The Robert Glasper Experiment

I LOVE Robert Glasper.

As a jazz aficionado, this brother has breathed new life into Jazz. Ala Miles Davis with BeBop! I can't wait to meet and interview him just to see what makes him tick!

I "accidentally" ran into him on satellite radio and was sprung! I wonder if he will collabo with other artists who have passed on. I'd love to see him do an arrangement with Erykah Badu, Nina Simone and John Coltrane. Well one can wish . . .

Check out this newest video from his new project Black Radio, available now on iTunes. It features Jill Scott.

Enjoy!

The FAA Finally Gets It

No longer the Federal Aggravation Administration

From the files of “I Told You So”, the FAA has finally gotten the message that phones and tablets don’t crash planes.

At one time in my career I was a VERY frequently flier taking 2 to 3 trips a week. So as you can imagine time was at a premium. From checking emails to reading newspapers and magazines, my time in the air was a solace away from the world. It allowed me to actually read books! Unfortunately, traveling so much meant that I couldn't lug around a library but I could have different books on my tablet. But then came my friendly neighborhood flight attendant. Of course they would always STOP me at the “good parts”.

Well during all that travel, sometimes I forgot to turn my phone off. Sometimes when times got a little stressful I would even play music (iPod/iPad) during take-off and landing and in all those times nothing happened. I wasn't trying to tempt fate, it just seemed like a rule that didn't make any sense and wasn't based in fact. I never really liked rules that didn't have a rationale, so this one was out of the window.

I’m glad the FAA has finally seen the light as well. It will work to calm those passengers that are a bit nervous about flying and it will work to improve the relationship with passengers and flight attendants.

Looking forward to getting back in the friendly skies, with the iPad in tow! 

James Webb is a Phenom

James Webb

Years ago James Webb decided that he would change the world through telling stories and he is living his dream everyday.

Webb is an Assistant Professor of theater at Florida A&M University and is using theater to “tell the story” through his latest work, Sibling Rivalry.
 

 “It was a chance for me to really talk about some of the issues that I have experienced in my own life”, he said.
 

 “Many of us have issues, we just don’t talk about them. Having the discussion through entertainment brings them to the forefront so we can have discussion”.
 

Growing up in Moss Point, MS, his days and nights were filled with family and church.“I was one of those six day a week church kids. My only day off was Friday and Sunday I was there all day”.
 

He says that those experiences are what created his destiny and define his path.Webb, started out with an undergraduate degree from FAMU. His path took him to the University of  Florida, where he earned an MFA in Theater. Then it was off to conquer the world. He spent a year in Hong Kong in Disney’s Festival of the Lion King and has scores of New York credits on his resume. He even starred in award winning playwright Ntozake Shange's seminal work Layla’s Dream.
 

Cast of Sibling Rivalry

Even with all of the success he enjoyed, there was still more that he had to accomplish and as an award winning playwright himself he is doing it and inspiring a new generation of performers.
“Being at FAMU, I write a new children’s play for our institute each summer and I am in the process of finishing my doctorate. Having this opportunity helps me to dig deeper and speak louder”.

Webb’s show “The Contract”, dealing with themes of sexuality, loyalty and relationships, won the Lorraine Hansberry National Playwriting Award.
 

He said that being vulnerable and authentic is where growth starts, a growth that he hopes to help germinate. 

Sibling Rivalry is currently running at the Southside Arts Complex 2525 South Monroe Street, Tallahassee, Florida 32301. Show times are: Wednesday 10/30, Thursday 10/31; Friday 11/1 – All at 7pm; Saturday 11/2 at 2p & 7p; Sunday 11/3 Matinee 3:00pm

The Definition of a Spy is to Spy

I am a bit appalled at some of the allies of the United States. They act is if they are shocked that the US is spying.

Come on . . . the textbook definition of being a spy means that you covertly gather intel on EVERYONE not just your enemies. I am sure if you were privy to those records you would see that foreign countries spy on the United States as well. It's one of those pot calling the kettle black kind of things. You know?

Like NSA Director James Clapper says . . . it's par for the course.

What do you think?

Kendrick Johnson: Was It Murder

At 17 Kendrick Johnson was the pride and joy of his family but that life was cut short when he ended up dead.

Now the family wants answers and no one can tell them why.

After weeks of protesting for the findings to be released, Johnson's family decided to take it a step further. They blocked the doors of the local courthouse and were arrested.

The family says that they will keep protesting until they get some answers.

Here's an update.

Your Best Life: Elie Wiesel -- Hate is a Cancer

Harriett Tubman: One Hundred Years Ago Today She Was

March 10^th is a day that will forever be burned in my mind. Today is the day that one of the greatest American’s that ever lived passed away. Because of her, I am here right now.

Harriett Tubman, the Moses of her People, died 100 years ago today.

Yes, Black History Month is celebrated in February but truly, Black History IS American History. As I think about it we would not be in the place that we are today had it not been for her. She didn't allow herself to be defined on the way that she was born. Nor did she let physical disabilities hold her back.

Some may have forgotten that she was hit in the head with a weight as a young slave. After that she was pretty much relegated to what we would now call narcolepsy. She had sleeping spells that would come on her and put her to sleep for hours or sometimes days at a time.

Still she persevered.

Even with the fact that during her time women were considered second class citizens, with her Underground Railroad and efforts and Union Army exploits, she helped to free nearly a thousand slaves.

She is most widely known for staunch abolition efforts along with those of Fredrick Douglass and William Lloyd Garrison. Yes, she changed history.

Tubman, also knew that women were much more than what the US Constitution was interpreted to mean. She stood with Susan B. Anthony and Emily Howland (yes, this black WOMAN and former slave) and challenged the status quo. Though she did not live to see the results of her work, the passage of the Nineteenth Amendment to the Constitution is also a part of her tremendous legacy.

Today as we stand just months away from the Lilly Ledbetter Act and the resigning of the Violence Against Women Act, I am reminded of the tenacity and resolve of Harriett Tubman. Just one hundred short years ago, our world was so different.

I spoke to a young man a few days ago (he was only 20), who believed that things were finally equal. He truly believed that there was no need for minority rights or anything like Affirmative Action. I smiled and listened to him but explained why I had to disagree.

Without a doubt, I know that the vestiges of institutionalized racism and sexism still exist. Though I hope I am proven wrong, it will be generations more before we can really begin to imagine true equality.

Today I fondly remember one who paved the way for me. I am because she is. I can sit next to whom I choose and not have to serve or bow my head. I can choose and exercise true freedom and support women doing the same. Simply, because one woman chose not to be silent.

Thank you, Harriett Tubman. Today and always we are thankful and we remember.