The Musings of an Eccentric Diva

2008-03-22T03:57:00.000-07:00

RANDOM UGLY SHOE

Lawd look what we have here. The back of the shoe looks like pieces of curtain from a Louisiana zydeco bar. The front of the shoe looks like cut-up red cabbage with rabbit fur for embellishment. What the hell were they thinking when they created this shoe? I'm sure the designer was high...yup, pretty sure of it. With all that said, I would wear it because you wouldn't. Yup, I'm a kook.

2008-03-21T04:05:00.000-07:00

FRIDAY FLASHBACK JAM: Fakin' The Funk-Main Source 1992

Dope shit.

2008-03-08T14:33:00.000-08:00

OH HELL YEAH!

I will be the first person in line to buy my ticket for Iron Man. I was skeptical at first about Robert Downey Jr. playing the lead but he looks fabulous. I'm also glad Ghostface Killah got a small part in the film since his alter ego is Tony Starkes. Hope Hollyweird doens't let me down with another bad adaptation of a comic book hero (Nicholas Cage as GhostRider ILK!)

2008-03-01T18:13:00.000-08:00

MOVIE REVIEW: No Country For Old Men

Llewellyn Moss, is staking out cattle when he spots several trucks parked in the middle of nowhere. Curiosity takes over and he investigates the scene. He discovers a bunch of dead people, a stash of heroin and $2 million in cash. Llewellyn flees with the cash but not before one of the victims asks him for water. He leaves the scene anyway but returns later that night with water for the victim. Llewellyn is spotted by bounty hunters and flees the scene once again leaving his truck behind. From there, the bounty hunters are able to track down his whereabouts and have hired a hitman named Anton Chigurh to find him. Anton is a virtually unstoppable coldblooded individual who will not let anyone or anything get in his way. Also looking for Llewelyn are grizzled sheriff Ed Bell, who also serves as narrator for the story, and another hitman, Carson Welles. Llewelyn forces his wife to leave town while he escapes with the cash. Will Llewelyn be hunted down by Chigurh or will he and his wife be reunited as happy millionaires? No more spoilers from me y’all!

NCFOM definitely lives up to its hype, it was an amazing movie. Most consider this a modern-day Western flick, I guess that is an accurate description. The Anton Chigurh character was the scariest villain I’ve seen in a very long time, fuck Hanibal, this guy was much scarier. That wig he wore should’ve gotten its own Oscar, it was a character within itself. Javier Bardem really deserved the statue. It was bittersweet because Josh Brolin was wonderful as well and he was overlooked. Josh is fast becoming my favorite actor, he had a great year with Grindhouse, American Gangster, and NCFOM. Tommy Lee Jones gave another great performance as a world-weary sheriff, although he doesn't have screen time. The violence and bloodshed were not used sparingly so be warned, this is not a film for the squeamish. Also, the ending will come as a shock to most and a letdown to others. Moviegoers are so used to an ending that lays out each and every sequence of the film and gives explanations for everything that happened. I thought it was perfect considering what the true theme of the movie was. The scenery was great, The Cohen Brothers are known for that and they don’t let the audience down. When this film is released officially on March 11th I will be buying a copy, I can’t wait to watch it again. I won’t give away much more info about this film, just see it dammit!

VERDICT: 4 Soul Claps

2008-02-27T09:10:00.000-08:00

JOB INTERVIEW-PUNK'ED STYLE

Recently I went for a job interview for an internal posting with my current employer. Some of the questions asked and job duties were a bit sketchy to me. I kept looking around the room to see if there were cameras posted because it felt like episode of Candid Camera (or Punk'ed for you youngins). Some of the things mentioned were:

1. We need someone with a can-do spirit, someone who will get the job done without much question. For instance, if an employee brought a child to work you may be asked you to sit with the child briefly.

2. The boss maintains that you be involved in charitable activities during work hours, this would involve bake sales, raffles etc. This may require you to work overtime if needed. He would also expect you to be involved in charitable activites outside of work as well.

3. If you are needed to stay overtime for work or possibly come into work on a Saturday, do not expect to be paid for it. The boss feels that everyone has a job they must do and if overtime is needed, so be it. He will so "generously" let you go home an hour early the following day as a way of saying "thank you" for putting in extra time.

By the end of the interview I was in a state of shock. Keep in mind this is an CAPITAL INVESTMENT SECTOR FOR A MAJOR BANK.... bake sales, charity, babysitting has nothing to do with this line of business. Needless to say, I'm still searching for a new position. No thank you, slavery ended many years ago.

2008-02-15T20:18:00.000-08:00

FRIDAY FLASHBACK JAM: Herbie Hancock-Rockit 1983

In honor of Herbie's Album of The Year surprise grammy win. Herbie has always been the man long before Rockit. I have some of his older recordings and they are spectacular, he is one of the forefathers of jazz funk. The song and video were ahead of their time and won a record 5 MTV Awards in 1984. Hell I was just glad the award didn't go to Kanye's ass...hehh hehh hehh.

2008-02-10T10:04:00.000-08:00

MY SCENE: The DJ Battle from Juice- 1992

In this scene Q (Omar Epps) is participating in the much-anticipated DJ battle. While he is spinning he is constantly scanning the audience for former pal Bishop (Tupac), who is looking to kill him. Q wins the battle but does not have time to stay and bask in the glory as he must run away to save his life. Queen La is the MC of the event, one of her earliest film roles...I always knew she was destined for greatness. Samuel L. Jackson also has a small role in this film, lots of future star power going on here. Juice is a hip-hop classic and if you haven't seen it, for shame on you lol.

2008-02-08T09:57:00.000-08:00

FRIDAY FLASHBACK JAM 2: Big Daddy Kane- Nuff Respect 1992

So nice I had to do it twice. If anyone had any doubt that Kane was all style over substance, he killed the notion with this track from the Juice soundtrack. His flow was sick!

2008-02-08T09:37:00.000-08:00

FRIDAY FLASHBACK JAM: Big Daddy Kane- Ain't No Half Stepping 1988

Way back when rappers had class and style. Big Daddy was the man, not too many rappers today can hold a candle to the Kane.

2008-02-05T12:31:00.000-08:00

RANDOM MUSINGS

Yesterday I had the pleasure of smelling the breath of a man riding IN FRONT OF ME on the bus! He was talking on a cell phone, I'm surprised the damn thing didn't melt. OMG, it was horrible...shit smelled like hot garbage. The poor fellow sitting next to him looked like he wanted to cry, he had the window seat and he just kept turning his head. I thought the poor guy's head would do a 360 like Linda Blair's in The Exorcist, he was turning his neck hard to get away from that horrific breath. When the we reached his stop, he damn near ran off the bus. It may not have been his actual stop, he may have said "fuck it, I will walk the rest of the way". Damn, how could a person not know their breath is that bad? Doesn't he have friends? I'm sure that person on the receiving end of that cell phone could smell it too.

2008-02-05T11:39:00.000-08:00

LOCKED UP AND WON'T LET ME OUT

A coworker hipped me to this website. She needed to order care packages for her nephew who is currently locked up in the state pen. No wonder negroes have no qualms about spending time in jail, I can't even afford to buy this shit! Prisoners get decent food, free housing, exercrise equipment, computers, and free health care. Jail is a country club for criminals, they go in to take a break from daily street life and learn new tricks of the trade from more experienced cons to become better and smarter at their game.The prison system needs to take a bare bones approach...no "perks". Just a bed, toilet, and food, I'm sure this will keep a few fellows from returning. A few years ago a prisoner sued the penal system because the jail the was housed in switched to crunchy peanut butter, wtf?! He cited "cruel and unusual punishment" as a reason for the lawsuit. The argument that if prisoners are not given these perks, they will become violent and are likely to return to the system really doesn't hold water. The jails are still overcrowded and prison violence is still as prevalent as ever.

2008-01-25T20:06:00.000-08:00

FRIDAY FLASHBACK JAM 2: Aaliyah- Back and Forth 1993

I'm a little late to the game on this one, I gave this song a good listen last year and now it's in constant rotation.

2008-01-25T19:51:00.000-08:00

FRIDAY FLASHBACK JAM: The Clash-This Is Radio Clash 1981

One of the coolest groups ever. Enough said.

2008-01-20T12:23:00.000-08:00

RANDOM VIDEO: Fergie-Clumsy

I'm ashamed to admit I like this song even though I despise pop artists. Too bad the bitch looks like someone stomped her face in with a Timberland workboot,damn she is fugly! The girl can't help it I guess.

2008-01-19T16:04:00.000-08:00

MOVIE REVIEW: The Girl Next Door 2007

When 12 year old David meets Meg McLaughlin, he is smitten right away. Meg,a pretty,outgoing girl is new to the neighborhood and living with Ms.Chandler and her family after she and her sister Susan loses their parents in an auto accident. The Chandler home is a hang-out spot for the neighborhood kids so Meg's presence in the house is a plus for David. What David soon learns is that Meg and her sister are subject to abuse and humiliation at the hands of Ms. Chandler and various others sources. Can he save Meg before the physical and mental damage do her in completely? No more spoilers from me y’all!

Based on a true story, this film was so powerful it moved me to tears. I waited an entire month to see this film as it was on backorder from Netflix. The brutality the character suffered was very hard to watch and at times I had to turn away. This is definitely not for the squeamish but I think it is an important film that needs to be seen. I was shocked by the risk the director (Gregory Wilson, a brotha!) took by casting child actors for the roles, if the characters were played by young adults the impact would not have been the same. I kept reminding myself that most of the events that took place in the film really happened to a 16 year old girl and her story is considered one of the worst cases of child abuse in history. How anyone could be so cruel to another human being just escapes me. I won’t give away too much of the storyline here because I’d rather people see the film for themselves. Here is a link to the story of the real-life teenager of which the film is based on.

VERDICT: 3 1/2 Soul Claps

2008-01-11T19:30:00.000-08:00

FRIDAY FLASHBACK JAM 2 (Zesty Edition): Jermaine Stewart- The Word Is Out 1986

Now here we have the Prince of Zest himself, Jermaine Stewart. Jermaine's hair game was THA BIDNESS!!!! He sure was pretty too! The dance sequence was hilarious, Jermaine was handling them hoes. RIP JS.

2008-01-11T19:23:00.000-08:00

FRIDAY FLASHBACK JAM (Zesty Edition): Cheryl Lynn-Encore 1983

What is going on with the fellas in this video?!?? They have more interest in each other than Cheryl. The dance-off is HILARIOUS, the zest just oozes through my computer screen!

2008-01-10T18:06:00.000-08:00

THE YEARLY MUSIC WRAP-UP 2007

Here are my favorite cd’s of 2007. With the exception of the first four, the rest of are in no particular order.

1.4Hero- Play With The Changes
2.Jazzanova-Belle et Fou
3.Koop- Koop Island
4.Benny Sings- Benny At Home
5.Ledisi- Lost and Found
6.Eric Roberson- Left
7.Adriana Evans-El Camino
8.Wouter Hamel- Hamel
9.Mos Def- Mos Definite
10.Ghostface Killah- The Big Doe Rehab
11.Lily Allen- Alright, Still (fresh, cute, and different)
12.Jill Scott- The Real Thing Words and Sounds V 3
13.Talib Kweli- Eardrum
14.Chaka Khan- Funk This
15.Amy Winehouse- Back To Black (I would be lying if I said I didn’t love this cd, so sue me)
16.Common-Finding Forever

2008-01-06T17:40:00.000-08:00

MOVIE REVIEW: I Am Legend 2007

Manhattan is Ground Zero for a plague that has eradicated everyone on Earth. The plague was created as a cure for cancer but it backfires. Dr Robert Neville (Will Smith) and his German Shepard Sam are the lone survivors. Neville is a US Army virologist who was at the forefront of creating a vaccine for the plague before all hell broke loose. He and his dog spend their days hunting for food and supplies in downtown Manhattan…which is deserted, overgrown with brush and inhabited by *cough cough* lions and deer , watching old newscasts and movies, exercising , and oh yeah…..protecting themselves from half-human, bloodthirsty night dwellers. The night dwellers are a result of the plague. Once nightfall hits, Neville must barricade himself inside of his home to protect himself and Sam from the creatures. Each day Neville goes to a bridge to broadcast a message that will hopefully draw survivors to his attention. In between foraging for food in the day and zombie watching at night, Neville diligently continues to come up with a cure to revert the night dwellers back to their human form. Will his vaccine work or will Neville become zombie bait? No more spoilers from me y’all!

Alrighty! First off, I am not a Will Smith movie fan. Personally I think he’s awesome but as an actor I find him a bit too cutesy and corny for my tastes. The premise of this film has that been there/done that feel to it. When I read this was a semi-remake of The Omega Man, one of my favorite films of all time, I was even more skeptical. I think the one factor that got me to watch this is the last man on Earth being a Brotha (or something like that, we are talking about Will Smith here lol). take on the story. I should’ve followed my first mind, this filmed reeked. The first half of the movie was fine and it was really cool trying to figure out how they made Manhattan look so deserted. Will did a great job of showing how a person would react to loneliness and isolation. His costar Sam the dog was just AWESOME..the best part of the movie. Insert lions, deer and Will racing around in a brand new Ford Mustang ….sounds ridiculous, yeah but this isn’t even the worst of it…I was still mildly entertained at this point. Where they lost me is when they introduced the night dwellers. Those bootleg, dollar store video game leftovers were neither scary nor entertaining. They went WAYYYYY overboard with the CGI effects in this film, I usually skip these types of films altogether. I think the film would’ve been more effective if the zombies were portrayed by actors in makeup versus those stoopid CGI creatures. Also, there were lot of inconsistencies and things that just didn’t add up in this film from a logic standpoint which I won’t give away here. Towards the end of the film the audience is hit with a heavy-handed religious message that seemed to be thrown in at the last minute to cater to the Christmas season movie-going crowd. The ending of this film is a tanker altogether, for me it was not in sync with the rest of the storyline. If you want to close your brain for 2 hours and enjoy a totally mindless piece of drivel, then see this film…if you are part of the thinking crowd, save your money and rent the stellar Omega Man instead

VERDICT: 1 Soul Clap

2008-01-04T03:48:00.000-08:00

FRIDAY FLASHBACK JAM: You Can't Play With My YoYo- Yo-Yo 1990

Yo-Yo was fly. She repped the thick and sexy chicks for real. Let's bring back female rappers who don't rhyme about giving giving some head.

2007-12-29T13:43:00.000-08:00

JOY TO THE GIRL!

Happy Belated Holidays to all of you. Christmas time for me was filled with joy, laughter, food, and fun. I spent much needed time with the people I love the most. OK, let me stop with the sentimental shit. I hosted the holiday gathering this year and I've never cooked so much food in my life! I was ready to fall face-first into my homemade chocolate cake, I was tired as hell! I was too tired to eat the food after it was done. It paid off because everyone really enjoyed my the food. I can honestly say this is the first time in many years that I have truly enjoyed the holidays. I did about 90% of my shopping online this year and everything went without a hitch. Never again will I battle with the mall zombies during the holiday season again, I ain't got the patience for that shit anymore. I got great gifts this year too, Santa was really generous to me, it was unbelievable. My favorites were a diamond tennis bracelet, a Creative Zen Plus MP3 (I wanted this really badly), EBAY gift cards, and cold hard cash (my ass needed because I was broke!). Tell me what Santa or Kwanzaa Kareem (Ninjagirrl, this slayed me) brought you this year.

2007-12-28T14:32:00.000-08:00

FRIDAY FLASHBACK JAM: Ralph Tresvant- Sensitivity

Yeah all of us ladies could use a little sensitivity in our significant others, but not TOO much. I don't want someone that will hold my purse while I'm getting jumped on.

2007-12-21T11:45:00.000-08:00

FRIDAY FLASHBACK JAM: Let It Snow- Boyz II Men 1993

I'm not really into Christmas music, but this is one song I can tolerate. I'm not a big Boyz II Men fan either, don't get me wrong, the guys can blow but they bore the hell out of me. Maybe if Wanya had a big purple eye on his forehead or something I would find them more interesting. I know, I'm a basketcase.

2007-12-14T20:03:00.000-08:00

MY SCENE: Brand New Day From The Wiz 1978

I have never sat down and watched The Wizard of Oz in its entirety, I've tried but boredom wouldn't allow me to finish it. Being the movie buff I am, most people find that ridiculous since it's considered to be one of the most loved classics. I've have seen and LOVE The Wiz. My mom took my cousin and I to see it when it was first released and we sat transfixed on the screen for 133 minutes. My little girl eyes couldn't believe what I saw. It was the most vibrant, colorful, magical thing I'd ever seen. The musical numbers, the costumes, and best of all DIANA ROSS! Let me not forget to mention Nipsey Russell pop-locking in this scene, that was worth the price of admission alone. In this scene Evilene is destroyed and her factory workers shed their ugly costumes to unveil beautiful Black folks underneath, wow! Do I agree Diana Ross was a little too old for the Dorothy role? Of course. I've read internet forums where this film is being trashed by the masses. Yes, it was a bit creepy and a little over the top but it still was a great concept with an excellent score by Quincy Jones nonetheless. I read a rumor that a new Broadway version of The Wiz is underway. If so, I'll be first person in line to buy a ticket.

2007-12-14T19:05:00.000-08:00

FRIDAY FLASHBACK JAM: Diana Ross-Muscles 1982

Before the scrapes with the law and the butter-infused teeth, Ms. Ross was not to be played with. She was a true diva in every sense of the word, and still is very beautiful today (with the exception of the teefus). The lady did it all, tv, movies, music, you name it. The hair, the clothes, that mega-watt smile.....she was the epitome of a star. This video gets my vote for the pure campiness of it, those oiled-up muscle dudes were ridonkulous lol.