Lollygagging

Busy, but not busy enough for our adoring fans...or people who have seen our shows...or people who actually read these AWESOME blogs. Clearly a lie. Busy is not the word. LAZY maybe? No, because that would imply that sleep and/or TV-watching and lollygagging were involved...no lollygagging here...one sec...looking up the word lollygagging on ask.com. Have never actually written the word before...used it? Yes, I have. Remember, I lived in Texas for a stint -- if a stint is TEN years! ...one sec...a-s-k-dot-c-o-m...they sent me to a couple pages called www.worldwidewords.org and www.wierdwords.com (they being ask.com.

lollygagging: To fool around; to spend time aimlessly; to dawdle or dally.

I knew that. I just wanted to be official. Non-Texans didn't know, now did you? Here are some other phrases I learned during my Texas STINT:

Nigger knocking
Nigger rig
Nigger lip

Fun words YOU can look up on YOUR free time!! YOU'RE WELCOME!

- Kevin

Blaxploitation Nominations!

My theatre company, MPAACT, got nominated for 10 Black Theatre Alliance Awards, TEN!!!! One of which goes to me, Inda and Carla Stillwell (we co-wrote Blaxploitation: The Remix) for best playwright! Nice, eh? We were in today's Sun Times! Best Playwright. That sounds nice.

I have to go work on Blaxploitation 2: You Know How We Deux! Yeah, that's the title for the sequel. Deux means "two" in French. Hey, some people don't know that, but those are probably the same people that don't know how to operate a computer and are probably products of incest. Blax 2 coming Winter of '07!

- Kevin

Hummer Summer

It's Hummer Summer in L.A. At least it is on a particular Urban radio station out here. They're giving away a Hummer. They play the contest ad EVERY FREAKING COMMERCIAL BREAK! And it's sounds so exciting. You could win a Hummer! Listen all summer! It's so tempting.

Two questions:
1. Why are African-Americans being targeted (targeted, as in a big red target on our foreheads waiting to be shot) by big, gas-guzzling car companies. And, more importantly,
2. Why are we falling for it?

And here are two words you may not be aware of if you're Black: global warming. That's some white people stuff, isn't it? They keep talking about it. Okay, in reality, you had to have heard about it by now. You may choose to ignore, but you can't say that you haven't heard. What you may not be aware of is the 200+ dead sea urchins found in tide pools last week in L.A. because the Pacific Ocean had gotten too damn hot and had boiled them to death. Sea urchins? Again -- white people stuff. Perhaps you didn't hear that it was 118 degrees in L.A. two weeks ago. Actually, it was 100+ pretty much everywhere recently. But maybe you didn't notice because it's summer. It's supposed to be hot, right? You've got a/c. And so the whole global warming thing might not really affect you. That's some white people stuff.

Oh, but the gas prices...now that does affect everybody. Especially the drivers of the SUVs. The Hummer Summer radio ad states proudly, "You'll get twenty miles to the gallon!" Twenty miles?! Sure, it's good for a Hummer. Or a submarine. Or a 747. But are we supposed to be so dumb and so eager to ride in the shiny, new ginormous Hummer that we're lulled into believing that driving a vehicle with 20MPG is somehow good?

Come on, people. My people. See An Inconvenient Truth instead of a Madea DVD this weekend. Think about buying a gas/electric hybrid instead of taking out a loan against all the equity in your house so you can afford a $60,000 SUV that, in reality, you can't afford. (True story.) Read more. Watch more. Think more. Make this Smarter Summer instead.

- Inda

This is an Ad, This is Only an Ad

The best thing about L.A. radio -- West Coast rap! I miss Chicago, but I love not being constantly dosed with payola-like amounts of R. Kelly and Kanye West. Out here, you get lots of old Cube, Snoop, Pac...it's beautiful, baby!

The worst thing about L.A. radio -- the ads. As in Chicago, they play the same freaking radio spots over and over again every commercial break. As in Chicago, you get national spots for companies like State Farm and the WB. One difference is that in addition to the standard Lasik surgery, Proactiv acne treatment, and diet drug ads, out here you also get spots for breast augmentation and liposuction in the middle of the afternoon. Gotta say that's a relief from the overplayed "not satisfied in the bedroom" male enhancement crap they insist on playing all day long in the Chi on Black radio.

But here, the other huge difference that I'm finding even more offensive, is that they hide the local spots. They pretend that they aren't really commercials. There's one that starts with a male voice saying, "We'll be back in a moment. But first, this breaking news..." He goes on to tell you about some no-money-down, interest-only, 100% financing loan. And you have to call today. That's if your last name begins with the letters A-K. All other listeners can call tomorrow. Do they think we won't see through it? Do they think people won't call if they just call a spade a spade and make it clear that it's a paid advertisement. Do they think they're actually fooling us? Granted, my six-year-old was concerned when he heard a similar ad in Chicago that we would call on the correct day. But he's six.

What really crosses the line (my imaginary line that the FCC should probably enforce) is when the DJs play the game. Sometimes it's Michael Baisden hawking the local Nissan dealership. The biggest whore is Ananda (yes, Ananda Lewis is an L.A. radio jock now -- what happened to her?) who does these fake interviews with D-list celebrities, which turn out to be nothing more than time-share resort advertisements. I said it. Whore. What happened to clever ad writing? Clever, not deceptive. Is it that hard?

- Inda

Blaxploitation: The Remix at TOTL!

MPAACT presents Blaxploitation: The Remix Wednesday - Saturday August 2 - 5, 2006 @ 7:30 p.m. Sunday August 6, 2006 @ 6:30 p.m. Theatre on the Lake 2401 N. Lake Shore Drive Chicago, IL 60614 Phone: 312-742-PLAY (We aren't performing in it, but we co-wrote it along with Carla Stillwell. Check it out!)