IMUS be crazy, again.

"Who gives these two media 'ambulance chasers' the right to speak for black people, when the real issue is 'us' and our tolerance for the vile words spewing from the mouths and pens of black 'gangsta' rap artists, degrading women in the most baseless and cruel ways imaginable."

- Jason Whitlock, Kansas City Star columnist, in reference to "Reverend" Jesse Jackson and Al Sharpton's predictable intrusion into the media frenzy surrounding Don Imus firing. Imus was fired after referring to the Rutgers University women's basketball team as "nappy headed hoes."

The following are some (sanitized) lyrics from Notorious B.I.G.'s song "Friend of Mine"

**********

I meet a b*tch, f*ck a b*tch, next thing you know you f*ckin'the b*tch.
You just pass it around and sh*t, pass the sh*t likea cold and sh*t.
F*ck'em.

And the only time I call her to hang
Is when me and Dee blunted up, pissy, schemin' on a gang-bang.
She should've used her intuition
Then she wouldn't be classified in that position, listen
She's sayin' I dissed her 'cause I'm f*ckin' her sister
A message to the fellas, that really gets'em pissed, uh
But she started that f*ckin' family
She f*cked my man Dee, so why she mad at me?
Plus your sister look better than you
Give head better than you, p*ssy get wetter than you
So break the f*ck out like a rash
I'm glad I ain't spend no cash to hit your nasty ass

**********

So to sum it all up

"Nappy headed hoes" - NOT ACCEPTABLE
"I meet a b*tch, f*ck a b*tch, next thing you know you f*ckin'the b*tch." - OTAY BUCKWHEAT

I don't get it. I don't thing either of these is acceptable, but I don't seen Al Sharpton or "Reverend" Jesse Jackson calling for Notorious B.I.G. dismissal. Hmmmm? Maybe Michael Richards and Don Imus can go on tour together.

Wicked Awesome!

Last month for Angie's birthday, I took her to see Wicked! If you think you know The Wizard of Oz, you don't. Forget about the shallow, preachy, original black and white- then color - then black and white movie. No, you need to see the full color, live action production at the Ahmanson. If you can make it through the first half, and some of the mundane musical numbers, like the opening "Nobody Mourns the Wicked," that ends with an ensemble shouting "Wicked, Wicked, Wicked," (in case you didn't know what you were there to see) the story is really good.

The set design was outstanding. The "curtain" is a giant map of Oz, and the set sides are constructed of giant gears. Gears seem to be a recurring theme in the set design, but it works. From the opening scene, when Elphaba's (the wicked witch, for the uninitiated) mother is drinking "green" elixer, to Oz, when the set is transformed into emerald green lights and twinkling illumination, to the forests and castle scenes, every part of the production tied indirectly into the original story, but with a modern brush of industrialization. Nothing is grey in this play.

The story is a little weak at first, remenescent of a high school drama, complete with popular (annoying) bubbly blond, and the outcast, misunderstood, diamond in the rough. The musical numbers don't do anything to help, either. None of the tunes were catchy, at least I didn't think so. During the intermission, I told Angie that I was not yet impressed. Even the sound seemed weak to me, whcih is shouldn't have been, seeing as there were 5 line arrays that I could see. But the production redemed itself in the second half, and we find out where the lion, tin man, scarecrow, wizard, and witches all come from, why they are all the way they are, why monkey's can fly in Oz, and what is so special about those stupid jeweled slippers. For me, it added a much needed layer of depth and explination to the original story, and if you are familar with the prequel to Wicked, you'll understand a lot more about this musical than the adoscelent crowd that was overrepresented on the night we went.

Overall, I would have to give it an 8. I got an outstanding ovation, but it my opinion, it was only for the actors' gumption of pulling it off.

http://www.wickedthemusical.com/