Here I Come Columbus!

First, I just want to say that I really appreciate everyone who left a comment on my last post. Any of my friends will tell you that every now and then my head fills up with many thoughts and ideas on various issues, and eventually it has to come out somewhere. I certainly love having face to face discussions on issues such as race, but I kind of like the way it went here on blogger. Face to face, people tend not to say everything on their mind for fear of looking or sounding stupid, myself included. But as you can see, people left some very loooooong comments, which I loved. Just the fact that they took time to really dig down deep and say what they felt. I think some of those comments were even longer than my post!! Also, no one posted as anonymous, which I thought was cool too. By the way, I googled the word "thanks", and that pic is what popped up.

Now, on to better things. Well, I guess I'll talk about Thanksgiving here because it's been an entire week since I've worked. NOT FUN!!! I'm not going to rant about my boredom this time....just know that it is mind numbing!! Last Tuesday, the 21st, was the last time I worked and it was on the show Close to Home. It was a really long day, but I'm not going to complain about those anymore. With things slowing down because of the holidays, I will gladly work long days. Starting in December, the television industry goes on its winter hiatus, and that lasts for about 6 weeks. So, one of 2 things can happen. The scenario is that I won't be working at all. That means I can either get another job or apply for unemployment (which everyone here does) just to have some money coming in. I kind of like aspects of both, so I can't decide. Getting another job means looking, applying, interviewing, and probably end up doing something I'll hate anyways. Ahhh...decisions. The second scenario is that there could be a possibility that a few feature films will be shooting in town throughout December that need to use background, and so the television hiatus won't affect me at all. Obviously the second scenario is the one I'd prefer. But in actuality, I would REALLY just like to book a few commercials or get some roles in some movies so that I can be done with background altogether! I really am getting sick of it. Thank God that tv shows and movies need extras, because it's provided an easy income for me, but it's not what I came to California for, and I am so completely ready to move on it's not even funny! Sigh.........the life of an actor. I'm positive I'm not the only one feeling this way, I'm just whining right now. I've met people who have been doing this for 3 years!!! I don't want to even think about it!

So, Thanksgiving was really fun. A lady that I met on one of the sets invited me to her place for dinner. We met because I overheard her talking to someone one day, and she had an accent. I asked where she was from and she said, "Jamaica!". I'm a full 50% Jamaican in case anyone didn't know. My dad is from Kingston. We won't talk about the other half of me right now. It would be too confusing thanks to my beautiful mother. Remember a long time ago when I said the lady at the casting agceny looked at me, and then marked me down as "mixed" on the paper? Yeah, I'll just leave it at that! Anyways, after finding out I was Jamaican too, me and Ms. Jennifer talked about Jamaica all day long, and our families and the food, etc. I saw her 2 more times on some different sets, and then she invited me over to her place. She had some other people over as well, there was tons of food and dessert. So, we ate and watched movies. It was nice. Afrah had to work on Thanksgiving, poor thing. I guess that's part of being young. You work hard now so that later on you don't have to. That's what my dad always said. Afrah said her job catered in food and it was actually really good though, so that was good.

That's all I pretty much have to say since the rest of the last week just consisted of me watching A LOT of tv in my room.

OHHHHHH......duh. How could I forget to tie in the title of this post! I'm coming home for a visit yall. I'll be flying in on Thursday 12/7, hanging out with everyone hopefully, and then coming back to L.A. on Tuesday 12/12. I'm excited to see everyone and I hope to be partying on the weekend if I can get some friends to drive me around since I won't have a car.

See everyone then!

Once Again, I Have To Do This!!

PLEEEAAASSEEEE read this entire thing! I know it's long!

I promise I'm not going to turn my blog into a political tirade of subjects, but another issue that I feel extremely strong about has come up. So, I figured I might as well get it out of the way now since I just talked about how unbelievably pointless smoking is. Most of this post is going to be a cut and pasted article that I received, so I will use a different color font when I'm talking.

Most of you know by now that Michael Richards aka KKKramer from Seinfeld went on a lil racial rant the other night at a comedy club called The Laugh Factory, which just so happens to be within walking distance of where I live right on Sunset Blvd. In case you're living under a rock, here is a quick summary of what happened.

The 57-year-old comedian was caught off guard when two African American men in the audience shouted at him that he wasn't funny.

According to the video posted on TMZ.com, Richards snapped back:"Shut up! Fifty years ago we'd have you upside down with a f***in' forkup your a**!"

He then yelled: "You can talk! You can talk! You brave now motherf**er! Throw his a** out! He's a ni**er! He's a ni**er! He's ani**er!...Look, there's a ni**er!"

First, I just want to say that of course Michael Richards had the right to get mad. But there was absolutely no reason for the racial remarks. The guys in the audience weren't yelling racial slurs. Not only that, Michael is a COMEDIAN. They get booed all the time. It comes with the territory. You need to be able to handle that mess if you're going to be a comedian. Ok, now this next portion of the post is from an article that I get e-mailed to me from EURweb.com, an online entertainment magazine type thing. Darryl James wrote an article that brings up some very important issues. The article is loooong, but I urge you to read it all or at least skim the majority of it, because of course I want comments at the end. I'll add some of my thought within the article.

THE BRIDGE: I’m Sick, Niggers!
Michael Richards finally let it off of his chest.
By Darryl James

One of America’s favorite funnymen let the world know how he feels about Black people and some naive people are acting surprised.

Michael Richards, who played Cosmo Kramer on the popular television show, “Seinfeld,” lost his cool when a patron at the Laugh Factory, a comedy club in Los Angeles began heckling him.

Instead of making jokes about the heckler, Richards unleashed a discharge of anger and ignorance that was tainted with the stink of racism in the form of the word “Nigger.”

Surprised?

It’s America, people.

And, no matter how cool or how innocuous we imagine some people to be, racism is alive and well.

No matter how many Stupid Ass Negroes think that they are changing the meaning of the word “Nigger,” it is still vital and ugly, lurking in the hearts of racists all across the nation. (For any non-black person reading this that can't figure it out, he's talking about black people calling each other "Nigga". I believe this to be a major factor in confusing non-black people about what this word really means. I do not advocate the use of this word!)

No matter how many of those morons think that times have changed and accordingly, the attitudes of racists, racism is still pervasive in every portion of life in this nation.

Even as some people claim that the N word is just a word, it is still tossed as a harmful verbal bomb across the racial divide.

Some Blacks are up in arms, but I’m wondering why anyone is surprised.

After all, it’s just a word, right?

Of course it’s not just a word.

It’s a powerful slogan. It carries centuries of ignorance and evil, stained with the memories of strange fruit hanging from bloody trees.

The word carries the message of hatred and violence, of intolerance and injustice.

Even when it is unspoken, many of us who are aware realize that it is on the tips of tongues of many white Americans who pretend that they want us all to get along while they attack Affirmative Action, and while an entire entertainment industry thrives on deliberately and singularly targeted, acquired, contracted, promoted and purchased music denigrating our image—made by us, but not for us. (He's not saying that all white people are racist, but the truth is, many of them do use this word. I've heard people admit to it. It never went away folks!)

They realize that if you want to keep us down, it’s important that we are treated like Niggers and that our most negative behavior is encouraged and marketed while we are duped into thinking that we are so free in the world that the verbal symbol of racism no longer carries meaning.

Even when it is unspoken, many of us who are aware realize that the word is still held near and dear to the same white Americans who sit next to and work with us. (This is SO true! Please believe me when I say that racism is still alive and well in America. As a minority, I know! It's just that it's not out in the open anymore. It's under the radar. As many of my classmates know, an incident happened last year dealing with this same issue. Someone in my class who laughed with me and was so "cool" around me, just so happened to keep a blog FULL of racist and sexist ideas and comments. And this person wasn't even white, which probably makes it worse. Point is, the very people who you work closely with may not view you in the same light. Now, I know some people are thinking, "let it go Kris, that happened last year". Well, to those people, let me remind you that I was the only African American male in my class. I was called a nigger for the first time when I was in 3rd grade......by a second grade white girl!! I've gone into stores and been ignored. When I was in college, one of the black professors at my school woke up to a cross BURNING in her front yard!! Get it?? Just because I don't go running to my white friends telling them every single racist encounter that I have doesn't mean that they aren't happening!!! You can't let stuff go so easily when you deal with a lifetime of it!).

The word has not been put to death, nor has its negative emotional impact, even as other groups protect themselves against similar verbal assaults.

And, what say you, Jerry Seinfeld, when learning of your treasured friend’s verbal faux pas? “I’m sick,” say you?

Yeah, I’m sick, too.

But I wonder how sick you would be if a good old white comedian had uttered the “H” word? If a Jewish man had been heckling him and the white comedian unleashed his racism in a torrent of Hymies, and ranted about how decades ago, you would have been in an oven with a fork up your ass, how sick would you be?

And, really if you’ve been walking through this nation with your eyes open, how could you really be surprised? (I think most black people aren't surprised, but it's the non-racist white people that are. Since racism is so under the radar now, a white person who is not racist may think that it is vitually non-existent. I, however, deal with it to this day. I know it is very real).

Ask yourself: “Is there still racism in this nation?”

And ask yourself: “Don’t white people hear Stupid Ass Negroes calling each other “Nigger?”

Here’s the fifty thousand dollar question to be asked: “Were the two Black men in the club referring to each other as ‘Nigger’?” Or did racist old Kramer hear Black comedians sprinkling the word around liberally on the same stage he graced?

My goal is not to defend Michael Richards and his racist outburst. My point is that before we can continue to be up in arms about white racists hurling the N word at us in anger, we must first be angry at those of us who think that the word is no longer ugly and hurtful. We must first be angry with those of us who think that using it in front of other races and/or allowing other races to use it around us and/or with us is okay. (I totally agree here! Black people are not without fault! We need to stop calling each other "Nigga!" It serves no purpose whatsoever!)

My overarching message is that before we demand that anyone else respect us as a race, we must first respect ourselves.

Sure, some people got up and left after Michael Richards let the N word fly, but take a look at the tape and you’ll hear some people laughing and you’ll see some people remaining in their seats.

Some people thought Richards was still funny at that moment.

At the end of his tirade, Richards uttered more words that perhaps summed up the entire debacle. He said: “You see, there’s still those words, those words, those words.”

Yes, Michael Richards, I hear you.

At the end of every encounter with a Black person, there are still “those” words--words to hurl, which let them know how white racists view them. There are still those words, which even as some of us foolishly aim to de-fang, still carry a powerful sting.

Michael Richards understands what all too many Stupid Ass Negroes in America fail to.

No matter how much Affirmative Action gets you on their jobs, and no matter how much integration has placed you in their neighborhoods, and no matter how many young whites buy rap music and sing the words with their Black homies, many whites still want you at the back of the bus, or as Richards wistfully mused “hanging upside down with a fork up your ass.”

And, even if they can’t take action, “there’s still those words.”

Now, how do you feel about that word?

Personally, I’m sick.

I can't help it. Racism is something that I feel so very strongly about, and I hope at least a few people out there can try to understand why. A white person living in America can never fully understand, because they don't live it like a minority does. But, every white person knows the history that blacks and whites have in this country. WHY does racism still exist today??? That answer is easy!!! To this day, NOBODY wants to talk about it. NOBODY wants to sit down and deal with America's dark history. Yes, this does go back to slavery! I don't want anyone to pity Black people. But America needs to recognize its past, so that it can finally let it go!!

Now, on this one, I REALLY want people's comments and opinions. I've shared mine. Please. Leave your comment as anonymous if you must, I don't care! Just leave one. However, if you make a profound statement, or just leave a simple sentence with your name attached to it, because you know what you stand for and aren't ashamed, then that really says something about you!

Trying to Be Patient

I didn't realize it had been a week since my last post. I didn't do much this week at all. So, all I have to talk about is a crazy, I need to vent on one thing, and then the movie I did this week.

First off, the work week. Last Tuesday I was on ER again, but that of course was boring. Thursday and Friday, however, I was on the new Die Hard 4: Live Free or Die Hard movie with Bruce Willis. We shot on location downtown, and it was pretty fun except for the fact that we had to be on the set at 4 am!!! Bruce is actually really cool, and he just got his star on the Walk of Fame here in Hollywood a few weeks ago. He talked to us and joked with us. It was a fun 2 days. The scene we were shooting took place in Washington, D.C. and there wass an anthrax scare. So, all the FBI, SWAT and army people were called in of course. I played a National Guard as you can see from the two pictures. A lady that I met a few weeks ago told me I shoukd take pictures when I'm on a set in costume. I don't know why I never thought about that before. Well, I thought I had more to say about these 2 days, but I guess I don't.

Now, the crazy. I was in the grocery store last week, minding my own business, looking at some cheese or something, when this person comes around the corner. Actually, I heard them before I saw them. They were singing.......loudly. This person comes around the corner, and it is a flamboyantly gay, fat black guy. He has headphones on, is carrying a walkman in one hand and pushing his cart with his other hand. He is singing at the top of his lungs AND dancing as he is grocery shopping. I was clearly agitated, but I was laughing at the same time (is that even possible?) No one else in the store so much as batted an eyelash. I guess that means I'm still pretty new here. Anyways, this guy is singing and carrying on, hitting high notes and everything, doing dance moves as he drops stuff into his cart. I go on about my business as he skips off down an isle. So I'm in the checkout line and here he comes. And when I say he is singing loud, I'm talking about the way someone would sing at a concert. Gosh, I was so annoyed, because it's not like he sounded good or anything. I actually thought my right eardrum was malfunctioning, because nobody could sound this bad. In any case, he did not care what people thought. Then it made start thinking. As annoying as this guy was, maybe more of us should actually start being ourselves more and not care so much what other people think. I mean, I do the whole singing and dancing thing in front of the mirror in my room, just like we ALL do. But then, most of us put on a mask as we step outside of our homes and enter society. I'm not saying we should all go out acting like this guy, because after so long I'd probably end up punching someone, but we should not layer on the mask so thick.

Now, a brief venting process. I hope this doesn't make Andy G. mad because I swore I wouldn't really do this on my blog, but I just need to say this. I HATE SMOKERS! I was so glad to hear that Ohio went Smoke Free after the elections. Can anyone tell me one, just one benefit of smoking?? Can anyone tell me how smokers benefit society?? Let me explain why I brought this up. I was on the set the other day, and it seemed like every smoker in L.A. was there that day. I was highly agitated by them. Here's why I hate them (yes, I'm using the word hate, get over it!). 1). They are rude. It just baffles me that there is a group of us standing there talking, NOT smoking, and one of THEM decides to light up right next to us, filling the surrounding area with that toxic smoke. Did they ever even think that just because they want to smoke, not everyone else does? I was ready to cuss this one guy out for doing it, but someone beat me to it. Someone needs to make the law more specific, and make it so that there is a designated area for smokers on every street block. It should be something like a 12' by 12' box in a back alley somewhere. 2). They stink, simple as that. 3). All they are going to do with the butt when they are done is throw it on the ground, step on it, and leave it there. Is that much of a freaking hassle to just walk over to an ash tray or garbage can? 4). They are STUPID! There are so many people in this world who try to be healthy and take care of themselves, and unfortunately fall ill to some kind of cancer, whether it be a brain tumor, pancreatic cancer, etc. The smokers, however, are deliberately doing this to themselves. I wish every type of cancer could just somehow be transferred to the smokers of the world, because they're literally asking for it anyway. Lung cancer is the #1 most preventable type of cancer, period! Meaning, if you don't smoke, you probably won't get it, but if you do, you most likely will. Not only that, lung cancer is a slow and painful death! Why on God's green Earth would anyone do that to themselves?!!? I want to ask the smokers, would you purposely have unprotected sex with a person infected with HIV? I'm sure most people would say "No". So, why smoke??? Sorry to be so blunt, but everyone knows that's how I am, especially when I feel strongly about something.

I think that the fact that a few states are smoke free now, more people are getting the picture. I'd appreciate comments on this topic from anyone who reads this. I want to know other people's opinions.

Stupid Blogger!!

I just had a whole blog written with some good stuff in it, and I LOST IT ALL when I was trying to add pictures. I've been in a bad mood all day and I'm in no way typing this thing all over again, so here are highlights.

• I got another parking ticket. Afrah was with me when I parked my car. Coincidence? I think not!
• Thursday and Friday I was on The Nine and CSI: Miami
• Scott Wolfe is on The Nine; he is short. The Nine shot on location near USC.
• USC looks a lot like OSU
• CSI: Miami had great food as always. The casting director for this show told us to look as hot and as sexy as possible (clearly, this isn't a problem for me.......................................haha, JOKING people!!!!!)
• Grey's Anatomy is the number 1 watched show in the U.S., but CSI: Miami is the most popular tv show in the world. I've been on both. Pretty cool huh?
• I've met with some industry people, but that's all I'm going to say until I know for sure if something is going to go through
• Keep your fingers crossed for me if you're reading this

That's the jist of it. Now I'm going to bed mad as hell!

I'm in Pain!!!

I'm going to do a quick post right now so I won't have so much to write this weekend. Basically, right now I'm sitting here in pain because I did a Tae-Bo workout with Billy Blanks yesterday. I got paid $100 to work out; I wasn't going to pass that up. Unfortunately, since I haven't been working out as often as I should, I pay the price by being sore for the next few days. The workout was intense, but good. His new routine is called Tae-Bo: Amped. I've never done Tae-Bo before, but it obviously is really good seeing how much pain I'm in, so I may actually get the video when it comes out. Yes, there were some people there who had no business being there. This includes a lady who looked just like Whitney Houston. Unfortunately, she looked like the drugged up Whitney at her darkest hour. Really, it was bad. I bet she was like 35, yet she looked over 50. She had on a poop brown wig, she was missing a few teeth in the back and she was doing Tae-Bo in boots....with heels!! Visualize with me here people...I'm NOT exaggerating. She looked almost identical to the picture to the left, and everyone yesterday was joking that Whitney Houston was doing Tae-Bo with us. I felt kind of bad for her because she looked so bad! Of course I forgot my camera....just when I needed it most!
There was also a man there who I think may have been a little slow mentally. I say that only because of the way he interacted with people and the way he communicated. In any case, during the Tae-Bo taping, he was just there flailing his arms around, not doing ANYTHING that looked like what the rest of us were doing. Guess where he stood?? Yep, right next to me. It was messing me up because I was laughing so damn hard! And that reminds me of one more thing, Tae-Bo is done in counts of 8, just like dancing........meaning.......rhythm is involved. I can't describe the number of people there who can not hold a beat. You know what I mean. You've seen these people in clubs "dancing like nobody's watching". I guess that's how you gotta do it. The whole day was just a big laugh fest for me. Extra ab workout for me!!!!

So the other day, actually about a week ago, I got locked out of my apartment again. It wasn't my fault this time. There is a deadbolt lock on our front door that we don't use. I've never even touched it. Well, this one time it decided to lock when I left. I came back, and Afrah was with me, and I couldn't get in. Not to worry, I thought. It's the middle of the day this time (as opposed to the middle if the night like last time), so I can go to the apartment manager and see if they have a spare key. We don't even have a key for the deadbolt!! Do you think he had the key? Not with my luck. I told him we don't use the deadbolt and this had never happened before, yet he kept asking me over and over if me and my roommate were having problems. I laughed because we get along great and my roommate was out of town anyway. Yet John (manager), kept inquiring whether my roommate was a "cool guy" or not. To make a long story short, I had to climb through my window again, with John giving me a boost this time. I should make a note here that this has only happened to me twice in my 4 months in L.A. so far, and BOTH times Afrah was with me! Do you see the connection??

I think that's all I wanted to say now, other than that it got to 94 degrees in Los Angeles yesterday, which broke the record of 92 degrees set 108 years ago. I am loving the heat. It's rainy and in the 50's in Ohio. I don't miss that crap at all!!!!

That's More Like It!

Back to a busy work week, and I love it. I love being busy. Makes me feel like I'm actually doing something with my life. It's been a week since I've posted because I've been so busy and I have a lot to share here. I'll try to keep it short.

Starting with last Friday, I worked on the show Las Vegas, and I was recalled to work on it this past Tuesday and Wednesday. This show has long days, so in those 3 days alone, I worked a total of 45 hours! It was grueling, but the money will be nice indeed. As for who is on the show...........Josh Duhamel is of course, and remember I worked with him on the set of Transformers. He actually remembered me too. Josh is by far the coolest person I've met so far. He talks to everyone, laughs and jokes with people. He is an all around cool guy. Nikki Cox is also on the show. You may remember her from Unhappily Ever After. I just need to say that Nikki is TINY! She is so small I couldn't believe it. I could actually see her ribs through her chest. She is just so skinny. She is on a billboard here in Hollywood and they totally photoshopped some curves on her, because she doesn't have any in person. However, her face is very pretty. She's beautiful in the face. In my opinion, she is prettier than Molly Sims, who is also on the show. Again, Molly is so petite it's scary. Nikki and Molly don't look anorexic, but if either of them lost just 5 more ounces, they would. I guess that really is Hollywood though.

I felt comforted by the fact that I met some crazies on this set. I thought I had lost them all. First, were two girls that I was talking to. I can't get into details here though. Let's just say that after finding out that I was a med student, they started asking me questions. You know, those "questions", lol. And they conversation turned extremely explicit! haha The other girl I met was named Stephanie. I called her "spunky" because she is 5'1", 28 years old but looks 15, and full of energy. She was constantly bouncing off the walls. She's really nice, but I was caught off guard when I asked her how her weekend was, and she informed me that she had great sex with her husband. Now, that doesn't seem odd right? I mean she is married. The "crazy" part is that she and her husband live in separate apartments. I've never heard of this before. They aren't separated. He isn't in the service. He lives right here in L.A. She talked about how much she loved him, but when I asked why they lived apart, she told me it's because "he gets on her nerves". WTF?? They came to some agreement to live apart?? He's a chef, she has 5 degrees because she "loves school", yet she is acting. Does this seem odd to anyone else? Please let me know if I'm the crazy one!

Today I was on the new show How I Met Your Mother. This show stars Neil Patrick Harris aka Doogie Hauser and Alyson Hannigan from Buffy the Vampire Slayer and the American Pie movies. I don't have much to say about Neil except that he is cool. Alyson is SMALL. Geez, do you see a trend here?? She is so skinny, yet her face is pretty. She is prettier in person I think. Guest starring on the show today was Wayne Brady from Who's Line is it Anyway. Cool guy and really funny. He had us cracking up in between takes.

That pretty much sums things up. I guess it was shorter than I thought. I'm taking some pics that I will post on my next one for my old time friend Katie W. Oh yeah, Halloween night was a DISASTER, but I'm not getting into that right now. It will just make me angry again if I talk about it. I'm probably forgetting some stuff, but hopefully I'll remember by the weekend.