More Indoctrination Tactics At Play - Or Just Another Ni88er Movie?

I received this email alert from website All Hip Hop. I may not listen to most of it but I do like to know what's going on.

Hip-Hop star Ice Cube has been cast as a rogue cop in a new action comedy set to be produced titled Ride Along...Cube plays a rogue cop in the comedy, who attempts to sabotage his sister's marriage to a white psychiatrist by taking him for a ride during his work day.

I saw this and immediately thought this movie is going to be a hot mess! I wondered if it was the studio's idea to make it into another black/white comedy. You know how much Hollywood loves those films. I also wondered if the movie ends up with a predominantly Black cast how chock full of stereotypes it will have. You know what I'm talking about! Plus do we really need to making light of the action of rogue cops?

The thing that really raised my ire though was the blurb about the character meddling in his sister's interracial marriage. It doesn't indicate the white husband has done anything wrong, but that Cube's character doesn't like the fact his sister is married to one. Now Black men exercise their rights to date whomever they like so where is this attempt at controlling the mating choices of Black women coming from?

Could it be that it's in the best interest of the bottom-feeders and those that would take advantage of Black women feeling desperate by limiting their choices? Or getting them to believe their choices are limited? So many of us already believe we are not worthy of being protected, cherished and provided for that all sorts of pathologies have emerged. It's time to expose that for the lie that it is!! 

If the situation was reversed and it was a white actor playing a rogue cop out to scare his sister's Black husband, the NAACP would be holding a press conference decrying such a racist script. So why not the reverse? Don't Black men have enough problems to continue perpetuating this type of behavior?

As it is I won't be seeing this film and if it gets completed I heartily support a straight to DVD release. Yet again I am shaking my head at the short-sightedness of those in positions to know better who choose to rub themselves in filth for a buck. I do hope in some twisted way that seeing the interracial couple together will still seep in the message there are plenty of good men available for us and to be open to finding a man of a different race/ethnicity/religion. 

Why Can't I Buy Wine At The Supermarket?

You know I've lived in California for so long there are certain things I've apparently taken for granted. I've thought nothing of perusing the wine section of most supermarkets for a selection. These stores have wine buyers whose selections often times reflect their tastes. In San Francisco I met the buyer for a local upscale organic-leaning grocer at a lounge bar. It caters to people in the nightclub industry so I got an in-depth schooling on great varietals. 

All of those shows with sommeliers/foodies on Fine Living Network and subsequent personal study have paid off as well. Another local grocer sells this one great brand of Blanc de Blancs French champagne (the real stuff) that's less than $12.  In fact, even Trader Joe's touts Charles Shaw wine otherwise known as 2 Buck Chuck - though it's $3 now. I've been able to sample a lot of wine and of course living in Northern California aka Wine Country has certainly developed my palate. You have to swish and spit by the way lest you get drunk before the tour ends!

This doesn't even begin to cover the pricing of wine and the use of undocumented workers on wineries to keep their profits up and allegedly prices low. When the prices of imports are roughly the same as domestic (except when you start getting into specific years, etc) I don't see how that argument holds water. That's another topic for a post that I will cover one day soon. 

New York State produces its own wine too, but unlike in California I can't buy my cheese, wine and toilet paper at the same place. You'd think there'd be this coordinated effort to showcase wines from the Empire State but the only time I've seen any was on the above-mentioned network as the "forgotten" domestic. Now the question of whether I'd want to buy all three together is a matter of personal taste for mass retailers (i.e. Gallo) do abound at supermarkets. 

Is that because of the advertising money spent marketing these wines or is that because the general public has simple (unsophisticated) tastes? There was a time when I thought I hated red wines. There was a time when a $5 bottle was sufficient. I'd dare say a $45 bottle of Tattinger Estate isn't in the weekly budget of the average consumer. I'd also opine those that have wine cellars aren't buying from Sam's Club necessarily either. 

Governor Patterson wants to allow grocers to sell wine to raise revenue for the state. See you New Yorkers don't realize how lucky you are to only have a $15B deficit instead of the $43B one slapped onto California with the looming $8B and counting in next year's budget.  Oh well, I never tire of pointing out the foolishness of those voters that were dazzled by the unqualified movie star who's helped edge the state a little bit closer to that cliff we think won't hold when the Big One comes. Where will all the celebs go when their houses fall into the Pacific? If you've visited Southern California to behold the beauty and peril of building a mansion on stilts on the side of a cliff then you know exactly what I'm talking about. 

So New York has until April 1st (really no joking) to decide on his budget proposal. The Liquor Lobby opposes this, including the Teamsters. Well...everybody's grabbing for a piece of the pie but to me this is a no-brainer. It's ridiculously archaic to not be able to purchase wine at the supermarket. Apparently the wine shops can't sell beer so I say open it up and be done with it. The last thing I'd want to do is be slave to whatever wine shop is in my vicinity or gasp - the liquor store that litters poorer neighborhoods. That's not elitist of me. They tend to grossly inflate prices. It's almost as bad as having to pay $32 for a $20 bottle of vodka in Ireland due to the ridiculous tariffs added to alcohol.  

Here's the weigh-in from Eric Asimov via The Pour blog at the New York Times:

The current system is an antiquated remnant of the post-Prohibition days. We eliminated blue laws prohibiting wine shops from opening on Sundays, and the world seems to have survived.

When Starbucks opened on seemingly every other corner in New York City it didn’t drive all the existing diners and coffee shops out of business. It did force many of them to improve their coffee quality and selection. Eventually, people began to react negatively to the Starbucks ubiquity and many smaller coffee specialty shops began to emerge playing the anti-corporate, connoisseur-quality card.

He has a point. You'll only find me at Charbucks because I needed a Hotspot internet connection or for the Tazo tea. As I can personally attest every wine shop isn't created equal. It's usually hit or miss - mostly miss as I've had some disgusting selections suggested. The one exception came from the one shop I went to in the Tenderloin of all places where I discovered L de Lyeth - thanks to the owner actually listening to my preferences.

Snoop Dogg Joins Nation of Islam - Further Proves His Irrelevancy

Is this a feeble attempt at maintaining a certain amount of popularity? Is the Nation of Islam that hard-up for members? Or can anyone join? Well...they do have a prison ministry so I guess so. Now Snoop's one of the gang? This coming from a guy who thought it was cute to show up at the MTV Awards with two Black women on leashes. I'm not seeing a lick of common sense being used here - of course there could be no brain cells left because of the love of dat herb. Did he give up the weed and the womanizing? Stay tuned cuz enquiring minds want to know......not!