WWE Hall OF Fame

   It’s that time again where the WWE selects their hall of fame class. While not a physical hall of fame, and some question the authenticity of it, year in and year out there is still consistent debate about who hasn’t been inducted that should. While the WWE has began to announce their inductees for this year, I’m listing my top 5 who need to be inducted sooner rather than later.
   First up Arn Anderson “The Enforcer”, it can be difficult to really shine when your standing next to Ric Flair. Which I believe is a major reason Arn Anderson was so underrated, he wasn’t as charismatic as Naitch but he had enough charisma. He got the job done in the ring, and was responsible for naming the Four Horseman. His spinebuster finisher always looked devastating, and he was a master of the tag team game with Ole Anderson and Tully Blanchard. His work behind the scenes with younger talent shouldn’t go unnoticed either. While a Hall Of Fame member via the Four Horseman, it’s time he’s inducted as a individual.
   The “British Bulldog” Davey Boy Smith should be inducted as well. In all honesty he should have been WWEs first UK born world champion. Big, strong, and quite agile, he wasn’t the most technical, but had brute strength and enough charisma to keep folks engaged in his presence . His Summerslam match against Bret Hart for the Intercontinental championship is a classic. Sadly drug abuse held him back, but he was consistent if not spectacular and left a mark on the world of wrestling.
   Paul Heyman...the manager of the Dangerous Alliance, the advisor to the Beast Incarnate, the founder of ECW! One of the greatest talkers in the game, one of the best minds for the business, and a eye for talent Paul Heyman is one of a kind. ECW pretty much was the inspiration for WWEs attitude era, he brought several “smaller” guys like Chris Benoit, Eddie Guerrero, and Rey mystero to ECW before WCW swiped them. Along with Brock Lesnar he advocated for and helped groom Stone Cold Steve Austin,Tazz, RVD, and CM Punk among others. When he was the head writer of Smackdown during the first brand spilt, it was consistently better than Raw. His financial management skills of ECW was his biggest downfall, but it’s a crime he hasn’t been honored yet.
    Vince McMahon’s biggest competitor is next on the list, Mr. Eric Bischoff. The guy who challenged McMahon head on and started Monday Night Nitro to go head to head with Monday Night Raw. He turned WCW from a afterthought to the premiere wrestling company in the world at one time. The guy who bought luchador style wrestling to the mainstream. The man who created the NWO and nearly put Vince McMahon out of business. Eric Bischoff deserves a spot in the Hall Of Fame, if for nothing else simply off the intense competition between him and McMahon during the Monday Night Wars. Sadly his letting the inmates run the asylum mentality was his downfall, and lighting could not strike twice when he tried to turn TNA around. However he contributed a great deal to some of the most iconic moments in wrestling history and should be rewarded for that.
    With the divas revolution, the first woman’s hell in the cell, and the first woman’s Royal Rumble, one woman initially broke that ceiling CHYNA. The fact she has not been inducted yet is beyond a crime, and I think it was more of a personal issue than anything else. Chyna evolved from a brooding mute bodyguard of Triple H and DX to a superstar in her own right, making the cover of playboy and a few acting gigs outside of wrestling. Winning the Intercontinental title, being the first female in the Royal Rumble and King of the Ring tournament , she also was a number one contender for the WWF championship where people legit believed she could be the first World Champion. While most of the woman superstars of today credit Lita and Trish Stratus as their inspiration, Chyna really set the standard for Woman being talented wrestlers paving the way for them to be taken seriously. One of a kind, it’s time WWE grows up and gives Chyna her rightful place in the hall.

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Diddy, Vince McMahon, & the NFL

  It’s playoff time in the NFL, and after a rough season fueled by protests, fans picking their sides in the protest and choosing to stay away, 45 and his vendetta against the NFL, over saturation, and fan remarks that the product has fallen off. The NFL is hoping for some very good playoff matches that will bring fans back.
  In the meantime there are two things that are possibly brewing that could change the NFL, or provide some stiff competition. I’m talking Diddy's bid to buy the Carolina Panthers and rumblings that Vince McMahon is angling to bring the XFL back.
  Diddy buying the Panthers would be a event of historic proportions that would deserve all kinds of praise and parties. I truly believe it would put Diddy over the hump to Billionaire status, but for the culture having a black owner in a league dominated by black players could really help address several issues between players and owners. Throw in Diddy becoming the second youngest owner in the NFL, he would be able to connect to a lot of the players, more than the current owners ever can. He may be able to convince the powers that be, to bring a little more showmanship to the game. It could also help usher in a new age of sports ownership, I believe Diddy is smart enough to let football people do football work. But he surely would put his spin on the Panthers, and breathe new life into it. He’ll face opposition from other owners of the “old guard” but I’m sure he’s ready for that.
  Vince McMahon revitalizing the XFL, if done right could bring serious competition to the NFL. The first time around it tried to go overboard with the extreme aspect of football, which ended up injuring some players unnecessarily and suffered from having mostly second rate players or has-beens. The anticipation for the XFL was initially high, but quickly deflated as the season went on.
   There are a few things that were successful the first time in the XFL, the overview camera angle which years later the NFL implemented, and letting the players place nicknames on the back of their jerseys to stand out. In today's NFL where players are often punished for standing out and showing personality that would be a welcome change.
   There are several players still in their prime who are out of the NFL preview, but still have more than enough in the tank. If the XFL can acquire enough playmakers, tone down the extremeness of their rules which was the wave the first time around, and make player safety a priority. They would actually have a chance at being more successful this time around and being an true alternative to the NFL. Of course there will be people who will doubt it because it’s not the NFL, and others who will use Vince McMahon’s association with wrestling as knock not to watch it, but if there is quality, consistent gameplay those factors will become nonexistent.
   Vince McMahon is a very competitive guy, and he wants to be known as more than just a wrestling promoter. A revamped XFL could be his chance to show he can be successful businessman outside the NFL.
    Diddy is the man, ambitious, a go-getter, game changer and a motivator. If these two gentlemen get what they want, professional football will definitely change...for better or worst only time would tell.

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Change

  Change, one of the few things in life that are constant and consistent. Change is a guarantee in life, depending on the circumstances it can be a change for the better or the worst. As we move closer to a new year making changes is always brought up. People want to make changes for the better in their personal life.
  Along with change being consistent, it is also one of the hardest things in life to do. Not sure if it’s because of fear of what will happen if the change is not successful. Change can bring a sense of uncertainty especially in the beginning stages. Change also brings strong resistance, some people are just purely unwilling to really make a change.
   Right now our society is experiencing that resistance in several regards. No matter how many cry’s have been heard for gun reform after multiple acts of senseless violence, there are still people who oppose any type of gun reform for any reason. No matter how much fight there has been for an improvement in race relations, there are those who oppose that. Either due to their own ignorance or own insecurities, they attempt to stand by their opinion in the name of patriotism. People have been asking for school reform for years, much of it in the way students are taught or the curriculum they are taught, to better prepare them for the game of life and to relate to them better. Yet there are still decision makers who stand by the out of date and out of touch curriculum.
  There are a few changes that appear to be occurring for the better. People are becoming more conscious about what they eat, and how important maintaining a healthy diet and exercise is. Taking control of our finances and proper budgeting is something a lot of people are becoming more aware of. The recent Hollywood scandals of predators seems to be changing the course of Hollywood wheelers and dealers. Alternative forms of medicine that actually assist in curing ailing patients is becoming more accepted. Homosexual relationships and marriages are becoming more accepted.
   I often wonder is society change a case of the “old guard” being the primary decision makers, and as younger generations come along the tune will change? Or do the majority of the population have a “it’s always been done this way” approach to things. The same rule applies to individuals, some people have a thought process that they’ve always ate like shit and never been sick and will continue to do so.
   One thing to keep in mind change is very important to promote evolving not just as a society, but as people as well. This new year let’s vow to make our own personal change for the better, but also find a cause society needs to make a change for the better on and champion that change. Like the great Michael Jackson said if you wanna make a change, look in the mirror.

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Critics vs. Word of Mouth

   This past weekend Netflix released their most ambitious original film yet “Bright". A 90 million dollar film starring Will Smith and directed by David Ayer who wrote films like Training Day, the 1st Fast and Furious film, S.W.A.T. and Dark Blue. He also directed Street Kings, End of Watch, and Suicide Squad. The film was also written by Max Landis who wrote Chronicle. A pretty impressive pedigree for this film.
    Reviews came out and critics absolutely slandered the movie. Calling it the worst movie of 2017 and a dud. I watched the movie and enjoyed it, I enjoyed the action, the concept, the world that was built and teased enough without giving away to much. Reading social media and message forums, a lot of other people enjoyed the film as well. It had flaws, but what film doesn’t?
   That poses a question while critics have a job to do, can you really take a critics recommendation seriously? Now there are some projects that are flat out terrible and can be agreed upon throughout every part of the critic/audience ecosystem.
     But there seems to be a consistent divide between what critics and the general population view as good films. The average person when they sit down and watch a film want escapism for a few hours. Critics are paid to dissect films, sometimes they can go overboard on their dissection. Thus destroying films that don’t deserve the hate.
     When it comes to films that one may be iffy about, I think sometimes you have to take word of mouth from average people opinions , wayyyy more than you would a critic. If not you run the risk of missing a film that is actually very good.
    Critics are needed, they can provide a account of what to expect before people spend their money and time invested in something that may not be worth it. However often times they are not the intended audience for the film their reviewing. General audience members may be blindly loyal to a particular brand or actor/actress, but for the most part they won’t steer you wrong. In my opinion when your unsure of a movie, ignore the critics and listen to word of mouth you’ll make out better in the end.

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What Make's Musicians Washed?

    Eminem recently released a new single, “Walking on Water” featuring Beyoncé. So far reception has been spilt down the middle, some people love the song, others feel meh about it. Now combine this recent single with his freestyle on the BET hip hop awards, the consensus seems to be Eminem has lost a stepped, he’s washed, he’s fallen off. That poses a question, Do artist really fall off or are fans too disloyal?
     Music is a fast moving business, there’s always a new sound that’s “hot”, a new artist ready to take the “title”. And fans waiting to move on to the next trend. Of course you’ll have your purists who stick with what they came up with, or feel the new sound is shit. For the most part, people will go with what’s hot at the moment. One year so and so’s new album is the shit, people dubbing it a “classic”, and playing it all day. Maybe six months later they drop something else…”garbage”. The fickleness of people is a contributing factor to this trend, but what other factors cause this?
       Since hip hop's inception, it has always been a young man’s game. Jay-Z has been the only artist who has managed to stay relevant throughout the years, he won’t be dethroned anytime soon even as he approaches 50 years of age. Most people connect to artist who are relevant during the “come-up” of their generation. They’ll remain loyal to the sound they first fell in love with and brush off anything that comes after that. You’ll have others who won’t acknowledge anything that came before their time. That’s part of the problem, especially in hip hop the pioneers are often ignored and relegated to secondary status. Once the average rapper hits 30 plus, they can’t connect with the next generation. The generation gap is one contributing factor.
        Image is another contributing factor in an artist falling off. Eminem in his heyday was known for being controversial in his raps, poking fun at pop culture, and sharing his demons. As the years went by, the targets of his raps were no longer “in”, his demons had been defeated, and he rapped about new topics. People didn’t like that. Other artist may be known as “street” rappers, once success comes and slowly they start moving away from the street image, their image is no longer valid. A rapper who throughout his career has been known as a weed head who doesn't care about anything, can’t turn around and start rapping about his investments in the stock market. Success brings changes, the changing of an image and song topics comes along with that. Along with the changing song topics and success, comes new found interest.
        People’s interest change throughout their life and artist are no different. Especially now with all the avenues a successful artist can use to make money. They’ll use music as their launching pad, then branch into tv and movies, next thing you know they pushing a liquor brand or fragrance, or their a clothing designer. In their personal life they may get married and start a family focusing on that. Look up and you’ll notice they haven’t released a album in 5 years and people forget about them. Once they return fans notice a drop off in the quality of their music and move on.
        Speaking of their music, this next factor is the fans and the artist fault. After an hiatus, or the artist wants to experiment the results can vary. Their song topics may change, a normally somber artist may go for a partying celebratory vibe, a smooth r&b artist tries a rock inspired sound. They’ll break ties with a producer they made magic with, for a new direction. An artist known for metaphors that get you thinking, decides a commercial album won’t hurt, and a commercial artist suddenly goes conscious among other things.  On the same token you have artist who never change their sound, and that greatly harms them. The artist may misfire and boom, gone just like that. Even if they have made six straight certified bangers, on that one misfire the fans don’t cut them any slack. They turn away in droves and stick to their previous albums. The artist maybe should have looked within themselves and their team before releasing this misfire, on the other hand fans if their real fans should still support that artist. Growth is a part of life and often times it’s not appreciated in the music industry.
      Some artist have been able to reinvent themselves and stay relevant or somewhat relevant. Rihanna, Mary J. Blige, Madonna, Jay-Z, Beyoncé, Usher, Mariah Carey, R.Kelly, the late Prince to name a few. But the vast majority are not able to do that. While it can be the artist fault, It’s mainly other contributing factors such as time and general population taste changing, leading to the stigma of being “washed up”. Hopefully people can began to appreciate artist more when they try to grow, and switch it up. However for the right now, artist are kicked to the curb when their not “hot” anymore and that needs to change.

       
   

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Baltimore Quality of Life Debate

     Last week Baltimore City council approved a property tax break to entice first responders, to move into the city. Later City council president Jack Young  made disparaging remarks about City police officers who choose to live elsewhere.
     Jack Young implied these officers who live elsewhere were “raping the city”. I never knew it was such a big issue, seeing as how most people do not work in the same jurisdiction they live. After receiving backlash he retracted his statement...but bought up a few interesting topics. First that statement clearly shows Jack Young is another in a long line of politicians, who are out of touch with the current reality. We as voters have to stop voting based on name recognition and give politicians with lesser profiles, but fresh potentially successful ideas a chance.
     The other topic it bought is the quality of living within Baltimore City. Like other inner-cities Baltimore has big problems with crime and drugs. That issue and the perception that comes with that is what drives many residents away. There’s so many factors and layers involved in this epidemic, along with decades of decline. It’s difficult to conjure up new ways to solve the staggering crime issue.
     Another issue is the cost of living in Baltimore City compared to neighboring Counties. Man to be a homeowner in Baltimore City is a bitch. There are plenty of affordable homes that won’t break your budget. However the property taxes are to damn high, the water bill is ridiculous and even more expensive to cover the cost of  a new sewer infrastructure. The shell-shocked I experienced when I received my first water bill was out of this world. The new speed and red light cameras, which Mayor Pugh clearly said was a “revenue generator” already appear to be rip-offs. Living in a state that already bends you over in taxes, these factors don’t help folks decisions to move in the City. Throw in families with school age children, they’ll go elsewhere with the current state of the City school system.
      City officials are always trying to woo potential residents. They do that by highlighting areas such as downtown, Federal Hill, and Fells Point. What about the other neighborhoods? The quiet, middle class neighborhoods where working people have raised families. Home’s that have been occupied by multiple generations of an family for 30 plus years. Residents who worked hard for their home, have retired and aren’t going anywhere. How will the city attract new residents as some of these residents downsize or sadly pass?
      Why isn’t the City highlighting these neighborhoods to attract people? Why after all these years is the school system still subpar with no concrete plan in sight? Blame can be placed on parents, teachers, inadequate funding,  depleting schools, kids who don’t want to learn etc. officials have a find some kind of working solution.
       Blame everyone for the crime, blame lack of employment opportunities, blame Suburban flight. At the end of the day Baltimore is a beautiful City with so much potential, but it can’t get out of it’s own way. There are ways to improve things and it won’t be easy, I don’t have the answers. I do think it’s time to start shifting from the old guard and start thinking forward about making Baltimore the great City it can be.
     

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Ticketmaster woe's

        Plain and Simple Ticketmaster is a crock of shit!!! Friday I attempted to buy Bruno Mars tickets for his upcoming show at the National Harbor MGM casino. Myself and three other people I know, all logged on before 10:00 am to secure a spot. 10:00 am the tickets released and……Nothing!! No seats available, which is even worse because there wasn’t a presale. Wait 15 minutes and all the tickets are available for resale on all the secondary sites.    
                                  
        How in the world is that possible? For years Ticketmaster has been dogged by complaints and lawsuits. The outrageous fee’s that come with purchasing a ticket, the poor customer service, but no complaint is louder than “bots” and brokers buying all the tickets before actual fans are able to purchase any. Yet it seems nothing is really being done to prevent this.

        Ticketmaster claims they want to prevent these occurrences from happening, but it happens entirely too often without any resolution or even a care from Ticketmaster. Sure people can go to resale sites such as StubHub, Vivid seats, even Ticketmaster owned TicketsNow, but the markup on those tickets price most people out of purchasing them. The markup becomes even more outrageous for extremely in demand events.      
                                                      
        So how many pissed off people have to complain before Ticketmaster really does something? Unfortunately, they have a headlock on the ticket provider game. The closest Competitors are AXS and Ticketfly, and neither have the market share or clout to really take a stab at Ticketmaster’s market share.                              

       The indifferent attitude Ticketmaster seems to display towards this ticket availability issue sends mixed messages to the public. On one hand their brand will continue to get dragged through the mud due to unhappy customers, on the other hand they are pretty much a monopoly on event tickets. Where are we going to go for first hand access? How can we fix this? Will they ever really care and go after those who break the rules to purchase insane amounts of tickets? I do know this it creates a dogged fan experience for people who just want to see their favorite artist, or attend a bucket list type event. Ticketmaster get your shit together!!!

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