6 Slavery is funny?

Is it possible that levity can be found in a movie about slavery?

Can the plot remain true to history and yet juxtapose comedic situations alongside the painful history?

Even more importantly, can you draw African Americans, who according to recent "studies" are the greatest consumers of entertainment, to the theater to watch the movie?

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A movie that is going to be released in France in July attempts to do that. Case Départ tells the stories of two brothers, half brothers who have the same father. They hardly know him. One feels that France, the country in which they live, is ultimately racist and it makes him despondent and disillusioned. His brother harbors a lot of self hate, wishing to shed the heavy slave heritage. At their father's deathbed, they receive an ancient document that they mistakenly destroy and are sent back in time by an old mysterious woman, specifically to the height of the Trans-Atlantic slave period. As they work together to return to the present day they are caught in  a series of hilarious situations.

Case Départ Trailer:

The intentions of the movie makers Thomas Ngijol and Fabrice Eboué (who are also the stars of the movie) may not be evident and until we see the movie. At first they seem innocent enough, full of lessons to teach us valuable lessons about owning our heritage, understanding it and remembering that people smiled with each other some of the time, but we will have to wait and see.

Do you think that a movie about slavery can be funny? If it airs in the US (or wherever you are) do you think you will go to see it?

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1 Australia Outshines the US

Image Credit: healthmankirkland

Last year while scouring the internet for television programs to watch, after a dismal lineup by US networks, I happened upon a show, Masterchef Australia.

They took amateur cooks from everywhere in the country and had a competition to see who would emerge as the best cook. Competitions like the mystery box where all the ingredients to be used are in a box, immunity pin challenge where the amateur cook would compete with a professional cook for the chance to have immunity or even the pressure tests that would end someone's dreams of becoming the next masterchef.

The focus was entirely on the food, the skill of the cooks, creativity and accepting cooking as an art form. The Master classes held by top chefs Gary Mehigan and George Calombaris were interesting and allowed those of us sitting at home to delve into the kitchen, research farmer's markets and early morning markets where all the top restaurants go to shop, purchase some very exotic spices for dishes we wanted to try out and the best part of all, all the winning recipes along with the recipes from Master class were posted on their website for everyone to use.

Enter Masterchef US. Sigh. From the start of the first season, there was an obvious decision to favor Whitney. The dishes were often bland looking with creativity and honest cooking often taking the back seat to the over dramatization of the characters they chose - something that is obviously lacking in the Australian version of the show - which may be a function of the producers who imagine an audience that is like the Survivor or Jersey Shore audience.

Pish tosh with all this drama nonsense. If there are no good innovative cooks, then there needs to be a wider search. I want to be able to attend a Masterclass conducted by Gordon Ramsey, with all the tips and tricks and shortcuts he would be able to offer. I want to be able to see famous food bloggers/writers come up with crazy challenges, to see that the people who left the show are pursuing their dreams working in kitchens and honing their skills. I want to see members of the Daring Kitchen on the show!!! I am going to try to give season two a go, but if it turns out to be the same igg that infected last season, sorry! I'm going to stick with the very interesting Masterchef Australia that hinges on fresh locally grown produce and making it into delicious food art on my plate!!

Please Masterchef US, we know there is more out there than trumped up and edited drama. We just want food art.

© Qalil.com

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0 Jewels of African Film from MTV Awards

Have you ever wondered what a book written in another language reads like? Have you been curious about the perspective of a particular culture without the veil of prejudice from an onlooker, whatever their prejudice may be?

I have often been plagued with the knowledge that there may not be enough years in a human lifetime to learn enough languages to enjoy the stories from Africa and indeed the World. To gain sufficient proficiency to understand the complexity and subtle nuances of the language in order to relish the beauty of a people from a first person perspective. Much of it is lost in translation to one of the major languages of the UN, but unfortunately for us, in order to enjoy the stories, we get the pale xerox of it.

We may, however, be able to find a way to enjoy stories without the barrier. Through the medium of movies.

MTV introduced a new category this year that honored African films and African film makers, a surprising move for awards that have taken a backseat in the global honor, glitz, glam and media whoring that have surrounded the Oscars.

At Qalil.com, we have scoured the internet to bring you trailers and brief summaries of the movies that were nominated for this award so that when they become available to you through the Netflix or your local video store you would be able to see them.



Viva Riva
Riva is an operator, a man with charm and ambition in equal measure. Kinshasa is an inviting place. With petrol in short supply in DRC's capital, he and his sidekick pursue a plot to get hold of a secret cache - barrels of fuel they can sell for a huge profit. Of course they're not the only ones who want the stuff. Cesar is a ruthless, sharply dressed foreigner thriving in Kinshasa's lawless streets. A female military officer joins the fray. Even the church will betray its tenets for a piece of the action. But Riva's main nemesis is Azor, a crime boss in the classic style: big, decadent and brutal. He's not a man to mess with, but his girlfriend, Nora, may just be the most seductive woman in all of DRC. Riva catches sight of her dancing at a nightclub and it's not long before Nora matches the fuel cache as a coveted object of his lust. (imdb.com)

A Screaming Man
Present-day Chad. Adam, sixty something, a former swimming champion, is pool attendant at a smart N'Djamena hotel. When the hotel gets taken over by new Chinese owners, he is forced to give up his job to his son Abdel. Terribly resentful, he feels socially humiliated. The country is in the throes of a civil war. Rebel forces are attacking the government. The authorities demand that the population contribute to the "war effort", giving money or volunteers old enough to fight off the assailants. The District Chief constantly harasses Adam for his contribution. But Adam is penniless; he only has his son... (imdb.com)

Life Above All
A child tries to hold her family together against prejudice, disease, and ignorance in this drama from South Africa. Chanda (Khomotso Manyaka) is only 12 years old, but she's already been forced to take on many of the responsibilities of an adult in her household. Chanda's father is gone, her stepfather, Jonah (Aubrey Poolo), is an irresponsible alcoholic, and her mother, Lillian (Lerato Mvelase), has been physically and emotionally devastated by AIDS and the death of her youngest child. (imdb.com)

Restless City
Tells the story of an African immigrant surviving on the fringes of New York City where music is his passion, life is a hustle and falling in love is his greatest risk. (imdb.com)

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0 From The Diva of Over-reacting

Image Credits: Queen Roly

Chocolate.

No. Seriously.

Chocolate.

I have a very passionate love affair with chocolate and any special person in my life understands that  and accepts it for what it is.

The desserts and sweets that can be made from are decadent, rich, sweet almost sinful. There is a chocolate cake recipe called "Better than Sex". Basically, it is generally agreed that chocolate is a versatile and delicious food group that can be used to create beautiful desserts.

So what is with the diva who hits people? Why did she take offense to the comparison between herself and chocolate? The one who accepted a handful of dirty stones from an African dictator and tried to brush it off? The one who caused so much pain to the much beloved Tyra Banks? That one? Is it a strategy for something else?

The decadent recipes that result from the proper use of this food substance are beautiful to behold and tend to begin the process of salivation in most of the human race. Here, feast your eyes.

Image Credit: katbert

Image Credit: Kirti Poddar

Image Credit: Kimberlykv

In the discussion concerning the comparison of my skin tone with a particular food, I don't find it to be distressing or distasteful. I find I am not assailed by the same feelings of anger that she has. She has also failed to properly explain WHY it is offensive to her other than claiming she did not like being compared with chocolate.

Is this similar to the derogatory name some older black people use to talk about white people? I don't understand her argument yet. Do you?

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0 The Nollywood Phenomenon

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Nollywood, Nigeria's film industry, grew quickly in the late 90's to become the World's second largest film industry with regards to the number of movies it produces and releases. Surpassed only by Bollywood, India's film industry, Nollywood produces about 200 movies per month and is a $250 million dollar industry. (According to the wiki page)

The reason for Bollywood and Nollywood success in India, the Arab World and Africa, is that the stories produced are stories that the general population can relate to. The struggles of poverty that they experience daily, the complex relationships that children living in a globalized World have with their parents who may still be deeply entrenched in traditional cultural values, the effects of a corrupt government on the lives of the everyday person and the sheer talent that is discovered as a result.

Because of their success, their distribution has spread past their borders which means that producers have had to use official language subtitles (English, Arabic, French, German) for some of the movies using local languages. This, however, has not deterred the success and proliferation of the movies and they continue to be watched and enjoyed by millions of people around the World who can identify with the stories being told.

As Hollywood fades into the global background with poor dialogue, misogynistic music and flat comedy, it will be interesting to see what the future holds for Nollywood and African Cinema.

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0 The Case for World Music

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There are few things in this World that unite culture and people more than the Arts. There is beauty to be found in art that speaks a universal language, music with rhythm and emotion that speaks to the humanity in all of us, literature bursting with stories we could have never imagined, but can visualize and enter and learn.

The World is awash with beautiful voices that belt out tunes played to instruments that may or may not sound like the instruments we are used to and in languages we do not understand, but is there a chance that we might connect to the emotion beneath?

Why is it that we relegate ourselves, almost exclusively, to music sung in languages that we understand? Is our connection to the music through the words, or is there a possibility that we can transcend the literal meaning of the words (or ignore them) and enjoy the emotion, the musicality of the voices and the sounds of the instruments?

It is possible that the World must rethink what globalization has done to the music experience of a moderate internet surfer. Some people are way ahead of the fray, like Beyonce choosing to use the dance routine of a little known group called Tofo Tofo probably found on YouTube by one of her choreographers. Shakira fully embraced African dance in the video that was composed for FIFA held in South Africa most recently.

Qalil challenges you to give it a try. KTRU, "which airs on Mondays 7-9 pm (CST) on 90.1 KPFT-HD2 or online at www.ktru.org has a program called Routes D’Afrique which explores the diversity of African music" (according to their site). If you crave the African flavor including folkloric and traditional recordings, please tune in to listen!

A recent furor over the reduction in number of awards for the Grammys certainly brings what has been called "World Music" to the forefront. World music is a label that cannot be used to describe the affluence and diversity of the music the World produces.

It is possible that it is time for the World to abandon the Grammys and leave large portions of the Western World to the constrictions they have placed upon their music choices. Maybe it is time the rest of the World celebrates, show cases and shares their talents with each other and form a different kind of award that surpasses the minor squabbles that form the complex politics of Hollywood.

On that note today Qalil brings you some of the "World Music" that has been on our favorite list. Enjoy!

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0 The REAL Terminator

I give in. Now that y'all have blogged about this ad nauseum.

I have never been more disappointed in gossip ever!! Shriver and the Schwarzenegger are over because of a child he had with the maid 14 years ago. She knew his molestering ass had his hands all over the help, didn't protect them or could put up with it then suddenly she had enough? Is it coz he isn't running for office again and only politics gets her going?

No way The Terminator was paying child support for 14 years without Ms. Shriver knowing.

NO WAY! 

The outspoken product of the Kennedy family didn't know there were thousands being milked from her husband's account paying for child support? And those of you (yes men, I'm talking to y'all) who have to pay child support each month know it is a hell of a lot of money.

I think something else is afoot! We just haven't been told. California is on fire or leaking some noxious poison into the water or they're installing batman's cave or aliens are in the process of taking over and our attention is just being diverted.

Don't get me wrong, I know the plight of women who have stayed with a man who lies and cheats and they end up forgiving them and the cycle repeats itself till a critical mass is reached. The main point here is that he continues doing stuff until she catches him in her 800 thread Egyptian cotton sheets with two floozies then she throws him out the door with one pair of boxers to cover his man parts. But here the straw that broke the camels back surely was not an affair that petered out 10 years ago after producing a son. An affair she would have known about (don't women always claim that they knew?) and child support payments she'd know were being drained from his account (Ms. Shriver ain't dumb). This was not it. Nuh-uh!

NO WAY!!

Feed me some other line coz I ain't chomping on this bait. I'll just wait till the gossip gets better and some other woman pops on his arm. Betcha she wasn't even the one who ended it. Which is why he's all like "Don't talk about her or my family and focus on me blah blah blah, it's kinda hard when you're not the one lugging your bags into the back of the yellow cab, stacking your children in one by one, being driven off into the sunset with one solitary tear streaming down your cheek, quickly being rubbed away by a monogrammed lace hanky with MSK on it. Yeah. No.

Let's wait and see!

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0 Proof that Hollywood is out of ideas

Someone recently connected the dots for me. If you like investigating, follow us kindly to this video

Okay, like the routine? Think it's a little too dorky African? Okay...

Now take a moment and turn up the volume on your computer and listen to these beats for a minute or two. You may remember them...

Okay? Heard some of it?

Now take some time and watch this video (if you have no patience for this, just forward it to minute 1:06  to watch the routine and listen to the beat).

No new ideas!! NONE! No one is coming up with anything new, just remixing like the excuse given by the young German writer.

Boo!

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0 Singing Sensation of a Different Kind

Many of us would be hard pressed to find Cameroon on an African Map. This often unheard of country is nestled in (from North to South) by Nigeria, Chad, Central African Republic, Republic of Congo, Gabon and Equatorial Guinea (can you imagine what their border patrol is like?).

If you follow the Africa Cup of Nations, Cameroon has the third most successful football (soccer) team in the ANC. It is also known as the minature Africa, whose borders cross land that has equatorial forests, savannah grassland, desert and mountains. It's lush and beautiful pictures can be found online. Feast your eyes!

Cameroon has also provided the World with a gem.

Qalil.com introduces you to Jacques-Greg Belobo.

Belobo was born in Cameroon and started singing lessons in Yaoundé the country's capital where he was classically trained. He continued his music education at Conservatoire National de Musique of Nice, winning a gold medal prize in 1998 and using it as a stepping stone to Conservatoire National Supérieur de Musique et de Danse in Paris where he earned his diploma in 2001.

His success comes as a surprise to many who do not view the people of Africa as connoisseurs of classical music, instead banding the entire group to the vibrant rhythm based music that is the gift of Africa to the World. He is one of only two black opera singers to regularly grace the Opera houses in Germany. Throughout his career he has won serveral prestigious prizes including,

• 1st Prize winner Aguimucla Yaoundé - 1997
• 1st International Competition Medal Diapason in Abidjan, Cote d'Ivoire - 1997
• 1st prize at the National Opera Singing Ales - 1998
• 1st Prize Contest Operetta Rennes - 1998
• 1st prize at the National Opera Singing Béziers - 1999
• 2nd Prize at the International Geneva 2000
• He won five awards at the International Belvedere Competition in Vienna, Austria - 2002

When he is not travelling the globe thrilling audiences with his voice, he spends his time promoting singing in Africa, holding concerts and leading regular vocal technique workshops in Cameroon, Burkina Faso, Zimbabwe, South Africa, Botswana to name a few.

Enjoy this video of him singing the Cameroon National Anthem before a football game.

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0 Movie Lookout: iMANi

Amidst the chaos that is pouring out of Uganda in the past month or so including the walk to work protests and the Kill the Gays Bill, a gem has been shining through the dust raised by the furor to catch the attention of the international community.

iMANi is a movie that follows the lives of three Ugandans, taking an intimate and very personal look at their lives, the struggles they have to overcome and their placement within the vibrant and varied fabric that constitutes life in a land as diverse as Uganda. In some ways not very different from life anywhere on this planet, the characters deal with familial issues, reconciliation, corruption and navigating complicated communities for their own betterment. On the other hand their own unique perspective is projected into our minds so that for a few minutes we can inhabit their lives and deal with issues we may have never had to face.

Sister team, Caroline and Agnes Kamya, have written and produced this fascinating film which has gained much acclaim by international film associations including Cario International Film Festival, BFI London International Film Festival, DIFF Durban International Film Festival and Tarifa Film Festival among others.

A short interview by the film's director and producer, Caroline Kamya, reveals a number of things that are exciting for movie lovers everywhere.

• There are a plethora of intricate interesting stories depicting lives outside of our own that allow us to wonder and the human spirit and resilience we hope to see in ourselves.
• There is hope for the movie industry as long as we look outside Hollywood's very small tight walls.
• It is time for writers, producers and directors everywhere to band together and produce entertainment that could potentially revitalize the World.

I hope that wherever you are, you will be able to see this excellent movie. Check for a screening somewhere near you!

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0 For Colored Girls Review

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So, I finally watched For Colored Girls.

A friend, whose crazy views I respect had purchased the DVD and was urging me to watch it because she said it was wonderful.

I had seen reviews for this movie. I had read articles that claimed Oprah didn't want Perry to do the movie and Shange was doubtful that Perry possessed the skill to pull this together. The stage play had won numerous awards and the beloved play and Choreopoetry was being taken in a different direction that people were not quite comfortable with.

So Ms. Friend and I popped some corn, got the blanket and turned down the lights to watch the movie.

Now I understand why people did not like For Colored Girls.

Human suffering is difficult to look at. When we see it, we prefer that it be dressed up, polished and made palatable (as one Rotten Tomatoes post put it) so that we can view it without being affected by it. It shames us, makes us look at ourselves in a different light, makes us wonder whether somewhere inside us cruelty like this is lying dormant waiting for the right moment to erupt.

This movie was not about men being bad, and the men were not really bad. They just had their own challenging personal issues that needed to be addressed. What many reviewers forgot was that these men were in pain themselves. But the movie was NOT about men. It was about colored girls and their stories. The character portrayals were different from the ones selected for the stage plays, but still very good.

I love good spoken word poetry - not the faint warblings I sometimes had to bear through at my local spoken word spot - but the deep soul searching words that echo my feelings, reconnecting me to the stranger seated next to me, entranced by the words that bind us together as human beings on this journey. So when the excellent actors lunged into it head on, I found myself caught up like the froth of the sea, taken across the vast experiences colored women have endured for centuries across the World

I applaud Mr. Perry for taking on subjects that affect black women, subjects that big movies poke lightly with sticks just to watch them ooze then turn away. He held it right up to our faces and forced us to smell it, made us touch it, made us so completely uncomfortable I had to turn away from the screen many times.

The actors did an exceptional job, pithy in their portrayals of the characters chosen to depict the characters in Shange's book. Even if my experience was not exactly the same theirs - rape, abortion, domestic abuse, betrayal, mental illness - their pain resonated with my own. The acknowledgement of the pain was all that mattered, that it is okay for a colored girl to say I hurt. I'm in pain.

Bravo.

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0 Amazing Race Winners

For the third time in Amazing Race history, an African American duo has won the coveted one million dollar prize.

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The journey that took them from Australia, through Japan, China, India, Austria, Switzerland and Brazil culminated in a heart stopping race to the finish line back in the USA.

Our first meeting with these young women had always irked me. The usual choice for representation of African American women on television is one where she is loud, angry, promiscuous and desperate. At that time, the editors of the program chose to follow the two women and depict the times that were hardest for them in the race which made Jennifer seem like a little whiner princess who bullied and abused people with disabilities and LaKisha, who was often supportive but was also the sort-of angry impatient one.

We all realize much of the editing is for the ratings and the sighs, because this time around we didn't see the spoiled girl and the angry frustrated one. Either they grew into wonderful women or we're throwing the telly out the window coz it's all LIES anyway!!! (booo hooo)

Needless to say, at Qalil.com, we love watching brown people on television and having Flight Time and Big Easy along with Jen and Kisha was fun. We chewed our nails off whenever we thought they were close to being eliminated or when they struggled with their challenges. We could finally breathe easy once their feet touched the carpet at Phil's feet. (I did love watching Mallory on the show too. How happy can a person be? That happy?)

The previous African American winners of the challenge were

Chip & Kim - Image Credits

&

Uchenna & Joyce - Image Credits

Congratulations to the winners. We hope we'll see you out there doing fabulous things! Hurrah!

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0 The Talented Kasi Lemmons

Writer-directors in Hollywood are rare creatures. It is not easy to find a writer to whom studios will give creative control as a director. By the same token, most directors bring someone else's story to the screen and do not write the script themselves.

Qalil.com will profile 15 African American writer-directors who have made their mark in film and television over the past 30 years on May 30th. However, I would like to preview the work of a favorite of mine: Kasi Lemmons.

In 1997, a spectacular drama hit the theatres to critical acclaim. With a cast of notable actors such as Laurence Fishburne, Lynn Whitfield, Diahann Carroll, Debbi Morgan, and Jurnee Smollett among others, this film brought into exquisite life early 1960s Louisiana.

Lemmons' Eve's Bayou (my favorite film of all time) debuted to the following praise:

• "There has never been a film quite like Kasi Lemmons' shimmering Eve's Bayou." - Los Angeles Times

• ".......... a film of astonishing maturity and confidence; Eve's Bayou one of the very best films of the year, is the debut of its writer and director. (It) resonates in the memory. It called me back for a second and third viewing. If it is not nominated for Academy Awards, then the academy is not paying attention. For the viewer, it is a reminder that sometimes films can venture into the realms of poetry and dreams. " - Roger Ebert

Unfortunately, the academy did NOT pay attention and this national treasure of a film was not nominated for Academy Awards. It received a number of smaller awards, however.

If you haven't seen Eve's Bayou yet, make sure you catch it before the 30th. We will discuss Kasi Lemmons' film and her career at that time.

Let us know what you think of the film!

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0 10 Things I'd Rather Be doing

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0 We Will Follow

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As the war between Tyler Perry and Spike Lee heated up last week, causing plumes of dust to be raised by the rubble of viewers that littered the country side, a quiet unassuming movie about the often complicated  and  unexplored emotions surrounding loss continued to rise up, reaching for the Blockbuster list.

I Will Follow, a movie about one day in the life of a woman grieving a lost aunt and the twelve visitors who pass by was written and directed by Ava DuVernay. It has been described as tender, complex, soulful, passionate and interesting.

Ms. DuVernay is no newbie to the movie directing scene. Her very successful documentary about Hip Hop in South Central L.A. and its roots at The Good Life debuted in 2008 and won several awards including Best Documentary at the Hollywood Black Film Festival, Best Documentary at the Los Angeles Pan African Film Festival and Documentary Toronto Reel World Film Festival. You can check out the trailer for that documentary here. She also produced two network documentaries, My Mic Sounds Nice - an interesting look into the history of black women in the hip hop industry from artists like Missy Elliot and MC Lyte and the second on the Essence Music Festival 2010.

According to the Facebook Page set up for the movie the last showing is in Washington DC for the African American Film Festival Releasing Movement.

In a critical time of story telling, when Hollywood has raised the battle call for America's entertainment money, the black community doesn't have many voices lending their own to the fray. We know we are dying to hear more, to see more of ourselves that doesn't include the wildly caricatured characters who are either stuck in a place of perpetual comedy (which we do not mind sometimes) or involved in a shootout (which we don't mind either).

Trailer - I Will Follow

If you are in the DC area, get yourself to the West End Cinema to see this movie, then come back and tell us what you thought about the movie.

Rotten Tomatoes Rating - 80%
Roger Ebert - Thumbs Up
IMDB Metascore - 71%

Have you seen the movie "I Will Follow"? What are your thoughts about it? Would you go to see it in the movie theater if it was released on the big screen?

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0 Over reacting to Will.I.Am

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Is Will.I.Am gay?

What? That is not the question on everybody's mind since his comment the other day when he sat down to be interviewed by Andrew Goldman from Elle Magazine?

It is difficult indeed to refrain from taking his not-very-carefully-crafted words completely out of context. You don't have to read the entire interview because we have it summarized here.

1. He doesn't know his Pops and doesn't really need him.
2. His momma whooped his butt
3. He didn't fantasize about women till he was 19
4. Girls owning condoms?! Tacky!
5. USE WIPES

Of course the only thing everyone is harping on is his comment on condoms. But everyone is over reacting quite a little bit, yeah?

Here, watch this trailer:

This documentary, Let's Talk About Sex, is a candid look at the puritanical attitudes held by our society concerning sex. I caught most of it when it aired on the 9th of April, 2011 and was slightly shocked by some of the comments from teenagers. With so many STDs and the threat of AIDS, there aren't enough of these children thinking about protection. In comparison with teenagers from the Netherlands, American teenagers seem like toddlers when it comes to sex education.

It is so much easier to hold up our hands to cover our eyes and say women and men (but especially women) should not be having sex outside marriage. They are and the fact is that your precious teenage daughter has probably already had sex and probably has a more active sex life than you do. Wouldn't it be prudent then that she carry condoms with her or have them readily available so that when the urge arises she is not caught unaware? As any woman will tell you, men "forget" condoms very often and then PRESS the woman to have sex with no protection.

The truth of the matter is that Will.I.Am is only a product of his society. The assumption that he should have a different perspective on sexual health is wrong. These celebrities and media personalities are just like the rest of us, prone to the same misconceptions about sex, love and money. There is no reason at all to think that if the majority of men think women having condoms in the home is tacky or makes the woman seem too easy then why would he (Mr. I.Am) not be prone to it?

I'm not one of those people who think the Master Pea is gay. I honestly think he is just one of those guys who is okay not having rabid sex with unknown women, and after seeing his comment about wipes (don't be offended people - CLEAN YOURSELVES!) I guess he may be just a little OCD. And you know what? As long as he and his mysterious boo agree on this issue, it ain't none of our business!

It is important to note that at Qalil, we believe it is the responsibility of every woman to make sure that she is informed and protected whenever she has a sexual encounter and that having wipes in your bathroom might be a good idea if you intend to have Will.I.Am over.

Do you think your attitude towards sex is healthy? How did you approach sex education with your teenagers? How do you think it should be approached?

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0 Smell like me!

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Guess who plans to have a new scent sometime next year?!

Oh, you could tell already from the picture? You mean we didn't have to yell from the rooftops?

The obsession with Celebrity Worship has spiraled out of control and the business world is cashing in on it. If a famous celebrity wears something, people who follow these kinds of trends will be racing out of the house, credit cards with the chip ready to slide in the slot and take home the dress/jewelry/shoes/wig that the celebrity wore. This is the basis on which the *yawn* website *yawn* that Jay Zizzle created was spawned.

For decades now, celebrities have stood in front of cameras peddling some scent, lotion, kitchen appliance or dinky little thingamajig to add to your collection of knick-knacks collecting dust and causing the indomitable Peter Walsh to come over to your house.

I'm not quite sure what would make me want to smell like Nicki Minaj or Britney Spears or Celine Dion for that matter. Unless, of course, it is going to bestow their cash (let's leave the notoriety out of it) upon me I will pass. Thank you very much.

Are you curious about a Nicki Minaj scent? Which celebrity scents have you purchased? Do you like them?

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0 HipHop Culture

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Ashley Judd recently came under fire for saying that Hip Hop artists promote rape culture. ?uestlove responded and started a tweet battle with Ms. Judd over her comments.

On Russell Simmons blog, she attempted to explain herself by saying that Hip Hop Culture tends to treat women in a hyper-sexualized misogynistic way. Was she wrong? Even if her statement was a general one, where she didn't tip-toe into the land of near-legalese to explain what she meant, isn't this the rant feminists have been making for a long time, including Oprah?

It behooves us all to remember that much of the degenerate hip-hop lyrics and music are not consumed by the African American community. A documentary HipHop: Beyond Beats & Rhymes produced by Bryon Hurt explores Hip Hop culture and it's varied and vast nooks and crannies and uncovers some things you might not know existed in the quest for fame.

Watch the video. See what you think. Let's discuss.

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0 Spike Lee: Use Mapquest to find Hell

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Sigh.

Once again the news headlines and blogosphere are a-buzz with Tyler Perry news, different sources (Clutch Magazine Online) citing the comments Perry made about Lee and the things he was saying. Here are some commentaries:-

• Ta-Nehisi Coates offers, Tyler Perry has the right to make movies we don't like just as much as Spike Lee does.
• Politics from the Eyes of an Ebony Mom says Spike may end up seeming like a crab in a barrel.
• The Savvy Sista just wants us all to get along.
• My personal favorite is Black & Bougie's prayer that we all realize he ain't Jesus, nor is he Satan.

I get it. When we have a small measly handful of black directors filming black shows and movies in Hollywood, it is very easy to get protective of them, pick sides, set up the cannons and

Image Credits

I'm a Mr. Tyler Perry fan. I may not have loved all his movies, but then again there is no artist (except myself) whose work I love all the time. I'm not a Spike Lee fan and loved Malcolm X but wanted to peel his skin off slowly for She Hate Me. See how it is done?

At Qalil, we have covered our own appreciation of the Tyler Perry Phenomenon. His story is the story we like to hear, that if we dream, work hard and chase our dreams we will eventually realize them all. It is the quintessential all American dream - which many of us have.

I think the important thing for us to remember - even as we debate their conflict and TP showing SL the yellow brick road to the fiery smoldering sulphuric pits of Hell - is that it is quite okay to love Spike Lee and enjoy Tyler Perry's movies. It really is.

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0 The talented April Parker-Jones

April Parker-Jones first caught my eye in Jericho (2006-2008). A striking actress with tremendous talent, I have since followed her television career through a number of shows including NCIS, Lost, Lie to Me, and The Unit. According to her website's bio:

"A native of Durham, North Carolina, April Parker Jones studied theatre at N.C. Central University before moving to New York City in pursuit of a professional acting career. While in New York, she was cast in many productions at The Billie Holiday Theatre. Parker Jones received two Audelco Award Theatre nominations for Best Actress for the production Plenty of Time."

Ms. Parker-Jones' performances are subtle, dramatic, and poignant. Despite the formulaic nature of television's hour-long dramas, she manages to capture your attention with her delivery and powerful screen presence. She appeared recently on NCIS: Los Angeles.

I would love to see April Parker-Jones in a leading role on television (perhaps next season?!) and in films as well. Given her presence on-screen, it would not surprise me if she becomes one of the best in her generation.

Image courtesy of www.aprilparker-jones.com

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