Man, under-destruction?

  "Given that St. Valentine was a 3rd century Roman priest who was stoned and beheaded, wouldn't a more appropriate celebration of the evening be taking one's steady gal to witness a brutal murder?".....aw yes, the ever present wisdom of Dr. Sheldon Cooper never fails to inspire and provoke us towards thought and question (by the way, forgive me for jumping right into a quote, but seeing as I'm recovering from a stomach virus that has made me literally vomit my own weight in bodily fluids, not to mention that piece of gum that I swallowed back in 2009, I'm really not in the mood to bring my A-game).   For those of you who never saw that particular episode, or who may have had a portion of their brain removed, today's theme is the popular misconceptions of Valentine's Day. Personally, it's not a day that I hold in high regard. Perhaps it's because I fail to see the point in shelling out and fully expressing my love for someone on one particul...

 Growing up, one of my favorite shows on T.V. was "The Wayan's brothers". For those unacquainted, it was a show based on 2 brothers, Shawn and Marlon Wayans, who lived together in Harlem, New York, trying to "make it big" in the world. Now, like any show, it would've been incomplete without the colorful assortment of cast members, particularly those billed as "Family". In this case, the "family" was their father, played by John Witherspoon, who played his role to perfection with his outdated clothes and his odd demeanor, which in retrospect, was quite hilarious.  Shawn and Marlon are elements of a dynasty that's spanned the better part of 2 decades, starting from their collaborative work with the rest of their siblings (Damon, Keenan Ivory & Kim) on "In Living Color", to their individual films such as "Requiem for a dream" and collaborative films, like "White Chicks", "Little Man" and my pe...

 I haven't gotten that many  Christmas  gifts in my life. I dunno if that comes as a surprise to some, but it's true. It's not due to some general dislike that I've been faced with over the years. I guess I can just chalk it up to dumb luck. But, I've had a few and I've been grateful for them. One of my favorite gifts has been a book that I got from a person who has become quite a fixture in my life. It was a novel entitled "Shantaram". It's the true story of    G regory David Roberts , a convicted Australian  bank robber and heroin addict who escaped from  P entridge Prison &  fled to  India. T he novel was commended by many for its vivid portrayal of the tumultuous life in  Bombay . Personally, I've found refugee in the fact that, despite his unorthodox life, Mr. Roberts has, and continues, to bestow remarkable wisdom upon me.   I open with this because of an incident that  occurred  earlier this evening invo...

 Although I've claimed to be a fan of film and television, I must say that "Grey's Anatomy" has never really tickled my fancy. Seriously, a hospital where the staff spend half the time "doing it" with each other and the other half pondering the implications of what they've done does not really make for a suitable work environment. Especially for the patients. Granted, I'm sure the doctors are qualified and dedicated, but seriously, do we really want to be treated at a hospital where the doctor's have probably had their way with the nurses, which could, in turn, lead to some complication arising, a complication that could have been avoid had "Dr. McSteamy" been paying attention instead of explaining to "nurse whats-her-face" why he didn't call her the day after they had a hot, intimate tryst in the on-call room?? (Sorry, I'm just venting, but that's the price you pay for reading a blog from some asshole who lives on...

 Growing up, I was a huge fan of wrestling. Still am. Sure, this has been an admission that's gotten me more than my fair share of ridicule and jokes, but I will not shy away from it. I have always been drawn by the sight of these strong individuals performing "feats" for the amusement of others. Some of them represented, physically at least, the epitome of the male physique. And considering that I grew up as a scrawny, skinny kid on the far side of Africa, this was always an inspiration to see, even though they were nothing more than exceptionally fit actors. But, truth be told, I do believe that wrestling's real. But, that's an argument I'll save for later.  The frame-work of professional wrestling evolved around the late 80's and early 90's. What started as just men masquerading in a ring evolved into a requirement for individuals who had both the physical conditioning and the stage presence needed to keep an audience captivated. To that end, the n...

 I'm a big fan of Mike & Molly. Yeah sure, I've mentioned, time and again, that I'm both a film-and t.v.-buff, but this isn't just comedic appreciation. This is actually more of a glimpse. But, I'm getting ahead of myself.  Mike & Molly is an American sitcom staring comedians Billy Gardell and Melissa McCarthy as the tittle characters. Its a story of a police officer and an elementary school teacher who meet, fall in love and get married, all within a time-period of 2 seasons (which is usually about 20-25 episodes, but lord knows how much time elapses by then).   Now, many a critic have tried to break down the show and pinpoint the elements which make it so funny and appealing to the viewing audience. Is it the random elements within the script that all mix together to form a hilarious, yet plausible scenario? Is it the eloquent script writing that allows the individual actors to fully portray the characters to their limits? Is it the zany and eclectic ...

 In my native Eritrea, we celebrate 2 Christmases. The better known December 25th Christmas, with all the glitz and festivities associated with it, and again on January 5th, which is more celebrated by those of the orthodox-christian faith, which most Eritreans follow. Personally, I've enjoyed both, namely because, as public holidays, both have afforded me the luxury of not having to get out of bed before noon. And for those who are slightly sensitive to my lower-than-average reverence for Christmas, I'm sorry.  As far as traditions go, one fairly common tradition in most Eritrean households was watching "Kevvin" (no, not a typo, just an emphasis on the mispronunciation that is prevalent with my people during their use of the English language, which I find to be quite aggravating at times because if one is to use a medium of communication, the very least they can do is make some attempt to properly........*sigh, sorry for my little rant). They actually meant Ke...