When Trannies Attack
Written on 8/12/2008 11:50:00 AM by The Unemployed Dad.
Eeny, Meeny, Miny, Moe
15 years ago
Bernie Mac Dead
Written on 8/09/2008 07:50:00 PM by The Unemployed Dad.
Sad news today as we learned that Bernie Mac, the actor and comedian who teamed up in the casino heist caper "Ocean's Eleven" and gained a prestigious Peabody Award for his sitcom "The Bernie Mac Show," died Saturday at age 50.
Bernie Mac, 50, was nominated for a Grammy for "The Original Kings of Comedy."
Bernie Mac, 50, was nominated for a Grammy for "The Original Kings of Comedy."
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"Actor/comedian Bernie Mac passed away this morning from complications due to pneumonia in a Chicago area hospital," his publicist, Danica Smith, said in a statement from Los Angeles.
The comedian suffered from sarcoidosis, an inflammatory lung disease that produces tiny lumps of cells in the body's organs, but had said the condition went into remission in 2005. He recently was hospitalized and treated for pneumonia, which his publicist said was not related to the disease.
Mac's brand of comedy caught flak when he was heckled during a surprise appearance at a July fundraiser for Democratic presidential candidate and fellow Chicagoan Barack Obama.
Toward the end of a 10-minute standup routine, Mac joked about menopause, sexual infidelity and promiscuity, and used occasional crude language. The performance earned him a rebuke from Obama's campaign. Video Watch how Steve Harvey remembers Bernie Mac »
But despite controversy or difficulties, in his words, Mac was always a performer.
"Wherever I am, I have to play," he said in 2002. "I have to put on a good show."
Mac worked his way to Hollywood success from an impoverished upbringing on Chicago's South Side. He began doing standup as a child, and his film career started with a small role as a club doorman in the Damon Wayans comedy "Mo' Money" in 1992. In 1996, he appeared in the Spike Lee drama "Get on the Bus."
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* Comic had been said to be recovering
* iReport.com: Share your appreciation of Bernie Mac
He was one of "The Original Kings of Comedy" in the 2000 documentary of that title that brought a new generation of black standup comedy stars to a wider audience.
"The majority of his core fan base will remember that when they paid their money to see Bernie Mac ... he gave them their money's worth," Steve Harvey, one of his co-stars in "Original Kings," said Saturday.
Mac went on to star in the hugely popular "Ocean's Eleven" franchise with Brad Pitt and George Clooney.
Comedian Carl Reiner, who also appeared in "Ocean's Eleven" and its two sequels, said Saturday that he was "in utter shock," because he thought Mac was improving. "He was just so alive. I can't believe he's gone," he said. iReport.com: Share your appreciation for Bernie Mac
Reiner told KNX-AM in Los Angeles that other comics had talked to the audience as Mac did on "The Bernie Mac Show," but "he took it to a new level."
"It was such a popular show because of his bigger-than-life persona," Reiner said.
His turn with Ashton Kutcher in 2005's "Guess Who" topped the box office. It was a comedy remake of the classic Spencer Tracy and Katharine Hepburn drama "Guess Who's Coming to Dinner?" with Mac as the black dad who's shocked that his daughter is marrying a white man.
Mac also had starring roles in "Bad Santa," "Charlie's Angels: Full Throttle" and "Transformers."
The comedian drew critical and popular acclaim with his Fox television series "The Bernie Mac Show," which aired more than 100 episodes from 2001 to 2006.
The series about a man's adventures raising his sister's three children won a Peabody Award in 2002. At the time, judges wrote they chose the sitcom for transcending "race and class while lifting viewers with laughter, compassion -- and cool."
In real life, he was very much like his character on that series, his daughter, Je'niece Childress, told The Associated Press on Saturday.
"He was the king of his household," Childress said in Chicago, describing Mac as "a loving grandfather" to her daughter, his only grandchild.
"The Bernie Mac Show" garnered Golden Globe and Emmy nominations for Mac.
"But television handcuffs you, man," he said in 2001. "Now everyone telling me what I CAN'T do, what I CAN say, what I SHOULD do, and asking, 'Are blacks gonna be mad at you? Are whites gonna accept you?"'
He also was nominated for a Grammy award for best comedy album in 2001 along with his "The Original Kings of Comedy" co-stars, Harvey, D.L. Hughley and Cedric the Entertainer.
Chicago music producer Carolyn Albritton said she was Bernie Mac's first manager, having met him in 1991 at Chicago's Cotton Club, where she hosted an open-mike night.
"From very early on, I thought he was destined for success," Albritton said Saturday. "He never lost track of where he came from, and he'd often use real life experiences, his family, his friends, in his routine. After he made it, he stayed a very humble man. His family was the most important thing in the world to him."
In 2007, Mac told David Letterman on CBS' "Late Show" that he planned to retire soon.
"I'm going to still do my producing, my films, but I want to enjoy my life a little bit," Mac told Letterman. "I missed a lot of things, you know. I was a street performer for two years. I went into clubs in 1977."
Mac was born Bernard Jeffrey McCullough on October 5, 1957, in Chicago. He grew up on the city's South Side, living with his mother and grandparents. His grandfather was the deacon of a Baptist church.
In his 2004 memoir, "Maybe You Never Cry Again," Mac wrote about having a poor childhood -- eating bologna for dinner -- and a strict, no-nonsense upbringing.
"I came from a place where there wasn't a lot of joy," Mac said in 2001. "I decided to try to make other people laugh when there wasn't a lot of things to laugh about."
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Mac's mother died of cancer when he was 16. In his book, Mac said she was a support for him and told him he would surprise everyone when he grew up.
"Woman believed in me," he wrote. "She believed in me long before I believed.
What A Wonderful World
Written on 8/03/2008 12:29:00 PM by The Unemployed Dad.
I found this on the "interweb" and wanted to share it here. It is the best "shadow puppetry" that I have ever seen. Please to enjoy.
A Day with My Family
Written on 8/02/2008 09:10:00 PM by The Unemployed Dad.
I had the joy of spending the day with my family. 2 of my wife's sisters are in so all the cousins, minus 2 have had the opportunity of seeing each other these last couple of days. We had promised the kids that we would take them out this weekend, so we did.
We got up this morning and the house was empty. Everyone went to breakfast except us, so we went ahead and got ready to head to Chattanooga. We first went to K-mart to look around and kill time until our restaurant opened. The city was busy from the tax free weekend for back to school was in full swing.
Nothing caught our eye at K-mart, except for a cool looking gazebo. You can see it here: http://www.kmart.com/shc/s/p_10151_10104_028W853287110001P?vName=For+the+Home&cName=Furniture+%26+Storage&sName=Outdoor
Well, we left there and went to our favorite restaurant, Ichiban. It is a Japanese Hibachi grill steakhouse. It is very great! The kids love how they cook right in front of you, and especially love the fire tricks. The volcano of onions are their favorite trick. The food was awesome and we were stuffed, so we left. (on a side note, the lunch price at this place is VERY reasonable..We have went there for dinner, but for a family of 5 like us, that is too expensive, but lunch is fine.)
We then proceeded, as promised, to the movie theater to see Space Chimps. I figure it is an animated movie, so it will be good for the kids, and I love Andy Samburg from Saturday Night Live, so I would enjoy it also. I was wrong...not about the kids liking it, but about me. It was not very well written at all, and on top of that there were several sexual references in there also. A couple are as follows:
"Is that a banana in your pocket" or "It isn't the size of the machine, it's how you use it". Is that wholesome for a kids movie. Maybe I am wrong, but I assumed they were marketing this for kids...
On another subject of the movie theater. They had this movie playing in the smallest theater there, which isn't so bad, it wasn't very popular. But we were the first people there and Brooklyn and Benjamin wanted to sit at the very top. We were in there for about 5 minutes alone, when an old grandma and her 2 grand kids show up and SIT RIGHT NEXT TO US ON THE TOP ROW!!!! Seriously?! It's Friggin' Ridiculous.
We got out of the movie and were really tired, so we went home and the kids played with their cousins.
We got hungry for dinner and asked the kids what they wanted, and they said that they wanted Pizza Hut because of the New Tuscani Pasta. We have been wanting to try that. Bad decision. I should have just gotten the Pizza Mia deal that we usually get, because the Chicken Alfredo Tuscani Pasta wasn't that great. Benjamin and Sophia wanted a personal pan cheese pizza, so I got that for them. The kids never complain like I do though. I love them for that. They are so grateful for what little they get that we can get them. I need to take some lessons from them and try to be more content.
All in all it was a WONDERFUL day. Now I get to blog about it and let the "internets" know about my life. You all are invited to relive my life. I hope that I can be interesting enough for you to follow me. Have a good night!
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