OLD STUFF

Don't Be a Menace to South Central While Drinking Your Juice in the Hood.

01/06/10
Last night as I was browsing through the hundreds of channels my cable company offers I stopped upon the usual. USA, FOODNETWORK, MTV and last but not least, an all time favorite...BET. And to my finding the title "Don't Be a Menace to South Central While Drinking Your Juice in the Hood" floated across the screen. If there were ever a movie that would make fun of previous black movies...this would be it. Shawn and Marlon Wayans are the only two brothers I know who, write, direct and act in their own movies. It is a movie that makes movies such as "Boyz N the Hood", "South Central", "Menace II Society", "Higher Learning" and "Juice" stray from having such a serious and politically controversial tone into something one can laugh at. However there are some things that make us, even ask ourselves... "DAG. Is that really how black people act?" or "Damn. Is that really how black people live?" and are 40's all there is to drink in that movie? O.k. maybe that last one was just something I was thinking about. Anyways it just goes to show you that when other races make slurs about black people...there isn't much we can say huh? Here's what people had to say about the movie. It also makes it much easier to laugh at when the movie is created by someone of the race it is making fun of...because if it weren't....YOU KNOW WE WOULD have started something. Stereotypes can be quite hilarious.

Heres what an actual Movie CRITIC HAD TO SAY:
A Healthy Spoof of 'Hood Films
MICK LaSALLE, Chronicle Staff Critic

Movies about growing up in the 'hood have become a genre and now there's a satire of them all, ``Don't Be a Menace to South Central While Drinking Your Juice in the Hood.''

The film, which opened yesterday at Bay Area theaters, is a spoof of a whole slew of these pictures: ``Do the Right Thing,'' ``Higher Learning,'' ``South Central,'' ``Juice'' and ``Straight Out of Brooklyn'' -- but mainly ``Boys N the Hood'' and ``Menace II Society.''

``Don't Be a Menace'' takes the hero from ``Boys N the Hood,'' Trey -- ``Ashtray'' here -- and gives him the sidekick from ``Menace II Society,'' the deranged killer O'Dog, reborn here as Loc Dog.

Shawn Wayans plays Ashtray, who goes to live in the 'hood with his father. Every time Ashtray looks out the window he sees another senseless crime: the car- jacking of an ice cream truck, the theft of an old woman's walker.

Wayans, who co-wrote the script with Phil Beauman and brother Marlon Wayans, who plays Loc Dog, parodies the best- known scenes from earlier 'hood movies. The parodies are done with finesse and imagination.

A good example of the movie's skill is its sly twist on the Korean grocery store scene. It's a parody of the most tense scene in ``Menace II Society,'' in which O'Dog and a friend go into a grocery store and the Korean owners antagonize O'Dog by acting like they think he's going to rob the place. So O'Dog kills them.

In this version, the Korean lady not only follows Loc Dog, she's hiding everywhere -- in the ice cream case, in the refrigerator, behind the shelves -- saying, ``Hurry up and buy!'' Meanwhile, a white guy in a suit and tie is throwing merchandise into a sack and emptying the cash register. There is an absurd strain of humor to ``Don't Be a Menace'' that can be appreciated by all. But if you haven't seen ``Menace II Society'' and ``Boys N the Hood,'' you'll miss 80 percent of the fun.

For those who have seen the previous 'hood films, ``Don't Be a Menace'' isn't just funny. It's a relief. Things might be bad, the movie suggests, but they're not so bad you can't laugh.


Lee Eisenberg of Oregon says:
Spoofing practically every "growing up in the hood" movie, "Don't Be a Menace to South Central While Drinking Your Juice in the Hood" is a laugh a minute. Following the adventures of Ashtray (Shawn Wayans) and Loc Dog (Marlon Wayans) in LA's black ghetto, it's one joke after another - the way that a Mel Brooks or Leslie Nielsen movie is. Probably the funniest scene is when they enter a convenience store. The owner, convinced that African-Americans would only enter his store to steal things, follows them around - while a rich white man comes in and proceeds to empty the place. Containing virtually every imaginable use of the N-word, "DBAMTSCWDYJITH" is pure hilarity. Those Wayans brothers have it down.



What do you think OF the movie?




01/05/29
I think it is very important for one to know where they come from and who helped them get them there.I was sitting imn my room today and I started to think about what my life would have been like if my grandparents would have done something differently. Here is a poem I wrote in my Advanced Drama Acting Class my senior year: I hope you enjoy.


"Where I come from"
I come from "dirty franks" with extra sauerkraut
from fifty-cent sodas and Now-and-Laters.
I come from graffiti on the side of the train,
bus rides and metro cards, when you couldn't find change.
I come from beats made upon African drums,
from Jazz, Tap, Swimming, Spanish, Tennis and any other class my mom could possibly get me into.
I come from Double-Dutch and hand games,
from Elise and Clarence.
From the know-it-alls rights and wrongs, long marches and sweet freesom songs.
I come from brown sugar, African spices and that brown sticky stuff my grandma would always put on her biscuits.
I come from the Borough of Blacks, Hispanics, Afghans and Yugoslavians,
in other words, Queens.

From shish kabobs to barbecued ribs,
From the life my Father gave to make life for me,
I am from those memories,
Colored only water fountains,
and Dreams. By: Cierra Selby




01/2/2010
COLD HEARTED PEOPLE.
O.k so today’s topic is people. I have found that though I am really friendly and can make friends easily……….I don’t really like ummmm people. I tend to outgrow people really fast. Don’t get me wrong, I love my best friends but associates are only meant to be associated with, and that’s it. Since we are on the topic………..People that really get to me are those who are cold hearted and have so much against the world. Those who let good friends, relationships and opportunities slip away just because they can’t handle the feeling of something going good for them. Did you ever notice that mean people hang together? They say and do mean things and they all have hard faces…..like the world just hit them and bruised them up. I feel that if you walk around like the world got the best of you…that is how you’re going to live the rest of your life. Oh and did I mention people who just say anything out their mouths? I mean being honest and just plain ignorant are two different things. There are some things better left unsaid and at the end of the day……….some people just better left OFF …..un-friended. When Kanye made the song Heartless…he wasn’t only talking about that chick…he was probably talking about the people you think are your friends…. just camouflaged burdens.

-cierratanae










New Years Just a new NUMBER.

12/31/09
So many people take New Years more seriously than Christmas. Its a day to party...get drunk oh and how could I forget?......and last but not least at the end of the day become a better person. For me every New Years I thank God for bringing in the New Year and for not taking last years and this year’s Blockbusters like "The Day After Tomorrow and 2012" INTO consideration. Those who made it to the New Year should be truly grateful.....a lot of us were just really lucky. A lot of us don't deserve to be here.......no most of us aren't murderers but the things we did and said and made happen didn't fall far from it. If I could change anything about 2009........I wouldn't. Believe it or not the people I encountered, (those who I had fun with and those who made my life a living hell), the places I saw, the things that happened to me had a purpose. AND bam in the blink of an eye comes wandering down the block is the year 2010 A WONDERFUL OPPURTUNITY TO LEAVE THE PAST BEHIND AND START OVER. It’s all about change. The people, who hindered me and the things that bothered me in 2009, won't get the chance this year. The mistakes I made in 2009, haha won't trap me this time around and the dreams I had...........are getting closer. The thing is my fellow Blog readers....... how many of us are willing to change? How many of us are going to forgive this year, become a kinder hearted person and stop the bad things we loved the most from getting the best of us. It’s all about perseverance.....The journey is not about how many of us carryout our plans...it’s about knowing how many of us are even willing to take the trip.

YO AND have a Happy and Safe New Years.........STAY TRUE.

-cierratanae





The FRIENdSHIP THING.



12/30/09
When I was younger...making friends for me was nothing. New York City playgrounds were the place to share Cheesedoodles with people you really didn't know. But it all didn't matter....they were your friends. High School was like a giant playground. You met people your freshman year that you probably would never speak to again. And college, believe it or not...is supposed to be the place where you meet your lifetime friends. However through my journey of finding people worthy enough to call my friends...I have faced a lot of different situations....enough to deter my meaning of a friend. For one I met one of my true best friends in maybe the 10th grade. It wasn't until the summer after my senior year that we became "JERKS for life". I consider this girl to be my homie. She tells me what I want to hear and what I don't but I know that no matter what she'll be there for me if she can. My other true best friend I met maybe five years ago. We knew each other but never really hung out. I thought maybe that we were 10 years apart (her being older) that we would have nothing in common, but about three years ago it proved to be quite the opposite. She is there when I need her, and she gets on my NERVES sometimes but I know that is what she was put into my life for. I can trust her and she cracks me up, even when my world is far from funny. My third true best friend...I became really cool with maybe one or two years ago because she goes to my church. She is mad country and so funny and I love her dearly. Even though we don't see eye to eye when it comes to relationships......I know we were meant to be friends. She is there when I need her too, YUP THAT’S MY HOMIE for life yo. My fourth best friend I met my freshman year of high school. Its funny because we don't really get to see each other often or hang out and we can lose touch for months...but when I need her most she pops up with a phone call. She helps me spiritually when I feel lost and she always says the rights things. Now that I think about it....we really don't have much in common, however the things we do....are treasured most. Oh and did I mention she’s one of the smartest people I know oh snap and that I found out she is my cousin my senior year of highschool? LOL . Ok and definately last but not least......is my mom. I met her July 7th 1991, the day I was born. And anyone who can go through hours of labor, years of taking care of me, feeding me and putting money in my bank account almost every week...can SURELY BE A BEST FRIEND OF MINE. my MOTHER IS ALWAYS THERE FOR ME...NO QUESTIONS ASKED YO.
So along this journey I have met people I thought were my friends but really weren't at all. I met people who I love to be around and go everywhere with (and that loves taking pictures...but never has their camera LOL).But when it comes to failed friendships: Did you ever think that you put a little too much effort into certain friendships that were never meant to be? Or that you really never even liked PEOPLE? LOL .I can browse through hundreds of dictionaries but I guess friendship isn't up to me to define, That is Life’s job. Well it all comes down to this very simple metaphor. "God puts people in your lives that cannot leave and even more that cannot stay" and who ever said that..........."Sho was tellin the truth" "You ain't never lied" said Aunt Anna Mae...."You aint never lied"

-cierratanae



THE RELATIONSHIP doom doom doom.




12/29/09
Ight so all this week I have been encountering the relationship question. I have a friend who really likes this guy. I believe he likes her as well but just isn't ready for an actual relationship. But how long does it take for you to realize that? I already told my friend what I think. Sometimes things don’t work out the way you planned and believe it or not MOST things don’t work out at all. In relationships you think your getting somewhere and then BAM it’s all gone. Do you know how I know? Because everything in life is “You think your getting somewhere and then BAM it’s all gone! ”LOL Others say that if someone really likes you....they should be more than willing to be with you permanently. In a way I agree but then again have found myself in situations where I like the guy but don't really want to be with him. Then on the flipside I have also really wanted to be with someone but is confused by the fact that they MAKE NO EFFORT to let me know they feel the same way. So where do we draw the line in this notebook they call a RELATIONSHIP? And even though we say we can let them go.....is it really all that easy? There is so much drama when it comes to relationships but the truth is..........no one wants to be alone. Especially when Valentine’s Day is around the corner and they keep bringing out new IPods and varieties of NEW chocolates and cute shaped balloons.
HAHAHAA. -cierratanae