When I say Big Top you say Circus - Big Top! CIRCUS! Big Top!!! CIRCUS!!! Once again it's on, as the UniverSoul Circus makes its way back to Dallas. Check out Ring Master Tony Tone and his sidekick Zeke as the single ring circus heads back to the Southwest Center Mall Parking Lot. August 5-10. Click here to purchase tickets from Ticketmaster.  Even if you think you don't like the circus, you must treat yourself and your family to this wonderful experience.  For more information, visit the UniverSoul Circus website.  Also visit the UniverSoul YouTube channel by clicking here.

I've been a Batman fan for as long as I can remember. You might even catch me rolling out on the weekends in my black and bright yellow Batman Tee. Though I was skeptical with the casting of Michael Keaton in Batman (1989), I was very satisfied with Tim Burton's take on the caped crusader. I even liked Joel Shumacher's first turn as director in Batman Forever. But he totally destroyed the franchise with 1997's Batman and Robin. So when Christopher Nolan came on to helm Batman Begins in 2005, I wasn't nearly as excited as I should have been. My wife and I didn't even see it on the big screen. But eventually we watched Begins on DVD and I thought Christian Bale -who I only knew from Shaft- had a nice debut as Batman. But who could have predicted Nolan, Bale, and the late Heath Ledger would produce such a memorable comic book movie as this? I went in with pretty high expectations due to all the critical praise that's been heaped on The Dark Knight and Ledgers performance. Ledger's spin on the Joker has produced talk of a posthumous Oscar nomination. While Jack ...

The category for Old School Friday is "Old School Hip Hop." It's really not fair because there are just so many choices. I thought about Public Enemy, Boogie Down Productions, even M.C. Lyte. But I found something a little closer to home. My old school joint hails from Houston, Texas - 5th Ward to be exact. It's on of the top 3 or 4 rap songs of all time. I remember the first time I heard My Mind's Playin' Tricks on Me. I was in a dorm room at Prairie View A&M for a summer program in 1991. It was the summer leading into my senior year in high school. Happy OSF!!! Check out these other OSF participants: MrsGrapevine 2. Marvalus 3. Regina 4. Marcus Langford 5. Quick 6. Chocl8t 7. Cassandra 8. Kreative Talk 9. Lisa C 10. Invisible Woman 11. Vivrant Thing 12. Shawn Williams 13. Electronic Village 14. Hagar's Daughter 15. Danielle Vyas 16. DP 17. Dee 18. FreshandFab 19. LaShonda 20. AJ 21. Sharon 22. Believer1964 23. Shae-Shae 24. Danielle 25. sjp 26. msladydeborah 27. Thembi 28. Miss Gypsy Eyes

I liked the concept of Hancock from the moment I saw the first teaser. The concept of deadbeat superhero had not been truly treated on screen since Superman 3. And I don't remember Superman drinking his liquor straight out of the bottle. The older I get, the less I expect out of movies. I rarely go to the theater to see movies that receive bad reviews - unless it's starring a mainly black cast b/c they always get C+ or worse. I stayed away from reviews of Hancock, but I did see enough to know there was a big plot twist. I'll stay away from spoiling the movie, but I will say that I really enjoyed Hancock. It gave me what I look for in movies; I laughed often, there were things that made me think, and in the end I felt my time was well spent. And of course Will was on point, just as he was in the surprisingly excellent I Am Legend. It didn't follow the regular superhero which was good for most of the film. Just when I thought I might be tired of Hancock the finally started. That's always good ...

"I Won't Complain" was one of my favorite gospel songs (solo) growing up. My mom was the musician/choir director/Minister of Music out our church, so I've got a pretty good catalogue. When I came across this video, it made me think about all of the 3 o'clock services I attended back in the day. You know: Usher's Day Pastor's Anniversary Church Anniversary Men's Day Women's Day Youth Day Musicals I like this effort, but it can't quite compare with Rev. Larry Dixon's version that brought down the house in Paris, Texas and throughout the Red River Valley. Happy OSF!!! Check out these other Old School Friday participants. -Electronic Village - Chatting Over Cocktails - Ms Grapevine - Quick - Marcus LANGFORD - Cassandra - Danielle -Lisa C -Chocl8t ...

The category for Old School Friday is best guitar solo. Since Prince can't be found on You Tube, I thought I'd take the no brainer route and go with Carlos Santana. HE'S A MUSICAL GENIUS.

The theme for old school Friday is Remakes. I thought I would share Chaka Khan's treatment of a Prince single I Feel For You. I wanted to share TLC's remake of If I Was Your Girlfriend which really highlights the genius of Mr. Nelson, but I don't think they made a video. Check out these other Old School Friday Participants 1. Freshandfab 2. regina 3. MarvalusOne 4. Quick 5. Dee 6. sjp 7. LaKeshia (Kreative Talk) 8. sHaE-sHaE 9. DP

I'm not going to be able to check Mrs. Grapevine for the theme in the morning, so I thought I would post my favorite all time jam - One More Chance By the Notorious B.I.G. featuring my girl Mary J. HAPPY FRIDAY!!!

Earlier this month I got in a dust up with readers over a Vogue magazine cover featuring LeBron James. People tried to get me to believe that Vogue had no clue that the cover would bring thoughts of King Kong and Fay Wray. I guess those same people will try to get me to believe that this photo of Miley Cyrus in Vanity Fair was made with the best of intentions. Yes it's Billy Ray's job to protect Hannah Montana from sexual predators like Vanity Fair. It's hard to believe he would participate by posing for a photo like this one of he and Miley. But there is something larger at work here. Back to the broader point, these photographers and magazines know exactly what they are doing. How do I know this? Because Annie Leibovitz shot the Lebron James cover and the photos of Miley Cyrus. The popular media is trying to do everything that they can to shock us. And it pays real good. The news that we're being fed is not meant for our benefit. Whether it's LeBron Kong, a backless Hannah Cyrus, sound bites followed by an overdose of Jeremiah Wright, ...

The theme for Old School Friday is "Men With Perms." Mike had a curl then, but a perm now. This one goes out to Michael Jackson in honor of the 25th anniversary of the Thriller. This is a trip down memory land for many of us. Make sure to check out these other great Old School Friday posts: Electronic Village - Chatting Over Cocktails - Ms Grapevine - Quick - Marcus LANGFORD - Cassandra - Danielle-Lisa C -Chocl8t - DP - Kreative Talk -MarvalusOne ...