I enjoyed the 81st Annual Oscars.  You know, for the most part. —I thought Hugh Jackman and the dance routines were funny, theatrical, and a nice change from the often-tiresome comedians who are usually not funny.  I won’t name names.  Okay, Jon Stewart. —I thought Viola Davis trying to hold back the tears as her…

The NY Post issued an apology for anyone who thought the cartoon was racist.  I don’t know about you, but the apology comes a bit too late.  It’s racist when a newspaper greenlights a depiction of cops shooting a dead chimp with a caption that reads “Someone’s Going to Have to Write the Next Stimulus…

New Yorkers are outraged this afternoon.  The New York Post published a cartoon depicting two NYPD white police officers shooting [to death] a black chimpanzee on a city sidewalk.  The caption above the cartoon reads:  They’ll Have to Find Someone Else to Write the Next Stimulus Bill.  Hey, I know the Republicans refused to support…

The 81st Oscar Awards will air Sunday and the heat is on.  Like usual, the “colored” component to the Oscars is low, but let’s illuminate what is there.  And, interestingly enough, there’s quite a few this time around.  There’s the Best Picture and Director nominee Slumdog Millionaire, the story about the Muslim children of Mumbai,…

I do not condone physical abuse.  Boyfriend to girlfriend, parent to child, teen to grandmother, domestic partner to domestic partner, it’s unacceptable and, without question, one of the most cowardly acts of insecurity in the history of humankind.  But I will say this:  Chris Brown is “sorry and saddened” and that’s a step forward.  Right? …

Well, it finally happened.  Congress approved Obama’s $787 billion dollar stimulus salvation.  I’m no political analyst or economist, but any amount of money, however packaged, could help out what I see as a deterioriating America.  Right?  In the last week, two friends lost long-term jobs, my downstairs neighbors—newlyweds—had to break their lease; a good friend…

Two Luzerne County, Pennsylvania judges admitted to taking money from juvie centers to hand out longer sentences to youth.  Judges Mark Ciavarella and Michael Conahan collected payoffs from PA Childcare and Western PA Childcare for at least three years.  The companies that run juvenile detention centers allegedly receive state funds.  So the more juvies incarcerated,…

Lynn Nottage’s Ruined opened Off-Broadway at the Manhattan Theater Club on Tuesday and it’s unanimous—it’s a hit and a gem.  Nottage, the MacArthur Genius Award recipient, has unearthed a lush story about present-day Congo women, the abuse they endure, and the peace they seek.  Ruined follows Mama Nadi [performed vibrantly by Saidah Arrika Ekulona] who…

I assume we’re all aware of Nadya Suleman.  She’s the single California woman who, with the help of an unnamed fertility doctor, gave birth six children and then, surprise, octuplets.  Well, the controversial doctor has been named.  You know, the man who put Suleman and her babies at risk of death so he could experiment…

Tim Alexander’s Diary of a Tired Black Man is one of those low-budget straight to DVD movies that promises to unleash rancor all across the genders.  Tired Black Man, starring NBC Heroe’s Jimmy Jean-Louis, doesn’t just probe into black female-male relationships, it digs into it with a sledge hammer.  The story follows a professional black…