What ever happened to...

Tuesday 10/2/2007
2:25 p.m.

Today I am starting a new topic that I will post on weekly. "What ever happened to..." will discuss those long forgotten stars from the past that you may or may not wonder "what ever happened to..." him or her. I hope that these will be informative and entertaining. If not, stop reading my blog, haters.

What ever happened to Cree Summer, a.k.a. Winifred "Freddie" Brooks from the show I used to watch every morning getting ready for high school, A Different World?




Well, before we get to where she is now, I want to take a look at where she came from...

Cree was born in LA in the summer of '69. Bryan Adams totally rocked that song about her. He was obviously a pervert if he was writing about a baby. Anyway, Cree grew up on an Aboriginal reserve in Saskatchewan. Her dad is Canadian actor Don Francks

and her mama is Lili Red Eagle, a member of the Plains Cree First Nations.

Her brother, Rainbow Sun Francks, is a former MuchMusic VJ and former cast member of the television show Stargate Atlantis.

Pretty cool. If you were Native American and lived on a reservation, what would your name be? Mine would be Ohoyo Hobachi (wise woman who mimics - not yo ho, or Habachi Ho - shut up).

You may have heard Cree before ever seeing her on screen and not even realized it. Cree voiced the lovable little precocious pigtailed niece on Inspector Gadget.

She also voiced characters in The Care Bears Movie and Ewoks.

We finally got to see the bright smiling face and crazy hair when Cree was cast as "Freddie" Brooks on A Different World.


Remember the episode where Freddie has a crush on Hillman's star baseball player? He's like this big stud and Freddie totally digs him, but Dwayne Wayne hears him talking smack about some girl he tried to get with and it really bothers him. D.Wayne goes to ask Walter what he should do. After hearing the story, Walter tells him it's Date Rape. Later on in the show, a dance takes place, and Garth goes with Freddie alone somewhere, and he tries to get up on her. Lucky enough, Dwayne comes and beats down Garth. After that, Garth tells Walter what happened, and Walter takes him to jail for what he did to Freddie, and the other woman that he had tried to get freaky with. Ooh. Note: Never fall for a guy named Garth.

After a few years on A Different World, Cree went back to doing cartoon voices. In fact, she has voiced over 70 characters. Her most famous include: Tiny Toon Adventures (1990) as Elmyra Duff and Mary Melody (which she reprised for Pinky, Elmyra & the Brain), Aka Pella in Histeria!, Susie Carmichael in Rugrats and its spin-off All Grown Up!, Dulcy the dragon in Sonic the Hedgehog, Princess 'Kida' Kidagakash for Disney's Atlantis: The Lost Empire, Valerie Gray in Danny Phantom, Numbuh 5 and Cree Lincoln in Codename: Kids Next Door and Miranda from As Told by Ginger.

Like a lot of actors and actresses, Cree tried her hand at singing. In 1990, she sang background vocals on two tracks for fellow A Different World cast member Jasmine Guy's self titled LP. In 1993 she released an album with her band Subject to Change. In 1999, Summer released her solo album Street Faërie produced by and featuring guest artist (and friend) Lenny Kravitz, but the album was not hugely successful. Although Summer toured as Kravitz's opening act, her label dropped her and a planned spot with Lilith Fair was canceled. The label continued to promote the album, however, sending out a four-track sampler to radio and issuing remix singles of the track "Revelation Sunshine" in Europe, with a special single specifically for Austria.

Wanna hear some songs from her album Street Faërie?

Source: Wikipedia

Chunk of Chuck

Tuesday 10/2/2007
1:40 p.m.


April 1990

By: Chuck Klosterman

March 28, 2006

A year of magical thinking glimpsed through the lens of the craziest Spin ever

I looked at her, sleeping now. Her skinny body looked formless in her disheveled sweatshirt. Her mouth was slightly open, her large, beautiful brown eyes shut away. Her hair was flat and lifeless from traveling, lying in the darkened compartment in the pale, colorless illumination of the unseen station lights.

Well, this is it. It's over. For the past six months, I've been writing these nostalgic, semi-fond, Ken Burns-ian reexaminations of old issues of Spin, but this is the last one. This is the last one, and it's because I don't think I will ever be able to find another edition of Spin as bizarre as this April 1990 "Fifth Anniversary Issue." The paragraph you just read -- the one about the doe-eyed woman sleeping in an East German train station -- is the verbatim introduction to this particular issue. For some reason, Spin founder Bob Guccione Jr. elected to use his editor's letter to explain why his marriage had failed. And dude comes hard with the darkness. "I have failed at everything I have ever done," Guccione writes. "We all have. Success is more than ephemeral, it's mythological: It doesn't, finally, exist." That's some heavy shit, brother. Thanks for the bum-out. What ever happened to asking us if we were ready to rock?

The Internet has made people boring. I really, truly believe that. We all like to pretend that the world keeps getting crazier, but we're fooling ourselves (and this issue proves it). Kanye West mentions that George Bush doesn't care about black people, and everyone acts like he punched a puppy to death on Sesame Street. However, look at what ex-Public Enemy figurehead Professor Griff said in the April 1990 issue, in an allegedly apologetic Q&A titled "Repentant Professor." Remember, this is his apology: "I said that the Jews are responsible for the majority of wickedness in the world, which is untrue. There are certain Jews and certain isolated incidents, but definitely not the majority of the wickedness in the world. This is a big earth." C'mon, Mr. Griff, what's with all the flip-flopping?

There are pages upon pages of piping-hot talk in this anniversary joint. It makes me long for the days when people besides Ron Artest were publicly insane. "Fuck that black power shit: We don't give a fuck," quoth the oft-candid N.W.A's Eazy-Muthafuckin'-E on page 34. "Free South Africa? We don't give a fuck. I bet there ain't anybody in South Africa wearing a button saying, free compton or free california. They don't give a damn about us, so why should we give a damn about them?" It was, as they say, a different era. Even the most earnest of rock 'n' roll fellows were temporarily infused with an abject sense of nihilism. "The problem with voting," a popular singer quips on page 42, "is that no matter who you vote for, the government always gets in." The artist who said that was Bono, who is quite possibly in your hometown right this very moment, canvassing the neighborhood for his upcoming run for city alderman. Was this really what life was like in 1990? Who knows? Maybe.

I was a senior in high school in April 1990. It was, as they say, a simpler time. Actually, that's not true; being in high school was 1,000 times more complicated than my life is now, despite that it was about 10,000 times more boring. It sucked. But perhaps you're in high school right now; perhaps you are reading this column instead of listening to your physics teacher. And maybe you will pick up some other magazine 16 years from now, and it will describe the cultural landscape of 2006, and you will read about how your entire generation was defined by the music of the Killers and the vapidity of Lindsay Lohan and the popularity of American Idol, and it will rhetorically ask if you remember blogging about all those fight clubs that you started. This is the bad news about your personal future. But here's the good news: You won't relate to any of it. Because no one ever does.

Oh yeah…and then you'll get a divorce.

Source: Spin.com

Listen up

Tuesday 10/2/2007
11:46 a.m.

About a month or so ago, I commented on a post that I forgot to call my grandfather on Grandparent's Day. I said that the boycotter told me it was on Monday, when in actuality, it was on Sunday. I made it seem like it was his fault that I missed the day. It wasn't his fault. The calendar he was reading showed that Grandparent's Day was on Monday. He had nothing to do with me not calling my grandfather. So, I am apologizing for portraying boycotter in a negative light. Boycotter, if you ever stop boycotting my blog, I'm sorry. I'm stupid. You're smart. I was wrong. You were right. You're the best. I'm the worst. You're very good looking. I'm not attractive.

Daily Rudd

Tuesday 10/2/2007
11:44 a.m.

Go Shorty, it's your birthday

Tuesday 10/2/2007
11:07 a.m.

We're running, just as fast as we can. I'm not sure where we are, possibly in a dark alley running from a burglar. Or maybe we're running through the woods from a psychopathic killer. Or perhaps a vicious dog is chasing us through the park. We're holding on to one another's hand. While this is sweet and all, it's kind of slowing me down. I run just a little bit faster than you and you're having trouble keeping up. Plus, your hand is kind of sweaty. It's kind of grossing me out. We're trying to get away into the night. Like the night is going to help us out any when we're running. Especially if we're in the woods. I'll probably trip on a root and then go flying head first into a big tree. Or there'll be a big hole in the ground that's covered in leaves and I'll fall into it and you'll just keep running. Then you'll stop to see where I went and the killer will get you. And I'll just be thinking "Booty traps. That's what I said. Booby traps." But I guess I don't fall, because you put you arms around me, and we stumble to the ground. Oh great, here we go again with the falling. I knew this running in the night was going to get me hurt. I'm anemic and I bruise easily. If all of this stumbling leaves me black and blue, I'm really going to be pissed. So, after you make me fall down to the ground then you say, "I think we're alone now. There doesn't seem to be anyone one around." Well thank God. I guess that means we lost that psycho or the burglar. But that damn dog could still be around. "Anyone" implies a person. And while dogs have human characteristics, they are definitely not people. So, at least I won't get robbed or chopped up into pieces. I'll just get mauled by a vicious rabid mutt. Thanks. "I think we're alone now." No. Really? Didn't you just say that? Do you think I'm deaf? I heard you the first time. I looked around the first time you said it and I didn't see anyone. I know. We're alone. "The beating of our hearts is the only sound." Uh, no it's not. You keep repeating yourself in this annoying whisper. I wish the beating of my heart was the only sound. And yeah, I can hear it. You just made me run like 2 miles through the night. I'm in shape and all, but 2 miles? In the dark? Please. The only sound you're about to hear is silence. This is the worst date I've ever been on. You suck. Don't call me, I'll call you.



Oh yea, today is Tiffany's birthday. She's like 36 or something. Remember when she was totally rocking out in the mall? I used to always go to the mall, thinking I was going to see Tiffany or at least Deborah (not Debbie anymore, she's grown up now) Gibson, but no. I even had that little hand by the face dance move down pat.
I'm not going to bore you with the details of her life. Or, to those fans, I'm sorry that I'm not going to fill you in on all of the exciting and mind blowing events that have happened in her life. However, I will tell you what old girl's doing now.



After dropping 28 lbs on Celebrity Fit Club, she signed a record deal with 10 Spot Records. She made a few tv appearances last year as well: Ugly Betty, One Tree Hill, and Pepper Dennis. And if you really want to know what she's up to, check out her website.

Weekend update: Friday

Monday 10/1/2007
10:52 a.m.

Normally my weekends are filled with wild and crazy shenanigans, however, this weekend was pretty chill and I don't really have much to update you on.

Friday:
It was a perfect day outside, so my boss kindly let me go home early. Well, I made a detour before going home and did a little "just got my paycheck" shopping. Then I went home, showered, walked me dog and left with my man for an evening of gallery hopping. We decided to start the hop at a wine tasting.

We were enjoying a few whites with a group of 7 or 8 other people (adults) when in comes this group of barely 21 idiots. Imagine: We are relaxing, enjoying the sweet spirits, listening to the sommelier talk about the different wines, sharing a few laughs... BOOM. CRASH. POW. These two bottled blond bimbos burst through the crowd, "We want to try some wine." Then one starts picking up the bottles, "Ooh, I want to try this one." All of the adults are looking around at each other, thinking, "What the hell are these idiots doing?" Well, the sommelier checked their ids and poured them a tiny bit in a class. The bimbos looked at the small amount, disappointed that they didn't get a full glass and left. Talk about killing the mood. Relieved that the thorn in the pinot was gone, we finished the tasting and left with a bottle of red.

It probably wasn't a good idea to start the hop at the wine tasting. We didn't get drunk or anything like that. It's just that all of the cool galleries were at the opposite end of the hop, so all we got to see were antique shops and pottery. Note to self: bring your own wine to the hop and start with the galleries.

After hopping, we walked to Maido, a Japanese restaurant and sake bar. Now, Maido serves sushi, but is not known as a sushi restaurant. There is a reason for this. And that reason is... THE SUSHI SUCKS. We've only been there once before, so we thought we would give it another shot. I should have taken a few shots before I tried to eat it. I don't know what they put in their rolls, but I'm pretty sure it's chopped up beef jerky.

For reals. It was in the roll we had last time and I tried to pick something totally different, but it was in our roll again. HOW???? WHY???? Luckily Boycotter ordered a tempura Bento box, so we had some food that was good. Just not the sushi...my favorite meal...what I was craving all day...dreaming about at work...

After a disappointing dinner, we hopped in the car and headed over to our friend Nick's house. He had planned to have a fire outside and we were going to drink and roast some marshmallows. However, right as we pulled into the driveway, Nick was putting out the fire. Apparently a neighbor down the street had a stick up his ass and complained about the smoke. Uh, shut your freakin' window and you won't have to worry about it. So, no fire. We hung out inside instead and played foosball. Oh, and I have to tell you about Nick's cousin. Nick, if you're reading this, I'm sorry.

So, let me give you a physical description of him first. He sort of resembles Mr. Clean.

He's big(muscular big), bald, wears Adidas workout gear out on a Friday night and has some tatoos. Now, let me describe his personality. Have you ever seen that skit on SNL with Penelope, the lady who tries to one-up everyone?

Example: Nick's friend Nick came over. Somehow the conversation turned to the topic of tattoos. Nick was talking about his and then the cousin was all like, "Ooh ooh. Let's have a tattoo off." Yeah cousin, good idea. So we see Nick's, which were really cool. Then we see cousin's. Lame does not describe them. One is on his inner bicep. It's something written in Hebrew and the letters fade from green to purple. I can't remember what he said it meant, but I'm hoping the tattoo artist wrote "douche" and told him it meant something else. Oh, and he said he picked Hebrew because his roommate is 1/4 Jewish. Cool dude. So am. I would have told you to eff off if you asked my opinion. His next tattoo is just as cool. It's an alien, supposedly bursting out of his arm. It looks like a cartoon alien head. Not bursting. Just sitting. Just lame. And finally the best of all his tattoos - a self portrait of him break dancing, doing a head spin. "I'm kind of narcissistic." Really? You think? Nah. I have two tattoos that are not cool at all that I got when I was 18. Compared to his, mine look like they should be displayed in The Museum of Coolest Tattoos.

Anyway, not only is he like Penelope, he is also like Rodeo from Rock of Love. This ho has done everything, and apparently so has cousin. He's a physical trainer. He runs from IN to KY every day. He's a dj and spins, but he only spins vinyl. He doesn't do that digital stuff like a lot of djs are doing now. He dances - poppin' and lockin' - which he demonstrated to us. Hahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha. Oh my god. That was the funniest thing I've ever seen. Let's see, what else does he do? He is wanted in Canada for DUI or something. He puffs in Germany. He likes all kind of music. He almost got arrested at Memphis in May. He loves to drink. He doesn't eat fast food and is always on a diet. He loves Sprite Zero. His girlfriend has a twin that used to sleep with his roommate. His girlfriend bought his entire outfit for $23.00 at Value City (this I heard him tell multiple people). Basically, he may be the most annoying person I have ever encountered in my life. I'm sorry Nick, please don't invite your cousin over when you know other people will be around.

So after we couldn't stand it anymore, we left Nick's and headed home. Ahh, home, I can relax and go to bed. Wrong. Apparently Sidney was starving to death again and decided to eat everything out of the trash can in my room and the bedroom. Paper was everywhere. Let's just say, considering I had a sever case of PMS, it's a wonder that she is still breathing today. I went a little balistic on her and I think she is scared of me now. So, after displaying my fit of rage, I took some headache medicine and went to bed.

Daily Rudd

Monday 10/1/2007
10:27 a.m.