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Acacia: A Novel by David Anthony Durham All I know of fantasy is “Lord of the Rings” and, I guess, Harry Potter but I’m talking about the sword wielding, sorcery bound, warrior fantasy. I started to read this b/c the author David Anthony Durham is black, I remember good reviews of his “Pride of Carthage” and this book, the first of a triolgy, was getting compared to Lord of the Rings. Maybe because I am a novice at fantasy or maybe because of the writing I had a little trouble getting into it. I had trouble with naming schemes and found myself getting confused about who was part of what “race”. About 150 pages into this 600 page door stop I was hooked. I found myself exciting about moving to the next chapter. Each chapter tells a different point of view and rotates through the 6 or so primary players. It is the story of a prosperous empire brought down by a surprise assassination of the king and then the use of biological warfare to wipe everybo...

Another extremely hot TV appearance by James Brown. Wait till Nate Jones (I think) gets his solo...this is what it's all about. Tight and hot; fuckin' bad ass! JB - Cold Sweat (Mike Douglas Show)

Watch this video and you will understand why words cannot express the tremendous loss I feel. It's not just James as a singer and performer but James as a bandleader and talent scout...just listen to the band. James Brown - Prisoner of Love/Please Please Please

I am reading A Change Is Gonna Come:Music, Race the Soul of America by Craig Werner . It's a great survey of how music fit in the social movements of America with an emphasis on the Black experience. It's really entertaining an enlightening. Today I was reading about the blues and there are several great quotes in a matter of 3 pages: Singing the blues is like being black twice. BB King By a conservative count, 180 percent of blues deal with sex or money. The extra 80 percent accounts for the times sex and money are the same damn thing. Eddie Kirkland Talking about Southern Soul Steve Cropper says: It's a Southern sound, a below-the- Bible-Belt sound. It was righteous nasty. Technorati Tags: black entertainment , music , pop culture , society , social history , soul music , civil rights powered by performancing firefox

Rest in peace Bebe Moore Campbell. This has been a bad Fall for Black entertainers . We have lost several and from almost every creative arena. Yet again, I have been caught with an author I know more by reputation that work. I have not read any Bebe Moore Campbell but I recognize her as a thoughtful, well-respected writer. Read something for Bebe Moore Campbell.

Robert Lockwood aka Robert Junior Lockwood has died . I was fortunate enough to see Robert perform several times through the years at King Biscuit Blues Fest and it was always a pleasure. It was romantic to stand in the shadow of the step-son of Robert Johnson and it was fun to listen to him play. He had an uptown style nothing like what you probably think of when you think of his step-father, Robert Johnson . Robert Johnson taught Lockwood some guitar stuff but Robert Lockwood was a child of the jazz era and his music was more like T-Bone Walker than Robert Johnson. His generation is all but gone; Honeyboy Edwards being one of a very few still around. Hell, even the next generation which includes BB King and Buddy Guy is about gone. The Blues is on the verge of becoming a historic artform. I know some will argue with me about that but so few of the artists out there who are creating interesting Blues. I kinda gave up on the music a while ago so maybe it's just me but I can...

( CNN ) -- Gerald Levert , the R&B singer whose hits included "I Swear" and "I'd Give Anything," as well as chart-toppers with the groups LeVert and LSG, has died , according to his label, Atlantic Records . He was 40. So young.

I put my two cents in yesterday but I like the way James Poling says it over at metadish . I have to agree with how he remembers those Sundays at 6pm. The difference being ed Bradley was even cooler because he was a Black guy, like my dad and ultimately, like me.

Sad news . I had no idea he had leukemia. Ed Bradley was a hero and an icon.

I haven't watched BET in so long and I completely missed the news that Reggie Hudlin was taking over. This is such a smart move, Reggie has sense, he's creative and his heart seems to be in the right place - that makes him an anomaly in the entertainment CEO landscape, doesn't it? Reading this article he seems to be staying the course, his course. "The black audience wants to be respected," he told The Associated Press . "They want quality programs that respect their intelligence. It better be hip, it better be innovative and be as fresh as possible." I wish him well and hope BET finally broadcasts something worth while.