Sunday, November 14, 2010

Brittany Murphy's Mother Writes Tell-All




Brittany Murphy's mother Sharon has announced that she will be writing a tell-all book about her daughter, according to Show Biz Spy.

Sharon wants to honor her daughter and her daughter's husband Simon Monjack by writing her memoirs.

“This book will be my way of celebrating and honoring her extraordinary life and career,” Sharon tells Show Biz Spy. “Brittany was a kind, loving person who enjoyed each day; she was my life. I am looking forward to everyone reading the accurate account about my daughter, her life, loves and career.”

A percentage of the money earned through the sales of this upcoming book will be donated to charity.

Oakland Focus

Oakland Focus


Oakland Artist Gabrielle Teschner's New Art Work Based On African Nations

Posted: 14 Nov 2010 01:33 AM PST



Oakland Artist and friend Gabrielle Teschner is no stranger to my videos. She starred, with the setting and the great food and hospitality, during the opening of The Lake Chalet Restaurant in August of 2009.

This time, hard at work at creating art, Gabrielle took time to share with this blogger and viewers her latest creations. She's a specialist in arches and also made a series of blocks around African nations. She calls them "kits."

Thus we have "Kit Benin" and so on, after each nation.

For more information, Gabrielle Teschner's website is here:

http://www.gabrielleteschner.blogspot.com/


Erika Winchester's Racist Rant And Assault On Black Mailman



This video, what this video-blogger calls Erika Winchester's Racist Rant And Assault On Black Mailman , is making its way around the Internet at light speed since it hit as an issue on Friday.

It features New England-accented Erika Winchester, giving a bad name to old white women along the Eastern Seaboard, and showing she's three-bricks-shy of a full load at the same time, first calling this black mailman names, then eventually hitting him for some letter she already signed for, but then wanted him to take back. That's something he could not do.

The result was a psychotic tirade about how black women don't like black men, and how IQs for blacks were low, and pretty much every garbage statement that came out of a white supremacists mouth since, well, the post-eugenics history of white supremacists.

The incident happened a year ago, and the mailman, reportedly and widely, lost his job over the issue. Gawker reports that the mailman didn't even win his court case charging assault and a hate crime!

Wild.

Now, thanks to New Media, we get to provide the kind of trial this racist system seemed not to want to have happen.  But even with that, the video seems to cause some to feel "sorry" for Winchester.

Crazy.

More on this soon.

On United 757 From Chicago To Atlanta and Proper Flight Etiquette



On United 757 From Chicago To Atlanta and Proper Flight Etiquette. The video this video-blogger had to make about two things. First, how great is was to be on a United Boeing 757 from Chicago to Atlanta, Georgia, rather than the real small Embriaier airplane United was running through much of their Southern route system.

That little 70 seat plane was taking over United and setting back travel expectations. Here's my first video on the issue of the "real small plane" from Denver to Atlanta on United back in 2007:



Wow. It's hard to believe three years have gone by. But the change is welcome.

The other welcome change would be in passenger behavior.

Frankly, this video-blogger is sick and tired of rude passengers. Basically, and this is for those who do it who are new citizens to America or new to flying, or both, wait for the persons in the rows ahead of you to leave the plane first. Don't just jump ahead of them because you want to. That's not right. It's rude. And it's awful.

Please wait.

Oh, and that rule works if the door happens to be in the opposite direction, say in the middle of the plane. The passengers in the rows closest to the door go first.

Happy flying!

Oakland Artist Gabrielle Teschner's New Art Work Based On African Nations



Oakland Artist and friend Gabrielle Teschner is no stranger to my videos. She starred, with the setting and the great food and hospitality, during the opening of The Lake Chalet Restaurant in August of 2009.

This time, hard at work at creating art, Gabrielle took time to share with this blogger and viewers her latest creations. She's a specialist in arches and also made a series of blocks around African nations. She calls them "kits."

Thus we have "Kit Benin" and so on, after each nation.

For more information, Gabrielle Teschner's website is here:

http://www.gabrielleteschner.blogspot.com/

Davey D's Hip Hop Corner

Davey D's Hip Hop Corner


Hip Hop, Album Reviews and Critics (via Davey D’s Archived Essential Hip Hop Articles)

Posted: 13 Nov 2010 05:36 AM PST

This article focuses on the role of the Hip Hop critic/ album reviewer. Its food for thought which I think still applies today.. is it about personal opinion or being a voice for a fan base who this...

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Hip Hop History: Respect those Who Came Before Us (via Davey D’s Archived Essential Hip Hop Articles)

Posted: 13 Nov 2010 04:19 AM PST

As we continue celebrating Hip Hop History Month, here’s another vintage article from November of ’99. Here we run down a list of key pioneers from NY and Cali.. Wish I was a bit more...

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Stephanie Gadlin: Hip Hop’s (UNSPOKEN) Ten Commandments (via Davey D’s Archived Essential Hip Hop Articles)

Posted: 13 Nov 2010 03:23 AM PST

In celebration of Hip Hop History Month, we wanted to bring back this classic article from writer Stephanie Gadlin which reflected the challenges facing Hip Hop back in 1999. Her piece was powerful...

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John Saxon On God's Ears, Bruce Lee, and Enter The Dragon - First Take



John Saxon almost was Kung Fu before David Carradine and Bruce Lee!

Thanks to my buddy Randy Gordon and Susan Johnston, the Founder of The New Media Film Festival, this video-blogger interviewed the legendary John Saxon a week ago Saturday at the Hotel Kabuki San Francisco.

For whatever cosmic reason, Mr. Saxon - star of the Oakland-made film God's Ears (for which he was in town to talk about), and Enter The Dragon with Lee - and I just plain hit it off.

We must have talked for almost an hour, and just 21 minutes of that was on camera.

This is just a short post to get the video out there and seen. We covered a ton of ground that will be expanded on later. Some highlights of our talk, include that at 74 years young, he's still working and has starred in 200 film and television properties.  Saxon's played in several iconic cult films, from Enter The Dragon to Nightmare On Elm Street.

Saxon was also in Gene Rodenberry's Planet Earth, and came close to being in what was called Star Trek Phase II.  And he's got a bunch of funny stories about Bruce Lee that he tells in the video.

But worthy of note, at least to me, is that Mr. Saxon is the second person who played in Enter The Dragon who I've interviewed. The other person is the equally legendary Jim Kelly at San Francisco Wonder Con:



Ms. Saxon said he was picked to play in the TV show called Kung Fu, but could not get out of his contract with Universal to star in the TV medical drama The Bold Ones.   We talked openly about his issues with what would have been a white actor playing a role designed for a chinese man.

Check out the video!