A couple of years ago, a good friend of mine convinced me to stop using the n-word. “The word has such an ugly history,” he said. “There’s no way that it can come out of your mouth and not cause harm to your own psyche and others around you.” When he first said it to me, I hate to admit that I didn’t concur. I thought like many others that we can remix the word and somehow strip away its power.

But now I realize that he was 100% correct. My use of the word was giving power and license…

This is a story about stories. Stories are essential to how we make sense of the world that we live in; how we view ourselves as well as others. We are completely surrounded by stories:

TV Shows, Movies, Books, The News, Politics, Religion, Conversations, Sports, Memories, Fantasies, Worries, Anxieties

You name it. If it enters our mind as a thought, it’s probably a part of a story. The standard structure of a story is:

* -Once upon a time — when

* -In a place far far away — where

* -A boy and a girl — who

* -Decided…

Really good art is like a mirror. It allows you or sometimes even forces you to see yourself in people, places and things that often look nothing like you or your circumstances. The problem for me with some art, especially films about black life, is that I sometimes find it difficult to see myself in the mirror of the art about people who look like. That mirror sometimes provides a distorted image that panders to pathology and stereotypes.

Prentice Penny’s Netflix original movie Uncorked is the exception and I must say that the movie is exceptional.

The film centers around…

Season 4 of the CBS All Access drama The Good Fight premiered last week on the app. The show which is a spinoff of the CBS hit series The Good Wife was one of the first original programs that premiered on the networks new OTT offering.

Last season, The Good Fight was very heavy handed in their criticism or dare I say obsession with Trump and Trumpism. It’s not enough that we have to deal with the antics of the president in real life but now I am asked to pay to watch it even though I didn’t ask for…

I finally got around to watching Parasite last night during my coronatine (coronavirus quarantine). One thing that really stuck out to me was the role of technology in the film, not only as a plot device but also as a thematic device. There are five lessons to be learned from the technology employed in the film.

Lesson #1 — Technology is the great equalizer. It can help level the playing field across socioeconomic status. However, it is not and never will be a substitute for real work.

The film starts out with Ki-woo trying to find a free Wi-Fi signal…

The Grammys were held last night in Los Angeles. The producers of the show had to scramble to put in some content that would acknowledge the untimely death of Kobe Bryant in a helicopter crash just hours before the telecast. Ironically, Kobe was heading towards the Staples Center to coach a game for his daughter Gigi’s team before he and she became the victims of the tragic accident.

A Washington Post Op-Ed by Chris Richards called out the Grammys and its need to radically change in light of comments made by Sean “Diddy” Combs, whose words at a pre-Grammy gala…

Back in 2000 when I first moved to New York City to work at Jazz at Lincoln Center, I had the pleasure of meeting Milt Grayson. Mr. Grayson occasionally sang with the Lincoln Center Jazz Orchestra — now know as the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra. He also sang with the Duke Ellington Orchestra.