kennyk's Blog

Apparently rapper T.I. is recording a new album titled Paper Trails while under house arrest for purchasing assorted firearms and silencers.

Instead of sitting alone in his mansion contimplating the thug lifestyle he embraces and markets to young people, T.I. is gettin' busy layin' da tracks for a new CD he plans to drop in September of 2008, yo.

Nice.

Oh. My. God.

I am such an excellent writer.

For fans of shlocky, Hallmark-flavoured BLEEP you will have to wait until September of 2008 for your fix.

Canadian singer/coffee table book author/Oprah mainstay/perfume autuer/mother/Las Vegas star/anorexic Celine Dion will be "Taking Chances" at the Bradley Center on 9/29/08.

The voice behind "Because You Loved Me," "Beauty And The Beast," "If You Asked Me To," "My Heart Will Go On," "I Drove All Night" (which was done by Roy Orbison and covered by Cyndi Lauper)" and dozens of ballads dripping with so much sap you could eat them with pancakes is making a stop here in Milwaukee next year.

I can just hear myfoxmilwaukee.com bloggers whistling with joy: the same reaction they had when hearing Bon Jovi will return to the area for the gazillionth time in three years.

I recently finished the hilarious book by Comedy Central staple Stephen Colbert titled I Am America (And So Can You!).

The host of Comedy Central's The Colbert Report,  former correspondent for The Daily Show With Jon Stewart and writer/star of the politically incorrect series and film Strangers With Candy has penned a truly outstanding book that will have readers laughing from start to finish.

Colbert divides each chapter into topics such as science, sex and dating, religion, and of course, politics. He is relentless with the humour; it is a wonder that this guy can come up with so many funny bits.

Colbert's sharp wit never grows tired; he is a brilliant satirist and comedian. And that is the truthiness.

Another superlative comedian is Sacha Baron Cohen: mastermind behind the masterwork Da Ali G Show.One of that show's characters ~ a clueless journalist form Kazakhstan named Borat Sagdiyev ~ was star of a hit "moviefilm" last year and is now an author of the book Touristic Guidings To The Glorious Nation Of Kazakhstan/Minor Nation Of U.S. and A.

This tour guide is for fans of the movie and HBO TV series by Cohen; all others will be grossly offended.

"Borat" leads readers thru a tour of his country and our's, with his delightfully offensive tone. With pictures, maps, and charts, Borat's musings are R- rated to be sure. There are some photos of male and female genitalia that will turn prudes off immediately; fans will delight in the absurdity of it all.

So to quote the man himself, Borat's book is a "great success!" 

But there comes a time when parents have to step forward and say 'I will be responsible for my children.' That's what we have to press upon this community. There has to be a moral compass in these young people, and if we don't have that, then we can't be shocked by these actions.

 ~ Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett, quoted in the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, November 8, 2007

Atleast someone in this community has an enlightened perspective on the recent violence in the city of Milwaukee.

Earlier this week a 15 year old boy shot two police officers responding to a call. The boy was with a 24-year old companion who has a lengthy rap sheet.

Since that incident the blowhards on Milwaukee talk radio have been eviscerating Mayor Barrett and police chief Nan Hegerty for not keeping our city's streets safer.

It simply amazes me that these supposedly intelligent, educated individuals have such a naive outlook on the situation at hand. Fingers should not be pointed at the mayor's office or local law enforcement; they should be pointed at the parents [or lack thereof] of these thugs.

I suppose that radio hosts like Marley Mikes {name has been changed} have to blame somebody; why not blame an easy target like Barrett or Hegerty?

And yet this approach is foolhardy and absurd. The responsibility has and always will lie in the hands of the couples who give birth to these ruthless thugs. Their poor decision to "get busy" one evening resulting in an unwanted pregnancy {and thus an unwanted child} has spawned a generation of degenerate hoodlums bent on self-destructive tendencies and criminal behaviour. We need to blame the idiot mothers and fathers of these moral less gangbangers. Period.

I have written on this subject time and time again. It comes as no surprise to me that the day after the third year anniversary of my high school friend Jay Balchunas' untimely death at the hands of two thugs back in 2004 that once again we witness another BLACK youth shoot at law enforcement.

Until the BLACK community fixes their problem of poverty, unwanted pregnancies, gangsta behaviour, laziness, playing the tired race card, etc. we will watch generations of young black youth murder each other, not to mention some innocent law-abiding folks like you and I.

The future is a grim and dark one, Milwaukee. There is no hope ahead. Why? Because the black community doesn't give a damn.

...that is what you get listening to premier country rock band the Eagles' first musical release since 1979 (!).

Titled Long Road Out Of Eden this double CD set is only availiable at Wal-Mart but worth the $12.

Glenn Frey, Timothy B. Schmit, Joe Walsh and Don Henley harken back to the days when their classic rock hits like "Hotel California," "Life In The Fast Lane," "Desparado," "Already Gone," and a slew of others graced the airwaves. Listening to Eden is like taking a journey back in time, and the result is pure bliss.

This is the second release I have purchased in the past month by a classic rock act (the other was Bruce Springsteen's outstanding Magic). Normally my record purchases weigh heavily on more current acts, but I have always enjoyed the Eagles' grand harmonies whenever they come over the radio. I saw them on their monumental reunion tour as well.

Eden is a superb addition to the foursome's repertoire. Their voices meld handsomely among a variety of midtempo rock songs and ballads, with a few raise the roof, high energy numbers.

Tracks like "How Long," "Last Good Time In Town," "Busy Being Fabulous," and "No More Cloudy Days" are vintage Eagles, whilst the surprisingly Middle Eastern strains of "Long Road Out Of Eden" and the dreamy instrumental "I Dreamed There Was No War" hint at some experimentation.

Each members' vocals sound as crisp as back in their heyday; they haven't lost their ability to swoon the listener nostalgically.

Coming on the heels of the beforementioned Springteen album, we are witnessing why these rock icons will forever be ingrained in our psyches as musical pioneers. They may be taking the long road out of Eden, but with this brilliant double CD the Eagles are leading listeners back to the promised land.

Could the summer of 2008 get any hotter at the box office?

Besides the 4th film in the Indiana Jones series the long awaited big screen sequel to the TV phenomenon The X Files will be released.

Series creator Chris Carter is at the helm, and the stars David Duchovny and Gillian Anderson will reprise their roles as Agents Fox Mulder and Dana Scully respectively.

The plot will not be about aliens, UFOs and government coverups; instead it will focus on something "scary" according to Carter.

I can't wait. It has been a while since The X Files has graced the small screen, and to see those characters back in action with guns and flashlights drawn once more will be, um, out of this world.

Just what the world needs: a new Britney Spears CD.

Released this past Tuesday, the blond-haired sk*nk's Blackout boasts a hit single "Gimme More" and is receiving rave reviews from critics.

Let's get one thing straight here: Spears is NOT ~ I repeat NOT ~ a musician. She cannot sing, write music or play an instrument. Still she gets credit for dropping a kick a** album?!

Credit should go to her posse of talented songwriters, producers, etc. who have taken the equivalent of toliet scum and expertly crafted it into something somewhat listenable.

With all their bells and whistles they can make anything sound catchy and accessible. In some cases that is extraordinary; in Spears' case that it is pretty sad.

Remember this is a young woman who has two children, a rap sheet, and two highly profiled divorces. Being the responsible mother that she is, she makes videos poledancing, dresses in scantily clad outfits and performs risque songs about getting naked.

Pathetic and tragic.

Sadly the U.S. audience will reward her with a Number One album despite her whorish ways, and a true musician Bruce Springsteen ~ who knows more about music than Spears could fit in her G string ~ will be bumped from the top spot on Billboard's chart.

Thus is the shallowness of American record buyers, who conform to anything remotely listenable if it is shoved in their complient eardrums often enough.

Thus the uncanny success of this two bit playa named Britney Spears. 

Someone please explain this to me:

A few weeks ago my beloved aunt passed away. She was ninety years old, lived a full life,was loved by many, and will be remembered for her spunky personality.

I didn't hear a thing about her death on the local news.

Now if she had been murdered, killed in a nursing home fire, run over by a speeding car or train, or fell to her death from a balcony it would have received coverage.

So with TV news it isn't the death itself, it is the manner of death that is important apparently.

A person passing away quietly in their sleep is not newsworthy, but if they die brutally, graphically, and/or violently, reporters are there with mics, cameras and notebooks in hand.

I suppose if the local TV newshounds are going to report on death, why not file reports on EVERYONE who died that day ~ gruesomely or otherwise.

Just a thought, guys...

Yesterday I purchased a book titled The Wisconsin Road Guide to Haunted Locations  by Chad Lewis and Terry Fisk. I thought this would be an excellent read for Halloween.

The first chapter gave me goosebumps. I am considering visiting some of these sites in the future, just to quench my curiousity.

Ever since I was young I have had a fascination with the paranormal, be it ghosts, UFOs, monsters, psi, etc. Over the last several years my interest in these unexplained phenomena has grown.

This book comes at an oppotune time for me. If you too are interested in the bizarre,the supernatural and the spooky, I would highly recommend Lewis and Fisk's book.

It is so good it's scary.

Last week he had the Number One CD in the U.S. This weekend he was arrested at a waffle house in Atlanta.

Yale graduate Kid Rock is out on bail after a fight presumedly over there not being enough syrup on his blueberry pancakes.

I was mortified that Rock's latest release Rock N' Roll Jesus debuted on Billboard's album chart at #1, knocking off a true rock n' roll messiah Bruce Springsteen's Magic last week.

It goes to show that the American public are willing to accept the musical equivalent of vomit as entertainment nowadays.

Kid Rock has to be one of the most talentless, idiotic and embarrasingly moronic rock stars in recent memory. He gets more press for his stupid missteps (read: quicky marriages to equally non talents; fights with various folks; romps with hookers on tour buses; etc. ) than his um, uh, "musical talents."

I think South Park masterminds Trey Parker and Matt Stone hit in on the head in an episode where character Eric Cartman is researching how to act mentally retarded in order to win a cash prize at the Special Olympics: he watches a Kid Rock video.

As Cartman himself would say: "Sweet!"

Kid Rock himself? Anything but.

Last year I had fun doing this and received some pretty good responses.I am unsure how many folks will respond this turn around, since it seems everything I post is glossed over by bloggers who seem to hold a grudge.

Anywho, with Halloween a few weeks away, I would like to hear from posters on what their favorite horror films are. Give me your top three. I'll start.

1. The Blair Witch Project.  This seemed to be a love it or hate it type of flick; I was in the former group. This indie hit was spooky, unnerving and chilling without dropping an ounce of blood, decapitating any heads, or showing any naked skin. It was just a full throttle creepfest about a trio of college students filming a documentary for a class assignment. Their subject: the Blair Witch. They get lost in the woods where they are filming, they start to lose their bearings, and strange things begin to happen.The last ten minutes of the film will have you shielding your eyes and panting with anxiety.
2. The Silence of the Lambs.  A classic. Period. Jonathan Demme's masterpiece won Oscars and scared the bejesus out of moviegoers. Sequels and prequels whored the original's good name, but it stands alone as a horrific spinetingler that coupled Jodie Foster and Anthony Hopkins in roles of a lifetime. FBI agent in training Clarice Starling tracks a serial killer by the name of Buffalo Bill with the help of a cannibalistic doctor named Hannibal Lector. This brilliant film gets under the skin, much like Buffalo Bill's sewing machine.
3. 28 Days Later; 28 Weeks Later.  Brits infected with the "Rage" virus turn into sprinting, red eyed, flesh hungry zombies seeking victims. Brave unaffected heroes flee to safer havens. Perfectly executed screamfests both.

Now it's YOUR turn. What are YOUR favorite horror films?

Once again Wisconsin makes the national news, and not for a good thing.

A massacre in Cramden leaves six teens and the shooter ~ a 20 year old sheriff's deputy ~ dead.

This awful, heartwrenching story of a young man jealous over a breakup with a girlfriend has been given local news coverage ad nauseum, not to mention clips on national news.

With eyes on our state once again, I am assuming that some local politician and/or radio talk show host is going to cry out for "stricter gun laws" to curb this awful strain of violence in our communities.

This case out of Cramden is a perfect example of how that arguement is a mute one. The killer in this case was a sheriff's deputy ~ who unlike many or most criminals ~ had access to a weapon legally.

It boils down to one thing: that guns aren't the problem; the people who use them are. What needs to change are not laws, but people's minds. This young man was disturbed about a recent breakup with his girl, he goes to a party to make amends, partygoers reject him and call him a "worthless pig," then all hell breaks loose.

This man was driven to seek revenge. If a gun wasn't avaliable to him, he would have used a knife, a baseball bat, his car, or his hands to kill. What are politicians going to lobby for then? A ban on baseball bats? A ban on human appendiges?

What happened this weekend in Cramden is a tragedy thru and thru. I feel heartache for the families of the victims, not to mention the loved ones of the shooter, who most likely will be ostracized by an unforgiving society. Their despair must be unfathomable.

What do you say we pray for these people: forgiveness and healing for all involved? That would go much further than any law on the books could.

Back in the '80s I owned a few of New Jersey rock icon Bruce "The Boss" Springsteen's CDs. I even saw him in concert at the Bradley Center.

My musical tastes have changed dramatically since I was a teen; now I almost exclusively turn towards so-called "alternative" rock and electronica to satisfy my audio appetite.

So purchasing Springsteen's latest disc with the E Street Band ~ titled Magic ~ is certainly a sidestep for me. But after hearing rave reviews from a variety of resources, I decided to give it a go.

I was pleasantly surprised.

After 30-plus years in the biz, The Boss has shown NO signs of slowing down or mellowing out. Magic is an aptly titled album: it harkens to the glory days of Springsteen's best recordings. It is a lively, jubiliant, roll down the windows and crank it up sort of CD. Impressive to say the least.

The songs are sweeping, anthemic sing alongs, punctuated by the always reliable E Street band's backup. Sax player Clarence Clemons, guitarist Stevie Van Zandt, backup singer Patti Scafia and all the other members aid Springsteen in creating a superlative soundscape that echoes such classic rock hits as "Thunder Road," "Born To Run," and "Dancing In The Dark."

Tunes like "Your Own Worst Enemy," the single "Radio Nowhere" (which admittingly sounds like a rip-off of the 80s hit by Tommy Tutone "867-5309"), and the superb "Girls With Summer Clothes On" are all worthy additions to Springsteen's lengthy catalog.

Although none of those songs will ever be a radio hit considering today's pop music landscape is dominated by salacious hip/hop and gangsta rap garbage or the latest single from mediocre bar bands like Nickelback, Springsteen deserves credit for creating some awfully catchy tracks that lay waste to most of those Now That's What I Call Music!   throwaways.

If you have a hungry heart for some old time rock n' roll that will leave you fully satisfied , conjure up some Magic.

The Boss is back.

Recently a blogger accused me of being racist due to the number of blogs I have written regarding black crime and such.

It made me wonder: am I racist?

I came to the conclusion that I may very well be.

I hate to admit that. I'd like to think that I judge people not on the colour of their skin, but on the content of their character.

But let me say this: given what I have seen/read from the media, and in some cases, in my own experience, I see black people in a negative light.

Turn on the news and most likely some black person is committing a crime of some sort. It is typically young black males who are mugging, shooting, stealing, raping, carjacking, etc. This is a FACT.

It is usually black folks who dress like hoodlums, thumbing their nose at authority figures of ANY kind, be it parents, teachers, cops, etc, with their do' rags, pants down to their kneecaps, oversized shirts, bling, etc. Of course, these black youth are emulating their idols: the thug culture of gangsta rap/hip-hop, where money, violent crime, and "b*tches" and "'h*'s" dominate.

Then there is the whole "race card" issue: black people who cry "FOUL" whenever one of "their's" is accused of bad and often times criminal behavior (like Michael McGee Jr.), stating that the"Man" is out to get them. Why? 'Cause they are black.

The fact of the matter is that these issues have NOTHING to do with skin colour. It has to do with behaviour. It is easier for the black community to point fingers at others instead of at themselves. They deflect responsibility that way. It is an excuse for the behavior, and an excuse for it to continue as well.

As long as black folks play the race and/or victim card, they will continue to drive themselves into the ground. Generations of black youth will continue to meet an early demise at the hands of gun crime. Our prisons will continue to be filled to capacity with coloured men who are bitter, hateful and outraged at a world that has done them wrong.

The solution to these problems are not easy ones, and will take tremoundous effort and some time. It will also take the will and tenacity of individuals in the black community to adopt a new attitude of change. As long as they play victim, they will continue on their self-created path of self-destruction.

As I write this blog I question whether or not I indeed am prejudice. My acid tongue comes from an anger not directed at blacks' skin colour, but their abhorrent behavior.

Once they fix the problem that they themselves have created, THEN they will gain my respect and admiration that they so richly deserve as members of the human race.

But enough already with the posing, the crying "RACIST," the deplorable gangsta stance and so forth. It is time for them to start cleaning up their act.