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Wake Me After Awards Season
Awards season is a phrase that makes it sound as though everyone is armed with shotguns, combing an empty cornfield in hopes of flushing statuettes from the brush. It implies a hunt, a focused pursuit...
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Speak Up With Jimmy: SAG Awards Voter Erin Quill On Why Hollywood Awards Need...
Are Hollywood award nominees and winners too often white? Actress/writer Erin Quill (original Broadway cast of Avenue Q, The Mikado Project) thinks so. Erin served on the television acting nomination...
View ArticleReThink Review: Lone Survivor -- What Makes a War Hero?
It has been accepted as fact that when soldiers returned from Vietnam, they were greeted with a dousing of spit from anti-war protestors. While there's actually very little evidence that this ever...
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Hard Working Americans Know How to Get the Job Done, Seriously
Todd Snider was rummaging through his mail during a three-way cross-country phone conversation in early December, when Christmas apparently came early. "Holy shit, I think someone just sent me a bunch...
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Golden Globes 2014 Predictions: My Picks For This Year's Winners
It's that time of year again -- when people who work in the entertainment industry feel like they have enough knowledge to predict the winners of awards. I am one such person. The 71st Golden Globe...
View ArticlePredictions for 2014
* Steve Jobs, the late founder and chief designer of the Apple Empire, will be honored posthumously by the Wall Street Journal for morphing the concept of planned obsolescence from a negative aspect of...
View ArticleDivorce Corp.: Documentary Paints Horrific Picture of Intimidation,...
A man is jailed for criticizing a judge on his blog. Another is found in contempt of court for expressing frustration in private Facebook comments. An evaluator charges $7,500 for a single interview....
View ArticleSoulja Boy Teases New Album And Explains His Cocky Tweets
Soulja Boy joins What's Trending at the Samsung Smart Lounge at CES 2014 to talk about Justin Bieber's retirement, his new song with Drake, the new album he's recording in Vegas, and more. Soulja Boy...
View ArticleFriday Night Fights On 'Helix' And 'Banshee'
Two low-budget but worthwhile genre shows return or debut Friday, so I thought I'd put my thoughts on "Helix" and "Banshee" in one place. "Helix" (10 p.m. EST Friday, Syfy): This science-y thriller is...
View ArticleSix Forgotten Classics We Would Like To See On The WWE Network
Professional wrestling has been a television staple since the beginning. It came as no surprise to anyone that World Wrestling Entertainment would eventually launch a television network of their own....
View ArticleAugust: Osage County. Why Meryl Streep and Julia Roberts Are Like Michael...
I like August: Osage County. Quite a bit, actually. But there is one caveat. Nothing huge, but an important one. The caveat is this. The movie is not a comedy. Some ads make it look like a comedy....
View ArticleAn Open Letter to Bruce Springsteen
Dear Mr. Bruce Springsteen, I hope this finds you in good health and fine cheer in this new year. I am writing, quite plainly, to ask who the hell you think you are. While the "world-at-large" waits...
View Article'Wake Me Up' Video: Reflections from 2013
Chances are you've heard "Wake Me Up." It was a hit song worldwide last year by Aloe Blacc and remixed by Avicii. But have you checked out the emotionally powerful acoustic version of the music video?...
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The Law of Attraction at Play and in Love
Makes you wonder, doesn't it? With the endless talk about the law of attraction, even some stoics are becoming hopeless romantics. The power of this most-talked-about "law" comes from our very human...
View ArticleIn Defense of Being Mary Jane and Flawed Fictional Black Women
When I first heard BET had a new show about a 30-something professional black woman struggling to keep her personal life intact, I'll admit I was underwhelmed. Another emotionally suppressed black...
View Article5 Golden Globe Nominees Spotlighting Important Causes
As the Hollywood awards season begins to rev up, all eyes are front and center on the celebrities who will be strutting their stuff at the Golden Globes. Celebrities receive much critical acclaim for...
View ArticleAnticipating the Golden Globes: One High Tea and Two Lunches
When a fan tells him she's tongue tied, Martin Scorsese becomes wildly animated: "Why? You don't need to be. It's just me," and gives her a hug. You could say his buoyant spirit reflects some optimism....
View Article"Shameless" Shows Dysfunctional With a Capital "D"
TV Review Jackie K Cooper "Shameless" (SHOWTIME) "Shameless" is beginning its fourth season on SHOWTIME and it has collected some diehard fans over the years. If you have not yet sampled the pleasures...
View ArticleWill the Mandela Movie Even Win an Oscar Nomination?
New York, New York: The whole world recognized and paid tribute to South African icon Nelson Mandela when he died at age 95. Ninety-one Heads of State attended his funeral. The U.N. General Assembly...
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Verbal Bling, Homicide, and Afrocentricity
When I was commissioned to write The Rap Guide to Evolution and challenged to communicate the key ideas behind Darwin's theory in hip-hop form, my first thought was to go through my record collection...
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