This is the start of my SNAPback Challenge Week.  Like Newark Mayor Cory Booker, I am eating and drinking budgeted solely on what the average SNAP recipient receives for a week ($33).  I've attached my receipt. I went over by 2.89 so the spinach goes to the rest of the family. Loaded up on fresh fruits and veggies. Cereal with non fat milk for breakfast; salad with chicken for lunch and chicken breast w/veggies for dinner. Even got some fresh veg for snacks. Nothing but water to drink though. When you consider that a Starbucks drink consumes almost a day's worth of budget, it really focuses your thinking.  I was having some intense internal dialog about what to buy.  I did a bit better than I thought I would.  Day one is GO!

Just got back from "42." Helgeland paced this inspiring film like a balmy day at the ballpark. Languid stretches are punctuated by staccato bursts of intense emotion and drama. Well-acted by a cast of veteran characters and earnest newcomers, the standout is Chadwick Boseman as Jackie Robinson, who must straddle a line of restraint, determination, nobility and fortitude in the face of withering hatred and racism. For those accustomed to the broad smiles of Robinson's iconic photographs, Boseman's performance will surprise. He plays the legend as a churning engine of emotion; deep love for his wife and child, countered by barely contained resentment at the nigh intolerable slights to which Robinson was exposed during that incredible first season in the majors. Boseman benefits from a clear resemblance to Robinson, an attribute which likely elevated him as a choice for such a pivotal performance. It is a wonderful way to introduce him to a wide audience. Kudos also...

Two songs I could have lived my entire life having never heard... Beyoncé's "Bow Down" and Brad Paisley/LL Cool J's "Accidental (On Purpose) Racist." As my wife said, "I don't need racial healing, I just need people NOT to say stupid ish." Really, Mrs. "I just sang at the inauguration" Carter-Knowles? Your new single has a chorus that makes "Smooth Criminal" sound like Lord Byron. THIS is how y ou choose to represent as a wife and mother? Frankly, this sounds like some post-Bobby Whitney attempting to re-establish street bona fides. IT. DIDN'T. WORK. That is some truly adolescent foolishness right there. And LL... sigh. You're an actor now... on a hot show... You didn't need this. Matter of fact, you needed to NOT do this. That flag represented an entire half of the country LEAVING the United States because they wanted SLAVES. After the end of the war... That same flag was used by generations of people who oppres...

So I watched "Shadows and Beards" yesterday (aka Lincoln). Sacrilege alert! I wasn't amazed. Credit to Spielberg for the realism of candlelight in the pre-electricity era, but damn, even the day scenes were dark. Fine group of actors, some great individual scenes. Sally Field doing her always-solid "Southern crazy" and taciturn Tommy Lee with the SURPRISE ladyfriend reveal. Great costumes, gr eat sets, but LONG and SLOW... Daniel Day Lewis gets credit for what? Looking thin and tall and dealing with appliances and make-up? He was fine as Lincoln, but it's not like we have recordings to compare him to the real deal. This is inarguably the best produced movie about a sliver of Lincoln's life, but that doesn't make it the best film of the year... by a long shot. Side note: I have to say, the VERY FIRST scene kinda threw me out of it. To have those two soldiers mosey up to Lincoln's wagon and recite the speech like that? And one admitted that he coul...

I'mma say it... Les Miz is WAY over-rated. Sorry, Ms. Hathaway, I guess they're handing out nominations for dirty make-up and hair cuts, because your talk/singing was NOT the business. And what a whirlwind trip to degradation! You lose your job and five minutes later, it's down to the docks to sell your hair, teeth, dignity and health. Hugh Jackman, you're too skinny to play Valjean. He was s upposed to be this unbelievable strongman. Maybe I could have bought it if your singing voice was amazing... but it's not. All that hoarse emoting... did you graduate from the Christian Bale Academy of Growling? And Russell Crowe? REALLY? He's physically closer to a Valjean type, but with a voice like that, he may as well have been in the Liam Neeson version... OF THE BOOK. Sacha Baron Cohen and Helena Bonham Carter bring the (much-needed) comic relief, but this adaptation is fractured, messy and sleep-inducing. SORRY. P.S. Bonus points for set design, costumes, yadda, yadd...

I have finally seen Django Unchained and am open for discussion. First impressions: Looking at it through the lens of the Tarantino "Revenge" triptych (Kill Bills, Inglorious and Django) it does not feel as technically crafted as its predecessors. Yes, it's a "Spaghetti Western" and Tarantino has a fanatic devotion to his genre tropes. Yet... "Inglorious" feels like a full-bore WWII film (albe it one with darkly comical flourishes). "Kill Bill 1/2" is a pastiche of Kurasowa/Wuxia flicks with Blaxploitation and even Old West undertones... Stylized, but QT's craftsmanship is evident. "Django" suffers from QT's choice to frame it in the kitschy "Spaghetti" universe. To be certain, there were awesome performances. However, they are unbalanced by the more broad antics of the many supporting players. DiCaprio was amazing as the despicable Candie. Foxx had some really strong sequences too, though Django's meandering a...

Remember the Rankin Bass animated version of the Hobbit? Unexpected Journey is about the same... with slightly fewer songs. Ya know, I don't remember the story being so "Gandalf Ex Machina" but he LITERALLY leaves the group only to return exactly when they need him the most. Trolls (he brings the sunlight); Goblin King (he busts up their captors); Orc King (here come the eagles...) I could und erstand if he was tricking off with Galadriel, but there doesn't seem to be any rationale (other than to create false dramatic tension) for him to keep dipping out. Stay with the dwarves, Gandy! It's clear they don't have a chance without you. Also, H:UJ feels a LOT more CGI than the LOTR flicks. Most of the close-up goblins and orcs were practical effects in LOTR. Here, you have a LOT more talking characters as CGI creations... the aforementioned trolls are CGI, King Orc (and sub orcs), CGI; all the goblins, including the over-blubbery king (similar to the fat Gungan in...

Sooooooo. Kanye impregnated KimK... SIGH. Note to self, trademark the following baby names (a la Blue Ivy): Green Envy; Red LB (Louboutins, baby!); Brown LV (Louis Vuitton, natch); Orange HiC (co-brand with Absolut for Kimyetinis tm); Yellow HepC (it is KimK after all); and HPViolet (again, KimK) P.S. In some dark corner of Los Angeles, Ray J is quietly weeping and wondering how he missed this chance to extend his 15 minutes. http://www.eonline.com/news/374825/kim-kardashian-pregnant-with-kanye-west-s-baby

For those of us with young children, this is the time of year where pre-K and Kindergarten classrooms echo with the sounds of high-pitched voices earnestly ambling their way through classic Christmas carols. As I dropped Koko off this morning, I was tickled at how he enthusiastically howled "...laughing all the way HAH HAH HAH!" There's NO question that he will be heard during the holiday perfo rmance. No matter where we are, this season brings out amazing little moments that cheer our hearts, raise our spirits and help us cherish the best parts of our lives. As the year draws to a close, I feel serenely blessed for the gifts of family, my loving wife and children... friends, colleagues and FB fam... and the fellowship of humanity that binds us all regardless of faith. May the year's end bring you all the happiness you seek, the love you need and the bounty of God's blessings.

We don't get enough time to rest. We don't have enough time to spend with our families and be thankful. As I drove home, I saw folks setting up tents at Best Buy on the day BEFORE Thanksgiving for a sale that won't start until 12:01 Friday morning. For a discount on a TV? No. Stop. Make (and eat) a pie with your child. Take an extra bite of extra mac and cheese and take a stroll  with your loved one to "work it off." Watch the game. Throw a ball. Play some spades... or dominoes... and be earnestly thankful for that which is worthy of thanks. There aren't many days that are so centered on family, friends and our shared blessings. $40 off an Xbox bundle isn't worth that time. That's what Cyber Monday is for. Happy Thanksgiving, everybody!!!

About that whole makers v. takers argument... President Obama won 8 out of 10 of the richest counties in the country... 8 out of 10. Would anyone argue that the counties with the highest per capita income are populated with takers? Look at it another way. If 53% of the country are Makers, and makers are aligned with Romney, how did he lose the popular vote? Look folks, if you can't find someone to give you a "valid" explanation about why they voted for Obama, you haven't  talked to the right person. There are plenty of highly educated, intelligent, hard-working, employed Americans who voted for the President. I also don't think that Clinton-era tax rates are the apocalypse. And not for nothing, the President is fighting to keep tax rates low for all but the 1%. That means 99% of Americans (which includes 52 of the "53%"). And let's not forget that the Dow has nearly DOUBLED. And US companies are sitting on TRILLIONS in cash reserves. What kind of...

Listening to NPR (you will never catch Nicki Minaj pumping in my whip), and heard a fascinating comment comparing "absolute personal freedom" (short of murder) vs. "mutual respect for human dignity" as the highest moral virtue. I have to say, hearing it put that way had me leaning toward "mutual respect." Absolutes are tricky, people. We tolerate a lot of shenanigans under the belief that nothi ng is more important than a person's right to express himself. Not so much... We are a global society and have to live together on this planet. This abhorrent video was akin to yelling "fire" in a crowded theater. Combine that with Reince Romney's despicable exploitation and you have turned up the flame even more. Thought experiment: How many mosques would have been defamed had Iran sponsored a movie featuring Jesus as a child molester? It took a lot less for Southern extremists to kill four little girls in an Alabama church. #justsayin'

As always, there are critics to anything President Obama does, but I think a key element is underappreciated in examining his speech to the NAACP. There is a monumental difference in a Black President making these remarks. A BLACK PRESIDENT... The simple act of his ascension to this office sweeps away generations of cobwebs around the tired bromides of "being all you can be" and "working hard can take you wherever you desire!" Sure there was some boilerplate tough love pulpit talk, but only THIS President could deliver it and speak it to power. He was raised by a single mother (and her parents)... how many of our children can resonate with that? He came from modest surroundings...check. Experimented with drugs/petty crime as an escape... check. Stumbled through his early college years... check. Attended an Ivy league school where he got his act together... wait a minute! You mean after being abandoned by your father, struggling to make ends meet, trying weed...

Obama Bows on Settling Detainees Different Gitmo issues are being conflated by the mainstream media/blogosphere here (WashPo's inartfully worded headline didn't help). That article almost exclusively deals with the couple dozen Uighurs (who were exonerated early on and treated much better than the vast majority of long term detainees). Certain high-profile figures (like Boumedienne) DON'T WANT to settle here. They want to go back home. The "issue" that Obama is "caving" on is allowing detainees that BushCo tortured and illegally held but now is RELEASING to settle in the US. The issue that was consuming most of the oxygen in this debate concerned the people WHO WERE NOT BEING RELEASED and still awaited incarceration or trial. I have NO PROBLEM with transferring the actual bad guys to our Supermax facilities (Montana has a brand new EMPTY prison and could take a bunch of them). However, I think the wrongly imprisoned need to go back to their home ...

This is not a movie review per se. Rather it is an analysis of the key differences between the comic and film with commentary on the positives and negatives of the transition. In the immediate aftermath, I was mostly pleased. Upon reflection, the inevitable issues arise. First the good... Haley as Rorschach... Amazing. Crudup as Manhattan... Outstanding (the facial animation was MUCH better than anticipated). Morgan as Comedian... inspired (though his age make-up became distracting on the big screen). Wilson as Nite Owl... strong, though still a bit too fit to capture Dreiberg's middle aged "waist" land. Gugino was fine in her small role and Ackerman was frankly better than I expected. Matthew Goode still stands out as a grossly miscast, but on balance the lead performances were quite good. I was also impressed with how the story flow "felt" like the comic book. The note perfect passages were the Comedian's funeral (where the characters reflect on the...

I'm less enthused by the early release of a "Tales of the Black Freighter" disc mere weeks after the movie's launch. "Freighter" as a stand alone doesn't work for me (anymore than any cheesy pirate story would work for me as a separate story). However, the story has a number of specific SPOILERY tasks in the Watchmen storyline. The protagonist's POV monologue ratchets the tension in the story. The growing dread mirrors the advancing Soviet conflict that accelerates after Doc's departure. The comic underpins the relationship between the newspaper stand owner and the young, Black reader (for a dramatic Issue 12 payoff). It introduces the reader to the writing style of the author that Veidt used to program the mental squid bomb images. Freighter's twist amplifies the tough choice that Rorschach, Dreiberg, Doc and Veidt face in Issue 12. And the protagonist's increasingly twisted, albeit internally "justified" actions mirror Veidt...

Earning my geek chic bonafides here with a few Watchmen comments. If you know nothing and want to enjoy the movie completely "fresh," stop reading... First, I have been stoking the fires of the forthcoming movie release with the Warner "motion comics," currently available on iTunes and coming soon as a stand alone disc. The most compelling aspect of the motion comics is that Gibbons' artwork is used. The frontpiece and endpiece quotes are also included (which will likely not survive the movie adaptation). Another excellent choice is the inclusion of the speech bubbles. Moore's text has delightful little nuances that can only be appreciated in the READING of the text. For the most part, the voice over exactly matches, but there are some VERY minor exclusions that must have been trimmed for timing. There simply is no other way to experience the visual "harmonies" employed in the comic book in a live action movie. Zach Snyder is passionate, but he...

I don't know how they do things up in Alaska, but when your future (still waiting for a wedding date) in-law and mother of your high school drop-out, jobless, "shooting sh#t", grandbabyddady has been arrested on charges of Oxycontin trafficking, you don't get to cry foul that Caroline Kennedy is catching a break because of CLASS WARFARE. You caught hell because you were a ridiculously unqualified, cravenly calculated, Hail Mary pass serial liar who was aiming to be a heartbeat away from the Presidency of a 70+-year old cancer survivor. Kennedy is looking to fill out the term of a Senator. No equivalency AT ALL. UPDATE! Please enjoy this video . She's certifiable. Wait for 6:20 for a surprise insight into Palin as an OBAMA running mate.

Feathers will undoubtedly be ruffled, but here goes... Marriage is an ancient institution that has had many forms and definitions. The passion displayed here and elsewhere is indicative of the psychological and spiritual yearning that loving couples wish to share in matrimony. However, in those myriad definitions of monogamy, polygamy, polyandry, arranged marriages, yadda yadda yadda, I have yet to see a single spiritual text that endorses SAME-GENDER marriage. 98%-99% of the world population believes in some form of spirituality. Marriage is exulted in most of those faiths. It's an extraordinary uphill battle to expect that folks will turn off their "faith" because marriage has been co-opted to include a whole host of civil advantages. And it's because of those advantages that this whole debate is more complicated. To me, the civil bit is ALREADY separate from the actual marriage. When my wife and I married, the minister lost our paperwork, so we weren't re...

My 9-month-old son, Kole. I'm pretty sure he's the cutest Obama baby on the planet I ordered this onesie right after Obama's Super Tuesday blowout. It's sized at 12-18 months, so I wasn't sure it would fit by Election Day... Good thing he takes after his Dad. Tomorrow, he will accompany me as I cast my vote. The historical significance has been pressing on me as we move closer to THE DAY. Both my grandfathers passed on before I was born, but their great grandson will witness the election of a Black man to the Presidency of the United States. A few years ago, I bought a tee shirt for my older son, Tommy. I was in an airport, headed home and wanted to grab a souvenir. The shirt, then much too large for him to wear, read "Future President of the United States." As I pondered the purchase, I recall thinking, "One day, this message might be true for my son." After Obama clinched the nomination, Tommy wore that shirt for the first time. He had...