Fierce Rhetoric

I Am Not Your Negro – Review

James Baldwin, Associated Press.

The Oscar-nominated “I Am Not Your Negro” is a piercing film about writer, poet, and social critic James Baldwin. He was one of our most critical advocates for equality, and his work holds an essential place in the canon of American literature. The film finds its structure from Baldwin’s own words. Read by Samuel Jackson in the most understated performance of his career, those words have a renewed relevance today.  Back-to-back shows have run at the Film Forum this month. It’s one of the most important films you’ll see all year.

Advertisements

Make it a Better World

“Try to live your life in a way that you will not regret years of useless virtue and inertia and timidity.

Take up the battle.

Take it up.

It’s yours.

This is your life.  This is your world.

I’ll be leaving it long before you under the ordinary set of circumstances. You make your own choices. You can decide life isn’t worth living, and that would be the worst thing you can do. How do you know, so far?

Try it. See.

So pick it up. Pick up the battle, and make it a better world.

Just where you are.

Yes, and it can be better, and it must be better, but it is up to us.”

–Thank you, Dr Angelou.

“Maya Angelou” Oprah Presents Master Class. OWN, 2011.

New Work: Texas Tykes Are At It Again

It’s January, and that means it’s time for a new season of Friday Night Tykes. The fourth season kicks off Tuesday, January 17 at 9p ET on Esquire Network.  While it’s a show about youth football, it’s really a show about parenting — and it’s sparked debate from the US Senate to living rooms across the country. Once again, we ask the questions: how hard should we be pushing our kids? How far is too far? And is youth sports really about the kids or the adults running it?

Check out the new season of Friday Night Tykes starting this Tuesday night at 9p ET on Esquire Network.

PS After working on this show for 4 years, shouldn’t I have some sort of honorary degree in youth sports storytelling?  Special thanks to the first person who mocks that up for me.

Busy K’s 2016 Booklist

What time is it?  It’s time for Busy K’s 2016 booklist!  I’m just realizing that most of these books are about war or apocalypse.  Thanks 2016!

Queen of the Climbers

A Woman’s Place is at the Top by Hannah Kimberley, St. Martin’s Press, 2017.

My friend Hannah Kimberley has written a book about Annie Smith Peck, one of the most accomplished women of the twentieth century that you have never heard of!  I had the honor of assisting Hannah with archival research over the past several years.  It was truly inspiring to read diaries, letters, and ephemera from such a tenacious character. I often felt like I had walked back in time: from the country’s reaction to Lincoln’s assassination, to the nail-biting climb to the top of Peru’s highest point, to the suffrage marches in New York City. Peck accomplished all of her feats as an unmarried woman and often (gasp) in pants!

Pre-orders will influence the first printing, and, if there are enough, it can put a book on the bestseller list, since all those pre-orders count towards first week book sales.  You can order it here.

On the eve of a big moment for women in politics, I recommend this book about another woman who carved her own path.

Turns Out the Bat is Mightier Than the Sword

Grand Central Station

(Oct 25, 2016 UPDATE: 7.57 million viewers watched Talking Dead this weekend.  Congratulations to the team and thank you all for tuning in!)

Y’all ok?  Do you need a hug? That was rough.  I’ve known what was going to happen since our trip to Atlanta this summer, but it was still hard to watch.  The good news is that this season will introduce our pals to new characters and communities. I can hardly wait.

Chris Hardwick wins “Hardest Working Host” in television for his performance.  A “very special” Talking Dead aired last night in Hollywood Forever cemetery with the entire cast available to talk about the season 7 premiere of The Walking Dead.  What they didn’t count on was the pouring rain.  What started out as a light sprinkle got progressively worse causing Hardwick’s mic to short out, but I have to hand it to him, he never once lost his cheer.  What a night!

Tune in for more exclusive behind-the-scenes interviews with cast and crew of Season 7 of The Walking Dead.

¡Vivan Los Muertos Vivientes!

Fear the Walking Dead, Episode 208 “Grotesque.” AMC. 2016.

Who watched Talking Dead following the Season 2 mid-season premiere of Fear the Walking Dead last night?  An awful lot of you, that’s who!  Thank you for continuing to make Talking Dead the number one talk show on television among adults ages 18-49.  Last night Talking Dead featured exclusive on-set interviews with Cliff Curtis, Colman Domingo, and Paul Calderon.  In June, I went down to Baja Studios in Rosarito, Mexico and met with the cast and crew.  The local Mexican crew that worked with us were fantastic and knew what I wanted even before I knew myself.  Gracias a todos.