Arts and Entertainment

Apr 9 2009

by Thomas Cahill

Imagine meeting someone with the power to tell you everything that will happen to you in the future. He can see the good and bad, the ups and downs for the rest of your life. He has the power to tell all - including the exact time of your death.

Would you want to know?

In the new book, A Saint on Death Row (c.2009, Nan A. Talese / Doubleday, $18.95 / $22.00 Canada, 144 pages), author Thomas Cahill writes about a man condemned to die, how he got to where he was, and the lives he touched.

Gail Choice  |   OW Contributor
Apr 9 2009

NBC’s riveting cop drama

 Hollywood, CA -- As cop shows go “Southland” is dramatic, moving and hardcore, but that’s what you expect from this type of program. But what makes this drama stand out is the fact that it’s about the underbelly of Los Angeles and the street crimes we’re all too familiar with. And in some indirect way we’ll get an inside look at how Los Angeles police handle those devastating crimes, along with the sacrifices some officers make. It’s one of those dramas that is close to home and very believable making it worth watching.

Apr 3 2009

Marcia Ann Gillespie, Rosa Johnson Butler, and Richard A. Long, foreword by Oprah Winfrey

Life, they say, is meant to be enjoyed. Nobody ever looked back on their life and wished they had worked an extra day. Carpe diem. Never stop looking for opportunity and never stop having fun.
Chances are, your heroes took all of the above to heart. Their exuberance for life and their zest for experience are two traits that made them who they are.

Apr 2 2009

words and paintings by Kadir Nelson

 Every year about this time, you begin to think maybe you don’t want to grow up to be a rock star or a hip-hop singer. Forget about programming computers or making the next great video game.
About this time - when the weather gets warm and bats come out - your thoughts turn to baseball. This year, you’ll hit one out of the park. You’ll hear cheers as you round the bases. Some day, you’ll be a star.

Apr 2 2009

Crazy mad action!

 Hollywood, CA -- Wow. Usually the fourth installment of a popular movie is a dog. But “Fast & Furious” lives up to its reputation that began more than nine years ago. It’s fast, real fast. And it’s furious, I mean its mean, with a lot of twists and turns. In other words, it’s more than just a movie about fast cars and the people who love to drive them.

Across Black America

Here’s a look at African American people and issues making headlines throughout the country.
 

Alabama
Freeman A. Hrabowski, president of the University of Maryland, Baltimore County, will address the annual African American Business Council luncheon on June 28. Hrabowski, who is chairman of President Barack Obama’s Advisory Commission on Education Excellence for African Americans, has a national reputation for his work studying the performance of minority students in math and science. Hrabowski, named one of the 10 best college presidents in the country by Time magazine, was a child leader in the Civil Rights Movement in Birmingham in the 1960s.
 

Arkansas
The Liberty Counsel filed a motion and a brief in United States District Court for the Eastern District of Arkansas seeking to intervene on behalf of a Concepts of Life crisis pregnancy center to defend against a suit filed by the American Civil Liberties Union and the Center for Reproductive Rights. The groups seek to impose a permanent injunction before the Human Heartbeat Protection Act goes into effect July 18. Liberty Counsel also filed a brief opposing the ACLU’s request for an injunction. The “Heartbeat” bill states that when a woman seeks an abortion at or after the 12th week, doctors must test for a fetal heartbeat before an abortion is performed and inform the pregnant mother that the child in her womb has a heartbeat. If a heartbeat is detected, a woman cannot have an abortion, except in cases of rape, incest, and if a mother’s life is in danger. “As we promised when the legislation was introduced, Liberty Counsel will defend this law without reservation for the people of Arkansas, born and pre-born,” said Matt Staver, founder and chairman of Liberty Counsel. “No right is more foundational than the right to life. Without life, all other rights are irrelevant,” concluded Staver.