Nov 16, 2015

N'DIGO Talks With Chaz Ebert

NDigo
facebook twitter
MV5BMTUzMDgwOTgyMF5BMl5BanBnXkFtZTgwNTI5MjI1NDE . V1 UY317 CR51 0 214 317 AL
Chaz Ebert
Chaz Ebert is a dear friend and we had a chance to chat while she was in Los Angles by phone. Chaz and I share the same hair stylist and often visit in the salon. I saw her take care of her late husband, Roger Ebert. If it were up to me she would receive the SAINT award. I saw her up close and personal and admired her every move. She stayed positive, with loving patience.
We had an opportunity to catch up and talk about life without Roger. She is busy as ever, working on a variety of projects. Our conversation centered on the play, Black and White Love written and produced by Jackie Taylor now showing at the Black Ensemble Theater.
The play brilliantly captures the interracial love story of Roger and Chaz. The cast includes a main couple and four other couples as their story is dramatized to music. The story in the form of a musical goes through the challenges of a terminal illness, and how this couple was challenged and conquered. Roger had thyroid cancer that eventually took his jawbone. The arch of the story is as long as they loved they were okay.
BWBanner Chaz Quote
CLICK HERE FOR TICKETS
***
NDIGO: What have you been doing lately?
CHAZ: I am writing a book, that is a semi memoir. But I can’t talk about it too much. The book will be about life before Roger and life with Roger. I will discuss the spiritual qualities of our lives.
NDIGO: I have read that you are working on a movie, The Emmitt Till Story.
CHAZ: I am producing a movie on the life of Emmitt Till. We are the only filmmaker working with the Till estate. Our story will be told in Mamie Till’s [Emmitt’ late mother] own words. We are developing the movie with the script, production team and interviewing actors. We have acquired the intellectual property.
NDIGO: I understand Jay Z and Wil Smith are also working on The Emmitt Till Story. What do you think about that?
CHAZ: I am glad others are involved. It will help race relations and some good will come from the tragedy.
***
469983936-chaz-ebert-attends-the-moving-midway-screening-at.jpg.CROP.hd-large
Chaz is becoming a movie producer
NDIGO: What else are you doing?
CHAZ: We are working on a TV production, “Great Movie Series.”
NDIGO: How is Roger’s online site?
CHAZ: Roger and I founded RogerEbert.com. We were ahead of the curve. We urged the Sun Times to become active online Today, we have over 40 movie critics from all over the world. There are four editors and two assistant editors. We have foreign correspondents in France, Brazil, Egypt, Australia, Mexico, Poland, Canada, England, South Korea and the Philippines. All of these people are writing about movies from their perspectives. The site attracts 30% of the traffic from outside of the United States and I asked correspondents from all over the world to share their point of view.
NDIGO: What did you think about Jackie Taylor’s play based on you and Roger?
CHAZ: I like it every much. I was there for opening night. I am pleased. It shows how important music was to the both of us and what an important role it played in our lives. Often music can take on serious issues and talk about them in seriously. The casting was well done. Rashid Dawen plays me and Kevin Pollack plays Roger. They both do a fine job. During intermission many people thought that I was on stage playing myself.
Jackie told our story. We traveled the world and found racism unacceptable. The plays points out things maybe many didn’t know. Roger lived for his grandchildren. He had cancer when we married and it had been in remission for 10 years and reoccurred after we married. The story shares the depth of our living and the challenges we faced as a couple. The story is about our life and our love. Jackie did a fine job and I was amazed at how she presented it. Music was important to us. Our first date was at the Lyric Opera. We loved music from the Opera to the Blues.
enhanced-buzz-wide-13270-1365106909-10
The Eberts on the red carpet.
NDIGO: Jackie is always great, I wondered if the story should have been a drama. The play, deals with so many serious issues, illness and eventually death.
CHAZ: There are a lot of things you can do with music that you just can’t do with a drama.
***
BWLP 600x315 banner ad NOW PLAYING
CLICK HERE FOR TICKETS

Nov 15, 2015

Dog Train Texas







Dogs "On The Road" in Texas


FORT WORTH -- I came to Fort Worth, Texas thinking I had seen everything, when out rolled evidence to the contrary -- a guy on a mower pulling nine dogs on a train.
That's a new one. In fact, the only thing more surprising than the sight, may be the story behind it.
The train ride is the brain child of brothers Eugene and Walter Bostick, and it's just a small part of their much larger mission to improve the lives of every single critter they come across. The Bosticks, who live in the same 11 acre woods they grew up in, spend thousands of dollars a year just feeding the wildlife here.



en1002hartmandogs04.jpg
Dog train in Texas.
 CBS NEWS

"You name 'em - 'coons, 'possums," said Walter.
"Beaver," Eugene chimed in.
"No, we don't...Oh yeah, the beaver does eat corn and bread," Walter responded.
They don't miss so much as a mallard. And if you're wondering why they have this insatiable need to feed, the answer is simple -- childhood guilt.



en1002hartmandogs08.jpg
Dog train in Texas, the brainchild of two brothers.
 CBS NEWS

"When we first moved here we killed them all. The rule of the day was anything that moved we shot," the brothers said.
But now these repentant hunters are making amends in any way they can think of, which brings us back to the train. Over the years a lot of stray dogs have wandered onto the property. Of course they're cared for, but that wasn't enough for the Bostick boys who thought these mutts might enjoy a little movement as well.
"You'd be surprised how good it makes you feel to see them loading up and how happy they are," Walter said.



en1002hartmandogs03.jpg
Texas brothers Eugene and Walter Bostick.
 CBS NEWS

The train departs once a week for an hour of pure joy. The mangy misfits -- now the envy of the neighborhood. The dogs no one wanted -- now like celebrities on a catwalk.
Their giant chew-chew toy takes the dogs mostly through the local warehouse district, but for the brothers, each trip takes them one step closer to redemption.
Certainly if all dogs go to heaven, you know there's gotta be room for those who engineer their happiness.
To contact On the Road, or to send us a story idea, e-mail us.

Nov 14, 2015

from the McLaughlin Group: Elanor Clift talks Michele Obama and her future plans

English: Aerial view of the White House in Was...
English: Aerial view of the White House in Washington, D.C. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
Lawn in front of the White House, Washington, ...
Lawn in front of the White House, Washington, DC. Français : La pelouse devant la Maison Blanche, Washington (District de Columbia), États-Unis. Italiano: Il giardino di fronte alla Casa Bianca a Washington, Stati Uniti d'America. 日本語: ワシントンD.C.ホワイトハウス前の芝地。 Polski: Trawnik ogrodu Białego Domu, Waszyngton, Dystrykt Columbia (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
Mrs. Obama is putting down her marker as a champion for education for girls around the world. I think it tells us something about what she’s going to do after she leaves the White House. And she’s not prepping a run for herself for the White House. This is kind of a pure ideological commitment.



Issue put to the panelist: Why did Mrs. Obama visit Qatar?






Marker from the first Lady







Nov 12, 2015

John Kasich: Takes Out Trump Two Times--We should be glad

 Thanks to John Kasich and the donald himself the ridiculous scenario of trumps immigration plan has been exposed.  Twice now in a debate john Kasich has called out donald on his stupid ideas of deporting Hispanics.  Then trump went on about the Ike idea of deportation--one that every single news agency has said was horrific and inhumane.

This is important because donald trump and ben carson are an American embarrassment.  Their ideas do not fit with the coat of many colors values that have existed in our country since the beginning.

On the more practical side this theory cannot win a general election.  John Kasich has been quoted all over the news channels for his comments against trump particularly from the practical point of view.

I think we have to give him credit given the backlash he must have known that would be coming from donald--notice this time trump did not have much to say in his words against kasich.

Joshn Kasich is more or less normal and has a good track record--who else on the Republican debate stage has those credentials....possibly Jeb Bush.

If John Kasich plays his card right and lets Bush's superpac take out Rubio with high powered ads one cannot see why he does not have a pretty good chance.

What would be wrong with a ticket like John Kasich/Nicky Haley?

I just do not understand why the GOP has to veer so far from normal and then wonder why they do not win a race.

Seriously, my girl Hillary will win and I should not even be talking about Kasich but the likes of donald trump and ben carson are disgusting.

America should be glad he took the leadership role and stopped them in their tracks.

I, for one, as a US citizen appreciate it.

Good job and well done to John Kasich.




Is John Kasich fading or was he the debate VIP? John Kasich in the news

John Kasich
Depending on which pundit you believe, Ohio Gov. John Kasich, here talking with reporters in the spin room Tuesday night after the Republican presidential debate in Milwaukee, was either the most important candidate on stage or is fading fast. (Jeffrey Phelps, The Associated Press)
Robert Higgs, cleveland.com Columbus bureau chiefBy Robert Higgs, cleveland.com Columbus bureau chief 
Email the author | Follow on Twitter
on November 11, 2015 at 2:20 PM, updated November 11, 2015 at 3:26 PM
0
Reddit
Email
Today's John Kasich news: Ohio Gov. John Kasich didn't get rave reviews for his performance Tuesday in the GOP presidential debate in Milwaukee, but one columnist speculates that he might have been the most important person on stage.
Kasich's presence among the GOP presidential hopefuls, and his performance, could go a long way toward shaping the field over the long haul, writes James Poulos of The Week.
"According to the fast-forming conventional wisdom, the longshot candidate was one of the bigger losers of the debate," Poulos wrote Wednesday. "But his influence on the field, already outsized, hit a fresh high."
Kasich's message could very well make the difference in make-or-break New Hampshire, home of the first Republican presidential primary in 2016.
"Kasich had but one strategic objective yesterday night: to show (Jeb) Bush voters what a real fire in the belly looks like," Poulos wrote. "Sure, he took it too far for rightwing populists, raining derision on Donald Trump and other immigration hawks. But in New Hampshire, which Bush is treating like a must-win, the Kasich we saw last night is likely to play much differently."
The result could vault Kasich into a three-way contest for the nomination.
Read the full column at The Week.
FiveThirtyEightPolitics editor Nate Silver had a different take on Kasich's debate performance and evaluated the case for the governor as a presidential candidate.
He's fairly moderate, but no more moderate than Jeb Bush, Silver posted to his site Wednesday. "He's a fresher face than Bush. And his campaigning muscles are more in shape, since he was elected and re-elected easily in Ohio in 2010 and 2014."
But Silver questions if Kasich has peaked and may in fact be fading as he presents his campaign as the more-moderate alternative.
"I'd thought that Kasich might be engaged in an elaborate tactical bank shot. First, get on the radar screen by any means necessary," Silver wrote. "But part two of the strategy, I'd assumed, would be a pivot — once he had found his footing, he would move back to the right."
Read Silver's full assessment at FiveThirtyEightPolitics.

copied from cleveland.com