In Memoriam 2011

A little late but this is the most comprehensive music list I could find. Courtesy of soulwalking.uk.

Also, to my Uncle Hosea (Enox), you are very much missed!

Books Into Movies

In my haste to complete minor marketing projects ASAP for different clients so I could pay bills, I thought of several things.  One was a book I'd real called Black Starlet.  I got it from Waldenbooks in the Fox Hills Mall and got deep into Donald Goines and other authors telling a Black experience that had nothing to do with slavery.  This was the mid-to-late 80s and truthfully, there was nothing that impacted my young adult life but it was damn entertaining for a period when I needed a smile.

Anyway, I gave Iceberg Slim's Pimp to a male friend because it was just too heavy at the time and around this time I discovered blaxploitation films.  I'd seen I'm Gonna Get You Sucka and Blacula several times but I wanted to hear more from the "unsung" folks. 

So I rent Black Starlet from a place in Inglewood on Manchester and the Avenues (all I remember was Grady from Sanford and Son had a travel agency across the street).  It was silly but told the truth about the casting couch.  While Juanita Brown may have been entertaining back in the day, if she were to make a comeback, Viola Davis, Angela Bassett, Halle and about 200 other Black actresses wouldn't have a damn thing to worry about.  Here is a review that is a little less forgiving.

There are no YouTube clips of this movie and I'm not about to give Amazon $40 either. Yes, it is also titled Black Gauntlet but it made me remember the importance of preserving our works.

Waldenbooks is no more in L.A. and the last time I was in Fox Hills/Westfield, they were closer to having a biblioteca since the Borders Express is also history.  Then yesterday's L.A. Times article inspired me to make more positive changes in the New Year.  It is about Marcus Books in the Bay Area and the challenges it currently has with Amazon and its pricing policies.

We should not let our contribution in books, movies and other media dissolve into thin air or fight with a corporation.  This is why I've decided to add books to my posts and begin a campaign to promote literary events as well.

Comments? Suggestions?  Hit me at jwswindell@gmail.com

Bubba Smith Update

TMZ is not one of my favorite sources not because they tell the truth but because I think they can go lower than snail poo when it comes to telling someone's business.  However, this is what they are saying about the death of Bubba Smith.

They also seem to go through Black/AA employees like water, IMO.

Just in Time For Halloween-Carol Speed

Clients are coming left and right but I thought I'd stop by and share a gem I discovered about a year ago.

Carol Speed had a short career and I found it interesting that she had a brief part in 1997's 'Jackie Brown but was cut at the last minute.  Hmm
Here she shares some other accounts with the Original Foxy Brown as well as her short stint in Hollyweird.

A video I'm having a hard time finding is Abby.  The stunts are a little better than TNT but from what I've seen online (I was six when this was in major release and my mother was not about to let me see it), it sounds like it would make for a good weekend.  Then again, I never get tired of the original Blacula.

Vesta Williams TV Commercial

Wow, it's been a long time as I've had a ton of business clients along with interviews to deal with.

Anyway, I chose this blog to post my feelings about the passing of R&B recording artist Vesta.  My condolences go out to her family and close friends.

So far, what I've read on the blogs is that this was a very nice woman despite being in a business that is not nice. On the other hand, I hate that commenters have used this as a format to say what a grown woman did in her life.  From her dating life to alleged beef with other singers has been a thread on boards aimed at an older audience.

The topic of mental illness is a sensitive one for me as there isn't a day that goes by I don't hear about the Kelly Thomas case going on in Fullerton, CA.  Anyone who has conquered this without meds should be commended.  I'm not judging those who take meds but from observing a close relative, I think faith should be of equal dosage.

Here is a piece about the late singer from veteran journalist Steven Ivory.  Like most of his work, it is honest without being sugary or judgmental.  One thing I might add that was ironic about Ms.Williams' career is that she gained popularity as a plus-sized woman.  Yet, due to alleged pressure from her record company, she lost almost half her weight but never had another hit and continued to do background work along with oldies revues with other artists from the same era.

I couldn't find her appearance on 'Sister, Sister' but I thought this commercial was pretty sweet to the ear.

Scott Joplin Biopic (1977)

Recently, TV One ran this late at night and I recorded it.  Though a little slow-moving, this is a whole helluva lot better than some EBT church play  for a dull-ass Sunday afternoon.  I wish TV One would bring back other classics like Dummy or Battered where Chip Fields plays an abused wife.  (I guess I got a thing for Levar Burton this week, LOL.)


Fine @ss Billy Dee played the underrated musical genius alongside a very young Clifton Davis, whose performance was not half-bad.  Margaret Avery plays Belle, one of many wives the composer would have in his short life.


In short, this is about a man and his craft.  He created great music that was associated with the negativity that comes with being colored/negro/black/AA and like hip-hop today, it is eventually "stolen" by others once it receives national recognition.  To learn more about this great master of sound, click here.

Black Dynamite Cartoon

If you love the nods to the blaxploitation genre, then check out 2009's Black Dynamite with Michael Jai White.  The humor is a lot more subtle than 1988's I'm Gonna Get You Sucka and the quality of the picture is excellent.
It's now in the form of a comic book and is coming to Cartoon Network's Adult Swim.

Wonder if this is going to come on during The Boondocks.  Does anybody know when Season 4 is supposed to start?