New In Town

A funny thing happened to the movie New in Town on the way to your local multiplex: Angela Bassett morphed into Gabrielle Union, who then became Renée Zellweger.

This is not entirely shocking. "Colorblind" casting has been around for a while. Remember that the drill sergeant in An Officer and a Gentleman was slated to go to a white actor, until Louis Gossett Jr. (who won an Academy Award for best supporting actor) read for the part. Sylvester Stallone was supposed to play the not-by-the-book fuzz in Beverly Hills Cop, a role that went to Eddie Murphy, and the rest, as they say, is history.

But with this romantic comedy, which opens today and stars Zellweger and Harry Connick Jr., the lead was supposed to be a black actress and the writer had someone in mind from the very beginning. "I initially wanted Angela Bassett," says Kenneth Rance, the screenwriter. "I’m a big fan of her work. And Gabrielle Union was initially cast."

Rance, 38, who graduated from Howard University with a degree in film, based the story on a woman he met in his native Minneapolis over 16 years ago. "I was at the Riverview Supper Club where I see this fine woman — I mean this girl is fine — dancing like there’s no tomorrow. I bought her a drink— I knew she wasn’t from there."

"She was a quality control engineer at Kraft. We talked, exchanged numbers, and she would come to the city. It started off kinda platonic. She was dating a guy she thought she would marry, then she got the opportunity to be promoted to New Ulm and took the position in haste."

I thought, "That’s a movie." I wanted to do a movie on loneliness. I didn’t quite know what the story was, but I was like, "That’s a movie." I was at CBS in 1995 and the whole time I was thinking about the idea of being 32 and single. I was thinking, "Can a sister have it all?" I also wanted to examine if a sister could date a blue-collar guy and how that would work out. Monica Tate was her name and she would not give a brother the time of day. Stripped of pretension, she falls in love with a highway patrolman with two kids — he was a widower.

Though his agent initially didn’t think anyone would buy it, the script was snapped up by Universal five years ago. The studio then promptly excused Rance and brought in another writer. Rance was later recalled by Gold Circle Films and Lionsgate to be his own script doctor. (The other writer, C. Jay Cox, also gets billing credit.)

But by then, the black woman from North Carolina was a white woman from Miami, and voila, Fargo meets Baby Boom. Rance admits some disappointment at the turn of events, but he's a practical man. "When you start looking at who can open a film, the marketing, worldwide distribution etc., it makes sense," he says. "That’s not how I felt personally about it, but it shouldn’t be called show business but ‘business show.’"

It has been repeatedly noted that outside of Will Smith and maybe Murphy, no black actor—no, not even Denzel or the ubiquitous Samuel L. Jackson, and certainly no female black actress, even the exquisite Halle Berry—can open a film with the big box office bang that Hollywood now demands, and none can be counted on for the huge sales overseas that are now critical to a movie's success. Sure, it happens in buddy films (see: Chris Tucker with Jackie Chan). But by their lonesome? Not a chance.

"It wasn’t until Halle won the Oscar for ‘Monster’s Ball’," says Rance, "that I thought people were ready for a black female lead." Obviously, they are not. Even as actresses such as Taraji P. Henson (The Curious Case of Benjamin Button) and Viola Davis (Doubt) prove their mettle with Oscar nominations, albeit for supporting roles, the movie terrain remains uneven for black talent, particularly black female talent. At least during the Blaxploitation heyday, Tamara Dobson and Pam Grier got top billing.

Still counting goose bumps in the wake of the film’s well-received premiere in his hometown, Rance is hopeful that other black filmmakers would get more opportunities, whether they were culturally specific or not. "It does give me hope that the industry is becoming more open-minded," he says. But on the other hand, in the age of Obama, "the world is browning. Yet the images that we see are more conservative."

Racial Profiling alive and well in Toronto

CANADA - In 2007 Nimo Gulleid had an argument about Islam with a woman while waiting at a TTC bus stop, both women boarded the bus and minutes later the bus was pulled over by police.

The police then approached Nimo Gulleid and demanded to see her gun. When Nimo explained she didn't have a gun, the police dragged the 37-year-old Canadian off the back entrance of the bus.

In front of dozens of witnesses they pushed her to the ground, searched her, physically assaulted her and dumped her purse contents on the grass. No gun was found.

The woman Gulleid had argued with earlier had told the TTC driver Gulleid was carrying a gun, who had radioed police and they had arrived in record time.

Even after determining she was not a threat, police handcuffed and arrested Gulleid and took her to St. Joseph's hospital for psychiatric evaluation. Hospital reports found Gulleid suffered "soft tissue injuries to her arms, neck and back" and she suffered from anxiety and stress.

The police then threatened Gulleid and warned her not to file a complaint against them. As a struggling mature student she didn't have the money to pursue a civil suit.

The police officers involved never even bothered to listen to her side of the story. Last month on February 19th, the Criminal Injuries Compensation Board awarded Gulleid $4,000 for pain and suffering.

"It was not about the money. I had so much anger about how I was treated unfairly, that I had to do something," says Gulleid. "The most painful component was it was by the people who were in a position of authority."

The board's decision found that "even when no gun was found on the Applicant the use of excessive force persisted." It also found that Gulleid was a "victim of a crime of assault." The board based its decision on Gulleid's testimony and hospital records from the March 2007 incident.

The 5 police officers involved in the incident had refused to share information, and are now claiming they never received a request for the info.

If Gulleid had been a white woman, would they still have searched and assaulted her? Probably not. The police thought she was a Muslim terrorist...

WHY DID THIS HAPPEN?

As she waited for the bus, Gulleid got into a conversation with the other woman about the religion of Islam. The conversation became heated, and the other woman made a comment saying all Muslims were terrorists and carried guns.

Disliking this idea of racial profiling, Gulleid had asked the woman, "So you think I carry a gun?"

After the two boarded the bus, the woman told the driver Gulleid had a gun and was going to shoot everyone. The bus driver, following protocol, called police.

The woman who made the false claim should have been arrested for mischief.

See Also:
Top Five Police Brutality Videos
The Death Spasms of American Racism
Cop Killer in Ontario
The Future of Black Nationalism in America
Stepher Harper's RCMP resorts to Gestapo Tactics
Gun Control in Canada
Handguns in Canada
Harper moves to revive Anti-Terrorism Act
Negligent RCMP won't face charges in Taser death

International Women's Day is March 8th

FEMINISM - March 8th is International Women's Day.

Police Brutality Vs Technology

TECHNOLOGY - For years social activists and people who had been on the receiving end of police brutality have been pushing for an end to unprovoked police attacks.

But these days civilians are increasingly being given the tools to put a stop to these attacks.

And they come in the form of video recorders on cellphones.

Lets take for example the Polish immigrant Robert Dziekański who was tasered to death by RCMP in an airport in Vancouver, Canada. The RCMP tasered him FIVE times (only once is necessary) while subduing him. Since then critics have said the police were "trigger-happy" and that they should be charged with manslaughter in the death of the immigrant, who though confused, was not resisting arrest.

And this is just one example of many. Increasingly cellphones are being used to not only catch police brutality in action, but convicting corrupt police officers of attacking harmless civilians.

Two others things:

Its not just cellphones either. Security cameras and even police video cameras are also catching police in the act.

Plus its not just police getting caught on video. Its regular scumbag criminals that are getting caught on video. A shooting on a subway? In a crowded bar? In the club district? Chances are likely somebody already has their cellphone video camera already running, or at the very least handy.

Lastly, and this is perhaps the biggest thing, we also have websites like YouTube that allow people to share these videos with the rest of the world.

In the 1990s people still had handheld video cameras, but they lacked the means to share those videos with the world. With YouTube and other video sharing sites now they can the video with everyone.

And the police? Maybe now they will practice what they preach.

Alex Grey paints Obama

ART HISTORY - American artist Alex Grey, who creates Visionary Art, has made a portrait of Barack Obama. Check out his other work below.

Michelle Obama's Fashion Frenzy

FASHION - Fashion designers from all over the world are clambering to establish themselves as Michelle-Obama-esque.

Michelle Obama doesn't attend fashion shows, but she is all over the runways in New York, Paris, London and Madrid. Some of the most established and renowned names in American fashion – Oscar de la Renta, Calvin Klein, Tommy Hilfiger and Ralph Lauren – are all out to woo Michelle.

The Obama influence is enormous. Unlike Hollywood celebrities, Michelle Obama cannot be bought. She selects, purchases and wears what she likes. Every garment she wears is scrutinized, carefully copied and sets off a new fashion trend.

And its not just the fashion designers. Runways are now booking Michelle Obama look-a-likes as models.

Despite being the designer of past White House administrations, Oscar de la Renta has so far not found favour with Mrs. Obama. In his Fall 2009 collection he hired more black models than usual and, with the soulful Marvin Gaye on the soundtrack, seems to be making a direct appeal to Michelle Obama and her fans.

Francisco Costa, a designer at Calvin Klein, is doing something similar. In his new Fall collection he focused on modernity and clarity, hallmarks of the new Washington gang. Likewise the soundtrack at Tommy Hilfiger's show was lyrics from the Soul II Soul song – Back to life, back to reality, back to the here and now – summed up the designer's take on the American recession.

In the United States Ralph Lauren, the designer of quintessential Americana, stuck to his upper-crust look with patchwork tweeds, rich velvets, sumptuous Mongolian lamb coats, a hint of equestrian with soft jodhpur pants and lots of antique cream colours. Lauren evidently has ignored the recession and is sticking to the tried and true.

Fashion designers are survivors. They know that tough times will weed out the competition and the wise ones will be the ones left standing.

Even Tyra Banks has jumped on the Michelle Obama fashion bandwagon, seen right.

Obama invites Michaëlle Jean to USA

POLITICS - During his recent trip to Canada, Obama discussed Haiti with Canada's governor general Michaëlle Jean (who was born in Haiti) and even invited her to visit Washington DC in the United States.

American aides to the president who briefed the travelling White House reporters en route back to Washington Thursday said Obama and the Governor General exchanged "views about how we could be helpful to the government there in dealing with economic and social issues."

Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper was NOT invited to visit Washington, perhaps suggesting Obama's trip to Canada did not go as well as he hoped.

Harper gave Obama a chilly response during the president's visit to Ottawa, refusing to agree to cut back on greenhouse gases but agreeing only to a dialogue on the subject. Years ago Stephen Harper claimed in a Conservative Party newsletter that global warming is a scam and that climate change is a hoax. Stephen Harper has since flip flopped repeatedly on the issue and refused to set caps on greenhouse gases because most of his political party's funding comes from the Alberta oil industry.

Caesar and Cleopatra

ENTERTAINMENT - There's a new movie about "Caesar and Cleopatra" starring Christopher Plummer and Nikki M. James in the lead roles.

Its actually a Stratford play that has been adapted as a film for the theatres, but its getting rave reviews from many sources ranging from Four to Five stars out of Five.

In addition to being an interracial love story it is also an examination of power structures in a cross-generational romance between teenage sex kitten Cleopatra and the aging lion Caesar.

Christopher Plummer, like Sean Connery, just seems to get better with age and his co-star Nikki M. James is spectacular in the role of Cleopatra.

Unhealthy To Stress Over Ideal Weight

HEALTH - What you think can make you healthy. Or not.

When it comes to what you think about your body it turns out that the more weight you want to lose, (even if you're not overweight in the first place), the more mentally and physically unhealthy days you have every month.

BMI, or actual weight, doesn't have that much to do with it, researchers at Columbia University found, but the desire to lose weight does affect how healthy you are.

It's likely that distorted ideas about what an ideal weight is lead to stress, and that stress precipitates bad-health days.

And distorted ideas are common, especially in women. Only 41 per cent of normal-weight people say they are happy with their weight (only 20 per cent of overweight and 5 per cent of obese people do).

If you want an objective view of your body, don't rely on only your eyes. Instead, focus on how you feel. Use your eating habits, exercise patterns and other lifestyle choices to help you feel strong and energized.

Not working? Try strength training. In one study, women felt more confident after a 12-week weight-training program even if they gained weight during it.

Speaking of brain power: There's a new bonus to good blood sugar control: better recall. It turns out that dysfunctional insulin, a problem that allows blood sugar to get out of control, not only is bad for your organs and arteries, but might also keep you from remembering the name of your prom date, what month it is or who's the latest American Idol winner. One piece of evidence: Men who had low insulin levels at age 50 had a greater risk of Alzheimer's and other types of dementia later in life. It's not clear yet how impaired insulin response bumps up Alzheimer's risk. But it is clear that the less insulin in the brain, the more it develops the hallmarks of that disease. In fact, researchers at Brown University refer to this low brain insulin problem, and the brain changes it's associated with, as "type 3 diabetes."

While researchers haven't yet shown how to prevent type 3 diabetes, it's smart to do what you can to control your blood sugar. Brand-new research found that a low-carb diet (less than 20 g of carbs per day) is better at controlling blood sugar than a low glycemic index (GI) diet.

Boost your blood sugar (Safely): This is one wrinkle you want in your morning oatmeal: dried plums. Adding them to your hot cereal may have huge advantages for your heart. A good source of fibre, what makes them such a great addition to your morning meal is that they're also chock full of polyphenols. These are the compounds that have a reputation for stopping plaque ruptures that could lead to a heart attack or stroke and their sugars appear to be safe for blood-sugar watchers.

From the heart: You don't have to eat raw fish or hard-to-find vegetables to keep your heart healthy. Simply stock up on these common, and delicious, foods:

Red Delicious apples: These are particularly rich in compounds called phenolics that make those blood fats more stable, so they're less likely to oxidize, stick to the walls of your arteries, and cause a dangerous blockage.

Sesame seeds: Women who took a little more than 3 tablespoons of sesame seed powder daily for five days reduced their total and bad (LDL) cholesterol.

They also had higher levels of heart-protective vitamin E and lower blood levels of substances linked to cell damage.

Walnuts: Studies have found that an ounce of these nuts a day decreases the incidence of heart disease a whopping 60 per cent. Walnuts are highest in omega-3 fatty acids, which reduce triglycerides, stabilize your heartbeat, make platelets less sticky and may knock down blood pressure.

Salmon, catfish, flounder: Fatty fish like these are high in heart-protecting omega-3 fatty acids (and low in mercury and PCBs).

Beans: Fibre-rich beans may help reduce levels of C-reactive protein, an indicator of heart disease risk. Black beans, with 7 grams of fibre per half cup, are an easy way to fill your fibre quota (25 grams a day).

Fight Fat: Sometimes turning a scrumptious meal into a health- and weight-friendly superstar is just a matter of making a few changes:

Concentrate sauces. Let the excess water boil off. This enhances the flavour without additives like fat, salt or sugar.

Choose applesauce, prunes and bananas instead of butter and shortening in your favourite baking recipes. This improves heart health, since it takes away fat (but leaves in moisture).

Use the right tools: A blender can purée vegetables so you use less or no cream in soups and sauces.

Non-stick pans and grills allow you to cook with less oil.

Parchment paper is a terrific alternative to greasing a pan.

Freeze your herbs. Buy fresh and freeze the rest if you can't buy small quantities. Another solution: Grow your own.

A Shoppers Drug Mart Locks Up Black Hair Products

CANADA - Some people are decrying a Nova Scotia drugstore's decision to keep several of its hair-care products for black customers under lock and key.

While some balms and creams for black hair were openly available on an adjacent shelf, customers are required to ask a clerk to unlock the cabinet if they want a closer look or to buy any of the products inside.

Only merchandise aimed at black customers, however, was locked inside the cabinet — a retail practice that some said was insulting.

"It's very degrading, as a black person, to hear that," said Gavin Griffiths, a client at nearby Ebony Hair Salon.

Salon owner Elvera Ross said to lock up some products and not others sends a specific message to customers.

"It's the perception that they have that there's a lot of black people that are shoplifters, [which] they aren't," she said.

"It's just that perception that people have, and it's something that has to change."

The owner of the Shoppers Drug Mart referred questions to the store's head office, where a spokesperson said she was looking into the matter.

Those offended by the retail practice, however, say it's been going on for years.

"We're behind the times, you know? As [U.S. President Barack] Obama said, we need a change. We all should be treated as equal," Ross said.