Oh Damn…

 

 

 

 

 

 

Tocarra graces the cover of the May issue of King Magazine.

Tocarra looks good, but she definitely didn’t look good having this meltdown on Celebrity Fit Club:

Movie Review: ‘City of Men’ Returns to Rio Slums of ‘City of God’

By Jake Coyle, AP Entertainment Writer

“City of Men” begins atop the metaphorically named Dead End Hill in Rio de Janeiro, where a gun-toting gang is lazily contemplating a swim.

With the sun beating down, the gang, led by a charismatic figure named Midnight (Jonathan Haagensen), decides to head down the hill to the beach. Their preparation isn’t gathering towels, but quickly establishing a perimeter of guards and calling the cops to alert them that they’re “coming through.”

Such is the world of Rio’s shantytowns or “favelas” where violence travels with ease, as depicted in “City of Men.” The film is a unique companion piece to “City of God,” a minor international hit in 2002 that drew comparisons to Martin Scorsese’s “Goodfellas” and was nominated for four Academy Awards.

“City of God” was a visceral, stylish tale about a generation of gang life in the favelas, filmed with MTV-like flash by Fernando Meirelles, who has since made “The Constant Gardener.”

“City of God” bristled with the sexiness and destruction of young gang life, but was also almost ridiculously sensational.

“City of Men” is a more humanistic film, primarily focused on the lives of those in the shadow of Rio’s gangs, either enamored by them or cowering from them. Meirelles is here a producer, and gives way to Paulo Morelli.

Morelli directed several episodes of “City of Men” the TV series, which was hugely popular on Brazil’s TV Globo and appeared in the United States on the Sundance Channel. Footage from the series, which ran for four seasons, is used for flashbacks in the film.

In the favelas, everything is intertwined and everyone has allegiances that overlap. At one point, a gang member wonders aloud if everyone is everyone’s cousin.

Wallace’s pursuit of his father digs up skeletons from the past that are almost too neatly parallel to the present. The point is that generations have been fighting the same way for decades, and no one’s winning. With the TV series and now the second film, it’s easy to see the enduring appeal of the favelas to the filmmakers: they’re teaming with vibrancy and conflict. Though the histrionics of “City of Men” are a bit obvious, and it lacks the bravado of “City of God,” it’s ultimately a more rewarding film.

Will the Real Hatless Ne-Yo Please Stand Up?

A few days I posted a pictured of someone that was supposed to be Ne-Yo (please review). Then I saw this picture- the honest to God hatless Ne-Yo pic because it’s a mug shot from the Atlanta Police Department after he was charged with reckless driving and driving withough a license last week in Atlanta. He’s due back in court on March 25 to answer to the charges. But more importantly, I truly understand now why he always wears that hat and this is kind of one of those things I wish I hadn’t have found out…

Donda West Law Proposed

Assemblywoman Amina Carter of California announced last week that she has proposed the ”Donda West Law”- a law that would require all patients receiving elective plastic surgery to receive clearance from a licensed doctor, allowing doctors to ensure that patients are healthy enough to endure the potential rigors of general anesthesia.

Dr. Donda West, the mother of Kanye West, died Nov. 10 at a hospital in Los Angeles a day after undergoing breast reduction surgery, a tummy tuck and liposuction. An autopsy revealed she likely died of heart disease, coupled with complications after the surgery, “but the final manner of death could not be determined,” the report concluded.

High School Football Star Gunned Down in Random Act

LOS ANGELES (AP)—A 17-year-old high school football star is dead, gunned down on a sidewalk a few yards from his home in what authorities are calling a random, unprovoked gang attack. Jamiel Andre Shaw, a standout running back at Los Angeles High School and the Southern League’s most valuable player last season, was shot about 8:40 p.m., March 2 just a few doors away from his home in the Crenshaw area.

Police said Shaw was not a gang member, but was shot multiple times after he didn’t respond when two men pulled up in a car and asked him “Where you from?” code for which gang did he belong to. He died later at a local hospital.

On March 3, his mother, Army Sgt. Anita Shaw, was on her way back from Iraq, where she has been serving her second tour of duty. His father, Jamiel Shaw Sr., said he called Jamiel on Sunday (March 2) night, telling him to hurry home from the mall. A few moments after hanging up, Jamiel Sr. said, he heard the shots outside.

“They killed him while his mother is in Iraq fighting, dodging bullets, and she gets a phone call to say her son is on the streets of L.A., dead. For what?” Jamiel Sr. said.  

Hardy Williams, football coach at Los Angeles High, said Jamiel was “a very special kid. Not only was he an outstanding athlete, he was a good person.” And, Williams said, he was “a Houdini on the football field.” Jamiel was an all-city first-team selection last season after he rushed for 1,052 yards, averaging more than 14 yards per carry, and scored 10 touchdowns. He also ran track. In the past week, Williams said, Stanford and Rutgers universities contacted him about Jamiel. “He was elated,” Williams recalled.

Police said they are seeking the public’s help in identifying the suspects, whom officials described only as two Latino men in a white compact sedan. Investigators believe the shooting was not racially motivated. Jamiel was black.

Web Site Launched to Stop Racist Comedian

Here we go again, if you’re not familiar with Shirley Q. Liqour alias Charles Knipp, a 45 year-old gay drag comedian, who performs in blackface then congratulations!

Please excuse me while I rain on your racially harmonious parade.

Nicknamed “the Queen of Ignunce” Knipp describes Shirley as “an illiterate welfare mother with 19 kids who guzzles malt liquor and drives a Caddy” who pronounces everything wrong, think “K-Mark” instead of K-Mart and attends Mount Holy Olive Second Baptist Zion Church of God in Christ of Resurrected Latter-Days AME CME. Knipp routinely performs stand up routines across the country despite resistance from the African American community.

::Shaking My Head::

A Web site has been launched to stop the comedian: www.BanShirleyQLiquor.com.