Search This Blog

Sunday, February 26, 2017

My Curiosity Won

I went to see the horror movie, "Get Out."

I loved it!

As I've mentioned before, horror is not my genre.  It's the one I'm sure to decline.

But . . .

The guy who wrote and directed this is smart, the reviews were great, and I wanted to see for myself what all the fuss was about.

It did not disappoint.

Highly recommended.









Not a Gamer, But . . .

If you are, you might check out this article form the New York Times -

A Fresh Narrative in Gaming
By JUSTIN PORTER

The game pulls no punches in depicting Lincoln’s violent nature, and it does the same in showing players what it meant to be a black man in the Jim-Crow-era South. Some shopkeepers refuse you service and call you names. Several police cars hunt you down if you commit a crime in a white, middle-class neighborhood. Do the same in a predominantly black neighborhood and one car will show up, if that. No matter where Lincoln is, the police are watching. He fights racist organizations, casual bias and the prejudice of friends.

As the game was developed, police shootings of black men rose, the Black Lives Matter movement was born, and the development team realized they’d created a game that talked about race in ways that sometimes bridged the gap of history.

https://www.nytimes.com/2017/02/25/us/a-fresh-narrative-in-gaming.html?emc=edit_rr_20170225&nl=race-related&nlid=38867499&te=1


A Storyboard Artist

From the New York Times -

My Path to Hollywood
The storyboard artist for “Fences” talks diversity and visual storytelling in the film industry.
By WARREN DRUMMOND

Warren Drummond working on “Rise of the Planet of the Apes” in 2010. Betty K. Bynum
As a storyboard artist, my job is to visually tell a director’s concept of a film scene, frame by frame. I draw the close-ups, medium shots, and wide shots. I have drawn Stallone hanging from a helicopter on “The Escape Plan”; the always cool Samuel L. Jackson running, shooting and fighting in the “Shaft” reboot; Russell Crowe seeing imaginary friends and foes in “A Beautiful Mind”; and drawn hyper-intelligent chimpanzees in “Rise of the Planet of the Apes.”

https://www.nytimes.com/2017/02/25/us/my-path-to-hollywood.html?emc=edit_rr_20170225&nl=race-related&nlid=38867499&te=1&_r=0

Saturday, February 25, 2017

Wishing Him the Best

From the Undefeated -

DEMARCUS COUSINS SHARES WHY THE SACRAMENTO KINGS’ TRADE DECISION WAS SO HURTFUL
The league firecracker opens up about the trade’s emotional aftermath and his plans to move forward with the New Orleans Pelicans
BY MARC J. SPEARS

https://theundefeated.com/features/demarcus-cousins-sacramento-kings-trade/

It Matters

From the Washington Post -

Bradford Young, Oscar firsts and why inclusive film crews matter
By Ann Hornaday

Bradford Young is nominated for a cinematography Academy Award for his work on “Arrival.”
(Matt McClain/The Washington Post)


https://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/style/bradford-young-oscar-firsts-and-why-inclusive-film-crews-matter/2017/02/23/bf5aeed4-f9db-11e6-be05-1a3817ac21a5_story.html?utm_term=.2e467ad3b1bc&wpisrc=nl_rainbow&wpmm=1

The Value in Questioning

From the New York Times -

The Power of ‘Why?’ and ‘What If?’
By WARREN BERGER

Recently I had a conversation with a chief executive who expressed concern about several of her senior managers. They were smart, experienced, competent. So what was the problem? “They’re not asking enough questions,” she said.

This wouldn’t have been a bad thing in the business world of a few years ago, where the rules for success were: Know your job, do your work, and if a problem arises, solve it and don’t bother us with a lot of questions.

But increasingly I’m finding that business leaders want the people working around them to be more curious, more cognizant of what they don’t know, and more inquisitive — about everything, including “Why am I doing my job the way I do it?” and “How might our company find new opportunities?”

https://www.nytimes.com/2016/07/03/jobs/the-power-of-why-and-what-if.html?smprod=nytcore-ipad&smid=nytcore-ipad-share&_r=0

Why You Need Me

From Chef's Feed -

I'M A BLACK FOOD WRITER. HERE'S WHY WE NEED MORE LIKE ME.
By Stephen Satterfield

A common part of the black experience is once you’ve reached any level of authority, it is often met with skepticism or surprise. Black chefs know this well: we must validate our presence, where others exist unquestioned. And what does it mean to be a black food writer? It means that you’ll never just be a food writer, you’ll be a black food writer. It will come up lots of times, maybe not every time, but in lots of ways, the way race does in just about every other facet of our lives.

People make all kinds of assumptions about food writers, but fundamentally, that they are academic, learned, polished. I am academic, learned, polished. But when people construct this image, they don’t see a black person, because, when they look around in real life, there are not that many black people writing about food. It then becomes even more important that I do — if only so those who feel unwelcome in this space see someone who looks like them and are compelled to go forth.

https://www.chefsfeed.com/stories/591-i-m-a-black-food-writer-here-s-why-we-need-more-like-me

It Can Feel Like a Horror Show

From Slate -

Get Out
Jordan Peele’s first feature film is an instant comedy-horror classic about the hilarious nightmare that is existing while black.
By Aisha Harris

http://www.slate.com/articles/arts/movies/2017/02/get_out_jordan_peele_s_horror_movie_reviewed.html




Paper Drones

From Wired - https://www.wired.com/2017/02/brilliant-drone-thatll-deliver-medicine-rot-away/?mbid=nl_22417_p4&CNDID=

Republicans Face Town Hall Protests, Trump Golfs: A Closer Look

Dino Peace

From Upworthy -

A dad helped his son make protest signs for his toy dinosaurs and they went viral.
By EVAN PORTER


http://www.upworthy.com/a-dad-helped-his-son-make-protest-signs-for-his-toy-dinosaurs-and-they-went-viral?c=upw1&u=6861cbea6edfdfe5a709ee39ad3c14b64135e61f

Dear Mr. President: Kids Talk Donald Trump | NBC News

See the World for $65

From Bloomberg -

The $65 European Airfare Is Coming to the U.S.
Norwegian Airlines is using the new 737 Max to inaugurate 10 new routes to the Northeast.
by Justin Bachman

Boeing Co.’s 787 Dreamliner has acquitted itself nicely in opening smaller destinations to nonstop international service. Think London-Austin, Tokyo-San Jose, Calif., and even Shanghai-Tijuana.

Norwegian Air International Ltd., no stranger to going where others won’t, is about to try this strategy with a new, smaller Boeing jet: the 737 Max. Norwegian, which has the honor of being the first airline to fly one, is using the first six of its planes to open 10 routes starting this summer. It will begin service June 15 from Edinburgh, Scotland, to Stewart International Airport, about 60 miles north of New York City.

To fill all these new trans-Atlantic seats, Norwegian is setting promotional fares to Europe at $65. The carrier will have “quite a few thousand seats for that specific fare,” Lars Sande, Norwegian’s senior vice president of sales, said in a telephone interview. The next fare level will be $99, rising from there.

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2017-02-23/the-65-european-airfare-is-coming-to-the-u-s?bcomANews=true

Wednesday, February 22, 2017

I Won't Pay Someone to Scare Me, But . . .

If I did, I'd go see this one.

From the Huffington Post -

Horror Film About Racism Earns Coveted 100 Percent On Rotten Tomatoes
“I take a devilish glee in putting something that’s not politically correct into the mainstream,” said Jordan Peele, who wrote and directed "Get Out."
By Carla Herreria

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/jordan-peele-get-out-rotten-tomatoes_us_58ae08dbe4b01406012f7905?37mtxl0nvaafxhia4i&ncid=inblnkushpmg00000009

This Dog Raises Baby Cheetahs (And Wallabies and Ocelots)

The Oscars' voting process awards safe movies

His Five

What are yours?

From Salon -

5 black actors who should have won Oscars for these roles
This year, 6 black actors are nominated for Academy Awards. Let's salute those in the past who should have won VIDEO
By D. WATKINS

http://www.salon.com/2017/02/22/watch-5-black-actors-who-should-have-won-oscars-for-these-roles/