Risky Love vs. Responsible Love - How Do We Choose?

Have you ever met someone who you instantly knew was special to you? When you see them, they take your breath away...and when they look at you, it paralyzes you and relaxes you at the same time? Or perhaps it's a love that grew out of a childhood friendship that never really went away because that person knows you inside and out and no one else can ever know you like that?

You know how it goes...you grow up, you realize that you have to be "responsible" and look for a mate that looks great on paper and will be a good, responsible life partner...and when you compare the passionate, risky love from one person to the responsible, mature love from another, you weigh the pros and cons and make your choice.

Which do you choose?

That's what the new movie "Premium" by writer-director Pete Chatmon explores. Starring Zoe Saldana ("Guess Who"), Dorian Missick ("Six Degrees"), Hill Harper ("CSI:NY"), and Frankie Faison ("White Chicks"), this real look at life, love and relationships will help you remember what's important in your own life. With it's early 2007 release, this is a movie you won't want to miss.

Movie Synopsis:
Reginald "Cool" Coolidge is a struggling actor fed up with taking stereotypical African American roles but waiting for his big break in a legitimate production. Until this time comes, he works at his mother's boyfriend's gas station to repay him for covering his college tuition. One day at the station, his ex-fiancée - and one true love - reappears at the pumps after 3 years of silence. Cool discovers that it is 36 hours until her wedding to a local lawyer. As Cool embarks on last-ditch attempts to win her back, he takes on the biggest "role" of his life while also learning the secret to mastering his craft.

Check out the trailer below and please support this film!

PREMIUM.

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Check out Pete Chatmon's MySpace page for more info on Premium:
http://www.myspace.com/double7film


Speak up and comment!

Which love is better - a mature, responsible love, or a passionate, risky one? Or is it even a choice?

Also, what do you think of this movie so far?

What Race is Jesus? A New Movie Shakes Up Cinema & Social Norms

Does the race of Jesus Christ matter in history, in today's society, or to you personally? Was Jesus Black? Or White? Or Chinese, or Hispanic? Can you picture Jesus as all of these races, or just one?

Filmmaker Jean Claude LaMarre has set out to demonstrate in his new film, "Color of the Cross", that the race of Jesus does not matter. In an article on MSN, LaMarre, who plays Jesus in his film, brings up an interesting point:

"Black people in this country are the only race of people who worship a god outside their own image," says LaMarre, 38, adding that showing Christ as a black man is "the most poignant way to deal with the issue of race in this country because it goes to the heart of how we look at the world."

Even for me, a progressive-thinking, liberal person, I have to admit that it's hard for me to imagine Jesus as Black, Asian, or Hispanic...really, anything other than an olive-skinned Middle Eastern looking man (or a white male with a tan, to be quite frank). I blame that on my upbringing in mostly white churches, but as an adult, I can't blame anyone for how I perceive Jesus, regarding race or anything else.


LaMarre believes that Jesus may have been persecuted in part because of His being a Black male. I think that's reaching just a bit, but it does bring up the fact that probably since the beginning of time, there has been racism. So, if Jesus were Black, or any other persecuted race (as we know He did suffer persecution), then His skin color may have played a part. The hard part is that we don't have pictures or evidence from His time period that can guide us in how He looked physically. Moreso, there are very few passages in the Bible that refer to Jesus' physical appearance:

Revelations 1:14-15

1:14 His head and [His] hairs [were] white like wool, as white as snow; and His eyes [were] as a flame of fire;
1:15 And his feet like unto fine brass, as if they burned in a furnace; and His voice as the sound of many waters.
(KJV translation)

The wool-like hair and feet like "fine brass" could be indications that Jesus was dark-skinned or of African descent. But the wool hair could also refer to the color of his hair...so, that description alone may not be enough to determine Jesus was Black, or any other race for that matter. But the problem creeps in when social norms have determined that mainstream society will depict Christ as white, and we of other races accept that as an undoubtable truth.

The question now is, do you believe Jesus has a race? Do you think the race of your God or Christ should be the same as yours? Why?

Links for more info:
Interivew with LaMarre
BlackFlix site that highlights the movie
Background on the Race of Jesus

Why don't married men wear wedding rings?

We've all known of a married man who didn't/doesn't wear his wedding ring, but the question is why? Single women everywhere have long experienced this phenomenon: the unnoticeably married man. They're in bars, clubs, or just out an about just like any regular single guy. The difference is that they took a vow to forever be married and with that vow came a ring...which, has somehow escaped his now bare finger.

In this article by Amy Sohn (who wrote the book "Kiss & Tell" about Sex and the City) explores the various excuses heard by women everywhere. But, are excuses satisfactory answers as to why these men choose not to wear the symbol of commitment given to them on their wedding day? If they didn't plan on wearing them, why go through the expense of buying rings and having a wedding?

The point is that married men don't need to be galavanting around as if they're single. Period. If a man is truly committed to his marriage, then a single gal should be able to tell he's committed upon first talking to him. Am I right?

Check out Miss Manner's shoot-down of a 22-something who complains about men not wearing wedding bands. Maybe with age does come wisdom.

Also, check out one blogger's version of the history of wedding bands and how uncommon it was for men to wear them just 50 years ago or so.

To Wear or Not To Wear A Wedding Ring...THAT is the question!

*Thanks to WWRT reader Mr. Pacman for suggesting this topic.

Whitney & Bobby Divorce! What Happened?!

Whitney Houston filed for divorce from Bobby Brown after 14 years of marriage. After all of the arrests, all the "crack is wack" jokes, after her sister-in-law took photos of her bathroom, and after all the bad pictures taken at gas stations at 4am, this couple has been forced to call it quits. But what the heck happened? I guess that's what Outkast calls "Hollywood Divorce."

Who watched Being Bobby Brown? Did you think that their problems showed through in the show? Or were Bobby and Whitney different than you would've expected? Or did you watch just to hear her say "Hell to the Naw" one more time?

The show was definitely a work of art, and I'm glad it did so well. I do think that there is a CURSE to these married couple reality TV shows. Nick & Jessica, Travis Barker & Shanna, Dave Navarro & Carmen Electra, etc. What about couples that just show up in videos together period?! Usher and Chilli, Mary J. Blige & K-Ci...who am I forgetting? Mack 10 and T-Boz...the list goes on and on.

What's crazy is that the same mechanism that makes them famous also tears them apart. The craze and celebrity-making nature of the papparazzi. Who can have a relationship when there are cameras following you EVERYWHERE?!

What about you? Think any relationship in Hollywood has a shot in hell with all of the papparazzi, tabloids, and public records available at will? Or are all Hollywood couples headed for divorce? I don't know if I could handle my every move being under a microscope.

Some of life's greatest pleasures are the things you get to keep to yourself. ;-)

The Mystery of Suri Cruise

FINALLY! SURI CRUISE HAS FINALLY APPEARED! Vanity Fair has a special 22 page issue featuring photos of Suri, Kate, and Mr. Mapother (aka Tom Cruise).

Click here for the article: http://www.vanityfair.com/magazine/pressroom/

But why, oh why, has it taken 4 whole months for this kid to make an appearance? A few theories have been circulating:
1. They needed time to get the baby from overseas and make sure the kid didn't look too distinctly "Asian"
2. Katie was being a "good mom" and shielding her child from the nosey papparrazo
3. There is/was no Suri Cruise

After the gossip rags started reporting that #3 was really the answer to the Suri mystery, all of a sudden celebs only had 3 words to say when asked about the missing member of the Cruise clan: "I've Seen Suri". Check out Penelope Cruz, Leah Remini, and Jada Pinkett Smith's attempts to instill faith in the common people that THERE IS a Suri Cruise.

But lo and behold, the kid has now arrived. Is it real? Is this another publicity stunt? Better yet - does the kid even look like them?

You tell us. Tons of folks are putting the pieces together and stuff just isn't adding up. Check out these links. Tell me what YOU think. Is it a conspiracy? Or are these just 2 good wholesome folks who are trying so hard to stay out of the public's eye, like they've done in the past by jumping on Oprah's yellow leather couches...making public motorcycle appearances....getting engaged after a month of knowing each other....or taking enough pictures to make sure the papparrazi have enough photos for EVERY cover of US Weekly, Star and In Touch magazine.

The strangeness continues to surround Suri Cruise:

Birth Certificate Oddities - http://www.tmz.com/2006/07/10/exclusive-suri-cruise-birth-certificate/

Suri's First Poop Gets Bronzed - http://www.caplakesting.com/danedwards/index.htm

What do you think? Real or fake?

Women in Sports: Why Are They So Underpaid?

As the NFL season begins, I am constantly amazed at how much professional athletes earn. As some of you know, my brother is currently a rookie in the NFL, vying for a position on an NFL team like many of his former teammates from Tennessee. However, I was floored when I read an article about how much one of my brother's former teammates will earn this year (approximately $8M - click here to read). However, in the arena of women's sports, few (if any) female athletes earns that sort of money. Not Lisa Leslie, not Mia Hamm, not Jackie Joyner Kearsey, and not even Laila Ali. In fact, not only do women not earn as much as their male counterparts in the sports realm, but women sports leagues constantly struggle to maintain attendance and generate decent profit levels.

Check out this article about the discrimination women face in professional sports in term of pay: (Click Here)

This article theorizes:

"The norm for females in the workplace remains a covert guiding hand into the “Pink Ghetto” -- a place of limited advancement where women (and people of color) end up when segregated into lower paying, undervalued occupations."

Why are women in professional sports so grossly underpaid?

Is it due to the lack of huge audiences at their events, or is the lack of perception in that people are used to being fans of male sports and believe the professional male sports' teams are just better to watch?

On an even broader note, have women gotten closer to breaking the glass ceiling, or are we all still stuck in the "Pink Ghetto" when it comes to equality in the workplace?

The Mystery of Suri Cruise

FINALLY! SURI CRUISE HAS FINALLY APPEARED! Vanity Fair has a special 22 page issue featuring photos of Suri, Kate, and Mr. Mapother (aka Tom Cruise).

Click here for the article: http://www.vanityfair.com/magazine/pressroom/

But why, oh why, has it taken 4 whole months for this kid to make an appearance? A few theories have been circulating:
1. They needed time to get the baby from overseas and make sure the kid didn't look too distinctly "Asian"
2. Katie was being a "good mom" and shielding her child from the nosey papparrazo
3. There is/was no Suri Cruise

After the gossip rags started reporting that #3 was really the answer to the Suri mystery, all of a sudden celebs only had 3 words to say when asked about the missing member of the Cruise clan: "I've Seen Suri". Check out Penelope Cruz, Leah Remini, and Jada Pinkett Smith's attempts to instill faith in the common people that THERE IS a Suri Cruise.

But lo and behold, the kid has now arrived. Is it real? Is this another publicity stunt? Better yet - does the kid even look like them?

You tell us. Tons of folks are putting the pieces together and stuff just isn't adding up. Check out these links. Tell me what YOU think. Is it a conspiracy? Or are these just 2 good wholesome folks who are trying so hard to stay out of the public's eye, like they've done in the past by jumping on Oprah's yellow leather couches...making public motorcycle appearances....getting engaged after a month of knowing each other....or taking enough pictures to make sure the papparrazi have enough photos for EVERY cover of US Weekly, Star and In Touch magazine.

The strangeness continues to surround Suri Cruise:

Birth Certificate Oddities - http://www.tmz.com/2006/07/10/exclusive-suri-cruise-birth-certificate/

Suri's First Poop Gets Bronzed - http://www.caplakesting.com/danedwards/index.htm

She must be the biggest non-celebrity of our time!

Is It Okay To Mix Church & Politics?

Everytime I attend a new church, I am surprised at how many pastors speak about political issues during their sermon, such as the war in Iraq, the faults of the President, and the direction the nation is headed politcally. Even when I think there might be one instance where a pastor doesn't hit on any of these issues, it always comes out near the end of their sermon.

This begs the question - Is it okay to mix church & politics?

Click Here for Article


In this article, a megachurch pastor spoke against the conservative politics that his town upholds, and therefore lost a significant number of his congregation because they felt he should hold the same conservative views that they do.

What "got me" in this article is that so many pastors of Megachurches are approached by political leaders to endorse their views. So, sometimes the message that you get a church may be not of your pastor's, but of the politicians he aligns himself with.

When you think of the influence that Megachurches have, is it any wonder that they are approached in this manner? Men such as Creflo Dollar, Eddie Long, Charles Stanley, and Joel Osteen have huge audiences who hang on their every word -- and rightfully so sometimes.

But when a pastor begins speaking about political matters, how can you tell whether his words are spiritual in nature or driven by politicians?



In your opinion, is it okay to mix Church & Politics?

Or better yet, is it the church's responsibility to lead its followers in all ways, including politically?