seen?

i caught the tail end of this on tv yesterday, but as you probably know, barbara walters does an annual year-in-review show thingy on the 10 most fascinating newsmaking people of the year. and this year's list included jay-z. and given that i'm kinda proud of jay-z like he's my cousin or something (cuz the man has done his thing, and people listen to what he's got to say even when he's not rappin) i decided to post it so you can see it too...and, so you can hear barbara ask jay-z the DUMBEST QUESTION EVER. (that question being, do you think beyonce is bootylicious?)



yeah, and i originally saw this on young, black, and fabulous, too. i guess it's a goldmine over there today.

Labels: brooklyn, musica, tv

Posted by call me aja at 6:30 PM | Permalink | Comments

folks of my generation routinely say that the cartoons of our youth were far better than the driveling nonsense on tv now. clearly, i agree. but we don't routinely say why. well, here's my take.

i miss the cartoons that cracked wise. the ren and stimpy, the daria, the pinky & the brain cartoons where the characters were darkly, hopelessly, funnily (so not a word) witty that they came back with a smart aleck comment for everything. the speak your mind cartoons, the cartoons that served a bit of edge with their hijinks.

remember when daria said, "i don't have low self-esteem. i have low esteem for everyone else?" remember that episode of ren and stimpy when they were caught on that planet in outerspace, and they imploded. remember the poignancy of the moment when they realized what was going to happen, and they said goodbye to each other? and the relentlessness of pinky and the brain? how they persisted and perservered, to the point where they got their own show?

yeah...darkwing duck, anyone? animaniacs - the goodfeathers who were determined to perch on scorcesse's head? hello nurse? rocko's modern life? rocko had a best friend named heiffer! i love it!

these are the cartoons wikipedia articles like to note for their "subversive humor." yeah. the cartoons that don't take their cartoonness (and the limits their cartoonness should impose) too seriously. yeah, some animator had drawn them, but they were still pretty darn clever and didn't feel like they owed the animators anything. the ones that have a comment on the state of the whole pop culture world, and don't feel inhibited by the fact that they are just drawings.

could shrek have been, without these cartoons first? i think without some of these cartoons, we would not feel comfortable with our cartoons talking back to us. or talking about us.

cartoons of today have a kitschy cuteness factor. i suppose. i suppose this is why adults run around buying spongebob doodads. i have never found spongebob to be cute. mostly, i found him to be dumb - a character without much brainpower. i also suppose the kitsch-cute factor skipped over a generation or two cartoons, cuz folks also collect felix the cat and mickey mouse. well, i'll take exposure heiffer over kitsch any day.

obviously, this leaves out cartoons like family guy today. but intentionally so, because family guy is clearly directed towards and adult audience. then again, if we wanna look at it a little more deeply, family guy got it's first run on television at this time...along with dr. katz...but that's beginning to sound like another post.

so maybe that's a lot of analysis. for cartoons. but that is what i miss. i don't even begin to understand things like cat dog or cow and chicken. i miss the cartoons with bravado, with daring. if anyone knows of any on tv now (and not the simpsons, the simpsons fall into another category entirely) let me know.

Labels: other stuff, tv

Posted by call me aja at 8:22 AM | Permalink | Comments

...think you are great. honest. i really love top model. i've watched since day 1, and eva was my favorite, and i loved naima, and danielle, and i thought yoanna was absolutely beautiful. and when i was little, and i was skinny and tall for my age, and i promised to be super tall adult, people encouraged me to be you when i grew up.

i am so glad you are doing what you want to do with your life. i loved you in higher learning. you were a unique and talented model. retiring from one wildly successful career at a vastly young age to pursue another. ms. banks, i'm proud of you. and you said you wanted to get a talk show, and you went out and got one. hats off to you.

but the other morning, i saw you on good morning america, one of my favorite shows, talking about an episode of said talk show where you would be investigating modeling scams, schemes that promise to make models of impressionable young women, but that really only exploit them. you have said that exposing these schemes was your personal crusade, and i think you could really be the one to do just that. if anybody knows about making it in the modeling world, surely, that would be you.

but then i learned more about the epsiode and it's set up for accomplishing your purpose. and it profoundly saddened me. apparently, you set up your own fake scheme, hired a fake photographer and makeup artist, solicited hopeful models, and brought them down to a fake photo shoot to see what would transpire.

apparently, some of these young women went so far as to get naked for this phony photo session. and then you came in and told them it was fake and asked them why they did it.

here's my take: this "investigative action" did not expose modeling scams. it was a modeling scam. i can't say you didn't set up the hopefuls for a real shot at a real agency, because i didn't get to see the entire episode. i was at work, and i have no video recording device, so i am relying on what i heard you say on gma and on what i have read on your website. i can only hope you did something to make up for their lost time. and i as think your heart is in the right place, and as i think you are sincere in your efforts, i am pretty sure you did something for them. i can't imagine otherwise.

but...by putting on this experiment in this manner, you became that same scam you are crusading against. then you used that footage, footage of these young women being duped, possibly nakedly, for your television show. i can't help but think that that was not a good setup. nor did it expose scams, it did not expose the scam artists, it did not expose their lechery, it exposed the vulnerability and gullibility of the girls you want to protect.

and i also can't help but think about the first episode of this season of top model, wherein you asked the semifinalist to stand for a nude, outdoor photo shoot before the final competition even began. is that much different from asking for them to get naked for an open call? i know that top model is an actual and legitimate competition, but you congratulated the girls on the talk show who refused to take off their clothes just because a photographer asked them to. but girls have been eliminated from the competition on top model for just the same reason. is it a double standard?

it's a harsh, cruel world out there, and young women need to be prepared. might i suggest that a better investigative model might have been to send a trained, professional model, or actor, into an actual modeling scam setup and taped that? then no one innocent (and perhaps naive) aspiring model has to be embarassed on television, and you don't have to do anything to compensate for their hurt.

just a thought. i'm not an investigative reporter either, but i thought i'd make the suggestion.

Labels: other stuff, tv

Posted by call me aja at 5:07 PM | Permalink | Comments

i was walking down the street today, and i saw a bunch of bright pink flyers posted...well, just about everywhere. so i stopped to read them, and the flyers announced that nbc will be filming a for new primetime tv show on my block called "the black donnellys," to be written and directed by paul haggis and bobby moresco, otherwise known as the team behind (the pheonomenal film) "crash."

a little googling allowed me to find the tagline for the show: "They're good at heart, but mean on the streets." apparently, it's about 4 irish brothers who get involved in organized crime. now really, when i saw the name of the show (black donnellys) and thought about where it's going to be filming (bed-stuy)...i must admit 4 irish brothers is not at all what i was expecting. i suppose i engaged in a bit of racial profiling.

anyway, they will be filming on tuesday, september 11, from 6am to 4pm. and, clearly, i'm not irish, or involved in organized crime, so what i'm really wondering is what a black courtenay needs to do to get a walk on. seriously. i don't need any lines or anything.

Labels: brooklyn, tv

Posted by call me aja at 1:48 PM | Permalink | Comments

and i don't have goltv. and apparently, the rebroadcast will be on monday...when i'll be at the labor day parade. honestly, it shouldn't be this difficult to watch a soccer match, especially one that everyone in the world is trying to watch anyway...

Labels: other stuff, tv

Posted by call me aja at 9:06 PM | Permalink | Comments

but it must get its wear.
in fashion nothing is really new
but every season you have to
talk about it like it is.

so the next season of survivor, the teams will de divided by race/ethnicity: black vs. white vs. asian vs. latino. cbs says that they are well aware that it is controversial, but they are going forward with it.

i have ever been a member of what in the corporate world can be called affinity groups, that is, in college i was in the caribbean students' association, black students' organization, black theater ensemble, etc. and now, i am going to write about why the segregated survivor is not the same as racial/ethnic affinity groups.

but i think that its kind of obvious, given the terms i just used: segregated and affinity. an affinity group exists as organization to support the aims of a group of people with a common trait. it expresses the afinity of these individuals, not just to individuals who identify as they do, but in society in general. and, as these groups are affinity based, there is no one who can tell you that you do not belong, since the basis of belonging is that affinity, not of pre-assigned label. affinity groups are open to anyone who expresses affinty to the group. a segregated group imposes restrictions on who can join, and exists to prove and prove again the superiority of its membership over and above everyone else.

which sounds a bit like what this segregated survivor makes light of. segregated survivor is competition based, and competition between racial/ethnic groups is already fraught with CENTURIES of problems. if the white team wins, does it validate the existing unequal social structure? if the black team wins, its it somehow linked to their inherent athletic prowess? if the asian team wins, is it just cuz they are sooo smart? and if the latino team wins...well, i dunno even know if i can begin to address all of the questions there, given that latino is not a race in the same way that black, white, and asian are (according to the semi-official definitions that are used in the us)....if the latino team wins, i suppose all of the questions i just asked apply, and then some. i fear that segregated survivor is setting back america's collective subconscious by at least 45 years, possibly more. taking us back to the civil rights era, or something. are we next to retry brown vs. board of ed american idol style? call in if you think brown is right, call in if you think board of ed is right? i thought the supreme court already ruled that segregated is inherently unequal, and that segregation has no place in american society. and i have a really good question:

biracial/multiracial/ambigously ethnic people: were they assigned a team, based on appearance? the more i think about it, the sadder this makes me.

i guess i am disappointed that some corporate television suits would pander and make light of the problems of race and racism that persist in society today but throwing caricatures of them onto some deserted island/isolated wilderness and telling them to have at each other. unlike an affinity group, this ludicrous competition supports no one and nothing, promotes no dialogue on real issues. of course they are aware this is controversial, how could they not be? controversy is not a bad thing, but the worst part of this segregated survivor is that i can smell the dollar signs that motivated it. but since i can smell those dollar signs, i guess i shouldn't be surprised by it.

well, i have never watched survivor, i've never had a desire to, so i guess i don't need to mount a boycott of it.

Labels: so opinionated, tv, yeah i said it: race

Posted by call me aja at 11:01 PM | Permalink | Comments

i am embarassed for this show's existence.
flavor flav used to say, fight the power.
flavor flav said, don't believe the hype.
flavor flav once said, 911 is a joke.
now ::sigh:: flavor flav is the joke.
what makes me frown more than the show's
existence is that those people, those kids,
who are only just now hearing about flavor flav,
and only have absolute shuckin, jivin, and minstrelsy
to associate him with, have no idea of what he used to
be about. you know, back in those public enemy days.

ok, flav always brought the levity to public enemy,
and i'm not tryin to say he was an
extra-righteous righteous revolutionary,
but even in that there was more than a hint of being serious
about life. not so with this television show.
i remember being a young one back when, as digable planets
once said, the kids were rockin clocks. and those
leather africa medallions. remember those? well, i'm not
going to berate flavor flav, or vh1/mtv/bet/viacom for
giving him a platform for this nonsense. i'm just gonna
refer to the aformentioned "911 is a joke."
the video was pretty funny (sam jackson's overacting
at it's finest) but if you've ever been in a less than desirable
neighborhood, and had to call the police for some reason or
other, and waited for 2 hours for them to show up*,
you'll understand what i mean when i say that flav
used to actually talk about stuff. fear of a black planet, it
takes a nation of millions to hold us back, he used
to have something to say.

*"i called 911 a long time ago/ dont you see how slow they reactin?" my good friend works at a summer day camp at a church in bk. a child, no older than 7 years old, got some chemical in her eye, and needed emergency care. they called 911...it took 30 minutes for someone to arrive.

Labels: musica, so opinionated, tv

Posted by call me aja at 12:04 PM | Permalink | Comments