THE OBENSON REPORT

Covering Cinema From All Across The African Diaspora

Paging Hollywood's Black Elite...!

Posted on 12:26 PM comments (2)
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Talking about his upcoming $36 Million biopic of prominent Haitian revolution leader Toussaint L'Ouverture, while at a recent film seminar in Paris, Danny Glover said of his fund-seeking tribulations in America and Europe: "Producers said, 'it's a nice project, a great project . . . where are the white heroes?'"

Do those alabaster suits in Hollywood really STILL say things like that? I mean, really?! Essentially, they want to rewrite history, right? It's so freaking ridiculous that one can only laugh at the idiocy of it all! I'd never survive within their system... I'd probably bitchslap the jackass who asks me a question like that... or at the very least, spit some venom his way.

As previously reported, Venezuelan socialist leader Hugo Chavez gave $18 million to finance half of the project. The rest was supposed to come from a distributor, but according to Glover, no one in Hollywood was interested, stating, "I couldn't get the money here. I couldn't get the money in Britain. I went to everybody.. The first question you get is, 'Is it a black film? It's not going to do good in Europe, it's not going to do good in Japan.' Somebody has to prove that to be a lie."

Paging Will Smith... Oprah Winfrey... Denzel Washington... Eddie Murphy... can somebody lend this man a dollar... a dime... a nickle... a penny... something... so that he can get this film made, please? We're talking about a film about a man who was born a slave and would eventually lead a slave rebellion to victory over the Europeans, abolishing slavery in the region, and establishing Haiti as the first post-colonial independent black-led nation in the world! Come on folks!

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All White Men Look Alike

Posted on 12:06 PM No Comments
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But I suppose it's better to be mobbed by adoring fans of the person they think you look like, as opposed to hearing the infamous "you fit the description..." while being slammed on the hood of a pig wagon! And just in case you too are fooled by their *unmistakable* resemblance... the "idol" below is Stephen Parry - former British middle-distance swimmer and currently sports Journalist for the BBC - not Michael Phelps.

Actors - An Endangered Species

Posted on 11:22 AM comments (1)
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'Emily', the woman in the below video animation, is not real. She was created using a new modeling technology from a company called Image Metrics that enables the most minute details of facial expression to be recreated. She is considered to be one of the first animations to breakthrough a long-standing barrier known as 'uncanny valley' - which refers to the perception that animation looks less realistic as it approaches human likeness.

What do you think? Towards the end of the clip, the real Emily is shown for comparison.



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Trailer - Baracky, The Movie!

Posted on 10:55 AM No Comments
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In the video trailer below, Barack Obama stars as Baracky, in this Rocky-like rendition of the 2008 US Presidential race. Funny... ha... ha...

Where The Millionaires Are

Posted on 1:19 PM No Comments
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According to new report by the I.R.S., the state of California boasts the most millionaires - 428,000 (more than a fifth of the nation’s total). Following in a distant second place is Florida with 199,000 residents with a net worth of $1.5 million or more, and then (surprisingly) New York with a paltry 168,000! Given the ever-rising costs of living in my home state (New York), I'd expect that we'll be at the top of the list - not that it's necessarily a designation to be proud of. Although I should note that California does house many of those techie millionaires and billionaires. And Florida is of course a haven for wealthy retirees (they also don't pay income tax down there).

For the envious, don't sweat it - a million just doesn't buy what it used to anymore. Nowadays you've got to be at least in the centi club to make much of a splash!

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Wonders Of The World

Posted on 11:28 AM comments (2)
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Scary isn't it? No, it's not a Photoshop job. This here is known as a Coconut Crab - said to be the largest land-living arthropod in the world, which can weigh as much as 37 pounds, with a leg-span as wide as 3 1/2 feet. They are called Coconut Crabs for a reason - coconuts are their favored food item. They use their strong massive claws to break coconuts into smaller pieces for easier consumption. Imagine what they could do to your head! *Shudder*

Thankfully these babies are local to areas in the South Pacific Ocean, where they are seen as both pets (???) and dinner - a delicacy and an aphrodisiac, with a taste similar to lobster and crab meat. That's a shitload of crab meat! If I ever saw one of these things up close and personal, I think I'd scream like a little girl!

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It's All In The Details... Tuesday Humor!

Posted on 8:56 AM No Comments
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Do these look like the shoes of an elitist? Pushawwww!!

:o)

I'd like to take a look at soles of McCain's $520 loafers for comparison.

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How Infuriating!

Posted on 8:36 AM No Comments
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I hope the man in this video is first caught by a group of vigilantes, and is beaten mercilessly, until he's almost unrecognizable, before being left at the doorstep of the nearest police station!

If the video isn't clear enough, here's a written explanation:

CROWN HEIGHTS, Brooklyn — Cops released video on Monday capturing a punk's attack on an 85-year-old woman. The surveillance video shows the robber following Lilian France into the elevator of a Crown Heights building, and then choking her from behind.

She was left panting on the floor as he ran off with $900, and her cane, as the video shows.

Police believe the cowardly thug has gone after nearly a dozen seniors in Crown Heights, Kensington and Flatbush during the last few months.

The robber — described as a man in his 20's or 30's — likes to follow his prey into their apartment lobbies to share an elevator ride, said police. Then, "he approaches them from behind... Either knocks them over or puts them in a chokehold."

Anyone with information about his whereabouts should call the NYPD's Crime Stoppers Hotline at 800-577-TIPS, or text in their tips to 274637 and then enter TIP577.

There is a reward of up to $12,000 if he is captured.

Here's the video:

New Black Cable TV Network? Hmm...

Posted on 9:14 AM No Comments
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I think it's clear that there's STILL an opening for a black TV network, despite the existence of both BET and TV-One. I'm surprised that there haven't been more attempts, given the disappointing reception that the currently operating stations have received over the years - notably BET. If I had the resources, or access to the necessary resources, I would have certainly taken on the challenge. There's a lot of room for improvement and eventual financial success, because we are still without a definite crowned champion in the field, which makes it even more attractive for anyone willing and able to enter the market, and eventually dominate - given the right mix of style and substance in its content, of course.

Will Master P... I mean Percy Miller's venture become what we all wish BET and TV-One already were?

Who knows? We'll learn in time. But his quote stating, "I believe that there is a market in our community for a new diverse network that provides a new brand of superior programming that caters to all aspects of television, from reality to original programming," is inspiring, and hopeful. Let's hope that he keeps that promise!!

The new cable network called Better Black Television (BBTV), is set to debut in 2009, and will provide "positive content for a black and brown culture," and unofficially compete with BET for viewers.

Content will include "a wide range of scripted, unscripted and news programming, including drama and comedy series, movies, animation, reality, politics, sports and entertainment news, children's educational and teen programming, as well as "responsible hip-hop music and videos."

The fact that Denzel Washington is on the network's advisory board, is somewhat encouraging. I certainly wouldn't expect Denzel to attach himself and his reputation to anything that didn't meet certain standards... but who knows?

BBTV's programming in the works include the following:

* "Sunset and Vine": Video show that will showcase the top hip-hop and R&B acts as well as play classic videos.

* "One Shot Comedy Show": Comedy show featuring established and upcoming comedians.

* "Gee Gee the Giraffe": Children's educational show (will air Saturday morning on BBTV Kids).

* "Manage Your Money": Featuring financially successful people lending tips to promote financial literacy.

* "Karma TV Show": Bilingual soap opera with an African-American and Latino cast.

* "What's Cooking TV Show": Talk show that covers wide aspects of entertainment and current events while cooking healthy, budget-conscious meals.

* "The Black List Movies": Film showcase featuring classic and contemporary movies, as well as original BBTV productions.

As I said above... we'll just have to wait and see. Profit is king, so, while P. Miller might have the best of intentions for the station and its potential audience going into this venture, profit will always supersede substance. I think anyone who seriously wants to engender change should be prepared to lose a lot of money, at least initially, and ride out some hard times early on, be patient, and in time, audiences will respond, provided the content remains prime. But I certainly applaud the man for the effort.

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O! Say Can You See...

Posted on 9:37 PM comments (1)
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Can you answer all 3 of these questions?

1. Which party now controls Congress?
2. Who is the current U.S. secretary of state?
3. Name the new prime minister of Great Britain.

I certainly hope so!

According to a Pew Survey on News Consumption (taken every two years and released this afternoon), the national average for answering the three questions was only 18%!!

Let me repeat that again... 18-freaking-percent! Are you kidding me?

According to the release, even though most Americans surveyed scored poorly on the test, a vast majority of them actually believe that they follow national news closely - obviously not close enough! Maybe this shouldn't be a surprise, but it's rather pathetic and embarrassing.

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Coolness!

Posted on 2:05 PM comments (1)
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I'd like to get one of these... follow the picture trail below...









It works as both a piece of decorative art as well as a table/chair combo when broken down. Couldn't find a price, but I didn't look hard enough. I'm sure it'll be costly though.

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Obama Too Fit To Be President?

Posted on 1:51 PM No Comments
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I'm still laughing at the ridiculousness of this article from the Wall Street Journal (I'd expect a lot better from them, but maybe this is indicative of Murdoch's influence - remember THIS?). It's a couple of weeks old, but I'm just now seeing it, so I'm posting for any one else who didn't catch it.

Get your laugh on below while I go get myself a shrimp salad sandwich...

Speaking to donors at a San Diego fund-raiser last month, Barack Obama reassured the crowd that he wouldn't give in to Republican tactics to throw his candidacy off track.

"Listen, I'm skinny but I'm tough," Sen. Obama said.

But in a nation in which 66% of the voting-age population is overweight and 32% is obese, could Sen. Obama's skinniness be a liability? Despite his visits to waffle houses, ice-cream parlors and greasy-spoon diners around the country, his slim physique just might have some Americans wondering whether he is truly like them.

The candidate has been criticized by opponents for appearing elitist or out of touch with average Americans. A Wall Street Journal/NBC News poll conducted in July shows Sen. Obama still lags behind Republican John McCain among white men and suburban women who say they can't relate to his background or perceived values.

"He's too new ... and he needs to put some meat on his bones," says Diana Koenig, 42, a housewife in Corpus Christi, Texas, who says she voted for Sen. Hillary Clinton in the Democratic primary.

"I won't vote for any beanpole guy," another Clinton supporter wrote last week on a Yahoo politics message board.

The rest here: That Skinny Elitist Dude

Trump Bails Out McMahon And I'm Puzzled Why

Posted on 12:31 PM comments (2)
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So.... Billionaire Donald Trump has agreed to "save" Ed McMahon from home foreclosure by buying McMahon's house (essentially paying off the $4.8 Million he owes to Countrywide) and then lease the property to McMahon?

For those who haven't been keeping up with the horror, Ed McMahon, the former Johnny Carson sidekick, and sweepstakes pitchman, defaulted on his multimillion-dollar Beverly Hills home, earlier this year, and has been fighting foreclosure. Apparently, even the wealthy, like McMahon, have been affected by the weak economy, and unsettling housing market, thanks in large part to subprime fever. McMahon had just 2 weeks left to sell his house before the bank repossessed it.

The man should have lost his house like so many other less fortunate Americans did, BUT, Trump simply couldn't let that happen. The kicker? Donald Trump doesn't even know Ed McMahon, stating, "I don't know the man, but I grew up watching him on TV... When I was at the Wharton School of Business... I'd watch him every night. How could this happen?"

Yeah Ed - how could this happen?

In reading this, the first thing I thought was to say, hey Donald, there are so many people facing similar dilemmas - people who are in far worse predicaments than Mr McMahon will ever know. There are some who have even killed themselves for fear of losing their property. Yes, it's true. So, why not take that $4.8 Million that you will be using to "save" McMahon from repossession, and instead invest in those average, everyday Americans, with homes worth far less than McMahon's, so that they don't lose their properties to foreclosure. I think McMahon will be just fine even if he did lose his home. He has lots of rich friends, and I'm sure he won't go wanting for very long... unlike John and Jane Doe who have a modest 3 bedroom home in middle America, with 4 kids, a midsize car or two, and who owe a fraction of what McMahon owes, but just aren't able to pay. In fact, with $4.8 Million, you could "save" a lot of people from losing their homes, as opposed to one privileged, washed up TV personality who, for some reason, couldn't manage his many millions well enough, and who I have absolutely no pity for.

Help those who really need to help Donald! You won't get a pat on the back from me for this supposed act of altruism!

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ObamaPhobia

Posted on 9:55 PM No Comments
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Good Idea/Bad Idea: In-Car Wi-Fi

Posted on 12:37 PM No Comments
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As if drivers don't already have enough distractions... here's another that's on the way:

- Chrysler is poised to be the first car manufacturer to offer built-in internet access in its vehicles, starting in 2009. The service, called Uconnect Web, uses existing wireless data networks for internet access it then shares with devices in the car via Wi-Fi, essentially turning your car into one big hot spot. The core device will cost $499 to install.

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Olympics: An Olympic Diet

Posted on 12:05 PM comments (1)
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American Olympic swimmer, and multiple medal winner, Michael Phelps's Olympic recipe for success:

- It involves eating a staggering 12,000 calories a day. By comparison, the average man of the same age needs to ingest about 2,000 calories a day.
- He starts off his day by eating three fried-egg sandwiches loaded with cheese, lettuce, tomatoes, fried onions and mayonnaise.
- He follows that up with two cups of coffee, a five-egg omelet, a bowl of grits, three slices of French toast topped with powdered sugar and three chocolate-chip pancakes.
- At lunch, Phelps gobbles up a pound of enriched pasta and two large ham and cheese sandwiches slathered with mayo on white bread - capping off the meal by chugging about 1,000 calories worth of energy drinks.
- For dinner, Phelps really loads up on the carbs with a pound of pasta and an entire pizza!! He washes all that down with another 1,000 calories worth of energy drinks.

Wow! I guess you can eat like that when you're putting your body through a rigorous five-hours-a-day, six-days-a-week regimen, and all the while still be able to look like this:


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"What's So Scary About Michelle Obama?"

Posted on 4:17 PM No Comments
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I have no idea. But Radar Magazine wants to know below... asking questions like, "Why does she hate whitey?", and "Why is she so angry?"... also included is a side-by-side Hillary Clinton comparison. Get your chuckles below...

- According to a recent poll, Michelle Obama's so-called favorability rating is abysmal (35 percent aren't feeling her, while only 30 percent are). Among whites the numbers are even worse. Since the would-be first lady has yet to eviscerate a baby panda on live TV (okay, that we know of), it's hard not to wonder whether something else is going on. Something shhh!—racial.

If nothing else, the hysterical media reaction to the notion of a fist-bumping first lady (this Harvard-educated attorney calls people "whitey"? Really?) serves as a reminder that on the rare occasions when a black woman has been a central figure in a presidential campaign, it's more often been as an object of scorn than of praise. For every Shirley Chisholm, the New York City congresswoman who made a White House run in 1972, there have been plenty more sisters getting demonized for political gain.

It all goes back to "this wench," as one proto-tabloid hack dubbed slave Sally Hemings in 1802. Contemporary scandal-sheet accounts claiming that Thomas Jefferson had taken Hemings as "a concubine" were prime oppo research fodder for his Federalist opponents.

The rest here: Don't Hate... Appreciate!

Slavery Was Good For The Black Man

Posted on 3:30 PM comments (2)
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Somebody must have drank a little too much ganja tea... Dr James Watson is probably applauding right about now.

From our Jamaican brothers and sisters at the Jamaican Observer, published August 9th:


Slavery was good for the black man

As we celebrate emancipation and independence, we are being reminded of the horrors of slavery. According to our leaders, academics and others, slavery was the worst institution ever created. However, while it is popular for most to agree with this claim, I beg to disagree. Indeed, contrary to the belief that slavery was bad for us blacks, I believe that slavery was good for us.

Have we ever stopped to consider where we black people, especially those of us in the West, would be right now if it weren't for the Atlantic Slave Trade? What state do you think black Africa would be in today? Do you think that we would have been better off without slavery? I don't think so!

When the Europeans went to Africa to buy slaves, what did they find? They found a society and people vastly inferior to theirs. While the Europeans had emerged from their feudal practices, our ancestors in Africa, for the most part, had not developed for many centuries. We did not understand the concept of nation or government. Science and technology (and innovations in these areas) were non-existent in black Africa of the 15th and 16th centuries. Indeed, as a people, we had no sense of self-identity. In many respects, we were uncivilized.

Slavery was our most important contact with modernity. It is through this "most heinous system ever created" that we blacks were able to understand some of the principles of global trade. Our ancestors were introduced to the Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade between Europe, Africa and the West Indies. Black Africa's part in the trade was the importation of European technology and the export of slaves. The importation of European technology was important - even though the Africans did not appreciate this importance at first. The export of slaves was also very important, especially for us in the West.

As time went on, we blacks, both in Africa and especially in the Caribbean were, in many ways, being Europeanised and thus civilized.

The rest here: Slavery Was Cool!

Olympics: Those Wily Spaniards...

Posted on 12:47 PM No Comments
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What's Spanish for "shitheads?"

STORY

Hello There...

Posted on 12:09 AM comments (3)
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Hey folks!

Sorry for the abrupt hiatus. I'll spare you the tedious personal details, but suffice it to say that some unexpected news pulled me away from my blog habit, and kept me away since last week Wednesday (no I wasn't in prison, so get that thought out of your heads).

Thankfully, the horizon looks much sunnier, figuratively speaking, of course, and I'll return to posting some time this weekend, maybe starting today.

However, the "damage" done is irreparable, and so, until further notice, my posting frequency will dwindle significantly... likely one every few days.

Sorry :o(

But hopefully each post will be even richer and more worthwhile.

Thanks to all those who showed concern, whether via phone, email or on this blog! Much appreciated!

I'll be back very shortly.
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