My first film shoot! This piece is called Still Counting. Produced and Directed by your very own, The Artist. The version you are seeing is the first edited print without color correction and sound. The sound is a poem I wrote about my father called till counting and you hear a little girl counting 1 mississippi, 2 mississippi in the background. The shoot was fun. Hand edited, cut and sliced all the parts myself. Enjoy!
The final looks sooooo goood! Unfortunately, I dont have a digital print of the final...I finished on film :)
Sooo...
The cable network synonymous with "Flavor of Love" and its sleazy spin-offs is trading trampiness for fabulousness with a new slate of series starring seemingly well-adjusted rich and famous black Americans. VH1 executive vice president Jeff Olde admits that the shift from oh-no-they-didn't fare to more mature material is totally intentional.
"We constantly have to evolve and tell our audience different stories," he says. "I love that we've been able to get more diverse with our audience by — in large part — attracting African-American women to the network. We got them in the door with some shows, and now I'm excited about where we're going and how we're telling them different kinds of stories."
With an April 11 debut, "What Chilli Wants" will be partnered on Sundays with "Brandy & Ray J: A Family Business," focusing on sibling R&B singers Ray J and Brandy Norwood as they attempt to relaunch their music careers, and "Basketball Wives," starring Shaquille O'Neal's ex-wife, Shaunie O'Neal, and five other women with romantic links to basketball players.
For the notoriously trashy VH1, it's not reality as usual. While cat fights will flare up with the "Basketball Wives" and Chilli promises a tiff with her sassy matchmaker on "What Chilli Wants," these new shows certainly aren't selling buzzworthy moments akin to "Flavor of Love" contestants spiting on each other or suddenly defecating on the floor.
"I watched 'Flavor of Love' myself," attests Chilli. "It was definitely one of the shows I thought was interesting, but it made sense for Flav to do it just that way. For me, I wanted to do my show in a way that I would be comfortable with, and I was very happy that VH1 was on the same page with me. They did have a formula that has been working for them."
Olde dismisses any past criticisms of "Flavor of Love" and its offspring, mostly produced by 51 Minds Entertainment, by calling the franchise ignited by black rapper Flavor Flav and his multiracial harem "big fun romantic comedies." (Olde confirms that "I Love Money 3," featuring murder suspect and suicide victim Ryan Jenkins, as well as the Jenkins-free "I Love Money 4" won't air.)
Instead of lewd antics from "Flavor of Love" standout Tiffany "New York" Pollard or that toxic spill of "Charm School" women, the network is now interested in transformative experiences from celebrities, such as third season "American Idol" winner Fantasia Barrino or rapper Sandy "Pepa" Denton from Salt-N-Pepa. The evolution is already proving successful.
Premieres earlier this year of "Fantasia for Real" and "Let's Talk About Pep" topped that same week's third season debut of "Celebrity Rehab" and episodes of the seedy dating shows "For the Love of Ray J" and "Frank the Entertainer in a Basement Affair," which starred "I Love New York" reject Frank Maresca searching for love from his parent's basement.
"The new VH1 shows offer a different take on the black reality TV star," says Imani Perry, a professor at Princeton University's Center for African American Studies. "These are images of wealthy black families. These shows may potentially be less stereotypic because they present a different, higher status black image."
Bill Graff, an analyst for cable media analysis firm CableU, says the strategy isn't a surefire winner. While the new shows are targeted to an underserved audience, they require more of an investment from viewers, especially if they don't care about the personal lives of such B-list celebrities as Chilli and Brandy, or any of those "Basketball Wives."
"It's a little bit more of a leap for VH1 viewers than 'Flavor of Love,' 'Rock of Love' and the other shows," says Graff. "Anyone who watches VH1 definitely knows and is entertained by Flavor Flav and New York. Anyone who is familiar with hip-hop from the past 25 years knows Pepa from Salt-N-Pepa, but they may not necessarily care about her love life."
It's not as if VH1 is becoming BET, whose own affluent African-American docu-soap "Baldwin Hills" has been around for three seasons. The majority of VH1 series, such as "Celebrity Fit Club," "Sober House" and "Tough Love Couples," feature multiracial casts, as do mainstream network reality shows such as "The Amazing Race," "Survivor" and "American Idol." However, the new trio of shows with predominantly black stars will be scheduled together on Sundays.
"It's strange, because it almost feels like a different type of segregation," says actor-comedian Victor Varnado, who directed and starred with other black comedians in "The Awkward Comedy Show," Comedy Central's offbeat comedy special debuting April 9. "It's like this is where the black people can watch their black programming on this night."
VH1's Olde, however, notes that while the network's black-centric shows are most popular with African-American women, they attract viewers of all ethnicities and backgrounds. The popularity of Bravo's "The Real Housewives of Atlanta" proved that a reality show featuring a mostly black cast can cross ethnic lines and become a cultural phenomenon.
That doesn't mean this glitzy new breed is free of the stereotypes that have long plagued cable reality TV shows. Critics point to the continued inclusion of such black stereotypes as the gold-digging woman, the hypersexual and irresponsible man, and cast members prone to raging behavior and violence as a way to gratify viewers' voyeuristic desires.
"The choices that are made by producers, editors and performers in unscripted television to satisfy these audience desires are deliberate," says Princeton University's Perry. "We think we are getting something real, but what we are getting is an effort to satisfy our curiosity and feed our assumptions."
"We constantly have to evolve and tell our audience different stories," he says. "I love that we've been able to get more diverse with our audience by — in large part — attracting African-American women to the network. We got them in the door with some shows, and now I'm excited about where we're going and how we're telling them different kinds of stories."
With an April 11 debut, "What Chilli Wants" will be partnered on Sundays with "Brandy & Ray J: A Family Business," focusing on sibling R&B singers Ray J and Brandy Norwood as they attempt to relaunch their music careers, and "Basketball Wives," starring Shaquille O'Neal's ex-wife, Shaunie O'Neal, and five other women with romantic links to basketball players.
For the notoriously trashy VH1, it's not reality as usual. While cat fights will flare up with the "Basketball Wives" and Chilli promises a tiff with her sassy matchmaker on "What Chilli Wants," these new shows certainly aren't selling buzzworthy moments akin to "Flavor of Love" contestants spiting on each other or suddenly defecating on the floor.
"I watched 'Flavor of Love' myself," attests Chilli. "It was definitely one of the shows I thought was interesting, but it made sense for Flav to do it just that way. For me, I wanted to do my show in a way that I would be comfortable with, and I was very happy that VH1 was on the same page with me. They did have a formula that has been working for them."
Olde dismisses any past criticisms of "Flavor of Love" and its offspring, mostly produced by 51 Minds Entertainment, by calling the franchise ignited by black rapper Flavor Flav and his multiracial harem "big fun romantic comedies." (Olde confirms that "I Love Money 3," featuring murder suspect and suicide victim Ryan Jenkins, as well as the Jenkins-free "I Love Money 4" won't air.)
Instead of lewd antics from "Flavor of Love" standout Tiffany "New York" Pollard or that toxic spill of "Charm School" women, the network is now interested in transformative experiences from celebrities, such as third season "American Idol" winner Fantasia Barrino or rapper Sandy "Pepa" Denton from Salt-N-Pepa. The evolution is already proving successful.
Premieres earlier this year of "Fantasia for Real" and "Let's Talk About Pep" topped that same week's third season debut of "Celebrity Rehab" and episodes of the seedy dating shows "For the Love of Ray J" and "Frank the Entertainer in a Basement Affair," which starred "I Love New York" reject Frank Maresca searching for love from his parent's basement.
"The new VH1 shows offer a different take on the black reality TV star," says Imani Perry, a professor at Princeton University's Center for African American Studies. "These are images of wealthy black families. These shows may potentially be less stereotypic because they present a different, higher status black image."
Bill Graff, an analyst for cable media analysis firm CableU, says the strategy isn't a surefire winner. While the new shows are targeted to an underserved audience, they require more of an investment from viewers, especially if they don't care about the personal lives of such B-list celebrities as Chilli and Brandy, or any of those "Basketball Wives."
"It's a little bit more of a leap for VH1 viewers than 'Flavor of Love,' 'Rock of Love' and the other shows," says Graff. "Anyone who watches VH1 definitely knows and is entertained by Flavor Flav and New York. Anyone who is familiar with hip-hop from the past 25 years knows Pepa from Salt-N-Pepa, but they may not necessarily care about her love life."
It's not as if VH1 is becoming BET, whose own affluent African-American docu-soap "Baldwin Hills" has been around for three seasons. The majority of VH1 series, such as "Celebrity Fit Club," "Sober House" and "Tough Love Couples," feature multiracial casts, as do mainstream network reality shows such as "The Amazing Race," "Survivor" and "American Idol." However, the new trio of shows with predominantly black stars will be scheduled together on Sundays.
"It's strange, because it almost feels like a different type of segregation," says actor-comedian Victor Varnado, who directed and starred with other black comedians in "The Awkward Comedy Show," Comedy Central's offbeat comedy special debuting April 9. "It's like this is where the black people can watch their black programming on this night."
VH1's Olde, however, notes that while the network's black-centric shows are most popular with African-American women, they attract viewers of all ethnicities and backgrounds. The popularity of Bravo's "The Real Housewives of Atlanta" proved that a reality show featuring a mostly black cast can cross ethnic lines and become a cultural phenomenon.
That doesn't mean this glitzy new breed is free of the stereotypes that have long plagued cable reality TV shows. Critics point to the continued inclusion of such black stereotypes as the gold-digging woman, the hypersexual and irresponsible man, and cast members prone to raging behavior and violence as a way to gratify viewers' voyeuristic desires.
"The choices that are made by producers, editors and performers in unscripted television to satisfy these audience desires are deliberate," says Princeton University's Perry. "We think we are getting something real, but what we are getting is an effort to satisfy our curiosity and feed our assumptions."
This makes me happy! How about u?
March yields first solid growth in jobs since recession...
However, the biggest burst in hiring in three years wasn't enough to lower the jobless rate, which held at 9.7%, the Labor Department reports. Economists still see a slow recovery in the labor market.
Reporting from Washington - The American economy added 162,000 new payroll jobs in March, the Labor Department said Friday, marking the first sign of substantial job growth since the Great Recession and the largest one-month increase in three years.
The job gains, however, weren't strong enough to bring down the unemployment rate, which remained at 9.7% in March for the third month in a row. And economists remained cautious, saying they expected the labor market recovery to be slow.
A chunk of the job increases in March, or 48,000 positions, came from the hiring of temporary workers by the Census Bureau. But the private sector generated 123,000 jobs last month, more than what many analysts were projecting.
Manufacturing payrolls expanded for the third month in a row, and the harbinger temporary-help industry added another 40,000 workers in March. Financial services and the information industry lost jobs, but healthcare, education, retailers and the leisure industry all added to their payrolls.
"It's the first month of really solid growth," said Bart van Ark, chief economist at the Conference Board, a business-membership and research organization in New York. "We see the job gains spreading across the economy."
Adding to the positive news, the government also revised upward the count of the nation's payrolls for the first two months of the year. It said the economy created 14,000 jobs in January instead of losing 26,000 as previously reported. And the losses in February were shaved by more than half, to 14,000.
Babara and Belinda the Builder
So everyone, me and my roomie is having a ball! You can call us Barbara and Belinda the Builder! lol! We pre-gamed to prepare us for our adventure to purchase furniture for "our" apartment. Yes!!! The girls stepped out! We went to a club called The Box at the Beach. Started with a red bull and ole grandpa liquor finally found the spot about time we finished our glasses because here drinking is allowed on the streets. Got to the spot, of course we were beautiful and we shut it DOWN. Drinks everywhere, handsome men and beautiful women, you know how that goes. When we left the sun was rising and were ready for part 2. Lets not forget we had the football team escorting us. We got it in!
The next couple days consisted of us getting lost in Berlin, loading and unloading of new furniture and putting it together. Late night girl talks and green lemon Becks (cause we classy, lol) and the crazy cat, Milou, jumping out of windows.
Well everyone, we successfully built everything on our rooms and we need to celebrate. We stepping out tonite. Shutting it DOWN! Ask in anyone in these clubs who stay on the dance floor the WHOLE night getting it in. Enjoying life. Jackie my darling, are you ready for the night? I already got us one ready, until then I found the paperwork I have been looking for for days. (Is that grammatically correct?) So, I have errands to tend to before I prepare for the night. Pictures coming soon.
Oh, the roomie is about her business though. She wakes up everyday and go to work Sunday-Sunday and is surviving in Berlin as a independent woman. She is an event manager at a restaurant in this famous art building and she brought info about the African Film Festival. Lets get get get it!
The Artist is out and missing yall like crazy! :)
The next couple days consisted of us getting lost in Berlin, loading and unloading of new furniture and putting it together. Late night girl talks and green lemon Becks (cause we classy, lol) and the crazy cat, Milou, jumping out of windows.
Well everyone, we successfully built everything on our rooms and we need to celebrate. We stepping out tonite. Shutting it DOWN! Ask in anyone in these clubs who stay on the dance floor the WHOLE night getting it in. Enjoying life. Jackie my darling, are you ready for the night? I already got us one ready, until then I found the paperwork I have been looking for for days. (Is that grammatically correct?) So, I have errands to tend to before I prepare for the night. Pictures coming soon.
Oh, the roomie is about her business though. She wakes up everyday and go to work Sunday-Sunday and is surviving in Berlin as a independent woman. She is an event manager at a restaurant in this famous art building and she brought info about the African Film Festival. Lets get get get it!
The Artist is out and missing yall like crazy! :)
Lets think people...
A Hyatt Hotel employee clobbered a CTA bus driver in the head with a hammer because he was refused a student fare, Cook County prosecutors said today.
Adan Valle, 18, demanded his dollar back after he inserted it into the No. 53A bus’ fare machine Tuesday afternoon and was told he couldn’t get the special rate without producing a high school or college ID, Assistant State’s Attorney Lorraine Scaduto said.
Adan Valle clobbered a CTA bus driver in the head with a hammer because he was refused a student fare, Cook County prosecutors said today.
Valle complained to the driver that he was able to get the discounted rate a day before without showing an ID and then started hitting the driver in the head with a hammer, Scaduto said.
Passengers who witnessed the attack called police and held Valle on the bus until officers arrived.
The 48-year-old driver was taken to Mount Sinai Hospital with lacerations.
Valle is a “laborer” at the Hyatt Hotel, according to a police report.
He had brass knuckles and a “black jack” club in his possession when he was arrested, the report said. The pony-tailed man has the word “angel” tattooed on his left breast.
Valle, of the 5500 block of South Fairfield, was charged with one count of aggravated battery of a government employee.
Judge Donald Panarese ordered him held in lieu of $400,000 bail this afternoon.
The Artist has a question?
What is the world coming to? Or are we there yet?
Adan Valle, 18, demanded his dollar back after he inserted it into the No. 53A bus’ fare machine Tuesday afternoon and was told he couldn’t get the special rate without producing a high school or college ID, Assistant State’s Attorney Lorraine Scaduto said.
Adan Valle clobbered a CTA bus driver in the head with a hammer because he was refused a student fare, Cook County prosecutors said today.
Valle complained to the driver that he was able to get the discounted rate a day before without showing an ID and then started hitting the driver in the head with a hammer, Scaduto said.
Passengers who witnessed the attack called police and held Valle on the bus until officers arrived.
The 48-year-old driver was taken to Mount Sinai Hospital with lacerations.
Valle is a “laborer” at the Hyatt Hotel, according to a police report.
He had brass knuckles and a “black jack” club in his possession when he was arrested, the report said. The pony-tailed man has the word “angel” tattooed on his left breast.
Valle, of the 5500 block of South Fairfield, was charged with one count of aggravated battery of a government employee.
Judge Donald Panarese ordered him held in lieu of $400,000 bail this afternoon.
The Artist has a question?
What is the world coming to? Or are we there yet?
Getting around Berlin
So day 6 of taking the same train to get everywhere worked in my favor. I didnt need to ask if I was headed in the right direction. I had to trust myself. Trust that I have been paying attention to my surroundings well enough to get to the same place I go to everyday. I would have been dissapointed if I was wrong.
So anywho, the train I take is the U2, which is the most convenient train to live by if you are traveling from one side of town to the other. It goes from Zoologisher -Garten, West Berlin to Alexenderplatz, once the center of East Berlin, now the center of the city. Besides the fact that all of the good stores line these streets, you can find the best food around these places too.
Speaking of food, last night I had Turkish food for dinner. Falling in love with international cuisine. ♥
Now back to the train, besides the U2 though, you have U1-U9, which is known as the U-bahn. These trains run underground like the redline in Chicago or the subways in NY. Then you have the S-Bahn, which is above ground and circles the outskirts of the city, and buses & trams everywhere. Saying this all to make these important points:
*You don't need a car to get around
*The city is HUGE; I have a lot to see!
*I think I'm in love ♥
XOXO - The Artist
So anywho, the train I take is the U2, which is the most convenient train to live by if you are traveling from one side of town to the other. It goes from Zoologisher -Garten, West Berlin to Alexenderplatz, once the center of East Berlin, now the center of the city. Besides the fact that all of the good stores line these streets, you can find the best food around these places too.
Speaking of food, last night I had Turkish food for dinner. Falling in love with international cuisine. ♥
Now back to the train, besides the U2 though, you have U1-U9, which is known as the U-bahn. These trains run underground like the redline in Chicago or the subways in NY. Then you have the S-Bahn, which is above ground and circles the outskirts of the city, and buses & trams everywhere. Saying this all to make these important points:
*You don't need a car to get around
*The city is HUGE; I have a lot to see!
*I think I'm in love ♥
XOXO - The Artist
Inspiration for the week ♥
I'm a big dreamer and since Im not one to talk but do, I live big too! Do big things and get bigger things in return. Don't have to tell you my dreams, just look at my life.