Big Sole Blog (BSB)

I have paid less attention to tomorrow's prophesied world end than I have to the man in the moon. I recall the hype about Year 2000 mayhem, and due to my job back then in the Midwest, I spent New Years Eve 1999 helping to monitor the computers that protected financial information in underground data centers. The experience was less spooky than it sounds, and as many readers know, nothing

WWL-TV New Orleans reports that earlier this afternoon, a stray bullet from a shoot out hit a school bus. The incident happened near the Iberville Housing Project, part of the Treme community, and shattered glass injured a child. Her injuries were treatd on the scene. Police are investigating.

If you're looking for the March 9, 2013, episode with Justin Timberlake, try this link. The following post shows video featuring the Jamie Foxx episode of December 2012. For six months this year, Jamie Foxx worked in New Orleans starring in Quentin Tarantino's slave film Django Unchained. Perhaps it was then that he noticed all the different accents and craziness that goes on down here. On

If you’re in the mood for a well-crafted, gritty page-turner focused on crime and punishment in a New Jersey township, then Steven Hart’s We All Fall Down is the novel for you. Hart has written not only a compelling story but also shaped his heroine, Karen McCarthy, into a believable woman. Karen McCarthy is the only female cop on a police force determined to make misogyny its battle cry, but

I remember seeing on Facebook the picture of the NYPD police officer who gave the homeless man a pair of boots. The story moved me, and I learned more watching this video at CNN with story. Officer Lawrence DePrimo, who's received lots of attention for helping the man, said it was very cold; he saw Jeffrey Hillman's blistered feet and wanted to help him. He asked about buying him socks, and

Last night on NBC's The Voice, Trevin Hunte performed "And I am Telling You" from Dream Girls, the show-stealing ballad made famous by Jennifer Holliday and Jennifer Hudson. He changed the words to, "I'm the best man you'll ever know. There's no way I could ever go." His performance seems to have undone Christina Aguilera. She told him that if he does not get a record contract, she wants him to

I appreciate many of this season's singers on NBC's The Voice, but I consistently enjoy Nicholas David's vocals of Team CeeLo. In the video above, Nicks sings Marvin Gaye's classic "What's Going On." I've already purchased the longer iTunes release. The Twitterverse is abuzz with comments such as Nicholas David has a black soul in his body." As I tweeted at him (@TheFeelin) after I saw last

Usually when I link to Huffington Post, I do so because one of its writers has written something worthy of thought or uncovered a political issue that the mainstream media has overlooked. Unfortunately, that's not why I'm linking to that website today. HuffPo is possibly large enough and powerful enough now to be called a mainstream media outlet itself, and due its reach and power, the website's

I don't know that much about Matt Kibbe, except that he is an ardent Tea Party activist. I dislike the Tea Party and oppose the austerity measures its policies recommend. I do know, however, quite a bit about Rush Limbaugh and it's no secret that I don't like him and think he's a racist and enema bag. So, when I hear that Limbaugh and Matt Kibbe are telling their fellow conservatives that

In this 1989 music video from Janet Jackson for her hit "Alright," you will see two of today's popular dance moves, PSY's "gangnam style" dance and LMFAO's "shuffle" from Party Rock. Watch and see. And in this 1955 video of Bill Bailey tap dancing, you'll see the move associated with Janet's brother, the late, great Michael Jackson, "the Moonwalk." As Michael fans know, the King

NBA offers clever ad with "Carol of the Bells" for basketball. You can do the same thing with Jingle Bells and people recognize it.

Real-life "Olivia Pope" inspiration, Judy Smith, has been hired by Jill Kelley of the Petraeus fiasco, reports AdAge. I came across this tidbit while reading Margaret Colson's column at Bloomberg in which she discusses the differences between how the media treats women during such media spectacles and how the media treats men. Of Kelley hiring Smith, Colson observes that both Kelley and Paula

Throw a rock in New Orleans and you're likely to hit a singer/musician, and apparently that's true even if the rock taps the city's mayor, Mitch Landrieu. He did his part Tuesday night at the city's Pay It Forward benefit for survivors of Hurricane Sandy. The Times Picayune reports: During the first of three hours of music at the Mahalia Jackson Theater for the Performing Arts on Tuesday,

Let's be thankful that in spite of wars, corruption, and violent crime, humans also do good things. "Give a Little" bit, the song in the Coke commercial, was first recorded by Supertramp and written and composed by its co-founder Roger Hodgson. The commercial uses the version that Hodgson recorded with a children's choir.

I suppose NPR's producers for Tell Me More are right when they call Marvin Gaye's classic Trouble Man movie score forgotten, but I didn't forget this masterpiece. As my children will tell you, they've heard it enough on long car trips. Nonetheless, I'm glad that Celeste Headlee reported on the 40th anniversary of the score on NPR because some younger folk may not be familiar with this side of

Visit NBCNews.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy On her show today, Sunday, Nov. 18, MSNBC's Melissa Harris-Perry featured Sean Pica, the executive director of Hudson Link for Higher Education in Prison. His organization provides educational services to men and women in four New York state prisons, according to MHP's MSNBC notes. MHP said in the introduction to the

ADAMS Benjamin James Adams, age 45 years, a native of New Orleans, LA, and a permanent resident of Slidell, passed away on Friday, November 9, 2012. He was a devoted member of Calvary Tabernacle CME Church and a regional loss prevention manager for Payless ShoeSource. He was also a graduate of St. Augustine High School and Southern University at New Orleans and a member of Kappa Alpha Psi

Today I saw an article at the Huffington Post with the headline, "Bobby Jindal: GOP Should 'Stop Being The Stupid Party'." The article includes the following statement: Jindal told Politico Republicans should “stop being the stupid party” by working to embrace a larger group of constituents rather than becoming the party of "big anything." As I read this statement and more of Jindal's rhetoric

Despite a recent tragedy in my life, I am very grateful and overjoyed that President Barack Obama has won a second term. Forward! The picture above shows the president, the FLOTUS, Michelle Obama, and the two first daughters, Sasha and Malia, on the stage in Chicago before the president delivered his acceptance speech, November 6, 2012.

Have you seen the pro-Romney ad that begins with voice over saying, "Welcome to the New Normal"? It proceeds to argue that although President Obama's campaign slogan is "Forward," America is falling behind under his policies. Romney's Super PAC called "Restore Our Future" sponsors the ad, which has been running a lot lately in the last few days of the campaign. This ad has a big flaw. Tucked

WDSU meteorologist Margaret Orr acknowledged that Hurricane Sandy was a horrific storm and its death toll of 50 lives is tragic, but she also took time on Tuesday night's broadcast to compare Hurricane Sandy to Hurricane Katrina. The picture above shows her basic points, one of which is that Katrina had a storm surge 28 feet, but Sandy had a surge of 13.88 feet. Yes, 13.88 feet is

Most likely, the artist who created the Hurricane Sandy picture (left) did not intend to create confusion, but the picture he or she created that shows a hurricane behind the Statue of Liberty is being mistaken on Facebook (10/29/2012) as “an amazing shot of New York today with the Frankenstorm bearing down.” Some people think it’s a real photo of Sandy, but if you look closely, you’ll notice

Mitt Romney, who's been attacking President Obama on the debt, says in his budget plan that he will not be able to balance the budget until the end of his second term. So, how do his supporters defend the Romney argument that Pres. Obama has not balanced the budget in his first term and therefore should be voted out of office? Do people actually listen to the words or read what Romney says he

Most likely, I do not have to tell Americans who Bobby McFerrin is, but an introduction to Richard Bona may be warranted. Bona is an African musician from the country of Cameroon. I enjoyed this video. I needed it as well.

Here's a sneak peek of one of the battles viewers will see this Monday night on NBC's The Voice. It's Trevin Hunte vs. Amanda Brown of Team CeeLo singing "Vision of Love," a song made possible for Mariah Carey.

I applaud how Ali Veshi tried to reason with Jack Welch on CNN tonight. Anderson Cooper was smart to call him in. Had to post the video.

A young Barack Obama with his grandmother Madelyn Dunham of Hawaii. She passed away in 2008 at age 86 due to cancer. I can only guess at the reason my blog suddenly has so many hits from people searching for information about President Obama's grandmother, Madelyn Dunham, who was his maternal grandmother, the mother of his mother, Ann Dunham. The president spoke about Madelyn Dunham last

Trevin Hunte's moving rendition of "Listen" on this season's The Voice on NBC. Chills. Yes. As my mother would have said, "He laid that!" Blake Shelton was up asking Adam Levine what was wrong with him that he didn't push his button for this young man. But Trevin's got some stiff competition, including Nicholas David and quite a few others. I'll find the time to watch. I'd buy an album by

On the heels of his narration of the parents' book, "Go the F*ck to Sleep," actor Samuel L. Jackson now narrates a nightmarish tale with a message for presidential election voters: Wake the F*ck Up!" Here is a link to the website that posted the video. The site is funded by the Jewish Council for Education & Research. The story begins: "In the silvery moonlight that bathes every town,

Cinéma Vérité By Nordette N. Adams A mother creeps through the streets of New Orleans. Her dress has the hue of fresh blood because her children are dead. She clangs an old cowbell,      shouting: "You thought it was a movie, but the Zombie Apocalypse is here. People fear leaving their homes because the dead-eyed swarm. "I have seen the walking dead. Their teeth gleam as bullets, seeking

So, one day you get a phone call. Your crazy cousin, Great Aunt Edwina's son, has died. Actually, he was your mother's first cousin that you didn't know well because your mom never liked him, and you were glad she kept clear of the man since he made racist comments about celebrities you like and then took to quoting Glenn Beck. Now you recall also that he smelled funny and had hoarder

I have not yet seen Beasts of the Southern Wild, but bell hooks's negative review of the film is the first negative review I've seen. I respect her and suspect that if she sees in the film what she's written here, then that's probably what is in the film. You can read her entire review at New Black Man (in Exile). What struck me most was her assertion that movie smacks of conservative ideology

Visit NBCNews.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy I watched with concern today Melissa Harris-Perry's segment about America's high incarceration rate on MSNBC. Our rate is the highest in the world. She spoke to Norris Henderson, a New Orleans activist who was "wrongfully incarcerated for more than 27 years," according to multiple sources, and she also questioned

I have work to do, so I should not be taking the time to post anything so sill, but Jenny Moos's report on Eva Longoria and Jessica Alba petting at the Democratic National Convention was hilarious enough to make me pause and post.

I enjoyed First Lady Michelle Obama tremendously when I watched it on the DVR, and tonight I watched former President Bill Clinton's speech endorsing President Barack Obama for a second term. Clinton was fantastic. He's an excellent communicator and laid out facts against GOP misrepresentations of President Obama's record.

Music producer Marcus Anderson, Jr., captured on video the waters rising in LaPlace, Louisiana, around his family's home. He had to move his family to the attic. I hope he monetized this video because it appears they've lost everything as have many other Southeastern Louisiana families. Source YouTube and NOLA.com.

Via Morris Chestnut's Facebook page, I just learned of actor Michael Clarke Duncan's death. I have not been watching news much lately, so I did not hear of it sooner. Chestnut said in his FB post, "RIP to Michael Clarke Duncan. A man with a tremendous spirit and great talent. It was an honor to have known you. You will be surely missed my brotha!" I never saw Duncan in person, but whenever I

After listening to the blues channel a bit this morning, I'm starting to think that's where you go if you want to research the poetry of aging. Bettye Lavette's "Talking Old Soldiers," for instance, is a brooding piece about a forgotten man whose friends are all buried now at the local graveyard. I also heard James Armstrong's "Blues at the Border" in which there are the lines "You see the

I have not been watching much news TV lately because I'm trying to maintain a calm state, but this morning, I watched anyway and was very annoyed listening to Rick Santorum on CNN. Santorum's Romney campaign talking points calling President Obama's campaign hateful, divisive, and class-war mongering assaulted rational thought on more levels than I care to count this morning. Although Jim Acosta

The Commission on Presidential Debates has named CNN's Candy Crowley as one of its moderators for the 2012 Presidential Debates. Crowley will be the first woman in that position since 1992, and with her appointment, three New Jersey teen girls score a victory. In June, this blog reported on the petition circulated by Emma Axelrod, Sammi Siegel, and Elena Tsemberis of Montclair High School that

Here is a video of Maira Kalman that I found through Poets & Writers Magazine. Kalman is a children's book author and illustrator, and in this video she talks about the importance of walking and physical movement to get her writer's brain read for new ideas.

Ticket Rhetoric   By Nordette N. Adams Romney/Ryan.    Mitt's mechanistic;    Paul's penile-Palin,    but smarter . . . maybe. The Double-Mitt Twins conceived to re-position the winds of forefathers: Mayonnaise-y,    retro-phase-y — A paste-hasty    empire strike! Resetting grand narrative to unrainbowed heritage:    America unwomened    then America unblack — The great take-back.

Completely by accident I caught this interview with Christian Louboutin on CNN. In it, "the shoe designer talks to Sara Sidner about his A-list clients and the power of an impressive shoe," per CNN's description. Specifically, he answers her question, "Do you design shoes for men or for women?" He also tells the story of his decision to design a pair of shoes for a woman's wedding after she

When I heard about the horrific shooting at the Sikh temple in Oak Creek, Wisc., yesterday, I immediately assumed it was a hate crime, but I hoped it was a domestic violence incident such as the one in Lakeland, Fla., last year in which a man burst through the doors of a Christian church and shot two people. Earlier he had shot his own wife to death in their home. I had hoped the shooting at

Politicista hates this ad produced by the Republican National Committee, the one I call the "Break up with your boyfriend Obama ad." I agree with her that it is condescending. It infantilizes voters who were moved to vote for candidate Obama in 2008 but who are now disappointed. And yes, I cringe, somewhat, because Romney, with all his millions, couldn't even buy my vote. But as someone

This blog gets hits daily from people who think it's about shoes, but as I've said many times before, "This blog is not about shoes." Nonetheless, sometimes I can't resist an intriguing shoe photo. Today, it's a great picture of the succulent actor Idris Elba that his fan page shared on Facebook. The photo is a three-for-one prize because it features first, Elba, and second, he is holding

Are there any men out there who will boycott Chik-fil-A because Dan Cathy also downed men who divorce and remarry? He said, ". . . and we are all married to our first wives." (I guess he voted for Obama in 2008, not McCain.) More than likely he disapproves old-school Mormonism, drinking and smoking, and probably scientists who believe in evolution, too. Seriously, it is not news that Cathy is

At the outset, my prayers are with the victims and their families whose lives have been irrevocably changed due to today's massacre in Aurora, Colorado (71 people shot of which 12 are dead). There's no need for me to cover the details here because any reader can visit the websites of the major networks and watch as well as read the coverage of James Holmes's rampage. I'm posting now because I'm

Listening to George Zimmerman's interview with Sean Hannity on Fox News, some viewers may wonder if Zimmerman is changing his plea to not guilty by reason of insanity. He told the Fox News pundit that killing Trayvon Martin was "God's plan." I heard about the statement on CNN this morning, and later a friend on Facebook posted this link to Think Progress with the same story and the video you see

Hats off to BET for this beautiful tribute to Whitney Houston. Her mother, Cissy Houston, performing "Bridge Over Troubled Waters" brought me to tears (and quite a few audience members as well), but Monica's performance of "I Love the Lord" also stirred me. Brandy gave an electric rendition of "I'm Your Baby Tonight" and "I Wanna Dance with Somebody," and I'm always happy to see

Background Links:CNN's John King's Take is that the Obama Campaign implies that Romney may have committed a felony by misrepresenting his role in Bain in 1999. But the Romney Campaign says Obama is a liar and Romney played no role in Bain in 1999 and after (when the company was outsourcing American jobs) because he left quickly to take over the Olympics. What a mess a mudslinging! What to say,

This photo shows Tina Atkins-Campbell of Mary Mary performing at Essence Fest in New Orleans this weekend. She's nine-months-pregnant. Maybe she wants that baby born here in the Crescent City. We'll be happy to claim her, Tina. I was not able to attend any of the Essence events this year due to a family reunion and work assigned for summer classes, so I missed my chance to see Aretha Franklin

Last night, I watched the first two installments of HBO's mini-series John Adams, starring the exceptionally talented Paul Giamatti and Laura Linney as John and Abigail Adams. Although I am sure that some moments are romanticized, the series is still much closer to the reality of America's struggle for independence from Great Britain than the fairy tales many of us were fed as children, and

I love it! Prince fan and artist Troy Gua created the doll you'll see in the video, Le Petit Prince, a tribute to Prince, the singer. I heard about it on Facebook today, but according to the video, the dolls went viral on the Internet back in the spring. Gua can't reproduce this doll for sale, an amazingly accurate likeness of Prince, without the star's

This has always been one of my favorite scenes from the original Star Trek series starring William Shatner as Captain Kirk and Leonard Nimoy as Spock. It's the liar's paradox scene from the "I, Mudd" episode. I am currently contemplating that this scene illustrates not simply the operating of a logical paradox but also how faulty rhetoric supplies disruptive content to a subject that defines

So, I'm home, working on my thesis . . . again. With the death of my father in late April, completion was postponed, but I'm almost done with some rewriting and editing. My thesis is on the diary of Marcus Bruce Christian, a self-trained African-American historian, poet, and writer who was born in 1900 in what is now Houma, Louisiana. When he was 17, he moved to New Orleans. Eventually he ran

On one hand, this whole controversy about HBO's Game of Thrones using a fake severed head of former president George W. Bush in episode 10 of season one is silly. It's something that the GOP blew up to recast itself as oppressed for the sake of gaining more power. How Cersei Lannister of them.On the other hand, I've got to wag my finger at the Game of Throne producers and directors. Really?

What can I say about the death of Rodney King at age 47 but R.I.P., accidental and imperfect icon. I wish I could say that his death represents the end of an era, but with the Trayvon Martin case, the Darius Simmons case (not his murder as much as how the police treated the family while his body lay on the sidewalk) and other similar cases, I know any announcement of an end to police officers

If you're from New Orleans, you know what this post indicates. It suggests that I am about to do something and what you see now is preparation for whatever it is that I'm about to do. In this case, I mean that I'm getting ready not for a post at this blog, but something more organized with a little more thought, perhaps, that I will post and another Internet publishing location. Procrastinators

I had to watch the Malcolm Gladwell video above for two reasons: 1.) I'm fascinated with the way Gladwell thinks, and 2.) in it he talks about entrepreneurs in general and two in particular that intrigue me as well as others—Steve Jobs and Bill Gates. As, CNN.com reports, the author of Blink and other books is speaking at a Toronto Public Library event in Canada, and during the conversation

In 1992, the United States of America witnessed three General Election Presidential Debates. Jim Lehrer of PBS moderated the first and third, and Carol Simpson of ABC News moderated the second. My son was still in diapers then; he'll be 22 later this year. Then, my daughter was just a tween; today she's past 30, old enough to have a tween of her own. So, it's been 20 years since a woman moderated

video platformvideo managementvideo solutionsvideo player I know Brian Banks's mother must be overjoyed right now. Her son is free, exonerated of bogus rape charges.I abhor that in court actual victims of rape often unjustly end up on trial instead of the accused rapist, but I abhor equally that a young and confused girl or a disturbed and even plainly malicious woman can accuse a man of rape

I'm pretty sure what was bleeped out on Michael Ealy's interview with Wendy Williams was that he's an "a*s" man so (breasts) cups "don't matter" to him. He said he used to date older women, but now he's more open-minded (as though any ordinary woman reading or writing this blog would ever have a chance with him). The interview was cute, and it seems his co-star from Think Like a Man, the

I love Scandal, Shonda Rhime's hot, new drama on ABC, but I had no idea that it is based on a real black woman, Washington DC fixer (crisis manager) Judy Smith. In the video below, Smith says, "To be a crisis manager you have to be very calm." When clients come to her, they are already in the middle of a crisis and nervous. It would not help for her to be nervous and jumpy as well. She also says

Joshua Ledet of Westlake, Louisiana, performs "It's a Man's Man's Man's World" on American Idol Top 4  Vs. Juliet Simms's performance on NBC's The Voice. Juliet, coached by CeeLo came in second on The Voice Tuesday night. Jermaine Paul, coached by Blake Shelton, won. His holding his wife while singing "I Can Believe I Can Fly" was very moving. Vs. James Brown's original rendition

I am saddened to report that my father passed away Wednesday morning. NORWOOD EDWARD ADAMS (November 9, 1920 - April 25, 2012) ADAMS Norwood Edward Adams, age 91 years, a native of Vacherie, LA, and a permanent resident of New Orleans, passed away on Wednesday, April 25, 2012. He was a World War II veteran who witnessed the eruption of Mount Vesuvius during the war in

This post has been syndicated at BlogHer.com where it has been updated to reflect the revelation that the artist in black face is of African descent.The National Afro-Swedish Association is demanding that Sweden's minister of culture Lena Adelsohn Liljeroth be fired for participating in an April 15th World Art Day celebration during which she ate a piece of cake. The problem is not that she ate

Just a bit of jazz before bedtime. I am wiped out.

As excerpted from my post at WritingJunkie.net: With Trayvon's death, it has become apparent that some people, even some very kind people, had no idea that black mothers need to have "the talk" with their sons. And others, too,—less kind—have revealed what they do not know as well, white men such as John Derbyshire, who took it upon himself to say there is a white version of "the talk" that white

Happy National Poetry Month!While surfing for something about Louisiana-born poet Yusef Komunyakaa, I came across a interview at Well&Often Press: The Love Child of Frida Kahlo and DMX: An Interview with Safia Elhillio. It included video of Elhillio performing her spoken word poem "Questions for John Coltrane, from his saxophone." The interview, conducted and written by Kameelah Janan Rasheed,

"At Miami Central and Turner, students were seen pouring out of the school buildings and into the streets just after 9 a.m. [March 23]... In Culter Bay, at Miami Southridge High School students formed a "TM" on a field in support of Martin." (source)911 Call Recording Released(The Atlantic)More InformationThe Killing of Trayvon Martin is Not a "Black Problem" (Mediate)Was his killing self-defense

Found a day off work and shot this. All plaid everything.Performed by La Shea Delaney & Annabelle QuezadaDirector/Producer/Songwriter - Annabelle QuezadaDirector of Photography/Editor/Special FX - Eliav MintzSong Recorded and Mixed by - Stephen GalganoCopyright "Belle (Little Town)" from the Disney movie Beauty and the Beast (just for fun and in support of the OG lady in a bookshop and in Paris),

Here is President Barack Obama's documentary-style campaign film, "The Road We've Traveled." It's an excellent film as campaign films go, and I think it will be effective in solidifying the resolve of those who have already planned to vote Obama/Biden this November and perhaps sway some undecideds who are leaning toward the incumbent already. However, I doubt the film will sway people who are

If you would prefer to read the text of this poem outside the video, click here.I do not have an easy answer to that question in the title of this post--"What's wrong with writing sentimental poetry and fiction?"--but I have a few thoughts about why writing critics reject poets who write what they call "Hallmark Card verse" or fiction authors who slather on the sentimentality that causes readers

No, I am not a cat lady. I have one cat, a dog, and some other people in my house, but I must give credit to my cat Kelly for stepping on the remote last night and changing the television station from CNN to NBC (WDSU New Orleans) because if she hadn't done so, I would have forgotten that it was Saturday night, so I would have missed last night's Saturday Night Live episode that featured the

In the video above with Oprah Winfrey, ABC late-night talk show host Jimmy Kimmel pitches show ideas to Oprah for her network, OWN. The one that makes me laugh the most is Oprah's Book Club Fight Club, but Oprah After Dark was funny, too. Earlier in her appearance on Kimmel's show, Oprah said that she would like to return to acting because portraying another character relaxes her, frees her from

The Fantastic Flying Books of Mr. Morris Lessmore won best animated short last night at the Oscars. (You can see the winning film in the video above.) It was created at Moonbot Studios in Shreveport, La., by William Joyce and Brandon Oldenburg. According to the AP, the studio held its own Oscar party last night, and that same article describes the film as follows:The 14-minute long film follows

Reminding President Barack Obama that we all know he can sing now, given his crooning of Al Green's "Let's Stay Together" earlier this year, blues man Buddy Guy coaxed the president into singing a few bars of "Sweet Home Chicago" with an all-star band at the White House Tuesday night. Mick Jagger handed the president the mic while B.B. King and other blues greats provided accompaniment. You can

I was so glad to find out that someone had posted Bruno Mars's performance of "Runaway" from the 2012 Grammy Awards Show. I have watched this video at least a dozen times by now.

Via YouTube, "Whitney Houston's mentor Clive Davis pays tribute to the singer just hours after her death at his pre-Grammy party. Report by Mark Morris." You may also appreciate BlogHer's tribute to the star, and more tributes and news at CNN.

Jimmy Fallon usually makes me smile and laugh, and this video clip of him in a potato sack race with First Lady Michelle Obama worked the magic on me again. Of course, the First Lady makes me smile as well.You can read more about the race at the L.A. Times. And if you missed her push-up contest with Ellen DeGeneres, here it is as well. Ellen suggests that she let the FLOTUS win. Mrs. Obama's

President Barack Obama more than likely ticked off people on both the right and the left with his recent argument that raising taxes on the rich lines up with Jesus' teaching that "to whom much is given much shall be required." On the right there will be those angry because they believe (and are wrong) that Obama is not a Christian and so he has no right to quote Jesus Christ. On the left there

The first video in this post shows a scene from a 1974 Soul Train episode in which Soul Train creator Don Cornelius interviews the Godfather of Soul James Brown, and the clip includes a young Al Sharpton presenting Brown with an award. I thought this clip would be appropriate upon hearing that Don Cornelius has passed away at age of 75. Soul Train did so much more for the black community than

As I said in an earlier post, I sometimes get stuck on Nessun Dorma and play it over and over. So, singer-songwriter John Torres shared his performance of the aria with me. Superb! He's singing in the home of Sela Ward, btw, pictured left.

Melissa Harris-Perry delivered one of the best quotes I've seen for addressing accusations from conservatives that black people are playing the race card when they point out racist rhetoric and policy proposals this campaign season.Harris-Perry made her statement when she was a guest on Politics Nation on MSNBC with Al Sharpton, January 11, in response to a video clip of Newt Gingrich making one

I am a fan of both Justified on FX and its star Timothy Olyphant. Here is his interview with Ellen. I really enjoyed it. He's not just sexy; he's also a family man and funny, too.

English Translation of "Nessun Dorma"Nobody shall sleep!... Nobody shall sleep! Even you, o Princess, in your cold room, watch the stars, that tremble with love and with hope.But my secret is hidden within me,my name no one shall know... No!...No!... On your mouth I will tell it when the light shines.And my kiss will dissolve the silence that makes you mine!...(No one will know his name and we

I don't have time to write much about Arizona Governor Jan Brewer wagging her finger in President Barack Obama's face immediately after Air Force One landed on the tarmac in Arizona recently and the POTUS disembarked, so I'll direct traffic to Field Negro's post on the topic, "The Negro Threat." Also, over at the Huffington Post, a reader commenting on the same topic and quoting Brewer made the

Written in 2005, the poem "Silk and Flour" was originally entitled "Silk and Flowers," but while creating the video, I changed the title to one I had considered nearly seven years ago. I don't remember what incident inspired the poem. It may have been nothing but a muse in my head, but I feel like I had seen something in the news that caused me to think about the dark side of ego that reveals

And now we know that Michelle Obama had yet another reason to fall in love with President Barack Obama: The man can croon. In the video above he charms the crowd at a fundraiser in New York City on January 19, 2012, singing a line from Al Green's classic "Let's Stay Together." Al Green was in the audience, too, and so was Spike Lee and Mariah Carey.

This poem is cross-posted at the Urban Mother's Book of Prayers. I have been experimenting with a graphics software program.

Today is Martin Luther King Jr.'s birthday. He was born January 15, 1929, and tomorrow the nation celebrates. President Ronald Reagan signed the order for the holiday on November 2, 1983, and Coretta Scott King, according to Time.com, said then "This is not a black holiday; it is a people's holiday."I remember when whether or not to make his birthday a national holiday was bitterly debated in the

I remember hearing the news in November 2008 that someone had burned down Macedonia Church of God in Christ in Massachusetts in backlash for President Barack Obama's historic win, and I thought then, "And so it begins." With Obama's election it seemed there would be a rise in white supremacist violence, and there was for a while. That's the bad news.The good news is that the church has been

I can only work through the misery via creativity. The post on this piece is at the Urban Mother's Book of Prayers.

In the above video, Nordette Adams recites Aberjhani's poem "And Then the Rain God Screamed for Love" with original music composed by Mark "Rahkyt" Rockeymoore.Kathleen Thomas is the photographer who took the picture of Aberjhani you see in this post.

Here is video of Donny Osmond introducing Janet and Michael Jackson at the American Music Awards, 1975, followed by a video of Michael Jackson with Donny Osmond presenting an award in 1974. 1975 Presenting AMA for Favorite Soul GroupDonny Osmond: And now to present the award for the favorite soul group, here's a singer that I used to idolize when I was a kid. Ladies and gentlemen, Michael

As I listened to the Republican presidential candidates tonight give their speeches following the Iowa Caucus vote, I heard the usual propaganda: windy invocations of fear regarding American debt and declarations that President Barack Obama wants America to become a socialist state. I then recalled Paul Krugman's recent editorial in the New York Times, "Nobody Understands Debt." Fellow writer

Hasn't she exceeded her 15 minutes of fame yet?Yes, I laughed when I heard about Questlove's stunt—playing the lying a** bitch song for Bachmann's entrance on the Jimmy Fallon show—but that doesn't mean I approved. Laughter can be involuntary in certain circumstances. Nonetheless, why should I shed a tear for Bachmann and blast Questlove? If you look up nutty as a fruitcake in the dictionary, you

"Don't Let Me Be Understood" by Nina SimoneA little Nina Simone for the new year, 2012. I cannot resolve that we shall overcome all strife, racism, and injustice because no one person can resolve for the whole, but I can pray that we shall overcome.