Well here is a first, or at least a first to my knowledge. Mr. Charlie Sheen [his true name is Carlos Irwin Estevez] is now the highest paid actor on television today. With perhaps the exception of father Mr. Martin Sheen [Ramon Estevez] I believe that his new deal makes him the highest paid Hispanic actor on television ever. It’s quite the sweet deal too, bringing in not only $350,000 an episode but also allowing a percentage of the profit. With the start of the 4 season of Two and a Half Men, he is well on his way to reaching the lofty heights of the 1 million dollars an episode or better attained by Mr. Kelsey Grammer and Mr. Ray Romano.
I’m glad Mr. Sheen is getting some recognition for his abilities. He’s a good actor, as can be seen in his roles in Wall Street and Platoon and comedicly in the Hot Shots! movies among others. For too long there has been too much attention paid to his flaws and difficulties. One thing though that no one has thought about is the fact that no other Latino has made as much on broadcast television.
I’m talking about constant dollars of course. Mr. Desi Arnaz is without doubt the top of the list of Hispanic entertainers on television. Desilu Productions was groundbreaking not only for its owners, but also for the programming; the legacy of which endures in the extended movies and spin-offs of Star Trek. Also in the top, I imagine, would be Mr. Tony Orlando (from the 70’s. He had a variety show – now you youngster know), Mr. Ricardo Montalban (the grandfather in Spy Kids, and Khan in Star Trek: Wrath of Khan). I add Mr. Freddie Prinze to that list, though he was with us only for a short time. I have no doubt he would have challenged Mr. Arnaz give time.
Still Mr. Sheen deserves his recognition. If he is anything like me [when people mention that I look like Mr. Denzel Washington or Mr. Malcolm X] it’s a compliment to be included, or compared, in the company of such great figures.
This is what I think, what do you think?
Friday, September 29, 2006
Thursday, September 28, 2006
Repost from www.mvass.com - 9.28.2006.1
While this is not related to entertainment, I do find it important. I will not post the entire article here, but you can go to www.mvass.com to see the entire thought.
“These are our children and we will benefit by or pay for what they become.” - James Baldwin
Have you ever had the situation where you are reading an article and it mentions a source or quote and you wanted to find out more about it? In the cases where you are doing the reading on the internet, you then search out the information only to be lead to even more items that enthrall you? I have and when this chain of events starts to unfold for me I generally wind up with a very long night and little sleep. And waking tired the next day is worth it for the knowledge I have gained. Today is one of those times.
I was originally just looking for interesting news in entertainment that was focused on Black African Americans and/or Hispanics from a source other than Yahoo News [Yahoo tends to have a good base of news on most subjects] or the Fox News cable network [which is biased I realize]. What I found had little entertainment but intriguing facts. The start of this trail began with an unrelated article from blackamericaweb.com. That lead me to usnews.com, followed by dailyprincetonian.com, thecrimson.com, frostillustrated.com, and ultimately The Journal for Blacks in Higher Education.
What I found is this. In 2004, the last full year where data is available, 4.4% of the higher education enrollments were Black African American males. That’s 758,400 in total. The number is pitiful, but it gets worse. The percentage of foreign-born black males that have a four-year degree in the nation is 28%, White American males are in excess of 28% with four-year degrees. Though the number was not presented in any of my readings, considering that as a guesstimate 10% of enrolled students fail to attain a degree I shudder to think of the percentage of Black African American males with a 4-year degree. Now get ready. This is the highest number of enrollments ever.
The outlook may improve somewhat in the near-term. In a manner of speaking. Harvard has started the ball rolling in getting universities to eliminate early admissions. Princeton has followed and many more are expected to do the same. Why this is important is that early admissions, especially for top-rated universities, tend to have higher acceptance rates. Harvard accepts around 50% of its class in early admissions, Princeton around one third. At Johns Hopkins 77% of all black early applicants were accepted, in comparison to the 36% of acceptance of all black applicants. Early admissions make a massive difference. The reason being is that most universities require commitments for the early admission. Lower-income students often cannot know what kind of financial aid they can receive, either from the government or the university and thus can have a serious income gap. This often prevents access to early admission. Personally, back in 1986, I know this was the case for me, thus there was no chance at Harvard or equivalent institutions.
Full post at Education for African Americans
“These are our children and we will benefit by or pay for what they become.” - James Baldwin
Have you ever had the situation where you are reading an article and it mentions a source or quote and you wanted to find out more about it? In the cases where you are doing the reading on the internet, you then search out the information only to be lead to even more items that enthrall you? I have and when this chain of events starts to unfold for me I generally wind up with a very long night and little sleep. And waking tired the next day is worth it for the knowledge I have gained. Today is one of those times.
I was originally just looking for interesting news in entertainment that was focused on Black African Americans and/or Hispanics from a source other than Yahoo News [Yahoo tends to have a good base of news on most subjects] or the Fox News cable network [which is biased I realize]. What I found had little entertainment but intriguing facts. The start of this trail began with an unrelated article from blackamericaweb.com. That lead me to usnews.com, followed by dailyprincetonian.com, thecrimson.com, frostillustrated.com, and ultimately The Journal for Blacks in Higher Education.
What I found is this. In 2004, the last full year where data is available, 4.4% of the higher education enrollments were Black African American males. That’s 758,400 in total. The number is pitiful, but it gets worse. The percentage of foreign-born black males that have a four-year degree in the nation is 28%, White American males are in excess of 28% with four-year degrees. Though the number was not presented in any of my readings, considering that as a guesstimate 10% of enrolled students fail to attain a degree I shudder to think of the percentage of Black African American males with a 4-year degree. Now get ready. This is the highest number of enrollments ever.
The outlook may improve somewhat in the near-term. In a manner of speaking. Harvard has started the ball rolling in getting universities to eliminate early admissions. Princeton has followed and many more are expected to do the same. Why this is important is that early admissions, especially for top-rated universities, tend to have higher acceptance rates. Harvard accepts around 50% of its class in early admissions, Princeton around one third. At Johns Hopkins 77% of all black early applicants were accepted, in comparison to the 36% of acceptance of all black applicants. Early admissions make a massive difference. The reason being is that most universities require commitments for the early admission. Lower-income students often cannot know what kind of financial aid they can receive, either from the government or the university and thus can have a serious income gap. This often prevents access to early admission. Personally, back in 1986, I know this was the case for me, thus there was no chance at Harvard or equivalent institutions.
Full post at Education for African Americans
Wednesday, September 27, 2006
Elton John says too much - 9.27.2006.1
Who the hell does Mr. Elton John think he is? I really would like to know the answer. I realize that many do not share my desire to generally disregard news and commentary that deals with the very private nature of the lives of celebrities and entertainers. It’s a multi-billion dollar industry that includes everything from talk shows, news papers, magazines, blogs and of course Mr. Elton John.
It’s nice that Mr. John is now funding a foundation to fight AIDS. I’m happy for him that he’s stopped the drinking and drugs. I could care less about his sex life. Apparently Mr. John shares my concern about individual sexual preferences. He refuses to speak about the sexuality of Mr. Clay Aiken [as if he would know magically for some reason]. It’s not the publics’ concern, nor does the public deserve to know that much about a celebrity if it’s not publicly disclosed. The same applies to whomever an entertainer dates, marries, whatever.
What I don’t get is that Mr. John felt the need to speak about the separation of Mrs. Whitney Brown [Mrs. Whitney Houston and Mr. Bobby Brown filed a separation as I mentioned in my post It's a separation - Bobby Brown and Whitney Houston 9.14.2006, unless other papers were filed – I really don’t follow this stuff.]. Where does he get off on speaking about how their 14 year marriage was ‘doomed a long time ago’. What gives him the right.
Doesn’t it strike you as more than a bit hypocritical to refuse to speak about one person because it’s “none of my business” and then speak about someone else that is equally not his business. I mean he wasn’t involved with either of them. He wasn’t married to either.
If he felt so strongly about their lives he should have spoken to them directly. There is no need to kick them when they are down. Nor is there any reason to bandy about their names publicly without provocation.
This is what I think, what do you think?
It’s nice that Mr. John is now funding a foundation to fight AIDS. I’m happy for him that he’s stopped the drinking and drugs. I could care less about his sex life. Apparently Mr. John shares my concern about individual sexual preferences. He refuses to speak about the sexuality of Mr. Clay Aiken [as if he would know magically for some reason]. It’s not the publics’ concern, nor does the public deserve to know that much about a celebrity if it’s not publicly disclosed. The same applies to whomever an entertainer dates, marries, whatever.
What I don’t get is that Mr. John felt the need to speak about the separation of Mrs. Whitney Brown [Mrs. Whitney Houston and Mr. Bobby Brown filed a separation as I mentioned in my post It's a separation - Bobby Brown and Whitney Houston 9.14.2006, unless other papers were filed – I really don’t follow this stuff.]. Where does he get off on speaking about how their 14 year marriage was ‘doomed a long time ago’. What gives him the right.
Doesn’t it strike you as more than a bit hypocritical to refuse to speak about one person because it’s “none of my business” and then speak about someone else that is equally not his business. I mean he wasn’t involved with either of them. He wasn’t married to either.
If he felt so strongly about their lives he should have spoken to them directly. There is no need to kick them when they are down. Nor is there any reason to bandy about their names publicly without provocation.
This is what I think, what do you think?
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