I Got Your Back

Within two weeks of each other, the news of eight-time gold medal winner Michael Phelps’ bong picture and Chris Brown’s still unfolding assault situation hit the media circuit. As sad as it is, these types of situations are nothing new. Lindsay Lohan has the substance abuse topic locked up, and several celebs such as Busta Rhymes and Kid Rock have been tangled in the assault web. But the charges seem to be where the similarity is drawn. After a few weeks, maybe months, LiLo and Kid are out of the public eye and back to doing…well, whatever it is they do. But for celebs such as Phelps and Brown, the consequences of their actions go far deeper than a few negative blurbs in a tabloid.

Despite Phelps’ immediate public apology, rumors of Phelps losing several of his endorsements began flying. Although it has only been confirmed that Kellogg has officially dropped Phelps as an endorser, the repercussions of Phelps’ actions are clearly running deep.

Although the situation with Chris Brown and Rihanna (or not Rihanna) has yet to be clarified, Wrigley’s has already separated themselves after a two-year partnership with Brown. The news is, Wrigley’s severance from the star is temporary, pending the outcome of the charges.

Do you think that, in either case, the endorsers’ decision to isolate themselves from their celebrity partners is a good one? A fair one? Or do you think that endorsers should take a route similar to Phelps’ endorser, Omega Watches? For those that missed it, the quote was as follows:

“You can’t buy this kind of product placement — believe me, we’ve tried!” a spokesman for Omega Watches said, giddily. “He’s modeling one of our blinged-out products as he expertly removes the carb from the bong, which we will also be selling replicas of: The Poseidon, as we are proudly calling it, holds actual water, just like what Michael Phelps swims in!”

Words Jonnine Yarbrough

Grammys Eclipsed by Controversy

Whatever happened to the idea of someone being innocent until proven guilty? Though the case appears pretty clear-cut with the Chris Brown/Rihanna chaos, we still don’t have a clear, official record of what actually happened. All that Brown has been charged with, at this point, is felony criminal threats – nobody is actually claiming he laid a hand on anyone. This reminds us how powerful the media is and just how fast news circulates nowadays, especially in the music world. An artist falling at a concert, taking questionable pictures (Miley Cyrus, Kayne or even Phelps), or making off-color remarks is sure to make its way across the Internet in a matter of hours, if not minutes. Often times these little blunders will hog the spotlight for days, overshadowing anything else in the news. I’m sure Michael Phelps is jumping up and down as the harsh media spotlight has shifted to Chris Brown. While people were screaming “woman beater!” everyone seemed to forget about the actual Grammy Awards. Who the hell are Robert Plant and Allison Krauss who won Album of the Year?! So what if Blink-182 announced their reunion, Green Day revealed the release date of their highly anticipated album or M.I.A. nearly gave birth on stage while getting her “Swagga” on? I wanna know what the eff happened with Rihanna and Chris Brown, down to every last gritty detail!

It’s a sad yet true case in today’s news environment that people are quick to flock to scandal. Tabloid Web sites, like Perezhilton.com or TMZ.com, now have enormous clout as they feed the public’s appetite. As much as they won’t admit it, people tend to love drama – especially when it’s real life. Maybe it gives us something interesting to talk about during what otherwise might be a boring day. And hey, I’m definitely not claiming innocence. I’ve probably been keeping as close an eye on the story as anyone else. What I don’t know is what makes us enjoy, closely follow or laugh at other people’s misfortune or problems? Yeah, they’re celebrities and, to a certain extent, place themselves under the hot lamps, but shouldn’t we also be keeping up on news with real substance? What about celebrating people’s success? Maybe that’s just asking too much…

Words Rene Perez

Notorious Movie

Ok, I’m going to blog now. It’s like 3 a.m. in the morning, I had a few drinks, oops since the word “drinks” I fell asleep for about 10 minutes, ok I feel better now, what about those Yankees! Anywho, the Notorious movie was the first film I viewed this year.

It was done exceptionally well, except it made me feel like they hired Picasso to paint the picture pretty. The biopic was of Biggie Smalls and his road to perdition, which was displayed with colors and smooth, teddy-bear-like antics to soften the streetwise, thug image that the real Notorious B.I.G. had.

The casting was done meticulously but was faulted in my opinion. The character of Tupac Shakur was definitely casted all wrong. He was portrayed like a colorful butterfly with no direction, instead of a serious lyricist who had concerns about deep issues. Although a little thuggish and outspoken, it didn’t paint him accurately. Okay, well it wasn’t about Tupac. I feel ya.

The storyline was rushed into sequence and polished up. Mrs. Voletta Wallace sure made it clear, as one of the producers in the film, that it wasn’t going to be to gritty. It seemed like she was dictating every line and cleaning up the image of the true street hustler Biggie was, not to mention the gun clapping, stick-up kid her son rapped about being.

All in all, the movie did its job of paying tribute, but in no way did it stay true to its non-fictional character. It’s definitely not an Oscar winner, although the actor/rap artist Gravy did an exceptional job on his first acting gig. It’s worthy of an MTV award, but he wasn’t able to shrug the executive producers’ limitations on the real antics of the down-and-dirty life of a street hustler.

I give it three thumbs up on its gutsy try … time for some munchies nite nite, Tums Tums Tums Tums Tums!!!!!!!!!!!!

Super Bowl XLIII: Will You Watch?

All season, you watch and wait. You and your friends have begun a weekly ritual of burrowing through mountains of snacks and huddling around the television set. You watch every game with anticipation, hoping your team will do just enough to advance. Each week brings them one step closer to that all-important goal; the bright light at the end of the tunnel that is the NFL season; the reason why teams play so hard – the Super Bowl. You clench the remote control as you watch one of the most important games of your team’s season. They have to win this…We need this win…They won’t let you down, right? Wrong. After months of devotion, your team flops. Read more

 My Temporal Dilemma

“Get it together René.” That’s a comment I’ve made all too often in my life. What does that have to do with this blog and why are you writing this, you ask? I keep getting to work late, and this is my punishment. Unorthodox? Yes. But I guess it could be worse. In any case, for those who know me, my main weakness is probably my propensity for procrastination, which in turn leads to me being late to many things. To be fair, this is nothing new and it’s something I have addressed, and continue to address in my life. Though it’s getting better, little by little, sometimes it takes a little prodding and reflection to see exactly how much it happens with me. I swear, sometimes I think it’s a genetic disorder or something – and I’m only half kidding. To those on the outside who fortunately don’t share my dreadful disease, it may seem like an easy thing to fix. In reality, it’s far more complex than it appears. The thought process is the same every time: I tell myself that I will be on time for something and plan accordingly. Additionally, I write notes, set alarms, etc. to make sure it sticks in my head. Yet, when the time actually comes to get ready for something or to wake up, I consistently underestimate the time it takes myself to get ready and transport myself to a location.

So what happens is that the voice in my head tells me “Oh, no rush, you have plenty of time,” or “Hit the snooze button once more, you can just get ready quicker.” I’m sure you can see where I’m going with this. I sometimes sit there and try to examine my mistakes from my last tardy adventure so I can try to avoid that next time, yet it happens again and again. This is not to say it’s not conquerable, because most things in life are. I’m not trying to make excuses, just trying to explain my thought process and where I’m coming from. The temptation for excuses is often a powerful one, but in reality is a sign of weakness – something I continue to remind myself. Let’s face it, I’m nearly 23 and it’s time to get my act together, once and for all. I’m not saying I’ll be perfect, but I will do all that I can to ensure that this vicious cycle of death and destruction is vanquished in my life.

by: Rene Perez

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