Shoot Promos on Race, Class, Gender, Etc

"Listening causes me to find the existence of truth behind the veil." - Loreena McKennitt It was Saturday afternoon during our 30 minute lunch break and I only had a few minutes left to call my group leader James that I wouldn't be able to come in on Monday evening. Volunteering or "assisting" as they like to call it, for the Landmark Power to Create course was not my idea. But Jules suggested this would be the best way to attend and listen in on the course without paying for the registration fee. At this point in time I was driving for Lyft and freelancing on the side and struggling mightily to keep up with my bills. So the reasoning made sense to me. What I hadn't anticipated was that assisting would mean arriving two hours before the course began at 9am to help set up and also staying behind an hour past 11pm to help clean up and prepare for the next day. My back was killing me and I was physically exhausted. The last thing I wanted to do after working 16...

"All too often we think of community in terms of being with folks like ourselves: the same class, same race, same ethnicity, same social standing and the like... I think we need to be wary: we need to work against the danger of evoking something that we don't challenge ourselves to actually practice." - Bell Hooks Continuing from my blog last week about the fallout and trauma response from the Will Smith/Chris Rock incident at the Oscars ( and that my friends is what we in the business refer to as a callback; no I am not in the business ), I was left with the feeling that I had no place in a world that perpetuates and indirectly rewards such broken masculinity. I felt isolated. I felt disconnected. I felt defeated. Because the truth of the matter was, I was broken too. Maybe not in the same way that caused Will Smith to lose his sh*t, but I identified with that hurt even while recognizing how toxic it was. It's why I had such an intense reaction and why it elicited a ...

"Good humor is a tonic for mind and body. It is the best antidote for anxiety and depression. It is a business asset. It attracts and keeps friends. It lightens human burdens. It is the direct route to serenity and contentment." - Grenville Kleiser March 27, 2022, the night of the 94th Academy Awards. I'm guessing you can already anticipate where this is going. And no, it's not about CODA winning Best Picture. The host Chris Rock made a "G.I. Jane" joke about Jada Pinkett Smith, who's shared her struggle with alopecia, which prompted her husband Will Smith, who would later win Best Actor for his role in King Richard , to get up on stage and slap Rock. Almost instantly, Twitter and Social Media were ablaze with reposts of the video, people posting their memes and cracking their best jokes, and pundits everywhere firing off their takes about what this moment would mean for Will Smith, Chris Rock, the Oscars, Comedians, Black Women's hair, Black Mascul...

"It is said that we must take the time to stop and smell the roses. What they don't tell you, is that YOU are the rose that you need to stop for the most. You are the rose that you must stop and love the most, you are that flower." - C. Joybell C. I laid in bed on Monday night with tears streaming through my eyes. I had an amazing weekend where I got to catch up with some of my dear friends: Amy who I hadn't seen in several months, Krista for two outdoor concerts/shows on consecutive nights: Diana Ross at the Hollywood Bowl and Wayne Brady & Christopher Jackson at The Ford LA to support Marissa, and her nonprofit 4C Lab, and the Tupac Wake Me When I'm Free museum with Piper and her children. I returned to work on Sunday afternoon where I completed my tasks early enough that I was able to watch the newest House of the Dragon , the Game of Thrones spinoff series, before I went home. Normally, I would be grateful to have one of those experiences to look forward...