JOE : SPORTS

MARCH MADNESS EDITION

COMING SOON...

JOE Magazine Present Their Oscar Winners

The Oscar Races Are (Almost) All Dead Heats

Helen Mirren looks like a sure thing, but after that, well, they don’t call it gambling for nothing.

Web-Exclusive Commentary
By Sean Smith

- The smartest way to win your Oscar pool this year may be to not play. At no time in recent history have the races been this unpredictable. Will Martin Scorsese finally win? Is Helen Mirren a lock? Will Eddie Murphy be a shoo-in, or get scuttled by Alan Arkin? Is “Borat” going to get skunked? And which of the five nominees will score the Academy Award for best picture? The ballots are in, the fates are sealed, but the envelopes won’t be opened until Sunday, Feb 25. If you can’t wait—and insist on gambling—JOE Magazine offers this insider analysis on every category. We’ve spoken to Hollywood’s smartest Oscar strategists and voters, we’ve tracked the races all year, and we’ve studied history for patterns and precedents. We still don’t know what the hell is going to happen, but we think we’ve got it right. Just don’t bet the house on it.

BEST PICTURE

Talk about a nail-biter. There’s no certain front runner in this category. The two top contenders are “Babel” and “Little Miss Sunshine,” which may be the most discordant pairing in Academy history. “Sunshine” has won awards from the Golden Globes, the Screen Actors Guild, the Writers Guild and the Producers Guild. It’s a breakout indie hit, a fave with the public, and there’s genuine affection for it within the industry. But the Academy also turns an eye toward history when choosing the best picture winner. This story about a family of losers may, ultimately, be too lightweight. It’s nominated in four categories, which indicates it has broad support, but it got overlooked in the directing and editing categories, which is significant. In the last 20 years, no film has won best picture without being at least nominated for editing, and 60 percent of best pic winners have earned both prizes. What’s more, the Academy consistently snubs comedy. In the past 20 years, only “Shakespeare in Love” managed to surmount that snobbery, and it had The Bard in its corner. “Babel” is a heavy, multinational drama with the patina of importance and themes that speak specifically to this moment in a post-9/11 world. It has been nominated in six categories—including director, editing and original screenplay nods—but it has been a low-grossing underdog ever since it was released, has endured more than its share of negative reviews and it seems to have a lot of enemies. “Nobody loves that movie,” says one veteran Oscar strategist. “Have you heard anyone say, ‘Oh, I love ‘Babel?’” Well, no, but it has also become a movie that people are afraid to say they like, just like last year’s winner, “Crash,” was. Clearly, enough people love it to give it so many nominations. Do they love it enough—albeit quietly—to give it the trophy?
A possible dark horse in this race—and we do mean dark—is Martin Scorsese’s “The Departed.” It hasn’t won many awards—except for Scorsese’s directing wins—but it is the biggest commercial hit of the five, and has a strong fan base. In the end, though, it is probably too profane, too violent and too much of a genre flick to get the Academy’s biggest prize. That said, the 1991 winner, “The Silence of the Lambs,” wasn’t exactly a period romance.

Prediction: “Babel,” by an eyelash, with “Sunshine” in second, and the rest of the pack blazing on their heels.

BEST DIRECTOR

Well, it looks like it’s finally going to be Martin Scorsese’s year, after losing in this category five times. Everyone agrees he’s way overdue for an Oscar, but ironically, few people seem to think “The Departed” is the movie he should win for. (“Taxi Driver”? “Raging Bull”? “Goodfellas”? Come on.) He’ll get it anyway, as long as the Academy decides that it's not Clint Eastwood's year. For a change.

Prediction: Marty by a length.

BEST ACTOR

The safe money is on Forest Whitaker for “The Last King of Scotland.” He has won every major prize leading up to the Oscars, is respected and liked by his fellow actors, and delivered the most mesmerizing performance of his career. So he’s a lock, right? Mmm, maybe. Peter O’Toole has turned on his considerable charm since arriving in L.A., and one Oscar voter said he suspected that a lot of voters only really watched O’Toole’s performance in “Venus” after he was nominated. It’s possible the legend may take it in an upset, which would be an emotional moment for everyone, not just Whitaker. And let’s face it, the speech would be better.

Prediction: Whitaker, with O’Toole gaining speed on the outside.

BEST ACTRESS

Ah, a sure thing, at last. Helen Mirren is the most definite win of the night, having scored every possible award for her portrayal of England’s monarch in “The Queen.” A nuanced, controlled powerhouse performance that only a great actress could deliver—the apex (so far) of an astounding career. The only thing going against her, at all, is that people may be tired of seeing her win. One Oscar voter told JOE Magazine that she checked her ballot against the front runners in almost every category this year, hoping to give the Oscar telecast a few surprises. “I voted against boredom,” she said. “I voted for Meryl Streep.”

Prediction: Mirren by a mile. Not even boredom—or a thoroughbred like Streep—can catch her.

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR

Eddie Murphy won both the Golden Globe and the SAG award. It’s the best performance of his career. He’s been the front runner for weeks. But he’s made no secret of the fact that he initially turned down his golden-ticket role in “Dreamgirls” because the pay was too low, even though he’s made a fortune slumming in low-brow comedy. His latest, “Norbit,” released during the height of Oscar season, also made it clear that “Dreamgirls” is not a turning point for Murphy, but an anomaly. He also has a reputation for being a paranoid narcissist, which, fairly or not, makes it hard to root for him. If all of that information has seeped into the Academy’s consciousness, Murphy could lose this statue to Alan Arkin, for his portrayal of an oversexed junkie grandfather with a heart of gold in “Little Miss Sunshine.” If that happens, Murphy can always console himself with his bank balance.

Prediction: Talent still outweighs ego. Murphy takes it.

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS

Jennifer Hudson’s jaw-dropping, ovation-generating debut in “Dreamgirls,” is the underdog role of a lifetime and will almost certainly score her the Oscar in this category. Not only is Hudson’s performance a stunner, but also the Academy has often used this category to anoint a new star--e.g. Angelina Jolie, Jennifer Connelly, Cate Blanchett. Sometimes too new. Kids sometimes steal this award away from the adults. Think Tatum O’Neal and Anna Paquin. It’s possible that “Sunshine” sweetie Abigail Breslin could nab this from Hudson.

Prediction: Hudson belts it into the bleachers.

BEST ANIMATED FEATURE FILM

Oddly, all the voters interviewed for this story predicted that Pixar’s “Cars” would win, but almost all said they voted for Sony’s “Monster House.” Pixar has always been the 800-pound gorilla in this category, but “Cars” didn’t connect with viewers emotionally. Could the kings of animation lose the crown?

Prediction: “Cars,” but keep an eye out for “Monster House,” which could pull off upstart upset.

JOE : Giant Shoulders

Giant Shoulders
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar
Puts Into Words What Harlem Renaissance Put Into Him
By Greg Johnson

If he hadn’t become one of the all-time greats in basketball, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar would most likely be a history teacher.But, as we know, his basketball skills led him to a different classroom, one that made him a defining character in the college and professional basketball landscape.Still, even after a career that included three consecutive NCAA championships at the University of California, Los Angeles; six NBA titles; an NBA-record six MVP awards and being the league’s all-time leading scorer with 38,387 points, Abdul-Jabbar never lost his passion for the past.He has chronicled his zeal for history in a book called, “On the Shoulders of Giants: My Personal Journey through the Harlem Renaissance.”Abdul-Jabbar, who was named one of the 100 Most Influential Student-Athletes in conjunction with the NCAA Centennial celebration in 2006, wrote the book to show how cultural changes in the African-American community between 1920 and 1940 helped shape his life — and American history.

The book covers Abdul-Jabbar’s four greatest passions: Harlem (where he was born in 1947), basketball, jazz and writing.In the summer between his junior and senior years of high school in 1964, Abdul-Jabbar joined the Harlem Youth Action Project, a government-sponsored anti-poverty program designed to keep children out of trouble and teach them about their heritage. Until that point, Abdul-Jabbar didn’t realize how far removed from his culture he had become. Upon joining the group, though, he learned about the people whose writing, music and athletics accomplishments shaped African-American culture. By sharing his knowledge on the subject today, Abdul-Jabbar hopes to remind people of past sacrifices that paved a better future.“It is my attempt to wake up this generation caught up in the philosophy of ‘get rich or die trying,’ ” Abdul-Jabbar said. “They need to have a more fitting outlet for their aspirations and energy. The events and the personalities of the Harlem Renaissance serve as great examples of what to do and how to do it. This is my humble attempt at reviving that history.”

Going North

A number of the two million African-Americans who migrated to Northern cities from the South to escape lynching and Jim Crow laws found their way to Harlem. From 1910 to 1930 in fact, New York City’s African-American population grew from about 90,000 to 328,000. African-American artists, musicians, writers, actors and athletes created a culture that had an impact both domestically and internationally. Harlem was considered the center of the universe for the African-American community. Abdul-Jabbar, now 59, was influenced by the renaissance period after growing up in Manhattan. He writes how the New York Renaissance Big Five, winners of the first professional world basketball championship in 1939, helped show what kind of athlete he could become. Just as importantly, he took in the music of Duke Ellington and Bessie Smith and became attracted to the writings of Langston Hughes, W.E.B. DuBois and Zora Neal Hurston. Combine his love of history with being a teenager during the height of the Civil Rights movement, and it’s no wonder that Abdul-Jabbar wanted to improve the lives of those in the African-American community.

In 1964, Abdul-Jabbar, who was then known as Ferdinand Lewis Alcindor Jr., enrolled in a journalism workshop and interacted with Martin Luther King Jr. when the civil-rights pioneer addressed the Harlem Youth Action Project. “What I learned turned me on to the whole subject of Black history, and the need to communicate certain things that should be taught across generations,” Abdul-Jabbar said, “I felt very fortunate to have learned what I’ve learned when I learned it.” About that time, Abdul-Jabbar became aware of the New York Renaissance Big Five basketball team. The all African-American squad was known simply as “the Rens” in Harlem. They barnstormed the country in the 1920s and 1930s, enduring racism both on and off the floor. “They weren’t flying around in charter jets like today’s players,” Abdul-Jabbar said. In March 1939, the Chicago Journal hosted the first world professional basketball championship, which was unique because it wasn’t segregated. That season, the Rens posted a record of 109-7, and they were placed in the same side of the 12-team bracket with the rival Harlem Globetrotters. The two teams met in the semifinals, with the Rens winning, 27-23. Then they overcame a partisan crowd in the final to defeat the Oshkosh All-Stars, 34-25, to collect the $1,000 first prize. “I would like for people who read the book to find out what it is like to be a professional basketball player back in the 1920s and 1930s during the Depression,” Abdul-Jabbar said, “It was a totally different landscape.”

Home Influence

Abdul-Jabbar is quick to credit his parents, Ferdinand Lewis Alcindor Sr. and Cora, for developing his love of music and writing. Alcindor Sr. was an avid reader and a graduate of the Julliard School of Performing Arts. Alcindor Sr. also played trombone in several bands, and he and Cora sang for a chorus. College was a subject that came up early and often in their household. “We need to help parents get that message across to their kids,” Abdul-Jabbar said. “It is so important, and it really starts at home. We identified college as a goal when I was in the sixth or seventh grade. That’s when I started thinking about it.” That was before it became apparent that he would become a legendary basketball player.

Before fourth grade, his parents sent him to a boarding school near Philadelphia. Though the school included eighth-graders, the 9-year-old Abdul-Jabbar was still the second tallest student. His height, combined with his intelligence, made him a target of bullies. To escape their beatings, Abdul-Jabbar found solace on the basketball court, which led to his patented move — the sky hook. One day he found himself surrounded along the baseline and couldn’t find anyone to pass to, so he pivoted and took a hook shot. Over the next three years, he worked on the shot along with some drills made famous by George Mikan, a basketball hall-of-famer who starred for the Minneapolis Lakers in the 1940s and 1950s. By the time he was in eighth grade, Abdul-Jabbar was proficient with the sky hook.

Abdul-Jabbar, currently a special assistant with the Los Angeles Lakers working primarily with teen-aged center Andrew Bynum, said he received better advice on how to play the game than today’s kids do.“I don’t think the game is being coached very well at the grade school level these days,” Abdul-Jabbar said. “The (sky hook) is very effective and is a shot anyone can master if they apply themselves.” He looks back on his days at UCLA, where he played under the legendary John Wooden, as an invaluable experience in his life. At the professional level, Abdul-Jabbar agrees with the NBA’s position of prohibiting players from entering the league until a year after high school graduation. He also agrees with the current NCAA academic-reform movement, because it stresses the student part of student-athlete.“I don’t know if we are going to see another world-class basketball player who also is a Rhodes Scholar, like Bill Bradley,” Abdul-Jabbar said. “Our nation is losing something in that regard. I hope we get a chance to change it.”

JOE: ON THE SPOT

On the Street
When It’s Cold

By BILL CUNNINGHAM

During recent cold weather, dogs and humans seemed to have exchanged slipcovers. A Great Dane wore a hooded down jacket. Another pampered pet entered Tiffany’s in a white-knit sweater trimmed in mink, with a gold-sequined purse attached, wearing rose-tinted glasses. Meanwhile, humans were hidden under giant fur hats. Interestingly, none of the dogs matched the humans they accompanied.

JOE : GENERAL READING

How to B.S. Your Way Into A Job

They’ve been lying to us the whole time. They told us to study hard, go to college, and get a degree. If we follow those 3 simple steps we’re guaranteed to land a good job that we can toil away at for the next 40+ years. But as most of you know, that’s absolute bullshit. A diploma doesn’t even make good toilet paper these days. If you ask most of my college-educated friends, they’ll tell you that their degree didn’t help them get the cushy job that they’re holding down at Starbucks or the much coveted graveyard shift in the call center. Conversely, I’ve known people who have been able to make do without a degree, and without holding a job for longer than a year since 1999. Now that’s gangsta!

So how can you do it? How can you improve your chances of landing a job in today’s backwards economy, where folks with degrees are getting the shaft, while us poor, “uneducated” saps are swallowing up all the jobs? All together now: BULLSHIT!!! That’s right. You’re gonna have to B.S. your way into that entry-level hellhole. Most overpaid consultants might refer to my practice as “effective interviewing,” but I have to call a spade a spade. Here are a few tips for George W-ing your way to a payday:

1 The Resume – This is the cornerstone of your bullshitting. Most recruiters are going to look at a gang of resumes that look like yours. Bottom line – make yours stand out. Spice it up a little. Make your menial little job look like the most spectacular job in the world. Instead of saying, “I answered phones” at your last job, say “I managed the communications system that connected end users to the appropriate solutions channel”. Something like that – you get the idea. Just make it seem like it’s a lot more important than it really is.

2 Your Appearance – If a recruiter shows enough pity to drag your sorry ass into an interview, make sure you look right for the part. But before you run out to get that special interview suit and get your hair all chopped up, remember this – for your own pride’s sake, don’t let them KNOW that you need a job! The new suit and new haircut scream, “please hire me at any cost”. Go in an outfit that you’ve had for a while; look relaxed. Leave your hair looking like it did the day before. Let them get a good look at the employee that will be there a year from now, not the fake “wax museum” look that most folks carry on interview day.

3 Beware of Group Interviews – They’re just big dog & pony shows. Recruiters do this when they don’t feel like taking the time to interview people individually. They want to see how much of an ass you’re willing to make of yourself around other people. Do what most of the people there AREN’T doing – speak only when necessary. Don’t jump at every question like a lot of idiots. Be the person that people will listen to when you speak. Just for the record, I hate group interviews.

4 The Interviewer – For one-on-one interviews, remember to make eye contact the whole time. Don’t look down or sideways at all. If you hate making eye contact, stare at their forehead. They won’t know the difference. Eye contact makes you almost believable when you’re bullshitting. Keep that in mind.

5 Dramatic Pause – Take your time when answering questions. If you don’t have your lie together, just tell the interviewer that you need a couple of seconds to think about the question. They’d actually prefer you to take your time, so make use of it.

6 Talk The Talk – Just a few hints when answering questions from the recruiter: never say anything bad about your current or previous job. If they ask, you didn’t quit – you got downsized. You’re trying to leave your current job (or left your last job) because you’re looking for a better opportunity. If they ask about your performance, you’re always among the best at what you do. You can’t accept failure. Commit that to memory, and you’re as good as gold.

7 The Follow Up – This is going to sound really sappy, but it works because hardly anybody else does it. Within 24 hours of your interview, send an email or leave a voicemail thanking the recruiter for their time, and reassuring them that if they need to contact you, they can call you at ______. That small gesture goes a long way.

Mind you, these are just the basics. Practice bullshitting with loved ones and those close to you to develop the intricate details that will enhance your “effective interviewing”. The next time you shake hands and sit down with an interviewer, smile and relish in the fact that you’re about to feed them a face full of quality B.S.

JOE : THOUHGT OF THE DAY

A Journey of a thousand miles beings with a single step...

a new friendship starts very much the same way...

JOE : TECH

Blast Radius: Nothing But Net
By Bija Gutoff

The NBA All-Star game is strut-your-stuff time, both on court and off. So at the 2007 extravaganza in Las Vegas the Jordan brand unveiled the Air Jordan XX2, its latest exercise in putting wings to human feet, with apposite panache. Online, the launch was just as splashy. A cross-media campaign created by the Vancouver-based firm Blast Radius — designed and executed with the help of Apple hardware and software — gave the new shoe a powerful digital assist.

Marcus Ericsson, creative director of Blast Radius, led the cross-media campaign for the launch of Air Jordan XX2.While lead Nike agency Wieden + Kennedy is responsible for overall branding, messaging, and creative concepts, Blast Radius specializes in website design and creation (it’s responsible for managing jumpman23.com, the official Brand Jordan website) and digital extensions such as podcasting and SMS messaging — just the ticket to reach the shoe’s target youth market.

Blast Radius works closely with Nike’s Brand Jordan team. “More than your typical client-agency relationship, it’s really a partnership,” notes Blast Radius creative director Marcus Ericsson. “Tight collaboration is essential to delivering a cohesive online user experience as we take the shoe into the mobile space.”

Goin’ Mobile
Today, scoring with a young audience means going mobile. “It’s more and more critical,” emphasizes Ericsson. His company reaches out via such techniques as a shortcode (text message XX2 to 23623) consumers can text to receive a schedule of All-Star week events on their cell phones. Fans can also download icons, ring tones, shoe imagery, and music from the Jordan site.
To ensure an impressive debut for the XX2 in Las Vegas, Blast Radius designed a booth with enormous, eye-catching projection displays. A VJ used Final Cut Pro, QuickTime Pro, and Keynote on a MacBook Pro on the show floor to remix website content, footage of attendees shot by an onsite video crew, and slideshows of people visiting the Air Jordan photo booth to check out Brand Jordan’s new “How I Rock My J’s” campaign.

Explains Ericsson, “People come to these events in their best pair of Jordans, which they don’t normally wear outside, so it’s a chance to show off their best kicks. The idea of the campaign is to show how they hook their shoes with fashion.” Each visitor got a glossy print of his or her own All-Star threads.

“Take Over” Campaign
The new Air Jordan XX2 sports a distinctly high-tech look. Its designers took their cues from the F22 fighter jet to craft the shoe’s futuristic, gray camouflage style. “It plays on the notion of stealth on the basketball court and the player’s ability to take over the game at all points, whether on offense or defense,” says Ericsson.

The broadcast and print campaigns for the XX2 focus on how athletes maintain dominance. “It’s physical preparation and mental readiness, combined with the utility of the product, that let the ballplayer change the game on the court,” says Ericsson.

The “take over” theme also carries through to the digital domain, where Blast Radius offers consumers an interactive experience. “Unlike broadcast and print, the digital brand is personal and immersive,” notes Ericsson. “We journey deeper into the mind of the athlete to understand what ingredients enable him to take over.”

Ericsson and his teammates used Final Cut Pro to edit sequences of richly layered video that explore five distinct elements of the take-over: prepare, defend, engage, evade, and strike. The essence of each verb is animated through video that highlights specific shoe features.

Chill Teaser Content
Ahead of the official launch, a Blast Radius teaser gives eager fans a glimpse of the XX2 story. “Our audience — especially the ones who visit the Jordan site before a new shoe is released — knows that something’s coming,” says Ericsson. “Our teaser is like the trailer that builds up the anticipation before a summer blockbuster movie.”

Edited in Final Cut Pro, the XX2 teaser shows a young player wearing a jersey loosely inspired by Michael Jordan’s high school team in Wilmington, North Carolina; the audio suggests his take-over mindset. “He’s not famous,” notes Ericsson. “He’s just an unknown kid. With Jordan out of the game now, we’re showing that the torch has been passed. There won’t be another MJ, so it’s within each player to uphold the values and respect he brought to the game.”

Video is a powerful tool to inspire young athletes. Says Ericsson, “Kudos to Final Cut Pro, which is the way forward for the creation of video.” By making the teaser available via podcast on iTunes, Blast Radius offers up a chunk of chill content for on-the-move fans. “The podcast is one of those distribution channels that makes a lot of sense, because of the widespread penetration of iPods, iTunes, and QuickTime,” adds Ericsson. “Kids can take it with them on their iPods and play it anywhere.”

Interactive Environment
For the actual XX2 launch on the Jordan website, Blast Radius developed a dynamic, interactive environment the creatives call “XX2 — Take Over,” which stars the same young player who appears in the teaser. “The customer watches the story of the take-over moment,” explains Ericsson. “Then he or she can navigate in this rich 3D landscape. It’s similar to the first person point of view in a video game, where you choose the environment you want to explore.”
Blast Radius built each interactive sequence from video that was edited in Final Cut Pro, then embedded it into Flash. Customers enter a virtual space with ambient sound that changes in content, tone, and volume as they trigger video segments that explore different features of the new shoe.

Unlocking Online Content
Through other campaign elements Blast Radius keeps customers connecting with the site and the brand. The team used Photoshop and Illustrator on their Macs to craft a print ad for Sole Collector, a sneaker-head industry magazine, that plays off images in the website video. The ad introduces the XX2 and drives awareness of an online product registration program.
“Each XX2 box contains a unique peel-off code,” explains Ericsson. “When customers go online to register their shoes, they unlock special content on the website.” By offering freebies such as shoe images, website video, wallpapers, and clips of Michael Jordan’s recent tour to six European cities — all edited in Final Cut Pro, embedded in Flash, and available to customers in QuickTime or.m4v format — the sticker campaign is intended to reinforce the value of owning authentic Brand Jordan gear.

Blast Radius also created an SMS text message campaign for opt-in customers, who are invited to visit the Jordan site, enter a code, and receive promotional materials. Moreover, the agency pushes its XX2 online media to distribution channels such as YouTube and Google. “It’s important to be relevant in other places, in addition to our website, where consumers congregate and to provide content they can use in their own remixes,” notes Ericsson.

Finally, Blast Radius used DVD Studio Pro to create discs containing Jordan website video for retail outlets like Niketown, The Finish Line, and Foot Locker to use in point-of-purchase displays. Says Ericsson, “DVD Studio Pro is a very intuitive tool that helps us create seamless, high-quality DVDs almost effortlessly.”

A Familiar Standard
For Ericsson and his crew, Apple tools are a slam-dunk. “The pervasiveness of Apple as an accepted standard makes it very easy for our large team to work together and to work with third-party content providers,” he suggests. “Everyone is familiar with how this stuff is created and cut, and we all share common file formats.”

Plus, he adds, “The hardware is extremely fast, so it enables us to be very productive. Apple tools allow us to create content for lots of different formats and venues, so we can get really creative. We take the web stuff we’ve created and push it out as a video or a podcast or into the event space or retail or mobile — and it’s just as easy to cross over to these channels as it is to create the original material.”

Home Court Advantage
Electronic Arts just released HomeCourt, the fourth in its NBA Street video game series and its debut offering for the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360, in which gamers can visit the home courts of stars like Rip Hamilton, Mike Bibby, Carmelo Anthony, Chris Paul, and Ray Allen.
Stunning audio, created on Macs, gives the new game a true home court advantage. “Our audio provides a combination of modeled realism, complete fantasy and new-style arcade sounds to amp up the gameplay experience,” explains EA senior audio artist Gordon Durity.
Adds EA senior audio director Charles Deenen, “We recorded, edited and mastered the audio on our G5s and MacBook Pros, and we used Soundtrack for de-noising — it often beats the much more expensive programs.” To these audio experts, the Mac just sounds right. “Apple’s tools, and the GUI standards they’ve set for programs like ProTools, are simply the best,” says Deenen. “I couldn’t imagine using audio tools on anything but a Mac. It just makes sense when you’re doing right-brain creative work.”

And it wasn’t just the audio. “Our main development tools for content and game data creation all reside on our Power Mac G5s,” continues Durity. “I used iMovie to create game capture video files. This is usually a large task for game developers, who are primarily PC-based due to special video cards, compatible software, and breakouts. Being able to do it with iMovie and one cable saved me lots of time and effort. I also used iChat extensively for videocons with external contractors.”

Notes Durity, “Apple’s systems just work, period. During the five-month period I worked on HomeCourt, I rebooted my Mac once. The third-party audio tools and custom development tools we employ are smooth and easy to work with. And I’m not fighting the OS to get things done reliably and predictably.”

JOE : SOCIAL ISSUES

DVD REVIEW: THE N WORD
- Andre J Durall

Nigger or Nigga? To use or not to use? This has been the question for many years between Blacks and Whites. There are different perspectives on the word nigger and writer and director Todd Larkins brings these very complex issues to the table in the controversial documentary entitled The N Word. The documentary consists of actors, professors and every day people just like you and me, who express their vivificated opinions on how this word should be used. Right off the bat, Quincy Jones mentions that, nigger is designed to be derogatory and it is an expression of hate. He continued with a significant tone, it has the ability inside the family (I think) to be the most affectionate and loving (term) or the most hostile (term). All you got to do is change the az or the ga to er and we are right back where we started. Watching School Daze, word play is essential, in many ways, Spike Lee hits viewers with word association; substituting words like nigga, nigger, Negro or niggaz with wannabes and jig-a-boos. When he could have easily used those choice words. Spike highlights reflective scenes that poke division within one racial make-up of African Americans. But instead of hitting homeruns with N word material, Spike plays it low-key referencing word like wannabes and jig-a-boos. Blacks and Whites have traditionally used the word nigger differently. For many blacks it is an acceptable expression to use this word amongst other blacks, “That's my nigga.” Actor Michael Rapaport elaborates on this in the documentary; (Nigger) has become a term of affection. “This is my man, this is my homie, this is my homeboy, this is my dog, (and) this is my nigga.” When used in these tenses we feel perfectly comfortable of this words meaning. However, from Whites to Blacks, the word nigger can start a riot. Although the usage of this word by Whites is normally shunned upon (by Blacks), many are getting a pass when they commonly express this word among their Black friends. African American (Harvard Law School Professor) Randall Kennedy, author of Nigger: The Strange Career of a Troublesome Word reveals a very surprising opinion on Whites using this word. In an episode of the television show Boston Public (which feature Kennedy's book), Marla Hendricks, a Black teacher, wants Danny Hanson (Michael Rapaport), who is White, to be fired for discussing the word nigger in his classroom (as a tool of sensitivity). She says the following, "That word has always stood for hatred coming out of a White mouth." No teacher in any school is good enough to erase that in a sensitivity class. Do you agree with her? Would it make a difference if Danny Hanson were black? Kennedy, cuts down plenty of blacks for their expressions and highly colorful practice of their use of the word nigger, no one gets a pass, not even comedic greats Richard Pryor or Chris Rock. Kennedy redirects the usage back on Blacks to except responsibility for how this word has taken on so many different formats. Which leads to my personal opinion, the word nigger brings so much hatred and racism to the human race. Therefore, it is not fair to continue calling your homeboy or home-girl the derogatory word that was derived from slavery. Essentially, the word nigger is seen different in each person's eyes. Some may agree that its usage is justifiable while others do not. So the next time you are having that talk and the flavor of your tongue is running away with nigga this and nigga that maybe you should analyze where this language has derived from and where it is going. How can we have self-respect if we are not willing to extinct a word from our own English language? We can kill off an American Black bear existence, yet our own people keep this word very much alive alone. What's the best thing to do? Watch your mouth? You tell me. I would love to hear back from some of our readers after they watch this highly volatile DVD, The N Word.

SPIRTS : WINE : BEER

JOE : SPIRITS TEQUILA
The Spirit Enigma

Photography by Bill Brady

When people think of tequila, they usually recall endless shots of harsh liquor at a frat party or margaritas sipped while on vacation south of the border. The truth is, tequila is a wonderfully complex elixir that rivals the spirits one usually reaches for. I recently visited El Parador Cafe in New York City, where the owner, Alex, and I sampled three different types of tequila.

Blanco: Bottled without aging,these tequilas represent the purest expression of the agaves plant.

Reposado: These tequilas are rested in oak barrels up to one year.

Añejos: These tequilas are aged more than a year, generally three to five years, in oak barrels. As with other barrel-aged spirits, the more time spent in the barrel, the flavors are mellowed and color imparted by the wood.

– Andre J Durall

JOE: Feature

INDULGE: TASTE

Bull Run

NEW YORK

Chef Herb Wilson Takes the Bull by the Horns

By Andre J Durall

In lower Manhattan’s financial district, finding a place to sit down for a proper meal is no easy task. This is a utilitarian neighborhood of office buildings and white-collar worker bees who report to their jobs by 9 a.m., grab lunch by 12, and vacate en masse when the clock hits 6. But, for those blue-suited denizens who do their best business over steak and red wine, there’s Bull Run Restaurant.

With its straight-backed cherrywood chairs, white cotton tablecloths and graying regulars, this lunchtime destination (just blocks from Ground Zero) seems austere at first. Then executive chef Herb Wilson defies the atmosphere by creating scrumptious looking plates in Bull Run’s exposed kitchen.

Since he started there over four years ago, this noted purveyor of French, contemporary American and Caribbean cuisine has injected the restaurant’s steakhouse fare with his subversive whimsy. Instead of plain old shrimp cocktail, the forty-something New York City native serves a lobster-mango spring roll with a chili mayonnaise and spicy peanut sauce ($14). However, with offerings like Bull Run’s 12-oz. Herford beef burger ($15) and Certified Black Angus New York strip steak ($34), Wilson maintains his irreverent approach to fine dining. “A lot of chefs think they’re above making burgers. They take themselves too seriously,” he declares. “My theory is we’re here to make the customer happy. We’re not doing brain surgery. We’re cooking food.” Another reason customers should be happy, or at least never bored, is because Wilson overhauls Bull Run’s menu every season. “Basically we’re cooking what’s on the market,” he says. “In the summer, it’s watermelon and lots of fish. For fall, it’s apples and heartier dishes like a pecan-mustard chicken breast with a bourbon sweet potato puree.” Hmm, sounds like Bull Run just gave food lovers a reason to go downtown.

Bull Run Restaurant

52 William St.

New York, NY. 10005

212.859.2200

http://www.bullrunwallstreet.com/

JOE : TRAVELING

INDULGE & TRAVEL
Bountiful BELIZE

By Andre Jacques Durall
Photography by Melissa Kramer

Sweet or salty? It seems a simple question. All you have to know is what you crave. But what if it’s not that simple? What if the question is: mountain retreat or seaside villa? Central America or the Caribbean? Adventures in eco-tourism or effortless days of decadence and pampering? Sometimes it’s impossible to choose. But you don’t have to when you’re in Belize. A small country the size of New Hampshire, Belize believes in having it all. As a member of both the Caribbean Community and Common Market (CARICOM) and the Sistema de Integracion Centroamericana (SICA), Belize considers itself culturally not just Caribbean or Central American, but both. Belize, the only English-speaking country in Central America, was known as British Honduras until 1973. It is bordered by Mexico to the north, Guatemala to the west, and the Caribbean Sea to the east. The red, green and yellow plumes of the Keel-billed Toucan, Belize’s national bird, seem the perfect match for a country populated by Garifuna, Mayans, Creoles, Mestizos, East Indians and a handful of German Mennonites. To spend any time amongst these gorgeously sun-kissed people is to be reminded that the rich hues of brown skin are a rainbow in themselves. With its large tracts of tropical rainforests, hundreds of coral sand islands (or cayes, pronounced “keys”) and the second longest barrier reef in the world, Belize provides everything you need for a perfect vacation. A few sun-filled days at each of these Belizean locales is sure to satisfy all your cravings.

Peninsula: The Placencia the suites and villas at this lavish hotel include kitchenettes and wrap-around balconies overlooking the turquoise waters of the Caribbean Sea. The combination of plush furniture, airy atmosphere and five-star service inspired our photo director to say, “It’s like home, only better.” At the Placencia Hotel, you can wile away your days on lounge chairs and massage tables or indulge in a six-day yoga retreat, whose features include Aqua Yoga, energizing hikes and sunset meditations. Choose your own adventure with custom day trips out to the reef for snorkeling, scuba diving or deep-sea fishing. Hotel staff will take care of the details, including a packed lunch and transportation.

Inland: Blancaneaux Lodge Lush and luxurious are the words that come to mind when describing Francis Ford Coppola’s upscale jungle resort in the Mountain Pine Ridge Forest Reserve. But when you first gaze upon this 80-acre, thatched-roof paradise, it’s evident that both words barely skim the edge of truth. Imagine waking up each morning to the sounds of birdcalls and then sipping coffee in your open-air living room or soaking in your Japanese-style bath, gazing at a sky framed by tropical foliage. At the Montagna Restaurant, you’ll dine on classic Italian cuisine made with ingredients directly from the resort’s private organic garden. Activities include horseback riding, spa treatments, biking, canoeing and exploring Mayan ruins. You won’t miss HBO; you won’t even realize there was no TV in your room until you’re all the way back home. The landing strip on the resort provides easy access for private planes. Otherwise, make arrangements with hotel staff for airport pickup.

Private Island: Cayo EspantoIt won’t take long to figure out why Cayo Espanto has been written up in so many travel magazines. The service starts from the moment you pass through customs at the Belize International Airport, when resort staff immediately take your luggage and accompany you on the hour and a half boat ride (or 20 minute flight) to this private island off the coast of Ambergris Caye. The maximum number of guests allowed on the island is a mere fourteen, so even if you haven’t booked the entire island for the week, privacy is a given. Each “casa” has a private dock, alfresco showers and personal splash pools. Meals are not only tailor-made; they are also served privately in your house or on your dock. For a bit of nightlife, the lively Ambergris Caye is just a ten-minute boat ride away.

Activities: Any coastal or island hotel will offer access to water activities such as snorkeling, scuba diving or deep sea fishing. For additional adventures, book a tour with Astrum Helicopters to see the Blue Hole or the 1000 Foot Falls from above. They’ll make arrangements to come pick you up, wherever you are. Or for those who want to see the ancient Mayan Temples and are up for a bit of a physical challenge, join the annual Temple-to-Temple bike race/tour in January of 2007. For the seven day race, you can choose to camp in the wilderness, at the foot of the ruins, or in more luxurious lodging. The registration fee also includes an all-inclusive stay at the Placencia Hotel, where opening and closing ceremonies will be held. The Placencia Hotel will also host the very first Belize International Music Festival in March 2007.

Getting There: US Air, American Airlines, Continental Airlines and Taca Air provide international flights into Belize City. Maya Island Air and Tropic Air offer flights within Belize. Currency Exchange Many businesses will accept US dollars at the standard rate of 2 Belizean dollars (BZD) for one US dollar. Credit cards are accepted at most hotels, restaurants in tourist areas and in tourist-related businesses like diving shops. For local currency, ATMs are the easiest way to go.

JOE: MAKING A DIFFERENCE

Changin' Lives
ONE EX-OFFENDER AT A TIME

By Andre J Durall

Changin’ Lives based in Houston is a newly formed organization developed to assist ex-offenders with starting their lives over after being incarcerated. Dolores Roberts, founder of Changin’ Lives developed this organization in 2002, for the sole idea to help provide ex-offenders the support and tools to over come obstacles. Ms. Roberts knows the ordeals that ex-offenders face when attempting to live a normal desired life. "We strive to make a difference in the lives of ex-offenders and their families."

Dolores Roberts witnessed first hand the extreme difficulties they encounter in obtaining employment. While working for Texas Workforce Commission, Ms. Roberts assisted many people in obtaining a job. There she was exposed to ex-offenders who were looking for jobs. Seeing the lack of commitment and the need to do more she started her own foundation. Knowing that many ex-offenders wanted a second chance, she created a foundation committed to these chances. Her clients are given job referrals where they are able to apply for employment knowing their criminal background is not going to stop them from being gainfully employed.

Changin’ Lives doesn’t stop there, there is more. They are committed with helping ex-offenders with preparing resumes to filling out employment applications, interviewing tips, their mentoring program, assistance with food, affordable housing, GED/ESL programs, parenting classes and more. Changin’ Lives become their shoulder to lean on. When an ex-offender needs transportation or has child care problems they are the ones to assist with finding a solution to the problems. Speaking with Ms. Roberts she states, “Once they get a job we just don’t let them go, we continue to grow with them.” Changin’ Lives is there for them for the long haul, until the ex-offender decides he/she does not need the program. They are more than welcome to come back anytime for assistance regardless of the situation.

Using resources within the public and private sector Changin’ Lives has developed and provided opportunities to create second chances. They emphasize on a better future, Ms. Roberts states, “Our goal is to reduce criminal recidivism, by providing reintegration to offenders in need of direction.” By providing a reliable foundation and community support this gives the ex-offender a secure future and helps them to maintain employment.

For those who want to start a new life, a better life, Changin’ Lives is here to offer resources and to let each person know they are not alone. If you feel these resources can benefit you or someone you know, please feel free to contact Changin’ Lives’ founder Dolores Roberts at changinlives2gther@yahoo.com or calling 832*496*5701. If you would like to volunteer as a mentor or assist in anyway Changin’ Lives would love your services.

JOE: Stylishly Cutting Edge Rides

AUDI A8: SITTING PRETTY
Stylishly - Cutting Edge - ... and my car does 160!

Photography by Massimo

Audi A8 (2007) : $68,900 - $92,000+

Audi has snuck onto the automotive scene with yet another exquisite product. Every time we jumped in the A8, we looked forward to playing with a few of its cadre of interior gadgets and getting cosseted by its velvety smooth ride. And each time we stepped out of the German speedster we kept talking about it as if it were part of our extended family. The interior is both flawless during the day and seductive after dark. I mean have you seen the dashboard lights? Also, it’s equipped with our favorite: Quattro all-wheel drive. These superb vehicles cater to the desires of driver and passenger with equal discernment. Behind the wheel, effortless power thanks to compact, light-yet-strong engines underpinned by the confidence and control of legendary Quattro all-wheel drive. Throughout the cabin, cocooning luxury, down to the last immaculate detail. The Audi A8: Masterpieces of design and engineering. And did we have to tell you about… sounds by Bang & Olufsen, well if you are not up on this trend-setting system in the home now the car then you need to catch –up with JOE on it’s home entertainment features! Just let’s just say Bose and Harman Karman are so yesterday!

—Andre Durall

JOE : Zoë Saldana

Zoë Saldana
All Blacked Out

Words By Andre J Durall
Portrait by Andre J Durall

There is something about a woman in a little black dress: a certain je ne sais quoi that hints at something classic, hip, mature and altogether sexy. There is also something about Zoë Saldana. You’ve seen it. Whether it was the fiery spunk she gave off as a pirate on Johnny Depp’s ship in the first Pirates of the Caribbean or the nurturing support she exuded when she had Nick Cannon’s back in Drumline, Zoë is one of those rare actresses capable of effortlessly suspending your sense of disbelief. In simple terms, Zoë is good at what she does. And what she does (among other things) is radiate talent... while looking damn good doing it. The Queens native is known for her beauty as much as for her talent and when we shot her on the set of Blackout in Brooklyn she made quite a visual impression.

Let's back up a bit. If you missed Zoë Saldana's first major film role-playing an aspiring ballerina in Center Stage-or the afore mentioned Drumline and Pirates of the Caribbean, be sure to catch her in her upcoming film Blackout where, ironically, she plays an employee at UPTOWN magazine. Since her art was imitating our life, so to speak, a role reversal seemed apropos. And what better way to capture the theme of Blackout (and the simply elegant essence of Zoë) than by dressing the lovely lady in black?

Blackout, also starring Melvin Van Peebles and Jeffrey Wright, is slated for a 2007 release by Uptown Movie Network. Jerry LaMothe, a New York native who rose to prominence on the independent film festival circuit, wrote and directed the film, which focuses on the approximately twenty-four hour blackout that occurred in New York City on August 14, 2003. LaMothe channeled some of his experiences during the blackout into a screenplay that addresses issues of criminal opportunism as well as rallying for community solidarity. Saldana herself was in New York when the blackout occurred, and while her experience was better than many, she certainly learned the value of a good pair of walking shoes. When the lights went out, "We were all getting our hair done on 65th-my mom and my sisters," says Saldana. "My dad managed to find us and we walked the Queensboro Bridge back to Queens." From there, the family walked to Forest Hills. "I had on these comfortable cowboy boots that I just picked up in Montana but try walking miles in them. It's not cool," she says with a laugh. We're sure she managed to look fly the whole way. Otherwise she simply wouldn't be Zoë Saldana.

JOE : Zoë Saldana - Photo Shoot

TYRA

From Runway Giant to Runaway Success
Words by Andre J Durall

Transformation. According to Tyra Banks, that’s the difference between a good model and a great model. A good model will look pretty in clothes. A great model will transform herself into a totally different character. She uses her face, eyes, body and, of course, the clothes to convey whatever the moment calls for.“Great models,” Banks says, “are silent actresses.” And she should know. For more than half her life, Tyra has transformed herself in front of the camera, becoming a history-making fashion icon in the process. From Paris to New York, from Dolce & Gabbana to Yves Saint Laurent, Tyra has walked the runways and posed for all the industry greats.

The model-of-the-moment flavor of haute couture didn’t offer Tyra the longevity she craved though. So she transformed her image, proactively cultivating a more commercial, mainstream appeal. Lucrative work with giants like Cover Girl, Pepsi and Tommy Hilfiger quickly followed. She became the first black woman to be featured on the covers of GQ and the coveted Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue. Next, she landed the Victoria’s Secret contract that made her a household name. In 1997, Tyra won the prestigious Michael Award for Supermodel of the Year, which in the fashion world is the equivalent of taking home an Oscar.

Barely in her thirties, the Inglewood, CA native has transformed herself again over the last three years—this time into a business savvy media mogul. Having successfully survived the modeling industry, where careers often peak before a model turns twenty-five, Tyra’s latest role (that of executive producer, host and head judge of the hit TV show America’s Next Top Model and host of The Tyra Banks Show) may prove to be her most challenging to date.

At the height of your career, you made what many would call a risky decision. You left modeling to pursue your dream of producing and hosting television shows. Why? When I was a model, I modeled because someone told me that I could. I wasn’t the girl who used to look at magazines all the time and wish that I was in them. It became a dream later, but it wasn’t something I aspired to. But even before the whole modeling thing happened, I’d always wanted to write, produce and work in the film and television business. That’s where my heart and soul has always been. It’s something I’ve dreamt of since I was nine years old. The modeling was just something that I did because I was 5’10”.

Basically you’ve taken this business of style and transitioned it into a personality-based industry. What do you think it is about you that allowed you to do that successfully? I would answer that by bringing it back to Top Model a little bit. When I decided to do the Top Model, I told a couple of people about the idea and they said that it will never work because models are unsympathetic characters. Even my agent said it wouldn’t work. (I ended up firing him and selling it without him.) Basically, people don’t really look at models as human beings. They’re paper dolls in a magazine that stare back at you and have no heartbeat. So when I created America’s Next Top Model, people got to see that models are insecure. They cry; they fight; they aren’t perfect. It made them human. And as much as it humanized my girls, I think it humanized me. It took away the one-dimensional character and showed that there was a human being there.

You took control of your career. Is that why the theme of self-empowerment continues to come up so often in your work? I think it’s so important because as women, especially women of color, I feel we’re put into a box that says, “This is what you’re good for. This is as far as you’re going to get and you need to just accept that.” So every day on my talk show I try to get out the message that even though we’re put into these boxes, it’s up to us to break free and to prove people wrong. People are going to constantly tell us that we’re not good enough, that we cannot do something. It is a fight. It is a battle. And we cannot let them win.

Can you tell me a little bit about how your talk show came into being? About seven years ago, I was appearing on the Oprah Winfrey Show consistently, and I got a lot of offers to do my own talk show. But I didn’t feel I was ready. I felt I was too young and I was still very judgmental, like, “Why you doing that? Why you still with him? He’s treating you so bad, you need to leave!” So I needed to live and experience being in a bad relationship and having negative things happen in order to be empathetic enough to be a good talk show host. So, one day I was at lunch with my manager Benny Medina and he said, “Tyra, what do you want to be? If you were to walk into this restaurant and everyone were to turn and look at you, what do you want them to think?” I said, “Benny, I’m interested in longevity. I’m interested in being relevant. In being a leader. In having the power to make change.”

[That’s huge]. So often you see public people who couldn’t care less about that kind of thing. They seem to be in it for the money and the fame and the hot women or hot men or whatever it is. They aren’t really looking to see “what is the impact that I’m making on society right now?” That’s extremely important to me. Even when I was modeling. As superficial as modeling is, I was always happy that I was thirty pounds heavier than those girls. I felt like that was a silent message saying that you don’t have to be stick-skinny to be considered attractive.

Even though you’ve retired from modeling, how much of a role do you think style still plays in your career? Style plays a big part of it. The first season of my talk show, I tried to go against that. I tried to wear things that weren’t really stylish, that maybe didn’t look so great. But then I had people come up to me on the street like, “Tyra, what the heck did you have on today?” So I had to realize that people still want me to be stylish. This season we have a new stylist, Yaniece Piper Thomas, and she’s like, “Girl, you need to come with it and be the hotness!” So, now we strive to make sure that we’re more “style iconic,” as opposed to making me look like a fool! [Laughter - Tyra]