Nope, this isn't necessarily one of those days when The Day Job actually asks me to work for a living. But since there isn't anything incredibly blogworthy, and since most visitors to this site are still ripping me a new one for the Jail vs Yale post the other day, I figured I'd take it light today, and drop this trio of "Hollyweird" miscellany.
Are the GEICO Cavemen Actually Brothas?
A few months back, I was told about the "hidden racism" in the pilot to ABC's upcoming sitcom based on the GEICO Cavemen. I "acquired" a copy of this pilot, but since the audio didn't work, I never actually watched it. Still, it seems like the less than warm and fuzzy reception of that episode made the folks at ABC go back to the lab quicker than you can say "The Secret Diary of Desmond Phiffer".
Cavemen" had to undergo a pre-debut evolution. A new first episode with a new setting, San Diego instead of Atlanta, will air when the sitcom begins 8 p.m. EDT Tuesday. ABC announced in July that the pilot didn't properly introduce the idea of Cro-Magnon buddies living in modern society and would be redone.That pilot is probably still somewhere out there in Cyberspace if you're willing to look for it. My man The Human Resource from StartSnitching.com said it was pretty foul, and I tend to agree with him more times that not.
The spots wittily depict shaggy-looking cavemen chafing at misconceptions about their sophistication and intelligence. The series follows another trio of Cro-Magnons battling bias as they try to fit into a world that believes (wrongly, as the show has it) they're extinct.
In July, when the producers and cast attended the Television Critics Association meeting, they were asked if the prejudice the cavemen faced in the pilot, for instance, that they were athletically superior, was intended to echo the stereotyping that blacks face.
Not at all, the producers said, reiterating that position again this week. While the show is about how people treat minorities it has nothing to do with any specific real-life group, they said.
I won't bother watching this show to confirm this, but if you do let me know.
'Cavemen' sitcom evolves for ABC debut [AP]
Paris Goes to Rwanda
As if the folks of war torn Rwanda didn't already have enough to worry about, Paris Hilton will be bringing her PR staff and herpes to their country this Fall.
Paris Hilton has vowed to keep her post-prison promise of devoting time to worthy causes and will demonstrate her commitment with a trip to Rwanda later this year.Here's what you can do to "help", Ms. Hilton: Stay your bony ass in Hollywood!
The celebrity socialite told the E! Online website on Wednesday that she is aiming to visit the war-torn central African nation in November after completing work on her latest film.
"I'll be going in November, after I get back from filming my movie," Hilton said. "There's so much need in that area, and I feel like if I go, it will bring more attention to what people can do to help."
The last thing Rwandans need to "bring more attention" to their plight is a bunch of Entertainment Tonight vignettes of Paris shopping, eating al fresco, and posing for flix with a bunch of starving kids. And while you're at it, don't get the wise idea of "adopting" one of them. Kids are may look "hot" on the red carpet, but they are not accessories.
Leave the faux humanitarian stuff to Madonna and Angelina. Stick to making
Paris Hilton planning humanitarian trip to Rwanda [E!]
Vick in Trouble (Yes...Again!)
Can't Get Right is in yet more hot water. You'd think a dude staring at a lenghty prison sentence and the end of his professional career would find Jesus. Heck, he even admitted as much himself. Apparently, Bedside Baptist ain't the only thing Mike's discovered in the past few weeks.
Michael Vick, who has been suspended indefinitely by the National Football League after admitting he bankrolled a dogfighting operation, tested positive for marijuana Sept. 13 and will have his behavior further monitored by the federal court system as he awaits a December sentencing date.But wait... it gets worse for
Vick, who had been the Atlanta Falcons’ starting quarterback, will be restricted to his residence from 10 p.m. to 6 a.m., and his movements will be monitored by an electronic bracelet. He must also submit to drug testing at any time.
Vick’s troubles do not end there. He was indicted yesterday on Virginia state charges of beating or killing or causing dogs to fight other dogs and engaging in or promoting dogfighting. Each felony is punishable by up to five years in prison.Damn, talk about catching a bad break.
And the Royal Bank of Canada recently sued Vick for more than $2.3 million, alleging that his guilty plea and suspension have caused him to default on a loan.
On second thought, if I had all these walls closing in on me at once, I might need to take a toke or 30 myself.
Keep your head up, Mike. Literally. Keep your head, and for that matter, your upper torso up. [||] It's gonna be hell in that cell.
Vick Fails Drug Test and Faces Travel Limits [NYTimes]
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Sadly, along with the inbred neo-nazis there will be millions of black folk watching that show. If only we would all ban together and boycott the bejesus out of ABC and Disney. I'd like to see that show as well as the Proud Family and Raven's show die.
The 80s really did make their way back, complete with white folk snatching up our babies. It absolutely disgusts me to see them exploit these children and the continent, but I have to tell myself that despite all that ugly, those kids will be cared for and well educated assuming these kids were actually saved from poverty, war, and disease. It's funny that one of the main gripes with this is the kind of mentality these kids will have as adults, but the fact is many of us who were raised by "good" black parents are as warped as they'll be. Still though, I'm going to pray for Baby Z. She's got a couple of well-adjusted mensa members right there for parents.
Eff Mike Vick and anyone else that pisses away that life. Trash.
If African Americans adopted African children white people wouldn't have to. But then again, we don't adopt African American children. So what is your beef with people who actually save the lives of African children?
I wonder what quotes of genius will come out of Paris's mouth once she visits Rawanda.
Actually, anonynous, I was just listening to a broadcast on NPR earlier this week (see link to below to hear replay) and a Harvard expert stated that statistics show that black and white families are adopting children at a fairly equal rate. The misconceptions come into play because there are so many more black children up for adoption that it makes the #s appear skewed.
forgot to post the link. here it is: http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=14650802
Anon 1:00 PM here,
Wow. We adopt children at the same rate? That amazes me because while I've known many black foster parents, I haven't known so many who have adopted. On the other hand white families, with their Asian & Central American children, are almost common in many communities. Just goes to show you not to trust one's lying eyes.
White people seem to adopt more because many white women have tumbleweed down there. Why? That's another discussion.
White people would also travel miles and spend their entire savings and retirement to get an Asian or non-black hispanic child, or a "pure" white child over adopting one of the many available black infants.
There's also the moral issue of them snatching those non-black babies many of which come from black market baby brokers.
Nearly every black person can point to at least a handful of people in their family or circle that do informal adoption by taking in a child or many children to save them from "the state" or just effed up parents.
It's kind of hard to reach out when you're already struggling to manage, which brings up the financial issue. If you've mostly know hard up black folk, then you might only see the foster parents.
That fact is that we adopt and loads of black SGL's adopt. Black men attend college. Some of us don't blast TI in the truck all the time and many of us know that gold doesn't go with everything.
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