Rest In Peace Gary Coleman!

I loved and will always love Gary Coleman. (No Solar).

He was the funniest, cutest kid and there was no way anyone could deny it. He had the timing, the acting chops and the ability to carry a network television show. In other hands Diff'rent Strokes would have been just a regular show and easily petered out after about two seasons. (Remember any episodes of Webster after year three? Didn't think so!). Don't get me wrong it wasn't like Coleman had nothing to work with - there were the writers, accomplished actors, Conrad Bain and Charlotte Rae and two capable kids working with him, Todd Bridges and Dana Plato - but not even all of their talents could have saved a show's premise that relied on suspension of disbelief and intelligence. Arnold and Willis didn't have any other Black relatives? No one else wanted them? Mr. Drummond was a tycoon whose heart was so pure that he was willing to take in his maid's kids while making his fortune in Real Estate? Shit, there was just him and Kimberly, did he really need a live in maid?
But Gary Coleman was the glue that held it altogether.

Not enough people give credit to the fact that Coleman was the biggest star at NBC. He carried the company. If it wasn't for him and his hit show, NBC would have had even less to brag about. He made the type of money that a star would make today - then (75,000) - and he earned it. His face was so fanmous that he was on lunch boxes, shirts and even had hi own cartoons where he voiced the character of an Angel. He couldn't be any bigger? Figuratively!


Rest In Peace Mr. Coleman you have earned it.

Before I for forget: Rest In Peace Teddy Pendergrass..He better let it go

I am not old enough to remember Teddy when he was in his prime. I am old enough to remember him however when he got in that car accident and everyone thought he was gay because there was a transvestite in the car with him. Poor Teddy! The man known for making songs that made women take their clothes off was being portrayed as a dude that liked to be with men that put women's clothes on. The rumor was always that Teddy was in the car with Dr. Jay's wife and that when the cops came they switched her with a tranny. Who knows? But that was the word on the street at the time. Anyway, God Bless Teddy and hopefully he is in a better place and will be able to walk.

Rest In Peace to...

Roc Raida
Patrick Swayze
Robert Novak
Ted Kennedy

Rest In Peace Reverend Ike!

Rest In Peace to the dude Reverend Ike. Dude was one of the classic television style preachers that got at your money through the word. I can't hate on him because he was upfront about his hustle. His church was in Washington Heights and I hardly ever saw it opened but I would see him on television getting that money through blessings and prayer cloths. I wonder if God is greeting him at the door and waiting for his cut.

Random Blogging: Mike's memorial set for Tuesday!

The Staples Center in Los Angeles will be the place where Mike begins his long journey home. May God Rest his soul and may the next seven days be a controlled carnival. The tickets for his death tribute are bigger than a ticket to a Springsteen concert. Only in death could this guy be bigger than most artists are in life.

Rest In Peace Air McNair!

Even though details are sketchy the fact remains that former quarterback and Black College standout Steve McNair was shot and killed Friday Night. While I can't say that I was a fan of any of the teams that he played for I can say with supreme honesty that I rooted for him. Not just because he was a Black quarterback but because he was a Black quarterback from a Black college proving that Black quarterbacks from H.B.C.U's can compete in the league. I was heartbroken when he came up a yard short of winning the Super Bowl against The Rams but I was also in pain when I saw all the hits that he would be forced to take trying to pass or run out of the pocket. He leaves behind four children and a wife. My prayers go out to them. May he Rest In Peace.

Do you remember the Jones Girls? Nights Over Egypt was the shit!

Great song makes me think of Souls shit!
ENJOY:

Fayette Pinkney is dead Hope I will see you again

This is a bad week for celebrities' mortality. Fayette Pinkney helped bring about The Sound Of Philadelphia along with producer/songwriters Gamble and Huff and backing band Mother Father Sister Brother. Her voice is one of the voices on the theme for Soul Train. Enjoy

Karl Malden is dead - Hope he didn't leave home without it...

Karl Malden has done alot of things. He has won numerous awards including an Oscar and been nominated for more than one Emmy. But when it comes to the career of Karl Malden I specifically remember him for one thing only: Those ubiquitous American Express commercials. In the commercials that ran for over 15 years, Malden would tell a story - with actors playing out the parts - about some poor guy, girl or family traveling abroad and losing their money and having no way to get to more of it. (This was the age before ATM'S, debit cards and the internet). Their whole vacation, experience or trip becomes ruined. Malden would later explain that this didn't have to happen and that if these people had brought with them American Express Travelers checks their vacation could still be enjoyed. And then he would end each commercial with one of the most famous tag lines in history, "Don't Leave Home Without Them." That line is what made me, and I suspect most others think of owning an American Express Card. And to this day even though they are strangely outdated I would like to have some traveler's checks. Here are some videos of Malden's commercials- ENJOY:

Can We Keep It real a minute: Michael was finished towards the end!

As much as I will miss him it needs to be said, Mike was a shell of his former self. I think his heart gave out because he was trying to hard to come back to what he did as a 25 year old. Mike was 50 and was trying to dance. WTF? Why would he do that? He was 130 pounds. His body couldn't take that stress. But he couldn't sing because he didn't have a nose. Poor guy.
He was broke because he never had anyone in his life that said to him, "shut the fuck up, you sound stupid." He wants a Giraffe, he gets a Giraffe, he wants to cut his nose so thin that it falls off his face, he gets some quack to do it. He wants a family, he hires a woman to have children for him.
By the time the album Invincible came around he looked and sounded like an idiot. He was a walking punchline and comedians like Katt Williams and Steve Harvey among others could easily do 10 minutes on his dum dum behavior. To an outsider it looked as if he turned his back on the Black community and then would come back when any wild allegation was made against him.
I loved him and I like many did the dance moves, read the lyrics, bought the clothes and even tried to get a curl in someone's kitchen but after awhile it was apparent to anyone that saw him: He was just not the same dude. In death, yes, we should honor him but after a few weeks we, as a community and society need to be honest with one another. His death was a tragedy but it was also apart of the script that killed many before him; Elvis, Tupac and Lennon. Fame comes at the cost of one's life.

Random Blogging: Billy Mays is dead - Now his life is way less soul crushing! R.I.P.

Okay this is getting out of control. Is everyone dying? The dude that was on all those informercials and on that ESPN commercial promoting ESPN 360 just died. Is everyone just dying? who the hell is next? The Sham wow guy needs to stay inside.

RANDOM BLOGGING: IS TMZ The New York Times of this century?

How in the hell is Tmz the definitive source that broke this Michael Jackson story? Why is CNN, MSNBC and FOX news behind the "news" organization founded by the guy that does the man on the street interviews on People's Court? Harvey Levin has a great thing going but for him to be the number one source in breaking news is shameful. That is exactly the reason why major news organizations are going broke. They are not doing what TMZ is doing. Entertaining their audience, developing relationships with key sources and BREAKING NEWS RIGHT AWAY. The TMZ television show is horrible but the website keeps it a hunnit!

random blogging: One last tour would have been nice!

I would have loved to have seen one last Jackson tour. Unfortunately I was never able to see any of Mike's tours. So I always hoped that one day Mike would give his brothers some shine and take Janet on one last tour. That shit would have been off the hook. I would have loved to have seen them do their thing, perform the classics and bring the heat. It would have been nice!

What's going to happen to Mike's kids?

Once the DNA tests are given and the world realizes what Mike obviously could, would or did not what is going to happen to those kids? Once Maury Povich reads the DNA test results of each of those children is mom Katherine going to kick them out? Will Debbie Rowe reappear to the world? Will they grow up to be in the eye or outside of it? I think these children will be the next big story to be told in five years.

Women love this one - Keep it n the closet!

Enjoy:

My Favorite Michael Video - Leave Me Alone!

This was his best. The animation was hot and this song was the closest he ever cam - besides the songs where he talked about the jews (Stop Jammin' On Me?) and the media/white supremacy (They don't really care about us) - to making a diss record. Leave Me Alone was when he had enough of the dumb shit and instead of granting an interview he made a video and told you what he thought about it. I love this guy for his CRAZY! Thanks to the youtube site video clip revival ENJOY:

PHOTO POST - THE JACKSONS!

Whatever you do please don't blame JOE

I am tired of people blaming Joe Jackson for Mike's behavior. It's wrong. Joe may have abused his family and his son but at a certain point Mike should be held accountable for his own behavior. I know that Mike didn't have a childhood but let's keep it real: Childhoods are extremely overrated. I would love to have had a choice: a childhood or extreme fame and fortune. Most people would kill to have that opportunity. Joe Jackson may have almost killed his son but damn it Michael Jackson made it to the mountaintop. After that Mike was on his own. Joe was a good Father. Maybe not a great man but a good father. He gave his children hope, opportunity and success through discipline. How do you think he was raised? He was probably two generations from slavery. That's the way it was. "Daddy's way or the highway." Mike was lucky. Without Joe there would be no white glove. Without Joe there would be no monkey and no zoo. Without Joe there would be nothing. So stop hating and show respect to one of the great Fathers of all time - Joe Jackson.

Elvis is now number 2

Elvis Presley was the King but now he is number two. He never did what Micheal did commercially or critically. While Elvis was the King of Hillbillies, Mike was the King of the world. Elvis was more of a national sensation while Mike was a GLOBAL figure. The best part about their rivalry is that Mike at one point attempted to merge Kingdoms when he married Lisa Marie Presley, The King's daughter. Mike knew that when it came to his legacy he was no longer competing with greats of r and b and soul (James Brown, Sam Cooke, etc) he was competing with only ONE. Elvis Aaron Presley. Mike beat Elvis and even beat his daughter's cooch up (she even said he did). So at the end of the day there was only one King. Michael Jackson. Elvis is number two. It was like the day when Henry Aaron beat Babe Ruth's home run record. People may not like it, but it happened.

The Mullahs in Iran are so happy right now...

The only person happy about the death of Michael Jackson besides haters and racists were The Mullahs in Iran. Their story was on the front page of every newspaper, magazine and the topic of every talk show until Mike died. Now people have forgotten that they were trying to impose martial law and killed women on the street. Mike was so powerful that he wiped that shit off the map. Someone check to see if Mike's doctor had any ties to Tehran!