I read about these films while working on Breaking News at the Trib. Check out this article. Tired of the same old scripts and lack of diversity in films. Support movies that don't have the same recycled plot and with a cast that doesn't look like the movie plopped someone in to make the quota. I watch a lot of different movies, but I think in the African-American film industry, the roles and stories are limited. These two movies seemed to have potential from the theatrical trailers.
Update (8 p.m. on Friday): I just came in tonight after seeing "Women Thou Art Loosed: On the 7th Day" and I loved this movie. I've been a Blair Underwood fan since I was a kid (and he cracked me up on "The New Adventures of Old Christine"), but he really did his thing in this film. I like Sharon Leal, too. She's more than just a pretty face. She's an exceptional actress and I thought the two of them worked great together. And my gawd, her high school ex-boyfriend and the pimp (okay, yeah, that's a stereotype but it made sense for the movie) were gorgeous! But better than that, the movie kept me intrigued the entire time. I'd highly recommend it.
I wanted to support "Life, Love, Soul" too but I have a bone to pick with where this movie is showing. I was already cringing to see Tami Roman from "Basketball Wives" in it, but for all I know, she may be a great actress. But more importantly, why did they choose Woodridge (been living in Chicago for 26 of 30 years and I've never even heard of Woodridge, IL) to show a predominantly black film? Why not stick it where the black folks are? I'm willing to bet the film would be supported far more in Chicago than this place, and I'm not driving over an hour to see a movie that costs less than $10. I'd blow more money in gas than I would on the film. I wonder if the other locations are in no-man's land, too. Doubt it, especially in the Atlanta locations. I hope it comes to Netflix or Amazon though. I'll watch it there.
I'm set for this week, but these videos were so funny that I decided to do an installment for next week's five. I have watched these four videos nonstop on Thursday night and laugh every single time.
I still remember interviewing Steve Harvey about his book "Act Like a Lady, Think Like a Man." You can read it by clicking Other Publications and scrolling to the comedian's photo. I cannot wait to see the movie based on his book "Think Like a Man" next Friday. Speaking of that, I've got another thing that made me smile.
1. Two days off: Being off on Fridays and Saturdays: I couldn't think of a better schedule. Hearing my bosses tell me my two new days off were these two days was the highlight of my day (a couple weeks back). Love it!
2. Regina Hall: I never thought anybody could be funnier than Kevin Hart from this cast, but Regina stole the show. What she did to Terrence J. made me cry laughing. I was not prepared for her to do that.
3. Kevin Hart being a distraction: The interviewer tried to keep this interview serious, but Kevin Hart acted a damn fool and I loved every minute of it. Michael Ealy had a terrible time trying to stay serious, and it cracked me up even more. At 1:38 she did have a great point though and momentarily got all of the guys' attention before they lost it again.
4. The line about 'negro kids' and Tijuana Jackson cursing them out at the end: I remember my brother cracking up laughing at Romany Malco in "40-Year-Old Virgin" and I loved that movie, too. I knew he was funny. I was amused at him trying to kiss Angela Yee on The Breakfast Club interview. But up until tonight, I had no clue about Tijuana Jackson or this ridiculously funny (and ignorant as ever!) interview with the "Think Like a Man" cast. My gawd, if this isn't a train wreck I don't know what is. I don't know how they kept it together after the "negro kids" line. Terrible! I laughed so hard at that one.
5. Chocolate Droppa and Tijuana Jackson together: I'd seen a few videos of Chocolate Droppa (Kevin Hart's alter-ego) but to put Tijuana Jackson and Chocolate Droppa together was classic. And my gawd, when he got on that segway, I almost fell off my desk chair.
P.S. I'd tweeted about how funny Romany was while typing this blog and I got a DM from him thanking me. Aw, that's nice! Cool, glad he read it.
Best luck on the film, fellas! I'll be there opening night. And to Mr. Harvey, congratulations on a job well done and for the interview. I read the book a few years ago, but I think I'll re-read it this month after watching the movie.
Four years ago, I saw a hip-hop group perform all of these positive songs at the start of a football game. I hear hip-hop all the time and I don't always stop to watch everybody perform, but what caught my attention was the look of all of the guys was much edgier than the lyrics they were speaking. I ended up interviewing them because I wanted to know what made them go the route in music that they did when it seems like negative (read: ignorant as hell) music seems to pay more. All of them had some dark tales to tell, but one guy said he never got the love he's getting now until he started rapping about more positive topics. Now grandmothers can walk up and hug him and not just his guys. I liked that idea. But I did notice a pattern with all of them. Although the music was happier, they all looked aggressive. Like if a fight broke out, they'd be ready to tear some s**t up. Did that make me scared to interview them? Not at all. It's not the smartest decision to be the only woman in a basement studio full of guys, but similar to them, I've observed so much as a kid that it takes a little bit more to actually scare me. I'm easily disappointed and still haven't quite mastered my quick temper (I'm far better as a 30-year-old than I was as a teen and definitely in my early 20s). But scared? There are only two things that scare me, and neither of them are human. One of the two does breathe but neither is human.
Anyway, one question that I asked them at the end of the interview was very impromptu, and the reason I asked was because the guys looked so serious. I asked, "What makes you happy?" and then I smiled. And when I smiled, every last one of them smiled, too. And I don't mean polite tight smiles. I mean teeth-showing smiles right before they went into memories of what makes them genuinely happy. It was a great way to end an interview and before I left, a couple of them stopped me and said, "Wait a minute. We didn't hear what makes you smile?" A genuine smile is contagious. A good laugh is even better. I like to hear what makes people happy because we all have so much to complain about. I'm interested in what gets through the cracks and makes somebody laugh so hard her shoulders shake or what makes him laugh so hard that I can see where he had cavities.
When my maternal grandmother passed away in 1995 right before I graduated from elementary school, I took a sign from her doorway that said, "Keep smiling. It makes everyone wonder what you have been up to." She was always laughing about something, too.
I said I was done with "Five things I'm digging right now" blogs although that was fun to do in 2011. This time around though, I'm going to blog about five things that made me smile/laugh" and I'll call it "What are you smiling about?":
The reason I liked doing the "Five things I'm digging right now" was because it forced me to find the "bright side" of something. I need to do that more often and thought that was a cool way of doing it (original idea courtesy of Andy Cohen). So in the same spirit of it and since I'm done with that for 2011, I'm going to do a list of 365 things I've been digging all year. They're not in order, just the first things that pop into my head that I liked the entire year. (I started today as of 2:30 p.m. I finished on 12/31/11 at 10:38 p.m., in between running errands. HAPPY (almost) NEW YEAR!)
BOOKS 1. "The John Carlos Story" by John Carlos 2. "Is Marriage for White People? How the African American Marriage Decline Affects Everyone" by Ralph Richard Banks 3. "The Vampire Diaries" (Stefan's Diaries only) 4. "There Are No Children Here: The Story of Two Boys Growing Up in The Other America" by Alex Kotlowitz 5. "The Conversation" by Hill Harper 6. "Michelle Obama: The First Lady in Photographs" by Deborah Willis and Emily Bernard 7. "Change for a Twenty" (I genuinely enjoy my own books) 8. "Round Trip" (I've said repeatedly it's better than "Change for a Twenty") 9. "Love Your Life" by The Oprah Magazine
CHICAGO (SURROUNDING AREA) 1. Looking out the window on the #147 CTA bus at Lake Michigan 2. Walking the four-mile trail at Skokie Northshore Channel 3. Walking the two-mile trail at Lincolnwood Channel Runne Park 4. Quench! restaurant on 79th (Pretty inside with a seating area) 5. Chi Tung 6. Chicago Public Library 7. The New 400 Theater 8. RCN (cable)
EYE CANDY 1. Ian Somerhalder 2. Taylor Lautner (Facial hair compliments him; his athleticism makes him breathtaking) 3. Idris Elba (No matter how many times "Daddy's Little Girls" comes on, I watch it) 4. T.I. 5. Chris Brown (He's growing up to be really handsome) 6. Morris Chestnut 7. Justin Timberlake 8. Brad Paisley (Dated a guy who looked exactly like a light-skinned black version of him; started heavily listening to country music from November to December) 9. Paul Walker 10. Alex Meraz (very good-looking in person) 11. Ian Ziering (Didn't pay much attention to him on "90210" but when I saw him at Comic Con last year I was so surprised at how gorgeous he is. Age has done him well!) 12. Trey Songz (Super friendly and as attractive in person as he is on his videos) 13. Joseph Morgan (Klaus from "The Vampire Diaries") 14. The guy who lost his balance on the Red Line and fell on me (woke me RIGHT up, and his outfit was impeccable; I couldn't stop checking him out) 15. Drake 16. Richard Gere (He looks better with age, don't know how he does it) 17. Tone Kapone (Don't listen to the radio much but I saw him at the 2012 Real Men Cook and the Sprite StepOff a couple years ago. He's really cute and I never knew what he looked like before.) 18. Q-Tip 19. Evan Ross 20. Obie Trice (He's underrated in the hip-hop game and my gawd, THOSE LIPS! Every video I see with him in it, I look at his lips 75% of the time. He's kiss-worthy.)
FASHION 1. Multi-colored shell bracelet from Queen Ka'ahumanu Center in Maui 2. Ralph Lauren Polo Jeans Co. orange fleece 3. Light yellow zip-up sweater 4. Gray suede/sweater heel boots 5. Brown suede/sweater heel boots 6. Black sweater flat boots 7. Black cape with gray lining 8. Baby blue top with brown afro woman silhouette 9. Multi-brown shades wooden bracelet from Maui 10. Black hematite bracelet from The African Store (located in Ford City) 11. Kohl's shopping (When there's a coupon, I never leave empty handed.) 12. NY & CO shopping (Sale or not, I never leave empty handed.)
FOOD 1. Archer Farms salt and vinegar chips 2. Thai tofu fried rice from China Hut 3. Kona Hawaiian Blend Micro-Roasted Coffee (drank it every morning) 4. Gardein stuffed turk'y 5. Gardein Mandarin orange crispy chick'n 6. Chocolate martinis at Olive Garden 7. Salad dressing from Olive Garden 8. Mushroom ravioli from Olive Garden 9. Fresh bread from Olive Garden 10. Water with a splash of lemon juice 11. Avocado slices with tomato slices 12. Tortilla chips 13. Granola, fruit and yogurt plate from IHOP 14. Hot water cornbread 15. Black eyed peas (vegetarian) 16. Collard greens (vegetarian) 17. Macaroni and cheese (my mother's) 18. Dried apricots 19. Archer Farms dark chocolate cocoa mix 20. Open Nature's Dark Chocolate Hazelnut Heaven (granola mix) 21. Green tea 22. Brown tea with lemon juice and honey 23. Grapefruit juice 24. Grapefruits 25. Red apples 26. Strawberries 27. Bananas 28. Strawberry banana smoothies 29. McDonald's iced coffee (light ice, light sugar) 30. McDonald's Filet o' Fish (the only fish I can handle eating for Omega 3) 31. Starbucks hot chocolate 32. Argo Tea iced coffee 33. Corn on the cob 34. Mashed potatoes from Ruby Tuesday's 35. Simply Asia Spring Noodles bowl 36. Watermelon 37. Green grapes 38. Red grapes
FRAGRANCES 1. Fergie's "Outspoken" 2. Lady Speed Stick "Fresh Infusions" 3. Cool Water 4. Victoria's Secret "Heavenly" (original fragrance)
HAIR 1. Vitale Olive Oil relaxer 2. Parnevu leave-in conditioner 3. Silk wrap caps 4. Pantene shampoo for women of color 5. Pantene conditioner for women of color 6. Distinctly Basics by Rachel Rose black ponytail holders 7. My haircut from Donte's on 9/17/2011 (thanks Francine!)
HEALTH 1. Doing Beyonce's "Let's Move" routine for 30 days 2. Swimming laps in the Maui Seaside Hotel pool 3. Renewing my membership and working out at Bally Total Fitness (now L.A. Fitness) 4. The results from my yearly physical (everything is tip-top, minus weight) 5. Logging at least four workouts per week on TeamBeachBody 6. Julie's Health Club blogs 7. Chicago Tribune's Health page 8. LA Times Booster Shots 9. Updating @BlackHealthNews on Twitter 10. "Mistletoe may help kiss away some ills" article (fascinating because I only knot about it for kissing) 11. "Muscling past myths" (It forces me to get up more at work)
HOME APPLIANCES 1. Breville BEW600XL Hot Wok 2. Brother MFC-440CN multi-printer 3. Insignia 26" LCD TV 720P 4. Full-size bed 5. All 18 pillows on my bed 6. Labrador Retriever comforter with pillows on my bed
HOME DECOR 1. Looking at Halloween decorations 2. Black couple embracing and kissing (painting above my bed) 3. Ebony cover of Marvin Gaye about "black cool" 4. N'Digo cover of Pres. Barack Obama (Nov. 13-2008) 5. Mos Def photograph of him sticking out his tongue while in a car driver's seat 6. Wall photograph jewelry box
MEMORIES 1. Watching my 99-year-old Aunt Marguerite open her Christmas photo calendar 2. Solo travel to Maui to do what I wanted to do 100% of the time 3. Spa day in Maui (pedicure, manicure, head/back/shoulder/foot massage) 4. Going to Chi Tung with Grandad 5. Getting the surprise fruit basket on Christmas Eve delivered from my godfather 6. Having my mother home this Christmas, healthy and happy 7. Posing for photograph on the porch with Faith nuzzling my chin 8. Posing for photograph on the porch with Faith "smiling" and leaning by my face 9. Crying laughing about the health club story with Darcel 10. Kendell calling me up at work to invite me to his high school graduation 11. Watching Kendell walk across the stage for graduation (super proud of him) 12. Hanging with Mom, Dad and Grandad at Real Men Cook for Father's Day 13. Going to the midnight release of "Twilight: Breaking Dawn" with my mom 14. Walking Faith (I do it 99% of the time when I'm at my parents' house) 15. Cracking jokes and chatting about entertainment with Yonnie and Kendell 16. Seeing what's new and strange in the world of Crosley (sp?) 17. Chit-chatting with Mom in Olive Garden 18. Hanging with Mom at Ruby Tuesday's and checking out our forgetful waiter 19. Photograph of my mother and my godfather trying to look hip-hop (LMAO) 20. Close-up photograph of Grandad and I at Real Men Cook 21. Photograph of my mother and I on my 29th birthday with her leaning on me 22. Seeing my op/ed tattoo piece on page 2 of the Chicago Tribune 23. Posing for a bunch of family photos with my brother, mother, grandfather and father on Thanksgiving 2011 24. Getting a 365-day dog calendar from my mother, who knows I really want a dog 25. Mild flirting at the health club (may not amount to anything but it was inspiration to work out when I first joined) 26. Clearing snow away with a bucket because I don't own a shovel (my grandfather loves this story) 27. Working from home for two days after Feb. 2, 2011 snowstorm 28. My grandfather and father dancing in front of a crowd at Real Men Cook 2011 29. Fifth tattoo, fourth cover-up, love my roses (thanks Bobby Sax!) 30. Dragging Fernie around to take the holiday photo for the Chicago Tribune 31. Xephon adding me as a Facebook friend (very flattered by that) 32. Dad calling me up to tell me how he wouldn't participate in Earth Hour 33. Me taking Dad's call (#32) as an invitation to bumrush their house and unplug everything; he and I talked for an hour and a half in the dark 34. Going through my letter box, reading all the letters and cards I got from family and friends while I was in college
MOVIES 1. "Hachi" 2. "Eight Below" 3. "No Strings Attached" 4. "Friends With Benefits" 5. "Always Outnumbered, Always Outgunned" 6. "Tongue Untied" Wanda Sykes comedy 7. "Higher Learning" 8. "Daddy's Little Girls" 9. "Something New" 10. "10 Things I Hate About You" 11. "New Moon" 12. "Twilight" 13: "The Twilight Saga: Eclipse" 14. "Sleepers" 15. "The Client" 16. "Runaway Bride" 17. "Iron Man" 18. "Iron Man 2" 19. "Transformers" 20. "Jumping the Broom" 21. "Never Say Never" (The shoveling scene is my favorite; Justin Bieber is eye candy but I just felt too much like a cougar putting him there until he's legal) 22. "Happy New Year, Charlie Brown" 23. "Losers" 24. "Gran Torino" 25. "Beats, Rhymes & Life: The Travels of A Tribe Called Quest"
MUSIC (singles and artists) 1. "Prototype" by Andre 3000 2. "Cockiness" by Rihanna 3. Rihanna's "Loud" CD 4. "The Noose" by Tech N9Ne 5. The "99 Problems" remix in the movie "No Strings Attached" 6. Mos Def (everything) 7. "In the Morning" by Drake and J. Cole 8. "Can't Get Enough" by J. Cole 9. "5 o' clock" by T-Pain 10. "Nuthin'" by T-Pain 11. "Default Picture" by T-Pain 12. "Momma Told Me" by Crystal Waters 13. "Pretty Little Heart" by Robin Thicke 14. "Sexy and I Know It" by LMFAO 15. "Birthday Cake" by Rihanna 16. "Take Care" by Drake 17. "Stay" by Tyrese 18. "Syllables" by Eminem, Jay-Z, 50 Cent 19. Obie Trice (everything) 20. Crystal Waters (everything) 21. Chris Brown (everything) 22. Rihanna (everything) 23. "Love Calls" by Kem 24. "I Can't Stop Loving You" by Kem 25. "I Like It" by Debarge family 26. "Perfect Day" by Jim Jones 27. "Should've Kissed You" by Chris Brown 28. "Dancing in the Dark" by Dev 29. "Otis" by Jay-Z and Kanye West 30. "Marry You" by Bruno Mars 31. "Someone to Love Me" by Mary J. Blige, Diddy 32. "All This Love" by Debarge 33. "Love Me in a Special Way" by Debarge 34. "Say Something" by Timbaland 35. Drake (everything) 36. "Complicated" by Robin Thicke 37. "Lost Without You" by Robin Thicke 38. "Pretty Young Thing" by Michael Jackson 39. "Strangers in Moscow" by Michael Jackson 40. "I'm Only Human" by Luther Vandross 41. "Love Her Like She's Leavin'" by Brad Paisley 42. "Somethin' 'Bout a Truck" by Kip Moore 43. Afroflow (everything) 44. "Woo" by Erykah Badu 45. "Bag Lady" by Erykah Badu (Dr. Dre remix) 46. Big Daddy Kane (everything) 47. "Got My Country On" by Chris Cagle 48. "Don't Worry, Be Happy" by Bobby McFerrin 49. "Like We Never Said Goodbye" by Clay Walker 50. "Better Than I Used to Be" by Tim McGraw 51. "Radio" by Musiq Soulchild 52. "Smack That" by Akon 53. "Back to Life" by Andrea Lewis 54. "Run the World" by Beyonce 55. "Motivation" by Kelly Rowland 56. "Deuces" by Chris Brown 57. "Look at Me Now" by Chris Brown 58. "Fallin' Down" by Chris Brown 59. "Cruisin'" by D'Angelo 60. "Sergeant Louise" by Donnell Jones 61. "Marvin's Room" by Drake 62. "Doing it Wrong" by Drake 63. "Show Me a Good Time" by Drake 64. "Find Your Love" by Drake 65. "Mahogany" by Eric B. and Rakim 66. "Head to Toe" by Eric Roberson 67. "Softest Lips" by Eric Roberson 68. "U R the One" by Mos Def 69. "The Panties" by Mos Def 70. "Kiss Me on My Neck" by Erykah Badu 71. "I Want You" by Erykah Badu 72. "Collard Greens and Cornbread" by Fantasia 73. "1, 2, 3" by Field Mob 74. "Best Night of My Life" by Jamie Foxx 75. "Yep Dat's Me" by Jamie Foxx 76. "She Got Her Own" by Jamie Foxx and Ne-Yo 77. Andre 3000 (everything) 78. "Raindrops" by Jeremih 79. "Leavin'" by Jesse McCartney 80. "Ordinary People" by John Legend 81. "I Ain't Going Out" by Jon B. 82. "Pretty Girl" by Jon B. 83. "What Goes Around Comes Around" by Justin Timberlake 84. "Runaway" by Kanye West 85. "Where Would I Be" by Kindred Family 86. "Paris Tokyo" by Lupe Fiasco 87. "The Show Goes On" by Lupe Fiasco 88. "Human Nature" by Michael Jackson 89. "Butterflies" by Michael Jackson 90. "Smile" by Justin Bieber
OBJECTS 1. My birthday card from Dad, who wrote his own entries on the inside about the truth and myths of being 30 2. Mumble stuffed penguin (from "Happy Feet 2") 3. Charlie Brown musical stuffed decoration 4. Elementary school graduation photos of Xakir (super handsome nephew!)
PEOPLE/MANNERISMS 1. People who hold doors for the people behind them 2. Women who think nothing of complimenting other women (no cattiness) 3. Men who know "hello/how are you?" go much further than pick-up lines 4. People who try to learn how to pronounce my name and don't give me unsolicited nicknames 5. People who say "let's go to lunch" and follow through with their plans to do so
POLITICS 1. The troops coming home from Iraq 2. First Lady Michelle Obama's "Let's Move" campaign 3. The Obamas' new family photo
SKIN CARE 1. Aloe vera (everything from first-aid products to lotion) 2. Cocoa butter (everything from lotion to soap) 3. Vaseline cocoa butter lotion 4. Vaseline cocoa butter petroleum jelly 5. Suave cocoa butter with shea 6. Palmer's cocoa butter formula with Vitamin E
TECHNOLOGY 1. AmazonBasics 3-Button USB Wired Mouse 2. Smoke Silicone Skin case for my mp3 player 3. Insignia Pilot mp3 player 4. Kevin Hart's YouTube Channel 5. Following @OchoCinco on Twitter 6. TiVo 7. TiVo's website to record stuff when I'm not at home
TELEVISION 1. "Whitney" 2. "The Vampire Diaries" 3. Timbaland special on E! Entertainment 4. Kathy Griffin's reenactment of her dog eating a used condom (hilarious!) 5. BET Hip Hop performance with Heavy D doing "Nuttin' But Love" 6. Somaya and X.O. scenes on "Love & Hip-Hop" 7. Open mic night with Kyle doing scat music on "Living Single" 8. Rudy meeting Stanley on "The Cosby Show" 9. "The New Adventures of Old Christine" 10. The "you lost to a girl" scene in "The New Adventures of Old Christine"
TRAVEL 1. Maui Mall (walked over there every day for five days) 2. Maui Seaside Hotel 3. West Maui Mountains 4. Riding the Sugar Cane Train in Maui 5. Writing for Chicago Tribune's Taking Off blog 6. O'Hare Airport (never appreciated how great it is until I compared it to LAX) 7. Maroon blankets that American Airlines give you for flying to Hawaii 8. American Airlines for giving me an extra 2 days free of charge after late flight 9. Yotel's Times Square in-airport cabins for overnight sleeping (cool idea, haven't used them but would have that time I had to sleep overnight in LAX, click here for more) 10. Celebrity travel with Sinbad 11. Celebrity travel with Larenz Tate 12. Updating the Trib's Hawaii travel story gallery
TURN-ONS (physical) 1. Goatees 2. Caesar haircuts 3. Khakis/jeans that are loose but sit on the waist 4. Shades of smooth brown complexions (from buttercup to dark chocolate) 5. Clean fingernails 6. Direct eye contact 7. Carefree, white teeth smiles 8. Slim-to-medium muscular build 9. Tall in height (although I've dated guys between 5'8 and 5'11 who were just as attractive) 11. Holding a book
TURN-ONS (mental) 1. Bookworms 2. Voters (in all elections, not just presidential) 3. Direct requests for dates (no b.s.-ing around) 4. Making money only in a legal way 5. Paying bills on time 6. Having your own place, with your name on the lease/mortgage
WORK 1. Meeting the MoD team (some of the Breaking News team are very entertaining to work with) 2. Working with Colin (He's one of the coolest bosses I've ever had; he means business but he "gets" my personality) 3. Keeping in touch with my old bosses Sonja and Ruth (two other bosses I have nothing but good things to say about and still touch bases with to this day) 4. Going to lunch with Darcel (great person to vent and laugh with) 5. Going to lunch with Fernie (she's always got jokes) 6. Argo Tea Iced Coffee from Charlie to thank me for training him (nice surprise) 7. Training Charlie and Lauren when they were new (MoD team members both really cool people) 8. Trading dog stories with Molly (both of us are hardcore dog lovers) 9. Working with Danielle G. (She's always helpful since the day I started) 10. Working with Mike Z. (If I need a photo, he's got it. One of my favorite folks at the Trib for being so easy to work with.) 11. Chatting with Pam (Easy to work with, even easier to chat about everything from family to why we hate pants with words on the butt) 12. Creating and updating the "Relationship & Sex News Gallery" (Interesting and educational topic that people need to be informed about, especially STIs/STDs) 13. Working with Gilda Squire of Gilda Squire Media Relations again. She is one of the most professional publicists I've met, and I've worked with quite a few publicists.
All right, this is my last "Five things I"m digging right now" for 2011 and for good. It's been fun doing these, but I want a new series in the new year. Anyway, here are five things I'm digging right now.
1. BlackMusicTube: I have no idea why I'm just now finding out about this site, but I was trying to find out where to listen to Tyrese's new CD "Open Invitation" after it didn't download correctly on my mp3 player. This site is even better than listening to AOL's Listening Party because there are more CDs to choose from, and I don't have to blow my money on stuff I don't like without listening to it.
2. T-Pain's "Revolver" CD: This is the first CD I've enjoyed straight through from him. I usually just like the singles, but he did a really great job on this one. I still remember seeing him live in concert a couple years ago. I became an all-around fan of his as soon as I saw him live in action and stood up the entire time he was onstage.
I'm back with my new favs. I missed last week so this is once again my "Five things I'm digging right now" times two.
1. "In the morning" by Drake and J-Cole: I like listening to this song every morning. J-Cole can get kinda vulgar on his album, but I like the edited version of his music and that groggy voice Drake is doing is sexy as all hell. I listen to this every morning on my way to work at least three times straight.
2. Rihanna's new CD "Talk That Talk": I could do without Jay-Z's verse, but other than that, this is a solid CD and so was her last one. I'm a late fan, but she's very talented. It just took me some time to get used to her voice.
3. Quench!: I don't recall whether I've mentioned them before, but I'm a loyal supporter of this restaurant chain. I go whenever I'm on the south side, and I went to the 79th street location for the first time. It's nice, and you can sit down. The workers are always polite, too. I highly recommend the soy veggie wrap (spicy). The veggie melt is good, too.
If there's anybody I can count on who is nutty enough to go to a movie theater to see "Breaking Dawn" with me at midnight, it's my mother and she had to work the next morning. (I'm still on vacation, but she stayed up like a trooper.) Not only that, she came back from work the next day and went to see "Happy Feet 2" with me so I got to see two movies I really wanted to in less than 24 hours. Gotta love Mom. I knew she'd have something up her sleeve when I returned from Maui. We always celebrate each other's birthdays, and she's my favorite person to hang out with. If/when I go to Hawaii again, she's already informed me she's going no matter what.
Since I was on vacation last week (from Wednesday afternoon through the weekend) and it's been awhile since I had steady days off (for awhile I worked weekends in Breaking News), I've got a whole lot that I'm digging right now so I'm doing my five dig countdown right now.
This will be the five things I'm digging during my vacation:
1. Not worrying about sleep habits: I went to sleep when I wanted to (and turned my house and cell phone off) and woke up when I wanted to. I knew I got the right amount of sleep because I didn't wake up until I was good and ready. The right amount of sleep can leave a person feeling refreshed even if her body clock is used to waking up early.
2. Walking my parents' German Shepherd, Faith: I love their dog. As much as I love my apartment eventually either the location or I am going to have to give. I want a dog, and not one of those little dogs that jump on the couch and bark with a super thug complex (those are the dogs they allow). I want a Marmaduke sized dog--German Shepherd, Labrador Retriever, Doberman Pinscher, Alaskan Husky, that size dog. But in the meantime, I was on the south side for a bit and I dropped by my parents' house to grab the leash and walk their dog around. (Funny enough my father panicked and thought someone stole their dog because he came home before I could return her. In my defense, my car was parked right in front of their house and I left a message on their answering machine but he paid no attention to either. Poor Dad. He looked so relieved to see me walking up to the front gate and telling Faith to stop harassing the mail carrier.)
After seeing both DVDs for "Shaq & Cedric the Entertainer Presents: All Star Comedy Jam," watching Kevin Hart's "Seriously Funny" for the umpteenth time right now, finishing Whoopi Goldberg's "Is it just me? Or is it crazy out there?" and digging and buying "Black Comedians on Black Comedy: Why We Laugh," I'm going to dedicate this "Five things I'm digging right now" to my favorite comedians because a few of the jokers on "All Star Comedy Jam" were not funny at all.
1. Bill Cosby: I rushed home every Thursday to see "The Cosby Show." I have all eight seasons of the DVDs, and although I take breaks from watching the show because of all the syndication, there is no other show I like as much as this one. Not only is the show a powerful and necessary part of African-American entertainers but watching early Bill Cosby doing stand-up is hilarious. I follow him on Twitter, and I dig the fact that he's even on Twitter and has an iPhone app. He's always ahead of the game. And just so we're clear, I 100% agree with his views on Black America today. He told the truth, and some folks couldn't handle it. My advice is work to prove him wrong instead of being annoyed he spoke up.
2. Chris Rock: I loved his CW television show (BTW his gorgeous brother Tony Rock was the only reason I watched "All of Us" and I dig that he actually responds to folks on Twitter), loved all of his comedy stand-up routines, saw him live and cried laughing, and I respect what he does behind the scenes. I enjoyed his wife Malaak Compton-Rock's book, too. What I love about Chris Rock is how he effortlessly blends politics, hip-hop, relationships and knows just how far to go with jokes about women. He reminds me of early hip-hop. He knows how to get a serious message out and be entertaining to. I definitely think he took notes from the music he's "tired of defending."
1. Whoopi Goldberg's "Is it just me? Or is it nuts out there?": I figured this book was going to be good because I like Whoopi. There were times when I leaned over a bench I was sitting on (during my workout walk) and just laughed. Hard. It was good to get a carefree laugh or two in while reading this. (I reviewed this book for the Trib, but it hasn't gone live yet.)
2. China Hut: I ignored the restaurant when it first popped up around my neighborhood, but since I refuse to go back into Loving Hut I needed another nearby restaurant for my lazy cooking days. I got crab rangoon (the only seafood I can still eat) and vegetable fried rice from there, and it was delicious. Maybe I'll stop asking my grandfather to take me to Chi Tung now that I found an Asian food restaurant around me that I actually like.
Shamontiel has published over 800 online and print articles. She's now the Digital News Editor for the Chicago Tribune, but the opinions in this blog are hers alone. While some blog topics won't be discussed out of professional courtesy, chances are if you've read her older copy, you know where she stands on certain issues. And for the topics she can discuss, it's on! Feel free to leave thought-provoking comments and funny ones, too.
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