More »

Since the Emmy ceremony, I have been going back and forth about whether or not I should compose this letter. I try hard in my daily life not to engage in uncomfortable situations regarding race. But sometimes it’s very difficult to find other reasons that better explain why certain events play out the way they do. It is impossible for me to ignore the published statistics regarding the number of people of color mentioned, celebrated or honored in the history of the televised Emmys. Up to and including this year, there have been only 53 non-white actors nominated for emmys out of nearly 1,000 possible nominations in the top four acting categories for drama and comedy.

I’ve worked in television nearly all of my professional life, and that statistic is quite sobering to me. And to add injury to my already sensitive nerve endings a picture of Rutina Wesley from True Blood, who attended this year’s Emmys, had a caption that read: “Regina King enters the 62nd Emmys.” No, I wasn’t there. Mistakes happen, right? Well after a few “mistakes” of how people of color are portrayed in the Hollywood media, I decided it was important to say something about how things go down in Hollywood.

The initial pull on my heart strings was not seeing the veteran Sesame Street actress Alaina Reed Hall included in this year’s memoriam. I know I am taking it somewhat personally because of the history I shared with her, but then I stopped to think about the fact that she was on Sesame Street for 12 years, a show that is an American institution. People of all ages and generations have seen and enjoyed this highly influential television show. You have to admit, to not recognize her contribution to television baffles the mind. I first wondered, maybe I had turned my head quickly and missed seeing Alaina’s picture scroll past the screen or she was mentioned later. But no such luck.

I am assuming other actors have lost someone close to them who weren’t recognized during that segment of previous Emmy telecasts. So I will take the stats about people of color out of my complaint and pose an essential question on behalf of any television artist of note working in our business. What is the process in determining who will and will not be recognized during the Emmy memoriam?

Entertainment on HuffingtonPost.com

More »

Heidi Montag wants her old implants back.

Montag, the former ‘Hills’ star turned plastic surgery spokeswoman turned sex tape star says she wants her huge, G-cup implants, which she got late last year, taken out. It was her second breast augmentation. At the time she said she wanted to go still bigger, and that she hoped to be an H cup.

No more. She gave an interview to Life & Style saying she is still in severe pain from her many procedures and that she feels “trapped” in her body. The press release is below.

“I’M DESPERATE TO GO BACK TO NORMAL LIFE AGAIN” – HEIDI MONTAG TO LIFE & STYLE

Just one week after the untimely death of her plastic surgeon, Dr. Frank Ryan, Heidi Montag sat down exclusively with Life & Style to tell-all about her plastic surgery regrets, revealing that she wants her outrageous G implants removed.

“I’m desperate to go back to normal,” she confides to Life & Style. “I’m downgrading and going a little smaller, to a D or a double D.”

More than nine months after she went under the knife on Nov. 20, Heidi says she is still in severe pain and her body has not gotten used to the over the top boob job. “I have major anxiety about it. I was taking painkillers but they weren’t working so I stopped. It hurt either way,”

Besides being unable to hug her four dogs or wear anything but custom-made clothing, “I’m obsessed with fitness but it’s impossible to work out with these boobs,” she says. “It’s heartbreaking. I can’t live an everyday life.”

And while Heidi tells Life & Style she is currently shopping for a surgeon in South America, she worries that she’ll be trapped in this cartoonish body forever after the untimely passing of her confidant Dr. Ryan. “I feel trapped in my own body,” Heidi tells Life & Style.

“There’s just no fixing it,” she says. “Dr. Ryan knows the work he did, he knows everything.”

Entertainment on HuffingtonPost.com

More »

elcome to Sucker Punch, the only blog post that ranks the gaudiest moments on this week’s episode of True Blood.

(Warning: Spoilers Ahead)

—

I’d like to begin this recap of “I Smelled a Rat” with an ode to Russell Edgington, who has become one of my all-time favorite TV characters. This ode will be presented as a free-verse poem.

My Mississippi King (Is a Mississippi Queen)

Even when you were just a campy weirdo
You conquered my heart.
But then there was more
more
so much more.

One one hand, you’re an unfettered psycho
who terrorizes humans
and conquers the wolves
wolves
so many wolves.

But on the other, you’re a passionate lover
left woefully undone
by the death of your man
your man
your beautiful man.

So when you stake a prostitute
or de-spine an anchorman
I see levels
levels
so many levels.

You are vicious yet tender
abhorrent yet admirable
and I want more
more
so much more.

—-

As you can probably tell, I edited my high school’s literary magazine. Contact your rare bookseller about getting a copy of Ooltewah High School’s Voyages from 1997. You won’t be sorry.

Anyway, I had to write a poem because at this point, I can’t  just write a paragraph about someone like Russell. He’s too amazing for that.

Of course, he isn’t the only one getting wild this week. As the episode’s title suggests, lots of characters are grappling with  honesty and trust. (And by the way, “I Smell a Rat” is a classic song that was recently recorded by the outstanding singer-songwriter Patty Griffin. Her version plays over this week’s end credits, and it’s on her fabulous new album Downtown Church.)

In the most obvious iteration of the theme, Sookie doesn’t know which of her menfolk to believe. The episode teases us with the suggestion that Bill returned to Bon Temps not only to be in his old house, but also because Sophie-Anne wanted him to capture Sookie Fairy Girl. But we don’t know that for sure, and neither does Sookie. Instead, we’re all left to doubt him, no matter how many bloody tears he cries.

And then there’s Eric, who occasionally seems to be looking out for Ms. Stackhouse, but who eventually gets convinced by Pam to use the Fairy Girl as a tool against Russell. How can Sookie (or we) trust Eric when he ends the episode by chaining her to the Wheel of Misfortune in Fangtasia’s basement? Is there no one who doesn’t want something from our heroine?!?!?

Well, there’s Jason, but he’s having problems of his own. I commend writers Kate Barnow and Elisabeth R. Finch for the scene where Jason tells Tara that he shot Eggs. His broken, pleading confession and Tara’s desperate response are both perfectly realized (props to the actors, too), and the moment is even more powerful because it comes immediately after Tara tells Jason he’s the only one she can trust. Watching that, I get a knot in my stomach: Tara is so close to regaining her strength, and now… boom. Another blow.

I won’t be surprised if Tara ends up in a coven with The Wiki-Wiki-Wiccan and Arlene, who has her own Trust Moment with Terry. Unlike Tara, who runs from bad news, Terry takes Arlene’s confession about carrying Rene’s baby in absolute stride. Did anyone else notice that Todd Lowe’s face registers about forty emotions when he hears that his dream family is not so dreamy? Amazing. And it’s even more touching because we learn that Terry has been doing research on pregnancy, just so he can be a better boyfriend. (If only they were all that sweet, right ladies?)

Similarly, Hoyt and Jessica finally decide to trust each other and confess their love, and the result is tenderness…. and violence. I’m not surprised that Tommy attacks Hoyt after Hoyt punches him in his snotty face—Tommy has been living as an attack dog, after all—but with Jessica jumping to Hoyt’s defense, I hope the little squirt realizes that he’s not going to be Jessica’s puppy.

But speaking of lovers, I’m starting to doubt whether Lafayette should trust Jesus. That V trip, despite being filled with super-cool effects, also suggests that Jesus is into some seriously dark magic. Just like the vamps want to steal Sookie’s light, it’s possible that Jesus wants to steal Fay Fay’s power. Just like his mama said!  Oh, Fay Fay!

In other news, I personally distrust Nan Flanagan. Last week, some of you astutely noted that despite proclaiming to Eric that she only drinks True Blood, she was still in a limo sucking some real blood out of a lady prostitute. Turns out, she’s just as duplicitous as Reverend Steve (who makes a cameo this week), and I’m guessing she’s going to cause problems sooner or later.

I’m also assuming that Crystal the Panther will keep raising hell… and I’m totally into it. She fascinates me. Yes, she’s yet another female character on this show who is constantly victimized—welcome to the overstuffed club, homegirl!—but she’s being written and played as someone with an unpredictable wild streak. Her big reveal to Jason, for instance, is kind of crazy. If a Pantherlady broke into my house and growled at me like that, I would freak, so we’ll see what Jason does. (I should add, too, that the scene of the panther prowling in Jason’s room gives me a genuine scare.)

This leads us to Sam, who appears to be getting honest with himself about his own murderous, con-artist past. As True Blood analyst Dallas mentioned to me on her radio show last Sunday, his flashbacks suggest that in the aftermath of beating Crystal’s daddy, he’s acknowledging that he’s more like the Mickens than he cares to admit.

But here’s the thing… by letting Sam be honest with himself, the show makes it harder for us to trust him. Or at least, it’s harder for me to trust him, now that I know he’s not the gentle soul I took him for. (Maybe he’s reformed, but on this show…) Just like Jason’s honesty made Tara less trusting, Sam’s internal revelation actually makes him harder to embrace.

Of course, it’s better to know the truth, even if learning it can be a shock. Watching a man murder two people in cold blood, for instance, is kind of troubling. It’s a sucker punch.

—

For more, please join me at The Critical Condition.

Entertainment on HuffingtonPost.com

More »

Da Bomp bomp ba bomp da bomp bomp, Da Bomp bomp ba bomp bomp ba bomp bomp. This is the rhythm of work today. Whether getting your grind on behind a hot stove slinging French toast or click-clacking to get that powerpoint done, there is always a soundtrack to our work that reflect its pace, its stress, or the values that come from doing it. Here’s a look at the best music for or about working folk in the last year. After all, Labor Day comes before the MTV Video Music Awards.

For decades now, there have been songs that speak to the average working person in some way and thankfully, its not just Pete Seeger tunes. When you think about something like the disco classic “She Works Hard for the Money” by Donna Summer. the trucker 8 track “Take This Job And Shove It” by Johnny Paycheck, “9 to 5” by Dolly Parton and on the hip-hop tip “C.R.E.A.M. (Cash Rules Everything Around Me)” by Wu-Tang Clan. As a medium, music amplifies workers voices more than its counterparts in film and television but still not nearly enough.

For this examination, we take a look at two types of music – that for Listening and that for Rallying. One to reflect workers’ voices, the other to raise them with a fist.

FOR LISTENING
For Listening, there’s Little Brother’s “Two Step Blues”, Green Day’s “21st Century Breakdown”, British soulstress Rahel’s “Hope” and Q-Tip’s “Even If its So”. The latter gets a noteworthy head-nod and brings us back to Da bomp bomp ba bomp. This is the refrain in Q-Tip’s track from his Kamaal the Abstract album. With his patented fast but nasally style, the first verse pretty much tells the story of today’s worker in the service economy:

“She work at Mickey D’s from 10-5, Wal-Mart from 6-12, saving up enough for school, her little girl is doing well”

What makes this song more interesting is that, unlike a Green Day or others, Q-Tip is not trying to be politik in any particular way. “Even” is more like a love song actually as he reflects that in spite of all of these travails this woman faces, he still wants to be in her life. And its that accidental amplification that makes it even better.

FOR RALLYING
But then, there is the purposeful. The “get-your-ass-up-and-do-something” songs that also amplify workers’ voices. You can go back to James Brown’s “Get Up Get Involved Get Into It” or “Big Boss Man” by Elvis, “Aint No Stopping Us Now” by McFadden & Whitehead or come current with Chemical Brothers’ “Galvanize”.

And so for Rallying this year, there are only two cuts to add to this legacy: “Fight Smash Win” by Street Sweeper Social Club and “Drop It (Like a Hot Muppet)” by Magic Drum Orchestra, for two completely different reasons. With “Fight Smash Win” – a project of Rage Against The Machine’s Tom Morello and The Coup’s Boots Riley – we get raw, in-your-face, stick it to the man lyrics and energy. Perfect for firing up the troops. For Magic Drum Orchestra’s “Drop It”, it’s the fact that it has no words but a steady, trance-like backbeat where you can fill-in with the chant of your choice, that makes it work so well in a rally or march atmosphere.

Good for waving your picket sign with. And sometimes that’s all you need. Though, it might not hurt for somebody to plunk down some cash for a worker values songwriting contest for next year. Brother, can you spare a dime?

Entertainment on HuffingtonPost.com

More »

Elizabeth Hurley is tweeting about her body again. Monday she assured fans her breasts are natural, and Tuesday she shared a diet tip.

“Btw my diet survived the onslaught of phenomenal vacation food-doctors disagree, but I swear by almost nothing for breakfast for adults,” she tweeted on Tuesday. “Mugs of hot water first thing, maybe an espresso and a few oat cakes mid morning.”

British oatcakes are high-fiber crackers that have about 50 calories a piece.

Last week she was on vacation on a yacht in the South of France, and tweeted, “Another workout in the gym with the Australian and an awful lot of hot water. Sick of it now.”

After she gave birth in 2002, Hurley famously holed up in Elton John’s house and ate nothing but oatcakes until she had lost all the baby weight.

Entertainment on HuffingtonPost.com

More »

Even though Laurence Fishburne is not speaking to his porn star daughter Montana, he is secretly footing her legal bills, TMZ reports.

Laurence has hired Lohan lawyer Shawn Chapman Holley to represent Montana – but not in connection with her sex tape or 2009 prostitution bust.

Holley is reportedly representing Montana in an an ongoing assault with a deadly weapon case. Montana was arrested in February for breaking into the home of her boyfriend’s ex, dragging the woman into the bathroom and violently assaulting her.

The next hearing in the battery case is set for Wednesday.

Entertainment on HuffingtonPost.com

More »

Hip hop artist and CEO Birdman has been criticized in recent days for what some see as promulgating the negative stereotypes commonly associated with the Hip Hop genre generally and rap music specifically given his recent purchase and promotion of a 2.1 million dollar car.

Story here.

Today in The Mo’Kelly Report we’re taking a conversation which has lit up the Black blogosphere, barber shops, and beauty shops and brought it to the mainstream. For this discussion, it’s not about the politicians or pundits, it’s about the people, real people. For this special panel discussion, Mo’Kelly was joined by 3 of his “people.”

First, there’s Will Demps, an old Georgetown University college classmate says for the most part, the brotha can spend his money how he chooses, who are we to judge?

I was also joined by Ms. Wendy Kelley, a 38-year-old divorcee and mother of 3 three boys — who thinks the actions of Birdman and others like him negatively influence her sons and impacts her ability to keep them grounded.

And speaking of her boys, her youngest son, 10-year-old Myles will also join in the conversation to give his thoughts on these issues. Get ready, Myles is more than able to hold his own in this discussion.

Click here for the special two-part audio panel discussion.

Entertainment on HuffingtonPost.com

More »

It was the poet Shelley who wrote that “the poet is the unacknowledged legislator of the world.” Not much has changed since he wrote those words nearly three hundred years ago.

But, after watching these most captivating minutes of video, one may certainly walk away with the sense of how poets change the world not merely by their words, but by their example.

Every War Has Two Losers is a documentary based on the journals of midwestern poet William Stafford who declared himself a conscientious objector to World War II and, from 1942 through 1946, was interned at the Civilian Public Service Camps as a pacifist. The film has already aired on selected PBS stations, and features some of this country’s finest poets, W.S. Merwin, Coleman Barks, Robert Bly, Maxine Hong Kingston, Alice Walker, reading from Stafford’s work

Stafford, who was born in 1914, was the author of some 67 volumes of poetry, winner of the National Book Award in 1963, and a close friend of another legendary American poet, Robert Bly.

It is fair to say there is something in Every War for everyone who has either served, known someone who has served, has lost someone on the battlefield, or has had to face losing someone on the battlefield. There is something in this film, too, for anyone who thinks about what it means to do the right thing.

“Armies are the result of obsolete ways,” Stafford says, and he is right, but those ways are not obsolete enough. They are still very much with us. Stafford’s words resonate even more now, and his recognition that warfare doesn’t solve the problem, but only creates more problems. Or, as Robert Bly rightly suggests, many more lives were lost in an attempt to put an end to the murderous agenda of a rogue nation, Germany.

Essentially, it is the arbitrary nature of assignations like “enemy” that is at the core of what Stafford examines when he asks whether setting up an adversarial relationship with another country requires making enemies of its inhabitants.

One has only to think back to the 2008 presidential debates to remember then candidate Obama’s insistence that he is not against war, but only wrong wars. And, William Stafford asks whether going to war is ever the right thing. His are good questions, and as timely now as they were more than half a century ago. The DVD, which is available at the film’s website, includes a second documentary that captures the Whitmanic comradery of these two American legends, Stafford and Bly.

Producer Haydn Reiss has done the right thing in bringing to light a thought-provoking, and sensitive portrait of the artist as an ageless dissenter. Time spent watching this film will be time spent wisely.

Entertainment on HuffingtonPost.com

More »

Love and lust are in the musical air this week. Katy Perry plays the part of a teenage tease, Fantasia plays with fire (and some weak songs), Little Big Town plays hard-to-get, and Usher moves directly to the bedroom. Meanwhile, the Pretenders’ Chrissie Hynde celebrates unrequited love with a man half her age. You hear that, kids? Sometimes it’s cool to leave a little mystery. Take it from the ’80s rocker chick — you don’t always have to pose naked on a cloud to get attention.

WATCH: Check out this week’s top pick: JP, Chrissie & the Fairground Boys.

SKIP: Katy Perry, “Teenage Dream”

If you’ve seen the cover, you’ve heard the album. Katy Perry occupies that space between Lady Gaga’s machine-gun bra and Miley Cyrus’ cage dance. “Teenage Dream” is as infectious as a venereal disease and as self-conscious as the purple-haired poseur crashing the prom. I’ll stay at home with my National Geographic magazines.

WATCH Katy Perry’s music video for “California Gurls” (featuring Snoop Dogg).

PLAY: Usher, “Versus”

Five months after Usher aired his dirty divorce laundry on March’s “Raymond v. Raymond,” he’s now getting his freak on. Usher’s all about the ladies, unless you’re the one he’s leaving behind. Still, “Versus” is made in the tradition of the best bedroom albums — just ignore the fact that 16-year-old Justin Bieber shows up on a remix of “Somebody to Love.” That’s just not right.

WATCH the music video for Usher’s single “There Goes My Baby.”

SKIP: Fantasia, “Back to Me”

Fantasia needs two things: a good shrink and better material. “Back to Me” is the sound of a talented singer making the most of some mediocre songs. Once you get past the unintended irony of songs like “Trust Him” and “Who’s Been Loving You,” there’s not much that’s more interesting than Fantasia’s real-life drama. With any luck, she’ll heal herself and return with the songs she deserves.

WATCH the video for Fantasia’s single “Bittersweet.”

PLAY: JP, Chrissie & the Fairground Boys, “Fidelity!”

It took a 31-year-old, sandpaper-voiced Welsh singer nearly half her age to make silky Chrissie Hynde ditch the Pretenders brand and go solo. Sort of. Hynde and JP Jones’ collaboration is very much a band borne from their mutual stories of unrequited love. “Fidelity!” is the not-so-made-up tale of a star-crossed couple recorded by two musicians who clearly love being each other’s muse. It’s Hynde’s best music in years and a reminder that true love goes deeper than the skin.

WATCH the music video for JP, Chrissie & the Fairground Boys’ single “If You Let Me.”

PLAY: Little Big Town, “The Reason Why”

Pegged as a countryfied latter-day Fleetwood Mac, Little Big Town is really… a countryfied latter-day Fleetwood Mac. Is that so wrong? “The Reason Why” is unapologetically corporate country music. But it’s the one floor of the corporation where everyone shows up for causal Fridays. You’ll hate yourself for singing these hooky songs in the executive wash room. Little Big Town will destroy all the cool, indie cred you’ve been working so hard to build. Still, show me any Brooklyn noise band that can sing harmonies so sweet, write so infectiously, and play with such enthusiasm. There, I said it. And there goes my Coachella pass for next year.

WATCH the music video for Little Big Town’s single “Little White Church.”

Entertainment on HuffingtonPost.com

More »

Danielle Staub has reportedly been fired from ‘The Real Housewives of New Jersey,’ but she appeared on NYC local news station WPIX on Tuesday morning to talk about her feuds and perform her single. Danielle has hinted that she will have a spinoff project post-Housewives but didn’t confirm.

“Right now I’m just focusing on now and surviving being chased through country clubs and meeting at another club to have a showdown,” she said. “And surviving the reunion.”

Here is Danielle, her supposed girlfriend Lori Michaels and backup singers performing a dance remix of ‘Real Close.’

WATCH:
 

Entertainment on HuffingtonPost.com