Where does Martin Scorsese stand on the enduring cultural clash between vampires and zombies? Where else? “I happen to like vampires more than zombies. A vampire, quite honestly, you could have a conversation with. He has a sexuality. I mean the undead thing… Zombies, what are you going to do with them? Just keep chopping them up, shooting at them, shooting at them. It’s a whole other thing that apparently means a great deal to our culture and our society. There are many, many books written about it and many movies. I saw one in London when I was doing Hugo. I saw one late at night one weekend. It was called Colin, by a young filmmaker [Marc Price]. He shot it, I think, digitally by himself, edited it himself. It was savage. It had an energy that took the zombie idea to another level. Really interesting filmmaking. Disturbing.” Also: He gets Raging Bull II just about as much as you and I do. [ GQ via /film ]
This guy is WAY better than us! David Jay Founder Of Asexual Visibility and Education Network Talks About Life Without Sex David Jay was in middle school when everyone around him grew suddenly obsessed with the same all-consuming impulse. It wasn’t sex per se, but it was its nascent beginnings. While his classmates talked non-stop about which movie stars they thought were hot, eyed each other in the hallway, and made their first, awkward attempts at dating, Jay was left feeling distinctly out of the loop. “I just didn’t get it,” he recalls. “I didn’t have a reference point to understand what they were going through. And that’s really terrifying, because everyone assumes that’s what should be happening for you. Sexuality is a really big deal for almost everyone, from middle school on. It’s a really central part of a lot of people’s lives.” But sex was not a central part of David Jay’s life: not in middle school, not in high school, and not now. That’s because, like approximately one percent of the population, Jay identifies as asexual. Not only that, he is America’s best known asexual person, serving as the emergent sexual orientation’s attractive, articulate spokesperson on everything from The View, to MTV, to France 24. Jay launched the Asexual Visibility and Education Network (AVEN), an online community dedicated to raising awareness of asexuality and providing support to people who identify as asexual, in 2001, when he was 18 and a college freshman. “I had spent the past four years struggling to realize that I was okay, and I didn’t want other asexual people to have the realize the same thing,” he says. The website soon became a rallying cry: first for hundreds, then thousands, and later tens of thousands of people who felt alienated from the sexual stories and imagery that dominate our culture. At its most basic, asexuality is defined by an absence of sexual attraction. Some asexual people are in romantic relationships, others aren’t. Some are outgoing, others are shy. Some are sexually active for the sake of their partners or social pressure, some have never so much as kissed another person. Some think sex is disgusting, some are indifferent, and some think it’s great for other people but have no wish to “go there” themselves. But what all asexual people have in common — and what defines asexuality as an orientation — is that, while they may have a desire to connect with other people, asexuals have no desire to connect with them sexually. Asexual people are not the same as celibate people: it’s not that they are purposefully or unintentionally abstaining from sex they would otherwise like to have, but rather that they have no interest in it. We understand that asexuality isn’t a “choice” per se, but damn! How don’t you like the feeling of poppin’ the “Big O” and releasing all that glorious energy??? Image via AVEN Source More On Bossip! Dirty Secrets: 10 Lies Men Tell Women That Women Don’t Want To Know The Truth About Anyway Just Stay Away: The Biggest Comeback Fails Of All Time Matrimony-Dom: Meagan Good Is Offcially Engaged To Be Married To Her Preacher Boyfriend DeVon Franklin Must Be Nice: Did Chris Brown Make It Rain On Boo Thang Karrueche By Buying Her A $175K Whip Just Make RihRih Jealous???
MTV News looks back at the Florida teen’s killing and the month that followed. By Gil Kaufman Trayvon Martin Photo: AP It’s been more than a month since 17-year-old high school student Trayvon Martin was shot and killed by self-appointed neighborhood-watch captain George Zimmerman in Sanford, Florida, on February 26. Since the case burst onto the national consciousness over the past month, there have been protests, unending questions about the facts in the incident, a national debate about the wearing of hoodies and plenty of reaction from the hip-hop community about what other issues may be beneath the surface of the shooting. “There is a general understanding from society that the law will work when it is supposed to and, when the facts support one understanding of a crime, that the law will do what it is supposed to do to make sure everyone is vindicated in the way they should be,” said Donald F. Tibbs, associate professor of law at Drexel University’s Earle Mack School of Law. Tibbs, who focuses on the intersection of race, law, civil rights and criminal procedure, told MTV News that one reason the case has created such an uncomfortable feeling for some is that the facts so far seem to suggest that Zimmerman shot an unarmed teen for no apparent reason and that “most people’s sense is that once you kill someone, you’re arrested by the police … [but in this case] he shot and killed someone and the police let him go. Not because of anything we know based on objective evidence, they let him go on his word that he acted in self-defense.” Witnesses have emerged who claim that Martin attacked Zimmerman on the night of the shooting, which police officials have said bolsters their decision not to arrest the shooter. However, others who claim to have seen the alleged scuffle have said Zimmerman appeared unhurt afterward and that they did not see Martin act in an aggressive manner. If that’s all it takes — telling police that you didn’t commit a crime — then Tibbs wondered how anyone gets arrested. Police have the right to arrest someone and prosecutors the right to pursue a case, but, Tibbs said, “It never stops at the very beginning [of the process]. It has to get started before prosecutors stop it.” If Zimmerman were to eventually be charged in the case, Tibbs speculated that he could be hit with first-degree homicide or perhaps manslaughter if there were evidence he fired during the commission of an act in which he was provoked. “People are drawn to this case for a variety of reasons,” he said. “Questions of young black men who are called suspicious for doing nothing but minding their business, police failing to do their job, the racial bias by police officers against a young black man, questions about the criminal justice system not working … people wanting to feel the system of justice is right … [and a sense] that the story Zimmerman is telling just doesn’t sound right.” Here’s a timeline of the events in the Martin case: February 26 : Martin is found shot and killed, with several eyewitnesses telling police they heard a fight, then a cry for help and a gunshot. Zimmerman, 28, is seen standing over Martin’s body while wielding a handgun and reportedly sporting a bloody nose and a wound on the back of his head. Martin is pronounced dead at the scene, and police find no weapons on him, just a bottle of iced tea and a bag of Skittles. Martin claims he killed Martin in self-defense and police do not arrest him or administer a drug or alcohol test. March 9 : Martin’s family demands the release of the 911 tapes and/or the arrest of Zimmerman. A week later, Sanford Police Chief Billy Lee said there was no evidence to dispute Zimmerman’s assertion of self-defense. Police say they could not arrest the shooter because he was protected by the so-called “Stand Your Ground” law that allows Floridians to shoot someone they reasonably believe is threatening them and to stand put and use their weapon in such a situation. March 16 : Public outrage about the case begins to spread as a Change.org petition from Martin’s family asking for Zimmerman to be prosecuted gathers more than 250,000 signatures in its first few days. It currently has more than 2.2 million signatures. March 19 : Martin’s 16-year-old girlfriend tells the family attorney that she was on the phone with Trayvon when Zimmerman began following him and she heard pushing and then the phone line went silent. The U.S. Justice Department launches an investigation into the case. A day later, a Sanford PD spokesperson admits to ABC News that investigators may have overlooked a possible racist remark by Zimmerman — who has a Hispanic mother and white father — during a conversation with dispatchers in the moments before the killing of Martin, who is black. March 21 : Hundreds of people take to the streets of New York calling for justice in the Martin case during a protest dubbed the Million Hoodie March, so named because of Zimmerman’s assertion that his victim looked “suspicious” in his hooded sweatshirt. The protest was attended by Martin’s parents in their first public appearance since the shooting. Once the story began to make national headlines, members of the hip-hop community and artists including Spike Lee, Big Boi, Tichina Arnold, Wyclef Jean and Roots drummer ?uestlove began to rally their social-media followers to express outrage about the shooting. Police Chief Lee gets a “no confidence” vote from the city council on March 21. March 22 : Young Jeezy speaks to MTV News about the Martin killing, saying, “I feel very deeply as a community leader and as a product of my culture … I feel like we all got to get together and stop this, ’cause I have a son his age and I just feel like that could’ve been either of our children.” Police Chief Lee steps down temporarily from his post due to the mounting pressure over the case, and thousands rally in Sanford in an event organized by the Reverend Al Sharpton to demand Zimmerman’s arrest. Compton rapper Game tells MTV News that he believes a deeply rooted racial bias is behind the shooting. “I think that from the beginning of mankind, we as a people have always been targeted,” he said. “For some, reason people don’t think that they need any excuse to kill us, beat us, hit us, run us over, disrespect us or anything like that … I’m far from racist. I’m very educated and intellectual and I understand how life works and how people of all colors exist under the sun, but it just seems like more than not black people are, I don’t know, there’s always some negative occurrence that goes on in our existence. This is just another reminder that stupidity still exists.” March 23 : President Obama calls for an investigation into the incident during a White House press conference. “If I had a son, he would look like Trayvon,” the president said. That same day, 50 schools in Florida hold walkout protests, and ?uestlove goes off on Fox News correspondent Geraldo Rivera for comments the veteran newsman made in which he said, “I think the hoodie is as much responsible for Trayvon Martin’s death as George Zimmerman.” March 25 : Zimmerman’s friend Joe Oliver says Zimmerman “couldn’t stop crying” after the shooting and was “extremely remorseful” about it. Oliver, who is black, also said he’s never seen evidence that Zimmerman harbors any racial bias. March 26 : Florida rapper Plies releases the tribute single “We Are Trayvon Martin,” featuring the lines, “I never thought wearing no hoodie could cost you your life/ And I never thought you could just kill somebody and get out the same night.” March 27 : Reports emerge that Martin had been suspended from school for possessing a baggie with traces of marijuana before he was shot. Police confirmed that Martin had no juvenile offender record and the victim’s family lashed out at what they said was an attempt to “kill” the teen’s reputation. March 28 : Nas, Killer Mike, Prodigy and Bun B drop in for an episode of “RapFix Live,” and Bun tells host Sway, “This is just another reminder of the world that we live in. … Unfortunately, it takes incidents like this terrible tragic murder of Trayvon Martin to bring this back to America’s consciousness.” Illinois Democratic Representative Bobby Rush is escorted from the floor of the House of Representatives after pulling on a hoodie and sunglasses in honor of Martin. March 29 : Though Zimmerman originally told police that Martin knocked him down with a punch to the nose and then slammed his head repeatedly into the ground, a police surveillance tape emerges from the night Martin was shot and shows no blood or bruises on Zimmerman. His brother, Robert Zimmerman Jr., said medical records will prove his brother was attacked and that his nose was broken by Martin. March 30 : Sanford Mayor Jeff Triplett said he overruled local police and prosecutors in ordering the release of the 911 tapes in the case in response to a request from Martin’s family. Related Photos Diddy, Chris Brown Tribute Trayvon Martin
‘People are starting to identify this culture of people by their clothing … and that’s simply not fair,’ Bun B says on ‘RapFix Live.’ By Rob Markman, with additional reporting by Sway Calloway Trayvon Martin Photo: AP In the aftermath of the tragic shooting death of Florida teen Trayvon Martin , the outraged public has latched on to a few symbolic items. When he was shot, young Trayvon was wearing a hooded sweatshirt on his way home from a store where he bought iced tea and a bag of Skittles. It was the hoodie that gunman George Zimmerman told police made the 17-year-old appear suspicious and in support of Martin, demonstrators have donned hoodies as a show of solidarity. Others have even gone as far to suggest that the hood that Martin was wearing in some ways contributed to his death. During a televised Fox News broadcast veteran journalist Geraldo Rivera argued parents not to allow their black and Latino children to wear hoodies. “I think the hoodie is as much responsible for Trayvon Martin’s death as George Zimmerman was,” he reasoned. “The hoodie is something that we see all over America and all over the world,” Bun B said in response on Wednesday’s episode of “RapFix Live.” “People are starting to identify this culture of people by their clothing and starting to attribute certain things by the way they dress and that’s simply not fair.” Illinois congressman Bobby Rush was removed from the House floor after he protested Martin’s murder by wearing a hood over his head. “Just because someone wears a hoodie does not make them a hoodlum,” he said. Rather than focus on the article of clothing that Trayvon was wearing when he was gunned down, Mississippi rapper and producer David Banner looks at what he feels is the deeper issue. “America is showing young black men: If you don’t make us comfortable around you, we will kill you,” he told MTV News on March 29. “As much as people don’t want to admit it, that’s what this is about.” Banner urged Martin supporters to not focus on the clothes Martin was wearing, but rather the issue at large. Hoodie or not, he said black men are often the target, citing the 2009 police shooting of Oscar Grant and the 1991 LAPD beating of Rodney King as examples. Instead, Banner urges demonstrators to focus their energy to change legislation that ensures that young black men like Martin are protected from corrupt police and overzealous authority figures. “If we don’t find what that is after this is no longer a trending topic, then we just lost another child again,” he said. Related Photos Diddy, Chris Brown Tribute Trayvon Martin
The Ninja Turtles Culture War just gets better : “Paramount marketing changed the name. They made the title simple. The characters you all remember are exactly the same, and yes they still act like teenagers. Everything you remember, why you liked the characters, is in the movie. This script is being developed by two very smart writers, with one of the original creators of Ninja Turtles . They care VERY MUCH about making this film for the fans. Everyone on this team cares about the fans. Just give them a chance. Jonathan the director , is a major fan of the whole franchise. HE’S NOT GOING TO LET YOU DOWN.” [ Shoot For the Edit ]
Buckingham Palace ain’t got nothing on Posh Spice’s crib! They’ve become a firm fixture on the Hollywood scene, now David and Victoria Beckham have listed their UK estate for sale. The asking price for the sprawling 22-acre English residence, famously known as Beckingham Palace, is a stunning $29 million! Having bought the home in Hertfordshire, England, and then spending millions renovating it just after their lavish nuptials nearly 13 years ago, the estate holds lots of happy memories. However since moving to California in 2007 – when David signed for LA Galaxy – the Beckham brood has settled into life in the Golden State. When David signed a new two-year deal with his soccer team earlier this year he spoke of his love for Los Angeles. “We love living in LA, we love living in America. We’ve adapted to the culture and everything the country has,” he said. Peep more pictures of the couple’s new LA digs next… Source Zillow
Justin Bieber shared a 15-second snippet of his upcoming single “Boyfriend” on “The Ellen DeGeneres Show” Friday. Watch the clip here! Broadcasting platform : YouTube Source : Gossip Cop Discovery Date : 23/03/2012 14:00 Number of articles : 2
Posted on andPOP : Justin Bieber made a special appearance on The Ellen Degeneres Show today to introduce his artist Carly Rae Jepsen. After her performance of “Call Me Maybe,” Carly and Justin sat down with Ellen and shared how the record deal came … Continue reading → Read more at andPOP . andPOP – POP Culture with Substance Broadcasting platform : YouTube Source : andPOP.com Discovery Date : 23/03/2012 18:00 Number of articles : 2
