That Time Of Year Again...

So has anyone seen the new cover of Ebony magazine? Whitney Houston is on it and all I can say is Wow! She looks so good. I take back every laugh I uttered when someone said a Whitney/ crack joke. Um...except the MadTV sketches, because come on, ya'll know those were hilarious. Here take a look:

And in other news: Tyler Perry's "I Can Do Bad All By Myself" hits theaters September 11th. You know me, I already have a problem with this movie.

First: it bears the same name as his stage play. Yet the two have nothing to do with each other. So why Tyler Perry? Why? I mean could you not think up a better name for this movie. See for me saying, "I can do bad all by myself" conjures up a picture of a woman who finally has the strength to leave her no good man. Right? Well this movie is all about a woman, a nightclub singer, who is really selfish. She is forced by (who else?) Madea to take care of her niece and nephews and then a Mexican immigrant she is letting live in her basement teaches her to open her heart. Huh? Yeah, I got lost myself, it was the Mexican immigrant that did it for me.

And I loved Hustle & Flow, but I didn't realize Taraji P. Henson could really sing. I mean she can hold a note, but can she BLOW? See here I go again. I'm not hating, I promise. It's just that I didn't know she was a good enough singer to play a singer in a movie. Well let me hold off on the negativity until I actually see the movie.

Okay, now I love the fact that Tyler Perry is producing movies and plays that give black actors work. I love it, I do. BUT...the inconsistencies and repetitions in his movies and plays, work my nerves! That said, I'll be going to see it with my cousin, taking mental notes and getting on her nerves. She is a HUGE Tyler Perry supporter and all the things that bother me don't affect her at all. In fact she accuses me of killing the moment for her. Can you imagine?

End of Summer...But I'm Back!!!

So, I was finished with blogging because I started it for a class, then the class ended. I got a B. Just...a B. Kind of sucks because I'm better than that. (I am NOT as responsible and goal oriented as I sound, but I'm trying.) Anyway, a couple of people made a comment about checking in on my blog and I knew I needed to write something. I mean it's not like my brain is ever silent. So....


Summer T.V. is lame. I mean, the networks couldn't find ONE BLACK SHOW to put on? Just for the summer? Why? I've been living off of The Wendy Williams Show (I love it, it's different and, thank God, it's NOT Tyra!!!) Criminal Minds, and Law & Order: SVU. Oh, sitcoms? WHAT SITCOMS? How I Met Your Mother? They have no Black people on that show and OK, neither did Friends, but Friends was funny and the chemistry was INSANE. How I Met Your Mother, puh-lease! Just tell us who the mother is, already! And I rarely watch this show, so I wonder how fans feel about this?


Here's my pet peeve. The black shows that they do have on television: HAVE NO FRESH FACES. All or most of the actors are people we have seen before. It seems like the networks need guarantees that people are going to watch black shows. I mean in the 80's and 90's there were all of these break out hits. And the shows would only have one or two established actors. 227, Amen, Living Single, A Different World, The Cosby Show, Family Matters, The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air. The networks do not want to take a chance on Black actors, especially not young undiscovered black actors. And say what you want about UPN, but at least they put the shows on.


The talent is out there, please do something. A girl cannot live off of cable reruns alone.

Can't forget that Aaliyah, the R&B singer actress, died 8 years ago today. Still love her music and I really wish she were still alive. Someone needs to push Beyonce off this throne people are putting her on. Is anyone else suffering from Beyonce overload? Sorry, this was not to rant about Beyonce. Aaliyah, who made that swoop famous, is missed. Especially by me a true R&B listener. So go listen to Are You That Somebody? or If Your Girl Only Knew in her honor.

Mostly Gossip

So Martin Lawrence is going to be launching some new shows. One is an adaptation of a British comedy about a family living in a funeral home. Another is based on comedian Gary Owen's stand up, about an interracial couple. The last show is an animated series based on growing up in D.C. It features him and one of the producers of The Boondocks. So that should be good.

Wait, what happened to The Boondocks, anyway? They have super long breaks in between new seasons and I miss them. All of them, Huey, Riley, Robert, Jazmine, A Pimp Named Slickback. It's bad enough that I can no longer read the comic strip in the Daily News... Okay, fine, The Boondocks will be back later this year. That seems so far away…

And here goes the gossip. So Usher and his wife are getting a divorce. And instead of Usher being a gentleman and just citing irreconcilable differences, his people are making it seem that his wife (they're not divorced, yet) and the mother of his children may have cheated on him. Well, finally Tameka (or rather her friend speaks out.) She puts the rumors to rest in an interview with Essence, including what really happened in Brazil. Not that I believe that Tameka was on vacation and “spur of the moment” decided to have plastic surgery and then had an allergic reaction to the anesthesia. I mean, seriously plastic surgery in South America? And you have 5 kids? Be serious, everyone thinks that through. But I say good for her. They did it old school, your ex is saying craziness, you get your homegirl to get a few people in your court. Keeping silent and being a martyr is no fun. Tameka must have some dirt on him, because his lawyers were requesting that any journals she may have kept be turned over to them. What kind of craziness is this? Anyway, if these two cannot act like adults and get a divorce and do the joint custody thing quietly with a little dignity, well I'll have fun finding out all about it. And yes it is possible to get a divorce and be cordial. Look at Babyface and Tracey, Russell and Kimora. People do it all the time, especially when there are kids involved. Grow up!

Chris Brown pleaded guilty to assaulting up his ex girlfriend, Rihanna, (well we assume they are no longer together.) He got 5 years probation and has been ordered to stay at least 50 yards away from her. Unless they're at a public event and then he has to stay 10 yards away from her. He also has to do 180 days of community service or 180 days in prison. We know which one he'll be picking (he is too cute to go to jail.) I respect him for pleading not guilty. He did the crime and he owned up to that. I know he has advisors and people telling him what to do, but he could've pleaded not guilty. I know I would have, (Your honor, I don't know how that ended up in my car. Surveillance camera? Oh, no that's not me!) Anyway...I'll be back, soon. Ta-ta.

Our Generation Needs A School Daze...

I hate watching T.V. with my father because he watches everything made within the last 5 years, with open disdain. Our commercial breaks are filled with: "Melinda, ya'll don't know good television. These shows are so corny." He shakes his head. I roll my eyes. "OK, daddy" Typical father/daughter moment.

But lately I have been watching TV One (a black owned cable network, that plays old shows that would have been forgotten) and after cracking up over Martin and Cole trying to fight some midgets I have to say, my father is right. The quality of sitcoms (what little are left) is not the same. There's no chemistry between the actors, the storylines are lame, and the rest of the content seems so watered down. I mean old shows took it there. Watch All in the Family, Sandford & Son, Good Times, or The Jeffersons. They used a lot of words and storylines that are not "PC". But what we have forgotten is that the real world is NOT politically correct. People are not PC. We do, say and think things that may offend our hairdressers, cab drivers and neighborhood grocers. Television doesn't always have to reflect the world we want to live in, it should show the world we DO live in.

Movies make me cry. And not in a "I wrote to you everyday for a year" The Notebook kind of way. It's more of a Oh, look another Tyler Perry movie is coming out...I guess I'll go and watch School Daze on Youtube. Seriously, where have all the Black movies gone? I mean where is John Singleton? I need a new millennium Spike Lee to come out with a Do The Right Thing type of movie, that's going to make me think and feel. I want to get mad in the movie theater, leave with a new favorite saying, and replay the movie in my head over and over because it was so good.

Sigh. Well until then, I'll be Youtubing it some more. Today: Devil In A Blue Dress. Tomorrow: He Got Game. Sensing a theme? Old Denzel movies...

YouTubing it!

So, my new passion is YouTube. I love it. I think I may have been the last person to jump on the YouTube bandwagon. People were constantly coming up to me asking me if I had seen some video post or if I've heard about new singer on YouTube. And I would always respond with "Who? Oh, I don't watch YouTube." I would ALWAYS get a shocked look, followed by "Girl, you need to get on that."

So I did. And I LOVE it! I mean, not only can I catch up on General Hospital but I can watch old shows, like Living Single and In The House. People post movies, and when I don't have $10 to spend on a movie or waste (I will be watching Obsessed, real soon), there's someone on YouTube always ready to help me out.

Lately I have been subscribing to regular people who have a webcam and to much time on their hands. Hilarious. Especially the man with the leotard who dances to Beyonce's Single Ladies. People rant and rave about the craziest things!

YouTube is also good to listen to new albums and then decide if you want to buy it. By the way Keri Hilson has some good songs on her new album, A Perfect World. Sometimes it's hit or miss, but there are some very talented people out there in the world.

For my next post: Watching YouTube on my Blackberry Storm. Just another one of my forays into 2009.

Catching Up!

So I caught the Making the Band Reunion episode and I can not believe this season got me. Again. I had given up reality shows. I dropped all the "Love" shows on VH1, I refused to get sucked into the madness that I Love Money and For the Love of Ray J both were. (I've seen a couple of episodes of each. Yeah I slipped up, I AM human.) I haven't seen The Hills, and I had resolved to watch only scripted shows. (Giving much love to writers like myself, not that The Hills isn't scripted, but...I digress.) So my best friend told me that I had to watch the newest season of Making the Band, but with me being a Danity Kane fan, and with them being disbanded I felt there was no reason to watch. But with Que's tantrum's I was SO wrong!

According to Que, there were "things" he was dealing with that weren't shown on the show. On his Twitter, he would always tweet things like about the evils of MTV's editing. So, I wonder what did they leave out? Did Que apologize to the group for acting like a little punk? Did he finally come clean about what he was dealing with? Somehow I doubt it.

D. Woods decided to blog about her experience on the reunion show and about being in the group in general. It was basically a bunch of gibberish, with clichés, and ghetto spasms. She says she will see us again once she "emerges from the constraints of smoke and mirrors." Huh? Did she drink the Kool Aid? Wait she signed with Bad Boy and thought she would go somewhere. Of course she drank it.

THIS IS THE PROBLEM WITH REALITY SHOWS!!! If you have something to say, just say it! The reason why the Danity Kane breakup was so confusing was because, DK acted like they were all for one and one for all. When they had a problem (excluding Aubrey, because she ALWAYS seemed to have something going on) they stuck together. At least that's what the viewers were lead to believe. They kept their problems to themselves and obviously didn't talk about the issues, no one could fake the look of confusion on Aundrea and Dawn's faces when they found out no one else would be returning.

My advice: When on a reality show or in real life, speak the truth at all times and say it loud! No one likes a martyr who suffers in silence.

In Other Entertainement News

In other entertainment news: Ashton Kutcher reached 1,000,000 followers on Twitter, while yours truly is struggling to hit 20, but I only need four more! (Sad, I know, moving on.)
Keshia Knight Pulliam (Rudy from The Cosby Show) is slated to have her own reality show on Oxygen, (anyone care? There go those crickets chirping.) Stop with the reality shows, people. Please!
Jamie Foxx told Miley Cyrus to do a sex tape. Wait, what? Calm down, he was just joking and he later apologized. I'm not a Hannah Montana fan, and when I heard it I thought it just meant that he wanted her star to burn out and for her to fade into obscurity. Other people were outraged, saying, "She's a child!" and "How would he feel if someone said that about his daughter?" I say, lighten up. And all those people who are so outraged and disappointed, Miley is not that innocent. Think about what YOU were doing at 16. Yeah. I thought so.