Rants and Ravings

Hello loyal friends and subjects...Joey's back.

Now, here we go...stay with me, because it's gonna be quick...Super Bowl, Candle in the Dark, Oscars, Seeing old friends, Morehouse bball, Dr. T...

Super Bowl
I enjoyed watching the game. The commercials were subpar, but the latter quarters of the game, more than made up for the humdrum first half. T.O. was spectacular. The Pats did what they do best...win. McNabb showed flashes of brilliance, and a Black man was the MVP despite all of the Brady deification. I'll definitely watch the game next year when New England wins again despite losing their coordinators for both sides of the ball.

Candle in the Dark
I went to Candle in the Dark last night. For those of you who aren't familiar with it, it's a beautiful gala awards presentation that my alma mater, Morehouse College www.morehouse.edu puts on every year to benefit the scholarship programs. Each year awards are given away to great men in a wide variety of fields. It is a beautiful time with a great deal of positivity and love in the room. Honorees in the past have been...Ossie Davis, Denzel Washington, Laurence Fishburne, Spike Lee, David Satcher, Ray Charles, Quincy Jones, Samuel L. Jackson, Tom Joyner, Muhammad Ali, Maynard Jackson, Andrew Young, Ken Chenault, etc. Last night, Dr. Charles Ogletree, Berry Gordy and a host of other remarkable men were honored. At the conclusion of each Candle gala, all of the Morehouse men in the room get together and sing 'Dear Old Morehouse', and last night was the first time that I did it as an alum at the Candle. The feeling was AMAZING. What was also amazing was the genuine sense that each of these great men, captains of industry, great thinkers, physicians, and educators were all genuinely humbled by the awards themselves and extremely grateful. I'd never realized it before, and that made the evening that much more special.

The Oscars
Next Sunday night, it's Oscar time. Here are my picks...
Best Picture - The Aviator (The Aviator)
Best Director - Marty Scorcese, The Aviator (Taylor Hackford, Ray)
Best Actor - Jamie Foxx, Ray (Jamie Foxx, Ray)
Best Actress - Hilary Swank, Million Dollar Baby (Annette Bening, Being Julia)
Best Supporting Actor - Morgan Freeman, Million Dollar Baby (Alan Alda, The Aviator)
Best Supporting Actress - Cate Blanchett, The Aviator (Sophie Okenedo, Hotel Rwanda)

The titles in parentheses are what I'd love to see happen...but probably won't. I don't like Chris Rock, and I've never found him really that funny, so I don't expect anything special from his performance.

Seeing Old Friends
There's nothing like seeing my old friends from Morehouse. Good times indeed. This past weekend, I hung out with Geoffrey Bennett, Wu Crooms, Raj Whalen, Lo Murray, Lee Woodfin, Joey Hill, Vo Sterling, Kavan Clifford, etc. Good times indeed.

Morehouse Basketball
The guys are up and down this year, but when they're on, nobody can beat them. I watched Morehouse totally handle and destroy the same CAU team by over 20 points that two weeks earlier beat them by 8 points and held them to 52.

I'm Joe, and that's how I see it.