The Blog

While my mom and sister were in town, we saw Fela the Musical on Broadway. While I haven’t seen more than four plays on Broadway, this was by far the best production I’ve seen. The energy level was sky high.

Take a look at the show’s opening number:

In the video below, my favorite number from the show:

The best part of summer is getting together with old friends. On this rare occasion, several friends of mine from journalism school happened to be in New York for the Fourth of July.

Long delay between posts, I know. I’ve moved from Trenton, where I’d been a temp reporter for the AP’s statehouse bureau, to Montclair, NJ where I’m living and commuting to Parsippany, NJ for my new job at the Daily Record. There I cover Morris County for seven (soon to be eight) zoned weeklies and the paper’s daily edition.

In June, my mom and sister visited New York City for 10 days. Had a great time with them.

Other than that, not much else is new. I live in a great location — 30 minutes to the City by train and the station is right around the corner for my doorstep. Lots of fun things to do in Montclair, as well.

Stay tuned. I’ll dish on my leisure time over the last couple of months.

Posting will be light for the next couple of weeks. Will explain more soon.

Michael’s best material was produced in his youth: from the Jackson 5 era to right around the time the Thriller album peaked. And if I’ve being completely honest with myself, and not too many Michael fans are, Mr. Jackson was all down hill after Man In The Mirror and Earth Song. (Send all hate mail to comments section.) What came before his decline, however, is more than enough to tide me over. RIP, Mike.

I Wanna Be Where You Are is my favorite Jackson 5 song.

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I Can’t Help It, from the “Off The Wall” album … Michael’s best by far, in my humble opinion.

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What can I say about Stevie Wonder that hasn’t already been said. Not much, really. He’s one of the greatest. I can’t imagine what I’d really know about music without having ever heard Knocks Me Off My Feet, As or Don’t You Worry About A Thing. And I can go to my grave knowing I’d seen him perform live, right in front of my eyes, even if for a brief moment. (Last year. Fred Hammond concert in L.A.)

Here’s one of my many favorites, Ordinary Pain.

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Don’t be alarmed. The term food porn is only a “provocative term variously applied to a spectacular visual presentation of cooking or eating.” Enjoy.

(Best viewed in HD)

Music – “It’s Oh So Quiet” by Björk.

Funk music is often imitated these days. But no one left it waft like Sly and the Family Stone. Their music was in heavy rotation during our family road trips growing up. I have too many favorites to name. The track I’m posting is reminder to me and those of my generation struggling to find their place in a hostile job market. The chips are stacked against us…but we can make it, if we try.

Here’s You Can Make It If You Try.

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Having ranted about the treatment of Helen Thomas this week, I’d be remiss in not saluting two respected African American reporters who had long careers doing what I aspire to do. Both passed away recently.

Bob Ellison, 67, was a radio reporter who was the first African American journalist to serve as president of the White House Correspondents’ Association. He spent 14 years as the White House correspondent for the Sheridan Broadcasting Network (a.k.a. American Urban Radio Networks). He covered the Reagan, George H.W. Bush and Clinton administrations. Read more here.

Evelyn Cunningham, a civil-rights-era journalist and later an aide to Gov. Nelson A. Rockefeller of New York. She worked more than 20 years for The Pittsburgh Courier, a black weekly newspaper. Read more here.

I have an interesting history with Ray Charles, in that I was afraid of him as a toddler. Knowing I was terrified of Mr. Charles, my biological father, before he and my mother divorced, used to chase me around the kitchen wearing dark shades. What made me afraid of him? I couldn’t begin to tell you. I eventually came around to liking Ray, right around the time I became terrified of Freddy Krueger.

The track I’ve posted is one of my favorites. Imagine sitting in a black Protestant church. The organist begins playing the overture that signals it’s time for offering. The congregation stands up in the pews, awaiting the instructions of the church ushers. The choir members stand and begin to sway rhythmically, readying themselves to sing. That’s what this record sounds like to me…

…except it’s titled Let’s Go Get Stoned. Listen for yourself.

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