TV-One: The Anti-BET

As I’ve written before, I am not a fan of television. Television sucks.

However, today I was pleasantly surprised. For the last few weeks, my wife and children have pretty much kept the television tuned to TV-One. I didn’t pay much attention, though. I caught an episode of Good Times here, an episode of Sanford and Son there. But today I got up and watched a little early morning television as I had my morning coffee. I tuned in just in time for an episode of The PJ’s, and I ended up staying for the rest of the day. Check out this classic PJ's clip embedded below.



Right before TV-One debuted, I heard the company’s president being interviewed on NPR. I was skeptical; I honestly expected another BET clone. And another BET is the last thing this world needs. But checking out the schedule, it appears that TV-One is completely antithetical to BET.

The line-up features a number of old African American themed sitcoms such as Good Times, Sanford and Son, and The Jeffersons, plus a number of African American themed movies. I caught a movie today, Out of the Darkness, starring Diana Ross that I hadn’t heard of. It was pretty good.

Besides reality shows, there does not seem to be much original programming, but TV-One is a pleasant alternative to other offerings on television.

Blazing Saddles, Washington Style

There is this scene from Mel Brooks’ hilarious 1974 movie Blazing Saddles that I really absolutely love. This western town is in the midst of chaos. Crime abounds. Banks are being plundered. The women folk are being raped. Absolute chaos. So the townspeople petition the territory governor for assistance, and he hires a sheriff.

So the day the sheriff is due to arrive, the whole town turns out. There is a marching band. Politicians are giving speeches, the whole nine. Enter the late Cleavon Little as the sheriff. As the town spots him from afar on the horizon, a cheer goes up. But then as he draws closer, the townspeople get a better view, and much to their chagrin, realize the sheriff is black. “The sheriff’s a neeg--,” someone shouts, not quite able to get the complete word out before the scene changes.





That’s how I see the current scene in Washington. Bush and his administration proved so utterly incompetent and left things in such shambles, that the nation cried out for change. And on the scene steps Barack Obama.

President Obama won the campaign far and square. He articulated a message of change that everyone seemed to me looking for. It seemed that his message seemed to overshadow his race. That’s not to say the nation did not recognize that he was black. But that is to say that given the dire circumstances of the time and the McCain/Palin ticket’s grievious missteps and inadequacies, the fact that he was black seemed not to matter so much.

Now reality sets in. It’s as if someone stared into the horizon, only to discover that the president is a neeg--! Perhaps its just me, but in the discussions of President’s Obama’s performance thus far, it seems I’m not hearing, “How is this president doing?”, but “How is this black man doing as president?”.

Let’s face it. We’re in uncharted territory here. The question is not so much can the president succeed, but can a black man in this position be successful.

What’s my second favorite scene from Blazing Saddles? It’s when Cleavon Little’s character and another black character infiltrate a Klu Klux Klan rally. Their race is hidden underneath the hoods, but suddenly someone spots their hands sticking out and then snatches the hoods from their heads. There is a moment of silence when everyone tries to figure out what to do next. Suddenly, the sheriff flashes a pearly white smile and asks the klan members in attendance, “Where’s the white women?” A chase ensues.

Obama Wins over the Klan

Evidently, this was running during the campaign. It’s old, but funny nonetheless.

Things White People Do

Sometimes I’m baffled by the things white people do. Take for instance this lady at a German zoo. She jumped into the polar bear enclosure and swam toward them. She then seemed genuinely shocked that the polar bears would attack her.

The question is why. Why would someone… Oh, never mind. Just check out the clip below.

A Quick Easter Thought

I’m somewhat of a melancholy mood this morning. Today is Easter. But we are not going to church. My wife and I discussed going. However, it seemed somewhat sacrilegious that we go. After all, we haven’t gone all year. In fact, we haven’t gone for quite a while. So, what’s the use of showing up today?

And the guilt is setting in. I grew up in the church. In fact, I come from a family of preachers. Both my step-father and my father are ministers. I have several uncles who are ministers. I even have several family members who are high in the echelon of the Colored Methodist Episcopal (CME) church.

I wonder why I am denying my family the rich experience that I was a part of growing up in the church. I have some ideas. For one, I’d like to blame my reluctance to attend church on Christians. Christians and their actions have given Christianity a bad name. I believe that they have ceased acting like Christ, but have instead become smug and self-righteous, confident of their own infallibility.

Could it be the acquisition of knowledge? Early in grad school I found myself questioning the very existence of a god. My father told me that this is natural. Out of this questioning, my faith would grow even stronger.

There are a number of other reasons (or excuses) I could give, but none seem sufficient.

But a few minutes ago my son told me some joke he heard a comedian make about Easter. It was wholly inappropriate, and I reproved him for even repeating such a thing. However, I really don’t think I have the right to admonish him so severely. After all, he hasn’t been taught to respect the religious experience. He has not been taught the value of spirituality. I have taught him many things, and he has proven himself intellectually gifted; however, I have not served him well spiritually.

So, I guess what has come of this Easter is that I realize I have a responsibility to my family that I have not met. Maybe there is an afternoon service somewhere.

Anonymous Blogger Outed

In my local paper this morning I found an article that intrigues me. It is the case of a blogger and a very powerful local institution.

Let me give you the back story before I relate the event. The very powerful local institution that I am speaking of is a local Baptist church. The church is perhaps the largest in the community and very conservative, and additionally, it has long been charged by members of the community that the church holds undue sway over the political process in the city. I once even heard someone comment that the mayor and city council made no major decision unless they first consulted the church. But that’s just insinuation. Let me get to the story at hand.

It seems that a long-time member became more than a bit perturbed with the church’s new pastor. In the main, he was upset by the pastor’s preaching style as well as his $300,000 per year salary. What did he do? He set up a blog, an anonymous blog, to voice his criticism. The emphasis is on the word anonymous.

Well anyway, it seems that after a while the church and its pastor took umbrage at this faithful servant’s criticism and turned to a member of the pastor’s security detail. Incidentally, this member of the pastor’s security detail also happened to be a detective with the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office who, citing “an ongoing Internet incident that has possible criminal overtones," initiated an investigation. Google was subpoenaed and asked to provide all available information about the blogger in question as well as two other bloggers.

Off course the charges were unsubstantiated, but in the meantime, the name of the blogger was turned over to the church, and the blogger was effectively excommunicated.

There appears to be wrong-doing on so many levels, mainly the abuse of power as well as the suppression of the right of free speech. But what I am most struck by is the church’s reaction to dissension. It immediately took steps to stamp it out. Is this a conservative trait? I can recall the Bush administrations ongoing attempts to squelch dissent by any means necessary.

James Baldwin once wrote something to the effect that if a person loved something, not only was it that person’s right to offer criticism should that entity be in danger of harming itself, it was that person’s duty.

At this time, the blogger in question has filled a grievance with the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Department, but no new information has emerged. I’ll keep you posted.

Review (Television): The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency

You know I’m not a big fan of television. Practically each and every time I turn it on, I am reminded of why it is sometimes referred to as an “idiot box.” But HBO is an exception; I’ve always set aside time for the HBO Sunday night line-up. And over the years, HBO has aired a pretty consistent quality Sunday night line-up (if you discount that minstrel-like buffoonery that was Def Comedy Jam).

It looks like the latest made for HBO series The No. 1 Ladies’ Detective Agency follows this same tradition of excellence. My wife, who is much more of a critic than I, concurs. And if she likes it, it must be something to it. However, my wife accuses me of enjoying the series only because it stars Jill Scott, and I am a huge Jill Scott fan. And she might be right (I love’em pretty and thick). But there are many other reasons for giving this one a chance.

Thus far in the series, the storylines have been simple but entertaining. The head lady detective, Jill Scott’s character Precious Ramotswe, stumbles into about three cases, and she solves them using simply her guile and wits. According to HBO, “Precious Ramotswe exemplifies the courageous efforts by real-life Africans to improve the quality of their lives while preserving their culture.”

There are hints that there is a deeper back story; circumstances in her past have pushed her to where she is now. The death of her father seems to figure prominently. Also, there appears as if heartbreak played a role. Bits and pieces of her background are revealed each episode. Also, the whole of the series is shot on location in Botswana, Africa, which leads to breathtaking scenes of the African countryside.

Only two episodes have been shown so far, and the show still seems to be building a relationship with the audience, but this one definitely looks promising. It airs each Sunday at 8 pm EST and again at 10. Check out the clip below.



Also, following The No. 1 Ladies’ Detective Agency, HBO has just begun another new series, Russell Simmons Presents Brave New Voices. BNV chronicles the journey of groups of youths from several cities throughout the United States as they compete to represent their cities at the July 2008 Brave New Voices Spoken Word Festival in Washington, DC. Stay to check this one out as well.