searched, turning up no evidence of drugs; the troopers reluctantly allow the bus to progress.
As the bus nears Washington, Jeremiah passes out and is rushed to a hospital. The doctors there discover that Jeremiah is suffering from advanced coronary artery disease, which made the stress of the trip potentially deadly for him. Evan Sr. and Jr., Gary, Jamal, and Xavier opt to stay with Jeremiah at the hospital and watch the march on television while the rest of the men leave in the bus to attend. Shortly after they leave, Jeremiah dies. The rest of the group returns to the hospital, saying that, to stay true to the spirit of the March, they chose not to attend but to return and be with Jeremiah.
As the bus prepares to return to L.A., the men find a prayer that Jeremiah wrote in honor of the March. The men drive to the Lincoln Memorial, where George leads the men in Jeremiah’s prayer and Evan Jr. and Sr. remove their handcuffs.
1997 4 Little Girls
4 Little Girls is a 1997 American historical documentary film about the 15 September 1963 murder of four African-American girls in the 16th Street Baptist Church bombing in Birmingham, Alabama, United States. It was directed by Spike Lee and nominated for an Academy Award for “Best Documentary”.[1]
The events inspired the 1964 song “Birmingham Sunday” by Richard and Mimi Fariña. The song was used in the opening sequence of the film, as sung by Mimi’s sister, Joan Baez.
4 Little Girls premiered Wednesday, June 25, 1997 at the Guild 50th Street Theatre in New York City. It was produced by 40 Acres & A Mule Filmworks, Lee’s production company, and Home Box Office (HBO).[2]
……………………
The film
The film covered the events in Birmingham, Alabama in 1963 related to civil rights demonstrations and the movement to end racial discrimination in local stores and facilities. In 1963 Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King arrived in the town to help with their strategy. People of the community met at the 16th Street Baptist Church while organizing their events. The demonstrations were covered by national media, and the use by police of police dogs and pressured water from hoses on young people shocked the nation. So many demonstrators were arrested that the jail was filled.
A local chapter of the Ku Klux Klan placed bombs at the Baptist Church and set them off on Sunday morning 15 September 1963. Four young girls were killed in the explosion. The deaths provoked national outrage, and that summer the US Congress passed the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which was signed by President Lyndon B. Johnson.
The film ends with trial and conviction of Robert Edward Chambliss [also known as Dynamite Bob] in 1977 as the main person responsible for bombing. The film also delves into black churches being set on fire in Birmingham in 1993, giving the impression that while progress has been made, there are some aspects that still haven’t changed.
1998 He Got Game
He Got Game is a 1998 American sports-drama film written and directed by Spike Lee. It stars Denzel Washington as Jake Shuttlesworth, a prison inmate convicted for killing his wife. The father of the top-ranked basketball prospect in the country, Jesus Shuttlesworth (played by NBA star Ray Allen), Jake is released on parole for a week by the state’s governor in order to persuade his son to play for the governor’s alma mater in exchange for a heavily reduced prison sentence. Filming took place between July and September 1997, and locations such as Coney Island, Brooklyn, Cabrini–Green housing projects in Chicago, Illinois, North Carolina, and Los Angeles, California.
Plot
Jesus Shuttlesworth (Ray Allen), a student at Lincoln High School from Coney Island, Brooklyn, New York, is being pursued by the top college programs in the nation. His father, Jake (Denzel Washington), is a convicted felon serving time at Attica Correctional Facility for accidentally killing his wife (Jesus’ mother) by pushing her while arguing with Jesus at the age of 12. The father is temporarily released by the governor, an influential alum of “Big State,” one of the colleges Jesus is considering, so that he might direct his son to sign with the governor’s college in return for an early release.
While seemingly a sound plan, it turns haywire as we realize the strained relationship between Jesus and his father. Upon his first moments outside of prison, Jake touches base with his daughter Mary Shuttlesworth (Zelda Harris) who is happy to see him. Mary invites her father up to the apartment where she and Jesus now live, having moved out of their Uncle Bubba’s place. When Jesus returns home he is unhappy to see his father and refuses to look him in the eye as he tells his daughter to get rid of the “stranger” in their living room. Jesus then later agrees to meet with his father at an alternative location away from Mary. Throughout the movie Jake attempts to persuade Jesus to attend “Big State” with seemingly no success. Eventually he divulges the deal set up by the governor but Jesus appears unsympathetic to his father’s situation.
Intertwined with the story of the Shuttlesworth family is the sub-plot of Dakota Barns (Milla Jovovich) a prostitute who stays in the room next to Jake in the run down hotel that the warden has set up for him. Dakota is being abused by her current boss/lover and Jake overhears the domestic violence through the thin walls. Throughout the movie Jake is seen helping clean her wounds, and eventually clean up her act giving her some of the money that was set aside for him to survive the week out of prison. Dakota is seen in one of the final scenes of the movie taking a greyhound bus away from New York City.
1999 Summer of Sam
Summer of Sam is a 1999 crime-drama based around the Son of Sam serial murders. It was directed and produced by Spike Lee and stars John Leguizamo, Adrien Brody, Mira Sorvino and Jennifer Esposito.
Plot
It is the summer of 1977 and New York City lives in fear of the serial killer Son of Sam who has shot several women in parked cars. In the Throgs Neck section of the Bronx hair dresser Vinny (John Leguizamo) is married to waitress Dionna (Mira Sorvino) although he continues to carry on affairs with multiple women. One night, Dionna and Vinny are returning from a date when they pass by the police at one of the crime scenes. Vinny gets out and looks at the bodies of the victims. The next day a friend warns Vinny that the killer may have been watching and might target Vinny next.
Vinny is approached by Ritchie (Adrien Brody), an old friend. Ritchie has become part of the punk rock scene and his unusual dress and hairstyle concerns Vinny and others in the neighborhood. The only one who seems accepting of Ritchie is Ruby (Jennifer Esposito) who thinks he looks good. Ruby is initially shocked when she learns that Ritchie makes money by dancing and prostituting himself at a gay theater but the two become closer.
As the Son of Sam killing continue the neighborhood becomes more on edge. Detective Petrocelli (Anthony LaPaglia) tries to enlist local mobster Luigi (Ben Gazzara) to help keep a look out for the killer. Luigi is initially reluctant but later he and his men begin assembling a list of possible suspects. A group of men in the neighborhood also make a list of possible suspects, including Ritchie who they regard as “a freak”.
Ruby joins a band with Ritchie and they manage to get a gig at CBGB. They invite Vinny and Dionna but the couple are intimidated by the punks at the club and leave. Vinny and Dionna try to get into Studio 54 but are denied and instead end up at Plato’s Retreat where they engage in an orgy. On the ride home, Vinny berates his wife for her participation in the orgy, calling her a “freaky slut”. Dionna tells Vinny that she knows about his prior infidelities including his having sex with her cousin. She angrily storms off and spend goes to stay at her parent’s house.
After another gig, Ritchie sees Vinny sitting in his car outside CBGB and sneaks up on him, pretends to be Son of Sam and startles Vinny. Returning to the neighborhood an increasingly tired and unstable Vinny meets with Dionna and apologizes to her, promising never to cheat again. However, she doesn’t believe him and says she wants a divorce. The police publish an eye witness sketch of the murderer and some of the local men think it looks like Ritchie. Vinny, distraught over his impending divorce gets drunk. A group of local men come by his house asking for his help to lure Ritchie into a trap so they can deliver him to the police. Vinny reluctantly goes along with it.
Unknown to Vinny and the men, the police have arrested David Berkowitz (Michael Badalucco) for the shootings. Vinny goes to Ritchie’s place and finds Ritchie and Ruby there, having recently made love. He lures Ritchie out of the house on the pretext of talking about his marriage but changes his mind and warns him to run. The other men emerge and attack Ritchie as Ruby look on horrified. Ritchie’s step father (Mike Starr) comes out of the house and holds the attackers at gunpoint. When they say that Ritchie is the Son of Sam he tells them that the killer has already been captured. Unable to face Ritchie, Vinny walks away.
Joy Reid @TheReidReport
I’m flabbergasted by libertarians, left and right versions. They’d leave us totally defenseless.
8:20 PM – 25 Oct 2013
John David Washington To Co-Star In HBO’s ‘Ballers’, Robert Hoffman In E!’s ‘Songbyrd’
By NELLIE ANDREEVA | Monday October 21, 2013 @ 4:36pm
Denzel Washington‘s son John David Washington is following in his father’s footsteps with his first major acting role, signing on as a regular in the HBO pilot Ballers toplined by Dwayne Johnson. Also cast in the half-hour dramedy, which chronicles the lives of several Miami-based athletes, is former Bruins player Donovan Carter. Washington will play Ricky, a highly competitive and highly spiritual pro athlete. Carter will play Vernon, a deeply family oriented pro athlete. Washington, whose only previous acting credit is a small part in his dad’s 1992 movie Malcolm X, played football in college and did a stint with NFL’s St. Louis Rams.
http://www.deadline.com/2013/10/john-david-washington-to-co-star-in-hbos-ballers-robert-hoffman-in-es-songbyrd/
https://twitter.com/NYMag/status/393882567306645504/photo/1
How about having Tambourine Night?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=78GQfVX6CYg
FreedomWorks: What I Witnessed In Austin This Weekend Shook Me To My Core
http://www.dailykos.com/story/2013/10/24/1250367/-FreedomWorks-What-I-Witnessed-In-Austin-This-Weekend-Shook-Me-To-My-Core#
Texas is the sleeping giant in the United States. It turns out that Battleground Texas is starting to scare the hell out of the Right Wing Tea Party Texas Republican Party.
It turns out that FreedomWorks blogger Shane Wright wrote a blog piece that lays it out pretty well. He says,
Top-level Democrats and OFA strategist are on the ground all across Texas registering hundreds of new voters every week. Currently Battleground Texas reports that they are on pace to register approximately 600,000 new Democrats by the 2014 midterms. Considering Rick Perry won the gubernatorial race in 2010 by less than 700,000 votes, Texas could be in real trouble. Mathematically speaking, the path to the White House could be lost for an entire generation if Democrats are able to turn Texas.
In a state with a population of over 26 million, that margin of votes is minute. What is not stated is a much higher percentage of Republican voters are registered than Democratic voters. The assumption is that most Latino, Black, and other voters generally have an affinity for the Democratic Party.
FreedomWorks is scared.
Wright attended Tribune Fest at the University of Texas Austin, a gathering similar to Netroots. This is supposed to be Red Texas. He was completely taken aback. He blogged the following.
What I witnessed in Austin this weekend shook me to my core. This isn’t simply an ideological grassroots battle; we are up against a full-fledged frontal assault from the entire liberal political machine. Battleground Texas is well funded, motivated, highly organized and damn good at what they do. We are fighting an uphill battle to keep Texas reliably red, which has trickle down effects across the country.
Shane Wright and FreedomWorks are in panic mode. They have finally realized that the movement to turn Texas blue is real. They likely realize that the their voter ID suppression tactics and the new voter suppression tactics against women will not be sufficient. There requirement that all volunteer deputy voter registrars are deputized in every county they intend to register voters will not be enough.
Wendy Davis running for Governor Of Texas means she will earn the vote of both Democratic and some Republican women. After all, Republican misogyny does not end at the party line.
Texas has the lowest voter turnout in the country. If Texans voted its true demographics, it will be a solid blue state. Given the outcomes of statewide races, mostly Republican, it is safe to assume that the vast majority of all new voters will be Democrats. That is FreedomWorks biggest fear.
Thanks for this informative article, SG2
YVW!
http://www.democracynow.org/2013/9/16/terrorism_is_part_of_our_history
TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 17, 2013
http://www.democracynow.org/2013/9/17/the_fifth_little_girl_birmingham_church
Film lays bare horrors of slavery
The MHP panel discusses the ways ’12 Years a Slave’ depicts the violence of America’s “founding trauma” and generates righteous anger in its viewers.
http://video.msnbc.msn.com/mhp/53328458#53328466
Everyone is born free
The MHP panel talks about how the years of captivity in ’12 Years a Slave’ are compressed into a harrowing film of freedom, degradation, and freedom again.
http://video.msnbc.msn.com/mhp/53328466#53328466
Another MHP segment about 12 Years a Slave
http://video.msnbc.msn.com/mhp/53328458#53328454
Thanks for the discussion link, rihyrah!
MEDIA ALERT:
Tonight is the premiere for GRIMM – NBC, 9 PM EST
AND the Series Premiere for Dracula – NBC, 10 PM EST
October 23, 2013
Slavery’s Shadow
Posted by Annette Gordon-Reed
American history is a contentious subject, familiar terrain for culture wars that dispute the meaning of the past and what it says about the nature of our country. Who gets to write our history? How should it be written? What do we accept as evidence? Which historical voices should be deemed legitimate? These questions are particularly fraught when one is dealing with past atrocities, like America’s racially based system of chattel slavery. Guilt, denial, shame, anger, and fear are just a few of the emotions that permeate discussions of the topic, as the legacies of slavery continue to shape the race relations and political structure of our nation.
Then there is history’s cruel irony: the individuals who bore the brunt of the system—the enslaved—lived under a shroud of enforced anonymity. The vast majority could neither read nor write, and they therefore left behind no documents, which are lifeblood of the historian’s craft. The voices that we would most like to hear—the voices that we most need to hear—are silent. This is why the narratives of the relatively few enslaved people who managed to tell their story loom large: Olaudah Equiano, in the eighteenth century, and Henry Bibb, Frederick Douglass, Harriet Jacobs, and Solomon Northup, in the nineteenth century.
Northup’s narrative, “Twelve Years a Slave,” which the director Steve McQueen has brought to life on the big screen, to stunning effect, vividly conveys the realities of life within the peculiar institution…
Beautifully articulated.
Thanks for this, rikyrah.
CNN Anchor Challenges Congresswoman To Substantiate Obamacare Criticism, Hilarity Ensues
By Igor Volsky on October 25, 2013 at 9:46 am
On Friday morning, CNN anchor Carol Costello challenged Rep. Marsha Blackburn (R-TN) to substantiate her claim that HealthCare.gov will endanger Americans’ medical privacy. The host pushed the Congresswoman to specify which medical details enrollees would have to turn over to the federal government, causing Blackburn to become visibly uncomfortable and unsure as she strung together various buzzwords about privacy.
The exchange originated from a question Blackburn herself leveled at the primary contractors responsible for HealthCare.gov during a House Energy & Commerce Committee hearing on Thursday. Blackburn asked the witnesses why some of their employees had access to “the database servers storing the enrolling information” and suggested that they were in violation of The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA), the law that guarantees “federal protections for individually identifiable health information held by covered entities and their business associates and gives patients an array of rights with respect to that information.”
Asked to explain how requiring enrollees to enter their biographical enrollment information violates a law that only applies to medical data between medical entities, Blackburn demurred:
http://youtu.be/hJxjFicAG90
The Truth About Bain: Inside The House That Mitt Built
This story appears in the October 22, 2012 issue of Forbes.
Among the private equity deals of this century, HCA stands among the very best. Bain Capital partnered with KKR and Merrill Lynch to buy the hospital chain for $33 billion in November 2006. Bain invested $1.2 billion for a 25% stake and recovered almost all its money with a trio of special dividends in 2010. The Boston firm pulled out another $457 million when HCA went public again in March 2011 and still owns shares worth almost $3 billion. Despite the financial crisis and periodic whiffs of scandal swirling around the for-profit hospital chain, HCA is worth 26% more today than it was seven years ago, and Bain investors have more than tripled their money.
If only they could all turn out like HCA. But they haven’t. Not even close.
CNBC Newsroom ✔ @CNBCnow
BREAKING: Sen. Rand Paul threatens to hold nomination of Janet Yellen to Fed chair, source tells @steveliesman. MORE: http://cnb.cx/Hlslv8
http://youtu.be/5VCT0O6ujwU
Keeping an eye on the generic ballot
10/25/13 12:00 PM
By Steve Benen
A new national Fox News poll shows Democrats leading Republicans on the generic congressional ballot by eight points, 45% to 37%, which is a pretty sizable advantage, and which offers us a good excuse to talk about what makes the generic ballot interesting.
The Huffington Post has a great Pollster feature that aggregates polling on this question, and shows Democrats with a seven-point lead. As the image hopefully makes clear, the Democratic advantage has grown steadily over the last two months, as congressional Republicans shut down the government and sparked another debt-ceiling crisis. (The blue line shows support for Democrats; the red line shows support for Republicans.)
But generic-ballot polls are not without flaw. Likely voters are asked for their general partisan preferences when voting for members of Congress without specific names of candidates. It’s why it’s called a “generic” ballot – respondents are saying whether they’re inclined to support a Democratic or Republican candidate without actually knowing anything about those candidates themselves.
http://www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddow-show/keeping-eye-the-generic-ballot
Nebraska scientists balk at GOP orders
10/25/13 10:08 AM
By Steve Benen
In a variety of states, Republican legislators have a bad habit of interfering with climate scientists. It never turns out well.
Last year in Virginia, for example, state Republican lawmakers insisted on changing the wording of a study prepared by scientists, replacing “sea level rise” with “recurrent flooding.” According to one GOP official, the change was necessary because “sea level rise” is a “left-wing term.”
Around the same time, state Republican lawmakers in North Carolina went even further. A state-appointed science panel warned officials that sea levels will rise 39 inches over the next century and said North Carolina needs to prepare. Republicans balked and demanded that the scientific evidence be rejected, relying instead on a historical model to set expectations. North Carolina would prepare for only 8 inches of sea level increase, since that’s what happened over the previous century.
But in Nebraska, state Republican lawmakers decided they’d like to affect scientific reports before they’re published, not after. Lindsay Abrams reported yesterday:
http://www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddow-show/nebraska-scientists-balk-gop-orders
Cruz tackles wealth concentration
10/25/13 11:35 AM
By Steve Benen
Watching Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas), it’s sometimes difficult to gauge his sincerity. One of the more common knocks I’ve heard this year, even from some who agree with Cruz, is that the right-wing senator isn’t dumb, but he assumes everyone he’s talking to is.
And as Cruz heads to Iowa this weekend – take a wild guess as to why – it’s never been tougher to know who’s fooling whom when the Texan shares his views with voters. Financial Times reports today on a recent Cruz speech.
http://www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddow-show/cruz-tackles-wealth-concentration
Raising Medicare age eligibility doesn’t work
10/25/13 09:05 AM
By Steve Benen
Talk of Medicare “reforms” have become a familiar political refrain, though the word doesn’t always mean the same thing to everything. The Affordable Care Act, for example, includes cost-saving reforms for the Medicare system that Republicans endorsed, then condemned, then endorsed again. For their part, GOP lawmakers frequently push ideas such as expansive “means testing.”
And then there’s raising the Medicare eligibility age, which is a perennial favorite on the right, and which President Obama was reportedly willing to entertain as part of the 2011 “Grand Bargain” talks before congressional Republicans rejected the offer. It nevertheless remains a key GOP “reform” goal, premised on the assumption that a higher eligibility age would save a fortune.
It wouldn’t.
http://www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddow-show/raising-medicare-age-eligibility-doesnt-work
Octavia Spencer in talks for ‘Murder, She Wrote’ reboot on NBC
by theGrio | October 24, 2013 at 2:52 PM
Academy Award winner Octavia Spencer is reportedly in talks to take on the lead in a planned reboot of the classic TV series Murder, She Wrote.
Spencer, who is currently generating Oscar buzz for her supporting role in the acclaimed film Fruitvale Station, would play an amateur sleuth (and hospital administrator) similar to Jessica Fletcher, a mystery writer who stumbled upon and solved murders for 12 years on CBS.
The new series, which is being developed for NBC, will be more in the vein of Fox’s hit show Bones and the movie Fargo, according to Deadline.com.
Alexandra Cunningham, who served as an executive producer on Desperate Housewives, will be running the show along with producer David Jallonari.
“Octavia and I are both huge true crime buffs, amateur criminologists, and fans of Angela Lansbury,” said Spencer. “To get the chance to re-imagine Murder, She Wrote for a dynamic and multi-faceted actress like Octavia is a thrill and a pleasure.”
This would be Spencer’s first time anchoring a series on the small screen.
http://thegrio.com/2013/10/24/octavia-spencer-in-talks-for-murder-she-wrote-reboot-on-nbc/
this were excellent segments from Rev. Al
please post them
PoliticsNation 10/24/13
GOP Obama disrespect gone too far?
Rev. Sharpton is joined by Ryan Grim and Joe Madison to discuss how the disrespect for President Obama has gone so far.
http://on.msnbc.com/1hf9v7a
PoliticsNation 10/24/13
Exposing Obama derangement
Rev. Sharpton is joined by Karen Finney and Goldie Taylor as they discuss Sarah Palin’s latest antics and the ongoing derangement over Pres. Obama.
http://on.msnbc.com/1hf9v7a
Understanding the right wing talking points
Jonathan Capehart and Karen Finney join Rev. Sharpton to discuss Capehart’s interview with one of President Obama’s big critics, and where some of his false talking points come from.
http://on.msnbc.com/1hf9v7a
Right wing unfiltered, part 2
In part two of his interview with Jonathan Capehart, North Carolina resident David Jackson explains why he hates the Affordable Care Act, and doesn’t believe the president loves America.
http://on.msnbc.com/1hf9v7a
African-Americans making waves at Disney foodie festival
by Kunbi Tinuoye | October 25, 2013 at 11:19 AM
Jeff Henderson’s story is a real-life rags to riches tale. The ex-convict has reinvented himself to become one of the most sought after chefs of California French Cuisine.
Raised on the tough streets of Central L.A. and San Diego, Henderson dabbled in petty crime until peddling crack cocaine became a quick fix to maintain a lavish lifestyle.
Then he got caught. While incarcerated, Henderson, now 49, discovered a passion for cooking and a renewed vigor to transform his life.
Henderson, also known as Jeff Chef, became executive chef at the renowned Café Bellagio in Las Vegas. He wrote the New York Times bestseller COOKED and currently fronts a brand new syndicated television show entitled Family Style with Chef Jeff.
Now, this month he is one of around 270 handpicked professional chefs participating in the annual Epcot International Food & Wine Festival which is underway.
“This is my seventh year,” says the award-winning chef in an interview with theGrio. “I love the way Disney has created a festival built around family, education and entertainment.”
The 46-day food and wine extravaganza at Walt Disney World Resort near Orlando, Florida, kicked off on September 27 through November 11. Celebrating its 18th year, the festival is expected to attract somewhere in the region of 20,000 attendees.
He says unlike other foodie events which focus on celebrity chefs, Epcot also showcases culinary offerings from lesser known chefs and home-grown talent, layered with different family orientated experiences.
“Most of the other festivals focus on celebrity chefs,” says Henderson. “Epcot has a great mix of cuisiniers, cook book authors, restaurant owners and Orlando-based talent.”
http://thegrio.com/2013/10/25/african-americans-making-waves-at-disney-foodie-festival/#s:chef-jeff
Orlando Bloom raves about kissing his Romeo and Juliet co-star in TV interview… but stays silent on Miranda Kerr split
By Heidi Parker
PUBLISHED: 10:20 EST, 25 October 2013 | UPDATED: 12:27 EST, 25 October 2013
Orlando Bloom didn’t talk about Miranda Kerr when he stopped by Live With Kelly And Michael on Friday.
After all, it had only been hours since he announced he was splitting from his supermodel wife of three years.
But he did enthusiastically discuss kissing Condola Rashad for his Broadway run of Romeo And Juliet, and even offered to show host Kelly Ripa what ‘snogging’ was. Not exactly the behavior of a heartbroken man who has just seen his marriage crumble.
…………………………………………….
The movie star got dramatic when talking about locking lips with Condola, 26, the Tony award-winning daughter of Cosby Show star Phylicia Rashad and football player Ahmad Rashad.
‘We sometimes get applause after our first kiss because it just goes on,’ he starts. ‘Sometimes I’m like, I’m not letting go.’
Condola has appeared on the TV series Smash and The Good Wife.
Orlando started the play this summer and is committed to star as Romeo until at least January.
It’s obvious he’s become close to his co-stars as he tells the hosts, ‘After the show, people go for a drink to certain different places.’
As far as the play, the star seems to be having the time of his life. ‘I feel so fortunate to be doing it,’ he told Kelly and Michael. ‘I mean, it’s a monster of a play, a wonderful play, but it was really one of those things where my mom was like so, so you decided to climb Everest on the first trip out the gate? That was your thinking, without oxygen.’
Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/tvshowbiz/article-2476818/Orlando-Bloom-talks-kissing-Romeo-Juliet-star-NOT-Miranda-Kerr-break-up.html#ixzz2il7C9vom
a gif for the 3CHICS library
http://31.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_m6c9q5qjXM1rtxen9o1_500.gif
Great interview of Morgan Freeman and his view of the Tea Potty….
Another thing we spoke about last time was the craziness of the Tea Party, which reared its ugly head again with the recent government shutdown.
The lengths that people will go to to show their prejudices! You see some of these signs that say, “TAKE OUR COUNTRY BACK!” What the fuck is that?
Whose country are you talking about? They are being pushed to the side, which is a good thing for them to realize: you don’t have the power you think you have in this country. Obama was legitimately elected president. If you don’t like that, fine, either move out, or make your point and get yourself elected, but don’t tear the country apart!
That’s not going to get you anywhere. I think the Republicans have
pretty much destroyed themselves by allowing themselves to be controlled by a small contingent of people with a lot of money.
The Koch Brothers and company?
Yes. And the Rush Limbaugh’s of the world. All those … strange people.
Imani ABL @AngryBlackLady 3m
BEYOND done. RT @ZandarVTS: Just about done with Mr. Ezra Klein’s #psychobetaclickdown freakout act on Obamacare.
‘Dark is Beautiful’ movement takes on unfair India
Mumbai (AFP) – Looking to find a husband, make friends, and get ahead at work? Then you need to have lighter skin. That’s the all-pervasive message in India, and it’s something that one actress is fighting to overturn.
The new poster girl of the “Dark is Beautiful” campaign, Nandita Das, has called out India’s obsession with fair skin — a prejudice she says has driven some young women to the brink of suicide.
“Magazines, TV, cinema — everywhere being fair is synonymous with being beautiful,” Das told AFP.
Described as having “dusky” skin as opposed to a fair complexion, the 43-year-old is well used to Indian preoccupations with colour, and not just in the film industry, where she has refused requests to lighten her skin for roles.
“How can you be so confident despite being so dark?” is a question regularly asked of Das, who has preferred to star in unconventional, issue-based films but says she would struggle to get ahead in mainstream Bollywood movies.
In May, Das became the face of the Dark is Beautiful campaign, launched in 2009 by activist group Women of Worth to celebrate “beauty beyond colour”.
Her backing has helped to generate increasing debate in the media, but the response has underlined just how ingrained the preference is for fairer skin, which has long been associated with higher social classes and castes.
“I started getting tonnes of emails from young women pouring their heart out about how they were discriminated against. Some wanted to commit suicide because they couldn’t be fair,” she said.
Das found her own photograph had been lightened by a newspaper even for a feature on the campaign. When looking for a nanny, she was told one candidate was “good, but quite dark”.
Amid such pressures to be pale, India’s whitening cream market swelled from $397 million in 2008 to $638 million over four years, according to market researchers at Euromonitor International.
..View gallery.”
Indian actress and director, Nandita Das, pictured …
Indian actress and director, Nandita Das, pictured during a photocall for the Cinefondation and Shor …
Skin-lightening products accounted for 84 percent of the country’s facial moisturiser market last year, their report shows.
The bias facing darker-skinned women was raised again in September when an Indian-origin woman, Nina Davuluri, won the “Miss America” contest in the United States.
“Had she been in India, far from entering a beauty contest, it is more likely that Ms Davuluri would have grown up hearing mostly disparaging remarks about the colour of her skin,” said an editorial in The Hindu newspaper.
http://news.yahoo.com/dark-beautiful-movement-takes-unfair-india-054302388.html
Artist ADE Rossman:
http://www.freewebs.com/adearts/
More paintings by ADE Rossman:
http://www.freewebs.com/adearts/zoranhurstonartseries.htm
Two Artists:
Official Christening Photo for Prince George
LUVVIE’S SCANDAL RECAP IS UP
Say Hello To My Little Friend: Scandal Episode 304 Recap
October 25, 2013 | Luvvie
Scandal stays messier than an episode of Hoarders. And Rowan/Eli Pope ain’t gon let chaos die because he is here to create more mess. Especially with this whole Operation Remington thing.
But let’s jump right in!
Cartoon Scandal Has Slayed Me and You Must Watch
[ 43 ] October 24, 2013 | Luvvie
It’s SCANDAL Thursday, y’all! I hope you’re getting ready for tonight, because you know we got some stuff waiting for us. If you haven’t caught my recap from last week, you better getchu a piece of Mrs. Smith Goes to Washington!
Anywho, you know us Gladiators go really hard in the paint for our show. KevOnStage, a YouTuber and comedian has created a series called “Cartoon Scandal” where he recaps each episode of the show in cartoon form. And when I tell you I CRIED laughing, it’s not an exaggeration. I watched it five times in a row and each time, tears poured from my eyes as I did the silent laugh.
Watch it below and check out the rhetorical questions I got for Kev because he is FOOLISH for this!
http://youtu.be/UQCI5GLvU4Y
a good Maddow segment on Virginia purging FORTY THOUSAND VOTERS right before an election
Rachel Maddow 10/25/13
Rushed Virginia voter purge meets resistance
Lawrence Haake, General Registrar for Chesterfield County, Virginia, talks with Rachel Maddow about why he’s resisting purging voters from voter rolls
http://on.msnbc.com/1ao0ZiX
SportsGirl101 @Arianna892715m
Rasmussen: Obama job approval jumps to 4-month high. 52%; http://bit.ly/wIIvC8 ”
Good Morning, Everyone :)
Good morning, everyone! Happy Friday!
Good Morning to all of you!
What a great week of Spike Lee movies you have brought us, rikyrah!
Thank you so much. I have enjoyed each of your articles.
Glad you enjoyed Spike Lee’s week. Folks sorta forget what a trailblazer he is
Mad props on your Spike Lee series! You OUTDID yourself! Love the Ebony photo! Way cool. 4 little girls…still crushes my soul. Only a savage would do such a thing.