Both Randy & Isaiah Are Doing Just Fine

Finally Bionic Woman is picking up the pace in story and action. On top of that, it’s good to see brothers working in harmony. Take Isaiah Washington, Ozwald Boateng, and Ben Silverman, cochair of NBC. 

Happy birthday to favorite actor Michael Beach who just turned 44, Eddie Holland of the renowned Holland-Dozier-Holland songwriting team that penned many classic Motown hits is 68, Tequan Richmond of Everybody Hates Chris is 15, Nia Long is 37, Eva Pigford is 23, and Timothy B. Schmit of The Eagles hits 60. 

Soul balladeer Will Downing just released his new album of music After Tonight. You can sample his latest creative effort right here at Soul Tracks Listening Room. And for those of you who don’t know, an album is a collection (like photographs) so the term still applies. 

How does a single parent raise six teenagers? The Oxygen network has signed Coolio to star in a reality series that should provide some funny lessons for us all. 

A Q&A informs me that that pretty and gifted mofo DB Woodside returns to the tube November 13 via Grey’s Anatomy. Since I dropped the show from my list this season, good ole Shonda Rhimes has found a way to lure me back. Well played, madame Creator. 

That interview by Fred Williamson on O.J. Simpson posted by Invisible Cinema October 4 is quite riveting. The Hammer’s insight into the mind of a professional athlete is lucid and chilling. As a counselor I must confess the logic and emotion are vividly laid out. 

(New Orleans) Saint Reggie Bush [photo] seems unable to escape past legal entanglements as he is being taken to court yet again. When you get the spotlight people, make sure it’s not coming from a law enforcement vehicle. 

How sweet it is that Randy Moss is getting the last laugh this season with the New England Patriots. T.O., take a memo. 

Winning by a first round knockout, Jaidon Codrington set the tone for the finale of ESPN’s The Contender. 

It’s no trick to treat yourself to something special.

Black Masculinity & Manliness

EXPLORING BLACK MASCULINITY
African-American men are facing multiple battles at ones, among them high unemployment, high school dropout rates and incarceration.

Enter “Black and Male in America.” It’s a three-day conference organized by activist and author Kevin Powell. He talks to Farai Chideya about what people can expect to take away from the event.  Audio File

THE HIGH COST OF MANLINESS
It’s hard to be a man; hard to live up to the demands that come with the dominant conception of masculinity, of the tough guy.

So, guys, I have an idea — maybe it’s time we stop trying. Maybe this masculinity thing is a bad deal, not just for women but for us.

We need to get rid of the whole idea of masculinity. It’s time to abandon the claim that there are certain psychological or social traits that inherently come with being biologically male. If we can get past that, we have a chance to create a better world for men and women.

That dominant conception of masculinity in U.S. culture is easily summarized: Men are assumed to be naturally competitive and aggressive, and being a real man is therefore marked by the struggle for control, conquest and domination. A man looks at the world, sees what he wants and takes it. Men who don’t measure up are wimps, sissies, fags, girls. The worst insult one man can hurl at another — whether it’s boys on the playground or CEOs in the boardroom — is the accusation that a man is like a woman. Although the culture acknowledges that men can in some situations have traits traditionally associated with women (caring, compassion, tenderness), in the end it is men’s strength-expressed-as-toughness that defines us and must trump any female-like softness. Those aspects of masculinity must prevail for a man to be a “real man.”  Continue

Find your authentic power.

Mariah Is Hooked On 'M'

After just three episodes there are blogs solely dedicated to ABC’s Pushing Daisies. One reviewer thinks Chi McBride [photo] is hilarious. Picked up for the complete season, the show is a bonafide hit. As to Chi’s performance and the network’s faith, I wholeheartedly concur. 

By now you’ve heard that Tyson Beckford will appear on tonight’s America’s Next Top Model. But did you know the brother is slated to co-host Bravo’s new reality competition series Make Me a Supermodel, scheduled to premiere early next year? Tyra, you’re in danger, girl! 

Ever get frustrated with your boss and wanted to call him on it? Ray Lewis did just that – publicly – during his part-time radio show gig.

What separates ‘Deserving Design’ from other shows is great storytelling says host Vern Yip. But not only does he show you what he’s doing, he also tells you why.

Mariah Carey looked pretty saucy on The View while selling that branch water called ‘M’. All audience members got a to-go flask.

I’ve seen a glimpse of some compelling sports television called E:60 on ESPN. Correspondents Michael Smith and Lisa Salters are part of a new team on a new mission. Look out Bryant Gumbel. The youngins are smelling themselves.

Has anyone been watching The Star Jones Report? Is it still on? I was with her until she kept mouthing her disdain and disgust for O.J. I guess Klaus Von Bulow thanks his lucky stars that Mr. Simpson dethroned him.

Similarly speaking, Judge declares mistrial in case of Orange Taylor who is accused of suffocating Laura Dickinson, a college student, in her dorm room.

While it’s great to see Monica Charles-Brooks Dent and Darnell Leroy Wilkes back, where is TeeTee? Keesha Sharp and Kahlil Kain of Girlfriends were great this week and the show performed well, too. Yet Barry Floyd of The Game (Tasha Mack’s other son) is missing in action. IMDb has him listed as recently as 2005 as a writer production assistant. Smart move to the actor-side of the camera for a smart man. Have you noticed how his performances sparkle?

TMZ photogs caught Isaiah Washington by surprise in a parking garage.

Get caught doing something good today.

A "God Gene"

Moved. Genuinely moved was I upon viewing the CBS13 interview and apology that swirled a bit of controversy toward Janet and Tyler when they were promoting Why Did I Get Married?  Mark S. Allen underestimated the sizeable bond between his audience, Ms. Jackson and Mr. Perry. It warms my cockles that so many emailed their outrage so passionately. Thank you Invisible Cinema for your link to Echo Black Online that helped me find and share this poignant triumph. 

According to PlayaHata the 14 year old girl who starred in Akeelah and the Bee, Keke Palmer, is getting played silly by her record company.

We are proud to be adding several new links to this blog, including the Davey D link.  

Bomani Jones distills what is legitimately good liquor. Don’t expect a definitive analysis as it appears he may have crammed for the study. Glug, glug.

The inimitable Jason Stone, Stepfather of Soul, kindly responded to my request for intel regarding his soul music resources. His energetic generosity included books, websites, general info and hopefully a friendship (fingers crossed). Any man who can appreciate Barbara Acklin can pull my coattail anytime.  

According to NBA.com “pro” blogger and humorist Gilbert Arenas, players getting name tattoos on their backs may simply be a way of letting people identify them at the beach. You got to get up pretty early in the morning to outwit some folk! 

Time magazine has thrown down the gauntlet. “Which came first, God or the need for God? In other words, did humans create religion from cues sent from above, or did evolution instill in us a sense of the divine?” The answer might surprise you. 

As a highly attractive person — likable even — he made millions by killing people and ruining lives with the powdered death of heroin. Now Denzel wants to introduce him to you. 

Executive producer and Wolverine Hugh Jackman could not have been more wrong. Viva Laughlin gets the axe. Frankly, it’s understandable. I watched both episodes that aired and the faux singing was unpleasant. So where will the charismatic DB Woodside [photo] land next? 

Larry David has brought aboard the beauteous Vivica A. Fox for this season’s Curb Your Enthusiasm. This week’s episode was so entertaining I’ll see it again. 

Aiight, aiight. Jamati Online serves up the 10 Sexiest African Men. Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje at #9, Djimon Hounsou at #5, and Idris Elba at #3. With both talent and looks at the extreme a regular brother can feel insecure if he isn’t working his game real hard. 

I tried to change things up in January by switching from cable to dish. Only online can you realize what channels and programs you miss. Wouldn’t it be nice if either one carried all the damn channels? It wasn’t enough I lost BETJ and TV One. Now I find out that I’m missing former CNN political correspondent Carlos Watson and his highly rated conversations.  

I say this earnestly. Never give up.   

The Strategically-Placed Black Male

Saturday morning I did what I haven’t done in months. I turned on the television at 7 a.m. Figured I’d catch some news since I’ve been a away from it for nearly a week. Sometimes we must take a break from man’s inhumanity and the multiple ways fear is used against us. Anywaaaaays I was delighted with the Today Show. Lester Holt, John Yang, Allison Stewart, Janice Huff, Mara Schiavocampo, and Omar Waso were holdin’ it down. What a wake up call if ever there was one. Assignment fluke or programming trend? Only time will reveal. But Saturday, NBC rocked the house in living color. 

In case you haven’t heard, this is the last season for that hour-long show Free & Fabulous Merchandise and Services for Straight White Men. Your listing probably has it under the name Queer Eye for the Straight Guy. After five seasons I never heard one peep from Affirmative Action protestors.  

TV tease. Or TV please! The strategically-placed black-male-in-the-background shot is pretty over-used and appalling to the point of irritation. Are we supposed to be subliminally stroked by this maneuver? Hey casting directors and showrunners? Grow a pair! 

Last week’s CW episodes of Girlfriends and The Game were actually watchable. I hardly groaned and barely watched the clock. A viewer note to creator-executive producer Mara Brock Akil: keep the stories strong. 

I agree with Halle Berry. Enough with her pregnancy news!  She told Tavis Smiley it’s upstaging her film.  

“I’m not surprised that Tyra has achieved phenomenal success,” says friend Heidi Klum in a Time magazine mention. We all should have friends like that. I have one and her name is Marion.

Friday night my geek side lost the battle with my cool side as James Lesure’s Las Vegas beat out Alimi Ballard’s Numb3rs. Nice to have a “what to watch first” choice. Thank God for digital recorders. But like my man Maurice White of Earth, Wind & Fire quotes:

          Now. there’s an outer self we got to deal with
          You know, the one that likes to go to parties,
          The one that likes to dress up and be cool
          and look pretty, all ego-trips and all this.

Do you know I had to visit five sites to find this quote? The previous four had identical typos. Hmmm. What are the odds? 

My Name is Earl‘s Darnell, Eddie Steeples, has made a music video. 

Taye Diggs, Audra McDonald and cast from Private Practice got the word that they will be picked up for the full season. Also the same story boasts Dennis Haysbert’s The Unit is doing quite nicely. 

The always working Sherri Shepherd is developing a sitcom for CW.  

Presently I’ve just discovered Undercover Black Man, the blog. What is most notable for me are the 45 Flashbacks. See what my Friday soul music entry manifested? Release your thoughts to the Universe and they are returned ten-fold. The “spinning 45” videos (complete with needle drop) slaughter those lame “tribute” still slideshows others post on YouTube. 

House Of Payne, starring Lance Gross [photo] premiered as cable’s #1 ad-supported sitcom telecast of all time among key adult demos, households and viewers. Airing currently with back-to-back episodes Wednesdays, the show ranks as ad-supported cable’s #1 sitcom among adults 18-49 and television’s #1 program among African- American adults 18-49. Specially produced mobisode are now available. Who new? Tyler.

Have a good rest of the day.