Movie Reviews: Poker Queens

Women’s rights have advanced exponentially throughout the decades. But there’s still a long way to go before we reach true gender equality. In fact, the World Economic Forum finds that it will take at least 132 years to change prevailing issues of inequality in spheres of life ranging from politics and labor to education and health. Another … Read more

Book Reviews – Pardon Me, You’re Stepping On My Eyeball, Blood on The Leaves

As I mentioned in the review of Zindel’s book The Pigman, Paul Zindel was an author who primarily wrote for young adults, but really didn’t write down to them. Although his characters didn’t always have mortgages, resentful ex-spouses, demanding bosses, ungrateful kids or more typical adult concerns, the books generally have characters, who despite not … Read more

Music Reviews: The Big Bamboo

Ska, Calypso and Reggae are all interrelated forms of music. One of the original giants of calypso music, who was also influential in the beginnings of reggae is Grenadian-Trinidadian singer Mighty Sparrow (Slinger Francisco). Mighty Sparrow has been performing professionally since the mid-fifties. The songs that he sings often have a sense of humor. These … Read more

Beverly Hills Police Harass Black People

I have never been to prison. My understanding is that some (many?) of the nation’s worst large state men’s prison systems are or were until very recently informally racially segregated. Each large racial group has or had its own showers, recreation and exercise areas, phone banks, cafeteria sections, bathrooms, television rooms, and so on. A … Read more