http://www.keithboykin.com/ main blog entries, archived individually, monthly and by category en-us kb@keithboykin.com Fri, 28 Dec 2007 12:34:38 -0500 http://www.keithboykin.com/arch/2007/12/28/new_beginnings_1 We made it. This is the last daily post I will make on the site. Of course I will continue to write on the blog during the next few months, especially about the presidential campaign. But you will notice that the site will begin to change starting today. The first change you will see is the URL address for this page. The new address will move from keithboykin.com to keithboykin.com/blog/archives. The main address for the site will remain the same, but the keithboykin.com URL will soon point to a different entry page. We are also in the process of redoing... http://www.keithboykin.com/arch/2007/12/27/the_assassinati The world has been on edge for months as it watches the elections in the U.S., Russia and Pakistan, three very different nuclear powers. This morning in Pakistan, the election campaign took a dramatic turn as former prime minister Benazir Bhutto, the first female political leader of a modern Muslim nation, was assassinated at a campaign rally. Pakistan has been an ally to the United States in the war on terror, but some suspect that the Pakistani government has not done enough to rein in Al Qaeda. Bhutto, a Harvard-educated leader, emerged from exile earlier this year and returned... http://www.keithboykin.com/arch/2007/12/26/kwanzaa_and_the_1 Kenneth Winfrey Reports As I think over the past year, I am glad to say that I feel that I’ve had a wonderful year. Despite the disappointments, there were many precious moments of realization and countless others where I feel that I was blessed with the gifts that life on Earth has to offer. I feel that I have learned a great deal during this year, especially from writing on this site. And while I fancy myself as a writer, I am not able to describe fully my gratitude for the experience this site has provided for me. My life... http://www.keithboykin.com/arch/2007/12/24/twas_the_night_2 'Twas the night before Christmas And all through the site Not a person was posting Or starting a fight. The people were quiet with nothing to share, In hopes that the season would lighten the air. When out of the blue there arose such a chatter, I sprang from the couch to see what was the matter. Away to the keyboard I ran in a dash, Logged onto the net and suddenly it crashed. I returned to the tube my eyes all aglow And pushed the remote to the channels below. When, what to my wondering eyes should appear,... http://www.keithboykin.com/arch/2007/12/24/remembering_tom I am sad to report today that my colleague Tom Morgan, a legendary journalist, has passed away. Tom was a native of St. Louis and during his career he served as a reporter and editor at the New York Times, Washington Post and Miami Herald. He came to my attention in the 1990s after he had become the first openly gay president of the National Association of Black Journalists. I did not know Tom well, but I admired and respected him immensely. An attractive, well-built man with a serious journalistic pedigree, he left a strong impression on me the... http://www.keithboykin.com/arch/2007/12/23/mccain_obama_ri After my election predictions last week, I just had to post this headline from today's Huffington Post. A few people wrote me directly who did not believe that McCain or Obama would win New Hampshire, so I thought it amusing when I clicked on the Internet this morning and stumbled upon this story. Of course, this doesn't mean that those candidates will win in New Hamsphire, and it doesn't mean my prediction will be right. A prediction is just an educated guess. Anything could happen between now and January 8. But it does seem to suggest that the prediction... http://www.keithboykin.com/arch/2007/12/21/jaded_a_lovely Reviews by Stanley Bennett Clay I confess. I am a sucker for a good love story. But Kevin E. Taylor's Jaded, a tender, life-affirming tale of romantic, committed, respectfully considerate, and passion-filled love, swept me off my feet! Proving that nice guys can finish first, Joshua Knight, an ad agency executive, and Elijah Monroe, a music producer, meet in a Harlem record store specializing in lost and/or hard-to-find musical treasures, a fitting metaphor for the predicament these two handsome and successful thirty-something African American men have found themselves in, having both been wounded by previous break-ups. With everything they have... http://www.keithboykin.com/arch/2007/12/20/official_2008_i Clinton and Huckabee Will Win Iowa Two weeks from today, voters in Iowa will cast the first votes in the 2008 presidential election cycle, and the race on both sides is still too close to call. At the moment, Obama and Huckabee are leading in the polls in Iowa, but the former frontrunners, Clinton and Romney, are right on their heels. It's a very tight race and the polls are all over the map, but I'm going to take a risk and make a prediction today. Looking at the trends and the momentum in the first two contests, it looks... http://www.keithboykin.com/arch/2007/12/19/the_phony_war_o I got a call this morning from a producer at a TV news show asking me if I would come on to talk about Mike Huckabee's new "Christmas ad" that features the Republican presidential candidate discussing "the birth of Christ" in front of what some believe to be a Christian cross in the background. The host wanted to use the ad as a segue to discuss whether it was still acceptable to say "Merry Christmas" anymore. Of course it's acceptable, I responded to the producer, who was actually looking for someone to go on TV and say that it's not... http://www.keithboykin.com/arch/2007/12/18/clash_of_the_ch_1 It would have been easy to write about politics today. But with so much going on in the presidential campaign, I figure everybody else will be talking about that already. So today I decided to take a little pop culture diversion. Anybody who has ever read this website in January knows how much I love American Idol. Although the last two winners have disappointed me, the show itself continues to entertain every year. So last night when I turned on the television and decided not to go to the gym, I was looking for something to keep my interest.... http://www.keithboykin.com/arch/2007/12/17/introducing_gen_1 With all the evidence of homosexuality and same-sex relationship in the Harlem Renaissance, I've always wondered why so few books were written about the subject at the time. Surely, homophobia played a role in these decisions, but it always seemed odd that many of the defining literary and cultural figures of the time were so visible and open about their sexuality in some ways, but so guarded in other ways. Now there's a "new" book coming out that helps fill in the gaps. It's the first new work to come out of the Harlem Renaissance in quite some time. Written... http://www.keithboykin.com/arch/2007/12/14/two_more_weeks_1 Last month I announced my plans to close down this site. Today I want to take a moment to update you on the status of that transition. On Friday, December 28, two weeks from today, I will post my last daily commentary on the site. After that, the site will remain open, at least until the end of February 2008, but I will no longer post articles everyday. I will continue to write about the presidential race and other important issues as circumstances warrant. My goal is to post at least one article per week. And I plan to continue... http://www.keithboykin.com/arch/2007/12/13/will_downing_wi Reviews by Stanley Bennett Clay Will Downing has always been an artist able to rise above challenges. For years he held his musical ‘own’ in spite of the blinding light of the late Luther Vandross's vocal virtuosity and attended superstardom. But Downing’s deeply felt baritone tremor and whispery upper register drip with a soulfulness lethal enough to drop the most prudish pair of panties. His latest CD After Tonight is a lush testament to his intoxicating vocal gift. Even after contracting the rare and severely debilitating muscle disease Polymyositis in the middle of producing this collection—he sang several cuts from... http://www.keithboykin.com/arch/2007/12/13/whats_love_got_1 The passing of Ike Turner on Wednesday got me thinking about some of my favorite songs from his ex-wife Tina. With all the attacks and counter-attacks being thrown about in the final weeks before the Iowa caucuses, I'm first reminded of Turner's famous comeback song "We Don't Need Another Hero." In Tina Turner's words, "Out of the ruins, out from the wreckage, can't make the same mistake this time." That seems to be the sentiment from the Democratic voters who want nothing more than to sweep the Republicans from the White House. But there's another line from the song... http://www.keithboykin.com/arch/2007/12/12/sean_johnson_fi It's not every day you get to interview the boss, but that's sort of what I'm doing today with my interview of Sean Johnson. Well, Sean isn't really my boss, but he does produce the TV talk show I host on BET J, and he authorizes the paychecks I receive. So please forgive me if I pitch him a softball or two. Don't want to upset the guy who pays me. I first met Sean at a Black Entertainment and Sports Law conference in Puerto Rico several years ago. He was an entertainment lawyer before he became a big TV...