Tracy Morgan Delivers A Verbal Smackdown To Two Former SNL Colleagues

In his upcoming autobiography "I Am the New Black", 30 Rock star gets candid about his time on SNL. Apparently, all was not well at Studio 8H between Tracy and fellow cast members Chris Kattan and Cheri Oteri. Tracy's days on the sketch comedy series weren't all bad because he did have good things to say about some of his other co-workers.

In the clip below from the talk show "The Young Turks", hosts Cenk Uygur and Ana Kasparian play an excerpt from the audio version of "I Am the New Black" where Tracy talks about his SNL co-workers. Cenk and Ana later discuss the excerpt with "The Young Turks" producer Jayar Jackson.








I found Tracy's comments about Kattan and Oteri refreshing and hilarious! Too often, celebs give marshmallow answers (which are probably lies) when asked about their experiences working with other stars. The release date for "I'm the New Black" is Tuesday, October 20th.

Facebook Lesson #13: A "Poke" Could Send You To the Pokey

I've given up saying, "Now I've seen it all" because of stories like this one. Last month, Shannon D. Jackson of Hendersonville, TN was arrested for "poking" an acquaintance on Facebook. Although "poking" sounds like something Larry Dallas might do, it's normally harmless. It's basically the online equivalent of saying "what's up?!"

I said "normally harmless" because if a person slaps you with a restraining order, "poking" them could get you fitted with a bright orange jumpsuit. According to police, Jackson is accused of using the "poke" option on Facebook to contact Dana Hannah (also of Hendersonville), thus violating the terms of the order of protection, which stipulates "no telephoning, contacting or otherwise communicating with the petitioner."

Read more at: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/10/09/shannon-d-jackson-woman-a_n_315877.html

Violating an order of protection qualifies as a misdemeanor, and can carry a sentence of up to one year in jail, as well as a maximum fine of $2,500.

Read more at: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/10/09/shannon-d-jackson-woman-a_n_315877.html

ABC News video:

Woman arrested for Facebook Poke

Although Ms. Jackson's situation looks bleak at the moment, she could easily turn things around:

Write a best-selling memoir

Make a tearful appearance on Oprah

Have her memoir adapted into a Lifetime movie of the week starring Heather Locklear

Final Results of the Recent RRHOF Poll, Plus My Thoughts On Who Should/Will Get In

Narrowly edging out 2nd place, Genesis received the most votes in the poll in which I asked which of the 12 nominees for the 2010 Rock and Roll Hall of Fame should be inducted.

Here are the final results of the poll:

Genesis- 41%
ABBA- 37%
The Hollies and Donna Summer- 24% each
KISS- 22%
The Stooges- 18%
LL Cool J and Red Hot Chili Peppers- 15% each

Jimmy Cliff and Darlene Love- 13% each

The Chantels and Laura Nyro- 5% each

Only 5 of the 12 nominees will be inducted. Below are my thoughts on the nominees for the 2010 class. I selected the 5 I think should get in and the 5 I think will. Please note that for some of the ones I said shouldn't get in, I'm not saying they should never be inducted. It's just that I don't think they should get in next year.

I was too lazy busy to provide any analysis as to why I feel the way I do. However, if you are curious as to why I made my choices, feel free to ask me in the comments section.

ABBA- Shouldn't and won't get inducted

The Chantels- Shouldn't and won't get inducted

Jimmy Cliff- Shouldn't and won't get inducted

Genesis- Should and will get inducted

The Hollies- Shouldn't and won't get inducted

KISS- Should, but won't get inducted

LL Cool J- Shouldn't and won't get inducted

Darlene Love- Should and will get inducted

Laura Nyro- Shouldn't, but will get inducted

Red Hot Chili Peppers- Shouldn't, but will get inducted

The Stooges- Should and will get inducted

Donna Summer- Should, but won't get inducted

The Retro Mix Playlist For 10/9/09

Note: The Retro Mix may be moving to a different time slot.  Stay tuned for more details...

7 pm hour

Don't Stop- Fleetwood Mac
Tramp- Salt & Pepa
My Prerogative- Bobby Brown
Your Mirror- Simply Red

Dreams- The Cranberries
Together In Electric Dreams- Human League
Detroit Rock City- Kiss

With or Without You segment's feat. artist: Michael Nesmith
What Am I Doing Hangin' 'Round- The Monkees
Silver Moon- Michael Nesmith

Blood Sugar Sex Magik- Red Hot Chili Peppers
Let's Groove- Earth, Wind and Fire
Cruel To Be Kind- Spacehog
My Kinda Lover- Billy Squier
Yes I Am- The Emotions

8 pm hour

I Ran- A Flock of Seagulls
Underground- Men At Work
Regulate- Warren G & Nate Dogg
You Can't Change That- Raydio

I'll Be There- The Jackson Five
Driving- Everything But the Girl
Dyslexic Heart- Paul Westerberg

The Guilty Pleasure of the Week:
I Saw Him Standing There- Tiffany

More Than A Woman- Tavares
Get On the Good Foot- James Brown
People Are People- Depeche Mode
Slow Dog- Belly
Peace of Mind- Boston

The Retro Mix Video of the Week: You Can't Change That by Raydio

Happy 60th Birthday Sigourney Weaver

Yes, believe it or not, Ellen Ripley has reached the 6-0 milestone.  That rare mix of talent, smarts, sex appeal and badassosity*, it's those qualities that are why Sigourney has been able to stay in demand during her 30-plus year acting career. Last year, Sigourney mentioned that she may be starring in an Alien spinoff film that would focus on Ellen Ripley instead of the Aliens.  Don't laugh.  If a nearly 70 yr old Harrison Ford can dust off his fedora and break out his whip (get your mind out of the gutter please), I don't see a problem with Sigourney springing back into action as Ripley.

* Badassosity is a word.  Although it's not in Merriam-Webster, it can be found in the Urban Dictionary.

Please Take A Moment To Vote In the Current RRHOF Poll... Thank Your

If and when time permits, I will give my thoughts on who should/who will be inducted into the RRHOF in 2010.

Mount Rushmore: Songs of the 1980s

For installment #5 of my periodic series in which I select who/what I think are the 4 ultimate in a given category, I'm focusing on songs from the 1980s. I had to make some hard choices (my apologies to Def Leppard and The Police just to name two), but for me, the following quartet best typify the decade of Jem, Jordache jeans, and the Jheri curl.


1. Billie Jean by Michael Jackson
















2. When Doves Cry by Prince
















3. Blister In the Sun by The Violent Femmes
















4. The Message by Grandmaster Flash & the Furious Five










What four songs from the 1980s would make your Mount Rushmore?

The Retro Mix Playlist For 10/2/09

7 pm hour

Like A Virgin- Madonna
Bootzilla- Bootsy's Rubberband
Fire- The Ohio Players
Come Back and Stay- Paul Young
Daughter- Pearl Jam
Dance Naked- John Mellencamp
Nutbush City Limits- Ike & Tina Turner

Double Retro segment's feat. song: Our Lips Are Sealed
The Go-Gos (released in 1981)
Fun Boy Three (released in 1982)

Where Do You Go- No Mercy
TSOP (The Sound of Philadelphia)- MFSB
Laughing Out Loud- The Wallflowers
Second Chance- Thirty Eight Special
Good Vibrations- Marky Mark & the Funky Bunch w/ Loleatta Holloway
Bring the Boys Home- Freda Payne

8 pm hour

Shock the Monkey- Peter Gabriel
New Song- Howard Jones
Real Love- Mary J. Blige
High School Dance- The Sylvers
Billy Don't Be A Hero- Bo Donaldson & the Heywoods
Pipes of Peace- Paul McCartney
Tubthumping- Chumbawumba

On the Flip Side segment:
Horny Toad (B-side to Delirious)- Prince

Mary Goes 'Round- Ready For the World
Miss You- The Rolling Stones
Want Ads- The Honey Cone
Warm It Up- Kriss Kross
Boom There She Was- Scritti Politti
Back In the Saddle- Aerosmith

The Retro Mix Video of the Week: New Song by Howard Jones

Howard Jones-New Song
Uploaded by adiis. - See the latest featured music videos.

The Twilight Zone Turns 50

On this date back in 1959, Rod Serling's classic anthology series The Twilight Zone (which featured "before they were famous" appearances by such performers as Robert Redford, Elizabeth Montgomery, Burt Reynolds, Carol Burnett, and Ron Howard) made its debut on CBS.

The Twilight Zone is a rarity in that's it's one of the few dramas from TV's early days that has been rerun on a regular basis after its cancellation. I first entered "The Zone" as a kid via reruns on WXON-Channel 20 out of Allen Park, MI back in the 1980s. I got one of my nieces (who's now 22) watching it back when most kids her age were fixated on a certain purple dinosaur and his friends. While at a party about a month ago, I had an awesome conversation with a 22 yr old who told me that his favorite show was The Twilight Zone (he even owns all the episodes of the original series on DVD).

Even though there were other quality dramatic series from that era, The Twilight Zone has that certain something which separates it from the rest. I won't get off into theorizing why The Twilight Zone has been a rerun mainstay, I'm just glad that it is so people born long after it was made can continue discovering it.

Note: Syfy (formerly known as The Sci-Fi Channel) is airing a marathon of episodes until 3:30 PM today EST.

Here are five of my favorite Twilight Zone episodes. If you're as big a fan as I am, you can understand how difficult it is to narrow down the list to just a quintet.

1. Will the Real Martian Please Stand Up- On the night of a UFO sighting, seven people at a diner claim to be Earthlings, though one of them is not.












2. Five Characters In Search of An Exit- Five people (a ballet dancer, a major, a clown, a tramp and a bagpipe player) are trapped in a featureless enclosure. With no idea how they got there, they attempt to escape.












3. It's A Good Life- Six-year-old Anthony Fremont holds a town in terror with his powers to change or destroy anyone or anything at will.













4. The Monsters Are Due On Maple Street- A mysterious power failure causes paranoid suburbanites to suspect one another of being disguised creatures from outer space.












5. A World of His Own- A playwright describes characters into his tape recorder and they materialize before his eyes. This episode (the final one of the first season) marks the first time in the series that Rod Serling appears onscreen.












If you are a fan of The Twilight Zone, please submit your favorite episodes to the comments section of this post for approval.

The Sesame Street Gang Is Political... Who Knew?!

Earlier this week, First Lady Michelle Obama made an appearance on Sesame Street. She showed up to extol the virtues of gardening and healthy eating when out of nowhere, Big Bird comes on the scene and asks her some pointed questions about President Barack Obama. I had no idea that Big Bird was auditioning for a spot on Fox. Does this mean that the "C" in CTW (The Children's Television Workshop) really stands for "conservative"?