Mos Def(inately) standing for what he believes in

I typically avoid the VMAs as I have little stomach for MTV as an entity. Too much bad blood over there. I blame it largely for what is wrong with America. But I am not here to rant about the network and its large scale brainwashing of adolescence into a whiny self involved group of cynics. (I mean, is it me or is Flavor of Love more an MTV show than a VH1 show? VH1 used to have standards at one time.)

I am here to talk about my man Mos Def and his ill treatment at the VMA's

For all the congratulatory back patting and hand jobs that were going on inside the radio City Music hall there was one person out there that really stepped out and stood for something.

At 10pm Mos def arrives outside the radio city music hall on a flat bed truck with a DJ and proceeds to sing his song "Katrina Klap" which is what the blogosphere is calling a scathing response to the Bush administration's slow response to the tragic aftermath of Hurricane Katrina.

While it isn't Mos' best song, it has a solid point to it, despite being rapped over the beat that originated from the obviously pointless "nolia clap." A crowd forms as Mos gets about one verse into his song when the show is abruptly shut down by the New York City police department. They state that his concert is causing a crowd to form. Mos is arrested on charges of disorderly conduct and him and several members of his entourage were carted off for a one night stay in jail. He is freed that morning.

There is some speculation over whether or not he had a permit for the show. Some sites say he did, some say he did not. His publicists says that he did not intend to break any laws and that he was attempting to encourage awareness of the plight of those still struggling one year later in New Orleans. Skeptics could call this a smart publicity stunt for Mos little discussed forthcoming album Tru3 Magic. I call it something to make me love the man all the more.

In an age where bling draped professed drug dealers promote themselves as for the people, can any truly deny Mos Def the right to say he stood for something real. Maybe he could have gone about it in a different way. Maybe he could have redoubled efforts to make sure that everything was up to snuff in an easily panicked post 9/11 New York. (When did everything become Post this or that?) But would it have had the weight that this event has in my heart and mind that instead of waiting around to do something he actually did it. And on a world stage no less. I have to respect him for that.

And yet very little was said about it. Instead most of the Post VMA publicity goes to discussing how well Jack Black hosted, and Christina's new look. How did you like that Beyonce performance? I don't know I missed it all, I just found out about this today.

Man that is why I avoid MTV like an infectious disease. Next to BET it is the network that always seems to find a way to turn my stomach.

I found all this out while looking for information on Mos Def's Album, Tru3 Magic, which will be dropping on September 19^th.

Back to you in the studio Carol.

For more info: (re. the press release of the event that is repeated ad nausea everywhere else.)

VH1 covers it here.

Here is the YoTube Video of the event. (Notice the NYD's quick response to what is obviously a dangerous criminal attempting to incite disorderly conduct.)

Wondering who Mos Def even is?

I'll save you the trouble of going to Wikipedia for him by linking it here.

And his official Site can be found here.

"I give a damn if any fan recalls my legacy, I'm trying to live life in the sight of God's memory"

-Mos Def-

Rap Cat

I saw this commercial and thought it was okay.
My brother left me the rap cat message on my phone and now I can't get the darn thing out of my head.

The Full Commercial


Just the Rap Cat

without the artery clogging food shots

Sing a Song of Satisfaction To the World

I love this commercial

Lucky # Slevin

I saw Lucky Number Slevin a month or two ago thanks to a friend giving me free tickets.

It ended up costing me a night of productivity

It was a gangster noir fairy tale where everyone is bad but to varying degrees. Even the guys you think are good are mired in past mistakes.

The Plot: Josh Hartnet is Slevin is an unlucky man who gets mistaken for a friend whose apatment he is currently staying in. Two opposing gangsters at war with each other live in opposing apartments which they never leave out of fear of the other. They both recruit Slevin to off the other, while being manipulated by an enigmatic assassin named Mr. Goodkat.

At least that is what you think is the plot. Midway through act 2 the bottom falls out and the story careens in a different directions and then slams you to the big surprise and everybody who is anybody in the story dies.
This story seems to happen in that private little world adjacent to the Tarantino universe where everyone who is anyone is super cool, speaks in pop culture smart ass and violence rains down on the wicked, which in a movie where everyone is a bad guy means everyone buys it at the end.

It brought to mind the movie Payback staring Mel Gibson, a movie I liked enough to bootleg the DVD, but not enough to outright buy for more than 5 bucks. The movie, which also stars Luci Liu as a mobbed up dominatrix, (a 180 from her role in Slevin,) features a down and out thug who works to tear down a crime organization.
There is a mood conveyed in the lighting and polish of Payback that I see in Slevin. The walls of the apartment Slevin and Lindsey (Luci Liu) live in are art deco cool. The two apartments of the controlling gangsters are posh high rises with stairs and a classy sense of space. This is important in a movie where a plot point is their inability to leave the building. The set designs are great, all the wallpapers and backgrounds are cool and stand out just enough for you to notice.

The acting in the movie is cool, everyone staying at this charismatic energy level despite occasionally having to make absurd decisions. Bruce Willis is Mr. Goodkat, the high price assassin who seems to be pulling the string of this outfit gets to play dangerous and stoic.




Morgan Freeman is the boss of the black mob, and plays a little looser than he often gets the chance to be. It is the silver tongued Morgan Freeman who is quick to smile and yet be dangerous like his role in street smart, as opposed to quiet wisdom Morgan Freeman in his soulful best friend roles. (see Shawshank, Forgiven, Million Dollar Baby, Batman Begins).

“Sir” Ben Kingsley plays the Rabbi, the opposing boss, as a smart yet brutal man of God who plays it like a shark. (Nicole loved him.) Stanley Tucci also shows up in the movie as a somewhat smaller role as a tough detective. He meets a dark end for old mistakes and one is left to wonder if he had spent any time trying to redeem himself in the interim years. (You won’t know what I am talking about until you see it.) Hartnet holds his own in the movie, playing Slevin as a smart ass everyman in a world of crooks. He doesn’t play too smart or too dumb until he needs to be anything.

Luci Liu plays cutesy little Asian neighbor that is also Hartnet’s love interest. It is a relationship built on Liu’s quirky cuteness that is a little less presence than the roles she has attempted of before. It is hard to talk about a lot of the story without revealing the double crosses. The movie is neo noir, with the concepts of alienation and human brutality at the forefront. Slevin gets punched in the gut every five minutes or thrown out of cars. The bad guys hold a mysterious power over his life until he turns the tables to fight back. Slevin as always turns out to be the smart little man in a big machine. People get shot and one or two things get blown up. It was an enjoyable time but pay attention until the end or you will miss all the turns in the plot.

Dave Chappelle: The Lost

Dave Chappelle the lost episodes returned to television tonight. It was funny but not as funny as if Dave was on the show. The skits seem empty without him joking with the audience in between them.

It was appropriate that there was a Tupac skit that made fun of how often Tupac songs come out, and how many think they are relevant to today’s times. I say appropriate because the Dave Chappelle Lost Episodes Season was a lot like the Post death Tupac albums. It is a hallow imitation of the once brilliant artist that could be lost to us in that medium. Sure the old stuff still stands as excellent but it seems like the magic is gone without the benefit of their physical presence. It helps you to understand the actual gravity that personalities like the late great Shakur, and now Dave lent to their material. Dave was an affable guy, whose stand up gives you the impression that he just walked up to you in the supermarket and started telling jokes. His stage routine is like sitting around and playing video games with your best friend whose commentary is spot on hilarious. Without Dave in the room the show just seems like the dropping he left behind. It is like Puffy carving up Biggie outtakes just to squeeze a few more bucks out of a lost legacy. It is sad, and on the one hand I feel like I will take what I can get, but on the other I feel like I am selling the good memories short by continuing to follow this pap.

So, I caught the show. I would review it but I just don’t want to. I remember the first time I found out that Dave was going to have a show. Nicole was living in the apartment in West Wood, the one with the tremendous view of the city. I have loved Dave Chappelle since Robin Hood Men in Tights, which is a glaringly awful movie, but saw him interview for it when it came out and I thought, hey that guy is funny. My friends and I all have running gags from his whole stand up routines like “sprinkle some crack on him and let’s get out of here.” When I heard he was going to have a comedy show I knew I was in for the long haul. I remember hearing those old guys belt the anthem at the beginning and Chappelle walked out and I knew I was in for something magical. The first season rocked, the second season rocked, kicked aysh and then drove me to the hospital and paid for the damages. This illicit third season seems like a bad third date that makes you wonder why she’s acting this way after some really stupendous time together. I know it's not like the guy is dead, but there was this part of him that he was willing to share with us for this brief moment and now it's kinda gone, and we aren't likely to get it back. I hate losing things like that.

I have said it before, but I hate losing things. I really hate losing shows that I am in love with when it is wholly unnecessary for them to be cut down in their prime. I have a limited understanding about why Dave left. I have made my peace with that pain. The new episodes only drudges that pain up for one last kick in the crotch. And, as Rollins and Shatner say on Has Been: “I can’t get behind that.”

I guess I'll stick with my season 1 & 2 DVD's

What I learned from Animaniacs

Listening to the Animaniacs song got me on this kick to go looking for more clips on YouTube. This gave me access to tons of their music and information.
So I repost here what I learned on Animaniacs.
First, the theme songs:

The Animaniacs



Pinky And the Brain



Then the Educational moments:

Be careful what you eat



The US Presidents



The Brain Teaches you... the parts of the brain



Yakko teaches you the planets



The Senses Song



And last but definitely not least, my favorite of all. Yakko Warner teaches you the nations of the world.



I will be honest and say that I learned every one of these at one point in highschool just to be able to recite them. Years later when I had to learn the continents of Africa I did so using Yakko's song. It was way more salient in my head since I had already learned it in High school. I aced that exam.

Pinky and the Brain MD

I am not a super huge fan of House. I watch it sometimes, and everyone else around me seems to love it.
I found this online and it made me crack up. I was a huge fan of pinky and the Brain. That show was brilliantly cerebral for all its silliness.



it makes me smile just to hear the song again.