Old School Movie of the week: Cliffhanger

The best part of this movie was definitely the beginning. The New York Post referred to the movie as “an avalanche of thrills,” and I must agree, during most of the movie I was sitting at the edge of my seat. The movie takes place in the Rocky Mountains, and gives a breathtaking view throughout the entire movie. The movie which in 1993 was rated R, would surely be rated PG13 today.

Sex? None.

Hot guys and girls? None… unless you’re into Sylvester Stallone.

Killing? Yea, we see a few ketchup packets burst.

But without all the stimulation, sexiness, and high technological advances of movies made in the 21st century, this one has what I love most about old school films. It has a plot, action, and an ending…. Simple yet spectacular, it's about love, death, theft, and most importantly the Rocky Mountain rescue team saving lives. And I can’t believe how young Stallone is.

Check out the clip below, which has a few of my favorite scenes from the movie (editted by a Youtube user who is non-affiliated with this blog).

By Coco Elle

Ms. Jackson is still NASTY!

She may be 44 years old but Janet still has it going on!

After losing her brother a little over a year ago, and playing Patricia in Tyler Perry's hit movie "Why Did I Get Married Too," the singer rocked the stage at the Essence Music Festival this past weekend.

Check out the video below, it's a little blurry but you'll get the point around a minute in. (Silent prayer: I hope my but looks that good when I'm over 40.)

One writer, Mark Marino, posted that Janet is channeling "Rihanna, Beyonce, Lady Gaga," etc... little does that author know that Janet was doing this before Gaga or Ms. RiRi turned ten years old.

Dear Mr. Marino, get your facts straight honey... who do you think influenced some of these ladies? Performance wise, she has them beat. There is no way they can top her Velvet Rope concert at Madison Square Garden. Beyonce has the voice. Rihanna has the? Management team and writers??? And Lady Gaga has the talent and weird factor. But Janet Jackson is a born performer, amazing entertainer, and is still fabulous and over 40.

To Mr. Marino and the haters who are telling Janet to 'sit down,' do me a favor and shut up. Now... stare them down Janet. And do like your brother and keep showing them who's bad!

Don't Fall For the Hype

Ok, so King James is still trying to hold everyone hostage on this whole ‘where will he go?’ subject in free agency; however, I’ll give you two reasons why you shouldn’t have allowed yourself to get suckered into the LeBron-mania that’s been going on for nearly a week now.

For starters, he’s not leaving Cleveland. No, I don’t have a reliable source close to LeBron; I haven’t spoken to his mother or his best friend’s barber’s cousin; I just have common sense. I could be totally wrong in all of this, but just look at the facts: he’s never played for a team outside of Ohio his whole life, his family and friends all live there, the Cavs can pay him more than anyone else in the market, and out of the four or five teams that are pursuing him (Cavs, Nets, Knicks, Bulls, Heat) two of those teams didn’t even get close to the playoffs and only one team got past the first round (the Cavaliers).

So the guy is a little frustrated, and the Antawn Jamison trade was a complete bust (duhhhh), that doesn’t mean the guy just up and leaves the Cavaliers. Think about the three major reasons a guy would leave his current team in free agency: money, championships/wins, close to home. The Cavs can offer the most money, they have led the NBA in wins the past two seasons, and they are the closest team to his home in Akron. So tell me why he should leave again?

Oh yeah, I forgot, to go to Wade-County and play second fiddle to his 6’4 clone. No wait, it’s to go play even deeper in the shadow of MJ out in the CHI; or could it be to go and kick it with Jay-Z after every home game (which would likely end in a loss). I’m taking none of the above; the only team that makes a little sense would be Chicago, but I don’t know if he wants to risk going to a young team like the baby-Bulls and trying to be their savior. Besides, the Bulls are more than a LeBron James away from winning a championship.

Reason number two is that he has a quality head coach who won’t take any nonsense back in Cleveland. You look at what Byron Scott did for a team like the Hornets who were reeling from the Katrina tragedy and only had one star in Chris Paul, yet he took that team to new heights and was rewarded with the Coach of the Year award. Pat Riley is the only coach on any of the teams courting the King that has a more impressive résumé, and he coached Byron Scott for 6 years with the LA Lakers. That is to say, great minds think alike and there's no doubt in my mind that Scott uses some of the same techniques as Riley did back in the day, and still uses now. But, like I said, Miami doesn’t look like a realistic possibility for LeBron. That’s D-Wade’s territory.

Now, if I’m wrong, it’ll make me look like a fool; but at least I won’t be wasting every five minutes checking up on the latest LeBron news. It’ll be a surprise, which to me is much better than a relief. I don’t want to be relieved that it’s all over; I want to have my jaw hit the floor so hard it’d make Kanye West cringe. I don’t want to be disappointed if he stays a Cavalier, because that move makes the most sense for him right now. So what do you really lose by joining me and the rest of the Ohio community in assuming LeBron takes back his throne in Cleveland? Nothing, it’s really a win-win situation.

by Aaron Hilton

My Obsession

I have a new obsession and his name is B.O.B.

He’s seemingly attractive, andhis looks are not the only thing that has me clutching my iTouch as I run down the stairs towards the subway.

I’m not a hip-hop fanatic, most of what I know comes from the simple fact that I live in New York, loved Nas as a kid, my brother is “true hip-hop’s” biggest fan, and I took a hip-hop class to fulfill my Arts Gen-Ed requirement sophomore year.

B.O.B. came into my life out of the blue while I was searching through my cousins computer. I came upon his album, added it to my iPod, and since then it’s been love.

The Adventures of Bobby Ray, which was released in April of this year, is a unique collection of songs that you will either love, hate, or not understand.

I became his biggest fan after watching Janelle Monae’s video for the remix to ‘Tightrope,’ which features B.O.B. and Lupe Fiasco. Wearing all white and a sailors hat, he looks his all time best. And in my opinion, the remix would have been a total fail without his verse.

(Check out the video below)

Besides for his good looks and impressive rhymes, B.O.B. demonstrates his singing voice on several songs on his album, including my favorite, "Lovelier Than You," an almost-ballad with one rap verse towards the end, that describes his love for his lady, as he sings“I could never find a lovelier design than you.”

Below is a video of him performing "Lovelier Than You" at Jimmy Kimmel Live.

After watching one of his earlier videos from 2008, it is hard to believe that this is really B.O.B. The rapper, whose real name is Bobby Ray Simmons, has been compared to the likes of Andre 3000 (of OutKast) and Lupe Fiasco. In the video "I'll Be In The Sky," Andre... I mean Bobby Ray shows off his musical skill, he can play the piano, sing and rap. A multi-talented southern rap artist who isn't solely selling albums, making good beats, and doing the batman... B.O.B. is a contender for... well... a title I just made up "a real hip-hop artist." And I like the sound of that, I like it a lot.

... clearly I'm a B.O.B. fan.

Coco Elle

(Relationship) Status Isnt Everything

One of the scariest words in the English dictionary: Commitment.

I am probably one of the worst people to write about this topic but it eventually has to come to the surface so I figured I’d address it now. It seriously seems like every person I know is either in a relationship or dying to be in one. Unfortunately I cannot relate to either, so if you are one of these you’re a step ahead of me.

Relationships contrary to what some have been told aren’t for everyone. Just because you have reached a certain age and everyone around you is coupled up doesn’t mean you’re ready to be in an exclusive relationship. Commitment is more than just a promise because if it is real, it can never be broken. A relationship always deserves the type of dedication given to a friendship, family, or career. Although commitment cannot be compared to either of these things, they all deserve the same amount of work in order to truly work.

Being ready is the first part of making the promise to be with a significant other. This shouldn’t involve the fear of being alone, wanting to have a steady sex life, or even pressure from the people around you. You are the only person who can decide whether the relationship can be taken to another level. If you find that the person you are seeing is worth the risk of being heartbroken over or worth putting effort into then perhaps a relationship is something to consider. I for example am not ready to be someone’s girlfriend, which is why I may not be one for many years to come. This has nothing to do with my exes but more of a personal choice. Well not a choice exactly since just thinking about being in a relationship makes me cringe (and itch).

Either way I’ll be living the good and single life for a while or at least until Travis McCoy finally notices I’m alive. ;-)

...LL

Alicia Keys Takes a Fall

The majority of Americans knows these things:
1. Pregnant women are not supposed to drink anything with caffeine.
2. Pregnant women are not supposed to wear heels.
3. And lastly, pregnant women are not supposed to smoke cigarettes.

The list goes on and on, but clearly Alicia Keys did not get the memo.

When your heels don’t match, I’d rather you go barefoot… but clearly A. Keys loved the pair of red pumps that she wore during her first performance at the BET awards.

Many gasped as she climbed on top of the piano, regardless of the fact that she took off her heels… that is dangerous. A fall could’ve severely hurt her and/or her unborn child.

And as if all that was not enough, the R&B singer performed at the Essence Music Festival while wearing guess what? Heels.

Note to A. Keys: It is summer time… flat sandals are in.

They say the mighty shall fall, well Ms. Alicia Keys, soon to be Mrs. Swizz Beats, took a tumble, and bounced right off of her butt and continued belting out one of my favorite songs from her album, “Love is Blind.”



I will not comment on her relationship with Swizz, some call her a home-wrecker, but who am I to judge? They’re in love and flaunting it… as far as I’m concerned… Keep making music, and please don’t put yourself in a situation like Brittney Spears, I’d hate to see you dragged away from your home with charges like “Reckless Child Endangerment.”

Do me a favor Alicia, take off the heels.

By Coco Elle