
(Via Friday Five and Seriously Random)
At this moment, what is your favorite . . .
1. . . . song? Alicia Keys -- "If I Ain't Got You"/ (tied with) Usher (Featuring Ludacris and Lil' Jon) -- "Yeah"
Usher's song is growing on me. I don't know if it's because I'm dying to hear something new from the U-man or I just get enough of the crunk-y stuff. Either way, Usher looks like he's going to put up some big numbers -- in terms of selling units -- when his new CD Confessions drops in March or April.
2. . . . food? Thai Cuisine
At this moment, I yearning for some Thai food at Sawatdee Restaurant. But since I don't live in Minneapolis, I have to settle with fish sticks and potato fries. Yum, bachelor food!
3. . . . television show? Chappelle's Show
Dave Chappelle's sketch-comedy show is one of the funniest programs on television right now. His comedy bits are so in-your-face, you can almost feel yourself getting slap while you're laughing. Dave's racially-charged skits on race, politics and society are as insightful as they are indeed hilarious.
In the first episode (of the show's second season), there's a bit called "Racial Draft" in which teams of Jews, African-Americans, Latinos, Asians and European-Americans (white) decide the racial standing of such multi-ethnic celebrities as Tiger Woods, Lenny Kravitz, Mariah Carey and Colin Powell. In the first round, the blacks' draft pick is Tiger Woods.
"He's been discriminated against, he's had death threats and he dates white women," says Chappelle, playing one of the play-by-play announcers. "Sounds like a black man to me."
In a surprise move, the Asians picked the Wu-Tang Clan, the Jews picked Lenny Kravitz and the whites picked Colin Powell.
The morale of the skit: When it comes to race and society, we are all fucked up.
In an upcoming sketch that is generating a lot of buzz in media circles, Chappelle satires the classic '50s family sitcom Leave it to Beaver. Instead of having a white family whose last name is Cleaver, the white family's last name is "Niggar."
Oh man, I'm going to be howling with laughter when I see that skit.
Chappelle's Show airs every Wednesday at 10:30 p.m. ET on Comedy Central.
4. . . . scent? Blue by Ralph Lauren
Blue by Ralph Lauren drives women craaaazy!
5. . . . quote?
This is my favorite by poet laureate/teacher/activist Maya Angelou:
"I know that money doesn't measure success. You can only become totally accomplished at something you love. Don't make money your goal. Instead pursue the things you love doing and do them well and all the other tangible rewards will come as a result . . ."
*6. . . . album? Barbershop 2 soundtrack (Advance CD sampler)
Stupid record label sent me the Barbershop 2 soundtrack sampler with only five full-length songs and the rest are abbreviated tracks. The song that I'm feeling right now from the collection is "I Can't Wait" by Sleepy Brown (featuring OutKast). The song is as soulful as Big Boi's doo-wop meets crunk banger "The Way You Move." There's a little indirect jab at civil-rights icon Rosa Parks, who is suing OutKast for libel and restitution. Ah, hush that fuss.
Holla!