Chic Speaks!

The View-Hostility taken to an art form

 

I watch the view regularly but I must admit I'm not necessarily a fan of any of the hosts. As a child I was a huge fan of Barbra Walters and wanted to get into journalism because of her then I became an Oprah fan (still am). I was also a fan of Whoopi and Sherri, anyone who knows me knows I love comedians almost as much as I love musicians but now I see both in quite a different light. My views tend to be mirrored closely with Joy's and sometimes Walters. All five of these women are very strong, which I respect tremendously, but the way they talk over each other and talk over guests seems kind of self-centered and immature considering that they're not teenagers and should practice a little more courtesy but I guess that also adds to the chaotic and sometimes entertaining nature of the show.  I do like to hear the latest news and the different perspectives so I tune in.

Today I was watching a pre-recorded show where it was all about Tarot cards, Astrology, and psychics. As soon as the show began you could see Sherri's face screwed up like she had just eaten a sour apple. (This is usually Elizabeth's expression when she talks about President Obama or anything liberal). In my experience there are certain groups of people, often church going folks, that frown upon anything that does not come straight out of the Bible. At one point in the show Sherri angrily insisted that all she knees is to get down on her knees and have her bible to get answers. This kind of anger and resistance to anything different is what makes many people feel like religious outsiders. I am a Catholic school girl but I am also open to the idea that the world is full of many other levels of signs to guide us on a positive path and one does not necessarily have to count out the other. When I go to California my friends do Tarot readings for me on love and career and I have found it soooooo helpful and enlightening. That being said, I don't know who's idea it was to have this kind of show on The View. These women are clearly stuck in their ways and not open to these sorts of experiences. Sherri was outright hostile and defense with the psychic she was speaking too. Her main concern seemed to be to prove that he was wrong before he even spoke a word, and to find out if she had some sexy young man with money coming in her future. It was uncomfortable to watch and shockingly unprofessional. This is not her living room, its a TV show.

 There was also Whoopi who said she was not totally skeptical due to her experience with this during her taping of the movie Ghost. This openness was hard to see since she literally stared at the Tarot card reader suspiciously with a disbelieving smirk on her face and a disinterested posture as she shuffled the cards and listened to her reading. Why was she there if she was clearly suspicious? At least at the end of the reading she admitted that the reading was on the mark. Though Elizabeth, who was at first open, almost bit the head off of the tarot card reader when the woman insinuated that her third baby (she's currently pregnant) is a girl. At that point Elizabeth starting saying, "Excuse?" me in a very angry way and Whoopi started telling her to Let it go, don't go there.  At that point Elizabeth said, "I'll find out in August (About the baby's gender) and that she wasn't going to take anything serious from a women who reads, "Spooky cards." Joy, who had a session of past life regression, denied that the hypnotizing worked, but at least she dealt with her skepticism with a little humor.

Why invite these guests on the show simply to be confrontational with them? Just because there are greedy and manipulative Tarot card readers and psychics, it does not mean that these things cannot be a wonderful freeing experience. If one is not open to something at least be honest about your prejudice and be respectful and generous towards the different points of view. This is something I am trying to practice myself.   

BET PAYS WEAK TRIBUTE TO M.J./Father Plugs His New Business/Chris B. Tribute No Show

 I just finished watching the Bet Awards, the first show to have the opportunity to honour Michael Jackson. The two hour 106 & Park red carpet show was ridiculous, laughable, and a sad sad tribute to an artist that helped put stations like BET on the map. Many of the artists performing were weak and to use a word from my youth, tired and damn right cheesy. Arsenio Hall, Amerie, and some other artists saved this red carpet mess by actually acknowledging the man of the hour Michael Jackson. BET made some big ol' thing about the show being completely "overhauled" to be a tribute to Michael but it did not seem that way to me. On websites such as, People, viewers are noting that indeed the show, SUCKED! I should have known this is what would happen when on the day Michael died and the following day all they could do was play his musical videos because the channel is completely devoid of strong journalists, like Tavis Smiley, and therefore, could not gather a round table to thoroughly discuss the life and times of M.J. Reminding me exactly why I consider this channel almost obsolete.

It started off with a rousing performance by the plump middle-aged New Edition and a vulgar, fat, tongue wagging, Bobbi Brown. It was mildly entertaining but the guys didn't have the singing stamina they once had to pull it off. The always entertaining Jamie Fox appeared dressed in M.J.'s iconic red jacket, white tee, short black pants, and did the moonwalk pretty well across the stage before doing a Beat it Dance off. Ne-Yo sang a beautiful version of Lady of my Life and it went down hill form there. Performer after performer tried to pay tribute by sending him shout outs in their songs and wearing pieces of his iconic outfits but for the most part they were preoccupied with their own awards. Between commercial breaks famous artists shared their fondest memories of Michael Jackson and many thanked him for the legacy he left behind that allowed them to have the careers they now enjoy.

But I have to say the tribute was not enough. It was disorganized. There was a complete lack of imagination. When an artist like M.J., who left such a rich ripe history to draw from, dies, how the hell do you still put on a show that casual and lackadaisical. It was boring for the most part and probably brought BET's award show more attention than it deserved. I was hoping to see dancers performing a medley of some of his best videos, Beat It, Smooth Criminal, and many more artist singing some of his greatest hits such as Thriller and Billy Jean.Many people like myself wondered if Chris Brown would be brought on to sing and dance to one of his songs. Despite his recent troubles, Brown has been viewed by many as the closest to the Michael J. appeal, looks and style, boyish charm, impeccable dancing and a great voice. In 2007 he paid a fantastic tribute to the King of Pop performing Thriller on the World Music Awards awards (2006, You tube it).  His dancing had everyone amazed and on their feet, even celebs in the audience were taking pictures of his performance. On MTV's site many M.J. fans left messages saying they hoped Brown would make an appearance if only to pay tribute. One fan on the site wrote, " WE WILL LOVE YOU (Michael Jackson) FOREVER..... I THINK THEY NEED TO PUT CHRIS ON STAGE CAUSE HE IS THE CLOSEST TO MJ THIS GENERATION HAS. ALTHOUGH HE WILL NEVER COMPARE TO THE ORIGINAL KING OF POP, HE COMES CLOSE.... MJ WE WILL REMEMBER YOU FOREVER..."

  Brown released a statement saying, "Michael Jackson is the reason why I do music and why I am an entertainer. I am devastated by this great loss, and I will continue to be humbled and inspired by his legacy. My prayers are with his family. Michael will be deeply missed, but never forgotten. He's the greatest ... the best ever. No one will ever be better." But a tribute performance from Brown was not to be, neither Rihanna nor Brown appeared. Another big moment of their careers they've missed out on. I hope he's learned. I would be sick with regret if I was him and realized that my actions caused me to miss out on honouring my artistic hero.  And while BET did their best to pay tribute it made me even more aware how much that show has lost its relevancy. One of the red carpet hosts (ex contestant from America's Next Top Model) didn't even remember M.J.'s famous Pepsi commercial. That is why music stations need real music journalists! Duh! Usher was overseas and said he was disappointed that he would not be able to make it back on time. But he really didn't miss anything. He plans on taking part in another tribute show. I bet other awards shows will greatly outshine BET in the tribute department and do it right and with style and drama, just like M.J. I'm looking forward to the Grammy's and other tribute shows.

On a strange note, Joe Jackson arrived with his lawyer and business partner to "represent" the family. I was shocked because he has had a notorious reputation as a cruel and abusive patriarch in that family and I was hoping Janet Jackson would make an appearance because she is someone many fans respect as much as M.J. But there was Joe Jackson and his cronies and during a brief interview with CNN outside of the venue, he made a disgusting move. The man actually plugged his new business. Quote below from Rolling Stone magazine.

Jackson’s father Joe was in the audience with Rev. Al Sharpton. Before the show, the Jackson family patriarch granted an interview to CNN on the red carpet in which he spoke about the loss of Michael and briefly plugged his new business venture. “I’m great, my family’s doing pretty good,” he said. “It has been really tough,” he added. “Remember we just lost the biggest star in the world.” Saying his wife was “fine, thank you” he asked for his rep to read the family’s statement, which specified the family’s attorney is Londell McMillan, and said nobody else has authority to speak on behalf of the family. “I wish the world would have recognized him while he was living,” he said of Michael. “I wish he was here to see all this, to hear all this.”

Asked if he had concerns about those who surrounded his son during his final months, Joe Jackson responded, “I have a lot of concerns … I don’t like what happened.” Before the interview concluded, he said, “I want to make this statement,” and then mentioned, “I own a record company called Ranch Records,” which a companion noted was a blu-ray company.

I wanted to cry. It was such a shocking distasteful and weird comment for a father to make who had just lost his son. This man seems confused and heartless. It's still all about the business in some ways. The blogs and New magazines buzzed right away with this disgusting display. One person wrote into a blog called Jezebel and said: "Joe Jackson's behavior was almost too ghastly to consider: a man seems pursued pretty much to the grave by the demons his father planted in him, and even in death the (expletive) ghoul is still hustling his son's corpse." He did cry as Ne-Yo sang his tribute, maybe the father side of him temporarily slipped out. Even in death M.J. is reminding us about the kind of man his father was and is; age has brought this man neither kindness nor wisdom.

 It was the end of the show, just when I thought all was lost, Jamie Fox came walking onto the stage holding a woman's hand, dressed all in white. At first I thought it was Diana Ross because of the huge dark hair, but they looked way younger. And then the camera drew in and it was Janet Jackson. She looked emotional, dignified, visibly shaken. The crowd became instantly emotional and this is what she said:  

 My entire family wanted to be here tonight, but it was just too painful. So they elected me to speak with all of you.” Promising to keep it short, she added, “To you, Michael is an icon, to us, Michael is family. And he will forever live in all of our hearts. On behalf of my family and myself, thank you for all of your love, thank you for all of your support. We miss him so much. Thank you so much.”

What was interesting is that she states that the family, "elected me to speak with all of you," and she was not accompanied by her father on stage. The camera did not even show him and she had not been sitting with him in the audience. I have a feeling the family did not trust him being there to represent them so they convinced Janet to show up, knowing she would have the class and dignity to represent the family and M.J. with the due respect he deserved. It was beautiful to see her. She looked beautiful and has been notoriously protective and close to her brother so it took a lot of courage and love for her to show up. She saved the day. What a loss for her.

  

Other highlights of the show were Maxwell's performance and rapper Drake. Canadians will remember him from Degrassi (he's the only reason I would watch that show and i have thought of him as sexy ever since) but now he's a rapper going on to amazing success. He hasn't even had an album yet but his mix tapes and collaborations, including one with Jamie Fox, is drawing so much major major attention. I will blog about Aubrey (Drake) soon.

 

BUH BYE Heidi and Spence Pratt! Great move E-online!!

E-online posted this message on their site.

Say goodbye to Heidi and Spencer Pratt. As far as E! is concerned, the conspicuous couple occasionally self-referred to as Speidi are so dunzo.

A startling 94 percent of you elected for the Hills stars' immediate expulsion. Consider them gone from our wheelhouse, voted off the island, fired, out and any other appropriate reality-show catchphrase.

Their planned attempt at hijacking the I'm a Celebrity…Get Me Out of Here! reunion special on Wednesday? You won't read about it here. Barring any actual news (e.g., she gets knocked up, he falls off a cliff or—heaven help us—her album goes to No. 1), consider this their very last post."

Finally! Maybe more entertainment sites will use their much valued space to focus on real celebrities, not faux, boring, pointless, uneducated ones. Now if only they could do the same for the Jon and Kate Plus 8 couple and the ex-playmate Kendra and her new husband.

 

Quote of the Day

"I know the creator will go. But his work survives. That is why to escape death I attempt to bind my soul to my work." -Michelangelo, quoted by Michael Jackson in a 2007 interview with Ebony magazine (his last U.S. interview).

M.J. Celeb Tributes

 

Elizabeth Taylor: "My heart…my mind... are broken. I loved Michael with all my soul and I can't imagine life without him. We had so much in common and we had such loving fun together. I was packing up my clothes to go to London for his opening when I heard the news. I still can't believe it. I don't want to believe it. It can't be so. He will live in my heart forever but it's not enough. My life feels so empty. I don't think anyone knew how much we loved each other. The purest most giving love I've ever known. Oh God! I'm going to miss him. I can't yet imagine life with out him. But I guess with God's help... I'll learn. I keep looking at the photo he gave me of himself, which says, 'To my true love Elizabeth, I love you forever.' And, I will love HIM forever."

Diana Ross: "I can't stop crying, this is too sudden and shocking. I am unable to imagine this. My heart is hurting. I am in prayer for his kids and the family."

Beyoncé   This is a tragic loss on a terrible day. The incomparable Michael Jackson has made a bigger impact on music than any other artist in the history of music," the 27-year-old singer said. "He was magic. He was what we all strive to be. He will always be the King of Pop! Life is not about how many breaths you take, but about how many moments in life that take your breath away. For anyone who has ever seen, felt, or heard his art, we are all honored to have been alive in this generation to experience the magic of Michael Jackson. I love you Michael."

Usher said he was "deeply saddened" by the loss and paid tribute to Jackson's legacy. "May God cover you Michael. We all lift your name up in prayer. I pray for the entire Jackson family particularly Michael's mother, children and all his fans that loved him so much. I would not be the artist, performer, and philanthropist I am today without the influence of Michael. I have great admiration and respect for him and I'm so thankful I had the opportunity to meet and perform with such a great entertainer, who in so many ways, transcended the culture. He broke barriers, he changed radio formats! With music, he made it possible for people like Oprah Winfrey and Barack Obama to impact the mainstream world. His legacy is unparalleled. Michael Jackson will never be forgotten."

John Mayer: I think we'll mourn his loss as well as the loss of ourselves as children listening to Thriller on the record player. Dazed in the studio. A major strand of our cultural DNA has left us. RIP MJ.

Justin Timberlake: "I can't find the words right now to express how deeply saddened I am by Michael's passing," the pop-R&B hit maker wrote. "We have lost a genius and a true ambassador of not only Pop music but of all music. He has been an inspiration to multiple generations and I will always cherish the moments I shared with him on stage and all of the things I learned about music from him and the time we spent together. My heart goes out to his family and loved ones."

Sheryl Crow: "His was a rare talent that we witness once in a lifetime," she said. "One who makes such an indelible mark that for generations singers and dancers attribute him as inspiration.  I had the great privilege of watching him every night doing what he did best—entertain. I am grateful to have known him for the 2 years I worked for him and will mourn his loss with his many millions of fans across the world."

Madonna: "I can't stop crying over the sad news. I've always admired Michael Jackson - the world has lost one of its greats but his music will live on forever. My heart goes out to his three children and other members of his family. God bless."

M.J. Forever...

It's after 2am, and I have just finished crying long enough to blog. I've been crying for over six hours and have a headache. The world feels smaller, closed in, huddled together like we're all mourning. A media blackout has occurred and the media is completely and wholly focused on morning and remembering Michael Jackson. All the on-line magazines and websites are completely covered with stories of M.J. Every single article on E-On line is about him. Michael Jackson, Prince and Madonna were my childhood. I feel a great lost. I am so grateful to be a 80's child. To have witnessed his genius, his unmatchable talent, his mystery, his fresh-never-seen before visions that he brought to every song, and every video. He was our last musical legend. There will never be another Michael, just like there has never been another Frank Sinatra, Elvis, Marilyn Monroe, Billie Holiday, Miles Davis, or Nina Simone. Some things come once on earth and it can never be duplicated or formed in the same way ever again. Every pop artist since Thriller has lived in his immense shadow, no other artist will ever be able to surpass it. There is not a week that goes by that I have not listened to his music since I was a child. So many memories of my childhood is attached to his music. Thriller was the first video I remember seeing, in my uncle Aubrey's wood panelled room in my Grandmother's basement with my sister and two cousins. Changing the lyrics of his song to bum hole at my first sleepover, in high school when I a boy who liked me said whenever he listened to Liberian Girl he thought of me. I listened to Human nature almost everyday. Billy Jean helped form my idea of the power of a woman.

M.J. crossed all lines or race and place. He was and is universal. I have no other words. I think some celebs like Beyonce and John Mayer has captured how I feel. I will post tributes to him in the morning.

Michael Jackson 1958-2009 RIP

 

 With his passing a part of my childhood has ended. Music is my life and many of my first music memories involve M.J and his music.

My brother did the moon walk yesterday as he accepted his award for athlete of the year at his grade 8 graduation. The crowd went wild and it reminds me of the legacy and artistry of M.J that a crowd of adults and kids from a multitude of ethnic backgrounds and languages roared with recognition and joy. He transcended race, gender, musical tastes, and generations. I'm going to blog about this later after the shock and sadness sinks in a bit. 

  

Quote of the Day

"If doubt is challenging you and you do not act, doubts will grow. Challenge the doubts with action and you will grow. Doubt and action are incompatible."

John Kanary 

BAD BOOK! Very BAD Book!! Lost River-By David Fulmer

 Sometimes I read crap. I read about 5 novels a month and I try to read a variety of things so its inevitable. But I rarely write about it on my blog because as a writer I understand that sometimes my opinion is simply my opinion. I've come to realize that a novel can be great even if the wonderful me does not enjoy it. But as I get back into academic mode I am embracing my inner critic and  books like Lost River by David Fulmer make it far too easy to do so.

Currently I am researching New Orleans for a new writing project and I found this book at the library. This is where the crap comes in.

Lost River is book 4 in the Valentin St. Cyr detective series. It is 1913, Creole Detective Valentin, and I mention Creole because this fact becomes one of the biggest problems in the book ( I'll explain that soon), is trying to keep his nose out of trouble. Valentin was a renowned street detective in New Orleans, Storyville. Storyville was known for its Bordellos, both high and low, where women of all varieties (at one point there was a blue book that listed 2000 prostitutes), serviced the roving population of men. It thrived with wild Jazz music, gambling and crime. It has served as inspiration for many great novels. When we meet up with Valentin he has started a new life away from Storyville with his ex prostitute girlfriend, they use to call them sporting girl's, Justine. But though he is working for a law firm, helping the lawyers protect the secrets of their rich but despicable clients, and enjoying a calmer life with Justine, he still feels the tug of Storyville. Soon men, enjoying the services of the sporting girl's, are showing up dead and Valentin is the only one who can find out who is behind these strange murders. I'll leave the synopsis there because frankly the story is very predictable, by the 30th page or so you know the two people behind the murders you just have to figure out when Valentin will track them down.

Now I'll get to the crap part. It is an art to create characters and when writers choose to write about cultures and time periods they are not a part of or lived in, it can be a tricky enterprise. I myself am writing about the Creole culture and in my first book the main character has a Slovak friend, so I understand how delicate the research into this is. It is hard to understand the nuances of a culture if you are not immersed in it. Some do this brilliantly like the novel, Memoirs of a Geisha  by Arthur Golden, but here you can sense both Fulmer's fascination with Creole culture and the New Orleans created by black Jazz geniuses, yet he has no real understanding of those people and that time and little flare when exploring the characters. I should have known there was a problem when in the second paragraph of the book he writes, "Then the pictures would come to life: a curve of brass glimmering off hot lights, the wild and hungry faces, then bodies of midnight black, fair brown, and light coffee writhing in eclectic animation." It was a slightly cheesy way to describe the various complexions of us black folks but I let it go.  I actually became grateful for that cliched attempt at color description because very soon he just become completely lazy and began using racial signifiers instead. What do I mean by that? Well, without fail, whenever he writes about a person of color in the book he specifies their race, examples. "With the causal efficiency of veterans, the mulatto driver and his Negro helper climbed down..." (pp.32). Or, "The younger attendant wandered out of the room, and the mulatto perched atop the desk..." (pp. 29). "The Negro assured her that he had heard it correctly," (pp.53). Even a brief mention of the great jazz artist Louis Armstrong gets the Negro tag just in case we forgot folks.  Then there's his references to the "Prettiest of the octoroons and quadroons..." Octoroons and Quadroons were the name given to Creoles according to how much African blood they had in them.  But the Negros,' Mulatto's, and octoroons are not the only ones specified every single time they enter a scene but also the rare Italian's that dare to step on the scene. Shockingly enough Fulmer even racialized his main character every single time he is discussed in the novel. At times calling him the "Creole detective," or "Saracena, which was the name that was on the Creole's birth Certificate." This carries on until the very end, "Valentin St. Cyr. So, the Creole had visited..."(pp.63). I get it he's Creole!!

Clearly Fulmer wanted to place his book in an "exotic" world with "exotic" characters but does not see the characters as real life people within the text but rather racial props. I should note white characters such as Officer Weeks and McKinney, are never called white or "the Caucasian." Character Tom Anderson or as he likes to remind us on every page, "The King of Storyville" is white but its never mentioned that's why I know he's white. It becomes so glaringly repetitive at times that I was shocked the editors allowed this. I have white characters in my novels and I don't refer to them as "The caucasians."

Then there is is salacious need to call the prostitutes every cool tag line he can get. Some of the goodies are, "Harlots." "Sluts." "Whores." (This was all found in three paragraphs on page 30). Or this gritty sentence, "The deeper into the District, the faster and cheaper the action, until it reached rock bottom with the Robertson Street crib whores, those filthy drunken, degenerate sluts who would do anything for a price" (pp. 4). Then there is is priceless description of a toothless Negro whore who gets brutalized by some rich white youth when they tie her up naked to a lamp post and stick a fire cracker inside of her and actually light it. It is a horrific gag and she doesn't get hurt but after wards she is forced to still service them. Shakespeare anyone?

There is also Valentin's "Creole" girlfriend, Justine, who is always naked and willing, exposing her "brown curves," wrapping a Kimono around herself.  And anytime he even looks at her he either literally has sex with her or marvels at how much he wants to have sex with her. This is love amongst the Creoles, I guess. It must be the African blood. 

Then there is his almost humorous lines that are suppose to make us bite our nails in suspense. Like this one folks. "She bit her tongue. It wouldn't be long before her name was on lips from one end of the city to the other. They would all find out soon enough. Once she finished shedding her skin, no one would be able to deny her" (pp. 37). OOOHHHHH, you must be shaking in your boots. No? Okay, neither am I.

I realized that he probably has good intentions but he is unable to capture the voice and the rhythm of the multi-racial characters, so like a blind voyeur, he must constantly remind us, "READERS THIS IS A COOL CREOLE OR A UNEDUCATED BLACK SERVANT." Rather than create unique characters that speak for themselves and authentically represent the time they exist in and the unique expressions within their culture. What's shocking is that this guy has won awards for his detective novels. I have not read any others so maybe they're great. But I must say I try to always finish a book even if I despise it but this one was so predicable, tacky, and poorly written, he literally repeats information that he's just told you on the page before, that after page one hundred I started skipping twenty pages at a time just to get the gist of it.

If you care to to savor its awfulness please DON"T WASTE A PENNY ON IT. Go to the library like I did. Or do one better, take a long nap. And though I fear I wasted a day reading this piece of work, as the great writer Stephen King says, "bad books have more to teach than the good ones." Yeah, it gives writers hope that if this can get published so can they.

Archie made the perfect choice!

My sister has over 300 Archie comic books so I have been immersed in the Veronica, Archie, Betty love triangle since I was a wee child in the 80's. I was always a fan of Veronica. And now, over thirty years of back and forth, the kids have graduated from college and Archie has finally made a decision. Veronica it is! I wish them the best of luck and hope they enjoy a wonderful fictional cartoon marriage. Can't wait to see the wedding pics!