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Barbershop 2: Reconciling desire & familiarity, ideals & expectations

Post author:Guy LeCharles Gonzalez
Post published:February 13, 2004
Post category:Personal Pop Culture
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There's only been a handful of "black" movies that have struck me as having that certain something at their core that expressed a sincere love for the people it presented, warts and all, and this is one of them. The first Barbershop, Waiting to Exhale, Boyz N the Hood and Rosewood are some of the others that come to mind. There's an emotional honesty to each of them that transcends the archetypes they employ to tell their stories. Of course, that's all debatable but, in this instance, it's not the point.

Post author:Guy LeCharles Gonzalez
Post published:February 4, 2004
Post category:Personal Pop Culture
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As a kid, I was a big fan of GI Joe. I vaguely remember in the 70s having a couple of the big 12" dolls and the jeep. I think at least one of them even had "real" facial hair. In the 80s, I really got into them when the 3-3/4" action figures came out - Snake Eyes, Grunt, Scarlet, Stalker and Cobra Commander, who you could only get via a mail-in promotion. We shoplifted a bunch of them from the old Caldor's in Pelham every time we went, hiding them in our socks with the cardboard backing that had…

Post author:Guy LeCharles Gonzalez
Post published:January 15, 2004
Post category:Personal Pop Culture
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When I got into Dungeons & Dragons back in High School, there were a number of other role-playing games I was familiar with - Gamma World, James Bond, Marvel Superheroes, etc. - and they all took place within fantasy worlds of some sort, past or future. Even James Bond, which took place in something resembling our "real" world, was at its core, a pen and paper version of the movies which are as far removed from the "real" world as dragons, elves and wizards. Times changed and D&D [in a PC vs. Macintosh business model kind of way] evolved into…

2003 In Review

Post author:Guy LeCharles Gonzalez
Post published:December 19, 2003
Post category:Personal Pop Culture
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This will have to last through Monday... 1. What did you do in 2003 that you'd never done before? Contributed $$$ to a political campaign. 2. Did you keep your new year's resolutions, and will you make more for next year? Don't generally make specific resolutions other than to be true to myself. I am resolving to quit (or more likely, drastically cut down on) drinking. It's been 17 days... 3. Did anyone close to you give birth? Not that I recall, though Frandie announced they're expecting early next year! :-) 4. Did anyone close to you die? No. Knock…

The Cat in the Hat; Kucinich Event

Post author:Guy LeCharles Gonzalez
Post published:November 24, 2003
Post category:Personal Pop Culture
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It's been a long time since I've walked out on a movie. It has to be really, really bad for me to call it a loss and give in. Dragnet (the Tom Hanks/Dan Akroyd version) was pretty damn terrible but I stuck it out to the disappointing end. Same for American Beauty. Not so The Cat in the Hat. We caught a matinee on Saturday and lasted 40 minutes before giving up. It didn't help that it was India's first movie and we found out she's not a movie baby. That didn't happen until we were 30 minutes into the…

Post author:Guy LeCharles Gonzalez
Post published:October 27, 2003
Post category:Pop Culture
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It's an old joke that people have kids so they can have an excuse to play with toys again. While certainly not the only reason - they can have a nice affect on your taxes, too! - it's definitely in the Top 10, and Isaac's 3rd birthday proved to be a veritable bonanza. After getting a bunch of Crayola art supplies, including a cool desk/easel, from us on Friday, we threw him a party at Chuck E. Cheese on Sunday with a bunch of his cousins and friends, and we...I mean HE, made out like a bandit! He got more…

Post author:Guy LeCharles Gonzalez
Post published:October 12, 2003
Post category:Pop Culture
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Either Hollywood has been lying for years or Memorial High School's Class of 1993 has no sense of drama! Saturday night was Salomé's 10 Year High School Reunion and I was fully expecting to enjoy some of the stereotypical dramatics I've seen in the movies. A redeeming fight between the jock and the geek; indiscretions in the bathroom; shocking revelations on the dance floor; long-lost love found in the parking lot. Something! Instead, it was a night of old friends and acquaintances, many of whom hadn't seen each other in a while, enjoying a rare night out together. I'm sure…