Tuesday, January 16, 2007

TRANSITIONAL TRAVESTY

HEX AGE OLD BROKEN AND BLOWING AWAY IN THE WIND

RELEASE THE GUARDS TO SHIELD THE CHILD

UNSEEN BUT REAL AS ANYTHING

TRANSITIONAL SHIFT IN PARADIGM

FEAR IS ONLY WISE WHEN DIRECTED TOWARD THE LOVER OF MY SOUL

SORORITY LEARNING OF THE ANCIENT

SEALED IN WAX

MORE ANCIENT STILL IS THE BEGINING AND THE END

WORDS WRITTEN UNREADABLE TO THE NAKED EYE

FAMILY IS FOREVER

GRANDMOTHER HONORED

SHE WILL IMPART THE TRUTH TO THE CHILD

RELIEF

RELEASE

REST

BUILD A HOME FOR BOTH

RALLY FOREVER FAMILY WITH POWER OF GHOST KNOWN HOLY

SPOOKS AND SPIRITS DRIVEN FROM CASTLE

EVIL GRIP STRENGTH FADE

TRANSITIONAL TRAVESTY

THE HEARTS BROKEN MENDED

MINDS MANIPULATED RECONFIGURED

HYPNOSIS POWER GONE THIS DAY

AND THE BAND PLAYED ON...

SINGING PRAISE TO HIM

HONOR TO HER

AND A LITTLE CHILD SHALL LEAD THEM...

Monday, January 15, 2007

STOMP THE YARD

I wanted to write small shout out to the new Screen Gems release STOMP THE YARD, which I had the pleasure of partaking in this gorgeous January day. I say shout out, because my readers know I try to shy away from both the practice of and the word; review... I hate to give spoilers, and will try not to divulge too much of the film... So, that being said:

STOMP THE YARD

This is a little hyped film in main stream press, but I was thrilled that it graced the screen in sleepy Spanish Fork. Perhaps the new management of Red Carpet Cinema's can read the writing on the wall (not graffiti), and is seeking a more diversified play bill, in light of the changing face of Zion. What ever the reason, Spanish Fork 8, gets an A in race relations...

This movie has some familiar faces, and even features R&B new comer Ne-Yo in a supporting roll. I want to direct my praise though, not so much to name recognition, and instead focus upon the white hot leads played by Meagan Good, and Columbus Short. Short is a featured cast member of the now defunct NBC show, Studio 60 On The Sunset Strip. he was unrecognizable with out the geeky glasses his character Darius sported, but I knew I knew his work from somewhere... I would have loved to see what Sorkin did with his character, had Studio 60 been given some breathing room... as it is, it appears he will have a huge future on the big screen, as he was fantastic in this roll. Perhaps this is a stretch, but as I write this I can't help but think of Johnny Depp, who was able to overcome the "Pretty Boy" stigma, and break into serious acting gigs... Short too, must fight this stereotype, as he is beautiful. But he gives a better then a powerhouse performance, in a film that could easily limit a lessor actor. His on screen metamorphosis, was subtle, and he acted this thing too the rafters. His female lead, Meagan Good also was impressive, with out ever going over the top. I believed her, and that is the goal of any good actor. Though I have not seen her before, I am sure I will in the future. This film, set on the campus of Truth University, blasted the possibility of stereotypical "black" portrails, by being for the most part an original film. Never seeking to describe the differences in cultures, rather focusing on the strong and righteous Black Leaders who paved the way for all of us.

Now, Stomp The Yard could be given a cursory once over and easily compared (and subsequently dismissed)to other collegiate, competition films, but director Sylvain White, and director of photography Scott Kevan work together to give Stomp The Yard a completely original look. The color composition, was tremendous, and brought a life to the celluloid seldom seen before, if ever. That would perhaps be enough, but the Directorial team pioneered a new style of filming here. This is reason enough to see the movie. The use of hand held shots and montage memory footage have been done before, but not like this... However, it's the dance/step sequences that were the most amazing of all... Choreography aside, I have never seen this technique used in filming before... It almost defies definition, but as a writer I must try to encapsulate it for you... though I know I can not describe what you must let your senses be a a part of... The opening dance battle, looked as if it had been shot in time elapse mode, then slowed down to be in real time... I know that makes no sense... but it was truly a unique camera effect, and I am very curious how they got it...

I think this was a tremendous film, and a few flaws aside, will stand as a landmark movie, for reasons mentioned above... no doubt people will be seeking to carbon copy this style, but Stomp The Yard will always be an original.

Another thing that set STY apart was the down play of hip hop music. Usually so prevalent in "this type" of movie, music was not used to manipulate emotions from the audience. The actors drew plenty of emotion out for me, with out the help of a borderline cheesy urban soundtrack... the score was just right... the dance music sometimes non existent, as the steppers handled most of their own cadence...

I hate to ad one negative note to this post, but I must be honest. The tutor sequence, reminded me ever so slightly of Omar Epps and Hale Berry in the Program. This thought quickly faded, as #1, Columbus Short and Meagan Good are dynamite actors, and #2, though the scene (and for that matter the movie) was slightly similar to the 90's film, the plot and character back stories were different enough to move through with out too much comparison... (obviously enough to write about it here... sorry guys...but I do so with love!)

So Sisters and Brothers, in my final analysis, this is a very enjoyable movie. The names to watch for from this point forward are Sylvain White & Scott Kevan. Columbus Short & Meagan Good.

La Vie Boheme

Thursday, January 04, 2007

CHARLES GIBSON HELPS THE NAZIS

I am appalled my Beloved! NAY! I AM MAD AS HEAVEN!!!
In a 4 second blurb on January 4, 2007s edition of the ABC Nightly News, Charles "Bend Over America" Gibson, "reported", that the President has just signed into law the Government's right to search letters sent through the United States Postal Service. Gibson said that Bush said that "We will push this as far as we can...", and went on to say that it was "not proven that mail had been opened already"...

Then with out a pause Charlie "McCarthy" Gibson, went to a so-called related story, about the 4 diet drug manufacturer law suits with the U.S. Gov't... he barely had time to take a breath before the subject was changed... This is our media americA... doing the job that the feds pay them to do.
SLIGHT OF HAND!

Watch the birdie Kids, WHAMMO... your civil liberties are demolished! here's a Prozac lolly pop...

This is what Shasta Fletcher calls "Bush & his fucking Axis of Evil"...

I lost my appetite... I spit... I informed you here at GROOVE DAMAGE II...

I went to the web and tried to find mention of the story... I went to the white house site... there is no mention of this heinous, wicked, infamous, flagrant, flagitious, atrocious, villainous, nefarious, act perpetrated on the good people of americA...

But here is an article in the ABC website:

"ABC News
Bush: Government Can Open Your Mail
White House Says It Has Always Had Such Power, to Be Used in 'Extraordinary Circumstances'


Jan. 4, 2007 — - President Bush says he and other government officials have the power to snoop through your mail without a judge's warrant.

Bush made the claim last month in a signing statement attached to a postal reform bill. Bush wrote that the bill "provides for opening of an item of a class of mail otherwise sealed against inspection."

After last year's revelation of Bush's secret domestic eavesdropping program, the move caused waves on Capitol Hill among some legislators who said that it contradicted the postal reform bill, as well as existing law.

"Despite the president's statement that he may be able to circumvent a basic privacy protection, the new postal law continues to prohibit the government from snooping into people's mail without a warrant," Rep. Henry Waxman, D-Calif., said to the New York Daily News.

Waxman, the incoming House Government Reform Committee chairman, co-sponsored the bill.

But White House spokeswoman Emily Lawrimore said today that the signing statement was meant merely "to clarify that he already has the authority" to open mail in certain emergencies.

"The president is not claiming any 'new authority,'" the White House said in a new statement. "The signing statement merely recognizes a legal proposition that is totally uncontroversial: that in certain circumstances -- such as with the proverbial 'ticking bomb' -- the Constitution does not require warrants for reasonable searches."

Lawrimore said such presidential power would not infringe upon Americans' privacy, because it "would only be used in extraordinary circumstances."

The Dec. 20 signing statement said the president had the power to check mail "in a manner consistent, to the maximum extent permissible, with the need to conduct searches in exigent circumstances, such as to protect human life and safety against hazardous materials, and the need for physical searches specifically authorized by law for foreign intelligence collection."

Privacy experts were divided on whether the president was simply asserting his established authority, particularly because the bill authorized a new class of express mail that could not be inspected without a warrant.

"This is like a courier service for drug dealers or terrorists," said Brian Walsh, a scholar at the Heritage Foundation. "I don't know what Congress was thinking. We have a long history of inspecting mail during wartime, including mail that came from GIs during World War II."

Walsh adds that this authority has rarely been invoked. "I don't think we have any reason to belive that there has been a widespread inspection of Americans' mail or that there will be."

But Jonathan Hafetz, litigation director at the Brennan Center for Justice, sees the president's move as another attempt to bypass Congress and lawful mechanisms for protecting security.

"It's in keeping with the administration's unlawful policies on detention, torture and electronic eavesdropping," Hafetz said. "This is another example of runaway executive power stomping on Americans' privacy and speech rights."

There is a lower legal standard for the government to search media mail, which includes packages containing books, manuscripts, sound recordings, recorded videotapes and computer-readable media, and for "mail covers," which is the address information on the outside of the envelope.

As for international mail coming into the United States, the government already has the right to open those letters without a warrant. Under a trade act passed in 2002, 107 H.R. 3009, Congress expanded the Custom Service's ability to open international mail without a warrant.

When it comes to electronic mail, the government may not need a warrant to search your messages. By claiming that your e-mail is stored on third-party servers held by Yahoo and such companies and citing the Stored Communications Act, the government doesn't need to get access to your personal computer at home in order to read your e-mail.

In a recent mail-fraud case, the Federal Trade Commission and FBI simply obtained a court order -- not a warrant -- to access the e-mail accounts of Steven Warshak, a businessman who sells male enhancement products online.

ABC News' Marcus Baram, Michael S. James, David Kerley and Ann Compton contributed to this report.

Copyright © 2007 ABC News Internet Ventures"


While this article seems relatively informative, the quick blurb remains stuck in my craw... This is the Bush Administration letting us know that we are two shakes of sheep to be slaughtered tail, from a full blown dictatorship...

I SAY THE TIME IS NOW FOR AMERICANS TO PUT ASIDE RIDICULOUS DIFFERENCES AND UNITE TO OVERTHROW THIS WICKED GOVERNMENT BEFORE IT'S TOO LATE!!

WAKE UP!

THE GEARS ARE GRINDING, AND YOUR THE SAUSAGE AMERICA...

WAKE UP!!

RISE UP AND TAKE BACK WHAT IS RIGHTFULLY OURS!

A GOVERNMENT OF THE PEOPLE BY THE PEOPLE AND FOR THE PEOPLE DOES NOT OFFER UP THE PEOPLE TO BE BATTERIES...

WAKE THE FUCK UP!!!

SHAME ON GIBSON & THE NIGHTLY PROPAGANDA!!

SHAME ON CHENNEY BUSH AND THE SAUDIES THEY SLEEP WITH!!

SHAME ON YOU CITIZEN, FOR LYING COMATOSE IN A LUNESTA SLUMBER WHILE THEY RAPE LIBERTY AND JUSTICE!

YOU ARE FOOD FOR WORMS!

THIS HAS GONE ON LONG ENOUGH!

CRY FREEDOM, BEFORE YOU ARE FINISHED!

REVOLT!

REBEL!

STAND UP, OR BE MOWED DOWN LIKE RABID DOGS!

VIVA LA REVOLUTION!!!

THE PEOPLE OF COLOR ARE READY TO FIGHT!

CHOOSE THIS DAY WHOM YOU WILL SERVE AMERICA!

THIS WILL NOT BE ANOTHER 1960'S PLASTIC REVOLUTION!

4 DEAD IN OHIO WILL NOT STOP THE FREEDOM FIGHTERS FROM DELIVERING GODS JUSTICE!

JOIN US OR BE FODDER FOR THE MACHINE!

REVOLT!

REBEL!!

LA VIE BOHEME!