So what's your answer?

I always liked the show "Inside The Actor's Studio." I'm just really curious about people, even the people most other people are way too interested in, ie. actors and other film people. I'm a huge admirer of films and movies so I have a real interest in how they think and do things. Well usually at the end of every show the host asks the guest the following ten questions. My spirit-brother David answered them on his blog so I figured why not follow suit. Here goes:



01. What is your favorite word?
Defenestrate. Sounds nothing like what it means. I love that.

02. What is your least favorite word?
Can't

03. What turns you on?
A beautiful smile with a beautiful mind behind it.

04. What turns you off?
Rigid minded people

05. What sound or noise do you love?
A well played guitar or piano

06. What sound or noise do you hate?
Fake crying or whining

07. What is your favorite curse word?
Fuck in all its variable forms

08. What profession other than your own would you like to attempt?
Musician, particularly a Rock Star

09. What profession would you not like to do?
Nothing that has me going underground.

10. If Heaven exists, what would you like to hear God say when you arrive at the Pearly Gates?
Either, "Ready to go again?" or "See, what had happened was..."

Amazing

Wow. David hates shit like this (coincidences) but I gotta do it because he JUST blogged about it. I've been planning on doing a post on The Cosby Show for a couple of days now. I bought the 25th Anniversary Box set of the whole season last Friday. I've been watching it pretty much ever since and was constantly reminded of why it is the BEST show there ever was on american television. There has never been a more balanced american family on american television, period. Interesting how our tastes coincide considering the title of his post. Naturally, I had to copy the scene he used to illustrate the brilliance of the show because it is one of the most memorable scenes in the history of the show. Whenever I think of the show I get a mental picture of Phylicia Rashad as Claire Huxtable(I did a post on this previously) and the scene below. Yeah, I just finished the first season and started the second and am amazed, yet not surprised in the least, at how well the show stands up to the test of time and how great it was and still is. This was the only show my brother and I were really allowed to watch as we ate dinner when we were young.




And one little note. Bill Cosby did this show to show a good, decent, and loving american family not a Black family. It just so happened that the family happened to be Black. This was so needed at the time and, sad to say, still is. As an end I'd like to say thanks to Bill Cosby and all of the cast and crew who worked on the show on it's run.

Oh yeah, unlike David I had a HUGE crush on Lisa Bonet from the time this show first aired. Smokin' Hot don't begin to cover that woman. Dayum! indeed.

Of course, at the time this particular show aired I didn't realize how sexually charged this Ray Charles song was until I got older and especially after I saw the biographical film starring Jamie Foxx. However it is also a very loving song as well, which is why I'm sure Bill used the song. Plus it's a GREAT song. Bill Cosby had/has BALLS for doing this, but he had balls for doing the show period. I say thanks again!!

Boondocks!!!!

Yes Yes Ya'll!! The Boondocks will be coming back for a third season! I love the Boondocks! One of the best shows in television land. Can't wait to see what they have next. The creator, Aaron McGruder, kind of unofficially announced there will be a third season in a bulletin on Myspace. He also has a webpage and it seems that he is getting back into the groove of things. So looking forward to what Aaron's going to bring this time around.

Here's a taste:


I don't know about you but I thought that was funny!

What we learn from TV

My man, The Bimillennial Man, has a very interesting and poignant post up on his blog. It is actually quite similar to a piece I've been working on for quite some time now, that I just never got around to completing. His deals with "father figures" because of his life growing up. My unfinished piece deals with the examples from television and film that formed my style of friendships. I just had an idea: I'm going to stretch this into a series of posts. I figure this will be better so I can go in depth, beyond just the friendship angle, with each example without you reading forever and coming back trying to remember where you left off. So let's start!

NUMBAAAAA 1! Beverly Hills Cop



This movie is one of the single most important films in my film watching experience for my WHOLE LIFE. It is still one of my favortie films of all time, for numerous reasons. First and foremost because Eddie Murphy singlehandedly changed the way Black males acted and were perceived on the big screen. He was NOBODY'S sambo. He was NOBODY'S sidekick. In fact, for the first time in my movie watching experience the white characters, ALL OF THEM, were there to support Eddie as Axel Foley. He was genuinely the STAR of the movie! And he looked like ME! My father! My uncles! WHAT!!!! This was absolutely MINDBLOWING for a 8/9 year old Black boy, who was consciously aware of the racist history and practices of the country he lives in. And the premise of the film is what kind of solidified the sense of loyalty I hold for those I choose as friends. Axel's childhood best friend shows up out of the blue and after a night of catching up, he is knocked out and wakes up to find his friend murdered beside him. He embarks on a quest to find the man responsible and exact revenge for his friends death. AND he achieves it. He actually gets to kill the man who put a bullet in his friends head AND the man who sent that man, Victor Maitland. Now, since Axel got to kill the henchman that actually killed his friend, they couldn't let him kill Victor, the main antagonist, on his own as well. That would be just a bit TOO much progress for the white viewing audiences. So they had Lt. Bogomil, played expertly by Ronny Cox, shoot Victor WITH Axel. They STILL let Axel shoot the big white bad guy just with help, which fit the story anyway. But Eddie was, like, THE first Black action star in a real big budget hollywood film. Absolutely wonderful. See, in depth! But yeah, Axel chasing down the men that killed his friend and not stopping until he got them, despite the obstacles, and there WERE obstacles, was kind of the genesis of how I deal with my friends, the level of loyalty I give.

Like my man Dave asked in his post, what screen media has influenced who you are and in what ways?