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Reflections on Kasandra Perkins and Jovan Belcher
What about Our Daughters? (WAOD) has an excellent and important post about this tragedy, “The Crucifixion of Kasandra Perkins: Victim Blaming, Black Maternal Homicide and Stupidity.” I co-sign her...
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The Most Extraordinary Conversation
I had the most extraordinary and entirely unexpected conversation on Quora today with a reformed white supremacist. There are days when social media feels like pure procrastination and narcissism....
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Zero Dark Thirty and Django Unchained
Zero Dark Thirty really works as an action adventure film. I hope that Kathryn Bigelow gets her due as a master of the genre. In many ways, this film sums up her work as a director of stylish,...
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Sandy Hook Elementary School
Charlotte Bacon, 2/22/06, female Daniel Barden, 9/25/05, male Rachel Davino, 7/17/83, female. Olivia Engel, 7/18/06, female Josephine Gay, 12/11/05, female Ana M. Marquez-Greene, 04/04/06, female Dylan...
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Where’s Your Posse? Susan Rice and Kathyrn Bigelow
A totally idiosyncratic and subjective post. I’m still pissed about Susan Rice stepping down. I thought she have toughed it out. Especially if John Kerry becomes Secretary of State. There’s no...
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Happy Kwanzaa!
A note of appreciation to Dr. Maulena Karenga for creating Kwanzaa. In a world that turns everything into a celebration of materialism, it’s nice to have holiday that just doesn’t lend itself to...
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Screenwriters
It’s time to get serious about the craft. Read scripts. Seriously. Watching movies is for filmmakers. Here are some places to start.: American Film Scripts Online,...
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My Sheroes – 2012
Njeri Parker For the best conflict responses of anyone I know. She embodies the truth of spirit made active. Her gentle honesty, tenacious pursuit of excellence, willingness to hear and engage...
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Jayne Cortez, Rest in Peace
There was a time that I bounded to the library and rushed to black bookstores to read new work from Nikki Giovanni, Audre Lorde, Sonia Sanchez, Pearl Cleage, Buchi Emecheta, Toni Morrison, Jamaica...
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Sports and Us
Sports play a unique role in society. They unite and define us. From the original Olympics until today, they provides a unique platform to display true nobility and honor that can inspire large numbers...
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Writing for the Screen, Old School
The bloat of Les Miserables, Lincoln and Django made me long for the days of the old studio bosses. And that took some doing since in their world, I would never have been able to write a script or call...
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More on Django
From Jeffrey Wright’s superlative interview on Sway in the Morning where he gives his take on Django. It gave me another reason not to see the film. Wright analyzes the film’s power dynamics with...
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Congratulations President Obama
“We recognize that no matter how responsibly we live our lives, any one of us at any time may face a job loss or a sudden illness or a home swept away in a terrible storm.” And thank you for defending...
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Defending Your Territory
There’s been some controversy about this photograph of Bishop Larry Trotter with his granddaughter. (h/t to Dream and Hustle for respecting the privacy of the young girl with this photograph) It made...
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Things I Like — BACK ALLEY 1/26-2/1
Support our friend Mitchel Dumlao and his friends Do ArT Foundation and LA Street Art Gallery present: BACK ALLEY An exhibition of art,...
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A Common Problem I See In Plays By Women Playwrights. It's Not What You Think.
Reblogged from Bitter Gertrude: My theatre company is in heavy season planning mode, so I've recently read dozens of new plays. I'm always reading new plays, but this time of year, I'm reading a lot...
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Who Are We Writing For in 2013? Screenwriting Edition
“Shakespeare’s plays were written to be performed to an audience from different social classes and of varying levels of intellect. Thus they contain down-to-earth characters who appeal to the...
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On Character Arcs
The idea that every character in a script has to have an arc is a screenwriting canard that needs to die. Would you want Spiderman’s Aunt Mae to change drastically? What purpose would it serve for...
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Kindness
Kindness is not a sign of weakness. True kindness, thoughtful, non manipulative, transparent, is extremely powerful. Performing random acts of kindness caught on because people recognized that kindness...
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