This n' That - Monday, November 9, 2009

New Mexico Women's Soccer Team player Elizabeth Lambert has been on blast all weekend as footage of her buck-wild (mis)conduct flashed via countless video uploads of a recent tournament. If you didn't know the particulars, or that it were a 'real' game she was playing in, you'd think it was an 'SNL' spoof. It's amazing that she got away with it all without being taken out of the game. Cameras catch everything, a fact you'd think people who've been online since pre-K would get by now. Here's a link to Lambert being off the chain and losing her mind.

Not even 30 years old, Larry Johnson is released from the Kansas City Chiefs for slurs and Twitter posts best left to rattle in his head (cue sound effects of a toy box). Losing a career, even momentarily, and untold income has to sting. Whether the slurs had been about gays or fat people or old drivers or any other annoyance he harbors, when you represent a brand that would prefer to make maximum money, i.e. a football team, then you have to use your head. Just sayin'...The Kansas City Star has their report here.

Comedian Katt Williams was arrested and jailed yesterday in Georgia. Katt Williams is pretty damn hilarious and often the most funny performer in the films and guest- spots he performs in. When I was at 'The Hollywood Reporter' I saw him several times at industry events--the Black Enterprise Top 50 list party and at the Comedy Central roast for Flava Flav and we were unofficial hair rivals- and I say that in jest and with many props for him. I wish Mr. Williams the best. He's funnier than a lot of his competition and he's come a long way- it's not easy to become a major comic phenomenon coming from Florida- and that is the truth. He's got a big family he's taking care of and I'd never count him out. In my dreams, we could play comical twins!

Cable channel TV One has one of the best music documentary series going with 'Unsung'. The 2nd season started Nov. 1 with Teena Marie's story and last night the show featured Bootsy Collins. Bootzilla Baby! A few years ago I was in the newsroom and got Bootsy's publicist on the phone when she was marketing 'Play With Bootsy'. The music editor wasn't in & I took her info. She asked me in a polite way if I had heard of Bootsy. Heard of Bootsy? Yabba-dabba-dooza-baby! In '78 when I was in the hospital for a two-day stay after a routine kid operation, my Dad stopped by, gave me a book and an envelope with some extra money in it. The day I was released, my Mom took me to a record store on Branch Ave. in Washington, D.C. where you could get three 45s for $5. One of them was 'Bootzilla'....'Wind me up!' Funky, futuristic and out there, it was a funkdafied '70s kid's dream. When the record started to skip from constant playing, I taped a nickel to the needle of my record player. Bootsy has a great story and is a pioneering musician with metric tons of talent and staying power. He's a hero to me. Give him a shout and check out his cool, throwback website. It's cool, baby!