culture

I was trying to take a night off earlier this week from the sporting world, but I wound up at a place with the TV on. The images were too compelling to not tune in. It was a sports highlight show, and they kept rolling a clip of Pittsburgh Pirates rookie outfielder Andrew McCutchen motoring…

It’s hard to imagine the pressure Femi Kuti must feel, taking the stage as the son of one of the world’s most legendary performers, charged with carrying forward the Afrobeat music his father, Fela Kuti, created decades ago. “It’s true,” Femi offers. “I do stand in big shoes—because my feet are bigger than his. Ha!…

In its prime, The Wiz couldn’t be beat. Throughout its four-year run on Broadway, the hit 1975 musical brought flavor and funk to Oz like never before, introducing theatergoers to a quirky gang of vagabonds with a style and rhythm all their own.  This was not Judy Garland’s Emerald City.  On stage, it had a darker hue and a…

The judge over the years. How do you think these will be used by her GOP detractors?

According to the Associated Press, RushmoreDrive.com will be shutting down. The year-old search engine, which focused on Black-related search results, and its parent company Black Web Enterprises will also close. Launched by IAC/InterActiveCorp last year as a first-of-its-kind web search engine, Rushmore Drive was unable to gain traction among its target audience. This move was…

About 15 minutes after stepping into the place, I wanted to go back home and go to bed. A few friends and I decided to check out this “special night” hosted at a popular Washington, D.C. nightclub. The party, according to the radio spot, was for the “grown and sexy.” I didn’t know what the…

It started with his ties: Beetle Bailey, Star Trek, Looney Tunes. They were not fashion forward, to put it mildly, but I wanted to know who would wear such kitsch. I would stop by his desk, ask about the tie of the day, and we’d chat about whatever. This went on for months. He told…

Ter-ror-ism – Noun 1. The use of violence and threats to intimidate or coerce, esp. for political purposes. 2. The state of fear and submission produced by terrorism or terrorization. 3. A terroristic method of governing or of resisting a government. So, how should we deal with James von Brunn?

CNN is reporting that a gunman opened fire in the entrance of Washington’s holocaust museum at approximately 12:50pm today. Security personnel returned fire, wounding the gunman who had shot a security officer at his checkpoint. It is not known whether the gunman, whose name has not been released, began shooting before or after passing through…

U.S. Bankruptcy Court Judge Frank Santoro gave Michael Vick until July 2 to come up with an acceptable Chapter 11 plan. Santoro, who has previously rejected Vick’s repayment proposal, has some concerns with regard to how Vick will earn enough money to repay his debts, particularly the $3M to his lawyers by 2012. Much of…