2010 - Year In review Part. 1 (Life, Movies, TV)

I'm happy to leave certain things in my past while wondering how certain things stayed left behind. Started with two jobs and ended with freelancing in San Diego and looking for permanent employment.

RIP: Guru, Teena Marie, John Wooden, Bob Feller, George Steinbrenner, Jose Lima, Teddy Pendergrass, Lena Horne,  Gary Coleman, Dennis Hopper, Leslie Nielsen, Howard Zinn, Bro. Mack and many more.

Biggest News Stories

1. BP destroying the Gulf Coast (5 years after Katrina, this could have even more crazy long-term damage)

2. Haiti earthquake (you might have it on the backburner, but we won’t forget)

3. SB 1070 – AZ going back to the Stone Age of immigration.

4. Dems get smashed in November (Christine Donnell’s loss aside, the Tea Party made gains and somehow we still kept talkin bout Sarah P’s celebrity self)

5. Wikileaks making Jullian Assange either the new Woodward/Bernstein or the biggest renegade in years.

6. Health care passing – Hoping this will benefit folks who need it.

7. Iraq war quietly ending (If you blinked you missed it, but it's time to say Hallelujah)

8. Chilean miners (A great story but I hope one day, miners is a outdated job)

9. Korean flare up – the No. 1 story to watch in 2011. Please believe it.

Finally read A People’s History of the US and Lies My Teacher Told Me and my mind was blown further into smithereens. As much as I knew, there was a whole lot I didn’t. Must-read books by any American who wants to truly know their history. I owed it to Mr. Zinn to honor his life by buying that book and I don't regret either purchase

Movies

Inception might be the one of the greatest summer blockbuster films ever. It’s rare to find a film that grossed so much money, attracted 6 Oscar winners or nominees to star in and dominate and be a well-executed film in every facet of the word. Christopher Nolan can say that he not only has two of the highest grossing films of the last 5 years, but two of the best summer movies ever in Dark Knight and Inception.

For someone like me who loves the idea of dreams, this movie was almost like eating cheesecake with raspberries. And it may not get any Oscar love thanks to brilliant films like Social Network and The Fighter but I hope that it gets at least a nomination for Best Picture. It’s one of those movies that’ll make you think with so many layers involved. Was it just about dreams or was it a film about filmmaking creating a world for us to be in? Reminded me a lot of “The Matrix”

Book of Eli and The Town were also great films I watched. But this year moviewise, I finally watched some classics for the first time in Godfather 1&2 and Shawshank Redemption.

Television.

No TV moment impacted me more than the end of 24. The first show I watched from start to finish. The show that defined the post-9/11 era as far as terrorism and our fascination with the government’s inner workings. If Jason Bourne updated the James Bond model, Jack Bauer did the same in a different way as the super agent who goes to distance to serve his country but isn’t afraid to challenge them in the name of the greater good. My Mondays will feel boring in 2011 now.

I never saw The Wire so my penance is watching David Simon’s latest slice of genius “Treme”  - a great show I loved about New Orleans post Katrina. I also watched another dose of HBO goodness in “Boardwalk Empire”, well-acted and delivered week by week. Law and Order: Los Angeles steps in the shoes of its ancestors perfectly. 

I finally started watching Modern Family this year and loved it as one of the hilarious shows on TV. Hopefully I’ll finally get into 30 Rock more and maybe in 2011, I’ll finally catch up on Mad Men

CSI said goodbye to Grissom and hello to Dr. Ray Langston – I’ve said it before that Gil Grissom is one of the best characters of the last decade and history will prove that.

Also, I realized that as good TV shows slowly come back, the rise of reality shows isn't slowing down. The next decade is probably gonna see more great shows on TV but the water cooler/Twitter talk will probably revolve around To Catch a Predator or Jersey Shore or the like. Sign O'The Times like the Purple One said.

And of course, the best commercial of the year. The Old Spice Guy - darn near had a 6 month viral campaign. Brilliant marketing!



Next up, Music and Sports.

Top 10 Blog Posts of 2010

1. MJ vs. Prince

2. John Mayer's Playboy Comments and discussing race

3. The Sprite Step Off where the White sorority got robbed and the UCSD noose incident

4. Reflecting on "Up in the Air" and my life - written just as I resigned from the paper

5. Killing the "Free (Insert Rapper)" Movement - a long time coming

6. LBJ's Decision - Winners and Losers

7. My Inspirations. Literature, Ideals, Music, Places, People

8. Why Kanye reminds me of me

9. Tearing Apart Columbus Day - had a lot of fun with this.

10. The Dangerous Road Before Barack Obama - my James Baldwin moment

Bonus. This might be the most important thing I've written this year personally. My moment of waking up and realizing I need to look in the mirror. Identity Crisis, Purpose Found

Picking 10 was hard as heck considering I loved a lot of my posts but these are the 10 that I really enjoyed writing. You might have liked a few more. Which ones?

2010 Parting Shots (San Diego, Teena Marie, Junior)

Haven't been blogging this week because I've been working the Torrey Pines Holiday Classic for ESPN Rise. After all that's happened to me this year, it was sweet justice that I ended it working in my 2nd home (San Diego) and watching my favorite sport. Here's the link for y'all and just click on the Headlines to find my stories from each day of the tourney.

Last night I was driving to my friend's house out here and I heard Nelly's "Just a Dream" in the drive-thru line. It made me smile because 1) it reminded me how I felt a decade ago when I enjoyed Nelly as a new artist and 2) that no matter how crazy this year got for me personally, I'm still living parts of a dream I had 5 years ago here as a senior.

The year has taken me through a lot personally and professionally. I started this year with 2 jobs and I end the year with none. I started with some friends and I lost them. Thankfully death didn't hit so hard this time but the last death I saw close to me was hard because it's another church mentor gone.

I'm grateful my health was much better this year and I had a consistent gym routine that I want to improve next year. I'm grateful for the friends who got closer to me and the new lady in my life. But ultimately, I'm still sportswriting and I'm glad for one last chance to do it this year. Who knows what 2011 holds but I trust in the only One who does.

I'll do my usual year in review blogs next week. There's too much I want to reflect on. Here's some parting shots from the last week.

All you need to know is this. Teena Marie is one of the greatest soul singers ever. Teena Marie is one of a kind that will never be duplicated. Teena Marie touched as many R&B souls as anyone within the last 30 years. If you want to hear good music, excellent singing, beautiful songwriting and just something that hits your soul, youtube her name and select her classics like "Square Biz", "Lovergirl", "Ooh La La"

Many will eulogize the Ivory Queen far better than me. One of my friends was nearly dumbfounded as he told me his memories of his parents dancing to her music and him growing up with it. For people growing up in the 80's when music was more segregated, R&B fans heard this amazing voice and thought she was Black. Imagine a White artist now that is solely marketed towards an R&B crowd, not pop. Robin Thicke comes to mind but that's it.

The Santa Monica native embraced that audience and culture as well as anybody and it's a huge loss for music. May she rest in peace singing with the angels. I had the blessing to hear her live in 2007 at a local church talk about how much at home she felt in the church and the Black community. She sang "Ave Maria" so beautifully and we'll always have that voice.

It was blogged in my mind but never delivered as I wanted to say a few words on my favorite MLB player's quiet retirement. Ken Griffey Jr. waved goodbye to the game 20 years after taking the world by storm as "The Kid" with 5-tool skills, an 1,000 watt smile and one of the sweetest swings in the game. If fate wasn't so cruel, he'd be hailed as one of the 15 greatest players ever instead of maybe one of the Top 50/60.

Griffey was one of the reasons I liked baseball. Every year, I'd root for him to get 40+ homers and 100+ RBI's. I remember one night before I started school in 1999 or 2000, he hit a home run before I went to bed. I knew then my year would be great. One of the best fielders in MLB history and one of the best home run hitters ever. And after the 1994 strike, he did just as much as Big Mac/Sammy Sosa to bring the game back but without cheating.

I bought the video games, wore the hat backwards and every season, hoped he'd still healthy and finally win a World Series. Maybe I'll do a true blog solely for him later but if not, see you in five years, Junior. Thank you for the memories growing up and it's fitting that your final hit was a walk-off win for Seattle, the team and city you saved baseball for.

Finally there's going to be a big change on this blog next year. I'll announce it in a few days along with my usual year-in-review blogs next week. But it's a change I've thought about and it best suits the vision of what I want to do here. I'll give you a hint, think Southern food and the wide variety of topics I have here. My final words of 2010 come from my Facebook post this morning.

"Another year ends. Another time to reflect. A toast to both successes and fails. A prayer for next year's hopes and the past year's unfulfilled dreams. Raise the glass but lift up your heart. Remember those who left us and celebrate those still with us. Tonight's a beautiful spot between two places so like William Blake, embrace the 3rd place. Experience Gone By and Innocence Yet to Come. Happy New Year!"

Let's Do It Again: My Grammy Reaction

I didn't want to do it because it felt like I'm stating the obvious. I didn't want to do it because it might be a waste of energy throwing more dirt on a dirty game. But it's tradition. Some stuff can't be avoided so here it is, my take on the Grammy Award nominations.

Album of the Year: Oh boy, where do I start. Katy Perry????? Really???? Come on, who in their right mind thinks is a good album, let alone a quality one? It's no secret I think Katy is cute but as a musical artist, she's an average vocalist live benefiting from overproduction. This is the 2nd thing this year she earned that she didn't deserve.

And Lady Gaga getting a nomination for an EP? Just stop. Even if it's well reviewed, an EP better be the "Thriller" of EP's to get nominated over full albums. Whatever man. Props to the Arcade Fire getting deserved AOTY love. As for Eminem, I'm happy for him but can't say this album deserves that slot.

I love "Recovery" as a great comeback album. Eminem's inspired with some of the best songs he's released in years. But to be simple, there were better hip-hop albums, let alone other albums.

Who I'm happy for:

- Cee-Lo for one of the best songs of the year. People keep forgetting his career in Goodie Mob and his 2 solo albums before Gnarls Barkley but this time, he gets to stand alone with Record/Song of the Year noms. "F You" - hilarious!

- I became a fan of Bruno Mars watching him on Saturday Night Live. I clowned him on Twitter for getting busted for coke but his vocal chops, musicianship and stage presence won me over. He helped produced "F You" and got love for "Nothin on You" with B.O.B. Kudos for 7 overall noms, including Producer of the Year but no Best New Artist?

- Earlier comments aside, I'm happy for Eminem. He deserves (fair) praise for a great album and leads the pack with 10 nods. I wouldn't be shocked if the Grammys used this to make up for 10 years ago when he should've won for Marshall Mathers LP instead of Steely Dan. Hip hop deserves a good win even if it's not the best one.

- B.O.B. = 5 nods, The Black Keys = 4 nods, John Legend + The Roots = 4 nods. Love this. Black Keys made one of the best rock albums of the year and deserve to get as much shine as Arcade Fire.

- Lecrae getting love for Best Christan Rock/Rap Album. "Rehab" hit me and my crew pretty well.

- Producer of the Year. Always usually excellent.

- California Gurlz NOT getting any major nominations. Chicks love it but for a Cali anthem, I couldn't embrace it.

- Treme nominated for Best Soundtrack. The music added to the great New Orleans vibe of the show and this is WELL deserved.

- Best Movie Score: Avatar and Inception - the music added to the great moods. Brilliance.

What I hate

- How did Janelle Monae and Big Boi only get TWO nominations? Take away both sharing one for "Tightrope" and they only ONE a piece! Two of the best albums of the year, folks.

- Best Rap Album - I wish The Roots could win this but that overrated trash Blueprint 3 will probably win.

- Thanks to Grammy eligibility rules, Jay-Z is gonna get plenty of love for "Empire State of Mind". Even though I'm sick of it.

- Jay-Z and Eminem dominating 4 out of 5 slots for Best Rap Song. Doesn't speak well for diversity of the genre.

- Drake nominated for Best New Artist. Didn't he get nominated 3 times last year?? Then again Silversun Pickups got nominated last year despite that being their 2nd album. (Sidenote, this New Artist category is interesting. Bieber, Drake, the impressive Florence + The Machine, then who???)

- Rock was kinda weak this year so no surprise the nominees are iffy. I love seeing recognizable names such as Alice in Chains, Korn and the return of Soundgarden. But I wish I found more rock CD's like Black Keys that made me wanna rush to support it.

- Barely any love for Sade. Great comeback single and it's almost like she didn't even return. Wait til her tour next year.

?uestlove tweeted that 4 out of 5 nods for Record of the Year were hip hop or R&B affiliated. I'd be happier if that were Song of the Year because that gives credit for songwriting. Our music deserves Grammy approval  for being exceptionally written among all genres. Doesn't matter, can't anyone tell me that.

I remember in 2005, the Grammys nominated Kanye's debut, Usher's Confessions, Alicia Keys' 2nd album, and Green Day's American Idiot for AOTY. All great albums that still stand timeless. Even though Ray Charles would win for his final album, you can't argue enough for how great those 4 were.

The year before, it was Speakerboxxx/Love Below, Elephant (White Stripes), Missy Elliot's Under Construction among the group. See ya'll, Album of the Year at least nominated some worthy albums in the past. This year has to be the weakest in recent memory and make last year's look even better.

Oh, and the Grammy eligibility continues to suck (August to August) and that's why we see 2009 songs/albums nominated here instead of outstanding 4th quarter songs/albums. Kanye's album is probably better than all these yet we gotta wait 12 months for him to get love.

I wish I ran the Grammys. I'd scale back the eligibility window from January 1 to November 27th-December 1st, do the nominations in January, hold the ceremony in February. Oh, and ask my voters to please consider Metacritic, Pitchfork, rap critics and other sources besides who has hits. Just my 2 cents. See you in February

Inception - Summer Brilliance

When I went to see Inception on Sunday, I had high hopes. The summer movies haven't been really appealing outside of Toy Story 3. NO chance on Earth I'd go see Twilight and I was iffy on the A-Team. Last Airbender is probably going down as the worst reviewed movie to gross $100M so I was hoping Christopher Nolan would help Toy Story save the summer.

Plus I had to convince my crew to go see this. We were supposed to see it Friday but we had to postpone it. I told them there's NO way we are missing this movie so find some cash and make it happen. Happy to say we rolled up 10 deep to see it.

All I have to say is: WOW!!!!! Intense, complex, intelligent, layered, original, mindblowing! I left the theater stunned with a headache and a loss for words. Did a movie like that really make $60 million last weekend in this era of popcorn fare?

I won't spoil anything but I'll start with the fantastic acting. Leonardo DiCaprio is in a class of his own when it comes to greatness. Already made a great movie in Shutter Island earlier this year and now he did another fine job in this with his command.

Joseph Gordon-Levitt has come a long way from Angels in the Outfield and showed why he might be the most underrated actor of my era. In some scenes, he outshined Leo with his restraint. Ellen Page was a perfect newbie sidekick while Marion Cotillard was captivating (much better than she did in Public Enemies). Well-acted film but that's no surprise with 6 Oscar nominees or winners.

(That Murderer's Row doesn't even include Oscar nominees Tom Berenger and Ken Watanabe.)

The concept was original and well-executed. I'll just say that Freud would've been proud of how they looked at dreams and it had me thinking about what it could all mean. A metaphor for filmmaking? Either way you'll look at your dreams differently because it does well capturing the psyche that Freud discussed so well.

I heard somebody say it borrowed some concepts from the Matrix. If anything it added to the idea of an alternate universe.

It's a film that engages you the viewer and forces you to watch closely. It showed why Christopher Nolan (who allegedly thought of this movie at 16) might be the best director in Hollywood right now. He pretty much told peer M. Night Shyamalan, "This is how you make a smart, well-done thriller with twists and layers. Back to the drawing board, son!"

Just like "Dark Knight" - everything about the film tells something about the story. The background, visuals, relationships, atmosphere all relate to the plot and it's absolutely stunning filmmaking.

In short, GO. SEE. THIS. MOVIE. You don't see movies like this come out to critical acclaim and box office success. If it doesn't get any award love, something is wrong with the critics. It's like a good album, don't bootleg it - pay for it. Your mind will thank you! Virgo guarantee.

Isner-Mahut: What a Match (Shouts to Landon Donovan)

The two major sports lowest on my radar are tennis and soccer. I love tennis during the majors and soccer only during the World Cup. Little did I know that both would provide two of the best moments of the year.

Yesterday I watched nearly three hours of tennis. I never do that. Because of church, I never get to see most Grand Slam Finals on Sunday and so I feel like I finally got a chance to watch an epic match of will, determination, guts that may overshadow anything else we see this year.

John Isner and Nicholas Mahut played the longest match in tennis history in the fifth set alone (8 hrs - 11 mins). The match itself took 3 days with play suspended to darkness twice. A grand total of 11 hours and five minutes at Wimbledon. Unbelievable.

I woke up to 39-38 Isner and raced to my TV. On Twitter, I went from awe to placing predictions on where it would stop (52, 57, 60?). You wanted it not to end because it meant someone had to lose.

Nothing was better than seeing Mahut dive near the end of Day 2. That shot said it all - and the normally stoic London crowd begging the ref to keep the match going. And the scoreboard blowing out.

Wimbledon has seen epic matches (Federer-Nadal in 08, Federer-Roddick last year) but tennis won today. Just for good measure, Isner won by outlasting Mahut 70-68 (11-9 today!). The numbers are mindblowing.

Sidenote: I kept hearing Mahut's name and thought back to one of my classic memories from ABC's One Saturday Morning cartoons ---> Mahooot from Mrs. Munger's class. hahahaha

Oh, and that came after possibly the greatest US soccer moment ever. A fastbreak that showed us that is isn't your father or older brother's US Soccer team. Pardon me for doing this in basketball terms

Tim Howard sets up perfectly with the outlet pass to Landon Donovan, who dribbles downfield with teammates around. Jozy Altidore gets the pass, sets up Clint Dempsey for the score and Dempsey gets blocked. But WAIT! Donovan was still trailing the play and the rebound was there for the taking. With the goalie down, he kicks it right into the open net. GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOAL!!!!!

A perfect fastbreak play of instinct/skill/timing. Give Howard credit as the heart of his team for setting it up. Altidore, the future of US soccer, gave a perfect pass while the hero of the England game (Dempsey) put up a shot that wouldn't win but set someone up. And Donovan, the greatest US soccer player ever, obliged.

Staying alive never felt so good. England put pressure on us with Jermain Dafoe's great goal but gave us a gift when the great Wayne Rooney missed a wide open shot. Man I love the Brits, always good for assistance since 1815. First Green gave us that goal with his soft hands, now Rooney blew an easy goal. God Save the Queen indeed.

First time the US has won a WC group since 1930. We got Ghana this weekend in the Round of 16. Guess where I'm gonna be.

This is why I love being a sports fan - every once in a while, a sport you only watch recreationally can give you moments that match up with watching your team winning an NBA, NFL or MLB title.

Sweet Sixteen!!!! (aka Drive for Five aka Back to Back!!!)

Maybe I'm dreaming - somehow I found time to do that last night in trying to sleep - but did Ron Artest really save the day and help the Lakers win the NBA championship??? Did we really a NBA title with Kobe Bryant doing more as a rebounder/slasher than a shooter?

YES and YES! Like my man Mojo Hoops predicted - Game 7 needed Ron Artest to step up in a huge way knowing that the pressure would be on Kobe and Pau Gasol to show up. 20 points, 5 steals and 5 rebounds. It was the 2003-2004 Artest turning back the clock to show why at his peak, he was one of the great 2-way players in the league who could score and do the dirty work.

No shot was bigger than the late 3. It was reminiscent of Jordan trusting John Paxson and Steve Kerr to win the game instead of him. Artest said it best, Kobe passed the ball and heeee made a 3!!!!!

QB's Finest must have listened to his homie Nas or something because he was the X-factor. He made Paul Pierce work for everything and he honored his promise to Kobe two years ago. Get me to LA and we'll win a title. From the Palace Brawl to being the MVP of the biggest game of the series. He's come a long way and his pure joy, plus the hilarity of his postgame interview and press conference, are a sign of it.

And what about Pau Gasol? Just like Kobe, he couldn't shoot well. He missed free throws. He continued to let Kevin Garnett drive baseline. But he stayed a beast on the glass and he made shots when he had to. This was huge for him earning his name back from GaSoft to Gasol (19 pts, 18 rebs).

This game was about the team. The first 3 quarters saw Kobe try to shoot his way to the title and it was excruciating. The ghost of John Starks in 94 was slowly floating over the Lakers bench as I worried every comeback would see an ill-advised shot take us out of it.

Derek Fisher said to focus on trusting everyone in the 4th quarter. Phil Jackson said pass the ball - this is Kobe doing work, not doing it all himself. Like any shooter, he attacked the basket instead of settling. His teammates rose up and hit shots and made plays. Who would've guessed that Sasha Vujacic would be in a position to make 2 FT's to help seal the deal and he did.

Oh by the way, Kobe had 15 rebounds. That's what great players do - find other ways to contribute. Somebody help him in that pic, his hands might get a lil' heavy from the hardware

The City of Angels is the City of Champs for the 2nd straight year. Kobe and D Fish have 5 rings. Phil Jax has 11 rings like Bill Russell. We watched Oklahoma City push us, watched the Jazz just fade to the wayside and witnessed Phoenix give us a tougher series than anybody expected.

The Lakers won every Game 6 they saw in the postseason. They showed heart when their backs were against the wall. Champions don't waltz to a trophy, they grind.

One more word: Boston gave us a heck of a series. Like any rivalry, it's only great when both parties bring out the best in each other and they did. To paraphrase Group Home, 2008 was yours, 2010 was ours.

I'll look at Kobe's legacy in another post. Right now, let's celebrate another title Lakers fans. Who's going to the parade?

Rock The Bells 2010 - Classics Galore!

The best hip-hop festival in the country has revealed its lineup this year and contrary to rumor - Lauryn Hill is not headlining. However, she will be there in some capacity, let's hope that includes singing/rapping pleeeeeease.

Here's my rundown of the big ones.

- KRS-One doing Criminal Minded - never seen the Teacher live so this will be cool (Fresh for 2010, youuuuu suuuuckas!!!)
- Rakim doing Paid in Full: I saw Ra back at the 08 Rock the Bells. Not a great performer live but just hearing him rock classics like "I Aint No Joke" "I Know You Got Soul" and "My Melody" again will be dope.

- Slick Rick doing his debut: "Children's Story" was the first rap song I knew by heart and I've never seen the Ruler perform.

- Wu-Tang Clan performing 36 Chambers: Anyone who knows hip-hop knows this has one of the hardest intros in history. Bring the Ruckus!!!!!

To be fair, the Wu have been represented at Rock the Bells quite often since their last show with Ol Dirty Bastard in 04. I saw them in 07 and Meth, Ghost and Rae in 08. Still worth seeing full force but I'm disappointed there wasn't a surprise that made you say whoa like Lauryn Hill or a reunited Goodie Mob (who's worked with Guerilla Union before).

I'm hyped to see the Clipse and Yelawolf. Yelawolf's a dope MC from the South that got some good run on Late Night with Hot 97's Peter Rosenberg and of course the Clipse have classic joints to rock for days.

Best news is that they left the awful amphitheater in Devore and are taking this back to the NOS Events Center in San Bernardino. I've heard its a better arena so we'll see what happens. And for once, it doesn't coincide with my Pastor's annual banquet so I'm there.

They've scaled back RTB considerably - only four shows and none international - and even though that sucks a bit, it's the economy, stupid (c) James Carville. Let's hope the quality of the show and the fan turnout doesn't get affected.

*wishes for Ice Cube, Ms. Hill or Goodie Mob among the surprises to be named later.*