Sunday, January 05, 2020

Morris Day book: On Time A Princely Life In Funk

A memoir by Morris Day of The Time centering around his lifelong relationship and association with Prince.

Brilliant composer, smooth soul singer, killer drummer, and charismatic band leader, Morris Day, has been a force in American music for the past four decades. In On Time, the renowned funkster looks back on a life of turbulence and triumph. He chronicles his creative process with an explosive prose that mirrors his intoxicating music. Morris' story is a fast-paced page-turner replete with unexpected twists and shocking surprises.

A major and fascinating theme is his lifelong friendship and years of musical partnership with Prince, from their early days on the Minneapolis scene to selling out stadiums and duking it out as rivals in Purple Rain. Eventually, Morris went on to release four albums with a new band of his very own, the legendary Time. He battled his addictions and came out victorious. But not before increasing tensions and embittered rivalry between Prince and the Revolution and Morris Day and the Time led the two performers towards separate paths. Through the years, the fierce brotherly love between Morris and Prince kept bringing them back together, over and over again-until pride, ego, and circumstance interfered. Two months before Prince's untimely death, the two finally reconnected and started to make amends. But Morris could've never imagined it would be the last time he'd ever see his friend again.

This is Morris Day's singular story in which the magic of music is the ultimate healer. On Time is also a deep meditation on friendship, Morris' poetic method of reconciling the loss of his close friend and longtime collaborator, and a way to commemorate an incendiary life cut short. But this book is more than just a walk down memory lane-it's a metaphorical means to bring Prince back to life. Throughout the narrative, Morris allows Prince's "voice" to protect his own legacy, to counter Morris's interpretations of events, and to essentially breathe new life into a tale as old as time-of two brothers, two bands, and a musical culture that even today pulsates with fresh energy.

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In a movement to stop violence, African American men stage walks through Baltimore neighborhoods

About 60 strong, the group of mostly African American men walked the streets of East Baltimore on Saturday, talking with residents on porches, greeting drivers at stoplights, handing out flyers about jobs, drug treatment and family support. They invited passers-by to join their growing ranks.

“We’re all we’ve got,” they chanted as they left Faith United Baptist Church on The Alameda. “We’re all we need.”

The men — pastors, activists, residents and others — have been walking three times a week for several months now through different parts of the city. It’s not a march, they say, but a movement. Their mission is to save lives in a city beset by violence.

“We have to be at the center of the change of saving lives,” Dr. Andrey Bundley, an organizer and director of African American Male Engagement, a division of the Mayor’s Office of Children and Family Success, told the group setting out from the church. “If the state of black men is going to change, it’s going to take black men to inspire and guide black men, first, and then other people of good will.”

Read more:In a grass-roots movement to break the cycle of violence, African American men stage walks through city neighborhoods

Saturday, January 04, 2020

Michelle Obama named the "most admired woman" for second year in a row

Former first lady Michelle Obama has been named the "most admired woman" in the world for the second year in a row.

Obama, 55, bested current first lady Melania Trump in the 2019 results of an annual poll released Tuesday by Gallup.

Obama was the only woman to rank in double digits, with 10%, according to Gallup. After Obama and Trump (who garnered 5% of votes), former talk show host Oprah Winfrey and teen climate change activist Greta Thunberg tied for fourth place with 3% each on the most admired women list.

Historically, it has been more common for a former first lady to be named the most admired woman than for a former president to be named most admired man. Michelle Obama is the sixth former first lady to win, along with Eleanor Roosevelt (1948-1950 and 1952-1961), Jacqueline Kennedy (1963-1966), Mamie Eisenhower (1969-1970), Betty Ford (1978) and Hillary Clinton (2002-2017).

Friday, January 03, 2020

Delaware's first black Supreme Court justice to take oath of office Friday

Delaware's first African-American Supreme Court justice will take her public oath of office on Friday.

Former Vice Chancellor Tamika Montgomery-Reeves' investiture is at 2 p.m. at Howard High School in Wilmington. The event is not open to the public due to limited seating.

The Senate unanimously approved Gov. John Carney’s selection of Montgomery-Reeves in November. She is replacing Supreme Court Justice Collins Seitz Jr., who was confirmed as chief justice in place of retiring Chief Justice Leo Strine Jr.

o Strine Jr. Montgomery-Reeves has served since 2015 as a vice chancellor on Delaware’s Court of Chancery. The Wilmington resident was the first African American and the second woman to serve as a judge on that court.

Wednesday, January 01, 2020

EDDIE MURPHY TO BE HONORED WITH LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT AWARD AT 25TH ANNUAL CRITICS’ CHOICE AWARDS

The Critics Choice Association (CCA) announced today that film icon Eddie Murphy will receive the Lifetime Achievement Award at the 25th Annual Critics’ Choice Awards. Murphy will be feted for his extraordinary roles over the years, most recently his brilliant portrayal of the legendary Rudy Ray Moore in Netflix’s Dolemite Is My Name, for which he is nominated for Best Actor.

The star-studded gala will once again be hosted by film, television, and stage star Taye Diggs, and broadcast live on The CW Television Network on Sunday, January 12, from 7:00 – 10:00 p.m. ET (delayed PT). As previously announced, Kristen Bell will receive the fourth annual #SeeHer Award during the ceremony.

Eddie Murphy is the most commercially successful African American actor in the history of the motion picture business and is one of the industry’s top-five box-office performers overall. Murphy is on the very short list of actors who have starred in multiple $100 million pictures over the past three decades, from Beverly Hills Cop to Daddy Day Care. Some of his other most beloved hits include 48 Hours, Trading Places, Coming to America, Harlem Nights, The Distinguished Gentleman, Bowfinger, The Nutty Professor and Shrek.

Murphy can currently be seen portraying the legendary underground comic personality Rudy Ray Moore in Dolemite Is My Name from Netflix and recently wrapped production on Coming 2 America, the long-anticipated sequel to the 1988 box office hit.

In 2007, Murphy received critical acclaim for his portrayal of James “Thunder” Early in the DreamWorks film Dreamgirls, a performance which would garner him the Critics’ Choice Award for Best Supporting Actor as well as earning him his first Academy Award nomination in the same category.