Kitty Power

Nuggets

The "staving off the brain deterioration" edition.

Today's Gothamist interview: Joshua Ralph, the architect of one of my favorite frosh year albums. Am I the only person in the world who loved the "Baby" video? I ended up with the album on a Discorama trip and thinking that my love for that song was worth the $6.99 for the whole album. It's really excellent and I'm putting that on when I get home....

...after checking out Garden State at Rockefeller Center tonight. P. Fizzie and I are gonna hit that up. [info also courtesy of Gothamist]

A disturbing tidbit from a review of another must-see doc:

Take Tom Kline, a senior vice president of the pharmaceutical giant Pfizer. Outfitted like someone’s dorky uncle, he leads the filmmakers around a Pfizer-subsidized housing development in Brooklyn, pointing out the company’s good deeds. He repeats the word "Pfizer" about 800 times in three minutes.

"Hi! We’re from Pfiiiizer," he drawls to people exiting the Flushing Avenue subway station. "How are you doin’ today? We’re your neighbors!" He stops an African-American woman and her daughter on their way home. "Together, you know, working with you and Pfizer, we’ll make this a better place," he tells them.

He leads the cameraman into the subway station to show off the security system the company paid to install on the platform. You press a button to summon the Pfizer security guard a few blocks away, who then calls the transit police. Of course, when Mr. Kline tries it out, the thing doesn’t work.

"Crime is down in this station, and it’s much safer for our community partners," explains Mr. Kline awkwardly.

"The idea that a citizen should call this corporate-security representative, and the corporate-security officer should then call the police on their behalf, it just seems like a very strange hierarchy of authority," said Mr. Achbar. "Why shouldn’t that thing connect to 911 directly? It so beautifully illustrates the corporation’s idea of itself as the governing entity. I mean, who do they think they are? The logic is just so bizarre."

[via Abstract Dynamics]

A review/roundup/stream of consciousness of Sunday's Ghostface show from Jon Caramanica.

The most supersnarkalicious thing ever from MSNBC (putting even the Fametracker boards to shame):

Actually, traditionalists will be quick to inform you that even though they use the word “vows” in their nuptials, there’s always some wiggle room. For instance, Anthony himself recently split from his wife, Dayanara Torres, who was Miss Universe in 1993. They had been married for four years, and have two sons. She filed for divorce four months ago in Florida. Anthony and Lopez have been dating for about six months. If you look closely, you can see some overlap here. I understand artists in the music business often engage in what they call “sampling,” but Marc might have been pushing it here.

There is a fear that Jenny From the Block has been around the block a few too many times, and eventually it will catch up with her. All of these relationships, all of these marriages, all of these celebrity men, may have had a detrimental effect on her career. Personally, I don’t think so. I believe a good, strong, healthy marriage is what this young lady needs most. Just look what it did for Halle Berry.

The funniest thing I've read all day...only because I'm just that bored:

And now, since last year, you've got a job in development at back at the BBC.
They call it the head of development in the new comedy department, which sounds very impressive and grand but—trust me—really isn't. It's like being made head of stationary just because I've got my own pencil. There's no one beneath me.

Well, what does one do as head of comedy development?
I try to do as little as possible. I walk around with paper looking busy.

Courtesy of Defamer, a bizarro video clip and LIT snark. Good times.

David Banner -- the pimp to emulate:

In December of 2003, Banner revealed that with the release of his widely revered MTA2: Baptized in Dirty Water album, he would be randomly placing five game pieces within the first 300,000 copies to be sold. Each of those game pieces are worth $10,000 in scholarship capital to be
used toward any post-high school education including undergraduate college, graduate school, community college, and trade or vocational schools. In the event that any of the winners are unable or choose not to indulge in furthering his or her education for whatever reasons, Banner has stipulated that the monies be transferred to someone of the winner’s choosing who will.

As a college-educated artist who attended Southern University in Louisiana, New Orleans, Banner has always had a passion for mixing the arts and education. Banner explains why he chose to launch such a commendable contest, "I struggled to get my undergrad and then my Masters Degree and now that I've made it I am blessed with the ability to give back," Throughout the rise of his music career which officially took off in the spring of 2003 with the release of his major label debut Mississippi: The Album, Banner has consistently promoted the importance of education while providing ear pleasing gifts to popular culture. The gold-selling CD spawned the hits “Like A Pimp,” featuring fellow southern MC Lil’ Flip, and the socially conscious “Cadillac on 22’s.” That album was soon
followed by Mississippi: The Chopped & Screwed Album and subsequently MTA2: Baptized in Dirty Water.

Posted by Candicissima at June 8, 2004 10:58 AM