We've Gone Too Far

The Black Moses Soul Stirring Company

Artist: Isaac Hayes
Song: "Hyperbolicsyllabicsesquedalymistic"
Album: Hot Buttered Soul

My favorite song from "Black Moses". 10 minutes of funk...and it rocks the entire time.

5000 Booming Watts.

I'm going to post some new stuff. 

Some of it will be music. Not mine. Just tunes that soundtrack the writing.

Some of it will be films that I've watched. My film snob-ish leanings are dying to run wild.

Some of it will be comic book-related. Just to let you know: I'm reading super-hero stuff these days. You can keep your detective/noir/zombie comics. I need my funny books to be about heroes. I need stories about super-powered dudes (who subscribe to the tenets of justice and the ass-kicking of villains).

I may also tell you kids some stories about my forays into Hollywood. Some of it will make you cry. Some of it will inspire you to get off your couch and enroll in Everest College.

NOTE: I mean....you're just sitting there on the couch, watching TV. Pick up the phone! Make the call!

Also, I have a bunch of brothers and they're all comical dudes. I'll probably post my conversations with them. These chats are epic. It's the sort of thing that legends are made of.

Oh yeah...

I recently heard Michael Arndt speak. He said he got the Toy Story 3 gig AFTER he had 10 completed scripts/detailed outlines. 

I have 5. 

What does that mean? I'm gunning for Finding Nemo 4.

Hallelujah. Hollaback.

-zee

Fantastic....still.

Feb. 28th. The end of 'Dilla Month'. Two gems: "Untitled/Fantastic" (instrumental) & its orchestral companion, "Suite For Ma Dukes (Untitled/Fantastic)". 

Get. Back. Up.

"You have to work harder than you think you possibly can."

"You can't hold grudges."

"It doesn't matter how you get knocked down in life...cause that's gonna happen. All that matters is that you gotta get up."

On this night, Ben spoke the gospel.

Amen.

Byrd In Flight

Donald Byrd. One of the best to ever do it. 

December 9, 1932 – February 4, 2013

R.I.P.

Transmitting Live From Englewood

Rudy Van Gelder has engineered more classic Jazz recordings than you can count. Most of the essential Blue Note Records catalog can be attributed to his mastery. Those classic CTI Records albums of the 70's? Yeah....RVG recorded those as well.

Read the liner notes. Learn you something.

Happy Birthday, Mr. Van Gelder. Salute.

Girl, You Gotta Love Your Man.

I've been out of town for the last 4 days. I've never spent a birthday away from my fam/friends. I wasn't looking forward to it. I woke up yesterday and it was pouring rain. I got showered & dressed and went down to the hotel lobby. I didn't have anything else to do, so I went for an extended ride on the airport shuttle. Pouring rain and I'm listening to The Doors ("Riders On The Storm")....riding through the airport....for no apparent reason. Exciting. I know.


I'm now understanding what this birthday was: 


1. Sometimes, you just need to be happy you're alive. 


2. Whether I knew it or not, I was having my Sofia Coppola/'Lost In Translation' moment.


Thanks for the shout-outs. It's good to be here....


....and sometimes, it's okay to be Bill Murray.


Love, 

Zee

These Are The Breaks

David Israel is the showrunner for Nickelodeon's 'How To Rock'. The network recently announced that it would not be going forward on a second season. Rather than tear the network to shreds with a series of scathing blog posts/tweets, David Israel offers the following post.

The George Jefferson Museum: Open 24/7

February 1, 1938 – July 24, 2012

Dear Sherman Hemsley,

I wasn't supposed to be up, watching 'The Jeffersons'. My Dad told me to go to bed. I couldn't help it. "George Jefferson" was comic gold. I've seen EVERY episode. I laughed then and I still laugh now.

But you know what 'The Jeffersons' really did for me? It taught me screenwriting and it taught me timing. It showed me how modern sitcoms worked. More importantly, George Jefferson was an ideal. George opened a store; moved his family to a "deluxe apartment in the sky" and still remained who he was. He talked sh*t to everybody. He didn't care. He may crack on his fam but if YOU disrespected "Weezy" he'd fight you. He opened 9 Jefferson Cleaners....and wasn't afraid to tell you about it. He wasn't a begger. He had dreams. He was about a dollar but he never sold himself out. George Jefferson was a self-made man. And this was directly after the civil rights era. Portraying that type of character on TV, at that time, was a feat in itself. 

If the character accomplished one thing, it was this: George Jefferson was probably the most revolutionary African-American character on TV (ever). I'm sure there are "academics" who may disagree but you couldn't have Cliff Huxtable without George Jefferson. Mr. Jefferson was his own brand of ass-kicker....and at that time that's probably what we needed.

Goodnight, Mr. Hemsley....and Thank you, Mr. Jefferson.

Love,

Zee

p.s. I still think the George Jefferson Museum was a great idea.