Filler Photos

Shawn doesn't have  an article ready for Saturday (working on a couple of projects for some other authors)  so here's  some filler Photos of Isis action figures

Isis

E'steem

These are a hit all over the world, and people just seem to love this E'steem figure for some reason.  It was either this or the second  chapter of The Cassandra Cookbook.  I may still post that later on just to give people something to read. I know people want fresh content, but a brotha is stretched kinda thin these days.

Who Will be the Next Black Stars?

There’s an ongoing crisis in Black Hollywood. It has nothing to do with getting Black screenplays greenlit, financing to make Black flims, or getting Black films distributed. It’s finding young fresh Black faces to become the next Black stars.


Most of today’s current popular African-American performers are over 35 and getting older. Leading Men Will Smith, Terrence Howard, Jamie Foxx and Tyler Perry are in their 40s. Leading Ladies like Kimberly Elise, Thandie Newton, Jada Pinkett, Taraji P. Henson, Vanessa Williams and Halle Berry are in their 40s to mid 40s, while Angela Bassett is over 50 and Whoopi Goldberg is close to 60. And veteran leading men like Denzel Washington and Laurence Fishburne are almost 60. And seasoned actors like Samuel L. Jackson are over 60 while Morgan Freeman is 73 years old.

Worse, the African-American up and coming performers are over 30 well. Actresses like Paula Patton and Zoe Saldana are in their mid to late 30s while the youngest actresses I can think of Jurnee Smollett, Raven Symone and Kyla Pratt are in their mid-20s. And the up and coming Black male lead performers? Not many working outside of Evan Ross. Oh and that curly haired brotha from High School Musical. What’s he doing right now?

Craft wise with so many Black performers being over 30, it means there’s no one around to take the place of veteran black performers and learn the craft of acting in the next few years. Worse, there are no new Black faces emerging who are strong enough to carry a movie on their own or open strongly at the box-office currently.

While I enjoy the work of many of the older Black performers, I feel there’s a desperate need for a youth movement in Black Hollywood and in Black Cinema. The average age of a young Black actor today is 35. To today’s young teen or twentysomething ticket buyer, those actors are OLD. For teens and twentysomethings today watching these performers is like watching, well their mothers and fathers telling their mother and father’s stories at the movies.

On the business side, I feel the glut of older stars is one of the reasons it’s so hard to get a Black film greenlit these days. Most studio executives are anxious about hiring older actors to lead films. Usually the older Black demographic isn’t as eager to pay money to go to the theater as younger audiences, and generally, films targeted to audiences over 40 often do very poorly at the box-office.

With Black films already having one strike against them because they target African-American audiences, the age issue often makes for a second strike against them. Couple these two strikes with the third strike of a history of poor performance at the box office and the fourth strike of an inability to sell to foreign audiences and it’s clear why African-American films are having a hard time getting out of development.

I also feel it’s one of the reasons most African-American films outside of Tyler Perry films are struggling to find audiences at the theater these days. Movies primarily are a youth-oriented business. It’s tween, teen, twentysomething and some thirtysomething performers who appeal to young audiences of ticket buyers. With most of today’s films appealing to older audiences, many of today’s Black youth don’t relate to or identify with the characters onscreen. Because they can’t see themselves in the characters onscreen, they have no reason to invest money in a movie ticket or the time to see the movie.

Where Are The Next Generation Of Stars in Black Hollywood Going to Come From?

There’s an ongoing crisis in Black Hollywood. It has nothing to do with getting Black screenplays greenlit, financing to make Black flims, or getting Black films distributed. It’s finding young fresh Black faces to become the next Black stars.

Most of today’s current popular African-American performers are over 35 and getting older. Leading Men Will Smith, Terrence Howard, Jamie Foxx and Tyler Perry are in their 40s. Leading Ladies like Kimberly Elise, Thandie Newton, Jada Pinkett, Taraji P. Henson, Vanessa Williams and Halle Berry are in their 40s to mid 40s, while Angela Bassett is over 50 and Whoopi Goldberg is close to 60. And veteran leading men like Denzel Washington and Laurence Fishburne are almost 60. And seasoned actors like Samuel L. Jackson are over 60 while Morgan Freeman is 73 years old.

Worse, the African-American up and coming performers are over 30 well. Actresses like Paula Patton and Zoe Saldana are in their mid to late 30s while the youngest actresses I can think of Jurnee Smollett, Raven Symone and Kyla Pratt are in their mid-20s. And the up and coming Black male lead performers? Not many working outside of Evan Ross. Oh and that curly haired brotha from High School Musical. What’s he doing right now?

Craft wise with so many Black performers being over 30, it means there’s no one around to take the place of veteran black performers and learn the craft of acting in the next few years. Worse, there are no new Black faces emerging who are strong enough to carry a movie on their own or open strongly at the box-office currently.

While I enjoy the work of many of the older Black performers, I feel there’s a desperate need for a youth movement in Black Hollywood and in Black Cinema. The average age of a young Black actor today is 35. To today’s young teen or twentysomething ticket buyer, those actors are OLD. For teens and twentysomethings today watching these performers is like watching, well their mothers and fathers telling their mother and father’s stories at the movies.

On the business side, I feel the glut of older stars is one of the reasons it’s so hard to get a Black film greenlit these days. Most studio executives are anxious about hiring older actors to lead films. Usually the older Black demographic isn’t as eager to pay money to go to the theater as younger audiences, and generally, films targeted to audiences over 40 often do very poorly at the box-office.

With Black films already having one strike against them because they target African-American audiences, the age issue often makes for a second strike against them. Couple these two strikes with the third strike of a history of poor performance at the box office and the fourth strike of an inability to sell to foreign audiences and it’s clear why African-American films are having a hard time getting out of development.

I also feel it’s one of the reasons most African-American films outside of Tyler Perry films are struggling to find audiences at the theater these days. Movies primarily are a youth-oriented business. It’s tween, teen, twentysomething and some thirtysomething performers who appeal to young audiences of ticket buyers. With most of today’s Black films appealing to older audiences, many of today’s Black youth don’t relate to or identify with the characters onscreen. Because they can’t see themselves in the characters onscreen, they have no reason to invest money in a movie ticket or the time to see the movie.

Ironically many African-American Filmmakers prefer working with older, established stars because they think short-term they’ll draw bigger crowds and open stronger at the box-office. Unfortunately, many Black filmmakers are unaware their films skewer older and don’t appeal to younger audiences where the most money at the box-office usually is. Usually, younger audiences are often turned off watching people old enough to be their parents starring in movies.

Because so many Black filmmakers want to sell films with established black stars in the lead, they don’t see the long-term damage that’s being done to the future of black cinema by not developing fresh talent. Because no Black filmmakers are taking the time to develop new stars it may be harder to sell black movies in the future.

It takes years for a performer to establish a body of work, and many young black performers aren’t getting the opportunity to hone their crafts. While there have been noteworthy performances from black actresses and black actors There hasn’t been a breakout black star in over a decade. Moreover, those black actors and actresses who have had noteworthy performances haven’t been able to follow up on that work with a project that would allow them to break through and establish themselves as the next black star who can draw an audience. And without new stars, there won’t be anyone available to carry a Black film and help it open strongly in the future.

Long-term the impact of this shortage of young Black actors could cripple the Black film industry. With no young actors to be trained in the craft of acting or be mentored by seasoned performers, there’s no pool of new performers to draw on when older talent dies, retires or just doesn’t fit the role anymore. New Black producers and directors will struggle to get films greenlit because there’s no talent pool available to tell the stories of the Black experience on film and on stage.

I feel the time is NOW for Black film industry to seriously start cultivating and developing fresh new talent. While I enjoy the work of seasoned Black performers like Denzel Washington, Will Smith, Terrence Howard, Angela Bassett Halle Berry and others, I really think it’s time to start developing the next generation of young black lead performers who could become the next Denzel Washington, Will Smith, Terrence Howard Angela Bassett and Halle Berry. These are going to be the performers that sell to tomorrow’s movie audiences and will sell films to tomorrow’s ticket-buyers. I feel if Black filmmakers took some time to target younger audiences and spent a bit more time developing new performers African-American films would do much better at the box office and would be a bit easier to sell to distributors and studios. More importantly it’d get young Black viewers back buying tickets for Black movies.

The Sneakers Now Available for FREE on Smashwords

The Sneakers the first of four Monthly YA eBook exclusives is now available for FREE on Smashwords:



The Synopsis is detailed below:

Sometimes, the price paid for a pair of shoes is more than money.

Trakaim and Luis are best friends who love sneakers. When they spot the new Air Jordans in the window of the Dr. Jays on Fordham Road their friendship turns into a rivalry when they make a bet on who will be the first to have the new kicks.

Not wanting to look soft, the boys look for ways to hustle the cash to pay for their shoes. As their quest for the green takes them on two very different roads, the boys learn valuable life lessons worth more than the price of a pair of shoes.

And for those who want to support a brotha with some coin for the story, it’s 99 cents on Amazon and B&N:

http://www.amazon.com/The-Sneakers-ebook/dp/B004ZH3HJK/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&m=AG56TWVU5XWC2&s=books&qid=1304742577&sr=1-1

Barnes & Noble:

http://search.barnesandnoble.com/The-Sneakers/Shawn-James/e/2940012520647

What happened to Hip-Hop?

What happened to Hip Hop?

You know that music with the lyrics that rhyme? Rhythm and Poetry? The music that originated in the South Bronx in the late 1970’s? The music that defined the brothers and sisters of Generation X?
I don’t know if any readers out there are old enough to remember, but I remember a time when hip-hop was creative and fun. When a rap song made you smile. When I used to run home from school to watch shows like Video Music Box and Video Trax. When I taped rap music videos so I could learn the dance moves and the lyrics.

Now everyone I know wants to change the channel when a rap video comes on.

And what happened to the content in hip hop songs? When the there was subtext between the lines of the rhymes? When there was RYTHYM AND POETRY? When rappers didn’t just rhyme about being the best on the mic, they told a story in between the beats?

Now Hip-Hop is so shallow. Everybody raps about taking drugs and committing crimes. And bling. Oh
and don’t forget fucking hoes and smacking bitches.

And what happened to diversity in hip hop? When rap acts actually made an effort to be unique? When I was a tween in 1985, The Fat Boys were fat, LL Cool J rapped Hard, RUN DMC were the Kings of Rock and Doug E Fresh mastered the beat box.

Then later on Heavy D was the overweight lover, De La Soul were the artists, Biz Markie was the comedian, Kid N’ Play were the comedy Duo, Big Daddy Kane was the lyrical gymnast, Rakim was intelligent master of his own technique, Ladies Loved Cool James. KRS-One preached street knowledge and life lessons, Public Enemy taught Self-awareness, De La Soul were one of a kind, and Digable Planets were the beatnik poets. Remember when Hip-Hop used to have something for everyone?

Now everybody is a thug and a gangsta. Or a Ho. Because Hoes are a hit with the kiddies these days.

And remember when rappers came together and collaborated on group songs? Classics like Marley Marl’s The Symphony, the Stop the Violence Movement’s Self-Destruction and All in The Same Gang? When rappers didn’t mind guesting on each other’s records like Positive K did on MC Lyte’s Excuse Me Miss…I’m Not Havin it?

Nowadays every rapper is “beefing” having a rivalry with another rapper. Cause that really sells records.

And remember when Rap feuds weren’t violent? Stuff like LL Cool J/Cannabis and LL Cool J/Kool Moe Dee were about being the best on the mic? When it was all about the lyrics? When after the battle on the mic people shook hands?

Now we have fools trying to kill each other over comments they made on a record.

Remember when Rappers had their own style when it came to fashion? When Run DMC rocked Adidas with no laces, LL Cool J had his Kangol Cap, and Kool Moe Dee had his hat and sunglasses. Later on Big Daddy Kane was dapper and smooth in his silk suit and Bally boots, Kid N’ Play rocked the Hi-top-fades, De La Soul wore Africa Medallions and MC Hammer wore the genie pants? Rap used to set fashion trends.

Now every rap act looks…well pretty much the same. Braids, Tats, Saggy jeans, oversized T-Shirts and bling. Lots of Bling cause kiddies love shiny stuff.

And what happened to comedy rap? I remember when there was room for rappers to have a little fun on the mic and tell a JOKE. A lot of the classic rappers like Fat Boys, Kid N’ Play, Big Daddy Kane, and DJ Jazzy Jeff and The Fresh Prince often took time to make a track or two just for laughs to show the lighter side of life. What happened to stuff like Jazzy Jeff and Fresh Prince’s I can beat Mike Tyson or Biz Markie’s Just a Friend? The kinds of songs that would have you bust out laughing to the jokes in between the lines of the lyrics? Man I miss those.

Now EVERY rapper is serious. Hard. Tough. A badass who is covered in tats, carries a gun, sells drugs and has a jail record. EVERY rapper.

And what happened to lyrical wordplay in hip hop? From 88-92 the Rap lyrics evolved and got really articulate with rappers making all types of words rhyme. I used to love listening to the smooth flow of words coming from rappers like Big Daddy Kane, the precision of Rakim, and the poetic storytelling of Kool G Rap. Those kinds of songs showed me that it was possible to really get creative with words as a writer.

Now rappers on records stumble and stutter in songs. Worse, most times they don’t even rhyme. People just REPEAT stuff thinking it’s RHYMING. Seriously, does anybody in hip hop know what PHONICS is nowadays? Was anyone who raps these days TAUGHT phonics? Or did they stay in school long enough to LEARN IT?

And what happened to rap videos? Remember when they were mini movies that told a story?

And also does anyone remember when rap videos featured MALE dancers doing cool moves? In between the quick cuts behind the rapper were these two dudes doing steps like The Running Man, and the Roger Rabbit. And the Kid N’ Play had Kick step/leg thing and other awesome dance moves. MC Hammer had his own style inspired by the late James Brown. Those were cool moves people would tape videos for so they could watch over and over again so they could learn how to do them when they went to a party.

Now lazy guys just swagger in front of rented luxury cars and rented mansions posing with borrowed bling and baggy clothes as video vixens in bikinis shake their butts around them.

And what happened to female rappers? I remember when female rappers rapped about respecting themselves and being a strong woman. Sistas like Queen Latifah, Antionette, Miss Melody, Precious, Monie Love and MC Lyte talked about being proud of their blackness and carried themselves with dignity. Salt-N-Pepa could get a party jumpin’ or get a laugh. Neneh Cherry made music that was one of a kind featuring complex and cerebral poetry set to a techno beat. The ladies of the Cookie Crew came from the UK with their own style. Female rappers used to be just as creative and unique as the guys back in the day.

Now every sista in the rap game is running around half-naked talking about how they’re bitches and hoes.

Over twenty years after I heard my first rap song in 1984 I ask myself: What happened to Hip-hop?
No, seriously what happened to Hip Hop?

Forget the misogyny, the sexism and the glamorization of crime and street culture. When did Hip-Hop get so homogenous? When did it get so bland? When did it get so BORING?
I’m just gonna come out and say it Hip-Hop music sucks. Underneath the surface of music glamorizing crime, bling, and thuggin’ today’s rap music feels so manufactured. Artificial. Plastic. Uninspired. Performers like Lil Wayne, Soulja Boy and Nicki Minaj feel like they come off an assembly line. They have no style, personality or creativity that makes them distinct and stand out. They’re a dime a dozen.

Nowadays EVERY rapper is a gangsta in saggy pants, Oversized T-shirts tattoos, and bling, or a scantily clad ho. Everyone comes from “the streets” and has a prison record of some type. Everyone is so focused on having a thug image their music has no heart soul, passion or a message.
The beats feel like canned music, and the lyrics have the depth of a Nyquil cup.

And from what I’ve been reading from kids on YouTube people HATE it. Many call it SHIT-HOP and CRAP MUSIC. For many youngsters it’s so bad they go back and listen to the stuff I grew up with. The music with a heart a soul. A message. The music that was FUN.

Because Hip-Hop is so pasteurized and homogenized these days no one buys the albums anymore. It’s why no one takes Hip-Hop music seriously anymore. It’s why no one CARES about Hip-Hop anymore. A&R people in the Music business are SO out of touch they are when it comes to developing Hip-Hop talent. They spend so much time looking for people who fit the image of a stereotype that they’ve abandoned the craft of music making.

I was a big fan of hip-hop back in the day. It was the music of my generation. That Hip-Hop used to be fresh, inspired and most of all FUN. It was music that made you laugh, smile and dance to it. It was music that rocked the party into the A.M. or made the time pass as you listened to it on your walkman. It was the music played on jeeps in the summertime with memorable rhymes that stayed in your mind.

Seriously, I have to ask: What happened to Hip-Hop?

Coming soon- YA Ebook Exclusives For the Summer reading season

I’m going to be offering some eBook exclusive titles for Young Adult and tween readers for the summer reading season. These are stories I really believe in, but can’t afford a print run for. In between 12-80 pages they’re just too short to print as single volumes. Maybe as a collection someday, but right now I just want to get them out there to readers.
What’s going to be great about these exclusive e-books is the price. Two will be just 99 cents. Two will be FREE. That’s right FREE. I’m hoping those low prices will give people an incentive to try my writing and take a risk on buying a paperback later on.

Three of the titles will be Isis related. I feel that’s easy-to-read action packed fantasy anyone from eight to eighty can get into. I really want to get more African-Americans reading fantasy and science fiction and I feel these short books will get more people excited about the genre.

One title will be an Urban YA story set in the Bronx. It’s based on an old story I wrote back in 1991 when I was in high school. I turned that story into a 12-chapter novella in 2003.

These eBooks will be available on Nook, Kindle, and Smashwords. I’m working on the formatting right now, and I hope to start having them up by June. Links, covers and synopses will be up soon!

Great news! I fixed the cooling fan in my laptop!

Great news! I fixed the cooling fan in my laptop.

Dell’s box never arrived, so I had to dust off my A+ training and repair my laptop myself. I had two clients depending on me to get their projects out and I couldn’t afford to wait any longer.

So I bought a fan off Ebay for $5.00 last week.
After the mailman delivered the fan this afternoon, I got straight to work on my laptop. The whole replacement took less than a half-hour, and I was surprised at how easy it was.

I admit I was a little nervous disassembling my computer. It got a little antsy when one of the clips that connected the wireless card popped off when I was separating the monitor from the motherboard, but I persevered, remembering everything I learned about PC repair from my MEOC training, going slow and taking note of how things were connected to each other.

When I got inside my computer’s case and took the old fan out, I learned why it wasn’t working. A huge block of dust was preventing the blades from spinning. That’s something I’ll have to check during routine maintenance next time.

Anyway, after I took the old fan out I put the new fan in, put the screws back in and reassembled the case. Inserted the Dell Diagnostics CD, hit F12, then did a diagnostic on the fan. Tests show the new fan is working perfectly, and the computer is working fine after doing some heavier processing tasks.
This was my first repair job on a PC I’m pretty pleased with my work. No marks on the case, and all the screws are in place they’re supposed to be. Maybe I could do this more regularly. Or do it for pay.