Rain Dance

It finally happened. Ben Gordon Weekend 2008 kicked off tonight at City Hall in Mt. Vernon, NY. Being a part of the production staff for the last four weeks or so has been a task...but I'm glad to see all the hard work start to pay off. Today's events consisted of a talent show and youth based inspirational ceremonies. As the event was underway, I was still @ the office fielding phone calls, answering e-mails, solidfiying contracts, etc so I didn't get to see most of the festivities. It started raining just before the show was to begin but it soon subsided.

When I finally did arrive @ City Hall to partake in the occasion, it began to rain again (maybe I should have stayed in the office). The rain started coming down so hard, that we decided to cancel the rest of the night's performances and speaking engagements. At that moment, a lot of people decided to take cover in City Hall from the rain. As we started breaking down the equipment and trying to get people to vacate City Hall, something organic occurred.


The Revelators, an African dance troupe consisting of children from the local Mt. Vernon Boys & Girls Club, decided that they weren't going to let the rain wash away their performance. They cleared an area of the main foyer and started dancing. They were dressed to perform and that's exactly what they did. When I realized they were dancing, I couldn't wipe the grin off my face. It was a great, proud moment in Mt. Vernon's long history and I was there to witness it. The Revelators were amazing to watch and the ovation they received when they were done was sincerely heartfelt.

Ben Gordon Weekend has and will continue to be about faith, family, unity and, of course, sports. When The Revelators decided that the show must go on, they exhibited those exact same attributes. They had faith in their skills and weren't afraid to show it. They performed for their Mt. Vernon family who stuck around when they could have gone home. They displayed unity by dancing as one. They showcased their athleticism by adjusting their performance to the limited space they had to work with. The Revelators should be proud of themselves and understand that they set a great example for many other children in Mt. Vernon and its neighboring cities to follow.

Bigg Russ

R.I.P., Issac....

And before I could finish flooding my friends' e-mail inbox's with the news of Bernie Mac's death, the world of entertainment lost another major player. Issac Hayes, dead at 65. I'm not even going to begin to get into this man's resume. For real, if you don't know...you better ask somebody. Wikipedia, Google, Ask Jeeves...wherever you get your info, there's bound to be PLENTY of references on this great songwriter and musician.

Music just lost a piece of its soul...

Bigg Russ

R.I.P., Bernie....

BERNIE MAC died today of natural causes due to complications related to pneumonia according to A spokesman for the Cook County Medical Examiner's office. He was a young 50 years old.

Bernie was best known to most for his hit TV comedy, The Bernie Mac Show. To others, he was the headliner for the record breaking tour, The Origina Kings of Comedy, as well various other stand up performances. He was most recently seen on the big screen in Ocean's 13 and The Transformers.

I was a fan of Bernie's and will sincerely miss him.

Denzel gives Mt. Vernon sports $100G

He's good looking, owns Oscars AND he cares!!

According to lohud.com, Denzel Washington, former Mt. Vernon, NY resident, has pledged $100,000 to the Mt. Vernon Save Our Sports initiative. In case you were not aware, Mt. Vernon has lost its funding for sports in the school system. Several fund raising campaigns have begun all over the city and parts of Westchester County to help jump start the sports program again. Mt. Vernon's scholastic sports program is legendary, especially Mt. Vernon High School's basketball team, The Knights. The Knights hold several state and federation titles so this decision comes as a major blow to a program that has sent several players to college via scholarships and more than a few players to the NBA. Ben Gordon, the most recent Mt. Vernon H.S. graduate to be drafted into the NBA is currently the Chicago Bulls' leading scorer. Denzel's contribution will most likely be done via Ben's New Life Foundation.

Denzel is a big supporter of local Mt. Vernon establishments, most notably the Boys & Girls Club which he credits for keeping him on the straight and narrow. I'm VERY glad that he's decided to give again but I would also hope that current Mt. Vernon residents decide to contribute as well. These are our children that need a sports program.

Rock The Bells 2008 - Jones Beach, NY

I've been meaning to write something up about this concert since the moment it was over but I just haven't had the time. Consider this a place holder until I post the photos. Being 2nd row, center stage made for some GREAT photo ops.

More news @ 11...

Bigg Russ

Ben Gordon Weekend 2008

Fellow Mt. Vernon native and current Chicago Bull, Ben Gordon, is hosting the Ben Gordon Weekend '08, August 14-16th, in Mt. Vernon & Yonkers, NY (Click the flyer for a larger image). Besides being a great time for all who attend, this is primarily a fund raiser for the sports program in Mt. Vernon which recently had its budget cut from the next school year. If you're local, please try and make it to any of the events. I'm working directly for & with with the company that's producing the weekend and I'd LOVE to see your support.

If you cannot attend and would still like to support the cause, please contact me directly @ hiphopsince71@gmail.com and I'll let you know where to send your donations. We're still looking for sponsors as well so if the company you're working for is in the giving mood, please forward them my info.

One love...

Bigg Russ

Governing parents...

New York Governer, David Patterson, has decided to sign a game bill into law. My new governor seems like a good guy, in general, but I just don't share his optimism that this law will enhance the quality of life for all New Yorkers.

You know what will enhance the quality of lives of all New Yorkers? New Yorkers, especially PARENTS, paying attention to what their kids are playing.

My youngest son, 8 years of age, had a friend over just yesterday. The friend, who is also 8, told my son that his mom lets him play anything. ANYTHING. He mentioned two games in particular, Mortal Kombat and BMXXX. Now...I can sort of give his mom a pass for Mortal Kombat. According to my son's friend, she doesn't watch what he plays nor does she pay attention to what is purchased for him. That led me to believe that although she's paying for the games, she's not always the one physically purchasing them. If you don't really know about Mortal Kombat and it's infamous 'finishing moves' where you're literally killing your opponent AFTER you've beaten them, then I can see how you might let this one slip by.

But c'mon...BMXXX. The game SCREAMS adult content. Although the game itself doesn't exactly promote sexual intercourse in any way, there is nudity and videos of strippers doing what they do best which can only be seen by unlocking them as you play. The Playstation 2 version was censored by Sony but my son's friend had the fully un-censored GAMECUBE version.

I know life is hard. I know life 'comes at you fast'. I know life is 'dog eat dog'. You can use all the cliches you want about being busy, tired, run down, etc. But I will never understand how parents can just let their kids do any thing. Don't get me wrong. Things happen. Other people buy our kids gifts. Sometimes we ARE too busy to notice this and that. But when does the check and balance happen? When do YOU stop, check on your kids actions/whereabouts/etc. and evaluate the situation? When the government has to step in and protect our children from 'us', then something is wrong. So wrong, in fact, that this law is essentially powerless and a waste of our tax dollars.

I told my son's friend that my son was not allowed to play those games and I would appreciate it if he wouldn't bring them to my house again. He said okay and felt the need to reiterate to me that his mom let him play pretty much any M-Rated game. I told him that was fine if his mom lets him...but I think I know better. She probably doesn't even know what her son is playing. I could get all involved and stick my nose in their busy but I won't. It's simply not my place. The rules behind the village raising a child has changed and getting involved can get you sued and/or physically hurt. Hopefully Mrs. Mom will read my blog and realize that I'm talking about her. But then again, she's probably too tired or busy or run down to surf the web...

Bigg Russ