This was a comprehensive hip hop, film and urban culture blog written entirely by an information junkie/graphomaniac Bostonian ex emcee/film student/record and video store manager/graf writer/streetballer called Dart Adams.
The odds that the Grizzlies and Celtics would be leapfrogged by the Hawks, Sonics and Blazers in the Draft Lottery for the top 3 picks in the 2007 NBA Draft were 1 in 555. Kevin Garnett will wear number 5 with the Boston Celtics. Kevin Garnet was born in the 5th month of the year, May. Kevin Garnett was the 5th player drafted in the 1995 NBA Draft. The Celtics received the 5th pick in the 2007 NBA Draft, a pick they traded to Seattle as part of the deal that landed Ray Allen. The last time the Celtics appeared in the Eastern Conference Finals was 5 years ago. Paul Pierce has worn number 34 throughout his entire career. Ray Allen wore number 34 throughout his entire career until now (he will now wear 20 in Boston). Kevin Garnett wore number 34 in high school at Farragut Academy in Chicago (he wore 21 in Minnesota). The Celtics now have Ray Allen and Allen Ray on the same team. Allen Ray will be Ray Allen’s backup. 57 years ago today, Walter Brown bought the rights to the Celtics franchise outright. The number 1 that hangs in the rafters was retired in honor of him. The number to call to get Boston Celtics tickets is 1-866-4-CELTICS (I have a ticket connect already...no calls needed)
Well, damn...what a difference a day makes. Not only are the Celtics on the brink of staging a miraculous resurrection that would rank just behind Biblical Lazarus and the mythical Phoenix (at least in Boston), but it’s the day of the baseball trade deadline and Red Sox Nation are pretty much waiting to see where Wily Mo Pena is going to end up (as of the writing of this blog Joel Piniero has already been shipped off to the Cards for a player to be named later). As I normally do with the Boston sports report, I report on teams in order of their importance to the city. Red Sox first, Pats second, Celtics last. With this deal, interest in the Celtics will skyrocket. I’m currently watching the Baseball Tonight Trade Deadline special and they’re trying to complete a deal for Eric Gagne to further solidify the Red Sox already formidable bullpen.
The Boston Red Sox are currently 64-31 with 57 games left in the season. They are the possessors of the best record in MLB and an 8 game lead on the New York Yankees (which is the biggest lead any team has in their division in all of MLB). They recently took 3 out of 4 from the Wild Card leading Cleveland Indians and 2 out of 3 from the Tampa Bay Devil Rays for a successful road trip. Manny Ramirez is on a hot streak and over the last 8 games he's had a power surge. Coco Crisp, Julio Lugo, Manny Ramirez, David Ortiz and Kevin Youkilis have all been hot as the Sox ripped of 8 of their last 10 contests.
The Sox are 30-22 on the road so far this season and only one other team in all off baseball has a better road record (Detroit). They also boast 3 starting pitchers with 12 wins (Beckett, Wakefield and Matsuzaka). The Yanks are only about 4 games out of the Wild Card and they have a huge 3 games series against the Red Sox at the end of August (28th-30th). If the Red Sox can manage to get another power hitting outfielder or a power arm in their bullpen (the best in MLB...I LOVE writing that!) it will be a major coup for them. Tonight the Sox play the Orioles (Josh Beckett’s pitching) and the Yankees play the White Sox so hopefully the lead can stay the same or go back up to 9 games after tonight.
John Lester has returned and pitched well in his two starts and Matt Clement is busy rehabbing. Brendan Donnelly is on the mend and Curt Schilling will be back with the team the first week in August. Mike Timlin has what’s been described as an “achy” shoulder so he’s going to be unavailable for a few days. Pitching prospect Clay Buchholz may end up with the team before the season is over as well. The news just came in that the proposed deal between the Red Sox and Texas Rangers for Eric Gagne would send Sox prospects Engel Beltre, Dave Murphy and current starter Kason Gabbard to the Rangers. If this deal can get done in the next hour that would put the Sox in the driver’s seat for a berth in the World Series. Apparently the deal is about to be officially announced anytime now according to ESPN (Gagne's contract is the final obstacle).
The New England Patriots are currently at training camp working on returning to the Super Bowl and dethroning the current AFC and Super Bowl Champion Indianapolis Colts (I don’t think you readers understand how much it pains me to write that...last year’s AFC Championship game still pisses me off). The Patriots offense looks to be a juggernaut stocked with more weapons than ever before while the defense’s only shortcoming is at defensive back/cornerback. They refused to show Assante the money and he refused to play for $8 million dollars for one year...if this team had Assante Samuel with Rodney Harrison, Tory James, Eugene Wilson and the other guys I’d say this team was the runaway favorite to win it all. Another question mark is the durability of RB Lawrence Maroney, without having bruising veteran RB Corey Dillon to share theload and give team different looks. I have complete trust in the Patriots coaching staff that they’ll be able to field a squad with a legitimate running game despite how it all seems up in the air right now. This will be another fun season for Pats fans...I can feel it.
Now for the big news. I’m sure you’ve all read my previous Celtics posts on this blog (I guarantee you NO other hip hop blogger in the entire bloggerverse has written as much about the Celtics as I have) and the anguish C’s fans felt when those ping pong balls fell the way they did. Not only did it mean that the Red Sox would miss out on the first two picks in the 2007 NBA Draft but they’d be mired in irrelevancy for years to come with the #5 pick. The draft day deal that sent Jeff Green to Seattle (who already drafted Kevin Durant with the 2nd pick) for Jesus Shuttlesworth..I mean Ray Allen was the harbinger that something greater was on the horizon. For the first time in a long time there was hope for Celtics fans. The rumored Kevin Garnett deal was dead because supposedly KG didn’t want to come to Boston according to his agent (who was holding out for him to go to L.A. or Phoenix). ESPN (prematurely) speculated that it was because of the history of Black people and athletes in Boston turns people off of coming here. Let me, a Black Bostonian address this bullshit issue (again) right here and now.
Black people have had more “firsts” and history in Boston and the entire state of Massachusetts than they have in ANY other state in the entire union (including New York...test me on it, I minored in History at one point in time). Salem Hall, Peter Salem, Crispus Attucks, The 54th Regiment, the Harriet Tubman House all the way down to the hometowns of Louis Farrakhan, Malcolm X and this is where Martin Luther King came to learn to become the man he’d be later on in his life (I grew up two blocks from the apartment that Martin Luther King lived in when he attended Boston University and across the street from Malcolm X’s older sister. On the very same block was the Harriet Tubman House and one of the very first chapters of the NAACP ). The Celtics were on of the first teams to have a Black player, the first to have a Black coach, and the first to have a Black starting five (They’ve also had the most Black coaches in NBA history). The fuckin’ Bruins were the first team to have a Black player (Willie O’ Ree). I could get so much deeper into this issue but this is neither the time nor place. I just hate when “journalists” that don’t know shit about my city try to tell me about the climate that exists here. I’m pretty sure I was the one being harassed by police during the Charles Stuart fiasco and NOT them. Anyways, back to the Celtics.
Just when we thought the Celtics would spend the next season in Boston as a non entity after watching the Las Vegas Summer League and even after seeing what draft picks Gabe Pruitt and Glen “Big Baby” Davis could potentially bring to the table.Today it’s official, the Boston Celtics made a deal for former NBA and All Star Game MVP Kevin Garnett and shipped Al Jefferson, Gerald Green, Ryan Gomes, Sebastian Telfair, two 1st round draft picks and Theo Ratliff’s contract to Miinnesota. The press conference will be held in Boston at 5:30 PM EST. The talk of the town (and Okayplayer Sports as well as BostonRap.com) was that perhaps the Celtics were giving up to much to acquire Kevin Garnett. Al Jefferson, Ryan Gomes and Gerald Green were all fan favorites and popular among the young fans. I saw quite a few sad little faces around town over the last 24 hours since this proposed deal was first announced. It will be sad to see fan favorites like Delonte West, Al Jefferson, Ryan Gomes and Gerald Green go (Bye, Wally Szczerbiak!) but the bottom line is that we didn’t win anything with them so I don’t feel THAT bad about seeing them go. We all know that it didn’t work out the way we all hoped with Bassy’s dumb ass at starting PG. It was all good for him just 12 months ago:
Now, he’s Kevin McHale’s problem. The baseball trade deadline is over and the Red Sox deal for Eric Gagne is done. The Yankees wouldn’t give up a top prospect and Melky Cabrera for Eric Gagne..partly because the Yankees farm system is so devoid of talent that they can’t afford to give up any while the Red Sox farm system is brimming with talent (I am CLEARLY enjoying this, huh?). When I decided not to take the doom and gloom stance that most of us Bostonians usually take on these things it allowed for this day to be a whole lot sweeter for myself as a Bostonian sports fan.
Oh yeah, 3 years ago today the Red Sox made a deal with the Minnesota Twins for Doug Mientkiewicz and ended up getting a key piece that would help them nail down the Wild Card and later on win the 2004 ALCS and then the World Series. The Celtics made a deal with Minnesota today and the Red Sox made a huge deal again. That’s all I’m gonna say about that. One.
A whole bunch of shit has happened since the last time I posted here. 50 Cent and Kanye West had a mini clash that was far less real than the Jon Lovitz/Andy Dick feud. I mean damn, even George Lopez is making it real for cats. He actually stepped to a biter a while back and beat the shit out of Carlos "Swiper" Mencia for repeating his old jokes on his recent stand up specials. Common's long awaited "Finding Forever" leaked and people all over the net are dissing the shit out of it...I like it, Then again, I liked "Kingdom Come" so my opinion should hold no weight (like Byron Crawford's overworked neck). I 've been too busy listening to a plethora of great/near classic releases from Camp Lo, Common, Marco Polo, Blue Scholars, Blu & Exile, Buff 1, and J Dilla's little brother Illa J. If you haven't heard "I Don't Wanna Die" yet click that link and do so now.
Remy Ma went and shot her stylist/weed carrier because she misplaced her money. This chick has terrible decision making abilities. She signed with Terror Squad, then she dissed Joe because her wack ass album flopped. Then she tried to get down with his biggest rivals, G-Unit. Then she went and said that there should be an age limit for rappers and that if you're 30 or over you shouldn't be emceeing...she said this shit ON CAMERA with a straight face! Then she chose this as a mixtape cover (Miami KAOS is going to Hell for this) before she fired the shot heard 'round the Net:
Let's all bow our heads and pray for this poor lost sheep *Bows heads and does silent prayer*
I've managed to help my brother sell a few beats, but I'm going to have to get a job...like a real job I have to GO to in another place. I've been in severe writing withdrawal. It got so bad that I have outlines for blogs/articles on the backs of mad old (paid) bills. I've been devoting a good amount of time to the watching Red Sox (no shit?) try to keep the Yankees at bay while hoping they don't make it to the damn Wild Card. The lead is currently 8 games and they still have the best record in baseball at 63-40. Hold on to that lead, fellas. I can't wait until August 28-30 so the Sox can finally smack fire out of the Yankees themselves rather than let the Orioles do their dirty work.
That goddamn "Chocolate Rain" song/video is all over the place! I was groggy at 3:30 in the morning and my TV was still on. I thought I heard someone imitating R. Kelly, T Pain, and Rihanna all at the same time...it just turns out it was some dude named J. Holliday's new video.
Over in Japan, there's this new girl group called Foxxi MisQ that has this joint "Ultimate Girl" that KNOCKS!
The crazy thing is that a lot of artists in Asia are bred/schooled in America and since they have trouble breaking into the American Pop/R&B market they just go over to Asia and blow the fuck up. American producers can also cake up by selling tracks to Korean and Japanese artists (the biggest markets) and get them checks. It's a big world, y'all. You NEED to start submitting tracks to these Asian record labels urban departments, Kanye West, Pharrell, Timbaland, Just Blaze, Full Force (remember them?) and Dallas Austin all have and now they can afford to rock BAPE's
I'm still trying to figure out what exactly is going on in "Meadowlands" and on "John From Cincinnatti". I thought it was an optical illusion, but no it isn't...the mom on "Meadowlands" really does have large spheres in both of her back pockets on the show's opening. Oh yeah, if the kid that plays Sean Yost on "John From Cincinnatti" isn't the worst damn child "actor" I've ever seen then Lil' Wayne is indeed the best rapper on the planet. I'd like to extand thanks to all of the regular readers and bloggers that frequent this blog and all of my fellow bloggers whose blogs I read and those who read mine (when I actually post something at least), I appreciate it greatly.
I don't know how often I'll be able to post for but I'm working on making a permanent arrangement that'll allow me to post well thought out entries like I used to rather than freestyling it all (like I'm doing right now).For some odd reason Technorati isn't processing my Pings to announce to the blogosphere that I updated the blog. Hopefully after I finish posting this it'll work.I'll leave you all with some of the things that have helped to keep me sane while I couldn't write on this blog over the last 24 days:
There's many more but I don't feel like looking for the pics. I'll be back later on. One.
I often bitch and complain about when a book, TV show, comic book or graphic novel I like gets adapted into a lackluster film devoid of any soul or passion from the writing team or the director. Do you think that “Fantastic Four: Rise Of The Silver Surfer” was a passion project of Tim Story’s? How about any of those videos he directed for Jagged Edge? Methinks not.
I am so fucking sick of reading some piece of engrossing literature or watching some great show that works on many different levels and resonated with millions of people for different reasons just to have some studio buy the rights to said property and subsequently hire a writer that sucks the very essence and soul out of it (because he was never a fan of the source material) so it can be sold to the masses as a diluted version of what it once was. When directors and writers actually are fans of the source material and are committed to doing a faithful adaptation or translation to the silver screen we end up having an excellent final product as in the case of “V Is For Vendetta”,“Sin City”, “300”, the Harry Potter series of films or J.R.R. Tolkien’s Fellowship Of The Ring trilogy.
There is another case in which the common man (with a computer and a camera) has the opportunity to show up those assholes in Hollywood...the "fan film". Whether it be an original creation (like the above internet classic “Hobo With A Shotgun”) or one of Miguel Mesas’ excellent works you can see that these films are passion projects for these directors. Just like producers in the music industry, most writers and directors in Hollywood are simply work for hire (yunno..like hoes) that go from job to job in order to make a living.
When rights to a property are bought, it’s the screenwriter and the director’s job to make an accessible and commercially viable final product so the studio can make back the money on it's investment into said project...not particularly to find out what it is in the source material that draws in it’s original/core audience and to preserve that in the forthcoming film adaptation.
Sometimes fan films can be used as demos to get the directors jobs in Hollywood. In many cases there are people already in the film industry that make these short films to show that can do other things than what role they've been pigeonholed into. Sandy Collora , the director of this now famous fan film called “Batman: Dead End” has used this film as a “demo” that got him noticed for his creative abilities and eventually got him his own project in 2005.
Cyril Raffaelli, a traceur, fight choreographer, martial artist and stuntman (Section B 13, Transporter, Transporter 2) used his own short film “Mukiai” as a demo that helped get him work in big films like the summer blockbuster “Live Free And Die Hie Hard”.
The director of several excellent fan films Miguel Mesas is spotlighted in this blog later on in this post.
Top 5 Late Film Trailers Of The Month (7.1.07-7.31.07)
Here are some of my film recommendations for rental through Netflix:
Trade (available for rent) Haven Dynamite Warrior Man About Town The Best Thief In The World Renegade The U.S. Vs. John Lennon All We Are Saying High Roller: The Stu Ungar Story Eternal Sunshine Of The Spotless Mind The Emperor & The Assassin Blade Runner Total Recall Predator Predator 2 Alien Aliens Alien 3 Alien Resurrection The Abyss Dark City Fight Club Battle Royale Battle Royale 2 The City Of Lost Children Event Horizon They Live Strange Days No Escape Alien Nation Brazil Dune Code 46 Pi Willow Legend Buffalo 66 Minority Report 12 Monkeys Nine Queens A Scanner Darkly Manic Igby Goes Down An American Haunting Extras (Series) Nowhere To Hide Typhoon Shiri The Fifth Element After Hours 200 Cigarettes Red Dawn The Hill Have Eyes 2 Shooting Gallery Poolhall Junkies The Patriot Thunderheart Dreamland The Kovak Box Wild A t Heart True Romance The Way Of The Gun Duane Hopwood Lonesome Jim Edmond Disappeared The Code The Signal Pathfinder The Number 23 Zodiac 300 Crime Story Last Hurrah For Chivalry Rock The Bells
What the future holds for comic book/video game films:
Haven- How I was able to sleep on this flick for this long is beyond me. It has a brilliant ensemble cast, is well written and has all of the elements of a great thriller/drama. The story is set on the Cayman Islands and deals with locals as well as those that come to the island to launder dirty money and the fallout from their illegal activities.I don’t wanna post any spoilers, just trust me and don’t sleep on it like I once did.
The Nest- This French action film is a quasi remake of/homage to "Assault On Precinct 13" but it has enough action and fascinating characters to more than make your Netflix queue.Check out a review of it on Late Film by Feral Cat.
The U.S. Vs. John Lennon-All of these hardcore rappers in the game that claim they're gully and hardbody and swear the Feds are tapping their phones and make you believe they are constantly under surveillance and being harrassed by the police don’t have shit on John Lennon. 50 Cent couldn’t have lived a fuckin’ month in John Lennon’s skin...plus the fact that John Lennon was actually doing something to help mankind and not just make wack music and get rich. John Lennon died trying to make the world a better place...fuck 50 Cent, John Lennon was REALLY hardbody (word to Fred Hampton, Sr.). Oh yeah, watch this documentary to understand where I'm coming from with this tirade.
Rock The Bells- This film about the original “Rock The Bells” concert in California where the Wu Tang Clan were supposed to have all 9 original members perform back when Ol’ Dirty Bastard was still alive. I have been waiting for close to 18 months to see this movie after it had been submitted to several film festivals and I know I ain’t the only one. Put it on your lists NOW.
Dynamite Warrior- This Thai martial arts flick has some great special effects and some excellent fight scenes...it also has a paper thin story and only about half the cast actually deserved to be paid because they sucked at acting and fighting. When the main actors in the film aren’t on the screen the film tended to drag on (I actually considered taking the DVD out at around the 30 minute mark) but the action and fight scenes more than made this a worthwhile rental. I wouldn’t recommend anyone actually buy this one, though.
The Ghosts Of Cite Soleil- This film is a continuation of the 2004 documentary “Haiti: The End Of The Chimeres” (that has only been seen on cable and I haven't been able to locate a physical copy of it for a full year since I first saw it) and focuses on the soldiers hired by the government to keep people in line. This movie is going to end up being the “City Of God” of 2007 in the hood when it finally comes out on DVD. Believe it.
Dart’s WTF?/Watch This Bullshit At Your Own Risk Award:
Who’s Your Caddy?- I refuse to watch this Black foolishness. Big Boi must be out his goddamn mind if he thinks people are gonna go see this bullshit. That trailer made me want to pick up the jack call the NAACP up or protest out front of the theater. No Tyler Perry’s “House Of Payne”
Due to my multiple duties trying to pursue this hip hop writing career as well as writing screenplays, mentoring other writers and simultaneously helping Hellsenda Productions shop their beats and trying to shop my own film ideas I'm being spread a little thin. Since all of the above things actually equal to physical income that allows me to pay my bills they end up getting priority over this blog. I usually update this blog about 4 or 5 times a week with original stuff I wrote THAT DAY or the previous night and since I don't have that kind of prep time to dedicate to the blog I can't update it with new material. Keep in mind that I have a list of my next 15-20 blogs already written down...I just haven't been able to sit down and write them yet (I had to carve out time just to post this so no one thinks I just up and quit).
As it says in the header, I am a graphomaniac. I'm constantly writing and/or thinking about subjects to write about or adapt and sell so I can get my foot in the door in some field or another. As much as I feel that commerce in the end suffocates art and ends up diluting it, I cannot deny that money is necessary for me to not only continue living but I need it just to allow to pursue my dream. It's a big ass Catch 22 because I had some ill blogs I was gonna write this week, but if I can get a beat sold that leads to cash in Buc's pocket or get a job that leads to me receiving a physical check it will go farther than me receiving 3 comments for something I spent 4 hours writing (no diss to the readers, but I ain't gonna lie).
I'd like to thank all of the regular readers of this blog that tolerate these long ass tirades of mine (or as my people at Oh Word! call them "freakin' dissertations") as well as many of my favorite fellow bloggers that frequent this page as well (I would write out a long ass list but as I explained earlier I'm pressed for time). I WILL return to this blog (hopefully this month) when everything gets situated and life is less hectic and I have the time to devote to this blog and write real entries. Enjoy your Fourth Of July and I'd like to welcome Ray Allen to Boston...I'm sure Paul Pierce, Cedric Maxwell and Doc Rivers are gonna lay it all out for you about what the deal is in this city. Not to worry, I'll be back...like a 20" Zenith, believe it.
If you don't know who I am by now then Google my previous work from 2006 to the present day. I'm one of the people your favorite writers, journalists & bloggers ask for help or information. I'm also the dude wack writers & fake journalists fear more than Spell/GrammarCheck.
The odds that the Grizzlies and Celtics would be leapfrogged by the Hawks, Sonics and Blazers in the Draft Lottery for the top 3 picks in the 2007 NBA Draft were 1 in 555.
