Horrible games to play

Right from the start, In Search of… stood out. I discovered N.E.R.D.’s 2002 debut at a Best Buy on the rim of Houston’s I-10 loop, sitting at the front of the store on a blue kiosk marked $6.99. I was a first-year high school English teacher, struggling to pull together all the things expected of me. There was this unfussy album cover staring at me, with a twenty-something Black guy on a battered-looking couch in a nondescript apartment playing a video game in his house clothes, blankly staring at an off-screen TV, blissfully unaware of the camera. The cover drew me in with its mundane imagery — a breath of fresh air compared to the bad-boy glamor on the covers of the rap albums I was also buying around that time. Nearly every N.ER.D. fan has a story like this about the first time In Search Of … crossed their radar. And over the next 20 years, the album became a touchstone to the next generation of visionaries. Created by Pharrell Williams and Chad Hugo, a.k.a. … [Read more...] about How N.E.R.D.’s Debut Brought the Dawn of a Boundless Era

TMZSports.com The Cowboys have a problem at wide receiver ... and it seems Antonio Brown is willing to help out -- telling TMZ Sports this week, "Tell Jerry Jones to call me!" Dallas' receiver room took a big hit this month, when free agent acquisition James Washington injured his foot. With Michael Gallup already out while recovering from ACL surgery, the team now has just one truly proven player at the position ready to go for Week 1 -- CeeDee Lamb . Cowboys WR James Washington fractured his right foot on this play. He’s expected to be out 6-10 weeks. Similar injury to what DeMarcus Lawrence suffered last year that caused him to miss 10 games pic.twitter.com/R5nkhIxtdy — Jon Machota (@jonmachota) August 1, 2022 @jonmachota Brown appears to be down to change that in Big D -- saying out in Bev Hills that he wants the Cowboys owner to give him a shout ... presumably to talk about a contract. Of course, it's unclear how serious Brown is … [Read more...] about Antonio Brown Interested In Cowboys, ‘Tell Jerry Jones To Call Me’

Now comes my favorite part of the film awards season, the very beginning, when everyone is a contender. It’s just like the old days, when the carnival came to town (also in late summer). Step right up, everyone’s a winner ! Take a shot, win a prize !! You can’t win if you don’t play the game !!! We all know it isn’t quite true. Some of these movies don’t stand a chance. But I love the inclusiveness of it. For a couple of months—let’s say, from Aug. 31 when the Venice Film Festival opens until maybe late November, when Oscar voters start fretting about shortlists—anything is possible. You could win the Kewpie doll! Heck, Nightmare Alley was picking up prizes on the front-end. At least it ended the season as an Oscar nominee, which is more than can be said for several hundred rivals. But I say this with love. The carnival atmosphere is a good thing. For a couple of months, we screen, and stream, and share the delicious illusion that the very next film we … [Read more...] about Step Right Up! As The Film Awards Season Opens, Everyone Is A Winner