An Ode To David Mills....

Last week, David Mills passed away at 48. For those of you who don't know, David lived the life that a lot of writers only dream of...he wrote for The Washington Post, and then moved on to TV as a writer and/or producer for Homicide: Life In The Streets, E.R., Kingpin, The Corner, NYPD Blue, The Wire, and the upcoming HBO series "Treme".

He was also my blogging mentor, and one of the reasons that I didn't quit blogging numerous times. His site "Undercover Black Man" was one of the first blogs I read regularly. I don't remember how I found him, but at the time he was doing a series called "Giant Negroes", about the ridiculous claims and sightings by whites of "Giant Negroes" in the late 19th and early 20th century. I found it interesting and amusing. Of course that is what sums up David perfectly--interesting and amusing. With the last part of the trifecta being inspirational.

David has inspired, outraged, entertained, and taught a whole throng of Black creative thinkers in the blogging community. Through him, I found many people who think and exist the way I do, when previously I thought that I might be isolated in my mindset. He frequently featured me in his "Blog In The Spotlight", which always gave me joy. All of my life people have told me that I should write as a living, but I never felt true validity until being under David's watch, and that's real. I even started a thing called "The Negro Justice League" on this blog that included David, which amused him very much.

When I read that David passed, it hit me hard, more than anyone, except maybe Michael Jackson. Strike that--it was akin to Michael because of its suddenness, its shock through the heart, and the mourning of a loss of huge talent and genuine artistic integrity. I was shaken up in ways that I did not expect in his passing.

I waited a while to post this, as I wanted to be careful about what I said, and do a justifiable legacy to him. It is apropos that I am writing this on Easter, as he will always be resurrected in many a heart and mind. I feel the best way to pay him tribute is to begin blogging regularly again, at least for a little while. Cause you know what? One of the thoughts that would pass through my mind almost daily was that I knew David was checking for new posts on this blog and there were none. And that, in and of itself, will always make me feel special.

Will always miss you, David...

So Sue Me....

Yes, I missed the American Black Film Festival that was held here in Los Angeles this month. I think I made my feelings clear about how I feel about these events in my last post about Black film festivals. Until things improve in my eyes, I'm gonna be pretty darn selective.

Undercover Black Man went to the closing night film, which is uaually the biggest shindig at these things. LMAO at his random comment about bras and backless dresses!:

Last night I finally got to see “The Black List,” the new documentary by Elvis Mitchell and Timothy Greenfield-Sanders. (I blogged about this project in January.) It was screened in Beverly Hills.

Alas, I didn’t know the screening was part of the closing-night festivities for the American Black Film Festival. Dudes were rocking blazers, women had on heels... and I stepped up in there with jeans and tennis shoes. Straight bummin’.

I haven’t seen that many black folks in one spot in a while. Celebrity-wise, I spotted Eriq LaSalle across the crowded lobby. I also saw a (white) porn star, Nina Hartley. First I assumed they let her in on a Booty Waiver. (Yeah, fellas... she’s still got that bubble tush working.) But then I saw her chumming around with Greenfield-Sanders, who directed a porn-star documentary in 2004.

Speaking of getting dressed up, may I ask you ladies a question? What’s the deal with wearing a bra with a backless dress? I saw that twice, and it is messed-up-looking.

Anyway... “The Black List” rocked the place. Not only did Elvis and Tim get a standing ovation, not only were there numerous outbursts of applause throughout the movie... but there were murmurs, laughs and other sounds of affirmation indicating a fully engaged crowd.

Elvis declared that this was the best audience for “The Black List” ever.

And all the movie is is a series of interviews with notable Negroes... from Colin Powell to Chris Rock, from Toni Morrison to Serena Williams. “The Black List” has a cumulative power that belies its simple structure. It really does feel like you’re eavesdropping on the world’s coolest cocktail party.

Matter fact, “The Black List” works so well as a group experience, I wonder whether it’ll be as effective when it debuts on HBO two weeks from tonight.

Plus you’ll see a photo of Slash as a teenager with an Afro. And a picture of Louis Gossett, Jr. from his Greenwich Village “beatnik” days, strumming a guitar. (Who knew?)

A companion “Black List” coffee-table book, featuring Timothy Greenfield-Sanders’ photo portraits of the interviewees, goes on sale next month.

UPDATE! Here is my Sergio (left) with one of the filmmakers Elvis Mitchell, at his Black Harvest Film Festival screening of "The Black List".

Today In B'Days....

The always lovely Whitaker is 47.

The usually annoying Eddie Griffin is 40.

Their birthdays were actually over an hour ago, but this is the first chance I had to post. I also wanted to post a related story....

Remember that debacle Eddie had about a year ago at the ultra boo-jee Black Enterprise 14th annual Golf and Tennis Challenge? If not I wrote about it HERE.

Well, Afro Nerd posted this story about the new version of this with the Bernie Mac/Obama function, and I could not agree more. Don't expect champagne when you buy Colt 45, I'm just sayin'!:

Must everything relate to Senator Obama? I think for the moment, the answer will be a resounding, "yes!" First off, please excuse the expletive laden stand up routine as performed by the incomparable Bernie Mac. It appears that Senator Obama's staffers were unaware or had a lapse in judgment by hiring a blue comedian such as Mac and then expecting Walt Disney corporate humor-don't let his recent work on the family friendly, Bernic Mac Show fool you! Eddie Griffin received a similar comeuppance last year when hired to perform in front of the Boule/Jack & Jill set (Black Enterprise members/supporters, more specifically) and his microphone was snatched from him by Enterprise publisher, Earl Graves. This time it was Obama coming to the "rescue" and denouncing. Word of advice to the good Senator-you can't denounce everyone. Check out this excerpt, courtesy of the Huffington Post:

CHICAGO (AP) _ Comedian Bernie Mac endured some heckling and a campaign rebuke during a surprise appearance Friday night at a fundraiser for Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama.

Toward the end of a 10-minute standup routine at the Hyatt Regency Hotel in downtown Chicago, the 50-year-old star of "The Bernie Mac Show" joked about menopause, sexual infidelity and promiscuity, and used occasional crude language.

"My little nephew came to me and he said, 'Uncle, what's the difference between a hypothetical question and a realistic question?'" Mac said. "I said, I don't know, but I said, 'Go upstairs and ask your mother if she'd make love to the mailman for $50,000.'"

As the joke continued, the punchline evoked an angry response from at least one person in the audience, who said it was offensive to women.

"It's not funny. Let's get Barack on," a man shouted from the crowd, which paid $2,300 each to support the Illinois senator.

About 15 minutes later, Obama tried to smooth things over with a joke of his own.

"We can't afford to be divided by race. We can't afford to be divided by region or by class and we can't afford to be divided by gender, which by the way, that means, Bernie, you've got to clean up your act next time," Obama said. "This is a family affair. By the way, I'm just messing with you, man."

From IW:

A) I thought that ish was hella funny (I know Obama did too) and wasn't offended at all.

B) Ummm....Obama; you might want to calm down with the "denouncing", homes.

How Bernie probably side-eyed this foolishness

Dolemite For President And Sh*t....

Speaking of Obama, Undercover Black Man will be live-blogging the Pennsylvania primary tonight (my Philly folkses stand up!).

I found this on his blog the other day.....did you know that Rudy Ray Moore aka Dolemite ran for president in 1972? And you thought Kwame Kilpatrick as a politician was pimpin'. From his site:

I betcha Rudy Ray Moore woulda knew how to handle Hillary Clinton in that debate last night. I ain’t lyin’!

Sheeeeit, that bad muthafucka Dolemite ran for president way back in 1972... before Barack Obama even had fuzz on his nuts.

Click here and listen to Rudy Ray’s campaign speech and press conference (NSFW). It is an artifact of political rhetoric that Sen. Obama would do well to study.

From IW: Too funny. But I must admit, after that heinous debate the other day, Obama seems to have gathered some swagger (ie: the "dust my shoulders" move). I guess he finally realized that he was wasting his time on the sea-hag known as Hillary Rodham.

End Of The Year This N' That....

Hey all....sentimental last post of the year and all that, blah, blah, blah...

I had great fun last night talking to Afronerd and black film lover Sergio, who directs a Black Film Festival in Chicago called "Black Harvest" every August. If you want to hear us in the interview, click here....there is kind of a long music intro, but it's there.

Sergio revealed to us last night (which is probably old news today) that Tyler Perry is in the upcoming "Star Trek" movie. From AOL:

Talk about a casting coup! When Zoe Saldana was cast to play Uhuru, which was originally played by Nichelle Nichols, in the new Star Trek film, I'm sure some folks wondered if there would be more Blacks in the film. Well, low and behold, of all the marketing moves the producers could have done to insure that the African American market was represented, they have cast one of the hottest movers and shakers in the media world to appear in the film, Tyler Perry.

That's right - Tyler Perry. According to the website UGO, they are reporting that Perry, who has never appeared in a film that he didn't write, direct, or produce, will be featured in the film as the head of Starfleet Academy, and in a human form, instead of looking like some alien. Tyler's character is overseeing some kind of Starfleet courtroom/ assembly event where young Kirk is facing expulsion from Starfleet.

From IW: I feel like this role may be well suited for Perry, as his non-Madea acting is very stiff and unnatural, just like a legal prosecutor.

Here is the poster for "Hancock", a film starring Will Smith as a down and out former superhero. Original subject matter...I'm sure it will do well and add $25 million more dollars to the Smiths already overstuffed bank account.

"The Great Debaters" is being touted as coming in at 11th place in the box office, giving it the illusion of failure, but DO NOT be fooled. This movie was in a very limited number of theaters, less than half of what the holiday blockbusters are normally booked into. So in actuality, this film did very well, just not compared to a film that was released in 3,500 theaters instead of 1,171. Feel me?

And last, but not least, Invisible Woman is going to be a little cliche and give her end of the year thank you to you all....my blog has grown 13,000% since I first started....at the beginning I was so worried that no one would find it/read it that I almost didn't go thru with starting it. I don't want to slight anyone, so know that every single blog that is linked on my sidebar is truly, truly appreciated through and through, as well as my non-blogging readers. May your 2008 blow up like 92 tons of dynamite!

trivia; btw, "auld lang syne" means "a long time ago" in scottish. a bit depressing, no? i think i'll ring in my new year with something a little more uplifting, like kanye, haha

Taking The Day Off....

Hey guys...I was gonna write about my time at the American Black Film Festival today, but to be quite honest I don't feel like it...or writing about anything else for that matter.

In the meantime, check out the Negro Justice League member Undercover Black Man's post below; I know I will be looking at his recommendations today, and if Frank Lucas and Nicky Barnes are of interest for you, you should be looking too:

So... do “American Gangster” and “Mr. Untouchable” have you curious to know more about the Harlem underworld?

Tonight’s premiere of the History Channel series “Gangland” is also devoted to Nicky Barnes and Frank Lucas, the rival heroin bosses of 1970s New York.

The History Channel interviewed both men (each of whom ended up in prison and then snitched out a hundred other drug dealers apiece and now they’re free).

Showtime is 9 p.m. Eastern and Pacific, 8 p.m. Central. The episode will repeat on Friday, Monday and Tuesday.

And if you want even more of the Nicky and Frank show, New York magazine has published the transcript of a three-way conference call between Nicky Barnes, Frank Lucas and journalist Mark Jacobson, looking back on old times. It’s rather comical.

My Fourth Husband's Next Shady Move

From one third of The Negro Justice League, Supernegro's site:

The Rock has played both the face and the heel in his WWE wrasslin' career, but it looks like the former People's Champ and semi-movie star is once again split on which side of the fence he should ride. Dwayne Johnson's in discussion to play both the hero and the baddie in the upcoming Shazam movie, and he wants MTV viewers to help sway the decision.

"Shazam, of course, I would love to play. They approached me about [Captain Marvel] and [villain] Black Adam as well," he revealed. "We've been meeting for months. We're toying with either one. I think it's up to the fans. Without question."

Now, I always thought Shazam to be a pretty assy hero, although my homie dburt over at Afronerd is digging on the new stories. He's the alter-ego of a 13-year old kid who houses the smarts of Solomon, the muscle of Hercules, the endurance of Atlas, the power of Zeus, and the balls of Achilles, and the swiftness of Mercury. He's pretty much the immovable object in the D.C. Universe, but like any good hero, he has a great nemesis. Black Adam was a previous Shazam weilder and one of those crazy 'ol evil Arabs that America just loves to hate, so the Rock's natural tan may give him the nudge in that direction on a purely superficial level.

If you'd like to cast your vote, head over to the MTV Movie Blog and sound off. - Jay Wilson

From IW: Alrighty then.

Chicago-The New Black Hollywood?

I think the other two thirds of my Negro Justice League are inspiring the other third, Afronerd, to come out and play for a while. Found this interesting post about the black film scene in Chicago, which oddly enough, the very first black film came from. From his blog:

I would like our readers to take look at an excerpt from a recent article written by our supporter and resident soothsayer Sergio Mims. He provides an excellent synopsis of the history of Black cinema in Chicago and it's unfortunate demise. The following piece is courtesy of NdigoOnline.com:

Is Chicago The New Black Hollywood?

By Sergio A. Mims

In the beginning, there was Chicago--the very location of The Railroad Porter, the first Black film ever made.The Railroad Porter, a comic chase movie, was produced in 1912 by the multitalented William Foster, (aka actor Juli Jones), who also worked as a press agent, sportswriter, writer and director of the Pekin Players, an early, Chicago-area all-Black theater company, and a salesman of Haitian coffee. Sadly, not much is known about The Railroad Porter, as it is one of thousands of silent films that were not preserved and are now lost to history. However, the film ignited a spark in what was to become the Black film industry; other Black film companies began to spring up in Chicago, including the Royal Gardens Film Company. Shortly thereafter, the great Black filmmaking pioneer Oscar Micheaux opened his first film production company in Chicago on 538 S. Dearborn Ave.

Micheaux’s first feature film, "The Homesteader", was shot in and around Chicago in 1919.

Has Chicago finally become the new Black Hollywood, in the gigantic footsteps of the pioneer Oscar Micheaux? Alas, regretfully, the answer is a resounding NO.

Black Indie Film Industry: A REEL Disappointment. About five years ago, there began a genuine movement of new Black independent filmmakers in Chicago, which continues to grow every year. Suddenly, new works consisting of short films, documentaries and especially feature-length films began to appear in countless numbers.

For more of Sergio's article, click on the link: Is Chicago The New Black Hollywood?

Apollo Creed and The Negro Justice League....

This review of the classic "Action Jackson" weighs in from one third of the league, Supernegro:

Action Jackson: Breeding Ground of Mediocrity

By all accounts Action Jackson is a bad movie; even if you list the flick as among your bad movie night faves (as I do), the unnecessary boobage, cartoon violence, and unbelievable stunts - such as Carl Weathers outrunning a speeding taxi - pushes this movie from the realm of the action to '80s super-cheese.

Although the movie may have sunk Carl Weathers' shot at a successful solo movie career, Action Jackson was the breeding ground - or is that cesspool? - for developing the careers of a couple of Tinsel Town noobs, while highlighting the veteran ability of others.

[Following are] some of the semi-bigtimers who help funk this stinker up:

Bill Duke

A year after he tore up the jungle hunting an invisible alien in Predator, The Dukester donned a suit and glasses as Captain Armbruster in Action Jackson. While Carl Weathers may have gotten the top billing, Duke's imposing presence and deranged eyes kind of made you hope that he'd reach across his desk and bleed Jackson real quiet and leave him there. But he didn't. Which sucked.

Sharon Stone

Sharon Stone is only good at two things: keeping her non-acting mouth shut and showing her tits. In Action Jackson, she doesn't have many lines and flashes her teets, making for an all-around stellar performance by the future Basic Instinct star. Note: In a typical bout of Hollywood shenanigans to make this movie more palpable to White audiences, Sharon Stone's face engulfs the entire movie poster, totally dwarfing Weathers and Vanity. Note Again: Her character's two-bit, dying half-through the film.

Craig T. Nelson
Craig T. Nelson is known for three things: starring in Poltergeist, starring in Coach, and starring in pure shite between those two ventures. Nelson is Action Jackson's antagonist, a pseudo-mob boss/car manufacturer/kung-fu master (no joke) who controls a squad of ninja-like goon that bump off the heads of other auto-makers. Some would perceive him to be a cold-hearted bastard for clapping his own wife, but considering Sharon Stone's ability, I welcomed by murderous ninja-boss.

Vanity
When I was 13, Vanity was the hottest woman on the planet, at least according to my adolescent penis. But looking back at her at her portrayal of Sydney Ashe, Craig T. Nelson's walking glory hole, drug addict, and singer, I deem her the anti-sexy. Not only is her dialogue stiff, but her dancing looks like what would happen if she simultaneously had a heart attack, stroke, and a seizure. Twinkle toes she ain't.

De'Voreaux White
Although he's best known as Bruce Willis' chauffeur in Die Hard, White had other outstanding roles in his long Hollywood career: he excelled as the crackhead Lucky in Trespass, one of the many nerds in Head of the Class, and in Action Jackson as...as...I've sincerely forgotten which character he was, which speaks volumes in regards to his role selection.

- Jay Wilson

From I.W: I remember a couple of things about this movie....

-It was filmed in my hometown of Oakland, CA. I saw a couple of scenes being shot, and remember Carl Weathers walking around like he was God's gift to creation...I marveled at how he didn't know how ridiculous he looked with eight pounds of orange Fashion Fair pancake make-up and enough eyeliner to make Mary Kay proud.

-I had an associate who bragged to anyone who would listen that she had lunch with Carl on the set, and remember thinking "who gives a f__k?" No haterade involved whatsoever.

And really, what happened to De'Voreaux White? He was kinda weird to me, and the fact that he made out on "Head of the Class" with Richard Pryor's daughter Rain made him even more so (tho he looked like he hated every minute of it). Milk carton alert anyone?

Damn-this was the only picture I could find of him..when he was a kid in "The Blues Brothers". Is he still alive?

And Justice For All....

OK, I don't have a lot of time to spare today, so I'll leave you with some samples of my Negro Justice League's (Undercover Black Man, Supernegro and Afronerd) thoughts on Cinema. I will try to post tonight.....

First up, an excerpt from Supernegro, cause I love, love, love, Bill Duke (some spicy wording involved):

"You Can't F--k With Mac from Predator"

A few days ago, I was hanging with my homie Valkor of The Other View, when we began to discuss the uber-violence showcased in classic '80s action pieces such as Robocop. There hardcore films were real men's movies, something that few women will comprehend due to their mascara, baking, and child-rearing getting in the way of the enjoyment of a good splatterfest.

Predator is one of those movies that separates the sacks from the sackless. After an elite team of well-toned commandos (Arnold, Carl Weathers, Bill Duke, Jesse the Body, and cannon fodder) bust-up a Reagan-era Central-American guerrilla squad, who are holding an important hostage, they get gutted, decapitated, de-limbed, and otherwise receive tons of boo boos from an alien with dreads, a cloaking device and a laser cannon. While everyone except Arnold predictably bites it at the hands of the dude from Misfits of Science, it isn't the Austrian bodybuilder-turned-governor that makes this movie: its motherfucking Bill Duke.

Bill Duke, as soon as you look into his eyes, either causes you to instantly glance away from the sheer power of his aura of manliness, or sob uncontrollably upon realizing that you shall never live up to one drop of his testosterone. This reaction's one par with 99% of the male population (the other percent's heads implode instantly). Duke plays Mac, the most borderline psychotic guy that you'd ever want to be paired with should the shit hit the fan or an alien menace comes to our planet to hunt the most dangerous game. How bad assed was he in Predator? This is his level of badassedness: When Mac realizes that Carl Weathers' character (CIA puppet Agent Dillon) is sending the squads whereabouts to the feds he drops one of the most testosterone-filled lined in movie history:

You're ghostin' us, motherfucker. I don't care who you are back in the world, you give away our position one more time, I'll bleed ya, real quiet. Leave ya here. Got that? God damn. Anyone willing to slaughter both ally and foe alike is okay in my book except when, you know, he wants to slaughter me instead. Mac kicked it when he tried to avenge the death of his boy Blaine, but we all know it was his Dukian spirit that enabled Arnold to whip some Predator ass.

So here's to Mac, the best god damned supporting character in action movie history. And a character you just can't fuck with. - Jay Wilson

Next up: Undercover Black Man:

Something shocking from Scatman Crothers

I shouldn’t say “shocking” from my own personal point of view. I don’t catch the vapors whenever somebody says “nigger.” But the N-word prohibitionists out there will find it hard to cope with Scatman Crothers singing a ditty called “Ah’m a Nigger Man.

”The following vidclip (IW: I'll post above) is the opening title sequence of “Coonskin,” a notorious 1975 film by cartoonist Ralph Bakshi. (Mr. Bakshi, a white man, also wrote the lyrics to “Ah’m a Nigger Man.”)

“Coonskin” sparked protests from the Congress of Racial Equality before it was even released. “They were booing at the titles,” Bakshi recalled of an early screening. This, in turn, frightened Paramount Pictures into dropping the movie like it was hot. (The film was re-titled “Street Fight” for home videocassette. It hasn’t yet been released on DVD.)

A re-imagining of the old Brer Rabbit folktales for a blaxploitation audience, “Coonskin” was a gleaming straight razor of a satire... cold, dangerous, skin-slicing.

One of the movie’s biggest fans is Darius James, a gifted satirist his own self. In his book “That’s Blaxploitation!,” James wrote this:

“In ‘Coonskin,’ Bakshi pukes the iconographic bile of a racist culture back in its stupid, bloated face, wipes his chin and smiles Dirty-Harry style. ‘Now deal with it...’ He subverts the context of Hollywood’s entire catalog of racist black iconography....”

Apparently he’s not the only black person who digs it. “Spike Lee is a big fan of ‘Coonskin,’ ” Bakshi told a journalist in 2003. “I get emails from new fans all the time on it; some can’t believe I’m white. ... [R]ap artists like it too.”

As for Scatman’s performance here (IW: above post), I love everything about it... the way he cuts his eyes to the camera a couple of times, the way he subverts certain lyrics, and basically the whole way he embodies a lost era of black music and black style. I think you’ll enjoy this...

OK, as for Afronerd, I spent a good amount of time going through his blog and couldn't find anything film related. He may be a bit too serious for all of the puffery, but that's what keeps the Negro Justice League balanced. Check out his blog anyway :-)

Hopefully Coming To A Theater Near You

As a fairly new blogger, I am coming to the realization that a lot of bloggers are staunch superhero/comic book fans. I've never been too big on it, but I think I would tend to be more interested if the superhero were black (sorry, just being honest).

Reading one of my Negro Justice League trifecta's blogs, Supernegro (the other 2 being Afronerd, and Undercover Black Man, who wrote a blurb about me yesterday, thanks :-) ) he talked about John Singleton making Luke Cage and The Black Panther. That would be great, as Singleton needs to atone for "Four Brothers" the only film that could make Andre 3000 unattractive and boring (Tyrese was fiyah tho!).

Anyhoo, I will even forgive John for dissing "Meteor Man" (Robert Townsend never bothers anybody) if he makes even one of these films. I wouldn't hold my breath tho, he has talked about making a number of films that have never come to fruition.

btw, above is a Luke Cage action figure...a bit zesty, no?

I Couldn't Agree More

I received this comment from my girl PZ at UltravioletUnderground yesterday, and I think it's very reflective of the thoughts of a lot of readers of this blog. It started out as me telling her that Kasi Lemmons uses a largely female crew on her films:

I'm glad to know it. Bless her for traveling the road the traveled. It's only a matter of time before the 'female' mafia sets up established shop and starts funding and cranking out movies and media with depth (I hope to see major success for Miss [Meagan] Good's Freedom Bridge), because seriously these misogynistic stereotypes and racist undertones in "modern" cinema are blaringly obvious.

The excuse that 'they didn't know what would offend' really won't fly these days. Kasi Lemmons as an amazing eye. She should be heralded for that rather than dragged down by someone who believes 'Torque' is a cinematic masterpiece of any kind...Maybe Kasi's new movie needed more work...I don't know, but I'll aim to see it and see if I agree with that. It's only a matter of time, and blogs like yours are setting the record straight on the reality of things. That is a revolutionary act in an age where so many have gone the route of 'mainstream' boot licking as if they don't see the trends that have made it impossible for these large corporations to maintain a foothold in the changing times.

The film industry is ailing. You can hardly ever find a good movie to watch out of the many choices offered each year, as of late. The record industry is done pretty much because of the digital age and the playing field is leveled in so many arenas, which tells me the universe is ready for everyone to be able to express and create for mass consumption...You can't fight an invisible force that's larger than you Hollywood. It's time to get over that and join the rest of conscious humanity already...We're awake again.

From Invisible Woman: Yes, we are awake again, as is so glaringly obvious from the writings of Purple Zoe and my cyber-boyfriends and Negro Justice League: Supernegro, Undercover Blackman, and Afronerd. I think we are starting to be heard in a way that hasn't been seen since the 70's, and blogging is one of the catalysts for that. Let us choose our own heroes and causes and support them.